ABSTRACT
The height of the Enlightenment produced individuals in cultural life who adopted reason as a guide for all human undertakings. Extraordinary art and music joined with engaging dramatic performances to captivate audiences just as the vitality of the literature of fact and fiction did. Authors of poetry and prose wrote powerful, personal, and engaging works. The time also produced a range of candid records of life, study, and travel that revealed important elements of European civilization. Unfortunately, the cultural manifestations of the time contrasted with the political and religious order of the day which indulged in thoughtless repression. That contradiction encouraged many to advance ideas of personal freedom and human rights for women and men alike despite the environment of repression sponsored by the forces benefitting from archaic beliefs. The boldness of those writers attracted rebuke but they persisted.
