Victorian Period

Victorian Period in English literature

The increase in literacy during the Victorian Period meant that the popularity of literature produced during this period was heightened. Children's literature and works featuring characters that were children surged in fame. There was a renewed interest in prose, with Gothic fiction and the sensation novel being widely read. Due to the popularity of these genres, as well as progress in medicine, there was an increasing fascination with death, spirituality, mysticism, and the macabre. The Victorian Period also gave us the most widely read and beloved fictional detective of all time - Sherlock Holmes.

Let's look at some of the most popular literary works and figures of the Victorian Period.

Victorian poetry

The Victorian Period produced many great poets. These include Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, and Alfred Tennyson.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an immensely talented poet who rivalled the poet Alfred Tennyson for Poet Laureate. She was introduced to many great poets in her lifetime, including Wordsworth and Coleridge. She was a staunch opposer of slavery, and she also aligned with the feminist beliefs of Mary Wollstonecraft. Elizabeth Barrett Browning later influenced many poets and writers, including Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe. Some of her most famous poems include:

• 'The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point' (1850).
• 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways' (1850).
• Aurora Leigh (1857), a novel written in blank verse.

Robert Browning

The husband of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, wrote poems often featuring the dramatic monologue, giving them a conversation-like feel. He often exchanged poems with his wife, which were full of passion and affection for her. Some of Robert Browning's popular poems include:

• 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' (1842).
• 'Porphyria's Lover' (1836).
• 'The Laboratory' (1844).
• 'Love Among Ruins' (1855).

Alfred Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson was Poet Laureate from 1850 to 1892. He produced numerous poems during his lifetime, and one of his most famous poems is 'Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington' (1852). Some of Tennyson's famous poetry includes:

• 'Break Break Break' (1842).
• 'Godiva' (1847).
• 'Crossing the Bar' (1889).
• 'Tithonus' (1859).

Victorian prose

With increased readership, a large number of literary works and figures emerged during the Victorian period. Among these important literary figures of the Victorian period, Charles Dickens and the Brontë sisters are the most popular.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is arguably the most important literary figure in the English literary canon from the Victorian Period. He not only wrote influential, canonical texts, but he also encouraged and aided several writers and poets during the time, including Wilkie Collins. Dickens ran several publications, which published serialised works. Dickens often engaged in critical commentary through his literary works, such as commenting on child abuse or the state of orphanages. His famous works include:

• The Pickwick Papers (1836–37).
• Hard Times (1854).
• A Christmas Carol (1843).
• Oliver Twist (1837–39).

Brontë Sisters

The three Brontë sisters that produced famous literary works are Emily Brontë, Charlotte Brontë, and Anne Brontë. Their works often contained Romantic and Gothic elements. These include:

• Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë.
• Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë.
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) by Anne Brontë.

Victorian drama

Because of advances in photography and visual tools, as well as more sophisticated art sets and talented personnel, dramas and theatre pieces were hugely popular with Victorian audiences. Genres such as satire, farce, comedies, and musical masquerades were adapted to theatre and performed before audiences. Edwardian playwrights, such as George Bernard Shaw, were greatly inspired by Victorian theatre performances. One of the most important playwrights of this period is Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is recognised as one of the most prolific playwrights of the age. He is known for the sarcasm and wit in his writings. He is linked to the movement of Aestheticism.

Oscar Wilde's popular plays include:

• The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
• A Woman of No Importance (1893).
• An Ideal Husband (1895).

Characters in Victorian fiction

With the increased consumption of fictional stories and the surge in literary criticism and reviews, authors strived to create larger-than-life characters and memorable narratives. Some of these characters withstood the test of time and continue to be read and enjoyed today. These characters include:

Sherlock Holmes

As the brainchild of the surgeon and author Arthur Conan Doyle, this consulting detective set the tone for countless detective stories that would be written in the future. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in A Study in Scarlet (1887). His character has been adapted to stage, film, television, board games, cosplay, and many other media formats. Audiences and readers continue to be entertained by Sherlock Holmes even today.

Alice

Lewis Carroll wrote a number of children's stories featuring a young girl named Alice, who encounters exotic creatures, animals, and fantastical beings on her adventures. Children's literature was quickly gaining popularity during the Victorian period. Stories like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) allowed young readers to exercise their imagination.

Dracula

Not only was Bram Stoker's Count Dracula an important character during the Victorian period, but it also set trends for future narratives in the area of vampire fiction and Gothic fiction. Stoker's Dracula (1897) contains popular tropes characteristic of Gothic fiction, including a dark, rich setting, a sense of foreboding and suspense, and a tense atmosphere.

Victorian literature timeline

Authors across the Victorian period timeline can be credited with contributing significantly to English literature, especially in regard to the kind of narratives contemporary audiences enjoy reading. The fascination with the Victorian period persists, so much so that contemporary authors today write stories set during the Victorian Period, otherwise known as Neo-Victorian Literature.