MAN AND SOCIETY
“To be in Society is merely a bore. But to be out of it simply a tragedy. Society is a necessary thing.”
― Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
On this page we’ll try to explain the relationship between the authors of the different periods and their society and basically we’re going to illustrate the distinct approaches of these writers to the society in which they lived.
As we’ll try our best to make this commentary intelligible, please be tolerant of the eventual misunderstandings.
R. Piccioli Cappelli, M.V. Rossi, T. Ye
*click on the bold to move towards the text analisys
RENAISSANCE
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England which covers the 16th and the 17th century. During this period a general concept of order was inherited from the medieval view of the world: the great chain of being or better known as the chain of being. Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically extended. Furthermore there was a new interest in the individual as the maker of his own destiny, in the ideal of self-development through action and pragmatism. The greatest influence on the new literature wa Humanism. The latter encouraged confidence in the power of human reason to interpret man and nature.
John Donne
From the concept of correspondence between the individual and the universe and the hierarchy order of the chain of being, John Donne inherited the view of man as a microcosm of the universe and the whole world as epitome of man.
John Milton
John Milton took inspiration from the chain of being to describe the universe as a social hierarchy, on top of which, there was God. The refusal of Satan to respect this hierarchy reflected the social will to rise against the establishment stated by the society.
ENLIGHTENMENT
The 18th century, also known as the Augustan age, is considered as a “golden age” for English literature. In this moment cultural innovations and public debate were important and the “art of pleasing” started being an ideal. Morality and fashion demanded simplicity and emotional authenticity and a tendence in develop individual happiness and pleasure was developed. As these aspects took place in everybody’s life, also women tried to take the lead. English women were more independent and active and some of them started a writer career, like Aphra Behn, the first professional women writer. They also influenced the rise of the novel: they wanted to read stories about ordinary people of their days, instead of adventures of the heroes of the past. In addition, the access to books increased thanks to the circulating libraries.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe wrote to a bourgeois public about society, and in particular, he was concerned with everything that could affect the social status. The belief in the power of reason and the individual’s trust in his own abilities of that period made him write about Crusoe, whose willingness to isolate himself made him understand that man thrives only living with his fellows.
Jonathan Swift
His work can be classified as an utopian novel as the author shows imaginary nations with strange new societies and people employed to satirise contemporary English society. With his novel he tries to expose the behaviour of his time, bringing other societies and other examples of life.
Samuel Richardson
His epistolary novel “Pamela” reports what a woman of the 18th century would suffer, without rights nor chance to speak out. In the novel Richardson has not reported his own opinion, but his work certainly shows a step forward to the affirmation of women's rights.
Henry Fielding
Similar to the Spanish picaresque novel “El Lazarillo de Tormes”, Fielding writes about a young boy, who has to survive with his tyrannical masters and misfortunes. Here the society is described according to the vision of the author, who reports situations as they are, and a selfish society focused on the survival of the smartest.
Laurence Sterne
The main feature of the author is the use of irony and humour, which are employed to present a bizarre and strange-mannered society. By doing that, Sterne criticizes, in an unconventional way, the community in which he lived through a genuine parody of the latter.
ROMANTICISM
Romantic philosophy revolves around nature, and the relationship the 18th-century European society has with it. For the Romantics, nature helped to enhance the individual experience: in a society overturned by the Industrial Revolution and mass-migration to the cities, nature was able to stay pure and uncorrupted and, therefore, almost spiritual. A truly good life could only be lived outside the society that had now become deeply corrupted. When the Romantics write about life in the city, the mood becomes darker and heavier, emphasizing the idea of a corrupt society.
The Romantics were against the raising bourgeoisie class, who promoted, defended, and openly profited by the recent Revolution. They believed that men and women should be guided by warm emotions rather than the cold abstract rules and rituals established by Bourgeois society. Soon the Romantic movement became a protest against the consumer society lacking in moral, ethics and genuine emotions.
William Blake
Blake focused on the political and social issues of his time (abolition of slavery and so on), and in particular, he was concerned about the evil consequences of the Industrial Revolution: all the injustices caused by a materialistic attitude and the commercial exploitation of human beings. Blake sympathised with the victims of the industrial society, like children and prostitutes.
William Wordsworth
Throughout the poem "The World Is Too Much with Us in It”, the author seems to scold mankind for losing the connection with nature in order to pursue physical ‘pleasures’ such as wealth and prosperity. Wordsworth strives for a society inspired by the Classical Era (Ancient Roman and Greece) where nature, through the veneration of natural Gods, is worshipped and celebrated.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
One of the main themes Coleridge focused on in his poems is the concept of innocence. In Coleridge's works, innocence is a deep state of being, in which one's thoughts and emotions are unified and without the conflicts experienced by the majority of "experienced" humanity. In brief, innocence is for Coleridge the only human condition uncorrupted by societal issues.
Mary Shelley
“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
-Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Bram Stoker
“He was very pale, and his eyes seemed bulging out as, half in terror and half in amazement, he gazed at a tall, thin man, with a beaky nose and black moustache and pointed beard... ”
-Bram Stoker, Dracula