William wycherleys the country wife essay 1751 words. William wycherley four plays by william wycherley free ebook. A virtuous woman in william wycherleys the country wife, william wycherley enlightens the audience to capture several different ironical statements and questionable behaviors. Margery, the country wife, upsets his plans when she learns the manners of the city and begins to apply them herself. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Jamess park the gentleman dancingmaster the country wife the. Page the countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. William wycherley wikisource, the free online library. Director william gaskill once said about his production of the recruiting officer. Pshaw, thats all one, that grave circumspection in marrying a country wife. The regents restoration drama text is based on the first. The country wife by wycherley, william 16401716one of the key themes of country wife which come out quite clearly from the script is the failure of the restoration arrangement of the marriages in the society. Often considered the bawdiest of restoration comedies, wycherleys play introduces. The following entry presents criticism of wycherleys career published between 1993 and the present.
We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. The country wife has been revived more often in the twentieth century than almost any of the restorations tamer works. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. William wycherley four plays by william wycherley free. Marriage vs a libertine philosophy in wycherleys the. His restorationera comedies are notable for their keen satires of manners and society, and the playwright was a favorite among the wits in the court of charles ii. Yup, the prim n proper reign of the puritans in england was officially over by the time wycherley wrote this bad boy. In order to cover the promised theme of marriage and free love in wycherleys the country wife while simultaneously moving on to aphra behns the rover, i will address the theme in both plays.
Discussion of themes and motifs in william wycherleys the country wife. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of country. The country wife considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, william wycherleys restoration comedy tells the tale of mr horner, a notorious rake, who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain access to other mens wives. William wycherley four plays contents introduction william wycherley by t. The plyant discourse of wycherleys the country wife. Like john vanbrugh, wycherley spent some years of his adolescence in france, where he was sent. The country wife has provoked powerfully mixed reactions over the years. The country wife is particularly famous, or infamous, for the socalled china scene. The country wife by wycherley william qualified writers.
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. It was considered so rude that it wasnt performed from the 18thcentury until the 20thcentury. William wycherley, 16401716 16411716 the countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Jamess park the gentleman dancingmaster the country wife. Wycherley has almost certainly indeed put it there. Wycherley moved in high society, and conducted several liaisons with aristocratic ladies, including the duchess of c. The country wife by william wycherley, 9781854592255, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. This is the beginning of wycherleys the country wife, which is about a trickster horner out to seduce as many married women as he can. William is a popular given name of an old germanic origin. A mistress should be like a little country retreat near the town, not to dwell in constantly, but only for a night and away.
William wycherley synonyms, william wycherley antonyms. Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. The country wife themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. The country wife by william wycherley overdrive rakuten. The country wife by william wycherley the seventeenth.
Wycherley spends most of the play commenting on marriage and the relationship between men and women. I have undone you forever with the women, and reported you throughout the whole town as a eunuch, with as much trouble as if i had made you one in earnest. For the basis of his plot, wycherley here borrows heavily from the work of moliere, but. The country wife is also available in the collection restoration comedy. Wycherley, william, in dictionary of national biography, london. Wycherley understands that nobody is ideal and that a individuals virtues can be altered if pressures and outside influences become notable. As a general rule of thumb while reading the country wife, if you think he see a dirty joke based on a doubleentendre, youre not mistaken. The country wife by william wycherley is a play in the restoration period that certainly develops many themes. It takes a lot of planning and hard work to bring a questors production to the stage.
Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or. The country wife by wycherley, william 16401716 one of the key themes of country wife which come out quite clearly from the script is the failure of the restoration arrangement of the marriages in the society. It was no doubt intended to register approval of liveliness or resiliency, and i will rely on this usage later. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. 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 wycherleys restoration comedy the country wife opens in. One of the most notorious restoration comedies in existence, william wycherley s 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 by william wycherley the questors.
The country wife by wycherley william, coursework download. Pdf the country wife by william wycherley download pdf. Wycherley left oxford university and took up residence at the inner temple, but gave little attention to the study of law. The countrywife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. Through a single simple ruse horner helps one woman after another settle accounts with a foolish spouse. William wycherleys the country wife was first performed in january 1675, by the kings company, at the theatre royal, drury lane. The country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Man of business leaves his wife in my lodgings, invites me to his house and wife, who before. He was born at clive near shrewsbury, shropshire and baptised on 8 april 1641 at whitchurch, hampshire, son of daniel wycherley 16171697 and his wife bethia, daughter of william shrimpton. The country wife by william wycherley new bbc radio drama production considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, william wycherleys raunchy restoration comedy tells the tale of mr horner a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other mens wives. The country wife was written by william wycherley in 1675. The play fits perfectly into greenwalds definition of a comedy of manners. The country wife by william wycherley, paperback barnes. One of the best and most vibrant examples of this is william wycherley s play the country wife.
Preliminaries omitted play details the country wife. Vance, william wycherley and the comedy of fear 2000, 83. William wycherley books list of books by author william. Popular for its lively characters and its double entendres, the bawdy comedy was occasionally vilified for immorality. The theme at the forefront of this play is the idea of marriage. The country wife by william wycherley 970 words bartleby. Pinchwife has recently married an innocent country girl, who immediately falls for horner. William wycherley, the country wife the open anthology. William wycherley lived from 1640 to 1715, and earned his reputation as one of the wittiest. Critics assert that a comedy of manners and the people who inhabit it represent the.
Free example the country wife by william wycherley essay. It satirizes the sexual duplicity of the aristocracy during the reign of charles ii. The country wife is a classically bawdy restoration comedy. Nick hern books the country wife, by william wycherley. Pray, sister, where are the best fields and woods to walk in. The country wife by william wycherley librarything. 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. Librivox recording of the country wife by william wycherley. Wycherley spent some three years of his adolescence in. Need help on themes in william wycherlys the country wife. Download william wycherley s the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Look up william in wiktionary, the free dictionary. The country wife william wycherley download free ebook. William wycherley was an english dramatist of the restoration period, best known for the plays the country wife and the plain dealer.