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By Indranil SarkarAssociate professor in english

Assam/india

John DrydenAn assigned class :-

‘Restoration literature’ for B. A[major]

Gauhati University.4/17/2012 3:48:10 PM

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King Charles I was beheaded by the so called

Parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell in 1649. Cromwell regime, whatsoever, made

the English people disgusted and as such Charles II, the

son of Charles I was brought back to the throne in 1660.This is called

‘Restoration of Monarchy’ in British History.

* King Charles II, the monarch who restored his father’s monarchy. {1660-1685}

* [source: Wikipedia]

*NB. The resource is free to all users.

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The Restoration age was quite opposite to Cromwell regime. Charles II was a man of

progressive thoughts. His French upbringing generated a rational mind in him. He reopened the ‘Theatres’ which

were closed by Cromwell supposing to be the breeding place of immorality. Under the patronage of Charles I, who himself was a man of flamboyant nature, the English started imitating the French

culture. Royal Society was established to encourage Natural Sciences.

1.What is meant by ‘Restoration’ in British history?•Ans. Historically, the period in between 1660 and 1700 is called the Restoration period. The term ‘Restoration’ refers to the restoration of the Crown by King Charles II, the son of Charles I. King Charles I was beheaded by the so called parliamentarians under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell in1649.But, the Cromwell regime made the British people disgusted and Charles II was crowned to the throne in 1660. This re-establishment of British Monarchy is called ‘Restoration’ . The restoration period in English literature is counted from 1660 to 1700, although King Charles I died in 1685.

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King Charles II

Q. What are the special features of ‘Restoration Comedies’?

Ans. Restoration literature tossed between the two extremes, for it encompassed both Paradise Lost and the Earl of Rochester's Sodom; the high-spirited sexual comedy of The Country Wife and the moral wisdom of The Pilgrim's Progress. Unprecedented intellectual and creativity activities cast their indelible imprint on English soil at this time. Locke's Treatises of Government, the inception of the Royal Society, the experiments and holy meditations of Robert Boyle, the hysterical attacks on theatres from Jeremy Collier, and the pioneering of literary criticism from John Dryden and John Dennis had seen light during this period. News became a commodity and the essay emerged as a periodical and literary art form. Textual criticism and commercial entrepreneurship like stock market got their birth under the patronage of Charles II.

Picture of Charles II [Below]

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John Dryden,representative

poet and writer of precise,

exact and simple prose.

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Q. How did the restoration affect literature? Or,

Q. What are some of the new styles of writing during the Restoration time period in England

Ans. Many new literary devices or techniques like novel, biography, travelogue, history and short story were developed or practiced by the litterateurs during this time. Pamphlets---both political and literary, overcrowded the literary horizon of Restoration England. Poets like John Dryden produced some immortal poems indeed; but, the main thing that to be mentioned with regards were the bawdy or immoral comedies of the time which were called ‘comedies of Manners’. George Etherege, Thomas Shadwell, William Wycherley, John Vanbrugh, William Congreve, and George Farquhar were the notable authors who exceled in this genre and played the role of social reformers through their minute observation and rational outlook.

Refit. .http://wapedia.mobi/en/Restoration_liter…

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ii. yahoo an

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Refinement meets burlesque in Restoration

comedy. In this scene from George Etherege's Love in a Tub, musicians and well-

bred ladies surround a man who is wearing a tub because he has lost his

trousers

Love in a Tab

William Wycherley, The Country Wife: "O Lord, I'll have some china too. Good Master Horner, don't think to give other people china, and me none. Come in with me too."

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William Wycherley

In1675

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British Royalty:Queen Elizabeth I (left)

James I (middle)Charles I (right)

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Oliver Cromwell (left) King Charles II (right)

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Elizabeth Barry, the

tragic actress of Restoration

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William & Queen Mary [left]

Debtor’s prison [right]

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Restoration Playhouse

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Q. What is a she-tragedy?The term She-Tragedy was coined by Nicholas Rowe in 1714 in order to

furnish a clear nomenclature to his tragedy ‘The Fair Penitent’ against the general trend of tragedies of the time. This short time (nearly 50 years) voyage of a special type of English tragedy is memorable for various reasons. These tragedies focused the unjust sufferings of virtuous and innocent women of the time. Thomas Otway’s ‘The Orphan’ (1680), John Bank’s Virtues Betrayed or Anna Bullen (1682), Thomas Southerner's ‘The Fatal Marriage(1694) and Nicholas Rowe’s The Fair Penitent (1703) and Lady Jane Grey (1715) are the most prominent tragedies of this genre.She-Tragedies were a reaction against the Heroic tragedies of Restoration period. The heroes of heroic tragedies were aggressive, powerful and dominating. These heroes were self- centered and having no compassion for the people in general and women in particular. Gradually, there took place a shift of focus from heroic to pathetic sentiments. The mentioned writers tried to focus the opposite side of the society .Their attempt in this regard, got success with the help of a number of tragic heroines, especially Elizabeth Barry.

RESTORATIO

N Stage performance

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The SOCIETY Where adjectives became impotent to portray the immorality and profaneness!

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The great satiristsi. Alexander Pope ii. Dr. Samuel Johnson iii. John Dryden

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1.The great journalistsjoseph Addison &Richard Steele

2. The Spectator---first published in July6,1828.

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Thomas SpratFront cover of Thomas Sprat’s History of the Royal society. [1667]

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Dr. Samuel Johnson Dr. Johnson wrote the first dictionary of English

language[1755]

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Oxford Playhouse production of ‘The

Way of the World’[2004]

Aphra Benn,

the first professional

female

English novelist

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Click icon to add picture

References & Courtesies:-

i. History of English literature by Dr. S.C. Mundra & Dr. J.N.Mundra

ii.www.enotes.com

Pictures & documents are collected from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia permitted to be used by all for non-profit academic purposes.

Earl of Rochester,

the Restoration

Rake

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