It is the age that started with the reign of Queen Victoria, which is dated from 1837 to 1901. The writing and literature of this age transferred from the natural world like emotions, feelings, and beauty which were the subject of romantic writers and poets. Victorian literature characteristics are realism, focus on masses, pessimism, science and technology, questioning to God, sense of responsibility, morality, and so on, which completely differed romantic’s figures of literature. It came against romanticism and discussed the issues of society. English writing from this era reflects the major transformation in most aspects of English life, such as significant scientific, economic, and technological advances to changes in class structures and the role of religion in society. While the romantic period was a time of abstract expression and inward focus, those all link to individual feelings and emotions. The themes were nature, pastoral life, supernaturalism, and imagination. On the other hand, essayists, poets, and novelists during the Victorian era began to reflect and comment on realities of the day, including criticisms of the dangers of factory work, the plight of the lower class, and the treatment of women and children. Prominent include poets Alfred Lord Tennyson, Mathew Arnold, Dante Gabriel Rossetti Elizabeth Barrett browning, Robert browning; and novelists Charles dickens Thomas hardy Jane and Austen were the main great contributors of the age. Most of the writing of this period reflects current social, economic, and intellectual problems. The poetry of this focuses on the crisis of religion, philosophy, and issues of common people because of the development of science. Barrett’s poem entitled “Cry of the children” published in 1844, focused on the horrific conditions faced by children working in factories. The popularity of the poem served to shed light on important social and political issues of feminism- cementing her standing as a successful and renowned female poet in a male-dominated world. Dickens employed humor and an appropriate able tone while addressing social problems such as wealth disparity. Hardy used his novel to questions religion and social structures.

How Victorian dominated romantics

            The characteristic Victorian is totally different from the romantics. Romantic poetry’s main focus was on rural and rustic life. It is not related to city life. On the other hand, Victorian poets used language as well as themes common to city life and thus wrote about the masses and for the masses. All the issues were concerned to the poets. they brought into the light all the problems caused by the industrial revolutions and advancement in science and technology, which caused a drastic increase in the city population that gave rise to slums, poverty, unemployment, corruption diseases, deaths, and so forth. Furthermore, it is to mention that the romantics lacked the sense of responsibility who believed in “return in nature” a number of romantics did not like the city life and instead of giving voice to the victims of industrialization, they left the city life, while Victorian poets took the accountability of social reforms and gave voice to the commoners by living with them.  Especially the poets and novelist contributions were realistic in nature and quite less idealized as compared to the Romantic poets who were idealists and believed in (Art for art's sake). Nature, which was everything for the Romantics lost that idealized position in the Victorian era and became just a source of leisure and inspiration for the poets. It seems that the literary figures of the romantic age were only concerned for poets themselves which did not benefit the common people while the Victorian being as Augustin realists focused on common issues to be solved.

Realistic approach of Victorian literature

    The realism of the age focuses on the follies and shortcomings of society and as well the good things of society. They were realists, therefore, they did not show a biased tone in their works. They mentioned the positive and negative aspects of society. The following lines will discuss the entire things of the society of the age.

    It is very crucial to mentions that the writers did not bear the injustice done to the poor class who were deprived of political, economic, and social rights. The realist writers did not bear the injustice of the social structures therefore, they presented the injustices of the elite classes against middle and low-class people. It was the time of industrial development that caused a great amount of unemployment because the works of thousands of laborers were done by a single machine which benefited the owners. Therefore, the poor class got trouble earning a little for their bread and butter; they got compelled to make their children work in the field to get a little more for their survival. Thousands of children died in this hard work. They were paid less and assigned to work 14 hours on long days. Therefore, the writers of the time clearly presented injustices done by the industrial owners. Barrette’s poem:  Crying of the children”. The theme of it concerns child labor and hence lingers with the idea of whether adults would have liked to themselves in a similar situation. Having said that, the poem revolves around children who form the idea of the cry of the children. The issues receive a flare touch as browning touches upon religion as well and couples the same thus running an undercurrent of emotions that is conveyed through the theme of the cry of children. Browning reserves her sentiment for the children who are made to work in factories and hence had to part away with their childhood and they were deprived of all the things that other children could do. She mentioned, “let them feel that his cold metallic motion is not all that life good fashions or reveals” (93-94). The realist poet and writer of the time thus did not keep quiet seeing the cruel treatments over children of the time.

            Furthermore, it is to mention that this era’s realist writers and poets did not focus on one issue in the age in the works but several other unfair things were on the plight that writers measured and highlighted those in their literary things. This was a male dominant society where the women were just put in a low stage. Men decided things. They suggested what suited women: to be at home, to care for baby, wash the room, be ready for physical interaction; and they were never appreciated for social activities. They had been deprived of political rights like rights for votes and other representative rights. All such kinds of things were appreciated by men. The office was held by men, public things were done by men, and thoughts were appreciated by men. Therefore, the realist of the time did not like it justice for the women. They brought this social issue to the surface so as to criticize the social and cultural-created traditions. Jane Austen a novelist writes a novel: Mill on the floss’ which brings a little girl on the stage who is in very miserable conditions. She is no right to get an education while her brother is sent to a special academy to be educated, trained for his future, although he is not as much interested in education as she is. The worst things come to the time when she falls in love and the parents do not acknowledge the couple. She finds no other way except running with her lover from the family. This totally demonstrates that females of the time had no freedom to choice, thoughts, and right to education. Thus the writers Austen, Barrett, and other female realists did not tolerate breaking their pens, tearing their papers, and shut their eyes to avoid reality. They mentioned the realities. Jane Austen once said, “I was quiet but I was not blind”. The Victorian literature did not let the social issues wander and prevail freely to swallow entire miserable and helpless sections of the society.

Realistic novels

            The realistic novels were quite different than what has been seen with earlier literature had always been poetry. The realistic novel changed that. This form of literature used journalistic techniques in order to make the literature something closer to real life with facts and general stereotypes of human nature. The attention to detail was made to just report the facts, not commenting or judging on the scene or characters. The novels were about the common man, which was also happened to be the struggles usually of the lower class. These struggles usually included a lower-class citizen trying to gain upward mobility. Thus, a subgenre called social realism was born. One of the most popular novels of this time was is in the social realism genre. Charles dickens's novel (great expectation) goes through a boy named pip’s life as he unexpectedly comes into money and is asked to become a gentle man. The novel follows pip’s struggles and focuses on telling the truth about the character, both his good and bad actions and the reasons behind them. He was meant to be a very tangible person, one that the average person of this time could relate to Pip was written to be very real with all his flaws and positive attributes.

            In a nut shell, the literature of this time is totally different from the romantic literature. They come closer to reality while the romantics go farther to reality and nearer to imaginations. All these times poets and novelists especially (this era was the era of novels most literature was in the novel) focused on the reality to be presented. They mentioned ((the actual picture of the poor class, middle and elite class, and religion, philosophy, and what not.  All the good and bad aspects of the characters were presented. Specifically, the common people of the society were depicted who belonged to either the middle or lower class. Like the pip main character form, the novel (great expectation), (Tiss) from the novel of Thomas hardy, and Maggie Toliver from the novel (mill on the floss.) All these characters were either from the lower or middle class.  On the other hand, the realism is also not the same as it was in new classical realism that is famous to be pseudo literature not was the Augustans literature. However, one can find out that realism is the same as Augustin realism. Thus this era’s literature is completely closed to realism rather than imagination were more concerned with the common things of common people in the society.


By: Sheela Nabi Bakhsh

The writer is a student at University of Turbat

Kech Balochistan