, sl 2, sl 4, sl 5, l 1, l 1a b a preview unit goals · pdf filepreview unit goals unit5 ......

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Preview Unit Goals

unit5text

analysis• Understand the historical and cultural context of the Victorian era• Identify and analyze characteristics of realism and naturalism in fiction• Identify and analyze point of view and plot structure in fiction• Identify and analyze rhyme scheme and rhythm in poetry• Identify and analyze speaker, mood, and tone in poetry• Determine themes or central ideas of a text• Identify, analyze, and evaluate persuasive techniques

reading • Make inferences and draw conclusions• Compare, contrast, and synthesize ideas

writing andlanguage

• Write an analytical essay • Add descriptive details, choose effective settings, and establish voice• Use rhetorical questions and interrogative sentences

vocabulary • Use context clues and affixes to help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words

• Consult general reference materials to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, its etymology, or its standard usage

academic vocabulary

• analyze • impact • scheme• dominate • resource

media and viewing

• Evaluate the presentation of social and cultural messages in media• Evaluate the interactions of different techniques used in multi-

layered media• Evaluate how audience, bias, and purpose influence the representation

of an issue or event, including changes in formality and tone• Create a power presentation

Go to thinkcentral.com for the interactive version of this unit.

Find It Online!

NA_L12PE-u05s00-uo.indd 910 12/17/10 9:49:49 AMdifferentiated instruction

unit goalsIntroduced in this unit: RL 1, RL 2, RL 3, RL 4, RL 5, RL 6, RL 9,

RL 10, RI 1, RI 2, RI 4, RI 5, RI 6, RI 7, RI 9, RI 10, W 1, W 2, W 2a–f, W 3, W 4, W 5, W 6, W 7, W 9, W 9b, W 10, SL 1, SL 1c, SL 2, SL 4, SL 5, L 1, L 1a, L 2a, L 3, L 4a, L 4b, L 4c, L 6

Complete text of the Common Core State Standards is found in the correlation on p. T10. Standards covered in this unit are found in the standards overview (pp. 911A–911D) and on the lesson pages where they are taught.

Preview Unit GoalsExplain to students that they can get more from their reading by previewing. Then ask them to skim the page to preview the skills that they will learn. Note that each strand or category of skill is color-coded on this page and throughout the unit. Model the strategy of copying the Academic Vocabulary and writing a preliminary definition for each term. Suggest that students use Reader/Writer Notebooks for this purpose. Encourage them to use the terms in discussions and in writing. Also urge students to revisit each term throughout the unit and to refine its meaning.

for english language learnersAcademic Vocabulary Provide students with definitions of each Academic Vocabulary word.analyze (BnE-lFz) v. to examine something in

detail to understand it betterdominate (dJmE-nAt) v. to hold a commanding

positionresource (rCsôrs, rG-sôrs) n. something that

can be used for support or help; anything available for economic development, such as land, labor, or mineral deposits

scheme (skCm) n. a secret plan; a plot; a chart, diagram, or outline of a system or object

Use the copy masters to help students learn the Academic Vocabulary for this unit.

RESOURCE MANAGER—Copy MastersAcademic Vocabulary p. 3Additional Academic Vocabulary p. 4

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Find It Online!This unit on thinkcentral.com includes• PowerNotes introductions to key

selections• audio support—listen or download• ThinkAloud models • WordSharp vocabulary tutorials• interactive unit review and

assessment

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

911

The Victorians1832–1901

an era of rapid change• The Influence of Romanticism• Realism in Fiction• Victorian Viewpoints Great Stories on Film

Discover how visual and sound techniques combine to capture the driving motion of Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Page 1050

dvd-rom

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For help in planning this unit, see

RESOURCE MANAGER UNIT 5pp. 1–8

introduce the unitCall students’ attention to the pictures on this page. Explain that the large image, Railway Station, is a panorama by English painter William Powell Frith. Tell students they will learn more about Victorian artists when they read the historical essay for this unit.Ask students whether they know the writer, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, shown in the smaller picture on the page. Tell them that Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was an important poet of the Victorian era and the wife of another important Victorian poet, Robert Browning (1812–1889). Point out that students will read poems by both Brownings, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43,” in this unit. Also note that students can read more about Elizabeth Barrett Browning on page 952.

About the Art Although William Powell Frith (1819–1909) began his career as a portrait artist, he achieved fame and financial success through monumental cityscapes, such as Railway Station. Frith chose Paddington Sta-tion in London as the setting of this painting, incorporating nearly 100 figures. His work, which critic John Ruskin perceptively described as Dickensian, is packed with people, move-ment, and meticulous detail. Unlike the Pre-Raphaelites (page 919), whose innovative works of the 1850s criticized society, Frith avoided controversy and celebrated Victorian life.

Unit Resources

RESOURCE MANAGER UNIT 5

UNIT AND BENCHMARK TESTS

BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT

INTERACTIVE READER

ADAPTED INTERACTIVE READER

ELL ADAPTED INTERACTIVE READER

LANGUAGE HANDBOOK

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

TECHNOLOGY

Teacher One Stop DVD-ROM

Student One Stop DVD-ROM

PowerNotes DVD-ROM

WriteSmart CD-ROM

MediaSmart DVD-ROM

GrammarNotes DVD-ROM

Audio Anthology CD

See resources on the Teacher One Stop DVD-ROM and on thinkcentral.com.

911


unit 5Unit 5 Introductionpp. 912–927• Questions of the

Times• Historical Essay• Timeline• The Legacy of the Era

Text Analysis Workshop• The Growth and

Development of Fiction pp. 968–969

Selected Poetry by Alfred, Lord TennysonPoetrypp. 928–943

My Last Duchess/Porphyria’s LoverPoetrypp. 944–951

Sonnet 43/RemembrancePoetrypp. 952–959

British Masterpiece: from Jane Eyre pp. 960–961Novels of Charles Dickens, George Eliot pp. 1010–1013from The Importance of Being Earnest pp. 1066–1067

Reading Literature Historical and Cultural Context of the Victorian Era pp. 912–923 RL9Text Analysis pp. 960, 1010, 1012, 1066 RL 3, RL 10

Development of the Novel Form pp. 968–969 RL 9, RL 10

Mood pp. 929, 930, 933, 935, 937, 940–942 RL 4, RL 9Analyze Speaker pp. 929, 932, 936–938, 940, 942 RL 1, RL 9

Dramatic Monologue pp. 945, 946, 948, 950, 951 RL 1, RL 5Make Inferences About Speakers pp. 945, 946, 948, 949, 950, 951 RL 1

Figurative Language pp. 953, 954, 956, 959 RL 4Compare Themes pp. 953–954, 956–957, 959 RL 2

Reading Informational Text

Historical and Cultural Context of the Victorian Era pp. 912–923 RI 9Read a Timeline pp. 924–925 RI 7

Letter p. 958

Writing Legacy of the Era pp. 926–927 W 1, W7Write p. 1010

Quickwrite p. 929Writing Prompt p. 943 W 9

Speaking and Listening

Legacy of the Era pp. 926–927 SL 5Discuss pp. 1012, 1066

Discuss p. 945 SL 1 Represent p. 953

Language A Changing Languagep. 916 L 1a

Descriptive Details p. 943 L 3Language Coach pp. 932, 934, 937, 940 L 4b

Language Coach p. 950 Language Coach p. 956

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strand

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ecosecosTo see the complete Essential Course of Study, see pp. T23–T28.

For additional lesson planning help, see Teacher One Stop DVD.

Pied Beauty/Spring and Fall: To a Young ChildPoetrypp. 962–966

Malachi’s CoveShort Storypp. 970–993

Christmas Storms and SunshineShort Storypp. 994–1009

Themes Across Cultures:The DarlingShort Storypp. 1014–1028

Lexile: 1130Fry: 8Dale-Chall: 6.4



Sprung Rhythm pp. 963, 965–966 RL 10Infer Meaning pp. 963–964, 966 RL 1, RL 4

Realism pp. 971–972, 975, 979, 983, 985–986, 991 RL 3Predict pp. 971, 978–979, 984, 988, 991 RL 10

Omniscient Point of View pp. 995–996, 998–999, 1003, 1007 RL 3Identify Mood pp. 995, 998, 1002, 1006–1007 RL 3 Language Coach p. 1001 RL 4

Naturalism pp. 1015, 1016, 1018, 1021, 1026–1027 RL 3Analyze Plot Structure pp. 1015, 1021, 1026–1027 RL 5Language Coach p. 1019 RL 4

Quickwrite p. 963 Quickwrite p. 971Writing Prompt p. 993 W 10

Writing Prompt p. 1009 W 3

Discuss p. 995 SL 1 Discuss p. 1015 SL 1

Descriptive Details pp. 981, 993 L 1Context Clues p. 992 L 4aLanguage Coach pp. 981, 989

Establish Voice pp. 1005, 1009 L 1Development of English p. 1008 L 1a, L 6Language Coach p. 1003

Contrast as Context Cues p. 1028 L 4a Language Coach p. 1023 L 4b

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unit 5continued

Linked Selections Media Study: from A History of BritainDocumentarypp. 1050–1053

Dover Beach/To Marguerite—ContinuedPoetrypp. 1054–1059

Evidence of Progress/The Condition of EnglandCritical Commentariespp. 1030–1043

Viewpoints on Globalization Editorialspp. 1044–1049

Lexile: 1450/990Fry: 11/CollegeDale-Chall: 8.5/8.0

Reading Literature Theme pp. 1055, 1058, 1059 RL 2Analyze Speaker pp. 1055, 1056, 1059 RL 10

Reading Informational Text

Persuasion pp. 1031, 1032, 1038, 1041 RI 6, RI 9Recognize Ideas pp. 1031, 1034, 1035, 1038, 1041 RI 1, RI 2, RI 9Verbal Ambiguity p. 1039 RI 1

Distinguish Fact and Opinion pp. 1044, 1045, 1047–1049 RI 5, RI 10Understand Charts p. 1046 RI 7

Analyze Elements of a Documentary pp. 1051–1053 RI 7

Writing Writing Prompt p. 1043 W 1 Writing Prompt p. 1049 W 9 Create a Voice-over Script p. 1053 W 9

Quickwrite p. 1055

Speaking and Listening

Debate p. 1031 SL 1

Language Rhetorical Questions pp. 1040, 1043 L 3Using a Dictionary p. 1042 L 2a, L 4cLanguage Coach p. 1035 L 4b

Language Coach p. 1048

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strand

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ecosecosTo see the complete Essential Course of Study, see pp. T23–T28.

For additional lesson planning help, see Teacher One Stop DVD.

To an Athlete Dying Young/When I Was One-and-TwentyPoetrypp. 1060–1065

The Darkling Thrush/Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?Poetrypp. 1068–1074

Wrap-Ups• The Influence of

Romanticism p. 967• Realism in Fiction p. 1029• Victorian Viewpoints p. 1075

Writing Workshop: Analysis of Literary Nonfictionpp. 1076–1085

Technology Workshop: Creating a Power Presentation pp. 1086–1087

Rhyme Scheme pp. 1061, 1064–1065 RL 5Make Inferences pp. 1061–1062, 1065 RL 1

Tone pp. 1069–1070, 1072,1074 RL 4Draw Conclusions About Social Context pp. 1069–1070, 1073–1074 RL 9

Analysis of Literary Nonfiction pp. 1076–1085 RI 1, RI 4

Writing to Compare p. 967 W 2Writing to Reflect p. 1029 W 9Extension p. 1029 W 9Writing to Synthesize p. 1075 W 2Extension p. 1075 W 7

Writing an Analysis of Literary Nonfiction pp. 1076–1085 W 2a–f, W 4, W 5, W 9b (RL 1, 4), W 10

Discuss p. 1061 SL 1 Discuss p. 1069 SL 1 Extension p. 967 SL 1 Creating a Power Presentation pp. 1086–1087 SL 2, SL 4, SL 5

Editing and Publishing p. 1083 L 2

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Differentiated Instructionff

Instructional Supportpp

STRUGGLING READERS AND WRITERS

Resource Manager Unit 5Additional Selection QuestionsQuestion SupportReading Fluency

Interactive ReaderAdapted Interactive ReaderLevel Up Online TutorialsAudio Anthology (with Audio summaries)Diagnostic and Selection TestsSelection Tests A/B

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Resource Manager Unit 5Selection Summaries in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Haitian CreoleSkills Copy Masters in Spanish

English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader Teacher’s GuideELL Adapted Interactive Reader Audio TutorGuide to English for NewcomersAudio Anthology Audio Summaries in Multiple Languages(on thinkcentral.com)

ADVANCED LEARNERS

Resource Manager Unit 5Additional Selection QuestionsIdeas for Extension

Diagnostic and Selection TestsSelection Tests B/C

Resource Manager Unit 5unit support

Academic Vocabulary p. 3Additional Academic Vocabulary p. 4Grammar Focus p. 5Text Analysis Workshop p. 68Writing Workshop: Analysis of Literary

Nonfiction p. 215

selection support*Plan and Teach

Lesson planning pagesAdditional leveled selection questionsExtension activities

Student Copy MastersSelection summaries in four languagesSkills Copy Masters in English and SpanishVocabulary preteaching and supportReading Check and Question SupportReading Fluency

*Available for all selections

Language HandbookVocabulary PracticeBest Practices Toolkit†

PowerNotes DVD-ROM†

Connections: Nonfiction for Common Core CD-ROM†

Teacher One Stop DVD-ROM

Student One Stop DVD-ROM

MediaSmart DVD-ROMfrom History of Britain

WriteSmart CD-ROM†

GrammarNotes DVD-ROM†

WordSharp CD-ROM†

ee

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Professional Developmentf p

at a GlanceOne Location, Endless Resources

Kylene Beers

Janet Allen

Carol Jago

Jim Burke

Assessment and Reteaching

Find Resources Browse all Holt McDougal Literature components for the ones that meet your students’ needs and match your teaching style.

Assess Progress and Reteach Assign electronic versions of program assessments to measure your students’ mastery of the Common Core State Standards. On thinkcentral.com, some tests deliver online remediation tutorials to students who have not mastered skills.

Interactive Whiteboard Lessons

Prepare your students for college and careers by teaching relevant, real-world skills through dynamic, interactive instruction. Go tothinkcentral.com to browse through all white-board lessons, including the following:

• Point of View• Narrative Techniques• Evaluating Arguments• Theme/Central Idea

Together Holt McDougal and HISTORY® are revolutionizing the study of English/language arts with video that helps students relive and re-imagine the people, places, and events they are discovering through reading. Look for selections with the HISTORY® icon.

Video Center Based on interviews with program consultants and other educa-tional experts, these videos feature classroom-ready teaching strategies.

Teacher Toolkit Includes a Teacher Handbook as well as a range of articles and handouts by program consultants and other educators.

Diagnostic and Selection TestsUnit and Benchmark TestsThinkCentral Online Assessment:• All program assessments• Level Up Online Tutorials

ExamView Test Generator on the Teacher One Stop DVD-ROMOnline Essay Scoring on thinkcentral.comThinkCentral Online Reteaching:• Level Up Online Tutorials• Reteaching Worksheets

911F

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unit

5 Questions of the TimesDISCUSS After reading these questions and talking about them with a partner, discuss them with the class as a whole. Then read on to explore the ways in which writers of the Victorian period dealt with the same issues.

When is progress aPROBLEM?England was the first nation to industrialize, and it made enormous strides during this period. Factories made more goods available to more people than ever before, and middle-class Victorians readily consumed these goods. At the same time, changes in working conditions and social structure led to a breakdown of communities, a rise in materialistic attitudes, and the creation of a class of poverty-stricken urban workers. Is progress always worth its price?

Can values beIMPOSED?Many Victorians—among them the writer Rudyard Kipling and Queen Victoria herself—proudly supported imperialism, believing they were bringing the gift of English civilization to less civilized cultures. Bloody rebellions, however, proved that the colonized peoples did not share their view. Do you think a nation can or should impose its values on other people?

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RL 9 Demonstrate knowledge of foundational works of literature, including how two or more texts from the period treat similar themes or topics. RI 9 Analyze documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

Questions of the TimesRead aloud the questions on pages 912–913 and the paragraphs that follow them. Open the discussion of each idea by having students respond to the questions that conclude each paragraph. Use these notes to prompt further exploration of the ideas.

When is progress a PROBLEM?Ask students to describe progress achieved in their lifetimes and to consider the costs of achieving that progress. Invite students to weigh the benefits and costs to decide whether the progress was worth its price. To extend the discussion, ask students for their definition of progress. Is it always technological, or are there other types of progress?

Can values be IMPOSED? Invite students to discuss their views on whether nations can or should impose values on others, stressing that “can” and “should” may yield different answers. Then deepen the discussion by asking students to identify times when nations have tried to impose their will and tell whether the attempts succeeded. Challenge students to consider their likely reactions if another nation made such an at-tempt toward their culture.



Is it better to escape or face REALITY?Writers of this period were not unified in outlook. Early poets ignored the everyday realities of their society in favor of more poetic subjects. In contrast, many novelists and critics reflected and recorded their society as it was—warts and all. Yet by the end of the period, more and more readers turned to literature to escape from the problems of the day. Do you prefer literature that reflects your world or that takes you away from it all?

Why do people fearCHANGE?The Victorian period was a time of rapid change—exciting yet troubling. Many Victorians felt as though the rug of their familiar world had been pulled out from under them. While some embraced change, others despaired for their society. Why do you think people resist change? What is the best way to live in a world where everything seems unpredictable?

913

RL 9 Demonstrate knowledge of foundational works of literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics. RI 9 Analyze documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

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Is it better to escape or face REALITY?Ask students to cite examples of realistic works and escapist works that they have read and to give reasons why they prefer one over the other. Extend the discussion by asking stu-dents to brainstorm other ways besides entertainment and literature that people can either escape or confront reality. Work toward a consensus on which is better, escapism or realism.

Why do people fear CHANGE?Suggest to students that, as the Victorians did, people today experience rapid social and tech-nological change. Ask students in what ways they find the world unpredictable, and what strategies they use to deal with the unpredict-ability. Broaden the conversation by asking stu-dents what aspects of change they find either positive or negative.

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914

The Victorians1832–1901

An Era of Rapid ChangeDuring Queen Victoria’s reign, England went from horse-drawn carriages to motor cars, from rule by aristocrats to votes for every man, from a land of farmers to a land of factories. England also actively embraced imperialism as the country’s destiny and duty to the world. Yet as their country changed in unexpected ways, the English moved from happy confidence in progress to increasing doubt. Some writers turned away from the new reality; others tackled it head-on.

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RL 9 Demonstrate knowledge of foundational works of literature, including how two or more texts from the period treat similar themes or topics. RI 9 Analyze documents of historical and literary significance for their themes and purposes. L 1a Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.

The following historical essay provides stu-dents with a historical context for the Unit 5 reading selections. It presents a brief overview of significant events occurring during the time period, 1832–1901, and introduces key people, places and ideas of the times.To get started, read and discuss the opening paragraph on this page. Call students’ atten-tion to the specific forms of progress that the paragraph mentions, and ask students to restate them in more general terms. For example, “went from horse-drawn carriages to motor cars” might be restated as “modernized transportation.” Students should see that the changes specified cover several of the most important areas of life. Ask students to describe what experiencing changes on that scale might feel like, then to compare and contrast these feelings to those experienced by Victorians in Great Britain.

previewHave students preview this historical essay by skimming the heads, boldfaced terms, and Taking Notes side-column features. Ask volunteers to summarize the main points of the essay.

R E A D I N G S T R A T E G Y

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• aristocrats, “members of the ruling class”• imperialism, “the policy of extending rule or

influence over other countries or peoples”• middle class, “the section of society be-

tween the poor and the wealthy, including business owners, professionals, and skilled workers”

• materialism, “devotion to material wealth over spiritual or intellectual values”

• constitutional monarchy, “a system of government in which a king or queen shares power with elected officials”

• ministers, “people in charge of government departments”

Use this copy master to help students take notes on the essay:

RESOURCE MANAGER—Copy MasterNote Taking p. 8


Essential Course of Study ecosecos


The Victorians: Historical ContextVictorian writers responded to the economic, social, and political changes sweeping England during Victoria’s reign.

A Time of Growth and Change“The sun never sets on the British Empire,” boasted the Victorians, and it was true: with holdings around the globe, from Africa to India, Ireland to New Zealand, and Hong Kong to Canada, it was always daytime in some part of the vast territory ruled by Britain. More than just a simple fact, however, this phrase captured the attitude of an era. During the reign of Queen Victoria, England was a nation in motion. “This is a world of action, and not for moping and droning in,” said Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, and his contemporaries seemed to agree. During this period, England was at the height of its power, both politically and economically. Abroad, Britain dominated world politics. At home, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. With its new factories turning out goods of every kind at an unprecedented pace, England became known as “the workshop of the world.” For those with wealth and influence—including the burgeoning middle class—it was an expansive time, a time of energy and vitality, a time of rapid and dramatic change. Yet large segments of the population suffered greatly during this period. Many writers decried the injustice, rapid pace, and materialism of the age—including poet Matthew Arnold, who referred to “[t]his strange disease of modern life, with its sick hurry, its divided aims.”

Monarchy in the Modern StyleThis period of change is named after the person who, more than any other, stood for the age: Queen Victoria. Just 18 years old when she was crowned in 1837, she went on to rule for 63 years, 7 months, and 2 days—the longest reign in English history. Victoria’s devotion to hard work and duty, her insistence on proper behavior, and her unapologetic support of British imperialism became hallmarks of the Victorian period. Victoria was well aware of how previous monarchs had clashed with Parliament and made themselves unpopular with their arrogant, inflexible attitudes. She realized that the role of royalty had to change. Pragmatically accepting the idea of a constitutional monarchy in which she gave advice rather than orders, Victoria yielded control of day-to-day governmental affairs to a series of very talented prime ministers: Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Palmerston, and the rival politicians Benjamin Disraeli and William E. Gladstone. The position of prime minister assumed even greater importance after the death of Victoria’s beloved husband, Prince Albert, in 1861; grief-stricken, the queen withdrew from politics and spent the rest of her life in mourning.

taking notesOutlining As you read this introduction, use an outline to record main ideas about the history and literature of this period. You can use headings, boldfaced terms, and the information in boxes like this one as starting points. (See page R49 in the Research Handbook for more help with outlining.)

I. Historical Context A. Growth and Change

1. The British Empire expands.

2. Britain dominates world politics.

3. Industrial Revolution continues.

4. Wealth and prosperity grow, but so does suffering.

B. Monarchy

Train at Shakespeare Cliff, Dover (1850), George Childs. Watercolor. © NRM/Pictorial Collection/Science and Society Picture Library. unit introduction 915

RL 9 Demonstrate knowledge of foundational works of literature, including how two or more texts from the period treat similar themes or topics. RI 9 Analyze documents of historical and literary significance for their themes and purposes. L 1a Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.

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The Victorians: Historical ContextThis section of the essay describes the increas-ing dominance of the British empire in the world, along with the expanding scope of the Industrial Revolution. The section discusses effects of the Industrial Revolution such as the growth of the middle class, the suffering of the poor, and efforts toward reform. The section also describes Queen Victoria, the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students under-stand the ideas in The Victorians: Historical Context:

Summarize In what ways was Britain in the 1800s the most powerful nation on earth? Possible answer: Britain was the most power-ful nation on earth because it held colonies across the globe, and it was industrially and economically powerful. Analyze What values of Queen Victoria are reflected in the era that bears her name? Possible answer: The Victorian era shared with Queen Victoria a devotion to duty, a sense of propriety, and a belief in imperialism.Evaluate Based on the evidence in the essay, was Queen Victoria well prepared for the throne? Why or why not? Possible answers: Yes, she was prepared for the throne because she pragmatically understood the new role of the British monarch. No, she was unpre-pared because she “had always led a sheltered existence.”

for english language learnersSet a Purpose After introducing the main idea on this page, ask students to look for details that describe Great Britain’s role in the world of the 19th century and that reflect changes experienced by Victorians of that era.

for advanced learners/apResearch Queen Victoria Have students briefly search online for information about Queen Victoria’s personality and her relation-ship with her husband, Prince Albert. Albert was a German whose nationality made many in Britain suspicious, but who turned out to be a capable advisor. During the long years in which she dressed in mourning, Victoria became a symbol of morality.

unit introduction 915



Progress, Problems, and ReformThe Industrial Revolution had already transformed England into a modern industrial state by the time Victoria took the throne. By 1850, England boasted 18,000 cotton mills and produced half the iron in the world.

middle-class prosperity The Industrial Revolution created vast new wealth for England’s rapidly growing middle class. This material progress was celebrated in the Great Exhibition of 1851, the purpose of which was to display “the Works of Industry of All Nations.” Housed in an enormous, glittering glass-and-steel building called the Crystal Palace, the Exhibition showcased every marvel of the age: indoor toilets, telegraphs, power looms, electric lights, even a full-size locomotive—17,000 exhibits in all. For the middle class who ran the factories, all these inventions represented both a means of making money and a dazzling array of goods to spend it on. Middle-class Victorians enjoyed indulging themselves in displays of wealth, from top hats and ruffled dresses to large houses crammed with heavy, ornate furniture and fancy knickknacks. With the help of servants, hostesses vied to serve the most lavish feasts and—insecure in their new respectability—tried to outdo each other in displaying refined manners and behavior. Some writers, such as Thomas Babington Macaulay, expressed enthusiasm for the material advantages afforded by the industrial age. Others, such as Thomas Carlyle and William Morris, were appalled by Victorian materialism, which they saw as tasteless, joyless, and destructive of community. Likewise, the virtuous airs adopted by the middle class, who often had trouble living up to their own uncompromising moral standards, led to angry charges of hypocrisy.

the downside of progress While the middle class was becoming more prosperous, conditions for the poor grew more intolerable. Factory workers spent 16-hour days toiling for low wages under harsh and dangerous conditions. Children, especially, suffered. Five-year-olds worked in the cotton mills as scavengers, crawling under the moving machinery to pick up bits of cotton from the floor, or in the coal mines, dragging heavy tubs of coal through narrow tunnels. Paid just a few cents a day, child workers endured empty bellies, frequent beatings, and air so filled with dust that they could hardly breathe. To make matters worse, in the 1840s unemployment in England soared, leaving many families without a breadwinner. In addition, the potato blight and famine that devastated Ireland in 1845 forced 2 million starving people to emigrate. Many crowded into England’s already squalid slums.

a changing language

The Birth of Standard EnglishIn Victorian times, as education spread and people entering the middle class tried to speak “proper” English, the English language became more homogeneous. Increased literacy also stabilized English, since the written language tends to change more slowly than the spoken. The period also saw the beginning of an effort to compile a definitive record of the histories, uses, and meanings of English words, resulting in the massive Oxford English Dictionary, the first volume of which was published in 1884. This landmark work, completed in 1928 and revised several times since, traces the changes in meaning of each entry word from its first recorded use to the present.

Jargon and Euphemisms Victorian advances in the natural and social sciences spurred the coinage of new words, such as telephone, photography, psychiatrist, and feminist. The new fields of study developed their own specialized and technical vocabulary, or jargon, which began to infiltrate everyday speech. Euphemisms—mild or vague terms substituted for words considered harsh or offensive—also grew more popular as Victorian propriety made certain words taboo. A chicken breast became “white meat”; the legs, “drumsticks.” Even words such as belly and stallion were prudishly avoided.

Slang Although “proper” circles frowned on slang, it was widely used among the lower classes as a means of conversing safely in the presence of outsiders, including the police. The Cockneys of London’s East End developed an elaborate system of rhyming slang in early Victorian times—using, for example, loaf to mean “head” because loaf is the first word in the expression loaf of bread, which rhymes with head. The expression “use your loaf” is still common in the East End today.



a changing language In addition to jargon, euphemism, and slang, Britain was a source of many eponyms, or names derived from the names of people. For example, British officer Henry Shrapnel gave his name to deadly bomb fragments. Land agent Charles Boycott gave his name to the act of refusing to buy something as a form of protest.Activity Have students use dictionaries to find, then share, the etymologies of these eponymous words: bowdlerize, Braille, cardigan, Celsius, dunce, mesmerize, salmonella, sandwich, saxophone, sideburns, and teddy bear.

tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students under-stand the ideas in Progress, Problems, and Reform:

Restate What was the significance of the Great Exhibition of 1851? Possible answer: The Great Exhibition displayed the techno-logical marvels of the age and impressed Victorians with the wealth and power of their society.Analyze In addition to machines, what resource did the Victorian middle class use to make their lives easier? Possible answer: Along with technology, greater access to money made middle-class life easier and more material. Synthesize The Victorian argument between material progress and antimaterialism continues to this day. Which side do you favor, and why? Accept thoughtful, supported responses.

check understandingAsk students to find factual evidence in The Downside of Progress that workers, especially children, suffered greatly during the Victorian Age. for struggling readers

Vocabulary Support Model the use of context to build meaning for terms such as Industrial Revolution, using the words “trans-formed” and “modern industrial state” to develop this definition: “a change in British society in the late 1700s and 1800s, in which factories arose and production by machines replaced hand craftsmanship in many fields.” Have students practice defining these terms:

• cotton mills, “factories with machinery for grinding cotton”

• Parliament, “British governing body made of elected officials”

• Tory, “a member of the Conservative party in Great Britain”



reform and uncertainty Though Parliament enacted many important reforms during this period, change came slowly as the middle and upper classes came to realize that the poor were not to blame for their own plight. In 1833, Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire and passed the first laws restricting child labor. It also ushered in free trade, repealing laws that kept out cheaper foreign grain. Slowly, more reforms followed. Gladstone and the new Liberal Party established public schools and mandated secret ballots for elections. Gladstone’s rival, the Tory politician Disraeli, won passage of bills that improved housing and sanitation, legalized trade unions, eased harsh factory conditions, and, in 1867, gave the vote to working-class men. Even for those who benefited most, though, progress could be painful. Despite their admiration for technology and their faith in human ingenuity, most Victorians were deeply religious, and some of the theories proposed by modern scientists threatened cherished beliefs. In 1830 the geologist Charles Lyell published evidence that the earth was formed not in 4004 b.c., as held by popular interpretations of the Bible, but millions of years earlier. Then, in 1859, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species introduced his theory that plant and animal species evolved through natural selection—an idea that prompted furious debate because it seemed to contradict the biblical account of creation. “There is not a creed which is not shaken,” wrote poet and critic Matthew Arnold, “not an accredited dogma which is not shown to be questionable, not a received tradition which does not threaten to dissolve.”

A Voice from the Times

Well: what we gain by science is, after all, sadness, as the Preacher saith. The more we know of the laws and nature of the Universe the more ghastly a business we perceive it all to be. . . .

—Thomas Hardy

Boy working in a Lancashire cotton mill (c. 1880s)



tiered discussion promptsUse this prompt to help students understand the ideas in Reform and Uncertainty:

Evaluate Judging from the reforms men-tioned, how successful was Victorian Britain in improving social conditions? Possible answer: Britain was relatively successful in that it abolished slavery a generation before the United States, enacted labor protection laws, and instituted voting and socio-economic reforms.

check understandingAsk students to identify the controversial scientific theories that were first developed during the Victorian era.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• hypocrisy, “the act of professing a belief

one does not hold”• prosperous, “wealthy”• reform, “improvement”• abolished, “got rid of”• repealing, “undoing”• mandated, “required”

for advanced learners/apA Voice from the Times Ask students to write and share a paragraph supporting or rebutting Thomas Hardy’s idea that science offers human beings “sadness” and that the universe is “a ghastly business.” Present the possibility that what Hardy found ghastly was not the universe itself but Victorian society. Ask students whether their image of Victorian society is positive or negative.




Cultural InfluencesWriters clashed over Britain’s expanding imperialism.

