De vroolijke vrouwtjes van Windsor by William Shakespeare
"De vroolijke vrouwtjes van Windsor" by William Shakespeare is a comedic play written in the early 17th century. Set in Windsor, it follows the swaggering Sir John Falstaff as he tries to seduce two respectable wives, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, while townsfolk—including a jealous husband, a Welsh parson, a French doctor, and suitors for young Anne Page—cross wires in schemes and counter-schemes. Expect brisk farce, marital ruses, and community mischief. The
opening of the play sets multiple plots in motion: Justice Shallow fumes over Falstaff’s poaching and is urged by Parson Evans to back his kinsman Slender as a match for Anne Page and her dowry. Falstaff blusters at Page’s house, his rogues bicker, and Evans dispatches Slender’s servant to Mistress Quickly (housekeeper to Dr. Caius) to help the courtship; Caius discovers this and challenges Evans, while the Host of the Garter tricks the would-be duel. Meanwhile, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page receive near-identical love letters from Falstaff, compare notes, and plan to lead him on for sport. Falstaff sends Quickly as go-between; Pistol and Nym warn the husbands, Page scoffs at jealousy, but Ford—disguised as “Beek”—bribes Falstaff and learns of a planned visit when Ford will be out, setting the stage for a trap. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 |
|---|---|
| Translator | Burgersdijk, L. A. J. (Leendert Alexander Johannes), 1828-1900 |
| Uniform Title | The merry wives of Windsor. Dutch |
| Title | De vroolijke vrouwtjes van Windsor |
| Original Publication | Leiden: A. W. Sijthoff's uitgevers-maatschappij, 1912, pubdate 1913. |
| Credits | Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg |
| Language | Dutch |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | Comedy plays |
| Subject | Falstaff, John, Sir (Fictitious character) -- Drama |
| Subject | Married women -- Drama |
| Subject | Windsor (Windsor and Maidenhead, England) -- Drama |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76946 |
| Release Date | Sep 28, 2025 |
| Most Recently Updated | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 379 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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