1. Restoration to Romantic

2. Transition from Renaissance
Continue to see a belief in bettering themselves and the world in which they live.
Movement to maintain social and political order
Continue to see an idea of fate and how men’s choices help determine their destiny

3. Restoration
Was known as the restoration because during this time the king was restored to the throne and monarchy restored to the thrown.
Charles II takes over.
Best known for establishing the Royal Society of London, promoted scientific research and advancement
Thinkers promoted logical approaches to issues, supported status quo, & promoted support of authority figures

4. Restoration Problems Great Plague of 1665 – 68,000 dead
Great Fire of 1666 – consumed 13,000 houses, 400 streets, & almost 90 churches
Growth of middle class that will split parliament
Little monarchy control by the end of the 1600s

5. Industrial Revolution
Goods are now produced in factories.
Scientific and technological advances: steam engine, development of vaccines, the telescope, geometry, and calculus etc.
Men could unravel the mystery of the universe
Brought God down from the Heavens and elevated men closer to God

6. Labeled as:
Age of Reason: Anything could be achieved. People stopped asking “why” and started asking “how”
Neoclassical Age: Marked by a fascination with classical styles of Ancient Greece and Rome – focused on order, balance & harmony
Age of Elegance: upper classes led an elegant lifestyle – very extravagant
Augustin Age: Reference to Emperor Augustus when literature and commerce thrived in Rome
2 literary periods: Pope and Johnson

7. Literary Achievements
First English dictionary
England’s first magazines
Satirical poems and essays
Historical, political, and philosophical writings
Literary criticism
Development of the novel

8. Close of the Restoration
Cool approach changes with volatile world around them
Three revolutions: American, French, & Industrial
More defined middle class
Literate
Political power
Vocal about concerns and opinions

9. The Romantic Era
Begins in 1798 with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and ends with the death of Sir Walter Scott and the passing of the First Reform Bill.
Romanticism is not love; it is an idea. Described as emotion over reason, heart over head, a sense of mystery of the universe and its beauty.

10. History
French Revolution – Napolean – revolution turns into tyranny and political uneasiness
Fear spreads to England – government starts locking down on its people and their freedoms
Industrial Revolution produces urban growth, but also the exploitation of the working class

11. Writers
Deeply affected by the promise and disappointment of the French Revolution and the downside to the Industrial Revolution
Ideas become the main literary concerns of the time period.

12. Characteristics
Emotion over Reason – believed literature should appeal to the heart, emotion and imagination. Literature was to be personal and private.
Interest in Nature – used as place for inspiration, place for meditation, and resolution to a problem

13. Characteristics Cont.
Rebellion against tyranny – detested the destruction of the natural world and the mistreatment of the poor by the new wealthy order.
Common over the elite – glorified the common man and wrote in a common tongue
Supernaturalism – fantastic dream worlds with an interest in ancient legends, faraway places and the dark areas of one’s own mind – the realm of mystery and magic

14. The Gothic Novel
Romantic writing that highlights isolated or ominous locales; large, rambling structures; implied danger to isolated or vulnerable characters; and horrific distress or menace, such as mysterious disappearances or deaths, supernatural manifestations, omens, unexplained events, or an atmosphere of terror and suspense.