The Augustan Age

Historical Context

• The Augustan Age of English literature encompassed the first half of the 18th century (1700-1750).

• The term "Augustan" is derived from George I (1660-1727), who associated himself with Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor.

• Writers of the era expressed significant admiration for classical literature, art, and philosophy, striving to emulate these classical forms in their work.

Major Literary Movements and Names

• This period is known by several names:

  • Augustan Age (or Period)

  • Neo-Classical Age (or Period)

  • Age of Enlightenment (particularly its later stages)

  • Age of Reason

  • Age of Pope

• Major writers from this age include:

  • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

  • John Dryden (1631-1700)

  • Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

  • Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

  • Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

  • Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)

Development 1: The Great Debate

• Poets began to grapple with philosophical questions surrounding individuality versus societal roles in poetry.

  • Was it appropriate for poetry to focus on the individual self?

  • This focus arose partly from the Protestant Reformation, which emphasized personal individual experience and confession.

  • Marxist perspectives highlight the impact of urbanization on individual identity, as workers dislocated from their homes began to define themselves as distinct entities.

  • The individual became more pronounced in social narratives, diverging from collective identity.

Development 2: Reinventing Genres

• There was a trend toward appropriating and reinterpreting classical poetic forms, adapting them for new purposes:

  • Pastorals, once limited to specific thematic and narrative constraints, saw new interpretations.

  • Genres transformed to serve contemporary society rather than strict traditional functions.

  • Odes abandoned their traditional praise-based content.

  • Ballads shifted from narratives to abstract forms.

  • Elegies grew less about sincere memorials.

  • Satire evolved into a broader social commentary.

  • Lyric poetry began to address individual emotions rather than solely romantic lamentations.

The Mock-Epic

• A notable innovation was the Mock-Epic, a genre that parodied classical epics by applying epic conventions to trivial subjects.

  • The Mock-Epic draws on significant elements, such as divine invocation, grandiose themes, and epic battles, to contrast triviality with its traditional grandeur.

  • A quintessential example is Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock, which satirizes high society through the lens of a mundane incident involving a lock of hair.

Alexander Pope

• Dominated the poetic landscape of the Augustan Age.

  • Recognized for technical precision, especially in iambic pentameter and the Heroic Couplets; a closed form that emphasizes both form and meaning.

  • He is known for maxims that have become widely quoted, e.g.,

  • “A little learning is a dangerous thing:
    Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.”

  • From An Essay on Criticism, lines 215-216

  • “Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
    Man never is, but always to be blest.”

  • From An Essay on Man, Epistle I, lines 95-96

  • “True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
    As those move easiest who have learned to dance.”

  • From An Essay on Criticism, lines 362-363

Pope's Satirical Works

• Pope produced highly regarded satirical poetry.

  • Using the Mock-Epic form, he critiqued societal values and behaviors through witty and incisive commentary.

  • The focus of satire reflects the attitudes of elite London society, revealing both the frivolity and the vices of the upper classes.

Nature in Augustan Poetry

• Pope's view of nature was one of control and restraint, reflecting an orderly universe rather than wildness.

  • He refers to the ordered natural world as a model for writing:

  • “The rules of old discover'd, not devised,
    Are Nature still, but Nature methodiz'd.”

  • The Augustans contrasted sharply with later Romantic thought, which emphasized emotional engagement with nature as a wild and spiritual entity.

General Characteristics of Augustan Poetry

• The era emphasized rationalism, valuing reason, order, structure, and clarity in literature.

  • Writers appreciated and imitated classical forms, integrating wit and satire into their works.

  • The poetry often shunned raw emotions in favor of polished diction and urbane styles, aiming for didactic purposes.

  • They believed in using art to improve societal morality and taste.

• Notable prose publications during this time included:

  • The Tatler (1709-1711) by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

  • The Spectator (1711-1712) by Addison and Steele, aimed at educating middle class readers about literature and philosophy.

Rise of the Novel

• The English novel began to gain prominence during this time.

  • Daniel Defoe played a crucial role in establishing the novel as a legitimate literary form, particularly through works such as Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722).

Nature and the Graveyard Poets

• Early in the Augustan Age, nature poetry began to diverge as seen in works by James Thomson and Edward Young.

  • Thomson’s The Seasons revealed personal emotions towards nature rather than adhering exclusively to classical pastoral themes.

  • Young’s Night Thoughts resonated with themes of solitude and melancholy.

• Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard further popularized this introspective turn, focusing on individuality outside urban life.

Influence on Romanticism

• The poetic explorations during the Augustan Age set the stage for Romanticism, showing early stirrings of a focus on the individual's subjective experiences.

  • The emergence of Romantic poets came as a reaction not to entirely new ideals, but as a natural progression from the increasing recognition of the individual's inner life and emotional landscape in poetry.