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Act 1, Scene 1
The Merry Wives of Windsor Translation Act 1, Scene 2
Enter SIR HUGH EVANS and SIMPLE
SIR HUGH EVANS
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 5 his wringer.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Get going now. Ask someone how to get to Doctor Caius's house. A woman named Mistress Quickly lives there, who is kind of his house-keeper, or his cook, or his laundry-maid.
SIMPLE
Well, sir.
SIMPLE
Well, sir.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Nay, it is petter yet. Give her this letter; for it is a 'oman that altogether's acquaintance with Mistress Anne Page: and the letter is, to desire 10 and require her to solicit 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 tocome.
SIR HUGH EVANS
No, this is a better idea. Give her this letter, since she is someone who knows Mistress Anne Page well. The letter asks her to persuade Mistress Anne Page to marry your master. Please, get going. I will finish my dinner—there will be apples and cheese later on.
Exeunt
About the Translator: Maria Devlin
Maria Devlin received her Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard University, where she specialized in Renaissance drama. She has worked as a bibliographical and editorial assistant for The Norton Anthology of English Literature and for The Norton Shakespeare. She is currently working with Stephen Greenblatt to design online courses on Shakespeare, including the modules "Hamlet's Ghost" and "Shylock's Bond" offered through HarvardX. She is writing a book on Renaissance comedy.
Maria Devlin wishes to credit the following sources, which she consulted extensively in composing her translations and annotations:
William Shakespeare. The New Oxford Shakespeare: Modern Critical Edition. Eds. Gary Taylor et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
William Shakespeare. The Norton Shakespeare, 3rd ed. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W.W. Norton& Company, Inc., 2016.
