SOURCE: "'The Merry Wives of Windsor' as a Hallowe'en Play," in Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey of Shakespearian Study and Production, Vol. 25, 1972, pp. 107-112.

In the following essay, Roberts suggests that The Merry Wives of Windsor is set during the festival of Hallowe'en and thus acts as a transition from the spring-like Falstaff of 1 Henry IV to the wintry, aging Falstaff of 2 Henry IV

In trying to define the mood and the artistic movement of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, it is provocative to imagine what the season of the setting ought to be. Since much of the action takes place out of doors, the season is important to the realist; and if any symbolic or ritual progress is to be discerned, the season is significant in establishing the tone and in possibly indicating the occasion.

The text of the play itself is not very helpful. 'Birding'...