Russian realism as a literary movement. Prerequisites for the emergence of critical realism in Europe

Realism (literature)

Realism in literature - a truthful depiction of reality.

In every work belles lettres we distinguish two necessary elements: objective - the reproduction of phenomena given in addition to the artist, and subjective - something put into the work by the artist on his own. Focusing on a comparative assessment of these two elements, the theory in different eras gives higher value first one, then the other of them (in connection with the course of development of art, and with other circumstances).

Hence there are two opposing directions in theory; one - realism- sets art the task of faithfully reproducing reality; other - idealism- sees the purpose of art in “replenishing reality”, in creating new forms. Moreover, the starting point is not so much the available facts as ideal ideas.

This terminology, borrowed from philosophy, sometimes introduces work of art non-aesthetic moments: Realism is completely wrongly accused of lacking moral idealism. In common usage, the term “Realism” means the exact copying of details, mainly external ones. The inconsistency of this point of view, the natural conclusion from which is the preference for the protocol over the novel and photography over the painting, is completely obvious; a sufficient refutation of it is our aesthetic sense, which does not hesitate for a minute between wax figure, reproducing the finest shades of living colors, and a deathly white marble statue. It would be pointless and aimless to create another world, completely identical with the existing one.

Copying outside world in itself, even the most strident realistic theory has never seemed to be the goal of art. The possible faithful reproduction of reality was seen only as a guarantee of the artist’s creative originality. In theory, realism is opposed to idealism, but in practice it is opposed to routine, tradition, the academic canon, mandatory imitation of the classics - in other words, death independent creativity. Art begins with the actual reproduction of nature; but, once popular examples of artistic thinking are given, second-hand creativity appears, work according to a template.

This is a common phenomenon of the school, no matter under what banner it appears for the first time. Almost every school makes claims to a new word precisely in the field of truthful reproduction of life - and each in its own right, and each is denied and replaced by the next in the name of the same principle of truth. This is especially evident in the history of the development of French literature, which is all an uninterrupted series of achievements of true Realism. The desire for artistic truth underlay the same movements that, petrified in tradition and canon, later became a symbol of unreal art.

This is not only romanticism, which was attacked with such fervor in the name of truth by the doctrinaires of modern naturalism; so is classical drama. It is enough to recall that the notorious three unities were not adopted out of slavish imitation of Aristotle, but only because they determined the possibility of stage illusion. “The establishment of unities was the triumph of Realism. These rules, which became the cause of so many inconsistencies during the decline classical theater, appeared at the beginning a necessary condition stage verisimilitude. In Aristotelian rules, medieval rationalism found a means of removing from the scene the last vestiges of naive medieval fantasy.” (Lanson).

Deep inner realism classical tragedy of the French degenerated in the reasoning of theorists and in the works of imitators into dead schemes, the oppression of which was cast off by literature only in early XIX century. From a broad point of view, every truly progressive movement in the field of art is a movement towards Realism. In this regard, those new trends that appear to be a reaction to Realism are no exception. In fact, they represent only a reaction to routine, obligatory artistic dogma - a reaction against realism by name, which has ceased to be a search and artistic recreation of the truth of life. When lyrical symbolism tries to convey to the reader the mood of the poet by new means, when neo-idealists, resurrecting old conventional techniques artistic image, they draw stylized images, that is, as if deliberately deviating from reality, they strive for the same thing that is the goal of any - even arch-naturalistic - art: the creative reproduction of life. There is no truly artistic work - from a symphony to an arabesque, from the Iliad to Whispers, timid breathing”, - which, with a deeper look at it, would not turn out to be a true image of the creator’s soul, “a corner of life through the prism of temperament.”

It is therefore hardly possible to talk about the history of Realism: it coincides with the history of art. One can only characterize individual moments historical life art, when they especially insisted on a truthful depiction of life, seeing it mainly in emancipation from school conventions, in the ability to capture and courage to depict details that passed without a trace for the previous artist or frightened him by inconsistency with dogmas. Such was romanticism, such modern form Realism - naturalism Literature about Realism is predominantly polemical about its modern form. Historical writings(David, Sauvageot, Lenoir) suffer from vagueness of the subject of research. In addition to the works indicated in the article Naturalism.

