Eng426 20th century english literature

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

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  discuss the salient features of nineteenth century English literature; and
  

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  explain factors that led to change in twentieth century English literature
  
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  relate the realities of the 20^th Century English society to the concerns of modernist writers;
  
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  discuss the characteristic differences between Victorian and modernist literature
  

0. MAIN CONTENT

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   Nineteenth Century English Literature (Victorian English Literature)
   

Nineteenth century English literature is generally believed to cover the literary production of the late 1830s to 1901. It is also known as the Victorian English literature, named after Queen Victoria. The early Victorian period witnessed a lot of scientific and technical innovations especially the industrial revolution and colonisation of Africa and the Middle East. The fact that many nations or countries were under the British rule at the time, established Britain as an “empire” and a world power. This status gave Britain the opportunity to expand its territorial powers and increase its economic base. It was the period of Industrial Revolution as industries were established and export business boomed in Britain. These affected the socio- economic and political life of the empire as there were massive movements of people from villages to cities where they believed they could have access to better life. As time went on, there were more people than jobs giving rise to unemployment, poverty, and child labour. Protests and riots became commonplace. Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist was set in this historical background.

The novel was the dominant genre of the Victorian period. Among the writers of the period were Robert Browning, Emily Bronte and her sister Charlotte Bronte, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Charles Dickens. Their works featured protagonists who reflected the roles of the individual in the society as they strive for love, social position or success. There was the description of characters’ surroundings, speeches, actions, depiction of real life issues, plots were linear and coherent; the stories of the heroes and heroines were well finished and ended; and there were unified or well patterned representations of life.

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