Lot of literature was pro­duced during the age of enlightenment which is reflective of the spirit of the age. In fact, towards the close of the seventeenth century certain things happened which encouraged the production of new forms of literature.

Firstly, there was rapid extension in the number of readers due to expan­sion of education and introduction of printing which made cheap books available for the reasons.

Secondly, the readers developed new attitudes towards life and world and they preferred to read books written from their view point. Thirdly, .there was greater urge among the people to acquire information about various things which encouraged the production of reference works like dictionaries, encyclopedias and compendiums of vari­ous types.