Can anybody help me Please?? - Victorian Literature

I have to do a project in my grade 12 english class on victorian literature, and I have to do an essay on it. The essay is this: I have to come up with the "themes" of victorian literature (like what makes the piece victorian, the charactersitics of victorian literature) and use examples from victorian books and poems to "prove" or support the themes. I am finding difficutly finding themes and books or poems with the themes in them.. I am wondering if anyone knows Anything about victorian literature?? Any help would be SOOO gladly appreciated!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!

try Sheridan LeFanu. He's a Victorian gothic writer (I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for.) It should be fairly easy to analyze it. I had a book once but I haven't seen it in ages...

If I understand you right, you need an overview of Victorian literature first. You might try Wikipedia, then any guide to English literature (eg the Pelican Guide to English Literature or similar works, ask your librarian). Such books usually give you an overview of subjects writers of a certain era used and also examples of novels or poetry on these themes. You cannot read all Victorian literature first, that would take you ages to complete your project ...:D

Try reading some Victorian books.

Themes - Well a fair number crop up regularly. The place of the individual in society. The artist's struggle. Art as a utility or for its own sake. Faith versus materialism. The inner versus the outer life. The position of women. Rather oddly you might find quite a lot of these themes in Tennyson's 'Lady of Shalott' which is not a simple romantic poem. But the Victorian era was big. So there are numerous recurring themes.

I did read the Lady of Shallot actually.. i like it, but yeah i just dont get how any themes apply. and i dont have access to any actual books because i live in a small town and cannot get to them.. so im looking on the internet for some and i found some but i can't apply the themes to the stories. :sick: i hate school. but thanks for tryin to help, i guess i just have to start thinking lol. :idea:

Well the tower is symbolic. It's the narrow domesticated world of the Middle class woman of Tennyson's day. It also represents the self-imposed exile of the artist from society. The artist is represented as a thinker and creator but not an active doer, not a participant in the life going by. The artist is represented as not being fully understood by the masses and women's needs not understood by men. Sex is portrayed as extremely dangerous (not much change there then) and so on and so forth....

One recurring theme, possibly unique to Victorian literature, is "What makes a gentleman?"

The classic example is "John Halifax, Gentleman" by Mrs Craik. As the introduction to an 1898 edition puts it: "The growth and development of the Novel forms one of the characteristics of the literature of the Victorian era, and probably no work of fiction issued during this period has stimulated that development to such an extent, and at the same time cast so pure and ennobling influence over all classes of readers, as 'John Halifax, Gentleman.' From its publication, in the now out-of-date, three volume form, in 1856 to the present time [1898] it has been in steady and constant demand."

Other books of the period with the same theme include "Ravenshoe" by Henry Kingsley, "Tom Brown's Schooldays" by Thomas Hughes, "Tristram of Blent" by Anthony Hope.

That intention to "cast so pure and ennobling influence over all classes of readers" is a characteristic that is more or less confined to the Victorian era - would Jane Austen not have been embarrassed to be described in those terms, or Virginia Woolf? Yet, in the period that lies between these two, such a description would have been considered a high accolade.

And - apologies to Ennison - I think that the idea that Victorian women lived in a narrow domesticated world is probably a modern, not a Victorian concept. For Victorians' ideas on their own middle class life, try Kipling's Mrs Hauksbee stories, or Hope's "Intrusions of Peggy" or the Grossmiths' "Diary of a Nobody."

Of course, you could just play safe and read just about anything by Dickens. Pretty well any of his books deal in some way with any theme you could think of. Amuse yourself by reading "Pickwick Papers," and note down as you do so any themes you encounter - you'll run out of paper before the book runs out of themes.

why not posit the thesis that there is no common theme specific to the victorian era -- or at least among the works of quality literature? to cite an example take thomas hardy and charles dickens. hardy's books are invariably tragic in nature and are peopled by rough country folks with a hard edge. a dickens' character whether he be a villian or a saint has a grotesque mental tic or a grotesque physical mannerism which gives his book a comedic slant however sad the ending. good luck.

i have a similar problem, i cannot find any descent websites that show me what i'm looking for. i respect and understand all the comments posted, and have taken them into account(: i just wondered if anyone can suggest any typical Victorian genres and characters? i, too, am doing an essay and it'd mean a lot if i do well. i'd appreciate it if you were to help, thankyou x

When i think of the victorian era, i think of mysticism, paranormal and supernatural. Books by Le Fanu, Stoker, Carroll, Stephenson, Wells (earlier works as he was quite late) And even in poems by Yeats.
But then there were the novels that captured the life the victorian Era. Dickens, Gaskell, Hardy, Thackery, Trollope (although i'm humming over those last two.)

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Originally Posted by S_KJC

i have a similar problem, i cannot find any descent websites that show me what i'm looking for. i respect and understand all the comments posted, and have taken them into account(: i just wondered if anyone can suggest any typical Victorian genres and characters? i, too, am doing an essay and it'd mean a lot if i do well. i'd appreciate it if you were to help, thankyou x

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What exactly do you mean by "typical Victorian genres and characters?" Do you mean the different genres and character types found within Victorian literature or literally, characters, famous literary characters found in Victorian literature? What exactly is the essay you have to do?

The Women Issue is a big thing in Victorian Literature. Practically any novel of this period, especially if written by a female, will deal with this issue. The Domestic Angel - was it Coventry Patmore who coined that or something? Anyway poems like My Last Duchess, Anee Bronte's the captive dove, novels like Dickens' our mutual friend, jane eyre etc. Anything that promotes women as the domestic goddess and her counter opposite. Also working as a governess/writer at the time, for females, has strong connotations of prostitution - e.g you are paid for your services. For non-fiction critical stuff - if you're interested in this whole women issue - i'd recommend 'the mad woman in the attic' by Gilbert and Gubar. They've written a lot of books together so i'd look into other stuff they've done - most of it is on victorian literature. And finally if you're going to look at the women issue you can use the french lieutenant's women - excellent novel to compare to the more earlier stuff. Good luck and hope this has been useful.

What was Dickens again?
Mrs Craik, was good although my fav is Olive, mind its three volumes long.
George Macdonald is also lovley that mix of moralty and mystesim and grom reality ( see Sir Gibbie)
As for women has anyone else read A woman's Patience by Emma Jane Worboise. ?:D

George Gissing is a Victorian writer who was very influential in his day and in some ways is a precursor to George Orwell . His own life is as astonishing as any of his novels and it is unbelievable that he has received scant attention on this forum condsidering what a major figure he is in Victorian Literature.

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Originally Posted by Brian Bean

George Gissing is a Victorian writer who was very influential in his day and in some ways is a precursor to George Orwell . His own life is as astonishing as any of his novels and it is unbelievable that he has received scant attention on this forum condsidering what a major figure he is in Victorian Literature.

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hear, hear

You might try "Wadsley Jack" by Reuben Hallam, circa 1881. It does have the disadvantage of being written in a Yorkshire dialect, but it gives a fascinating insight into Victorian life, especially in one of the more deprived areas of Englan. It is available on E-Bay and other places. Other than that, tedious though it may well be, dear old Dickens!!

two very good books on victorian literature i would recommend are:

1. The Nineteenth-Century Novel: A Critical Reader by Stephan Reader (ed.)

2. A Companion to the Victorian Novel by Patrick Brantlinger

I would try some of the Brontes' work for sure. Their style is very modern compared to some other authors of the time, and they deal with popular themes. Jane Eyre or the Tenant of Wildfell Hall would be my first suggestion.

Lewis Carroll might be more to your liking and it doesn't hurt that work is available just about everywhere.

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Originally Posted by Rikkit

I have to do a project in my grade 12 english class on victorian literature, and I have to do an essay on it. The essay is this: I have to come up with the "themes" of victorian literature (like what makes the piece victorian, the charactersitics of victorian literature) and use examples from victorian books and poems to "prove" or support the themes. I am finding difficutly finding themes and books or poems with the themes in them.. I am wondering if anyone knows Anything about victorian literature?? Any help would be SOOO gladly appreciated!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!

