The Victorian Period
1837 - 1901
Victorian Britain
• The Victorian period saw the consolidation of Britain as the largest and
most powerful empire in the World.
• The period was characterized by an optimistic and almost self
congratulatory attitude.
• The process of industrialization had caused a revolution in production and
greatly affected rural life.
• The city became the most important agent in the development of the
society.
• Education became widespread as policies made it easier for all classes to
have access to at least, primary schooling.
• Technology and science began to develop at a pace never before
accomplished. As a consequence, the quality of life improved enormously.
• Following the example of The Royal Family, Victorian society was hardworking, stern, conservative and proud.
Victorian Literature
• By the middle of the 19th century it is possible to identify a Victorian
literature.
• Victorian Literature reflected in many ways, the complex changes of the
period.
• In poetry, the romantic ideals and forms were slowly forgotten and a
different style was developed.
• In narrative, the novel and the short story are used to show the reality of
the period, especially showing the terrible conditions of the working
classes, the snobbery of the rich and the abuse of children.
• At the same time, in many literary works, the authors took pride in the
greatness of the empire.
• There was also a rising scepticism, especially directed toward questioning
the position of the human being in the order of the world.
• Religion loses great part of its influence.
Alfred Tennyson (1809-92)
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English poet. The most famous poet of the Victorian age.
In his three years at Cambridge, Tennyson wrote a
prizewinning poem, Timbuctoo (1829), and Poems, Chiefly
Lyrical (1830)
His volume Poems (1832) included some of his most
famous pieces, such as “The Lotus-Eaters,” “A Dream of
Fair Women,” and “The Lady of Shalott.”
In 1842 he published Poems a book that included
“Locksley Hall,” “Ulysses,” “Morte d'Arthur,” and
“Break, Break, Break.” With this book he was acclaimed a
great poet.
The first group of Idylls of the King appeared in 1859; it
was expanded in 1869 and 1872, and in 1885 Tennyson
added the final poem.
He also wrote several poetic dramas, most notably Becket
(1879; produced 1893); Ballads and Other Poems (1880);
and Demeter and Other Poems (1889), which contained
“Crossing the Bar.”
Robert Browning (1812 – 89)
• English poet. Second only toTennyson in his time.
• Pauline, his first poem, was published anonymously
in 1833.
• He won some recognition with Paracelsus (1835) and
Sordello (1840).
• In 1846,Browning secretly married the poet Elizabeth
Barrett.
• In 1861, after the death of his wife, he returned to
England, where he wrote Dramatis Personae (1864).
• This was followed by what is considered his
masterpiece, the murder story The Ring and the Book
(4 vol., 1868-69). After the publication of this work he
was acclaimed a great poet.
• Browning's psychological portraits in verse, ironic and
indirect in presentation, and his experiments in diction
and rhythm have made him an important influence on
20th-century poetry.
Charlotte Brontë (1816-1854)
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The third daughter of the Rev. Patrick Brontë and his wife
Maria. Her brother Patrick Branwell was born in 1817,
and her sisters Emily and Anne in 1818 and 1820.
In 1845 Charlotte discovered Emily's poems, and decided
to publish a selection of the poems of all three sisters:
1846 brought the publication of their Poems, written
under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.
The following year, however, Charlotte's Jane Eyre,
Emily's Wuthering Heights, and Ann's Agnes Grey were
all published.
In 1843, Charlotte's Villette was published.
In 1854, Charlotte married The Rev. A. B. Nicholls.
In 1854 Charlotte, expecting a child, caught pneumonia,
and after a lengthy and painful illness, she died.
1857 saw the publication of Mrs. Gaskell's Life of
Charlotte Brontë.
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870)
• This greatest of Victorian writers was born in
Landport, Portsmouth.
• John Dickens, his father, was constantly in debt,
and in 1824 he was imprisoned in Marshalsea
debtor's prison. Charles was forced to leave school
at the age of 12 and go to work in a bootblack
factory.
• Dickens worked as a Parliamentary reporter before
finally moving on to The Morning Chronicle in
1834. His first published work appeared in Monthly
Magazine in December 1833.
• Dickens’s first commercial success was, "Pickwick
Papers" A collection of 20 short stories that
appeared in monthly installments and it became a
publishing phenomenon. Although the series was
largely humorous, it also dealt with the grim social
iniquities of the time.
Charles Dickens
• From 1837-38 published Dickens another serialised novel.This work proved to be
one of his most enduring: Oliver Twist.
• Nicholas Nickleby followed quickly. In his new work Dickens tried to combine the
humour of Pickwick with the cry for social reforms of Oliver. Sales of Nicholas
Nickleby reached 50,000 copies every month.
• Next he introduced the tragic heroine, Little Nell, in the serialised tale of The Old
Curiosity Shop. It was this work which gave him international fame, and the name
of Charles Dickens spread to the USA, where he was enormously popular.
• In December 1843 Dickens wrote the short story entitled A Christmas Carol.
• David Copperfield followed in 1850.
• Later works including A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-61),
and Our Mutual Friend (1864-5).
• Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870 and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) (1819-80)
• English writer. One of the great English
novelists.
• In 1856, Mary Ann began Scenes of Clerical
Life. Although not a popular success, the
work was well received by literary critics,
particularly Dickens and Thackeray.
• Three novels of provincial life followed—
Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss
(1860), and Silas Marner (1861).
• Middlemarch (1871-72), a portrait of life in a
provincial town, is considered her
masterpiece.
• Although highly serious, her novels are
marked by compassion and a subtle humor.
William M. Thackeray (1811 - 63)
• English novelist. In 1833 he became editor of a
periodical, the National Standard, but the following
year he settled in Paris.
• Throughout the 1830s and 40s, his novels appeared
serially together with miscellaneous writings in
several magazines.
• In 1848, Thackeray achieved widespread popularity
with his humorous Book of Snobs and the same year
rose to major rank among English novelists with
Vanity Fair.
• In 1852 his novel Henry Esmond, appeared. His
next novel, The Virginians (1857-59), is a
continuation of the Esmond story.
• He is important not only as a great novelist but also
as a brilliant satirist.