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1、 Chapter 7. The Eighteenth Century The Age of Reason (16881798)I.Historical backgroundAfter the Glorious Revolution, Whig and Tory were established. The former one represented the interests of the moneyed class, while the latter one represented the royalists. England fought many wars with France, Sp
2、ain, etc. In those wars England rose as a victor making it the strongest country in navy and economy and considerably stretching its occupied land oversees extending from the west of Canada to the east of India.II.The special features of the cultural life at the timea.Political writings: the rise of
3、 the political parties led to the appearance of pamphlet wars of political writings attracting many writers to work for either of the parties or both alternatively.b.The rise of newspapers and magazines: the reason for the rise:Both parties had their respective ones to express their opinions.The ris
4、e of the middle class demanded entertainment and education and they need to express their views too.c. Coffeehouses:where people gathered to exchange ideas and thus they help to determine the literary trend of the timed. The new morality: The emphasis on reasonThe development of tolerance of differe
5、nt opinions in politics and religione.The influence of science and technology:Principia Mathematica in 1687 by Newton (16421727)The new epistemology of John Locke (16321704)f. French influenceAugustanismneoclassicism stressing to learn from the classicals*What is classicism? The characteristics in G
6、reek and Roman classical works. They are clarity, logic, form, proportion, balance with each other, parallelism, restraint. III.The characteristics of neoclassicism1. Reason rather than emotion and form rather than content were emphasized.2. Most of the writings at the time were didactic and satiric
7、al.3. The closed couplet was the only possible verse form for serious work for elegance, correctness, appropriateness and restraint were preferred. 4. It is exclusively a “town” poetry, catering to the interests of the “society” in great cities. The humbler aspect of life are neglected and it showed
8、 in most part no love of nature, landscape, or country things and people5. Lacking romantic elements and being hostile to medieval literature6. An age of prose, especially the latter part the centuryIV.Representative authors of the time 1. Daniel Defoe 2. Jonathan Swift 3. Joseph Addison 4. Alexande
9、r Pope 5. Samuel Johnson 6. Henry Fieldding 7. Thomas Gray 8. Thobias George Smollet 9. Richard Brinsley Sheridan 10. Robert Burns 11. William Blake1. Daniel Defoe(16611731)a pioneer novelist of England and also a prolific writer of books and pamphlets on a great variety of subjects.1） his life stor
10、y:a.from a dissenters family: Presbyterian butcher b.having a questionable character in politics, but strong belief in religious freedom2) his literary achievements:fiction:Robinson , Crusoe , Moll Flanderscontribution to journalism & regulating English trade methods and principles3) characteristics
11、 of his fiction:a. Robinson Crusoe:(1) based on real experience of a Scottish sailor but combined with his own imagination, it is still a fictional work.(2) using the picaresque frame with a story in the shape of a journal and having strong sense of journalistic truth; containing serious wisdom of l
12、ife(3) The importance of the hero: i. typical of the rising English bourgeois class, practical and diligent with a restless curiosity to know more about the world and a desire to prove individual power in the face of social and natural challengesIi. a real hero of middle class different from the her
13、o of knights or epic hero(4) moral teaching: sing praise of labour, presenting it as the source of human pride and happiness as well as a means to change mans living conditions from desperation to prosperity(5) limitations: i. praise colonization overseas through the relationship with Fridayii. his
14、attitude to woman is open to criticismiii. Praise slaveryb.Moll Flanders: (1) its story(2)the significance, one is for the first a woman being the protagonist; artistically more mature than Robinson: better structure and better plot; so it is written in an autobiographical form called a memoir2. Jon
15、athan Swift(1667-1745)a churchman and also a university graduate who viewed human society with contempt and has been called a cynic and even a misanthrope.1) his life story:His father died before he was born, and he had to accept the aid of his relatives and finished his study at Dublin University.2
16、) his literary achievements:a.satirical essays: The Battle of Books(1696-1698), A Tale of the Tub(1696-1698)b.Writings in pamphlets:The Draipers Letters, A Modest Proposac.fiction:Gullivers Travel(1726)3) characteristics of his pamphlets:Gullivers Travela. criticizing the oppression and exploitation
17、 of the Irish people by the absentee landlords and the English government.b. using bitter satireThe battle of Booksa debate happening 18th century. Some people modern peopleThe Tale of the Tuba satire on various religious sects: Catholic, Anglican and dissenters churches: changes done by different c
18、hurches to the Christian doctrinesThe Draipers Letters revealing the corruption and license, debased A Modest Proposala satire on the English governments heavy exploitation 4) A Modest Proposal a. It is a bitter satire on the policy of the English government towards the Irish people. b.Swift in this
19、 article suggested to the Irish people that the best way to end their misery was to produce children and sell them at market as a delicious dish for the rich.3. Joseph Addison(1672-1719)and Richard Steele(1672-1729)1) their life stories: they were born in the same year, attended the same school and
20、later studied at the same university.they had the same political trendwhig2) their literary achievements: Joseph Addison & Richard SteeleJoseph Addison started the periodical essays that were the most characteristic genre of 18thcentury literature.Richard Steelecontribution to the periodicals: The T
