WILLIAM BLAKE

William Blake was an English poet, engraver, and painter. A boldly imaginative rebel in both his thought and his art, he combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore life.

THE ROMANTIC AGE

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The period from the Declaration of American Independence  to about 1830  was marked  by great revolutions: the Industrial Revolution reshaped the social and political background of Britain;  the British colonies on the other side of the Atlantic became a new and free nation; the French Revolution brought  its ideas  of freedom and equality  all over Europe.  All this was  to influence  also the cultural and literary aspects  of life.

THE MYTH OF THE NATURAL MAN

In the 18th century the discovering of new populations in America, Polynesia, Africa, because of the explorers’ travels around the world, brought around a new vision of the human being. They found whole populations organised in a very different way than the Europeans, with no royal absolutism, without inequalities, without religious  intolerance, without excessive ambitions of profits.  The “myth of the Noble Savage” showed up in the scenario, as a pure being in contact with Nature, not contaminated by  modern society.

Then the whole structure of  European society, based on a system ruled by the Church and the Kingdom, was debated  and  all its rules and moral concepts, considered until  that time as absolutes, were seriously  discussed and criticised. 

Here  you can download a PDF Presentation to improve your knowledge of the "myth of  the Noble Savage".  

THE RISE OF THE NOVEL

The novel originated in the early 18th century after the Italian word "novella", which was used for stories in the medieval period. Its identity has evolved and now a work of prose fiction is at least 50,000 words. Novels focus on character development more than plot. In any genre, it is the study of the human psyche.

The ancestors of the novel were Elizabethan prose fiction and French heroic romances, which were long narratives about contemporary characters who behaved nobly.  The novel came into popular awareness due to a growing middle class with more leisure time to read and money to buy books. Public interest in the human character led to the popularity of autobiographies, biographies, journals, diaries and memoirs.  The early English novels concerned themselves with complex, middle-class characters struggling with their morality and circumstances.

THE AUGUSTAN AGE

When Queen Anne died without any heirs, the English throne was offered to her nearest Protestant relative, George of Hanover, who thus became George I of England. Throughout the long reign of George, his son, and grandson, all named George, the very nature of English society and the political face of the realm changed. 

In part this was because the first two Georges took little interest in the politics of rule, and were quite content to let ministers rule on their behalf. These ministers, representatives of the king, or Prime Ministers, rather enjoyed ruling, and throughout this "Georgian period" the foundations of English political party system was solidified into something resembling what we have today.

But more than politics changed; English society underwent a revolution in art and architecture. This was the age of the grand country house, when many of the magnificent  homes that we can visit today were built.

Abroad, the English acquired more and more territory overseas through conquest and settlement, lands that would eventually make up an Empire stretching to every corner of the globe.  Read here.

1714 - 1727

Queen Anne  was succeeded by George I of the House of Hanover, who was a descendant of the Stuarts through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, daughter of James I. He was an unpopular king partly because of his attachment to Germany, he didn't speak English  and had no knowledge of British customs. During George's reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a Prime Minister.  This laid the foundations for that form of Parliamentary monarchy which has been in existence  in England  ever since. During his reign, real power was held by the Whigs’ leader,  Sir Robert Walpole,  Britain's first Prime Minister.

1727- 1760

George II  exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by Great Britain's parliament. During the last years of  his reign, William Pitt the Elder of the Whigs, was appointed Prime Minister. He became famous  as the wartime political leader of Britain in the Seven Years' War, especially for his single-minded devotion to victory over France. Victory made Britain dominant in world affairs.  He was also known for his wide popular appeal, his opposition to corruption in government, his advocacy of British greatness, expansionism and colonialism, and his antagonism toward Britain's chief enemies and rivals for colonial power, Spain and France.

THE STUART DYNASTY AND THE RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

The Stuart dynasty reigned in England and Scotland from 1603 to 1714, a period which saw a flourishing Court culture, but also  uproar  and instability,  plague, fire and war.

It was an age of intense religious debate and radical politics. Both contributed to a bloody Civil War in the mid-17th century between the Crown and Parliament, resulting in a parliamentary victory for Oliver Cromwell and the dramatic execution of King Charles I.

There was a short-term republic, the first time that the country had experienced such an event.

The Restoration of the Crown was soon followed by another "Glorious" Revolution. William and Mary of Orange ascended the throne as joint monarchs and defenders of Protestantism, followed by Queen Anne, the second of James II's daughters.

