Semest

erV

Di
sci
pli
neSpeci
fi
cEl
ect
ive1

Hi
stor
yofEngl
ishLi
ter
atur
e(OEt
o1798)

1700t
o1798

THEAUGUSTANAGE

Uni
tSt
ruct
ure:

Obj
ect
ives

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Pol
it
icalandSoci
alMi
li
eu

Cof
feeHousesandLi
ter
aryAct
ivi
ti
es

I
nter
esti
nReadi
ngandPubl
ishi
ngHouses

Ri
seoft
heMi
ddl
eCl
ass

Ev
angel
icalMov
ement

Li
ter
aryChar
act
eri
sti
csoft
heAge

AgeofPr
oseandReason

AgeofSat
ir
e

AgeofNeo-
classi
cism

AgeofGoodSense

Fol
lowNat
ure

TownandCi
tyLi
feasaThemeofLi
ter
atur
e

Her
oicCoupl
et&Poet
icDi
cti
onTool
sofWr
it
ers

TheAgeofTr
ansi
ti
on

Feat
uresofTr
ansi
ti
onalWr
it
ing

August
anPoet
ry
Tr
ansi
ti
onalPoet
s

Pr
ecur
sor
sofRomant
ici
sm

Pr
oseofAugust
anAge

Dr
amaofAugust
anAge

Nov
eldur
ingAugust
anAge

Let
‘sSum up

OBJECTI
VES

Theprimeobj ecti
vesoft hi
sunitare:tomaket hestudentsawareofsoci o-
poli
ti
calmili
euof
August
anAge, ofsocial
change,ofl
it
eraryt
endenci
esoft heage,andofprose,novel
,poetr
yand
dramaoft heAugust anAge.Aft
erstudyi
ngthisuni
tthest udent
swilll
ocatetheprescr
ibedtext
i
ntotheli
terar
yper i
odandunderstandthetexti
ntheli
ghtoft heAugust
anPer i
od.

I
NTRODUCTI
ON

Inl it
eraturet hi
sper i
odi sknownast heAugust anage.Accor dingt oHudsont heepi thet
―August an‖wasappl i
edasat er m ofhi ghpr aise,becauset heAgeofAugust uswast hegol den
ageofLat i
nl iter
atur e,sot heAgeofPopewast hegol denageofEngl ishl i
ter
at ure.Thisepi thet
servest obr ingoutt heanal ogybet weent hef irsthal foftheei ghteenthcent uryandt heLat i
n
l
iteratureoft heday sofVi rgi landHor ace.I nbot hcaseswr i
terswer el argel
ydependentupon
power fulpat rons.Inbot hcaseacr i
ticalspi ri
tpr evailed.Inbothcasest hel i
teraturepr oducedby
at horoughl yar t
ifi
cialsociet ywasal i
teratur e,notoff reecreativeeffortandi nspirati
on,butof
self-
consci ousanddel iberat ear t.‖Itisal soknownast he―cl assicage‖ .Hudsonwr i
tes:―The
epithet―cl assic‖,wemayt aket odenot e, f
irstt hatt hepoet sandcr iti
csoft hi
sagebel ievedt hat
thewr i
ter
sofcl assi calant iqui t
ypr esent edt hebestmodel sandul timat estandar dsofl it
erary
taste,andsecondl y,inamor egener alway ,t hat ,l
iket heseLat inwr i
ters,theyhadl i
ttl
ef ait
hi n
thepr ompt ingsandgui danceofi ndividualgeni us,andmuchi nl awsandr ul
esi mposedbyt he
author i
tyoft hepast .Somer emar kablepol i
ti
calandsoci alchangesbegant ot akepl acei n
Englanddur ingt hecl osingy ear sofWi l
liam I IIandt heaccessi onofQueenAnne( 1702) .That
hadagr eati mpactont hedev elopmentofl iterat uredur ingthi
sper iod.Thel i
teratureoft hiser a
waspar tl
ynewandpar t
lyacont inuanceoft hatoft heRest oration.

Thi
sagemaybedi v
idedi
ntotwoper i
ods:thefi
rstst
ret
chingfr
om 1700t o1750i ntheneo-
cl
assi
cAge,andt hesecond,thetransi
ti
onalperi
odwhichspansf rom 1750t o1798.The
cl
assi
caltendenci
eslostt
heirhol
ddur i
ngthesecondperiodandtherewasat ransi
ti
onfrom
cl
assi
cism t
oromantici
sm.Theperi
odoft r
ansi
ti
onisal
soknownast heAgeofGrayandCol l
ins.
POLI
TICALANDSOCI
ALMI
LIEU

Pol i
tical
ly,thisagewi tnessedt her i
seoft wopol it
icalpar t
ies:t heWhi gsandt heTor ies.Thei r
politi
calopi ni onsandpr ogr ammeswer eshar plydi v
ided.TheWhi gpar tyst oodf ort hepr e-
emi nenceofper sonalf reedom andt heTor ypar tysuppor tedt her oy alDivineRi ght.TheTor i
es
object edt ot hef oreignwar sbecauset heyhadt opayt axest opr olongt hem,whi l
et het r
adi ng
classWhi gsf avouredt hecont inuanceofwarbecausei tcont r
ibutedt ot heirprosper i
t y.Inor der
topr opagat et heirideologi esandpr ogrammesbot ht hepar ti
esut i
li
sedt heser v i
cesofl i
terar y
men.Andt hepol it
iciansbr ibedt heaut hor stoj oinoneort heot herpol it
ical party.Thepol it
icians
tookt heaut hor sintot heirconf idence.Thusbegant heageofl iterarypat ronage.Consequent ly,
mostoft hewr it
ersshowedast rongpol iti
calbi as.I twas,i not herwor ds,apar t
yl i
teratur e.
Literaturewashounour ednotf ori tsel
fbutf ort hesakeoft hepar t
y.Thepol i
ticsoft heper iod
helpedt omakei tanageofpol i
ticalpamphl eteering.Andt hewr i
terswer et oowi l
li
ngt omake
themostofi t.I nordert ogetpr omi nencei npol iti
cal strugglebot hpar ti
esi ssuedal ar genumber
ofper i
odicals.Theper i
odi calswer ethemout hpiecesoft heirrespect i
vepol iti
calopi ni ons.Thus
begant heageofj ournal i
sm andper i
odicalessay .Ther iseofper i
odicalwr i
ti
ngal lowedgr eat
scopet ot hedev elopmentoft hel it
eraryt alentofpr osewr itersoft het ime.Ther ealpr ose
style—neat ,si mple, cl
earandl ucid—wasev olveddur ingt hisper i
od.I nthewor dsofAl bert:―I t
wast hegol denageofpol iti
cal pamphl eteeringandt hewr itermadet hemostofi t.

COFFEEHOUSESANDLI
TERARYACTI
VITI
ES

Peoplewer ekeenl yi nt
erestedi npol it
icalacti
v i
ty.Anumberofcl ubsandcof feehousescame
i
ntoexi stence.Theybecamet hecent r
esoff ashionabl eandpubl icl
if
e.TheCof feehouseswer e
dominat edbyei t
heroft hepar t
ies.AWhi gwoul dnev ergot oaTor yCof feehouseandVi ce
Versa.TheCof f
eehouseswer et hehaunt sofpr omi nentwriters,t
hinkers,arti
sts,intel
lectuals
andpol it
icians.Theyf i
guredpr omi nentlyinthewr iti
ngsoft heday .TheCof feehousesgav eri
se
topur elyliterar
yassoci ati
ons,suchast hef amousScr i
bblersandKi t-
catcl ubs.I nt hef i
rst
numberofTheTat tler,
RichardSt eel eannouncedt hattheact i
v i
ti
esofhisnewJour nalwoul dbe
basedupont heclubs.Thedi scussi onsincof f
eehousest ookplaceinpolished, ref
ined,elegant,
easyandl ucidstyle.Thuscof feehousesal socont r
ibutedtot heevoluti
onofpr osesty l
edur i
ng
theeighteent hcent ury.

I
NTERESTI
NREADI
NGANDPUBLI
SHI
NGHOUSES

Ther i
singi
nterestinpoliti
cswi tnessedthedecl i
neofdr ama.Itresul
tedinar emarkable
i
ncreaseint
henumberofr eadingpubl i
c.Consequentlyal
argenumberofment ookint
erestin
publ
ishi
ngtranslat
ions,adaptat
ionsandot herpopularworksofthetime.Theybecamet he
for
erunner
sofmoder npubli
chouses.Theyempl
oyedhackwri
ter
s(thewri
terswhowri
tefor
moneywi t
houtworr
yingaboutt
hequali
tyoft
hei
rwri
ti
ng)oft
heperi
od.Theyli
vedi
nmiser
able
hovel
sintheGrubStr
eet.

THERI
SEOFTHEMI
DDLECLASS

Thisper iodofl it
er aturesawt heemer genceofapower fulmi ddleclass.Thesupr emacyoft he
middlecl assmadei tanageoft oler
ance,moder at
ionandcommonsense.I tsoughtt or efi
ne
manner s,andi ntroducei ntolifether uleofsweetr easonabl eness.Thechur chal sopursueda
middlewayandt her eli
giousl i
fewasf reef orm stri
feandf anat i
cism.Thepower fuldominance
ofthemi ddl
ecl assesl edt omor alregener ati
onint heei ghteent hcent ur
y.Thepeopl ewer efast
growingsi ckoft heout rageousnessoft heRestor ati
onper i
od.Peopl ehadbegunoncemor eto
i
nsistupon t hose basi c decenci es ofl ife and mor alconsi derati
ons,whi ch the prev i
ous
generationhadt reat edwi thcont empt .Themi ddlecl asswr i
ter
swer egr eatlyinfl
uencedby
moralconsi derations.Mor eov er,Wi l
li
am I I
Iand Queen Anne wer e staunch suppor ters of
moralit
y .Addisoni nanear lynumberofTheSpect atorput st henewt oneinwr it
inginhisown
admirableway :―Ishal lendeav ort oenlivenmor ali
tywi thwi tandwi twithmor al
ity.
‖Itwasan
eraoft heassi milat i
onoft hear i
stocracyandt hemi ddlecl ass.Themi ddleclassappr opr i
ated
cl
assicism wi thi tsmor al
ising needs.The emer gence ofmi ddle class led tot he rise of
senti
ment al
i
sm,f eelingsandemot i
ons,whi chinf l
uencedt hel i
teratureofthel at
terhalfoft he
ei
ghteent hcent ur
y .

EVANGELI
CALMOVEMENT

Reli
gion inthe age ofPope was dei sti
c,for
mal ,util
it
ari
an and unspir
itual.Inthe great
Evangeli
calRevival
,knownasMet hodism,ledbyWesl eyandWhi t
efi
eld,t
heol df or
mali
sm and
uti
li
tari
anism wasabandoned.Ami ghtyti
deofspi r
it
ualenergypouredint
ot heChur chandt he
commonpeopl e.From 1739t heEvangeli
calMovementspr eadrapi
dlyamongt hepoorallover
England,anditbecamepar t
icular
lyst
rongintheindustri
alt
owns.

