Review 1. Talk about the literary trends in English literature history? (from Early and Medieval literature to Chapter 18 century). 2. Speak out some influential writers of each period. 3. How about the features of each period.

Chapter 6 the Victorian Period the historical background: political, social and economical literary features of the period literary forms influential writers Some exercises

 Time: Queen Victoria who ruled over England from 1836 to The period has been generally regarded as one of the most glorious in the English history.  Social Events: Utilitarianism; Chartist Movement ( 宪章运动 ) ； Chartist Literature  Theme: Common sense and moral propriety 礼节, which were ignored by the Romanticists, again became the predominant preoccupation 当务之急 in literary works.

Introduction of background  The early eras of the Victorian England was a time of rapid economic development as well as serious social problems. A. after the Reform Bill of 1832 passed the political power from the decaying aristocrats into the hands of the middle-class industrial capitalists, the Industrial Revolution soon geared up 加速. B. Scientific discoveries and technological inventions from railways to steamships, from spinning looms 织布机 to printing machines quickly brought amazing changes to the country.

C. Large amounts of profit were accumulated both from expanding its foreign trade markets and from exploiting its huge-sized colonies. D. the working class were striking for the basic right and better living and working conditions. E. this was the first mass movement of the English working class and the early sign of the awakening of the poor, oppressed people.

 F. during the next twenty years, with the industrial Revolution in full swing 节奏, the nation was well ahead of others in development.  G. the Victorians experienced fundamental changes. The rapid development of science and technology, new inventions and discoveries in geology, astronomy, biology and anthropology 人类学 drastically 彻底地 shook people’s religious convictions.  H. the collision 冲突 between religion started from the early nineteenth century and science.

Major Literary Forms  Novel (best):  In this period, the novel became the most widely read and the most vital and challenging expression of progressive thought. While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the 18th century realist novel, they carried their duty forward to the criticism of the society and the defense of the mass. They were all concerned about the fate of the common people.

 Prose: Many of the prose writers joined forces with the critical realist novelists in exposing and criticizing the social reality, and some became very influential in the ideological 意识形态 field.  Poetry: The poetry of this period was mainly characterized by experiments with new styles and new ways of expression. “psycho-analytical /ǽ / 分析的, 解析的 ” element.

Some terms Critical Realism: It is the main trend of the literary thoughts in the 19th century. It reveals the corrupting influences of the rule of cash upon human nature. Critical realists set themselves the task of criticizing capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint of bourgeois reality. The 19th century critical realists made use of the form of novel to express their ideas.

Utilitarianism and Dramatic Monologue Utilitarianism 功利主义 : the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons. Dramatic Monologue 戏剧独白 : a single speaker is saying something to someone, even it only to himself. But whereas the speaker of a lyric usually seems to be the poet. The speaker of a dramatic monologue is a fictional character or an historical figure caught at a critical moment.

The Chartist Movement  Chartist Movement: From 1836 to 1848, the English workers got themselves organized in big cities and brought forth the People’s Charter. In which they demanded basic rights and better living and working conditions.

Chartist Literature  The predominant theme in early Victorian literature, especially in the writings of the working class writers (the chartists) and the critical realist. The bulk of Chartist literature appeared in different Chartist Publications. They were welcomed by the vast masses as the voices of their own hearts.

 Celtic Renaissance:  The creative outburst in Ireland late in the nineteenth century, continuing into the twentieth. William Butler Yeats and others sought dignify culture by producing art related to Irish traditions.

Influential writers  Charles Dickens,  Sisters Bronte (Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte and Anne Bronte),  Jane Austen,  William M. Thackeray  Robert Browning and Tennyson

 Charles Dickens’s creation:  The first period:  1836 Sketches by Boz  The Pickwick Papers  Oliver Twist  Nicholas Nickleby  the old Curiosity Shop  1841 Barnaby Rudge

 The Second period  1842 American Notes 《美国杂记》  Martin Chuzzlewit 《马丁 · 朱述尔维特》  1843 A Christmas Carol  1844 The Chimes 《钟声》  1845 The Cricket on the Hearth 《炉膛上的蟋蟀》  Dombey and Son  David Copperfield

 The Third Period  Bleak house  1854 Hard Times  Little Dorrit  1859 A Tale of Two Cities  Great Expectations  Our Mutual Friend  1870 Edwin Drood (unfinished)

The points of views 1. His exposure and criticism of evils in society  Dickens is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age.  His serious intention to expose and criticize in his works all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy and corruptness he sees all around him.  At the same time, he hopes to call people’s attention to the existing social problems, thus effecting some reform or amelioration.

 2. Ambivalent 矛盾的 view on London  In his works, Dickens sets out a full map and a large-scale criticism of the 19th century London. He presents London with ambivalence (contradictory feelings of both love and hatred) and an extraordinary vividness—fog, smoke, pale dusty sunshine, shabbiness 破旧, variety, intimacy 亲密 and vastness.

Artistic features of his works 1. A master story-teller—a great entertainer and a great artist. With the very first sentence, he engages the readers’ attention and holds it to the end; instalment helps him cultivate an ability to sustain interest through all kinds of literary devices, such as suspension, coincidence, dramatic dialogues and melo-drama 情节剧, etc.

