What was the Enlightenment?

(a.k.a. Neoclassical(a.k.a. Neoclassical PeriodPeriod))

It began with a rejection of…

•dogmadogma•superstitionsuperstition•traditional religiontraditional religion•factionalismfactionalism•(in some cases) monarchy(in some cases) monarchy•disorderdisorder

The 1600s had a different ideology-one steeped in supernatural politics.

Alchemy, Angelology, Demonology, Divine Right of KingsAlchemy, Angelology, Demonology, Divine Right of Kings

What was the Enlightenment attitude?

(1) A desire for rationality, logic, consistency.(1) A desire for rationality, logic, consistency.

(2) A rejection of emotionalism.(2) A rejection of emotionalism.

(3) A preference for evidence over faith(3) A preference for evidence over faith

(4) Increased interest in science, mathematics, geometry…(4) Increased interest in science, mathematics, geometry…

(5) An admiration for Greece and Rome and an abhorrence (5) An admiration for Greece and Rome and an abhorrence for everything medieval.for everything medieval.

(6) A preference for the artificial over the natural,(6) A preference for the artificial over the natural,

technology over wilderness.technology over wilderness.

How did that translate socially?

(1) A preference for stability and harmony.

(2) A belief that nature should be controlled.

(3) A preference for civilized, polite discussion of ideas. Conclusions reached by intelligent debate--not force.

(4) A preference for a rigid social hierarchy and aristocracy.

(5) An embrace of monotheistic Deism rather than traditional Trinitarian doctrines.

How did it translate aesthetically?

(1) A desire for geometric shapes and orderly (1) A desire for geometric shapes and orderly

repetition in mathematical patterns.repetition in mathematical patterns.

(2) A disdain of “messiness” and “chaos” in art and (2) A disdain of “messiness” and “chaos” in art and clothing and hairstyles as being unharmonious.clothing and hairstyles as being unharmonious.

(3) Greco-Roman architecture (Neoclassical)(3) Greco-Roman architecture (Neoclassical)

(4) Endless (4) Endless Heroic Couplets!Heroic Couplets!

(5) (5) SatireSatire as a means of social critique. as a means of social critique.

Enlightenment gardens.

Here, the “messiness” of the natural world must bow before pure geometry. In such a garden, the chaos of nature is tamed to match the orderly design of human intellect.

Straight lines and 90 degree corners could warm the heart of an Enlightenment thinker. Thus, hedge-mazes appear across Europe.

Even the untidiness of natural hair disturbs Enlightenment society. Thus, the tradition of the perfectly coiffed wig appears in the age of Washington and Jefferson and Marie Antoinette. Powdered porcelain make-up and other cosmetics become fashionable and artificial “beauty” patches (bits of black cloth with adhesive) are used to create artificial moles or freckles (or to hide natural ones.) It is an age of absolute artifice.

The Enlightenment is so devoted to Greco-Roman logic and philosophy that it is also referred to as the “Neoclassic Period.”

A similar trend appears in their architecture,plays, and literature. . . .

Take a look at the Arch of EmperorConstantine, built c. 312-315 CE.

Then look at the French Arc de Triomph duCarrousel. Note any similarities?

Top Left:the Parthenon of the Acropolis, built c. 447-438 BCE.

Bottom left:Ragensberg Replica,Planned in the 1790sAnd built 1830 CE.

We also see it in their obsessive andrigorous attitudes to standardizing language:

Samuel Johnson workingon his dictionary of 1755.

The French AcademyOf Language

How do these tendencies affect the literature?

In poetry: heroic couplets and “perfect”metrical patterns and a return to classical Greco-Roman epics, as in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock.

In both poetry and prose, a focus on satire.

Satire: (noun )

1.the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2.a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

3.a literary genre comprising such compositions.