What is the
Enlightenment?
Circa 1650 – 1780
Also called the Neo-classical Period
“The Enlightenment” begins with a
rejection the values and beliefs of the
preceding “Renaissance Period”. . . .
•Of dogma
•Of superstition
•Of traditional religion
•Of factionalism
•Of (in some cases) monarchy
•Of disorder
The 1600s had a different ideology
--one steeped in supernatural politics.
•
•
•
Alchemy, Angelology, Demonology
The Great Chain of Being
Divine Right of Kings
Alchemy…
Angelology…
Demonology…
The Great Chain of Being…
Divine Right of Kings…
. . .but that led to dire
political schisms
when a monarch
died without a clear
heir.
The War of the Roses
The Renaissance saw many
countries become
Protestant, shattering the
fifteen-hundred-year-old
spiritual monopoly of
Catholicism.
Renaissance Reformation!
Jan Hus
In Eastern
Europe
Henry VIII in Britain (created
Protestant Church of
England)
Factionalism lead to
religious wars -- some
continuing (off-and-on) for
a century…
England, Germany, and Holland became Protestants allies.
They fought repeatedly against Catholic France, Spain, and
Italy. Later, Protestant groups turned on each other--with
Anglican persecutions against Jansenists, Anabaptists, Quakers-and in America, Puritans against Quakers, etc.
. . . And
to
heresy
trials
And to the
auto-da-fé
That is the execution of individuals who
dissented from standard scriptural
interpretations--usually by public
burning. The practice began in 1215 in
medieval Catholicism, but Protestants
picked it up in Geneva and London in
the mid-1500s. John Calvin oversaw
the public burnings of Michael Servetus
and other theological dissidents. Martin
Luther moved away from toleration of
Jews early in his career to increasing
anti-semiticism later in his preaching.
…and to ever increasing
numbers of witch
burnings
Witch trials were actually
higher in number during
the Renaissance reign of
King James I than in any
decade of the medieval
period in Britain.
And the
Inquisition’s
growth.
The Inquisition received
official Church sanction in
1215, but the height of its
activity in Spain and
France actually peaked in
the 1500s and 1600s-- i.e.
Renaissance times.
Not even Galileo
was safe.
The church arrested Galileo
For heretical ideas such as
heliocentricism. Threatened with
torture, he publicly recanted his
science and lived his last days under
permanent house arrest.
Western Christian biblical references Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and Chronicles 16:30 include
text stating that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." In the same tradition,
Psalm 104:5 says, "[the LORD] set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." Further,
Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.”
This meant that the Idea the earth spun on its axis or revolved around the sun was incompatible
with literalist readings of scripture--and many medieval and Renaissance church authorities
forbade such teachings.
“The enlightenment “ rejected
the values and beliefs:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Of dogma
Of superstition
Of traditional religion
Of factionalism
Of (in some cases) monarchy – eg: French Revolution
Of disorder
Where does
“The Enlightenment”
fit?
The Enlightenment! 1650 – 1760
(approx.)
What were the values and attitudes of
The Enlightenment?
(1) A desire for rationality, logic, consistency.
(2) A rejection of emotionalism
(3) A preference for evidence, not faith
(4) Increased interest in science, mathematics, geometry
(5) An admiration for Greece and Rome and an abhorrence for
everything medieval.
(6) A preference for the artificial over the natural,
technology over wilderness.
6. A disdain of “messiness” and “chaos” as being
Whatunharmonious.
is the Enlightenment
socially?
7. A preference for democracy.
8. A preference for civilized, polite discussion of ideas.
Conclusions reached by intelligent debate--not force.
9. A desire to create social standards based on reason--not
tradition.
10. An embrace of monotheistic Deism rather than
traditional Trinitarian doctrines.
What were the social values
of “The Enlightenment”?
Aesthetically…
1. A desire for geometric shapes, orderly
repetition in mathematical patterns.
2. A disdain of “messiness” and “chaos” in art and
clothing and hairstyles as being unharmonious.
3. Greco-Roman architecture
4. Endless Heroic Couplets
5. Satire as a means of social critique
See for instance: Enlightenment
gardens.
Here, the “messiness” of the natural world must bow
before pure geometry. In such a garden, the chaos of
nature is tamed to match the orderly design of human
intellect.
