3 Review(s)

One of Sheridan's delightful comedies, the principal charm of the rivals lies partly in the skill with which Sheridan combined the wit and elegance of "comedy of manners", freed from all the immodesty of the restoration plays, with scenes of sentimentality which could be played "straight" or treated ironically. Its ingeniously contrived plot contains scenes in which the working together of situation and character is so effective that we laugh all the more uproariously for recognising the author's skill and insight. This edition of the rivals has the following features A complete historical background with biographical details of the dramatist A detailed survey of the comedy of manners Original text with paraphrase and annotations Critical discussion on important textual aspects Select university questions with answers Select literary criticism