LITERATURE OF THE Age of good sense and reason

The period is also called the age of reason and

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY good sense, because it was based on the good - sense
The Augustan Age or the Age of Pope ideal of the French critic Boileau. It was an age of en-
lightenment when a literature which had become pellu-
It was poet Oliver Goldsmith who first designated
cid and clear began to diffuse knowledge among a grow-
the early 18th century, as the Augustan Age. The age
ing public. The supremacy of reason was scarcely chal-
has also been called the Age of Pope. The Augustan
lenged. There reigned a common belief in the advance-
age includes the age of Dryden and Pope. The restora-
ment of human mind.
tion of Stuart monarchy in 1660 marked the beginning
of the Augustan age. Religious and philosophic thought
Eighteenth century in England was an age equal The Augustans believed in respectability and de-
to the age of Augustus Caesar, when the Roman soci- signed conformity. They had no regard for boundless
ety had reached the peak of its glory. The name Au- imagination and overflowing enthusiasm of the Eliza-
gustan Age was chosen by writers who saw in Pope, bethan age. Their outlook was rational. The poets of
Addison, Swift, Johnson and Burke the modern paral- this age strove to repress all emotion and enthusiasm.
lels to Horace, Virgil and Cicero, and all that brilliant Good sense became the ideal of the time, and good
company who made Roman literature famous in the day sense meant a love of the reasonable and the hatred of
of Augustus. Past ages of England were looked upon the extravagant and mystical. Wit took precedence of
as barbarous, and the classics of Greece and Rome were imagination ; inspiration was lost in technical skill. The
regarded as models which men of taste were to follow. whole literature of the age was marked by coldness and
want of feeling.
Characteristics of the Augustan Age The French influence
The Classical Age The 18th century literature was indebted to the
This period, in the first place, is called the classical growing influence of French literature. One notable fea-
age, because reason dominated emotion; social con- ture of French influence may be seen in the tragedies in
ventions became more important than individual con- rhyme that were for a time in vogue, of which plots were
victions ; form became more important than content. borrowed from French romances. Boileau held supreme
The term "classic" is applied to designate writing of the sway over the minds of the literary artists. He was al-
finest quality. According to Goethe, "Everything that most a literary dictator.
is good in literature is classical." Every national litera- Nature followed
ture has at least one period in which an unusual num-
An important characteristic of the age was the belief
ber of exceptional writers produce books of outstand-
that literature must follow nature. Pope exhorted his
ing quality, and this is called the classical period of a
contemporaries to follow nature. However, the nature
nation's literature. The age of Queen Anne is often called
of the Augustan period was not the nature of Word-
the classical age of England. Addison, Swift, Richard-
sworth. The Augustans were drawn towards human
son, Fielding, Goldsmith, Dr Johnson, Burke, Gibbon
nature rather than the nature we have in forests. Their
and Pope are the great luminaries of the age.
sole aim was to copy man and manners of society. Alex-
Rule of rules ander Pope said : "The proper study of mankind is man".
The writers of this age were governed by set rules Reflection of the contemporary society
and principles. And, in this crazy adherence to rules
The literature of the age was concerned with the
the writers were deeply influenced by Boileau and Rap-
follies and foibles of the times. Literature became an
in, who insisted on precise methods of writing poetry
interpretation of life, the kind of life that was led in the
and who professed to have discovered their rules in
social and political circles of the times. Poetry became
the works of Aristotle and Horace.
the poetry of the town, the coffee - house and artificial
society ; Pope's The Rape of the Lock is a classic exam- r The Stuart monarchy in England was restored in
ple. The literature of the age lost all touch with the coun- - 1660
try life and became the literature of the town. r Who said, "the proper study of mankind is man"?
Satire - Alexander Pope
Satire is the literary art of diminishing or derogat- r –––– is the literary art of diminishing or derogating
ing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking to- a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking
wards it attitudes of amusement, scorn, or indignation. towards it attitudes of amusement, scorn, or
Satire is usually justified by those who practice it as a indignation
corrective of human vice and folly.
- Satire
Satire became the prominent form of literature dur-
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
ing the Augustan age. The satires of Dryden are well
known to us. In the age of Pope the love for satire came Alexander Pope was the predominant figure in the
to the upper surface and the coldworldliness of Au- poetry of the 18th century. He was the representative
gustan life found its expression in polished wit and sat- poet of his century. He was the only poet who present-
ire. ed in his works almost all the essential qualities of the
classical school of poetry. He was the high priest of a
Poetic diction
rationalistic and fashionable age.
The language of poetry became gaudy and inane
The evolution of Pope's poetic career is generally
and the ordinary language was kept out from poetic
classified into four periods. In the first period he wrote
literature. The result was that the literature of the age
his Pastorals, Essay on Criticism, and The Rape of the
became artificial, stilted, rational and intellectual, losing
Lock. The translation of Homer was carried out in the
all inspiration, enthusiasm and romantic fervour which
second period. The third period, which is the best peri-
were the hall-marks of the literature of the Elizabethan
od of Pope's life and which has been called the "Twick-
age. The Augustans were superior in other ways, nota-
enham" or "Horatian" period, witnessed the composi-
ble in satire and journalism, in the technical language of
tion of the Dunciad and the Epistles. The poet gave us
philosophy and science and in the great branch of mod-
in his fourth period his philosophical Essay on Man
ern literature, the novel, of which they were among the
and Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot.
English pioneers.
The first work of Pope which caught the eye of the
The heroic couplet public was The Pastorals. The Pastorals was written
In heroic couplet lines of iambic pentameter rhyme when Pope was only sixteen. It was published in 1709.
in pairs : aa, bb, cc and so on. The adjective "heroic" is The Pastorals was written in the style of Virgil, but one
applied because of the frequent use of such couplets in finds very little imitation of Virgil in it. The real merit of
heroic poems (epic) and plays. This verse form was The Pastorals lay in its versification.
introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. Following the tradition of Boileau, Pope published
During the Augustan age the heroic couplet was his Essay on Criticism in 1711. The Thoughts of Essay
recognised as the only medium of poetic expression. It on Criticism are not original. They have all been bor-
was no longer possible to write one's thoughts as the rowed from the ancients and the French. He presented
pen could move. The fastidiousness of the public ear skilfully the ideas borrowed from others in wonderfully
did not appreciate "the mob of gentlemen who wrote terse, epigrammatic and quotable verse. Some of the
with ease." In the heroic couplet the poets put all their observations in the Essay on Criticism have passed
skill and wrote with an unimaginable correctness and into language, such as, "A little, learning is a danger-
precision. ous thing" ; "To err is human, to forgive divine"; Fools
r The 18th century was first designated as the rush where angels fear to bread etc."
Augustan age by The Rape of the Lock was brought out in 1712.
- Oliver Goldsmith
The poem is so grateful, delicate, cynical and witty. It is Steele started The Tatler in 1709, and he stated its pur-
a poem ridiculing the fashionable world of Pope's day, pose in these words : "The general purpose of this
its immediate aim being to laugh at two families of his paper is to expose the false art of life, to puff off the
acquaintance into making up a quarrel over a trivial in- disguises of cunning, variety and affectation, and to
cident. The quarrel is presented in terms of great epic recommend a general simplicity in our discourse, and
conventions and the impact of the poem, which for bril- our behaviour." Under the pseudonym of Issac Bicker-
liance of conception and consistency of execution, is staff, Steele recommended truth, innocence, honour
unsurpassed in literature. The poem is a masterpiece of and virtue as the chief ornaments of life. The Tatler
its kind in mock - heroic style. kept away from politics, its publication was
Pope took many years to complete stopped, and its place was taken by The
translating Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. Spectator to which Addison and Steele
Bentley, the classical scholar, sarcastically made diversified contributions.
remarked, "It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, As a writer Steele in remarkable for his
but you must not call it Homer." For making versatality in conceiving humorous types
this remark against the translation, Bentley of characters, for the wide range of his sym-
had to suffer a lot in the hands of Pope in pathies, for the readiness with which he
the epic satire, Dunciad. adapts himself to his subject matter whether
After the publication of the Transla- grave or gay in character.
tion of Homer, Pope devoted his energies Steele paved the way for the future
entirely to satirical works. The satires of development of periodical literature. The aim
Pope are modelled on the style of Horace Alexander Pope of Steel's essays was didactic. He desired to
and Juvenal, the classical writers. In his sat- bring about a reform of the contemporary
ires Pope attacked the personalities of his age. The su- society manners. He is notable for his consistent advo-
preme achievement in this direction, however, was the cacy of womanly virtue and the ideal of gentlemanly
Dunciad written between 1725 and 1728. The core idea courtesy, chivalry and good taste.
of Dunciad was taken from Dryden's Mac Flecknoe. Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719)
While Dryden's attack was exclusively upon Shadwell,
Addison's lasting contribution was to the forma-
Pope, though aiming principally at Theobald, attacked
tion of the periodical essay. Together with Richard Steele
the whole battalion of his enemies.
he formed and perfected the periodical essay, earlier in
Pope's Essay on Man is a poem which reflects his The Tatler and later on in the The Spectator. The first
moral and political ideas. The Essay is hopelessly con- issue of The Spectator came out on 11th March, 1711. It
fused and contradictory at many places, but as a work was different from The Tatler, in that it consisted of a
of art it occupies a place of its own in the poetic evolu- single long essay or pamphlet, whereas The Tatler con-
tion of Pope. tained several short articles on different subjects. The
The Imitations of Horace and the Epistle to Dr. Spectator had two principal aims. The first object of the
Arbuthnot are the most autobiographical works of Pope. paper was to present a true and faithful picture of the
18th century. The second object was to bring about a
Prose of the Age of Pope moral and social reform in the conditions of the time. In
Richard Steele (1672-1729) short, the essays in The Spectator aspired to be a faith-
ful reflection of the life of the time viewed with an aloof
Steele was a typical figure of the times and
and dispassionate observation, and set out to be a mild
represented from the transition from the Restoration
censor of the morals of the age.
period to the Augustan Age. His first work The
Christian Hero was thoroughly Augustan in character. In the Coverley Papers (The Spectator) Addison
Richard Steele and Joseph Addison laid the foun- laid stress on character portrayal, and the characters of
dation of the periodical essay during the 18th century. Sir Roger de Coverley and Sir Andrew Freeport were
finely drawn. In these character - sketches we have the and loose thinking on the one hand, and that of Puritan
seed of the novel of character developed later on in the fanaticism and bigotry on the other. Their method was
19th century. admirably adapted to their purpose. They did not in-
dulge in sweeping condemnations and unqualified in-
Addison's prose style
vectives ...... they wrote good humouredly. met all classes
Addison taught and practised neatness, lucidity of people on their own ground, and made allowance for
and precision of expression. His was the language of the ordinary failings of humanity ; but at the same time
"actual talk". they consistently advocated the claims of decency and
Addison's prose style, compared with what went good sense."
before it, is nearer to the language of conversation. Yet Attention to the interests of women became one
it is not the informal language of conversation alto- of the invariable conventions of the periodical essay.
gether. Nor is it the ultraformal language of a serious W.H. Hudson says, "..... they addressed themselves
and heavy treatise. It is free alike from the heaviness of
awowedly and directly to women ; and at a time when
high -bound formalism and the levity and licence of
women in society were, as a rule, immersed in the mere
common speech. It is something like a via media be-
trivialities of existence, they did their best to draw them
tween the two. Dr. Johnson calls it an example of the
into the currents of the larger intellectual life." They
"middle style".
pointed out their follies and frailties but with a view to
Praising Addison's style Dr. Johnson says, "His improve the status of women in society. The women
prose is the model of the middle style ; on grave sub-
were also thankful to these essayists and read their
jects not formal, on light occasions not grovelling
essays with keen interest.
