BUSINESS FINANCE BBUS350Stock Portfolio ProjectObjectiveTh.docx

BUSINESS FINANCE BBUS350
Stock Portfolio Project
Objective
The framework for financial decision-making always requires a
risk and return tradeoff. The levelof risk that an investor is
willing to take on should be rewarded with an acceptable level
of
return. Conversely, a required rate of return is accompanied
with a certain degree of risk that
limits unreasonable returns. This project seeks to demonstrate
that the world of stock investing
exhibits equilibrium pricing and well-defined risk and return
tradeoff for all participants.
Goals
Completion of this project should provide participants with an
understanding of how equityinvesting is affected by stock
selection, therelative risks of each stock choice, and how riskis
defined and controlled through portfoliocreations. Upon
completion of the project,participants are expected to be
familiar withconcepts of rates of return along varioustemporal
dimensions, stand-alone risk, portfoliorisk, and where to locate
stock performanceinformation leading to a cursory ability to
conductequity research.
Solution
A cross section of publicly traded companies isselected by each

participant as their research assignment. Individual securities
are analyzed fortheir respective historical risk-return tradeoff
performance. In Part 2 of this project, analystsare grouped
together to construct a well-diversified portfolio of equity
securities and are taskedto find an optimal portfolio
construction.
Project Outline
The final set of deliverables for this analysis is a multi-page
executive summary along with
appendices supporting your assessments as securities analysts.
The project consists of finding
financial information on selected equity securities. Information
about securities must be gleaned from various University of
Washington subscription databases and other free internet
sources.
All collected information is analyzed using a business-accepted
electronic spreadsheet for ease
of estimation and communication. The results of the analyses
are reported, presented, and
discussed.
EQUITY PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS I— INDIVIDUAL

DIRECTIONS
1. Stock selections
Select ten (10) different stocks from the universe of NYSE and
NASDAQ stocks. The stocks
selected must meet all of the following criteria:
o Actively traded on either the New York Stock Exchange or
NASDAQ
o Continuously active for the past 3 years. (Must have a beta
measure)
o A company profile on Mergent Online
o Two (2) stocks must be in the same industry (2-digit SIC
code matched)
o Four (4) different industries must be represented among the
stocks (2-digit SIC code)
There are numerous stock exchanges in the United States and
many more world-wide.
However, for purposes of this project, the analysis is limited to
stocks traded on the largest two
domestic equity exchanges.
2.Sources of Information
You must have an active UWNetId account inorder to access
certain databases of requiredcompany information. Other

information may besourced from various online websites that
are notsubscription based. Please view the USF Librarycourse
guide webpage for a comprehensive listof available websites
and databases through theuniversity at
http://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=342001&p=2300131
A. Mergent Online: This database is sourced through the
university librarysystem. Access will require an active NetID
and may require on-campusconnection.
B. Mint Global: This database is available through the
universitylibrary system.
C. Google Finance and/or Yahoo!Finance: Both of these
websites are great sources forfinancial information. The
information provided by both is secondary information so agood
rule of thumb is if you obtain information from one website,
avoid mixing withanother for comparison purposes as the
original sources may be quite different thusleading to errors in
comparison.
D. Standard Industry Codes: The OSHA website has
descriptions of the four-digitindustry code. A newer coding
methodology called, the North American IndustryClassification
System (NAICS) is also provided for reference and comparison.
3. Describe the Stocks

Equity analysis is more than just identifying which securities
will perform the best. It isunderstanding the interactions among
the different investment options. While it is assumed
thatinvestments are expected to increase in value, stocks vary
by who they are, what they do, andhow the market interprets
their actions. Analysis of a stock must therefore begin with an
understanding of what the underlying asset does and how it
operates.
STOCK DESCRIPTION: Locate the stocks’ Mergent Online or
Mint Global company profiles.Make a note of what the company
does, its size, its growth opportunities, its businessmodel, and
other important market information about it.
COMPANY PROFILE: Identify a company profile for each of
your stockselections. At a minimum, make sure the print out
includes the company name, descriptionand ticker symbol.
INDUSTRY: From the various data sources previously listed,
determine the company’sindustry classification (SIC and/or
NAICS).
4. Past performance analysis
The purpose of this activity is to assess the market performance
of different stocks to developmeaningful forecasts about their

future potential. In order to produce understandable
decisioncritical knowledge, an analyst should review past
market performance to assess factors thatcontribute to a stock’s
valuation. In this section, individual stock returns are analyzed
for standalone risk-return characteristics as described in the
course textbook.
PAST STOCK PRICES: Obtain monthly price and dividend data
for each of your ten stocksfrom Yahoo!Finance. You may use
any other source, but the suggested database has amonthly date
selection feature.
The analysis time frame is Jan 1st, 2017 through Dec31st , 2019
§ Open a web browser to http://finance.yahoo.com
§ In the “Quote Lookup” search box (left hand side), enter the
name or ticker symbol of
§ your first stock.
§ From the Company Analysis page, click on “Historical
Prices” (left hand column, 5th line
§ down)
§ On Historical Prices page, “Set Date Range” “Start Date” to
July 1st, 2016 and “End Date” to July 1st, 2019.
§ Check box on “Monthly” and click “Get Prices”.
§ Place cursor over “Download to Spreadsheet” (bottom of

stock price table); Save thefile as “Stock1.csv”
§ Check box on “Dividends Only” and click “Get Prices”.
§ Place cursor over “Download to Spreadsheet” (bottom of
stock price table); Save thefile as “Dividend1.csv”
§ Repeat steps 1-8 for the other four selected stocks. Make sure
to label each filecorrectly as Stock# or Dividend# 2-5.
SPREADSHEET DATA SETUP - STOCK PRICES: Create a
new workbook using your
spreadsheet program of choice. Copy the pricing data from each
of the Stock#.csv files.
§ Open the file “Stock1.csv” from inside the spreadsheet
program. A worksheet should
§ open with seven columns with the headings: DATE, OPEN,
HIGH, LOW, CLOSE,VOLUME, ADJ CLOSE.
§ Delete all columns except for DATE and ADJ CLOSE.
(Adjusted Close is a modifiedend-of-day closing price that takes
into account any stock splits over the life of thecompany.)
§ Label the ADJ CLOSE as the ticker symbol for Stock1.
§ Open “Stock2.csv” from inside the spreadsheet program. A
worksheet should openwith seven columns with the headings:
DATE, OPEN, HIGH, LOW, CLOSE, VOLUME,ADJ CLOSE.
§ Copy the entire column of ADJ CLOSE from Stock2.csv to a

