Portfolio

at History
of English
Literature

English literature
is the literature
which is distinctly
written in the English
language, as opposed
to differing
languages. English
literature includes

The Medieval
Literature is divided in 2
parts:
Old English Literature
and
Middle English
Literature, all works
included in these periods
are caused by the historic
factors. So futher, we will
describe initially the social,

The Anglo-Saxon Period(4496th

1066
9th
5th
1066
BC)
AngloNorman
Vikings
Celts

Saxons

420CE
450CE
Romans Romans Jutes from
invade leave.
Denmark,
Britain.
and the
Encountered
Angles and
the Celts.
Saxons from
Romans build
Northern
roads, villas,
Germany
huge
invade
buildings, and
England.
forts.
Germanic
Introduced
tribes.
Christianity.
Anglo-

43CE

Saxons
push out
Celts

597CE
AngloSaxons
become
Christian

Conquest

871-899CE
1066CE
787CE King Alfred the
Norman Conquest by
Viking Great becomes
William the
raids King of England.
Conqueror.
begin *Established
From Norman
education systems,
French.
rebuilt
Defeated Danes
monasteries.and Anglo*Fought Danes and
Saxons.
forced them from
Officially ended
Wessex
Anglo-Saxon era
*Unified Angloand brought
Saxons under one
about the
king to resist the
beginning of the
Viking invasions.*
Medieval Period.
Danes ruled in the
North, AngloSaxons in the
South.

The Anglo-Saxon Period(4491066 BC)

Political Structure :
The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for some
six centuries, from the arrival of Germanic
invaders from the continent during the
early fifth century AD to the Norman
Conquest of 1066. This was a time of
immense political and social upheaval
which saw major changes in almost all
aspects of everyday life. The early pagan
settlers lived mainly by farming , and
formed a number of separate and
warring kingdoms. By around 700 AD,
there appears to have been a Heptarchy
of seven kingdoms (Northumbria, Mercia,
East Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and
Kent), while the main four in the ninth
century were Northumbria, Mercia, East
Anglia and Wessex.

e Anglo-Saxon Period(449-1066 B
Social Structure:
Anglo-Saxon society.
Lived in tribal groups with a
high class of warriors.
Kings emerged as society
developed.

King- was very wise and generous to his

people especially to his warriors, who
brought them a lot of gifts to show how
grateful he is for their batlles, it was a
strong connection between king and
warrior.
Warriors-they were quite loyal to their
king,fearless and ready in any moment
for new battles or sacrifices, for them the
ideal was power and honour.
Freemen and slaves- both groups were
hierarchically structured, with several
classes of freemen and many types of
slaves. These varied at different times
and in different areas, but the most
prominent ranks within free society were
the king, the nobleman or and the
ordinary freeman.

e Anglo-Saxon Period(449-1066 B
Economic Structure :
Because of the importance of farming in the Anglo-Saxon economy (see Unit 9
Farming), a high proportion of occupations were to do with agriculture and animal
husbandry. Male slaves in particular often worked as farm labourers. Skilled
artisans were also needed, and the high quality of surviving metalwork, art and
sculpture testifies to the level of craftsmanship that could be attained. Fine
embroidery was carried out by ladies, the most famous example being the Bayeux
Tapestry depicting the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in
1066.

e Anglo-Saxon Period(449-1066 B
Cultural Structure :
The Anglo-Saxons from point of view of religion were pagans, they believed in a
lot of Gods as Thor, Freya or Wooden. Also one of the specific characteristic
feature was the burning body after the death, they didnt believed afterlife but they
kept in memory the person of that great figher, and honored many years after.
Spoke Old English. This was the language that Beowulf was written in.
Became Christian but still valued heroic ideals and traditional heroes.
Their culture valued human contact, family, virtue, and a good story. They feared
humiliation and loneliness in their lives. In addition, the Anglo-Saxons desired
richness, power, and appreciated heroic actions of warriors.

Old English Literature

Old
English
literature, or AngloSaxon
literature,
encompasses
literature written in
Old
English
in
Anglo-Saxon
England,
in
the

Old English Literature

Anglo-Saxon literature began as an oral tradition. Stories, poems,
and songs were all told aloud and passed from generation to
generation orally through minstrels (also called scops).
It is divided in :

Anonymous Old English Poetry

Attributed Old English Poetry
Old English Prose

onymous Old English Poe

Old English poetry falls broadly into two styles or fields of reference, the heroic
Germanic and the Christian. With a few exceptions, almost all Old English poets are
anonymous.
Although there are Anglo-Saxon discourses on Latin prosody, the rules of Old English
verse are understood only through modern analyses of the extant texts. The first widely
accepted theory was constructed by Eduard Sievers (1893), who distinguished five distinct
alliterative patterns.[ Alternative theories have been proposed, such as the theory of John C.
Pope (1942), which uses musical notation to track the verse patterns.
Alliterative verse - the most popular and well-known understanding of Old English
poetry continues to be Sievers' alliterative verse. The system is based upon accent,
alliteration, the quantity of vowels, and patterns of syllabic accentuation. It consists of
five permutations on a base verse scheme; any one of the five types can be used in any
verse.
Kennigs- kenning an often formulaic phrase that describes one thing in terms of another
(e.g. in Beowulf the sea is called the whale road)
Syntactic Parallelism- it is a repetead description of one and the same fact (e.g.
Beowulf in song XXXV is called warrior chief)

onymous Old English Poe

The Wanderer,
The Seafarer,
The Rhyming Poem

Widsith
Waldhere
The Fight at Finnaburh
Beowulf

The Wifes Lament

The Husbands Message
Wulf and Eadwacer
The Ruin Deors Lament

Didactic
Elegies

Lyrical
Poems

Heroic
Legends

Historical
Songs
The Battle of Brunnanburh
The Battle of Maldon

Beowulf
Most famous of early Germanic
poems
Written anywhere between 4001000, but most likely after the
500s.
The author is unknown, but
likely to be Christian. It is likely
that a few different authors
elaborated on the tale.
Takes place in Sweden,
Denmark, and Frisia.
The Norse were at this time
attacking Britain, thus
allowing knowledge of places,
people, and ancestors to be
available.

Beowulf is the most well-known

Anglo-Saxon poem, and is a form of
poetry called the epic. Such other
examples are Homers The Iliad and
The Odessey.
Long narrative that celebrates a heros
long journeys and heroic deeds.
Characteristics include a noble hero
whose character traits reflect their
societys ideals. The hero performs
brave acts and appears superhuman.

Beowulf
Universal themes of epic poetry
Good vs. evil
Beowulf vs. Grendel
Courage and honor
Beowulf is fearless and brave
while fighting the monsters.
Gods or semi-divine creatures
Grendel, Grendels mother,
the dragon
Tale involves the fate of an entire
race
Beowulf saves Hrothgars
village from Grendel.

The Heroic Code

The epic poem Beowulf
strengthens the Heroic Code.
This code was derived from
the Anglo-Saxons Germanic
roots, and called for strength,
courage, and loyalty in
warriors. It also required
kings to be hospitable,
generous, and have great
political skills. This code
was a basis for Anglo-Saxon
honor.

Beowulf-The Plot
Beowulf travels to Hrothgars village to save them from Grendel, a terrifying
monster eating their warriors. An epic battle ensues with Beowulf is the winner.
Of course, Grendels mother comes seeking vengeance for her sons death. Again,
Beowulf is called upon to save them all, and he fights heroically and defeats the
evil monster. After being vastly rewarded and refusing an offer from Hrothgar to
be his heir, Beowulf makes the long trek back to his homeland where he becomes a
mighty and generous king for many years. He fights a massive dragon who is
threatening his people. He and the dragon both die in the struggle, but he is heroic
until the end.

The Main Characters

Beowulf: main character, a hero

featuring all the qualities of an epic
hero. He has superhuman strength and
is fearless and brave in battler.
Hrothgar: the king of the village that
Beowulf saves from Grendel.
Grendel: a monster terrorizing
Hrothgars village.
Grendels mother: a monster set out to
avenge her sons death.