................ His page is always luminous, but never blaz-
es in unexpected splendour. It was apparently his prin- The periodical essays were written in a simple, clear,
cipal endeavour to avoid all harshness and severity of conversational style to be understood by semi-educat-
diction, he is therefore sometimes verbose in his tran- ed or unscholarly readers. They avoided individual
sitions and connections, and sometimes descends too whims, conceits, witticism and harsh words which could
much to the language of conversation." not be appreciated by the middle classes and women
The Periodical Essay who were among the main readers of periodical essays.
The periodical essay was invented as a piece of Jonathan Swift (1667-1731)
journalism towards the end of the 17th century. It Jonathan Swift was one of the greatest literary fig-
reached the pinnacle of its achievement in the work of ures of the Age of Pope. His writings have been gener-
Steele and Addison. It maintained great popularity ally considered works of fiction and art. Satire is the
throughout the 18th century, and disappeared about prime motive in all his works. His satire remains uniform
1800. In the 18th century it was a popular in quality, but differs in degree. We have
genre and even more popular than the mock the same vein of satrical tone in his three
- heroic and novel. About its phenomenal great satires ––– The Battle of the Books,
popularity A.R. Humphrey observes : "If The Tale of a Tub and Gulliver's Travels.
any literary form is the particiular creation In The Battle of the Books the
and the particular mirror of the Augustan moderns are lashed vigorously. Swift rep-
Age in England, it is the periodical essay." resents the Classics by the Bee, which
The main reason for the success of flies from flower to flower culling all the
periodical literature in the 18th century lay sweetness that each has to offer, and the
in the fact that it suited the moral temper of Moderns by the spider, spinning every-
the age. In the words of W.H. Hudson, "they thing out of his own insides. The Battle
set themselves as moralists to break down of the Books is considered a great prose
two opposed influences –– that of the prof- satire in English literature.
ligate Restoration tradition of loose living Jonathan Swift
 The Tale of the Tub is a brilliant satirical narrative Lord Bolingbroke (1678-1751)
on the excesses of the Catholics and Puritans as seen
Bolingbroke was a great political figure of the Age
from the middle position of the Anglican Church.
of Pope. His prose work, marked with rhetoric, reflect
Swift's, last satire, Gulliver's Travels, is in four his Tory views. Prominent works of Bolingbroke are A
books. The entire work is an elaboration of the attitude Letter on the Spirit of Patriotism (1736) and The Idea
expressed by him to Pope, "I heartily hate and detest of a Patriot King (1738.
that animal called man." The book describes Gulliver's
The Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713)
travels to the four lands of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Lapu-
ta and Houyhnhnmland. The voyage to Lilliput and The Earl (Anthony Ashley Cooper) was an
Brobdingnag satirised the politics and manner of the aristocrat of the time. He had little taste for politics and
people of England and Europe ; that to Laputa mocked aspired to be famous as a great writer. His Men, Manners,
the philosophers; and that to Houyhnhnmland lacerat- Opinions and Times (1711) suited the taste of the time.
ed and defied the whole body of Humanity. (1711) suited the taste of the time.
Swift's method in all these works is to strike boldly r Pope's poem which reflects his moral and political
with sarcasm and irony. In A Modest Proposal for Pre- ideas
venting the Children of Poor People from being a - Essay on Man
Burden, the terrible suffering in Ireland is presented in r The periodical essay was introduced in the 18th
a mocking suggestion that the poor should devote them- century by
selves to the rearing of children to be killed and eaten.
- Joseph Addison and Richard
The prose style of Swift Steele
Swift's style is marked for its clarity, precision and r Who started The Tatler (1709) ?
conciseness. He never attempted to equip his sentenc- - Richard Steele
es with redundant words, aware that from the simplest
r TheTatler was replaced by
and the fewest arise the secret spring of genuine har-
mony. Compton - Rickett says, "Like other great styl- - The Spectator
ists of the time –– Pope and Addison ––– he achieves r The writer who took the pseudonym, Issac
a triumphant clarity ; but unlike Pope he is never epi- Bickerstaff
grammatic ; unlike Addison he had little plasticity of - Richard Steele
form. He is plainly and forcefully clear with a greater r An autobiographical work of Swift.
strength than theirs ; all the more striking and urgent
- Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
for his lack of ornament and concentrated passion."
r Pope's poem whose immediate aim was to laugh at
Swift made no use of Latin words. Latin words are the two families of his acquaintance into making up a
cause for obscurity and Swift was dead set against obscurity. quarrel over a trivial issue
Swift is the most original writer of his time, and - The Rape of the Lock
one of the greatest masters of English prose. Direct-
r The core idea of Pope's Dunciad was taken from
ness, vigour and simplicity mark his pages.
- Dryden's MacFlecknoe
Other Writers of the Age of Pope r –––– is a brilliant satirical narrative of Jonathan
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735) Swift on the excesses of the Catholies and puritans
as seen from the middle position of the Anglican
Arbuthnot was an important literary and political
Church
figure of his time. He wrote The Art of Political Lying
(1712) following in the footsteps of Swift. His political - The Tale of the Tub
work, The history of John Bull (1712) ridiculed the war r The Christian Hero is the work of
policy of the Whigs. - Richard Steele
r The Art of Political Lying was written by cer's Knight's Tale, Nun Priest's Tale, Wife of Bath's
- John Arbuthnot Tale etc. These fables show him at his best and entitle
him to the rank of a great story teller in verse.
John Dryden
Dryden's odes are of immense importance. The
"Every age had a kind of universal genius", wrote longest and the best known of this class are the Song
Dryden in his Essay on Dramatic Poesy, and in no poet for St. Cecilia's Day and Alexander's Feast. Dryden's
are his own words more truly verified. In Dryden's works next ode, To the Pious Memory of Mrs Anne Killigrew,
we have an excellent reflection of both the good and was written in 1696. Dr Johnson called it the best ode in
evil tendencies of the age in which he lived. the language.
Dryden was the supreme satirist in verse of his Dryden is known as a great artist in verse as well
age. In 1680, a prose tract Absalom's Conspiracy gave as in prose, and his reputation as a poet rests on his
Dryden a hint for his most successful satire –– Ab- artistic excellence. T.S. Eliot says, "Much of Dryden's
salom and Achitophel (1681). The Duke of Monmouth unique art consists in his ability to make the small into
and his evil counsellors, Shaftesbury and Buckingham, the great, the prosaic into the poetic, the trivial into the
were mercilessly exposed in Absalom and Achitophel, magnificient." He handed with dexterity the heroic cou-
the most powerful satire in English language. plet and the blank verse. In fact, the poetic instrument
Shaftesbury was acquitted from the charge of trea- remains wholly in the service of the player's hand.
son and a medal was struck to commemorate, the event. John Dryden exercised a powerful influence on
Thereupon Dryden wrote The Medal, which was pub- the poets of the nineteenth century. Dry-
lished in March 1682. It consists of contin- den's 'lofty line' was adopted by Pope, Gray,
uous denunciation of Shaftesbury. Johnson, Churchill and Canning. Dryden
Dryden's next poem, Mac Flecknoe was, undoubtedly, the outstanding literary
(1682), which has been described as a highly artist of his age.
developed lampoon than a satire, makes fun Restoration Satire
of Shadwell, the Whig poet. In Mac Fleck-
Satire may be defined as the expression
noe, we have good-natured contempt. It is in adequate terms of the sense of amuse-
redeemed and enlivened by its humour. ment or disgust excited by the ridiculous,
Dryden's first religious poem, Religio provided that humour is a distinctly recog-
Laici (1682) is a defence of the Church of nizable element, and that the utterance in-
England (the Anglican church) against oth- vested with literary form. Without humour
er sects, especially the Roman Catholics and satire is invective, without literary form, it is
the Presbytarians. John Dryden
mere clownish jeering. The manner of the
satirist is different from that of a lyric poet.
His second religious poem, The Hind Since hatred and contempt are unpleasant feelings the
and the Panther (1687) is a long allegorical fable de- satirical poet usually avoids giving them direct expres-
signed as an effort to draw the churches together, and sion, and makes frequent use of irony. He banks largely
restore their union. In the poem the "hind" stood for on intellectual dexterity and brilliant versification to fas-
the Roman Catholic Church and the "panther" repre- cinate his reader and win admiration where he cannot
sented the Church of England. hope for sympathy.
