1700 to 1799: The Anarchiad to The Federalist

Chronology of World, British and American Literature.

Hartford Wits. American. 1786. Satiric Poetry. The Anarchiad. Attack on French philosophy, paper money, Shays’s Rebellion and the attitude of Europeans toward Americans.

Robert Burns. British/Scottish. 1786. Poetry. “The Cotter’s Saturday Night.” Famous for the description of Scottish peasant life and for the story of Jenny.

Robert Burns. British/Scottish. 1786. Poetry. “The Holy Fair.” Ridicules the Holy Fair at Mauchline. Three “sisters,” Fun, Superstition and Hypocrisy, view scenes of immorality.

Friedrich Schiller. German. 1787. Play. Don Carlos. Idealistic Don Carlos, implicated in a plot against the king, rejects freedom to accept death by the Inquisition.

Hamilton, Madison and Jay. American. 1787/88. Essays. The Federalist. These essays urge New York voters to approve the U.S. Constitution. Great studies in the practical application of theory.