LI
TERARYCHARACTERI
STI
CSOFTHEAGE

Thepoli
ti
calandsocialchangesexhibit
ingt
hesupr emacyofgoodsense,rat
ional
it
y,sani
tyand
bal
anceleftanimperishablemarkont helit
eratureoftheAgeofPopeandDr .Johnson.The
l
it
erat
ureoftheperiodbor ethehal
lmar kofint
elli
gence,ofwi
tandoffancy,notalit
erat
ureof
emoti
on,passion,orcr eat
iveener
gy .Themai nl i
ter
arychar
act
eri
sti
csoft heagear egiven
bel
ow:
AgeofPr
oseandReason

Iti
sanageofpr ose,reason, goodsenseandnotofpoet ry.Al ar
genumberofpr acticalinterest s
ari
singfrom thenewsoci alandpol i
ticalconditi
onsdemandedexpr essi onnotsi mpl yi nlooks,
butinpamphl ets,magazi nesandnewspaper s.Poetrywasi nadequatef orsuchat ask.Hence
prosedev el
opedr api
dlyandexcel l
ently.Indeed,poet
ryitselfbecamepr osaic,asitwasnotused
forcreati
vewor ksofi magi nation,butf oressays,satir
esandcr i
ti
cism.Thepoet r
yoft hef i
rst
halfoftheeight
eent hcent uryasr epresentedbyt hewor ksofPopeandDr .Johnsoni spol ished
andwi tt
ybutlacksf i
re,fi
nef eel i
ng,enthusiasm andimagi nat i
veappeal .Inshort,itinterest sus
asast udyoflif
ebutf ai
lst odel i
ghtori nspir
eus.Mat thewAr noldri
ghtlycal l
siftheei ght eent h
century―anageofpr ose‖.Thepoet ryoft hisperi
od,accor dingt oHudson,―l ackedi nev itably
thedepthandgr aspofessent i
althi
ngswhi chaloneassur eper manencei nli
terature,andt he
questforrefi
nementi nstyler esult
edt ooof t
eninstil
tedaf fectat
ionsandf r
igidconv entionalism.

AgeofSat
ir
e

Thepr edomi nanceofsat i

reisani mpor t
antli
terarycharacterist
icoftheage.Near l
yev erywrit
er
oft hef ir
sthal foft heeighteenthcent urywasusedandr ewardedbyWhi gsorTor i
esfor
sat i
r i
sing theirenemi es and foradv ancing theirspecialpol it
icali nter
ests.Pope was an
except i
onbuthet oowasasat ir
istparexcellence.W.J.Longwr i
tes:―Now sat i
re—t hati
sa
l
iter arywor kwhi chsear chesoutt hefault
sofmenori nstituti
onsi nor dertoholdt hem upt o
ri
di cule—isatbestadest ructi
vet ypeofcr i
ti
cism.Asat i
ri
sti sli
keal abourerwhocl ear saway
ther ui
nsandr ubbishofanol dhousebef oret hearchit
ectandbui ldersbegi nonanew and
beaut i
fulstructure.Thewor kmaysomet i
mebenecessar y,butitrarelyarousesourent husiasm.
Whi l
et hesat i
resofPope,pl acethem wi thourgr eatli
terature,whichi salway sconstructi
vein
spir i
t;andwehav et hefeeli
ngt hatallthesemenwer ecapabl eofbet t
erthingsthant heyever
wr ot e.

AgeofNeo-
Classi
cism

TheAgeofPopeandJohnsoni sof tencalledtheneo-cl assicage.Weshoul dcl earl

yunder stand
themeani ngoft hewor d―cl assic‖.Thet erm ―classic‖r eferst
owr i
tersofhi ghestr ankinany
nation.Itwasf i
rstappli
edt ot hewor ksofGr eekandRomanwr i
ter
slikeHomerandVi rgil
.In
Englishl it
erat
ureanywr i
terwhof ollowedt hesi mple,nobl eandinspiri
ngmet hodoft hese
wr i
terswassai dtohav eacl assicst yl
e.Periodmar kedbyanumberofcel ebratedwr i
terswho
producel i
ter
atureofav er
yhi ghor der,isalsocalledt hecl assi
cperiodofanat ion‘slit
erature.
TheageofAugust usisthecl assicageofRome.TheageofDant eisthecl assicageofI tali
an
l
iterature.Theageoft hecl assicagei sl i
kethoseofHomerandVi rgi
l
.Thewr i
tersoft hisper i
od
disregardedEl i
zabethanl i
terarytrends.Theydemandedt hatthei
rpoet r
yshoul dcompl ywith
exactr ules.Inthisrespectt heywer einfl
uencedbyFr enchwr i
ter
s,especiall
ybyBoi l
eau,who
i
nsist edonpr eciserulesofwr i
tingpoet r
y .Theypr ofessedt ohav ediscov er
edt heirrulesint he
classicsofAr i
st ot
leandHor ace.Dr yden,PopeandJohnsonpi oneeredt herevivalofclassicism
whichconf or medt orulesest ablishedbyt hegr eatwr i
tersofot hernations.Theypr ef
er r
edonl y
setr ulest ot hedept handser i
ousnessofsubj ectmat t
er.Theyi gnoredcr eati
vit
y,dept h,vigour
andf reshnessofexpr ession.Thet ruecl assicistpay sequalconsi der ati
ont ot hedept hand
seriousnessofsubj ectmat ter,andt heper fectandf l
awlessexpr essi on.Theneo- classicist
disregar dst he subj ectmat t
erexpr esses t he hackney ed and commonpl ace subject si na
polishedandf i
nishedst ylemodel edont hest y l
isticpat t
ernsofanci entwr i
ter
s.Gr ier
soni nhi s
famous bookThe Backgr ound ofEngl ish Li terature assertst hatt he hallmar kofanci ent
classicall i
terat ureisahar moniousbal ancebet weenf orm andsubst ance.Thishar moni ous
balancebet weenf orm andsubst ancewasdi st urbedi nt heAgeofPopeandJohnson.The
wr i
tersoft hisper i
odcar ef orform,notf ort hewei ghtofmat t
er.Theycar eonlyformanner ,for
arti
sticf ini
shandpol ish, butnotf orgenuinepoet icinspirat
ion.Thecont entthoughtandf eel i
ng
aresubor dinat edtoform.

AgeofGoodSense

Goodsenseisoneofthecent
ralcharacteri
sti
csofthelit
eratureofthisper
iod.I
nt hewordsof
W.H.Hudson:―Goodsensebecamet heidealoft
hetime, andgoodsensemeantal oveofthe
reasonabl
eandt
heuseful
andahat r
edoft hemy st
ical
,theextravagantandt
hev i
sionar
y.‖

Fol
lowNat
ure

Anotherimport
antcharact
eri
sti
coft heagewast hebelieft hatl
it
er at
uremustfoll
ow nat
ure.
Popewr otei
nTheEssayonCr i
ti
cism:Therul
esofolddiscov er‘
d,notdev i
s‘
d,
/AreNaturesti
ll
,
butNat ur
emet hodi
z‘
d;
/Nat ureli
keLibert
yisbutr est
rained/Byt hesamel awswhichf i
rst
hersel
fordai
n‘
d/…/Lear nhenceforanci
entrul
esajustest eem/Thef ol
lowNatur
eistofol
low
them.

By―nature‖t
heAugustansmeantt ocopymanandmanner sofsociet
y.Popesaid,
―Thepr
oper
studyofmankindi
sman. ‖Addisonalsowrote‖―Witandfi
newri
ting‖consi
stnotsomuch―in
advanci
ngthi
ngsthatar
enew, asinthingst
hatareknown,
anagreeabletur
n.‖

TownandCi
tyLi
feasaThemeofLi
ter
atur
e:

Anotherfeat
ureoft heli
ter
atur
eoftheagei st hatithasali
mitedtheme.Iti
sal i
teratureoft he
townandt hef ashi
onableupperci
rclesoft hecityofLondon.Pope,Johnson,Addi son,Steele
etc.
,thoughurbaninoutlookandtemper ament,showr emar
kableint
eresti
nthemi ddleclasses
and,thus,broadent hescopeofl i
terat
ure.Thet hemeofl i
terat
urebeforethem wasst rictl
y
conf
inedtofashionabl
eandari
stocr
ati
ccircl
es.I
ntheworksofmi ddl
eclasswri
ter
scl
assi
cism
showsit
selfsl
ightl
ycolour
edbyamor al
i
singandsecret
lysent
imental
int
ension.

TheHer
oicCoupl
etandt
hePoet
icDi
cti
onasTool
sofWr
it
ers

The use ofher oic coupletwas pr edominantduring t

his period.The her oi
c coupletwas
recognisedast heonl ymedi um forpoeti
cexpressi
on.Initt
hepoet sputalltheskil
landwr ot
e
withanuni maginabl
ecor r
ectnessandpr eci
sion.Thelanguageofpoet r
ybecamegaudyand
i
nane.Thecommonwor dsorordinaryl
anguagewer edel
iber
atelykeptoutfrom poeticli
ter
atur
e.
Ther esultwasthatli
teratureoftheAugustanAgebecamear t
ifi
cial,r
ati
onalandintel
lect
ual.

THEAGEOFTRANSI
TION(
1850-
1898)

Thesecondhal foftheei ght

eenthcentur
yisknownasat r
ansi
ti
onalperi
od.Itwasaneraof
changefrom pseudo-cl
assici
sm toromanti
cism.Thedecl
ineofpar
tyspir
itandthedemocr
ati
c
upsurgeexer
cisedgreatinfl
uencebothonli
feandli
ter
atur
e.

Themai
nchar
act
eri
sti
csoft
hisper
iodar
egi
venbel
ow

I.Decli
neofPar tyFeud:Theriv
alr
ybet weentheWhi
gsandTor i
essti
l
lconti
nuedbutithadlost
i
t spreviousbitt
erness.Thi
snatural
l
yl edtoaconsider
abl
edecl i
neoftheactiv
ityinpol
iti
cal
pamphl eteer
ing.Thepoet sandsatir
istsceasedtobestatesmen.Theinsti
tut
ionoflit
erary
patr
onagegr aduallycrumbl
edduri
ngthisperi
od.Menofl
ett
erslear
nttodependenti
rel
yontheir
publi
c.

II
.Inf
luenceoftheFrenchRev ol
uti
on:Duri
ngt hesecondhalfoft heeight
eent
hcentur
ynew
i
deaswer eger
minat
ingandnewf orcesweregather
ingstr
ength.TheFr enchRevol
uti
onof1789
wasonl ythecl
imaxofal onganddeeplydif
fusedunrest.Revolutionar
yideasgavebi
rthto
democrati
candhumanitar
ianfeel
i
ngs.Anditi
nfl
uencedlit
erat
uregr eatl
y.

II
I.TheRev i
valofLearning:Thisperiodischaracter
isedbyaki ndofmi l
dr ev
ivaloflear
ning.In
l
iteratureitrevealedit
selfinthestudyandedi t
ingofol dauthorslikeChaucer,Shakespeareand
Mi l
ton.Thewr it
ersreviv
edt heoldf orm ofball
ad.Thepubl icat
ionsofBi shopPer cy‘
sReliques
(1765) ,containi
ngt heol destandf i
nestspecimensofbal ladl i
ter
atur
e,isal andmarkint he
historyoft heRomant icMov ement.Thel at
terhalfoftheeighteenthcenturywitnessedtheswi f
t
ri
seofhi st
or i
call
iter
atur
e.
IV.TheNew Reali
sm:Thebirt
hofanew spi
ri
tofi nquir
ywasatt herootofreal
i
sm whi
chi
s
expressedi
nthenovel
soft
hisper
iodandi
snot
iceableinthepoet
ryoft
hiscent
ury.

V.TheHumani tar
ianSpiri
t:Thisperi
odischar acter
isedbyther
apidgrowthofdemocr acy.
Str
esswasl ai
dont heindivi
dualmouthofman.Peopl ebecamefamil
iarwit
hthenot i
onsof
equal
it
y,li
bert
yand brotherhood.Thephi l
osophyofRousseau and theFrench Revol
ution
popul
ari
sedthedemocrati
candhumani tar
ianideals,whichi
mmensel
yinfl
uencedt
hel i
ter
ature
ofthi
speri
od.