Dryden's activities during the last years of his life The Restoration age is essentially the age of sat-
were mainly confined to translations. In 1697 he trans- ire. Judging and condemning became a common phe-
lated the whole of Virgil. Dryden wrote a few fables in nomenon of this age, and this habit naturally gave birth
poetry based on the works of Boccacio and Chaucer. In to the spirit of satire.
the fables he versified the stories of Sigismonda and The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy brought
Guiscardo, Cymon and Iphigenia from Boccacio's royalism in its full glory and natural urge to attack the
Decameron, and paraphrased in his own style Chau- old regime of Puritanism found its best expression in
satires such as Butler's Hudibras. The open denuncia- olanus became the Ingratitude of a Commonwealth
tion of false spiritual authorities became not only a duty (1682). From John Fletcher he adapted The Island Prin-
but a pleasure with the Restoration writers. cess (1687); from Chapman and Marston's Eastward
Political atmosphere also aggravated the spirit of sat- Ho he derived the Cuckold's Haven (1685); in 1707 he
ire. With the Restoration old poetical spirits sprang up giv- rewrote John Webster's White Devil; and Sir Aston
ing rise to political satires, particularly the satires of Dryden. Cockayne's Trappolin suppos'd a Prince he imitated in
The Whigs and Tories, two major political factions in En- Duke and no Duke (1685).
gland, engaged themselves virtually in a pen war. Tate's name is chiefly connected with these man-
The influence of classical satirists had much to do gled versions of other men's plays and with the famous
with the growing satirical spirit of the age. The study New Version of the Psalms of David (1696), in which he
of classics promoted familiarity with the works of Hora- collaborated with Nicholas Brady. Tate collaborated with
ce, Juvenal and Persius. The writers considered it a John Dryden to complete the second half of his epic
matter of prestige to follow in the footsteps of the great poem Absalom and Achitophel.
masters of the past. Tate was named as poet laureate in 1692. His po-
Finally, the general classical taste of the day ems were sharply criticised by Alexander Pope in The
favouring a type of literature which should be clear, Dunciad. Of his numerous poems the most original is
concise and topical also gave rise to the spirit of satire Panacea, a poem of Tea (1700). In spite of his consistent
during the age. Toryism, he succeeded Thomas Shadwell as poet laure-
ate in 1692. He died within the precincts of the Mint,
John Dryden wrote three outstanding satires :
Southwark, where he had taken refuge from his credi-
Absalom and Achitophel, Medal and Mac Flecknoe.
tors, in 1715. He was succeeded by Nicholas Rowe.
They are masterpieces of political vigour, personal an-
imosity and anti-puritan spirit. Dryden comes out in his Other Restoration Satirists
satires as a man of his times as much under the influ-
ence of political conditions as any one of his victims.
Samuel Butler (1612-80)
His manner of expression in his satires is sharp and Butler was a Royalist and in his powerful satire,
witty and his diction is employed with deftness. Hudibras, he satirised Puritanism in doggerel verse. The
work is plainly modelled on Don Quixote of Cervantes.
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate (1652-1715) was an Anglo-Irish poet, John Oldham (1653-83)
hymnist and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Oldham was also a great satirist of the school of
Tate published a volume of poems in London in 1677, Juvenal. His two powerful satires are Satire against
and became a regular writer for the stage. "Brutus of Virtue and Satire upon the Jesuits.
Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers" (1678), a tragedy deal- Prose literature during the Restoration age
ing with Dido and Aeneas and The Loyal General The Restoration gave rise to a new prose style ––
(1680), were followed by a series of adaptations from plain, simple and graceful and suitable for historical and
Elizabethan dramas. In William Shakespeare's Richard II fictional narrative and for critical and philosophical
he altered the names of the characters, and changed thought.
the text so that every scene, to us his own words, was
The first important factor responsible for the new
"full of respect of Majesty and the dignity of courts";
prose style was the establishment of the Royal Society
but in spite of these precautions The Sicilian Usurper
of London in 1660. In the words of Thomas Spart, the
(1681), as his rewrite was called, was suppressed on the
historian of the times, the Royal Society was determined
third representation on account of a possible political
to "reject all amplifications, digressions and swelling
interpretation.
of style to return to the primitive purity, and shortness,
King Lear (1687) was fitted with a happy ending when men delivered so many things, almost in an equal
in a marriage between Cordelia and Edgar; and Cori- number of words.
 Another distinguishing factor responsible for the Bunyan's first book is his spiritual autobiography,
new prose was the diffusion of the spirit of common- Grace Abounding. His next work, The Pilgrim's
sense and the critical temper of mind which was not Progress, is an allegory. Here the allegory takes the
suitable for higher flights of imagination and rhetorical form of a dream by the author. The work is remarkable
eloquence. A note of rationality and critical appraisal for the beauty and simplicity of its language, reality of
of life came up, and this critical temper did not allow impersonations and the author's sense of humour and
them to be poets of exuberant fancy and naturally they feeling for the world of nature. In The Pilgrim's Progress
introduced exactness and precision in their writings. Bunyan deals with the journey of a noble from This
Added to this was the growing influence of science world to Paradise.
which favoured clarity of thought and plainness of style.
Another notable work of Bunyan is the novel, The
French influence has much to do in the renovation
Life and Death of Mr Badman, which gives the picture
of English prose. The French had cultivated grace, sim-
of a soul on its journey from this world to Hell.
plicity and lucidity in their expressions. The works of
French authors were translated during this period, and John Locke and Thomas Hobbes
that had much to do with the simplification of prose style. Political prose was developed by John Locke and
Matthew Arnold summed up the renovation of Thomas Hobbes. Locke is the author of Essay on the
English prose during this age in the folowing words : Human Understanding, which is an examination into the
the nature of human knowledge. Hobbes, in his Levia-
"The Restoration marks the real moment of birth
of our modern prose. It is by its organism –– an organ- than, advocates monarchy, and holds the view that mon-
ism opposed to length and involvement, and enabling archy alone can preserve the society from disruption.
us to be clear, plain and short ––– that English prose Restoration comedy of manners
after the Restoration breaks with the style of the times The comedy of manners developed during the age
preceding it, finds the true law of prose, and becomes of Dryden was greatly influenced by the French drama-
modern : becomes, in spite of superficial differences, tist Moliere. The writers of the Restoration comedy de-
the style of our own day". voted themselves specifically to picturing the external
Among the creators of modern prose John Dry- details of life, the fashion of the time, its manners, its
den must be placed in the front rank. He inauguarted a speech and its interests.
new era in English prose and criticism. He may be called The comedy of manners has been criticised for its
the father of English prose style. Being a poet and dra-
licentiousness, obscenity and immorality. Macaulay
matist, Dryden had to state the aims and objects of his
denounced the immorality and obscenity prevalent in
poetry, argue new points, defend his heroic tragedy,
this type of comedy. Leslie Stephen echoed Maculay in
and thereby create a taste in public for his works. For
saying that this comedy was "written by blackguards
this purpose he employed prose. Dryden wrote essays
for blackguards". There were defenders too.
and prefaces, and his two outstanding works of the
Prof. Boname Dobree maintained that Restoration com-
genre are The Essay on Dramatic Poesy and Preface to
edy expressed "not licentiousness, but a deep curiosi-
the Fables. Giving up the long-winded, cumbersome
ty and a desire to try new ways of living." Charles Lamb
sentences of the earlier prose writers of the 17th centu-
ry, Dryden used a language marked with simplicity, defended the obscenity of Restoration comedy as the
straightforwardness and ease. A critical touch enliv- device of artists to present the sense of reality in their
ens all the writings of Dryden. plays.
John Bunyan (1628-88) The prominent writers of the comedy of manners,
apart from John Dryden, are Sir George Ethrege, William
The other great name in the prose literature of Dry-
den's age is that of John Bunyan. Wycherley, William Congreve etc.
r Which period of time in designated as the age of
Restoration ?
AGE OF DR JOHNSON (1745 -1798)
- 1660 - 1700 OR
r Name a few French writers who deeply influenced THE AGE OF TRANSITION
the literature of the age of Restoration.
The Trends of the Age of Transition
- Moliere, Pascal, Corneille,
and Racine. Double tendency
r Dryden's play which is regarded as the best Two movements emerged during 1745-1798. One
representation of Heroic Play. was still in the direction of classicism. The notable fig-
ure in this movement is Dr Samuel Johnson. There was
- Tyrannic Love also a romantic reaction against the old order. The search
r Name the work of Samuel Butler which is a satire for romanticism started as early as 1740 with the publi-
on the Puritans. cation of Thomson's Seasons.
- Hudibras The new learning
The minor renaissance of the middle and later stag-
r The first play of John Dryden
es of the 18th century touched nearly all Europe. In
- The Wild Gallant literature the revival of the Romantic Movement led to
r The first great satire of Dryden in verse. (a) research into literary forms such as the ballad and
(b) new editions of older authors such as Shakespeare
- Absalom and Achitophel and Chaucer. The publication of Bishop Percy's Rel-
r "Every age has a kind of universal genius". This iques (1765), which contained some of the oldest and
famous pronouncement of Dryden is made in his most beautiful specimens of ballad - literature, is a land-
mark in the history of the Romantic Movement.
- An Essay on Dramatic Poesy
The new philosophy
r The meaning of Dryden's political satire Religio The spirit of the new thinking, which found its
Laici. consummate expression in the works of Voltaire was
- "Religion of a Layman." marked by keen scepticism and the zest for eager inqui-
ry. Scotland early took to it, the leading poet being Hul-
r The famous religious poems of Dryden which was me. Finally the new spirit assisted the Romantic ideal
written in defence of Roman Catholicism
by demolishing and clearing away heaps of the ancient
- The Hind and the Panther mental lumber, and so leaving the ground clear for new
and fresher creations.
r "Much of Dryden's unique art consists in his ability
to make the small into the great, the prosaic into Historical research
the poetic, the trivial into the magnificent". Name The 18th century witnessed the swift rise of his-
the critic who made this observation about Dryden. torical literature to a place of great importance. It touched
- T.S. Eliot Scotland first, and was fostered in France. The histor-
ical school had an outstanding leader in Edward Gib-
r Who is the main object of ridicule in Dryden's Mac bon, who was nearly, as much at home in French as he
Flecknoe ? was in English.
- Thomas Shadwell New realism
r The spiritual autobigraphy of John Bunyan The development of novel, which at first con-
- The Pilgrim's Progress cerned itself with domestic incidents was artonishing.
Henry Fielding and his kind faithfully dealt with human
life. In the widest sense, however, the novelists were Many of the poets of the Age of Johnson sought
Romanticists, for in sympathy and freshness of treat- inspiration from the poetry of Spenser. They repro-
ment they were followers of the new ideal. duced not only the Spensarian stanza, but even the
Decline of political writing great master's archaic diction. The influence of Spenser
is evident in the fact that over 50 poems in Spensarian
With the partial decay of party spirit the activity of
stanza were published between 1730 and 1775. The re-
pamphleteering was over. Writers started depending on
vival of the Spensarian stanza can be seen in Thom-
the public, and this caused the rise of eminent men like
son's Castle of Indolence.
Johnson and Goldsmith.
