Transcript From Beowulf to Frankenstein

From
Beowulf
to
Frankenstein
(Part II: Restoration & 18th Cent.)
English 12 Honors
Mr. Raber
Hello…
The Restoration
&
18th Century
1660-1800
The Restoration
 When
Stuart King Charles II
was returned to the throne in
1660, the Church of
England regained its power

Hence, the power was
RESTORED (= Restoration) to the
Church of England/ a Protestant
The Restoration


Remember, during this time period
(more specifically 1660-1800) people
from England and Europe were
pouring into North America.
It was also during
this
period that
America
broke
from England
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The Restoration
English Overview:
1660 = England exhausted from nearly
20 yrs of civil war
By 1700 = England had lived through
the plague and a fire that left
more than 2/3 of Londoners
homeless
Mid to late 1700s = American Colonies
lost
The Restoration



Despite the American colonies lost, by
mid 18th century, England had settled
into a period of “calm and order”
ew
The middle class gr
British men and women produced
many brilliant works of philosophy, art,
and literature…more on lit. later
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The Restoration
 This
long period of time, 16601800, has been given several
labels:
–the Augustan Age
–the Neoclassical period
–the Enlightenment
–the Age of Reason
The Restoration
 Each
of these labels
apply to SOME
characteristics of these
140 years, but none
apply to all
“Augustan” Period

This time period was often called
this because just like Augustus
was “the exalted one” who restored
peace to Rome after Julius
Caesar’s death, Charles II was
brought back to rule England after
exiling himself in France.
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“Augustan” Period
Charles II replaced his father
that was executed at the end of
the civil wars and restored
peace to England
 He (CII) was hailed
as a ‘savior’

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“Neoclassical” Period

In this period many English writers
consciously modeled their works on the
old Latin classics

These writings that imitate Latin works
were called…
NEOCLASSICAL = “new classical”
“Neoclassical” Period


The classics, it was generally
agreed, were more valuable because
they represented what was
permanent and universal in
human experience
All educated people knew the Latin
classics better than they knew their
own English Literature
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“Age of Reason” / “Enlightenment” Period


These labels reveal how people were
gradually changing their view of
themselves and the world.
Example: ppl thought before horrific events such as
the assassination of a ruler took place, that the earth and
sky would give warnings (earthquakes/comets/etc.)

Before, ppl asked WHY did this
unusual event happen…and
what does it mean?
“Age of Reason” / “Enlightenment” Period



Now, ppl asked HOW did this
unusual event happen?
PPL started to wonder HOW
everything worked from the human
body to the laws of the universe
Ex. Halley’s comet = appears every
76 yrs b/c that is how long it takes to
complete its orbit…he calculated
this…he did not guess at it or its
meaning
Changes in Religion = More ?s

The new scientific and rational
explanations of phenomena gradually
began to affect some people’s religious
views…

Thus,
evolved
Deism = a spiritual belief based on
reason and the observation of

DEISM
nature

Only a minority of “enlightened” rationalists and materialists
adopted deism. The majority remained religious.
Religion & Politics


Religion determined people’s politics in
this period
Charles II reestablished the Church of
England…also known as the
Anglican Church (this church is still
present in England today and in the United
States it is called the Episcopal Church)

Charles attempted to outlaw all other
churches and this caused persecution
that lasted into the 18th century
Also during this period…
•
Charles was a big advocate of
THEATER…thus it was popular
•
Both Alexander Pope and Jonathan
Swift popularized SATIRE by
attacking the immorality and bad
taste of the educated/leisured class
Also during this period…
• Daniel Defoe, Joseph Addison, and
Sir Richard Steele practiced
JOURNALISM in which they
viewed themselves as reformers
Also during this period…
Poems during this time period
were said to have been by their
author’s WITS (minds) and not
the soul of the author
 This was viewed by a number of
other poets as a negative

Also during this period…

Rather, poetry during this time period
was written for a specific
purpose


Thus, the purpose and kind of poem
to be conceived was decided before
the actual poem was composed
Some types of poems included:
ELEGY, SATIRE, and ODE
Also during this period…




By the mid-eighteenth century ppl were
writing, and others were buying
Then, long fictional narratives called
NOVELS
Novels were developed by the middle
class and were often broad and comical
Some Novelists of the time: Defoe,
Fielding, Richardson, and Sterne
ALMOST DONE…
Let us now
switch gears back to
what was occurring in
England and the
monarch at this time…
The Bloodless Revolution


Then, when Charles II died, w/out an
heir, his brother James II became king.
James was a Roman
Catholic and the
Protestant English
political leaders acted
quickly to transfer
power
to James’s
Protestant
daughter Mary
It was worried that James was going to
hand the country over to the pope
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
The Bloodless Revolution

Then, Mary’s Dutch husband,
William of Orange, attacked England
and forced King
James (not
Lebron) to flee
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Thus, William and Mary assumed
the throne and came to power in
1689
 Not a drop of blood had been shed
and this became known as the

Glorious (Bloodless) Revolution
Wrapping up the 18th Century:


By the last decade of the century, the
English “world was changing in
disturbing ways.”
The
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

was turning English cities and towns
into filthy, smoky slums.
People knew that the age of elegance,
taste, and reason was over
Wrapping up the 18th Century:


As a reflection of all this change,
writers were developing new
interests
Appalled at the industrial blight, they
were turning to EXTERNAL
NATURE and writing about the
effect of the natural landscape on the
human soul.
(The HEALING POWER OF NATURE
is a RBD in the upcoming ROMANTIC
PERIOD)
Wrapping up the 18th Century:

These writers were also becoming
interested in the literary possibilities of
the humble life and were trying to
enter into the consciousness of the
poor and simple
A
NEW LITERARY AGE
WAS BEGINNING…
The
ROMANTIC
Time Period
1798-1832
ANY…
QUESTIONS?