column adjacent theclosing prices of Stock1. Make sure
monthly prices line up correctly.
§ Label ADJ CLOSE as the ticker symbol for Stock2.
§ Repeat steps 4-6 for the three other selected stocks. Make
sure to label each columncorrectly as ticker symbol for the
stock.
o NOTE: Make sure to line up prices with the correct month.
§ Save the workbook as “PORTFOLIO” .xls, .xlsx, .numbers,
etc.
The process may differ slightly depending on operating system
and spreadsheet program. Oneof the main objectives with this
project is to practice spreadsheet analysis - so figure it out
foryour particular spreadsheet program!
DATA SETUP - DIVIDEND PAYOUTS: Add dividend
information to the stock priceworkbook.
§ Open the PORTFOLIO workbook.
§ Next to each stock price column, insert a blank column to the
right of the stock pricesfor each Ticker.
§ Label the new column, “Tickersymbol_D”. This column is
where any dividend payoutwill be placed.
§ Manually enter (type) each dividend payout ($) to the cell
according to the Date paid.The dividend paid date month should
be on the same row as the stock price datemonth. *If two

dividends are paid in the same month for a stock, enter the sum
of bothdividends for the month.
§ NOTE: Some stocks do not payout dividends. In those cases,
leave the cells blank.
DATA ANALYSIS I: Calculate stock returns
1. Create a column to the right of each dividend column.
Label the columns “Return”.This column is a where monthly
percent change will be calculated based on each stock’s monthly
price movements.
2. Each row will reflect the percent change from the
beginning of the month stock price to the end of the month
stock price (which is also the beginning of the next
month’sstock price).
3. Price change, or monthly return, is calculated from the
formula: (Pt+1- Pt+ Dt) / Ptwhere Pt+1is the month ending
price, Pt is the month beginning price, and Dt is any dividends
paid during the month.
4. Copy and paste the formula into each cell for the
remaining months.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each of the remaining four stocks.
DATA ANALYSIS: Calculate stock returns (cont’d)

§ For ease of reading, format all price data to two (2) decimal
points; dividend data tothree (3) decimal points; and return data
to percentage (%) with one (1) decimal point.
§ Label a row below the data: “Mean Return”.
§ In Microsoft Excel, the formula is “=average(range:range)”
where range encompasses allthe cells you wish to calculate the
mean.
STAND ALONE RISK: Below each Mean Return cell,create a
cell that estimates thestandard deviation of each stock’s 35
monthly returns.
§ Label a row below the Mean Return row: “Std Deviation”.
§ In Microsoft Excel, the formula is “=STDDEV(range:range)”
where range encompassesall the cells you wish to calculate
standard deviation.
COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION: Below each stand alone risk
measure, create a cell thatestimates the risk per unit of return of
each stock’s 35 monthly returns.
§ Label a row below the Std Deviation row: “Coefficient of
Variation”
§ The formula is Std Deviation / Mean Return for each stock.
CORRELATION COEFFICIENT: This step requires some data
copying and reorganization. Inthis step, you are calculating

correlation coefficients among your ten stocks. In order to
dothis efficiently, monthly returns need to be lined up and
adjacent each other in a worksheet.
§ Create a new blank worksheet (tab) in your workbook.
§ Copy the entire spreadsheet of dates, prices, dividends, and
returns. (Highlight all the cells and click “Copy” or press
“Control + C”).
§ On the new blank worksheet, paste “VALUES” under Paste
Special (Right button mouse click). If you don’t paste the
copied cells as values, you will paste the formulas instead and
not have the return value columns.
§ Delete all columns except monthly returns. Keep the first row
for Stock Ticker Labels.
§ You should have 10 adjacent columns of 35 rows
representing monthly return for each of your tenstocks.
§ Activate and select the Data Analysis tab in MS Excel. If you
have not used the Data Analysis tab before, contact the UWB IT
Helpdesk to have them help you activate it. Each spreadsheet
program handles statistical analysis differently. These
directions are for MS Excel only.
§ With the returns only worksheet open, click on “Data”, “Data
Analysis”, then “Correlation”. Input range should be all
populated cells in the spreadsheet. If you include the label row
in the input range, make sure to click the “Labels in the First
Row” box.

§ Make the “Output range” somewhere next to your data.
Output will be a six-by-six array of data. Press “OK”.
§ Correlation coefficients ranges from -1.0 through +1.0.
Determine which two (2) of your stocks have the:
1. Greatest, most positive correlation coefficient (closest to
+1.0). These are “HI-COR”stocks.
2. Lowest, most negative correlation coefficient (closest to -
1.0). These are “LO-COR”stocks.
CALCULATE PORTFOLIO RETURNS: In this section,
portfolio risk return characteristics are estimated. Three (3)
portfolios are retroactively created to validate weighted
portfolio returns
and diversification through correlation.
A. H-COR Portfolio
1. On the data worksheet, create a new column on the far
right of the data. Label this column “HI-COR”.
1. Identify which two stocks have the most positive
correlation coefficient. Make asynthetic, equally weighted
portfolio of these two stocks. For each month of returns take the
average of the combined stock returns. So for Jan 2017 the
portfolio return is =average(HCOR1 returns, HCOR2 returns).
Do the same for all 35 months of the estimationperiod.

2. Just like for each individual stock, calculate HI-COR’s
average portfolio returns at the bottom of the monthly data.
3. Calculate HI-COR’s standard deviation of portfolio
returns at the below average returns. Calculate HI-COR’s
coefficient of variation below Std deviation.
B. LO-COR Portfolio
1. Repeat Steps 1-5 for L-COR. The portfolio monthly return
of L-COR is the monthlyaverage of the two stocks defined with
the lowest correlation coefficient.
C. All Stock Portfolio
1. The last synthetic portfolio is comprised all tenselected
stocks equally weighted. Explained a different way, if you had
invested $5,000 in these stocks, you would have purchased
$1,000 of each share (no matter what the per stock prices were
at the time of purchase). Each stock had the same dollar value
to you when you made the purchase.
2. Create a new column and label it “ALL”.
3. The ALL portfolio monthly return is the average of all
tenstocks monthly returns by month. So the ALL monthly return
for February 2017 is the sum of February 2017 returns for
Stock1, Stock2, Stock3, Stock4, … , and Stock 10 all divided by
ten.
4. Just like for the other portfolios, calculate ALL’s average

portfolio returns at the bottom of the monthly data.
5. Calculate ALL’s standard deviation of portfolio returns at
the below average returns.
6. Calculate ALL’s coefficient of variation below Std
deviation.
STOCK BETA: Another metric of risk is beta which is defined
as the sensitivity of an asset
(stock) to the market. While you do not need to estimate beta
for your tenstocks, you
should know its beta value and how it is applied.
1. Look up each of your stock’s beta measure and list it at
the bottom of each return column in your data spreadsheet.
These values can be found in Yahoo!Finance or Google Finance.
2. All of the listed financial websites provide a beta measure
for your firm (unless it hasbeen public for less than 5 years).
INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS
INDIVIDUAL STOCK DISCUSSION
1. Which of your ten stocks had the greatest average
monthly return? (and value)
2. Which of your tenstocks had the least average monthly
return? (and value)
3. Which of your tenstocks had the highest stand-alone risk?

(and value)
4. Which of your tenstocks had the least stand-alone risk?
(and value)
5. Which of your tenstocks had the greatest beta measure?
(and value)
6. Which of your tenstocks had the smallest beta measure?
(and value)
7. Order your stocks three different ways:
A. Highest average return to lowest average return
B. Highest standard deviation to lowest standard deviation
C. Highest beta to lowest beta
D. Does the theory that “higherreturns is accompanied with
higherrisk” hold for your tenindividual stocks? Discuss in terms
of your stocks.
8. Is your highest stand alone risk stock the same as your
greatest beta measure stock?Why do you suppose that is or
isn’t?
9. Is your lowest stand alone risk stock the same as your
lowest beta measure stock? Does standard deviation and beta
always show the same results? Should it?
10. If you are a risk adverse investor and could only choose
one stock to invest in, which would it be and why?
STOCK PORTFOLIO DISCUSSION
1. Should stocks in the same industry have higher or lower

correlation than different industrystocks? Explain.
2. Was your HI-COR portfolio comprised of the two stocks
you selected from the same industry?What makes these two
company’s market performance similar?
3. Which portfolio had lower stand alone risk, HI-COR or
LO-COR? Is this what you would
4. expect? Why or why not?
5. State a definition of “diversification” in terms of
correlation (as it is explained by theory, notyour results)
6. Indicate the range of standard deviation among your
tenstocks.
7. What is the standard deviation of the ALL portfolio?
8. Is the risk of the ALL portfolio closer the highest stock
standard deviation or closer to the lowest stock standard
deviation?
9. Discuss the meaning of the following statements: The
standard deviation of any portfolio of stocks can never be
higher than the highest individual stock standard deviation.
However, a portfolio’s standard deviation can be lower than the
lowest individual stock standard deviation. [The corollary to
this is a portfolio’s stand alone risk could be zero even when
individual stocks each have a lot of stand alone risk.]
10. Describe one scenario that you could employ to reduce
stand alone risk in your ALL portfolio if you had constructed
the portfolio three years ago. That is, if you had to invest in

each of the tenstocks, how might your portfolio construction
and allocation be different to maximize risk reduction?
11. If given a choice a choice to invest in a single mutual fund
(a diverse group of assets) or invest in your own
stock/bonds/asset selections, which would you rather do and
why?
12. After answering this question, read this article by Money
Magazine: http://money.us/XcZIco
DELIVERABLES
A. Excel Workbook (.xls, .xlsx) of ten(10) stock analysis.
B. Word Document (.doc, .docx, .pdf) of Individual Stock
and Stock Portfolio discussions.
To be submitted on Canvas (see Canvas for due date).
a

SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL,
A
COM E D Y;
AS IT IS PERFOR.MED AT THE
THE A T R S-R 0 r A L,
IN
LON DON
AND
DUB LIN.
D U 9: LIN:
PRINTED IN THE YEAR, M,DGC,LXXX.
The title-page of the first published (pirated) edition of
The School for Stat/dal

:':rJa;
'1,,: ,.',1 ,'1,:,,1 m.ly be
, jJr"':.:;:'l:ici by r;')llyrighf
IlIw (rifle 17 U, S, C";;C 1
I
I
DRAMATIS PERSONJ£
As acted at Drury Lane Theatre, May 17771
SIR PETER TEAZLE
SIR OUVER SURFACE
JOSEPH SURFACE
CHARLES SURFACE

CRABTREE
SIR BENJAMIN BACKlJITE
ROWLEY
MOSES
TRIP
SNAKE
CARELESS
SIR TOBY DUMPER
LADY TEAZLE
MARIA
LADY SNEER WELL
MRS. CANDOUR
Mr. King
Mr. Yates
Mr. Palmer
Mr. Smith
Mr. Parsons

Mr. Dodd
Mr. Aickin
Mr. Baddeley
Mr. La Mash
Mr. Packer
Mr. Farren
Mr. Gaudry
Mrs. Abington
Miss P. Hopkins
Miss Sherry
Miss Pope
A report of the lirst performance, in the Public Ad~crtjser, 9
May, noted that the
'gentlemen' (i.e. Charles's friends) were played by R. Palmer,
Norris, and Chaplin.
'Sir Harry Bumper' was tnken by J. S. Gaudry.
A PORTRAIT
Address'd to a Lady' with the Comcuv of the
g School for Scandal .
:s

ler Tell me, ye prim Adepts ill Scandal's School
th Who rail by Precept, and detmct by Rule,
ons
d
In
Icley
Lives there no Character so tri(:ti-so known
So deck'd with Grace-and so unlike vour ()WJ1-
That evenYUII assist her Fame tu raise,
Approve by Envy, and by Silence praise?
Jash Attend I-a model shall attract your vie'-
er Daughters of Calumny2:-1 summon YOU:-
~n You shall decide if this a Portrait prove,
:lry Or fond Creation of the Muse and Love. 10
£lgton Attend!-Ye Virgin Critics shrewd and sage,
Iopkins Ye Matron Censors of this Childish age,-
rry Whose peering Eye, and wrinkled Front declare
A flx'd Antipathy to Yotl1lg and Fair:
By Cunning cautious, or by Nature cold,
In maiden Malice virulently bold-

Attend-Ye skill'd to coin the precious Tale,
Creating Proof-where Innuendos fail!
Whose practic'd Mem'ries---<:ruelly exact-
Omit no Circumstance-except the Fact! 20
Attend!-All ye who boast-or Old or Young-
The living Libel of a Sland'rous Tongue!
So shall my Theme as far contrasted be
As Saints by Fiends-or Hymns by Calumny.
Come, gentle Amoret,S (-for 'neath that Name
ay, noted that the
In worthier Verse4 is sung thy Beauty's Fame)
'ris, and Qluplin. , Fl'l1nccs Anne Crewe (IUS-ISIS), wife
ofJohn, later first Lord Crewe (1742-1829).
The Criti( was dedicated to her mother, Frances Oreville.
, Harlan W. Hamilton, Dotlor Synta.'r, A Silhouette of William
Combe, Esq., 1742-
1823 (1969), pp. 58, 28/i, notes that in the iWortling POSI, 25
Feb., 31 Mar. 1777, ,he
play was called TIle S(hQol for Slallllcr. He suggests that
Sheridan changed the title

to achieve greater accuracy.
3 Frances Crewe. She was on very friendly terms with the
Sheridans for many
years.
-I See R. C. Rhodes, The Plays and Poems of• .• Sheridan, m.
199-200, for the sug-
222 THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Come-for but tlttt whom seeks the Muse ?-and while
Celestial Blushes check thy conscious Smile,-
With timid Grace, and hesitating Eye-
The perfect Model which I boast-supply! . 30
Vain Muse,-could'st Thou the humblest Sketch create
Of Her-or slightest Charm could'st imitate,-
Could thy blest Strain, in kindred Colours, trace
The faintest Wonder of her Form, or Face-
Poets would study the immortal Line,
And Reynolds' own his Art subdued by thintl
That Art I-which well might added Lustre give
To Nature's best I-and Heaven's superlative 1-

