What is Cultural Studies ?

Name            :            Rabhadiya Vinod

Roll No.        :            34

Batch Year   :            2014/15

Semester       :            2

Paper No       :            8 (Cultural Studies)

Topic             :            What is Cultural Studies ?

 

 

Submitted To :         S.B.G. Dept. Of English

                                 M.K.K.S. Bhavnagar University

 

What is  cultural studies?

Introduction:

cultural means provisional because times again the things are go on changing. But we have to thread glance on cultural studies that is made of three c” 1. Context 2.Concept 3.Content. When we study about cultured studies these three “c” are very important figures.

As the literature is the mirror of society. But we have question in our mind that “why we studies cultural studies?” so we can interpret that English study already? A ‘canon’ that’s why English students study about “what is cultural studies?” Mathew Arnold was one of the great examples of literary critic of cultural studies.

The word” culture” its self so difficult to pin down” cultural studies” is hard to define.” cultural studies’ is not so much a discrete approach at all, but rather of set of practices. Arising from social turmoil of the 1960s cultural studies is composed of elements of masochism. Post structuralism post modernism. Feminism, gender studies, anthropology, sociology race and ethnic studies. Film theory, urban studies, public policy, popular cultural studies and post colonial studies. These fields that concentrate on social and cultural forces that either create community or cause division and alienation.

                               

What is cultural studies?

‘Culture’ derives from ‘cultura’ and ‘colere’ meaning to cultivate. It also mint to honor and project by the 19^th century in Europe. It tastes of the upper class. As we see that ‘culture’ its self is so difficult to pin down ‘cultural studies’ is hard to define.

                     Cultural studies looks at marker popular culture and everyday life. Popular culture is the culture of masses. A culture studies argues that culture is about the meanings a community or society generates. A cultural study believes that the culture of a community includes various aspects, economics, spatial, ideological, erotic and political. Culture is not natural thing it is produced, cultural studies is interested in production and consumption of culture.

                     Stuart hall’s work has been a trendsetter in cultural studies and inaugurated the field in Britain.

                     “culture is the learned behavior of society or a subgroup’- Margaret Mead.

                         “Culture is simply assemble of stories we tell ourselves about ourselves”- Clifford Greets.

                         “A cultural study is the analysis of cultures system of meaning-production and consumption”.

 

Cultural studies approaches generally share four goals:

1.    Discipline such as literacy criticism history:   A cultural study is practiced in such journals as critical inquiry, Representation and boundary. Italian opera, a Latino’ tale novella’ the architectural styles of prisons body piercing and drawing conclusion about the changes in textual phenomena over time such things are found in these kinds of newspapers. Cultural studies not simply or essentially about literature in the traditional sense or even about “art” Lawrence, Grasberg, Cary nelson and Paula. For students, this sometimes means that a professor might make this or his own political view part of the instruction, which of course can lead to problems. But this kind of criticism like feminism is an engaged rather than a detached activity.

(2)   Cultural studies are politically engaged:   The cultural critics see themselves as “oppositional” not only within their own discipliner but to many of the power structures of society as large. The cultural critics question inequalities within power structures and try to find out the models for restructuring relationship among the dominant and “minority of subaltern” discourses. The meaning and individual subjectivity are culturally constructed, they can thus be reconstructed. This type of idea taken to a philosophical extreme, demise the autonomy of the individual whether an actual person or a charter in literature, a rebuttal of the traditional humanistic “Great Man” or “Great book” theory and a relocation of esthetics and culture from the idea realms of taste and sensibility into the arena of a whole society’s everyday life as it is constructed.

(3)  Cultural studies demise the separation of “high” and “low” or elite and popular culture:  

In these days cultural critics work to transfer the term culture to include mass culture. Whether popular, folk or urban. Hussein and some other critics of cultural studies argue that after world war two the destination among high and low mass culture collapsed. For example British raj who also ruled over India.

              Changing of boundaries among disciplines high and low can make cultural studies just plain fun. Some of these examples are the given titles.

 “The birth of captain jack sparrow”

(4)  Cultural studies analysis not only the cultural cork but also the means of production:  

                                  Marxist critics have recognized the importance of such par literacy question such as:

 “Who supports a given artist?”

  “Who publishes his or her books? How are these books distributed? Who buys books?”

   A well known analysis of literacy production is Janice roadway’s study of the America romance novel and its readers. Reading the romance, women patriarchy and popular literature, which demonstrates the textual effects of the publishing industries decision about book that will reduce its financial risks?

                           Cultural studies joins subjectivity means culture in relation to individual lives with “engagement” a direct approach to attacking social malpractices.

Let’s discuss in detail five types of cultured studies.

Five types of cultured studies:

A.   British cultural materialism

B.   New historicism

C.   American multiculturalism

D.   Postmodernism and popular culture

E.   Postcolonial studies

A. British cultural materialism

                                       Cultured studies are referred to as “cultural materialism” in Britain and it has no long tradition. In the later nineteenth century Mathew Arnold sought to redefine the “givens” of British culture’. Edward Burnett Taylor’s pioneering anthropological study ‘promotional culture’ (1871) argued that culture or civilization taken its widest ethnographic sense is a complex whole which includes knowledge belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society as William memorable states:” there are no masses, there are only ways of seeing (other) people as masers.

