The School for Scandal
by Richard Sheridan

The School for Scandal: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

Richard Sheridan’s 1777 play The School for Scandal is an 18th-century adaptation of a genre known as the comedy of manners. This genre can be traced back to the early Roman satirists, and particularly to the works of Horace. However, in the history of English literature, the heyday of the comedy of manners genre occurred during the Restoration Period in the 17th century. Two classic British examples of the genre are William Wycherley’s 1675 play The Country. Wife and William Congreve’s 1700 masterpiece, The Way of the World.