On Granby'sz Cheek might bid new Glories rise,
Or point a purer Beam from Devon's3 Eyes!- 40
Hard is the Task to shape that Beauty's Praise,
Whose Judgment scorns the Homage-Flatt'ry pays 1
But praising Amoret-we cannot err:-
No Tongue o'ervalues Heav'n-or flatters Her!
Yet She-by Fate's Perverseness I-She alone
Would doubt oui" Truth-nor deem such Praise her own.
Adorning Fashion-unadorn'd by Dress-
Simple from Taste-and not from Carelessness.
Discreet in Gesture, in Deportment mild,
Not stiff with Prudence, nor uncouthly wild- 50
No State has Amoret!-no studied Mien!
She apes no·Goddess!-and she moves no QJleen!
The softer Charm that in her Manner lies
Is fram'd to captivate, yet not surprise;
It justly suits th'Expression of her Face,-
'Tis less than Dignity-and more than Grace!
gestion that Sheridan's first wife gave the name of Amoret to
Mrs. Crewe in her poem
'Laura to Silvio', praising her 'gentle step and hesitating grace'.
He adds that this poem

is the 'worthier verse', and that Sheridan replied to it and
echoed some phrases in 'A
Portrait'. Charles Fox, however, also wrote verses to 'Amoret',
which are mentioned by
Horace Walpole in a letter of 2'1 May 1775, to William Mason.
t Sir Joshua Reynolds (I723-<JZ) painted three portraits of Mrs.
Crewe.
% Mary Isabella (Somerset), wife of Charles Manners, Marquis
of Granby, and after-
wards fourth Duke of Rutland. Cf. 'To Silvio' (T. Moore,
Memoirs of • .. Sheridull,
i. 204).
3 Georgiana (Spencer), first wife of William Cavendish, fifth
Duke of Devonshire.
The beauty of her eyes was constantly mentioned: cf. 'To Silvio'
(Moore, op. cit.,
i. ~04). Iris Palmer, Tile Fact without a Frow" (1944), p. 85.
mentions that the Devon-
shires were thought to be the originals of Sir Peter and Lady
Teazle.

i
L
use ?-and while
:mile, -
plyI
30
~st Sketch Create
litate, -
ucs, trace
'uce-
thitle!
stre give
lativel-
,des risc,
yes 1- 40

r's Praise
~1 ' att'ry pays!
rs Her!
alone
1 Praise her OlPlI.
ss-
~ssness.
,
lild- 50
!
.Qpcenl
s
race!
:. Crewe in her poem
l adds that this poem
( some phrases in 'A
:ch are mentioned by

. Crewe.
,fGranby, and after-
,irs of . •• Sherid411,
)uke of Devonshire.
ie' (Moore, ep. cit.,
ens that the Devon-
A PORTRAIT 213
On her pure Cheek the native Hue is such,
That form'd by Heav'n to be admir'd so much,
The Hand that made her with such partial Care,
Might well have fix'd a fainter Crimson there, 60
And bade the gentle Inmate of her Breast,
Inshrined Modesty!-supply the Rest.
But Who the Peril of her Lips shall paint?-
Strip them of smiles-still, still all words were faint!
But moving-Love himself appears to teach
Their Action-tho' denied to rule her Speechl
And Thou,-who seest her speak-ano dost not hcar,

Mourn not her distant Accents 'scape thine ear,
Viewillg those Lips-thou still may'st make pretence
To judge of what she says-and swear 'tis Sense;
Cloath'd with such Grace, with such Expression fraught,
They move in meaning, and they pause in Thought!
But do'st thou further watch, with charm'll Surprise,
The mild Irresolution of her Eyes?
Curious to mark-how frequent they repose
In brief Eclipse, and momentary close?
Ahl-see'st Thou not I-an ambush'd Cupid there-
Too tim'rous of his Charge I-with jealous care
Veils, and unveils those Beams of heav'nly Light,
Too full-too fatal eL~e for mortal Sight! 80
Nor yet-such pleasing Vengeance fond to meet-
In pard'ning Dimples hope a safe retreat,
What tho' her peaceful Breast should ne'er allow
Subduing Frowns to arm her alter'd Brow,
By Love! I swear-and by his gentler wiles 1-
More fatal still-the Mercy of her Smiles I
Thus lovely!-thus adorn'd!-possessing all
Of bright, or fair-that can to woman fall,
The Height of Vanity might well be thought
Prerogative in her,-and Nature's Fault;
Yet gentle Amoret-in mind supreme

As well as Charms-rejects the vainer Theme;
And half mistrustful of her Beauty's store
She barbs with Wit-those Darts too keen before.
Grac'd by those signs-which Truth delights to own,
The timid Biush,-and mild submitted Tone-
100
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Whate'er she says-tho' Sense appear throughout-
Bears the unartful Hue of female Doubt.
Deck'd with that Charm, how lovely Wit appears.
How graceful Science when that Robe she wears!
Such too her Talents, and her Bent of Mind
As speak a sprightly Heart-by Thought refin'd:

A Taste for Mirth-by Contemplation school'd;
A Turn for Ridicule-by Candour rul'dj
A Scorn of Folly-which she tries to hide;
An awe of Talent-which she owns with Pride.
Peace idle Muse!-no more thy Strain prolong,
But yield a Theme, thy warmest Praises "'Tong,
Just to her Merit tho' thou canst not raise
Thy feeble Verse-behold th'acknowledg'd Praise no
Has spread Conviction thro' the envious Train,
And cast a fatal Gloom o'er Scandal's Reign!
And Lo! each pallid Hag, with blister'd Tongue,
Mutters Assent to all thy Zeal has sung,
Owns all the Colours just-the Outline true,
Thee my Inspirer-and my Model-CREWE!
roughout-
t appears.

e wears! roo
lind
refin'd:
:hool'd;
e',
Pride.
prolong,
wrong,
e
'd Praise no
Train,
ign!
rongue,

ue,
WE!
PROLOGUE
Spoken by Mr. King
Written by D. G(mick, Esqr.
A School for SCllndllt! tell me I beseech you
Needs there a School this modish art to teach you?
No need of lessons 'lOW the knowing think:
We might as well be taught to Eat, and drink:
Caus'd by a Dearth of Scandal, should the Vapours
Distress our Fair ones,-Iet 'Em read the Papers-
Their pow'rful Mixtures such disorders hit
Crave what they will, there's ,/Illil/tum SlIjJicit.
'Lud' cries I'i}' Lady Wf)rmwflfld, who loves Tattle,
And puts much Salt and pepper in her prattle; 10
Just ris'n at Noon, all Night at Cards when threshing;
Strong Tea and Scandal, 'bless me how refreshing!
Give me the Papers Lisp-how bold, and free-{sips)

Last Night Lord L- (sips) was caught with Lady D-
For aching heads what charming Sal Volatile! (sips)
IfMrs. B: will still continue flirting,
We hope she'll draw, or we'll tm-draw the Curtain.
Fine Satire poz-in publick all ahuse it-
But by Ourselves,-(sips) our praise we can't refuse it.
Now Lisp read )'ou-ther~ at that dash and Star'-(sips)
'Yes Ma'am-a certain 'Lord had best beware,
Who lives not twenty Miles from Grosv'nor Square
For should he Lady fV find willing,
Wormwood is bitter'-'O that's me the villain
Throw it behind the fire, and never more,
Let that vile paper come within my door.'
Thus at our friends we laugh, who feel the Dart-
To reach our feelings, we ourselves must Smart.
Is our Young Bard so young to think that He
Can Stop the full Spring-tide of Calumny- 30
Knows he the World so little and Its trade?
Alas, the Devil is sooner rais'd, than laid-

