2. Augustan Age, Pope, Swift, Johnson

What was the Augustan Age?

The Augustan Age was the early 18th-century literary period associated with order, balance, reason, classical imitation, and satire.

Why is it called the Augustan Age?

It was named after Emperor Augustus, whose Roman age was seen as a model of cultural achievement, stability, and refinement.

What are the main neoclassical ideals?

Neoclassicism valued reason, order, harmony, balance, decorum, good taste, elegance, restraint, and imitation of classical models.

What does the golden mean mean?

The golden mean is the desirable middle way between extremes. It suggests moderation, balance, and restraint.

How did neoclassicism view literature?

Literature was treated as a craft governed by rules. Writers were expected to master genres, style, and decorum.

What did neoclassicism reject?

It rejected excess, disorder, uncontrolled imagination, slang, bad taste, and irregular form.

Why was satire important in the Augustan Age?

Satire was used to criticise folly, vanity, corruption, bad taste, and social or political vice.

What is Horatian satire?

Horatian satire gently mocks human folly with a witty, amused, tolerant tone. Its goal is often entertainment and mild correction.

What is Juvenalian satire?

Juvenalian satire harshly attacks vice, corruption, cruelty, and social injustice with anger and moral indignation.

What is a heroic couplet?

A heroic couplet is a pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter, usually with an AA BB CC rhyme scheme.

Why was the heroic couplet popular in Augustan poetry?

It suited Augustan ideals of balance, wit, clarity, order, and polished moral statement.

Who was Alexander Pope?

Alexander Pope was the leading poet of the Augustan Age, famous for satire, heroic couplets, and classical influence.

What is The Rape of the Lock about?

The Rape of the Lock is based on a real incident in which a young aristocrat cut off a lock of a lady’s hair, causing a social quarrel.

What is a mock-heroic or mock-epic poem?

A mock-heroic poem applies the elevated style and conventions of epic poetry to a trivial subject, creating comic contrast.

Why is The Rape of the Lock mock-epic?

It treats the cutting of a lock of hair as if it were an epic event, using grand diction, supernatural machinery, battles, and heroic language.

What epic conventions does Pope parody in The Rape of the Lock?

He parodies invocation of the Muse, supernatural machinery, arming of the hero, sacrifice, battle scenes, descent to the underworld, and ascension to heaven.

What replaces the gods in The Rape of the Lock?

Sylphs, gnomes, and other spirits replace the Olympian gods of classical epic.

What replaces the epic battle in The Rape of the Lock?

A card game and social conflict replace the military battle of classical epic.

What does Pope satirise in The Rape of the Lock?

He satirises aristocratic vanity, superficial values, gender relations, social rituals, and the obsession with appearance.

What is zeugma?

Zeugma is a rhetorical device in which one word applies to two others in different senses, often one literal and one figurative.

Give an example of zeugma from Pope.

“Or stain her honour, or her new brocade.” “Stain” applies figuratively to honour and literally to clothing.

Who was Jonathan Swift?

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, clergyman, and author of Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal.

How does Swift use irony?

Swift often says the opposite of what he means, presenting absurd or cruel ideas in a calm rational tone to expose real social cruelty.

What is the irony of A Modest Proposal?

Swift pretends to propose that poor Irish children should be sold as food. The shocking idea exposes the inhumanity of British policy toward Ireland.

Is Swift’s satire mainly Horatian or Juvenalian?

Swift’s satire is mainly Juvenalian because it is harsh, angry, morally serious, and critical of social and political corruption.

What does Gulliver’s Travels satirise?

It satirises politics, religion, science, Enlightenment rationalism, European pride, and human nature.

Who was Samuel Johnson?

Samuel Johnson was an essayist, poet, critic, editor, and lexicographer.

Why is Johnson’s dictionary important?

A Dictionary of the English Language standardised English spelling and usage and supported definitions with literary quotations.

When was Johnson’s dictionary published?

It was published in 1755.

What was distinctive about Johnson’s dictionary?

It included detailed definitions, literary examples, humour, and sometimes Johnson’s personal prejudices.