Old English Literature

Attributed Old English

Poetry

Caedmon
Cynewulf
The Dream of Road
The Pheonix

Old English Prose

Aldhelm
Venerable BedeHistoria Ecclesiastica
Gentis Anglorum
Alfred The Great
The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle
Wulfatan
lfric

The Middle Ages

1066
The Norman
Conquest
The king was the divine
power, he gave all pieces of
land to nobles. So he
depended a lot on the lords.

Peasants was the

most , they have no
right, they worked at
the residence of the
lord and his villages.

12th

15th

FEUDALISM Social
Kin
Structure
g
Divi
ne
pow
Nobles,
er
Church,Knights
*Land *Privilegies
*Education*Culture
Peasants
*No right

Nobles gave land to vassals and get

military support and taxes in return.
Also the Lord will always have in his
residence with peasants. The knight
had the function to defend the
priests and they had to pray for
them and the peasants had the
function to produce the means for
the knights and for the priests

The Middle Ages

Political Structure

King
Lords

Vassals

Economical Structure

The economic portion of feudalism was

centered around the lord's estates or
manor. A lord's manor would include
peasant villages, a church, farm land, a
mill, and the lord's castle or manor house.
The manor s the main means of
production.

The Middle Ages

Cultural structure
The Religion
The Catholic Church was the only
church in Europe during the Middle
Ages, and it had its own laws and large
coffers. Church leaders such as bishops
and archbishops sat on the king's council
and played leading roles in government.
Bishops, who were often wealthy and
came from noble families, ruled over
groups of parishes called "diocese."
Parish priests, on the other hand, came
from humbler backgrounds and often
had little education. The village priest
tended to the sick and indigent and, if he
was able, taught Latin and the Bible to
the youth of the village.

The Middle Ages

Hig
Cultural structure
Art and music were critical aspects of
medieval religious life and, towards the
end of the Middle Ages, secular life as
well. Singing without instrumental
accompaniment was an essential part of
church services. Monks and priests
chanted the divine offices and the mass
daily .Medieval drama grew out of the
liturgy, beginning in about the eleventh
century. Some of the topics were from the
Old Testament and others were stories
about the birth and death of Christ. These
dramas were performed with costumes and
musical instruments and at first took place
directly outside the church. Later they
were staged in marketplaces, where they
were produced by local guilds.

h
Literature
Cult
ure:
*Ro
man
ces
*Fab
liau
*Dra
ma
Low Culture:
*Oral*Poe
Ballads
msLegends
*Fary Tales

The Middle English Literature

Characteristics of the Medieval
Romance
A tale of High Adventure. Can be a religious crusade, a
conquest for the knight's liege lord, or the rescue of a
captive lady or any combination.

Characterized by:
1.Medieval romance usually idealizes chivalry
2. Medieval romance Idealizes the hero-knight and his
noble deeds
3. An important element of the medieval romance is the
knight's love for his lady.
4. The settings of medieval romance tend to be imaginary
and vague.
5. Medieval romance derives mystery and suspense from
supernatural elements.
6. Medieval romance uses concealed or disguised
identity.

The Middle English Literature

Chivalric Code
The virtues taken as a Knight's Code of
Chivalry was publicised in the poems,
ballads and literary works of Medieval
authors. The wandering minstrels sang
these ballads and poems which
described the valour and the code of
chivalry followed by the Medieval
knights. The Dark Age myths and
legends featuring King Arthur and the
Knights of the Round Table further
strengthen the idea of a Code of
Chivalry. The Arthurian legend
revolves around the Code of Chivalry
which was adhered to by the Knights of
the Round Table - Honour, Honesty,
Valour and Loyalty.

The Middle English Literature

Courtly Love
The courtly love" relationship is modelled on
the feudal relationship between a knight and his
liege lord. The knight serves his courtly lady
(love service) with the same obedience and
loyalty which he owes to his liege lord. She is
in complete control of the love relationship,
while he owes her obedience and submission (a
literary convention that did not correspond to
actual practice!) The knight's love for the
lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to
be worthy of her love or to win her favor. Thus
"courtly love" was originally construed as
an ennobling force whether or not it was
consummated, and even whether or not the
lady knew about the knight's love or loved him
in return.

The Middle English Literature

ROMANCE
Matter of
Rome

legends of Troy and

Thebes, Alexander, etc.

