CHAPTER 7

Historical Context: The English Revolution

The Reign of Charles I
Charles I (1625-1649) succeeded his father, James I, in 1625. He could not avoid direct confrontation with
the Puritan party, which had given rise to a social and political movement holding a considerable majority in
Parliament, and whose members mainly belonged to middle classes. Puritan was the name given to the more
extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not done
enough to reform the doctrines of the Church. They wanted to purify their national Church by eliminating
every trace of Catholic influence and they also tried to purify the society. Puritans wanted a true balance of
power between the king and Parliament, but Charles I firmly believed he was king by divine right. His reign
was therefore troubled by a continuous clash with Parliament. In 1642 the king was asked to give up his
command of armed forces; he refused and the Civil War broke out. The forces where divided into Royalists,
who sided with the king, and supporters of Parliament, called Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell
(1599-1658). The former let their hair grow long and were also known as Cavaliers. They included the lords,
the gentry and officials of the Church of England. The latter were called Roundheads because they
considered long hair sinful and cut theirs short. London, the ports, the navy, the new gentry and small
landowners, artisans and Puritans sided with Parliament.
The king was taken prisoner in 1647. Cromwell took control of London and expelled ore arrested more than
100 Members of the House of Lords. The remaining members voted for the execution of the King on 30 th
January 1649. After Charles I’s execution, the monarchy was abolished and the country was ruled as a
republic, known as Commonwealth. Charles’ son fled to Scotland where he was proclaimed King as Charles
II at Edinburgh.
An East Anglian gentleman farmer, Oliver Cromwell proved a brilliant leader in raising and training cavalry
composed of brave soldiers, who were called Ironsides. They were educated , Puritan men who believed
that God was fighting on their side. In 1649 Cromwell, now commander-in-chief of the army, crushed a
rebellion in Ireland, after which the country was regarded as an English colony. Also Scotland was defeated
and the army took full control of the political situation. In 1653 Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector of
England, Scotland and Ireland; in the few years of his rule (1654-1658), he restored the lost prestige of
England. Following a mercantilist policy, he reorganized the navy and stated that all English imports had to
be carried in ships owned by England, thus depriving the Dutch of their control of trade routes. In contrast
with his successful foreign policy, Cromwell failed to achieve his goals at home. Although he tried to rule as
a constitutional statesman, he had to rely more and more on the army. Shortly after he died in 1658 the
Protectorate collapsed. His eldest son Richard succeeded him, but he was unable to govern the country and
was obliged to resign (1659). After his resignation Parliament called Charles back from his exile in France and
he was crowned as Charles II (1660-1685). The return of Monarchy is known as The Restoration. The period
between the reign of Charles I and Charles II is also called the Interregnum (1649-1660).

Literary Context: The Age of Milton

The triumph of Puritanism caused in large part the decline of the most frivolous and worldly themes of the
Elizabethan Age. A new stern vision of life impressed deeper intellectual and critical contents on the literary
production. The Puritans rejected the Pagan elements of the Renaissance in contrast with their beliefs, but
they preserved a deep respect and admiration for the classic world. The spirit of Humanism is always present
in the works of John Milton, the most representative poet of the period. But the most striking feature of the
new literature lies in the break of the unity which had characterized the previous age. The division reflects
the ideological and political dissensions culminating in the Civil War.
The authors of the period may be distinguished into three main groups:
- The Puritans
- The Cavalier Poets
- The Metaphysical Poets who ignored the turmoil of the Civil War and devoted themselves to a deep
investigation of the universal problems concerning human beings, that is their relation with Nature,
with other men and God.
Poetry
Cavalier Poets
Their works express a light vein and the joy of life which had characterized the Elizabethan age.
The most representative poets are Thomas Carew (1549-1640), Robert Herrick (1591-1674), Sir John
Suckling (1609-1642) and Richard Lovelace (1618-1658).
Metaphysical Poets
The term metaphysical invented by Dryden in the 18th century refers to a group of poets who did not
represent a real literary movement, but their peculiar trait was to express the spiritual crisis due to the end
of the Elizabethan Age and the beginning of a new era of unrest and political instability under the Stuart
Kings. The Metaphysical poets expressed the complexities and contradictions of life and the sense of a
problematic transition from the Renaissance to the modern world. Their favourite themes were love and
religion.
The most important poets are George Herbert (4593-1633), Richard Crashaw (1612-1649), Abraham
Cowley (1618-1667), Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) and Henry Vaughan (1621-1695).
Prose
Among the most representative prose-writers of the time figure Robert Burton (1577-1640), Izaak Walton
(1593-1683), and Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682).

John Milton (1608-1674)

John Milton was author of the greatest epic poem in English, Paradise Lost (1667), but also a reforming prose
writer, a member of the revolutionary government and the victim of censorship. As a poet and as a politically
engaged writer, he struggled in defense of liberty. He despised all forms of tyranny, from political to religious,
to domestic. When the monarchy was abolished in 1649, he served the republican government, justifying
the execution of the king to the rest of Europe in his writings. After the return of the Monarchy in 1660, his
republican writings were condemned to be burnt and he was sent to prison. He was later pardoned and
released from prison. This experience of political and personal loss was recreated in his great poem Paradise
Lost, written in blank verse after the Restoration of the monarchy. Milton chose the epic genre for his
masterpiece, because of the greatness of his subject. According to the original plan, it was to be composed
of ten books, but subsequently it was enlarged to twelve.
Paradise Lost tells the biblical story of Adam and Eve, with God and Satan, who is thrown out of Heaven and
later tries to corrupt humankind. Satan, the most beautiful of the angels, is hurled into Hell with his stunned
followers as a consequence of his defeat in the war in Heaven.
At the beginning of the poem, Satan has many of the characteristics of the epic hero: leadership, the courage
which refuses to accept defeat and a willingness to undertake the desperate enterprise to escape from Hell
and attack God’s creation, Man. Satan embodies the figure of the rebel against authority. “Better to reign
in Hell, than serve in Heaven” Satan asserts proudly. But as the action develops, he reveals all his emptiness,
as there is no steady base or intellectual content in his defiance. He is exclusively led by an excess of pride
and self-affirmation.
Satan is the principle of evil and the cause of the downfall of Adam, Eve and mankind. But in an admirable
act of love, God’s son opposes evil, and intercedes to save mankind. The poem ends with the parting of Adam
and Eve from the Garden of Eden, but they are comforted by the thought of man’s future redemption.
The poem reflects Milton’s high concerns, his disappointment for the failure of the Revolution and his
considerations of human nature. The natural weakness of man is the main obstacle to achieve far-reaching
results. If men do not pursue a high moral standard, enabling them to discern clearly between good and evil,
all their actions are bound to fail.
Paradise Regained (1671) is a short epic poem in four books and a sequel to Paradise Lost. It deals with
Christ’s victory over the temptations of Satan in the desert, thus regaining the Paradise which Adam and Eve
had lost. Though the poem contains passages of rare beauty, it is decidedly inferior to Milton’s masterpiece.