Classicism is a literary movement in which European authors embodied the ideals, templates, and compositional approaches outlined by ancient Greek and Roman writers. A testament to art’s cyclical nature, the classicism movement gained popularity as European societies shifted from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras between the 1500s and 1800s.
As translations of Greek and Roman classics became more accessible to the public, the philosophies and techniques utilized by ancient authors such as Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle became the framework for Western post-medieval literary, artistic, and societal standards.
Classical Greco-Roman literature heavily emphasized precision, order, symmetry, integrity, law, and allegiance. The clear-cut guidelines and ideals outlined by this movement proved attractive following the creative dry spell of the medieval period and amid the upheaval of war, changing political structures, and scientific exploration. It’s unsurprising, then, that the height of classicism coincided with the Enlightenment (1685-1815). Also called the “Age of Reason,” this period prioritized structure, logic, and rational thinking.
Moreover, classicism directly contradicted its artistic contemporary, the Baroque style, which sought to inspire a sense of awe by appealing to feelings and senses rather than logic and reason. Whereas Baroque was extravagant and theatrical, classicism aimed to simplify, refine, and purify. Notable classicist writers included John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson.
Johnson is widely considered one of the last classicists (or neoclassicists) before the transition to Romanticism at the end of the 18th century. The mid-to-late 1700s, during which Johnson was at his most active and influential, are even sometimes referred to as the “Age of Johnson,” aka the “Age of Sensibility.” The poet, critic, and author produced works that focused on the study of natural and artistic beauty while maintaining classical Greco-Roman ideals.
Although it might sound stodgy, classical literature could also be very funny. Humor was particularly prominent in the works of Jonathan Swift, as you can read below, along with five other quotes from some of the most prominent authors and works of the classical movement.
The swine with contrite heart allow’d, / His shape and beauty made him proud: / In diet was perhaps too nice, / But gluttony was ne’er his vice / … / His vigilance might some displease; / ‘Tis true he hated sloth like peas.Jonathan Swift, “The Beasts’ Confession”
Enlarge my life with multitude of days, / In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays; / Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know, / That life protracted is protracted woe / Time hovers o’er, impatient to destroy, / And shuts up all the passages of joy.Samuel Johnson, “The Vanity of Human Wishes”
Ambition first sprung from your blest abodes; / The glorious fault of angels and of gods; / Thence to their images on earth it flows, / And in the breasts of kings and heroes glows.Alexander Pope, “Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady”
False though she be to me and love, / I’ll ne’er pursue revenge; / For still the charmer I approve, / Though I deplore her change. / In hours of bliss we oft have met: / They could not always last; / And though the present I regret, / I’m grateful for the past.William Congreve, “False Though She Be”
Our lives, discoloured with our present woes, / May still grow white and shine with happier hours. / So the pure limped stream, when foul with stains / Of rushing torrents and descending rains, / Works itself clear, and as it runs refines, / till by degrees the floating mirror shines.Joseph Addison, “Hope”
What cannot praise effect in mighty minds, / When flattery soothes, and when ambition blinds! / Desire of pow’r, on earth a vicious weed, / Yet, sprung from high, is of celestial seed: / In God ‘tis glory: And when men aspire, / ‘Tis but a spark too much of a heavenly fire.John Dryden, “Absalom and Achitophel”
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