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Hyde Park, London
LIT 242 Roadmap: Week 12
This week: Module 6: The Victorian Age (1830-1901). We will spend 1 week in this
module.
This document contains 4 sections:
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•
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Overview
Readings
Resources
Responsibilities
Overview
Victorian Photographs (from left): Child factory workers; an opulent Victorian dinner party
•
Josh Rahn says the key word to describing the Victorian Era is upheaval. In
some ways that does make sense. This period of British Literature is named after
the reigning monarch of the time, Queen Victoria, who remained on the throne for
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a staggering 64 years (1837-1901). Those years saw great changes in British
culture. Everything the English once took for granted had shifted dramatically.
• Expanding global economy
• Business/profit opportunities, with no governmental regulation
• The rise of a wealthy middle class
• Industrial Revolution replacing agriculture
• Mass movement from the countryside to the cities for work opportunity
• Rapid population growth
• Rise of slums, poverty since cities cannot handle the influx of so many people
• Theories of science, evolution, genetics, and psychiatry question the notion of
the world created by a benevolent God
• Imperialism: 1 in every 4 people on the planet was a subject of the queen; The
British Empire controlled Ireland, Canada, Australia, India (where they were
outnumbered 4 to 1), and some of Africa.
• Outward prominent values: God, family, country
My word for this era is dualism. Victorian society was in some ways two worlds living as
one. There was immense wealth, but immense poverty; progress, yet servitude;
opportunity, yet lack of mobility; morality yet hedonism. Men married for money,
position, and “the angel of the house,” who was to be a sexless “good girl,” while the
men used desperate prostitutes for their sexual needs. In short, your public face and
your private face were very different.
In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens’ opening line is: It was the best of
times; it was the worst of times. This sums up the Victorian era well. On the surface
this era was about God, family, and country—but a lot of ugliness lay underneath.
The novel is the most common literary form of the period, but we obviously do not have
time to read one. I would like you to read either a novella (short novel) or a play, and
some poems to get the flavor of the era.
Readings
1. You must choose one of these:
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
• The Importance of Being Earnest
Whichever you choose, look for this pattern: duality or pairs.
Poems:
2. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• The Cry of the Children (587-590) She wrote this after learning how children
were forced to work in mines and factories.
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• How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnet 43, 591-592)
3. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (the most popular Victorian poet)
• The Lady of Shalott (618-622) This begs to be read aloud. Don’t be
intimidated by its length. Its rhythm moves!
• The Charge Of The Light Brigade (681-682) Again, appreciate his rhythm.
4. Robert Browning, Porphyria’s Lover (713-714) One of the most famous poems in
English, but very weird!
5. Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach, written in 1867 (764-765), but then read Anthony
Hecht’s 100-years-later, 1967 smart-ass retort, The Dover Bitch. Which do you
prefer?
6. Christina Rossetti: In many ways her style is not Victorian. What do you think of
her imagery and voice?
• A Birthday (801-802)
• Goblin Market (803-815) Don’t be intimidated by its length. It reads quickly
and is a wild narrative poem! Such lush imagination. Do you think it’s a
metaphor for something else? I won’t tell you what!
• “No, Thank You, John” (815-816)
• Promises Like Pie-Crust (816) Scan down a ways to view the poem. You
don’t have to read the analysis, although I don’t mind if you do. But
remember: I want to know what you think, not the blogger!
7. Rudyard Kipling
• The White Man’s Burden (955-956) This poem is strongly pro-imperialist (at
least that’s how I read it) and has been used to justify invasion of developing
nations. How do you react to it?
• If– (957) Learn Kipling’s advice for how to be a real man
Resources
1. Mr. Osborne – British Literature Unit Preview 5 – The Victorian Age – YouTube
2. The Terrifying Psychopath Who Inspired “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”
3. Top 10 Notes: The Importance of Being Earnest You can view before or after
reading/watching the play.
4. The Lady of Shallot — Loreena McKennitt – YouTube Good music; beautiful
images
5. An Introduction to “The Lady of Shalott’
6. Tennyson ~ Charge of the Light Brigade ~ poem with text – YouTube
7. “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning (read by Tom O’Bedlam) – YouTube
8. “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold (read by Tom O’Bedlam) – YouTube
9. “The Dover Bitch” by Anthony Hecht (poetry reading) – YouTube
10. Goblin Market Trailer – YouTube Trailer for Short film created by University of
Liverpool Drama Students, played to a sell-out film fest crowd at Fringe Fest, the
largest arts festival in the world, 3 weeks every August in Edinburgh, Scotland’s
capital city
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11. The White Man’s Burden – YouTube A young woman contrasts Kipling’s words
with some imperialistic images
12. Smash Cut Rudyard Kipling “If” Video Poem – YouTube
Continued next page
Responsibilities
Weekly Discussion Forum (30 points)
Week 12 Discussion Post
For this module you will have 2 ¶s to write (11 points each + 4 points each for 2
responses to other students’ posts).
