Romanticism in Russian literature 19. Lecture: Romanticism as a literary movement

1.Romanticism(French romantisme) - a phenomenon of European culture in the 18th-19th centuries, representing a reaction to the Enlightenment and the scientific and technological progress stimulated by it; ideological and artistic direction in European and American culture of the late 18th century - the first half of the 19th century. It is characterized by an affirmation of the intrinsic value of the spiritual and creative life of the individual, the depiction of strong (often rebellious) passions and characters, spiritualized and healing nature. It has spread to various spheres of human activity. In the 18th century, everything strange, fantastic, picturesque and existing in books and not in reality was called romantic. At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism became the designation of a new direction, opposite to classicism and the Enlightenment. Romanticism replaces the Age of Enlightenment and coincides with the industrial revolution, marked by the appearance of the steam engine, steam locomotive, steamship, photography and factory outskirts. If the Enlightenment is characterized by the cult of reason and civilization based on its principles, then romanticism affirms the cult of nature, feelings and the natural in man. It was in the era of romanticism that the phenomena of tourism, mountaineering and picnics took shape, designed to restore the unity of man and nature. The image of a “noble savage”, armed with “folk wisdom” and not spoiled by civilization, is in demand. Interest in folklore, history and ethnography is awakening, which is politically projected in nationalism. At the center of the world of Romanticism is the human personality, striving for complete internal freedom, perfection and renewal. A free romantic personality perceived life as playing a role, a theatrical performance on the stage of world history. Romanticism was permeated with the pathos of personal and civic independence; the idea of ​​freedom and renewal also fueled the desire for heroic protest, including the national liberation and revolutionary struggle. Instead of the “imitation of nature” proclaimed by the classicists, the romantics laid the basis of life and art on creative activity that transforms and creates the world. The world of classicism is predetermined - the world of romanticism is continuously being created. The basis of Romanticism was the concept of dual worlds (the dream world and the real world). The discord between these worlds is the starting motive of Romanticism; from the rejection of the existing real world, there was an escape from the enlightened world - into the dark ages of the past, into distant exotic countries, into fantasy. Escapism, an escape into “unenlightened” eras and styles, fed the principle of historicism in romantic art and life behavior. Romanticism discovered self-worth of all cultural eras and types. Accordingly, the theorists of Romanticism at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries put forward historicism as the main principle of artistic creativity. In countries less affected by the Enlightenment, the romantic man, realizing the equivalence of cultures, rushed to search for national foundations, the historical roots of his culture, to its origins, contrasting them with the dry universal principles of the Enlightenment universe. Therefore, Romanticism gave rise to ethnophilism, which is characterized by an exceptional interest in history, the national past, and folklore. In every country, Romanticism acquired a pronounced national coloring. In art, this manifested itself in the crisis of academicism and the creation of national-romantic historical styles.

Romanticism in literature. Romanticism first arose in Germany, among writers and philosophers of the Jena school (W.G. Wackenroder, Ludwig Tieck, Novalis, brothers F. and A. Schlegel). The philosophy of romanticism was systematized in the works of F. Schlegel and F. Schelling. In its further development, German romanticism was distinguished by an interest in fairy-tale and mythological motifs, which was especially clearly expressed in the works of the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, and Hoffmann. Heine, starting his work within the framework of romanticism, later subjected it to critical revision.

In England it is largely due to German influence. In England, its first representatives are the poets of the “Lake School”, Wordsworth and Coleridge. They established the theoretical foundations of their direction, becoming familiar with the philosophy of Schelling and the views of the first German romantics during a trip to Germany. English romanticism is characterized by an interest in social problems: they contrast modern bourgeois society with old, pre-bourgeois relationships, glorification of nature, simple, natural feelings. A prominent representative of English romanticism is Byron, who, in the words of Pushkin, “clothed himself in dull romanticism and hopeless egoism.” His work is imbued with the pathos of struggle and protest against the modern world, glorifying freedom and individualism. The works of Shelley, John Keats, and William Blake also belong to English romanticism. Romanticism became widespread in other European countries, for example, in France (Chateaubriand, J. Stael, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Alfred de Vigny, Prosper Merimee, George Sand), Italy (N.U. Foscolo, A. Manzoni, Leopardi) , Poland (Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, Zygmunt Krasiński, Cyprian Norwid) and in the USA (Washington Irving, Fenimore Cooper, W. C. Bryant, Edgar Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Longfellow, Herman Melville).

