William Congreve Quote

William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was a British playwright, satirist, poet and Whig politician. He spent most of his early career between London and Dublin, and became noted for his highly polished style of writing. Congreve is regarded by many critics as one of the most important dramatists of the early Georgian era, and the popularity of his comedy plays throughout the 17th and 18th centuries was central to the development of the comedy of manners satirical genre. He is remembered for his restoration play The Way of the World (1700), which is considered by commentators to be a centerpiece of Restoration comedy literature, and his tragedy play The Mourning Bride (1697), which contains the quote "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".
Congreve wrote the majority of his works in London, and his plays and poems, which formed a major part of Restoration literature, were favorably viewed by the audience for their use of satire and comedy. He first achieved significant fame in 1693, when he wrote some of the most popular English plays that shaped satirical comedy. Congreve wrote several notable works, including The Old Bachelor (1693), The Double Dealer (1693), and Love for Love (1695), all of which established him as one of the foremost writers in the comedy of manners genre. However, his literary career only lasted seven years and he wrote a total of five plays, from 1693 to 1700. Congreve may have been eventually forced off the stage due to growing concerns about the public perception of morality regarding his theatrical comedies.
After leaving the theatre, he was active in political circles with the Whigs party during the early 18th century. Although he lived until 1729, he did not produce any plays after 1700, and when he died in London, he was honored with burial at the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Congreve remains a popular and polarising figure in English literature, and his works continue to be studied and quoted by critics. He is often quoted for the witty dialogues in his writings, which include "O fie, miss, you must not kiss and tell" and "Music has charms to soothe a savage breast".