英國(guó)文學(xué)史維多利亞時(shí)期文學(xué)背景及特點(diǎn)

Objectives1、TohavethebasicknowledgeaboutthebriefhistoryoftheVictorianPeriod、2、Toknowsomethingaboutthecriticalrealist3、TobefamiliarwithCharlesDickens’writingstylesandmajorcontributiontoEnglishliterature、HistoricalBackground

--beganwiththepassageoftheReformBillin1832andclosedattheendoftheBoerWarin1902、

Victoriaage:Victoria;thequeenVictoria’saccessionin1837andherdeathin1901、Sheruledfor63years,thelongestinEnglishhistory、TheperiodhasbeengenerallyregardedasoneofthemostgloriousintheEnglishhistory、

QueenElizabeth(1533-1603)andQueenVictoria(1819-1901)、TheEnglishpeoplewereproudoftwoqueensintheirhistory:QueenElizabeth(1533-1603)andQueenVictoria(1819-1901)、Therearesimilaritiesbetweenthetwoqueens、First,bothqueenswereonthethroneforalongperiodoftime,QueenElizabethbeingonthethroneforoverfortyyears(1558-1603)andQueenVictoriamorethan60years(1837-1901)、Secondly,duringtheirlongreignsEnglanddevelopedrapidlybothpoliticallyandeconomically、DuringthereignofQueenElizabeth,capitalismfirsttookitsshape,andthesmallislandcountrydefeatedthestrongnavalpowerSpainin1588、DuringthelongreignofQueenVictoria,Englandgrewtheworkshopoftheworldaswellasitsfinancialandpoliticalcenter、Thirdly,duringtheirreigns,literatureflourished、IntheageofQueenElizabethdramaflourishedandwithittherewas

thegreatestdramatistWilliamShakespeare、whereasintheageofQueenVictoria,novelflourishedandwithitagalaxyofbrilliantnovelistsappearedontheliteraryscene、

TheVictorianagecanberoughlydividedintothreeperiodstheearlyperiod1832-1854,atimeofsocialunrest;themiddleperiod1855-1879,aperiodofeconomicprosperityandreligiouscontroversy;thelastperiod1880-1901,aperiodofdecayofVictorianvalues、Itcanbedividedinto2periods:-EarlyVictoriaPeriod(1832-1868)-LateVictoriaPeriod(1869-1902)thefirstfourteenyearswerefilledwithunrest,alarmandmisery,andtheycontrastedwiththegrowingprosperityandgeneralgoodfeelingofthesucceedingtwenty-twoyearswhenEngland,havingmittedherselftoindustrialismandfreetrade,becauseforatheme'theworkshopoftheworld'一Political

1Reform2ChartistMovement(1838-48)TheProgressofReform①greatchanggesinadministrationleadership/financialpolicyWhigToriesemancipationofslaves(dominions)effectotherareasTheimpetusofrefom

Aseriesoflaws;①childLabourinfactoriesin1833②FactoryAct(1833)③PoorLawAmendmentAct(1834)④TherepealoftheCornLawsin1846⑤TenHoursActin1847TheReformBillof1832extendedtherighttovotetoallmenowningpropertyworthtenpoundsormore、Thisbillextendedtherighttovotetotheindustrialcapitalistsandthelowermiddleclass,butnottheworkers(theyhadtowaituntil1867whenasecondReformBillwaspassed)ThesecondacplishmentoftheReformBillwastoeliminatethe“rottenboroughs”andgavethevacantseatstotheindustrialcities、ThisBillbrokethemonopolyinParliamentoftheconservativelandownersandendedthelongreignoftheTorypartywhichhadbeeninpoweralmostcontinuouslyfrom1783to1830、TheWhigparty,whichrepresentedtheinterestsoftheindustrialcapitalistsandbusinessmen,cameintopower、

