Realism as an artistic direction message. Realism as a literary movement. Stages of development of realism in world art

Realism

Realism (material, real) is an artistic movement in art and literature, which was established in the first third of the 19th century. The origins of realism in Russia were I. A. Krylov, A. S. Griboyedov, A. S. Pushkin (in Western literature, realism appeared somewhat later, its first representatives were Stendhal and O. de Balzac).

Features of realism. The principle of life's truth, which guides the realist artist in his work, striving to give the most complete reflection of life in its typical properties. The fidelity of the depiction of reality, reproduced in the forms of life itself, is the main criterion of artistry.

Social analysis, historicism of thinking. It is realism that explains the phenomena of life, establishes their causes and consequences on a socio-historical basis. In other words, realism is unthinkable without historicism, which presupposes an understanding of a given phenomenon in its conditionality, development and connection with other phenomena. Historicism is the basis of the worldview and artistic method of a realist writer, a kind of key to understanding reality, allowing one to connect the past, present and future. In the past, the artist looks for answers to pressing questions of our time, and interprets modernity as the result of previous historical development.

Critical portrayal of life. Writers deeply and truthfully show the negative phenomena of reality, focusing on exposing the existing order. But at the same time, realism is not devoid of life-affirming pathos, because it is based on positive ideals - patriotism, compassion the masses, the search for a positive hero in life, faith in the inexhaustible possibilities of man, the dream of a bright future for Russia (for example, “Dead Souls”). That is why in modern literary criticism, instead of the concept of “critical realism,” which was first introduced by N. G. Chernyshevsky, they most often speak of “classical realism.” Typical characters in typical circumstances, that is, characters were depicted in close connection with the social environment that raised them and formed them in certain socio-historical conditions.

The relationship between the individual and society is the leading problem posed by realistic literature. The drama of these relationships is important for realism. Typically the center of attention realistic works They turn out to be extraordinary individuals, dissatisfied with life, “breaking out” from their environment, people who are able to rise above society and challenge it. Their behavior and actions become the subject of close attention and study for realist writers.

The versatility of the characters’ characters: their actions, deeds, speech, lifestyle and inner world, the “dialectics of the soul,” which is revealed in the psychological details of its emotional experiences. Thus, realism expands the possibilities of writers in the creative exploration of the world, in the creation of a contradictory and complex personality structure as a result of subtle penetration into the depths of the human psyche.

Expressiveness, brightness, imagery, precision of the Russian literary language, enriched with elements of lively, colloquial speech, which realist writers draw from the common Russian language.

A variety of genres (epic, lyrical, dramatic, lyric-epic, satirical), in which all the richness of the content of realistic literature is expressed.

Reflection of reality does not exclude fiction and fantasy (Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Sukhovo-Kobylin), although these artistic means do not determine the main tone of the work.

Typology of Russian realism. The question of the typology of realism is associated with the disclosure of known patterns that determine the dominance of certain types of realism and their replacement.

In many literary works there are attempts to establish typical varieties (trends) of realism: Renaissance, educational (or didactic), romantic, sociological, critical, naturalistic, revolutionary-democratic, socialist, typical, empirical, syncretic, philosophical-psychological, intellectual, spiral-shaped, universal, monumental... Since all these terms are rather conventional (terminological confusion) and there are no clear boundaries between them, we propose to use the concept “stages of development of realism”. Let us trace these stages, each of which takes shape in the conditions of its time and is artistically justified in its uniqueness. The complexity of the problem of the typology of realism is that typologically unique varieties of realism not only replace each other, but also coexist and develop simultaneously. Consequently, the concept of “stage” does not at all mean that within the same chronological framework there cannot be another kind of flow, earlier or later. That is why it is necessary to correlate the work of one or another realist writer with the work of other realist artists, while identifying the individual uniqueness of each of them, revealing the closeness between groups of writers.

First third of the 19th century. Krylov’s realistic fables reflected the real relationships of people in society, depicted living scenes, the content of which was varied - they could be everyday, social, philosophical and historical.

Griboyedov created “high comedy” (“Woe from Wit”), that is, a comedy close to drama, reflecting in it the ideas by which educated society lived in the first quarter of the century. Chatsky, in the fight against serf owners and conservatives, defends national interests from the standpoint of common sense and popular morality. The play gives typical characters and circumstances.

In Pushkin's work, the problems and methodology of realism have already been outlined. In the novel “Eugene Onegin” the poet recreated the “Russian spirit”, gave a new, objective principle for depicting the hero, was the first to show the “superfluous person”, and in the story “ Stationmaster» - « little man" In the people, Pushkin saw the moral potential that determines national character. In the novel "The Captain's Daughter" the historicism of the writer's thinking was revealed - both in the correct reflection of reality, and in the accuracy of social analysis, and in the understanding of the historical patterns of phenomena, and in the ability to convey the typical characteristics of a person's character, to show him as a product of a certain social environment.

30s of the XIX century. In this era of “timelessness”, public inaction, only the brave voices of A. S. Pushkin, V. G. Belinsky and M. Yu. Lermontov were heard. The critic saw in Lermontov a worthy successor to Pushkin. The man in his work bears the dramatic features of the time. In fate

Pechorin, the writer reflected the fate of his generation, his “age” (“Hero of Our Time”). But if Pushkin devotes his main attention to the description of the character’s actions, gives the “outline of character,” then Lermontov focuses on the hero’s inner world, on the in-depth psychological analysis his actions and experiences, on the “history of the human soul.”

40s of the XIX century. During this period, realists received the name “natural school” (N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, D.V. Grigorovich, N.A. Nekrasov). The works of these writers are characterized by accusatory pathos, rejection of social reality, and increased attention to everyday life. Gogol did not find the embodiment of his lofty ideals in the world around him, and therefore was convinced that in the conditions of contemporary Russia, the ideal and beauty of life could be expressed only through the denial of ugly reality. The satirist explores the material, material and everyday basis of life, its “invisible” features and the spiritually wretched characters arising from it, firmly confident in their dignity and right.

Second half of the 19th century. The work of writers of this time (I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev, N. S. Leskov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, V. G. Korolenko, A.P. Chekhov) are distinguished by a qualitatively new stage in the development of realism: they not only critically comprehend reality, but also actively look for ways to transform it, show close attention to the spiritual life of a person, penetrate into the “dialectic of the soul,” and create. a world populated by complex, contradictory characters, full of dramatic conflicts. The works of writers are characterized by subtle psychologism and large philosophical generalizations.

The turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The features of the era were most clearly expressed in the works of A. I. Kuprin and I. A. Bunin. They sensitively captured the general spiritual and social atmosphere in the country, deeply and faithfully reflected the unique pictures of the life of the most diverse segments of the population, created an integral and true picture Russia. They are characterized by such themes and problems as the continuity of generations, the heritage of centuries, the root connections of man with the past, the Russian character and features of national history, the harmonious world of nature and the world of social relations (devoid of poetry and harmony, personifying cruelty and violence), love and death , the fragility and fragility of human happiness, the mysteries of the Russian soul, loneliness and the tragic predestination of human existence, ways of liberation from spiritual oppression. The original and original creativity of writers organically continues the best traditions of Russian realistic literature, and above all, a deep penetration into the essence of the life depicted, the disclosure of the relationship between the environment and the individual, attention to the social and everyday background, and the expression of the ideas of humanism.

Pre-October decade. A new vision of the world in connection with the processes taking place in Russia in all areas of life determined a new face of realism, which differed significantly from classical realism in its “modernity”. New figures emerged - representatives of a special trend within the realistic direction - neorealism ("renewed" realism): I. S. Shmelev, L. N. Andreev, M. M. Prishvin, E. I. Zamyatin, S. N. Sergeev-Tsensky , A. N. Tolstoy, A. M. Remizov, B. K. Zaitsev, etc. They are characterized by a departure from the sociological understanding of reality; mastering the sphere of the “earthly”, deepening the concrete sensory perception of the world, artistic study of the subtle movements of the soul, nature and man coming into contact, which eliminates alienation and brings us closer to the original, unchanging nature of being; a return to the hidden values ​​of the folk-village element, capable of renewing life in the spirit of “eternal” ideals (pagan, mystical flavor of the depicted); comparison of the bourgeois urban and rural way of life; thought of incompatibility natural strength life, existential good with social evil; a combination of the historical and metaphysical (next to the features of everyday or concrete historical reality there is a “superreal” background, mythological subtext); the motive of purifying love as a kind of symbolic sign of the all-human natural unconscious principle that brings enlightened peace.

Soviet period. Distinctive features The socialist realism that arose at this time was partisanship, nationality, the depiction of reality in its “revolutionary development”, propaganda of the heroism and romance of socialist construction. In the works of M. Gorky, M. A. Sholokhov, A. A. Fadeev, L. M. Leonov, V. V. Mayakovsky, K. A. Fedin, N. A. Ostrovsky, A. N. Tolstoy, A. T. Tvardovsky and others affirmed a different reality, a different person, different ideals, different aesthetics, principles that formed the basis of the moral code of a fighter for communism. A new method in art was promoted, which was politicized: it had a pronounced social orientation, expressed state ideology. At the center of the works there was usually a positive hero, inextricably linked with the team, who constantly had a beneficial influence on the individual. The main sphere of application of the forces of such a hero is creative work. It is no coincidence that the industrial novel has become one of the most common genres.

20-30s of the XX century. Many writers, forced to live under a dictatorial regime, in conditions of cruel censorship, managed to maintain internal freedom, showed the ability to remain silent, be careful in their assessments, switch to allegorical language - they were devoted to the truth, to the true art of realism. The genre of dystopia was born, in which a harsh critique of a totalitarian society based on the suppression of personality and individual freedom was given. The fates of A.P. Platonov, M.A. Bulgakov, E.I. Zamyatin, A.A. Akhmatova, M.M. Zoshchenko, O.E. Mandelstam were tragic; they were deprived of the opportunity to publish in the Soviet Union for a long time.

The “thaw” period (mid-50s - first half of the 60s). At this historical time, young poets of the sixties loudly and confidently declared themselves (E. A. Evtushenko, A. A. Voznesensky, B. A. Akhmadulina, R. I. Rozhdestvensky, B. Sh. Okudzhava, etc.), who became “rulers of thought” of their generation together with representatives of the “third wave” of emigration (V. P. Aksenov, A. V. Kuznetsov, A. T. Gladilin, G. N. Vladimov,

A. I. Solzhenitsyn, N. M. Korzhavin, S. D. Dovlatov, V. E. Maksimov, V. N. Voinovich, V. P. Nekrasov, etc.), whose works were characterized by a sharply critical understanding of modern reality, preservation human soul under the conditions of a command-administrative system and internal opposition to it, confession, moral quest heroes, their release, emancipation, romanticism and self-irony, innovation in the field of artistic language and style, genre diversity.

