ENGLISH NOTES

24/11/2020
After queen Anne there was a German king; not a British king, because queen Anne didn’t have any
direct protestant heir. A new political figure emerged and this is very important, still nowadays. It is
the Prime Minister; he was given a house (number 10 Dowing Street London, current prime minister).
The next Prime Minister was William Pete, he gave great importance to oversea trade. Britain
obtained new colonies (North America, India, Caribbean) (India included Pakistan and Bangladesh).
This minister had to face a rebellion, the Jacobite rebellion; this happened because the house of Stuart
tried to conquer the crown of England.
CULTURAL CONTEST OF THE AUGUSTAN AGE
This period is called the Augustan age, because of the flourishing period which developed under the
reign of the emperor Augustus. In this period new classicism became a style of life, reflected in
architecture, painting, sculptures, gardening… Influences from Andrea Palladio, born in Padua in the
16th century. His family then moved to Vicenza. In British art there is harmony and everything is
balanced. People opposed superstition; intellectual emancipation became a synonym of political
emancipation. People could get free from being subjugated.
The word enlightment derives from the german (the word in this language is female). This is an
european movement. The rules of this movement date back to the rationalistic spirit of the 17 th
century, with Newton and Locke. The symbol of french enlightment is considered Diderot; he wrote
the encyclopedia, where you can read about facts. This book rapresents the period with the intellectual
emancipation. Then the movement spread in all the european countries. Another ideal is equality
among peolple. Every human being has got a reason so we are all equal. It inspires the French
revolution.
This period is marked by great changes. The new cultural centres became the coffee houses. Before
the courts were the cultural centres, with the patrons, who supported the arts. All men, businessmen,
merchants went there, to read newspapers. Coffee houses didn’t originate in Europe, but the first
houses appeared in Saudi Arabia in the 15th century, then imported in Europe by trades. The first
coffee house opened in Venice (the Florian, first coffee house in Europe).
Another important change is the professional writing. Patronage ended because this period I marked
by the rise of a new social class, the middle class. They were important in the economy. Writers wrote
for theme and they tried to reach their tastes. Few people could afford books, because they were very
expensive. The reading public grew, thanks to the libraries. More women could read, especially
upper-class women, because they had more spare time and more money for their education.
This period is marked by the booming of the journalism, in fact there was the desire to be updated.
Newspaper were different from ours, you could read also about things about education. They could
learn how to behave in public, how to talk, how to write letters and invitation, and which books to
buy. Topic were presented in a clear style, easy to be understood, since the public wasn’t well
educated. Periodicals were very important in this type of journal. Women’ problems were discussed
here. Women could write letters to the periodicals in order to be heard. The middle class is gaining
importance in politics.
THE RISE OF THE NOVEL
the factors that bring about the rise of the novel:

 growth of the reading public (women and middle class); the new reading class needs more
realism. Unlike previous fictions, novels deal with the reality and objects of everyday life.
 The main features of the novel are the importance of the setting (all the characters are named and
surnamed; this increases the reality of the book). Plot are written in a simple way. The setting was
very important, it has to improve the realism of the novel. There are references to the country, to
the streets, to the towns. Defoe was seriously concerned with the space. In Robison Crusoe he
gave name to the seas, to the ships…
Time too increased the realism. Events are told in a chronological sequence. There was a more
awareness of time. Time was not considered as an immortal eternity. Time is made up of days,
minutes… there are references to the seasons, to a particular time of the year. (Samuel Richardson
and Pamela).
The real protagonist is the middle- class man; he’s a self -made man and a self- reliant man. The
reader should sympathize with this protagonist. The main themes are those which are related to
the middle-class. One thing is travelling; another one is the struggle for survival. Also struggle for
social success (Defoe Moll Flanders); sense of reward and punishment.
The language reflects the realistic trend. It is plane (simple and direct); language is quite similar
to the language of the newspaper and magazines. The rise of the novel generated the subgenres:
- Utopian fictions (Gulliver’s travels). This type of book is related to the Renaissance and to
Thomas Moore. The realism lays in the way the novel is written
- Epistolary novel (Pamela, Richardson, Virtue rewarded). It is based on an exchange od
letters. Richardson gave psychological analysis of the characters.
