4 Metaphysical and Enlightenment

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 5,6

Who is not a metaphysical poet?

1. John Donne
2. Edmund Spenser
3. George Herbert

Which is NOT an aspect typical of Metaphysical poetry?

1. balance between reason and emotion
2. mix of poetic and coarse language
3. use of alliteration
4. use of far-fetched imagery

Enlightenment

1700 - 1798

The Eighteenth Century: History

• after Civil War in Britain > changes in political thinking
• scientific revolution

The Eighteenth Century

• Britain: becomes the world's leading economic power

• Wealth based on colonies and trade
• Tea, silks and spices (India)

Literature

• Age of Reason
  
• Rational + balanced judgement, based on knowledge,  wisdom and common sense
  
• Not hindered by personal emotions!
  
• Literature had to stick to strict rules

• Gap between Neoclassical prose and poetry read by the upper class and literature for the middle class: religious works and novels with recognizable (middle class) characters and a clear moral at the end.

• Poet: Alexander Pope,
  'The Rape of the Lock'
• Novelists:

      Daniel Defoe:
      Robinson Crusoe
      Jonathan Swift:
     Gulliver's Travels 

Rise of the novel

-Printing press

-Middle Class

-Periodicals

-Travel stories

-Fictional travel stories

-Serials

Remember these authors and titles:

Gulliver's Travels

The Rape of the Lock

Robinson  Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Jonathan Swift

Alexander Pope

Crusoe has a choice between hiding and hoping to go unnoticed, and attack.

He is black, so he is inferior.

Despite being an action-filled adventure story, this is a realistic novel. Explain how this sense of realism is achieved by Defoe.

Why is Robinson Crusoe a typical product of the 18th century?

1. because it is a realistic novel
2. Because it is about a religious development
3. Because it is about slavery and global trade
4. because it deals with rational thought