The Augustan Age in English Literature is known as the Age of Reason and Satire. Writers of this period looked back to the classical ideals of order, balance, and harmony, drawing inspiration from ancient Rome.

✨ The Augustan Age (1700–1745) ✨

🌟 Introduction 

The Augustan Age in English literature refers to the first half of the 18th century, roughly between 1700 and 1745. This period is often called the Age of Reason, Age of Prose and Satire, or the Neo-classical Age, because writers emphasized order, rationality, balance, and clarity in their works.

The term Augustan was borrowed from the Age of Emperor Augustus in Rome, a time when great writers like Virgil, Horace, and Ovid flourished. Just as Augustus’ reign represented classical perfection in Rome, the English writers of the early 18th century tried to imitate classical ideals in their poetry and prose.

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1. 🏛 Background & Naming of the Age

• Named after Emperor Augustus of Rome, under whom Latin literature reached its peak (Virgil, Horace, Ovid).

• English writers tried to imitate classical ideals → order, decorum, balance, reason.

• Sometimes called:

  • Age of Pope (because Alexander Pope was its central literary figure).

  • Age of Prose & Reason (for clarity, logic, rationalism).

  • Age of Satire (for witty attacks on society & politics).

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2. ⚖️ Historical & Social Context

• Glorious Revolution (1688) → constitutional monarchy.

• Party Politics (Whigs vs Tories).

• Queen Anne’s reign (1702–1714) → political stability.

• Coffee-houses & Clubs became centers of discussion.

• Growth of middle-class readership → demand for essays, novels, periodicals.

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3. ✨ Characteristics of Augustan Literature

• Neo-classicism → Imitation of ancients, order, decorum.

• Satire → Humor used to expose social & political flaws.

• Didactic purpose → Writing to instruct & reform society.

• Wit & Elegance → Language refined, polished, rational.

• Heroic Couplet → Dominant verse form (Pope’s specialty).

• Rise of Journalism → Periodicals like The Tatler & The Spectator.

• Birth of the Novel → Defoe, Richardson, Fielding.

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4. ✍️ Important Movements

• Neo-classicism – imitation of Roman writers.

• Satirical Tradition – Pope, Swift.

• Rise of the Novel – Defoe (Robinson Crusoe), Richardson (Pamela), Fielding (Tom Jones).

• Mock-Epic – Pope’s The Rape of the Lock.

• Periodical Essays – Addison & Steele.

• Enlightenment Rationalism – focus on logic, science, morality.

✍️ Major Writers

• 1. Alexander Pope (1688–1744) – The Poet of the Age

  • The Rape of the Lock (1712–1714) – mock-epic satire

  • The Dunciad (1728) – satirical poem attacking dull writers

  • Essay on Criticism (1711) – rules of poetry & criticism

  • Essay on Man (1733–34) – philosophical poem on human nature

  • Translation of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

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  2. Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) – Master of Satire

  • Gulliver’s Travels (1726) – political & social satire in travel form

  • A Tale of a Tub (1704) – satire on religion

  • The Battle of the Books (1704) – satire on ancients vs. moderns

  • The Drapier’s Letters (1724) – political pamphlets

  • A Modest Proposal (1729) – ironic essay on poverty & politics

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  3. Joseph Addison (1672–1719) & Richard Steele (1672–1729) – Periodical Essayists

  • The Tatler (1709) – Steele’s magazine, moral essays

  • The Spectator (1711–1712, 1714) – Addison & Steele, essays on manners, society, and morality

  • Helped refine English prose and journalism

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  4. Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) – Father of the English Novel

  • Robinson Crusoe (1719) – first realistic English novel

  • Moll Flanders (1722)

  • Journal of the Plague Year (1722)

  • Captain Singleton (1720)

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  5. Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)

  • Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740) – first epistolary novel

  • Clarissa (1748) – psychological novel

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  6. Henry Fielding (1707–1754)

  • Joseph Andrews (1742) – parody of Richardson’s Pamela

  • Tom Jones (1749) – comic epic in prose

  • Jonathan Wild (1743) – satirical novel

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  7. Other Writers of the Age

• John Gay – The Beggar’s Opera (1728)

• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – Letters from Turkey

• Dr. Samuel Johnson (early works, though more prominent later)

• 🏆 Importance of the Age

  • Established English Satire as a powerful genre.

  • Developed the English Novel as a new literary form.

  • Journalism & essays became popular in shaping public opinion.

  • Promoted ideals of order, clarity, wit, and rational thought.

  • Created a bridge between the Restoration Age and the Age of Johnson.