1603	As Queen Elizabeth I of England’s nearest relative, James I, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, succeeded to the throne of England at her death. He became the first Stuart king  and he combined the thrones of England and Scotland  for the first time. He had problems with Parliament throughout his reign because he believed in the divine  right of kings to rule and in the subjection of Parliament to the King’s will; he also insisted on strict conformity to the Anglican Church which  excluded both Catholics and Puritans from government.
1621	A group of Puritans (a branch of extreme Protestants within the Anglican Church; they obeyed strict moral rules, believed spiritual life should become the focal point of all human existence, wanted to purify their Church from any traces of Catholicism), the Pilgrim Fathers,  sailed to  America on the Mayflower and founded New Plymouth in Massachusetts - the New World provided a convenient ground for unwanted religious and political agitators  and also a valuable market for English goods.
1625	When Charles I  became king of England, he engaged in a struggle for power with Parliament, attempting to obtain royal revenue, while Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which he believed was divinely ordained.
1629-1640	When Parliament refused to give him money, Charles I responded by dissolving Parliament and reigned as an absolute sovereign  causing great hostility.
1642	The  conflict between the King and Parliament  led  to the Civil War.  There were two factions:  the Royalists or Cavaliers, who supported the King, and the Roundheads, the parliamentary faction  led by Oliver Cromwell, who were supported by the landed gentry, the mercantile classes and Puritans.
1647	The King was made prisoner and Cromwell took control of London and  arrested more than 100 Members of Parliament loyal to the King.
1649	Charles I was executed, monarchy was abolished and Cromwell established a republic  known as  the “Commonwealth”.  However it was little more than a dictatorship, and Cromwell  made himself  Lord Protector, a position he held until his death in 1658.
1660	After a period of political uncertainty, the son of the beheaded Charles I was invited to return from his exile in France and became Charles II. The restoration of monarchy was greeted with a sigh of relief by most people,  who had felt oppressed in their everyday life  by the strict rules of the Puritan Commonwealth.
1665	London was struck by an outbreak of bubonic plague, during which more than 100,000 people died.
1666	The so-called “Great Fire of London” destroyed  most of the city in four days.
1673	To reassert the predominance of the Church of England, the Test Act was passed,  which excluded from public offices those who refused to  receive the communion according to the rites of the Church of England  -  the Test Act, required all persons holding public office to receive the Sacrament according to the Anglican rite and expressly to deny the Roman doctrine of Transubstantiation.
1685	James II,  Charles II’s brother, came to the throne.  He had open Catholic sympathies  and wanted to impose  Catholic religion on  a country which was largely  Protestant.   Thus Parliament made secret arrangements to  depose him.
1688	James II was forced to abdicate  leading to the event  which became known as the Glorious Revolution because it was  successful with minimal bloodshed. Parliament offered the throne  to William of Orange, who reigned as William III,  and his wife Mary, who were established as joint monarchs. Their  reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover.
1689	The Bill of Rights  established that the Crown could not rule the country without Parliament; it weakened the power of the monarch  and Britain became a constitutional monarchy.
1689	The Toleration Act allowed more religious  freedom.
1701	The Act of Settlement prohibited Catholics from inheriting the British throne.
1702	Queen Anne, the Protestant daughter of James II,  came to the throne. Despite seventeen pregnancies, Anne died without surviving children and she was the last monarch of the  Stuarts.  Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. Since the time of the Glorious Revolution there had been a development of the two great parties which would  dominate English political life  for the next two hundred  years: the Whigs represented the interests of the middle  classes; the Tories represented the old aristocracy, they were loyal supporters of the Crown and stricter in religious  matters.
1707	With the Act of Union England, Wales and Scotland joined to form the united Kingdom of Great Britain.

Now try these quiz!  

The Stuarts 

http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/stuarts_quiz.htm

World Teachers' Day 2012: "Take a stand for teachers!"

“Take a stand for teachers!” is the slogan of World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2012 , which UNESCO is celebrating along with its partners, the International Labour Organization, UNDP, UNICEF and Education International (EI).  

Taking a stand for the teaching profession means providing adequate training, ongoing professional development, and protection for teachers’ rights.

All over the world, a quality education offers hope and the promise of a better standard of living. However, there can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers.

Teachers are among the many factors that keep children in school and influence learning. They help students think critically, process information from several sources, work cooperatively, tackle problems and make informed choices.

Why take a stand for teachers? Because the profession is losing status in many parts of the world. World Teachers’ Day calls attention to the need to raise the status of the profession - not only for the benefit of teachers and students, but for society as a whole, to acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in building the future.

On this day, we call for teachers to receive supportive environments, adequate quality training as well as ‘safeguards’ for teachers’ rights and responsibilities ...  We expect a lot from teachers – they, in turn, are right to expect as much from us. This World Teachers’ Day is an opportunity for all to take a stand.

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/features/WCMS_190813/lang--en/index.htm 

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/video/video-interviews/WCMS_190765/lang--en/index.htm