Title:  The Merry Wives of Windsor

Author:  William Shakespeare [Craig, Oxford edition]

Release Date:  November, 1998 [EBook #1517] [Most recently updated:  September 24, 2003]

Edition:  10

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  Us-ASCII

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THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

by William Shakespeare

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Sir John Falstaff
Fenton, a young gentleman
shallow, a country justice
slender, cousin to Shallow
ford, Gentleman dwelling at Windsor
page, Gentleman dwelling at Windsor
William page, a boy, son to Page
sir Hugh Evans, a Welsh parson
doctor caius, a French physician
host of the Garter Inn
Bardolph, pistol, Nym, Followers of Falstaff
Robin, page to Falstaff
simple, servant to Slender
Rugby, servant to Doctor Caius

Mistress ford
mistress page
mistress Anne page, her daughter, in love with Fenton
mistress quickly, servant to Doctor Caius
servants to Page, Ford, &c.

Scene:  Windsor; and the neighbourhood

The Merry Wives of Windsor

ACT I.

Scene 1.  Windsor.  Before page’s house.

[Enter justice shallow, slender, and sir Hugh Evans.]

Shallow.  Sir Hugh, persuade me not; I will make a Star Chamber matter of it; if he were twenty Sir John Falstaffs, he shall not abuse Robert Shallow, esquire.

Slender. 
In the county of Gloucester, Justice of Peace, and ‘coram.’

Shallow. 
Ay, cousin Slender, and ‘cust-alorum.’

Slender.  Ay, and ‘rato-lorum’ too; and a gentleman born, Master Parson, who writes himself ‘armigero’ in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation—­’armigero.’

Shallow. 
Ay, that I do; and have done any time these three hundred years.

Slender.  All his successors, gone before him, hath done’t; and all his ancestors, that come after him, may:  they may give the dozen white luces in their coat.

Shallow. 
It is an old coat.

Evans. 
The dozen white louses do become an old coat well; it agrees well,
passant; it is a familiar beast to man, and signifies love.