Chapter 20 - English Literature Restoration and the Eighteenth Century: Dryden, Pepys My observation [is] that most men that do thrive in the world forget to take pleasure during the time that they are getting their estate, but reserve that till they have got one, and then it is too late for them to enjoy it. -Samuel Pepys So we ve gotten to know some of the famous writers in England, and we ve even gotten to know their works a little bit. But what was going on around them? As important as it is to study the literature and authors themselves, it is just as important to study what influenced them what was going on in history at that time. Leaders and Kings When Oliver Cromwell died and his son failed so miserably at ruling England, Charles I s son was offered the chance reign over England. Taking the offer (and who wouldn t) he became known as Charles II on his thirtieth birthday in 1660. As a ruler he differed from Cromwell. He was more interested in luxury, wealth, and the arts. Although his era is remembered as Merry Olde England, two great disasters occurred during the first years of his reign the Great Plague and the Great Fire. The fire consumed over half of London s homes and required the help of Christopher Wren, a well-known architect, to oversee the rebuilding of London. 1
The Glorious Revolution Next in line to the throne was James II. The English were eager to replace him as king because as Protestants they did not want a Catholic king. And when he had a son, they were afraid they would have a Catholic monarchy for quite some time. As a result, Parliament asked Mary, James II s daughter, and her husband William of Orange (both devout Protestants) to rule England. While William and Mary were prepared to fight for the throne as soon as they arrived to England in 1688, James II escaped to France, remembering what happened to his father. And that ended that. This revolution allowed William and Mary to assume the English throne and was hailed the Glorious Revolution because there was no bloodshed. After William and Mary and Queen Anne reigned, a new king, George I, took over. Hailing from a small principality in Germany, George I spoke no English and had to rely on his ministers (called the cabinet) to take charge. Robert Walpole headed this ministerial group and was given the title as the first Prime Minister of England. George I did not take over until 1714. George III, from whom we won our independence, was king at the time the American Revolution began and reigned from 1760. The Revolutions The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain, was influenced by many factors. First, new tools made food production more efficient, so fewer farm workers were needed. Farmers then moved to the city where more work could be found. Therefore, growth in the city s population 2
increased and made more factory workers available. Also, new inventions made cloth-making easier. As you can see, revolutions just don t happen. It is often a snowball effect where resources and events build while society gradually progresses and adapts to change. During the Enlightenment the belief in humankind s ability to use reason and intellect to solve every problem prevailed. There was an overall increase in education and a disposable income in England a result of more books being sold, more people having the money to spend on books (both of which gave writers more incentive to write). Daily newspapers appeared, lending libraries opened, and coffeehouses and clubs became popular meeting spots. Writers of the Enlightenment sprouted up everywhere (with the help of John Dryden as you will soon learn) and were called Neoclassical simply because they emulated classical styles. Features of Neoclassicism include frequent use of classical allusions, generalizations about the world, and a fondness of satire. However, all good parties must come to an end. Writers and intellectuals began to lose faith in the ability of human reason to solve all problems as they slowly came to realize the poor quality of life, engendered by the Industrial Revolution, was a source of disillusionment to many. The People Let s take a brief look at some of the big-time writers and intellectuals of the Enlightenment. As stated above, a feature of Neoclassicism was fondness of satire. One author who used this literary 3
device was Jonathan Swift. He composed savage satires attacking weaknesses in English society--his Gulliver s Travels is an example. Swift also wrote A Modest Proposal, a satire on the treatment of the Irish. Alexander Pope also used satire in his works, one being The Rape of the Lock, a poem satirizing the war between the sexes. Pope is also recognized for his An Essay on Criticism, the inspiration for many well-known aphorisms and An Essay on Man, a poem that asserts the essential order of the universe. Also carrying on the Restoration tradition of satire in his plays is Oliver Goldsmith. You ll also notice that, as stated above, daily newspapers started popping up. But along with newspapers came literary magazines. England s first literary magazines, The Tattler and The Spectator, were edited by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. The dominant literary figure of the generation following Swift and Pope was Samuel Johnson. He is responsible for A Dictionary of the English Language, the first standard English dictionary and won acclaim as a brilliant conversationalist. James Boswell wrote the first modern English biography Boswell s Life of Samuel Johnson. The first English novel was written by Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, a story about a shipwrecked English sailor. 4
Another major player of the Enlightenment and Neoclassical movement was John Dryden. He changed English literature through his versatility and professionalism establishing writing as a legitimate career in England. He wrote in a clear, direct, and elegant style. He composed All for Love, a play about the romance of Antony and Cleopatra and the poem Song for St. Cecilia s Day. He also penned a series of essays about drama that laid the foundation for British literary criticism, and even included Shakespeare as one of his subjects. In An Essay on Dramatic Poesy (from which you have read an excerpt), the main idea is that Shakespeare spoke to the heart, but Jonson spoke to the mind. He excuses Shakespeare for being occasionally flat and insipid by implying that the fault lies not in Shakespeare s genius but in his subject matter, and dismisses complaints about Shakespeare s lack of education primarily by making those who are learned look inferior and needy. Dryden also compares dramatists Shakespeare and Ben Jonson by describing his view of them with regard to their Occasional Failing Shakespeare was silly and Jonson was complicated. With regard to their Favorite Character Type, Dryden s view would be Shakespeare: no comment; Jonson: craftspeople. Dryden addresses Jonson s work individually as well as comparing it to Shakespeare. He praises his restraint as an ideal of the Neoclassical writers. Dryden contends that Jonson is more a Roman than the Romans ever were as evidenced in the following passage With all the spoils of these writers he so represents old Rome to 5
us, in it rites, ceremonies, and customs, that if one of their poets had written either of his tragedies, we had seen less of it than in him. Remember how during the reign of Charles II two great disasters occurred? Well during that time a man by the name of Samuel Pepys kept a diary recording daily events. We learn about Pepys character and personality through these entries. He could be described as a vigorous, friendly, curious, religious, and compassionate man, apparently well-liked and respected. In the section titled The Plague, when Pepys notes the madness of the people of the town, who will come in crowds (because they are forbid) along with the dead corpse, he is complaining about the people s tendency to ignore the rules. During the second of Pepys Plague entries, the main idea is that death has come very close to him. Pepys also writes about the Great Fire. He received his first account on the origin of the Fire from the Lieutenant of the Tower and puts his money into the cellar. He suggests that the king command for houses be pulled down to halt the fire. Though both horrific tragedies, some come to the conclusion that the Great Fire could possibly be the greater disaster because it not only it destroyed lives, but property as well. Other authors and intellectuals worth mentioning are Edward Gibbon, who wrote about the rise and fall of the Roman empire, Henry Fielding, who wrote Tom Jones, Adam Smith, who wrote Wealth of the Nations, John Locke, who argued against the divine right of kings, and Thomas Gray, author of the emotional poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. 6
Lawrence Sterne is the author of a popular novel, Tristam Shandy. And of course we cannot forget our beloved Isaac Newton, that purest of scientists and creators, who studied gravity. The tools for mastering the English language are now in your hands. 7