Azərbaycan Respublikası Təhsil Nazirliyi

Bakı Avrasiya Universiteti

Fakültə: Filologiya
Kafedra: Xarici dil və ədəbiyyat
Fənn: Ölkə ədəbiyyatı tarixi 4

Kafedra müdiri: b/m K.I.Ələsgərova

(S.A.A.)

“14” “fevral” 2023-cu il

LECTURE 1
ENGLISH LITERATURE AT THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
The 18th century in England was the Age of Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. At the
beginning of this period literature was created for the small society of important and
influential people. It was public literature which represented the outlook and values of this
limited society. It was literature that could be read aloud in a drawing room, enjoyed in
theatre, or discussed in a coffee-house. This atmosphere encourages comedy, satire in
verse and prose, pleasant little essays and criticism. But soon situation changed and novel
had won great popularity. In part a reaction against the chaos, Enlightenment thought
emphasized reason, rational thinking, and order.
In literature, the Enlightenment appears as neoclassicism, which literally means new
classicism and emphasizes order, symmetry, elegance and structure in the arts, including
literature. Neoclassical writers, artists, and architects looked back to ancient Greece and
Rome for classical forms. They preferred symmetry and geometrical precision in
everything from poems to building.
English literature of this period may be characterised by the following features:
- The rise of political pamphlet and essays, but the leading genre of English literature
became the novel.
- The hero of the novel was no longer a prince, but a representative of the middle
class.
- Literature became very instructive; writers tried to teach their readers what was
good and what was bad.
The literature of England may be divided into three parts:
1. The first period lasted from the “Glorious Revolution” (1688-1689) till the end
of the 1730s. It is characterized by classicism in poetry (Alexander Pope), the
essays of Steele and Addison and the first realistic novel written by Defoe and
Swift.
2. Realistic social novel represented by Richardson, Fielding and Smollett.
3. Appearance of the new trend: Sentimentalism. The representatives of this trend
were Goldsmith and Sterne.

RISE OF NOVEL
While many novels were produced by ancient and medieval writers, this form of literature
received a great attention in modern times. Modern novel began to develop during the
18th century. There were many causes which brought to the development of the novel:
expansion of the reading public, growth of the middle class, different position of women,
economic reasons.
The history of novel can be divided into two ages:
1. The formative age of novel 1500-1800
2. 1800-present in which novel has developed as the leading form of Western
literature.

Formative age novel-writing flourished in Spanish, French, English and German. As the
novel didn’t get its supreme position until the 19th century, novelists of the formative age
were generally less famous than poets and dramatists.
The 18th century novel was labelled as realistic novel: the characters were real people
with ordinary names and surnames; the settings were real places and the contents were
taken from real stories. Reading became popular and libraries were available.
The most famous novelists of the formative age are: Cervantes, Swift, Fielding and Defoe.
The most widely familiar novels of the formative age are Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”
and Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”.

LECTURE 2
ALEXANDER POPE (1688-1744)
 Alexander Pope is one of the greatest English poets and the foremost poet in eighteenth
century. Like Swift, Alexander Pope chose satire as his method for addressing and
correcting a difficult situation. But he addresses a personal situation.
Pope was born in 1688, the son of a Catholic linen-merchant in London. He was taught to
read by his aunt and loved books. He learned French, Italian, Latin and Greek by himself
and discovered Homer at six. He was able to devote enough time to his writing,
translating and editing to begin earning a comfortable living. Soon he established himself
as one of the prominent neoclassic writers.
In May 1709, Pope’s “Pastorals” was published and this earned him instant fame. Later it
was followed by “An Essay on Criticism”, published in May 1711, which was equally
well-received. He began writing this poem early in his career and it took about three years
to finish it. “The Rape of Lock”, probably the poet’s most famous poem, appeared first in
1712, followed by a revised and enlarged version in 1717. Soon there appeared a
collection of his poems, together with two new ones written about passion of love. They
were “Verses to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady” and the famous romantic poem
“Eloisa to Abelard”.
Alexander Pope formed his lifelong friendship with Swift, with Bolingbroke, and other
distinguished people. At twenty-five he became a chief man of letters in England, with a
wide European reputation.
For the next dozen years he occupied himself with the important task of translating “The
Iliad” and “The Odyssey”. The publication of Pope’s Homer marks an important stage in
the development of authorship. Until that time no writer had expected to earn his whole
living by publishing works of real literature.
During his last fifteen years Pope’s original work was done chiefly in two very closely
related fields, first in a group of what he called “Moral” essays, second in the imitation of
a few of “The Satires and Epistles” of Horace. In the “Moral” Essays he had intended to
deal comprehensively with human nature and institutions.
Pope’s physical disabilities brought him to premature old age, and he died in 1774.

