Realism

Realism

                The word “Realism” comes from the root word “Real”. Realism is “exceptionally elastic critical term”. It is considered to be ambivalent and equivocal term. The term “realism” has gained many adjectives and similar words. However they all are ambivalent. They don’t have enough clarifying meaning in them.

              The term “Reality” has different interpretation in different subject and “ologies”.

Example- Philosophy distinguishes two basic terms about the concept of “Reality”.

ü Correspondence

ü Coherence

           The correspondence theory believes that the world is known by scientific inquiry, by data by documentation and by definition. Moreover it depends on referential and practical language. It is quite objective in approach.

          While when we say the coherence, it suggests that the external world is known by the intuitive perception and by insight. Moreover the coherence theory depends on emotive language. It believes in subjective point of view.

           However this division are made in philosophy. But in language such division are not possible. However its influences are unavoidable. Realism has influenced all the walks of life. Similarly it has affected literature too. While talking about realism and its meaning in literature. J.A.Cuddon quotes,

“Fundamentally in literature realism is the portrayal of life with fidelity”.

                 In other words, realism suggests the thing which must be programmatic. More especially it suggests

“... Jackets off a sleeve rolled up ‘no nonsense’ approach”.

                 

                        So far as literature is concerned,     realism is not concerned with idealism, beauty or any transcendental things. It is in direct opposition to the Romanticism which believes in imagination and beauty. In short the term real or reality or realism implies antithesis like unreal, fantastic improbable, fanciful and dream world.

v History of Realism.

                  

                   19^th century is known for its fertility and development in all works of life. During this period many literary schools and movements were pioneered. During the same period, there was a recognizable and conscious movement in literature which was subsequently tagged as “Realism”.

               The French were responsible for this movement. It began sometime in the 1830s and finally it had gathered momentum (development and process) by the 1850s. Finally during the later part of the century realism was a definite trend in European literature.

             Initially the term “Le realism” is to be found in the “mercure Francais Che Xtxe  siecle (1826)”. According to J.A. Cuddon

“Here it refers to a point of view or doctrine which states that realism is a copy of Nature and reveals to us the literature of truth”.

            Here, realism directly rejects classicism, romanticism and doctorin of “art for art’s sake”

v Influence on Realism.

                         It was in 19^th century the theory of realism combined with practice to produce a large body of literature. So the literature was highly influenced by philosophical thought.

EXAMPLE-“ Cours de philosophie positive by Comte (1830)”

                     

                 Comte’s positivism in this book made sociology a prime science. It has influenced many people. Critic Taine has applied Compte’s theories to the sphere of literature.

EXAMPLE- “Histirie DE la literature Anglaise (1863-64)

                      Later, Feuerbach and Charles Darwin influenced many people.

               “origin of Spices” (1850) – Darwin.

              This book is based on reality and science about the origin and development of human beings.

Later the invention of photography in 1839 had an immense effect on the world and existence in general. Here the scene and episodes were faithfully recorded.

         The painting of Courbet had an incalculable influence. He was strongly opposed to any kind of individualization in art and romanticism and had established the doctrine of realism in painting.

J.A.Cuddon

“For him the peasant and the worker were the fittest and the most estimable subject for a painter.”

                        Courbet’s idea of painting has influenced many realistic writers.

“Le Relisme” (1857) – Champfleury

          He applied Courbet’s point of view to literature.

v Major characteristics of Realism.

1)    The first feature of realism is that it believes in reality and science.

2)    It has given more importance to common man and his harsh life.

3)    It avoids fancy and called beautiful things.

4)    It pays particular attention to exact documentation and faithful recording.

5)    Last but not the least; realism consists that an artist should concern himself with everyday and events, with his own environment and with movements like political, social of his time.

v Major writers and literary output.

             So far as realism is concerned, it has highly influenced the novel form and drama. Here we have many writers who can be called “realistic novelist”.

“Madame Bovary”- Flaubert.

“Germinie lacerteux”- Edmond. (1865)

“Jules de concourt”- Ernest Feydeau.

“La comedie humaine”- Balzac

“Fanny” (1858)- Ernest Feydeau.

       All these novels are termed as realistic novels. They pay special attention to exact documentation to facts and scientific ideas.

          Apart from all these writers like Zola, Maupassant in French, Tolstoy, Gogol in Russia and William Dean Howell in America are concerned to the supportive writers of realism. However Emily Zola is supreme analysts of the movements called “Naturalism”.

          As far as drama is concerned with Ibsen. He is key figure. He has rejected all rigid rules of theater. He has even influenced G.B.Show and Strindberg in writing drama.

           Even in Russia, Anatii Lunacharsky invented the theory of socialist realism in the theater. He propagates that the new plays should be about common man. Thus socialist realism in the theater is largely a Russian phenomenon.

           Even the realism occurs in psychology which is known as “psychological” realism. In literature it indicates the use of “the steam of consciousness” method. Novelist like Dorothy Richardson, vergina Woolf have used psychological realism in their works.

         However, at least we have some realists poets also like George Grabbe, Kipling, and Robert Frost etc.

        These entire poet’s novelist’s and dramatists’ works are more down to earth, closer to everyday life and to general real human experience.

v Critical Reception

              The storage and noteworthy point about “realism” is that most of the pioneer’s personalities of this movement dislike the “term”.

            Courbet himself did not like the term though he himself used it

Ø Champfleury expressed his disapproval in his essay “ Le Realism” (1857)

Ø Baudelaire described it as a “injure deglutinate” and as a “mot vague et elastique”.

            However amid all has its own importance and relevance in 19^th and 20^th century’s literature which are ages of science and technology.

Romanticism

Romanticism (1798)

                  The form “romanticism “is derived from the word “romantic” which means attitude, ideals and feeling. These ideals or feelings are romantic rather than realistic. However according to American scholar A.O.Lovejoy, there are many definition and meaning of the word romantic or romanticism. As a result, there is ‘complexity and multiplicity’ in European romanticism. Many definitions are given by the critic and writers about ‘romanticism’.

EXAMPLE- “The decline and full of the romantic Ideal” – 1948, F.L.Lucas

In this book Lucas has counted 11,396 definition of romanticism.

“Classic romantic and modern”- Barnum (1961)

                  Here in this book, Barnum has offered many similarity uses of the term “romantic”. According to him one can use the following word for the umbrella term “Romantic”, ‘attractive’, ‘bombastic’, ‘emotional’, ‘heroic’, ‘mysterious’, ‘ornamental’, ‘adventurous’, ‘extraordinary’, ‘gallant’, ‘passionate’, ‘wild’ etc. However as a student of literature and in literary context we have to use the word romantic or romanticism for “responses from repugnance to enthusiastic approval”.

v History of romanticism

    According to J.A.Cuddon

“The word romanticism has a complex and interesting history”.

                       

             In the Middle Ages ‘romance’ means new vernacular languages derived from Latin. However ever there were many contradictions between new vernacular and Latin. The term also signified popular book, sometimes it was also known as “something new, different divergent”.

               After that during 17^th and 18^th century in England, France and German the term was used in varied sense.

vRomanticism as a literary movement

               

              Fried rich Schlegel is considered to be the first person who has first established the ‘romantisch’ in literary contexts. According to him

      “Romantic depicts emotional matter in an imaginative form”.

He even draws connection between ‘romantic’ and ‘Christians’ later Madame DE Steal has popularize the term “romantique”in literary context in France. She made distinction between the literature of the north and of the south. The northern was medieval, Christian and romantic while the southern was classical and pagan.

v Major characteristics of Romanticism.

ü In increasing interest in Nature.

ü Prominence of emotion and feeling.

ü Away from city life and manner.

ü More interest in simple and decent.

ü Note of feelingful meditation.

ü Interest in simple and ordinary people and their activities.

ü Importance of common Man’s language.

ü Conscious following of simple and nature related themes.

ü A feat range of subject and literary output.

Generally majority of the writers’ appreciate

Nature. They believed in God who is there in all natural objects. Generally the writers have given importance to human feeling and emotion.

                  Even the romantic writers have talked about country side, scenery and natural landscape. They didn't highlight city life which was full of selfishness and practicality. Even there is no single writer who has ever talked about king, queen, prince or princess. They have talked about working class people and their simple, sober life.

                   There are many poets who had meditative insight. They often reflected their deep thinking when they have seen natural object.

EXAMPLE- “To a Skylark”- P.B Shelley

  

                Since there was return to nature during their age, majority of the books were about the theme of nature and its wonderful world. Not only that there was great variety of literary output. Thousand of poems, novels, essays and theories were written during their period.

            At last what s more important and special about romanticism is that whatever was written in literature it was written in very simple language as a result anyone can easily understanding.

v Influence on the Romanticism in literary context.

