The Victorian novel Flashcards
(33 cards)
what happened in the Victorian Age between writers and readers?
during the Victorian Age for the first time there was a communion between writers and their readers
What was the reason for the close relationship between writers and readers?
the enormous growth of the middle classes
What did the members of the middle classes do?
they borrowed books from circulating libraries and read abundant variety of periodicals
What class did the writers belong to?
to the middle class
How was first published a great deal of Victorian literature?
in a serial form
How did essays, verse and novels made their first appearance?
They made their first appearance in installments in the pages of periodicals
this allowed the writer to feel he was in constant contact with his public, he could always alter the story, according to its success or failure
Who had a strong influence on the reception of literary works?
Reviewers had a strong influence on the reception of literary works and on the shaping of public opinion
What did the Victorian’s show interest in?
they showed a marked interest in prose
What was the literary achievement of the age?
the greatest literary achievement of the age is to be found in the novel
What made the novel realistic and analytical?
the spread of scientific knowledge made the novel realistic and analytical, the spread of democracy made it social and humanitarian, while the spirit of moral unrest made it inquisitive and critical
How did the early Victorian novelists felt?
they felt they had a moral and social responsibility to fulfill
What did the novelists want to reflect?
they wanted to reflect the social changes that had been in progress for a long time, such as the Industrial Revolution, the struggle for democracy and the growth of towns and cities
How did the novelist describe the society?
they described society as they saw it, with the exception of those sentiments which offended current morals, particularly regarding sex, nothing escaped their scrutiny
What were the writers aware of?
they were aware of the evils of their society such as the terrible conditions of manual workers and the exploitation of children
what was one of the main features of Victorian novels?
Didacticism, because novelists also conceived literature as a vehicle to correct the vices and weaknesses of the age
What were the narrative techniques?
the voice of the omniscient narrator provided a comment on the plot and erected a rigid barrier between right and wrong behaviors, light and darkness
What could be found in the final chapter of the novel?
Retribution and punishment were to be found in the final chapter of the novel, where the whole texture of events, adventures and incidents had to be explained and justified
How was the setting?
the setting chosen by most Victorian novelists was the city which was the main symbol of industrial civilization as well as the expression of anonymous lives and lost identities
How were the characters?
realistic characters the public could easily identify with, in terms of comedy or dramatic passion
What were the types of novels?
the novel of manners
the humanitarian novel
the novel of formation
literary nonsense
What was the novel of manners?
it kept close to the original 19th century models it dealt with economic and social problems and described a particular class or situation
What was the humanitarian novel?
Charles Dickens’s novels are mostly admired for their tone,combining humor with sentimental request for reform for the less fortunate
they constitute the bulk of what was generally called the humanitarian novel or the novel of purpose
What was the novel of formation?
The Bildungsroman became very popular
these novels dealt with one character’s development from early youth to some sort of maturity
What was Literary nonsense?
A particular aspect of Victorian literature is what is called “nonsense” created by Edward Lear and Lewis Carrol with his famous novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
