Literature and Revolution in England, 1640-1660 by Nigel Smith

Literature and Revolution in England, 1640-1660 by Nigel Smith

The years of the Civil War and Interregnum have usually been marginalised as a literary period. This wide-ranging and highly original study clearly demonstrates that these central years of the 17th century were a turning point not only in the political, social and religious history of the nation, but also in the use and meaning of language and literature. At a time of crisis and constitutional turmoil, literature itself acquired new functions and played a dynamic part in the fragmentation of religious and political authority. For English people, Smith argues, the upheaval in divine and secular authority provided both motive and opportunity for transformations in the nature and meaning of literary expression. The increase in pamphleteering and journalism brought a new awareness of print; with it existing ideas of authorship and authority collapsed. Through literature, people revised their understanding of themselves, and attempted to transform their predicament. Smith examines literary output ranging from the obvious masterworks of the age - Milton's Paradise Lost, Hobbes's Leviathan, Marvell's poetry - to a host of less well-known writings. He examines the contents of manuscripts and newsbooks sold on the streets, published drama, epics and romances, love poetry, praise poetry, psalms and hymns, satire in prose and verse, fishing manuals, histories. He analyses the cant and babble of religious polemic, and the language of political controversy, demonstrating how, as literary genres changed and disintegrated, they often acquired vital new life. Ranging further than any other work on this period, and with a narrative rich in allusion, the book explores the impact of politics on the practice of writing, and reveals the impact of literature on patterns of historical change.

Smith, Nigel: -

Nigel Smith has been a journalist, busker, TV comedy producer and scriptwriter, winning an award for his BBC 4 radio comedy, VENT. More importantly, he has been - and still is - an embarrassing Dad. Much like Nathalia Buttface, his three children are continually mortified by his ill-advised trousers, comedic hats, low-quality jokes, poorly chosen motor vehicles, unique sense of direction and unfortunate ukulele playing.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300059748
ISBN 10	0300059744
Title	Literature and Revolution in England, 1640-1660
Author	Nigel Smith
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	1994-08-31
Number of pages	436
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.