What are the characteristics of a comedy of manners?

Comedies of manners focus on human behavior. They use satire to depict the way people act in different situations. In most cases, these comedies target the elite members of society.
The genre became popular during the eighteenth century. During this period, actors made fun of the upper class because they paid a lot of attention toward their image and public perception. For this reason, comedies of manners have themes such as greed, the search for money, infidelity, and romantic relationships. The comedies have a lot of witty dialogue and less physical action. Therefore, they are known to have a high sense of verbal humor and require skilled writers. An example of a renowned writer in this genre is William Shakespeare.