A Mad World, My Masters Literary Elements

City comedy

English

The action described in the play takes place during the 17th century over the course of a few days in London.

Because this is a play, there is no narrator and no point of view.

The tone used in the play is a critical one while the mood is lighthearted.

None of the characters are singled out as being protagonists or antagonists. Instead, the author presents each character as a complex one capable of being both good and bad at the same time.

The major conflict is an internal one and is the result of Hairbrain's desire to do what he wants versus the need to conform to acceptable social norms.

The play reaches its climax towards the end when Follywit realizes everything he has worked towards had failed and instead of emerging victorious he became the but of jokes for everyone around him.

In Act 1, Scene 1, Richard Follywit describes himself as the type of man who does what he wants without caring about what others think. This initial description foreshadows the way in which he will behave especially towards other women.

Richard Follywit's claim that he will marry the richest woman he knows is an understatement because, in the end, he ends up marrying a prostitute he used to visit in the past.

One of the main allusions we find in the play is the idea that women are useful as long as they can satisfy the sexual needs of their husbands or partners. Once those women lose their youth and are no longer attractive, they also lose their value and the power they had.

An important imagery is the way in which women are portrayed. In the play, women are portrayed in a negative way, being shown as degenerate people who use their sexuality to manipulate and gain as much money as possible. This image is made even more through the way Succubus is described, a devil capable of destroying every man she comes into contact with.

A paradoxical idea is the way in which Hairbrain loves his wife but at the same time chooses to treat her as a servant.

N/A

We find a personification in the Second Act in the the last scene in the line "the table is dancing before my eyes".

One of the most used dramatic device used in the play is the dramatic monologue. This is one of the most common elements which appears in the play and is used by the writer to reveal the true intentions of the characters and to give the viewer a glimpse into the minds of the characters.