Letteratura inglese III:

CORSO DI
LETTERATURA
INGLESE 3
Appunti di Monica Zappaterra
Università degli Studi di Pavia 
Facoltà: Studi Umanistici
Corso di Laurea in Lingue e Culture moderne
Esame: Letteratura inglese 3
Docente: Silvia Granata
A.A. 2023/2024
T e s i
o n l i n e
A P P U N T I
T e s i o n l i n e21/09/2023
Lesson 1
Poetry is very m uch political, especially in the first part of the 18th century .
POLITICS
1660. Resto ration .
T he Pu ritan revo lu tio n abolished m onarchy and executed the king, Charles I.
Ch arles II Stuart regained power with the restoration.
Radical changes in Britain, after huge political problem s they faced a period of peace.
End of the civil war .
1685. Jam es II Stuart, a conservative. (Charles had no legitim ate children, so the throne
passed to his Catholic Brother Jam es II); a problem .
- He was a catholic
- He had a legitim ate son, who was a catholic too (im ply they will start a catholic dynasty).
- T he m ajority of people were protestant anglican and a catholic king would not be
representative; perceived by m any as a huge problem from a political point of view . Religion
and politics, strictly connecting, alm ost overlapping.
T hat tim e the catholic pope had a prom inent political figure.
Political power and econom ic interests, against population needs (problem of allegiances);
political causes for the country cause problem s.
Christians is a great group that includes Protestants and Catholics.
Special variety in Britain, Anglican church, institutionalized by the state.
1688. G lorio us Revolution . W illiam of O range and M ary (T he protestant daughter of
Jam es II). No-violent revolution, “b lo o d less” and not m ilitary engaged.
He was invited to becom e King of England; secret negotiations between the two countries.
T here were soldiers prepared to fight but eventually nobody fought.King Jam es didn’t want
to fight, no chances to win. He sim ply fled to F rance (no m ilitary confrontation), trying to
collect resources and organize, because he wanted to regain his throne.
Civil war traum atic experience, not wanting to repeat som ething like that; stabilize this kind
of context; they introduce reform s, to solidify political power .
REFO RMS → guarantee of political stability
1689. T oleration Act: Religion, granted lim ited freedom to Dissenters, but not to
Cath o lics, Jew s and u n itarian s (against concept of trinity , do not believe that Jesus was
the son of G od). Levels of religious peace; create toleration and cooperation between
dif ferent branches in religion. Rights of Catholics and Jews will expand in the following
centuries.
11689. Bill of Righ ts: Jam es II was an absolutist king, the one chosen to govern by G od.
He could have all the power he wanted, without consulting Parliam ent. Absolutism , G od
ordered society as it was; it gave the king the divine right to rule.
T he Bill of Rights lim ited Crown powers in favor of Parliam ent. T he king can’t do whatever he
wants, ask perm ission to the Parliam ent (ex. taxes, raise an arm y , wage war)
Am ending m istakes of the past, creates a m ore stable situation.
1701. Act of Settlemen t: succession was assured to the Ho u se o f Han o ver.
T he throne m oved to another daughter of Jam es, Q u een An n e (1702-1714); she had to
swear allegiance to the Church of England (the king/queen m ust be Anglican).
1707. Act of Un io n : T he kingdom s of En g lan d and Sco tlan d (previously separate
states, with separate laws but had the sam e m onarch) were joined into a united kingdom
(G reat Britain).
Lots of people in Scotland didn’t want to be united, not well received:
- V iolence
- Intrusion, colonization
- O wn culture and T radition (not integrated with sam e culture)
- W idespread discontent
- Not properly represented by the London parliam ent (shared m em bers of both
countries).
Eventually accepted union, especially thanks to bribery (in this period, it’ s less frowned upon,
and m ore widespread; not so bitterly criticized, it was som ething usual)
Before: no possibility of creation of political factions; the king decided. Now:
Po litical “Parties” → political system com pletely dif ferent
O nly a sm all num ber of people could vote, just rich m en or som eone with land property .
No plath party could represent the needs of poor people.
● W h ig s: new m oneyed interest (of those engaged in trade & finance).
Not belonging to the aristocracy , but very rich and wealthy m erchants of international trade.
People with im m ense econom ic resources who also wanted political power .
● T o ries: land interest, m ore representative of great landlords (proprietari terrieri) with
a traditional approach.
At the tim e only a sm all part of people had tim e to vote; very lim ited (to the rich); no faction
representing the poor , but they represented dif ferent types of rich people.
- M oral rights of citizenship, rooted to the well-being of the country .
= Both linked to the econom ic interests of the rich (no vote for the poor).
2W ar of Spanish Successio n.
Charles II of Spain died without heir; m ilitary debate began who should succeed, dif ferent
factions, each sponsoring dif ferent candidats. Britain fears an alliance between F rance and
Spain. W higs and T ories split; should Britain enter the war or not?
W higs: m ore focused on interest of m erchants (with war m ore m oney could be m ade,
soldiers, ships to build… ; econom ic opportunity)
T ories: land owners, id didn’t m atter to them , they would have no source of incom e, they also
risk losing territories. T hey were m ainly enrolled as soldiers, so nobody rem ained to take
care of the land (also m any didn’t com e back, or cam e back injured, not able to work
anym ore).
However the W higs were in power , so Britain entered the war . T hey were very hopeful, they
were sure the war would be quick; but then it drag on, they couldn't see the end of it; people
were not in favor of war , but they went on anyway .
1710: T ory governm ent was installed.
T hey ended the war with the T reaty o f Utrech t (1713).
Q ueen Anne died, no children; throne G eorge I.
1720: So u th Sea Bu b b le
Peaceful period within boundaries of Britain
m ore and m ore prom inence of international finance (ex. Bank of England founded in this
period).
F inancial bubble created by South sea com pany (private public; they started trading public
debt; this led to speculation. In a few weeks shares went to thousands pounds).
A lot of people lost their m oney and investm ents, earnings (also people from the
m iddle-class, com pletely ruined), and a wave of resentm ent in the country spread.
No punishm ent of the bankers actually , even if people were enraged. T his was m irrored by
the press at the tim e, ex.T he Spectator , an article about stocking exchange.
T wo visions:
● exciting, m any people try it, exchange ideas about countries, and cultures,
constructive, cooperative ways;
● on the contrary , the econom y and finance of ex. Defoe, describes finance as a
beautiful lady and alluring, but also dangerous.
Besides, there was no regulation, it was a dif ferent approach to the world of finance.
Political ascent of Robert W alpole, 1st Prim e m inister , leader of the W hig party; strong in
prom oting trade (this was the com m ercial golden age); new m iddle-classes wanted to go up
in society . He becam e even m ore powerful, and kept in im portant political positions his
3friends or relatives (who were all in debt to him for these positions), he couldn't be chased
away (p atro n ag e system).
G eo rg e II (all kings G eorge, of the Hanover fam ily). He was not really interested in the
country , for him to be king it was like doing a favor to England; he’ s separated, not
intervening too m uch in politics; this allowed the governm ent and parliam ent to develop with
m ore freedom .
Battle o f Cu llo d en .
Jam es II had fled to F rance, where he was supported by the king of F rance, not want to give
up, gather support in term s of m oney and soldiers (to reconquer England, restablish on the
throne).
Not everybody agreed with the idea protestant king; ex. in Scotland, still believed in the
divine right of the king, from their pov W illiam of O range, illegitim ate. He m anaged to gain
support in Scotland; m arched South, but they lost the battle and he fled. T he Scottish that
supported him , brutally repressed by the arm y and punished.
W illiam Pitt th e yo u n g er, on the T ory side; he wanted to change the way politics was done.
Som e politicians were happy , but others were not (som e had too m uch power , im possible to
rem ove). He wanted to introduce a dif ferent kind of engagem ent; stated publicly he didn’t
want bribes (very shocking for the tim e). New m odel of politics, not exploit the State for
politicians’ personal gain.
Seven years w ar (1756-1763)
1st global war: im portant parts of it were fought overseas, in dif ferent continents.
W ar itself is com plicated; no specific beginning, not one single outbreak, not one single
reason. Countries are just fighting with each other , som e of these wars intersected, but they
were not wholly interested in this (ex. England wanted to counteract the growing power of
F rance in Am erica and Asia).
