literatura mazurek prezki | Quizlet

neoclassical ideals

- elegant style

- precision of expression

- dislike of slang

- good taste and refined manners

- the golden mean

- the imitation of classical models

- Reason and Nature as the guides to harmony

- art as craft, codified genres, rules whuch must be obeyed

- the great age of satire

Horatian satire

Named after the Roman poet Horace, this form of satire is gentle, amusing, and aims to correct vice or folly with a light-hearted and sympathetic tone. "The Rape of the Lock" largely fits this style as it humorously criticizes the superficiality of the upper class.

Goal: entertainment

Juvenalian satire

Named after the Roman poet Juvenal, this form is harsh and biting, targeting serious social issues with scorn and moral indignation and ridiculing societal structures. (e.g. Jonathan Swift "A Modest Proposal")

Goal: political or societal change

a mock-heroic (mock-epic) poem

a mock-heroic or mock-epic poem uses the elevated style and conventions of epic poetry to satirise trivial or mundane subjects. It often juxtaposes grandiose language and serious tone with insignificant subject matter to create a humorous effect.

Conventions of mock-heroic/mock-epic poem

In "The Rape of the Lock," Pope employs epic conventions such as the invocation of the Muse, grandiose descriptions, epic battles (between card players), and supernatural interventions, but he applies them to a trivial event: the cutting of a lock of hair.

zeugma

a rhetorical device where a word, usually a verb or an adjective, applies to more than one noun, blending together grammatically and logically different ideas.

Example from "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope: "Or stain her honor, or her new brocade" - Here stain applies to both "honour" and "new brocade" creating a witty and ironic effect.

heroic couplet

rhymed iambic pentameter couplet, i.e. aa bb cc etc; inherited from Dryden; elaborately stylized, but in short sentences; witty, moralising verse

John Dryden (as a poet)

"Absalom and Achitophel"

John Dryden (as a playwright)

"Secret Love"

John Dryden (as a critic)

"An Essay of Dramatick Poesie"

"Absalom and Achitophel" by John Dryden as a political satire

It was written during the Exclusion Crisis in England, where attempts were made to prevent the Catholic Duke of York (James II) from succeeding to the throne. Dryden uses biblical allegory to mirror contemporary figures, portraying King David as Charles II, Absalom as the illegitimate Duke of Monmouth, and Achitophel as the scheming Earl of Shaftesbury. By drawing on the Old Testament story, Dryden lends moral weight and familiarity to his satire, framing political rebellion as betrayal against divine and royal order. The biblical parallels deepen the critique, presenting the dissenters as both historically doomed and spiritually wrong.

Restoration theatre - the political context

Restoration theatre emerged after 1660, when the monarchy was restored under Charles II following the Puritan rule of Oliver Cromwell, during which theatres were closed. The return of the king brought a revival of the arts, with theatre reflecting the court's tastes—often libertine, witty, and sexually explicit. Politically, it celebrated royal authority and often satirized Puritanism and republican ideals. It also became a space for exploring shifting power dynamics, gender roles, and class tensions in a newly re-stabilized but still evolving society.

What changed in comparison with the pre-Civil War theatre?

1. Women on stage: For the first time in England, female roles were played by actual women, not boys; they also appeared as managers and playwrights

2. New stage technology: Theatres featured movable scenery and indoor lighting

Focus on comedy: Restoration theatre emphasized witty, satirical comedies (like the comedy of manners), moving away from the grand tragedies of earlier periods.

Different themes: The plays reflected the more cynical, worldly attitudes of the Restoration court, contrasting with the often moralistic tone of earlier drama.

5. Smaller and more educated audience

6. Smaller, more intimate, "Continental-style" venues with the proscenium arch

aptronymic names

Aptronymic names (or aptronyms) are names that are ironically or appropriately suited to a person's profession, character, or role - essentially, a "fitting name."

Example: William Wordsworth - Poet (words + worth)

The Beggar's Opera

- a ballad opera created by John Gay; ran for 62 performances

- the play opens and ends with a frame story

- topical satire

ballad opera

Gay created the genre as a mixture of spoken word and songs (with no recitativo, like in a "real" opera)

"The Beggar's Opera" contains no original tunes, but adaptations of popular ballads, opera arias, church hymns etc.

reacting against the conventions of the Italian opera

Newgate pastoral

The pastoral presents the life of idealized "common people" as happier and morally better than the lives of the rich and powerful. The "Newgate pastoral" refers to "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay, which uses the framework of a pastoral opera but is set among thieves and whores in Newgate, satirizing the conventions of both opera and the pastoral genre.

