The Way of the World Lesson Plan

How do Congreve’s chosen epigraphs foreshadow the action to come in the play itself?

Congreve's epigraph foreshadows the plot to come. The first adds a satirically moral tone of comeuppance to adulterers and the second foreshadows the theme of money that will taint both the marriages and adulteries of the plot.

These quotes also prepare the reader for a Comedy of Manners since Horace's Satires is considered an early example of the genre. Congreve is also perhaps, as in his dedication, attempting to add respectability through reference to the established work.

Discuss the significance of the Dedication in the context of the play's content and history.