writers of puritan and restoration age

THE PURITAN AGE (1620-1660) :-

Puritan Age in English Literature: Historical Background After the death of James I in 1625, the new monarch Charles I took religious persecution to a new level. He was asked by the Parliament to sign the petition of rights but he continued to show open disregard to Parliament and people. The Seventeenth Century up to 1660 was dominated by Puritanism and it may be called the Puritan Age or the Age of Milton who was the noblest representative of the Puritan spirit. Broadly speaking, the Puritan movement in literature may be considered as the second and greater Renaissance. 

 "The Puritan Age" session videos :-

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674) :-

Shakespeare and Milton are the two figures that tower conspicuously above the goodly fellowship of men who have made our literature famous. Each is representative of the age that produced him, and together they form a suggestive commentary upon the two forces that rule our humanity,--the force of impulse and the force of a fixed purpose. Shakespeare is the poet of impulse, of the loves, hates, fears, jealousies, and ambitions that swayed the men of his age. 

LIFE of  Milton:-

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell .As a Protestant, he believed that the individual reader should interpret the Bible. He is chiefly famous for his epic  poem Paradise Lost and for his defense of uncensored  publication. John Milton was born on December 9, 1608, in London, England. Early Life & Education John Milton was born in London on December 9, 1608 to John and Sara Milton. He had an older sister Anne, and a younger brother Christopher, and several siblings who died before reaching adulthood.

JOHN MILTON Poems:-

 The poetic style of John Milton, also known as Miltonic verse, Miltonic epic, or Miltonic blank verse, was a highly influential poetic structure popularized by Milton. Although Milton wrote earlier poetry, his influence is largely grounded in his later poems: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes .That style took the form of numerous references and allusions, complex vocabulary, complicated grammatical constructions, and extended similes and images. In consciously doing these things, Milton devised a means of giving the written epic the bardic grandeur of the original recited epic.

Greatest Poems Written by John Milton:--

• “On His Blindness” (1655):-

The poem On His Blindness is an autobiographical sonnet in which he expresses his feelings as a blind person. The poet thinks, in the beginning, that he will not be able to serve God as his sight is gone.

•  Samson Agonistes (1671):-

Milton expresses his sentiments about his own going blind, and the implications of God's treatment of him. He finds the Biblical Samson a typical model to explore the issue of God's justice and man's duty and faith in the face of the troubles and tests of life.

•  “On his Deceased Wife” (1658):-

Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry Sonnet XXIII. On His Deceased Wife Rescu'd from death by force though pale and faint. So clear, as in no face with more delight. I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night.

•  Paradise Lost (1667):-

Paradise Lost is about Adam and Eve how they came to be created and how they came to lose their place in the Garden of Eden, also called Paradise.

• “On Shakespeare” (1630):-

“On Shakespeare” develops the primary theme of immortality through artistic creation. A commonplace idea in Renaissance and seventeenth century poetry, it is pervasive in Shakespeare’s sonnets, which celebrate a poet’s power to endow the subject with immortality.

•  “To Cyriack Skinner” (1656):-
  
  
  

Mr. Cyriack Skinner, whose name is already well known in association with that of Milton, appears, from a pedigree communicated by James Pulman, Esq., Portcullis Poursuivant at Arms, to have been the grandson of Sir Vincent Skinner or Skynner, knight, whose eldest son and heir, William Skinner, of Thornton College in the County of Lincoln,  married Bridget, second daughter of Sir Edward Coke, knight, Chief Justice of England. 

•  “On His Being Arrived to the Age of Twenty-Three” (1631):-

On His Being Arrived At The Age of Twenty- three The poem On His Being Arrived at the Age of Twenty- three is a devotional sonnet written in an autobiographical form and contains the poet’s reflections on his late maturing. The dominating passion of his life is ‘ to justify the ways of God to man’ and write in praise of God.

•  “L’Allegro” (1633):-

The pastoral poem, ‘L’ALLEGRO, is a companion piece to ‘IL’PENSEROSO. The poem essentially outlines the events of one day, spent for the most part in the countryside, where the pleasures of the country and the beauty of the rural landscape are explored.

"L'Allegro" and "II Penseroso" are twin poems, containing many lines and short descriptive passages which linger in the mind like strains of music, and which are known and loved wherever English is spoken. "L'Allegro" (the joyous or happy man) is like an excursion into the English fields at sunrise. The air is sweet; birds are singing; a multitude of sights, sounds, fragrances, fill all the senses; and to this appeal of nature the soul of man responds by being happy, seeing in every flower and hearing in every harmony some exquisite symbol of human life. "Il Penseroso" takes us over the same ground at twilight and at moonrise. The air is still fresh and fragrant; the symbolism is, if possible, more tenderly beautiful than before; but the gay mood is gone, though its memory lingers in the afterglow of the sunset. 

