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The Way of The World Literary Elements

The document provides an overview of literary elements and themes in William Congreve's play The Way of the World. It discusses the comedy of manners genre, Restoration England setting, satirical tone, protagonists Mirabell and Ms. Millamant whose marriage is opposed by Lady Wishfort, and the climax involving schemes by Mr. Fainall. It also analyzes elements like allusions, imagery, parallelism between the couples Mirabell/Millamant and Fainall/Marwood, and use of dramatic devices like offstage action.

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Amritendu Maiti
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137 views4 pages

The Way of The World Literary Elements

The document provides an overview of literary elements and themes in William Congreve's play The Way of the World. It discusses the comedy of manners genre, Restoration England setting, satirical tone, protagonists Mirabell and Ms. Millamant whose marriage is opposed by Lady Wishfort, and the climax involving schemes by Mr. Fainall. It also analyzes elements like allusions, imagery, parallelism between the couples Mirabell/Millamant and Fainall/Marwood, and use of dramatic devices like offstage action.

Uploaded by

Amritendu Maiti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. More books than SparkNotes.

Section Navigation

The Way of the World


by
William Congreve

0:00

The Way of the World Literary Elements

Genre
Comedy of Manners

Language
English

Setting and Context


Restoration England

Narrator and Point of View


N/A

Tone and Mood


Satirical

Protagonist and Antagonist


N/A

Major Conflict
Mirabell wants to marry Ms. Millamant, but her aunt Lady Wishfort hates Mirabell for a past offense and holds
power over Ms. Millamant's inheritance.

Climax
Mr. Fainall attempts to use the exposure of Mirabell's scheme and prior relationship with Mrs. Fainall as leverage
to get all of Lady Wishfort's money, but Mirabell and Ms. Millamant foil his plan.

Foreshadowing
Ms. Marwood overhearing Foible's conversation with Mrs. Fainall regarding Mirabell's scheme and promising
aloud to write Lady Wishfort a letter to be delivered at a later time, as well as her subsequently creating her own
scheme with Mr. Fainall, foreshadows and directly leads to the play's climax.

Understatement
N/A

Allusions
Countless references to poems and novels are made in the play, most prominently to an untitled poem by Sir
John Suckling, "The Story of Phoebus and Daphne, Applied" by Edmund Waller, and Don Quixote, less directly, at
multiple places in the play.

Imagery
Imagery-full similes and metaphors are employed to create bright and witty dialogue throughout the play.
Furthermore, as a visual medium, the play is full of action and emotion to create interesting visual imagery,
especially with the importance of fashion and makeup to the play.

Paradox
N/A

Parallelism
The relationship of Mirabell and Ms. Millamont is paralleled and foiled by that of Fainall and Ms. Marwood, a
couple less successful in society and in the play's outcome.

Personification
N/A

Use of Dramatic Devices


Metatheatricality is employed in the prologue, epilogue, and a quote discussed in the Act V summary spoken by
Witwoud. Oftentimes, action will take place offstage and be discussed, adding to the theme of gossip and to the
suspense of the play, as so much is rumor and hearsay.

How To Cite https://www.gradesaver.com/the-way-of-the-world/study-


guide/literary-elements in MLA Format
Cohen, Madeline. Suduiko, Aaron ed. "The Way of the World Literary Elements". GradeSaver, 3 October 2015 Web.
10 October 2021.

The Way of the World Questions and Answers


The Question and Answer section for The Way of the World is a great
resource to ask questions, find answers,
and discuss the novel.

Explain these lines Discuss the theme of love in the way of Revolution
the world
I think the speaker is not being kind to Are you referring to the title The Way of the
poets saying they are drawn into drama Love, in the context of the novel, had many World?
but cannot handle when drama happens to rules that were broken. Marriage and Asked by
RAWA I #1155942
them. adultery are of course connected with Answered by
Aslan
4 months ago
Asked by
Saroj G #1162572 "love" and privide the main themes in The 6/2/2021 8:01 AM
Answered by
Aslan
3 months ago Way of the World, and it seems that
7/4/2021 7:48 AM characters have much more of a problem
with the...
Asked by
prakash v #1162317
Answered by
Aslan
3 months ago
7/2/2021 5:51 AM

Essays for The Way of the World


The Way of the World essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students
and provide critical analysis of the play The Way of the World by William Congreve.

Contrasting the Roles of Women in Restoration and Early 18th Century Dramas
Reading the Proviso Scene of Congreve's The Way of the World in the 21st Century
Satirizing the Upper Class Throughout History: Chaucer, Congreve, and Baitz

Wikipedia Entries for The Way of the World


Introduction
Characters
Plot
Epigraph of the 1700 edition
Historical context

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