Comedy of Manners
Comedy of Manners
Comedy
of Manners:- is form of dramatic comedy that depicts
and often satirizes the manners and affections of a contemporary society.
A
comedy of manner is concerned with the social usage and the question of whether
or not characters meet certain social standards. Often the governing social
standard is morally trivial but exacting. The plot of such a comedy, usually
concerned with an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter, is
subordinate to the play’s brittle atmosphere. The comedy of manners, Which was
usually written by sophisticated authors for members of their own coterie or
social class, has historically thrived in periods and societies that combined
material prosperity and moral latitude.
Such was the case in ancient Greece
when Menander inaugurated new comedy, the forerunner of comedy of manners.
Menander’s smooth style, elaborate plots, and stock characters were imitated by
the Roman poets Plautus and Terence, whose comedies were widely known and
copied during the Renaissance. One of the greatest exponents of the comedy of
manners was Moliere, who satirized the hypocrisy and pretension of 17th
century French society.
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