The last decades of the 20th century. A new generation of writers, already living in somewhat relaxed political conditions within the country, came up with lyrical, urban and rural poetry and prose that did not fit into the rigid framework of socialist realism (N. M. Rubtsov, A. V. Zhigulin,

V. N. Sokolov, Yu. V. Trifonov, Ch. T. Aitmatov, V. I. Belov, F. A. Abramov, V. G. Rasputin, V. P. Astafiev, S. P. Zalygin, V. M. Shukshin, F. A. Iskander). The leading themes of their work are the revival of traditional morality and the relationship between man and nature, which revealed the writers’ closeness to the traditions of Russian classical realism. The works of this period are permeated with a feeling of attachment to the native land, and therefore responsibility for what happens on it, a feeling of the irreplaceability of spiritual losses due to the severance of age-old ties between nature and man. Artists reflect on the turning point in the field moral values, shifts in society in which it is forced to survive human soul, reflect on the catastrophic consequences for those who lose historical memory, experience of generations.

The latest Russian literature. IN literary process In recent years, literary scholars have identified two trends: postmodernism (blurred boundaries of realism, awareness of the illusory nature of what is happening, a mixture of different artistic methods, stylistic diversity, increased influence of avant-gardeism - A. G. Bitov, Sasha Sokolov, V. O. Pelevin, T. N. Tolstaya, T. Yu. Kibirov, D. A. Prigov) and post-realism (traditional for realism attention to the fate of a private person, tragically lonely, in the vanity of humiliating everyday life, losing moral guidelines, trying to self-determinate - V. S. Makanin, L . S. Petrushevskaya).

So, realism as a literary and artistic system has a powerful potential for continuous renewal, which manifests itself in one or another transitional era for Russian literature. In the works of writers who continue the traditions of realism, there is a search for new themes, heroes, plots, genres, poetic devices, and a new manner of conversation with the reader.

Briefly:

The name comes from Late Latin realis - real, real.

The works of realists are characterized by a truthful and objective reflection of reality. The measure of the realism of a work is the depth of penetration into reality, the completeness of its artistic understanding. Realism in the broad sense of the word is inherent in any great work art. Therefore, they talk about realism in ancient, ancient and medieval literature, literature of the Enlightenment.

Basic principles of realism of the 19th-20th centuries:

— an objective reflection of life in accordance with the author’s ideal;

- works show typical characters in typical circumstances, without giving up their individuality;

- life-like authenticity of the reflection of reality, i.e. in the “forms of life itself”;

— the interest of the work lies in reflecting the conflict between the individual and society.

In Russia, the foundations of realism were laid in the works of A. S. Pushkin (“Eugene Onegin”, “The Captain’s Daughter”) and A. S. Griboyedov (“Woe from Wit”). In the works of I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, there is a strongly socially oriented critical beginning That’s why M. Gorky called it “critical realism.” Realism reached its heights in the works of L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky.

Reflection of life and human characters from the point of view of the socialist ideal created socialist realism. This trend arose long before the emergence of the socialist state. The first work of socialist realism in Russian literature is considered to be M. Gorky’s novel “Mother”. Socialist realism achieved high artistry in the works of the best representatives of this movement - D. Furmanov, M. A. Sholokhov, A. T. Tvardovsky.

Source: Student's Quick Guide. Russian literature / Author-comp. I.N. Agekyan. - Mn.: Modern writer, 2002

More details:

In the ordinary sense, readers call realism a truthful and objective depiction of life that is easy to compare with reality. For the first time literary term“realism” was used by P.V. Annenkov in 1849 in the article “Notes on Russian Literature of 1818.”

In literary criticism they call realism literary direction which creates the illusion of reality in the reader. It is based on the following principles:

1. artistic historicism, that is, a figurative idea of ​​the connection between time and changing reality;
2. explanation of current events by socio-historical and natural scientific reasons;
3. identifying relationships between the described phenomena;
4. detailed and accurate depiction of details;
5. the creation of typical heroes who act in typical, that is, recognizable and repeated circumstances.

It is assumed that realism understood social problems and social contradictions better and more deeply than previous trends, and also showed society and man in dynamics and development. Perhaps based on these features of realism, M. Gorky called the realism of the 19th century “critical realism”, since he often “exposed” the unjust structure of bourgeois society and criticized the emerging bourgeois relations. Realists often connected even psychological analysis with social analysis, trying to find an explanation in the social structure for the psychological characteristics of the characters. Many of O. de Balzac’s novels are based on this. Their characters were the most different professions. Ordinary personalities finally found a quite prestigious place in literature: no one laughed at them anymore, they no longer served anyone; mediocrity became the main characters, like characters in Chekhov's stories.

Realism replaced fantasy and emotions, the most important for romanticism, with logical analysis and scientific knowledge life. In realistic literature, facts are not only examined: a relationship is established between them. This was the only way to understand the prose of life, that ocean of everyday little things that now appeared in realistic literature.

The most important feature of realism is that it preserves all the achievements of the literary movements that preceded it. Although fantasies and emotions fade into the background, they do not disappear anywhere; naturally, there is “no prohibition” on them, and only the author’s intention and style determine how and when to use them.

