Since its premiere at the Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre on March 5th 1700,

has remained among the best known and most puzzling comedies of the Restoration period. Great things were expected after Congreve’s very popular

and

, but in his

of 1708, John Downes recalled that “being too keen a Satyr, [

] had not the Success the Company Expected”. Certainly the “world” in question runs on dubious moral fuel, but others found further cause for complaint. One week after the premiere, Lady Marow claimed there was “no plot in it”, a remark to raise eyebrows among modern audiences and readers used to finding more plot in it than can reasonably be followed. When the play was printed later in…

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Citation: Roberts, David. "The Way of the World". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8107, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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