Historical Background of 17th

Century English Literature

Sanjana Hashim
17 century literature
From the accession of the king James I in 1603 to the coronation of Charles II in 1660

 It was a time that gave rise to all areas of life

 This foment was reflected in literature during this

period
 The 17th Century's literature revolved mostly around

religious and ethic topics

Social Background
 The weakening of the tie between Monarchy and
Bourgeoisie
 The clashes between the King and Parliament
 The outburst of the English Revolution
 The civil war between 1642 – 1649;
 Charles Ist was executed in 1649;
 The decline of Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the

compromise with the feudal remnants

ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
 Monarchs continued to reinforce their power and some
scholars justified their power as derived from God, in
order to make it untouchable. -In theory the king
concentrated all the powers. His power was
unquestionable, because it was considered to be
derived from God. -But in practice there were some
institutions that limited the king´s power to a certain
extent: councils, Parliaments… Kings tried to avoid
calling the Parliament.
CULTURE: THE SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
Science and thinking made big progress with the development
of Empiricism and Rationalism. This is why the 17th century is
known as the Scientific Revolution century. - Empiricism:
method of knowledge and research based on experience
(observing, formulating hypotheses, proving them with
experiments…). The main representative of the empiricist
method was Galileo Galilei: he improved the telescope
(invented by Johannes Kepler) and he defended the heliocentric
theory formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century.
Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition and was on the verge
of dying burnt at the stake for contradicting the official Catholic
dogma. Galileo obliged to recant before the Inquisition Court
CULTURE: THE SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
  Rationalism was started by the French philosopher
René Descartes, who defended the use of doubt as a
method to know the world and he proposed the
mathematic language as a model on which to base
knowledge. He exposed his ideas on the Discourse on
the Method.
CULTURE: THE SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTION
 Royal Academy of Sciences, París Royal Society,
Londres Academies continued to have an important
role in commissioning scientific researches. In the 17th
century some kings were conscious of the importance
of scientific knowledge and they founded academies, as
the Royal Academies of Sciences, Art and Language in
France or the Royal Society in Great Britain.
Influences of the English Revolution
 1. Sometimes called the Puritan Revolution.
 2. Puritanism was the religious doctrine of the

revolutionary bourgeoisie.
 3. Preached thrift, sobriety, hard work and unceasing

labor.
 4. Worldly pleasures were condemned as harmful. The

Puritans opposed the old church.

 5. Closed down the London theatres in 1642.
Literature of the Revolution Period
 The spirit of unity and patriotism ends
 English literature of this period was very much

concerned with the tremendous social upheavals of the

time.
 Milton and Bunyan defended the English

Commonwealth with their pens.