India: there was the M ughal em pire, but at this tim e it was already collapsing. Dif ferent sm all
states all fighting with each other; alliances with F rench others with the English.
T he original idea was not to conquer land, because it was too expensive and dif ficult, they
would just go there and trade, m ake m oney (not a plan m ade by politicians, but by a private
enterprise, the East India Com pany); econom ical, financial aim . Not govern, too expensive.
O nce they are there, acknowledge that if they're not in political control, it is dif ficult to do
what you want. Also with states allied with F rance.
Nawab in Bengal, who was allied with the F rench, died and the new Nawab dem anded the
Europeans to pay a fee and to disarm ; the English didn’t com ply , so the nawab’ s arm y
m arched on the English settlem ent and m any English soldiers were im prisoned in the Black
hole, a very sm all prison; however there were too m any people, m any of them died
suf focated, or they starved. In England as soon as they heard, they were outraged, so they
sent a m ilitary aggression against F rance and their allies.
T hey didn’t want to conquer , or displace the culture of the country; they were curious about it
and respectful, and also assim ilated the Indian culture to som e extent; m any people went to
4India as adm inistrators or of ficers, they m ade a lot of m oney and then returned to the
m otherland with a huge wealth, but also Indian lifestyle and habits. During the V ictorian age,
this attitude will change: they need m ore political control, but also cultural control, so they will
try to im pose western culture.
During the Seven years W ar: a lot of battles on Indian territories.
T hey fought with the arm y of the East India Com pany; but it wasn’t enough, so they started
to train sepoys (as F rance also did). Also in Am erica, the two nations were continuously
clashing.
G en eral James W o lfe
No high precision weapons, usually the two arm ies were lined on a field one face the other;
here in India it is not possible, they cannot use the sam e strategy of open field, so they start
to use new tactics of guerriglia (that they learn from the native populations).
Battle of Q uebec
22/09/2023
Lesson 2
Literary market
Context im p, history of the period; literature not detached from real life, m uch com m itted,
engaged in politics.
Progress not only in the political field, but also econom ic (great social m obility , m uch m ore
than previous period).
Literature for the 1st tim e, econom ic opportunity; if you’re an author , you can m ake m oney
out of it (not present before). read som ething relevant to that specific m om ent in tim e, to
them (especially visible in the way it was consum ed and produced).
Lots of changes interacted with each other; reflected by three factors.
1. evolution of the b o o k trad e
2. n ew statu s for writers
3. expansion of the read in g p u b lic
= all strictly connected
Reading, buying books: lu xu ry o f th e w ealth y. Education was required to read and enjoy it,
but also the cost of publication (tim e consum ing and expensive); it slowly started to change;
from luxury to som e com m odity .
T he m arket for books was not very big, so it was expensive, not all people could read; being
a p u b lish er or a p rin ter (two professions that were overlapping), it was a risky business,
few partners (scarcity of readers); m oreover they were controlled by the governm ent (not
5profitable as a business). Control tends to be stronger in prods of political trouble (spread
dangerous ideas am ong people).
Changes.
Such sm all num bers of books published; single printers had n o in flu en ce on the literary
m arket in general. T hings change b eg in n in g XVIII cen tu ry = change ways organize
them selves
❖ Co n g ers = coalition of printers (agree with other printers, put all energies together ,
do som ething bigger , decide what to publish, num ber of copies could print, and
distribute, selling process and share profits)
Now also provincial cities produce their own literature, not only London or big cities.
❖ Ad vertisemen t (first exam ples of proper adv) = big innovation, inserted within the
book itself, (it m eant m ore m oney for publishers, who could sell space where they
print the ad. for other books). T his generates novelties; com m ision books, ask
authors to write on a specific subject. T hey share m onopolies; also they could be
influential in the creation and consolidation of the Canon
❖ T h e Can o n = collection of works considered im portant in a specific tim e and place
(from a religious context; originally indicated som ething sacred).
It was continuously evolving; at the beginning of the previous century , few authors were
considered im portant. F rom the 60s: things changed in academ ia, they decided to expand
the canon (which wasn’t not som ething fixed, reflected the interests and values of society
that read those works).
T hey can now choose what to publish, they can com m ission works = gain m ore power in
establishing what is good literature, what people should read (ex. “Co llectio n o f p o ems b y
Severed h an d s”, by R. Dodsley); second rate literature, prefered works written from
beginning to end by the sam e author .
It was advertised as a cool book, fashionable for publishers to engage writers to write
som ething specifically for one specific Collection (people could find only there, books
of that specific author).
PERIODICALS and COFFEE HOUSES.
Em ergence of periodicals (m agazines, newspapers); cheaper way of publishing.
Books were done by hand, it took a lot of ef fort, it was a heavy m anual job; producing books
was expensive, not everybody could af ford them . W hile m agazines were shorter and
cheaper , mo re p eo p le co u ld access th em.
Exam ples of m agazines:
● T he T atler ,
● T he Spectator (idea of som eone looking at the world society , describing it for the
readers; very polite society , spectator is im partial, but com m ents about the novelties
of the age; elegant, sim plicity , but not rough; reflects idea of politeness; well-polite
6and well-educated spectator; each num ber devoted to a specific them e (ex. stories,
essays philosophical discussion… )
● T he gentlem an's m agazine (idea that it was for everyone and everywhere)
● T he fem ale tatler , the fem ale spectator = m agazines start to specialize a bit m ore
(targeting reader wom en); pay m ore attention to fashion or gossip… (fem inine
subjects).
By the end of the 18th century = literary works were m ore p o liticized , or focused on literary
criticism (not very popular at the beginning of the century; it was done by authors
them selves). M ore and m ore readers, also the em ergence of m agazines specialized in
reviewing books.
T hey were shorter than books, and treated current events. T he af fluition was dif ferent (they
were read aloud in co ffee h o u ses (dif ferent form pubs); you go there by day , not drink beer ,
but tea or cof fee, and you found newspaper available there (people read them aloud and
then anyone could com m ent on them ) = not everyone had tim e to read, or not well enough to
understand, or even not enough m oney to invest in m agazines, but interested in the public
sphere, the wanted to stay updated; so they went to cof fee house and for the price of a
cof fee, they could enjoy polite conversation about various facts, actuality .
Political turm oil, censorship stricter; governm ent concerned about subj spreading.
Now , Britain is in peace, not wars, a stable situation. Cen so rsh ip was m ore relaxed; also
because the num ber of publications was soaring, so for practical reasons, it was m ore
dif ficult to control publications.
F ew readers, m ostly rich and educated nobility or upper-m iddle class
NEW FORMS OF PUBLISHING.
➢ M ain support system for an author is p atron age (being an author was not a real
profession, not counting selling m any copies of their work. so you write som ething
and you’re sponsored by som eone (m em ber of court, noblem an, rich), who sponsors
your writing activities.
- T his has a huge im pact on the content; you have to please them
- It’ s also im portant to sponsor writers (m ecenate), consequence from the pov
of prestige.
- Sponsoring did not m ean that the writer was paid for lots of copies (m aybe
just to the friends of the sponsor , for a few people).
Sam e education, values, you know exactly what to write to please them (if you want to keep
your patronage); when patronage ended, the reading public was a m ystery , nobody could
understand it, because it was so various. W riting at this tim e = intellectual profession, hard to
find a professional author
➢ New form of publication = sub scription .
7W riters could engage in long or com plicated work (ex. translation of O dyssey), engaging,
long expensive work. T hey would put out an ad, people would sign this list, prom ising to buy
it when it com es out (= publishing on credit). T hen the list of subscribers was inserted within
the books (also to increase prestige, part of the privileged circle).
M arket expands, free m arket em erges (subscription was gradually substituted),
coexisted for a while; finally free dem and for books im posed. M ore and m ore people
could read and had the m eans to buy them .
If you have a free m arket, the author could becom e a real profession; you can aspire to do it.
Not every author was successful, som eone buys their works, m aybe not (not easy).
Grub Street → it was originally the nam e of a street in M oorfields in London, m uch
inhabited by writers of sm all histories, dictionaries, and tem porary poem s. It is a m etaphor
for the com m ercial production of printed m atter of m ediocre or needy writers who write for
hire. M arket expanding, new phenom enon, authors wanted to be writers, but actually they
could live by the pen and they earned a living by writing m ostly ef fem enal (?) literature (ex.
