Distinctive features of sentimentalism. Literary movements and currents

Sentimentalism as a literary method developed in the literature of Western European countries in the 1760-1770s. The artistic method gets its name from the English word sentiment (feeling).

Sentimentalism as a literary method

The historical prerequisite for the emergence of sentimentalism was the growing social role and political activity of the third estate. At its core, the activity of the third estate expressed a tendency towards democratization of the social structure of society. The socio-political imbalance was evidence of the crisis of the absolute monarchy.

However, the principle of rationalistic worldview significantly changed its parameters by the middle of the 18th century. The accumulation of natural science knowledge has led to a revolution in the field of the methodology of knowledge itself, foreshadowing a revision of the rationalistic picture of the world. The highest manifestation of the rational activity of mankind - the absolute monarchy - more and more demonstrated its practical inconsistency with the real needs of society, and the catastrophic gap between the idea of ​​absolutism and the practice of autocratic rule, since the rationalistic principle of world perception was subject to revision in new philosophical teachings that turned to the category of feelings and sensations .

The philosophical doctrine of sensations as the only source and basis of knowledge - sensualism - arose at a time of full viability and even flowering of rationalist philosophical teachings. The founder of sensationalism is the English philosopher John Locke. Locke declared experience to be the source of general ideas. External world given to man in his physiological sensations - vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch.

Thus, Locke's sensationalism offers a new model of the process of cognition: sensation - emotion - thought. The picture of the world produced in this way also differs significantly from the dual rationalistic model of the world as a chaos of material objects and a cosmos of higher ideas.

From philosophical picture The world of sensationalism is followed by a clear and precise concept of statehood as a means of harmonizing a natural chaotic society with the help of civil law.

The result of the crisis of absolutist statehood and the modification of the philosophical picture of the world was the crisis of the literary method of classicism, which was determined by the rationalistic type of worldview and associated with the doctrine of absolute monarchy (classicism).

The concept of personality that has developed in the literature of sentimentalism is diametrically opposed to the classicist one. If classicism professed the ideal of a rational and social person, then for sentimentalism the idea of ​​the fullness of personal existence was realized in the concept of a sensitive and private person. An area where individual personality can be revealed with particular clarity. private life person is intimate life souls, love and family life.

The ideological consequence of the sentimentalist revision of the scale of classicist values ​​was the idea of ​​the independent significance of the human personality, the criterion of which was no longer recognized as belonging to a high class.

In sentimentalism, as in classicism, the area of ​​greatest conflict tension remained the relationship between the individual and the collective; sentimentalism gave preference to the natural person. Sentimentalism demanded that society respect individuality.

The universal conflict situation of sentimentalist literature is the mutual love of representatives of different classes, which is broken by social prejudices.

The desire for natural feeling dictated the search for similar literary forms of its expression. And the lofty “language of the gods” - poetry - is replaced in sentimentalism by prose. The advent of the new method was marked by the rapid flowering of prose narrative genres, primarily the story and novel - psychological, family, educational. Epistolary, diary, confession, travel notes - these are typical genre forms of sentimentalist prose.

Literature that speaks the language of feelings is addressed to feelings and evokes an emotional resonance: aesthetic pleasure takes on the character of emotion.

The originality of Russian sentimentalism

Russian sentimentalism arose on national soil, but in a larger European context. Traditionally, the chronological boundaries of the birth, formation and development of this phenomenon in Russia are determined by 1760-1810.

Already since the 1760s. works of European sentimentalists penetrate into Russia. The popularity of these books causes many translations into Russian. F. Emin’s novel “Letters of Ernest and Doravra” is an obvious imitation of Rousseau’s “New Heloise”.

The era of Russian sentimentalism is “the age of exceptionally diligent reading.”

