Romantic, Cold, and Wickedly Witty: The Masterpiece of Late Restoration Comedy
The English theatre of 1700 was not noticeably like western theatre of today. Simply stated, the audience was half the show.
Aristocrats and nobility dressed to ridiculous heights of fashion, arrived late with as much disruptive fanfair as possible, spent a great deal of time talking to each other, and thought nothing of nipping out for a half-hour or so during the play. The middle and lower class spectators paid as much attention, if not more, to these goings on--and if by some chance you became bored by both play and audience you could always visit one of the attractive young women who sold refreshments and often themselves as well.
These circumstances gave a very distinct shape to plays of the period. They tended to very long, running three and four hours, with the plot itself not becoming apparent until well into the play, all of the major characters discussed in virtually every scene, and each essential plot repeated over and over again. You could arrive half an hour or an hour late; you could miss an entire scene through conversation with your neighbor; you could step out for a drink and come back again--and even so you could still follow the play.
Read today, the vast majority of Restoration drama seem horrendously drawn out, and they are now seldom read or performed. Restoration comedy, however, is a different matter: a master could turn the repetitive structure into a dazzling display of wit, style, and high art. When it comes to Restoration comedy, and in spite of the fact that his output was actually quite small, William Congreve (1670-1729) was a master's master indeed. First staged in 1700, THE WAY OF THE WORLD sparkles like a collection of rare jewels. Congreve had reason to exert himself to the full extent of his talents on this occasion: the play was written for celebrated actress Anne Bracegirdle, who was said to be his lover.
The play is convoluted in terms of characters and subplots, but at core it is remarkably direct. Mirabelle has a somewhat questionable past that includes numerous romantic conquests; he has, however, decided to marry the beautiful and wealthy Millimant. Unfortunately, the match is greatly opposed by Lady Wishfort, whose refusal to give consent will have the effect of depriving Millimant of her fortune. The action of the play arises from Mirabelle's efforts to trap Lady Wishfort into giving consent, thereby securing Millimant's inheritance.
The play is particularly interesting because the characters behave according to a highly polished code of elegant manners and express a preoccupation with love--but are actually motivated by money to an amazingly crass degree. A romantically inclined beauty might speak of her great emotion, but she is careful to keep a hand on her pocketbook and her eye on the bottom line just the same. The result is akin to a frilligree heart unexpectedly carved into a block of ice; the form is beautiful but the content too cold to embrace. There is no doubt that Mirabelle and Millimant love each other, but there is no doubt that neither will marry the other without a lot of cash thrown in for good measure.
More than one critic has regarded THE WAY OF THE WORLD as a satire on the superficial values of Restoration aristocracy. More than one has also preferred Congreve's earlier LOVE FOR LOVE, which is considerably warmer in tone. Clearly, there is an iciness about THE WAY OF THE WORLD that some find distinctly off-putting! But as Congreve himself might have said, money makes the world go round--and love is included in the spin. Whatever the case, THE WAY OF THE WORLD is a wickedly funny, subtly nasty, and unexpectedly enchanting play, among the best of the best. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Classic Comedy of Manners - Restoration Period
The first three acts of William Congreve's play, The Way of the World (1700), involve little action. The scenes focus on introducing and contrasting characters, highlighting witty dialogue, and slowly revealing details of prior events through casual references. Polite, formalized language disguises selfish motives, rivalries, deceit, and deviousness.
Selfish motives, deciet, and other negative attributes may not seem a proper basis for comedy, and yet The Way of the World warrants four stars. For comparison purposes I strongly recommend reading two other Restoration period comedies: Wycherley's The Country Wife (1675) and Etherege's The Man of Mode (1676). All three plays share a cynical view of the sanctity of marriage and portray a self-centered London society obsessed with extramarital affairs.
The action (certain steps to overcome obstacles to a marriage) in The Way of the World does not occur until the later acts. The marriage between Mirabell and Millamant proceeds only after both are assured that their financial situation will not be jeopardized. Love is secondary. Similarly, the unpleasant situation of Mrs. Fainall - a marriage without any pretence of love - remains unchanged.
While humor may be somewhat sparse in the earlier acts, the tempo clearly picks up in acts four and five. The plot becomes extremely fluid when Mirabell's inventive fraud unravels, and his rival, Mr. Fainall, gains the upper hand. However, the last act offers a delightful twist that puts things right. (Puts things right might be an overstatement given that the play's key characters are somewhat lacking in scruples.)
