The country wife by william wycherley, 9781408179895, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. It features a country wife, margery, whose husband believes she is too naive to cuckold him. Lady fidget and a sensible middle will get him free access to mens houses. The plyant discourse of wycherleys the country wife. The fiction section has the complete, fully searchable texts of hundreds of novels the poetry section has world famous poems by everyone from blake to keats, together with the oxford collected english verse and collected french verse. The country wife by william wycherley margery pinchwife. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of country. Wycherley moved in high society, and conducted several liaisons with aristocratic ladies, including the duchess of c. William wycherley, the country wife the open anthology. This main character was needy, clingy, fragile, and way to dependent on men. 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. 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.
A mistress should be like a little country retreat near the town, not to. Reviews of the the country wife up to now with regards to the guide weve got the country wife feedback customers are yet to nevertheless left their report on the experience, or not read it still. The country wife plays at the clemente at 107 suffolk st through september 27, 2015. The country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. She makes her way through the dark treesdown to the lake to be alone. Through a single simple ruse horner helps one woman after another settle accounts with a foolish spouse. As the story goes on, it is shown how he gains access to these ladies.
Yup, the prim n proper reign of the puritans in england was officially over by the time wycherley wrote this bad boy. The plyantdiscourse of wyc herleys the country wife. Listen to country wife audiobook by william wycherley. William wycherley, the country wife flashcards quizlet. Horner, the antihero at the center of the country wife, is a familiar type of the period. I have undone you forever with the women, and reported you throughout the whole town as a eunuch, with as much trouble as if i had made you one in earnest. Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. 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. Get the entire the country wife litchart as a printable pdf. Sparkish, engaged to alithea sir jaspar fidget, a noble gentleman mrs. Dramatis personae act i act ii act iii act iv act v hosted by. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Preliminaries omitted play details the country wife. The country wife has provoked powerfully mixed reactions over the years.
Harcourt, his acquaintance, enamored of alithea mr. Horners lodging enter horner, and quack following him at a distance. Considered by many to be wycherleys finest play, the country wife is a sharp attack on social and sexual hypocrisy, greed and the corruption of town manners. The country wife is also available in the collection restoration comedy.
The country wife by william wycherley is a play in the restoration period that certainly develops many themes. The unfaithful the main characters the restoration period jack pinchwifes easily swayed country wife. About the play the country wife is a hilariously bawdy and subversive drama. The country wife william wycherley download free ebook. Like charles ii, wycherley had spent some commonwealth years in france and become interested in french drama, and throughout his short playwriting career 16711676 he would borrow plotlines and techniques. A quack is as fit for a pimp, as a midwife for a bawd. In the country wife, horner allows society to believe he is impotent, and as such husbands entrust him with their wives. Margery does not only fall in love with the london city life but also with horner. After marrying said farmer she becomes obsessed with pleasing him only to be beaten later on. One of the most notorious restoration comedies in existence, william wycherleys the country wife is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life in the seventeenth century, which was rife with unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. When harry horner, a witty libertine, spreads a false report that he is impotent as a result of having had the pox, he gains privileged access to various society ladies each of whom believe he sacrifices.
Wycherley spends most of the play commenting on marriage and the relationship between men and women. He is over protective and therefore pushes her into the room and locks her. The country wife summary from litcharts the creators of. William wycherley four plays by william wycherley free ebook. 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. What also irritates me is the title is country wife. William wycherleys the country wife is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life. It is classified in english literature as a restoration comedy. William wycherley the country wife lyrics and tracklist.
For the basis of his plot, wycherley here borrows heavily from the work of moliere, but. The country wife by william wycherley new bbc radio drama production considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, william wycherleys raunchy restoration comedy tells the tale of mr horner a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other mens wives. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. In 1675, at age 35, he created a sensation with the country wife, greeted as the bawdiest and wittiest play yet seen on the english stage. The country wife is a set text for aqa english literature aas level and for wjec drama and theatre arts aas level. Pshaw, thats all one, that grave circumspection in marrying a country wife, is like refusing a.
Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. In a spirited defense of the excellences of restoration culture, john dryden praises king charles i1 for having awakened the dull and heavy spirits of the english, from their natural reservdness. The country wife by wycherley, william 16401716 one 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. The country wife by wycherley william qualified writers. The country wife by william wycherley, 9781854592255, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. I do know your wife, sir, shes a woman, sir, and consequently a monster, sir, a greater monster. William wycherleys the country wife was first performed in january 1675, by the kings company, at the theatre royal, drury lane. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Nevertheless, when you have presently look at this guide and youre wanting to produce their own findings well require you to be tied to to go out of. Front matter indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper. First coming unhinged with a fathers death that she runs off and marries a farmer and away from an unfeeling mother. Project gutenberg offers 61,562 free ebooks to download. The country wife by william wycherley 970 words bartleby. William wycherley four plays by william wycherley free. Pdf the country wife download full pdf book download. Featured software all software latest this just in old school emulation msdos games historical software classic pc games software library. This is the beginning of wycherleys the country wife, which is about a trickster horner out to seduce as many married women as he can. The country wife by william wycherley overdrive rakuten. The country wife by wycherley william, coursework download. The country wife ebooks read ebooks online free ebooks.
He was well educated at a young age, studying various subjects throughout europe and later going on to serve in the army and navy. Get all the key plot points of william wycherlys the country wife on one page. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. The country wifes place in english literature is more relevant to the history of drama than to the literary canon itself. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Jamess park the gentleman dancingmaster the country wife the plain dealer. This 45page guide for the country wife by william wycherley includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 5 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request horners services the country wife among them. Margery, the country wife, upsets his plans when she learns the manners of the city and begins to apply them herself. Remaining performances are september 23 and 25 at 8pm. The article presents a literary criticism on the play country wife by william wycherley. Requesting a new title requires a free litcharts account. William wycherley was a restoration playwright, best known for his comedies the country wife 16723 and the plain dealer 1675.
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. Horner, a disreputable london rank who has recently returned from france, spreads the rumor that a venereal disease caused him to become impotent in order to win the favor of the ladies from upper class. No videos, backdrops or posters have been added to the country wife. Page the countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. About the playwright william wycherley was born in england in 1641 and is best known for his restoration comedies. Studying the comedy of the country wife english literature.
Pinchwife over hears the conversation between his sister and his wife and tells margery that someone likes her by mistake. Nick hern books the country wife, by william wycherley. Full of banter and repartee, it is fun to read, but the play is most. The country wife by william wycherley, tiffany stern. The country wife is a romp and a farce and a classic of restoration comedy, very typical of the genre. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. The resourceful hero of the country wife is horner, the scourge of stupid husbands and the hope of unhappy wives. At the time, some observers thought that wycherley had modeled horner on the notorious libertine the earl of rochester. The data is only saved locally on your computer and never transferred to us. The country wife by william wycherley was published in 1675. Mr and mrs pinchwife, alithea, sparkish, harcourt, the virtuous gang, sir jasper, horner and dorilant development of plot.
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