But, despite the genetic connection of Russian sentimentalism with European sentimentalism, it grew and developed on Russian soil, in a different socio-historical atmosphere. Peasant revolt, which developed into civil war, made his own adjustments both to the concept of “sensitivity” and to the image of a “sympathizer.” They acquired, and could not help but acquire, a pronounced social connotation. The idea of ​​moral freedom of the individual underlay Russian sentimentalism, but its ethical and philosophical content did not oppose the complex of liberal social concepts.

Lessons from European travel and the experience of the Great french revolution Karamzin’s were fully consistent with the lessons of Russian travel and Radishchev’s understanding of the experience of Russian slavery. The problem of the hero and the author in these Russian “sentimental journeys” is, first of all, the story of the creation of a new personality, a Russian sympathizer. “Sympathizers” of both Karamzin and Radishchev are contemporaries of turbulent historical events in Europe and Russia, and at the center of their reflection is the reflection of these events in the human soul.

Unlike European Russian sentimentalism had a strong educational basis. The educational ideology of Russian sentimentalism adopted, first of all, the principles of the “educational novel” and the methodological foundations of European pedagogy. Sensitivity and the sensitive hero of Russian sentimentalism were aimed not only at revealing the “inner man,” but also at educating and enlightening society on new philosophical foundations, but taking into account the real historical and social context.

The consistent interest of Russian sentimentalism in the problems of historicism also seems indicative: the very fact of the emergence from the depths of sentimentalism of the grandiose edifice of “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin reveals the result of the process of understanding the category of historical process. In the depths of sentimentalism, Russian historicism acquired a new style, associated with ideas about the feeling of love for the homeland and the indissolubility of the concepts of love for history, for the Fatherland and the human soul. Humanity and animation of historical feeling - this is, perhaps, what sentimentalist aesthetics has enriched Russian literature of modern times, which tends to understand history through its personal embodiment: epochal character.

Sentimentalism(French sentimentalisme, from English sentimental, French sentiment - feeling) - a state of mind in Western European and Russian culture and the corresponding literary direction. Works written in this genre are based on the reader's emotions. In Europe it existed from the 20s to the 80s of the 18th century, in Russia - from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century.

In that case, classicism is reason, duty, then sentimentalism is something lighter, these are the feelings of a person, his experiences.

The main theme of sentimentalism- love.

The main features of sentimentalism:

The main genres of sentimentalism:

Ideological basis- protest against the corruption of aristocratic society

The main property of sentimentalism- the desire to present the human personality in the movement of the soul, thoughts, emotions, disclosure inner world man through the state of nature

In the basis of the aesthetics of sentimentalism- imitation of nature

Features of Russian sentimentalism:

Representatives of sentimentalism:

Young V.A. Zhukovsky was a sentimentalist for a short time.

Additional materials:

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In the process of its development, literature, both Russian and world, went through many stages. Peculiarities literary creativity, which were repeated over a certain period of time and were characteristic of large quantity works, determine the so-called artistic method or literary direction. The history of the development of Russian literary creativity directly resonates with Western European art. The trends that dominated world classics sooner or later found reflection in Russian. This article will examine the main features and characteristics of such a period as sentimentalism in Russian literature.

In contact with

New literary movement

Sentimentalism in literature belongs to the most prominent trends; it originated in European art in the 18th century, under the influence of the Enlightenment. England is considered the country of origin of sentimentalism. The definition of this direction came from French word santimentas, which translated into Russian means “”.

This name was chosen due to the fact that adherents of the style paid the main attention to the inner world of a person, his feelings and emotions. Tired of the hero-citizen characteristic of classicism, reading Europe enthusiastically accepted the new vulnerable and sensual person depicted by the sentimentalists.

This movement came to Russia at the end of the 18th century through literary translations of Western European writers such as Werther, J.J. Russo, Richardson. This direction arose in Western European art in the 18th century. IN literary works this trend manifested itself especially clearly. It spread in Russia thanks to literary translations of novels by European writers.

