维多利亚时期文学

维多利亚时期文学 1830-1901南京人口管理干部学院外语系杨丽lisayangli163.com“British History is 2000 years old and yet in a good many ways the world has moved farther ahead since the Queen was born than it moved in all the rest of the two thousand put together.”Mark Twain visiting London in 1897The period during the reign of Queen Victoria was a time of tremendous change in England.2010年10月11日星期一2British LiteratureDuring the Victorian age England becomes the most powerful country in the worldLondon grows from 2 million to 6.5 million peopleShift from a land based economy to a trade and manufacturing based economyRapid industrialization2010年10月11日星期一3British LiteratureInnovations: Steam railroads iron ships the telegraph photography anesthetics universal compulsory educationEngland was the first country to become industrialized increase in both wealth and social problemsUnchecked industry led to horrible working conditions in factories crowded cities and slums. “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”2010年10月11日星期一British Literature4Wealthgrowth of British EmpireMoney allowed England to tap into markets all over the worldIncreased manufacturing shipping early outsourcingDevelopment of colonies –by 1890 England controlled more than ?? of the land on earthCanada Australia India parts of Africa1 out of every 4 people was a subject of Queen Victoria –the English influence was enormous“The White Man’s burden” –need to civilize and evangelize the “natives” of colonized countries2010年10月11日星期一British Literature52010年10月11日星期一 British Literature6Namesake of the period Reigned from 1837-1901Defined the values of the age:Moral responsibility propriety domesticityMother to 9 childrenWore black mourning clothes for 40 years after her husband’s death2010年10月11日星期一British Literature82010年10月11日星期一British Literature9Age of Reforms1832 –right to vote to all men owning property1867 –restructuring of Parliament to include more middle classWorking classes still sufferWomen still largely ignored1859 –Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of the Speciespeople begin to question faith and long-held beliefs about humanity2010年10月11日星期一British Literature10General IntroductionVictorian PoetryWomen novelistsBronte SistersGeorge EliotMen NovelistsCharles DickensWilliam Makepeace ThackerayThomas HardyIntroductionVictorian literature roughly coincides with the reign of Queen Victoria from 1836 to 1901. The period has been regarded as one of the most glorious in English History. The summit of Victorian literature is realistic novel. The representative writers include: Dickens Thackray the Bronte sisters George Eliot and Thomas Hardy.The Victorian age also produced three great English poets: Mr. Mrs. Browning Tennyson. Their poetry was characterized by experiments with new styles and new ways of expression. Browning has paved the way for modern English poetry in the twentieth century.Alfred Lord Tennyson1809-1892From a poor familyAttended CambridgeWhen Wordsworth died Queen Victoria named Tennyson the poet laureate of England and gave him the title of “Lord”Considered by his contemporaries to be the voice of the Victorian AgeTime of rapid change poets look to past for inspiration and as a means of understanding the present2010年10月11日星期一British Literature14Tennyson was born in 1809 at Somersby Lincolnshire. In 1827 he and his elder brother published Poems by Two Brothers. He became a close friend to Arthur Hallam during his Cambridge years. Hallam’s premature death made him very sad. He wrote many poems in memory of Hallam of which In Memoriamis the best known. Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate in 1850.Tennyson’s most noted poems include: In Memoriam Maud Idylls of the King Ulysses and Break Break Break.Break Break BreakBreak Break Breakis written in memory of Hallam. In this poem the poet’s own feelings of grief stands in sharp contrast with the carefree innocent joys of the children and the apathetic motion of the ship and the waves. Break break breakOn thy cold gray stones O seaAnd I would that my tongue could utterThe thoughts that arise in me.O well for the fishermans boyThat he shouts with his sister at palyO well for the sailor ladThat he sings in his boat on the bayAnd he stately ships go onTo their haven under the hillBut O for the touch of a vanishd handAnd the sound of a voice that is stillBreak break breakAt the foot of thy crags O seaBut the tender grace of a day that is deadWill never come back to me. SuchcontrastisverycommontoclassicalChinesepoems.Aproperphrasetodescribesuchcontrastis“物是人 非”Thethingsarestilltherebutmenarenomorethesameones.Herearesomeexamples.Ahgenera tionshavecomeandpassedawayFromyeartoyearthemoonslookalikeoldandnew.WedonotknowtonightforwhomsheshedsherrayButheartheriversaytoitswateradieu.人生代代无穷已江 月年年望相似。不知江月照何人但见长江送流水。---张若虚《春江花月夜》Last year I came to view the moon with my compeersBut where are they now that the scene is like last year’s同来望月人何在风景依稀似去年。---赵嘏《江楼感旧》Tennyson is the most representative poet of Victorian age. He has perfect control of the sound of English. His works are not only the products of the creative imagination of a poetic genius but also products of a long and rich English heritage.Tennyson was severely criticized by Imagist poets in the early twentieth century for his affectation and wordiness.“Ulysses”Tennyson draws on Homer’s epic The OdysseySpeaker is UlyssesPoem picks up some years after Ulysses has returned home to Ithaca2010年10月11日星期一British Literature25A dramatic monologue:Poem in which a single character delivers a speechThe speaker indirectly reveals aspects of his characterThere is a silent listener addressed by the speakersoliloquy: a usually long dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections“The Lady of Shalott”Based on Arthurian legendIndirectly a commentary of the role of the creative artist in society2010年10月11日星期一British Literature26Robert Browning1812-1899No formal education –made use of his father’s extensive libraryMarried to Elizabeth Barrett Browning also a poetDecided to be a poet as a teenager but his poetry didn’t attract much notice until the 1860sLate in life recognized as the equal of Tennyson among Victorian poets2010年10月11日星期一 British Literature27Browning’s lifeBrowning was born into a wealthy family so that he can dedicate himself to poetry writing without worrying about money. Before dedicating himself to poetry Browning tried play writing which equipped him with a unique poetic form---dramatic dialogue. In 1846 he married Elizabeth Browning a famous poetess who was semi-invalid and had been confined home for many years. Their love story is very famous in literary history.His most famous books include: Dramatic Lyrics Dramatic Romances and Lyrics Bells and Pomegranates Men and Women The Ring and the Book Dramatic Idylls and Dramatic Personae.Browning’s greatest contribution to English poetry is his “dramatic dialogue”. In his most famous poems Browning chooses a dramatic moment or a crisis in which his characters are made to talk about their lives and about their minds and hearts. In “listening” to those one sided talks readers can form their own opinions and judgments about the speaker’s personality and about what he has really happened.Browning’s poetic style belongs to the twentieth century rather than to the Victorian age. His poems are not meant to entertain the readers with the usual acoustic and visual pleasures. They are supposed to keep them alert thoughtful and enlightenment.“My Last Duchess”Dramatic monologuePoem in which a single character delivers a speechThe speaker indirectly reveals aspects of his characterThere is a silent listener addressed by the speakerBrowning’s poem based on the Duke of Ferrara a 16thcentury Italian noblemanIn the poem a man is addressing the agent who represents the father of the woman he hopes to marryHis first wife or “last duchess” is dead… 2010年10月11日星期一British Literature31Elizabeth Barrett Browning1806-1861The most famous woman poet in England during her lifetimeEducated at home her father was extremely overprotective and forbade her to marryHer poor health made her an invalidRomance of correspondence b/t her and Browning2010年10月11日星期一British Literature32Elizabeth Barrett BrowningEB and RB eloped to Italy he was 34 and she was 40They lived there for 15 years and had a sonMost famous work: Sonnets from the Portuguese–sequence of sonnets that record the stages of her love for RB2010年10月11 日星期一British Literature33Thomas Hardy1840-1928Both an acclaimed novelist and poetPessimistic outlook on life Victorian cynicism“Ah Are You Digging on My Grave”Speaker is dead woman2010年10月11日星期一British Literature34A.E. Housman1859-1936Like Hardy and Arnold one of the “gloomy guys” of Victorian LiteratureSense of sadness and disillusionment2010年10月11日星期一British Literature35Matthew Arnold1822-1888Attended OxfordEqually famous for poetry and prose –wrote essays of social criticismPoetry marked by cynicism and doubt2010年10月 11日星期一British Literature36Matthew ArnoldMore features of poetry:Feelings of loneliness and isolationInsignificance of man in an uncaring universeDesire for society to improve but unsure that it canCaptures the doubts of the Victorian ageSees himself as: “Wandering between two worlds one deadThe other powerless to be born With nowhere yet to rest my head”“Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse” 85-882010年10月11日星期 一British Literature37Bronte sisters refer to Charlotte Bronte the author of Jane Eyre Emily Bronte the author of Wuthering Heights and their younger sister Anne