Which critic is considered the primary voice of the British neoclassical age?
Alexander Pope
What 1711 work established Alexander Pope as the ‘literary pope’ of England?
Essay on Criticism
Which historical period did Alexander Pope identify as the ‘golden age of criticism’?
The Classical age
According to Pope, which four classical authors define the golden age of literature?
Homer, Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus
In Neoclassical theory, what does the ‘mimetic dictum’ define as the primary task of a poet?
To copy the classical writers
Neoclassical writers believed that ancient classical works captured the laws of a harmonious and ordered _____.
Nature
Beyond natural genius and knowledge of the classics, what must a good poet possess according to Pope?
Good breeding and an understanding of the rules of poetry
Which specific verse form was established as the fixed standard for Neoclassical poetry?
The heroic couplet
How did Neoclassical critics like Pope view free verse and emotional outbreaks?
They were considered unrefined.
According to Pope, poetry serves as a reassertion of absolutes already discovered by _____.
Classical writers
What is the critic’s social role according to Alexander Pope?
To be the custodian and defender of good taste and cultural values
What are the two theoretical foundations of Alexander Pope’s literary contentions?
Mimetic theory and rhetoric theory
The 18th-century rationalistic mind viewed the world as a ‘great machine,’ whereas the 19th-century mind viewed it as a _____.
Living organism
What served as the proper guide to truth in 19th-century thought, replacing the 18th-century emphasis on reason?
Intuition
In the 18th century, what location was considered the center of art and the standard for good taste?
The city
Why did 19th-century thinkers prefer rural settings over urban environments?
It was seen as a place where people could discover their inner selves.
Which 1798 publication by Wordsworth and Coleridge heralded the start of British Romanticism?
Lyrical Ballads
Wordsworth’s stated purpose in poetry was to choose incidents and situations from _____.
Common life
What type of language did Wordsworth advocate for use in Romantic poetry?
Language really used by people in states of excitement
Unlike the nobility-focused works of his predecessors, what characters did Wordsworth emphasize?
Common men and women
What specific subject matter did Wordsworth prioritize in his literary theory?
Humble and rustic life
Wordsworth famously defined poetry as the ‘spontaneous overflow of powerful _____’ .
Feelings
According to Wordsworth, poetry takes its origin from emotion recollected in _____.
Tranquility
While Pope viewed poetry as reasoned and controlled, Wordsworth viewed its core as _____.
Imagination