Matter of
France

Roland, Charlemagne

Matter of
Britain

Arthur and his knights:

Lancelot, Parsifal, etc.

,,Le Mort dArthur

By Sir Thomas Malory
Le Mort dArthur represents a rich source
about the Medieval Period, especially about
chivalry, courtly love, loyalty in the the
medieval society.
Le Mort dArthur was reprinted and revised
into several volumes over the years.
Le Mort dArthur was the first major
English compilation of Arthurian tales, it is
held as the standard for all later Englishlanguage adaptations of the legend.
Its influences include the works of
Shakespeare, Spenser, Twain, Tennyson, and
Steinbeck. It has also inspired many works in
young and adult literature.

,,Le Mort dArthur

Themes in ,,Le Mort dArthur

Betrayal
We can hardly read a word of Le Morte
D'Arthur without somebody betraying
somebody else. Knights betray their lords.
Ladies betray their knights
Loyalty
In Le Morte D'Arthur, knights demonstrate
their loyalty to their overlord.
Identity
Did you notice that the knights in Le Morte
D'Arthur are often running around in disguise?
Many knights, like Gareth, Trystram, or
Launcelot, choose to withhold their identity in
order to be judged solely on the basis of their
fighting skills and honorable behavior
Revenge (or Vengeance)
In Le Morte D'Arthur, a desire for vengeance
brings down the Round Table. It's about as
simple as thatThe futility and destructiveness of
vengeance is undeniable, even when it is

By Sir Thomas Malory

Love
With the relationships between Launcelot and
Gwenyvere, and Trystram and Isode, Le Morte
D'Arthur provides in-depth examples of
devoted, to-the-death love between men and
women
Tradition and Customs
In Le Morte D'Arthur, Arthur's knights often
arrive in mysterious castles only to find that the
"custom of the castle" requires them to do
something ridiculously difficult, or sometimes
just plain ridiculous, like having to fight the
castle's lord or even having to allow a lady to
be bled.
Rules and Order
When Arthur founds the Round Table, he
requires all of his knights to take an oath to not
commit crimes, to show mercy to those who
ask, to give special succor to ladies, and in
general to be honorable knights.

,,Le Mort dArthur

Characters
King Arthur

By Sir Thomas Malory

Arthur the GreatFor someone who's the title character,

King Arthur of England sure doesn't get too much face time
in Le Morte D'Arthur, especially in comparison with star
knights.

Launcelot
Knight Numero UnoLauncelot is Arthur's star knight the
best and the bravest in battle, a man admired wherever he
goes.

Trystram

Galahad

The Other Best KnightIf Launcelot is the best of Arthur's knights

on the battlefield, Galahad is his best Christian knight. Merlin
Where's a Wizard When You Need One?Merlin is the handy
wizard that makes stuff happen for much of the first part of Le
Morte D'Arthur.

Morgan le Fay

The Lady TricksterShe schemes, she plots, she plans. Morgan le

Fay, Arthur's aunt through his mother, Igrayne, is something of a
thorn in the side of the Arthurian court. After Igrayne's marriage t.

Cornwall's LauncelotLike Launcelot, Trystram is an

Gwenyvere
honorable, loyal vassal to his king (King Mark) who
happens to be involved in a passionate love affair with that When King Arthur marries Gwenyvere, daughter of King
Lodegrean, he receives a huge round table with seats for 150
king's wife.
knights, as well as 100 knights to fill most of those seats as her
Gawain
dowry. Gwenyvere...
When Gawain first arrives at Arthur's court, it's with two of
Isode
his brothers and his mother, Morgause, who has come to
When Trystram first meets Isode, she is "the fayrest lady and
spy on Arthur. It's not exactly a hero's entrance.
maydyn of the world" (238.4) and her name, "La Beale Isode,"
Gareth
French for "the beautiful Isode," tells us as much. She's also a
Mr. IndependentThe story of Gareth's arrival and
skillful...
establishment in Arthur's court gets a whole book in Le
Minor Characters
Morte D'Arthur. Gareth, who is Gawain's brother and
There are so many minor characters mentioned in Le Morte, that i
Arthur's nephew.
just might take days to name them all. But we'll go ahead and give
Mordred
you the lowdown on the ones worth remembering.AccalonAccalo
Mordred is the bastard son conceived by Arthur when he
is...
sleeps with his sister, Morgause, by mistake.

