[لزيزا]

Questions on ' School for Scandal ' :


How far is school of scandal a successful anti-sentimental comedy?

the play has no excess of feeling , emotions or sentimental scenes. Laughter in the play is more or less intellectual, there is no ardent or emotional love scene's. it is shown that Charles gaily avoid fine sentiments.

passion is kept in the background Sheridan avoids any fervent expression by Charles of his passion for Maria and he doesn't allow Maria to refer to her strong love for Charles. Commendable restraint in his treatment of subject.

As in Joseph, the hypocritical man of feelings who covers cruelty under falls moral and noble sentiments. The word " sentiment or sentimental " is repeated in respect of Joseph.
Lady Sneer-well says : Joseph is a " sentimental knave " Sir Peter refers to him as a
" man of sentiments ".

Which of the characters seems to be the most true to life? Justify your choice.

In my opinion the most character true to life is Joseph Surface, because of him being a hypocrite . In surface he is known as a sociable and well regarded person with a good a name but truly he is an artful, selfish, malicious, and lacks the qualities of truth, gratitude, and charity.

As in now days many people are known with good names and sociable character's but truly they are selfish, greedy and lack the quality of truth.

Will it be correct to describe ' The School for Scandal ' as a romantic comedy? Or a comedy of manner?

"The School for Scandal" is a comedy known as a comedy of manner because it point out the weakness of the society and tries to fix them and it can't be described as a romantic comedy because of it's lack of sentiments and has no excess of feelings or emotions ( it's an anti-sentimental comedy).

Write a critical note on the plot construction in the play.

The plot is sequential arrangement of events or casual cause and effects. Events are arranged both sequentially and casually which makes the plot perfect.

The plot of the play is interesting and well-constructed. Some people make a plot to break the relationship between Sir Peter and Lady Teazle. The plot is made by Lady Sneer-well and others which is executed by Joseph Surface by luring Lady Teazle. Lady Teazle leaves the old husband and makes love with Joseph. The plot is executed well but gets discovered at last.





Comment on the moral implications of the play.


Sheridan asks his audience to question the morality of society in this play. Slandering one’s neighbors, acquaintances, and friends is an entertainment. There is no real interest in the truth — and even less consideration is given to the damage that such gossip causes.
In the early acts of School for Scandal, the subjects of such gossip are not known to the audience, who cannot determine the truth of Lady Sneer-well and Mrs. Candour’s observations. But by the last act, it becomes clear that these gossips need absolutely no element of truth to fuel their stories. The scene of Joseph’s library ( and the argument that took place immediately after) are fresh in the audience’s mind. This earlier scene serves as a nice contrast to the rumor and allusion that connect the gossips. Although it is all comedy, it is a comedy that teaches a lesson to the audience.


Write a critical note on the theme of the play.

As any other plays "School for Scandal" has many themes such as honor, falsehood and truth, morality and wealth.

In my opinion I think Truth and Falsehood is the main theme.
Because all through the play Sheridan tries to find out the truth wish is actually being hidden by the engagement of Lady Sneer-well and Snake in falsehood and gossips and Joseph is also willingly hiding the truth to get to his wants, which in the end of the play the truth is revealed and audience know that the gossips has no interest in the truth, it's only goal is to entertain one another and a way to get to their wants.

Also as must known the comedy is a comedy of manner because it points out the weakness of the society and tries to fix and it is also an anti-sentimental comedy because it has no excess of feelings or emotions.

Write a note on the following characters : Maria – Joseph – Charles – Lady Sneer-well – Sir Peter.

Charles Surface : one of the good characters, a prodigal young man, profligate, libber line, drinking with his boon companions, behaving in an irresponsible manner, borrows money, sells his family portraits, genuine affection for his uncle, benevolent nature, in love with Maria, striking contrast to his brother Joseph, straight forward, wins over the sympathy of other characters, a witty person, free from malice, belongs to the category of people who win at the end, fertile single source of comedy, is an optimist his optimism and high spirits are catchy.

