B.A. ENGLISH SEMESTER - I, ALLIED - SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND (26BENA1) - UNIT II
B.A. ENGLISH
SEMESTER I
Allied Course – Social History of England
(26BENA1)
CORE COURSE
UNIT II — THE RESTORATION
Detailed Notes • MCQs • Short & Long Answers • Essays
◆ ◆ ◆
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About This Unit.......................................................................................................................................... 3
1. The Restoration................................................................................................................................... 4
2.
Coffee-Houses and their Social Relevance....................................................................................... 10
About
This Unit
@@K0@@
Unit II of the Allied Course "Social History of England"
deals with the age of the Restoration and one of its most characteristic social
institutions, the coffee-house. For each topic you will find detailed notes,
multiple-choice questions with an answer key, ten two-mark questions, three
paragraph questions and one essay question answered with an introduction, five
sub-headed sections and a conclusion. Together the two topics show how English
society changed after 1660 and how new centres of social life reflected the
spirit of the age.
The
Restoration
@@K1@@
1660 onwards | The restoration of the monarchy
under Charles II and the reaction against Puritan rule.
Detailed Notes
■ Historical Background
The Restoration takes its name from the restoration, or bringing
back, of the monarchy in England in 1660. It followed a period of great
upheaval. The English Civil War (1642–1649) between the Royalists and the
Parliamentarians had ended in the defeat and execution of King Charles I in
1649. England then became a Commonwealth, ruled during the Interregnum by the
Puritans under Oliver Cromwell, whose rule was strict, austere and religious.
After Cromwell’s death in 1658 his government soon collapsed, and General Monck
helped to bring back the exiled prince, who returned from France as King
Charles II in 1660.
■ Meaning and Period
The Restoration thus marks the return of the Stuart monarchy and the
beginning of a new age in English life and letters. The period is usually taken
to cover the reigns of Charles II (1660–1685) and his brother James II
(1685–1688), ending with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, though in literature
the "Restoration Age" is often extended to about 1700. It was a time
of sharp reaction against everything the Puritans had stood for.
■ The Reaction against Puritanism
The most striking feature of the Restoration was its reaction
against the strict and joyless rule of the Puritans. Under the Puritans the
theatres had been closed, sports, dancing and festivals forbidden, and a severe
moral code enforced. With the return of the King the pendulum swung to the
opposite extreme. Pleasure, gaiety and freedom returned, but often shading into
licence and immorality. The court of Charles II, the "Merry Monarch,"
became famous for its frivolity, extravagance and loose morals, and this tone
spread through fashionable society.
■ The Court, Society and French Influence
Restoration society centred on the court and the town of London, and
it prized wit, elegance and pleasure. Because Charles II and many courtiers had
spent their exile in France, French manners, fashions, tastes and literary
models became fashionable in England. Social life was brilliant but often
shallow and corrupt, marked by gambling, intrigue and display. At the same time
the reopening of the theatres in 1660 brought a great revival of drama, and for
the first time women were allowed to act on the English stage.
■ Literature, Reason and Science
The Restoration was a rich literary age. Its drama produced the
witty, satirical and often licentious "comedy of manners" of
Congreve, Wycherley and Etherege, and the heroic tragedy of Dryden, who
dominated the age as poet, dramatist and critic. Prose flourished in the
diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, and the age also saw Milton’s Paradise
Lost and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Alongside its pleasures the age valued
reason, common sense and science: the Royal Society was founded to promote scientific
inquiry, and thinkers such as Newton and Boyle advanced the new experimental
knowledge, giving the period the character of an age of reason.
■ Politics, Religion and Great Events
The Restoration was also important in politics and religion. The power
of Parliament grew, and the first political parties, the Whigs and the Tories,
took shape. The Church of England was restored and the Dissenters
(Nonconformists) were persecuted, while fear of Catholicism produced crises
such as the Popish Plot and finally led, when the Catholic James II came to the
throne, to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The age was darkened, too, by two
great disasters: the Great Plague of London in 1665 and the Great Fire of
London in 1666, after which the city was rebuilt, and Sir Christopher Wren
raised the new St Paul’s Cathedral.
