Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions derived from the lecture on 17th and 18th-century literature, print culture, and Restoration drama.

Rochester's Satire

Refers to 'A Satire against Reason and Mankind', a poem analyzed through close reading to examine satire against human reason.

The Spectator

An early publication by Addison and Steele recognized as an early precursor to the modern magazine.

Creative Polity

The concept that a public or polity possesses a collective creative imagination, which emerged alongside late 17th- and 18th-century print culture.

The Doctor / Quack

A character in The Country Wife who watches from behind a screen, acting as a miniature surrogate for the theater audience as Horner's scheme unfolds.

China (as a Metaphor)

A fashionable imported commodity bought at the new exchange that serves as a extended double entendre for sexual intimacy and womanhood in The Country Wife.

Sir Jasper Fidget

A gullible husband in The Country Wife who believes his wife is at Horner's house strictly to inspect fine porcelain.

Lady Fidget

A character in The Country Wife who uses the illusion of public virtue and reputation to cloak her private liaisons with Horner.

Horner

The central character in The Country Wife who covers up his romantic encounters by pretending to be an elite connoisseur of China.

Mrs. Squeamish

A character in The Country Wife who arrives demanding China from Horner after learning Lady Fidget acquired some from him.

Lady Fidget's View of Virtue

The assertion that women's virtue functions like 'the statesman's religion, the Quaker's word, the gangster's oath, and the great man's honor'—used merely to deceive those who trust them.

Steele's Commentary on Horner

Richard Steele's assessment that Horner's character reflected the highly sexualized society of the Restoration era in which the play was written.

A Description of a City Shower

A poem by Jonathan Swift written in conversational couplets that uses classical models to describe urban life and flooded streets filled with city debris.