The Man of Mode

The most perfectly poised of Restoration comedies, The Man of Mode is a finished exercise in dramatic sprezzatura, matching the beguiling 'easiness' and 'complaisance' of its central character. Its seemingly casual construction and breaches of comic decorum mask an artistic control designed to upset the complacency of our moral, social and aesthetic assumptions, luring us into sympathy for a character whose dangerous 'wildness' we should deplore. The modernised play text is accompanied by incisive commentary notes, while the introduction unpacks the complexity of the Restoration's political and theatrical context, analyses the play's performance history and demonstrates Etherege's linguistic artistry.