Find a modern politician or pundit saying: "We need to teach the classics again to restore morality." Ask yourself: Whose morality? Whose classics? Restore what exactly?
As the 19th century progressed, the authority of the Church of England began to decay under the weight of scientific rationalism (Darwin) and political revolution (Marx). The Victorian bourgeoisie needed a new ideological apparatus to quell the working class and humanize the industrialists.
Eagleton also challenges the notion of literature as a neutral, autonomous sphere, arguing that literary texts are always embedded in specific historical, social, and cultural contexts. He advocates for a more nuanced and contextualized approach to literary analysis, one that takes account of the complex power dynamics and social relations that shape literary production and reception. Terry eagleton the rise of english pdf
: He describes the subject as a way to "civilize" the working class and colonial subjects, promoting a sense of shared heritage that masks real class conflicts.
Eagleton posits that as religion lost its grip on the working class during the Victorian era, "English" was promoted to provide a sense of national identity, shared values, and moral stability. Social Control: Find a modern politician or pundit saying: "We
You might think a 40-year-old essay about Victorian England is obsolete. You would be wrong.
Eagleton draws heavily on Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony. Hegemony is not rule by force (a police state) but rule by consent. The ruling class shapes the common-sense values of society. By teaching that literature embodies "universal truth," the English curriculum subtly taught obedience, compassion for the rich, and a disdain for revolutionary politics. As the 19th century progressed, the authority of
Eagleton's Critique of English's Rise | PDF | Romanticism | Essays