For either choice, include in your response at least 2 lines from the novella or the
play to support your point. (My Jekyll quote does not count as one of yours btw.)
•
Paragraph 1 (Choose only one of these choices to answer, depending on
whether you read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or The
Importance of Being Earnest.)
Option A: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Jekyll states that “man is not truly one, but truly two.” How is that literally true in
this story? Then, how could that be metaphorically true of other people besides
this character? Do you think it is possible for a society to be not truly one, but
two? If so, then how? What are the implications of being not truly one but two?
Option A: The Importance of Being Earnest
Find 3 instances of doubles in the play. These could be doubles in characters,
plot, lines, or ideas. First, describe all of your 3 instances of doubles. Then
discuss what you think the playwright, Oscar Wilde, is trying to say by using
doubles within the story.
•
Paragraph 2 Choose one of the poems from the list on pp. 2-3. For your poem:
No more than 3 students may choose the same poem!
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1.
2.
3.
4.
What do you think it was about?
What are some lines that lead you to believe that?
What do you connect with/like/dislike about the poem?
Would you recommend this poem to another person? Why or why not?
What’s a question for us about your poem (you questions work very well)?
Please remember: I am not interested in you searching the Internet for others’
interpretations. I want yours! Sometimes looking up biographical or analytical
information can be useful, but you don’t want it to stand in the way of your own
interpretation.
Student discussion:
The statement “man is not truly one, but truly two” is literally true in this story
because of the dual identity that Dr. Jekyll has, Mr. Hyde. The one body
encompasses both identities inside of it. Dr Lanyon is another character who seems
to embody this duality. On one side, Dr Lanyon is Dr Jekylls friend and work partner,
but on the other hand he is not on speaking terms with him because of an scientific
argument they had years prior. Friendships can sometimes have its dark and light
sides to them. I do personally believe that whole societies can be not one, but two.
Midland Michigan would be an excellent example of this. On the outside it appears
to be a really nice place which is home to a lot of successful businesses, restaurants,
breweries, and other things you can do with your family. The part that is not talked
about more would be the drug problem that seems to be swept under the rug.
“Midland county averages two to three opiod-related deaths each month.”(midland
daily news) Another more broad example would be the United States in general. The
US was said to be a “melting pot” of immigrant culture which made the country
great, but when you think about the general view on foreigners it doesn’t really
seam to be that way.
To me, If by Rudyard Kipling is about a man giving advice to his child on ways he can
be a good man despite the world being bad. In the last stanza, the final two lines
read “Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it, and—which is more-you’ll be a
man my son!” help paint this picture more clearly. At first I thought the poem was
just a collection of advice the author was imparting to the reader, but that last part
put the whole thing together. I like this poem because like any young man who grew
up with their dad, I got a lot of advice from mine. It makes me think about how even
though I’m in my mid twenties now, my dad still gives me advice on every little thing
ranging from relationships, politics, to when I bough my first house, like I am
incapable of critical thought. He seems to forget I am not a child anymore, but he
means well by it so its not too bad. I would recommend this poem for people who do
or did, take a lot of advice from your father growing up.
My views are a bit of a duality of Romantic/Victorian. I am not a religious person, a
patriotic person, nor do I respect authority based on the merit that the authority
simply exists. I often question the (unfortunate) state of the government that resides
over this country right now. My parents attempted to give me a traditional christian
upbringing. From a young age I made a self realization that most religious texts are
unfounded and unprovable, and I made some comments that got me removed from
my Lutheran school and cast into the devilish dwellings of the public school system.
With thanksgiving right around the corner, I can already see the look on my mothers
face when my whole family bows their heads and prays, except for me. One might
say the transformation from her normal face into an angry evil face glaring at me
could resemble the transformation of Dr Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. In that regard I am
more Romantic. At the same time, I am also hardworking and come from a large
family, and was raised a family oriented person. In that way I am more Victorian. I
agree with the Victorians that “free love” can be a social/financial burden on society
if not done safely and responsibly. On the subject of nature fixing societies problems
id say I’m split down the middle. I think people need to spend a little bit more time
outdoors and put their smart phones down for a little bit and enjoy regular life
without snapchat/instagram filters. But at the same time I’m not going to pretend
that I would enjoy sleeping in a tent outside in the rain for a few nights roughing it. I
enjoy the “hippie-esque” freedom to be who you want to be that I get from the
romantic literature I read. At the same time society as we know it needs rules and
structure and can only advance through industry and hard work.
My Q: what things in life did you/do you go to your parents/guardians on in life?
reference:
http://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Drug-use-on-the-rise-in-Midland-County6993250.php
…
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