She Stoops to Conquer: as A Anti Sentimental Comedy

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      Before we understand the characteristics of anti sentimental comedy it is necessary for us to know the concept of sentimental comedy. Generally speaking the art of a sentimental comedy lies in the treatment of hyper melodramatic incidence, which arouses or evokes the audience's scene of laughter and fun. Sometime in such kind of drama there are found too much of modesty along with limitless melodramatic tears, which bring no such significant ending of a comedy. But against all such melodramatic elements, that type of comedy which presence a very easy realistic picture of daily day to day life and affairs with the element of a great comic sense along with a galaxy of realistic characters.

She Stoops To Conquer by Goldsmith is generally considered as a reaction against sentimental comedy.
She Stoops to Conquer

      She Stoops To Conquer by Goldsmith is generally considered as a protest comedy, representing as it done a reaction against sentimental comedy, which hold the English stage in the days of Oliver Goldsmith. Like R.B Sheridan, Goldsmith took up wars against this superfluous breed of comedy,  sentimental comedy and sought to revive comedy of manners and genuine comedy practiced by the Great comedian like William Congreve and George Farquhar minus its indecency and Listentiousness.

       An sentimental comedy is neither pure comedy nor pure tragedy so represents and unnatural mixture of the two. She Stoops To Conquer represents reaction from contemporary sentimentality along with the expression of the "return to nature" as an anti sentimental comedy Goldsmith masterpiece, its characters are all true and real Tony, Marlow, Hastings and the Hardcastle's are all true to nature and they are not marry melodramatic characters not personified abstractions, but men and women of pure flesh and blood.

      The play is not like those weeping sentimental comedies but is a funny and laughing comedy. It is meant for amusement and not for our moral purification or teachings. Like Sheridan's The Rivals display is a succession of laughter provoking situations. Also there are attacks at sentimental comedy in the play itself, when in the prologue the author mocks nonsense moralising in a sentimental comedy its lack of naturalism and its artificial nature. Thus Goldsmith has make the drama and anti sentimental comedy with the help of a superb funny plot, dealing with some lovely incidence with inclusion of real life character.

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