Reading and Childhood: An Overview of Children’s Literature in England

Wednesday, April 19, 2023Wednesday, April 19, 2023 11

Reading and Childhood: Reading and Childhood: An Overview of Children’s An Overview of Children’s

Literature in EnglandLiterature in England

By Anna Wing Bo, TSOBy Anna Wing Bo, TSOMPhil in Gender StudiesMPhil in Gender StudiesGraduate School of HumanitiesGraduate School of HumanitiesThe University of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham


ObjectivesObjectives

• Examine the definitions of children’s literature, and

• discuss the transmission of cultures in children’s literature during different periods of time in England.


What is Children’s Literature?What is Children’s Literature?

“[T]he definition of children’s literature depends on the involvement of its audience – children…The concept of childhood shifts constantly from period to period, place to place, culture to culture – perhaps even child to child.”

(Peter Hunt, 1995: ix)


What is Children’s Literature?What is Children’s Literature?

• If children’s literature is understood to be literature for children, then to what does ‘for’ actually refer?


Children’s Literature: DevelopmentChildren’s Literature: Developmentand Transmission of Cultureand Transmission of Culture

“The most common view of the history of children’s literature is that the books have progressed steadily from didacticism to freedom, or from strictness to corruption.”

(Peter Hunt, 1995: xii)


Transmission of Culture in Transmission of Culture in Children’s Literature in EnglandChildren’s Literature in England

The Puritan Influence:

– Mid-17th century – The rise of children’s literature– Highly didactic– Books about fairies, magic and witches were

banned– Books that taught and reinforced Puritan values and

moral development were designed for children



The Enlightenment’s Influence:

– 18th century – The Lockean view of childhood

- the child’s mind as a tabula rasa

- children’s books should be easy and pleasant

enough to suit children’s levels and tastes– Childhood as a critical stage in life– Children’s literature as entertainment and education



The Romantic Movement’s Influence:

– 18th – early 19th century – Childhood as an ideal– Growing up into adulthood signifies the loss of

innocence– Children’s literature as a nostalgic representation



The Victorian Influence:

– Two conflicting constructions of the child:

- Children regarded as innocent and spontaneous

- Children were considered tainted by original sin– A shift from moral education to reading for pleasure– Gender specific:

- Stories for boys

- Stories for girls



The First Golden Age:

– Mid-1860s onwards – The rise of fantasy fiction– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)– Subversive notions introduced– Imagination and moral ambiguity embraced



The Second Golden Age:

– 1950s - 1960s – At first, childhood and family life were portrayed as

happy and secure– Controversial issues were avoided– In the 1960s, the public became more conscious of

the growing diversity of cultures– Adult authority eroded, and children became more

outspoken in the stories



Children’s literature today:

– Religion is replaced by the doctrine of existentialism, morals are replaced by sociology and psychology

– Repressed issues and taboo subjects are reflected and explored

– Children’s literature as an early exposure to society’s harsh problems

– Fantasy remains as one of the most popular genres

Reading and Childhood: An Overview of Children’s Literature in England

Documents

Transcript of Reading and Childhood: An Overview of Children’s Literature in England