SO strong, so swift, the Monster there's no gagging;
Cut Scandal's head off":""still the tongue is wagging.
Proud of your Smiles once lavishly bestow'd
Again our young Don Quixote takes the road:
To shew his Gratitud(.>--hc draws his pen,
And seeks this Hydra-Scandal in Its den
From his fell gripe the frighted filiI' to save
Tho he should £,ll-th'attempt must ple.tsc the brave. 40
For your applause, all perils he woukl through,
He'll fight, that's write, a Gwallicl'O true,
Till Ev'ry drop of Blood, that's Ink, is spilt for YOl••
, gagging;
wagging.
'd
ad:
~ the brave.

ugh,
t for YOIl.
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Act ISt
Scmc HI
LADY SNEER WELL'S' HOllse
LADY SNEER WELL til tile "rwing Tllbie
SN A KE drinkillg CllOco/;zte.
LADY SNEER WELL. The Paragraphs you say, Mr. Snake,
were all
inserted?
SNAKE. They were Madam-and as I copied them myself in a
feign'd
Hand there can be no suspicion whence they came.-

LA DY SNEER. Did you circulate the Report of Lady Brittle's
Intrigue with
Captain Boastall ?
SN AKE. That is in as fine a Train as your Ladyship could
wish.-In the
common course of Things, I think it must reach Mrs. Oackit's'
Ears
within four and twenty Hours and then you know rhe Business
is as
~u~ ro
LADY SNEER. Why truly Mrs. Clackit has a very pretty Talent,
and a
great deal of industry.
SNAKE. True madam and has been tolerably successful in her
day. To
my Knowledge-she has been the cause of six matches being
broken
off, and three sons being disinherited, of four forced
Elopements,
as many close confinements, nine separate maintenances, and
two
Divorces.-nay, I have more than once traced her causing a Tete-

a-
Tete in the Town and Country MagazineJ-when the Parties
perhaps
have never seen each other's Paces before in the course of their
Lives.
, There is a critic named Sneerwell in Fielding's Pasquin ('736),
but he seems like
Lady Sneerwell only when he says, 'Consider, sir, I am my own
enemy.'
• Mrs. Clackit is a character in Gay's Tlte Distress'd Wifo. The
name is also used in
a story in the Town and Country Magazine, iii (J771), 242.
; This monthly periodical began in Jan. 1769, and in its first
number declared, 'we
flatter ourselves that the. anecdotes we shall be able to furnish,
will be the means of
handing down to posterity a lively idea of the prevailing
beauties, and their most
zealous admirers, of this aera'. These were the bllSis of the
Tete-a,Tete, in which a
scandalous intrigue between a man and woman in fashionable
life was described in

plausible detail, and illustrated with portraits of the parties
concerned. Their identities
were also suggested by pseudonyms or initials. The authors of
these pieces were
apparently men named Beaufort and Cancioli: see E. H. W.
Meyerstein, A Lift of
Thomas Chatterton (I930), p. 404.
:::~8 THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
LADY SNEER. She certainly has Talents, but her manner is
gross. 20
SNAKE. 'Tis very true-she generally, designs well-has a free
tongue
and a bold invention-but her colouring is too dark and her
outline
often extravagant. She wants that delicacy of Hint-and
mellowness of
sneer which distinguish your Ladyship's Scandal.
LADY SNEER. Ah! you are Partial Snake.
SNAKE. Not in the least-everybody allows that Lady Sneerwell

can do
more with a word or a Look, than many can with the most
labour'd
Detail even when they happen to have a little truth on their side
to
support it.
LADY SNEER. Yes my dear Snake, and I am no Hypocrite to
deny the 30
satisfaction I reap from the Success of my Efforts--wounded
myself
in the early Part of my Life by the envenom'd Tongue of
Slander
I confess I have since known no Pleasure equal to the reducing
others,
to the Level of my own injured Reputation-.
SNAKE. Nothing can be more natural-But Lady Sneerwell-
There is
one affair in which you have lately employ'd me wherein I
confess
I am at a Loss to guess your motives.
LADY SNEER. I conceive you mean with respect to my

neighbour Sir
Peter Teazle and his Family?
SNAKE. I do; here are two young men, to whom Sir Peter has
acted as 40
a kind of Guardian since their Father's death, the elder
possessing the
most amiable Olaracter and universally well spoken of, the
other the
most dissipated and extravagant young Fellow in the Kingdom
with-
out Friends or Character-the former an avow'd Admirer of your
Ladyship, and apparently your Favourite; the latter attached to
Maria,
Sir Peter's ward-and confessedly belov'd by her-now on the face
of
these circumstances it is utterly unaccountable to me why you,
the
Widow ofa City Knight with a good Jointure-should not close
with the
Passion of a man of such character and expectations as Mr.
Surface-
and more so why you should be so uncommonly earnest to
destroy the 50
mutual Attachment-subsisting between his brother Charles, and

Maria.
LADY SNEER. Then at once to unravel this mystery-I must
inform
you that Love has no share whatever in the intercourse between
Mr.
Surface and me.
SNAKE. No!
LADY SNEER. His real attachmt:nr IS to Maria or her Fortune-
but
finding in his Brother a favour'd Rival He has been obliged to
mask
his Pretensions-and profit by my Assistance.
SNAKE. Yet still I am more puzzled why you should interest
yourself
in his Success- 60
LADY SNE,ER. Heav'nsl how dull you. are!,-cannot you
surmise the
weakness which I hitherto thro' shame have conceal'd even from
you?
-must I confess iliat Charles-that Libertine, that extravagant-

that
ACT I, SCENE I 2Zg
lner is gross. 20
Bankrupt in Fortune and Reputation-that He it is for whom I am
-has a free tongue
thus anxious and malicious and to gain whom I would
sacrifice-rk and her outline
everything ?l·and mellowness of
SNAKE. Now indeed-your conduct appears consistent-hut how
came
YOU and Mr. Surface so confidential-
L.o'DY SNEER. For our mutual interest; I have found him out
it long timer Sneerwell can do
since-I know him to be artful selfish and malicious-in short, a
70the most labour'd
Sentimental' Knave. :h on their side to
SNAKE. Yet, Sir Peter vows He has not his equal in England-
and above

all-he praises him as a mlln ofSentiment-ocrite to deny the 30
LADY SNEER. True and with the assistance of his Sentiments
and -wounded myself
Hypocrisy he has brought him entirely into his Interest with
regard to 'ongue of Slander
Maria . . e reducing others,
Enter SERVANT.
eerwelI-There is SERVANT. Mr. Surface.
.vh erein I confess LADY SNEER. Shew him up. [Exit
SERVANT •
He generally calls about this Time-I don't wonder at People's
giving
him to me for a Lover- 80ny neighbour Sir
Ellter SURFACE.
Jeter has acted as 40 SURFACE. My dear Lady Sneerwell-how
do you do-to Day? Mr.
ler possessing the Snake your most Obedient.
of, the other the LADY SNEER. Snake has just been arraigning
me on our mutual attach-
~ Kingdom with- ment but I have informed him of our rcal
views-you know how useful
Admirer of your he has been to us-and believe me the