Withtheintroductionofthesteamengine,itwaspossibleforthecapitaliststohireunskilledworkers,suchaswomenandchildren、Manyskilledworkerswereunemployed,andwhatmadethesituationsworsewastheenforcementoftheCornLaws,whichforbadeimportinganygrainfromforeigncountrieswhenthepriceofwheatdroppedtoacertainprice;thismeasurekeptwheatatahighpriceintheinterestsofthelandedclass、In1845seriouscropfailuresinEnglandandthepotatoblightinIrelandkeptthepriceofbreadstillhigher、UndertheeconomicpolicyofLaissezfaire(apolicybasedontheUtilitarianphilosophy)whichassertedthatthefunctionofprivatepropertyandnottointerferewiththeeconomicoperationofthecountry,thecapitalistsdidnotfeeltheywereresponsibleforthepovertyoftheworkingpeople、Inordertodemandtheirownrights,theworkingpeoplelaunchedlarge-scaledemonstrations、TheyputforwardtheirpoliticaldemandsintheformofaCharterandorganizedmeetingstocollectsignatures、Inthe1830sand1840sthecountrywasthreatenedbysocialunrest、TheChartistMovementreacheditspeakin1838,1842,and1848、ChartistMovementThemajorcontraditioninthepoliticalarenabecamemoredefinitebetweenlabourandcapital、TheworkersforsocialjusticeandabetterlifeForwantofpossessingvotesandleadership,aunifiedpurposeandfundsTheMovementFizzledOutReson:1ToomasCarlyle2"HungryForties""threantigcloud"Rulingclasses'twofears;pestilenceandrisingmobThoughitfailed,Chartismsignififiedthefirstgreatpoliticalmovementofproletariat(無產(chǎn)階級(jí))inEnglishhistory、

二EconomicAnageofprosperityandprogress

－therichestandmostpowerful;

－the1sturbanandindustrialsocietyintheworld;

－Thedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology:railways,telegraphs,journalism;三Culturally－

97%peopleabletoreadby1900;－cheaperpaper;－fasterprinting;－easiercirculation;－moreworkingreadersdemandingcheapliterature:Victoriannovelsarecharacterizedbythemonfeaturesbelow:1、Theplotisunfoldedagainstasocialbackgroundwhichisbroaderthanwhatithadbeeninpreviousnovels、TheplotdrawsmaterialsfromsocietyandrelatestheminsuchawaythattheVictoriannovelsreflecttheplexityofhumanrelationsinacapitalistsocietyandrevealthewriters’attitudestowardsthesociety、2、Thecause-effectsequenceismuchmorestrikingthaninpreviousnovels、Generallyspeaking,amotiveorasetofcircumstancesgivesrisetoaneventwhichproducesaneffectonacharacter,andthroughthemechanicsofinternalcausation,itgivesrisetoanothereventwhichinturnsbeesanothercause、Andallthisiscentredaroundthecentralcharacter、Thiskindofdevelopmentofplotiscalled“l(fā)inearcausation,”whichmakestheVictoriannovelsbetterconstructedthanpreviousones、3、MostoftheVictoriannovelswerefirstpublishedinserialform,thatis,byinstalment,beforetheywerefullypublishedinasinglebook、Theyfirstappearedinpamphlets,periodicals,ornewspapers、ThiswastrueofCharlesDickens’worksandWilliamThackeray’sVanityFair、Theserialformmaybedetrimentaltotheplot,asHenryJames(1843-1916)characterizedtheworksofDickensas“l(fā)argeloosebaggymonsters、”However,thiswasnotnecessarilyso、ThelaternovelsofDickenswerewellconstructed、Likeanactororpublicspeaker,theVictorianwritershadasense,duringtheprocessoftheirwriting,ofhowtheirreaderswouldrespondtotheirworks、Theyhadtomeetthechallengethatwasputtothewriterstoholdtheinterestofthereadersineveryissueandhadtoprovidethemdelightandentertainment、4、TheVictoriannovelsweretaintedbythespiritofPuritanismoftheVictorianage、TheVictoriancapitalistswerenotoriousfortheirhypocrisy、Thoughcruellyexploitingtheworkingclassandlivingluxuriouslythemselveswithlittlecareforthemiseriesofthepoor,theypreachedthatthekeytosuccesswasthattheyweresober,earnest,hardworking,andthattheyabstainedfromworldlypleasures、TheirPuritanstandardofsexualbehaviourwasverystrict、Womenshouldbekeptinnocent,i、e、,ignorant、TheirPuritancodehadmuchbearingsontheliterature、Forwheneversexualmatterwastouched,Victorianwriterswouldtryeverymeanstokeepawayfromit、Itwasespeciallysosincenovelsweremonlyreadinfamilygatheringanditwasnecessarynottoincludeinthenovelwhatmightcauseembarrassmenttotheladies、5、TheVictoriannovelswerecharacterizedbytheirmoralpurpose、Manywriterswrotenovelswithapurposetoedifyreaders