Part Iii.--Age of Pope (_1700-1740_).

Forces at Work.--Under Anne the chief influences which left their mark on literature were the War of the Spanish succession, the rise of political parties, the Act of Settlement and the new study of social and industrial conditions. Under George I. history is largely Whig politics and the development of English trade. Political life was corrupt and cynical and social outlook materialistic. The year 1714, was the culminating point of the strife between Whigs and Tories. The accession of the House of Hanover was a triumph for the Low Church and the middle classes generally.

Literary Features.--The age is chiefly one of development in prose style. The tendency in poetry is all towards convention and polish rather than fervour and freedom. Under Pope and his school the heroic couplet reaches its climax as a weapon of criticism and satire, and is often no more than rhymed prose. The political strife influenced literature in several ways: (a) it unloosed an avalanche of pamphlets and developed a virulent prose style, (b) assisted in the formation of those clubs and coffee houses which were to have so great an influence on the essay, (c) produced a swarm of party periodicals and literary journals, (d) helped to create an increased reading public and led to the development of the new publishing houses and the race of hack writers of “Grub Street.”

1. POETRY.--(a) The Lyrists: Prior. Gay. (b) Critical and Satirical Verse: Pope. Swift. Prior. Garth. Parnell. Winchilsea. Savage. Young. (c) Pastoral: Pope. Gay. Ambrose Philips. (d) The Ode: Pope. Winchilsea. (e) Narrative: Pope’s Homer. Addison. Blackmore. (f) The Scottish Revival: The long blight and the kirk. Survival of popular songs. Allan Ramsay. Robt. Fergusson.

2. THE DRAMA.--The effect of the new staging and general decline. Addison. Ambrose Philips. Steele. Gay. Ramsay. The musical play.

3. THE NOVEL.--Defoe. Swift.

4. ESSAYISTS AND CRITICS.--Defoe. Addison. Steele. Swift. Rymer. Gildon. Dennis. Cibber. Rise of the newspaper.

5. MEMOIRS, ETC.--Lady M. W. Montagu. Lady Cowper. Lady Suffolk, etc.

6. SATIRE.--(Chiefly political). Defoe. Swift. Arbuthnot. Addison. Bolingbroke. Mandeville.

7. STUDY AND RESEARCH.--(a) Economists: Bolingbroke. (b) Scholars and Antiquaries: Bentley. Middleton and the classics. (c) History and Travel: Burnet. Strype. Collier. Neal, etc. (d) Burlesques and Translations: Cotton. John Philips. L’Estrange.

8. BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN LITERATURE.--The colonial period, 1607-1764. (a) Poetry: Bradstreet. Wigglesworth. “The Bay Psalm Book.” (a) Prose (i) John Smith Bradford. Winthrop and the early annalists. (ii) The Mather family and other New England divines.

TEST PAPER (1630-1745).

1. In what ways did the struggle between Parliament and the Crown affect literature in the period 1630-1660?

2. Who were the Caroline lyrists; compare their work with that of the Elizabethan lyrists.

3. Compare Milton with Dryden, or Defoe with Bunyan, or Evelyn with Pepys.

4. Outline the qualities of Restoration drama. Name the chief writers in each form of play.

5. Trace the development of English prose style from Bacon to Addison.

6. What effects had political life on literature in the age of Pope?

7. Name three philosophers, three scientific writers and three religious authors of the period 1660-1748. Comment on the work of any one of them.

8. Name the author and approximate date of any four of the following: “Night Thoughts,” “The Gentle Shepherd,” “Moll Flanders,” “Tale of a Tub,” “Venice Preserved,” “All for love,” “Grace Abounding.”

9. Compare Pope and Swift as satirists, or Addison and Steele as essayists.

10. Name the source of five of the following:--

“Words are wise men’s counters.”

“Stone walls do not a prison make.”

“Her feet beneath her petticoat Like little mice stole in and out.”

“A little learning is a dangerous thing.”

“Still amorous and fond and billing Like Philip and Mary on a shilling.”

“The proper study of mankind is man.”

“Tis not in mortals to command success, But well do more, Sempronius, we’ll deserve it.”

“Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes and pompous in the grave.”

Lesson 4 (1745-1832).