Programma letteratura inglese V anno liceo linguistico, Sintesi del corso di Inglese

Scarica Programma letteratura inglese V anno liceo linguistico e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! THE VICTORIAN AGE: Political and social background. The Industrial Revolution took place in England from about 1760 to about 1840 and from there it spread to other countries in the world. It was a process of change from an agrarian economy to one dominated by industry and machines. The change was so great that it had enormous social and political consequences. Fundamental were some technical innovations: ● the use of new materials like iron and steel; ● the use of new energy sources like coal, petroleum, electricity and the steam engine; ● the invention of new machines that increased production and reduced the use of human energy; ● important developments in transportation and communication; ● A new organization of work: the factory system (the division of labour and of the functions). Consequences of the Industrial Revolution New machines, both in agriculture and industry, meant a drastic reduction in the number of the people employed, so unemployment ran very high. But, at the same time, the increase in production called for more workers that worked in the factories for sixteen hours a day, in bad conditions of hygiene and safety. Women were paid less than men, and children were paid even less. Children were especially used for work in mines and in tunnels, because of their small size. Workers lived in over-crowded slums which lacked sanitation and where alcoholism, illnesses and death rate were very common and high. The first criticism of industrialism and capitalism began to appear , together with proposals for a radical change in society. So, in 1824, the first Trade Unions were founded; then, some important reforms were done: ● The factory Acts (1833), forbidding the employment of children under nine and improving working conditions; ● The abolition of slavery (1833) and slave trade in the British colonies; ● A new system of national education (1834) MARY SHELLEY - Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus was published anonymously in 1818. Its story has always been popular and considered one of the few modern myths. Frankenstein is a romantic version of the ancient dream of creating an artificial life and can be defined both as a philosophical romance and a gothic tale, but also the forerunner of science fiction. On the one hand, Frankestein wanted to overcome man’s limits and acquire a God-like power; on the other hand, the monster is a symbol of the romantic concern for the isolation of the individual by society. This novel doesn’t respect the morality of the time because within it is created an artificial life by ignoring the principle of human procreation. Dr. Frankenstein is a brilliant scientist consumed by the ambition of creating life from inanimate matter. He succeeds in giving life to a human-looking frame put together out of a dead man’s organs. The doctor is frightened by his own creation, so the monster runs away. He later finds that all the people reject him because of his monstrous appearance. This sets him on a path of revenge against mankind. He kills Frankenstein’s little brother, his best friend and his wife. The doctor feels obliged to kill the monster, but is the monster who mortally wounds him, accusing his creator and the rest of mankind of lacking compassion towards him, and thus pushing him towards his murderous course. THOMAS HARDY - TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES Hardy’s conception of life is essentially tragic. His novels concentrate on human sufferings and show that there is no escape for human beings. Tess, the main character of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, is worst-fated to the sufferings of life. She tries her best to come out of her fated circle of misfortunes but fails. Being the eldest child she has to go to D’Urbervilles for earning. Her seduction plays a vital role in her destruction. She is rejected by society on becoming pregnant. The rape by Alec, the death of her son, the marriage with Angel and then his sudden rejection, all this make her a victim of conventional social attitude. Her murder of Alec in order to rejoin Angel and her hanging soon afterwards also show a long series of sufferings but she faces them boldly. All this shows that Hardy’s attitude towards life is highly melancholic and depressive. He loves people but he hates life intensely. He perceives it in the hands of cruel, blind and oppressive ‘Unknown Will’. Time, also, is used as a motif of fate. The time of joy with Angel is transitory and the time of miseries is very prolonged. His pessimism is redeemed by two other ingredients in his work – his lofty view of human nature and his capability to make us laugh at the comic side of things. THE AESTHETIC MOVEMENT: Oscarl Wilde - The picture of dorian Gray The Aesthetic Movement developed in the universities and intellectual circles in the last decades of the 19th century. The bohemian embodied his protest against the monotony and vulgarity of bourgeois life, leading an unconventional existence, pursuing sensation and excess, cultivating art and beauty. Oscar Wilde was immediately attracted to the Aesthetic Movement. Wilde quickly won a reputation as a brilliant conversationalist, dandy, and aesthete. Because of his personality he became the leader of the Aesthetic Movement, and as such was invited to the United States for a series of lectures. Wilde's first literary success came in 1891 with a novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was both an exhibition of extreme decadence and a mystery story. Wilde's social and literary success came to bad end in 1895, when he was arrested and sent to prison in Reading jail because of his homosexuality. When Wilde left prison he was an aged and broken man. He went to Paris where he lived a miserable existence supported by money from his friends. Oscar Wilde was the perfect dandy, the man for whom perfection in dress was as important as perfection in art. The Picture of Dorian Gray is Wilde's only novel that best sums up his aesthetic theories about a life of sensation and pleasure as the supreme form of art. The man of taste, like the artist, is above common morality and must pursue his own aesthetic goals - though this has a tragic outcome in the novel. For Dorian, the pursuit of pleasure and beauty was the true purpose of life. The Picture of Dorian Gray also contains an element of mystery that is essential to its success. In Dorian Gray the element of mystery is visible throughout the plot, while the end of the novel is in line with classic horror and crime stories, particularly Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with which Dorian Gray has many points in common. This novel seems to have no moral basis. However, the ending of the story is intensely moral, and seems to suggest that there is a price to be paid for a life of pleasure. This is not explicitly stated in the novel, but is in Wilde's last great work, De Profundis, written in prison. There, Wilde refers to his past life of pleasure and success as something he had to pay for with his present misery. In the novel, the artist Basil paints a portrait of Dorian that wonderfully captures the young man's extraordinary charms. Dorian, impressed by the perfection of his own beauty portrayed by Basil, wishes never to grow old. And his wish is granted: he starts a dissolute and immoral life (Dorian causes the suicide of his fiancée Sibyl and murders his only friend Basil) which leaves no signs on his own face but disfigures the painting, which shows the marks of Dorian's moral decay. Disgusted by the portrait, Dorian finally tries to destroy it but, as soon as he does, he dies. After his death, the portrait resumes its perfect beauty, while the signs of age and physical corruption appear on Dorian's body