Heroic Monarchs, Divine Poets and the Groves of Eden

Abstract

<p>This thesis examines the use of landscape as metaphor in Restoration and eighteenth-century poetry. During this period, the natural scene is merely a manifestation of the character and reign of the sovereign. Many critics have discussed the relationship between monarchy and topography, yet they have been reluctant to explain its place in literary history.</p> <p>Giambattista Vico was an Italian writer whose book, The New Science (1744), introduces a new system of literary criticism. Vico suggests that the world continually progresses through three ages. The first is the age of gods, the second is the heroic age and the third belongs to men. These ages are distinguishable by their individual philosophies, and by studying the poetry of of Milton, Marvell, Drummond, Denham, Waller, Dryden and Pope, it will become clear that, although Vico had not based his book on this literature, his theories can still be validly applied to it. The New Science, therefore, provides a framework for this paper, and shows that this era marked a return to the age of heroes, where the ruler was a hero, and his poet, a god.</p>