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THE AGE OF TRANSITION
A Very Brief Introduction to the Restoration Period
Monarchs: James I (1603-1625), Charles I (1625-1649), Charles II (1660-1685), James
II (1685-1688), William III (1689-1702), Queen Anne (1702-1714).
Common Wealth: Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658), Richard Cromwell (1658-1659)
The Restoration, beginning in 1660, was preceded by great civil angst and unrest.
Tension between the puritans and the crown grew until civil war broke out in 1642, King
Charles I surrendered in 1646 and was beheaded by his people in 1649. There existed no
working monarchy in England for the first time in the country’s history. Oliver
Cromwell placed himself in control as the Interregnum, basically a dictator. However,
his death and his son, Richard’s, unsuccessful reign compelled the people to bring back
Charles’s son, Charles II, from his exile in France and restore him to the throne in 1660.
The reign of Charles II marks the beginning of the Restoration Period. Charles II
managed to balance power between the crown and the aristocracy. Charles II’s rule was
followed by the short reign of his son James II and the Restoration concludes with the
beginning of the reign of Queen Anne starting May 1, 1707. The end of Queen Anne’s
reign also denotes the end of the Stuart line.
So what is Neoclassicism?
Neoclassicism sounds incredibly fancy, but in reality it is simply founded upon the
domination of reason, which the later Romantic period counters against. Often the
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Neoclassic movement is also called the Enlightenment, both occur during the
Restoration. Neoclassic aesthetic principles include:

classical models of literature – Augustan age, Virgil, Homer

classical literary genres – odes, pastorals, epics

classical art – art and literature should instruct and delight
So, as demonstrated above, you now should be able to see the basics of neoclassicism –
the new (or revival of) classics.
Some Neoclassic beliefs:

Reason is the godlike part of the human.

Reason must be practical, not speculative.

Individuals must follow the via media (middle way).

Literature must reflect human behavior in the real world.

Passion must be restrained by reason.
Neoclassicism represents a reaction against the optimistic, exuberant and enthusiastic
Renaissance view of man as being fundamentally good and possessing an infinite
potential for spiritual growth. An excellent literary example of the rebellion against these
theological Renaissance ideals is found in Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress.
When studying the neoclassical writers you must keep in mind that these authors
have survived through Cromwell and the upheaval of the monarchy. Much of
Cromwell’s political success was gained through his incredible use of the English
Language; therefore many who came after him saw the need to eliminate unbridled
passionate language. In many ways a comparison can be drawn between Cromwell’s use
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of language, and that of Adolf Hitler’s (of the German Third Reich), both using language
in order to gain influential power over a people.
Within literature neoclassical writers were expected to follow approved guidelines
for writing i.e. kings spoke in blank verse, and other such guidelines. Playwrights
followed the three unities, used real life decorum (women refrained from politics and
arguing with men), and perceived nature as permanent and not in a state of flux.
Neoclassical writers also believed that all literary artists should seek for universals, not
specifics. A writer would search for what essentially makes us all the same, not what
creates us individually and sets us apart – this is a romantic notion which we will delve
into later. The neoclassic are also characterized by their passion for classification. The
best, and possibly most important, example of classification is the Great Chain of Being
(see diagram 1).
Romanticism and the End of the Century
In general, Romanticism refers to several groups of artist, poets and writers as
well as politicians, and philosophers. Romanticism emphasized intuition, imagination,
feelings, and passion, the very ideals which the Enlightenment, and neoclassicism,
rejected. Romanticism rejects the philosophy, theology, and values of the earlier part of
the century, which stressed reason and logic which guarded passion. Instead the
Romantics asserted reliance upon emotion and natural passions to provide a guide for the
individual in life. Imagination and fancy also became prevalent themes in Romantic
literature, as seen in The Monk and The Rivals. Romantic principles:

Emphasized emotion
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Emphasized trepidation, horror, and awe
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Elevated folk art and customs
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Legitimized the individual imagination
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Permitted freedom from the classical notions of art
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Included “art for art’s sake”, no longer a need for didacticism in art
The Romantic period was strongly influenced by the ideals of elevated medievalism. The
very term “romantic” originates from the term “romance” which is a prose or poetic
narrative originating in medieval litaerature, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
and the Chanson de Roland.
Now that you know what Romanticism and Neoclassicism are, how do you tell the
difference?
One of the simplest ways to tell the difference between the neoclassical period
and the Romantic period would be to imagine a garden. Stay with me on this one. After
what you have now learned about neoclassicism how would you describe a neoclassical
garden? Neatly trimmed, containing only useful decorative plants, every weed
meticulously uprooted, geometrical design to every tree and flower (including the design
of the garden), shrubbery pruned into geometric shapes, and the exterior of the garden
surrounded by walls with Greco-Roman columns that are clean white marble with
straight lines. Ok, now what does the Romantic garden look like? Wild ivy flowing
about the grounds, rough hewn walls, fruit trees, flowers growing rather widely in
random patterns, the garden might look like a ruin taken over by nature.
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Hang on to those images. To neoclassicism nature was to be tamed and shaped
according to the rules of human logic, therefore the gardens were carefully designed and
plotted in a logical manner. In a Romantic garden, in contrast, nature was considered
something larger than humanity, and the passions which it inspired considered healthier
than the faint hearted passions originating from falsely imposed human design.
This imagery of the gardens can also be applied to the literature stemming form
these periods as well. Neoclassical literature is very planned, logical, and didactic. In
many cases, the Greco-roman influences can easily be found, just as the Greco-roman
columns could easily be seen in their gardens (Pope’s poetry, and Swifts Modest
Proposal demonstrate these sentiments completely). Romantic literature, especially in
the beginning, roamed free often meandering from the original plot, and focused less on
the logical solutions than on the passions which resonate within each plot (The Monk, and
The Castle of Otronto are perfect examples of this).
The Great Chain of Being
God
Angels
Humans
Animals & animals ranks. Begins with the Lion
ends with the Snake
Plants
Inanimate objects
Diagram 1
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Novels
With the eighteenth century came the rise of the middle class, and also the rise of
the novel. Now which came first? Well that’s on par with “the chicken and the egg”
question, but what really matters is that in the eighteenth century was the emergence of
both. This issue can be delved into through further study and research, however, due to
the brief time allotted for this particular class this in depth discussion will be omitted,
though students are more than welcome to further pursue the issue on their own, perhaps
as a seminar paper. Though this class only allows for the assignment of two long works
I have suggested some other works for students to read in conjunction with the assigned
works, as they enhance the reading of the long works and other works included on the
assigned reading list. However, I must note that the suggested works are not required for
the course, only recommended to enhance your study of The Age of Transition. I have
not assigned a “neoclassical” novel for the long work section, as I believe that the essays
and poetry of the neoclassical era that I have chosen will suffice to help the student
develop a firmer understanding of neoclassical literature as well as the Restoration era.
Tom Jones – Henry Fielding (1749)
Tom Jones depicts the movement from neoclassical thinking towards the
sentimental ideology through Fielding’s use of neoclassical elements combined with a
romantic hero. Fielding utilizes many neoclassical sources in Tom Jones: mock epic,
invocation to the muses, epic similes, epic battles, and satire to name a few. Fielding
creates a strict structure for this work, eighteen books, the first six in the country, the
second six on the road, and the final six in London. The character Jenny Jones appears in
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all three sections, along with Black George further emphasizing Fielding’s structure in
the work. Fielding further roots his work in the neoclassical tradition through his
intrusive narrator, who constantly reminds the readers that he is writing this tale and that
he is making this tale up, and guides the reader’s reactions to Tom’s actions within the
story.
At the same time Fielding sets up his neoclassic tale, he undermines these
neoclassical elements with his romantic hero, Tom who has a mysterious ancestry, is
gallant, brave, adventurous, and always rescues the damsel in distress, all typically
romantic traditions. However, the narrator’s constant interruptions to remind the reader
that he is writing this story disrupt the imagination and keep the readers from becoming
totally engrossed in the tale. These interruptions keep the reader grounded in the
neoclassical aesthetics of the work, rather than allowing them to become lost in the
romance of Tom’s quest.
Suggested reading with Tom Jones:

Richardson’s Pamela not only has parallelisms with Tom Jones, but also with The
Rivals with the theme of virtue rewarded.
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Hogarth’s “Marriage A’la Mode” provides a visual depiction of marriage during
the eighteenth century through a series of paintings. These painting bring up
many important societal issues of Hogarth’s time: marriage as a mercantile act,
which lead to many problems on its own, infidelity in marriage, sexually
transmitted diseases (especially syphilis) are all issues depicted within Hogarth’s
paintings. Similar issues arise in Tom Jones, and Pamela.
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John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress, depicts neoclassical theology, especially the
neoclassic concern with pride as one of the most serious vices.
The Monk – Matthew “Monk” Lewis (1796)
The Monk best remembered for being one of the more lurid and transgressive of
the Gothic novels deviating entirely from neoclassicism, and completely focusing on the
romantic gothic tradition. Lewis introduces gothic characteristics such as, demonic pacts,
rape, incest, and such props as the Wandering Jew, ruined castles, and the Spanish
Inquisition. The Monk serves comparatively as a compendium of Gothic taste.
Lewis’s work takes the tradition of the Gothic Romance, started by Horace Walpole, and
amplifies it to the extreme of terror. Every page in this work is terrific, making it an
incredibly, painfully enjoyable work. This work sets up gothic literature and horror, as
our modern day society recognizes it.
In The Monk Lewis creates the first horror novel which paves the way for
Frankenstein and the future of science fiction which plays off of the modern fear of the
technologically unknown – what technology is capable of doing. This fear became
extremely prevalent after the introduction of technology to war in World War I.
Suggested Reading with The Monk:

The Castle of Otronto – Walpole paves the way for the gothic tradition, the term
gothic Walpole originally used as meaning medieval.

1984 – George Orwell.
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Essays
Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift (1729)
This essay provides a great example of satire and reveals the history to what was
happening during this time period in England and Ireland. Swift composed this essay as
an attack on the indifference of landlords to the state of their tenants and on political
economists’ calculating schemes to raise tax income, the essay contains scathing
comments about the state of the poor and their landlords.
Satire is used by Swift to ridicule what he felt were illogical errors in the
government. This is especially seen in Modest Proposal in which Swift deals with the
issues of overpopulation and lack of funding in Ireland. In his satire he grotesquely, yet
humorously, finds solutions to both problems. Every solution Swift proposes is
meticulously backed by calculation and research, making his case, according to
neoclassic tradition, infallible – except for the complete lack of morality. This work is
considered one of the greatest representations of sustained irony in the history of the
English Language.
From Pope [Pope’s intellectual character. Pope and Dryden compared] – Samuel
Johnson (1781)
Johnson is one of the first critics to try to provide an objective and balanced
comparison on authors. In this essay Johnson compares Pope and Dryden two of his
period’s most influential poets (both of whom have been selected for the poetry section of
this text). Johnson provides logical evidence and metaphors for his arguments on both
authors. He praises Pope for his neoclassical attitudes and ideas. Johnson’s own
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meticulous balancing of his prospective on each of the authors in discussion is
neoclassical in itself. Johnson attempts to logically discern the strengths and weaknesses
of each author.
Restoration Theater
The theaters, closed by the puritans under the rule of Cromwell, reopened with the
restoration of Charles II to the throne of England. Therefore, during the Restoration
period there are large amounts of plays being written, arguably, many of which are
insignificant. However, the two plays selected for this text serve to help iterate the
classifications of the neoclassical and romantic/sentimental theater. The theater further
developed with the traditional influence of Shakespeare (Shakespearian, neoclassical)
towards the more Romantic theater of Johnson (Johnsonian theater, Romantic /
sentimental).
The London Merchant – Lilo (1731)
Honesty of the individual and honest merchants reveal neoclassic beliefs and
work ethics portrayed within the play. These are ideas primarily rooted in the novel,
however The London Merchant additionally depicts the rise of the middle class. The best
example of the power of the middle/merchant class in this play is found at the opening of
the play with Thoroughgood declaring that the merchants have saved England.
The London Merchant introduces Millwood as one of literatures most malevolent,
and marvelous female villains to date and she is a prime example of the femme fatale.
Introducing Millwood in the play also introduces the reoccurring neoclassic debate of
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reason versus passion; this is the battle Barnwell fights throughout the play with his
feeble resistance of Millwood. The debate of reason versus passion is further, and more
clearly depicted in Alexander Pope’s (whom you may recognize from Dan Brown’s Da
Vinci Code as A. Pope) poetry which will be discussed later on in this introduction.
The Rivals – Sheridan (1775)
The Rivals actually teeters on the cusp on the neoclassic tradition and the
romantic tradition. Lydia is often given to flights of fancy and romantic thoughts, yet the
play remains firmly rooted in the neoclassic tradition with a moralistic ending, virtue
rewarded (as in Pamela) and (mostly) logical actions of the characters, especially Julia.
This play works as a very early example of the beginnings of the sentimental/romantic
tradition in literature; illustrating the movement away from the neoclassical tradition.
Suggested Reading for The Rivals

