The Enlightenment (Neoclassical) Period (c. 1660-1790)
"Neoclassical" refers to the increased influence of Classical literature upon these centuries. The Neoclassical Period is also called the "Enlightenment" due to the increased reverence for logic and disdain for superstition. The period is marked by the rise of Deism, intellectual backlash against earlier Puritanism, and America's revolution against England.
- Restoration Period (c. 1660-1700): This period marks the British king's restoration to the throne after a long period of Puritan domination in England. Its symptoms include the dominance of French and Classical influences on poetry and drama. Sample writers include John Dryden, John Lock, Sir William Temple, Samuel Pepys, and Aphra Behn in England. Abroad, representative authors include Jean Racine and Molière.
- The Augustan Age (c. 1700-1750): This period is marked by the imitation of Virgil and Horace's literature in English letters. The principal English writers include Addison, Steele, Swift, and Alexander Pope. Abroad, Voltaire is the dominant French writer.
- The Age of Johnson (c. 1750-1790): This period marks the transition toward the upcoming Romanticism though the period is still largely Neoclassical. Major writers include Dr. Samuel Johnson, Boswell, and Edward Gibbon who represent the Neoclassical tendencies, while writers like Robert Burns, Thomas Gray, Cowper, and Crabbe show movement away from the Neoclassical ideal. In America, this period is called the Colonial Period. It includes colonial and revolutionary writers like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine.
Enlightenment Characteristics
Authors:
John Lock
Aphra Behn
Jonathan Swift (A Modest Proposal)
Alexander Pope (The Rape of Lock)
Thomas Gray
Voltaire
Robert Burns (My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose)
Aphra Behn
Jonathan Swift (A Modest Proposal)
Alexander Pope (The Rape of Lock)
Thomas Gray
Voltaire
Robert Burns (My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose)