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Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene I

1803, Engraving
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene I
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene I
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene I
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Category
Library Item
Item no
40218
Title
Shakspeare [Shakespeare]. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene I
Description
MISTRESS FORD: Why, this is the very same; the very hand, the very/ words. What doth he think of us?
MISTRESS PAGE: Nay, I know not: it makes me almost ready to/ wrangle with mine own honesty

The print illustrates Act II, Scene I from the play, but it is more like a portrait of these two beautiful women rather than a dramatic illustration. Peters finds joy in depicting these clever, pretty ladies. The full-length portraits of the two women in lavish costumes with their letters as props is a lively illustration, albeit could work just as well without the Shakespearean context. Nevertheless, Peters’ works are one of the most critically acclaimed in the series, because of their unique style and the generally lovely feeling they emit.
Here Mrs Page and Mrs Ford read their identical letters that they received from Falstaff. They are the play’s most clever characters, and the main protagonists.
Engraver
Robert Thew
Date
1803
Size
46 x 64.5 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
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