The earlier part of the eighteenth century or the Augustan Age in English literature is called the Age of Pope, because Pope was the dominating figure in that period. Though there were a number of other important writers like Addison and Swift, but P
Alexander pope (1688-1744)
Pope is considered as the greatest poet of the classical period. he is Prince of classical as Prof. Eton calls him. he was an invalid of small stature and delicate constitution whose had nerves and cruel headache made his life in his town phrase a long disease. he was highly intellectual extremely ambitious and curable of tremendous industry. During his age pope was by for the greatest of all poets. there were a few miner poets – Matte Prior, Joh Gray, Edward Young, Themes Parnell and Lady Winchele
Who was a diplomat and active politician writing two long poems, Solomon
on the vanity of the world and alma or the progress of the mind. these are
serious poems but the reputation of prior on ‘LIGHT VERSE’.
II JOHN GAY 1685 –
1732
Is the master of vivid description or rural sense as well of the delights of the town? his best known works are Rural sport, Trivia, or the Art of Walling the street pf London
III PRIOR and GRAY
Were the
followers of pope and after pope they are the two excelled guide of the life of
eighteenth century London.
IV EDWARD YOUNG 1683-1765
In his universal passion showed himself as skillful a satirist as pope. his best work is the night thought which written in bank verse, shows considerable technical skill and deep thought pope was the only one who devoted himself completely to literature. Moreover, he represented in himself all the main characteristics of his age, and his poetry served as a model to others.
POETRY
It was the Classical school of poetry which dominated the poetry of the Age of Pope. During this age the people were disgusted with the profligacy and frivolity of the Restoration period, and they insisted upon those elementary decencies of life and conduct which were looked at with contempt by the preceding generation. Moreover, they had no sympathy for the fanaticism and religious zeal of the Puritans who were out to ban even the most innocent means of recreation. So they wanted to follow the middle path in everything and steer clear of the emotional as well as moral excesses. They insisted on the role of intelligence in everything. The poets of this period are deficient on the side of emotion and imagination. Dominated by intellect, poetry of this age is commonly didactic and satirical, a poetry of argument and criticism, of politics and personalities.
In the second place, the poets of this age are more interested in the town, and the ‘cultural’ society. They have no sympathy for the humbler aspects of life—the life of the villagers, the shepherds; and no love for nature, the beautiful flowers, the songs of birds, and landscape as we find in the poets of the Romantic period. Though they preached a virtuous life, they would not display any feeling which smacked of enthusiasm and earnestness. Naturally they had no regard for the great poets of the human heart—Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton. They had no attachment for the Middle Ages and their tales of chivalry, adventure and visionary idealism. Spenser, therefore, did not find favour with them.In the poetry of this age, form became more important than substance. This love of superficial polish led to the establishment of a highly artificial and conventional style. The closed couplet became the only possible form for serious work in verse. Naturally poetry became monotonous, because the couplet was too narrow and inflexible to be made the vehicle of high passion and strong imagination. Moreover, as great emphasis was laid on the imitation of ancient writers, originality was discouraged, and poetry lost touch with the real life of them.
Pope’s next work, The Rape of the Lock, is in some ways his masterpiece. It is ‘mock heroic’ poem in which he celebrated the theme of the stealth, by Lord Petre of lock of hair from the head of Miss Arabella. Though the poem is written in a jest and deals with a very insignificant event, it is given the form of an epic, investing this frivolous event with mock seriousness and dignity.
sadly lacking in the poetry of this age. The meaning of poetry was all on the surface, and there was nothing which required deep study and varied interpretation.
Alexandar Pope (1688-1744). Pope is considered as the greatest poet of the Classical period. He is ‘prince of classicism’ as Prof. Etton calls him. He was an invalid, of small sature and delicate constitution, whose bad nerves and cruel headaches made his life, in his own phrase, a ‘long disease’. Moreover, being a Catholic he had to labour under various restrictions. But the wonder is that in spite of his manifold handicaps, this small, ugly man has left a permanent mark on the literature of his age. He was highly intellectual, extremely ambitious and capable of tremendous industry. These qualities brought him to the front rank of men of letters, and during his lifetime he was looked upon as a model poet
.Prose being the prominent medium of expression, the rules of exactness, precision and clarity, which were insisted in the writing of prose, also began to be applied to poetry. It was demanded of the poet to say all that he had to say in a plain simple and clear language. The result was that the quality of suggestiveness which adds so much to the beauty and worth of poetry wasThe main quality of Pope’s poetry is its correctness. It was at the age of twenty-three that he published his Essay on Criticism (1711) and since then till the end of his life he enjoyed progidious reputation. In this essay Pope insists on following the rules discovered by the Ancients, because they are in harmony with Nature:
Those rules of old discovered, not devised
Are Nature still, but Nature methodised.
The greatest prose writer of this age is PILHRS of the age of Johnson who represented in themselves, the highest achievement of English prose were Johnson and Gibbon Edward Gibbon 1737 1794 was the first historian of England who written a literary manner. his greatest work the decline and fall of roman Empire.
NOVEL
The chief literary contribution of the eighteenth century was the modern novel which at present in the most widely read and influential type of literature. the novel in its elementary form a work of fiction written in prose sat first established in England by two authors. BUNYAN and DEFINE. The development of English novel during the eighteenth century we can say that the novel from a humble beginning evolved into full of variety and animal vigor’s smallest introduced exaggerated and eccentric characters’ sterns contributed sentimentality and brilliant of style and goldsmith emphasized high principle and purity of domestic life.
DRAMA
The dramatic literature of the eighteenth century was not of
high order. In fact, there was a gradual literature and during the last quarter
of the century drama was moving towards its lowest add. the eighteenth century
literature was the licensing. Act of 1737 curtailed the freedom of expressing
of dramatic. though in his novel the vicar of Wakefield and in his poem. the
deserted village, goldsmith showed clear mark of a sentimental attitude of the life,
in his good natural man he covers it with ridicule by portraying the character
of Honey, as unduly- treated good nature.
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