1600 to 1699: El Gran Teatro del Mundo to "Hydriotaphia, Or...."

Chronology of World, British, and American Literature.

Calderon. Spanish. 1651? Play. el Gran Teatro del Mundo (The Great Theatre of the World). Auto Sacramental. Theatrical allegory. The author, God, presents a performance with personifications. Only God endures.

Izaac Walton. British. 1653. Nonfiction. The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Treatise on fishing. Dialogue. Angler tries to convince a hunter that fishing is the superior sport.

Madeleine de Scudery. French. 1654/60. Novel. Histoire Romaine Clelie. Ten volumes. Digressions. The trials of a Roman hostage Clelie who swims the Tiber to reunite with her lover Aronce.

Milton. British. 1655. Pamphlet. Areopagitica. Argument against the restriction of the freedom of the press.

Sir Thomas Browne. British. 1658. Essay. “Hydriotaphia, or Urn Burial.” Starts as a scientific report on Roman burial urns. Meditation on mortality and oblivion. Flawless prose.