The Neoclassical Period （18th century）Definitions of literary terms英语081班汪志超51011080951) The Enlightenment MovementThe 18th-century England is known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.The Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France & swept through the whole Western Europe at the time. The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th & 16th centuries. Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modem philosophical & artistic ideas. The enlighteners celebrated reason or rationality, equality & science. They called for a reference to order, reason & rules & advocated universal education. Famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like John Dryden, Alexander pope & so on.2) NeoclassicismIn England, neoclassicism is initiated by John Dryden, culminated in Alexander Pope and continued by Samuel Johnson. It was a reaction against the fire of passions that blazed in the later Renaissance. It found its literary artistic model in the classical literature of ancient Greek and Latin authors, such as Homer, Virgil, Horace. The neoclassicists have their artistic ideas: order, logic, symmetry, restraint, accuracy, good taste, good sense, decorum and so on. In drama, they follow the Three Unities closely.1Richard Steele(1672-1729) and Joseph Addison(1672-1719)The Tatler ; The Spectator (the earliest periodicals)2Samuel Johnson（1709-1784）Samuel Johnson, commonly called Dr. Johnson, was one of the greatest figures of 18th-century English literature. He was the last great neoclassicist enlightener in the late 18th century. He had a hand in all the different branches of literary activities. He was a poet, dramatist, prose romancer, biographer, essayist, critic, lexicographer & publicist.His major works :poems: "London", & "The vanity of Human Wishes"a romance: The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia ;a tragedy: Irenehundreds of essays in the two periodicals :The Rambler & The Idler;English dictionary :A Dictionary of the English Language传记文学双星：Life of Johnson by James Boswell,The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Cleghon Gaskell3Alexander pope（1688-1744）poetPope is one of the fore-most satirists in world literature as well as a great poet. Pope's mock-heroic poem The Rape of the Lock is one of the finest examples of English comic verse. As a representative of the Enlightenment, Pope was one of the first to introduce rationalism to England. He was the greatest poet of his time.His major works1). The Rape of the LockA delightful burlesque of epic poetry, it ridicules the manners of the English nobility. The poem isbased on an actual incident in which a young nobleman stole a lock of a lady's hair.2) An Essay on CriticismHis first important work, An Essay on Criticism was a long didactic poem in heroic couplets. In this work, he reflected the neo-classical spirit of the times by advocating good taste, common sense & the adherence to classical rules in writing & criticism. The whole poem is written in a plain style, hardly containing any imagery or eloquence &therefore makes easy reading.3）The DunciadGenerally considered Pope's best satiric work, The Dunciad goes deep in meaning & works at many levels. Its satire is directed at Dullness in general, & in the course of it all the literary men of the age. Poets mainly who had made Pope's enemies, are held up to ridicule. But the poem is not confined to personal attack. Dullness as reflected in the corruptness of government, social morals, education & even religion, is expertly exposed & satirized.The Realistic Novel:The mid-century was, however, predominated by a newly rising literary form, the modern English novel, which, contrary to the traditional romance of aristocrats, gives a realistic presentation of life of the common English people. This-the most significant phenomenon in the history of the development of English literature in the eighteenth century - is a natural product of the Industrial Revolution & a symbol of the growing importance & strength of the English of the growing importance & strength of the English middle class, Among the pioneers were Daniel Defoe ,Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Tobias George Smollett, & Oliver Goldsmith.1Daniel Defoe(1660-1731)He acquired a pure naked English—smooth, easy, almost colloquial. Yet never coarse. He loved short, crisp, plain sentences. There is nothing artificial in his language; it is really common English.作品：1）Pamphlet: The Trueborn Englishman—A Satire.(It contained a caustic exposure of the aristocracy and the tyranny of the church.)2)Novels:Robinson Crusoe(The character of Robinson Crusoe is representative of the English bourgeoisie atthe earlier stage of its development.); Captain Singleton; Moll Flanders; Colonel Jacque2Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)He is an Irish. Swift is one of the greatest masters of English prose. His language is simple, clear and vigorous. He said, “Proper words in proper places, makes the true definition of a style.” Swift is a master of satirist, and his irony is deadly. But his satire is masked by an outward gravity, and an apparent calmness conceals his bitter irony. This makes his satire all the more powerful, as shown in his Modest Proposal.