Restoration Age
The period between 1660 (which marked the end of the English Civil Wars, (1642-1649) and the year 1780 is often referred with several names: 'The Augustan Age', 'The Neo-classical Age' and 'The Age of Sensibility'.
The term 'Restoration' is also used for initial decades because of the restoration of Monarchy under Charles II in 1660. After a period of major social and political turmoil and a short lived 'Protectorate' under Oliver Cromwell's reign, England was looking for peace.
Even after restoring the monarchy in 1660, with Charles II, the country soon slid into chaos. The Holland Wars (1665-1667) worsened the economic situation. But now England had Parliamentary system that could check the King's actions. Protestantism became the dominant religious system, except during James II's reign (1685-1688).
In 1688, exasperated with the continued incompetence of their kings, the English. Parliamentarians invited William of Orange to take over as England's ruler. William and his wife Mary came to occupy the Throne of England without even a minor battle-an event celebrated as the 'Glorious Revolution' or the bloodless revolution. It marked the domination of Hanoverian dynasty over England and the end of the Stuart line of rulers.
In 1707, an Act was signed that United Scotland, England and Wales, even though Scotland remained rebellion and unhappy with its union with England throughout this period.
- The term 'Augustan' captures the fascination of the writers of this period with the Roman period of Augustus Caesar (27BC-AD10).
- The 'Age of Enlightenment' indicates the intellectual changes where rationalism and the scientific approach were seen as the most valuable features of the human race, with producing and popularising various kinds of knowledge in botany or in language.
- The term 'The Age of Sensibility' denotes the renewed interest in the senses where intellectuals and writers debated the two 'opposites' of Reason and Sentiment, Mind and Feeling.
- The term 'Neo-classical' refers to the interest many writers and artists had in Classical-Greek, Roman and Latin literatures and arts. Translations and adaptations from the ancient forms marked a revival of interest in the classical arts and the age in hence termed, 'Neo-classical'.
- Neo-classical literature was written between 1660 and 1798.
This time period can be broken down into three parts
- The Restoration period
- The Augustan period
- The Age of Johnson (The Age of Sensibility)
Drama of the Restoration Age
The writers of Restoration age drove out the moral earnestness and seriousness, which had characterised the Puritan writers and replaced it with a spirit of joy and cheerfulness. Because of the French influence on English court, the literature of the age was influenced by French models. Comedies of Molière, the tragedies of Corneille and Racine and the satires, epistles and versified essays of Boileau were taken as inspiration.
In the literature of this age, one sees a change from fancy to wit and from poetry to prose. Pamphlet literature also came into trend. Two great diarists, John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys belong to this period. One of the most popular texts of the time was Butler's Hudibras which ridiculed the Puritans. According to JE Luebering, "Many of the literary forms, considered typical of the modern world including the novel, biography, history, travel writing and journalism, were either invented or reached their maturity during this period".
Drama was the most popular genre in the Restoration period. Two types of plays ruled the drama of this period. The first were heroic plays, which presented characters of almost superhuman stature and their predominant themes were exalted ideals of love, honour and courage.
The second was Restoration comedy of manners which satirised the ideals, mannerisms and behaviour of the upper class in society. John Dryden was the best representative writer of the Restoration age since he wrote in every popular form prevalent during the time like comedy, tragedy, heroic plays, odes, satires, translations of classical works etc.
Literary Trends :
The main trends prevalent during the restoration period in the field of literature were heroic drama and comedy of manners.
The brief description of the two trends is mentioned below:
Heroic Drama :
Heroic drama, also known as heroic tragedy was a popular literary form during the Restoration period. Heroic drama had larger than life heroes and heroines, highly rhetorical dialogue and exotic locales. Like heroic poems or epics, it was written in heroic couplets. Dryden defined heroic play as 'an imitation of a heroic poem'. The plot of the play involved the fate of an empire. Love and valour were the subjects of the heroic plays. They were influenced by French classical tragedy and its dramatic unities.
