Hey everyone, my name is Kelsey and this is introduction to Pride and Prejudice.
Elegant clothing, indulgent dinners, and lavish balls. Break out your best
table manners because in this unit we'll be transported to 19th century England
as we read Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. In this video, we'll learn more
about Jane Austen and the historical context of this famous work as well as preview literature
language and composition skills that we'll focus on in this unit. Let's get started!
Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817. She was one of eight children born to parents George
and Cassandra. Austen’s father was a reverend who served as a head of his parish for most of
her life. Growing up in the Hampshire village of Steventon, Austen started writing poems and
stories at a very young age and her later novels were inspired by the people she met through family
and friends as well as on her trips to London and Bath. Austen published four novels in her lifetime
and two more of her novels were published after her death. While alive, she published all of her
works anonymously since writing was considered an undesirable profession for women in that
time period. Her closest companion was her sister Cassandra and most of what we know about Austen’s
life comes from the letters that remain from her to her sister during that time. Austen’s
novels are all written during what is known as the Regency Period of 19th century England. This
period was characterized by distinctive trends in the arts, literature, and fashion. During
the Regency Period, social stratification was strictly rooted in wealth and family connections.
Firm social norms dictated specific roles for men and women. While men had many opportunities for
social and financial advancement, women could climb the social ladder only through marriage.
Austen’s works can be classified as taking the form of a comedy of manners. Stories in this form
are known for questioning or commenting upon the manners or norms of high-class society at the time
in which they were written. Austen’s novels have certain common characteristics in terms of their
plot, characters, setting, and conflicts. Her works famously critiqued traditional gender roles,
social norms, and manners of her time period. They mainly focus on middle class society with female
protagonists who are of marrying age. Typically the plots of her novels focus on a female
protagonist or multiple protagonists on their quest towards marriage. Her novels are known for
their witty dialogue and frequent use of letter writing between characters in order to communicate
key events in the plot. They explore themes such as courtship and marriage, manners and social
norms, social class division, feminism, morality, education, and coming of age. But the two devices
most crucial to the effectiveness of Austen’s work are her use of satire and irony. Satire is the use
of humor, exaggeration, or irony to ridicule or critique an aspect of human nature or society.
Austen uses satire throughout Pride and Prejudice to critique the social norms, behaviors,
and views of courtship in the time period that she was writing it. Irony is a term you should
be familiar with from earlier in this course. In its simplest form, irony is when the opposite of
what is expected occurs. There are three types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic irony.
Austen primarily uses verbal irony which is essentially sarcasm and situational irony, when
the opposite of what the reader expects occurs. Austen’s irony is sometimes part of her satire,
but other times she simply uses it to add humor to her writing. Because Pride and Prejudice is a
novel, it explores multiple plot lines at the same time rather than just one like in a short story.
The novel focuses on the Bennett family with parents Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and their five
daughters Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, who goes by Kitty, and Lydia. Because inheritance
laws at the time limited men to inherit estates, the Bennett daughters must marry into wealth and
cannot inherit any of their father's estate. This brings in the other major characters,
the suitors of the Bennett women including Mr. Collins, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy.
The novel primarily focuses on Jane and Elizabeth’s relationships and Elizabeth is
considered the protagonist of the story, but that doesn't stop their sister Lydia from causing some
trouble of her own. Unlike short stories, novels provide depth into many different characters
including their development, their traits, and their motivations. So we'll spend a good deal
of time analyzing the various characters in Pride and Prejudice, and trust me when I tell
you there are some characters. In this unit we'll focus on a combination of literature,
language, and composition skills. Since Austen’s works are satirical, we'll focus heavily on satire
and irony. We'll also consider the historical context of the novel and analyze its characters,
their relationships, and their motivations. We'll consider the purpose the novels multiple plot
lines have and analyze the types of conflict that are present in the text. Of course, we'll consider
all of these elements in light of how they impact the novel's theme. In terms of composition, we'll
focus on organizing our writing to maximize its effectiveness and writing with concision. We'll
also do some creative writing, considering the points of views of various characters in the text
and will end with a literary analysis. In terms of language skills, this unit will explore some
of the most common language topics that appear on the SAT and ACT including commonly confused words,
using appropriate transitions in our writing, and the correct use of idiomatic expressions.
Pride and Prejudice and other novels by Jane Austen have stood the test of time and gained
popular acclaim with several movie adaptations and other books based on their ideas. Movies
like Clueless and Bridget Jones Diary are loosely inspired by the plots and characters of her novels
and the popular Netflix series Bridgerton has an Austen-esque setting and themes taking place in
Regency England just like her stories do. Even Austen’s life has been a point of fascination
inspiring the movie Becoming Jane which focuses on her brief courtship with a man named Tom Lefroy.
As we read Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s biting wit and use of humor
will keep you entertained throughout the story along with its ridiculous characters,
some daring professions of love, and surprising plot twists. You know how much
I hate spoilers so we'll leave it at that. Goodbye for now and I’ll see you next time.