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THE SHORTEST WAY OF THE DISSENTERS This pamphlet is a political satire, first published anonymously,in 1702, an occasional conformity . But in 1702 queen Anne ascended the throne and she was intolerant of ‘’occasional conformity’’. A dissenter himself in this pamphlet Defoe attacked both the high Church tories and those Dissenters who practiced the occasional conformity. The pamphlet is also an expression of defoe’s deep resentment towards the upper classes who had denied his entrance to the most prestigious school. The shortest way in the titlerefers to the writer’s wih to suppress Nonconformity. So defoe decides to write a HOAX (inganno) in the guise of a High Church official, who argues for the suppression of dissenters at all costs, using the same rhetorical often used in High Church sermons.. So the pamphlet was apparently in favour of the Anglican church. But, it was a difficult time for irony, because the readers must read between the lines, so the meaning is not howdy. The Shortest way allarmed dissenters and enraged the churchmen, when they discovered that they had been hoaxed. The government tried to discover the identity of the author. Defoe tried to hide, but later he was discovered and sentenced to stan in the pillory for 3 days unless he revealed his “Accomplices”. He refused to reveal them. So he stand in the pillory and his supporters stood in a solid ring around him to defend him. It is said that the crowds began to throw fowers instead of vegetables or storms as usual. From this experience he wrote ‘’hymn to the pillory’’ that was sold in the streets. ROBINSON CRUSOE (DEFOE) Robinson Crusoe reflects the materialistic , middle-class culture of 18th-century England. Robinson spends 28 years on a remote island near Venezuela. The story is inspired by the real life Alexander Selkirk. The novel , portrays characters and events of the real life. Realism is very important for the novels of this period: many details of elements of everyday life to give the impression of real life . Language is simple and in prose .There is the first person perspective. The main character is a man. The story: no chapters, but 3 sections. 1°Robinson leaves his family to make his own fortune. He lands in Brazil where he starts a successful plantation. One day, during an expedition to Africa to buy some slaves for his plantation, he shipwreked on a desert island where he spend 28 years. 2°Defoe describes Robinson's life on the island. He saves friday from cannibals and makes him his servant, after Robinson's finally rescues by an english ship. 3°returns to England, where he learns that his plantation in Brazil has made him rich. The book is ful of Religion references to God, providence, salvation. Is a diary, the narrator is Robinson and the story is told in first person. Theme:the author underlines all the problems which there are in 18° century for the formation of modern world. The desert island reppresents all the contradictions and obstacles of the ''new world'' Style: the language is more difficult than Gulliver's travel.

ROBINSON CRUSOE (ITALIANO) Crusoe sembra appartenere alla letteratura VIAGGI ED AVVENTURE ad un primo sguardo. In realtà non è cosi. Robinson non è un semplice avventuriero: scopo dei suoi viaggi è sempre il profitto, incarnando le tendenze della vita dei suoi tempi e differenziando il protagonista del romanzo dagli altri viaggiatori della letteratura. Il profitto è il motore di Robinson e l’intero mondo è il suo territorio. Robinson lascia la sua famiglia in giovane età e questo ovviamente è fondamentale in quanto le storie di avventure richiedono l’assenza di legami sociali convenzionali. Quindi i legami emotivi e le relazioni personali hanno un ruolo marginale in Crusoe , ad eccezione di quelle che hanno un fondamento economico. Solo il denaro è la base

su cui fondare sentimenti ed amicizia. Se dunque Crusoe è un personaggio che bene incarna la figura dell’homo economicus sorto come conseguenza al diffondersi dell’individualismo economico, il fascino che l’opera esercita sul lettore è invece da ricercare in un’altra conseguenza del capitalismo , ovvero la specializzazione economica. Essa ha favorito la diffusione del romanzo sia perché creando una società piu specializzata e differenziata il romanziere da essa poteva trovare diversi personaggi in grado di interessare il lettore, sia perché il romanzo soddisfa i bisogni particolari del pubblico sorti in seguito alla specializzazione. Altro aspetto fondamentale per l’opera è sicuramente la diffusione del protestantesimo in quanto defoe rappresenta la dignità del lavoro. Il calvinismo, infatti, voleva dimenticare l’idea che il lavoro fosse una punizione divina in seguito al peccato di adamo , a favore invece del lavoro inteso come cura dei doni materiali provenienti da dio. È dunque l’idea del lavoro come dovere religioso. Questa assiduità è ben rappresentata da Robinson che non si concede mai tempo per il riposo, nemmeno con l’arrivo di Venerdi , anzi questo arrivo è considerata una possibilità di espansione di produzione. Ulteriore aspetto fondamentale che troviamo nell’opera è la tendenza all’autoesame morale e religioso: ogni azione di Crusoe è seguita da una riflessione che rivela gli intenti della divina provvidenza ( es. grano che spunta è un miracolo divino finalizzato al suo sostentamento ). Robinson si colloca all’interno dei grandi miti della letteratura occidentale in cui i protagonisti cercano di soddisfare i propri desideri. Tuttavia robinson si distingue dagli altri personaggi della letteratura perché è capace di stare da solo: il suo egocentrismo lo condanna all’isolamento. Quindi se sull’isola è isolato perché è solo, Crusoe sfida continuamente il suo destino ed è un caso che sia proprio l’isola a offrirgli l’opportunità di realizzarsi economicamente e socialmente.

