Rakes, Wives and Merchants: Shifts from the Satirical to the Sentimental

Abstract

The author opens this chapter on the satiric and the sentimental in Restoration drama with poems by Rochester because his labyrinthine satiric point of view epitomizes much of the comedic drama of the early Restoration period. In comedies by Wycherley, Etherege, Behn and Shadwell, hero-rakes personate the same combination of sensualism and egoism treated in Rochester's works. That there was a shift from the satirical to the sentimental in English drama, and in particular comedy, during the period 1660-1710 is unmistakeable. The author explores a range of factors that reasonably seem to influence the move. Significant cultural circumstances, such as the moral reform movement of the 1690s, are considered as well. Specifically, the author looks into the changing comedic portrayal of the aristocratic rake in his relationships with two types of characters on stage: the women he seduces, courts and sometimes marries; and the new merchant class emerging around him.

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