THEAUGUSTANPOETRY

Aswehav eseent hattheAugust anpoet r

ywast hepr oductofi ntelli
gence,goodsense,r eason
andsani ty.Poli
shandel eganceoff orm wer eofmor ei mpor t
ancet hansubt l
etyoror i
ginali
tyof
thought .Itpl aysupont hesur faceofl i
feandent irelyignor espr imar yhumanemot ionsand
feel
ings.I tisdidacti
candsat i
ric.I ti
sreali
sticanduni maginative.Itistownpoet ry
.I ti
gnor esthe
humbl eraspect sofl i
feandt heent irecountryside.Thepoet i
cst yl
ei spol i
shed,r efinedand
arti
ficial
.Itled―t otheest abl
ishmentofahi ghl
yar tifi
cialandconv entionalstylewhi chbecame
stereot ypedintoat r
aditi
onalpoet icdicti
on‖.Duringt hisperiodt hesat i
ricandnar rativeformsof
poet ryflouri
shed.Her oiccoupl etdomi natedint hispoet ry.Thismet repr oducedacl ose,clear
andpoi ntedst y
le.I
tsepigrammat i
ctersenesspr ovidedasui t
abl emedi um ofexpr essiont othe
kindofpoet rywhichwast henpopul ar.Let‘
sseet heemi nentwr itersoft heperiod.

Al
exanderPope(
1688-
1744)

Popeistherepresentati
vepoetoft heAugustanAge.Hi
sfamouswor ksi
ncl
udePast
oral
s,An
Essayi
nCr i
ti
cism,Wi ndsorFor
est,TheRapeoft heLock,t
ransl
ati
onsofll
iadandOdyssey
,
El
egytothememor yofanUnf or
tunateLadyandAnEssayonMan.

Hewasagr eatpoetofhi sage.Hi sinfl

uencedomi natedt hepoet ryofhi sage.Manyf orei
gn
wr i
ter
sandthemaj orit
yofEngl i
shpoet slookedt ohim ast heirmodel .Pope‘spoetr
yisther eal
pictur
eofthespiri
toft heage.Thet hreepoemsi nwhi chhei sundisputablythespokesmanof
hisagear eTheRapeoft heLock,pi cturi
ngi t
sf ri
voli
ties;Dunci adunv ei
li
ngitssqualor;The
EssayonMan,echoi ngitsphilosophy.Hei sar epresentati
v epoetoft heageof―pr oseand
reason‖.Ahar
dintell
ectual
ityandr at
ionali
ty,qual
iti
espr opertopr ose,di
st i
ngui
shPope‘spoet r
y.
I
nTheRapeoft heLockher ealisti
call
ydeal twitht helif
eoft hefashionableupperstrataof
Londonsociet
y.Hehadamet iculoussenseoft heexactwor dintheexactsense.Hispoet i
car t
i
st he fi
nest specimen of t he neo- cl
assic concept i
on of cor rectness.His admi rabl
e
cr
aft
smanshi
pisbestseenintheexcel
lentuseoft
heher
oiccoupl
et.Hef
ort
hef
ir
stt
ime
i
mpartedi
mmacul
atear
ti
sti
cexcel
l
encetoit.

Dr
.SamuelJohnson(
1709-
84)

Dr.Johnson,a v ol
uminous wr i
ter,was a man ofv ersat
il
el i
ter
ary geni
us.He was t he
acknowledgeddi ct
atorincontempor arylit
eratur
e.Smol l
ettcal
ledhim ―t hegreatchampof
l
iterat
ure.‖Johnson‘
st wopoemsLondonandTheVani tyofHumanWi shesbel ongt othe
Augustanschool ofpoet
ry.Botharewr i
ttenintheheroi
ccoupletandaboundi nPersonif
icati
ons
andot herdev i
cesthatbelongedt othepoet icdict
ionoft heageofneo- cl
assi
cism.I nthei
r
didacti
cism,thei
rformal
,rhetor
icalstyl
e,andt hei
radher
encet otheclosedcouplettheybelong
totheneo- cl
assi
cpoetry
.

Ot
herPoet
s

Ot
herpoetswhodeser
vement
ionar
eMat
thew Pr
ior
,JohnGr
ay,Edwar
dYoungandLady
Wi
nchi
lsea.

THETRANSI
TIONALPOETS

Thet ransiti
onal poet rymar kst hebegi nningofar eacti
onagainsttherational,i
nt ell
ectual,for
mal ,
arti
ficialandunr omant i
cpoet ryoft heageofPopeandJohnson.I twasmar kedbyast r
ong
reactionagai nstst ereotypedr ul
es.Thet ransit
ionalpoetsder iv
edi nspirati
onf rom Spenser ,
Shakespear eandMi l
ton.Unl i
ket heAugust anpoet ry,i
tispoetryofcount r
yside, ofcommonand
ordinar ypeople,andnotoft hef ashionable,aristocrat
icsocietyandt ownl i
fe.Lov eofnat ure
andhumanl if
echar acteri
set hispoet ry.Thet ransiti
onalpoetsrevolt
edagai nstt heconv enti
onal
poet i
c st yl
e and di ction oft he August an poet ry.They aimed atachi eving simpl ici
ty of
expressi on.Thispoet ryappeal edt oemot i
onsandi maginat
ion.Itismar kedbyt hedev elopment
ofnat urali
sm.Cr abbe,Bur ns,Bl akeandmanyot her
sar et hepioneer sofnat ur
alism.The
transitionalpoetsar et hef orerunner soft hespl endidoutburstoft her omant icpoetryoft he
nineteent hcentur y.Let‘sstudybr iefl
yaboutt hesepoet sandtheirworks.

I.JamesThomson( 1700-
48)wast hefi
rsttobringthenewnot ei
npoetrybot
hi nhi
sSeasons
andTheCast l
eofIndolence.TheSeasonsi sablankv er
sepoem andconsistsofalongser i
es
ofdescri
pti
vepassagesdealingwithnaturalscenes.Thoughi t
ssty
lei
sclumsy,thetr
eatmentis
refr
eshi
ng,ful
lofacuteobservat
ionandacut ejoyinnature.TheCastl
eofIndol
enceiswrit
tenin
Spenseri
anStanzaandi sremarkableforsuggest i
veness,dreamymelanchol
yandhar monious
versi
fi
cat
ion.
II
.OliverGoldsmith(1728-74)representsthepoet i
ct radit
ionofneo-classici
sm sof arast he
useoft heheroi
ccoupletisconcer ned.Histreatmentofnat ureandr urallif
e,noteofhuman
sympat hyandsimpl i
cit
yofexpr essionarechar act
eristi
csoft hetransit
ionalpoet r
y.Hi sfirst
poem,TheTr avell
eriswr i
tt
eni nt heheroi
ccoupl etanddeal swi thhi swander ingst hrough
Europe.Heusessi mpleandpol ishedlanguage.Her evealshumansy mpat hyforthesuf feri
ngs
ofthepoor .I
nTheDeser tedVil
l
ageGol dsmithdescribedt hememoriesofhi sy out
h.

II
I.ThomasGr ay( 1716- 71)epi t
omi sest hechangeswhi chwer ecomi ng,overthel i
teratureof
hisage.Hewas―abor npoet ,f
elluponanageofpr ose‖.Hi sear l
ypoemsHy mnt oAdv ersit
y
andt heodesToSpr i
ngandOnaDi stantPr ospectofEt onCol l
egest ri
ket henoteofmel ancholy
thatcharacter
isest heent ir
epoet ryoft hisperiod.Nat ureisdescr ibedasasui t
abl ebackgr ound
fortheplayofhumanemot i
ons.Hi sfinestpoem TheEl egyWr i
tt
eni nAcount ryChur chyardhas
manynewf eaturesi nit
.Itisremar kablef orthemi nuteobser vati
onint hedescriptionsofnat ure,
l
ov eandsy mpat hyf orthehumbl eandt hedepr i
v ed,expr essionoft heprimar yemot i
onsof
humanl if
e.Hist woodes,ThePr ogressofPoesyandTheBar dexpresst henewconcept ionof
thepoetasani nspi r
edsi nger.Thef i
rstshowsMi l
ton‘sinfluenceasr egardsmel odyandv ariet
y
ofexpression.TheBar di sevenmor er omant i
candor i
ginal.Itbreakswi t
hthecl assicalschool
andpr oclai
msal iterar
ydecl arati
onofi ndependence.I nTheFat alSistersandTheDescentof
Odinher eveal
si nterestinnoisel egends.

IV.Wi l
li
am Col l
ins(1721-59)wr otehisfirstworkOri
ent
alEcloguesinprevai
li
ngmechanical
coupletsbutitisr omanti
ci nspi ri
tandf eel
ing.Hi
sOdeToEv eni
ngisinsti
nctwithasweet
tenderness,asubduedpat hos,loveofnatureandamagicalenchant
mentofphrase.HisOdeTo
PopularSuperstiti
onsoftheHi ghlandsint
roducedanewwor l
dofwi t
ches,f
airi
esandmedieval
kings.Soitstr
ikesanewandi nteresti
ngnoteinromant
icr
evival
.

V.Wi ll
iam Cowper(1731-
1800)i sanimmedi ateforerunnerofther omantics.Hisf i
rstvol
umeof
poems, cont
aini
ngThePr ogressofError,Truth,TableTal ketc.showst hei nfl
uenceoft heneo-
cl
assi calrul
es.TheTasksi sCowper‘slongestandf i
nestpoem.Hi sdescr i
pti
onsofhomel y
scenesofwoodsandbr ooks,ofpl owmenandt eamstersandt helet
tercar ri
ersi ndi
catet he
dawnofanewer ainpoet
r y.Cowperwasapi oneerwhopr eachedt hegospel ―returntonat ure‖
.
Hef oreshadowedWor dswor t
handBy ron.Inhi sl
ov eofnat ur
e, hi
semot ionalresponset oi tand
i
nhi ssy mpatheti
chandli
ngofr ur
alli
fehecer t
ainlyantici
patesWor dswor th.Hismi norpoems
Ont heRecei ptofMyMot her’
sPictur
eandAl exanderSel kir
kshow t her iseofr omant i
cism in
Englishpoetry.

VI.GeorgeCrabbe( 1754-1832)i
sapi oneeroft henaturalisti
creacti
onagainsttheAugustan
tr
adit
ion.Hismainpoet i
calworksarewr i
ttenint heheroiccoupl etbutthemati
call
ytheydeal
withtheli
feofsimplecount r
yfol
kandshowhi ssi nceri
ty,sympat hyandacuteobservat
ionof
humanl i
fe.Hi
sdescr i
pti
onsofnatureareneithersentiment alnorpict
uresquenorsent
imental.
Theyar echar
acter
izedbysi ncer
it
yandmi nuteobser vati
on.Asapi oneerofthenat ur
ali
sti
c
r
eact
ionagai
nstt
heAugust
ant
radi
ti
on,
Crabbe‘
spl
acei
scer
tai
nlyv
eryhi
gh.

VII
.MarkAkensi
de( 1721-1770)beganispoeti
ccareerwit
hEpistl
et oCur
iowhichisabr
il
li
ant
sat
irei
ntheAugustant r
aditi
on.Hisbestknownpoem ThePl easuresofI
maginat
ionisalong
poem i
nMil
toni
cblankv er
se.Itcont
ainssomefinedescr
ipt
ivepassagesonanatur
e.

VII
I.Otherpoet
soft het
ransi
ti
onalperi
od ar
eChri
stopherSmart
,Bishop Per
cy ,Thomas
Chatt
ert
onandJamesMacpherson.Per
cy‘
sReli
quesr
eviv
edtheromanceofthemi ddl
eAges.
Healsorevi
vedt
hebal
l
adwhichwasdeftl
yusedbyCol
eri
dgeandKeat
s.

