Sir Hugh Evans

Play

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Summary

Sir Hugh Evans is the Welsh parson and schoolmaster of Windsor, one of Shakespeare's memorable dialect comics. His Welsh pronunciation — substituting "p" for "b" and "f" for "v" — produces running malapropisms and inadvertent bawdry that punctuate his attempts at dignity. Despite his comic accent, he is a genuine community figure: he helps mediate disputes, examines young William Page in his Latin, and takes part in the final scheme to punish Falstaff at Herne's Oak, where he appears as a fairy.

Notable Quotations

"Seese is not good to give putter; your belly is all putter." *(3.1)*

"I pray you now, good Master Slender's serving-man, and friend Simple by your name, which way have you looked for Master Caius?" *(3.1)*

Cross-references

• The Merry Wives of Windsor — the play
• Comedies
• character_mistress_page — whose household he serves as schoolmaster
• character_slender — whom he initially tries to help
• character_falstaff — whom he helps humiliate in the forest