The "Chaucer" group should answer TWO of
the following...
Q1: As we saw
in Tom Jones, 18th-century comedy
typically employed names that represented the characters’ true personalities.
How do some of the characters’ names function in this “inside” way with the
audience? Related to this, are the “good” characters the ones with
non-allegorical names?
Q2: Our
previous literature typically had one woman surrounded by a sea of men (The
Wife of Bath, Lady Macbeth, etc.); this is the first work that shows women
among other women in English society. How does Sheridan
depict female society among the upper classes? What is female
conversation, and how does it differ from conversation between males in the
play?
Q3: Why does
Sir Oliver distrust the accounts of his nephews Joseph and Charles? Why is he
more inclined to trust the servant, Rowley, than his old friend, Sir Peter?
Related to this, what is his general view of reputation and society?
Q4: Plays
like The School for Scandal are the forbearers of the modern-day sitcom
with their punch lines and stock characters/situations. Where do we see
familiar comic situations or jokes in this play that could still be used today?
Or, where do we see modern characters beneath the wigs and petticoats of these
18th-century ancestors?
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