Restoration Comedy Practice Questions
19 free Restoration Comedy practice questions for the English Literature. Tap an option to answer — you get instant feedback, the correct answer, and a detailed explanation for every question.
Which Restoration comedy features the infamous 'China Scene,' which relies on a sustained double-entendre involving porcelain to mask illicit sexual encounters from an oblivious husband?
- A The Way of the World
- B The Country Wife
- C The Man of Mode
- D The Rover
Correct answer: The Country Wife
William Wycherley's *The Country Wife* (1675) features the celebrated 'China Scene' in Act IV. The character Horner uses a false rumor of his impotence to gain access to upper-class wives, and Lady Fidget uses the excuse of collecting fine porcelain ('china') as a cover for their backstage encounters. The scene stands as a definitive example of Restoration comedy's use of sharp irony and sexual double-entendre.
In William Congreve's *The Way of the World* (1700), what is the primary purpose of the celebrated 'Proviso Scene' between Mirabell and Millamant?
- A To formally negotiate a comprehensive financial settlement for an amicable divorce before the marriage even legally occurs.
- B To establish witty prenuptial conditions that preserve their individual independence and mutual respect within marriage.
- C To formally trick Lady Wishfort into signing away her family inheritance.
- D To challenge each other to a duel over a suspected romantic betrayal.
Correct answer: To establish witty prenuptial conditions that preserve their individual independence and mutual respect within marriage.
The 'Proviso Scene' in Act IV of *The Way of the World* serves as an intellectual negotiation where Millamant and Mirabell lay down strict terms for their future life together. Millamant famously demands not to 'dwindle into a wife' while Mirabell stipulates terms to prevent her from turning into a shallow socialite. This dialogue elevates the play above standard sex comedies by advocating for a marriage built on psychological equality.
Sir George Etherege's *The Man of Mode* (1676) features Sir Fopling Flutter, who serves as the definitive theatrical archetype of which Restoration stock character?
- A The Truewit
- B The Rake-Hero
- C The Town Fop
- D The Wise Senex
Correct answer: The Town Fop
Sir Fopling Flutter is the quintessential 'fop' or coxcomb of Restoration drama. Unlike the genuine 'truewit' characters who possess effortless grace, the fop is defined by his mechanical, excessive adaptation of French fashions, perfumes, and affected mannerisms. He serves as a comic foil to the sharp, effortlessly strategic rake-hero Dorimant.
What is the primary motivation driving the cynical protagonist Horner in Wycherley’s *The Country Wife* to spread a false medical rumor about himself?
- A To avoid being drafted into the royal navy for the Anglo-Dutch wars.
- B To trick jealous husbands into leaving their wives unchaperoned in his company.
- C To test whether his friends love him for his character or his wealth.
- D To escape his numerous creditors by convincingly feigning a fatal deathbed illness.
Correct answer: To trick jealous husbands into leaving their wives unchaperoned in his company.
Horner bribes his doctor to spread the false rumor that a medical treatment in France left him a eunuch. By deliberately destroying his own public reputation for virility, he disarms the suspicions of London's possessive, status-conscious husbands. This deceptive stratagem gives him unrestricted, private access to the town's elite married women.
Aphra Behn’s hit comedy *The Rover* (1677) is set during which specific festive season, providing a chaotic cultural backdrop where masks allow characters to subvert social class and decorum?
- A The Frost Fair on the frozen River Thames
- B The May Day celebrations in rural England
- C The pre-Lenten Carnival season in Naples, Italy
- D The traditional annual Bartholomew Fair held in suburban London
Correct answer: The pre-Lenten Carnival season in Naples, Italy
*The Rover; or, The Banished Cavaliers* takes place in Naples during Carnival while Charles II and his loyalists are in exile. The atmosphere of Carnival is crucial to the plot because the wearing of masks and costumes allows both the male cavaliers and the wealthy Spanish women to bypass strict social chaperoning, enabling illicit courtships, mistaken identities, and rapid intrigue.
In George Farquhar's transitional comedy *The Beaux' Stratagem* (1707), what specific plan do the broke gentlemen Aimwell and Archer devise to fix their finances?
- A They disguise themselves as highwaymen to rob coaches travelling from London.
- B They swap roles as lord and servant while searching provincial towns for a rich heiress.
- C They launch a fraudulent investment scheme based on mapping fictional copper mines.
- D They open a fashionable fencing and dancing academy to exploit gullible wealthy country bumpkins.
Correct answer: They swap roles as lord and servant while searching provincial towns for a rich heiress.
Aimwell and Archer are impoverished London gentlemen who have pooled their remaining funds to travel into the English provinces. Their 'stratagem' involves alternating who plays the wealthy master and who plays the valet as they move from town to town, hoping to secure a country heiress with a large dowry. This shift to a rural setting marks a major step away from the traditional, city-bound Restoration landscape.
Which female character in William Congreve's *The Way of the World* is an aging, vanity-stricken matriarch whose desperate desire for courtship makes her vulnerable to Mirabell's elaborate blackmail plots?
- A Mrs. Marwood
- B Lady Wishfort
- C Arabella Fainall
- D Foible
Correct answer: Lady Wishfort
Lady Wishfort, whose name literally signifies her perpetual state of unfulfilled desire ('wish for it'), is the formidable elder matriarch who controls Millamant’s £6,000 inheritance. Her desperate attempts to hide her physical aging with thick cosmetic paint and her vulnerability to flattery make her a prime target for comic manipulation, particularly when she is courted by the disguised servant Waitwell.
The character of Dorimant in Sir George Etherege's *The Man of Mode* is widely recognized by literary historians as a contemporary theatrical caricature of which real-life Restoration court wit?
- A John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
- B John Dryden
- C Sir Charles Sedley
- D George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham
Correct answer: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Dorimant—famed for his magnetic charm, deep cynicism, mastery of social dynamics, and ruthless treatment of his discarded mistresses—was understood by contemporary audiences as a portrait of John Wilmot, the notorious Earl of Rochester. His habit of quoting poetical verses mid-conversation reflects the literary lifestyle of the historic court libertines.
Thomas Shadwell’s *The Squire of Alsatia* (1688) is famous for its extensive use of a highly specialized vocabulary. What type of language dominates this Restoration play?
- A High-flown, neo-classical verse written in strict heroic couplets.
- B The localized thieves' cant and underworld slang of the Whitefriars sanctuary district.
- C A mechanical imitation of courtly French vocabulary used exclusively by the nobility.
- D An archaic, rustic dialect intended to mock the uneducated local sheep farmers of Yorkshire.
Correct answer: The localized thieves' cant and underworld slang of the Whitefriars sanctuary district.
*The Squire of Alsatia* is celebrated for documenting the 'thieves' cant' and underworld slang of Whitefriars (known colloquially as Alsatia), a London district that historically maintained legal immunity from standard arrests. Shadwell even included a glossary with the printed text to help upper-class readers understand the fast-paced criminal jargon used by his characters.
What structural feature of Restoration playhouses, extending forward from the proscenium arch into the audience area, allowed actors to maintain intimate eye contact and rapid verbal banter with the pit?
- A The Orchestra Pit
- B The Rear Fly Gallery
- C The Wing Shutter
- D The Forestage Apron
Correct answer: The Forestage Apron
Restoration theaters like Drury Lane featured a deep 'forestage' or 'apron' that projected directly into the audience seating area past the proscenium arch. Most of the dialogue, soliloquies, and witty bantering occurred on this well-lit platform, while the movable painted scenery stayed behind the arch, preserving an intimate connection between actors and spectators.
In Restoration dramatic theory, the concept of 'Humours'—derived from Ben Jonson's Renaissance models—shifted its focus. How did Restoration 'Humours' comedy evaluate eccentricity?
