Customer Reviews

The Merry Wives of Windsor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Shakespeare, considering he wrote this little gem of a comedy in a mere 14 days for the Virgin Queen, pulls off a play that proves both witty and fun. Unequivocally, The Merry Wives of Windsor makes for a more enjoyable play if seen live. Nonetheless, reading it is the 2nd best thing.

Sir John Falstaff is once again such a fool - but a lovable and hilarious one at that. Having read Henry V - where Falstaff ostensibly had met his end - I was pleased to see him so alive(pardon the pun) in this short, albeit clever play. It is no surprise that The Merry Wives of Windsor enjoyed such a long and successful stage run during Shakespeare's day and continues to be one of his most popularly staged plays. Recommended as a fun break from the more serious and murderous Shakespearean tragedies.

"Why, then the world's mine oyster,
Which I with sword will open." - Pistol

This play is odd in that critics hate it, but theater companies love it. Harold Bloom's contempt for this play is so great that he refused to discuss it in his book on Shakespeare. But, unlike some of Shakespeare's less popular plays, Merry Wives is performed frequently in Shakespeare festivals across the land.

You really have to see this play to understand how well it works on the stage. Played by an energetic cast it is hilarious situation comedy and easily understandable by people unfamiliar with Shakespeare. When Falstaff says at the end, with deadpan delivery, "I do begin to perceive that I am made an ass," it brings down the house. Just reading the play in your living room, you will probably miss much of the humor.

Shakespeare was a man of the theater. He wrote for production, with little thought given to publication in his lifetime. You have to see his plays performed to get a measure of his theatrical genius.

Allright. Maybe as far as the comedies go, I was spoiled by the exquisite comical masterpiece "The Comedy of Errors." But this is without a doubt my 2nd favorite comedy. I can not help but simultaneously laugh and feel sorry for poor Ford when he suspects his wife is interested in Falstaff and goes into his jealous rages. One scene I could not forget if I tried is when Ford feels bad for suspecting his wife, is humiliated in front of everyone, and apologizes.Only a bit later he finds his wife was with Falstaff and she has another arranged meeting with him! But this is only a small part of the many laughs that await. Shakespeare only had a few days to write this play, but this shows that even under pressure he wrote great!

i've just finished reading/watching all of shakespeare's comedies and mww is one of the funnier ones. it is a lighthearted look at marital jealousy and features one of shakespeare's great fools, falstaff (of henry iv fame). the out-and-out funniest shakepearean play is still "taming of the shrew", imho, but mwv runs well ahead of the laggards, and certainly well ahead of such better known plays as "twelfth night" and "as you like it".

This is definitely Shakespeare's funniest play. This play doesn't have the great quotes or great drama or great romance or any great meaning, but it is just simply hilarious. Sir John Falstaff is one of the greatest comedic characters in all of literature and does not disappoint in this play.

'The Merchant of Venice' is great if you are looking for a 'Comedy' with meaning and social significance, but if you simply want to laugh your butt off you have to read 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'.

"Merry Wives" is generally loathed by scholars, and loved by audiences. The reason is not hard to detect. It is a non-serious and very funny play. Shakespeare wrote low comedy farce. GASP!
First off, the 3 star rating means as compared to other works of Shakespeare. I don't feel it fair to compare him to other writers. For the other writer's sake!
"Merry Wives" is a fast paced romp that would be much better to see than to read. The first act of this play frustrated me as reading no Shakespeare has done before. The play is his only comedy set in (Shakespeare's) modern day, and in England. As a result it abounds with archaic English colloquialisms and regionalisms that mean nothing to the modern American reader. You will have to look at the explanatory notes often while reading this play. The reader's frustration will be added to by the inclusion of a French character, complete with accent, a Welsh parson, also with accent, and a servant lady who speaks with malapropos and misunderstandings most of the time.
If you can get over that hurdle, you will find the play picks up steam and humor in the last three acts, and there are some truly comic, and often vulgar, moments. The groundlings must have howled with delight at this play.
Many critics hate this play because they say the Falstaff of "Merry Wives' is a shadow of the character Shakespeare created for the Henry Four plays. He is. But I guess my question is, so what? Shakespeare created Falstaff and he can use him however he sees fit. To me it seems a minor quibble, and I am not sure I understand the passion it engenders in some people.
Take "The Merry Wives of Windsor" for what it is, a lighthearted farce, meant as a diversion for its viewers, and leave all the academic baggage at home. You will be glad you did.
As for the Pelican Shakespeare series, they are my favorite editions as the scholarly research is usually top notch and the editions themselves look good as an aesthetic unit. It looks and feels like a play and this compliments the text's contents admirably. The Pelican series was recently reedited and has the latest scholarship on Shakespeare and his time period. Well priced and well worth it.

a horribly produced paperback- low quality coarse paper, difficult to open, note presentation muddled. Use only in an emergency, then throw out. Postage expensive.

