Lecture 5 The 17th Century British Literature.pptVIP

The 17th CenturyThe Period of Revolution and Restoration I. General Remarks II. John Donne His Death Be Not Proud III. John Milton His Paradise Lost IV. John Bunyan His The Pilgrim’s Progress I. General Remarks After the victory of the Spanish War, the tie between the monarchy and the bourgeoisie began to weaken. The conflict between the parliament and the King reached the highest point, hence broke out the English Revolution in 1649. The result was the establishment of a Commonwealth, a republic in England. While after the death of Cromwell, the monarchy was restored in 1660. After a century of disputes and battles till the so-called “Glorious Revolution” in 1688, the basic structure of England was settled. General Remarks During the Revolution, the strength of the bourgeoisie and their anger was expressed under a religious cloak, Puritanism(清教主义）. It advocated the simplicity of life, which was good for the accumulation of capital and also greatly influenced the literature of this period. The main literary form of the period is poetry. General Remarks Among the poets John Milton（约翰·弥尔顿） is the greatest. Besides, the metaphysical poets appeared at about the beginning of the 17th century. The works of them are characterized by　mysticism　 (神秘主义） in content and fantasticality （变化无常）in form. John Donne （约翰·多恩） is the founder of this school. In the field of prose writing of the Puritan Age, John Bunyan（约翰·班扬） occupies the most important position. This age is called the “Age of Milton”. What is Puritanism? Puritanism was the religious doctrine of the revolutionary bourgeoisie during this period. It preached thrift, sobriety, hard work, but with very little extravagant enjoyment of the fruits of labor. Worldly pleasures were condemned as harmful. This was precisely the outlook needed by the bourgeoisie for the accumulation of capital. So in the triumph of Puritanism under Cromwell, severe laws were passed, many simple pleasures were forbidden and an austere standa