How does F. R. Leavis evaluate the Queen Anne period?
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How does F. R. Leavis evaluate the Queen Anne period? [2020]
Queen Anne was the last monarch of the Stuart dynasty, reigning from 1702 to 1714. In his essay “Literature and Society” (1937), F.R. Leavis (1895-1978) discusses different literary ages to show the connection between literature and culture. While evaluating the Queen Anne period, he praises its cultural health, social balance, and intellectual maturity.
Age of Social Harmony: Leavis considers the Queen Anne period an age of confident cultural life. He observes that the writers of this period felt a strong connection to society. He said,
“An age in which tradition itself gets established is clearly an age in which the writer feels one at society.”
This unity between writer and society created a stable moral and artistic environment. Writers like Addison and Steele reflected the shared manners and values of their age.
Cultural Maturity and Refinement: Leavis praises the conventions, standards, and idioms of maturity seen in the Queen Anne age. He believes that this literature achieved a high level of social grace and intellectual control. The Augustan period, he says, “laid a heavy stress on the social.” Its literature reflected politeness, moderation, and balance.
Strength and Weakness of the Age: Leavis admits that excessive focus on the social side had both gains and losses. He writes,
“Such insistence on the social has a discouraging effect on the deeper sources of originality.”
This means that the Queen Anne writers valued public manners so much that personal creativity suffered as a result.
Literary Figures and Cultural Health: Leavis praises writers like Dryden, Addison, and Halifax. He calls Halifax urbane, natural, and a master of spoken tone. Leavis sees in such writers the true spirit of Restoration and Augustan culture. This made the Queen Anne period a model of cultural health and literary harmony.
In short, Leavis evaluates the Queen Anne period as one of England’s most balanced and civilized literary ages. ItUnlock this study guide now