Why does Shakespeare give his Windsor Schoolmaster a Double Occupation as an Educator and as a Parson?

• Published in: Notes and queries Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 430 - 435
• Main Author: Sokol, B J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-09-2019; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Characters (Roles); Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Text analysis; Theater; Theater criticism
• ISSN: 0029-3970; 1471-6941
• DOI: 10.1093/notesj/gjz097

In the Folio text of The Merry Wives of Windsor, the Welsh schoolmaster Hugh Evans is ten times called a parson, and ten times called a priest, and for that reason is thirteen times addressed as Sir Hugh Evans (emphasis added). Yet the sole professional function he performs on stage is that of a teacher, seen especially when he tutors the schoolboy William Page. Here, Sokol focuses on why does Shakespeare give his Windsor Schoolmaster a Double Occupation as an Educator and as