The period from 1660 to 1700 is designated as the Age of Restoration or the Age of Dryden. The date 1660 is one of the most significant dates in the history of English literature as it is in the history of English politics. In that year, Charles II was brought to the throne from which his father had been driven. In 1688, the Glorious Revolution ushered in a new era in which, the power of Stuart kings was curtailed and the power of parliament to make or unmake a king was established.
With the coming of Charles II back to England, a great change came in the social and political life of the English people. In every way, the Restoration Age heralded the birth of a new era. From 1660 onwards, the era of lofty ambition and of juvenile errors was closed. A new society and new literature began in 1660. The social life, the manners and literary traditions, all underwent a process of transformation. A clear change was noticed between the Restoration and the Renaissance.
In the social life of the Restoration period, a marked change to be noted was the reaction against Puritanism. The atmosphere of gaiety and cheerfulness was restored. The theatres were reopened, the bull and bear baiting and sports, music and dancing, a wild delight in the pleasures and vanities of this world replaced that outlook of absorption in other worldliness, which characterized extreme Puritanism.
Rules of etiquette and social conventions were established and the problem of life became that of self-expression. During the Restoration Age, there was a rapid development of science. The literature of the Restoration period marked the breaking of ties with Elizabethan literature. The spirit of Restoration literature was very much different from the spirit of Elizabethan literature. Lacking the genius of the Elizabethans, the authors of the time turned to the great classical writers- particularly, to the Latin writers- for guidance and inspiration.
The literature and the literary tendencies of the Restoration period were deeply influenced by the French models.
During the Restoration period, the critical spirit dominated and the imaginative spirit was thrown in the background. During this age, intellect and reason held the upper hand and emphasis was laid on correctness of rules and regulations. The literature of this period was marked by the tendency of realism. Another tendency of the age is towards directness and simplicity of expression and to this excellent tendency English literature is greatly indebted. Yet Dryden had the new tendency very clearly marked. To him Dr. Johnson first applied the epithet ‘Augustan’, saying that Dryden did to English literature, what Augustus did to Rome. Dryden was the first great exponent of the new ideas which were to dominate English literature till the end of 18th century. It is due to this tendency, that a period from 1660 to 1700 is designated as the Restoration period or the Age of Dryden.