The Way of the World William Congreve 9781541259089 Books
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A Chocolate-house. Mirabell and Fainall rising from cards. Betty waiting. MIRA. You are a fortunate man, Mr. Fainall. FAIN. Have we done? MIRA. What you please. I’ll play on to entertain you. FAIN. No, I’ll give you your revenge another time, when you are not so indifferent; you are thinking of something else now, and play too negligently the coldness of a losing gamester lessens the pleasure of the winner. I’d no more play with a man that slighted his ill fortune than I’d make love to a woman who undervalued the loss of her reputation. MIRA. You have a taste extremely delicate, and are for refining on your pleasures. FAIN. Prithee, why so reserved? Something has put you out of humour. MIRA. Not at all I happen to be grave to-day, and you are gay; that’s all.
The Way of the World William Congreve 9781541259089 Books
This is listed as an "Annotated" edition, which implies that it will include actual annotations/comments about the text to support and deepen understanding while reading. No such annotations are included. Even the study questions at the end of the play aren't related directly to the book. The format of the play is fine, and the Kindle version is helpful for highlighting and making your own annotations.Product details
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Tags : The Way of the World [William Congreve] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Chocolate-house. Mirabell and Fainall rising from cards. Betty waiting. MIRA. You are a fortunate man,William Congreve,The Way of the World,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1541259084,General,DRAMA General,Drama,Plays
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The Way of the World William Congreve 9781541259089 Books Reviews
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.
I actually read an online version of this text provided by my teacher as part of my Introduction to Drama course, so this is not the same version I'm writing about, but is the same work. While it is a great example of Restoration Comedy, I personally didn't care for it much. The version we were provided with didn't include any notes or summaries, which I ended up looking up online to help me follow the events, since the language is rather hard to follow even when read slowly and carefully. Fortunately, with some help from the summaries, I was able to follow it well enough to gain an appreciation for it, even if I personally found it tedious to keep track of. Yet, there's definitely humor there, and it is rather distinct from other works we read in the class, or that I've read outside of it. It is also a Comedy of Manners, which provides a great backdrop to see evolve over time if you read other plays in the genre. So, somewhat entertaining, but not one I'm likely to add to my personal collection, though it is worth a read.
I bought this so I wouldn't have to spend a fortune on the book for school. Well this edition is so abridged, I found I didn't read half of the play. Don't waste your dollar. Find another version of this play.
Good condition
Perfect RESTORATION
Well, you just have to read this one (it's a play) if you want a fuller understanding of early 18th century habits, intrigue, comedy, and male-female intellectual (and implied sexual) sparring. Surprisingly, we still use many of Congreve's quotes in our usual conversations -- "Music has charms to soothe the savage beast..."
This is listed as an "Annotated" edition, which implies that it will include actual annotations/comments about the text to support and deepen understanding while reading. No such annotations are included. Even the study questions at the end of the play aren't related directly to the book. The format of the play is fine, and the version is helpful for highlighting and making your own annotations.
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