Work literary directions. Literary movements and movements: classicism, sentimentalism, romanticism, realism, modernism (symbolism, acmeism, futurism)
About literary evolution
The position of literary history continues to be that of a colonial power among cultural disciplines. On the one hand, it is largely dominated by individualistic psychologism (especially in the West), where the question of literature is wrongfully replaced by the question of authorial psychology, and the question of literary evolution by the question of the genesis of literary phenomena. On the other hand, a simplified causal approach to the literary series leads to a gap between the point from which the literary series is observed - and this always turns out to be the main, but also further social series - and the literary series itself.
The theory of value in literary science has raised the danger of studying the main, but also individual phenomena and brings the history of literature into the form of a “history of generals.” As a result of the last conflict, a desire arose to study individual things and the laws of their construction in an ahistorical manner (the abolition of the history of literature).
In order to finally become a science, literary history must claim authenticity. All its terms must be subject to revision, and above all the very term “history of literature.” covering both the material history of fiction and the history of literature and writing in general
Meanwhile, historical research falls into at least two main types according to the observation point: research genesis literary phenomena and research evolution literary series, literary variability
in this case, the value should lose its subjective coloring, and the “value” of this or that literary phenomenon should be considered as evolutionary significance and characteristic.”
The same should happen with such evaluative concepts as “epigonism” - uncreative adherence to tradition, “amateurism” or “mass literature”
The main concept of literary evolution turns out to be change systems, and the question of “traditions” is transferred to another plane.
a literary work is a system, and literature is a system. Only with this basic agreement is it possible to build a literary science
I call the correlation of each element of a literary work as a system with others and, therefore, with the entire system constructive function of this element.
Upon closer examination, it turns out that such a function is a complex concept. The element is immediately correlated: on the one hand, with a number of similar elements of other works-systems, and even other series 3, on the other hand, with other elements of a given system (autofunction and synfunction).
Yes, vocabulary of this work correlates immediately with literary vocabulary and general speech vocabulary, on the one hand, and with other elements of a given work, on the other. Both of these components, or rather, both resultant functions, are unequal.
The autofunction does not decide, it only gives an opportunity, it is a condition for the synfunction
To tear out individual elements from the system and correlate them outside the system, i.e. without their constructive function, with similar nearby other systems is incorrect.
isolated study of a work is the same abstraction as the abstraction of individual elements of a work
Existence of fact as literary depends on its differential quality (i.e., on the correlation with either the literary or extra-literary series), in other words, on its function.
What is a literary fact in one era will be a common everyday phenomenon in another, and vice versa, depending on the entire literary system in which this fact is addressed.
Studying a work in isolation, we cannot be sure that we are speaking correctly about its construction, about the construction of the work itself.
There is one more circumstance here.
Auto function, i.e. the correlation of any element with a number of similar elements of other systems and other series is a condition for synfunction. constructive function of this element. any literary element: it does not disappear, only its function changes, it becomes auxiliary
We tend to name genres according to secondary performance characteristics, roughly speaking, in size. The names “story”, “tale”, “novel” are adequate for us to determine the number of printed sheets. This proves not so much the “automation” of genres for our literary system, but rather the fact that genres are defined in our country according to other criteria. The size of a thing, the speech space, is not an indifferent sign.
the study of isolated genres outside the signs of the genre system with which they correspond is impossible.
Prose and poetry are related to each other; there is a mutual function of prose and verse.
The function of verse in a certain literary system was performed by the formal element of meter.
But prose differentiates, evolves, and verse also evolves at the same time. The differentiation of one related type entails, or, better said, is associated with the differentiation of another related type.
The function of prose to verse remains, but the formal elements that fulfill it are different.
Further evolution of forms can either, over the centuries, consolidate the function of verse to prose, transfer it to a number of other features, or disrupt it, making it insignificant
The evolutionary relationship between function and formal element is a completely unexplored question.
Examples of how a form with an indeterminate function evokes a new one and determines it are numerous. There are examples of a different kind: a function searches for its form.
The connection between function and form is not accidental. the continuity of the functions of one or another formal element, the emergence of one or another new function in a formal element, its assignment to a function are important issues of literary evolution, which are not yet the place to be solved and explored here.
The system of literary series is, first of all, a system of functions of a literary series, in continuous correlation with other series. The ranks change in composition, but the differentiation of human activities remains. The evolution of literature, like other cultural series, does not coincide either in pace or in character (due to the specificity of the material with which it operates) with the series with which it is correlated. The evolution of the constructive function occurs quickly. The evolution of literary function - from era to era, the evolution of the functions of the entire literary series in relation to neighboring series - over centuries.
Due to the fact that the system is not an equal interaction of all elements, but presupposes the prominence of a group of elements (“dominant”) and the deformation of the others, the work enters literature and acquires its literary function precisely by this dominant. Thus, we correlate poems with the verse series (and not prose) not by all of their features, but only by some.
Here is another curious, from an evolutionary point of view, fact. A work is correlated according to one or another literary series, depending on the “deviation”, from the “differentiation” precisely in relation to the literary series along which it is distributed.
After all, everyday life is multifaceted and multifaceted in composition, and only the function of all its aspects in it is specific. Everyday life is correlated with literature primarily by its speech side. The same is the correlation between literary series and everyday life. This correlation between the literary series and everyday life is accomplished by speech lines, literature has in relation to everyday life speech function.
We have the word "installation". It roughly means “the creative intention of the author.” But it happens that “the intention is good, but the execution is bad.” Let us add: the author's intention can only be a ferment. By using specific literary material, the author, by submitting to it, departs from his intention.