Comparing realism and romanticism, L.N. Tolstoy once noted that realism “...is a story from the inside about the struggle of the human personality in the material environment around it. While romanticism takes a person outside the material environment, makes him fight abstraction, like Don Quixote with windmills...”

There are many detailed definitions of realism. Most of the works you study in 10th grade are realistic. As you study these works, you will learn more and more about the realistic direction, which is still developing and enriching today.

In the debate between classicists and romantics in fine arts Gradually the foundation was laid for a new perception - a realistic one.

Realism, as a visually reliable perception of reality, assimilation to nature, approached naturalism. However, E. Delacroix already noted that “realism cannot be confused with the visible semblance of reality.” Significance artistic image depended not on the naturalism of the image, but on the level of generalization and typification.

The term "realism", introduced by the French literary critic J. Chanfleury in the middle of the 19th century, was used to designate art opposed to romanticism and academic idealism. Initially, realism came closer to naturalism and the “natural school” in art and literature of the 60-80s.

However, later realism self-identified as a movement that does not coincide with naturalism in everything. In Russian aesthetic thought By realism we mean not so much an accurate reproduction of life, but a “truthful” representation with a “sentence on the phenomena of life.”

Realism expands the social space of artistic vision, makes the “universal art” of classicism speak in a national language, and rejects retrospectivism more decisively than romanticism. A realistic worldview is the other side of idealism.

If the science of the 19th century observed facts of solid foundations, then, according to E. Zola, art followed this path, setting as its main task the analysis of reality; realistic tendencies are already manifested in romantic art, painting in Austria and Germany, the “Barbizon” school, romantic classicism).

However, the criterion of “realism” was not the accuracy of the reproduction of the surrounding reality. Striving for a correct depiction of nature, the Barbizonians, for example, were suspicious of realism, considering it too prosaic, aimed at creating “copies” rather than genuine art. The Barbizonians did not like the social orientation of creativity.

The democracy of realistic art is manifested in a sympathetic reflection of the life of the working people.

Fight for Russian national art were fully expressed in the Itinerants movement. Academic language artistic style The Peredvizhniki spoke about everyday social problems in Russia.

The artist who adhered to " critical realism“, according to I. Repin, “he tried to teach, edify society,” to engage in journalistic activities, as a result of which “he is recognized only as an illustrator of liberal ideas.” Moralizing didacticism brought the Wanderers closer to the naturalistic school and artists of the Enlightenment.

We should agree with V.G. Vlasov, who writes: “The painting of the Wanderers, both in content and in form, is a deeply provincial art.

Its historical limitations were predetermined, on the one hand, by the backwardness of Russian public life, remnants of serfdom, slavery and spiritual lack of freedom, on the other - the provincialism of Russian academic art."

Realism- a direction in literature and art that aims to truthfully reproduce reality in its typical features. The dominance of realism followed the era of romanticism and preceded symbolism.

There is an opinion that realism originated in ancient times. There are several periods of realism:

• "Ancient Realism"
• "Renaissance Realism"
• “Realism of the 18th-19th centuries” (here, in the mid-19th century, it reached its highest power, and therefore the term Age of Realism appeared)
• "Neorealism (20th century realism)"

Realism, according to popular opinion, is a concrete historical method in which the motives for the actions of heroes are determined by the circumstances in which this hero exists.

Realism is based on the idea of ​​determinism, the influence of the environment on a person. Realistic literature achieves artistic truth, that is, complete adequacy of the narrative to its object. The classification of the realistic method is based on what meaningful motifs are recreated in the work. There is social realism, where the dominant principle is real circumstances that determine the entire structure of the corresponding literary text, there is character realism, where characters “compete” with circumstances; there is psychological realism, where in the first place is the reproduction of the inner essence of the psychology of the character. In grotesque realism, grotesque or satirical convention determines the style of the work, without depriving the character of the logic of self-motion corresponding to the logic of life.

In Russian realism, two main types developed over the course of 200 years: critical and social. These terms were not entirely successful, because objective difficulties arise during comparison. The basis of the terminological designation of critical realism is the pathos of the work, its critical orientation, that is, the subjective side of the content, in another case, the main substantive point of the method is a certain ideological system, where the word “socialist” dominates. These are quantities of different sizes, and if we keep in mind true theoretical aesthetics, then we should compare phenomena that are characterized by the originality of the creative principles of reflecting life, and not by the ideological or subjective-emotional introduction of the author into literary texts your likes and dislikes.

Realism in literature is a direction whose main feature is true picture reality and its typical features without any distortion or exaggeration. Given literary movement originated in the 19th century, and its adherents sharply opposed sophisticated forms of poetry and the use of various mystical concepts in works.

Realism as an artistic method was formed in the 20-30s of the 19th century. At this time, for the first time in the history of mankind, a world system economic connections, significant democratic processes took place, the sphere of social production covered all aspects of reality, attracting ever wider social strata of the population.

Accordingly, the subject of art research expanded: it became involved and acquired social significance and aesthetic value as broad social processes. So are the subtle nuances of human psychology, the way of life of people, nature, the world of things. The main object of artistic research, man, also experienced profound changes, and the social network acquired a general, worldwide character.

There is not a single corner left in the spiritual world that does not have social significance and is not interested in art. All these changes led to the emergence of a new type of artistic concept of the world - realism.

