文档介绍：Historical Context
During Elizabeth’s reign, the monarch and the parliament were getting along with each other.
During the reign of James I & Charles I, the conflict between the king and the parliament became acute.
English Revolution broke out in 1642.
English Revolution & Restoration
In January, 1649, Charles I was tried and beheaded. His son was in exile in France.
In 1653, Cromwell became Lord Protector of England.
In 1658, Cromwell died and his son Richard eeded him as the new Lord Protector.
Since Richard was too weak-minded, in 1660, Charles II was ed back and became the new king. That was known as the Restoration
English Revolution & Restoration 2
Charles II carried on reprisals on the revolutionaries and persecuted the puritans.
In 1685, James II eeded to the throne and proclaimed Catholicism the national religion.
The two party system (the Tories and the Whigs) came into being. The Tories supported the king while the Whigs opposed to the king.
Glorious Revolution
In 1688, James II was forced to fled to France. His Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William, Duke of Orange, were ed to England as the joint rulers of the country. That is known as the Glorious Revolution. It marked the end of feudalism and the triumph of the bourgeois revolution.
17th century literature: A Survey
The 17th century literature is closely related to politics. John Milton and John Bunyan stood firmly with the English Revolution. The Cavalier poets sided with the king. The Metaphysical poets wrote in their unique way, paying more attention to religion than politics.
17th century literature 2
The greatest poet is John Milton. His Paradise Lost is regarded as the only English epic after Beowulf.
John Bunyan is the first novelist in English literary history.
Metaphysical poets headed by John Donne wrote their eccentric poems that are quite mon readers
17th century literature 3
Cavalier poets wrote some best known poems in English literary history, though they were c