What are the signs of a classic? Classicism as a literary movement

Classicism(from lat. classicus– exemplary), like the Baroque, turned out to be a phenomenon on a pan-European scale. The poetics of classicism began to take shape during the late Renaissance in Italy. On the threshold of classicism stands the tragedy of the Italian playwright G. Trissino “Sofonisba” (1515), written in imitation of ancient tragedians. It outlined features that later became characteristic of classicist drama - a logically structured plot, reliance on the word, and not on stage action, rationality and supra-individual character of the characters. The “Poetics” (1561) of the Italian J. Ts. Scaliger, which successfully anticipated the taste of the next century, the century of logic and reason, had a significant influence on the formation of classicism in European countries. And yet, the formation of classicism lasted for a whole century, and as an integral artistic system, classicism initially developed in France by the middle of the 17th century.

The development of classicism in France is closely connected with the establishment and flourishing of centralized royal power ( absolute monarchy). Single-power statehood limited the rights of the willful feudal aristocracy, sought to legislatively define and regulate the relationship between the individual and the state, and clearly distinguish between the spheres of private and personal life. The spirit of regulation and discipline extends to the sphere of literature and art, determining their content and formal characteristics. In order to control literary life, the French Academy was created on the initiative of the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu, and the cardinal himself repeatedly intervened in literary disputes in the 1630s.

The canons of classicism took shape in sharp polemics with precision literature, as well as with Spanish playwrights (Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina). The latter ridiculed, in particular, the demand for the unity of time. (“As for your 24 hours, what could be more absurd, that love, starting in the middle of the day, would end in the evening with a wedding!”) Continuing certain traditions of the Renaissance (admiration for antiquity, faith in reason, the ideal of harmony and moderation), classicism was the Renaissance and a kind of antithesis, which made it similar, with all their deep differences, to the Baroque.

Renaissance humanists saw the highest value in the free expression of human nature. Their hero is a harmonious personality, freed from the power of the estate corporation and unrestrained in his individualism. The humanists of the 17th century - the founders of classicism - due to the historical European experience, passions seemed to be a destructive, anarchic force, generated by egoism. In assessing a person, moral standards (virtues) now receive priority. The main content of creativity in classicism is the contradictions between the natural nature of man and civic duty, between his passions and reason, which gave rise to tragic conflicts.

The classicists saw the purpose of art in the knowledge of truth, which acts for them as the ideal of beauty. The classicists put forward a method for achieving it, based on three central categories of their aesthetics: reason, model and taste (these same concepts became objective criteria of artistry). To create a great work, according to classicists, it is necessary to follow the dictates of reason, relying on “exemplary”, i.e. classical, works of antiquity (antiquity) and being guided by the rules good taste(“good taste” is the supreme judge of “beautiful”). Thus, classicists introduce elements of scientific activity into artistic creativity.

The principles of classicist poetics and aesthetics are determined by the system of philosophical views of the era, which are based on the rationalism of Descartes. For him, reason is the highest criterion of truth. Using a rational-analytical method, one can penetrate into the ideal essence and purpose of any object or phenomenon, comprehend the eternal and unchanging laws that underlie the world order, and therefore the basis of artistic creativity.

Rationalism helped overcome religious prejudices and medieval scholasticism, but it also had its own weak side. The world in this philosophical system was considered from a metaphysical position - as unchanging and motionless.

This concept convinced classicists that the aesthetic ideal is eternal and unchanged at all times, but it was embodied with the greatest completeness and perfection in the art of antiquity. In order to reproduce this ideal, it is necessary to turn to ancient art and thoroughly study its rules and laws. At the same time, in accordance with the political ideals of the 17th century, special attention was drawn to the art of imperial Rome (the era of concentration of power in the hands of one person - the emperor), and the poetry of the "golden age" - the work of Virgil, Ovid, Horace. In addition to Aristotle’s “Poetics,” N. Boileau relied on Horace’s “Epistle to the Piso” in his poetic treatise “Poetic Art” (1674), bringing together and generalizing the theoretical principles of classicism, summing up artistic practice their predecessors and contemporaries.

Trying to recreate the world of antiquity ("ennobled" and "corrected"), classicists borrow from it only "clothes." Although Boileau, addressing contemporary writers, writes:

And you need to study the customs of countries and years.

After all, the climate cannot but influence people.

But beware of being saturated in vulgar bad taste

With the French spirit of Rome... –

it is nothing more than a declaration. In the literary practice of classicism, people of the 17th–18th centuries are hidden under the names of ancient heroes, and antique stories reveal the formulation, first of all, of the most pressing problems of our time. Classicism is fundamentally ahistorical, since it is guided by the “eternal and unchanging” laws of reason.

Classicists proclaim the principle of imitation of nature, but at the same time they do not at all strive to reproduce reality in its entirety. They are interested not in what is, but in what should be according to the ideas of their mind. Everything that does not correspond to the model and “good taste” is expelled from art and declared “indecent.” In cases where it is necessary to reproduce the ugly, it is aesthetically transformed:

Incarnated in art, both a monster and a reptile

We are still pleased with the wary look:

The artist's brush shows us transformation

Abominable objects into objects of admiration...

Another key problem of classicist poetics is the problem of truth and verisimilitude. Should a writer depict exceptional phenomena, incredible, out of the ordinary, but recorded by history (“truth”), or create images and situations that are fictitious, but consistent with the logic of things and the requirements of reason (i.e., “plausible”)? Boileau gives preference to the second group of phenomena:

Don’t torment us with the incredible, disturbing the mind:

And the truth sometimes doesn’t look like the truth.

I will not be delighted with wonderful nonsense:

The mind does not care about what it does not believe.

The concept of verisimilitude also underlies the classical character: the tragic hero cannot be “petty and insignificant”,

But still, without weaknesses, his character is false.

Achilles captivates us with his ardor,

But if he cries, I love him more.

After all, in these little things nature comes to life,

And truly, the picture amazes our minds.

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

Boileau is close to the position of J. Racine, who, based on Aristotle’s “Poetics,” in the preface to the tragedy “Andromache,” wrote about his heroes that “they should be average people in their spiritual qualities, in other words, have virtue, but be subject to weaknesses , and misfortune must befall them as a result of some mistake capable of arousing pity for them, and not disgust."

Not all classicists shared this concept. The founder of French classic tragedy, P. Corneille, gravitated toward creating exceptional characters. His heroes do not bring tears to the audience's eyes, but evoke undeniable admiration for their resilience and heroism. In the preface to his tragedy “Nicomede,” Corneille declared: “Tenderness and passions, which should be the soul of tragedy, have no place here: only heroic greatness reigns here, casting a glance at one’s sorrows filled with such contempt that it does not allow them to be torn from the heart.” hero, not a single complaint. It faces insidious politics and opposes it only with noble prudence, walking with an open visor, it foresees danger without a shudder and does not expect help from anyone except from its valor and love..." Corneille motivates the persuasiveness of the created he images with the concept of vital truth and historical authenticity: “The story that gave me the opportunity to demonstrate the highest degree of this greatness was taken by me from Justin.”

The cult of reason among the classicists also determines the principles of character creation - one of the central aesthetic categories of classicism. For classicists, character does not imply a set of individual traits of a particular person, but embodies a certain general and at the same time eternal structure of human nature and psychology. Only in the aspect of the eternal, unchanging and universal human character became the object of artistic study of classicist art.

Following the theorists of antiquity - Aristotle and Horace - Boileau believed that “art” should preserve “for everyone his special feelings.” These “special feelings” determine the psychological make-up of a person, making one a vulgar dandy, another a miser, a third a spendthrift, etc. Character was thus reduced to one dominant trait. Pushkin also noted that in Molière the hypocrite Tartuffe even “asks for a glass of water, the hypocrite,” and the miser Harpagon “is stingy and nothing more.” There is no point in looking for greater psychological content in them. When Harpagon explains himself to his beloved, he behaves like a miser, and with his children he behaves like a miser. “There is only one paint, but it is applied thicker and thicker and, finally, brings the image to everyday, psychological implausibility.” This principle of typification led to a sharp division of heroes into positive, virtuous and negative, vicious.

The characters in tragedies are also determined by one leading trait. The unilinearity of Corneille's heroes emphasizes their integrity, which substantiates the “core” of their character. It is more difficult for Racine: the passion that defines the character of his characters is itself contradictory (usually it is love). The exhaustion of the entire gamut of psychological shades of passion is the method of Racine’s characterization - a method, like Corneille’s, deeply rationalistic.

Embodying generic, “eternal” traits in his character, the classicist artist himself sought to speak not from his special, uniquely individual “I”, but from the position of a statesman. That is why “objective” genres predominate in classicism - primarily dramatic ones, and among lyrical genres, those predominate where an orientation towards the impersonal, universally significant (ode, satire, fable) is predominant.

The normativity and rationality of classicist aesthetics are also manifested in the strict hierarchy of genres. There are “high” genres – tragedy, epic, ode. Their sphere is public life, historical events, mythology; their heroes are monarchs, generals, historical and mythological figures. This choice of tragic heroes was determined not so much by the tastes and influence of the court, but by the measure of moral responsibility of those people who were entrusted with the fate of the state.

“High” genres are contrasted with “low” genres - comedy, satire, fable - addressed to the sphere of private everyday life of nobles and townspeople. An intermediate place is given to “middle” genres - elegy, idyll, epistle, sonnet, song. Depicting the inner world of an individual, these genres did not occupy any noticeable place in the literary process during the heyday of classic literature, imbued with high civic ideals. The time for these genres will come later: they will have a significant impact on the development of literature in the era of the crisis of classicism.

Prose, especially fiction, is valued by classicists much lower than poetry. “Love thought in verse,” Boileau exclaims at the beginning of his treatise and “raises to Parnassus” only poetic genres. Those who get distribution prose genres, which, first of all, are of an informational nature - sermons, memoirs, letters. At the same time, scientific, philosophical and epistolary prose, becoming public domain in the era of the cult of science, acquires the features of a truly literary work and already has value not only scientific or historical, but also aesthetic ("Letters of a Provincial" and "Thoughts" by B. Pascal, "Maxims, or Moral Reflections" by F. de La Rochefoucauld, "Characters" by J. de La Bruyère, etc.).

Each genre in classicism has strict boundaries and clear formal characteristics. No mixing of the sublime and the base, the tragic and the comic, the heroic and the ordinary is allowed: what is allowed in satire is excluded in tragedy, what is good in comedy is unacceptable in epic. A “peculiar law of style unity” reigns here (G. Gukovsky) - each genre unit has its own strict formal style canon. Mixed genres, for example, tragicomedy, which was very popular in the first half of the 17th century, are being pushed out of the " real literature". "From now on, only the entire system of genres is capable of expressing the diversity of life."

The rationalistic approach also determined the attitude towards poetic form:

You learn to think, then write.

Speech follows the thought; clearer or darker

And the phrase is modeled after the idea;

What is clearly understood will be clearly heard,

And the exact word will come immediately.

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

Each work must be strictly thought out, the composition must be logically structured, the individual parts must be proportionate and indissoluble, the style must be clear to the point of transparency, the language must be laconic and precise. The concept of measure, proportion, and symmetry is inherent not only in literature, but also in the entire artistic culture of classicism - architecture, painting, landscape art. Both scientific and artistic thinking of the era has a pronounced mathematical character.

In architecture, public buildings that express the idea of ​​statehood are beginning to set the tone. The basis of planning schemes are the correct geometric figures(square, triangle, circle). Classicist architects mastered the construction of a huge complex consisting of a palace and a park. They become capable of detailed, mathematically verified compositions. In France, new trends were first fully embodied in the grandiose ensemble of Versailles (1661–1689, architects L. Levo, A. Le Nôtre, J. Hardouin-Mansart, etc.).

The paintings of the classicists are also distinguished by clarity, logic, and compositional harmony. N. Poussin, the creator and head of French classicism in painting, chose subjects that gave the mind food for thought, cultivated virtue in a person and taught him wisdom. He found these stories primarily in ancient mythology and legendary history Rome. His paintings “The Death of Germanicus” (1627), “The Capture of Jerusalem” (1628), and “The Rape of the Sabine Women” (1633) are devoted to the depiction of “heroic and unusual actions.” The composition of these paintings is strictly ordered; it resembles the composition of ancient bas-reliefs (the characters are located in a shallow space, divided into a number of plans). Poussin, almost sculpturally, clearly draws the volumes of figures, carefully calibrating them anatomical structure, puts their clothes in classic folds. The distribution of colors in the painting is also subject to the same strict harmony.

Strict laws also reigned in verbal art. These laws were established especially strictly for high genres, expressed in the obligatory poetic form. Thus, tragedy, like epic, had to be presented in majestic Alexandrian verse. The plot of the tragedy, historical or mythological, was taken from ancient times and was usually known to the viewer (later the classicists began to draw material for their tragedies from eastern history, and Russian classicists preferred subjects from their own national history). The familiarity of the plot tuned the viewer not to perceive a complex and intricate intrigue, but to analyze the emotional experiences and opposing aspirations of the characters. According to the definition of G. A. Gukovsky, “classical tragedy is not a drama of action, but a drama of conversation; the classical poet is not interested in facts, but in analysis directly formed in the word.”

The laws of formal logic determined the structure of dramatic genres, primarily tragedy, which was supposed to consist of five acts. Comedies could also be three-act (one-act comedies would appear in the 18th century), but in no case four or two acts. The classicists elevated the principle of three unities - place, action and time, formulated in the treatises of G. Trissino and Y. Scaliger, based on Aristotle's Poetics, into an indisputable law for dramatic genres. According to the rule of unity of place, the entire action of the play must take place in one place - a palace, a house, or even a room. The unity of time required that the entire action of the play fit into no more than a day, and the more it corresponded to the performance time - three hours - the better it was. Finally, unity of action implied that the events depicted in the play should have their own beginning, development and end. In addition, the play should not contain “extra” episodes or characters that are not directly related to the development of the main plot. Otherwise, the theorists of classicism believed, the diversity of impressions prevented the viewer from perceiving the “reasonable basis” of life.

The requirement of three unities radically changed the structure of drama, as it forced playwrights to depict not the entire system of events (as was the case, for example, in the medieval mystery play), but only the episode that completes this or that event. The events themselves were “taken off stage” and could cover a large period of time, but they were retrospective in nature, and the viewer learned about them from the monologues and dialogues of the characters.

At first, the three unities were not formal. The underlying principle of verisimilitude, the fundamental principle of classicism, was formed in the struggle with the traditions of medieval theater, with its plays, the action of which sometimes stretched over several days, involving hundreds of performers, and the plot was filled with all kinds of miracles and naive naturalistic effects. But, elevating the principle of three unities to an unshakable rule, the classicists did not take into account the peculiarities of the subjective perception of art, which allows for artistic illusion, the non-identity of the artistic image with the reproduced object. The romantics, who discovered the “subjectivity” of the viewer, will begin their assault on the classical theater by overthrowing the rule of three unities.

The genre aroused particular interest on the part of writers and theorists of classicism. epics, or heroic poem, which Boileau placed even above tragedy. Only in the epic, according to Boileau, did the poet “gain space/to captivate our mind and gaze with lofty invention.” Classical poets are also attracted to the epic by a special heroic theme based on major events the past, and heroes exceptional in their qualities, and the manner of narrating events, which Boileau formulated as follows:

Let your story be dynamic, clear, concise,

And in the descriptions it is both magnificent and rich.

As in tragedy, a moral and didactic attitude is important in epic. Depicting heroic times, the epic, according to V. Trediakovsky, gives “firm instruction to the human race, teaching this to love virtue” (“Prediction of the Heroic Poem”, 1766).

In the artistic structure of the epic, Boileau assigns a decisive role to fiction (“Putting myth as the basis, he lives by fiction...”). Boileau's attitude towards ancient and Christian mythology is consistently rationalistic - ancient myth attracts him with the transparency of the allegory, which does not contradict reason. Christian miracles cannot be the subject of aesthetic embodiment; moreover, according to Boileau, their use in poetry can compromise religious dogmas (“Christ’s sacraments are not used for fun”). In characterizing the epic, Boileau relies on ancient epic, primarily Virgil's Aeneid.

Criticizing the “Christian epic” of T. Tasso (“Jerusalem Liberated”), Boileau also opposes the national heroic epic based on material early Middle Ages(“Alaric” by J. Scuderi, “The Virgin” by J. Chaplin). The classicist Boileau does not accept the Middle Ages as an era of “barbarism,” which means that subjects taken from this era cannot have aesthetic and didactic value for him.

The principles of the epic formulated by Boileau, oriented towards Homer and Virgil, did not receive full and comprehensive implementation in literature XVII century. This genre has already outlived its usefulness, and I. G. Herder, the theorist of the literary movement in Germany “Storm and Drang” (70s of the 18th century), from the position of historicism explained the impossibility of its resurrection (he is talking about the ancient epic) : "The epic belongs to the childhood of mankind." In the 18th century, attempts to create a heroic epic based on national material within the framework of classicism artistic system Moreover, they were not crowned with success (“Henriada” by Voltaire, 1728; “Rossiyada” by M. Kheraskov, 1779).

Ode, one of the main genres of classicism, also has a strict form. Its obligatory feature is “lyrical disorder,” which presupposes the free development of poetic thought:

Let Odes stormy style rush at random:

Her outfit is beautiful with its beautiful wrinkles.

