The epic tradition

An early seventeenth-century (mostly Caroline) movement, centered on Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, John Suckling, Richard Lovelace, and Henry Vaughn. Most were admirers of Ben Jonson. They get their name from the supporters of King Charles I in the seventeenth century: the Cavaliers were Royalists during the Civil Wars. (The supporters of Parliament were nicknamed Roundheads. )

It's traditional to oppose the Cavalier poets to the Metaphysical poets, including John Donne and George Herbert. Whereas the Metaphysical poets were fond of abstruse imagery and complicated metaphors, the Cavaliers preferred more straightforward expression. They valued elegance, and were part of a refined, courtly culture, but their poetry is often frankly erotic. Their strength was the short lyric poem, and a favorite theme was carpe diem, " seize the day. "

In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. By juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways, a conceit invites the reader into a more sophisticated understanding of an object of comparison. Extended conceits in English are part of the poetic idiom of Mannerism, during the later sixteenth and early seventeenth century.

THE EPIC TRADITION

Epic: The epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject representing characters of heroic stature in adventures of great historical, legendary, or religious significance.

Epic Characteristics:

1. The setting of the work is vast in scope, covering a whole nation, the world, or even the universe. 2. The actions described ln the work are deeds of great valor, often requiring superhuman strength, intelligence, or endurance. 3. Supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons) take interest in the action and intervene from time to time. 4. An elevated style and diction--dellberately distanced from everyday speech--is used throughout the poem.

Some Epic Conventions:

1. The poet beglns the work by stating hls topic and by calling upon the Muse of Epic Poetry for help in rising to the task. This convention is more usually known as the invocation to the Muse, a part of which is the epic statement of theme.

2. The poet opens his narrative in medias res (Latin for `in the middle of the action'). The preceding history is then supplied at various points throughout the remainer of the work through retrospective narrative, similar to the flashback of the modern novel or cinema. Additionally, the author may use prospective narrative as well, telling the audience what is to happen later in the work itself or even after the events that the work itself covers.

3. The poet includes many elaborate enumerations--of ships, warriors, armies, gifts/booty, etc. --in the poem. Such a list is called an epic catalogue.

4. The poet uses extended and elaborate formal speeches by the main characters. Such a speech is called an epic monologue.

5. The poet gives elaborate family background--epic genealogy--for many of the heroes. Because of the importance attached to paternal lineage, the poet wil frequently refer to a hero by his patronymic, a form of the father's name with an ending meaning `son of. '

6. The poet uses long, extended comparisons--epic similes--that make the unfamiliar familiar by stressing its similarity to observable, common phenomena and objects.

7. The poet uses many epithets--adjectives or adjective phrases used to point out a characteristlc quality of a person, a god, or, less frequently, an animal or an object.

8. The poet uses formulaic language, that is, set (" stock" ) phrases, the choice of which may be dictated solely by metrical considerations. This, along with the repetition of such passages, is one of the hallmarks of folk literature.

9. The poet uses foreshadowing--hints at or even direct statements regarding the outcome of important events.

10. The poet uses a wide range of rhetorical and poetic devices: figures of speech (similes, metaphors, etc. ), as well as elaborate schemes of words and schemes of construction.

Restoration literature, English literature written after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 following the period of the Commonwealth. Some literary historians speak of the period as bounded by the reign of Charles II (1660–85), while others prefer to include within its scope the writings produced during the reign of James II (1685–88), and even literature of the 1690s is often spoken of as “Restoration. ” By that time, however, the reign of William III and Mary II (1689–1702) had begun, and the ethos of courtly and urban fashion was as a result sober, Protestant, and even pious, in contrast to the sexually and intellectually libertine spirit of court life under Charles II. Many typical literary forms of the modern world—including the novel, biography, history, travel writing, and journalism—gained confidence during the Restoration period, when new scientific discoveries and philosophical concepts as well as new social and economic conditions came into play. There was a great outpouring of pamphlet literature, too, much of it politico-religious, while John Bunyan’s great allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, also belongs to this period. Much of the best poetry, notably that of John Dryden (the great literary figure of his time, in both poetry and prose), the earl of Rochester, Samuel Butler, and John Oldham, was satirical and led directly to the later achievements of Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and John Gay in the Augustan Age. The Restoration period was, above all, a great age of drama. Heroic plays, influenced by principles of French Neoclassicism, enjoyed a vogue, but the age is chiefly remembered for its glittering, critical comedies of manners by such playwrights as George Etherege, William Wycherley, Sir John Vanbrugh, and William Congreve.

Comedy of Manners
Witty, ironic form of drama that satirizes the manners and fashions of a particular social class or set. Comedies of manners were usually written by sophisticated authors for members of their own social class, and they typically are concerned with social usage and the ability or inability of certain characters to meet social standards, which are often exacting but morally trivial. The plot, usually concerning an illicit love affair or other scandalous matter, is subordinate to the play's brittle atmosphere, witty dialogue, and pungent commentary on human foibles. Its notable exponents include William Congreve, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, and Noel Coward.