Overview of Section 1
1. Social and historical background and main literary trends of the late 19th century
What happened in the political, economic and scientific fields of European countries Great changes have had a profound impact on social politics and cultural thought. In the second half of the 19th century, schools such as positivism, voluntarism, and intuitionism became popular. Positivism is a proposition that emerged under the influence of natural science. It uses the spirit of positivism to transform all sciences and natural science methods to analyze society, thereby establishing a so-called observational science system.
The founder of positivism was the French philosopher and sociologist Comte. He advocated using natural science methods to study society and equating society with nature. (Comte, the founder of positivism, had a greater influence on Balzat)
French philosopher Danner inherited and developed positivist philosophy. In his book "Philosophy of Art", Danner combined positivist philosophy with Darwin Applying his theory to the study of literary and artistic theory, he proposed that race, environment, and era are the three decisive factors in cultural development.
Voluntarism, which advocates that will is the origin of all things in the world, is the earliest and most influential representative school of modern humanism and irrationalism. Voluntarism was represented by the pessimism of the German philosopher Schopenhauer in the early stage, and in the later period by the German philosopher Nietzsche.
Nietzsche proposed the theory of will to power. He believed that will is the force that determines everything in the world. It uses the strength of the will to power as the criterion for judging moral good and evil. He believes that one should achieve personal fulfillment by any means and regardless of moral constraints. Desire is human nature, and advocating "superman philosophy" ("subconscious mind") lays the foundation for irrationalism. (Dostoyevsky is the originator of modern novels, and his creations are deeply influenced by the "Superman Philosophy".) The concept of time being continuous is fully demonstrated in "In Search of Lost Time".
By the late 19th century, realist literature continued to develop, and the achievements of Norway, Russia and other countries were particularly eye-catching, with the emergence of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekov, Yi With the development of capitalism, the power of the proletariat began to grow, and proletarian literature also developed to a certain extent, such as British Chartist literature, German revolutionary poetry, etc., but the most influential The most important thing is the literature of the Paris Commune. The literature of the Paris Commune is mainly composed of poetry. It mainly promotes patriotism and internationalism and calls on people to continue the struggle. Baudier is an outstanding representative of the literature of the Paris Commune. His representative work is """" created in 1871. "Internationale".
During this period, naturalism emerged. Zola accepted Dana's view that race, environment, and era are the three elements of literary and artistic creation, and put forward the theory of naturalism.
The opening work of naturalism is "Jiminy Lasseter". Naturalism equates human society with nature. The literary characteristics of naturalism are: first, it attaches importance to observation, investigation and detailed description, and regards authenticity and objectivity as the primary conditions for literary creation. However, this authenticity often lacks artistic quality. Refining, meaningless life details, abnormal psychology, etc. are written into the work. Second, mechanically applying the theories of natural science to literary creation, expressing people from a physiological point of view, especially understanding them from the perspective of genetics at that time. The reasons that prompt people to act seem to be factors that govern people's actions, and there are no social factors. (nervous attacks, alcoholism). Third, he began to downplay the plot and advocated reflecting reality according to the true colors of life. He was good at describing mass scenes and the abnormal psychology of characters. His narrative style was generally calm and calm. The writer's thoughts were hidden deeply and he did not comment or make evaluations.
The chief advocate of aestheticism was the French writer Gautier. In his "Preface to Mademoiselle Maupin" written in 1834, he also mentioned the slogan of art for art's sake and made some comments on the nature of art. new interpretation. Aestheticists emphasize that beauty should be pure and absolute, while creation should be free and imaginary. The representative writer of aesthetic literature is the British Oscar Wilde.
Symbolism literature is a literary genre that appeared in the West from the 1870s to the 1940s. It is the earliest and longest-lasting genre in Western modernist literature. It is divided into two stages. .
The basic characteristics of early symbolism are: first: a large number of ugly phenomena in the city are described (the poem "Carrion"). In art, ugliness is regarded as beauty; second, poets can use their senses to As an item, it is believed that the subjective and objective things in the universe can have corresponding reactions, emphasizing the role of imagination and synaesthesia. Finally, pursue the combination of poetry, music and painting, and pursue conciseness and essence in form.
Summary: first, realism, second, Paris Commune, third, naturalism, fourth, aestheticism. (The three characteristics of aestheticism are non-utilitarianism, non-morality, and detachment from social reality, that is, the establishment of an ivory tower)
2. Overview of literature in various countries in the late 19th century
Britain Literature: 1. John Ruskin is an important theorist of the Raphaelites. The aesthetic and moral details and religious themes are the characteristics of the Raphaelites. 2. Oscar Wilde is a representative figure of aestheticism. His work "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is Wilde's only novel.
