Liberty and Love

The latter half of the seventeenth century was a time of great social and political upheaval, reflected in the literature of the period in a way which is often bewildering to the modern reader. Choosing two themes which greatly occupied contemporary writers—the state as an enlarged family, and the family as the state in miniature—Peter Malekin in his book Liberty and Love (originally published in 1981) brings both critical insight and research in social history to bear on a rich variety of seventeenth-century literature. The burning political issue of the day was the nature of the constitution. Peter Malekin’s discussion ranges over the abstract political philosophy of Hobbes, Filmer and Locke, the Putney Debates, and selections from the poetry of Milton, Marvell, Denham and Dryden to show how writers treated the issue not just as a political question but as a way of expressing their thoughts about the nature of man. The role—if not the nature—of women was another contentious issue in seventeenth-century society. Through a discussion of the poetry and of Restoration comedy, Malekin describes women’s relations with their families, with men and with the world at large, and analyses their bid for greater independence during and after the Civil War. This refreshingly lively and original book draws together works which are too often treated in isolation and will help students to enjoy the literature of a period close in spirit to our own.