pursuit of Anne. Fenton offers him “a hundred pound in gold” and tells him of a letter from Anne, detailing the plan against Falstaff. Both of Anne’s parents have suggested she use the occasion to elope with their preferred suitor: Page has told Slender that Anne will be masked and dressed in white, and Mistress Page has told Caius that she will be dressed in green. Fenton explains that Anne means to deceive both parents and leave with him. He asks the Host to arrange for the vicar to wait for them in the church so that they can be married, and the Host agrees.
ACT 5 SCENE 1
Falstaff tells Mistress Quickly that he will keep the appointment at the oak tree, and she offers to help him disguise himself as Herne. As she leaves, Ford arrives disguised as Broom. Falstaff tells him to be at Herne’s oak at midnight, where he “shall see wonders.” He describes the beating he received the day before, and ironically adds that he will be revenged on the “knave Ford” by delivering his wife into Broom’s hands.
ACT 5 SCENE 2
Page, Slender, and Shallow watch for the lights of the disguised children. Page reminds Slender that Anne will be in white.
ACT 5 SCENE 3
Mistress Page reminds Caius that Anne will be in green. She and Mistress Ford head off to the oak.
ACT 5 SCENE 4
Evans leads the “fairies” to the oak.
ACT 5 SCENE 5
At midnight Falstaff arrives, disguised as Herne, contemplating the “rut-time” he is about to have. He meets Mistress Ford and Mistress Page and says they may “divide” him between them “like a bribed buck.” The sound of horns is heard and the women run away. The “fairies” and “hobgoblins” come in with their candles, singing. Frightened, Falstaff lies down. Evans pretends to smell “a man of middle-earth,” and the fairies burn and pinch Falstaff while singing of his “sinful fantasy” and “unchaste desire.” As they dance, an unwitting Slender runs away with a boy dressed in white, and Caius leaves with a boy dressed in green. Meanwhile, Fenton steals away with Anne. Hunting horns are heard again and the fairies run away as Falstaff removes his disguise. Ford and Page arrive with their wives and mock and insult Falstaff, who realizes he has been deceived. He delivers another of the play’s lighthearted “morals”: “Wit may be made a Jack-a-lent, when ’tis upon ill employment!” Slender arrives and tells Page that he ran away with “a postmaster’s boy” by mistake. Mistress Page reveals that Anne has run away with Caius, but Caius himself arrives and reveals that he, too, has “married
un garçon
.” Finally, Fenton arrives with Anne to announce their marriage. He chastises those who would have married her “Where there was no proportion held in love,” purely for social or financial gain. Page relents over the marriage and, with the various enmities resolved and forgiven, they all “go home” to “laugh this sport o’er by a country fire.”
SHAKESPEARE’S CAREER
IN THE THEATER
BEGINNINGS
William Shakespeare was an extraordinarily intelligent man who was born and died in an ordinary market town in the English Midlands. He lived an uneventful life in an eventful age. Born in April 1564, he was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a glove maker who was prominent on the town council until he fell into financial difficulties. Young William was educated at the local grammar in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, where he gained a thorough grounding in the Latin language, the art of rhetoric, and classical poetry. He married Ann Hathaway and had three children (Susanna, then the twins Hamnet and Judith) before his twenty-first birthday: an exceptionally young age for the period. We do not know how he supported his family in the mid-1580s.
Like many clever country boys, he moved to the city in order to make his way in the world. Like many creative people, he found a career in the entertainment business. Public playhouses and professional full-time acting
ACT 5 SCENE 1
Falstaff tells Mistress Quickly that he will keep the appointment at the oak tree, and she offers to help him disguise himself as Herne. As she leaves, Ford arrives disguised as Broom. Falstaff tells him to be at Herne’s oak at midnight, where he “shall see wonders.” He describes the beating he received the day before, and ironically adds that he will be revenged on the “knave Ford” by delivering his wife into Broom’s hands.
ACT 5 SCENE 2
Page, Slender, and Shallow watch for the lights of the disguised children. Page reminds Slender that Anne will be in white.
ACT 5 SCENE 3
Mistress Page reminds Caius that Anne will be in green. She and Mistress Ford head off to the oak.
ACT 5 SCENE 4
Evans leads the “fairies” to the oak.
ACT 5 SCENE 5
At midnight Falstaff arrives, disguised as Herne, contemplating the “rut-time” he is about to have. He meets Mistress Ford and Mistress Page and says they may “divide” him between them “like a bribed buck.” The sound of horns is heard and the women run away. The “fairies” and “hobgoblins” come in with their candles, singing. Frightened, Falstaff lies down. Evans pretends to smell “a man of middle-earth,” and the fairies burn and pinch Falstaff while singing of his “sinful fantasy” and “unchaste desire.” As they dance, an unwitting Slender runs away with a boy dressed in white, and Caius leaves with a boy dressed in green. Meanwhile, Fenton steals away with Anne. Hunting horns are heard again and the fairies run away as Falstaff removes his disguise. Ford and Page arrive with their wives and mock and insult Falstaff, who realizes he has been deceived. He delivers another of the play’s lighthearted “morals”: “Wit may be made a Jack-a-lent, when ’tis upon ill employment!” Slender arrives and tells Page that he ran away with “a postmaster’s boy” by mistake. Mistress Page reveals that Anne has run away with Caius, but Caius himself arrives and reveals that he, too, has “married
un garçon
.” Finally, Fenton arrives with Anne to announce their marriage. He chastises those who would have married her “Where there was no proportion held in love,” purely for social or financial gain. Page relents over the marriage and, with the various enmities resolved and forgiven, they all “go home” to “laugh this sport o’er by a country fire.”
SHAKESPEARE’S CAREER
IN THE THEATER
BEGINNINGS
William Shakespeare was an extraordinarily intelligent man who was born and died in an ordinary market town in the English Midlands. He lived an uneventful life in an eventful age. Born in April 1564, he was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a glove maker who was prominent on the town council until he fell into financial difficulties. Young William was educated at the local grammar in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, where he gained a thorough grounding in the Latin language, the art of rhetoric, and classical poetry. He married Ann Hathaway and had three children (Susanna, then the twins Hamnet and Judith) before his twenty-first birthday: an exceptionally young age for the period. We do not know how he supported his family in the mid-1580s.
Like many clever country boys, he moved to the city in order to make his way in the world. Like many creative people, he found a career in the entertainment business. Public playhouses and professional full-time acting
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