2.
The Victorian Age - Social Context
The common perception of the Victorians is that they were prudes. Victorians valued a strict morality and repressed sexuality. However, the world changed rapidly over Queen Victoria’s reign and the Victorians embraced many new inventions and ideas.
Literature
The rapid change which took place over the roughly 70 years that Queen Victoria reigned, is reflected in the literature of the time. In the literature of the 19th century, we see a mix of romantic and realistic elements.
A lot of the poetry from this century, is melancholic and geared towards politics.
Many novels from this period in time, can be considered to be realistic, contain simple language and happyendings. This period of time also sees the emergence of children’s literature.