"'The forgotten art of gayety': The Puritans and Merry Old England"

Abstract

"The Forgotten Art of Gaiety" picks up a key phrase from The Scarlet Letter to explore exactly what is meant by Merry Old England and how the rich festive traditions of the English, which had their roots at least as far back as Roman times, where radically changed when Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church, which, in time, led to the rise of the Puritans who were determined to destroy "Popish practices" and along with them the culture of Merry Old England. The essay, in sum, is an overview of English culture in the 16th and 17th centuries which, in turn, profoundly shaped American culture and deeply influenced Hawthorne's best work.

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William Heath “’The forgoen art of gayety’: The Puritans and Merry Old England”