AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
Enlightenment texts (Voltaire, Rousseau): These writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism. They argued for the rule of reason over custom, attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, and eroded the legitimacy of the existing social order. Readers began to see the world through questioning, rational eyes.
Underground pamphlets: By the 1780s, this literature mocked royalty and criticised their morality through cartoons and caricatures, suggesting that the monarchy indulged in sensual pleasures while common people suffered. Circulating underground, these materials fuelled hostile public sentiment against the monarchy.
Thus, Enlightenment texts challenged the order intellectually, while underground pamphlets did so emotionally, through ridicule and satire.
Source: Print Culture and the French Revolution, Chapter 5
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The examiner expects you to contrast the two types of material clearly — don't just describe them separately. The key distinction is: Enlightenment texts worked through reason and philosophical argument; underground pamphlets worked through mockery and emotional appeal. Use terms like "eroding legitimacy," "rule of reason," and "hostile sentiments" from the chapter — these signal you have read the source carefully. At 3 marks, two distinct well-explained points + a brief comparison line is the ideal structure.