PRINCIPLE TYPES OF COMEDY – ANTISENTIMENTAL COMEDY

Antisentimental comedy denotes a comic subgenre that became popular during the second half of the 18^th century. Oliver Goldsmith is invariably identified as the playwright who pioneered this form of comedy, and his She Stoops to Conquer (1773) is frequently cited as the play that brought antisentimental comedies into vogue on the English stage. The credit of having developed this variety of drama into a subgenre proper is however more rightfully due to the playwright Richard Sheridan and his three plays, The Rivals (1775), The School for Scandal (1777) and The Critic (1779). As the very term posits, antisentimental comedies were basically conceived in conscious reaction to the sentimental comedies that remained in demand for much of the first half of the 18^th century. The basic point of contention for Goldsmith and the other antisentimental proponents was simply that the latter by replacing humour with pathos, and designating the expressed purpose of comedy to be the cultivation of moral virtues in the audience, had stripped it of its entertainment value. Thus they proposed to fashion humorous plots that apparently sought to restore the true spirit of comedy, which is to make the audience laugh and have fun. It is for this reason that antisentimental comedies also sometimes are referred to as laughing comedies, in striking contrast to the sentimental comedies that were otherwise known as weeping comedies. It is noteworthy that in reacting against the sentimental comedies, antisentimental playwrights derived their basic inspiration from the comedy of manners. This indeed is an interesting point to consider in that it is as a reaction against the perceived vulgarities and immoralities of the comedy of manners that sentimental comedies emerged in the first place. So effectively antisentimental playwrights in crafting their opposition against sentimental comedy, obtained their motivation from the very type of play that the sentimental comedies sought to oppose originally. It is however notable that in doing so, the playwrights of antisentimental comedy took care to omit the emphasis on sexuality that the comedy of manners were notorious for. Antisentimental comedies could therefore be loosely described as a refined version of comedy of manners, which continue to remain popular even today much as their restoration counterpart. Some of the key features that define this subgenre could be explained as follows. 

 

Amusing Intrigues: A telling feature of the comedy of manners was that their plots contained many intrigues, in which the characters frequently conspired to deceive each other for motives of profit or pleasure. These intrigues for the most part were amorous in character, involving both men and women freely engaging in adulterous and extra marital affairs. The plots of antisentimental comedies too contain several intrigues, but unlike those in the comedy of manners they typify playful pranks not devious plots intended to seriously deceive or bring about someone’s downfall. They also tellingly avoid amorous liaisons between characters, strictly tending to be bereft of any immoral conduct sexual or otherwise. In short, the intrigues in antisentimental comedies are wholly meant to amuse, without professing profanities as the comedy of manners. They typically entail a trick played by one of the characters, which invariably involves furnishing false information deliberately meant to misguide or misdirect someone. The ensuing effect is that of multiple misunderstandings, which constitutes the principal source of laughter in the play.

 

Upper Class Characters: In sentimental comedies the characters were invariably drawn from the middling walks of life, and were consciously depicted as epitomes of moral virtue and righteousness. This was of course done in conscious reaction to the comedy of manners which portrayed the happy go lucky way of life indulged in by the aristocratic class, who were delineated as a debauched lot given to acts of moral depravity and deception. In antisentimental comedies much like in the comedy of manners, characters were derived from the upper or elite class of the society, but unlike their restoration counterparts, they were neither immoral or dissipated. This however should not be taken to suggest that they exemplified personifications of virtue as those in the sentimental comedies either. Characters in an antisentimental comedy essentially typified sophisticated upper class individuals, who certainly loved to have fun at the expense of others but in doing so, ensured no blatant breach of decency or scruples was indulged in. They were certainly well to do, but the comfortable lives they were privileged to lead did not tempt them into an appallingly unscrupulous or promiscuous style of living.

 

Impersonating False Identities: Antisentimental comedies generally involve characters assuming false identities, pretending to be what they are not. It is however noteworthy that though on the face of it such a measure is basically meant to deceive, the motivations in question tend to be invariably noble. This is to say, the move is not really intended by the character impersonating the false identity as a ruse for extracting any undue profit or pleasure at the expense of somebody else. In fact, it is the other way round in that the impersonating character typically represents the benefactor, and the ruse played is meant as a test to verify whether the intended beneficiary is truly deserving of the cause. Thus, even though it apparently leads to misunderstandings ensuing from mistaken identities, the impersonation in actuality is worthy of both admiration and appreciation. Classic instances in this regard include the heroine of Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer pretending to be a plain barmaid, and Sir Oliver in The School for Scandal pretending to be a greedy moneylender and alternatively a destitute relative. In the case of the former, the impersonator who is really a wealthy heiress, undertakes the ruse with the intention of discerning whether her intended suitor is sincere in his love for her, while in the latter, the impersonator who is in real a rich businessman returning from the East Indies, engages in the ruse to discern which of his two nephews would constitute a proper heir to his wealth.