The Eighteenth century: neoclassicism and the Enlightenment, Appunti di Letteratura Inglese

Scarica The Eighteenth century: neoclassicism and the Enlightenment e più Appunti in PDF di Letteratura Inglese solo su Docsity! NEOCLASSICISM AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT MODULE 3 - “THE LONG EIGHTEENTH CENTURY” (1702-1760) ➡ reason wins over religion HISTORICAL CONTEXT 1702 - 1714 ➡ Queen Anne - She was an English and Anglican queen 1707 - ACT OF UNION - Scotland and England joined under the same Parliament in Westminster (english one) In foreign policy, in 1713 - TREATY OF UTRECHT- signed by France at the end of the War of Spanish Succession. It gave England the French possession in Canada and the monopoly of the slave trade with Spanish America. During Queen Anne’s reign, the British Empire was emerging ➡ they imported from America timber, from the West Indies sugar and tea, Chinese porcelain, and spices from the Far East. 1714 - 1837 ➡ House of Hanover 1714 - 1727➡ George I - He was 14 y/o and he did not speak english at all. The political scene was dominated by 2 political parties: WHIGS vs TORIES (respectively the current liberals and conservatives) A whig, Robert Walpole became the first Prime Minister and his government was anti-war. He was able to reduce military expenses, promoted trade, to reduce land taxes and to restore trust in the established order. This period was considered as a golden age ⤶ Emerging of the PUBLIC SPHERE (newspaper, coffee-houses, political and social clubs)✱ A new religious movement was founded, Methodism ➡ offered services to improve the life of the poors. 1727 - 1760➡ George II - During his reign, England took part in the War of the Austrian Succession (a conflict over territory between Austria and Prussia) and in the Seven Years’ War (ended in 1763 with the PEACE OF PARIS). The greatest conquests date back to this period. In 1756 - William Pitt became Prime Minister 1837 - 1917 ➡ House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha The 18th century is regarded as a golden age and it was called “Augustan” linked to the stability and power of the period. As we said, we have the emerging of the PUBLIC SPHERE✱ (thanks to the development of the newspaper) English women were more independently active in social and cultural life. Some began a writing career: Katherine Philips, Anne Finch, Aphra Behn - women were influenced by the rise of the novel. Development of APPLIED SCIENCE AND TRADE ✱ Jurgen Habermas “The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere”, 1962 This work is linked to the spread of cultural debate thanks to journalism. England was the first country where journalism became a public institution with the aim of sharing news. From the second half of the 18th century literary journalism is no more just a supplier of news but rather a weapon in the politics of parties. Through newspapers is feeded public opinion. Connection between knowledge and power➡ journalism reported parliamentary speeches and it was part of interaction (or battle) between the government and the press. ➡ Shift of influence from the courtly culture➡ to an urban culture New ways of socializing - SOCIALIZING PLACES: COFFEE-HOUSES - attended by different kinds of people: aristocrats, writers, government ministers who discussed their ideas and tried to persuade each other. - coffee-houses imitated by the court NEWSPAPERS - it’s a new medium which its (political) informations were discussed in coffee-houses - they were ridden by the middle class during their breakfast - “The Spectator” is a newspaper invented by Joseph Addion and Richard Steel ⬇ abstract - he describes how his newspaper has a lot of readers and has notoriety. He writes “lectures” (he wants to teach) With his work, he wants to share WIT and MORALITY. He compares his tasks to Socrate ➡ Socrate brought philosophy through men - Joseph wants to bring philosophy out of closets and libraries to tea tables and coffee-houses. He wants to recommend the newspaper to families, in which there are women ➡ there aren’t allowed to coffee-houses. Newspapers were the first way to educate women - He recommended this cultural product to a larger target. The eighteenth century is collocated between: - the restoration 1660 - 1702 under the throne of Charles II, James II and William III and - the enlightenment divided into: NEOCLASSICISM (1702 - 1714 with Queen Anne - end of the Stuart’s line) and ⬇ REALISTIC, GOTHIC & PRE-ROMANTIC LITERATURE (under the Hannover’s line) NEOCLASSICAL LITERATURE➡ “return to a new classicism” - it’s characterized by a return to the classical models through the imitation to Roman and Greek literature It’s a standardized poem (= poesia normata), focus on transparency of messages and on rules ➡ poetic diction - It originates in France at the end of XVII century - “General Nature” ➡ (human nature?) appreciation of the classical past and ancient literature - LEARNING (knowledge, being erudite is a value) with WITTICISM (ability to make laugh during a description of a character) - MODES➡ PARODY and SATIRE ⤷ something re-written, an ironic imitation ➡ of little epics compositions - NOT about HEROES, but e.g. courties (= who lives in the court) - GENRES➡ POETRY and TRANSLATION REALISTIC LITERATURE➡ it springs (nasce) from the observation of reality. It describes real facts using a clear and objective language ➡ e.g. novel language used by Royal Society and in “Essay on Human Understanding” (John Locke 1690) he tried to give answers on questions about how to know the world e.g. how we learn, how we know … - NOVELTY (novità) and UTILITY (utilizzo) - thanks to Robinson Crusoe by Defoe: novelty➡ What it is about - Robinson is not an heroic name and the story is something unusual - it’s not part of classic literature utility➡ What does it teach - e.g. he teaches how to build things to survive on the island. Robinson , on the isle, tries to be civil and not wild (cerca di essere una persona civile, non selvaggia) - aims: teach and entertain (insegnare e divertire)➡ politeness (gentilezza) and good manners to the emerging bourgeois class - MODE➡ REALISM - GENRES➡ NOVEL, NEWSPAPERS, DIARIES, CONDUCT BOOKS GOTHIC