Shakespeare W. - The Merry Wives of Windsor - Oxford World's Classics New

The Merry Wives of Windsor was almost certainly required at short
notice for a court occasion in 1597: Shakespeare threw into it all
the creative energy that went into his Henry IV plays. Falstaff is
here, with Pistol, Mistress Quickly, and Justice Shallow, in a
spirited and warm-hearted 'citizen comedy'. Boisterous action is
combined with situational irony and rich characterization. In his
introduction T. W. Craik discusses the play's probable occasion
(the Garter Feast of 1597 at court), its relationship to
Shakespeare's English history plays and to other sources, its
textual history (with particular reference to the widely diverging
1623 Folio and 1602 Quarto), and its original quality as drama. He
assesses various interpretations of the play, topical, critical,
and theatrical. In the commentary he pays particular attention to
expounding the literal sense (he proposes some new readings) and
evoking the stage business.