A MODEST PROPOSAL (SWIFT) 1729 Swift wrote a few pamphlets denouncing the injustices that Ireland suffered. One of is satirical pamphlets, A MODEST PROPOSAL, 1729, explains how the English could exploit Ireland better, by eating its children. The poem was inspired by the dreadful conditions Swift found in Ireland, when he made his last journey there in 1727: famine and starvation were widespread because of a series of ruinous harvests, which were also due to the mismanagement of the Irish themselves. To help them, then he suggested to follow this modest proposal as a solution. Behind his words we understand how aggressive he was towards the English. He wants them to stop exploiting Ireland, because the situation they created was terrible. But he is also denouncing the behavior of those Irish who earned power and were content about that, becuase they can provide food for their family, and didn’t keep the walfare of the nation in their mind: they were the cause of Ireland’s exploiting, because they weren’t able to manage the situation. He calls the Irish rulers ‘’Savages’’because thy didn’t act in a wisely. The language of the pamphlet includes specific vacabulary (children and their parents are regarded as cattle) and reminds to the type of language used by economist: in fact, Swift talks about profits , advantages and disadvantages, which is not centered on feelings, since economist doesn’t analyze this aspect of life. Swift published the pamphlet anonymously, because , being a satirical writer, he wanted to shock people, but at the same time he didn’t want to be persecuted by the English.

GULLIVER’S TRAVEL (1725) SWIFT It’s a novel divides in 4 parts or 4 voyages in 4 different islands, where the main character meets various type of people. After each journey gulliver returns home. By this novel Swift has the possibility to underline different aspects of human nature, and all the people that Gulliver meets are an example of the English people. In particular Gulliver’s observations on the Court of Lilliput is a satire on the court of George I. In the second voyage Gulliver meets rural gigants . In this Island Gulliver discusses the state of Europe with the king , who is negatively impressed with Gulliver’s account’s of Europe and its inhabitants behaviour.

At the end of the fourth journey, in which he meets a society of intelligent talking horses, who dislike the Yahoos (deformed humans), Gulliver starts confusing the land of the horses with England and the Englishmen as Yahoos. The more gulliver adapts to different cultures, the more he roves away from humans and he prefers horses. The novel also criticises the relationship between England and ireland and for this reason Lindalino’s rebellion against Laputa is an allegory of Ireland’s Revolt against Great Britain. Furthermore Swift also attacks colonialism by this novel. Gulliver’s adjustment to the new cultures is a critic to the effects of colonies on the colonisers . The novel is written in first person as a diary form to give impression of real ife , but the writer is not the main charactwr, and so swift uses more than one voice during the book. At first appearance the book was considered destined to children. Actually it is a ferocious critical on Swift’s society and human behavior.

CRUSOE E GULLIVER A CONFRONTO The work od Defoe focus on the themes of bourgeois mentality and values, instead Swift’s works are characterized by a fantastic and advebturous dimension, which represent a satire of the English society of his time and human nature. A common point between the two authors is that in both cases the theme of travel does not has a melancholy expression, but it is characterized as a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Furthermore the two works point out the theme of colonialism . Robinson crusoe is the representation of the European ideasof the colonizer’s supremacy. Gulliver’s Travels instead shows the dark side of colonialism. Gulliver, in fact, not only does not conquer anything but he becomes a hostage to an alien civilization. Robinson is a flat character (he does not change hi behavior throghout the novel), instead Gulliver is a well rounded character because he is able to adapt to any situation in the story.