LITERATURE AND PRE-ROMANTICISM ➡ gothic = darker side of the Enlightenment pre- romanticism = anticipates romanticism - most important text: “A Philosophical Enquiry into Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” by Burke 1757 ⤷ it’s no more about reason, but it’s about perception (how we perceive and we elaborate our senses) ↴ e.g. Why in front of a waterfall do we perceive ourselves so small? - EMOTION AND SENSIBILITY > REASON - MODE➡ THE SUBLIME - GENRES➡ POETRY AND GOTHIC NOVEL THE ENLIGHTENMENT➡ the Age of Enlightenment refers to the celebration of Reason - following “Encyclopaedia Britannica”, It’s the idea of the world about God, reason, nature and man (uomo) - this world view instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy and politics. - It’s an intellectual movement committed to (dedicato a) science and opposed to superstition. - from a religious view to a naturalistic and secular view - Great names: Kant, Montesquieu, Diderot, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Cesare Beccaria FATHERS OF THE BRITISH ENLIGHTENMENT - Isaac Newton - extraordinarily important for the scientific culture (President of the Royal Society) he expressed his scientifics foundings using the language of mathematics ➡ laws of nature he expressed the laws of motion and of gravitation explaining the universe in term of a perfect machinery ➡a clockwork universe - John Locke - extraordinary important in the theory of politics State is something created by men for their own benefit ➡ birth of contract He reasons about learning (apprendimento) ➡ man is neither good nor bad Man is a white sheet of paper ⤶ Importance of education ➡ it brings to the improvement of the individual person and improvement of the race ⤷ PRESS-PIRACY (= pirateria) - if a book was successful, they tried to steal it and sell it for a profit without considering the author ⬇ In 1709 - STATUTE OF ANNE - she gave the right to the authors and not to the printers. In 1710 - COPYRIGHT ACT - the name of the author was obligatory. An author could finally consider the product of his wit as a property and make money out of it. It creates a relation between the BOOKSELLERS and the OWNERS, reducing the figure of the PATRONS (mecenati/coloro che commissionavano) In 1712 - STAMP ACT - a tax was put on newspaper and advertisement. REVIEWING is also born - advertisements, catalogs to entice the purchase. 1804 - CIRCULATING LIBRARY➡ library where with a subscription people could borrow books ➡ the books “circulated”. THE PROFESSIONAL LITERARY CRITIC - John Dryden - An Essay on Dramatic Poetry, 1668 The Preface to Fables Ancient and Modern, 1700 - Alexander Pope - An Essay on Criticism, 1711 - Samuel Johnson - Dictionary,1746-1755 Preface to Shakespeare, 1765 Lives of the English Poets,1779-81 ➔ DRYDEN - An Essay on Dramatic Poetry➡ he wonders whether to imitate the ancient. form - a dialogue among friends comparison between Shakespeare and Jonson like Homer, father of like Virgilio, he is more technical english dramatic poesy in writing. The Preface to Fables Ancient and Modern ➡ about Chaucer, who is the father of English narrative. He follows Nature and he’s considered as an ancient - he as a fountain of good sense (comparison with Homer) ➔ POPE - An Essay on Criticism➡ part 3 - he talks about the critical capacity of the ancient. they followed rules➡ born in France ➔ JOHNSON - Dictionary + Life of the English Poets In this phase, the Literal English language is attested and a characteristic of the English people love of freedom ⤶ (hymn of patriotic sense) Rhetoric of freedom ➡ imposes itself in shakespearean criticism To Johnson, Shakespeare is the poet of nature - his characters are an example of common humanity. 1746 - “Dictionary” ➡ was commissioned to Johnson by a group of London publishers - It was finished in 1755 It is notable in 3 respects: - it has 40.000 words - explanation of the words using literary quotations - excellence of the definitions The Dictionary is considered as the first real English lexicographic dictionary ➡ before there were only dictionaries on synonyms Johnson has considered his long work done (lasted 9 years) for his country. Johnson dedicated the plan of the work to the Earl of Chesterfield but he received no economic help. ⤷ = PATRON (mecenate) someone who supports or protects. In 1755 - after the work was published, Johnson wrote a letter to Lord Chesterfield: Johnson discussed his “request of help” to pubblicate his work, which was ignored by the Lord. Through the letter, Johnson wants to underline his value. 1779-81 - “Lives of English Poetry” ➡ is an “encyclopedia” about the biography of 52 poets. Each biography is structured in 3 parts: 1. narrative of the poet’s life 2. presentation of the character 3. critical assessment of his main poems The first one to write a “biography” was Plutarch. In “Life of Alexander” ➡the aim of this kind of genre (new one) is to “Parallel Lives” focus on details. “Biography” is compared to the paint of portraits (ritrattistica). He focused on the face, which shows personality and soul signs. While the body is considered as the full Plutharc’s definition ⬅ story and less important to a biographer. John Dryden translated Plutarch’s Life from greek ➡ Dryden claims that Plutarch was not just a historian, he was able to underline the particularities and details. He considered the biography better than the history. Johnson in his work wrote about english poets: poets who became heroes during the history ⤷ “Life of Dryden” - Johnson considered Dryden as the “father of English critics” - he established some principles on which criticize authors. Dryden’s “Essay of Dramatic Poetry” was the first regular and valuable treatise. Dryden used the rules on his writings, and he brought them in his country where they were not used. He taught us how to judge an author: we must transport ourselves to his time and examine the context, without having a contemporary point of view. To Dryden, people owe the refinement of the language, the knowledge, “sapere et fari” referred to the poetry. METAPHOR - Dryden as Augustus ➡ Augustus has made Rome from bricks to marble, bringing the city to its maximum splendour.