The Augustan Period
The Augustan Period
 A term applied loosely to the literature and art of the
Restoration and early 18th century. It denotes a period
of literary excellence, and refers back to the heyday of
classical writing during the reign of the Roman
emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14) and the stylistic
achievements of the Latin poets of the golden age,
Virgil, Horace and Ovid, whose writings were much
admired and imitated by the authors of this later
period of neoclassicism.
The Augustan Period
 Often confused with “The Augustan Age”, which was
the time of the reign of Augustus Caesar in Roman
History.
 ‘Augustan’ comes from King George I’s desire to be
seen as Augustus Caesar.
History &
Literature
The literature of the 18th century is
what "Augustan" most commonly
refers to and is explicitly political in
ways that few others are.
Those who wrote poetry, novels, and
plays were frequently either politically
active or politically funded because
the professional author was still not
distinguishable from the hack-writer.
History &
Literature
The period is considered to be
an ‘Age of Scandal’ for it was
an age when authors dealt
specifically with the crimes and
vices of their world.
 Satire, both in prose,
drama & poetry, was the
genre that attracted the
most energetic and
extensive writing.
 The satires produced
during the Augustan
period were occasionally
gentle and non-specific
commentaries on the
comically flawed human
condition, but they were
most frequently specific
critiques of specific
policies, actions, and
persons.
Author
Alexander Pope
Best known for his satirical verse
and for his translation of Homer.
Key works include:
1711: An Essay on Criticism
1712: The Rape of the Lock
1728: The Dunciad
Author
Daniel Defoe
Writer, journalist & pamphleteer,
known for being one of the earliest
proponents of the novel, helping to
popularise the form in Britain and
is among the founders of the
English novel.
Key works include:
1719: Robinson Crusoe
1722: A Journal of the Plague Year
Author
Jonathan Swift
Satirist, essayist,
political pamphleteer, poet and cleric
who became Dean of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, Dublin
Key works include:
1725: Drapier’s Letters
1726: Gulliver’s Travels
1729: A Modest proposal
The Johnsonian Period
Author
Samuel Johnson
The man who the Johnsonian Period
is named after. Often referred to as
‘Dr Johnson’. Was an author who
made lasting contributions to English
literature as a poet.
The Johnsonian Period is mostly to
do with Scottish writing and it comes
from Samuel Johnson.