Restoration & Eighteenth-Century

Restoration & Eighteenth-Century Elements of Literature Sixth Course Literature of Britain Pages 466-484

Kings and Queens(1660-1800) • Charles II (1660-1685) • James II (1685-1688) • William III and Mary II (1689-1694) • William III (1694-1702) • Anne (1702-1714) • George I (1714-1727) • George II (1727-1760) • George III (1760-1820)

Restoration=Restoration of the Monarchy After years of war, the son of Charles I was brought back from exile in France to become King Charles II “The Savior” 23 April 1660, Westminster Abbey

Charles II (1660-1685) • Theatre patents • Court circle • No heirs • Numerous mistresses • Succession crisis • Founder of the Royal Society • Patron of the arts

The “Age of Reason” and “Enlightenment” People began to ask… “Why?” And “What does it mean?”

A Possible Explanation… People began to look to Science and Mathematics to explain that had been “unexplainable.” Example: Edmond Halley took the terror our of “celestial phenomena” when he figured the dates that his comet would be seen.

Birth of Modern English Prose King Charles II chartered a group of Philosophers: The Royal Society of London for the Promotion of Natural Knowledge The members called of a kind of writing that was precise, exact, and not decorated with all of the elaborate metaphors or odd allusions. Say what you mean!!!

New Writing Motto… Quality Not Quantity

Alexander Pope Essay on Man (a long poem) “Whatever is...is right.” Philosophy of the time: “In the best of all possible worlds,…all is for the best.”

Voltaire: French Writer Voltaire ridiculed (made fun of) Essay on Man in his novel… Candide

Deism A new (science influenced) religion: “The world is as perfect as a mechanism, which God had built and left to run on its own.”

Religious Persecution • The Anglican Church evolved as part of the Roman church • The English church is independent of its government. • 1662-Enforced use of the “Book of Common Prayer” • Granted Divorce • There is no central administration of the Anglican Church. • There is no Pope or President or chief executive King Charles II Restored the Anglican Church as The Church of England The name "Anglican" means "of England“

Theatre Is Back!!! • Under Puritan power, theatres were closed for over 20 years. • Charles repealed the ban and patronized companies of actors. • Women began to act! • Theatre is opened to the ordinary person.

Satire: Attacks on Immorality and Bad Taste Satire: 1: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn 2: trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly

Journalism: We have a job for you! • Journalist: Reformers of public manners and morals • As the middle class grew, journalists-and the reforms they advocated-became increasingly important.

Public Poetry • Poetry became something that was public and no longer private. • Elegies became popular as poetry for funerals. • The elegies said the best things the poet could think (even if they didn’t know the person the elegies was about).

James II (1685-1688) • Zealous Catholic • Forced to flee • Jacobite descendants: the Pretender, the Young Pretender (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”—1745)

William III & Mary II (1689-1702) • First and only joint monarchs • Mary: daughter of James II; died in 1694 • William: Dutch descendant of Charles I through daughter, Louisa (Charles and James’s sister) • William reigns alone until 1702 • Wars with the French

Queen Anne (1702-1714) • Little interest in the theatre or poetry • A builder of churches • 17 pregnancies, 5 children, but none lived to adulthood

The Georgian Era (1714-1789)George I (1714-1727) • Non-English speaking • No interest in English culture • Rarely even resided in England • Absence created a “power vacuum”

George II (1727-1760)

George III (1760-1820) • First “English” king of Hanover • Patron of the arts • Personal library became the core of the British Library

Dawn of a new era: Romanticism

Restoration & Eighteenth-Century