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British Drama

Notes • Enumerate the literary term existentialism, its concepts and themes used in it;

• Explain the origin and meaning of the literary terms comedy of maners, absurd theatre, and
existentialisms.

Introduction

During the Restoration period in English history, litrature thrived as the monarchy patronised the
literateurs. Restoration period is the reestablishment of the monarchy on the accession (1660) of
Charles II after the collapse of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. In English literature the
Restoration period is commonly viewed as extending from 1660 to 1700. The writings of this period
were lighter, defter, and more vivacious in tone. In the event of such circumstances, literary terms—
comedy of manners, absurd theatre and existentialism are set in the world of the upper class.
Comedies of manners were usually written by sophisticated authors for members of their own
social class, and they typically are concerned with social usage and the ability or inability of certain
characters to meet social standards, which are often exacting but morally trivial. It involves the
conventions or manners of artificial and sophisticated society. Its notable exponents include William
Congreve, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, and Noel Coward.
The Theatre of the Absurd is coined by the critic Martin Esslin for the work of a number of
playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s. The term is derived from an essay Myth of
Sisyphus written by the French philosopher Albert Camus in 1942. He first defined the human
situation as basically meaningless and absurd.
Existentialism has its roots in the writings of several nineteenth and twentieth century philosophers.
The philosophy is by most standards a very loose conglomeration of perspectives, aesthetics, and
approaches to dealing with the world and its inherent difficulties. There are therefore countless
permutations and flavors of existentialism which cross disciplinary lines and modes of inquiry. In
the most general sense, existentialism deals with the recurring problem of finding meaning within
existence.
This unit deals with these terms in detail. More emphasis is given on the origin, concept, theories
and critical analysis of these terms.

3.1 Comedy of Manners

The comedy of manners is a genre of comedy, play/television/film 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 witty dialogue and cleverly constructed scenarios, comedies of manners
comment on the standards and mores of society and explore the relationships of the sexes. Marriage
is a frequent subject. Typically, there is little depth of characterization; instead, the playwrights
used stock character types—the fool, the schemer, the hypocrite, the jealous husband, the interfering
old parents—and constructed plots with rapid twists in events, often precipitated by
miscommunications.

3.1.1 Origin of the Comedy of Manners

The roots of the comedy of manners can be traced back to Moliere’s seventeenth-century French
comedies and to the “humours” comedy of Ben Johnson; indeed, certain characteristics can be found
as far back in time as ancient Greek plays. The propounder of the comedy of manners in British
literature were George Etherege (1635-1692), William Wycherley (1640-1716), John Vanbrugh (1664-
1726), William Congreve (1670-1729), and George Farquhar (1678-1707). Etherege’s The Comical

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