Riassunto discorsivo dell’età vittoriana, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Riassunto discorsivo dell’età vittoriana e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The Victorian Age-Historical Background 1837-1901 A period of optimism Queen Victoria’s reign was the longest, from 1837-1901, she was also Empress of India. During this period Britain was one of the most rich and powerfull nation in the world. Britain was one of the few countries that stayed the same after the European revolutions in the 1800s. The popular ideology of the time saw women as mothers, wives and hostess. Victorian society At the beginning of the 19th century the upper class held major political power, but middle class was gaining more and more power. It became divided in: lower-middle class, mid-middle class and upper-middle class; that reflected the importance of a person’s professional status and earning ability. The working class remained excluded from politics . They were exploited (sfruttati) and lived in extreme poverty. Economic development and social change While the industry and manufacturing was growing, the agriculture went through many difficulties due to the Enclosure Acts and the Corn Laws (1815-46). As a result people in need of work were forced to migrate from the country to the towns. Industry employed many of those but it created housing problems. Working conditions were extreme and workers had few rights. The doctrine of laissez-faire was still popular and defended by Victorian intellectuals such as John Stuart Mill. Meanwhile Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) shown the growing injustices of society. Their words brought many important social reforms during that period. The political parties of the period There were two main political parties: - the Liberal party (Whigs), the leaders were Lord Palmerston and William Gladstone; - the Conservative party (Tories), the leaders were Sit Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli. The last years of the Victorian Age were troubled by the Irish issue. Workers' rights and Chartism The working classs started asking more rights, especially the right to vote. The First Reform Bill of 1832 gave only property owners the right to vote, so workers organised a movement to ask the vote for all men. Is known as Chartism because of the petitions, or 'charters', which they presented to the government. Theirs was a hard battle but finally the Third Reform Bill of 1884 finally gave the right to vote to all male workers, farmers and miners (the right to all men to vote was given in 1918). More equality was also given in reforms such as the Married Women's Property Act (1882), the Matrimonial Causes Act (1857) and the Right to Vote in Borough Elections (1888) (the right to vote in general elections was given in 1928). British colonialism and the making of the Empire In the 19th century started the British colonial expansion in Africa (begun with slave trading but changed after the abolition of slavery) through missionaries and commercial activities. Some territories opposed to this activities, like South Africa with the Afrikaners (Dutch settlers), which led to the Boer Wars (1880-81, 1899-1902). Australia was initially colonised as a penal settlement for criminals. New Zealand was colonised in 1840, followed by Hong Kong in 1841and then Singapore, Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprüs. The colonies were supervised from 1801 by the India Office and the Colonial Office. There was a governor who represented the British Crown but they were generally self-governing. The railways The the Victorian period saw the 'railway revolution' were trains could arrive anywhere in Britain, thanks to Stephenson, who built the Rocket (first locomotive). This effected the transportation of goods and the quality of life. The railways made travels more accessible for everyone. Charles Darwin Charles Darwin (1809-82), the author of the theory of evolution by natural selection, created one of the greatest religious controversies of all times, because conflicted with important pillars of Christian faith. Biography Charles Darwin studied theology at Cambridge University. After graduating started a five-year journey around the world that changed his life. He studied while travelling, taking notes of plants, animals and fossils. He developed the theory of natural selection. How Darwin formed his theory When analysing birds on the Galapagos Islands Darwin realised that many of them had different features, despite being from the same species, but from separate parts of the islands. They gradually evolved to adapt to their habitat. It was a gradual genetic change, which produced species. On the Origin of Species (1859) was published after he met Alfred Wallace, who help him realised it. Right after the publication he received a complaints by the Church of England as it challenged the faith in divine creation. Darwin was accused of blasphemy but his work soon became a bestseller. In 1871 Darwin published The Descent of Man and created a big shock in the religious community and in all people. The Victorian Age Literary Context The novel The most important themes in Victorian Age were: the problems associated with industrialisation and philanthropy. The features of Victorian novel: - omniscient narrator, - long, complicated plots; - characters were central to the plot; - Bildungsroman (romanzo di formazione) was a typical novel form (Charlotte Brontè, Charles Dickens and George Eliot). The novel was tool to represent the human condition in the modern world, but it also had a big role of entertainment for the middle- class reader. Then novel became famous because of: - the growing number of people who were able and wanted to read; - the many publications in newspapers and magazines making them more accessible; - the many different genres available. Victorian writers can be divided into 3 groups: - the early Victorians like Charles Dickens, who wrote about social and humanitarian themes; - the mid-Victorians, such as the Brontè sisters, George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell; - the late Victorians, like Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde. The early and mid-Victorians Charles Dickens (1812-70), is one of the most famous writers in English literature; he wrote Oliver Twist (1838) and A Christmas Carol (1843) is the best example of an early Victorian writer. In his novels he used realism to talk about the social problems of his time like poverty, bad housing and inadequate education. His novels had a strong moralistic purpose and a happy ending. The most important mid-Victorians were the Brontè sisters, Charlotte (1816-55) and Emily (1818-48); their novels spoke about feelings and emotions. Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre (1847), the story of a poor orphan who goes through many problems before marrying happily. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1847) is considered one of the greatest novels in English literature. Another great female writer was George Eliot(Mary Ann Evans) (1819-80), author of Middlemarch. Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832-98), wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. This became one of the most popular works for children. The late Victorians With Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), Victorian optimism was replaced by a dark fatalism. His most famous novel is Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) in which Tess becomes the victim of the powers of fate. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) became popular for his adventure novels, the most famous are Treasure Island (1883) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). Aestheticism Aesthetic Movement is a literary and artistic movement developed in England In the last part of 19th century. Aestheticism represented the hypocrisies of Victorian values and institutions. The motto of this movement 'Art for art's sake' because it valued beauty and art more than anything else.