启蒙主义与十八世纪英国文学

英国18世纪的社会文化生活与启蒙主义运动有着千丝万缕的联系。18世纪前半期，以启蒙主义理性为核心的新古典主义思潮统治英国文坛，并促成了散文的兴盛和小说的兴起。诗歌的创作也呈现出散文化的特点。到了18世纪后半期，新古典主义思潮开始衰落，感伤主义开始流行，英国文学中也出现了感伤主义诗歌、哥特式小说等文学样式。

Enlightenment Movement and the Eighteenth Century English Literature

The eighteenth century English literature is closely related to the Enlightenment Movement. In the first half of the Century, Neoclassicism, with Reason at its core, reigned in English literature and resulted in the flourishing of English prose and the rise of English novel. English poetry also became prosaic during this period. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, however, Neoclassicism began to decline and Sentimentalism began to appear. Sentimentalist poetry and Gothic novels became prominent literary genres of the period.