《5Enlightenment.pptVIP

The Enlightenment and Neo-Classicism in English Literature (1688-1789) The English Enlightenment and 18th Century England 1. 18th Century England 2. The Enlightenment Movement 3. Neo-classicism 4. Four Divisions of 18th Century Literature Historical Background After the tempestuous (暴乱的) events of the 17th century, England entered a period of a comparatively peaceful development. The Revolution of 1688, which banished the last of the Stuart kings and called William of Orange (husband of king Charles II’ daughter Mary) to the throne, marks the end of the long struggle for political freedom in England. Another feature of the age was the rapid development of social life. In the first half of the eighteenth century some three thousand public coffeehouses and a large number of private clubs appeared in London alone; and the sociability (社交) of these clubs was typical of all English cities. Nearly all writers frequented the coffeehouses, and the matters discussed there became subjects of literature; hence the enormous amount of eighteen-century writing devoted to transient affairs, to politics, fashions, gossip. Neo-classicism (In the field of literature) a revival of interest in the old classical works The artistic ideals should be order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy. The belief that literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity led them to seek proportion, unity, harmony and grace in literary expressions, in an effort to delight, instruct correct human beings, primarily as social animals. Characteristics of Neoclassical Literature According to the neoclassicists, all forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek Roman writers （Homer, Virgil, Horace, etc.) and those of the contemporary French ones. 2. Neoclassicists had some fixed laws and rules for almost every genre of literature. Four Divisions of the 18th Century English Literature For convenience, we study 18th c. British literature in