          Cultural materialism began in earnest in the 1950s with work of F.R Levis, heavily influenced by Mathew Arnold’s analyses of bourgeois culture uniformity of everything. In this sense for the purpose of uniformity art may be dying. Materialism also includes imitation of western culture. The novels are the great examples of western phenomenon.

   Karl Marx, British theorist were also influenced by gorgy Lukas. Theodora Adorn, Louis Althusser , Max Horkheimer, Mikhail Bakhtin and Antonio Gramsci. They were especially interested in problems of cultural hegemony and in the many systems of dominated related to literature Walter Benjamin attacked fascism by question the value of what he called the “aura” of culture. Benjamin helps explain the frightening culture context for a film such as Leni Riefenstahl’s ‘triumph of the will’ (1935) Lukas developed what he called a “reflection theory” in which he stressed literature’s reflection conscious or unconscious of the social reality surrounding it. cultural materialists also turned to the more humanistic and even spiritual insights of the great students of robe lais and Dostoevsky, Russian Formalist Bakhtin, especially his amplification of the dialog form of meaning within narrative and class struggle at once confliction and communal, individual and social.

B. new Historicism:

        “History became a co-text”

   Old history events, backgrounds, historical phenomenal reshape according to contemporize times. Good reading of history is necessary part of new criticism.

                              New Historicism

                                          ↓

           New Historicism   Vs   Old Historicism

 “Mangle Pandey” is one of the great examples of new historicism because nationalism is shown here too much.

                         Lepta “the whore” what did Jonathan swift mean when he gave the name of to the flying island in the third voyage of Gulliver’s travels? It is question that has tantalized readers since the eighteenth century. The science fiction aspect of that island still amuses us, but why? The where? There may be an answer but we will discuss later on this question.

        “If the 1970s could be called the age of ‘deconstruction’ writes Joseph Latvia” some hypothetical survey of late twentieth century criticism might well characterize the 1980s making the return of history.    

Michael Warner phrases new historicism’s motto as “the text is historical and history is textual”. Fredric Jameson insisted “always historicize” (the political unconscious). As a return to historical scholarship new historicism concerns itself with ‘extra literacy matters’, letters ,diaries, films, painting, medical treatises looking to reveal opposing historical tensions in a text. New histories see such cross cultural phenomenon as texts in themselves’ Stephen Greenbelt’. A renaissance scholar and founding editor of the journal presentations may be created with the coining of the term’ new historicism’ what about Laputa? How can new historicism help us answer the question raised a few pages ago?

                   “In the flying island and female anatomy, gynecology and power in Gulliver Travels, Susan Bruce offers a reading of book third that makes some new historic sense out of swift’s use of Laputa. 

                    Gulliver and Laputains are able to enter this cavity at will and not only the movements of lodestone and island, but also the entire society.   

C. American Multiculturalism:

                                   In 1965 there were dangerous riots drew attention of whole world toward America. James Meredith, the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi was wounded by a white segregationist, Julian Bond; duly elected state representative was denied his seat in the Georgia house.

                                   American should graduate from college without a frame work of knowledge that includes at least some construct of Asian history of Latin American history, of African history.

1.    African American writers: African American studies are widely pursued in American literacy criticism. From the recovery of 18^th century poets such as Phyllis Wealthy to the experimental novels of Toni Morison one of great writer of this period was Harriet E Wilson whose our Nig or sketches from the life of a free black in a two story white house north(1859) was the first novel published by an African American. Other writers were Linda Brent, Frances, Ellen Watkins, and Harper Etc.

2.    Latina/o writers: we will use the term Latina/o to indicate a broad sense of ethnicity among Spanish speaking people in the United States. There were also great writers towards literature likewise San Antonio his first book’ the house on mango street’ (1984), Rudolf Anaya’s ‘Bless me ultimo’ (1973). Perhaps the best known Latin novel focuses on the impact of world war two.

3.    American Indian literature: “American Indian” is often preferred by Indians over “native American” as demonstrated in the names of such organization as the American Indian movement (AMI). During this period great works came out one of them Samson Occom a Mohegan schoolmaster in1772. others were William Apess , Yellow Bird (John Rollin Ridge) ,Simon Pokagnon, Sara Winnemucca Hopkins etc.

4.    Asian American writers: Asian American literature is written by people of Asian descent in the United States. Addressing the experiment of living in a society that views them as alien. Edward said has written Orientals. Asian writer include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Philippine, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Polynesian and many other people of Asia. Many great Asian writers were there including Hong Kingston ‘the woman warrior: memories of girlhood among ghosts’ (1976). Chinese woman also came across to produce literature such as Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912). Onoto Watanna was the author of ” Japanese”

D. Postmodernism and Popular Culture:

               Postmodernism is also like post structuralism and deconstruction critique of the aesthetics of the preceding age lout as in such a way of critique postmodernism has very out of dismembering tradition.

