Describe the main traits of Restoration comedy. Make sure to include where and when Restoration comedy took

place and which characters tended to be the butt of ridicule. Name one of the key texts of this period.

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER:Restoration
comedy took place in England between 1660 and 1700.
It depicted sexual conquests.
It portrayed advantageous marriages (in which love played little part).
It concerned the latest fashions.
It conveyed an apparent determination to be shocked at nothing.
One butt of ridicule was the fop.
Another butt of ridicule was the old man who marries a young wife.
Another butt of ridicule was the old woman who tries to appear young.
Another butt of ridicule was the pretender at wit and sophistication.
Also at the butt of ridicule were the self-deceived.
Key texts: Sir George Etherege's She Would if She Could (1668) and The Man of
Mode (1676), William Congreve's Love for Love (1695) and The Way of the World
(1700).