Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act III, Scene III

1803, Engraving

Category

Library Item

Item no

40219

Title

Shakspeare [Shakespeare]. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act III, Scene III

Description

FALSTAFF: I love thee and none, but thee help me away. Let me creep in here./ I'll never-- [Goes into the basket; they cover him with foul linen]
MISTRESS PAGE: Help to cover your master, boy. Call your men,/ Mistress Ford. You dissembling knight!

Another one of William Peters’ illustrations of Merry Wives of Windsor. Again, the emphasis is on the ladies, but this one is more narrative-driven than his other work featured. Here, the two ladies get their revenge on Falstaff, who tried to seduce them both. They hide him in a laundry basket, because Mrs Ford’s husband is coming to search the house since he believes his wife is cheating on him. This scene is highly comical, and so is the illustration. The women again dressed in lavish fabrics and covering the fat man in the huge basket with linen with coy similes on their faces. Behind them Robin, Falstaff’s pageboy is on the watch, nervously looking to the right, expecting the jealous husband to burst down the door any minute. But the two merry wives outsmart the men in town.

Engraver

Peter Simon

Date

1803

Size

46.5 x 64.5 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Art and Design Library

Rights and purchasing

Option	Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG	£6.10(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF	£31.00(inc. VAT 20%)
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