How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
NYM
My humor shall not cool. I will incense Ford to
deal with poison; I will possess him with yellowness,
for this revolt of mine is dangerous. That is
my true humor. (1.3.102-105)
That Nim is more dramatic than a Glee season finale. After learning that Falstaff plans to seduce Ford's wife, Nim tells us he's going to "poison" Ford against Falstaff and fill him with jealousy ("yellowness"). We know that Nim's overly dramatic speech is meant to be funny (and it is). After all, this is a light-hearted comedy and nobody will ever be in any real danger in this play. But we can't help but think that Nim sounds an awful lot like a silly version of Othello's Iago. It's a good thing The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy.
Quote #2
MISTRESS QUICKLY
If he
had found the young man, he would have been
horn-mad. (1.4.48-51)
This is where Mistress Quickly says her master, Doctor Caius, would have been upset if he had found Simple hiding in the closet. When Mistress Quickly says the doctor would be "horn-mad," she means that he'd be as mad as a bull. But, we also know that "horns" are a classic symbol of cuckoldry (when a guy gets cheated on by his wife). Mistress Quickly isn't married to Caius but we get the point—the guy would be crazy jealous. Check out "Symbols" for more on all this "horn" business.
Quote #3
DOCTOR CAIUS
I will cut his troat in de park, and I will
teach a scurvy jack-a-nape priest to meddle or
make. You may be gone. It is not good you tarry
here.—By gar, I will cut all his two stones. By gar,
he shall not have a stone to throw at his dog. (1.4.114-118)
Yikes! Doctor Caius is pretty ticked off when he finds out that he's got some competition in his pursuit of Anne Page. Here, he threatens to cut off Evans' "two stones" for helping Slender woo Anne. As scary as that sounds, we're not ever really worried that Caius will cut off anyone's genitals. Caius's speech is so over-the-top and ridiculous that we just don't take him seriously. In other words, this play is a comedy and it treats male jealousy as something to be giggled at, not feared.