TheVictorianPeriod英国文学维多利亚时代.pptx
Background InformationChanges in SocietyChanges in PoliticsChanges in Science&TechnologyChanges in Ideology第1页/共17页Changes in PoliticsPolitical power passed from the decaying aristocrats into the hands of the middle-class industrial capitalists.As a result,from the 30s of 19th century,the struggle between the workers and capitalists became the fundamental contradiction in England.A new class,the proletariat,emerged.第2页/共17页While England had reached its highest point of development as a world power,the poor living and working conditions of workers led to the Chartist Movement(宪章运功),which was the first mass movement of the English working class and the early sign of the awakening of t h e p o o r,o p p r e s s e d p e o p l e.第3页/共17页Changes in Science and TechnologyScientific discoveries and technological inventions made England the“workshop of the world”.(railway,steamship,spinning looms,printing machine,etc)With Industrial Revolution in full swing,England accumulated large amounts of profit and settled down to a time of prosperity and relative stability.第4页/共17页The middle-class life of the time was characterized by prosperity,respectability（体面）,and material progress.People as a whole celebrated a national spirit of earnestness（认真）,respectability,modesty and domesticity.Common sense and moral propriety（得体）became the predominant concern in literary works.第5页/共17页Changes in IdeologyReligious collisionThe widespread of Utilitarianism(功利主义)第6页/共17页Religious collisionIt started from the early 19th century and was caused by the rapid development of science and technology,new inventions and discoveries.Evolutionary science shook the theoretical basis of the traditional faith.(Darwins The Origin of Species&The Descent of Man)Peoples religious doubts and anxieties were increased.第7页/共17页UtilitarianismThe belief that everything should be tested by the extent to which it could promote the material happiness.It was welcomed especially by the middle-class industrialists and made cultural values,moral standards less valuable.the worsening of living condition of poor people第8页/共17页Literary FormsLiterary ExpressionNovelProsePoetry第9页/共17页NovelThe most widely read and the most vital and challenging expression of progressive thought in this periodThe most famous novelists of the time were the critical realists.(Charles Dickens,William Makepeace Thackeray,Charlotte Bront,Emily Bront,Mrs.Gaskell and Thomas Hardy)第10页/共17页Features of English Critical RealismThe critical realists described with much vividness and great artistic skill the chief traits of the English society and criticized the capitalist system.Humorous scenes and bitter satire第11页/共17页The English critical realists not only gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all the ruling class,but also show profound sympathy for the common people.The critical realists were unable to find a good solution to the social contradictions.The chief tendency in their works is not of revolution but of reformism.第12页/共17页ProseGreat prose writers:Thomas CarlyleThomas Babington MacaulayMatthew ArnoldJohn Henry NewmanJohn Stuart MillJohn RuskinThomas Henry Huxley第13页/共17页Most influential prose works:Carlyles Sartor Resartus,Chartism&The French RevolutionMacaulays History of EnglandRuskins Modern Painters(5 volumes)第14页/共17页PoetryFamous poets:Robert BrowningAlfred TennysonDante Gabriel RossettiGerald Manley HopkinsAlgernon Charles Swinburne第15页/共17页The poetry of this period was mainly characterized by experiments with new styles and new ways of expression.The most famous experimental poet was Robert Browning.第16页/共17页感谢您的观看！第17页/共17页
