Depending on the time period a piece of literature comes from, the style, vocabulary and plot can differ. While some authors are from the modernism or romance era, my chosen author, Thomas Hardy, comes from the Victorian Era (O’Gorman, Francis.). The Victorian Era was very unique and prevalent in most of the texts written during this time. Literature in this time period was characterized by the preceding time periods, realism and the in depth description of the Victorian Society (Peterson, Linda H.). All of these characteristics make up the style and character of Victorian era literature.
Thomas Hardy wrote many works of literature during this time period (O’Gorman, Francis.). Every text consisted of Victorian Era characteristics. The Victorian Era consisted of many different characteristics, especially ones that were developed in earlier previous eras. This era was distinguished by the ruling of Queen Victoria in England in between 1837-1901 (Gagnier, Regenia). This era was often considered a bridge between works of previous centuries and works of the modern 20th century world. What made Vicorian Era literature so unique was its combination of past events mixed into the new inspiration of the middle class. The eras the preceded the Victorian Era were Romanticism and Renaissance. These two eras set the stage for some of the most important texts written latter on in the Victorian Era. The Renaissance was a turning point in literature and allowed the author to write more outgoing feelings. The renaissance text was known to be often thought provoking and feeling oriented. The Romanticism era often focused on subjectivity and the importance of the individual (“Henry-Alexander-Bowler-Painting.”). Both of these eras and their characteristics listed are in the Victorian Era and helped it become what it represents today.
The Victorian Era also introduced a new ideal to literature, realism. This seems to be one of the most defining characteristics of literature in this time period. Realism is a form of art that tries to see things for what they are. Authors started writing stories with more familiar settings and dilemmas instead of making up fantasy (Peterson, Linda H.). This style of writing connected to readers like no other. Readers were soon able to relate to literature as they saw themselves as certain characteristics (Willis, Ika). Realism provided an outlet for readers to be able to put themselves in the position of the characters and relate. By doing this, people started taking a higher interest in texts.
Just like realism, another important theme in Victorian Era literature is the details of the everyday life. Authors started using more descriptive language in order to help paint a picture in the reader’s mind. By describing a familiar setting and plot readers got to become as if they were friends with the characters (Tonkin, Maggie, et al.). It also contains characters that were struggling working class and their triumphs over the wealthy and wrong. It also depicted people in the changing ways of society and how to adapt to the new technology and social roles (Peterson, Linda H.). The authors of the Victorian Era made it their goal to be able to report on the problems of the ordinary working class man and make him a hero. These often triumphant stories seemed to inspire others, especially those of middle class and lower. These texts gave hope and proved to the people that a working class person can be unstoppable and powerful despite
