The term neoclassicism refers to the classically influenced artistic movement that began in the seventeenth century (1600s) and dominated English and European literature through the eighteenth century (1700s). It is commonly said that the neoclassical era ended in 1798, when the English poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads. This work ushered in the romantic movement. 

The neoclassical movement spanned two centuries and evolved over time. The basic elements of clarity, concise wording, and balance remained important elements throughout the movement.

Writers in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century (late 1500s and early 1600s), such as Ben Jonson, did not call themselves neoclassical. However, they distinguished themselves from their peers in their writing and their philosophy. For example the metaphysical poets of the late sixteenth century embraced complexity. In contrast, the emerging neoclassical poets sought simple and clear structure.

This section reviews the religious turmoil of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (1500s and 1600s). During that time, religion was such a large part of daily life that it affected almost every part of British culture, including literature. 

1517 - Martin Luther’s "The 95 Theses": In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed a document now known as "The 95 Theses" to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. In this document, Luther listed 95 questions about the practices of the Catholic Church, including the corruption of the clergy. The recent invention of the printing press greatly helped the distribution of Luther's list. Although the Catholic Church denounced Luther as a heretic, his ideas became popular and sparked the Protestant Reformation. This movement, which sought to reform the Catholic Church, would eventually lead to the establishment of the Protestant religion.

1534 - King Henry VIII Splits from the Catholic Church: The English Reformation began when Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church in the 1530s. He did so because the church did not allow him to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. He also wanted ownership of church property in England. King Henry VIII broke off from the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England to grant his divorce and allow his marriage to a new wife. In addition, British nobles gained control of property that had belonged to the Catholic Church. Henry also wanted to change some of the practices and doctrines of the church since many Protestants were unhappy with what they saw as corruption in the existing Catholic Church. He established a new official religion in England that transferred power from the pope to the king. As a result, King Henry VIII increased his political, financial, and religious control. Despite these profound changes, church doctrine in England remained mostly the same.

1547 — 1553 - Edward VI Reforms the Church of England: Edward VI, son of Henry VIII, was the king of England and Ireland from 1537 to 1553. He had been educated by Protestant tutors and was Protestant himself. Edward VI was encouraged by a fellow Protestant to make sweeping changes to the Anglican Church. King Edward encouraged the Parliament to pass laws making religious services simpler so that the common people could understand what was being said. In addition, Anglican priests were allowed to marry. The king adopted Protestant doctrine but preserved the rituals and structure of Catholicism. At the same time, the power of the Pope and Catholicism was on the decline in England and other parts of Europe.

1553 - Mary I Comes to the Throne: Just as Britons had begun to adjust to Protestantism, Queen Mary I, eldest daughter of Henry VIII and sister to Edward VI, brought sweeping change. She was the queen of England from July 1553 until 1558. Unlike her father, Mary never gave up Catholicism. After she was crowned, she married a Catholic prince from Spain. She reconciled with the pope and restored Catholicism in England. This action caused panic among many English citizens. Though she reigned for only five years, Mary I had almost 300 protestants burned at the stake and sent another 800 into exile. Her allegiance to Catholicism inspired her to start many social reforms, but they were unsuccessful.

1558 — 1603 - Reign of Elizabeth I: After Mary's death, her half-sister, Elizabeth I, became queen. Elizabeth ruled over England and Ireland from 1533 to1603. She was well educated, intelligent, and shrewd. Her 45-year reign is considered one of the most glorious periods in English history. Some of the most notable writers of that age flourished during her reign. Elizabeth I also established a secure Church of England and sought to create compromise between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. However, both Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants were often persecuted.

1560 — 1660 - Puritanism Takes Root: Many in England followed their leaders from Anglicanism to Catholicism and back to avoid being persecuted. However, a group of devout Protestants maintained their beliefs despite persecution. This group felt that English monarchs did not do enough to free the Anglican Church from its Catholic roots. At the same time, they believed the Church of England could be salvaged. It simply needed "purification." Because of this belief, this particular group of Protestants became known as Puritans. They formed a religious reform movement within the Church of England. The central belief of Puritanism was God’s supreme authority over human affairs and in the church, as expressed in the Bible.

Puritans adopted the basic principles of Calvinism, a Protestant movement established by the French minister John Calvin during the Reformation. One of Calvin’s central beliefs was predestination. The term predestination means that God’s will alone determines whether a person is destined for heaven or hell. Nothing—not wealth, achievements, power, or even good deeds—could change a person's destiny. 