2. Characters—the most distinguishing feature of his creation; both types and individuals; impressive—not because true to life, but larger than life; 3. Humor and Pathos 痛苦 – life itself a mixture of joy and grief; life delightful because it is at once comic and tragic; bright merriments and dark gloom at the same time, mingling tears and laughter as in real life.

The creation of Sisters Bronte 1. Scene: vast, rough, untouched moorland wilderness 2. The works of sisters:  Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre  Emily Bronte: Wuthering Height  Anne Bronte: Agnes Grey

 3.Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre  Rochester: a grim-looking, energetic, quick- tempered, but an understanding middle-aged man. Jane Eyre: has a burning spirit and a longing to love and be loved, Jane Eyre struggles for recognition of her basic rights and equality as a woman. It‘s an individual conscious struggle towards self-realization. She gets joy through the sacrifice of herself or her weakness overcome.

Jane Austen’s creation  Sense and Sensibility  Pride and Prejudice  Mansfield Park  Emma  Northanger Abbey  Persuasion

William m. Thackeray’ Creation  The Book of Snobs ( ) 《势利者集》  Vanity Fair ( ) 《名利场》  The History of Pendennis ( ) 《潘登尼斯》  The History of Henny Esmond (1852) 《亨利埃斯蒙德》  The Newcomers ( ) 《纽科姆一家》  The Virginians ( ) 《维吉尼亚人》

Alfred Tennyson 1. Alfred Tennyson’s creation:  Poems by Two Brothers, 1827 《哥俩集》  The Princess, 1847 《公主》  In Memoriam A. H. H 《悼念哈勒姆》  Maud, 1855 《毛黛》  Enoch Arden, 1864 《伊诺克 · 阿登》  Idylls of the King, 《国王之歌》

 2. Poet Laureate (Wordsworth, Southey)  3. His work’s characters:  He is a real artist. He has the natural power of linking visual pictures with musical expressions, and these tow with the feelings. He has perfect control of the sound of English, and a sensitive ear, an excellent choice and taste of words. His poetry is rich in poetic images and melodious language, and noted for its lyrical beauty and metrical charm. His works are not only the products of the creative imagination of a poetic genius, but also products of a long and rich English heritage

Robert Browning  1. His works:  Paracelsus, 1835 《巴拉塞尔士》  Strafford, 1837 《斯特拉福》  Pippa Passes, 1841 《比芭走过》  Dramatic Lyrics, 1842 《戏剧抒情诗》  Dramatic Romances and Lyrics, 1845 《戏剧传奇及抒 情诗》  Men and Women, 1855 《男男女女》  Dramatic Personae, 1855 《登场人物》  The Ring and the Book, 1868 《环与书》  2. his features: perfects "dramatic monologue", keeps readers thoughtful and enlightened.

 His work’s characters:  His name of Browning is often associated with the term: ”dramatic monologue”.  Although it is not his invention, it is in his hands that this poetic form reaches its maturity and perfection.  His poem is not easy to read. His rhythms are often too fast, too rough and unmusical.  The syntax is usually clipped and highly compressed.  The similes and illustrations appear too profusely 极其丰富的.  The allusions 典故 and implications 暗示 are sometimes odd and farfetched.

Mathew Arnold  Creation:  The Strayed Reveler 1849 《离群的浪子》  Poems 1853 《诗集》  Poems: Second Series 1855 《诗集》  New Poems 1867 《新诗集》  Essays IN Criticism 1865 《批评专集》  Culture and Anarchy 1869 《文化与无政府状态》  Literature and Dogma 1873 《文学与教条》  *

George Eliot( ) pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans, was born into an estate agent’s family in Warwickshire, England. Main works: Westminster Review Translation : Leben Jesu (Life of Jesus) Das Wesen des Christentums (The Essence of Christianity) Scenes of Clerical Life 《教区生活场景》 Adam Bede 《亚当 · 比德》 The Mill on the Floss 《弗洛斯河上的磨房》 Silas Marner 《织工马南》 Romola 《罗慕拉》 Felix Holt, the Radical 《菲利克斯 · 霍尔特》

George Eliot’s works characters  She seeks to present in the development of a soul and to reveal the motives, impulses and hereditary influences which govern human action.  She is interested in the development of a soul, the slow growth or decline of moral power of the character.  In her works, she shows a particular concern for the destiny of women, especially those with great intelligence, potential and social aspirations, in her mind, the pathetic tragedy of women lies in their very birth.

Some exercises  A:1 Graham Greene  2. Iris Murdoch  3. Aldous Huxley  4. John Fowles  5. Kingsley Amis  6. Washington Irving  7. James Fenimore Cooper  8. Edgar Allan Poe  9. Henry David Thoreau  10. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 B.  a. Under the Net  b. Brave New World  c. The Power and the Glory d. The French Lieutenant’s Woman e. “The Raven” f. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon g. the Leather-Stocking Tales h. Walden i. “The Song of Hiawatha” j. Luck Jim 1—5 c a b d j 6-10 f g e h i