Return to nature
Characteristics of the transitional poets of the
The reviving love for nature first became conspic-
18th century
uous in Allen Ramsay's The Gentle Shepherd (1725).
The first transitional period in English literature was The revival of interest in real landscape was popularised
the age of Chaucer. It was a transitional period, because by James Thomson in his Seasons (1730). No doubt,
it was the meeting ground of the Middle Age and the The Seasons still shares the features of the Augustan
Renaissance spirit. Similarly the age of Johnson is a peri- school in its note of didacticism, highly Latinised vo-
od of transition which witnessed a struggle between the cabulary, conventional poetic diction, and frigid and
old order of classicism and the new order of Romanti- bombastic style.
cism, and the gradual triumph of the new. Thomson, Som- John Dyer made a first hand study of nature in his
erville, Edward Young, Gray, Collins, and Cowper are the poem Gronger Hill. From this time on the love of nature
prominent transitional poets ; they had their leanings became increasingly prominent in the poetry of Gray,
towards the new spirit of romanticism, but none of them Collins, Cowper, Blake and Burns.
made a deliberate effort to shake off the worn out diction
Cowper's poems reflect his simple pleasures, his
then current. Though these poets maintained their alle-
love of nature, his interest in the lives of the humble
giance to the school of Pope, they were susceptible to a
and the simple, and his sensibility. Nature was his best
different range of influences, and sought fresh subjects,
healer, and he anticipates the lake poets he anticipates
fresh forms, and fresh modes of feeling and expression.
the lake poets in the way he expresses his gratitude. He
We may, at the same time, recognize the breaking up of
believed the country is divine and town diabolical. He
the Augustan tradition in the work of these poets. In the
summed up the idea in the off-quoted line.
words of Moody and Lovett, "the death of Pope in 1744
is conventionally regarded as marking the end of the "God made the country, and man made the town".
period during which the classical ideal was dominant in The return to feeling
literature. This ideal was now to give way gradually to The prominent characteristics of the transitional
what is called the Romantic movement." poets were the return to feeling, strong passion, senti-
ment, aspiration and melancholy. The Augustan poets
Characteristics of the Age of Transition
rejected the exhibition of any manifestation of feeling
Reaction in form and their poetry appeared to the intellect rather than
The neo-classical poets strictly adhered to the moved the heart. Edward Young's Night Thoughts was
closed couplet. With the transitional poets, a reaction the first great appeal to melancholy. He discovered an
set in against this tradition, and experiments were made exquisite pleasure in nocturnal churchyard meditation,
in other kinds of verse, such as the blank verse and the his thoughts haunting newly dug graves, with the pale
Spensarian stanza. Growing admiration for Milton was light of moon shining down upon him. Young was fol-
the principal cause for the rise and popularity of blank lowed by Robert Blair's The Grave, Thomas Warton's
verse. Notable poems of the time written in blank verse The pleasures of Melancholy, Gray's Elegy Written in a
are Thomson's Seasons, Someville's The Chase and Country Churchyard and Collin's Ode to Evening.
Edward Young's Night Thoughts.
The cult of romance Prominent Transition Poets
A Romantic poet is the lover of the wild, fantastic,
abnormal and supernatural. His delight is in imagination James Thomson (1700-1748)
which leads his thoughts into the past, and to remote Thomson was a Scottish poet endowed with a love
lands. The transitional poets went to the Middle Ages, and appreciation for nature and the dreamy life of the
and the world of the supernatural. Gray's The Bard is Middle Ages. His poem, The Seasons, introduced for
based on a Welsh medieval legend, and his other poems, the first time genuine love for nature. It is a blank-verse
Fatal Sisters and The Descent of Odin reproduced Scan- poem with descriptive passages dealing with natural
dinavian legends. The interest in the Middle Ages was scenes, mainly those with which he was familiar during
due largely to the revival of ballad literature. Bishop Per- his youth on the Scottish border. The poem exerted a
cy's The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765), a strong counter influence against the artificial school of
collection of ballad literature of the past, proved a great poetry.
power in spreading romantic tales. Thomson's The Castle of Indolence was published
Medieval revival was accompanied by the heroic in the last year of his life. The poem is in the Spensarian
and legendary world of Celtic antiquity. James Macpher- stanza, and in the true Spensarian fashion it gives a
son published his Fragments of Ancient Poetry Col- description of a lotus - land, into which world - weary
lected in the Highlands of Scotland and Translated from souls are invited to withdraw.
Gaelic or Erse Language. The work was successful in Thompson gave voice to deep aspirations which
arousing readers' curiosity in the Celtic mythology. many shared. He restored nature to one of the first plac-
Thus some of the transitional poets heralded the es among the subjects of poetry, and to a place from
revival of romanticism which reached its acme in the hands which she was never to be dislodged.
of Wordworth and Coleridge. Though these transitional Edward Young (1638-1765)
poets represented one or the other characteristic of ro-
Young belongs to the Graveyard School of Poetry.
manticism, yet, they were not thorough romantics, be-
The notable poems of Young are The Universal Pas-
cause they had also their association with the Augustan
sion and Night Thoughts. The Universal Passion is a
school. This is evident in their use of poetic diction, use
satire against fame and women. The Night Thoughts is
of personification, and the note of didacticism.
a long meditation on the futility of life. The poem con-
r What is generally regarded as the slogan of the tains a series of reflections upon the brevity and tragic,
"transition poets" ? uncertainties of life leading to a view of religion as man's
- "Return to Nature" consoler.
r According to Moody and Lovett whose death is With Young, self came into the foreground and
regarded as conventionally marking the end of the his work represents the real beginning of the literature
neo-classical period ? of sensibility. Necessarily subjective in principle, it ends
- Alexander Pope with all its might to bring about the overthrow of the
barrier of the intellectuality, measure, and order, as well
r The transition poets were believed to have
as the general effacement, by which classicism limited,
anticipated the romantics in their writings on
repressed and transposed the troubled impatient flow
nature. To whom do we attribute this line that best
of life.
explains the change of outlook ?
"God made the country, and man made the town" Thomas Macpherson (1736-1796)
- William Cowper Macpherson contributed immensly to popularis-
ing the literature of the Middle Ages and the Highland
r The Complaint and The Consolation form part of
by publishing his two books, Fingal (1762) and Temo-
Edward Young's poem
ra (1763). The central motive of these poems is the pa-
- Night Thoughts thetic sense of regret for what once has been. They
pass in review the glorious imagery of bygone days sion nor the strangeness of the Romantic School. Ac-
and they touch upon the sadness of modern times. cording to Compton - Rickett, "Cowper is a blend of the
old and the new with much of the form of the old and
Thomas Percy (1729-1811) something of the spirit of the new."
Percy, the Bishop, was an antiquarian scholar with
literary sensibilities. His two prominent works are The Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)
Reliques (1765) and Northern Antiquities (1760). The His contribution to the poetry of the Romantic revival
Relics included many old Scottish ballads from the time Goldsmith shared the qualities of classicism and
before Chaucer to the end of the reign of Charles I. romanticism. Though he stood midway between the
Literature owes a deep debt to Percy as the first popu- school of Pope and the Romantic School, Goldsmith
lariser of old English ballads. The ballads had a splen- was more sympathetic to the former. In his ideals and
did effect in quickening the romantic impulse, by virtue concepts of literature, Goldsmith was a staunch sup-
of their naive feeling and simple passionate expression. porter of the classical school. For him the classical cou-
The work of Percy helped to restore to English poetry plet (Heroic Couplet), the form adopted in Traveller,
simplicity of emotion, of language and poetic art. was the best vehicle for the highest kind of poetry, the
didactic poetry. In his use of the heroic couplet, Gold-
George Crabbe (1754-1832) smith was a dedicated follower of Alexander Pope.
Crabbe came late among the transitional poets and Goldsmith's language was in accordance with the
he used the heroic couplet of Pope in the expression of rules set up by Pope. He indulged in stilted (too formal),
his romantic sympathy for the poor. Crabbe was a clergy- pompous and Latinized expressions and showed a great
man, and his three poems, The village love for abstractions and personifica-
(1783), The Parish Register (1703) and The tions, which were loved by Pope. For
Borough (1810), bring him in line with the instance, he used "angel for the finny
precursors of the Romantic Movement, be- prey" for fish and "attic warbler" for
cause in these works he realistically but the nightingale.
sympathetically described the life of the Goldsmith retained the didactic or
simple villagers and coltagers whom he had teaching element in his poetry, and
known as a priest. He painted the life of the thereby he kept up his link with Pope
poor as he know it, sternly and uncompro- and his followers. His poems The Trav-
misingly. The motivating power behind eller and The Deserted Village are
Crabbe's poetry is his desire to state the philosophical and didactic.
plain unvarnished truth about the life of Goldsmith also exhibited his pow-
the peasant and to destroy the idealised, er of writing satiric poetry in his Retal-
artificial picture of it presented by the 18th iation. The pictures of Garrick, Burke
century pastoral. and others in the poem are pungent,
William Cowper (1731-1800) Oliver Goldsmith sharp and satirical in tone and style.
Cowper's poetry breathes a sympa- Goldsmith's treatment of nature
thy which shows a long association with the world of and rural life is romantic. He loved nature, and in his
reality and an intimate knowledge of its way. His themes poetry, there are beautiful pictures of natural beauty.
are common place, but they represent the elementary Goldsmith's sympathy for the poor and simple peo-
truths of the heart, rather than of intelligence ple of The Deserted Village and the simple peasants of
In technique, Cowper belongs to the old rather Switzerland in The Traveller connects him with Word-
than to the new. Some of the good qualities of the old sworth. His heart moved with sympathy at the sight of
school that he shared are clarity, painstaking care of suffering people and idealized the simple lives of the
expression, and, on the whole, an easy tranquillity of poor. Like Gray, Goldsmith found a splendid source of
atmosphere. We shall find in his work neither the pas- inspiration in "the short and simple annals of the poor".
Goldsmith's poetical works r Which poem of Goldsmith deals with his
Goldsmith's first poem, The Traveller, deals with wandering through Europe ?
his wandering through Europe. The poem, written in - The Traveller
heroic couplet, is a series of descriptions and criticism r Which poem of James Thomson gives a description
of the people and places he had seen. The work reveals of a lotus - land into which world weary souls are
a clear perception of the suffering of the poor, where invited to withdraw ?
"laws grind the poor, and the rich men rule the laws." - The Castle of Indolence
The poem abides by the heroic couplet, and to that
extent he is Pope's pupil. r "A Pope in worsted stocking". The poet who is
labelled thus by Horace Smith.