📘 MCQs on the Augustan Age (1700–1745)

1. The Augustan Age in English literature roughly covers the years:

a) 1600–1660
b) 1660–1700
c) 1700–1745
d) 1745–1798

✅ Answer: c) 1700–1745
👉 Explanation: Augustan Age = early 18th century, ends around the death of Alexander Pope (1744) / Jonathan Swift (1745).

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2. The term Augustan Age is derived from the reign of:

a) King Charles II
b) Emperor Augustus of Rome
c) Queen Anne
d) King George I

✅ Answer: b) Emperor Augustus of Rome
👉 Explanation: English writers imitated Roman classics produced during Augustus’ reign (Virgil, Horace, Ovid).

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3. Which literary form became especially popular in the Augustan Age?

a) Blank Verse Drama
b) Sonnet Sequence
c) Periodical Essay & Novel
d) Romantic Lyric

✅ Answer: c) Periodical Essay & Novel
👉 Explanation: Addison & Steele → periodical essay; Defoe, Richardson, Fielding → rise of the novel.

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4. Which of the following works is a mock-epic poem?

a) The Dunciad
b) The Rape of the Lock
c) The Beggar’s Opera
d) Pamela

✅ Answer: b) The Rape of the Lock
👉 Explanation: Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712–14) is a mock-epic satirizing social vanity.

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5. Gulliver’s Travels (1726), a famous satire, was written by:

a) Joseph Addison
b) Daniel Defoe
c) Jonathan Swift
d) Samuel Richardson

✅ Answer: c) Jonathan Swift
👉 Explanation: Swift used travel narrative to satirize politics, society, and human folly.

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6. Who is known as the Father of the English Novel?

a) Henry Fielding
b) Samuel Richardson
c) Daniel Defoe
d) John Bunyan

✅ Answer: c) Daniel Defoe
👉 Explanation: Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Defoe is regarded as the first realistic English novel.

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7. The Spectator (1711–12, 1714) was published by:

a) Swift and Pope
b) Addison and Steele
c) Pope and Dryden
d) Defoe and Richardson

✅ Answer: b) Addison and Steele
👉 Explanation: They refined prose style and popularized essays on manners and morality.

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8. Which of the following pairs is correct?

a) Henry Fielding – Pamela
b) Samuel Richardson – Clarissa
c) Daniel Defoe – Tom Jones
d) John Gay – The Rape of the Lock

✅ Answer: b) Samuel Richardson – Clarissa
👉 Explanation: Clarissa (1748) is Richardson’s famous epistolary novel.

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9. The Beggar’s Opera (1728), a satirical ballad opera, was written by:

a) John Dryden
b) John Gay
c) Colley Cibber
d) George Farquhar

✅ Answer: b) John Gay
👉 Explanation: It mocked both Italian opera and political corruption.

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10. Which literary form dominated Augustan poetry?

a) Blank verse
b) Heroic couplet
c) Free verse
d) Terza rima

✅ Answer: b) Heroic couplet
👉 Explanation: Pope perfected the heroic couplet—rhymed iambic pentameter couplets.

📌 Augustan Age Quick Revision Points

• 📅 Period → 1700–1745 (Age of Pope, Age of Prose & Reason, Age of Satire).

• 📖 Derived from → Roman Emperor Augustus’ literary age (Virgil, Horace, Ovid).

• ✍️ Central Poet → Alexander Pope (heroic couplet master).

• 🎭 Satirist → Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal).

• 📰 Periodical Essays → Addison & Steele (The Tatler, The Spectator).

• 📚 Rise of Novel →

  • Defoe – Robinson Crusoe (1719).

  • Richardson – Pamela (1740).

  • Fielding – Tom Jones (1749, slightly after but linked).

• 🎶 Drama → John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728).

• 🖋 Mock-Epic → Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712–14).

• 📜 Other Pope Works → Essay on Criticism (1711), Essay on Man (1733), The Dunciad (1728).

• 🌍 Philosophy → Reason, Order, Decorum, Rationalism.

• ☕ Culture → Coffee-houses → hubs of journalism, debate.

• 🔑 Form → Heroic Couplet dominates poetry.

📝 Conclusion

The Augustan Age (1700–1745) stands as a golden chapter in English literature, blending classical ideals of balance and order with the spirit of reason, satire, and refinement. It was the era of Pope’s heroic couplets, Swift’s biting satire, Addison and Steele’s moral essays, and the rise of the English novel with Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. More than just a literary period, it reflected the intellectual vigor, social change, and cultural elegance of early 18th-century England, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape modern prose, poetry, and narrative art.