Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging. 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. Throughout the play, the term cuckold is used almost in a casual way. Well, my dear doctor, hast thou done what i desired. This jealousy backfires and eventually leads his wife right into the arms of the man hes scared of.
Top 8 quotes from the country wife free book notes. Mar 01, 2010 listen to country wife audiobook by william wycherley. The country wife essays are academic essays for citation. Harcourt, his acquaintance, enamored of alithea mr.
One of the best and most vibrant examples of this is william wycherleys play the country wife. They are all resting and undergoing physical therapy. Is william wycherley critiquing only the nobility in the country wife, or is the play making a statement about the nature of people, regardless of their social status. Sir jasper fidget enters with his wife, lady fidget. Well look at the political and literary context of the play as well as the plot of the play itself. The countrywife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. It is classified in english literature as a restoration comedy. Bbc play of the month the country wife tv episode 1977 imdb. Deception in the country wife and the conscious lovers. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the country wife by william wycherly.
The country husband is considered one of the best stories in the book, and besides winning a 1956 o. Join stageagent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. This lesson will explore william wycherleys the country wife. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of country.
The country wife social historical context duration. William wycherley lived from 1640 to 1715, and earned his reputation as one of the wittiest playwrights in england. Although he entered college and had the opportunity to study law, wycherleys main interests were. This performance of the country wife is found on disc 4 of helen mirren at the bbc. My problem with the country wife is that wycherleys writing has none of the charm of his contemporary, george etherege.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. About the country wife the country wife summary character list glossary themes quotes and analysis act i. Chapters 3436 in alan patons cry, the beloved country. The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710. For your reference, we provided these the country wife quotes with page numbers using the following version of the book. Procrastination paid off for willy, and now hes considered most of the important playwrights in restoration literature. The country wife study guide from litcharts the creators of.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the country wife, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. William wycherley, the country wife flashcards quizlet. 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. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Henry award, it was included in the 1979 pulitzer prizewinning collection, the stories of john cheever. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the country husband by john cheever. It satirizes the sexual duplicity of the aristocracy during the reign of charles ii. In another country revisits the hemingway code hero concept, with nick adams recuperating in an italian hospital alongside some highranking italian officers and a friend who is a major. The country husband has many of cheevers trademarks. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of cry, the beloved country and what it means. Studying the comedy of the country wife english literature essay.
A quack is as fit for a pimp, as a midwife for a bawd. The separate plots are interlinked but distinct, each projecting a sharply different mood. The country wife by william wycherley was published in 1675 and premiered the same year at the theatre royal in london. Complete summary of william wycherleys the country wife. Play by william congreve in hindi summary explanation and full analysis. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Inferring from horners aversion to ladies that the rumors of his impotence are true, sir jasper arranges for horner to act as his wifes new chaperone and companion. Related links essay questions quiz 1 quiz 2 quiz 3 quiz 4 citations. Summary and analysis of the plot william whycherly s the county wife is a hilarious comedy about men and women in love and marriage. She seems to be not educated and is pleased with anything and everything.
The attractive young country wife of the title, margery is newly married to jack pinchwife and is visiting london for the first time to see alitheas wedding. So, grab yourself some coffee and peruse the pages of this blog and youll find out just who the country wife is. If there is a the country wife sparknotes, shmoop guide, or cliff notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. The country wife summary by william wycherley this story is about debauchery, extramarital affairs, and deception. 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. He describes the tenacity of playwrights and poets who never tire of writing for an audience, no matter how much the audience might criticize their work. William wycherley s the country wife was written and first performed in london, in 1675.
Popular for its lively characters and its double entendres, the bawdy comedy was. 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 best study guide to the country wife on the planet, from the creators of sparknotes. Pinchwife and sir jasper fidget represent stupid husbands who are either too jealous pinchwife or too trusting fidget. 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. Freebooknotes found 3 sites with book summaries or analysis of the country wife.
The country wife project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The country wife study guide contains a biography of william wycherly, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. Sparkish, engaged to alithea sir jaspar fidget, a noble gentleman mrs. Jamess park was favoured by the kings mistress, the duchess of cleveland. Pinchwife, and his wife in mans clothes, alithea, lucy her maid. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Get all the key plot points of william wycherlys the country wife on one page. While there, nick observes the behavior of his older and higherranking friend, the major.
The country wife summary and analysis like sparknotes. After the departure of the fidgets, horners two friends, frank harcourt and mr. The country wife full plot summary including detailed synopsis and summaries for each scene. A man named pinchwife, however, who was recently married to a woman from the country, hasnt heard the rumors of horners impotency and becomes so paranoid and jealous that he keeps his new country wife locked away at home. The country wife plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips. Here we have horner, the trickster hero of the play, who is determined to sleep around with married women and thereby cuckold their husbands. The country wife is a comedy by william wycherley, and this quizworksheet combo will help you test your understanding of the play. Mar 30, 2020 the country wife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. 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. As the story goes on, it is shown how he gains access to these ladies. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The country wife is a woman whose soul yearns for her father, whose life decisions are founded on faith, and who strives to shine for him each and every day. The plays action begins with harry horner explaining to the quack his brilliant ruse for making a. The country wife 1675 the country wife is restoration comedy at its most.
The country wife study guide contains a biography of william wycherly, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. The country wife characters in this article, we will discuss the main characters in the play the country wife by william wycherley. The writing was charming and funny, and the characters were likeable. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. The country wife summary from litcharts the creators of. 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. Would it not make any one melancholy to see you go every day fluttering about abroad, while i must stay at home like a. The country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal.
The mythic archetype of don juan in the country wife. The country wife summary and analysis of the plot bartleby. William wycherley a shropshire lad, born 1641, died 1715. William wycherley lived from 1640 to 1715, and earned his reputation as one of the wittiest. I suppose the bbc has taken the opportunity of releasing these old shows to make money off the name of a star who became famous after she appeared in them. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley.
When i read the man of mode, i was delighted by it. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. Wycherleys the country wife, like many comedies of manners, focuses on sexual relations as its primary theme. Well look at the political and literary context of the play as well as the plot.
William wycherley is known mainly for the country wife, a tale of a jealous husband and his nottoobright. Full text and introduction nhb drama classics kindle edition by wycherley, william, griffiths, trevor. Horner rumour that he is sexually impotent sir jasper fidget. 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. The play has lived on as one of the most famous examples of british restoration comedies and continues to be produced frequently.
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