Changing Mood in the 17th Century

The 17th century has sometimes been called an age of transition, sometimes an age of revolution. It was
both, though much of the revolution of thought had actually been accomplished by the end of the 16th
century.

The difficulties that brought about such fierce political and social struggles as resulted in the civil war
and the government under Oliver Cromwell are mirrored in the writings of the 17th century (see
England, “History”). The old unity of Elizabethan life was gone. The national pride of Englishmen
lessened as the Crown lost dignity through the behavior of James I, Charles I, and Charles II. A new
middle class began to show its power.

The glowing enthusiasm of such men as Marlowe and Spenser gave way to a cool, scientific attitude, to a
spirit that studied small details rather than large generalizations and looked to the world of fact more
than to that of the imagination. Late in the 16th century Sir Francis Bacon had taken “all knowledge for
his province”—a typical Renaissance ambition. Later, scientists would stake out much smaller and more
workable claims. Exploration on the grand scale gave way to exploitation of the discoveries and to
colonization and trade, activities that helped the mercantile class to wealth and power late in the
century.

17th-Century Prose

The 17th century was an age of prose. Interest in scientific detail and leisurely observation marked the
prose of the time. This new writing style emphasized clarity, directness, and economy of expression. It
first appeared just before 1600 in the Essays of Bacon. The physician Sir Thomas Browne wrote with dry
precision in Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646), as he amusingly and gravely discussed such beliefs as “an
elephant hath no joints” or “hares are both male and female.” (See also Bacon, Francis; Browne,
Thomas.)

Robert Burton was one of the “originals” of his age. His Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) is important not
only as a document of 17th-century thought but also as one of the first attempts to explain human
behavior in materialistic terms. This rambling and much-revised book is a storehouse of medical lore and
fact, moral observation, and anecdote. In recent times scholars have recognized that Burton's
observations were deeply perceptive. (See also Burton, Robert.)

Jeremy Taylor, a brilliant student and preacher, wrote Holy Living (1650) and Holy Dying (1651). He was
one of the great prose writers of the period. Izaak Walton is famous for his biographies and The
Compleat Angler (1653). The former began when he was asked to write a brief life of John Donne. The
Compleat Angler delights readers whether they are fishermen themselves or are only slightly interested
in what Walton called the “contemplative man's recreation.” (See also Walton, Izaak.)

Milton—Puritan Poet

The sober, scientific spirit of the 17th century did not destroy poetry. The great poet of the first half of
the century was John Milton, a Puritan who served Cromwell as Latin secretary. He first wrote some
short poems, the best known being L'Allegro (1645) and Il Penseroso (1645). The first tells of the day's
activities of a cheerful man, and the second, of the night's activities of a thoughtful scholar. A music-play
(or masque) known as Comus was produced in 1634, with music composed by Henry Lawes. Milton's
greatest early poem is Lycidas (1638), a lament on the death of a college friend.

Milton's service under Cromwell brought on blindness, but this did not stop his writing poetry. He
dictated his masterpiece, Paradise Lost (1667), to his daughters. This is an epic poem telling of the fall of
the angels and of the creation of Adam and Eve and their temptation by Satan in the Garden of Eden (“Of
Man's first disobedience, and the fruit/ Of that forbidden tree . . . ”). It is written in blank verse of great
solemnity.

Paradise Regained (1671) is Milton's sequel to Paradise Lost. He considered the later work his
masterpiece, but most readers have not agreed with him. Milton's last work is a blank-verse tragedy in
the ancient Greek manner. It deals with the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson Agonistes (1671) is in
many ways Milton's allegorical description of himself as a Samson bound in chains by his enemies, the
followers of King Charles II. (See also Milton, John.)

The Metaphysical and the Cavalier Poets

An important group of 17th-century writers were the metaphysical poets. Metaphysical poetry makes
use of conceits—that is, of farfetched similes and metaphors intended to startle the reader into an
awareness of the relationships among things ordinarily not associated.

John Donne was the greatest of the metaphysical poets. His chief subject was love as it perfects
humankind. He never treated the subject profanely. He was occasionally earthy, but only because he
recognized that humans are creatures who must love in a natural way. His poem The Extasy is a
celebration of sacramental love. His prose is as rich as his poetry, but nothing can match the mastery of
such poetry as his Hymne to God My God, in My Sicknesse. (See also Donne, John.)

George Herbert, like Donne, was both a metaphysical poet and an Anglican priest. Some of Herbert's
most effective poetry deals with humankind's thirst for God and with God's abounding love. Herbert's
collection, The Temple (1633), was published posthumously (he probably did not intend his poetry to be
published). Andrew Marvell, Richard Crashaw, and Henry Vaughan were other metaphysical poets of
merit. Most easily understood, perhaps, is Marvell, at least in the well-loved lyric To His Coy Mistress.
(See also Crashaw, Richard; Herbert, George; Marvell, Andrew.)

The Cavalier poets were followers and supporters of Charles I. They wrote with a sense of elegance and
in a style that emphasized wit and charm and the delicate play of words and ideas. Chief among the
Cavalier group were Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling, and Robert Herrick. Herrick was
a clergyman in the Church of England, but his ministerial duties did not prevent him from admiring a
pretty face or the loveliness of the English landscape. His poems deal with familiar subjects. (See also
Carew, Thomas; Herrick, Robert; Lovelace, Richard; Suckling, John.)

The 18th Century—Age of Reason

The most striking quality of the 18th century was its optimism. It was a time that celebrated the
excellence of the human mind. All creation was believed open to scrutiny. Even the descriptive historical
titles of the period express the spirit of improvement and progress. Many people of the time thought
they were passing through a golden period similar to that of the Roman emperor Augustus. For this
reason the name “Augustan” was given to the early 18th century. The century has also been called the
Age of Enlightenment. Many writers of the era used ancient Greek and Roman authors as models of
style. Hence the period in literature is often described as neoclassic.

Merchants and tradesmen achieved tremendous economic power at this time. Scientific discoveries
were encouraged. Many important inventions—for example, the spinning jenny, the power loom, and
the steam engine—brought about an industrial society. Cities grew in size, and London began to assume
its present position as a great industrial and commercial center. In addition to a comfortable life, the
members of the middle class demanded a respectable, moralistic art that was controlled by common
sense. They reacted in protest to the aristocratic immoralities in much of the Restoration literature.

Jonathan Swift is one of the great prose writers of all time. Although born in Ireland, Swift always said
that he was an Englishman. His defense of the Irish people against the tyranny of the English
government, however, was whole-hearted. As much as he may have disliked Ireland, he disliked injustice
and tyranny more. In a bitter pamphlet, A Modest Proposal (1729), he ironically suggested that the Irish
babies be specially fattened for profitable sale as meat, since the English were eating the Irish people
anyhow, by heavy taxation.

Swift's masterpiece is Gulliver's Travels (1726). It is a satire on human folly and stupidity. Swift said that
he wrote it to vex the world rather than to divert it. Most people, however, are so delightfully
entertained by the tiny Lilliputians and by the huge Brobdingnagians that they do not bother much with
Swift's bitter satire on human pettiness or crudity. No one has ever written English prose with greater
sharpness and economy than Swift. His literary style has all the 18th-century virtues at their best. (See
also Swift, Jonathan.)
Satire in Pope's Poetry

The genius of Alexander Pope lay in satirical poetry. He said that he wanted to “shoot folly as it flies,/
And catch the manners living as they rise.” The Dunciad (1728) lists the stupid writers and men of
England by name as dunces. These “dunces” proceeded to attack Pope in kind.

Pope excelled in his ability to coin unforgettable phrases. Such lines as “fools rush in where angels fear to
tread” and “damn with faint praise” illustrate why Pope is the most quoted poet in English literature
except for Shakespeare.

One of his lighter, though still satirical, poems is The Rape of the Lock (1712). It mockingly describes a
furious fight between two families when a young man snips off a lock of the beautiful Belinda's hair.
Pope wrote in heroic couplets, a technique in which he has been unsurpassed. In thought and form he
carried 18th-century reason and order to its highest peak. (See also Pope, Alexander.)