LECTURE 3
DANIEL DEFOE (1660- 1731)
Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London. He was an English trader, writer, journalist,
spy and pamphleteer. Over a long career he was said to be the first of the most prolific of
the 18th-century writers. As a polemicist his themes included schemes for social and
economic improvements. He wrote, “Poverty might be easily prevented and begging
wholly suppressed.”
Defoe wrote many political tracts and often was in trouble with authorities, including
prison time. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas. He wrote
more than 500 works, such as satirical poems, political pamphlets and novels.
From 1719 to 1724 Defoe published the novels for which he is famous now.
Robinson Crusoe – 1719
The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe – 1719
Memoirs of Cavalier – 1720
Captain Singleton – 1720
A Journal of the Plague Year – 1722
Colonel Jack – 1722
Moll Flanders – 1722
Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress – 1724
The novel Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a young and impulsive Englishman that
defies his parents’ wishes and takes to the seas looking for adventure. The young
Robinson is shipwrecked and castaway on remote island for 28 years.
The story may be based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who
survived for years on Pacific İsland, or Henry Pitman, a political rebel surgeon castaway
from Caribbean penal colony. That was the classic tale of adventure of cannibals,
captives, and mutineers. Some regard it as the very first modern novel written in the
English language, launching the publishing industry. Daniel Defoe published Robinson
Crusoe on April 25, 1719.
In this novel Defoe created a new archetype: the modern individual. He is the self-made
man outside the social life, or communal world who defeats hostile outside forces,
individual who survives against all odds by his resourceful ingenuity alone. He is a new
kind of hero who has captivated children and adults alike for nearly 300 years.
Robinson Crusoe is regarded to be the first novel in English language.

LECTURE 4
DANIEL DEFOE
ROBINSON CRUSOE – Summary

Robinson Crusoe was born in 1632 in New York in England. His parents wanted him to
find good job. But he wanted to go to sea and become a sailor. When he was 18 years old
he went to London and found a ship which was sailing to a country in West Africa called
Guinea. He bought some goods which he wanted to sell in Guinea and got on a ship.
During the long voyage Crusoe became a good sailor.
When ship arrived to Guinea he sold his goods and he went back to London with a lot of
money. In London Crusoe bought more goods and sailed toward Guinea again.
When they were sailing towards Africa some pirates took the ship. The pirates took
Crusoe the other sailors to Morocco and sold them as slaves.
After two years Crusoe was very unhappy so he decided to escape. One day he left taking
a small fishing boat. After some days one ship saved him. The captain was very kind man.
He took Crusoe to Brazil where he became a farmer and lived happily.
Few years later Crusoe wanted to be a trader and in 1659 he sailed with some friends to
Guinea to sell more goods. During the voyage the ship sailed into a big storm. All sailors
were thrown into the sea. The next morning Crusoe woke up on a beach but he couldn’t
see any of his friends. The first night he slept on a tree to be safe from dangerous animals,
or people.
The next morning Crusoe decided to swim back to the ship and found there some boxes
with meat and cheese. He spent some months to build a strong fort for living safely. He
had a small telescope, a compass, some books, pens, ink and some paper. He decided to
write a diary every day.
One day he saw some people on the beach and they had a prisoner. Crusoe understood that
those men were dangerous and rescued that man. They became friends and Crusoe called
him Friday. Sometimes later they saw an English ship, a small boat with sailors and three
prisoners. Those sailors were mutineers but prisoners were captain and his two friends
from that ship. Crusoe saved the prisoners. The captain presented him the ship and they
left mutineers on the island.
Crusoe sailed back to England, got married and had three children. Eight years later his
wife died. Crusoe decided to visit his island. He became a trader using his experience to
help other sailors when they travelled through dangerous seas.

LECTURE 5
JONATHAN SWIFT (1667-1745)
Anglo-Irish poet, essayist and political pamphleteer Jonathan Swift was born On
November 30, 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. He grew under the care of his uncle. He received a
Bachelor’s Degree from Trinity College and started working as a statesman’s assistant. He
spent much of his early adult life in England before returning to Dublin to serve as Dean
of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin for the last 30 years of his life. It was this later stage
when he would write most of his greatest works. His best works are: “A Tale of Tub”
(1704), “Gulliver’s Travels” (1726) and “A Modest Proposal” (1729),” The Journal to
Stella”, “The Battle of the Books”, “An Argument against Abolishing Christianity”.
He is regarded as the foremost prose satirist in the English language and is less well-
known for his poetry. He originally published all his works under pseudonyms such as
Isaac Bickerstaff, Lemuel Gulliver, or anonymously. His ironic writing style was called
“Swiftian”.
Swift’s poetry has a relationship either by interconnections with, or by reactions against,
the poetry of his contemporaries and predecessors. In reading Swift’s poems, one is first
impressed with their apparent allusion and poetic device. Swift was known by his satire
and used humour as a weapon.
In 1742 Swift suffered from stroke and lost ability to speak. On October 19th, 1745,
Jonathan Swift died.

LECTURE 6
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
SUMMARY.
Travel narrative: Lemuel Gulliver goes to four places:
Liliput – the land of the small people
Brobdingnag – the land of giants
Laputa – the land of scientists
The Land of the Houyhnhnms – talking horses who have more reason than men.
Liliput – Swift makes fun of people’s pettiness; for example, two political parties fight
furiously over which end of an egg should be cracked
Broodingnag – By encountering giant humans, Gulliver shows us just how disgusting
people are
Laputa – The scientists of Laputa are so busy with all of their imaginary learning that their
wives go astray
The Land of Houyhnhnms (Land of talking Horses)
- In comparison with people horses seem very wise and reasonable – so much for the
Enlightenment
- Gulliver comes to identify with the horses and not the Yahoos- a race of humanist
creatures that have all of humanity’s worst qualities
- Swift asks questions: What is human? What is animal? Are humans all that great?
- Swift shows us slavery, racism and genocide and asks us questions about all of them
- He makes us question the Enlightenment and the very idea of civilization and who
is civilized
- Like many Enlightenment thinkers he realized that Europe needed to humble itself.

Gulliver’s Travel - summary

Lemuel Gulliver was born in England. His parents wanted him to become a surgeon.
However, Gulliver always wished to travel across seas and to discover new lands. He
became a good surgeon. Years passed. He married and had two children. But he still
wanted to become a sailor.
One day a captain of one ship offered him a job and he took it. On 5th of November,
1699 Gulliver waved good-bye to his family. He felt a happiest man in the world. But
he was completely unaware of the challenges that lay ahead. That night a storm hit the
sea. The ship wrecked completely and sank. Gulliver tried to swim but a huge wave
pushed him deeper into the sea. Later, he was washed over to the shores of the island.
He was in a deep sleep. As he opened his eyes he felt something on his back. As he
looked down he was shocked to see a small man. A man called him “Giant!” and asked
him how he came to the island of Lilliputians. Gulliver retold his story. The small man
believed him and decided to take him to his king.
Gulliver was on platform that Lilliputians built for him and he was taken through the
city. He couldn’t believe his eyes. When he saw the king of Lilliputians he tried to
speak politely to him. The king decided to treat him as a guest but put shackles on his
foot. People liked the king’s decision. Gulliver stayed in a broken temple not far from
the city. The shackles on his right foot restricted his movements.
One day there was an event in the city. Lilliputians had to walk on the rope. It was a
test for bravery. People looked scared. Gulliver made safety net and put it under the
rope. People could walk on the rope without any risk for their lives. The king liked his
idea and took away his shackles.
There was a rival island of Blefuscu. They were enemies for a long time. One day they
came on their ships. Gulliver went into the sea and pulled the ships to the Lilliputians
shore. By this he saved lives. But the king ordered him to bring all Blefuscu’s ships.
Gulliver didn’t obey it. Redressal came to him and advised him to leave the island
immediately. He told him to go to Blefuscu’s island. Gulliver left Lilliput country.
Blefuscu’s king met him and helped him to return to England.
Gulliver reached England in 1702.
LECTURE 7
James Thomson (1700-1748)
James Thomson was a Scottish poet and playwright, known for his poems “The
Seasons” and “The Castle of Indolence”, and for the lyrics of “Rule, Britannia”. His
poetry also gave expression to the achievements of Newtonian Science and to an
England reaching toward great political power.
Educated at Jedburgh Grammar school and the University of Edinburgh Thomson
went to London in 1725. He earned his living there as a teacher and he published his
masterpiece, a long, blank verse poem in four parts, called “The Seasons:” Winter in
1726, Summer in 1727, Spring in 1728, and the whole poem, including Autumn, in
1730. During this period of time he wrote other poems such as “To the Memory of Sir
Isaac Newton”, and his first play “The tragedy of Sophonisba” (1729).
The Seasons was the first sustained nature poem in English and concludes with a
“Hymn to Nature.” The work was a revolutionary departure; its novelty lay not only
in subject matter but in structure.
Meanwhile, there appeared his next major work, “Liberty” (1734). This is a lengthy
monologue by “the Goddess of Liberty”, describing his travel through ancient world,
and then English and British history.
Thomson believed that the scientist and poet must work together in the service of
God. It found its best expression in his work “To the memory of Sir Isaac Newton”.
Sixty years after The Seasons was published it was still incredibly popular and even
still today. The Seasons celebrates the magnificence and harmony of nature as a
manifestation of the Supreme Being. His final work The Castle of Indolence was
published just before his death on 28 August 1748.
Thomson is one of the sixteen Scottish poets and writers appearing on the Scott
Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh. He has a large memorial in Poets’ Corner
of Westminster Abbey next to William Shakespeare.