- A As a direct chemical imbalance in the body's blood and bile that required medical treatment.
- B As a sign of divine selection and prophetic capability recognized by the state church.
- C As an economic crime associated with the hoarding of foreign currency.
- D As a psychological fixation causing rigid, mechanical behavior that violates decorum.
Correct answer: As a psychological fixation causing rigid, mechanical behavior that violates decorum.
While Jonsonian humours were rooted in physiological imbalances, Restoration humours comedies (like those of Thomas Shadwell) reframed eccentricity as a social or behavioral fixation. A 'humorous' character was someone trapped in an unyielding obsession—such as a fanatical collector or a rigid pedant—making them objects of laughter for failing to show the flexible, polished intelligence prized by court society.
Who is the wild, main 'Rover' character in Aphra Behn’s comedy *The Rover*, whose erratic behavior and unstable relationships challenge seventeenth-century ideals of marriage?
- A Belvile
- B Don Pedro
- C Willmore
- D Ned Blunt
Correct answer: Willmore
Willmore is the titular 'Rover,' a charismatic, impulsive, and deeply inconstant naval captain who roams from one romance to another during the Carnival celebrations. His volatile but witty relationship with the wealthy, sharp-tongued Hellena forms the main romantic plot, contrasting with the dark, financial transactions of the sex trade represented by Angellica Bianca.
John Vanbrugh’s comedy *The Provok'd Wife* (1697) caused significant public controversy primarily because of its bold handling of which contemporary social problem?
- A The complete and total lack of any basic safety regulations inside London's numerous industrial textile factories.
- B The systemic bribery occurring within the high court of the Admiralty.
- C The illegal smuggling of French wines during periods of active warfare.
- D The misery of abusive, legally indissoluble marriages and a wife's right to seek outside romance.
Correct answer: The misery of abusive, legally indissoluble marriages and a wife's right to seek outside romance.
*The Provok'd Wife* explored the domestic reality of an unhappy upper-class marriage between the brutal, alcoholic Sir John Brute and his articulate wife, Lady Brute. By showing Lady Brute weighing the merits of a retaliatory love affair, Vanbrugh challenged the strict patriarchal morality of his time, suggesting that marital infidelity could be a logical response to a husband's systemic cruelty.
What is the specific nature of the deceptive plot engineered by Mirabell in *The Way of the World* to force Lady Wishfort into consenting to his marriage with Millamant?
- A He disguises Waitwell as Sir Rowland to lure Lady Wishfort into an invalid marriage.
- B He stages a fake haunting in her country house to convince her she is dying.
- C He forges a royal decree convicting Lady Wishfort of high treason against the crown.
- D He threatens to publish a collection of her private love letters in the London gazette.
Correct answer: He disguises Waitwell as Sir Rowland to lure Lady Wishfort into an invalid marriage.
Mirabell's complex counter-plot involves marrying his servant Waitwell to the lady's maid Foible, and then dressing Waitwell up as a fictional, wealthy uncle named Sir Rowland. The goal is to get Lady Wishfort to fall in love with and agree to marry 'Sir Rowland,' at which point Mirabell can expose the trick and offer to save her from public humiliation in exchange for her blessing and Millamant's dowry.
In Colley Cibber's landmark play *Love's Last Shift* (1696), what major generic transition is observed in the final act that signals the decline of cynical Restoration comedy?
- A The entire cast is suddenly and quite shockingly killed off in a dark, tragic twist involving a batch of contaminated wine.
- B The characters abandon prose dialogue to perform an operatic masque written in Latin.
- C The plot is interrupted by a real-world political speech delivered by the Lord Chamberlain.
- D The cynical husband Loveless undergoes tearful moral reformation when confronted by his virtuous wife Amanda.
Correct answer: The cynical husband Loveless undergoes tearful moral reformation when confronted by his virtuous wife Amanda.
