Chapter Six

The Seventeenth Century

Historical background

Reasons for the bourgeois revolution

conflicts with the power of the monarch

Parliament

the persecution of the Puritans

under the cloak of religion

The Puritans were Christians who wanted to make reforms in the Anglican Church.

• They were opposed to Charles I.• They did away with the elaborate ceremonies.• They demanded a simple religious belief.• They demanded a simple manner of worship.• a simple manner of church organization• They interpreted the Bible in a new way. • They argued that the Bible encouraged trade

and individual freedom.

Puritanism represented the interests of the bourgeoisie.

Charles I took strong measures against the Puritans

The king of England

Charles I

Cromwell

the son of Charles I

James II

William of Orange

be headed in 1649 and England became a commonwealth.

death

succeeded

be driven out of England

The Bill of Rights

The power was restricted. constitutional monarchy

The King James Bible of 1611

The Bible

written in Hebrew

about the creation of the universe

The Old Testament

written in Greek

about the life, teachings and deeds of Jesus Christ

The New Testament

Francis Bacon (1561 --- 1626)

Born: in London in 1561

His father: Lord Keeper of the Seal

Education: at Cambridge for two years

Experiences: made friends with the Earl of Essex

be appointed Lord Chancellor

admitted himself guilty of “corruption and neglect”

be punished, dismissed from his office

died of the cold

MetaphysicalPoets

玄学派

John Donne

Cavalier Poets 骑士派

Samuel Johnson

Ben Johnson

John Donne (1572 --- 1631)

Born: in a Roman Catholic family

Education: at Oxford and Cambridge, at Lincoln’s Inn

Hobby: adventures

Love: elope, be cast into prison

Experiences: the courtier, the lover, the soldier,

Dean of St.Paul’s Cathedral

His poems

negative attitude towards love

positive attitude towards love

a cynical tone to satirize women’s inconstancy

expresses his genuine sentiments of love, sanctifies love as something holy

John Milton (1608 --- 1674)

Born: in a Puritan family

Education: at the Cambridge talent in poetry

In 1632 he completed his M.A.

Experience: travelled in Eropean countries

returned to England in 1639

Ideas: be opposed to church government

advocate the abolition of episcopacy

Milton’s writing periods:

The 1st period: early works

On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity (1629)

《基督诞生晨颂》L’Allegro 1632 《快乐的人》

ILPenseroso 1632 《幽思的人》

Comus 1637 《科玛斯》

Lycidas 1638 《利西达斯》

The 2nd period:

The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates

《国王与官吏的职权》Defence of the English People

《为英国人民而辩》

Second Defence of the English People

《为英国人民再辩》

middle works

The 3rd Period the late works

Paradise Lost 《失乐园》

Paradise Regained 《复乐园》

Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》

masterpiece