THEA 80K Lecture 7: Merry Wives of Windsor -THEA80K
Document Summary
Farce: humor that depends on implausible situations and the element of surprise. Written on purpose to please queen elizabeth in the late 16th century because she wanted. Shakespeare to bring back the character of falstaff. In shakespeare"s time, people were supposed to dress a certain way according to their rank. People were beginning to expect that they weren"t going to end up in the same social class in which they were born could rise up in the ranks because of education and making money. Falstaff is a loveable, drunken rogue in henry iv parts 1 and 2, less humorous in merry. Because falstaff was supposed to have died during the henriad, merry wives of windsor is ambiguous in terms of where it takes place in falstaff"s life, doesn"t necessarily come right after henry iv part 2. Falstaff comes from old ranks, people in windsor are from new ranks , are very wealthy.