                     Beginning in the mid of 1980 post modernism emerged in art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communication, fashion and fields.

                      Modernist argued the Victorian aspects of morality and came out with new techniques, ideas, psychology experimented with point of view time space and stream of consciousness writing.

                      Post borrows from modernism disillusionment with the given of society Fredric Jameson sees artistic movements like modernism and post modernism. A grand narrative in American culture might be the story that democracy is the most important but post modernism prefers ‘mini-narratives’ of local events think for example of video games or music albums, reproduction of original painting or statues. Perhaps post modernism is best compared to the emergence of computer technology post modernism thus reflects tooth the energy and diversity of contemporary life as well as its frequent lack of coherent and depth.

2.    Popular culture:

There was a time in 1960s when popular culture was not studied by academics it was just like popular culture for few people what they are writing , directing, producing. One of the great examples is Rabindranath Tagore. But one question arise in our mind that culture and nature different things, if it is natural than it is very difficult to change. Time and again culture became product one of the great Indian film “Amar Akbar Anthony” represents popular culture.

      There are four main types of popular culture analysis: production analysis, textual analysis. These analyses seek to get beneath the surface (denotative) meanings and examine more implicit (connotative) social meanings. These approaches view culture as a narrative or story telling process in which particular texts or cultural artifacts (i.e.) a hit song or a television programs consciously or unconsciously link themselves to larger stories at play in the society.

                                                      Production analysis asks the following kinds of question. Who own media? Who creeds texts and why?  What constraints? Hoe democratic or elitist is the production of popular culture? What about works written only for money?

                  As we will demonstrate in our discussion of Frankenstein sometimes popular culture can so a literature work that is impossible to read the original text without reference to many layers of popular culture that have popular culture reconstruction of a works like Frankenstein can also open it to unforeseen new interpretation.

F.    Post canonical studies:

                                           Post colonialism refers to a historical phase undergone by third world countries after the decline of colonialism for example when countries in Asia, Africa, Latina America and Caribbean separated from the Europeans empire and left to rebuild themselves.

                  At first glance post colonial studies would seem to be matter of history and political science rather than literacy criticism. However, we must remember that English as in “English department” or “English literature” has been since the age of the British Empire a global language.

                         Homi K. Bhabha’s post colonial theory involves analysis of nationality, ethnicity and politics with post structuralism ideas of identity and undermines defining post colonial identities as shifting hybrid constructions. Post colonial critics accordingly study Diasporas texts outside the usual western genres, especially, immigrants and refuges. Postcolonial literature from emerging nation by such writers as china’s Ache be Camus and Salman Rushdie are real alongside European responses to colonialism by writers such as George Orwell and Albert Camas. We can see some conflicts arise from the colonial past in Rush die’s Midnight’s children (1980). For example which deconstruct from a post-colonial view point the history modern India?

Conclusion:

 thus I have to conclude with the meaning of culture studies, how is it important in language and in literature. It is provisional because time and culture of human being changing according to the period in this period social, political, religion, media, and fashion these all aspects are playing a vital role. Four goals of cultural studies and five types of cultural studying are also throw light on this topics and we can hoe the things happening around us also played its role to create a new culture. So time and again we will have different culture and the taste and shackle also may be different as the time is turning its shape.

                                                    

                                  

Structuralism and post-structuralism

Name            :            Rabhadiya Vinod

Roll No.        :            34

Batch Year   :            2014/15

Semester       :            2

Paper No       :            7 (Literary Theory & Criticism)

Topic             :            Structuralism and post-structuralism

 

 

Submitted To :         S.B.G. Dept. Of English

                                 M.K.K.S. Bhavnagar University

 

    

                                   

Structuralism and Poststructuralism

Introduction:

Structuralism is a theory focused upon the structure of human expression. It is a complex intellectual movement that first established its importance in France in 1950 and 1960. A simple explanation of structuralism is that it understands phenomenon using the metaphor of language. That is, we can understand language as a system, or structure, which defines itself in terms of itself.

                               Post structuralist is entirely too difficult a subject to benefit from a very short introduction. Post structuralism is really a cultural movement more than an intellectual movement. Post-structuralism moved beyond this, questioning the very nations of truth, reality, and meaning. Sincerity good. Etc. While this series can be very useful for certain movements, ideas, belief systems or historical periods. I think, for post structuralist, brevity sacrifices far too much clarity. Several times, I found myself spending three, four, five minutes trying to unpack a single one sentence.

Let’s look glance on these two terms structuralism and post structuralist.

Definition of Structuralism:

                      A method of interpretation and analysis aspects of human cognition, behavior, cultural and experience which focuses on relationship of contrast between elements in conceptual system.                                                                                                                                                                     

                     In philosophical way something behind the truth which on this meaning structuralism. Something behind the world of ‘Appearance’ for example Marxists might argue that we can understand the world (appearance) by examine the relation of production (reality) or some which is very importance fundamentalist. According to Christians that we should kept something in our mind that the world is as a battle of God against Satan. So its hidden agenda but in fact it explains the world.

