V ICTORIAN N ON -P OETRY M OVEMENT By: Valerie Pymento

B ACKGROUND /U NIFYING P RINCIPLES The Victorian Age marked a shift from a way of life based on ownership of land to a modern urban economy based on trade and manufacturing. Some changes that took place during the Victorian Period, which were present in the non-poetry movement, were: The Industrial Revolution Challenges to religious faith Democratization Changes in the role of women The Victorian novel emphasized the realistic portrayal of social life. It represented many Victorian issues in the stories of its characters. Voices that weren’t heard before were heard now. Women and factory working writers embraced the opportunity to describe the conditions of their lives. Overall, literature during this time period became more inclusive and democratic.

C HARLES D ICKENS Charles Dickens was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian Era. - He created some of literature's most iconic characters. - Charles Dickens was introduced to the world of the poor very early in his childhood. - Many of his future characters like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Philip Pirrip would be based on his own experiences. - He is known for A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Hard Times, Holiday Romance, Hunted Down, Little Dorrit, Martin Chuzzlewit, Master Humphrey's Clock, Mudfog and Other Sketches, Nicholar Nickleby, Oliver Twist,, and more, including several short stories.

O SCAR W ILDE Oscar Wilde was author of several short stories and one novel and became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London. He is most known for his wit, and one of the greatest celebrities of his time. However, he suffered a downfall. His essays include: The Critic As Artist, De Profundis, The Decay Of Lying: An Observation, Pen, Pencil, And Poison- A Study In Green, The Soul of Man Under Socialism, The Truth of Masks- a Note On Illusion, The Rise of Historical Criticism, The English Renaissance of Art, House Decoration. Some of his plays include Vera and The Duchess of Padua.

J OHN R USKIN He was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as an author, poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. His later writings became increasingly complex and personal explorations of the interconnection of cultural social and moral issues and were influential on the development of Christian socialism. He began writting a series of articles for London's Magazine of Natural History. He soon published Transactions of the Meteorlogical Society.

O THERS Anne Bronte - She wrote two novels: Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Thomas Hardy - The term "cliffhanger" is considered to have originated with Thomas Hardy's novel A Pair of Blue Eyes. Lewis Carroll - His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. - Most of this output was humorous, sometimes satrical