Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century: history, characteristics and review

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century played an important role in the public life of the country. Most modern critics and readers are convinced of this. At that time, reading was not entertainment, but ways of knowing the surrounding reality. For the writer, creativity itself became an important act of civic service to society, since he had a sincere belief in the power of the creative word, in the likelihood that a book could influence the mind and soul of a person so that he would change for the better.

Confrontation in Literature

As modern researchers note, it was precisely because of this belief in the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century that the civic pathos of the struggle for some idea was born that could play an important role in transforming the country, sending the whole country along one path or another. The 19th century was the century of maximum development of the nationalcritical thought. Therefore, the speeches in the press of critics of that time entered the annals of Russian culture.

The well-known confrontation, which emerged in the history of literature in the middle of the 19th century, emerged between Westernizers and Slavophiles. These social movements arose in Russia as early as the 40s of the 19th century. Westerners advocated that the true development of Russia began with the reforms of Peter I, and in the future it is necessary to follow this historical path. At the same time, they treated the entire pre-Petrine Russia with disdain, noting the absence of a culture and history worthy of respect. The Slavophiles advocated the independent development of Russia, regardless of the West.

Just at that time, a very radical movement became popular among Westerners, which was based on the teachings of utopians with a socialist bias, in particular, Fourier and Saint-Simon. The most radical wing of this movement saw revolution as the only way to change something in the state.

Slavophiles, in turn, insisted that the history of Russia is no less rich than that of the West. In their opinion, Western civilization suffered from individualism and unbelief, disillusioned with spiritual values.

The confrontation between Westernizers and Slavophiles was also observed in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century, and especially in criticism of Gogol. Westerners considered this writer the founder of the socio-critical trend in Russian literature, while the Slavophiles insisted on the epic fullness of the poem "Dead Souls" and its prophetic pathos. remember, thatcritical articles played a big role in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century.

Naturalists

In the 1840s, a whole galaxy of writers appeared who rallied around the literary critic Belinsky. This group of writers began to be called representatives of the "natural school".

In the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century, they were very popular. Their protagonist is a representative of the underprivileged class. These are artisans, janitors, beggars, peasants. The writers sought to give them the opportunity to speak out, to show their customs and way of life, reflecting through them all of Russia from a special angle.

The most popular among them is the genre of "physiological essay". It describes the different strata of society with scientific rigor. Outstanding representatives of the "natural school" are Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Turgenev, Reshetnikov, Uspensky.

Revolutionary Democrats

By the 1860s, the confrontation between the Westerners and the Slavophils was coming to naught. But disputes between representatives of the intelligentsia continue. Cities, industry are rapidly developing around, history is changing. At this moment, raznochintsy come into the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century. They come from various social strata. If earlier writing was the lot of the nobility, now merchants, priests, philistines, officials and even peasants take up the pen.

In literature and criticism, the ideas laid down by Belinsky are developing, the authors put before readers sharp socialquestions.

Chernyshevsky lays the philosophical foundations in his master's thesis.

Aesthetic criticism

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the direction of "aesthetic criticism" was especially developed in literature. Botkin, Druzhinin, Annenkov do not accept didacticism, proclaiming the inherent value of creativity, as well as its detachment from social problems.

"Pure art" should solve exclusively aesthetic problems, representatives of "organic criticism" came to such conclusions. In its principles, developed by Strakhov and Grigoriev, true art became the fruit of not only the mind, but also the soul of the artist.

Soilers

Soil workers gained great popularity during this period. Dostoevsky, Grigoriev, Danilevsky, Strakhov included themselves among them. They developed the ideas of the Slavophile, while warning to be too carried away by social ideas, to break away from tradition, reality, history and the people.

They tried to penetrate into the lives of ordinary people, deriving general principles for the maximum organic development of the state. In the magazines Epoch and Vremya, they criticized the rationalism of their opponents, who, in their opinion, were too revolutionary.

Nihilism

One of the peculiarities of the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century was nihilism. In it, the soil scientists saw one of the main threats to real reality. Nihilism was very popular among different sections of Russian society. Heexpressed in the denial of accepted norms of behavior, cultural values and recognized leaders. At the same time, moral principles were replaced by the concepts of one's own pleasure and benefit.

The most striking work of this trend is Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons", written in 1861. Its protagonist Bazarov denies love, art and compassion. He was admired by Pisarev, who was one of the main ideologists of nihilism.

Novel genre

An important role in Russian literature of this period is occupied by the novel. It was in the second half of the 19th century that Leo Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace", Chernyshevsky's political novel "What Is to Be Done?", Dostoevsky's psychological novel "Crime and Punishment", and S altykov-Shchedrin's social novel "Lord Golovlev" came out.

The most significant was the work of Dostoevsky, reflecting the era.

Poetry

In the 1850s, poetry flourished after a brief oblivion that followed the golden age of Pushkin and Lermontov. Polonsky, Fet, Maikov come to the fore.

In poetry, poets pay increased attention to folk art, history, everyday life. It becomes important to comprehend Russian history in the works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Maikov, May. It is epics, folk legends and old songs that determine the style of the authors.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the work of civil poets became popular. Poems are associated with revolutionary democratic ideasMinaeva, Mikhailov, Kurochkina. The main authority for the poets of this trend is Nikolai Nekrasov.

By the end of the 19th century, peasant poets became popular. Among them are Trefolev, Surikov, Drozhzhin. She continues the traditions of Nekrasov and Koltsov in her work.

Dramaturgy

The second half of the 19th century is the time of the development of national and original dramaturgy. The authors of the plays actively use folklore, pay attention to peasant and merchant life, national history, and the language spoken by the people. You can often find works devoted to social and moral issues, in which romanticism is combined with realism. These playwrights include Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Ostrovsky, Sukhovo-Kobylin.

The variety of styles and artistic forms in dramaturgy led to the emergence of bright dramatic works by Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy at the very end of the century.

Influence of foreign literature

Foreign literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century has a noticeable influence on Russian writers and poets.

At this time, realistic novels reign in foreign literature. First of all, these are the works of Balzac ("Shagreen Skin", "Parma Convent", "Eugenia Grande"), Charlotte Bronte ("Jane Eyre"), Thackeray ("Newcomes", "Vanity Fair", "History of Henry Esmond"), Flaubert ("Madame Bovary", "Education of the Senses", "Salambo", "Simple Soul").

In England at the timeCharles Dickens is considered the main writer of the time, his works Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, The Life and Adventures of Nicklas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son are also read in Russia.

In European poetry, a collection of poems by Charles Baudelaire "Flowers of Evil" becomes a real revelation. These are the works of the famous European symbolist, which caused a whole storm of discontent and indignation in Europe due to the large number of obscene lines, the poet was even fined for violating the norms of morality and morality, making the collection of poems one of the most popular in the decade.