The Neo-Classical Age/Literature
Introduction
Neoclassical literature was written between 1660 and 1798. This time period is broken down into three parts:
(1) The Restoration period,
(2) The Augustan period, and
(3) The Age of Johnson.
Understanding the Neoclassical era helps us better understand its literature. This was a time of comfortableness in England. People would meet at coffee houses to chat about politics, among other topics, and sometimes drink a new, warm beverage made of chocolate! It was also the beginning of the British tradition of drinking afternoon tea. And it was the starting point of the middle class, and because of that, more people were literate.
People were very interested in appearances, but not necessarily in being genuine. Men and women commonly wore wigs, and being clever and witty was in vogue. Having good manners and doing the right thing, particularly in public, was essential. It was a time, too, of British political upheaval as eight monarchs took the throne.
Writers of the Neoclassical period tried to imitate the style of the Romans and Greeks. Thus the combination of the terms 'neo,' which means 'new,' and 'classical,' as in the day of the Roman and Greek classics. This was also the era of The Enlightenment, which emphasized logic and reason. It was preceded by The Renaissance and followed by the Romantic era. In fact, the Neoclassical period ended in 1798 when Wordsworth published the Romantic 'Lyrical Ballads'.
Prominent Literary Figures of The Neo-Classical Age
John Milton (1608 - 1674)
John Dryden (1631 - 1700)
Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731)
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
John Dryden (1631 - 1700)
Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731)
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
Stages of The Age
The Restoration Period (1660-1700)
After the beheading of King Charles I, the monarchy was 'restored', and so this period got the name 'restoration'. A new era had dawned with epic works such as Paradise Lost and Areopagitica by Milton and Sodom by Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. It also saw a new age of both sexual comedy and wisdom, with works such as The Country Wife and The Pilgrim's Progress respectively. While writers like Richard Blackmore wrote King Arthur, it also saw critics like Jeremy Collier, John Dryden, and John Dennis who gave a new direction to understand literature and theater.
Poetry too was revamped and saw the beginning of rhyme schemes. The iambic pentameter was one of the popular forms of poetry, preferred by the poets and the listeners. Odes and pastorals became the new means for exchanging ideas.
The poems were mostly realistic and satirical, in which, John Dryden reigned supreme. He further divided poetry into three heads, that of fables, political satire, and doctrinal poems. You will not find any spiritual bias, moral highness, or philosophy in these poems, which became the signature style of the Restoration Era.
Augustan Age (1700-1745)
The Augustan Age took its name from the Roman Emperor Augustus, whose monarchy brought stability in the social and political environment. It is during his reign, that epic writers such as Ovid, Horace, Virgil, etc., flourished.
Writers such as Pope, Dryden, Daniel Defoe, Swift, and Addison were the major contributors to this era. Dryden's attempts at satiric verse were highly admired by many generations. This era was also called the Age of Pope due to his noteworthy contributions.
Writers such as Pope, Dryden, Daniel Defoe, Swift, and Addison were the major contributors to this era. Dryden's attempts at satiric verse were highly admired by many generations. This era was also called the Age of Pope due to his noteworthy contributions.
Age of Johnson (1745-1785)
This era made its way into the literary world by stepping out of the shadows of its previous age. Shakespearean literature found appreciation during this era. It brought forth the Gothic school of literature. Qualities like balance, reason, and intellect were the main focus of this era. Hence, this age is also called the Age of Sensibility.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) gave a massive literary contribution, which till date is a great boon to one an all. And that is the Dictionary of the English Language, which was first published in the year 1755. Though many similar books were used prior to this book, the dictionary in particular was the one that was most popularly used and admired, right until the printing of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) gave a massive literary contribution, which till date is a great boon to one an all. And that is the Dictionary of the English Language, which was first published in the year 1755. Though many similar books were used prior to this book, the dictionary in particular was the one that was most popularly used and admired, right until the printing of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928.
Characteristics of The Neo-Classical Age.
1. Influence of Materialism
When Pope declares the limits of man, he also sets, by implications, the limits for artist:
“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
The proper study of mankind is man!”
But Pope echoes only dominant philosophical thoughts here. After the Renaissnce, Platonism and Christian Humanism, we find in the Neo-classical age, the dominance of Materialism and Empirical Science.The ruling thought of the age is shaped by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Joseph Butler.
The philosophical empiricism of the age propagated through the writings of Bacon, Hobbes and Locke was supported and strengthened by the advancement of empirical science.Under the influence of empirical philosophy and experimental science, writers of the age narrowed both their vision of man and view of life.
The affairs of men, their politics, their morals and manners became the chief concern. Although the concern with politics was present in the time of Shakespeare also, but his and his contemporaries’ treatment was ideal and utopian.But the treatment of Neoclassical writers was practical rather than utopian.
2. Imitation of Classics
One of the most important features of the Neoclassical literature is the imitation of the classics of ancient Greek and Roman literatures.Although the Renaissance writers had imitated the classics, but whereas Renaissance writers mere derived inspirations from the classics rather the copying the models of the past, the Neoclassical writers strictly adhered to the authority of their models.The Neo-classical writers like Dryden, Pope, Swift and Johnson were convinced that excellence and perfection in literary art has been attained by the Roman writers of antiquity, thus they can only copy the models of perfection and excellence.
3. Concept of Nature
The concept of nature was also an important characteristic of Neo-classical age. By nature, they never meant the forest nature, but for them nature meant the general human nature.The general human nature was not what the ordinary men and women felt and thought, but the standard view of human nature as held by Homer and Horace.
Like their static view of the world, the Neo-classical writers thought of human nature also was something static and standard, which is the same in all men and remains the same at all the times.Thus their view of nature as well as of man, world and genre was static and standard.
4. Concept of Man
The Neo-classical literature considers man as a limited being, having limited power.A large number of satires and works of the period attack man for his pride and advise him to remain content with his limited power of knowledge.
5. Literary Forms
Among the Neo-classical forms of literature, the most famous was essay, both in verse and prose.While drama declined and almost disappeared during the later part of the period, Novel made its beginnings.The literature of the age was mostly comic and satiric. An important failure of the age was to produce tragedy.
6. Neoclassical Drama
Neo-classical drama falls into two phases-
· Restoration Drama (later 17th century)
· Sentimental Drama (18th century)
In the Restoration Age, drama rose in the form of Comedy of Manners.But in the second phase, it declined as the Elizabethan dramas like those of Shakespeare were reproduced and age itself did not produce drama.
7. The New Restraint
Writers started inventing new words and regularising vocabulary and grammar. Complex bodily metaphysical language such as Shakespeare used in his major tragedies was clarified and simplified.Moreover the plays of Neo-classical age compared to those of Shakespeare plays are of single plot-line and are strictly limited in time and place.
8. Age of Reason
Neo-classical age is often called as the Age of Reason. Thinkers of this age considered reason to be the highest mental faculty and sufficient guide in all areas.Both religious beliefs and morality were grounded on reason.
Major Literary Figures of The Age.
John Milton (1608 - 1674)
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse.
Milton's poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. Writing in English, Latin, Greek, and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship, is among history's most influential and impassioned defences of free speech and freedom of the press.
John Milton’s best-known works are Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and doctrine and Discipline of Divorce.
John Dryden (1631 - 1700)
John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made England's first Poet Laureate in 1668. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him "Glorious John".
John Dryden’s best-known works are An Essay of Dramatick Poesie, The Wild Gallant and The Indian Queen.
Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer, and he is also famous for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare.
Pope’s best known works are Pastorals, An essay on Dramatic poesy and Messiah
