Definition of realism in Russian literature. Neorealism and realism in Russian literature are: features and main genres

Realism

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expressiveness, brightness, imagery, accuracy of Russian literary language, enriched with living elements, colloquial speech, which realist writers draw from the popular Russian language.

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

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

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

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

First third of the 19th century. Krylov's realistic fables reflected real relationship people in society, living scenes are drawn, the content of which is varied - they could be everyday, social, philosophical and historical.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Introduction

Critical realism(Greek kritike - judgment; passing a sentence, and lat. realis - material, real) - an artistic direction based on the principle of historicism, a truthful depiction of reality. In works of critical realism, writers tried not only to truthfully reproduce life in all its manifestations, but also to focus their attention on its social aspects, showing the injustice and immorality that reign in society, thereby trying to actively influence it. Realism creates typical characters in typical circumstances. Literature is enriched in terms of genre: many varieties of the novel, the enrichment of the themes and structure of the short story, the rise of drama. One of the leading motives is the exposure of bourgeois society. Fight for freedom creative personality artist. Historical and revolutionary theme. The attention that realists pay to the individual helps them achieve success in depicting characters and leads to a deepening of psychologism.

The desire to historically and scientifically substantiate one’s conclusions when depicting phenomena social life, the desire to always be at the level of the latest achievements of science, to “feel the pulse of their era,” according to Balzac, is what helped the realists organize their artistic method.

1. How did critical realism develop in the 19th century?

History of the development of critical realism in the literature of foreign countries:

The origin of critical realism dates back to the late 20s of the 19th century, its heyday dates back to the 30s and 40s. Critical realism was born primarily in England and France, where such people acted in this direction in France famous authors like: Balzac, Stendhal, Beranger, and in England - Dickens, Gaskell and Bronte.

Historical background for the development of critical realism. In the 30s of the 19th century, a contradiction emerged between the bourgeoisie and the working class. A wave of labor movement is taking place in Germany, France and England. In the enslaved countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic - the national liberation struggle is intensifying.

During these years the rise began different areas culture of bourgeois society. The powerful dawn of philosophy, natural, technical and historical sciences began. Already in the second half of the 19th century, natural science and biology were making enormous strides. It is no coincidence that Balzac, in justifying his realistic method, sought support in natural science and recognized Cuvier and Saint-Hilaire as his teachers.

The historicism of Balzac, who conceived of truthfulness first of all as fidelity to history, its logic, is also a characteristic feature of realism, the development of which coincides with the period when the historical sciences made enormous strides.

It should be noted, however, that after the final strengthening of bourgeois society - after 1830 - the same historians switched to reactionary-protective positions, striving to strengthen the dominance of the bourgeoisie, its undivided power over the exploited classes.

Receives enormous importance dialectical method Hegel, already established in the first quarter of the 19th century.

Finally, in the 40s, in the pre-revolutionary situation that developed in a number of countries (France, Germany, Hungary), the scientific socialism of Marx and Engels emerged, which was the greatest revolution in the history of human thought.

These are in general outline historical and cultural-philosophical prerequisites for the development of critical realism in foreign literature of the 19th century.

Critical realism in Russian literature:

Critical realism in Russia arose during a period of strong crisis of the autocratic-serf system, when the progressive circles of Russian society fought for the abolition of serfdom and democratic reforms. A peculiarity of the historical aspect of the development of Russia in the mid-19th century is the situation after the Decembrist uprising, as well as the emergence secret societies and circles, the appearance of works by A.I. Herzen, a circle of Petrashevites. This time is characterized by the beginning of the raznochinsky movement in Russia, as well as the acceleration of the process of formation of world artistic culture, including Russian.

2. Creativity of realist writers

Typical features of critical realism:

The object of the image of critical realists becomes human life in all its manifestations. Not only the spiritual and ideal activities of man were depicted, but also everyday life and public affairs. In this regard, the boundaries of literature have greatly expanded - the prose of life has been wedged into it. Everyday, everyday motifs have become an indispensable companion to realistic works. The main characters of the works also changed. Romantic characters living in a world of high spiritual values ​​and ideals were replaced by the image of an ordinary historical person in the real and natural world. The critical realist shows man not only in his ideal, but also in his concrete historical essence.

The characters behave completely normally, doing ordinary everyday things: going to work, lying on the sofa, thinking about the eternal and where bread is cheaper. Through the interweaving of specific human destinies, the realist writer reveals certain patterns of society. And the broader his view, the deeper his generalization. And, conversely, the narrower his ideological horizon, the more he dwells on the external, empirical side of reality, unable to penetrate to its foundations.

And so, a typical feature of this style is the image of a “living” person. The present, in all its fullness and vital manifestations. They did not avoid real images of time and places: urban slums, crises, revolutions. Realist writers, revealing the contrasts of society, raised the self-awareness of the people and sought to point out the main problems of social life of that time. Polemicizing with aestheticians who called for the display of only the beautiful, Belinsky wrote back in 1835: “We demand not the ideal of life, but life itself, as it is. Whether bad or good, we do not want to decorate it, because in poetic representation it is equally beautiful in both cases, and precisely because it is true, and where there is truth, there is poetry.”

It was necessary to prove that even negative heroes can become artistically beautiful if they truthfully capture the objective content of reality, if the writer has expressed his critical attitude towards them. Similar thoughts were also expressed by Diderot and Lessing, but they received especially deep justification in the aesthetics of Belinsky and other Russian revolutionary democrats.

The principle of depicting man and society:

Not wanting to be limited only by the external actions of a person, realist writers revealed and psychological side, social conditioning. The principle was to describe the individual in unity with the environment. It `s naturally.

The character himself is a very specific person, representing certain social circles with socio-historical specificity. His thoughts, feelings, and actions are typical because they are socially motivated.

Image of a person in social connections was not the discovery of Gogol or Balzac. In the works of Fielding, Lessing, Schiller, and Goethe, heroes were also depicted in a socially specific manner. But there is still a difference. In the 19th century the understanding of the social environment has changed. It began to include not only the ideological superstructure, but also the economic relations of the era. Enlighteners of the 18th century. focused attention on the manifestations of serfdom in the ideological sphere. Critical realists go further. They direct the fire of criticism at property inequality, at class contradictions, at the economic foundations of society. Artistic research here penetrates into the economic, class structure of life.

Writers of critical realism understand the objective laws of life, real prospects for development. Society for them is an objective process that is studied in search of the germs of the future. Realists should be judged by the truthfulness of the image, the depiction of history and its understanding.

In the works of many writers of the realistic direction (Turgenev, Dostoevsky, etc.), the real processes of life are captured not in their economic, but in their ideological, spiritual refraction, as a clash in the spiritual sphere of fathers and sons, representatives of various ideological movements, etc., but the dialectic of living social development is reflected here too. What makes Turgenev and Dostoevsky realists is not the truthfully outlined scenes of the private lives of the Kirsanovs or Marmeladov, but the ability to show the dialectics of history, its objective movement from lower to higher forms.

When depicting a person, a critical realist takes reality as the starting point; he carefully studies it in order to find the motives that determine the actions of his heroes. The focus of his attention is on the complex social relations of the individual. The desire to bestow is alien to him. characters works with their own subjective thoughts and experiences.

3. Realist writers of the 19th century and their critical realism

critical realism artistic herzen

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1993): he passionately, painfully hated the bourgeois world and everything connected with it. He painfully searched for the antithesis of this world - and found it in the democratic strata of society, in the French people.

Works: short stories - “Pumpkin”, “Old Woman Sauvage”, “Madwoman”, “Prisoners”, “The Chair Weaver”, “Papa Simone”.

Romain Rolland (1866-1944): the meaning of being and creativity initially lay in the belief in the beautiful, the good, the bright, which never left the world - you simply need to be able to see, feel and convey it to people.

Works: novel "Jean Christoff", story "Pierre and Luce".

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880): His work indirectly reflected contradictions french revolution mid-nineteenth century. The desire for truth and hatred of the bourgeoisie were combined in him with social pessimism and lack of faith in the people.

Works: novels - "Madame Bovary", "Salammbo", "Education of the Senses", "Bouvard and Pécuchet" (not finished), stories - "The Legend of Julian the Stranger", "A Simple Soul", "Herodias", also created several plays and extravaganza.

Stendhal (1783-1842): The work of this writer opens the period of classical realism. It was Stendhal who took the lead in substantiating the main principles and program for the formation of realism, theoretically stated in the first half of the 19th century, when romanticism still reigned, and soon brilliantly embodied in the artistic masterpieces of the outstanding novelist of that time.

Works: novels - “The Parma Monastery”, “Armans”, “Lucien Leuven”, stories - “Vittoria Accoramboni”, “Duchess di Palliano”, “Cenci”, “Abbess of Castro”.

Charles Dickens (1812--1870): Dickens's works are full of deep drama, social contradictions He sometimes has a tragic character, which they did not have in the interpretation of writers of the 18th century. Dickens also touches on the life and struggles of the working class in his work.

Works: “Nicholas Nickleby”, “The Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewitt”, “Hard Times”, “Christmas Stories”, “Dombey and Son”, “The Antiquities Shop”.

