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ADVANCED WILLIAM CONGREVE MCQS (Set 2): 100 Advanced Questions on Restoration Drama
ADVANCED WILLIAM CONGREVE MCQS : Welcome back to our exploration of William Congreve. While Set 1 covered the essentials, this quiz is for those who wish to master the subtleties of the greatest wit of the Restoration. This set features 100 entirely new MCQs that probe deeper into Congreve’s intricate plots, character motivations, stylistic nuances, and his lasting critical legacy. From the subtext of the proviso scene to the critical theory of *Incognita*, prepare for a true test of your knowledge.
ADVANCED WILLIAM CONGREVE MCQS: Part 1: Deeper Into *The Way of the World*
1.In the proviso scene, Millamant’s central demand is for a marriage that preserves her:
- A) Financial independence
- B) Social standing
- C) Personal liberty and autonomy
- D) Relationship with her aunt
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Personal liberty and autonomy
Explanation: Her provisos—against pet names, public displays of affection, and constant togetherness—are all aimed at carving out a private space and maintaining her individual freedom within the public institution of marriage.
2.What was Mrs. Fainall’s relationship to Mirabell before her marriage to Fainall?
- A) They were cousins
- B) She was his mistress
- C) They were business partners
- D) She was his childhood friend
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) She was his mistress
Explanation: This crucial piece of backstory explains her lingering affection for Mirabell, her unhappiness in her marriage of convenience, and gives Fainall the leverage he attempts to use for blackmail.
3.Which of these is NOT a proviso demanded by Millamant?
- A) That they will live in separate houses
- B) That Mirabell must not be a jealous husband
- C) That she be allowed to pay and receive visits as she pleases
- D) That she not be called by “nicknames” like “wife” or “jewel”
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) That they will live in separate houses
Explanation: While she demands significant personal space (“let us be very strange and well-bred”), the idea of separate households was a step too far even for her. The other three are all specific demands she makes.
4.The “cabal-night” scene primarily serves to characterize Lady Wishfort as:
- A) A skilled political operator
- B) Pathetically vain and desperate for male attention
- C) A kind and generous friend
- D) A stern and wise matriarch
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Pathetically vain and desperate for male attention
Explanation: Her scene preparing for “Sir Rowland,” applying makeup and practicing seductive poses, is a comic masterpiece that reveals her desperation and makes her an object of ridicule.
5.In *The Way of the World*, the contract of marriage is treated by most characters as an act of:
- A) Love and devotion
- B) Economic and social warfare
- C) Religious sacrament
- D) Family duty
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Economic and social warfare
Explanation: The entire plot revolves around securing an inheritance through marriage. For Fainall and Marwood, marriage is a weapon; for Mirabell and Millamant, it is a treaty to be negotiated with legalistic precision.
6.How does the setting of a “chocolate house” in the first act establish the play’s themes?
- A) It shows the characters at their most virtuous.
- B) It introduces a world of male leisure, gossip, and gamesmanship.
- C) It establishes the play as a domestic drama.
- D) It provides a neutral ground for men and women to meet.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) It introduces a world of male leisure, gossip, and gamesmanship.
Explanation: By starting in a public space of fashionable male society, Congreve immediately immerses the audience in a world where reputation, wit, and scheming are the primary currencies.
7.The name “Mirabell” suggests what quality about the hero?
- A) A miraculous birth
- B) His astonishing good looks (“mira” = admire, “bel” = beautiful)
- C) His honesty and morality
- D) His connection to the supernatural
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) His astonishing good looks (“mira” = admire, “bel” = beautiful)
Explanation: Congreve, like other Restoration dramatists, used “canted” or speaking names. “Mirabell” immediately signals to the audience that the character is attractive and admirable.
8.The final line of the play, “Than Defend from Wedlock one another,” suggests that the greatest human folly is:
- A) Remaining single
- B) Marrying for love
- C) Believing one can remain immune to the social game of marriage
- D) Trying to scheme against a witty couple
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Trying to scheme against a witty couple
Explanation: The play concludes that trying to outwit a true wit like Mirabell is the ultimate folly. The final couplets reinforce the triumph of genuine wit over malicious plotting.
Part 2: Deeper into Other Works
9.In *Love for Love*, Angelica’s feigned interest in Sir Sampson’s proposal serves what dramatic purpose?
- A) To make her true love, Scandal, jealous.
- B) It is a test of Valentine’s sincerity.
- C) She genuinely considers marrying him for his money.
- D) It is a plot to get Ben to reject his arranged marriage.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) It is a test of Valentine’s sincerity.
Explanation: She manipulates the situation to force Valentine to choose between love (her) and money (his inheritance). Only when he selflessly chooses her does she reveal her ruse and accept him.
10.The subplot of Tattle and Miss Prue in *Love for Love* satirizes:
- A) The corrupting influence of city manners on country innocence.
- B) A genuine and touching romance.
- C) The virtues of a simple life.
- D) The witty couple dynamic.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) The corrupting influence of city manners on country innocence.
Explanation: The fop Tattle teaches the naive Miss Prue the artificial rules of London courtship, resulting in a comic parody of the main plot’s sophisticated romance.
11.The darkness of tone in *The Double-Dealer* compared to Congreve’s other comedies is due to:
- A) The absence of witty characters.
- B) Its setting in the grim countryside.
- C) The presence of a truly malevolent villain, Maskwell, whose plotting is not merely comic.
- D) A tragic, unhappy ending.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The presence of a truly malevolent villain, Maskwell, whose plotting is not merely comic.
