The Way of the World - Congreve - Unit II British Drama - Exam

Sep 24, 2026

Wondering Minds Unit II: British Drama introduces William Congreve’s Restoration comedy of manners, The Way of the World. The material profiles Congreve and explains how the play’s satire targets fashionable upper-class codes, hypocrisy, and strategic social performance through wit, irony, and intrigue. It outlines the Millamant–Mirabell plot, key obstacles from Lady Wishfort, and deception-based scheme work, then links central themes including marriage as negotiation, appearance versus reality, money and inheritance, and female agency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

The Way of the World—Background & Genre

Comedy of Manners—Core Features

Plot—The Millamant & Mirabell Plot

Plot—Exam Sequence

Major Characters—Exam Focus

Themes—What Examiners Target

Dramatic Technique + Ultra Exam Traps

WONDERING MINDS UP ASST PROFESSOR EXAM WONDERING MINDS FREE CONTENT FOR ALL UNIT–II: BRITISH DRAMA W. CONGREVE THE WAY OF THE WORLD Restoration Comedy of Manners WILLIAM CONGREVE—QUICK PROFILE • William Congreve (1670–1729) was a major Restoration dramatist and one of the finest writers of English comedy of manners. • The Way of the World was first performed in 1700 and is his best-known comedy. • The play satirises fashionable society through wit, intrigue, courtship, marriage and money. • Congreve's dramatic world depends heavily on conversation, social performance, deception and verbal intelligence. EXAM FORMULA: CONGREVE = RESTORATION + COMEDY OF MANNERS + WIT + INTRIGUE + MARRIAGE & MONEY 9996832450 Page 1 WONDERING MINDS 2. THE WAY OF THE WORLD—BACKGROUND & GENRE The Way of the World belongs to the Restoration comedy tradition. It presents a highly artificial social world in which reputation, sexual politics, inheritance, wealth and marriage are closely connected. Its comedy comes from wit, irony, manipulation and the exposure of social hypocrisy. COMEDY OF MANNERS—CORE FEATURES • Focus on fashionable upper-class society and its codes of behaviour. • Witty dialogue, repartee and verbal duelling. • Marriage treated as both an emotional relationship and a financial/social arrangement. • Satire of hypocrisy, vanity, gossip, jealousy and calculated self-interest. • Characters often perform identities to control how others perceive them. TITLE—EXAM ANGLE • The title suggests that the characters' schemes, desires and compromises reflect the accepted ‘way’ of fashionable society. • The play asks how much of social life is governed by appearances, money and strategic behaviour. 9996832450 Page 2 WONDERING MINDS 3. PLOT—THE MILLAMANT & MIRABELL PLOT Mirabell loves Millamant and wants to marry her, but marriage is complicated by Lady Wishfort's opposition and by the financial/social conditions surrounding Millamant's inheritance. Mirabell therefore uses strategy rather than straightforward romance. PLOT—EXAM SEQUENCE • Mirabell and Millamant are the central prospective couple. • Lady Wishfort, Millamant's aunt, dislikes Mirabell and controls an important part of the marriage/inheritance situation. • Mirabell's past flirtation with Lady Wishfort becomes a major obstacle. • Mirabell constructs a scheme involving Waitwell and Foible to manipulate Lady Wishfort. • Lady Wishfort is drawn into a false courtship and the scheme produces comic complications. • Fainall's adultery, financial manipulation and attempted control of Mrs Fainall intensify the intrigue. • The final legal and financial counter-scheme protects Millamant and exposes Fainall. • Mirabell and Millamant are ultimately positioned for marriage. PLOT MEMORY: LOVE + MONEY + INHERITANCE + DECEPTION + SOCIAL REPUTATION = THE ENGINE OF THE COMEDY 9996832450 Page 3 WONDERING MINDS 4. MAJOR CHARACTERS—EXAM FOCUS MIRABELL • Intelligent, strategic and witty central male protagonist. • His love for Millamant is genuine, but he pursues marriage through calculation and social manoeuvring. • Represents the sophisticated wit expected in Restoration comedy. MILLAMANT • Independent-minded, witty and socially sophisticated heroine. • She refuses to enter marriage without negotiating conditions that protect her individuality. • Her famous ‘proviso’ scene is central to the play's treatment of marriage and female agency. LADY WISHFORT • Millamant's aunt and a comic embodiment of vanity, wounded pride and social pretension. • Her desire for admiration makes her vulnerable to deception. FAINALL & MRS FAINALL • Fainall is manipulative, adulterous and financially calculating. • Mrs Fainall has her own history of secrecy and is connected to the play's network of sexual and financial intrigue. FOIBLE, WAITWELL & PETULANT/WITWOUD • Foible and Waitwell are crucial to Mirabell's disg

FAQs

What makes The Way of the World a Restoration comedy of manners?

It presents an artificial social world where reputation, sexual politics, inheritance, wealth, and marriage are tightly connected. Its humor comes from wit, irony, manipulation, and the exposure of social hypocrisy.

How does the play treat marriage in relation to money and autonomy?

Marriage is framed as negotiation involving affection and autonomy alongside property, inheritance, and social reputation. Millamant’s conditions protect her individuality, and the “proviso” scene is central to this focus.

What role do deception and disguise play in the plot?

Mirabell uses strategy and a scheme involving Waitwell and Foible to manipulate Lady Wishfort, drawing her into a false courtship. The intrigue escalates further through Fainall’s adultery and financial control attempts, ending with legal and financial counter-schemes.

Sep 24, 2026

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