The speech function must also be taken into account in the issue of reverse expansion of literature into everyday life.“Literary personality”, “author’s personality”, “hero” at different times is speech installation of literature and from there it goes into everyday life.
The expansion of literature into everyday life requires, of course, special living conditions.
12. This is immediate social function literature. Only through the study of the nearest rows is it possible to establish and study it. Only by considering the immediate conditions is it possible, and not by forcibly attracting further, albeit main, causal series.
And one more remark: the concept of “attitude”, speech function refers to a literary series or system of literature, but not to a separate work. An individual work must be correlated with the literary series before talking about its installation.
There are deep psychological and everyday personal influences that are not reflected in any way in the literary sense (Chaadaev and Pushkin). There are influences that modify and deform literature without having any evolutionary significance (Mikhailovsky and Gleb Uspensky). What is most striking is the fact that there is external data to make a conclusion about influence - in the absence of it. I gave the example of Katenin and Nekrasov. These examples can be continued. South American tribes create the myth of Prometheus without the influence of antiquity. We have the facts before us convergence 23, matches. These facts turn out to be of such importance that they completely cover the psychological approach to the question of influence, and the chronological question - “who said it first?” turns out to be insignificant.
If this “influence” is not present, a similar function can lead to similar formal elements without it
evolution is a change in the ratio of members of the system, i.e. a change in functions and formal elements - evolution turns out to be a “change” of systems. These changes are from era to era either slower or spasmodic in nature and do not imply a sudden and complete renewal and replacement of formal elements, but they imply a new function of these formal elements. Therefore, the comparison of certain literary phenomena should be carried out according to functions, and not only according to forms.
In his works, a writer can include everything that is in other types of copywriting: use any styles, any genres, any artistic and expressive means. Thus, a literary work can be written using a business, conversational, scientific or artistic style. At the same time, contain a journalistic report, advertisement, press release, resort to rhyme, tropes, etc.
In order to skillfully manage such a rich toolkit, a writer, of course, must own it.
The rules for creating a literary work and the process itself are very complex. Therefore, literary copywriting can be called the pinnacle of copywriting skill. On the one hand, in order to write a poem or a story, or even a novel, it is not necessary to have practice, for example, in journalism or advertising. But, on the other hand, a writer who has experience working with advertising, business, and PR texts has a much richer toolkit in his literary activity: his works can be more varied and deeper in terms of knowledge of the surrounding reality. Many copywriters, starting with rewriting, advertising or media copywriting, plan to become writers in the future. It’s not for nothing that they say that in every journalist’s desk there is an unfinished novel. At the same time, many writers have never been involved in PR, advertising, or rewriting.
Evolution of literature
When creating texts, it is important to understand that the requirements for literary works are constantly changing. Throughout the history of mankind, there has been an evolution of both verbal and artistic forms and the creative principles of writers on the scale of world literature. As the researchers note, “the stages of the literary process are usually thought of as corresponding to those stages of human history that manifested themselves most clearly and completely in Western European countries and especially clearly in the Romance countries. In this regard, ancient, medieval and modern literatures with their own stages are distinguished (following the Renaissance - baroque, classicism, the Enlightenment with its sentimentalist branch, romanticism, and finally, realism, with which modernism coexists and successfully competes in the 20th century).” .
At the beginning of the development of human civilization, literature was an oral creation; works had to be memorized, often reproduced to music. Written literature became independent and abandoned the need to use rhyme or musical rhythm. This gave her greater freedom in form and linguistic means of expression.
Literature is also influenced by the interests and demands of society and the state. Moreover, it also matters geographical position, and cultural and religious differences. Literature different nations evolves differently. However, in general world literature develops according to a single “scenario”.
Ancient literature, for the most part, was religious-cult and folklore with unclear authorship. In modern times, literature becomes authored and has individuality. The Renaissance gave literature complete freedom of creative expression. During the Renaissance, literature became more secular. In the era of Enlightenment and romanticism, literature finally becomes authored, individual, covering all spheres of human life - representatives of any class. The inner world of a person, his dramatic conflict with himself and the outside world comes to the fore.
The nineteenth century in literature is a period of realism, defined as “the truthful representation of typical characters in typical circumstances.” The beginning of the twentieth century is the time of modernism, which is characterized by “the most open and free self-disclosure of authors, their persistent desire to renew the artistic language, and a focus more on the universal and culturally-historically distant than on the close reality.” The end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries is the “coming” of postmodernism, which ironizes everything, turns everything into a game and easily borrows parts of texts from authors of other eras. S. King noted: “And with my writings, success did not follow me either. The fashion for horror films, science fiction and detective stories was gradually replaced by more and more picturesque sex stories.” One of the hits of the 21st century was the novel about sex – “Fifty Shades of Gray” by the British writer E. L. James.
In the Soviet Union in the twentieth century, which for a time remained outside of world processes, there was a demand from the state for the literature of “socialist realism” - a method that requires the writer to truthfully, historically specific depiction of reality in its revolutionary development, combined with the task of ideological reworking and education members of society in the spirit of socialism. Therefore, during the Soviet period, many heroic works were published about people sacrificing themselves for the sake of a common cause.
In post-Soviet times, Russian society “pounced” on the literature of “low genres”, which it had been deprived of for many years: romance novels, detective stories, adventures, etc.
However, by the beginning of the 21st century, domestic readers, one might say, “satisfied” their interest in “forbidden” literature. Today, publishing portfolios include books of “all genres and directions”: from classics to cyberpunk. Our country once again found itself in line with all major world literary processes.
Of course, modern literary scholars are asking the question: what will the literature of tomorrow - the second half and end of the 21st century - be like? It’s unlikely that anyone will be able to answer this accurately today, because... everything again depends on the demands of society and the creativity of modern literary copywriters, existing in the conditions of rapid world globalization.
