Which of the playwrights have been correctly matched with their works?
A) William Wycherly – The Rivals
B) Ben Jonson – Volpone, or the Fox
C) William Congreve – The Country Wife
D) Aphra Behn – The Dutch Lover
E) Richard Sheridan – A School for Scandal
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct option is B, D and E.

To determine the correct match, let us analyze each option step-by-step:

A) William Wycherley – The Rivals (Incorrect):
The Rivals is a comedy written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, first performed in 1775. William Wycherley, on the other hand, is a Restoration dramatist famous for plays like The Country Wife.

B) Ben Jonson – Volpone, or the Fox (Correct):
Volpone is a major comedy by the Jacobean playwright Ben Jonson, first performed in 1605–1606. It remains one of his most celebrated and performed plays.

C) William Congreve – The Country Wife (Incorrect):
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written by William Wycherley, first performed in 1675. William Congreve was a prominent writer of the same era, but his famous works include The Way of the World and Love for Love.

D) Aphra Behn – The Dutch Lover (Correct):
The Dutch Lover is a comedy written by Aphra Behn, one of the earliest English professional female playwrights, and was first staged in 1673.

E) Richard Sheridan – A School for Scandal (Correct):
The School for Scandal (often written as The School for Scandal) is a highly acclaimed comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and first performed in 1777.

Therefore, statements B, D, and E represent the correctly matched pairs.