The Neo classic Age

 

 Que:-1-The history of Neo Classic Age 

 

Introduction 

             Neoclassicism is a revival of the classical past. It developed in Europe in the 18th century when artists began to imitate Greek and Roman antiquity and painters of the Renaissance as a reaction to the excessive style of Baroque and Rococo. At first Neoclassicism developed in Rome at the beginning of the 18th century, but then it spread all over Europe partly due to the Grand Tour; the trip in which European students travelled around the continent. At that moment great collections of antiquities began to be discovered and revaluated. These discoveries, such as the paintings and mosaics found at the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1738, increased artistic fascination and curiosity for antiquity. Artists then according to Winckelmann began to study Greek and Roman art, using this new knowledge of the past in their art, creating their own “new" classical style.

When was the Neoclassical Period?

             Neoclassicism started in 1660 when the Stuarts returned to the throne and the Enlightenment was in full swing. When the neoclassical period was the predominant style, artists like Daniel Defoe and Samuel Johnson flourished.

              The publication of Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads in 1798, however, marked the end of the neoclassical time period. These poems ended Neoclassicism and began the Romantic Age. Whereas Neoclassicism looked to the beauty of order, Romanticism later emphasized the individual and put more weight on the imaginative and personal.

Neoclassical Era

Understanding the Neoclassical era helps us better understand its literature. This was a time of comfortableness in England. People would meet at coffee houses to chat about politics, among other topics, and sometimes drink a new, warm beverage made of chocolate! It was also the beginning of the British tradition of drinking afternoon tea. And it was the starting point of the middle class, and because of that, more people were literate.

People were very interested in appearances, but not necessarily in being genuine. Men and women commonly wore wigs, and being clever and witty was in vogue. Having good manners and doing the right thing, particularly in public, was essential. It was a time, too, of British political upheaval as eight monarchs took the throne.

   Other names of Neo Classic Age.   

1.The Augustan Age 

2.The 18th century age 

3.The Age of Enlightenment

4.The  Age of Prose 

5. The Age of Reason 

6. The Transition Period

7.  Age of Satire 

Stage of this age

1.The Restoration Period:

              It is called the Restoration Period, as King Charles was restored in this era. The Restoration Period lasted from 1660-1700. Writers of this age, Dryden and Milton, endeavoured to use sublime, grand and impressive style, scholarly allusions, and mythology to curb the intense use of imagination.

2.The Augustan Age:

            The Augustan Age is also called the Age of Pope. Pope was the leading poet in this age. The Augustan Age lasted from 1700 to 1750.

3.The Age of Johnson:

              The Age of Johnson lasted up to 1798, when the Romantic Movement was underway with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge.

Que:-2-Characteristics of the Neo Classic Age 

1.Influence of Materialis

            When Pope declares the limits of man, he also sets, by implications, the limits for the artist

           "Know then thyself, presume not God to 

The proper study of mankind is man!

            But Pope echoes only dominant philosophical thoughts here. After the Renaissance, Platonism and Christian Humanism, we find in the Neoclassical age, the dominance of Materialism and Empirical Scienc

             The ruling thought of the age is shaped by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Joseph Butler. The philosophical empiricism of the age propagated through the writings of Bacon, Hobbes and Locke were supported and strengthened by the advancement of empirical scienc

         Under the influence of empirical philosophy and experimental science, writers of the age narrowed both their vision of man and view of life. The affairs of men, their politics, their morals, and manners became the chief concer

           Although the concern with politics was present in the time of Shakespeare also, his and his contemporaries’ treatment was ideal and utopian. But the treatment of Neoclassical writers was practical rather than utopian . n.e.e.”can:m than utopian.

2.Imitation of Classics

              One of the most important features of the Neoclassical literature is the imitation of the classics of ancient Greek and Roman literature.

             Although the Renaissance writers had imitated the classics, whereas Renaissance writers mere derived inspirations from the classics rather than copying the models of the past, the Neoclassical writers strictly adhered to the authority of their models. Thus Neoclassical literature can be called as ‘Traditional’.

             The Neoclassical writers like Dryden, Pope, Swift, and Johnson were convinced that excellence and perfection in the literary art have been attained by the Roman writers of antiquity, thus they can only copy the models of perfection and excellence.

3.Concept of Nature

            The concept of nature was also an important characteristic of the Neoclassical age. By nature, they never meant the forest nature, but for them, nature meant the general human nature.

            The general human nature was not what the ordinary men and women felt and thought, but the standard view of human nature as held by Homer and Horace.

            Like their static view of the world, the Neoclassical writers thought of human nature also was something static and standard, which is the same in all men and remains the same at all times. Thus their view of nature as well as of man, world, and genre was static and standard.

4.Concept of Man

            The Neoclassical literature considers man as a limited being, having limited power. A large number of satires and works of the period attack the man for his pride and advise him to remain content with his limited power of knowledge. Thus man in Neoclassical literature remains a being of limited means and power

           Thus man in Neoclassical literature remains a being of limited means and power.

5.Literary Forms

            Among the Neoclassical forms of literature, the most famous were the essay, both in verse and prose. While drama declined and almost disappeared during the later part of the period, Novel made its beginnings. The literature of the age was mostly comic and satiric. An important failure of the age was to produce tragedy.

6.Neoclassical Drama

Neoclassical drama falls into two phases-

      1.Restoration Drama (later 17th century)

       2.Sentimental Drama (18th century)

             In the Restoration Age, drama rose in the form of Comedy of Manners. But in the second phase, it declined as the Elizabethan dramas like those of Shakespeare were reproduced and age itself did not produce drama. Thus the decline of drama happened.

7.The New Restraint

             Writers started inventing new words and regularising vocabulary and grammar. Complex bodily metaphysical language such as Shakespeare used in his major tragedies was clarified and simplified.

            Moreover, the plays of Neoclassical age compared to those of Shakespeare plays are of single plot-line and are strictly limited in time and place

8.Age of Reason

             Neoclassical Period is often called the Age of Reason. Thinkers of this age considered reason to be the highest mental faculty and sufficient guide in all areas. Both religious beliefs and morality were grounded on reason. In literature also, the reason is predominant in the Neoclassical age. Emotions and imaginations are also present but in a controlled way.

 Conclusion

             The Neoclassical Period in literature brought a sense of decorum and stability to writers. There were rules to be carefully followed. It was a time of careful moral appearance, though appearances were more valued than honesty. However, some of England’s most brilliant literature can be credited to this era.