Claire West
Danny Shapiro
Edward Tyler
Ivy Arbolado
Team 4 - Period 1
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Enlightenment Synthesis Question
During the Enlightenment the influence of family connections and other values of the restoration era were constantly mocked by well respected artists, writers, and philosophers. John Dryden, arguably the most satirically intriguing poet of the 17th century left a strong impression. Some of his most respected works include Mac Flecknoe, and Absalom and Achitophel. In particular, Absalom and Achitophel mocked Shaftesbury's confederates in a very exquisite manner, and clearly set Dryden apart from other social critics at the time. Another acclaimed social critic at the time was Voltaire. Voltaire's main critique of previous eras was their ignorance and blind faith. With quotes like, "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh," he is seen as an atheist and feels society must counter faith with common sense. Both Dryden and Voltaire demonstrated the drastic change in values between the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. All of the philosophers, writers, and artists during the Enlightenment expressed their radical views to the public in a variety of ways. Philosophers, like John Locke, Voltaire, and Thomas Hobbes published articles in books, pamphlets, newspapers, and journals in order to share their ideas with the public. This surge of easily accessible literature created and fueled the increase of reading materials that occurred during this time period. Artists, like Jacques Louis David and William Hogarth expressed their controversial views by painting portraits conveying harsh realism, or expressing a satirical allegory. Extremists during this era, including philosophers, writers, and artists, led the political and social change of the Enlightenment by satirizing public opinions and publicizing their works.
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Your answer to the synthesis question was very well done. It can obviously be seen that the proper research was done to answer all three research questions and ultimately the synthesis question. Unlike many syntheses on the blog, you guys talked about poets, critics, AND philosophers. Most of the people just wrote about Voltaire and no one else. We have just a couple of minor suggestions.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, you bring up a person who has not been introduced before, Shaftesbury. Throwing his name into the mix without introduction is a bit confusing. Also, there are some grammatical errors that you should watch out for next time. Just proofread the synthesis before turning it in. Finally, the conclusion is kind of repetitive. Although the idea of the conclusion is to repeat the question, finding a better way to do that would have been a better idea.
Asher P4T3