Main features of sentimentalism

Origin new school, which preached the rejection of a rational view of the world, became a response to civic examples of reason of the era of classicism. Among the main features are following features sentimentalism:

• Nature is used as a backdrop that shades and complements a person’s internal experiences and states.
• The foundations of psychologism are laid, the authors put in first place the internal feelings of an individual person, his thoughts and torments.
• One of the leading themes of sentimental works is the theme of death. The motive for suicide often arises due to the inability to resolve internal conflict hero.
• The environment that surrounds the hero is secondary. It does not have much influence on the development of the conflict.
• Propaganda primordial spiritual beauty common man , the riches of his inner world.
• A rational and practical approach to life gives way to sensory perception.

Important! Straightforward classicism gives rise to a trend completely opposite to itself in spirit, in which the internal states of the individual come to the fore, regardless of the lowness of its class origin.

The uniqueness of the Russian version

In Russia this method retained its basic principles, but two groups emerged within it. One was a reactionary view of serfdom. The stories of the authors included in it depicted the serfs as very happy and satisfied with their fate. Representatives of this direction are P.I. Shalikov and N.I. Ilyin.

The second group had a more progressive view of the peasants. It was she who became the main driving force in the development of literature. The main representatives of sentimentalism in Russia are N. Karamzin, M. Muravyov and N. Kutuzov.

The sentimental trend in Russian works glorified the patriarchal way of life, sharply criticized and emphasized high level spirituality among members of the lower class. He tried to teach the reader something through influence on spirituality and inner feelings. The Russian version of this direction performed an educational function.

Representatives of the new literary movement

Arriving in Russia at the end of the 18th century, the new movement found many adherents. His most prominent follower can be called Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. It is he who is considered the discoverer of the era of literature of feelings.

In his novel “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” he used the favorite genre of sentimentalists—travel notes. This genre made it possible to show everything that the author saw during his journey through his own perception.

In addition to Karamzin, quite prominent representatives of this movement in Russia are N.I. Dmitriev, M.N. Muravyov, A.N. Radishchev, V.I. Lukin. At one time, V.A. Zhukovsky belonged to this group with some of his early stories.

Important! N.M. Karamzin is considered the most prominent representative and founder of sentimental ideas in Russia. His work evoked many imitations (“Poor Masha” by A.E. Izmailov, G.P. Kamenev’s “Beautiful Tatyana”, etc.).

Examples and topics of works

The new literary movement predetermined a new attitude towards nature: it becomes not just a place of action against the background of which events develop, but acquires a very important function - highlight the feelings, emotions and inner experiences of the characters.

The main theme of the works was to depict the beautiful and harmonious existence of the individual in the natural world and the unnaturalness of the corrupt behavior of the aristocratic layer.

Examples of works by sentimentalists in Russia:

• “Letters of a Russian Traveler” N.M. Karamzin;
• " " N.M. Karamzin;
• “Natalia, the boyar’s daughter” N.M. Karamzin;
• “Maryina Grove” by V. A. Zhukovsky;
• “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” A.N. Radishcheva;
• “Travel to Crimea and Bessarabia” by P. Sumarokov;
• “Henrietta” by I. Svechinsky.

“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” A.N. Radishchev

Genres

The emotional and sensory perception of the world forced the use of new literary genres and sublime figurative vocabulary corresponding to the ideological load. The emphasis on the fact that natural principles should prevail in a person, and on the fact that the best habitat is natural, predetermined the main genres of sentimentalism in literature. Elegy, diary, psychological drama, letters, psychological story, travel, pastoral, psychological novel, memoirs became the basis for the works of “sensual” authors.

Important! Required condition absolute happiness, sentimentalists considered virtue and high spirituality, which should naturally be present in a person.

Heroes

If the predecessor of this movement, classicism, was characterized by the image of a hero-citizen, a person whose actions are subordinated to reason, then the new style in this regard made a revolution. What comes to the fore is not citizenship and reason, but internal state person, his psychological background. Feelings and naturalness, elevated to a cult, contributed absolute disclosure of a person’s hidden feelings and thoughts. Each image of the hero became unique and inimitable. The image of such a person becomes the most important goal of this movement.

