The Merry Wives of Windsor ★★★☆½

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Title: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Series: ----------
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play, Comedy
Pages: 80
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Falstaff, a fat, flagrant lecher, pursues two married women of Windsor at the same time. The two wives decide to turn the tables on him and put him through all sorts of trials at the hands of their unsuspecting husbands. One time Falstaff is taken out of the house in a basket of laundry and thrown into the river. Another time he has to dress up like an ill-favored Aunt and is beaten by one of the husbands who hates the Aunt.Finally, he ismade to dress up in deer antlers and beset upon by a group of children and pinched and beaten at midnight.

There is a smaller sub-plot of a young man and woman who want to get married and that is carried out under the nose of the father and mother, who each want the girl to marry the suitor of their choice.

Everyone but Falstaff ends up happy.

My Thoughts:

I wonder, why would a fat old man think he could woo happily married women? If I'd been one of the husbands, I'd have stuck a sword through Falstaff first chance I got.

I enjoyed this a good bit as I was able to make the play happen in my head. I had to consciously do it, but picturing it in my mind made it so much more palatable than just words on the page. Falstaff getting dumped in the river and beaten had me laughing out loud, like it was supposed to.

I have to admit that the whole “jealous husband testing his wife” thing that Shakespeare seems to thrive on (in regards to almost any married couple) doesn't work for me. I don't know if its a cultural thing or a personal thing or what, but if I ever suspected something untoward regarding Mrs B, I'd ask her. If there was another man then a 1^st degree homicide would occur, but I wouldn't be setting up scenarios to try to trap her or to try to make her act unfaithfully. That isn't how real love works. Good old murder now, that's how Twue Wuv weally works. * Fezzik cheers *

I am thankful this was as entertaining as it was. I was afraid I was going to have to put some more space in my reading rotation so I could continue on, but this helps keep me interested. Reading a Complete Shakespeare is kind of like a marathon. Don't do it lightly and for phrack's sake, don't ever, ever, EVER sprint.

★★★☆½

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