The comedy of manners is a genre of comedy that flourished on the English stage during the Restoration period. Plays of this type are typically set in the world of the upper class, and ridicule the pretensions of those who consider themselves socially superior, deflating them with satire. With wittyContinue Reading
Characterized by highly stylized poetic dialogue, larger-than-life heroes and idealized heroines, and sensationalistic action often played out in exotic locales, heroic tragedy is a genre of English drama that flourished in the years of the Restoration. John Dryden, the dominant playwright and dramatic theorist of his time, wrote extensively inContinue Reading
In his preface to Absalom and Achitophel John Dryden sets forth the true end of satire as “amendment of vices by correction”. Restoration period was a great age of satire in general and verse satire in particular. The greater freedom of expression with the restoration of Charles II; the politicalContinue Reading
The Restoration marks the beginning of modern prose. The spread of the spirit of common sense and of the critical temper of mind; the love of definiteness and clarity; and of the hatred of the pedantic and obscure have contributed to the development of English prose. The growing interest inContinue Reading