Evolution to sentimental comedy - causes

It was driven by a reaction against the perceived immorality and cynicism of Restoration comedy. Rising middle-class values emphasized virtue, morality, and emotional sensitivity. Audiences began to prefer plays that promoted moral lessons, virtuous characters, and emotional catharsis over satire and wit. This shift reflected broader social changes, including the influence of Enlightenment thought and growing emphasis on individual feeling and ethics.

Sentimental comedy - definition, examples

- ordinary human beings caught up in distressful situations, but ultimately triumphing thanks to their virtue. The ability of the spectator to respond (tearfully) to such fictional situations was known as sensibility

- only secondary characters or villains are truly comical figures

- a reflection of a wider trend called sentimentalism

- later morphing into the melodrama

Examples: Hugh Kelly "False Delicacy", Richard Cumberland "The Brothers"

Comedy of manners - definition, examples

A genre of plays that was particularly popular in the English Restoration. Comedies of manners satirized the foibles and conventions of life in aristocratic society, and were favored by the elite audiences common in the period.

Examples: George Etherege "She Would If She Could", William Wycherley "The Country Wife"

Aphra Behn

The first professional female English-language playwright. Her mostr successful play "The Rover" was a comedy about English Cavaliers (exiled Royalists), featuring elements like disguise, trickery, and romantic entanglements

two patent theatres in London

Royal patents made Drury Lane and Covent Garden the only legal theatres in the City of Westminster. The patents were abolished in 1843

Thomas Hobbes

He described the state of nature as an intolerable condition which man must seek to escape: libertine poets and playwrights see it as "the way of the world"

Origins of the name "Gothic Novel"

The term "Gothic novel" originated as a pejorative label used to describe a type of literature that emerged in the late 18th century. It was initially associated with mediaeval tales of horror, romance, and the supernatural.

Gothic = looks like created by ancient Goths, eg. barbarous

Relation of Gothic novel with architecture

The Gothic novel borrowed its name from Gothic architecture, which was known for its pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and ornate decoration. This architecture was seen as mediaeval and barbaric during the Renaissance, and the term "Gothic" was later applied to literature that evoked similar themes of darkness, mystery, and antiquity.

Main characteristics of "Gothic novel"

- Gothic Atmosphere: Settings often include remote or decaying castles, abbeys, or mansions

shrouded in mystery and gloom.

- Supernatural Elements: Ghosts, curses, supernatural occurrences, and inexplicable events play significant roles.

- Romantic Elements: Love, often forbidden or unrequited, is central to many Gothic plots.

- Emotions and Psychological Intensity: Characters experience strong emotions, often tinged with

terror, awe, or despair.

- Exploration of the Unknown and Unseen: The Gothic often delves into hidden secrets, the

unconscious mind, and the darker aspects of human nature.

Representatives of "Gothic Novel"

1. Horace Walpole: His novel "The Castle of Otranto" (1764) is considered the first Gothic novel, featuring supernatural events in a mediaeval castle.

2. Mary Shelley: Wrote "Frankenstein" (1818), a seminal work combining Gothic elements with science fiction.

Edmund Burke: The idea of the Sublime and its influence on the Gothic

- the sublime as an aesthetic

quality associated with feelings of awe, terror, and vastness in the face of something powerful or

overwhelming.

- influenced the Gothic by heightening the emotional intensity and

creating a sense of awe and dread in readers.

- the Gothic novel often evokes the sublime through its use of grand, awe-inspiring landscapes, encounters with the supernatural, and moments of intense emotional or psychological turmoil.

- the sublime contributes to the Gothic's ability to evoke fear and fascination simultaneously.

Sentimentalist novel

It focused on the expression of deep emotions and moral dilemmas, particularly through the experiences of the protagonist; often with a didactic purpose. Themes: Sentimentalist novels often explored themes of love, friendship, suffering, and moral redemption, emphasising the inner emotional life of characters.

Pre-romanticism: The Graveyard School of Poetry (features)

- a literary movement in the 18th century that

focused on themes of mortality, death, and the afterlife.

- delves deeply into human emotions, particularly those related to melancholy and the sublime.

