v  The Victorian Period (1832-1901)

ü  Special features:

·         Critical socialism: trend to criticize the society and social evils

·         Prose rather than poetry.

·         Many of greatest authors were women.

·         Movement of literature: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

·         Prose:  

+        The triumph of the novel: the expansion in range and scope

+        Major themes: love politics, social issues.

+        New genres of science fiction, detective story, ghost stories, utopian writing and fantasy writing for children.

·         Poetry: The period of transitons:

+        The generation sharing romantic ferment.

+        The second generation of nostalgia.

+        The 3rd generation of skepticism.

·         Drama: different kinds of drama: Melodrama, comedy, burlesque

                The beginning of the trend towards a kind of realistic drama.

ü  Major authors:

·         Thomas Hardy

·         George Eliot

·         Charlotte Bronte

·         Charles Dickens

·         Oscar Wilde

ü  Important works:

·         Oliver Twist , David Copperfield ( Charles Dickens)

·         Jane Eyre ( Charlotte Bronte)

·         Lady Windermere's Fan, A woman of no important ( Oscar Wilde)