- Falstaff is the only character in the play who is in full control of the English language. He is the only creative speaker, but his skill has no value in this play.
- In other Shakespeare comedies, a change in social order occurs (the society is transformed); but not in Merry Wives.
[Anne Barton is incorrect in regards to this final point. The following five transformations do occur:
- Ford is transformed out of his jealousy.
- The Pages are transformed to accept Fenton and to get along with each other.
- Fenton initially loved Anne for wealth, but later he loves Anne for her virtue.
- The language of community in the final scene is a shift from prose to poetry. The higher language is symbolic of the society’s transformation. Even the language of Evans and Quickly improves.
- The Windsor society works together (not at odds with each other) in the final act.
The Theme of Transformation is very much in evidence in this play at it is in other Shakespeare comedies.]