Away from the timid rhymers, whose minds are phlegmatic

Dogmatic order is maintained in the passions themselves...

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

And yet, this “dogmatic order” was strictly observed. The ode, like an oratorical speech, consisted of three parts: an “attack,” that is, an introduction to the topic, a discussion where this topic was developed, and an energetic, emotional conclusion. "Lyrical Mess" wears cleanly external character: moving from one thought to another, introducing lyrical digressions, the poet subordinated the construction of the ode to the development of the main idea. The lyricism of the ode is not individual, but, so to speak, collective, it expresses “the aspirations and aspirations of the entire state organism” (G. Gukovsky).

In contrast to the “high” tragedy and epic, the classic “low genres” - comedy and satire - are turned into modern daily life. The purpose of comedy is to educate, ridiculing shortcomings, “to rule the temper with mockery;/To make people laugh and to use its direct rules” (A. Sumarokov). Classicism rejected pamphleteering (i.e., directed against specific individuals) satirical comedy Aristophanes. The comedian is interested in universal human vices in their everyday manifestations - laziness, wastefulness, stinginess, etc. But this does not mean that classic comedy is devoid of social content. Classicism is characterized by a clear ideological and moral-didactic orientation, and therefore the appeal to socially significant issues gave many classic comedies a social and even topical sound ("Tartuffe", "Don Juan", "The Misanthrope" by Moliere; "The Brigadier", "The Minor" by D. Fonvizin; "Sneak" by V. Kapnist).

In his judgments about comedy, Boileau focuses on the “serious” moral comedy, presented in antiquity by Menander and Terence, and in modern times by Moliere. Boileau considers “The Misanthrope” and “Tartuffe” to be Moliere’s highest achievements, but criticizes the comedian for using the traditions of folk farce, considering them rude and vulgar (the comedy “The Tricks of Scapin”). Boileau advocates the creation of a comedy of characters as opposed to a comedy of intrigue. Later, this type of classic comedy, touching on problems of social or socio-political significance, would be assigned the definition of “high” comedy.

Satire has much in common with comedy and fable. All these genres have a common subject of depiction - human shortcomings and vices, a common emotional and artistic assessment - ridicule. The compositional structure of satire and fable is based on the combination of the author's and narrative principles. The author of satire and fable often uses dialogue. However, unlike comedy, in satire the dialogue is not connected with the action, with the system of events, but the image life phenomena, unlike a fable, satire is based on a direct rather than an allegorical image.

Being a satirical poet by his talent, Boileau in theory deviates from ancient aesthetics, which classified satire as a “low” genre. He sees satire as a socially active genre. Giving a detailed description of satire, Boileau recalls the Roman satirists Lucilius, Horace, and Persius Flaccus, who boldly exposed the vices of the powerful. But he puts Juvenal above all. And although the French theorist notes the “area” origins of the Roman poet’s satire, his authority for Boileau is indisputable:

His poems live by the terrible truth,

And yet the beauty in them sparkles here and there.

The temperament of the satirist prevailed over theoretical postulates in Boileau and in his defense of the right to personal satire, directed against specific, all famous people(“Discourse on Satire”; it is characteristic that Boileau did not recognize satire of faces in comedy). This technique brought topical, journalistic color to classic satire. The Russian classicist-satirist A. Kantemir also widely used the technique of satire on faces, giving his “supra-individualistic” characters, personifying some kind of human vice, a portrait resemblance to his enemies.

An important contribution of classicism to the further development of literature was the development of a clear and harmonious language of artistic works (“What is clearly understood will sound clearly”), freed from foreign vocabulary, capable of expressing various feelings and experiences (“Anger is proud, he needs arrogant words, / But the sorrows of the complaint are not so intense"), correlated with the characters and age of the characters ("So choose your language carefully: / An old man cannot speak like a young man").

The formation of classicism in both France and Russia begins with linguistic and poetic reforms. In France, this work was started by F. Malherbe, who was the first to put forward the concept of good taste as a criterion of artistic skill. Malherbe did a lot to cleanse the French language of numerous provincialisms, archaisms and the dominance of borrowed Latin and Greek words introduced into literary circulation by the poets of the Pleiades in the 16th century. Malherbe carried out a codification of the French literary language, eliminating everything random from it, focusing on the speech skills of the enlightened people of the capital, provided that the literary language should be understandable to all segments of the population. Malherbe's contribution to the field of French versification was also significant. The rules of metrics formulated by him (fixed place of caesura, prohibition of transfers from one poetic line to another, etc.) not only entered the poetics of French classicism, but were also adopted by the poetic theory and practice of other European countries.

In Russia, similar work was carried out a century later by M. Lomonosov. Lomonosov's theory of "three calms" eliminated diversity and disorder literary forms communication, characteristic of Russian literature of the late 17th - first third of the 18th century, streamlined literary word usage within a particular genre, determining the development of literary speech right up to Pushkin. No less important is the poetic reform of Trediakovsky-Lomonosov. By reforming versification on the basis of the syllabic-tonic system, which is organic to the Russian language, Trediakovsky and Lomonosov thereby laid the foundation of a national poetic culture.

In the 18th century, classicism experienced its second heyday. The determining influence on it, as well as on other stylistic trends, is enlightenment- an ideological movement that developed in the conditions acute crisis absolutism and directed against the feudal-absolutist system and the church that supports it. The ideas of the Enlightenment are based on the philosophical concept of the Englishman J. Locke, who proposed a new model of the process of cognition, based on feeling, sensation, as the only source of human knowledge about the world ("An Essay on the Human Mind", 1690). Locke decisively rejected the doctrine of “innate ideas” of R. Descartes, likening the soul of a born person to a blank slate (tabula rasa), where experience writes “its own writings” throughout life.

This view of human nature led to the idea of ​​the determining influence on the formation of personality of the social and natural environment, which makes a person good or bad. Ignorance, superstition, and prejudices generated by the feudal social order determine, in the opinion of educators, social disorder and distort the initially moral nature of man. And only general education can eliminate the discrepancy between existing social relations and the requirements of reason and human nature. Literature and art began to be seen as one of the main tools for the transformation and re-education of society.

