Why this topic, why these plays
The plays gathered under "English drama (Comedy)" share a recurring thematic preoccupation that, across 25 different scripts in our archive, has produced a remarkable variety of theatrical solutions. Reading them in proximity to one another is one of the more useful comparative exercises a student of dramatic writing can do, because the contrasts in tone, structure, and resolution show how much choice a playwright really has, even when the underlying subject is the same. The list below collects the works in our library that catalogue indexers identified with this subject; in some cases the connection is overt and in others oblique, but in every case the thematic affinity is real and worth pursuing.
All plays on this topic (25)
- Every Man in His Humour — by Ben Jonson
- Every Man out of His Humour — by Ben Jonson
- Cynthia's Revels; Or, The Fountain of Self-Love — by Ben Jonson
- Epicoene; Or, The Silent Woman — by Ben Jonson
- Volpone; Or, The Fox — by Ben Jonson
- The Alchemist — by Ben Jonson
- Every Man in His Humor — by Ben Jonson
- Captain Brassbound's Conversion — by Bernard Shaw
- Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress — by Bernard Shaw
- The Inca of Perusalem: An Almost Historical Comedietta — by Bernard Shaw
- Augustus Does His Bit: A True-to-Life Farce — by Bernard Shaw
- Great Catherine (Whom Glory Still Adores) — by Bernard Shaw
- How He Lied to Her Husband — by Bernard Shaw
- John Bull's Other Island — by Bernard Shaw
- Overruled — by Bernard Shaw
- Androcles and the Lion — by Bernard Shaw
- The Sentimentalists — by George Meredith
- The Hunchback — by James Sheridan Knowles
- The Silver Box: A Comedy in Three Acts — by John Galsworthy
- Windows — by John Galsworthy
- The Rivals: A Comedy — by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- The Double-Dealer: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- The Old Bachelor: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- Love for Love: A Comedy — by William Congreve
- The Way of the World — by William Congreve