Přednášky - britské studie

Authors

• 1st generation of romanticist poets

• Dorothy Wordsworth – The lake district – she wrote poetry and a diary

• William Blake – The manifesto of British romanticism

• William Wordsworth – I wander lonely as a cloud
  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45521

• 2nd generation

• John Keats – To Autumn, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley – Frankenstein

• The second generation was much more involved in politics

• George Gordon Byron – He was from a rich family, generous lord, he was concerned about poor and people living under tyranny, went to fight against Ottoman Empire (Osmanská říše)

THE VICTORIAN AGE (1837-1901)

QUEEN VICTORIA

• During her rule, Parliament is becoming more prominent

• Married Price Albert – he died and she was devastated, for 2 years refuses public political appearances

• She remains the symbol of Britain – the protector

• During her rule British Empire experiences the greatest expansion – Colonies, Islands, .. – They are at their highest

• Relative peace – Prosperity, stability

• Rationalism and empiricism – reason is the key to life

• Morality and behavior – sex should be controlled, instincts are pressured down

• Later marriage – it was seen as a very responsible tie

• Sexual restriction leads to better “academical results”

• Words like “breast” were highly sexualized (even if you mean chicken breast)

• A woman who got pregnant before marriage were perceived as weird and immoral

• Men were much more free, double standards, there was always an excuse for their behavior

John Stuart Mill

• He was a philosopher and politician

• On Liberty

• He fell in love with a married woman, they were friends, her husband died, they remained friends for two more years (that was a rule) and then they got married

Pax Britanica

• Peace during the Victorian age

The Crimean war (1854)

• Russia wanted to become the great power

Boer war (1899-1902)

• South Africa

• Dutch origin

• One of the richest countries of Africa – resources

• Britain succeeded

Liberals vs. conservatives

• William Gladstone (Liberal) x Benjamin Disraeli (Conservatives)

• Disraeli was a special case – writer and a gifted politician of Jewish origin, which was very unusual – he converted and became a Prime minister

• William Gladstone is famous for his intense rivalry with the Conservative Party Leader Benjamin Disraeli. The rivalry was not only political, but also personal

• Many poor people from villages are now moving from countryside to industrial Victorian cities

• Children in factories – they paid children way less – worked in 9-10 hour shifts – many intellectuals thought it was a shame – Queen Victoria worked on a legislation that should cut this

• Some people are getting married rich – Poor girl + rich man – big differences

• Working class starts to fight for fundamental laws

• Encouraging children to go to school

• Infant’s death rate significantly decreases - Vaccination for the payment of the state

• Sewage system – taking garbage of the streets – streets were cleaner – less diseases

• Clean water – first in Victorian age

• New medical preparations - disinfection, chloroform and phenol – germ killer – used till now, cheap and effective