In this blog, I want to share the general characteristics of the Elizabethan age and Neo- classical age.
The Elizabethan Age - 1550 - 1620
The term, “Elizabethan Era” refers to the English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history and it's been widely romanticized in books, movies, plays, and TV series.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF ENGLISLITERATURE.
"The first creative period of English Literature"
In Milton's world it can be considered as,
"A noble and puissant nation, rousing herself, like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invisible locks"
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:-
It was marked by a strong national spirit, by patriotism, by religious tolerance, by social content, by intellectual progress & by unbounded enthusiasm. Such an age of thought, feeling & vigorous action, finds its best expression in the drama; & the wonderful development of the drama, culminating.
1. RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE:-
The most characteristic feature of the age was the comparative religious tolerance, which was due largely to the queen's influence.
With religion tolerance and freedom of thinking, Englishmen were ready to have the taste of literature. Great writers emerge from this freedom and inspiration.
For the first time since the Reformation began, the fundamental question of religious toleration seemed to be settled, and the mind of man, freed from religious fears and persecutions, turned with a great creative impulse to other forms of activity. It is partly from this new freedom of the mind that the Age of Elizabeth received its great literary stimulus.
2. An age of comparative social contentment:-
It was an age of comparative social contentment, in strong contrast with the days of Langland. The rapid increase of manufacturing towns gave employment to thousands who had before been idle and discontented.
The increase of wealth, the improvement in living, the opportunities for labor, the new social content--these also are factors which help to account for the new literary activity.
Incensement in trading business brought wealth in England. Rich people were in support to help poor and were providing them employment.
3.ENTHUSIASM:-
It is an age of dreams, of adventure, of unbounded enthusiasm springing from the new lands of fabulous riches revealed by English explorers.
The young philosopher Bacon is saying confidently,
"I have taken all knowledge for my province."
There was a flow of imagination and thinking in a positive manner.
Poets of this age were creating poems which became young forever.
Cabot, Drake, Frobisher, Gilbert, Raleigh, Willoughby and Hawkins expored new earth to men's eyes.
Dreams and deed were going parallel in the age of Elizabethan.
People were dreaming bigger and also working on the dreams. (W. J. Long).
4.THE DRAMA:-
The Age of Elizabethan can be considered as the age of Drama.
There were also poets life Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare, but the plays of Christopher Marlow and Shakespeare were more famous.
There was a dominant position of the drama and play on the mind of people.
Neither poetry, nor the story cna express the whole man but drama can.
By the writing of Shakespeare, drama is still alive after 400 years of his writing. (Long).
THE NEO-CLASSICAL AGE(1700-1800)
The main Neoclassical movement coincided with the 18th-century Age of Enlightenment, and continued into the early 19th century, laterally competing with Romanticism.
In architecture, the style continued throughout the 19th, 20th and up to the 21st century.
Neoclassical literature was written during 1660-1798.
- Time of Formality and Artificially.
- This is also known as The Enlightenment Period.
- Neoclassical writers tried to imitate the style of the Roman and Greek.
DEFINATION:-
Neoclassical literature was written between 1660 and 1798.
This time period is broken down into three parts: the Restoration period, the Augustan period, and the Age of Johnson.
Writers of the neoclassical period tried to imitate the style of the Romans and Greeks.
Thus the combination of the terms 'neo,' which means 'new,' and 'classical,' as in the day of the Roman and Greek classics.
This was also the era of The Enlightenment, which emphasized logic and reason.
It was preceded by The Renaissance and followed by the Romantic era.
In fact, the neoclassical period ended in 1798 when Wordsworth published the Romantic 'Lyrical Ballads'.
AUGUSTAN AGE:-
This age is also called Augustan age.
Pope , Addison , swift, Jonson and burke, the modern parallel to Horace, Virgil, Cicero and other brilliant writers who made Roman literature famous during the region of emperor Augustus.
The Neoclassical Age, also known as the Age of Enlightenment.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:-
The first half of the eighteen century is remarkable for the rapid social development in England.
For the first time people set themselves to the task of learning the art of living together, holding different opinions.
Every wrier of the age busied himself with religion as well as with party politics. But the general tendency of the age was towards toleration.
Man had found himself in the long struggle of personal liberty.
In the latter half of the century the political and social progress is almost bewildering.
Schools were established, Clubs and coffee-housed increase.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:-
In this age, prose occupies the front position.
It was the age of social, political, religious, literary controversies.
So the writers found their place in writing pamphlets, journal and magazines so the readers become more aware of literature.
It increased the numbers of readers. It was the rapid development of prose.
Addison wrote essays. It became popular then Swift’s satire.