In the twentieth century, the direction of non-fiction received great development.
In today’s ever-changing world, the question of literary copywriters is becoming increasingly pressing: is it worth pursuing literature and investing in it? This question is not as simple as it might seem at first glance, since at different times literature occupied different places among the arts.
Thus, sculpture dominated in antiquity. During the Renaissance - painting. Literature came to the fore only in the 18th-19th centuries. Music began to compete with her. In the twentieth century, literature was seriously “advanced” by radio, cinema and television. In the 21st century - the Internet with its colossal entertainment industry. People have too little time and energy for books.
As M. McLuhan believes, “the book has no future: the habit of reading is becoming obsolete, writing is doomed, because it is too intellectual for the era of television.” However, many researchers think this statement is too categorical. Literature is likely to remain a respected and revered member of the “family of muses.” But she will most likely never have a leading position in the arts and communications sector. Those who cannot help but create literary works need to come to terms with this, simply take note of this fact. Anyone who can not write should not do so.
It is worth noting that the place of literature in Russian culture may differ significantly from its place in Western culture.
It is obvious that, in general, modern literature is a fusion of instruction and entertainment. Or vice versa: entertainment and education.
Specifics of literary creativity
A modern writer can no longer rely on a muse or inspiration - competition is too developed. The technologies for creating literary works have been well studied, and therefore good texts are created, first of all, by the writer who masters these technologies. On the one hand, creating a professional text literary work occurs according to the same stages as in other types of copywriting. But, on the other hand, a literary copywriter must pay special attention to storytelling: know how a high-quality story is created and how it can be used in the text of the work. While creating literary text just one factor in mastering the creation of a story can outweigh all the others (originality of style, wild imagination, confessionality, etc.). For example, when writing a novel or story, like a story, it is necessary to: develop a setting, theme, controlling idea, conflict, characters, dramatic situation, twists and turns, events, gaps, barriers, plot, plot, structure, etc.
Of course, literary copywriting is the most free type of copywriting from a creative point of view.
One of the writers said: “When I write, I have no wife, friends, colleagues...” Thinking this way, the author removes restrictions on his creativity: he is not afraid to offend his (or his heroes’) thoughts and ideas of loved ones.
At the same time, creative freedom is always contained within a certain framework of requirements for texts (compliance with the rules of creating a story, compliance of content with form, following the basic rules of creating a text). And one more thing: although creativity is certainly subjective, it cannot be based solely on the inner world of the author. As W. Goethe said:
“As long as [the poet] expresses only a few personal feelings, he is not yet a poet; but as soon as he assimilates the world and learns to depict it, he will become a poet. And then it will be inexhaustible and always new; subjective nature will soon express what little is contained in it and fall into mannerisms.”
When starting to work on creating a literary work, a copywriter must understand the specifics of the literary work itself. Literature is different from music and dance; like painting and sculpture, it depicts reality, but it does so with the help of words. And a writer does not necessarily show everything around him as it is. Literature is characterized by artistic fiction: the creator of a work invents events that happen or invents events that never happen. The setting and characters of a literary work can be copied from someone else, or they can be completely fictitious. Fiction helps the author to summarize the facts of reality, demonstrate his view of the world and his creative capabilities. Fiction in a literary work can lead to the creation of the grotesque and the absurd (works by Saltykov-Shchedrik, Hoffmann, Beckett, etc.). But on the other hand, the presence of fiction is completely optional. Life itself often comes up with plots and dramatic situations that are simply impossible for any writer to create. Therefore, for example, Varlam Shalamov spoke about his “ Kolyma stories": "not the prose of a document, but the prose that has been achieved through suffering as a document."
Literature is distinguished by the depth of immersion in the “material”, the definition of the essence of what is happening to a person or about society. Therefore, literary works are primarily characterized by psychologism (recreation of internal character's life), which is achieved using various artistic means (resorting to the description of impressions, dreams, hallucinations, etc.)
Psychologism is the most important feature of literature in the era of visual communications (television and the Internet), when, according to Ilya Erenburg, “literature remains the invisible world, that is, the psychological.”
Another important detail that distinguishes literary copywriting from other types is language. As noted by M.M. Bakhtin: “The main feature of literature is that language here is not only a means of communication and expression-image, but also an object of image.” A literary work may even focus entirely on the beauty or possibilities of language.
The goal and result of a highly artistic literary work is often catharsis - a special mental state of a person in which he can simultaneously feel both grief and joy. Catharsis is purification through compassion, the process of releasing psychic energy - emotional release.
What to read and watch about literary copywriting?
Books:
Akhmanov M. “It’s not the gods who burn the pots, or a guide for a novice writer”
Butcher J. “The Craft of Writing”
Bradbury R. “The Joy of Writing”
Vargas Llosa. "Letters to a Young Novelist"
Veresaev V.V. “What does it take to be a writer?”