All this determined fundamentally new features in the classicism of the 18th century. While maintaining the basic principles of classicist aesthetics in the art and literature of educational classicism, the understanding of the purpose and objectives of a number of genres changes significantly. The transformation of classicism in the spirit of enlightenment principles is especially clearly visible in the tragedies of Voltaire. Remaining true to the basic aesthetic principles of classicism, Voltaire strives to influence not only the minds of the audience, but also their feelings. He is looking for new themes and new means of expression. Continuing to develop the ancient theme familiar to classicism, in his tragedies Voltaire also turns to medieval subjects (Tancred, 1760), oriental (Mahomet, 1742), and related to the conquest of the New World (Alzira, 1736). He gives a new justification for tragedy: “Tragedy is a moving painting, an animated picture, and the people depicted in it must act” (i.e., dramaturgy is thought of by Voltaire not only as the art of words, but also as the art of movement, gesture, facial expressions).

Voltaire fills the classic tragedy with acute philosophical and socio-political content associated with current problems modernity. The playwright's focus is on the fight against religious fanaticism, political tyranny and despotism. Thus, in one of his most famous tragedies, “Mohammed,” Voltaire proves that any deification of an individual personality ultimately leads to uncontrolled power over other people. Religious intolerance leads the heroes of the tragedy "Zaire" (1732) to a tragic denouement, and merciless gods and treacherous priests push weak mortals to crimes ("Oedipus", 1718). In the spirit of high social issues, Voltaire rethinks and transforms the heroic epic and ode.

During the period of the Great French Revolution (1789–1794), the classicist trend in literary life was of particular importance. The classicism of this time not only generalized and assimilated the innovative features of Voltaire's tragedy, but also radically restructured the high genres. M. J. Chenier refuses to denounce despotism in general and that is why he takes as the subject of his images not only antiquity, but also Europe of modern times ("Charles IX", "Jean Calas"). The hero of Chenier's tragedies promotes the ideas of natural law, freedom and law, he is close to the people, and in the tragedy the people not only appear on stage, but also act along with the main character ("Cai Gracchus", 1792). The concept of the state as a positive category, opposed to the personal, individualistic, is replaced in the minds of the playwright by the category “nation”. It is no coincidence that Chenier called his play "Charles IX" a "national tragedy."

Within the framework of classicism of the era of the French Revolution, the new type odes. Preserving the classic principle of the priority of reason over reality, the revolutionary ode includes like-minded people in its world lyrical hero. The author himself no longer speaks on his own behalf, but on behalf of his fellow citizens, using the pronoun “we”. Rouget de Lisle in “La Marseillaise” pronounces revolutionary slogans as if together with his listeners, thereby encouraging them and himself to revolutionary changes.

The creator of a new type of classicism, corresponding to the spirit of the times, in painting was J. David. Together with his painting “The Oath of the Horatii” (1784), a new theme comes to French fine art - civil, journalistic in its straightforward expression, a new hero - a Roman Republican, morally integral, putting duty to his homeland above all else, a new manner - stern and ascetic, contrasted with the exquisite chamber style of French painting of the second half of the 18th century.

Influenced French literature in the 18th century national models classicism in other European countries: in England (A. Pop, J. Addison), in Italy (V. Alfieri), in Germany (I. K. Gottsched). In the 1770–1780s, such an original artistic phenomenon as “Weimar classicism” (J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller) arose in Germany. Turning to the artistic forms and traditions of antiquity, Goethe and Schiller set themselves the task of creating new literature high style as the main means aesthetic education harmonious person.

The formation and flowering of Russian classicism fell on the years 1730–1750 and took place in conditions of the formation of an absolutist state quite similar to the French ones. But, despite a number of common points in the aesthetics of Russian and French classicism (rationalism, normativity and genre regulation, abstraction and convention as the leading features of the artistic image, recognition of the role of the enlightened monarch in establishing a fair social order based on the law), Russian classicism has its own unique national features.

The ideas of enlightenment have fueled Russian classicism from the very beginning. The affirmation of the natural equality of people leads Russian writers to the idea of ​​the extra-class value of man. Already Cantemir, in his second satire “Filaret and Eugene” (1730), declares that “the same blood flows in both free and slaves,” and “noble” people “are shown by one virtue.” Forty years later, A. Sumarokov in his satire “On Nobility” will continue: “What is the difference between a gentleman and a peasant? Both of them are an animated lump of earth.” Fonvizinsky Starodum ("Minor", 1782) will determine the nobility of a person by the number of deeds performed for the fatherland ("without noble deeds, a noble state is nothing"), and the enlightenment of a person will be directly dependent on the cultivation of virtue in him ("The main goal of all human knowledge - good behavior").

Seeing in education “the guarantee of the well-being of the state” (D. Fonvizin) and believing in the usefulness of an enlightened monarchy, Russian classicists begin the long process of educating autocrats, reminding them of their responsibilities towards their subjects:

The gods did not make him king for his benefit;

He is a king, so that he may be a man to all people:

He must give his all to people all the time,

All your care, all your zeal for people...

(V. Trediakovsky, "Tilemakhida")

If the king does not fulfill his duties, if he is a tyrant, he must be overthrown from the throne. This can also happen through a popular uprising ("Dmitry the Pretender" by A. Sumarokov).

The main material for Russian classicists is not antiquity, but their own national history, from which they preferred to draw subjects for high genres. And instead of an abstract ideal ruler, a “philosopher on the throne”, characteristic of European classicism, Russian writers recognized a very specific historical figure - Peter I - as an exemplary sovereign, a “worker on the throne”.