Romanticism in Russian literature. It is usually believed that in Russia romanticism appears in the poetry of V.A. Zhukovsky (although some Russian poetic works of the 1790-1800s are often attributed to the pre-romantic movement that developed from sentimentalism). In Russian romanticism, freedom from classical conventions appears, a ballad and romantic drama are created. A new idea is being established about the essence and meaning of poetry, which is recognized as an independent sphere of life, an expression of the highest, ideal aspirations of man; the old view, according to which poetry seemed to be empty fun, something completely serviceable, turns out to be no longer possible. Early poetry of A.S. Pushkin also developed within the framework of romanticism (the poem “To the Sea” is considered to be the ending). The pinnacle of Russian romanticism can be called the poetry of M.Yu. Lermontov, "Russian Byron". Philosophical lyrics by F.I. Tyutchev is both the completion and overcoming of romanticism in Russia.

2. Byron (1788-1824) - the great English poet, the founder of the Byronic movement named after him in European literature of the 19th century. Byron's first major work was the first two songs of the poem "Childe Harold", which appeared in print in 1812. These were travel impressions from Byron's journey through the European East, purely externally united around the personality of Childe Harold. The main features of this image were repeated later in the central figures of all of Byron’s works, developed and became more complex, reflecting the evolution of the poet’s mental life, and in general created the image of the bearer of world sorrow, the “Byronic” hero, which dominated European literature in the first three decades of the 19th century . The essence of this character, like all European romanticism, is the protest of the human personality against the social system that constrains it, going back to Rousseau. Byron is separated from Rousseau by three decades filled with the greatest events of modern history. During this time, European society, together with the French Revolution, experienced an era of grandiose plans and ardent hopes and a period of the most bitter disappointments. Ruling England, a hundred years ago as now, stood at the head of political and social reaction, and English “society” demanded from each of its members unconditional external submission to an officially recognized code of moral and secular rules. All this, in connection with the unbridled and passionate nature of the poet himself, contributed to the fact that for Byron, Rousseau’s protest turned into an open challenge, an irreconcilable war with society and imparted to his heroes the features of deep bitterness and disappointment. In the works that appeared immediately after the first songs of Childe Harold and also reflected the impressions of the East, the images of the heroes become increasingly darker. They are burdened with a mysterious criminal past that weighs heavily on their conscience, and they profess vengeance on people and fate. The heroes of “The Giaour,” “The Corsair,” and “Lara” were written in the spirit of this “robber romance.”

Byron's political free-thinking and the freedom of his religious and moral views caused real persecution against him throughout English society, which took advantage of the history of his unsuccessful marriage to brand him as an unheard-of sinner. Byron, with a curse, breaks all ties with his old life and fatherland and sets off on a new journey through Switzerland. Here he created the third song of Childe Harold and "Manfred". The fourth and last song of this poem was written by Byron in Italy. It recreated his wanderings among the ruins of ancient Italy and was imbued with such an ardent call for the liberation of the Italian people that it was a dangerous revolutionary act in the eyes of the reactionary governments of Italy. In Italy, Byron joined the Carbonara movement, which sought in the 20s of the 19th century. to the liberation of Italy from Austrian rule and the tyranny of its own governments and to national unification. He soon became the head of one of the most active Carbonari sections and founded a body in London to disseminate the ideas of Carbonarism and support the pan-European liberal movement. During these years, Byron created the remaining unfinished poem "Don Juan", a brilliant satire on the entire civilized society. In 1823, supporters of the liberation of Greece invited Byron to become the head of the rebellious Greece. Byron followed this call, gathered a volunteer detachment and went to Greece. While working to organize the Greek army, he fell ill and died in Missolunghi in 1824. Byron's poetry had a great influence on the poetic work of Pushkin and especially Lermontov. George Gordon Byron was born in London on January 22, 1788. On the side of his father, guards officer John Byron, Byron came from the highest aristocratic nobility. The parents' marriage failed, and soon after Gordon's birth, the mother took her little son to Aberdeen, Scotland.

3. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Amadeus Hoffmann (January 24, 1776, Königsberg - June 25, 1822, Berlin) - German writer, composer, artist of the romantic movement. The composer's pseudonym is Johannes Kreisler. Hoffmann was born into the family of a Prussian royal lawyer, but when the boy was three years old, his parents separated, and he was brought up in the house of his maternal grandmother under the influence of his uncle, a lawyer, an intelligent and talented man, but prone to fantasy and mysticism. Hoffmann early showed remarkable abilities for music and drawing. But, not without the influence of his uncle, Hoffmann chose the path of jurisprudence, from which he tried to escape throughout his subsequent life and make a living through the arts. Hoffmann's work in the development of German romanticism represents a stage of a more acute and tragic understanding of reality, a rejection of a number of illusions of the Jena romantics, and a revision of the relationship between the ideal and reality. Hoffmann's hero tries to break out of the shackles of the world around him through irony, but, realizing the powerlessness of romantic opposition to real life, the writer himself laughs at his hero. Romantic irony in Hoffmann changes its direction; unlike the Jenes, it never creates the illusion of absolute freedom. Hoffmann focuses close attention on the personality of the artist, believing that he is most free from selfish motives and petty concerns.

Art, as we know, is extremely multifaceted. A huge number of genres and trends allows each author to realize his creative potential to the greatest extent, and gives the reader the opportunity to choose exactly the style that he likes.

One of the most popular and, without a doubt, beautiful art movements is romanticism. This trend became widespread at the end of the 18th century, covering European and American culture, but later reaching Russia. The main ideas of romanticism are the desire for freedom, perfection and renewal, as well as the proclamation of the right of human independence. This trend, oddly enough, has spread widely in absolutely all major forms of art (painting, literature, music) and has become truly widespread. Therefore, we should consider in more detail what romanticism is, and also mention its most famous figures, both foreign and domestic.

Romanticism in literature

In this area of ​​art, a similar style initially appeared in Western Europe, after the bourgeois revolution in France in 1789. The main idea of ​​romantic writers was the denial of reality, dreams of a better time and a call to fight for a change in values ​​in society. As a rule, the main character is a rebel, acting alone and seeking the truth, which, in turn, made him defenseless and confused in front of the world around him, so the works of romantic authors are often imbued with tragedy.

If we compare this direction, for example, with classicism, then the era of romanticism was distinguished by complete freedom of action - writers did not hesitate to use a variety of genres, mixing them together and creating a unique style, which was based in one way or another on the lyrical principle. The current events of the works were filled with extraordinary, sometimes even fantastic events, in which the inner world of the characters, their experiences and dreams were directly manifested.

Romanticism as a genre of painting

Fine art also came under the influence of romanticism, and its movement here was based on the ideas of famous writers and philosophers. Painting as such was completely transformed with the advent of this movement; new, completely unusual images began to appear in it. Themes of Romanticism addressed the unknown, including distant exotic lands, mystical visions and dreams, and even the dark depths of the human consciousness. In their work, artists largely relied on the heritage of ancient civilizations and eras (the Middle Ages, the Ancient East, etc.).

The direction of this trend in Tsarist Russia was also different. If European authors touched on anti-bourgeois themes, then Russian masters wrote on the topic of anti-feudalism.

The craving for mysticism was much less pronounced than among Western representatives. Domestic figures had a different idea of ​​what romanticism was, which in their work can be seen in the form of partial rationalism.

These factors became fundamental in the process of the emergence of new trends in art on the territory of Russia, and thanks to them, the world cultural heritage knows Russian romanticism as such.

Romanticism in European literature

European romanticism of the 19th century is remarkable in that most of its works have a fantastic basis. These are numerous fairy-tale legends, short stories and stories.

The main countries in which romanticism as a literary movement manifested itself most expressively are France, England and Germany.

This artistic phenomenon has several stages:

1. 1801-1815. The beginning of the formation of romantic aesthetics.

2. 1815-1830. The formation and flourishing of the movement, the definition of the main postulates of this direction.

3. 1830-1848. Romanticism takes on more social forms.

Each of the above countries made its own special contribution to the development of this cultural phenomenon. In France, romantic literary works had a more political overtones; writers were hostile towards the new bourgeoisie. This society, according to French leaders, destroyed the integrity of the individual, her beauty and freedom of spirit.

Romanticism has existed in English legends for quite a long time, but until the end of the 18th century it did not stand out as a separate literary movement. English works, unlike French ones, are filled with Gothic, religion, national folklore, and the culture of peasant and working-class societies (including spiritual ones). In addition, English prose and lyrics are filled with travel to distant lands and exploration of foreign lands.

In Germany, romanticism as a literary movement was formed under the influence of idealistic philosophy. The foundations were the individuality and freedom of man, oppressed by feudalism, as well as the perception of the universe as a single living system. Almost every German work is permeated with reflections on the existence of man and the life of his spirit.

The most famous works of European literature in the style of romanticism are:

1. treatise “The Genius of Christianity”, the stories “Atala” and “Rene” by Chateaubriand;

2. novels “Delphine”, “Corinna, or Italy” by Germaine de Stael;

3. novel “Adolphe” by Benjamin Constant;

4. novel “Confession of a Son of the Century” by Musset;

5. novel “Saint-Mars” by Vigny;

6. manifesto “Preface” to the work “Cromwell”

7. novel “Notre Dame Cathedral” by Hugo;

8. drama “Henry III and His Court”, a series of novels about the musketeers, “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “Queen Margot” by Dumas;

9. novels “Indiana”, “The Wandering Apprentice”, “Horace”, “Consuelo” by George Sand;

10. manifesto “Racine and Shakespeare” by Stendhal;

11. poems “The Ancient Mariner” and “Christabel” by Coleridge;

12. “Eastern Poems” and “Manfred” by Byron;

13. collected works of Balzac;

14. novel “Ivanhoe” by Walter Scott;

15. collections of short stories, fairy tales and novels by Hoffmann.

Romanticism in Russian literature

Russian romanticism of the 19th century was a direct consequence of rebellious sentiments and anticipation of turning points in the country's history. The socio-historical prerequisites for the emergence of romanticism in Russia are the aggravation of the crisis of the serfdom system, the nationwide upsurge of 1812, the formation of noble revolutionism.

Romantic ideas, moods, and artistic forms clearly emerged in Russian literature at the end of the 1800s. Initially, however, they crossed with heterogeneous pre-romantic traditions of sentimentalism (Zhukovsky), anacreontic “light poetry” (K.N. Batyushkov, P.A. Vyazemsky, young Pushkin, N.M. Yazykov), educational rationalism (Decembrist poets - - K.F. Ryleev, V.K. Kuchelbecker, A.I. Odoevsky, etc.). The pinnacle of Russian romanticism of the first period (until 1825) was the work of Pushkin (a series of romantic poems and a cycle of “southern poems”).

After 1823, in connection with the defeat of the Decembrists, the romantic beginning intensified and acquired independent expression (the later work of Decembrist writers, the philosophical lyrics of E.A. Baratynsky and the “lyubomudrov” poets - D.V. Venevitinov, S.P. Shevyrev, A. S. Khomyakova).

Romantic prose is developing (A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, early works of N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen). The pinnacle of the second period was the work of M.Yu. Lermontov. Another peak phenomenon of Russian literature and at the same time the completion of the romantic tradition in Russian literature is the philosophical lyrics of F. I. Tyutchev.

There are two trends in the literature of that time:

Psychological - which was based on the description and analysis of feelings and experiences.

Civil - based on propaganda of the fight against modern society.

The common and main idea of ​​all novelists was that a poet or writer had to behave in accordance with the ideals that he described in his works.

The most striking examples of romanticism in Russian literature of the 19th century are:

1. stories “Ondine”, “Prisoner of Chillon”, ballads “The Forest King”, “Fisherman”, “Lenora” by Zhukovsky;

2. works “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades” by Pushkin;

3. “The Night Before Christmas” by Gogol;

4. “Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov.

romantic european russian american

- an amazing writer who could easily create a lyrical landscape, depicting to us not an objective image of nature, but the romantic mood of the soul. Zhukovsky is a representative of romanticism. For his works, his unsurpassed poetry, he chose the world of the soul, the world of human feelings, thereby making a great contribution to the development of Russian literature.

Romanticism of Zhukovsky

Zhukovsky is considered the founder of Russian romanticism. Even during his lifetime he was called the father of romanticism and for good reason. This direction in the writer’s work is visible to the naked eye. Zhukovsky in his works developed a sensitivity that originated in sentimentalism. We see romanticism in the poet’s lyrics, where each work depicts feelings, and even more. The works reveal the human soul. As Belinsky said, thanks to the romantic elements that Zhukovsky used in his works, poetry in Russian literature became spiritual and more accessible to people and society. The writer gave Russian poetry the opportunity to develop in a new direction.

Features of Zhukovsky's romanticism

What is the peculiarity of Zhukovsky’s romanticism? Romanticism is presented to us as fleeting, slightly perceptible, and maybe even elusive, experiences. Zhukovsky's poetry is a short story of the author's soul, a depiction of his thoughts and dreams, which were reflected and found their life in poems, ballads, and elegies. The writer showed us the inner world that a person is filled with, personifying spiritual dreams and experiences. At the same time, in order to describe the feelings that fill a person’s heart, to describe feelings that have no size or shape, the author resorts to comparing feelings with nature.

Zhukovsky's merit as a romantic poet is that he showed not only his inner world, but also discovered the means of depicting the human soul in general, giving the opportunity to develop romanticism to other writers, such as

The French word romantisme goes back to the Spanish romance (in the Middle Ages, this was the name for Spanish romances, and then a chivalric romance), the English romantic, which turned into 18th century. in romantique and then meaning “strange”, “fantastic”, “picturesque”. At the beginning of the 19th century. Romanticism becomes the designation of a new direction, opposite to classicism.

Entering into the antithesis of “classicism” - “romanticism,” the movement suggested contrasting the classicist demand for rules with romantic freedom from rules. This understanding of romanticism persists to this day, but, as literary critic Yu. Mann writes, romanticism “is not simply a denial of the ‘rules’, but the following of ‘rules’ that are more complex and whimsical.”

The center of the artistic system of romanticism is the individual, and its main conflict is the individual and society. The decisive prerequisite for the development of romanticism were the events of the Great French Revolution. The emergence of romanticism is associated with the anti-enlightenment movement, the reasons for which lie in disappointment in civilization, in social, industrial, political and scientific progress, the result of which was new contrasts and contradictions, leveling and spiritual devastation of the individual.

The Enlightenment preached the new society as the most “natural” and “reasonable”. The best minds of Europe substantiated and foreshadowed this society of the future, but reality turned out to be beyond the control of “reason,” the future became unpredictable, irrational, and the modern social order began to threaten human nature and his personal freedom. Rejection of this society, protest against lack of spirituality and selfishness is already reflected in sentimentalism and pre-romanticism. Romanticism expresses this rejection most acutely. Romanticism also opposed the Age of Enlightenment in verbal terms: the language of romantic works, striving to be natural, “simple”, accessible to all readers, was something opposite to the classics with its noble, “sublime” themes, characteristic, for example, of classical tragedy.

Among the late Western European romantics, pessimism towards society acquires cosmic proportions and becomes the “disease of the century.” The heroes of many romantic works (F.R. Chateaubriand, A. Musset, J. Byron, A. Vigny, A. Lamartine, G. Heine, etc.) are characterized by moods of hopelessness and despair, which acquire a universal character. Perfection is lost forever, the world is ruled by evil, ancient chaos is resurrected. The theme of the “terrible world”, characteristic of all romantic literature, was most clearly embodied in the so-called “black genre” (in the pre-romantic “Gothic novel” - A. Radcliffe, C. Maturin, in the “drama of rock”, or “tragedy of rock” - Z. Werner, G. Kleist, F. Grillparzer), as well as in the works of Byron, C. Brentano, E. T. A. Hoffmann, E. Poe and N. Hawthorne.

At the same time, romanticism is based on ideas that challenge the “terrible world” - above all, the ideas of freedom. The disappointment of romanticism is a disappointment in reality, but progress and civilization are only one side of it. Rejection of this side, lack of faith in the possibilities of civilization provide another path, the path to the ideal, to the eternal, to the absolute. This path must resolve all contradictions and completely change life. This is the path to perfection, “towards a goal, the explanation of which must be sought on the other side of the visible” (A. De Vigny). For some romantics, the world is dominated by incomprehensible and mysterious forces that must be obeyed and not try to change fate (poets of the “lake school”, Chateaubriand, V.A. Zhukovsky). For others, “world evil” caused protest, demanded revenge and struggle. (J. Byron, P. B. Shelley, Sh. Petofi, A. Mickiewicz, early A. S. Pushkin). What they had in common was that they all saw in man a single essence, the task of which is not at all limited to solving everyday problems. On the contrary, without denying everyday life, the romantics sought to unravel the mystery of human existence, turning to nature, trusting their religious and poetic feelings.

A romantic hero is a complex, passionate personality, whose inner world is unusually deep and endless; it is a whole universe full of contradictions. Romantics were interested in all passions, both high and low, which were opposed to each other. High passion is love in all its manifestations, low passion is greed, ambition, envy. The romantics contrasted the life of the spirit, especially religion, art, and philosophy, with the base material practice. Interest in strong and vivid feelings, all-consuming passions, and secret movements of the soul are characteristic features of romanticism.

We can talk about romance as a special type of personality - a person of strong passions and high aspirations, incompatible with the everyday world. Exceptional circumstances accompany this nature. Fantasy, folk music, poetry, legends become attractive to romantics - everything that for a century and a half was considered as minor genres, not worthy of attention. Romanticism is characterized by the affirmation of freedom, the sovereignty of the individual, increased attention to the individual, the unique in man, and the cult of the individual. Confidence in a person’s self-worth turns into a protest against the fate of history. Often the hero of a romantic work becomes an artist who is capable of creatively perceiving reality. The classicist “imitation of nature” is contrasted with the creative energy of the artist who transforms reality. A special world is created, more beautiful and real than the empirically perceived reality. It is creativity that is the meaning of existence; it represents the highest value of the universe. Romantics passionately defended the creative freedom of the artist, his imagination, believing that the genius of the artist does not obey the rules, but creates them.

Romantics turned to various historical eras, they were attracted by their originality, attracted by exotic and mysterious countries and circumstances. Interest in history became one of the enduring achievements of the artistic system of romanticism. He expressed himself in the creation of the genre of the historical novel (F. Cooper, A. Vigny, V. Hugo), the founder of which is considered to be W. Scott, and in general the novel, which acquired a leading position in the era under consideration. Romantics reproduce in detail and accurately the historical details, background, and flavor of a particular era, but romantic characters are given outside of history; they, as a rule, are above circumstances and do not depend on them. At the same time, the romantics perceived the novel as a means of comprehending history, and from history they went to penetrate into the secrets of psychology, and, accordingly, of modernity. Interest in history was also reflected in the works of historians of the French romantic school (A. Thierry, F. Guizot, F. O. Meunier).

It was in the era of Romanticism that the discovery of the culture of the Middle Ages took place, and the admiration for antiquity, characteristic of the previous era, also did not weaken at the end of the 18th century. 19th centuries The diversity of national, historical, and individual characteristics also had a philosophical meaning: the wealth of a single world whole consists of the totality of these individual features, and the study of the history of each people separately makes it possible to trace, as Burke put it, uninterrupted life through new generations succeeding one after another.

The era of Romanticism was marked by the flourishing of literature, one of the distinctive properties of which was a passion for social and political problems. Trying to comprehend the role of man in ongoing historical events, romantic writers gravitated toward accuracy, specificity, and authenticity. At the same time, the action of their works often takes place in settings that are unusual for a European - for example, in the East and America, or, for Russians, in the Caucasus or Crimea. Thus, romantic poets are primarily lyricists and poets of nature, and therefore in their work (as well as in many prose writers), landscape occupies a significant place - first of all, the sea, mountains, sky, stormy elements with which the hero is associated complex relationships. Nature can be akin to the passionate nature of a romantic hero, but it can also resist him, turn out to be a hostile force with which he is forced to fight.

Unusual and vivid pictures of nature, life, way of life and customs of distant countries and peoples also inspired the romantics. They were looking for the traits that constitute the fundamental basis of the national spirit. National identity is manifested primarily in oral folk art. Hence the interest in folklore, the processing of folklore works, the creation of their own works based on folk art.

The development of the genres of the historical novel, fantastic story, lyric-epic poem, ballad is the merit of the romantics. Their innovation was also manifested in lyrics, in particular, in the use of polysemy of words, the development of associativity, metaphor, and discoveries in the field of versification, meter, and rhythm.

Romanticism is characterized by a synthesis of genders and genres, their interpenetration. The romantic art system was based on a synthesis of art, philosophy, and religion. For example, for a thinker like Herder, linguistic research, philosophical doctrines, and travel notes serve the search for ways to revolutionize culture. Much of the achievements of romanticism were inherited by 19th century realism. – a penchant for fantasy, the grotesque, a mixture of high and low, tragic and comic, the discovery of “subjective man.”

In the era of romanticism, not only literature flourished, but also many sciences: sociology, history, political science, chemistry, biology, evolutionary doctrine, philosophy (Hegel, D. Hume, I. Kant, Fichte, natural philosophy, the essence of which boils down to the fact that nature - one of the garments of God, “the living garment of the Divine”).

Romanticism is a cultural phenomenon in Europe and America. In different countries, his fate had its own characteristics.

Germany can be considered a country of classical romanticism. Here the events of the Great French Revolution were perceived rather in the realm of ideas. Social problems were considered within the framework of philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. The views of the German romantics became pan-European and influenced public thought and art in other countries. The history of German romanticism falls into several periods.

At the origins of German romanticism are the writers and theorists of the Jena school (W.G. Wackenroder, Novalis, brothers F. and A. Schlegel, W. Tieck). In the lectures of A. Schlegel and in the works of F. Schelling, the concept of romantic art acquired its outline. As one of the researchers of the Jena school, R. Huch, writes, the Jena romantics “put forward as an ideal the unification of various poles, no matter how the latter were called – reason and fantasy, spirit and instinct.” The Jenians also owned the first works of the romantic genre: Tieck's comedy Puss in Boots(1797), lyric cycle Hymns for the night(1800) and novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen(1802) Novalis. The romantic poet F. Hölderlin, who was not part of the Jena school, belongs to the same generation.

The Heidelberg School is the second generation of German romantics. Here the interest in religion, antiquity, and folklore became more noticeable. This interest explains the appearance of a collection of folk songs Boy's magic horn(1806–08), compiled by L. Arnim and Brentano, as well as Children's and family fairy tales(1812–1814) brothers J. and V. Grimm. Within the framework of the Heidelberg school, the first scientific direction in the study of folklore took shape - the mythological school, which was based on the mythological ideas of Schelling and the Schlegel brothers.

Late German romanticism is characterized by motifs of hopelessness, tragedy, rejection of modern society, and a feeling of discrepancy between dreams and reality (Kleist, Hoffmann). This generation includes A. Chamisso, G. Muller and G. Heine, who called himself “the last romantic.”

English romanticism focused on the problems of the development of society and humanity as a whole. The English romantics have a sense of the catastrophic nature of the historical process. The poets of the “lake school” (W. Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, R. Southey) idealize antiquity, glorify patriarchal relations, nature, simple, natural feelings. The work of the poets of the “lake school” is imbued with Christian humility; they tend to appeal to the subconscious in man.

Romantic poems on medieval subjects and historical novels by W. Scott are distinguished by an interest in native antiquity, in oral folk poetry.

However, the development of romanticism in France was especially acute. The reasons for this are twofold. On the one hand, it was in France that the traditions of theatrical classicism were especially strong: it is rightly believed that classicist tragedy acquired its complete and perfect expression in the dramaturgy of P. Corneille and J. Racine. And the stronger the traditions, the tougher and more irreconcilable the fight against them. On the other hand, radical changes in all areas of life were given impetus by the French bourgeois revolution of 1789 and the counter-revolutionary coup of 1794. The ideas of equality and freedom, protest against violence and social injustice turned out to be extremely consonant with the problems of romanticism. This gave a powerful impetus to the development of French romantic drama. Her fame was made by V. Hugo ( Cromwell, 1827; Marion Delorme, 1829; Hernani, 1830; Angelo, 1935; Ruy Blaz, 1938, etc.); A. de Vigny ( Marshal d'Ancre's wife, 1931; Chatterton, 1935; translations of Shakespeare's plays); A. Dumas the father ( Anthony, 1931; Richard Darlington 1831; Nelskaya Tower, 1832; Keen, or Dissipation and Genius, 1936); A. de Musset ( Lorenzaccio, 1834). True, in his later drama, Musset moved away from the aesthetics of romanticism, rethinking its ideals in an ironic and somewhat parodic way and imbuing his works with elegant irony ( Caprice, 1847; Candlestick, 1848; Love is no joke, 1861, etc.).

The dramaturgy of English romanticism is represented in the works of the great poets J. G. Byron ( Manfred, 1817; Marino Faliero, 1820, etc.) and P.B. Shelley ( Cenci, 1820; Hellas, 1822); German romanticism - in the plays of I.L. Tieck ( The Life and Death of Genoveva, 1799; Emperor Octavian, 1804) and G. Kleist ( Penthesilea, 1808; Prince Friedrich of Homburg, 1810, etc.).

Romanticism had a huge influence on the development of acting: for the first time in history, psychologism became the basis for creating a role. The rationally verified acting style of classicism was replaced by intense emotionality, vivid dramatic expression, versatility and inconsistency in the psychological development of characters. Empathy has returned to the auditorium; The biggest romantic dramatic actors became public idols: E. Keane (England); L. Devrient (Germany), M. Dorval and F. Lemaitre (France); A. Ristori (Italy); E. Forrest and S. Cushman (USA); P. Mochalov (Russia).

The musical and theatrical art of the first half of the 19th century also developed under the sign of romanticism. – both opera (Wagner, Gounod, Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, etc.) and ballet (Pugni, Maurer, etc.).

Romanticism also enriched the palette of staging and expressive means of the theater. For the first time, the principles of art of the artist, composer, and decorator began to be considered in the context of the emotional impact on the viewer, identifying the dynamics of the action.

By the middle of the 19th century. the aesthetics of theatrical romanticism seemed to have outlived its usefulness; it was replaced by realism, which absorbed and creatively rethought all the artistic achievements of the romantics: renewal of genres, democratization of heroes and literary language, expansion of the palette of acting and production means. However, in the 1880–1890s, the direction of neo-romanticism was formed and strengthened in theatrical art, mainly as a polemic with naturalistic tendencies in the theater. Neo-romantic dramaturgy mainly developed in the genre of verse drama, close to lyrical tragedy. The best plays of neo-romantics (E. Rostand, A. Schnitzler, G. Hofmannsthal, S. Benelli) are distinguished by intense drama and refined language.

Undoubtedly, the aesthetics of romanticism with its emotional elation, heroic pathos, strong and deep feelings is extremely close to theatrical art, which is fundamentally built on empathy and has as its main goal the achievement of catharsis. That is why romanticism simply cannot irretrievably sink into the past; at all times, performances of this direction will be in demand by the public.

Tatiana Shabalina

Literature:

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Russian romanticism. L., 1978
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Dzhivilegov A., Boyadzhiev G. History of Western European theater. M., 1991
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