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Enlightenment
Also known as the great “ Age of reason”. An intellectual and philosophical movement. During this era, philosophers stressed the values of skepticism, reason, and individualism, as well as liberty and secularism. It was centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason, and the importance of freedom. Literature was seen as an advancement of knowledge. -
Pre-romantic Period
A general term applied by modern literary historians to a number of developments in late 18th- century culture that are thought to have prepared the ground for Romanticism in its full sense. It succeeded Neo- Classicism and preceded and presaged Romanticism. This movement brought a new interest in individualism, sentimentality, melancholy and genuine emotion to literature and society. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period of major mechanization and innovation that began in Great Britain during the mid-18th century and early 19th century and later spread throughout much of the world. It shifted societies from an agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy where products were no longer made solely by hand but by machines. This led to increased production and efficiency, lower prices, more goods, improved wages, and migration from rural areas to urban areas. -
Romantic Period
It was an artistic movement that valued imagination and feelings over intellect and reasoning. It was a rebellion against the aristocratic, social and political norm of the previous period. The Gothic novel was born in this period. It was of great interest to all social classes and it influenced today's ghost and horror novels and films. -
Starting point of the Romantic Period
Lyrical Ballads is a collection of poems written and jointly published by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The volume is of such importance that its 1798 publication date is often considered the beginning of the Romantic Period. The poetry in Lyrical Ballads marks a distinct change in both subject matter and style from the poetry of the 18th century. -
Pride and Prejudice
A romantic novel written by Jane Austen during Pre-Romanticism, between 1796 and 1797, and published during the Georgian Era. This story is human, global, and captures the very essence of human nature. -
The Victorian Era
The Victorian Period began with the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837, and lasted until her death in 1901. Victorian age can be said to be the age of critical realism Puritan mortality of the early and mid victoria period was reflected in novels where society effects on individuals are analysed. The most important events in this period are a huge growth in population, improvements in technology, poor conditions for the working class, etc. -
A Christmas Carol
A book written by Charles Dickens.
A Christmas Carol is a work of social criticism. Although this short novel shows the harsh reality of the less-fortunate Victorian society, it does not belong entirely to Realism, since it is full of supernatural elements. Victorians called it “a new gospel,” and reading or watching it became a sacred ritual for many, without which the Christmas season cannot materialize. -
Wuthering Heights
A novel by Emily Brontë.
The novel was influenced by Romanticism and Gothic fiction, and although they share many characteristics, it was written during the Victorian era. -
Realism
Realism defines a philosophical and political attitude, and a particular kind of a "subject” matter. "The faithful representation of reality" or "verisimilitude". A reaction against romanticism. The interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism. It focused on showing everyday life among the middle or lower class society, without romantic idealization or dramatization. -
The Return of the Native
A novel written by Thomas Hardy.
The novel was influenced by the realism movement.
Hardy's novels are marked by a deep deterministic pessimism, aspects that characterized debased and often sordid levels of human existence. -
The Road from Colonus
A short story written by E. M. Forster. -
The Secret Sharer
A short story by Polish-British author Joseph Conrad. The story is based on an actual incident, with some of the facts altered to suit Conrad's artistic purposes. -
Sons and Lovers
A novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence.
This novel is based on the principles of realism. Explores themes such as real life situations.