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English Literature in the 18th century

1. Setting the scene

  • In 1707 under the Acts of Union, England and Scotland turned into a sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain. Anne was its first Queen and reigned  for twelve years. She was the last Queen of Scotland and England.
  • Queen Anne's death in 1714 was followed by the succession of the elector of Hanover as King George I of Great Britain.
           The monarchy was not popular and there were two rebellions :
           - the " First Jacobite Rebellion" in 1715
 - the "Second Jacobite Rebellion in 1745"
 The main objective: restore the Stuart kings to the throne
 Both rebellions were defeated and  the power of Parliament and the Prime Minister became stronger
  • British Prime Ministers:
          - Robert Walpole 1715-1742
          - Earl of Bute  1762
          - William Pitt 1783-1801, 1804-1806
            see Prime Ministers
  • The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain during the last half of the 18th century and spread through the rest of Europe and  the United States. There were many changes that transformed agricultural econonomies into industrial ones. Society changed in a very significant way and rapidly. 
  • Many people had to move from the country to to the cities to find work
  • The British trade with the rest of the world grew quickly
  • The power of Great Britain became bigger worldwide : colonization of India and Australia 
  • Many people , especially from Scotland and Ireland went to live in the new colonies to América
  • The American Declaration of Independence took place in 1776
           - Benjamin Franklin. ( 1706- 1790). He played an importan role in the Indepence of The United States of America
           - George Washington. 1st President of the United States ( 1789- 1797)
           - John Adams. 2nd President of the United States (1797-1801)
           - Thomas Jefferson. Author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776)
           - Thomas Paine. ( 1737-1809). He participated in the American Revolution. His main contribution: his pamphlet Common Sense ( 1776)
  • The French Revolution in 1789 " Liberty, Equality and Fraternity"
           - Edmund Burke (1729- 1797).  Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
  • First feminist movements
           -  Mary Wollstonecraft ( 1759-1797). Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) 

 2. English Literature 

      1. The Augustan Age.
  • It is the period after the Restoration era to the death of Pope ( 1690-1774)
  • The term comes from the imitation of the original Augustan writers, Virgil and Horace by many of the writers of this period
  • The most important writers were:
              1. In poetry
                   1. John Dryden ( 1631-1700)
                   2. Alexander Pope ( 1689- 1744)
                         The Rape of the Lock (1714)
                         Moral Essays ( 1731-1735)
                   3. Samuel Johnson ( 1709- 1784)
                         London ( 1738)
                         The Vanity of Human wishes ( 1749)
              2. In prose
                   1. Jonathan Swift ( !667- 1745)
                        Gulliver's travels ( 1726)


    2. The Rise of the Novel

               1. The influence of Journalism
                     The magazines  The Tatler ( 1709- 11) and  The Spectator  (1711- 12) by Richard Steele ( 1672-1729) and Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
               2. Daniel Defoe (1660- 1713)
                     Robinson Crusoe ( 1719)                                    
                     Moll Flanders ( 1722)   
               3. Samuel Richardson ( 1689-1761)
                     Pamela or virtue rewarded ( 1740)
               4. Henry Fielding ( 1707-1754)
                     Shamela (1741)
                     Joseph Andrews ( 1742)
                     Tom Jones ( 1749)
               5. Laurence Sterne ( 1713-1768)
                     The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy (1760-67)
 
     3. The Romantic Age
  • The Romantic period lasted about forty years, from the French Revolution to the Reform of Act of 1832.           
  • It was a time of hope for the future but changes were slow and there were many social and political problems
  • The Rign of Terror began in 1793
  • In literature, Romantic writing is mostly poetry:
              1. William Blake ( 1757-1827)
                    Songs of Innocence and Experience ( 1794)
              2. William Wordsworth ( 1770-1850)
                    The Prelude
                    Lyrical Ballads
                   Tintern Abbey
               3. Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834)
                     Kubla Khan

   4. Bibliography:
  • La Literatura Inglesa en los textos. Pilar Hidalgo y Enrique Alcaraz.
  • Claves para interpretar la Literatura Inglesa. Estefanía Villalba.
  • The Penguin Guide to English Literature: Britain and Ireland. Ronald Carter and John McRae.

   5. Graded readers to work on:
  • Robinson Crusoe O.U.P
  • Gulliver's Travels O.U.P
  • Revolution O.U.P

   6. Working on the projects




 



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