Wolf Yu. “School of Literary Excellence”
Voratha (Silin V.) “Styling of a beginning author”
Watts N. “How to Write a Novel”
Gal N. “The Living and the Dead Word”
Gorky M. “How I learned to write”, “Letters to aspiring writers”
Zelazny R. “Creating Science Fiction Novels”
King S. “How to Write Books”
Lebedev K. “Like the syllable, so is the monologue”
London J. "Martin Eden"
McKee R. “The Million Dollar Story”
Miller G. “Reflections on Writing”, “Writing”
Mitta A. “Cinema between hell and heaven”
Maugham W. S. “The Art of Words”
Nikitin Y. “How to become a writer”
Ostrovsky N. “How the steel was tempered”
Paustovsky K. “Golden Rose”
Rand A. “The Art of Fiction”
Scott W. “On the Supernatural in Literature”
Twain M. “The Literary Sins of Fenimore Cooper”
Tolstoy A. “On creativity and literature”
Wilson K. “The Craft of the Novel”
Frey J. N. “How to Write a Brilliant Novel”
Heinlein R. “How to become a science fiction writer”
Khalizev V. “Theory of Literature”
Shklovsky V. “On the theory of prose”
Jager J. “Writers are not born”
Movies:
"Agatha". Dir. Michael Aptide
"An angel at my table." Dir. Jane Campion
“Andersen. Life without love." Dir. Eldar Ryazanov
"Barton Fink." Dir. Joel Coen
"Poor rich girl." Dir. Jason Reitman
"Beaumarchais." Dir. Edouard Molinaro
"Fabulous". Dir. Vincent Kok
"Shakespeare in Love." Dir. John Madden
« Wonderland" Dir. Mark Forster
"The Wizard of Dreamland" Dir. Philip Saville
"Henry and June" Dir. Philip Kaufman
"Daphne." Dir. Claire Bevan
"Twenty-six days in the life of Dostoevsky." Dir. Alexander Zarkhi
"Capote". Dir. Bennett Miller
"Kafka". Dir. Steven Soderbergh
"Something else". Dir. Woody Allen
"Lope de Vega: Libertine and Seducer." Dir. Andrucha Weddington
"Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters." Dir. Paul Schroeder
"Miss Potter." Dir. Chris Noonan
"Moliere". Laurent Tirard
"Find Forrester." Dir. Gus Van Sant
"Areas of Darkness" Dir. Neil Berger
"Murder, She Wrote." Dir. Edward Abroms, Corey Allen, John Austin
"The Pen of the Marquis de Sade." Dir. Philip Kaufman
"Full eclipse". Dir. Agnieszka Holland.
"Midnight in Paris". Woody Allen
"Ghost". Dir. Roman Polanski
"Drunk." Dir. Barbet Schroeder
"Ask the dust." Directed by Robert Towne
"Creative dead end." Dir Charles Correll
"Subject". Dir. Gleb Panfilov
"Wilde". Dir. Brian Gilbert
Internet resources:
For writers - everything about writing: http://www.klikin.ru/writer.htm
Writer's Guide: http://www.avtoram.com/
Writers' Workshop: http://writercenter.ru/
Union Russian writers: http://www.writers.ru/
Forum for beginning writers: http://pisatel.forumbb.ru/
More detailed information on this topic can be found in the books of A. Nazaikin
Video tutorial 2: Literary directions
Lecture: Historical and literary process
Classicism
Classicism- the main artistic direction of European art of the 17th and early 19th centuries.
This literary movement was formed in France (late 17th century)
Main topics: civil, patriotic motives
Signs | Target | Character traits | Representatives of the direction in Russia |
1. Cultivates the theme of moral duty, patriotism, “high” citizenship 2. Proclaims the predominance of state interests over private problems. | Creation of works based on ancient art | 1.
Purity of the genre (high genres exclude the use of everyday situations, heroes; for low genres, sublime, tragic motives are unacceptable); 2. Purity of language (high genre uses high, sublime vocabulary, low genre uses colloquial language) 3. A clear division of heroes into negative and positive; 4. Strict adherence to the rule of “unity of 3” - place, time, action. | Poetic creations M. Lomonosov, V. Trediakovsky, A. Kantemir, V.Princess, A. Sumarokova. |
Sentimentalism
In place of classicism in the second half of the 18th century. sentimentalism came (English: “sensitive”, French: “feeling”). The dominant theme of art was human feelings, emotions, and experiences.
Sentimentalism- the primacy of feelings over reason.
Sentimentalists proclaimed the harmonious combination of nature and man to be the main criterion of value.
Sentimentalism is represented in Russia by works:
N.M. Karamzina,
I. I. Dmitrieva,
V.A. Zhukovsky (early work).
At the end of the 18th century. In Germany, a new literary movement emerged - romanticism. Several circumstances contributed to the emergence of a new trend:
Crisis of the Enlightenment
Revolutionary events in France
Classical German philosophy
Artistic search for sentimentalism
The hero of romantic works is the embodiment of rebellion against the realities of the surrounding reality.
Representatives of the romantic art movement in Russia:
Zhukovsky V.A.
Batyushkov K.N.
Yazykov N.M.
Pushkin A.S. (early works)
Lermontov M.Yu.
Tyutchev F.I. (philosophical lyrics)
Realism is a truthful reflection of reality.
Principles of realism:
- objective reflection of aspects of life combined with the author's ideal
- reproduction of typical characters in typical circumstances
- life-like authenticity of the image using conventional forms of artistic fantasy (myth, symbol) of the grotesque.
Modernism
Global crisis bourgeois culture, formed during the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century, gave rise to a new artistic direction called “modernism”. The new trend proclaimed a complete break with realistic traditions in creativity.
If about a dozen newly created movements have manifested themselves in European modernism, then the Russian version of the new literary movement consists of only “three pillars”:
symbolism
Acmeism
futurism
Name of direction | Characteristics, signs | Representatives in Russian literature |
| Symbolism(Greek " symbol») (1870-1910s) | The main place in creativity belongs to the symbol 1. Reflection of the world in the real and mystical planes.2. The search for “imperishable Beauty”, the desire to know the “ideal essence of the world” 3. The world is known through intuition 4. Understatement, hints, secret signs, special musicality of the verse 5. Own creation of myths 6. Preference for lyrical genres | The “senior” symbolists who stood at the origins of the new direction were D. Merezhkovsky (founder), Z. Gippius, V. Bryusov, K. Balmont. Later, “younger” continuers joined the direction: Vyacheslav Ivanov, A. Blok, A. Bely |
| Acmeism(Greek “acme” – highest point) (1910s) | 1.