PRECURSORSOFROMANTI
CISM

Bytheendoftheni
neteent
hcentur
ythepoetshadcompletel
yabandonedt
heclassi
cal
tradi
ti
on.
RobertBur
nsandWill
i
am Blakearetheear
lyrepr
esent
ati
vesofthenewschoolofpoet
ryknown
astheromant
ici
sm.

I.Rober tBurnswasi nfluencedbyt het r

aditi
onofScot t
ishpoet r
yandt hel i
fehesawar oundhi m.
Hist wopoems-TheCot ter’
sSat ur
dayNi ghtandTam O’ Shanteraret heear li
estexpressionof
romant ici
sm i ntheei ghteenthcent ury.Burnsspokest rai
ghtfrom t hehear ttot hepr i
mi ti
ve
emot ionsoft herace.Hi spoetryshowsgr eatinteresti nthel i
vesofpoorpeasant sofScot l
and.
Hedepi ctswi thsincerit
yandcompassi ont hepov erty,sufferi
ngs,nat uralfeeli
ngs,joysand
sor r
owsoft hepeoplehesawar oundhi m.Hi spoet ryist heexpressionoft hedemocr aticspi ri
t.
Bur nsbr i
l
li
antlyblendsmanandnat ure.Hecar ri
esi ntohi sscenicpicturest hesamet ender ness
heshowsi ndeali
ngwi tht heCottagers.Hisf i
nestpoet ryislyr
ical
.Bot hhumourandpat hosar e
i
nt ermixedinhi spoetry.Asast yl
istBurnsr epresentst heScot ti
shVer naculartradi
ti
on.Hehada
mat chlessgi f
tforcatchingt r
adit
ionalairsandweddi ngt hem towor dsofsi mpl eandsear ching
beaut y.

II
.Wi l
liam Blake‘sfirstpubl i
cati
onPoet icalSket chesi saser iesofi mitat
ivepoems.I ni the
experi
ment edwi thvar i
ousv erseformsi nt hemannerofSpenser ,Shakespear eandMi lt
on.Hi s
TheSongsofI nnocence,acol lecti
onofshor tlyr
icsexpr essingthepoet ‘sv i
ewsoft heor iginal
stateofhumansoci ety,symbol i
zedint hej oyandhappi nessofchi ldren.Theyhav eapassi onat e
si
ncerityandadeepsy mpat hywi t
ht hechi ld.Andhi sSongsofExper i
encei sanot hercol l
ect i
on
oflyri
csi nwhichthemoodofspont aneousl oveandhappi nessr ev ealedi nSongsofI nnocence
i
sr epl
acedbyal essjoy fulnote.Hisotherwr it
ingsar eTheBookofThel ,TheFr enchRev olution,
TheVi sionsoftheDaught ersofAl bi
on, TheFi r
stBookofBr i
zen,TheBookofAhani a,TheBook
ofLosandTheSongofLos.Bl akeist hewor thypr edecessorofWor dswor th.Hispoet rydeal s
withsimpl eandor dinaryt hemes— t hel oveoft hecount ry,ofsimpl elife,ofchildhoodandof
home.Hebecamet hel eaderofnat urali
st i
cki ndofpoet ry.Hepoet i
cal l
ydeal swi t
hchi l
dhood,
fl
ower s,hil
l
s,streams,cl ouds,bi r
dsandani mals.He,f ort hefir
stt i
me,i ntroducedt henot eof
my st
ici
sm i
npoetr
y.Heclarif
iedt hecommonobj ectsi fnatureandhumanl i
fe,andcaston
them ahaloofmysti
cism.Int hisrespectheant i
cipatesthemy sti
calpoet
ryofWor dsworth.
Blakewasalyri
cpoetparexcellence.Asalyri
cisthei sav i
sionar
ylikeShel
l
ey.Her apt
urously
singsofNat
ure,
LoveandLibert
y .

PROSEOFAUGUSTANAGE

TheAugustanAge,aswehav ealreadydiscussed,i
stheageofpr oseint herealsense.The
proseofBacon,S.
T.Browne,Burt
onandMi l
tonisproseofanageofpoet r
y;buttheproseofthe
new ageisfarbett
eradaptedtoanager icherinphil
osophicandpol
iti
calspeculat
ionthanto
poetry
.Theproseisgreat
erinthear tofcri
ti
calexposi
tionandjour
nal
ist
icreali
sm thaninwork
ofcreati
vei
maginati
on.Drydenisthepioneerofmodernpr ose.

ThePer iodicalEssaywast hepecul i

arpr oductoft heei ghteenthcent ury.Itwascal l
eda
―per i
odical‖becausei twasnotpubl i
shedi nbookf orml i
keot hert y
pesofessay s,buti twas
publi
shedi nmagazi nesandj ournalswhi chappear edper i
odicall
y .Ithadani nherentsoci al
purpose.Itai medati mpr ovi
ngt hemanner sandmor alsoft hepeopl e.Ther efore,itisalso
ter
medast he―soci alessay ‖
.Def oe,St
eele,Addison,Dr.JohnsonandGol dsmi t
henr ichedthe
peri
odicalessaydur i
ngt heei ghteenthcent ury.Wehav eal r
eadydi scussedt hatthei ncreasi
ng
i
nterestinthepolit
icalaffai
rs,theest abl
ishmentofcl ubsandcof f
eehousesal socont ri
butedto
thedevelopmentofpr ose.Let‘sthr owmor el i
ghtonper i
odicalessay .

(
i)ThePer
iodi
calEssay

Periodicalessaypl ayedt her ol eofmi rrortoshowt hesocietyinitsent i

rety .Aboutt heper i
odical
essayHazl i
ttwr i
tes:―I tmakesusf amili
arwi tht hewor ldofmenandwomen,r ecordst heir
actions,assi gnst heirmot ives,exhi bitstheirwhi ms,char acteri
zest heirpur suitsinal ltheir
singularandendl essv ar i
ety,r idi
culest heirabsur dit
ies,exposest heirinconsi st
encies,―hol ds
themi rrorupt onat ur e‖ ,andshowst hev eryageofbodyandt het i
me,i tsform andpr essure,
takesmi nut
esofourdr ess, airs,l
ooks, words,thought sandact ions, andshowsuswhatwear e
andwhatwear enot ,pl ay st hewhol egameofhumanl i
feov erbef oreus,andbymaki ngus
enli
ght enedspect atorsofi tsmanycol our
edscenes, enablesus, ifpossi ble,tobecomet olerably
reasonabl eagentsi nt hear eai nwhi chwehav et oper f
orm apar t
.‖Dani elDef oe( 1661-1731)is
api oneerintheper i
odi cal essayandi nt henov el.Theger msoft heper iodicalessayar ef oundin
Defoe‘sRev iew,whi chatf i
rstappear edweekl y,thent wice,andl aterthriceaweek.I t
smai nai m
wast oacquai ntt heEngl i
shpeopl ewi ththet hought sofDef oeoni nternati
onalpol i
ticsand
commer ce.TheRev i
ewcomesnear ert heper i
odi calessaypr operi nt hesect ioncal l
edAdv i
ce
from t he Scandal ousCl ub;whi ch isdescr i
bed asbei ng ―a weekl yhi st
or yofNonsense,
Imper t
inence,ViceandDebaucher y
.‖Bef oretheRev i
ew wasay earol dt hissect i
onbecamea
mont hlysuppl ement .Lat er,itwassepar atedfrom t hemai npor ti
onandwasdi sti
nguishedby
thet i
tl
eofThel it
tl
eRev i
ew.Thus,int heRev i
ewt heelementofnewsoust sgossipandmor al
crit
ici
sm.Hecont ri
butedtoMist’sJour nalandAppl ebee’
sJour nal.Def
oewasabor njour
nalist
andpamphl et
eerwhowr otewithremar kablefacil
ity
,commandandef f
ectonani nf
ini
tevariety
ofsubj ect
s.Hehadt hekeenestsenseofwhatt hepubli
cwant ed.Hewasamor alandsoci al
reformerandai medatcorrect
ingandt eachinghisage.Def oe‘
spaper sarenoti
ceablefortheir
clear,l
ucidandv i
gorousstyl
e.Hei s,indeed,t hegreatpioneeroft heper
iodi
calessay,andhe
i
nf l
uencedTheTat l
erandTheSpect ator.

Jonat hanSwi ft(1667-1745)wast hemostor iginalwriterofhi stime.Hewast hemanofgeni us

amongmanymenoft alent.Buthi sconnect ionwi ththeper iodicalessayi sverysl i
ght.Hewr ote
af ewpaper sf orTheTat l
erandTheSpect ator.Hi sJour nalt oSt ell
aisanexcel lentcomment ary
oncont empor arychar actersandpol it
icalev ents.HisDr api er’
sLet ters,amodelofpol i
ti
cal
har angue( al ect
ur e)andpopul arar gumentr ousedanunt hinkingEngl ishpublicandgai nedhi m
popul ari
tyi nEngl and.Heal socont ri
butedt oSher i
dan‘sper iodicalTheI ntel
li
gencer .Swi ftwas
notbynat ur eanessay ist.Hewasnotendowedwi thageni alhumour ,humaneout l
ookandan
i
mpassi onedappr oacht olife.Swi ft‘
sintell
ectwast oomassi vef ortheessayandwel ookf or
ther ealSwi ftont helargercanv asofGul li
ver’sTr avels,ATal eofATub.TheBat tleofBooksand
ATal eofaTubr ankamongt hef inestprosesat ir
esinEngl ishl i
terat
ure.Thest yleofATal eofA
Tubi sv erseandhasasust ainedv i
gour,aceandcol orf ulness.Swi ft‘
sinvent i
v egenius,hi s
fi
er cesat i
reandhi scrueli ndignat i
onatl i
fewer ewel ldepi ctedi nGul l
iver’
sTrav els.Swiftwasa
greatst yli
st.Hi spr osei sconv incingandpower ful
.W. J.Longr emar ks:―Di r
ectness,si mpl i
city
,
vigourmar kev erypage. ‖Hewr ites―i nthepl ainestst y
le.‖―Hewasbor ntowr i
tegr eatpr oseas
Mi l
tonwasbor nt owr i
tegr eatpoet r
y.‖

