Wycherley, << WIHCH uhr lee, >> William (1640?-1716), an English playwright, ranks with Sir George Etherege and William Congreve as a leading author of witty satires called comedies of manners during the Restoration period of English literature. Many of Wycherley’s plays are brutally satiric, and his attitude toward his characters is often venomous and cynical.
Wycherley’s first plays, Love in a Wood (1671) and The Gentleman Dancing Master (1672), are light comedies of intrigue. The Country Wife (1675) best reveals Wycherley’s cynical attitude toward his society and toward humanity. Most of the characters are fools, cuckolds (husbands of unfaithful wives), or comically shrewd seekers of sexual pleasures. The Plain Dealer (1676) is based partly on plays by William Shakespeare and Molière, but it is less forgiving in its presentation of humanity. Wycherley was born in the county (now unitary authority) of Shropshire. He died on Jan. 1, 1716.
