The Victorian Age英国文学维多利亚时期

1、The Victorian Age,(English Literature of Critical Realism in England),Alexandrina Victoria 1819-1901 At the age of 18 Victoria inherited the throne, she reigned for 64 years “The sun never sets on the Queens empire” the power and influence of Britain around the world The Opium War She died a lonely

2、ruler,About Queen Victoria:,1837年，18岁的女王维多利亚登基，新女王在继位之前的日记中写道：既然上帝把我置于这个国家的王位上，我将尽力履行自己的职责。我尚年轻，可能在许多方面缺乏经验，但我肯定，几乎无人像我这样怀着为国为民的良好意愿和真切希望。女王充分实现了自己的诺言：她在其一生中模范地履行了立宪君主的职责，因此深受国民的爱戴；她还是那个时代道德风尚的典范，她是贤妻，又是良母，是典型的大家闺秀，也是优秀的一家主妇。她自己生活严谨，工作刻苦，对别人又充满责任感。在许多国人眼中，她就是那个时代的缩影，她漫长的63年在位时期则是国家繁荣昌盛的顶峰。维多利亚在位时期，被

3、称作“维多利亚时代”，在英国所有国王中，她享有盛誉，这不是因为她做出了什么轰动的事业，而是因为她什么都不做，而仅仅恪守立宪君主的本分，做她那个时代的表率。,她是第一个以“大不列颠和爱尔兰联合王国女王和印度女皇”名号称呼的英国君主。她在位的64年期间（1837-1901年），是英国最强盛的所谓“日不落帝国”时期。女王统治时期，在英国历史上被称为维多利亚时代。她在位的60余年正值英国自由资本主义由方兴未艾到鼎盛、进而过渡到垄断资本主义的转变时期，经济、文化空前繁荣，君主立宪制得到充分发展，使维多利亚女王成了英国和平与繁荣的象征。,1837年维多利亚女王即位时，英国已经完成了资本主义工业革命，为了满

4、足国家寻找原料地和销售市场的要求，英国开始在世界各地建立殖民地和自治领。1840年英国占领了新西兰，这标志着英国在全世界的殖民体系形成。英国对中国的野心由来已久。英国与中国的贸易最早始于茶叶、丝绸的贸易；但是这些商品是英国市场上的奢侈品，而中国自给自足的经济体制使得英国的工业革命的产品毫无用武之地。为了扭转对华贸易逆差，英国商人开始在英国政府的支持下倾销鸦片。1839年，林则徐在虎门销烟，极大程度上打击了英国政府的倾销政策，1840年初，维多利亚女王在议会上发表了著名的演说，呼吁“为了大英帝国的利益”，向中国发动战争。第一次鸦片战争遂始。,维多利亚女王的名字，象征着一个时代。在维多利亚统治期间

5、，英国国民空前团结，英国成为一个强大的帝国，并不断壮大发展。这是女王给英国人留下的最好遗产，也是对她一生政绩最有力的评价。极少有坐上帝位的女人，能像维多利亚一样，如此出色地完成了女王的职责，同时又拥有如此平凡的作为女人的幸福。她统治的时期，特别是1851年以后，在英国历史上被称为维多利亚时代。她在位的六十余年正值英国自由资本主义由方兴未艾到鼎盛、进而过渡到垄断资本主义的转变时期，英国极度强盛，经济、文化空前繁荣，科学、艺术都有很大的发展，君主立宪制得到充分成熟，维多利亚女王的名字成了英国和平与繁荣的象征。 维多利亚女王性格鲜明，秉性真挚。她忠于职守，具有治国之才；她不仅把时光消磨在工作上，也消

6、磨在为家务操劳上；她忠于自己的丈夫，对子女要求严格，成为一代楷模。她的不懈努力，不仅使英国的文学，艺术、科学昌盛，经济繁荣，英国的生活方式（如英国贵族的下午茶）也从那时候开始成为世界各国人民所追逐仿效的对象。“维多利亚时代”被许多英国人所怀念。,Queen Elizabeth the primary manufacturer of goods and the wealthiest country -seeing it as their duty to bring English values, laws, customs, and religion to the “savage” races

7、around the world (Missionaries),The Victorian age (1832-1901),An Age of change and Improvement,-Great Exhibition of 1851 and Crystal Palace (locomotives, machine tools, power looms, reapers, steamboat engines and etc),-The 1st Reform Act of 1832 and the 2nd Reform act of 1867 : reform in the elector

8、al system leading to a more democratic society,-,1830, 1850, 1900, Public railway across England and an underground rail system beneath London,The Victorian age (1832-1901), Historical Situation,An Age of Unrest and Dispute,Social unrest Intellectual diversity Religious debate,unemployment, poverty,

9、 slums in large cites, terrible working conditions;,Utilitarianism and Jeremy Bentham Liberalism and Jean-Jacque Rousseau Socialism and Karl Marx,German Higher Criticism Darwins The Origin of Species (1859) Oxford Movement led by Cardinal Newman The rapid growth of Evangelical Methodism(循道宗),Chartis

10、t Movement; petitions for womens suffrage; the Married Womens Property Acts,The Victorian age (1832-1901),-Puritan morality: virtues of hard work; modesty and worldly success against seeking worldly pleasure,- Victorian quality: the high standards of decency; earnest pursuit of morals vs. practices

11、of prudery, false modesty, empty respectability,-avoidance of profanity and sex & exposure of the ages hypocrisy in favor of sincerity and humanitarian love.,Victorian temper,Influence,The Victorian period has been generally regarded as one of the most glorious in the English history. As a result of

