victorian poetry

Literary Background—Trends in the Victorian NovelWhen we speak of the Victorian novel we do not mean that there was a conscious school of the English novel, with a consciously common style and subject-matter, a school which began creating with the reign of Queen Victoria and which came to an end with the end of that reign. The English are too individualistic for such conformity. However, there can be no denying the fact that the English novel during second half of the nineteenth century, with the exception of one or two novelists, shows certaincommon characteristics. We have now to study those common characteristics.
The Conventional Plots
For one thing, the Victorian novel continues to be largely in the Fielding tradition. The plot is generally loose and ill-constructed. The main outline of the Victorian novel is the same. The story consists of a large variety of characters and incidents clustering round the figure of the hero. These characters and incidents are connected together rather loosely by an intrigue, and the ending is with ringing of wedding bells.
Secondly, the Victorian novel makes an extraordinary mixture of sentiment, flashy melodrama and lifeless characters. There is much that is improbable and artificial in character and incident. Speaking generally, the Victorians fail to construct an organic plot in which every incident and character forms an integral part of the whole.
Entertainment Value
Still, the Victorian novel makes interesting reading. The novelists may not construct a compact plot, but they tell the story so well. They are so entertaining that children still love to read and enjoy a novel of Dickens or Thackeray. The plot may be improbable, but there is enough suspense, and the readers’ attention is not allowed to slag even for a single moment. They do not like to give it up unfinished.
Panoramic Nature
The Victorian novelists may miss the heights and depths of human passion, there may be no probing of the human heart and no