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# Victorian Period ## Time Period The Victorian era spans the 63 years of Queen Victoria's reign over Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. It was a time of great power and wealth for Britain as it expanded its empire across the globe. ## Overview The Victorian period of lit...

# Victorian Period ## Time Period The Victorian era spans the 63 years of Queen Victoria's reign over Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. It was a time of great power and wealth for Britain as it expanded its empire across the globe. ## Overview The Victorian period of literature roughly coincides with the years that Queen Victoria ruled Great Britain and its Empire (1837-1901). During this era, Britain was transformed from a predominantly rural, agricultural society into an urban, industrial one. ## Key Events and/or Movements - **Rise of Novel:** Expansion of Novel Publication due to factors like as rising literacy, cheaper printing technology, and establishment of lending libraries. - **Development of Gothic Fiction and Sensation Novel:** This genre explored the atrocious and supernatural. - **Pre-Raphaelite movement (1848-1860):** This movement was a reaction against the Romantic era and focused on detailed, realistic depictions of nature and medieval themes. - **Aestheticism and Decadence movement (1880-1990):** Emphasized the idea of "art for art's sake" and the pursuit of beauty and sensory pleasure in literature. ## Key Stylistics Characteristics and Genre - **Realism:** primary narrative mode of the Victorian era, attempting to convey actual events occurring to realistic people in a realistic manner. - **Sentimentality:** Victorian literature often embraced sentimentality, appealing to readers' emotions and moral sensibilities which is evident in novels that focused on themes of love, loss, family, and redemption. - **Influence of Science and Philosophy:** advances in science and philosophy such the theory of Charles Darwin about human nature, morality, and the place of humanity in the universe as well as the philosophy of Utilitarianism that emphasized the most enjoyment for the largest amount of individuals inspired literary themes and styles. ### Genres - **Novel:** Dominant genre and offers a platform for exploring social issues, complex characters, and complex plots. - **Poetry:** Victorian Poetry such as Narrative Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, and Lyric Poetry portray a wide range of forms and themes, from traditional and emotional to experimental and socially conscious. - **Drama:** Victorian drama experienced a rebirth in popularity, with a wide range of genres, including satire, farce, and melodrama, drawing big crowds. ## Common Themes - **Social Reforms:** included legislation on child labour, safety in mines and factories, public health, the end of slavery in the British Empire, and education. - **Industrialization:** a defining force of the Victorian era, transforming Britain from an agrarian society to a powerhouse of industrial production. - **Domesticity:** central aspect of Victorian life, shaping social norms, gender roles, and the very perception of the home. - **Realism:** which aims to portray realistic events happening to realistic people in a realistic way. ## Influential Authors and/or Iconic Concepts - **Charles Dickens:** author of *The Pickwick Papers* (1836-1837), *Hard Times* (1854) - **George Elliot:** author of *Adam Bede* (1859) *The Mill on the Floss* (1860) and *Middlemarch* (1871-1872) - **Alfred, Lord Tennyson:** *Crossing the bar* - **Elizabeth Barrett Browning:** *Aurora Leigh* (1856), - **Charlotte Brontë:** *Jane Eyre* (1847)