This document provides an overview of the Neoclassical period in English literature from 1660-1798. It discusses key influences like Johann Joachim Winckelmann and his emphasis on Greek and Roman styles. Neoclassical writers tried to emulate classical styles and values like order, balance, and restraint. Major writers during this period included John Milton, John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson. The movement was characterized by adherence to classical ideals and emphasis on reason during the Age of Enlightenment.

1. Prepared by- HiraL kashyap
Batch-2020-22 (MA sem-1)
Paper – History of English literature
Roll No-08
Enrollment No-3069206420200010
Email id - hkg779@gmail.com
Submitted to-S.B. Gardi Department of
English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar
University

2. Neo-classical Era

3. Johann Joachim
Winckelmann'sNeoclassicism
began in Rome, as Johann Joachim
Winckelmann's Thoughts on the
Imitation of Greek Works in
Painting and Sculpture (1750)
played a leading role in
establishing the aesthetic and
theory of Neoclassicism.

4. Neoclassical literature was
written between 1660 and 1798.
This time period is broken down
into three parts: the
Restoration period, the
Augustan period, and the Age of
Johnson. Writers of
the Neoclassical period tried to
imitate the style of the Romans

5. Neoclassicism is a term related to
artistic and creative movements
that reflect qualities of ancient
Greek and Roman philosophy,
culture, and art. Although the
classical Greeks and Romans lived
thousands of years ago, they
championed ideas like order,
balance, and restraint that had
lasting influence

6. the 18th century Enlightenment era, and
continued into the early 19th century.
 With the increasing popularity of the Grand
Tour, it became fashionable to collect
antiquities as souvenirs, which spread the
Neoclassical style through Europe and
America.
 Neoclassicism spanned all of the arts
including painting, sculpture, the decorative
arts, theatre, literature, music, and
architecture.
 Generally speaking, Neoclassicism is defined
stylistically by its use of straight lines,
minimal use of color, simplicity of form and,
of course, an adherence to classical values

7. Neoclassicism spanned all of the
arts including painting, sculpture,
the decorative arts, theatre,
literature, music, and architecture.
Generally speaking, Neoclassicism
is defined stylistically by its use of
straight lines, minimal use of color,
simplicity of form and, of course, an
adherence to classical values and
techniques.
Charles Towneley in his sculpture gallery; by Johann
Zoffany; 1782; oil on canvas; height: 127 cm, width: 102
cm; Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum (Burnley, UK)

8. Socialthemes
While Renaissance writers were
sometimes fascinated by rebels, and
later Romantic artists often glorified
them, neoclassical artists expected
people to conform to
establishedsocial norms.

9. TheNew
Restraint
Writers turned from
inventing new words to
regularizing vocabulary
and grammar.

10. Influenceof the
Classics
The period is
called neoclassical because its
writers looked back to the
ideals and art forms of
classical times, emphasizing
even more than their
Renaissance predecessors the
classical ideals of order and
rational control

11. Ageofreason
The 18th century: Neoclassicism – The
Augustan Age – The Transition/ Pre-romanticAge.
The 18th century is known as The Age of
Enlightenment or The Age of reason, to stress
the rational trend of the period and the attitude
according to which reason and judgement should
be the guiding principles for human activities .

12. Neoclassical
writersand
theirworks
 john Milton (1608 – 1674), Paradise Lost
 John Dryden (1631 – 1700), To My Lord
Chancellor and Marriage a la Mode
 Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744), Translation
of the Iliad, Pastorals and An Essay on
Criticism
 Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745), Gulliver’s
Travels
 Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1731), Robinson
Crusoe
 Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784), A
Dictionary of the English Language

13. On 21 December 2020, President
Donald J. Trump signed an
executive order titled “Promoting
Beautiful Federal Civic
Architecture,” which officially
establishes the Neoclassical
architectural style as the
“preferred” style for all United
States federal buildings.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/tru
mp-may-order-all-new-government-
buildings-to-be-designed-in-the-neoclassical-
style

14. Two Women Running on The
Beach is a painting on a small
panel done by Picasso during
his neoclassical period in
1922. It is often regarded as
one of his most important
miniature paintings.

15. Oath of the Horatii, is a large
painting by the French artist
Jacques-Louis David painted in
1784 and now on display in the
Louvre in Paris. The painting
immediately became a huge success
with critics and the public, and
remains one of the best known
paintings in the Neoclassical style

16. Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss is a
sculpture by Italian artist Antonio
Canova first commissioned in 1787
by Colonel John Campbell. It is
regarded as a masterpiece of
Neoclassical sculpture, but shows
the mythological lovers at a
moment of great emotion,
characteristic of the emerging
movement of Romanticism.
Refrence : ntarrar, Cybele, "Neoclassicism", In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm

17. The Town Hall was designed in the Neo-Classical style by Colonel Cowper of theBombay Engineers and the construction
started before he died in 1825. This drawing may be one of the preparatory works for the final design of the building
Mumbai’s Neoclassical Town Hall and the Bombay Engineers
who designed and built it

18. Conclusion
https://youtu.be/aR86ja-RcSA
The Neoclassical Period inliterature brought a
sense of decorum and stability to writers. There
were rules to be carefully followed. It was a time
of careful moral appearance, though appearances
were more valued than honesty.
Overview of neo-classical era :-

19. Reference
 https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-
arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-
terms/literature-general/neoclassicism
 Gontar, Cybele, "Neoclassicism", In Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000
 https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neo
c_1.htm
 Essay by Dr.Beth Gersh – Nesic
 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
arthistory/chapter/neoclassicism
 A Guide to the Study of Literature: A Companion
Text for Core Studies 6, Landmarks of Literature,
©English Department, Brooklyn College.