Restoration Age

Assignment 

Name : Latta J. Baraiya 

Roll no : 12

Paper : History of English Literature 

Semester : M.A sem 1

Topic : Restoration Age 

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English MKBU 

Introduction 

The period from 1660 to 1700 is named as the Restoration period. In 1660 King Charles II was brought to the throne. The people of England were suffering from tension due to strict rule of Cromwell. Thus the nation welcomed the Restoration of Charles II. This Restoration brought about a revolutionary change in social life and literature. 

◆LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS OF RESTORATION AGE :- 

The literature of the Restoration period marked the complete breaking of ties with the Renaissance literature. It reflected the spirit of the age. The spirit of corruption and moral laxity, which were predominant in the social life of the restoration, are reflected in literature. The following are the chief feature of the period: 

The Restoration:- 

During this period gravity, spiritual zeal, moral earnestness and decorum were thrown to winds. The king was a thorough debauch. He had a number of mistresses. He was surrounded by corrupt courtiers. Corruption was rampant in all walks of life. 

Religious and Political Quarrels:- 

In the Restoration period we see the rise of two political parties. They were the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs were opposing and the Tories were supporting the king. The rise of these parties gave a fresh importance to men of literary ability. Both the parties supported them. The religious controversy was also going on. It was very bitter. The Protestant and the Catholics were face to face. The nation was predominately Protestant. The Catholics were being punished. Dryden’s 'Absalom and Achitophel' reflects these religious and political conflicts of the day. 

Rise of Neo-classicism:- 

The Restoration marks a complete break with the past and the Elizabethan Romanticism was almost over. With the end of the past, literature took a new spirit and outlook and a different attitude in the subject and style. As Edward Albert says,

"The Post Restoration period is often setup as converge and anti thesis of the previous Elizabethan Age. It is called ‘Classical’ as opposed to the Elizabethan Romanticism". 

The Restoration marks a complete break with the past. The people believed in the present, the real and the material. Moody and Lovett remark: "In all directions it appeared as a disposition towards conservation and moderation. Men had learned to fear individual enthusiasm, and therefore they tried to discourage it by setting up ideals of conduct in accordance with reason and common sense, to which all men should adapt themselves. Rules of etiquette and social conventions were established and the problem of life became that of self-expression within the narrow bounds which were thus prescribed". All these tendencies were reflected in the literature of this period. The writers, both in prose and poetry, tacitly agreed upon the rules and principles in accordance with which they should write. Rules and literary conventions became more important than the depth and seriousness of the subject matter to the writers of this period. They express superficial manners and customs of the aristocratic and urban society and did not pry into the mysteries of human mind and heart. 

Opening of Theaters:-

                  

All the institutions that were closed in the puritanical movement were opened during the Restoration period. Political monarchy, Parliament Episcopacy and law were all restored. The clubs and coffee houses were also established during the period. These houses become the centers of political discussions and from here only, the periodical essays were originated. 

Imitation of the Ancient Masters:- 

The authors of the period were not endowed with exceptional literary talents. So they turned to the ancient writers, in particular, to the Latin writers, for guidance and inspiration. It was generally believed that the ancients had reached the acme of excellence and the modern poets could do no better than model their writings on the classics. Thus grew the neo-classical school of poetry. The neo-classicists or pseudo-classicists could not soar to great imaginative heights or could not penetrate deeply into human emotions. They directed their attention to the slavish imitation of rules and ignored the importance of the subject matter. This habit was noticeable in the age of Dryden. It strengthened in the succeeding age of Pope. The authors of the period were not endowed with exceptional talents. So, they turned to the ancient writers for guidance and inspiration. They directed their attention to the slavish imitation of rules and ignore the importance of the subject matter. This habit was noticeable in the Age of Dryden. And it was strengthened in the Age of Pope. That’s why Alexander Pope writes, 

"earn hence for ancient rules a just esteem,

To copy nature is to copy them"

Imitation of the French Masters:- 

King Charles II and his companions had spent the period of exile in France. They demanded that poetry and drama should follow the style to which they had become accustomed in France. Shakespeare and his contemporaries could not satisfy the popular literary taste. Pepys wrote in his diary that 

"he was bored to see Shakespeare‘s Midsummer Night’s Dream". 

