The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, 1660 – 1800

1. The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, 1660 – 1800 __________________________________________________ There are seven groups of people in English Society. The Great, who live profusely. The Rich, who live very plentifully. The Middle Sort, who live well. The Working Trades, who labor hard, but feel no want The Country People, Farmers, etc., who fare indifferently The Poor, that fare hard. The Miserable, that really pinch and suffer want. -Daniel Defoe

2. Literary Events during the Restoration _________________________________________________________ 1660 – 1669 Moilere’s The Misanthrope, 1666 First appearance of actresses on stage Samuel Pepys’ diary, 1660 1670 - 1689 Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko (slave novel) Basho’s haiku poetry in Japan John Dryden’s All for Love or The World Well Lost, 1678 John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1678 & 1684 1690-1709 Addison and Steele’s The Tatler, 1709 & The Spectator, 1711 Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz’s Respuesta a Sor Filotea, 1691 (reply to Sister Philotea’s defense of women’s intellect) 1610 – 1739 Jonathan Swift publishes A Modest Proposal, 1729; Gulliver’s Travels, 1726 Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, 1719 Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, 1712

3. Literary Events during the Restoration, p. 2 __________________________________________________________________________________________ 1740 – 1764 Voltaire publishes Candide, 1759 Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1755 Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, 1751 Samuel Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, 1740 1765 – 1779 Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, 1773; and in London Religious and Moral, 1773 Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, 1776 1780 – 1800 Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads, 1798 Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792 James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791 Olaudah Equiano publishes his autobiography, 1789

4. Literary Events during the Restoration, p. 3 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1765 – 1779 Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, 1773; and in London Religious and Moral, 1773 Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, 1776 1780 – 1800 Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads, 1798 Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792 James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791 Olaudah Equiano publishes his autobiography, 1789

5. The Misanthrope byJean-Baptiste Moliere _________________________________________________ The Misanthrope (French) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666. The play satirizes the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society, but it also engages a more serious tone when pointing out the flaws which all humans possess. The play differs from other farces at the time by employing dynamic characters like Alceste and Célimène as opposed to the traditionally flat characters used by most satirists to criticize problems in society. It also differs from most of Molière's other works by focusing more on character development than on plot progression. Tartuffe and Dom Juan, two of Molière's previous plays, had already been banned by the French government, so Molière may have subdued his actual ideas to make his play, The Misanthrope, more socially acceptable. As a result, there is much uncertainty about whether the main character, Alceste, is supposed to be perceived as a hero for his strong standards of honesty or whether he is supposed to be perceived as a fool for having such idealistic and unrealistic views about society.

6. Actresses First Appeared on Stage, p. 1 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Actresses first appeared on the English stage in 1629, when a troupe of French players, male and female, relying, no doubt, upon the patronage of their countrywoman, Queen Henrietta Maria, essayed to give performances at Blackfriars. Up to this time the feminine parts in the native drama had been enacted invariably by boys or youths, trained in the profession by older actors, who were allowed to take them in as apprentices, and were paid for their services. Thus, the employment of women as actresses was innovative. So it is not surprising that it was resented by the playgoers of the day. According to a letter addressed to Laud, then Bishop of London, by Thomas Brande, the public were indignant. The French actresses were "hissed, hooted, and pippin-pelted from the stage," so that the writer "did not think they would soon be ready to try the same again." However, they reappeared a few weeks later at the Fortune and Red Bull theatres, but not successfully. They were so unpopular that the Master of the Revels, "in respect of their ill luck," returned them a portion of the fees which they had to pay for their licence.” Three years later, in 1632, Lady Strangelove, in Brome's comedy, The Court Beggar, was made to say: "The boy's a pretty actor, and his mother can play her part: women-actors now grow in request.“.

7. Actresses First Appeared on Stage, p. 2 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In 1633 Prynne brought out his Histrio-Mastix, in which he characterized all "woman-actors" as "monsters," and applied to their performances such adjectives as "impudent," "shameful," and "unwomanish." In 1656 Davenant's Siege of Rhodes was acted, at Rutland House, before a paying audience, with a cast which included Mrs. Coleman as Ianthe. To that lady, therefore, must be accorded the honour of having been the first English professional actress. In Shakespeare’s Othello the name of the actress who played Desdemona is not known. Killigrew's principal lady at this time was Ann Marshall, and the rôle would have naturally fallen to her; but there is no record of her having appeared as the heroine of Othello. It is more likely that the part was taken by Margaret Hughes, the seconda donna of the acting company. Prejudice against "women-actors" had begun to abate. So it came to pass that when, in 1662, Killigrew and Davenant received a renewal of the letters patent granted to them in 1660, the documents included permission to place female parts in the hands of women. In 1664 Killigrew carried the concession to an extreme, for we read that, in that year, he produced his comedy, The Parson's Wedding, with women in all the parts.