вторник, 18 декабря 2012 г.

About Richard Overton And His Work

By Marissa Potter


Richard Overton lived from 1599 to the year 1664. He was a British pamphleteer famous for the booklets he made throughout the English revolution. He was very controversial and his works were respected because of the courage they demonstrated.

The earlier days of this author are not known though he is said to have matriculated at the Queens College which was located in Cambridge. He later became an actor and a playwright. His life is not very clear until 1640. At around this time his pamphlets had begun becoming popular. They were satirical and they criticized the Catholic Church and its Bishops. During this period he had become a member of the religion of General Baptism.

He explained one of his theories which was very controversial in a document he named Mans Mortalitie. In this document he talked about his belief that bodies and souls of human beings die at the same time. He explained that after dying they will not be resurrected till the Last Judgement happens. Many of his friends in the religion of General Baptism shared this belief. On the other hand Protestants in Presbyterian churches described this as heretical and wrong.

Because of his religious booklets by the year 1645 the author had become very famous. He had also added political works. He became part of the Leveller Movement. This establishment pushed for sovereignty of the people and religious tolerance. It is also said that Richard Overton and William Walwyn put down one of the Leveller Movements most famous and demonstrative piece. It was titled The Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens.

In the year 1646 the writer put down another diatribe for John Liburne. This piece argued that he should have been set free from a prison sentence. Because of this work Richard was put behind bars by the Government which considered the diatribe a criminal act. He was held in Newgate Prison. Even after being imprisoned he still went on with his writing. He wrote many pamphlets fighting for the freedom and rights of an individual.

He was set free from Newgate prison in the fall of 1647. When he came out he went on to work with the Leveller mutineer against the Grandees. In the Civil War of England the Grandees represented the gentry. The Leveller mutiny was crashed by the Grandees who were more powerful and controlling.

In 1649 the writer was sent to prison for the second time. He had continued voicing his opinion though pamphlets which were political. This did not settle down well with the Government which considered the pamphlets as treason. He was later set free in the same year.

After his second term in prison he still went on advocating for change in Government. He was against monarchy and wanted it abolished because he believed in sovereignty. He wrote more pamphlets talking about equality and the rights of the individual. It is not known how Richard Overton spent his last years. This information is not documented anywhere.




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