In any work of a sentimentalist writer one can find a subtle, sensitive nature that faces the cruelty of the surrounding world.

The following features of the image of the main character in sentimentalism are highlighted:

• A clear distinction between positive and negative heroes. The first group demonstrates immediate, sincere feelings, and the second are selfish liars who have lost their natural beginning. But despite this, the authors of this school retain the belief that a person is able to return to true naturalness and become a positive character.
• The depiction of opposing heroes (serf and landowner), whose confrontation clearly demonstrates the superiority of the lower class.
• The author does not avoid images certain people with a specific destiny. Often the prototypes of the hero in the book are real people.

Serfs and landowners

Author's image

The author plays a big role in sentimental works. He openly demonstrates his attitude towards the heroes and their actions. The main task facing the writer is to enable feel the emotions of the characters, to make him feel sympathy for them and their actions. This task is accomplished by invoking compassion.

Features of vocabulary

The language of the sentimental direction is characterized by the presence of widespread lyrical digressions in which the author gives his assessment of what is described on the pages of the work. Rhetorical questions, appeals and exclamations help him place the right emphasis and draw the reader’s attention to important points. Most often in such works it prevails expressive vocabulary using colloquial expressions. Acquaintance with literature becomes possible for all strata. This takes it to the next level.

Sentimentalism as a literary movement

Sentimentalism

Conclusion

The new literary trend had completely outlived its usefulness by end of the 19th century century. But, having existed for a relatively short time, sentimentalism became a kind of impetus that helped all art, and literature in particular, take a huge step forward. Classicism, which fettered creativity with its laws, is a thing of the past. The new movement became a kind of preparation of world literature for romanticism, for the work of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov.

In the mid-18th century, the process of decomposition of classicism began in Europe (in connection with the destruction of the absolute monarchy in France and other countries), as a result of which a new literary movement appeared - sentimentalism. England is considered to be its homeland, since its typical representatives were English writers. The term “sentimentalism” itself appeared in literature after the publication of “A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy” by Laurence Stern.

Catherine the Great vault

In the 60-70s, the rapid development of capitalist relations began in Russia, resulting in the growing phenomenon of the bourgeoisie. The growth of cities increased, which led to the emergence of the third estate, whose interests are reflected in Russian sentimentalism in literature. At this time, that layer of society, which is now called the intelligentsia, begins to form. The growth of industry turns Russia into a strong power, and numerous military victories contribute to the rise of national self-awareness. In 1762, during the reign of Catherine II, nobles and peasants received many privileges. The Empress thereby tried to create a myth about her reign, showing herself to be an enlightened monarch in Europe.

The policies of Catherine the Second largely impeded progressive phenomena in society. So, in 1767, a special commission was convened to examine the state of the new code. In her work, the empress argued that an absolute monarchy is necessary not to take away freedom from people, but to achieve a good goal. However, sentimentalism in literature meant the depiction of life precisely common people, therefore, not a single writer mentioned Catherine the Great in his works.

The most important event of this period was peasant war under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev, after which many nobles sided with the peasants. Already in the 70s, mass societies, whose ideas of freedom and equality influenced the formation of a new movement. Under such conditions, Russian sentimentalism in literature began to take shape.

Conditions for the emergence of a new direction

In the second half of the 18th century there was a struggle against feudal orders in Europe. Enlightenmentists defended the interests of the so-called third estate, which often found itself oppressed. Classicists glorified the merits of monarchs in their works, and sentimentalism (in Russian literature) became the opposite direction in this regard several decades later. Representatives advocated the equality of people and put forward the concept of a natural society and natural man. They were guided by the criterion of reasonableness: the feudal system, in their opinion, was unreasonable. This idea was reflected in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe, and later in the works of Mikhail Karamzin. In France a shining example and the manifesto becomes the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau “Julia, or the new Heloise”; in Germany - "Suffering young Werther“Johann Goethe. In these books, the tradesman is portrayed as an ideal person, but in Russia everything is different.

Sentimentalism in literature: features of the movement

Style is born in fierce ideological struggle with classicism. These currents oppose each other in all positions. If the state was depicted by classicism, then a person with all his feelings was depicted by sentimentalism.

Representatives in literature introduce new genre forms: love story, a psychological story, as well as confessional prose (diary, travel notes, trips). Sentimentalism, unlike classicism, was far from poetic forms.

The literary direction asserts transcendental value human personality. In Europe, the tradesman was portrayed as ideal person, whereas in Russia the peasants have always been oppressed.

Sentimentalists introduce alliteration and descriptions of nature into their works. The second technique is used to display the psychological state of a person.

Two directions of sentimentalism

In Europe, writers smoothed over social conflicts, whereas in the works Russian authors on the contrary, they worsened. As a result, two directions of sentimentalism were formed: noble and revolutionary. The representative of the first is Nikolai Karamzin, known as the author of the story “Poor Liza.” Despite the fact that the conflict occurs due to the clash of interests of a high and low class, the author puts the conflict in the first place as a moral one, not a social one. Noble sentimentalism did not advocate the abolition of serfdom. The author believed that “even peasant women know how to love.”

Revolutionary sentimentalism in literature advocated the abolition of serfdom. Alexander Radishchev chose just a few words as the epigraph for his book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “The monster barks, mischievously, laughs and barks.” That's how he imagined it collective image serfdom.

Genres in sentimentalism

In this literary direction, the leading role was given to works written in prose. There were no strict boundaries, so genres were often mixed.

N. Karamzin, I. Dmitriev, A. Petrov used private correspondence in their work. It is worth noting that not only writers turned to him, but also personalities who became famous in other areas, such as M. Kutuzov. A novel-journey in its own way literary heritage left by A. Radishchev, and the novel-education by M. Karamzin. Sentimentalists also found application in the field of drama: M. Kheraskov wrote “tearful dramas”, and N. Nikolev - “comic operas”.

Sentimentalism in the literature of the 18th century was represented by geniuses who worked in several other genres: satirical fairy tales and fables, idylls, elegy, romance, song.

"Fashionable wife" by I. I. Dmitrieva

Often sentimentalist writers turned to classicism in their work. Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev preferred to work with satirical genres and odes, so his fairy tale called “The Fashionable Wife” was written in poetic form. General Prolaz, in his old age, decides to marry a young girl who is looking for an opportunity to send him for new things. In the absence of her husband, Premila receives her lover Milovzor right in her room. He is young, handsome, a ladies' man, but a naughty man and a talker. The replicas of the heroes of "The Fashionable Wife" are empty and cynical - with this Dmitriev is trying to portray the depraved atmosphere prevailing in the noble class.

"Poor Liza" by N. M. Karamzin

In the story, the author talks about the love story of a peasant woman and a master. Lisa is a poor girl who became a victim of betrayal by the rich young man Erast. The poor thing lived and breathed only for her lover, but did not forget the simple truth - a wedding between representatives of different social classes cannot take place. A rich peasant wooes Lisa, but she refuses him, expecting exploits on the part of her lover. However, Erast deceives the girl, saying that he is going to serve, and at that moment he is looking for a rich widowed bride. Emotional experiences, impulses of passion, loyalty and betrayal are feelings that sentimentalism often depicted in literature. During last meeting the young man offers Lisa a hundred rubles as a token of gratitude for the love she gave him during their dating days. Unable to bear the breakup, the girl commits suicide.

A. N. Radishchev and his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”

The writer was born in a prosperous noble family, but despite this, he was interested in the problem of inequality of social classes. His famous work“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” in the genre direction can be attributed to travel popular at that time, but the division into chapters was not a mere formality: each of them examined a separate side of reality.

