The Victorian Period

1
The Victorian Period

• 1830-1901

2
A Time of Change

• Age of Industry prosperity and change
• Science is on the rise
• Worlds foremost imperial power
• Changes occurred in political and social life
• Literature becomes a prominent culture

3
Queen Victoria and the Victorian Temper

• Ruled England at age 18 from 1837-1901
• Exemplifies Victorian qualities earnestness,
  moral responsibility, domestic propriety
• Role modeled a high moral purpose

4
An Age of Reform

• Transformed English class structure
• Abolished slavery
• Working class begin to stand up for their rights
  as citizens
• Injustices continued to exist, but Victorians
  made efforts to improve their society

5
The Time of Troubles1830s and 1840s

• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Rioting
• Slums in large cities
• Working conditions for women and children were
  terrible

6
British Imperialism and Progress

• Britain begins to expand all over the world
• Scientific progress was at an all time high
• Mass production, engineering, and the development
  of more effective tools
• Materialism as a byproduct of expansion and
  progress

7
Science, Philosophy and Religion

• Science affects the physical world as well as
  Victorian thought
• Science clashes with religion Darwinism
• Naturalism scientific principles detached from
  human beings

8
Popular Culture

• Centered around the ideals of the middle class
• Middle class Victorian was preoccupied with the
  comforts of home
• Public entertainment music halls, seaside
  resorts, golf courses, and bicycle paths
• Home and family are a priority for the middle
  class

9
Victorian Women and the Home

• Queen was a role model for women
• The role of women was to create a home
• Expectations of women were to take care of their
  husbands

10
Literacy, Publication, and Reading

• By the end of the century, literacy was almost
  universal.
• Compulsory national education required to the
  age of ten.
• Explosion of things to read
• Newspapers, periodicals, and books.
• Novels and short fiction were published in serial
  form.
• Literature illuminated social problems.

11
The Victorian Novel

• The novel was the dominant form in Victorian
  literature.
• Victorian novels recognized a variety of social
  classes.
• Victorian novels are realistic they portray
  real life
• For the first time, women were major writers the
  Brontes. Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot.
• The Victorian novel was a principal form of
  entertainment.

12
Victorian Poetry

• Victorian poetry developed in the context of the
  novel.
• Poets sought new ways of telling stories in verse
• Dramatic monologue the idea of creating a lyric
  poem in the voice of a speaker.
• Poets use detail to construct visual images
• Represent the emotion or situation the poem
  concerns.

13
Sources

• The Victorian Period - english2.mnsu.edu/johnston/
  The20Victorian20Period.ppt