Shakespeare and the Restoration

Another one of my classes is about the inception of the "novel" in British Literature, years 1660 to the mid-1800s. Shakespeare was not a writer of novels, sticking with playwrights and poetry. He died around 1616, 44 (short) years before the Restoration period, yet, presumptuously, his style heavily influenced those Englishmen (and women) who pioneered the new "novel."

"The Restoration and the 18th Century" is an introductory article about the new novel.

Novel: "identifying the genre by no other marks than newness itself."

It seems that the article's definition attempts to advocate free reign within the realm of writing because the latter part of the definition elaborates --"Letters, diaries, memoirs, news items, government articles, drawings, verses, even sheet music crop up within the pages of the early novels"-- It's a collection of styles within a single product.

Shakespeare's work is pertinent to this topic because of his innovation. His individualistic style from the century previous to the Restoration prompted the Restorers to evolve their visions.

For example, Shakespeare's playwrights are identified as Comedies, Tragedies, or Histories, but his rich style surpasses the generic genre. The Restorers recognized the necessity for more dense and diverse works, genre aside. Shakespeare, or his scholars, may sub-group his works, but Shakespeare inadvertently wrote with a Restoration mindset, we'll call it "Renaissance writing." To be a Renaissance writer is to understand and utilize many different styles of writing--stretching beyond what's mentioned above from the Restoration article. In other words, if you're a Renaissance writer then your talent is well-rounded; like a "Renaissance man," time period aside.

Logically

-- Shakespeare:Playwrights::Restorers:Novels

(-- Writer:Styles::Writer:Styles)

Think of it this way

-- Shakespeare:Mathematics or Linguistics::Restorers:Poetry or Sheet Music

Shakespeare was as fresh as the works of the Restoration. His "newness" is obvious, but does his influence correlate within the Restoration writing revolution?