William Thackeray (1811-1863): Polemicizing with the romantics, he demands strict truthfulness from the artist. “Even if the truth is not always pleasant, there is nothing better than the truth.” The author is not inclined to portray a person as either a notorious scoundrel or an ideal creature. Unlike Dickens, he avoided happy endings. Thackeray's satire is permeated with skepticism: the writer does not believe in the possibility of changing life. He enriched the English realistic novel by introducing the author's commentary.

Works: “The Book of Snobs”, “Vanity Fair”, “Pendennis”, “The Career of Barry Lyndon”, “The Ring and the Rose”.

Pushkin A.S. (1799-1837): founder of Russian realism. Pushkin is dominated by the idea of ​​the Law, of the laws that determine the state of civilization, social structures, the place and significance of man, his independence and connection with the whole, the possibility of authorial judgments.

Works: “Boris Godunov”, “The Captain’s Daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Eugene Onegin”, “Belkin’s Tales”.

Gogol N.V. (1809-1852): a world far from any ideas about the law, vulgar everyday life, in which all concepts of honor and morality, conscience are mutilated - in a word, Russian reality, worthy of grotesque ridicule: “blame the evening mirror if you have a crooked face” .

Works: “Dead Souls”, “Notes of a Madman”, “Overcoat”.

Lermontov M.Yu. (1814-1841): sharp enmity with the divine world order, with the laws of society, lies and hypocrisy, all kinds of defense of individual rights. The poet strives for a concrete image of the social environment, the life of an individual person: combining the features of early realism and mature romanticism into an organic unity.

Works: “Hero of Our Time”, “Demon”, “Fatalist”.

Turgenev I.S. (1818-1883): Turgenev is interested in moral world people from the people. The main feature of the cycle of stories was truthfulness, which contained the idea of ​​​​the liberation of the peasantry, representing peasants as spiritually active people capable of independent activity. Despite his reverent attitude towards the Russian people, Turgenev the realist did not idealize the peasantry, seeing, like Leskov and Gogol, their shortcomings.

Works: “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”, “ Noble Nest", "The day before".

Dostoevsky F.M. (1821-1881): Regarding Dostoevsky’s realism, they said that he “ fantastic realism" D. believes that in exceptional, unusual situations, the most typical appears. The writer noticed that all his stories were not made up, but taken from somewhere. Main feature: creation philosophical basis with a detective - there is murder everywhere.

Works: “Crime and Punishment”, “Idiot”, “Demons”, “Teenager”, “The Brothers Karamazov”.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth saying that the development of realism in the 19th century was a revolution in the field of art. This direction opened the eyes of society, and an era of revolutions and drastic changes began. Works writers of the 19th century centuries, which absorbed the trends of that era, are relevant to this day. By bringing their characters as close as possible to real images, the writers revealed a person from all sides, helping readers find themselves, solve those pressing problems that a person faces in everyday life, and which no romantic writer or classicist will write about.

Why did I choose this particular style? Because I believe that of all literary movements, it is critical realism that has the power to turn society around and bring changes in both the spheres of spiritual and political life of people. This is the kind of literature that is really worth reading.

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Realism (from Late Latin reālis - material) is an artistic method in art and literature. The history of realism in world literature is unusually rich. The very idea of ​​him changed to different stages artistic development, reflecting the persistent desire of artists for a truthful depiction of reality.

    Illustration by V. Milashevsky for the novel by Charles Dickens “ Posthumous notes Pickwick Club.

    Illustration by O. Vereisky for L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina.”

    Illustration by D. Shmarinov for F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.”

    Illustration by V. Serov for M. Gorky’s story “Foma Gordeev”.

    Illustration by B. Zaborov for the novel by M. Andersen-Nexo “Ditte - Child of Man.”

However, the concept of truth, truth is one of the most difficult in aesthetics. For example, the theorist of French classicism N. Boileau called for being guided by the truth and “imitating nature.” But the romantic V. Hugo, an ardent opponent of classicism, urged “to consult only nature, truth and your inspiration, which is also truth and nature.” Thus, both defended "truth" and "nature".

The selection of life phenomena, their assessment, the ability to present them as important, characteristic, typical - all this is connected with the artist’s point of view on life, and this, in turn, depends on his worldview, on the ability to grasp the advanced movements of the era. The desire for objectivity often forces the artist to depict the real balance of power in society, even contrary to his own political convictions.

The specific features of realism depend on the historical conditions in which art develops. National historical circumstances also determine the uneven development of realism in different countries.

Realism is not something given and unchangeable once and for all. In the history of world literature, several main types of its development can be outlined.

