Literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
of the 18th century refers to
world literature
World literature is used to refer to the total of the world's national literature and the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin. In the past, it primarily referred to the masterpieces of Western European lit ...
produced during the years 1700–1799.
European literature in the 18th century
European literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...
of the 18th century refers to literature (poetry, drama, satire, and novels) produced in Europe during this period. The 18th century saw the development of the
modern novel as literary genre, in fact many
candidates for the first novel in English date from this period, of which
Daniel Defoe's 1719 ''
Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
'' is probably the best known. Subgenres of the novel during the 18th century were the
epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...
, the
sentimental novel
The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th-century literary genre which celebrates the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility. Sentimentalism, which is to be distinguished from sens ...
,
histories, the
gothic novel and the
libertine novel.
18th century Europe started in the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
and gradually moved towards
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. In the visual arts, it was the period of
Neoclassicism.
The Enlightenment
The 18th century in Europe was the Age of Enlightenment, and literature explored themes of social upheaval, reversals of personal status, political satire, geographical exploration and the comparison between the supposed natural state of man and the supposed civilized state of man.
Edmund Burke, in his ''
A Vindication of Natural Society
''A Vindication of Natural Society: or, a View of the Miseries and Evils arising to Mankind from every Species of Artificial Society'' is a work by Edmund Burke published in 1756. It is a satire of Lord Bolingbroke's deism. Burke confronted Boli ...
'' (1756), says: "The Fabrick of Superstition has in this our Age and Nation received much ruder Shocks than it had ever felt before; and through the Chinks and Breaches of our Prison, we see such Glimmerings of Light, and feel such refreshing Airs of Liberty, as daily raise our Ardor for more."
English literature in the 18th century by year
1700–1709
1700:
William Congreve
William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright and poet of the Restoration period. He is known for his clever, satirical dialogue and influence on the comedy of manners style of that period. He was also a mi ...
's play ''
The Way of the World
''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...
'' premiered. Although unsuccessful at the time, ''The Way of the World'' is a good example of the sophistication of theatrical thinking during this period, with complex
subplot
In fiction, a subplot is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting c ...
s and characters intended as ironic parodies of common
stereotypes.
1703:
Nicholas Rowe's domestic drama ''The Fair Penitent'', an adaptation of
Massinger and
Field's ''Fatal Dowry'', appeared; it would later be pronounced by
Dr Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...
to be one of the most pleasing tragedies in the language. Also in 1703
Sir Richard Steele
Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''.
Early life
Steele was born in Du ...
's comedy ''The Tender Husband'' achieved some success.
1704:
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
(Irish satirist) published ''
A Tale of a Tub
''A Tale of a Tub'' was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his best. The ''Tale'' is a prose parody divided into sections o ...
'' and ''
The Battle of the Books
"The Battle of the Books" is the name of a short satire written by Jonathan Swift and published as part of the prolegomena to his '' A Tale of a Tub'' in 1704. It depicts a literal battle between books in the King's Library (housed in St James's ...
'' and
John Dennis published his ''Grounds of Criticism in Poetry''. ''The Battle of the Books'' begins with a reference to the use of a glass (which, in those days, would mean either a
mirror
A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...
or a
magnifying glass) as a comparison to the use of satire. Swift is, in this, very much the child of his age, thinking in terms of
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
and
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
at one and the same time. Swift often patterned his satire after
Juvenal
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
, the classical satirist. He was one of the first English novelists and also a political campaigner. His satirical writing springs from a body of liberal thought which produced not only books but also political pamphlets for public distribution. Swift's writing represents the new, the different and the modern attempting to change the world by parodying the ancient and incumbent. ''The Battle of the Books'' is a short writing which demonstrates his position very neatly.
1707:
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
was born on 22 April.
1708:
Simon Ockley published an
English translation of
Ibn Tufail
Ibn Ṭufail (full Arabic name: ; Latinized form: ''Abubacer Aben Tofail''; Anglicized form: ''Abubekar'' or ''Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail''; c. 1105 – 1185) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, Islamic philosopher, Islamic the ...
's ''
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan'', a 12th-century
philosophical novel
Philosophical fiction refers to the class of works of fiction which devote a significant portion of their content to the sort of questions normally addressed in philosophy. These might explore any facet of the human condition, including the funct ...
, as ''The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan''. This was the first English translation directly from the
Arabic original.
