Eighteenth-century Literature
1.
The 18th in England is called the classical age or the Augustan Age is literature.
It is called the Age of good sense or the Age of Reason.
We need to point out here that Dryden though it belongs to the 17th C is also included in the Augustan Age or the Classical Age.
Other significant literary figures who dominated this age were Pope, Dryden, and Johnson.
The 18th C literature is also called the Classical Age.
6-1 It had three reasons particularly.
The term classic refers to a writer of the highest rank in any Nation.
(This term was applied to the work of great Greek and Roman writers like Horace, and Virgil.)
The writers of the 18thC followed these writers. So they were called classical writers.
6-2
We find that in every national literature, there is a period often called Classical Age.
For example, the reign of Augustus is called the Classical Age of Rome.
The age of Daute is called the classical age of Italian literature.
In the same way in the 18th century in England, there were abundant writers so the critics called this age the Classical Age.
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In the third place, the writers of the 18th C repelled against the exaggerated style of the Elizabethan & Puritan ages.
There demanded that poetry, Drama and phase should follow exact rules.
In this, they were influenced by French writers, especially Boileau and Rapin.
Boileau and Rapin insisted on writing precise methods of poetry.
They said they got these methods by studying Horace and Aristotle.
So the 18th C is called the ‘Classical Age’ because they followed the ancient writers.
2.
Unfortunately, these 18th C writers followed the ancient writers only in their external performance.
They lacked sublimity and grandeur.
Their classification is called pseudo-classification. i.e. false classification.
The term ‘classification’ was too dignified for these writers.
They only initiate the outward ways.
The inner spirit of the ancient writers good not be borne by these 18th C writers.
So they were preferably called the ‘Augustan Age’.
This coinage was given by the 18thC writers themselves.
These saw in Pope, Dryden, Johnson, Addison, and Swift Buske the modern parallels to Horace, Virgil, Cicero and writers who had made the reign of Emperor Augustan ‘Roman Literature rich’
3.
The 18thC Literature is also called the Age of Reason or the Age of good sense.
It was so because people of this age thought they could stand by themselves and not by Ancient precedents.
They thought that they should apply their own reason and common sense.
They declared that the validity of the rules of art was derived from reason.
John Locke, the great philosopher spine that there was no war between faith & reason.
It was widely assumed during the 18thC that every man was competent to decide by their own reason.
So every man becomes his own Philosopher.
Thus there was no need for any specialist.
Each man could decide for themselves and reach their own conclusions.
This conclusion was believed to have universal value belonging to any race or age.
This was the temper of 18thC
This age took legitimate pride in Modern discoveries.
These discoveries were made on observations and reason.
It also confirmed ancient beliefs.
1) Thus they believed that there was harmony and order in the universe.
2)and worked in rational principle.
3) In short this age was as the Biblical seuging goes on.
4) “God saw everything that he made and behold it was very good”.
4. Now let us look into the literary characteristics of the age—
Earlier poetic works were given significance.
Now for the first time, prose came in common sense in the history of English Literature.
This age was of social, political, religious and literacy controversies. Prominent writers took active past pamphlets, journal magazines came out in order to cater for the needs of the people.
The style of poetry was not adequate.
So there was a rapid development of prose.
The prose writers undoubtedly excelled in their prose style
The graceful and elegant prose of Addison’s work.
The term style of Swift’s satires.
The artistic perfection of fielding novels.
The sonorous eloquence of Gibbon’s story.
The oratorical style of Burke is unsurpassable.
In fact, poetry had also become prosaic.
Poetry became polished, witty and artificial.
But the poetry locked lacked fire, fine feelings, and enthusiasm.
Poetry now was more interested in actual life
There was no more inspiration and imagination.
Thus now prose developed into an excellent medium to express human interest and
emotion.
The two main characteristics of the Restoration period –realism and precision were carried to further perfection in the 18thC
The third characteristic of this age was the development of satire.
Satire was a form of literature which resulted from the unfortunate union of politics with literature.
The two political parties whigs & Tories rewarded their writers for satirising their enemies.
Thus undermining them.
Satire could not reach its literacy height because it was used for finding faults.
So this age could not achieve its universal height.
The writers devoted their talent, had they devoted their energies for a betters cause, they would have done better.
Another striking feature of this age was the origin and development of the Novel.
It was enhanced by novelists like Defoe Richardson, fielding, Smollett and others.
The 18thC was deficient in drama. Goldsmith & Sheridan were the Galy writers who produced plays of literary merit.
This age was where the classical ideals and rules reigned supreme.
The 18thC is a long period. So it will be dealt with under different topics –
The Age of the Pope c) 18thC Novel
The Age of the Johnson d) 18thC Drama
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