CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AUGUSTAN OR CLASSIC AGE: ANALYZING THE KEY POINTS

The Political Time

The reign of Queen Anne in early 18th-century England is commonly known as Augustan age, included in The Neo-Classic Age. In fact The Neo-classical Age (1660 to 1798) included  the Restoration Age, the Augustan Age and the Age of Sensibility.  The entire Neo-Classic Age in England was more or less marked by political stability and social order. 

 It was characterized by the following:

👉A focus on reason, order, and balance in literature, art, and architecture.

👉An emphasis on classical values and ideals, especially those of ancient Rome.

👉The rise of the middle class and the growth of commercialism and consumerism.

👉The emergence of a more secular and rational worldview, as opposed to the religious and superstitious beliefs of the past.

👉The reigns of George I and George II, which brought a period of political stability and relative peace after years of civil unrest and foreign wars.

👉During this period, the satirist Jonathan Swift, the poet Alexander Pope, and the essayists Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele were among the major literary figures. 

In Comparison to Classical Period

👉The Augustan or Classic Age refers to the period of ancient Roman literature from 43 BC to 17 AD. This era was marked by a focus on traditional values, rationality, and restraint. Some key characteristics include:

🐱Emphasis on order, stability, and reason

🐱Celebration of Roman virtues such as piety, patriotism, and duty

🐱Use of elevated language and formal style

🐱Interest in the natural world and human psychology

🐱Emphasis on satire and wit as literary forms

🐱Influence of Greek and Hellenistic culture

👉The Augustan or Neoclassical Age in England refers to the period of literature from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century. It was marked by a revival of interest in classical literature and a focus on reason and order. Some key characteristics include:

🐱Emphasis on reason, logic, and order

🐱Celebration of classical ideals and values

🐱Use of heroic couplet and other formal verse forms

🐱Interest in satire and social commentary

🐱Focus on the natural world and science

🐱Influence of French and Roman literature and culture

The Style in Motions

 The Augustan or Neoclassical Age in England (18th century) was marked by a revival of classical forms and values, with an emphasis on reason, order, and restraint. Their neoclassical style employed Roman forms, such as the ode, and emphasized common sense, moderation, reason over emotion and elegance over brevity. In the eighteenth century the subjects of study became more numerous and more systematic. And it was the good fortune of England that prose in the age had become a pliant and serviceable medium. Key characteristics include:

✅Imitation of classical models in literature, art, and architecture

✅Emphasis on reason and logic, and a rejection of excessive emotion

✅Interest in social and political issues, and a belief in progress and improvement

✅Use of satire and wit to critique society and human behavior

✅Formal, structured poetry and prose, with a focus on clarity and precision

✅Concern with language as a tool for communication and instruction, rather than personal expression

The Transitional Time

It was a century full of speculation and fierce questioning a century with powerful minds that applied themselves to the problems of the nature of life, and set out solutions which have been the basis of much later thought. It was a century, above all others, when England led Europe in philosophical speculation. The first half of the eighteenth century was remarkable for the rapid social development in England. For the first time they began themselves the task of learning art of living together. In a single generation nearly two thousand public coffeehouses sprang up in London alone. This new social status had a superb effect in polishing men’s words and manners. So it was a kind of free time when the novel as a dominant literary form rose to new height. There was emergence of literary critics and literary periodicals.

The Emancipation of the Political Parties

By the year 1700, during the reign of Charles II, the term "Whig" referred to the advocacy for personal freedom over the Hanoverian succession, while the term "Tory" denoted support for the Jacobites. And with this came 

📜 Emancipation of political parties

📜 Development of political journalism

📜 Emergence of political satire

📜 Rise of literary criticism and literary clubs

📜 Emphasis on reason and common sense

📜 Focus on formal balance and clarity in literature

📜 Interest in classical literature and culture.

The Spirit of the Age

It was an age of tolerance, moderations, and common-sense.. This age introduced the rule of sweet reasonableness. The way reason was faithful reflected in the literature of the then period, specially in the works of Swift, Steele, Addison and Defoe.

The clubs and coffee-houses

The increased activity in politics led to a great Addison to the number of political clubs and coffeehouse, which became the inspiration to fashionable and public life. In the first number of ‘The Tatler’ Steele announces that the activities of his new journal will be based upon the clubs. “All accounts of Gallantry, Pleasure, and Entertainment shall be under the article of White’s Chocolate-House; poetry under that of Will’s Coffee-House; Learning under the title of Grecian, Foreign  and Domestic News you will have from Saint James’ Coffee-House”. So we see:

🏡 The rise of clubs and coffee-houses as centers of intellectual and social activity

🏡 Emphasis on reason, moderation, and classical ideals

🏡 Satire as a dominant literary form

🏡 Development of the novel and the periodical press

🏡 Influential figures such as Pope, Swift, Addison, and Steele.

Periodical and Publishing House

In every age we have noted specially the political works, which constitute, according to Matthew Arnold, the glory of English literature. Now for the first time we must chronicle the triumph of English prose. During this reign the law of copyright (1709) was passed. The freedom of the press was restored in 1682 and large numbers of periodicals appeared and flourished in their in their different fashions. Steele published ‘The Tatler’, The Spectator’ and ‘The Plebeian’ (an early example of the political0 in 1709, 1711 and 1719 respectively. He also published others short-lived periodicals like ‘The Guardian’ (1713), ‘The Englishman (1713), ‘The Reader’ (1714) etc. For the interest of the readers a great many numbers of publishing houses were controlled by Edmund Curl, Jacob Tomson, and John Dunton etc. 

The New Morality

The immorality of the Restoration period was absolutely by the new morality of stele, Defoe, Addison, Swift and also others of the then period. Once in the pages of the Spectator, Addison says –“I shall endeavour to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality.”

Ardhendu De

Ref: 

1. English Literature by William J. Long. (n.d.). Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10609

2. Review: A History of English Literature * Alexander Michael: A History of English Literature. (2002, July 1). Forum for Modern Language Studies, 38(3), 352–352. https://doi.org/10.1093/fmls/38.3.352

3. Microsoft Students’ Encarta