Cibber's *Love's Last Shift* is widely seen as the birth of Sentimental Comedy. While the first four acts feature the standard, loose behavior typical of traditional Restoration plots, the final act pivots sharply into intense sentimentality, showing the rakish Loveless repenting his vices in tears. This shift met the growing middle-class demand for theater that reformed its characters rather than celebrating their amoral wit.
Jeremy Collier's famous 1698 pamphlet, *A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage*, leveled which principal accusation against Restoration comic dramatists?
- A That they were secretly and covertly being funded by hostile French Catholic agents to undermine the English language.
- B That they lacked formal training in classical Greek and Roman poetic meters.
- C That they routinely made vice attractive, mocked religion, and rewarded unprincipled rakes over virtuous characters.
- D That their tickets were far too expensive for ordinary working-class citizens to afford.
Correct answer: That they routinely made vice attractive, mocked religion, and rewarded unprincipled rakes over virtuous characters.
Collier, a conservative clergyman, launched a systematic attack on playwrights like Congreve, Wycherley, and Dryden. His pamphlet argued that comedy's true classical purpose was to reform manners by mocking vice, whereas contemporary London plays did the exact opposite by making cynical, profane libertines the heroes while portraying clergy and faithful husbands as fools.
What is a 'breeches role,' a highly popular theatrical phenomenon that emerged on the Restoration stage alongside the introduction of professional actresses?
- A A role where an elderly actor played a young child to save the company money.
- B A specialized comic bit where a fop's trousers accidentally ripped open during a dance.
- C A character who wore historical Elizabethan costumes to mock outdated political values.
- D An actress dressed in tight male attire to reveal her leg contours to the audience.
Correct answer: An actress dressed in tight male attire to reveal her leg contours to the audience.
Once women were legally permitted to perform on the public stage after 1660, dramatists quickly capitalized on their presence by inventing 'breeches roles.' These plots required a female character to disguise herself as a young man (wearing tight-fitting breeches), which allowed the theater to bypass traditional modesty laws and showcase the actress's physical figure, drawing large crowds of male spectators.
In George Farquhar's *The Recruiting Officer* (1706), how does the play’s setting and tone differ from the classic Comedies of Manners written during the reign of Charles II?
- A It abandons London's cynical drawing-rooms for military recruitment and provincial life in Shrewsbury.
- B It is written entirely in high-flown blank verse and features supernatural visions of Arthurian knights.
- C It abandons romantic subplots to function as a dry, technical documentary on military logistics.
- D It is set entirely inside an active provincial courthouse during a trial for high treason.
Correct answer: It abandons London's cynical drawing-rooms for military recruitment and provincial life in Shrewsbury.
Farquhar's *The Recruiting Officer* reflects the late Restoration turn toward a more realistic, expansive setting. Instead of focusing on the narrow, highly stylized social games of elite London parks and salons, the play explores the daily mechanics of army recruitment and rustic social classes in the country town of Shrewsbury, bringing a fresh, warm humanism to the genre.
Which of the following definitions best captures the ideological function of 'Wit' as valued by elite characters within Restoration Comedy of Manners?
- A The ability to perform complex physical acrobatics and elaborate slapstick comedy routines during a live performance.
- B A deep, academic expertise in medieval Christian theology and classical languages.
- C The total avoidance of any language or metaphor connected to physical romance.
- D Effortless verbal agility and ironic mastery, used to control social situations and spot hypocrisy.
Correct answer: Effortless verbal agility and ironic mastery, used to control social situations and spot hypocrisy.
In Restoration high society, 'wit' was the ultimate marker of class dominance and intellectual superiority. It was not merely being funny, but rather a fast, graceful intelligence that used sophisticated language, metaphors, and irony to manage social networks, decode deception, and defeat rivals. Those who lacked it or tried too hard to fake it were instantly cast as outcasts or fools.