18th-Century British Literature What follows is a list of the primary texts upon which you will be tested. The purpose of the list is to reduce the amount of material on which you will be asked direct questions to a representative and practical size. It is not to limit the depth and breadth of your reading. Obviously, reading other primary texts, historical studies, and secondary criticism is one of the best ways of preparing to deal effectively with the texts listed here. You are, of course, responsible for a general understanding and appreciation of the genres, themes, and techniques characteristic of the period. Be familiar with the following themes: sublime, sentimentalism, wit, nature, neoclassicism, Augustanism. • Johnson, “Life of Milton” “Preface to Shakespeare” Rasselas The Vanity of Human Wishes • Swift, Gulliver's Travels Battle of the Books Selected poems • Addison, The Pleasures of the Imagination (also known as Spectators 411-21) • Defoe, Any one of the three major novels • Dryden, MacFlecknoe Religio Laici All for Love An Essay on Dramatic Poesy • Pope, Rape of the Lock Essay on Criticism Essay on Man, Book 1 The Dunciad, Book 4 An Epistle to Arbuthnot An Epistle to Burlington • Thomson, “Winter” from The Seasons • Congreve, The Way of the World • Wycherly, The Country Wife • Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield The Deserted Village • Behn, Oroonoko The Rover • Sterne, Sentimental Journey • Burney, Evelina • Richardson, Pamela • Fielding, Jonathan Wild • Smollett, Humphrey Clinker Roderick Random