The Way of the World

In a letter to Ralph, the Earl of Montague, William Congreve requests the Earl’s patronage, complimenting him on his intelligence and his potential to improve the play. Congreve expresses shock at the play’s success, noting the Restoration’s reputation for bawdy plays. Congreve says he thinks most fools in Restoration comedy should disturb audiences, and he says he wants to make characters whose flaw is that they pretend to be wittier than they are. Congreve notes that early critics of the play mistook the foolish characters for the truly witty ones. Congreve compares himself to the Roman comic dramatist Terence, praising Terence, his Greek predecessor Menander, and his patrons: Scipio and Laelius. Congreve credits any improvement in The Way of the World from his prior plays to a conversation with the Earl and his company. Congreve notes the Earl is a patron of architecture and painting, and he laments that poetry has not yet earned the respect of the Earl. Congreve apologizes on behalf of other writers who dedicate their works to wealthy men, but he insists that he is devoted to the Earl.