THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR: A COMEDY, En Five Acts. BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. PRINTED FROM THE ACTING COPY, WITH REMARKS, To which are added, A DESCRIPTION OF THE COSTUME,-CAST OF THE CHARACTERS, ENTRANCES AND EXITS,-RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE PERFORMERS ON THE STAGE, AND THE WHOLE OF THE STAGE BUSINESS. As now performed at the THEATRES ROYAL, LONDON. EMBELLISHED WITH A FINE WOOD ENGRAVING, By Mr. WHITE, from a Drawing taken in the Theatre, by LONDON: JOHN CUMBERLAND, 19, ĻUDGATE HILL. REMARKS. The Merry Wives of Windsor. TAKING the word of tradition that Elizabeth was so much de lighted with the character of Falstaff, that she commanded Shakspeare to exhibit him in love, we should say that, independent of every other merit, she is eminently entitled, for this one act, to the grateful remembrance of posterity. Falstaff having been disgraced in the second part of Henry IV., and fairly gathered unto his fathers in King Henry V., had never again started into existence, but for the potent spell of the royal enchantress. "I can call spirits from the vasty deep" is the boastful exclamation of the "devil Glendower”—the question is— "But will they come when you do call to them!" Elizabeth spake the word, and uprose Sir John; not in his windingsheet, ghastly and pale, but in "his great pelly-doublet," as rosy and as rubicund as ever: "The jolly knight in triumph comes, Sound the trumpets, beat the drums! He shows his honest face." With his powers of entertainment undiminished-as full of wit and waggery as when he marched his ragged regiment of mortal men to fill a pit at the battle of Shrewsbury. In the following scenes he is exhibited with a new feature-Falstaff is in love-as much so as a gross fat man, of intolerable entrails, devoted to ease and jollity, can be supposed to be. His inordinate vanity and love of money entangle him in an intrigue with Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, from which spring a variety of incidents verging on the utmost limits of comedy, and a singular mixture of characters of great originality and whim, among which, not the least conspicuous are the two merry wives of Windsor. This comedy is a curious picture of the domestic life and manners of Shakspeare's age. It represents the middle class of society. The jealousy of Ford is naturally depicted, and gives an agreeable relief to the official pomposity of Justice Shallow, the inane simplicity of Master Slender, and the pedantic circumlocution of Sir Hugh Evans. There are other personages, of scarcely inferior note, who figure away in this drama-Doctor Caius, an irascible quack-the bully-rook Tapster, mine host of the Garter-and honest John Rugby, whose worst fault is, that he is "given to prayer.”—And that Jupiter himself might not be without his satellites, the resuscitation of Falstaff once more introduces us to his old cronies-Dame Quickly, who is marvellously metamorphosed into the decent housekeeper of Doctor Caius-Ancient Pistol, as great a thief and coward as ever-and Nym, and Bardolph, both of whom were hanged in Henry V. Characters so various and opposed-so exactly discriminated and appropriated, are not to be found in any other play extant, with the exception, perhaps, of Every Man in his Humour, which is a masterpiece of dramatic contrast and profound art. The two intrigues their ingenious conduct, and happy termination-deserve every praise, and the incidents of the buck-basket, the Fairies, and the battle-royal between the body.curer and the soul-curer, the French quack and the Welsh parson, are among the most grotesque and humorous th t were ever exhibited on the stage. It was the custom, in feudal times, when a knight, or, in other words, a lordly freebooter, had exhausted his stores, to put before his villains or dependents, an empty platter with a pair of spurs in it, which signified that they must renew their quest of plunder, if they would eat, drink, and be merry. And Sir John Falstaff, being put to similar shifts, threatens to discharge some of his followers, and. among the rest, his withered serving-man, Lieutenant Bardolɣ h, against whom he has especial cause of complaint; for Bardolph, not having the fear of the gallows before his eyes, and being instigated by the love of sack, upholds not the decency of his vocation, but, like an unskilful singer, keeps not time in his filching: he steals in so open and bare-faced a manner, as to put even Sir John to the blush; he therefore resolves to get rid of this tinder-box, who, having been begotten in drink, very naturally subsides into the tapster of mine host of the Garter. The knight then opens his mind to Pistol and Nym, declaring, as a dernier resort, that he must coney-catch, and gives each of them a letter, one to Mrs. Ford, and another to Mrs. Page. But these rebellious varlets, not entering into