There are many great examples of such structuralism are Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques La can etc. So we can see that the main theme of these structuralists   is their attack on ‘Foundationalism’ attacking and thought, ideas in which we new foundation. All the things something we discover or something around beliefs or can ‘start from’ but a structure which society invents.

Definition of Post-structuralist:

  “Any of several theories of literary criticism

As deconstruction or reader response criticism

That use structuralists methods but argue against

The results of structuralism and hold that there is no one true reading of a text”

   Post structuralism is the reaction of structuralism, a variety of postmodernism. The post-structuralists accuse structuralist of not following through the implications of the views about language on which their intellectual system is based. One structuralist said that language doesn't but just reflect or record the world.

According to the post-structuralist we have such kind of belief that we enter a universal of radical uncertainty. Since we can not have fixed landmark or fixed place. Without a fixed point of reference against which to measure movement we can’t tell whether or not we are moving at all. For example if I am seating in a stationary train with another train is running at that time we think that it’s my train is moving but it isn't. So when the train gone we can see that I am till now on the platform. So post structuralism says that fixed intellectual reference points are permanently removed by properly taking on board.

Saussure’s theory about linguistic structuralism:

     Saussure was a key figure in the development of modern approaches to language study. In the 19^th century linguistic scholar had mainly been interested in historical aspects of language such as working out the historical development of languages and the connections between them. Saussure concentrated instead of patterns and functions of language in use today, with emphasis on how meaning are maintained and established and on the functions of grammatical structures.

           But there is so interesting which is found Saussure structuralism. These can be explained by three pronouncements. First he emphasized that the meaning we give to word are purely arbitrary and these meaning are maintained by convention only. Words are to say are ‘unmotivated signs’ meaning that there is no inherent connection between a word and what is designates. Foe example the word’ Hut’ for instance is not any way appropriate to its meaning, and all linguistic signs art arbitrary is a fairly obvious point to make perhaps and is not a new thing to say(Plato said it in Ancient Greek times) but it is a new concepts to emphasis (which is always very much important that if language as a sign system is based on arbitrariness of this kind then if follows that language isn't reflection of the world and of experience, but a system which stands quite separate from it. This point will be further developed later.

Secondly he emphasized that meaning of word are rational. This is something no word can be defined in isolation from other words. The definition of any given word depends upon its relation with other ‘adjoin’ word. For example, that word ‘Hut’ depends for its precise meaning on its position in a ‘Syntagmatic chain’ that is, chain of words related in function and meaning each of which could be substituted for any of others in a given sentence. The Syntagmatic chain in this case might include the following.

         Hovel, shed, hut, house, mansion, palace

The meaning of these words may be change if any word from this chain removed. Thus, ‘Hut’ and ‘She’ are both small and basic structures but they are not quite the same thing. One is primarily for shelter (a night watchman’s hut for instance) while other primarily for storage.

    Saussure used a famous example to explain what he meant by saying that there are no intrinsic fixed meaning in language – the example of the 8.25 Geneva to Paris express train.

      Hardly for Saussure has language constituted our world, it doesn't just record it or label it. Meaning always attributed by and expressed through language. It is not already contained within the thing. Well-known examples are what would be the first choice between ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Freedom Fighter’. There is no neutral or objective way of designating such a person merely a choice of two terms which ‘construct’ that person in certain ways.

The scope of Structuralism:

Structuralism means not about language and literature. When Saussure’s work was co-opted in the 1950 by the people. We now a day’s structuralist their feeling was that Saussure’s model of how language works was ‘Transferable’ and would also explain how all signifying systems work. The Anthropologist Claude Levi- Strauss applied the structuralist outlook to the interpretation of myth. He emphasized that the individual tale (The parole) from a cycle of myths did not have a separate and inherent meaning but could only be understood by considering its position in the whole cycle (the language) and similarities and difference between the tale and others in the sequence. So in interpreting the Oedipus myth, he played the individual story of Oedipus with the context of the whole cycle connected with the story of the city of Thebes.

                      This is the typical structuralist process of moving from the particular to the general, placing the work within a wider structural context. The wider structure might also be found in for instance for example of “Dickens’s Novel Hard Times’ in terms of its deviations from novelist conventions and into those of other more popular genres like melodrama or the ballad or in the identification so sets of underlying fundamental “dyads’.

                 Fashion, dressing style is also speaking something about language. Separate items or feature are added up into a complete ‘outfit or ‘look’ with complex grammatical rules of combination. For example we don’t wear an evening dress and carpet slippers. We don’t come to lecture in military uniform etc.  Like wise, each component sign derives its meaning from a structural context.

                        The other major figure in the early phase of structuralism was Roland Barthes who applied the structuralist method to the general field of modern culture. He examined modern France (o the 1950s) from the stand point of a cultural anthropologist in a little book called ‘Mythologies’ which he published in French in 1957. This looked at a host of items which had never before been subjected to intellectual analysis such as difference between boxing and wrestling the significance of eating steak and chips. He placed it as a key understanding it.

