Comedy of Manners

The comedy of manners is a genre that uses wit and intellectual dialogue to satirize the social behaviors, artificialities and strict codes of a specific contemporary society. In this genre the central focus is on whether characters can maintain equilibrium within exact, though often superficial, social standards, so the narrative plots, which often concern illicit romances or social scandals, are secondary to the sharp dialogue, cynical atmosphere and observational commentary on human flaws. Historically these plays were written by members of the upper classes for their own social circles, and tended to flourish in societies marked by both economic prosperity and moral permissiveness.