Assignment on

Restoration Theatre
History of English Literature-II

Course Instructor: Sir Muzaffar Bhatti

Submitted by: Yasir Mehmood-29
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It is the most notable artistic production of the period and the most
significant genre of the literature of the restoration period.

English Shifting Trends of Theatre:

Theatre in England was dependent on who the ruler of the country was.
Whoever is in power controlled all rules, laws, morality, fashion and what
was popular and acceptable.
Elizabeth loved the theatre. Arts were promoted during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth. James-I also promoted arts and theatre.
In the reign of Charles-I drama faced decline. The reason was not the
influence of the king but other factors such as opposition of the parliament
by the puritans, civil war and the king was beheaded.
After that Oliver Cromwell took the charge of the government and the theatre
was closed completely and all kind of entertainment was prohibited.
After the death of Oliver Cromwell Charles-II returned to the England and
thus monarchy restored in the England.
Therefore the upcoming era is called restoration period,
After the restoration a huge change took place in the field of theatre. The
structure, style, characters and most of the things were changed as compared
to Elizabethan and Victorian times. Theatres were rebuilt in order to promote
the entertainment, acting companies reinstated. In this period entertainment
was stronger than ever. There was influence of France in these practices
because the king Charles-II was brought up in the France because the royals
were made to exile by the Cromwell.

England After Restoration:

There was no theatrical activity in England between 1642- 1660 because it
was prohibited by the puritan believes, but music was allowed. After the
restoration, inevitable reaction against Puritan manners and morals was
carried out. Return of the cavaliers encouraged hedonistic liveliness,
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infidelity and profligacy became fashionable, moral ideas turned into jest and
domestic virtues were ridiculed.
Hudson states about the court of Charles-II:

‘‘Most shameless ever known-the scene of much pleasure, liberty and

scandal... and the center of patronage for politics, fashion, literature,
art, learning, invention, company-promoting and a hundred other
activities of the king’s eager subjects seeking notority or reward.’’

Charles-II:
Historians think: he brought back party in the England.
He brought liveliness and hedonism in his court. His
lifestyle was also quite promiscuous. For these reasons
he is also called ‘Merry Monarch’.
He had 12 illegitimate children by various mistresses but
had no legal heir.
He was the one who granted theatre licenses in the England with the dictum
that female parts be played by their natural performers- not by adolescent
boys.

The Court wits:

The court wits, they were primarily poets and dramatists and they were also
gentlemen amateurs and had their own kind of amusement and they also used
to amuse Charles-II incredibly. Very often it was said about them that they
were their own first audience-primarily for the eyes of their friends or in
front of court but these performances were not made public and they were
also patrons of humbler writers who existed in England during that time.
John Wilmot, the earl of Rochester. He was considered as a wit and a rake of
the 1st rank. He was also considered the leader of the court wits.

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The other important court wits were George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham;
Charles Sackville, Lord Buckhurst; Sir Charles Sedley; John Sheffield, earl
of Mulgrave; Sir Carr Scrope; Sir George Etherege and William Wycherley.
They dominated the cultural scene of London to such an extent that it was
impossible to talk about entertainment without having the reference of these
court wits. And these court wits because of their lavish lifestyle and because
of their popularity rather than notoriety they continue to appear in many of
their own plays and even many of the other plays were also modeled on the
real life character of these court wits. This was not bad thing for them, they
enjoyed this type of popularity rather than notoriety that they have in London
in that period of time.
Because of these reasons some of the historians such as Hudson had an
opinion that:

‘‘We need not to give much space to this part of our subject. The
theatre was now almost wholly the creature of demoralized world
of fashion and it everywhere reflected the taste of its patrons’’

For this reason many historians of that time as well as of later did not feel it
appropriate to include these theatrical activities into the literary history
because it also includes the amorous and sexual adventures that most of these
court wits had. Therefore Hudson makes just a very brief mention of William
Wycherley (the country wife), William Congreve, Sir John Vanbrugh and
George Farquhar.
Other than we don’t find ant prolific discussion of restoration drama in
Hudson or in early historical writings.

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Restoration Drama:
It is characterized by an open and unabashed indecency. It reveals the spirit
of the society for whose amusement it was produced.
Restoration drama drew a lot of criticism from imminent people of those
times.
Most important is the tremendous castigation that it received from Reveren
Jeremy published- A short view of the profaneness and immorality of the
English stage- 1698.
This work was
 An immense sensation and had a ‘salutary effect’
 Instrumental in rousing public opinion against such theatre
 Condemned the mockery of the clergy, the upper classes and the sexual
innuendoes and profanity of such plays
Rev. Jeremy

‘‘Being convinced that nothing had gone so farther in debauching

the age than the stage poets, and playhouse, I thought I couldn’t
employ my time better than in writing against them’’

As a result the royal order about prohibiting the acting of anything contrary
to religion and good manners was issued shortly. But however censorship
became an official policy only after four decades.
In spite of these criticisms about restoration comedy and restoration drama,
Modern critics also considered this entire genre as a ‘critics’ chimera’

Restoration Theatre:

After the restoration, theatre required a fresh start as actors’ groups had been
disbanded years before and the theatres had become dilapidated. Charles-II
charged Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant with reviving theatre in
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Britain. After being given the Patents under which to work, both Killigrew
and Davenant opened theatres in converted
tennis courts. Killigrew created a platform
stage very much like those of the Elizabethan
theatres for his company, The Kings Men. On
the other hand Davenant reinvented the stage,
building a proscenium and using scenic art like
that seen in Italy and France. As a result of this
contrast, the public preferred the more visually
exciting and innovative performances with
Davenant’s theatre and company, The Duke’s
Men. Both new theatres showed a mixture of
English and continental practices reflecting the
time Charles-II spent in Paris during
Cromwellian Britain.
It was a very different audience that went to
watch the comedies of that time and the audience comprised of mostly the
upper class. It was not the place of performance as it used to be in
Elizabethan and Jacobean period. The theatre was also quite modern in a
sense that it included the picture frame stage, actresses, moveable scenery,
and artificial lightings; unlike of the early times when one could not stage a
play after sundown or when candles were required for lighting, which was
rather expensive. There were private theatres, not public like the
Elizabethan and Jacobean times. There were two major licensed theatres
which were The Theatre Royal and Duke’s House.
Shakespeare and Marlowe were not gone out of fashion, instead adaptations
were made in Shakespeare and Marlowe to suit contemporary taste and
political needs. We also notice the influence of Ben Jonson considerably,
especially in the comedy of humors. In comedy of manners there was an
emphasis on social acceptability. For instance there was an adaptation made
by Nahum Tate in Shakespeare’s play King Lear, contrary to the original
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play it has happy ending. The scene of Gloucester’s blinding was excluded to
meet the taste of the audience. We also notice in restoration comedy that it
reflects not the real social world but the ideal social world of the Court Wits
of Charles-II. As there was a great influence of France so we find significally
the admiration and imitation of the French Wit but in spite of the
predominant influence of France in this age, we also find that the heredity is
basically English.
As we noted with the dictum of Charles-II: women were allowed to act on
the theatre but they got lesser pays as compared to the male actors. It is also a
matter of fact that many of the actors of that age became playwrights also not
is the same with women.
There are not many names of female actors who became playwrights but the
most significant is Charlotte Clarke and she wrote 3 plays. There was no
dramatic activity outside the London. Playhouses were considered as a
Centre of vice and exhibition. Youngsters were tried to be kept away of these
places, and it was a place that was avoided by the respectable citizens of
London.
This kind of drama was short lived impact and no lasting effect on literature
but more permanent harm towards the genre that is the hostile attitude
towards drama. It’s obvious by the fact that well brought up young people
were neither allowed to visit theatres nor to engage in such activities.

Restoration Comedy:

If we talk about the particular genre of restoration drama, the restoration

comedy, there are many things that were promoted by court wits in it. That
was amoral wit and stylized hedonism. All this was just confined courtly and
fashionable circles of London. It was metropolitan kind of literature and had
no relation to the provincial culture. There was universal praise of London
and the detestation of countryside and the people outside of London were

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ridiculed in such dramas by court wits. Therefore it was no popular outside
London.
Moreover there was portrayal of marriage as a boring and restrictive system.
It highlighted follies, carnality and vices that are happens outside the
institution of marriage. There was also the celebration of adultery, sexual
attraction and sexual conquest.
In the terms of technicality there were some set scenes that were mostly
adopted. The supreme example was the ‘proviso scenes’ that is a definite set
of rules in order to facilitate a balanced relationship or setting the parameters
of an equal marriage. The other significant features include wit, quick
repartee, intrigue gossip, parallel plots. We find farce, comedy of manners,
satire, comedies of provincial humor.

The big five of Restoration Comedy:

 George Etherege (court wit)

 William Wycherley (court wit)
 William Congreve
 George Farquhar (Professional Playwright)
 Sir john Vanbrugh

George Etherege:
Themes of Love and intrigue, vanity and amorous
adventures of the protagonist are found in the plays of
Etherege.
 She Would If She Could, 1676, the protagonist
character is Lady Cockwood that is an amorous lady
who pursues the hero.
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 (In Pepys’ Diary it is quoted that at least 1000 people were turned
away for lack of adequate seats on the opening night of this paly)
 The Man of Mode, 1676, the main character is Sir Fopling Futter and
he was considered the prototype of ‘dandy’ who was to become
popular on European stage later.