French literature: 1. Maupassant, the short story has the highest achievement. The famous necklace of my uncle Jules is the ball of suet.
He wrote six novels in his lifetime, among which A Lifetime and Beautiful Friends are the most famous. Maupassant's writing style is lifelike and natural, with keen and cold observation, he depicts vivid images in detail and vividly. He uses accurate words, is good at shaping characters with plain plots, and highlights his character with real details. The novel has the ability to reflect reality. It contains both ideological content and fascinating artistic masterpieces, so it has a strong artistic appeal. 2. Atier Rimbaud, his representative work is The Drunken Boat.
Russian literature: First, the suspense setting of highly typical characters leads to an unexpected ending. Second, be concise and concise. The depth of a novel is written in the length of a short story. Third, it has a strong lyrical meaning and is a lyrical psychological novel. Fourth, implicit humor. (Choose the material to draw a single character, and the inner mental outlook truly presents an objective narrative) Fifth, it is simple and general.
Section 2? British literary writer Hardy
Thomas Hardy
The novel’s tragic system features:
1. Plot conception Composite system: the description of instantaneous changes of time, the plot of coincidence, the cycle of time, the changes in the fate of the characters under the change of seasons, the description of the country road constitutes the coincidence of the character's fate, and the development and continuation of the plot can all be realized through the portrayal of the road. Reflecting the fate of the character and his life path;
2. The painting system in the work: color, light and shadow description, black, green and other layered cold tones and warm tones transition from cold to warm;
3. The music system for plot rendering: natural music, the sound of rain, the sound of wind, the arrangement of music from happy to sad, from light to heavy, and the blending of the relationship between music and painting: the description of the synchronization of music and painting when playing the piano : Warm colors represent joy; cold colors represent heavy sadness
4. Cognitive system of social criticism: Influenced by Binskin;
A sign that Hardy has truly embarked on the path of literary creation It is: the publication of a new novel "In vain" with a pastoral and pastoral mood;
"Kings" is a grand epic drama, created to describe "huge historical disasters" or conflicts between ethnic groups.” First of all, it is called a chronicle drama; secondly, it is a philosophical drama, which attempts to use the theory of will to solve the relationship between nature and necessity;
"Tess of the d'Urbervilles" is a novel written in his later years .
Section 3 Russian Realist Writer? Leo Tolstoy
Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is the most outstanding Russian literature in the 19th century represent. Russian realist literature reached its peak in Tolstoy's writings, with a beauty as vast and open as the sea. Tolstoy was very individual, and artistic creation was part of Tolstoy's life pursuit. Without this point, it is difficult to understand the tendency of integrating life pursuit and artistic exploration reflected in Tolstoy's works.
The repentant noble:
1. Join the army
2. Reform
3. Go abroad: longing for Russian religion and Russian culture Seeking relief from nationalism has a strong religious complex in Russian literature: first, it reflects its populist movement; second, Tolstoy’s thought: do not use violence to resist evil, emphasizes moral self-improvement, and reflects the forbearance of the Orthodox Church , tolerance and obedience; third, he created three major novels, "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection"; fourth, the dialectics of the soul, the process of self-conflict and self-contradiction, inner monologue and self-analysis. , self-reflection on the inner conflict when committing suicide, which is in line with the natural laws of the character's contradictory and conflicting personalities.
Section 4? The Norwegian poet and dramatist Ibsen is known as the father of modern drama
Three major characteristics of his creation:
?1. Norwegian folk tradition Romantic historical dramas as material; "Brand" and "Peer Gynt"
2. Realistic social issue dramas; using daily life as material, it reveals the shortcomings of society in many aspects, including laws, Religion, politics, law, and institutions reflect social practice with realism and sharp writing, so they are called social issue dramas; "Pillars of Society", "A Doll's House", "Ghosts" and "Enemy of the People"
3 , Symbolist psychodrama; "The Architect" and "When We Awaken from the Dead"
Ibsen always adhered to spiritual rebellion. "Peer Gynt" shows extreme individualism, absolute and pure spiritual freedom, and physical pursuit.
The dramatic features of "A Doll's House":
1. It adopts the flashback and condensation methods of traditional Western drama, with a rigorous structure and condensed time into three days;
2. Discussion method: conduct in-depth discussions on major social issues such as marriage, family, and education, showing a broad social picture and strengthening the critical awareness of the work;
3. Drama content: drama The content begins to put daily life on the stage of drama, showing the fate of characters, using daily life to express the broad social picture, and seeing big innovations from small things.
How to view Nora's departure:
She got rid of the shackles of traditional concepts and pursued equality between men and women, equality in love, freedom and equality.
It broke the unequal relationship between the bourgeoisie and encouraged women to pursue equality of self-identity and freedom of personality.