THE DOMINANT AND WIDELY-READ LITERARY FORM OF THE THE VICTORIAN NOVEL THE DOMINANT AND WIDELY-READ LITERARY FORM OF THE 19° CENTURY Elisa Vinicio 5^B

Years of development The Victorian Age is marked by the reign of Queen Victoria , which covered the nineteenth century. Important social changes happened during the Victorian Age: Industrial Revolution Growth of towns Revolution in the class system

Themes The Victorian novel treats about social changes which happened at the time like: Clash between the middle class and the working class; People’s desire to rise up and the fear of falling down the social ladder; Exploitation of children; Inadequacy in the social services; Education system.

Elements which arouse the readers’ attention The reading public was appealed by the Victorian novel because of: -The realism of setting: suitable to create debates in the readers’ mind -Every-day situations: readers identify with what they read

Main characteristics Third person intrusive omniscient narrator: the writer was considered an authority Subliminal use of the language: writers were compelled to criticize in an undirected way Exaggeration of the tones, characters and emotions

Victorian writers: C. Dickens and W. M. Thackeray Charles Dickens -Use of the grotesque, caricature and pathos to create a tragic comical effect -Use of sense impressions William Makepeace Thackeray -Digressions used to teach to the reader -The pathetic is combined with caricature and satire

The Victorian novels Hard Times by Dickens Oliver Twist by Dickens Setting: the novel is set in “Coketown”. Imagine of the town creates thanks the use of sense impressions: sight: “a town of unnatural red and black” smell: “ill-smelling dye” hearing: “rattling and trembling” Oliver Twist by Dickens Setting: the story is set in a workhouse. Themes: exploitation of children. Use of the grotesque to criticize social evils the narrator creates a gap between the real situation and the language used to describe it.

Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens Use of rhetorical features: irony Nickleby is not able to express his thoughts, he has to conform to convention. Vanity Fair by Thackeray Use of high register of language: theatrical language used to make a parody Intrusive and omniscient narrator: he acts as a filter and creates a dialogue with the reader

The Anti-Victorian reaction: Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy focuses the attention on human behaviour He criticized the contemporary institutions like marriage and Christianity in a directly way, which was not approved by the Victorian public Creation of realistic and detailed situations