by Lottie McDonald

The Reemergence of Classicism within the Neoclassical Period

By Lottie McDonald

The neoclassical period was an intellectual movement, most commonly considered to extend from the mid 1600s until the end of the 1700s, which saw the writers, poets and artists emulate the works of the Classical World, and in addition a modern revival of themes and ideas used most prominently in Ancient Roman and Greek civilisations. Classicism is most often associated with common sense, order and accuracy, and it is these characteristics which resurfaced in the works of Milton, Dryden and Defoe. One of the most notable works of the neoclassical period was Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, first written in 1667. It is frequently viewed as an homage to the classical epics of Homer and Virgil, or cynically, yet perhaps more accurately, an attempt to best them. Milton mimics the structure of his predecessors; although originally writing the epic poem in ten books, he later revised this to twelve books in his 1674 edition, a direct parallel of Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’. Milton also employs classical elements on a much smaller scale, through the use of the epic simile, a hallmark of both Homer and Virgil. Most commonly used as a chance to break from the mundanity of the story, the extended simile in the Classical world often describes the natural world, and Milton follows this trend, comparing the snake to a “wandering fire”. (B.XI, 634-644) Furthermore the logic and reason of Adam, is often his defining feature, although conversely this characteristic is similarly applied to Satan, a potential reason for many scholars to claim that Milton unwittingly presented Satan as the true hero. Like the classical epics, Milton focuses a large part of ‘Paradise Lost’ on the affairs of the divine, although centering it on God and Satan rather than the plethora of Roman and Greek gods. This distinction is what separates Milton’s Epic from its prior inspirations. Milton hoped to create an epic based around the Christian faith, and thus more applicable to the turbulent religious landscape of the 17th century, which explains his slight deviations from Homer and Virgil’s methods and structure. Later neoclassical works also demonstrated different elements of classicism, such as ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ and ‘Robinsoe Crusoe’. The voyages and wanderings in each are often considered Odyssean, evocative of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. In particular, Gulliver is an ideal neoclassical protagonist, his attention to detail reflecting a major line of neoclassical philosophy. The reasons behind any particular period of literature or movement cannot be determined wholly; however, the historical and social context of the time have an overwhelming impact. The 17th century within Britain was a time of political and religious uncertainty, with the Civil War dividing the country. Perhaps the neoclassical period can be seen as a willful suppression of the immediate turbulent past, choosing to focus instead on a glorified, distant and classical Roman time.