Title
Date of Award
1976
Document Type
Senior Scholars Paper (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. English Dept.
Advisor(s)
Eileen Curran
Abstract
Dickens's use of the grotesque in his novels undergoes a variety of changes. For convenience sake, and to better illustrate the developments of the grotesque, I divide the novels into three separate groups. The first group, the period of experiment, included the novels from Pickwick Papers through Barnaby Rudge; the second group, the period of transition, includes the novels from Martin Chuzzlewit through David Copperfield; and the third, the period of a new vision. included the novels from Bleak House through Edwin Drood. Basically, I see the development of the grotesque involving a change in Dickens's conceptions of society, as well as responding to complex changes in society itself; Dickens's vision loses much of its humor in the end, yet it also reflects a definite maturity.
Keywords
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 -- Criticism and interpretation, Grotesque in literature
Recommended Citation
Morgan, O. James, "Grotesque in Dickens" (1976). Senior Scholar Papers. Paper 187.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/seniorscholars/187
Copyright
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