Saturday, March 9, 2019

Is Love For Love a restoration comedy?

Yes, Congreve's Love for Love is a Restoration comedy. First, it was produced in 1695, the Restoration period, when the monarchy had returned to the throne.
Moreover, Love for Love has many of the hallmarks of a typical Restoration comedy. After the monarchy was reinstituted, it lifted the ban on theaters and play-going that the Puritan ruler Oliver Cromwell had imposed. After its long dry spell in an atmosphere of high moralism and repression, the theater went wild with bawdy humor and madcap, often very complicated plots. Plays dwelt openly on what had been forbidden, such as complex love triangles, wild living, debt, deceit, frivolity, and immorality, all played for over-the-top laughs. It is this kind of wild, outrageous humor that characterizes Love for Love.
Another hallmark of Restoration comedy was the use of "types" as characters, a form borrowed from Medieval drama. Congreve uses types in his play, such as Foresight or Scandal, characters who are noted for one character trait.

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