The Neoclassical Period

The Neoclassical Period


In the history of British English literature, the Neoclassical Period ranges from 1660, starting with the Restoration age, spanning a period of 140 years until the beginning of the Romantic age.


What is Enlightenment?

In his famous 1784 essay, What is Enlightenment?, Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers defined “Enlightenment” as:

Man leaving his self-caused immaturity.”

And with “immaturity”, he referred:

The incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another.”

Enlightenment in Europe refers to an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and  18th centuries with global influences and effects. Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century such as Voltaire and Rousseau popularised the idea of reason as the governing principle leading to truth.

The works of Francis Bacon, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes gave a kick-start to the “enlightenment way of thinking. The movement advocated scientific rationalism and empirical knowledge. Reason was used to scrutinize and evaluate the traditionally established doctrines and principles. Enlightenment celebrated the idea of “capabilities of human mind” and possibilities of human achievement through deliberate action and scientific methodology. Many of the new enlightenment ideas were political in nature. Freedom and democracy began to be considered as the fundamental rights of all people instead of gifts bestowed upon them by beneficent monarchs or popes.

What is Neoclassicism?

It is a cultural movement that coincided with the 18th century ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and continued until early 19thcentury, laterally competing with Romanticism. The movement influenced the contemporary art, literature, theatre, music and architecture and drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity.


Introduction

The Neoclassical Period in British English literature lasts from 1660, starting with the Restoration age, and continues for about 140 years until the beginning of the Romantic age with the outbreak of French Revolution in 1789 or alternatively from 1798, the year of publication of Lyrical Ballads. Certain salient features which were present in the works of most of the prominent writers of the Neoclassical age distinguishes these writings from those written by eminent writers in the Romantic age. The following ideas or characteristics that were shared, between 1660 and late 1700s, by the authors such as John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith and Edmund Burke, may help in understanding the prominent features of Neoclassical literature:

  1. Strict Adherence to Tradition (Conservatism)

These authors had a strong sense of traditionalism. Their distrust for radical innovation fuelled their sense of great respect for the classical writers. They believed that the ancient Greek and Roman writers have achieved excellence and established enduring models in all major literary genres.

  1. Acquire Precision through Rules

These authors believed that ‘natural geniuses’ like Homer or Shakespeare are a rare phenomenon. So, one needs practice to write with precision. These writers took the classical writers as their ideal. They derived essential properties of various genres from classical works whose endurance proved their excellence. Such writings required finish, correction and attention to detail— skills that should be deliberately learned by practicing the rules.

  1. Art for Humanity’s Sake

Inspired by classical writers, these authors believed in the dual purpose of art. All major forms of literature in all human civilizations dealt with human and human nature. Literature was used as a mirror to nature, designed to serve both the purpose of teaching (or instructing) as well as of giving delight (or pleasure) to its readers. Neoclassic authors wrote not with the principle of “art for art’s sake” but with that of “art for humanity’s sake”.

  1. Emphasis on the Common and Shared Experiences

These authors wrote with the purpose of sharing the common and shared human experiences, thoughts, feelings and tastes. “Universal human nature” was the subject matter of Neoclassical authors. They believed that the universal human agreement of such expressions is the best test of moral and religious truths, as well as of artistic values.

  1. Believed that Humans Have Limitations

Neoclassical authors, like these major philosophers of the time, believed in the limited capacity of humans. They tried to avoid any sort of extreme by adhering to the principle of “golden mean”. They submitted to some rules and restrictions in literary subject, structure and diction. Though, they greatly admired the great genres of epic and tragedy but chose to write masterpieces of lesser or less demanding forms such as essays in verse and prose, comedy of manners, and satires. Writing in tight limits of “closed couplet” also meant that these writers wanted to restrict themselves.

Conclusion

To sum up, the 18th century is known as Neoclassical age because its writers looked back to the ideals and art forms of “classical” times, emphasising even more than their Renaissance predecessors the classical ideals of order and rational control. They replaced the Renaissance emphasis on imagination, on invention and experimentation and on mysticism with an emphasis on rationality (reason), order and control— on common sense. They advocated for religious, political, economic and philosophical “conservatism.

 

 


If you are looking forward to prepare for UGC NET/JRF, you may find this article useful.

Here is a detailed list of topics you need to cover for your NET preparation.

 

 


©2025. Md. Rustam Ansari [profrustamansari@gmail.com]

Loading

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You can change the language to 'Hindi' by clicking on the 'British Flag' icon at the bottom-right corner of the page.

error: Content is protected !!