The Neoclassical Period (1688-1789)

Info

- neoclassicism - era of rationalism/Enlightenment in literature and other arts
- social and economic condition

- period of turbulent and often painful changes

- rationalism - human reason other than revelation or authority is source of all knowledge; orthodoxy deadening into traditionalism

- traditionalism - reverence for tradition as source of authority

- neoclassical idea of man and world was neither new nor entirely at odds with Christian worldview

Terms

- epic - long, stylized poem celebrating deeds of national or ethnic hero

- epigram - short poem making wise/humorous observation ending with witty twist

- genre - standard type or category of literature

- tragedy - drama ending unhappily

- satire - corrective ridicule

- comedies - drama ending happily

- odes

- heroic couplet - couplets of iambic pentameter

- realism - attempt to create illusion of reality by use of seemingly random detail or by inclusion of ordinary or unpleasant in life

- sentimental drama

- fiction

Citations

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.