Romanticsm And Realism

Romanticsm And Realism

Introduction

            A good understanding of literature can be gleaned from a detailed look at the view of the world by the writers at the time they were coming up with their writings. It is good to note that in the period between 1865 and 1900, the realistic approach dominated American literature. The first half of the century was dominated mainly be romanticism. In this text, I will discuss both romanticism and realism critically.


Romanticism and realism

Thompson (2007) defines romanticism as an 18th century intellectual, artistic as well as literary movement that has its roots in Europe. The strength of this movement was mainly informed by the industrial revolution. This movement has been variously described as a reaction or revolt that was in one way or the other brought out using literature as well as music and visual arts. On the other hand, realism is simply defined as a shift in artistic ideas mainly in the 20th century in favor of artistic skill as well as beauty. Herein it can also be taken to mean the literary movement in the 19th century.


As noted in the introductory part, in the first half of the century, literature was dominated by romanticism. It mainly zeroed in on nature, emotions as well as imagination exploration. Characteristically, romanticism was in the abstract and hence it was largely subjective and symbolic. Morris (2003 notes that in this period, the romanticism inspired social action which included but was not limited to the universal education drive, groups that advocated for the rights of women etc.


Thompson (2007) argues that the horrendous cold war inspired realism. With regard to literature, realism has over time been taken to mean faithfulness to actuality. In this sense, it mainly denotes treating material truthfully. On a closer look however, truth comes about as a term that is highly subjective and with that in mind, the writer largely determines truth. This the writer can do through detail manipulation as well as selection. According to Morris (2003) , what is common about realists is their belief in democracy. This common thread amongst all realists leads them into defining the everyday and the common with regard to reality. The attention of the realist is focused on what is current, what can be done about it and what it will result in, that is, the consequence.


The focus of realists is centered on the audience. Their goal is for the audience to come up wit their own conclusions after a careful analysis of the situation presented. Thompson (2007) notes that in the case of William Dean Howells, young ladies formed part of his audience and with that in mind he largely avoided and situation that had the potential of bringing about moral injury to his audience. This can be gleaned from his constant avoidance of any discussion of some life instances with regard to sex as well as passion. From this, it is clear that realists are in one way or the other dedicated to presenting an accurate account of various issues as well as the consequences they bring upon the members of the society. This seems to be the reason why Wu (2006)notes that as a reader goes through a realist, he or she should in one way or the other look out for the ethical issues being subjected to an analysis as well as what exactly the writer wants to bring out with regard to ethics.


It is also important to note that a majority of realists do not favor situations whose implications can be said to be tragic. In that regard, they adopt an optimistic attitude in the belief that their readers will improve as a result of being familiar with the ethical lessons presented. Wu (2006) however agrees with Mark Twain’s assertion that the ability of humanity to improve can be hampered by the level of its acceptance of the various limitations it has and learning how to handle them.


In romanticism, Thompson (2007) notes that a majority of the characters may be overemphasized as opposed to realism where the characters are in semblance to real life people in their ordinary lives. The plot in romanticism is also unlike that in realism. In realism, the plot just like the characters is set in a background of ordinary events. However, in romanticism, the plot is in most cases set against a background of events that appear to be unusual. These events could be mysterious or involve unrealistic adventure scenarios. This plot in romanticism usually winds up to a very happy ending in most cases. However, in realism, the plot may wind up to an ending that is particularly unpleasant.

Morris (2003) also notes that there is a tendency for most realism writers to utilize ordinary speech, that is, the language most people find themselves using on a daily basis. This is n contrast to romanticism where the writers use a formal language, that is, a language that can in one way or the other be considered literary.


Conclusion

            It is important to note that romanticism is mostly concerned with the ideal as opposed to realism that seeks to present the real i.e. Its more in touch with the ordinary unlike romanticism. Realism can hence be said to be a mirror reflecting reality in a way that is more exact than romanticism


References

Morris, P. (2003). Realism. Routledge

Thompson, M. (2007). Artist. Global Media

Wu, D. (2006). Romanticism: an anthology. Blackwell Pub





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