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

1803, Engraving
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV, Scene II
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV, Scene II
Shakspeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV, Scene II
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Category
Library Item
Item no
40220
Title
Shakspeare [Shakespeare]. Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV, Scene II
Description
FORD: I’ll prat her – Out of my doors, you witch!/ Beating him/ Out of my door, you witch, you hag, you baggage, you/ polecat, you runyon! out, out! I'll conjure you,/ I'll fortune-tell you.
[Exit FALSTAFF]

Another, very similar scene to the previous one illustrated by William Peters. This too, depicts a highly comical scene in which the Merry Wives of Windsor trick everyone. Mostly Falstaff, of course, who is the main antagonist, and overall a fool. He is again, in Mrs. Ford’s house still trying to seduce her, and again Mrs. Page comes running to warn the pair that Mr. Ford is coming. Falstaff declines going into the basket again, so instead he is dressed up a maid’s aunt’s clothes. He happily wears the costume, not knowing that Mr. Ford despises that lady, and has forbidden her to enter his house. So, when he sees Falstaff in her clothing, he beats and chases the man out of the house.
Durno focuses on the comical element of the angry husband and the cross-dressed fat man, rather than the lady tricksters. Mr. Ford is in the centre, filled with rage, and in the dynamic action of swinging his stick towards Falstaff. Around the husband is his company, whose members are taken aback by his anger, and the person on the far left seems to realise that there is something wrong with this old hag. Meanwhile the ladies on the right are looking at the scene with deadpan expressions, and Mrs. Page ushers the cross-dressed man out.
Engraver
Thomas Ryder
Date
1803
Size
63 x 49.5 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
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