Augustan Age
•DEFINITION •GENERAL FEATURES •LITERARY STYLE •THE RISE of the NOVEL •MAIN AUTHORS
What is an Augustan Age?
A period which is considered the most important and productive for the high forms of literary expression it produces. Every national Literature has its “Augustan Age”: Corneille, Racine, Molière in France; in the Roman Empire: Virgil, Ovid, Horace. The name Augustan derives from Emperor Augustus.
The AUGUSTAN AGE
1688 – James II is removed from the throne:Glorious Revolution 1776 – America declared its indipendence from England
08/04/2005
Module 1: The Augustan Age
Vivaldi
1
08/04/2005
Module 1: The Augustan Age
2
Features
The period reflects the English social changes about
– – – - economy - culture - literature
and is characterised by: - development of the poetry: irony, satire and meditation lead to a breach with the metaphisical tradition; - rise of the novel: it became the most important literary expression of the bourgeoisie and middle class; - pamphlets and periodicals.
•SWIFT
Literary Style
In prose:
•DEFOE •RICHARDSON •FIELDING
- Clarity and simplicity of expression - Ordinary people represented with formal realism: people, places and objects were described in detail
In poetry:
Main writers
The main features are: RELATION WITH NATURE: The Augustan writers followed nature and its IDEALS OF - HARMONY - a way of life, man’s behaviour among other people and in relation with God
laws, they represented the world and the individual characteristic of man; nature and reality could be known through individual experience and senses.
- Use of poetic diction = presence of uncommon and learned words - very frequent use of inversion and personification - Latinized construction and vocabulary - frequent and often exaggerated use of apostrophe.
Two important consequences:
- BEAUTY - ORDER
08/04/2005
- idea of perfection and simplicity, based on the Neo classical ideals of shape and elegance - stability and balance; reason and common sense
What is an Augustan Age?
A period which is considered the most important and productive for the high forms of literary expression it produces. Every national Literature has its “Augustan Age”: Corneille, Racine, Molière in France; in the Roman Empire: Virgil, Ovid, Horace. The name Augustan derives from Emperor Augustus.
The AUGUSTAN AGE
1688 – James II is removed from the throne:Glorious Revolution 1776 – America declared its indipendence from England
08/04/2005
Module 1: The Augustan Age
Vivaldi
1
08/04/2005
Module 1: The Augustan Age
2
Features
The period reflects the English social changes about
– – – - economy - culture - literature
and is characterised by: - development of the poetry: irony, satire and meditation lead to a breach with the metaphisical tradition; - rise of the novel: it became the most important literary expression of the bourgeoisie and middle class; - pamphlets and periodicals.
•SWIFT
Literary Style
In prose:
•DEFOE •RICHARDSON •FIELDING
- Clarity and simplicity of expression - Ordinary people represented with formal realism: people, places and objects were described in detail
In poetry:
Main writers
The main features are: RELATION WITH NATURE: The Augustan writers followed nature and its IDEALS OF - HARMONY - a way of life, man’s behaviour among other people and in relation with God
laws, they represented the world and the individual characteristic of man; nature and reality could be known through individual experience and senses.
- Use of poetic diction = presence of uncommon and learned words - very frequent use of inversion and personification - Latinized construction and vocabulary - frequent and often exaggerated use of apostrophe.
Two important consequences:
- BEAUTY - ORDER
08/04/2005
- idea of perfection and simplicity, based on the Neo classical ideals of shape and elegance - stability and balance; reason and common sense