1711:
Alexander Pope began a career in literature with the publishing of his ''
An Essay on Criticism
''An Essay on Criticism'' is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744), published in 1711. It is the source of the famous quotations "To err is human; to forgive, divine", "A little learning is a da ...
''.
1712:
French philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
writer
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born on 28 June and his countryman
Denis Diderot was born the following year 1713 on 5 October. Also in 1712 Pope published ''
The Rape of the Lock'' and in 1713 ''Windsor Forest''.
1709:
Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September in Lichfield,
Staffordshire.
1710–1719
1717:
Horace Walpole was born on 24 September.
Daniel Defoe was another political pamphleteer turned novelist like Jonathan Swift and was publishing in the early 18th century. In 1719, he published ''
Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
''.
1719:
Eliza Haywood published ''
Love in Excess'', an unusually sympathetic portrayal of a
fallen woman
"Fallen woman" is an archaic term which was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. In 19th-century Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the loss or surrender of a w ...
.
Also in 1719:
Alexander Smith was a biographer who published ''A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen''. The book includes heavily fictionalised accounts of English criminals from the medieval period to the eighteenth century.
1720–1729
1720:
Daniel Defoe's ''
Captain Singleton'' was published.
1722: Daniel Defoe's ''
Moll Flanders'' and ''
A Journal of the Plague Year'' were published.
1726: Jonathan Swift published ''
Gulliver's Travels'', one of the first novels in the genre of
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
.
1728:
John Gay wrote ''
The Beggar's Opera
''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...
'' which has increased in fame ever since. ''The Beggar's Opera'' began a new style in Opera, the "ballad opera" which brings the operatic form down to a more popular level and precedes the genre of comic
operettas. Also in 1728 came the publication of ''
Cyclopaedia, or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences'' (folio, 2 vols.), an encyclopedia by
Ephraim Chambers. The ''Cyclopaedia'' was one of the first general encyclopedias to be produced in English and was the main model for
Diderot's ''
Encyclopédie
''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...
'' (published in France between 1751 and 1766).
1729: Jonathan Swift published ''
A Modest Proposal
''A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick'', commonly referred to as ''A Modest Proposal'', is a Juvenalian satirical essay wr ...
'', a satirical suggestion that
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
families should sell their children as food. Swift was, at this time, fully involved in political campaigning for the Irish.
1730–1739
1731:
George Lillo
George Lillo (3 February 1691 – 4 September 1739) was an English playwright and tragedian. He was also a jeweller in London. He produced his first stage work, ''Silvia, or The Country Burial'', in 1730, and a year later his most famous play, ...
's play ''
The London Merchant'' was a success at the Theatre-Royal in
Drury Lane. It was a new kind of play, a domestic tragedy, which approximates to what later came to be called a
melodrama.
1738:
Samuel Johnson published ''
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
'', a poem in imitation of
Juvenal’s Third Satire. Like so many poets of the 18th century, Johnson sought to breathe new life into his favorite classical author Juvenal.
1740–1749
1740:
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...
's ''
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' is an epistolary novel first published in 1740 by English writer Samuel Richardson. Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct literature about marriage. ''Pamel ...
'' was published and the
Marquis de Sade was born.
1744: Alexander Pope died, and in 1745 Jonathan Swift died.
1746:
Tobias Smollett's first poem "''The Tears of Scotland''", about the
Battle of Culloden, was published.
1748:
John Cleland
John Cleland (c. 1709, baptised – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known for his fictional '' Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'', whose eroticism led to his arrest. James Boswell called him "a sly, old malcont ...
's ''
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction", ...
'' (popularly known as ''
Fanny Hill
''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction" ...
''), arguably the first work of pornographic prose, was published. Also in 1748,
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...
's ''
Clarissa'' was published; finally,
Tobias Smollett's first
picaresque
The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...
quasi-autobiographical novel ''
The Adventures of Roderick Random'' was also published.
1749:
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
's ''
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was published. His sister
Sarah Fielding also published ''
The Governess'', the first full-length novel written for children.
1750–1759
1751:
Thomas Gray wrote ''
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard''.
Also in 1751, Denis Diderot began the ''
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Over the next three decades ''Encyclopédie'' attracted, alongside of those from Diderot, notable contributions from other notable intellectuals of the 18th century including
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
and
Louis de Jaucourt.
1754:
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
died.
