The Neoclassical Period

Define bluestockings.

an informal group of intellectual women in the 18th century who met for literary and political discussion, challenging the era’s gender norms

Define a dissenters

protestants who separated from the church of England and were often excluded from public officers or universities

Define tautology.

the unnecessary repetition of words using different words.

Define decorum.

ensuring that style, character behavior, and speech matched the subject matter

Define solipsism.

the philosophical idea that only ones’ own mind is sure to exist

Define blank verse.

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Define an antihero.

a central character in a story who lacks traditional heroic attributes

Define mock-heroic.

a satirical style that applies high, epic language and “heroic” tropes to trivial or insignificant subjects

Define a heroic couplet.

two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter that express a complete thought

Define deism.

a religious philosophy viewing god as a “clockmaker” who created the universe and its natural laws, but does not intervene in human affairs

Define empiricism.

the philosophical belief that all knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation, rather than innate ideas or superstition

Define neoclassism.

a literary movement that imitated the style, structure, and themes of Greek and Roman '“classics”

What were the time periods in which neoclassism was popular?

1660–1798

When did the London Fires take place?

September 2, 1666–September 5, 1666

Why did the London Fires spread so quickly?

London was so packed with buildings that the fire always had new fuel

How many types of satire are there?

3

Give examples of characteristics belonging to Horatian satire.

• overtly comedic and ironic

• light in tone

• mild in critiques

• makes you think after you laugh

Give examples of characteristics belonging to Juvenalian satire.

• named after Juvenal

• similar to Horatian satire in structure

• attempts to make the audience angry

Give examples of characteristics belonging to Menippean satire.

• targets specific moral or political beliefs

• presents non-progressive beliefs as ridiculous

• can take on many tones

What are the three steps to creating a satire?

1. identify a target

2. choose what type of satire to use

3. exaggerate your production

Define satire.

the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose or criticize human vice or societal folly, often with the intent of provoking reform

When was Samuel Johnson’s dictionary published?

1755

What was the definition Samuel Johnson gave to oats in his dictionary?

"A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."

Who was the first woman credited with performing on stage?

Margaret Hughes

What British invention impacted the textile industry, making it more efficient?

the steam engine

What ideas did John Locke promote?

• a social contract

• the government’s authority comes from the consent of the governed

When did major agricultural changes begin to occur in England?

the late 1660s

What was the first book Phillis Wheatley would write?

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

Who wrote the Rape of a Lock?

Alexander Pope

What does Part II of Gulliver’s travels discuss?

his voyage to Brobdingnag

What does Part I of Gulliver’s travels discuss?

his voyage to Lilliput

What does Part III of Gulliver’s Travels cover?

his voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg, and Japan

What does Part IV of Gulliver’s Travels cover?

his voyage to the Land of the Houyhnhnms

What is Erasmus Darwin’s most famous work?

Loves of the Plants

When was Loves of the Plants published?

1789

What was the Clrendon Code?

a series of laws meant to lessen or eradicate religious dissent

What did John Dryden contribute to restoration literature?

he popularized the heroic couplet

What was the standard form of poetry during the Restoration?

the heroic couplet

What work is Aphra Behn most known for?

Oroonoko

Who was Aphra Behn?

a woman who pioneered becoming a professional writer as a woman

How long did it take Samuel Johnson to write his dictionary?

nine years

Approximately how many words were in Samuel Johnson’s dictionary?

~42,000

What government position did Isaac Newton hold?

Warden of Mint

What was Isaac Newton’s possibly career-ending secret?

he was an Arian in private

What did Isaac Newton believe about the laws he discovered?

that he was revealing God’s design

Define natural science.

a natural philosophy that focuses on understanding the physical universe, mechanics, and living things through observation, mathematics, and experiments rather than abstract theory

Where did many of the farmhands that left during the Agricultural Revolution go?

to the city, where they became factory hands to aid in the Industrial Revolution

How was the plague spread?

through fleas

When was the Restoration period?

1660–1700

When was the Augustan period?

1700–1745

When was the Age of Sensibility?

1745–1785

What was the impact Charles Ⅱ had on the Neoclassical Period?

he undid much of what the puritans had done before him, relaxing societal rules and fostering many ideas and concepts found in the Neoclassical Period

What was unusual about Samuel Johnson’s dictionary?

it included slang terms and abbreviated terms

What are the major plot points of Part I of Gulliver’s Travels?

