The History Of European Theatre The Merry Wives of Windsor: ‘Wives May be Merry and Yet Honest Too’
Episode 170:
The dating of the play
The tradition of the queen Elizabeth commission
The tradition of the connection to the Garter Ceremony
The Question of who played Falstaff
A summary of the plot
The early publication history of the play in short quarto editions
The sources for the play
The very specific location of the play
The character of Falstaff
The way the dominating prose of the play is used to define characters
The change in Mistress Quickly and her use of language
The stereotypical comedy of foreigners in Dr Caius and Parson Evans
Was the play written for one audience, but then changed to fit another?
The play as a city comedy and how Shakespeare subverts the genre
The influence of Queen Elizabeth’s position as a female ruler on the play
The later performance history of the play
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