The Victorian Period 1833-1901

Queen Victoria Ruled from 1837-1901

Victoria Era in England =

Realism in Literature

Historically Speaking 1859 – Darwin publishes On the Origin of the Species

1861 – US Civil War begins

1879 – Ireland pressures for home rule

1884 – Reform Bill gives voting rights to most males

1896 – First modern Olympics held in Athens, Greece

1900 – Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams

1901 – Britain establishes Commonwealth of Australia

1901- Queen Victorian dies (63 years of rule)

Realism •  Romanticism faded as people became more

interested in reading about themselves

•  Focused on people facing day-to-day problems of life

• Characters came from the middle and lower classes, not just the upper class

•  Viewed nature as harsh and indifferent to human suffering

The Aesthetic Movement ���“Art for Art’s Sake”

•  A literary movement begun in the art world

•  Sought to accentuate the beauty of artistic and literary creation

•  The (foolish?) idea was to reform society by exposing it to beautiful things

The British Empire

•  Expansion justified by economics AND by the belief that British citizens (mostly white and Christian) had a duty to help the “less fortunate” races abroad… a.k.a. “the white man’s burden.”

•  The empire extended to Hong Kong, India, and several countries in Africa – “the sun never sets on the British Empire.”

“The White Man’s Burden”

“The White Man’s Burden”

Text

Oscar Wilde  Born in Dublin to socially prominent parents

 Attended Oxford (Classics major)

 Traveled extensively through Italy and Greece

 Satirizes British society with witty dialogue, often inverting moral standards and general beliefs

 Generally speaking, Wilde was reacting against Victorian “stuffiness”

The Importance of Being Earnest “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People”

Two Upper-Class bachelors pretending to be Earnest.

They have a difficult time being earnest.

Pokes fun at Victorian stuffiness & idle rich.

The quintessential English Comedy of Manners.

One of the most frequently staged comedies in English lang.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff: wealthy bachelor John “Jack” Worthing: wealthy bachelor

Cecily Cardew: Jack’s ward; Algy likes her Gwendolen Fairfax: Algy’s cousin; Jack likes her

Lady Bracknell: Gwendolen’s mother; Algy’s aunt

Miss Prism: Cecily’s governess

Reverend Dr. Chasuble: rector at Jack’s estate Lane: Algy’s servant

Merriman: Jack’s servant

The Importance of Being Earnest

This is a farcical comedy that makes fun of the ridiculousness of Victorian society.

How many different elements of Victorian society are being mocked by Wilde?

The humor of the play is in the language. What are your favorite lines?

Robert and Elizabeth Browning “My Last Duchess”

p. 836 “Sonnet 43”

p. 844

Matthew Arnold “Dover Beach”

p. 884

Gerard Manley Hopkins

“God’s Grandeur” p. 930

A. E. Housman “To an Athlete Dying Young”

p. 933

Alfred, ���Lord Tennyson

“All Things Must Die” (handout)

Christina Rossetti Selected Poems

(handout)