Perfons Represented. Sir John Falstaff. Fenton. Shallow, a country Justice. Slender, coufin to Shallow. Mr. Page, two gentlemen dwelling at Windsor, Sir Hugh Evans, a Welch parfon. Dr. Caius, a French phyfician. Hoft of the Garter Inn. Bardolph, Pistol, Nym, followers of Falstaff, Robin, page to Falstaff. Simple, fervant to Slender. Rugby, fervant to Dr. Caius, Mrs. Ford. Mrs. Page. Mrs. Anne Page, her daughter, in love with Fenton. Mrs. Quickly, Jervant to Dr. Caius. Servants to Page, Ford, &c. SCENE, Windfor; and the parts adjacent. ACT I. SCENE I. Windfor. Before Page's Houfe. Enter Juftice SHALLOW, SLENDER, and Sir Hugh EVANS. Shal. Sir Hugh 2, perfuade me not; I will make a Star-chamber matter of it 3: if he were twenty fir John Falftaffs, he fhall not abufe Robert Shallow, efquire. Slen. A few of the incidents in this comedy might have been taken from fome old tranflation of Il Pecorone by Giovanni Fiorentino. I have lately met with the fame ftory in a very contemptible performance, intitled, The fortunate, the deceived, and the unfortunate Lovers. Of this book, as I am told, there are feveral impreffions; but that in which I read it, was published in 1632, quarto. A fomething fimilar ftory occurs in Piacevoli Notti di Straparela. Nott. 4a. Fav. 4a. This comedy was first entered at Stationers' Hall, Jan. 18, 1601, by John Bufby. STEEVENS. This play fhould be read between K. Henry IV. and K. Henry V. JOHNSON. A paffage in the first sketch of the Merry Wives of Windfor fhews, I think, that it ought rather to be read between the Firft and the Second Part of King Henry IV. in the latter of which young Henry becomes king. In the laft act, Falstaff says: "Herne the hunter, quoth you? am I a ghost? "What, hunting at this time of night! "I'le lay my life the mad prince of Wales "Is stealing his father's deare." and in this play, as it now appears, Mr. Page difcountenances the addreffes of Fenton to his daughter, because he keeps company with the wild prince, and with Poins." The Fifbwife's Tale of Brainford in WESTWARD FOR SMELTS, 2 book which Shakspeare appears to have read, (having borrowed from it part of the fable of Cymbeline,) probably led him to lay the fcene of Falstaff's love-adventures at Windfor. It begins thus: "In Winfor not long agoe dwelt a fumpterman, who had to wife a very faire but wanton creature, over whom, not without cause, he was fomething jealous; yet had he never any proof of her inconftancy." The Slen. In the county of Glofter, juftice of peace, and coram. The reader who is curious in fuch matters, may find the story of the Lovers of Pifa, mentioned by Dr. Farmer in the following note, at the end of this play. MALONE. The adventures of Falstaff in this play seem to have been taken from the ftory of the Lovers of Pifa, in an old piece, called "Tarleton's Newes out of Purgatorie.' A late editor pretended to much knowledge of this fort; and I am forry that it proved to be only pretenfion. In the first edition of the imperfect play, quarto, 1602, fir Hagb Evans is called on the title-page, the Welch Knight; and yet there are fome perfons who ftill affect to believe, that all our author's plays were originally published by bimfelf. FARMER. Queen Elizabeth was fo well pleafed with the admirable character of Falftaff in The Two Parts of Henry IV. that, as Mr. Rowe informs us, fhe commanded Shakspeare to continue it for one play more, and to fhew him in love. To this command we owe The Merry Wives of Windfor; which, Mr. Gildon fays, [Remarks on Shakspeare's plays, 8vo. 1710,] he was very well aflured our author finished in a fortnight. But this must be meant only of the first imperfect sketch of this comedy. An old quarto edition which I have feen, printed in 1602, fays, in the title-page, As it hath been divers times acted before ber majefty, and elsewhere. This which we have here, was altered and improved by the author almoft in every speech. POPE. THEOBALD. Mr. Gildon has likewife told us," that our author's houfe at Stratford bordered on the Church-yard, and that he wrote the scene of the Ghoft in Hamlet there." But neither for this, or the affertion that the play before us was written in a fortnight, does he quote