The Characteristics of Neo-Classicism
The Augustan Age, the Neoclassical Age, the Age of the Pope, and the Age of Reason are all names for the English literature of the eighteenth century. Specifically, neoclassical literature was written between 1660 and 1798. Whereas, the word neo is originally a Greek word meaning new and the word classic, according to Webster's Dictionary, refers to the styles and works of ancient Greece and Rome such as Virgil and Horace.
Furthermore, the Augustan Age was named in relation to the emperor of Rome, Augustus, and it started after the Restoration era till the death of Pope (1690–1744) preceded by the Romantic era that started with the publishing of Wordsworth ‘Lyrical Ballad’.
Neoclassicism is a movement meant with the revival of the classics as noted in the works of Pope and Dryden. Noteworthy, Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668), and Pope’s Essay on Criticism (1711) formed the basis for modern English literary criticism, insisting that ‘nature’ is the true model and the writing standard.
However, the ‘nature’ of the Augustans is derived from the classical theory, which is a rational moral order that demonstrates God’s design. Additionally, the Augustan writers attempted to imitate the classics, but not all of them were successful in conveying the characteristics. Accordingly, Alexander Alan Pope, an Augustan writer and the father of criticism wrote an Essay on Criticism when he was 19 and published it when he was 23.
Despite the many difficulties Pope faced, he still managed to be one of the most well-known writers of the age. Moreover, Pope’s Essay on Criticism laid out the rules of criticism while acknowledging the characteristics of the ancient works.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the neoclassical characteristics and definition of nature in Pope’s Essay on Criticism. Pope’s Essay on Criticism highlighted the importance of intellect, perfection and reason as rooted in ancient works by employing the neoclassical definition of nature and characteristics.
Nature in Neoclassicism
The rules of nature were discovered in nature by ancient writers. Whereas those ancient writers followed the rules of nature closely and did not create those rules. Nature played many roles in the Augustan age. For example, there was external nature: This type of nature was influenced by realism, a detailed depiction of nature or contemporary life which is believed as accurate, and verisimilitude, the quality of truth likeness or of having a real appearance, human nature: This type of nature emphasized that observation and reason could be applied for the development of knowledge which made the individual address the universe and not individual aspects, and the power of nature: This type of nature stated that the power governing the universe is the power of nature which is the power of order. Nevertheless, the realism in external nature rejected the imaginative idealization in order to attain a close observation of appearances, while the verisimilitude could be observed in the Hellenistic statues that are full of details, as Aristotle insisted in his Poetics, reflect nature or in the highly idealized characters should have relatable human qualities and those two qualities of external nature led the writers to imitate nature as it is, paying attention to the details as much as possible, as the neoclassical age did not impose change on nature.
Additionally, human nature was concerned with how an individual addresses the nature of the universe in the form of interactions which others can relate to as found in Henry Fielding's novels that made readers relate to how they interact with society. Finally, the power of nature is perceived in the chain of beings, which states to keep the order as it is or caseous and destruction will befall whoever tries to mess up the order, which keeps the balance.
Accordingly, the neoclassical nature was thought to be a revolution against the romantic nature of the Romantic era as the Augustan nature was logical and governed by common sense. The Augustan Nature, often referred to as methodized nature by Pope, influenced many changes in the style of writing. We can trace the importance of the neoclassical nature in Pope’s Essay on Criticism…
“First follow NATURE, and your judgment frame
By her just standard, which is still the same:
Unerring Nature, still divinely bright,
One clear, unchang’d, and universal light,” (67–70)
Where Pope emphasizes following nature’s fixed rules that are the true standard and universal model. Those rules of nature-inspired new characteristics of writing that the neoclassical writers applied in their works.
The Characteristics of Neoclassicism
The writers of the neoclassical age applied strict rhyme with no variations, followed common sense, and used heroic couplets as Pope and Dryden did because they believed rhyme was more challenging than blank verse and it shows they wanted to achieve a form of perfection. Whereas, no writer made up their own rhyme, but followed the rules and mind while restraining the emotions, thus they concentrated more on ideas rather than feelings.
