British Culture - User contributions [en]

Aphra Behn

2009-07-11T13:47:54Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Works */

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London.

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

There is no definite information about Aphra Behn’s early life. She may have been the child of the Amis family who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Suriname in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Suriname in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Mr Behn either died or the two separated soon afterwards and so Aphra Behn had to earn her own money and worked for King [[Charles II]] in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (autumn)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

As mentioned before, Behn was a professional author writing to earn her living, which means that she was oriented towards the literary market and the taste of the audience. She produced very different kinds of genre. Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed ''The Dutch Lover'' and possibly three more plays before she wrote her tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was performed in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they take a popular format and infuse it with discussions of - then - serious problems, such as incompatible marriages or the tensions between love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by both men and women).

=== '''Fiction''' ===

''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688. It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have met in person. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender made it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684. Some of her poems were thought to have been written by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester - an indication of their high quality and also of their liberal and open treatment of sexual matters.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat. “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fiske. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.

Howe, Elizabeth. ''The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700.'' Cambridge: CUP, 1993.
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780''. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Nestvold, Ruth. ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009 [http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]

"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

Aphra Behn

2009-07-11T13:41:21Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Life */

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London.

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

There is no definite information about Aphra Behn’s early life. She may have been the child of the Amis family who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Suriname in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Suriname in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Mr Behn either died or the two separated soon afterwards and so Aphra Behn had to earn her own money and worked for King [[Charles II]] in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (autumn)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn was a professional author writing to earn her living, which means that she was oriented towards the literary market and the taste of the audience. You find all the genres among her literary oeuvre. Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed ''The Dutch Lover'' and possibly three more plays before she wrote her tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was staged in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they take a popular format and infuse it with discussions of - then - serious problems, such as incompatible marriages or the tensions between love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by both men and women).

=== '''Fiction''' ===

''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688. It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have known. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender helped to make it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684. Some of her poems were thought to have been written by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester - an indication of their high quality and also of their liberal and open treatment of sexual matters.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat. “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fiske. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.

Howe, Elizabeth. ''The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700.'' Cambridge: CUP, 1993.
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780''. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Nestvold, Ruth. ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009 [http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]

"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

Aphra Behn

2009-07-11T13:41:04Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Life */

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London.

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

There is no definite information about Aphra Behn’s early life. She may have been the child of the Amis family who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Suriname in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Suriname in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Mr Behn either died or the two separated soon afterwards and so Aphra Behn had to earn her own money and worked for [[King Charles II]] in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (autumn)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn was a professional author writing to earn her living, which means that she was oriented towards the literary market and the taste of the audience. You find all the genres among her literary oeuvre. Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed ''The Dutch Lover'' and possibly three more plays before she wrote her tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was staged in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they take a popular format and infuse it with discussions of - then - serious problems, such as incompatible marriages or the tensions between love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by both men and women).

=== '''Fiction''' ===

''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688. It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have known. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender helped to make it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684. Some of her poems were thought to have been written by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester - an indication of their high quality and also of their liberal and open treatment of sexual matters.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat. “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fiske. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.

Howe, Elizabeth. ''The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700.'' Cambridge: CUP, 1993.
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780''. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Nestvold, Ruth. ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009 [http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]

"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

William Congreve

2009-07-11T13:34:43Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Poetry */

Born 24 January 1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England. Died 19 January 1729, London. Restoration playwright.

== '''Life''' ==
In 1674 Congreve's father joined the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so the family moved to Carrickfergus, where Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny (the Eton of Ireland) in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. In 1690 Congreve's father became estate agent to the earl of Cork and in the following year, Congreve became a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He rose to some fame instantly and thus the great [[John Dryden]] made him his protégé. They even published a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius together. In early 1693 Congreve’s production ''The Old Bachelour'' at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane earned him some respect. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence. In 1695 he became a manager of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. But he did not, desert the stage entirely, writing librettos for operas and collaborating on a translation of [[Molière]]'s ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' in 1704.
Due to his substantial income Congreve was able to pass the rest of his life quietly. His interest for the stage probably decreased because of his plays failing and due to the so-called Collier-attack, which was launched against him by Jeremy Collier, criticizing the immorality of the Restoration stage. Congreve is also notorious for his affairs with several women. He finally died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==
=== '''Drama''' ===
Congreve's comedies are similar to George [[Etherege]]'s comedies of manner. But being born after the Restoration William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, and not like Etherege to the Carolean dramatists. He is famous for his Comedy of manners, treating mainly themes such as the manners and behavior of the upper class to which it was addressed, i.e. the antipuritanical theatre audience. It dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kind. Its major theme, however, was the liberal and experimental sexual life of many courtiers. Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour'' (1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commended even by [[John Dryden]]. Congreve's following play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in the same year at the Drury Lane Theatre but unfortunately it was not very successful. As opposed to this, ''Love for Love'', which was first performed in 1695, was almost as successful as his first play. It was also the first production being staged in the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, opening after several crises in the old Theatre Royal. Congreve had promised to write one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre but failed to do so and thus his next play ''The Mourning Bride'' was only performed in 1697. Nowadays his tragedies are his least regarded drama, however, during the Restoration they were his most famous plays. In March 1700, Congreve's ''The Way of the World'' was staged and failed to be successful. Its failure is often attributed to the complexity of the plot, which ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamant's substantial inheritance.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve turned to writing poetry, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen [[Mary II]] and ''his Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure'' and several poems. The volume containing these odes also contained his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706) and brought some order to a form that had become very unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==
Corman, Brian. “Comedy” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003. 
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964. 
"Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

