Key Restoration Playwrights

Why This Matters

The Restoration period (1660–1710) marks a dramatic rupture in English literary history—theaters reopened after eighteen years of Puritan closure, and playwrights responded with works that were sexually frank, politically charged, and formally innovative. You're being tested not just on who wrote what, but on how these dramatists reflected and critiqued their society: the marriage market, libertine philosophy, class anxieties, and the emerging role of women both on stage and behind the pen. Understanding these playwrights means understanding how comedy became a vehicle for serious social analysis.

These writers didn't work in isolation—they borrowed plots from each other, responded to the same political crises, and competed for the same audiences. Exam questions often ask you to trace influence and evolution: how did early Restoration wit comedy differ from later sentimental comedy? How did female playwrights challenge or work within male-dominated conventions? Don't just memorize titles and dates—know what type of comedy each playwright represents and what social critique drives their best work.

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Masters of Wit Comedy

Wit comedy defined the Restoration stage, prizing verbal dexterity, sexual intrigue, and the performance of aristocratic sophistication. These plays treat courtship as intellectual combat, where the cleverest speaker wins.

George Etherege

• Pioneer of the comedy of manners—his 1676 play The Man of Mode established the template for Restoration wit comedy that later playwrights would imitate and refine
• Dorimant as the archetypal rake—this character became the model for charming libertine heroes, blending seductive wit with moral ambiguity
• Social performance as theme—Etherege's plays emphasize that identity in polite society is a carefully crafted act, anticipating later critiques of aristocratic superficiality

William Wycherley

• Savage satirist of sexual hypocrisy—The Country Wife (1675) uses its infamous "china scene" to expose how respectable society masks predatory behavior behind euphemism
• Horner's feigned impotence as dramatic device—this plot mechanism allows Wycherley to reveal the gap between public morality and private conduct
• Darker tone than contemporaries—where Etherege amuses, Wycherley often disturbs, making his comedies feel more like social indictments than entertainments

William Congreve

• Pinnacle of Restoration wit—The Way of the World (1700) is widely considered the finest comedy of manners in English, featuring the legendary Mirabell-Millamant "proviso scene"
• Language as art form—Congreve's dialogue achieves a density and elegance unmatched by his peers, rewarding close reading on exams
• Marriage as negotiation—his plays treat matrimony as a contract requiring careful terms, reflecting Restoration anxieties about property, autonomy, and love

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Women Writing for the Stage

Female playwrights faced unique challenges—working without university education, navigating accusations of immodesty, yet producing commercially successful work that complicated gender norms. Their plays often center female desire and agency in ways male-authored works rarely attempted.

Aphra Behn

• First professional English woman playwright—Behn earned her living entirely by her pen, making her a landmark figure in women's literary history
• The Rover (1677) as signature work—this comedy explores female desire and the sexual double standard through its heroine Hellena, who pursues the rake Willmore on her own terms
• Political and personal intertwined—a Tory loyalist, Behn wove royalist politics into her plays while simultaneously advocating for women's right to pleasure and self-determination

Susanna Centlivre

• Most commercially successful female playwright of her era—The Busybody (1709) and A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718) held the stage well into the nineteenth century
• Intrigue comedy specialist—her plots emphasize clever scheming over witty dialogue, making them more accessible to broader audiences
• Transitional figure—writing after the 1698 Collier controversy, Centlivre balanced entertainment with the increasing demand for moral respectability

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Tragedy and Emotional Intensity

Not all Restoration drama aimed for laughter. Tragic playwrights explored political betrayal, doomed love, and heroic sacrifice, often using heightened verse to achieve emotional effects. These works reveal the period's serious engagement with questions of loyalty, passion, and power.

John Dryden

• Dominant literary figure of the Restoration—poet laureate, critic, and dramatist, Dryden shaped nearly every genre he touched and coined the term "heroic drama"
• All for Love (1677) as neoclassical tragedy—this blank-verse retelling of Antony and Cleopatra follows the classical unities and remains his most performed play
• Theoretical contributions—his critical essays, especially An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, established principles for English drama that influenced generations

Thomas Otway

• Master of pathetic tragedy—Venice Preserved (1682) remains the period's most powerful serious drama, depicting friendship, political conspiracy, and betrayal
• Emotional rather than heroic focus—where Dryden's tragedies feature larger-than-life heroes, Otway's characters suffer in recognizably human ways
• Political resonance—the play's depiction of conspiracy reflected contemporary anxieties about the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis, making it politically charged for original audiences

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Late Restoration and Transition

As the period progressed, playwrights began responding to moral criticism of the stage—particularly Jeremy Collier's 1698 Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage. Comedy became less cynical, more sentimental, and increasingly focused on middle-class concerns.

John Vanbrugh

• Provocative social critic—The Provoked Wife (1697) and The Relapse (1696) feature unhappy marriages and question whether loveless unions should be endured
• Strong female characters—his wives are neither passive victims nor villains but complex figures trapped by social convention
• Target of Collier's attack—Vanbrugh was specifically named in the 1698 critique, making his work central to debates about theater's moral purpose

George Farquhar

• Bridge to eighteenth-century comedy—The Beaux' Stratagem (1707) moves the action from London to the provinces and treats middle-class characters with sympathy rather than mockery
• Gentler wit, warmer tone—Farquhar's comedies retain verbal sparkle but add genuine affection between characters, anticipating sentimental comedy
• Marriage reform theme—The Beaux' Stratagem ends with a divorce by mutual consent, a remarkably progressive resolution for its time

Colley Cibber

• Sentimental comedy pioneer—Love's Last Shift (1696) features a reformed rake who genuinely repents, marking a shift from libertine celebration to moral redemption
• Actor-manager influence—as both performer and theater manager, Cibber shaped what got staged, making his taste enormously influential
• Critical controversy—later mocked by Pope in The Dunciad, Cibber remains a contested figure whose work signals changing audience expectations

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two playwrights are most associated with establishing the conventions of wit comedy, and how do their approaches to the rake figure differ?

2. Compare and contrast Behn's The Rover and Congreve's The Way of the World in their treatment of female agency within courtship plots.

3. If an FRQ asked you to discuss how Restoration comedy responded to moral criticism, which three playwrights would provide the strongest evidence, and why?

4. What distinguishes Otway's tragic style from Dryden's, and how might you use this contrast to discuss the range of serious drama in the period?

5. Identify two plays that critique the institution of marriage and explain what specific aspects of matrimony each targets.