1.POLITICAL WRITING:-
We have already noticed the rise of the two political parties, accompanied by an increased acerbity of political passion.
In previous ages authors had to depend on their patrons, often capricious being or upon the length of their subscription lists; they now acquired an independence and an importance that turned the heads of some of them.
Hardly a writer of the time is free from the political bios.
After being a Whig, Swift became a virulent Tory; Addison was a tepid Whig, Steele was Whig and Tory in turn. It was indeed the Golden Age of political writing.
2.THE CLUB AND COFFEE HOUSES:-
Politicians are necessarily gregarious, and the increased activity in politics led to a great addition to the number of political clubs and coffee-houses, which became the foci of fashionable and public life.
In the first number of the Tatler Steele announces as a matter of course that the activities of his new journal will be based upon the clubs.
3.PERIODICAL WRITING:-
The development of the periodical will be noticed elsewhere. It is sufficient here to point out that the struggle for political mastery led both factions to issue a swarm of Examiners, and similar publications.
These journals were run by a band of vigorous and facile prose- writers, who in their differing degrees of excellence represent almost a new type in our literature.
4.THE NEW PUBLISHING HOUSE:-
The interest in politics, and probably the decline in the drama, caused a great increase in the size of the reading public.
In its turn this aroused the activities of a number of men who became the forerunners of the modern publishing houses.
These men employed numbers of needy writers, who produced the translations, adaptations, and other popular works of the time.
5.THE NEW MORALITY:-
immorality of the Restoration, which had been almost entirely a court phenomenon and was largely the reaction against extreme Puritanism, soon spent itself.
The natural process of time was hastened by opinion in high quarters. William 3 was a severe moralist, and Anne, his successor, was of the same character.
Thus we soon see a new tone in the writing of the time and a new attitude to life and morals.
Addison, in an early number of The Spectator, puts the new fashion in his own admirable way.
Question:- who is your favourite writer and favourite text from the Neo classical age?
How he/she different from the writers of Elizabethan age and Romantic age?
Answer:- My favourite writer is ALEXANDER POPE and his prominent work is THE RAPE OF THE LOCK I like the most.
ALEXANDER POPE:-
Alexander Pope was a prominent poet and satirist of the Neo-Classical Age.
He lived from 1688 to 1744 and is known for his skillful use of the heroic couplet and his sharp wit in satirical works like "The Rape of the Lock" and "The Dunciad."
His writing often commented on social and political issues of his time.
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK:-
"The Rape of the Lock" is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope.
Published in 1712, it's one of his most famous works.
The poem humorously addresses a real-life incident: the cutting of a lock of hair from a young woman named Arabella Fermor.
Pope uses the elevated style of an epic poem to satirize the triviality of the event and the vanity of the aristocratic society of his time.
"The Rape of the Lock" is a masterful example of Pope's wit and skill in using satire to critique societal norms and behaviors in the Neo-Classical Age.
ALEXANDER POPE IS DIFFERENT FROM WRITERS OF THE ELIZABETHAN AGE AND ROMANTIC AGE:-
1.Literary Style:
Pope's style was characterized by wit, clarity, and the use of heroic couplets, a form of rhymed poetry.
He focused on satire and moral lessons, often using his works to comment on society's flaws and follies.
2.Themes:
Pope's themes included social criticism, human nature, and moral values.
He often used satire to mock the vanity and excesses of his contemporaries.
3.View of Nature:
Pope's view of nature was more restrained and rational.
Nature was often used as a backdrop to convey moral or philosophical messages rather than celebrated for its emotional impact.
4.Emotion:
While Pope did incorporate emotion, his works were more focused on reason and satire rather than exploring deep emotional experiences.
QUESTION:- DISCRIBE ANY ONE THING ABOUT THIS AGE WHICH LOOK UPTO.
ANSWER:-
The Neo-Classical Age, also known as the Enlightenment period, is often admired for its emphasis on reason, logic, and the pursuit of knowledge.
This era celebrated the ideas of individual rights, freedom of thought, and the importance of science and rationality in shaping society.
The Neo-Classical Age, which spanned roughly from the late 17th to the late 18th century, is famous for its emphasis on reason, rationality, and order.
It marked a departure from the previous Baroque era and was characterized by a focus on classical art, literature, and architecture, inspired by the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome.
This period also saw the rise of Enlightenment philosophy, advocating for individual rights, liberty, and scientific inquiry.
Literary works from this era often displayed clear structure, formal language, and a moralistic tone.
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ANSWER:-
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• Reference or work cited:-
•History of English literature -by Edward Albert( fifth edition).