Russian writers who used realism

Of course, first of all, these are F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy. Outstanding examples of literature of this direction were also the works of the late Pushkin (rightfully considered the founder of realism in Russian literature) - the historical drama “Boris Godunov”, the story “ Captain's daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Belkin’s Tales”, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov’s novel “Hero of Our Time”, as well as Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”.

The Birth of Realism

There is a version that realism originated in ancient times, during the time of the Ancient Peoples. There are several types of realism:

"Ancient Realism"
"Renaissance Realism"
"Realism of the 18th-19th centuries"

Notes

Links

A. A. Gornfeld// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Wikimedia Foundation.

2010.

See what “Realism (literature)” is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see Critical Realism. Critical realism in Marxist literary criticism is the designation of an artistic method that precedes socialist realism. Considered as literary... ...Wikipedia This term has other meanings, see Realism. Edouard Manet. "Breakfast in the Workshop" (1868) Realism aesthetic position

, with... Wikipedia

Wiktionary has an article “realism” Realism (French réalisme, from Late Lat. ... Wikipedia I. General character realism. II. Stages of realism A. Realism in the literature of pre-capitalist society. B. in the West. V. Bourgeois-noble realism in Russia. D. Realism is revolutionary democratic. D. Proletarian realism.... ... Literary encyclopedia

Realism in literature and art, a truthful, objective reflection of reality using specific means inherent in a particular type artistic creativity. During historical development R.'s art takes specific forms... ... Big Soviet encyclopedia

- (from Late Lat. realis material, real) in art, a truthful, objective reflection of reality by specific means inherent in one or another type of artistic creativity. In the course of the development of art, realism... ... Art encyclopedia

Finnish literature is a term that usually refers to oral folk traditions Finland, including folk poetry, as well as literature written and published in Finland. Until the mid-19th century, the main language of Finnish literature was... ... Wikipedia

Literature Soviet Union was a continuation of literature Russian Empire. It included, in addition to Russian, the literature of other peoples of the union republics in all languages of the USSR, although literature in Russian was predominant. Soviet... ... Wikipedia

Realism is a trend in literature and art that aims to faithfully reproduce reality in its typical features. The dominance of realism followed the era of Romanticism and preceded Symbolism.

1. At the center of the work of realists is objective reality. In its refraction through the worldview of art. 2. The author subjects life material to philosophical processing. 3. The ideal is reality itself. The beautiful thing is life itself. 4. Realists approach synthesis through analysis.

5. The principle of the typical: Typical hero, specific time, typical circumstances

6. Identification of cause-and-effect relationships. 7. The principle of historicism. Realists turn to the problems of the present. The present is the convergence of past and future. 8. The principle of democracy and humanism. 9. The principle of objectivity of the story. 10. Socio-political and philosophical issues predominate

11. psychologism

12. .. The development of poetry is somewhat calming down 13. The novel is the leading genre.

13. Heightened social-critical pathos is one of the main features of Russian realism - for example, “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol

14. The main feature of realism as a creative method is the increased attention to the social side of reality.

15. The images of a realistic work reflect the general laws of existence, and not living people. Any image is woven from typical traits manifested in typical circumstances. This is the paradox of art. An image cannot be correlated with a living person; it is richer than a specific person - hence the objectivity of realism.

16. “The artist should not be a judge of his characters and what they say, but only an impartial witness

Realist writers

Late A. S. Pushkin is the founder of realism in Russian literature (the historical drama “Boris Godunov”, the stories “The Captain’s Daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Belkin’s Tales”, the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” back in the 1820s - 1830s)

M. Yu. Lermontov (“Hero of Our Time”)

N. V. Gogol (“Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”)

I. A. Goncharov (“Oblomov”)

A. S. Griboedov (“Woe from Wit”)

A. I. Herzen (“Who is to blame?”)

N. G. Chernyshevsky (“What to do?”)

F. M. Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “White Nights”, “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Demons”)

L. N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection”).

I. S. Turgenev (“Rudin”, “The Noble Nest”, “Asya”, “Spring Waters”, “Fathers and Sons”, “New”, “On the Eve”, “Mu-mu”)

A. P. Chekhov (“The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Student”, “Chameleon”, “The Seagull”, “Man in a Case”

Since the middle of the 19th century, the formation of Russian realistic literature has been taking place, which was created against the backdrop of the tense socio-political situation that developed in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. A crisis of the serfdom system is brewing, there are strong contradictions between the authorities and common people. There is an urgent need to create realistic literature that is acutely responsive to the socio-political situation in the country.

