17th century english writers

The Pen Is Mightier Than The King

The 17th century saw a king’s head roll and an English Caesar sit the throne, in the midst of all of this a new class was rising. England in the 17th century was rife with change, there was much work to be done before the industrial revolution could fully grip the nation. For hundreds of years the monarch had dominated the political landscape, now that was changing radically. Although their remained a Monarch in power for most of this period they had seen their powers limited to the point of reducing them to the status of figurehead. As farming techniques and technology had improved, the population in England had increased steadily and the use of this new technology created a new class in society.(1) This merchant class was on the rise due in large part to the captured markets in North America and the West Indies which had made many a merchant richer than their aristocratic brethren.

The British Parliament had seen its power expand over the last hundred years and would continue that trend in the 17th century finding itself with the power to behead even the king.(1) As Parliament flexed their new found muscle the king was forced to find the funding for his political intrigues among the new merchant class. In addition to this new found monetary prowess the middle classes had been exposed to a rich variety of philosophers who espoused the right of the people to rule themselves.(1) Revolution in the New World and in parts of Europe increasingly made the lower classes aware of their right to self-governance. The parliament a representative of the people showed its power in the 17th century by enacting the “Glorious Revolution” and crippling the English monarchy for the rest of time.(1) Indeed in the next century the French Revolution would show that not only a government body had the power to remove royalty, the common people could also spill royal blood.

As a result of this change in the class structure Monarchs and parliament where forced to recognize the power of the common people and they would from then on need to seek the peoples favor. The danger of an uprising was quite real and could not be controled by marshal means, as there was no standing police force or army.(1) In addition leaders of the time where selected by birth and not by political prowess and as such many of them lacked the eloquence to persuade the pe...

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... lost their power and the war ended soon after this publication.(1)

Each of these men has come to be associated with literary greatness and deservedly so, however at the time of their death they may not have felt the sense of accomplishment that they had earned. With the possible exception of Milton the early 17th century authors were limited both in the ideas that they could legally express and in the career opportunities that they could pursue, these men Dryden, Locke and Milton paved the way for the later authors and the freedoms that they enjoyed. In all of their cases they came from modest middle class backgrounds and were educated with money earned by their merchant class parents. The leaders of their time sought them out for this very reason as it allowed them to more effectively communicate their point of view to the increasingly powerful middle class. Although the rulers who sought to use them for their skill in communication may have gained some temporary benefit from their services, it is all subsequent English speaking authors who have benefited the most from their labors in that they do not have to chain themselves to the prevailing sentiment in society to be heard.