Concetti Chiave
- The industrial revolution marked a period of economic unhappiness, with poor living conditions and inadequate diets for the labouring poor.
- Workhouses were introduced as a means to reduce poverty rates, but they offered harsh and unhealthy environments.
- The gentry enjoyed a lifestyle free from economic worries, contrasting sharply with the struggles of the general populace.
- The role of women shifted significantly, with many moving from village duties to factory work or becoming workmen's wives.
- The Romantic era in theatre featured elaborate machinery and effects, focusing on remote and fantastical subjects rather than contemporary social issues.
The Era of Economic Unhappiness
The industrial revolution signed a period of unhappiness. Parliament refused to reduce economic pressure on the labouring poor. With A. Smith the introspection of government about internal and external trade ended. In order to reduce the poor rate, workhouses were created, using them as a deterrent. But the conditions inside them were very bad. They were dirty. The diet of most English people at beginning of XIX century was based on bread and cheese.
The gentry lived unlike most of people: they led an otiose life freed by economic problems.
The Changing Role of Women
The role of women changed: before they attended to village duties, now, with the growing importance of secondary sector, (industry) most of them had to work in factories, others into workmen’s wives. 
Women of middle or upper-class hoped on marriage as the single way to reach wealth and occupation.
Drama in Romantic age: Theatres were regarded as place of entertainment. Machinery was elaborate; there were set ghosts, goblins, fairies into air. Lights burning gas were introduced: they shouted effects undreamed before. The theatre was a very big place. The Romanticism was a period of great actors. According with the romantic poetry, also the romantic drama chose remote subjects outside the social and political issues of contemporary society.
Domande da interrogazione
- How did the industrial revolution impact the economic conditions of the laboring poor?
- How did the role of women evolve during the industrial revolution?
- What characterized the theatre during the Romantic age?
The industrial revolution marked a period of economic unhappiness for the laboring poor, as Parliament refused to alleviate their economic pressures. Workhouses were established to reduce the poor rate, but they were in poor condition, and the diet of most English people was limited to bread and cheese.
The role of women shifted significantly during the industrial revolution. Many women moved from village duties to working in factories or becoming workmen's wives, while middle and upper-class women viewed marriage as the primary means to achieve wealth and occupation.
The theatre in the Romantic age was seen as a place of entertainment with elaborate machinery and effects, such as set ghosts and fairies. It was a period of great actors, and the romantic drama often chose remote subjects, avoiding contemporary social and political issues.
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