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK (1712) First published in 1712. It’s Pope’s most popular poem. It is a mock-heroic -epic written to make fun of a real quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the BELINDA of the poem) and Lord Petre, who had snipped a lock of hair from her head without her permission. When she tries to get it back , the lock flies into the air and turns into a star. Pope’s work has an Epic Structure similar to Homer and Virgil’s works. It’s also a satire through which Pope wants to make the readers aware the english society ‘s problems of his time. Belinda, who adores herself , represents England , where the society believes to be perfect and powerful. Belinda’s vanity is seem to take the form of religious devotion. For this reason the toilet is considered Belinda’s altar and her make-up a preface world in which a man (Lord petre) worships a woman (Belinda) and the woman wordhips herself. So pope criticises the upper classes’ lifestyle putting it into comparison with an epic world.

FIELDING Inizia la sua carriera scrivendo per il teatro. La sua opera di maggiore successo è An Apology for the Life of Mrs Shamela Andrews. Una satira contro la Pamela di Richardson, scritta appositamente per rettificare le many Notorious falsehood di Pamela. È però Joseph Andrews (1742) che rappresenta il debutto di Fielding come romanziere. Anche se quest’opera inizia come una parodia di Pamela, Fielding va oltre abbandonando la forza epistolare a favore della narrazione in terza persona e sperimentando a favore della narrazione in terza persona e sperimentando una narrativa neoclassica. Nel 1749 pubblica Tom Jones, sua opera maggiore in cui compare il nome dell’autore. Il romanzo racconta la storia di un trovatello che riesce a fare fortuna e sposa la donna che ama Fielding fu il primo romanziere che afferrò dichiaratamente che la sua prosa era frutto dell’ artificio, dipingendo una vasta gamma di personaggi tratti dalle diverse classi

sociali, disattenzione verso i sentimenti dei personaggi raramente esplorati in profondità, lasciando cosi al lettore il compito di usare la propria immaginazione. Il lettore cosi è obbligato ad adottare una posizione contribuendo allo sviluppo della storia.

STERNE Il suo romanzo più importante è THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTAM SHANDY GENTLEMAN. Il libro venne considerato troppo depravante e per questo venne dismesso dagli inglesi. In Europa invece l’opera ebbe una grande eco e influenzò autori come Diderot. Il romanzo si conclude in un modo non tradizionale, tutto rimane sotto il segno della provvisorietà. Per l’atto stesso di leggere il lettore si trova coinvolto nel processo creativo dell’opera. È scritto in prima persona e vi trovano posto diverse persone ed episodi della vita reale dell’autore. Proprio per il suo carattere innovativo tristan Shandy verrà rivalutato e veramente apprezzato solo a partire dal ‘900.

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON Johnson was a poet, a literary critic, a moralist. Because of his family’s poverty Johnson forced to leave Oxford without a degree. In 1746 a group of publishers approaches him about creating a dictionary of the English language. He claimed that he could finish the work in 3 years, but on the contrary he manage to finish it in nine. Johnson’s Dictionary was not first, however it was the most commonly used and imitated. Johnson’s Dictionary greatest innovation was that it illustred the meaning of words by literary quotation. For this reason we can find many Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden’s citations. It also offers insights into the 18th century language peoplused. Johnson is aware that the language is in an evolving status because it’s always changing. In his opinion the lexicographer must consider that his dictionary could be subjected to corruption and disuse , as he points out in the Preface of The Dictionary. According to Johnson another reason of the linguistic change is caused by the mixture of two languages that produces a third language completly different from the previous. Just before the publication of Johnson’s Dictionary in 1755 Oxford had awarded him with a Master in Arts degree. Once the Dictionary was published, Johnson turned his attention to shakespeare and in 1756 he published his PROPOSALS PRITING , BY SUBSCRIPTION THE DRAMATIC WORKS OF W.SHAKESPEARE, in 8 volumes. It is the most accurate analysis of Shakespeare’s theatrical work. In its Preface Johnson describes shakespeare as the poet of nature and his characters as common men, or peple who act and speak by the influence of general passions and principles. Shakespeare has no heroes , and his drama is a mirror of the everyday life. Johnson’s innovation consists in creating notes arrenged in double columns that allow readers to better undestand the meaning behind Shakespeare’s works, especially those that over time wew transcribed incorrectly. Occasionally he uses the notes to attack other editors of Shakespearse’s works, and also he highlights the spectators’ role .

