ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -In H.L. Mencken’s famous definition: “Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."

Detailed explanation-2: -Mencken had criticized Puritanism for many years, famously characterizing it as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy, ” but through World War I his criticism became increasingly outspoken, in part due to the rising tide of Prohibition.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Puritans were often dismissed as drably-clothed religious zealots who were hostile to the arts and were eager to impose their rigid “Puritanical” morality on the world around them. This stereotypical view is almost wholly incorrect. Contrary to much popular thinking, the Puritans were not sexual prudes.