Download Enlightenment Ideas Spread: Chapter 17, Section 2

Enlightenment Ideas Spread: Chapter 17, Section 2 • Paris, France = Heart of the Enlightenment • Not everyone agreed with new ideas replacing traditional values • Church & Government attacked writers – • Censorship = restricting access to ideas and information • Books were banned & burned • Writers were imprisoned • Many writers disguised their work as fiction to avoid censorship • The tales exposed corruption & hypocrisy in society An illustration from the book that shows the bound Gulliver and the Lilliputions – six-­‐inch tall bloodthirsty characters Jonathan Swift published the satirical Gulliver’s Travels in 1726 • It satirizes political life in eighteenth-­‐century England • It is still a classic today Ideas Spread in Salons • Salons = informal social gatherings • Literature, arts, science & philosophy discussed • Philosophes exchanged ideas • 1600s – noble women, & then middle class women started groups in homes for poetry readings & then deeper discussions • Nobility & Middle class would discuss topics together A salon in the home of Madame Geoffrin. She brought together the brightest & most talented people of her day. Mozart played for her guests. Arts & Literature Reflect New Ideas Baroque = grand ,ornate style of art & architecture / in Greek & Roman tradition • Baroque paintings – huge, colorful, exciting • Glorified battles, saints, etc. Rococo Style – lighter, elegant and charming • Believed to encourage imagination in salons • Paintings – charming rural settings, happy children, pets, etc The Enlightenment Inspires Composers • Classical ballets & operas (plays set to music) were performed at royal court and opera houses • Popular w/middle class also • Composers developed an elegant style of music – “CLASSICAL” Johann Sebastian Bach – • German composer • Wrote beautiful religious works for organ & choirs • Sonatas for Violin & Harpsicord • Most famous: Brandenburg Sonatas & Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring George Friedrich Handel – • German composer / spent most of life in England • Wrote for King George • Composed over 30 operas • Most famous: The Messiah (w/Hallelujah Chorus) – performed at Christmas & Easter Franz Joseph Haydn – • Important composer • Close friends with Mozart – Haydn said Mozart was the most important composer he had ever known or heard of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – • Child prodigy – instant celebrity • Composed & performed his music • Brilliant operas, symphonies & religious music • Produced enormous amount of music – 626 works! • Died at age 35 of rheumatic fever (severe form of strep) The Novel Takes Shape Daniel Defoe – • Wrote Robinson Crusoe • Exciting story about a sailor shipwrecked on an island • Middle class readers wanted stories about their times, everyday people, written so they could understand Enlightened Despot – Absolute ruler who used their power to bring about political and social change The European rulers who accepted Enlightenment ideas were Enlightened Despots • Frederick II (Frederick the Great), Prussia, “first servant of the state,” worked for the “common good” -­‐ religious tolerance • Catherine II (Catherine the Great), Russia – “fought the united enemies of humankind: superstition, fanaticism, ignorance, & trickery.” • Abolished torture, established religious tolerance, criticized serfdom • Joseph II, Austria – supported religious equality, allowed free press, abolished serfdom Most Europeans were peasants in villages – the Enlightenment did not affect them at first By the late 1700s the ideas of justice and social equality were getting into the villages. Some wanted the change, others were afraid & resisted. By the 1800s war, political upheaval & changing economics would change peasant life forever