Explanation: Unlike the fops and fools of his other plays, Maskwell is a genuinely evil figure whose intrigues have the potential for real, lasting harm, making the play a darker satire than audiences expected.
12.What specific criticism did John Dryden make of *The Double-Dealer* while also praising its wit?
- A) He felt the plot was too simple.
- B) He believed Maskwell’s villainy was revealed to the audience too early.
- C) He thought the female characters were poorly written.
- D) He objected to its setting.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) He believed Maskwell’s villainy was revealed to the audience too early.
Explanation: Dryden argued that Congreve broke a key dramatic rule by letting the audience in on Maskwell’s villainy in the first act, thus sacrificing suspense. This is a famous point of critical debate.
13.The plot of *The Mourning Bride* centers on a secret marriage and has a setting inspired by what genre?
- A) The Pastoral Romance
- B) The Gothic Romance
- C) The Political Thriller
- D) The Picaresque Novel
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) The Gothic Romance
Explanation: With its dark passions, gloomy prisons, mistaken identities in tombs, and a tyrannical king, the play has many elements that would later define the Gothic genre.
14.Congreve’s preface to his novel *Incognita* is a significant early piece of literary theory because it:
- A) Argues for the superiority of poetry over prose.
- B) Differentiates between the realistic “novel” and the fantastical “romance.”
- C) Provides a detailed autobiography.
- D) Attacks the government’s censorship of the press.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Differentiates between the realistic “novel” and the fantastical “romance.”
Explanation: In this early piece of fiction theory, Congreve distinguishes his work from the sprawling, improbable heroic romances, aligning it with the newer, more plausible form of the dramatic “novel,” anticipating the arguments of later writers like Henry Fielding.
15.The central male character of *The Old Bachelor* is named:
- A) Mirabell
- B) Heartwell
- C) Vainlove
- D) Bellmour
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Heartwell
Explanation: Heartwell is the cynical, woman-hating old bachelor who is the central target of the play’s marital intrigues.
Part 3: Style, Language, and Technique
16.A “proviso” is a:
- A) Witty insult
- B) Legal condition or stipulation
- C) Secret letter
- D) Type of clothing
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A legal condition or stipulation
Explanation: The term “proviso scene” refers to the contractual nature of Mirabell and Millamant’s courtship, where they lay down the legalistic conditions under which they will agree to marry.
17.A key element of Congreve’s dialogue is “repartee.” What is it?
- A) A long, emotional speech
- B) A private thought spoken aloud (soliloquy)
- C) A conversation characterized by quick, witty replies
- D) An aside to the audience
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) A conversation characterized by quick, witty replies
Explanation: Congreve was a master of repartee, the rapid-fire exchange of witty remarks. The courtship of Mirabell and Millamant is the most famous example of this technique in English drama.
18.The structure of Congreve’s comedies often relies on symmetrical pairings. What does this mean?
- A) The sets are always perfectly balanced.
- B) Each play has two heroes and two heroines.
- C) Characters are often foils for each other (e.g., a witty couple vs. a foolish couple).
- D) The plays begin and end in the same location.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Characters are often foils for each other (e.g., a witty couple vs. a foolish couple).
Explanation: Congreve carefully structures his plays with parallel characters and subplots. The true wits (Mirabell/Millamant) are contrasted with the witless pretenders (Witwoud/Petulant) and the villainous anti-wits (Fainall/Marwood).
19.What is the “War of the Sexes” in the context of Congreve’s plays?
- A) A literal battle
- B) The antagonistic, witty courtship rituals between men and women
- C) A legal debate over women’s rights
- D) A subplot involving military characters
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) The antagonistic, witty courtship rituals between men and women
Explanation: In Restoration comedy, courtship is depicted as a strategic battle. Love is a kind of war where the prize is not just affection but also the preservation of one’s independence and social advantage.
20.A “humours” character, like Foresight in *Love for Love*, is a character defined by:
- A) Their good sense of humor
- B) A single, overwhelming obsession or personality trait
- C) Their tragic backstory
- D) Their mysterious nature
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A single, overwhelming obsession or personality trait
Explanation: This is a concept borrowed from Ben Jonson. A “humours” character is dominated by one “humour” (e.g., melancholy, jealousy, or, in Foresight’s case, a belief in astrology), making them comically predictable and irrational.
21.In Congreve’s prose, “cadence” refers to the:
- A) Moral lesson of a speech
- B) Emotional content
- C) Rhythm and flow of the sentences
- D) Use of foreign words
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Rhythm and flow of the sentences
Explanation: Critics like G.B. Shaw praised Congreve’s dialogue for its “music.” The carefully balanced clauses and elegant rhythm make his prose highly stylized and artistic, far from everyday speech.
22.Which of these quotes best exemplifies Congreve’s witty, epigrammatic style?
- A) “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
- B) “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
- C) “Thus I devote myself to Vengeance and to Love.”
- D) “A wit should no more be sincere, than a woman constant.”
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) “A wit should no more be sincere, than a woman constant.”
Explanation: This line from *The Double-Dealer* is a perfect example of a Congreve epigram: a cynical, perfectly balanced, and provocative statement that inverts conventional morality.
23.The “mask” was a common prop and metaphor in Restoration life and on Congreve’s stage. What did it represent?
