The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century: 1660-1800

1. The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century: 1660-1800 (Lit Book pg. 468)

2. The Shape of England • England in 1660: exhausted by 20 years of civil war, the Black Plague, and the Great Fire of London (which left 2/3 of citizens homeless) • The other labels of this time period include Age of Reason, Age of Enlightenment, Augustan Age, Neoclassical period Augustan and Neoclassical • Both the ruler of Rome and the rulers of England restored peace and order after a leader’s death and civil war (Emperor Octavian in Rome, Stuart family—Charles II—in England) • Both the people of Rome and the people of England were weary of war, suspicious of radicals and revolutionaries, wanted peace/order to work and enjoy life • To warn future revolutionaries, the people of England dug up Oliver Cromwell (who led during the civil wars) and cut off his corpse’s head to strike fear in any dissenters (Cromwell had become a military dictator with Puritanical values) • Writers during this time modeled their works after Latin works, classics of Rome (probably Greek works, too). Becausethey were deemed to have permanence and represented universal values in human experience

3. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) • Helped overthrow/execute Charles I • Established Commonwealth (1649-1660) • “Lord Protector” • Charles II (1630-1685) • Son of executed Charles I • Returned from France in 1660 • No legitimate heirs

4. Reason and Enlightenment • In the Renaissance, people had superstitious beliefs about unnatural events; they believed that nature gave warnings about social disaster. People looked for supernatural intervention in trying to explain WHY certain events transpired • During the Enlightenment, the focus shifted from “WHY did this happen?” to “HOW?” It became acceptable and popular to question to old explanations, even popular – scientific observation The Birth of Modern English Prose • The members of the Royal Society of London call for more precise, plain and exact writing (such as shortening long sentences) There was a new form of English prose: popularity of journals, pamphlets, and travel writing • For what reasons (this means more than one) is John Dryden is important because he is considered “founder and first true master” of modern English prose. In poetry, he popularized regularized meter, made diction precise

5. Changes in Religion • Deism: Religious belief based upon reason and observation of nature; “watchmaker” analogy says God built complex universe, then let it run by itself • Christianity (in its various forms) still held power over almost all Europeans during this time period Religion and Politics • Charles II reinstituted the Anglican Church as official church of England • He attempted to outlaw Puritan and independent sects. This resulted in the popularity of British colonies in America. Also, it made the public scared to voice opposing views on any subject The Bloodless Revolution • When Charles II died he had no legal (legitimate) heir. The problem was, his brother James II was a Roman Catholic • Unpopular James II eventually fled to France in 1688, his Protestant daughter Mary took over • Since then, all English monarchs have been Anglicans (in name)

6. James II (1685-1688) William and Mary (1689-1702) Anne (1702-1714) George I (1714-1727) Restoration/18th Century Monarchs

7. George II (1727-1760) George III (1760-1820) William IV (1830-1837) George IV (1820-1830) Restoration/18th Century Monarchs

8. Addicted to Theater • When Charles II came to power, one of his first acts was to reopen the theaters Cromwell had closed • Charles and brother James supported play companies financially; this era saw the firstreal female actresses! • Plays were produced during this time period: Witty comedies, included emphasis on sexual relationships; these plays were another outlet for satire of the age The Age of Satire • The most accomplished writers of the eighteenth century were Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift • They both criticized contemporary society. They believed in order and discipline. • Pope attacked immorality and bad taste, usually of the upper class • Pope and Swift were both appalled by the squalor and shoddiness (in art, manners, morals) that underlay the polished surfaces of Augustan life—its violent and filthy underside • Both writers deplored corrupt politics, materialism, and commercialism

9. “I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.”Jonathan Swift “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Alexander Pope

10. Journalism • Daniel Defoe stood for middle class values: thrift, prudence, industry, respectability • Journalists of the eighteenth century were reporters and reformers of public manners and morals Public Poetry • Poets of this time had no desire to write about the soul/feelings; believed poetry was a public function • An Augustan poet would craft a poem by deciding in advance the kind of poem they wanted,with its exact meter and rhyme • Augustan elegy: celebrated the dead by recalling the best about a person, even if it was not true • Poetic satire: says the worst thing about someone or something to expose them/it to ridicule • Ode: Expression of public emotion, often celebratory • Poetry of this time period was highly crafted according to proper format

11. The First English Novels • Early novels were long, fictional, broad stories – often comical • These novels had a lasting importance: fiction is a reflection of the time in which is was written. These novels help us understand humor and insights of human experiences. They helped expand literacy and had a wider public audience (written in a simpler, more common form of English to be read and understood) The Commanding Figure of Johnson • Samuel Johnson criticized optimism, the idea of progress (that human society was always improving for the better) and the idea that humans are fundamentally moral (if we reformed society, everyone would just do the right thing) Searching for a Simpler Life • By the end of the eighteenth century, the world was changing: Industrial Revolution changed manufacturing, cities were booming, pollution, the French (and American) Revolutions • New writers disgusted by pollution and mass expansion. They turned to writing about nature and the effects of mass industrialization on the soul