An Era of Contradiction 1832-1900 The Victorian Era An Era of Contradiction 1832-1900

How the Age was Named: Queen Victoria took throne in 1837 (at 18) Long reign, died in 1901 (at 82) married her cousin, Prince Albert when he died in 1861, she went into morning until her death

“… the head of our morality” During the tumultuous time, The Queen ultimately came to represent: England & Empire Stability & Continuity Duty, Family, & Propriety A stern, conservative, durable symbol of her dynamic, aggressively businesslike realm.

Contradictions of the Era An age of great achievement, deep faith, indisputable progress AND destruction, religious collapse, vicious profiteering The “Good” The “Bad” Great wealth from industrialization Brutal factory conditions Rise of the middle class and urban living Extreme poverty of the stinking slums Britain – the Empire Britain – the Tyrant Prudishness and Decorum Corruption and Sin Great faith Loss of faith

Industrial Revolution: The Light Side Time of great invention telegraph, telephone, sewing machine, steam engine, factory machines, printing press Britain gained great wealth, and became the world leader in manufacturing Factory towns Middle class emerged as a result

The Crystal Palace A “palace” of cast-iron and glass that epitomized the progress of the era Hosted the Great Exhibition of 1851, where Britain showed off how amazing it was

Industrial Revolution: The Dark Side Brutal factory conditions Long work days, never less than 10 hours Workers lived in slums old decaying buildings with no sanitation, no water supply, old clothing, no law and order Smog became an issue

19th Century London A darker view of the industrialization of England.

British Imperialism “the sun never sets on the British Empire” Roughly 25% of the world’s population was British Western “cultured” views imposed on unwilling people

Prudishness and Decorum Stereotypically, “Victorian” social conduct is governed by: Strict rules Formal manners Rigidly defined gender roles Relations hampered by sexual prudery Intense obsession with a public appearance of propriety (private facts were often the compete opposite!) Euphamisms!

Great Faith vs. Loss of Faith Charles Darwin “natural selection” theory of evolution that explains how species evolved over time two schools of thought on this those who tried to reconcile Darwin’s theory with religion those who called Darwin a heretic and claimed his views went directly against The Bible

Reform and Revolutionary Fears Every social sector fought for privileges and feared the unchecked rights of the others: Campaigns to extend voting rights Men Middle class Working class Brought on fears of an armed insurrection Feared class warfare Arguments for and against trade unions Women’s equality Socialism Separation of church and state

Literary Movements of the Victorian Age

Realism Realism shared the idea of the “ordinary man” with Romanticism real people facing day-to-day problems often used as reform literature

Naturalism Naturalism shared the fascination with nature that the Romantics had instead of nature mirroring human feelings and being a direct connection to God, however, nature was viewed as harsh and indifferent to the human suffering it caused

Themes of Poetry Themes psychology superficiality uncertainty anonymity loss of faith loss of innocence rejection of the social world blindness to what is real (Plato’s cave)

The Poems “The Lady of Shallot” Alfred, Lord Tennyson “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” Robert Browning “Dover Beach” Matthew Arnold “Jabberwocky” Lewis Carroll “Sonnet 43” Elizabeth Barrett Browning “’No, Thank You, John’” Christina Rossetti

THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CLASS This is Ms. Grandchamp’s favorite literary era. This is very important You must remember it It will be on the test (seriously, don’t forget it)