The Traveller is a didactic poem, and it aims at the
teaching of some sphilosophic truths. Its purpose is to - George Crabbe
establish the preposition that, when all things are taken 4 Horace Smith called Crabbe so, because of the
into account and advantages and disadvantages are latter's frequent use of the heroic couplet,
duly tabulated and balanced, one country offers to a popularised by Alexander Pope.
wise man as good a chance of happiness as another. r The Castway is a poem by
The poem is highly pictorial and picturesque. It - William Cowper
brings before us fleeting pictures of various countries r Who was characterised as the "marvellous boy"
of Europe. Italy with its rich natural scenes, Switzerland by Wordsworth in his Resolution and
with its hard-toiling peasants, Holland with its sea and Independence ?
slavery, France with its drollery and gay - display, and
- Thomas Chatterton
England with its proud people, full of the zeal for free-
dom, come dancing before our eyes as we pass from r The Parish Register was written by
one description to another. - George Crabbe
The Traveller is autobiographical in character. r Name Goldsmith's poem that is regarded as
It tells about Goldsmith's own experience and is intensely autobiographical in nature.
subjective in nature. The poem is really a masterpiece. - The Traveller
The Deserted Village r The expression "attic warbler" is reflective of
The poem, which appeared in 1770, is full of charm- Goldsmith's pompous style. "Attic Warbler" means
ing pictures of village life and contains melancholic - Nightingale
personal reflections.
Thomas Gray (1716-1771)
The Deserted Village is a pastoral lyric that carries
no artifice but genuine emotion that beats into rhythm, Gray began his poetic career in 1742. During this
the ecstacy of beholding the joys of the peasantry, the year, he wrote the Odes, On Spring, On a Distant
pathos of seeing those joys transforming into sorrows, Prospect of Eton College and Hymn to Adversity. These
and the indignation that is not against the government poems reveal two things first, the appearance of that
that framed laws to grind the poor and elevate the rich. melancholy that characterises all the poetry of time, and
second, the study of nature, not for its own beauty or
r Name the poems of Goldsmith that were described
truth, but rather as a suitable background for the play
by Swinburne as "priceless and adorable power of
of human emotions. In each poem, sentiment leads to a
sweet human emotion".
reflection, and reflection to moral.
- The Deserted Village and The
Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is
Traveller
the supreme expression of his poetic genius. It is his
r –––– was Goldsmith's first poem. most popular work. Some vital characteristics of
- The Traveller Romanticism are present in the Elegy. Firstly, the poem
expresses sympathy with the lot of the common people The poetry of Gray is intellectual and rational is
who lived far away from the madding crowd, thereby character. It is always disciplined by his intellect and
failing to gain recognition. This adoration of the annals refined by his taste.
of the simple people is essentially a romantic trait and There is a love for nature in Gray's poetry, but no
Gray introduces it in the Elegy commemorating life of subjective treatment of nature as we notice in the
the people living in the country sorroundings. Secondly, romantic poets. Gray finds delight in the presentation
there is a note of pessimism and melancholy in the poem, of scenes of nature.
which was, later on, cultivated and developed by Keats
Love of humanity is an important characteristic of
and Shelley. The love for nature and landscape, the
Gray's poetry. We come across, in his poems, love of
solitary atmosphere of the night, the haunted places
humanity, particularly for the villagers which was later
where the owl hoots, all clearly show that the poet had
on cultivated by Wordsworth. In his Elegy Gray brings
caught the spirit of Romanticism in a subdued form.
before us most sympathetically the life-story of the
The Elegy represents Gray's transitional frame of mind.
villagers who led a simple life far away from the madding
Gray's The Progress of Poesy is a poem on the crowd, and who were not governed by feeling of
history of poetry. The Bard is closely associated with jealousy, ambition and hatred. This representation of
Celtic mythology. The poem is founded on the command the simple life makes Gray one with Wordsworth in the
of Edward I that all the bards should be killed. Another treatment of human beings in villages and cottages.
poem, Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, exhibits
The note of melancholy and gloominess is a
Gray's comic or humorous side. The poem tells how a
notable characteristic of Gray's poetry. This was
cat in search of a fish in a tub got drowned and felt
primarily because the life of the poet was sorrowful.
sorry for her greed. Even a humorous poem has a note
The poet's own personal life is represented in The Elegy
of moral attached to it quite in the manner and style of
with a note of melancholy in the concluding part of the
18th century poetry.
poem. The presentation of the life of the country people
The Fatal Sisters and The Descent of Odin are is also coloured by the same gloomy note. For Gray
poems in which Gray reveals himself as an ardent lover human life was a painful affair.
of nature and the beautiful. The poems mark the end of There is a natural sensitiveness to musical cadence
Gray's poetic career. During the course of thirty years in Gray's poetry. Gray learnt the power of music from
of his poetic career Gray could not produce much. Milton and Dryden, and in his poetry there is a flow
Inspite of his slender poetic output Gray is regarded as and a melody which we find in the odes of Dryden.
one of the greatest poets of his age.
William Collins (1721-1759)
Characteristics of Gray's poetry
Collins's poetry is marked by a note of melancholy.
In Gray's poetry we have glimpses of sentiment His debilitated state of health gradually settled into
and emotion which later on were cultivated with absolute melancholia. Another feature of Collins's po-
devotion by the romantic poets. In the earlier poems of etry is the note of simplicity.
Gray there is the touch of cold intellectuality but from
Regarding his affinity to nature it should be said
the publication of The Elegy to The Descent of Odin,
that the pictures of landscapes and natural scenery pre-
the emotional tone gets the upper hand and the poems
sented in his poems are realistic as well as graphic. In
written after 1750 are coloured by emotion and sentiment.
his Ode to Evening the note of naturalism is fresher
In Gray's poetry we have for the first time a than is to be found among the poets of his age.
departure from the treatment of town life. He focussed
It is as a lyric poet, as a singer that Collins stands
his attention on the Middle Ages and the Norse and
out from among his contemporaries. A note of music
Scandinavian Mythology. The poems, The Bard, The
and lyricism is well struck in the Ode to the Passions. It
Fatal Sisters and The Descent of Odin are based on is in Ode for Music and Passions that Collins's love for
medieval superstition, primitive legends and beliefs. music and lyricism is brought.
 A peculiar romantic characteristic which is found r About whom does Campbell say : "His lyrical
in Collins's poetry is his love for liberty. In this way the pieces are like paintings on glass which must be
poet proved to be the true harbinger of the Romantic placed in strong light to give out the perfect
Movement. radiance of their colouring".
Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) - Thomas Gray
Robert Burns was probably the greatest of Word- r The line, "My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose" is
sworth's forbears. With the appearance of Burns it could attributed to
be said that the days of Romanticism had come. Burns's - Robert Burns
sole poetical work of any magnitude is his Volume of Po- r –––– was Goldsmith's first poem
ems (1786), which he edited five times during his life time,
- The Traveller
making numerous additions and corrections each time.
Burns is regarded as the national poet of Scot- William Blake (1757-1827)
land. Many of the familiar features in Scottish poetry William Blake was the most mystical and metaphys-
reappear in Burns. Love and intimate knowledge of na- ical poet of the Romantic Revival during the 18th centu-
ture, quaint dialect, passionate concreteness of imag- ry. Blake's first publication was Poetical Sketches
ery, rich allusiveness (qualities of Scottish life) are found (1783), a series of imitative poems, in which he experi-
well illustrated in his poetry. mented with various forms, in the manner of Shakes-
Regarding Burns's contribution to the eighteenth cen- peare, Spenser and Milton. Songs of Innocence, which
tury poetry, it could be said that inspite of his feeble attach- came out in 1789, are short lyrics concerning Blake's
ment to the school of Pope, he heralded the birth of Roman- views of the original state of the human society, sym-
ticism. The inner elements of Romanticism - personal effu- bolized in the joy and happiness of children. The po-
sion, sensibility, a keen love for nature, a wealth of imagina- ems present a passionate sympathy and deep sincerity
tive fancy and a symapthetic interest in the poor and the for the child.
animals - are to be found in the work of Burns. The French Revolution (1791), The Visions of the
r Which poem of Thomas Gray is regarded as the Daughters of Albion (1793), America (1793) and The
supreme expression of his poetic genius ? Europe (1794) are the revolutionary prophetic works of
Blake. The French Revolution and America contain
- Elegy Written in a Country
Blake's thoughts about freedom, not only political
Churchyard
freedom,but freedom from the restrictions of conven-
r Gray's poem which is considered to be the history tion and established morality. In 1794 appeared the
of poetry. Songs of Experience. In this is presented the two con-
- The Progress of Poesy flicting aspects of nature which is so beautiful yet so
r Name the poem of Gray which is associated with cruel. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is the most
Celtic mythology. prophetic of Blake's poems.
- The Bard Main features of Blake's poetry
r –––– is a poem that displays comic or humorous Blake was a lyrical poet. In his earlier lyrics, Blake
aspect of Gray. followed the Elizabethan models, and in his Poetical
Sketches and The Songs of Innocence are embodied
- Ode on the Death of a
some of the best lyrics of English language. Still in some
Favourite Cat
poems, for example, A War Song to an English Man,
r Ode to Pity is a melancholic poem written by the mystic note is traceable.
- William Collins In The Songs of Innocence, we have happy notes,
r Collins's love for simplicity is presented in his purity, sweetness, intensity of feeling, simple perfec-
- Ode to Simplicity tion of diction and a variety of rhythm.
 Blake's The Little Black Boy is a metaphysical ities that he experienced in his vision. To present all
poem. In his Songs of Experience thought begins to that he saw and believed to be real, he thought that
predominate and the prophetic creed become clear still. ordinary language would fail miserably. Thus he took
After this volume, Blake ceased to be a writer of pure to symbolism. Like Shelley he used the objects of na-
lyrics, and became more and more a poet of visionary ture as symbols to suggest spiritual realities. Blake's
idealism, symbolism and mysticism. It is in this note of symbols are also taken from The Bible. His symbolic
symbolism and mysticism in his lyrics that Blake differs expressions through poetry kindle the imagination of
from Burns and Swinburne whose lyrics are simple and the readers and arise in them a curiosity for a world
realistic. C.M. Bowra remarks" : Indeed no English poet, unknown.
except Shakespeare, has written songs of such experi- As a poet of childhood, Blake's contribution is
ence, lightness and melody. His words have an Elizabe- immense. The innocence of childhood finds its finest
than lilt, a music which emphasizes their meaning and expression in Blake's Songs of Innocence. The sorrows
confirms exactly to it." that subdue one in the growing years are presented
Blake struck the note of humanitarianism in his realistically in the Songs of Experience. It is commonly
poetry. A note of love and sympathy was sounded by believed that in his treatment of childhood Blake antic-
Blake in his poetry for the common and oppressed peo- ipated Wordsworth.
ple of the society. His sympathy included even animals r Name the pre-romantic poet who is also noted as
and birds. an engraver.