This concept was in direct conflict with Catholicism and Anglicanism, both of which believed in free will. According to the doctrine of free will, a person can earn salvation in heaven through good deeds and holy behavior.

Puritans rejected the idea of free will. They also believed in the concept of original sin, meaning that humans are flawed, sinful beings who can be saved only through the grace of God. For this reason, Puritans placed great emphasis on faith: faith that God would choose them for salvation, faith in God's plans, and faith in their way of life.

Ben Jonson's poems reflect the emerging neoclassical style that would soon dominate English literature, as is seen in their consistency and clear, direct expression of ideas. As the term neoclassical suggests, Jonson looked back to the classical styles and forms of the ancient Greeks and Romans, emphasizing balance and strong rhythmic meter. At the time, Jonson's elegant and restrained works stood in contrast to metaphysical poet John Donne's notorious "rough" line and complex metaphors.

Breakdown: Ben Jonson wrote before neoclassical style was fully formed as a style itself. But we know it was different from other writers at the time (John Donne, a metaphysical poet) due to how different their writing is.

The two poems by Jonson explored in this lesson come from a section of The Works of Benjamin Jonson called "Epigrams." The term epigram typically refers to a short, witty, and negative poem that has a surprise twist at the end. Jonson, however, used the term more broadly. Jonson's epigrams are concise and witty but often lack a negative slant.

"On My First Son" is 12 lines long—just two lines short of a sonnet. As in a sonnet, Jonson introduces a problem in the beginning of the poem (line 2). Scholars have two differing interpretations of the poem based on the idea that it is an incomplete sonnet. 

• Some scholars believe that the last lines of the poem do not offer a solution to the problem that Jonson presents. These scholars claim that Jonson expresses a morbid acceptance of his son's passing. According to this view, the two missing lines stand for the loss of Jonson's son. 

• Other scholars believe that the last line does contain a solution. This theory draws on the first stanza, in which Jonson assumes blame for his son's death. He believes he may have loved his son too much to be able to survive his loss. In the last line, Jonson states that he will never love anything as much again. If he never loves anything as strongly as he loved his son, he will never again feel such suffering. Therein lies his solution to the "problem" of loving his son too much.

Although the poem is rather short and seems simple, it is deceptive in its simplicity. Rhyming couplets provide a strong rhythm that is usually associated with more upbeat topics. This contrast adds emotional complexity to the poem. At the same time, the structured iambic pentameter adds an element of elegant restraint to Jonson's grief.

The life of John Bunyan is just as remarkable as Jonson's. Nothing about Bunyan’s childhood suggests he would become a world famous writer and preacher. Born in 1628 to a poor metalworker, he received little schooling. He spent much of his childhood learning his father's trade. Like Jonson, Bunyan also spent time in the military. His life changed when he discovered the Baptist faith and became a preacher. While established Protestant sects had strict requirements for ordaining clergy, Baptists simply needed to feel inspired to serve God. During the mid-1600s, male and female preachers were common among Baptists and other new Protestant sects. Some of these preachers had even less education than Bunyan. They believed their knowledge and inspiration came directly from God. Bunyan recounts his own conversion from sinner to preacher in his 1666 autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

Unfortunately for Bunyan, the Anglican Church began to crack down on non-Anglican religious sects in 1660. Bunyan was given a choice: stop preaching and renounce his Baptist faith, or go to jail. Bunyan chose jail. He served his sentence from 1660 to 1672 and spent the time preaching to fellow prisoners and writing religious books. During his second imprisonment (for similar charges in 1675), Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress. Despite his persecuted religious stance, The Pilgrim's Progress became one of the era's most popular books in both England and the American colonies. His other major works were all written after his second imprisonment. They include the second part of The Pilgrim's Progress, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, and The Holy War.

As you read, pay attention not only to the basic plot but also to the names of the characters and the trials that they face. As with any allegory, this excerpt is packed with symbolic meaning. 

• Click here to read the excerpt from Edmentum!

• Having a rough time understanding the text? Click here for a modern English translation of The Pilgrim's Progress - start on page 5!

Need a refresher on what an allegory is? Take a look at these notes from English 11A!

In the mid-seventeenth century (mid-1600s), England experienced great political and religious upheaval. 

At the center of that turmoil was King Charles I and England’s Parliament. These opposing forces disagreed over how the country should be governed. By 1642, escalating tensions between the two sides erupted in civil war. England was split into armed camps. Royalists supported Charles I and the English monarchy. Parliamentarians supported shifting some of the monarch's power to Parliament. The war between the Royalists and Parliamentarians ended with the defeat of Charles I and his Scottish allies at the Battle of Preston in 1648.

The victorious Parliamentary army had been led by Oliver Cromwell. He and his supporters took control of Parliament. They arrested 45 members who supported King Charles I and prevented many others from participating in the proceedings. The army then ordered the remaining 75 members to put Charles I on trial for the crime of treason. The king was found guilty and sentenced to death. Yet many members of Parliament were hesitant to execute a former king. In fact, several members later claimed that they were forced to sign the orders to execute Charles I against their will. Ultimately, Charles I was executed by public decapitation in 1649. After his death, England became the only significant European power without a monarch. Parliament declared itself the country’s sole governing body. In May 1649, it also declared England a commonwealth, or democratic nation.

When fighting broke out in 1642, Cromwell became an officer in the Parliamentary army. He was a brilliant soldier and commander and quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant-general (second in command). He became renowned for his ability to maintain supply chains and financial support for his army.

When fighting came to a temporary halt, Cromwell returned to Parliament. There he launched new criticisms of the relationship between the king and Parliament. He opposed Parliament's desire to make peace with Charles I without major democratic or religious reforms.

After a temporary peace, Cromwell led the Parliamentary army to victory against new Royalist uprisings. He believed the king’s death was the only way to end the conflict for good and supported his execution. After the king’s death, Parliament chose Cromwell to lead a takeover of Ireland. Cromwell's brutal treatment of Ireland led to another victory for England in 1653.

George Monck, the head of the army, took control of England after the collapse of the Commonwealth. Within a year, Parliament voted to restore the monarchy. Charles II, the son of Charles I, had spent the Cromwell years in exile in Europe. He was crowned king of England, Ireland, and Scotland in April 1661. 

This period is known as the Restoration.

Charles II's reign was marked by a backlash against the strong Puritanism that had ruled the land for more than a decade. Parliament passed anti-Puritan and anti-Catholic laws. Despite such laws, most of England welcomed the Restoration as a period of stability and peace. Charles II was a well-liked monarch who became a patron of the arts and sciences.

The Restoration was meant to mark a return to normalcy. In many ways, England did prosper. Colonization and international trade increased considerably at this time. Yet the country faced many challenges. War broke out with the Dutch in 1665. Other difficulties included the return of the deadly bubonic plague and the Great Fire of London. These tragedies shook the stability of Charles's newly reestablished monarchy.

Charles's brother and successor, James, was Roman Catholic. His religious background became another source of tension. In the late 1670s, some people accused the Catholic Church of planning to murder Charles II so that England could have a Catholic king. This rumor set off a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria that resulted in a number of executions. These events contributed to the development of two political parties in England, the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs opposed the monarchy, while the Tories supported it. Overall, popular support for Charles II increased because people were concerned that Parliament was becoming too powerful.

Charles II died in 1685, and his brother James became King James II. Already disliked, James II lost even more popularity with a series of pro-Catholic actions. A group of powerful Protestant nobles asked Protestant Dutch leader William III to invade England. They wanted him to rule alongside his wife, Mary, who was James I's daughter and heiress to the throne. The condition was that they rule under a Bill of Rights that transferred some power to Parliament.

When William and Mary arrived in England in 1688, support for James had nearly vanished. He eventually fled into exile. In what is known as the Glorious Revolution, England welcomed the new royals. The Bill of Rights established basic rules for royal succession, which brought lasting political stability. William and Mary jointly took the throne in 1689. They led the country into the eighteenth century.

Milton toured Europe in 1638. On his journey, he met with many famous personalities, including the noted astronomer Galileo Galilee.

Milton returned to his home country during the English Civil War. He spent the next decade writing political pamphlets in support of various Puritan and Parliamentary causes. Milton also became a supporter of Oliver Cromwell. In return, Cromwell named Milton secretary of foreign tongues. That job included translating foreign correspondence to and from Latin. In addition, Milton produced propaganda in defense of the Commonwealth. Some of these works included his celebrated defenses of the English people. He also wrote Aeropagitica, one of his most famous pieces. Aeropagitica was a pamphlet against censorship. Milton also published writings in defense of divorce and on the subject of marital happiness.

