The libretto, which is mainly based upon "The Merry Wives of Windsor,"
also makes some contributions upon "Henry IV.," particularly in the
introduction of the monologue upon honor, and illustrates Boito's
skill in adaptation as well as his remarkable powers in condensation.
In the arrangement of the comedy the five acts are reduced to three.
The characters Shallow, Slender, William, Page, Sir Hugh Evans,
Simple, and Rugby are eliminated, leaving Falstaff, Fenton, Ford, Dr.
Caius, Bardolph, Pistol, Mistress Ford, Mistress Page, Anne, Dame
Quickly and three minor characters as the _dramatis personæ_, though
Anne appears as Nannetta and is the daughter of Ford instead of Page.

The first act opens with a scene at the Garter Inn, disclosing an
interview between Falstaff and Dr. Caius, who is complaining of the
ill treatment he has received from the fat Knight and his followers,
but without obtaining any satisfaction. After his departure, Falstaff
seeks to induce Bardolph and Pistol to carry his love-letters to
Mistresses Ford and Page; but they refuse, upon the ground that their
honor would be assailed, which gives occasion for the introduction of
the monologue from "Henry IV." The letters are finally intrusted to a
page, and the remainder of the act is devoted to the plots of the
women to circumvent him, with an incidental revelation of the loves of
Fenton and Nannetta, or Anne Page. In the second act, we have
Falstaff's visit to Mistress Ford, as planned by the merry wives, the
comical episode of his concealment in the buck-basket, and his dumping
into the Thames. In the last act, undaunted by his buck-basket
experiences, Falstaff accepts a fresh invitation to meet Mistress Ford
in Windsor Park. In this episode occurs the fairy masquerade at
Herne's Oak, in the midst of which he is set upon and beaten, ending
in his complete discomfiture. Then all is explained to him; Nannetta