Timeline of English Literature-- The Victorian Age (1830-90)

The Victorian Age, spanning from the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), was a period of significant social, political, and economic change in England. English literature during this time reflected the complexities and contradictions of the era, exploring themes of industrialization, imperialism, social justice, and the human condition.

Key Events and Literary Movements:

• 1830s: The Oxford Movement begins, seeking to revitalize the Church of England.
• 1832: The Great Reform Act expands voting rights, leading to increased political participation.
• 1859: Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" is published, challenging traditional views of creation and sparking controversy.
• 1860s: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is formed, promoting a return to medieval artistic ideals.
• 1870s: Realism becomes a dominant literary movement, focusing on the depiction of everyday life and social issues.
• 1880s: The Decadent movement emerges, celebrating aestheticism and the rejection of Victorian morality.

Notable Works and Authors:

• Poetry: Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold, Christina Rossetti
• Fiction: Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy
• Drama: Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw

Key Themes and Characteristics:

• Social Realism: Victorian literature often focused on social issues, such as poverty, inequality, and industrialization.
• Moral Dilemmas: Many Victorian novels explored moral dilemmas and the complexities of human nature.
• Historical Fiction: Historical fiction was a popular genre, with authors such as Walter Scott and Charles Dickens producing influential works.
• Gothic Fiction: Gothic elements, such as mystery, suspense, and the supernatural, were incorporated into many Victorian novels.
• Humor and Satire: Victorian literature also included humorous and satirical works, such as those by Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde.

The Victorian Age was a prolific period for English literature, producing a vast array of works that continue to be celebrated today. The writers of this era captured the spirit of their time, exploring the complexities of Victorian society and the human condition with insight and imagination.

Historical &  Literary events 

1833 – Oxford Movement started

1850 – In Memoriam by Tennyson

1859 – Idylls of The King by Tennyson

1855 – Men and Women by Browning

1842 – Dramatic lyrics by Browning

1847-48 – Vanity Fair - Thackeray

1859 – On The Origin of The species – Charles Darwin

1879 – A Doll’s house – Ibsen

1865,1888 – Essays in Criticism  -M. Arnold

Rulers

1831-1837  William IV

1837-1901  Queen Victoria

Authors

1795-1818 Thomas Carlyle

1809-1892 Alfred Tennyson

1812-1889 Robert Browning

1812-1870 Charles Dickens

1819-1880 George Eliot

1822-1888 Matthew Arnold

1828-1882 D. G. Rossetti

1840-1928 Thomas Hardy

Short Questions From The Victorian Age (1830-90)

1.Who was Christina Rossetti’s brother? To which movement did he belong?

Ans. Dante Gabriel Rossetti is the brother of Christina Rossetti. He belonged to the pre-Raphaelite movement.   
2.Name the period, which starts in 1837 and ends in 1901?

Ans. The period, which starts in 1837 and ends in 1901 is the Victorian period.

 3.Who were Elia and Boz?

Ans. Elia is the pen name of Charles Lamb and Boz is of Charles Dickens.

4.What important events occurred in the 1840s in England?
Ans. Chimney Sweep act was actuated in 1840 in England.
5.Name two novels by Meredith (1828-1909)?
Ans. The Ordeal of Richard Feveral (1859) and The Egoist (1879) are the two novels by Meredith.
6. Name two books published in 1859-
Ans. Darwin’s Origin of Species and Meredith’s The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (Novel) were published in 1859.
7.Mention two Victorian essayists dealing with social and moral themes.
Ans. Thomas Carlyle is by far the richest & profoundest. His essays are critical, biographical, historical,  social and political.
T. B. Macaulay (Edinburgh Review), John Ruskin Matthew Arnold, Walter Pater are other great   artists.

