The Augustan Age in English Literature: Reason, Enlightenment, and Neoclassicism

The Augustan Age in English Literature

As the term Classical Age is too dignified for writers of the eighteenth century in England, who imitated only the outward trappings of the ancient classical writers and could not capture their inner spirit, this age is preferably called the Augustan Age. This term was chosen by the writers of the eighteenth century, who saw in Pope, Addison, Swift, Johnson, and Burke the modern parallels to Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and other brilliant writers who made Roman literature famous during the reign of Emperor Augustus.

The Age of Reason and Enlightenment

The eighteenth century is also called the Age of Reason or the Age of Good Sense because people thought they could stand on their own two feet and be guided in the conduct of their affairs by the light of their own reason. To apply reason, it must be stable, and everything must be structured in logical axioms.

The century has also been called the Age of Enlightenment. Many writers of the era used ancient Greek and Roman authors as models of style. Hence, the period in literature is often described as neoclassic.

Social and Economic Changes

Merchants and tradesmen achieved tremendous economic power during this time. Scientific discoveries were encouraged. Many important inventions—for example:

• The spinning jenny
• The power loom
• The steam engine

These inventions brought about an industrial society. Cities grew in size, and London began to assume its present position as a great industrial and commercial center. In addition to a comfortable life, the members of the middle class demanded respectable, moralistic art controlled by common sense. They reacted in protest to the aristocratic immoralities in much of the Restoration literature.

The Rise of London and a New Social Order

London became more and more the center of the literary and intellectual life of the country. Aristocracy in the old sense was transmuted into gentility, and wealth became the main motivating power in society. Wealth became the motor of society, leading to a new social class centered on commercialization. Economics and ethics were finally separated.