The phenomena of reality, like man himself, appeared in the art of realism in all its complexity and completeness, in all its richness of aesthetic properties, complicated and enriched by social practice.

Realism is based on the principle of historicism, specifically the historical understanding and depiction of human characters. Realism is characterized by typification as a means of identifying the essential social qualities of a person and the circumstances of formation and activity.

The art of realism has a huge gallery in its production social types, reproducing the diversity and complexity of social relations and connections of society into a new historical period- the era of political and economic planning of capitalism. It should be noted that realism originated in the country where capitalism established itself first - England and France. The founders of Western European realism were W. Scott and C. Dickens, F. Stendhal and O. where Balzac. Realism had a powerful influence on the public consciousness of the era. He contributed to the establishment of a materialistic view of man, the essence of which is defined as “the totality of all social relations.”

The realistic type of creativity is based not on a priori rules and schemes, but on penetration into the patterns of social reality (this is the subject of art). A realist artist cognizes the characters and phenomena of life in motion, understands them as the results of a reality that is developing: and thinks in terms of the laws of this reality.

The realism of the time of capitalism developed in conditions of growing authority of science and culture in general. However, studies of predominantly natural objects were of a scientific nature. The scientific worldview, which comprehends both the relationship of man to nature and the social relations of people, had not yet developed. Therefore, the ideological orientation of science in solving problems of artistic creativity largely came down to the perception, assimilation, and use of the complex of ideas and values ​​that characterize natural-scientific materialism. It was precisely this aesthetics, the example of which was a book from natural history, the equality of all phenomena of life before the eye of the artist, that directed realism towards naturalism.

Socio-historical analysis, on which realism is based, makes it possible for art to comprehensively embrace human life in society, to make the subject of life itself, the way of life of modern society, that is, all the wealth life circumstances, which affect a person's share. These include upbringing and education, social, political, cultural, family and other relationships and connections between people. At the same time, realism provides artistic analysis society in all its socio-cultural planes, embodied in the full life of human individuality.

Second half of the 19th century. marked by the growing crisis of capitalist society and the maturation of the rebellious spirit of the proletariat. Therefore, the tendency of the unfolding of the artistic process is characterized by the subsequent development of art, associated both with democratic and revolutionary forces, and with decadent, modernist movements, which changed each other very often. These processes occurred at the end of the 19th century. just as a trend. But already at the beginning of the 20th century. artistic life has become extremely diverse and extremely contradictory, which is confirmed by the complexity of the socio-historical day.

Socialist realism - creative method, which developed at the beginning of the 20th century. as a reflection of development processes artistic culture during the socialist revolution, as an expression of the social class concept of the world and man. In the 20s of the last century, new conditions were created in Russia, conflicts unknown in historical practice, a dramatic collision arose, and therefore a new hero and a new audience appeared.

There was a need not only for a political, philosophical, but also for an artistic understanding of the process of the victory of the socialist revolution in Russia and the ways of building a socialist society. It should be taken into account that the victory of the revolution in Russia brought to life a new art, and not the artistic method itself. It is extremely important to record the period of development of new art between the revolutionary years of 1917 and 1934, which took place in the pan-European modern discourse, and the following period, after the First Congress of Soviet Writers (1934). At the congress, a new artistic program of socialist art and a definitely new artistic method “socialist realism”, its principles and tasks were adopted.

In the first period, there was an active development of art, not associated with any ideological restrictions; it is full of searches for new means of artistic expression that could most fully convey to the audience the pathos of a new idea. Considering the specifics of the development of art and artistic method, we should note the conditions that have developed specifically in Russia. After all, the period 1917-1921. in Ukraine, Georgia or, for example, Armenia needs separate analysis, since it is not identical to the socio-political situation in Russia. The art of socialist realism has half a century of history, it had a significant impact on the share of world culture.

Signs of direction

Realism in 19th-century literature can be distinguished by clear characteristics. The main one is artistic image reality in images familiar to the average person, which he regularly encounters in real life. Reality in works is considered as a means for a person to understand the world around him and himself, and the image of each literary character is worked out in such a way that the reader can recognize himself, a relative, a colleague or an acquaintance in him. In the novels and stories of realists, art remains life-affirming, even if for The plot is characterized by a tragic conflict. Another feature of this genre is the desire of writers to consider the surrounding reality in its development, and each writer tries to discover the emergence of new psychological, public and social relations.

Features of this literary movement

Realism in literature, which replaced romanticism, has the signs of art that seeks and finds truth, striving to transform reality.

Literary characters in the works of realist writers made discoveries after much thought and dreaming, after analyzing subjective worldviews. This feature, which can be distinguished by the author’s perception of time, determined the distinctive features of realistic literature of the early twentieth century from traditional Russian classics.

Realism in the 19th century

Such representatives of realism in literature as Balzac and Stendhal, Thackeray and Dickens, George Sand and Victor Hugo, in their works most clearly reveal the themes of good and evil, and avoid abstract concepts and show real life of their contemporaries. These writers make it clear to readers that evil lies in the lifestyle of bourgeois society, capitalist reality, and people’s dependence on various material values. For example, in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son, the owner of the company was heartless and callous not by nature. It’s just that such character traits appeared in him due to the presence of a lot of money and the ambition of the owner, for whom profit becomes the main achievement in life. Realism in literature is devoid of humor and sarcasm, and the images of the characters are no longer the ideal of the writer himself and do not embody his cherished dreams. From the works of the 19th century, the hero practically disappears, in whose image the author’s ideas are visible. This situation is especially clearly visible in the works of Gogol and Chekhov.

