Corporal Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor

Nym is a minor but functional figure in The Merry Wives of Windsor, a disgruntled soldier cast adrift after Falstaff dismisses him. He appears only twice—in Act 1 and Act 2—but his few lines carry the weight of genuine grievance. Unlike Pistol, who blusters and quotes wildly, Nym speaks in a flat, deliberate register, constantly invoking his personal “humour” as justification for his actions. He is not interested in wit or performance; he is interested in revenge, and he is willing to betray his former master to get it.

When Falstaff refuses to lend him money and summarily rejects his company, Nym takes direct action. He approaches both Page and Ford separately, warning them that Falstaff intends to seduce their wives. His motives are transparently mercenary—he has been wronged and wants to see Falstaff punished—but his warnings are accurate and timely. He tells Page that “Falstaff loves your wife,” delivering information that sets in motion the wives’ elaborate counter-scheme. Nym’s contribution is practical rather than clever; he is the messenger who tips the balance, the disgruntled employee who knows his master’s intentions and reveals them to those who can stop him. He represents the underside of Falstaff’s world: the men he has used, exploited, and cast off, who now have reason and opportunity to strike back.

What makes Nym distinctive is his constant invocation of “humour”—a word he uses obsessively to describe his mood, his morality, and his actions. “I have operations which be humours of revenge,” he says. “My humour shall not cool.” For Nym, everything is filtered through this idea of personal temperament and disposition. He is not bound by loyalty or friendship; he follows his humour, and his humour is currently bent on destruction. By the end of Act 2, he has accomplished his purpose. Falstaff is marked for ruin, and Nym, the minor player, has helped set the machinery in motion. His few lines embody the play’s darker current: the possibility that society’s outcasts and rejected men can combine their small powers to bring down even a knight.