Restoration Comedy

Essay # 59359

Drama and Theater > Dramatic Art
Drama and Theater > English
Literature > English

Restoration Comedy

Examines the 'comedy of manners' genre, with focus upon William Congreve and Richard B. Sheridan.

2,980 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2005

Paper Summary:

Within the larger framework of the comedic genre, Restoration comedy has suffered more criticism than any other type. Judged as immoral, unrealistic, and artificial by numerous literary critics from Lamb to Macaulay, Restoration comedy has often been misinterpreted as a senseless jumble of clever-sounding sentences and words. This paper shows, however, that just as it had it virulent critics, Restoration comedy also had its own share of defenders, including Walter E. Houghton and Robert D. Hume. Writing thirty years apart, both these literary critics maintained that the rejectionist criticism of Restoration comedy is founded upon the false premise that this particular strain of comedy is meaningless and unrealistic. However, this particular viewpoint is incorrect and emanates from a failure to comprehend the purpose of comedy, on the one hand, and the importance of evaluating artistic works from within the context of their own period, on the other. Therefore, as this research argues, while Restoration comedy, or the 'comedy of manners' genre is largely satirical, as seen through the works of Congreve and Sheridan and characterized by extreme exaggeration in the representation of mannerisms, one may interpret this particular genre as a realistic and serious social criticism, which sought to impact cultural and social values and mannerisms.

From the Paper:

"The condensation of vice within characters gives the impression that the play is not rooted in any recognizable reality yet, as Weber argues, this reductio ad absurdum devise is a recognized and legitimate means of exposing these vices and taking them to their ultimate consequence, in an effort to reveal society, as it is, without disguise (Weber). Hence, in taking mannerisms and the exercise of particular vices to their extreme absurd limit, Sheridan is not undermining the realistic foundations of his work per se, but is exposing the amorality of its so-called moral base."