RESTORATION PERIOD
(1660-1798)
Moazzam Ali
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Literature produced in Restoration Period is also
known as:
The Augustan Age,
The Neoclassical Period,
The Enlightenment, and
The Age of Reason
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Restoration literature is the English literature written during the
historical period commonly referred to as the English
Restoration (1660–1689). Some literary historians divide this
literary movement in three parts:
The Restoration Age (1660-1700) introducing the comedy of manner
(a play about the manners and conventions of a highly sophisticated
aristocratic society.)
The Augustan Age (1700-1750) introducing poetry of personal
exploration, and serious development of the novel, melodrama, and
satire.
The Age of Johnson (1750- 1798) or the Age of Sensibility was a
transitional period between Neo-Classicism and Romanticism
introducing contrary to Age of Reason (Neo-Classicism) emotional
quality.
Political History-I
The period begins with the RESTORATION of the
Monarchy in 1660
 bringing Charles II from his exile in France.
 He brings with him the indulgent and artistic ways of
Louis XIV’s court
 Two distinct political parties resulted, the Whigs and
the Tories
a. Whigs wanted to limit royal authority
b. Tories supported absolute royal authority
James II (brother of Charles II) takes the throne and is
voted out by Parliament due to his highly Catholic ways.
 The Glorious or Bloodless Revolution is a reference to
the lack of violence needed to change the throne from
Catholic James II to his protestant daughter Mary and
her husband William.
 Shortly after James II’s abdication of the throne:
a. Bill of Rights limiting the power of the King.
b. Parliament passed an act forbidding Catholics to
rule.
George I of Hanover Germany took the throne in 1714 when his cousin
Anne, daughter of William and Mary, died ending the rule of the
Stuarts and beginning the rule of the House of Hanover.
1. George I and his son George II did NOT speak English and relied
heavily on their advisors establishing the role of England’s first Prime
Ministers. Richard Walpole for George I and William Pitt for
George II .
2. Under George I and George II and their Prime Ministers, the
British thrived winning the Seven Years War (aka The French and
Indian War) and adding French Canada and India to the Empire.
In 1760, George III became the first British born
Hanover monarch although he was less effective
than his father and grandfather.
Because his English was reliable, he used his Prime
Minister less and is held responsible for the loss of
the American Colonies
Why to name it as Augustan &
Neoclassical Period
Similarities in Political History
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The title of The Augustan Period refers to similarities between
England at this time and Rome during the reign of Caesar Augustus,
also known as Ocatvius (63 BC-14 AD).
Octavius ruled in the time after Julius Caesar’s assassination. He
restored order and peace to the people of Rome and is often
classified as its second founder.
In a similar way, Charles II is taken from exile in France and restored
England. He reopened playhouses, brought back a formal court, and
had the body of Oliver Cromwell exhumed and decapitated.
Why to name it as Augustan &
Neoclassical Period
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Similarities in literary History
Most educated people of the time are familiar with
the classical works as well as the works of their own
time and country and found enjoyment in their
connection.
They enjoyed allusions to the political connections of
the time periods and references to the classical
characters and themes.
Works emphasizing these similarities are labeled
“neoclassical” meaning “new classics.”
Why to name it as Age of Reason &
The Enlightenment Period
This period is known as The Age of Reason and The Enlightenment because
of the country’s shift from an emotional approach to thinking to an
educational and factual one.
A. The Industrial Revolution plus advances in science research and
mathematics influence all aspects of British thought including the literature.
B. People no longer believed in signs and vast punishments from God (ie.
The London Fire and Plague), but begin to turn to science and order. They
begin asking “how” instead of “why.”
C. The writing content, style, and order of scientists spill over into all of
literature as sentences are shortened with the allusions and extended
metaphors of their predecessors.
THEMES: Superiority of the Intellect
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The philosophers claimed that humans have the ability to
perfect themselves and society and that the state has the
potential to be an instrument of that progress. Part of their
criticism of the existing government was that it impeded such
progress in its refusal to surrender power or resources to the
people so that they could take control of their lives. The
philosophers lamented the social conditions of contemporary
England and France, but they remained confident that its
people could attain happiness and improve living standards.
