XIV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2022

INTRODUCTION

The years of Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901) are considered to be among the most brilliant in British history. The early Victorian period is often referred to as the «Romantic period». This is due to the Victorians' romanticization of nature. The romanticization was based on the philosophical ideas prevalent at the time and thanks to various cultural figures.

Victorianism is usually associated with stability and prosperity, the sanctity of tradition. This was exemplified by Queen Victoria herself, whose marriage to Prince Albert was a very happy one. Particular importance was attached to the home, which at that time was supposed to reflect not only the family's prosperity, but also ideas of peace and happiness in the family.

Despite the vast changes, the Victorian period did not shake the confidence and optimism of the nation. The British believed that they could and should retain their status as a leading world power. This led to widespread cultural development.

Prominent Victorian writers include Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, the Bronte sisters, Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling and Oscar Wilde; poets include Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold; painters include the Pre-Raphaelites.

This is evidenced by the emergence of new concert organizations of broader social significance. These include concerts at the «Crystal Palace», «the Popular Concerts» at «St James Hall» and symphony concerts under the direction of the major pianist and conductor and organizer of his own orchestra, Charles Halle.

Prominent Victorian artists include Joseph Mallord William Turner, «The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood».

Prominent Victorian scientists include James Clarke Maxwell, John Dalton, Charles Darwin, Ernest Heckel.

1. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VICTORIAN PERIOD

Queen Victoria's reign is often described as a golden age in English history: trade flourished, industry expanded, towns grew dramatically, and the British Empire expanded its holdings around the world.

There were also serious problems. Because of the large number of people, the cities were noisy and dirty. Many people became poor. Over time, laws were made to support the disadvantaged in Britain.

There was also the growth of the army. In 1832, there were 21,000 men in the army and by 1880 year, there were 50,000 men in the civil service.

In view of these changes, the English culture was greatly changing and developing.

2. LITERATURE

English literature showed the world many realist writers. In their works, they showed a picture of social life, the situation of the working class in the country. Almost all authors have elements of moralizing and sentimentality. They became one of the characteristics of nineteenth-century English literature.

Famous and influential writers of the time include Charles Dickens (1812-1870), William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), the sisters Charlotte (1816-1855), Emily (1818-1848) and Anne (1820-1849) Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865).

The novelist Charles Dickens began to gain popularity already after his first book «The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick's Club» (1836-1837). His humor, vital characters and critical observation (Dickens experienced the social injustice that characterized the nineteenth century) ensured that he had a huge readership in Britain and the United States. Dickens' fame was also greatly aided by his journalistic and lecturing activities. Famous books by Charles Dickens are «The Cold House» (1852-1853), «Oliver Twist» (1837-1839), and «A Store of Antiquities» (1841).

The famous work of William Maykpis Thackeray is «Vanity Fair» (1846-1848). In it, the author describes the life of the ruling classes. Thackeray divides all of his characters into two categories - the deceived and the deluded. As an artist, he strives for a strict psychological truth, avoiding the grotesque and exaggeration typical of Dickens.

The Bronte sisters wrote their novels in the home of a parish priest. Charlotte best knows book is «Jane Eyre», and Emily wrote «Wuthering Heights».

«Jane Eyre» describes the life of a young girl who strives for the good life. Bronte portrays her brave, proud character, her desire to stand up for her independence and her defiance of prevailing morality and bourgeois selfishness.

Elizabeth Gaskell was interested in the life of the proletariat and dedicated her novel «Mary Baroton» (1848) to it. Gaskell describes strong images of the proletarians and recounts the Chartist movement. Way out of the contradictions of bourgeois society the writer sees in Christian socialism, in the reconciliation of the classes.

3. MUSIC

In the mid-nineteenth century in the music of England begins to rise. More active concert organizations enriched the opera repertoire; music journalism is developing. All this heralded the arrival of a new period, which British historians have described as a period of musical revival.

This is evidenced by the emergence of new concert organizations of broader social significance. These include concerts at the «Crystal Palace», managed by the conductor Augustus Mann and the musicologist George Grove, «the Popular Concerts» at «St James Hall» and symphony concerts under the direction of the major pianist and conductor and organizer of his own orchestra, Charles Halle (1819-1895). These concert societies gave English audiences the opportunity to experience new works of symphonic and chamber music.

4. PAINTING

The heyday of English painting began in the mid-eighteenth century. It did not last long in the nineteenth century - only the first third. At this time, the general nature of painting in England changed considerably. The art of portraiture was replaced by the development of landscape painting.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1755-1851) became famous as a «historical» painter, as his large landscapes filled with contrasts of light and color were usually accompanied by some kind of mythological or historical scene. His best-known works include «The Garden of Hesperiod», «Dido the Builder of Carthage», «Apuleius' Daughter in Search of Her Father», and «Arrival at the Port of Reisdal».

«The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood» was a significant phenomenon in the visual arts of the period. It included Holman Hunt (1827-1910), John Everett Mill (1829-1896), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1834-1896) and William Morris (1834-1896). The artists of this trend ignored modern reality, industrialization and technological progress. They promoted the idea of a return to the aesthetic norms of the early Renaissance (from Raphael). The Pre-Raphaelites expressed this through an extremely realistic style of landscape painting. They painted with photographic precision, using clean, bright colors and great attention to detail.

The artistic scene in England in the early decades, called the «Victorian period» was characterized by conservatism of artistic aims, tastes and opinions, timidity and limited creativity of the artist.

The main direction of the search of the Victorian art thought was directed not to clarify the real nature and patterns of development of certain artistic phenomena of the past and the present, but to search for examples of romantic and academic direction of Victorian art.

5. SCIENCE

A major achievement of nineteenth-century physics was the electromagnetic theory of light proposed by the English scientist James Clarke Maxwell (1831-1879) (1865). The mathematical expression of the new doctrine was a system of equations equally applicable to both electromagnetic and optical phenomena and describing the structure of the electromagnetic field.

The atomistic theory of matter structure was widely developed in the works of the English scientist John Dalton (1766-1844).

The English scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) proved that the entire limited world of today is the result of a process of evolution over many millions of years. Darwin's major work, «The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection», was published in 1859. Darwin established the basic regularities of the development of animal and plant life. He discovered the natural causes, the so-called organic expediency.

Darwinism was further developed in the works of advanced naturalists. The German scientist Ernest Heckel (1834-1919) and Fritz Müller, who worked in Brazil, formulated the biogenetic law.

CONCLUSION

England during Victoria's reign could see impressive progress in both culture and science, as well as in society. This shows Victoria as a talented and dedicated ruler. Literature, the visual arts and theatre were all on an unprecedented upswing.

The queen's attention was directed not only to the upper classes but also to the peasants. The Victorian period became a symbol of prosperity for the nation as a whole. Still remembered to this day, Victoria's name is mentioned every time some of the brightest monarchs are spoken of.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. N.A. Smirnov, N.A. Erofeev, A.R. Ionnisyan, A.S. Nifontov. «World History» volume VI. - Moscow - 1959.

2. Daniel Christopher. «England. A History of the Country». - St. Petersburg - 2007.

3. K.O. Morgan. «The History of Great Britain». - Moscow - 2008.

4. B.R.Vipper, T.N.Livanov. «History of European Art History Second Half of XIX Century». - Moscow - 1966.

5. http://20v-euro-lit.niv.ru/20v-euro-lit/ivl-rubezh-xix-i-hh-vekov/index.htm

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