Writers turn to socio-political problems of Russian reality. The genre of the realistic novel is developing. His works are created by I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov. It is worth noting the poetic works of Nekrasov, who was the first to introduce social issues into poetry. His poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is known, as well as many poems that reflect on the difficult and hopeless life of the people. End of the 19th century - The realistic tradition began to fade away. It was replaced by so-called decadent literature. . Realism becomes, to a certain extent, a method of artistic cognition of reality. In the 40s, a “natural school” arose - the work of Gogol, he was a great innovator, discovering that even an insignificant event, such as the acquisition of an overcoat by a minor official, can become a significant event for understanding the most important issues of human existence.

"Natural School" became initial stage development of realism in Russian literature.

Topics: Life, customs, characters, events from the life of the lower classes became the object of study by “naturalists”. The leading genre was the “physiological essay,” which was based on accurate “photography” of the life of various classes.

In literature " natural school“The hero’s class position, his professional affiliation and the social function he performs decisively prevailed over his individual character.

Those who joined the “natural school” were: Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Goncharov, Panaev, Druzhinin and others.

The task of truthfully showing and exploring life presupposes in realism many techniques for depicting reality, which is why the works of Russian writers are so diverse in both form and content.

Realism as a method of depicting reality in the second half of the 19th century. got the name critical realism, because his main task was to criticize reality, the question of the relationship between man and society.

To what extent does society influence the fate of the hero? Who is to blame for a person being unhappy? What to do to change a person and the world? - these are the main questions of literature in general, of Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century V. - in particular.

Psychologism - the characterization of a hero through the analysis of his inner world, consideration of the psychological processes through which a person’s self-awareness is realized and his attitude to the world is expressed - has become the leading method of Russian literature since the formation of the realistic style in it.

One of the remarkable features of Turgenev’s works of the 50s was the appearance in them of a hero who embodied the idea of the unity of ideology and psychology.

Realism of the 2nd half of the 19th century reached its peak precisely in Russian literature, especially in the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky, who became late nineteenth century as the central figures of the world literary process. They enriched world literature new principles for constructing a socio-psychological novel, philosophical and moral issues, new ways of revealing the human psyche in its deep layers

Turgenev is credited with creating literary types of ideologists - heroes, whose approach to personality and characterization of their inner world is in direct connection with the author’s assessment of their worldview and the socio-historical meaning of their philosophical concepts. The merging of the psychological, historical-typological and ideological aspects in Turgenev’s heroes is so complete that their names have become a common noun for a certain stage in the development of social thought, a certain social type representing a class in its historical state, and the psychological makeup of the individual (Rudin, Bazarov, Kirsanov , Mr. N. from the story “Asya” - “Russian man on rendez-vous”).

Dostoevsky's heroes are at the mercy of ideas. Like slaves, they follow her, expressing her self-development. Having “accepted” a certain system into their soul, they obey the laws of its logic, go through all the necessary stages of its growth with it, and bear the yoke of its reincarnations. Thus, Raskolnikov, whose concept grew out of rejection of social injustice and a passionate desire for good, passing through all its logical stages along with the idea that took possession of his entire being, accepts murder and justifies the tyranny of a strong personality over the voiceless masses. In lonely monologues-reflections, Raskolnikov “strengthens” in his idea, falls under its power, gets lost in its ominous vicious circle, and then, having completed the “experience” and suffering internal defeat, begins to feverishly seek dialogue, the possibility of jointly assessing the results of the experiment.

In Tolstoy, the system of ideas that the hero develops and develops in the course of his life is a form of his communication with the environment and is derived from his character, from the psychological and moral characteristics of his personality.