Complete apoliticality, complete indifference to the pressing problems of the surrounding reality. 2. Liberation from symbolic ideals and images, from sublime, polysemantic far-fetchedness of texts, excessive metaphoricality - distinctness, definiteness of poetic images, clarity, accuracy of verse. 3. Returning poetry to the real, material world and subject | In the early periods of A. Akhmatov’s creativity, also O. Mandelstam, N. Gumilev, M. Kuzmin, S. Gorodetsky. |
| Futurism(Latin for “future”) (1910 -1912 - in Russia) | 1.
Denial of traditional culture, the dream of the emergence of super art in order to transform the world with its help. 2. Word creation, renewal of poetic language, search for new forms of expression, new rhymes. Gravity towards colloquial speech. 3. A special way of reading poetry - recitation. 4. Using the latest achievements of science and technology 5. “Urbanization” of language, the word is a certain construction, material for word creation 6. Shocking, artificially creating an atmosphere of literary scandal | V. Khlebnikov (early poems), D. Burliuk, I. Severyanin, V. Mayakovsky |
| Postmodernism(late XX – beginning of XXI century) | 1.
The loss of ideals led to the destruction of a holistic perception of reality, a fragmentation of consciousness and a mosaic perception of the world emerged. 2. The author gives preference to the most simplified reflection of the surrounding world. 3. Literature does not seek ways to understand the world - everything is perceived as it exists here and now. 4. The guiding principle is an oxymoron (a special stylistic device, in which incompatible things and concepts are combined). 5. Authorities are not recognized, and there is a clear tendency towards a parodic style of presentation. 6. The text is a bizarre mixture of different genres and eras. | V. Erofeev S. Dovlatov V. Pietsukh T. Tolstaya V. Pelevin V. Aksyonov V. Pelevin et al. |
Literary and artistic movements, movements and schools
Renaissance literature
The countdown of new times begins with the Renaissance (renaissanse French revival) - this is the common name for the socio-political and cultural movement that originated in the 14th century. in Italy, and then spread to other European countries and reached its peak by the 15th-16th centuries. The art of the Renaissance opposed itself to the church's dogmatic worldview, declaring man highest value, the crown of creation. Man is free and called to realize in earthly life the talents and abilities given to him by God and nature. Nature, love, beauty, and art were proclaimed as the most important values. During this era, interest in the ancient heritage is being revived, and true masterpieces of painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature are being created. The works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Velazquez constitute the golden fund of European art. The literature of the Renaissance most fully expressed the humanistic ideals of the era. Her best achievements are presented in the lyrics of Petrarch (Italy), the book of short stories “The Decameron” by Boccaccio (Italy), the novel “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Cervantes (Spain), the novel “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by Francois Rabelais (France), the dramaturgy of Shakespeare (England) ) and Lope de Vega (Spain).The subsequent development of literature from the 17th to early 19th centuries is associated with the literary and artistic movements of classicism, sentimentalism, and romanticism.
Literature of classicism
Classicism(classicus nam. exemplary) - artistic movement in European art XVII-XVIII centuries The birthplace of classicism is France during the era of absolute monarchy, the artistic ideology of which was expressed by this movement.The main features of the art of classicism:
- imitation of ancient models as the ideal of true art;
- proclamation of the cult of reason and rejection of the unbridled play of passions:
in the conflict of duty and feelings, duty always wins;
- strict adherence to literary canons (rules): division of genres into high (tragedy, ode) and low (comedy, fable), adherence to the rule of three unities (time, place and action), rational clarity and harmony of style, proportionality of composition;
- didactic, edifying nature of works that preached the ideas of citizenship, patriotism, and service to the monarchy.
The leading representatives of classicism in France were the tragedians Corneille and Racine, the fabulist La Fontaine, the comedian Molière, and the philosopher and writer Voltaire. In England, a prominent representative of classicism is Jonathan Swift, author of the satirical novel Gulliver's Travels.
In Russia, classicism originated in the 18th century, in an era of important cultural transformations. The reforms of Peter I radically influenced literature. It acquires a secular character, becomes author's, i.e. truly individual creativity. Many genres are borrowed from Europe (poem, tragedy, comedy, fable, and later novel). This is the time of formation of the system of Russian versification, theater and journalism. Such serious achievements became possible thanks to the energy and talents of Russian enlighteners, representatives of Russian classicism: M. Lomonosov, G. Derzhavin, D. Fonvizin, A. Sumarokov, I. Krylov and others.
Sentimentalism
Sentimentalism(French sentiment - feeling) - a European literary movement of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, which proclaimed feeling, and not reason (like the classicists), as the most important property of human nature. Hence the increased interest in the inner mental life of a simple “natural” person. The surge of sensitivity was a reaction and protest against the rationalism and severity of classicism, which outlawed emotionality. However, reliance on reason as the solution to all social and moral problems did not materialize, which predetermined the crisis of classicism. Sentimentalism poeticized love, friendship, family relationships, this is a truly democratic art, since the significance of a person was no longer determined by his social status, but the ability to empathize, appreciate the beauty of nature, and be as close as possible to the natural principles of life. In the works of sentimentalists, the world of an idyll was often recreated - harmonious and happy life loving hearts in the lap of nature. The heroes of sentimental novels often shed tears and talk a lot and in detail about their experiences. For the modern reader all this may seem naive and implausible, but the unconditional merit of the art of sentimentalism is the artistic discovery of important laws of the inner life of man, the protection of his right to private, intimate life. Sentimentalists argued that man was created not only to serve the state and society - he has an undeniable right to personal happiness.The birthplace of sentimentalism is England, the novels of writers Laurence Sterne “A Sentimental Journey” and Samuel Richardson “Clarissa Garlow”, “The History of Sir Charles Grandison” will mark the emergence of a new literary movement in Europe and will become a subject of admiration for readers, especially for female readers, and for writers - role model. No less famous are the works of the French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau: the novel “The New Heloise”, the artistic autobiography “Confession”. In Russia, the most famous sentimentalist writers were N. Karamzin - author of “ Poor Lisa", A. Radishchev, who wrote "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow."
