Wyl.p5.t9 Enlightenment Era Synthesis Question

Audrey Ford

Nicki Quiles

Gus Shettleroe

Misael Navarro

The enlightenment era was a time of great awakening and exploration. People, for one of the first times in history, were beginning to question their lives and the conventions they lived by. As people began to explore and discover their own selves more, and more, they began to realize new things including the fact that they had various unique talents such as art, or writing. As the core of traditional society began to stir, so did the literary world. Actors, artists, playwrights, musicians, writers, philosophers, and scholars began to emerge everywhere with their new creations, and ideas. One idea that quickly became popular was the concept that historically traditional societal trends namely, the incredible importance and influence of impressive familial acquaintances, and social patronage from the elite class, were something to be satirized, and laughed at. Some of the most notable people from the enlightenment era who drove this public criticism of classical traditions include, the writer/philosopher Voltaire, scientist/mathematician Isaac Newton, writer/philosopher Pierre Bayle, philosopher John Locke, and artist Jacques Rousseau. Although expressive creation took many forms during this era, the most common art shared by these famous names was literature – the art of pen and paper. They used everything from pamphlets, to plays, to magazines to share the way they saw the world, and thank goodness they did because now people everywhere in the world are able to learn from them and hear all of the incredible things they had to say.