Primarily, this is because Restoration Comedy only applies to the dominant style of comedy in England during the reign of King Charles II – mainly in the 1660s – but extending to about 1700 (whereby this monarch’s “restoring” of the English throne resulted in this brief period being known as the Restoration).

More loosely, people often associate the term Restoration Comedy with Comedy of Manners in general. But in other countries and/or at other times, one should only refer to them as Comedy of Manners works.

Hence, where my article refers to some of the works of Moliere in France during the 1660s, Sheridan in Ireland and Goldsmith in England in the 1770s, or Wilde in England in the 1890s, one should only refer to these works as being in the Comedy of Manners style.

In terms of content and form, all of the above are generally the same. Whatever period or name we wish to give them, these plays written in different periods and countries all serve the same purpose – to satirise the daily customs of the upper classes in society – historically, the very people in the theatre watching them.

As to whether Comedy of Manners is actually a theatrical “genre” or a “style” is another post altogether! For me, Comedy of Manners is a sub-genre of Comedy, but one will often see it referred to as a theatrical style. It’s all semantics.

Justin