his humour, refuse the office, and (that there should not be honour among thieves!) bear the secret of his intentions to the husbands of the two merry wives. Such is the groundwork of this admirable comedy. The adventures of Falstaff seem to have been borrowed from an old piece, entitled, "Tarleton's News out of Purgatorie." The second plot involves the ludicrous passion of Slender, the knight-errantry between the French Doctor and the Welsh Priest, and the marriage of Fenton with "sweet Anne Page." The humour is much heightened by provincial accent and broken English, forming a combination of phrases the most whimsical that can be imagined. it has been said that Addison killed Sir Roger-de-Coverley, that no future author might take liberties with the eccentric knight, and that Shakspeare performed the same kind office to Mercutio, that Mercutio might not kill him! The first assertion rests upon good authority, the latter upon none; for, though Mercutio literally overflows with wit, he will bear no comparison with Falstaff, and if Shakspeare could re-animate this brilliant conception, he might, with little exertion, have prolonged the life of Mercutio to the conclusion of the play, had it suited his design. Mr. Chalmers, after having most unaccountably confounded the bodily with the dramatic death of Falstaff, pronounces it impossible that Elizabeth could have commanded his revival, and on a presumption the most ridiculous-that at this time "She was in no proper mood for such fooleries." This is good; since we have it from the best authority, that she remained attached to fooleries a thousand times more reprehensible than commanding a fine comedy, to the very last. She assumed her carrotty locks, swallowed the grossest flattery, and exposed her crazy person in a dance, at the tender age of sixty-eight! Her early life, schooled in adversity, promised better things than were realized in her after days. She lived in a fortunate time-surrounded by men eminent in every art and science, whose names cast a glory round her reign, sullied as it is by cruelty and frivolity, equally revolting and contemptible. Had Mr. Chalmers transferred his scepticism to the Shaksperian forgeries, he had deerved a better title to a critic and antiquarian. He could question a probable tradition of Rowe's, and at the same time give implicit credit to a cheat so impudent and palpable that the most moderate portion of antiquarian knowledge and research would have instantly detected and exposed. The first rough draught of this comedy, which is said to have been written and finished in a fortnight, is but a meagre and imperfect sketch, compared with the present finished drama. Pope mentions an edition of 1602: the only one ever seen by the Editor, and which is in his possession, bears the date of 1619. The scene is laid at Windsor-a name venerable for its antiquity, and consecrated to immortality by the muse of Pope and Shakspeare. When its magnificent forest shall be laid low by the sacrilegious axe, or by the slow hand of all-consuming time, the poet of future ages shall behold in imagination the sylvan splendour of its enchanting scenes: and Herne's oak, associated with Falstaff, and fairy revelry, shall remain fresh and green in the eye of succeeding generations. It is to be regretted, that so perfect an imitator of the human race as Garrick, did not attempt the character of Falstaff: but Quin had made it so entirely his own, that Garrick, like a true master of his art, would not run the risk of equalling, what he felt conscious he could never surpass: "For fools rush in, where angels fear to tread." Henderson, who could not stand in awe of Quin's excellence, he having never seen that great actor perform, gave the town his portrait of Falstaff, which has never since met with its equal for richness and humour. Mr. Dowton seems more at home in this comedy, than in the first part of Henry IV. His description of the unctious contents of the buck-basket is highly coloured and comical. Mr. Kemble, as Ford, gave a fine tone of seriousness to the pervading drollery of the Merry Wives of Windsor: his acting was a happy mixture of tragic earnestness and cervantic humour. Emery, as the Host; Farley and Blanchard, as Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh; and Mrs. Davenport as Dame Quickly, set all gravity at defiance. D--G. STAGE DIRECTIONS. The Conductors of this Work print no Plays but those which they have seen acted. The Stage Directions are given from their own personal observations, during the most recent performances. EXITS and ENTRANCES. R. means Right; L. Left; D. F. Door in Flat; R. D. Right Door; L. D. Left Door; S. E. Second Entrance; U. E. Upper Entrance; M. D. Middle Door. RELATIVE POSITIONS. R. means Right; L. Left; C. Centre; R. C. Right of Centre; L. C. Lejt of Centre. R. RC. C. LC. L. The Reader is supposed to be on the Stage, facing the Audience. |