The Age of Milton (1625-1660)
A period of religious and Political Strife
The period extending from 1625 to 1660 is generally described as "The age of Milton" in English literary history. This period mark the end of what is known as Renaissance. The age of Milton is field with the political and religious strife of therein of Charles I (1625-1649) and the triumph of Puritanism. The patriotic unity of England under Elizabeth did not survive the Queen's death. James I (1603-1624) had not reigned long before the country found itself in the midst of a conflict which had been foreshadowed in Elizabeth's time and which was kept in abeyance by the great personal influence of the Queen herself. The long struggle between King and Parliament grew more and more bitter till it reached its climax with the execution of Charles I in 1649. The political aspect was represented by men like Cromwell and Milton who were inspired by moral and social ideals. On the one side were Charles I. Laud and Strafford who advocated the theory of the divine right of Kings and urged the claims of Authority and orderly government in Church and State.On the other side were the defenders of popular privileges and a stern Protestantism. Both sides were grimly resolved and the country had to go through a civil war fought for an idea Generally speaking, the aristocracy and their dependents supported the royalist cause while the commercial and trading classes in the main sided with parliament. The mass of the people had no love for the extreme views of either side. The flippancy and profligacy of the upper classes greatly increased the influence of the anti-royalist forces. The Puritans under Cromwell showed an intolerance of earthly tyranny in any form, because they were fervent believers in the supremacy of God as the ruler of rulers and in the sanctity of the individual conscience. Thus Puritanism became a political as well as a moral and religious force and the great champion of the endangered freedom of the English people. After a stormy period of civil war, it emerged victorious with the triumph of Oliver Cromwell and during a few years (1649 - 1660) it remained supreme.
Blow to Literature
The growth of Puritanism had important consequences for the literary life of the nation. The Puritan leaders were men of a strong and serious character, calmly determined and obstinately fanatical . They were not cowed by persecution and they did not shrink from the sternest steps when theirs ideas of patriotic duty demanded them. They were especially hostile to the theater and as a result of this hostility, the Long Parliament had by an Act decreed the complete closure of all dramatic performances in 1642. This was the final blow to the declining Elizabethan drama. Art and literature came under a similar suspicion, except in so far as they were didactic in intention. It is thus understandable that no great national literature throve during the period of Puritan supremacy.
Milton the Greatest product of Puritanism
To the extent of is power, Puritanism destroyed human culture and sought to confine literature within the restricted field of its own particular interests. While fatal to art it was thus almost fatal to literature. It was only here and there that a writer arose who was able to absorb all its strength while going beyond its limitations. This was emphatically the case with Milton, the greatest product of Puritanism in English Literature. In his work the moral and religious influence of Puritanism are combined with the generous culture of the Renaissance. But even he scarcely wrote a line that could be called humorous. The claims of literature upon his genius were almost entirely controlled by is ethical mission. The fact that he, while in the prime of his life during the period 1640 to 1660, wrote no poetry to speak of and confined himself to bitter controversy in prose, is of itself a sufficient commentary on the artistic poverty of those twenty years.
The Unpopularity of Cromwell's Government
Cromwell's Government was highly efficient, but it was after all a military dictatorship. The people as a whole began to feel uncomfortable under a government that made their simple sports and amusement a crime Cromwell and all that he stood for became bitterly unpopular and when death at last removed his iron hand and when the country had experienced the discomforts of an unstable government after him, there was a general welcome to the exiled Charles II whose return to England marked the restoration of monarchy.
The Loss and the Gain
The religious revival gave to his period (the Age of Milton) its general character and distinguished it from the preceding one. In exchange for the liberty it partly lost, it acquired seriousness, a severe dignity. "Rich humanity, unlimited curiosity, the sense of the comic mingling with the sense of the tragic in the portrayal of life: all gave place to a passionate controversy on the forms of the Christian religion and a search for the way of salvation."
The Caroline Poets
(The term "Caroline" means "pertaining to Charles". "Carolus" is a Latin word which means Charles). Some of the poets who wrote during what we have called the Age of Milton were secular, some religious, in their poetry. The most important of them was Robert Herrick (1591- 1674), who wrote both secular and religious poetry with equal facility. But it was in the secular poems that his powers were shown at their best. They are miscellaneous in character and include many love-poems.