__NOTOC__

William Congreve

2009-07-11T13:33:01Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Drama */

Born 24 January 1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England. Died 19 January 1729, London. Restoration playwright.

== '''Life''' ==
In 1674 Congreve's father joined the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so the family moved to Carrickfergus, where Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny (the Eton of Ireland) in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. In 1690 Congreve's father became estate agent to the earl of Cork and in the following year, Congreve became a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He rose to some fame instantly and thus the great [[John Dryden]] made him his protégé. They even published a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius together. In early 1693 Congreve’s production ''The Old Bachelour'' at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane earned him some respect. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence. In 1695 he became a manager of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. But he did not, desert the stage entirely, writing librettos for operas and collaborating on a translation of [[Molière]]'s ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' in 1704.
Due to his substantial income Congreve was able to pass the rest of his life quietly. His interest for the stage probably decreased because of his plays failing and due to the so-called Collier-attack, which was launched against him by Jeremy Collier, criticizing the immorality of the Restoration stage. Congreve is also notorious for his affairs with several women. He finally died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==
=== '''Drama''' ===
Congreve's comedies are similar to George [[Etherege]]'s comedies of manner. But being born after the Restoration William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, and not like Etherege to the Carolean dramatists. He is famous for his Comedy of manners, treating mainly themes such as the manners and behavior of the upper class to which it was addressed, i.e. the antipuritanical theatre audience. It dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kind. Its major theme, however, was the liberal and experimental sexual life of many courtiers. Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour'' (1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commended even by [[John Dryden]]. Congreve's following play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in the same year at the Drury Lane Theatre but unfortunately it was not very successful. As opposed to this, ''Love for Love'', which was first performed in 1695, was almost as successful as his first play. It was also the first production being staged in the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, opening after several crises in the old Theatre Royal. Congreve had promised to write one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre but failed to do so and thus his next play ''The Mourning Bride'' was only performed in 1697. Nowadays his tragedies are his least regarded drama, however, during the Restoration they were his most famous plays. In March 1700, Congreve's ''The Way of the World'' was staged and failed to be successful. Its failure is often attributed to the complexity of the plot, which ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamant's substantial inheritance.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen [[Mary II]] and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure''. He also wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==
Corman, Brian. “Comedy” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003. 
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964. 
"Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

__NOTOC__

William Congreve

2009-07-11T13:30:08Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* Life */

Born 24 January 1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England. Died 19 January 1729, London. Restoration playwright.

== '''Life''' ==
In 1674 Congreve's father joined the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so the family moved to Carrickfergus, where Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny (the Eton of Ireland) in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. In 1690 Congreve's father became estate agent to the earl of Cork and in the following year, Congreve became a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He rose to some fame instantly and thus the great [[John Dryden]] made him his protégé. They even published a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius together. In early 1693 Congreve’s production ''The Old Bachelour'' at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane earned him some respect. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence. In 1695 he became a manager of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. But he did not, desert the stage entirely, writing librettos for operas and collaborating on a translation of [[Molière]]'s ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' in 1704.
Due to his substantial income Congreve was able to pass the rest of his life quietly. His interest for the stage probably decreased because of his plays failing and due to the so-called Collier-attack, which was launched against him by Jeremy Collier, criticizing the immorality of the Restoration stage. Congreve is also notorious for his affairs with several women. He finally died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==
=== '''Drama''' ===
Being born after the [[Restoration]] proper, William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, George Farquhar and John Vanbrugh. Congreve's comedies are similar in their polished brilliance to [[George Etherege]]'s comedies of manner.

His main themes are the manners and behaviour of the upper and middle classes, the tensions between love and money, obedience to one's parents and the wish to live one's own life; the need to lie in society and the wish to be honest.

Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour''(1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commended even by the great writer John Dryden. Congreve's next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December of the same year at Drury Lane did not meet with the same applause. People criticised that the villain was too villainous and that his monologues were too artificial. ''Love for Love'', which was first performed in 1695, almost repeated the success of his first play. It was the first production staged for the new company in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises of the United Company at the Theatre Royal.

Congreve failed to carry out his promise of writing one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn Fields company, so the theatre staged his next play ''The Mourning Bride'' in 1697. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy increased his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced and at first met with criticism. This is often attributed to the complexity of the plot. ''The Way of the World'' ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamant's substantial inheritance. It is not only difficult to follow the plot, but it is also difficult to find out who is a villain, a fool or a hero. Fainall, the bad guy, at first resembles hero Mirabel. The three fools Witwoud, Petulant and Sir Wilfull Witwoud sparkle with puns and bonmots. After a while, however, the audience started to like ''The Way of the World'' and it became a comedy classic.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen [[Mary II]] and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure''. He also wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==
Corman, Brian. “Comedy” in ''The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. D. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003. 
Korninger, Siegfried. ''The Restoration Period and the Eighteenth Century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964. 
"Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

__NOTOC__

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:49:37Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Drama''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==

=== '''Drama''' ===

Congreve's comedies are similar to [[George Etherege's]] comedies of manner. But being born after the Restoration William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, and not like Etherege to the Carolean dramatists.
He is an important writer of the English comedy of manners, differing in many respects from others of this period. His main themes are the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, i.e. the antipuritanical theatre audience. It dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kind. Its major theme, jowever, was the liberal and experimental sexual life of many courtiers.
Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour''(1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commeneded even by the great writer John Dryden. Congreve's next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December of the same year at Drury Lane did not meet with the same applause. ''Love for Love'', which was first perfromed in 1695, almost repeated the success of his first play. It was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal.
Congreve failed to carry out his promise of writing one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, so the theatre staged his next play''The Mourning Bride'' in 1697. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy increased his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced and failed to be successful. Its failure is often attributed to the complexity of the plot. ''The Way of the World'' ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamant's substantial inheritance. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure''. He also wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:47:21Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Drama''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==

=== '''Drama''' ===

Congreve's comedies are similar to George Etherege's comedies of manner. But being born after the Restoration William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, and not like Etherege to the Carolean dramatists.
He is an imprtant writer of the English comedy of manners, differing from in many respects from others of this period of the drama. His main themes were the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, i.e. the antipuritanical theatre audience. It dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kind. Its major theme, jowever, was the liberal and experimental sexual life of many courtiers.
Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour''(1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commeneded even by the great writer John Dryden. Congreve's next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December of the same year at Drury Lane did not meet with the same applause. ''Love for Love'', which was first perfromed in 1695, almost repeated the success of his first play. It was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal.
Congreve failed to carry out his promise of writing one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, so the theatre staged his next play''The Mourning Bride'' in 1697. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy increased his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced and failed to be successful. Its failure is often attributed to the complexity of the plot. ''The Way of the World'' ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamant's substantial inheritance. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure''. He also wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:46:27Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Works''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==

=== '''Drama''' ===

Congreve's comedies are similar to George Etherege's comedies of manner. But being born after the Restoration William Congreve belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele, and not like Etherege to the Carolean dramatists.
He is an imprtant writer of the English comedy of manners, differing from in many respects from others of this period of the drama. His main themes were the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, i.e. the antipuritanical theatre audience. It dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kind. Its major theme, jowever, was the liberal and experimental sexual life of many courtiers.
Congreve's first play ''The Old Bachelour''(1693) was an enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight and commeneded even by the great writer John Dryden. Congreve's next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December of the same year at Drury Lane did not meet with the same applause. ''Love for Love'', which was first perfromed in 1695, almost repeated the success of his first play. It was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal.
Congreve failed to carry out his promise of writing one play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, so the theatre staged his next play''The Mourning Bride''in 1697. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy increased his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced and failed to be successful. Its failure is often attributed to the complexity of the plot. ''The Way of the World'' ropes around the lovers Mirabell and Millamant who have to overcome several difficulties in order to marry and secure Millamants substantial inheritance. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.

=== '''Poetry''' ===
In 1695 Congreve began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure''. He also wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his ''Discourse on the Pindarique Ode'' (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:30:39Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Works''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==

Comedy close to George Etherege

Being born after the Restoration he belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele.
Congreve is the outstanding writer of the English comedy of manners, markedly different in many respects from others of this period of the drama. Taking as its main theme the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, that is, the antipuritanical theatre audience drawn largely from the court, it dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kinds; but its main theme was the sexual life led by a large number of courtiers, with their philosophy of freedom and experimentation. Restoration comedy was always satirical and sometimes cynical. Congreve rises above other dramatists of his time in both the delicacy of his feeling and the perfection of his phrasing.

The Old Bachelour = enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight. Also liked by Dryden His next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December at Drury Lane but did not meet with the same applause (it later became the more critically admired work, however). ''Love for Love'' almost repeated the success of his first play. Performed in April 1695, it was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal, complicated by quarrels among the actors.
In 1695 he began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure'';
Though Congreve signally failed to carry out his promise of writing a play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, he showed his good intentions by letting them stage ''The Mourning Bride''. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy, produced early in 1697, swelled his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced; Lovers Mirabell and Millamant have to overcome several difficulties in order to save enough money to marry → meaningless plot but excellent individual scenes, brilliant conversations, language: lucidity, animation, substance, spirit, elegance though it is now his only frequently revived piece, it was a failure with the audience. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.
He wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some soundly scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his timely "Discourse on the Pindarique Ode" (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.'' München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:29:47Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Life''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident in 1729.

