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MindMap Gallery An overview of European literature in the 18th century

An overview of European literature in the 18th century

Foreign literature, literature in the 18th century was dominated by Enlightenment literature. It was an important part of the Enlightenment Movement and a powerful combat weapon. On the one hand, its emergence adapted to the needs of the political struggle of the European bourgeoisie. On the other hand, it was also the literature of the new era. The content requires artistic expression that breaks through the various laws of classicism that are compatible with feudalism. Among them, the achievements of British realist novels and French philosophical novels are the most outstanding. Enlightenment literature has its own characteristics in different countries, but it is also consistent.

Edited at 2024-12-15 23:10:59

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An overview of European literature in the 18th century

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An overview of European literature in the 18th century

enlightenment literature

Glossary

Literature in the 18th century was dominated by Enlightenment literature, which was an important part of the Enlightenment and a powerful combat weapon. On the one hand, its emergence adapted to the needs of the political struggle of the European bourgeoisie, and on the other hand, it was a breakthrough in the content of literature in the new era. The artistic expression of various laws of classicism that are compatible with feudalism. Among them, the achievements of British realist novels and French philosophical novels are the most outstanding. Enlightenment literature has its own characteristics in different countries, but it is also consistent.

Features

It has a distinct ideological character. That is, it has a clear political tendency and teaching, a strong philosophical and social analysis.

Create new characters, taking the bourgeoisie and civilians as the protagonists of the works; inherit the realist tradition since the Renaissance and emphasize literary authenticity.

Create new genres and diversify literary forms.

Similarities and Differences between Enlightenment Literature and Humanistic Literature

Ideological content

There are close connections and differences between humanistic literature and enlightenment literature. Both are key ideological tools for the emerging bourgeoisie to fight against feudalism and the church. However, humanistic literature focuses on ethics and life, focusing on revealing the darkness of the church and the hypocrisy of the priests. and greed; Enlightenment literature directly targeted the feudal system and religious superstition, actively creating a public opinion atmosphere for the bourgeoisie to seize power, and its political tendencies were more distinct and prominent.

The image of the protagonist

Humanistic literature and enlightenment literature have both similarities and differences. The similarity is that the positive protagonists created by the two embody the aspirations of the bourgeoisie; the difference is that the protagonists of humanistic literature often wear the clothes of emperors, generals, talents and beauties, while the enlightenment literature is completely different. The third-class characters are used as objects of praise, while the feudal aristocracy is listed as the target of satirical criticism, which clearly demonstrates the unique characteristics and differences in character creation between the two literary stages.

Artistic techniques

Humanistic literature and enlightenment literature have similarities in artistic techniques. Both use realism techniques and focus on reflecting social reality. However, there are differences in the choice of themes. Humanistic literature usually uses ancient and foreign themes to express thoughts and opinions; while enlightenment literature mostly draws materials directly from real life and is more closely in line with the present. Social reality, based on reality, shows various problems and needs for change in society.

The subject matter of the work

Both created some new literary forms. Humanistic literature pioneered sonnets and novels, while Enlightenment literature pioneered philosophical novels and dramas.

18 Actual literary achievements of various European countries

U.K.

Overall characteristics

1. Taking realist novels as the main achievement; 2. Taking the elimination of feudal remnants and consolidating the achievements of the bourgeois revolution as the main content. Most of them use daily life as the theme, showing the lives of the bourgeoisie or ordinary people of the lower class, showing their fighting spirit, reflecting the social contradictions of the time, and using daily and natural narrative language to cater to the aesthetic taste of the urban middle class.

realistic novel

generate base

The basis for the emergence of realist novels is the gentleness and reality of the British Enlightenment's treatment of real material factors.

significance

A representative of British Enlightenment literature, marking the rise of realist novels. British periodical literature paved the way for the emergence of British realist novels. The two most famous periodical essayists were Steele and Addison. They launched two popular periodicals, The Tatler and The Spectator, which played a driving role.

represent

Defoe, Swift (early 18th century)

Defoe

"The father of British novels" and the founder of realistic novels in the 18th century. Born into a merchant family and himself a businessman, his literary creations are full of commercial spirit.