- tone of these poems is typically somber, reflective, and meditative, encouraging readers to ponder the deeper meanings of life and death

- poems are set in graveyards, ruins, or desolate landscapes

- nature plays a significant role, depicted in its wild and untamed state

- encouraging readers to lead virtuous lives and prepare for the afterlife; the hope for resurrection and eternal life

Pre-romanticism: The Graveyard School of Poetry (representatives)

1. Thomas Gray "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard": Perhaps the most famous example of Graveyard Poetry, reflects on the lives of the rural poor buried in the churchyard and meditates on universal human mortality.

Edward Young: "Night Thoughts": explores themes of death, the immortality of the soul, and the futility of worldly pursuits, written in nine parts called "nights."

The birth of the novel: social and historical context

1. Rene Descartes emphasised the importance of the search for truth in individual experience rather than relying on past authorities and tradition

2. Puritan tradition of soul searching and diary keeping. Personal journals and spiritual autobiographies influenced the development of the novel's narrative style.

3. Economic changes: growth of literacy, development of industry, appearance of circulating libraries in the 18th c making books more accessible to a wider audience.

The similarities and differences of novel with the earlier genres (the epic, the romance) SIMILARITIES

1. All tell stories centred on human experiences and conflicts.

2. Develop characters and explore their motivations and emotions.

3. Often address moral and ethical dilemmas, reflecting on human nature and societal values.

The similarities and differences of novel with the earlier genres (the epic, the romance) DIFFERENCES

Epics/Romances/Novels:

1. Grand in scope, dealing with heroic deeds and the fate of nations/Focus on chivalric adventures and fantastical elements/Focus on realistic, everyday events and ordinary people (e.g., "Robinson Crusoe")

2. Larger-than-life heroes with clear virtues and flaws/Archetypal characters (brave knight, damsel in distress)/Individualised, psychologically complex characters shaped by experiences (e.g., "Pamela").

3. Elevated, formal language in poetic form/Ornate, archaic language with elaborate settings/Straightforward prose aiming for realism in dialogue and description

4. Heroism, fate, divine intervention/Chivalry, courtly love, adventure/Personal identity, social issues, individual morality (e.g., "Tom Jones")

5. Cyclical or episodic with intertwined subplots/Episodic adventures, often standalone/Unified, linear plots focusing on a central narrative

first vs. third-person narrative

1. First-Person Narrative: The story is told from the perspective of a character within the story, offering a subjective and intimate view of events, but can be unreliable due to the narrator's biases.

2. Third-Person Narrative: The story is told by an external narrator, which can provide a more objective and comprehensive view of the events and characters. A conspicuous third-person narrator often addresses the reader directly.

Samuel Richardson "Pamela"

- A story of a young servant sexually harassed by her employer mr B, eventually marrying him, told through her letters or her diary.

- An epistolary novel, told through letters and diary entries, reflecting the real-life practice of letter writing.

- Explores middle-class virtues and morality versus the rakish behaviour of the aristocracy.

epistolary novel

A novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to another.

(un)reliability of the 1st person narrative

The example is "Pamela". Pamela's letters provide a direct and personal account of her experiences, but her perspective may be influenced by her emotions, desires, and biases, and contains only what she knows or has experienced, which can limit the scope of the narrative and omit crucial information that other characters might possess.

Presentation of middle-class society vs. the rakish squire (middle-class virtues (Pamela)):

Pamela is depicted as honest, hardworking, and virtuous, embodying the ideal moral standards.Pamela's devout religious beliefs and modesty are emphasised, reflecting the Puritan influences of the time.

Presentation of middle-class society vs. the rakish squire (aristocratic vice (Mr. B)):

Mr. B is initially predatory, entitled, and manipulative,

attempting to exploit his social and economic power over Pamela. Mr. B's eventual transformation and repentance

highlight the novel's moral message: even those with vices can reform through genuine love and virtue. The novel promotes middle-class values of hard work, piety, and virtue, suggesting that these qualities are more important than birth or social status.

Henry Fielding and his narrative technique

Fielding, in works like "Tom Jones," employed a third-person omniscient narrator who often directly addresses the reader, offering commentary and humour. His narrative technique includes digressions and a complex, interwoven plot structure, providing a panoramic view of society and human nature.

Laurence Sterne, "Tristram Shandy" and its use of novel conventions

- Novel begins with the protagonist's conception, it ends when he is not seven yet

- Self-reflexive - draws attention to its status as a book

- Sterne often breaks the fourth wall, addressing the reader directly and commenting on the writing process.

- Non-linear structure: the narrative frequently diverges into anecdotes, reflections, and commentary, often delaying the

main story.

- Sterne includes prefaces, dedications, and even a marbled page to play with the physical form of the book.

These elements often serve to further the novel's self referential and humorous tone.

William Blake

- deft employment of symbolism

- obscure allegorical references

- childlike simplicity

- metaphorical language

- biblical 'prophetic' quality of his later poetry - obsessive in its concern for the liberation of the human spirit

Importance of individual freedom (William Blake)

- the importance of personal freedom and self-expression

- believed that true creativity could only

be achieved when individuals were free from societal constraints and conventional thinking

- his works often reflect a deep concern for social justice and the plight of the oppressed

- Blake was critical of the industrial revolution and the resulting social inequalities, advocating for political and social reforms that would enable greater individual liberty

Criticism of institutions (William Blake)

Blake was highly critical of organised religion, particularly the Church of England. He saw religious institutions as

oppressive and hypocritical, stifling true spirituality and human potential. He condemned the government and other social institutions for perpetuating injustice and inequality. His works often depict these institutions as corrupt and tyrannical, opposing their control over individuals.

State of innocence vs. experience (William Blake)

Innocence: represents a state of purity, simplicity, and uncorrupted joy, often associated with childhood. Characterised by an unblemished connection to the divine and the natural world.

Experience: represents the loss of innocence, marked by awareness of evil, suffering, and corruption. A state of disillusionment and complexity, often depicted as a necessary but painful part of human growth.

Spirituality

- mystical

- claimed to have visions from a young age and believed in the presence of the divine in everyday life

- his works explore the interplay between the material and spiritual worlds.

- he viewed spirituality as a path to true freedom and self-realisation, transcending the limitations imposed by earthly

institutions

Use of symbols

His use of symbolism is integral to conveying his philosophical and spiritual messages.

The Lamb: Represents innocence, purity, and Jesus Christ as the sacrificial lamb.

The Tyger: Symbolises experience, danger, and the sublime aspects of creation. It reflects the duality of creation, both

beautiful and terrifying.

Light and Dark: Commonly used to contrast knowledge and ignorance, spiritual enlightenment and earthly corruption.

Children: Often symbolises innocence and the uncorrupted state of humanity.

Cities and Nature: Urban settings frequently represent industrialization and its dehumanising effects, while nature

symbolises purity and divine creation.

Blake as an artist (illuminated printing) and the interplay between the visual and verbal aspects of his work

William Blake pioneered illuminated printing, a technique combining text and hand-colored images on the same page using relief etching. This blended word and image into a unified artistic vision. The visual elements enhance the text's symbolism, tone, and themes. This interplay creates a multi-sensory experience, reflecting Blake's belief that true understanding requires both imaginative and intellectual engagement.

The Lake Poets

Key figures: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey

Origin of name: Named after England's Lake District, where they lived and wrote

Lake District's role: Source of inspiration, natural beauty reflected in their poetry

Themes: Nature, emotion, personal reflection, the sublime

"Lyrical Ballads" (1798) - the meaning of the name (oxymoron)

"Lyrical" suggests personal emotion and subjectivity, while "ballads" traditionally convey impersonal, narrative folk tales, thus combining two contrasting poetic forms. (Ballads are narrative poems, not lyrical)

The use of the traditional ballad form

The first-generation Romantic poets, like Wordsworth and Coleridge, used the traditional ballad form to connect with common folk culture and storytelling, but infused it with personal emotion, psychological depth, and philosophical themes, redefining the genre for their time.

Coleridge's "willing suspension of disbelief".

Suspension of disbelief is a concept in art and storytelling where an audience voluntarily accepts fictional elements or inconsistencies as real, even though they know they are not, for the sake of enjoying the narrative

"Supernaturalizing the natural" (Wordsworth) vs. "naturalizing the supernatural" (Coleridge)

Wordsworth often elevated natural scenes to a sublime, almost spiritual level, suggesting that nature possesses an

inherent divinity and power that can profoundly affect human emotions and thoughts.

Coleridge, on the other hand, took supernatural elements and presented them in a way that made them seem believable

and grounded in reality. His work often blurs the line between the real and the imaginary, making the supernatural seem

a natural extension of the everyday world.

Wordsworth as a "nature poet"

Celebration of nature - often presented as:

- a work of art from the divine imagination

- a healing power - source of refreshment and meditation

- a moral guide

- a refuge from civilization

Wordsworth celebrated nature as a source of beauty, inspiration, and spiritual renewal.

pantheistic attitude to nature (Wordsworth)

Wordsworth viewed nature with a pantheistic reverence, seeing divinity and spiritual presence in all aspects of the natural world. This perspective influenced his belief in the interconnectedness of humanity and nature.