•  “Il Penseroso” (1633):-

Il Penseroso (The Serious Man) is a vision of poetic melancholy by John Milton, first found in the 1645/1646 quarto of verses The Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin, published by Humphrey Moseley. It was presented as a companion piece to L'Allegro, a vision of poetic mirth. The speaker of this reflective odedispels "vain deluding Joys" from his mind in a ten-line prelude, before invoking "divinest Melancholy" to inspire his future verses. 

•  “Song on May Morning” (1632–33):-

The Flowry May, who from her green lap throws The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose. Hail bounteous May that dost inspire Mirth and youth, and warm desire, Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing, Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing. Thus we salute thee with our early Song, And welcom thee, and wish thee long.

• Lycidas:-
  
  
  

 "Lycidas," a pastoral elegy written in 1637, and the last of his Horton poems, Milton is no longer the inheritor of the old age, but the prophet of a new. A college friend, Edward King, had been drowned in the Irish Sea, and Milton follows the poetic custom of his age by representing both his friend and himself in the guise of shepherds leading the pastoral life. Milton also uses all the symbolism of his predecessors, introducing fauns, satyrs, and sea nymphs; but again the Puritan is not content with heathen symbolism, and so introduces a new symbol of the Christian shepherd responsible for the souls of men, whom he likens to hungry sheep that look up and are not fed. 

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PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION (1660-1700)

In English literature the period from 1660 to 1700 is called the period of Restoration, because monarchy was restored in England, and Charles II, the son of Charles I who had been defeated and beheaded, came back to England from his exile in France and became the King . The Restoration Period (1660-1700) After the Restoration in 1660, when Charles II came to the throne, there was a complete repudiation of the Puritan ideals and way of living. In English literature the period from 1660 to 1700 is called the period of Restoration, because monarchy was restored in England, and Charles II, the son of Charles I who had been defeated and beheaded, came back to England from his exile in France and became the King.

SESSION VIDEOS OF "PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION :-

 

JOHN DRYDEN (1631-1700):-

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was appointed England's first Poet Laureate in 1668. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Romanticist writer Sir Walter Scott called him "Glorious John".

Life :-

Dryden was born in the village of Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, in 1631. His family were prosperous people, who brought him up in the strict Puritan faith, and sent him first to the famous Westminster school and then to Cambridge. He made excellent use of his opportunities and studied eagerly, becoming one of the best educated men of his age, especially in the classics. Though of remarkable literary taste, he showed little evidence of literary ability up to the age of thirty. By his training and family connections he was allied to the Puritan party, and his only well-known work of this period, the "Heroic Stanzas," was written on the death of Cromwell.

The Hind and the Panther :-

 

A milk-white Hind, immortal and unchanged,
Fed on the lawns and in the forest ranged;
Without unspotted, innocent within,
She feared no danger, for she knew no sin.

This hind is a symbol for the Roman Church; and the Anglicans, as a panther, are represented as persecuting the faithful. Numerous other sects Calvinists, Anabaptists, Quakers were represented by the wolf, boar, hare, and other animals, which gave the poet an excellent chance for exercising his satire. Dryden's enemies made the accusation, often since repeated, of hypocrisy in thus changing his church; but that he was sincere in the matter can now hardly be questioned, for he knew how to "suffer for the faith" and to be true to his religion, even when it meant misjudgment and loss of fortune.

work:- 

John Dryden (1631-1700) was the leading writer of his day and a major cultural spokesman following the restoration of Charles II in 1660. His work includes political poems, satire, religious apologias, translations, critical essays and plays. This authoritative edition brings together a unique combination of Dryden's poetry and prose--all the major poems in full, literary criticism, and translations--to give the essence of his work and thinking.

The collection includes the poems, MacFlecknoe and Absalom and Achitophel as well as Dryden's classical translations; his versions of Homer, Horace, and Ovid are reproduced in full. There are also substantial selections A Dryden's Virgil, Juvenal, and other classical writers. Fables, Ancient and Modern, taken from Chaucer, Ovid, Boccaccio, and Homer, his last and possibly greatest work, also appears in full.

• Absalom and Achitophel:- 
  
  
  

Absalom and Achitophel is a heroic satire written by John Dryden in 1681-1682. John Dryden is an English poet, playwright, translator, essayist, and literary theorist. Along with Shakespeare and Milton, he is considered as one of the most influential and greatest representatives of English Literature of the 17th century.

• Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music:-
  
  
  

Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music is an  written by John Dryden . It was written in 1697 in celebration of Saint Cecelia's day. The original ode was set to music by the musician Jeremiah Clarke, but, due to its relative obscurity at the time and the fact that it was created more than four centuries ago, the score is now lost.

• Happy the Man:-
  
  
  

• Happy the Man is one of 's most familiar short poems to the modern reader. And yet, this poem is not entirely of his own making. In addition to being a playwright and prodigious creator of unique poetic flights of fancy, Dryden began to establish yet another reputation in the later period of his life: that of England’s foremost translators of classical works of the past into the English language. “Happy the Man” is representative of this twilight era of Dryden’s long and illustrious career, as it is actually part of a comprehensive translation of the Odes of Horace, a major literary figure from the Roman Empire.

• Mac Flecknoe

Mac Flecknoe is one of the four major satires of esteemed English poet John Dryden. The poem is personal satire that has for its target Thomas Shadwell, another poet who had offended Dryden with his aesthetic and political leanings. 

• The Medal Background

In 1681, a grand jury was convened in Middlesex to consider a bill of charges filed against the Earl of Shaftesbury on the grounds of having committed high treason. The Earl of Shaftesbury had already been earlier immortalized through his infamous representation in Dryden’s landmark work Absalom and Achitophel  along with hints and suggestions that he also makes a rather furtive and less obvious appearance as the title character of Dryden’s 1679 comedy Mr. Limberham.  

A Song for St. Cecelia's Day:-

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john Dryden “A Song for St. Cecelia's day" is a long-form poem published in 1687, in celebration of a religious holiday commemorating St. Cecilia, a Catholic martyr and patron saint of music and musicians. Dryden, in this poem, celebrates music and its intimacy with human emotion, religious truth, and the makings of the universe. The speaker describes a variety of different musical instruments as well as narratives that involve both music and Christian faith.

• Ah, How Sweet It Is To Love Background

 John Dryden was England's first Poet Laureate (1668) and still remains an influential poet in the British literary canon. He has written some of the most valuable work that has emerged from Restoration England, to the extent that the period was defined by many of his innovations.

• All for Love:-
  
  
  

Dryden himself acknowledged that his 1667 play All for love is an imitation of William Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra, which was written in the early 1600s). It is a heroic drama that follows many of the same story beats of Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra, but Dryden confines the action of the story to Alexandria and details the last hours of Anthony and Cleopatra's doomed relationship. It examines not only the end of their relationship, but the end of the Egyptian empire.

• The Hind and the Panther Background:-
  
  
  

The poem "The Hind and the Panther" was written and published in 1687 by Dryden, being an allegory regarding religion. During the time Dryden wrote his poem, he left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism. The poem is the longest poem written by Dryden and also his most controversial one because of the subject chosen in relation with the historical context.

• Marriage A-La-Mode:-
  
  
  

Marriage à la Mode is widely regarded as john Dryden's most famous play. It was first performed in London by the King's Company in 1673, and centers around two different plots that entangle in a tragicomic web of mistaken identity, romantic provocation, and courtly intrigue. The text mixes prose, blank verse, and heroic couplets and is widely known for its witty dialogue and pithy assessment of human nature.

• Religio Laici, Or a Layman's Faith Background:-
  
  
  

British poet laureate John Dryden lived in a time when religious turmoil and political turmoil were intertwined to the point of confusion. The answer to the question of whether you considered yourself a Catholic or a Protestant had the power to lead you down a very dark road if answered incorrectly. The question of Catholic or Protestant was also a political point of contention, focusing on the very legitimacy of who sat on the throne as monarch of England. As the issues became more turbulent, they spilled over in the world of literature, and John Dryden was the first or only poet to take his pen to composition on the matter.

• To The Memory of Mr. Oldham Background:-
  
  
  

The poem was written by John Dryden who grieved the death of the poet John Oldham, whom Dryden admired as a “ generous and vigorous “ poet who can breaks the rule of simply writing “ to the dull sweets of rhyme.”

Dryden's Influence on Literature

.Dryden's place among authors is due partly to his great influence on the succeeding age of classicism. Briefly, this influence may be summed up by noting the three new elements which he brought into our literature. These are: (1) the establishment of the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry; (2) his development of a direct, serviceable prose style such as we still cultivate; and (3) his development of the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems. This is certainly a large work for one man to accomplish, and Dryden is worthy of honor, though comparatively little of what he wrote is now found on our bookshelves. 

THANK YOU

DILIP BARAD SIR

WORDS :-2791