The trend of thought in classical literature is the product of political compromise between the emerging bourgeoisie and the feudal aristocracy. /kloc-in the 6th century, due to the conflict between the two classes, a religious war broke out for 36 years, and Henry IV finally became king, which was the result of compromise between the two classes. In order to stabilize the situation, Henry IV converted to Catholicism, and the Royal Decree of Nantes issued in 1598 stipulated that Catholicism was the state religion. At the same time, the newly established Bourbon dynasty carried out the mercantilist policy in the first half of the17th century, which promoted the development of industry and commerce. The powerful bourgeoisie supported the kingship, strengthened the central government and restrained the aristocratic separatist movement. Louis XIV continued this policy. In order to make the nobles obey, he appointed colbert and Letellier, who were born in the common people, to manage the finances. However, he also appointed big noble as the highest military post and clergy to achieve a balanced policy. Monarchical autocracy has become the center of civilization and the foundation of social unity. Social stability and unity are the aspirations of the people and the general trend, because the people are tired of war. Correspondingly, in the 1930s of 17, the popular baroque literature quickly transformed into classical literature. In order to strengthen the control of literature and art, the Bourbon dynasty established a system of awarding bonuses, allowances and inspections. French bachelor's colleges, established from 1634 to 1635, aim to establish unified standards in language and literature to meet the needs of autocratic monarchy. When Gao Naiyi's play Sid violated the three laws, the official theorist Sharpland wrote an article to intervene. Classical literature is produced under such a political climate and literary policy.
The prosperity of classicism is also closely related to Louis XIV's hobbies and policies. He loves court celebrations and lively scenes and encourages drama creation. Although he likes lofty and magnificent style, he also appreciates Moliere's funny satire. Because of his protection, Moliere persisted in his creative direction and won the victory of hypocrite. He made Racine and boileau famous in the literary world. Although he keeps his word, he is unwilling to impose a word on literature. He knew that genius and obedience were incompatible, and even allowed writers to have certain independence when attacking society. He didn't like Lafontaine, but his revenge was limited to delaying the fable writer's election to the bachelor's college. The monarch who is keen on glory knows that future generations will appreciate him because he is a wise protector of literature and art?
Rene descartes's rationalism (1596-1650) is the philosophical basis of classicism. His Methodology (1637) is the first important philosophical and scientific work in France, and it is also an important work in the history of European philosophy. Descartes proposed to use "pure natural reason". He divided human thinking into four stages: revealing truth through intuition and reasoning; Search for universal truth through complex things with analysis; Reconstruct complex things from isolated factors; Use verification to make up for what may be forgotten. He stated this way: "The first principle is to absolutely accept only what I obviously think is true; In other words, we should carefully avoid hasty and preconceived ideas and only understand the following judgment: I have no time to doubt what is so clearly presented in my mind. The second principle is to separate the difficulties one by one and examine each part as carefully as possible in order to solve them best. The third principle is to start with the simplest and easiest things to understand, guide my thinking in an orderly way, and gradually move towards the most complicated understanding step by step, and even imagine the order of things that have no order. The last principle is to do a complete calculation and general inspection in all aspects, so that I have confidence not to miss anything. "Descartes' famous saying is' I think therefore I am'. He believes that feeling is unreliable, and reason is an innate cognitive ability and the root of all knowledge. People know the truth of everything by reason and judge right and wrong. He also believes that the beauty of all things lies in truth, which exists in order, unity, consistency, balance, symmetry, clarity and conciseness, and people can only know this truth through reason. In addition, his Theory of Mind and Emotion (1649) holds that will can directly change people's emotions. Descartes' theory directly guides the creation of classic writers.