- A) Religious ceremony
- B) Anonymity, allowing for social and sexual freedom
- C) The celebration of a holiday
- D) A character’s true identity
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Anonymity, allowing for social and sexual freedom
Explanation: In a society obsessed with reputation, masks (as seen in *Incognita*) allowed characters to temporarily escape their social roles and engage in intrigues or express desires that would otherwise be forbidden.
24.How did the physical structure of the Restoration theatre, with its proscenium arch and movable scenery, differ from the Shakespearean stage?
- A) It was much smaller.
- B) It was the first time an indoor stage was used.
- C) It created a more pictorial, illusionistic effect, like looking through a frame.
- D) It had no stage at all.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) It created a more pictorial, illusionistic effect, like looking through a frame.
Explanation: Unlike the open “thrust” stage of the Globe, the Restoration theatre used a proscenium arch, painted flats, and perspective scenery to create a picture-frame effect that Congreve and his contemporaries wrote for.
25.In which work does Congreve discuss the three dramatic unities of time, place, and action?
- A) His response to Jeremy Collier
- B) The preface to his translation of Juvenal
- C) He does not directly discuss them in his major critical works.
- D) *The Dedication to The Double-Dealer*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) *The Dedication to The Double-Dealer*
Explanation: In the dedication of his second play, Congreve defends himself against critics by arguing that he *has* followed the unities, showing a keen awareness of the Neoclassical rules of the day.
26.The name “Wishfort” is a pun on the character’s primary desire, which is:
- A) “Wishing for” a fortune
- B) “Wishing for” wit
- C) “Wishing for” a “for(t)” or stronghold against loneliness
- D) “Wishing for” it, a pun on her sexual desire
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) “Wishing for” it, a pun on her sexual desire
Explanation: The name is a risqué pun on “Wish-for’t,” pointing to the powerful but unfulfilled sexual appetite that makes her so comically vain and easy to manipulate.
27.What famous Romantic critic celebrated Millamant as a perfect creation but found the rest of *The Way of the World* to be a “joyless masquerade”?
- A) William Wordsworth
- B) Charles Lamb
- C) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- D) William Hazlitt
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Charles Lamb
Explanation: In his essay “On the Artificial Comedy of the Last Century,” Lamb famously praised Millamant while arguing that the entire genre existed in a utopian “land of cuckoldry” separate from real-world morality.
28.Which of these is NOT one of Millamant’s provisos to Mirabell?
- A) She must be “sole empress of her tea-table.”
- B) He must get her aunt’s permission first.
- C) She can be “called names” only when they are alone.
- D) Her acquaintances must not be excluded from their home.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) He must get her aunt’s permission first.
Explanation: While the entire plot revolves around gaining Lady Wishfort’s consent for financial reasons, Millamant does not make it a condition of her love. Her conditions are about personal autonomy *after* marriage.
29.In which work would you find characters named Bellmour, Sharper, and Fondlewife?
- A) *Love for Love*
- B) *The Way of the World*
- C) *The Double-Dealer*
- D) *The Old Bachelor*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) *The Old Bachelor*
Explanation: These are all characters from Congreve’s highly successful first play, demonstrating his early use of “speaking names.”
30.The main plot of *The Old Bachelor* revolves around a group of men trying to manipulate which character?
- A) The titular bachelor, Heartwell
- B) A wealthy widow named Lady Touchwood
- C) The young heiress, Araminta
- D) The fop, Sir Joseph Wittol
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) The titular bachelor, Heartwell
Explanation: The central action involves the other characters trying to trick the cynical Heartwell, who despises women, into a disadvantageous marriage.
31.Which character in *Love for Love* says “I am Truth, and come to give the world the lie”?
- A) Scandal
- B) Foresight
- C) Angelica
- D) Valentine, during his feigned madness
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Valentine, during his feigned madness
Explanation: His “madness” gives him a license to speak satirical and uncomfortable truths about the hypocrisy of society, a classic dramatic convention.
32.Congreve stopped writing plays for the public because he felt the audience now preferred:
- A) Political propaganda plays
- B) Simple morality and emotion (sentimental comedy) over complex wit
- C) Italian opera exclusively
- D) Historical tragedies by Shakespeare
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Simple morality and emotion (sentimental comedy) over complex witExplanation: The Collier controversy was a symptom of a larger cultural shift. The rising middle-class audience wanted plays that rewarded virtue and punished vice explicitly, a formula Congreve’s morally ambiguous comedies did not fit.
33.What is the “deed of darkness” referred to at the end of *The Way of the World*?
- A) The attempted murder of Fainall
- B) Fainall’s blackmail plot
- C) The “little black box” containing the deed
- D) Lady Wishfort’s marriage to Sir Rowland
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Fainall’s blackmail plot
Explanation: Mirabell refers to Fainall’s villainous plot as a “deed of darkness,” which is defeated by his own, more benevolent “deed of conveyance.”
34.Who is Lady Touchwood’s object of desire in *The Double-Dealer*?
- A) Her husband, Lord Touchwood
- B) The hero, Mellefont
- C) The villain, Maskwell
- D) The fop, Lord Froth
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) The hero, Mellefont
Explanation: She is passionately in love with her nephew-by-marriage, Mellefont. Her fury at his rejection fuels her collaboration with Maskwell to destroy Mellefont’s reputation and impending marriage.
35.What famous London location, a popular place for fashionable people to walk and be seen, is a frequent setting or reference point in Congreve’s comedies?
- A) The Tower of London
- B) St. Paul’s Cathedral
- C) The Mall in St. James’s Park
- D) London Bridge
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The Mall in St. James’s Park
Explanation: St. James’s Park was the epicenter of fashionable society, a place to display one’s wit and clothing. Act I of *The Way of the World* references events that just took place there.
