1818thth Century Century and the Restoration and the Restoration

PeriodPeriod

18th Century & The Restoration Period

Extracting Key Information from Text◦Stepping Out Strategies◦Our Literary Heritage Intro Excerpt

Politics-◦Stuart Monarchy RESTORED◦Charles II (hedonistic)

◦James II (brother) ◦abdicated the throne-Bloodless Revolution

◦William of Orange & Mary (daughter)◦joint constitutionalists-no more absolute monarchy◦treaty-Parliament is in control

Religion-◦Toleration Act (not for the R. Catholics,

though!)

Economy-◦landed gentry vs. merchant middle class◦beginning of the Industrial Revolution◦child labor◦poor laws

Social-◦Renaissance ideals (Charles II)◦Human-centered age◦More into science than religion◦order of the universe

Poetry-◦1st part: plain, unemotional poetry. ◦politics, morality, religion◦2nd part: Graveyard School Poets◦doom, gloom, death, graves

Graveyard School PoetsThe second half of the age is categorized by

the rise of highly emotional, melancholy poets called the Graveyard School Poets.

They were characterized by their gloomy meditations on mortality- 'skulls and coffins, epitaphs and worms' in the context of the graveyard. They are often reckoned as precursors of the Gothic genre.

Read the following excerpt from the poem The Grave and find at least 10 examples of the Graveyard School poems.

Grave, The (excerpt) While some affect the sun, and some the shade.

Some flee the city, some the hermitage;Their aims as various, as the roads they takeIn journeying thro' life;--the task be mine,To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb;Th' appointed place of rendezvous, where allThese travellers meet.--Thy succours I implore,Eternal King! whose potent arm sustainsThe keys of Hell and Death.--The Grave, dread thing!Men shiver when thou'rt named: Nature appall'dShakes off her wonted firmness.--Ah ! how darkThe long-extended realms, and rueful wastes!

Where nought but silence reigns, and night, dark night,Dark as was chaos, ere the infant SunWas roll'd together, or had tried his beamsAthwart the gloom profound.--The sickly taper,By glimm'ring thro' thy low-brow'd misty vaults,(Furr'd round with mouldy damps, and ropy slime)Lets fall a supernumerary horror,And only serves to make thy night more irksome.Well do I know thee by thy trusty yew,Cheerless, unsocial plant! that loves to dwell'Midst skulls and coffins, epitaphs and worms:Where light-heel'd ghosts, and visionary shades,Beneath the wan, cold moon (as fame reports)Embodied thick, perform their mystic rounds,No other merriment, dull tree! is thine.