The Best Examples of Key Themes in 18th Century Literature for the Classroom

Before you unpack definitions, start with stories your students can latch onto. Here are some classroom-friendly examples of key themes in 18th century literature you can build a lesson around:

• A shipwreck survivor tries to build a perfect little society from scratch (Daniel Defoe’s _Robinson Crusoe_, 1719).
• A woman is treated like property in marriage negotiations (Samuel Richardson’s _Pamela_, 1740, or Jane Austen’s _Sense and Sensibility_, 1811, often taught at the tail end of 18th-century units).
• A formerly enslaved man fights to prove his humanity in print (Olaudah Equiano’s _Interesting Narrative_, 1789).
• A poet uses humor and exaggeration to mock shallow social values (Alexander Pope’s _The Rape of the Lock_, 1712/1714).
• A traveler meets bizarre societies that look suspiciously like his own (Jonathan Swift’s _Gulliver’s Travels_, 1726).
• A young woman navigates love, money, and reputation in a world stacked against her (Fanny Burney’s _Evelina_, 1778).

Each of these is an example of a key theme in 18th century literature: reason vs. emotion, social class, gender expectations, empire and slavery, satire and social criticism. Start with the story, then name the theme.

Reason, progress, and their limits: Enlightenment thinking in action

One of the best examples of key themes in 18th century literature is the obsession with reason and progress—and the growing suspicion that reason alone might not save us.

In _Robinson Crusoe_, students can track how Crusoe uses rational planning to survive: he inventories supplies, builds shelter, and organizes his time. This offers a clean example of Enlightenment faith in human reason. You can have students make a T-chart: on one side, Crusoe’s rational decisions; on the other, what those decisions cost (like his unquestioned sense of superiority over Friday).

Then contrast that with _Gulliver’s Travels_. On the surface, it looks like an adventure story, but Swift undercuts Enlightenment optimism at every turn. The rational horses, the Houyhnhnms, appear logical and orderly, yet their cold “reason” justifies cruelty and exclusion. This gives you a powerful example of how 18th century writers questioned whether reason without empathy is dangerous.

For a quick activity, ask students: “Is reason enough to create a just society?” Have them pull real examples of key themes in 18th century literature from Swift and Defoe to argue both sides.

If you want background on Enlightenment thought to share or summarize for students, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy offers a clear overview of the period’s ideas and debates: https://plato.stanford.edu.

Class, money, and marriage: social status as a recurring theme

Another cluster of examples of key themes in 18th century literature centers on social class, money, and marriage. This is where your students suddenly realize they are basically reading early versions of social media status drama.

In _Pamela_ by Samuel Richardson, the title character is a servant whose virtue is tested by her wealthy employer, Mr. B. The power imbalance is obvious: he has money, status, and legal control; she has reputation and moral standing. When you frame this as a negotiation over class and power, students can see how gender and class intersect. This text is a strong example of how 18th century literature explores the risks of depending on marriage for survival.

Move forward to Fanny Burney’s _Evelina_ and, if your syllabus allows, to Jane Austen’s early work (often taught as a bridge from the late 18th to early 19th century). In these novels, a woman’s marriage prospects are directly tied to property and class. Ask students to track:

• Who can marry for love.
• Who must marry for money.
• Who gets punished socially for breaking the rules.

These novels are some of the best examples of key themes in 18th century literature around social mobility, reputation, and the economics of romance.

To connect with current research on class and inequality, you might draw on data or resources from the U.S. Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov) to show how wealth still shapes opportunity today.

Empire, race, and slavery: hard but necessary classroom conversations

Modern teaching trends increasingly highlight empire, race, and slavery as non-negotiable parts of any unit on the 18th century. Students need to see that the era’s polished manners and witty essays were built alongside colonization and the transatlantic slave trade.

Olaudah Equiano’s _The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano_ is one of the clearest examples of key themes in 18th century literature dealing with race, freedom, and human rights. Equiano describes the Middle Passage, enslavement, and eventual freedom in vivid, first-person detail. This narrative lets students see how literacy and storytelling themselves become tools of resistance.

Another powerful example is Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved African woman writing poetry in colonial America. Her collection, often published as _Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral_ (1773), explores faith, freedom, and racial identity. A poem like “On Being Brought from Africa to America” opens the door to discussions about how she navigates Christian language and racial prejudice at the same time.

You can:

• Ask students to compare Equiano’s narrative with Wheatley’s poetry as examples of how Black writers used 18th century literary forms to challenge enslavement.
• Connect these texts to modern discussions of systemic racism, using resources from the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov) or the National Archives (https://www.archives.gov) for historical documents.

These works provide some of the best examples of key themes in 18th century literature around freedom, personhood, and empire—and they align strongly with 2024–2025 curriculum priorities on diversity and inclusive teaching.

Satire and social criticism: laughing at power

If your students love sarcasm, satire is your way in. Some of the sharpest examples of key themes in 18th century literature use humor to expose hypocrisy, greed, and vanity.

Jonathan Swift is the obvious starting point. In “A Modest Proposal” (1729), he pretends to seriously suggest that impoverished Irish families should sell their children as food. Once the shock wears off, students quickly see that the real target is British policy and elite indifference to suffering. This text is an example of how satire can use exaggerated logic to make moral truths unavoidable.

In _Gulliver’s Travels_, Swift skewers politics, science, and even human pride itself. The tiny Lilliputians and the giant Brobdingnagians become mirrors for European pettiness and cruelty. Have students find passages where the “fantasy” clearly echoes real political or social issues of the time.