                                                              “Verbal Diagram”

                                     

Parallels                                          -                                Plot

Echoes                                                     -                         structure

Reflections/ repetitions                    -                          character/Motive

Contrasts                                                  -                        situation/circumstance

Patterns                                                     -                         language/imagery

                      

(2) Post-structuralism/ Deconstruction:

The post-structuralism accuse structuralist of not following through the implication of the views about language on which their intellectual system is based. We saw one or other structuralism characteristic views is the notion that language doesn't just reflect or record the world rather it shapes it, so that how we see that how  we see that.

v Post-structuralism life on a decent red planet:

Post-structuralism emerged in France, in late 1960s. The two figures most closely associated with this emergence are Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida (1930). Barthes’s work around this time began to shift in character and move from the structuralist phase to a post-structuralist phase. The essay ‘The Structural Analysis of Narrative’. First published in 1966. ‘The death of the Author’ which is the ‘Hinge’ round which Barthes turns from structuralism to post structuralism. In that essay he announces the death of the author. Hence, as Barthes says in the essay the corollary of the death of author is the birth of the readers. The difference between the 1966 essay and the 1973 book is a shift of attention from the text seen as something produced by the author to the text seen as something produced by the reader and as it were by language itself. The phrase of post-structuralism seems to license and revel in the endless free play of meaning and the escape from all the forms of textual authority.

v Jacques Derrida a key figure in the development of post-structuralism:

             Jacques Derrida was the key figure in the development of post-structuralism. Indeed the starting point of post-structuralism may be taken as his 1966 lecture structure, sign and play in discourse of the human sciences. Derrida sees in modern times a particular intellectual event which constitutes a radical break from past ways to thought, loosely associating this break with the philosophy of Nietzsche and Heidegger and the psychoanalysis of Freud. The event concerns the ‘decent ring of our intellectual universe. Prior to this event this existence of a norm or center in all things was taken from granted thus ‘man’ as the Renaissance slogan had it was the measure of all the things in the universe white western norms of dress, behavior, architecture, intellectual outlook and so on provide a firm center which deviations, aberrations, variations could be detected and identified as other the marginal. Such as the way the First World War destroyed the illusion of study material progress but on the way of modernism in the arts in the first thirty years of century rejected such central absolutes as the harmony in music, chronological sequence in narrative and the representation of the visual world in art. Derrida’s rise to prominence was confirmed by the publication of three books by him in the following years (translated as speech and phenomena of Grammatology and writing and difference) All these books are on philosophical rather than literary topics but Derrida’s method always involves the highly detailed ‘Deconstruction’ reading of selected aspects of other philosophers works and these deconstructive methods have been borrowed by literary critics and used in the reading of literary works.

                    A key text in post-structuralism is Derrida’s book of ‘Grammatology’. The slogan ‘There is nothing outside the text’ is the most frequently quoted line from his book.

v Theoretical difference between structuralism and post structuralism:

It will be helpful simply to list some differences and distinctions between structuralism and post structuralism under the four heading below.

(1)     Origins: Structuralism derives ultimately from linguistic is a discipline which has always been inherently confident about the possibility of establishing objective knowledge. It believes that if we observe accurately collect data systematically and make logical deductions then we can reach reliable conclusions about language and the world.

By contrast post-structuralism derives ultimately from philosophy. Philosophy is a discipline which has always tended to emphasis the difficulty of achieving secure knowledge about things. This point of view is encapsulated in Nietzsche’s famous remark ‘there are no facts only interpretations.

(2) Tone and style: Structuralist writing tens towards abstraction and generation it aims for a detached ‘Scientific coolness ‘of tone. Give its derivation from linguistic. Science this we would expect. An essay like Roland Barthes’s 1966 piece ‘Introduction to the structural Analysis of Narrative.’

  Post-Structuralist writing by contrast tends to be much more emotive often the tone is urgent and euphoric and style flamboyant and self- consciously showy. Titles may well contain puns and allusions and often the central line of the argument is based on a pun or a word-play of some kind often deconstructive writing fixes on some ‘Material’ aspect of language, such a metaphor used by a writer, or the etymology of a word.

(3) Attitude to language: structuralists accept that the world is constructed through language, in the sense that we do not have access to reality rather than through the linguistic medium. After the same, it decides to live with that fact and continue to use language to think and perceive with. After all, language is an orderly system, not a choice one. So realizing our dependence upon it need not induce intellectual despair.

                   By contract, post structuralism is much more fundamentalist in insisting upon the consequences of the view that in effect, reality itself is textual.  Post-structuralism develops what threaten to become terminal anxieties about the possibility of achieving any knowledge through language.

(4) Project: The fundamental aims of each movement. What it is they want to persuade us of structuralism firstly, question our way of structuring and categorizing but it believes that we can thereby attain a more reliable view of things.

            Post-structuralism is much more fundamental it distrusts the very notion of reason and the idea of human being as an independent entity, preferring the notion of the ‘dissolved’ or ‘constructed’ subject where by what we may think of as the individual forces that is really a product of social and linguistic forces that I not an essence at all, merely a ‘Tissue of textual ties’.