Initially, the book was perceived as travel notes and successfully passed through the censors, but Catherine the Second, having familiarized herself with its contents personally, called Radishchev “a rebel worse than Pugachev.” The chapter "Novgorod" describes the depraved morals of society, in "Lyuban" - the problem of the peasantry, in "Chudovo" we're talking about about the indifference and cruelty of officials.

Sentimentalism in the works of V. A. Zhukovsky

The writer lived at the turn of two centuries. At the end of the 18th century, the leading genre in Russian literature was sentimentalism, and in the 19th it was replaced by realism and romanticism. Early works Vasily Zhukovsky were written in accordance with the traditions of Karamzin. “Maryina Roshcha” is a beautiful story about love and suffering, and the poem “To Poetry” sounds like a heroic call to accomplish feats. In his best elegy" Rural cemetery"Zhukovsky reflects on the meaning human life. Big role The emotional coloring of the work is played by an animated landscape, in which a willow slumbers, oak groves tremble, and the day turns pale. Thus, sentimentalism in the literature of the 19th century is represented by the work of a few writers, among whom was Zhukovsky, but in 1820 the direction ceased to exist.

IN early XVIII In Europe, a completely new literary movement is emerging, which, first of all, focuses on human feelings and emotions. Only at the end of the century does it reach Russia, but, unfortunately, it finds a response here among a small number of writers... All this is about the sentimentalism of the 18th century, and if you are interested this topic, then continue reading.

Let's start with the definition of this literary trend, which determined new principles for illuminating the image and character of a person. What is “sentimentalism” in literature and art? The term comes from the French word “sentiment”, which means “feeling”. It means a direction in culture where artists of words, notes and brushes emphasize the emotions and feelings of the characters. Time frame of the period: for Europe - 20s of the XVIII - 80s of the XVIII; For Russia this is late XVIII centuries - early XIX century.

Sentimentalism specifically in literature is characterized by the following definition: it is a literary movement that came after classicism, in which the cult of the soul predominates.

The history of sentimentalism began in England. It was there that the first poems of James Thomson (1700 - 1748) were written. His works “Winter”, “Spring”, “Summer” and “Autumn”, which were later combined into one collection, described simple rural life. Quiet, peaceful everyday life, incredible landscapes and fascinating moments from the life of peasants - all this is revealed to readers. The author’s main idea is to show how good life is away from all the bustle and confusion of the city.

After some time, another English poet, Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771), also tried to interest the reader in landscape poems. In order not to be like Thomson, he added poor, sad and melancholy characters with whom people should empathize.

But not all poets and writers loved nature so much. Samuel Richardson (1689 - 1761) was the first representative of symbolism who described only the life and feelings of his heroes. No landscapes!

Lawrence Sterne (1713 - 1768) combined two favorite themes for England - love and nature - in his work “A Sentimental Journey”.

Then sentimentalism “migrated” to France. The main representatives were Abbot Prevost (1697 - 1763) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778). The intense intrigue of love affairs in the works “Manon Lescaut” and “Julia, or New Eloise"made all French women read these touching and sensual novels.

This marks the end of the period of sentimentalism in Europe. Then it begins in Russia, but we will talk about this later.

Differences from classicism and romanticism

The object of our research is sometimes confused with other literary movements, between which it has become a kind of transitional link. So what are the differences?

Differences between sentimentalism and romanticism:

• Firstly, at the head of sentimentalism are feelings, and at the head of romanticism is the human personality straightened to its full height;
• Secondly, the sentimental hero is opposed to the city and the harmful influence of civilization, and the romantic hero is opposed to society;
• And thirdly, the hero of sentimentalism is kind and simple, love occupies a place in his life main role, and the hero of romanticism is melancholic and gloomy, his love often does not save, on the contrary, it plunges him into irrevocable despair.

Differences between sentimentalism and classicism:

• Classicism is characterized by the presence of “ speaking names”, the relationship of time and place, the rejection of the unreasonable, the division into “positive” and “negative” heroes. While sentimentalism “glorifies” the love of nature, naturalness, and trust in man. The characters are not so clear-cut; their images are interpreted in two ways. Strict canons disappear (there is no unity of place and time, there is no choice in favor of duty or punishment for the wrong choice). The sentimental hero looks for the good in everyone, and he is not chained into a template in the form of a label instead of a name;
• Classicism is also characterized by its straightforwardness and ideological orientation: in the choice between duty and feeling, it is appropriate to choose the first. In sentimentalism it’s the other way around: only simple and sincere emotions are the criterion for assessing a person’s inner world.
• If in classicism the main characters were noble or even had divine origin, but in sentimentalism representatives of the poor classes come to the fore: burghers, peasants, honest workers.

Main features

The main features of sentimentalism are generally considered to include:

• The main thing is spirituality, kindness and sincerity;
• Much attention is paid to nature, it changes in unison with the character’s state of mind;
• Interest in the inner world of a person, in his feelings;
• Lack of straightforwardness and clear direction;
• Subjective view of the world;
• The lower stratum of the population = rich inner world;
• Idealization of the village, criticism of civilization and the city;
• Tragic love story is the focus of the author's attention;
• The style of the works is clearly replete with emotional remarks, complaints and even speculations on the reader’s sensitivity.

Genres representing this literary movement:

• Elegy- a genre of poetry characterized by the sad mood of the author and a sad theme;
• Novel- a detailed narrative about an event or the life of a hero;
• Epistolary genre- works in the form of letters;
• Memoirs- a work where the author talks about events in which he personally participated, or about his life in general;
• Diary– personal notes with impressions of what is happening for a specific period of time;
• Trips- a travel diary with personal impressions of new places and acquaintances.

It is customary to distinguish two opposing directions within the framework of sentimentalism:

• Noble sentimentalism first considers the moral side of life, and then the social one. Spiritual qualities come first;
• Revolutionary sentimentalism mainly focused on the idea of ​​social equality. As a hero, we see a tradesman or peasant who suffered from a soulless and cynical representative of the upper class.

Features of sentimentalism in literature:

• Detailed description of nature;
• The beginnings of psychologism;
• The author's emotionally rich style
• The topic of social inequality is gaining popularity
• The topic of death is discussed in detail.

Signs of sentimentalism:

• The story is about the soul and feelings of the hero;
• Dominance of the inner world, " human nature» above the conventions of a hypocritical society;
• The tragedy of strong but unrequited love;
• Refusal of a rational view of the world.

Of course, the main theme of all works is love. But, for example, in the work of Alexander Radishchev “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” (1790) key theme is the people and their life. In Schiller's drama "Cunning and Love" the author speaks out against the arbitrariness of the authorities and class prejudices. That is, the topic of the direction can be the most serious.

Unlike representatives of other literary movements, sentimentalist writers “became involved” in the lives of their heroes. They rejected the principle of “objective” discourse.

The essence of sentimentalism is to show the ordinary daily life people and their sincere feelings. All this happens against the backdrop of nature, which complements the picture of events. the main task the author's goal is to make readers feel all the emotions along with the characters and empathize with them.

Features of sentimentalism in painting

ABOUT characteristic features We have already discussed this trend in literature earlier. Now it's the turn of painting.

Sentimentalism in painting is most clearly represented in our country. First of all, it is associated with one of the most famous artists Vladimir Borovikovsky (1757 - 1825). Portraits predominate in his work. When depicting female image the artist tried to show her natural beauty and rich inner world. Most famous works considered: “Lizonka and Dasha”, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina" and "Portrait of E.N. Arsenyeva." It is also worth noting Nikolai Ivanovich Argunov, who was known for his portraits of the Sheremetyev couple. In addition to paintings, Russian sentimentalists also distinguished themselves in the technique of John Flaxman, namely his painting on dishes. The most famous is the “Service with a Green Frog”, which can be seen in the St. Petersburg Hermitage.