1755: Samuel Johnson completed his influential ''
Dictionary of the English Language
''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionary, dictionaries in the history of the English la ...
'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', and at the time a huge improvement on previously available dictionaries. It was a daunting task that took nine years in all, two years of preparation and seven years of research and writing.
1760–1769
1760–1767:
Laurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and '' A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', publishe ...
wrote ''
Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to:
Literature
* the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne
* the title character of '' Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne
*"Tristr ...
''.
1761:
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...
died.
1764:
Horace Walpole published ''
The Castle of Otranto
''The Castle of Otranto'' is a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first gothic novel. In the second edition, Walpole applied the word 'Gothic' to the novel in the subtitle – ''A Gothic Story''. Se ...
'' (initially under a pseudonym and claiming it to be a translation of an Italian work from 1529); the first
gothic novel.
1766:
Oliver Goldsmith's ''
The Vicar of Wakefield
''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and wid ...
'' was published.
1770–1779
1770:
William Wordsworth was born on 7 April.
1771:
Tobias Smollett published his
epistolatory novel, ''
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker'' just three months before his death.
1773:
Oliver Goldsmith's play ''
She Stoops to Conquer'', a
farce, was performed in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
1776: The
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...
was created and ratified.
1777: The play ''
The School for Scandal'', a
comedy of manners
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gr ...
by
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...
, was first performed in Drury Lane.
1778:
Frances Burney published ''
Evelina'' anonymously.
1779–1781: Samuel Johnson wrote and published ''
Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets
''Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets'' (1779–81), alternatively known by the shorter title ''Lives of the Poets'', is a work by Samuel Johnson comprising short biographies and critical appraisals of 52 poets, most of whom lived during th ...
''. This compilation contains short biographies of 52 influential poets (most of whom lived in the 18th century) along with critical appraisals of their works. Most notable are Alexander Pope,
John Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
,
John Milton, Jonathan Swift, and
Joseph Addison.
1780–1789
1783:
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
was born.
1784:
Samuel Johnson died on 13 December.
1785:
William Cowper
William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...
published ''
The Task'', a volume of poetry in blank verse.
1786:
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
published ''
Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect''. The mood of literature was swinging toward more interest in diverse ethnicity.
Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...
' ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (''
La Folle journée ou Le Mariage de Figaro'') was adapted into a comic opera composed by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, with
libretto by
Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's most celebrated operas: ''The Marr ...
.
1789: ''
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano'', one of the first
slave narratives
The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as s ...
to have been widely read in historical times, was published. Also in 1789,
James Fenimore Cooper was born on 15 September.
1790–1799
1792:
Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on 4 August.
1793: ''
Salisbury Plain'' was published by
William Wordsworth.
1794:
Ann Radcliffe
Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining respectability for G ...
published her most famous
Gothic novel, ''
The Mysteries of Udolpho
''The Mysteries of Udolpho'', by Ann Radcliffe, appeared in four volumes on 8 May 1794 from G. G. and J. Robinson of London. Her fourth and most popular novel, ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'' tells of Emily St. Aubert, who suffers misadventures th ...
''.
1795:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge met
William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. The two men published a joint volume of poetry, ''
Lyrical Ballads
''Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems'' is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literatu ...
'' (1798), which became a central text of
Romantic poetry.
1796:
Matthew Lewis published his controversial anti-Catholic gothic novel ''
The Monk
''The Monk: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis's career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he ha ...
'' and
Charlotte Smith published her novel ''
Marchmont''. Also in 1796,
Mary Hays published her outspoken novel ''
Memoirs of Emma Courtney''.
Other literature in the 18th century by year
1700-1739
From 1704 to 1717,
Antoine Galland published the first European translation of the ''
One Thousand and One Nights'' (also known as ''The Arabian Nights'' in English).
[Jacob W. Grimm (1982). ''Selected Tales '' pg 19. Penguin Classics] His version of the tales appeared in twelve volumes and exerted a huge influence on subsequent
European literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...
and attitudes to the
Islamic world. Galland's translation of the ''Nights'' was immensely popular throughout Europe, and later versions of the ''Nights'' were written by Galland's publisher using Galland's name without his consent.
In 1707, playwright
Carlo Goldoni was born.
In 1729,
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was born.
