Victorian+Era

The Victorian Age was a transition from the Romanticism of the previous era into Realism. However, even with the dark realism, writers still clung to hope that the world could be reformed. They admired the complex machines that emerged from the industrial revolution around them; however they also saw the harsh brutal world that was brought about. Much writing was debating for either industrial advancement or welfare for the people. The Victorian era also brought about Darwin's //Origin of Species// which questioned the deeply rooted Christian views and stirred controversy. The expansion of the British Empire was also during the Victorian era. They gained control of South Africa from the Dutch, Hong Kong from China, the entirety of India, the Suez Canal in Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and modern Zimbabwe. Throughout this expansion, Liberals advocated for limits to British power.

Victorian poetry is a diverse compilation of the changes that were happening in the time period. The most popular of the time period was Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was influenced by earlier romantics. Robert Browning, on the other hand, showed a more realistic dramatic monologues that explored the human mind. His wife also wrote Victorian poetry, and her love poems to her husband are more well known today. Matthew Arnold was the first to address the changes that the industrial revolution brought about. He was the more pessimistic of the Naturalist writers that include Thomas Hardy and A.E. Housman. On the other hand, Rudyard Kipling addressed the expansive nature of the age from depictions of the expanse of the empire in "Gunga Din" to the speech of the soldiers in //Barrack-room Ballads.// Each of these poets were inspired by the Romantic poets and in turn influenced the Modern poets.