Late Middle Ages

THE BLACK
DEATH

HUNDRED YEARS
WAR

Both events led to the death of a huge number of people

irrespective of their social position, peasants became fewer
and didnt want to work for free. The balance between
Knights, Priests and Peasant wasnt satisfying any more.
These main factors lead to the great changes , especially
in Literature.

THE CANTERBURY TALES

By Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales (Middle English:
Tales of Caunterbury is a collection of
over 20 stories written in Middle English
by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th
century, during the time of the Hundred
Years' War. The tales (mostly written in
verse, although some are in prose) are
presented as part of a story-telling contest
by a group of pilgrims as they travel
together on a journey from Southwark to
the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at
Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this
contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at
Southwark on their return.

THE CANTERBURY TALES

By Geoffrey Chaucer
Themes in The Canterbury Tales
The Pervasiveness of The Importance of Company The Corruption of the
Church
Courtly Love
Courtly love motifs first appear
in The Canterbury Tales with the
description of the Squire in the
General Prologue. The Squires
role in society is exactly that of
his father the Knight, except for
his lower status, but the Squire is
very different from his father in
that he incorporates the ideals of
courtly love into his
interpretation of his own role.
Indeed, the Squire is practically
a parody of the traditional
courtly lover.

The religious figures Chaucer

Many of Chaucers characters represents in The Canterbury Tales all
end their stories by wishing the deviate in one way or another from
rest of the compaignye, or what was traditionally expected of
company, well.Company
them. Generally, their conduct
literally signifies the entire
corresponds to common medieval
group of people, but Chaucers stereotypes, but it is difficult to make
deliberate choice of this word any overall statement about Chaucers
over other words for describing position because his narrator is so
masses of people, like the
clearly biased toward some characters
Middle English words for party,the Monk, for exampleand so
mixture, or group, points us to clearly biased against others, such as
another major theme that runs the Pardoner. Additionally, the
throughout The Canterbury
characters are not simply satirical
Tales.
versions of their roles; they are
individuals and cannot simply be
taken as typical of their professions.

Renaissance /Elizabethan age

A flowering of literary
artistic and intellectual
development inspired by the
arts and scholarship of
Ancient Greece and Rome.

Renaissance /Elizabethan age

Political and Social Structure
The second half of the 15th century
and the 16th century were a turbulent
age in English history.
In the 15th century The Wars of the
Roses, the rivalry between two
aristocratic houses, of York and of
Lancaster, ended with the victory of
the Lancaster family, when their
distant cousin, Henry Tudor, claimed
the throne.
He was crowned as Henry VII,
starting the Tudor dynasty.
Throughout the Tudor reign,
England constantly fought with its
continental neighbors.

New Monarch
The war of Roses
Nation-state
Specialized army
Social flexibility
Midlle Class
Limited power of the
king

The old aristocracy lost most of its wealth and power in

the Wars of the Roses, so Henry VIII in the 16th cent,
began giving titles to people from the middle class,
making the new aristocracy, faithful to the king above
all else.

Renaissance /Elizabethan age

Economical
Structure

Trade
Colonies
Monopolies

Cultural Structure
The middle class was growing richer and more powerful.
The communications revolution, started with the printing
press, resulted in the fact that in 1600 nearly half of the
population had some kind of minimal literacy.
The spirit of the Renaissance began to show in England.
The rising middle class had access to education, could read
and write in their mother tongue, instead of Latin, and was
becoming aware of endless possibilities for wealth and
success that lay in trade and the New World.
In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke with Rome. So in the 16th
century, there happened 3 influential historical
developments: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the
emergence of England as a maritime power.
The English Literary Renaissance from the ascent of the
House of Tudor to the English throne to 1660.

William Caxton-printing press

Reformation of the churchProtestant Church
Education

Elizabethan age
The reign of Elizabeth I was also a turbulent period, but she successfully
coped with all the difficulties. England was threatened by the superpowers
of the age France and Spain. Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope
in 1570. She was in constant fear for her life. Nevertheless, English ships
beat the Spanish Armada in 1588. Elizabeth managed to maintain a relative
peace between the protestants and the Catholics. She tried to unite her
people, by insisting that they are all English. This worked well most of the
time, and the people developed a sense of national pride.