"Robinson Crusoe", "Moore Flanders", "Captain Singleton", "Colonel Jack", etc.

Swift

A British satirist whose representative work is the fable novel "Gulliver's Travels". This is a satirical masterpiece. Through the protagonist Gulliver's four voyages, he successively went to Lilliput, the Great People, the Flying Islands, the Houyhnhnms and other places. An enlightened monarch with enlightenment ideals praised rationality, honesty, justice and other good qualities.

"Gulliver's Travels"

Fielding, Richardson (mid 18th century)

fielding

Together with Defoe and Richardson, they are known as the three pioneers of modern British novels. They established the realist tradition that fully reflected contemporary society and dominated British novels until the end of the 19th century. Fielding's novels are characterized by humor, satire, optimism and love for the people. He is good at portraying characters through true descriptions of daily life, reflecting a broad social picture, and depicting various classes of British society.

The novel "The Experience of Joseph Andrews": "a comic epic in prose", in the style of a picaresque novel, imitating Richardson's "Pamele". The novel "Tom Jones" is the highest peak of British novels in the 18th century. It has the style of a picaresque novel, describing the love story of an outcast Tom Jones and the squire's daughter Sophia as well as his travel adventures. It reflects the social life at that time and criticizes the concept of marriage based on family status and money.

richardson

The pioneer of British family novels and epistolary novels, and the founder of sentimental literature. His works pay more attention to describing the images of the lower class people, and the themes of his works are closer to social life. Richardson paid attention to the moral issues of marriage, and mostly used maids or middle-class women as the protagonists. Through vivid love stories, he praised the excellent character of the common people and exposed the debauchery of the nobles.

"Pamele" (subtitle: "Virtue Pays Reward"), "Clarissa", etc.

Jane Austen (late 18th century)

A female novelist who lived at the turn of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and served as a link between the past and the future. She pioneered the marriage and love style novels, exploring the theme of female growth, and idyllicly showing the British rural life in that period.

"Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", etc.

sentimental literature

An important literary trend that appeared in Britain in the late 18th century, its main representatives were the British novelists Stern, Goldsmith and the Cemetery Poetry School. The name of sentimentalism comes from Stine's novel "Sentimental Journey". Facing the social reality after the industrial revolution, this school felt that life and status were in turmoil, and was dissatisfied with the tyranny of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie, but did not understand the reasons for social changes. It developed sentimental emotions, expressed disappointment in the "rational" society, and turned to Advocate feelings. In terms of creation, sentimental novels devalue rationality and emphasize the power of emotion. They focus on describing the misfortune and pain of characters and the desolate natural environment to impress readers and arouse their sympathy and pity. But because it often uses life, death, night and loneliness as its themes, its style is sad and its language is gloomy. Sentimental literature highlights emotions and presents subjective and emotional aesthetic qualities, becoming the forerunner of romantic literature in the 19th century.

gothic novel

A new novel genre that emerged in England in the late 18th century. It is a counterattack against rationalism and expresses people's dissatisfaction with reality after the bourgeois revolution. It has an impact on romanticism, realism and modernism. Gothic novels are mostly set in medieval Gothic castles, describing mysterious stories and murders that take place in the eerie castle. The story is full of mystery, terror, ghosts and appalling supernatural events, exaggerating a terrifying and bizarre atmosphere. The plot is full of suspense and the characters' psychology is delicate and in-depth.

France

Overall characteristics

1. It can be divided into Rococo literature, classic literature, folk literature and Enlightenment literature, etc. Among them, Enlightenment literature was the mainstream of French literature in the 18th century. 2. The center of the Enlightenment Movement, the pinnacle and model of Enlightenment literature (becoming the dominant figure in the literary world after the 1820s). Taking philosophical novels as the highest achievement. 3. Writers are often thinkers, politicians, and philosophers at the same time.

represent

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

An early representative of the French Enlightenment, he longed for a British-style constitutional monarchy and was famous for advocating the separation of powers.

His literary masterpiece is the epistolary novel "Persian Letters". The writer's Enlightenment views on politics, society, religion and morality are the earliest Enlightenment literary works and the earliest philosophical novels in France.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

His original name was Francois Marie Arouet. He was the most prestigious leader in the French Enlightenment and was known as the "King of French Thought." Voltaire was born into a family of court notaries in Paris. In 1717, he was thrown into the Bastille for writing satirical poems that alluded to the promiscuous life in the court. While in prison, he wrote the tragedy "Oedipus Rex" for the first time under the pen name of Voltaire. The performance of the play made him famous in one fell swoop. He also won the title of "the best poet in France" with his epic "League".

Voltaire wrote a large number of works on philosophy, politics, historical literature and natural science, such as "Philosophical Letters" and "The Age of Louis XIV". Among Voltaire's literary works, philosophical novels have the highest value. Through his hands, this literary form fully exerted its fighting role and became a powerful weapon in the hands of French enlightenment literary writers. He has written a total of 26 philosophical novels, and his representative works include Zadig, Candide, and The Innocent Man. Voltaire admired Chinese civilization and wrote a tragedy "The Orphan of China" based on the French translation of the drama "The Orphan of Zhao" by Ji Junxiang of the Yuan Dynasty.

Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

A new generation leader of the French Enlightenment, a materialist philosopher, a litterateur, an esthetician, and the chief editor of the Encyclopedia. In "On Dramatic Art", he proposed that the characters in drama should be ordinary people in real life, and created a new type of serious drama (serious drama/tragic comedy/enlightenment drama) between tragedy and comedy. His artistic views are The strong realism color had a positive impact on the time.

Representative work: The dialogue-style philosophical novel "Rameaux's Nephew" was praised by Engels as a masterpiece of dialectics. The protagonist is a typical product of France's transition period from feudalism to capitalism.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

French Enlightenment thinker and litterateur. He is a representative of the classical natural law school and the French Enlightenment. Among the three leaders of the French Enlightenment, he has the greatest influence on all aspects of modern bourgeois thought. His literary creation is the forerunner of romantic literature. Born into a family of watchmakers in Geneva, he was impoverished since he was a child. He was homeless when he grew up. He was controversial and surrounded by enemies throughout his life. His private life was extremely chaotic, and he received mixed reviews from later generations.

The educational book "Emile": Through the story of Emile receiving knowledge education and labor education, he puts forward the natural education theory of returning to nature and developing nature.

Germany

background

The fragmented country made German enlightenment literature take the creation of a unified national culture as its primary task, advocate writing in standardized national languages, and carry forward the cultural traditions of its own nation.

Features

1. Pay attention to the collection and excavation of national cultural heritage. 2. Promote individual freedom and liberation, and promote the German national spirit in cultural construction and literary creation.

represent

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781)

A representative of the German Enlightenment and the founder of German national literature, he founded German citizen drama. He advocated the nationalization of German literature and the purpose of his creation was to reflect the history and reality of Germany.

Representative work: The drama theory work "Hamburg Drama Review", which opposed classical literary dogma and laid the foundation for the development of German realist drama theory. The drama "Emilia Galetti" is Germany's first citizen tragedy. Aesthetic book "Laocoon, On the Boundaries of Painting and Poetry"

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)

He was an esthetician, playwright, and poet during the German Sturm und Drang period and the classical period. Together with Goethe, he was one of the great representatives of German national literature.

Early (crazy) masterpieces: "The Robber", "Conspiracy and Love", etc. Most of the works have the theme of opposing feudal tyranny, advocating humanitarianism and advocating the liberation of individuality. Later (ancient) masterpieces: "Wallenstein", "William Tell", "Les Demoiselles d'Orion", etc. The theme is to strive to arouse national consciousness and call for national unity.