School of Education/ English Department

Rayak Campus

Introduction to English Literature

ENGL205

Assignment 3

81810058

Name: Diana Mechaalany

ID:

Course Instructor: Elie Cortas

Fall 2019-2020
Restoration Literature
Characteristics
1. Comedy of Manners

The Comedy of Manners is a theatrical genre that was uber-popular during the
Restoration period. These comedies were bawdy and dirty, with lots of hilarious (and
scandalous) dialogue focusing on sex. Their plot lines revolved around unfaithful wives,
cuckolded husbands, and tricky lovers.

These comedies made fun of people… and sometimes entire social classes. Everyone is
made to look ridiculous in these plays. People are stupid and gullible, or else they're
amoral and exploitative. But it was all done in the name of fun. Audiences went to these
plays during the Restoration period to laugh their heads off.

Chew on This

Trickery and sexual deceit are big themes in Comedies of Manners. They're also big
themes in William Wycherley's comedy The Country Wife .

William Congreve's Love for Love is a comedy that revolves around love and money.

2. Satire

The Restoration writers couldn't get enough satire. What's the deal with satire? Satire is
when we joke or exaggerate in order to point up someone else's flaws. Think John Oliver's
Last Week Tonight. Think The Onion. Think generally snarky hilarity.

The Restoration writers developed satire as a genre and a style of writing. These authors
loved picking on people—literary rivals, religious figures, even entire social classes—and
showing just how ridiculous they all were. Restoration writers mastered the art of poking
fun at people.

Chew on This

John Dryden's Mac Flecknoe is a classic satire. It also helped popularize "mock heroic"
poetry.

Samuel Butler pokes fun at Puritans in his satirical poem Hudibras.

 3. Heroic Couplet
A heroic couplet is two lines of verse (in ten syllables each), which rhyme. It does not,
however, contrary to popular belief, rescue puppies from burning buildings, help old
ladies across streets, or untie damsels in distress from railroad tracks.
History time: The Heroic Couplet in English literature was pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer
in the Middle Ages, but it wasn't until the Restoration came along that the use of this
structure in English poetry became widespread. And that was thanks to one man: John
Dryden. Dryden was so good at coming up with Heroic Couplets, he singlehandedly helped
make them an essential part of English poetry. He's the hero of the Heroic Couplet.
Chew on This
John Dryden is a master of Heroic Couplets. Check out his use of these couplets in his
poem "To His Sacred Majesty: A Panegyrick on His Coronation."
Even though Alexander Pope came after the Restoration writers, he followed their lead in
using Heroic Couplets in his poetry. Have a look at these couplets (Quote #1) from his
famous poem The Rape of the Lock.

4. Social Life

The Restoration writers weren't interested in silly things like nature (ew, dirt), or grand
philosophical questions (ugh, boring). They were interested in all the drama that went on
in the society in which they lived. Social behavior and social manners, then, are big
themes in Restoration literature.
The writers of this period were obsessed with social life: who people fall in love with, who
they want to marry, who they sleep with, who they betray, and how much money they
have or don't have. It's a literature that focuses on the intrigue that takes place in drawing
rooms, in salons, and in—bow chicka bow bow—bedrooms.
Chew on This
William Congreve's juicy Love for Love is all about social class and money worries.
Congreve's The Way of thePolitics

5. Politics
The "Restoration" in Restoration literature comes from a political event (the
restoration of monarchy in Britain in 1660) so it's no huge surprise that politics, and
political themes, are kind of a big deal in this literary movement.
 Restoration literature raises big ol' political questions like: What type of government is
best for society? What role does government, or monarchy, play in people's lives?
What kind of allegiance do we owe to our government? How does politics shape
culture? The Restoration period was a time when Britain was seriously re-thinking its
political identity. And we'll find that the Restoration writers were also thinking pretty
hard about politics in their writing.
Chew on This
John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding was a super-duper-important
political tract of the Restoration period, and (bonus importance!) it influenced the
American Revolution.
John Dryden was a fan of monarchy as a governmental institution. In "Astraea Redux:
A Poem on the Happy Restoration and Return of His Sacred Majesty Charles the
Second," he celebrates the restoration of Charles II to the throne. If he was around
today, you can bet he'd have a crush on Kate Middleton.

6. Faith

The Restoration period has given us some of the most important religious
literature in the English language. John Milton's Paradise Lost—which tells the epic
tale of the banishment of man from the Garden of Eden—was published during
this period (though Milton himself was a bit of an outsider to the Restoration
literary scene, because he identified as a Puritan).
John Bunyan's (no relation to Paul) Pilgrim's Progress , a religious allegory, was also
published during the Restoration.
Why were faith and religion such big preoccupation for many Restoration writers?
Because this was a period when the country was also going through a lot of
religious upheaval. With the Restoration of monarchy, the Puritans were kicked
out of power (a bunch of them went to settle in America, btw), and the country
reverted back to a less dogmatic kind of Anglicism. There was a lot of religious
soul-searching going on during this period, and we see that reflected in the
literature.
Chew on This
John Milton's Paradise Lost is an epic poem that features God, Christ, and Satan as
characters. Check out these quotations from the poem, which deal with fate and free will.
World is about the wily ways of lovers trying to get married

7. Restoration of Monarchy

Once upon a time there was a king called Charles I. He was king of England. Then
this guy called Oliver Cromwell came along and, along with his buddies, beheaded
 the king, and established the "Commonwealth of England" in 1649, which brought
about an end to monarchy.
But not everyone was happy with the establishment of this commonwealth. There
were many who supported monarchy as the right form of government for England.
They were called "Royalists." In 1660, these Royalists finally got their day and re-
instituted monarchy in England. Charles II, the son of the executed king, returned
from France, where he'd been hanging out in exile, and was "restored" as king of
England. The "restoration" of monarchy and the ascendance of Charles II to the
throne officially marks the beginning of the Restoration era.
Chew on This
John Dryden was really happy when Charles II was restored to the throne. He was
so happy, that he wrote "To His Sacred Majesty: A Panegyric on His Coronation" to
celebrate the Restoration.
Apparently, one poem celebrating the restoration of Charles II wasn't enough for
John Dryden. He wrote a second one, entitled "Astraea Redux: A Poem on the
Happy Restoration and Return of His Sacred Majesty Charles the Second."