36.The name “Fainall” is a pun on what character trait?
- A) His habit of swooning or fainting
- B) His tendency to feign or pretend all his emotions
- C) His fairness in games
- D) His final victory
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) His tendency to feign or pretend all his emotions
Explanation: “Fain-all” points to his status as a hypocrite who pretends to be a respectable husband while engaging in an affair and plotting to steal his wife’s fortune.
37.In which year was Congreve appointed Secretary for the island of Jamaica, a lucrative government post?
- A) 1695
- B) 1700
- C) 1714
- D) 1728
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) 1714
Explanation: With the accession of the Hanoverian King George I and the return of the Whigs to power, Congreve was rewarded for his party loyalty with this comfortable position, which secured his finances for the rest of his life.
38.What does it mean for a character in Congreve to be a “truewit”?
- A) They are honest to a fault.
- B) They use wit wisely to understand and navigate the world.
- C) They are simply very funny.
- D) They are pretenders to wit.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) They use wit wisely to understand and navigate the world.Explanation: A “truewit” like Mirabell or Angelica has not only linguistic skill but also good judgment. They use their wit to defend themselves from the folly and malice of “the way of the world.” A “witwoud” or “false wit” has only the appearance of cleverness.
39.“Wherefore did I not marry before I was a bachelor?” is a line spoken by which character confused by love?
- A) Heartwell in *The Old Bachelor*
- B) Foresight in *Love for Love*
- C) Sir Wilfull Witwoud in *The Way of the World*
- D) Lord Froth in *The Double-Dealer*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) Heartwell in *The Old Bachelor*
Explanation: This line shows the cynical Heartwell in a state of comic confusion as he realizes he has fallen in love despite himself, questioning his entire identity as a bachelor.
40.To which wealthy and powerful Duchess did Congreve leave the bulk of his fortune?
- A) The Duchess of Windsor
- B) The Duchess of Devonshire
- C) The Duchess of Marlborough (Henrietta Godolphin)
- D) The Duchess of Richmond
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The Duchess of Marlborough (Henrietta Godolphin)
Explanation: He had a long and close friendship with Henrietta Godolphin, the 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (daughter of the famous Duke). She was famously devoted to his memory, even having an ivory statue of him made.
41.The “dance of the cuckolds” is a common theme. What does it mean for a man to be made a “cuckold”?
- A) He is made into a king.
- B) His wife has been unfaithful to him.
- C) He loses his fortune.
- D) He is publicly revealed to be a fool.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) His wife has been unfaithful to him.
Explanation: The fear of being cuckolded, and the social disgrace it brought, was a central anxiety and a rich source of comedy in Restoration society. Fainall is a cuckold, though he doesn’t know his wife’s affair was with Mirabell.
42.Who is Lord Froth in *The Double-Dealer*?
- A) A true wit
- B) A solemn fool who laughs at nothing to seem serious and important
- C) A drunken country squire
- D) The play’s villain
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A solemn fool who laughs at nothing to seem serious and important
Explanation: He is a “humours” character whose affectation is an extreme and artificial gravity. He and his wife, Lady Froth (a pretentious poetess), are a satirical portrait of aristocratic foolishness.
43.Which character’s name in *The Way of the World* means “lover of wood” or suggests something dull?
- A) Fainall
- B) Witwoud
- C) Petulant
- D) Sir Wilfull
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Witwoud
Explanation: His name suggests he is a “would-be” wit, and also “wit-wood,” implying his intelligence is blockish and unrefined.
44.The epilogue of which play begins with the line “After our Epilogue this Libel comes…”?
- A) *The Way of the World*
- B) *The Old Bachelor*
- C) *Love for Love*
- D) *The Double-Dealer*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) *The Double-Dealer*
Explanation: Acknowledging the play’s harsh satire and poor reception, the epilogue itself calls the play a “libel,” a defiant gesture against its critics.
45.What physical object is used by Lady Wishfort to express her extreme rage?
- A) A fan
- B) Her make-up (“paint”)
- C) A lapdog
- D) Her own letters
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Her make-up (“paint”)Explanation: In a fit of fury, she famously complains that she is so angry that her makeup is cracking: “I look like an old peeled wall.” It is a moment where her carefully constructed artifice literally falls apart.
46.In which year did the Jeremy Collier controversy begin, marking a turning point for Restoration comedy?
- A) 1688
- B) 1695
- C) 1698
- D) 1700
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) 1698Explanation: Collier published his influential pamphlet *A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage* in 1698, crystallizing a growing middle-class dissatisfaction with the genre.
47.Who is Mrs. Marwood’s secret love interest?
- A) Fainall
- B) Mirabell
- C) Sir Wilfull
- D) She has no secret love interest.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) MirabellExplanation: Mrs. Marwood’s malice is fueled by her unrequited love for Mirabell. Her jealousy of his love for Millamant is what motivates her to help Fainall in his plot.
48.The “falling action” or dénouement of a Congreve comedy typically involves:
- A) A tragic death
- B) A witty summary and pairing off of the correct couples
- C) A call for social revolution
- D) A supernatural intervention
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A witty summary and pairing off of the correct couples
Explanation: After the main plot is resolved, the plays end with a tidy, symmetrical restoration of social order, where the witty are rewarded with love and money, and the foolish are punished or dismissed.
49.Which of these is a demand Mirabell makes of Millamant in the proviso scene?
