Riassunto Vicotrian Age e Charles Dickens/Hard Times/Coketown, Sintesi del corso di Inglese

Scarica Riassunto Vicotrian Age e Charles Dickens/Hard Times/Coketown e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! QUEEN VICTORIA Queen Victoria ascended the throne at the age of 18, from 1837 to 1901, and ushered in an era of social, political, and economic prosperity. She married Prince Albert, an intelligent man who received the title of "Prince Consort" only after she was sure of her help and her devotion to England. REFORM This was an age of reform: - the First Reform Act, also called the Great Reform Act, had transferred voting privileges from a few, such as the nobility and nobility, to many people such as large industrial cities. - the second, called the Factory Act, stated that children could not work more than 48 hours per week and between 13 and 18 years of age they could not work more than 72 hours per week - the last, called the Poor Law Amendment Act, introduced Workhouses. WORKHOUSES In addition to being a period of reform, the Victorian age had its downsides: the Workhouses, an institution where the poor received room and board in exchange for work, but life there was hard: the poor had to wear uniforms and their families were divided, and the workhouses were run primarily by the Church. CHARTISM During the reign of Victoria, a group of working-class radicals drafted a People's Charter calling for equal electoral districts, universal male suffrage, a secret vote, but it failed because no one was ready for democracy. However, after that a secret ballot was introduced, and part of the male working class was admitted to the right to vote. THE IRISH POTATO FAMINE A terrible famine was caused by bad weather and a plant disease unknown from America. Irish agriculture depended on potatoes and this crisis forced the Prime Minister to abolish corn laws which imposed tariffs on imported corn. TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS It was also an era of technological advancements. Prince Albert had the Crystal Palace built to exhibit all the new inventions. The money that came to the exhibition was invested in the construction of museums, such as the Natural History Museum. FOREIGN POLICY In the mid-19th century, England was involved in the two opium wars against China; 1. the first (1839-42) was fought between China and Great Britain, 2. The Second Opium War (1856-60), known as the Anglo-French War in China, was fought by Britain and France against China. Britain also supported many independence causes, such as Italian independence from the Austrians. When Russia became too powerful against the weak Turkish empire, France and Great Britain were involved in the Crimean war to limit Russia's power; it was the first conflict reported in the newspapers by journalists "on the ground". THE LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE PARTIES When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria withdrew from society and spent the next ten years in mourning. She remained an important figure, but the political landscape was changing. Parties were born as: The Liberal Party included former Whigs, some radicals and a large minority of businessmen; it was led by William Gladstone. The Conservative Party, which had evolved from the Tories and reaffirmed its position under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli. BENJAMIN DISRAELI The Israeli governments passed an "Artisans and Laborers Dwellings Act" (1875), which allowed the authorities to provide housing for the poor; a Public Health Act (1875), which provided sanitation and running water; and a Factory Act (1878), which limited weekly working hours. WILLIAM GLADSTONE Gladstone served as Prime Minister four times, starting in 1868. At the time, legislative reform focused on education. By 1880, primary education had become compulsory. Other reforms included the legalization of trade unions in 1871, with the Trade Union Act, and the introduction of secret ballot in elections in 1872, with the Ballot Act. The Third Reform Act of 1884 extended the vote to all male household heads. The Irish Parliamentary Party called for self-government for Ireland, the "Home Rule". Gladstone believed it was the way to bring peace to Ireland; but an Irish government was only granted after the First World War. THE ANGLO-BOER WARS In South Africa, in 1870, the British controlled two colonies, Cape Colony and Natal, while the Dutch colonists, the Boers, had the two republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. When Britain conquered the Transvaal in 1877, the Boers revolted, and war broke out. The Boer Wars (1880-1902) ended in 1902 with a British victory. EMPRESS OF INDIA In 1877 Queen Victoria received a new title, Empress of India. India was economically important as a market for British goods. The Empire was becoming more difficult to control. There was a difficult combination between the duty to spread Christian civilization, encouraging tolerance and open communication while at the same time promoting commercial interests. THE END OF AN ERA The Victorian age ended with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. For nearly a century it had embodied decorum, stability and continuity. She was buried next to her beloved husband in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Castle. THE VICTORIAN COMPROMISE The Victorian age was a complex and contradictory era: it was the age of progress, stability, great social reforms but was also characterized by poverty, injustice and social unrest (lower class and the aristocracy). The Victorians want to mask the reality and promote a code of values based on personal duty, hard work, respectability, and charity. During this time, it was very important to work hard to improve the society. The idea of being respected distinguished the middle from the lower class. In Victorian Age born the society of Respectability, a concept linked to good manners, the ownership of a comfortable house with servants and carriage, regular attendance at the church, and charity activity. It was a mixture of morality and hypocrisy, severity, and conformity to social standards. Religion played an important role in people's lives, in particular Evangelicalism created a lot of charities and philanthropy led to the creation of a societies which addressed every kind of poverty and depended especially on the voluntary efforts of middle-class women. Freedom, God, and conscience were strictly linked. The family was patriarchal: the husband was the authority, and the key role of the woman was the education of children and