The drama which in the hands of Ben Jonson had attacked folly and wickedness proper to no place or time, descended to the drawing-rooms of the day, and Congreve occupied himself with the portrayal of the social frauds and foolishnesses perpetrated by actual living men and women of fashion in contemporary London.

Satire ceased to be a mere expression of a vague discontent, and became a weapon against opposing men and policies.

The new generation of readers were nothing if not critical.

They were for testing directly institutions whether they were literary, social, or political.

They wanted facts, and they wanted to take a side.
In the distinct and separate realm of poetry a revolution no less remarkable took place.