Assignment- History of English Literature -from 1350-1900

 👇Characteristics of the Restoration age👇

Name - Jignesh  K. Panchasara

             Paper - History of English Literature -from 1350-1900

             Roll No- 9

             Enrollment no-3069206420200013

Email id-jigneshpanchasara5758@gmail.com

             Batch- MA 2020-2022

Submitted to - S.B Gardi Department of              English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji  

                                 Bhavnagar University.

    The Restoration period✊

          Introduction

 The period from 1660 to 1700 is named as the Restoration period. In 1660 King Charles II was brought to the throne. The people of England were suffering from tension due to the strict rule of Cromwell. Thus the nation welcomed the Restoration of Charles II. This Restoration brought about a revolutionary change in social life and literature. The following characteristics distinguish this period.

Additionally, what is meant by restoration age?

    The period from 1660 to 1700 is known as the Restoration period or the Age of Dryden because monarchy was restored in England. Dryden was the representative writer of this period. The beginning of the Restoration began the process of social transformation.

Why is restoration period so called?😊

In English literature the period from 1660 to 1700 is called the period of Restoration, because monarchy was restored in England, and Charles II, the son of Charles I who had been defeated and beheaded, came back to England from his exile in France and became the King.

Characteristics of The Age

* Social and Political Conflict                 
                  With the come – back of Charles II, England’s social, political and religious tenets have transformed. The two devastating incidents – The great Plague of London and The Great Fire of London did much more harm to English Social life. W. J. Long said –

Though the king and court and high society of this period arouse our disgust or pity, the private life of England remained honest and pure even in the worst days of the Restoration.  Politically, the country was divided into two parties – The Whigs and The Tories. Both parties were largely devoted to the Anglican Church. Later, both the parties joined together to put an end to King James II who misrule for four years. After the bloodiness revolution of 1688, which called William of Orange and Queen Mary to the throne, was simply the indication of England’s healthy and sanity. According to W. J. Long,

Modern England was firmly established by the Revolution which was brought about by the excesses of the Restoration.

 

* Opening of Theaters
                  All the institutions that were closed in the puritanical movement were opened during the Restoration period. Political monarchy, Parliament Episcopacy and law were all restored. The clubs and coffee houses were also established during the period. These houses become the centers of political discussions and from here only, the periodical essays were originated.

*Rise of Neo-Classicism
               The Restoration marks a complete break with the past and the Elizabethan Romanticism was almost over. With the end of the past, literature took a new spirit and outlook and a different attitude in the subject and style. As Edward Albert says,

The Post – Restoration period is often setup as converge and anti – thesis of the previous Elizabethan Age. It is called ‘Classical’ as opposed to the Elizabethan Romanticism.

Realism
       Restoration literature is realistic. It was concerned with the life and with the fashion and manners. W. J. Long writes about the practice of realism of this period –

The early Restoration writers sought to paint realistic pictures of a corrupt court and society, and emphasized vices rather than virtues, and gave us coarse, low plays without interest or moral significance. Later, this tendency of realism becomes more wholesome.

               *New Literary Forms
           The writers of the age went against the Elizabethan romantic ideals and tried to give realistic picture of the corrupt court and society. They exposed vices rather than virtues. The most important literary forms expounded during this age are as under:


                           * Satire
Restoration age was an age of political unrest, sharp wit and personal contention. For this reason, satire got a new importance. Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe which was written in heroic couplet is considered as the best satire respectively.

                                *Poetry
The Restoration poets completely discarded the romanticism of Elizabethan poetry and also rejected the morals of puritan poets. Poetry presented a realistic picture of the corrupt court, society, men and manners; and its appeal was to intellect and reason.

                                *Drama
The theatres which were closed in 1642 were opened during the Restoration. Consequently, the plays were written for the play – houses. It gave rise to the development of the Comedy of Manners, which portrayed the sophisticated life of the dominant class of society.

                      * Heroic Couplet
Restoration literature adopted the heroic – couplet as a poetic medium that is two iambic pentameter lines which rhymed together. Waller, who began to use it in 1623, is generally regarded as the father of the couplet. Later, Waller and Dryden made the couplet a literary fashion.