It can be argued that all three great Russian realists of the mid-century - Turgenev, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - depict the mental and ideological life of a person as a social phenomenon and ultimately presuppose obligatory contact between people, without which the development of consciousness is impossible.

Each literary direction characterized by its own characteristics, thanks to which it is remembered and distinguished as a separate species. This happened in the nineteenth century, when some changes took place in the writing world. People began to comprehend reality in a new way, to look at it from an absolutely different perspective. The peculiarities of 19th century literature lie, first of all, in the fact that now writers began to put forward ideas that formed the basis of the direction of realism.

What is realism

Realism appeared in Russian literature at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when a radical revolution took place in this world. The writers realized that previous trends, such as romanticism, did not satisfy the expectations of the population, since their judgments lacked common sense. Now they tried to depict on the pages of their novels and lyrical works the reality that reigned around, without any exaggeration. Their ideas were now of the most realistic character, which existed not only in Russian literature, but also in foreign literature for more than one decade.

Main features of realism

Realism was characterized by the following features:

depiction of the world as it is, truthful and natural;
in the center of the novels is a typical representative of society, with typical problems and interests;
the emergence of a new way of understanding the surrounding reality - through realistic characters and situations.

Russian literature of the 19th century represented very big interest for scientists, because with the help of analysis of works they were able to understand the very process in literature that existed in those days, and also give it a scientific justification.

The emergence of the era of Realism

Realism was first created as a special form for expressing the processes of reality. This happened back in the days when such a movement as the Renaissance reigned in both literature and painting. During the Enlightenment, it was conceptualized in a significant way, and was fully formed at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. Literary scholars name two Russian writers who have long been recognized as the founders of realism. These are Pushkin and Gogol. Thanks to them, this direction was comprehended, received theoretical justification and significant distribution in the country. With their help, Russian literature of the 19th century received great development.

In literature there was now no sublime feelings that the direction of romanticism possessed. Now people were worried about everyday problems, how to resolve them, as well as the feelings of the main characters that overwhelmed them in a given situation. Features of literature of the 19th century are the interest of all representatives of the movement of realism individual traits the character of each individual person for consideration in a particular life situation. As a rule, this is expressed in a clash between a person and society, when a person cannot accept and does not accept the rules and principles by which other people live. Sometimes in the center of the work there is a person with some internal conflict, which he is trying to cope with himself. Such conflicts are called personality conflicts, when a person understands that from now on he cannot live as he lived before, that he needs to do something to get joy and happiness.

Among the most important representatives of the movement of realism in Russian literature It is worth noting Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky. World classics gave us such realist writers as Flaubert, Dickens and even Balzac.

» » Realism and features of 19th century literature

Realism (from Late Latin reālis - real) - artistic method in art and literature. The history of realism in world literature is unusually rich. The very idea of him changed at different stages artistic development, reflecting the persistent desire of artists for a truthful depiction of reality.

Illustration by V. Milashevsky for the novel by Charles Dickens “ Posthumous notes Pickwick Club.

Illustration by O. Vereisky for the novel by L. N. Tolstoy “ Anna Karenina».

Illustration by D. Shmarinov for F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.”

Illustration by V. Serov for M. Gorky’s story “Foma Gordeev”.

Illustration by B. Zaborov for the novel by M. Andersen-Nexo “Ditte - Child of Man.”

However, the concept of truth, truth is one of the most difficult in aesthetics. For example, the theorist French classicism N. Boileau called for being guided by the truth and “imitating nature.” But the romantic V. Hugo, an ardent opponent of classicism, urged “to consult only nature, truth and your inspiration, which is also truth and nature.” Thus, both defended "truth" and "nature".

The selection of life phenomena, their assessment, the ability to present them as important, characteristic, typical - all this is connected with the artist’s point of view on life, and this, in turn, depends on his worldview, on the ability to grasp the advanced movements of the era. The desire for objectivity often forces the artist to depict the real balance of power in society, even contrary to his own political convictions.

The specific features of realism depend on the historical conditions in which art develops. National historical circumstances also determine the uneven development of realism in different countries.

