Merry Wives of Windsor

Shakespeares merry wives are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page of the town of Windsor. The two play practical jokes on Mistress Fords jealous husband and a visiting knight, Sir John Falstaff. Merry wives, jealous husbands, and predatory knights were common in a kind of play called citizen comedy or city comedy. In such plays, courtiers, gentlemen, or knights use social superiority to seduce citizens wives. The Windsor wives, though, do not follow that pattern. Instead, Falstaffs offer of himself as lover inspires their torment of him. Falstaff responds with the same linguistic facility that Shakespeare gives him in the history plays in which he appears, making him the hero of the play for many audiences. The authoritative edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the plays famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeares language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Librarys vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Natasha Korda The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the worlds largest collection of Shakespeares printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.