For Monday: Congreve's The Way of the World, Act Four

NOTE: Only one question this time, but with a purpose: it serves as pre-writing for Option #2 of Paper #2 (if you choose to pursue it).

Act Four, Scene I contains possibly the most famous Restoration ‘love scene,’ where Mirabell woos Millamant and she (reluctantly?) accepts his proposal.  Consider how this passage should be staged in a modern performance: how can you bring out the wit, satire, and personalities under the mask?  In your response, analyze pages 50-53 and discuss how you ‘read’ individual lines and ideas.  How would you want your actors to interpret them—and the audience to understand them?  What does this dialogue reveal about the spirit of the times and the meaning of the play? 

In other words, do a close reading of this passage to help bring out the ideas and characterizations that you feel would help an actor ‘see’ his or her role.  What lines are especially important and reveal more than what they initially seem?  Where might we also see each character peeking from behind their mask to reveal themselves as they truly are?  How can you show us this in a performance?