Western Humanities

Discuss the culture of “ the Age of Absolutism:”classism, the Baroque, literature and music. What impact did “the age of reason” have upon western culture? What impact did “ the Scientific Revolution” have? Name specific individuals and their works or themes.

“The age of Absolutism” marked some of the best works of the time in classic arts. The culture was exemplified with Drama and Grandeur and art was used to communicate religious and emotional themes, sometimes to the extent that the king ruled as the will of GOD, as in the case of King Louis XIV, he portrayed himself as the Sun King. This period also saw some of the greatest creations know until date in Literature and Music. Both Literature and Music influenced the culture greatly during “the Age of Absolutism:’ classism, the baroque.

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe saw the development of absolute monarchies and more tightly centralized national governments; many historians regard the growth of the absolute monarchy as the origin of the modern state. Europe consequently saw the gradual erosion of local power and autonomy and the rise of national legislation and civil bureaucracies. Because of this growth in absolute and centralized power of the national government and the monarchy, this age in European history is generally called the Age of Absolutism. The Age of Absolutism was this period of time when a form of monarchical power / ruler had complete authority over the government and lives of the people. At the end of the Middle Age, feudalism declined. King's Power rose in parts of Europe. These kings became absolute monarchs with great power over the nobles and people.

Culture during “ the Age of Absolutism:”classism, the Baroque, literature and music;

Literary work on Tragedies and Comedy were the Hall Mark of this era and some of the well known literary work of this era are вЂ" Le Cid, Phedre, The would be gentleman, the pretentiously cultured lady, Paradise Lost, Oroonoko, Palamedas, Lucifer and Adamus Exul.

In regards to Music it was the coming together and mixing different forms of art to make grandeous presentations. Some great musical works are вЂ" Orfeo, the six Brandenburg Concertos, the Well Tempered Clavier, The Four season and others. During the period composers and performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation; made changes in musical notation, and developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music expanded the size, range and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. Many musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use today.

(*source wikipedia) In the arts, the Baroque (pronounced /bЙ™'rЙ'k/) was a Western cultural epoch, commencing roughly at the turn of the 17th century in Rome, Italy. It was exemplified by drama and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music.The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement. The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumphant power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. In similar profusions of detail, art, music, architecture, and literature inspired each other in the Baroque cultural movement as artists explored what they could create from repeated and varied patterns. Some traits and aspects of Baroque paintings that differentiate this style from others are the abundant amount of details, often bright polychromy, less realistic faces of subjects, and an overall sense of awe, which was one of the goals in Baroque art.

Baroque Literature: During the 17th century , a style of literary expression arose called as Baroque and that became international in scope. Literary legacy of this period is drama. Baroque audiences enjoyed and encouraged a mix of work that blended different forms вЂ" drama mixed literature, costume design, set painting and theatrical spectacle. Some of the noted literay work are as follows;

1) The Indian Emperor [1665] by John Dryden (1631- 1700)

2) A new voyage round the world [1697] by William Dampier (1652 вЂ" 1715)

3) Travels in Persia [1686] by Jean Cardin (1643 вЂ" 1713)

Baroque writers dealt wth emotional extremes, such as gross sensuality versus pangs of concience. By utilizing such themes these writers could empoy dramatic rhetoric.

a) Baroque literature in France: Drama was France’s greatest contributiuon. It did the best during the rules of Louis XIII and peaked during the reign of Louis XIV. Kings such as Louis XIV embodied himself as the SUN King, where in he said," I am the state." Neoplatonic philosophers of the Renaissance and seventeenth century argued that the sun, as the source of light, was the proper symbol for god and wisdom. Louis adopted the Neoplatonic symbol for God to symbolize his own role as God's monarchical representative. To this end, he moved the monarchical residence out of the center of Paris to a suburb in Versailles. There he built the single most opulent palace ever built for a king of Europe: the palace of Versailles. There he would stage elaborate performances and rituals designed to show the nobility both his power and his benevolence. Strict control was exercised over the plays staged at the royal court, further more they were supposed to use formal language and to focus on universal problems as reflected in dilemmas experienced by high born men and women. The two great tragedians of the Baroque period were;

i. Pierre Corneille (1606 вЂ"n 1684) who wrote tragedies based on Spanish Legends and Roman themes. His dramas stressed the importance of duty, patriotism, and loyalty. His finest work is Le Cid, based on a legendary figure of Spanish history and concerned with Hero’s choice between personal feelings and honor.

ii. Jean Racine (1639 вЂ" 1699) who created intensely human characters in classically constructed plays. Subject that intrigued Racine was that of the doomed women who was swept to her destruction by obsessive sexual passion. His master piece was Phedre (Heard)

Others such as Richelieu’s wrote