                       The ideals of the French revolution inspired the romantic writers. The French motto “liberty, equality and fraternity” inspired romantic writers like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley,   Byron Etc.

               Rousseau is the major figure in 18^th century has greatly influences the pre- romantics. The following work by Rousseau has inspired many writers.

“Les confessions”

“Du contract social” etc

            Another influence came from German literature; German scholar and writer like Goethe, Kant, Schelling, and Schlegel etc....have influenced the English literature.

EXAMPLE- “Esemplastic imagination on” by Coleridge.

             The theory is inspired by German thinking.

v Writers and Works

ü The Early Romantics.

               James Thomson, Robert Burns, William Black, Thomas Gray etc are considered to be the early Romantics or pre – romantic. The book which is landmark in the history of Romanticism is as below.

“Seasons” – James Thomson

“Night Thoughts” – Young

“The Grave”- Blair

“Elegy” – Thomas Gray.

ü  The later Romantics

           During romantic revival the poetry flourished greatly compare to other literary genres. The major poets are Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, Lord Byron, P.B Shelley, John Keats etc.

Even the novel form was developed by Richardson, Goldsmith, Laurence Sterne, Walter Scott and Jane Austen during this period. Other prose writers include Charles Lamb, Coleridge peacock etc.. Finally the every form was developed under writers William Hazlitt and Southey. Some best poems are as below.

“Lucy poems”

“The solitary Reaper”

“Daffodil” – Wordsworth

“Kubla Khan”

“The rime of Ancient Mariner” – Coleridge

“Don Juan” – Byron

“Isabella”

“The pot of basil” – Keats.

Some novels are as under.

“Pamela”- Richardson

“The vicar of Wake field”- Goldsmith

“Sentimental Journey”- Stern.

v Conclusion.

           Thus the romantic is very wide movements. It includes many meanings and interests. But in literary context we can quote oxford dictionary.

“Romanticism is the autistic movements of the 18^th and 19^th centuries which were concerned with expression of the individual’s feeling and emotion”.

Imagism

Imagism

             The term imagism is consisted from the root word ‘Image’. Imagism is a short lived Russian poetic movement. It was originated in 1919. Ezra pound is given credit to coin the term “Imagism”. Around 1914, poets like Ezra pound have produced many economical poems. There are some general characteristics of imagism which are as below.

1)    Imagism indicates that poetry which are characterised by some clear images.

2)    Imagism represents poet’s impression of any scene in very concentrated manner.

3)    Generally poet use images to create poetic response and to avoid any comment or development of an argument.

4)    Imagism indicates juxtaposition one impression with another.

5)    Generally imagist poems are simple in structure.

6)    In such poetry there is precise description of any seen and metaphoric comparison.

7)    It represents a reaction against the weakest sort of romantic poetry.

8)    Imagism indicates the start of modern poetry. It even highlight the way of expressing a sense of puzzling and fragmented word in poetry.

9)    The most important point is that imagism indicates “a new self consciousness” about poetry. The imagist’s poet’s propagates that the method of writing poetry needs to reform and change.

                                   If we analyse the modern poetry, then we will come to know that there is plentiful use of images. As a result it becomes very difficult to interpret the modern poetry. The reason is that poets have used strange images with no any explanation. So it becomes the duty of reader to find out in what way the poet has used particular image.

                                     According to critic John peck and Martin Coyle,

               “In Ezra pound’s poem we do not merrily accept the content; we stop at the surface, asking why the poet is writing in this strange way?”

                       Since imagism is modern phenomenon, there is reflection of modern world. Modern world is notorious for fragmentation, decay problem of unemployment, dissatisfaction etc. As a result, the images are also very complicated, puzzling and fragmented.

v Major Imagists.

                   Imagists include a group of poets who were prominent before the First World War. The best known poets and their works are as below.

      “Des imagists (1914) – Ezra pound.

It is a collection of poems which are full of unique images.

EXAMPLE- “IN A STATION OF THE METRO”

                            This is a two line poem. The poem is like this   “The apparition of these faces in the crowd,

            Is petals on a wet, black bough”.

      

The principle behind the poem is that pound wants to represents his impression of the station scene in a very concentrated manner.

“Above the dock”- T.E.Hulme.

                 It is a good example of a poem in the imagist manner. After that in 1915, Amy Lowell published some imagist poems. Even poets like Richard Aldington and Hilda Doolittle are also known as imagist in modern English poetry.