William Congreve:
He is the 2nd most important of the playwrights.
 His famous work includes The Old Bachelor(1693), The Double
Dealer( 1694), Love for Love(1695)
We find brilliant dialogues, reliance on set characters, and themes and
exemplary craft. The witty conversation in the plays found overshadowing
the movement of plot.
 The way of World(1700)
This play is comprised of dialogues between the couple Milliamant
and Mirabel, it is a fine example of the proviso scene.
Congreve is found to be more concerned with the form and dramatic
structure than with theme in his plays. The characters were overdone and
unidimentional, that limited the audience.

William Wycherley:
He is much significant playwright of his age. Even Hudson
made a significant note about him in his literary history. His
main focus was on women hypocrisy. His plays included a
lot of innuendoes and double entendres.
 The Country Wife, (1672/3)
It is a typical restoration comedy and is amoral and includes seduction
and hypocrisy.
The play lauds the character and proceedings of Horner, who pretends
to be a eunuch, secures admission to private spaces and seduces

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 women there. Mrs. Pinchwife, who claims to be ‘innocent’ also fell a
pray to that man and went astray, thus cheated his husband.

‘‘IN NO OTHER AGE WOULD SUCH A PLOY MOTIVE HAVE

APPEALED TO ANY ENGLISH AUDIENCE’’
Trevelyan

 The Plain Dealer (1674)

John Vanbrugh:
He is an important figure in a sense as he reworked plays from
the Spanish and French.
 The Relapse (1696)
 Revok’d Wife (1697)
His plays have rich characters, quick repartees, bawdy and
crude wit. There is also overwhelming cynicism, social evils and marital
troubles.
It is important to mention here that Vanbrugh was singled out by Collier in
his tract of the immorality of the stage.

George Farquhar:
He is also an important figure in the restoration history. He
has written seven comedies and a farce.
Farquhar believed that ‘a play without a cuckold, beau,
or coquette was a poor entertainment’.
But this we almost have an idea, what sort of plots his plays
had.

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His work includes:
 The Recruiting Officer- in which he satirizes the way in which class
dominates affections and even relationships.
 The twin Rivals- a youngster deformed brother seeks to steal his elder
brother’s title and estate.
 The Beaux’ Strategem
And we also notice that his plays work as a bridge between the drama of
restoration and the 17th century drama of sentiment.

Aphra Behn:
She is the only successful professional female playwright of her
time.
She was criticized for her unfeminine themes and portraits and
her unfeminine lifestyle.
In her plays we find sharp critiques of masculinity and power
and she also highlighted the unequal opportunities provided to
women as compared to men.
 The Dutch lover
 The widow Rantor

Restoration Tragedy:

If we talk about restoration tragedy it’s equally artificial and was not much
fashionable because the wealthy elites didn’t like the tragedy. The enjoyed
the comedy more than the tragedy.
Dryden: All for Love (based on Antony and Cleopatra)
Congreve: The Mourning Bride
Nathanial Lee: Thomas Otway
Tragedy work of restoration period was mostly for stage, it has little
contribution in the history. The most common was heroic drama. There were

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tragedies like heroic tragedies that were based on the conflict between love
and honour, love and duty.
In the restoration tragedies there was no place for heroic virtues. Some critics
called this age; as unheroic age?
There was an excessive use of melodrama and histrionics in the tragedies.
Dryden: He wrote- Essay on Heroic Tragedy (1672) - and defends the
tragedy and also defends the extravagance of the actions in these tragedies.
Perhaps the most important dramatist of restoration comedy is Dryden
himself. He composed quite a few tragedies which are also considered
important and even in the later periods.
 Tyrannic Love or The Love of Martyr (1669)
 The Conquest of Granada (1670)- about national strive
 All for Love
It gained much popularity even into the 19th century. It was adapted
from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
 The Indian Queen
Some other major playwrights of the period who focused more on tragedy
are
Thomas Otway: the Orphan (1680), Venice Preserved (1682)
Nicholas Rowe: wrote 7 tragedies- the Ambitious Stepmother (1700),
Tamerlane (1701), the Fair Pentinent (1703)
He also composed a set of writings as She tragedies. Two of them are Jane
Shore (1714), and Lady Jane (1715), these have vivid description of female
distress.
Nathaniel Lee: He also collaborated with Dryden

Decline:

Restoration theatre faced decline from early decades of 18th century.

The main reasons are mentioned below:
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People turned to fictional prose rather than drama. Theatre lost interest and
suspense due to repeated performances and there also came the factor of
predictability. Attacks on the immorality of the plays of restoration period
also caused people to get farther from the theatre. Moreover The Theatre
Licensing act passed in 1737. Lord Chamberlain became the official
government censor. He had the authority to grant or refuse the license to any
play on religious, moral or political grounds.
As we know, countryside and outside of the London was ridiculed in the
restoration comedies, drama was to entertain just elites so the people of off-
London were completely left out from such sort of drama.

Course Title: History of English Literature-II

Course Instructor: Sir Muzaffar Bhatti
Composed and submitted by: Yasir Mehmood
Roll No: 29
Class: BS English (3rd semester) evening 2018-22

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