Literature from the Past to the Present

Fictional literature has always been important to society. It provides us with a way to spread culture, a way to express emotions, and of course, a source of entertainment. However, literature has evolved immensely over the centuries. In comparison to works of older eras, today’s literature is quite different due to drastic shifts in societal standards, ideas, living conditions, and morals. These shifts have altered both the content and characters found in important works, since current beliefs heavily influence the popular media of their specific time period.

We can track this evolution through what are considered some of the best novels of the 19th to the 21st centuries. A comparison between popular novels of these two time periods serves to display the evolution of literature from the past to the present through historical development. The 19th century is divided into two literary periods, which are the Romantic and Victorian periods. The Romantic period lasted from roughly 1798 to 1837. Literature of this era was fascinated with the beautiful and the grotesque, and was also heavily influenced by political events, such as the French Revolution (Source 1). The French Revolution was a rebellion against the French monarchy that was full of passion, anger, and was driven by a demand for change (specifically for a demand related to an elimination of tyranny). Romantics were also especially interested in human emotion and a sense of excitement related to the natural world and an artists’ creativity. In addition to this, the Romantic period was preceded by the Age of Reason, also known as the Enlightenment, which began in the late 17th century and ended in the early 19th century. During the Enlightenment a new wave of knowledge had recently spread around Europe, and ideas related to rationalism and progressivism were considered to be new ways of thinking at the time (Source 3). New principles, such as the ideas above, are often incorporated into the media of their time period, and so popular literature usually reflects the ideas of the time period it was written in.

One example of this concept can be observed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In this novel, Victor Frankenstein, a young and passionate scientist who is curious about the principles of life, crafts a creation out of various dead body parts and brings it to life. Victor’s creation is hideous, but it has the capacity to think as well as any human can. As soon as he completes his experiment, however, Victor finds himself disgusted with what he has made. The reader learns that the creation only wants love, but understands that it will never be loved because of the way it looks. Out of spite and frustration, the creation kills Victor’s brother and the rest of his family over the course of the novel. While the creation is painted as a monster, Shelley masterfully crafts her characters so that it is impossible to decide who really is the villain: a creation who kills out of frustration, or a creator who is cruel and refuses to give his creation love. This relates to the Romantic period and its principles: a fascination with beauty and ugliness. Victor’s initial obsession with nature and the fundamentals of life are also related to common themes of interest of this era (Source 4). Finally, Shelley’s novel can be somewhat linked to current world events of the century, since a variety of

rebellions emerged during the 19th century and the novel essentially describes a rebellion against one’s creator.

The Romantic period lasted until the mid-19th century, and its conclusion marked the beginning of the Vicotrian era of literature. This period of time correlates with Queen Victoria’s rule of England. During this time, industrialism flourished and was a competitive new market, and many countries were transitioning from agricultural societies into rapidly expanding industrial powerhouses. Additionally, ideas from the Age of Reason, such as equality for all and individualism, grew increasingly popular. According to Eastern Connecticut University, a major difference between Victorian and Romantic literature is that during the Victorian era, the steam printing press was developed and helped make the production of texts far cheaper than before. Because of this, all civilians could access literature, and authors had a wider audience to appeal to.

An example of this concept is A Chirstmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. This novel depicts the life of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old man who despises the idea of Christmas and happiness. During the novel, Scrooge is visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and each of these presences provides Scrooge with a new perspective. Suddenly, after numerous strange encounters with these ghosts he returns to his bed safely, and decides to take advantage of a new opportunity to redeem himself by finally allowing himself to participate in Chrirstmas festivities (Source 6). An increase in book production due to mass-market steam printing allowed lower classes to afford books. Because of this, Victorian authors were encouraged to include a more diverse array of socio-economic classes in their stories to appeal to a bigger pool of readers. Dickens’ work focuses on the lower class, since many of the supporting characters in the story live in poverty. Because the steam printing press increased access to literature, this novel reflected the new norms of the era.

While Frankenstien and A Chirstmas Carol clearly reflect the societal norms of their

respective eras, contemporary literature clearly represents the values of the 21st century as well. For instance, The Hunger Games is a trilogy written by Susan Collins that was inspired by a war in Iraq as well as the Roman gladiators (Source 7). In the first book of this series, Collins describes protagonist Katniss Everdeen, as a girl who lives in a dystopian world with her sister and mother. Katniss lives in a world divided into twelve districts, and every year two children from each district are selected to participate in the Hunger Games (a fight to the death). Katniss volunteers when her sister Primrose is selected as a tribute. Peeta Mellark, a boy from Katniss’s district is also selected as a tribute, and the reader watches a romantic relationship surrounded by tragedy unfold between Katniss and Peeta. Betrayals and sacrifices often occur in this novel, which truly demonstrate the selfishness of mankind and human instinct to physically fight when forced to. This novel is also fictional in almost every aspect, which is another reason this book is reflective of the Contemporary literary era (as experimentalism and creativity are clearly utilized throughout Collins’s work). Additionally, The Hunger Games was inspired by the Vietnam and Iraq war, two recent political events that certainly influenced the plot of the series.

As demonstrated, the evolution of literature clearly reflects the evolution of societal values The societal norms of the Romantic, Victorian, and current literary periods are displayed evidently throughout novels written during each era’s specific time frame. As time continues onward, literature will continue to change as the values of society are altered and changed.

Works Cited (Unformatted)

1. https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/the-romantic-

period.html

2. https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics

3. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/colonial-america/colonial-north-

america/a/the-enlightenment

4. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/context/literary/mary-shelley-and-

romanticism/

5. https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/the-victorian-

period.html#:~:text=The%20Victorian%20period%20of%20literature,into%20an%20urban%

2C%20industrial%20one.

6. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/summary/

7. https://www.caldwellschools.com/cms/lib/NC01811136/Centricity/Domain/261/The_Hung

er_Games_and_Mythology.docx#:~:text=Author%20Suzanne%20Collins%20has%20sai

d,footage%20of%20the%20Iraq%20War.

8. https://www.masterclass.com › articles › modernist-literat…