Although The Way of the World is only occasionally staged today, this play is often assigned reading. My favorite edition is Barron's Educational Series (1958) as it provides plentiful stage directions. In particular, indications of expression - essentially guidance to actors on the proper delivery of the dialogue - are inserted as the dialogue switches from one character to another. Examples include: "somewhat sourly recollecting the rebuff of the previous evening", "using frankness as a bait to draw equal frankness from her companion", and "too preoccupied to pay serious attention". The Barron's edition also has a lengthy introduction by Vincent Hopper and Gerald Lahey, a 5-page note on staging by George Hersey, and illustrations by Fritz Kredel.
A Crofts Classic edition (published 1951, reprinted 1985) provides a useful section titled The Argument of the Play, in which the editor, Henry T. E. Perry, summarizes events that occurred prior to the beginning of the play. (Remember that the dialogue in the early acts slowly - and often obliquely - reveals details of prior events through casual references.) Perry also discusses how William Congreve adroitly used dialogue to reveal much about the personalities of his characters.
The Way of the World can also be found in the Norton Critical Edition (1973) titled Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy. The extensive appendix includes an 80-page section titled Criticism From Lamb to the Present; two articles directly address Congreve's play: The Way of the World by Norman Holland and Form and Wit in The Way of the World by Martin Price.
One of the greatest plays of all time
"The Way of the World" is a true masterpiece of wit and social commentary. It anticipates later works by such masters of dialogue as Oscar Wilde. I read this play in a course on restoration and 18th century drama that I took in graduate school and it was by far among my favorite plays that semester. Those who complain that it is too complex (and then contradict themselves by calling it a mere soap opera) clearly do not appreciate the subtlety and multiple layers of Congreve's genius. While yes, some characters are one dimensional, the main characters are multi-layered and complex. Case in point - Mirabel, the male protagonist, clearly loves Millamant but has mercenary ambitions as well. He also has an implied rakish past, which led to the extremely unhappy marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fainall (though he endeavors to come to Mrs. Fainall's aid during the course of the play). Certainly many of the characters are stereotypes, but that in itself is interesting and highly comical. The dialogue is absolutely brilliant, among the best I've seen. I highly recommend giving this play the time and attention it deserves - "The Way of the World" is highly rewarding entertainment.
Three's Company Meets All My Children in 1700
William Congreve's "The Way of the World" is a Restoration period comedy of manners which features scheming stock characters and pokes fun at the upper class of the time. The plot is propelled by a series of silly missunderstadings(ala Three's Company) and there is an almost incestous exchange of lovers very reminiscent of any modern day soap opera. The major difficulty of reading this play is that vital information about the character's pasts is being revealed as the present action is being carried out, leaving the reader unclear about who did what with whom and when.
This was by far the most confusing play I have ever read, yet I found much of the dialogue very witty and amusing, particularly the scene in which Millament and Mirabell negotiate the particulars of their marriage contract. While I found the characters rather shallow and hard to relate to, I often found myself chuckling at their masterful wordplay and appreciated the fact that they were so aware of and comfortable with their own self-absorption. I feel "The Way of the World" paints an interesting picture of the mores and ideals(if one can call them ideals!) of the upper class of 1700 and for me, this made the chore of reading it worthwhile.
Rubbish!
Knowing I would be forced to study this work for my A Level in English Lit, I was sure I would enjoy it due to the comedy and satire involved. I was wrong. As the first reviewer claimed, The Way of the World is just like a soap opera! I appreciate the intention of Congreve was to satirise the follies of the upper classes at the time but this does not make the play any less tedious. The plot is unnecessarily complex and rather difficult to follow at times. It all boils down to romance and infidelity in the end, as one might expect. Granted, it is fairly well written, but if there's a stupid plot and irritating, useless characters, no amount of creative flair in writing can compensate. As well as that, the language, while not difficult, is different from that of modernity so makes it awkward. OK, we expect this from an 18th century piece of literature, but it still causes problems for a modern audience/reader. The worst thing was being told by the teacher when we were meant to laugh - that obviously kills any comedy value in the play. Exam boards should add some more modern plays to their syllabus! Not to mention ones with meaningful, interesting plots and characters. This is not worth the paper it's written on, in my humble opinion.
(9 reviews)
