Hello Readers!
In English literature the
Victorian Age (1850 - 1900) was the remarkable one to bring various changes which were prevalent in the previous ages.
Queen Victoria came to reign in 1837, when there was a kind of literary vacuum created by the death of the poets and writers like Keats, Shelley, Byron, of the previous age. To fill this gap, two major poets,
Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning contributed their best in the
Victorian literature.
Basically this age is known as the age of prose, because the Sun of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, was shining at middle of the sky.
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| Alfred Tennyson (1809 - 1892) | Robert Browning (1812 - 1889) |
* Alfred Lord Tennyson was a British poet laureate who was one of the major Victorian figures. He has written many poems in blank verse like Ulysses, Idylls of the King and Tithonus, In Memorium.
He knew the true art of poetry. Rather than being a leader he chose to be a teacher. His poetry was rather spiritual and philosophical.
W. J. Long writes for Tennyson,
"Throughout the entire Victorian period Tennyson stood at the summit of poetry in England... For nearly half a century, he was not only a man and a poet; he was a voice, the voice of a whole people, expressing in exquisite melody their doubts and their faith, their grief and their triumphs."
* Robert Browning was English poet and playwright. He became popular by writing dramatic monologues. One of his famous poems was Pauline, published in 1833. The Ring and the Book is his long dramatic narrative poem.
Best be yourself, imperial, plain and true
-Robert Browning
Victorian era was the prime time of revolting the old norms and establishing new ideals. With the succession of Queen Victoria in 1837, the English literature seemed to enter in totally new realm, leaving the Romantic age behind. With the touch of morality, people were becoming more peace loving and curious to learn. In this age slaves were made free. The direct effect was on industries and employments. Apart from the social unrest, it was an age of democracy as the House of Commons came to the ruling power. Several reform bills were passed for needful and poor people.
* Comparing and contrasting the Victorian age and Romantic Age
Difference
between the two literary ages
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Age of Romanticism (1800 – 1850)
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The Victorian Age (1850 – 1900)
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Influence of French Revolution (5th
May 1789)
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Influence of Industrial Revolution (1760 –
1840)
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Romantic Enthusiasm, realism
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Social Unrest and Democracy, Ideal of peace
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Age of Expressionism
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Age of questioning, horrors of poverty,
deprivation
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Age of Poetry, lyrics and ballads
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Age of Prose, novels, essays, non-fiction
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Poetry - Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley,
Keats, Byron
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Poetry – Tennyson and Robert Browning
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Prose – Jane Austen (female novelist)
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Prose - Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thackeray.
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Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads
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Dickens’s Oliver Twist, G. Eliot’s Middlemarch
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1. Democracy - Many disputes an empirical wars were settling down and democracy was established. Henry VIII was the last monarch who enjoyed the chamber at the Palace of Westminster in England, and after tremendous changes and alterations, England found the shining the rays of democracy and the House of Commons became the ruling power of the country.
2. Social Unrest - It was the time of social unrest where people were utilizing their freedom but they were divided into rich and poor classes. Slavery was the central force for this unrest. For industrial use, rich used to purchase slaves There were many class differences, such as a working class person and some landlord kind of person, but the unrest was that they shared the same land, same locality. They used to walk along at streets. In short, huge difference was there in people. Some of the people were working at mills and factories, as it was the time of
industrial revolution and some of them were belonging to high society and elite class who were the owners of the cotton and wool mills and factories.
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| Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) | George Eliot (1819 - 1880) |
Charles Dickens and George Eliot were the major and prominent prose writers and novelists of the age. They have made an active attempt to highlight the provincial life and the life of the darkness. The area of society where only few put the eyes and
Works of Charles Dickens - He has written four major novels including, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. Here is one quote form A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens was the voice of the unheard. He has produced a remarkable novel Oliver Twist, in which the character of Oliver is best portrayed by Dickens, speaking of the innate true Victorian time.
"It was the best of the times; It was the worst of the times..." - Charles Dickens
George Eliot actually was a female writer whose actual name was Mary Ann Evans. As per the patriarchal tendency of the Victorian Age, she hid her identity and produced literature by the pen name George Eliot. Middlemarch A Study of Provincial Life (1871 - 72), is the notable novel by her, portrayed the best provincial life.
In a nutshell, the Victorian Age was fully rich with literary production along with the shackling social unrest, handling the shining shrine of democracy. The age reflected the whole new spirit which were going to be the significant one for England in the succeeding ages. Authors, through their pens, made the age more true to it's type and more considerably important age of the whole English literature.
Thank You!
References:
(1) Long, William J. English Literature: Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World. AITBS, 2015.
(2) "Alfred, Lord Tennyson." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Contributors, 13 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson.
(3) "Robert Browning." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Browning.
(4) "Victorian Literature." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_literature.
(5) "Victorian Era." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era.
(6) Habib, Habibur Rahman. "Alfred Tennyson vs Robert Browning Two great Victorians a Comparative Study."
Thank You!
