Restoration England was a time and a place of extremes: A bloody civil
war that had resulted in the public execution of the king had been
followed by a number of years under a repressive theocratic
dictatorship, only for the country to be changed back at the stroke of a
pen into a monarchy. The return of the king and his court also brought
the re-opening of the theatres and an explosive flowering of literature,
as poets vied for favour with rich and powerful aristocrats, who
themselves were out to prove their charm, wit, and bad-boy credentials
through writing. It is therefore hardly surprising that the period
offers some of the most fascinating writing, from the work of Aphra
Behn, royal spy and first professional female writer to Margaret
Cavendish, extravagant aristocratic lady and arguably one of the
founders of science fiction; from the leading poet John Dryden, who
nevertheless constantly had to shift allegiances in order to remain in
favour through changing times, to John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, whose
specialty was falling out of favour with the king himself. In this
class, we will survey some of the highlights of Restoration literature,
from poetry to prose and drama, covering topics from country to city,
poetic to sexual rivalry, from the marriage market to the slave trade.
- Dozent/in: Sebastian Domsch