In the "Cavalier" group of Caroline poets, whose inspiration was almost entirely secular, were Thomas Carew (1598-1639), Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) and Richard Lovelace (1618-1658). They are all poets in the lighter vein. Carew's He that loves a rosy cheek. Suckling's Why so pale and wan, fond lover? and Lovelace's To Althea from Prison are examples of the fine lyrical quality by which at its best their love-poetry is marked. Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) in his earlier work shows many of the characteristics of the Cavalier school, but in politics and religion he was on the other side. Of the Caroline poets who wrote religious poetry, the best-known is George Herbert (1593-1633) whose collection of lyrics. called The Temple is expressive of the deepest piety. The sacred verse of Richard Crashaw (1613-1649) has greater fire and passion; that of Henry Vaughan (1622-1695), while directly influenced by Herbert, is deeper in thought and much more mystical. The Religious Emblems of Francis Quarles (1592-1644) also deserves mention.
Cowley and the Metaphysical Poets
Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) is usually regarded as the chief representative of that metaphysical school which took its rise in the work of John Donne. Dr. Johnson, referring to this group of poets, said, "Their work is packed with affectations and conceits; in their effort to surprise by the boldness and novelty of their images they indulge in strained metaphors, far-fetched similes, and the most extravagant hyperbole; they cultivate ingenuity at any cost; substitute philosophical subtleties and logical hair-splitting for the natural expression of feeling; and employ their vast out-of-the-way learning without the slightest regard to propriety. As a result they are in general violent, harsh, cold, and obscure." In Cowley's work we have the last important productions of this metaphysical school, but its influences were very widely spread among the poets of the age in general. Thus the three chief religious poets who have been named above- Crashaw, Herbert, and Vaughan-were all more or less metaphysical.
(The term "Cavaliers" was applied to persons of royal sympathies. Cromwell's supporters were known as "Roundheads.")
Besides, in his later poetry Cowley discards much of his former extravagance, and approximates to the restrained and sober style which came in with the next generation. As for John Donne (1573-1631), his poetry is uneven, and at times very startling and fantastic. He threw style and all literary standards to the winds. He exalted thought and feeling above expression. But, while he played havoc with the Elizabethan style, he influenced English poetry in the way of boldness and originality. In the twentieth century Donne has been highly admired, even though Ben Jonson had declared that Donne was "the first poet of the world in many things," but likely to perish "for not being understood".
Caroline Prose-Writers
Robert Burton (1577-1640) is famous chiefly as the author of the Anatomy of Melancholy. This work was begun as a medical treatise on morbidness but it developed into an enormous hodge-podge of quotations and references to authors, known and unknown, living and dead. Its style is hopelessly involved. Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) is famous for Religio Medici (i.e., the religion of a physician). This book treated religious subjects in a reverent and tolerant spirit, without ecclesiastical bias. It is written in a style which has established it as one of the classics. Browne also wrote Urn Burial which began as an inquiry into the various methods of burial, but ended in a dissertation on the vanity of earthly hope and ambitions. Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) was a clergyman and royalist who wrote in a lively and witty style. He wrote The Holy War, The Holy Stale and the Profane State, and some other works. Jeremy Taylor (1613- 1667), also a clergyman, is known for his Holy Living and Holy Dying both of which enjoyed a wide popularity. Richard Baxter (1615-1691) earned recognition by two works: The Saints' Everlasting Rest and A Call to the Unconverted. Izaak Walton (1593-1683) is famous for The Complete Angler which is more widely read than any other book on the subject of fishing, and which is written in a charming style. John Bunyan (1628- 1688) expressed the Puritan spirit of his time by writing The Pilgrim's Progress which is one of the classics of English prose. Nor must we ignore Milton himself in this connection. On account of the controversial character of his prose-writings, they are seldom read. Of them all. Areopagitica has perhaps the most permanent interest and is best worth reading. The work is so called from the Areopagus (or Forum of Athens). the place of public appeal, and the Mars' Hill of St. Paul's address. It is the most famous plea in English for the freedom of the press.
