The Merry Wives of Windsor story
The Merry Wives of Windsor or Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics.
10 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| romantic jealousy | choice | the husbands of the wives Falstaff pursued were jealous |
| gold digging | major | Albeit without marriage in mind, Falstaff sought to seduce two women for the money they had. |
| husband and wife | major | Mistress Ford and Master Ford |
| infatuation | major | Anne and Fenton genuinely loved each other; others faked love |
| love triangle | major | Anne, Caius, Slender, Fenton |
| prejudice against someone of a different social class | major | To quote verbatim from Wikipedia: The play is centered on the class prejudices of middle-class England. The lower class is represented by characters such as Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol (Falstaff's followers), and the upper class is represented by Sir John Falstaff and Master Fenton. |
| engaged couple | minor | Anne and Slender |
| master and servant | minor | the story some regarded the relationship between Falstaff and his followers |
| test of love | minor | Ford arranged to test his wife's fidelity by having Falstaff seduce her |
| the desire for vengeance | minor | Pistol and Nym plotted their revenge on Falstaff |