Realism is not something given and unchangeable once and for all. In the history of world literature, several main types of its development can be outlined.

There is no consensus in science about initial period realism. Many art historians attribute it to very distant eras: they talk about realism rock paintings primitive people, about realism antique sculpture. In the history of world literature, many features of realism are found in the works of ancient world And early Middle Ages(V folk epic, for example, in Russian epics, in chronicles). However, the formation of realism as artistic system in European literature it is customary to associate it with the era of the Renaissance (Renaissance), the greatest progressive revolution. A new understanding of life by a person who rejects the church sermon of slavish obedience is reflected in the lyrics of F. Petrarch, the novels of F. Rabelais and M. Cervantes, in the tragedies and comedies of W. Shakespeare. After centuries of medieval churchmen preaching that man is a “vessel of sin” and calling for humility, Renaissance literature and art glorified man as the supreme creature of nature, seeking to reveal the beauty of his physical appearance and the richness of his soul and mind. The realism of the Renaissance is characterized by the scale of images (Don Quixote, Hamlet, King Lear), the poeticization of the human personality, its capacity for great feeling (as in Romeo and Juliet) and at the same time the high intensity of the tragic conflict, when the clash of personality with the inert forces opposing it is depicted .

The next stage in the development of realism is the educational stage (see Enlightenment), when literature becomes (in the West) an instrument of direct preparation for the bourgeois-democratic revolution. Among the educators there were supporters of classicism; their work was influenced by other methods and styles. But in the 18th century. develops (in Europe) and the so-called educational realism, whose theorists were D. Diderot in France and G. Lessing in Germany. English has gained global importance realistic novel, the founder of which was D. Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe (1719). A democratic hero appeared in the literature of the Enlightenment (Figaro in the trilogy of P. Beaumarchais, Louise Miller in the tragedy “Cunning and Love” by I. F. Schiller, images of peasants in A. N. Radishchev). Enlighteners of all phenomena public life and people’s actions were assessed as reasonable or unreasonable (and they saw the unreasonable primarily in all the old feudal orders and customs). They proceeded from this in their depiction of human character; their positive heroes are, first of all, the embodiment of reason, the negative ones are a deviation from the norm, the product of unreason, the barbarism of former times.

Enlightenment realism often allowed for convention. Thus, the circumstances in the novel and drama were not necessarily typical. They could be conditional, as in the experiment: “Suppose a person finds himself on a desert island...”. At the same time, Defoe depicts Robinson’s behavior not as it could actually be (the prototype of his hero went wild, even lost his articulate speech), but as he wants to present the person, fully armed with his physical and mental strength, as a hero, conqueror of forces nature. Faust in I. V. Goethe, shown in the struggle for the establishment of high ideals, is also conventional. Features of a well-known convention also distinguish D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.”

A new type of realism emerged in the 19th century. This is critical realism. It differs significantly from both the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Its flourishing in the West is associated with the names of Stendhal and O. Balzac in France, C. Dickens, W. Thackeray in England, in Russia - A. S. Pushkin, N. V. Gogol, I. S. Turgenev, F. M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov.

Critical realism portrays in a new way the relationship between man and environment. Human character is revealed in organic connection with social circumstances. Subject of deep social analysis the inner world of man has become, critical realism therefore simultaneously becomes psychological. In preparing this quality of realism big role played by romanticism, which sought to penetrate the secrets of the human “I”.

Deepening the knowledge of life and complicating the picture of the world in the critical realism of the 19th century. do not mean, however, some kind of absolute superiority over previous stages, for the development of art is marked not only by gains, but also by losses.

The scale of the images of the Renaissance was lost. The pathos of affirmation characteristic of the Enlighteners, their optimistic faith in the victory of good over evil, remained unique.

The rise of the labor movement in Western countries, the formation in the 40s. XIX century Marxism not only influence the literature of critical realism, but also give rise to the first artistic experiments in depicting reality from the perspective of the revolutionary proletariat. In the realism of such writers as G. Weert, W. Morris, and the author of “The International” E. Pothier, new features are outlined that anticipate the artistic discoveries of socialist realism.