The theoretician of Russian classicism Sumarokov, relying in his "Epistole on Poetry" (1748) on Boileau's "Poetic Art", introduces a number of new provisions into his theoretical treatise, pays tribute to recognition not only to the masters of classicism, but also to representatives of other movements. Thus, he elevates to Helicon, along with Malherbe and Racine, Camoes, Lope de Vega, Milton, Pope, the “unenlightened” Shakespeare, as well as contemporary writers - Detouches and Voltaire. Sumarokov speaks in sufficient detail about the heroic-comic poem and epistole, not mentioned by Boileau, explains in detail the features of the fable “storehouse” using the example of the fables of the bypassed Boileau Lafontaine, and dwells on the genre of song, which the French theorist mentions in passing. All this testifies not only to Sumarokov’s personal aesthetic preferences, but also to the changes that are ripening in European classicism of the 18th century.

These changes are associated primarily with the increasing interest of literature in the inner life of the individual, which ultimately led to a significant restructuring of the genre structures of classicism. A typical example here is the work of G. Derzhavin. Remaining “primarily a classicist” (V. Belinsky), Derzhavin introduces a strong personal element into his poetry, thereby destroying the law of unity of style. In his poetry, formations that are complex in terms of genre appear - ode-satire ("Felitsa", 1782), anacreontic poems written on an odic plot ("Poems for the birth of a porphyry-born youth in the North", 1779), an elegy with the features of a message and an ode (" On the death of Prince Meshchersky", 1779), etc.

Giving way to new literary trends, classicism does not leave literature without a trace. The turn to sentimentalism occurs within the framework of the “average” classic genres - elegy, message, idyll. The poets of the early 19th century K. Batyushkov and N. Gnedich, while remaining fundamentally faithful to the classical ideal (partly to the canon of classicism), each went their own way to romanticism. Batyushkov – from “light poetry” to psychological and historical elegy, Gnedich – to the translation of the “Iliad” and genres associated with folk art. The strict forms of Racine's classic tragedy were chosen by P. Katenin for his Andromache (1809), although as a romantic he was interested in the very spirit of ancient culture. The high civic tradition of classicism was continued in the freedom-loving lyrics of the Radishchevite poets, the Decembrists and Pushkin.

Classicism

Classicism (first-class, exemplary) is a movement in art and literature that received this name because it considered classical ancient (ancient Greek and Roman) art to be ideal, exemplary, perfect, harmonious. Supporters of classicism saw their goal as getting closer to ancient models by imitating them (ancient motifs, plots, images, and elements of mythology are widely used in the work of classicists).

Classicism arose at the end of the Renaissance and took shape in France in the mid-17th century under Louis XIV. The emergence of classicism is associated with the formation of a centralized state, the strengthening of the monarchy, and the ideals of “enlightened” absolutism.

The code (set of rules) of classicism was compiled by the French poet and critic N. Boileau in his poetic treatise “Poetic Art” (1674). Sumarokov was the first to translate this work into Russian in 1752, proving its applicability to Russian literature.

Classicism reached its peak in France in the tragedies of P. Corneille (“Cid”, “Horace”, “Cinna”), J. Racine (“Britannicus”, “Mithridates”, “Phaedra”), F. Voltaire (“Brutus” , “Tancred”), in the comedies of J. B. Molière (“The Miser,” “The Bourgeois in the Nobility,” “The Misanthrope,” “Tartuffe, or the Deceiver,” “The Imaginary Invalid”), in the fables of J. de La Fontaine, in prose by F. La Rochefoucauld, J. Labruyère; in Germany in the works of the Weimar period by J. W. Goethe (“Roman Elegies”, drama “Egmont”) and I. F. Schiller (“Ode to Joy”, drama “The Robbers” , “The Fiesco Conspiracy”, “Cunning and Love”).

Classicism as an artistic movement has its own characteristics and principles.

Cult, the dominance of reason as the highest criterion of truth and beauty, the subordination of personal interests high ideas civil duty, state laws. Philosophical basis Classicism became rationalism (from the Latin haIo - reason, rationality, expediency, rational validity of everything, the harmony of the Universe, conditioned by its spiritual principle), the founder of which was R. Descartes.

From the standpoint of statehood and enlightenment, denunciation of ignorance, selfishness, and despotism of the feudal order; glorification of the monarchy, which intelligently governs the people and cares about education; statement human dignity, civil and moral duty. In other words, classicism formulated the purpose of literature as influencing the mind to correct vices and education of virtue, and this clearly expressed the author’s position (for example, Corneille glorifies the heroes who defend the state, the absolute monarch; Lomonosov glorifies Peter the Great as an ideal monarch).

Heroes of classicism, mainly tragedies, there were “high” ones: kings, princes, generals, leaders, nobles, high clergy, noble citizens who cared about the fate of the fatherland and served it. In comedies, not only high-ranking officials were portrayed, but also commoners and serf servants.

The characters were strictly divided into positive and negative, into virtuous, ideal, devoid of individuality, acting at the behest of reason, and carriers of vice, in the grip of selfish passions. At the same time, in the depiction of positive characters there was schematism, reasoning, that is, a tendency to moralizing reasoning from the author’s point of view.

The characters were unilinear: the hero personified any one quality (passion) - intelligence, courage, bravery, nobility, honesty or greed, deceit, stinginess, cruelty, flattery, hypocrisy, boasting (Pushkin noted: “In Moliere, the stingy is stingy - and only...”; Mitrofan’s leading trait in “The Minor” is laziness).

The heroes were portrayed statically, without character evolution. In essence, these were just mask images (as Belinsky put it, “images without faces”).

“Talking” names of the characters (Tartuffe, Skotinin, Pravdin).

The conflict of good and evil, reason and stupidity, duty and feelings, in which good, reason, and duty always won. In other words, in the works of classicism, vice was always punished, and virtue triumphed (for example, in Fonvizin’s “Minor”). Hence the abstraction, the conventionality of the depiction of reality, the conventionality of the classicists' method.

