The Way of the World by William Congreve is classified as a comedic play and features a great deal of satirical humor.

Even though the play discusses "the way of the world," featuring the horrible nature of some of the world's richest, the play's language is often whimsical and good-natured.

The play focuses on the differences in social classes in a world where people may exchange their morals and manners for riches and fame.

The comedy may be funny at times, but the topics are serious and a sad mirror of how life could be in Congreve's era and how it can sometimes still be today. From the various characters devising plots against others to the ongoing gossip that occurs between some of the richer characters and the use of terms such as "country bumpkins" and "fops" to describe certain characters, the humorous nature of the play should be easy to see.