Immediately download the the country wife summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. It features a country wife, margery, whose husband believes she is too naive to cuckold him. But horner is anything but impotent, and before long he is bedding a host of bored, foolish, and incredibly horny womenincluding the young, silly margery, an ignorant country girl recently wed to an elderly man. The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710. Whether you answer yes or no, is the play about other things as well. The project gutenberg ebook of the plays of william wycherley.
My problem with the country wife is that wycherley s writing has none of the charm of his contemporary, george etherege. The country wife by william wycherley, 9781854592255, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. So, please, go get yourself a season pass and see what spicy witch productions has to offeryoull thank me later. The separate plots are interlinked but distinct, each projecting a sharply different mood. The country wife plays at the clemente at 107 suffolk st through september 27, 2015. The country wife by wycherley william qualified writers. Country wives and country girls in eighteenthcentury. Discussion of themes and motifs in william wycherleys the country wife. In the country wife, the characters are obnoxious, and although the writing is clever, it lacks warmth. The country wife by william wycherley, directed by david corballis.
A number of licentious and hypocritical women request horners services the country wife among them. One of the best and most vibrant examples of this is william wycherleys play the country wife. Feb 14, 2018 the country wife has been periodically vilified for its immorality but remains ever popular for its lively characters, witty double entendres, and sophisticated drama. The country wife aspasia velissariou sexuality in wycherley s dramas has long received much critical notice. The country wife william wycherley download free ebook. What was the purpose of the country wife by william. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. The article presents a literary criticism on the play country wife by william wycherley. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. It is curious to observe how everything that he touched, however pure and noble, took in an instant the colour of his own mind. Ma talene william wycherley s great comedy, the country wife 1675, remains popular with actors, readers, and teachers of english literature, 1 but its relationship to the high culture of the restoration, despite the increased interest of scholars and critics during the last three decades. Originally performed and published in 1675, this fiveact play parodies the vices and hypocrisies of restoration london. The country wife study questions university of nebraska.
Then of necessity, madam, you think a man must carry his wife into the country, if he be wise. Front matter indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper. But then the door opens to horner, a reputed womanizer. The resourceful hero of the country wife is horner, the scourge of stupid husbands and the hope of unhappy wives.
He was well educated at a young age, studying various subjects throughout europe and later going on to serve in the army and navy. Margery, the country wife, upsets his plans when she learns the manners of the city and begins to apply them herself. About the play the country wife is a hilariously bawdy and subversive drama that pokes fun at the jealous and humourless. Toby stephens as horner and patricia hodge as lady fidget in the country wife charles spencer. But when margery the country wife comes to town, she arrives with strict handholding from her uptight husband and is promptly locked in a house. Listing show dates and detailing cast, creative and production teams. As in wycherley, pinchwife is an old, jealous husband, but here he handles both his wife and his sister less roughly, in line with the end of this plot, that lee. Aug 01, 2017 one of the primary focuses of william wycherleys comedy, the country wife, is the concept of satirising the pretence and artificiality surrounding marriage particularly during the restoration era and its rebellion against the prior strictness of the puritan rule. References country wife in the canadian oxford dictionary, second edition, oxford university press, 2004. The country wife by wycherley, william 16401716one of the key themes of country wife which come out quite clearly from the script is the failure of the restoration arrangement of the marriages in the society. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Pshaw, thats all one, that grave circumspection in marrying 375 a country wife, is like refusing a deceitful pamperd smithfield jade, to go and be cheated by a friend in the country. Harry horner, an infamous womanizer, enlists his doctor to spread the false rumor that horner has become impotent to convince other men to. The only thing original about wycherley, the only thing which he could furnish from his own mind in inexhaustible abundance, was profligacy. Indeed, though pinchwife endeavors to restrict his wife from experiencing all the joys of london, thereby ensuring her fidelity to him, he only succeeds in securing his cuckoldom. Nay, by this means you may be the more acquainted with the husbands, but the less with the wives. Cast list, the country wife 1969 listing cast and production team and show dates. The country wife william wycherley 9780486817538 netgalley.
