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In this blog you will find, the general overview of background and literary characteristics of the Victorian Age.
Introduction
Generally, the Victorian period extends from 1850 to 1900, when Victoria became queen in 1837. English literature seemed to to have entered upon a period lean years. Victorian age was at mark contrast with the poetic fruitfulness of the the Romantic age. All the Romantic poets Shelley, Keats, Byron had passed away and there were no writers to filled their place in England. Wordsworth written in 1835,
"How fast has brother followed brother,
from sunshine to sunless land."
In these lines reflected the sorrowful spirit of a literary man of early nineteenth century, who remembered the glory that passed away. but there are Victorian poets like - Tennyson, Robert Browning and Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett to fill the vacant place of Keats, Shelley and Byron. and group of prose writers - Dickens, Thackeray, Carlyle and Ruskin had already begun to proclaim the literary glory of a new age.
Characteristics of the Victorian age
Amid the multitude of social and political forces of this great age, it is cleared that this is the,
"The modern period of progress and unrest"
The long struggle of the Anglo-Saxons for personal liberty is now settled and democracy becomes the established order of the day. the king, who appeared in an age of popular weakness, ignorance and peers was stripped of his power and remained as a figurehead of a past civilization. The divine right of rulers disappeared, The House of Commons became the ruling power in England. the whole body of people choose for themselves the man who shall represent them.
It is an age of democracy, and series of Reform bills were passed and slaves had been freed in 1833. it is an age of education, religious tolerance and of growing brotherhood.
Because of the established democracy and education it is and age of comparative peace. England begun to think less of pomp and false glory of war, because it is the common peoples that bears the burden and the sorrow and the poverty of the war, while the privileged classes reap most of the financial and political rewards.
Tennyson had well reflected the ideals of liberty of his day,
"In the parliament of men, the federation of the world."
Age of Prose
After the romantic revival, England had entered upon a new free period, in which every form of literature from pure romance to gross realism, struggled for expression. Though, age had produced many great poets, nevertheless this is emphatically an age of prose.
"Novels in this age fills a place,
which drama had in Elizabethan age."
As an age of education, number of readers increased, thus, give a chance to rise of newspaper, magazine and modern novel. which represent modern problems and ideas in such a perfect manner.
Moral Purpose
In Victorian age, both in poetry and in prose, seems to depart from purely artistic standards. writers of the age discarded the idea of,
"Art for Art's Sake"
And seek moral purpose in their work.
Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle and Ruskin were the teachers of England, not vaguely but definitely. they had faith and conscious moral purpose in their works to uplift and instruct the mankind. they first studied life itself and then point out, "What life may and ought to be."
That we observe in sentiments of Dickens, the social miniatures of Thackeray, or the psychological studies of George Eliot, we find definite purpose to sweep away error and to reveal under lying truth of human life.
Age of Science and Realism
Victorian age is remarkable for its rapid progress in all arts and sciences. the steamboats, electric lights and other scientific gadgets had significant influence upon the life of people. Lyell and Darwin sought for scientific exploration to find truth of humanity.
It is an age of gross realism, not the realism of Zola and Ibsen but deeper realism which strives to tell the whole truth, showing moral purpose. Dickens and Hardy's novels are the prime examples of Victorian realism.
Age of Doubt and Pessimism
There is a new conception of man and the universe, which was formulated by science under the name of involution. despite its reputation of moral certainty and social order, the age had also witnessed significant doubt and questioning. the rapid industrialization, scientific advancements and exposure of new ideas led to challenges to traditional religious beliefs, writers like Thomas Hardy reflected a sense of pessimism in their works.
Victorian age, as a whole, the noblest and most inspiring in the history of the world.
Video Resource,
Reference
Long, William j. English Literature. Maple Press Limited, 2012.
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