History of English Literature from 1350 to 1900 Similarities and differences between Neoclassicism and Romanticism

1. NAME: MAHIDA BHUMIKA PRAKASHBHAI
ROLL NO: 5
ENROLLMENT NUMBER:3069206420200021
M.A. SEM -1
SUBJECT: PAPER 5 HISTORY OF ENGLISH
LITERATURE FROM 1350 TO 1900
TOPIC: SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN NEOCLASSICISM AND
ROMANTICISM.

2. • Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism; was a Western cultural movement
in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture
that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity.
• Neoclassicism, as a movement, represents a calm and ordered view based on
a particular view of classical civilization, much as the discovery of the tomb of
Tutankhamen touched off a flurry of Egyptomania in design. It is also a
reaction to the fluttering energies of Rococo art. It is monumental.

3. FOR EXAMPLE, LAXMAN’S ENGRAVING OF ACHILLES
MOURNING PATROCLUS, 1797:

4. DAVID’S OATH OF THE HORATII:

5. INGRES’S WONDERFUL PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON ON
HIS IMPERIAL THRONE, 1806:

6. FOR EXAMPLE, GOYA’S DISASTERS OF WAR:

7. IN A MOVE PASTORAL MODE, CONSTABLE’S
WIVENHOE PARK:

8. FUSELI’S THE NIGHTMARE:

9. ONE OF TURNER’S GREAT CANVASES, LIKE THIS
SHIPWRECK:

10. GERICAULT’S THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA:

11. • As the Romantic movement in general is a
reaction to the Enlightenment, so Romantic
painting is a reaction to Neoclassical art.

12. • In literature, it will suffice to compare a great figure of English
Augustan literature, Samuel Johnson, with two contemporaries
who represent the beginnings of English Romanticism Johnson
was an essayist, a poet, a novelist, the first lexicographer in
English, and above all a moralist. His poem The Vanity Of Human
Wishes is a free imitation of Juvenal’s Tenth Satire. His prose is
measured and balanced. He was a creature of settled habits, rarely
leaving London he one remarked “Sir, when a man is tired of
London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can
afford.” His prose has a classical symmetry and balance

13. NEOCLASSICISM VS ROMANTICISM
• The principle distinction between neoclassicism and
romanticism is that neoclassicism focuses on
objectivity, reason, and Intellect. While
romanticism stresses on human creativity, nature,
and emotions or feelings.

14. WHAT IS ROMANTICISM IN WRITING?
• Romanticism in the writing usually focuses on an individual and
the creative aspect of the character as opposed to the current
social norms.
WHAT IS NEOCLASSICISM IN WRITING?
Neoclassicism is a movement that drew motivation from the classical
Greek/Roman age. The scholars of this period attempted to emulate the
style of Greeks and Romans. Neoclassicism was a response against the
renaissance, which was between 1660 and 1798.

15. WHAT IS NEOCLASSICISM?
• Neoclassicism is a movement that drew motivation from the
classical Greek/Roman age. The scholars of this period attempted
to emulate the style of Greeks and Romans. Neoclassicism was a
response against the renaissance, which was between 1660 and
1798.
• Neoclassicism depended on traditional topics: Structure,
rationality, and objectivity were the primary highlights of
neoclassical writing. These were old topics that neoclassical
authors appreciated and endeavored to emulate.

16. NEOCLASSICAL AUTHORS
• John Milton
Alexander Pope
Voltaire
John Dryden
Jonathan Swift
Daniel Defoe

17. WHAT IS ROMANTICISM?
• Romanticism is an abstract movement that started
around 1789. The fundamental elements of this
movement is its accentuation on the creative mind,
subjectivity, inspiration, and human emotions.
• The Romantic movement drew motivation from Medieval
and Baroque periods and its primary topics were nature,
life, and love.

18. ROMANTIC WRITERS
• William Wordsworth
John Keats
Lord Byron
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Walter Scott
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Mary Shelly
William Blake

19. NEOCLASSICISM VS ROMANTICISM TABLE

20. PERIOD
• Neoclassicism: Neoclassicism lasted from about 1660 and
1798.
Romanticism: Romanticism lasted from about1789 to
1832.

21. EMPHASIS
Neoclassicism: Neoclassicism emphasized on structure,
restraint, and objectivity.
Romanticism: Romanticism emphasized on imagination,
emotion, and subjectivity.

22. INSPIRATION
• Neoclassicism: Neoclassicism drew its inspiration from
Classical age (Greeks and Romans).
Romanticism: Romanticism drew its inspiration from
Medieval and Baroque eras.

23. THEMES
Neoclassicism: Greek and Roman history, bravery, restraint,
and courage were major themes in neoclassicism.
Romanticism: Nature, legends, and pastoral life were major
themes in romanticism.

24. REFERENCES
• https://www.atxfinearts.com/blogs/news/neoclassicism-vs-romanticism#: Defferences between
romanticism and Neoclassicism
https://pediaa.com/difference-between-neoclassicism-and-romanticism/amp/ definition and
differences between Neoclassicism and Romanticism
• https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-Neoclassicism-and-
Romanticism-in-art-and-literature? Similarity and differences between romanticism and Neoclassicism

25. Thank
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