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GATE 2022 XH2 (English) – Question 64

History of English Literature and Literary Studies · English Literary Traditions across Time: Chaucer to contemporary English literature · 2 marks · Multiple select

The epilogue to William Congreve’s The Way of the World, given below, signals some warning(s). What is/are it/they?

“Other there are whose malice we’d prevent,
Such, who watch plays, with scurrilous intent
To mark out who by characters are meant.
These, with false glosses feed their own ill nature,
And turn to libel, what was meant a satire.”

  1. Critics should always be supportive of the author.
  2. Critics should not look for portrait of real people in the play’s characters and remember that the play is a social satire.
  3. Critics should avoid writing malicious reviews, lest they are accused of libel.
  4. Critics should try to identify the real life equivalent for each character.

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (B) Critics should not look for portrait of real people in the play’s characters and remember that the play is a social satire.

Explanation

Congreve warns against spectators who hunt for real people behind the characters and so turn a satire into a libel. The warning is to read the play as a social satire.