Elizabethan Literature
The Elizabethan era saw a great
flourishing of literature, especially in the
field of drama. The other major literary
style was lyric poetry. Many of the most
important dramatists of the period were
also excellent poets.

Elizabethan Poetry

SONNET the dominant form of poetry of the

Elizabethan Age
Origins: Italy 13th c. Petrarch (14th c.),
Canzoniere (Laura), established the sonnet as
one of the major poetic forms: love poem;
devotion to the Lady who is usually
unattainable; 14 lines
Brought to England in the early 16th century by
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard Earl of
Surrey; they adapted the form to the English
language
Shakespeares sonnets are very different from
Shakespeares plays, but they do contain dramatic
elements and an overall sense of story. Each of the
poems deals with a highly personal theme, and each
can be taken on its own or in relation to the poems
around it. The sonnets have the feel of
autobiographical poems, but we dont know whether
they deal with real events or not, because no one
knows enough about Shakespeares life to say whether
or not they deal with real events and feelings, so we
tend to refer to the voice of the sonnets as the
speakeras though he were a dramatic creation like
Hamlet or King Lear.

Three thematic groups:

1-126 the theme of Procreation
126-152 the them of Dark Lady
152-154 an adaption of Greek
epigram reflecting the story of
Cupid

Elizabethan Theatre
Theatre(It is not socially restricted )
Troups from 12 persons (8 adults and 4 boys
for women roles)
Just open space no curtain, no decorations.
Opened to all people but also had a structure
-At balcony(nobles)
-Down(common people)
The building itslef was from wood and clay
-The top - Heaven
-The middle - World of people
-Under-Hell
Two types of plays :
Mystery- (perforned in the church, based on
bibliocal story,performed by clergy)
Morality-(main between 2 sets of value good
and value, artists called by the name of the vice
or virtue)

Elizabethan Theatre

The main representative figure in Elizabethan Theatre is Shakespeare

Plays-38
Tragedies(11): Hamlet, Macbeth,Othello,Kings Lear
Comedies: As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of
Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Historical plays : The "Wars of the Roses" cycle(King John, Richard II,
Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II and III, Richard III
and Henry VIII)
Roman Plays : Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus

Harmony
Tragedy Chaos

Chaos
Comedy Harmony

Stuart Age

The Stuart period of British history usually

refers to the period between 1603 and 1714 and
sometimes from 1371 in Scotland. This
coincides with the rule of the House of Stuart,
whose first monarch was James VI of Scotland.
The period ended with the death of Queen Anne
and the accession of George I from the House
of Hanover. The Stuart period was plagued by
internal and religious strife, and a large-scale
civil war.

Stuart Age
The Absolute Monarch:
More radical,unpopular
Divine right
Tyrannical
Antipathy and mistrust of
reformed groups such as the
Puritans and Calvinists
No free person (Britain had
slavery at this time) could be
imprisoned without a reason

The English Civil War

Stuart Age
Culture
New trends
Cavaliers
Metaphysical poets: John Donne (1572
1631)The Flea
o Issues related to physical attractions
o Non traditional way of thinking
o Sofisticated language-the words are quite
bookish and from high register
o Satirized, cinical, different from sonnets
o The poem is not adressed-it is a dialog
o Amorous verses, where nature only should
reign

Interregnum-(The Puritan Period)

Puritan, gentry, military genius

Organized New Model Army
into a skilled force
Defeated Cavaliers
Became Lord Protectorate
after Civil War
Commonwealth of England

Charles I was put on trial

Found guilty
Sentenced to death as a tyrant, traitor,
murderer, and public enemy

Interregnum-(The Puritan Period)

Social:
Sobriety(focus on religioun)
Restriction
The cloths(dark colours)
Culture:
Religious dictaorship
The Puritan views were imposed
Closing the theatres
Entertainment prohibited
Focusing just on religion

Literature: The End of Drama

Neoclassicism
Restoration; Augustan Age

There are three historical events which

influenced the life & literature of the age of
Dryden.
The restoration of Charles II to the
English throne in 1660.
The religious & political controversies and
Popish Plot.
The Golden Revolution of the year 1688.