British ImperialismThough Disraeli and Gladstone worked in tandem for domestic reform, they bitterly opposed each other on the issue of British imperialism. Throughout Victoria’s rule, the British Empire had been steadily expanding, starting with the annexation of New Zealand in 1840 and the acquisition of Hong Kong two years later. In 1858, after a rebellion in India by native troops called sepoys, Parliament took administrative control of the colony away from the British East India Company and put the colony under the direct administration of the British government. Gladstone was a “Little Englander”—one who opposed further expansion; Disraeli, in contrast, saw imperialism as the key to Britain’s prosperity and patriotic destiny. Victoria sided with Disraeli—in part because his flamboyant charm appealed to her, while she loathed the staid, self-righteous Gladstone—and she allowed him to pursue his ambitions. He bought England a large share in Egypt’s newly completed Suez Canal, acquired the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, and annexed the Transvaal, a Dutch settlement in South Africa. Disraeli even persuaded the queen to accept the title “Empress of India.” Fascinated by the exploits of their explorers, missionaries, and empire builders in Africa and Asia, most British citizens—including certain writers—supported imperialism. Rudyard Kipling, for example, wrote short stories and poems glorifying the expansion of the British Empire. Indeed, it was Kipling who conveyed the idea that it was England’s “burden,” or duty, to bring civilization to the rest of the world. William Morris contradicted him, asking, “What is England’s place? To carry civilization through the world? . . . [Civilization] cannot be worth much, when it is necessary to kill a man in order to make him accept it.” As the years passed and colonial conflicts increased, British citizens began to agree with Morris, and support for imperialism waned.

Analyze VisualsThis photograph (c. 1895) depicts an English lord and lady in India. What can you infer about the English couple’s relationship with the Indians shown? What impression does the photo-graph give of English imperialism?



Cultural InfluencesThis section of the essay describes the expan-sion of the British Empire under Victoria’s two great prime ministers, Disraeli and Gladstone. The text then describes the changing attitudes of British writers and citizens toward imperial-ist expansion.

analyze visualsPossible answer: The English couple appears to be in a position of authority, with the Indian men acting as servants or guides. The photo gives several impressions of English imperialism. The richly decorated elephant and the English couple’s position in relation to the Indian men imply the wealth, strength, and power of the British presence in India. They also imply British insensitivity to India’s people and culture.

tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students under-stand the ideas in British Imperialism:

Summarize What is the difference between imperialism and the “Little Englander” view-point? Possible answer: Imperialism called for expansion of the British Empire by taking control of other nations or cultures, whereas the “Little Englander” position opposed such expansion.Analyze In what way did reactions of British citizens toward imperialism change over time? Why? Possible answer: At first, many British citizens supported imperialism. That support dissolved over time as colonial con-flicts revealed the costs of imperialism.

check understandingHave students describe the significance of Disraeli, Gladstone, sepoys, and the empress of India.

additional backgroundThe British East India Company, a private com-pany, exerted considerable power in India in Victorian times. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1600, its role was to control trade in India and other parts of Asia. Although its role was initially economic, it gained increasing political power by taking sides in local disputes. France and the Netherlands also had private East India companies, but the British company survived the longest.

for english language learnersAnalyze Contrasts Have students paraphrase the main ideas on pages 918 and 919. After they read each section, help them identify and list opposing views within each topic using a Two-Column Chart:

BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT—TransparencyTwo-Column Chart p. A25

On One Hand . . . On the Other Hand . . .Imperialism is the key to Britain’s prosperity and its patriotic destiny.

Imperialism is morally wrong, as it requires oppression.

Poetry reflects human sensitivity and inspiration.

Poetry ignores the squalid reality of the times.

Victorian writers produced great works of highly realistic fiction.

Romantic ideals kept Victorian poets from moving forward.



The Pre-RaphaelitesIn 1848, a group of art students at the Royal Academy in London banded together in a secret club, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Tired of being told to imitate the techniques of great Renaissance painters such as Raphael— techniques they saw as stale and insincere—the group sought to return to an earlier time, when artists looked at nature with a fresh eye.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Though the club itself lasted only a few years, it led to a larger pre-Raphaelite movement, spearheaded by one of the group’s first members, poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, whose work La Ghirlandata (1873) is shown here. Rossetti’s goal was to portray scenes as he imagined them, not as the rules of art dictated. He dreamed of painting like medieval artists—not in the same style, but with the same attitude of honesty, simplicity, and reverence.

Arts and Crafts Movement One of Rossetti’s enthusiastic young followers was the writer, artist, and social reformer William Morris. Morris was appalled at the mountains of cheaply made, mass-produced goods churned out by factories to clutter Victorian homes. Urging a return to earlier standards of craftsmanship, he wrote, “We should have nothing in our homes that we do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” As the leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Morris himself designed wallpaper, pottery, fabrics, glass, and furniture.

the artists’ galleryVictorian Literature Victorian literature shifted gradually from romanticism to realism, with the change led by novelists, who enjoyed a golden age. Late Victorian writing moved into naturalism and escapist fiction.

The Influence of Romanticism By the 1830s, romanticism was certainly past its height. Shelley, Keats, and Byron were dead, and Wordsworth was no longer a youthful revolutionary but a stuffy, elderly member of the establishment. Still, young up-and-coming poets such as Robert Browning and Alfred, Lord Tennyson had been raised on the romantics. Of course, they had their likes and dislikes: Tennyson said that Wordsworth at his best was “on the whole the greatest English poet since Milton,” while Browning, who idolized Byron and Shelley, told fellow poet and future wife Elizabeth Barrett that he would travel to a distant city just to see a lock of Byron’s hair but “could not get up enthusiasm enough to cross the room if at the other end of it all Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey were condensed into the little china bottle yonder.” Overall, though, the romantic movement had an enormous influence on early Victorian poets—not so much on their style of writing, which was often brilliantly original, but on their ideas of what poetry should be. On the streets, they saw factories belching smoke and ragged, hungry children begging pennies. In their writing, though, they ignored this grim reality, focusing instead on more “poetic” subjects: ancient legends, exotic foreign lands, romantic love, and the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. Matthew Arnold argued that the poet could have no higher goal than “to delight himself with the contemplation of some noble action of a heroic time, and to enable others, through his representation of it, to delight in it also.” Perhaps this approach was pure escapism, perhaps optimism; or perhaps—just as attitudes inherited from an earlier generation hindered social reform—literary ideals inherited from the romantics kept the first Victorian poets from redefining poetry for their own time. Readers seemed to share this sense of dislocation. On the one hand, the Victorians revered their poets, seeing them as a higher order of human being—sensitive, intuitive, inspired—an image first popularized by the romantics, particularly Byron. On the other hand, many readers, especially among the middle class, increasingly viewed poetry as irrelevant to their



Victorian LiteratureThis section of the essay begins by exploring the romantic roots of Victorian poetry. Then, the text examines the turn toward realism in fiction and addresses the late Victorian writers who created light entertainment of a high liter-ary quality. Finally, the section notes the devel-opment of naturalism and looks at Victorian essayists who either supported or criticized the society of their times.

the artists’ galleryThe poetry of Englishman Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) is noted for vivid descrip-tions and fantastic, symbolic subjects. Many of Rossetti’s poems were inspired by his wife, who died within two years of their marriage. Rossetti buried his sole copy of his poems with her, but then retrieved it for publication some years later. Rossetti’s sister, Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), was also a famous poet.Activity Ask students to identify aspects of the painting that reflect the influence of romanti-cism. Possible answer: The emphasis on beauty, rich detail, and a luxurious, almost otherworldly atmosphere is reminiscent of romantics such as Keats.

tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students under-stand the ideas in The Influence of Romanticism:

Analyze In what way were early Victorian poets out of step with their times? Possible answer: They followed romantic ideals and mostly ignored social realities.Synthesize Use your prior knowledge of “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Innocence (page 772) to explain why William Blake’s views presaged Victorian social criticism. Possible answer: In this poem, Blake lamented workers’ suffering, just as later social critics saw the grim realities of poverty and child labor.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• annexation, “the addition of territory to

a nation”• acquisition, “the act of gaining possession

of something”• administration, “management”• expansion, “the act of making larger”• escapism, “the desire to escape from the

unpleasantness of reality into the world of the imagination”




own lives. While poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti passionately insisted on “art for art’s sake,” the growing reading public turned to other forms of literature, particularly the novel.

