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The Way of the World | Introduction

In 1700, when The Way of the World was performed on the English stage at Lincoln's Inn Fields (a new theatre that William Congreve managed), it was not a popular success. This was the last play Congreve was to write, perhaps for that reason. Since that time, however, this play has come to be regarded not only as Congreve's masterpiece, but as a classic example of the Comedy of Manners. The play is aptly named for two reasons. First, its action takes place in the "present," which means it reflects the same social period during which the play was originally performed. Second, as a comedy of manners, its purpose is to expose to public scrutiny and laughter the often absurd, yet very human, passions and follies that characterize social behavior. It therefore transcends its time by holding a mirror to the fashionable world in all of its frivolity and confusion, while posing something more precious and sensible as an antidote.

As with all comedies of this type, the principle comic material consists of sexual relations and confrontations. Marriages are made for the sake of convenience and tolerated within precise social limits. Affairs are conventional, jealousies abound, lovers are coy, and gallantry is contrived. Dowries are the coin of the marriage realm, and therefore, they are of central concern in all contracts and adulterous intrigues. Congreve makes clear that the general way of the world may be funny, but it is not particularly nice. In the way of all romantic comedies the ‘‘marriage of true minds’’ is finally achieved, but humiliation, cruelty, and villainy are the means by which the action goes forward. His comedy is not intended to remedy the world, of course, but to offer an insightful and amusing view of both its seedy and sympathetic aspects.

The Way of the World Summary

Prologue
In ancient Greek tragedy, a prologue conventionally set forth the subject of the drama to be enacted. It still refers to the introductory material of a play that serves as a sketch of the characters or themes to appear. It also can be an explanatory speech given by one of the characters, which is the case here. Spoken by ‘‘Mr. Betterton,’’ the actor who played the role of Fainall in 1700, the Prologue takes the form of rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter meter. Congreve adapts the classic ‘‘heroic" verse both to establish this play as a serious dramatic offering, and also to add to the comic effect. The Prologue also acts as both a tongue-in-cheek apology (in advance) and a taunt or challenge to the audience to find fault.

The speech begins with a comparison between "natural" fools and fools of "fortune." Those fools who presume themselves poets and depend upon fortune have it the hardest, because audiences are so fickle, whereas born fools are protected and even favored. Fortune is to born fools what surrogate mothers are to the offspring of cuckoo birds, known to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. Poets, on the other hand, are like gamblers who get drawn into games with higher and higher stakes. Congreve therefore ‘‘pleads no Merit’’ from his past successes, a ‘‘vain Presumption’’ that might lose him his "Seat" in "Parnasus"—an allusion to the mountain in Greece sacred to Apollo and the Muses. He throws himself on the mercy of his audience and begs indulgence despite the "Toil'' with which he ‘‘wrought the following Scenes.’’

However, as the Prologue progresses, the tone changes. Congreve points the finger at ‘‘peevish Wits'' who insist on the value of their work despite its reception. He playfully reminds his audience not to expect a satire since everyone in ‘‘so Reform'd a Town’’ is already "Correct" and therefore beyond instruction. Likewise, he claims no one should take it personally if he exposes a "Knave or Fool'' since surely no such person would be found in this audience. He ends by referring to himself as a "Passive Poet’’ who will yield to audience judgement, but clearly he believes his play to be worthy and... » Complete The Way of the World Summary