Melodrama is often seen as a blunt aesthetic tool tainted by its reliance on improbable situations, moral binaries, and overwhelming emotion, features that made it a likely ingredient of British imperial propaganda during the late nineteenth century. Yet, through its impact on many late-Victorian genres outside of the theater, melodrama developed a complicated relationship with British imperial discourse.
Melodramatic Imperial Writing positions melodrama as a vital aspect of works that underscored the contradictions and injustices of British imperialism. Beyond proving useful for authors constructing imperialist fantasies or supporting unjust policies, the melodramatic mode enabled writers to upset narratives of British imperial destiny and racial superiority.
Neil Hultgren explores a range of texts, from Dickens's writing about the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion to W. E. Henley's imperialist poetry and Olive Schreiner's experimental fiction, in order to trace a new and complex history of British imperialism and the melodramatic mode in late-Victorian writing.
| ISBN: | 9780821426050 |
| Publication date: | 12th September 2023 |
| Author: | Neil Hultgren |
| Publisher: | Ohio University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 256 pages |
| Series: | Series in Victorian Studies |
| Genres: |
Literature: history and criticism |
Melodrama is often seen as a blunt aesthetic tool tainted by its reliance on improbable situations, moral binaries, and overwhelming emotion, features that made it a likely ingredient of British imperial propaganda during the late nineteenth century. Yet, through its impact on many late-Victorian genres outside of the theater, melodrama developed a complicated relationship with British imperial discourse.
Melodramatic Imperial Writing positions melodrama as a vital aspect of works that underscored the contradictions and injustices of British imperialism. Beyond proving useful for authors constructing imperialist fantasies or supporting unjust policies, the melodramatic mode enabled writers to upset narratives of British imperial destiny and racial superiority.
Neil Hultgren explores a range of texts, from Dickens's writing about the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion to W. E. Henley's imperialist poetry and Olive Schreiner's experimental fiction, in order to trace a new and complex history of British imperialism and the melodramatic mode in late-Victorian writing.
Melodramatic Imperial Writing features in the following genres: Literature: history and criticism
Melodramatic Imperial Writing is available in Paperback, Hardback, Ebook
Melodramatic Imperial Writing was written by Neil Hultgren and published by Ohio University Press
Melodramatic Imperial Writing has 256 pages
Yes it is part of Series in Victorian Studies series