Terry Eagleton The Rise Of English Pdf !!top!! -

He writes that literature was promoted as a "saving grace" – a realm of universal human values, empathy, and sensibility that could "tame" the barbarism of the industrial poor. Where the Bible had once offered moral guidance, the works of Shakespeare, Milton, and George Eliot would now offer "spiritual" sustenance.

: Eagleton posits that as religious authority declined in the Victorian era, literature was promoted as a new form of "religion" to provide moral values, social cohesion, and a sense of national identity to the lower and middle classes. A Tool for Social Control Terry eagleton the rise of english pdf

Moreover, some scholars have challenged Eagleton's characterization of English studies as a monolithic and coherent field. They argue that English studies has always been a diverse and contested field, with multiple competing approaches and methodologies. He writes that literature was promoted as a