Neoclassicism
Restoration; Augustan Age

The Restoration of Charles II brought revolution in English literature.

The Puritan regime of Oliver Cromwell had been too severe.
It had suppressed too many natural pleasures.
Now, released from restraint, society abandoned the decencies of life and reverence
for low itself, and plunged into excesses more unnatural than had been the restrains
of Puritanism.
It seems as if England lay sick of a fever.
The king was a thorough rake ( man who
lives immoral life) had a number of
mistresses and numerous illegitimate
children.
This immorality and levity (humorous
attitude) of the age is reflected in its
literature, specially in the Drama.
The plays of Dryden, the most
representative poet of the period, reflect
this immorality and coarseness of life in an
ample measure.

Neoclassicism
Restoration; Augustan Age

Economic

The revolution of consumption

Appeared a lot of jobs
Society grows

Culture
French Models
People changed their values to very imoral and full of vices-Cheating, Adultery
The theatres-elaborated scenery, many deocrations,socially restricted,just uper classes could
attend,apeared a lot of small private theatres,the language is more literary and academic
Drama questioned the establishment order and moral values. Criticized the normality, the rules,
the society. The topic underlined were : the political society or to ridiculaze it
The Comedy of Manners-entertainment form which satirizes the manners and affectations of a
social class or of multiple classes
The status of actress was not very high, they came to show, not to act.
The first newspapaer appeared (printing press)
Reading was fashionable
Gossips(Yellow Press)
Travels
Worldwide view
People considered themselves powerful

Neoclassicism
Restoration; Augustan Age
Literature

Satire-political pamflet
Novels(must be coherent,plot,estetic message)
Proses(were for unistructed public-Cofee House)
Poetry-(for instructed public-Public Sphere)

The dominant form of neoclassicism-faithul

imitations of classical models
The style- sophisticated metaphors and elaborate
imagery
The function- moral instruction.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

An epic poem wrote in blank verse and verse
paragraphs
It is composed from 12 books
The plot develops on four great theatres of
action: Heaven, Eden, Hell and our familiar
world
The themes are:
the importance of obedience to God
the hierarchical Nature of the Universe
the Fall as Partly Fortunate
Characters: Adam, Eve Satan, God, Gods
Son, Angels inhabiting the Heaven and
Earth( Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Abdiel and
Michael) and the devils inhabiting Hell
(Beelzebub, Belial, Mammon, Moloch, Sin and
Death)

Paradise
Lost
by
John
Milton
Eve
is beautiful and slender, a fair
creature with golden hair.
Milton's Eve is Adam's counterpart and
other half but she is crucially not Adam's
equal. This imbalance between the couple,
with Eve as the more submissive and
subordinate of the two, is evident
in Paradise Lost both before and after the
Fall, before Eve does anything wrong.

Adam is the first human created by God.

Though initially alone, Adam demands a

mate from God. Considered God's prized
creation, Adam, along with his wife, rules
over all the creatures of the world and
resides in the Garden of Eden. He is more
gregarious than Eve, and yearns for her
company. His complete infatuation with Eve
while pure in and of itself, eventually
contributes to his joining her in disobedience
to God.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

SATAN
The protagonist of Paradise Lost, is the fallen angel, Satan.
Milton presents Satan almost sympathetically, as an
ambitious and prideful being who defies his creator,
omnipotent God, and wages war on heaven, only to be
defeated and cast down.

Satan has all the heroic Qualities nobility and dignity,

valor and courage, determination
Satan is heroic (heroes are human) because he is and
persistent in pursuing what he believes to be true; he wants
to be different, transformed by knowledge about Gods true
nature, as well as his own.
Satan establishes himself as a defender of
freedom. Below speech elevates Satan in the
minds of readers to hero status, willing to
defend what he believes in, even if it means
suffering.
As ruler of Hell, Satan strives for equality and fairness.
In Book II of Paradise Lost, Satan calls his band of
rebel angels (devils) to a community forum so that they
can voice their opinions in plotting against God. It
demonstrates how democratic Satan is.

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