The Merry Wives of WindsorThis new edition of Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor focuses at every point on a theatrical understanding of the play. While emphasizing the liveliness of the play in stage terms, David Crane also claims that this citizen comedy needs to be taken much more seriously than in the past, as an expression of Shakespeare's fundamental understanding of human life, conveyed centrally in the character of Falstaff. In the process he also examines Shakespeare's free and vigorous use of different linguistic worlds within the play. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The world of the play | 6 |
Some moments in the play | 13 |
The play on the stage | 16 |
Note on the text | 28 |
List of characters | 30 |
THE PLAY | 33 |
Textual analysis | 151 |
Reading list | |
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Common terms and phrases
audience Bardolph basket Brentford bully Caius Capell Comedy conj Craik notes cuckold devil disguised divided edited emendation Enter FALSTAFF Enter MISTRESS Evans Exeunt Exit F O SD Ford's foul papers French Garter gentleman give Hart hath heaven Henry Herne the Hunter Hibbard horns HOST humour husband knave knight letter lines of verse Madge Kendal marry Master Brook Master Doctor Master Fenton Master Ford Master Slender meaning Merry Wives Mistress Anne MISTRESS FORD MISTRESS PAGE MISTRESS QUICKLY noun Oliver Oxford phrase Pistol play plot Pope pray prompt-book prose proverbial Q's reading Queen of Fairies Quickly's Ralph Crane Robin Rowe Royal Shakespeare Company Rugby sb¹ Scene seems sense Shakespeare Shallow Simple Sir Hugh Sir John Sir John Falstaff speak speech stage directions suggests Textual Analysis theatrical thee Theobald thou Tilley Welsh wife Wives of Windsor woman word