Realism in Fiction Looking at the range and quality of Victorian novelists—the humor, pathos, and unforgettable characters of Charles Dickens, the psychological depth of George Eliot, the dark passion of Emily Brontë and her sister Charlotte Brontë—it’s hard to believe that at the time they wrote, fiction was widely considered to be simply light entertainment, not serious literature. To be fair, the vast majority of novels published weren’t great books like David Copperfield and Middlemarch. The same mass production that filled Victorian homes with inexpensive bric-a-brac of doubtful taste also poured out cheap thrillers and maudlin, weepy tales known as “penny dreadfuls” and “shilling shockers,” which the working classes in particular devoured. Middle-class readers enjoyed a good cry, too, but they wanted more. They wanted to meet characters like themselves and the people they knew; they wanted to learn more about their rapidly changing world. In other words, they wanted realism. Realistic novels tried to capture everyday life as it was really lived. Rather than ignoring science and industry as romanticism did, realism focused on the effects of the Industrial Revolution on Great Britain. Keen-eyed and sharp-witted, realistic writers probed every corner of their society, from the drawing room to the slum, exposing problems and pretensions. Some openly crusaded for reform. Others were more restrained, considering their role to be, as George Eliot put it, “the rousing of the nobler emotions, which make mankind desire the social right, not the prescribing of special measures.” Romanticism didn’t disappear entirely as soon as realism appeared; many of the best novelists combined elements of both and even borrowed reader-pleasing techniques from popular fiction. For instance, in Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë blended the spooky suspensefulness of the gothic novel with a realistic portrayal of the moral, social, and economic pressures faced by a Victorian woman. Charles Dickens filled his many novels with harshly realistic details drawn from his own experiences and observations, but he sweetened his social criticism with amusingly eccentric characters, engaging storytelling, and, often, sentimental endings. Other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and William Makepeace Thackeray, were known for a more straightforward realistic approach, faithfully depicting the manners and morals of the upper middle class to which they both belonged. George Meredith and George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) pioneered psychological realism, which focused less on external realities than on the inner realities of the mind, though still within the context of contemporary social changes.

For Your Outline romanticism

• Romantics influenced early Victorian writers.

• Early Victorian poets focused on “poetic” subjects.

• Readers turned to novels.

realism• Fiction was considered

light entertainment.• Realism captured

everyday life.• Realist writers exposed

social problems and pretensions.

• Psychological realism focused on internal realities.

• Novels were long and often published serially.

These “penny dreadfuls” focused on popular subjects—the adventures of boys at school and of highwaymen on the road.



tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students examine the ideas in Realism in Fiction:

Summarize Why did middle-class Victorian readers enjoy realism? Possible answer: Middle-class Victorian readers enjoyed realism because they liked to read about characters who resembled themselves. Analyze What factors account for the fact that many inferior Victorian novels were published in addition to the great novels of that period? Possible answer: Victorian novels ranged dramatically in quality because the genre was extremely popular, demand for inexpensive entertainment was high, and publishers employed mass production.Synthesize In today’s world, how important is George Eliot’s notion of “the rousing of the nobler emotions” as a motive for writing and reading fiction? Accept reasonable an-swers, such as that today pointing out social injustice is usually not viewed as important in comparison to entertainment and insight.

check understandingAsk students to explain ways that psycho-logical realism differs from earlier forms of realistic fiction.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• pathos, “feelings of sorrow, sympathy,

or pity”• mass production, “the rapid creation of

goods in large amounts, especially in factories”

• thrillers, “works of fiction, often about crime, whose main goal is to excite suspense in the reader”

• social criticism, “writing that tries to persuade readers that certain aspects of society are unjust”

• psychological, “having to do with the mind”• installments, “separate parts of a story,

appearing in different issues of a magazine or newspaper”



Victorian novels were weighty affairs, quite literally—so weighty that they typically had to be divided into three volumes, collectively known as a three-decker novel. Fortunately, readers had the time and the attention spans to appreciate these elaborately constructed fictional worlds, with their complex storylines and leisurely narrative pace. Families often spent the evening reading aloud to each other, laughing at the adventures of Dickens’s Mr. Pickwick and his oddball friends or sighing over Heathcliff and Catherine’s doomed romance in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Many novels were first published in serial form in magazines and newspapers, that is, in monthly installments of several chapters each, meaning that readers might have to wait as long as two years to find out how a novel ended. Dickens was a master of this form. Hordes of fans—not just in England but around the world—rushed to snatch up each new installment of his 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop, especially as the beloved character Little Nell approached her tragic end. In fact, the suspense was so great that passengers aboard a British ship arriving in New York that year were met by crowds of anxious American readers who had not yet received the latest installment. They were shouting from the dock, “Is Little Nell dead?”

A poster from the 1939 film Wuthering Heights


But this I know; the writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master—something that at times strangely wills and works for itself. . . . If the result be attractive, the World will praise you, who little deserve praise; if it be repulsive, the same World will blame you, who almost as little deserve blame.

—Charlotte Brontë



tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to continue discussion of Realism in Fiction:

Restate What was a “three-decker” novel and why were such novels popular in Victo-rian times? Possible answer: Three-decker novels were so long that they had to be divided into three volumes. They were popular in Victorian times because people had the time and attention span to read longer works. Interpret What qualities of Victorians can you deduce from their reading habits? Pos-sible answer: Victorian reading habits suggest qualities such as persistence, imagination, and a sense of humor.Synthesize What events today might evoke responses similar to the public’s response to Dickens’s novels? Possible answer: Events that would generate widespread interest today, as Dickens’s novels once did, include rock concerts, highly publicized movies, or long-awaited novels.

for english language learnersCulture: Clarify Point out to students that the Realism in Fiction section discusses nov-els that were not serious literature as well as novels that were. Use the illustration of book covers on page 920 to help explain terms such as “penny dreadfuls” and “shilling shock-ers.” Explain that pennies and shillings were British coins of small value, representing the cost of these inexpensive works.

for advanced learners/apA Voice from the Times Ask students to respond to the Charlotte Brontë quotation in the context of their reading and their own creative efforts. Invite students to begin with these questions and share their responses:• Is creativity an aspect of the individual that

is not under his or her control? • Do authors and artists deserve credit (or

blame, as applicable) for what their creativity produces?




Victorian ViewpointsVictorians’ love of reading was by no means limited to fiction. The same periodicals that provided them with the most recent novel installment by Trollope, Thackeray, or Dickens also offered articles and essays on every imaginable subject, “from Arctic exploration to pinmaking,” as one scholar put it. Victorians were generalists, curious about all aspects of their changing world, and they read for pleasure the sort of nonfiction that today might appeal only to specialists in a particular academic field. A great deal of this nonfiction was not merely informational but conveyed strong opinions. In carefully worded prose that was at once impassioned and a model of restraint, England’s greatest thinkers clashed over the issues of the day. While some, like Thomas Babington Macaulay, defended the status quo, most found much to criticize in Victorian society—though few went as far as Thomas Carlyle, who in his book Past and Present predicted bloody revolution as the inevitable result of the social breakdown caused by unregulated, profit-driven industry. Whatever their viewpoint, these critics’ authoritative tone must have been reassuring to a readership no longer sure what to think about anything. Could science and religious belief coexist, or would one destroy the other? Did British imperialism benefit both conqueror and conquered, or was it a disastrous mistake? Would the Industrial Revolution prove to be the dawning of a great new age or the end of civilization? Increasingly, the optimism of the early years of the era turned to uneasiness in the face of what Tennyson called “the thoughts that shake mankind.” This uneasiness permeated the literature written during the last years of Victoria’s reign. Poets no longer contemplated life at a romantic distance

For Your Outlinevictorian viewpoints

• Periodicals offered nonfiction articles on all manner of subjects.

• England’s thinkers clashed over issues of the day.

• Uncertainty permeated literature of the late Victorian period.

• Naturalist writers saw the universe as an uncaring force, indifferent to human suffering.

