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THE WIT OF THE PLAY

This has been called by Armitage Brown, "A Comedy of Conversation"; and the quibbles in which the Play abounds have been supposed by Dr. Johnson to give the Author "such delight, that he was content to sacrifice reason propriety and truth" for their sake. How far do these observations justly apply to the Play?

In what degree is the extravagant banter of the Play itself an imitation of current fashions of speech and itself an object of ridicule?

Its relations to Lyly and Euphuism. (See Extracts from Ward and from Landmann in "Selected Criticism," in First Folio Edition of the Play).

Make a study of the lesser and larger wit of the play, showing how the former is merely incidental to the latter.

In what respects is the whimsical talk of the Play suited to certain groups and to special characters, so that there is more variety in it than appears at first.

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