Victorian Era History

1. Victorian Era History

2. Political History • The 19th century was dominated by Queen Victoria's reign over Britain. • Lower and middle class demand reforms • Economic expansion, industrial consolidation, imperialism, colonial conflict, and war

3. Industrial Revolution • Major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport • Machine-based manufacturing • The development of all-metal machines • More production machines for manufacturing in other industries

4. Technology, Engineering, Medicine • Technology allowed people to communicate quicker and travel faster • Railways, canals, and steam ship • Thomas Edison • Development of better anesthetics

5. The Great Exhibition • The Great Exhibition of 1851, a World Fair in which some of the greatest innovations of the century were revealed. • The Crystal Palace, an engineering feat itself housed the event.

6. Social History • Poverty • Child Labor • Increasing population • Overcrowding • Unemployment • Prostitution

7. Religion vs. Science • Charles Darwin • Evolution of the Species • Religion remained an inspiration for writers, architects, painters, and reformers

8. Unifying Principles • The new shift towards modern times and industrialization can be seen in various literary works of the time period. • It is obvious that the Victorian Era and its rapid new development played a major role in inspiring writers, poets, artists, and musicians.

9. “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold The sea is calm to-night.The tide is full, the moon lies fairUpon the straits; on the French coast the lightGleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!Only, from the long line of sprayWhere the sea meets the moon-blanched land,Listen! you hear the grating roarOf pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,At their return, up the high strand,Begin, and cease, and then again begin,With tremulous cadence slow, and bringThe eternal note of sadness in. Sophocles long agoHeard it on the Aegaean, and it broughtInto his mind the turbid ebb and flowOf human misery; weFind also in the sound a thought,Hearing it by this distant northern sea. The Sea of FaithWas once, too, at the full, and round earth's shoreLay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.But now I only hearIts melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,Retreating, to the breathOf the night-wind, down the vast edges drearAnd naked shingles of the world. Ah, love, let us be trueTo one another! for the world, which seemsTo lie before us like a land of dreams,So various, so beautiful, so new,Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;And we are here as on a darkling plainSwept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,Where ignorant armies clash by night.

10. TPCASTT Title: “Dover Beach” refers to an actually physical place where the speaker is. Dover is an English ferry port that faces France. The reader knows this because of the title and the physical descriptions provided.

11. TPCASTT Paraphrase: The sea is flat. The tide is high. Looking from England’s shore Gleams of light from Frances coast can be seen The light is bright and easy to see from the beach Come to the window and enjoy the beautiful night! The ocean splashes against the shore. Where the sea hits hard land, Listen! You can hear the roar Of pebbles which the waves bring back and forth Come and go and again come back, With resonating rhythm Representing an eternal sadness. From the Aegean islands Sophocles heard this roar long ago He knew the flow of the ocean This can represent human misery; we Know because of this sound a thought, Hearing it by this distant northern sea. Common faith, Used to crash against the earth But now I only hear Its depressed long, withdrawing roar, Drowning faith, and returning to the ocean Now faith is absent Love and faith should be true Although the world seems Like a land of dreams, With its beauty and newness It is a dark place with no love or joy This can be seen as we stand here tonight On beaches like this soldiers are confused And ignorant armies clash by night.

12. TPCASTT Connotation: “Upon the straits; —on the French coast the light” looking across the channel to see the French coastline “Only, from the long line of spray” mist for the waves that crash against the land “Sophocles long ago Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought” an allusion to a myth that involves Sophocles on Aegean, an island off the coast. He heard the roar of these waves long ago. "distant northern sea" is the English Channel which separates England from continental Europe and is the body of water that forms Dover beach. “The Sea of Faith” refers to the undoubted religion that existed before times of scientific theory and discovery. “Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, Where ignorant armies clash by night.” an allusion to an account of the Peloponnesian War. The battle took place at night; the attacking army became disoriented while fighting.

13. TPCASTT Attitude: The speaker represents a melancholy attitude. This is obvious by the poet’s use of specific words to portray the speaker’s attitude. The speaker is disheartened that faith is no longer true.

14. TPCASTT Shift: Between the second and the third stanza, the poet shifts from a use of auditory images to describe the action of the tide itself. His metaphor allows the speaker to realize the loss of faith in the modern age.

15. TPCASTT Title(revisited): Dover Beach is not only a place where a speaker recognizes a naturalistic pattern, it can also be a metaphor for the loss of faith in the modern age.

16. TPCASTT Theme: With the coming of the modern age, faith and religion have been lost.