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Author: William Congreve
Genre - Restoration Comedy
Language - English
About the Author:
William Congreve was an English poet and playwright of the restoration period.
He was known for using satirical dialogues and laying stress on the comedy of manners style of that period in his plays. He achieved fame in
1693 after writing some very popular plays.
Of the restoration period. His career as a playwright and poet was successful
but small as he wrote only five plays in total, starting from the period of
1693 to 1700. The way of the world is one of his five plays.
So recently, I read this play as it was one of the texts from my course. I found this play really interesting. The plot of the play usually tests the patience of the readers. In the prologue, Congreve shows the lavish lifestyle of the people living in London.
He laid stress on the point of a society where relationships were taken for granted and women were given the least importance, usually relationships were Ill-treated and the prospect of many of the characters from the play was to lay their hands on the fortune of the Lady Wish fort, A dictatorial character from the play. This play was considered as the masterpiece by William Congreve.
The plot of the play concerns the effort of two lovers Mirabell and
Millament, for getting the consent of Millament’s aunt for getting married.
Despite so many misunderstandings and obstacles created by every character
of the play to stop them from getting married, everything comes up smooth in the end
and every misunderstanding and complication sort out and they two finally
got their consent for getting married.
The most visible part of the story is of Lady Wishfort, whose fortune and money everyone is after and whose sexual appetite, as her name implies, is undiminished.
Comedy Of Manners: The Writing Style
The comedy of manners is authentically a genuine reflection of the temper of the upper classes of the nation. It deals with the outer details of life, the fashion of that time, its manners, its speech, and its interest. The dramatists confine themselves to the drawing rooms, the coffee houses, the clubs, the gambling centers, the streets and gardens of London. The characters represent the people of fashion.
The plots of comedy of manners are mainly loved intrigues. They are memorable and unique for neat, precise, witty, balanced, and lucid prose style. The Way of the World' has all the important characteristics of the comedy of manners. The aim of this comedy is to show the manners of the upper ranks of contemporary society. It satirically presents the aristocratic London society.
The purpose is to hit at the follies and foibles of people. Here Congreve has regarded London as his world. The presentation of the high society of London is his sole concern. All the scenes in this play are laid in Lady Wishfort's house, a chocolate house, and St. James' Park. All the characters are imbued with the spirit of London life. They are chiefly people of fashion.
They are
fond of games of love intrigues. This is the true style of the comedy of
manners. Sex is treated with utter frankness and candidness in the comedy of
manners. Its subject is the intimate relationship between men and women.
The characters in the comedy of manners are of a set pattern. They are large types. Sometimes their names show their characteristics. In such comedies, we find fops and gallants in the company of gay ladies and butterflies of fashions. We find giddy girls, lustful women, deceived, jealous and impotent husbands. Fops and ladies spend their time conspiring against their rivals in love.
Here the charming heroine marries the rake that shows signs of becoming better. In 'The Way of the World' we get characters of this type. They belong to the upper strata of society. Mirabell has had an affair with a young widow. But he persuades her to marry Fainall. After her marriage, she has a soft corner for Mirabell. Fainall marries her only to get her property.
Behind her, he flirts with Mrs. Marwood. Millamant
loves Mirabell but she has a soft corner for Petulant and Witwoud. Despite
her old age, Lady Wishfort wants to marry some young man. She uses cosmetics to
hide her faded beauty and her wrinkles. Thus 'The Way of the World' is a true
comedy of manners.
Proviso Scene: The Main Part
It was one of the most important parts of
the play tells you very much about the rules of the genuine relationship between men and women which need to be followed to maintain a healthy
relationship between each other.
This basically takes place between the two protagonists of the story Mirabell
and Millament. The scene of the play was a brilliant display of wit and comedy
by both the characters.
Also, this makes us acknowledged because it is not only the female but also the
male who needs to accept and obey the terms and conditions given to him
regarding safeguarding his freedom after the marriage.
Overall this scene appears to be hilarious but also on the other side it was a
serious topic to be concerned for. As both of them accept and understand each
other’s conditions. There will be least conceivable chances of
misunderstandings between them in their future life.
I conclude by saying that personally, I liked the play very much as it tells you
very much about relationships and how to make them work, and also it also makes
we learn many other important aspects of life needed to be understood by every
individual.
My Rating for the play - 4/5
You can buy this book easily from Amazon: The Way of the World
Written By - Ishita Sharma
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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