preview

Analysis Of Gulliver 's Travels By Jonathan Swift

Satisfactory Essays

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism was a Western movement in almost every visual art form that draws inspiration from the classical art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome. Neoclassical means the revival of the ancients. The Neoclassical age coincided with the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century and lasted into the early nineteenth century, competing alongside Romanticism. Neoclassical architecture, however, lasted from the eighteenth century through the twenty-first century. Neoclassicism originated in Rome, but quickly spread throughout all of Europe when European art students returned home from the Grand Tour in Italy with newfound knowledge of rediscovered Greco-Roman ideals. Neoclassicism soon spread to the Americas from Britain. Neoclassicism has many characteristics, but the most important three are imitating the ancients, perfectibility of humanity, and anti-gothic and baroque styles. The Neoclassical age was very influential for art and literature.

One of the Neoclassical Age’s most important traits is the imitation of the ancients. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, is a story about the fictional character, Lemuel Gulliver, who embarks on multiple journeys. A series of mishaps leaves Gulliver stranded on various islands facing various challenges. Gulliver’s Travels is very similar to The Odyssey written by Homer in eighth century Greece. Both stories follow one character on his adventurous journeys. Odysseus is a Greek commander in the Trojan War.

Get Access