Comparison of Puritan age with other Ages

 Hello friends! 

          I am Hinaba Sarvaiya, a student of the department of English, maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. This blog is the part of my Classroom activity that is given by our prof. Dilip Barad sir.

   Introduction:-

         The period between 1600 to 1660 is known as the 'Puritan Age' (or 'John Milton Age' ) because during the period, Puritan Standards prevailed in England. The puritan struggled for righteousness and liberty. Puritans was the name given to the people who advocated certain changes in the form of the worship of the reformed English church under queen Elizabetha. 

    The political upheaval of the period is summed up in the struggle between the king and the parliament. Thus the age marked the beginning of the reformation.

     In John Milton, the indomitable Puritan spirit find its noblest expression. There was Samuel Daniel, John Donne, George Hebert, Thomas Carew, Robert Herick, John Bunyan, ect...among other important writers of the age.

Elizabethan Age vs Puritan Age:-

Elizabethan Age:-

 1. Strong national spirit

2. Patriotism

3.Religious tolerance 

4.unbounded enthusiasm

 The Puritan age :-

1. Religion 

2. Government 

3. Moral Standards 

       Puritan age marked with a high religious interest. During the Elizabethan Age the prime interest of King or queens to work for the welfare of society or nation. While in Puritan age kings were the open enemies of the people. The country divided religiously in Roman Catholic and protestant and politically Whig and Tory.

    By the end of century Elizabethans England began to decline. Religious tolerance and enthusiasm replaced by dissatisfaction and dis appointment. puritan literature saddens rather than inspire and become critical and intellectual, it makes us think rather than feel deeply. Elizabethan literature is full of youth inspiration and vitality. We can see gloom even in pessimism. Literature is full of romance springs from the heart of youths.

Restoration age vs Puritan age :-

  The Restoration writer of this age were completed out of moral sense and seriousness. English literature was highly influenced by french literature. Puritan writing style was plain. Writer used simple sentences and not ornament language. There was less usage of metaphors and simile in the literary works.

  The puritan belived that fictional elements in the work of art should be limited. They perceive literary work as a religious practice rather than any piece of entertainment. Restoration age of enlightenment. Restoration from fancy to wit and from poetry to prose, this shift in literary preference was also changed due to the political atmosphere during that time. Satire and wit got more popular than fancy and love. One more category of literature add to this was pamphlet literature.john Evelyn and Samuel Pepys were two renowned diarists of that age. The drama got popular during the Restoration period. Two forms of drama got great recognition. One is heroic play and the other is Restoration of the comedy of manners.

Romantic Age vs Puritan Age:-

 "The ocean is a mighty Harmonist".

         William Wordsworth

The writings of the puritan poet incorporated God to be the center point of their poems. The Romantic period put their mani focus on nature alone.

   The Puritan beliefs were exemplified by writers such as John Milton because he was a strong believer in the puritan faith, and he was not afraid to let it be known that he was a devote puritan. Romantic poet that broke away from the old ways of the Puritans and developed a new style of writing. Romantic period is said to be the richest period in literature ever. Romantic poets expressed freedom, emotion, and individuality. Along with nature in their works unlike.

Victorian Age Vs Puritan Age:-

Victorian believed that literature had to in strict society. Writer's purpose to teach through stories.  On the other hand Puritan the main genres of writing including religious sermons, historical narrative, personal journals and poetry. Victorian novel as a genre rose to entertain the rising middle class and to depict the contemporary life in a changing society. It was in this period that the novel got mass acceptance and readership. The genres in the puritan age were drama, poetry and prose in which the most famous genre of the age was poetry. Most prominent name in the genre of poetry was John Milton, and other figures were school of Spenser, Metaphysical poets and Cavalier poets.

Metaphysical Poets:-

   This time which was given by Dr. Jonson in derision, because of the fantastic from of Donne's poetry is often applied to all minor poets of the Puritan Age. We use the term here in a narrower sense, excluding the followers of Daniel and later group known as the cavalier poets. It includes Donne, Herbert, Waller, Denham, Cowley Vaughan, Davenant, Marvell, and Crashaw. The advanced student finds them all worthy of study, not only for their occasional excellent poetry, but because of their influence on later literature. Thus Richard Crashaw, the Catholic mystic, is interesting because his troubled life is singularly like Donne's, and his poetry is at times like Herbert's set on fire. Abraham Cowley, who blossomed young and who, at twenty five, was proclaimed the gratest poet in England, is how scarcely known even by name, but his "Pindaric Odes" set an example which influenced English poetry throughout the eighteenth century. Henry Vaughan Davenant s worthy of study because he is in some respects the forerunner of Worthworth and Andrew Marvell, because of his loyal friendship with Milton and because his poetry shows the conflict between the two school of Spenser and Donne Edmund Waller stands between the Puritan Age and the Restoration. He was the frist to use consistently the "closed" couplet which dominated our poetry for the next century. By this, and especially by his influence over Drayden, the greatest figure of the Restoration, he occupies a larger place in our Literature than a reading of his rather tiresome poetry would seem to warrant.

Thank you !!

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