Over the next two decades, as he wrote political defenses for the Commonwealth, Milton experienced a series of personal tragedies. In 1642, he married 16-year-old Mary Powell. His wife bore a son, who died young. She also gave birth to three daughters who lived to adulthood. However, Mary died while giving birth to their youngest daughter in 1652. Around this time, Milton also started to lose his sight. He was completely blind by 1654. He remarried in 1656, but his second wife soon died from complications after childbirth. The child she bore with Milton also soon died.

Tragedy struck again for Milton when Cromwell died and the Commonwealth of England collapsed. Milton had grown increasingly radical in both politics and religion. He now became more and more isolated. He enlisted the help of an assistant to continue writing pamphlets in support of the Puritan cause. After the restoration of the monarchy, Milton was punished for his part in Cromwell's government. He was briefly imprisoned, was stripped of much of his property, and saw his writings burned. He withdrew to focus on religious study and poetry, and later married the young Betty Minshull in 1663.

Even more challenging to read than enjambment is Milton’s complex syntax (sentence structure). Milton often places words in an entirely different order than we are used to. This choice is often attributed to the influence of Latin on his work. Milton wrote many of his early poems in Latin, which has no set word order for sentences. Look at the following lines from Paradise Lost:

When Satan still in gaze, at first he stood,
Scarce thus at length faild speech recoverd sad

Rewritten with less complex syntax, these lines could be understood like this:

Scarcely had this finished when Satan,
who was still gazing as he had been when he first stood, recovered the speech he had lost and spoke, sadly, at length.

Understanding Milton's complex syntax is one of the most important parts of reading his poetry. It may be necessary to reread a stanza or poem three or four times to comprehend his words. Look at another example:

Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles
Wanted, nor youthful dalliances as beseems
Fair couple, linkt in happie nuptial League,
Alone as they…

These lines from Paradise Lost describe Adam and Eve's idyllic time in the Garden of Eden before their fall from grace. Rewritten without complex syntax, the lines might read this way (note that "gentle purpose" means conversation):

They did not lack easy conversation, or endearing smiles,
Or youthful flirtation that is fitting for a fair couple
Who were happily married and as alone [as] they were.

Milton's allusions and syntax enhance his poetry, even as they make its reading more difficult. His unique phrasing and complex metaphors are part of why his writing is so well respected to this day.

Milton wrote the two poems "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" around the same time that he wrote "On Shakespeare." The two poems are best understood when read together. They explore two different lifestyles that are opposite in nature yet still balance each other in a meaningful way.

The word l’allegro means “cheerful person” in Italian. The poem "L'Allegro" describes happy scenes, such as an idyllic day of work in the country or a summer festival. Its imagery creates an active, gleeful tone. In contrast, the term il pensieroso means “thoughtful, pensive person.” The poem "Il Penseroso" describes a scholarly, pensive life. Its tone is much darker and more subdued than that of "L'Allegro."

By balancing the poems’ contrasting tones, Milton makes clear that the life of a cheerful person is just as meaningful as that of a pensive person.

Click here to read both poems!

Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost is considered one of the greatest works in the English language. It tells the story of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Paradise Lost chiefly describes Satan’s rebellion and his success in tempting Adam and Eve to disobey God’s command. It also narrates the consequences of Adam and Eve's disobedience. 

Milton wrote Paradise Lost in the midst of personal, religious, and political struggles. He composed the entire poem while he was blind, relying on assistants to transcribe verses that he recited. During the writing of Paradise Lost, Milton had also become estranged from popular Protestant and Puritan beliefs. His belief in free will separated him from the Puritans and their doctrine of predestination. The importance of freely choosing to follow God's path is a major theme in Paradise Lost. 

Milton published a sequel, Paradise Regained, four years later. However, it was not as well received as the first work.

Click here to read the excerpts from Paradise Lost!

Despite relative stability, the eighteenth century was not completely peaceful. The death of the childless Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart line, once again left Britons without a clear successor to the throne. Some years earlier, Parliament foresaw this problem and passed the Act of Settlement. This act secured the succession of the crown to Protestant members of the House of Hanover. In 1714, the German-born George I inherited the throne. Thus began the Hanoverian era. The Hanover heirs ruled Great Britain and Ireland until 1901.

George I spoke very little English. This fact bothered many British nobles, who formed the Jacobites, a group that supported the restoration of the Stuart line. The Jacobites led two major rebellions—one in 1715 and another in 1745. However, both of these uprisings and other lesser disturbances were easily crushed by the British army.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 distributed power between the king and the two Houses of Parliament. For the first 20 years of this new system, all three parties (the king, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons) were involved in political decisions. Eventually, however, the House of Commons and its leader, now known as the prime minister, emerged as the chief policymakers.