LECTURE 8
James Thomson “The Seasons”
 The Seasons is a series of four poems written by Scottish author James Thomson. The
first part “Winter” was published in 1726, and the completed poem cycle appeared in
1730. The poem was published one season at a time; “Winter” in 1726, “Summer” in
1727, “Spring” in 1728 and “Autumn” only in complete edition in 1730.
A cycle of four long poems in blank verse with a brief concluding hymn, The Seasons
celebrates the magnificence and harmony of nature as manifestation of the Supreme
Being. It includes literary, philosophical and theological ideas characteristic of the
18th century. It enjoyed extraordinary popularity and influence in both centuries. Its
impressive, picturesque landscapes made it a favourite text for illustration.
Each of the four poems opens with traditional elements: a call to the poet’s muse and
an elegant address to his patron. The first part “Spring” celebrates the influence of the
season over the whole Chain of Being, starting with the lowest, and ending with the
highest of beings on earth, “Man”.
After describing the breeze warming the soil, the poet argues for the dignity of his
theme, for agriculture crowns the British Empire as it once crowned the Roman
Empire. Describing the rainbow after spring shower, he contrasts the scientific theory
of Sir Isaac Newton with the dumb amazement of the ignorant village boy. The
thought of the goodness in herbs provokes a long discussion of humanity’s loss
innocence. In old days, reason governed passion and even the lion was gentle, but,
since the Flood, disasters have surrounded humanity. Yet, humankind still ignores the
“wholesome Herb” and uses the flesh of harmless animals.

LECTURE 9
REALISM IN 18TH CENTURY NOVEL
HENRY FIELDING (1707- 1754)
Novel was established as a major art form in English literature partly by a rational
realism shown in works of Henry Fielding, Daniel Defoe and Tobias Smolett and
partly by the psychological probing of novels of Samuel Richardson.
The 18th century was the age of town life with its coffee houses and clubs. One of the
most famous clubs was the Scriblerus club of literary satirists founded by Pope, Swift
and John Gay. Its purpose was to defend and uphold high literary standards against the
rising tide of the middle-class values and tastes. Middle class tastes were reflected in
the growth of periodicals and newspapers. The novel of Daniel Defoe gave much to
the techniques of journalism.
The novel was to become the literary form most responsive to middle class needs and
interests. The English novel flourished with the works of Richardson, Henry Fielding,
Fanny Burney and others.
HENRY FIELDING (1707-1754)
Henry Fielding was an English novelist, dramatist and playwright. He was known for
his rich and earthy humour and established the mechanism of the modern novel
through famous novel Tom Jones.
Fielding was born at Sharpham Park, England and educated at Eton College. In 1728,
he travelled to University of Leiden in Holland to study classics and law at university.
But lack of money obliged him to return to London and he began writing for the
theatre. Unable to find meaningful work, Fielding began studying law at Middle
Temple and became a barrister. Fielding never stopped writing political satire of
current arts and letters. “The Tragedy of Tragedies” was quite successful as a printed
play. His target was often the political corruption of the times.
From 17З4 until 17З9 he wrote anonymously for the leading Tory periodical, “The
Craftsman”, against the Prime Minister. He dedicated his play “Don Quixote in
England” to the opposition Whig leader Lord Chesterfield.
Fielding continued to publish his political views in satirical articles and newspapers.
He was the main writer and editor for the satirical paper “Champion”. Later he
became a writer for the Whig government.
Fielding started novel writing in 1741, after publishing of Samuel Richardson’s
famous novel “Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded”. His wrote an anonymous parody
“Shamela”, or “An Analogy for the life of Mrs.Shamela Andrews”. He combined the
“comic epic” and the “prose epic” which he defined as “a comic Epic- Poem in
Prose”. It was a new genre in fiction. In his comic epic a hero is an ordinary man and
setting is the countryside, its local roads and highways, woods and inns, houses of
different people. Through later works such as “History of Tom Jones, A Foundling”
 (1749) Fielding helped to establish the foundations of the modern novel. This novel is
considered one of the English language’s great early novels. “The somber Amelia”,
his final novel was published in 1751.
Fielding’s health was in serious decline by this point. He travelled by sea to Portugal
with his wife and daughter in the summer of 1754, but never returned to England, as
he passed away in Lisbon on October 8 of that year.