However, this literary trend is most clearly manifested in the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, who describe the world as they see it. This was expressed in the image of characters with their strengths and weaknesses, a description of the mental torment of literary heroes, a reminder to readers of the harsh reality that one person cannot change.

As a rule, realism in literature also affected the fate of representatives of the Russian nobility, as can be judged from the works of I. A. Goncharov. Thus, the characters of the heroes in his works remain contradictory. Oblomov is a sincere and gentle person, but due to his passivity he is not able to change his life for the better. Another character in Russian literature has similar qualities - the weak-willed but gifted Boris Raisky. Goncharov managed to create the image of an “anti-hero” typical of XIX century, which was noticed by critics. As a result, the concept of “Oblomovism” appeared, referring to all passive characters whose main features were laziness and lack of will.

Critical realism- in Marxist literary criticism, the designation of an artistic method that precedes socialist realism. Considered as a literary movement that developed in capitalist society XIX century.

It is generally accepted that critical realism reveals the conditioning of the circumstances of a person’s life and his psychology by the social environment (novels by O. Balzac, J. Eliot). IN Soviet era The materialist aesthetics of V. G. Belinsky, N. G. Chernyshevsky, and N. A. Dobrolyubov were used to substantiate critical realism in Russia. Maxim Gorky recognized the last great representative of critical realism in A.P. Chekhov. From Gorky himself, according to official Soviet ideas, the countdown of a new artistic method began - socialist realism.

Psychologism in literature - a complete, detailed and deep depiction by means fiction the inner world of a literary hero: his feelings, emotions, desires, thoughts and experiences. According to A. B. Esin, psychologism is “a fairly complete, detailed and deep depiction of the feelings, thoughts, experiences of a fictional personality (literary character) using specific means of fiction.” Lit.- Esin A. B. Psychologism of Russian classical literature. M., 1988. It can be said that all the richest world literature consists of two large areas - the development of the psychologism of heroes in their relationship to the world and other people and the development of internal psychologism, aimed at analyzing one’s own inner world, one’s soul. Thus, considering the works that we studied up to the tenth grade, representatives of the first direction include the works of I.S. Turgenev “Asya”, “Notes of a Hunter”, the second - “Hero of Our Time”, “Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov. Turgenev achieved the highest skill in depicting the characters of his heroes, revealing the inner world of the heroes through actions and deeds. Even as a child, reading “Mumu”, you understand that only a courageous person with a strong character could make such a terrible decision - to drown the closest and dearest creature, so that Mumu would not be torn to pieces by an evil and cruel crowd. In “A Hero of Our Time,” what is striking is Lermontov’s ability to reveal the secrets of a person’s (Pechorin’s) inner world, to express emotional experiences as accurately and vividly as a person cannot do in everyday, ordinary life.

In this regard, there are three main forms of psychological depiction, to which all specific techniques for reproducing the inner world of literary heroes are reduced: direct, indirect and summary-designating. The first two forms were theoretically identified by I.V. Strakhov: “The main forms of psychological analysis can be divided into the depiction of characters “from the inside” - that is, through artistic knowledge of the inner world characters, expressed through inner speech, images of memory and imagination; to psychological analysis “from the outside”, expressed in psychological interpretation a writer of expressive features of speech, speech behavior, facial expressions and other means of external manifestation of the psyche.” The depiction of characters “from the inside” is called the direct form, and “from the outside” - indirect, since in it we learn about the inner world of the hero not directly, but through the external symptoms of his psychological state. About the third form of psychological depiction

A.B. Esin writes: “But the writer has another opportunity, another way to inform the reader about the thoughts and feelings of the character - with the help of naming, an extremely brief designation of those processes that take place in the inner world. We will call this method summative designating. A.P. Skaftymov wrote about this technique, comparing the features of psychological depiction in Stendhal and Tolstoy: “Stendhal mainly follows the path of verbal designation of feelings. Feelings are named, but not shown.” So, one and the same psychological state can be reproduced using different forms of psychological imaging. You can, for example, say: “I was offended by Karl Ivanovich because he woke me up” - this will be a summary form. You can depict external signs of resentment: tears, frowning eyebrows, stubborn silence, etc. - this is an indirect form. But you can, as Tolstoy did, reveal internal state using a direct form of psychological image: “Suppose,” I thought, “I am small, but why does he bother me? Why doesn’t he kill flies near Volodya’s bed? How many are there? No, Volodya is older than me, and I am smaller than everyone else: that’s why he torments me. “That’s all he thinks about all his life,” I whispered, “how I can make trouble.” He sees very well that he woke me up and scared me, but he acts as if he doesn’t notice... he’s a disgusting man! And the robe, and the cap, and the tassel - how disgusting!” Lit.- A.B. Yesin. Principles and techniques of analysis literary work. Tutorial for students and teachers of philological faculties, literature teachers. Most often, in the works of writers whom we habitually call psychologists - Lermontov, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Maupassant and others - for psychological depiction, as a rule, all forms are used, although the leading role In psychologism, however, the direct form plays a role - the direct reconstruction of the processes of a person’s inner life. Techniques of psychological depiction include psychological analysis and introspection. Both of these techniques consist in the fact that complex states of mind characters are decomposed into their components and thereby explained and become clear to the reader. Psychological analysis is used in third-person narration, introspection - in both first and third person. With introspection, first-person psychological narration takes on the character of a confession, which enhances the reader's impression. This narrative form is used mainly when the work has one main character, whose consciousness and psyche is followed by the author and the reader, and the rest of the characters are secondary, and their inner world is practically not depicted (“Childhood”, “Adolescence” and “Youth” "L.N. Tolstoy and others).