作品：1）Two stories: A Tale of a Tub; The Battle of the Books(The two stories made him well-known as a satirist.)2) Novel:Gulliver’s Travels3) Pamphlets :The Drapier’s Letters; A Modest Proposal(Swift’s pamphlets in Ireland form avery important part of his works.)3Samuel Richardson(1689-1761)His main achievement as a novelist lies in his technique to show characters as personalities. Psychological analysis.作品：Pamela (The story is a told in a series of letters from the heroine, Pamela Andrews.书信体小说);Clarissa; Sir Charles Grandison.Pamela was a new thing in three ways:Firstly, it discarded the “improbable and marvellous”accomplishment of the former heroic romances, and pictured the life and love of ordinary people.Secondly, its intension was to afford not merely entertainment but also moral instruction. Thirdly, it described not only the sayings and doings of the characters but also their secret thoughts and feelings. It was, in fact, the first English psycho-analytical novel.4Henry Fielding(1707-1754)1)简介：As a novelist, Fielding is very great. He is the founder of the English realistic novel and sets up the theory of realism in literary.“Nature herself,” i.e., the exact observation and study of real life, was the basis of Fielding’s work. Byron, in a famous phrase, called Fielding “the prose Homer of Human Nature”. Fielding established once for all the form of the modern novel. His importance in the history of the novel is unique. He has been rightly call the “father of the English novel”.2）作品：Novels:①Joseph Andrews ②Jonathan Wild ③Tom Jones(流浪汉小说) ④AmeliaPicaresque Novel(流浪汉小说)is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction, which is usually satirical and depict in realistic and humorous details the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class, who lives by his or her wits in a corrupt society. The characteristic of it is loosely linked episodes, intrigue fights and adventures. The style of this novel originated in Spain and flourished in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and continued to influence modern literature. In England, Tobias Smollett’s works, Daniel Defoe’s “Moll Flanders”, Fielding’s “Tom Jones”, and Charles Dickens’“Pickwick Papers” are considered to be picaresque novels. In modern America, Sawl Bellow’s “Adventure of Augie March”, Jack Kerouac’s “Dharma Bums” can be called picaresque novels. The Chinese “Journey to the Wrest” is considered to has considerable elements of picaresque.3）Some Features of Fielding’s Novels①Fielding’s method of Relating a Story: told directly by the author.②Satire in Fielding’s Novels. Satire sounds everywhere in Fielding’s works.③Fielding believed in the educational function of the novel.④Style. Fielding is a master of style. His style is easy, unlaboured and familiar, but extremely vivid and vigorous.5Tobias Smollett(1721-1771)He is a Scottish. He belonged to the realistic school.作品：Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphry Clinker, History of England.6Laurence Sterne(1713-1768)He is a novelist of the sentimentalist school. He was born in Ireland.A Sentimental Journey.The drama of the 18th century was extensive, but very little of it has permanent or acting value. Only two men, Goldsmith and Sheridan, produced works which are of high literary quality and which are still remain their interest upon the stage.1Oliver Goldsmith(1730-1774)Goldsmith was a poet, novelist, dramatist and essayist, all combined in one person. He was born in Ireland.Comedies: The Good-Natured Man, She Stoops to Conquer2、Richard Brinsley Sheridan(1751-1816)was, like Goldsmith, an Irishman. His literary fame rests almost exclusively uponhis dramas. His dramas are sufficient to maintain his reputation as one of the most brilliant of English writers of Comedy.戏剧作品：①The Rivals, ②The School for Scandal（It gives a brilliant portrayal and a biting satire ofIn the first half of the 18 century, Pope was the leader of English poetry and the heroic couplet the fashion of poetry. But the middle of the century, however, sentimentalism gradually made its appearance.The appearance and development of sentimentalist poetry marks the midway in the transition from classicism to its opposite, Romanticism, in English poetry.Sentimentalism : It is a literary current started in the middle of 18th century. It is a part of the Pre-Romantic trend as reaction against the cold, logic rationalism that dominated people’s life and writing since the last decade of the 17th century. It appeared to sentiment as a means of achieving happiness and social justice. They believed that the effective emotions were the evidence of kindness and goodness. A ready sympathy and an inward pain for the misery of others became part of accepted social morality and ethics. Their words reveal a purely emotional approach to life on the part of the narrator. They formed the contrast of rationally composed novel. The most outstanding figure of this school was Laurence Stern who composed “Tristram Shandy”and “Sentimental Journey through France to Italy”. Samuel Richardson’s work also belong to this school because he used a lot of psychological analysis. Oliver Goldsmith’s work, especially “The Vicar of Wakefield”is of this time. Thomas Gray, a member of Graveyard school is a member of sentimental school, because Graveyard School is part of Sentimental School.1Laurence Sterne(1713-1768)He is a novelist of the sentimentalist school. He was born in Ireland.作品：Tristram Shandy, A Sentimental Journey.2Thomas Gray(1716-1771):作品：Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. （This is a poem full of the gentle melancholy which marks all early romantic poetry.）Graveyard School: is a term applied to the 18th century poets who wrote melancholy, reflective works, often set in graveyard, on the theme of human morality. The dominant imageries are graveyard, death and darkness. They are part of Sentimental School in the 18th century literature. Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was the best known example for the time.Elegy: It is an ancient form of writing. Its tradition can be traced back to Greek. It is a kind of war song, the song that eulogizes the warring spirit, especially to celebrate the victory of the war and to lament upon the dead. Later, thiswriting is used for lamentation over one’s loss, one’s complaint, one’s unhappiness or things like that. In France, people sometimes use elegy for love lyric.3Oliver Goldsmith(1730-1774)Goldsmith was a poet, novelist, dramatist and essayist, all combined in one person. He was born in Ireland.作品：⑴Poems:①The Traveller is based on Goldsmith’s personal observation during his European wanderings. He came to the conclusion that human happiness depends less on political institution than onour own minds.②The Deserted Village is Goldsmith’s best poem. It contains some charmingdescriptions of village life. He marks the depopulation in the countryside owing to the inroads ofmonopolizing riches.⑵Novel: The Vicar of Wakefield. His novel appeals to human sentiment as a means of achieving happinessand social justice. That is why he is acknowledged to be one of the representatives of English sentimentalism.⑶Comedies: The Good-Natured Man, She Stoops to Conquer⑷Essays: The Citizen of the World.Goldsmith’s place as one of the greatest English essayists is mainlyIn the latter half of the 18century, a new literary monument arose in Europe, called the Romantic Revival. In England, this movement showed itself in the trend of Pre-Romanticism in poetry, which was ushered by Percy, Macpherson and Chatterton, and represented by Blake and Burns,the two greatest romantic poets of the 18th century.Pre-Romanticism:It rose as a reaction against enlightenment and neoclassicism, especially against reasons advocated by them. It originated by conservative groups men of letters and rose in the latter half of 18th century. The representatives are Thomas Gray, William Blake and Robert Burns.1William Blake(1757-1827)①The earliest of the major English Romantic poets.②Like Shelley, Blake strongly criticized the capitalists' cruel exploitation, saying that the "dark satanic mills left menunemployed, killed children & forced prostitution."③From childhood, Blake had a strongly visual mind; whatever he imagined, he also saw. As an imaginative poet, hepresents his view in visual images instead of abstract terms. " I know that This world is a world of IMAGINATION & Vision," & that "The Nature of my work is visionary or imaginative."④Blake writes his poems in plain & direct language.works：①The Songs of Innocence is a lovely volume of poems, presenting a happy & innocent world,though not without its evils & sufferings.②The Songs of Experience paints a different world, a world of misery, poverty, disease, war &repression with a melancholy tone.③Marriage of Heaven & Hell marks his entry into maturity.④The Book of Urizen, The Book of Los，The Four Zoas，Milton2、Robert Burns(1759-1796)He is the greatest of Scottish poets. He devoted all his free time to collecting, editing, restoring and imitating traditional Scottish songs, or writing verses of his own to traditional tunes.works：①Burns is remembered mainly for his songs written in the Scottish dialect on a variety of subjects.②Numerous are Burns’ songs of love and friendship. A Red, Red Rose③Bruce at Bannockburn is a typical song of patriotism.⑤The Tree of Liberty and A Revolutionary Lyric are the poems on the theme of revolution.⑥The Toadeater is a piece of bitter satire.⑦The Jolly Beggars is characterized by humour and lightheartedness.。
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