IN Russia XIX century is a period of exceptional strength and scope of development of realism. In the second half of the century, the artistic achievements of realism, bringing Russian literature to the international arena, won it worldwide recognition.

The richness and diversity of Russian realism of the 19th century. allow us to talk about its different forms.

Its formation is associated with the name of A. S. Pushkin, who brought Russian literature to wide path images of “the fate of the people, the fate of man.” In the conditions of the accelerated development of Russian culture, Pushkin seems to be catching up with its previous lag, paving new paths in almost all genres and, with his universality and his optimism, turning out to be akin to the titans of the Renaissance. Pushkin’s work lays the foundations of critical realism, developed in the work of N.V. Gogol and after him in the so-called natural school.

Performance in the 60s. revolutionary democrats led by N. G. Chernyshevsky gives new features to Russian critical realism (the revolutionary nature of criticism, images of new people).

A special place in the history of Russian realism belongs to L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky. It was thanks to them that the Russian realistic novel acquired global significance. Their psychological mastery and insight into the “dialectics of the soul” opened the way for the artistic quests of 20th century writers. Realism in the 20th century all over the world bears the imprint of the aesthetic discoveries of L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky.

The growth of the Russian liberation movement, which by the end of the century transferred the center of the world revolutionary struggle from the West to Russia, leads to the fact that the work of the great Russian realists becomes, as V. I. Lenin said about L. N. Tolstoy, “a mirror of the Russian revolution” according to to your objective historical content, despite all the differences in their ideological positions.

The creative scope of the Russian social realism is reflected in the richness of the genre, especially in the field of the novel: philosophical and historical (L. N. Tolstoy), revolutionary journalistic (N. G. Chernyshevsky), everyday (I. A. Goncharov), satirical (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ), psychological (F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy). By the end of the century, A.P. Chekhov became an innovator in the genre of realistic stories and a kind of “lyrical drama”.

It is important to emphasize that Russian realism XIX V. did not develop in isolation from the world historical and literary process. This was the beginning of an era when, according to K. Marx and F. Engels, “the fruits of spiritual activity individual nations become common property."

F. M. Dostoevsky noted as one of the features of Russian literature its “capacity for universality, all-humanity, all-response.” Here we're talking about not so much about Western influences, but about organic development in line with European culture its centuries-old traditions.

At the beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of M. Gorky's plays "The Bourgeois", "At the Demise" and especially the novel "Mother" (and in the West - the novel "Pelle the Conqueror" by M. Andersen-Nexo) testifies to the formation of socialist realism. In the 20s Soviet literature declared itself with major successes, and in the early 30s. In many capitalist countries, a literature of the revolutionary proletariat is emerging. The literature of socialist realism is becoming an important factor in the world literary development. It should be noted that Soviet literature as a whole retains more connections with the artistic experience of the 19th century than literature in the West (including socialist literature).

The beginning of the general crisis of capitalism, two world wars, the acceleration of the revolutionary process throughout the world under the influence October revolution and the existence of the Soviet Union, and after 1945 the formation of the world system of socialism - all this affected the fate of realism.

Critical realism, which continued to develop in Russian literature until the October Revolution (I. A. Bunin, A. I. Kuprin) and in the West, in the 20th century. received further development, while undergoing significant changes. In critical realism of the 20th century. in the West, a variety of influences are more freely assimilated and intersected, including some features of the unrealistic movements of the 20th century. (symbolism, impressionism, expressionism), which, of course, does not exclude the struggle of realists against non-realistic aesthetics.

From about the 20s. In the literature of the West, there is a tendency towards in-depth psychologism, the transmission of the “stream of consciousness”. The so-called intellectual novel of T. Mann arises; subtext takes on special significance, for example, in E. Hemingway. This focus on the individual and his spiritual world in the critical realism of the West significantly weakens its epic breadth. Epic scale in the 20th century. is the merit of the writers of socialist realism (“The Life of Klim Samgin” by M. Gorky, “ Quiet Don"M. A. Sholokhov, "Walking through the Torment" by A. N. Tolstoy, "The Dead Remain Young" by A. Zegers).