Romanticism
Romanticism(romantisme French in this case - everything unusual, mysterious, fantastic) - one of the very influential in world art artistic directions, which formed at the end of the 18th - early XIX century. Romanticism arises due to the growth of the individual principle in the sentimental world of culture, when a person became increasingly aware of his uniqueness and sovereignty from the world around him. The Romantics proclaimed the absolute intrinsic value of the individual; they opened up a complex, contradictory world for art human soul. Romanticism is characterized by an interest in strong, vivid feelings, grandiose passions, and everything unusual: the historical past, exoticism, national color cultures of peoples not spoiled by civilization. Favorite genres are short stories and poems, which are characterized by fantastic, exaggerated plot situations, complexity of composition, and unexpected endings. All attention is focused on the experiences of the protagonist; the unusual setting is important as a background that allows his restless soul to reveal itself. Development of genres historical novel, fantastic stories, ballads are also the merit of the romantics.The romantic hero strives for an absolute ideal, which he searches for in nature, the heroic past, and love. Everyday life, the real world, seems to him boring, prosaic, imperfect, i.e. completely inconsistent with his romantic ideas. This creates a conflict between dreams and reality, high ideals and the vulgarity of the surrounding life. The hero of romantic works is lonely, not understood by others, and therefore either goes on a journey in the literal sense of the word, or lives in the world of imagination, fantasy, and his own ideal ideas. Any invasion of his personal space causes deep despondency or a feeling of protest.
Romanticism arose in Germany, in the works of early Goethe (the novel in letters “The Sorrows of Young Werther”), Schiller (the dramas “The Robbers”, “Cunning and Love”), Hoffmann (the story “Little Tsakhes”, the fairy tale “The Nutcracker and mouse king"), the Brothers Grimm (fairy tales "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "The Town Musicians of Bremen"). The largest representatives of English romanticism - Byron (the poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage") and Shelley (the drama "Prometheus Unbound") - are poets passionate about the ideas of political struggle, protecting the oppressed and disadvantaged, and defending individual freedom. Byron remained true to his poetic ideals until the end of his life; his death found him in the midst of the Greek War of Independence. Following the Byronian ideal of a disappointed personality with a tragic worldview was called “Byronism” and became younger generation of that time into a peculiar fashion, which was followed, for example, by Eugene Onegin, the hero of A. Pushkin’s novel.
The rise of romanticism in Russia occurred in the first third of the 19th century and is associated with the names of V. Zhukovsky, A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov, K. Ryleev, V. Kuchelbecker, A. Odoevsky, E. Baratynsky, N. Gogol, F. Tyutchev. Russian romanticism reached its peak in the works of A.S. Pushkin when he was in southern exile. Freedom, including from despotic political regimes, is one of the main themes of the romantic Pushkin; his “southern” poems are dedicated to this: “ Prisoner of the Caucasus", "Bakhchisarai Fountain", "Gypsies".
Another brilliant achievement of Russian romanticism -early creativity M. Lermontov. The lyrical hero of his poetry is a rebel, a rebel who enters into battle with fate. A striking example is the poem “Mtsyri”.
The cycle of short stories “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” which made N. Gogol a famous writer, is distinguished by its interest in folklore and mysterious, mystical subjects. In the 1840s, romanticism gradually faded into the background and gave way to realism.
But the traditions of romanticism remain reminiscent of themselves in the future, including in the literature of the 20th century, in literary movement neo-romanticism (new romanticism). His calling card will be A. Green’s story “Scarlet Sails”.
Realism
Realism(from lat. real, real) - one of the most significant directions V literature XIX-XX centuries, which is based on the realistic method of depicting reality. The task of this method is to depict life as it is, in forms and images that correspond to reality. Realism strives for knowledge and disclosure of the entire diversity of social, cultural, historical, moral and psychological processes and phenomena with their characteristics and contradictions. The author is recognized as having the right to cover any aspect of life without limiting themes, plots, or artistic means.Realism of the 19th century creatively borrows and develops the achievements of earlier literary movements: classicism has an interest in socio-political and civil issues; in sentimentalism - poeticization of family, friendship, nature, the natural principles of life; Romanticism has in-depth psychologism, comprehension of the inner life of a person. Realism showed the close interaction of man with the environment, the impact of social conditions on the destinies of people, he is interested in everyday life in all its manifestations. The hero of a realistic work - a common person, a representative of his time and his environment. One of the most important principles of realism is the depiction of a typical hero in typical circumstances.
Russian realism is characterized by deep social and philosophical problems, intense psychologism, and an enduring interest in the laws of a person’s inner life, the world of family, home, and childhood. Favorite genres: novel, story. The heyday of realism was the second half of the 19th century, which was reflected in the works of Russian and European classics.