Armed with these concepts and fortified by science and
reason, the philosophers attacked Christian tradition and
dogma, denouncing religious persecution and championing
the idea of religious tolerance.
THEMES: Superiority of the Intellect
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At the center of the belief in the superiority of the
intellect was the Enlightenment reaction against
traditional authority, namely the Church and the ruling
class. The philosophers claimed that rather than depend
on these authorities for physical, spiritual, and
intellectual needs, individuals could provide for
themselves such needs. By using their minds and
demanding morality of themselves and others, people
could actually change their realities for the better. This
idea is evident in Rousseau’s The Social Contract and in
the Declaration of Independence.
THEMES: Basic Goodness of Humankind
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The philosophers maintained that people were innately good and
that society and civilization were to blame for their corruption.
Because people are good, they are fully capable of ruling
themselves and collectively working toward the welfare of all.
Rousseau asserts this in The Social Contract, as he explains that
despite individual differences and priorities, people as a whole will
make decisions for the common good. In Emile, Rousseau applies this
idea to the education of a child, demonstrating that the purpose of
education is not to correct a child or mold the child to exhibit a
certain set of characteristics but rather to draw out the child’s unique
gifts and goodness. Not all Enlightenment writers emphasized man’s
inherent goodness, however; in Candide, Voltaire provides numerous
examples of humanity’s cruelty and abuse of power. Once the
characters are living peacefully on a farm (outside of civilization),
they seem to be less violent, but the theme of humankind’s goodness
is diminished here.
THEMES: Deism
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Deism is a religious belief system that emphasizes morality,
virtuous living, and the perception of a creative but uninvolved
God. Deists believe in God but reject the supernatural,
including the New Testament miracles and resurrection of
Christ. They reject the idea that God is active in people’s daily
lives, instead claiming that God created the world but is now
distant.
This view of God directly contradicts the view of Catholic and
Protestant religions. The philosophers were particularly
incensed by the Roman Catholic Church, which they perceived
as too restrictive and dominant.
The period is marked by the rise of Deism, intellectual
backlash against earlier Puritanism and American’s revolution
against England.
THEMES: Deism
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As deists, the philosophers were uninterested in life
after death. They maintained that people should
spend their time and energy improving this life, and
they advocated pursuing worldly happiness and
contentment. Diderot addresses these ideas in the
Encyclopedia, and they are implied in the Preamble
to the Declaration of Independence, which states
that among a person’s unalienable rights are ‘‘life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’’
STYLE: Rhetoric
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Over the course of the Enlightenment, there existed two
clearly opposing schools of thought concerning rhetoric. The
traditions of the Renaissance, largely influenced by the
works of Peter Ramus, held over into the early part of the
movement. Ramus attacked Aristotle’s view that rhetoric and
dialect should be integrated, indicating that, though they
may have been used in conjunction in the past, they should
be disengaged. Ramus advocated a linear style, bereft of
embellishment, so that scientific and philosophical writings
might be better representations of truth. This straightforward
approach adhered naturally to the rational thought and
methodical observation promoted by the Enlightenment.
However, while this rhetorical convention was becoming less
popular, another was quickly gaining ground.
STYLE: Rhetoric
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Near the end of the Enlightenment, the Belletristic
Movement was in full swing. Works such as Lectures on
Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783), by Hugh Blair, and
Philosophy of Rhetoric (1776), by George Campbell,
were published. Both authors embraced the idea of
using eloquence, beauty, and emotion to allow one to
communicate, with the most advantage, to his or her
audience. The word belletristic comes from belles-lettres
(French for literature), which is literature that is
appreciated not just for its content but for its beauty as
well.
STYLE: Satire
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Although there are few stylistic consistencies among works of
this age, the fiction of the period is almost always satirical.
Satire is an indirect way of commenting on social or political
issues. Satire reveals how people and things are not what
they seem on the surface, and readers can often identify
what aspect of society is being ridiculed. Satire allowed the
philosophers to get some of their writing past government
censors despite its harsh criticism of the status quo. The
number of censors increased in France during the
Enlightenment because of the radical new ideas being put
forth. When writers used satire, however, censors either
missed the point of the writing or were unable to make a
convincing case for suppressing it.
STYLE: Satire
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Satire also served as a witty way to criticize.
Enlightenment writers were often clever and sarcastic,
and their work tended to attract an intelligent
readership. A common satirical technique was to create
a character that was a stranger to a country. Because
the character is naive and unfamiliar with the local
society, the character may be confused by that society
or find fault with it. These characters were generally
ignorant or silly, making their faultfinding seem equally
ignorant or silly. The satiric irony, however, is that the
character is the author’s mouthpiece for pointing out the
absurd and unjust in his society
Characteristics of the Age
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With people generally looking more closely at the part they played in
society, the main themes of the Neoclassical period were restraint and
order. Each person was expected to do what was “proper” and to show
that he or she had good taste, the idea being that, given the flawed nature
of mankind, putting some limits on what someone said or did was better
than trying and failing at the outrageous. It became very important to
prove that someone had a decent level of intelligence. Writers often used
their works not only to express rules about etiquette and decorum, but also
to demonstrate brilliant skills of wit. Other characteristics of the age
include:
Imitation of classical form
Artificial and aristocratic society
Sophisticated behaviour
Style is polite, urbane, and witty
Instructive and entertaining
Restraint in passion and personal expression
Ideals: order, logic, accuracy, "correctness," decorum
Popular Genre
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The emphasis on order, reason, etiquette and wit made
certain styles of literature more popular than others. Diaries,
essays, letters and first person narratives were extremely
successful, because they concentrated on what a single
person thought or accomplished, which was in line with the
Neoclassical idea of analyzing and reforming a person’s
social role. Moral fables were a favorite, as well, as were
parodies and burlesques. Novels in various styles developed
rapidly, becoming a main entertainment for women in the
home. The rhymed couplet — specifically, the heroic couplet
— dominated poetry, and in the theater, audiences flocked
to sentimental comedies, comedies of manners and heroic
dramas.
Representative Writers
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One of the most influential Neoclassical writers was
John Milton (1608 - 1674), author of the epic
poem, Paradise Lost. Much of his work reflects the
political issues England and other countries faced. John
Drydon (1631 - 1700), also called “Glorious John,” was
also a major force during Restoration, working on both
plays and poetry to such a degree that the entire first
section of the period sometimes is called “the Age of
Drydon.” Two of his most famous works are
To My Lord Chancellor and Marriage a la Mode.
Representative Writers
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Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744) was an
Augustan poet. He made money translating major
works, such as The Iliad, but soon established himself
with his own pieces. His Pastorals and An Essay on
Criticism are probably the best known of his
writings, and scholars recognize him for his
command of the heroic couplet.
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For satire, the champion of the period was
Johnathon Swift (1667 - 1745). Although he wrote
both poetry and prose, he is best known for the
latter. Many of his works were originally published
under pseudonyms, including M.B. Dapier and Isaac
Bickerstaff. He is the author of the well-known
novel, Gulliver’s Travels.
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Along with Samuel Richardson, Daniel Defoe (1660
- 1731) was one of the leading pioneers in the
development of the English novel. He is notable not
only for the content of his works, but also because
of the sheer number of them — some experts say
at least 500 different pamphlets, books and other
writings are Defoe’s. Perhaps the one out of all of
these that people still know well today is Robinson
Crusoe. His political writings brought trouble at
times, with Defoe even spending some time in
prison.
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Experts usually see Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
as the last great writer of the Neoclassical period in
literature. His major contribution is A Dictionary of
the English Language, which people used for well
over a century. Although the Oxford English
Dictionary eventually replaced it, Johnson's
dictionary was a major accomplishment in the
development and standardization of English.