confidence is not ill placed.
ttached to Maria, SURFACE. Madam it is impossible for me to
suspect a man of Mr.
)w on the face of Snake's sensibility and discernment-
ne why you, the LADY SNEER. Well-well-no compliments
now-but tell me when you
not close with the saw y~ur Mistress Maria, or what is more
material to me your Brother-
IS Mr. Surface- SURF ACE. I have not seen either since I left
you-but I can inform you 90
!!it to destroy the 50 that they never meet-some of your Stories
have taken a good effect
.arles, and Maria. on Maria.
-I must inform LADY SNEER. Ah I my dear Snake the merit of
this belongs to you-but
rse between Mr. do your Brother's Distresses cncrease-?
SURFACE. Every-hour-I am told He has had another execution
in the
House yesterday-in short his Dissipation and extravagance
exceed

r Fortune-but any thing I ever heard of-
obliged to mask
I Cf. Mellefont's lines in Congreve's Thd Double-Dealer (1694),
I. i; 'None besides
you, and Maskwell, are acquainted with the Secret of my Aunt
Touchl1J(}od's violent
.nterest yourself Passion for me. Since my first refusal of her
Addresses, she has endeavour'd to do me
60 all ill Offices with my Uncle.•• .'
Given to moral reflections. See Erik Erametsd, A Study of tht
Word' S'lltimtlltal' ou surmise the 1
and ofather Linguistic Characteristics ofEighteenth Ctnlllry
Stntimenlalism in Ef/glalld
even from you? (Helsinki, 1951), pp. 27-39; and [Samuel
Richardson] A Collection ofMoral SmtitMnts
travagant-that (1755).

LADY SNEER. Poor Charles!
SURFACE. True Madam-notwithstanding his Vices one can't
help
feeling for him-aye, poor Charles! I'm sure I wish it was in my
Power roo
to be of any essential Service to him-for the man who does not
share
in the Distresses of a Brother, even tho' merited by his own
misconduct
-deserves-
LADY SNEER. 0 Lud you are going to be moral and forget that
you are
among Friends-
SURFACE. Egad that's true-I'll keep that sentiment 'till I see Sir
Peter,
however it is certainly a charity to rescue Maria from such a
Libertine
-who if He is to be reclaim'd can be so only by a Person of your

Ladyship's superior accomplishments and understanding.-
SNAKE. I believe Lady Sneerwell here's Company coming, I'll
go and lIO
Copy the Letter I mentioned to you.-Mr. Surface your most
Obedient. [E.t·it SNAKE.
SURFACE. Sir, your very devoted.-Lady Sneerwell, I am very
sorry
you have put any further confidence in that Fellow.
LADY SNEER. Why so?
SURFACE. I have lately detected him in frequent Conference
with old
Rowley who was formerly my Father's Steward, and has never,
you
know, been a Friend of mine.
LADY SNEER. And do you think he would betray us?
SURFACE. Nothing more likely: take my word for't Lady
SneerwelI, 120
that Fellow hasn't Virtue enough to be faithful even to his own

Villainy.-hah! Maria!
Enter MARIA.
LADY SNEER. Maria, my dear-how do you do-what's the
matter?
MARIA. 0 there is that disagreeable Lover of mine Sir
Benjamin Back-
bite has just call'd at my Guardian's, with his Odious Uncle
Crabtree-
so I slipt out and run hither to avoid them.
LADY SNEER. Is that all-?
SURFACE. If my Brother Charles had been of the Party, Ma'am,
per-
haps you would not have been so much alarmed.
LADY SNEER. Nay nOW-YOll are severe for I dare swear the
Truth of I30
the matter is Maria heard you were here;-but-my dear-what has
Sir Benjamin done that YOll should avoid him so--
MARIA. Oh He has done nothing-but tis for what he has said-
his

conversation is a perpetual Libel on all his Acquaintance.
SURFACE. Aye and the worst of it is there is no advantage in
not knowing
him; for He'll abuse a Stranger just as soon as his best Friend-
and his
Uncle's as bad.
LADY SNEER. Nay but we should make allowance, Sir
Benjamin is a Wit
and a Poet.
AL
ACT I, SCENE I z31
MARl A. For my part-lawn madam-Wit lo~s its respect with me
when 140lic~s one can't help
I oee it in company with malice.I-what do you think Mr.
Surface?.s11 It was in my Power 100 SURFACE. Certainly,
Madam, to smile at the jest which plants a Thorn inIn '~ho does
not share another's Breast is to become a principal in the
Mischief.Iy his Own misconduct

LADY SNEER. Pshaw!-there's no possibility of being witty-
without a
little ill nature-the malice of a good thing is the Barb that makes
itld forget that you are stick-what's your opinion, Mr. Surface?
SURFACE. To be sure madam-that conversation where the
Spirit ofIt 'till I see Sir Peter Raillery is suppress'd will ever
appear tedious and insipid-
from such a Libertin~
LADY SNEER. Well I'll not debate how far Scandal mav be
allowable-but
by a Person of your in a man I am sure it is always
contemptiblc;-we have Pride, envy, 150,tanding._
Rivalship, and a Thousand motives to depreciate each other-but
the
coming, I'll go and 110 male-Slanderer-must have the cowardice
of a woman before He can
Surface your most traduce one.
[Exit SNAKE. Ellter SERVANT.
~11, I am very sorry
w. SERVANT. Madam Mrs. Candour is below and if your
Ladyship's at

leisure will leave her earriage-
LADY SNEER. Beg her to walk in-Now Maria however here is
a Charac-:onference with old
ter to your Taste for tho' Mrs. Candour is a little talkative
Everybodyand has never, you
allows her to be the best natured and best sort of Woman-
MARIA. Yes with a very gross affectation of good Nature and
Benevol-?
ence-she does more Mischief than the Direct malice ofold
Crabtree.- 160-'t Lady Sneerwell, 120
SURFACE. 'Efaith 'tis very true Lady Sneerwell. Whenever-I
hear theI even to his own
current running against the Characters of my Friends I never
think
them in such Danger as when Candour undertakes their Defence.
LADY SNEER. Hush here she is -
It's the matter? Enter MRS. CANDOUR.
lir Benjamin Back-

MRS. CANDOUR. My dear Lady Sneerwell, how have you been
this s Uncle Crabtree- Century-Mr. Surface, what News do you
hear? tho' indeed it is no
matter, for I think one hears nothing else but Scandal-
SURFACE. Just so, indeed Madam-.'arty, Ma'am, per~
MRS. CAN DOUR. Ah! Maria Child-what is the whole affair
off between
you and Charles-His extravagance I presume-The Town talks of
170
wear the Truth of flO nothing else-
Iy dear-what has
MARIA. I am very sorry Ma'am, the Town has so little to do.
MRS. CANDOUR. True-true Child but there is no stopping
People's
he has said-his Tongues. T own I was hurt to hear it-as indeed I
was to learn from
:anee. the same quarter that your Guardian Sir Peter and Lady
Teazle have
ge in not knowing not agreed lately so well as could be wish'd.