The ideological characteristics of classical literature are as follows: first, directly interfered by the royal power, politically and ideologically advocating national unity, opposing feudal separatism and praising wise kings, literature is closely combined with real politics. Classic works mostly describe the conflict between the protagonist's feelings and family responsibilities or state obligations, and show the theme that feelings obey responsibilities and individuals obey obligations. Many works directly praise the wisdom of the king, or the king acts as an arbiter and mediator of contradictions. Strike sharply against illegal acts that are not conducive to social stability, showing a strong political tendency to support the central kingship. Second, it advocates rationality and demands restraint of personal lust. Boileau pointed out: "First of all, you must love reason: May your article always gain value and light only by reason." We should rationally handle the contradiction between personal and national interests, family obligations and honor concepts, so love or lust can only be put in the second place. Some writers think it is despicable, hypocritical, lewd, etc. As an unreasonable lust, I strive for irony. Thirdly, it sharply criticized the luxury, debauchery and depravity of the nobility, and also criticized the stupidity, art and desire of the bourgeoisie to become a nobleman. Classical writers dare to expose bad habits and abuses in society and give a merciless blow to criminals and groups who engage in criminal activities under the guise of religion. Comedy, in particular, advocates changing customs in laughter. Fourthly, most of the classical tragedies are based on emperors, generals and court secrets, and inherit the tradition of ancient Greek tragedies. This is a reflection of court life and upper-class aristocratic life. Among them, Gao Naiyi's tragedy excluded the soul of ancient tragedy-the concept of fate. The hero in the work is the creator of his own destiny, and he will no longer succumb to the power of superman. Although this kind of personality will involuntarily throw itself into emergencies, it can draw the necessary strength from itself and overcome great difficulties. Classical comedies, fables and essays are exposed to the third grade, which broadens the literary horizon and strengthens the democratic spirit. Compared with tragedy, comedy, fable and prose reflect a broader life and more active thoughts. Comedy describes the bourgeoisie, civilians, scholars, doctors, actors, servants, chefs and so on; Fables not only describe people with animals, but also touch as many people as possible; Prose not only records important historical events, but also features close-ups of characters and philosophical meditation, and is good at thinking about major issues in life.
The artistic features of classical literature are: first, drawing artistic forms and themes from ancient Greek and Roman literature. This seems to be the same as that of Renaissance writers, but it is actually different. As far as France is concerned, what humanists do is to dig out the ancient books that have been submerged for more than 1000 years; Humanist writers only learn from ancient writers in poetry and prose. As for the form of drama, it can be said that it has not been fully utilized, let alone fables. Classical tragedies and comedies are quite different from those of ancient Greece and Rome. They have the basic forms of modern drama and a certain number of plays, which are suitable for performance in a certain period of time. The dramatic conflict is very sharp and the psychological depiction is very delicate, reaching a new peak of tragedy and comedy. From a global perspective, it is also in an important stage of development. Second, there is a set of strict artistic norms and standards. For example, drama creation should abide by the "three unifications", that is, the plot, time and place must be kept "one". This idea was put forward in16th century. Classical theorists have developed more clearly: they must focus on a single plot and exclude all episodes; Within a day; In one place. The proposer of "Three Uniforms" asserts that these rules are mentioned in Aristotle's The Art of Poetry, but in fact, they are not mentioned at all in The Art of Poetry. However, classicists "understood the Greeks according to their own artistic needs, so after Darcy and others correctly explained Aristotle to them, they insisted on this so-called' classical' drama for a long time". Although the "three unifications" have the function of concentrating plots and sharpening conflicts, they are more of a constraint. In addition, classicism distinguishes between high and low literary genres, praises tragedy, and belittles comedy, fable and folk literature, which embodies a noble concept. Third, it advocates that the language is accurate, concise, gorgeous and elegant, showing more court interest. The tragedies of Gao Naiyi and Racine are the most representative. Both have a solemn and elegant style. Gao Naiyi's tragedy is a little more heroic, Racine's tragedy is a little more tender, but they all have elegant features. Poetry style is closely related to elegance, because the language of poetry is concise, and because of the need of rhyme, expression is more euphemistic and tortuous than prose; Poetic tragedy is more elegant than prose tragedy. Classical poetic dramas are often perfect works of art, which not only reach the concise standard of about 2000 lines, but also have beautiful poetry. Sid was praised as "as beautiful as Sid". This eulogy refers not only to the content of the script, but also to the breathtaking beauty of its language. Gao Naiyi's language is full of eloquent masculine beauty, which represents the lofty style of classicism, and his poetry has reached a powerful momentum that predecessors have not achieved. Racine's language is gentle, delicate and touching, which represents the elegance of classicism. He created a unique poetic language to describe psychology. Classical literature plays a very good role in standardizing national languages. Fourthly, the typology of characterization. Boileau demanded that "all heroes should keep their nature". Classical writers only pursue "universal humanity" and have a single personality. They regard human nature as an abstract attribute that everyone is born with, rather than the sum of all social relations, and shape personality into a fixed hobby, ignoring the influence of environment on personality.
