ENLIGHTENMENT LITERATURE TO REALISM AND NATURALISM

Enlightenment, Neoclassical, Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism reveal how writers portray society, culture, and human life. Each period highlights different approaches, from reason and order to emotion and realism. This module explores their key works, authors, and forms, showing how social context and human experience shaped literature.

Enlightenment and Neoclassical literature 1

(1660–1800 CE)

Enlightenment and Neoclassical literature

focused on reason, logic, social critique, and moral order.

The Enlightenment (Age of Reason)

encouraged people to think carefully, question authority, and explore the world through science and logic. Writers often used satire and wit to examine society and human behavior.

Neoclassicism

revived ancient Greek and Roman literary forms, valuing clarity, order, and balance. Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, it emphasized structured writing, moral lessons, and universal truths, often using satire to critique society.

Reason

n Enlightenment and Neoclassical literature promotes critical thinking and logical understanding. Writers used reason to challenge traditions, question authority, and encourage reform

Reason example

Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer and philosopher, used his novella Candide to critique blind optimism, organized religion, and societal injustices through sharp reasoning and wit.

Satire

in Enlightenment and Neoclassical literature employs humor, irony, and exaggeration to reveal flaws in society or human behavior.

Satire example

Jonathan Swift, an Irish satirist, wrote A Modest Proposal, ironically suggesting that the poor sell their children as food to solve famine. This shocking exaggeration exposed societal neglect and criticized governmental indifference.

Develop Critical Thinking

They encourage analyzing ideas, questioning assumptions, and forming well-reasoned judgments.

Understand Social Critique

They show how writers use satire and reason to explore ethics and civic responsibility.

Promote Structure and Clarity

They demonstrate balance, order, and disciplined expression.

Romanticism in literature

(1780–1850 CE)

Romanticism in literature 2

emphasized emotion, nature, imagination, the sublime, and individualism. Writers celebrated personal feelings, creativity, and unique experiences. They explored the beauty and power of nature, the awe-inspiring experiences (the sublime), and the freedom to think and feel as individuals, often breaking away from strict rules and traditional forms

Emotion

in Romanticism emphasizes intense feelings and personal experience to understand human life.

Emotion example

William Wordsworth, an English poet, wrote I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud to celebrate how a simple scene of daffodils can inspire joy, peace, and reflection.

Nature

in Romanticism serves as a source of inspiration, beauty, and spiritual insight.

Nature example

Percy Bysshe Shelley, an English poet, wrote Ode to the West Wind, personifying the wind as a force of change and highlighting nature’s power and its influence on human thought.

Imagination

in Romanticism explores creativity, fantasy, and alternative realities beyond traditional rules.

Imagination example

Mary Shelley, an English novelist and the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote Frankenstein to explore ambition, ethics, and the consequences of challenging natural laws through imaginative storytelling.

The Sublime

in Romanticism conveys overwhelming beauty, awe, or terror, often connected to nature or intense emotion.

The Sublime example

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet, wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to evoke fear, guilt, and wonder through the vast sea, supernatural events, and the mariner’s isolation.

Individualism

in Romanticism celebrates personal freedom, self-expression, and moral reflection.

Individualism example

Lord Byron, an English poet, wrote Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, featuring a hero who values his own personal experiences over societal expectations

Understand the Power of Emotion

It emphasizes feelings, intuition, and imagination as central to understanding human experience.

Appreciate Nature’s Influence

It explores how nature inspires creativity, reflection, and spiritual insight.

Recognize Personal Expression

It highlights individuality, originality, and freedom from societal constraints.

Realism and Naturalism

(1850–1910 CE)

Realism and Naturalism 2

aimed to depict life accurately and objectively. These works focus on everyday experiences, human behavior, and social conditions.

Realism

portrayed ordinary people and everyday life. It focuses on moral choices, social interactions, and ethical dilemmas, emphasizing society’s influence on individuals.

Naturalism

was built upon Realism but emphasized determinism, showing how environment, heredity, and social conditions shape human behavior. Naturalist works often depict life as harsh and inevitable, illustrating forces beyond individual control

Social Critique

in Realism and Naturalism examines society by exposing inequalities, corruption, and social injustices. Writers encourage readers to reflect on ethical dilemmas and the human condition.

Social Critique example

Émile Zola, a French novelist and leader of the Naturalist movement, wrote Germinal, portraying the harsh lives of 19th-century coal miners in France. It vividly reveals poverty, exploitation, and class struggles, criticizing social and economic systems that oppress workers.

Detailed Characterization

in Realism and Naturalism presents characters with complex personalities, motivations, and moral struggles. Writers emphasize psychological realism, showing how environment, society, and heredity shape human behavior.

Detailed Characterization example

Mark Twain, an American novelist, wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exploring Huck’s moral struggles, choices, and growth in response to society and his environment.

Depict Everyday Life

They portray ordinary people, daily experiences, and realistic social settings

Examine Influences on Behavior

They show how external forces, such as environment, family, and society, shape characters’ actions and decisions.

Explore Social Challenges

They highlight economic hardship, social inequality, and ethical conflicts in daily life.