The Victorian Age 1837-1901
Queen Victoria 64 years reign! Longest reigning monarch to date She inherited the throne after her father and his three older brothers died without surviving legitimate heirs.
Queen Victoria Married her 1st cousin, Prince Albert, in 1840 They had 9 kids! Their 9 children and 26 of their 42 grandchildren married into royal and noble families across the continent
Queen Victoria Hot, right? She reigned for 63 years and 7 months Longer than any other British monarch Longest of any female monarch in history
Her Reign Ruled from 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901 The book says the Victorian Age is from 1837-1901. Huh… must be some kind of important correlation… Think… Darn it… What could it be?!
She must have been important! To have an ENTIRE AGE named after one person! She played a symbolic role in unifying Britain’s widespread colonies By her Diamond Jubilee (60 year celebration), she ruled ¼ of the world’s population
Technological Advances Britain’s imperial success was aided by technological strength To the Victorians, speed and other technological innovations seemed to promise a better world in many respects
Technological Advances Locomotives- reached 50 MPH and could transport more things Cast Irons and Elevators- build taller buildings Transatlantic telegraph wires and telephones- communicated more widely and more quickly
Technological Advances Electric Light- made streets safer and plays more thrilling Vaccines and Pasteurization of milk- improved health Canned food- helped out soldiers and explorers
Technological Advances Photographs- preserved memories
Marxism and Darwinism • Victorian Life came at a price • Governmental committees published reports on • Child Labor Laws • Conditions in mines • Sewer projects • Called Blue Books- because of their cover • Had an effect on public opinion and the laws
Say what? People couldn’t understand why everything was happening this way They couldn’t make sense of the huge changes they had witnessed
Marxism Karl Marx- German born philosopher Moved to London after being exiled from Paris for political radicalism Wrote his most famous and influential book, Das Kapital (“Capital”) in 1886
Marxism He believed class warfare was inevitable
Class Warfare: Class Warfare = tensions between members or groups of different social classes
Marxism He said that all property and means of production should be held in common, and all means of subsistence should be shared equally. “From each according to his abilities, and each according to his needs.”
Darwinism Charles Darwin, published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859 He believed all living organisms as governed by the same natural laws Evolution was the process of natural selection acting on random mutations
Darwinism Contemporary interpreters called it “survival of the fittest,” to justify the power of the rich Darwin wasn’t interested in applying his theories to human social policy Science is science, money is money
The BIG Ideas! Optimism and the Belief in Progress The Emergence of Realism Disillusionment and Darker Visions
Read it, yo! Optimism and the Belief in Progress Elizabeth Barrett Browning- “Sonnet 43” (p. 899) Lennon and McCartney- “In My Life” (p. 902) Q: Does a belief in love go hand in hand with the belief in progress?
Read these too, yo! Nonsense Verse, pure nonsense! • Lewis Carroll- “ Jabberwocky” (p. 915)
Here are some more! The Emergence of Realism Robert Browning- “My Last Duchess” (p.937)
And… some mo’ Disillusionment and Darker Visions A.E. Housman- “To an Athlete Dying Young” (p. 956) Thomas Hardy- “The Man He Killed” (p. 962) Thomas Hardy- “’Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?’” (p.963)
Your Objective: • Choose at least one poem from two categories: • Optimism and the Belief in Progress • Nonsense Verse • The Emergence of Realism • Disillusionment and Darker Visions
Your Objective: Once you have your two poems from two different categories, compare the two poems How do the words in the poems show you its characteristics of that category? How are they similar? How are they different? How does the language illustrate to the reader the feelings of that category?
Your Objective: You must use examples from the poems you choose! Use specific lines from the poem, and make sure you know how to properly use quotation marks. The period or comma ALWAYS go inside the quotation marks at the end of a sentence!!!!!!!!!
Your Objective: You must format it in an essay format and it needs to have a title No required word count or length, but it must be an essay If you don’t finish this in class, it is required as homework.
How you will be graded: Completion: 40 points Quotations: 0-20 points Staying on topic (comparing) 0-20 points Spelling and grammar: 0-20 points
