British literature of Entlightment and Romanticism

The 17^th century in Britain was a time of problems with the Church that even led to the Civil War of 1640. During this war, the parliamentarians also known as the puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, fought against the Royalists, who supported the Anglican King Charles. Oliver Cromwell won and changed the monarchy into a republic. He closed down theatres, ruled for 11 years, and was then accused of tyranny, similarly as Charles I. was. This led to the Restoration of 1660 (the restoring of the monarchy) when Charles II. came into power and a Constitutional monarchy was made. Power was divided between the Monarch and the Parliament. An author from that time, John Milton, who came from a rich family and studied in Great Britain, France, and Italy; also worked for Cromwell. He wrote the book “Paradise Lost” which takes its theme from the Bible. God represents the King and Satan represents freedom and independence, thus he appears as the better character. The 18^th century was a century of stability and neo-classic and romantic literature. Mostly poetry was written during this time. It was simple, clear, and precise. Jonathan Swift, a great satirist and tutor, wrote “Gulliver´s Travels,” a great work of satire but not a children´s book. It is about a character travelling to Lilliput and about small people fighting foolish wars. There are also giants in this book. Henry Fielding, and author who studied at Eton and was very poor, wrote plays. “The Tragedy of Tragedies” was a play of his which was against society. Politics of Romanticism were that aristocrats still occupied the British Parliament. There were slowly less farmers and more factory workers because the Industrial Revolution was beginning and people were moving into cities. In turn, literature portraying these social and political problems came into being. It wanted to portray the senses and sentiments of the people in lower classes. The main subject of this literature is the individual with a huge role of imagination where the truth is beyond rational thinking. Nature in these books reflects the inner thoughts. Authors lived mostly in solitude, looking for exotic muses. William Blake was a well-educated writer of “Poetical Sketches” and “Songs of Innocence”. William Wordsworth changed English poetry. He wrote about pastoral themes while he settled at the Lake school in the Lake District (as did many other authors such as Shelley, Byron, and Samuel Coleridge). He wrote “Lyrical Ballads,” “Poems” in two volumes, and “The Excursion.” G. G. Byron travelled a lot and then wrote “Childe Harold´s Pilgrimage,” “Prometheus,” and “The Prisoner of Chillon.” P. B. Shelley was an author against religion, law, and customs. He wrote “The Cenci” and “Prometheus Unbound.” Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein.” Jane Austen wrote “Pride and Prejudice,” and “Sense and Sensibility.” “Pride and Prejudice” is very popular and was even made into a film.