== '''Works''' ==

Comedy close to George Etherege

Being born after the Restoration he belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele.
Congreve is the outstanding writer of the English comedy of manners, markedly different in many respects from others of this period of the drama. Taking as its main theme the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, that is, the antipuritanical theatre audience drawn largely from the court, it dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kinds; but its main theme was the sexual life led by a large number of courtiers, with their philosophy of freedom and experimentation. Restoration comedy was always satirical and sometimes cynical. Congreve rises above other dramatists of his time in both the delicacy of his feeling and the perfection of his phrasing.

The Old Bachelour = enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight. Also liked by Dryden His next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December at Drury Lane but did not meet with the same applause (it later became the more critically admired work, however). ''Love for Love'' almost repeated the success of his first play. Performed in April 1695, it was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal, complicated by quarrels among the actors.
In 1695 he began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure'';
Though Congreve signally failed to carry out his promise of writing a play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, he showed his good intentions by letting them stage ''The Mourning Bride''. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy, produced early in 1697, swelled his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced; Lovers Mirabell and Millamant have to overcome several difficulties in order to save enough money to marry → meaningless plot but excellent individual scenes, brilliant conversations, language: lucidity, animation, substance, spirit, elegance though it is now his only frequently revived piece, it was a failure with the audience. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.
He wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some soundly scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his timely "Discourse on the Pindarique Ode" (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

Sources
Corman, Brian: “Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:29:30Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Life''' */

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve collaborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius. In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and collaborated on translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly the result of his play failing and partly of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden.
The rest of his life he passed rather quietly, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his multiple other jobs. He is notorious for his affection for Mrs Anne Bracegirdle — who acted most of his female leads; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devoted to the second duchess of Marlborough, and he probably fathered her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident.

== '''Works''' ==

Comedy close to George Etherege

Being born after the Restoration he belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele.
Congreve is the outstanding writer of the English comedy of manners, markedly different in many respects from others of this period of the drama. Taking as its main theme the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, that is, the antipuritanical theatre audience drawn largely from the court, it dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kinds; but its main theme was the sexual life led by a large number of courtiers, with their philosophy of freedom and experimentation. Restoration comedy was always satirical and sometimes cynical. Congreve rises above other dramatists of his time in both the delicacy of his feeling and the perfection of his phrasing.

The Old Bachelour = enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight. Also liked by Dryden His next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December at Drury Lane but did not meet with the same applause (it later became the more critically admired work, however). ''Love for Love'' almost repeated the success of his first play. Performed in April 1695, it was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal, complicated by quarrels among the actors.
In 1695 he began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure'';
Though Congreve signally failed to carry out his promise of writing a play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, he showed his good intentions by letting them stage ''The Mourning Bride''. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy, produced early in 1697, swelled his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced; Lovers Mirabell and Millamant have to overcome several difficulties in order to save enough money to marry → meaningless plot but excellent individual scenes, brilliant conversations, language: lucidity, animation, substance, spirit, elegance though it is now his only frequently revived piece, it was a failure with the audience. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.
He wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some soundly scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his timely "Discourse on the Pindarique Ode" (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

Sources
Corman, Brian: “Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Congreve, William." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Congreve

2009-05-22T13:22:26Z

Stefanie Brenzel:

= '''William Congreve'''=

born 24.01.1670, Bardsey, Yorkshire, England; died 19.01.1729, London

----

== '''Life''' ==

Being born after the Restoration he belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele.
In 1674 Congreve's father was granted a commission in the army to join the garrison at Youghal, in Ireland and so after a Transfer to Carrickfergus, Congreve, was sent to school at Kilkenny, the Eton of Ireland, in 1681. Five years later, in April 1686 he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89) the family moved to the Congreve home at Stretton in Staffordshire, and Congreve's father was made estate agent to the earl of Cork in 1690. In 1691 he was entered as a law student at the Middle Temple and started writing and publishing. He quickly became known and became a protégé of [[John Dryden]]. In that year Dryden and Congreve coleborated on a translation of the satires of Juvenal and Persius (dated 1693). In March 1693 he achieved sudden fame with the production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of ''The Old Bachelour'', which was written, in 1690. Congreve claimed to have composed this play to amuse himself during convalescence.
In 1695 Congreve became one of the managers of the new theatrein Lincoln's Inn Fields, promising to provide a new play every year and he was made one of the five commissioners for licensing hackney coaches, though at a reduced salary of £100 per annum.
When Congreve's masterpiece ''The Way of the World'' failed to be successful in 1700, he refrained from writing plays. He did not, however, desert the stage entirely and thus wrote librettos for two operas, and he collaborated in translating Molière's ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' for Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1704. In the following year he associated himself for a short time with the playwright and architect Sir John Vanbrugh writing an epilogue to its first production. It is likely that Congreve's retreat from the stage was partly a result of the Collier attack, which was launched against the supposed immorality of contemporary comedies and specifically against Congreve and Dryden. In reply, Congreve wrote Amendments of Mr. Collier's False and Imperfect Citations (1698).
The rest of his life he passed quietly enough, being in easy circumstances thanks to his private income, the royalties on his plays, and his not very exacting posts in the civil service. In 1705 he was made a commissioner for wines, a post that he retained by virtue of Jonathan Swift's good offices at the change of government in 1710 but which he relinquished in 1714 when he joined the customs service; his position was improved at the end of 1714 with the addition of the secretaryship of the island of Jamaica. As to his relations with the other sex, his affection for Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle—who acted most of his female leads—is well known; they were always close friends, but whether the intimacy was of a deeper nature is undetermined. In his later years he was devotedly attached to the second duchess of Marlborough, and it is almost certain that he was the father of her second daughter, Lady Mary Godolphin, later duchess of Leeds. This would account for the large legacy, of almost all his fortune, which he left to the duchess of Marlborough. He died after a carriage accident.

