Charles Dickens

CHARLES DICKENS:

NARRARIVE: Dickens was influenced by the bible, gothic novels, fables and nursery rhymes. His

plots are artificial, sentimental and episodic.

THE THEME OF INDUSTRIALISM: the set of the novel is London with its development and its

industrial situations. we see revolutionary ideas with a critic about corruption in the society. He

denounced London’s crime, London’s town with terrible descriptions.

CHARACTERS: he create caricatures to arose reader’s interest. He describe people’s habits and

language of the middle and lower classes in the modern London. He take the point of view of poor

people, outcast and working classes.

A DIDACTIC AIM: children are very important in Dickens’s novels. He would describe the natural

order of things by making children the moral teachers. He was arose into the reader the love for

children and his task is alleviate human sufferings.

THE WORKHOUSES: before poor people was helped by parishes. Parishes give them food, help

and shelter by there were a overcrowded of poor people. With the “poor law amendament act”

were built the workhouses for helping parishes and for encouraging people to be independent in

work. Workhouses put up 158 peoples at the sometime,but they were divided in 3 classes: 1-those

ABLE TO WORK,but unemployed,that had a hard work ex:stone breaking. 2-those UNABLE TO

WORK,because they were old or sick. 3-CHILDREN. These classes were separated and also man

and children wear a uniform and had one meal a day plus two prtions of GRUEL (water and

cereal). In 1929 workhouses was abolished and were transformed in hospitals. We know that in

this workhouses food,medical care and education for children were better than in poor houses.

VICTORIAN NOVEL: in this age there were a communion of interests between writers and their

readers because there were most consumers of literature,for example thanks to circulating libreries

and periodicals. In fact, Victorians wrote in periodicals a lot of social problems. Novel became a

new form of literature and entertainment and in them we found social changes,social progresses

(like the industrial revolution) and the growth of towns. Novelist aimed to reflecting about the evil in

the society and about the social injustice. In this period woman res and wrote a lot because they

spent a lot of time at home and for this reason they became the new “novel-buyers”. We have 3

different kind of novel: 1- the early Victorian novel with Dickens,with humanitarian themes and

the idea of his age. 2- the mid-victorian novel with romantic and gothic traditions. 3-the late-

victorian novel with the themes of naturalism with scientific themes. Some features of Victorian

novel:

• Voice of omniscient narrator that comment the plot

• Setting in city with industrial revolution ex:slums

• Long and complicated plot with a subplot

• Psicological research of the characters

• In the novel there are characters that are punished and other that are retributed.

GOTHIC NOVEL: born at the end of 18th century. Firstly the adjective “Gothic” was applied

to architecture and after in literature. This genre of novel was known thanks to the more

traffic of books. Gothic’s aimed to arose fear in the reader for create imagination in men’s

mind (in opposition to reason). Main themes were: evil,ghosts,mystery.. main features:

• Give importance to horror and terror with 2 elements: obscurity and atrocity

• The set is the night because darkness produce a fear atmosphere (gloomy and

mystery)

• Stories are settings in ancient structures like castle,abbey,hidden passage,secret

rooms.

• Characters are monster,ghosts,witches,vampires and the hero that fight to evil force

to save the lady.

WORDSWORTH: he use a simple language. In the Preface of the second edition of the

lyrical ballads he talk about everyday situations,poor and humble people,rural people. Poet

is a man among men that write about the interest of the mankind. He give importance to

senses and memory. By senses the poet perceive the beauty of the nature in a simple way

and with memory he making complex thoughts. Emotion is reproduved in poetic language

and the object reproduced an emotion similar to poet’s thought (recollection in tranquility).

Task of poet is to penetrate in the heart of things and communicated his knowledge with

imagination. He give attention to ordinary things ex: humble people , and the poet show

men how understand their feelings.

DIFFERECES BETWEEN COLERIDGE AND WORDSWORTH: Wordsworth:write about

the beauty of the nature and ordinary things for making interest in the reader.

Coleridge:write about imaginary things, about supernatural and mystery.