any authority. The latter circumftance was first mentioned by Mr. Dennis. "This comedy," fays he, in his Epiftle Dedicatory to the Comical Gallant, (an alteration of the prefent play,) 1702, "was written at her [Queen Elizabeth's] command, and by her direction, and he was fo eager to fee it acted, that the commanded it to be finished in fourteen days; and was afterwards, as tradition tells us, very well pleafed at the reprefentation." The information, it is probable, came originally from Dryden, who from his intimacy with Sir William Davenant had an opportunity of learning many particulars concerning our author. At what period Shakspeare new-modelled the Merry Wives of Windfor is unknown. I believe it was enlarged in 1603. See fome conjectures on the fubject in the Attempt to ascertain the order of bis plays, ante. MALONE. It is not generally known, that the first edition of the Merry Wives of Windfor, in its prefent ftate, is in the valuable folio, printed 1623. from whence the quarto of the fame play, dated 1630, was evidently copied. The two earlier quartos, 1602, and 1619, only exhibit this comedy as it was originally written, and are fo far curious, as they contain Shakspeare's first conceptions in forming a drama, which is the most complete fpecimen of his comick powers, T. WARTON. 4 Shal. Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and Cuft-alorum*. maiter 2 Sir Hugh,] Sir is the defignation of a Bachelor of Arts in the Univerfities; but is there always annexed to the furname ;-Sir Evans, &c. In confequence, however, of this, all the inferior Clergy in England were diftinguished by this title affixed to their chriftian name for many centuries. Hence our author's Sir Hugh in the prefent play,- Sir Topaz in Twelfth Night, Sir Oliver in As you like it, &c. So lately as in the time of King William and Queen Mary, (as Sir John Hawkins has obferved,) in a depofition in the Exchequer in a cafe of tithes, the witnefs, fpeaking of the Curate, ftiles him Sir Gyles. MALONE. Sir feems to have been a title formerly appropriated to fuch of the inferior clergy as were only Readers of the fervice, and not admitted to be preachers, and therefore were held in the lowest eftimation; as appears from a remarkable paffage in Machell's Mf. Collections for the biftory of Westmoreland and Cumberland, in fix volumes, folio, preferved in the Dean and Chapter's library at Carlifle. The reverend Thomas Machell, author of the Collections, lived temp. Car. II. Speaking of the little chapel of Martindale in the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland, the writer fays, "There is little remarkable in or about it, but a neat chapel-yard, which by the peculiar care of the old Reader, Sir Richard*, is kept clean, and as neat as a bowling-green." Richard Berket, Reader, t. 74. "Within the limits of myne own memory all Readers in chapels were called Sirs †, and of old have been writ fo; whence, I fuppofe, fuch of the laity as received the noble order of knighthood being called Sirs too, for diftinction fake had Knight writ after them; which had been fuperfluous, if the title of Sir had been peculiar to them. But now this Sir Richard is the only Knight Templar (if I may fo call him) that retains the old ftyle, which in other places is much laid afide, and grown out of ufe." PERCY. 3a Star-chamber matter of it :] See p. 193,-" The Council fhall hear it; it is a riot ;" and the note there. MALONE. 4 Cuft-alcrum.] This is, I fuppofe, intended for a corruption of Cuftos Rotulorum. The miftake was hardly defigned by the author, who, though he gives Shallow folly enough, makes him rather pedantick than illiterate. If we read: Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and Cuftos Rotulorum. it follows naturally: Slen. Ay, and Ratolorum too. JOHNSON. I think with Dr. Johnfon, that this blunder could fcarcely be intended. Shallow, we know, had been bred to the law at Clement's Inn.But I would rather read cuftos only; then Slender adds naturally, "Ay, and In the margin is a Mf. note feemingly in the hand-writing of Bp. Nicholíon, who gave thele volumes to the library : Since I can remember there was not a reader in any chapel but was called Sar." |