1. How did England of the Restoration age (1660-1800) compare to the Americas during the same time period? What major occurrences defined this era for the British?
2. What ancient culture heavily influenced this era and how?
3. During the "Age of Reason" and the "Enlightenment", how and why were people starting to see the world differently? How did this change affect English prose writing style?
4. How did new scientific views of the world affect religious beliefs? What was the "bloodless revolution"? Why did it take place, and what was the long lasting outcome of it?
5. What is satire? (Use your handbook of literary terms here). Who were the two most influential satirical writers of the time period and what did they write about?
6. Journalism was also a newly developing literary form of this time period. Who were some of the most important journalistic writers of the time and how did they view the role of journalism in society?
7. What was different and unique about poetry of this era? What three particular forms of poetry were popular, and what characterized each type?
How was the poetry directly reflective of the times in which it was written?
8. What characterized the new storytelling form of "the novel"? Who was at least one of the most popular novelists and what did he write?
9. Who was Samuel Johnson? What philosophical beliefs did he hold that were reflected in his writings?
10. As the era drew to a close, what were some of the major events and forces causing this change and "search for a simpler life"?
Final response ponderings:
A. Where do you stand on the rationalist "clock setting" religious belief? Does science continue to exist in conflict with religion or can (and do) the two exist side by side, complementing each other?
B. If this age is the "birth of journalism", then what do you think has evolved in this field in the modern age and what aspects remain the same?
C. Satire plays an important role in both this society and our own, by giving an avenue by which to criticize through humor. Do you feel satire aids in the discussion and solving of societal difficulties, or do you feel it hinders progress?
D. Consider recent events where journalists, in particular satirical journalists, have been terrorist targets. Learn more about where these events occurred, why (according to various news sources), and who were the people most heavily affected by these tragedies.
E. Consider why the industrial revolution put an end to the era known as the Age of Enlightenment. How do these two revolutionary ideas contrast one another? Can the world exist and progress with only one of these, or do both need to exist simultaneously?
F. Check out a few of the paintings of William Hogarth, a popular artist of the time period. In looking at the details included in his artistic works, explain how they may have reflected a satirical view of the times and the people of aristocratic England.
G. Read about the lives of the "haves" and the "have nots" in England at this time. How might these circumstances have perpetuated a culture in which satirical views would have thrived?