The Merry Wives of Windsor

Likely written between 1597 and 1601 and first printed in 1602, The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by English playwright William Shakespeare. Unlike the history plays that first introduced Sir John Falstaff, this work takes place in contemporaneous Windsor and concentrates on middle-class households, quick wit, and community order rather than court or battlefield politics.

The play follows two neighbors, Mistress Alice Ford and Mistress Margaret Page, who receive identical love letters from Falstaff and decide to answer with elaborate pranks that expose his character. As the wives stage their counterplots, Master Ford tests his wife with jealous stratagems that backfire in public. A parallel courtship thread tracks Anne Page, whose parents favor different suitors, Abraham Slender and Doctor Caius, while Anne herself prefers an impoverished aristocrat named Fenton. The play explores themes of Redefining Authority as Competence, The Complexities of Marriage, and the use of Revenge and Ridicule as Tools of Social Correction.

This guide is based on the 2004 Washington Square Press Folger Shakespeare Library e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of gender discrimination, substance use, and graphic violence.

Plot Summary

In Windsor, Justice Robert Shallow complains that Sir John Falstaff broke into his hunting lodge and poached his deer. Shallow’s nephew, Abraham Slender, and the Welsh parson, Sir Hugh Evans, commiserate over Shallow’s frustration. Trying to change the topic, Sir Hugh urges a match between Slender and Anne Page, the well-dowered daughter of Master and Mistress Page. 

At Master Page’s house, Falstaff arrives with Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym. Falstaff mocks Shallow and admits to rough behavior. Slender accuses Falstaff’s followers of picking his pocket, but Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym confuse the man with their clever wordplay. Page invites everyone to dinner. Sir Hugh sends Slender’s servant Simple to Mistress Quickly, housekeeper to Doctor Caius, to ask her for help in courting Anne.

At the Garter Inn, Falstaff admits to near bankruptcy and dismisses Bardolph. He decides to woo Mistress Ford and Mistress Page to gain access to their husbands’ wealth. He writes two love letters and orders delivery through his page, Robin, after Pistol and Nym refuse. Pistol and Nym go to the husbands and reveal Falstaff’s plan. At Doctor Caius’s house, Mistress Quickly agrees to help Slender. Caius discovers Simple hiding, hears that Sir Hugh supports Slender, and challenges Sir Hugh to a duel. After Simple leaves, Fenton arrives and asks Quickly to support his own suit to Anne.

Mistress Page and Mistress Ford receive Falstaff’s letters, which match each other word for word except for the names. They share the letters, take offense, and agree to trick Falstaff. Meanwhile, Pistol warns Master Ford, and Nym warns Master Page. Page trusts the women and laughs off the warning; Ford grows jealous. The Host of the Garter agrees to referee the duel between Sir Hugh and Caius but then sends each man to a different field to prevent a fight. Ford also asks the Host to introduce him to Falstaff under an alias, “Brook.”

At the inn, Mistress Quickly tells Falstaff that Mistress Ford will receive him when Ford goes out. The Host brings in “Brook,” who is Ford in disguise. Brook claims to love Mistress Ford but says that his suit has been unsuccessful because she is too loyal to her husband. Falstaff boasts to Brook about his plan and promises to “soften” Mistress Ford so that Brook can succeed later. Once alone, Ford rages and vows to catch them. Elsewhere, the Host reveals his trick at the duel field. Sir Hugh and Caius, now aware of the deception, postpone their quarrel and vow revenge on the Host.

Mistress Ford and Mistress Page prepare a large basket filled with dirty laundry. Falstaff arrives to seduce Mistress Ford, but Mistress Page soon bursts in with a warning that Ford approaches with officers. The women stuff Falstaff into the basket, heap clothes on top, and order servants to carry the load to Datchet Mead and toss it into the muddy ditch by the Thames. Meanwhile, Ford gathers Page, Shallow, Slender, Sir Hugh, and Caius and leads a search of his house that finds nothing. Afterward, Ford calms down, and Page chides his suspicion. The wives, delighted with their success, decide to continue the sport.

Fenton courts Anne in private. He admits an early interest in her fortune but now avows love. Anne encourages him to seek her parents’ consent. Shallow, Slender, and Mistress Quickly interrupt and urge Anne toward Slender, who stumbles through awkward talk. Master Page enters and drives Fenton away. Later, Mistress Page listens to Fenton and agrees to consider his case, though she prefers Doctor Caius. Back at the inn, Falstaff groans over his humiliation. However, Mistress Quickly arrives with another invitation. Ford, still disguised as Brook, hears the complete account of the laundry basket and learns of the new appointment. He readies another trap.

During the second visit, Mistress Page interrupts, stating that Master Ford is coming to search the house again. The wives dress Falstaff in the clothes of a maid’s aunt (whom Ford believes is a witch) and wrap his head with a muffler. Ford breaks in with his crew, sees the supposed witch, and beats the figure out of the house with a cudgel. He searches again and fails again. The wives then reveal their tricks to their husbands and propose a final prank in Windsor Forest. They choose Herne’s Oak at midnight. Sir Hugh volunteers to coach children as fairies to pinch and scare Falstaff. At the same masque, Page plans to have Slender snatch Anne while she wears white, while Mistress Page plans to have Doctor Caius take Anne while she wears green. Ford plans to draw more details from Falstaff as Brook.

At the Garter, Simple seeks the “witch.” The Host, meanwhile, lends horses to some supposed Germans who claim to ride to meet a duke. Bardolph later reports that the Germans threw him into a ditch and galloped off with the horses. Sir Hugh and Doctor Caius confirm the fraud, and the Host rushes out. Mistress Quickly then brings Falstaff a final letter and secures his attendance at midnight. Fenton meets the Host and pays him to secure a vicar near Herne’s Oak. Fenton explains that each parent has a color code for Anne. He also explains that Anne intends to slip away with him and marry lawfully during the confusion.

At midnight, Falstaff arrives at Herne’s Oak wearing a stag’s head. Mistress Ford and Mistress Page lure him into position. Horns then sound, and Mistress Quickly, Sir Hugh, Pistol, Anne, and the children rush in as a fairy court with candles. They chant charms, bless Windsor, and stage a fiery “trial.” Sir Hugh touches Falstaff’s finger with a candle; Falstaff flinches. The fairies pinch and sing and then chase him. During the tumult, Doctor Caius grabs a figure in white and runs toward the deanery, while Slender grabs a figure in green and runs toward Eton. Fenton leads Anne away to a waiting clergyman.

After the fairies scatter, Page, Mistress Page, Ford, and Mistress Ford confront Falstaff. Ford throws off the Brook disguise and demands repayment of the money that Falstaff took. Slender returns and reports that he nearly married at Eton and then discovered that his “bride” was a stableboy in a dress. Doctor Caius returns and reports a similar disaster with the figure in green. The parents realize that someone else has the real Anne.

Fenton then enters with Anne, whom he has married. Fenton argues that the forced matches would have brought misery. Page and Mistress Page accept the outcome, as Ford advises. Falstaff, relieved that the final blow does not land on him, jokes weakly. Page invites everyone to his house for food and drinks. Ford reminds Falstaff to keep his promise to Brook and settle the £20. The company heads to Page’s home to end the night with food and stories.