Restoration Period: Basic Information

What Was the Restoration Period?

One of the most important and interesting aspects of literature is the way that it both responds to and is inevitably shaped by the political context in which it is written. Some of the best examples of this can be found in the Restoration period, which lasted from 1660 to around 1688. The name 'restoration' comes from the crowning of Charles II, which marks the restoring of the traditional English monarchical form of government following a short period of rule by a handful of republican governments.

At the heart of this literature is the attempt to come to terms with the political events that had occurred in previous decades. The writings of this time are both innovative and varied; the style and subject matter of the literature produced during the Restoration period spanned the spectrum from definitively religious to satirical and risqué. In 1688, James II, Charles II's brother, was removed from the throne, which many scholars use to mark the end of Restoration literature.

Charles II