• Shipwrecked, Gulliver wakes up in a land of tiny people (six inches tall) who are petty, small-minded, and consumed by silly political disputes (e.g., high vs. low heels).

• Gulliver is treated as a giant, becoming a war weapon against the rival island of Blefuscu before falling from favor.

What are the major plot points of Part II of Gulliver’s Travels?

Gulliver becomes the tiny, fragile one among a land of giants.

He is exhibited as a curiosity, then purchased by the Queen; the King of Brobdingnag views Gulliver's descriptions of European politics with disgust, calling humanity "odious vermin."

What are the major plot points of Part III of Gulliver’s Travels?

• Gulliver visits a flying island of impractical intellectuals (Laputa) obsessed with useless mathematics and abstract science.

• He witnesses absurd experiments in Balnibarbi and meets the miserable, immortal Struldbrugs in Luggnagg.

What are the major plot points of Part IV of Gulliver’s Travels?

• Gulliver is stranded among intelligent, rational horses (Houyhnhnms) who rule over filthy, savage humanoids called Yahoos.

• Gulliver realizes the Yahoos are humans and, unable to see himself as anything but a "Yahoo," rejects his own kind, longing only to live with the horses.

• He returns to England deeply misanthropic, disgusted by human society, including his own family.

Where did the London Fires start?

a bakery on Pudding Lane

What role has Daniel Defoe’s journal played in our understanding of the Plague?

his journal was much less emotional than many other journals, presenting it as a somewhat unbiased recounting of what living through the Plague truly was like

What is Charlotte Lennox’s most famous work?

The Art of Coquetry

What does, “tabula rasa” mean when translated?

“blank slate”

What does, “nullius in varba” mean when translated?

“take nobody’s word for it”

What major organization of the neoclassical period popularized the phrase, “nullius in varba?”

the Newtonian Royal Society

Define an epistolary novel.

a novel which content’s portrayed through other, smaller written works

Who was considered the monarch of the Golden Age?

Elizabeth I

Who was Elizabeth I’s successor?

James IV of Scotland/James I of England

Why was Charles I executed?

he fought with Parliament over control of funds, and he got so tired of Parliament that he dissolved it and ruled alone for 11 years until after the English Civil War when he was executed

What year was Charles I executed?

1649

Define regicide.

the killing of a monarch

What religion was established as the official religion of England after the Restoration period?

the Anglican Church

Which monarch decided women were allowed to perform the female roles in plays, and what country provided influence?

Charles II allowed women to perform on stage, and this decision was heavily influenced by France

Who wrote Hudibras?

Samuel Butler

What essay did Alexander Pope write which targeted man;s pride?

An Essay on Man

Why did Alexander Pope include an introductory letter in his poem The Rape of the Lock?

because the real people he modeled the story after were angry that it had gotten so popular and made them look like fools

Define Vvrisimilitude.

having the appearance of being true or real

Define solipsism.

a philosophy which states that only one’s mind is sure to exist

Who took over as “Lord Protector” when England was briefly a commonwealth?

Oliver Cromwell

Who was Erasmus Darwin the grandfather of?

Charles Darwin

What did Erasmus Darwin focus on in his poetry?

nature, the beauty of the world, and turning science accessible through poetry

How did Erasmus Darwin believe life on Earth began?

in the ocean as tiny threads

Why does Phillis Wheatley appear in both British and American literature studies?

she was enslaved in Boston, America, but her first book was published in Britain

Who were the “Four Wheels of the English Novel?”

• Samuel Richardson

• Henry Fielding

• Tobias Smollett

• Laurence Sterne

Who wrote Absalom and Achitophel?

John Dryden

Margaret Hughes played Desdemona in what play?

Othello, by Shakespeare

Who wrote The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great

Henry Fielding

Who wrote The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman?

Laurence Sterne

Why is The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman unique?

it was written to break all rules of storytelling that were common at the time, not using a linear time page, using odd orientations of letters on pages, and breaking the fourth wall

Who wrote Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded

Samuel Richardson

What was unique about Alexander Pope’s garden?

he wanted it to be very creative, so he made a grotto with sparkling gems and oddities and made his garden look like a painting

What is a picaresque novel?

a novel which portrays lower class citizens who experience little to no character development surviving situations which could only be borne by a corrupt society

What is a modern example of a picaresque novel?

Forrest Gump

What did Isaac Newton do to better study light?

put a needle in his eye

Why did Samuel Richardson believe that Pamala and Clarissa were the best written works of their time?

it had more depth than many stories at the time and the characters were much more believable