Backgound
Probably written in 1597-8, Merry Wives
is Shakespeare's most middle-class play in setting, subject
matter, and outlook. It's also one of his most farcical
works, using practical and linguistic jokes to establish
a comic tone that influences the play's ultimate spirit
of reconciliation, after all the intrigues have been sorted
out. Merry Wives gives an impression of life in an English
provincial town as it was lived at the time of the play's
first performance. It refers to other, older plays; the
main plot closely resembles Il Pecorone, a 1558 Italian
play by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino. This plot and the primary
subplot also draw on ancient Roman comedy and medieval
farce.
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Performance
The first performance of this play was said
to have occurred in London on April 23, 1597, at a feast
of the Order of the Garter (an aristocratic fraternity),
which Queen Elizabeth attended. According to theatrical
legend, Elizabeth saw Henry IV, Part I and so liked the
character of Falstaff that she asked Shakespeare to write
another play about him, allegedly allotting him only 14
days. Shakespeare may have put aside Henry IV, Part 2 to
complete Merry Wives, and he included several characters
who reappear from both plays, including Pistol, Nim, Bardolph,
Mistress Quickly, and Shallow. Falstaff and his entourage
supposedly were good friends with Prince Henry, later Henry
V, which lends a monarchical touch to the more suburban
events of Merry Wives. |
Publication
The text survives in two different versions,
one in the First Quarto (1602) and another in the First
Folio (1623). The Folio is printed from a manuscript
that was based on either a playhouse prompt-book or
an authorial manuscript, and has a close connection
with the first performance of the play. The Quarto is
most likely a reconstruction from memory by actors who
performed parts in the first performances. Half the
length of the Folio version, the Quarto is probably
a poorly remembered account, or a version trimmed down
for provincial performances. Modern editions are based
on the Folio edition, though the Quarto's stage directions
and certain passages have been integrated into modern
editions.
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