2. What is Puritan period in English literature?
The seventeenth century upto 1660 was dominated by
Puritanism and it may be called puritan Age or the Age of
Milton, who was the noblest representative of the puritan
spirit.
Civil War (1642-l651) broke out in England as a result of
the clashes between Charles I and Parliament. The Civil
war was the focal point of the century: it ended with the
victory for the Roundheads (Cromwell’s supporters) over
the Cavaliers (the king’s supporters). Despite some
opposition from several more moderate members of
Parliament, Charles I was beheaded in 1649, the
monarchy was abolished and a Commonwealth was
created in which State and Church became one.
3. The Commonwealth Republic
The term Commonwealth was used by the reformers to
denote the form of government they wished to estabilish.
The Commonwealth Republic that was created lasted
from the execution of Charles I in 1649 to the restoration
of the king (Charles II) in 1660. During this period England
was subjected to the severe rule of the Puritans whose
religious spirit would admit no toleration.
4.
5. The religious influence
The 17th century was a time dominated by
both religious and political controversy. The
religious quarrels in particular produced
ardent defenders of their faith – both Anglican
and Puritan – and effected the content and
forms of literary production.
6. Milton’s life
John Milton (1608 – 1674) is the literary personality of the 17th
century. His great learning and poetic ability found expression in
his work, Paradise Lost. Milton was born into a London family. After
studying at St. Paul’s, he entered Cambridge where he first began
to develop his literary talents writing poetry on sacred themes in
Latin, Italian and English. After finishing his university he began
private study of Greek and Latin Literature. For two years (1637 –
1639), Milton travelled abroad, mostly in Italy, where he met
Galileo. On his return to England, he thought of writing an epic on
the Arthurian theme. His literary ambitions were interrupted by
the events of the Puritan revolution, of which he was an ardent
supporter. During this period his time was spent on writing political
pamphlets and talking part in political activities. He engaged in a
tireless defence of religious, civil and domestic liberties taking an
active part in the Commonwealth by becoming Cromwell’s Latin
secretary. After the Restoration however, his public life was
finisced and, following a period of imprisonment, he retired to
private life where he wrote Paradise Lost
8. A learned man
Milton was a learned man with a very extensive
knowledge of Greek, Latin and their respective literatures.
His Italian poems, l’Allegro and Il Penseroso (1632), written
on his return to his father’s home, we see more clearly his
temperament which was that of a lonely man with a
propension towards contemplation and solitude. In all his
early works, his learning is well in evidence as is his
capacity to synthesize or blend together classical
mythology, English folklore, and medieval romance. It was
only in the early part of his literary career that Milton
expressed the lighter side of his character. He even wrote
two masques, Arcades (1633) and Comus (1634), for the
local aristocracy which, although written along the lines of
the Jonsonian masque, contain something of the freshness
and aristocratic grace of the Elizabethians.