LECTURE 10
THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING
Henry Fielding published this novel in 1749. It was known as a satirical novel by Henry
Fielding. It has been named one of the 10 greatest novels of all time. Fielding called the
novel as “A Comic Epic in Prose”.
The novel has lots of characters and complicated plot. The book is broken up into 18
sections and each section begins with a chapter. The hero, Tom Jones, whose identity
remains unknown until the end of story, loves the beautiful Sophia Western, and at the end
of the book he wins her hand.
The introductory chapters at the beginning of each Book make it clear how carefully
Fielding had considered the problem of planning the novel. Therefore, “Tom Jones” is a
masterpiece of literary designing.
With its great comic delight, a lot of characters, and contrasted scenes of high and low life
in London and the provinces, it has always constituted the most popular of his works.
Fielding could give a vivid picture of England in the mid-18th century.
The characters fall into several distinct groups – romance characters, villainous characters,
Jonsonian humours, low comic characters, and the virtuous Squire Allworthy who remains
in the background and comes to ensure the conventional happy ending.
The reading of this novel is important both for understanding of 18th century England and
for its showing of generosity and charity of Fielding’s view of humanity.
Fielding’s novels, particularly Tom Jones, are characterized by social satire, overflowing
realism, fresh and artistic moral approach.
This novel shows us not only the religious side of the middle class, but also exposes
corruption amongst them, attitude towards other classes in society. It presents the society
as it was, it does not exaggerate in any angle of literary possibility of exaggeration.
SUMMARY
Mr.Allworthy lives with his sister, Bridget in West England. He is a widower having lost
his wife and children five years before the beginning of story. He is a kind, wealthy man.
His sister Bridget is good woman but is still unmarried.
After long business trip, Mr.Allworthy returns home and finds a baby on his bed. He calls
for his housekeeper, Mrs. Deborah. She advices him put the baby at the parish door. But
he cannot do it and tells her to take baby to her room and feed him. Next day he shows the
baby to his sister, Bridget and names baby Thomas.
As Tom grows older, he meets Squire Western’s daughter, Sophia. She is a heroine of the
story. She is beautiful and kind. She falls in love with him. She and Tom announce their
love to each other, but she tells him she can’t marry him because of her father. Tom is sent
away because of misunderstanding and Sophia’s father arranges for her to marry Blifil,
who she has always hated. After running away to avoid marriage, Sophia’s adventures
begin in the story.
However, Tom’s status as a bastard causes Sophia’s father and Mr.Allworthy to oppose
their love, this criticism of class fiction in society acted as a fitting social commentary.
Sophia and Tom finally meet in the end and after he discovers his parents and becomes a
gentleman of property, and then they marry.

