The Plays of William Wycherley

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Plays of William Wycherley
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Peter Holland
SeriesPlays by Renaissance and Restoration Dramatists
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:512
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreLiterary studies - general
ISBN/Barcode 9780521298803
ClassificationsDewey:822.4
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 30 July 1981
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

`Mr Wycherley is universally allowed the first place among the English comic poets who have writ since Ben Jonson. His Plain-Dealer is the best comedy that ever was composed in any language.' Yet in spite of the extreme praise many of his contemporaries accorded to his work, William Wycherley (1641-1715) is now only remembered for one play, The Country Wife. Even though The Country Wife is frequently performed by both amateur and professional companies (including a production at the National Theatre in 1977), Wycherley's three other plays, Love in a Wood, The Gentleman Dancing-Master and The Plain-Dealer, are rarely read and even more rarely performed. But Wycherley's satire is as sharp now as ever and his revelation of the follies and crimes of his society is still both wickedly funny and savagely perceptive.