The Merry Wives of Windsor: Act 1, Scene 2 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 1, Scene 2 of The Merry Wives of Windsor from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text	Translated Text
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library
Enter Sir Hugh Evans and Simple. SIR HUGH Go your ways, and ask of Doctor Caius’ house which is the way. And there dwells one Mistress Quickly, which is in the manner of his nurse, or his dry nurse, or his cook, or his laundry—his washer and his wringer. 5 SIMPLE Well, sir. SIR HUGH Nay, it is petter yet. Give her this letter (handing him a paper), for it is a ’oman that altogether’s acquaintance with Mistress Anne Page; and the letter is to desire and require her to solicit 10 your master’s desires to Mistress Anne Page. I pray you, be gone. I will make an end of my dinner; there’s pippins and cheese to come. They exit.	After dinner, Sir Hugh sends Simple to hand-deliver a letter to a woman named Mistress Quickly. Since Mistress Quickly is chummy with Anne Page, Sir Hugh wants her to talk to Anne about marrying Slender. (Apparently, Windsor is just like junior high school, only with marriages instead of mash notes.) Brain Snack: In Henry IV Part 1, Mistress Quickly isn't a servant—she's the hostess of the Boar's Head Tavern, which is the kind of seedy bar where criminals and prostitutes hang out. Since The Merry Wives of Windsor is basically a spin-off of Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare would have expected his audience to know all about Mistress Quickly's shady ways.

Original Text

Translated Text

Enter Sir Hugh Evans and Simple.

SIR HUGH
Go your ways, and ask of Doctor Caius’
house which is the way. And there dwells one Mistress
Quickly, which is in the manner of his nurse,
or his dry nurse, or his cook, or his laundry—his
washer and his wringer. 5

SIMPLE
Well, sir.

SIR HUGH
Nay, it is petter yet. Give her this letter
(handing him a paper), for it is a ’oman that altogether’s
acquaintance with Mistress Anne Page;
and the letter is to desire and require her to solicit 10
your master’s desires to Mistress Anne Page. I pray
you, be gone. I will make an end of my dinner;
there’s pippins and cheese to come.

They exit.

After dinner, Sir Hugh sends Simple to hand-deliver a letter to a woman named Mistress Quickly.

Since Mistress Quickly is chummy with Anne Page, Sir Hugh wants her to talk to Anne about marrying Slender. (Apparently, Windsor is just like junior high school, only with marriages instead of mash notes.)

Brain Snack: In Henry IV Part 1, Mistress Quickly isn't a servant—she's the hostess of the Boar's Head Tavern, which is the kind of seedy bar where criminals and prostitutes hang out. Since The Merry Wives of Windsor is basically a spin-off of Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare would have expected his audience to know all about Mistress Quickly's shady ways.

The Merry Wives of Windsor: Act 1, Scene 2 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 1, Scene 2 of The Merry Wives of Windsor from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text

Translated Text

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