HAPTER 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 became 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 and eventually a Civil War
broke out. The forces where divided into Royalists, who sided with (erano dalla parte) 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 have short hair. 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 or 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, with a Parliament of one Chamber, the Commons as the House of
Lords was abolished. Charles’ son fled (scappò) (run away) to Scotland where he was proclaimed King as
Charles II at Edinburgh.
Oliver Cromwell guided a special body of soldiers, 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. 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 (dichiarò) that all goods imported into England had to be carried only
by English ships, thus depriving the Dutch of their control of trade routes. 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 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 (1625-1660)

The triumph of Puritanism caused in large part the decline of the most frivolous and worldly themes of the
Elizabethan Age. Theatres were closed and for this reason nothing was written. A new vision of life spread.
The Puritans rejected any form of amusement, elaborate clothes and the Pagan elements of the
Renaissance in contrast with their beliefs, as the love simplicity. But they preserved a deep respect and
admiration for the classic world.
The authors of the period may be distinguished into three main groups:
- The Puritans (John Bunyan, John Milton)
 - The Cavalier Poets who wrote in opposition to the rational and intellectual spirit of Puritanism.
They were Royalist and wrote about love, beauty, loyalty and exalted women as sources of
inspiration. In contrast to the Metaphysicals they wrote a precise, elegant and sophisticated poetry.
(Herrick)
- The Metaphysical Poets The term metaphysical invented by Dryden in the 18 th 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 (disordine) and political instability under the Stuart Kings. The Metaphysical poets devoted
themselves to a deep investigation of the universal problems concerning human beings, that is their
relation with Nature, with other men and God. Their favourite themes were love and religion.

George Herbert (1593-1633) used a particular technique called the “hieroglyphic form”. It was a
particular way of writing according to which the verses of a poem were written or printed to form a
design on the page. This kind of poem was called “pattern poem”.
- Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) did not belong to any precise group, he combined the qualities of the
M.P. and the C.P.
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 BUNYAN (1628-1688)

He was a simple man with simple origins, a self made man who joined Cromwell’s army and then, initiated
by his wife to the Bible, he began to preach.
Chronologically he can be considered a restoration writer but, spiritually he still belongs to the Puritan Age,
in fact he was a self-taught man whose education was based on the Bible and on Puritan ideas.

It was during his second imprisonment that he wrote his most famous work “The Pilgrim’s Progress”
published in 1678 considered one of the three greatest allegories in the world literature, together with
Spencer‘s Fairie Queen and Dante’s Divina Commedia.
The book describes the journey of a simple man, Christian from the City of Destruction, the city of sin,
which is our life, to the City of God, to the celestial city, which will become our city after repentance,
through adventures of any kind. The work is structured as a travel book and the style is very easy.

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674)

He was born in London, he received a Puritan education he appreciated classical, Latin, Greek and Italian
works, he travelled a lot and eventually he devoted himself to poetry: he considered poetry as a divine
mission: he thought that the poet was called by God to write in order to express the emotions which grow
in the heart of men. He became Latin secretary to Cromwell’s Council of State but when the
Commonwealth ended with the restoration of the monarchy, Milton‘s life was in danger and he was even
imprisoned for a short time. He lived in London for the rest of his days in poverty and blind; this last part of
his life was the most creative.

His life can be divided into three precise parts: the first spent during Charles I’s reign, the second during
the Commonwealth, in which he wrote political and religious works and the third during the restoration in
which he wrote his masterpieces: Paradise Lost (publ. 1667), Paradise Regained (publ. 1671) and Samson
Agonistes (publ. 1667).
THEMES:
- Milton’s major themes are all connected with the Christian view of the world and his Christian faith.
- In his minor poems there are also more personal themes, i.e., his political ambitions and hopes and
his sufferings.
- His major poems also contain elements of autobiography and reflect the events of Milton’s own
life. Both Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes were written towards the end of his life when he had
become embittered by the destruction of his political hopes and his life in danger because of his
support for the execution of King Charles. He was in the same position of Adam and Eve after their
expulsion from Paradise and of Samson when he was blind. Moreover Satan and Milton are similar:
the former represented a heroic rebel fighting against God, the latter spent his life in the battle
against the royal despotism.

His major works are in the form of epic and tragedy, while the subjects used are taken from the Bible.
He was a learned man deeply influenced by classical writers, he was extremely religious, a Puritan, with
Republican and anti-monarchical ideas.
He created a special poetical language far from everyday speech, elevated and musical. His verse diction
was modelled on the classical languages, especially Latin: he wrote long complex sentences with a new
word order. He mainly used the blank verse.
Paradise Lost (publ. 1667)
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.
He took inspiration from the book of Genesis, even though are evident traces of Homer, Virgil, Dante,
Ariosto and Spenser, all biblical, classical, medieval and Renaissance cultures.

After being thrown down from Heaven to Hell together his rebel angels, Satan decides to tempt Adam and
Eve in the guise of a serpent and he convinces them to eat the forbidden fruit. Though they eventually
repent, they are driven from paradise out (cacciati) into the world they are accompaned by Michael, who
shows them the future of the human race. Comforted by the hope in Jesus’ coming and in man’s
consequent redemption, they leave the garden.
Milton thought that Man has free will, because he can chose as he likes. If he chooses bad and evil he has
to accept his choice, it's his own fault and not of God.
At the beginning of the poem, Satan has many of the characteristics of the epic hero: leadership, pride,
courage which let him to refuse the defeat and the willingness (volontà) 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.
The poem reflects Milton’s disappointment for the failure of the Revolution and his considerations of
human nature. The natural weakness of man is the main obstacle to achieve results. If man does not
pursue a high moral standard, all his actions are bound (destinato) 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.