Blake was the poet of revolt, and he thundered at - William Blake
king's and priests and oppressive rulers in his prophet-
r The first publication of William Blake was titled
ic writings. He revolted against the religious conven-
- Poetical Sketches (1783)
tions of the day and mercilessly attacked priest craft
and hackneyed conventions of the contemporary r Blake presents the defence of the satisfaction of
church which he thought to be the greatest obstacle in physical appetite in his poem titled
the way of human progress. - The Visions of the Daughters
Blake was a mystic and visionary idealist. The of Albion
world of Blake was spiritualistic, infinite, illimitable, and r The Little Black Boy of Blake is a –––– poem
everlasting rather than temporal and momentary. In his - Metaphysical
world of thoughts, ideas and visions, love was the su- r In his zeal and enthusiasm for liberty and equality
preme governing authority. of man, Blake is believed to have anticipated the
Blake was the supreme mystic poet of his age. Like romantic poet
all mystic poets Blake emphasised the momentariness - Shelley
of the body and immortality of the soul. He regarded r In the poem Clod and the Pebble, what do clod
the world as a dark prison and physical senses as nar- and pebble stand for ?
row windows darkening the infinite soul of man.
- Clod - Selfishness
As a follower of naturalism, Blake dealt with the
- Pebble - Selfish love
simplest phases of life, with the instinctiveness of a child,
r Name the collection of Blake's poems that deals
with the love of flowers, hills, streams and the blue sky.
with the innocence of childhood.
Yet the mystical vision of the poet transformed these
familiar things into something strange and wonderful. - Songs of Innocence
Blake had his own vision and he lived in a world Eighteenth century poetic diction
which was entirely his own what he experienced in his
strange spiritual vision was inexplicable in ordinary The term poetic diction is applied specifically to
words and phrases. Thus it was inevitable and neces- the practice of the neo-classical writers who believed
sary for him to arrange visible symbols of invisible real- that the poet must adopt his diction to the mode and
elevation of the genre called poetry. When the eigh- r Who was the outstanding eighteenth century
teenth century poets began to write epics, pastorals or critic who expressed his keen dislike for Milton's
odes, they required a special diction to raise the matter Lycidas on the ground that much in it was unnatural
to the height of the form. This special diction, some- or away from common experience ?
what stilted (stiff and unnatural) and artificial was chal- - Dr Johnson
lenged by William Wordsworth in preface to the sec-
r De Vulgari Eloquentia which contains valuable
ond Edition of The Lyrical Ballads (1800). Wordsworth
observations on the language of poetry, is the work of
protested against what he called "the gaudiness and
innane phraseology of many modern writers". - Dante
It was John Dryden who is actually credited with the Drama of the Eighteenth Century
introduction of poetic diction. In his translation of Virgil,
Decline of drama
Dryden employed dignified diction. Dryden's mind was
fired by an unflagging admiration for great poetry, and During the 18th century drama steadily declined.
this feeling finds expression in his translations and odes. There are many factors that led to the decline of drama.
The eighteenth century poets were particular about First of them was the popularity of novels; free from
the division of poetry into various kinds, such as elegy, most of the conventions which burdened the theatre, it
satire, epic ec. And, these different types called for dif- succeeded better in depicting life, manners and ideas.
ferent kinds of vocabulary. In the eighteenth century, During this age actors and actresses became more im-
writing poems was a communal art in the sense that the portant than playwrights. The attraction which the peo-
poet was not free to choose an independent mode of ple felt for actors rather than for playwrights discour-
writing . He had to learn much before he could write aged writers to produce good plays.
correctly. He could not offend rules and distinctions Another factor was the revival of old plays, it hin-
acknowledged by the poets and readers. dered the creation of new plays. The plays of Shakes-
Alexander Pope applied artificial diction in his peare, Beaumont and Fletcher were revived. This re-
translation of Homer. Pope felt that the dignity and sub- vival gave no incentive to writers to the age to produce
limity of Homer could not be effectively expressed in new plays. They thought the writing of new plays would
ordinary language. Pope used the term poetic diction" be a futile effort since people of the age were more
in the preface to his translation of the Iliad to mark the interested in the revival of old plays. The French fash-
difference between the vocabulary of prose and poetry. ions and costumes were in vogue in the 18th century.
After Pope poets such as Thompson, Gray, Col- The theatre managers were attracted by the gorgeous
lins, Cowper, Goldsmith and Dr. Johnson made use of and extravagant fashions and the attention of the audi-
poetic diction, the prominent characteristics of which ence was taken off from the living stage.
were the use of conventional epithets, compound - ep- Drama declined during this age because it failed to
ithets, avoidance of direct statement and the use of receive the support of the king. William III was no pa-
fantastic phraseology. tron of the theatre, nor was Queen Anne. Without the
r Which group of writers are chiefly associated with support of the king it was difficult for dramatists to
the concept of poetic diction ? make their influence felt in the public. During this age
- Neo-classical writers dramatists were debarred from indulging in the presen-
tation of obscene scenes. It was Collier who inaugarat-
r Name the romantic poet who first challenged the
ed the moral reform in the drama and the audience felt
artificial diction, which was the hall-mark of the
that drama should only be written on lines of moral
eighteenth century writers ?
edification. Naturally the scope of drama became re-
- William Wordsworth stricted and sentiment began to have its way in the
r Biographia Literaria is the work of world of comedy. Everything that seemed to have the
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge tone of fun and humour was regarded as a matter of
distaste by the public. It was of great significance that
Goldsmith and Sheridan broke new ground by writing perhaps the greatest figure among the writers of the
the comedy of humours and by setting their face against sentimental comedy. He made the pathetic treatment of
the sentimental comedy of this age. a moral sentiment, the basis of the action of a comic
Moral restraint was followed by political restraint. drama. His works are Lying Lover, Tender Husband and
The Licensing Act was passed in 1737. As a result, The Conscious lovers.
dramatists were restrained from writing in which there Henry Fielding (1707-54)
was the slightest reflection on the political figures of
He was equally a great novelist, writer of comedy
the time. Tragedy particularly suffered because of the
and farce. He made clever adaptations of French works.
classical spirit of the age. Full blooded tragedies, marked
It was in parody and political satire that he obtained his
with emotional excitement and fervour could not be pro-
personal success. He achieved success in his Tragedy
duced in the age because of the attitude of reason and
of Tragedies or The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the
rationality towards literary productions.
Great, Pasquin, The Historical Register for the Year.
Sentimental comedy His raillery at the fashions of the time, his banter of well
The sentimental comedy of the eighteenth centu- known people, especially in high places and members
ry was a reaction against the comedy of manners of the of the government, disturbed the authorities to such an
Restoration period. The comedy of manners was char- extent that they re-established the censorship.
acterised by light-hearted fun, obscenity and trenchant
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74)
dialogues. Their aim was to make fun of pious and holy
characters. Goldsmith revived the Comedy of Humours of the
Elizabethan Age and gave a hard blow to the sentimen-
In sentimental comedy laughter and humour were
tal comedy. He said that sentimental comedy was more
completely driven out and in place of comedy, which
like a tragedy. He tried to revive sincere laughter on the
was rich in humour, pathos and pathetic situations were
stage. This first attempt was The Good-natured Man
introduced. The life force of comedy is humour, which
which was a failure. The second play She Stoops to
was casted out in sentimental comedy. The writers of
Conquer was a great success. The plot was well-knit,
this school introduced characters from middle class life
mawkish sentimentality was driven out, the sense of
characterised by virtue without any grain of vice in
pathos supplanted by mirth and delight. In this he in-
them. They sought to eulogise virtue and condemn vice.
troduced the qualities of a true comedy.
Comedy writers were in fact moralists and their purpose
was to teach moral lessons through the medium of their Goldsmith was a versatile genius. He was born in
plays. They wanted to propagate something moral and Ireland as the second son of a poor Irish clergyman. His
pathetic and something edifying and genteel. childhood was not memorable with his illness, disfigu-
ration due to it and was often the laughing stock of his
Sentimental comedy remained popular for near-
mates and teachers. He struggled a lot to attain his live-
ly half a century. It drove out genuine comedy from the
lihood by trying different professions but succeeded in
English stage. It provided moral lectures and sentimen-
none of them. Finally he obtained a medical degree. But
tal platitudes in place of real entertainment. It was seri-
later he found literature as a means for livelihood. He
ous from the beginning to end and was entirely removed
got acquainted with Dr Johnson which provided a foun-
from the realities of life. It was replete with improbable
dation for the life-long friendship between them.
and unnatural situations; its characters were not real
Johnson's friendship proved valuable for Goldsmith.
men and women, but abstractions conceived in the
Johnson made him the member of the literary club. He
minds of the playwrights.
had high hopes from Goldsmith, which he later justified
Dramatists of the 18th century by writing. The Traveller, The Deserted Village, The
Vicar of Wakefield,, She Stoops to Conquer, The Retal-
Richard Steele (1672-1729) iation, The History of Greece and Animate Nature In
Steele, who popularized the Periodical Essay was 1774 he caught feven, of which he died.
 He was a great dramatist, novelist and an even a were associated with the comedy of humours.
greater essayist. He had a prominent place in the 18th - Sheridan and Goldsmith
century literature. He was a great poet, his prose of
r A legislation of the 18th century that restrained
astonishing range and volume. He wrote many essays
dramatists from writing plays with reflections on
on personal and impersonal objects in the manner of
the political figures of the day.
Addison. The essays of Goldsmith are characterised
by whimsicality, satire, mild humour and graceful charm. - The Licencing Act of 1737
They are satirical reflections upon society of his times. r The sentimental comedy was basically a reaction
He criticises manners and ideas in England. against
His prose style was graceful, charming and amia- - the comedy of humours
ble; pure and easy, and on proper occasion pointed and r The School for Scandal is a play by
energetic. It may be said that he is uniformly pleasing
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The Citizen of the World is a series of imaginary letters
from a philosophical Chinaman, writing letters home from r Name two plays of Oliver Goldsmith.