Conclusion:

Thus, to conclude we may say the structuralist idea is to follow literature in its overall evolution while making sychroniccuts at various stages and comparing the table’s one wit another.   

                A few words more, we may clarify that earlier the term like development of critical study this term came into highlight, which brought a drastic change and the post-structuralism came into existence. So, as a whole ,here the difference and comparison between structuralism and post-structuralism has been very well shown simultaneously in this work of criticism by its practitioners. 

: Critical Note on Victorian Age

Name            :            Rabhadiya Vinod

Roll No.        :            34

Batch Year   :            2014/15

Semester       :            2

Paper No       :            6 (The Victorian Literature)

 

Topic             :            Critical Note on Victorian Age

 

 

Submitted To :         S.B.G. Dept. Of English

                                 M.K.K.S. Bhavnagar University

Critical Note on Victorian Age

Introduction:

The duration of queen Victoria’s reign is known as the Victorian Age or the age of Tennyson or as some critics believe age of Charles Dickens. According to William J.long the period from 1850-1900 is considered as the Victorian Age. While W.H.Hudson considers the period from 1832-1887 for Victorian era and general belief about or consideration for Victorian period is 1837-1901. Elizabeth Age has unique identity the same way Victorian age has. This age is the age of doubts,disputes,realism and romance, materialism and spiritualism, peace and unrest, religion and science.It is marked with material advancement,mechanical progress,democratic deal, education, expansion, pessimism, scientific advancement, patriotism etc. The age is also known as the age of prose especially novel.

Let’s have a look at the condition during this era.

Social political Background: The Victorian era was essentially a period of peace and prosperity for England  as it was so poets like Alfred Lord Tennyson who was the master of poetry and leading poet too. Who could not remain silent and exclaimed with joy and sang the glory of the age.

“ It is the land that free man til

That sobber suited freedom choose

The land were girt with friend & foze

A man may speak the thing he will

A land of satted govrment

A lnd of just an old reknown”

So the national life was peaceful, though there had been few colonial wars. The country was in processor of change by french and german struggle as well as American civil war. The last vesting of personal government and of divine rights of rulers disappeared.The house of commen became theruling power in England. There was a clear influnce of Darwin’s theory over english life.

    Drawin broke the ancient religious belief about the birth of man kind. During this period the discovery of machine also played an important role history of England. The industrial revolution changed the production but on the other hand. Thousands of people became unemployed because of the discovery of machine.

Earlier there were only class in the society upper and lower class but at a later stage industrial revolution gave birth to third class that was middle class of the businessman. A large reading public was prepared to welcome the output of novels due to expansion of education .Even in the field of science there was unprecedented progress and scientific advancement during this era.This age has produced literary scholar who were moralists, religious and thinker. That’s why this age is called the age of great thinkers .

   Let’s discuss about characteristics of this age.

Literary Characteristics/Salient feature:

(1)   An age of prose:  The Victorian age is known as the age of prose. Though the age ha produced many poets (Tennyson and Browning) who deserves to rank among the greatest. This is emphatically an age of prose. John Ruskin, Carlyle, Macaulay, Matthew Arnold etc. were almost prose writers of this age.

(2)   Moral Purpose: Moral purpose is keynote of Victorian literature. The literature of this age both prose and poetry seems to depart from the purely artistic standard of ‘ Art for art sake’ and to be actuated by definite moral purpose Tennyson. Browning Carlyle not only masters of literature but also teachers of England. Perhaps for this reason Victorian age is known as age of realism rather than romance.

(3)   Idealism: it is some what customary to speak of this age as this age is age of doubt and pessimism following the new concept of man and of universe which formulated by science under the name of evolution. It is spoken about this age that this age is lacked in great ideas. Both these criticism seem to be judging a large thing that may be challenged when we closely study this .We may not agree with above judgments. This literature has idealism as William J.long remarks

“The literature which expresses our faith in man

may judge the Victorian age to be on the whole

the noblest and most inspiring in the history of the world.”

(4)   New Education:    The education acts,making a certain measure of education compulsory,rapidly produced an enormous reading public.The cheapening of printing and proper increased the demand for books as a result from of literature was novel and the novelists with a will much of their works was a higher standard. A large number of reading people waiting for new novels.

(5)   An era of peace:    It is an age of comparative peace. England began to think less of the pomp and false glitter of fighting and more of its moral evils Tennyson who came when the great reform bill occupied attention expresses the ideas of the liberals of his day who proposed to spread the gospel of peace.

The new colonial that broke out during the Victorian approach did not seriously disturb the national life.

(6)Material Development :   It was an age with new activity.There was a revolution in commercial enterprise ,due to the great increase of available markets and as a result of this an immense advance in the use of mechanical countries. This era also became as the age of machine.

(7) The revolt:    Many writers protested against the deeding effects of the conventions Carlyle and Matthew Arnold in their different accents were loud in their denunciations, Thackeray never tried of satirizing the snobbishness of the age , and Browning cobby mannerisms were an indirect challenge of the velvety diction and the smooth self-satisfaction of the Tennyson school.