SirRichardSt eele( 1672-1729) ,anor igi

nalgeni us,f oundedt hef amousper i
odical ,TheTat ler.
Expoundi ngt hepur poseofwr i
tingTheTat l
erhewr ote:―Thegener alpur poseoft hispaperi sto
expresst hef alsear tsoflife,topul lofft hedisgui sesofcunni ng,vani tyandaf fectations, andt o
recommendgener alsimpl i
cit
yi nourdr ess,discour se,andourbehav i
or ‖
.Asasoci alhumor ist,
Steelepai ntst hewhol eageofQueenAnnepar ticularlyt hepol iticalandsoci aldi sputes,t he
gentlemenandl adies,t hechar actersofmen,t hehumour sofsoci ety ,t
henew book,t henew
play.Hewast heor igi
nat oroft heTheTat l
erandj oinedwi t
hJosephAddi son( 1672- 1719)i n
creatingTheSpect atorin1711.Thenewpaperappear eddai ly.InTheTat l
erAddi sonhadbeen
anoccasi onalandl at t
eraf r
equentcont ri
butor.InTheSpect atorbot hSt eeleandAddi sonwer e
coadj ustorsf rom thest art.Steel ebeinganor iginalgeni ussuggest edt heideaoft heSpect ator
and hi s club.The Human f i
gur e oft he Spect at or,sur r ounded byhi s cl ub consi sti
ng of
representativesofv ari
ousgr adesandcl assesofsoci ety, wasani mmensei mpr ov ementoft he
crudemachi ner y.Her einconsi stst hesuper i
orityofTheSpect at or.Si rRogeri st hecent ral
characteri nTheSpect ator.Ot hermemor ablechar act ersi ni tareSi rAndr ew,Wi llHoney comb
andt heSpect atorhi mself.TheTat lerisacol lectionofdi sconnect edessay s,butt her ei sasor t
ofuni tyint hel att
erduet ot hepr esenceoft hesechar act ers.Howev ert heybot hcan‘ tbe
separ at
edf rom eachot herwhi l
est udy i
ngandev aluat i
ngt heper iodi calessay soft het ime.I n
thisconnect iont hev iewsofWi ll
iam Longi si mpor tant:―I tisof teni mpossi ble,‖r emar ks
W. J.
Long, ―int heTat leressay st
osepar atethewor koft women, butt hemaj orit
yofcr iti
cshol d
thatthemor eor iginalparts,thecharacters,thet hought ,theov erf
lowingki ndli
ness,ar el ar
gely
Steele‘
scr eation;whi l
et oAddi sonfellthewor kofpol ishingandper fecti
ngt heessay s,andof
addingthatt ouchofhumourwhi chmadet hem t hemostwel comel i
teraryvisit
orst hatEngl and
hadev erreceiv ed.‖Comment ingontheco- aut horshipofSt eeleandAddi son,Rickettalsowr ites:
―St eelebr oughtt ohi swor kawi deexper ienceofl i
fe,gener oussy mpat hi
esandasunny
humour :Addi sonbr oughtawi deexperienceofl it
erature,apol i
shedst yl
e,andj ustapl easant
tangofaci dit
yi nhi shumour .Bothwer emor ali
stsathear t,withmucht hesameout l
ookont he
societyoftheirday .
‖Inshor tspanoffory earsi nwhi chAddi son72

andSt eelewor kedt ogethert heper i

odi calessaywasest abli
shedasoneoft hemosti mpor t
ant
formsofl i
terat
ure.Addi sonhadagi ftf orsocialcrit
icism whi chSt eeledidnotpossess.I nThe
Spect atorheappear sasaconsummat epai nterofcont empor aryli
feandmanner s.Hewasan
i
nfor medobser ver,aj udiciouscrit
icofmanner sandchar acter s.Heai medatsoci al r
eformat i
on,
atest abl i
shingsocialst andardsofconducti nmor al
s,manner s,artandl i
terature.Hi staskwas
torecov erpeoplefrom t hatst at
eofv iceandf ol
lyint
owhi cht heagehadf all
en.Hehadbr ought
phil
osophy―outofcl oset sandl i
braries, schoolsandcol leges, todwel linclubsandassembl ies,
atteat ablesandi ncof f
eehouses.I twashi stask―t oenl i
v enmor ali
tywi t
hwi tandt ot emper
witwi thmor al
it
y.‖Addi sonwasageni alandsof thumor ist.Hehadakeensenseoft he
l
udicrous.Heknewhowt ouser idi
cul ewi t
houtabusi ngi t
.Hewast hegent lesat iri
st―whohi t
nounf airblow,theki ndj udgewhocast igatedonl yinsmi li
ng. ‖Hewasal soagr eatmast erof
prosest yle.―Addi sonmaybesai d‖wr i
tesCour thope,―t ohav eal mostcr eatedandwhol l
y
perfect edEngl i
shpr oseasani nstrumentf ortheexpr essionofsoci althought ‖ .Hisst yleis
noti
ceabl ef orneat ness and l ucidi
t y ofexpr essi
on.I nt hi sr especthe r epr esent
s ―our
i
ndispensabl eeighteent hcent ur
y‖.

(
ii
)Dr
.SamuelJohnson(
1709-
84)

Hewasaf i
rst-
rateprosewr it
eroft heei ghteenthcent ury.Inthebegi nni nghecont r
ibut edt o
TheGent leman’ sMagazi neandt ohi sper i
odicalTheRambl erwhi chappear edt wi
ce.These
paperswer efullofdeept houghtsandobser vati
ons.Theyl ackedt heel eganceofTheSpect ator.
TheRambl erre-est
abli
shedt heper i
odicalessaywheni twasi ndangerofbei ngsuper sededby
the newspaper .Dur i
ng 1758-60 he cont ributed paperst o The I dlerand t o TheUni ver sal
Chronicle.I n1747hebeganwor kingonhi smonument alwor kTheDi ctionaryoft heEngl i
sh
Language.I nthePrefaceheexpl ainsthathi saim wast o―pr eserv ethepur it
yandascer taint he
meaningofourEngl i
shidiom‖andpr eventst helanguagef rom bei ngov errunwi th―cant ‖and
Gall
ici
zedwor ds.Heal sowroteRassel asandPr i
nceofAby ssini
a, aphi losophicalnov el.Itisas
ali
terarycr it
icthatDr.Johnsonl ef
thisi mper i
shablemar konEngl i
shpr ose.Hi stwomemor able
cri
ti
calwor ksar eShakespeareandTheLi vesoft hepoet s,aseriesofi ntroduct i
onstof if
tyt wo
poets.T. S.Eli
otregardshim as―oneoft het hreegreatestcriti
csofpoet ryinEngl i
shl i
terat ure:
theot hert wobegi n.DrydenandCol er
idge.Asapoetandl i
terarycr i
tichewasanar dent
exponentofneo-cl
assi
cism.HisLivesofthePoet
s,r
emarksT.S.
Eli
ot,―i
stheonlymonumental
coll
ect
ionofcrit
icalst
udiesofEnglishpoet
sinEngl
ishl
anguage,wit
hacoherence,aswel
las
amplit
ude,whi
chnoot hercri
ti
cism cancl
aim.‖

Johnson‘sprosest
ylehasbeenv ari
ouslytermedas―manl yandstrai
ght
for war
d,l
ucidlydisti
nct,
heavy,indi
vi
dualandponder ous,f ullofmanner isms,v igorousandf orceful
,wearisomebut
l
ucid.
‖Thest yl
eofTheRambl erandTheRassel asi smar redbymanner i
sms, buti
nTheLi vesof
thePoetshegi v
esupmanner ismsandwr itesaslucidlyandeasilyashetalked.I
ndeed, hisstyl
e
hasthemer it
sanddef ectsofschol arshi
p.Hesel dom usesl anguagewhi chiseit
herempt yor
i
nexact.Tohim astandardprosest yl
eshoul dbe―abov egrossnessandbel owref
inement .‖The
pecul
iarpowerofhisstyl
econsi stsin―maki ngtheol dnew, andthecommonpl aceindividual
.‖

(
ii
i)Ol
iv
erGol
dsmi
th(
1728-
74)

Goldsmi thenr i
chedt heperiodicalessay .Hecont r
ibutedt oTheMont hl yRev i
ewandt oseveral
otherper i
odicals.Theear l
i
estper iodicalwithwhi chhi snamei sassoci atedwasTheBeewhi ch
waspubl i
shedweekl y .I
tcontainedpaper sonav ari
etyofsubj ects.Aftert hecl osur eofTheBee
hispaper sbegant oappearundert hecapt i
onTheCi t
izenoft heWor ldi naj ournalcall
edThe
Publ i
cLedger .I ti soneoft hef i
nestcol lecti
onsofessay sev erwr i
tt en.Gol dsmi t
h‘sessays
revealanext raor dinar ypower ,bol dness,or i
ginali
tyoft houghtandt ender ness.Hi sminute
obser vat
ionofmanandhumannat ureisremar kable.Asanessay i
sthewasi nspiredbyat ouch
offellowf eel
ing, per sonalexper i
enceandki ndlysympat hy.Hisessaysar eal soconspi cuousfor
theirgenialhumour .Hi sst
yleiscl ear,li
mpi danddel i
cate.AfterGoldsmi ththeper iodi
calessay
began t o decl i
ne.Abouthi s cont ri
buti
on t o pr ose,Ri ckettwr i
tes:―I ndeed,hi s quai
nt
whimsi cali
ty,passi ngunexpect edlyf r
om delicatefancyt oelf
ishmer r
iment ,ant ici
patesinmany
way st hemet hodsofEl iaandLei ghHunt .
—Hewasapoetofat alent
,apr osemanofgeni us,a
proseman, mor eov er ,ofdi
stincti
veandor i
ginal genius.‖

(
iv)Ot
herPr
oseWr
it
ers

Duringthi
sagepr osewasacommonandpopul armedi
um ofexpressi
onandcommuni cati
on.
JohnArbuthnotisremember edf
orhispoliti
calwri
ti
ngswhichincl
udeTheHistoryofJohnBull
andTheAr tofpoli
ti
calLy
ing.Lor
dBolingbrokewroteonpol
iti
csandphil
osophyinanagreeabl
e,
l
ucidandv i
gorousstyl
e.Hisworksi
ncludeLet t
ertoSirWi
ll
i
am Wy ndham,ALetterontheSpiri
t
ofPatr
ioti
sm andTheIdeaofAPat r
iotKing.

EdmundBur kewast her enownedpolit

ici
an,parli
ament ari
anandor at
or .Hewr oteonpol it
ical
andphilosophicaltopi
cs.Hi sphi
losophi
calwri
tingsar eAVi ndi
cat
ionofNat uralSocietyandOur
Ideas oft he Sublime and Beaut i
ful
.His polit
ic wr i
ti
ngs consisti
ng ofhi s speeches and
pamphl et
shav eanabi dingplaceinEngli
shprose.Hi sspeechescol l
ectedi nAmer i
canTaxat i
on
andOnConci l
iati
onwi ththeColoniesaredist
inguishedbyapassi onat e,rhet
or i
cal
,brill
i
antand
l
ucid styl
e,f i
neand ar ti
sti
carrangementofmat er
ialand thest atesmanl ikeinsightwhich
under li
est hesear guments.Hisspeechesont hei mpeachmentofWar renHast i
ngsarehi ghly
mov ing.Heal sowr oteanumberofpamphl et s.Burkes‘styl
ehasassi gnedhi m aper manent
placei nlit
erature.Adam Smi thisknownwor ldwidef orhisTheWeal thofNat i
ons.Hel aidthe
foundat i
onofmoder neconomi cthought .Int hehi storyofEngl i
shprosehei sr emember edf or
hispl ainandbusi nesslikeprose.GeorgeBer keleywr oteThePr i
nci
plesofHumanKnowl edge
and TheMi nut ePhilosopher.Hiswr i
ting r ev olvesar ound thescienti
fic,philosophicaland
met aphy si
calt opi
csinal anguageofliter arydi st
incti
on.Boswel l‘
sTheLi f
eofSamuelJohnson
i
st hef ir
stgr eatbi
ographyi nEngl
ishli
ter ature.Lor dChest er
fi
eldwasanemi nentl ett
erwr it
erof
thisper iod.Hi sLet t
erst oHisSonar enot iceablef orlucidi
tyofexpr ession,i nt
imacyand
fl
awl essease.Thus, theeight
eenthcent ur ywast hegol denageofEngl i
shpr ose.Variedt ypeof
prosewaswr itt
enduringthisperi
od.

DRAMAOFAUGUSTANAGE

Thef i
rsthalfoftheeighteenthcenturywasal mostbl ankindr amaticlit
erature.Theday soft he
bri
ll
iantRestorati
onComedyofManner swereov er
.Addi son‘sCatoist heonl ynotewor t
hywor k
i
nt hef i
eldoftragedy.St
eele‘sTheConst antLov er
sdoesnotamuseasat ragedy .Itpr
eaches.
Sohebecamet hefounderoft hathighlygenteel,di
dact i
candv api
dki ndofpl aywhi chisknown
assent imentalcomedy .Geor geLillowr oteLondonMer chantandFat alCur i
osity.Theyar e
exampl esofdomest icdr ama,i nthesepl ays,thechar act er
sandi ncidentswer et akenf rom
commonl i
feandnotf rom r omanceandhi story.HughKel l
y‘
sFal seDel icacyandRi chard
Cumber land‘
sTheWestI ndianar eregardedt hebestexampl esofthesent i
ment alcomedy .In
sentimentalcomedyt earstookt hepl aceofl aughter;melodr amati
canddi stressi
ngsi tuations
thatofi ntri
gue,patheti
cher oinesandser iousl oversandhonestser vantst hatofr ogues,
gall
antsandwi ttydamsels.

React
iont
otheSent
iment
alComedy

GoldsmithandSheri
danpi oneeredt hemov ementagai
nstthesenti
ment alcomedy.―Goldsmit
h
endeavors‖wri
tesNicoll―torev i
vet hespiri
tofAsYouLikeIt
,whereSher i
danstr
ivestocreat
e
anotherTheWayoft heWor ld.‖Goldsmi t
hat t
ackedt
hesentimentalcomedyinhi sessayThe
PresentStat
eofPol it
eLear ning.Inanot heressayOntheTheatreorACompar isonBetween
LaughingandSenti
ment alComedy ,
hest art
ed

wit
ht heclassicalformul athatt r
agedyshoul dr epresentthemi sf
ortunesoft hegreatand
comedythef r
ailt
iesofhumbl erpeople.So,accor dingtot heclassi
calpr i
nci
plet hesenti
ment al
comedyhad no pl acei nlit
eratur
e.Int hePr efacet oi scomedyTheGood Nat ured Man
Goldsmi
th exposes t he hollowness ofsent i
ment alcomedy .She St oops t o Conqueri s
Goldsmi
th‘
smast er
piece.AboutGol dsmi th‘
sdr amat i
cwr iti
ng,Rickettwr i
tes:―Gol dsmith‘
s
GoodNaturedMani sexcell
entinparts;SheSt oopst oConqueri sexcel l
entthroughout,witha
bri
ghtwhimsicalhumourandaf r
eshchar m ofdial
oguenotat t
ainedsincetheday sofCongr eve.
Lesswitt
ythant heRest or
ati
ondr amatists,Goldsmithisgr eatl
ysuper i
orinhi shumani t
yand
tast
e.‖Sher i
dan soughttorev
ivethe spi
ri
tand atmospher
e ofthe comedyofmanner s,
especi
allythoseofCongrev
einTheRival
sandTheSchoolforScandal
.Hislastpl
ayTheCrit
ic
orATr agedyRehearsedi
sveryt
ell
i
ngonpopularsent
iment
aldrama.I
thasbeencall
edthebest
burl
esqueoft heage.

NOVELDURI
NGAUGUSTAN

TheFor
erunner
sofNov
el

Thedev el opmentofEngl ishpr osecont ribut edt ot her iseofnov el dur i

ngt heei ght eent hcent ur y.
DanielDef oe‘sRobi nsonCr usoe, CaptainSi ngl eton, Mol lFl ander s, AJour naloft hePl agueYear
andRoxanaar et hef orerunner sofnov el.Hi sf ictionalwor ksar ecal l
ed―f icti
onalbi ographi es. ‖
Theent iregamutofhi sf ict
ionalwor ki sbi ogr aphi calandhemadenoat temptt owar dst he
organizationofmat erialint oasy stemat icpl ot .Howev er
, hi
sf ictional wor ksar edi sti
ngui shedby
―t heext raor dinar yrealism whi chisani mpor tantel ementi nt hear tofnov elwr i
ting.Hi sst or ies
aretoldsoconv i
nci nglyasi ft heywer est oriesofr eall if
e.Heal soknew t hear tofnar rat ing
detail
sef fect i
v ely.Hehadaswi f
tandr esol ut enar r
at ivemet hodandapl ainandmat t
er-of -
f act
styl
e.Tot hedev elopmentofnov elDef oe‘scont ributioni sr emar kabl e.Hi sf i
ctionalwor ks
―f ormt het ransi t
ionf rom t hesl ightt aleandt her omanceoft heEl izabet hant i
met ot he
fi
nishednov elofRi char dsonandFi el
ding. ‖Jonat hanSwi ft‘
sGul li
v er’sTr avels,whi chsat irises
themanner sandpol it
icsofcont empor ar yEngl andandEur ope,i swr itt
eni npower fuland
convincingpr ose.I talsocont ri
butedt ot heev oluti
onofEngl ishnov el.Thef amousper iodi cal
TheSpect atori saf orerunnerofEngl ishnov el.I tcont ai
nsal lt heel ement sofsoci alnov el,
exceptahar moni ouspl ot .Themat eri
alf ort henov el sofmanner sorsoci alcomedyi sf oundi n
TheCov er l
eyPaper s.I tcont ainsv ividandr eal i
st i
cpr esent ationofcont empor arysoci ety ,wel l
deli
neatedchar acters,r i
chf undofhumourandpat hosandacl ear ,lucidst yle.Edwar dAl ber t
remarks:―i fAddi sonhadpi nnedt heCov erleyPaper st oget herwi thast rongerpl ot,ifinsi st ed
ononl yref erringt ot hewi dowwhohadst olent hekni ght‘saf fections,hehadi ntr oducedsome
i
mpor tantf emal echar act ers,weshoul dhav ehadt hef irstregul arnov elinourt ongue.Asi ti s,
thi
sessayser iesbr i
nguswi t
hinmeasur abl edi st anceoft hegenui neei ght eent hcent urynov el.‖

CausesofthePopular
it
yandRi seofNov eli
ntheAugustanAge.Thef
oll
owi
ngf
act
ors
cont
ribut
edt
othedev
elopmentofnov
eldur
ingtheei
ght
eent
hcent
ury.

I
.TheSpr
eadofEducat
ionandt
heNewReadi
ngPubl
ic.

I
nt heeight
eenthcentur
yt hespreadofeducat i
onandt heappear anceofnewspapersand
magazi
nesl edtoar emarkabl
eincreaseinthenumberofr eaders.Thenewspaperandthe
per
iodi
calessay―encour
agedar apid,i
nat
tent
ive,
almostunconsciouskindofr
eadi
nghabit
‖.I
t
i
sexact lysuchaki ndofhabitthati sr equi
redf ornov elreading.Themi ddle-cl
asspeopl e,who
hadaf oremostpl aceinEngl i
shl if
eandsoci ety,wantedt oreadforpl easureandr elaxati
on
withoutcaringf oranyhighclassicalorl i
ter
aryst andards, andthischangeofemphasi sfav or
ed
thegr owthoft henov el
.Moreov er,t
henewr eadingclasswant edtoreadabouti t
sel
f,abouti t
s
ownt hought s,mot i
vesandst ruggles.I tdidnothav el eisureenoughf orr eadi
ngthel engt
hy
heroicromances.I tdemandednewt ypeofl i
terature.Sot henov elwasbor n,whichmirroredthe
tastesandr equirementsofthisnewcl assofr eaders.Women, whohadpl entyoflei
sure,sought
pleasurethroughnov elr
eading.

I
I.TheDemocr
ati
cMov
ement

Ther i
seoft henov eli
salsoassociatedwiththedemocr ati
cmov ementi ntheei ghteenthcent ury.
Hudsonr emar ks:―Thecompr ehensivenessoft henov el,i
tsfreetreatmentofchar actersand
doingsofal lsor tsandcondi t
ionsofmen,andespeci all
yitshandlingofmi ddleclassandl ow
l
ife,areunmi stakableev i
dencesofi t
sdemocr aticqual it
y.‖Ther iseoft hemi ddlecl assi s
cl
osel yrelat
edwi t
ht hedemocr ati
cmov ement .Wit
ht hegr owthofcommer ceandi ndustry,the
presti
geoft heol df eudalnobil
it
ywasont hewane.Andt hemiddl eclasseswer ei ncreasing
steadil
yi nsoci alandpol i
ti
calpower .Themi ddl
ecl asseswer einclinedtomor ali
ty,sent i
ment
andr eal
ity.Thenov elrefl
ect
edt hetemper amentoft hemi ddleclassand,t herefore,itbecame
popular.

I
II
.Compr
ehensi
venessofFor
m.

Novelasanew f orm ofli

ter
aryartoffer
edafr
eshfiel
d,inwhi
chthewrit
ersweret owork
i
ndependent
ly.Hudsonwr i
tes:―Final
ly
,asthefor
m oft henov
el,gi
vesaf arwiderscope
al
lowedtothecorrespondi
ngform ofdramaf
ort
hetreat
mentofmotiv
es,f
eeli
ngs,andal
lthe
phenomenaofthe

i
nnerli
fe,i
ttendedfr
om thefi
rsttot
akethepecul
i
arpl
aceast
het
ypi
calar
tfor
m oft
he
i
ntr
ospecti
veandanal
yti
cal
modernwor
ld.
‖

I
V.TheDev
elopmentoft
heNewPr
oseSt
yle.

Oneoftheimport
antcausesoft hedev el
opmentofnoveli
st heevol
uti
onofanewprosestyl
e.
Asthenoveldeal
swithordinar
yl i
fe,ordi
nar
ypeople,andordinar
yeventsandwi
thal
lsortsof
miscel
l
aneousmatter
s,itrequi
respl ai
n,l
uci
dandst rai
ght
forwardstyl
e.Duri
ngt
heeight
eenth
century,writ
ersli
keAddi son,Steele,Gol
dsmit
h,Bur
keetc.ev
olv
edaplai
nst
ylewhichwas
capableofexpr essingther eali
ti
esofl i
fe.I
thasacloserel
ati
onwi
thther
efl
ect
ionsand
expressionsthenovelexpresses.

V.TheDecl
ineofDr
ama.

Dramahadgr ownar ti
fici
al,unnaturalandi mmor alduri
ngt heear li
erpartoft heei ghteenth
century.Itwast hedeclineofdr amadur i
ngt hef irsthalfoftheei ghteenthcent urythatmade
wayf ort henovel.Thelatterpartoftheei ghteenthcent urywast hegoldenageoft henov el.A
tr
uenov eli
ssimpl yawor koff i
cti
onwhi chr elatest hest
oryofpl ainhumanl i
fe, understressof
emot i
on, whi
chdependsf orit
sinterestnotoni ncidentandadv enture,butonitst rut
ht onat ure.
Richardson,Fiel
ding,Smol let
tandSt er
ne,knownast he―f ourwheel sofnov el‖-allseem t o
havesei zedupont heideaofr efl
ecti
nglifeasi tis,intheform ofast ory,andtohav edev eloped
i
tsimul t
aneously.

TheFourWheel
soft
heNov
el.

Richar
dson,Fi
eldi
ng,Smol
let
tandSternear
eknownasthe―fourwheel
soft henovel
‖.They
broughtt
hisnewgenretosuchmatur
it
ythati
tbecamet
hegl
oryofEngl
and.Let‘
ssee,i
nshort
,
theseaut
horsandthei
rworksasf
oll
ows:

(
i)Samuel
Richar
dson(
1689-
1761)

Richardson‘sfi
rstnov elPamelatel
lsthestor
yoft het rial
s,tri
bulati
ons,andt hef i
nalhappy
mar r
iageoft heheroine.Itiswri
tt
enintheformsofl etters.Iti
sal soknownasanepi stolary
novelbecauset henov elisdevel
opedwiththeexchangeofl ett
ersbet weent hecharacters.It
wasi nstantl
ysuccessful.I
nitt
hemoralandsocial
purposesar esuccessf ul
lyblended.Pamel a‘s
characteriswelldrawn.Theplot,t
houghsimple,i
swel ldev el
oped.Itisconsideredast hef i
rst
novel i
nt hemodernsense.

HisClari
ssaorTheHi
stor
yofALadyinei
ghtv
olumesi
sasent
imentalnov
el.I
tgaveRi
char
dson
Europeanreput
ati
onand―iti
ssti
llr
egar
dedasoneofthegr
eatestoftheeight
eent
hcentur
y
novels‖
.

Clari
ssa‘scharacterisreal
isti
call
ydrawnwi thpsy chol
ogicali
nsight.Italsocont ai
nsthemost
remarkable st
udyoft he scoundrel
,Lovelace.I nitthe dramat ic elementis strong.I
tis
character
izedbypat hos,si
ncerit
yandminut ereali
sm.Richardson‘snov elsar
est ori
esofhuman
l
ife,t
oldfrom within,anddependingfort
heirinterestnotonincidentandadv enture,butont
hei
r
trut
htohumannat ure.Readinghisworkis,ont hewhole,l
ikeexami ninganantiquatedworkofa
ster
n wheelst eamer ,itisi nteresting fori tsundeveloped possi bil
iti
es,rathert han fori t
s
achievement .Richardson‘spl acei nt hehi storyofEngl ishnov eli
sv eryhigh.―Ri chardson‖,
writ
esRi ckett,
―i nt
roducedsent iment al
i
tyint oEngli
shnov elandpopul ari
zeditforever.Wi t
hout
hi
sinf l
uencewenev erhavehadTr istr
am Shandy ,
wecer tainlyshouldhav ebeenwi thoutJoseph
Andrews,… Thent hef emininest andpointt akeni nhiswr i
tingsstirr
edmanyabl ewoment o
continueandampl i
fyt hefemi ninet r
adit
ion.FannyBur neyandJaneAust enareindebt edtohim
andahostofl essernames‖ .InCl ari
ssahei ntr
oducedtheepi stolar
yform ofnov el.Hewast he
fi
rstnov eli
stt o show t he r ealand v italknowl edge ofhuman hear t,it
s per versit
ies and
contradi
ctions.

(
ii
)Henr
yFi
eldi
ng(
1707-
54)

Fieldingwast hegr eatestoft hisnew gr oupofnov el

ists.Hei scal l
ed―t hef atherofEngl i
sh
nov el‖becausehef orthef ir
stti
mepr opoundedt het echni queofwriti
ngnov el.Hehadadeeper
andwi derknowledgeofl if
e,whi chhegai nedf rom hi sownv ar
iedandsomet i
mesr i
otous
exper iences.Asamagi st
ratehehadani nt i
mat eknowl edgeofmanyt ypesofhumancr i
mi nal
ity
whi chwasofmuchuset ohi minhi snov els.Hisfirstnov elJosephAndr ews( 1742)beganasa
burlesqueoft hef alsesent iment al
i
tyandconv entionalv irt
uesofRi chardson‘sPamel a.Ini t
Fieldinghumor ouslynar r
atestheadv entur esoftheher o,JosephAndr ews,andhi scompani on,
Par sonAdams.Fr om t hev erybeginningweseet hest ampofhi sgenius-thecompl eterejecti
on
oft heepi stol
aryfor m andmor alizi
ng,thest ructuraldev elopmentoft hest ory
,t hebr oadand
vivacioushumourwhi chwasdeni edtoRi chardson, thegeni ali
nsi
ghtintohumannat ure,andthe
forcef ulandpi t
hyst yl
e.I nJosephAndr ewsFi eldingemer gesonapi oneeroft henov elof
manner s.InJonathanWi ldhegivesusnewandpi ercinggl i
mpsesoft heruffi
anment al
it
y .

Fiel
ding‘smast erpi
ece,Tom Jones,t akesanenor mouscanv asandcr owdsi twithnumerous
characters.I
tgi vesust hefullestandr i
chestpictureofEngl ishlif
eaboutt hemi ddleofthe
eighteenthcentury.Althought hepi car
esqueel ementisstronglymar kedi nthisnovel,i
tismore
than a picaresquenov el.Fieldi
ng cal l
si t―t he comicepici n prose.‖Tom Jonesst ands
unrival
ledint hehi st
oryofEngl ishnov elforitscoherentandwel l
-knitstr
ucture,ri
chnessof
characteri
zati
on,v i
v i
dandr eal i
sticpresentat
ionofcont empor arysoci ety
,saneandwi sepoi
nt
ofv i
ew.Amel iaisthest oryofagoodwi f
ewho, i
nspiteoft
empt at
ion,

remainsf aithf
ultoagood- nat uredbuterri
nghusband,Capt ainBooth.Itisatonceasear chi
ng
cri
ti
cism ofcont empor ar
ysoci etyandamat ur e.I tsoberlyconcei vesstoryofev er
y dayl i
fe,is
ri
chini ncidentand,li
keTom Jones, isremar kablef orit
si nsightint
ohumanchar acter.Fieldi
ng
hasrightlybeencalled―t hef atherofEnglishnov el‖.Hef ort hefi
rsttimef ormulatedt het heory
ofnov elwr iti
ngint hepref acesofJosephAndr ewsandTom Jones,andf oll
owedhi sown
defi
niti
onwi thutmostconsi stency.Othernov eli
st sf ol
lowedhi sexampl e.Hegav eadef i
nite
form andshapet ot henov el
.I nt hewordsofRi char dChur ch:―Hei sthefirstwrit
ertof ocust he
novelinsuchawayt hathebr oughtthewhol ewor l
dasweseei t
,wi t
hinthescopeoft hisnew,
rapi
dlymat uri
ngli
terar
yf orm. ‖Fiel
dingist hef ir
stgr eatr ealisti
nthehi storyofEngl i
shnov el
.
Commonl ifeisthemat er i
alofhi snov elbuti tishandl edasRal eighpoi nt
sout ,―wi tht he
freedom andi magi nat i
onofagr eatar tist.
‖Hepr esentsacompl et eandcompr ehensi vepi cture
ofcont empor arysoci ety.Hisr eali
sm i sepi cali nitsr ange, sweepandv ari
ety.Hei st hef ounder
ofmoder nr eal i
st i
cnov elandt henov elofmanner s.Fielding‘sr ealism isconnect edwi thhi s
comi cpoi ntofv iew,hi swi se,t olerantaccept anceoft hingsast heyar e.Hehadnot hingt odo
wi t
ht hepr udi shmor al i
tyofRi char dson.Het hrewi tasideandpr esent edmani nf ulll
engt hashe
foundhi m.Thoughhepor trayedmenwi thnor eser vati
ons,henev erf orgott hathewasoneof
them.Fr om t hi sinbor nsympat hycomeshi sl arge,t ol
erantwayofl ookingatt hi ngs,av i
ewof
l
ifet hatof tenf indsexpr essioni nr ai
ll
er ybutnev erincy nicism.Hel aughs,buthi sl aught eris
alway sr eadyt ogi vepl acet otender nessandpi ty.Forhi mt het r
agedyofl if
el ayi nt hepr esence
ofv ir
tueandi nnocencei nawor l
dofev il
,cr ueltyanddecept i
on.I nt hepr esent ationoft ragedy ,
Fieldingi sal way sdi rect,simpl eandsi ncer e.Fi el
dingwast hefirstt oinfuset henov el―wi tht he
refreshi ngandpr eser vingel ementofhumour .‖Hewascapabl eofpr esentingpur ecomedyi n
suchchar act ersasAdamsandPar tri
dgeandl owerandmor efar cicalcomedyi nchar actersl ike
Mr s.Sl ipslopandSquar eWest er n.Heef fectivelylashesouthi ssat ir
eataf fectat i
on,v ani ty
,
pedant r y,hy pocr i
syandv i
ce.Buthei sal way shumanandhumane.I ronyisagr eatweaponof
his sat ir
e.Fi elding‘s ai m was t or eplace Ri chardson‘ s mor bid mor ali
ty by a heal thy
commonsensemor ality.Thi scommonsensemor ali
tygav e hi m a shr ewd i nsighti ntot he
weaknessofhi schar acter.Fieldingwasasuper bcr aftsman.Hechangedt heconceptofpl ot
const ruct i
on.I nhi snov elswegetf ort hef irsttimeacl osely -
kni torgani cplot .Ot hernov el i
sts
l
ear ntt hear tofpl otconst ructi
onf rom hi m,

Heist hecr eat oroft henov elofchar act er.Hepeopl edhi snovelswi thli
vel
yandi nteresti
ng
char
act ers.Heendowedhi schar acter
swi thli
feandv i
tali
ty.Hehasv ivi
dlyport
rayedal lkindsof
char
act erslikeShakespear e.LikeShakespear ehehasasy mpatheticy etmatur elydet ached
vi
ew ofhumancomedy .Thef orceswhi chgui dehischar acter
sar e;forthemostpar t,natural
humanneeds, foritweretheset hatFieldingknewbest .Set ti
ngsinFiel
ding‘snovelsar er eali
stic
andr ecognizabl e.Hisnar rati
v eisener geticandef fecti
ve.Hei ni
ti
atest hepr acticeoft he
omniscientnar rator,whi
chhasbeenuni v ersal
lyfol
lowed,bymanyf oll
owingwr it
ers.Asast yl
ist
hebrokeawayf rom themanner ed,art
ificialsty
leoftheear li
ernoveli
sts.Iti
sfresh, cl
ear ,dir
ect,
unaf
fect ed,vigorousandeasy .Itgiv
esv itali
tytohischaracters.

(
ii
i)Tobi
asSmol
let
t(1721-
71)

Smol l
ett,whowr oteTheAdv entur esofRoder i
ckRandom,TheAdv enturesofer egrinePi ckle,
andTheExpedi t
ionofHumhr yCl inker,addednewf eatherst othecapoft hecr aftcal l
edEngl ish
novel.Hi snovelsaresimpl ystringsofadv entur eswhi char enotor ganizedi ntoanar tisti
cwhol e.
Heconcei vedthenovel asa―l argedi ffusedpi ctureofl i
fe.Itistheper sonalityoftheher owhi ch
hast hesembl anceofuni tytov ariousi ncidentsandadv entures.Hi snov elsar ecalledepi sodic
orpanor amicnov el
s.Asapanor ami cnov el
istSmol l
etthasnev erbeensur passed.Smol l
ett‘
s
character saretypesandnoti ndi viduals.Hehadageni usfordepi cti
ngoddi ti
esandheexcel sas
acar icaturi
st.Hedescr i
beshi schar actersi nt ermsofext ernals.Hischar actersar egr ossl y
exagger atedanddi storted.Smol l
et t
‘spr esentationoft hehar shandugl yr eali
ti
esofl if
eand
societymakeshi m af orerunneroft henov elofpur pose.Hudsonwr it
es:Ithas,howev er,tobe
remember edt hatSmol l
ettwr ot
eexpresslyasasat i
ri
standr eformer, andthathispur posewas
topaintthemonst rousev i
l
sofl i
feinthei
rtruepropor ti
onsandcol ur
est hathemi ghtthusdrive
them homeupont heattenti
onoft hepubli
c,andwemustcer t
ainlysetitdownt ohi scredi
tthat
thesickeningr eali
sm oftheshipscenesinTheRoder ickRandom l eddi r
ectl
ytodr asti
cchanges
forthebetteri ntheconditi
onsinthenav alservi
ce.He, thus, anti
cipatesthenov elwithpurpose.
Smol l
ettfollowedt hetradi
tionofthepicaresquenov el,whi chpr esentsauni onofi ntri
gueand
adventure.Hi sstyleisvivi
dandl i
vely
.Itisforcefulandmascul i
ne.Hi smet hodcoul dbeeasily
i
mi t
ated.Di ckensfoll
owedhi m.Therewasaspur tofpi caresquehi m.

(
iv)Laur
enceSt
erne(
1713-
1768)

Ster ne‘sf irstnov elTheLi feandOpi nionsofTr istram Shandywonhi mi mmedi ater ecogni t
ion.I t
recor dst heexper i
encesoft heeccent ri
cShandyf ami l
y .―I tschiefst r
engt hl i
esi ni t
sbr i
ll
iant
style, …andi ni tsoddchar act er slikeUncl eTobyandCor poralTr imm,whi ch,wi thal lthei r
eccent ri
cities,ar esohumani zedbyt heaut hor ‘
sgeni ust hatt heybel ongamongt hegr eat
―cr eat i
ons‖ofourl iterature.‖Hi ssecond nov elA Sent iment alJour neycombi nesf i
ct i
on,
sket chesoft ravel,mi scellaneoussubj ect sandessay s.I tisr emar kabl ef ori tsbr illi
antst yle.
Ster nedef inedal lconv entionsofnov elwr iti
ng.Hecont ributedt ot hedev elopmentofEngl ish
nov eli nhi sownpecul i
arway .Hei saski ll
edmast eri ncr eat i
ngbr i
lli
antef fect s.Pl oti snon-
exist enti nhi snov els.Ther eisnei therchr onol ogynorpr ogression.―Hi snov elsar eonel ong
par ent hesis–acol ossalasi det other eader .Yetdespi t
et hechaot ici ncoher enceofhi smet hod
ofst or yt
el l
ing,hi sef fectsar emadewi thconsummat eease. ‖St er ne‘spr osest yle,whi chi s
char act erisedbybr ill
iance,f or ce,pr ecision,f or ce,mel odyandsensuousnessoft hehi ghest
order ,helpedhi mt ocr eatebr i
lliantef fects.Hi st echni queofcr eatingst rikingef fectsi nfl
uenced
theschooloft heSt ream ofconsci ousness.St er ne‘sgr eat estcont ribut i
onl i
esi nt hef i
eldof
char act erization.Cr osswr it
es:―Heenl argedf ort henov elistthespher eofchar act erbui ldi
ngby
bringi ngi nt oEngl ishf icti
ont heat tit
udeoft hescul ptorandt hepai nt er,combi nedwi tha
gracef ulandhar moni ousmov ement ,whi chi sj ust l
yl ikenedt ot het ransi tionsomusi c.‖Hi s
char act ersar edr awnwi thaneconomyofst rokes,andt heyar eut ter lysol id,thr ee-dimensi onal
char act ers.Hedev elopshi schar act ersbysubt leandmi nuteanal y sisofgest ure,expr essi ons,
i
nt onat i
onsandahundr edot herdet ail
s.Hei mpar tedhumani t
ytohi schar acters.Hi smet hods
ofchar acter i
sat i
oni si mpr essi onist ic,amet hodwhi chhei ntr
oducedf ort hef i
rstt ime.Thi s
met hodofchar act eri
sat i
onwasf ol l
owedbyt henov elistsoft heSt ream ofconsci ousness
school .St ernei st hemostor i
gi nalofEngl ishhumor i
sts.Hedef tlyi nter mi ngleshumourand
pat hos.Hesmi l
esatsor r
owandf indsmat terf orpat hosi nthemostcomi calsi tuation.Hewas
thef i
rstt o uset hewor d,―sent iment al‖t oi ndicat e ―t hesof tst ate off eel i
ngsand t he
i
magi nation. ‖Heusedt hiswor di nt hesensenowat tachedt oi t
.Hemadet hewor dcl assicand
cur renti nt her ecor dofhi scont inent alt rav el,TheSent i
ment alJour ney .Hecoul dt elland
distingui shbet weenf i
neshadesoff eel i
ng, andcoul dcommuni catet hem t ohi sreader sinaway
thatar ousedbot hcompassi onandmi r
th.St er nei st hepi oneerofmoder ni mpr essioni sm.Hi s
i
mpr essioni sti
cnar rati
vemet hodi sv erycl oset ot hatofmoder ni mpr essioni stsl ikeVi rginia
Wol fandJamesJoy ce.Hei sregar dedast hef irstoft hei mpr essi
oni st s.―Ri char dsonhadgi ven
sent
iment
ali
ty,
Fiel
dinghumour
,Smol
l
etl
i
vel
i
ness‖andSt
ernei
mpr
essi
oni
sm.

(
v)Ot
herNov
eli
sts

Ol i
v erGol dsmi th‘sTheVi carofWakef ieldst andsi nthef irstr ankoft heei ghteenthcent ury
nov els.Itspl oti ssi mple,t houghsomet i
mesi nconsistent ,t hechar actersar ehuman and
attr
act i
v eandhumourandpat hosar edef tlymi ngledt ogether .Gol dsmi thhasadopt edt hedirect
met hodofnar rat ionthrought hepr inci
palchar act er.Goldsmi thf ort hef i
rstt i
medepi ctst he
pictureofEngl i
shdomest icl i
fei nt hisnov el.I tisal souni quebecausei tgi vesdel i
ght f
uland
i
deal isti
cpi ctureofEngl ishv i
ll
agel ife.Thebl endofhumourandpat hosmakesi tallthemor e
char ming.HencyMackenzi e‘sTheManofFeel i
ngi sasent i
ment alnov elwhi chshowst he
i
nf l
uenceofSt erne.Wi l
li
am Godwi n( 1745- 1831)wr oteCal ebWi ll
iamsorThi ngsAsTheyAr ei n
ordert ogi ve―agener alreviewoft hemodesofdomest i
candunr ecordeddespot i
sm bywhi ch
manbecomest hedest r
oy erofman. ‖Mi ssFannyBur ney( 1752- 1842) ,t
hef i
rstoft hewomen
nov eli
sts,isani mpor t
antf igurei nthehi st oryofEngl i
shnov el.Shewr ot
ef ournov els:Eveli
na,
Ceci li
a,Cami llaandTheWander erbutherf amer est smainl yont hef i
rsttwo.Shewasendowed
withconsi derabl enar rati
v ef acultyandgr eatzestf orli
fe.Shehassuccessf ul
lycr eatedt he
nov elofdomest i
cl if
e.I nEv elinasher ev ertst ot heepi stol arymet hodofRi chardson,andi n
broadhumouri tf oll
owst het radi t
ionofFi eldingandSmol let t,butwi thoutt heircoar seness.She
fort hef i
rsttimewr otefrom awoman‘ spoi ntofv i
ewand,t hus,br oughtf emi ninesensi bil
it
yt o
Engl i
shnov eloft heei ghteent hcent ur y
.―Shehaspr esent
edal argegal ler
yofst ri
kingpor tr
aits‖
,
wr i
tesEdwar dAl bert,―thebestofwhi char econv incingandamusi ngcar icaturesofDi ckensian
type.Herobser vat i
onofl ifewaskeenandcl oseandherdescr i
pt i
onsofsoci etyar ei na
deli
ght full
ysat ir
ical vein,i
nmanyway sliket hatofAust en.
‖

(
vi)TheGot
hicNov
el

Theeighteent
hcent urynovelfrom Richardsont oMi ssBurneywas,ont hewhol e,conceivedon
real
ist
icli
nes.Towar dsthecloseoft hecent urythenov el
,li
kepoet ryshowedsi gnsofchange,
asitbegant oexhibitromant i
ct endencies.Dur i
ngt het r
ansit
ionalper i
odr etur ntonat ure,
absorpti
oninther emoteintimeandspace,especi all
yinthemiddleAges,becamet hemar ked
l
iter
arycharacter
isti
cs.Thenew i nterestinnat ur
emadesceni cdescr ipt
ionsorl andscapean
i
mpor tantel
ementi nnov el
.Thei nterestint hepastbr oughtintobei nganew t y peofnov el,
knownast hegothicnovel,whichanticipat
edt hehistori
cal
nov el
oft henineteenthcent ury.

TheGot hi
cnov elort henovelorterroristhepecul i
arproductoft helat
eeighteenthcent ury.Itis
anewgenr eofther omanti
cf i
cti
onwhi chdrewi tsinspirati
onfrom thegeneralreviv
al ofinterest
i
nmedi evalli
feandar t
,inGothiccastles,inchur chesandCat hedr al
sandi nrui
ns.Thenov el
ists
resort
edt otheuseofghost s,portentsandsat anicf or
cesinor dertoarouseemot ionsofawe,
my st
eryandt error
.Hor aceWal pole(1717- 1797)wr oteTeCast leofOt r
antowhi chpr oclaimed
theent r
yofr omant icrevi
valintoEngl ishnov el.Wal pol
egav etot heGot hicr omancet he
elementsonwhi chitwast othriveforagener ationt ocome–aher osulli
edbyunment i
onabl e
crimes,severalpersecutedheroines,acast l
ewi thsecr etpassagesandhaunt edrooms,anda
plentifulspr i
nklingofsuper naturalt errors.Mr s.AnneRadcl if
fe( 1764- 1832)wast hemost
popul aroft errornov elist
s.Shewr otef iveel aborater omancesofwhi cht hemostf amousar e
TheMy st eri
esofUdol phoandTheI t
alian.Herst ori
eshav ewel lconst ructedpl ot swhi chcont ai
n
medi ev alism,―al ively ,ifundi sciplined i magi nati
on,andaski lf
ulf acultyofdepi cti
ngwi l
d
scener y .‖She coul d successf ully cr eate an at mospher e ofsuspense and dr ead.What
disti
ngui shesherasanov el
istist hef actt hatsher ationall
yusedt hesuper nat uralmachi nery.
Wi l
li
am Beckf or d( 1660- 1844)wr ot eTheHi storyoft heCal i
phVat hek,whi chdeal swi tht he
my steriesofor ient alnecr omancy .Sat ir
emi ngleswi thsensat ioninhi snov els.Mat thewLewi s
(1775- 1818)wr ot eTheMonk, whi chi st hecr udestterrornov el.MissCl araRev e( 1729- 1807)i s
remember edforOl dEngl i
shBar on.I ti saGot hicstor y.Mat ur i
naisr emember edf orTheFat al
Rev engeandMei mot ht heWander er.Mar yShel l
ey‘
sFr ankenst ei
nist heonl yt errornov elwhi ch
i
sst i
llf amous.I tist hest oryoft her avagesofmanmademonst erequi valentt ot hemoder n
robot.I tmaybeconsi der edt hefirstwor kofsci encef i
ctionandt helastoneoft het errorschool .
Thus, att hecloseoft heni neteent hcent ury,wef i
ndt het hreet ypesoff icti
on:f irst,ther eal i
sti
c
novelwhi chdeal swi thsoci alli
f eandmanner s;secondl y,ther omancewhi chr epr esent edt he
purelyemot ionali nter esti nnat ur eandt hepast ;andf inally,thehumani tariannov el,whi ch
seriousl yunder tookt or i
ghtt hewr ongssust ainedbyt hei ndivi
dualatt hehandsofsoci ety.
―Theset hreet y pes‖ ,wr i
teMoodyandLov ett,―…hav edef i
nedt hreeschool s–t her ealists, t
he
romant icistsandt hesoci alnov elists,whi chhav econt i
nued,wi thinnumer ablecr ossdi visions,
untilthepr esentt i
me. ‖

LET’
SSUM UP

I
nt hisunitwehav ediscussedt hesocialchangei ntheeighteenthcent urycall
edt heAugust an
Agewhi chi ncl
udesemer gencesofcof feehousesandl iterar
yact iv
iti
es,interestofpeopl ein
readingandpubl i
cationhousesandconsequent lytheri
seofmi ddleclass.Itisfoll
owedbyt he
discussi
onoft hepr i
mef eaturesoflit
eraryt endenci
esofAugust anage.Ont helit
erarydomai n,
thisperi
odi scall
edtheageofpr oseandr eason, t
heageofsat ir
eandt heageofneo- cl
assici
sm.
I
tal socov ersthet r
ansitionalpoetryalongwi ththeemi nentpoet soft ransit
ionalpoetrythat
breaksitsumbi l
icalcordwi t
hneocl assicism andpav esway st ot hef ort
hcomi ngage.The
Augustanpr ose,poetry,dramaandt henewemer genceofnewgenr ecallednov elarediscussed
i
ndet ail
.