Prime Minister Robert Walpole helped make the office what it is today. He is also remembered for maintaining Britons' confidence through a series of financial setbacks involving risky overseas investments.

Walpole also kept the peace as the day's rival political parties, the Whigs and the Tories, argued over the direction of the country. The Tories were mainly conservative and pro-nobility. The Whigs were more liberal and often sided with the rising middle class. From the Walpole era onward, the position of prime minister has become more and more influential. Today the British prime minister is the chief executive of the British government.

Click here to watch this video explaining how 3 important philosophers thought of freedom, government, and how that balances with your citizenship to your country.

Although the broader readership that resulted from increased literacy and ease of printing would seem like a boon to writers, it also created some problems. Some scholars worried that an increasingly democratic use of the great English language put it in danger. They reasoned that when poorly educated people read, wrote, and spoke, they corrupted the language.

Today, if you do not know how to spell a word, you look it up in the dictionary. During the early eighteenth century, there were few dictionaries. Those that did exist were mainly collections of difficult words or translation dictionaries (Latin to English, for example). There was no authority on the "correct" way to use or spell words.

This lack of authority also caused problems for publishers and printers. In 1745, a group of London's most successful publishers came together to discuss the need for industry standards. Each concluded that they did not have the funds to undertake such a big project. Instead, Samuel Johnson, an eccentric and famous English writer, decided to take on the task. 

In his Plan, Johnson highlights scholars' main concerns with the state of the English language, which had undergone a number of changes since the Anglo-Saxon days of Beowulf. The French influence led to the development of Middle English. By William Shakespeare's day, Middle English had evolved into the modern English we speak today.

Although it is still considered modern English, our English is quite different from Shakespeare's. That is because languages constantly change and evolve as people use them. Words come and go. Meanings of words change. Slang phrases become mainstream phrases. Neutral words become controversial. Likewise, controversial words become neutral. This process is continuous. It is happening today, just as it was happening in Johnson's day.

All of this change upset many eighteenth-century (1700s) writers. They worried that within a few hundred years the Middle English writing found in great works such as The Canterbury Tales would be foreign to modern readers. Jonathan Swift is one writer who supported Johnson in the stabilization of their native tongue. Swift took a particularly strong stance. He advocated the creation of a language academy that would monitor the English language. According to Swift, almost all change would result in the permanent loss of words and phrases. 

Johnson, however, held more moderate views. He discouraged the establishment of language academies because he believed they stifled creativity. Johnson's solution was to write an authoritative dictionary to catalog the English language. 

Click here to read the excerpt!

John Dryden's career and life span the cultural and historical transitions between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1700-1800)5. A relatively privileged youth, Dryden received a gentleman's education. He attended the prestigious Westminster School, where he studied classical languages and literature. After Westminster, he earned his degree at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Dryden's poems documented the tumultuous politics of the late seventeenth century (1600s). His first important poem commemorated the death of Oliver Cromwell. It was followed two years later by a poem that celebrated the return of the king, Charles II.

In these historical poems, Dryden used forms and styles that would become popular in the eighteenth century (1700s). His poems often featured the heroic couplet, rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter. His satirical verses paved the way for the infamous wit of Alexander Pope.

Dryden is less remembered for his prose, although he also influenced an entire generation of prose writers. Dryden was one of the first English writers to capture the sound and diction of how people actually spoke. According to Jonathan Swift, "Every word seems to drop by chance, though it falls into its proper place. Nothing is cold or languid; the whole is airy, animated, and vigorous." 

Unlike Dryden, Samuel Pepys (pronounced "peeps") was not a child of privilege. Pepys came from a family of modest means; his father was a tailor. Despite his humble upbringing and a mediocre childhood education, Pepys was extremely bright. He attended Cambridge on scholarship and took a job with the Navy Office. He worked his way up the bureaucratic ladder and eventually became the Secretary of the Admiralty.

Pepys loved the arts, science, and culture. He was a fixture of the London social scene. He frequented London coffee houses, regularly attended the theater, and served as the head of the Royal Society, a group of accomplished scholars and aristocrats who discussed science. Despite his many activities, he still had plenty of time for his two favorite pastimes: making money and reading books.

We know so much about Pepys's social life because he kept a detailed diary for nine years. Pepys recorded his daily life with amazing candor. He documented historical moments such as the Great Fire of London, but he also recorded private moments at home with his wife and children. Pepys's diary is an important piece of social history; it gives us a glimpse of everyday life in Restoration London.