(8) International  Influnces :    During the 19^th century the instrument among American and European writers were remarkably fresh and strong. In Britain the influences of great German writers were continuous and it was championed by Carlyle and Matthew Arnold. Subject nations in particular the Italians were a sympathic theme for prose and verse . Browning ,Swinburne, Morris ,Meredith were deeply absorbed in the long struggle of the followers of Garibald and cavour and when Italian freedom was gained and the rejouing was genuine.

(9) An age of compromise:    The Victorian age is called an age of compromise as well. The Victorian sought a happy compromise controversial ideology. Victorian compromise was particularly perceptible in three branches of life, there was compromise between democracy and aristocracy second was between religion and science and the third was new machinaries and old system of working. The advance made by science was acceptable but the claim of religion could not be ignored. The main compromise between science and faith in religion as Tennyson says,

    “There remain more faith in honest doubt believe me than in half the creeds”

Literature of the Age:

(1)Poetry:     The Victorian age was essentially the age of pose and novel but poetry too had                                  remarkable output.

    As William J.Long points out:

“Though this age produced many poets and two who deserve to rank among the greatest nevertheless, this is emphatically an age of prose and reason”

Among the two Alfred Lord Tennyson is considered as the most representative poet of the age. His poetry provides a mixture of pain and pleasure. His short poems are marvelous. He is the master of Elegy. In variety of his verse. He possesses all the qualities of the greatest poet.

Some of his remarkable works are

‘The princes – A long poem’

‘In memoriam- A colletion of Elegy’

‘Ulysses’

‘Lockly hall’

Are also great works of Tennyson .

Robert Browning is another distinguished poet of the period. He was the father of dramatic Monologue. He was an optimistic port in pessimistic age. ‘Men and Women’ is the masterpiece of him. He is not like many other entertaining poets. One cannot read his poetry was influenced by Itlalian painters.

(2)                  Novel:

As far as novel writing is concerned this period is considered the unique period for novels. In th words of William J.long

  “The novel in this age fills the place which drama held in the days of Elizabeth and never before in any age of language has novel appeared in such numbers and in such perfection”

This age has produced many first rate novelist like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Matthew Arnold, George Eliot, William M. Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte etc. who lead novel o the top of the achievements.

(1)  Charles Dickens(1812-70)

Charles Dickens was the most influncial novelist of this age. More ever he was a social reformer. His masterpiece are,

‘The pickwick papers’

‘Oliver Twist’

‘A tale of two cities’

‘David Copperfield’

His popularity was exploiled in jounalism for he edited ‘ the Daily New’. In 1858 Dickens commenced his famous series of ‘Public reading’. They were also given in America with the greatest success.

(2)  Thomas Hardy:

Hardy was also leading novelist. His famous works are”

‘Tess of d’ urbervilles’

‘Mayer of the Casterbridge’

(3)  William M. Thackeray(1811-63):

William Thackeray was also representative of novel.He was groping for a men of expression, and wavered between verse prose and sketching. His famous works are:

‘The book of Snobs(1849)’

‘Vanity Fair The memoirs of Barry London (1844)

(4)  George Eliot: (1819-80)

George Eliot was the celebrated person for this age. Hes novel  deal with the tragedy of ordinary lives, unfolded with an intense sympathy and deep insight in to the faith truth of the character/ His famous works are:

‘Adam Bede(1859)’

‘The mill on the Floss (1860)’

‘Middlemarch , a study of provencial life (1871-72)’

‘Daniel Deronda(1876)’

All these novels are classical novel of the Victorian age.Emily Bronte, Anne Bronte, Charles Kinsley of the period. So we can say that novel is the dominant literary form of this era.

(3)                  Prose:

As we have noted during this age the output of the novels and poetry was remarkable on the other hand prose writing was also rich. This period has produced many outstanding prose writers and critics and social reformers like Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold etc.

Thomas Carlyle- ‘The french Revolution’

Ruskin -‘Un to the last’

Arnold’s –‘Perfect to the poem’

Are eminent examples of prose writing of this era.

Victorian Novel as a form of Literature:

Introduction :

Generally Victorian era is considered the age of prose and especially of novel. In comparison to other form Novel is quite modern form. Novel sent its childhood in the second half of the 18^th century. In the second half of the 19^th century novel seemed to be much matured adult and young. Henry Fielding , Tobias Smollet and Laurence Sterne who gave a good move to English novel but the English novelists led this form to the peack of perfection.

Let’s discuss how Victorian novel was artistic and more appealing.

(1)   Perfect in Style:    English novel found its artistic and perfect many festation in Victorian era. Novel was more artistic with well-knit plots,more prosperous language and better presentation of characters. Thomas Hardy was an architect by profession and his mastery can be found in his plot construction. His novel contain a well –Knife plot. Hence Technically better novels. Charles Dickens was high giffed with imaginative poewr. In this matter , he stands among the most creative writers like shakespeare, Keats. His novel like ‘Oliver Twist’ ‘Great Exceptions’ are the great examples of such art.

