PURITANISM 1600 – 1660

–             17^th Century may be divided into two periods.

The puritan age or the age of Milton.

–             17^th Century was marked by the decline of the renaissance spirit the negative impacts of Renaissance.

–             The writers either imitated the great master of Elizabethan period or followed new paths.

–             There is a marked change in temperament i.e. modern. There was a complete break away with medieval times.

–             It is Considered as the second and greater Renaissance

–             It was a reaction against narrow minded, gloomy dogmatist who were against all pleasures, but they were not so.

–             It was a period of Genuine liberty-politically and intellectually.

–             It was a period of analysed, classified, systematised knowledge.

–             For the first time the writers began using English language as a vehicle for conveying facts.

–             It was a period of science, Newton, Bacon, Descartes belong to this period.

–             There was Popularization of autobiography in literature.

–             There was touch of realism and they satirize on actual men belonging to opposite political and religious groups.

–             There was the rebirth of the moral nature of man which followed the intellectual awakening.

–             Unfortunately, despotism was still order of the day.

Ø  Fanaticism was still rampant.

Ø  Puritanism became a national movement against the tyrannical rule of the King-Charles-I.

Þ    Puritan stood for change liberty and tolerance though there were some fanatics and extremist among them.

–             Charles-I was defeated and beheaded in 1649.

Ø  After the defeat of king many severe laws were passed under Cromwell.

Ø  Many simple modes of recreation and amusement were banned, and an austere standard of living was imposed on people.

–             There were no fixed literary standards imitations so of the older poets and exaggerations of the metaphysical poets replaced the original dignified and highly imaginative composition of Elizabethans.