This volume investigates the evolution of English literature during the tumultuous period between 1600 and 1660, examining how political and religious upheaval shaped the intellectual output of the era. Douglas Bush, a distinguished scholar of the period, synthesizes the complex interplay between the waning Renaissance humanism and the emerging pressures of the Civil War. He provides a comprehensive framework that categorizes authors not merely by chronology, but by their engagement with the shifting social and theological landscape of seventeenth-century England.

Scholars and students of English literature frequently cite this work as a foundational reference for understanding the intellectual climate of the early seventeenth century. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which reflects the rigorous scholarly standards of the Oxford History of English Literature series.