The rigorous methodology of modern literary criticism has been used to advantage in the explication of Restoration drama. Significant new evaluations of the plays have been made. This book is the first collection of modern critical essays on Restoration drama, reflecting the variety in current approaches to a subject of critical interest and controversy since the time of John Dryden.
3.38 Among the 19 essays in the book are L.C. Knights's noted Restoration Comedy: The Reality and the Myth. Together with the authors introduction, the essays constitute a survey of modern literary scholarship on Restoration drama.