The heroes spoke in a pompous, solemn, elevated language; such poetic means, as Slavicisms, hyperbole, metaphor, personification, metonymy, comparison, antithesis, emotional epithets (“cold corpse”, “pale brow”), rhetorical questions and exclamations, appeals, mythological likenings (Apollo, Zeus, Minerva, Neptune, Boreas) . Syllabic versification dominated, and Alexandrian verse was used.

The characters delivered long monologues in order to more fully reveal their views, beliefs, and principles. Such monologues slowed down the action of the play.

Strict gradation, hierarchy of genres. “High” genres (tragedy, heroic poem, ode) reflected state life, historical events, and ancient subjects. “Low” genres (comedy, satire, fable) were turned into the sphere of everyday modern privacy. An intermediate place was occupied by “middle” genres (drama, message, elegy, idyll, sonnet, song), depicting the inner world of an individual; they did not play a significant role in the literary process (the flourishing of these genres would come later). The classification of genres was based on the theory of “three styles” (high, medium, low), known since ancient times. Each genre had one of these styles; deviations were not allowed.

Mixing the sublime and the base, the tragic and the comic, the heroic and the ordinary was not allowed.

Heroes were depicted only in verse and in a sublime style. The prose was considered humiliating, “despicable” for high-ranking officials.

In dramaturgy dominated theory of "three unities"- place (all the action of the play took place in one place), time (events in the play developed over the course of a day), action (what was happening on stage had its beginning, development and end, while there were no “extra” episodes or characters that were not directly related to the development of the main plot).

Supporters of classicism usually borrowed plots for works from ancient history or mythology. The rules of classicism required the logical development of the plot, harmony of composition, clarity and conciseness of language, rational clarity and noble beauty of style.

Russian classicism. In Russia, due to historical conditions (during the establishment of the absolute monarchy), classicism appeared later, from the late 20s of the 18th century, existing until the 20s of the 19th century. At the same time, one should see one’s own periods in the development of Russian classicism and, accordingly, the representatives of these periods.

Early classicism: A. D. Kantemir (poetic satires), V. K. Trediakovsky (poem “Tilemakhida”, ode “For the surrender of Gdansk”).

The heyday of classicism (40-70s): M. V. Lomonosov (odes “On the day of the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna”, “On the capture of Khotin”; tragedy “Tamira and Selim”, poem “Peter the Great”, cycle poems “Conversation with Anacreon”, satire “Hymn to the Beard”), A. P. Sumarokov (tragedies “Khorev”, “Sinav and Truvor”, “Dmitry the Pretender”, “Semira”; comedies “Guardian”, “The Covetous” , “Cuckold by Imagination”; fables, satires; theoretical treatise “Epistole on Poetry”, which is based on Boileau’s “Poetic Art”, while introducing certain changes associated with increasing interest in the inner life of the individual).

Late classicism: D. I. Fonvizin (comedies “Brigadier”, “Undergrown”), Ya. B. Knyazhnin (tragedies “Dido”, “Rosslav”, “Vadim Novgorodsky”; comedy “Boaster”), V. A. Ozerov (tragedies “Oedipus in Athens”, “Fingal”, “Dmitry Donskoy”), P. A. Plavilshchikov (comedies “Bobyl”, “Sidelets”), M. M. Kheraskov (poem “Rossiyada”, tragedies “Borislav”, “The Venetian Nun”), G. R. Derzhavin (odes “Felitsa”, “Nobleman”, “God”, “Waterfall”, “For the Capture of Ishmael”; anacreontic poems), A. N. Radishchev (ode “Liberty”, the story “The Life of V. F. Ushakov”).

In the works of representatives late classicism sprouts and trends of realism are already noticeable(for example, the recreation of typical features of negative characters conditioned by serfdom, realistic descriptions of everyday life, satirical denunciation, mixing of genres, “calms”), the destruction of classicism and its conventions occurs; The features of classicism are preserved rather externally.

Russian classicism expressed the worldview, psychology and tastes of the enlightened Russian nobility, which rose to prominence under Peter the Great.

The originality of Russian classicism. High civil-patriotic pathos, manifested in appealing mainly to national themes, to subjects from Russian reality, from national history. In the preaching of national ideas, in the formation of socially useful, civic qualities of a person, in the development of an anti-despotic orientation, anti-tyrant motives, in educational tendencies (in the struggle for national culture, science, education) lay the objectively progressive meaning of Russian classicism, its connection with life was closer, by the people. (It is no coincidence that Pushkin called Fonvizin “a friend of freedom.”).

A more pronounced accusatory realistic tendency, expressed in satire, comedy, fable, violated the principle of abstract depiction of reality inherent in classicism, that is, elements of realism were significant in Russian classicism.

There was a great connection with folk art, which gave the works of Russian classicism a democratic imprint, while Western European classicism avoided the inclusion of vernacular expressions and the use of folklore techniques (thus, Kantemir in his satires, Sumarokov in his satires and fables widely used vernacular). Tonic and syllabonic versification and free verse dominated.

1. Literary direction is often identified with artistic method. Designates a set of fundamental spiritual and aesthetic principles of many writers, as well as a number of groups and schools, their programmatic and aesthetic attitudes, and the means used. The laws of the literary process are most clearly expressed in the struggle and change of directions.

It is customary to distinguish the following literary trends:

a) Classicism,
b) Sentimentalism,
c) Naturalism,
d) Romanticism,
d) Symbolism,
f) Realism.

1. Literary movement - often identified with a literary group and school. Designates a set of creative personalities who are characterized by ideological and artistic affinity and programmatic and aesthetic unity. Otherwise, a literary movement is a variety (as if a subclass) of a literary movement. For example, in relation to Russian romanticism they talk about “philosophical”, “psychological” and “civil” movements. In Russian realism, some distinguish “psychological” and “sociological” trends.

Classicism

Artistic style and direction in European literature and art of the 17th-beginning. XIX centuries. The name is derived from the Latin “classicus” - exemplary.

