Victorian and Modern Attitudes Towards LiteratureRachel and Chris

What is Literature? Written works, especially those of

artistic merit.

There are many forms of literature, such as:

- Novels and Stories- Poetry- Theatre/Plays

Victorian Literature The novel was the dominating form of Victorian Literature

(Grazia Tripodi).

Some Victorian novels were published in chapter-by-chapter instalments, on a weekly/monthly basis.

This was because some writers wanted to see the reactions of readers of their novel, using these to decide if future instalments should be changed to better suit the taste of their audience.

Charles Dickens’ ‘Bleak House’ was issued in 20 parts sold in 19 instalments between March 1852 and September 1853.

A common theme in Victorian novels were ‘Didacticism’ (teaching/intending to teach a moral lesson).

As a result, the narrator was usually omniscient, judging the actions of the characters.

Dickens often used this theme in his novels, as did Edgar Allan Poe.

Victorian Poets were described by critic Tim Morris as writers of ‘romantic poetry’, which follows these themes:- Distrust of organised religion- An interest in the occult

Victorian poets were also described to have ‘scientific conviction’ and were sure of ‘God’s absence’. (Cheers Darwin)

One example is ‘Dover Beach’ by Matthew Arnold.

During the Victorian period, many theatres were built, along with theatre schools.

Also, there were a number of reforms that led to ‘the openness of theatre and literature’, which meant that playwrights were free to openly play dramas relating to social problems at the time.

However, the works of some writers were used against them in this regard, such as TPODG.

Modern Literature Modern Literature is less dominated by

artistic merit and more dominated by the need to entertain an audience. Many modern texts have chosen to follow cliché plots rather than an implicit theme.

How is this literature? This is smut!!!

A large portion of recent published works are autobiographies. Some of these are from victims of natural disasters or other hardships, while a majority are from celebrities.

Poetry is not as popular now as it was in the Victorian period, as not many people read poetry as a hobby. Many people only read poetry as part of their education.

However, for those who do read poetry outside of their studies, there is a wide range of poems available in bookstores and online, both from famous poets and amateur writers.

The popularity of theatre has also decreased, as most people would prefer to watch television and films.

However, people can watch live performances of sitcoms.

These writers share the same ‘openness of literature’ that Victorian writers had, but to a much larger extent, as modern writers can also make comments on religion, race, sexuality, corrupt authorities, etc. But, this is most commonly shown by scriptwriters in films.

Writers can write about these themes because for the most part, society is more accepting of these themes being portrayed in these ways, provided that they are not taken too far.

There is also a wider audience for writers to exploit as children are introduced to books at school and are encouraged to read.

And while most modern literature lacks an implicit story for readers to analyse and discover, they still manage to keep the reader entertained with unique plots and relatable characters.