The Italian influence had been dominant in Elizabethan period. Now began the period of French influence, which showed itself in English literature for the next century. Commenting on the French influence on the literature of this period W. H. Hudson writes: Now the contemporary literature of France was characterized particularly by lucidity, vivacity, and by reason of the close attention given to form correctness, elegance and finish. It was essentially a literature of polite society, and had all the merits and all the limitations of such a literature. I was moreover a literature in which intellect was in the ascendant and the critical faculty always in control. It was to this congenial literature that English writers now learned to look for guidance; and thus a great impulse was given to the development alike in our prose and in our verse of the principles of regularity and order and the spirit of good sense. As in verse pre-eminently these were now cultivated at the expense of feeling and spontaneity, the growth of an artificial type of poetry was the inevitable result. The famous French writers like Corneille, Racine, Moliere and Boileau were imitated. Boileau‘s good sense ideal became very popular. English writers imitated the French blindly; rather they copied the worst vices of the French, instead of their wit, delicacy and refinement. The French influence is seen in the coarseness and indecency of the Restoration comedy of manners. The combined influence of French and classical models of tragedy is seen in the heroic tragedy. The French influence is responsible for the growth and popularity of opera.

Correctness and Appropriateness:- 

The work of the authors of the Restoration period was imitative and of limited quality. Since they lacked creativity and flight of imagination, they abandoned freedom altogether and slavishly followed the rules. Edward Albert writes: Thus they evolved a number of rules which can usefully he summarised in the injunction Be Correct, correctness means avoidance of enthusiasm, moderate opinions moderately expressed, strict care and accuracy in poetic technique and humble imitation of the style of Latin Classics. The new tendency, which reached its climax in the Age of Pope, is very clearly marked in the literature of the Restoration period. To Dryden Dr. Johnson applied the term Augustan, saying that Dryden did to English literature what Augustus did to home, which he found  of brick and left of marble. Dryden was the first representative of the new ideas that were to dominate English literature till the end of the eighteenth century. 

Realism and formalism:-

Restoration literature is realistic. It was very much concerned with life in London, and with details of dress, fashions and manners. The early Restoration writers, observes W. J. Long, sought to paint realistic pictures of corrupt court and society, and emphasized vices rather than virtues and gave us coarse, low plays without interest or moral significance. Like Hobbes, they saw only the externals of man, his body and appetites, not his soul and his ideals… Later, however, this tendency to realism became more wholesome. While it neglected romantic poetry, in which youth is eternally interested, it led to a keener study of the practical motives which govern human action. The Restoration writers eschewed all extravagances of thought and language and aimed at achieving directness and simplicity of expression. Dryden accepted the excellent rule for his prose, and adopted the heroic couplet, as the next best thing for the greater part of this poetry. It is largely due to Dryden that writers developed formalism of style, that precise, almost mathematical elegance, miscalled classicism, which ruled the English literature for the next century. 

New Literary Forms:-

           

The writers of the age went against the Elizabethan romantic ideals and tried to give realistic picture of the corrupt court and society. They exposed vices rather than virtues. The most important literary forms expounded during this age are as under:

                                      A) Satire

Restoration age was an age of political unrest, sharp wit and personal contention. For this reason, satire got a new importance. Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe which was written in heroic couplet is considered as the best satire respectively.

                                    B) Poetry

The Restoration poets completely discarded the romanticism of Elizabethan poetry and also rejected the morals of puritan poets. Poetry presented a realistic picture of the corrupt court, society, men and manners; and its appeal was to intellect and reason.

                                     C) Drama

The theatres which were closed in 1642 were opened during the Restoration. Consequently, the plays were written for the play  houses. It gave rise to the development of the Comedy of Manners, which portrayed the sophisticated life of the dominant class of society.