In psychological analysis, third-person narration has its advantages. This artistic form allows the author, without any restrictions, to introduce the reader into the inner world of the character and show it in the most detail and depth. For the author, there are no secrets in the hero’s soul - he knows everything about him, can trace internal processes, explain the connection between impressions, thoughts, experiences. At the same time, the author can psychologically interpret the hero’s external behavior, his facial expressions and movements, etc. “Fearing ridicule, I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart. They died there,” Pechorin says about himself. But, thanks to the author, we understand that not all of Pechorin’s “best feelings” died. He suffers when Bela dies; at the moment of parting with Vera, his “heart clenches painfully.” “Psychology is one of the secrets of the long historical life of literature of the past: when speaking about the human soul, it speaks to each reader about himself.”

Realism at the turn of the century remained a large-scale and influential literary movement. Suffice it to say that in the 1900s L. Tolstoy and A. Chekhov still lived and worked.

The most brilliant talents among the new realists belonged to the writers who united in the Moscow circle “Sreda” in the 1890s, and who in the early 1900s formed the circle of regular authors of the publishing house “Znanie” (one of its owners and de facto leader was M. Gorky). In addition to the leader of the association, over the years it included L. Andreev, I. Bunin, V. Veresaev, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, A. Kuprin, I. Shmelev and other writers. With the exception of I. Bunin, there were no major poets among the realists; they showed themselves primarily in prose and, less noticeably, in drama.

The influence of this group of writers was largely due to the fact that it was they who inherited the traditions of the great Russian literature of the 19th century. However, the immediate predecessors of the new generation of realists seriously updated the appearance of the movement already in the 1880s. The creative searches of the late L. Tolstoy, V. Korolenko, A. Chekhov contributed to artistic practice a lot of things that are unusual by the standards of classical realism. The experience of A. Chekhov turned out to be especially important for the next generation of realists.

Chekhov's world includes many diverse human characters, but with all the originality, his heroes are similar in that they all lack something most important. They try to join true life, but, as a rule, they never find the desired spiritual harmony. Neither love, nor passionate service to science or social ideals, nor faith in God - none of the previously reliable means of gaining integrity - can help the hero. The world in his perception has lost a single center; this world is far from hierarchical completeness and cannot be embraced by any of the worldview systems.

That is why life according to any ideological template, a worldview based on a fixed system of social and ethical values, is interpreted by Chekhov as vulgarity. Life turns out to be vulgar, repeating patterns set by tradition, devoid of spiritual independence. None of Chekhov's heroes are unconditionally right, so Chekhov's type of conflict looks unusual. When comparing heroes on one or another basis, Chekhov most often does not give preference to any of them. What is important to him is not “moral investigation,” but rather finding out the reasons for mutual misunderstanding between people. This is why the writer refuses to be the accuser or lawyer of his heroes.

Outwardly mild plot situations in his mature prose and drama are designed to reveal the delusions of the characters, determine the degree of development of their self-awareness and the associated degree of personal responsibility. In general, various moral, ideological and stylistic contrasts in Chekhov’s world lose their absolute character and become relative.

In a word, Chekhov's world is a world of moving relationships, where different subjective truths interact. In such works, the role of subjective reflection (self-analysis, reflections of the characters, their understanding of their actions) increases. The author has good control over the tone of his assessments: it cannot be unconditionally heroic or recklessly satirical. Subtle lyrical irony is perceived by the reader as a typically Chekhovian tone.

Thus, the generation of realist writers of the early 20th century inherited from Chekhov new principles of writing - with much greater authorial freedom than before; with a much wider arsenal of artistic expression; with a sense of proportion obligatory for the artist, which was ensured by increased internal self-criticism and self-reflection.

While generously using some of Chekhov's findings, realists of the turn of the century did not always possess the last of the mentioned qualities of an artist. Where Chekhov saw a variety and relative equivalence of life behavior options, his young followers were carried away by one of them. If Chekhov, say, shows how strong the inertia of life is, often nullifying the hero’s initial desire to change, then the realist of Gorky’s generation sometimes absolutizes the very volitional impulse of a person, without testing it for strength and therefore replacing the real complexity of a person with a dream of “strong people.” Where Chekhov predicted a long-term perspective, calling on him to “squeeze out a slave drop by drop,” the writer-“Knowledge” gave a much more optimistic forecast of “the birth of man.”

Nevertheless, it is extremely important that the generation of realists of the early 20th century inherited from Chekhov constant attention to the personality of man, his individuality. What are the main features of realism? late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century?

Themes and heroes of realistic literature. The thematic range of works by turn-of-the-century realists is wider than that of their predecessors; For most writers at this time, thematic constancy is uncharacteristic. Rapid changes in Russia forced them to vary themes and invade previously reserved thematic layers. In Gorky’s writing circle at that time, the spirit of the artel was strong: through joint efforts, the “Znanievites” created a wide panorama of the country undergoing renewal. Large-scale thematic capture was noticeable in the titles of the works that made up the “Knowledge” collections (it was this type of publication - collections and almanacs - that spread in the literature of the beginning of the century). For example, the table of contents of the 12th collection “Knowledge” resembled the sections of some sociological study: the same type of titles “In the city”, “In the family”, “In prison”, “In the village” designated the areas of life being examined.

