The Merry Wives of Windsor Lesson Plan

Analyze the first scene, in which Sir Hugh teaches William Latin and Mistress Quickly makes lewd jokes. Why is this scene here? What effect does it have on the audience?

This scene is here primarily to provide comic relief, but it also gives the play some thematic wholeness. This comedy is primarily one about the passions of the flesh and the hijinks that ensure when characters pursue them without much care. Mistress Quickly's near-constant innuendo highlights that bawdiness of the play, and remind the audience and reader that the play is primarily concerned with how these desires cause one's downfall (or simple embarrassment).

Why does Falstaff get beaten by...