The Merry Wives of Windsor: Third Series, Paperback

The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare's only thoroughly English comedy, created an archetypal literary figure in the shape of the devious, irrepressible John Falstaff. This stimulating new edition celebrates the play as a joyous exploration of language, but also places elements of its plot firmly in a continental, specifically Italian, tradition of romantic comedy. It draws out the complexities of Merry Wives as a multi-plot play, and takes a fresh and challenging look at both textual and dating issues; a facsimile of the first Quarto is included as an appendix. The play's extensive performance history, both dramatic and operatic, is fully explored and discussed. This is a significant and substantive edition, in that nothing has been taken for granted, everything has been opened to reconsideration. The commentary is exceptionally detailed and attentive to questions of language and meaning.'John Jowett, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, Shakespeare Quarterly

About the Author:

Giorgio Melchiori is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the Universit Roma Tre in Italy. His major publications include Shakespeare's Dramatic Meditations: An Experiment in Criticism; editions of King Henry IV Part 1 and King Edward III for the New Cambridge Shakespeare; an edition of Sir Thomas More (with Vittorio Gabrieli) for the Revels series; Shakespeare's Garter Plays: 'King Edward III' to 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'; and Joyce's Feast of Languages. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and Life Trustee of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He was awarded a CBE in 1990.