Criticism > Literary Criticism (1400-1800) > Comedy of Manners - David L. Hirst (essay date 1979)

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David L. Hirst (essay date 1979)

SOURCE: Hirst, David L. “The Seventeenth Century.” In Comedy of Manners, pp. 6-35. London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1979.

[In the following essay, Hirst delineates the themes that distinguish the comedy of manners as a distinct genre and examines some of the works of the leading playwrights of the seventeenth century.]

I will believe, there are now in the world
Good-natured friends, who are not prostitutes,
And handsome women worthy to be friends:
Yet, for my sake, let no one e'er confide
In tears, or oaths, in love, or friend untried.

(William Wycherley: The Plain Dealer, 1676)

The terms Restoration comedy and comedy of manners have become virtually synonymous; but in the twentieth century both require careful reconsideration. The comedy of manners is a dramatic genre which has continued in England to the present day; Restoration comedy has always been a curious misnomer: Charles II...

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1. Introduction
2. Representative Works
3. Criticism: Overviews
   1. Bonamy Dobrée (essay date 1924)
   2. David L. Hirst (essay date 1979)
4. Criticism: Comedy Of Manners And Society
   1. John Palmer (essay date 1913)
   2. Newell W. Sawyer (essay date 1931)
   3. Elisabeth Mignon (essay date 1947)
5. Criticism: Comedy Of Manners And Women
   1. Margaret Lamb McDonald (essay date 1976)
   2. Pat Gill (essay date 1994)
6. Further Reading
7. Copyright

1. Comedy