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The Age of Reason

The Age of Reason. Early to Late Eighteenth Century. Click Here For Music. Dominant Concepts. Discovering truth through human reason Perfectibility of Man Deism—God is benevolent but distant “Great Watchmaker” Theory Emphasis on Science Emphasis on Society. The Romantic Period.

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The Age of Reason

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  1. The Age of Reason Early to Late Eighteenth Century Click Here For Music

  2. Dominant Concepts • Discovering truth through human reason • Perfectibility of Man • Deism—God is benevolent but distant • “Great Watchmaker” Theory • Emphasis on Science • Emphasis on Society

  3. The Romantic Period 1785-1830 Click Here For Music

  4. The Romantic Period 1785-1830

  5. Historical Background • Period of Revolution • American and French Revolutions • Democracy transformed to despotism • Napoleonic Wars

  6. Historical Background • Change from agricultural to industrial society • Industrial Revolution—new technology • Rise of urban centers of industry • Creation of impoverished working class

  7. Historical Background • Pressure for Political, Social, and Artistic Reform • Hunger riots, machine breaking • Women’s movement • First Reform Bill of 1832 • Lyrical Ballads of 1798

  8. Dominant Concepts Click Here For Music • Emotion and Imagination • “The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” • External objects transformed by poet’s feelings • Speaker/hero reflects the poet • Poetry about formation of the self

  9. Dominant Concepts • Individualism • Stresses individual over society • Glorifies desire to go beyond human limits • Infinite longing • Heroes are isolated nonconformists or guilty outcasts

  10. Dominant Concepts • Spontaneity and Naturalness • Age of Reason regarded poetry as an art • For Romantics poetry should be spontaneous and inspired • Poetry should be free from rules and artful manipulation

  11. Dominant Concepts • Emphasis on Nature • Nature as it reflects the “Mind of Man” • Nature endowed with human qualities • Natural objects symbolize greater concepts • Divine mysteries reflected in nature

  12. Dominant Concepts • Glorification of the Commonplace • Wordsworth’s democratization of poetry • Emphasize humble and rustic life • Use plain style and common language • Express the wonder and divinity of the commonplace

  13. Dominant Concepts • The Supernatural • Achieves a sense of wonder through supernatural incidents • Supernatural events have psychological significance

  14. Dominant Concepts • The Supernatural • Settings in distant past or exotic locales • Unusual modes of experience For more on the supernatural in Romantic Literature, see the PowerPoint Presentation “Gothic Motifs”

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