- Picaresque novel (The history of Tom Jones, the story of a young boy, who’s a founding)
- The sentimental novel (A sentimental journey, by Laurence Stern. He wrote another book,
which is the forerunner of type of novel, like Joyce and Virginia Wolf).
The father of the English literature, in the novel field, is Daniel Defoe. Afra Behn lived in the
17th century. She is regarded as one of the earliest English novelists. She had been discovered by
Virginia Wolf. Mrs. Behn wrote “Oroonoko”, a story about a slave. This novel is not expressly
anti-slavery, but it was unusual to write a story with a non-white protagonist.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
The novel came out in the 18th century. It is fictious true story, but in reality, it is a fictional novel.
The story of a young English man is told in a retrospective first person narrator. Robinson against the
wish of his family decides to travel around the world. One day he becomes the owner of a plantation.
He goes to Africa to buy slaves, but he is shipwrecked in a desert island. The rest of the crew died but
he survives. Defoe drew inspiration from contemporary travel narratives, especially from the story of
a real man. Selkirk was a Scottish man but, during one of his voyage, he had an argument with the
chief of the ship and he was left ashore in an island near to Chile.
The novel is introduced as a real story, presenting real facts. It is also presented as a real example of
faith, so how men can surpass pain and obstacles through God’s providence.
Some economics have studied the novel and they see individualism, capitalism. Crusoe is a trader and
he’s a self-made man. The critics are against the treatment of the native Americans, as it described in
the book.
A large section of the novel is devoted to Crusoe’s diary. He describes his daily routine, his
difficulties in getting food and he says how he started to read the bible. A part of the novel is in form
of the diary.
Slavery and colonialism are key settings of the novel. Crusoe in fact has got a plantation and he wants
to buy slaves to work on his property.
In this island where there is Crouse, a group of native cannibals arrive now and then. Crusoe decides
to attack theme, when they were approaching the beach to murder their prisoners and eat theme. He
can free one of the prisoners, called Friday. Although the good behaviour, Crusoe still thinks he’s
superior, he teaches him his language and his religion. The middle class is the public of this novel, so
Defoe had to adapt himself to their beliefs.
After 27 years Robins Crusoe turns home. He continues to work hard as a colonial trader. When
Robinson Crusoe went out, it was a complete success, so Defoe published a sequel.
12/01/2021
Robinson’s father considers the middle class the best state, since the poor people live in a terrible
condition, but the upper-class men have ambition. He’s a self-made man; he left his comfortable live
to go and search an alternative model. He’s characterized by ratelessness. Robinson Crusoe can be
read as a religious autobiography. At the first beginning, the protagonist refused God but then
happened the conversion. He realises that he had been saved by God; he expresses the puritan
conviction in having God on his side. He fully expresses the puritan spirit. The island stands for the
ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities (the abilities of a middle-class man). He creates here a
micro empire, made up of only two men. Here, he’s the colonizer and Friday the colonized. More over
Robinson stays in the island where he can dominate Nature; he tries his best to survive.
The society he creates on the island isn’t an alternative of the English society, but it’s the expression
of it; it is characterized by individualism, mobility, and productiveness. Robinson Crusoe embodies
the rationalistic spirit of the English society of the 18 th century.
The novel is a fictious autobiography. He chooses this type to give realism to narration. He uses clear
and precise detail. The geographic description helps the reader to create in his mind the location. The
time description is detailed too. In one part of the novel, Robinson Crusoe writes a diary and in it we
can see the dates. The language is simple, basic, practical. The style is influenced by the language he
used in the newspaper; we must consider the fact that this novel was addressed to the new reading
public of the time: the middle-class. These people weren’t well educated so Defoe couldn’t use a
magnificent style, as the one chosen by Milton. Joyce said that Defoe started the modern English
literature.
MOLL FLANDERS fictious autobiography
The protagonist of this novel is a woman; the setting isn’t a desert island but an urban setting. This
novel is important since it gives us information about society of that period, the common problems
and the difficulties. Moll Flanders shares some similarities with Crusoe, for example she has to
survive and to face difficulties; then the fact that she’s a plantation owner. They both work hard in
order to improve their conditions. The novel also shows the problems of a woman, not a noble one but
a poor one.
