Enlightenment & Goth. Nov. (1760-1790) Flashcards
Enlightenment Era
First 30 years of George III (Hanover) American Rev (1775-83) Gothic Novel (1760-90)
Edward Gibbon Samuel Johnson James Boswell Mary Wollstonecraft Lawrence Sterne William Cowper Horace Walpole Thomas Chatterton Jonathan Edwards
Edward Gibbon
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Famous for writing the history of Rome. Of the inspiration he said, “”It was at Rome… as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while barefoot friars were singing vespers in the Temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind.”
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
The work covers more than 13 centuries from the 2nd century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Christianity is dealt with in detail, he examines the encroachment of the Teutonic tribes who eventually held the Western Empire in fee, the rise of Islam, and the Crusades. Gibbon viewed the Roman Empire as a single entity in undeviating decline from the ideals of political and intellectual freedom that had characterized the classical literature he had read. For him, the material decay of Rome was the effect and symbol of moral decadence. With powerful narrative, fluid prose, and persuasive arguments the work has a remained a classic in historical literature.
Samuel Johnson
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Writer of the first modern English dictionary. Known sometimes as “Rambler” because he published essays in his journal The Rambler. His fawning biographer—wrote Life of Johnson—was James Boswell, who will certainly be the author of any positive evaluation of Johnson. Johnson didn’t like the metaphysical poets and is known by ETS to talk smack about them. But remember that Eliot did like the metaphysical poets. Johnson spoke highly of Addison.
Dictionary of the English Language
Samuel Johnson
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
It took eight years to compile these 40,000 definitions. Provides tongue in cheek definitions of “lexographer”—a “harmless drudge”—and “patron”— “one who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.”
The Vanity of Human Wishes
Samuel Johnson
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
The Lives of the English Poets
Samuel Johnson
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Much of Samuel Johnson’s most oft-quoted and trenchant literary criticism is found in this series of 50 biographies, first published 1779-1781, written originally to accompany a special serialized edition of these poets’ works. This new edition, the first unabridged edition in decades, contains Johnson’s full essays on such literary giants of his time as Milton, Dryden, Pope, Cowley, Congreve, and Gray, as well as poets who were popular and influential in the 18th century but are sadly neglected today.
Rasselas
Samuel Johnson
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
About Prince of Abysinia’s unsuccessful quest for a fulfilling “choice of life.” Talks about “Happy Valley.” Johnson wrote it to pay off debts for his mother’s funeral.
James Boswell
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
From Scotland, Johnson’s leechlike biographer. Famous literary drunk and proflagate—see Boswell’s London Journal.
The Life of Johnson
James Boswell
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Treats us to Johnson in a fly on the wall fashion, providing snippets of conversation and witty quotes and scenes.
London Journal
James Boswell
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Life of debauchery
Mary Wollstonecraft
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Feminist for the time. Didn’t believe in the institution of marriage. After getting pregnant, married William Godwin (anarchist and writer of Inquirey Conerning Political Justice). Gave birth to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who later married Percy Bysshe Shelley and wrote Frankenstein.
Vindication of the Rights of Women
Mary Wollstonecraft
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Deals with rights of women, they should get education and have rights so they can be smart and be good wives and mothers. Similar to John Stuart Mill’s The Subject of Women.
Lawrence Sterne
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Known as a rather experimental writer.
Tristram Shandy
Lawrence Sterne
Enlightenment (1st 30 years of G3 of Hanover)
Two narratives interwoven: 1. Tristram Shandy’s conception, birth, and accidental circumcision; 2. Tristram’s Uncle Toby is injured in the groin during the war and it takes him four years to recover. Once recovered, he becomes obsessed with reenacting the battle. Of him, Wilbur Cross said, “With him a sentence does not necessarily begin with a capital letter. The ordinary marks of punctuation are discarded for dashes of varying length; and free use is made of italics, capitals, asterisks and index-hands. Sometimes a sentence forms a chapter, or a chapter is begun and broken off because it does not start right. Occasionally entire chapters drop out of place to appear many pages on, as if they had got lost in a shuffle. A page may be left blank so that the reader may write upon it anything he likes, or it may be dressed in black in memory of Yorick. There is also a marbled page, inserted, Sterne remarks, as “a motley emblem of my book.’”
