1. Lecture 1: THE VICTORIAN POETRY 1832-1901 Objectives: By the end of the lecture, the student is able to: Connect the Victorian poetry with the Features of the Victorian Period 1837-1901 Define some Poetic concepts. Mention the Central Victorian Poets. Define Dramatic Monologue. Identify The characteristics of Victorian poetry, especially pertaining to Tennyson and Browning.

2. Queen Victoria 1837-1901 Victorian Period is named after Queen Victoria who was crowned queen in 1837 at the age of 18. She ruled for more than 60 years—the longest reign in British history.

3. Features of VICTORIAN PERIOD Period of growth, change, and domestic reform lives of working class improved Reform Bill of 1832 prosperous times 1848-1870 growing literacy (compulsory education) Thanks to the advance of scientific theory, there could be a belief in progress as something consonant with God’s method. Traditional gender roles Great emphasis on personal relationships (marriage)

4. Poetic concepts Realism: capture every day life focused on effects of Industrial Revolution social problems and human suffering were brought to public attention Psychological Realism: inner realities of the mind a blend of Romanticism and realism Heroic tales of honor: were loved reclaiming of the past

5. CENTRAL POETS Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) Charles Dickens(1812-1870) Robert Browning(1812-1889) Elizabeth Barrett Browning(1806-1861) Gerard Manley Hopkins(1844-1889) Thomas Hardy(1840-1928)

6. Victorian Poetry Victorian poetry developed in the context of the novel. Poets sought new ways of telling stories in verse All of the Victorian poets show the strong influence of the Romantics, by extending the imagination (which Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley had directed on nature and history) to exploring the complexities of society. Victorian poets often rewrite Romantic poems with a sense of belatedness and distance. *(The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Eighth Edition, Vol. 2,)

7. Victorian Poetry Dramatic monologue is the great achievement of Victorian poetry. Dramatic monologue is the idea of creating a lyric poem in the voice of a speaker ironically distinct from the poet Victorian poetry is pictorial; poets use detail to construct visual images that represent the emotion or situation the poem concerns. Conflict between private poetic self and public social role.

8. Such characteristics or features are derived from the Victorian interest in: - Telling stories in verse - Extending the imagination of the Romantic Poetry (Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley had directed on nature and history) to exploring the complexities of society: (a more realistic and less idealized view of nature). - Rewriting Romantic poems with a sense of belatedness and distance. - Drawing on the legends and mythology embraced by the classical, Medieval and Romantic poets. - Using Dramatic monologue. What are the characteristics of the Victorian poetry, especially pertaining to Tennyson and Browning?