CHAPTER6讲稿The18thCentury.doc

The 18th Century :the Classical Age Historical Background: The 18th century can be subdivided into two halves. a. The first half of the century was centripetal, with all the forces coming together. The British Empire had become one on which the sun never set. On the economic scene, the country became increasingly affluent, the factory system began to develop, trade flourished, and there was an outburst of productivity. On the political scene, a fragile kind of balance exited. b. But troubles began to appear in the second half of the century. The middle class continued its push for more freedom to do business as it pleased. Technology and science jumped, and inventions and the protections for patents facilitated change and growth. All of these brought about huge changes in the basic eco-social scene of the country. The Industrial Revolution was now in full swing. This part of the century was a period of growing fortune for the middle class, but one of intensified debasement for the working class. Hence the occurrence of widespread social upheavals. c. Regarding religion, there was a significant change as well. Formal religion died down. The century believed in God, but it did not believe in formal religion with its tenets of revelation and supernatural elements. The world owed its existence to God and the best way to worship God was to worship His creation-man, nature, and the world as a whole. And the best way to serve God was to do good to man. People learn through their experience of feeling, seeing, touching, measuring and weighing, and reason is of the primary importance in learning to understand the world. Deism became the trend in the 18th century, and sounds an echo in such important authors as Pope and Swift. Literature in the 18th century: In the field of literature there existed also a balance between respect for the old and the emergence of new forms, and between reason and emotion. The major features of the literature of the period are as follow: it w