ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the major comedies of the late seventeenth century, drawing attention to the recurrent themes which serve to classify them as a distinct dramatic genre, whilst also emphasizing the differences between the plays of dramatists working under different social and political conditions. The presence of women for the first time on the English stage served to highlight the emphasis on marriage and sexual intrigue, with their corollaries, adultery and divorce: fresh themes for English comedy. The comedies of the late seventeenth century are concerned with the unscrupulousness of the characters in pursuit of money and sex. The next two centuries saw very few performances of Congreve's plays. The vogue for sentimental comedy in the eighteenth century and the prudery of the Victorian age were equally hostile to the frank quality of his finest work.
