The Way of the World Group

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benigngy
benigngy
Student
Doctorate

The Way of The World is a comedy of manners, justify.

i want critical appreciation as comedy of manners.

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Posted by benigngy on Wednesday March 21, 2007 at 6:11 PM and tagged with comedy, manners, the way of the world, theme.

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  1. jamie-wheeler Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    Here are two abstracts of on Congreve's satrization of "polite" society. Links to the articles appear below:

    Brian Corman, "The Way of the World and Morally Serious Comedy."

    Examines 'The Way of the World,' by William Congreve as a morally serious comedy. Description of Congreve's manipulation of comic conventions in the comedy; Difference found in the opening scene between 'The Way of the World' and other conventional comedy in the Restoration period; Role of the villains in Congreve's comedy.

    By: Corman, Brian. University of Toronto Quarterly, Spring1975, Vol. 44 Issue 3, p199, 14p;

    Robert Davis,"Congreve's The Way of the World."

    Abstract: An examination of the history of the phrase "a month's mind," which is used of Mrs. Marwood in Congreve's The Way of the World, reveals larger implications that underscore the comedy's clever array of greed, deception, and cuckoldry. It shows that while Congreve may satirize Mrs. Marwood's sexual desire and her gender by using the phrase, he also emphasizes the avarice, guile, and pursuit of pleasure of all the other characters.

    By: Davis, Robert Timothy. Explicator, v. 57 no4 (Summer 1999) p. 201-2

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/way-world/

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    Posted by jamie-wheeler on Friday June 29, 2007 at 5:50 AM

  2. phare
    phare Student
    College - Sophomore

    shortly, you must recognize the characteristics of "commedy of manners" and "the bad manners of the Restoration society".

    then, apply them to the play "the way of the world"

    notice that congreve wrote the play to discuss the immorals of the Restoration society. he wants to treat the diseases of the society like political corruption, affectation and marital betrayal.

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    Posted by phare on Friday November 23, 2007 at 11:52 AM

  3. lit24
    lit24 Teacher
    Doctorate

    eNotes Editor

    Some of its important features are as follows:

    1. The action always takes place in London.

    2. There is always a contrast between the rural and the urban. Squire Witwoud is from the county of Shropshire and his arrival in London results in a lot of amusement and humour.

    3. The presence of atleast one pair of very intelligent young lovers.

    4. Witty dialogue is perhaps the most important feature of the Comedy of Manners.

    5. All the other aspects of the play are usually sacrificed for the sake of contriving a situation which would give rise to 'witty' dialogue.

    6. The appeal of the Comedy of Manners is to the intelligence of the audience/reader and not to the emotions.

    7. The 'witty' dialogue was usually obscene, for the theatres had just reopened after the Restoration.

    8.The women in these plays were very emancipated and bold and independent, unlike the heroines of the Sentimental dramas.

    9.The institution of marriage was always held to ridicule. Both husbands and wives openly expressed their dissatisfaction of their spouses.

    10. These plays were mainly intended for the elegant and sophisticated audiences of London city. Hence the characters were almost always from the upper class society of London.

    11. These plays portrayed the lifestyle of the idle rich of London city very realistically.

    12. The plays were mildly satirical-the playwright could not afford to hurt his upper class audience.

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    Posted by lit24 on Wednesday May 7, 2008 at 8:20 PM