Literary context

Question 1

What happened in the 17th century?

Answer 1

Transition from golden age of drama to golden age of novels

Question 2

What were the causes for the decline of drama?

Answer 2

1. Rise of puritan values
2. decline of theatres
3. emergence of new ideas such as liberty of speech
4. use of prose to feed debate

Question 3

What were the two phases of post Elizabethan literature? What were the dates?

Answer 3

1. Puritan phase 1625-1660
2. Restoration literature phase 1660-1714) (till George I)

Question 4

What was 17th century prose?

Answer 4

One of the main vehicles for developing the cultural and political debate of the age

Question 5

Who were the main philosophers of 17th century, what did they write?

Answer 5

1. Francis Bacon (Advancement of Learning and Novum Organum) –> evidence from real world
2. Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan)
3. John Locke (An Essay concerning human understanding)
4. Isaac Newton (Philosophiae Naturalis and Principia Matematica)