19/01/2021
The setting of the novel is an urban setting; it is set in London, but also in the English country. This
novel is very important since the author offers us a picture of the customs of the time; it depicts the
society (women couldn’t earn their own living, so they had to get married in order to live a
respectable life). Moll Flanders became a widow, at the age of 43. So, she started to work as a
prostitute and then she began to steal. There’s another problem of the society of the time: unwanted
children. She couldn’t raise theme up and she gave theme to country families. Most of theme died
because they weren’t paid attention. Moll Flanders goes to the major of the city, but she is seduced by
his son, so she had to leave. Child mortality in that period was very high. The novel gives us the
social contest of the time.
There’s an economic base which the two novels share: Crusoe wants to make money by trading, and
Molls’ actions are driven by an economic improvement. Their actions are also led by logical
sequences (Robinson Crusoe has a logical organisation); Moll is Robinson’s counterpart. She comes
from the middle class, as Robinson. Moll overcomes the difficulties of her life; she embodies the
values of the middle-class women: keeping up appearances.
26/01/2021
The narration is in first person singular. It is retrospective, since the protagonist tells her story when
she’s old, when she’s the owner of a plantation. The author uses some to make the novel more
realistic (details which describes streets, bills…). The description of the objects is really important,
since it describes a feature of Moll Flanders’s behaviour, which tends to value things. The style is
simple and direct; the reading public mainly made up of middle-class people, who were not highly
educated. Defoe did not have a patron, so he must ear by the selling of his novels (this was true for the
artists in general).
09/02/2021
Gulliver’s travels are considered a novel for children, a very simple possible chance of reading; then
there’s the political reading, since it criticizes the society. The novel was originally published
anonymously, due to the references to the political corruption.
There are other examples of voyage literature in Europe, but his one seems more a parody of this
genre. Swift’s book can be considered as a masterpiece of misanthropy. The novel is an anticipation
of the modern fantasy book.
23/02/2021 SALMAN RUSHDIE
People travel in order to conquer new lands. Nowadays people emigrate from their State for political
reasons, in order to change their life condition. Travelling has some benefits to our body: it reduces
stress, and other things. It also affects the psychology and the cognitive side of your person.
The writer comes from India, he was educated in England, he got a degree in Cambridge in History.
In 1964 his family had to leave India and to move in Pakistan, due to the war (his family is Muslim).
He works as an advertiser, his international fame came with the publication of this first novel,
Midnight children (1981). This novel is referred to those Indian children who were born in the night
when India got its independence. These children are supposed to have special powers. He won the
booker prize for this novel. Then he publishes the Satanic Verses, allegorical novel. They were
considered sacrilegious in Muslim countries. There was a FATWA against him, so sentenced to death.
He had to hide from theme. He wrote in this period an allegory against censorship. He is living in
England.
9/03/2021
Pamela was the first best-seller of the English literature. It was a great success; its publication was
followed by a lot of discussions, debates and letters in newspapers. It was a success not only in
England but also in Europe (the novel was translated in several languages). Goldoni wrote a play with
the character of Pamela. Then Richardson wrote another novel, called Clarissa. It tells the story of a
woman. The write publishes another novel, Sir Charles Grandison, where he portraits the ideal man.
Pamela has got a simple plot. It’s the story of a maid servant, who belongs to the low middle class.
She works in the house of an aristocratic woman, miss B. We know only the initial letter of their
name. She’s an innocent girl. Miss B loves her and she taches her how to read and how to write. This
woman dies and her son offers her to remain in the house. The son seduced her and Pamela refuses
him, since she wants to keep her virtue. The man doesn’t expect to be refused, since he’s rich and
privileged. She doesn’t accept his advances. Mister B pretends to accept her wish to go back to her
family. He decides not to take her back to her family house, but he takes her to his house in the
countryside. In the end Mister B realizes he’s really in love with this woman. He asks her to marry
him, and so Pamela accepts his proposal. This is the union of two social classes. Pamela would be a
good wife and Mister B would become less arrogant. This novel is written as an exchange of letters,
written by Pamela. She writes these letters to her family, and she describes the events and her
emotions. This novel celebrates the middle class. This period was characterized by the rising of this
social class. The union of Pamela and Mister B was a thing that really happens.
Pamela refuses the social barrier in the name of religion. Everyone is equal before God. Her thought is
equally important to the one of a prince. This novel celebrates the blending of the two social classes.
