Комедии

by William Congreve, Уильям Конгрив

The career of William Congreve as comic dramatist was brief but highly successful. From the beginning he showed a useful knack for cultivating influential literary friends and for giving audiences what they were sure to like. Early in 1693, his first comedy, The Old Batchelour, pleased the public at Drury Lane, and critics hailed the appearance of a new talent in the theatre who gave a shark edge to the theatrical conventions at the time. Much was expected of Congreve's second offering, The Double Dealer, mounted later the same year. Its surprisingly bitter tone disconcerted many listeners, however, and the play drew only moderate praise. But this setback proved temporary, and Congreve found his reputation regained with Love for Love, and in 1700 his finest comedy of manners The Way of the World. After this he wrote no more comedies. Aware of changing tastes in his audience, and annoyed by critical squabbles over the question of morality in his plays, he retired at the age of thirty to the life of a gentleman of leisure.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Classics, Comedy, 18th Century, Fiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

"William Congreve was an English playwright and poet.... William Congreve wrote some of the most popular English plays of the Restoration period of the late 17th century. By the age of thirty, he had written four comedies, including Love for Love (premiered 30 April 1695) and The Way of the World (premiered 1700), and one tragedy, The Mourning Bride (1697).

Unfortunately, his career ended almost as soon as it began. After writing five plays from his first in 1693 until 1700, he produced no more as public tastes turned against the sort of high-brow sexual comedy of manners in which he specialized. He reportedly was particularly stung by a critique written by Jeremy Collier (A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage), to the point that he wrote a long reply, "Amendments of Mr. Collier's False and Imperfect Citations."

A member of the Whig Kit-Kat Club, Congreve's career shifted to the political sector, where he held various minor political positions despite his stance as a Whig among Tories."

Reviews

[W.D. Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written-in-a-creative-rush from 1692-1700 (aged 22-30) these plays have aged indifferently well, shall we say, and are still somewhat worth reading today, betimes.

By turns divertingly witty and penetratingly cynical about human nature, they can also be a bit of a slog, with the flat characters being so absurdly named and hard to tell apart. Still, I'd like to see these on stage one day, especially the incredibly manic The Double Dealer and the clever Love for Love.

Strangely, Congreve's most celebrated (for its "verve and inventiveness"—Introduction) and final play, The Way of the World, felt rather dull and flat to me, but maybe it is that early October chill coming down out of Hudson's Bay and not the play's "complexity" (Introduction) that stymied me until at least the final, rousing act, where (it's not really a spoiler to say) we learn that the way of the world is love, perhaps, but money, certainly.

Edit: PS, if any friends have been granted that mysterious privilege denied to me, that of being known around court as a "Goodreads Librarian", please combine this edition with The Way of the World and Other Plays, as they are the same book.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love restoration comedies. They are full of wit and innuendo. I regret that Congreve did not put out more.

[D. Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lines sharp as well cut diamonds. Exquisite hilarity and delicately cut characters crowd every page. Love for Love and The Way of the World are faultless. The Old Bachelor and The Double-Dealer are precious to an infinitesimal fault. One cannot sufficiently sing the glory of these comedies, cheerful laughter interrupts.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed these but could not tell you a single thing that happened in them.

[محمد عبادة · Rating 3 out of 5]

No debating his prowess, but may be the dominant themes in his plays decreased my reading pleasure.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

actually, my copy was published in 1944, but who's counting, honestly...

so, I only read the first play, but you know what they say, read one restoration comedy, you've read 'um all, right?

this was about the shenanigans for male and female relations, class and the fact that men are always trying to sleep with women without marrying them but that women who have sex before marriage are no longer marriageable even to the men who they slept with. Weee!

[foundfoundfound · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the highlights of 17th century literature. quick-paced, witty, clever, sophisticated, comedies of sex and manners. a precursor to films like "his girl friday". brilliant. "love for love" and "way of the world" the apogee of restoration comedy form. would never have happened but for the restoration of the crown. something for knucklehead republicans to ponder.