18th Century France: Enlightenment and Neoclassicism

Posted on Mar 29, 2025 in Social sciences

The 18th century in France saw the birth of the Enlightenment. Its key features include:

  • Reason as the Keyword: The primary intention was to illustrate and illuminate through logic.
  • Dominance of Optimism: A belief in progress and human potential prevailed.
  • Political Context: Initially characterized by enlightened despotism, tensions grew, leading to the French Revolution and the subsequent Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Culture, Art, and Science

This era brought changes of all kinds:

  • Birth of new scientific and technological institutions.
  • Emergence of Neoclassicism in art, emphasizing clarity and balance.

Neoclassical Literature

Literature evolved through three main periods:

  1. Authors reacting against the Baroque style, while others supported it.
  2. Acceptance of Neoclassical rules and standards.
  3. Appearance of the Pre-Romantic style.

Core Principles of Neoclassicism

Neoclassical literature aimed for utility and was linked to social thought and action through six fundamental principles: order, balance, logic, reason, editing, and mastery of emotions. These principles are reflected in:

  • Advocacy for returning to Greek and Latin authors as models (reflecting order and balance).
  • Establishment of poetic rules and treaties setting boundaries that should not be exceeded (respecting correctness and emotional control).
  • A didactic and moralizing intention; literature sought to educate.
  • Predominance of literary genres like the essay, political reports (legislative and economic), with a relative scarcity of poetry or novels.

Neoclassical Features

  • Imposition of reason and good taste.
  • Utility: Belief that poetry should be useful and serve a purpose.

Lyric and Didactic Poetry

  • Lyric Poetry: Main types included Rococo lyrics (or Anacreontics) and moral poetry (philosophical and sacred odes).
  • Didactic Poetry: Fables were prominent, with key authors like Tomás de Iriarte and Félix María Samaniego.

Neoclassical Theater

Key Features

  • Respect for the rule of three unities (time, place, action).
  • Separation of comedy and tragedy.
  • Emphasis on realism.
  • Teaching purpose (while also aiming to entertain).

Leandro Fernández de Moratín

  • His work La comedia nueva o el café (The New Comedy or the Café) is a satire against improbable drama.
  • El sí de las niñas (The Consent of Maidens) is his most relevant comedy, exploring themes of arranged marriage and individual choice.

Journalistic Writing Styles

Report: An informative journalistic account written in an objective style. It is typically an enlargement on a matter of interest or may take the nature of a complaint. Unlike news items, it doesn’t necessarily have to deal with current events.

Report Types

  • Sketch: Presents an in-depth portrayal of a character.
  • Scientific Report: Aims to make medical, ecological, astronomical, bioethical, etc., content understandable and accessible.
  • Social Report: Focuses on important events (hechos) to deepen public opinion and understanding.
  • Investigative Report: The journalist seeks previously unknown details about a particular event.

Spanish Grammar: Clause Types

Coordinated Clauses

(Propositions do not depend on each other; they are equally important.)

  • Copulative: Express union or sum. Connectors: y, e, ni, que.
  • Disjunctive: Express alternative options. Connectors: o, u, o bien.
  • Adversative: Express opposition or contrast. Connectors: mas, pero, sino, sin embargo, no obstante, antes bien, excepto, salvo, menos.
  • Explanatory: One proposition explains the meaning of the other. Connectors: esto es, es decir, o sea.

Subordinate Clauses

(One proposition (subordinate) depends on another (main) or an element within it.)

According to their function within the main proposition, subordinate clauses can be:

  • Noun Clauses (Sustantivas): Perform the functions of a noun (e.g., subject, direct object). Often introduced by the conjunction que.
  • Adjective Clauses (Adjetivas): Perform the functions of an adjective, modifying a noun. Introduced by relative pronouns (que, quien, cual, cuyo) or adverbs (donde, como, cuando).
  • Adverbial Clauses (Adverbiales): Perform the functions of an adverb or a prepositional phrase, indicating circumstances (time, place, manner, cause, purpose, etc.). Introduced by various conjunctions or adverbial phrases.