Charles DickensItwasthebestoftimes,itwastheworstoftimes,itwastheagofwisdom,itwastheageoffoolishness,itwastheepochofbelifitwasthchfnredulitytwasthesanfLighitwatheseasonfDarkness,itwasthespringofhope,itwasthewinterofdespair..ExcerptfromATaleof Two CitiesArchivePhotos/(p)1994MicrosoftCorporation.Allrightsreserved
Charles Dickens
CharlesDickensLife:*Dickenswasbronin1812atPortsmouth,wherehisfather was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office.At four, his familymoved to Chatham, where he studied in a day-school.* In 1821,the family bankrupted and they moved into theMarshalsea Prison,London.At 12,Dickenshadto worktwelvehoursa dayinanundergroundcellar at a blackingfactoryinLondon.The miserable life there left an everlasting,painfulbrand ontheboy's mind.* When he was 15, he became a lawyer's clerk.He visited theBritish Museum Library, filling up the gaps in his education byreading. The work at the lawyer's office afforded him the basisof a confirmedopinionofthelawof England.ThenhebecameaParliamentary reporterfor newspapers.Thus Dickensgot a firsthand knowledgeof the parliamentary government of it asaninstrument for wielding and disguising the power of the upperclasses.*The rest of his life is a story of writing.In 1870, he diedsuddenly
Charles Dickens ► Life: ﹡Dickens was bron in 1812 at Portsmouth, where his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. At four, his family moved to Chatham, where he studied in a day-school. ► ﹡In 1821, the family bankrupted and they moved into the Marshalsea Prison, London. At 12, Dickens had to work twelve hours a day in an underground cellar at a blacking factory in London. The miserable life there left an everlasting, painful brand on the boy’s mind. ► ﹡When he was 15, he became a lawyer’s clerk. He visited the British Museum Library, filling up the gaps in his education by reading. The work at the lawyer’s office afforded him the basis of a confirmed opinion of the law of England. Then he became a Parliamentary reporter for newspapers. Thus Dickens got a firsthand knowledge of the parliamentary government of it as an instrument for wielding and disguising the power of the upper classes. ► ﹡The rest of his life is a story of writing. In 1870, he died suddenly
Works:Dicken'sNovels:---The First Period(1836--1841):fun, high spirit, and a tendencyeven to literary boisterous play----alternating sometimeswithspellsof sentimentality.Naive optimism.---TheSecondPeriod(1842-1850)-----atransitional periodwhen his naive optimism aboutcapitalist societywasthusprofoundlyshaken
►Works: Dicken’s Novels: -The First Period(1836-1841): fun, high spirit, and a tendency even to literary boisterous play- alternating sometimes with spells of sentimentality. Naïve optimism. -The Second Period (1842- 1850)-a transitional period when his naïve optimism about capitalist society was thus profoundly shaken
---TheThirdPeriod(1851---1870):novelsin this period are much darkerincontentwhichshowedthenovelist'slossfor English bourgeoissociety
-The Third Period (1851-1870): novels in this period are much darker in content which showed the novelist’s loss for English bourgeois society
Distinct features of hisnovels:1.Character sketches andexaggeration2. Broad humor andpenetrating satire.3. Complicated andFascinating Plot4.The power of exposure
Distinct features of his novels: 1. Character sketches and exaggeration 2. Broad humor and penetrating satire. 3. Complicated and Fascinating Plot 4. The power of exposure