Robert Browning

Background
Robert Browning was born on the 7th of May, 1812.
He grew up in Camberwell, South London.
His mother was a pianist, and a strong evangelical Christian.
His Father was a well paid clerk at a bank, but his hobbies
included being an artist and a collector of antiques.
He was a child prodigy, being literate by the age of five.
He became interested in poetry when he received a collection
of poetry by Percy Shelley, and mirrored Shelleys lifestyle,
which included becoming a vegetarian and an atheist in his
teenage years.
Married poet Elizabeth Barrett in 1846, a year after meeting
her.

Beliefs
He was inspired by the works of Percy Shelley, a romantic poet
who was an authoritative idealist.
Browning was influenced by Shelleys radicalist ideas.
Browning believed that spirituality was made up, and was
cynical to people of faith.
He had disagreements with his wife about spiritualism
Brownings poems had quite a morbid tone to them, and were
quite skeptical of society.
He wrote about societal issues subtly. He achieved this by
taking the isues and focusing on them, but basing the works in
a different era e.g. the renaissance.

Victorian Society
Industrialisation was a major issue in Victorian society, as it
meant that there were less people working the land and more
people in cities. This led to overcrowding and cramped
conditions.
The class system of the victorian era contained great
inequality in terms of health occupation, life expectancy,
political rights and education.
Lower class: Also known as working class: at beginning of era
had limited political rights due to not being landowners
(landowners were the only part of population eligible to vote).
Education was also limited before free education was
implemented, leading to systemic poverty. Limited access to
healthcare led to a shorter life expectancy in lower class.
Typical occupations of the working class were factory workers
and farmhands.
Middle class: the middle class had a powerful impact on
victorian society. They started off with not many more rights
 as the lower classes, but were able to cause major reforms in
the mid 1800s in terms of voting and education rights. They
had relatively comfortable lives, being able to afford basic
necessities, but their budgets could not stretch so far as to be
able to afford many premiums such as extravagant holidays or
expensive schools. Typical middle class occupations were bank
clerks or a small busiessowner.
Upper class: The Upper class were allowed to enjoy life
frivolously much the same as they had done for centuries
before. But unlike the traditional aristocracy, citizens in the
upper class could be self made, not only through heritage.
Attitudes and beliefs in victorian society were very much
based on the protestant Church of England. Their morals and
values were generally modest and patriarchal, although the
era did see some groups in society question the traditionalist
views of the general society. The industrial revolution
introduced the ideas of greater individual ambitions and
expectations. This came about through mass education and
trade unionism. Socialist and marxist views held by many of
the lower and some of the middle classes led to steps towards
greater equality in Victorian Society.

Women in Society
Very Patriarchal society. Men were seen as protectors of
women and superior in terms of strength and intellect
Women were expected to be meek and obedient to their
husbands
Role of women was child bearing and raising, being a
housewife. Women were not supposed to work.
Women were expected to dress very modestly (not show legs
at all, even ankles) and were not allowed a great deal of
independence.
Women were expected to deal with the private and domestic
spheres of life.
Due to industrial revolution, women became a larger portion
of the workforce, predominantly working in mills. This was
mainly working class women, not middle class and above.
Towards the end of the era, women were gaining more rights.
Women gained more independence due to technological
advances in transport (bicycles) and home appliances using
electricity.
The suffragette movement gained popularity among women in
the late 1800s. the movement aimed at giving women more
rights, including the right to vote.

Religion
Victorian society was predominantly Protestant.
 The Church of England was the main, most powerful church in
England at the time. Catholics were looked down upon and
even discriminated against.
The period was practically dictated by the church in terms of
morals, behaviours and beliefs. This mindset was known as
Victorianism
The Victorian Era was seen as a revival of the puritan times of
the 17th Century.
It was thought that if everyone took on the mindset of
Victorianism, the country would be rid of poverty and crime.
The Church didnt approve of some of the scientific and
Technological Advances of the time, notably the theory of
evolution.
Evangelicalism gained popularity in the Victorian era. This was
due to the Oxford movement.
By the end of the Era, more people were questioning the
superiority of religion and the church, due to changing
mindsets because of scientific and technological advances.

Scientific Developments
The rail network was expanded in England in the Victorian Era.
It now connected most major cities to each other
The Industrial Revolution was due to the invention of the
steam engine, which made production of goods and
transportation a lot more efficient.
There were many new inventions during the Victorian Era such
as Safety Bicycles, photographs, film, and the typewriter.
There was innovation in many areas of technology due to the
invention of electricity. This allowed the telegraph, lighting,
the telephone and many home appliances.
Scientist, Mendeleev in 1869, first put the Periodic table of the
Elements together.
Pasteur experimented with fermentation during the Victorian
era. His findings led to greater food safety.
There are many discoveries to do with diseases in the period,
leading to a greater awareness of health.
Military weapons were greatly improved in the Victorian Era. A
notable example of this was the invention of the machine gun
in 1861.
Psuedoscience made an appearance in the Victorian era, when
it tried to predict individuals intellect due to the size of their
skull. This led to discrimination, and has since been
discredited.
Charles Darwin formed a strong theory about evolution in the
mid 1800s. it stated that all living things evolve due to
adaptations, and that the survival of the fittest causes natural
selection, which is essential to the continuation of a species.
 It went against the widely accepted creationism, endorsed by
the church.
Darwinism, the belief of Darwins theories waged a war
against the church, who would not believe the new theory, as
it didnt correlate with the creation outlined in the bible.
Darwinism was the start of the fall of the church from absolute
superiority in England. More people thought that science was
a valuable part of life, and some thought that religion was for
nothing more than respectability.

Bibliography

Malhiero, B. (2014) Victorian Period Overview: Religion.

Accessed 18/7/2014 from
http://logicmgmt.com/1876/overview/religion.htm

Fyfe, A & Wyhe, J. (2012) Victorian Web: Victorian Science and

Religion. Accessed 19/7/2014 from:
http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/science/science&religion
.html

Picard, L. (2014) British library: Learning Victorians. Accessed

18/7/2014 from:
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/poor/workingcla
ss.html

Abrams, L. (2009) BBC Website: Ideals of womanhood in

Victorian Britain. Accessed 18/7/2014 from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/women_ho
me/ideals_womanhood_01.shtml

SparkNotes Editors. (2002) SparkNote on Robert Brownings

Poetry. accessed July 15, 2014 from:
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/browning/

Unknown, (2014). Robert Browning. Accessed 17/7/14 from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Browning