(1588–1679) | | | | ║ | | | | | | | | | | THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (1630–60) The entire period covered by this chapter is dominated by the Civil War. The earlier years are marked by the quarrels and alarms which led up to actual hostilities in 1642; the middle of the period is occupied with the spasmodic fighting that lasted till the execution of Charles I in 1649; and the last portion covers the establishment of the Commonwealth, the rise and disappearance of Cromwell (1654–58), the confusion following upon his death, and the final restoration of the monarchy in 1660. LITERARY FEATURES OF THE AGE =1. The Reaction.= During this period the decline from the high Elizabethan standard is apparent in several ways. (_a_) The output, especially of poetry, is much smaller, and the fashion is toward shorter poems, especially the lyric of a peculiar type. (_b_) There is a marked decay in the exalted poetical fervor of the previous age. In the new poetry there is more of the intellectual play of fancy than of passion and profundity. And, especially in prose, there is a matured melancholy that one is apt to associate with advancing years. (_c_) In prose there is a marked increase in activity, which is an almost invariable accompaniment of a decline in poetry. =2. The Pressure of Historical Events.= Viewed from a broad aspect, the Civil War was only a domestic incident in English history; but the very narrowness of the issue intensified the bitterness of the contest. It divided the people into two factions, and among other things vitally affected the literature of the time. Poetry was benumbed and lifeless, and prose assumed a fierce and disputatious character. =3. The Dominance of Milton.= The age is distinguished by the efforts of Milton to keep literature alive. Upon his “Atlantean shoulders” he bears its reputation. Other poets were scrappy and uneven, like the “Metaphysicals”; or flat and uninspired, like Cowley; or shallow and trivial, like Denham. In Milton alone, and even in the prose of Milton to a considerable extent, we find satisfying quantity and quality. =4. The Metaphysical Poets.= This term was first used by Johnson, who applied it to Donne and Cowley. It was applied to a kind of poetry, usually lyrical poetry, that often startled the reader by the sudden leaps of its fancy into remoteness and (in exaggerated instances) absurdity. The fashion was popular just before the Civil War broke out, and it can be seen in the works of Herrick, Crashaw, Herbert, Vaughan, and others. More detailed examination of this curious poetical mode will be found in the notices of these poets.