SSS - Satire, Social Change, and Sentimentality: 18th-19th Century Fiction Module Overview
Satire, Social Change, and Sentimentality: 18th-19th Century Fiction
Introduction
Around the middle of the 18th century a change was occurring with literature. For centuries epics, lyric poetry, and drama had been at the heart of literature. Although all of the above had plots, characters, and even wide spread audiences, they were all something different than literature’s newest genre: the novel.
It is difficult to identify the first novel—some suggest that it is 1008 in Japan with Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of the Genji, others argue that Cervantes’s Don Quixote (1605-15) marks the start of the genre in Western Literature—however, by 1750 the form was well on its way to becoming the dominant literary form in English literature.
Reasons for its emergence have to deal with the growth of a literate middle class. Unlike poetry which was generally read by the upper class and often required knowledge of classical languages, and drama that was performed rather than read, the novel was a genre that was produced to appeal to middle class tastes and a wide readership. With the novel the characters and stories become more realistic or at least gritty, and there is a certain pride that its early authors take in making easily accessible literature to the masses. A lot of early novels were serialized (i.e. produced over weeks) and have a lot in common with the modern day television soaps and reality series.
By the 19th century, some authors would take over a year to produce one single story. These stories often had multiple plot lines, attention to historical and accurate settings, and an emphasis on entertainment value.
However, as the genre evolved social concerns became interwoven with the stories, as authors soon realized that prose is the perfect medium for mixing story and philosophical thought. As we read through the two novels for this unit, Voltaire’s Candide, and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening look for places where the entertainment value meets with social change (sometimes referred to as social commentary); some of this social commentary is both didactic and humorous. Also notice that the same concepts of complexity of character, ambiguity and irony are used in the same way as with drama. Finally, consider places where entertainment tastes have evolved or at least changed from 18th and 19th century sentimentality.
Module Lessons Preview
In this module, we will study the following topics:
Definitions for Novels: In this microlesson, we will examine definitions of satire, social change, and sentimentality.
Historical Context for Novels: In this brief lesson, we will get some historical background to both novels.
Close Reading of Candide: In this lesson, we will close read the opening chapter together as we search for satire and calls to social change in this novel.
Close Reading of The Awakening: In this lesson, we will close read a key early chapter together as we search for both the satire, social change, and sentimentality.
Written Responses to Novels: In this lesson, we will shift our attention to the prose based essay on the AP English Literature Exam and use two novels as our potential texts.
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