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The Victorian Age (1830-1901) - Coggle Diagram
The Victorian Age (1830-1901)
Introduction
age that embraced the social problems of society marked by divisions
reign of Victoria brought a model of morality and political cohesion
The Mechanical Age : population tripled, transformation into a modern society / expanding empire > fostered a feeling of moral superiority / scientific discoveries / The Great Exhibition (1851) : underlined the commercial success and industrial domination of Britain
Thomas Carlyle : philosopher that developed a theism about how the divine mind was everywhere > attacks against utilitarianism > wanted to instil a sense of social responsibility
Two Nations : the industrial revolution crowded living conditions, poverty > literature in 1830-40 called 'Condition of England literature' described this appalling reality > these degrading conditions of life were mainly the result of utilitarianism > so gradual improvement : Reform Acts, Factory Acts, debate about 'the Woman Question' / the Chartist Movement : contributed to the changing by proposing a charter in order to correct social and political injustice
Fervour and Doubt : religion too was instrumental in accelerating reforms > Methodist and Angelical Movements : campaigned for education, better conditions = Low Church > criticized by High Church with the Oxford movement, closer to Rome and its traditions > religious fervour began to be challenged in the second half of the century = debates between defenders of science and religion
Poetry
Victorian introspection and doubt : Alfred Tennyson = most popular poet > rarely committed to social cause, often in a medieval past, describing emotional states / introspective characters = reflect love, loss, faith / verse fluent and melodic > In Memoriam : elegy wrote after the death of a friend > iambic tetrameters, cyclical structure, each lyric present a meditation on sth / mov from dejection to acceptance of transcience
Robert Browning : known for his dramatic monologues with speakers addressing to a silent listener > often betray themselves and allow the reader to discover their secrets / attracted to Italy and Renaissance
Elisabeth Barrett Browning : his wife > Sonnets from the Portuguese : emotionally intensive love poems / Aurora Leigh : epic verse novel about the growth of a woman writers
Matthew Arnold : shed light on the threat of materialism, cultural insularity > Culture and Anarchy : for a more progressive education / Dover Beach : about disillusion, resignation
Sensual and religious ecstasy : Dante Gabriel Rossetti > poet inspired by early Italian painting and poetry > Poems : sanctify sexual love, medieval tradition of courtly love with erotic visions
William Morris : The Earthly paradise, epic poem about myths
Algernon Charles Swiburne : celebrated transgression, homosexuality and sensuality
Gerald Manley Hopkins : saw transcendence in natural world, led him to convey the essence of things / originality that lies on the rhythms of the speaking voice + use of sprung rhythm + coined words
Drama
Theatres Act (1843) allowed to create new theaters > W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic operas : fantasy combine to satire > lampooned Victorian institutions
Oscar Wilde : flamboyant and unconventional way of life, imprisoned for homosexuality (inspired him the Picture of Dorian Gray) > The Importance of Being Eranest : critique of fashionable Victorian society and institutions / wit, paradox, flippant remarks
George Bernard Shaw : one of the founding members of the Fabian Society that led to the Labour Party today> believed that theatre could shock people out of hypocrisy and propagate his social beliefs / uses wit, paradox, long argumentative speeches > his works addressed to social issues
Novel
Romantic novels : Charlotte Brontë > heroines that refuse the educational constraints imposed on women > Jane Eyre : partly autobiographical, progress of the heroine from childhood to employment as governess, falls in love with a man that she discovers already married > melodramatic and gothic episodes > in each state the heroine tries to define her identity
Emily Brontë : Wuthering Heights > relates the passionate love between Heathcliff and Catherine > but Catherine marries another man and Heathcliff spends his life wrecking vengeance > primitive love associated to the wild moorland > technical tour de force : interlocking narratives, complex time-scheme
Condition of England' novels : Benjamin Disraeli > leader of the 'Young England' group > aim is to bridge the gap between rich ans poor through respect of monarchy and order of things / Charles Kingsley : active in mov for social reform > Alton Locke / Elizabeth Gaskell : wrote compassionate and didactic novels
Utilitarianism : influential moral and political philosophy developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill > belief that the rightness of an action depends on how useful it is > provided a pragmatic way of assessing the value of policies + idea of individual responsibility