t Friend-and his MARIA. 'Tis strangely impertinent for People
to busy themselves so-
3enjamin is a Wit cr. Steele's statement, 'I abhor ... that kind of
Wit which betl':lYs ha.rdness ofI
Heart' (Richard Stule's Periodical JOllfffalism, ed. R. Blanchard
(Oxford, 1959), p. 35)·
lone? People will
:erday, I was told
Flirt-but Lord! 180
e I had this from
'ull but the world
·who would have
1 yet such is the
last Week just as
ancing master.
~eport-
: swear, no more 190
7 Mrs. Festino's!
latter was never

i::e is monstrous
such things are
:e as bad as the
Jne-but what's
Ie from talking? 200
neymoon-were
r acquaintances
t st.r:et had got
rpnsmg manner
irm'd that Lord
rdinary Fame-
measure swords
uld report these
as bad as tale-
210
orbeal'ance and
to hear People
nces come out
lk the best-by
,lutely ruin'd-

eed-Ma'am.
l entertainments)
1776.
ACT I, SCENE I :l33
MRS. CANDOUR. Ah! I heard so-but you must tell him to keep
up his
Spirits-every body almost is in the same way-Lord Spindle,l Sir
Thomas Splint, Captain QIinze, and Mr. Nickit>-all up I hear
within 220
this Week! so if Charles is undone He'll find half his
Acquaintances
ruin'd too-and that you know is a consolation·-
SURFACE. Doubtless Ma'am-a very great onc-
Enter SERV ANT.
SERVANT. Mr. Crabtree and Sir Benjamin Backbite. [Exit
SERVANT.
LADY SNEER. Soh! Maria, You see your Lover pursues you.
Positively
you shan't escape-

Enter CRABTREE, ami SIR BENJAMIN BACKBITE.
CRABTREE. Lady Sneerwell-I kiss your hands-Mrs. Candour I
don't
believe you are acquainted with my Nephew Sir Benjamin
llackbite-
egad Ma'am-He has a pretty Wit-and is a pretty Poet too isn't He
Lady Sneerwell:- 230
SIR BENJ. 0 fie Uncle-
CRABTREE. Nay egad it's true. I'll back him at a Rebusl or a
Charade4 against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom-has your
Ladyship
heard the Epigram He wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather
catch-
ing Fire? do Benjamin repeat it-or the Charade you made last
Night
extempore at Mrs. Drowzy's conversazione-come now your first
is
the Name of a Fish, your second a great Naval Commander-and
SIR BENJ. Uncle-now-prithee-
CRABTREE. Efaith Ma'am-'twould surprise you to hear how

ready He
is at these Things.- 240
LADY SNEER. I wonder Sir Benjamin you never publish any-
thing.
SIR BENJ. To say truth Ma'am 'tis very vulgar to Print, and as
my little
Productions are mostly Satires and Lampoons on particular
people
I find they circulate more by giving copies! in confidence to the
Friends
1 'Lord Spindle' was one of the figur~s in a pupp~t-show play
called The Auction
Room, given in the Grand Saloon of Ex~ter 'Change on 1.3
December 1776.
• 'Nick' was a winning throw at dice. To 'nick it' was to guess
correctly.
l Condemned by Addison in one of his papers on 'false wit': 'I
find likewise among
the Ancients that ingenious Kind of Conceit, which the Moderns
distinguish by the

Name of a Rebus, that does not sink a Letter but a whole Word,
by substituting a
Picture in its place' (The Spectator, ed. D. F. Bond (Oxford,
1965), i. 2S0}.
• Cf. R. Tiekell, The Wreath 0/Fasllion (I777), p. 7:
With chips of wit, and mutilated lays,
See Palmerstoll fineer his Bout's Rhimies.
Fav'rite of ev'ry Muse, elect of Phoebus,
To string Charades, or fabricate a Rebus.
• Cf. Poetical Amusemet/IS at a Villa near Bath (2nd edn.,
1776), i. p. v: 'The Editor
does not apprehend private confidence wounded in the present
publication, lIS the
greatest part of these poems were acknowledged by their
Authors in numerous IISsemb-
lies, and with their approbation copied and dispersed through
every quarter ofEngland.'

180
MRS. CANDOUR. Very true Child but what's to be done?
People will
talk-there's no preventing it.-why it was but yesterday, I was
told
that Miss Gadabout had eloped with Sir Filagree Flirt-but Lord!
there is no minding …
6
The Way of the Warld
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
In 1698, Congreve had been disturbed by Collier's attack
upon him in his Short View ofthe Immorality and Profaneness
of

the English Stage, and had immediately answered him with
Amendments of Mr. Collier's False and Impeifect Citations from
his plays. In the following year he set out to provide a better
answer in the form of another play, in which he proposed
to vindicate himselfby producing something of which no one
would need to be ashamed. In his Prologue, it is true, he
adopts the usual attitude of submission to the verdict of the
theater audience; he professes to be "a Passive Poet, Who to
your Judgments yields all Resignation." But, when he came
to write the dedication of the printed play to the Earl of
Montagu, we cannot fail to recognize beneath his flattering
compliments that he regards this playas something on which
he had lavished great pains and care to make it different from
anything he had done before. He tells us that he had written
it in the latter part of 1699, after a long summer visit as guest
of the Earl of Montagu in the cmmtry, presumably at
Boughton House, Northants, where King William had been
splendidly entertained a few years earlier. Perhaps not only
the dialogue, as he admitted, but even the characters of the
play owe something to the other guests he met there. At
least in these scenes, "abstracted" on the theater, we are
given a very brilliant, sharply focused study of the way of
the world in 1700. If, in the course of the comedy, some
knaves and fools should be exposed, we need not be very
much surprised; for Swift had called their host, with some

reason, "as arrant a knave as any in his time."
Indeed, some of the gossip about Montagu and his first
marriage seems almost to lend reality to the surprising
intrigues so often used in Restoration comedy. For example,
in a letter from Henry Ball written from Whitehall. dated
October IO, 1673, to Sir Joseph Williamson, we fmd this
lurid piece of gossip:
My Lady of Northumberland and her new husband,
Mr. Mont.1.gue, have already beglm to differ upon a
386
1
-.~
,
The Way of the WOl'ld

report risen from him, as shee sayes, that he bought her
of her mayd for sool. per alm~lm, and the Towne talke
of parting them. l
That waS of course a long time ago; and in fact they had stayed
together, and she bore him several children, and died in
childbirth in 1690.
That was the kind of world in which the play took shape.
By the end of the year it was still not finished. In a letter
written at Christmas, 1699, Val1brugh mentioned it, but said
that nobody had seen it yet. It was first perfoIDled early in
March, perhaps on March 4, 1700, if we accept the sug-
gestion that James Brydges, afterwards Duke of Chandos,
who records his visits to Lincoln's Inn Fields theater on:r
March 4, 9, and II without mentioning the play, was prob-d
ably drawn there by the distinguished audience that would
be expected for a new play by Congreve.:I. It had what Dryden
calls "but 11loderate success," although Congreve in the
Dedication professes himself satisfied: "That it succeeded on
the Stage, was almost beyond my Expectation; for but little
ofit was prepar'd for that general Taste which seems now to
be predominant in the Pallats of our Audience."
The plot is contrived to illustrate the theme stated on the

