The gothic literature of the nineteenth century has undergone various transformations . A major shift in Victorian gothic is in term of the setting. The gothic is shifted from pastoral, wild countryside to urban setting . The urban gothic relocates the traditional gothic castles to the city which became popular in the 1830 and was applied on gothic fictions throughout the rest of the century. As the southern European was the setting of the first wave of the gothic , London becomes typical setting of the dark fictions in nineteenth century because of its cultural, financial state in the world.
In this sense, both father and daughter seem to complement each other. Ultimately, we understand that part of Dickens satire is directed to the fact that you cannot just throw money to someone to make a gentleman out of him. As for Gaskell, the whole purpose of her work is to create a world that the reader wants to get lost in. The text is based on Realism, an illusion of reality in which the characters are familiar to the reader in the way that they act. This is noticeable in the character of Mary, a girl whose mother and unborn brother die, whose father turns into a mad man, and who is also the focus of two men’s love from different social classes.
In response to the Industrial Revolution of Victorian England during the 18th century, British society found itself at a crossroad regarding what was deemed significant in human life. The Victorian life was grimy, tough and cruel, and it is made prevalent throughout Charles Dickens’ novella, ‘A Christmas Carol’, that a clear distinction is illustrated between that of the wealthy, aristocrats of England, which was paralleled with those who don’t have wealth, but may have happiness. Dickens integrates the use of satire with the intention to evoke change within his audience, which would result in a more equal England in the future. Moreover, the use of multiple literary techniques as well as the further development of characters, of whom reflect stereotypical members of Victorian England society, Dickens is able to exemplify the need for humanity to transform for the good of all. Dickens establishes greed as a major flaw in society, furthermore, Dickens exposes the greater requirement for generosity to be prevalent within humanity.
Authors from this time period use similar themes and literary devices, all due to the fact that they have the same philosophy and worldview. When a popular world-view coincides with what the authors of that age write about, in theme and style, a new literary movement begins. All three of the stories which dominate this topic is a combination of two literary movements that occurred at the same time, in the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century. These literary movements were called Naturalism and Realism, not the most differing movements but with some key differences. Naturalism discounts supernatural events or beings, focusing on natural laws of nature rather than a being who created the nature.
The Victorian Era, in which Austen and Dickens’s novels were written, saw a significant shift in the form of the novel. The form began in the Romantic Period, with novels feeling under the category of “pop” literature (Greenblatt, 2012a). However, under the structure of the Victorian Era, novels not only gained popularity, but began to be viewed as much more reputable in literary circles (Greenblatt, 2012b). In addition, the subject matter of literature changed during this time. According to the Glossary of Literary Terms, “much of the writing of the period, whether imaginative or didactic, in verse or in prose, dealt with or reflected the pressing social, economic, religious, and intellectual issues and problems of that era” (Abrams & Harpham, 2012).
This quote brings about an interesting topic, American Literature and the significant changes throughout history encouraged many people to create change in literature. The literary arts became a powerful tool in communicating different worldviews and the integrating of historical moments in time. This movement created a unique blending of different races to integrate through literary arts causing many cultures to unite internationally. Literature encouraged intellectual American’s to be a part of the change in their communities. For many people, this movement triggered an internal need for social and cultural change.
The Romantic era and the Victorian era are two major periods in English literature. The main difference between Romantic and Victorian poetry lies in the way these two schools of poetry portrayed life and philosophy. Romantic poetry was influenced mainly by nature and it was considered as an idealistic refuge for the human soul. While Victorian poetry was influenced by the industrial revolution and the scientific discoveries of this period. However, despite the fact that William Wordsworth is a Romantic poet and Matthew Arnold is a Victorian poet the two writers share similarities in the use of nature, nostalgia, simplicity in style and morality.
This view disregards the fact that Dickens’ often hides his criticisms in his caricature-like characterisations (Arneson 60), which serve to distort the initial interpretation of the reader. Dickens uses Stephen as a medium to criticise his passivity in the face of the utilitarianism by which industrial society functions. In contrast, the novel’s union representative Slackbridge, portrayed as a cruel and unlikable man, acts in the best interest of the Workers’ Union. Therefore, Slackbridge, and not Stephen, is Dickens’ advocate for change in the novel. Charles Dickens wrote Hard Times as a critique on industrial utilitarianism.
Barry Lewis states that “The postmodernist writer distrusts the wholeness and completion associated with traditional stories, and prefers to deal with other ways of structuring narrative.” (Stuart Sim (ed.) 2001: 127). In this essay, I shall attempt to show how the ‘wholeness and completion’ of the conventional Victorian novel is disrupted over the narrative of Fowles’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman by drawing a number of examples out of the numerous that can be traced in the novel. The first distinct element that the reader notices in the narrative is the use of quotation references preceding the beginning of each chapter. The use of these epigraphs reinforces the Victorian ‘feeling’ of the story, and certainly, it also aims to recreate the Victorian context in relation to the current perspective.
The literature of Romanticism versus the Victorian era initially becomes a problematic subject to accept. As a Victorian poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins attacks the conception of religion by questioning the existence of God. Hopkins’ sonnets reflect this issue of an oppress religion and educates people towards the conspiracy of a change era through his magnificent poems. Hopkins stands true to the new and improve era of Victorian by conciliating the absences of divinity. Although others may have disagree that G.M.