Pamela is written in the form of an epistolary novel. The fist advantage is the sense of immediacy.
The letters are written soon after an event has happened. This technique gives a sense of suspense,
since the development of the action is sometimes stopped, in order to give information and
descriptions. Richardson can be considered the forerunner of the psychological novel. The events are
told by the point of view of the character’s mind. Pamela has spoken her mind.
Richardson reaches also verisimilitude thanks to this way of write. Another advantage of the
epistolary technique is that it offers different points of view; the same episode can be seen by different
perspectives.
Richardson ’aim was to promote virtue. The novel is a modern variant of the Cinderella story.
The realism is the light motif of the English literature of this period. What gives the impression of
realism in this novel? Pamela clearly expresses her thoughts; the letters are written at the moment.
Mister B identity is not revealed, since the author doesn’t want to hurt the name of this aristocratic
family. The situation described was very common at the time (maid seduced by her master). The
language is adapted to the character.
THE ROMANTIC AGE the historical content
It covers the period from 1776 to 1837. It is called the period of revolution, due to the American
Revolution, the French Revolution and the industrial and agriculture revolution. The society grew up
differently in this period. The American Revolution started when the British king imposed heavy
taxes t the colonies, since he wanted to cover the costs of the Seven Years War with France. The
American colonies rebelled against Britain, and one of the main events which happened in this period
is the Boston Tea Party. This episode started the rebellion against the mother country. Nowadays in
Boston there is a small museum which remembers the fact. The colonies imposed an embargo
(dazi)on British goods, since they couldn’t trade freely. They could trade only with England and
Scotland. Moreover, the colonies complained that they didn’t have any representatives in the British
Parliament. Since they didn’t have representatives Britain wasn’t allowed to put taxes. The war started
in 1775. George Washington was given the military command of the 13 colonies and he would
become the first President of the United States. The colonies won the war against the mother country,
also because they were helped by Spain and France, and so on July 4 th the colonies signed the
Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson wrote this document. Philadelphia, at
the time, was the capital of the United States. The liberty bell is kept in Philadelphia, and it’s very
important in the American history, since it symbolizes freedom. American people are very proud of it.
The bell embodies the symbol of freedom all over the world (freedom from slavery). Embodies the
legacy of the American revolution. After the revolution, America has become the symbol of restart.
Philadelphia was at the centre of the political debate of the time. George the third didn’t accept the
demands of the colonies, so the bell rung. Patriots removed the bell for the public, so the British army
couldn’t destroy it. It is believed that the first American flag was made in phildadlfia by a woman
called Besty Ross. There’s a tiny house in Philadelphia where it is tough she sew the flag. In 1783
there was the Treaty of Versailles, but after that Britain started to expand its territories in Canada and
in India.
Another revolution worth mentioning is the French Revolution, with the establishment of the republic.
This revolution was felt as a great shock by the British Empire who condemned the force. 1793 to
1815 Britain became the leader in the war against Napoleon. For example, we can mention the
victories in Trafalgar (in London there’s the Trafalgar Square, where we see a huge statue of the
commander). Another important victory obtained by the British Army was the one fought in Waterloo
(led by the duke of Wellington). The congress of Vienna restored the monarchy.
The next revolution is the industrial and agricultural revolution. Between the end of the 18 th century
and the beginning of the 19th century England changed. Scientific thinking helped this change. There
were profound changes in farming, so the lands could produce more. Some parts of lands were
enclosed so lands were no longer free. Nobles from the countryside had to leave because they couldn’t
afford the prices of the lands. New energy sources: cold (carbone). The iron industry developed and it
was possible to build new tools and machines, that were more resistant and efficient. The symbol of
the revolution, was the steam engine, applied in transport and in industries. The great change in
industry caused innovations in transport, in fact in the beginning of the 19 th railway net developed.
Britain was the only country in the world to have a railway net which covered the entire country. In
this period people started building canals and roads, in order to carry raw materials to the industries
and then the finished products to the markets. The industrial revolution transformed the society, with
the creation of a new modern working class. This period was characterized by the shifting of the rural
population to the urban population. Farmers were employed in the industries. Towns and cities
became larger and also the area where the workers lived. These workers lived in crowded areas in
really miserable conditions. There were no sanitations, so a high rate of death. The living condition
was critical for the workers. This period saw the affirmation of new ideologies. Liberalism was
supported by the middle-class (free market). the conditions of workers were bad, so they started to
organize in order to have better lives. These workers didn’t have the right to vote. Workers were not
only men, but also women and children. They were requested since they were paid less than men.
