Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism

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Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism

Literature: the enlightenment, romanticism, realism, modernism, and postmodernism…. Where does one begin? To some, those words can be as scary as the word computer is to others. This essay is designed to help you become a great literary interpreter. Getting the motivation is three fourths of the battle to getting into the heads of the artists. To begin, an outline of some of the literary movements has been provided.

The enlightenment was also called the Age of Reason. It spanned from 1660-1770. The central idea behind the enlightenment was using reason to understand nature and guide the human existence. Some of the popular writers from that time period were Voltaire and Moliere.

Romanticism entailed much more abstract literature than the enlightenment offered. Ideally, romanticism dealt with issues of passion and love. The romantic era covered the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Emerson, Thoreau, Wordsworth, and Goethe were just some of the well-known romantic writers.

After the romantic era, realism...

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