LECTURE 11
SAMUEL RICHARDSON (1689 – 1761)
PAMELA, OR VIRTUE REWARDED
Samuel Richardson was born in 1689 in the midland country of Derbyshire in England.
The Richardson family moved to East London in 1700, and around this time, Samuel
received a brief grammar-school education. His family had hoped that he would become a
priest but in 1707 he was apprentices to a printer in London. Thirteen years later he set up
his own shop as a stationer and printer and became one of the leading figures in the
London trade. In his professional life Richardson was hard-working and successful. He
was an established printer and published for most of his life. He printed almost 500
different works, including journals and magazines.
Richardson’s literary career began after he was in fifties. He was also a prolific writer of
letters, and he produced a volume of model letters.
Samuel Richardson was very famous as English writer. He is best known for his three
epistolary novels: “Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded”, “Clarissa: or the History of a Young
Lady” and “The History of Sir Charles Grandison”. He was English novelist who
expanded the dramatic possibilities of the novel by his invention and the use of the letter
form (epistolary novel). Richardson was 50 years old when he wrote Pamela. This novel
was a huge success and became something of a cult novel. By May 141 it reached a fourth
edition and was dramatized in Italy by Goldoni, as well as in England. His second and
other most popular novel “Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady” was published in 14-
1748. This novel is a tragic story of a girl who runs off with her seducer, but is later
abandoned. His last novel, The History of Sir Charles Grandson, appeared in1753.
Richardson’s novels were very popular in their day. Although he has been accused of
being a sentimental storyteller, his emphasis on detail, his psychological insights into
women, and his dramatic technique have earned him a prominent place among English
novelists. He received great fame for his writing and had many admirers. He died in 1761,
and is buried in St.Bride’s Church, London.
PAMELA, OR VIRTUE REWARDED – SUMMARY
This novel is an epistolary novel of manners. The novel details the trials Pamela faces
when Mr.B, her employer, tries to compromise her virtue and even kidnaps her. This novel
demonstrates the difficulties and value of a young woman maintaining her cleanliness.
After Pamela’s lady dies, her son, Mr.B. hires Pamela and is very kind to her. Pamela’s
parents worry about their daughter’s virtue when they learn of his attentions. At
Bedfordshire, Mr.B. attempts Pamela’s virtue several times but she refuses him. She
always manages to escape his attacks.
Eventually, Pamela’s innate goodness reforms Mr.B. and he gives her his hand in
marriage. In a surprise twist, Pamela eventually accepts his proposal and becomes the wife
of Mr.B.
There are three things we should know about the novel:
1. A Novel of Letters. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel; this is a
piece of fiction comprised of letters.
2. A Conduct Manual. This novel was written in a style of a conduct manual.
Richardson was influenced by non-fiction texts written to improve a person’s moral
character. So in his book Richardson attempts to teach readers.
3. Social Change. The novel reflects anxieties about society in eighteenth- century
England. The novel argues that regardless of her rank, Pamela has natural value;
this message addressed to growing numbers of middle-class readers.
LECTURE 12
SAMUEL RICHARDSON
CLARISSA, OR THE HISTORY OF A YOUNG LADY
This is an epistolary novel by English writer Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It
tells a tragic story of a young woman, Clarissa Harlowe. The Harlowes family are a
wealthy family whose concern with increasing their standing in society leads to obsessive
control of their daughter, Clarissa, who finally dies as a result. It is considered one of the
longest novels in the English language. It is generally regarded as Richardson’s
masterpiece. The book has a secured place in literary history for its tremendous
psychological insight. Written in epistolary form, its main body consists of letters of
Clarissa Harlowe and Mr.Lovelace.
Clarissa’s older sister, Arabella, begins to be courted by Robert Lovelace, a wealthy man.
However, she rejects him because she felt that he put more effort into gaining the approval
of her parents and felt disrespected by it. Lovelace quickly moves from Arabella to
Clarissa. Arabella becomes jealous of her younger sister for Lovelace’s interest in her.
James, their brother, also dislikes him a lot because of a duel which occurred between
them.
As a result, it is proposed that Clarissa marry Roger Solmes. However, Clarissa finds him
to be unpleasant man and does not marry him. This makes her family suspicious of her
feelings toward Lovelace. They forbade her leaving her room, or sending letters to her
friend. Clarissa likes mr.Lovelace who rescued her from this marriage taking her to
London.
In his letters to his friend Lovelace shows that he did not really love Clarissa. Soon she
dies and after her death he became sick with guilt and was killed in duel.

THE HISTORY OF CHARLES GRANDISON

The History of Charles Grandison is an epistolary novel published in seven volumes in
1754. The work was his last completed version and it anticipated the novel manners of
such authors as Jane Austen.
Sir Charles Grandison is a nobleman known for his heroic integrity and magnanimity. He
rescues the honourable Harriet Byron when she is kidnapped by Sir Pollexfen.
Harriet spent her life in the countryside. After her parent’s death, she is going to visit her
aunt in London. She is very excited because she is interested in marring. In London,
Harriet has connection of the very respectable people. She is invited to many homes and
social events and meets many rich young men. One of them is Sir Hargrave Pollexfen.
When Harriet told him that he does not suit her fancy, Sir Hargrave got angry and decided
to revenge. When he tried to force her to marry in masquerade ball, Charles heard her cry
and rescues her. He takes her back to his country house where he and his sister invite
Harriet to stay as a guest.
Soon Harriet falls in love with Sir Charles but she tries to hide her love. Finally, Charles
and Harriet fall in love and marry.

