Victorian literature Performer Heritage Marina Spiazzi Marina Tavella

Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry During Victoria’s reign, poetry became more concerned with

Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry The poet was seen as a ‘prophet’ and

Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry Outstanding poets • Alfred Tennyson: the most popular

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • There was a communion of interests and

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • The Victorian reading public established the novel

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novelists • described society as they saw it; •

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novelists • concentrated on the creation of characters and

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • The voice of the omniscient narrator provided

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel The most important themes developed were • differences

Victorian literature 3. Types of novels TYPES FEATURES MAIN EXPONENT The novel of manners

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Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry During Victoria’s reign, poetry became more concerned with social reality and was expected to express the intellectual and moral debate of the age. Two kinds of poetry developed: Majestic poetry A poetry of antimyth and disbelief Performer Heritage • Linked to the myth and belief of the greatness of England. • It had to solve the ethical problems raised by science and progress.

Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry The poet was seen as a ‘prophet’ and a ‘philosopher’. He was expected to reconcile faith and progress. A narrative poem. Different points of view. The most popular poetic form was the dramatic monologue. The tone is argumentative. There is a silent listener. Deep interest in human psychology. The character is caught in a moment of crisis. Performer Heritage The speaker is different from the poet himself.

Victorian literature 1. Early Victorian poetry Outstanding poets • Alfred Tennyson: the most popular Victorian poet. He wrote dramatic monologues. • Robert Browning: he raised the dramatic monologue to new heights making it a vehicle for deep psychological study. • Elizabeth Barrett Browning: she wrote love sonnets valued for their lyrical beauty. Alfred Lord Tennyson. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • There was a communion of interests and opinions between the writers and their readers. • The Victorians were avid consumers of literature. They borrowed books from circulating libraries and read various periodicals. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • The Victorian reading public established the novel as Ø the dominant literary form of the age; Ø the most distinctive and lasting literary achievement of Victorian literature. Publication of a novel in monthly instalments on the pages of periodicals even the poor could purchase them. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novelists • described society as they saw it; • expressed different kinds of emotion, love, humour, fear, except those sentiments which could offend current morals; • were aware of the evils of their society, such as the terrible conditions of manual workers and the exploitation of children. Their criticism, however, was much less radical than that of contemporary European writers; • didacticism was one of the main features of Victorian novels, because novelists also conceived of literature as a vehicle to correct the vices and weaknesses of the age. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novelists • concentrated on the creation of characters and achieved deeper analysis of the characters’ inner lives; • presented retribution and punishment in the final chapter, where the whole texture of events, adventures, incidents had to be explained and justified. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel • The voice of the omniscient narrator provided a comment on the plot and erected a rigid barrier between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, light and darkness. • The setting chosen by most Victorian novelists was the town, which was the main symbol of industrial civilisation as well as the expression of anonymous lives and lost identities. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 2. The Victorian novel The most important themes developed were • differences and the dramatic contrast between the lower and middle classes, between the rich and the poor Utilitarian philosophy and damage caused by the factory system; • children and their exploitation orphans working in a workhouse, cruelty in boarding schools; • education; • women and their exploitation; • middle-class family life. Performer Heritage

Victorian literature 3. Types of novels TYPES FEATURES MAIN EXPONENT The novel of manners Dealt with economic, social problems. W. M. Thackeray The humanitarian novel Combined humour with a sentimental request for reform for the poor. C. Dickens The novel of formation Dealt with one character’s C. Dickens development from early youth C. Brontë to maturity. Literary nonsense Presented a nonsensical universe where the social rules and conventions are disintegrated. L. Carroll Exotic novel R. Kipling Performer Heritage Dealt with adventures.