Romantic poets - second generation: George Gordon Byron - Byronic hero

- an exile, an outcast or an outlaw, with a troubled past

- arrogant, cynical, disrespectful of rank and privilege

- dark, mysterious, magnetic, and charismatic

- self-critical and introspective

- sophisticated and well-educated

- dislikes social institutions and norms

- self-destructive behaviour

- bipolar tendencies, or moodiness

- high level of intelligence and perception

- powers of seduction, attraction and sexual dominance

autobiographical verse (Byron)

Byron infused "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" with elements from his own life experiences, feelings of disillusionment, and reflections on love, loss, and mortality (Byron's trip through the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea)

The use of Spenserian stanza in "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" by George Gordon Byron

Written in the Spenserian stanza (ABABBCBCC, iambic pentameter, the last line iambic hexameter). Used for its rich, flowing rhythm and reflective tone

The use of ottava rima in "Don Juan" by George Gordon Byron

Form: 8-line stanza (abababcc), traditionally used in epic poetry

Byron's twist: Uses it for satirical and comic effect, mixing high style with irony

Final couplet: Often witty or humorous, undercutting the serious tone

Result: Creates a playful, digressive narrative voice, fitting Byron's mock-epic approach

Percy Bysshe Shelley - political ideals

- Radical, anti-authoritarian, pro-revolutionary

- Advocated for liberty, atheism, non-violence, and social justice

- Influenced by Enlightenment and French Revolution ideals

"Adonais" by Percy Bysshe Shelley as a pastoral elegy

- Elegy for poet John Keats

- Written in Spenserian stanzas

- Uses pastoral conventions (mourners, nature, shepherds)

- Transforms grief into a vision of immortality and poetic legacy

"Prometheus Unbound" by Percy Bysshe Shelley - closet drama and ancient dialogue

- Closet drama: written to be read, not staged

- Reimagines Aeschylus's Prometheus, but replaces revenge with forgiveness and idealism

- Emphasizes liberation, hope, and the human spirit

Mary Shelley "Frankenstein"

Origin: Written during 1816's "Year Without a Summer" at Lake Geneva for a competition with Byron and Shelley

Gothic novel: Atmosphere of horror, isolation, and the sublime

Science fiction: Early exploration of science, creation, and ethics

Promethean myth: Victor as modern Prometheus - creating life and facing tragic consequences

John Keats:

The ability to remain in uncertainty, doubt, and mystery without reaching for facts or reason.

Valued imagination and emotional truth over logic.

John Keats: medievalism

- Inspired by medieval themes, settings, and chivalric romance

- Seen in poems like La Belle Dame sans Merci

- Evokes mystery, the supernatural, and a sense of nostalgic beauty

Traditional ballad features - dialogue, characteristic metre (8 and 6-syllable lines)

John Keats: synaesthesia

- Blending of sensory experiences (e.g., "sunburnt mirth," "tasting of Flora")

- Enhances sensual richness and emotional depth in his poetry

"The production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body"

John Keats: art vs. life / mortality vs. immortality

1. Explores tension between fleeting human life and the timelessness of art

2. Ode on a Grecian Urn: frozen beauty vs. living experience

3. Keats confronts death and seeks immortality through poetry

The Bluestockings

Group of Women who attended political and literary discussions in their salons (regular social meetings). The name "Bluestockings" started to be used (often derogatively) for women with intellectual aspirations, usually form London or other large cities.

Bluestockings vs. commercial writers

Bluestockings: educated, elite women focused on intellectual salons and serious literature

Commercial writers: often middle-class women writing popular novels for profit and wide readership

Authorship, respectability & anonymity

- Many women published anonymously or under pseudonyms to protect social reputation

- Balancing authorship with societal expectations of modesty and respectability

They wanted to be seen as learned but also modest and virtuous - "virtue" being defined as celibacy in xase of single ladies and monogamy in case of married ones, plus Christian piety.

Morality and intellectual authority

- Women writers often linked their work to moral instruction

- Claimed intellectual authority by emphasizing virtue and social reform

They worked against established tradition of seeing women with intellectual aspirations as either ridiculous or promiscuous.

Literary patronage and networking

- Relied on patronage, salons, and correspondence to gain visibility and support

- Networks helped navigate the male-dominated literary world

Politics and reformist discourse

- Engaged with political issues like abolition, women's rights, women's education and social responsibility

- Used literature to advocate for social change and equality

Bluestocking writers helped redefine the image of the female reader as intellectually curious and morally serious, influencing the borader literary market's depiction of women as readers and consumers.

