Restoration Prose

1.

  1. The restoration period was deficient in poetry and drama.

  2. But in prose, it was very rich.

  3. Through it could not reach the height of supremacy, but it has to be admitted that it was during the restoration period, that English prose was developed as a medium for expressing clearly and precisely.

  4. For the first time, a prose style was evolved.

  5. This could be used for plain narrative argumentative and handling of practical business.

  6. With the change of temper of the people, a new type of prose was developed in the restoration period.

  7. This was essential.

2.

  1. As in the field of drama and poetry in prose also Dryden was the chief leader.

  2. In his greatest critical prose “Essays of dramatic poesy,” Dryden presented a model of new prose.

  3. This was completely different from Browne, Bacon, and Milton.

  4. He wrote in a plain, simple and exact style free from all exaggerations.

  5. His Fables and Prefaces are fine examples of prose style. 

  6. This style is suited to prosaic purposes.

  7. It is correct, easy forcible, eloquent and graceful.

  8. Of course, it does not have the charm due to the absence of imagination.

  9. Dryden never advocated for charm in the prose.

  10. For the general purpose required Dryden’s style is justified.

3.

  1. Other writers of this period were-

  1. Sir William Temple     c) Thomas Sprat

  2. Jon Tillostan               d) George Saville (better known as Viscount Halifax)

  1. Thomas Sprat is better known for the demand he put for prose writing style them his own writings.

  2. In his work ‘History of Royal Society’ (1667), he puts for a new prose style.

  3. Though the prose writers wrote under the influence of Dryden each had their own individual approach.

4.

  1. John Bunyan (1620-1688) next to Dryden Bunyan was the greatest prose writer of this age.

  2.   a) It is said that if Milton is the greatest poet of Puritanism.

  b) Bunyan is the greatest storyteller.

  1. The credit goes to Bunyan as the precursor of the English novel.

  2. His greatest work is ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’. 

  3.   a) Just as Milton wrote his Paradise Lost “to justify the ways to god to men” 

  b) So Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s progress. “To lead men and women into god’s way, 

       the way of salvation through characters and exciting events.

  1. Like Milton, Bunyan was also endowed with a highly developed imaginative faculty and artistic instinct.

  2. Both were deeply religious.

  3. Their choice was not function but yet was masters of friction.

  4. Both the books ‘Paradise lost’ and ‘ The Pilgrim’s progress’ are masterpieces of literary art. These books instruct as well as pleasure the readers.

  5. In The Pilgrim’s progress, Bunyan describes the pilgrimage of the Christian to the heavenly city.

  6. Bunyan deals with the obstacles and the experiences of the pilgrimage. While on his journey to the heavenly city.

  7. It is written in the form of an allegory.

  8. The style is terse, simple and vivid.

  9. Johnson remarks that elders and children both relish reading the book.

  10. The pilgrim’s progress has all characteristics of the English novel.

  11. The book is a work of superb literary genius.

  12. His other works are the Holy war, The Life and Death of Mr. Badmen.

  13. It gives a picture of low life.

  14. His works show the influence of the Bible.

  15. He learned everything from the Bible.

  16. Whatever he wrote came from his heart.

  17. He wrote in a language that was natural to him.

  18. His works are born of moral earnestness and extreme sincerity.

  19. It will not be an exaggeration to call him the ‘pioneer of the English novel’.


     a)He had the qualities of a great storyteller.

     b) deep insight into character, humor pathos.

     c)  Visualising the imagination of a dramatist artist.

Few word meanings

  1. Synechcdeche (syn-ek-doh-kee)

It is to denote a part as something as a whole

  1. Hokku - a Japanese form of literature 

  2. Personifications - archaic words