Periods of neo classic age and enlightenment all things are available in best way

1. History of English
literature
Neo-Classical Age. Literary terms and Device

2. GUIDED BY:-
RITESH YADAV SIR
SUBMITTED BY:-
MAYUR VISHWAKARMA,
M.A ENGLISH 1ˢᵗ SEMESTER
SESSION 2024-2025

3. ⚬PERIOD OF ENLIGHTENMENT 1660-1790
NEOCLASSICAL
“neo” (new) + classical
“period of Enlightenment”
“age of reason”
“era of logic”

4. ⚬ Literature of the age is concerned with “nature
“human nature, Supremacy of reason.
⚬Unity in the works of all writes.
⚬The age is known as classical age.
⚬The period is marked by the rise of Deism,
intellectual backlash against earlier . Puritanism
and American’s revolution against England.
⚬Neoclassical literature is characterized by order,
accuracy, and structure.
⚬Some popular types of literature included: parody,
essays, satire, letters, fables, melodrama, and
rhyming with couplets.

5. ⚬THREE STAGES OF LITRETURE
⚬The Neoclassic period of literature can be divided into three
distinct stages: the Restoration Period, the Augustan Period,
and the Age of Johnson.
⚬ RESTORATION PERIOD (1660-1700).
⚬ THE AUGUSTINE AGE (1700-1750).
⚬ THE AGE OF JHONSON ( 1750- 1790).

6. ⚬RESTORATION PERIOD (1660-1700)
⚬This period marks the British king’s restoration to the throne after a long
period of Puritan domination in England. Its symptoms include the
dominance of French and Classical influences on poetry and drama.
⚬Restoration literature continued to appeal to heroic ideals of love and
honor, particularly on stage, in heroic tragedy.

7. ⚬FAMOUS WRITERS
⚬John Dryden
⚬Dryden was the most influential writer of the
Restoration, for he wrote in every form
important to the period-occasional verse,
comedy, tragedy, heroic plays, odes, satires,
translations of classical works-and produced
influential critical essays concerning how one
ought to write these forms.
⚬John Milton
⚬Restoration prose style grew more like witty,
urbane conversation and less like the intricate,
rhetorical style of previous writers like John
Milton and John Donne.

8. ⚬ Sir William Temple.
⚬ Samuel Pepys
John Locke
Aphra Behn

9. ⚬FAMOUS COMPOSITIONS
⚬All for love by John Drdren
⚬A Prologue and an Epilogue by John Dryden

10. ⚬THE AUGUSTINE AGE (1700-1750)
⚬It is called Augustan because King George I wanted people to think he was
like Augustus Caesar.
⚬This period is marked by the imitation of Virgil and Horace’s literature in
English letters.

11. ⚬FAMOUS WRITERS
⚬Alexander Pope :- Was the most significant
figure in poetry during the Augustan period.
His witty couplets were often quoted and
used as axioms. Pope took issue with other
authors about what should be considered the
proper subjects and nature of poetic
expression.
⚬Jonathan Swift :- Swift targets the
empiricists who insist on individual,
unyielding reason over morality and social
values.

12. ⚬FAMOUS COMPOSITION
⚬Gulliver’s Travel by Jonathan Swift
Rape of Locke by Alexander Pope.

13. ⚬THE AGE OF JOHNSON (1750-1790)
⚬This period marks the transition toward the
upcoming Romanticism through the period is
still largely Neoclassical. Much was happening
around the world politically, such as both the
American and French Revolutions. This time
marked a transition in English literature from
the structure and formality of the Neoclassical
writers to the emotional, ungoverned writings
of the Romantics.

14. ⚬FAMOUS WRITERS
⚬Samuel Johnson :- He was the literary dictator
of his age, though he was not its greatest
writer Though Johnson’s own style is often
condemned as ponderous and verbose, he could
write in an easy and direct style when he chose.
⚬ Edward Gibbon :- was the first historian of
England who wrote in a literary manner. His
greatest historical work-The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, which is an authoritative
and well- documented history, can pass
successfully the test of modern research and
scholarship. But its importance in literature is
on account of its prose style which is the very
climax of classicism.

