The British Enlightenment sparked a literary revolution. Writers championed reason, progress, and individual rights, moving away from religious themes to explore secular ideas and scientific concepts.

This shift transformed literature. Satire and essays flourished, novels gained popularity, and clear writing became the norm. Authors critiqued society, explored human experiences, and incorporated scientific language into their works.

Key Themes and Literary Influences

Key themes of British Enlightenment literature

• Reason and rationality championed logic over emotion rejected superstition (witch hunts)
• Progress and improvement advocated social reform believed in human perfectibility (education)
• Individual rights and liberties promoted personal freedoms criticized absolute monarchy (Magna Carta)
• Skepticism and empiricism questioned traditional authorities emphasized observation (scientific method)
• Cosmopolitanism fostered interest in other cultures promoted tolerance and understanding (Grand Tour)

Enlightenment values in literary works

• Satire employed irony and wit to critique society (Swift's "A Modest Proposal")
• Essay emerged as platform for philosophical commentary (Addison and Steele's "The Spectator")
• Novels explored individual experience popularized bildungsroman (Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe")
• Clear, accessible writing rejected ornate language (Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding")
• Social contracts and governance explored in literature (Milton's "Paradise Lost")

Shift from religious to secular themes

• Religious allegory declined as human-centered stories gained prominence (Bunyan to Fielding)
• Organized religion faced critique (Voltaire's "Candide")
• Deism explored non-interventionist divine creator concept (Pope's "Essay on Man")
• Earthly concerns overshadowed heavenly matters (Defoe's "Moll Flanders")
• Morality secularized based on reason rather than religious doctrine (Hume's ethical writings)

Impact of science on literature

• Scientific language and concepts incorporated (Newton's "Opticks" influence on Pope)
• Natural world explored in detail (Banks' Endeavour voyage journals)
• Newtonian physics influenced mechanistic worldview (Pope's "Essay on Man")
• Empirical observation emphasized realistic descriptions (Defoe's "Journal of the Plague Year")
• Pseudoscience and superstition critiqued (Swift's "Gulliver's Travels")