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Classicism: The Enlightenment Movement

Classicism was an 18th century literary movement that drew from ancient Greek and Roman forms and emphasized reason, order, and balance. It stressed rational thought over religion and viewed society as perfectly ordered and improvable through science and better governance. Classicism writers believed that using reason could lead to advances that corrected social ills and improved life.

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Anthony Miguel Rafanan
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80 views3 pages

Classicism: The Enlightenment Movement

Classicism was an 18th century literary movement that drew from ancient Greek and Roman forms and emphasized reason, order, and balance. It stressed rational thought over religion and viewed society as perfectly ordered and improvable through science and better governance. Classicism writers believed that using reason could lead to advances that corrected social ills and improved life.

Uploaded by

Anthony Miguel Rafanan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CLASSICISM (Literary Movement) 18th Century

Movement of artists and writers derived from the forms and


principles of ancient Greece and Rome. It was a political and
philosophical movement away from overt religion and toward
reason and science.

Stressed:

Reason
Balance
Order
Clarity
Ideal beauty
Common man
Orderly form/structure
Tradition
Nature as a machine
Society
Logic
Unity
Classicism Overview

o Classicism includes the movement known as the Age of


Reason or the Enlightenment.

o Writers and philosophers emphasized the role of rational


thought in human affairs.

Terms:

Secular- writing on science, ethics and government rather than


religion.

Rationalism- the belief that human beings can arrive at truth by


using reason rather than relying on the authority of the past,
religious faith, or intuition.
Beliefs:

Rationalists saw God as a clockmaker- that is, that God created


the perfect mechanism and then left his creation to run on its
own.

According to rationalists, Gods special gift to humanity was


reason, which enabled people to find both scientific and
spiritual truth.

Rationalists saw the universe as harmonious and carefully


ordered.

Rationalists believed in the perfectibility of human beings

If people used reason to bring about scientific advances and


better government then society would advance to an ideal state.

Social ills could be corrected


The quality of life could be improved

European idea with special significance for America:

America as the New Land


Creation of a new society
Potential of the New World
Could test political and scientific ideas
Could bring about social and political reform

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