Podcast
Questions and Answers
What characteristic of the Neoclassical Period is also referred to as the 'Enlightenment'?
Increased reverence for logic and disdain for superstition
What historical event in America occurred during the Neoclassical Period?
America's revolution against England
Which literary influences dominated poetry and drama during the Restoration Period?
French and Classical influences
Who are the prominent English writers of the Augustan Age?
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What marks the transition toward Romanticism in the Age of Johnson?
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What is the Neoclassical tendency in the Age of Johnson?
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What is the equivalent period in America during the Age of Johnson?
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What intellectual movement did the Neoclassical Period witness against earlier Puritanism?
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What is the time period of the Neoclassical Period, also known as the Enlightenment Period?
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What is the primary characteristic of the Neoclassical Period in literature?
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What is the term used to describe the literary movement that emerged during the Enlightenment Period?
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What is the approximate time period during which the Enlightenment Period overlaps with the Caroline Age?
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What is the significance of the Enlightenment Period in the context of English literature?
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How does the Enlightenment Period differ from the earlier periods of English literature?
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What is the relationship between the Enlightenment Period and the Commonwealth Period?
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What is the primary intellectual influence on literature during the Enlightenment Period?
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What is the significance of the Elizabethan Age in the context of literary movements?
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How do literary movements help in analyzing literary texts?
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What is the primary feature of the Classical Greek Period in literary history?
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What is the significance of the Romantic Period in literary history?
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What are the key characteristics of the Homeric or Heroic Period in literary history?
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How do literary movements help in categorizing authors and literary works?
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What is the significance of the Renaissance in literary history?
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What is the primary feature of the Classical Roman Period in literary history?
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Study Notes
The Neoclassical Period (Enlightenment)
- Marked by the rise of Deism, intellectual backlash against Puritanism, and America's revolution against England
- Characterized by increased reverence for logic and disdain for superstition
Restoration Period (c. 1660-1700)
- Marks the British king's restoration to the throne after a long period of Puritan domination in England
- Dominance of French and Classical influences on poetry and drama
- Notable writers include John Dryden, John Lock, Sir William Temple, and Aphra Behn in England, and Jean Racine and Molière abroad
The Augustan Age (c. 1700-1750)
- Marked by the imitation of Virgil and Horace's literature in English letters
- Principal English writers include Addison, Steele, Swift, and Alexander Pope
- Voltaire is the dominant French writer of this period
The Age of Johnson (c. 1750-1790)
- Marks the transition toward the upcoming Romanticism, although still largely Neoclassical
- Major writers include Dr. Samuel Johnson, Boswell, and Edward Gibbon, representing Neoclassical tendencies
- Writers like Robert Burns, Thomas Gray, Cowper, and Crabbe show movement away from the Neoclassical ideal
- In America, this period is called the Colonial Period, including colonial and revolutionary writers like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine
Romantic Period (c. 1790-1830)
- Romantic poets write about nature, imagination, and individuality in England
- Notable Romantics include Coleridge, Blake, Keats, and Shelley in Britain, and Johann von Goethe in Germany
- In America, this period is called the Transcendental Period, with Transcendentalists including Emerson and Thoreau
- Gothic writings overlap with the Romantic and Victorian periods
Late or "High" Medieval Period (c. 1200-1485 CE)
- Marked by the Middle English writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, the "Gawain" or "Pearl" Poet, the Wakefield Master, and William Langland
- Other writers include Italian and French authors like Boccaccio, Petrarch, Dante, and Christine de Pisan
The Renaissance and Reformation (c. 1485-1660 CE)
- The Renaissance takes place in the late 15th, 16th, and early 17th century in Britain, somewhat earlier in Italy and southern Europe, and somewhat later in northern Europe
Early Tudor Period (1485-1558)
- The Wars of the Roses ends in England with Henry Tudor (Henry VII) claiming the throne
- Martin Luther's split with Rome marks the emergence of Protestantism, followed by Henry VIII's Anglican schism, creating the first Protestant church in England
- Edmond Spencer is a sample poet
Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)
- Queen Elizabeth saves England from both Spanish invasion and internal squabbles at home
- Her reign is marked by the early works of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kydd, and Sidney
Jacobean Period (1603-1625)
- Shakespeare's later work, Aemilia Lanyer, Ben Jonson, and John Donne
Caroline Age (1625-1649)
- John Milton, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, the "Sons of Ben" and others write during the reign of Charles I and his Cavaliers (The Cavalier Poets)
Commonwealth Period or Puritan Interregnum (1649-1660)
- Under Cromwell's Puritan dictatorship, John Milton continues to write, but we also find writers like Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Browne
The Importance of Studying Literary Movements
- Helps categorize authors, literary works, and topics according to common features, time, place, and context
- Allows for comparison and contrast between different literary movements
- Highlights the aspects of each movement and the contribution of each author
- Analyzes literary texts regarding social, cultural, economic, and political contexts
Literary Periods
- Old English (450-1066)
- Middle English (1066-1500)
- The Renaissance (1500-1660)
- The Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)
- The Jacobean Age (1603-1625)
- The Restoration Period (1660-1700)
- The Romantic Period (1785-1832)
- The Victorian Period (1832-1901)
- Modernism (1914-1945)
- Postmodernism (1945-1970)
- Post-Postmodernism (1970-present)
Classical Period (1200 BCE - 455 CE)
- Homeric or Heroic Period (1200-800 BCE): Greek legends are passed along orally, including Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey
- Classical Greek Period (800-200 BCE): Greek writers and philosophers such as Gorgias, Aesop, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Euripides, and Sophocles
- Classical Roman Period (200 BCE-455 CE): Greece's culture gives way to Roman power when Rome conquers Greece in 146 CE
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Description
This quiz covers the key features of the Neoclassical Period, also known as the Enlightenment, and the Restoration Period in English literature. Learn about the rise of Deism, intellectual movements, and historical events that shaped these periods.