London, giving Goldsmith the opportunity of express- - She Stoops to Conquer and
ing his own mind upon the society and literature of the The Good-natured Man
day. His essays in The Bee are admirable. He wrote short
memoirs and lives such as Life of Beau Nash, Memoir
Prose of the 18th century (Age of Transition)
of Voltaire and Life of Bolingbroke. Types of prose of the period : In the period of transition,
His contribution to literature, whether in prose, prose was immensely enriched by the
verse or drama, was to sweeten and purify it from its contributions of a host of writers.
violence, coarseness and bitter wit. He had qualities of Critical prose : The work of Dr Johnson his Lives of
his own, a tranquil magic, a tender homeliness, a light Poets and Preface to Shakespeare.
iridescent humour that will ever endear him to posterity. Biographical prose : Biography was attempted with
As a stylist Goldsmith is definitely superior to Addi- great success by Boswell in Life of Dr Johnson.
son. He is great because style in inseparable from thought
Essay : Essay was cultivated both in the style of the
R.B. Sheridan (1751-1816) periodical essay and the personal essay by
Sheridan's dramas are written in the mood of satir- Dr Johnson and Goldsmith.
ical observation of life. He was not a psychologist but a Letters and memoir writers : Prose was used in writing
shrewd and penetrating observer ; he was more able to letters and memoirs and the prominent figures are
perceive the secret movement of vanity or envy than to Lady Mary Montague, Horace Walpole, Earl of
construct character. His main plays are The Rivals, The Chesterfield and Dr Johnson.
School for Scandal, The Critic, The Duenna, St. Historical prose : A number of authors wrote historical
Patrick's Day, The Scheming Lieutenant etc. Sheridan prose of rare charm and excellence. Hume,
has been justly called a dramatic star of the first magni- Robertson, and Edward Gibbon were prominent
tude. His prose comedies resemble the best of the Res- figures.
toration comedies. The plots are ingenious and effec-
Political prose : Edmund Burke and Bolingbroke were
tive. The dialogue is brilliant in its picturesque, epi-
the important political writers. Most of their work
grammatic repartee. The plays are remarkable for their
is characterised by political insight.
vitality and charm.
Prose fiction : The 18th century can be regarded as the
r Who is credited with the initiation of moral reform
age of fiction. For the first time, seasoned novelists
in drama ?
gave to English novel a form and a shape. The
- Collier best works of Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, Sterne
r Name two playwrights of the 18th century who ––– the four wheels of the English novel –– were
 produced in this period. The Gothic romancers of tionary registers and concentrates the intellectualisa-
the age, Mrs Ann Radcliffe, Horace Walpole and tion of the language effected by a whole century of
Mathew Gregory Lewis produced romanticism in analysis and logical effort. It remains, however, a mon-
fiction which was further carried forward in a ument of industry and intellectual conscience.
different style by Walter Scott. Dr Johnson as a critic
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) His fame as a critic of literature rests on The Lives
Johnson was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in of Poets and Preface to Shakespeare. He belonged to
1709 as the son of a small book seller. From his child- the school of judicial or dogmatic critics. His method as
hood Johnson had to struggle against physical defor- a critic is to pronounce verdicts and judgements ac-
mity and disease. He was a voracious reader and when cording to his understanding and his own personal
he entered Oxford he had read more classical authors appreciation of the authors whom he judged. In his crit-
than had most of the graduates. He had to leave the icism he was a neo-classicist and traditionalist, and his
university on account of his poverty. He had to strug- critical methods were diametrically opposed to that of
gle in the beginning to earn a living. But gradually suc- the critics of the romantic revival.
cess came to him steadily. He wrote poems and started The Lives of Poets
two magazines The Rambler and The Idler. In this work, Johnson presents the lives and poet-
His literary labours were rewarded when he re- ic characteristics of English poets from Chaucer to Al-
ceived a pension at the age of 53. He founded the exander Pope. This work is his longest and most popu-
Literary Club in which all the great literary men and lar one. In three volumes Johnson gives us biographi-
politicians of the time were members. His greatness lies cal and critical studies of fifty-two poets. In this book
in the Dictionary of the English Language which is a he gives less space to criticism and more to biography.
great contribution to scholarship. He was a great critic Preface to Shakespeare
too. The Lives of the Poets and Preface to Shakes- Dr Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare was pub-
peare are examples. He died in 1784. lished in 1765. Preface is remarkable for its
The Rambler ; The Idler forthright honesty in recognizing Shakespeare's faults
These magzines follow the tradition of the Specta- and in defending him against the charge of ignoring the
tor. The essays deal with a great variety of subjects and classical unities, and for its analysis of the causes of
the treatment was serious. The papers which appeared corruption in the text. The book is a landmark, not only
twice a week are full of deep thoughts and observa- in Shakespearean scholarship but also in English criti-
tions of Dr Johnson. Their aim is didactic. More of clas- cism as a whole.
sicism is to be found in Johnson's essays. The period- All Johnson's gifts are seen at their best in it, the
icals re-established the periodical essay, at a time when lucidity, the virile energy, the individuality of his style,
it was in danger of being superseded by the newspaper. the unique power of first playing himself on the level of
The Dictionary the plain man and then lifting the plain man to his stat-
ue, the resolute insistence of life and reason, not learn-
In 1749 Dr Johnson began the Dictionary of the
ing or ingenuity, as the standard by which books are to
English language and completed it in 8 years. It is the
be judged.
first ambitious attempt at an English lexicon. It has its
weakness ; it was a poor guide to pronunciation, the His limitations as a critic are mainly due to his
etymology was inaccurate. For the first time, authori- prejudices. He was led away by prejudice and under the
ties, for the actual use of words, were quoted. It was stress of bias failed to appreciate the merits of poets,
introduced by a very fine preface setting forth his lofty dramatists and novelists of repute. He wrote so well
aims to preserve the purity and ascertain the meaning and because he knew so much of real life. The power of
of our English idiom and prevent the language from his criticism springs not only from his intellect, but also
being overrun with 'cant' and Gallicized words. The dic- from him vitality. His prose style has been the object of
much ridicule, epitomized in the popular conception of Contribution of historians in the 18th century
'Johnsonese' as pompous, artificial, verbose Prose. During the 18th century two Scottish historians
Antithesis and Latin diction were conspicuous fea- David Hume and Robertson, and one English histori-
tures of his prose style. It is the most symmetrical as an, Edward Gibbon, made remarkable contribution to
well as one of the most vigorous, of the great prose history.
styles in English.
David Hume (1711-76)
Johnson's influence on English style was a good
one. He confirmed the tradition of order, correctness Hume was the great historian and philosopher of
and lucidity, which had begun with Dryden. He intro- England during the 18th century. His works are A Trea-
duced a greater variety of effect, a more complex sen- tise of Human Nature; Essays, Moral and Political and
tence structure and a more copious diction. The History of England, in six volumes. He was not a
trustworthy historian because he had no access to many
James Boswell (1740-1795) authentic documents. He never bothered about exacti-
Life of Johnson is considered one of the best bi- tude and he never carried the scientific scruple for exac-
ographies of the 18th century. This biography, which titude two far. His aim was to rise above events, group
appeared posthumously, is the them, judge them and extract what they had to teach. He
best biography of the great lit- possessed a clear and logical mind and a swift and bril-
erary man. Boswell presents liant narrative style. In the history of literature his work
the complete picture of Dr is of importance and being the first of the popular and
Johnson's bulky, awkward ap- literary histories of the country.
pearance, his brusque, over-
bearing manner, his porten- William Robertson (1721 - 1793)
tious voice, his uncouth ges- Robertson had greater merits than Hume. The read-
ture, and attitudes, his habit er is struck by his prudence and taste for precision. He
of whistling, all these have created the impression of a very safe mind, fully
come down to us, together equipped for the pursuit of truth. His main works are
with the record of a great mass The History of Scotland, History of the Reign of Em-
of his conversation and a viv- peror Charles V, and History of America. We find in
James Boswell
id picture of incisive and com- him a judicial and critical spirit as well as a broader and
prehensive mind. more philosophic outlook.
The work is the first standard biography and the Tobias Smollett (1721 - 1771)
merit of the book lies in the fact that for the first time we
He wrote The History of England. The work was
have a faithful record of Johnson with all his faults and quickly written. His work in clear and lively and it is
merits. It brings us in closer contact with Dr Johnson because of his realism and penetrating Psychology
who influenced the course of literature and life during that his history makes an interesting reading.
his times. It is full of anecdotes and conversation.
Edward Gibbon (1737-94)
Boswell is too careful a biographer. Modern biographers
differ from the technique of Boswell. He was the great historian of England during the
18th century. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Em-
They lay importance on selection and dramatic pre-
pire (1777) in 6 volumes is his masterpiece. It ranks as
sentation rather than on mere recording of irrelevant facts.
of one of the greatest of historical works. It is an exam-
In that aspect, Boswell's biography is an ill-assorted mass
ple of what a history ought to be. Gibbon treats the
of work on facts of Dr. Johnson's multifarious personali- history of Rome from the second century to the end of
ty. In spite of it being out of fashion, it remains one of the the fifth and then follows the Byzantine empire, until
outstanding works in the field of biography. the fall of Constantinople. In time it covers more than a
thousand years, in scope it includes all the nations of r Lives of Poets and Preface to Shakespeare are
Europe. The subject is the revolution of a world order. works by
He was completely master of his subject and treatment - Dr Samuel Johnson
of his theme is so discriminating and thorough that he r ––– was an important political writer of the
cannot be superseded. eighteenth century.
Edmund Burke (1729-97) - Edmund Burke
Burke was a famous Irish r The Castle of Ortranto is a Gothic novel by
orator, historian, scholar and - Horace Walpole
political writer. His philosophic r The magazines, The Rambler and The Idler, were
writings are A Vindication of started by
Natural Society, and The Ori-
- Dr Johnson
gin of Our Ideas of the Sublime
and Beautiful. His political writ- r The Rambler and The Idler followed the tradition of
ings mainly concerned with the - The Spectator
American Revolution, Warren r Goldsmith's work which is in the form of a series of
Hastings and the French Revo- Edmund Burke
letters from a philosophical Chinaman.
lution. He was a practical politi-
- The Citizen of the World
cian applying to the problems of his day the light of a
clear and forcible intelligence. He was a great orator and r Life of Johnson is the biography of the great critic
his speeches were remarkable for their political wisdom, by
stateliness and rhetorical power. His prose style is char- - James Boswell
acterised by proportion, dignity and harmony. He has r Who is the author of The Decline and Fall of the
the tendency and capacity of building up an argument of Roman Empire ?
a picture by a succession of complementary strokes lead-
- Edward Gibbon
ing one on the other . Rhetoric, in his hand, assumes a
great force; amplification becomes superb and declama- r –––– was a famous Irish orator, historian, political
tion reaches its perfection. writer and his prominent work is A Vindication of
Natural Society.