Works
Comedy close to George Etherege

Being born after the Restoration he belongs to the second generation of writers, together with Richard Steele.
Congreve is the outstanding writer of the English comedy of manners, markedly different in many respects from others of this period of the drama. Taking as its main theme the manners and behaviour of the class to which it was addressed, that is, the antipuritanical theatre audience drawn largely from the court, it dealt with imitators of French customs, conceited wits, and fantastics of all kinds; but its main theme was the sexual life led by a large number of courtiers, with their philosophy of freedom and experimentation. Restoration comedy was always satirical and sometimes cynical. Congreve rises above other dramatists of his time in both the delicacy of his feeling and the perfection of his phrasing.

The Old Bachelour = enormous success, running for the then unprecedented length of a fortnight. Also liked by Dryden His next play, ''The Double-Dealer'', played in November or December at Drury Lane but did not meet with the same applause (it later became the more critically admired work, however). ''Love for Love'' almost repeated the success of his first play. Performed in April 1695, it was the first production staged for the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was opened after protracted crises in the old Theatre Royal, complicated by quarrels among the actors.
In 1695 he began to write his more public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on the death of Queen Mary II and his ''Pindarique Ode, Humbly Offer'd to the King on his taking Namure'';
Though Congreve signally failed to carry out his promise of writing a play a year for the Lincoln's Inn theatre, he showed his good intentions by letting them stage ''The Mourning Bride''. Although it is now his least regarded drama, this tragedy, produced early in 1697, swelled his reputation enormously and became his most popular play. No further dramatic work appeared until March 1700, when Congreve's masterpiece, ''The Way of the World'', was produced; Lovers Mirabell and Millamant have to overcome several difficulties in order to save enough money to marry → meaningless plot but excellent individual scenes, brilliant conversations, language: lucidity, animation, substance, spirit, elegance though it is now his only frequently revived piece, it was a failure with the audience. This was Congreve's last attempt to write a play, though he did not entirely desert the theatre.
He wrote a considerable number of poems, some of the light social variety, some soundly scholarly translations from Homer, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace, and some Pindaric odes. The volume containing these odes also comprised his timely "Discourse on the Pindarique Ode" (1706), which brought some order to a form that had become wildly unrestrained since the days of the poet Abraham Cowley.

Sources
Congreve, William." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 May 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-1477>.

William Wycherley

2009-05-22T12:44:33Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Wycherley, William''' */

= '''William Wycherley''' =

born 1640/41, died 1.1.1716

----

== '''Life''' ==

English dramatist, born around 1640 in Clive, by Shrewsbury, died 1.1.1716, London.
Wycherley wrote comedies, most famously: ''The Country Wife'' (1675) and ''The Plain Dealer'' (1677) and together with [[Aphra Behn]], [[John Dryden]], [[George Etherege]] and Thomas Shadwell he represents the group of Carolean writers who were born before the Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy.
Wycherley's father was the steward to the marquess of Winchester. When William Wycherley was 15 years old, he was sent to school in France. After returning to England in 1660 he entered Queen's College, Oxford to study law. He left soon without a degree. Little is known of his life in the 1660s, except that he wrote several plays and he probably fought in the naval war against the Dutch in 1665. Wycherley was taken up by Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland, whose favours he shared with King Charles II, and he was admitted to the circle of wits at court. Wycherley led a rampant life during at court and thus he fell ill in 1678. Two years later, he secretly married the countess of Drogheda: She was a rigid puritan who kept him henpecked. Due to this he lost his favour at court.
Wycherley’s wife died in 1681, leaving him an enormous inheritance. But the will was contested, and Wycherley ruined himself fighting the case and was hence cast into a debtor's prison where he stayed for seven years. Only after this long period of time, he was rescued by King James II, who paid off most of his debts and even allowed him a small pension. This was lost when James was deposed in 1688.
William Wyhcerley was born a Roman Catholic but converted later to Protestantism. However, after having been rescued from prison he converted back again to Catholicism.

== '''Works''' ==

Wycherley wrote several comedies, which are mainly Johnsonian satires where clever knaves gull their victim.
''Love in a Wood; or, St. James's Park'' was Wycherley first play and premiered successfully in 1671 making him famous. A year later ''The Gentleman Dancing-Master'' followed but was unsuccessful. These early plays have some farcical moments and followed tradition in presenting a satiric portrait of pretentious characters, like fops, rakes and would-be wits.
The most famous comedy is by Wycherley is ''The Country Wife'' (1675), which tells the story of Mr Pinchwife, a former gallant and now husband of a young country woman, of whom he is very jealous, coming to London and, along with a number of other husbands, being cuckolded by a young libertine, Mr Horner. The play is often mocking contemporary stock situations and stock characters. Thus ''The Country Wife'' is not a light-hearted comedy but a bitter satire, criticizing contemporary morals and attitudes towards love and marriage without presenting a solution. Wycherley’s other widely famous play is ''The Plain Dealer'' which was performed in 1676 and is a satire on Wycherley’s well-liked motif greed.

----

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed.
P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780''.
München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

“Wycherley.” ''dtv-Lexikon''. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2006.

"Wycherley, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-8036>

William Wycherley

2009-05-22T12:43:30Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Life''' */

= '''Wycherley, William''' =

born 1640/41, died 1.1.1716

----

== '''Life''' ==

English dramatist, born around 1640 in Clive, by Shrewsbury, died 1.1.1716, London.
Wycherley wrote comedies, most famously: ''The Country Wife'' (1675) and ''The Plain Dealer'' (1677) and together with [[Aphra Behn]], [[John Dryden]], [[George Etherege]] and Thomas Shadwell he represents the group of Carolean writers who were born before the Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy.
Wycherley's father was the steward to the marquess of Winchester. When William Wycherley was 15 years old, he was sent to school in France. After returning to England in 1660 he entered Queen's College, Oxford to study law. He left soon without a degree. Little is known of his life in the 1660s, except that he wrote several plays and he probably fought in the naval war against the Dutch in 1665. Wycherley was taken up by Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland, whose favours he shared with King Charles II, and he was admitted to the circle of wits at court. Wycherley led a rampant life during at court and thus he fell ill in 1678. Two years later, he secretly married the countess of Drogheda: She was a rigid puritan who kept him henpecked. Due to this he lost his favour at court.
Wycherley’s wife died in 1681, leaving him an enormous inheritance. But the will was contested, and Wycherley ruined himself fighting the case and was hence cast into a debtor's prison where he stayed for seven years. Only after this long period of time, he was rescued by King James II, who paid off most of his debts and even allowed him a small pension. This was lost when James was deposed in 1688.
William Wyhcerley was born a Roman Catholic but converted later to Protestantism. However, after having been rescued from prison he converted back again to Catholicism.

== '''Works''' ==

Wycherley wrote several comedies, which are mainly Johnsonian satires where clever knaves gull their victim.
''Love in a Wood; or, St. James's Park'' was Wycherley first play and premiered successfully in 1671 making him famous. A year later ''The Gentleman Dancing-Master'' followed but was unsuccessful. These early plays have some farcical moments and followed tradition in presenting a satiric portrait of pretentious characters, like fops, rakes and would-be wits.
The most famous comedy is by Wycherley is ''The Country Wife'' (1675), which tells the story of Mr Pinchwife, a former gallant and now husband of a young country woman, of whom he is very jealous, coming to London and, along with a number of other husbands, being cuckolded by a young libertine, Mr Horner. The play is often mocking contemporary stock situations and stock characters. Thus ''The Country Wife'' is not a light-hearted comedy but a bitter satire, criticizing contemporary morals and attitudes towards love and marriage without presenting a solution. Wycherley’s other widely famous play is ''The Plain Dealer'' which was performed in 1676 and is a satire on Wycherley’s well-liked motif greed.

----

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed.
P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780''.
München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

“Wycherley.” ''dtv-Lexikon''. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2006.

"Wycherley, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-8036>

Aphra Behn

2009-05-22T12:06:54Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Sources''' */

== '''Behn, Aphra ''' ==

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

Aphra Behn’s early life remains a mystery even to this day. She may have been the child of a family called Amis who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Surinam in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Surinam in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Since he died (or the two separated) soon afterwards, Behn had to earn her own money and worked for King Charles II in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment and due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (fall)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedyies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed “The Dutch Lover” and possibly three more plays before she wrote her sole tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was staged in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they did not treat masculine and feminine behaviour but serious problems in incompatible marriages, like love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by men and women)

=== '''Fiction''' ===

Her only short novel ''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688 . It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have known. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender helped to make it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat: “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.

Howe, Elizabeth: The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700. Cambridge: CUP, 1993
Korninger, Siegfried: The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780. München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

Nestvold, Ruth: ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009 [http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]

"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

Aphra Behn

2009-05-22T12:06:27Z

Stefanie Brenzel: /* '''Sources''' */

== '''Behn, Aphra ''' ==

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

Aphra Behn’s early life remains a mystery even to this day. She may have been the child of a family called Amis who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Surinam in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Surinam in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Since he died (or the two separated) soon afterwards, Behn had to earn her own money and worked for King Charles II in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment and due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (fall)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedyies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed “The Dutch Lover” and possibly three more plays before she wrote her sole tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was staged in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they did not treat masculine and feminine behaviour but serious problems in incompatible marriages, like love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by men and women)

=== '''Fiction''' ===

Her only short novel ''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688 . It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have known. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender helped to make it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat: “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.
Howe, Elizabeth: The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700. Cambridge: CUP, 1993
Korninger, Siegfried: The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.
Nestvold, Ruth: ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009 [http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]
"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

William Wycherley

2009-05-22T12:05:36Z

Stefanie Brenzel:

= '''Wycherley, William''' =

born 1640/41, died 1.1.1716

----

== '''Life''' ==

English dramatist, born around 1640 in Clive, by Shrewsbury, died 1.1.1716, London.
Wycherley wrote comedies, most famously: ''The Country Wife'' (1675) and ''The Plain Dealer'' (1677) and together with [[Aphra Behn]], John Dryden, George Etherege and Thomas Shadwell he represents the group of Carolean writers who were born before the Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy.
Wycherley's father was the steward to the marquess of Winchester. When William Wycherley was 15 years old, he was sent to school in France. After returning to England in 1660 he entered Queen's College, Oxford to study law. He left soon without a degree. Little is known of his life in the 1660s, except that he wrote several plays and he probably fought in the naval war against the Dutch in 1665. Wycherley was taken up by Barbara Villiers, duchess of Cleveland, whose favours he shared with King Charles II, and he was admitted to the circle of wits at court. Wycherley led a rampant life during at court and thus he fell ill in 1678. Two years later, he secretly married the countess of Drogheda: She was a rigid puritan who kept him henpecked. Due to this he lost his favour at court.
Wycherley’s wife died in 1681, leaving him an enormous inheritance. But the will was contested, and Wycherley ruined himself fighting the case and was hence cast into a debtor's prison where he stayed for seven years. Only after this long period of time, he was rescued by King James II, who paid off most of his debts and even allowed him a small pension. This was lost when James was deposed in 1688.
William Wyhcerley was born a Roman Catholic but converted later to Protestantism. However, after having been rescued from prison he converted back again to Catholicism.

== '''Works''' ==

Wycherley wrote several comedies, which are mainly Johnsonian satires where clever knaves gull their victim.
''Love in a Wood; or, St. James's Park'' was Wycherley first play and premiered successfully in 1671 making him famous. A year later ''The Gentleman Dancing-Master'' followed but was unsuccessful. These early plays have some farcical moments and followed tradition in presenting a satiric portrait of pretentious characters, like fops, rakes and would-be wits.
The most famous comedy is by Wycherley is ''The Country Wife'' (1675), which tells the story of Mr Pinchwife, a former gallant and now husband of a young country woman, of whom he is very jealous, coming to London and, along with a number of other husbands, being cuckolded by a young libertine, Mr Horner. The play is often mocking contemporary stock situations and stock characters. Thus ''The Country Wife'' is not a light-hearted comedy but a bitter satire, criticizing contemporary morals and attitudes towards love and marriage without presenting a solution. Wycherley’s other widely famous play is ''The Plain Dealer'' which was performed in 1676 and is a satire on Wycherley’s well-liked motif greed.

----

== '''Sources''' ==

Corman, Brian: ''“Comedy” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre''. Ed.
P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003

Korninger, Siegfried: ''The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780''.
München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.

“Wycherley.” ''dtv-Lexikon''. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2006.

"Wycherley, William." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-8036>

Aphra Behn

2009-05-07T15:31:49Z

Stefanie Brenzel:

== '''Behn, Aphra ''' ==

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

Aphra Behn’s early life remains a mystery even to this day. She may have been the child of a family called Amis who, together with their child “Ayfara” or “Aphra” went to Surinam in South America in the 1650s. The second possibility is that she was the daughter of the barber Bartholomew Johnson who also went to Surinam in 1663 with his family .
She returned to England in the following year and married a merchant named Behn. Since he died (or the two separated) soon afterwards, Behn had to earn her own money and worked for King Charles II in the secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. After a brief imprisonment and due to heavy debts, she started her writing career.

= '''Works''' =
1670 -- ''The Forced Marriage''
1671 -- ''The Amourous Prince''
1672 -- ''Covent Garden Drollery'' (probably edited by Behn)
1673 -- ''The Dutch Lover''
1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: ''The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate'', and ''The Woman Turned Bully''
1676 –- ''Abdelazer'', ''The Town Fop''
1677 -- ''The Rover'' (March), ''The Debauchee'' (February) and ''The Counterfeit Bridegroom'' (September)
1678 -- ''Sir Patient Fancy'' (January)
1679 -- ''The Feigned Courtesans'' (spring), ''The Young King'' (fall)
1681 -- The Second Part of ''The Rover'', ''The False Count'' (November) and ''The Roundheads'' (December)
1682 -- ''The City Heiress'' (spring), ''Like Father, Like Son''
1683 -- Publication of the first part of ''Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''
1684 -- Publication of ''Poems on Several Occasions''
1685 -- Publication of ''Miscellany''
1686 -- Publication of ''The Lover's Watch'', ''The Lucky Chance''
1687 -- ''The Emperor of the Moon'' (March)
1688 -- Publication of prose fiction works: ''The Fair Jilt'', ''Agnes de Castro'' and ''Oroonoko''

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn’s first plays were two tragicomedyies called ''The Forced Marriage'', produced in 1670 and ''The Amorous Prince'' in 1671 . Afterwards followed “The Dutch Lover” and possibly three more plays before she wrote her sole tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', which was staged in 1676 . Thereafter she preferred writing light comedy and farce, like ''The Rover''. Her last play was ''The Emperor of the Moon'', which was performed in 1687.
Her comedies are remarkable because they did not treat masculine and feminine behaviour but serious problems in incompatible marriages, like love and money. In some of her works love justifies illegal actions (by men and women)

=== '''Fiction''' ===

Her only short novel ''Oroonoko'' was published in 1688 . It tells the story of an enslaved prince from Africa whom Aphra Behn claims to have known. Its contemporary themes like slavery, race, and gender helped to make it Behn’s best known work. Others include the epistolary novels ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87), which were the first epistolary novel in English literature .

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn also wrote poetry successfully and published the majority of her poems in a collection called ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' in 1684.

= '''Sources''' =

Gill, Pat: “Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage” in The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. Ed. P. Payne Fisk. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.
Howe, Elizabeth: The First English Actresses. Women and Drama 1660-1700. Cambridge: CUP, 1993
Korninger, Siegfried: The Restoration Period and the eighteenth century. 1660 – 1780.München: Österreichischer Bundesverlag Wien, 1964.
Nestvold, Ruth: ''The Aphra Behn Page'' 07 May 2009
[http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm]
"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

Aphra Behn

2009-04-23T16:55:23Z

Stefanie Brenzel:

== '''Behn, Aphra ''' ==

born 1640, Harbledown, Kent - died April 16, 1689, London

English dramatist, fiction writer, and poet who was the first Englishwoman known to earn her living by writing.

[[Image:aphra.jpg]]

= '''Life''' =

Her origin remains a mystery, in part because Behn may have deliberately obscured her early life. One tradition identifies Behn as the child known only as Ayfara or Aphra who traveled in the 1650s with a couple named Amis to Suriname, which was then an English possession. She was more likely the daughter of a barber, Bartholomew Johnson, who may or may not have sailed with her and the rest of her family to Suriname in 1663. She returned to England in 1664 and married a merchant named Behn; he died (or the couple separated) soon after. Her wit and talent having brought her into high esteem, she was employed by King Charles II in secret service in the Netherlands in 1666. Unrewarded and briefly imprisoned for debt, she began to write to support herself.

= '''Works''' =

=== '''Drama''' ===

Behn's early works were tragicomedies in verse. In 1670 her first play, ''The Forc'd Marriage'', was produced, and ''The Amorous Prince'' followed a year later. Her sole tragedy, ''Abdelazer'', was staged in 1676. However, she turned increasingly to light comedy and farce over the course of the 1670s. Many of these witty and vivacious comedies, notably ''The Rover'' (two parts, produced 1677 and 1681), were commercially successful. ''The Rover'' depicts the adventures of a small group of English Cavaliers in Madrid and Naples during the exile of the future Charles II. ''The Emperor of the Moon'', first performed in 1687, presaged the harlequinade, a form of comic theatre that evolved into the English pantomime.

=== '''Fiction''' ===

Though Behn wrote many plays, her fiction today draws more interest. Her short novel ''Oroonoko'' (1688) tells the story of an enslaved African prince whom Behn claimed to have known in South America. Its engagement with the themes of slavery, race, and gender, as well as its influence on the development of the English novel, helped to make it, by the turn of the 21st century, her best-known work. Behn's other fiction includes the multipart epistolary novel ''Love-Letters Between a Nobleman'' and ''His Sister'' (1684–87) and ''The Fair Jilt'' (1688).

=== '''Poetry''' ===

Behn's versatility, like her output, was immense; she wrote other popular works of fiction, and she often adapted works by older dramatists. She also wrote poetry, the bulk of which was collected in Poems upon Several Occasions, with ''A Voyage to the Island of Love'' (1684) and ''Lycidus''; or, ''The Lover in Fashion'' (1688). Behn's charm and generosity won her a wide circle of friends, and her relative freedom as a professional writer, as well as the subject matter of her works, made her the object of some scandal.

= '''Sources''' =

"Behn, Aphra." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Apr. 2009
[http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9014136]

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2009-04-23T16:28:35Z

Stefanie Brenzel: