Augustan Literature

This movement draws its title from the Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled during the time of Virgil and Horace- two poets who heavily influenced writers in the eighteenth century. Augustan poets both held Virgil and Horace in high esteem, and said of the writing:

"Those rules of old discovered, not devised, Are nature still, but nature methodized."

Meaning, that roman epic poetry was the purest, natural, form of writing. However, at the same time they mocked that style and used exagerated versions of 'epic poetry' to create comedic satire and comment of current events and human nature. These parodies often mocked the achievements of men and the idea of ambition.

Major themes:

• Human Frailty
• Order in the universe
• The providential design of God
• Standards of human potential

Common Literary Devices:

• Satire, irony, and brevity
• Parody
• Allusions to Epic roman poetry
• Political commentary and Allegory
• Heroic couplets

Other Stylistic Devices and Characteristics:

• Mundane, or painfully ordinary, non-eventful, plots
• Mock Epic
• Criticism of the 'ambiguity' of Metaphysical poets
• Harmony and precision in diction and syntax

Well-known authors from the period:

• Alexander Pope
• John Dryden
• Johnathan Swift
• Joseph Addison