LECTURE 13
OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1730-1774)
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was born in 1730 in
Ireland. Anglo-Irish essayist, poet, novelist, dramatist, Goldsmith, was famous by such
works as the series of essays “The Citizen of the World, or, Letters from a Chinese
Philosopher”, the poem “The Deserted Village”, the novel “The Vicar of Wakefield” and
the play “She Stoops to Conquer”.
Goldsmith was the son of an Anglo-Irish clergyman. At about the time of his birth, the
family moved into a substantial house at nearby Lissoy, where Oliver spent his childhood.
He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin and left Ireland in 1752 to study at the
medical school in Edinburgh. The first period of his life ended with his arrival in London
early in 1756.
Soon he was noticed by booksellers and the public by his lively and readable style. His
first work was “The Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe”
published in 1759. Later he emerged as essayist, in The Bee and other periodicals, and
above all in his “Chinese Letters”. These essays were first published in the journal The
Public Ledger and were collected as “The Citizen of the World”. By 1762 Goldsmith had
established himself as an essayist and used the device of satirizing Western society
through the eyes of an Oriental visitor to London.
By 1764 he had won a reputation as a poet with “The Traveller”. In the poems there are
the characters that remembered rather than the landscapes- the village parson, the village
schoolmaster. His poetry lives by its own special suffering and mellowing of the
traditional heroic couplet into simple melodies that are quite different from the blank verse
of 18th century.
In 1766 Goldsmith revealed himself as a novelist with “The Vicar of Wakefield” written
in 1762, which was a portrait of village life, sentimental moralizing and melodramatic
incident are underlain by a sharp but good-natured irony.
In 1768 Goldsmith turned to the theatre by the much more effective “She Stoops to
Conquer”, which was immediately successful. This play has outlined almost all other
English language comedies from the early 18th to the late 19th century by vivid human
characterization. In his novels and plays he helped to humanize his era’s literary
imagination and he was realist and satirist as well.
After short illness in the spring of 1774 he died.

LECTURE 14
RICHARD SHERIDAN (1751- 1816)
THE RIVALS, THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Richard Brinsley Sheridan was an Irish playwright and poet, known for writing satire and
comedies of manners. He owned the London Theatre Royal and served as Wing MP in the
British House of Commons. His plays are considered central of the Western dramatic
canon and are still performed regularly throughout the world.
Sheridan was born in Dublin in 1751 to Thomas and Frances Sheridan, the youngest of
three children. Both of Sheridan’s parents were writers; his mother wrote plays and
novels, and his father wrote treatises of education. Sheridan was educated near his home
until age 11, when he was sent to Harrow School, where he was generally successful and
especially well-liked by the other students. He left this school at age 17 to receive
individualized tutoring in English.
During that time, Sheridan started his literary career. He wrote his first work “Jupiter”. In
1772 he moved to London and became a successful playwright.
In the next three decades, Sheridan published nine successful plays, the most famous of
which were The Rivals, The School for Scandal, The Duenna and A Trip to Scarborough.
Sheridan’s plays are still performed widely and are seen as a link in the history of satirical
comedy- of- manners plays in the 17th century.
In 1815 he became ill, largely confined to bed. Sheridan died in poverty, and was buried in
the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey.

THE RIVALS
It is a comedy-of-manners in five acts published in 1775 and premiered at Covent Garden
Theatre. It is considered one of Sheridan’s best known works and in addition to receiving
many revivals, it has served as an inspiration for musicals and television shows, such as
Maverick.
The Rivals was Sheridan’s first play. It premiered in1775, with Mary Bulkley, a
comedian, in the role of Julie Melville.
The play is set in 18th century Bath, a town was legendary for conspicuous consumption
and fashion at the time. Wealthy, fashionable people went there to take the waters; which
were believed to have healing properties.
The plot centres on the two young people, Lydia and Jack. Lydia reads a lot of popular
novels of the time, wants a romantic love affair. To court her, Jack pretends to be “Ensign
Beverley”, a poor army officer. In fact, he is Captain Jack Absolute, the son of the wealthy
Sir Antony Absolute. Lydia wants to marry poor soldier in spite of the objections of her
guardian, Mrs.Malaprop. Mrs.Malaprop is a chief comic figure of the play. Sir Antony and
Mrs.Malaprop have arranged for them to be married. Upon realizing that jack isn’t poor,
Lydia wants to refuse him. But soon she changes her mind when she hears that he has
gallantly entered a duel.

THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL

The School of Scandal is a comedy in five acts by Richard Sheridan performed in 1777
and published in1780. This is one of the greatest comedies-of manners in English.
Charles Surface is an extravagant but goo-hearted young man. His brother Joseph flirts
with lady Teazle, the young wife of a wealthy old nobleman. Sir Oliver Surface, their
uncle, disguises himself as a moneylender to discover which of his nephews shall be his
heir. He is pleased when Charles refuses to sell Sir Oliver’s portrait. It is revealed that
Joseph has been attempting to seduce Lady Teazle, Sir Peter’s wife. He is caught by Sir
Peter, who calls him a villain. Sir Peter blesses Charles to marry Maria. Finally, Charles
triumphs, winning both fortune and love.

LECTURE 15
JOHN GAY
THE BEGGAR’S OPERA
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Sciblerus Club. He is
remembered for The Beggar’s Opera, a ballad opera.
John gay was born in 1685 in Branstaple, England and was educated at the town’s
grammar school. At the age of 10, he was orphaned and his uncle, the Reverend John
Hammer, agreed to take care of him. After finishing his education at the Barnstaple
Grammar school, he went to London to be an apprentice to a silk merchant. Dislike the
work, John left the merchant to work for the manager of a theatre company. During his life
in London, he established relationships with Londoners and became a part of the city
society.
In 1713, John published the poem Rural Sports, a comic description of hunting and
fishing, and inscribed it to Alexander Pope, a prominent writer of the time. Pope
appreciated the honour and soon became acquainted with John Gay. Pope and John
became lifelong friends and colleagues. John also became close with the writer Jonathan
Swift; Pope and Swift both encouraged John to continue writing and publishing his work.
John studied with Georg Frideric Handel, the greatest opera composer at the time in
London. His love for music transferred into much of his writings for the theatre; he
included some type of music in many of his plays.
JohnGay published poems, fables, plays and ballad operas. His most notable works
include:
The Shepherd’s Week, a series of mock-classical pastoral poems (1714)
What D’Ye Call It, a satirical play (1715)
Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, a poem (1716)
Three Hours after Marriage, a comedy written with Alexander Pope and John Arbuthnot
(1717)
Poems on Several Occasions, a set of poems (1720)
The Beggar’s Opera, his famous ballad opera (1728)
Achilles (1733)
Although John Gay wrote a lot of poems and plays, his ballad opera The Beggar’s Opera
was certainly his greatest success and his most important contribution. John is credited
with his success of the ballad opera genre. Although many scholars believe his ballad
opera was the only notable one of its kind, some scholars also believe that his opera led to
the popular and successful operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. The success of the ballad
opera was immediate and john made a significant amount of money from the opera.
John gay died at the age of 47 in 1732 in London. He was buried in the Poet’s Corner in
Westminster Abbey.
THE BEGGAR’S OPERA – SUMMARY
The Beggar’s Opera is a satirical piece of theatre first performed in 1728. Even though it
is called an opera, the songs are arranged as ballads rather than operatic scores, and the
content not only pokes fun at the real operas popular with the English upper class at the
time, but also summarizes in an amusing way the double standards of 18 th century politics
and society.
An introductory scene opens the Beggar’s Opera, featuring the Beggar and the Player.
They directly address to the audience about the impending story’s origins, intentions and
form.
The story begins in Peachum’s house, as Peachum flips through his account book. He is a
professional thief-catcher; he runs a gang of thieves, highwaymen profiting by their
earnings. Among the criminals is a thief named Bob Booty, which is a nickname for
Robert Walpole. Peachum and his wife, Mrs.Peachum find out that their daughter Polly
has secretly married a highwayman named Macheath. They decide that this marriage can
be profitable for them if Macheath dies, so leave to plan his death. They don’t know that
Polly has hidden Macheath in safety.
Her hiding place for him isn’t very effective, though- it’s a tavern where he is surrounded
by women. Two of them are in the employ of Mr. and Mrs.Peachum, and they catch
Macheath and send him to prison. Polly begs her father not to have him executed. But
Macheath protests and wants to be hanged. His request is denied and finally, everyone
joins in a dance to celebrate his marriage with Polly.