Exile And Journey In Seventeenth-century Literature

E-Book Overview

The political and religious upheavals of the seventeenth century caused an unprecedented number of people to emigrate, voluntarily or not, from England. Among these exiles were some of the most important authors in the Anglo-American canon. Christopher D'Addario explores how early modern authors thought and wrote about the experience of exile in relation both to their lost homeland and to the new communities they created for themselves abroad. He analyses the writings of first-generation New England Puritans, the Royalists in France during the English Civil War, and the 'interior exiles' of John Milton and John Dryden. D'Addario explores the nature of artistic creation from the religious and political margins of early modern England, and in doing so, provides detailed insight into the psychological and material pressures of displacement and a much overdue study of the importance of exile to the development of early modern literature.

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This page intentionally left blank EXILE AND JOURNEY IN S E V E N T E E N T H - C E N T U RY L I T E R AT U R E The political and religious upheavals of the seventeenth century forced an unprecedented number of people to flee from England or remain in internal exile. Among these exiles were some of the most important authors in the Anglo-American canon. Christopher D’Addario explores how early modern authors reacted to and wrote about the experience of exile in relation both to their lost homeland and to the new communities they created for themselves. He analyzes the writings of first-generation New England Puritans, the Royalists in France during the England Civil War, and the ‘‘interior exiles’’ of John Milton and John Dryden. D’Addario explores the nature of artistic creation from the religious and political margins of early modern England, and in doing so, provides detailed insight into the psychological an