Unlike the realists of the 19th century. writers of the 20th century more often they resort to fantasy (A. France, K. Chapek), to convention (for example, B. Brecht), creating parable novels and parable dramas (see Parable). At the same time, in the realism of the 20th century. the document, the fact, triumphs. Documentary works appear in different countries within the framework of both critical realism and socialist realism.

Thus, while remaining documentary, the autobiographical books of E. Hemingway, S. O'Casey, I. Becher, such classic books of socialist realism as “Report with a Noose Around the Neck” by Yu. Fuchik and “The Young Guard” by A. A. Fadeeva.

in literature and art - a truthful, objective reflection of reality using specific means inherent in a particular type of artistic creativity. In Russia - an artistic method characteristic of the creativity of: writers - A. S. Pushkin, Ya. V. Gogol, Ya. A. Nekrasov, L. Ya. Tolstoy, A. Ya. Ostrovsky, F. M. Dostoevsky, A. P Chekhov, A. M. Gorky and others; composers - M. P. Mussorgsky, A. P. Borodin, P. I. Tchaikovsky and partly Ya. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, artists - A. G. Venetsianov, P. A. Fedotov, I. E. Repin, V. . A. Serov and the Wanderers, sculptor A. S. Golubkina; in the theater - M. S. Shchepkina, M. Ya. Ermolova, K. S. Stanislavsky.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

REALISM

late lat. realis – real, real), artistic method, creative principle which is the depiction of life through typification and creation of images that correspond to the essence of life itself. Literature for realism is a means of understanding man and the world, therefore it strives for a wide coverage of life, coverage of all its sides without restrictions; the focus is on the interaction of a person and the social environment, the influence of social conditions on the formation of personality.

Category "realism" in in a broad sense determines the relationship of literature to reality in general, regardless of which movement or direction in literature the given author belongs to. Any work reflects reality to one degree or another, but in some periods of the development of literature there was an emphasis on artistic convention; for example, classicism demanded the “unity of place” of the drama (the action should take place in one place), which made the work far from the truth of life. But the requirement of life-likeness does not mean a refusal of means artistic convention. The art of a writer lies in the ability to concentrate reality, drawing heroes who, perhaps, did not actually exist, but in which real people like them were embodied.

Realism in the narrow sense emerged as a movement in the 19th century. It is necessary to distinguish realism as a method from realism as a direction: we can talk about the realism of Homer, W. Shakespeare, etc. as a manner of reflecting reality in their works.

The question of the emergence of realism is solved by researchers in different ways: its roots are seen in ancient literature, in the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. According to the most common view, realism arose in the 1830s. Its immediate predecessor is considered to be romanticism, the main feature of which is the depiction of exceptional characters in exceptional circumstances with special attention to the complexity and controversial personality with strong passions, not understood by the society around her - the so-called romantic hero. This was a step forward compared to the conventions of depicting people in classicism and sentimentalism - movements that preceded romanticism. Realism did not deny, but developed the achievements of romanticism. Between romanticism and realism in the first half of the 19th century. it is difficult to draw a clear line: the works use both romantic and realistic depiction techniques: “ Shagreen leather» O. de Balzac, novels by Stendhal, V. Hugo and Charles Dickens, “A Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov. But unlike romanticism, the main artistic attitude of realism is typification, image “ typical characters in typical circumstances” (F. Engels). This installation assumes that the hero concentrates in himself the properties of the era and that social group to which he belongs. For example, the title character of I. A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” is bright representative dying nobility, characteristic features which are called laziness, inability to take decisive action, fear of everything new.