(2)   Presentation of Social life:    A novel has wider scope of presenting various aspects of society. Therefore it is rightly stated a novel is a social document.  18^th century novel  was mostly picaresque novel that developed on the road like Fielding’s novel ‘Tom Jones’ or ‘Joseph Andrews’. While 19^th century Victorian novels depict social life closely. In novels of Bronte Sisters the society can be observed like a character, Thackeray’s ‘Vanity Fair’ and Bronte’s ‘Jane’ highlight sophisticated society various gathering parties are described minutely by these novelists. In most of the Victorian novel there is a good presentation on social life.

(3)   Rich creation of novel: The publication of British novel could be observed at a very large scale novel found its wider output in both quantity as well as quality. It was unique period for English novel. As William J.Long remarks:

  “The novel in this age fills the place which drama held in the days of Elizabeth and never before in any age of language has novel appeared in such numbers and in such perfection”

Great masters of novel like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy contributed in the best way to popularize this form of literature.

(4)   Portrayal of women: The portrayal of female characters can be observed with more importance in Victorian novel. Women for the first time leading role in English novel. Certain novels like ‘Pride and prejudice’ ‘Vanity Fair’ ;Tess of a Urber Villas’ etc. are novels mainly by female characters. In such novels the heroines lead the story and instead of supporting characters they perform the main role. Even female writers also come out with flying colors. Bronte sisters George Eliot etc. who contributed a lot to popularize the novel as a form of literature. So the female writers of this age produced remarkable novel.

(5)   Rise of the middle class: Industrial revolution brought a drastic change in the social life of English people. Earlier the British was divided into two classes rich class and poor class who were businessman or  traders. Many Victorian novel depict such society of middle class people for example ‘Sense and sensibility’, ‘Vanity fair’. They highlight the social life with their desire to appear more sophisticated and civilized etc.

(6)   Higher Ranked novelists: Novel was born in 18^th century but 19^th century nourished it in the best way as a result. This form found its highest artistic stage in the hands of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Bronte Sisters, Thackeray, Eliot, kipling etc. British critic Laurence Rainei commets.

Victorian poetry and its majot poets:

Introduction: At the accession of Victoria the romantic movement had spent its force, William Wordsworth had written his best work the other romantic poets Coleridge, Keats, Shelly and Byron had passed away and for a time no new development was apparent in English poetry died with the romanticists.But Victorian age has produced two great Tennyson and Robert Browning who led English poetry in different direction.

                        A study of all the writers of Victorian period revels some general characteristics like literature in this age has come vety close to daily life reflecting its practical problems and progress. The Tendency of Victorian literature is strongly ethical all the great poets,novelists and essayists of the age are  moral teachers. The romantic poet advocated ‘Art for Art’s sake’ while most of the Victorian poets supported ‘Art for Morality sake’ poets like Browning , Matthew Arnold used poetry to improve the society.

                       It is also fact about Victorian poetry that it is serious in tone. It changed its mood and turned to be realistic from the romantic. Some of the Elegies of Tennyson in ‘In Memoriam’ express the grief of his Heart.

                      Thomas Hardy expresses a gloomy picture of evening ‘Darkling Thrush’. The English poetry comes out from intoxication of romance of the earlier Age.It is rightly commented by scholar that :

“That great Victorian poets lacked the fire and position which we find in the poets of Romantic Revival”

The great Victorian poets are undoubledly Tennyson, Browning and Arnold and each in his own way was influenced by the masters of the romantic age.Early Tennyson was very powerfully under the influence of Keats and in certain respects he excelled. Some poems of Tennyson are

Ø  ‘Mariana’

Ø  ‘The Lotus Eaters’

Ø  ‘In Memoriam- A collection of poems’

In Memoriam’ is one of the most remarkable contribution to English poetry.His ‘Merlin and Gleam’ finds in it a suggestion of spirit of the poets whole life,

            ‘Oh young Mariner

‘You  from the Heaven

Under the sea cliff

You that are watching’

Robert Browning also represents Victorian poetry. He is master of Dramatic Monologue. His famous works of this from of poetry is ‘A grammarians’ . He supports ‘Arts for Morality sake’ ideology. Some.Some of his famous works are:

‘Men and women’

Dramatic Lyric’

Pippa Passes’

‘Pippa Passes’ is Browning immortal song that within eight lines expresses of na innocent girl pippa.Other remarkable poets of this age are Mrs. Browning ,William Morris, Swinburne, Robert Bridge, Kipling, Thomas Hardy etc.

Conclusion:

Victorian period was the most fertile and creative period for English novel. It spread the popularity of novel to every corner of the society. We can classify that Victorian age gifted some leading poets as well as representatives of novel who possess unique position in the History of English Literature.It is commented that Dickens’s ‘Pickwick Papers’ was at a time on the second highest position in selling after the Bible. On the whole the period looked forwards rather than backwards. Therefore the Victorian period has its own place in the world of Literature.