■ Multiple Choice Questions
1. The
Restoration refers to the restoration of the __ in 1660.
(a) Church
(b) monarchy
(c) Parliament
(d) republic
2. Which
king was restored to the throne in 1660?
(a) Charles I
(b) Charles II
(c) James I
(d) William III
3. The
Restoration followed the Puritan rule of:
(a) Oliver Cromwell
(b) Thomas Cromwell
(c) General Monck
(d) John Milton
4. Charles
I was executed in the year:
(a) 1642
(b) 1649
(c) 1660
(d) 1688
5. Charles
II is popularly remembered as the:
(a) Merry Monarch
(b) Virgin Queen
(c) Sailor King
(d) Farmer King
6. During
his exile Charles II had lived chiefly in:
(a) Spain
(b) France
(c) Italy
(d) Holland
7. The
Restoration was marked by a strong reaction against:
(a) the Renaissance
(b) Puritanism
(c) the monarchy
(d) science
8. A
famous Restoration form of drama was the:
(a) miracle play
(b) comedy of
manners
(c) morality play
(d) mystery play
9. For
the first time in the Restoration theatre, female roles were played by:
(a) boys
(b) women
(actresses)
(c) masked men
(d) puppets
10. The
leading poet, dramatist and critic of the age was:
(a) John Milton
(b) John Dryden
(c) Alexander Pope
(d) Samuel Johnson
11. The
scientific body founded in the Restoration age was the:
(a) British Museum
(b) Royal Society
(c) Royal Academy
(d) Bank of England
12. The
two political parties that emerged in this period were the:
(a) Liberals and
Labour
(b) Whigs and Tories
(c) Cavaliers and
Roundheads
(d) Lords and
Commons
13. The
Great Fire of London took place in:
(a) 1660
(b) 1665
(c) 1666
(d) 1688
14. London
was struck by the Great Plague in:
(a) 1660
(b) 1665
(c) 1666
(d) 1688
15. The
Restoration period ended with the Glorious Revolution of:
(a) 1660
(b) 1685
(c) 1688
(d) 1700
Answer Key:
1-b 2-b
3-a 4-b 5-a
6-b 7-b 8-b
9-b 10-b 11-b
12-b 13-c 14-b
15-c
■ Two-Mark Questions (One-sentence answers)
Q1. What
is meant by the Restoration?
Ans. The
Restoration means the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660, when
Charles II was brought back to the throne.
Q2. What
period did the Puritan rule before the Restoration cover?
Ans. The Puritans
ruled during the Commonwealth and Interregnum (1649–1660) under Oliver
Cromwell.
Q3. Who
was restored to the throne in 1660?
Ans. King Charles
II was restored to the throne in 1660.
Q4. Why
is Charles II called the "Merry Monarch"?
Ans. Because his
court was famous for its gaiety, pleasure-seeking and loose morals.
Q5. What
was the chief social feature of the Restoration?
Ans. Its chief
feature was a strong reaction against strict Puritanism, leading to pleasure
and moral laxity.
Q6. What
new opportunity did women gain in the Restoration theatre?
Ans. For the first
time women were allowed to act on the English stage as actresses.
Q7. Name
the leading literary figure of the Restoration age.
Ans. John Dryden
was the leading poet, dramatist and critic of the age.
Q8. Which
scientific society was founded in the Restoration period?
Ans. The Royal
Society was founded to promote scientific inquiry.
Q9. Which
two political parties emerged during the Restoration?
Ans. The Whigs and
the Tories emerged as the first political parties.
Q10. Name
the two great disasters that struck London in 1665 and 1666.
Ans. They were the
Great Plague of London (1665) and the Great Fire of London (1666).
■ Paragraph Questions
Q1. Describe
the historical background to the Restoration.
The Restoration of 1660 followed nearly twenty years of upheaval.
