
The main characteristics of the Victorian era were the following:
- It was a period of change in the British economy and politics. These had a great impact on the society of the time,...
- It was a mixed time when the general optimism mixed by the industrialization, the urbanization accelerated , the...
- The contradictions of the time were reflected in what is known as “the...
What are the main characteristics of the Victorian period?
Victorian era
- The Victorian stereotype and double standard. ...
- Gender and class in Victorian society. ...
- Religion and science in the Victorian era. ...
- Government and politics in the Victorian era. ...
- The Victorian British Empire. ...
- The Victorian British economy. ...
- Victorian culture and art. ...
What were the stereotypes of the Victorian era?
Victorian era When Jews are found in Victorian fiction, they are almost always portrayed as a stereotype rather than as human beings. The "villain Jew" stereotype is found in a number of Victorian era novels. The character of Fagin from Charles Dickens 's Oliver Twist is perhaps one of the best known Jewish stereotypes in the world.
Why is the Victorian era so famous?
a) The Victorian era was when the novel found its feet and thus attracted many of the great writers. Perhaps in another era the likes of Dickens would have written plays but in Victorian times the novel was the most popular form of literature.
What are some fun facts about the Victorian era?
Interesting facts about Victorian era
- Let start with Queen Victoria. ...
- Queen Victoria wasn’t actually called Victoria – she was in fact named Alexandrina after her godfather, Tsar Alexander I of Russia. ...
- Victorians wore a lot of black. ...
- When someone passed the family would often have a photograph taken of the body. ...

What are the main characteristics of the Victorian novel?
1st Generation Victorian Novels & NovelistsThemes. ... Imaginative Rendering of Reality. ... Characterisation. ... Loose Plots. ... Lack of High Artistic Standard. ... Main Themes. ... Shift From Industrialism & Utilitarianism. ... Shift Towards Intellectualism.
What are the major theme of Victorian age?
During this time, there were many political, societal, and cultural changes such as industrialization, reform, Darwinism, the argument over “high” and “popular” culture, and how literature was used as its own oppositional space in which concerns about loss of faith, modernity, and change in general were discussed.
Why Victorian age is called Golden Age?
To what is considered the "golden age" of England, the Victorian period brought a time of improvements in society, great achievement, and revolutionary ideas that paved the way for modern times.
What are three characteristics of Victorian poetry?
The Main Characteristics of Victorian PoetryThe Realism.Conflict Between Religion & Science.Showing the Responsibility.Use of Sensory Elements.Pessimism- Integral to Victorian Poetry.Interest in Medieval Fables and Legends.Sentimentality.Development of Dramatic Monologue.More items...•
What are the major themes of modernism?
The major literary themes of the Modernist Era are confusion, isolation, and disillusionment. These themes reflect the mindset of the American people and the feelings that plagued them throughout the early 1900s. T.S.
Who are the major poets of the Victorian age?
The most prolific and well-regarded poets of the age included Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Matthew Arnold, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Oscar Wilde.
What is Victorian Age in English literature?
The Victorian period of literature roughly coincides with the years that Queen Victoria ruled Great Britain and its Empire (1837-1901). During this era, Britain was transformed from a predominantly rural, agricultural society into an urban, industrial one.
What was the Victorian era?
Alternative Title: Victorian Age. Victorian era, in British history, the period between approximately 1820 and 1914 , corresponding roughly but not exactly to the period of Queen Victoria ’s reign (1837–1901) and characterized by a class-based society, a growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, ...
Why was the Victorian period important?
More access made British cultural products more important. Not only did they reveal much about the society from which they emerged, but during the Victorian period Britain was the cultural capital of the English-speaking world (including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). Victorian performance and print culture were rich and varied, a blend of melodrama, spectacle, and morality.
What were the major scientific discoveries of the Victorians?
Alongside their faith, Victorians made and appreciated developments in science. The best-known Victorian scientific development is that of the theory of evolution. It is typically credited to Charles Darwin, but versions of it were developed by earlier thinkers as well, and the pseudoscience of eugenics was an ugly outgrowth of Victorian evolutionary theory. Victorians were also fascinated by the emerging discipline of psychology and by the physics of energy.
What religions were in Britain in Victorian times?
Most Victorian Britons were Christian. The Anglican churches of England, Wales, and Ireland were the state churches (of which the monarch was the nominal head) and dominated the religious landscape (even though the majority of Welsh and Irish people were members of other churches). The Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. There was some religious diversity, as Britain also was home to other non-Anglican Protestants (notably Methodists ), Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others (at the end of the period there were even a few atheists ).
What were the main organizing principles of Victorian society?
While race, religion, region, and occupation were all meaningful aspects of identity and status, the main organizing principles of Victorian society were gender and class. As is suggested by the sexual double standard, gender was considered to be biologically based and to be determinative ...
How much did the middle class earn in the 19th century?
The middle class, which got its income (of £100 to £1,000 per annum) from salaries and profit, grew rapidly during the 19th century, from 15 to over 25 percent of the population. During the 19th century, members of the middle class were the moral leaders of society (they also achieved some political power).
When was adult suffrage achieved?
Full adult suffrage, with no property requirement, was achieved with the second Representation of the People Act (1928) . This story of the expansion of the national electorate is important, but there is more to political participation than voting at the national level. Local politics were also important.
What was the Victorian era?
It was a time of many changes and eventful developments in the field of art, literature, technology, religion, socially, politically and economically. It has been occasionally referred to as the second renaissance of England. See Victorian Era Timeline
Was the British colonial era conservative?
Also, the times were such that we probably term it was very conservative. However, in fact, it was the commencement of the modern era. It was also the age of a lot of reformation and transition to imperialistic tendencies and growth of the British colonial empire. There was repressiveness about the society and mannerisms too.
What were the characteristics of the Victorian period?
Chief Characteristics of Victorian Period. While the country saw economic progress, poverty and exploitation were also equally a part of it. The gap between the rich and the poor increased significantly and the drive for material and commercial success was seen to propagate a kind of a moral decay in the society itself.
What was the change in the landscape of the Victorian era?
While the earlier phase of Romanticism saw a celebration of the country side and the rich landscape of the flora and fauna, the Victorian era saw a changing of the landscape to one of burgeoning industries and factories.
Why was the age of the novel important?
The age hence was important for the rise of the novel as a genre and form which itself saw transformation within the period. From romanticism to realism, politics to passion, optimism to pessimism, the novel could successfully deal with the changing mood of the society. Class, gender, individualism, society all were given space in the novel. The period was known to have witnessed the massive change of Britain from an agrarian to industrial landscape. All concerns informed the novel and the novel was made into perhaps the most important genre of the age and the ones that would follow.
How long did Queen Victoria rule?
In the year 1837, Queen Victoria ascended the throne of Great Britain and Ireland and succeeded William the IV. She served for a period of 64 years, till her death in 1901 and it is one of the longest reigns in the history of England. The period was marked by many important social and historical changes ...
What was the movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
Modernism. Modernism as a movement was a response to the horrors of World War-I and to the rising industrial societies and growth of cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It challenged the harmony and the rationality of the Enlightenment and sought to reinvent art and literature of the age.
Who is the most famous Victorian author?
Charles Dickens: A Popular Victorian Author. In the same year that Queen Victoria ascended the throne, Charles Dickens published the first parts of his novel Oliver Twist, a story of an orphan and his struggle with poverty in the early part of the century.
What was the era of women writers?
The era saw a proliferation of women writers. The novel as a genre was initially seen as feminine literature and as the literacy rate among women increased, a new need for women writers catering to this segment was answered by these writers.
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1. Prepared by: Gohil. Devikaba. J Roll no.: 05 Course No.:06 Course Name: The Victorian Literature Topic Name: Characteristics of the Victorian Age Enrolment No. : Pg14101015 S. B. GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH M.K.BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY
Characteristics of the Victorian age
1. Prepared by: Gohil. Devikaba. J Roll no.: 05 Course No.:06 Course Name: The Victorian Literature Topic Name: Characteristics of the Victorian Age Enrolment No. : Pg14101015 S. B. GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH M.K.BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY
What are the characteristics of Victorian novels?
Victorian novels tend to be idealized portraits of difficult lives in which hard work, perseverance, love and luck win out in the end . They were usually inclined towards being of improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart.
What influence did Victorian literature have on modern literature?
The persistent popular embrace of Victorian literature has had a profound influence on modern literature and media. Writers such as Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters still sell robustly on most book resellers’ lists and are frequently adapted into films and television productions, both directly and in modernized retellings.
What kind of literature did Queen Victoria create?
As is quite evident from the title the kind of literature that evolved during the reign of Queen Victoria is famously known as the Victorian era literature. The literature of the Victorian age (1837-1901) entered a new period after the romantic revival. The literature of this era was preceded by romanticism and was followed by modernism or realism.
Who were the two great poets of the Victorian era?
Though the Victorian Age produced two great poets Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning, the age is also remarkable for the excellence of its prose. Alfred Tennyson: The Famous Poet.
Who were the teachers of England?
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning – all were the teachers of England with the faith in their moral message to instruct the world. Thirdly, this was more like the age of pessimism and confusion. The influence of science was strongly felt here.
What is Victorian realism?
Coming down to the history of English Literature from the Romantic Age of Idealism to the Victorian era of Realism, one experiences the feeling of a return from solitude to society, from nature to industry, from concepts to issues, from spiritualism to pragmatism, from optimism to agnosticism, ...
What was the romantic movement?
The Romantic Movement, which preceded the Victorian Renaissance, had often portrayed the human pursuit of knowledge and power as a beautiful thing, as in the works of Wordsworth. During the Victorian age, however, there was a lot of radical social change and as such.
What is the history of English literature?
Coming down to the history of English Literature from the Romantic Age of Idealism to the Victorian era of Realism, one experiences the feeling of a return from solitude to society, from nature to industry, from concepts to issues, from spiritualism to pragmatism, from optimism to agnosticism, from lyricism to criticism and from organicism to compromise.
Did Victorians have soft options?
Whereas, the Romantics could afford to withdraw from the town in the initial stages of the Industrialisation, the Victorians, facing the flowering of the Industrial Revolution had no such soft option available to them.

Characteristics of The Victorian Era
- The main characteristics of the Victorian era were the following: 1. It was a period of change in the British economy and politics. These had a great impact on the society of the time, producing a particular culture. The Victorian era manifested itself in the customs, the literature, the fashion, the architecture, the family relations and the arts....
Victorian Era Customs
- The most prominent customs of the Victorian era are as follows: 1. The use of the railroadbecame popular and spread throughout the territory. The British became very fond of travel. Even Queen Victoria used to travel by train, where she had luxuriously decorated private carriages. 2. The upper classes were very fond of the parties, the meetings, the social events, et…
Artistic Manifestations of The Victorian Era
- Some of the artistic manifestations of the Victorian era were the following: 1. Faced with the serial production of identical industrial products, groups of artists emerged who sought to rescue artisan work. These groups, such as the Arts and Crafts movement or the Glasgow School , wanted to link art with crafts to produce unique objects. They tried to recover the medieval tradit…