Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The period from 1660 to 1700 is known as the Restoration Age of English Literature. King Charles II came out of exile and was restored in 1660 to reinstall the monarchy in England. The change of government from Commonwealth to Kingship brought a huge change in the mood of the nation. The effect of Puritanism was receding while England was cherishing the Renaissance delight. This period is also known as the Age of Dryden because John Dryden was the most influential or representative writer of this period.
The religious zeal of Puritanism was weakening as the society, in general, was accepting a more rational and realistic approach. The two main events of this period include the establishment of the Royal Society of England which ensured the rapid development of science. The establishment of the Royal Society was a landmark in the history of England. Interest in science began to grow. The growing interest in science caused the beginning of rational inquiry and a scientific and objective outlook. Objectivity, rationality, and intellectual quality also enlivened the literature of this period. The other event that defined the restoration age was the Great Fire of London which was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday, 2 September to Thursday, 6 September 1666. The Restoration of Charles II brought about a revolutionary change in life and literature. The instincts which were suppressed during the previous era came to violent excesses. The King had many mistresses and numerous children. He was surrounded by corrupt and degenerate ministers. Profligacy was glorified in the royal court. Corruption was rampant in all walks of life. The Great Fire of 1665 and the Plague that followed, both were popularly regarded as suitable punishments for the sins of the profligate and selfish King. While London was burning and the people were suffering, the King and his nobles kept up their revels. The beginning of the Restoration began the process of social transformation. The atmosphere of gaiety and cheerfulness, of licentiousness and moral laxity, was restored. The theatres were reopened. There was a stern reaction against the morality of the Puritans. Morality was on the wane. There was laxity everywhere in life. All these tendencies of the age are reflected in the literature of the period.
English Literature had influences from Roman and Greek literature during the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Puritan eras. However, during the Restoration Age, the French influence was predominant because the King had spent the period of his exile in France. The French manners and fashion spread from the court to the aristocracy. It also influenced contemporary literature.
Religious and Political Conflicts
During the years of Charles I, the two political factions were the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. During the age of Restoration, the Whigs and the Tories came forth as the two major political factions. While the Whigs followed the footsteps of Parliamentarians and openly supported the calls of limiting the monarchial powers in the interest of the people and the Parliament, the Tories supported the Divine Right theory of the King and strove to restrain the powers of the people in the interest of the hereditary rulers. These two political forces affected literal works. Prominent literary figures either supported Whigs or Tories through their works. John Dryden was a Tory. During the period of Oliver Cromwell, Puritans enjoyed power after the Restoration. The supporters of the Puritan regime were fanatically persecuted. The nation was predominantly Protestant and the Catholics were unduly harassed. The religion of the King himself was suspect. His brother James was a Papist (Roman Catholic). As Charles II had no legitimate heir, it was certain that after him his brother James, a Catholic, would succeed to the throne. Efforts were made to exclude James from the throne. The King sided with his brother and he removed all obstacles to the accession of James. Dryden‘s famous poem Absalom and Achitophel reflects these religious and political conflicts of the day.
James II ascended the throne in 1685. He soon revealed his Roman Catholic prejudices and he secretly tried to establish Catholicism in the country. He became unpopular within three years and the whole nation rose against him. The bloodless revolution of 1688 called the Protestant William and Mary of Orange to the throne. The country was once again restored to health and sanity. These deep and vigorous movements brought about certain changes in the inner social life. With the revival of factions and parties and the excitement caused by the Popish Plot, a quality of force and ardor revived in civic feelings, so that the tone of literature and social life is somewhat modified. With the political and moral transformation which began in 1688, the very Keynote of English literature, as of English life, was greatly changed. The literature of the Restoration age was starkly different from the literature of the past that enthusiastically supported individual heroism. During the age of Restoration Individual enthusiasm was discouraged while ideals of conduct under reason and common sense, to which all men should adapt themselves were promoted. The writers, both in prose and poetry, tacitly agreed upon the rules and principles by which they should write. Rules and literary conventions became more important than the depth and seriousness of the subject matter to the writers of this period. They express superficial manners and customs of the aristocratic and urban society and did not pry into the mysteries of the human mind and heart. The authors of the period were not endowed with exceptional literary talents. So they turned to the ancient writers, in particular, the Latin writers, for guidance and inspiration. It was generally believed that the ancients had reached the acme of excellence and the modern poets could do no better than model their writings on the classics. Thus grew the neo-classical school of poetry. The neo-classicists or pseudo-classicists could not soar to great imaginative heights or could not penetrate deeply into human emotions. They directed their attention to the slavish imitation of rules and ignored the importance of the subject matter. This habit was noticeable in the age of Dryden. It strengthened in the succeeding the age of Pope.
The literature during the age of Restoration was realistic. It was very much concerned with life in London, and with details of dress, fashions, and manners. The early restoration writers wrote about corrupt courts and society, emphasized vices rather than virtues, and gave us coarse, low plays without interest or moral significance. 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.
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