English 3310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Puritans, Samuel Pepys
Document Summary
He rose to prominence in the government as a beurocrat, becoming secretary for the admiralty, reforming the english navy, so that they could become a great sea power. He was thus key to the expansion of the british empire. This is a genre we can associate with sincerity. This gives us a window into political history. He was a big theatre goer, both to socialize and to see theatre. The relations with his wife and his mistresses. It is very representative of how people at the time actually lived. He kept this diary from 1660 - 1669. Major events were recorded, like the coronation of charles ii, to minor events, such as recording that his wife burned her hand. A lot of it was in a code, in short hand, and in long hand. Whenever he talked bout something sexual, he wrote it in code.
