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Unit 9: The Augustan Age or the Triumph of Neoclassicism (Age of Prose and Reason)

us by its rapidity and excellence. The graceful elegance of Addison’s essays, the terse vigour of Notes
Swift’s satires, the artistic finish of Fielding’s novels, the sonorous eloquence of Gibbon’s history
and of Burke’s orations-these have no parallel in the poetry of the age. Indeed, poetry itself
became prosaic in this respect, and it was used not for the creative works of imagination but for
essays, for satire, for criticism-for exactly the same practical ends as was prose. The poetry of the
first half of the century, as typified by the work of Pope, is polished and witty enough, but
artificial; it lacks fire, fine feeling, and enthusiasm, the glow of the Elizabethan Age and the
moral earnestness of Puritanism. In a word, it interests us as a study of life, rather than delights
or inspires us by its appeal to the imagination. The variety and excellence of prose works, and
the development of a serviceable prose style, which had been begun by Dryden, until it served
to express clearly every human interest and emotion,-these are the chief literary glories of the
eighteenth century.”

Task Write short note on the reasons for dominance of reason in Prose and Reason.

9.3 Summary
Particularly influential in the literary scene of the early eighteenth century were the two
periodical publications by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, The Tatler (1709-11), and
The Spectator (1711-12).
The mock epic mode is most commonly found in poetry, its influence was also felt in
drama, most notably in John Gay’s most famous work, The Beggar’s Opera (1728).
The eighteenth century, says Legouis in A Short History of English Literature, “viewed as
a whole has a distinctive character.”
This eighteenth-century emphasis on Nature often took the form of the emphasis on the
“rules” formulated by the ancients.

9.4 Keywords
The Classical Age of English Literature : The eighteenth century-particularly its first half-is
also called the classical age of English literature
Follow Nature : Basically, the critical injunction which gained the
widest, indeed, almost universal, acceptance was the
call to “follow Nature”.

9.5 Review Questions

1. What is the triumph of Neoclassicism? Explain.
2. Write short note on Dominance of Reason.
3. What was imitation of the ancients? Explain.
4. What is prose? Explain.

Answers : Self Assessment
1. Augustan Age 2. Pope 3. Classical precedents
4. Dunciad 5. Swift

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