Act I

The play is set in Windsor, an English country town; its main characters are the middle class townsfolk who live at the periphery of royal Windsor castle. Falstaff, the play's central figure, is a dissolute courtier from out of town. As the play opens, Justice Robert Shallow, his nephew Abraham Slender, and the parson Hugh Evans seek out Falstaff for robbing Shallow and Slender the night before. Falstaff amiably admits his wrongdoing, and goes in to dine at the home of Mister and Mistress Page. Shallow and Evans convince Slender to woo the Page daughter, Anne, who will inherit her father's wealth. Evans sends his servant to one Mistress Quickly, to ask her to be the go-between for Slender and Anne Page. Mistress Quickly agrees, even though she is also working for her own master, the French Doctor Caius, and for Fenton, a gentleman. Falstaff, low...