If renaissance was an outburst or interest towards classical literature and subjects surrounding the same; neoclassical literature is its succeeding brother with a primary concern on structure, rules and correctness of form regarding the same subjects or themes. The main characteristics of the period are enhancement of reasoning, focussing man in the society, following Greek and Roman style of presentation and use of the style to works of the age. Another important aspect of neoclassical period is that man is never considered to be fundamentally good [as seen in Renaissance period]; instead, neoclassic writers emphasized on the imperfections of human beings individually and as a part of the society.
Neoclassical literature can be observed from 1600 – 1785 spanning across three periods of English literature namely,
The Restoration Period – 1660 – 1700
The Augustan Period – 1700 – 1745
The Age of Sensibility – 1745 -1785
Main aspects of neoclassical literature
> The major contributors of the period like Alexander Pope considered that people like Shakespeare and Homer are natural geniuses and such rare cases are a thing of the past. Pope and others emphasized on the appropriateness of art, with a belief that art will survive forever if all the rules of the classic literature are followed. As a result, writers of the neoclassical period are considered to be more traditional with their imitation of Greek and Roman literature as well as other art forms.
> The general focus on man as a social being with imperfectness resulted in the focus on philosophies like empiricism and materialism.
> Neoclassical age concentrated more on the concepts of man such as pride, envy, defects and individual disability to break the ego to realize that not everyone is a “natural genius” or has limitless knowledge about the universe. The neoclassical literature focussed on the limitations of man and mirrored human nature as it is.
Important contributors of neoclassical period
| S. No | Name | Important Works | Notable aspects |
|
The Restoration Period |
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| 1 | Sir George Etherge | The Comical Revenge, or, Love in a Tub | |
| The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter | |||
| 2 | William Wycherley | The Country Wife | |
| The Plain Dealer | |||
| 3 | John Dryden | Marriage a la Mode | Essay in Restoration comedy of manners style |
| The Wild Gallant | |||
| The Rival Ladies | |||
| Secret Love | |||
| Martin Mar-all | |||
| The Indian Queen | |||
| The Indian Emperor | |||
| Tyrannic Love, or, The Royal Martyr | |||
| The Conquest of Granada | |||
| Aureng-Zebe | |||
| Cleomenes | |||
| An Essay of Dramatic Poesie | |||
| Annus Mirabilis | Historical poem | ||
| Absalom and Achitophel | Argumentative verse | ||
| The Medal | |||
| Mac Flecknoe | |||
| Religio Laici | Religious poem | ||
| The Hind and the Panther | Religious poem | ||
| 4 | Samuel Butler | Hudibras | Poetic satire |
| 5 | William Congreve | The Way of the World | Perfect restoration comedy |
| The Old Bachelor | |||
| The Double Dealer | |||
| Love for Love | |||
| The Mourning Bride | |||
|
The Augustan Period |
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| 6 | Joseph Addison and Richard Steele | The Spectator | |
| 7 | Daniel Defoe | Essay on Projects | |
| The True Born Englishman | Verse satire | ||
| The Shortest way with the Dissenters | |||
| Robinson Crusoe | Novel | ||
| Captain Singleton | |||
| Moll Flanders | |||
| Colonel Jacks | |||
| Roxana | |||
| Captain Carl Carlton | |||
| 8 | Jonathan Swift | Battle of Books | A squib |
| A Tale of Tub | |||
| Drapier Letters | Series of 7 pamphlets | ||
| Gulliver’s Travels | |||
| 9 | Alexander Pope | Essay on Man | |
| Essay on Criticism | |||
| Pastorals | |||
| Windsor Forest | |||
| The Rape of the Lock | Mock heroic poem | ||
| Dunciad | Satirical, mock heroic | ||
| Ode on St. Cecilia’s Dau | |||
| Ode on Solitude | |||
|
Age of Sensibility/ Age of Johnson |
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| 10 | Thomas Gray | Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College | |
| On the Death of a favourite Cat | |||
| The Bard | |||
| The Fatal Sisters | |||
| Hymn to Adversity | |||
| The Progress of Poesy | |||
| 11 | Dr. Samuel Johnson | London | Satire |
| The Vanity of Human Wishes | Satire | ||
| Irene | Neoclassical tragedy & the only play by Johnson | ||
| Dictionary of the English Language | Published in 1755 | ||
| Rambler | Periodical essay | ||
| Preface to Shakespeare | Neoclassic criticism | ||
| Life of Richard Savage | Biographical work | ||
| A Voyage to Abyssinia | |||
| Lives of the Most Eminent English poets | |||
| 12 | Oliver Goldsmith | The History of Little Goody Two-shoes | Children’s tale |
| The Deserted Village | |||
| She Stoops to Conquer | Comedy of manners | ||
| The Good Natur’d Man | |||
| The Vicar of Wakefield | Novel | ||
| 13 | R B Sheridan | The School for Scandal | |
| A Trip to Sacrborough | |||
| The Critics | |||
| 14 | Samuel Richardson | The History of Sir Charles Grandison | Epistolary novel |
| Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded | Epistolary novel | ||
| Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady | Epistolary novel | ||
| 15 | Henry Fielding | Tom Jones | Pen name: Captain Hercules Vinegar |
| Amelia | |||
| Tragedy of Tragedies; or the life and death of Tom Thumb the Great | |||
| 16 | Tobias Smollett | The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle | |
| The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom | |||
| Humphrey Clinker | |||
| 17 | Laurence Sterne | Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy | |
| A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy | |||
|
Important Philosophical works |
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| 1 | Thomas Hobbes | Leviathan | |
| 2 | John Locke | Two Treaties on Government | Father of classical liberalism |
| An Essay concerning Human Understanding | |||
| 3 | George Berkeley | Principles of Human Knowledge | |
| Alciphron; or, the Minute Philosopher | |||
| 4 | David Hume | Treatise on Human Nature | |
| 5 | Joseph Butler | Analogy |
As the neoclassical period came after a suppressing puritan period [The Commonwealth period], there was a huge explosion of art and literature. Drama, poetry, novel, essay and everything concerned with English literature flourished with the new era or writers who followed the path of the classical texts and produced some brilliant representations of man through art. As a result, neoclassical literature became a bridge between the Renaissance period and the Romantic period making ways for new ideas and philosophies.
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