The Merry Wives of Windsor

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The Merry Wives of Windsor (1601) is a comedy by William Shakespeare. Following the success of Henry IV Part I, it is rumored that Queen Elizabeth requested that the bard write a play featuring the character Falstaff in love. Falstaff, a clownish character notable for his bravery and loyalty to King Henry V, remains one of Shakespeares most beloved characters. Despite this prominence, it has earned a reputation as one of the playwrights least staged works. Come, we have a hot venison pasty to dinner: come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness. For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. Arriving in Windsor with an empty stomach and even emptier pockets, Falstaff comes up with a plan to seduce a wealthy woman. When his servants refuse to deliver his letters to Mistresses Ford and Pageboth of them marriedhe fires Pistol and Nym, who subsequently inform the ladies husbands. Eventually, the Mistresses get their hands on Falstaffs letters and, upon discovering they are exactly the same, conspire to embarrass the aging, overweight bachelor. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Author Bio

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and glove-maker, and Mary Arden, a woman from a wealthy family. Likely educated at the Kings New School, he would have studied Latin in his youth. At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, then twenty-six. Together, they raised three childrenSusanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. By 1892, several of his early plays had appeared on stage in London. These works, including Richard III and Henry VI, show the influence of Elizabethan dramatists Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe. He then found success with a series of comedies, such as A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. By the late 1590s, Shakespeare wrote two of his finest tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, proving his talent and thematic versatility. The beginning of the 17th century marked a turn in his work, ushering in an era often considered his darkest and most productive. Between 1600 and 1606, he produced such masterpieces as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, all of which are undoubtedly some of the finest works ever written in the English language. In addition to his 39 plays, many of which were performed by his own company at the legendary Globe Theatre, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and three long poems, many of which continue to be read around the world.