15. ⚬George Crabbe :- stood midway between
the Augustans and the Romantics. In form
he was classical, but in the temper of his
mind he was romantic. To him nature is a
“presence, a motion and a spirit,” and he
realizes the intimate union of nature with
man.
⚬Robert Burns :- who is the greatest song
writer in the English language, had great
love for nature, and a firm belief in human
dignity and quality, both of which are
characteristic of romanticism.

16. ⚬William Cowper :- who lived a tortured life and
was driven to the verge of madness, had a genial
and kind soul. His poetry, much of which is of
autobiographical interest, describes the homely
scenes and pleasures and pains of simple
humanity-the two important characteristics of
romanticism
⚬Thomas Gray :- Is famous as the author of Elegy
Written in a Country Churchyard, “the best-
known in the English language.” Unlike classical
poetry which was characterised by restraint on
personal feelings and emotions, this poem is the
manifestation of deep feelings of the poet. It is
suffused with the melancholy spirit which is a
characteristic romantic trait.)

17. ⚬FAMOUS COMPOSITIONS
⚬Lives of Poets by Samuel Johnson.
⚬The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.
⚬Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray.
⚬The Neoclassical era in literature brought a sense of decorum
and stability to writers. There were rules to be carefully followed,
and there was structure to be upheld. People praised wit and
parody, as well. It was a time of careful moral appearances,
though appearances were more valued than honesty.

18. ⚬ONE ACT PLAY
⚬A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as opposed to plays that have
multiple acts. One-act plays are similar to short stories in terms of their
limitations. They are typically not long enough to be considered a full
evening’s entertainment, and can range from 15 minutes to an hour or more.
⚬Plot: One-act plays have a simple plot that is easy to understand. The plot
usually follows a beginning, middle, and end, with the end being distinct from
the beginning.
⚬ Setting: The geographical location where the play takes place.
⚬ Characters: The people or animals that take part in the play’s action.
⚬ Characterization: The method used by the writer to reveal the personality of
the characters.
⚬ The Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen was the first to introduce one-act
plays, using prose instead of poetic language to make the drama more simple
and realistic.

19. ⚬IMPACT OF
INDUSTRIALISATION
Key takeaways:-
• The Industrial Revolution profoundly changed society
through urbanization and industrialization as well as
increased technology and communication.
• The author Charles Dickens satirized the consequences of
the Industrial Revolution by criticizing the treatment of the
poor, workhouses and the ruthlessness of the factory owners.
• The Industrial Revolution shaped Elizabeth Gaskell’s
biography and literature, such as the novels North and South
(1854) and Mary Barton (1848).
• Romanticism responded to the Industrial Revolution by
emphasizing nature, rural life, imagination and the common
human.
• The Industrial Revolution had a far-reaching impact on
literature, influencing Modernism and the philosophy of
Marxism.

20. ⚬BLANK VERSE
⚬Blank verse is a literary style of writing poetry in unrhymed
but metered lines. The lines in blank verse are usually written
in iambic pentameter, which is a meter of five iambs. An iamb is
a group of two syllables that fall into an “unstressed-stressed”
pattern, similar to a heartbeat.
⚬ Here are some characteristics of blank verse:
⚬No rhyme: Blank verse differs from rhyming verse in that there
are no end-rhymes.
⚬ Natural cadence: The pattern of the iamb is similar to the
natural cadence of the English language.
⚬ Descriptive and reflective: Blank verse poems are often
descriptive and reflective and frequently contain a dramatic
monologue.
⚬ Can be short or long: A short poem or an entire play can be
written in blank verse.

