The play “The Rivals” by Sheridan takes place in Bath in the eighteen century when two friends are meeting each other by chance. In general, the story is a parody of a traditional romance, thus having two loving pairs with rather different relations that considerably deviate from the norm. Faulkland is a jealous lover, and Julie is rather bored and impassionate. The Rivals is also a satirical portrayal of marriage and love issues, which are reduced to a farce.
This play is a comedy of manners consisting of five acts where the author confines himself to sensibility and sentimentalism deprived of moralizing, which is typical of the nineteenth century. As it can be viewed, the Comedy originates from the restoration period, though it is a century later overviewed by Richard Sheridan. In comparison with the norms accepted for the Restoration comedy full of lust and vulgarism, Sheridan’s version seems to be more genteel and refined. Here, the author satirizes the sophisticated love affairs compared with a vigorous battle of the words.