THE RESTORATION AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

(SLIDE 1)1660-1700

There is no simple sentence that can sum up the long period that runs

from 1660-1800.

I. POLITICAL ASPECTS (SLIDE 2)

King Charles I, who came to the throne in 1625, proved to be

stubborn and untrustworthy. He continued to alienate Parliament, many of

whose members were Puritans, staunch critics of both the Roman Catholic

Church and the Church of England. In 1642, civil war broke out between

the Royalists—the king and his supporters—and supporters of Parliament.

In 1649, a Parliament entirely Puritan in membership beheaded Charles I.

The Puritans, now in control, frowned on all forms of frivolity, including the

theatre and even the lovely lyrics of the court poets. To them poets were all

liars, rogues and sinners.(SLIDE 3) The Puritans became extremely

powerful, chiefly because their leader, Oliver Cromwell, proved to be strong

and efficient. Now, however, Puritans in England had power enough to

install Cromwell at the head of government. The Puritans wanted to

establish a democracy, but Cromwell created a protectorate as dictator. In

an effort to control the nation’s morals, he enacted laws that invaded and

severely restricted personal liberties. Theaters were shut down. Catholics

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and Anglicans were denied freedom of worship; massacres were conducted

against Irish forces that challenged Puritan rule.

Cromwell, England’s first non-royal ruler, headed England as Lord

Protector of the Commonwealth for nine violent years. Upon his death

(1568), his weak son, Richard, proved to be unable to fill his father’s shoes

and anarchy ensued. (SLIDE 4) In 1660, the English people had had their fill

of strict Puritanism and chose to recall Charles (son of the executed Charles

I) from France where he had been staying. Charles had tried to save his

father twice, living abroad, ten years in poverty. Charles assumed the throne

as Charles II. He reestablished the Anglican Church. The English were tired

of revolution and wanted to be able to settle down, prosper, and enjoy life.

This period from 1660 to 1700 is referred to as “The Restoration” because it

restored, or returned, power to the monarchy and rejected the Puritans.

King Charles II led a reckless life. His mistresses (one of which was

Nell Gwyn, an actress by whom he had two illegitimate sons and who lived

next door to Windsor Castle), drinking, illegitimate sons, gambling were all

a mask as he recaptured all the power he could for the crown and built

himself a standing army. (Sidenote: His illegitimate son, Duke of

Monmouth was killed in a battle against James and when he was beheaded,

his head was brought back for a portrait.) Charles II had no legitimate

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children. Charles II also had a serious interest in the progress of science. In

1660 he established the Royal Society of London which promoted scientific

research and still stands as an institution today. Charles II died in 1685 and

his unpopular and hated brother, James, succeeded to the throne as King

James II. (SLIDE 5) The problem with James II was that he openly

acknowledged the Roman Catholic Church. This was the first time England

had had a Catholic monarch since Bloody Mary Tudor.

James II began a policy of public terror and turned to France for aid.

He replaced many high officials who refused to accept the Catholic faith and

attempted to override the decrees of Parliament. Parliament is divided into

two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. When both

houses opposed him, he dismissed the House of Commons. He lost support

from the Tories; he ousted professors from their teaching positions at

Oxford. A short time later, Parliament invited James II’s Protestant

daughter, Mary, and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, to accept the

British crown. James, fearing his own execution, fled to permanent exile in

France. Parliament voted that James had abdicated the government. Those

who supported James were called “Jacobites.” Since James quietly left

England, and there was no civil war or executions in crowning William and

Mary as the new monarchs, this event is known as the “Glorious

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Revolution.” (SLIDE 6) (Side note: William and Mary College named after

these monarchs.)

With the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the English rising middle

class (in Parliament) gained authority over the crown. The 18th Century saw

the gradual and eventually complete rise of the middle class in the life of the

nation with the development of commerce and industry. William will die at

the Battle of Boyne from a shoulder infection when he was thrown from a

horse.

(SLIDE 7 and SLIDE 8) After the deaths of William and Mary, the

1700’s began with the crowning of Queen Anne (1702-1714), Mary’s sister

and James II’s daughter. Anne is completely lacking in taste and judgment.

