Neoclassical Period(1688-1798)HistoricalbackgroundMajorwritersLiteraturetermsThe Neoclassical Periodn -the period in English literature between the return of Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 and the full assertion of Romanticism which came with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth in 1978.Historical backgroundn1.Its a turbulent period:na.Great political and social events were the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.nb.the Great Plague（大瘟疫,指1665年流行于伦敦的鼠疫）of 1665 which took 70000 lives in London alone.nc.the Great London Fire which destroyed a large part of the city,leaving two-thirds of the population homeless.nd.the Glorious Revolution in which King James II was replaced by his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William,duke of Orange,in 1689.nThere was constant strife between the monarch and the parliament,between the two big partiesthe Tories and Whigsover the control of the parliament and government,between opposing religious sects such as the Roman Catholicism,the Anglican Church（英国国教等于ChurchofEngland）and the Dissenters(异议者|不奉国教者|不同意者),between the ruling class and the laboring poor,etc.In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence(disagreement)of values.ne.theconstitutionalmonarchy(君主立宪制度)cameintobeingasacompromisebetweenthebourgeoisieandthearistocratsn-themonarchwasdeprivedofrulingpower,ParliamenthadmoresaynTheTory(保守托利党)andtheWhig（自由辉格党）n2.Abroad:The eighteenth century saw the fast development of England as a nation,a vast expansion of British colonies in North America,India,the West Indies,and a continuous increase of colonial wealth and trade provided England with a market for which the small-scale hand production methods of the home industry were hardly adequate.Towards the middle of the eighteenth century,England had become the first powerful capitalist country in the world.The British bourgeois or middle class also grew rapidly.It was the major force of the Revolution and was mainly composed of city people.n 3.literature character:the Enlightenment Movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works.This tendency is known as neoclassicism(新古典主义).According to the neoclassicists,all forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers.(Homer,Virgil,Horace,Ovid,etc.)nThey believed that the artistic ideals should be order,logic,restrained emotion and accuracy,and that literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity.This belief led them to seek proportion,unity,harmony and grace in literary expressions,in an effort to delight,instruct and correct human beings,primarily as social animals.Thus a polite，urbane(:bein adj.彬彬有礼的，温文尔雅的；都市化的),witty,and intellectual art developed.n艺术理想应当是顺序，罗技，克制的情绪和精确度。
寻求在文学表达上的均衡，统一，和谐和优雅，并使得人类作为社会动物获得愉悦，指导和矫正Neoclassicists had some fixed laws and rules for almost every genre of literature.nProse should be precise,direct,smooth and flexible.nDrama should be written in the Heroic Couplets.nPoetry should be lyrical,epical(英勇的；叙事诗的；有重大历史意义的),didactic,satiric or dramatic,and each class should be guided by its own principles.1.Definitions of literary termsnTheneoclassicalperiodistheoneinEnglishliteraturebetweenthereturnoftheStuartstotheEnglishthronein1660andthefullassertion（主张）ofRomanticismwhichcamewiththepublicationofLyricalBalladsbyWordsworthandColeridge（柯勒律治）in1798.新古典文学时期是英国文学史上斯图亚特王朝在1660年登上英国王位之后和华兹华斯和柯勒律治出版了抒情歌谣集后的浪漫主义主张。
n1.1)TheEnlightenmentMovement：The18th-centuryEnglandisknownastheAgeofEnlightenmentortheAgeofReason（启蒙运动）.TheEnlightenmentMovementwasaprogressiveintellectualmovementwhichflourishedinFranceandsweptthroughthewholeWesternEuropeatthetime.Themovementwasafurtherance（促进）oftheRenaissanceofthe15thand16thcenturies.Itspurposewastoenlightenthewholeworldwiththelightofmodemphilosophicalandartisticideas.Theenlightenerscelebratedreasonorrationality（合理性）,equality（平等）andscience.Theycalledforareference（证明人）toorder,reasonandrulesandadvocateduniversaleducation.FamousamongthegreatenlightenersinEnglandwerethosegreatwriterslikeJohnDryden约翰德莱敦,Alexandepope亚历山大.蒲柏,JosephAddison约瑟夫艾迪生andSirRichardSteele理查德斯梯尔(thistwoarepioneersoffamiliaressays),JonathanSwift乔纳森斯威夫特,DanielDefoe丹尼尔.笛福,RichardBrinsleySheridan谢雷登,HenryFielding亨利费尔丁andSamuelJohnson塞缪尔约翰逊.18世纪的英格兰是众所周知的启蒙时期或者启蒙运动。
启蒙运动是进步的智慧运动，在法国爆发，蔓延至那个时期的整个时期这个运动是15和16世纪文艺复兴运动的促进它的作用是用哲学和艺术思想来启蒙整个世界启蒙者庆祝理智或者合理性，平等和科学他们为顺序，理智和规则，宣传广泛的教育召集证明人在英国这些伟大的启蒙者间，是约翰德莱敦，亚历山大.蒲柏，约瑟夫艾迪生，理查德斯梯尔，乔纳森斯威夫特，丹尼尔.笛福，谢雷登，亨利费尔丁，塞缪尔约翰逊n2)Neoclassicism:Inthefieldofliterature,theEnlightenmentMovementbroughtaboutarevivalofinterestintheoldclassicalworks.Thistendencyisknownasneoclassicism.Accordingtotheneoclassicists,allformsofliteratureweretobemodeledaftertheclassicalworksoftheancientGreekandRomanwriters(Homer,Virgil维吉尔,andsoon)andthoseofthecontemporaryFrenchones.Theybelievedthattheartisticidealsshouldbeorder,logic,restrained（忍耐的）emotionandaccuracy,andthatliteratureshouldbejudgedintermsofitsservicetohumanity.Thisbeliefledthemtoseekp。