The Victorian Age1832-1900

Victorian literature is just literature written during the reign of Queen Victoria in Great Britain.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) Reign: 1837-1901

· She had the longest reign in British history

· Became queen at the age of 18; she was graceful and self-assured. She also had a gift for drawing and painting

· Throughout her reign, she maintained a sense of dignity and decorum that restored the average person’s high opinion of the monarchy after a series of horrible, ineffective leaders

· 1840-Victoria married a German prince, Albert, who became not king, but Prince-consort

· After he died in 1861, she sank into a deep depression and wore black every day for the rest of her life

The Growth of the British Empire

• England grew to become the greatest nation on earth, the population of England more than doubled, from 14 million to 32 million.
• Empire included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya, and India
• England built a very large navy and merchant fleet (for trade and colonization)
• Imported raw materials such as cotton and silk and exported finished goods to countries around the world
• By the mid-1800s, England was the largest exporter and importer of goods in the world. It was the primary manufacturer of goods and the wealthiest country in the world
• Because of England’s success, they felt it was their duty to bring English values, laws, customs, and religion to the “savage” races around the world

The Industrial Revolution

· Factory systems emerged

· The shift in the English economy moved away from agriculture and toward the production of manufactured goods

· 1833-Britain abolished slavery/Factory Act-regulated child labor in factories

· 1834-Poor Law-Amendment applied a system of workhouses for poor people

· 1871-Trade Union Act-made it legal for laborers to organize to protect their rights

Religious Movement in Victorian England

· Evangelical Movement: emphasized a Protestant faith in personal salvation through Christ. This movement swept through England. Led to the creation of the Salvation Army and YMCA.

· Oxford Movement (Tractarians): sought to bring the official English Anglican Church closer in rituals and beliefs to Roman Catholicism

Literature

· Victorian writers dealt with the contrast between the prosperity of the middle and upper classes and the wretched condition of the poor.

· In the late 1800s, they also analyzed the loss of faith in traditional values.

· Late Romantic literature includes some of the greatest and most popular novels ever written.

Realism

· The attempt to produce in art and literature an accurate portrayal of reality

· Realistic, detailed descriptions of everyday life, and of its darker aspects, appealed to many readers disillusioned by the “progress” going on around them.

· Themes in Realist writing included families, religion, and social reform

Naturalism

· Based on the philosophical theory that actions and events are the results not of human intentions, but of largely uncontrollable external forces

· Authors chose subjects and themes common to the lower and middle classes

· Attentive to details, striving for accuracy and authenticity in their descriptions

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1143