The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century,
1660 – 1800
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There are seven groups of people in English Society.
The Great, who live profusely.
The Rich, who live very plentifully.
The Middle Sort, who live well.
The Working Trades, who labor hard, but feel no want
The Country People, Farmers, etc., who fare
indifferently
The Poor, that fare hard.
The Miserable, that really pinch and suffer want.
-Daniel Defoe
Literary
Events during the Restoration
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1660 – 1669 Moilere’s The Misanthrope, 1666
First appearance of actresses on stage
Samuel Pepys’ diary, 1660
1670 - 1689 Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko (slave novel)
Basho’s haiku poetry in Japan
John Dryden’s All for Love or The World Well Lost, 1678
John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1678 & 1684
1690-1709 Addison and Steele’s The Tatler, 1709 & The Spectator, 1711
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz’s Respuesta a Sor Filotea, 1691
(reply to Sister Philotea’s defense of women’s intellect)
1610 – 1739 Jonathan Swift publishes A Modest Proposal, 1729;
Gulliver’s Travels, 1726
Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, 1719
Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, 1712
Literary Events during the Restoration, p. 2
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1740 – 1764 Voltaire publishes Candide, 1759
Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language,
1755
Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”,
1751
Samuel Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, 1740
1765 – 1779 Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, 1773; and
in London Religious and Moral, 1773
Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, 1776
1780 – 1800 Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads, 1798
Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman, 1792
James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791
Olaudah Equiano publishes his autobiography, 1789
Literary Events during the Restoration, p. 3
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1765 – 1779 Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects,
1773; and in London Religious and Moral,
1773
Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield,
1776
1780 – 1800 Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads,
1798
Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the
Rights of Woman, 1792
James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson,
1791
Olaudah Equiano publishes his autobiography,
1789
The
Misanthrope
by Jean-Baptiste Moliere
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The Misanthrope (French) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in
verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666. The play
satirizes the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society, but it also engages a
more serious tone when pointing out the flaws which all humans possess. The
play differs from other farces at the time by employing dynamic characters
like Alceste and Célimène as opposed to the traditionally flat characters used
by most satirists to criticize problems in society. It also differs from most of
Molière's other works by focusing more on character development than on
plot progression.
Tartuffe and Dom Juan, two of Molière's previous plays, had already
been banned by the French government, so Molière may have subdued his
actual ideas to make his play, The Misanthrope, more socially acceptable.
As a result, there is much uncertainty about whether the main character,
Alceste, is supposed to be perceived as a hero for his strong standards of
honesty or whether he is supposed to be perceived as a fool for having such
idealistic and unrealistic views about society.
Actresses First Appeared on Stage, p. 1
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Actresses first appeared on the English stage in 1629, when a
troupe of French players, male and female, relying, no doubt, upon the
patronage of their countrywoman, Queen Henrietta Maria, essayed to
give performances at Blackfriars. Up to this time the feminine parts in
the native drama had been enacted invariably by boys or youths, trained
in the profession by older actors, who were allowed to take them in as
apprentices, and were paid for their services. Thus, the employment of
women as actresses was innovative. So it is not surprising that it was
resented by the playgoers of the day. According to a letter addressed to
Laud, then Bishop of London, by Thomas Brande, the public were
indignant. The French actresses were "hissed, hooted, and pippin-pelted
from the stage," so that the writer "did not think they would soon be
ready to try the same again." However, they reappeared a few weeks
later at the Fortune and Red Bull theatres, but not successfully. They
were so unpopular that the Master of the Revels, "in respect of their ill
luck," returned them a portion of the fees which they had to pay for
their licence.” Three years later, in 1632, Lady Strangelove, in Brome's
comedy, The Court Beggar, was made to say: "The boy's a pretty actor,
and his mother can play her part: women-actors now grow in request.“.
Actresses First Appeared on Stage, p. 2
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In 1633 Prynne brought out his Histrio-Mastix, in which he
characterized all "woman-actors" as "monsters," and applied to their
performances such adjectives as "impudent," "shameful," and
"unwomanish." In 1656 Davenant's Siege of Rhodes was acted, at
Rutland House, before a paying audience, with a cast which included
Mrs. Coleman as Ianthe. To that lady, therefore, must be accorded the
honour of having been the first English professional actress.
In Shakespeare’s Othello the name of the actress who played
Desdemona is not known. Killigrew's principal lady at this time was
Ann Marshall, and the rôle would have naturally fallen to her; but
there is no record of her having appeared as the heroine of Othello. It is
more likely that the part was taken by Margaret Hughes, the seconda
donna of the acting company. Prejudice against "women-actors" had
begun to abate. So it came to pass that when, in 1662, Killigrew and
Davenant received a renewal of the letters patent granted to them in
1660, the documents included permission to place female parts in the
hands of women. In 1664 Killigrew carried the concession to an
extreme, for we read that, in that year, he produced his comedy, The
Parson's Wedding, with women in all the parts.