The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Merry Wives of Windsor is full of outrageously over the top characters and crazy antics. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth (the older model) commanded Shakespeare to write another play with Falstaff in it, having enjoyed the character so much in the two parts of Henry IV. He came up with this splendid comedy. The events of the play are, as usual, complicated but basically Falstaff is broke and tries to woo Mistresses Page and Ford (the 'merry' wives) hoping to get money from them. The two women decide to have some fun at Falstaff's expense, and hatch plots of revenge. Needless to say, their attempts do not run as smoothly as they hoped, with Mr Ford suspecting his wife of adultery and Anne Page secretly marrying an 'unfavourable' suitor. However, when all is revealed at the end of the play, and the audinece is left feeling that all is well in Windsor.