The Merry Wives of Windsor

by William Shakespeare, Catherine Richardson (Introduction), Catherine Richardson (Revised by)

Overview

In need of money, the fat and foolish Falstaff devises a scheme to seduce two married women and steal their husbands' wealth. By talking to each other, however, the wives soon discover his plan and begin to plot their own revenge. Relentlessly inventive, this comic humiliation of a foolish would-be seducer is a lively, compelling and ultimately joyous celebration of the all-conquering power of laughter.

This book includes a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and the Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Merry Wives of Windsor, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141961538
Publisher:	Penguin UK
Publication date:	09/29/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright of the 16th and 17 centuries, now widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the word's pre-eminent dramatist.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Read an Excerpt

Act 1 Scene 1 running scene 1
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Excerpted from "The Merry Wives of Windsor"
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Copyright © 2006 William Shakespeare.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
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Table of Contents

Introduction: the date and first occasion of the play; The world of the play; Some moments in the play; The play on the stage; Recent critical and stage interpretations; Note on the text; List of characters; THE PLAY; Textual analysis; Reading list.

Editorial Reviews

Wells does truly admirable work in her edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor . . . [her edition] will be wonderfully informative and illuminating for undergraduates, graduate students, and educated readers alike. . . . Wells provides wonderful discussions of the play's performance history and its film history . . . [as well as] a masterful discussion of how to read the play as performance.”
—W. Reginald Rampone Jr., South Carolina State University, in Sixteenth Century Journal
 

From the Publisher