Restoration & NeoClassical Lit Blog

Aphra Behn ’s short novel Oroonoko: or The Royal Slave is the story of an African prince who falls in love with the beautiful Imoinda. Unfortunately for Oroonoko and Imoinda, their love is full of complications as Oroonoko’s grandfather, the King, is also in love with Imoinda and forces her into being his wife. Throughout the story, Oroonoko goes to great lengths to free Imoinda from her unwanted relationship with the King, but to no avail. Eventually, after being on the run for leading a slave revolt, after he has been enslaved, Oroonoko decides that it would be best to give Imoinda an honorable death so that she and their unborn child will not have to endure the wrath of the Englishmen. At the end of the story, after he has killed Imoinda, Oroonoko is caught and endures an inhumane death. Okay, so I probably should have put a spoiler alert before that first paragraph. Yeah, I should have. However, if you have not read Behn’s Oroonoko , you should still give it a read. I am su...

Have you ever read something before and it seems that the author just rambled on and on, but have failed to convey their main point(s)? I have read many works where this was the case and, I’ll admit, I have been guilty of adding fluff to my writing. Why is it that people do this? If you were to ask John Locke, he would have a lot to say concerning this. To understand Locke’s argument within his work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding , one must first understand John Locke, himself. John Locke (1632-1704) was a man widely known for being in thought, analyzing his own thoughts and then, from these thoughts, making analyses based on the world around him. He was a believer in the theory that “…a critical analysis of the ideas in an individual mind could lead straight to a rule about adequate ideas in general and the sort of subject where adequate ideas were possible” (2279). In other words, Locke believed that in analyzing one’s own thoughts and ideas, that person will not...

Picture it, England, 1678 and you have just read John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress , which is an allegory of Puritan ideals that relies heavily on extended metaphors represented through characters, events, actions, etc. Not only are you able to read it, you are able to understand what Bunyan is writing about. Finally, something that you can read and understand – something that you can tell others about. According to the Norton Anthology introduction to Bunyan and this work, “ The Pilgrim’s Progress is the most popular allegory in English. It's basic metaphor – life is a journey – is simple and familiar … moreover, this is a tale of adventure” (2270). In this work, Bunyan uses allegories to the Christian lifestyle in a way that allows his readers to understand that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness of sins comes from God and from seeking Spiritual matters over worldly possessions. In the text, there are references to Biblical scriptures to help Bunyan get his point a...