The Restoration Age (1660-1700) | Notes | UGC NET English

Introduction

• The Restoration Age (1660–1700) began with the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660, bringing an end to the republican experiment of the Commonwealth and Protectorate. The return of the monarchy revived royal patronage, aristocratic culture, courtly entertainment and theatrical activity. It also marked a significant change in literary taste, as writers increasingly turned their attention to social manners, political intrigue, human behaviour and the pleasures and contradictions of urban life.
• The period is frequently associated with the Age of Wit because of its emphasis on intellectual cleverness, polished conversation, satire, irony and social sophistication. Literature became closely connected with the court, fashionable society and the emerging public sphere. Writers examined love, marriage, jealousy, ambition, hypocrisy, libertinism and the pursuit of social status. Restoration literature often presented human behaviour with sharp psychological insight, exposing the gap between public respectability and private conduct.
• Drama experienced a remarkable revival after the reopening of theatres in 1660. Theatres that had been closed under Puritan rule returned to public life, and professional actresses appeared on the English stage for the first time in the commercial theatre tradition. Comedy of Manners became a prominent dramatic form, satirising the behaviour, romantic intrigues and social conventions of the upper classes. Heroic tragedy also flourished, often presenting extraordinary characters, passionate love and conflicts between honour and desire.
• Prose developed in several directions, including diaries, travel narratives, scientific writing, historical accounts and literary criticism. The establishment of the Royal Society in 1660, followed by its royal charter in 1662, encouraged the systematic observation of nature, experimentation and the communication of scientific knowledge. This intellectual environment contributed to a growing preference for clarity, precision and evidence-based argument in prose. Writers such as Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn and William Dampier recorded contemporary life, scientific developments and geographical discoveries.
• The Restoration Age also laid important foundations for modern English literary criticism. John Dryden examined dramatic principles, poetic form and the relationship between classical rules and creative freedom. By the end of the century, debates over morality and theatrical representation had become increasingly prominent, particularly through Jeremy Collier's criticism of Restoration drama in 1698.

Historical Background

• The Restoration Age began in 1660, when Charles II returned from exile and was restored to the English throne. The event ended the Commonwealth and Protectorate and re-established the monarchy and the House of Lords. The political settlement restored many traditional institutions, although the conflicts between royal authority, Parliament and religious groups continued to shape public life.
• Charles II's court became an important centre of literary and cultural activity. Having spent years in continental Europe, the king and his supporters brought influences from French court culture into English society. French literature, theatrical conventions, fashion and manners affected the development of Restoration drama and prose. The court encouraged a literary culture that valued wit, elegance, social performance and polished conversation.
• The reopening of theatres transformed English dramatic life. During the Interregnum, public theatrical performances had been officially suppressed. In 1660, royal patents were granted to theatrical companies, and commercial drama gradually regained its place in London society. The establishment of the King's Company under Thomas Killigrew and the Duke's Company under William Davenant helped organise the professional stage. Women began performing female roles in professional English theatre, replacing the earlier practice in which such roles were generally played by boys or young men.
• Restoration drama developed two particularly important forms. The Comedy of Manners portrayed fashionable society through witty dialogue, romantic intrigue and the exposure of hypocrisy. Playwrights such as William Wycherley, George Etherege and William Congreve explored the relationships between marriage, money, desire and social reputation. Heroic tragedy, represented by John Dryden and other dramatists, presented elevated characters involved in conflicts of love, honour and political duty.
• The period was also marked by major historical events. The Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666 disrupted urban life and generated extensive contemporary accounts. The Anglo-Dutch Wars affected trade and naval affairs, while the Glorious Revolution of 1688 resulted in the departure of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II in 1689. These developments changed the political and religious environment in which writers worked.
• Scientific inquiry gained institutional support through the Royal Society, which promoted observation, experimentation and the exchange of knowledge. Its activities contributed to the development of scientific prose and a culture of empirical investigation. Meanwhile, diaries, pamphlets and travel narratives offered increasingly detailed accounts of contemporary events, personal experience and distant regions.
• By the end of the century, Restoration literature faced growing criticism for its treatment of sexual conduct, religious belief and public morality. Jeremy Collier's A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage (1698) challenged the prevailing conventions of Restoration comedy and contributed to changing attitudes towards drama in the early eighteenth century.

