victorian era Flashcards
Years of Victorian Era
1832-1901
When was universal adult suffrage passed?
1932
What did school cost in 1891?
Free!
Intended to control the licentiousness the Victorians associated with the revolutions of the 18th century
Prudery and social order
What did the Victorians typically question?
Value of material things, authority, industry, and human life in relation to the natural world
The belief that the environment is indifferent to its inhabitants
Naturalism
How is Return of the Native a prime example of naturalism?
The heath’s great effects on the characters
What did late century writers typically focus on?
The withdrawal from the divine and faith due to science
2 consistent purposes of Victorian literature
1) To make readers wonder if reality is whole and satisfying
2) There is order in chaos and bleak reality
What was the general nationalistic tone?
England is THE BEST
What was the Victorian economy like?
Very prosperous
What brought the standard of living up for the middle class?
Cheap, mass-produced goods
What jobs were available to unmarried women?
Governess, school teacher
What type of literature was most common in this era?
Novels
Mary Ann Evans
aka George Elliot
Marked by elements of the supernatural, love, violence, death
Gothic
What tone was Lord Alfred Tennyson known for?
Melancholy and chaos
Writer who believed sadness and disorder taught that everything was part of a benevolent plan, making all losses good.
Tennyson
What is the tone of Tears, Idle Tears by Tennyson?
Grieving, desperate and lonely
What is the central idea in Tears, Idle Tears by Tennyson?
Nostalgia for a lost lover
Poem in which Tennyson addresses the idea that modern science’s scrutiny of natural is a threat
The Eagle: A Fragment
What is the central metaphor in The Eagle by Tennyson?
The Eagle as a thunderbolt, symbolizing the power and beauty of nature
Poem in which Tennyson explores the idea that man understands God through Nature
Flower in a Crannied Wall
What is the theme of Flower in a Crannied Wall by Tennyson?
The simplest form of nature holds the key to the mystery of God
What is the curse in The Lady of Shallot by Tennyson? How does she get around it?
The Lady cannot look outside her tower to Camelot, but she looks at the reflection in the mirror.
What ultimately happens to the Lady of Shallot?
She follows Lancelot in a boat and dies
What is the central idea in Tennyson’s Ulysses?
Though physical strength eventually fades, a sense of adventure and a hunger for knowledge never depletes
What is Tennyson’s purpose in Ulysses?
Moving forward and braving the struggles of life.
What is the bar in Crossing the Bar symbolic of?
Death
What is the hopeful end of Crossing the Bar by Tennyson?
He wishes for no one to mourn him, as he will soon see God
What is the problem of the speaker in Dover Beach by Arnold?
The world’s waning faith
Which Victorian poet loved sound devices?
Gerard Manley Hopkins
What is the surface problem in Spring and Fall by Hopkins?
The leaves falling, Margaret mourns
What is the real problem in Spring and Fall by Hopkins?
Human mortality
What is Pied Beauty by Hopkins about?
Praising God for all things spotted
What is the theme of Pied Beauty by Hopkins?
Individuality is beautiful
What is the tone of Pied Beauty by Hopkins?
Praising, appreciative, exalting
What form did Robert Browning prefer?
dramatic monologues
What was Browning’s chief concern in all his writing?
Subjective morality, people doing what they believe is right
Form where a speaker addresses a listener who does not speak
Dramatic monologue
Why does the speaker in My Last Duchess by Browning do to his wife?
Orders her death because she is too flirtatious
When a poem mimics natural speech, what should you look for?
Iambic pentameter and enjambment
When a thought is continued onto the next line without punctuation
Enjambment
How is the title of Porphyria’s Lover by Browning ironic?
He kills her
What is the central idea to Porphyria’s Lover by Browning?
God doesn’t care what the speaker does, so long as he himself believes it is right
Victorian writer whose style most closely resembles Poe.
Robert Browning
What is the tone of The Darkling Thrush by Hardy?
Hopeless, gloomy, isolated
Why does the speaker in The Darkling Thrush by Hardy continue?
If the bird can find reason to be joyful, it’s the very least he can do.
What is the tone of Channel Firing by Hardy?
Jocular
What is the central idea of Channel Firing by Hardy?
Men have been warring pointlessly since the dawn of time
What are the two most important devices in Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave by Hardy?
Anticlimax and point of view
What are the primary tenets of Victorianism in One and Twenty by Houseman?
Materialism and prudence
What is the theme of When I Was One and Twenty by Houseman?
if you give away your heart, you will literally have to pay
What is the extended metaphor in When I Was One and Twenty by Houseman?
Money and gems
Poems that adapt the structure and spirit of traditional ballads to modern uses
Literary ballads