She is married to a nymph from Holland. Under her England will become

involved in war-the War of the Spanish Succession where England and

France are foes. In 1707 the Act of Union will unite England with Scotland

to form Great Britain. She will restore to favor John Churchill, Duke of

Marlborough from whom Winston Churchill is descended. During this

time, Parliament was dominated by two rival political parties: the Whigs and

the Tories. The Whigs (liberal) were chiefly from the growing merchant

(middle) class and represented urban and commercial interests. They sought

to promote war with France because they hoped it would lead to British

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dominance in trade. The Tories (conservatives) included most of the British

nobility and the landowners-think rural and old money. They sought to

advance agricultural interests and preferred an end to the conflicts with

France. Queen Anne outlived her 17 children, and therefore, her royal line

ended with her. Since she had no heir, the throne was passed to a distant

cousin from Germany. (SLIDE 9) The House of Hanover, supported by the

Whigs (middle class), came to the throne. George I (1714-1727), the next

Protestant in line and distant relative of Anne, and son, George II (1727-

1760) were from the German territory of Hanover, and made little effort to

understand the country. They were more or less strangers to the English

language. During their reigns, the Whig Party (in Parliament) was able to

rule England for a period of thirty without a rival and did all it could to

further the interests of the middle class. Robert Walpole would become the

first prime minister. It was during George II’s reign that the Seven Year’s

War (French and Indian War in North America) with France occurred. He

was killed by a croquet ball and his mother said good riddance because she

hated him.

(SLIDE 10, 11) When George III (grandson of George II) came to the

throne in 1760, Britain had unrivaled prestige in Europe and empires in India

and America. He believed that the king should play an active role in

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politics. He was, however, the last king to attempt recapturing the royal

power from Parliament. His failure was almost complete. He succeeded

only in discrediting himself with his people, in forcing the American

colonies to revolt for their independence (the Boston Tea Party in 1773), and

in bringing England near the brink of ruin in another war with France. He

suffered from porphyria a symptom of which is blue urine. A chemical

imbalance that can be cured now caused him to go insane, as portrayed in

the movie The Madness of King George. George IV ruled as Regent during

the Regency Period of his dad’s insanity.

II. LIFE DURING THE RESTORATION

It was during this period of the Restoration that London suffered two

major disasters. (SLIDE 12) In 1665 the Great Plague swept through

London leaving 68,000 dead. (SLIDE 13, 14) In the following year,

1666, the city was devastated by the Great Fire (SLIDE 15)(of which

Samuel Pepys, whose fine home would be in danger of being consumed

as detailed in his Diary) consumed 13,000 houses, 400 streets, and almost

90 of London’s 101 churches. (SLIDE 16, 17) Mostly the poor were

affected as the wooden buildings standing so close together burned

quickly. Directed by that famous architect, Christopher Wren, 51

churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, were rebuilt by 1800. At this

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 time in England, the Industrial Revolution was just beginning. London

had a population of ½ million; England had 5 ½ million. Instead of

goods being produced at home, they were now being produced in

factories where because of new machinery they could be produced in

greater quantities and in less time.

Scientific and technological advances went hand in hand with the

Industrial Revolution. (SLIDE 18) Especially important was the steam

engine and the spinning jenny, which revolutionized the textile industry.

(SLIDE 19) Other scientific advancements included the development of

vaccinations, the telescope, the barometer, the pendulum clock, Newton’s

Law of Gravity, and the development of geometry and calculus. With the

new emphasis on the scientific method, the implication was that natural

phenomena were no longer the result of external influence (the “gods”).

(SLIDE 20) III. VARIOUS LABELS FOR THE 18TH CENTURY-

The most accurate adjectives would be rational, logical, objective,

moralistic and symmetrical.

The eighteenth century has been given several labels by literary historians:

1. Age of Reason – anything could be achieved through the

calm working of the mind. People stopped asking “Why?” and

started asking “How?”

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 (Logic) Writers tended to distrust imagination and prefer to

write in limits of logic and common sense.

2. Age of Classicism – (Neo-classicism) a fascination with the

classical styles of Ancient Greece and Rome because neo(new)

classicists believed Roman and Greek classic were perfect form.

Neo-classicists focused upon order, balance, and harmony in their

art.

3. Age of Elegance – upper classes led an ostentatious and elegant

lifestyle, while the masses lived plainly. Charles II (SLIDE 21),

while exiled in France, picked up the styles of the French and wore

them when he got home to England. The upper class began to

follow his lead. Men wore colorful knee breeches and colorful

coats, vests, and stocking. Women wore lavish costumes with

corsets so tight that breathing was difficult. Both sexes wore wigs

or powdered their hair (until the 1790’s hair powder tax led to

natural hairdos).