Though Dryden was the main exponent of heroic drama, it was Sir William D'Avenant who first established the mode. A playwright during the reign of Charles I and later the manager of the theatrical troupe, The Duke's Company–William D'Avenant wrote what is considered the first heroic drama, The Siege of Rhodes. Cazamian terms the play as 'The germ transmitted from France to both of English opera and heroic tragedy'.
The play deals with the siege of Rhodes (an island off Greece) by the Turkish king Soleiman, the Magnificent. The valour of the Sultan is matched by the conjugal devotion of Ianthe, wife of the Sicilian Duke Alphonso, who succeeds in saving her husband and those who are defending the island from the Turkish hordes.
Dryden's first heroic drama, The Indian Queen (1664), was a joint effort with Robert Howard. His other heroic plays were Tyrannic Love (1669), The Conquest of Granada (1670), Amboyna (1673) and Aureng-Zebe (1675). Other practitioners of heroic drama include Elkanah Settle, Nathaniel Lee and Thomas Otway.
Criticism of Heroic Drama :
Heroic Drama also received its share of criticism. Blamires in his A History of the English Literature states that "The heroic drama of this period too often sacrifices naturalness and artistic discipline to supposed force of impact; and it fails to purchase sympathy through over-selling of astonishment." Dryden and his genre of heroic plays were also mocked by Buckingham's burlesque The Rehearsal (1671).
Comedy of Manners :
Comedy of manners is a style of dramatic comedy that reflects the life, ideals and manners of upper class society. It depicts the relations and intrigues of men and women belonging to polished sections of society.
According to Dr Tracey Sanders, "Main characteristics of Restoration comedy of manners include a flamboyant display of witty, blunt sexual dialogue, bedroom intrigues, sensual hints and bold and flashy behaviour."
Restoration comedy of manners was influenced by Ben Jonson's comedy of humours. Deriving inspiration from Jonson's comedies, the 'Comedy of Manners' takes a completely new coloration combining a humour and a critical trait that the English theatre had never known before. A reading of historical context of the time is essential for understanding the development of this genre.
English audiences, who were starved of entertainment during the Puritan regime, demanded a new style of drama, which was free of sexual restraints and moral seriousness. Also, the carefree lifestyle of Charles II and his court influenced this style of comedy.
According to Julia Stefanova and Lubomir Terziev, the Comedy of Manners depicts a small world which has a distinct territory of its own, the fashionable parts of the London of Charles II's time.
Its main activities take place in the public gardens like Hyde Park, St James's Park, Mulberry Garden, fashionable clubs, houses and drawing-rooms of the aristocratic and leisured classes. Its inhabitants seldom move out of this charming world unless it is in search of adventure. Main dramatists who practised this form of comedy are William Congreve, George Etherege, Wycherley and Aphra Behn.
The theatres which were closed in 1642, were opened during the Restoration. They became the riotous haunt of the upper classes. Consequently, the plays written for the play houses were distinctly calculated by the authors to appeal to a courtly and Cavalier audience. It is that explains the rise of the heroic tragedy, which dealt with themes of epic magnitude and the development of the Comedy of Manners, which portrayed the sophisticated life of the dominant class of society-its gaity, foppery, insolence and intrigue.
Impact of Comedy of Manners :
According to Muhammad Naeem, main impact of Comedy of Manners was
- Restoration comedy held a mirror to the high society of the Restoration Age. It depicted a society in full transition, a society in which the bourgeoisie take an increasing role and women a newfound liberty.
- The persistent attack on the sanctity of the marital bond made by the comedy writers and the parallel advocacy of free love (mainly to cater to the needs of the libido) imparts to the comedy of manners a pronounced immoral note.
- Most comedy writers relished the presentation of scenes and acts suggestive or even clearly indicative of sexual licentiousness.
- The comic dialogue was bristling with salacious innuendoes.
- Due to its sexual frankness and openness, Restoration comedy of manners has also been criticised for being immoral. Jeremy Collier, for instance attacked major Restoration playwrights such as Dryden, Congreve, Wycherley for bringing debauchery and profanity on stage in his anti-theatre pamphlet, A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage.
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