From foreign artists only three are known - Richard Brompton (worked in St. Petersburg for 3 years, meaningful work- “Portraits of Prince Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich” and “Portrait of Prince George of Wales”), Etienne Maurice Falconet (specialized in landscapes) and Anthony Van Dyck (specialized in costume portraits).

Representatives

1. James Thomson (1700 - 1748) - Scottish playwright and poet;
2. Edward Young (1683 - 1765) - English poet, founder of “cemetery poetry”;
3. Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771) - English poet, literary critic;
4. Lawrence Sterne (1713 - 1768) - English writer;
5. Samuel Richardson (1689 - 1761) - English writer and poet;
6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778) - French poet, writer, composer;
7. Abbe Prevost (1697 - 1763) - French poet.

Examples of works

1. James Thomson's collection of The Seasons (1730);
2. "The Country Cemetery" (1751) and the ode "To Spring" by Thomas Gray;
3. "Pamela" (1740), "Clarissa Harleau" (1748) and "Sir Charles Grandinson" (1754) by Samuel Richardson;
4. "Tristram Shandy" (1757 - 1768) and "A Sentimental Journey" (1768) by Laurence Sterne;
5. "Manon Lescaut" (1731), "Cleveland" and "Life of Marianne" by Abbé Prévost;
6. "Julia, or the New Heloise" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1761).

Russian sentimentalism

Sentimentalism appeared in Russia around 1780 - 1790. This phenomenon gained popularity thanks to the translation of various Western works, including “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the parable story “Paul and Virginie” by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, “Julia, or the New Heloise” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the novels of Samuel Richardson.

“Letters of a Russian Traveler” - it was with this work by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766 - 1826) that the period of sentimentalism in Russian literature began. But then a story was written that became the most significant in the entire history of this movement. We are talking about “” (1792) by Karamzin. In this work you can feel all the emotions, the innermost movements of the souls of the characters. The reader empathizes with them throughout the book. Success " Poor Lisa"inspired Russian writers to create similar works, but less successful (for example, "Unhappy Margarita" and "The History of Poor Marya" by Gavriil Petrovich Kamenev (1773 - 1803)).

We can also include the earlier work of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783 - 1852), namely his ballad “”, as sentimentalism. Later he wrote the story “Maryina Roshcha” in the style of Karamzin.

Alexander Radishchev is the most controversial sentimentalist. There is still debate about his belonging to this movement. The genre and style of the work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” speak in favor of his involvement in the movement. The author often used exclamations and tearful lyrical digressions. For example, the exclamation was heard as a refrain from the pages: “Oh, cruel landowner!”

The year 1820 is called the end of sentimentalism in our country and the birth of a new direction - romanticism.

One of the unique features of Russian sentimentalism is that each work tried to teach the reader something. It served as a mentor. Within the framework of the direction, real psychologism arose, which had not happened before. This era can also be called the “age of exclusive reading,” since only spiritual literature could direct a person to the true path and help him understand his inner world.

Hero types

All sentimentalists portrayed ordinary people, not "citizens". We always see a subtle, sincere, natural nature that is not shy to show its real feelings. The author always considers it from the side of the inner world, testing its strength with the test of love. He never puts her in any framework, but allows her to develop and grow spiritually.

The main meaning of any sentimental work there was and will be only man.

Language Feature

Simple, understandable and emotionally charged language is the basis of the style of sentimentalism. It is also characterized by voluminous lyrical digressions with appeals and exclamations from the author, where he indicates his position and morality of the work. Almost every text uses exclamation marks, diminutive forms of words, vernacular, and expressive vocabulary. So that literary language at this stage it becomes closer to the language of the people, making reading accessible to a wider audience. For our country, this meant that the art of words was reaching a new level. Secular prose written with ease and artistry receives recognition, and not the ponderous and tasteless works of imitators, translators or fanatics.

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