Soon realism breaks with the romantic tradition, which is embodied in the works of G. Flaubert and W. Thackeray. In Russian literature, this stage is associated with the names of A. S. Pushkin, I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, etc. This stage is usually called critical realism - after M Gorky (we should not forget that Gorky, for political reasons, wanted to emphasize the accusatory orientation of the literature of the past in contrast to the affirmative trends socialist literature). The main feature of critical realism is the image negative phenomena Russian life, seeing the beginning of this tradition in “ Dead souls" and "The Inspector General" by N.V. Gogol, in the works of the natural school. The authors solve their problem in different ways. In Gogol's works there is no positive hero: the author shows a “combined city” (“The Inspector General”), a “combined country” (“Dead Souls”), combining all the vices of Russian life. Thus, in “Dead Souls” each hero embodies some negative trait: Manilov – daydreaming and the impossibility of making dreams come true; Sobakevich - ponderousness and slowness, etc. However, the negative pathos in most works is not without an affirmative beginning. So Emma, the heroine of G. Flaubert’s novel “Madame Bovary” with her subtle mental organization, rich inner world and the ability to feel vividly and vividly, is contrasted with Mr. Bovary - a man who thinks in patterns. Other important feature critical realism - attention to social environment, which shaped the character's character. For example, in the poem by N. A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” the behavior of the peasants, their positive and negative traits(patience, kindness, generosity, on the one hand, and servility, cruelty, stupidity, on the other) are explained by the conditions of their life and especially by the social upheavals of the period of the serfdom reform of 1861. Fidelity to reality was already put forward by V.G. Belinsky in developing the theory of the natural school. N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov, A. F. Pisemsky and others also highlighted the criterion of the social usefulness of a work, its influence on minds and the possible consequences of reading it (it is worth recalling the phenomenal success of Chernyshevsky’s rather weak novel “What is to be done?” , who answered many questions from his contemporaries).

The mature stage of the development of realism is associated with the work of writers of the second half of the 19th century, primarily F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy. IN European literature At this time, the period of modernism began and the principles of realism were used mainly in naturalism. Russian realism enriched world literature with the principles of the socio-psychological novel. The discovery of F. M. Dostoevsky is recognized as polyphony - the ability to combine in a work various points view, without making any of them dominant. The combination of the voices of the characters and the author, their interweaving, contradictions and agreements brings the architectonics of the work closer to reality, where there is no consensus and one final truth. The fundamental tendency of L. N. Tolstoy’s creativity is the depiction of the development of the human personality, the “dialectics of the soul” (N. G. Chernyshevsky) combined with the epic breadth of the depiction of life. Thus, the change in the personality of one of the main characters of “War and Peace” Pierre Bezukhov occurs against the backdrop of changes in the life of the entire country, and one of the turning points in his worldview is battle of Borodino, crucial moment in the history of the Patriotic War of 1812

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. realism is in crisis. It is also noticeable in the dramaturgy of A.P. Chekhov, the main tendency of which is to show not the key moments in people’s lives, but the change in their lives in the most ordinary moments, no different from others - the so-called “undercurrent” (in European drama, these tendencies appeared in the plays of A. Strindberg, G. Ibsen, M. Maeterlinck). The predominant trend in the literature of the early 20th century. symbolism becomes (V. Ya. Bryusov, A. Bely, A. A. Blok). After the revolution of 1917, integrating into the general concept of building a new state, numerous associations of writers arose whose task was to mechanically transfer the categories of Marxism into literature. This led to the recognition of a new important stage in the development of realism in the 20th century. (primarily in Soviet literature) socialist realism, which was intended to depict the development of man and society, meaningful in the spirit of socialist ideology. The ideals of socialism assumed steady progress, determining the value of a person by the benefit he brings to society, and a focus on the equality of all people. The term “socialist realism” was fixed at the 1st All-Union Congress Soviet writers in 1934. The novels “Mother” by M. Gorky and “How the Steel Was Tempered” by N. A. Ostrovsky were called examples of socialist realism; its features were identified in the works of M. A. Sholokhov, A. N. Tolstoy, in the satire of V. V. Mayakovsky, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, J. Hasek. The main motive of the works of socialist realism was considered to be the development of the personality of a human fighter, his self-improvement and overcoming difficulties. In the 1930s–40s. socialist realism finally acquired dogmatic features: a tendency appeared to embellish reality, the conflict of “good with best” was recognized as the main one, psychologically unreliable, “artificial” characters began to appear. The development of realism (regardless of socialist ideology) was given by the Great Patriotic War (A. T. Tvardovsky, K. M. Simonov, V. S. Grossman, B. L. Vasiliev). Since the 1960s literature in the USSR began to move away from socialist realism, although many writers adhered to the principles of classical realism.