They also maintained a balance between fancy and judgement in order to achieve moderation. Additionally, the focus of poetry was shifted to the function and no longer remained on the aesthetics of poetry because poetry was to teach and no longer to delight and they aimed to teach correct words by avoiding vulgar and technical terms. Seemingly, the language used in poetry was not the same as the one used in prose and it was later called poetic diction, a term coined by Wordsworth, and the writers of the time insisted on a decorum that each different kind of poetry should be written in a different language.
Furthermore, they followed many other characteristics, such as rationalism: they made an effort to disregard imagination and emotion to maintain reason and knowledge as their main inspiration, scholarly allusions: they were all highly educated and well- versed and allusions enabled them to convey their message eloquently by quoting classical writers, such as Virgil, Horace, and Homer as evident in the following verse by Pope from his poem Rape of the Lock…
“The Goddess with a discontented air
Seems to reject him, tho’ she grants his pray’r.
A wond’rous Bag with both her hands she binds,
Like that where once Ulysses held the winds.” (Canto IV)
In the above-mentioned lines, the poet has alluded to Homer’s Odyssey. Moreover, they applied didacticism: they were keen on teaching, and they also favoured realism greatly because they presented true pictures of their society, they followed the classical rules because they respected them and tried to revive them as noted in the following verse from Essay on Criticism by Pope…
“Those RULES of old discover’d, not devis’d,
Are Nature still, but Nature methodis’d;
Nature, like liberty, is but restrain’d
By the same laws which first herself ordain’d.” (87–90)
They applied heroic couplets, whereas Chaucer was the first to use heroic couplets, while Pope and Dryden were masters of the heroic couplets. Nevertheless, Pope summarized the main characteristics of the age in his Essay on Criticism, specifically addressing wit, rationality, and decorum, respectively as follows…
Expression is the dress of thought, and still
Appears more decent as more suitable… (Part 2, ll. 320–21)
’Tis not enough no harshness gives offence,
The sound must seem an Echo to the sense… (ll. 366–67)
True Wit is Nature to advantage dress’d,
What oft was thought but ne’er so well express’d. (ll. 299–300)
Pope and his Essay on Criticism
Alexander Alan Pope (1688–1744) was a British writer, born in London, and one of the main figures of the early 18th century. Pope is best known for perfecting the heroic couplet and using it for satire and philosophy, such as in his mock epic The Rape of the Lock (1714) where he mocks the aristocratic society and in his An Essay on Criticism (1711) and An Essay on Man (1733–1734) where he investigates aesthetics and moral philosophy of the 18th century. He was considered as the father of criticism.
However, Pope was homeschooled, at a very young age he taught himself Latin in order to read Latin works in their original language and see their beauty, and he had a physical deformity which allowed him to only grow 4 feet and 6 inches. He believed that perfection comes from good sense and wanted to create a good taste for people to appreciate works of art using sense as emotions differ from one person to another, whereas he tries to direct criticism in his essay to a set of rules if followed, all people will judge the same.
Pope’s Essay on Criticism is divided into three main parts: In the first part, Pope discusses what is criticism and what is judgement, whereas in the second part, he addresses faulty judgment and its causes, and finally, he concludes with what criticism should be in the form of pieces of advice.
Finally, it may be concluded that the neoclassical writers imitated the classics in their works by employing different characteristics of the Augustan age. Notably, those characteristics were a result of the attempts to imitate nature in detail as did the ancients which resulted in different forms of nature for the Augustan writers known as methodized nature.
Accordingly, the three aspects of neoclassical nature emerged, such as external nature, human nature, and the power of nature. Furthermore, the neoclassical notion preferred to reason and knowledge over expressing feelings. Hence, poetic diction prevailed, and the aim of poetry was to teach correctness and avoid archaic terms and the conceit of the metaphysical. Whereas, Alexander Alan Pope summarized those characteristics in his Essay on Criticism by emphasizing on wit, rationality, and decorum.