The Civil War between the Royalists and Parliamentarians ended in the defeat
and execution of Charles I in 1649, after which England became a Commonwealth
ruled by the Puritans under Oliver Cromwell. Puritan rule was strict and
austere: theatres were closed and amusements forbidden. When Cromwell died in
1658 his government soon fell apart, and General Monck helped to bring back the
exiled prince, who returned from France as Charles II in 1660. This return of
the monarchy after the Puritan Interregnum is what we call the Restoration.
Q2. How
did the Restoration react against Puritanism?
The Restoration was above all a reaction against the strict, joyless
rule of the Puritans. Under the Puritans, theatres had been shut and sports,
dancing and festivals banned in the name of a severe morality. With the return
of the King, the pendulum swung sharply the other way: pleasure, gaiety and
freedom returned, often shading into licence and immorality. The court of the
"Merry Monarch" Charles II set the tone with its frivolity, extravagance
and loose morals, the theatres were reopened, and fashionable society gave
itself up to wit, display and enjoyment. This swing from Puritan severity to
Restoration gaiety is the defining social feature of the age.
Q3. What
were the main achievements of the Restoration in literature and science?
The Restoration was a brilliant age in both literature and science.
In literature it produced the witty "comedy of manners" of Congreve,
Wycherley and Etherege, the heroic tragedy and criticism of John Dryden, who
dominated the age, and the famous diaries of Pepys and Evelyn, while Milton’s
Paradise Lost and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress also belong to these years. In
science the age valued reason and experiment: the Royal Society was founded to
promote scientific inquiry, and great minds such as Newton and Boyle advanced
the new knowledge. Thus, beneath its pleasure-loving surface, the Restoration
was also an age of reason, learning and discovery.
■ Essay Question
Q. Discuss the Restoration as an
age of reaction against Puritanism, describing its social, literary and
scientific character.
Introduction
The Restoration of 1660, which brought Charles II back to the
English throne, opened a new and colourful age in the social history of
England. Coming after the strict rule of the Puritans, it was above all an age
of reaction, in which the severity of the Commonwealth gave way to pleasure,
wit and gaiety. Yet it was also a period of great literary achievement and of
the birth of modern science. To understand the Restoration we must look at its
background, its social temper and its lasting contributions.
▸ 1. The Historical Background
The Restoration followed the Civil War, the execution of Charles I
in 1649 and the Puritan rule of Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth. Puritan
government was strict and austere, closing the theatres and forbidding
amusements. When Cromwell died, his rule collapsed, and in 1660 the exiled
Charles II was brought back from France, restoring the monarchy after years of
upheaval.
▸ 2. The Reaction against Puritanism
The chief mark of the age was its reaction against Puritan severity.
The gloom and restraint of the Commonwealth gave way to a burst of pleasure,
gaiety and freedom that often passed into licence. The court of the "Merry
Monarch" set the fashion with its frivolity, extravagance and loose
morals, and the reopened theatres and fashionable society reflected this new
love of enjoyment.
▸ 3. Society and French Influence
Restoration society centred on the court and the town, prizing wit,
elegance and pleasure. Because the King and his courtiers had lived in exile in
France, French manners, fashions and literary tastes became the model in
England. Social life was brilliant but often shallow and corrupt, and for the
first time women appeared as actresses on the English stage.
▸ 4. Literature of the Age
The Restoration was a rich literary period. Its drama produced the
witty and licentious comedy of manners of Congreve, Wycherley and Etherege, and
the heroic tragedy of Dryden, who led the age as poet and critic. The diaries
of Pepys and Evelyn, and the great works of Milton and Bunyan, add further
lustre to the literature of these years.
▸ 5. Reason, Science and Great Events
Beneath its pleasures the age valued reason and science: the Royal
Society was founded, and Newton and Boyle advanced experimental knowledge.
Politically, Parliament grew stronger and the Whig and Tory parties arose;
religiously, the Church was restored and Dissenters persecuted. The age also
endured the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666, after which Wren
rebuilt St Paul’s and much of London.
Conclusion
The Restoration, then, was a many-sided age. In its reaction against
Puritanism it swung from austerity to pleasure and even to immorality, giving
the court and society their gay and brilliant but often corrupt character. Yet
the same age produced the sparkling comedy of manners, the poetry and criticism
of Dryden, and the beginnings of modern science in the Royal Society. In its
blend of pleasure, wit and reason, the Restoration stands as one of the most
distinctive periods in the social history of England.
