18C - Eighteenth Century Literature Module Overview

Eighteenth Century Literature 

Introduction 

In 1707, after an Act of Union, England joined Scotland to England and Wales and became Great Britain. The Glorious Revolution in 1688 established a Protestant monarchy which put an end to changes in the official state religion. However, the influence of the church over people's lives began to decline and with Sir Isaac Newton's discoveries, the role of science increased. Society began to focus on common sense and to question the universe instead of accepting church teachings about the world and God. British citizens were moving from the farms to towns, and the focus began to shift from royalty to the middle class. In turn, the literature of the 18th century reflected these changes. Newspapers became popular as towns populated, and the once-praised playhouses of the 17th century no longer held a candle to the satirical essays and novels chastising political decision-makers. Similarly, an appreciation for Medieval literature grew and resulted in Gothic romance novels and Medieval ballads.

In the Eighteenth Century Literature module, we will explore the beginning of the newspaper as well as learn about the elements of satire and how satire can be used to influence society. Also, a study of Gothic romance will allow you to understand its influence on the modern-day horror genre, both in film and literature, while gaining an overall understanding of how British literature has continuously shaped the language and culture of today.

Essential Questions

    1. Can I integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) to address a question or solve a problem?
    2. How does structure aid in the establishment of an author's point of view or purpose in a text?
    3. How might rhetorical style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text?

Key Terms

  1. Verbal irony - When the speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says.
  2. Situational Irony - Irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.
  3. Dramatic Irony - The full significance of a character\'s words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.
  4. Satire - The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
  5. Underestimate - Estimate (something) to be smaller or less important than it actually is.
  6. Exaggeration - A statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is.
  7. Hyperbole - An extreme exaggeration.
  8. Sarcasm - The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.
  9. Antithesis - A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
  10. Heroic Couplet - A traditional form for English poetry, commonly used in epic and narrative poetry it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of lines in iambic pentameter.
  11. Epic - A long narrative poem.
  12. Mock Epic - Mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic qualities to such a point that they become absurd.
  13. Wit - A natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor.
  14. Style - The ways that the author uses words — the author\'s word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.
  15. Gothic Romance - A genre of literature with mysterious plots that included elements of the supernatural and elements of horror set in haunted castles or medieval ruins.

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