There is no consensus in science about the initial period of realism. Many art historians attribute it to very distant eras: they talk about realism rock paintings primitive people, about realism antique sculpture. In the history of world literature, many features of realism are found in the works of the ancient world and the early Middle Ages (in folk epic, for example, in Russian epics, in chronicles). However, the formation of realism as artistic system in European literature it is customary to associate it with the era of the Renaissance (Renaissance), the greatest progressive revolution. A new understanding of life by a person who rejects the church sermon of slavish obedience is reflected in the lyrics of F. Petrarch, the novels of F. Rabelais and M. Cervantes, in the tragedies and comedies of W. Shakespeare. After centuries of medieval churchmen preaching that man is a “vessel of sin” and calling for humility, Renaissance literature and art glorified man as the supreme creature of nature, seeking to reveal the beauty of his physical appearance and the richness of his soul and mind. The realism of the Renaissance is characterized by the scale of images (Don Quixote, Hamlet, King Lear), the poeticization of the human personality, its capacity for great feeling (as in Romeo and Juliet) and at the same time the high intensity of the tragic conflict, when the clash of personality with the inert forces opposing it is depicted .

The next stage in the development of realism is the educational stage (see Enlightenment), when literature becomes (in the West) an instrument of direct preparation for the bourgeois-democratic revolution. Among the educators there were supporters of classicism; their work was influenced by other methods and styles. But in the 18th century. develops (in Europe) and the so-called educational realism, whose theorists were D. Diderot in France and G. Lessing in Germany. The English realistic novel, whose founder was D. Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe (1719), acquired worldwide significance. A democratic hero appeared in the literature of the Enlightenment (Figaro in the trilogy of P. Beaumarchais, Louise Miller in the tragedy “Cunning and Love” by I. F. Schiller, images of peasants in A. N. Radishchev). Enlighteners assessed all phenomena of social life and people's actions as reasonable or unreasonable (and they saw the unreasonable, first of all, in all the old feudal orders and customs). They proceeded from this in their depiction of human character; their positive heroes are, first of all, the embodiment of reason, the negative ones are a deviation from the norm, the product of unreason, the barbarism of former times.

Enlightenment realism often allowed for convention. Thus, the circumstances in the novel and drama were not necessarily typical. They could be conditional, as in the experiment: “Suppose a person finds himself on a desert island...”. At the same time, Defoe depicts Robinson’s behavior not as it could actually be (the prototype of his hero went wild, even lost his articulate speech), but as he wants to present the person, fully armed with his physical and mental strength, as a hero, conqueror of forces nature. Faust in I. V. Goethe, shown in the struggle for the establishment of high ideals, is also conventional. Features of a well-known convention also distinguish D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.”

A new type of realism emerged in the 19th century. This is critical realism. It differs significantly from both the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Its flourishing in the West is associated with the names of Stendhal and O. Balzac in France, C. Dickens, W. Thackeray in England, in Russia - A. S. Pushkin, N. V. Gogol, I. S. Turgenev, F. M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov.

Critical realism portrays the relationship between man and the environment in a new way. Human character is revealed in organic connection with social circumstances. The subject of deep social analysis has become the inner world of man; critical realism therefore simultaneously becomes psychological. Romanticism, which sought to penetrate the secrets of the human “I,” played a large role in the preparation of this quality of realism.

Deepening the knowledge of life and complicating the picture of the world in the critical realism of the 19th century. do not mean, however, some kind of absolute superiority over previous stages, for the development of art is marked not only by gains, but also by losses.

The scale of the images of the Renaissance was lost. The pathos of affirmation characteristic of the Enlighteners, their optimistic faith in the victory of good over evil, remained unique.

The rise of the labor movement in Western countries, the formation in the 40s. XIX century Marxism not only influence the literature of critical realism, but also give rise to the first artistic experiments in depicting reality from the perspective of the revolutionary proletariat. In the realism of such writers as G. Weert, W. Morris, and the author of “The International” E. Pothier, new features are outlined that anticipate the artistic discoveries of socialist realism.

In Russia, the 19th century is a period of exceptional strength and scope in the development of realism. In the second half of the century, the artistic achievements of realism, bringing Russian literature to the international arena, won it worldwide recognition.

The richness and diversity of Russian realism of the 19th century. allow us to talk about its different forms.

Its formation is associated with the name of A. S. Pushkin, who led Russian literature onto the broad path of depicting “the fate of the people, the fate of man.” In the conditions of the accelerated development of Russian culture, Pushkin seems to be catching up with its previous lag, paving new paths in almost all genres and, with his universality and his optimism, turning out to be akin to the titans of the Renaissance. Pushkin’s work lays the foundations of critical realism, developed in the work of N.V. Gogol and after him in the so-called natural school.