Modernism
Modernism(moderne French newest) - a literary movement that emerged in Europe and Russia at the beginning of the 20th century as a result of a revision of the philosophical foundations and creative principles of realistic literature of the 19th century century. The emergence of modernism was a reaction to the crisis at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when the principle of revaluation of values was proclaimed.Modernists abandon realistic ways of explaining the surrounding reality and man in it, turning to the sphere of the ideal, mystical as the root cause of everything. Modernists are not interested in socio-political issues; the main thing for them is the soul, emotions, and intuitive insights of the individual. The calling of a human creator is to serve beauty, which, in their opinion, exists in its pure form only in art.
Modernism was internally heterogeneous and included various movements, poetic schools and groups. In Europe this is symbolism, impressionism, “stream of consciousness” literature, expressionism.
In Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, modernism clearly manifested itself in various fields of art, which is associated with its unprecedented flowering, which later became known as “ Silver Age"Russian culture. In literature, the poetic movements of symbolism and acmeism are associated with modernism.
Symbolism
Symbolism originates in France, in the poetry of Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, and then penetrates into other countries, including Russia.Russian symbolists: I. Annensky, D. Merezhkovsky, 3. Gippius, K. Balmont, F. Sologub, V. Bryusov - poets of the older generation; A. Blok, A. Bely, S. Solovyov are the so-called “young symbolists”. Of course, the most significant figure of Russian symbolism was Alexander Blok, who, according to many, was the first poet of that era.
Symbolism is based on the idea of “two worlds”, formulated ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In accordance with it, the real, visible world is considered only a distorted, secondary reflection of the world of spiritual entities.
A symbol (symbolon Greek, secret, conventional sign) is a special artistic image that embodies an abstract idea; it is inexhaustible in its content and allows one to intuitively comprehend the ideal world hidden from sensory perception.
Symbols have been used in culture since ancient times: star, river, sky, fire, candle, etc. - these and similar images have always evoked in people ideas about the lofty and beautiful. However, in the work of the Symbolists, the symbol acquired a special status, so their poems were distinguished by complex imagery, encrypted, and sometimes excessive. As a result, this leads to a crisis of symbolism, which by 1910 ceased to exist as a literary movement.
The Acmeists proclaim themselves the heirs of the Symbolists.
Acmeism
Acmeism(act from Greek, highest degree something, arrow) arises on the basis of the circle “Workshop of Poets”, which included N. Gumilyov, O. Mandelstam, A. Akhmatova, S. Gorodetsky, G. Ivanov, G. Adamovich and others. Without rejecting the spiritual fundamental principles of the world and the human nature, the Acmeists at the same time sought to rediscover the beauty and significance of real earthly life. The main ideas of Acmeism in the field of creativity: consistency of artistic design, harmony of composition, clarity and harmony artistic style. An important place in the value system of Acmeism was occupied by culture - the memory of humanity. In their work, the best representatives of Acmeism: A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam, N. Gumilev - reached significant artistic heights and received wide recognition from the public. The further existence and development of Acmeism was forcibly interrupted by the events of the revolution and civil war.Avant-garde
Avant-garde(avantgarde French vanguard) is a generalized name for experimental artistic movements, schools of the 20th century, united by the goal of creating a completely new art that has no connections with the old. The most famous of them are futurism, abstract art, surrealism, dadaism, pop art, social art, etc.The main feature of avant-gardeism is the denial of cultural and historical tradition, continuity, and the experimental search for one’s own paths in art. If modernists emphasized continuity with cultural tradition, then the avant-gardeists treated it nihilistically. The well-known slogan of Russian avant-garde artists is: “Let’s throw Pushkin off the ship of modernity!” In Russian poetry, various groups of futurists belonged to avant-gardeism.
Futurism
Futurism(futurum lat. future) arose in Italy as a movement of new urban, technocratic art. In Russia, this movement declared itself in 1910 and consisted of several groups (ego-futurism, cubo-futurism, “Centrifuge”). V. Mayakovsky, V. Khlebnikov, I. Severyanin, A. Kruchenykh, the Burliuk brothers and others considered themselves futurists. The futurists claimed to create a fundamentally new art of the future (they called themselves “Budetlyans”) and therefore boldly experimented with forms of verse and invented new ones words (“word innovations”), their “abstruse” language, were not afraid to be rude and anti-aesthetic. These were real anarchists and rebels, constantly shocking (irritating) the taste of the public, brought up on traditional artistic values. At its core, the Futurist program was destructive. Truly original and interesting poets there were V. Mayakovsky and V. Khlebnikov, who enriched Russian poetry with their artistic discoveries, but this was rather not thanks to futurism, but in spite of it.Conclusion on the issue:
Main literary trends
Summarizing brief overview the main stages of the development of European and Russian literature, its main feature and main vector was the desire for diversity and enrichment of the possibilities of human creative self-expression. Verbal creativity in all centuries has helped man to learn the world and express your ideas about it. The range of means that were used for this is amazing: from a clay tablet to a handwritten book, from the invention of mass printing to modern audio, video, and computer technologies.Today, thanks to the Internet, literature is changing and acquiring a completely new quality. Anyone with a computer and internet access can become a writer. Appears before our eyes the new kind- online literature that has its own readers, its own celebrities.
This is used by millions of people all over the planet, posting their texts to the world and receiving instant response from readers. The most popular and in demand national servers Proza.ru and Stikhi.ru are non-profit socially oriented projects whose mission is “to provide authors with the opportunity to publish their works on the Internet and find readers.” As of June 25, 2009, 72,963 authors published 93,6776 works on the Proza.ru portal; On the portal Stikhi.ru, 218,618 authors published 7,036,319 works. The daily audience of these sites is approximately 30 thousand visits. Of course, at its core this is not literature, but rather graphomania - a painful attraction and addiction to intense and fruitless writing, to verbose and empty, useless writing, but if among hundreds of thousands of similar texts there are several truly interesting and powerful ones, it’s all the same just as prospectors would find an ingot of gold in a pile of slag.