- A) She must never wear a mask.
- B) She must learn to manage a household budget.
- C) She must be “tame” to his friends.
- D) She must not “be beholden to junkets and feasting” during pregnancy.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) She must not “be beholden to junkets and feasting” during pregnancy.Explanation: His provisos are about protecting their domestic life from the absurd affectations of high society, including morning-after teas and gossip sessions about her pregnancy.
50.What famous actress was Congreve’s longtime companion and the primary beneficiary of his will, alongside the Duchess of Marlborough?
- A) Nell Gwyn
- B) Elizabeth Barry
- C) Anne Bracegirdle
- D) Colley Cibber’s daughter
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Anne BracegirdleExplanation: Anne Bracegirdle, the original Millamant, was his muse and close friend throughout his life. His decision to leave her and another noblewoman his fortune was a testament to his deep affection and loyalty.
51.In which work would you find a character named Zara, a captive queen who seeks revenge?
- A) *The Way of the World*
- B) *The Mourning Bride*
- C) *Love for Love*
- D) *Incognita*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) *The Mourning Bride*
Explanation: Zara is a fierce and passionate character in Congreve’s tragedy, whose scorned love for Osmyn drives much of the play’s violent action.
52.What is the “pastoral” in the context of Restoration literature?
- A) A play about city life
- B) A poem or play that idealizes country life and shepherds
- C) A religious sermon
- D) A type of satire
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A poem or play that idealizes country life and shepherds
Explanation: Congreve, like Pope, wrote pastoral poems, a popular classical genre that used an idealized rural setting to explore themes of love and loss.
53.Sir Wilfull Witwoud’s journey from country bumpkin to a more polished man represents what theme?
- A) The superiority of country values
- B) The civilizing influence of London society
- C) The hopelessness of trying to change one’s nature
- D) The corruption inherent in city life
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) The civilizing influence of London society
Explanation: While initially a comic figure, Sir Wilfull proves good-hearted and capable of learning. His character arc suggests that even “natural” man can benefit from the sophisticated education that London provides.
54.The use of an “aside” on the Restoration stage was a moment when a character would:
- A) Sing a song
- B) Speak their private thoughts directly to the audience
- C) Leave the stage briefly
- D) Faint
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Speak their private thoughts directly to the audience
Explanation: Congreve frequently uses asides to reveal a character’s true intentions or their witty commentary on the action, breaking the fourth wall and creating dramatic irony.
55.“I, who have languished in expecting death, can have no room for other evils” is a line exemplifying the genre of:
- A) Low Comedy
- B) High Tragedy
- C) Farce
- D) Satire
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) High TragedyExplanation: This line, spoken by Almeria in *The Mourning Bride*, is a perfect example of the heightened, passionate, and serious emotional state characteristic of tragedy, a sharp contrast to his comedies.
56.Which of these characters represents “false wit” through their constant use of similes?
- A) Millamant
- B) Mirabell
- C) Witwoud
- D) Angelica
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) WitwoudExplanation: Witwoud’s “wit” consists of mechanically applying similes to everything, a trick he has learned. It is a form of affectation, not genuine intelligence, and Mirabell mocks him for it.
57.In which act of *The Way of the World* does the famous proviso scene occur?
- A) Act I
- B) Act II
- C) Act III
- D) Act IV
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Act IV
Explanation: The proviso scene, the play’s climax of wit, takes place late in the play, in Act IV, after the main plots have been thoroughly established.
58.What famous coffee house was the home of the Tory party, a rival to the Whigs’ Kit-Cat Club?
- A) The Grecian
- B) Will’s
- C) Button’s
- D) The Cocoa-Tree
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) The Cocoa-TreeExplanation: This provides context for the political world Congreve inhabited, where one’s literary and social life was closely tied to party allegiance.
59.Why does Millamant walk “in a sort of poetic fury”?
- A) She is genuinely angry with Mirabell.
- B) It is a fashionable affectation of romantic passion and contemplation.
- C) She is practicing lines for a play.
- D) She is avoiding Lady Wishfort.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) It is a fashionable affectation of romantic passion and contemplation.
Explanation: This is a key part of her performance of wit and studied nonchalance. She is deliberately making a scene, quoting poetry to demonstrate her taste and control over the situation.
60.The plot of *Incognita* relies heavily on what theatrical convention?
- A) The tragic hero’s downfall
- B) Mistaken identity due to masks and disguises
- C) Political rebellion
- D) A journey to a foreign land
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Mistaken identity due to masks and disguises
Explanation: The entire plot is set in motion at a masquerade ball in Florence, where the heroes fall in love with masked women, creating a series of symmetrical confusions.
61.In *The Mourning Bride*, where is the heroine Almeria held captive?
- A) In a foreign court
- B) In a convent
- C) In the court of her tyrannical father, the King of Granada
- D) On a deserted island
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) In the court of her tyrannical father, the King of Granada
Explanation: The king, Manuel, is the central antagonist who has captured Alphonso, her secret husband, and attempts to force her into another marriage.
62.What was the title of the Pindaric ode Congreve wrote?
- A) *A Discourse on the Pindaric Ode*
- B) *Ode to Liberty*
- C) *To the King on the Taking of Namur*
- D) *Alexander’s Feast*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) *A Discourse on the Pindaric Ode*
Explanation: Congreve was a serious student of poetic forms. He wrote both the Pindaric odes themselves and this critical “discourse” explaining the form’s irregular structure and “enthusiastical” nature.
