Name important trends during the restoration movement focusing on the heroic tragedy and the restoration comedy-styles, characteristics and traits
During the Restoration period, which lasted from 1660 to 1700 in England, several important trends emerged in the genres of heroic tragedy and restoration comedy. Here are the key styles, characteristics, and traits associated with each:
Heroic Tragedy:
1. High-minded and serious: Heroic tragedy focused on grand, epic themes with noble characters.
2. Tragic heroes: The protagonists were typically of high rank or noble birth, driven by a sense of honor and duty.
3. Conflict and struggle: The plots revolved around the protagonist's internal conflicts and struggles with fate, morality, and societal expectations.
4. Improbable events: The plots often included exaggerated and sensational events, such as battles, love triangles, and supernatural elements.
5. Moral lesson: Heroic tragedies aimed to teach moral lessons and present a vision of ideal virtues and conduct.
6. Elevated language: The dialogue employed heroic language, with elevated diction, metaphors, and poetic speeches.
Restoration Comedy:
1. Wit and satire: Restoration comedies were known for their sharp wit, clever wordplay, and biting satire of social conventions and manners.
2. Social criticism: They satirized the hypocrisy, pretensions, and social vices prevalent in the late 17th-century English society.
3. Artificiality and artificial characters: The characters often represented exaggerated stereotypes and displayed exaggerated manners and affectations.
4. Sexual innuendo and double entendre: Restoration comedies often incorporated explicit sexual content, hidden meanings, and suggestive language.
5. Intrigue and mistaken identity: Plots frequently involved complex schemes, mistaken identities, and miscommunications, leading to humorous misunderstandings.
6. Rhymed verse and prose: The language of Restoration comedy alternated between rhymed verse for poetic or emotional moments and prose for wit and banter.
These trends in heroic tragedy and restoration comedy reflected the influences of the French Neoclassical and Italian Commedia dell'arte traditions, as well as the social changes and turmoil of the Restoration era.