21. ⚬SOME EXAMPLE
⚬Hamlet
⚬Doctor Faustus
⚬The Tragedie of Macbeth
⚬Ulysses
⚬The Prelude
⚬Fra Lippo Lippi
⚬The Second Coming

22. ⚬SOLILOQUY
⚬A soliloquy is a literary device in drama where a character expresses their
thoughts and feelings aloud, usually while alone on stage:
⚬ Definition :- A soliloquy is a monologue where a character speaks their thoughts
out loud without addressing another character.
⚬Purpose :- Soliloquies allow the audience to understand a character’s state of
mind, hopes, and intentions.
⚬ Convention :- Soliloquies became a dramatic convention in the 1590s and 1600s.
⚬ Examples :- Some famous soliloquies in English are from Shakespeare’s plays
Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello.
⚬ Origin :- The word “soliloquy” comes from the Latin words sōlus (sole) and loquī
(to speak).

23. ⚬THE VICTORIAN NOVEL
⚬The Victorian novel was a prominent form of written expression during the
Victorian era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian novel was
characterized by realism, which combined Romantic subjectivity with
Augustan objectivity. Victorian novels often depicted social problems,
satirized vices, and explored themes such as the plight of the poor, social
class, and industrialism.
⚬Some notable Victorian novels include:-
⚬Jane Eyre :- By Charlotte Brontë, this novel is considered a pioneering work
of fiction and an intense psychological narration.
⚬ Wuthering Heights :- By Emily Brontë, this novel is an example of Gothic
Romanticism that examines class, myth, and gender.
⚬ The Tenant of Wildfell Hall :- By Anne Brontë, this novel is considered to be
the first sustained feminist novel.
⚬ Adam Bede :- By George Eliot, this novel exemplifies the Victorian belief
that literature should accurately mirror the world.
⚬ Hard Times :- By Charles Dickens, this novel explores how technological and
industrial change affected social interaction and thought.
⚬Lady Audley’s Secret :- By Mary Elizabeth Braddon, this novel shocked
Victorian readers.

24. ⚬PICARESQUE NOVEL
⚬The picaresque novel is a literary genre that depicts the adventures of a
roguish protagonist in a corrupt society:
⚬ Characteristics: Picaresque novels are usually written in the first person and
have an episodic structure. The protagonist, known as the pícaro, is a lowborn
adventurer who survives by his wits and often engages in criminal acts. The
pícaro is cynical and amoral, and he wanders from place to place, interacting
with people from all social classes. The narrative often serves as an ironic or
satirical commentary on society’s hypocrisies and corruptions.
⚬ Origin: The picaresque novel originated in 16ᵗʰ century Spain. Its rise
occurred during a time when poverty and vagrancy were prevalent, and cities
across Europe were growing.
⚬ Examples: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is often considered a picaresque
novel.

25. ⚬POETIC JUSTICE
⚬Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately
virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature,[1] it is often
accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character’s own action,
hence the name “poetic irony”
⚬ HISTORY:- Notably, poetic justice does not merely require that vice be punished
and virtue rewarded, but also that logic triumph. If, for example, a character is
dominated by greed for most of a romance or drama, they cannot become
generous. The action of a play, poem, or fiction must obey the rules of logic as
well as morality. During the late 17ᵗʰ century, critics pursuing a neo-classical
standard criticized William Shakespeare in favor of Ben Jonson precisely on the
grounds that Shakespeare’s characters change during the course of the play.[3]
When Restoration comedy, in particular, flouted poetic justice by rewarding
libertines and punishing dull-witted moralists, there was a backlash in favor of
drama, in particular, of more strict moral correspondence.

26. ⚬HUMOR
⚬DEFINITION OF HUMOR :-Humor is a literary tool that makes audiences laugh, or
that intends to induce amusement or laughter. Its purpose is to break the
monotony, boredom, and tedium, and make the audience’s nerves relax. The writer
uses different techniques, tools, words, and even full sentences in order to bring to
light new and funny sides of life. Humor is often found in literature, theater,
movies, and advertising, where the major purpose is to make the audience happy.
⚬TYPE OF HUMOR :- There are several types of devices that create humor. Humor is,
in fact, the end product and not the device itself. These devices are:
⚬Hyperbole/Exaggeration Incongruity
⚬Slapstick. Surprise.
⚬Sarcasm. Irony
⚬Pun

27. Thank you