63.Who gets drunk with Sir Wilfull Witwoud, delaying the plot against Lady Wishfort?
- A) Witwoud
- B) Mirabell
- C) Fainall
- D) Petulant
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Fainall
Explanation: Fainall intentionally gets the country squire drunk to try to derail Mirabell’s scheme, showing his own manipulative nature.
64.In which publication by Richard Steele does a tribute to the retired Congreve appear?
- A) *The Tatler*
- B) *The Spectator*
- C) *The Conscious Lovers*
- D) His personal diary
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) *The Tatler*
Explanation: Steele, Congreve’s friend from the Kit-Cat Club, often praised his works, most famously including a laudatory mention of *The Old Bachelor* in an issue of *The Tatler*.
65.In Congreve’s world, a character’s foolishness is often revealed by their lack of:
- A) Money
- B) Good looks
- C) Sincerity
- D) Self-awareness
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Self-awarenessExplanation: Characters like Lady Wishfort, Foresight, and the fops are comic because they are completely unaware of how ridiculous they are. True wits like Mirabell and Millamant, by contrast, are profoundly self-aware and perform their social roles with full knowledge.
66.“Intrigue” is another word for the ____ of a Restoration comedy.
- A) theme
- B) main character
- C) witty dialogue
- D) plot, especially the secret schemes
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) plot, especially the secret schemes
Explanation: The “intrigue” is the machinery of the plot, the complex web of schemes and counter-schemes involving secret letters, disguises, and manipulations.
67.What does the name “Petulant” suggest about the character?
- A) He is brave and strong.
- B) He is irritable and ill-tempered.
- C) He owns many pets.
- D) He is humble and kind.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) He is irritable and ill-tempered.Explanation: Another of Congreve’s speaking names, Petulant is defined by his peevish and sullen nature, which he mistakenly thinks makes him seem important.
68.Which female character in *The Double-Dealer* is genuinely witty and virtuous?
- A) Lady Touchwood
- B) Cynthia
- C) Lady Froth
- D) Lady Plyant
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Cynthia
Explanation: Cynthia, the intended bride of the hero Mellefont, represents the moral center of the play. She is witty but also virtuous, a precursor to Angelica and Millamant.
69.What happens to the villains Fainall and Mrs. Marwood at the end of *The Way of the World*?
- A) They are arrested and sent to prison.
- B) They repent and are forgiven.
- C) They are defeated and driven from the stage, but not formally punished.
- D) They successfully escape with half the money.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) They are defeated and driven from the stage, but not formally punished.Explanation: In the amoral world of the play, a legal and social defeat is their only punishment. Congreve does not offer a simplistic, moralistic ending where they are carted off to jail.
70.What is Sir Sampson Legend’s “humour” in *Love for Love*?
- A) Melancholy
- B) Astrological obsession
- C) Overbearing pride and tyranny
- D) Avarice
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Overbearing pride and tyranny
Explanation: Sir Sampson is defined by his bombastic and domineering personality, treating his sons as possessions and expecting the world to bend to his will.
71.In which century did the revival of interest and performance of Congreve’s plays begin after a long period of neglect?
- A) The 18th century
- B) The 19th century (Victorian era)
- C) The early 20th century
- D) The late 20th century
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The early 20th century
Explanation: After being considered too immoral by the Victorians, his plays were revived by artists and directors in the early 20th century (like Nigel Playfair in the 1920s) who appreciated their style and artificiality.
72.Which character said, “I have a mortal aversion to fooling… A fool knows the town, and all its little follies, and is laughing at ’em, and being laughed at”?
- A) Mirabell
- B) Petulant
- C) Witwoud
- D) This quote is not from Congreve.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Petulant
Explanation: This is a key line for Petulant’s character. He misunderstands what a fool is, and his entire “philosophy” of being ill-tempered and shy is an affectation he has adopted to seem witty.
73.“Poetry’s a pretty thing enough for a young man to amuse himself with; but to make a business of it…” This anti-poetic sentiment is expressed by which practical character?
- A) Scandal in *Love for Love*
- B) Sir Sampson Legend in *Love for Love*
- C) Mirabell in *The Way of the World*
- D) Lady Wishfort in *The Way of the World*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Sir Sampson Legend in *Love for Love*
Explanation: The tyrannical father Sir Sampson has no patience for his son Valentine’s “unprofitable” pursuits like poetry and philosophy, representing the clash between materialistic and artistic values.
74.What is the “fatal Friendship” that Lady Touchwood pretends Maskwell has violated in *The Double-Dealer*?
- A) His friendship with Mellefont
- B) His friendship with Lord Touchwood
- C) His friendship with a foreign spy
- D) His friendship with another suitor
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) His friendship with Mellefont
Explanation: Maskwell’s entire scheme relies on his performance of perfect friendship to Mellefont, which he exploits to gain trust and manipulate everyone in the house.
75.Who is Jeremy in *Love for Love*?
- A) A rival lover
- B) Valentine’s witty and long-suffering servant
- C) A foolish country squire
- D) Angelica’s father
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Valentine’s witty and long-suffering servantExplanation: In the tradition of clever servants in comedy, Jeremy is often the most sensible character on stage, exchanging witty remarks with his financially irresponsible master, Valentine.
76.What social gathering is rudely interrupted by Ben’s arrival from sea in *Love for Love*?
- A) A wedding
- B) A masquerade ball
- C) A formal dinner party
- D) A concert
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) A formal dinner party
Explanation: Ben’s loud, slang-filled entrance provides a burst of comic energy and serves as a chaotic interruption to the refined but hypocritical social rituals of the Londoners.
