History of Puritan and Restoration Age

 Bridge course:- History of Puritan and Restoration Age

Hello Readers..! This blog is in response to the Bridge course - History of Puritan Age and Restoration Age assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad sir. In this blog I am going to deal with important points of puritan and Restoration Ages.

Puritan Age + Restoration Age:- 

"As God delights in his own beauty, he must Necessarily delight in the creature's holiness which is a conformity to and participation of it. As truly as the brightness of a Jewel, held in the sun's beams, is a participation or derivation of the sun's brightness, though immensely less in degree."

                       - Jonathan Edwards 

The literature of the 17th century maybe divided  into two periods - The Puritan Age or the Age of Milton (1600-1660) , which is further divided into the Jecobean and Caroline Periods after the names of the ruler James I and Charles I, who ruled from 1603 to 1625 and 1625 to 1649 respectively; and the Restoration period or the Age of Dryden (1660-1700). The Puritan Age is marked by the decline of The Renaissance Age of revival of knowledge.

Meaning of Puritanism :-

1. A  member of a group of English who in the 16th and 17th centuries advocated strict religious discipline along with simplification of the ceremonies and creed of church of England.
2. Puritan one who lives in accordance with Protestant precepts, especially one who regards pleasure or luxury as sinful.
3. Puritanism was the doctrine or school of English Protestant of the 16th & 17th centuries whose aim was the purification of religious practices.

The Puritan movement may be regarded as the  second and greatest Renaissance. The 17th century upto 1660 was dominated by Puritanism and it may be called Puritan Age or the Age of Milton. Who was the Noblest  representative of the puritan spirit. The Puritan movement in literature may be considered as the second and greater Renaissance marked by the rebirth of the moral nature of man. However in the Age of Renaissance despotism was still the order of the day and there was fantasticism in politics and religion. 

The Puritan movement stood for Liberty of the people from the Shackles of the deposit ruler as well as the introduction of morality and high ideals in politics. Thus it had two objects: personal righteousness , civil and religious liberty. In other words it aimed to make men honest and free.  

In literature of the Puritan Age, we find the same confusion  as we find in religion and politics. The mediaeval standards of Chivalry, the impossible loves, and romances which we find in Spencer and Sidney, have completely disappeared. As there were no fixed literary standards, imitations of older poets and exaggeration of the 'Metaphysical' poets replaced the original, dignified, and highly imaginative compositions of the Elizabethan writers. The literary achievements of this so - called gloomy age are not of a high order, but it had the honor of producing one solitary master of verse whose work would shed luster on any age or people John Milton, who was the Noblest and indomitable representative of the Puritan spirit to which he gave a loftiest and enduring expression.

Characteristics of the Age of Milton or Puritan Age:-

 There are some  main characteristics in which Puritan literature differs from that of the preceding age :

• Civil war 
• The puritan Movement

Civil war:-

The entire period was dominated by the Civil war, which divided the people into two factors, one loyal to the king and other opposed to him. English people had remained one and United and loyal to the Sovereign. The crisis began when James I , who had recognised the right of royalty from an Act of Parliament, gave too much premium to the Divine right and began to ignore parliament which had created him . The puritans, who had become a potent force in the social life of the age, heralded the movement for constitutional reforms. The hostilities. Which began in 1642, lasted till the execution of Charles in 1649. There was little Political stability during the interregnum of eleven years that followed. These turbulent years saw the establishment of the commonwealth, which followed upon his death, and finally, the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

The Puritan movement:- 

The Renaissance, which exercised immense influence on Elizabethan literature, was essentially pagan and sensuous.  It did not concern the moral nature of man, and it brought little relief from the despotism of rulers. "The Puritan movement", says W. J.  Long , "May be regarded as an second and greater Renaissance, a rebirth of the moral nature of man following the intellectual awakening of Europe in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries." In Germany and England, the Renaissance was accompanied by a moral awakening, "that  greatest  moral and political reform which ever swept 'over a nation in the short space of half a century", which is meant by the Puritan movement. Puritanism had two chief objects : the first was personal righteousness, the second was civil and personal liberty. In other words, it aimed to make men honest and to make them free.

Though the spirit of the puritan movement was profoundly religious, the puritans were not a religious sect, neither was the Puritan a narrow - named and gloomy dogmatist, as he is still pictured in the histories." Hampden, Eliot, Milton, Hooker, and Cromwell were Puritans. From a religious viewpoint, Puritanism included all shades of belief. In course of time " Puritanism became a great national movement. It concluded English churchmen as well as extreme separatists, calvinists, covenanters , catholic Nobleman ,- all bound together in resistance to despotism in church and state , and with in resistance to despotism in church and state, and with a passion for Liberty and righteousness such as the world has never since seen, " says W. J. Long.

During the puritan rule of Cromwell severe laws were passed,simple pleasures were forbidden, theatres were closed , and an austere standard of living was forced upon  unwilling people. So there was a rebellion against Puritanism, which ended with the Restoration of King Charles II.

Literary Characteristics of the Age of Milton:-

Because of the influence of the Church and puritans there are only limited works. Though some major writers tried to create the best out of the worst.

Influence of Puritanism:-

The influence of Puritanism on English life and literature was profound. The spirit which it introduced was fine and nobel but uprightness are unquestionable but his fanaticism, his moroseness, and the narrowness of his outlook and symbolism to react against prevailing abuses, he denounced the good things of life, condensed science and art, and ignored the appreciation of beauty, which invigorates secular to confine human culture within the circumstances field of its own particular interests. It was fatal to both art and literature.

Puritanism creates a confusion in the literature. Somberness and pensiveness pervaded the poetry of this period. The spirit of gaiety, youthful vigour and vitality, romance and chivalry that distinguished Elizabethan literature was conspicuous by its absence in the words of W. J. Long "Poetry took new and startling forms in Donne and Herbert and prose became as somber as Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy. The spiritual gloom that sooner or later fastens upon all writers of this age, and which is unjustly attributed to puritan influence, is due to the breaking up of accepted standards in religion and government. This so - called gloomy age produced some minor poems of exquisite workmanship, and one great master of verse, whose work would glorify any age of people, - John Milton, in whom the indomitable puritan spirit finds its Noblest expression."

Vitality and concreteness :-

The literature of this period lacks concreteness and Vitality. Shakespeare stands first and foremost for the concrete realities of life, his words and phrases tingle with vitality and thrill with warmth, Milton is concerned rather with sonorous majesty, now and again the thrilling us as Shakespeare did with the fine excess of creative genius, but more often impressing us with their tenderness and power , than Moving us by their stateliness and power , than Moving us by their tenderness and passion. Puritanism began with Ben Jonson, though it found its greatest prose exponent in Bunyan. W. J. Long writes "Elizabethan literature is generally inspiring, it throbs speaks of age and sadness, even it's brightest hours are followed by gloom and by the pessimism inseparable from the passing of old standards."

Want of the Spirit of Unity :-

Despite the diversity, Elizabethan literature was marked by the spirit of unity , which resulted from the intense patriotism and nationalism of all classes, and their devotion and loyalty to the Queen who had a single- minded mission to seek the nation's welfare. During this period James I and Charles II were hostile to the interests of the people. The country was divided by the struggle for political and religious liberty, and the literature was as divided in spirit as the struggling parties.

Dominance of critical and Intellectual Spirit:-

This period is remarkable for the decay of drama. The civil disturbance and the strong opposition of the Puritans was the main cause of the collapse of drama. The actual dramatic work of the period was small and unimportant. The closing of the theatres in 1642 gave a final jolt to the development of drama. For a better understanding about the puritan Age and Characteristics watch the below YouTube video.

" It is said that in some countries trees will grow, but will bear no fruit because there is no winter there."

                                            - John Bunyan 

However, the Great Migration of puritans was relatively short - lived and very large. It began in earnest in 1629 with the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the start of the English civil war when king Charles I effectively shut off emigration to the colonies.

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