A term for music written during the 17th and 18th centuries; more generally, referring to serious music as opposed to popular music.
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Enlightenment
Definition
A philosophical movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries that challenged tradition, stressed reason over blind faith or obedience, and encouraged scientific thought.
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Laissez-Faire
Definition
French for "let it be"; in economics, permitting the market to determine prices.
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Neo-Classicism
Definition
An 18th century revival of Classical Greek and Roman art and architectural styles, generally characterized by simplicity and straight lines.
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Rococo
Definition
An 18th century style of painting and of interior design that featured lavish ornamentation. Rococo painting was characterized by light colors, wit, and playfulness. Rococo interiors had ornamental mirrors, small sculptures and reliefs, wall paintings, and elegant furnishings.
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Sonata form
Definition
A musical form having three sections: exposition (in which the main theme or themes is stated), development, and recapitulation (repetition) of the theme or themes.
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Gulliver's Travels
Definition
A mock travel journal written by Jonathan Swift. The main character is Gulliver (play on gullible, which resembles his personality). Gulliver finds himself in strange lands with strange people and even a civilization of horses. With each civilization, he observes issues that resemble the current human flaws found in real society.
Here is a scene from the movie version starring Jack Black:
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American Revolution
Definition
The Revolutionary War was an insurrection by American Patriots in the 13 colonies to British rule, resulting in American independence.
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French Revolution
Definition
The French Revolution was a watershed event in modern European history that began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. The upheaval was caused by widespread discontent with the French monarchy and the poor economic policies of King Louis XVI, who met his death by guillotine, as did his wife Marie Antoinette. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the French Revolution played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people.
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Alexander Pope
Definition
A British Neo-Classical author who wrote poetry, satire, and essays concerning how writing and criticism should be performed. He was the master of the heroic couplet (two rhyming lines if iambic pentameter). After Shakespeare, he is the second most quoted author in the English language.
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Robert Burns
Definition
Scottish poet who insisted on composing his poetry in the thick Scottish dialect of the time. A Pioneer of the beginning Romantic movement in poetry. His poem Auld Lang Syne is still sung every New Years Eve at the stroke of midnight.
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Mary Wollstonecraft
Definition
English writer, philosopher, and advocate for women's rights. She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792 in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.
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Denis Diderot
Definition
Pioneer of standardized knowledge. Began the arduous task of developing the first universal Encyclopedias.
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Charles-Louis Montesquieu
Definition
Political philosopher who builds on the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke from the previous era. Governments should be present to assist human beings, but the government power should be separated between at least three spheres so as to keep each sphere in check. Through this process, power is balanced and less likely to become corrupt.
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Definition
Political philosopher who builds upon Thomas Hobbes and John Locke from the previous era, specifically the social contract theory. He believed humans to be inherently good, but the social contract corrupts and restrains good tendencies and all people inadvertently are forced to accept a social contract upon entrance into society. The problems of humanity were the product of political choice and inequality and as such can be improved.
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Voltaire
Definition
French Enlightenment author, historian, and philosopher with strong criticisms of Catholicism. He used his clever wit to entertain and educate on the hypocrisies of government and religion. A strong believer in the freedom of speech regardless of whether he agreed with that speech. His most famous work that reflects these ideas is Candide.
It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenicparadise and being indoctrinated with optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the optimistic mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".
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Louis XIV
Definition
The quintessential Absolutist monarch, Louis XIV was the King of France from 1643-1715. He believed he was ordained by god to rule and as such was completely infallible, his grace being similar to the grace given by god. Every resource that France consumed was politically suggested to originate from him. He is referred to as "The Sun King." Just as all light comes from the sun, so too does all the goodness come from Louis. He is quoted as saying, L'etat c'est moi (which means, "the state is me").
He commissioned an old hunting lodge an hour from Paris to be turned into an opulent palace called Versailles. Once finished and nearly bankrupting the treasury on multiple occasions, Louis moved the entire French court into Versailles to galivant around without having to deal with poorer classes. This disconnection with the French lower classes begins a slow deterioration of the reputation of the French monarchy that will fuel the French Revolution in a few generations (not yet, though).
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Versailles
Definition
An extravagant palace constructed in the Rococo style of architecture by King Louis XIV in France. It is located about an hour's drive from Paris with outdoor parks, mazes, water works, hunting forests, royal and aristocratic apartments, chapels, a church and an entire community of servants to be on call for the entire French court. This was a playground of the aristocracy to feed their lust and debaucheries. King Louis XIV is said to have engaged in sexual conquest with nearly every nobleman's wife and the aristocrats followed suit with their own liaisons. The sheer scale of this project led to nearly bankrupting the French treasury multiple times and caused resentment in the lower classes at having to be taxed for this pleasure palace.
