wives taking their revenge against Falstaff by playing three merry pranks on him: (1) The first prank, involving the buck-basket, occurs in this scene. (2) The second prank, involving a disguise as the Witch of Brentford, occurs in the second scene of Act IV. (3) And the third scene, involving a disguise as Herne the Hunter, occurs in the fifth scene of Act V. The first two pranks, which involve physical comedy, prepare the audience for the third prank in the climactic scene of the play, and the audience experiences anticipation and suspense as they wonder whether Falstaff will realize that he has been a sucker or whether the prank will succeed.
When Falstaff enters Ford’s home, he begins by flattering Mistress Ford. Thus begins the first comic wooing scene. Falstaff tells the wife that she should be a lady, an aristocrat, and that she would look exceptionally lovely wearing the latest fashionable hats from Venice. Falstaff refers to these aristocratic headdresses as tires, as in ship-tire (line 47). The word tire is an abbreviated form of attire (clothing or apparel) and was commonly used during the Renaissance.
Falstaff also uses some witty puns during the conversation. When the modest Mistress Ford declares that a plain kerchief (a simple piece of cloth or handkerchief) is more suitable to her than the fancy hats of Venice, Falstaff declares, “Thou art a tyrant to say so” (51: the word tyrant puns on the word tire used earlier). Falstaff then continues to flatter Mistress Ford and sums up his evaluation of her with these poetic words: