Your Choices...
The COUNTRY WifeWilliam Wycherley's play was controversial because of its sexual explicitness. It pivots around two main plots. The first is of a rake who pretends to be impotent in order to gain access to married women. The second is about a naive country girl who is married and travels to the city. Needless to say, mayhem ensues. Despite the plays endless sexual puns, it's about far more than merely sexual relationships. It's a product of its time, after all.
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The RoverAphra Behn's play was hugely popular! It premiered to wide success and even had a sequel. This play is utter madness. It has multiple romance plots that all intertwine and is set in Naples during Carnivale (a time of exploration). Difficult to summarize, Blunt believes himself beloved by a woman who, unbeknownst to hims is a prostitute; Hellena desires a sexual experience before her brother sends her to the cloister; Angelica is a courtesan in love; and Willmore is your standard rake. Bear in mind, Behn is, above all else, politically savvy; despite its wacky nature, this play is also about politics.
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What else we're reading
Jeremy Collier's tract was an outcry against theater during the restoration. I have excerpted sections to give you a general sense. Notice his concerns pertain both to what happens on stage and the types of social activities that went on at theaters.
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