the managing of the home. The figure of woman was seen like physically weaker but morally superior, such as a divine guide and inspire of men. Victorian society was concerned with female chastity, and single women with a child were emarginated as "fallen women." Sexuality was generally repressed in its public and private forms, and this led to the denunciation of nudity in art and the rejection of words with sexual connotation from the daily vocabulary. LIFE IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN During the Victorian era, industrialization made life better for those who could afford it, the poorer life became more and more difficult, due to working hours and living conditions. Housing was inadequate, sanitation non-existent, without running water and condominium wells. The small part of society was occupied by orphans and widows, who could not help but be criminals or prostitutes. But with the factories a new social class is also born: the bourgeoisie -For the middle class and upper middle class, who desired respectability, Queen Victoria, her husband Albert and their nine children became an icon of respectability. VICTORIAN THINKERS -Victorian values found their basis in some of the movements of thought of the age. • Evangelicalism, inspired by Wesley, the founder of Methodism, caused an important influence on Victorian code of values. The Evangelicals in fact believed in: Obedience to a strict code of morality; Dedication to humanitarian causes and social reform. • Utilitarianism The other philosophical movement which exerted an important influence on 19th-century social thinking was Utilitarianism, based on Bentham’s principles. They believed that an action is morally right if it has happy consequences, it is unmoral if it has bad consequences. So, all institutions should be tasted in the light of reason to declare if they were useful. Utilitarianism supported the Victorian idea that any problem would be overcome with the help of reason. JOHN MILL AND THE EMPIRICIST TRADITION John Mill was the leading figure in the British empiricist tradition. • stated that happiness is a state of mind and spirit; • imagined a good society with a huge variety of people in which man can improve his talents; • believed that progress comes from mental energy; • promoted some reforms such as trade union organization, including the causes of popular education and the emancipation of women. CHALLENGES FROM THE SCIENTIFIC FIELD Around this time, geologists found fossils in the rocks and began to question the Book of Genesis. Charles Darwin in his work, "On the origin of species by means of natural selection", explained his theory of evolution: - all living creatures have adapted their bodies to the place where they live; - favorable physical conditions determine the survival of a species, unfavorable its extinction; - man evolved, like any other animal, from the monkey. With this theory Darwin emphasized that the world is constantly developing. THE OXFORD MOVEMENT British Catholics answered to the new challenges of science with the return of ancient rituals. Basedon the religious revival, the Cardinal John Newman created the Oxford Movement, born at the university of Oxford. LATE VICTORIAN THINKERS Among the thinkers of the late Victorian period, a significant role was played by those who protested the damage caused by industrialization to human life and the environment. Karl Marx influenced some English writers such as John Ruskin and William Morris. They sought a different form of progress, a mixture of utopianism and nostalgia in which the future resembled the past in many ways. THE SPREAD OF SOCIALIST IDEAS The 1880s saw the rise of a middle- class socialist group whose members aimed to transform Britain into a socialist state systematically, with progressive reforms. -Its early members included Sidney and Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw. The Independent Labor Party was established in 1893. PATRIOTISM In the late 19th century, expressions of civic pride were common among the British. Towards the end of Victoria's reign, the British saw themselves as the leaders of European civilization. There was a belief that the "races" of the world were divided by fundamental physical and intellectual differences, that some were destined to be deceived by others. It was therefore a God-imposed obligation on the British to spread their superior way of life to native peoples throughout the world. This attitude became known as "chauvinism". VICTORIAN POETRY During Victoria’s reign poetry was used for intellectual and moral debate. This led on the one hand to the creation of poetry linked to belief of the greatness of England; on the other hand to the creation of poetry more inclined to solve the ethical problems raised by science and progress. NEW IMAGE OF THE POET Now the poet was seen as a ‘prophet’ and a ‘philosopher’. People expected that he could reconcile faith and progress, and optimists believed that the benefits of progress could be reached without altering the traditional social organisation or destroying the beauty of the countryside. OUTSTANDING POETS The major poets of the age were Alfred Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett who wrote beautiful love sonnets, and Matthew Arnold who used poetry to express his dissatisfaction with his time. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE The dramatic monologue is a narrative poem in which a single character may address one or more listeners. In a dramatic monologue the speaking character is different from the poet himself and is caught in a crucial moment of crisis. Since the poet does not speak with his own voice, the reader has to deduction if he is intended to accept or criticise what is said by the speaker. As the speaker must be judged only on his own words, different points of view may be justified and supported. In the dramatic monologue, the tone of the language is argumentative, aiming at revealing the main character’s thoughts, thus reflecting a great interest in human psychology. VICTORIAN NOVEL Readers and writers For the first time there was an exchange of opinions between writers and readers; that could happen thanks to the growth of the middle classes. The members of middle classes had different levels of literacy, but all were avid consumers of literacy. They borrowed books from libraries and read periodicals, in which were published novels in series -this allowed the writer to be in constant contact with his public. -the plot had to remain interesting otherwise the reader would no longer buy the newspaper -the author could always