Explore how Shakespeare creates humour for the audience in the scenes in which the wives humiliate Falstaff
Explore how Shakespeare creates humour for the audience in the scenes in which the wives humiliate Falstaff
Through history, there have been many explanations at to why Shakespeare wrote the "Merry Wives of Windsor". Some have argued that the play was written for the Garter Ceremony held on April 23, 1597, when the patron of Shakespeare's company, Lord Hudson, was installed; supposedly, the play was later revised for public performance, around 1601.
Shakespeare wrote the "Merry Wives of Windsor" as a comedy, however it does not obey all typical conventions of a Shakespearean comedy as noticeable differences in the plot show. Key parts of the play in which Shakespeare creates the main humour are the scenes in which the wives manage to humiliate and deceive Falstaff, a fat knight with a devious mind and inflated ego.
A convention used repeatedly in this play to create verbal, and physical humour, is disguise and misunderstanding. Within the category of disguise and misunderstanding comes incongruity and ironic knowledge.
In act 3, scene 3, the wives have discovered Falstaff's identical letters to them both, and have secretly planned their revenge on him. The fact that the wives received the same letters in the first place shows the audience how little Falstaff actually cared for the women, and shows his desperation. This has a great affect on the audience's reactions. The audience is pre-warned of the wives' plans and early jokes by Mistress Ford prepare them for the visual humour approaching.
"Without any pause or staggering take this basket on your shoulders: that done take it among the whitsters in Datchet-mead, and there empty it in the muddy ditch close by the Thames side."
In the recent RSC production, a washing line, 1940's mangle, and the large buck-basket were on stage as an additional hint to the audience of the 1940 setting, allowing them to enter further into the collusion of the wives. As the scene progresses, the starkness of their plans becomes increasingly obvious, particularly by the stage language, such as "act" and "cue" used by the two ladies.
As the time comes for Falstaff to get into the buck-basket, he realises that he still needs to keep open his options between the two wives, and follows Mistress Ford around the stage still with the intention of wooing her. However Mistress Page keeps Falstaff at arms length both linguistically and physically. He then proceeds to turn his attention to Mistress Page even after claiming that the idea of him liking Page was like walking "by the Counter-gate" which is as hateful to him as "the reek of a lime kiln". He continues to approach Mistress Page professing his love for her and asking for her help to "creep" into the buck-basket, an uproarious to anyone, the thought of Falstaff creeping anywhere! Falstaff is undeterred by any obstacles making him even funnier to the audience.
Modern adaptations of the play are still hugely successful, as some of Shakespeare's humour is timeless. However there are certain parts of the play in which jokes are made that are often missed by more modern audiences. Women of the Elizabethan period were regarded lower in the social status than men. The fact that Shakespeare decided to defy this convention and create two very intelligent ladies, who manage to overrule men, is almost a joke in itself, and certainly one in which Queen Elizabeth would have greatly enjoyed. There is also a great comparison to be made between ...
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Modern adaptations of the play are still hugely successful, as some of Shakespeare's humour is timeless. However there are certain parts of the play in which jokes are made that are often missed by more modern audiences. Women of the Elizabethan period were regarded lower in the social status than men. The fact that Shakespeare decided to defy this convention and create two very intelligent ladies, who manage to overrule men, is almost a joke in itself, and certainly one in which Queen Elizabeth would have greatly enjoyed. There is also a great comparison to be made between the time in which this play was originally written, and the RSC's recent 1940's production. Perhaps a major reason the RSC production chose to use this period in time was because this was after the World War II, at a time the social order was breaking down, and the position of women in society was changing. At the time Shakespeare wrote the play the heir to the throne of England was indefinite, meaning England was in a state of change. The 1940's were also a time of huge change as it was post World War II.
The buck-basket is a very important prop in this play in order to convey humour especially in Act 3 Scene 3. Shakespeare makes many references throughout the play to Falstaff's size, and however a director chooses to stage this scene, the buck-basket, and the enormity of Falstaff is always going to be a key point of hilarity. The actors cleverly exaggerated the physical humour in the RSC production and because of this hyperbole the audience was even more amused. The carrying of the basket, done by two such small character's, was so near ludicrous that the audience could not help but laugh at the struggle of two young boys trying to carry such a fat knight.
The joke of the buck-basket is carried though to the next scene, in which Falstaff first appears emptying water out of his pocket watch, a joke of the director rather than Shakespeare, to remind us of his experience.
In Act 4 Scene 2, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford once again dupe Falstaff, as they are not quite finished with his punishments and plan to prolong his suffering, much to the amusement of the audience. Falstaff is once again caught in the house of Mistress Ford and this time the wives planned to dress him up as the "fat woman of Brentford", a character Ford despises. As Falstaff is sent away to change into this outfit, the dramatic focus changes to the inauspicious Ford, who seems convinced that his wife's lover is once again hiding in the buck-basket. He is so sure of his suspicions that he does not hesitate to empty very personal and intimate laundry in front of the many people around. This is extremely droll for the audience, but at the same time the audience empathises with Ford, as they realise his confusion, but are also in on the conspiracy.
In the RSC production the examination of the buck-basket was somewhat preposterous, as Ford went to check all the sides of the basket for hidden panels in which Falstaff may have been hiding, a ludicrous thought, as it was hardly big enough for him in the first place. The hassle and aggravation of Ford's reaction was so well staged that Falstaff's brief exit to change into his disguise was almost forgotten.
The parts of the wives in these two scenes are extremely important, as their innuendos are intended to be a basis for later comedy. Their lines in front of Falstaff are like another play in themselves. The audience is often meant to laugh with the wives, as Shakespeare has created these two characters to make a large part of the humour. There are examples of obvious dramatic irony in the form of hidden jokes between them, when Falstaff doesn't know Mistress Page is around, Mistress Ford refers to her as a "very tattling woman".
The sheer absurdity of Falstaff's disguise as he entered on the stage, dressed as the "fat woman of Brentford" undoubtedly brought entertainment to the audience in the RSC production, and the lasting embellishment of Ford beating Falstaff with a walking stick was a great example of visual slapstick comedy. However is it not only the RSC production that chose this as a point of exuberance, Shakespeare has some obvious indications by the wives and Ford himself in the script, which suggest Ford's hate for "Mother Pratt", and the trouble that Falstaff will cause for himself. Ford describes the woman before she comes on stage as
"A witch, a quean, an old cozening quean",
and as Mistress Page introduces "Mother Pratt", Ford's reaction to her is
"I'll pratt her".
This is an angry response by Ford, using play on words.
As Falstaff is continually beaten, a great deal of physical humiliation is caused to him, something the audience would certainly have enjoyed. However it is not only Falstaff who is physically humiliated, but Ford too, something the wives and possibly the audience start to feel bad about, as Mistress Ford asks Mistress Page,
"Shall we tell our husbands how we have served him?"
and it is at that point the wives decide to inform Ford and Page. Synonymous to Act 3 Scene 3 the joke was prolonged in the RSC production and we see Falstaff appear on the stage in the next scene still wearing an earring.
Commedia Dell'Arte is the ancient Italian improvisational masked comedy born in the Renaissance and performed until the first half of the eighteenth century. This type of comedy was very influential on European comedy, and it is thought that parts of the works of Shakespeare were based on this travelling theatre, as well as being utterly contempory. The character of the Captain of the Commedia Dell'Arte is very similar to that of Falstaff, as he was generally a bold, swaggering character, and certainly one with the ladies. This character, like the character of Falstaff would also pretend to be noble, whereas in reality, he was far from it.
The character of Falstaff is thought to have been created by Shakespeare on request of Queen Elizabeth I who supposedly commanded Shakespeare to write a play with Falstaff as the central character, after seeing the history plays, in which Falstaff appeared. Falstaff is a very comical character, as the way in which he perceives himself is incongruous to the rest of the characters. Falstaff's self-importance and his sheer over-confidence in winning over Mistress Page and Mistress Ford are delightful, even if the audience despises him for his promiscuity. It is because of this promiscuity and general arrogance that Falstaff has, that causes the audience to laugh so much at him, rather than sympathising with him. It is clear that Falstaff is only interested in Mistress Ford and Mistress Page for their money, and he repeatedly makes this clear through foolish slips in his speech, in which he is constantly comparing the wives to monetary worth for example he refers to Mistress Ford as his "heavenly jewel".
Other key comic characters in the "Merry Wives of Windsor" are Doctor Caius, and Hugh Evans, however their entertainment value comes in a different way to Falstaff's. In creating these characters, Shakespeare has made great use of racial stereotypes, something the Elizabethans found hilarious. Doctor Caius is a French doctor who's English is marked by foreign words and a strong French dialect, something that definitely lends humour to his speech. Because of his thick accent, there is one particularly comical moment in the play in which he announces that,
"If dere be one or two, I shall make-a the turd"
Although Doctor Caius doesn't understand the comedy of this sentence, the audience will find this highly amusing, as in English the word "turd" has different connotations giving a taboo meaning. In the same way the part of Hugh Evans is written in Welsh dialect, with similar comic qualities.
In the conclusion of Act 5 Scene 5, Shakespeare's original audiences would have traditionally expected a conclusion of the plots in which would have been a restoration of understanding and harmony between the characters. The final scene is in a traditional manor set outdoors, however unlike usual conventions, it is not anywhere abroad such as Athens, but closer to home, bringing a totally different feel for the audience.
The start of the scene begins with a soliloquy for Falstaff, who even after the tricks by Mistress Page and Mistress Ford still has blind self-confidence, arrogance and self-flattery. This may cause the audience to be, not only amused, but also anxious to find out whether Falstaff really will ever reform, or if he can ever change.
Many of the jokes of the final scene depend on pride being brought down, and schadenfreunde. In this scene the bringing down of Falstaff is very similar to that of Malvolio in "Twelfth Night". His soliloquy begins by him talking as though he is highly educated, but his tone soon lowers dramatically as he talks of him "to piss" his tallow, language which certainly would not have been spoken by a knight. To the audience this would be highly comical as Falstaff is not aware of his own disability to keep up his act.
Mistress Ford is still trying to taunt Falstaff and his stupidity, and uses a pun in her speech,
"my deer? my male deer?"
because Falstaff has been told to come to the Park that night dressed as Herne the hunter, as part of the final plot against him, this time including Ford and Page. Herne the hunter is said to have been a spectral hunter and keeper in Windsor forest in medieval times. Mistress Page tells a version of the hanging of Herne the hunter earlier in the play. This part of the play is certainly very comical, as it is an deception by the wives and their husbands for Falstaff to be dressed as a "cuckold", someone who has a sexual affair out of marriage, thought in Pagan times to have grown horns and turn into part deer, part man.
The final scene, when the fairies torture Falstaff, seems like a scene of comedy rather than one of grief or sympathy. There is the added hilarity of Doctor Caius and Slender whisking away the wrong person, and finding themselves marrying a boy, instead of Anne Page. The play concludes as an entirely happy ending as Ford includes "Sir John and all" in his final speech.
Although this is a rather unconventional comedy in some ways, the ending still consists of the protagonist overcoming the antagonist, creating a happy ending. It is also a farce due to the improbably and ludicrous events that take place throughout. Shakespeare's great uses of comedic structures are extremely successful in creating not only a great comedy, but also one that has lasted the test of time.
Charlotte Elliott 11W
