English literature

The reign of George I (1714-1727), the first Hanoverian king, transformed the nation into a prosperous one either through war, trade or industrialisation - George accused Sophia Dorothea of infidelity, divorced her and imprisoned her in the castle of Ahlden.

The Bubonic plague was not primarily a disease of man, but of rodents - Humans can be infected through the bite of infected fleas, unprotected contact with infectious bodily fluids or contaminated materials - The last big outbreak of the plague took place in 1896.

The Black Death drove an intensification of Christian religious belief and practice, shaped new directions in medical knowledge, and ended the Medieval World System, running between China, India, and the Mediterranean. It also led to the first globalization of trade that included the Americas.

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas resulted in the Smallpox Pandemic, which killed three out of ten people it infected and left the rest with pockmarked scars.

In 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés colonised the Aztec Empire (now Mexico) and killed its ruler, Moctezuma, in a very short time.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's works contested stereotypes, and her repertory included witty comedies acted by men and women. Her patrons' generosity and moral excellence were eulogised by the artists.

The medieval Christian thinkers who sought to solve general philosophical problems against a background of fixed religious dogma, and the increasing challenge of various forms of secular thought to the old religious orthodoxies, were criticized for their overconfidence in human reasoning.

The English civil war raised fundamental questions about the nature and legitimacy of state power. Thomas Hobbes, Francis Bacon, Jonathan Swift addressed these issues.

The invention of the microscope and the telescope enlarged understanding of nature, and Aphra Behn feared that the doctrines of her fellow revolutionaries would bring only civil chaos.

The book aims at a new ideal of the gentleman, and argues for freedom of thought, an enlightened attitude toward religion, and the independence of morality from religion. It also argues for the importance of the standards of politeness that bind people together.

Sentimentalism, evangelicalism and the pursuit of luxury and wealth placed a new importance on the private, individual life sphere.

The social classes played an important role in preparing authors for success. The better educated were to be taken seriously, as were non-Angels attending Dissenting academies, and authors that came from "the middle class".

The creation of other associated jobs was a result of repression and self-education of women authors.

Around 1750, clubs were created under the leadership of Elizabeth Vesey and Elizabeth Montagu. John Milton published Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, and other major writers of the era include John Dryden, Samuel Pepys, John Bunyan, Sir Isaac Newton, Aphra Behn, Mary Astell, Anne Finch, Jonathan Swift, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, John Locke etc.

The Age of Sensibility (or The Age of Samuel Johnson) is characterized by the greatest early novels of the English language, a focus on the individual and imagination, and the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason, logic and the evidence of the senses.

The comedy of manners is a play written in closed couplets in iambic pentameter that mocks or scrutinises society. It usually focuses on the social behaviour and manners of the upper class, marriage and the game of love.

The Restoration brought moral reform in literature and daily life, and the anti-theatre pamphlet Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage (1698) helped to enforce decorum in the clubs where literary people tended to gather.

The comedy of manners was replaced by a new kind of drama, later called "sentimental" - the experiences of its heroes and heroines moved the audience not to laughter but to tears - the poetry of natural descriptions became popular - the Restoration era ended in 1744.

The poet was to use the right style, resemblances between things apparently unlike, and appropriate images, similes, and metaphors to enliven literary discourse. The role of judgment was not to suppress passion, energy and originality.

- Words used in their original Latin sense: gelid "to freeze", horridus "bristly, prickly, rough", horrid, frightful, rude, savage, unpolished"

Thomas Gray contrives subtle, expressive effects from artificial diction and a special poetic language, and Alexander Pope and John Dryden were masters of the heroic couplet, and the juxtaposition between high rhetoric and low subject matter adds to the humor of the poem.

John Milton wrote that there are regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace and rest can never dwell, hope never comes, and a fiery deluge, fed With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed. Steele and Addison's essays break down the distinction between educating their readers and entertaining them, and include winning characters, vivid scenes and allegories - Addison's scholarly interests broaden the material to include not only social criticism and politics, but the popularisation of literature and current philosophical and scientific notions.

Defoe suffered severe economic losses in 1703, his debts were paid by Robert Harley, who hired Defoe as a pamphleteer and intelligence agent. He wrote conduct books, political pamphlets, scandalous "secret" stories, etc.

Defoe achieved literary immortality with Robinson Crusoe, a travelogue written at the age of 59 that provided insights into human nature in a plain, direct/ straightforward and unemotional (matter-of-fact style), realistic style.

A picaresque novel about a roguish, but appealing hero in a corrupt society. Contains elements of both comedy and satire.

Defoe writes about men and women placed in unusual circumstances, who struggle through a life that is a constant scene of jungle warfare. He analyzes their motives, writing always in the first person.

Roxana, a French woman, marries the son of a wealthy brewer, and they have 5 children. She gradually loses all of their money, and becomes a mistress for several wealthy men, including possibly the King himself, and an old lord.