In the later stage of the development of classical literature, obvious limitations were exposed, which triggered a "dispute between ancient and modern" and challenged the classical discipline. Shaer Bello (1628- 1703) and others think that modern people should be better than the ancients. They demand change and get rid of the shackles from the perspective of the development of literature. Boileau played the role of upholding the principles of classicism. This debate didn't end until the19th century.
France has made the greatest achievements in classical literature. Franois de Malherbe, a pioneer of classical literature, demanded accuracy, clarity, harmony and solemnity in language. He opposes the method of enriching the language of Seven Star Poetry Society, and does not advocate the use of archaic words, compound words and technical terms. And hope to make the language "pure". Secondly, in poetry creation, he also opposed the cross-line and vowel repetition advocated by the Seven Star Poetry Society. He used strict rhymes and specified the length of stanzas, and tended to be indifferent in expression, thinking that poetry should be reasoned. His works are few and precise, and Comfort Mr. Du Peier takes the advice of a friend who lost his daughter as the content, with thorough and euphemistic reasoning, rational spirit and rigorous meter, which embodies his poetic thoughts.
Pierre Kornel (1606— 1684) is the founder of classical tragedy. Sid (1636) is adapted from the comedy Sid's Youth by the Spanish writer Castro, which describes the choices made by the hero and heroine in the conflict of honor, obligation and love, and shows that reason finally triumphs over lust. This is the first classic and foundation work of classicism. The script shows the inner conflict between the hero and heroine in the face of the obligation to avenge their father (Schmanna's father was jealous that Roderick's father was the master of the prince and slapped each other). Roderick had a wonderful inner monologue at this time: "If you want to fulfill love, you have to sacrifice my honor. If you want to avenge your father, you must give up my lover. On the one hand, it is a noble and severe responsibility, on the other hand, it is a lovely and overbearing love! Revenge will cause her resentment and anger, and no revenge will cause her contempt. Revenge will make me lose the sweetest hope, and not revenge will make me unworthy of loving her. " Although he strongly pursued personal happiness, he finally succumbed to feudal honor. At the critical moment, he made a contribution to the country and repelled the Moorish invasion. So the king ruled that a pair of lovers should be good. The king is a symbol of the mediator of class contradictions in real life. Gao Naiyi has written more than 30 plays, among which Horace (1640), Sina (1642) and Polly urquhart (1643) are more important. The most outstanding point of his style is solemnity and sublimity, which is also the ideal beauty pursued by classicism. The theme and content of his plays are lofty and solemn, and he advocates that tragedies should be written with "famous, unusual and severe plots", that is, famous episodes in past historical facts or legends, and stories about kings, commanders-in-chief, saints and heroes should be written with exciting plots, "their violence can be opposed to the laws of responsibility and blood relatives" and involve "great national interests, which are more lofty and magnificent than love". Plays written according to these principles must be noble and solemn in style. His language also shows this feature. The characters are eloquent, passionate, rigorous and thorough, as eloquent as proverbs and even exaggerated.
The second representative of classical tragedy is jean racine (1639— 1699). Andromache (1667), written by him, shows the heroine's efforts to save her son's life, shows that the characters disregard the interests and obligations of the country in order to satisfy their own desires, and condemns the lust of the aristocratic class. Andromache, the wife of the Trojan hero hector, became a slave of Epicurus after the city-state collapsed. Bayless fell in love with her, threatened to kill her son, forced her to give in, and actually postponed the wedding date with the Princess of Sparta. The princess ordered her suitor, the Greek envoy, to kill Peleus, and then committed suicide with regret. In the play, the king ignores the national interests in order to satisfy his own lust, the princess transcends the boundaries of revenge in order to vent her resentment, and the Greek envoys violate their mission and even become killers in order to cater to the wishes of the right people. They are all irrational. Only andromache is determined to keep the source of revenge, witty, brave and highly rational. The heroine of Fidel (1677), as the queen, fell in love with the son of the king's ex-wife. When she found out that the prince had another love, she killed him and finally committed suicide with regret. She is also a lecherous and irrational person. Racine's later works include estelle (1689) and Atari (169 1). Racine is good at depicting the development process of women's psychology and thoughts: andromache first wanted to live a clean and honest life, but later felt that he could not have both, so he tried to sacrifice himself, save his son and pretend to promise to marry the king; Federer was tight-lipped about his feelings at first. When the time is right, he blurts it out. He felt ashamed after being rejected. When the king came back, he couldn't wait to put the blame on others. Finally, the prince was killed, knowing that he was responsible, and finally confessed. The psychological development process of the characters is very detailed. Racine applied the "three unifications" to the extreme and developed the classical tragic art to the peak. There are no superfluous scenes and episodes in his play. More importantly, from the beginning of the script, the contradiction developed into an explosion field. Andromache chose the moment when all kinds of contradictions were in sharp conflict, omitting the development process of contradictions. Fidel begins with the heroine telling the truth, and there is no need to repeat the previous story. In this way, the total contradiction suddenly broke out, which led to tragedy in one day. In addition, Racine follows the view of fate in ancient Greek tragedies, and thinks that fate dominates the actions of the characters like a demon, which leads to the beauty of tragedy, so his plays always describe the inevitable process that leads to tragedy, unlike Gao Naiyi's plays, which need to create some obstacles for the characters, so Racine's plays are more tragic.
