The Shakespeare Book

142

I

n Windsor, Justice Shallow

threatens Falstaff for poaching

deer. Falstaff cheerily admits

his misdemeanors and trouble is

averted. Shallow’s nephew Slender

is advised to marry young Anne

Page for her money. At the Garter

Inn, Falstaff laments his lack of

funds, and plans to send letters to

mistresses Page and Ford in a bid

to get at their husbands’ money.

Dr. Caius is enraged when he

sees a letter from parson Evans

backing Slender’s hopes to marry

Anne Page. Caius is hoping to

marry Anne himself.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

Young Fenton then arrives, also

hoping to marry Anne. Mistresses

Page and Ford receive identical

love letters from Falstaff and decide

to teach the fat knight a lesson.

Pistol, annoyed by being sacked by

Falstaff, tells Ford about Falstaff’s

letter to his wife, while Nim tells

Page. Page is not bothered, but the

enraged Ford disguises himself as

“Brooke” to meet Falstaff at the

Garter Inn.

Mistress Ford invites Falstaff to

her house when her husband is out.

Brooke pretends to be a suitor of

Mistress Ford himself and offers to

DRAMATIS

PERSONAE

Mistress Margaret Page

The first “wife.”

Master George Page

Margaret’s husband.

Anne Page Their daughter.

William Page Their young

son, a schoolboy.

Mistress Alice Ford

The second “wife.”

Master Frank Ford Alice’s

husband, sometimes

disguised as Brooke.

John, Robert Ford’s servants.

The Host of the Garter Inn

Sir Hugh Evans

A Welsh parson.

Doctor Caius A French

physician.

John Rugby His servant.

Mistress Quickly

Housekeeper of Doctor Caius,

and Anne Page’s go-between.

Robert Shallow

A justice of the peace.

Master Abraham Slender

Nephew of Robert Shallow,

Anne’s unlikely suitor.

Master Fenton

A young gentleman,

Anne Page’s lover.

Peter Simple

Slender’s servant.

Sir John Falstaff The fat

knight of the Henry IV plays.

He is lodging at the Garter Inn.

Bardolph, Pistol, Nim

Followers of Falstaff.

1.3

1.3

1.1

1.1

2.1

In need of money,

Falstaff resolves to

seduce mistresses

Page and Ford, who he

thinks fancy him.

After Justice Shallow

pompously threatens

legal action against

Falstaff, Falstaff gleefully

admits poaching deer.

Shallow instructs his

nephew Slender to

court young Anne

Page, who is due to

inherit 700 crowns.

Mistresses Page

and Ford find they

have both received

the same letter from

Falstaff. They decide

to play along and

bankrupt him.

Caius finds out from

Mistress Quickly that

parson Evans is backing

Slender’s suit of Anne and

challenges him

to a duel.

Act 1