18C - Eighteenth Century Poetry Lesson

During the 18^th century, poetry was not the most highly regarded genre. Poetry of the 18^th century falls under the genre of Neoclassical poetry during the Neoclassical period, which is also called The Enlightenment or Age of Reason from 1660-1789. Whereas Renaissance poetry emphasized experimentation, imagination, and the metaphysical realm, Neoclassical poetry focuses on order, reason, and common sense. Poetry of the Neoclassical period crosses the different ages of the 18^th century: the Age of Pope and the Age of Johnson.

Most poetry in the Age of Pope is Neoclassical. In Rome, poetry flourished throughout the reign of Emperor Augustus, and in the early 18^th century, British writers emulated the classical authors of the Augustan age in Rome. Writers, thinkers, and builders drew inspiration from the classical age of the Greek and Roman empires. The humanistic ideals of the ancients were a reaction to the Puritanical austerity of the Commonwealth. Neoclassicism affected the poetry by placing an emphasis on the structure of the verse. Most notable is the use of the heroic couplets that consisted of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter. The adjective heroic refers to the ability of a poet to compose a couplet that contains a complete thought. Reason became more popular, and writers created realistic representations of the corruption seen in society through poetry.

Similar to the Age of Pope, poetry during the Age of Johnson was mainly classical. However, some poets started writing many poems that focused on emotion, nature, and imagination instead of reason and order, which created the genre known as Romantic poetry; therefore, many poets from the Age of Johnson are known as Pre-Romantics—the forerunners in Romanticism.

Poetry Analysis Review

Before we experience 18^th century poetry, let's review the TPCASTT method for analyzing poetry. Links to an external site.

TPCASTT (An analysis method for poetry)

T- TITLE Look at the title before reading the poem. Attempt to predict the significance
of the title. This will help you gauge the meaning of the poem as you read. Occasionally,
poems will not have titles. If this is the case, skip the "title" part of the TPCASTT
technique.
P-PARAPHRASE: Translate the plot of the poem into your own words. Make sure you
understand what every word means and that you can see every image being
used.
C- CONNOTATION: Contemplate the meaning of the poem beyond the literal-the figurative.
Look for all poetic devices and see how they contribute to the meaning of
poem. Connotative devices include all figurative language and sound devices (similes,
metaphors, eto)
the
A- ATTITUDE: Identify and describe the persona. Observe the speaker's attitude, the tone.
S- SHIFT: Determine the stanza type and whether there are shifts in the tone/attitude.
Sometimes a change in stanzas will indicate a shift in attitude.
T- TITLE (again): Reexamine the title. Try to see how the title fits with the work as a
whole
T- THEME: Determine what the poet is saying. This does not have to be a "moral" or a
"cute saying." Instead, you should think about how the human experience is presented in
the poem. The theme should be a universal truth, not applicable only to the poem.

With the Age of Pope coined after Alexander Pope himself, he was perhaps the most famous poet during the early 18^th century; however, he was also a satirist, translator, and literary critic. At a young age, he made several prominent friends in the literary world and became instantly famous after publishing Pastorals in 1709. He is famous for his use of the heroic couplet, his translation of Homer, and his ability to use satire. Pope's critical poem "Essay On Criticism", published in 1711, set the standard for Augustan literature. He wrote the poem in heroic couplets, and no other poet has surpassed his skill in constructing couplets. Review the handout in the sidebar to see more about how Pope constructs his couplets. Pope also is known for The Rape of the Lock, a mock-epic published in 1712 that satirizes a disagreement between two aristocrats.

Pope often expresses himself in antithesis, a contrast of ideas expressed in a grammatically balanced statement. Keep this in mind when reading his works. The Rape of the Lock is a mock epic due to the serious treatment the poem gives to serious matters. Much like an epic, the poem contains an invocation to the muses, contains gods and goddesses, and contains a journey to the underworld. Note the elements of classical poetry that Pope replicates, as well as the satirical elements in the poem.

Edward Young was an 18th century poet who was at one point appointed secretary to the British ambassador until the death of Queen Anne. Young received help from Pope and Swift in writing his mock-epic called Trivia or Art of Walking the Streets of London, which was a humorous, satirical description of London during the time period and acted as a witty guide to the upper-class in society.

Trivia

Similar to Pope, Young employed elements of wit and satire in his poetry. He also includes elements of classical poetry. In an excerpt from Book II: "Of Walking the Street by Day" from Young's mock-epic, he tells the story of a young boy whose mother was a goddess and whose father was a mortal. His mother, Cloacina, protects him by guiding him to a career where he will survive: cleaning the dirt and filth from the boots of the aristocracy. The "filth" is both literal and figurative seeing as wastefulness and corruption abound during the 18^th century.

The Age of Johnson 

James Thomson

William Blake