Bronte who has written Agnes Grey. They came from a poor clergyman’s family and received little school education but they became famous through hard work. A short life as they had they produced some greatest works in English literary historyJane Eyre is noted for its sharp criticism of the existing society. For example the religious hypocrisy of charity institutions of Lowood School and the false convention concerning love and marriage.The novel is an intense moral fable. The hero and the heroine have to go through a series of physical and moral tests to grow up and achieve happiness. In Chinese literature Journey to the Westis a shining example of moral fable.The novel brings forth a completely new woman image who comes from the lower social status and struggles for an independent love.Comment onWuthering HeightsEmily has a passionate love for the wilderness of the moor all the year round and enjoys staying outside as far as she could. She is a child of nature. That accounts for the mysterious setting in Wuthering Heights.Emily is a great poet. Her poems are works of strange sublimity and beauty. Reading her poems is conducive to a better understanding of Wuthering Heights.As a love story the passion between Heathcliff and Catherine proves to be the most intense the most beautiful and at the same time the most horrible passion ever to be found in human beings.In a sense the novel can be read with reference to English revenge tradition. But it is quite different from Hamlet. While the Denmark prince is thoughtful of other people in his country Heathcliff is egocentric. He is vindictive in nature. He is seeking for revenge at any cost. Modern Hong Kong revenge movies and TV plays seem to be modeled on this archetypeThe story is noted for its narrative style. The story is told by Nelly Catherine’s old nurse to Mr. Lockwood a temporary tenant at Grange. The author’s voice has been hidden.Hardy’s workTessoftheD’Urbervilles《苔丝》TheReturnoftheNative《还 乡记》JudetheObscure《无名的裘德》UndertheGreenwoodTree《绿荫下》 FarFromtheMaddingCrowd《远离尘嚣》The Mayor of Casterbridge《卡斯特桥市长》 Hardy’s novels are all Victorian in date. Most of them are set in Wessex a fictional primitive and crude rural region which is Hardy’s home town he both loves and hates. These works known as “novels of character and environment” are the most representative works by Hardy.Hardy believes in fate. He attributes the tragic end of his hero or heroine to bad fortune. Therefore he is considered to be a naturalistic writer.Though naturalism plays a part in Hardy’s novels there is also bitter and sharp criticism of the hypocritical and unfair Victorian institutions conventions and moral values.Hardy is also a great poet at the turn of the twentieth century.Comment on TessItisafierceattackonthehypocriticalmoralityofthebourgeoissocietyandthecapitalistinvasionintothecountrysideanddestructionoftheEnglishpeasantryattheendofthenineteenthcentury.Naturalistictendencyisstronginthenovel.Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realistic writers of the Victorian age. He sets out a full map and a large scale criticism of the nineteenth century England especially London. In his early novels he attacks one or more specific social evils. For example the dark criminal world in Oliver Twist the cruel school discipline in Nicholas Nickleby the debtor’s prison in David Copperfield legal fraud in Pickwick Papers. In his later works he begins to attack the whole capitalist system. Charles Dickens is a great master of story-telling. His humor and wit seem inexhaustible. Character portrayal is the most distinguishing feature of his works.Dickens’ works are also characterized by a mingling of humor and pathos. He seems to believe that life is itself a mixture of joy and grief.A Tale of Two CitiesIt was the best of times it was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness it was the epoch of belief it was the epoch of incredulity it was the season of Light it was the season of Darkness it was the spring of hope it was the winter of despair we had everything before us we had nothing before us we were all going direct to Heaven we were all going direct the other way--in short the period was so. far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received for good or for evil in the superlative degree of comparison only. Thackeray is one of the greatest critical realists of the 19th century Europe . He paints life as he has seen it . with his precise and thorough observation rich knowledge of social life and of the human heart the pictures in his novels are accurate and true to life . Thackeray is a satirist . His satire is caustic and his humor subtle.Besides being a realist and satirist Thackeray is a moralist. His aim is to produce a moral impression in all his novels.