The eighteenth century saw the rise of Parliament, most notably the emerging power of the prime minister and the House of Commons. 

These political changes reflected a broader change in British society. Noble bloodlines were becoming less important. British success overseas created a wealthy merchant class and a thriving middle class. In some cases, wealthy merchants had more money than noble families. Two important forces driving cultural change were population growth and the publishing industry.

Another important aspect of societal change during the eighteenth century was the publishing boom. Literacy rates had increased steadily since the early 1700s, driven in part by Protestant emphasis on reading the Bible and the education of the lower class. Additionally, the merchant and middle classes provided a demand for literature. They were highly literate, they had money, and they had free time.

Next, you'll watch a video that provides more insight into the power of print to remap a society.

Click here to watch the video on the effects of the print boom on British Society!

The publishing boom also resulted in the growth of magazines and journals, which featured works by some of the period's greatest writers. Some of these works were philosophical and embodied Enlightenment thought, such as David Hume's 1741 essay "Of the Liberty of the Press" or John Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding." These essays claimed that man was a rational, thinking being. While Puritans believed that man entered the world as an evil, flawed being, most Enlightenment writers argued that man entered the world as a blank slate, or tabula rasa. Other works, such as Jonathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal," featured biting sarcasm and serious social criticism. The tone and style of these works were clear, concise, and straightforward.

Though prose was most common, poetry remained popular. The poetry of the eighteenth century abandoned the embellished style of Milton's Paradise Lost in favor of a simpler, more balanced approach. Milton's complex blank verse was replaced with couplets.

Neoclassical writers of the eighteenth century were much less influenced by Puritanism than writers of previous generations. They rejected the heavy subject matter and moral preaching common to allegorical works such as John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Even when eighteenth-century writers addressed serious topics, their tone often remained lighthearted and optimistic, as opposed to the serious tone of Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress or Milton's Paradise Lost. 

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was popular from its first publication. It was different from other novels on the market because it focused on a man of humble birth. Many early novels were memoirs of the rich and famous. Crusoe was not even a wealthy merchant. He was an ordinary young man who had extraordinary adventures. Over the course of the novel, the hero survives two shipwrecks, is marooned on an island, fends off hostile attackers, is captured, escapes, saves lives, and eventually returns home to England.

Stylistically, Robinson Crusoe reflects changing ideas about literature. Defoe did away with the ornate writing style of the seventeenth century. He also avoided the elegant sense of "social appropriateness" associated with the upper class. Rather, he favored a simple, direct style that appealed to the growing middle class. This approach quickly became the new standard for the English novel.

Click here to read the excerpt!

Pope's famous mock-heroic epic, "The Rape of the Lock," is based on an actual event. The character Belinda is based on Arabella Fermor, a member of Pope's circle of influential and wealthy Catholic friends. When a young man named Lord Peter (the Baron in the poem) cut off a lock of Arabella's hair, it began a rift between two prominent Catholic families. Pope's friend John Caryll suggested that Pope write this poem to lighten the tension and encourage the two sides to reconcile. The poem is addressed to John Caryll.

Read and listen to these lines:

What dire offense from amorous causes springs
What mighty contests rise from trivial things,
I sing—This verse to Caryll, Muse! is due:
This, even Belinda, may vouchsafe to view.
Slight is the subject, but not so the praise
If she inspired, and he approve my lays. 

Note the strong rhythmic quality of Pope's work. Pope is considered the master of the heroic couplet, which are couplets in iambic pentameter. This form is deceptively simple. It takes a great deal of skill to find just the right words that also rhyme. Pope was known for this precision.

Click here to read the excerpt!

For a small reminder of what iambic pentameter is, click here to see notes from English 11A!

Swift's "A Modest Proposal" addresses the issue of Ireland's poor, especially its poor children. It was not Swift's first attempt to draw attention to problems in Ireland. As a member of the Irish Church (a branch of the Anglican Church), Swift felt strongly about the suffering of Ireland's poor. Between 1720 and 1729, he spoke publicly and wrote several essays about this topic. His work had little impact on conditions in Ireland's cities.

Swift decided to try a tactic that worked for him in the past: satire. In 1729, he published "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burden on their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick." In this essay, Swift suggests a horrific solution. His tone, however, remains as calm and rational as if he were proposing any normal public policy.

Click here to read "A Modest Proposal"!

For a refresher on satire, click here to see notes from ENG 11A!