The Age of Enlightenment The Age of Rationalism The Age of Reason 17th and 18th Centuries The Age of Enlightenment The Age of Rationalism The Age of Reason

Background Great scientific advances Worldwide dominance of England, France, and Spain Rational and scientific systems of thought

Rationalism Basic theory: Men can arrive at truth solely through reason – by rational, logical thinking. Rationalists believed that the universe and every aspect of man’s experience is ordered in a logical plan that can be discovered through observation and reasoning.

Rationalism Voltaire (1694-1778) French intellectual and writer Wrote Candide Intervened in cases of injustice and tyranny Was against bigotry and intolerance

Religious Strife The Thirty Years’ War in Germany (1618- 1648) was a struggle between the Catholics and Protestants The Spanish Inquisition was directed against Moors, Jews, and Protestants Conflicts over religious tolerance and political liberty resulted in the American and French Revolutions.

Pressures for Political Change Economic pressures: middle class wanted more power and less restriction from monarchs Lower class was growing in number – the poor were becoming increasingly frustrated in the midst of the nobility’s prosperity and extravagance

Pressures for Political change English civil wars began in 1642; Charles I was beheaded The American Revolution (1775-1783) The French Revolution (1789-1795)

Elegance as a Style of Life Aristocrats enjoyed a life of richness, elegance, taste, and manners Ladies and gentlemen dressed in silks, wore powdered wigs, and were carried in ornamented sedan chairs through the squalid and noisy streets France became the center of style and fashion

Elegance as a Style of Life Versailles: King Louis XIV’s palace Ornate, formal, “overdone” by modern standards Formal gardens

Elegance as a Style of Life The palaces of kings and estates of noblemen were, of course, showpieces of refinement and luxury, but wealthy merchants also adopted the tastes of court society. Moliere, a playwright, often ridiculed this type of “upstart” man

Literary Trends Many writers found voice in satire In satire, humankind’s vice, folly, or evil is held up to scorn by means of ridicule and irony in the hopes of bringing about a change Favorite targets: the pretentiousness, hypocrisy, and materialism of the wealthy bourgeoisie

Literary Trends Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673) The son of a respectable Parisian bourgeois Shocked his family by joining the theater Moliere was his stage name

Literary Trends Theater flourished Writers imitated classical Greek dramas Moliere’s plays have the classic simplicity and clarity that his age admired

Literary Trends In The Misanthrope, plot is slight, action is limited, and there is no music or pageantry Costumes were simply fashionable clothes of the time, and the specific location of the setting was unimportant All the focus of Moliere’s play is on the words and dramatic structures within which the words are spoken