Performance in the 60s. revolutionary democrats led by N. G. Chernyshevsky gives new features to Russian critical realism (the revolutionary nature of criticism, images of new people).

A special place in the history of Russian realism belongs to L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky. It was thanks to them that the Russian realistic novel acquired global significance. Their psychological mastery, penetration into the “dialectics of the soul” opened the way for the artistic quest of writers of the 20th century. Realism in the 20th century all over the world bears the imprint of the aesthetic discoveries of L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky.

The growth of the Russian liberation movement, which by the end of the century transferred the center of the world revolutionary struggle from the West to Russia, leads to the fact that the work of the great Russian realists becomes, as V. I. Lenin said about L. N. Tolstoy, “a mirror of the Russian revolution” according to to your objective historical content, despite all the differences in their ideological positions.

The creative scope of Russian social realism is reflected in the wealth of genres, especially in the field of the novel: philosophical and historical (L. N. Tolstoy), revolutionary journalistic (N. G. Chernyshevsky), everyday (I. A. Goncharov), satirical (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin), psychological (F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy). By the end of the century, A.P. Chekhov became an innovator in the genre of realistic stories and a kind of “lyrical drama”.

It is important to emphasize that Russian realism of the 19th century. did not develop in isolation from the world historical and literary process. This was the beginning of an era when, in the words of K. Marx and F. Engels, “the fruits of the spiritual activity of individual nations become the common property.”

F. M. Dostoevsky noted as one of the features of Russian literature its “capacity for universality, all-humanity, all-response.” Here we are not talking so much about Western influences, how much about organic development in line European culture its centuries-old traditions.

At the beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of M. Gorky's plays "The Bourgeois", "At the Demise" and especially the novel "Mother" (and in the West - the novel "Pelle the Conqueror" by M. Andersen-Nexo) testifies to the formation of socialist realism. In the 20s major successes Soviet literature declares itself, and in the early 30s. In many capitalist countries, a literature of the revolutionary proletariat is emerging. The literature of socialist realism is becoming an important factor in world literary development. It should be noted that Soviet literature in general retains more connections with artistic experience XIX c. than literature in the West (including socialist literature).

The beginning of the general crisis of capitalism, two world wars, the acceleration of the revolutionary process throughout the world under the influence October revolution and the existence of the Soviet Union, and after 1945 the formation of the world system of socialism - all this affected the fate of realism.

Critical realism, which continued to develop in Russian literature until the October Revolution (I. A. Bunin, A. I. Kuprin) and in the West, in the 20th century. received further development, while undergoing significant changes. In critical realism of the 20th century. in the West, a variety of influences are more freely assimilated and intersected, including some features of the unrealistic movements of the 20th century. (symbolism, impressionism, expressionism), which, of course, does not exclude the struggle of realists against non-realistic aesthetics.

From about the 20s. In the literature of the West, there is a tendency towards in-depth psychologism, the transmission of the “stream of consciousness”. The so-called intellectual novel of T. Mann arises; acquires special meaning subtext, for example, in E. Hemingway. This focus on the individual and his spiritual world in Western critical realism significantly weakens its epic breadth. Epic scale in the 20th century. is the merit of the writers of socialist realism (“The Life of Klim Samgin” by M. Gorky, “Quiet Don” by M. A. Sholokhov, “Walking through the Torment” by A. N. Tolstoy, “The Dead Remain Young” by A. Zegers).

Unlike the realists of the 19th century. writers of the 20th century more often they resort to fantasy (A. France, K. Chapek), to convention (for example, B. Brecht), creating parable novels and parable dramas (see Parable). At the same time, in the realism of the 20th century. the document, the fact, triumphs. Documentary works appear in different countries within the framework of both critical realism and socialist realism.

Thus, while remaining documentary, the autobiographical books of E. Hemingway, S. O'Casey, I. Becher are works of great general meaning, such classic books socialist realism, such as “Report with a Noose Around the Neck” by Yu. Fuchik and “Young Guard” by A. A. Fadeev.

Realism is a movement in literature and art that truthfully and realistically depicts typical features reality, in which there are no various distortions and exaggerations. This direction followed romanticism, and was the predecessor of symbolism.

This trend originated in the 30s of the 19th century and reached its peak in the middle of it. His followers sharply denied the use in literary works any sophisticated techniques, mystical trends and idealization of characters. The main feature of this trend in literature is artistic representation real life with the help of ordinary and familiar images to readers that are part of their everyday life (relatives, neighbors or acquaintances).