8.What is Oxford movement? Who was the leader of the movement?
Ans. The Oxford movement was essentially a religious movement started to reform the English church,   the clergy and theology. Keble’s sermons and poems started the reformatory movement. However, its   greatest champion was Henry Newman.
9.Name an autobiographical novel of Charles Dickens.
Ans. David Copperfield (1849).
10. Who is the author of ‘Vanity Fair’?
Ans. Thackeray (1811-63): publication 1847.
11.In which town was Thackeray born? (1811-63)
Ans. Calcutta (1811).
12.Name two Pre-Raphaelite poets.
Ans. In 1848 D.G.Rossetti along with the English artists Hunt, Ford Maddox Brown and the painter        Millais formed the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood to replace the academic style of painting by a return of    simplicity, truthful and the spirit of devotion and these came to be attributes of the Italian artists and       painters before the time of Raphael (1483-1520).
13.Name the poem in which Mrs. Barrett Browning expressed her ardent love for her husband?
Ans. Sonnets From The Portuguese by Mrs. Browning records her ardent love for her husband, Robert Browning. The sonnet sequence was published in 1847, a year’s later of her marriage.
14.Name the major work by Carlyle other than Sartor Resartus.
Ans. Caryle’s historical work The French Revolution (1837) contains a perfect pen portrait of the time     and struggle. Among his translation works, Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship is popular.Farther his essays on Scott and Burns are critically appraised.
15.What is the source of Keats’ poem Lamia?
Ans. Keats’ Lamia (1819) is an allegorical poem .The story line is taken from Burton’s The Anatomy of   Melancholy depicting a beautiful enchanter. Here is Keatsian pictorial richness but the allegory is quite   confused. It is also a nature of a fable as Dryden uses and the heroic couplet is mastery here.
16.Who succeeded Wordsworth as poet laureate?
Ans. Alfred Tennyson (1850-1892).
17.Which sovereign of England ruled the country for more than sixty years?
Ans. The reign of Queen Victoria (1830-1990), commonly known as Victorian age produced intellectual  horizons, noble Endeavour and bright aspiration in England. The age is recognized for its miscellaneous activities.
18.What is an epistolary novel? Give two examples.
Ans. The word ‘epistle’ means letters. Thus, the epistolary novel is the novel of which the plot develops  through the medium of letters written by the various characters. These letters express their thought and views. Hardly, in this novel any face to face dialogue.
Richardson wrote Pamela and Clarisa Harlowe in this style.

19.Name the epoch-making book written by Charles Darwin and give the year of its publication.
Ans. On the Origin of Species (1859) is the epoch-making work by Charles Darwin. It is the discussion   on the theory of evolution and foothold of modern biological science.
20. In which year was the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood formed? Name at least two members of the   group?
Ans. A group of painter-poets led by D.G.Rossetti founded the Pre Raphaelite School of poetry. Other  poets of this school were Christina Rossetti, Swinburne, and William Morris. They wrote highly sensuous, pictorial and symbolical poems, which could be painted with 21.When did the Oxford movement take place? Name a leader of the movement?
Ans. Despite the scientific progress in Victorian period, it is seen the revival of the old Roman Catholic    religion. The Oxford movement represents this revival. The leaders of this movement attack Puritanism  and the Church of England. Notable leaders are Newman, Keble, and Morris etc. This movement is also known as Tractarianism.
22.At least mention three literary movements in the Victorian period?
Ans. The Victorian period is rich in literary outputs. The three movements – Oxford movement, Aesthetic movement and Pre Raphaelite movement affected the literature of this period a great deal.
                       
 23. Movements                                       Objectives
The Oxford movement – the revival of Roman Catholicism.
    (Leaders – Henry John Newman)
Aesthetic movement – glorification of art and artistic values in prose and criticism.
    (Leaders – Walter Horatio Pater, Ruskin & Oscar Wilde)
Pre-Raphaelite movement – glorification of art and artistic values in poetry.
    (Leaders – D.G. Rossetti, Morris, Swinburne)
24. What do you mean by PRB?
Ans. The initial PRB stands for pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. At first the brotherhood exhibited together  anonymously, signing all their paintings with the monogram P.R.B. when their identity and youth were    discovered in 1850, their works were harshly criticized for its disregard of academic ideals of beauty but also for its apparent irreverence in treating religious themes with an uncompromising realism.     Nevertheless, the leading art critic John Ruskin defended them and their art.
25. Name a novel written by Charles Dickens in the background of the French Revolution. In addition, name an industrial novel written by the same author.
Ans. Dickens’ A Tale of Two cities is written in the background of French Revolution. His Hard Times is an idustrial novel depicting mechanical, insipid and materialistic society.

