Sentimental comedy

Sentimental comedy is an 18th-century

dramatic genre which sprang up as a
reaction to the immoral tone of English
Restoration plays. In sentimental
comedies, middle-class protagonists
triumphantly overcome a series of moral
trials. These plays aimed to produce tears
rather than laughter and reflected
contemporary philosophical conceptions
of humans as inherently good but capable
of being led astray by bad example. By
appealing to his noble sentiments, a man
could be reformed and set back on the
path of virtue. Although the plays
contained characters whose natures
seemed overly virtuous and whose
problems were too easily resolved, they
were accepted by audiences as truthful
representations of the human
predicament.[1][2][3][4]
 Charlotte Goodall as Sir Harry Wildair
in The Constant Couple

Elements of the genre

The characters in sentimental comedy are

either strictly good or bad. Heroes have no
faults or bad habits, villains are thoroughly
evil or morally degraded.[2] The authors'
purpose was to show the audience the
innate goodness of people and that
through morality people who have been
led astray can find the path of
righteousness.[3][5]

The plot usually centered on the domestic

trials of middle-class couples and included
romantic love scenes. Their private woes
are exhibited with much emotional stress
intended to arouse the spectator’s pity and
suspense in advance of the approaching
happy ending. Lovers are often shown
separated from each other by
socioeconomic factors at the beginning,
but brought together in the end by a
discovery about the identity of the lower
class lover.[2] Plots also contained an
element of mystery to be solved.[5] Verse
was not used in order to create a closer
illusion of reality. It was thought that
rhyme would obscure the true meaning of
the words and make the truth
disappear.[4][6]

The playwrights of this genre aimed to

bring the audience to tears, not laughter,
as the name sentimental comedy might
suggest. They believed that noisy laughter
inhibited the silent sympathy and thought
of the audience. Playwrights strove to
touch the feelings of the spectators so
that they could learn from the play and
relate the events they witnessed on stage