The Conscious Lovers

by Richard Steele

The Conscious Lovers was first performed in 1722 at Drury Lane and is generally acknowledged as the first “sentimental comedy.” Borrowing heavily from Roman playwright Terences’s Andria , Richard Steele veers away from the traditional lewdness of Restoration comedy by deliberately focusing on restrained passion and patience over bawdy or salacious behavior. Laughter is replaced with a more sentiment-based set of comedic values. Steele’s model proved so influential that not until 1773 with Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer does the “laughing comedy” return to the English stage. The plot revolves around Bevil Junior who, though promised to a young women by his father, has fallen in love with another. On his wedding day he discovers his friend Myrtle loves the young woman he is to marry, and he becomes consumed with jealousy. Steele states in his Preface that he very intentionally wrote the play around a crucial “dueling” scene, attempting to nudge his audience towards more restrained and refined behavior, hoping that “it may have some effect upon the Goths and Vandals that frequent the theaters.” Whether it did or not is debated, but it certainly affected the nature of English comedy for decades to follow.

Genres: Plays, School, Drama, Classics, Read For School, Theatre, Fiction

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1722

About the author

Sir Richard Steele was an Irish writer and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator.

Reviews

[Phoebe Jeziel · Rating 2 out of 5]

And yet again, here I am reading things at the last minute with my exam only a few days away....

This play is all about being "polite" which doesn't leave a lot of room for all the scandalous affairs that on a personal note- make plays so much fun to enjoy (I'm thinkin' Shakespeare people).

There were a couple of funny moments, Tom was great and Cimberton's lines were mouth-drop worthy they were so brash. But other than that, all the rest of the characters were all about "passion in moderation" and... well, what's the fun in that?

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty chill. Idk if it was easier to understand bc it wasn’t as buckwild as the other plays we’ve read or because the audiobook i found was actually good

[Dusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Richard Steele's intention to write an "innocent" (read: polite) play is admirable. Given my own disinclination toward reality TV, gross-out movies and stand-up comedy, I understand his desire to prove that witty comedy about good people can be fashionable and pleasurable. That said, however, The Conscious Lovers has not aged well. Its characters speak in earnest the sorts of lines Oscar Wilde would later parody. And Steele's naturalized depiction of females as morally upright and easily shamed -- Suffice it to say, I had a hard time working my way through this play. An important work if you're interested in the period. For the rest of us, there's no good reason to be conscious about these (boring) lovers.

[Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

After outcry over the general immorality of the English stage in the Restoration period, Steele wrote this play to prove that comedy could be virtuous. He succeeded on the latter point (these characters are indeed models of politeness and gentility) but failed miserably on the former (it's not funny). Thankfully, our professor promised that the debauchery will return in the play we're reading for next week. Bring on the rakes!

[Rowan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mind-numbingly didactic, full of overly sensitive souls, and has a plot so contrived it is the narrative equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Rather characteristic of sentimental literature of the period, apparently. I made such a disgruntled expression when my professor was lecturing on this sentimentality that he turned to me and said "It's okay, Rowan, feel free to vomit."

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

like bella said idk why the reviews for this play are so incredibly low??? it wasn’t necessarily as fun and raunchy as the others we’ve read so far for this class, but it’s definitely still a good time. They’re still super over the top, just in a completely different direction.

Also Phillis slayed

[Kendalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A virtuous comedy that succeeds in the virtue but fails in the comedy.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

maybe the worst thing I've ever read for school

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

1722 A Comedy
Found in "Eighteenth-Century Plays paperback pg.109

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still don't understand how this was a comedy?? But I liked it.

[Indigo Wayworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for ENGL 3020: Restoration Drama

[Samantha Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read this for an 18th Century British Literature class that focused around Restoration plays. Historically, this play by Steele, when compared to earlier Restoration plays, shows how the influence of bourgeois moral values was growing alongside the emergence of the middle classes in 18th century England. Before, plays catered mainly to upper classes and were far less focused around morality (and far more irreverent and more modern in their humor).
The play is funny at times, but a bit too preachy and pretentious overall. It has lots of very old-fashioned, patriarchal attitudes and messaging that made me cringe throughout. So, not exactly my cup of tea. However, I do appreciate the cultural context the play provides and the insight it can give into the social and moral attitudes of that time period.

[Michal Bitan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting how this sort of comedy lends itself to reading, in comparison with plays written 40 years prior. The scene already exists on the page, and does not depend as much on the actors to bring it to life.

[taelor alexandria]

brit lit readings 🤓

[Nicole Sobolewski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh