The Plays of William Wycherley

The Plays of William Wycherley PDF

Author: Peter Holland

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1981-07-30

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 9780521298803

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`Mr Wycherley is universally allowed the first place among the English comic poets who have writ since Ben Jonson. His Plain-Dealer is the best comedy that ever was composed in any language.' Yet in spite of the extreme praise many of his contemporaries accorded to his work, William Wycherley (1641-1715) is now only remembered for one play, The Country Wife. Even though The Country Wife is frequently performed by both amateur and professional companies (including a production at the National Theatre in 1977), Wycherley's three other plays, Love in a Wood, The Gentleman Dancing-Master and The Plain-Dealer, are rarely read and even more rarely performed. But Wycherley's satire is as sharp now as ever and his revelation of the follies and crimes of his society is still both wickedly funny and savagely perceptive.

Delphi Complete Plays of William Wycherley (Illustrated)

Delphi Complete Plays of William Wycherley (Illustrated) PDF

Author: William Wycherley

Publisher: Delphi Classics

Published: 2020-11-11

Total Pages: 986

ISBN-13: 1913487393

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The late seventeenth century playwright William Wycherley produced satirical and comic masterpieces, winning the admiration of his fellow writers, including John Dryden and William Congreve, who described him as “appointed to lash this crying age.” Following the restoration of Charles II, dramatists experienced new freedom in an age that broke from the strict morality of puritan rule and in which elegance and wit became the most prized of virtues. Irreverent, cynical and licentious, Wycherley’s works illuminate the many vices of these colourful times, satirising the widening disparity between appearances and reality. This comprehensive eBook presents Wycherley’s complete plays, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Wycherley’s life and works * Concise introductions to the plays * All the plays, with individual contents tables * Play texts based on W. C. Ward's 1893 unexpurgated edition * Includes the original footnotes - ideal for students * Features rare poems appearing here for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Features two biographies – discover Wycherley’s intriguing life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Plays Love in a Wood (1671) The Gentleman Dancing Master (1673) The Country Wife (1675) The Plain Dealer (1676) The Poetry Hero and Leander (1669) Epistle to the King (1682) Epistle to the Duke (1682) The Dedication to the Greatest Friend of the Muses, Vanity (1704) The Author to the Bookseller (1704) Upon the Discretion of Folly (1704) Upon the Most Useful Knowledge, Craft or Cunning (1704) A Song against Delays in Love (1704) In Vindication of Simplicity and Good Nature (1704) The Biographies William Wycherley (1893) by Thomas Babington Macaulay William Wycherley (1900) by George Atherton Aitken Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

The Country Wife and Other Plays

The Country Wife and Other Plays PDF

Author: William Wycherley

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2008-11-13

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 0191611425

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Wycherley's four comedies are admired for their satirical wit, farcical humour, vivid characterization, and social criticism.Love in a Wood, a lively comedy of intrigue, established him as a brilliant new dramatist.The Gentleman Dancing-Master, in contrast, disappointed contemporary audiences, but the central relationship between Hippolyta and Gerrard features an original and sympathetic study of a young woman's attitudes and feelings. The Country Wife is a sharp but also highly amusing attack on social and sexual hypocrisy. The Plain Dealer, a powerful dramatic satire loosely based on Moliere's Le Misanthrope, continues and enlarges Wycherley's assault on greed and corruption. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York, the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. In addition, there is a scholarly introduction, a note on staging, and detailed annotation. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Country Wife

The Country Wife PDF

Author: William Wycherley

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-02-13

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1408179911

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'He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.' This bawdy, hilarious, subversive and wickedly satirical drama pokes fun at the humourless, the jealous, and the adulterous alike. It features a country wife, Margery, whose husband believes she is too naïve to cuckold him; and an anti-hero, Horner, who pretends to be impotent in order to have unrestrained access to the women keen on 'the sport'. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request Horner's services – the country wife among them. The Country Wife has provoked powerfully mixed reactions over the years. 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 eighteenth century actor-playwright David Garrick declared it 'the most licentious play in the English language'; the Victorian Macaulay compared it to a skunk, because it was 'too filthy to handle and too noisome even to approach'. Twentieth century productions heralded it a Restoration masterpiece. Sexually frank, and as ready to criticise marriage as infidelity, the virtuosity, linguistic energy, brilliant wit, naughtiness and complexity of this ribald play have made it a staple of the modern stage. This student edition contains a lengthy, entirely new introduction, by leading scholar, Tiffany Stern, with a background on the author, structure, characters, genre, themes, original staging and performance history, as well as an updated bibliography and a fully annotated version of the playtext.

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