William Wycherley

William Wycherley – Life, Works, and Notable Quotations

Explore the life, works, and legacy of William Wycherley (c. 1640/41 – 1716), the Restoration playwright best known for The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer. Learn about his style, controversies, and witty lines that still resonate today.

Introduction

William Wycherley was a prominent English dramatist of the Restoration era whose comedies struck at the social mores, sexual hypocrisy, and double standards of his time. His plays—especially The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer—are celebrated (and sometimes censured) for their sharp wit, biting satire, and provocative content. Though his life was marked by financial difficulty, shifting allegiances, and personal scandal, his literary output has secured him a place among the key figures in 17th-century English theatre.

Early Life and Background

Wycherley was probably born around 1640 or 1641 in Clive (or near Clive), Shropshire, England.

When Wycherley was about fifteen, he was sent to France for education. During that time, he converted (or was converted) to Roman Catholicism.

After his return to England, he matriculated at Queen’s College, Oxford, and also studied law through Middle Temple, though he never completed a degree.

In his early years, Wycherley likely traveled or served in diplomatic or military roles (claims include service in Ireland in 1662, participation in a diplomatic mission to Spain, or naval conflict during the Anglo-Dutch War).

Career and Major Works

Early Plays and Rise

Wycherley’s first notable play was Love in a Wood; or, St. James’s Park, produced around 1671.

He followed this with The Gentleman Dancing-Master (circa 1672), a comedy of manners and intrigue, though it was less successful.

Wycherley’s most celebrated work is The Country Wife (first staged 1672–1673, published around 1675). The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy infamous for its sexual innuendo, bold plot devices, and satirical treatment of marriage and hypocrisy.

Another significant work is The Plain Dealer (first performed around 1676–1677). Country Wife.

Wycherley also published miscellany poems, satirical pieces, songs, epistles, and other shorter works later in life (e.g. Miscellany Poems in 1704).

Style, Themes, and Conflict

Wycherley’s plays often blend satire, cynicism, and ribald humor. puritanical moral impulse and libertine impulses, which some critics see reflected in his dramatic characters and narrative structure.

His comedies mock pretension, sexual sincerity, marital hypocrisy, social climbing, and the gap between appearance and reality.

Because of their sexual candor, his plays were controversial and often subject to censorship or bowdlerization in later centuries. For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, editions of The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer were significantly toned down.

Personal Life, Later Years, and Challenges

In 1678, Wycherley married the Countess of Drogheda (Letitia Isabella Robartes), reportedly in secret to retain his court favor.

These financial strains led him into debt. At one point, he was committed to Fleet Prison for debt.

In later years, he was assisted by the young poet Alexander Pope, who edited and revised some of his works, helping preserve them for posterity.

In December 1715, by special licence, he married Elizabeth Jackson, a young woman allegedly associated with a relative. This second marriage seems to have been partly driven by estate and inheritance concerns.

Wycherley died in London in the early hours of 1 January 1716, and was buried in the vault of St. Paul’s, Covent Garden.

Legacy and Influence

William Wycherley’s influence is complex, balancing scandal and literary value.

1. Pioneer of Restoration Comedy
   His works, along with those of contemporaries like William Congreve and George Etherege, helped define the Restoration comedy genre—characterized by wit, sexual intrigue, and satire of manners.

2. Bold moral commentary through humor
   By exposing hypocrisy and duplicity through comedy, Wycherley pushed theatrical conventions, using humor as a vehicle for social critique.

3. Controversy and censorship
   Because of their sexual explicitness, his works were often censored or suppressed, yet their restored texts in modern times are studied as bold, boundary-pushing pieces.

4. Quotations and wit
   Many of his lines survive independently as witty aphorisms, still cited for their insight into human folly, love, marriage, and social affectation.

5. Enduring staging
   Although some plays were taboo for centuries, modern theatre revivals (especially of The Country Wife) have reintroduced his work to audiences, often restored to original lively form.

Selected Quotes & Aphorisms

Wycherley is remembered as much for individual lines as for his plays. Below are several well-known quotations:

• “Necessity, the mother of invention.” (from Love in a Wood)

• “I weigh the man, not his title; ’tis not the king’s stamp can make the metal better.”

• “A mistress should be like a little country retreat near the town, not to dwell in constantly, but only for a night and away.”

• “Good fellowship and friendship are lasting, rational and manly pleasures.”

• “Hunger, revenge, to sleep are petty foes, But only death the jealous eyes can close.”

These lines reflect his combination of worldly observation, mischievous wit, and moral insight.

Lessons & Insights from Wycherley

• Courage to engage taboo themes
  Wycherley did not shy away from sexual and social mores; his boldness in exploring human vice gave his work enduring arresting power.

• Use of satire and humor to probe character
  Rather than didactic moralizing, Wycherley lets comical exaggeration and irony lay bare human contradictions.

• Persistence amid adversity
  Though beset by financial ruin, shifting political winds, and loss of patronage, Wycherley continued writing, and his later salvation in reputation owes partly to the literary patronage of successors like Pope.

• Balance of wit and moral reflex
  His own life expressed tension between libertinism and moral restiveness—a dialectic visible in his plays, reminding writers that art often grows out of internal conflict.

Conclusion

William Wycherley remains a striking figure in English drama: a man of wit, scandal, tension, and creative power. His comedies broke ground in their sexual frankness, social critique, and verbal agility. While his life saw dramatic ups and downs, his plays endure—as reminders that laughter, when sharpened, can also illuminate the human condition.