Coffee-Houses and their Social Relevance @@K2@@
17th–18th century | The coffee-house as a
centre of news, politics, literature and business — the "penny
university."
Detailed Notes
■ Origin and Growth
The coffee-house was one of the most important social institutions
of Restoration and eighteenth-century England. Coffee, a new drink from the
East, reached England in the mid-seventeenth century, and the first English
coffee-houses opened at Oxford about 1650 and in London in 1652. They spread
with astonishing speed, and by the end of the century London alone had hundreds
of them. For the price of a penny a man could enter, drink a cup of coffee,
read the news and join in conversation, and the coffee-house quickly became the
favourite meeting place of the townsman.
■ The "Penny Universities"
Coffee-houses were often called "penny universities,"
because for the small charge of a penny a visitor could hear learned and lively
talk on every subject and so gain, as it were, an education in conversation.
Unlike the tavern, the coffee-house was orderly and sober, and it brought
together men of different ranks and professions on fairly equal terms, so long
as they could pay for their coffee. It thus became a democratic and informal
centre of discussion and the exchange of ideas.
■ Centres of News and Conversation
Above all, the coffee-house was a centre of news and conversation.
In an age when newspapers were few and young, men went to the coffee-house to
hear the latest news, rumours and gossip, to read the news-sheets and pamphlets
kept there, and to discuss the events of the day. Good talk and the free
exchange of opinion were the very life of the coffee-house, which helped to
form and spread public opinion in a way that had never before been possible.
■ Political Importance
The coffee-houses soon became important centres of political
discussion, where the affairs of the nation were freely debated and where the
new political parties found their supporters; different coffee-houses came to
be known as meeting places of the Whigs or of the Tories. So powerful did they
become as forums of opinion that in 1675 Charles II tried to suppress them by
proclamation, fearing that they bred sedition, but public protest was so strong
that the order had to be withdrawn almost at once.
■ Literary Importance
The coffee-houses were also centres of literary life. Poets, critics
and wits gathered in them to talk about books and to make and unmake literary
reputations. Will’s Coffee-house, the haunt of Dryden, and later Button’s were
famous meeting places of men of letters. The great periodical essayists Addison
and Steele, in the Tatler and the Spectator, drew their subjects and their
readers from this coffee-house world, and their papers were read and discussed
aloud in the coffee-houses themselves, so that the institution shaped the
literature of the age.
■ Commercial Importance
Many coffee-houses became centres of business and finance as well.
Merchants, shipowners and traders met in particular houses to do their
dealings, and some of these grew into great commercial institutions. Lloyd’s
Coffee-house, frequented by those interested in ships and shipping, developed
into Lloyd’s of London, the famous centre of insurance, while Jonathan’s
Coffee-house became a birthplace of the Stock Exchange. Different houses came to
specialise, catering to merchants, lawyers, clergymen, scholars or men of
fashion.
■ Social Significance and Decline
The social significance of the coffee-house was therefore very
great. It was, in effect, the social media and the public forum of its day—a
democratic meeting place where news was spread, opinion formed, politics
debated, literature discussed and business transacted, all over a penny cup of
coffee. It reflected the sociable, rational and inquiring spirit of the age and
helped to create an informed public. In the later eighteenth century the
coffee-houses gradually gave way to private clubs and to the growing habit of
tea-drinking, but for more than a century they had been at the very heart of
English social life.
■ Multiple Choice Questions
1. The
first English coffee-houses opened in the mid-__ century.
(a) 16th
(b) 17th
(c) 18th
(d) 19th
2. The
first coffee-house in London opened about the year:
(a) 1600
(b) 1652
(c) 1700
(d) 1750
3. For
what price could a man enter a coffee-house and drink coffee?