26.Give a name of Pre-Raphaelite magazine.
Ans. The Germ, a periodical edited by W.M.Rossetti of which the first issue appeared on Jan 1,1850.     The Germ was the representative of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but survived only four issues, the    last appearing on April 30, 1850. The last two issues of the journal were renamed Art and Poetry.         The Germ published the poems of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood and is believed to have inspired       William Morris’s Oxford and Cambridge Magazine (1856), which continued the Pre Raphaelite movements.
27. What is the source of Fra lippo Lippi or Andrea del Satro.
Ans. These two poems by Robert Browning are based on the actual artists of Italy, Filippo di Tomasso   Lippi (1406-1469) and Andrea del Satro. Browning adopted his characters from Giorgeo Vasari’s book   The Lives of The Most excellent Italian Architects, Paintero and Sculptors.
28.Novels (Dickens)              Theme
           Oliver Twist              Boarding School
Nicholas Nickleby               Work houses
          Hard Times                New manufacturing system
        Black House                Court of Chancery
      A Tale of two cities        War

29.What is the full name of Oscar Wilde? Give any name of his novel.
Ans. The full name of Oscar Wilde is Oscar Fingal O’ Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900). This Irish born  author wrote a celebrated novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). 

30.How did the Industrial Revolution impact Victorian literature? The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on Victorian literature, shaping its themes and concerns. Writers often explored the social and economic consequences of industrialization, including poverty, inequality, and the changing nature of work.
31.What were the key themes explored by Victorian novelists? Victorian novelists explored a wide range of themes, including social justice, morality, love, and the human condition. They often focused on the complexities of human relationships, the challenges of social class, and the impact of historical events.
32.How did the Oxford Movement influence religious thought and literature? The Oxford Movement sought to revitalize the Church of England and promote traditional Anglican values. This had a significant impact on Victorian literature, with many writers exploring religious themes and questioning the role of faith in a rapidly changing society.
33.What was the significance of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood? The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of artists and writers who sought to return to the ideals of medieval art. They emphasized naturalism, detail, and a focus on the individual. Their influence can be seen in the work of many Victorian writers and artists.
34.Who were the leading poets of the Victorian Age? The leading poets of the Victorian Age included Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold, and Christina Rossetti. Their work explored a wide range of themes, from love and loss to social and political issues.
35.What are the major themes of Charles Dickens' novels? Charles Dickens' novels often explored social issues, such as poverty, inequality, and the impact of industrialization. He is particularly known for his vivid characters and his ability to evoke sympathy for the marginalized.
36.What is the significance of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë? Jane Eyre is a groundbreaking novel that explores themes of love, independence, and social class. It is considered a classic of English literature and has had a significant influence on subsequent generations of writers.
37.How did Oscar Wilde challenge Victorian social norms? Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant and controversial figure who challenged Victorian social norms. His plays and essays often satirized the hypocrisy and superficiality of Victorian society.
38.What were the major social and political issues facing Victorian England? Victorian England faced a number of significant social and political issues, including poverty, inequality, industrialization, and imperialism.
39.How did the Victorian Age reflect the changing attitudes towards gender and sexuality? Victorian attitudes towards gender and sexuality were complex and contradictory. While traditional gender roles were often upheld, there were also signs of changing attitudes, particularly among women seeking greater independence.
40.What was the impact of imperialism on Victorian society and culture? Imperialism had a profound impact on Victorian society and culture. It fueled economic growth and national pride, but also led to exploitation and social injustice.

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