                                       D) Heroic Couplet

Restoration literature adopted the heroic  couplet as a poetic medium that is two iambic pentameter lines which rhymed together. Waller, who began to use it in 1623, is generally regarded as the father of the couplet. Later, Waller and Dryden made the couplet a literary fashion. 

◆POETRY OF RESTORATION AGE:-

The poetry of the Restoration period is formal, intellectual and realistic. In it form is more important than the subject matter. S. A. Brooke writes: "The artificial style succeeded to any extinguished the natural, or to put it otherwise, a more intellectual poetry finally overcame poetry in which emotion always accompanied thought".

(i)John Dryden (1631-1700)

Dryden was the first of the new, as Milton was the last of the former school of poetry. He was a versatile poet. Absalom and Achitophel is a fine, finished satire on contemporary political situation. Medal is an attack on Shaftesbury. Mac Flecknoe is a biting attack on a former friend, Thomas Shadwell. Religio Laici and The Hind and the Panther are two doctrinal poems. Dryden appears as a great story teller in verse in The Fables. As a lyric poet his fame rests on song for St. Cecilia’s Day and On Alexander’s Feast. Dryden is the representative poet of his age. He began the neo-classical age in literature. It was his influence and example which lifted the classic couplet for many years as the accepted measure of serious English poetry. 

(ii)Samuel Butler (1612-1680)

Butler‘s Hudibras is a pointed satire on Puritans. It was influenced by the satires of Rabelais and Cervantes. It has genuine flashes of comic insight. It is a great piece of satirical poetry and it stands next to Dryden‘s Absalom and Achitophel. Butler is a remarkable figure in the poetic development of the Restoration period. 

◆PROSE OF RESTORATION AGE:- 

The Restoration marks the beginning of modern prose. Matthew Arnold remarks: "the Restoration marks the birth of our modern English prose. It is by its organism an organism opposed to length and involvement, and enabling us to be clear, plain and short  that English prose after the Restoration breaks with the styles of the times preceding it, finds the true law or prose and becomes modern, becomes, in spite of superficial differences, the style of our own day". The spread of the spirit of common sense and of the critical temper of mind; the love of definiteness and clarity; and of the hatred of the pedantic and obscure have contributed to the development of English prose. It was an age of intellectualism and rationalism, the qualities which are essential for prose. The growing interest in rationalism and the advancement of science greatly aided the general movement towards precision and lucidity of expression which are the essential qualities of good prose style. Various political parties and groups, and growing interest in day to day activities encouraged journalism which needed simple, straightforward prose style. The Coffee houses and drawing rooms attracted the intellectuals and general public for discussions on various topics of general interest. 

◆RESTORATION DRAMA:-

The theatres which were closed in 1642 were opened during the Restoration. They became the riotous haunt of the upper classes. Consequently, the plays written for the play houses were distinctly calculated by the authors to appeal to a courtly and cavalier audience. It is this that explains the rise of the heroic tragedy and the development of the comedy of manners. The heroic tragedy appealed to artificial, aristocratic sentiments on the subject of honour. And the Restoration comedy of manners reflected the morally vicious but intellectually brilliant atmosphere of the saloons and the chocolate houses. 

Conclusion

To sum up we can see social and historical aspects of Restoration period stressing the phenomena like concept of restoration, religious and political conflicts on the social sphere and the revolution that brought a deep changes in the society in general and literary activities in particular. The unit deals with the facets of restoration age like rise of neo-classicism, imitations of the ancient masters and their impact on the writings of the Restoration age, and introduction of correctness and appropriateness as well as formalism and realism in their writings. It also speaks of the prose and verse of the age. The emphasis is placed on the dramatic activities of restoration age especial the birth of new tragedy called Heroic tragedy and comedy called Comedy of Manners. The important dramatists and their works are introduced which is followed by the discussion on the decline and decay of drama during Restoration Age.

Thus the Restoration age has great importance in the literary history of England. This age offered leading authors like Dryden and Congreve whose contribution to the literature is memorable.