Restoration Period/Age of Dryden (1660-1700)

Characteristics
• Monarchy was restored in England
• Followers of the French writers and their vices
• Showed the real picture of the corrupt society and court
• Concerned with vices rather than virtues
• Coarse and inferior type of literature
• Directness and simplicity of expression
• Counteracted the tendency of exaggeration and
extravagance
• Emphasize on reasoning rather than romantic fantasy
• Precise way of writing
• Emphasize on royal society
• Classical style
Why The Age of Dryden?
• As in the field of poetry and drama, Dryden was the chief
leader and practitioner of the new age. He presented the
model of new prose which was different from Bacon and
Milton. He wrote plain, simple and exact style free from
exaggeration. His fables and the preface to them are fine
examples of prose style. His writing does not have any
imaginative bent of mind like the other writers of the
previous age had but his style was most suitable having full
capacity and grace.
• Comedy of manners
• The conquest of Granada
• Tyrannic love
• All for Love
Restoration Poetry
• John Dryden (1631-1700)
• Poetry, Drama and Prose
• Satirical, realistic and written in heroic couplet
• Conceit and exaggeration
• Emancipated himself from false taste and artificial style
• Intellectual precision, argumentative and realistic
• Major works
• Absolem and Achitophel
• The Medal
• The Hind and the Panther
 Restoration Drama
• The drama in England after 1660 called the restoration drama.
• This age was greatly affected by the spirit of new age which
was deficient in poetic feeling, imagination and emotional
approach to life. Restoration drama didn’t have the
characteristics like Elizabethan age. This age was confined to
the upper class society whose taste was aristocratic, and
among which the prevailing fashions and etiquettes were
foreign and extravagant. This age never gave the picture of a
whole nation but was restricted to only upper class.
• Wild Gallant (Dryden)
• Love for Love (William Congreve)
 Restoration Prose
• The Restoration period was deficient in poetry and drama but
prose holds its head much higher. Prose was developed as a
medium of expression, ideas and feelings. Prose involved
intricate subjects and handling practical business. Lamb,
Hazlitt, Ruskin, John Bunyan and Carlyle were important
figures of this age in prose writing who changes the mind set
of the people. Character possess their individual personality
and character. The most important work of this age is “The
Pilgrim’s Progress” in which Bunyan describes the true virtue
of righteousness and showed disgust in corruption and
degradation that prevailed in the society. Thus his work born
of moral earnest and extreme sincerity.
Characteristics of Restoration Age
• Realism & Precision
• Emphasized on moral philosophy; every man becomes his
own philosopher
• Interested in the portrayal of actual life rather them artificial
• Clear, Precise and elegant form of literature
• Development of novel
• Classical rules and ideals regained supremacy
• Made the people able to laugh on their own follies and get
rid of them
• Interested in expressing clearly every human interest and
emotion
• Aim was moral as well as educational
Augustan Literature/Eighteen Century Literature/Classical
age/ Age of Reason/Age of Pope/ Age of Johnson

The Eighteen century in England is called the Classical Age or

the Augustan Age. It is also called the age of good sense or the
age of reason. The most important figures of this age were
Pope and Dr.Johnson.
The Eighteen Century was called classical age for three reasons.
Firstly, due to “classic” which refers the writers of the high
rank. These writers tried to follow the simple and noble
methods of the great ancient writers.
Secondly, the writers of this age produced the works of high
merits by following the ancient great heroes.
Thirdly, during this period the English writer rebelled against
the exaggerated style and emphasized on follow the exact
rules.
Age of Pope
• The earlier part of the eighteen century or The
Augustan Age in English Literature is called the Age
of Pope because Pope was the dominating figure of
this age because he was the only one who devoted
himself completely to literature.
Romanticism and Classicism

• There are two distinctive tendencies in history of

English Literature- Classic and Romantic.
• Characteristics of Classicism:
• Belief in reason
• Emphasize on civilized
• Modern and sophisticated mode of life
• Interest in urban society
• Preoccupation in human nature
• Expression of accepted moral truths
• Realistic recognition of things as they are
• Belief in good and evil
Conti…
• Impersonal Objectivity
• Interest in public themes
• Emphasis in formal correctness
• Popularity of poetry of prose statement
• Use of formal poetic diction
• Self-consciousness
• Rational sobriety of Latin literature
• Acceptance of philosophical and religious
creeds
Characteristics of Romanticism
• Belief in feeling, imagination and intuition
• Emphasis on the primitive, medieval and natural
modes of life
• Interest in rural solitude
• Pre-occupation with the aesthetic and spiritual
values of external nature
• Love for visions of the mysterious
• Tendency of myth-making
• Discovery of the beauty that is truth
Conti…
• Belief in man and goodness
• Interest in private themes
• Emphasis on individual expressiveness and the ideal
intensity
• Popularity of image and symbol
• Use of common language
• Self-conscious originality and romantic Hellenism
• Subjectivism
• Faith in progress
 The Romantic Age
The romantic period is called the age of Revolution also because
of American Revolution. Liberty, fraternity and equality of the
French Revolution made it time of hope and change.
Society was changing, becoming industrial rather than agricultural
as towns and cities developed, the Government encouraged free
trade. The new middle class became in power, there were moves
towards voting reforms and greater democracy. But change was
slow and there were lot of sufferings especially among the poor.
They had to move from the country to city; the soldiers who
returned after Napoleon’s defeat found themselves unemployed.
There were many social and political problem.
Then there came the Lyrical Ballads (1798) written by Samuel
Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth included Coleridge’s
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Wordsworth’s Lines
Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.
The Romantic Period is the most fruitful period in the history of
English Literature. This was a literary, intellectual moments that
started from later half of Eighteen century. Romantic age was
embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music and literature.
Some of the most popular poets like Coleridge, Wordsworth,
Shelley, Keats and Byron belong to this age.
TERM “ROMANTICISM” IS DIFFICULT TO DEFINE AND WRITERS OF THE
PERIOD WERE ONLY LATER LABELLED “ROMANTIC.”
BUT MANY HAD A SENSE OF “THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE”—THAT A GREAT
RELEASE OF CREATIVE ENERGY WAS OCCURING AS ACCOMPANIMENT TO
POLITICAL & SOCIAL REVOLUTION. IT WAS SEEN AS AN AGE OF NEW BEGIN-
INGS & LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.
Two views of Nature According to Romantics

• They first viewed nature as peaceful, calm,

nurturing, a source for spiritual renewal. It often
showed an innocent life of rural dwellers, a world of
peace and harmony which nurtures and comforts
the human spirit. This is very much how
Wordsworth viewed nature.
• But nature could also be frightening in its power,
and cause a dizzying sense of amazement and
wonder
Romantic Poets/Poetry

• A Child’s Sense of Wonder:

“Romantic” signifies a fascination with youth and
innocence…particularly the freshness and wonder of a child’s
perception of the world.
This perception seemed to resemble the age’s sense of a “new
dawn”…like what Wordsworth saw in his first experience in France as
“human nature being born again.”
Social Idealism:
The term “Romantic” refers to a view of cyclical development of
human societies. This is the stage when people need to question
tradition and authority in order to imagine better - that is, happier,
fairer, and healthier - ways to live. Romantic in this sense is
associated with idealism.
 Adaptation to Change:

The term “Romantic” suggests an ability to change- an

acceptance of change rather than a rigid rejection of it. In the
so-called Romantic period of the first half of the 19th century
(up to the Civil War in America), Western societies met the
conditions necessary for industrialization. This demanded that
people acquire a stronger and stronger awareness of change,
and that they try to find a way to adapt to it.
Overall, the term “romantic” signifies a fascination with youth
and innocence, a questioning of authority and tradition for
idealistic purposes, and an adaptation to change.
Romantic Poetry
POETRY WAS SEEN AS THE “SPONTANEOUS OVERFLOW OF POWERFUL
FEELINGS”; THE ESSENCE OF POETRY WAS THE MIND, EMOTIONS, & IMAGI-
NATION OF THE POET (NOT THE OUTER WORLD).
The poets of romantic age can be classified into three groups:
i. The Lake School; Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey
ii. The Scott Group; Campbell and Moore
iii. Younger Poets: Byron, Shelley and Keats
• The Lake Poets:
• The Lake poets formed a school in a sense that they worked in
close cooperation, and their lives were spent partly in the lake
district. They linked together with friendship and revolutionary
ideas of youth. Wordsworth and Coleridge lived together and
produced Lyrical Ballads (1798)
 William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
• He was the greatest poet of the Romantic age. The credit
of originating the romantic movement goes to him. He
refused to abide by the any poetic convention and rules,
and forged his own way in the realm of poetry. He
declared: “A poet is a man endowed with more lively
sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a
greater knowledge of human nature, and more
comprehensive soul, that are supposed to be common
among mankind. But Wordsworth was not merely a
lyrical poet, he justly claims to be a poet of Man, of
Nature and of Human life. He discouraged that there is
an innate harmony between the nature and man. He
says when man lives in the lap of nature , he lives the
right type of life.
Works of Wordsworth
• The Prelude
• The Excursion
• The Recluse
• Ode to Duty
• Immortality Ode
• Revolution and Independence
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
• Coleridge was a contemporary to that of Wordsworth. He came
under the influence of French Revolution and high hopes which
it held out for the emancipation of the oppressed section of
mankind. Wordsworth dealt with naturalism while Coleridge
dealt with Supernaturalism. Coleridge was man of gigantic
genius, but his lack of will power and addiction to opium
prevented him from accomplishing much in the realm of
poetry.
• Christabel
• The Ancient Mariner
• Kubla Khan
The Younger Group of Poets
• The younger Group of Romantic poets belongs to Byron,
Shelley and Keats. They represent the second flowering of
English Romanticism. The poets of younger group show
some sharp differences with the poets of the older group.
The Poets of younger group were not only less national but
also they were against the historic and social traditions of
England.
• P.B Shelley
• Shelley was a revolutionary, idealist, a prophet of hope and
faith. He was a visionary who dreamt of the golden age.
Shelley’s reputation as poet lies mainly in his lyrical power.
Shelley was inspired by the spirit of love which was not
limited to mankind but extended to every living being.
Shelley’s Works
• Queen Mab
• Revolt of Islam
• Alastor
• The Triumph of Life (unfinished work)
John Keats
• Of all the romantic poets Keats was a pure poet. He
was a most perfect of the Romantics. Keats did not
take much notice of the social, political and literary
turmoil but devoted himself entirely to the worship
of beauty. Unlike Byron who was a Lord, and Shelley
who belonged to an Aristocratic family, Keats came
of a poor family. He had to struggle hard to raise his
status as a poet.
• Endymion
• Isabella
• The Eve of St.Agnes
• Lamia
Victorian Age
• The Victorian era is characterized by English
imperialism. England was rapidly expanding. Queen
Victoria was named Empress of India
• The Victorian era is also thought to be a time of rigid
morals, the social, economic, religious and intellectual
issues and problems surrounding the Industrial
Revolution, growing class tensions were common in this
era.
• Four types of writing were popular during the Victorian
Era:
• Realist
• Naturalist
• The Novel
• Poetry
Realism
• The attempt to produce in art and literature an
accurate portrayal of reality
• Realistic, detailed descriptions of everyday life, and
of its darker aspects, appealed to many readers
disillusioned by the “progress” going on around
them.
• Themes in Realist writing included families, religion,
and social reform.
Naturalism
• Based on the philosophical theory that actions and
events are the results not of human intentions, but
of largely uncontrollable external forces
• Authors chose subjects and themes common to the
lower and middle classes
• Attentive to details, striving for accuracy and
authenticity in their descriptions
Victorian Novel
• The novel became the leading form of literature in the
Victorian age, and the 19th century is often regarded as
the high point of British literature
• Famous Victorian writers include: the Bronte sisters, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, William
Makepeace Thackeray, Oscar Wilde and Lewis Carroll
• Victorian novels tend to focus on the difficult lives of
characters, with the idealized notion that hard work,
perseverance, love and luck win out in the end.
• It follows the belief that virtue is rewarded and
wrongdoers are punished.
• There is usually a central moral lesson in the novels of
this age.
Charles Dickens
• Dickens wrote his first novel at the age of 25, The
Pickwick Papers, which became very successful
• He wanted to write entertaining pieces but his real
goal was to offer commentary on the social
challenges of the era, including the plight of the
poor and the oppressed
• Like many writers his work started as more
lighthearted, but near the end of the century it took
a turn toward darker themes
• The Tale of Two Cities
• Bleak House
• David Copperfield
William Thackeray
• He was Dicken’s contemporary. He was more
interested in the manners and the morals of the
aristocracy.
• Thackeray is first of all a realistic poet who paints
life as he sees it. In his novel he gives true and
realist picture especially the vicious elements of the
society. He highlighted shames, falsehood and
hypocrisy of the society.
• Vanity fair
• Henry Esmond
Thomas Hardy
• The greatest Novelist of later Victorian period was
Thomas Hardy. Hardy’s attitude towards life was
pessimistic and he has written tragedies. He things that
there is some malignant power in the nature that
controls universe and which defeats man and all his
plans. In his poems and novels, he presented his
characters as dissatisfied souls. Chances play too large a
part which drive the destiny of a man.
In Hardy’s novels chances always bring tragedy.
• Return of the native
• The Mayor of the Casterbridge
• Jude the Obscure
• Tess
George Eliot
• The real name of George Eliot was Mary Ann Evans.
His writing was critical and Philosophical. She was
gifted with wonderful power of observation. She
could reproduce faithfully the mannerism of rustic
habit. Having thorough knowledge of Country side,
she could give a complete picture of their life in her
novels.
• Mill on the Floss
• Middlemarch
• Adam Bede
• Silas Marner
Some other Famous novels of Victorian Age

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

• Jane Eyre, The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
• Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Victorian Poetry
• Victorian poetry developed in the context of the novel.
• As the novel emerged as a popular form, poets sought
new ways of telling stories in verse through the
creation of long narrative poems that experimented
with characterization, point of view, rhythm and
meter.
• Victorian poetry also developed in the shadow of
Romanticism. Poets such as Rossetti and Swinburne
mirrored the Romantics in their expression of intimate
thoughts and personal emotions.
• Others, such as Arnold, rejected this Romantic quality
in his writing, preferring to write from a more
objective point of view in order to comment on social
and political issues.
Modern Literature/20th Century
• Modernism: “A style or movement in the arts that aims to
break with classical and traditional forms”
• A new age, with new values, needed a new art.
• In the second half of the 19th century and the early decades of
the 20th century, both natural and social sciences in Europe
had enormously advanced.
• Their rapid development led to great gains in material wealth.
But when capitalism came into its monopoly stage, the
sharpened contradictions between socialized production and
the private ownership which caused frequent mass
unemployment.
• The gap between the rich and the poor was further deepened.
• This age is full of adventures and experiments peculiar to the
modern age which is an age of transition and discovery.
• The Modern Age in English Literature started from the
beginning of the twentieth century, and it followed the
Victorian Age. The most important characteristic of
Modern Literature is that it is opposed to the general
attitude to life and its problems adopted by the Victorian
writers and the public, which may be termed ‘Victorian’.
• The young people during the first decade of the present
century regarded the Victorian age as hypocritical, and
the Victorian ideals as mean, superficial. Nothing was
considered as certain; everything was questioned in this
age.
• Another important factor which influenced modern
literature was the large number of people of the poor
classes who were educated by the State.
Major figures of this age
EM.Forster (A Passage to India)
Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness)
Virginia Woolf (To the Light House)
George Orwell (Animal Form)
George Bernard Shaw Mrs. Warrant’ Profession
John Galaworthy The Man of Property
William Butter Yeats The Land of Heart’s Desire
Thomas Stearns Eliot Murder in the Cathedral
David Herbert Lawrence Sons and Lovers
James Joyce Ulysses, Importance of being Earnest
 Modern Poetry
• The “Georgian” Poets
• In the first quarter of the 20th century; a group of poets called the
“Georgian Group”. They were the imitators of the poets who shut their
eyes against the contemporary problems. The subjects of their poetry
were to be love, nature, leisure, old age, sleep, animals and childhood.
• W.H Davies
• John Masefield
• The Imagists
• The 2nd group of poets was “Imagists”. They realized that the Georgian
Poets don’t have any new vitality in English poetry.
• For Imagists poetry was a means of self-expression and they appealed to
the cultivated sensibility of their readers. They treated of themes dealing
with their personal hopes and fears and often indulged in the emotions
of nostalgia and self pity.
Trench Poets
• The first word war gave rise to the war poetry. The poets
belonging to this group wrote about war and its horrors.
They are basically called trenches or the war poets. They
mainly wrote about escape from actuality. Instead of facing
the horrors of war , these poets looked upon the terrible
present as a mere dream and the world of imagination was
the only reality.
Modern Drama
• G.B Shaw
• The greatest among the modern dramatists was Bernard
Shaw. He was socialist and was also a voracious reader. In
most of the plays Shaw himself is the chief character
appearing in different disguise. He wrote about different
societies in his plays and dealt with common life problems.
• Widower’s House
• The Apple Cart
• Man and Superman
• Arms and the Man
Oscar Wilde
• He took an important part in the revival of drama.
His first three plays are built on the model of
conventional social melodrama of the time. He
wrote four important comedies which marked his
success as a dramatist.
• An ideal Husband
• Woman of no Importance
• Importance of Being Earnest
• Lady Windermere’s Fan
Modern Novel
• Joseph Conrad
• He was gifted with the great love for his fellow creatures
and he got an unusual insight what was going around the
world. Being a sailor, he spent most of his time on sea. All
his experiences revealed to him the central problems of
human natures, that is tension between higher and lower
self. He loved to revealed the characters who were
fighting against themselves, who were frustrated by their
own passions and impulses.
• The Nigger of the Narcissus
• Lord Jim
• Heart of Darkness
Rudyard Kipling
• Kipling’s views of life were similar to that of Conrad.
He admired brave, strong and silent Man. He
presented “A man of action” in his novels. His main
importance lies in his rich use of vocabulary and
technical excellence. His opening sentences of any
novel are the most wonderful in literature.
• Kim
• The light that Failed
James Joyce
• James Joyce was a novelist of unique and
extraordinary genius. He found around him an
atmosphere of frustration, aimlessness and
restlessness, though he adopted a different medium
in his novels. He thought that to explore the
unconscious record of our psychic and psychological
adjustment would be a fascinating study. He adopted
the theme of steam of consciousness in his novels.
• A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man
• Ulysses
Virginia Woolf
• She was the most distinguished woman writer of this
century who made the most exciting use of steam of
consciousness because she was deeply impressed by
James Joyce. She thought that your inner self drives
you because your mind is fraught with so much
possibilities that must be recognized. Her characters
usually flee from the reality and go back to their
memories to find some calm and composure.
• Mrs. Dalloway
• To the Lighthouse