The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedic play by William Shakespeare, set in the town of Windsor in England. It follows the story of Sir John Falstaff, an aging knight who attempts to woo two married women, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. The two women, however, are not
The Merry Wives of Windsor or Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretense to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan-era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. Tradition has it that The Merry Wives of Windsor was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, who watching Henry IV, Part 1, is said to have asked Shakespeare to write a play depicting Falstaff in love. Among literary critics, the play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times.