During the Victorian Era, authors such as Charles Dickens became prominent. These authors focused more on literature for the working class, normal people. In previous eras, the literature would be intended towards aristocratic people and noblemen. However, this was a time of change, around the time of the Industrial Revolution and reality started to become worse and worse as working conditions became more inhumane. Because the works of literature were more aimed at working class people who had less education, the authors turned to simpler, or at least easier to understand, forms of writing. Novels became very prominent during this era because narratives and prose are much easier to grasp, especially for the working class that lacked education. These new novels portrayed working class men and women and their daily lives. For example, in Charles Dicken’s Hard Times, he writes about the struggle of the working class and the injustices in their lives. The book addresses bad factory conditions, working children, poverty, etc. However, Dickens always adds a comical twist to the novel. Oscar Wilde also adds elements in his works that elicit thoughtful laughter. In this manner, the writers of the Victorian Era mocked society and its flaws. Irony and sarcasm were heavily employed to create satirical works. One of the main reasons why the works were funny were so that the people who read them would be able to get away from the despair of their life and have some comical relief; however, the settings and characters were still realistic and feasible. This era contrasted with the Romantic era because the romantics recurred to fantastic elements that would require a suspension of disbelief, but Victoria works were realistic to the point that the readers were able to put themselves in the characters’ lives.
Your team's synthesis is well constructed and adequately addresses each part of the question. Moreover, the length does not distract from the content of your synthesis. We also used Charles Dickens as an example of an eminent Victorian writer and agree with your points on how the Industrial Revolution was a main focus of his writings and the Victorian Era, collectively. Overall, your team did a good job concisely discussing differences between the Victorian and Romantic eras and the popular literature of the time.
ReplyDeleteWylie Period 6 Team 8
Trent Kajikawa, Naomi Krieger, Daphne Liu, Wilson Muller