title page in the lines from Horace's Satires: 3 the fate of
n
adulterers and the fears of a guilty woman for the loss of her
n dowry. The manners and morals of the characters are taken
st fro111 that world to which the poet and his audience alike
H belo11g, as if to indicate that in spite of the recent
reformation
n of maOllcrs, there is still ample material for comedy for any-
y one who has been tal.1ght by the Roman satirists to observe
lC the way of the world. Perhaps the most important source is,
~t therefore, tIlls satire of Horace to which our attention is
:e drawn.'1-)1 It is still difficult to explain why it did not have a
longer
LC rUll, sillee the performance of the company was highly
Y praised; Mrs. Bracegirdle's Millamant "gained the applause
.c of Court and City," and Mrs. Leigh as Lady Wishfort
was highly appreciated. But Avery finds records of only
st two performances during the next fifteen years, although a
g second edition of tlle play was called for in I70 6, which
~-.
d t Camden Soc. new [2d] ser. vol. IX (2), 35,1874.

~ See Lttcyle Hook, James Brydges drops in at the Theatre,
HLQ.is
TOI. 1944-45, 306-11.
3 I. ii, 37. 13 1 •
4 See Paul and Miriam Mueschke, A New View oj COllgreve's
Way
oj the World (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 195 8).
The Way of the World
gave Congreve the opportunity to introduce some revisions. s
During the nineteenth century, it was only played with
considerable cuts and alterations to smt the taste of the times,
but since its revival in 1904, it has gradually taken its place
again and has even been triumphantly successful in the theater.
5 See E. L. Avery, Congreve on the Eighteenth-century Stage,
I95 I ,
PP·33-34·
388

__ ~"~0:1~__""",,,""'''''''____________......_____
THE
Way of the WarId,
A
COMEDY.
As it is ACTED AT THE
Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields)
BY
I-Iis Majesty's Servants.
Written by Mr. CONGREVE.
Audire est Operer pretium, procedere reete .
Qui mcechis 110n vultis -- Hor. Sat. 2. 1. 1.
--Metuat doti deprensa.- Ibid.

LONDON,
Printed for Jacob Tons01~, within Gray's-Inn-Gate next
Gray's-Inl1-Lane. 1700.
AI/dire est . .•
All YOll, who think the City ne'er can thrive,
Till ev'ry Cuckold-maker's flea'd alive;
Attend, while I their Miseries explain, ...
Seized in the Fact, ...
She kneels, she weeps, and worse I resigns her Dow'r.
(Horace, Satire I, ii: Pope's Imitatiolt 11. 47-48, I72 .)
To the Right Honourable
RALPH
Earl of Mountague, &c.
My LORD,

Whether the World will arraign me of Vanity, or not, that
I have presum'd to Dedicate this Comedy to your Lordship,
I am yet in doubt: Tho' it may be it is some degree ofVanity
even to doubt of it. One who has at any time had the Honour
of your Lordship's Conversation, cannot be suppos'd to think
very meanly of that which he would prefer to your Persual:
Yet it were to incur the Imputation of too much Sufficiency,
to pretend to such a Merit as might abide the Test of your
Lordship's Censure.
Whatever Value may be wanting to this Play while yet it
is mine, will be sufficiently made up to it, when it is once
become your Lordship's; and it is my Security, that I cannot
have overrated it more by my Dedication, than your Lord-
ship will dignifie it by your Patronage.
That it succeeded on the Stage, was almost beyond my
Expectation; for but little of it was prepar'd for that general
Taste which seems now to be predominant in the Pallats of
our Audience.
Those Characters which are meant to be ridiculous in most
of our Comedies, are of Fools so gross, that in my humble
Opinion, they should rather disturb than divert the well-
natur'd and reflecting part of an Audience; they are rather

Objects of Charity than Contempt; and instead of moving
our Mirth, they ought very often to excite our Compassion.
This Reflection mov'd me to design some Characters,
which should appear ridiculous not so much thro' a natural
Folly (which is incorrigible, and therefore not proper for
the Stage) as thro' an affected Wit; a Wit, which at the same
time that it is affected, is also false. As there is some Difficulty
in the formation of a Character of this Nature, so there is
some Hazard which attends the progress of its Success, upon
the Stage: For many come to a Play, so over-charg'd with
Criticism, that they very often let fly their Censure, when
through their rashness they have mistaken their Aim. This I
had occasion lately to observe: For this Play had been Acted
two or three Days, before some of these hasty Judges cou' d
find the leisure to distinguish betwixt the Character of a
Witwoud and a Truewit.
390
lrable
&c.

of Vanity, or not, that
edy to your Lordship,
some degree ofVanity
r time had the Honour
)t be suppos'd to think
)refer to your Persual:
too much Sufficiency
bide the Test of you;
. this Play while yet it
to it, when it is once
Security, that I cannot
dOll, than your Lord.
IS almost beyond my
!par'd for that general
inant in the Pallats of
) be ridiculons in most
s, that in my humble
than divert the well.
ience; they are rather
ld instead of moving
,cite Ollr Compassion.

gn some Characters,
much thro' a natural
efore not proper for
7it, which at ilie same
lere is some Difficulty
is Nature, so there is
is of its Success, upon
so over-charg'd with
their Censure, when
.en their Ainl. This I
Play had been Acted
ie hasty Judges cou'd
the Character of a
The Way of the World
I must beg your Lordship's Pardon for this Digression from
the true Course of this Epistle; but that it may not seem
altogether impertinent, I beg, that I may plead the occasion
of it, in part of that Excuse of which I stand in need, for re-
commending this Comedy to your Protection. It is only by
the Countenance of your Lordship, and the Few so qualified,
that such who write with Care and Pains can hope to be
distinguish'd: For the Prostituted Name ofPoet promiscuously

levels all that bear it.
Terence, the most correct Writer in the World, had a
Scipio and a Lelius if not to assist him, at least to support him
in his Reputation: And notwithstanding his extraordinary
Merit, it may be, their Countenance was not more than
necessary.
The Purity of his Stile, the Delicacy of his Turns, and the
Justness of his Characters, were all of them Beauties, which
the greater part of his Audience were incapable of Tasting:
Some of the coursest Strokes of Plaums, so severely censured
by Horace, were more likely to affect the Multitude; such,
who come with expectation to Laugh out the last Act of a
Play, and are better entertained with two or three unseason-
able Jests, than with the artful

BUSINESS FINANCE BBUS350Stock Portfolio ProjectObjectiveTh.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from felicidaddinwoodie

More from felicidaddinwoodie (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

BUSINESS FINANCE BBUS350Stock Portfolio ProjectObjectiveTh.docx