SOURCE: “The Libido as Pharmakos, or The Triumph of Love: The Merry Wives of Windsor in the Context of Comedy,” in Orbis Litterarum, Vol. 43, 1988, pp. 195-216.

In the following essay, Beiner takes a close look at the comedic structure of The Merry Wives of Windsor in order to show that this play is not an anomaly but is instead related in style and theme to the rest of Shakespeare's comedies as well as to other comedies of the era.

I

The history of the criticism of The Merry Wives of Windsor shows a radical evaluative disparity between a high critical regard and popularity on the stage until the eighteenth century and, on the other hand, romantic hostility and modern neglect.¹ The modern neglect, at least until recently,² is particularly noticeable in the context of the increasing critical interest in Shakespeare's comedies, manifested especially in a number of book-length...