# Discussion on Specific Authors & Books > Author List: >  R.B. Sheridan

## SpriTe0110

Forgive me if I'm blind but I cannot, for the life of me find threads on The Rivals which have helpful information.
Has anyone studied this particular anti-sentimental comedy play? I have plenty of doubts and would really like some help.
Thanks

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## OrphanPip

I'm more familiar with School for Scandal, but I might be able to direct you towards useful sources. If you have general questions about eighteenth-century theatre I could be a bit more helpful.

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## SpriTe0110

> I'm more familiar with School for Scandal, but I might be able to direct you towards useful sources. If you have general questions about eighteenth-century theatre I could be a bit more helpful.


Could you tell me anything about Sheridan's anti-sentimentalism?

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## OrphanPip

> Could you tell me anything about Sheridan's anti-sentimentalism?


This essay by Oliver Goldsmith should help you out.

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smart...dsmth/theatre/

Goldsmith's attack on sentimental comedy is essentially the same that Sheridan is reacting against in his 'laughing comedies'. Keep in mind that Goldsmith is a bit biased, one of the reasons sentimental comedy came to become a prominent genre was a reaction against classical and French forms of drama, as well as a greater interest in sentimentalism in general (which became particularly important leading into the Romantic period). It also allowed a genre for authors to explore things like emotion and virtue on stage, where as traditional laughing comedies that sought to correct vice, in line with Horatian theories of comedy, often ran up against censorship. They were also often considered to be good vehicles for the stage stars of the period, who were increasingly massive celebrities.

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