 These are the main writers of the Restoration age. whose name are given below.

👉  John Dryden 

  Samuel butler

  Hobbes and Locke

  Evelyn and Pepys.

 so Today's our major writes is John Dryden.

Here is picture of John Dryden.

          

   John Dryden was born on 9 August 1631 at Northamptonshire, England. He was known as poet, Literary critic, play wright, and Librettist. John Dryden was educated from the west minister school, Trinity college, Cambridge.

    John Dryden came from a landowning family with connection to parliament and the church of England. His material grand father was Rector of all saints. He was son of Erasmus Dryden and Mary Pickering. His family were Parliamentary supporters with Puritans learning. He was an english poet ,Dramatist and  Critic. He was also leading figure of the Restoration age. He was so Dominating person that the Whole age was known as the The age of Dryden. Water Scott called him as Glorious john. He left behind almost 30 works for stage as well as a major Critical study ( An Essay Dramatic poesy) and a Number of Translations including  the works Virgil.

           After John Donne and John Milton ,John Dryden was the greatest english poet of the Seventeenth century. He published his first important poem, Heroic stanzas (1659), a eulogy On Cromwell's death. Here is Life related video of John Dryden.

         

 

LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS OF RESTORATION AGE 👀

The literature of the Restoration period marked the complete breaking of ties with the Renaissance literature. It reflected the spirit of the age. The spirit of corruption and moral laxity, which were predominant in the social life of the restoration, are reflected in literature. The following are the chief feature of the period.

 Realism and formalism Restoration literature is realistic. It was very much concerned with life in London, and with details of dress, fashions and manners. The early Restoration writers, observes sought to paint realistic pictures of corrupt court and society, and emphasized vices rather than virtues and gave us coarse, low plays without interest or moral significance. Like Hobbes, they saw only the externals of man, his body and appetites, not his soul and his ideal. Later, however, this tendency to realism became more wholesome. While it neglected romantic poetry, in which youth is eternally interested, it led to a keener study of the practical motives which govern human action. The Restoration writers eschewed all extravagances of thought and language and aimed at achieving directness and simplicity of expression. Dryden accepted the excellent rule for his prose, and adopted the heroic couplet, as the next best thing for the greater part of this poetry. It is largely due to Dryden that writers developed formalism of style, that precise, almost mathematical elegance, miscalled classicism, which ruled the English literature for the next century. 

 French Influence: 

In this age , There are so many writers who wrote his work as a different point of view. Like a The poem of Rochester, the plays of Dryden, Congreve , Wycherley, Vanbrugh, and Farquhar, All popular in their day, are mostly unreadable. also shakespeare Mid summer nights etc.

The couplet 

The form of Heroic couplet was very famous at that time, but the famous writer was John Dryden. He wrote so many works in the Heroic couplet. Also Chaucer had used the rimed couplet wonderfully in his Canterbury Tales.

New tendencies

with the final rejection of the restoration drama we reach a crisis in the history of our literature. The old Elizabethan spirit, with its patriotism, its creative vigor, its love of romance and the puritan spirit with its moral and at first there was nothing to take their places.

   Dryden when he said that in his prose and poetry he was drawing the outline of new art but had no teacher to instruct him. but literature is progressive art, and soon the writers the tendencies of their own the tendency to realism, and the tendency to that preciseness and elegance of expression which marks our literature for the next hundred years.

                  👇Conclusion 👊

The age of Restoration is Very famous. Meanwhile, the works of Dryden were very famous. The Restoration period is to be seen as one of transition. The glorious Revolution of 1688 also brought about a new change in social and political life. The Restoration literature developed realism and so the whole literature was developed in a new style. 

Reference

"Characteristics Of Restoration Period". Empire Tuition Classes, 2021, https://hlg7.weebly.com/characteristics-of-restoration-period.html.

"The Restoration Period (1660-1700) In English History | Good Study". Good Study, 2021, https://goodstudy.org/restoration-period-english-history/.

"What Are The Characteristics Of Restoration Age? | Everythingwhat.Com". Everythingwhat.Com, 2021, https://everythingwhat.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-restoration-age.

                                         

                                           Thanks..😊