Introduction
The playwright William Congreve (1670–1729) found it necessary to defend himself against Jeremy Collier's severe attack (Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage) on his work. He argues that Collier distorts his work by taking passages out of context, and that Collier forgets that "the business of comedy is to delight as well as to instruct."
Content ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