• Readers turned to escapist fare.

(Left) An 1889 edition of Puck, a popular periodical; (right) an 1866 caricature of poet Matthew Arnold titled “Sweetness and Light”

922


tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to help students under-stand the ideas in Victorian Viewpoints:

Interpret What is the significance of these quotations: “from Arctic exploration to pin-making” and “the thoughts that shake man-kind”? Possible answer: The first quotation describes the breadth and depth of Victorian reading interests. The second quotation refers to the uneasiness that Victorians developed as firmly held beliefs and assumptions began to falter.Analyze What was the role of nonfiction in Victorian society? Possible answer: Nonfic-tion provided information and also expressed the opinions of authoritative thinkers con-cerning great issues.Synthesize In what ways is Victorian nonfic-tion different from or similar to contempo-rary nonfiction? Explain. Possible answer: Nonfiction in both eras reflects the efforts of critics and thinkers to grapple with controver-sial topics. Nonfiction today, however, often takes electronic form, as in newsmagazines or Internet sites. Also, Victorian nonfiction read-ers were perhaps more willing to read highly specialized texts than are today’s readers.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• periodicals, “magazines and newspapers”• generalists, “people who know about many

different topics”• specialists, “people who know about one

main topic”• authoritative, “expert”• optimism, “the belief that the world is

basically good”

• drawing-room comedies, “comic plays set in drawing rooms, the living rooms of the wealthy”

• science fiction, “writing that explores unex-pected possibilities of the past or the future, using scientific data and theories of the writer’s imagination”

• pessimism, “the belief that the world is basically bad”

• modernist, “reflecting a literary movement that arose as a response to the social and

intellectual forces shaping the 20th century; experimentalism was a key trait”



but instead expressed their sense of loss and pain at living in a world in which order had been replaced by chaos and confusion. In his poem “Dover Beach,” Matthew Arnold describes a bright “sea of faith” retreating to the edges of the earth, leaving humanity stranded in darkness. Pessimistic themes also permeated the poetry and fiction of Thomas Hardy, who wrote in a new style called naturalism. An offshoot of realism, naturalism saw the universe as an uncaring force, indifferent to human suffering. Naturalist writers packed their novels with the harsh details of industrialized life, unrelieved by humor or a happy ending. Not surprisingly, late Victorian readers began to avoid serious literature, finding it depressingly bleak. Instead, they turned to the adventure tales of Rudyard Kipling, who set his tales in India; the witty drawing-room comedies of Oscar Wilde; the science fiction of H. G. Wells; or the detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, whose Sherlock Holmes was England’s first fictional detective. Along with children’s literature that included Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, such wonderfully written escapist fare rounded out the great diversity of Victorian literary voices. In the end, the pessimism of Hardy and Arnold came the closest to anticipating what lay just around the bend: the catastrophe of World War I. In the next century, modernist writers would pick up the torch from their Victorian predecessors and grapple with issues the Victorians could not have imagined.


Pessimism is, in brief, playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed. Having reckoned what to do in the worst possible circumstances, when better arise, as they may, life becomes child’s play.

—Thomas Hardy

The Victorian period saw a boom in children’s literature, including Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, illustrated in 1911 by N. C. Wyeth.



tiered discussion promptsUse these prompts to continue the discussion of Victorian Viewpoints:

Analyze What two contrasting views of life competed in late Victorian times? Possible answer: Optimism and pessimism were two life views that competed in Victorian times.Evaluate Can escapist literature, such as science fiction, children’s books, or witty comedy, also have serious meaning? Explain. Students may cite examples in these genres of works that have serious meaning, such as the science-fiction novels Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

check understandingIdentify characteristics of these types of Victorian literature: • poetry• the novel• essays

for struggling readersTaking Notes Have students use a Main Idea and Details organizer to list important Victorian viewpoints. Model the process of reading paragraph by paragraph for main ideas, often found in the first or last sentence. Help students locate supporting details for each main idea.

BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT—TransparencyMain Idea and Details p. B6

for advanced learners/apA Voice from the Times Invite students to discuss their responses to the Thomas Hardy quotation. Ask them which outlook on life, optimism or pessimism, they consider wiser and more productive, and why. Encourage students to activate their prior knowledge and experience. Then broaden the discussion to include the whole class.



NA_L12PE-u5-tl.indd 925 12/2/10 10:23:12 AM


Connecting Literature, History, and CultureUse this timeline and the questions on the next page to gain insight intodevelopments during this period, both in Britain and in the world as a whole.

tab year tab year tab yearworld culture and events

tab year tab year tab yearamerican literary milestones

1846 Poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett elope and move to Italy.

1847 Charlotte Brontë publishes Jane Eyre; sister Emily publishes Wuthering Heights.

1850 Elizabeth Barrett Browning publishes love poems Sonnets from the Portuguese.

1860 Dickens publishes first magazine installment of Great Expectations.

1861 George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans) publishes Silas Marner.

1865 Gerard Manley Hopkins enters Jesuit religious order and stops writing poetry.

1833 Alfred, Lord Tennyson, begins writing his long poem InMemoriam.

1843 Charles Dickens publishes his short novel A Christmas Carol.

1830 1845 1860british literary milestones

1845 The Irish potato famine begins, eventually killing more than a million people (to 1851).

1854 The Crimean War—in which Britain, Turkey, France, and Austria fight Russia—begins.

1859 Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.

1861 Prince Albert dies.1867 Reform Bill doubles

the number of voters by including working-class men.

1870 Local governments establish public schools; the Married Women’s Act gives women economic rights.

1833 Factory Act bans factory work for children under nine; slavery is abolished in British Empire.

1837 William IV dies and is succeeded by 18-year-old niece Victoria, ushering in Britain’s age of greatest prosperity.

1842 The Opium War with China is settled, with Britain claiming Hong Kong.

historical context18601830 1845

1839 American Charles Goodyear invents process for making rubber strong and elastic.

1844 Samuel F. B. Morse sends the first long-distance telegraph message.

1848 Ethnic uprisings erupt throughout Europe; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish Communist Manifesto.

1851 Widespread hunger and corruption lead to China’s Taiping Rebellion (to 1864).

1853 U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry sails four ships into Tokyo harbor, ending Japan’s self-imposed isolation.

1861 Civil War erupts in the United States (to 1865); Alexander II frees serfs in Russia.

1869 The Suez Canal opens.1874 Alexander Graham Bell

develops the telephone.

1830 1845 1860world culture and events

NA_L12PE-u5-tl.indd 924 12/2/10 10:23:09 AMdifferentiated instruction

RI 7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different formats as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Connecting Literature, History, and Culture

read a timelineExplain that each of the three horizontal sections of the timeline—British Literary Milestones, Historical Context, and World Culture and Events—displays a sequence of events that occurred between 1830 and 1901. By looking at the vertical columns on the timeline, students can see which events were taking place at about the same time. For example, have students locate these events, which occurred between 1833 and 1840:• 1833 The poet Tennyson begins writing

In Memoriam. (See British Literary Milestones.)

• 1837 A young woman named Victo-ria becomes Queen of England. (See Historical Context.)

• 1839 An American named Charles Good-year invents a new way of processing rubber. (See World Culture and Events.)

Ask students to identify events that oc-curred between 1845 and 1847. Answers: The Irish potato famine began in 1845. Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett eloped in 1846. Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre and her sister Emily published Wuthering Heights in 1847.

R E A D I N G S K I L L

for struggling readersUnderstanding a Timeline Explain that the timeline runs chronologically (in time order) from left to right across the page. Each of the six columns represents a period of fifteen years or less between 1830 and 1901. The three parallel rows of the timeline represent events occurring simultaneously in Britain and the world. By comparing the three rows, readers can better understand what events in literature, history, and culture were taking place at about the same time.

RI 7



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making connections• Which invention of the time do you think most changed people’s lives?• What events show Britain’s commitment to imperialism?• What evidence do you see of social progress and reform in Great Britain

and elsewhere?• What contributions did women make to British literature of the period?

tab year tab year tab year

tab year tab year tab year1891 Thomas Hardy publishes Tess

of the D’Urbervilles; Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray shocks Victorian England with its theme of the corruption of wealth.