OSCAR WILDE Wilde was an irish writer, poet and an aesthete. As his parents before him, he supported the cause of irish Nationalism. Wilde quickly won a reputation as a dandy, a man for whom perfection in dressing was as important as perfection in art. Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), is a perfect example of his aesthetic theories about a life of sense and pleasure as the supreme form of art. As he points out in the Preface of the novel, the artist is the creator of beautiful things. The man of good taste is above common morality, like the artist , and he must persue his own aesthetic goals. Wilde claims in the preface the famous phrase ‘’All art is quite useless’’. The main character leads a hedonistic life that disregards moral and human feelings. However the ending of the storyis intensely moral and seems to suggest that there is a price to be paid for a life of pleasure. The same idea is contained in De Profundis, Wilde’s last

great work, written in prison. In this work Wilde refers to his past life of pleasure as something he had to pay for with his present misery. In 1895Wilde staged the Importance of Being Ernest, a tragi-comedy of denied identity. The play perfectly reflects one of the greatest man’s problem of the Victorian Times: to be acknowledged as a member of society, not being part of the british society system meant to be automatically excluded from any social life and realtionship.

PREFACE OF THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY Primo successo letterario di Wilde, pubblicatonel 1891. Nel romanso Wilde presenta le proprie teorie sull’estetismo, movimento artistico che in Italia prende il nome di decadentismo. I decadenti detestano i valori e l’ipocrisia delle classi medie, ovvero quello stile di vita che in Inghilterra viene definito ‘’THE VICTORIAN COMPROMISE’’. L’artista dunque deve perseguire i propri obiettivi estetici andando oltre ogni moralità. Per tale motivo il protagonista Dorian, conduce una vita incentrata sul conseguimento del piacere e della bellezza, in quanto la vita stessa viene considerata la prima e la maggiore forma d’arte. Questo atteggiamento è stato sintetizzato nel famoso slogan ‘’Art for Art’s sake’’. La prefazione del romanzo esprime chiaramente l’estetismo di Wilde. Egli esordisce scrivendo che l’artista è il creatore di cose belle. Quest’ultimo non ha alcun intento morale ma tutto è finalizzato all’arte. Wilde in conclusione alla Prefazione sostiene che ‘’All art is quite useless’’ ( l arte quindi non ha un fine , un’utilità ma è fine a se stessa).

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY Romanzo pubblicato nel 1891. Il protagonista ben incarna la figura del ‘’dandy’’, il cui scopo di vita è perseguire la bellezza e il piacere. In netta rottura con la società Vittoriana, ovvero con quello stile di vita, definito ‘’THE VICTORIAN COMPROMISE’’, Dorian conduce una vita improntata all’ edonismo incurante dei sentimenti e della morale. La storia trae spunto dal folklore e dalle favole in cui il personaggio è strettamente dipendente da un oggetto magico, tipico del Romanticismo. L’opera contiene un elemento di mistero che gli assicura un enorme successo presso il grande pubblico. La conclusione del romanzo è in linea con il genere horror

AN IDEAL HUSBAND Pubblicato nel 1895 è il dramma sociale di Wilde di maggiore successo. L’opera rappresenta bene quanto il teatro di Wilde possa essere definito uno specchio attraverso il quale gli inglesi potevano vedere i propri stili di vita, comportamenti. Centrale è l’uso del PARADOSSO e dell’ironia, finalizzati a smascherare i meccanismi dei rapporti sociali. Attraverso il paradosso inoltre Wilde cogli l’occasione per criticare la società del suo tempo attraverso la risata, ovvero senza che il pubblico in realtà ne sia cosciente. Nel dramma il paradosso viene utilizzato in 2 livelli: a livello verbale, attraverso le parole del protagonista che divertono il pubblico, a livello drammatico, nella storia ogni azione è assolutamente diversa rispetto alle aspettative del pubblico. In esso inoltre Wilde introduce tutti i clichés del teatro vittoriano , ma secondo una prospettiva nuova: il marito ‘’ideale’’ ha un segreto, una moglie adorabile, donne che hanno una particolare storia passata, lo scandalo ; l’ostilità fra le 2 donne rivali. L’innovazione dell’opera però consiste nell’introduzione del personaggio di Lord Goring, un dandy che incanta il pubblico con le sue capacità di linguaggio. Attraverso i suoi aforismi il pubblico comprende il vero significato dell’opera. Egli inoltre è un ‘’deus ex machina’’ che interviene a risolvere la difficile situazione e diviene quindi un esempio di saggezza. L’opera inoltre anticipa alcuni temi e scene che verranno riprese nella tragi-commedia THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST È una tragi-commedia rappresentata nel 1895. Tema dell’opera la negazione d’identità: ogni elemento è dapprima annunciato poi negato ed infine ridefinito. Wilde utilizza quest’opera pe denunciare la società vittoriana: il ‘’Victorian compromise’’, ovvero quello stile di vita basato sull’apparenza, sul perbenismo e sulle convenzioni culturali del ceto borghese. Un esemp...