1. The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century: 1660-1800 (HOLT Lit Book pg. 559)

2. 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. Other labels of this time period include: Age of Reason Age of Enlightenment Augustan Age Neoclassical Period

3. Age of Reason and Enlightenment vs Renaissance In the Renaissance: People had superstitious beliefs about unnatural events; believed 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 did this happen?” It became acceptable and popular to question old explanations– scientific observation.

4. Why is this period also know as the Neoclassical and Augustan Period? Both the ruler of Rome (Octavian/Augustus) and the ruler of England (Charles II, Stuart King) restored peace and order after a leader’s death and civil war. The people of both Rome and England were war weary, 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) because they were deemed to have permanence and represented universal values in human experience.

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

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

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

8. 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? 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 (at least in name).

9. The Birth of Modern English Prose 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. John Dryden - “founder and first true master” of modern English prose. In poetry, he popularized regularized meter, made diction precise.

10. 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 first real 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.

11. The Age of Satire The most accomplished writers of the eighteenth century were Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. –Criticized contemporary society –Believed in order and discipline –Appalled by the squalor and shoddiness (in art, manners, morals) that underlay the polished surfaces of Augustan life—its violent and filthy underside. –Deplored corrupt politics, materialism, and commercialism –Pope attacked immorality and bad taste, usually of the upper class.

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

13. Journalism 1.Daniel Defoe stood for middle class values: thrift, prudence, industry, respectability 2.Journalists of the eighteenth century were reporters and reformers of public manners and morals Public Poetry 1.Poets of this time had no desire to write about the soul/feelings; believed poetry was a public function 2.An Augustan poet would craft a poem by deciding in advance the kind of poem they wanted, with its exact meter and rhyme 3.Augustan elegy: celebrated the dead by recalling the best about a person, even if it was not true 4.Poetic satire: says the worst thing about someone or something to expose them/it to ridicule 5.Ode: Expression of public emotion, often celebratory 6.Poetry of this time period was highly crafted according to proper format

14. The First English Novels Early novels were long, fictional, broad stories – often comical Novels had a lasting importance: –Fiction is a reflection of the time in which it was written. –They help us understand humor and human 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.