Neo classical literature

A.M.CK.ABEYSEKARASSH/11/12/006SH/2656UNIVERSITY OF RAJARATASRILANKA

NEO CLASSICAL AGE

• The Renaissance (c. 1485-1660)

• Neo classical (c.1660-1790)

• Romantic era. (c. 1790-1830)

NEO CLASSICAL(1660-1790)

• “Neo” + “classical” (New) (Roman & Greek classics)

• Thus the combination of the terms 'neo,' which means 'new,' and 'classical,' as in the day of the Roman and Greek classics.

period of enlightenment age of reason era of logic

Three stages• Three distinct stages :

(1).Restoration period

(2).The Augustan period

(3).Age of Johnson

Restoration Period

• 1660 to 1700 - the period of Restoration.

• Because restoration of monarchy in England.

• Its symptoms include the dominance of French & classical influence on literature (poetry & drama)

Famous Writers of Restoration Age.

• John DrydenIt is called the Age of Dryden, because Dryden

was the dominating and most representative literary figure of the Age.

• John Milton

Absalom and Achitophel• "Absalom and Achitophel" is one of Dryden's great political

satires.

• In "Absalom and Achitophel," Dryden comments on (a) the Popish Plot(1678: an alleged plot by Catholics to kill the king and make

England Catholic again)-the Exclusion Crisis(to keep Charles' Catholic brother, James, from inheriting the

throne after Charles' death) (b)Monmouth Rebellion (1685: an attempt to put the king's illegitimate son James, Duke

of Monmouth on the throne)

Cont.• He frames these contemporary events in terms of the

biblical story of King David and his rebellious son Absalom.

• Biblical narratives would have been very familiar to

contemporary audiences. 

Augustan Age

• literary period of Virgil, Horace and Ovid under the Roman emperor Augustus.

• self-conscious imitation of the original Augustan writers

• has been called, - the Augustan Age -the Neoclassical Age -the Age of Reason.

Famous Writers• Alexander Pope • He is the dominant figure who associated with the

epoch known as the Augustan Age,

• Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s travel A modest proposal

• Daniel Defoe

Pop’s Literary Work

• The Rape of the Lock (1714)

• translated the Iliad and the Odyssey

• Essay on criticism

• Prologue of wife of bath

The Rape of the Lock

• Mock –heroic Masterpiece (1714)– = speaks of a trivial matter – epic poems → the effect is comical.

A nobleman cut a lock of hair from the head of Lady Arabella Fermor. This caused an argument between the two respective families and Pope, who was a friend of both of them wrote this poem to make them laugh and reconcile.

15

Robinson Crusoe By De-Foe

• form of fictional autobiography or diary

• who manages to survive for years without any human companionship.

• different ways that men cope with reality when hardship comes.

• creating his own reality, rescuing a savage. 16

The Age of Johnson

• “The Age of Sensibility”

• middle of the eighteenth century until 1798.

• Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)- poet, critic, and author of fiction,

Cont.

• William Collins• William Cowper• Thomas Gray• Christopher Smart are also attributed to the Age of Sensibility.