VICTORIAN AGE: the term Victorian derives from queen Victoria that was the symbol of the

nation. Victorian values: sense of duty, charity, respectability, hard work,

philantrophism,prudery,chastity. It was a ea of material progress and expansion. The “great

exhibition” was the power of the middle class that expanded their industry. This profit was

use to londons’s museums. The urban habitat was overcrowded. Poor lived in a criminal

quarters,called slums,that was appoling and dangerous for children. But in this period was

built parks,studiums,prisons,school,music halls…

OLIVER TWIST, THE PLOT: he was born in a workhouse after his mother ‘s death. For 9

years he lives in a parish orphanage but was brought into the workhouse by Mr Bumble, a

parish official. In the workhouse Oliver shocks everyone because he asked for more food.

The consequence was that he was sold for 5ponds at an undertaker but Oliver run away to

London. He meets Dodger a pick-pocket boy that brought him in his house in the slums of

London, Fagin’s den. Fagin teaches boys how to steal for him helped by a brutal burglar,

Sikes, and his girlfriend Nancy, a prostitute. One night was order to Oliver to steal a rich

family but The lady of the house Mrs Maylie decides to take care of him. She and his

husband discovered Oliver’s identity but adopted him. Nancy was murdered by Sikes for

helping Oliver but also he died and Fagin was captured by the police. Oliver’s innocents

was saved and the villains was all punished.

THE VICTORIAN COMEDY: after the Elizabeth’s times we haven’t great authors that

written plays. This because the rich middle calluses did not consider drama as a form of art

and actors were considered like vagabonds with a little respectability. However a new

theatre were built in London. The new playhouses were small but comfortable and luxurious

and the new painted scenery with gas-lit stages producing realistic effects. We have some

types of theatrical performances: In the music hall dancers, singers and acrobats have

performed in turn; in the pantomime the narrator said a story with gestures; with the farce

actors provoke laugher; in the melodrama have a romantic plot. Oscar Wild have some

Victorian comedy’s features: brilliant dialogue, humor for talk about upper classes

hypocrisy, provocative form for talk about human experience and social problems, detailed

stage directions like description of characters and their personality, music, gesture and

actions.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: is a Wild’s famous play. The story is about two

young aristocratic men, Ernest and Algernon, who fall in love with two young women.

Ernest is now called Jack, the name assigned him when he was adopted. He is the

guardian to his grand-daughter, Miss Cecily, who lives in the country. Jack has invented an

alter ego , a younger brother called Ernest who lives in the City because he was in love with

Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen. Even Algernon pretends to have a friend, called Bunbury,

whose invalidity requires frequent attention, so ensuring his departure to the country

because he was in love with Cecily. The story develops around the two young men’s

attempts to marry Gwendolen and Cecil.

They have to overcome a lot of obstacles but in the end both men, who discover they are

brothers, succeed in marrying their girls. They discovered that The name of their father was

Ernest. Neither man is really "earnest" (honest), nor "Ernest" (in English the two words are

pronounced the same way). Wilde with this expedient brings to expose the appearance of

the high Victorian society.

The institution of marriage: The play presents an aristocratic society whose members are

typical Victorian snobs; they are often arrogant, formal, and concerned with money.The

story is based on the problems of marriage. Wilde makes fun of the institution of marriage

which he saw as a practice surrounded by hypocrisy and absurdity. He shows that

aristocracy doesn’t see marriage as the result of love but rather as a tool for achieving

social stature.

Irony and Imagination: The whole play is built on witty dialogues , amusing puns,

misunderstandings paradoxes. The title is a pun in itself: the name Earnest (misspelling for

Ernest) evokes the adjectives “earnest, honest and sincere”, while none of the characters is

truthful.

The characters are used to criticise the Victorian prudery and exaggerated seriousness.

Irony is a dominant feature of the play.

OSCAR WILDE: he adopted “the aesthetic ideal”. He lived in the double role of rebel and

dandy. The dandy is a bourgeois artist, an aristocratic whose elegance is a symbol of the

superiority of his spirit; he uses his wit to shocking. Life was meant pleasure with beautiful;

beautiful clothes, beautiful talks, delicious food and handsome boys ( that interests Wild).

Art for art’s sake: was a moral imperative. He believed that only “ Art as the cult of Beauty”

could prevent the murder of the soul. Wild perceive the artist as an alien in a materialistic

word, he wrote only to please himself.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY AN THE THEME OF BEAUTY: this novel is set in

London at the end of 19 century. The protagonist is Dorian Grey, a young man that give

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his soul to devil to satisfy his desires: the eternal youth. He decided to print his image in a

picture. In fact the signs of age appeared in the picture and not in him. When the printer

sees the corruption image, Dorian kills him. Later Dorian wants to be free himself to the