The Merry Wives of Windsor Essay Questions

The women in this play are strong and intelligent. How does this reflect the Elizabethan Court that Shakespeare was writing for?

The English court under Elizabeth I was quite female-centric, beginning with the powerful, valiant and often demanding queen, for whom Shakespeare was writing his plays and sonnets. The strength of the Queen and the ladies of the Court is reflected in the strength of the women in the play who are the strongest and the most intelligent characters in the performance; in fact, they consistently humiliate the men in the play through their schemes. Shakespeare also portrays these women as having independence of mind, and being able to think for themselves: while there is disagreement between Anne's parents about the person whom she should marry, Anne's mother does not give in to her husband and accept his word as the law of the house; quite the opposite. She comes up with a plan that she believes will end up with Ann's marriage to the suitor she has picked for her daughter. The women in the play demonstrate a determination that reflects the strength and independence of their queen.

Is Falstaff a truly comic character?

Falstaff is not a comic character in the traditional sense of the role. Instead, the play thrusts Falstaff into comic situations in order to emphasize the extent to which he is an outsider at Windsor. At the beginning of the play, Falstaff is confident he can behave in Windsor as he pleases and there will be no ramifications. By the end of the play, however, he is humbled by the people there (especially the women) through a series of public embarrassments. Falstaff's role as a comic character in this play, therefore, derives from his status as an aristocratic outsider among middle-class people.

How does the play endow Anne with her own sense of agency as an unmarried young woman?

Anne is the daughter of determined parents, both of whom feel they have chosen the most suitable future husband for their daughter. Each goes to extraordinary lengths to marry Anne off to their chosen suitor, devising comically similar but seemingly brilliant plans for her enforced elopement and marriage to the man of their choice. However, Anne discovers their plan, and despite her limited power as the unmarried daughter of a nobleman, she still manages to come up with a plan of her own that ultimately enables her to marry the man she loves. Anne outwits both of her parents in much the same way the wives of Windsor outwit Falstaff and their husbands, serving as another example of a determined and capable woman.

Why did Shakespeare set the play in contemporary England despite Falstaff's role in the Henriad?

While one could argue that The Merry Wives of Windsor is a play about John Falstaff, it may be more accurate to say that it is a play about the burgeoning English middle class, which had only begun to take shape during Shakespeare's lifetime. Shakespeare sets the play in what would have been contemporary Windsor despite the anachronism of a fourteenth-century character appearing in a sixteenth-century play. By setting the play here, Shakespeare also stirs the comedy of the play by focusing on the extent to which Falstaff does not fit in – as a knight with royal ties, to be sure, but also as someone from a different time altogether. Falstaff's outsider status ultimately emphasizes how much the English social landscape has changed since the Tudors assumed the throne.

What are some potential reasons why The Merry Wives of Windsor was a relatively unsuccessful play?

Because The Merry Wives of Windsor was essentially written as a spin-off for the character of John Falstaff, one would assume that the play was largely popular among audiences. However, historical records and critical reviews suggest that the play was much less popular than the history plays from which it sprung, as well as many of Shakespeare's other comedies. While one can only speculate as to the reason, it is possible that audiences were disappointed to see Falstaff become the butt of the joke rather than the jokester. He was, after all, a source of smart and witty comic relief amidst the serious drama of the Henriad. Put simply, many argue that the version of Falstaff who appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor is markedly more vulnerable and buffoon-like than Prince Hal's companion in Henry IV, Part One and Henry IV, Part Two.