(a) A shilling
(b) A penny
(c) A pound
(d) Free of charge
4. Coffee-houses
were popularly called:
(a) penny
universities
(b) penny theatres
(c) penny banks
(d) penny clubs
5. Compared
with the tavern, the coffee-house was more:
(a) rowdy
(b) orderly and
sober
(c) expensive
(d) secret
6. The
coffee-house brought together men of:
(a) one class only
(b) different ranks
and professions
(c) the clergy only
(d) the court only
7. In
an age of few newspapers, men went to coffee-houses chiefly for:
(a) dancing
(b) news and
conversation
(c) gambling
(d) worship
8. Coffee-houses
became meeting places of the new political parties, the:
(a) Liberals and
Labour
(b) Whigs and Tories
(c) Cavaliers and
Roundheads
(d) Levellers
9. In
1675 which king tried to suppress the coffee-houses?
(a) Charles I
(b) Charles II
(c) James II
(d) William III
10. The
coffee-house associated with the poet Dryden and men of letters was:
(a) Lloyd’s
(b) Will’s
(c) Jonathan’s
(d) Garraway’s
11. The
periodical essayists who drew on coffee-house life were:
(a) Dryden and Pope
(b) Addison and
Steele
(c) Swift and Defoe
(d) Johnson and
Boswell
12. Which
coffee-house grew into a famous centre of insurance?
(a) Will’s
(b) Button’s
(c) Lloyd’s
(d) Jonathan’s
13. Jonathan’s
Coffee-house became a birthplace of the:
(a) Bank of England
(b) Stock Exchange
(c) Royal Society
(d) British Museum
14. The
coffee-houses helped above all to form and spread:
(a) public opinion
(b) private wealth
(c) religious faith
(d) military power
15. In
the later 18th century coffee-houses gave way to:
(a) taverns
(b) private clubs
and tea-drinking
(c) churches
(d) theatres
Answer Key:
1-b 2-b
3-b 4-a 5-b
6-b 7-b 8-b
9-b 10-b 11-b
12-c 13-b 14-a
15-b
■ Two-Mark Questions (One-sentence answers)
Q1. When
and where did the first English coffee-houses appear?
Ans. They appeared
in the mid-seventeenth century, first at Oxford about 1650 and in London in
1652.
Q2. Why
were coffee-houses called "penny universities"?
Ans. Because for a
penny a man could enter, drink coffee and share in learned, lively
conversation.
Q3. How
did the coffee-house differ from the tavern?
Ans. The
coffee-house was more orderly and sober, and it encouraged serious talk and the
exchange of ideas.
Q4. Why
did men visit coffee-houses in an age of few newspapers?
Ans. They went to
hear the latest news and gossip, read news-sheets, and discuss the events of
the day.
Q5. How
were coffee-houses linked to politics?
Ans. They became
centres of political debate, and different houses were known as meeting places
of the Whigs or Tories.
Q6. Why
did Charles II try to suppress the coffee-houses in 1675?
Ans. He feared
they bred sedition, but public protest forced him to withdraw the order.
Q7. Which
coffee-house was famous as a literary meeting place?
Ans. Will’s
Coffee-house, the haunt of Dryden and other men of letters, was a famous
literary centre.
Q8. Which
essayists drew on coffee-house culture?
Ans. Addison and
Steele, in the Tatler and the Spectator, drew their subjects and readers from
the coffee-house world.
Q9. Name
two coffee-houses that grew into great commercial institutions.
Ans. Lloyd’s
(which became Lloyd’s of London, insurance) and Jonathan’s (a birthplace of the
Stock Exchange).
Q10. What
is the chief social significance of the coffee-house?
Ans. It was the
news-centre and public forum of its day, spreading information and shaping
public opinion.
■ Paragraph Questions
Q1. Why
were coffee-houses called "penny universities"?
Coffee-houses were nicknamed "penny universities" because
of the remarkable education in conversation they offered so cheaply. For the
price of a single penny—the cost of a cup of coffee—any man could enter, sit
for hours, and listen to and join in learned and lively talk on politics,
literature, science, trade and the news of the day. Unlike the noisy tavern,
the coffee-house was orderly and sober, and it brought together men of many
ranks and professions on nearly equal terms. In this way a poor scholar or a
curious tradesman could gain, for a penny, much of the knowledge and polish of
a university, and so the coffee-house earned its famous nickname.
