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Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism. Literary style that prevailed throughout the Restoration (of the monarchy) and Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason). Neoclassical Period. Hundred–odd years, circa 1660-circa 1780

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Neoclassicism

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  1. Neoclassicism Literary style that prevailed throughout the Restoration (of the monarchy) and Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason)

  2. Neoclassical Period • Hundred–odd years, circa 1660-circa 1780 • Characterized by a profound faith in the powers of human reason and a devotion to clarity of thought, to harmony, proportion, and balance • More or less, John Dryden’s maturity to Samuel Johnson’s death • Divided into three periods: • The Restoration (1660-1700) • The Augustan Age (1700-1750) • The Age of Johnson (1750-1784)

  3. Neoclassical theory: • Most writers were traditionalist with great respect for Classical authors, especially the Romans, who, they believed, had established and perfected the principle literary genres for all time • Literature was art, in which excellence could only be achieved through long study • Inclined to settle for the traditional and typical, but ready to accept the novel and particular, concerned with importance of invention and fancy and imagination

  4. Neoclassical writers: • Notable authors: • Jonathan Swift • Joseph Addison and Richard Steele • Alexander Pope • Reason and judgment most admirable qualities and decorum essential • Most desirable qualities: • Harmony • Proportion • Balance and Restraint • Correctness • Most evident in use of heroic couplet • Preservation of order, balance and correctness led to frequent use of satire as a corrective

  5. Neoclassical Beliefs and Ideals: • Generated a definitive vision of man and mankind • Man and his activities regarded as the main subjects of poetry • Man, man in society, man in his social environment—what men possess in common; the general and representative characteristics of mankind • General view of nature and mankind: a general vision of man’s position and function in the universe, his relationship to the natural order and his relationship with and to God

  6. Form, Style, and Technique: • Epigram: Greek for “inscription”. A short, witty statement in verse or prose which may be complimentary, satiric, or aphoristic. In verse occasionally takes the form of a couplet or quatrain • Heroic couplet: Throughout 18th century was most favored verse form. Iambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs

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