William Congreve

The Way of the World

William Congreve (1670-1729)

Plays

• The Old Bachelor (1693)

• The Double Dealer (1694)

• Love for Love (1695)• Mourning Bride

(1697)• The Way of the World

(1700)

Restoration drama

• Development of stage machinery (moving scenery) and the proscenium arch (first introduced by Inigo Jones in the Jacobean period, early 17th century)

• Main theatres: Drury Lane (William Davenant) and Dorset Gardens (Thomas Killigrew)

Drury Lane Theatre, London

Restoration drama• Male actors impersonating women on stage were replaced by

actresses, which led to the introduction of more sexually suggestive scenarios and a dialogue filled with sexual innuendoes

Nell Gwynn, famous for her roles in “breeches” and her affair with Charles II

Stage Beauty.mp4

Restoration drama

Types of popular plays- Adaptations of early 17th-century plays (Shakespeare adaptations

are quite common, but also plays by Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher)

- Heroic tragedies (with romance influences, full of bombast and artifice)

- Comedies - of humours (in the tradition of Ben Jonson; humour means

‘liquid’[umoare]; there are four humours in the human body: blood, phlegm, yellow bile (choler) and black bile (melancholy) influencing a person’s health of body and mind)—this type of comedy focuses on a character’s dominant trait

- of manners (influenced by Molière) - of intrigue (or of situation)—relying on an intricate plot (oftentimes with

subplots), with many ridiculous and contrived situations—in the manner of

The comedy of manners

Definition• Subgenre of the comedy genre, appearing during the

Restoration as a consequence of a change in the make-up and tastes of the audience attending performances in the two licensed theatres, namely the aristocrats

• The focus of the genre is on the life, customs, interests and manners of aristocracy, presented in a light-hearted manner, yet also with subversive (subtle) comments on the hypocrisy, carelessness, superficiality, cynicism and even moral corruption of the representatives of the upper class

• Known as a high comedy genre due to its sophisticated wit and literary qualities of the text

The comedy of manners

Features

Main themes: • the battle of the sexes (sex is tempting)

• love and marriage (general conclusion: love can only exist outside marriage, perceived as a social contract)

• schism between appearance and nature • reputation (and gossip)• adultery, sexual escapades• gossip

The comedy of manners

Stylistic features:Use of quick repartee (exchanges between characters)—dialogues

seem like fencing matches

Dialogue is witty and flamboyantwit= in a mid-17th-century context it meant not only intelligence, but also ingenuity and humour, reflected in wordplay, use of irony and sarcasm; it was a highly valued quality of the sophisticated men and women at the court and of Restoration comedy protagonists

Language is elegant, with many references to fashionable literary texts and even words and phrases in French—played an important part in the refinement and improvement of the English language

Irony, sarcasm, double entendre are all typically features of the style used in such more sophisticated comedies

The comedy of manners

Character types (stock characters)• the rake (the libertine) and the reformed rake• the fop (effeminate male)• the coquette• the woman of the world• the lustful widow• the cast mistress • the cuckold • the fool (would-be-wit, the countryside squire)

Main representatives of Restoration comedy of manners

• John Dryden, Marriage a la Mode (1672) – the first comedy of manners in English

• William Wycherley, The Country Wife (1675), The Plain Dealer (1676)

• George Etherege, The Comical Revenge (1664), She Would if She Could (1668), The Man of Mode (1676)

• John Vanbrugh, The Relapse (1696), The Provoked Wife (1697)

Main representatives of Restoration comedy of manners

• William Congreve’s comedies:

The Old Bachelor (1693)The Double Dealer (1694) Love For Love (1695) – the most satirical of his playsThe Way of the World (1700)

followed by a less accomplished dramatist,

• George Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer (1706), The Beaux' Stratagem (1707)

William Congreve,The Way of the World (1700)

The Way of the World.mp4

The Proviso Scene (act IV, scene V)

• Consider:- Millamant’s true feelings for Mirabell and her fear of openly

admitting her love (consider Mirabell’s fame as a rake)- Millamant’s indirect criticism of the idea of marriage in her time –

she wishes a marriage based on love, mutual respect, unconditional acceptance of the other’s individuality, interests, friends

- Millamant’s conditions are not to be taken at face value, but rather considered in the context of late 17th, early 18th century upper class society in England, when marriage was considered a social contract and woman a second-class citizen – Millamant subjects Mirabell to a test to prove that he is a reformed rake and this change was

Also consider the modernity of the play: Millamant has a much clearer sense of who she is and what she desires (in a rather oppressive society where individuals are expected to conform), she is outspoken, witty, she is a well developed character and clearly more complex than any of Congreve’s or his fellow Restoration playwrights’ female characters; moreover, the play has a moral sense to it, so it doesn’t simply entertain, it also instructs pleasurably.