77.“I confess you are handsome, but you are still a man,” is a line delivered by which character?
- A) Millamant to Mirabell
- B) Angelica to Valentine
- C) Lady Froth to a suitor
- D) Mrs. Marwood to Fainall
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) Millamant to Mirabell
Explanation: This perfectly captures Millamant’s perspective: while she may acknowledge Mirabell’s charms, she still sees him as part of the opposite side in the “war of the sexes” and is unwilling to simply surrender to him.
78.What famous library did Congreve frequent with his friend Jonathan Swift?
- A) The Bodleian Library at Oxford
- B) The Wren Library at Cambridge
- C) The Marsh’s Library in Dublin
- D) The British Library
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The Marsh’s Library in DublinExplanation: As students at Trinity College, both Congreve and Swift were users of the nearby Marsh’s Library, a key detail connecting the two great writers in their youth.
79.What kind of characters are Brisk, the Froths, and the Plyants in *The Double-Dealer*?
- A) Tragic figures
- B) Virtuous heroes
- C) A gallery of fools and fops
- D) Witty manipulators
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) A gallery of fools and fops
Explanation: These characters form the comic subplot and represent different kinds of affectation: Brisk (the noisy false wit), Lord Froth (the solemn fool), and Lady Plyant (the fake prude). They serve as foils to the serious villainy of the main plot.
80.Who says of Millamant, “She is the ornament of her sex”?
- A) Mirabell
- B) Sir Wilfull
- C) Fainall
- D) A critic in the play
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) MirabellExplanation: After she leaves the stage, Mirabell delivers a famous monologue in her praise, saying she is “the whole sex’s representative” and an “ornament,” showing his genuine admiration beyond the witty games.
81.What is a key difference between the wit of Mirabell and the wit of Millamant?
- A) Mirabell is witty, Millamant is not.
- B) Mirabell’s is strategic and prose-like; Millamant’s is poetic and performative.
- C) Millamant is more cruel in her wit.
- D) Mirabell’s wit is old-fashioned.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Mirabell’s is strategic and prose-like; Millamant’s is poetic and performative.Explanation: Mirabell uses his wit as a tool to advance his plot and analyze situations. Millamant’s wit is more like a performance, full of poetic quotations and stylish affectations, designed to create a dazzling social effect.
82.Congreve is considered a transitional figure between the Restoration and what subsequent literary period?
- A) The Renaissance
- B) The Romantic Age
- C) The Augustan Age
- D) The Modernist Period
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The Augustan Age
Explanation: He stands at the cusp of two eras. His plays embody the cynicism of the Restoration, but the polish, balance, and artistry of his prose prefigure the Augustan high style of writers like his friend, Alexander Pope.
83.In which play does a character humorously describe another as having a “very ominous murky-faced creature, a Husband”?
- A) *The Way of the World*
- B) *Love for Love*
- C) *The Old Bachelor*
- D) This quote is from Vanbrugh, not Congreve.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) This quote is from Vanbrugh, not Congreve.
Explanation: This famous witty line describing a husband comes from Sir John Vanbrugh’s play *The Provoked Wife*, another major comedy of the period. This tests broader knowledge.
84.The action of *The Way of the World* takes place over how long?
- A) Several weeks
- B) A single day
- C) Three days
- D) One year
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) A single dayExplanation: Despite its complex plot and backstory, the on-stage action adheres to the classical unity of time, taking place within a 24-hour period, which enhances the play’s pace and intensity.
85.What was the title of the pastoral elegy Congreve wrote on the death of Queen Mary II?
- A) *Astrophel*
- B) *The Mourning Queen*
- C) *The Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas*
- D) *Lycidas*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) *The Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas*
Explanation: Following literary convention, he wrote this formal pastoral poem to mourn the queen’s death, using classical shepherd names to represent historical figures.
86.In which play is the “World’s-end” mentioned, a real-life London tavern known for secret romantic assignations?
- A) *The Way of the World*
- B) *The Country Wife*
- C) *Love for Love*
- D) *The Old Bachelor*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) *Love for Love*
Explanation: A character references a “private eating-house” near World’s-end, grounding the play’s romantic intrigues in the actual social geography of Restoration London.
87.Who gets married to Sir Wilfull Witwoud in the final act?
- A) Millamant
- B) Foible
- C) Nobody; he remains a bachelor.
- D) Mrs. Marwood
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) Nobody; he remains a bachelor.Explanation: Though he is briefly engaged to Millamant as a strategic move, he good-naturedly gives her up to Mirabell. He ends the play happily single, destined to return to the country.
88.Which of these characters can be considered the moral center of *The Way of the World*?
- A) Lady Wishfort, who represents tradition
- B) Mirabell, whose wit serves a genuinely loving purpose
- C) Fainall, who exposes the hypocrisy of others
- D) There is no clear moral center.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Mirabell, whose wit serves a genuinely loving purpose
Explanation: While morally ambiguous by later standards, in the world of the play Mirabell is the hero. His deceptions are aimed at achieving a true and equal union with Millamant and protecting his friends, contrasting with Fainall’s destructive and selfish plotting.
89.What famous essayist and friend of Congreve praised him, saying “I was not a little pleased… to find… my old friend, Mr. Congreve… still retained the wit and humour of his younger years”?
