The original Augustan Age was the brilliant literary period of Virgil, Horace and Ovidunder the Roman emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14. In the eigtheenth century and later, however, the term was frequently applied also to the literary period in England from approximately 1700 to 1745.

Augustan writers themselves drew the parallel to the Roman Augustans, and deliberately imitated their literary forms and subjects, their emphasis on social concerns and their ideals of moderation, decorum, and urbanity.

The leading writers of the time were Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison.