Restoration Period (c. 1660-1700):

 I. Restoration Period (c. 1660-1700): 

3. Literature of the Restoration

In literature of the Restoration, we note a sudden breaking away from old standards. In the puritan days, many of the literary men have been driven out of England with Charles II and his court. On their return they renounced old ideals and demanded that English poetry and drama should follow French style. They began to imitate the French writers, so the so-called period of French influence began. This influence showed itself in English literature for the next century. 

The early Restoration writers sought to paint realistic pictures of a corrupt society. They emphasized vices rather than virtues. They produced coarse, low plays without interest or moral significance. Later, this tendency to realism became more wholesome. Another tendency in literature of this age was toward directness and simplicity of expression. To this tendency, English literature is greatly indebted. From France the writers brought back this tendency. They regarded established rules for writing, to emphasize close reasoning rather than romantic fancy, to use short and clean cut sentences without an unnecessary word.

Another thing in Restoration literature is the adoption of the heroic couplet, that is, two iambic pentameter lines which rime together, as the most suitable form of poetry. Waller, the most noted poet of the Restoration Period, began to use it in 1623. Therefore, Waller is generally regarded as the father of the heroic couplet. Waller and his pupil Dryden made the couplet the prevailing literary fashion. It was dominant in England for a full century. It was used by later writers, such as Pope, Goldsmith and Byron. These four things: the tendency to vulgar realism in the drama, a general formalism, the development of a simpler and more direct prose style, and the prevalence of the heroic couplet in poetry are the main characteristics of Restoration literature. They are all exemplified in the works of one man, John Dryden.

The Comedy of Manners or Restoration comedy

Put simply, the comedy of manners is a style of comedy that reflects the life, ideals and manners of upper class society in a way that is essentially true to its traditions and philosophy. The players must strive to maintain the mask of social artifice whilst revealing to the audience what lies behind such manners. In other words it is to make:

The real artificial and the artificial real.

As a theatre form, it has transformed over the years.

Some considerations:

The Restoration period heralded an exciting and boisterous period in theatre after theatres were closed by the Puritans and Commonwealth government between 1642 and 1660 (due to Cromwell). Charles 11 was a fun loving, woman loving and theatre loving king and it was under his reign that drama flourished once more. Audiences were predominately from aristocratic backgrounds.The Restoration period was noted for its comedies although more serious drama was produced by writers such as John Dryden and Thomas Otway.Can be witnessed in ancient form in the plays of Menander from the New Comedy of the Greek theatre in the fourth century BC and then in the work of Roman writers Plautus and Terence.The English comedy of manners began with Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and then can be seen at its best in Restoration comedy and in the work of Wilde, Shaw and Pinero. In more recent times, work by Coward, Orton and Rattigan encaptured the elements whilst in more modern day drama, Neil Simon and Edward Albee provide worthwhile examples.

       Comedy of manners was first derived from the Greek playwright, Menander, who developed the new comedy in Ancient Greece. The Roman playwrights, Plautus and Terence, used Menander’s style, eventually being copied from playwrights during the Renaissance. Comedy of manners then hit its peak in England in the Restoration period, with playwrights like George Etherege, William Congreve and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, writing popular plays during that time, like Sir Fopling Flutter, The Way of the World and The School for Scandal (Palmer 83). In 1895, Oscar Wilde would write one of the most popular comedy of manners plays, The Importance of Being Earnest. The concept of comedy of manners is still applied today in movies and TV shows over the years. The chief practitioners of the comedy of manners were:

(i)         Sir George Etherege (1635-1691)

(ii)        William Wycherley (1640-1715) 

(iii)       William Congreve (1670-1729)

(iv)       Sir John Vanbrugh (1661 -1726) 

(v)        George Farquhar (1678-1707)

15. The Restoration comedy has been criticized mainly for its

(A) excessive wit and humour

(B) bitter satire and cynicism

(C) indecency and

permissiveness

(D) superficial reflection of society

i)         Sir George Etherege (1635-1691)

Sir Fopling is a character in

(A) Wycherley’s The Plain Dealer

(B) Congreve’s The Way of the

World

(C) Etherege’s The Man of Mode

(D) Davenant’s The Platonick

Lovers

Ans:c] The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege character:Mr. Dorimant, Mr. Medley, Old Bellair, Young Bellair, in love with Emilia, Sir Fopling Flutter,Lady Townley, sister of Old Bellair,Emilia and Mrs. Loveit, in love with Dorimant ,Bellinda, in love with Dorimant ,Lady Woodvill, etc

A]The Plain Dealer is a Restoration comedy by William Wycherley, first performed on 11 December 1676. The play is based on Molière's Le Misanthrope

B]The Way of the World is a play written by English playwright William Congreve.Characters: Millamant, Foible, Mirabell, Lady Wishfort, Fainall, Mrs. Fainall, Mrs. Marwood, Sir Rowland, Waitwell, Sir Wilful

D]The Platonick Lovers[1] is a Caroline era stage play which blends the genres of tragicomedy, satire, and comedy of manners. It was written by Sir William Davenant and first printed in 1636.

(ii)        William Wycherley (1640-1715) 

The Country Wife is a play written

by :

(A) William Wycherley

(B) Thomas Otway

(C) William Congreve

(D) George Etherege

  

Ans;William Wycherley

The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology

Characters: Margery Pinchwife, Alithea, Mr. Pinchwife, Lady Fidget, Mrs. Squeamish, Mr. Horner, Mrs. Dainty Fidget, Harcourt.

(iii)       William Congreve (1670-1729)

Which of the following is a

Restoration Comedy ?

(A) Love for Love

(B) Love’s Labour’s Lost

(C) The Changeling

(D) The City Madam

Ans;(A) Love for Love is a play written by British playwright William Congreve

(B) Love’s Labour’s Lost:Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s

(C) The Changeling :The Changeling is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. 

(D) The City Madam ;;The City Madam is a Caroline era comedy written by Philip Massinger.

(iv)       Sir John Vanbrugh (1661 -1726) 

(v)        George Farquhar (1678-1707)

32. Match the following authors with

their respective works with the help

of the code given below :

List – I List – II

I. Oliver

Goldsmith

1. The Vanity of

Human

Wishes

II. John Gay 2. The Vicar of

Wakefield

III. Samuel

Johnson

3. She Stoops to

Conquer

IV. Richard

Sheridan

4. The Beggar’s

Opera

Code :

I II III IV

(A) 1 4 3 2

(B) 2 4 1 3

(C) 3 2 4 1

(D) 4 3 2 1

Ans:(B) 2 4 1 3