(Alexey Yakovlevich Voloskov "At the tea table")

The works of realist writers are distinguished by their life-affirming beginning, even if their plot is characterized by tragic conflict. One of the main features of this genre is the authors’ attempt to consider the surrounding reality in its development, to discover and describe new psychological, public and social relations.

Having replaced romanticism, realism has the characteristic features of an art that strives to find truth and justice, and wants to change the world for the better. The main characters in the works of realist authors make their discoveries and conclusions after much thought and deep introspection.

(Zhuravlev Firs Sergeevich "Before the Crown")

Critical realism developed almost simultaneously in Russia and Europe (approximately 30-40s of the 19th century) and soon emerged as the leading trend in literature and art throughout the world.

In France, literary realism is primarily associated with the names of Balzac and Stendhal, in Russia with Pushkin and Gogol, in Germany with the names of Heine and Buchner. All of them experience the inevitable influence of romanticism in their literary work, but gradually move away from it, abandon the idealization of reality and move on to depicting a broader social background, where the lives of the main characters take place.

Realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

The main founder of Russian realism in the 19th century is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. In his works " Captain's daughter", "Eugene Onegin", "Belkin's Stories", "Boris Godunov", "The Bronze Horseman" he subtly captures and skillfully conveys the very essence of all important events in the life of Russian society, presented by his talented pen in all its diversity, colorfulness and inconsistency. Following Pushkin, many writers of that time came to the genre of realism, deepening their analysis emotional experiences their heroes and depicting their complex inner world (“Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov, “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls” by Gogol).

(Pavel Fedotov "The Picky Bride")

The tense socio-political situation in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I aroused keen interest in the life and fate of the common people among progressive public figures of that time. This is noted in the later works of Pushkin, Lermontov and Gogol, as well as in the poetic lines of Alexei Koltsov and the works of the authors of the so-called “natural school”: I.S. Turgenev (cycle of stories “Notes of a Hunter”, stories “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”, “Asya”), F.M. Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “Crime and Punishment”), A.I. Herzen (“The Thieving Magpie”, “Who is to Blame?”), I.A. Goncharova (“ An ordinary story", "Oblomov"), A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”, L.N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”), A.P. Chekhov (stories and plays “The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Uncle Vanya”).

Literary realism of the second half of the 19th century was called critical; the main task of his works was to highlight existing problems and address issues of interaction between man and the society in which he lives.

Realism in Russian literature of the 20th century

(Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky "Evening")

The turning point in the fate of Russian realism was the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when this direction was experiencing a crisis and a new phenomenon in culture loudly declared itself - symbolism. Then a new updated aesthetics of Russian realism arose, in which History itself and its global processes were now considered the main environment shaping a person’s personality. The realism of the early 20th century revealed the complexity of the formation of a person’s personality; it was formed under the influence not only social factors, the story itself acted as the creator of typical circumstances, under the aggressive influence of which the main character fell.

(Boris Kustodiev "Portrait of D.F. Bogoslovsky")

There are four main trends in realism of the early twentieth century:

  • Critical: continues the traditions of classical realism of the mid-19th century. The works place emphasis on the social nature of phenomena (the works of A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Tolstoy);
  • Socialist: displaying the historical and revolutionary development of real life, analyzing conflicts in conditions of class struggle, revealing the essence of the characters of the main characters and their actions committed for the benefit of others. (M. Gorky “Mother”, “The Life of Klim Samgin”, most works by Soviet authors).
  • Mythological: display and rethinking of real life events through the prism of plots of famous myths and legends (L.N. Andreev “Judas Iscariot”);
  • Naturalism: an extremely truthful, often unsightly, detailed depiction of reality (A.I. Kuprin “The Pit”, V.V. Veresaev “A Doctor’s Notes”).

Realism in foreign literature of the 19th-20th centuries

The initial stage of the formation of critical realism in European countries in the mid-19th century is associated with the works of Balzac, Stendhal, Beranger, Flaubert, and Maupassant. Merimee in France, Dickens, Thackeray, Bronte, Gaskell - England, the poetry of Heine and other revolutionary poets - Germany. In these countries, in the 30s of the 19th century, tension grew between two irreconcilable class enemies: the bourgeoisie and the labor movement, and a period of rise in various fields bourgeois culture, a number of discoveries take place in natural science and biology. In countries where a pre-revolutionary situation developed (France, Germany, Hungary), the doctrine of the scientific socialism of Marx and Engels arose and developed.

(Julien Dupre "Return from the Fields")

As a result of complex creative and theoretical polemics with the followers of romanticism, critical realists took for themselves the best progressive ideas and traditions: interesting historical topics, democracy, trends of folklore, progressive critical pathos and humanistic ideals.

