Collective Understanding of Seventeenth-Century Ideas of Faith and Disruption
Religion has been part of human experience from time immemorial. Most religions have books they refer to and use in the practice of their faith. To some these books are the first representation of their ideals, challenges and hopes. In a way, they represent the first recordings of strife. They offer guidelines on life while at the same time they may seem controversial. Later, literature followed suit and has been a representation of the human religious strife. Most religious strife, especially in earlier time periods, is responsible for the most literature that can be found around. The seventeenth century saw changes in political, social, cultural and scientific revolution. However, like in earlier ages its literature continued to contain representations of the religious strife.
Detweiller et al. states that religion and literature are at the heart of culture (xi). The culture of any given people will have religion and literature. As a result, reflections and experiences of religious nature found expression in literature and poetry. However, it is the expression of people’s ideas about God and a life of faith that prompted the most writings. While religious literature has existed and sought to educate people about their faith, it is people’s experiences that provided most fodder for discussion and reflection that made for literature. The literature does not reflect the faith of one faith but rather many world religions.
Throughout history, literature that was well received by critics and readers has been based on religious matters. Religion has been a key feature in most of the classic literature found today. Even when other themes like human love, social ills or human experience have been central, religion has played a part as the forming catalyst or basis of human behavior. As Noriega noted in her reflections, due to the controversial nature of religious issues that some writers wrote about, these writers have only received recognition posthumously.
One of the key effect on faith in the seventeenth century was what is called enlightenment. According to Speilvogel this had a big impact on faith and the world outlook which was also witnessed in literature (509). During this time there was a shift from what scholars called immaturity towards more open thinking (509). There was emphasis on the use of science to understand life. Consequently religious thought moved towards the metaphysical. Some of the famous writers from this time are Andrew Marvell and John Donne who are considered great metaphysical writers.
One of the most famous literary writers, Chaucer criticized the Church which was undergoing a schism in his work The Canterbury Tales. According to Cooper, Chaucer’s work expressed the dismay and criticism the Christians had of the church which was undergoing corruption (6). Chaucer lost most of his friends to the executions that happened to those opposed to the Church. He also approached the issue of faith new to the time by exploring relativism in his tales (21). Chaucer was one of the writers who extensively wrote about the ills of the church and exposed the sentiments of the people at the time.
Some of the most noted writers have expressed the strife contained in their inner hearts as a consequence of trying to reconcile what they learn in their religions and their personal interpretation or world view. Detweiler et al. give one such writer as Joseph Addision although he is a representation of many. In his Ode he advocated for natural religion against the belief of Divine intervention (34). His literature represents one of the common ways in which writers chose to share their ideas about their own religious convictions. According to Speilvogel, John Donne among other writers chose to use the literary forum to express their understanding of faith (484).
Another writer John Milton in his work Paradise Lost also tackled the problem of faith. His works represent the Puristic thought about God and hierarchy of the universe (142). His ideas can be contrasted to Dante’s in Divine Comedy which represented Catholic understanding of faith and emphasis on its theology. Many writers wrote prolifically due to the changing times and the religious changes that came about. Speilvogel states that the new literature revealed the skepticism that was growing (511).
Metaphysical literature especially blossomed to produce ample works in the seventeenth century. According to Barbour there was a lot of literature that developed when Caroline Protestantism fought to secure their faith from attack by critics (1). Religious topics were explored as the writers sought to establish the basis for their faith and generate reflections that underscored their religious experiences (2).
Noriega in her reflections states that many of the famous writers like C. S Lewis in Mere Christianity and John Bunyan in Pilgrim’s Progress represent writers who took the issues of religion seriously. According to Noriega Lewis who had been an agnostic converted in the process of his writing. He had previously been writing Mere Christianity in order to expose the weakness of Christian faith. In the process of writing the book however, he became a Christian. This shows clearly that literature has been used as a forum for theological arguments.
Another writer, John Donne used his poetry to make his theological stand. During his time there was a lot of religious strife between the Catholics and the Anglicans. Donne himself suffered and was barred from since he could not make the oath of Supremacy required. According to Greenblatt et al, Donne was deeply reflective of his faith at an age when many were questioning their faith in the Catholic Church beset by multiple problems (601). After witnessing the problems in the Catholic Church, he leaned heavily on Luther’s teachings and his poetry bore his beliefs (602
In yet another case Horner in The County Wife reflected the religious current of his time. In the comedy Horner revealed the tolerance that accompanied the restoration period (227). The comedy mirrored the anti puritan and aristocratic sentiments. During the puritan period many of society’s activities were suppressed or even banned like the theatre (228). It was against this backdrop that Horner wrote a play against this suppression. The play was highly explicit on sex and aristocratic behavior and was an attack on the society of the time (239).
Other major religions like Islam have inspired writing. According to Almond, thinkers have released their thoughts on Islam in various literature pieces (3). Some of these are Leibniz, Kant, Herder among others. The experiences of Muslims, whose religion demands close adherence to their religious laws and practices, have found their way into their literature. In fact literature that was not found to have religious meaning was disapproved and sometimes even banned. Similarly some Christian literature was banned in the interest of faith during certain times in the Christian history.
Although literature continues to explore all aspects of human life and experiences, religion has been somewhat the denominator of literature subjects. Perhaps because of the heavy influence of religion in past centuries this may have been more obvious than it is today. With developments made in the disciplines of science, psychology and sociology among others, religion is not overtly relayed in literature today. However, the human search for meaning in his/her experiences continues to date.
Literature has been at the fore front of bringing collective consciousness to the minds of people and asking questions that might not be addressed in other forums. Comedies, satires, poetry and other genres have given opportunity to writers as well as readers to connect with each other and explore life.
References
Almond, Ian. History of Islam in German Thought from Leibniz to Nietzsche. New York:
Routledge, 2010. Print.
Barbour, Reid. Literature and Religious Culture in Seventeenth Century England. New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print.
Burke, Helen M. (1988). Wycherley’s ‘Tendentious Joke: The Discourse of Alterity in
The Country Wife. Eighteenth-Century Studies. 29.3 (1988): 227-241.
Cooper, Helen. The Canterbury Tales. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Detweiller, Robert, David Jasper, Heidi, L., Nordberg, S., Brent Plate. Religion and
Literature: A Reader. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 2000. Print.
Greenblatt, Stephen et al. The Norton anthology of English literature, 8th ed. New York:
- W. Norton and Company, 2006. Print.
Noriega, Brandi. Religion in Literature: A Look at Some of the Classic Books. 2006.
Web. 1st December, 2010.
Spielvogel, Jackson, J. Western Civilization: Since 1500 Vol II. 7 th ed. Belmont, CA:
Thomson Higher Education, 2009. Print.