1895 H. G. Wells publishes the landmark science fiction novel The Time Machine.

1896 Reaction to Thomas Hardy’s novel Jude the Obscure is so negative that thereafter he writes only poetry.

1875 1890 19001900 Oxford Book of English Verse

is first published.1901 Rudyard Kipling publishes

his novel Kim, detailing life in India.

1875 Hopkins resumes writing.1883 Robert Louis Stevenson

publishes adventure novel Treasure Island.

1887 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle publishes A Study in Scarlet, introducing detective Sherlock Holmes.

1876 Disraeli secures the title “Empress of India” for Victoria; collective bargaining by trade unions is legalized.

1879 Ireland presses for home rule.1884 Reform Bill gives vote to

almost all adult males.

1897 British-Sudanese War begins.1899 The Boer War against Dutch

South African settlers begins (to 1902).

1900 Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.

1901 Britain establishes the Commonwealth of Australia; Queen Victoria dies after nearly 64 years of rule.

1875 1890 1900

1876 Korea becomes an independent nation.

1879 Thomas Edison invents the first light bulb.

1884 The BerlinConference of14 European nations setsrules for dividing Africa into colonies.

1893 Henry Ford develops gasoline-powered automobile; New Zealand becomes the first country to grant women suffrage.

1895 Italian Guglielmo Marconi invents the first radio.

1896 The first modern Olympic Games are held in Athens, Greece.

1875 1890 19001900 Austrian psychiatrist

Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams; in China, the Boxer Rebellion against foreign influence breaks out.

1901 Theodore Roosevelt becomes president of the United States after William McKinley is assassinated.

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RI 7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different formats as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

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making connectionsPossible answers:• Inventions of the period include the telegraph,

the telephone, the light bulb, the radio, and the automobile. Students should give a reason for their choice of the invention that most changed people’s lives.

• Imperialism involved Britain in wars while creating trade connections around the world. In writing, Kipling’s Kim was a result of imperialism.

• Evidence of social progress and reform includes the Factory Act (1833), the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in the same year, the Reform Bill (1867), the establishment of local schools (1870), the Married Women’s Act (1870), the legalization of collective bargaining (1876), and the Second Reform Bill (1884).

• Contributions to British literature of the period by women included poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and novels by the Brontë sisters and George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans).

additional questions 1. How many years after the abolition of

slavery in the British Empire did Alexander II free the serfs in Russia? Answer: 28

2. Eleven years after Britain claimed Hong Kong, an American naval officer made a historic journey to another Asian nation. What nation was it, who was the officer, and what was the significance of the event? Answer: Matthew Perry’s journey to Japan ended that nation’s self-imposed isolation.

for advanced learners/apMaking Additional Connections Ask students to choose one of the six time periods shown in the timeline and use online sources, encyclo-pedias, or history texts to learn about other events that took place during that same inter-val. Challenge students to identify events for each category: British Literary Milestones, Historical Context, and World Culture and Events. Have students prepare and present brief oral reports, summarizing significant

events and discussing their connection to events shown in the timeline or discussed in class.

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Remnants of an EmpireThe British Empire was the most extensive empire in world history. At the height of its power, it held sway over a quarter of the earth’s people and land. Though it has since crumbled, the empire’s infl uence remains strong. All over the world, British-style legal and governmental systems, economic practices, sports, and fashions—even the English language itself—are evidence of England’s far-fl ung reach.

RESEARCH Choose one country in the Commonwealth of Nations (an association of 54 former British territories) and fi nd out what aspects of British culture remain in that country today. Report your fi ndings to the class, using visual aids to enhance your presentation.

The Legacy of the Era

The former British colony of Hong Kong continued its common law system after reverting to Chinese rule in 1997. Shown here are Supreme Court judges in 2002.

W 1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts. W 7 Conduct short research projects. SL 5 Make strategic use of digital media in presentations.

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W 1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts. W 7 Conduct short research projects. SL 5 Make strategic use of digital media in presentations.

Remnants of an EmpireHave students read the paragraph. (You might also want to have students review the section on British imperialism on page 918 of the historical essay.) Point out that the influence of Britain remains strong in the United States even though this country is not part of the Commonwealth of Nations and has not been officially tied to Britain for more than 200 years. For example, this textbook is written in English. Ask students for other examples of ways in which British culture still influences the United States. Possible answer: British customs, holidays, and religions are still observed in the United States.RESEARCH To help students explore the Com-monwealth of Nations and choose a member nation, suggest that they begin at the Com-monwealth Web site. A sidebar on the right side of the home page leads to country profiles of each of the 53 member nations—from An-tigua and Barbuda to Zambia. Invite students to share knowledge of these countries; then, suggest that they choose a country for further study. Tell students to study their country’s profile and use its links to learn about history, geography, society, economy, constitution, and politics. Urge students to consult encyclopedia articles and guidebooks about their chosen countries. Have students work in pairs or groups to brainstorm possible visual aids, such as photographs of British-influenced activi-ties, charts of social or economic statistics, or diagrams of governmental structures.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• remnants, “items that are left over”• extensive, “large in area”• sway, “power”• far-flung, “distant”

for advanced learners/apCompare and Contrast [small-group option] Have students form groups and discuss their own cultural or ethnic heritages. Ask groups to explore ways that each culture may have experienced British influences. Have groups organize their findings in charts, and present these to the class along with ideas about the extent to which Americans are influenced by British culture.



legacy 927

Made by HandMass production is even more the norm today than it was in Victorian times. Despite the profusion of factory-produced goods, however, many people have come to appreciate handmade items, from quilts to furniture to cookies. These modern consumers value the same qualities once touted by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement: fi ne craftsmanship that combines usefulness and aesthetic appeal with the personal touch.

DISCUSS Bring in something handmade by you or someone else and share it with the class. How is it different from a similar mass-produced item? Discuss the value of handmade items versus the value of inexpensive and accessible goods.

Truly DickensianThe next time you hear someone referred to as a Scrooge, or a bleak situation described as Dickensian, you will know who to thank—Dickens himself. The infl uence of Dickens is widespread in today’s world. There are Dickens societies and Dickens book clubs, Dickens museums and Dickens festivals, Dickens satires and even a Dickens theme park! In addition, there have been countless stage, fi lm, and television versions of Dickens’s works, including A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol (even Disney gave us Scrooge McDuck).

CREATE As a class, create a multimedia Dickens center to showcase Dickens’s legacy. Include a variety of texts, visuals, fi lm clips, and memorabilia related to Dickens in today’s world.

Glass blower at work

A scene from the 2005film Oliver Twist, directed by Roman Polanski

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Made by HandRemind students that in Victorian times, some people were concerned about the decline of handmade crafts. Suggest that students reread the sections on progress and its downside on page 916 of the historical essay, and the sidebar section on the Arts and Crafts movement on page 919. Then, ask students whether hand-made items are preferable to manufactured ones. Have students give examples to support their views.DISCUSS Ask students to compare and con-trast a handmade item with its manufactured equivalent, using these criteria: • appearance• usefulness• monetary value• emotional value

Truly DickensianTo ensure that students are familiar with Charles Dickens, offer a brief explanation or summarize an encyclopedia article. Background information on Dickens and his novels appears on pages 1010–1011. In addition, refer students to the section on realistic novels on pages 920–921 of the historical essay, where Dickens is discussed. Ask students for their responses to Dickens works they have read or viewed, either in adaptation or in original forms. CREATE An online search for the name “Charles Dickens” will yield a staggering array of resources, including societies and museums devoted to Dickens. Guide students in narrow-ing the focus of their search to specific types of artifacts.

for struggling readersVocabulary Support• norm, “what is typical”• craftsmanship, “skilled work in making

something”• aesthetic, “having to do with beauty”• accessible, “easy to get”• memorabilia, “items that evoke memories”

for advanced learners/apResearch Fun Facts Have students search a Dickens biography or Web site for interesting, offbeat facts about the writer. Invite stu-dents to share these with the class, and then add them as text, with or without illustrations, to the class’s multimedia Dickens center.

legacy 927


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