English literature the book is designed to acquaint students with the main outlines

Questions and Tasks

1. By whom were the foundations of early realism laid in English literature?

2. 
   Who was the greatest representative of realism in the 18lh century?
   

3. What did Henry Fielding expose in his plays?

4. 
   What put an end to his work as a playwright?
   

5. What qualities did Fielding possess?

6. 
   What is depicted in Fielding’s “The History' of Tom Jones, a Foundling”?
   

7. Speak on the characteristic features of Sen timentalism.

8. 
   Who were the representatives ofthe sentimental school in English literature?
   

9. What did the sentimentalists show in their novels and why?

10. 
    Why did sentimentalists think that civilization was harmful to humanity?
    

11. Why is the second half of the eighteenth century often called the Age of Johnson?

12. 
    What genre was Sheridan’s last work “Pizarro” written in?
    

UNIT 6
THE ROMANTIC AGE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE (1780-1830)

Pre-Romantic Literature

Johnson and his circle were the last great literary figures of the 1700s to follow the classical rules of writing. English writers of the late 1700s and early 1800s substituted passion for Augustan harmony and moderation. They preferred mysteriousness, believed in the creative power of the imagination and adopted a personal view of the world. These writers are called romanticists.

Besides, in the age of Romanticism in English 'iterature there was a group of poets who represented a bridge between сlassicism and romanticism. They are called pre-romantics. The leading pre-romantic poet is William Blake. The poetry of Robert Burns, Thomas Gray and William Cowper also bear the features of pre- romanticism. In many of their works the pre-romanticisi:s showed their awareness of social problems and the love of nature that became typical of English romanticism.

For example, Thomas Gray described the unfulfilled lives of common people in his famous “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751). It abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind and with sentiments to which every bosom must return an echo. William Cowper wrote of the beauties of nature and his dislike of cities in “The Task” (1785) where he moved freely amid rural scenes and described them in a manner not very heavy and pretentious. But the most outstanding pre-romanticists in English literature were Robert Burns and William Blake.

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Robert Bums was the most famous Scottish poet of the 18lh century. He wrote poetry' in English and Scottish dialect. His birthday is celebrated in Scotland as a national holiday His verses inspired many British and foreign poets.