英美文选

English Literature of the 18th Century

The Age of Enlightenment

OUTLINE

The Enlightenment in Europe

•The 18th century marked the beginning of an intellectual movement in Europe known as the Enlightenment. It was, on the whole, an expression of struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism. The Enlighteners fought against class inequality, stagnation, prejudices and other survivals of feudalism. They attempted to place all branches of science at the service of mankind. Science was to answer the actual needs and requirements of the people.

The Age of Reason

•The Enlighteners were called such because what they considered to be the chief means for the betterment of the society was "enlightenment" or "education" for the people. In other words, they believed in the power of reason. They recognized no external authority of any kind. Religion, conceptions of nature, society, political systems--everything was subjected to the most merciless criticism; everything had to justify its existence at the bar (=court;

seat of judgment) of reason or renounce all claim to existence. The century has also been called the Age of Reason

Enlightenment in England

•The Enlightenment in England is different from that in other European countries, appeared in an epoch not preceding but after the bourgeois revolution. So the English Enlighteners, different from their French counterparts of the 18th century, did not call for the launching of a revolution but urged the carrying-on of the revolution to the finish by clearing away the feudal remnants.

Augustan or Neoclassical Age

•The most striking quality of the 18th century was its optimism. It was a time that celebrated the excellence of the human mind. All creation was believed open to scrutiny.

Even the descriptive historical titles of the period express the spirit of improvement and progress. Many people of the time thought they were passing through a golden period similar to that of the Roman emperor Augustus. For this reason the name "Augustan" was given to the early 18th century. Many writers of the era used ancient Greek and Roman authors as models of style. Hence the period in literature is often described as neoclassic. The Industrial Revolution

•Merchants and tradesmen achieved tremendous economic power at this time. Scientific discoveries were encouraged. Many important inventions--for example, the spinning jenny, the power loom, and the steam engine--brought about an industrial society. Cities grew in size, and London began to assume its present position as a great industrial and commercial center.

Representative Writers

•. The representatives of the Enlightenment in English literature were Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, the essayists, Alexander Pope, the poet, Edward Gibbon, the historian, Daniel Defoe Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith, the novelists and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the dramatist. In their works, these writers criticized different