Realism of the early twentieth century, which survived the struggle of the best representatives of the “classics” of critical realism (Flaubert, Maupassant, France, Shaw, Rolland) with the trends of new non-realistic trends in literature and art (decadence, impressionism, naturalism, aestheticism, etc.) is acquiring new character traits. He addresses the social phenomena of real life, describes the social motivation of human character, reveals the psychology of the individual, the fate of art. The basis of modeling artistic reality lie down philosophical ideas, the author’s focus is primarily on the intellectually active perception of the work when reading it, and then on the emotional one. A classic example of an intellectual realistic novel is the works German writer Thomas Mann " Magic Mountain" and "Confession of the adventurer Felix Krull", dramaturgy by Bertolt Brecht.

(Robert Kohler "Strike")

In the works of realist authors of the twentieth century, the dramatic line intensifies and deepens, there is more tragedy (creativity American writer Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", "Tender is the Night"), a special interest in the inner world of man appears. Attempts to portray conscious and unconscious life moments people lead to the emergence of a new literary device, close to modernism, called “stream of consciousness” (works by Anna Segers, W. Keppen, Yu. O’Neill). Naturalistic elements appear in creativity American realist writers, such as Theodore Dreiser and John Steinbeck.

Realism of the 20th century has a bright, life-affirming color, faith in man and his strength, this is noticeable in the works of American realist writers William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Mark Twain. The works of Romain Rolland, John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw, and Erich Maria Remarque were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Realism continues to exist as a trend in modern literature and is one of the most important forms of democratic culture.

in literature and art - a truthful, objective reflection of reality using specific means inherent in a particular type of artistic creativity. In Russia - an artistic method characteristic of the creativity of: writers - A. S. Pushkin, Ya. V. Gogol, Ya. A. Nekrasov, L. Ya. Tolstoy, A. Ya. Ostrovsky, F. M. Dostoevsky, A. P Chekhov, A. M. Gorky, etc.; composers - M. P. Mussorgsky, A. P. Borodin, P. I. Tchaikovsky and partly Ya. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, artists - A. G. Venetsianov, P. A. Fedotov, I. E. Repin, V. A. Serov and the Wanderers, sculptor A. S. Golubkina; in the theater - M. S. Shchepkina, M. Ya. Ermolova, K. S. Stanislavsky.

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REALISM

late lat. realis – real, real), artistic method, creative principle which is the depiction of life through typification and creation of images that correspond to the essence of life itself. Literature for realism is a means of understanding man and the world, therefore it strives for a wide coverage of life, coverage of all its sides without restrictions; the focus is on the interaction of a person and the social environment, the influence of social conditions on the formation of personality.

Category "realism" in in a broad sense determines the relationship of literature to reality in general, regardless of what current or direction in literature it belongs to this author. Any work reflects reality to one degree or another, but in some periods of the development of literature there was an emphasis on artistic convention; for example, classicism demanded the “unity of place” of the drama (the action should take place in one place), which made the work far from the truth of life. But the requirement of life-likeness does not mean a rejection of the means of artistic convention. The art of a writer lies in the ability to concentrate reality, drawing heroes who, perhaps, did not actually exist, but in which real people like them were embodied.

Realism in in the narrow sense formed as a movement in the 19th century. It is necessary to distinguish realism as a method from realism as a direction: we can talk about the realism of Homer, W. Shakespeare, etc. as a manner of reflecting reality in their works.

The question of the emergence of realism is solved by researchers in different ways: its roots are seen in ancient literature, in the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. According to the most common view, realism arose in the 1830s. Its immediate predecessor is considered to be romanticism, the main feature of which is the depiction of exceptional characters in exceptional circumstances with special attention to a complex and contradictory personality with strong passions, misunderstood by the society around him - the so-called romantic hero. This was a step forward compared to the conventions of depicting people in classicism and sentimentalism - movements that preceded romanticism. Realism did not deny, but developed the achievements of romanticism. Between romanticism and realism in the first half of the 19th century. it is difficult to draw a clear line: the works use both romantic and realistic depiction techniques: “Shagreen Skin” by O. de Balzac, novels by Stendhal, W. Hugo and Charles Dickens, “A Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov. But unlike romanticism, the main artistic orientation of realism is typification, the depiction of “typical characters in typical circumstances” (F. Engels). This installation assumes that the hero concentrates in himself the properties of the era and that social group to which he belongs. For example, the title character of I. A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” is bright representative dying nobility, characteristic features which are called laziness, inability to take decisive action, fear of everything new.

Soon realism breaks with romantic tradition, which is embodied in the works of G. Flaubert and W. Thackeray. In Russian literature, this stage is associated with the names of A. S. Pushkin, I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, etc. This stage is usually called critical realism - after M Gorky (we should not forget that Gorky, for political reasons, wanted to emphasize the accusatory orientation of the literature of the past in contrast to the affirming tendencies of socialist literature). The main feature of critical realism is the depiction of the negative phenomena of Russian life, seeing the beginning of this tradition in “Dead Souls” and “The Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol, in the works of the natural school. The authors solve their problem in different ways. There is no positive hero in Gogol’s works: the author shows a “team city” (“The Inspector General”), a “team country” (“Dead Souls”), combining all the vices of Russian life. Thus, in “Dead Souls” each hero embodies some negative trait: Manilov – daydreaming and the impossibility of making dreams come true; Sobakevich - ponderousness and slowness, etc. However, the negative pathos in most works is not without an affirmative beginning. So Emma, ​​the heroine of G. Flaubert’s novel “Madame Bovary” with her subtle mental organization, rich inner world and the ability to feel vividly and vividly, is contrasted with Mr. Bovary - a man who thinks in patterns. Another important feature of critical realism is attention to social environment, which shaped the character's character. For example, in the poem by N. A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus',” the behavior of peasants, their positive and negative traits (patience, kindness, generosity, on the one hand, and servility, cruelty, stupidity, on the other) are explained by the conditions of their life and especially the social upheavals of the period of serfdom reform in 1861. Fidelity to reality was already put forward by V. G. Belinsky as the main parameter for evaluating a work when developing the theory of the natural school. N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov, A. F. Pisemsky and others also highlighted the criterion of the social usefulness of a work, its influence on minds and the possible consequences of reading it (it is worth recalling the phenomenal success of Chernyshevsky’s rather weak novel “What is to be done?” , who answered many questions from his contemporaries).

The mature stage of the development of realism is associated with the work of writers of the second half of the 19th century, primarily F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy. IN European literature At this time, the period of modernism began and the principles of realism were used mainly in naturalism. Russian realism enriched world literature principles of the socio-psychological novel. The discovery of F. M. Dostoevsky is recognized as polyphony - the ability to combine different points of view in a work, without making any of them dominant. The combination of the voices of the characters and the author, their interweaving, contradictions and agreements brings the architectonics of the work closer to reality, where there is no consensus and one final truth. The fundamental tendency of L. N. Tolstoy’s creativity is the depiction of the development of the human personality, the “dialectics of the soul” (N. G. Chernyshevsky) combined with the epic breadth of the depiction of life. Thus, the change in the personality of one of the main characters of “War and Peace” Pierre Bezukhov occurs against the backdrop of changes in the life of the entire country, and one of the turning points in his worldview is the Battle of Borodino, a turning point in the history of the Patriotic War of 1812.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. realism is in crisis. It is also noticeable in the dramaturgy of A.P. Chekhov, the main tendency of which is to show key points in people’s lives, and the change in their lives in the most ordinary moments, no different from others, is the so-called “undercurrent” (in European drama, these trends were manifested in the plays of A. Strindberg, G. Ibsen, M. Maeterlinck). The predominant trend in the literature of the early 20th century. symbolism becomes (V. Ya. Bryusov, A. Bely, A. A. Blok). After the revolution of 1917, integrating into the general concept of building a new state, numerous associations of writers arose whose task was to mechanically transfer the categories of Marxism into literature. This led to the recognition of new important stage in the development of realism in the 20th century. (primarily in Soviet literature) socialist realism, which was intended to depict the development of man and society, meaningful in the spirit of socialist ideology. The ideals of socialism assumed steady progress, determining the value of a person by the benefit he brings to society, and a focus on the equality of all people. The term “socialist realism” was fixed on the 1st All-Union Congress Soviet writers in 1934. The novels “Mother” by M. Gorky and “How the Steel Was Tempered” by N. A. Ostrovsky were called examples of socialist realism; its features were identified in the works of M. A. Sholokhov, A. N. Tolstoy, and in satire V. V. Mayakovsky, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, J. Hasek. The main motive of the works of socialist realism was considered to be the development of the personality of a human fighter, his self-improvement and overcoming difficulties. In the 1930s–40s. socialist realism finally acquired dogmatic features: a tendency appeared to embellish reality, the conflict of “good with best” was recognized as the main one, psychologically unreliable, “artificial” characters began to appear. The development of realism (regardless of socialist ideology) was given by the Great Patriotic War (A. T. Tvardovsky, K. M. Simonov, V. S. Grossman, B. L. Vasiliev). Since the 1960s literature in the USSR began to move away from socialist realism, although many writers adhered to the principles of classical realism.

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