Complex sentence: Etherege holds a distinguished place in English literature as one of the "big five" of Restoration comedy, inventing the comedy of manners and leading the way for the masterpieces of Congreve and Sheridan.
Split into simpler sentences: Etherege holds a distinguished place in English literature as one of the "big five" of Restoration comedy. He invented the comedy of manners, and led the way for the masterpieces of Congreve and Sheridan.