1880-1910 Flashcards
What was aestheticism?
Art for arts sake. Focused art on being beautiful rather than having a deeper meaning.
What sort of devices did aestheticism use?
Suggestion rather than statement, sensuality, great use of symbols and synthaesthetic effects (correspondence between words, colours and music).
Who was the biggest supporter of aestheticism?
Oscar Wilde
What literary examples are there of aestheticism?
À Rebours (against nature) and The picture of Dorian Grey.
What was Victorian (gender) convention?
Gender roles more sharply defined. Two sexes living in ‘seperate spheres’ and only coming together at breakfast and dinner. Women physically weak but morally strong and men were the opposite. Women must prepare the next generation. Women weren’t meant to pursue sexual satisfaction. Most men had sex with prostitutes and when they contracted syphilis they passed it on to their wives. The prostitute was the shadow that haunted the well-run middle-class home. Unlike the wives a prostitute was a worker in the economic marketplace.
What literary examples are there of Victorian (gender) convention?
Jude the Obscure, Tess of the D’Urbevilles and The Awakening.
What was ‘Roger Funnyman’s The Swell’s Night Guide through the Metropolis’?
Book on where to a city’s red light district.
What was the Empire and New Imperialism?
A period of colonial expansion. States focused on building their empires with new technological advances and developments. Britain was first to industrialise, however, by the end of nineteenth century it was battling to maintain a dominant economic position. Britain’s security and territories in danger. Military spending expanded.
What literary examples are there of New Imperialism?
The Heart of Darkness, Kim and Dracula.
What is science fiction?
19th century was time of huge technological advances. Communication, transport and building materials were all being revolutionized. Science fiction was a reflection of this social transformation at the hands of technology.
What does an alien antagonist do in science fiction?
Provide a view of the human condition from an outside perspective.
What are the science fiction literary works?
The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and The Machine stops.
What are the four main themes of this time?
Aestheticism, Victorian (gender) convention, the Empire and New Imperialism, and science fiction.