4. Augustan Age – referred to the Emperor Augustus of a prosperous

Rome of long ago when commerce and great literature thrived

(classical ancient Rome). The Augustan period in Roman history was

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 supposedly the greatest. Age Some divide this period into two smaller

periods:

a. The Age of Pope (after Alexander Pope) who had a

rationalistic view of the world.

b. The Age of Johnson (after Samuel Johnson)

IV. LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS (SLIDE 22)

The greatest achievements in literature were not in poetry or drama,

but in prose. Literature was basically concerned with order, balance, and

control of thought and style. General characteristics of the literature: 1)

respect for cities (living in the country a bore) with nature tolerated in such

locales as the Garden of Versailles; 2) little interest in the individual; more

interested in the conduct of the urban society; 3) chiefly interested in satire

because of its attacks on those who don’t conform to society; 4) wit at a

premium ; good manners in both conduct and writing; 5) interest in concerns

of contemporary life.

Examples are:

1. Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1688) by (SLIDE 23)John Dryden

(Master of Modern English

Prose)-the greatest literary man; younger men went to

coffeehouses to hear him

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2. (SLIDE 24)A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) by

Samuel Johnson (vocabulary and spelling); poor, little formal

education, blind in one eye and deaf in one ear; wife 20 yrs. older,

life pension by George III; various friends; odd mannerisms,

dedicated to learning, wise, talker, beloved; 9 yrs. for dictionary

with 6 assts. 140,000 words defined; NOTE: Noah Webster stole

from him without giving credit

3. Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762) by Robert Lowth

(syntax)

4. The Tatler and The Spectator (1711-1714) by Joseph Addison and

Richard

Steele – England’s first magazines/newspapers (periodicals);

Addison trying to bring learning out of the schools into

coffeehouses. Wanted to publish serious essays and the less

formal with satiric humor. 900 essays together Addison ended up

alienating himself from Swift, Steele and Pope with his

haughtiness

5. (SLIDE 25)Essay on Man; Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

– literary criticism-literary scholars of the day became critics of

past and present literature. Child prodigy, Roman Catholic, tb,

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 hunch backed dwarf, 4 1/2 ft, 16-pastorals; translations of the Iliad

and Odyssey, second most quoted writer in English literature, bitter

quarrels with other writers, after his edition of Wm. Shakespeare

was attacked, wrote The Dunciad which ridiculed bad writers,

scientists, critics; satirized in this cartoon; one of first poets to earn

a living; landscape design-tunnel from waterfront to back garden

walled with shells and pieces of mirrors; heroic couplet modeled

after John Dryden’s-two lines of rhymed iambic pentameter-A little

learning is a dangerous thing.

6. (SLIDE 26)“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift – satirical essay-

most favored genre

7. Diary by Samuel Pepys -- historical

8. Political writings—like Swift

9. Philosophical writings

10.(SLIDE 27) Development of the novel (new to Britain)

a. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; De in front of name to add an

aristocratic prefix; spy for Wm. III,

b. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

c. Pamela by Samuel Richardson

d. Types of novels

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 1. picaresque – a series of loosely strung together episodes of an

adventurer

2. novel of sentiment – a moral tale of romance and tears

3. gothic novel – mysteries

4. novel of manners – witty society tales, usually satirizing society

And notable contributions in history, politics and philosophy: Wealth of Nations,

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

(SLIDE 28 and 29) VI. ARTS AND SOCIETY

In music, Handel (Messiah) and Mozart dominated the century. In

architecture, homes were now being built with tall, wide windows for lighting.

Homes of the wealthy contained elaborate Chippendale and Hepplewhite furniture.

Popular artists of the time included Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds

who painted portraits and landscapes.(SLIDES 30-34)

Important social centers for the middle class were the coffee houses or

penny universities. These were places where news could be gathered and

exchanged, some business conducted, and political secrets whispered. The result

of the coffee houses was a knitting together of the middle and upper classes of

society. (SLIDES 35-37 HOGARTH)

At the end of the Restoration Period, a change in literature and in life was

evident. Because the middle class had become more literate and had gained more

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political power, they became more verbal with their thoughts and ideas (and

expressed such at the coffee houses). What had been private and hush-hush was

now becoming more public. Emotions were made public in literature. This would

signal the beginning of a movement called Romanticism. A direct reaction to the

Age of Reason of the Restoration was this emerging, more emotional Romantic

movement, which will be the topic of the next literary period of study.

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