The most striking literary trends that reached their peak in Russian literature in the 19th century, having an equally large number of followers, vehemently arguing with each other, are romanticism and realism. Opposite in nature, however, it cannot be said that one is undeniably better than the other. Both of them are an integral part of the literature.
Romanticism
Romanticism as a literary trend appeared in Germany in the 18-19 centuries. He quickly won love in the literary circles of Europe and America. Romanticism reached its peak in the first half of the 19th century.
The main place in romantic works is given to the personality, which is revealed through the conflict of the hero and society. The Great French Revolution contributed to the spread of this trend. Thus, romanticism was the response of society to the emergence of ideas glorifying the mind, science.
Such enlightening ideas seemed to his adherents a manifestation of egoism, heartlessness. Of course, similar dissatisfaction was in sentimentalism, but it was in romanticism that it was most pronounced.
Romanticism was opposed to classicism. Now the authors were given complete freedom of creativity, in contrast to the framework inherent in classical works. The literary language by which romantic works were written was simple, understandable to every reader, as opposed to the ornate, too noble classical works.
Features of Romanticism
- The protagonist of romantic works was supposed to be a complex, multifaceted personality, experiencing all the events happening to him, sharply, deeply, very emotionally. This is a passionate, enthusiastic nature with an infinite, mysterious inner world.
- In romantic works there has always been a juxtaposition of high and base passions, fans of this direction were interested in any manifestation of feelings, they sought to understand the nature of their occurrence. They were more interested in the inner worlds of the heroes and their experiences.
- Novel writers could choose any era for the actions of their novel. It was romanticism that introduced the whole world to the culture of the Middle Ages. An interest in history helped writers create their vivid works, saturated with the spirit of the time about which they wrote.
Realism
Realism is a literary direction in which writers sought to reflect reality as truthfully as possible in their works. But this is a very difficult task, because the very definition of "truth", a vision of reality, each has its own. It often happened that in an effort to write only the truth, the writer had to write things that could contradict his beliefs.
No one can say for sure when this direction appeared, but it is considered one of the earliest currents. Its features depend on the particular historical era in which it is considered. Therefore, the main distinguishing feature is the accurate reflection of reality.
Education
Romanticism and realism clashed at a time when enlightening ideas began to dominate in a realistic direction. During this period, literature became a kind of preparation for society for the social-bourgeois revolution. All the actions of the heroes were evaluated only from the point of view of rationality, therefore positive characters are the embodiment of the mind, and negative ones violate the norms of the person, uncultured, acting unreasonably.
In this period of realism, its subspecies appear:
- English realistic novel;
- critical realism.
The fact that for representatives of romanticism was a manifestation of heartlessness was understood by realists as the rationality of actions. Conversely, the freedom of action that the heroes of the novels followed was censured by the representatives of realism.
Romanticism and Realism in Russian Literature of the 19th Century (briefly)
These areas are not spared and Russia. Romanticism and realism in 19th-century literature in Russia enter into a struggle that takes place in several stages:
- the transition from romanticism to realism, which served as an unprecedented flourishing of classical literature and its recognition throughout the world;
- "literary dual power" is a period when the union and struggle of romanticism and realism presented literature with great works and no less great authors, which made it possible to consider the 19th century in Russian literature to be "golden."
The emergence of romanticism in Russia was due to the victory in the war of 1812, which caused a great public upsurge. Of course, romanticism could not help but be imbued with the ideas of the Decembrists about freedom, which created truly unique works that reflect the internal state of the whole Russian people. The most striking, well-known representatives of romanticism are A. S. Pushkin (poems written in the Lyceum period and the "southern" lyrics), M. Yu. Lermontov, V. A. Zhukovsky, F. I. Tyutchev, N. A. Nekrasov ( early works).
In the 30s, realism was gaining momentum, when writers reflected the current reality in an elegant, understandable language, precisely and subtly noticed human and social vices and ironized over them. The founder of this trend is A.S. Pushkin ("Eugene Onegin", "Belkin's Tale"), along with no less talented masters of the pen, such as N.V. Gogol ("Dead Souls"), I. S Turgenev ("The Noble Nest", "Fathers and Sons"), L. N. Tolstoy (the great work "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina"), F. M. Dostoevsky ("Crime and Punishment", "Brothers Karamazov "). And it is impossible not to write about the genius of short, but surprisingly lively stories and plays by A.P. Chekhov.
Romanticism and realism are more than literary trends, it is a way of thinking, a way of life. Thanks to the great writers, you can travel back to that era, plunge into the atmosphere that reigned at that time. The "Golden Age" in Russian literature presented the whole world with brilliant works that you want to read again and again.