Jean de La Fontaine (162 1- 1695) wrote an allegorical poem (1668- 1694), trying to reflect the French society in the second half of the17th century. This is "a huge comedy. La Fontaine dared to expose the dark corruption of the feudal dynasty, the tyrannical hypocrisy of the lion king, the flattery of ministers, the corruption and rape of officials, and the innocence and slaughter of the king, all of which were vividly reproduced. Structurally, La Fontaine tried to write the fable into a compressed script with a beginning, a development and an ending. The dialogue is vivid and natural, showing the personality of the characters. The rhythm is ever-changing, and poetry is free and catchy. He promoted fable creation to an unprecedented height.
Nicolas Boileau Spreaux (1636—1711) is a classical theorist. The Art of Poetry (1674) puts forward the aesthetic principles of classicism and becomes the artistic code of classicism. He stipulated that rationality is the basic principle of literary creation and must imitate nature, which refers to court and city life; The creative experience of ancient Greek and Roman writers is the highest criterion and must abide by the "three unifications"; There are high and low literary genres.
French classical prose creation is also very distinctive. Blaise Pascal's letter (1623- 1662) to outsiders (1656- 1657) defended the suppressed Zhan Sen sects. The Record of Thoughts (published in 1670) expounds the views on life and the universe. Princess Clive (1678) by Madeleine de La Fayette (1634- 1693) is regarded as the first psychological novel with many achievements in Europe. The Theory of Personality (1688- 1694) by Jean de Labroue Yale (1645- 1696) describes the social customs in the second half of the17th century, especially the court nobles and fables. Fran? ois de Finren's Adventures of Telemarcos (1651-1715) is mainly based on the fourth chapter of Ode, from which the author's political views and ideas of governing the country are expressed.
English classical literature has also made some achievements. However, its imitation of French classicism is obvious and its originality is not enough. John Dryden (1631-1700) is an advocate and practitioner of classicism. On Drama Poetry (1668) and others expounded the classical principles. Absalom and Archetofel (1681) satirizes the Whigs' plot to let charles ii's illegitimate child inherit the throne, which is humorous and vivid. He has written many "heroic dramas", describing the love entanglements between ladies and knights, praising outdated ideals and beautifying court life. Whitehead (1642- 17 16) wrote some comedies with classical characteristics. Alexander pope (1688— 1744) reached the climax of English classicism. On Criticism (17 1 1) publicized boileau's theory and put forward the theory of "aesthetic taste". The Story of Hair Loss (17 12, 17 14) describes the quarrel between two Catholic families and satirizes the emptiness and boredom of the upper class. "Letter to Dr. Abbas Nott" (1735) lashed out at those people who are in high positions, do whatever they want, are morally corrupt, but get away with it. His works are rich in images and concise in language, and some famous sentences such as "everyone is wrong, and it is most precious to be tolerant of others" have become English proverbs.
In addition, Johann Christoph Gott-Schet (1700-1766) of Germany's On Critical Poetics advocated rationality and "three unifications", which played a role in standardizing the German national language and rectifying the drama world. His theory contributes to the development of the spirit of enlightenment. It was only in the18th century that Russia accepted the concept of classical literature, mainly serving the tragic reforms such as Peter I, petrovich, Su marov (171777) with the idea of "praising the wise monarch", and advocating the idea and form that feelings obey reason and rights obey obligations. Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (171-1765) has played an outstanding role in language construction, including Russian grammar (1755, 1757) and the benefits of Russian religious books (/kloc-0). Ode to Queen Elizabeth's Ascension (1748) is full of patriotic passion and praises heroic achievements, which provides an example for his poetic proposition.