If you enjoy this play, you may also enjoy The Country Wife by Steele
Poetry
Neoclassical Poetry
Neoclassical poetry is typified by Pope and Dryden; both attempted to create
perfect regularity in their meter.
“Essay on Criticism” – Alexander Pope (1711)
“Essay on Man” – Alexander Pope (1733)
“Rape of the Lock” – Alexander Pope (1714)
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Pope is the neoclassical poet, master of metrics, language and often witty satire.
Pope’s poetry depicts neoclassical ideas and attitudes throughout his poetry. Pope was
well known for being an extremely careful poet often reworking his poems for years
before ever allowing them to be published. The poetry of Pope often focuses on the
search for universals and transcending the moment.
Pope’s “Essay on Criticism” expresses the principles for criticism and style,
focusing on wit, nature, rules, genius and the ancients. Wit takes on different meanings
depending on its placement within the poem, requiring careful attention by the reader.
Pope introduces the idea of learned versus natural talent. His examples being
Shakespeare and Milton; Shakespeare is the natural talent and Milton is the learned
talent. Pope was an avid Milton fan, therefore we can derive that Pope valued learned
talent over natural talent. Pope also focuses on what a good poet should do in his poetry
to follow in the ways of the ancients. Each suggestion Pope gives he also applies in the
same sentence in which he writes of it. Pope is being a little cheeky at this point.
“Essay on Man” can partially be summed up in one phrase “know thy self” but this
phrase, no matter how redundant it may seem in the poem, is extraordinarily important,
not only in Pope’s poetry, but also to the neoclassicists. “Essay on Man” presents many
of the neoclassical ideas such as tabula rasa, the doctrine of plenty, pride as man’s
greatest fallacy, and most importantly the debate of reason versus passion. Reason versus
passion, is probably the best way to describe the philosophy of neoclassicism. Man must
keep his passions in check through his reason or else passion will take over because
passion, not reason is the motivating force of all our actions. Reason keeps your self love
in check, though it requires a significant amount of practice. For example, you see a
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chocolate covered doughnut and think “boy that would really be good with my tea, but I
don’t really need it” this is your reason kicking in over your self love. Now depending on
how strong your reason is you may walk away from the chocolate covered doughnut, or if
you are like me you’ll eat it. Inner conflict is basically what Pope addresses in most of
“Essay on Man” however, unlike the doughnut scenario Pope would say that man must
walk away from the doughnut, and through practice ultimately man’s reason will be
stronger than his passion/self love.
“Rape of the Lock” has been included because it creates a great contrast to the
other two poems by Pope and also demonstrates some of Pope’s humor and wit.
“Absalom and Achitophel” – Dryden (1681)
Dryden utilizes the Old Testament story of Absalom in order to portray political
movements during the restoration. The character David symbolizes Charles II, Absalom
is James Scott of Monmouth, and Achitophel is Shaftesbury. This poem depicts Charles
II’s balance of power during the restoration, neoclassical sentiments of logic and reason
in ruling the country rather than passion and swift action. Charles II requested that
Dryden compose a poem to diffuse Monmouth’s motivations among the people. The
very idea that the King of England would request a political poem be composed to
explain the actions of the prince represents the power of poetry on the society of the
Restoration. The fact that King requested this poem be composed would allude to the
historical accuracy of the poem, at least from the King’s perspective, which in return
provides a window for the modern scholar to look back through and catch a glimpse of
the politics of the Restoration.
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Suggested Neoclassical Poets

Jonathan Swift “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift”
Romantic Poetry
“Winter” – James Thomson (1726 & 1746)
Thomson represents an odd mixture of neoclassical elements and the new poets of
romanticism. “Winter” in particular depicts many breakthroughs in eighteenth century
poetry. Thomson’s poetry has traces of influence of the beginning of the Graveyard
poetry movement.
“The Imperfect Enjoyment” – Rochester (1680)
“The Disappointment” – Aphra Behn (1680)
Rochester and Behn show that even with all of the strong neoclassical movements
the ideas of libertinism were still alive but with Behn given a slight twist in perspective.
Rochester depicts the typical libertine poem though more risqué than many poems even
from the height of libertinism. Behn switches the voice of the poem by having the
prospective of a woman. Behn’s poem is composed in response to Rochester, so these
poems should be read and discussed together.
Suggested Romantic Poets

John Keats “Cristabel,” “Ode to a Nightingale”

Christina Rossetti “Goblin Market,” “In an Artists Studio”
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
Dante Gabriele Rossetti “The House of Life,” The Burden of Nineveh”
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Alfred Tennyson “Lady of Shallot,” “Ulysses”
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William Morris “The Defense of Guenevere,” “The Haystack in the Floods”
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William Wordsworth “ The Thorn,” “Michael”
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Lord Byron “She Walks in Beauty,” “Manfred”
Concluding Remarks
This selection of long works, essays, plays and poetry should provide a balanced
yet enjoyable introduction to the age of transition, transition from the Restoration
Age/Enlightenment to the Romantic/Sentimental Age. Every work chosen has been
meticulously reviewed in order to ensure the student and teacher that the selection is
relevant, and important to understanding the literary developments and transitions of the
eighteenth century.