 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents Notes Congreve’s dedication is distinguished from the usual ones because it also constitutes a statement of purpose. Congreve outlines his aims as a writer and expresses his dissatisfaction with contemporary comedies while acknowledging his debt to the patronage of Ralph, the Earl of Montague. The dedication contains lavish praise of the earl, which was customary in the Restoration Age. Therefore, Congreve compares the society of the earl to that of Scipio and Lelius in classical times.
Congreve’s criticism of the contemporary dramatic scene is relevant to The Way of the World. He blames certain misinterpretations of his work on the poor taste of the audience, accustomed to ridiculing characters who are fools. Congreve states that in his view such characters are limited; they are incapable of moving the audience to compassion and can only provoke coarse laughter. Congreve distinguishes his characters from those depicted in contemporary comedies. The main point of difference lies in the fact that his characters invite ridicule not for their natural follies, but for the exposure of their affectation. Unfortunately, he feels that not many viewers possess the ability to distinguish correctly between these different types. This distinction forms the basis of the characterization in the play. While Mirabell is a Truewit, Fainall, Witwoud and Petulant are the False Wits. But not all the characters in The Way of the World are examples of affectation. Some, like Lady Wishfort and Sir Wilfull Witwoud, are Jonsonian "humors" (characters with one distinctive feature or quality which motivates them). Congreve also depicts the conventional fops and country bumpkins, frequent objects of ridicule in Restoration comedies. Table of Contents | |
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