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 sexuality. Many of the craftwork features on the mural were made by members of the wi who were experts in such fields as glove making, canework, and embroidery. The country wife is one of the most powerful expressions of late seventeenth century culture, and it remained a popular play for decades in theaters throughout the englishspeaking world. It is based on several plays by moliere, with added features that 1670s london audiences. Often considered the bawdiest of restoration comedies, wycherleys play introduces horner, who claims to be impotent so that husbands and guardians will suppose him a. The country wife by william wycherley read online on bookmate. Horner the main character of the play who wants to find a way. Country wife chronicles is dedicated to gracia gillming, a loving mentor and friend who showed me what it looked like to live for the glory of god. The country wife is a classically bawdy restoration comedy. Cwc chronicles the country life, the simple life, and the fire life from the perspective of a provincial country wife.
Page the country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. There are pessimistic remarks on honor, class, women, and love. When i was done i was so irritated that the author would write such an awful ending. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
She never ceased to inspire and the light of the lords love was everpresent in her, shining forth like a beacon of hope. The country wifes place in english literature is more relevant to the history of drama than to the literary canon itself. The country wife textile mural was designed by constance howard and was made by her, and some of her students at goldsmiths college, for the country pavilion at the festival of britain in 1951. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Full of banter and repartee, it is fun to read, but the play is most. Graci was a prayer warrior, a constant source of encouragement, and a bold example of faith to many. Mark van doren adds her testimony to that of her neighbor, lewis gannett of cream hill, on the pros and cons of country living, and does it with individual grace and charm, though with perhaps less of originality than some of her fellows. Immediately download the the country wife summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for.
There is a continual joking of sexual suggestion and double meaning. The country wife project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. References country wife in the canadian oxford dictionary, second edition, oxford university press, 2004. The plyantdiscourse of wyc herleys the country wife. Theatre royal haymarket, london michael billington.
Pinchwifes plans to stop any liaison go badly awry. Dorothy van doren writes beguilingly about the summers she and husband mark van doren led at the connecticut farm they purchased as newlyweds in the early 20th century. Well look at the political and literary context of the play as well as the plot of the play itself. 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.
The plyant discourse of wycherleys the country wife. What also irritates me is the title is country wife. The plays action begins with harry horner explaining to the quack his brilliant ruse for making a. The resourceful hero of the country wife is horner, the scourge of stupid husbands and the hope of unhappy wives. Nay, by this means you may be the more acquainted with the husbands, but the less with the wives. The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710. Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. The country wife wikisource, the free online library. 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 is a romp and a farce and a classic of restoration comedy, very typical of the genre. Page the countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Horners lodging enter horner, and quack following him at a distance. Front matter indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper.
The country wife goodreads meet your next favorite book. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Oct 10, 2007 the country wife 3 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. Agnes in the school for wives is a simple and amiable girl, whose heart is indeed full of love, but of love sanctioned by honour, morality, and religion. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The country wife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. She demands boycie goes and picks some berries of the many bushes in their fields even. The aptly named horner is pretending to be a eunuch in order to gain access to women under their husbands noses. She hit him on the ear, and she meant to hit him on the ear, because he messed up her china collection. In the country wife, horner allows society to believe he is impotent, and as such husbands entrust him with their wives. Margery, the country wife, upsets his plans when she learns the manners of the city and begins to apply them herself. The country wife by wycherley william, coursework download. 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.
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. Country wife chronicles has 150 posts on their instagram profile. Inserting snippets of world events that defined the era in which she is recalling, annes transformation into a wife, mother, career women and rural property owner is quite remarkable and a story. Read the country wife, by william wycherley on bookmate. 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. The country wife by william wycherley librarything. Marlene tries her hand at country cooking, despite the warnings from her husband and her son. Named for one of the victims, this play is an excellent example of the english comic style. A quack is as fit for a pimp, as a midwife for a bawd. Mar 01, 2010 listen to country wife audiobook by william wycherley. The country wife by william wycherley free book pdf. Project gutenberg is one of the largest sources for free books on the web, with over 60,000 downloadable free books available in a wide variety of formats. Preliminaries omitted play details the country wife.
The country wife questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the country wife. It was first screened on 23 september 2005, as the third episode of series one. The country wife is a down to earth australian memoir that chronicles decades in the life of anne gorman, a city girl turned true blue country wife. The country wife by william wycherley the seventeenth. Country wife chronicles is a blog that documents the journey of a country wife seeking to savor the stillness of a simple country lifebut who exactly is the country wife ok, that statement sounds a little like how much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood. 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. The country wife essaysthe country wife is a very funny comedy about men, women and marriage. I feel like now i wish i never read the book because it allows acceptance of domestic abuse as long as there are mitigating circumstances.
Here we have horner, the trickster hero of the play, who is determined to sleep around with married women and thereby cuckold their husbands. Publication date 1974 topics none publisher toronto. Related links essay questions quiz 1 quiz 2 quiz 3 quiz 4 citations. Compare the ecole des femmes molieres school for wives with the country wife. First published in 1950, a country wife deals with gentle joys and occasional mishaps during the van dorens quarter century of married life up to that date. Top 8 quotes from the country wife free book notes. The country wife is an episode of the bbc sitcom, the green green grass.
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. Francis turns to his son, but the boy has justification for the kickshe hit him first. The country wife by wycherley william, coursework download sample. In this naughty comedy of manners, horner the dandy pretends impotence in order to woo and bed the wives of unsuspecting businessmen. 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. It was considered so rude that it wasnt performed from the 18thcentury until the 20thcentury. Often considered the bawdiest of restoration comedies, wycherleys play introduces horner, who claims to be impotent so that husbands and guardians will suppose him a safe companion for their women. 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. Project gutenberg is the oldest and quite possibly the largest library on the web, with literally thousands free books available for download. 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. So, grab yourself some coffee and peruse the pages of this blog and youll find out just who the country wife is. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of country. Founded in faith, the purpose of country wife chronicles is to share the joys of slowing down and savoring the art of being still in the lord.
The country wife was written by william wycherley in 1675. Wycherleys the country wife, like many comedies of manners, focuses on sexual relations as its primary theme. About the country wife the country wife summary character list glossary themes quotes and analysis act i. The regents restoration drama text is based on the first. This lesson will explore william wycherleys the country wife. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. This play has often been classed by theater historians as a sex comedy, for reasons that are obvious. Through a single simple ruse horner helps one woman after another settle accounts with a foolish spouse. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley.