- After Oliver Cromwell had died, his son—Richard Cromwell took over power, but he was not as able as his father.
- Thus, he was in power for eight months only before he resigned.
- After the resignation of Richard Cromwell, conflicts arose again.
- Some of the noblemen fought one another so that they might become king themselves.
- Sick of disorder, the public finally restored the son of Charles I do the throne as Charles II.
- After King Charles II had died, King James II ascended the throne.
- Unfortunately, he was Catholic who hated the puritans so much that he ordered his soldiers to wipe out and kill the puritans cruelly.
- King James II’s order dissatisfied the public.
- In 1688, the English people then joined hands to expel King James II who fled to France.
- This period then was labeled as the Glorious Revolution.
- After King James II was forced to resign, people then invited William of Orange and Queen Mary to succeed the throne under the Bill of Rights.
- It stated that any king who followed the Catholic Church of Rome could rule England and the king had to obey the parliament.
- Since then, England was done with absolute monarchy.
- During the Puritan’s reign (Cromwell’s rule), artists had to be careful to write very decent, moral literature, for the Puritans were very strict.
- When Charles II came to the throne, the monarchy was restored; he brought with him freedom from the Puritans restraint and the literature became very gay and sensual.
- The theatre, which once had been silent during Crowell’s rule, was extremely active during the period of the restoration of the monarchy.
- The literature of the Restoration was a sudden breaking away from old standards, just as a society broke away from the restraints of Puritanism.
- There also were a large number of poems that reflected the uncertainties and intense questioning of the period.
- Most of the writers in this period were either religious or political active whose fortune was dependent on the changing political situation of the time.
- The uncertainty of the writers’ fortunes was reflected in some of the poem which had the theme of Carpe diem.
- It literally means “seize the day.”
- Often found in lyric poetry: make the most of youth while you are young.