The term “literary process” can confuse a person unfamiliar with its definition. Because it is not clear what kind of process this is, what caused it, what it is connected with and according to what laws it exists. In this article we will examine this concept in detail. Special attention Let's focus on the literary process of the 19th and 20th centuries.
What is the literary process?
This concept means:
- creative life in the totality of facts and phenomena of a particular country in a particular era;
- literary development in a global sense, including all centuries, cultures and countries.
When using the term in the second meaning, the phrase “historical-literary process” is often used.
In general, the concept describes historical changes in the world and national literature, which, as they develop, inevitably interact with each other.
In the course of studying this process, researchers solve many complex problems, among which the main one is the transition of some poetic forms, ideas, trends and directions to others.
Writers' influence
Writers are also included in the literary process, who with their new artistic techniques and experiments with language and form change the approach to describing the world and people. However, the authors do not make their discoveries out of nowhere, since they necessarily rely on the experience of their predecessors, who lived both in his country and abroad. That is, the writer uses almost all of humanity’s artistic experience. From this we can conclude that there is a struggle between new and old artistic ideas, and each new literary movement puts forward its own creative principles, which, relying on traditions, nevertheless challenge them.
Evolution of directions and genres
The literary process, therefore, includes the evolution of genres and trends. Thus, in the 17th century, French writers proclaimed, instead of Baroque, which welcomed the self-will of poets and playwrights, classicist principles that presupposed adherence to strict rules. However, already in the 19th century, romanticism appeared, rejecting all rules and proclaiming the freedom of the artist. Then realism arose, expelling subjective romanticism and putting forward its own demands for works. And the change in these directions is also part of the literary process, as are the reasons for which they occurred and the writers who worked within their framework.
Don't forget about genres. Thus, the novel, the largest and most popular genre, has survived more than one change in artistic movements and trends. And in every era it has changed. For example, a striking example of a Renaissance novel - “Don Quixote” - is completely different from “Robinson Crusoe”, written during the Enlightenment, and both of them are unlike the works of O. de Balzac, V. Hugo, and Charles Dickens.
Russian literature of the 19th century
Literary process of the 19th century. presents a rather complex picture. At this time, evolution occurs and representatives of this direction are N.V. Gogol, A.S. Pushkin, I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharov, F.M. Dostoevsky and A.P. Chekhov. As you can see, the work of these writers is very different, however, they all belong to the same movement. At the same time, literary criticism in this regard speaks not only about the artistic individuality of writers, but also about changes in realism itself and the method of knowing the world and man.
At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism was replaced by the “natural school”, which already in the middle of the century began to be perceived as something preventing further literary development. F. Dostoevsky and L. Tolstoy begin to attach increasing importance to psychologism in their works. This became a new stage in the development of realism in Russia, and the “natural school” became outdated. However, this does not mean that the techniques of the previous movement are no longer used. On the contrary, the new absorbs the old, partially leaving it in its original form, partially modifying it. However, we should not forget about the influence of foreign literature on Russian, as well as, indeed, of domestic literature on foreign literature.
Western literature of the 19th century
The literary process of the 19th century in Europe included two main directions - romanticism and realism. Both of them reflected the historical events of this era. Let us remember that at this time factories were opening, railways were being built, etc. At the same time, the Great French revolution, which led to uprisings throughout Europe. These events, of course, are reflected in literature, from completely different positions: romanticism strives to escape reality and create its own ideal world; realism - analyze what is happening and try to change reality.
Romanticism, which arose at the end of the 18th century, gradually became obsolete around the middle of the 19th century. But realism, which was just emerging at the beginning of the 19th century, was gaining momentum by the end of the century. Realistic direction comes out of realism and declares itself around the age of 30-40.
The popularity of realism is explained by its social orientation, which was in demand by the society of that time.
Russian literature of the 20th century
Literary process of the 20th century. very complex, intense and ambiguous, especially for Russia. This is connected, first of all, with emigrant literature. Writers who found themselves expelled from their homeland after the 1917 revolution continued to write abroad, continuing the literary traditions of the past. But what is happening in Russia? Here, the motley variety of directions and trends, called the Silver Age, is forcibly narrowed to the so-called socialist realism. And all attempts by writers to move away from it are brutally suppressed. However, works were created but not published. Among such writers are Akhmatova, Zoshchenko, and from later antagonist authors - Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Venedikt Erofeev, etc. Each of these writers was a continuer of the literary traditions of the early 20th century, before the advent of socialist realism. The most interesting in this regard is the work “Moscow - Petushki”, written by V. Erofeev in 1970 and published in the West. This poem is one of the first examples of postmodern literature.
Until the end of the existence of the USSR, practically no works were published that were not related to socialist realism. However, after the collapse of the power, the dawn of book publishing literally began. Everything that was written in the 20th century but was prohibited is published. New writers are appearing, continuing the traditions of Silver Age, banned and foreign literature.
Western literature of the 20th century
The Western literary process of the 20th century is characterized by a close connection with historical events, in particular with the First and Second World Wars. These events greatly shocked Europe.
In the literature of the 20th century, two major trends stand out - modernism and postmodernism (emerging in the 70s). The first includes such movements as existentialism, expressionism, and surrealism. It developed most brightly and intensively in the first half of the 20th century, then gradually losing ground to postmodernism.
Conclusion
Thus, the literary process is the totality of the works of writers and historical events in their development. This understanding of literature makes it possible to understand by what laws it exists and what influences its evolution. The beginning of the literary process can be called the first work created by humanity, and its end will come only when we cease to exist.
