Sentimentalism

v/s

Anti-sentimentalism

What is sentimentalism?• It can be defined as overindulgence of

emotions of pathos and sympathy.• It depends upon an individual.• Shelley tries to evoke emotional responses

from the reader for a lover in his “Epipsychidion” a poem.

• Autobiographical elements in the work.• About the work Shelley has written that it is

"an idealized history of my life and feelings".

• Shelley celebrates free love by criticizing conventional marriage.

• He thinks of marriage as a long journey. • It may sound sentimental for New Critics of

1930s and later.

• Relation with Pathos.• In Greek it means passion, or suffering, or

deep feeling but in modern criticism it is applied in a much more limited way to a scene or passage that is designed to evoke the feelings or tenderness, pity, or sympathetic sorrow from the audience.

The Conscious Lover:• Written by Richard Steel• The preface is written by Leonard Welsted.• The emphasis is on the importance and

primacy of morality, virtue and manners.• It was a reaction against crude and salacious

jokes and behavior.• The play raises the question of marriage –

marriage for love or for money.• It is about individual morality, social morality

and values.

• Triangles of love• Sir John Bevil and his son Junior Bevil• Mr. Sealand’s daughter Lucinda• Sir John Bevil wants his son to marry with

Lucinda.• Junior Bevil’s friend Myrtle loves Lucinda and

he is in love with a poor woman Indiana. Nobody in the play knows but she is Mr. Sealand’s daughter by his first wife.

• Mrs. Sealand wants Lucinda to marry with Cimberton because he belongs to a wealthy family moreover he is Mrs. Sealand’s cousin.

• Parents interruption in the life of children, forceful marriage.

• For marriage Cimberton has to seek permission of his uncle and lawyers.

• Bevil Jr. and Myrtle plan out to delay the wedding. They asked their servant Tom for help.

• Disguise: Myrtle and Tom came in disguise as Sir Geoffrey's lawyers, Bramble and Target.

• Sir John Bevil and Mr. Sealand discuss about Junior Bevil’s morals and Mr. Sealand goes to meet the young woman.

• Myrtle disguises as Sir Geoffrey to delay the wedding. Mr. Sealand fail to recognize his Indiana.

• With the help of the Bracelet Mr. Sealand recognizes his daughter happy to reunite with her.

• They allow Myrtle to marry Lucinda and Junior Bevil’s marriage with Indiana.

• Intention of the marriage was double the estate .

• For restoration comedy Steel felt that it was a waste of time. He disapproved the evils presented on the stage.

• In the preface Steel asserts that the purpose of the play is not just to amuse the audience but also to give instruction.

• By depicting emotional distress the play moves the audience. The moral of the play is to maintain the virtue.

• In sentimental comedy the hero is a positive protagonist.

• Steel wanted sentimental comedy to be a source of role model so he replaced laughter with serious attitude of life.

• Characters high moral statements are similar to tragedy.• In these plays almost all the characters are good, and

exceedingly generous ; they are lavish enough of their tin money on the stage ; and though they want humour have abundance of sentiment and feeling. If they happen to have faults and foibles the spectator is taught not only to pardon but to applaud them, in consideration of the goodness of their hearts ; so that Folly, instead of being ridiculed, is commended ; and the comedy aims at touching our passions without the power of being truly pathetic.

Anti sentimental comedy:• Characteristics: • Wit• Laughter• Farce• Irony: verbal, situation and dramatic • Disguise• Also called Comedy of Manners

Comedy of Manners:• Originated in the New Comedy of the Greek

Menander and developed by the Roman dramatists Plautus and Terence in the third and second centuries B.C.

• Dealt with vicissitudes of young lovers• High polished in Restoration comedy• Deals with the relations and intrigues of men

and women living in a sophisticated upper class society.

• Violation of social standards and decorum• Immorality of situation• Sheridan’s The Rivals and School for Scandals • The Rivals:• Jack Absolute loves Lydia Languish• Lydia is fond of reading romances and thinks of

marring an ineligible man, below her status• Captain Absolute disguise as Ensign Beverley.• Mrs. Malaprop wants Lydia to marry Bob Acres

but a proposal for another eligible bachelor, Jack Absolute is received she denies Bob.

• Lydia and Jack do not know about each other.• Sir Lucius O'Trigger sends letters for Lucy,

Lydia’s maid but gets reply by Mrs. Malaprop.• Lydia is disappointed to know that her lover

belongs to rich family.• Acres has sent a challenge to Ensign Beverley,

and Sir Lucius has picked a quarrel with Jack Absolute, his rival, he thinks, for Lydia's hand.

The School for Scandal

• Sir Peter Teazlea marries a young girl. • Lady Sneerwell has spread the rumor that he

and Lady Teazle are having an affair.• Joseph Surface and Charles Surface are

brothers. They are suppose to prove themselves generous before their unmarried uncle Sir Oliver.

• Joseph proves himself better than his brother Charles.

• Sir Oliver disguises as Mr. Premium to test both the brothers.

• This is possible because the brothers have not seen their uncle for many years and will not recognize him.

• Charles is willing to sell family portraits for money.

• But Charles refuses to sell the portrait of his uncle Sir Oliver.

• At Joseph Surface’s quarter Lady Teazle, Sir Peter and Charles arrive. (three types of irony)

• Sir Oliver makes Charles his heir.