Memoir writing
- Edmund Burke
Memoir literature enjoyed a greater vogue in France
than in England. The most famous series of letters of Origin and rise of the English novel
this period have a common character. They express in
Of all the major literary forms, the novel is of recent
the field of familiar moralising or of the worldly inter
origin. But the germs of the novel lay in medieval ro-
course, the spirit of a society eager for truth, greed, for
mance, a fantastic tale of love and adventure. In 1350,
pleasure, cosmopolitian in taste, secretly distasteful or
Boccaccio wrote Decameron, a world famous collection
hostile with regard to any enthusiasm or any rigorous
of love stories in prose. Such short stories are called in
discipline. The prominent writers are Lady Montague,
Italian "novelle" which meant a novel or fresh story but
Philipstanhope, Robert Walpole, Horace Walpole,
gradually it signified a story in prose as distinguished
Junius etc.
from a story in verse usually called a 'romance'. When
Horace Walpole's memoirs give a highly satirical prose became the universal medium, 'romance' came to
picture of court life during the reign of George II. He signify a story or series of stories of the legendary past.
was a witty, satirical letter writer. Stanhop's Letters to Malory's Morte de Arthur is an example. It is the loosest
His Son is the advice tendered to his son of seven, is literary form having full freedom of a full representation
not meant for him but is the expression of his own views of real life and character. It is a very effective medium for
and disburdening of his own heart. the portrayal of human thought and action.
 Many Elizabethans wrote prose works of fiction virtues and became a moralistic novelist. He laid empha-
similar to that of the novel. They are Lyly's Euphues, sis on sensibility and sentiment, and introduced pathos
Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde and Sidney's Arcadia. They in his novels. He was all serious. He sought his plots in
were all romances. The realistic element became prom- the middle class life. He brushed aside the paraphernalia
inent in Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller. of romance and brought in realism. His greatest ability
Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress has in it many ele- lies in characterisation. His important works are Pamela,
ments of novel proper. Robinson Crusoe Defoe pro- Clarissa Harlowe and Sir Charles Glandison.
duced the first English novel of genius. It can be de-
Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
scribed as a 'picaresque' novel like Don Quixote of
Cervantes. Swift's Gulliver's Travels is also a work of Fielding introduced solid and plausible realism in
fiction. his novels. He sought to present a realistic picture of
society as he witnessed around him, with all its follies,
The English novel was almost an off shoot of the
foibles, and weaknesses. He aimed to be a reformer and
periodical essay. Addison and Steele presented imagi-
a moralist and made efforts to purge off the evils ram-
nary characters like sir Roger de Coverley. In the first
pant in the society. His weapons were irony, satire, and
half of the 18th century, the novel acquired its modern
scathing criticism. The fame of Fielding rests on his
form. The first English novel Pamela was written by
four novels Joseph Andrews, Jonathan Wild, Tom Jones
Richardson in the form of letters Henry Fielding wrote
and Amelia.
Joseph Andrews as a parody of Pamela. Tom
Jones is Fielding's masterpiece. Fielding's contribution Tobias Smollett
to English prose fiction is substantial. He is out and out Smollet added satiric caricatures to the novel. He
a realist. The next great pillar of the English novel was has a certain waspishness of character which finds an
Laurence Sterne. His Tristram Shandy was a forerunner expression in all his novels. He has a knack for present-
in using stream of consciousness method which is prac- ing sarcastic and boisterous picture of life and he was
tised by 20th century novelists. Smollett's novels deal drawn more towards ugliness and evil than towards
with sea life. Gothic novel, born in Germany, was intro- goodness and faithfulness in his novels. He was obvi-
duced in England by Horace Walpole and Mrs ously obsessed with dirt. He had a descriptive and nar-
Radcliffe. Gothic novels deal with horror and mystery. rative gift and his picture of sea-life was unparalleled in
It was transplanted to America by Edgas Allen Poe. English literature. His fame as a novelist rests on Rod-
Among the later novelists, Oliver Goldsmith de- erick Random, The Adventures of Sir Lancelot Greaves,
serves special mention for his brilliant studies in char- Humphry Clinker.
acter, easy, innate style in The Vicar of' Wakefield, which Laurence Sterne (1713-1768)
became a model for writers of victorian prose fiction.Dr.
He opposed sentiment to reason, sensation to re-
Johnson used the novel as a vehicle for moral philoso-
flection. He did not care for the regular development of the
phy in his Rasselas Fanny Burney established the ad-
plot. He introduced the impressionistic method of story
vent of women novelists with her Evelina in 1778.
telling which was later popularised by James Joyce and
Novel in the 18th Century others. He delineated humorous characters. He carried
forward the sentimentality of Richardson. His major works
Eighteenth century novel begins with Richardson
are The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent and A
and ends with the coming of Jane Austen.
Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.
Samuel Richardson (1689-1761)
Oliver Goldsmith
He was the first of the great novelists of the 18th
Goldsmith introduced the subject of domes-
century. He was a spokesman of his own times and
tic life and happy fire side as the subject of fiction. His
imparted a new tone and touch to English fiction. He
entire contribution to novel rests only on one novel
made a close study of the feminine heart and revealed it
The Vicar of Wakefield. It is a benign comedy of do-
in his novels. He emphasized the cultivation of moral
mesticity and human character. He pointed out idea- was Gay's Beggar's Opera, and The Dragon of
lised picture of country side in his novel. He followed Wantley by Henry Carey. Operas were
the direct method of narration through the principal characterised by humorous scenes, pretty songs,
character of the hero. He laid emphasis on the story and rollicking fun, and clever dialogues.
characterization. His characters were life-like and had Burlesque : Burlesque is a kind of satirical play in
force in them. He contributed much to the pathetic vein which the spirit of true comedy is presented in a
in the novel. Satire, morality, reformative zeal was also satirical manner. 18th century writers excelled in
there in his work. writing Burlesque. Carey's The Tragedy of
Pamela Chronohotonthologos, Henry Fielding's The
Tragedy of Tragedies, or The life and Death of
It is the first English novel written by Richardson
Tom Thumb the Great were popular.
in the form of letters. It consists of a series of familiar
letters from a young beautiful girl to her parents. So it is Farce : Farce is a low type of comedy, replete with
an epistolery novel. It has a sub-title Virtue Rewarded. ludicrous situations, deficient in plot -
The story is very simple. Pamela, a virtuous maid ser- construction, and sober characters. The aim of the
vant resists the attempts of seduction by the son of her farce writers is to produce hoarse laughter and
late land lady. Finally, a proposal of marriage comes tickle the fancies of the audience so that through
from his and it is accepted. Pamela is part of a trilogy the play there may be fun and nothing else. The
alongwith Clarissa Harlowe and Sir Charles Grandison. most prolific writers of the farcial comedy were
Samuel Foote, Fielding, George Colman etc.
Factors that led to the rapid growth of novel in
the 18th century. Daniel Defoe : (1661-1731). The real beginning of the
English novel took place in the 18th century with the
Factors that led to the rapid growth of novel are
work of Daniel Defoe. His Robinson Crusoe has held
the decline of drama, rise of the periodical essay of
its popularity undiminished for nearly two hundred
Addison and Steele,and the availability of material need-
and fifty years. The hero represents the whole of
ed for the development of novel. Horace Walpole was
human society, doing with his own hands, all the
the first great Gothic romancer and his monumental work
things which by the division of labour and demands
is The Castle of Otranto. It was professed to be a trans-
of modern civilization are now done by many.
lation of a medieval Italian Romance. In it he painted the
life and manners of the feudal period. Impossibilities for Adam Smith (1723-90) : Smith's famous book The Wealth
the sake of horror are introduced in the novel. Original- of Nations,written in 1776, is looked upon as the
ly he aimed to find a middle way between medieval ro- foundation of political economy as a science.It laid
mance and the matter-of-fact novel. the foundations of modern economic theory.
Pantomime : Pantomime became popular in the 18th Thomas Gray (1716-1771) : In Gray's "letters", which
century. Rich, a theatre manager, found it very are infinitely various, we can read the whole story
profitable and produced several pantomimes which of his life and personality. They are full of
attracted popular attraction. It is acting without scholarship, wisdom and wit in the best sense of
speech, using only posture, gesture, bodily the word.
movement and exaggerated facial expression to William Cowper (1731-1800) : His Letters are perhaps
mine (mimic) a character's actions and to express a the best in the language, being absolutely natural,
character's feelings. Rich's pantomimes were graceful and frank. He had the gift to making
puppet shows. Later on Fielding satirised them in trivailities interesting in easy and attractive style.
his novels. A steep decline followed and the vogue r John Lyly's Euphues, Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde
of writing pantomimes came to an end. and Sidney's Arcadia could be collectively
Opera : Opera in Italian style was also cultivated in categorised as
18th century. By far the best of the ballad - operas - Romances
r Name Daniel Defoe's novel which is picaresque in nature
- Robinson Crusoe
r Who is the author of Pamela, the first English novel ?
- Richardson
r Henry Fielding wrote a parody of Pamela entitled
- Joseph Andrews
r Name Laurence Sterne's novel, which is regarded as the forerunner of the stream of consciousness novel
practised by writers of the 20th century.
- Tristram Shandy
r Gothic novel, which had its beginning in Germany, was introduced in England by
- Horace Walpole
r –––– is the masterpiece of Henry Fielding.
- Tom Jones
r Gothic novels are characterised by
- horror and mystery
r Who is credited with the introduction of Gothic fiction in America ?
- Edgar Allan Poe
r Amelia and Jonathan Wild are novels by
- Henry Fielding
r A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy is the work of
- Laurence Sterne
r Which novel of Richardson is sub-titled as Virtue Rewarded ?
- Pamela
r ––– is acting without speech, using only posture, gesture, bodily movement and exaggerated facial expression
to mimic a character's actions.
- Pantomime
r Who is the author of the Wealth of Nations which is regarded as the foundation of political economy?
- Adam Smith