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Metatheatricality in Shakespeare’s Time
Throughout the Merry Wives of Windsor, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford “act” quite often within the play. Even in Act IV, when Mistress Ford and Mistress Page dress Falstaff and make him appear to be Ford’s aunt and having him beaten, the audience knows the entire time that the wives are acting within the story…
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Mistress Quickly for Quick Judgement
Within the first scene of act four of the Merry Wives of Windsor, it shows that Mistress Quickly is a person who tends to judge everything she hears quickly. Not only does she end up hearing everyone’s problems since she’s their messengers, but she basically always has an opinion about everything she hears about. In…
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The Oblivious, Self-Centered Wives of Windsor
The final acts of the play reveal an overarching theme of self-serving agendas played out by characters who are too self-involved to notice what is right before there eyes. This can be seen with the deception of Falstaff, who is too concerned with luring Mistress Ford away from her husband to realize the trickery and…
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Anne Page Defies Women’s Roles
As the play approaches its climax as the Ford and Page families plan to publically humiliate Falstaff in Act Five, readers learn in Act Four Scene Six that Anne Page is devising her own scheme. In this scene Fenton reveals in his discussion with the Host that Anne Page, “mutually hath answered my affection” in…
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Differences of Marriage: The power of Trust
It is obvious through the first two acts of Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor that he is comparing to marriages. We see the Ford Marriage, which is full of distrust. Mr. Ford believes his wife is having an affair. He challenges the notion that of his wife being a “Life partner”. It is easy to…
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Mr. Ford V. Mr. Page
I think as being a husband Mr. ford should trust his wife because she is his life partner. As compare to Mr. Page, Mr. Ford is a bad husband. why would Mr. Ford wants to find out about mistress Ford’s reply ? On the other hand Mr. Page is a wonderful husband. Mr Page did…
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Mrs. Ford’s wrongful move
If I were Mrs. Ford I would have never planned that revenge against Falstaff. Instead to make herself look trustworthy in front of her husband, she should have handed the letter to him. The revenge that Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford have planned should be carried by Page because her marriage is more successful and…
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Trustworthy or Deceptive?
After receiving the letters from Falstaff, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford plan their revenge. They decide to play along and lead Falstaff on. However, as we have seen previously, Ford is quite distrusting of his wife, while Page is the contrary. So, how trustworthy is Mistress Ford actually being to her husband? Although she doesn’t…
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The Difference Between Two Marriages
Through the first two acts of Merry Wives of Windsor, it is obvious that Shakespeare is comparing two, differing marriages. Ford is extremely distrusting of his wife, Mistress Ford, and assumes the worst when he hears of Falstaff’s deception to seduce her. He disguises himself in hopes of gaining further information of what’s truly happening “behind…