|
4th Hour Bibliographic Research Assignment #1 Cynthia Wall’s Recent Studies in the Restoration of the 18th Century Volume 46 Issue 3 (2006) In general, Cynthia Wall’s Recent Studies in the Restoration of the Eighteenth Century asks how the concept of “agency” emerged in the Restoration of the 18th century. As support for this exploration, Wall’s work asks a few thematic questions, such as: How did the roles of women change during the Restoration period? Where did one see art in everyday life? And what influence did social canonicity have on culture and politics? Wall refers to various scholars in her discussion of ‘agency’ in 18th century British culture. For instance, David Marshall’s The Frame of Art: Fictions of Aesthetic Experience uses fiction of the 18th century to talk about aesthetics…Shakespeare and Homer just to name a few. Because these authors were prominent during their time, references to art in their literature were influential in shaping the thoughts of readers about the subject matter. In Wall’s explication of Marshall, she states: “Neither "objectivity" nor elitism can explain the often intense intersections of art and everyday life, either when the lines between the two become blurred…or when an aesthetic frame of reference is deliberately inserted into the ordinary world (as in the picturesque practice of looking at a natural scene as if it were a work of art)” (Wall 660). Wall continues on to explore the opinion of David Brewer in his book The After Life of Character, a work containing an ideology that I think is extremely compelling. The major question that Wall’s examination of Brewer includes: In what ways did agency take form in 18th century British culture? Thus, I find this issue of identifying alternative avenues of ‘agency’ compelling because it takes the emphasis away from the upper class culture, placing it on the masses and their special contribution to Restoration. To expand the discourse on art and agency Wall examines David Brewer’s purpose to expose “the impact that the tastes and desires of reading audiences had on the literary market because of their insistent appropriation of authors' characters into their own lives and narratives” (Wall 662). With regards to Brewer, Wall studies the source of agency as a force the rises from beneath, as opposed to being used by royalties and their use of political propaganda. Instead, it is the audience that determined the shape of the aesthetic influences in society. This work is relevant to educational studies of 18th Century Restoration because it expands the sphere of examination from solely that of royalty to include that of the masses. This exploration is essential to the study of the time period, allowing students to obtain a well-rounded and diverse perspective on British Literature and life. Works Cited Wall, Cynthia. “Recent Studies in the Restoration of Eighteenth Century.” Studies in English Literature. 46.3 (2006): 657-724. Marshall, David. “The Frame of Art: Fictions of Aesthetic Experience, 1750-1815.” John Hopkins University. Washington, DC. 2005. Brewer, Davis. “The After Life of Character.” University of Pennsylvania Press. Pennsylvania. 2005.
|