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There is a lot of Victorian literature out there so you really should not be having any problems. Also, if there is a book, there is a sparknote/pinkmonkey/whatever site you use that can give you themes/story plot or whatever. So basically go to google.com then type in "Victorian Literature" the wikipedia site that comes up will help (do not use it in your paper) it has a whole section that says "novelists" and it will give you some people to go with. I definately suggest Thackeray...but choose whoever you want.

Either, you should not be having problems. Google and a little bit of effort can help with that.

-KB

Ok guys so what definitive themes do we have so far?

- Position of women in society.
- Class differences.
- Struggle of the artist.
- Industrialisation.

Any more? :)

The later Victorian writers were IMO very different from the early ones. I believe the Victorian novel emerged as (partially) a reaction against Romanticism, but their themes became more complicated as time went on.

One of the themes that really characterizes a Victorian novel for me is a deep skepticism (sometimes to the point of satire) of upper class values and Christianity. Also, shock value. Carlyle, Dickens, and Wilde jump to mind.

Also, I think the later Victorians started exploring the human psyche. I'm thinking of the Bronte sisters, Robert Browning's dramatic monologue poems, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Wilde's Dorian Gray.

I remember a good lecture on Dickens I once attended. The lecturer spoke about the 'terror of being de-classed' which permeates both his novels and much of Victorian literature. Those with money lived in constant fear of losing it and being cast down into the brutal, savage world of the underclass- particularly in London, which was, at the time, the largest city that had ever existed.

If you could help me out I'd be greatly appreciative - do you have any good novels/poetry that link to the sacredness of nature and how industrialism destroys it?
So far I've got some Gerald Manley Hopkins poetry, loosely Arnold's Culture and Anarchy (industrialism destroys culture), and I guess Conrad's The Secret Agent (industrialism is a breeding ground for evil).
However I really need more about the savagery of industrialism wrecking nature. Help would be loved. :D

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Originally Posted by oblivion252

However I really need more about the savagery of industrialism wrecking nature. Help would be loved. :D

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How about Lord of the Rings? Tolkein shows the forest's Ents forced to leave their home because of Saruman's building of fortresses for the sake of war.

One important thing about Victorian literature was that it was, in many ways, the final triumph of the novel over older forms. Before the Industrial Revolution, poetry was far more common than prose. Today however, prose is much more widely read, and the novel is something of a "staple" form of literature. This dominance of the novel really came into full force during the Industrial Revolution, largely thanks to a growing middle class and the printing press.

Prior to the Restoration, owning a book was unheard of amongst anyone who wasn't an aristocrat. If we factor in the cost of inflation and convert our currency, the cost of Matthew Lewis' [I]The Monk[I] would have cost the current equivalent of around USD3000. Books were unaffordable before the Victorian age, and public libraries were at best a novelty concept.

As the Victorian era rolled around and books became accessible however, the growing middle class audience began to demand literature that was accessible to them. They weren't really interested in what seemed, to them at least, to be flighty and escapist poems about lions and lambs or ancient Mariners. They greatly preferred the prose form over poetry, and publishers naturally responded.

As it became apparent which way the winds were blowing (novelists got published, poets starved) the number of novel writers began to drastically outnumber the poets. Consequently, the best and most influential literature of the Victorian era tended to be novels more often than poetry.

I find that the primary emphasis in Victorian literature is on didatic value-- particularly in Victorian fairytales, which make very interesting reading and can be read in a short amount of time.

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Originally Posted by Wilde woman

How about Lord of the Rings? Tolkein shows the forest's Ents forced to leave their home because of Saruman's building of fortresses for the sake of war.

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Ah yeh, I forgot to mention it has to be Victorian haha!
Good example though thanks. :)
Any ideas of a Victorian example?