change the story according to the success or the failure -writers had instantly reviewers from the public The Victorians’ interest in prose The greatest literary success/achievement of the age is the novel, which became the most popular form of literature and the main source of entertainment. The novel was influenced by different tendencies: -the spread of scientific knowledge made the novel realistic and analytical. -the spread of democracy made it social and humanitarian/altruistic -the presence of moral disorders/unrest made the novel inquisitive and critical THE NOVELIST’S AIM During the 1840s the novelists felt that they had a moral and social responsibility to achieve. BEFORE novels dealt with the adventures of a social outcast or a hero. Only with Jane Austen the theme changed into girl’s choice of a husband; and with the Gothic writers the setting became a remote place in a strange past. Victorian’s writers wanted to reflect the social changes into their novels. Their books dealt with: Industrial revolution A description of the society how it really was The desire of democracy The growth of towns and cities The novelists described society as they saw it, and, with the exception of those sentiments which offended current morals, particularly regarding sex. They were aware of the evils of their society, such as the terrible conditions of manual workers and the exploitation of children. They had a didactic aim. They used literature as a vehicle to correct the vices and weaknesses of the age. The narrative technique The voice of the omniscient narrator provided a comment on the plot and establish a limit between “right” and “wrong” behaviours At the end of the novel all adventures, events and incidents are explained and justified. Setting and characters The characters are realistic because the public could easily identify with. The major part of Victorian novelists chose the city, which was the main symbol of the Industrial Revolution. Types of novels Novel of manners main representative: William M. Thackeray main features: it dealt with economic and social problems and described a particular classor situation Humanitarian novel main main representative: Charles Dickens main features: it could be divided into novels of a ‘realistic’, ‘fantastic’ or ‘moral’ nature according to their predominant tone or issue dealt with Novel of formation main representatives: Charlotte Brontë and Charles Dickens main features: it dealt with one character’s development from early youth to some sort ofmaturity Literary nonsense main representatives: Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll main features: it portrayed a nonsensical universe where the social rules andconventions are disintegrated, the cause-effect relationship does not exist, and time andspace have lost their function of giving an order to human experience Women writers During 1870s and 80s a great number of novels were written by women, who might publish their story used a male pseudonym. That happened because it was not easy to get publish, and creative writing was considered masculine. The majority of novel-buyers and reader were women because they had more time to spend at home than men The realistic novel The late Victorian novel reflected a society tied to a moral and religious crisis. Darwin's theory of evolution influenced the structure and organization of the realistic novel, which began to follow an evolutionary model. The best representatives of the realistic novel were Thomas Hardy and George Eliot. The psychological novel The names Jekyll and Hyde have become synonymous with multiple personality disorder. It captures the monstrous and illogical aspects of life and describes the double nature of Victorian society. Stevenson seems to be interested not only in the duality present in each individual, but also in Victorian society as a whole, where the aristocracy was only superficially kind and refined, but hid dark secrets in their beautiful homes. Colonial literature The obvious influence of colonialism on Victorian literature can be found in the works of Rudyard Kipling. Kipling extolled British imperial power as a sacred duty, legitimized the belief that it was the white man's job, and especially the British, to bring civilization and progress to the savages. AESTHETICISM AND DECADENCE the Aesthetic Movement It developed in the universities and intellectual circles in the last decades of the 19th century. It began in France with Théophile Gautier. -It reflected the sense of frustration and uncertainty of the artist; his reaction against the materialism, monotony, vulgarity and restrictive moral code of the bourgeoisie; and his need to redefine the role of art. -its motto was ‘Art for Art’s Sake’. -the aesthete lived unconventionally, pursuing sensation and excess, and cultivating art and beauty. Its main theorist was in England Walter Pater. The message of his works was subversive and potentially demoralising; it appealed especially to the young. For him the only way to halt the passage of time was art. Life should be lived as a work of art, filling each passing moment with intense experience, feeling all kinds of sensations. The artist’s task was to feel sensations and to experience beauty. As a result, art did not have to be didactic. FEATURES OF AESTHETIC WORKS the artist was hedonistic, sensuous, disenchanted with contemporary society and very much self centred. his choice of subjects was sensual and sometimes perverse. his use of language was evocative. VICTORIAN DRAMA There is often said to be a gap in the history of the English theatre between 1700 and the late 19th century. The factors that can explain this situation are: the rise of the novel; the power of theatrical managers, who decided what plays might appeal to the audience and give financial returns; the presence of great actors and actresses whose virtuosity often turned very poor plays into great success; and the fact that the rich middle classes did not appreciate drama as a form of art. 1 How did the new theatres differ from those of the previous century? They were smaller and more comfortable than the ones built in the previous century, and the new methods of lighting the stage were capable of producing more realistic effects. This greatly affected how performances were staged; in fact, since then actors have performed in bright light in front of an audience hidden in the darkness. Thus the viewer’s experience has become individual rather than communal. 2 Why did the stage directions acquire great importance during the Victorian Age? They were much longer and more detailed, and they served various