Possible Clues:

• Stick by the river, being a stout fellow
• Opera mostly out of tune, thanks, and very loud
• Shak.'s fat knight
• Shakespeare's convivial fat knight
• Sir John -- , character in 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'
• His death is movingly described in 'Henry V'
• Part of Henry IV, as a last resort, included in some folios
• A novice with fast movement in party for bard's rotund jolly character
• Man on river for jolly old party
• A large man pursuing female in opera