Page 56 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes 29. The theme of authentic existence is rare to many existentialist thinkers.

30. Anguish is the dread of the presence of human existence.

3.4 Summary

• The comedy of manners is a genre of comedy, play/television/film that flourished on the
English stage during the Restoration period.
• Plays of comedy of manners 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• The comedy of manners 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 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.
• Newell W. Sawyer has traced the development of the genre and relates it to the changes
occurring in society at large. The comedy of manners was first developed in the new comedy
of the Ancient Greek playwright Menander.
• The Theatre of the Absurd is a theatrical style originating in France in the late 1940’s. It relies
heavily on existential philosophy, and is a category for plays of absurdist fiction, written by a
number of playwrights from the late 1940s to the 1960s, as well as the theatre which has
evolved from their work.
• The Theatre of the Absurd expresses the belief that, in a godless universe, human existence
has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down.
• Often Absurdist works utilise theatrical conventions such as—but not limited to—Mime,
Gibberish, Heightened Language, Codified Language and Vignette.
• Absurdist drama is a form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence by
employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing
situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development.
• The Absurd Theatre is a designation for particular plays that expressed the belief that, in a
godless universe, human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication
breaks down.
• Martin Esslin coined the term “Theatre of the Absurd” in his 1960 essay and, later, book of the
same name.

• As an experimental form of theatre, Theatre of the Absurd employs techniques borrowed
from earlier innovators. Writers and techniques frequently mentioned in relation to the Theatre
of the Absurd include the 19th-century nonsense poets, such as Lewis Carroll or Edward
Lear; Polish playwright Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz; the Russians Daniil Kharms, Nikolai

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