Sir John Falstaff, knowing that Mrs.

The Merry Wives of Windsor was almost certainly required at short notice for a court occasion in 1597: Shakespeare threw into it all the creative energy that went into his Henry IV plays.

A compact, up-to-date guide to the history and construction of Verdi's last - and possibly greatest - opera.

"Harold Bloom writes about Falstaff with the deepest compassion and sympathy and also with unerring wisdom. He uses the relationship between Falstaff and Hal to explore the devastation of severed bonds and the heartbreak of betrayal.

Biographical information and critical essays accompany Shakespeare's play about civil war and the maturing of a prince