Late englightenment

During the period of Late Enlightenment the writers of the period also expressed the democratic bourgeois tendencies of their time. But unlike their predessessors from previous two periods, they did not value reason so much. And they regarded feelings (or sentiments. Hence the name of the period – Sentimentalism) more important than the force of intellect. The main representatives of the period are Laurence Sterne and Oliver Goldsmith (“The Vicar of Wakefield”) in the gentre of the novel, Richard Sheridan (“School for Scandal”) in drama.

Laurence Sterne is considered to be the father of the European sentimentalism. Besides sometimes Sterne was a parodist on the novels of other enlightenmenters.

- “The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” (1760-1767) – this a very eccentric novel with long or short chapters, chapters written in English, French and Latin, with dots instead of words in the chapters, and with the main character only 5 years old at the end of the novel. The book contains many funny personages. The plot of the novel is inconsistent.

- “A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, by Mr. Yorick” (1768) – this was a novel that introduced some novelty into literature: here Mr. Yorick’s feelings and thoughts are dealt with. It was a step towards psychology. And in a way Sterne anticipated the literature of the beginning of the 20^th century with its modernism and their stream of conscience technique.