Comedy of manners

A comedy of manners is a work that satirizes the upper classes; more broadly, some works have been considered comedies of manners simply for satirizing any social class. "Manners" relates to the manners adopted and considered appropriate for that class.

Jane Austen's work may be considered a comedy of manners; Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) is a classic comedy of manners; Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham. Restoration plays such as Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal (1777) are considered classic comedies of manners, as are Molière's plays (L'École des femmes ("The School for Wives"), 1662).

Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint (1987) is a recent comedy of manners.

Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign: A Comedy of Biology and Manners (1999) mixed science-fiction and comedy of manners.