21、atler, The Spectator, The Guardian3) characteristics of their periodical essays:a. Methods: 1. mild, indirect, was admirably adapted to their purpose. 2. were full of wit, humor, and satire.b. Themes: dealt with 1) light topics-fashions, head-dresses, practical jokes, 2) polite conversations, discus
22、sed art, philosophy, drama, and poetry, and sought in so doing not only to interest the general reader in such subjects, but also to guide and develop their tastes. 3) deeper topics such immorality One other characteristic: draw some images of some typical middle class people: C. Style: simple langu
23、age familiar to the middle men; graceful, poised, well balanced, familiar words and expressions to the readers, 4) Aims of their writing:a. to educate the newly risen middle class.b. to bridge the gap between the small circle of London elegance and wit,and the large, serious, rather Puritan middle c
24、lass.5) two selected pieces written by Addisona. The Royal Exchangeb. Sir Roger at Church4. Alexander Pope(1688-1744)1) his life story:he was self-educated. he worked hard against poor health and unfavorable conditions and gained a profound knowledge of both the classics and the craft of writing. 2)
25、 his literary achievements:An Essay on Criticism, The Rape of the Lock, An Essay on ManContribution to poetry in heroic couplets3) characteristics of his poems:a. succeeded Chaucer and Dryden in bringing metrical form to its perfection.b. contained a great number of quotable lines that have passed i
26、nto everyday speech as popular sayings, such as :“To err is human, to forgive divine”, and “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”c. limitation: Pope is never profound in thought, so the poems lack original ideas5.Samuel Johnson(1709-1784)the greatest English man of letters between Pope and
27、Wordsworth.1) his life story: he was born in a book sellers family.he was conservative in his world outlook and was against any kind of reform or innovation.he upheld tradition and authority. Uphold conventions authority2) his literary achievements:A Dictionary of the English LanguageContribution to
28、 a periodical, The Rambler, Known for essay; his Preface to his edition of Shakespeare and The Lives of the Poets3) characteristics of his writing: Emphasizing the specification of language6. Henry Fielding(1707-1754)playwright, novelist and district law magistrate, came from an aristocratic backgro
29、und1) his life story: was born to an upper-class familybegan writing plays while at university and took it as his profession after leaving school.2) his literary achievements:novels: The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, The History of Tom Jones3) characteristics of his novels:a. The Hist
30、ory of the Adventures of Joseph Andrew ( 1) its story and significance(2) in his preface to this novel Fielding proudly announced that he had created a new genre called comic epics in prose and discussed its characteristic feature.(3) the novel turned from a novel of seduction into one of the first
31、exemplars of the great English panoramic tradition, which was to reach new heights later in Thackeray and Dickens.b. The History of Tom Jones(1) its story(2) Its significance: a. the understanding of allegory in the storyb. to Fielding, the countryside represents the basic goodness of human race, wh
32、ereas the city stands for evil and sin.Tobias George SmollettA general introductionTobias George Smollett (19 March 1721 17 September 1771) was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748),The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle
33、 (1751), which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens. His last novel, the best novel is The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), published in the year of his death. 7. Thomas Gray(1716-1771)one of the representative poets at the time1) his life story:was born in London and educated at
34、Eton and Cambridge, where he, after a grand tour on the continent, spent the rest of his life.2) characteristics of his poems:more natural and spontaneous in thoughtemphasizing emotions and sentiments3) The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard8. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)1) his life stor
35、y: was born in Dublin, of Irish origin, and was educated at Harrow.2) his literary achievements: drama: The Rivals, A Trip to Sarborough, The School for Scandal3) The School for Scandal a. its story and significanceb. it is written in the tradition of Comedy of Manners, and exposes the immorality, h
36、ypocrisy, money-hunting, and scandal-mongering of the idle classes in 18th century England. 9. Robert Burns(1759-1796) 1) his life story: was born in Scotland in a poor peasant family and educated himself through selfstudy.2） his literary achievements: poems and songs3) characteristics of his poems
37、and songsa. written in the Scottish dialect and in the tradition of Scottish folk songs.b. besides love lyrics, most of his poems and songs are about patriotic and political themes.10. William Blake (1757-1827) a poet as well as an engraver.1) his life story: was born in a hosiers family in London a
38、nd drew pictures and engraved to illustrate his works and the works of others.2) his literary achievements:poems: Poetical Sketches, Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, Prophetic Books broke with the neo-classical tradition both in form and in content3) characteristics of his poemsa. Songs of I
39、nnocence(1) expressed the poets delight in life, even in the face of sorrow and suffering.(2) the world is seen through the eyes of a childs imagination which can be attained by adults if they cast away the follies and deceits of the hostile world and seek a visionary world through their imagination
40、. b. Songs of Experience(1) the atmosphere is no longer sunny but sad and gloomy, and evil is found everywhere in this world.(2) through the loss of imagination, man has become a slave to the falsehood and hypocrisy of religion and society, and thus has lost the Heaven of Innocence and gained the Hell of Experience.c. the contradiction of these two poem collections