Neoclassical Period of British Literature (The Restoration) - 1660-1798

Content:

• emphasis on reason and logic
• stresses harmony, stability, wisdom
• Locke: a social contract exists between the government and the people. The government governs guaranteeing “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property

Style/Genres:

• satire:  uses irony and exaggeration to poke fun at human faults and foolishness in order to correct human behavior
• poetry
• essays
• letters, diaries, biographies
• novels

Effect:

• emphasis on the individual
• belief that man is basically evil
• approach to life: “the world as it should be”

Historical Context:

• 50% of the men are functionally literate (a dramatic rise)
• Fenced enclosures of land cause demise of traditional village life
• Factories begin to spring up as industrial revolution begins
• Impoverished masses begin to grow as farming life declines and factories build
• Coffee houses—where educated men spend evenings with literary and political associates

Key Literature/Authors:

• Alexander Pope
• Daniel Defoe
• Jonathan Swift
• Samuel Johnson
• John Bunyan,  

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