This essay is an interpretation of Shalespeare's "The Merry wives of Windsor".

William Shakespeare

The Merry Wives of Windsor

1.Date, models & additional information

·Probably written in 1597-8

·Shakespeare wrote The merry Wives, because the Queen wanted to see Falstaff in love (Falstaff, which she knew from an earlier work of Shakespeare, Henry IV)

·Merry Wives is Shakespeare's most middle-class play in setting, subject matter, and outlook. Merry Wives gives an impression of life in an English provincial town.

·It refers to older plays: the main plot resembles "Il Pecorone", an Italian play.

·Though the play does contain characters both above and below the middle class, everything functions to demonstrate the power of the middle class.

2.The characters

Mistress Ford: - married to the jealous Mr. Ford

- friend of Mistress Page

Mistress Page:- married to Mr. Page

- friend of Mistress Ford

Sir John Falstaff:- knight, but also a scoundrel and thief

- energetic, lively, cowardly, funny, and mischievous; fat, not very handsome

- thinks he can get away with seducing married women in order to gain access to their husbands' cash

Frank Ford:- very jealous of his wife

George Page:- not jealous of his wife

Sir Hugh Evans:- the local pastor from Wales

Doctor Caius:- local doctor from France

- wants to marry Anne Page, Mistress Page favours him

Anne Page:- daughter of George Page and Mistress Page

- doesn't want to marry the idiots her parents want her to, she chooses Fenton

Fenton:- young gentleman, in favour of Anne Page

Slender:- 3rd suitor for Anne Page

- unable to speak anything but nonsense to Anne

Shallow:- country justice

- Slender's uncle

Mistress Quickly:- Caius' servant

- everyone's messenger

Bardolph, Nym,

Pistol:- Falstaff's men, who are dismissed by him

And others, like the Host of the Garter Inn, William Page...

Pages Template

Pages Photo Opp with Governor

Henry Fuseli: "Falstaff in the Washbasket", 1792

3.The content

Act I:

·Evans would...