Transcript The Age of Reason Mrs. Smith English Literature and Composition Definition • A period when philosophers emphasized the use of REASON as the best method.

The Age of Reason
Mrs. Smith
English Literature and Composition
Definition
• A period when philosophers
emphasized the use of REASON as
the best method of learning truth.
• Scientific Method, Thinking Skills
• Other names: (The Enlightenment,
The Restoration)
Leaders
• English Philosophers
• John Locke
• French Philosophers
• Rene Descartes
• Denis Diderdot
• Jean Jacques Rosseau
• Voltaire
Achievements of the Period
• Science
• Anatomy
• Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Mathematics
• Physics
Advancements
• Philosophy
• Organization knowledge in Encyclopedia
• Funding of Scientific Institutes
• Application of the Scientific Method to
study human nature
• Exploration of issues in education, law, and
politics
• Attack on tyranny, social injustice,
superstition, and ignorance.
From Tumult to Calm
• In 1660, England
was exhausted
from nearly 20
years of civil
war,plagues, and
fires that left
2/3’s of London
homeless.
From Tumult to Calm
• Despite the loss of the
American Colonies, Britain's
military forces established
new settlements.
• The middle class continued to
grow and many brilliant
works of philosophy,
literature, and art were being
produced.
Augustan and Neoclassical
• Many people began to find
similarities between England and
Rome as Britain restored peace and
order after the civil wars that led to
the execution of Charles I.
• The people were weary of war and
crowned Charles II without
shedding a drop of blood
Augustan and Neoclassical
• Many writers
consciously modeled
their works on the old
Latin classics
• They were viewed as
valuable because they
represented what was
permanent and universal
in human experience.
From Why? To How?
• People began to shift
their thinking and ask
“how” something
occurred rather that
“why?
• As a result terror was
removed from natural
phenomena such as
earthquakes.
Changes in Religion
• The new scientific and rational explanations
began to affect religious views.
• Deism- the belief that a creator set the world
in motion and has left it to run itself allowing
for individuals to dictate what is “right.”
• Christianity in its various forms continued to
exist with many Europeans including Sir
Issac Newton and John Locke. (both
scientists and philosophers)
The Worship of Reason
• Superiority of man in the universe-ability to
reason
• Blaming of authority figures (Catholic
Church) for keeping men in ignorance to
maintain their power.
• Superiority of Philosophy
• Galileo- Gravity
• Newton- Gravity and Motion
Religion and Politics
• Religion determined
people’s politics during
this time period.
• Charles II reestablished
the Anglican Church.
• Persecution of various
sects continued.
The Bloodless Revolution
• Charles the II had a number of
illegitimate children but when he died in
1685 there was no legal heir.
• He was succeeded by his Catholic
brother, James II.
• The English people were opposed to him
and when he has a son, political leaders
transferred power to James’ daughter
Mary who was married to a protestant.
The Bloodless Revolution
• In 1688 Mary’s husband, William
attacked England and King James fled the
country.
• In 1689 Parliament declared Mary and
William King and Queen restoring
Protestant rule.
• The rulers of England have been Anglican
ever since. (at least in name)
Addicted to the Theatre
• While the Puritans held
power the theatres were
closed, but Charles
repealed the ban at the
start of his rein.
• The new theatres allowed
women to act and
comedies were popular
during this time.
The Age of Satire
• Satire- literary work in which human
vice or folly is attacked through irony,
derision, or wit.
• Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift
used their writing to criticize the
values of the age, the corrupt politics
of the time, and the growing
commercialism and materialism.
Journalism
• During the Age of
Reason, Daniel
Defoe stood for
middle class values.
• As a result,
Journalists began to
use printed word as a
medium for political
and social reform.
A Poetry of Mind
• The poets of the
time had no
desire to expose
their souls; they
thought of poetry
as having a
public rather than
private function.
Public Poetry
• Elegy- a celebration for someone that
has died, usually of a high societal
class, that says only positive things
about a person.
• Ode- an ambitious often pompous
poetic utterance expressing a public
emotion (military victory)
• Satire
The First English Novels
• Mid 18th CenturyNovels
• Developed out of the
middle class
• Broad comical
adventures
• Robinson Crusoe,
Defoe, Tom Jones,
Fielding
Searching for a Simpler Life
• At the end of the century the world
was about to change
• Industrial Revolution
• French Revolution
• A movement away from industry in
writing and a focus on the upper class
Nature and the human soul
• Humble life
•