Assignment Paper 6 : The Victorian Literature

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"Maharaja Krushnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University"




Name : Sanjay A. Dharaiya


Course : M.A.


Sem : 2


Year : 2019-2020


Roll : 24


Enrollment : 2069108420200009


Email id : dharaiy9@gmail.com


Paper 6 : The Victorian Literature


Topic : Characteristics of Victorian age.


Total word : 1739


Submitted to : S.B. Gardi Department of English MKB University





Question : What is the Characteristics of Victorian age ?


Introduction :


Every nation has its own history, that is England's own history. We find that there are many periods like 'The Elizabethan Era', 'Milton's Era', 'The Romantic Era', 'The Victorian Era' and finally 'The Modern Era'. Here I want to introduce 'The Age of Queen Victoria. The Victorian era began (1832 to 1887) during the reign of Queen Victoria. The Victorian era is the most significant period in the history of England. It was an era of material influence, political consciousness, democratic reforms, industrial progress and mechanical progress, scientific progress, social unrest, educational expansion, empire-building and religious uncertainty. The Victorian era was essentially a time of peace and prosperity for England. Some of the colonial wars that began during this period had little adverse effect on national life. The impact of the Crimean War on the nation. In the early years of the era, the effect of the French Revolution was still felt, but by the middle of the century, it had almost completely diminished and England felt safe from any revolutionary revolt that disturbed its unfortunate and peaceful existence Life. England felt safe from any radical chaos that threatened the peace and peaceful existence of their lives.


  This is a peaceful rule compared to this regime. Englishmen protected in their island bases can complete the transformation of all aspects of their industrial, commercial and social life without any risk of violent disruption which has given a totally different quality to the continent's history. Peacefully materialized and industrial progress was made in the country. Industrial uplift caused social unrest and economic hardship. The Wealth Dynasty Revolution, while creating a privileged class of capitalists and mill owners, turning it into wealth and property, brought with it a class of semi-starving and sick workers and factory workers who were completely dissatisfied with their pathetic affairs.


  A new class of landing nobles and mill-owners spring. The conditions of life at that time had no affinity for the laborers and the workers in the fields, as they had to live in slums with the conveniences of life, joining them at any stage of their poor existence. In the Victorian era there was an increasing number of literary men and women and the humanitarian attitude towards life among philanthropic social reformers, which was not a matter of love and loyalty, but by recognition of good feelings. People were there for their unfortunate brothers.


  The increasing importance of the masses and the hands of a large number of factories sparked the 'reform bills', which marked the birth of democratic consciousness among Victorians. A Victorian background would not be complete without adding some lines about the Victorian settlement. The Victorian settlement in the three disciplines of life was especially imaginative. Democracy and nobility, religion and science in the field of political life. There was a compromise between the rich and the poor.



Literary Tendencies or Characteristics of The Victorian Literature :


Literary figures of the Victorian era were given clear originality in outlook, character, and style. “The self-made man had a lot of energy and courage in Macaulay. Stress liked to sing praises of strong independence. Dickens' book is perhaps more original than any other novelist in the world. The Bronte sisters continued their lonely path in life with the pride and endurance they learned at Howarth Parsonage. Carlyle and Browning were strangely thoroughly cultivated, and Thackeray, too, thought more regularly in style than his contemporaries, preferring the haphazard way of conducting his story, engaging in a boundless license for comment and digression. "

The invention of science has an impact on the literature of the ages. If we study all the great writers of the age, I will mark five common characteristics. Like a ,


(1) Literature
(2) Moral Purpose
(3) Realism
(4) Pessimism
(5) Patriotism


So let's discuss in details,


(1) Literature :


The Victorian era was essentially an era of prose and novelty. We found the development of prose and novels in this age. W. J. Long says, "Thought that many poets were born from this era, and two who deserve to be among the greatest, yet this is an era of vigorous prose and novel. The novel of this era fills the drama staged in Elizabeth's day; And before this, no novel has occurred in such an age, in language, in such numbers and in such perfection. "

  The literature of this age tends to draw closer to daily life which reflects its practical problems and interests. It becomes a powerful tool for human progress. Socially and economically, industrial coercion was on the rise and various reform movements like liberation, child labor, women's rights and evolution. We find that there is no progress in 'drama' in the Victorian era. The Victorian writer just put weight on the prose and the novel.