Straight lines, 90 degree corners, the stuff to warm the
heart of an Enlightenment thinker. Thus, hedge--mazes
appear across Europe.
Even the untidiness of natural hair disturbs Enlightenment society. Thus, the tradition of
the perfectly coiffed wig appears in the age of Washington and Jefferson and Marie
Antoinette. Powdered porcelain make-up and other cosmetics become fashionable and
artificial “beauty” patches (bits of black cloth with adhesive) are used to create artificial
moles or freckles (or to hide natural ones.) It is an age of absolute artifice.
The Enlightenment is so devoted to Greco-Roman logic
and philosophy it is thus also called the “Neo-classic
Period.” A similar taste appears in their architecture,
their plays and drama. . . .
Take a look at the Arch of Emperor
Constantine, built c. 312-315 CE.
Then look at the French Arc de Triomph du
Carrousel. Note any similarities?
Top Left:
the Parthenon of the
Acropolis, built
c. 447-438 BCE.
Bottom left:
Ragensberg Replica,
Planned in the 1790s
And built 1830 CE.
Cultural value:
Obsessive and rigorous in
standardizing language:
The French Academy
Of Language
Samuel Johnson working
on his dictionary of 1755.
…and artificial grammar rules
based on Latin, or Greek,
• Shall versus Will?
or even rules of algebra!
•
•
•
•
Double negatives?
Reflexive pronouns?
Split infinitives?
Standardizing spelling
based on etymology?
• “Incomparables”
versus positives and
superlatives?
• “It is I,” or “It is
me”?
• Count Nouns versus
Non-Count Nouns?
How do these tendencies
affect the Enlightenment’s
Inliterature?
poetry:
• heroic couplets
• “perfect”metrical patterns
• classical Greco-Roman epics: Cf. Pope’s The Rape
of the Lock.
In both poetry and prose, a focus on satire -the use of mockery to point out social
stupidities.
Years: 1660-1798
The Restoration: the reign of Charles II, 1630 - 1660 (after his restoration to the thrown in 1630 following
the English Civil War and Cromwell)
The Age of Enlightenment (the Eighteenth Century)
Content:
• emphasis on reason and logic
• stresses harmony, stability, wisdom
• Locke: a social contract exists between the government and the people. The government
governs guaranteeing “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property
Style/Genres:
• satire
• poetry
• essays
• letters, diaries, biographies
• novels
Effect:
emphasis on the individual
belief that humanity is basically evil
approach to life: “the world as it should be”
Historical Context:
• 50% of males are functionally literate (a dramatic rise)
• Fenced enclosures of land cause demise of traditional village life
• Factories begin to spring up as industrial revolution begins
• Impoverished masses begin to grow as farming life declines and factories build
• Coffee houses—where educated men spend evenings with literary and political associates
A Sampling of Key Literature & Authors:
• Alexander Pope
• Daniel Defoe
• Jonathan Swift,
• Samuel Johnson
• John Bunyan
• John Milton
What came after “The
Enlightenment”?
AFTER THE ENLIGHTENMENT… came
• “THE ROMANTICS” … or “ROMANTICISM”
In 1818, German artist Caspar David Friedrich painted Wanderer
Above the Sea of Fog, in which a man props his foot up on a
wind-whipped mountaintop, looking out over a wild, foggy
landscape
Years: 1798 – 1832
Content:
• human knowledge consists of impressions and ideas formed in the individual’s mind
• introduction of Gothic elements and terror/horror stories and novels
• in nature one can find comfort and peace that the man-made urbanized towns and factory
environments cannot offer
Style/Genres:
• Poetry
• lyrical ballads
Effects:
• evil attributed to society not to human nature
• human beings are basically good
• movement of protest: a desire for personal freedom
• children seen as hapless victims of poverty and exploitation
Historical Context:
• Napoleon rises to power in France and opposes England militarily and economically
• gas lamps developed
• Tory philosophy that government should NOT interfere with private enterprise
• middle class gains representation in the British parliament
• railroads begin to run
Key Literature/Authors:
Novelists
• Jane Austen
• Mary Shelley
Poets
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•
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Robert Burns
William Blake
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lord Byron
Percy Shelley
John Keats