Oxford Playhouse production of The Way of the World; 13 to 17 April, 2004

The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, England. It is widely regarded as being one of the best Restoration comedies written and is still performed sporadically to this day. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Template:Unsourced A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... William Congreve (January 24, 1670 – January 19, 1729) was an English playwright and poet. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Drama (art form) be merged into this article or section. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Refinement meets burlesque in Restoration comedy. ...

The play is renowned for being very complicated and audiences, even at the time, would sometimes find themselves becoming confused with its long discussions of contracts. This is made all the more true in the present day because of its occasional use of what is now archaic language. Adjective archaic (more archaic, most archaic) From an earlier period and no longer in common use; of or characterized by antiquity or archaism, antiquated. ...

Important characters

The play is based around the two lovers Mirabell and Millamant (originally famously played by John Verbruggen and Anne Bracegirdle). In order for the two to get married and receive Millamant's full dowry, Mirabell must receive Millamant's aunt, Lady Wishfort's blessing. Unfortunately, she is a bitter lady who hates Mirabell and wants her own nephew, Sir Witwoud, to marry Millamant. John Baptista Verbruggen, d. ... Anne Bracegirdle, (c. ... A dowry (also known as trousseau) is a gift of money or valuables given by the groomss family to that of the bride to permit their marriage. ...

Other characters include Fainall who is having a secret affair with Mrs. Marwood, a friend of Mrs. Fainall's, who in turn once had an affair with Mirabell.

Waitwell is Mirabell's servant and is married to Foible, Lady Wishfort's servant. Waitwell pretends to be Sir Rowland and on Mirabell's command, tries to trick Lady Wishfort into a false engagement.

Plot synopsis

Act 1 is set in a chocolate house where Mirabell and Fainall have just finished playing cards. A footman comes and tells Mirabell that Waitwell (Mirabell's male servant) and Foible (Lady Wishfort’s female servant) were married that morning. Mirabell tells Fainall about his love of Millamant and is encouraged to marry her. Witwoud and Petuland appear and Mirabell is informed that should Lady Wishfort marry, he will lose £6000 of Millamant’s inheritance. He will only get this money if he can make Lady Wishfort [[hnhfyiitjhgiygjhftjfuyybbgiluyrro7kuyucfrr8ilrohf6 Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. ...

Act 2 is set in St. James’ Park. Mrs. Fainall and Mrs. Marwood are discussing their hatred of men. Fainall appears and accuses Mrs. Marwood (with whom he is having an affair) of loving Mirabell. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fainall tells Mirabell that she hates her husband, and they begin to plot about tricking Lady Wishfort to give her consent to the marriage. Millamant appears in the park, and angry about the previous night (where Mirabell was confronted by Lady Wishfort) she lets him know her displeasure in Mirabell’s plan, which she only has a vague idea about. After she leaves, the newly wed servants appear and Mirabell reminds them of their roles in the plan. An affair is usually a euphemism for a situation where two people are involved in an illicit activity. ...

Act 3, 4 and 5 are all set in the home of Lady Wishfort. We are introduced to Lady Wishfort who is encouraged to marry ‘Sir Rowland’ – Mirabell’s supposed uncle – by Foible so that Mirabell will lose his inheritance. Sir Rowland is however Waitwell in disguise, the plan being to arrange a marriage with Lady Wishfort, which cannot go ahead because it would be bigamy, and Mirabell will offer to help her out of the embarrassing situation if she consents to his marriage. Later, Mrs. Fainall discusses this plan with Foible, but this is overheard by Mrs. Marwood. She later tells the plan to Fainall, who decides that he will take his wife’s money and go away with Mrs. Marwood.

Mirabell proposes to Millamant and with Mrs. Fainall’s encouragement, Millamant accepts. Mirabell leaves as Lady Wishfort arrives, and she lets it be known that she wants Millamant to marry her nephew, Sir Wilful, who has just arrived from the countryside. Lady Wishfort later gets a letter telling her about the Sir Rowland plot. Sir Rowland takes the letter and blames Mirabell of trying to sabotage their wedding. Lady Wishfort agrees to let Sir Rowland bring a marriage contract that night.

By Act 5, Lady Wishfort has found out the plot, and Fainall has had Waitwell arrested. Mrs. Fainall tells Foible that her previous affair with Mirabell is now public knowledge. Lady Wishfort appears with Mrs. Marwood, whom she’s thanking for unveiling the plot. Fainall then appears and uses the information of Mrs. Fainall’s previous affair with Mirabell and Millamant’s contract to marry him to blackmail Lady Wishfort, telling that she should never marry and that she is to transfer all the money over to him. Lady Wishfort tells Mirabell that she will offer consent to the marriage if he can save her fortune and honour. Mirabell calls on Waitwell who brings a contract from the time before the marriage of the Fainalls in which Mrs. Fainall gives all her property to Mirabell. This neutralises the blackmail attempts, after which Mirabell restores Mrs. Fainall’s property to her possession and then is free to marry Millmant with the full £6000 inheritance. For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation). ...

