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For all that Henry IV was supposed to be about both the King and his prodigal son, and indeed modern productions do make it about them, for years and years Henry IV was about Falstaff. He was the star, he was beloved, he got the best actors and the choicest comedy. It therefore makes sense that Shakespeare would write another play, this one a true comedy, featuring the fat knight. The Merry Wives of Windsor was the result.
Now, the popular rumor (which I believed as well) is that Elizabeth I had asked Shakespeare to write a play about Falstaff in love, and he was then forced to write this up in two weeks. There are reasons to doubt this is true, mostly as the timing is weird, but it is a rumor that has led to this play being dismissed as a weaker comedy. Clearly written in a rush, Shakespeare didn't want to write it, etc.
(Yes, you'll note another in our returning themes, which is judging a play based on its external history rather than the play itself. Shakespeare scholars LOVE to do this.)
It's not his best comedy, but I think that the view does the play a disservice, as Merry Wives has a lot to recommend it. Foremost of which is Falstaff. Falstaff here is very much the lecherous yet lovable knight that many remember him being, lacking the sour taste we get in Henry IV of his sending innocents off to die. He gets his comeuppance here, but it's of the point and laugh variety, not the 'I know you not, old man' that eventually would kill his spirits (and him) in the later Henries.
This is also, believe it or not, the only Shakespearean comedy set in Elizabethan England. Yup, though Shakespeare loved to set things in places like France, Italy, and Greece, this is the only time he comes home, so to speak. And he clearly revels in it, with some hilarious types here - idiot husbands, malaproping housekeepers, thick suitors, hyperactive Welshmen. The only two people intelligent enough to actually plan anything and emerge victorious are the titular wives.
Oh yes, people who read this play will no doubt be frustrated again, like Othello, with Shakespeare taking all sense of time and crumpling it into a little ball. Morning, evening, 2nd or 3rd days, all of these are totally mixed up. You don't notice it in the theatre, but close study makes it almost laughable on the page. I don't really regard it as a fault, as I think Shakespeare reasoned that it made the pacing funnier.
This play deals very much with the theme of the cuckold, which was pretty much the #1 gag among common Elizabethan men. Hey, see Charlie over there? His wife is sleeping with someone else behind his back! Bwa ha ha ha! Cue the 'horns' gesture, another common theme in this play.
Considering its mediocre critical reputation, the play is suprisingly popular on stage, with many adaptions over the years. There's even been several operas, which usually combine elements of this and the two Henry IVs. Naturally, they all tend to be renamed Falstaff.
Now, the popular rumor (which I believed as well) is that Elizabeth I had asked Shakespeare to write a play about Falstaff in love, and he was then forced to write this up in two weeks. There are reasons to doubt this is true, mostly as the timing is weird, but it is a rumor that has led to this play being dismissed as a weaker comedy. Clearly written in a rush, Shakespeare didn't want to write it, etc.
(Yes, you'll note another in our returning themes, which is judging a play based on its external history rather than the play itself. Shakespeare scholars LOVE to do this.)
It's not his best comedy, but I think that the view does the play a disservice, as Merry Wives has a lot to recommend it. Foremost of which is Falstaff. Falstaff here is very much the lecherous yet lovable knight that many remember him being, lacking the sour taste we get in Henry IV of his sending innocents off to die. He gets his comeuppance here, but it's of the point and laugh variety, not the 'I know you not, old man' that eventually would kill his spirits (and him) in the later Henries.
This is also, believe it or not, the only Shakespearean comedy set in Elizabethan England. Yup, though Shakespeare loved to set things in places like France, Italy, and Greece, this is the only time he comes home, so to speak. And he clearly revels in it, with some hilarious types here - idiot husbands, malaproping housekeepers, thick suitors, hyperactive Welshmen. The only two people intelligent enough to actually plan anything and emerge victorious are the titular wives.
Oh yes, people who read this play will no doubt be frustrated again, like Othello, with Shakespeare taking all sense of time and crumpling it into a little ball. Morning, evening, 2nd or 3rd days, all of these are totally mixed up. You don't notice it in the theatre, but close study makes it almost laughable on the page. I don't really regard it as a fault, as I think Shakespeare reasoned that it made the pacing funnier.
This play deals very much with the theme of the cuckold, which was pretty much the #1 gag among common Elizabethan men. Hey, see Charlie over there? His wife is sleeping with someone else behind his back! Bwa ha ha ha! Cue the 'horns' gesture, another common theme in this play.
Considering its mediocre critical reputation, the play is suprisingly popular on stage, with many adaptions over the years. There's even been several operas, which usually combine elements of this and the two Henry IVs. Naturally, they all tend to be renamed Falstaff.
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