In 1731, ''
Manon Lescaut'', a French novel by the
Abbé Prévost that narrates the love affairs of an unmarried couple and inaugurates one of the most common themes of the literature of the time: the sentimental story, taking into account for the first time the female point of view and not only the courtship and the conquest or the failure of man.
1740–1769
1743
Gavrila Derzhavin
Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin ( rus, Гаврии́л (Гаври́ла) Рома́нович Держа́вин, p=ɡɐˈvrilə rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪrˈʐavʲɪn, a=Gavrila Romanovich Dyerzhavin.ru.vorb.oga; 14 July 1743 – 20 ...
was born.
1752 ''
Micromégas'', a satirical short story by
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
, features space travellers visiting Earth. It is one of the first stories to feature several elements of what will later become known as
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
. Its publication at this time is also indicative of the trend toward scientific thinking that characterizes the
Enlightenment.
1759
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
's ''
Candide''/''Optimism'' was published. On November 10,
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller is born.
1761 Jean Jacques Rousseau's ''
Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse'' was published.
1762
Jean Jacques Rousseau's ''
Émile'' was published.
1767 September 8:
August Wilhelm von Schlegel was born.
1770–1800
1772 March 10:
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel was born.
*German poet
Novalis was born.
1774
Goethe wrote ''
The Sorrows of Young Werther
''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' (; german: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. It was one of the main novels in the '' Sturm und Drang'' period in Ge ...
'', a novel which approximately marks the beginning of the
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
movement in the
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
and
philosophy. A transition thus began from the critical, science-inspired, Enlightenment writing to the romantic yearning for forces beyond the mundane and for foreign times and places to inspire the
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
with passion and mystery.
Also in 1774,
Alberto Fortis
Alberto Fortis (1741–1803) was a Venetian writer, naturalist and cartographer.
Life
His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born in Padua on either 9 or 11 of November 1741. He journeyed exten ...
published his
travel book ''
Viaggio in Dalmazia
''Viaggio in Dalmazia'' ("Journey to Dalmatia"), also known by its full title ''Viaggio in Dalmazia dell'abate Alberto Fortis'' ("Journey to Dalmatia by Abbot Alberto Fortis"), is a 1774 book by the Venetian writer Alberto Fortis published in th ...
'' ("Journey to Dalmatia") and started
Morlachism
Morlachism or Morlacchism ( it, Morlacchismo; sh, Morlakizam or ) was a movement in Italian, Ragusan and Venetian literature that started in 1774 and lasted until the 1830s or 1840s. It consisted on the portrayal of the Morlachs (Vlachs from th ...
.
1776
Ignacy Krasicki
Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet"Ignacy Krasic ...
published the first novel in Polish, ''
The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom
''The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom'' ( pl, Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki; in English, more accurately, ''The Adventures of Nicholas Empiricus''), written in Polish in 1776 by Ignacy Krasicki, is the first novel composed in the Poli ...
''.
1778 Death of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
. Death of
Jean Jacques Rousseau 2 July. Two major contributors to Diderot's ''Encyclopédie'' died in the same year.
1784
Denis Diderot died 31 July. Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot have all died within a period of a few years, and French
philosophy had thus lost three of its greatest enlightened free thinkers. Rousseau's thoughts on the nobility of life in the wilds, facing nature as a naked savage, still had great force to influence the next generation as the Romantic movement gained momentum.
Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...
wrote ''
The Marriage of Figaro''.
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
and
Harriet Falconar publish ''
Poems on Slavery''. The
anti-slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
movement was growing in power, and many poems and pamphlets were published on the subject.
1791 ''
Dream of the Red Chamber'' was published for the first time in
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...
format.
1793 August 25:
John Neal was born.
1796
Denis Diderot's ''
Jacques le fataliste'' was published posthumously.
See also
*
18th-century French literature
18th-century French literature is French literature written between 1715, the year of the death of King Louis XIV of France, and 1798, the year of the coup d'État of Bonaparte which brought the Consulate to power, concluded the French Revoluti ...
*
Novel#18th-century novels
*
List of years in literature#1800s
*
Neoclassicism
*
English literature
**
Augustan literature
Augustan literature (sometimes referred to misleadingly as Georgian literature) is a style of British literature produced during the reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and George II in the first half of the 18th century and ending in the 17 ...
**
Amatory fiction
*
German literature
**
German Romanticism
**
Sturm und Drang
''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...
*
18th century in poetry
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
History of literature