History of English Literature Volume 3 (of 3)

"History of English Literature Volume 3 (of 3)" by Hippolyte Taine is a deep study of English writing from the late 1800s. It looks at the Classical Age and the start of Modern Life in books, checking out how poetry changed, the subjects authors wrote about, and important writers like Alexander Pope and Robert Burns. The book tries to show how historical and social events affected what people wrote, pointing out what makes each time period in literature special. The book starts by talking about how much the Classical style ruled English writing from when the Stuarts came back to power until the French Revolution. It says that while this style was important, it also stopped writers from showing real feelings and being themselves. Taine thinks that poetry became too predictable during this time, like in the writings of Pope, whose perfect style made his poems lack deep emotion. The book criticizes Pope's very polished poetry, saying that his skill often covers up the true feelings that poetry should have. This beginning part gets ready for a close look at different poets and ways of writing that come next.