The Enlightenment elevated reason, satire, and political philosophy. Writers challenged tradition, exposed social hypocrisy, and laid the intellectual groundwork for modern democracy.
British · 1660–1731 · Fiction
Robinson Crusoe is considered the first English novel. His journalistic fiction defined realism.…
Irish · 1667–1745 · Satire
The greatest satirist in English. Gulliver's Travels works simultaneously as children's adventure and savage political c…
British · 1688–1744 · Poetry
The most quoted English poet after Shakespeare. His heroic couplets defined Augustan verse.…
French · 1694–1778 · Fiction/Philosophy
Champion of reason and religious tolerance. Candide remains the definitive satirical novella.…
British · 1707–1754 · Fiction
His comic novels established the template for the English novel's humor and social observation.…
British · 1709–1784 · Essays/Criticism
Compiler of the first major English dictionary. His criticism shaped literary taste for a generation.…
French · 1712–1778 · Philosophy
His social contract theory directly influenced the French and American revolutions.…