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THE comedy ot The Double-Dealer made its hrst appearance at
the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1694, and is, artistically, far
superior to its predecessor, The Old Bachelor. The characters
play closer, and the plot is less involved and better sustained. The
brilliant dialogue is seldom forced, and rises easily and spontaneously
from the action of the story. Like all Congreve's
comedies, however, the progress of the play is occasionally interrupted
for the sake of introducing wit and sarcasm which
have little to do with the development of plot and character.
Conversation takes place which, though always brilliant and
amusing, has but the slightest connection with the solemn stupidity
of Lord Froth, the intrigue of Lady Froth, the "niceties"
of Lady Plyant, and the villainies of Maskwell. The unity of the
piece is sacrificed to the dominant claims of dialogue. As is always
apparent in the comedies of Congreve, the love here is
sensuality, and virtue only another term for timorous or calculating
vice. Nothing more plainly shows the looseness of the
times than the conversation which is permitted to take place
between Sir Paul Plyant and his daughter,
Upon its first representation The Double-Dealer was not a
success, and it was not until Dryden taught the public its merits
that it became popular.