Elements of sociological descriptiveness in realism are the not yet overcome legacy of social essay prose of the 60-80s, in which there was a strong focus on the empirical study of reality. However, the prose of the “Znanievites” was distinguished by more acute artistic problems. The crisis of all forms of life - most of their works brought readers to this conclusion. What was important was the changed attitude of realists to the possibility of transforming life. In the literature of the 60-80s, the living environment was depicted as sedentary, possessing a terrible force of inertia. Now the circumstances of a person's existence are interpreted as devoid of stability and subject to his will. In the relationship between man and the environment, realists at the turn of the century emphasized man’s ability not only to withstand the adverse effects of the environment, but also to actively rebuild life.

The typology of characters has also been noticeably updated in realism. Outwardly, the writers followed tradition: in their works one could find recognizable types of the “little man” or the intellectual who survived the spiritual drama. The peasant remained one of the central figures in their prose. But even the traditional “peasant” characterology has changed: more and more often a new type of “thoughtful” man appeared in stories and tales. Characters got rid of sociological averageness and became more diverse in psychological characteristics and attitude. “The diversity of the soul” of the Russian person is a constant motif in I. Bunin’s prose. He was one of the first in realism to widely use foreign material in his works (“Brothers”, “Chang’s Dreams”, “The Mister from San Francisco”). The use of such material became characteristic of other writers (M. Gorky, E. Zamyatin).

Genres and stylistic features of realistic prose. The genre system and stylistics of realistic prose were significantly updated at the beginning of the 20th century.

At this time, the most mobile stories and essays occupied a central place in the genre hierarchy. The novel has practically disappeared from the genre repertoire of realism: the story has become the largest epic genre. Not a single novel in exact value This term was not written by the most significant realists of the early 20th century - I. Bunin and M. Gorky.

Starting with the work of A. Chekhov, the importance of the formal organization of the text in realistic prose has noticeably increased. Individual techniques and elements of form received greater independence in the artistic structure of the work than before. For example, it was used more variably artistic detail, at the same time, the plot increasingly lost its significance as the main compositional device and began to play a subordinate role. The expressiveness in conveying the details of the visible and audible world has deepened. In this regard, I. Bunin, B. Zaitsev, I. Shmelev especially stood out. A specific feature of Bunin's style, for example, was the amazing unity of visual and auditory, olfactory and tactile characteristics in conveying the surrounding world. Realist writers attached greater importance to the use of rhythmic and phonetic effects of artistic speech, the transmission individual characteristics oral speech of the characters (masterful mastery of this element of form was characteristic of I. Shmelev).

Having lost, in comparison with the classics of the 19th century, the epic scale and integrity of the vision of the world, the realists of the beginning of the century compensated for these losses with a keener perception of life and greater expression in expressing the author’s position. The general logic of the development of realism at the beginning of the century was to strengthen the role of highly expressive forms. What was important to the writer now was not so much the proportionality of the proportions of the reproduced fragment of life, but rather the “power of the cry”, the intensity of the expression of the author’s emotions. This was achieved by sharpening the plot situations, when extremely dramatic, “borderline” states in the lives of the characters were described in close-up. The figurative series of works was built on contrasts, sometimes extremely sharp, “screaming”; Leitmotif principles of narration were actively used: the frequency of figurative and lexical repetitions increased.

Stylistic expression was especially characteristic of L. Andreev and A. Serafimovich. It is also noticeable in some of M. Gorky’s works. The works of these writers contain many journalistic elements - “montage” joining of statements, aphorism, rhetorical repetitions; the author often comments on what is happening, intrudes into the plot with lengthy journalistic digressions (you will find examples of such digressions in M. Gorky’s stories “Childhood” and “In People”). In L. Andreev's stories and dramas, the plot and arrangement of characters were often deliberately schematic: the writer was attracted by universal, “eternal” types and life situations.

However, within the work of one writer, a single stylistic manner was rarely maintained: more often, wordsmiths combined several stylistic options. For example, in the works of A. Kuprin, M. Gorky, L. Andreev, precise depiction coexisted with generalized romantic imagery, elements of life-likeness - with artistic conventions.

Stylistic duality, an element of artistic eclecticism - a characteristic feature of the realism of the beginning

XX century. Of the major writers of that time, only I. Bunin avoided diversity in his work: both his poetic and prosaic works maintained the harmony of precise descriptiveness and authorial lyricism. The stylistic instability of realism was a consequence of the transitivity and well-known artistic compromise of the direction. On the one hand, realism remained true to its bequest the previous century traditions, on the other hand, he began to interact with new trends in art.

Realist writers gradually adapted to new forms of artistic search, although this process was not always peaceful. Those who went further along the path of rapprochement with modernist aesthetics were L. Andreev, B. Zaitsev, S. Sergeev-Tsensky, and somewhat later - E. Zamyatin. Most of them were often reproached by critics who were adherents of former traditions for artistic apostasy, or even ideological desertion. However, the process of updating realism as a whole was artistically fruitful, and its total achievements at the turn of the century were significant.