REVIEW THE
RESTORATION AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (1660-1798):
The Restoration
(1660 – 1700s)
o
Stuart royal family is restored (returned from
exile) – heir King Charles II
The Political Background
o
People wanted the king back rather than the
Puritans
o
Puritans were a minority – supported by powerful
landowners who resented monarchy
o
George I and George II – power became more in
the hands of the parliament
o
1688 – parliament power was increasing and stabilizing
o
Two political parties: Whigs (liberals) and
Tories (conservatives)
o
Usually Whigs were supreme! (with Sir Robert
Walpole as PM)
Restoration England
o
John Locke – ‘Essay Concerning Human
Udnerstanding’
o
Royal Society – had to do with science
England in the Eighteenth Century
o
Seven groups
§
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
The Arts
o
Art became more “Georgian” in style -
o
Art became more real, paintings of landscapes,
portraits
o
Emphasis on practicality over soul-sensational
(landscapes and portraits vs. paintings of grand allegorical scenes)
The Coffeehouses
o
Meeting places – discussed science, religion,
politics, business
o
All likeminded individuals – middle class
The Age of Reason
o
Emphasis on reason, rationalization, logic,
knowledge
o
Aka “neoclassicism” – new classics
Literary Developments
o
Novel – Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding,
Daniel Defoe
Literature
o
Less patron and more publishing
*Review questions on pg 347
To the Ladies – Lady Mary
Chudleigh
-
“Then shun, oh! Shun that wretched state,” (line
21)
-
Laments the plight of upper class married women
o
And subservice to their husbands – ends with
call to action! (hate men, hate marriage)
-
Says “nothing” 5 times – futility of situation
The Diary of Samuel
Pepys
-
Wrote it for himself (honest, eye-witness
account), descriptive
-
Public figures wrote for vain glory, profit,
complete public record
-
He didn’t comment on the violence and gore on
the execution and then comments on being angry at his wife
The Age of Pope
-
Pope’s writing the most influential of the time
Jonathan Swift
-
Gulliver’s Travels
-
A Modest Proposal
Joseph Addison and
Richard Steele (The Tattler and the Spectator – just touch on them)
Alexander Pope
-
Short stature
-
The Rape of Lock
-
Epigrams
-
An Essay on Criticism
-
Heroic couplet (in style of neoclassism)
The Age of Johnson
-
Moving from Age of Reason to Age of Sentiment
-
Pre-Romanticism
Johnson
-
Dictionary
o
He put examples with his definitions
-
Preface to Shakespeare
o
Shakespeare is awesome
Gray
-
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Burns
-
To a Mouse
Blake
-
The Lamb
-
The Tiger
It would be uncouth not to thank Kathleen for preparing an online review sheet for her class.
ReplyDeleteThank you.