Q2. Explain
the political importance of the coffee-houses.
The coffee-houses were of great political importance because they
became the chief forums of public debate in an age before mass newspapers. Men
gathered there to hear the news, to read pamphlets and news-sheets and to argue
freely about the affairs of the nation, and different coffee-houses became
known as the meeting places of the Whigs or of the Tories. Because they shaped
and spread public opinion so powerfully, the government grew alarmed, and in
1675 Charles II issued a proclamation to suppress them as nurseries of
sedition. The protest was so great, however, that the order had to be withdrawn
almost at once—a striking proof of how important the coffee-houses had become
in the political life of the nation.
Q3. Discuss
the literary and commercial importance of the coffee-houses.
The coffee-houses were centres of both literary and commercial life.
On the literary side, poets, critics and wits met in them to discuss books and
to make or break reputations; Will’s Coffee-house, the haunt of Dryden, and
later Button’s were famous literary resorts, and the great essayists Addison and
Steele drew both their subjects and their readers from this world in the Tatler
and the Spectator. On the commercial side, merchants, shipowners and traders
used particular coffee-houses to do business, and some grew into major
institutions: Lloyd’s Coffee-house became Lloyd’s of London, the great centre
of insurance, and Jonathan’s became a birthplace of the Stock Exchange. Thus
the coffee-house nourished both the literature and the commerce of the age.
■ Essay Question
Q. Discuss the origin of the
coffee-houses and their social relevance in England.
Introduction
The coffee-house was one of the most characteristic and important
social institutions of Restoration and eighteenth-century England. Springing up
in the mid-seventeenth century, it quickly became the favourite meeting place
of the townsman and a centre of news, conversation, politics, literature and
business. To appreciate its importance we must trace its origin and growth and
then examine the many sides of its social relevance.
▸ 1. Origin and Growth
Coffee, a new drink from the East, reached England in the
mid-seventeenth century, and the first coffee-houses opened at Oxford about
1650 and in London in 1652. They spread with great speed, until London alone
had hundreds of them. For a penny a man could enter, drink his coffee, read the
news and talk, and so the coffee-house soon became the centre of the townsman’s
social life.
▸ 2. The "Penny Universities"
Coffee-houses were called "penny universities" because for
a single penny a visitor could enjoy learned and lively conversation on every
subject. Orderly and sober, unlike the tavern, they brought together men of
different ranks and professions on nearly equal terms, and became democratic
centres of discussion and the exchange of ideas.
▸ 3. Centres of News and Politics
In an age of few newspapers, the coffee-house was the great centre
of news and of political debate. Men went there to hear the latest news and to
argue about affairs of state, and different houses became the resorts of the
Whigs or the Tories. So powerful were they in shaping opinion that Charles II
tried to suppress them in 1675, only to be forced by public protest to withdraw
the order.
▸ 4. Literary and Commercial Life
The coffee-houses were also centres of literature and commerce.
Poets, critics and wits met at Will’s and Button’s, and Addison and Steele drew
their Tatler and Spectator from this world. Merchants and traders, meanwhile,
did business in particular houses, and Lloyd’s grew into the great insurance
centre while Jonathan’s became a birthplace of the Stock Exchange.
▸ 5. Social Significance and Decline
The coffee-house was, in effect, the public forum and social media
of its day—a place where news spread, opinion formed, politics were debated,
literature discussed and business done, all over a penny cup of coffee. It
reflected the sociable, rational spirit of the age and helped to create an
informed public. In the later eighteenth century it gave way to private clubs
and to tea-drinking, but for over a century it stood at the heart of English
social life.
Conclusion
The coffee-house, then, was far more than a place to drink coffee:
it was a great social institution that shaped the life of Restoration and
eighteenth-century England. As a "penny university," a centre of news
and politics, a home of literature and a place of business, it drew men
together, spread ideas and helped to form public opinion. In its lively,
democratic and inquiring spirit, the coffee-house perfectly expressed the
social temper of its age and left a lasting mark on English society.
Posts
No comments:
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.