View notes william wycherleys the country wife from engl 1029 at louisiana state university. Discussion of themes and motifs in william wycherley s the country wife. In the country wife, horner allows society to believe he is impotent, and as such husbands entrust him with their wives. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. Oct 19, 2016 country wife plural country wives canada, historical a fur traders first nations or metis commonlaw wife. The country wife, based on a compilation of molieres the school for husbands 1661, the school for wives 1662, and terences the eunuch 161 bce, is about marriage, infidelity, and male friendship. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or. This lesson will explore william wycherleys the country wife. About the playwright william wycherley was born in england in 1641 and is best known for his restoration comedies. The writing was charming and funny, and the characters were likeable. Jan 19, 2010 your interpretation of the appropriateness of pinchwifes name as analogous to his actions in william wycherleys the country wife is interesting. Immediately download the the country wife summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching the country wife.
Well, i will throw off dapperwits acquaintance when i am married, and will only be a cully to my wife. Well look at the political and literary context of the play as well as the plot of the play itself. Apr 10, 2014 it features a country wife, margery, whose husband believes she is too naive to cuckold him. Man of business leaves his wife in my lodgings, invites me to his house and wife, who before.
This lesson will explore william wycherley s the country wife. When i read the man of mode, i was delighted by it. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request horners services. William wycherley edited with an introduction and notes by w c ward, part of mermaid series includes biography of wycherley, together with the following written in play format love in a wood or st jamess park, the gentleman dancing master, the country wife and the plain dealer. As a genre, restoration comedy is notable for displaying a recrudescence of bawdiness, the public expression of which had been suppressed under the puritans, and for taking a satirical, or even cynical, view of marriage and. William wycherley lived from 1640 to 1715, and earned his reputation as one of the wittiest. It features a country wife, margery, whose husband believes she is too naive to cuckold him and an antihero, horner, who pretends to be impotent in order to have. Wycherley s wife is in rude good humour with this cracking revival. Cox 1 the country wife 16751 by william wycherley the persons many ornaments, and spent upon you ounces mr. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and antipuritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time.
What was the purpose of the country wife by william wycherley. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Compare the ecole des femmes molieres school for wives with the country. Study questions for william wycherley, the country wife. William wycherley, author of the country wife replaced for.
Otherwise, the country wife along with its adaptation the cnt makes for a thoughtfully engaging and funny weekend of theatre. With startlingly frank explorations of gender dynamics, marital structures, female autonomy, misogyny, and seventeenthcentury societal obligations, as well as an infamous china scene positively dripping with innuendo, the country wife remains a classic of its genre that continues to invite fresh and exciting interpretations with each new. Dramatis personae act i act ii act iii act iv act v hosted by. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatreroyal. Restoration comedy and the country wife by dominique panton. Is it fair to say that the country wife is an examination of selfdeception and hypocrisy, and of their consequences.
Patriarchal tactics of control and female desire in wycherley. Gender, desire, and the characters positions in the face of it, especially in the country wife, have become the central preoccupations of recent criticism while attention has also been drawn to sexual relationships as a. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. A mistress should be like a little country retreat near the town, not to dwell in constantly, but only for a night and away. The country wife by william wycherley free book pdf. Wycherleys wife is in rude good humour with this cracking revival. Get an answer for what was the purpose of the country wife by william wycherley. It is said to be obvious to the ordinary reader that the play is nourished with references to acting and the theater, wherein the language of the play is constantly directing the audiences attention to the art of the drama. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The country wife is more neatly constructed than most restoration comedies, but is typical of its time and place in having three sources and three plots. Buy the country wife by william wycherley with free delivery. The country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Through a single simple ruse horner helps one woman after another settle accounts with a foolish spouse.
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