Transcript Neoclassicism Steve Wood TCCC Definition Neoclassicism is a literary movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that stressed the importance of using ancient Greek and Roman.

Neoclassicism
Steve Wood
TCCC
Definition
Neoclassicism is a literary movement of the
17th and 18th centuries that stressed the
importance of using ancient Greek and
Roman (the Classical period) literature as a
guide for creation and criticism.
Hence, there is the paradox of the term:
“neo,” meaning “new” and classicism,
meaning “oldness.”
The Pendulum of Western
Literature
Literature in the Western world can be thought of
as swinging back and forth between two artistic
ideals: classicism, which stresses following
tradition and the rules derived thereof, and anticlassicism (or romanticism), which stresses
originality and breaking tradition.
The Neoclassical period of the 17th and 18th
centuries was a particularly strong classical
period. It would, in turn, be followed by a
particularly strong Romantic period in the latter
18th and early 19th century.
Aesthetics of Identity vs.
Aesthetics of Opposition
This pendulum swing can also be thought in terms
of the aesthetics of identity versus the aesthetics of
opposition.
The aesthetics of identity says that we find beauty
in the familiar; we like art that is like what we
have seen before. Thus, classicism is an aesthetics
of identity.
The aesthetics of opposition says that we find
beauty in that which is new and different. That is
the creed of the romantic artist.
Basic Characteristics of
Neoclassicism
Imitation of the ancients
Aesthetics of identity
Rules for all art forms
Literature as an art/craft
Importance of reason
Concern about pride
Universal nature of humanity
Perfectability of humanity
1 -- Reverence and Imitation of
the Ancients
The explanation of that paradox can be
found in the first important characteristic of
neoclassicism.
Neoclassical writers looked to ancient
Greek and Roman writers for inspiration
and guidance.
Reverence and Imitation of the
Ancients
They believed that writers should strive to
achieve excellence by imitating those great
writers of the past, not by trying to be
original or innovative.
Thus, art is rediscovery, reinvention, and
imitation.
2 -- Aesthetics of Identity
Aesthetics is the study of beauty – in this case,
beauty in literature.
There are two conflicting views on aesthetics – the
aesthetics of identity and the aesthetics of
opposition.
The aesthetics of identity is when we find beauty
in those works of art that are familiar to us, while
the aesthetics of opposition is when we find
beauty in the new and the different.
Aesthetics of Identity
By looking back to the ancient world for
standards, the neoclassical writer was
working within the aesthetics of identity.
3 -- Rules for Art
Neoclassical writers believed there were
rules for all forms of art.
These rules were derived by looking at the
texts from the ancient world.
Rules for Art
For example, in France in 1635, Cardinal
Richelieu established the Academie
Francaise to establish rules for the use of
the French language and to preserve the
“purity” of the language.
The Academy is still a powerful
organization in France.
4 -- Literature as “Art”
Neoclassical writers tended to view
literature as something “artificial” or
“artificed,” something created by craft and
study.
Thus, craft and study are more important
than talent or genius.
5 -- Importance of Reason
The most important human faculty was
reason.
Reason was the spark of the divine within
human beings.
The path to knowledge and virtue was
through the exercise of reason.
Importance of Reason
For example, one of the important religious
movements of the Neoclassical age was the
Deist movement.
Deism is a completely rational form of
Christianity.
Deism
Traced from Lord Herbert’s De Veritate in 1624,
Deists believed:
Nature is the inherent order of the universe (The Great
Chain of Being).
God is the clockmaker who built this perfect universe to
work according to certain immutable laws.
God does not perform miracles and did not tinker with
the watch after its creation.
The Bible is a great moral authority, but all irrational
aspects within it (such as miracles and the divinity of
Christ) are superstitions.
Reason guides men to virtue
6 -- Concern About Pride
The greatest bane to reason and the greatest
danger to humanity is pride.
All sins, in some fashion or another, are sins
of pride.
7 -- Universality
People are the same, no matter what country
or age in which they live.
8 -- Perfectabilty
Perfection (artistic, personal, social) is
possible through the proper use of reason.