8. Rejection of Puritanism

When the Republicans, under Oliver Cromwell, held sway in England, Puritanism
ruled the land. White collars and black clothes for everyone! Cromwell himself was
a Puritan. Puritans, we might remember, were a group of English Protestants who
wanted to "reform" the religion. They wanted everyone to lead a very moral,
upright, upstanding life. They were a pretty uptight bunch of people.
When monarchy was restored in 1660 and Charles II became king, there was a strong
backlash against the Puritans. After all, these were among the groups that had pushed for
the execution of Charles's father, Charles I. Puritans, therefore, didn't have an easy time in
the Restoration period. They were persecuted, they were attacked, and their beliefs and
views were ridiculed. Restoration writers—many of whom (though not all) were Royalists
(as in, they supported the monarchy)—rejected Puritan ideals. They made fun of Puritans
in the literature

Chew on This
In Hudibras, Samuel Butler lampoons the Puritans as stuck up and, well,
Puritanical..
William Wycherley's The Country Wife is full of sex and bawdy comedy. Like many
comedies of the period, it rejected the Puritan emphasis on morality and chastity.
Delve into this play here.
 9. Reopening of Theaters

The Puritans (like Oliver Cromwell) who fought to abolish monarchy in England
didn't like the theaters. They saw them as cesspits that bred all kinds of immoral
behavior. Like popcorn, maybe? So they shut them down in 1642. For eighteen
long years there were no theater companies or public performances of plays in the
land of Shakespeare. Pretty crazy.
When Charles II was restored as king of England in 1660, one of the first things he
did was reopen the theaters. All of those playwrights and actors and writers who,
for years, had been stifled finally got the green light to do their thing, without
having to fear being punished for it. This led to a huge blossoming of theatrical
production during this period, and the theaters became full again with audiences.
Chew on This
John Dryden's Marriage à la Mode was a very popular comedy performed after the
reopening of the theaters.
Aphra Behn's The Rover was another hit play performed after the theaters
reopened under Charles II.

10. French Literature

Charles II spent many years in exile in France before he was restored to the English
throne. During this period came under the influence of French culture. He not only
dressed and styled himself according to French tastes (like big wigs and fancy-
shmancy shoes), but he also developed a liking for French literature.
France's influence on the English court during this period was also reflected in
Restoration literature. Restoration writers read, and imitated, French writers,
especially when it came to drama. Some of the French writers who were especially
influential on the Restoration writers were Molière and Jean Racine.
Chew on This
William Wycherley's The Plain-Dealer is based on Molière's French comedy The
Misanthrope.
John Dryden is another author who was influenced by French literature. His play An
Evening's Love is borrowed from Molière's play The Love-Tiff.
 Religio Laici, Or a Layman's Faith Analysis

If one wants to analyze "Religio Laici", one has to consider the poem together with
the preamble written by Dryden in the historical context. By itself the poem is an
eloquent plea against institutionalized Christianity, giving the power of
interpretation back to the individual and only leaving a few universal laws of
Christian live in place. However, if considered in context, the poem is a strong
voice against the Catholic influence in British affairs. Both in the preamble and the
poem itself, Dryden references his strong support for the crown (the leader of the
Anglican Church), while describing many features of the Catholic system as flawed.
Most of these points are used repetitively and are part of both the preamble and
the poem, in differing prominence. The first that is mentioned here is the claim of
Catholic scholars that any believe that is different from the Catholic system is
wrong and will result in the person ending in hell. This is strongly contested by
Dryden when he says that all people are only bound by the law of doing good in
order to reach heaven, independent of their believe system. He goes as far as
giving this to people that have lived before the Christian system, for example
Greek Philosophers, and people that live outside the Christian realm, for example
American Indians. Eternal damnation is one of the main arguments of any faith to
keep their people in line. With this argumentation, Dryden very eloquently
discharges this threat using Christian history and logic and therefore giving his
readers the confidence in sticking to their believe system that is distinct from
Rome. This lead to the second argument. Dryden vehemently disavows the
infallibility of the papacy. Arguing that the papacy is just one of many
interpretations of the word of God, he takes most of the power out of the pope's
arguments. Considering that this happened in a time where religious figureheads
had most of the power in the Western world, this argument is a strong support for
the British crown, which fights against the papal influence.
Dryden's conclusion for the theological problem of who has the right to interpret the word
and will of God is no one and everyone. He concedes that the word of God is ultimate and
that no human mind can understand it, therefore taking away any power from all
theological interpretations that have pretty much shaped the Catholic Church. At the
same time he says that everyone should read the holy word and interpret it as they see
fit, as long as they keep the basic rules given by God in their minds. This argument is very
humanistic, as it gives agency to the simple layman and asks them to interpret beyond the
translational errors. And while the poem itself gives very little support for the English
throne as the leader of the Church, the historical context creates this support through the
very explicit criticism of the Catholic system.