1. The Age of Reason Power and Society in an Era of Restoration and Enlightenment

2. The Age of Reason 1660-1798 The Age of Reason is comprised of two different parts: the Restoration and the Enlightenment. Restoration, as the first half of the period, marks political restoration in England.

3. The Age of Reason The battle between crown and parliament continued out of the Medieval and Renaissance periods into the Restoration. During this time, in 1660, King Charles II was put back on the English throne after the Puritan backed Cromwellian Revolution.

4. The Age of Reason Conflict plagued King Charles II because during his exile he lived in France and was greatly influenced by the French Court and Catholic religion. When back in England, Charles’s alliance with France alarmed Parliament who became divided into two parties: Whigs and Tories

5. The Age of Reason Tories Or royalists, supported the traditional monarchy in which the king or queen was the active leader of the government. Mainly the aristocracy and conservative element of the Anglican Church

6. The Age of Reason Whigs Opposed the interference of the monarch in government. They favored toleration of religious dissidents and severing ties with France. Included powerful nobles, wealthy merchants and financiers, and representative of the increasingly prosperous middle class.

7. The Government During the period of Restoration, a major power shift took place in the government. In previous periods, the king was the ultimate ruling power. However, during the restoration, Parliament began exerting their power as the governing body of England.

8. The Government Thus, the king’s position slowly became one of figure head, rather than ruler. This transition of power to Parliament was completed during The Glorious Revolution in 1688. In a bloodless, nonviolent revolution, King William and Queen Mary willingly gave their ruling power over to the Parliament, which represented the people.

9. Enlightenment The Glorious Revolution restored peace in England. Politically and socially, the status quo prevailed, with Protestantism, Parliamentary rule and the dominance of the landed aristocracy representing traditional values.

10. Enlightenment Reason, balance, and order permeated political and scientific theory, philosophy, and literature. This transition to order ushered in the Age of Reason’s second phase, Enlightenment.

11. Enlightenment Enlightenment refers to the philosophy prevalent in England and mainland Europe during the eighteenth century. Enlightenment emphasized: intellectual freedom human capability natural rights

12. Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment was the basis for the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This celebration of human accomplishment led to significant changes in agriculture and industry that were revolutionary.

13. Agriculture and Industry Scientific developments in agriculture led to greater productivity of food. Using horse-drawn cultivators, farmers could produce better crops. Breeding experiments resulted in larger animals. The size of the average sheep had nearly tripled and the weight of the average cow doubled.

14. However, because fewer farmers were needed to produce the same size crop, many small farmers were unable to make a living from the land. Many of these farmers and their families made their way to newly opened factories.

15. However, in the factories workers were exploited mercilessly, expected to work long hours for low pay in terrible working conditions. The housing in these factory towns were dirty, cramped and often dangerous.

16. During the Age of Reason England’s economy shifted from agricultural to industrial. Two distinct classes emerged as a result of this shift; wealthy capitalists and poor, landless laborers. Never before had there been such an extreme gap between the rich and poor.

17. Literature The literary style prevalent during the Age of Reason was Neoclassicism or “new criticism.” English writers emulated the style of Greek and Roman writers, exercising restraint, rationale, and dignity.

18. Literature Neoclassical prose and poetry were: concise orderly clear unified well-proportioned.

19. Literature Neoclassical writers wrote about public themes, such as society and human intellect, rather than private themes. They avoided emotionalism, imagination, and the expression of personal feelings.

20. Neoclassic to Romantic Toward the end of the Age of Reason, some writers began to deviate from the rigid Neoclassical style, introducing emotional expression and individualism back into literature. These writers began the transition into a new period of literature, called the Romantic Period.

21. William Blake One of these transitional poets is William Blake (1757-1827) “Poet and painter, prophet, mystic, and visionary, William Blake was so unique that critics have been tempted to consider him a mad genius, inspired but irrational. Blake’s unconventional works were so at odds with the prevailing tastes of the day that his contemporaries could not appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment.”

22. William Blake Tid-bits He was a man who kept his rich spiritual life separate from his professional life. He was revolutionary and sympathized with the American and French causes. As a dissenter of the Puritan tradition, he mistrusted religious and political institutions. Perceived the potential for dehumanization inherent in the industrial system long before that was evident.

23. William Blake Showed an affinity for art as early as ten years old when he attended drawing school in London. At 14 he began a seven year apprenticeship with a printer, his life’s trade.

24. As a poet, Blake would engrave his poetry into a metal plate with both poem and an illustration. The illustrations enrich the depth of the poems, creating opposing and complementary meanings for the poems that would not be complete without the illustrations.