1. The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century Notes
Please Copy These in Your Own Hand to Use as Notes

2. The Restoration: A Change of Mood
Time of flux
Growth of cities
Increased standards of living
A nation of readers
Aggressive market economy
Move away from agrarian, old values
Individual rights versus hierarchical values
Conflict between communities and beliefs to which everyone belonged versus new ideas and pleasures

3. In Short
People from England and Europe poured into North America to escape various persecutions and find a new life in a new land.
England was exhausted by war and disease and fire, but produced many brilliant works of philosophy, art, and literature.

4. This era has been labeled:
Augustan Age and Neoclassical period:
Likened to Rome when Emperor Augustus restored peace and order after Julius Caesar was assassinated.
England restored their king and experienced a period of calm and order after an era of political turmoil.

5. The era has also been labeled
The Enlightenment and Age of Reason
People stopped asking “Why?” questions and started asking “How?” questions: how body works and laws of the universe.
Natural phenomena explained by scientific observations.

6. Religion & Politics—Charles II
1660 (1661) – 1685 Charles II is restored and rules England
Restores the Anglican Church
1673 and 1678: The Test Acts passed in Parliament: Restricted activities of people who were not members of the Anglican church. The law required that all people holding civilian or military positions swear allegiance to the English Crown and take communion in the Church of England. (repealed between 1828 and 1871)

7. R & P (continued) Entertainment
Charles II repeals the bans on theatres
Women were allowed to act
Lavish theatrical presentations reflected the sophistication of Charles’s court
On the stage, the Comedy of Manners appealed to men and women of fashion
Several new forms of writing become common

8. R & P James II and William & Mary
James II ascend to the throne in Because he was a devout Catholic, there was great opposition. When his wife bore an heir, the hostility only increased. James II and his family fled to France in 1688 to escape the pressure and perceived violence.
James daughter, Mary ( a Protestant) and her Dutch husband, William, take the throne in a bloodless—and therefore “glorious” revolution.
Since this time, all rulers of England have been Anglican—even just in name.

9. R & P Three guys named George
George I, (r ) a German who could not speak English
George II, (r ) very loosely reigned; rather the country was run by the first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole
George III, (r ) King during the Seven Years’ War, the Revolutionary War, and the Napoleonic Wars (busy man!). He was also known to have a degenerative brain disease.

10. Additional Revolutions: Inside and Outside of England
Industrial Revolution begins with the harnessing of the power of steam
Agricultural Revolution [despite the move from the farm to the city] involved powerful new machinery linked to crop rotation, larger farms, improved transportation and an abundance of food to feed more people with fewer farms.
American Revolution 1776
French Revolution 1789

11. Religious Change
Deism: the universe is a perfect mechanism, which God had built and left to run on its own; ex: meteors aren’t a sign from God, rather God didn’t interfere in human affairs
Despite this movement, most people still held strong views of Christianity.

12. Modern English Prose:
Royal Society of London for the Promotion of Natural Knowledge
Called for exact, precise prose
Short to the point vs. their predecessors’ endless sentences
John Dryden: “founder and first true master” of modern English prose.
Note how “short and to-the-point” the title of the group is!

13. Journal writing—Daniel Defoe
Journal: is a record of events, kept daily or on a regular basis, by a person who is an eyewitness or a participant. A journal is usually less personal and intimate than a diary.
Defoe’s work is a piece of semi-fiction—perhaps based on his memories, those of his Uncle Henry, and other accounts of actual events.
His journal recounts real, and important, historical events that are expertly blended with made-up details to tell a story.
If it’s not “real” why does it matter?

14. New Writing: Journalism (for the middle Class)
Journalism and journalists included Daniel Defoe, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele: stood for middle class values—thrift, prudence, industry, and respectability.
18th C. journalists did not simply describe political and social matters; they viewed themselves as reformers of public manners and morals. They were advocates for change.

15. Keeping a Diary—Samuel Pepys
Diary: a daily, personal account of feelings, impressions, and events. Most diaries are quite intimate and written only for the owner’s private reference and pleasure.
Pepys’ diary—while not introspective—gives a first-hand account of day-to-day activities and significant events. A very useful connection to the world of Restoration-Era London.

16. Novels (literally, something new)
Long, fictional narratives were a development of the middle class. They were often broad and comical and included the adventures of handsome rogues or lower-class, but attractive, women. These tales were often told in as endless episodes through a series of letters.
This type of writing likely began with Defoe, but also included Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson, and Laurence Sterne.

17. Public Poetry & Writing: a focus on wit (intelligence)
Augustan poets used structure and specific, stylized, writing to produce poetry suitable for a certain occasion or purpose. This poetry was not “conceived in the soul” but rather “in the wit” or the intellect.
Elegies: if a grand person died, the poets would celebrate the deceased. The poet would not tell the truth about a dead person; they would only share the very best possible comments.

18. Public Poetry & Writing (continued)
Ode: an ambitious, often pompous poetic utterance expressing a public emotion such as joy at a military triumph.
Satire: writing that criticizes for the purpose of bringing about change. Satire often uses Hyperbole and Understatement to bring about its function. Oftentimes, satire is confused for simple sarcasm.

19. Poet as Prophet: John Milton
Self-described as God’s Poet, most of Milton’s works are in Latin and not English
Spent a fair portion of his career, 15 years, writing political pamphlets and not poetry.
Among his greatest works is Paradise Lost, and epic piece that rivals the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare.

20. The Age of Satire
Satire: a kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.
Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift both used satire to expose the moral corruption & crass (extreme) commercialism of 18th century England.

21. Jonathan Swift ( )
Principal prose writer of early 18th century
England’s greatest satirist
Obtained a master’s degree from Oxford
Ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland
He did not write for fame or money; most books & pamphlets were published anonymously.
Aim in writing: improve human conduct; make people more humane & decent

22. Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) Greatest poet of early eighteenth century
Despite being Roman Catholic, he made a name for himself in society
Often used Heroic Couplets
Wrote several satirical pieces—included in your text Rape of the Lock excerpt
Wrote not-so-satirical pieces—included in your text Essay on Man excerpt

23. Swift’s Works
Tale of a Tub exposes “gross corruption in religion & learning”
Gulliver’s Travels attacks different varieties of human misbehavior.
A Modest Proposal his most famous pamphlet

24. Terms:
verbal irony is a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant
situational irony contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen
dramatic irony contrast between what a character knows and what the reader or audience knows