Literature in Victorian Times

Dimension: Literary knowledge

C10. Reproduce orally, recite and dramatize adapted or authentic literary texts.

C11. Understanding and valuing adapted or authentic literary texts.

Learning goals

At the end of the unit, you will be able...

1. To read relevant works in a foreign language written by authors of the Victorian Age.

2. To demonstrate your reading comprehension and response by the development of specific tasks related to the book you choose.

3. To demonstrate the connection between the book topic and relevant aspects of a historical period of British culture: Victorian Times.

Assessment criteria

We will know that you have progressed if you...

1.1. Choose and read a graded reading autonomously written by authors of the Victorian Age.

2.2. Select the knowledge obtained from the chosen reading and integrate it into a constructive learning process.

3.1. To evaluate the text with basic reasoning and with the help of guidelines to establish connections between the reading and its historical context.

Key Contents

KC17. Written texts: Adapted readings (Victorian Novels)

KC19. Oral and written comments and contextualisation about authors and books.


REASONS WHY LITERATURE IS IMPORTANT:

  1. It saves your time.

  2. It makes you nicer.

  3. It's a cure for loneliness.

  4. It prepares you for failure.

  5. It expands horizons.

  6. It builds critical thinking skills.

  7. It's a leap into the past.

  8. It helps appreciate other cultures and beliefs.

  9. It improves writing skills.

  10. It adresses humanity.

What is Literature for?
Why is Literature important?

Before we start to read our book, why do you think literature is important?

  • Choose one of the 10 reasons to enjoy Literature.

  • Then, watch the following video to find secondary ideas that support these reasons.

  • Don't forget these reasons! At the end of the unit, we will check how they relate to your experience with reading.

READING SESSIONS (1st Term):

  • 4t A: Tuesdays, from 12.35h to 13.30h

  • 4t B: Tuesdays, from 13.45h to 14.40h

  • 4t C: Tuesdays, from 10.10h to 11.10h

Materials (1st Term):


Literature in Victorian Times: Contextualization

Literature that emerged in England during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) was diverse in many ways, and defined to a large extent by the historical era rather than any other characteristic.

More than anything else, the reading audience changed during this time as literacy rates rose and the reading of novels for pleasure lost the stigma of former times. The popularity of novels created a large market that, in turn, offered more opportunities for writers of all kinds and levels of talent.

Best known for the works of the Brontë sisters and Dickens, Victorian literature goes beyond the moralising so often associated with it, in many cases combining both imagination and emotion, as well as an effort to reach the newly literate readership.