Jane Austen: Free Indirect Discourse

Free indirect discourse is a new technique - not first person narrative and not third person narrative with a very obvious narrator persona - which allows the writer to get into their characters heads, to show us the world through their eyes, while maintaining certain detachment.

Jane Austen: Narrative Voice

- Austen very rarely makes her narrator overt

- She also almost never wrote scene with only men present - she preferred scenes with either only women or mixed company

Jane Austen: Social class and marriage

- Central themes exploring social mobility, economic security, and marriage as social contract

- Critiques class constraints and gender roles

Austen critiques the limited social mobility and economic dependence of women in the early 19th century. She also depicts unhappy marriages which were motivated only by sexual attraction or only by money. In contrast, she ensures that her main protagonists achieve marriages founded on both love and economic stability, suggesting that true happiness lies in a union of affection and prudence.

Jane Austen: Irony and satire as moral tools

Jane Austen's irony is not just comic but also moral, used to expose hypocrisy, vanity, or foolishness. She satirizes social manners to promote moral reflection and growth.

Jane Austen: Characterization and moral development

Austen's protagonists typically undergo moral growth through self-awareness (e.g., Elizabeth's realization of her prejudice, or Emma's of her arrogance).

Jane Austen: Historical and cultural context

- Set during late 18th-early 19th century England, amid shifting class dynamics

- Wars in France (this is why the militia appears in Meryton in Pride and Prejudice)

- Reflects Regency society's values, limitations, and domestic concerns

- The time when Britain finally outlawed slave trade (though not slavery itself yet) . There are subtle hints in "Mansfield Park" suggesting family's connections to slave trade and slave labour

Travel narratives and mapping of empire

- Explorations and colonial accounts shaped European knowledge of colonized lands

- Reinforced imperial power through geographical and cultural "mapping"

Slavery and political use of sentiment

- Abolitionist literature used emotional appeals to expose slavery's brutality

- Sentimental novels and poems stirred public empathy and political activism

Sentimentalism was used both to condemn Atlantic slavery and justify intervention in India under the guise of moral duty (Carribean slavery was condemned, but India was often depicted as the site of "despotic" native rule and corrupt local elited - requiring British reform)

Colonial wealth and foundations of domestic fiction

- Wealth from colonies funded the rise of the middle-class novel

- Domestic fiction often indirectly reflects imperial economies and social structures

The Victorian novel and the modes of its reading

- serialization ("broadsides", cheap mass-produced texts for working-class audience, usually with sensational content, sold for a penny per piece)

- whole magazines dedicated to publishing only literary texts

- censorship of "immoral" novels

- "triple decker" format allowed charging extra for borrowing all three volumes at a time

- publishers exercising pressure on authors to conform to the format

- establishing free public libraries

- reading out loud - at homes, in pubs, or even sometimes in factories by people hired especially for that purpose (for instance in cigar factories)

Bildungsroman

A coming-of-age novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and individual development of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.

Example: "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte

Sensation novel

A melodramatic novel with Gothic elements, devoted to scandalous doings, guilty secrets, and lurid intrigues - characters with multiple identities, shocking subject matter (R.L. Stevenson "Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde")

Detective novel

This novels often involves a mystery or crime that requires solving, engaging readers with suspense, twists, and revelations.

The "Condition of England" novel

These novels explore social and political issues, depicting the realities of Victorian society, including industrialization, urbanisation, poverty, and class struggles.

Example: Elizabeth Gaskell's "North and South"

The role of female characters: the madwoman in the attic vs. the angel in the house

Madwoman in the Attic: Represents the repressed, unconventional, or rebellious aspects of femininity. Characters like Bertha Mason in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" embody this trope, challenging societal norms and patriarchal authority.

The Angel in the House: Represents the idealised Victorian woman who is domestic, nurturing, self-sacrificing, and supportive of her husband and family. This ideal was propagated in literature and society, influencing societal expectations of women's behaviour and roles.

The empire, imperial ideology, and its influence on the novel

The British Empire's vast influence shaped narratives that celebrated imperial expansion, exotic locales, and adventures abroad. Rudyard Kipling's works, for instance, reflect imperial pride and cultural attitudes towards colonial subjects.

Critical Perspectives: Some Victorian novels, like Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," questioned

imperial values, exposing the darker sides of colonisation and its impact on both colonisers and the colonised.