Essays on Victorian Society

3.08.2016

Alfred, Lord Tennyson is a vivid representative of the Victorian period in the history of England, and particularly, the English literature. Together with the English society he was witnessing the industrial development of the world and together with the Victorian community he felt hostile towards these changes. For these convictions he was highly appreciated by the members of the Victorian society and the Queen herself. We will analyze two of his poems, which reflect his attitude to biological and geological progress – “In Memoriam” and “The Epic”. The poem “The Epic” tells us about a Christmas Eve and four ...

Satire in The Importance of Being Earnest

The most important role of any work of fiction is not simply to entertain its readers but to teach some moral lesson or convey a message. Each writer seeks to improve bad side of humans’ nature, presenting all their shortcoming and inappropriate behaviour in the images of the main characters of their stories. The best way to do it is definitely by using such genre of literature as satire. It does not only ridicule different vices and faults of particular individuals or society in general, but aims to construct social criticism and lead to further improvement. The Importance of ...

Ibsen exposes the life experiences of his main female character Nora to show the way patriarchal societies deprive women their freedom by suppressing their views, treating them like children, and through repressive gender roles. Nora’s life and her relationship with her husband, Torvald, is a typical reflection of the importance of self-determination for women within the marriage institution. It is apparent that when a person’s freedom is limited either by choice or by chance, one is not able to establish a relationship based on equality with a partner or other people within the society. The author provides ...

In his tenth novel, Charles Dickens assessed the social and economic pressures of Victorian society. The times were harsh, especially for children struggling to survive and make their way through life. This brief essay discusses some of the abuses of children during Victorian times. Industrialization in the Victorian era created urban growth and a large influx of industrial workers that further divided English society into recognizable classes that emerged as the capitalists or new middle class and the working class. Both are represented in the characters and plot developments in Hard Times. About one-third of Queen Victoria’s subjects ...

Canon Doyle’s version of characterization is entwined with social issues, especially with regards to relationships. The time and the context of Doyle’s stories gives a critical, yet contrasting relationship developed between male and female partners. Thus, the concept of sexually comes in, and Doyle is keen to express this concept through his stories involving Sherlock Holmes and his acquaintances. However, this concept would hold a different social paradigm in the modern society, as Sherlock’s nature would be interpreted otherwise. Asexuality is defined in Sherlock’s stories as lack of taste, mood, or interest in women and ...