12、 relative peace at home, national economy picked up at a high speed. The country changed from an agricultural to an industrialized nation. It became more urbanized, cities grew in size, and villages declined. Education became more general, and science and technology advanced. Despite the gaping extr

13、emes of wealth and poverty, life became visibly easier. On the whole, the Victorian period was characterized by rapid change in nearly every sphere of society and one of transition from the past to the modern times. Hope existed alongside dismay, and optimism was colored by anxiety.,Literature of th

14、e Victorian Period,The Victorian Period of English literature began with the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837, and lasted until her death in 1901.,Queen Victoria ( 1819 - 1901 ),The Victorian Period (1832-1901),The early phase (1832-1848): Time of turbulence The middle phase (1848-1

15、870): time of prosperity The late phase(1870-1901): time of decay,Chartist literature and Democratic poetry,Critical realistic novels, poetry and non-fiction prose,Critical realists (Thomas Hardy, Samuel Butler), Naturalists (George Gissing), school of Aestheticism (Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde)唯美主义,Ch

16、aracteristics of the English literature in Victorian period,The Victorian literature, as a product of its age, naturally took its quality of magnitude and diversity. It was many-sided and complex, and reflected both romantically and realistically the great changes that were going on in peoples life

17、and thought. In this period, the novel became naturally the most popular form of all the literary art, and what writers were concerned with was the fate of common people.,Victorian Literature,Chronologically the Victorian period roughly coincides with the reign of Queen Victoria over England from 18

18、36 to 1901. In literature, the early Victorian age can be said to be the age of critical realism. The critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and in the early fifties. Puritan morality of the early and mid Victorian period was reflected in the novels. In Victorian novels the s

19、ocietys effects on individual are analyzed.,Victorian Literature,Literature produced during this period reflects the “spirit of the times”: Expansion of newspapers and periodicals led to ongoing debates about current political and social issues.,Victorian literature (especially novels) offered a rea

20、listic, day-to-day portrayal of social life and represented these issues in the stories of the characters. Suddenly, the once-silent female segment of society raised their voices. They could even appear onstage, acting in dramas (a privilege denied to them prior to this time).,Features of Victorian

21、novels,In this period, the novel became the most widely read & the most vital & challenging expression of progressive thought. While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the 18th-century realist novel, novelists in this period carried their duty forward to the criticism of the soc

22、iety & the defense of the mass. Although writing from different points of view & with different techniques, they shared one thing in common, that is, they were all concerned about the fate of the common people. They were angry at the inhuman social institutions, the decaying social morality as repre

23、sented by the money-worship & Utilitarianism & the widespread misery, poverty & injustice.,Their truthful depiction of peoples life & bitter & strong criticism of the society had done much in awakening the public consciousness to the social problems & in the actual improvement of the society. Victor

24、ian literature, in general, truthfully represents the reality & spirit of the age. The high-spirited vitality, the down-to-earth earnestness, the good-natured humor & unbounded imagination are all unprecedented. In almost every genre it paved the way for the coming century, where its spirits, values

25、 & experiments are to witness their bumper harvest.,Features of Victorian novels,The critical realistic ideas among Victorian novelists,While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the eighteenth-century realist novel, the critical realistic novelists carried their duty forward to t

26、he criticism of the society and the defense of the mass. They were all concerned about the fate of the common people. They were angry about the inhuman social institutions , the decaying social morality as represented by the money-worship and Utilitarianism, and the widespread misery, poverty and in

27、justice.,What is critical realism?,Critical realism is the main trend of the literary thoughts in the 19th century. It reveals the corrupting influence of the rule of money upon human nature. Critical realists first and foremost set themselves the task of criticizing capitalist society from a democr

28、atic viewpoint of bourgeoisie reality. The major contribution made by the 19th century critical realists lie in their perfection of the novels. They made use of the form of novel for full and detailed representations of social and political events, and the fate of individuals and of whole social cla

29、sses.,Literary Current :The Critical Realism,Definition: English critical realism. Critical realism was the main current in English novel in the middle of the 19the century, an age which witnessed a great development in capitalist industry and commerce in England. Replacing the feudal aristocracy, t

30、he bourgeoisie had assumed ruling power. The working people lived in poverty and misery, and the conflict between labor and capital became the fundamental class contradiction in society.,What are the main characteristics of the English critical realism?,English critical realism of the 19th century f

31、lourished in the forties and in the early fifties. The critical realists described with much vividness and artistic skill the chief trait of the English society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint. In their best works, the greed and hypocrisy of the upper-classes are con

32、trasted with the honesty and good-heartedness of the obscure “simple people” of the lower classes. Hence humor and satire abound in the English realistic novels of the 19th century. However, the critical realists did not, due to their world outlook, could not, find a way to eradicate social evils.,L

33、iterary Forms,2. Social criticism in prose Thomas Carlyle John Ruskin Matthew Arnold 3. English Poetry 4. The appearance of Working Class Literature,1. Perfection of the novel a. the greatest realist of the time was Charles Dickens b. William Makepeace Thackeray c. Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell d. George Eliot,The main writers in Victorian Period,Novelists: Charles Dickens（查尔斯.狄更斯） The Bronte Sisters（勃朗特三姐妹） Alfred Tennyson（阿尔弗雷德.丁尼生） Robert Browning（罗伯特.布朗宁） George Eliot（乔治.艾略特） Thomas Hardy（托马斯.哈代）,Poets: Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning,Playwrights: Oscar Wilde（奥斯卡.王尔德） Geor