The Way of the World: Genre 1 key example

Drama saw a renaissance in the Restoration. Under the Commonwealth, social mores were much more conservative, and theaters were banned on the grounds that they were immoral. When the theater returned in the Restoration, playwrights and theatergoers were ready to celebrate the return of the ruling class and its excesses. Plays were full of crass jokes largely at the expense of poor people, and they often took a lighthearted tone. The jokes they did make at the expense of the aristocracy were usually meant for fun, not serious criticism. These comedies were often characterized by fast-moving, riotous plots that poked light fun of social customs (or manners) without mounting any major take-down of social structures.

Congreve's play participates in these trends. For instance, women chide Petulant for making crass jokes, but the play nonetheless includes the jokes. Congreve clearly enjoys playing with manners and flirting with impropriety by way of his characters. Still, the play is known as less of a romp than some earlier Restoration comedies. As a later Restoration comedy, it is somewhat more critical of society than many of the earlier plays. It is especially interested in how capitalism and a growing middle class have complicated marriage. At the start of the Restoration, it seemed to many that an old way of life was coming back in full force and that the rich would have their way again. By 1700, it was clear that the Restoration did not turn back time. The social landscape was still changing, and people were increasingly using marriage to bolster their status and wealth. It was almost impossible not to get sucked into the social dance of marrying for these seemingly gauche reasons. Congreve's play uses the form of the Restoration comedy to explore these motives and the fact that they make it hard to tell when people have genuine romantic motives.