Why is Merry Wives of Windsor such a unique play?
The Merry Wives of Windsor is often described as unique in the Shakespearean canon because of its contemporaneity—its quality of here-and-now-ness—which “create[s] the impression of life in an English provincial town as it is being lived at the moment of the play’s first performance.” 1 The world of the play is indeed …
How long is The Merry Wives of Windsor play?
approximately 3 hours
This production of The Merry Wives of Windsor is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Show length is approximately 3 hours including one intermission.
How many acts are in The Merry Wives of Windsor?
five acts
The Merry Wives of Windsor, comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written sometime between 1597 and 1601 (probably near the earlier of these dates), that centres on the comic romantic misadventures of Falstaff.
What type of play is much ado about nothing?
Much Ado About Nothing, comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written probably in 1598–99 and printed in a quarto edition from the author’s own manuscript in 1600. The play takes an ancient theme—that of a woman falsely accused of unfaithfulness—to brilliant comedic heights.
What genre is as you like it?
comedy
As You Like It, five-act comedy by William Shakespeare, written and performed about 1598–1600 and first published in the First Folio of 1623. Shakespeare based the play on Rosalynde (1590), a prose romance by Thomas Lodge.
How long is Merry Wives Shakespeare in the Park?
1 hour 50 minutes
Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes.
What was the name of the Theatre Shakespeare built *?
The Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre you see today in London is the third Globe. The first opened in 1599 and was built by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the company that William Shakespeare wrote for and part-owned.
What are the names of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor?
In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare’s “merry wives” are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page of the town of Windsor. The two play practical jokes on Mistress Ford’s jealous husband and a visiting knight, Sir John Falstaff.
Why was the Merry Wives of Windsor so hard to write?
The Merry Wives of Windsor is Shakespeare’s only play that he himself seems to hold in contempt, even as he indites it. That Shakespeare would so stumble with one of his greatest creations is puzzling and a satisfactory reason for this remains to be found. The most obvious explanation is that it was written very quickly.
Who is Falstaff of the Merry Wives of Windsor?
Considering the Falstaff of The Merry Wives of Windsor in contrast to the Falstaff portrayed in the two Henry IV plays, Mark Van Doren states: “Only the husk of Falstaff’s voice is here.” Harold Bloom refers to this Falstaff as “a nameless impostor masquerading as the great Sir John Falstaff.”
Who are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page in the Merry Wives?
In The Merry Wives of Windsor, fat, disreputable Sir John Falstaff pursues two housewives, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, who outwit… Justice Shallow and his nephew Slender accompany Sir Hugh the parson to the Pages’ home.