Restoration Era English Literature Flashcards

Comprehensive question-and-answer flashcards covering key historical events, literary works, themes, authors, and theatrical developments of the Restoration Era.

Who restored the English monarchy in 1660 following the end of the Puritan Interregnum?

Charles II.

What nickname was given to King Charles II due to his luxuriant, hedonistic lifestyle?

The Merry Monarch.

Which church was restored as the national church of England following the Restoration in 1660?

The Church of England.

What were the names of the two political factions formed during the reign of Charles II?

The Whigs (liberals) and the Tories (conservatives).

What major epidemic broke out in London during the years 1665–1666?

The Plague.

How many days did the Great Fire of London burn in 1666?

5 days.

How many buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666?

Over 13,000 buildings.

How many people were officially known to have died in the Great Fire of London in 1666?

Only 6 people.

What act passed in 1673 required all civil and military officers to take communion with the Anglican Church at least once a year?

The Test Act of 1673.

Who led the fictitious 1678 Popish Plot that claimed Catholics were plotting to assassinate Charles II?

Titus Oates.

What political crisis resulted from the anti-Catholic hysteria generated by the Popish Plot?

The Exclusion Crisis.

Who was Charles II's wife who suffered several miscarriages, leaving him with no legitimate heirs?

Catherine.

Who founded the Whig Party to seek the exclusion of James from the royal succession?

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.

Which illegitimate son of Charles II did the Whigs support to inherit the throne?

James Scott, Duke of Monmouth.

In what year was the Exclusion Bill introduced in the House of Commons by the Whigs?

1679.

What action did King Charles II take in 1681 against the Earl of Shaftesbury to halt the Exclusion Bill?

He dissolved Parliament and imprisoned Shaftesbury on the charge of high treason.

What was the final outcome of the Exclusion Bill after it passed the House of Commons?

It was defeated in the House of Lords.

To what religion did Charles II convert on his deathbed in 1685?

Catholicism.

Under what royal names did James ascend the thrones of England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland in 1685?

James II of England (and Wales) and Ireland, and James VII of Scotland.

What was the name of the 1685 rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth against James II?

The Monmouth Rebellion.

What nickname was later given to the Catholic son born to James II in 1688?

The Old Pretender.

Which Protestant rulers were invited by Protestant nobles to take the English throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688?

William III of Orange and Mary II.

What were the prolonged armed uprisings by James II and his supporters to reclaim the throne called?

The Jacobite risings.

What major legislative document passed in 1689 granted freedom of speech in Parliament and protected Protestant rights?

The Bill of Rights.

Which monarch ascended the throne following the death of William III in 1702?

Queen Anne.

Which piece of legislation officially united the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707?

The Act of Union of 1707.

Which nation's classicism heavily influenced English art, literature, and social behavior during the Restoration?

France.

From what Portuguese word, meaning 'rough pearl', is the artistic term 'Baroque' derived?

barroco.

Who wrote the 1666 utopian prose work The Blazing World as a response to Francis Bacon's New Atlantis?

Margaret Cavendish.

Who authored the 1688 novel Oroonoko?

Aphra Behn.

What were the two main genres of Restoration drama?

Heroic drama and Comedy of Manners (Restoration Comedy).

What structural design feature characterized Restoration indoor theater stages?

Picture-frame stage.

Which Elizabethan playwright exerted the strongest influence on Restoration comedy writers?

Ben Jonson.

Who authored the long burlesque poem Hudibras, published in three parts in 1663, 1664, and 1678?

Samuel Butler.

What meter is used in Samuel Butler's burlesque poem Hudibras?

Octosyllabic couplets.

From which major literary work did Samuel Butler take the name 'Hudibras'?

The Faerie Queene.

Which famous literary duo broadly inspired the characters of Sir Hudibras and his squire Ralpho?

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Which member of the Royal Society was satirized in Samuel Butler's poem 'The Elephant in the Moon'?

Sir Paul Neale.

Who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1638 following Ben Jonson's death?

Sir William D'Avenant.

Which 1656 performance by Sir William D'Avenant is considered the first performance of an English opera?

The Siege of Rhodes.

Which early professional English actress performed in Sir William D'Avenant's The Siege of Rhodes?

Mrs Coleman.

What was Thomas Killigrew's most popular play, written in 1637 before the Civil War?

The Parson's Wedding.

Who did Dr. Samuel Johnson call the 'father of English criticism'?

John Dryden.

What was John Dryden's first play, written in 1663?

The Wild Gallant.

What was Dryden's first successful play written in heroic couplets, co-authored with Sir Robert Howard?

The Indian Emperor (1665).

Which 1678 blank-verse play by Dryden is based on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra?

All for Love.

In what year did John Dryden officially become Poet Laureate of England?

1668.

What verse form did Dryden use in 'Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell' (1659)?

Quatrains in alternate rhyme.

What was the title of John Dryden's 1660 royalist panegyric celebrating the return of Charles II?

Astrea Redux.

What does the Latin phrase Annus Mirabilis translate to in English?

Wonderful year.

How many quatrains make up John Dryden's historical poem Annus Mirabilis?

304 quatrains.

Which 1681 allegorical poem by Dryden celebrates Charles II's victory in the Exclusion Crisis?

Absalom and Achitophel.

In Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, which biblical king represents Charles II?

King David.