Development of Literary Criticism:

• The Restoration Age witnessed an important expansion of English literary criticism. The revival of theatrical performance encouraged discussions about dramatic structure, artistic rules, poetic language and the purpose of literature. Critics increasingly examined how classical principles could be applied to contemporary English writing.
• John Dryden is widely regarded as a foundational figure in modern English literary criticism. His An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) is one of the most important critical works of the period. Written as a dialogue among four speakers, it examines the relative merits of ancient and modern drama, French and English dramatic traditions, and the use of rhyme in tragedy.
• Dryden argued that English drama should not be judged solely by rigid adherence to classical rules. He recognised the value of dramatic decorum and probability but also defended the achievements of English playwrights, including Shakespeare, whose dramatic practice did not always conform to French neoclassical conventions.
• His critical method combined historical comparison, close examination of literary practice and reasoned argument. He treated literary rules as useful guides rather than inflexible laws, allowing room for national differences and artistic invention.
• Restoration criticism also addressed the moral responsibilities of writers. The debate over theatrical indecency became particularly intense towards the end of the century, when Collier argued that drama should uphold religious principles and public morality. These discussions helped establish the critical traditions that developed further during the eighteenth century through writers such as Joseph Addison, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson.

Major Prose Writers

Samuel Pepys (1633–1703)

• Samuel Pepys was an English naval administrator, Member of Parliament and diarist whose writings provide one of the most detailed accounts of everyday life in Restoration England. Born in London in 1633, he studied at St Paul's School and later attended Magdalene College, Cambridge. He entered government service and eventually became a highly influential official in the administration of the Royal Navy.
• Pepys began keeping his famous diary on 1 January 1660 and continued until 31 May 1669. During these years, he recorded political developments, naval administration, court life, domestic relationships, theatrical performances, financial concerns and personal ambitions. His diary provides a rare combination of public history and private experience.

Literary Style:

• Pepys's writing is lively, direct and remarkably observant. Rather than adopting the formal style of an official historian, he recorded events as they appeared in his daily life. His narrative frequently moves between major political developments and apparently ordinary details, including meals, social visits, purchases, arguments and entertainment.
• He wrote much of the diary in a shorthand system based on Thomas Shelton's tachygraphy. This allowed him to record information efficiently and may have contributed to the diary's private character. His writing, however, should not be regarded as entirely unfiltered or free from personal bias. Pepys selected what to record and often interpreted events according to his own ambitions, prejudices and emotional responses.
• His prose combines humour, curiosity, self-examination and vivid description. He was willing to acknowledge personal weaknesses, including jealousy, vanity and inconsistencies between his moral beliefs and behaviour. This frankness gives the diary considerable psychological interest.

Major Work:

• The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1660–1669) is his principal literary achievement. It offers a detailed record of a decade that witnessed the restoration of Charles II, the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666.
• Pepys describes the Great Plague through observations of deserted streets, public anxiety and the disruption of normal activities. His account of the Great Fire records the spread of the flames, attempts to save property and the destruction of large parts of the city. His professional position also gives historians valuable information about the organisation, financial difficulties and administration of the Royal Navy.
• The diary was written in shorthand and was not published in full during Pepys's lifetime. A substantially abridged version appeared in the nineteenth century, and later editions made much more of the text available to readers.

Significance:

• Pepys is a major figure in English autobiographical and diary writing. His work is an invaluable primary source for the political, social and cultural history of Restoration England. It offers insights into the relationship between government and everyday life while revealing the attitudes, ambitions and contradictions of an individual living through a period of rapid change.
• His ability to combine historical observation with intimate self-portraiture makes the diary both a documentary record and an enduring work of literature.

John Evelyn (1620–1706)

• John Evelyn was an English diarist, writer, gardener, scholar and public figure whose interests extended across literature, art, architecture, science and environmental improvement. Born in Wotton, Surrey, in 1620, he came from a prosperous family and received an education that encouraged classical learning and intellectual curiosity.
• Evelyn travelled extensively in continental Europe and became familiar with European artistic, scientific and cultural developments. After the Restoration, he participated in intellectual circles associated with the Royal Society and maintained relationships with prominent scholars and public figures. His interests ranged from horticulture and forestry to urban planning and the preservation of London's environment.

Literary Style:

• Evelyn's prose is generally formal, reflective and informed by classical learning. He combines careful observation with an interest in moral, scientific and aesthetic questions. Unlike Pepys, whose diary often captures spontaneous reactions and informal details, Evelyn's writing tends to be more measured and concerned with the wider significance of events.
• His descriptions of nature demonstrate both practical knowledge and literary sensitivity. He frequently connects the cultivation of land with public welfare, economic improvement and the aesthetic value of the environment.

Major Works:

• The Diary of John Evelyn — His diary, maintained over many decades, records political events, social relationships, scientific developments, artistic achievements and changes in the English landscape. It provides an important account of Restoration intellectual life and includes observations of the Great Fire of London.

• Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber (1664) — A major work on forestry and tree cultivation, originally presented to the Royal Society. It encouraged the planting and preservation of trees to address concerns about the supply of timber.

• Fumifugium (1661) — A treatise proposing measures to reduce the air pollution affecting London, particularly smoke produced by the burning of coal. It is an early example of English writing on urban environmental problems.

• Sculptura (1662) — A work examining engraving and artistic reproduction, reflecting Evelyn's wider interest in the visual arts.

Significance:

• Evelyn occupies an important position in English diary writing, environmental thought and the history of science. His works connect literary expression with practical concerns about forestry, pollution, urban life and public improvement.
• Sylva is particularly significant because it helped popularise the planting of trees in England at a time when timber was essential for shipbuilding and construction. His writings also preserve valuable information about the intellectual and cultural networks of seventeenth-century England.

Jeremy Collier (1650–1726)

• Jeremy Collier was an English clergyman, theologian, historian and moral critic who became one of the most prominent opponents of Restoration drama. Born in 1650, he was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and entered the Church of England. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he became associated with the Nonjurors, clergy who refused to swear allegiance to William III and Mary II because they considered their obligations to James II still binding.
• Collier's reputation rests largely on his criticism of the moral and religious conventions of Restoration theatre. He objected to the sexual suggestiveness, profanity, irreverence and treatment of religious figures found in several popular plays. His criticism challenged a dramatic culture that frequently celebrated wit and fashionable behaviour without presenting them within a conventional moral framework.

Literary Style:

• Collier's prose is argumentative, direct and morally earnest. He relies on close examination of dramatic passages, references to classical authorities and Christian moral principles. Rather than praising literary sophistication for its own sake, he evaluates writing according to its ethical and religious implications.
• His approach was polemical, and his criticisms sometimes involved broad generalisations about playwrights and theatrical audiences. Nevertheless, he helped make the moral responsibilities of literature a central issue in public debate.

Major Works:

• A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage (1698) — His most influential work, criticising the language, sexual content and religious irreverence of Restoration drama.

• A Defence of the Short View (1699) — A response to objections raised by playwrights and other critics who challenged his accusations.

• An Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain (1708–1714) — A historical study of the British Church, reflecting his theological and historical interests.

Significance:

• Collier's A Short View provoked one of the most important moral controversies in English theatrical history. He criticised playwrights including William Wycherley, John Dryden, William Congreve, John Vanbrugh and Thomas D'Urfey for presenting behaviour he believed undermined Christian morality and public decency.
• The controversy did not immediately end Restoration comedy, and its development cannot be attributed to Collier alone. However, his attack strengthened existing objections to theatrical indecency and contributed to the changing cultural climate in which early eighteenth-century drama developed.
• His criticism helped reinforce the expectation that literature should be judged not only by artistic merit but also by its moral implications.

Collier's Impact on English Drama:

• Collier's attack brought the conflict between Restoration wit and moral propriety into sharp focus. Restoration comedy often presented sexual intrigue, deception, infidelity and social manipulation as sources of entertainment. Collier argued that such representations encouraged vice and weakened respect for religion.
• His criticism forced playwrights, audiences and literary commentators to reconsider the relationship between dramatic pleasure and ethical responsibility. The controversy contributed to the growing demand for greater decorum on stage, although other social, religious and commercial changes also influenced theatrical practice.
• During the early eighteenth century, sentimental comedy became increasingly prominent. This dramatic tradition placed greater emphasis on virtue, sympathy, moral improvement and the emotional consequences of wrongdoing. Collier's arguments anticipated some of these concerns, particularly the belief that the theatre should contribute to moral education as well as entertainment.