Feminism

ü  

               Feminism

Definition

According to universal Dictionary

“Feminism is a social movement that seeks to change the traditional role and image of a woman, to eliminate the sexism and to height appreciation of the experience and qualities unique to the female sex”

Feminism has very slow development around 1880s.The French lady Hurbertine Acculert had used the word “feministe” and “feminisme” for the first time. Later on it become feminism in sociology and literature. French feminist “Toril Moi” had defined and differentiated three terms which are at the centre of entire feministe movement.

1) Feminine (1840-1880)

2) Feminist (1880-1920)

3) Female (1920-present)

ü History of Feminism.

      

·       The first wave of feminism began in the

Late 17^th century. Aphra Behm is considered to be the first published woman writer. Other works that follow with feminist ideas are as under.

“A vindication of the Rights of women”- Mary wool stone Craft.

“Subjection of women”- John Stuart Mill.

                 These works talk about equality and the need for change. Later more women writer had started writings.

EXAMPLE- Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and George Eliot.

           Majority of the works by these women writer focus on the domestic’s problems and affairs of the home.

·       The 2^nd wave of feminism came in 1960-1970. It

Was characterised by political movement for equality, suffrage and employment opportunities. In this wave the older women fought for the individual right and liberties. While the younger women fought for collective right.

After discussing the above waves of feminism, the critics have divided feminist into two categories

ü Activist

ü Academics

The activist fought for political rights where as the academics have written feminist theory and feminist writing.

                   Literature is concerned with the academics feminism. Literature can be studied from a feminist perspective. A feminist reading of any work in literature generally examines the place of woman in literature and the society. Moreover the feminist readings of any work check out the style and structure of society. Where female is considered as weak and insigficant.

v Academics

           Academic feminism is divided into feminist theory, feminist writing and feminist criticism. In academic feminism the writers have written about those aspects which are practised by activist, through their action. According to Kathleen B. Jones,

“Feminist theory is a philosophical analysis of concept of gender and the meaning of sexual difference”.

           There are some of the world famous feminist works in English literature. They are as under.

“A room of one’s own”- Virginia Woolf

                    This work considered as the BIBLE of feminism.

“Thinking about women”- Mary Ell man

                This book discusses the stereo-types of woman in literature written by male writer.

“The second sex”- Simon de peauvoir

                 This work is radically criticises the treatment of women as secondary and negative object.

“Sexual politics”- Kate Millet

                  This work examines the relations of power in society. It even analyse the dominance of patriarchy and oppression of women as subordinate.

“The mad woman in the attic”- Susan aular & Saundra Gilbert.

“Feminist criticism in wilderness”- Elian shelter.

                   This two work demand for the need for fresh ideas of feminist criticism and feminist writing.

v Feminism as a literary movement

                 Feminist writing has passed through different stages. According to Elaine Showalter ‘initially the women writer limited the masculine literary canon’ after these there was a strong violent reaction against masculine literary canon. In this stage the female writer demanded fro the separateness. Finally there was an understanding and acceptance of the situation of woman writer. As a result the feminist criticism developed in this stage. Elaine showolter has popularised the concept of idea, “Gyno criticism”. There are many important feminist critics whose names are as below.

ü Elaine showolter

ü Emma goldmine

ü Betty Friedan

ü Julia Kristova.

v Types of Feminism

    

Ø Eco- feminism

     In eco feminism, the feminist find similarity between situation of women and Nature. Here, in well as right of nature.

Ø Marxist feminism

   Marxist feminism takes inspiration from the work Bebel. The title of book is “women under socialism”. The Marxist feminism fight for equal economic rights.

Ø Liberal feminism

       Here in liberal feminism the women fight for the right vote. In other word, in this feminism suffrage was given more importance. They ask for liberal politics where in they can also participate.

Ø Radical feminism

     The follower of radical feminism holds very strong views. They believe that men have controlled and dominated woman throughout, not only that but they have also exploited woman badly. As a result the radical feminism demands for freedom from the male oppression.

Ø Psychoanalysis feminism.

       Psychoanalysis feminism asks the question about the concept of feminism. They given argue about social upbringing, traditional belief about female.

Ø Mythic feminism

       In mythic feminism the women writer studied the ancient myths and creates their own inspiration. They give a new explanation and development to the mythic female characters. Even they prove that myths are ‘Androgenic”. “Dropadi”- Mahashweta Devi.