comedy of manners
Witty class mockery
A comedy of manners is a theatrical or literary genre that satirizes the behavior and social codes of a particular class, typically the upper class.
The humor derives from characters navigating—or violating—elaborate rules of etiquette, courtship, and propriety.
The form flourished in Restoration England with playwrights like Congreve and Sheridan, and continues in works by Oscar Wilde and Noël Coward.
The play is a sharp comedy of manners skewering old money pretensions.
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- witClever, inventive humor
- witty dialogueClever, humorous conversation
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- sharp tonguesHarsh, biting speech habits
Oscar Wilde · satire · foppish · dandies · bon mot · social satire · coquette · societal norms · polite society · social climbing · stock characters · play · humor · character study · genre · drama · dramatic irony · urbane
- comedyjokes, humor, puns, sarcasm, stand-up
- dramaTV drama, acting, television drama, drama school, playwright
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- comedy typesclown, satire, parody, farce, slapstick
- comic theaterburlesque, cabaret, farce, operetta, pantomime
- Regency SocietyRegency, etiquette, courtship, ballrooms, balls
comedy of mannersslapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
farce · physical comedy · low comedy · burlesque · vaudeville
comedy, manners, comical, good manners, mannered, mannerism, mannerly, comic strip, comedic