The Merry Wives of Windsor
Merry Wives of Windsor, The,a comedy by Shakespeare , possibly written or adapted for the occasion of George Carey , Lord Hunsdon's installation as a knight of the Garter on 23 Apr. 1597 . Various topical allusions have been discerned in the play, but the tradition that it was written at the request of Elizabeth I for a play showing Falstaff in love is documented no earlier than 1702 (by J. Dennis ). The passage alluding to the Garter Feast is found only in the folio text ( 1623 ), which is twice the length of the ‘bad’ quarto ( 1602 ); the latter appears to be based on a report of a less courtly performance.
Falstaff, who is ‘out at heels’, determines to make love to the wives of Ford and Page, two gentlemen dwelling at Windsor, because they have the rule of their husbands' purses. Nym and Pistol, the discarded followers of Falstaff, warn the husbands. Falstaff sends identical love letters to Mrs Ford and...
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