This period, like the previous two periods, belonged to the Puritan Age. Only in this period, there was no monarch in England. After the death of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, the puritan leader, came to power. He died in 1658 when his son Richard Cromwell became the ruler of England. He ruled England till 1660. During this period Puritanism became gradually unpopular. The English people realized that monarchy was essential for them.

Major Writers of the Period and Their Major Works:

John Milton did not write anything important in this period.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), a political philosopher:
Leviathan (1651)

Jeremy Taylor (1613-67):
Holy Living (1650), a sermon in prose
Holy Dying (1651), a sermon in prose

Vaughan (1621-95) and Marvell (1621-78) continued writing

The influence of Renaissance and Puritanism died out by the end of this period. The Elizabethan romantic exuberance ended in this period.