Periodisation of Neoclassicism (1660-1790) In England, Neoclassicism flourished roughly between 1660, when the Stuarts returned to the throne, and the 1798 publication of Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads, with its theoretical preface and collection of poems that came to be seen as heralding the beginning of the Romantic Age. NEOCLASSICISM Definition ● Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism; from Greek ‘nèos,’ "new" and Greek ‘klasikόs,’ "of the highest rank") was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. ● The writers of the age consciously adopted the genres and conventions of ancient literature and applied ideas and techniques derived from the classics to their own literary practice. ● Neoclassical writers modeled their works on classical texts and followed various aesthetic values first established in Ancient Greece a...