Children were used especially in mines, since they could reach the small parts. Luddite riots were
called after Ned Lud who broke a machine which was doing his job. These protests were peaceful, but
the reaction of the government was very harsh and it ended up in a massacre called Paterloo
Massacre.
Talk about the causes of the American revolution, the impact of the French revolution had on Britain
and talk about the consequences of the industrial revolution (text about 200 words)
21/04/2021
CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE ROMANTIC AGE romanticism was an artistic, intellectual
movement, which reacted against the conventional forms and attitude. There was a reaction against
the age of reason. Which are the tendencies which anticipated the romanticism? In the second half of
the 1770s there was a movement which anticipated the romanticism, called STURM UND DRANG
(tempest ed impeto). In literature this movement started in Germany (Goethe, Schiller and Herder).
They wanted a return to nature, which was similar to the Rousseau’s idea. Men live in harmony with
nature, happily. Another thing they borrow from the French man is childhood, since it’s unspoiled.
Children are closer to God than adults. Blake expressed the idea of childhood. Another pre-romantic
idea is the idea of the sublime in opposition of the classical idea of the beautiful. The classical idea of
beauty is an expression of harmony, regularity in form, whereas the sublimity expressed irregularity,
fear, terror. Sublime is obscurity and loneliness. The feelings that the novel conveys are fear and
terror. (Turner, the great fall of the Riechenbach, humans and animals can do nothing against Nature.
The upright format emphasizes the power of nature). The GOTHIC NOVEL EXPRESSES a new
sensibility, a taste for mystery and fear of triumph of caos over order. It’s in opposition to the novels
of the previous generation. This novel is an expression of the disillusionment of the enlighten.
Monster express the anxiety of the society of that time. The changes the society had to face in this
time are often violent (think about the French revolution). This interest in the Gothic novel involved
all the social classes. Working class did not have the same rights as the other classes. People were
aware of the differences and the inequalities of that time. The gothic novel is a sort of denounce of the
society. The setting of the gothic novels are ancient castles, dungeons (underground prison), convents
(the monster of Frankenstein moves at night). The protagonists feel isolated. Another common feature
is that there is the outcast who wanders the Earth like in exile. The first gothic novel was THE
CASTLE OF OTRANTO (it was the first use of the adjective gothic; Walpole referred to something
barbaric). Other important gothic novels are The mystery of Adolfo, The monk.
QUESTIONS ABOUT FRANKESTEIN (Frankenstein and Prometheus are both overreaches)
-which are the gothic elements Frankenstein lacks?
No goths, no magic, no demons, no supernatural
-why isn’t the being, according to the speaker, completely human? And what are the
consequences?
It’s not completely human because it’s made up of different parts of dead humans and animals. It’s a
hybrid. The consequences are that he’s capable of understand and read. Another consequence is: can
he have rights as a human?
-why is the monster a mass murder to?
He likes meat
-in what terms can the influence of the ideals of the 1790s be seen in the novel?
The decade of the French revolutions and it deals with the rights, duties and responsibilities
What type of novel is it in the light of the 21st century?
A novel about artificial intelligence, genetic transformations and medical ethic
Mary Sheller was the daughter of Wollstonecraft a pioneer of the feminists’ rights. Her father was a
radical philosopher and her future husband was fascinated by his words. That’s how they met.
You have got an identity from your origins, but what can we say about the monster? Mary Shelly was
really interested in the scientific studies. She was interested in reading about experiments. Rousseau
ideas of the good savage influenced the period. Features that the savage and the creature share: they
both turn evil. The creature is talkative and seductive.
05/05/2021
(THE GOOD SAVAGE AND FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER) At the beginning when they live in
close contact with nature they are pure. The monster at the beginning has good intentions but when he
gets in touch with the human world his actions become evil. The narrative structure of this novel is
quite difficult. The previous writer decided to follow a more understandable narrative structure
because their works were read by all type of people and, in addition, they wanted to achieve realism.
Another important theme is the similarity between Frankenstein and his creature.