Knowra Restoration comedy Restoration comedy Restoration comedy is English stage comedy written after Charles II returned to the throne in 1660. It often portrays fashionable social life through witty dialogue, sexual intrigue, and conflicts over marriage and reputation.
Comedy of manners : Comedy that satirizes the manners, conventions, and social behavior of a particular class or society. Restoration comedy is a major English form of this broader satirical mode.
The Country Wife : William Wycherley’s comedy, first performed in the 1670s, about sexual deception and London society. Its frank treatment of desire and disguise became a defining example of the genre.
William Wycherley : An English playwright whose comedies include The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer. His plays helped establish the genre’s reputation for sexual frankness and social satire.
Jeremy Collier : An English clergyman whose 1698 pamphlet attacked the profanity and immorality of contemporary theatre. His critique made Restoration comedy’s moral reputation a public controversy.
Theatre of the English Restoration : English theatrical culture that emerged after Charles II returned to the throne in 1660. The reopened theatres and royal patronage created the setting in which the genre developed.
The Man of Mode : George Etherege’s 1676 comedy featuring the fashionable rake Dorimant and the witty Harriet. Its courtship plot turns contemporary aristocratic behavior into comic spectacle.
George Etherege : An English playwright known for The Man of Mode and witty portrayals of fashionable society. His comedies helped define the rake and the polished social world of the genre.
Sentimental comedy : An eighteenth-century comic form that emphasizes virtue, emotional sensitivity, and moral improvement. Its tone and ideals differed from the sexual wit associated with Restoration comedy.
Wit : The ability to express clever, pointed, or surprising ideas through language. Verbal sparring gives many Restoration comedies their characteristic pace and social edge.
The Rover : Aphra Behn’s 1677 comedy of love, disguise, and adventure among English exiles in Naples. It adapts the genre’s sexual intrigue around a forceful female perspective.
Show all 20