Alexander Pope offers a different flavor of satire in _The Rape of the Lock_, where a trivial incident—a man cutting a lock of a woman’s hair—gets treated like an epic war. This is a playful example of a key theme in 18th century literature: the gap between how seriously society takes its rituals and how shallow those rituals can be.

For a 2024 twist, ask students to compare Swift’s or Pope’s satire to modern political cartoons or satirical news shows. How do these real examples of satire across centuries use exaggeration, irony, or absurdity to criticize power?

Gender, identity, and the “proper” woman or man

Gender expectations run through many of the best examples of key themes in 18th century literature. The period is obsessed with defining what a “proper” woman or man should be—and what happens when someone refuses to play along.

In _Pamela_, virtue is constantly tested and watched. Pamela’s letters home turn into a kind of performance of female goodness, shaped by what her parents and society expect. This gives you a way to talk about surveillance, reputation, and self-presentation that students can easily connect to social media culture.

In Fanny Burney’s _Evelina_, the main character is judged by how she behaves at balls, in theaters, and in public spaces. A single misstep can damage her reputation. That pressure offers real examples of how 18th century literature uses social scenes to explore gendered double standards.

Even in satire, gender shows up as a key theme. In _The Rape of the Lock_, Belinda’s beauty is a kind of currency, and the theft of her hair symbolizes how women’s bodies are treated as public property. You can lead a discussion on how this connects to modern debates about appearance, consent, and media.

These texts are strong examples of key themes in 18th century literature around gender roles, performance, and power—perfect for linking historical texts to contemporary feminism and masculinity studies.

Sentiment, sympathy, and the rise of feeling

The 18th century is not just about reason; it is also about feeling. Many writers argue that a good society depends on empathy and shared emotion.

Novels like Laurence Sterne’s _A Sentimental Journey_ (1768) and parts of Henry Fielding’s _Tom Jones_ (1749) invite readers to weep, laugh, and identify with characters’ inner lives. This shift toward interiority is an important example of a key theme in 18th century literature: the moral value of sympathy.

You can:

• Ask students to mark moments where a narrator directly appeals to the reader’s feelings.
• Compare those appeals to how modern social movements use personal stories online to build empathy.

This is also a good place to connect literature to current research on empathy and reading. For a teacher background source, you might look at work from university psychology or education departments, such as articles accessible via Harvard’s education resources (https://www.gse.harvard.edu).

Teaching strategies: turning themes into active learning

Once you’ve gathered strong examples of key themes in 18th century literature, the next step is making them teachable in a lively way. Here are some approaches that work well in 2024–2025 classrooms:

Theme stations
Set up different corners of the room for different themes: Reason vs. emotion, class and marriage, empire and slavery, satire and social criticism, gender and identity. At each station, place a short passage from a text (for example, _Gulliver’s Travels_ for reason, _Pamela_ for gender, Equiano for slavery). Students rotate, annotate, and write a one-sentence theme statement.

Modern parallels
Ask students to bring in a news article, song lyric, or short social media post that connects to a chosen theme. For example, they might pair a story on economic inequality with a passage from _Evelina_, or a piece on racial justice with Equiano or Wheatley. This reinforces that these are not just old books; they are early, real examples of the same debates we are still having.

Theme-based assessments
Instead of broad prompts, give students focused choices like:

• “Using at least two texts, show how 18th century literature questions the idea that reason alone leads to progress.”
• “Compare one satirical text and one sentimental text as different examples of key themes in 18th century literature about how we should respond to suffering.”

This kind of framing helps students organize their thinking around themes rather than plot summary.

FAQ: examples of key themes in 18th century literature

Q1: What are some clear examples of key themes in 18th century literature I can use on day one of a unit?
Start with short, high-impact pieces. Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a quick, shocking example of satire and social criticism. A short excerpt from Equiano’s narrative offers a powerful example of themes of slavery and freedom. A selected canto from Pope’s _The Rape of the Lock_ gives you gender, class, and satire all at once. These are easy to excerpt and discuss in a single class period.

Q2: What is a good example of how 18th century writers questioned social class?
Burney’s _Evelina_ and Richardson’s _Pamela_ are both strong examples. In each, a young woman’s future depends on navigating class boundaries and marriage markets. Students can trace how characters are judged by birth, manners, and money, and how the novels reward or punish attempts to cross those lines.

Q3: Which texts are the best examples of Enlightenment themes like reason and progress?
_Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe_ showcases belief in rational planning and self-improvement, while _Gulliver’s Travels_ by Swift questions whether reason without morality is actually progress. Pairing these two gives students contrasting examples of key themes in 18th century literature around Enlightenment optimism and its critics.

Q4: How can I connect 18th century themes to current student interests and 2024–2025 issues?
Lean into parallels: use Equiano and Wheatley to discuss race and systemic injustice; use _Pamela_ and _Evelina_ to talk about consent, reputation, and gender expectations; use Swift’s satire to analyze modern media and political commentary. Current data on inequality, migration, or civil rights from sites like the U.S. Census Bureau or the Library of Congress can help students see these themes as ongoing, not outdated.

Q5: Are there examples of 18th century themes that work well in cross-curricular projects?
Yes. Themes of empire and slavery connect naturally to history units on the Atlantic world. Themes of reason and progress can be linked to science or philosophy discussions about the Enlightenment. Satire and media literacy pair well with social studies or civics. Using shared examples of key themes in 18th century literature across subjects helps students build a bigger picture of the period.

When you anchor your lessons in strong, concrete examples of key themes in 18th century literature, the 1700s stop feeling like a museum and start feeling like a conversation your students are already part of. The texts become less about memorizing names and dates, and more about asking: How far have we really come on these same questions of power, identity, and justice?