The Restoration Period (1660-1700)

This period is called the Restoration Period because in this period, with the restoration of the monarchy, the English literary tradition was restored. During the Commonwealth Period Charles II, the son of Charles I escaped to France. After the death of Richard Cromwell, the people of England brought him back and made him King of England on May 29, 1660. He remained in power till his death in 1685 when James II, another son of Charles I, ascended the throne. He was a Catholic and most of the people who were Protestants wanted to dethrone him. In 1688 there was the Glorious Revolution (Bloodless Revolution) against him. He fled to France. William III of France, the husband of Mary, the daughter of James II, came to power. William ruled England till his death in 1702.

The important facts which influenced the literature of this period are:

  1. A general reaction against puritanical restraints became very strong.
  2. Two political parties – the Whig and the Tory – were formed. The Whigs were against the King and for the Protestants. The Tories supported the King and the Catholics.
  3. In 1690 there was Jacobite Rising. The Catholics of Ireland, who were led by James II, fought against William’s soldiers and were defeated.
  4. In 1662 the Royal Society was founded to promote scientific research. Sir Isaac Newton was a member of it.
  5. In 1695 the press was made free. Everyone was given the liberty to express his or her views.
  6. The Bill of Rights was adopted in 1689. It curtailed the monarch’s power and increased parliament’s power.

Major Writers of the Period and Their Major Works:

John Milton (1608-74):
He started writing at a previous age and wrote his great epics during this period. He remained almost unaffected by the looseness of the Restoration Period.

Paradise Lost (1667), the great epic in English
Paradise Regained (1671)
Samson Agonistes (1671)

Samuel Butler (1612-80):
Hudibras (1663), a satire in verse

John Bunyan (1628-88):
The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), the famous allegory in prose

John Dryden (1631-1700):
All for Love (1778)
The Indian Emperor (1665)
Aureng-Zebe (1675)
Absalom and Achitophel (1681)
MacFlecknoe (1682)
“The Essay of Dramatic Poesy” (1668)

John Locke (1632-1704):
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

William Wycherley (1640-1715): }
The Country Wife (1675) *
The Plain Dealer (1676)

Aphra Behn (1640-1689):
The Rover (1677), a Restoration comedy
Oroonoko (1688), a prose fiction

William Congreve (1670-1729):
The Double Dealer (1693)
Love for Love (1695)
The way of the world (1700)

George Farquhar (1678-1707):
The Recruiting Officer (1706)
The Beaux’s Stratagem (1707)

Main Literary Features of the Age:

  1. Imitation of the ancient Greek and Roman writers gives rise to Neo-classicism.
  2. Puritan controls loosen and a wave of foppery and vulgarity sweeps the creative works.
  3. Great English epics are written with proper elegance and grandeur.
  4. Drama returns with the then French licentiousness and gaiety; it loses Elizabethan seriousness and splendor.
  5. Comedy of manners and heroic tragedy become major dramatic genres.
  6. Translation of great classical texts starts appearing.
  7. Satirical verse becomes popular.
  8.  Literature of two extremes co-exists Great epics, like Paradise Lost, and moral wisdom, like The Pilgrim’s Progress, are written. At the same time sensual comedies, like The Country Wife, are also written.