In Absalom and Achitophel, who is represented by the character Achitophel?

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.

In Absalom and Achitophel, who is represented by Absalom?

James, Duke of Monmouth.

Which biblical figure in Absalom and Achitophel represents the Whig Duke of Buckingham?

Zimri.

In Absalom and Achitophel, which biblical tribe represents Roman Catholics?

Jebusites.

Who authored the bulk of the second part of Absalom and Achitophel?

Nahum Tate.

In the second part of Absalom and Achitophel, who is satirized under the character name Og?

Thomas Shadwell.

What 1682 poem did Dryden write as a direct attack on Shaftesbury following Shaftesbury's acquittal?

The Medal.

What was Thomas Shadwell's response poem to Dryden's The Medal?

The Medal of John Bayes.

What is the subtitle of John Dryden's mock-heroic satire Mac Flecknoe?

A Satyr upon the True-Blew-Protestant Poet, T.S.

Who was the Irish priest synonymous with bad poetry after whom Mac Flecknoe is titled?

Flecknoe.

What two items does Thomas Shadwell hold in his hands during his coronation scene in Mac Flecknoe?

A mug of ale in his left hand and a copy of Flecknoe's play Love's Kingdom in his right.

What animals are released at the conclusion of Shadwell's coronation in Mac Flecknoe to symbolize stupidity?

Twelve owls.

Which 1682 poem by Dryden presents an argument in support of Anglicanism?

Religio Laici, or a Layman's Faith.

In Dryden's beast fable The Hind and the Panther, which animal represents the Roman Catholic Church?

The Hind.

In The Hind and the Panther, which animal represents the Church of England?

The Panther.

In The Hind and the Panther, which animal represents King James II?

The Lion.

What was the title of John Dryden's final published work in March 1700?

Fables, Ancient and Modern.

Who is the patron saint of music honored in Dryden's odes 'Song for St Cecilia's Day' and 'Alexander's Feast'?

St. Cecilia.

What was the original title of Dryden's opera adaptating Paradise Lost, later named The State of Innocence?

The Fall of Angels and Man in Innocence.

Who are the four characters featured in John Dryden's Essay of Dramatick Poesie (1668)?

Crites, Eugenius, Lisideius, and Neander.

Which figure in Essay of Dramatick Poesie represents John Dryden himself?

Neander.

What famous statement did Dr. Samuel Johnson make regarding Dryden's contribution to English poetry?

He found it brick and left it marble.

What major modification did Nahum Tate make in his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear?

He spared Cordelia's life and betrothed her to Edgar in a happy ending.

Who authored the 1698 critique titled A Short View of the Immortality and Profaneness of the English Stage?

Jeremy Collier.

Which Restoration dramatist was known among contemporaries as 'Gentle George' and 'Easy Etherege'?

George Etherege.

Who is the protagonist rake in George Etherege's The Man of Mode (1676), modeled on the Earl of Rochester?

Dorimant.

Who is the central male character in William Wycherley's The Country Wife (1675) who spreads rumors of his own impotence?

Horner.

Which play by William Wycherley was loosely based on Moliere's Le Misanthrope and gave him his famous nickname?

The Plain Dealer.

Which 1696 comedy by Sir John Vanbrugh was written as a response to Colley Cibber's Love's Last Shift?

The Relapse, or Virtue in Danger.

What is the famous pre-nuptial contract negotiation scene in William Congreve's The Way of the World called?

The proviso scene.

Which 1696 play by Colley Cibber heralded the beginning of sentimental comedy in England?

Love's Last Shift: The Fool in Fashion.

Which 1706 play by George Farquhar draws on his personal experiences as an army officer in Shrewsbury?

The Recruiting Officer.

Which brilliant sequel to The Recruiting Officer did George Farquhar complete on his deathbed in 1707?

The Beaux' Stratagem.

Which 1737 act imposed censorship on English plays and led to a wave of Shakespeare revivals?

The Licensing Act of 1737.

Which three female writers comprised the 'fair triumvirate of wit'?

Aphra Behn, Delarivier Manley, and Eliza Haywood.

Which 1687 farce by Aphra Behn based on Italian commedia dell'arte popularized the harlequinade?

The Emperor of the Moon.

Who is the royal African grandson/hero in Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko: The Royal Slave?

Oroonoko.

Which monthly essay collection was edited by Eliza Haywood from 1744 to 1746?

The Female Spectator.

Which two diarists recorded extensive first-hand accounts of Restoration London, including the Plague and Great Fire?

John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys.

Which 1690 work by John Locke established the philosophical foundation of empiricism and the 'blank slate' mind?

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

Whose spurious ancient epistles did Sir William Temple praise in his Essay upon the Ancient and Modern Learning?

Phalaris (tyrant of Agrigentum).

Who wrote the religious allegory The Pilgrim's Progress while serving a 12-year sentence in Bedford jail?

John Bunyan.

What nickname was given to Nathaniel Ponder, the publisher of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress?

Bunyan Ponder.

What is the title of John Bunyan's 1666 spiritual autobiography?

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

From which city does the protagonist Christian set forth in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress?

The City of Destruction.

Which companion of Christian is put to death in Vanity Fair in The Pilgrim's Progress?

Faithful.

Who acts as the guide and protector for Christiana and her sons in Part II of The Pilgrim's Progress?

Great-Heart.