Maria : most favorable impression of Maria, most sensible, intelligent girl, strongly disapproves of the manner in which Lady Sneer-well and other members of her circle talk, doesn't relish any scandalous gossip of people like Sir Benjamin and Lady Sneer-well, a version of people who's jests are full of spite and malice, dislikes slanderous talk her comment on Mrs. Candour " …she does more mischief than the direct malice of old Carbtree ", loves Charles and hates Joseph, as a lenient view of Charles's extravagance and reckless, can not tolerate ill-natural remarks against Charles, a serious minded girl but she has a sense of humor, indispensable to the play, upright and virtuous heroine of the play.

Joseph Surface : elder brother, villain, devoid of all moral scruples, artful, selfish and malicious, a sentimental knave – a partner with Lady Sneer-well in an intrigue against Charles and Maria, hinders their marriage, defames Charles, has necessary wit and malice to qualify him as a member of the school.
Sir Peter praises him as " a man of sentiment ", Joseph wishes to please both Lady Sneer-well and Maria, declines having received any money from his uncle.
His uncle's remark : Joseph is " destitute to truth, charity and gratitude ".
A fortune hunter, dowry hunter, wants to marry Maria for money, Lady Teazle misunderstands his intentions. Lady Teazle says, " a truly " despicable " character " Sir Peter says " selfish, treacherous and hypocritical ".

Lady Sneer-well : was the target of slander in her youth. She now directs her efforts at ruining the reputations of other women. She prides herself on her slenderness of scandal, which she manages with only a hint of a sneer (she “sneers well”). Slander is her primary source of pleasure. Lady Sneer-well is secretly infatuated with Charles, and that is the real reason she wants to break up his relationship with Maria. Lady Sneer-well plots with Joseph to secure Charles for herself and Maria for Joseph, but the plot blows up when Joseph is exposed to Sir Peter and when Maria refuses to consider Joseph as a suitor. She forges letters in a final attempt to further her plot but is revealed when her partner, Snake, sells his loyalty to a higher bidder.

Sir Peter Teazle : a neighbor of Lady Sneer-well, Sir Peter is also the guardian of Joseph and Charles Surface. Sir Peter was an older bachelor when he married his much younger wife six months before the start of the play. She is making his life miserable with her extravagances and her friends. But he loves his wife, although his friends sneer at him for letting her take advantage of him. Although Sir Peter has always favored Joseph (he even suspects Charles of trying to seduce Lady Teazle), Joseph’s hypocritical nature is revealed when Lady Teazle confesses to her husband that Joseph was attempting to seduce her. Eventually, Sir Peter approves of the marriage of his ward, Maria, to Charles.

Although there are two plots in ' The School for Scandal ' – that of slanderers and that of contrasted brothers – yet there is only one theme : Never believe in what is said – do you agree?

No I don't agree, although it's true that "School for Scandal" has two plots first is the story of how Joseph and Lady Sneer-well each try to lie their way to getting what they want, while the second plot is how Sir Oliver attempts to discover the truth about his nephews. But the themes are those of falsehood (in the form of malicious gossip), honesty, true love, morality, falsehood and truth, honor and wealth

Account for the popularity of Sheridan's play ' The School Of Scandal ' would it be correct to describe the play as a romantic comedy? If not why?

No it isn't correct .The school for Scandal is known as an anti-sentimental comedy and as a comedy of manner because it points out the weakness of the society and tries to fix them and that the play has no excess of feeling , emotions or sentimental scenes. Laughter in the play is more or less intellectual, there is no ardent or emotional love scene's. it is shown that Charles gaily avoid fine sentiments.

passion is kept in the background Sheridan avoids any fervent expression by Charles of his passion for Maria and he doesn't allow Maria to refer to her strong love for Charles. Commendable restraint in his treatment of subject.


Describe the setting of the play.

The time, place, and culture in which the action of the play takes place is called the setting. The elements of setting may include geographic location, physical or mental environments, prevailing cultural attitudes, or the historical time in which the action takes place. The location for Sheridan’s play is London during the eighteenth century — more specifically, it is set in London’s richer quarters. No exact time markers are provided, but the action takes place during a short period of time