10neoclassicism.pdfVIP

The Eighteenth Century English Literature Six chief political social events in the 18th century : 1 The firm establishment of capitalism in England 2 The compromise between the aristocracy the bourgeoisie 3 The Industrial Revolution 4 The establishment of English colonies in the world 5 The American Revolution 6 The French Revolution in 1789 Enlightenment Movement ? In cultural field, there took place an ideological movement called the Enlightenment. (启蒙运动) ? It was a progressive, intellectual, bourgeois movement throughout Western Europe in the 18th century. It prevailed not only England, but also over Russia, Germany, France, produced such great giants as Montesquieu（孟德斯鸠）, Diderot（狄德罗）, Voltaire（伏尔泰） Rousseau（卢梭）. ? They were called such because they considered the chief means for the betterment of the society was “enlightenment” or “education” for the people. They believed in the power of reason. Reason served as the only yardstick for the measurement of all human activities social relations. So the 18th century has often been called “the age of reason” (理性时期）or the Age of Enlightenment . ? The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. ? Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. ? The enlighteners celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. They held that rationality or reason should be the only, the final cause of any human thought and activities. ? They called for a reference to order, reason and rules. They believed that when reason served as the yardstick for the measurement of all human activities and relations, every superstition, injustice and oppression was to yield place to “eternal truth”, “eternal justice” and “natural equality”. ? The enlighteners advocated universal education. Voltaire Rousseau The style the writings of the most of the enlighteners are called classici