Wycherley, William

Japanese: ウィッチャリー（英語表記）Wycherley， William

Born 1640. Clive, Shropshire
Died January 1, 1716. London. British playwright. A representative author of Restoration comedies. Born into a wealthy royalist family, he was educated in France as a boy and became familiar with French culture. He returned to England just before the Restoration in 1660 and entered Oxford University, then studied at the London Law School. He frequented the court of Charles II and mingled with talented people. In 1671, he performed his debut play, Love in a Wood, to favorable reviews. Like other Restoration comedies, this and his next work, The Gentleman Dancing-Master (1672), depict the love affairs and witty exchanges between men and women of high society. His third work, The Country-Wife (75), is the most famous. Wycherley's final work, The Plain-Dealer (76), is a comedy based on Molière's Le Misanthrope, in which the protagonist attacks the dishonesty of human beings. In 1880, he secretly married the Countess Droida, widow of a wealthy aristocrat, which displeased King Charles II. Two years later, his wife died. Wycherley fell into financial difficulties and was imprisoned for debts from 1882 to 1886, but was saved by James II, who released him and gave him a pension. He lost his pension during the Glorious Revolution in 1888, and again became impoverished and retired to his hometown. In 1897, he returned to London. In 1704, he published Miscellaneous Poems, which led to his acquaintance with the young poet Pope. In December 1715, just before his death, Wycherley remarried. Like most playwrights of his time, Wycherley wrote only a small number of works, but his sharp wit has given him a major place in the history of English comedy, and he is considered to be on a par with Congreve as an early pioneer of the comedy of manners tradition.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]1640. シュロップシャー，クライブ
[没]1716.1.1. ロンドン
イギリスの劇作家。王政復古期喜劇の代表的作者。王党派の富裕な家庭に生れ，少年時代にフランスで教育を受け，フランス文化に親しむ。 1660年，王政復古直前に帰国し，オックスフォード大学に入学，次いでロンドンの法学院に学ぶ。チャールズ2世の宮廷に出入りして，才人たちと交わる。 71年，処女作『森の中の恋』 Love in a Woodを上演して好評を得た。次作『紳士の舞踏教師』 The Gentleman Dancing-Master (1672) とともに，王政復古期喜劇の例に漏れず，社交界の男女の恋愛と機知に富んだ応酬を描く。第3作『田舎女房』 The Country-Wife (75) は最も有名。性的不能者を装って世の夫たちを油断させ，人妻を寝取る男を主人公として，浮薄な社交界風俗をとらえた作品で，露骨な描写のために道徳的批評家に非難された。最後の作品『率直な男』 The Plain-Dealer (76) は，モリエールの『ル・ミザントロープ (人間嫌い) 』にならい，人間の不誠実さを攻撃する男を主人公とする喜劇。風刺の鋭さは高く評価されるが，初演は不評。 80年，富裕な貴族の未亡人ドロイーダ伯夫人とひそかに結婚し，チャールズ2世の不興を買う。2年後に夫人死亡。ウィッチャリーは経済的困窮に陥り，82年から 86年まで借金のために入獄したが，ジェームズ2世に救われ，出獄して年金を与えられた。 88年の名誉革命で年金を失い，再び困窮して故郷に隠棲。 97年ロンドンに戻る。 1704年『詩集』 Miscellaneous Poemsを発表。これを縁として年少の詩人ポープと知合うことになる。 15年 12月，死を直前にして再婚。ウィッチャリーは当時の劇作家の例に漏れず，わずかの作品しか書いていないが，鋭い機知によってイギリス喜劇史に大きな位置を占め，風習喜劇の伝統の初期のにない手としてコングリーブと並び称される。

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