- A) John Dryden
- B) Joseph Addison
- C) Richard Steele
- D) Jonathan Swift
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Jonathan SwiftExplanation: In his *Journal to Stella*, Congreve’s old schoolmate Swift recounts visiting him in his later years and comments warmly on his enduring wit despite his poor health.
90.In which of Congreve’s works would you find the characters Aurelian and Hippolito?
- A) *The Mourning Bride*
- B) *The Double-Dealer*
- C) *Love for Love*
- D) *Incognita*
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) *Incognita*
Explanation: Aurelian and Hippolito are the two friends and protagonists of Congreve’s only novel, who fall in love with the masked Incognita and Leonora.
91.“He who would be singular in his apparel, must be singular in his behaviour,” is advice given to which rustic character?
- A) Miss Prue
- B) Ben Legend
- C) Sir Wilfull Witwoud
- D) Heartwell
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Ben LegendExplanation: His city relatives give him this advice when trying to polish his rough sailor’s manners for his arranged marriage, highlighting the play’s theme of nature versus artifice.
92.Which of these is NOT part of Mirabell’s character?
- A) He is a former lover of Mrs. Fainall.
- B) He is a “truewit.”
- C) He is a passionate romantic who despises plotting.
- D) He is a skillful and pragmatic manipulator.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) He is a passionate romantic who despises plotting.
Explanation: Mirabell is the complete opposite of this. He is a master plotter who understands that in “the way of the world,” strategic manipulation is necessary to achieve his genuinely loving goal.
93.Why does Millamant walk “in a sort of poetic fury”?
- A) She is genuinely angry with Mirabell.
- B) It is a fashionable affectation of romantic passion and contemplation.
- C) She is practicing lines for a play.
- D) She is avoiding Lady Wishfort.
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) It is a fashionable affectation of romantic passion and contemplation.
Explanation: This is a key part of her performance of wit and studied nonchalance. She is deliberately making a scene, quoting poetry to demonstrate her taste and control over the situation.
94.“For I must tell you, I’m not of the opinion of those triflers who quit their former alliances to windscreen themselves for a leaning-side.” This political statement affirms Congreve’s loyalty to which party?
- A) The Tories
- B) The Royalists
- C) The Jacobites
- D) The Whigs
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) The Whigs
Explanation: This is from a letter where Congreve affirms his loyalty to the Whig party, refusing to abandon his principles even when the party was out of power.
95.In Congreve’s comedies, what social space is seen as the primary domain of female power?
- A) The chocolate house
- B) The park
- C) The “dressing-room” or “closet”
- D) The church
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: C) The “dressing-room” or “closet”
Explanation: A lady’s private dressing room (or closet) was her sanctum, where she held court with her friends, gossiped, wrote letters, and plotted her social strategies, away from direct male supervision.
96.Who gets the last line in *The Way of the World*?
- A) Millamant
- B) Lady Wishfort
- C) Mirabell
- D) Sir Wilfull Witwoud
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Sir Wilfull Witwoud
Explanation: The country squire gets the last word, a final couplet that is a little clumsy but good-hearted, ending the play on a surprisingly rustic and sincere note after the dazzling wit of the main plot.
97.“Ferdinand Mendez Pinto was but a type of thee, thou liar of the first magnitude.” This literary insult is directed at which character by Valentine?
- A) Tattle
- B) Sir Sampson
- C) Ben
- D) Foresight
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: A) Tattle
Explanation: Valentine mocks Tattle’s exaggerated claims by comparing him to a famous Portuguese explorer and travel writer known for his fantastic and unbelievable stories.
98.Who is Osmyn in *The Mourning Bride*?
- A) The villainous king
- B) Almeria’s secret husband and the son of the king’s greatest enemy
- C) A loyal general
- D) A treacherous advisor
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) Almeria’s secret husband and the son of the king’s greatest enemy
Explanation: Osmyn (who is secretly Alphonso) is the tragic hero of the play, whose hidden identity and forbidden love for Almeria drive the plot.
99.The name Millamant means:
- A) “One thousand sorrows”
- B) “One thousand lovers”
- C) “The tenth muse”
- D) “The miller’s daughter”
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: B) “One thousand lovers”
Explanation: Her name (“mille amants”) signifies her desirability and the multitude of suitors she commands, though she only truly considers one.
100.“True Wit is Nature to Advantage drest, / What oft was Thought, but ne’er so well Exprest.” This famous definition of wit, which perfectly describes Congreve’s style, was written by whom?
- A) William Congreve
- B) John Dryden
- C) Jonathan Swift
- D) Alexander Pope
Click to see Answer
Correct Answer: D) Alexander Pope
Explanation: This perfect summary of Neoclassical wit comes from Pope’s *An Essay on Criticism*. It defines wit not as the creation of brand new ideas, but as the polished, memorable, and perfect expression of universal truths.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Wit and Style
“For there is nothing collapses so soon as a designing head when a pure heart is opposed to it.” – *The Double-Dealer*
Having delved deep into the world of William Congreve, one truth remains: his command of the English language is nearly unparalleled in dramatic prose. Beyond the shimmering surface of wit and repartee lie complex critiques of social hypocrisy, the mercenary nature of marriage, and the eternal struggle for personal freedom. His work stands as the definitive artistic achievement of the Restoration stage.
ADVANCED WILLIAM CONGREVE MCQS: Congratulations on completing this challenging ADVANCED WILLIAM CONGREVE MCQS Set 2! You have now tackled 200 questions on the master of manners. Please share your score and your thoughts on Congreve’s most memorable characters in the comments below!
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