S. Johnson).
T o be a writer was a possibility , not very easy , not everyone was successful, as a profession
was a new concept, so not very protected by law . Co p yrig h t for a book did not belong to the
author; it was owned by the publisher , only later they started to be recognised for their
intellectual work.
THE MIDDLE-CLASS.
Author wanted to sell, so needed to know the su b jects th at p lease th e read in g p u b lic
(em erging m iddle-class), crucial on political and social level, status sym bol. T he m iddle-class
want to read som ething dif ferent (not love stories, greek literature, the classics… ), they want
to read about them selves, the world and society they know (they want to reco g n ize
th emselves in the books). Characters are not real, but could have been real (places readers
could recognize). M ore interested in the here and now; authors tried to follow that kind of
idea (especially in novels).
All genres were refrained, readjusted to m ake them m ore appealing to readers.
READING PUBLIC and EDUCA TION.
Y ou have to be literate
Literary rates: grew exponentially during the 18th century
No o fficial d o cu men ts at the tim e (not bureaucratic state); one way of knowing how m any
people could read or write, is by looking in the parish registers how m any people signed their
nam es (ex. when getting m arried); instead people wrote an “x” .
A lot of possible variations, also because of the ed u catio n system of the tim e; not uniform ,
prim ary education not com pulsory for all children; huge dif ferences between so cial classes
8(private tutor , go to university if you’re rich). T hen further dif ferences between b o ys
(classics, m ath… ) and g irls (university only at the end of the V ictorian period). T hey don’t
need things like the classics, they learn through accom plishm ents (play piano, drawing,
em broidery… ), m eant to do dif ferent things in life.
Not go to school if you weren’t rich (children started to work), fam ilies could not af ford to pay
for school; som etim es opportunity was of fered by Su n d ay Sch o o l (Church, not com pulsory ,
not very high level education; they work all week, only Sunday they could go to school).
W riting and reading taught at the sam e tim e, com plem entary , but these schools, not focused
too m uch on writing, they don't need it, it was not required by their profession (m anual works
m ostly); while read in g was extrem ely im portant, because it gives you access to Bib le,
crucial in a protestant country , it has nothing to do with job, but a m atter of saving your soul.
Also desire of participation; educate them selves as adults too.
T ravelogs always existed, but they were m ore fantastic; now a dif ferent function. M any other
new genres, changing during this period (treatries, travelogs, lays, poetry , periodicals and
novels)
Places to find books or periodicals: cof fee houses, religious libraries, circulating libraries
(extrem ely im portant, crucial); reached peak toward end of the century .
By m id-century books were m ore af fordable. Y et, they were still too expensive for the lower
orders → other practices becam e com m on, for exam ple borrowing books: this was done
through circu latin g lib raries (already there in the 18th century). T here were m any but the
m ost fam ous and influential was M udie, started by Charles Edward M udie in 1842 in
Bloom sbury . T he annual fee for the circulating library was a guinea per year . T his circulation
of novels had 3 m ain ef fects, that involved both writers and readers:
1. T he first ef fect was the im pact on price: readers borrowed instead of buying, so prices
started to go down.
2. Novels were now available to a wider part of the population
3. T his also af fected the form books were published in (ex. M udie only accepted books
published in the three-decker form , this m eant that a novel had to fit this form at in order to
enter M udie’ s library).
T emp le o f th e M u ses, m ore fashionable bookshop; very big, of fered m any things, show of f,
power and m oney of the owner . He achieved too m uch; he started very hum ble, so when he
started becom ing so rich and popular , people were envious there was even a poem about
him that started to circulate, to m ock him (“O de to the Hero of F insbury Square”, 1795).
F ree m arket was full of opportunities, but n o t all p eo p le ch eered ab o u t it; it expanded too
fast, those m ore conservative thought it was debasing culture, literature, not addressed only
to an elite, to strict circles anym ore; not uniform , not aim ed to the sam e kind of people; so
m any kinds of people, who wants to read so m any dif ferent things (mo re d ifficu lt to
co n tro l).
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