Victorian Era Literature Characteristics
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. Hence, it can also be called a fusion of
romantic and realist style of writing. 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
Table of Contents
o Characteristics of Victorian novels
o Characteristics of Victorian poetry
Common themes in Victorian Literature
Influence of Victorian Literature
o Famous Victorian novelists and poets
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. While this
formula was the basis for much of earlier Victorian fiction, the situation became
more complex as the century progressed.
Samuel Butler Book
Characteristics of Victorian poetry
Victorian Poetry was also indifferent from the already stated style. Much of the
work of the time is seen as a bridge between the romantic era and the modernist
poetry of the next century. Alfred Lord Tennyson held the poet laureateship for
over forty years. The husband and wife poetry team of Elizabeth Barrett
Browning and Robert Browning conducted their love affair through verse and
produced many tender and passionate poems.
The reclaiming of the past was a major part of Victorian literature and was to be
found in both classical literature and also the medieval literature of England. The
Victorians loved the heroic, chivalrous stories of knights of old and they hoped to
regain some of that noble, courtly behaviour and impress it upon the people both
at home and in the wider empire.
In dramatic, farces, musical burlesques, extravaganzas, and comic operas
competed with Shakespeare productions and serious drama by the likes of
James Planche’ and Thomas William Robertson.
The discoveries of science seem to reflect considerable and particular effects
upon the literature of the age. The Victorians had a mission to describe and
classify the entire natural world. Much of this writing was not regarded as
literature but one book, in particular, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species,
remains famous. The theory of evolution contained within the work shook many
of the ideas the Victorians had about themselves. Although it took a long time to
be widely accepted, completely changed following thoughts and literature.
Charles Darwin resting against pillar covered with vines.
The old Gothic tales that came out of the late 19th century are the first examples
of the genre of fantastic fiction. These tales often centred on larger-than-life
characters such as Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective of the times, Barry
Lee, big time gang leader, Sexton Blake, Phileas Fogg, and other fictional
characters of the era, such as Dracula, Edward Hyde.
Common themes in Victorian Literature
If one studies possibly, all the great writers of this period, you will mark three
general characteristics, Firstly, literature in the Victorian age tended to come face
to face with realism. This reflected more on practical problems and interests. It
becomes a powerful instrument for human progress. Secondly, the Victorian
literature seems to deviate from the strict principle of “art for art’s sake” and
asserts its moral purpose.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Ruskin Bond – 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. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s some immature works seem to hold
doubtful and despairing stains but his In Memoriam comes out as a hope after
despair. Although characterized as practical and materialistic, the literature of the
Victorian age portrays a completely ideal life. It was an idealistic age where the
great ideals like truth, justice, love, brotherhood were emphasized by poets,
essayists and novelists of the age.
Influence of Victorian 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. In addition, many modern novels such as A Great and Terrible Beauty
demonstrate that the intricate cultural mores of the Victorian era find a home in
the modern cultural psyche.
Charles Dickens wrote many popular novels
Famous Victorian novelists and poets
Significant Victorian novelists and poets include: Matthew Arnold, the Bronte
sisters, Christina Rossetti, Joseph Conrad, Robert Browning, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Wilkie Collins, Charles
Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot, George Meredith, Elizabeth Gaskell,
George Gissing, Richard Jefferies, Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, Rudyard
Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Algernon Charles Swinburne,
Philip Meadows Taylor, Alfred Lord Tennyson biography, William
Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, George MacDonald, G.M. Hopkins, Oscar Wilde,
Lewis Carroll.
