Why does Arnold call the 18th century an age of prose and reason

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Why does Arnold call the th century an age of prose and reason In his essay The Study of Poetry Matthew Arnold describes the th century as an age of prose and reason This period is popularly known as The Neo-classical Age - During this time people cared more about clear thinking order and reason in poetry than about deep feelings and imagination Focus on Logic and Order In the th century writers focused a lot on logic clear thinking and balance They liked everything to be neat and organized Arnold says writers like Pope and Dryden wanted regularity uniformity precision balance While this made the writing clear it made poetry less imaginative and less emotional Prose Over Poetry People started to prefer prose writing during this time Arnold says that even the poetry of this age was more like prose with rhymes He explains Dryden and Pope are not

classics of our poetry they are classics of our prose This means their writing was more about clear and careful expression than the beauty of poetry Shift from Imagination to Reason The th century shifted from the imaginative poetry of earlier times to rational thought Arnold states We are to regard Dryden as the puissant and glorious founder Pope as the splendid high priest of our age of prose and reason This shows that even though they wrote in verse their work was more focused on logical argument than poetic inspiration In conclusion Arnold calls the th century an age of prose and reason Literature then focused on logic and clear thinking Imagination and emotion were secondary Structured thought was valued more than the beauty of true poetry

The Study of Poetry

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Why does Arnold call the 18th century an age of prose and reason

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