Neoclassical (Beta, Maria K., Aurora)

 The Neoclassical Period

The Neoclassical period followed the Renaissance period. In comparison to the experimental style of this period, the Neoclassical period went back to rules and order in literature.

The Neoclassical period started because of the return of the monarchy in 1660 and ended at publication of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's and romantic poetry 1798. It was a period full of political discussions, criticism and drinking tea.
French literature had a great influence over the time period as ideas were exchanged between the writers in England and France. Most of the pieces of Neoclassical literature that are still known are written in Augustan age.

Characteristics of the period and its writing:

• Texts were written for the ordinary people since literacy increased among middle class and even among the poor.
• Antique Rome and Greece were seen as ideal. (like in France at the time)
• The ancient Roman and Greek rules of writing were followed strictly. 
• Impression played a big role in this periods actions in general. Everybody was to show intelligent excellence and good manners to fit in society. This is also seen in the language. People often used dictionaries and studied grammar to seem intelligent.
• Genre:
• During Neoclassical period novels developed rapidly. The so called "world's first bestseller", Robinson Crusoe had probably something to do with it...
• Also satires were increasingly popular, especially in the Augustan age when the main opposing parties used them to bring down each other.
• Autobiographies different types of criticism like essays were popular to give an in
• Politics was a popular theme/issue that literature dealt with at the time. 

Fun fact! Tea was introduced in UK in 1660s and 1670s and during 1700 it became a big thing. This was, because of the two opposing parties of the time, Whigs and Tories, used to meet at coffee-shops and while they were discussing their important strategies of how to overpower their opposing party, they drank tea. 

Restoration period, the first part of Neoclassical period.

In 1649 king Charles I was beheaded and England became a republic. This republic didn't last long and the monarchy was restored in 1660. This started the restoration period. The restoration period ends at the death of John Dryden.

In style the restoration period was a response to Renaissance. Language was easy, clear, formal... and texts were written in English!

During this period there was the rise of the two English parties, the Tories (for the monarchy) and the Whigs (for the people). The conflicts of these two play a large role in shaping the following period, the Augustan Age.

John Dryden, 1631-1700

John Dryden

• the most influential writer of the time
• was a poet, literary critic, translator and playwright.
• in the style of the period, he aimed at expressing his thoughts in the most precise and concentrated way. 
• wrote a lot many different kinds of literature and in literary circles the age came to be known as the age of Dryden

John Milton, 1608-1674

• wrote Paradise Lost, published 1667, which is his most influential work. Paradise Lost tells the Biblical story of fall of men, temptation of adam and eve by satan (the fallen angel) and their expulsion from Eden.

Augustan Age, The second part of Neoclassical period.

The Augustan Age is considered to have properly started after William III died and Queen Anne came to rule over the country in 1702. The political conflicts between the countries two main political parties (the Tories and the Whigs) continued to produce satirical pieces by writers like Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, who used their written pieces as weapons against one another. The people were divided into two. Writers, politicians and all sorts of artists started to gather in either Tory or Whig coffee houses for afternoon tea to discuss their opinions. During this time writers were a powerful tool in politics.

At the same time the novel established itself as a thing in England. Since reason was valued over emotion and writing followed certain rules, poetry was no longer a popular form of writing. Instead longer stories with plots, characters and witty analyses. Two central authors, who helped to create this development, were Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson.

Daniel Defoe ~1660-1731

Daniel Defoe, originally just Foe, was one of the most influential man of the Augustan Age, both as a writer and politician. He was originally a merchant, but was rather poor at it and ended up in prison due to large debts. He was released and continued on to work as a merchant and pamphleteer for the Whigs.  

This did not last long. In 1702 he was arrested again due to his pamphleteering and political activity, but released a few months later under the condition that he would work as a spy and pamphleteer for the Tories. Defoe agreed to this and from 1703 to 1714 he wrote a journal supporting their cause. One of the journals purposes was to shed a positive light on the union of England and Scotland in 1707. Daniel Defoe played a major role in its success (at least behind the scenes). After eleven years of this employment he was free again and immediately jumped back to the Whigs.

Defoe's most notable work, a book that is considered to be the first Bestseller, is the novel Robinson Crusoe (1719). The book is loosely based on the story of Scottish sailor, who was shipwrecked and lost at sea for five years. In his own book Defoe's main character, Robinson Crusoe, is a great example of human stupidity and a man of great misfortunes. He also takes a look at society and basic human nature. The novel has two sequels, neither of which is widely known.

Samuel Richardson 1689-1761

Samuel Richarson, a printer, publisher and writer, is alongside Defoe the father of the novel. He spent the majority of his life working as a printer and publisher. However when there was no male heir to take over his press (all of his six sons and his nephew died young) he had to shut it down.

At the age of fifty he published his first novel Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded (1740). It is the story of a maid harassed by her (male) employer. The story is mostly told through letters. His second work, Clarissa: Or the Story of a Young Lady (1748), was published in seven volumes. It is over a million words long and remains to date the longest novel written in English.

 Jonathan Swift 1667-1745

•  was a satirists, essayist and political pamphleteer
• Best known works satires.
• Include Gulliver's travels (1726) and a Modest Proposal (1729)
• As most of the writers at this time also Swift was involved in politics, for example he was the editor of Examiner, which was a newspaper supporting the Tory party.

A Modest Proposal

This is a satirical work in which the narrator suggests that the rich should eat the children of the poor, for the benefit of both parties involved, since this would provide the poor a source of income and the rich with a new source of food. The aim of this text was to point out the poor situation in which the lower classes were at in Ireland in particular.

Age of Johnson & Age of sensibility, the third and last part of Neoclassical period.

This last part of the period starts in the middle of 18th century and it is often considered to end in 1798 when William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridges' Lyrical Ballads was published and Romanticism starts. Other possible ending is in 1784 when Samuel Johnson died.

Age of Johnson or Age of Sensibility?

Age of Johnson includes Samuel Johnson and his literary friends' texts that often had Enlightenment related topics. Age of Sensiblilty on the other hand was more of anticipation of Romanticism with its "emotional qualities".

Samuel Johnson

• a poet, critic, essayist, author of fiction... basically a writer and a prominent figure of all sorts. He became a very important character and he was kind of a celebrity at the time.
• wrote Dictionary of the English Language (1755). It the best dictionary before Oxford English Dictionary. Because of this he got a nickname "Dictionary Johnson".
• had a great emphasis on enlightenment in his works. He wanted that ordinary people would have an access to knowledge. In his opinion this could be done through easy language This he wanted to do through easy language: language of people, easy grammar and easy vocabulary.

a list of works cited:

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-neoclassical-literature.htm 
http://writershistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=26&Itemid=39 
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/neoclassical-literature-definition-characteristics-movement.html#lesson
http://neoclassical-poetry.bloomyebooks.com/p/the-age.html 
http:// www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/nc/ncintro.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Richardson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustan_literature
http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/swift/bio.html
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

Pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Richardson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe
http://excellence-in-literature.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mw228436JDrydenNPGD42583.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Sjohnson-eminent.jpg

Our presentation:
http://prezi.com/new0twdzodfi/neoclassism/