Restoration Comedy

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 487 words | Copyright

Restoration Comedy, social comedy of manners which flourished on the Restoration stage. Artificial, cynical, licentious, and extravagant, it was a reaction against the austerity of the Puritan years, when the theatres were closed, and perhaps also reflected the House of Stuart's French exile. It is exemplified by the plays of Congreve, its greatest exponent, Wycherley, Farquhar, Vanbrugh, and Etherege. Dryden also wrote plays in this vein, but was better known for his heroic dramas.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Restoration Comedy." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Restoration Comedy." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-RestorationComedy.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Restoration Comedy." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-RestorationComedy.html

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