The Epigraph of the 1700 Edition

Facsimile of the original title page for The Way of the World published in 1700

The epigraph found on the title page of the 1700 edition of The Way of the World contains two Latin quotations from Horace's Satires. In their wider contexts they read in English: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (830x1395, 291 KB) This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (830x1395, 291 KB) This work is copyrighted. ... In literature, an epigraph is a quotation that is placed at the start of a work or section that expresses in some succinct way an aspect or theme of what is to follow. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. ...

1. "It is worthwhile, for those of you who wish adulterers no success, to hear how much misfortune they suffer, and how often their pleasure is marred by pain and, though rarely achieved, even then fraught with danger"
2. "I have no fear in her company that a husband may rush back from the country, the door burst open, the dog bark, the house shake with the din, the woman, deathly pale, leap from her bed, her complicit maid shriek, she fearing for her limbs, her guilty mistress for her dowry and I for myself."

The quotations offer a fore-warning of the chaos to ensue from both infidelity and deception.

Historical context

In 1700, the world of London theatre-going had changed significantly from the days of, for example, The Country Wife. Charles II was no longer on the throne, and the jubilant court that reveled in its licentiousness and opulence had been replaced by the far more dour and utilitarian Dutch-inspired court of William of Orange. His wife, Mary II, was, long before her death, a retiring person who did not appear much in public. William himself was a military king who was reported to be hostile to drama. The political instabilities that had been beneath the surface of many Restoration comedies were still present, but with a different side seeming victorious. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... William Wycherley in 1675. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... William III of England (14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, Stadtholder of the United Netherlands from 28 June 1672, King of England and King of... Mary II (30 April 1662–28 December 1694) reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and as Queen of Scotland (as Mary II of Scotland) from 11 April 1689 until her death. ...

One of the features of a Restoration comedy is the opposition of the witty and courtly (and Cavalier) rake and the dull-witted man of business or the country bumpkin, who is understood to be not only unsophisticated but often (as, for instance, in the very popular plays of Aphra Behn in the 1670's) either Puritan or another form of dissenter. In 1685, the courtly and Cavalier side was in power, and Restoration comedies belittled the bland and foolish losers of the Restoration. However, by 1700, the other side was ascendant. The court, and the king, were of that dissenter side. Therefore, The Way of the World's recreation of the older Restoration comedy's patterns is only one of the things that made the play unusual. Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... A sketch of Aphra Behn by George Scharf from a portrait believed to be lost. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The term dissenter (from the Latin dissentire, to disagree), labels one who dissents or disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. ... Events February 6 - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. ... King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ...

The 1688 revolution concerning the overthrow of James II created a new set of social codes primarily amongst the bourgeoisie. The new capitalist system meant an increasing emphasis on property and property law. Thus, the play is packed with legal jargon and financial and marital contracts. These new legal aspects allow characters like Mrs. Fainall to secure her freedom through an equitable trust and for Mirabell and Millamant's marriage to be equal though a prenuptial agreement. The term Glorious Revolution refers to the generally popular overthrow of James II of England in 1688. ... James II of England and VII of Scotland (14 October 1633–16 September 1701) became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685. ... bourgeoisie is basically a trem that meens middle class. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... // Definition A prenuptial agreement or antenuptial agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into by two people prior to marriage or civil union. ...

This shift in social perspectives is perhaps best shown in the characters of Fainall and Mirabell, who represent respectively the old form and new form of marital relations: sexual power at first and then developing into material power.

Further Points of Consideration

Several aspects of the play give rise to critical discussion:

1. The love expressed in the play tends to be centered around material gain rather than the love of the partner. For example, with Mirabell and Millamant, the couple could go ahead and marry without Lady Wishfort's consent, only this will mean losing £6000, which is obviously of the utmost importance to them. This can also be seen in the scene where Millamant and Mirabell effectively carry out a pre-nuptial agreement, Millamant insisting on having all manner of liberties and powers, quite unusual for the time.
2. None of the characters in the play can really be seen as 'good' and as such it is difficult to find a hero or heroine, or indeed anybody you find yourself able to have sympathy for.
3. Although often regarded as a satire on the lives of the idle-classes in 1700, it is worth considering that the play itself might simply be a construction from this and is unconsciously ludicrous.

Materialism refers to how a person or group chooses to spend their resources, particularly money and time. ... The World According To Ronald Reagan - a Finnish satirical poster from 1984 Satire is a technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ...

References

• Congreve, William (2000). The Way of the World. London, England: A & C Black Limited.

External links

1. A brief look at the genre of Restoration comedy.
2. The Way of the World, available freely at Project Gutenberg.
3. Oxford Playhouse Review of The Way of the World on the BBC website.
4. Daily Info review of the play.