Romantic Period

  English Romantic poets had a strong connection with medievalism and mythology.No other period in English literature displays more variety in style, theme, and content than the Romantic Movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, no period has been the topic of so much disagreement and confusion over its defining principles and aesthetics.As a term to cover the most distinctive writers who flourished in the last years of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th, “Romantic” is indispensable but also a little misleading: there was no self-styled “Romantic movement” at the time, and the great writers of the period did not call themselves Romantics. In England, Romanticism had its greatest influence from the end of the eighteenth century up through about 1870.

  Romanticism is concerned with the individual more than with society. The individual consciousness and especially the individual imagination are especially fascinating for the Romantics. “Melancholy” was quite the buzzword for the Romantic poets, and altered states of consciousness were often sought after in order to enhance one’s creative potential. Thanks largely to the Industrial Revolution, English society was undergoing the most severe paradigm shifts it had seen in living memory. The concentration on the individual mind gradually shifted from an optimistic brand of spiritualism into a more modern, cynical study of the underside of humanity.

REFERENCES:

http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188217/English-literature/12976/The-Romantic-period

http://www.online-literature.com/periods/romanticism.php

Quotation from Robinson Crusoe

  “O drug!” said I aloud, “what art thou good for? Thou art not worth to me, no, not the taking off of the ground; one of those knives is worth all this heap; I have no manner of use for thee; e’en remain where thou art and go to the bottom as a creature whose life is not worth saving.” However, upon second thoughts, I took it away. . . .

  Actually this term is ‘’drug’’ used for the ‘’money’’ here.  At the beginning it is not clear, but we understand the meaning. Robinson was alone in island. He finds money while he is wandering  island for guns , foods. He finds money. At first he doesn’t care he thinks that ‘’money is useless here’’but later he takes money .  In my opinion Robinson thinks that ‘’money can save his life for the next days ‘’ so he takes the money.

Daniel Defoe

One of the most important writers of English literature is Daniel Defoe. He was born in 1660 in London. He became a merchant and participated in several failing businesses. He was also a prolific political pamphleteer which landed him in prison for slander. Late in life he turned his pen to fiction and wrote Robinson Crusoe, one of the most widely read and influential novels of all time. Defoe published his first literary piece  in 1683. Defoe's simple but effective prose style ensured him widespread popularity. He is seen as the father of the English Novel.

Although Defoe is best known now for his novels, much of his writing is related to political, social, and business issues. One of his first works, An Essay upon Projects was a series of proposals. Defoe spent his time covertly editing other newspapers. Defoe died in 1731.

REFERENCES: http://www.biography.com/people/daniel-defoe-9269678

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/r/robinson-crusoe/daniel-defoe-biography

Augustan Age

The eighteenth century in English literature has been called the Augustan Age, the Neoclassical Age. The term 'The Augustan Age' comes from the self-conscious imitation of the original Augustan writers  by many of the writers of the period. Anyone educated in the eighteenth century would be familiar with the original texts, since studying the classics was a central feature of the school curriculum. Wit and intellectual conceits shaped the tone of much Augustan writing.

The major writers of the age were Pope and John Dryden in poetry, and Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison in prose. Dryden forms the link between Restoration and Augustan literature; although he wrote ribald comedies in the Restoration vein, his verse satires were highly admired by the generation of poets who followed him, and his writings on literature were very much in a neoclassical spirit.

Augustan Age, one of the most illustrious periods in Latin literary history, from approximately 43 bc to ad 18, it forms the Golden Age of Latin literature. Marked by civil peace and prosperity, the age reached its highest literary expression in poetry. During this period, there were successive attempts to ‘fix’ the English language. It is  to impose  a Classical system of genres on English literature.

REFERENCES:

http://www.ruthnestvold.com/Augustan.htm

http://www.crossref-it.info/articles/398/An-introduction-to-Augustan-literature

Civil War

The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. While the Revolution created the United States, the Civil War  determined what kind of nation it would be. The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration, all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world.

The Restoration period begins in 1660, the year in which King Charles II (the exiled Stuart king) was restored to the English throne. The period is one of increasing commercial prosperity and global trade for Britain. Literacy expanded to include the middle classes and even some of the poor. Writers  began to advocate for improved education for women during this period.John Milton was important poet  in this period. Milton's poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day.

Briefly we learned the Civil War and Restoration period in English Literature.We talked about these effects of these periods.And also we examined John Milton’s poetry.

 REFERENCE: http://wwnorton.com/college/english/nael9/section/volC/overview.aspx

Metaphysical Poetry

Metaphysical poetry refers to a type of very intellectual poetry that was common in the 17th century. This type of poetry was known for bold and ingenious conceits, subtle thought and frequent use of paradox as well as the directness of language. Basically, metaphysics deals with questions that can't be explained by science. It questions the nature of reality in a philosophical way. This term of  work is a blend of emotion and intellectual ingenuity, characterized by conceit or ‘’wit’’ .Sometimes violent yoking together of apparently unconnected ideas and things so that the reader is startled out of his complacency and forced to think through the argument of the poem. Metaphysical poetry is less concerned with expressing feeling than with analyzing it, with the poet exploring the recesses of his consciousness.John Donne  and George Herbert are important poets in this term.

John Donne (1572 – 1631) was the most influential metaphysical poet. His early work, collected in Satires and in Songs and Sonnets, was released in an era of religious oppression. His Holy Sonnets, which contains many of Donne’s most enduring poems, was released shortly after his wife died in childbirth.

George Herbert (1593 – 1633) was remarkable poet who did not live to see a collection of his poems published. Herbert, the son of a prominent literary patron to whom Donne dedicated his Holy Sonnets, spent the last years of his short life as a rector in a small town.

REFERENCES: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5662

A modest Proposal

                                       

  A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to their Parents or Country.  A Modest Proposal is included in many literature programs as an example of early modern western satire.This satiric poem is a relevant piece included in many comparative and global literature and history courses, as well as those of numerous other disciplines in the arts, humanities, and even the social sciences. Swift suggests in his essay that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies.

In my opinion this poem is effective to our feelings.In this poem writer wrote satire in different way. Realism is very dominate in this poem. Actually, I did not this poem but later I considered this poem was sensible.