Mistress Ford and Mistress Page are be badgered by the lecherous Falstaff, how to arrange a happy ending? As the husband of the object of Falstaff's passion disguises himself as a servant to divine the plans of the villain, the ladies defend their honor by inviting the advances of Falstaff.

This is the Bard's comedy on a good day. Despite the challenges of the original language, I chuckled my way through this story/script. In the end, Falstaff got what he deserve (no sexy time with the good ladies and several beatings), the ladies' honor was preserved, and their husbands saw the highest qualities of their wives.

I loved it, and recommend it highly. I just wish this one would be put on stage more often.

E.M. Van Court

As many of you know, the crooked but comical and likable Falstaff has a moderate role in 1 "Henry IV" and a major role in 2 "Henry IV." Even though his death is mentioned in "Henry V," Shakespeare brings him back for this play. (Also back are Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym.) Some scholars such as Asimov feel that this Falstaff: "...bears no resemblance to the Falstaff of the "Henry IV" plays." Well, Asimov was right, but Shakespeare was trying to do something very difficult. (Recreating an artistic moment. It may not be impossible, but it is not far from it either.)

Well, onto the play. Shakespeare cleverly combines 2 plots. Anne Page is a young girl whose parents want her to marry someone other than Fenton (whom she loves). But Shakespeare adds a new twist. Her parents are not in agreement here. Her father wants her to marry the nice enough slender, while her mother wants her to marry the eccentric Dt. Caius. (So the Romeo, Juliet, Paris triangle isn't exactly repeated.)

Moving on, Falstaff enters, and he intends to woo Anne's mother and Page's wife not out of love, but in hopes of increasing his fortunes. Well, even Falstaff's friends Pistol and Nym are repulsed by this and Pistol warns Ford, while Nym warns Page. While we may see the adult Pages as the 'wicked parents' who wants Anne to marry someone other than whom she loves, Shakespeare expands their characters by having mutual love and trust. (A great marriage! The not so bright Othello could have learned from Mr. Page!) So, we can see that the Page marriage is happy and successful.

On the other hand, Ford is not so sure of his wife to say the least. He plans to disguise himself and encourage Falstaff to go ahead. (So he can catch Falstaff and his wife in the act.) Lady Ford has plans of her own though. We know that Lady Ford and Lady Anne are trying to teach Falstaff a lesson so to speak, and we can only imagine what is going through poor Ford's mind when Falstaff reveals his plans to woo Lady Ford AND Lady Page. Ford goes through some comical jealous rages, but unlike the so called 'noble' Othello, Ford DOES NOT lay an abusive hand on his wife, and it is hard for us to not feel at least a little sorry for Ford. (We can only imagine his frustrations when he feels bad and thinks he was wrong about his wife, only to realize that his wife has another scheduled meeting with Falstaff!)

Well, keeping with the comedy, no one really gets hurt, and Ford is willing to admit he was wrong about his wife. Now it does seem after all the humiliating events Falstaff went through (such as being thrown in a river and being beaten) Falstaff would have learned by now. But such is comedy. The Pages and fords decide to subject Falstaff to one more practical joke.

And of course there is the matter of who Anne will marry. (Fenton whom she loves, Slender whom her father loves, and Dr. Caius whom her mother loves.) In a bit of "Midsummer Night's Dream" nostalgia, Falstaff suffers one final slapstick moment, but all is resolved, and young love triumphs. And in the often found theme of reconciliation, all of the characters (including Falstaff) enjoy a happy gathering.

I certainly don't agree with many of the reviews of this play. To me it is one of Shakespeare's funniest. I truly enjoyed it. One of my favourite Shakespearean characters is Falstaff, and he appears in a number of Shakespeare's comedies. He makes an appearance in this one, and he is wonderful. The scene of this play is in Windsor, England. The play follows the merry wives in their interactions with their husbands and with their families and servants. This play is unique too, because we see Falstaff in love in this one. This may be one of Shakespeare's lesser known comedies, but it should be read and enjoyed. Don't let some of these reviews stop you from the sheer enjoyment of this play.