 The play marks an attempt by Steele to distinctly separate his work from the moral baseness of the comedies that preceded it.He claimed in the preface that the whole play was written around the scene in act 4 where Bevil Junior overcomes his passions and thus avoids a duel with his friend Myrtle.The ethics of dueling was an issue of debate in the public sphere during this time, including other publications by Steele himself.