The Merry Wives Of Windsor
(William Shakespeare)
Rumored to have been written because Queen Elizabeth desired a play which included Falstaff in love, Shakespeare wrote this delightful comedy of errors, The Merry Wives of Windsor. The foolish and boisterous Falstaff decides to woo two married women at the same time, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. Falstaff isn?t really interested in either lady, he is simply trying to get money out of them and thinks the best way is to seduce one or both of the ladies for their gold. Not precisely savvy in the ways of seduction, to save time, Falstaff sends each lady the exact same letter proclaiming his passionate love. When the two women discover his duplicity, they decide to get revenge upon him for his schemes. While their husbands are out, they pretend to make love to Falstaff, but alarm him with tales of their husbands? return and stuff him into a basket.
Page discovers the attempted adultery and comes disguised in order to find Falstaff out. Falstaff is eventually dumped in the Thames, thus properly getting his just deserts for his knavish actions.
Meanwhile, Page?s daughter, Anne Page, is being sought in marriage by some older men who she doesn?t love and properly wooed by the young gentleman Fenton, whom she likes. They secretly marry, and at the end of the play she makes it up to her father, and the Mistresses Page and Ford also show their husbands how virtuous they are and that they had no intentions of cheating on them.
The play, which is filled with comic humor, has also been turned into a delightful opera by Verdi, entitled ?Falstaff.? Other operas have also been inspired by this play including, Nicolai?s ?Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor? and Vaughan Williams? ?Sir John in Love.? Though not the strongest play by Shakespeare, ?The Merry Wives of Windsor? similar to ?The Comedy of Errors,? presents a display of physical comedy that is a delight to watch.
Resumos Relacionados
- As Alegres Senhoras De Windsor De William Shakespeare
- Ópera: G. Verdi - Falstaff
- Henry Iv Part Two
- As Alegres Comadres De Windsor
- Shakespearean Comedy
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