(2) Moral Purpose :


Victorian literature is characterized by aspects of its moral note in various aspects. "Another hallmark of this era is the fact that in both prose and poetry, literature seems to depart from the purely artistic standard for the purpose of art, and is carried forward by a specific moral purpose." Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, Ruskin were mainly interested in their message to their countrymen. He was a teacher in England and motivated by a conscious moral purpose to uplift and instruct his fellow man. Behind Dickens's fun and spirit, Thackeray's social miniatures, George Eliot's psychic studies, have the definite moral purpose of eliminating error and clearly bringing out the basic truths of human life. We found a good example in 'The Mill at the Mill' by Eli Liat. We have found many writers writing about family and morality in their literary work. Victorian literature seems to stray from the "art for the arts" and affirms its moral purpose.


(3) Realism


The literature of the Victorian era was associated with the social and political life of the era. Victorian literature artists were inspired by the social zeal to represent the problem of their own age, setting aside some of the voters of art for the purpose of art represented by the Pre-Raphaelite School of the Arts. Perhaps for this reason Victorian literature is the fiction of 'realism' rather than romance, it is not the reality of Jola and Ibsen, but an errand that tries to tell the whole truth, as moral and physical ailments, but holding the health and moral conditions of humanity As expected. Literature became a tool of social reform and social propaganda and was marked with purposeful, propaganda and meditative purposes.

  Victorian literature is full of reality. We can say that Oliver Twist is a real character; In the Victorian era we found that there was child labor in the workhouse. So call it reality, and Frankenstein has no real character like a monster in real life, but in real life we ​​find a livre-like character. So Victorian literature represents reality.


(4) Pessimism :


Notes of pessimism, doubt, and despair run through Victorian literature, and it is especially found in the poems of Matthew Arnold and Arthur Hugh Clough. Although the note of pessimism goes on in the literature of the era, it cannot be considered as a literature of pessimistic pessimism and dark frustration. Idealism and optimism are also noted by poets like Browning and prose writers like Raskin. Rabbi Ben brings courageous optimism to the Ezra era. Stedman's Victorian anthology is one of the most inspiring books of poetry overall. Great essayists like Macaulay, Carlyle, Ruskin, and great novels like Dickens, Thackeray and George Elliott inspire us with faith in humanity and uplift us through their enthusiasm and great charity.

  The literature of the era is significantly changed by the impact of science. "It is a scientific scientific spirit, and all suggested by the scientific scientific spirit, its precise doubt, its handling of the truth of lowliness and observation, its growing interest in social processes and the conditions under which life is lived are the main facts in Victorian Literature.


(5) Patriotism :

The note of patriotism runs through Victorian literature. Tennyson, Dickens, and Disraeli are motivated by national pride and a sense of greatness in their nation's superiority over nations. Lake Terrorists were a part of the landscape they migrated to for Wordsworth. He considered human beings to be natural objects and removed the complexities and passions of life from his life. Victorian poets and novelists emphasized men and women and gave them the same warmth and luster that romantic poets gave to nature. “The Victorian era extended to the hardships of human life, the imaginary sensibilities that endured its predecessor nature and history. Victorian poets and novelists added humanity to nature and art as a subject of literature. "

We can say that the impact of patriotism in literature. The author focuses on national identity and patriotism in the Victorian era.

  Some other characteristics of this era,

  We find some other minor features of the Victorian era. Few literary artists of this era noted the uprising against The materialist tendencies of the era, and the excesses of the Middle Ages sought refuge. The escapist note is also imaginative in Victorian literature, and this is especially noted in the works of Raphael's earlier poets. Morris was busy with his legends and stories. "There were some minor changes to classicism, but most often, taken in the literary emotional and imaginative intensity of the era, it was thrilled to discover, after its unfamiliar springs of truth and beauty, from its innovation and its diversity." Even though age is classified as pragmatic and materialistic, most writers excel at an ideal life as a whole. It is an idealistic age where great ideals like truth, justice, love, brotherhood are emphasized by poets, essays and novelists of the era.


Conclusion :

Thus, we can say that this is an era that is completely different than the age of sentimentality. It is an era of morality, realism, industrialistic development, patriotism, pessimism and the development of prose and novels. That is why Victorian literature is a fiction of reality rather than a romance like Oliver Twist, Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch, etc ... so after understanding all these characteristics we can easily understand the Victorian era.