The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4 Scene 4 runs 94 lines of dialogue, spoken by 5 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 114 lines. This scene is part of Act 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Full Dialogue
Sir Hugh Evans ♂
'Tis one of the best discretions of a 'oman as ever
I did look upon.
I did look upon.
Page ♂
And did he send you both these letters at an instant?
Mistress Page ♂
Within a quarter of an hour.
Ford ♂
Pardon me, wife. Henceforth do what thou wilt;
I rather will suspect the sun with cold
Than thee with wantonness: now doth thy honour stand
In him that was of late an heretic,
As firm as faith.
I rather will suspect the sun with cold
Than thee with wantonness: now doth thy honour stand
In him that was of late an heretic,
As firm as faith.
Page ♂
'Tis well, 'tis well; no more:
Be not as extreme in submission
As in offence.
But let our plot go forward: let our wives
Yet once again, to make us public sport,
Appoint a meeting with this old fat fellow,
Where we may take him and disgrace him for it.
Be not as extreme in submission
As in offence.
But let our plot go forward: let our wives
Yet once again, to make us public sport,
Appoint a meeting with this old fat fellow,
Where we may take him and disgrace him for it.
Ford ♂
There is no better way than that they spoke of.
Page ♂
How? to send him word they'll meet him in the park
at midnight? Fie, fie! he'll never come.
at midnight? Fie, fie! he'll never come.
Sir Hugh Evans ♂
You say he has been thrown in the rivers and has
been grievously peaten as an old 'oman: methinks
there should be terrors in him that he should not
come; methinks his flesh is punished, he shall have
no desires.
been grievously peaten as an old 'oman: methinks
there should be terrors in him that he should not
come; methinks his flesh is punished, he shall have
no desires.
Page ♂
So think I too.
Mistress Ford ♀
Devise but how you'll use him when he comes,
And let us two devise to bring him thither.
And let us two devise to bring him thither.
Mistress Page ♂
There is an old tale goes that Herne the hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;
And there he blasts the tree and takes the cattle
And makes milch-kine yield blood and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner:
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Received and did deliver to our age
This tale of Herne the hunter for a truth.
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;
And there he blasts the tree and takes the cattle
And makes milch-kine yield blood and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner:
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Received and did deliver to our age
This tale of Herne the hunter for a truth.
Page ♂
Why, yet there want not many that do fear
In deep of night to walk by this Herne's oak:
But what of this?
In deep of night to walk by this Herne's oak:
But what of this?
Mistress Ford ♀
Marry, this is our device;
That Falstaff at that oak shall meet with us.
That Falstaff at that oak shall meet with us.
Page ♂
Well, let it not be doubted but he'll come:
And in this shape when you have brought him thither,
What shall be done with him? what is your plot?
And in this shape when you have brought him thither,
What shall be done with him? what is your plot?
Mistress Page ♂
That likewise have we thought upon, and thus:
Nan Page my daughter and my little son
And three or four more of their growth we'll dress
Like urchins, ouphes and fairies, green and white,
With rounds of waxen tapers on their heads,
And rattles in their hands: upon a sudden,
As Falstaff, she and I, are newly met,
Let them from forth a sawpit rush at once
With some diffused song: upon their sight,
We two in great amazedness will fly:
Then let them all encircle him about
And, fairy-like, to-pinch the unclean knight,
And ask him why, that hour of fairy revel,
In their so sacred paths he dares to tread
In shape profane.
Nan Page my daughter and my little son
And three or four more of their growth we'll dress
Like urchins, ouphes and fairies, green and white,
With rounds of waxen tapers on their heads,
And rattles in their hands: upon a sudden,
As Falstaff, she and I, are newly met,
Let them from forth a sawpit rush at once
With some diffused song: upon their sight,
We two in great amazedness will fly:
Then let them all encircle him about
And, fairy-like, to-pinch the unclean knight,
And ask him why, that hour of fairy revel,
In their so sacred paths he dares to tread
In shape profane.
Mistress Ford ♀
And till he tell the truth,
Let the supposed fairies pinch him sound
And burn him with their tapers.
Let the supposed fairies pinch him sound
And burn him with their tapers.
Mistress Page ♂
The truth being known,
We'll all present ourselves, dis-horn the spirit,
And mock him home to Windsor.
We'll all present ourselves, dis-horn the spirit,
And mock him home to Windsor.
Ford ♂
The children must
Be practised well to this, or they'll ne'er do't.
Be practised well to this, or they'll ne'er do't.
Sir Hugh Evans ♂
I will teach the children their behaviors; and I
will be like a jack-an-apes also, to burn the
knight with my taber.
will be like a jack-an-apes also, to burn the
knight with my taber.
Ford ♂
That will be excellent. I'll go and buy them vizards.
Mistress Page ♂
My Nan shall be the queen of all the fairies,
Finely attired in a robe of white.
Finely attired in a robe of white.
Page ♂
That silk will I go buy.
And in that time
Shall Master Slender steal my Nan away
And marry her at Eton. Go send to Falstaff straight.
And in that time
Shall Master Slender steal my Nan away
And marry her at Eton. Go send to Falstaff straight.
Ford ♂
Nay I'll to him again in name of Brook
He'll tell me all his purpose: sure, he'll come.
He'll tell me all his purpose: sure, he'll come.
Mistress Page ♂
Fear not you that. Go get us properties
And tricking for our fairies.
And tricking for our fairies.
Sir Hugh Evans ♂
Let us about it: it is admirable pleasures and fery
honest knaveries.
honest knaveries.
Mistress Page ♂
Go, Mistress Ford,
Send quickly to Sir John, to know his mind.
I'll to the doctor: he hath my good will,
And none but he, to marry with Nan Page.
That Slender, though well landed, is an idiot;
And he my husband best of all affects.
The doctor is well money'd, and his friends
Potent at court: he, none but he, shall have her,
Though twenty thousand worthier come to crave her.
Send quickly to Sir John, to know his mind.
I'll to the doctor: he hath my good will,
And none but he, to marry with Nan Page.
That Slender, though well landed, is an idiot;
And he my husband best of all affects.
The doctor is well money'd, and his friends
Potent at court: he, none but he, shall have her,
Though twenty thousand worthier come to crave her.
94 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mistress Page | 43 | 45.7% |
| Page | 21 | 22.3% |
| Sir Hugh Evans | 12 | 12.8% |
| Ford | 11 | 11.7% |
| Mistress Ford | 7 | 7.4% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 43 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 19 lines.
Total speakers on stage
5 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 4
This is Scene 4 of 6 in Act 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Scene length vs. play average
At 94 lines, this scene is shorter than the The Merry Wives of Windsor average scene in The Merry Wives of Windsor (~114 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 3 · Next: Act 4 Scene 5
About Act 4 Scene 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor
Who carries Act 4 Scene 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor?
Mistress Page, with 43 lines — about 46% of the scene.
Is the scene a dialogue or a solo?
With 5 speakers and the lead holding 46% of the lines, this scene is a balanced multi-voice exchange.