Neo Classicism free essay sample

England had merged with Scotland and Wales, in order to constitute he United Kingdom of Great Britain. On the other side of the Atlantic, the colonies were now known as The United States. This former colonial territory Was a Mecca to European people, especially Germans. These hard-working immigrants would help to create new industries, based on the latest agricultural achievements. All those enthusiastic new Americans were helping grease the wheels of progress in regard to world history.But, as the new American residents worked hard, they also loved freedom the love of freedom that the Puritans had brought with them, at the nations earliest beginnings. Soon brilliant, thinking men who would speak about democracy, economy and other vital ideologies would appear. These new ideologies would be swiftly and strongly embraced by North Americans and would kick-start its destiny of changing the world. If we are to speak about poetry during this period, then we must start with Alexander Pope (1688-1744). He was, along with several contemporaries who followed the French poet and theorist, Nicholas Boiled, (1636-1711), who, in turn, was a fervent follower of the Roman poet Horace (Quintus Hortatory Flacks, 65-8 B. C. ), author of Ears Poetic. ND other classical Latin and Greek poets. Boiled was the author of the book Art Boutique, which became the manual of the poets who founded the Neo-Classical era which was noted for the imitation of classical aesthetics in poetry. Pope was considered a prodigy, because he wrote quality verse at only twenty years of age.One of his more celebrated poem was The Duncan (begun in 1728 and completed in 1741), a satire aimed at his detractors and the dullness of some pieces of art in those days. This poem uses the heroic couplet. The heroic couplet comes from Horace and was used first in England y John Donned, Andrew Marvel and John Milton. It is considered to have been perfected bygone Dryden (1631-1700), poet laureate. The neoclassical age The period is called neoclassical because its writers looked back to the ideals and art forms of classical times, emphasizing even more than their Renaissance predecessors the classical ideals of order and rational control. Such simply constructed but perfect works as the Parthenon and Sophocles Antigen, such achievements as the peace and order established by the Roman Empire (and celebrated in Book VI of Vergers Manned), suggest what classical writers saw in the classical world. Their respect for the past led them to be conservative both in art and politics. Always aware of the conventions appropriate to each genre, they modeled their works on classical masterpieces and heeded the rules thought to be laid down by classical critics.In political and social affairs, too, they were guided by the wisdom of the past: traditional institutions had, at least, survived the test of time. No more than their medieval and Renaissance predecessors did neoclassical thinkers share our modern assumption that change means progress, since hey believed that human nature is imperfect, human achievements are necessarily limited, and therefore human aims should be sensibly limited as well. It was better to set a moderate goal , whether in art or society, and achieve it well, than to strive for an infinite ideal and fail.Reasonable Philippe in The Misanthrope does not get angry at peoples injustice, because he accepts human nature as imperfect. Neoclassical thinkers could use the past as a guide for the present because they assumed that human nature was constantessentially the same regardless of time and place. Art, they believed, should express this essential tauter: Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature (Samuel Johnson). An individual character was valuable for what he or she revealed of universal human nature.Of course, all great art has this sort of sign objectifications made his statement about Shakespeare. But neoclassical artists more consciously emphasized common human characteristics over individual differences, as we see in the type-named characters of Moldier. If human nature has remained constant over the centuries, it is unlikely that any startling new discoveries will be made. Hence classical artists did not strive to be original so much as to express old truths in a newly effective way. As Alexander pope, one of their greatest poets, wrote: True wit is nature to advantage dressed, / What oft was thought, but newer so well expressed. Neoclassical writers aimed to articulate general truth rather than unique vision, to communicate to others more than to express themselves. Social Themes Neoclassical writers saw themselves, as well as their readers and characters, above all as members of society. Social institutions might be foolish or corruptindeed, given the intrinsic limitations Of human nature, they robbery werebut the individual who rebelled against custom or asserted his superiority to humankind was, like Allocates in The Misanthrope, presented as presumptuous and absurd.While Renaissance writers were sometimes fascinated by rebels, and later Romantic artists often glorified them, neoclassical artists expected people to conform to established social norms. For individual opinion was far less likely to be true than was the consensus of society, developed over time and embodied in custom and tradition. As the rules for proper writing should be followed, so should the rules for civilized induct in society. Neither Moldier nor Jane Austin advocate blind following of convention, yet both insist that good manners are important as a manifestation of self-control and consideration for others. Www. Academic. Brooklyn. CUNY. Deed/English/anemia/CSS/monocle. HTML) In brief, the neoclassical age came about as part of the 1 8th century, and it was considered to be an enlightenment movement. In this age, man was considered to have been related to the world, and he also had a social contract with life, where a poets mind was rarely a subject at all. Here I have UT together some descriptions that I have understood the neoclassical age to consist of: Structure, order, miles, symmetry, constraints, common sense, harmony, ideal beauty, and it is also very universal.