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Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism. Steve Wood TCCC. Definition. Neoclassicism is a literary movement of the 17 th and 18 th centuries that stressed the importance of using ancient Greek and Roman (the Classical period) literature as a guide for creation and criticism.

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Neoclassicism

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  1. Neoclassicism Steve Wood TCCC

  2. Definition • Neoclassicism is a literary movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that stressed the importance of using ancient Greek and Roman (the Classical period) literature as a guide for creation and criticism. • Hence, there is the paradox of the term: “neo,” meaning “new” and classicism, meaning “oldness.”

  3. The Pendulum of Western Literature • Literature in the Western world can be thought of as swinging back and forth between two artistic ideals: classicism, which stresses following tradition and the rules derived thereof, and anti-classicism (or romanticism), which stresses originality and breaking tradition. • The Neoclassical period of the 17th and 18th centuries was a particularly strong classical period. It would, in turn, be followed by a particularly strong Romantic period in the latter 18th and early 19th century.

  4. Aesthetics of Identity vs. Aesthetics of Opposition • This pendulum swing can also be thought in terms of the aesthetics of identity versus the aesthetics of opposition. • The aesthetics of identity says that we find beauty in the familiar; we like art that is like what we have seen before. Thus, classicism is an aesthetics of identity. • The aesthetics of opposition says that we find beauty in that which is new and different. That is the creed of the romantic artist.

  5. Basic Characteristics of Neoclassicism • Imitation of the ancients • Aesthetics of identity • Rules for all art forms • Literature as an art/craft • Importance of reason • Concern about pride • Universal nature of humanity • Perfectability of humanity

  6. 1 -- Reverence and Imitation of the Ancients • The explanation of that paradox can be found in the first important characteristic of neoclassicism. • Neoclassical writers looked to ancient Greek and Roman writers for inspiration and guidance.

  7. Reverence and Imitation of the Ancients • They believed that writers should strive to achieve excellence by imitating those great writers of the past, not by trying to be original or innovative. • Thus, art is rediscovery, reinvention, and imitation.

  8. 2 -- Aesthetics of Identity • Aesthetics is the study of beauty – in this case, beauty in literature. • There are two conflicting views on aesthetics – the aesthetics of identity and the aesthetics of opposition. • The aesthetics of identity is when we find beauty in those works of art that are familiar to us, while the aesthetics of opposition is when we find beauty in the new and the different.

  9. Aesthetics of Identity • By looking back to the ancient world for standards, the neoclassical writer was working within the aesthetics of identity.

  10. 3 -- Rules for Art • Neoclassical writers believed there were rules for all forms of art. • These rules were derived by looking at the texts from the ancient world.

  11. Rules for Art • For example, in France in 1635, Cardinal Richelieu established the Academie Francaise to establish rules for the use of the French language and to preserve the “purity” of the language. • The Academy is still a powerful organization in France.

  12. 4 -- Literature as “Art” • Neoclassical writers tended to view literature as something “artificial” or “artificed,” something created by craft and study. • Thus, craft and study are more important than talent or genius.

  13. 5 -- Importance of Reason • The most important human faculty was reason. • Reason was the spark of the divine within human beings. • The path to knowledge and virtue was through the exercise of reason.

  14. Importance of Reason • For example, one of the important religious movements of the Neoclassical age was the Deist movement. • Deism is a completely rational form of Christianity.

  15. Deism • Traced from Lord Herbert’s De Veritate in 1624, Deists believed: • Nature is the inherent order of the universe (The Great Chain of Being). • God is the clockmaker who built this perfect universe to work according to certain immutable laws. • God does not perform miracles and did not tinker with the watch after its creation. • The Bible is a great moral authority, but all irrational aspects within it (such as miracles and the divinity of Christ) are superstitions. • Reason guides men to virtue

  16. 6 -- Concern About Pride • The greatest bane to reason and the greatest danger to humanity is pride. • All sins, in some fashion or another, are sins of pride.

  17. 7 -- Universality • People are the same, no matter what country or age in which they live.

  18. 8 -- Perfectabilty • Perfection (artistic, personal, social) is possible through the proper use of reason.

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