The Augustan Age / The Age of Reason

1.What was Caesar Augustus' name before he became the first Roman Emperor? 2. And who was his great uncle, his inspiration and his adopted father?

• 1.Augustus Julius.

  2.The Roman general, Marc Anthony.

• 1.Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus

  2.The Roman general and politician, Julius Caesar.

• 1.Octavian

  2.The Roman philosopher, writer and politician, Marcus Tullius Cicero.

The Augustan Age in English Literature is called like this because it is compared to ...

• the period between 43 BCE and CE 18, when Caesar Augustus was the Emperor.

• the age of Alexander Pope and John Dryden (1700-1750)

• the age of John Dryden and Samuel Johnson (1750-1798)

The English writers and poets imitated the Classical writers of Greece and Rome in the 18th Century because...

• They wanted to write creatively.

• They wanted to write about noble, beautiful topics, like Philosophy and Democrary.

• They wanted to follow the best standards of literary taste and respected the past traditions.

• They wanted to pursue their individual ideas and dreams, and were inspired by Nature.

In eighteenth-century England, Neoclassicism is divided in TWO main periods...

• From 1660 to 1700, with the Restoration of Charles II

• 1700-1750 & 1750-98, the Enlightenment or Age of Reason.

• 1700-1750 & 1750-98, the ages of Dryden and Pope, plus a transitional period (William Blake)

• 1660-1798, with the Comedies of Manner of the Restoration and the novel.

This period is also called "The Enlightenment" or "The Age of Reason" because...

• Science played a huge role in shaping this period, with its emphasis in rational thinking, in which writing had to follow exact rules and avoid sentimentality.

• Isaac Newton presented his new scientific method to test everything.

• Isaac Newton, John Locke, Samuel Johnson, Edward Gibbon, among others, wrote logical and exact prose, following scientific precepts.

• the Augustans/ Neoclassicals didn't trust imagination or feeling.

The reign of Science meant that religion and faith were questioned. There were some who adhered to DEISM, which...

• advocated an impersonal God / force, which had created the universe.

• advocated a personal God who appeared in the Scriptures or in Church services.

• advocated a personal God who revealed himself to us through miracles, the Church, the Bible, etc.

• advocated an impersonal God / force, which didn't interfere in your life.

There were more writers in the 18th century because...

• there was an overriding interest in prose and especially, in novels.

• there was a widespread readership due to cheap books.

• More children had access to education through Charity Schools and some became writers.

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver Travels and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe are among the first novels of the 18th century. They have in common...

• the fact that both are about exploring new lands and cultures. They're a consequence of Britain's commercial expansion.

• the fact that both are about men who are castaways. They're a consequence of British supremacy at sea.

• the fact that both are about men who are lost in a distant land. They're a consequence of readers' interest in travelling.

The Neoclassical writers preferred to write in an imitative style, in admiration of the Classics. That's why, the most common pieces are ______, the sort of works produced by the Ancient Romans and Greeks.

• Tragedies, satires, epics and elegies.

• Tragedies, comedies, epic poems and elegies.

• Tragedies, elegies, poems and essays.

Readership was widespread in the 18th century thanks to ...

• the aristocracy, who were eager to read about themselves and bought novels.

• the working class, who were becoming literate in Charity schools and had access to cheap novels.

• the middle class, who had some money, wanted to read about themselves and bought novels.