puritan age inglese

1625 - 1660

the decades of

PURITAN AGE

Mastrogiacomo GiuliaCerroni sarah 3F

1625

Charles I and the clash with Parliament

Charles I became king in 1625 at his father’s death. The problem between his father and Parliament was not solved yet, because James I didn’t want to have a confrontation with the long Parliament and it lasted till 1653, but instead of giving money to the king, it limited his divine right. The Archbishop of Canterbury was imprisoned and Charles was asked to leave the command of the Army, he refused and the Civil War started in 1642.

Civil War

When the Civil War broke out there were two opposing forces:

• the Royalists, also called Cavaliers because they had long hair; strong in the north and west, they included conservatives, aristocracy, lords, the gentry and the church of England.

• the Parliamentarists, supporters of the Parliament, also called Roundheads because they had very short hair; they included small landowners, the new gentry, merchants, artisans, and Puritans. They were strong in the south of England, London and the ports.

1642

Hierarchy and mind

City men invested in land, and landowners were involved in trading.Trade and transport improved and London became very big. The Puritans were very severe :

• They wore simple in dark, they didn’t drink, or play sports, they closed the theatres because they considered them immoral.
• Religion dominated national and personal life.
• They didn’t want a Church interpretation of the Scriptures, and the wanted a personal understanding of the Bible.
• Puritans considered entertainment like a sin and corruptive.

puritans' society

oliver cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was a leader of the Puritans and their representative in the Parliament from 1640. Cromwell took the control of the Government and arrested more than 100 members of the Parliament. After that the monarchy was abolished, and England became a republic with the name of Commonwealth.

puritans' leader

IRISH QUESTION

He had a series of problems : 1. his authority was refused by Cavaliers and radical democrats. 2. the Navy was paralysed by mutiny. 3. Scotland and Ireland wanted the king. 4. Virginia and Barbados (English colonies) refused his authority. 5. Holland France and Spain were not in his favour.

The most important authors were: 1. John Donne and the metaphysical poets. 2. the Cavalier Poets. 3. George Herbert. 4. John Milton. 5. Andrew Marvell.

The literature of the Puritan Age was full of austerity, introspection and self-criticism.

Metaphysical means related to fundamental problems of the nature of the universe.The most important characteristics were :

• the ability to use this combination of metaphysical elements (metaphors, similes).
• the use of paradoxes and conciseness.
• The poems began in media res, that is in the middle of the argument.
• The language was rich and varied, with Latinism and words of Anglo-saxon origin.
• The poems have many different forms.

poetry

• https://trucheck.it/letteratura-inglese/26388-puritan-age.html

• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Battle_of_Naseby.jpg

• https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oliver_Cromwell_by_Samuel_Cooper.jpg

sources

• https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/the-english-civil-wars-history-and-stories/

• https://www.meisterdrucke.it/stampe-d-arte/Robert-Walker/704463/Ritratto-di-Oliver-Cromwell-1599-1658.html

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