William wycherley, painted around the time of the country wife, by peter lely wikimedia commons the country wife is one of the most powerful expressions of late seventeenth century culture, and it remained a popular play for decades in theaters throughout the englishspeaking world. Critics assert that a comedy of manners and the people who inhabit it represent the. Youll be assessed on your knowledge of the story and characters. Mar 30, 2020 william wycherley, english dramatist who attempted to reconcile in his plays a personal conflict between deepseated puritanism and an ardent physical nature. The country wife is a sharp but also highly amusing attack on social and sexual hypocrisy. William wycherley, 16401716 16411716 the country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. The country wife project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. William wycherley, 16401716 16411716 the countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal.
It was considered so rude that it wasnt performed from the 18thcentury until the 20thcentury. One of the best and most vibrant examples of this is william wycherleys play the country wife. He perhaps succeeded best in the countrywife 1675, in which satiric comment on excessive jealousy and complacency was blended with a richly comic presentation, the characters. William wycherley was an english dramatist of the restoration period, best known for the plays the country wife and the plain dealer. Wellmadam, now have i dressd you, and set you out with so of essence, and and perfume a corps, for a stinking secondhandgrave, such or as bad i think master sparkishs bed. William wycherleys 8 april 1641 1 january 1716 dramatic canon consists of only four plays, and his stature in english letters depends almost entirely on a single work, the country wife. Hardeephorner succeeds in assisting the country wife to escape an unhappy marriage.
Image link often considered the bawdiest of restoration. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. Output as pdf file has been powered by universal post manager plugin from. The country wife by william wycherley was published in 1675. The country wife quotes showing 14 of 4 marrying to increase love is like gaming to become rich. Pdf downloads of all 1297 litcharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. The period which the play, the country wife belongs to in the english literature is the restoration period. Front matter indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper. William wycherley, the country wife the open anthology. The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710, when theatrical performances resumed in london following their 18year spell of illegality under the reign of the puritan commonwealth. The country wife quotes by william wycherley goodreads. Pray, sister, where are the best fields and woods to walk in.
This 45page guide for the country wife by william wycherley includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 5 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. William wycherley, painted around the time of the country wife, by peter lely. The country wife is a hilariously bawdy and subversive drama that pokes fun at the jealous and humourless. William wycherley, the country wife theater was central to the culture of restoration london. Home drama criticism analysis of william wycherleys plays. The plain dealer, a powerful dramatic satire loosely based on molieres le misanthrope, continues and enlarges wycherleys assault on greed and corruption. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the country wife by william wycherly. Popular for its lively characters and its double entendres, the bawdy comedy was occasionally vilified for immorality. James i had been the patron of william shakespeares. The country wife william wycherley 1641 1716 one of the most notorious restoration comedies in existence, william wycherleys the country wife is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life in the seventeenth century, which was rife with unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest.
Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. One of the best and most vibrant examples of this is william wycherley s play the country wife. To understand what a restoration comedy is, and to appreciate the play. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the country wife. Like a good name is seldom got by giving it oneself. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The resourceful hero of the country wife is horner, the scourge of stupid husbands and the hope of unhappy wives. It satirizes the sexual duplicity of the aristocracy during the reign of charles ii. The country wife william wycherley download free ebook. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request horners services the country wife among them. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or. The play fits perfectly into greenwalds definition of a comedy of manners. The country wife by william wycherley free book pdf.
William wycherley edited with an introduction and notes by w c ward, part of mermaid series includes biography of wycherley, together with the following written in play format love in a wood or st jamess park, the gentleman dancing master, the country wife and the plain dealer. Get all the key plot points of william wycherlys the country wife on one page. Author william wycherley 16401715 drew upon sources that included french comedy and shakespearean structure, but the end result was of his own creation. Sparkish, engaged to alithea sir jaspar fidget, a noble gentleman mrs. Wycherley left oxford university and took up residence at the inner temple, but gave little attention to the study of law. The country wife by william wycherley 962 words 123. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of. The project gutenberg ebook of the plays of william. Condemning hypocrisy, praising dissolution, and elevating innuendo into an art form, the play is titillating, disquieting and witty.
Through a single simple ruse horner helps one woman after another settle accounts with a foolish spouse. Well, my dear doctor, hast thou done what i desired. The country wife by william wycherly plot summary litcharts. This new version of william wycherley s most famous classic, the country wife has been adapted by tanika gupta, one of the country s leading playwrights. The restored monarch, charles ii, wanted to assert the centrality of the theater in english culture as a way of harkening back to the glory days of the stuart dynasty in the early part of. It is classified in english literature as a restoration comedy. It features a country wife, margery, whose husband believes she is too naive to cuckold him. He was the son of a shropshire gentleman of old family, and of what was then accounted a good estate.
The word restoration in this context describes both actual restoration of king charles. Vance, william wycherley and the comedy of fear 2000, 83. The countrywife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. William wycherley lived from 1640 to 1715, and earned his reputation as one of the wittiest. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and antipuritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. He perhaps succeeded best in the country wife 1675, in which satiric comment on excessive jealousy and complacency was blended with a. The restoration period falls between 1660 and 1700. Macaulay, thomas babington macaulay, baron, 18001859.
Like a beauty masked, like the sun in eclipse, gathers together more gazers than if it shined out. Full text and introduction nhb drama classics kindle edition by wycherley, william, griffiths, trevor. Analysis of william wycherleys plays literary theory. This play has often been classed by theater historians as a. The country wife is a comedy by william wycherley, and this quizworksheet combo will help you test your understanding of the play. The country wife by william wycherley 970 words bartleby. For the basis of his plot, wycherley here borrows heavily from the work of moliere, but. The country wife by william wycherley was published in 1675 and premiered the same year at the theatre royal in london.
He persuades his doctor, a quack, to spread this story all over town, hoping that gullible men will leave. A virtuous woman in william wycherleys the country wife, william wycherley enlightens the audience to capture several different ironical statements and questionable behaviors. The country wife by william wycherley, 9781854592255, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. The country wife essays are academic essays for citation.
The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request horners services. Harcourt, his acquaintance, enamored of alithea mr. William wycherley, the country wife the open anthology of. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. The country wife by william wycherley the seventeenth. Deception in the country wife and the conscious lovers.
Analysis of william wycherleys plays literary theory and. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. Pdf the country wife by william wycherley download pdf. Librivox recording of the country wife by william wycherley.
One of the most notorious restoration comedies in existence, william wycherleys the country wife is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life in the seventeenth century, which was rife with unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. The country wife was written by william wycherley in 1675. Nay, madam, i will ask you the reason, why you woud banish. Jamess park the gentleman dancingmaster the country wife the plain dealer. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. The project gutenberg ebook of the plays of william wycherley. The seventeenth century libertine king charles ii saw it twice, and is said to have joined the dance of the cuckolds at the end of one performance. The country wife has provoked powerfully mixed reactions over the years. Analysis of william wycherleys plays by nasrullah mambrol on may 22, 2019 0. Harry horner, a notorious womanizer, spreads a rumor that he has contracted venereal disease and that, while being treated for this by a french surgeon, he has accidentally been made impotent. A quack is as fit for a pimp, as a midwife for a bawd.
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