Features of classicism:

1. Appeal to the images and forms of ancient literature and art as an ideal aesthetic standard, putting forward on this basis the principle of “imitation of nature,” which implies strict adherence to immutable rules drawn from ancient aesthetics (for example, in the person of Aristotle, Horace).
2. Aesthetics is based on the principles of rationalism (from the Latin “ratio” - reason), which affirms the view of a work of art as an artificial creation - consciously created, intelligently organized, logically constructed.
3. The images in classicism are devoid of individual features, since they are designed primarily to capture stable, generic, enduring characteristics over time, acting as the embodiment of any social or spiritual forces.
4. The social and educational function of art. Education of a harmonious personality.
5. A strict hierarchy of genres has been established, which are divided into “high” (tragedy, epic, ode; their sphere is public life, historical events, mythology, their heroes are monarchs, generals, mythological characters, religious devotees) and “low” (comedy, satire , fables that depicted the private daily life of middle-class people). Each genre has strict boundaries and clear formal characteristics; no mixing of the sublime and the base, the tragic and the comic, the heroic and the ordinary was allowed. The leading genre is tragedy.
6. Classical dramaturgy approved the so-called principle of “unity of place, time and action,” which meant: the action of the play should take place in one place, the duration of the action should be limited to the duration of the performance (possibly more, but the maximum time about which the play should have been narrated is one day), the unity of action implied that the play should reflect one central intrigue, not interrupted by side actions.

Classicism originated and developed in France with the establishment of absolutism (classicism with its concepts of “exemplaryness”, a strict hierarchy of genres, etc. is generally often associated with absolutism and the flourishing of statehood - P. Corneille, J. Racine, J. Lafontaine, J. B. Moliere, etc. Having entered a period of decline at the end of the 17th century, classicism was revived during the Enlightenment - Voltaire, M. Chenier, etc. After the Great French Revolution, with the collapse of rationalistic ideas, classicism came into decline, the dominant style of European art becomes romanticism.

Classicism in Russia:

Russian classicism arose in the second quarter of the 18th century in the works of the founders of new Russian literature - A. D. Kantemir, V. K. Trediakovsky and M. V. Lomonosov. In the era of classicism, Russian literature mastered the genre and style forms that had developed in the West, joined the pan-European literary development, while maintaining its national identity. Characteristic features of Russian classicism:

A) Satirical orientation - an important place is occupied by such genres as satire, fable, comedy, directly addressed to specific phenomena of Russian life;
b) The predominance of national historical themes over ancient ones (the tragedies of A. P. Sumarokov, Ya. B. Knyazhnin, etc.);
V) High level development of the ode genre (by M. V. Lomonosov and G. R. Derzhavin);
G) The general patriotic pathos of Russian classicism.

At the end of the XVIII - beginning. In the 19th century, Russian classicism was influenced by sentimentalist and pre-romantic ideas, which is reflected in the poetry of G. R. Derzhavin, the tragedies of V. A. Ozerov and the civil lyrics of the Decembrist poets.

Sentimentalism

Sentimentalism (from English sentimental - “sensitive”) is a movement in European literature and art of the 18th century. It was prepared by the crisis of Enlightenment rationalism and was the final stage of the Enlightenment. Chronologically, it mainly preceded romanticism, passing on a number of its features to it.

The main signs of sentimentalism:

1. Sentimentalism remained true to the ideal of the normative personality.
2. In contrast to classicism with its educational pathos, it declared feeling, not reason, to be the dominant of “human nature.”
3. The condition for the formation of an ideal personality was considered not by the “reasonable reorganization of the world,” but by the release and improvement of “natural feelings.”
4. The hero of sentimental literature is more individualized: by origin (or convictions) he is a democrat, rich spiritual world the commoner is one of the conquests of sentimentalism.
5. However, unlike romanticism (pre-romanticism), the “irrational” is alien to sentimentalism: he perceived the inconsistency of moods and the impulsiveness of mental impulses as accessible to rationalistic interpretation.

Sentimentalism took its most complete expression in England, where the ideology of the third estate was formed first - the works of J. Thomson, O. Goldsmith, J. Crabb, S. Richardson, JI. Stern.

Sentimentalism in Russia:

In Russia, representatives of sentimentalism were: M. N. Muravyov, N. M. Karamzin (most famous work - “ Poor Lisa"), I. I. Dmitriev, V. V. Kapnist, N. A. Lvov, young V. A. Zhukovsky.

Characteristic features of Russian sentimentalism:

a) Rationalistic tendencies are quite clearly expressed;
b) The didactic (moralizing) attitude is strong;
c) Educational trends;
d) Improving the literary language, Russian sentimentalists turned to colloquial norms and introduced vernaculars.

The favorite genres of sentimentalists are elegy, epistle, epistolary novel (novel in letters), travel notes, diaries and other types of prose in which confessional motifs predominate.

Romanticism

One of the largest destinations in European and American literature the end of the 18th - first half of the 19th century, which gained worldwide significance and distribution. In the 18th century, everything fantastic, unusual, strange, found only in books and not in reality, was called romantic. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. “Romanticism” begins to be called a new literary movement.

Main features of romanticism:

1. Anti-Enlightenment orientation (i.e., against the ideology of the Enlightenment), which manifested itself in sentimentalism and pre-romanticism, and reached its highest point in romanticism. Social and ideological prerequisites - disappointment in the results of the Great French Revolution and the fruits of civilization in general, protest against the vulgarity, routine and prosaicness of bourgeois life. The reality of history turned out to be beyond the control of “reason”, irrational, full of secrets and unforeseenness, and the modern world order - hostile to nature man and his personal freedom.
2. The general pessimistic orientation is the ideas of “cosmic pessimism”, “world sorrow” (heroes in the works of F. Chateaubriand, A. Musset, J. Byron, A. Vigny, etc.). The theme of the “terrible world lying in evil” was particularly clearly reflected in the “drama of rock” or “tragedy of fate” (G. Kleist, J. Byron, E. T. A. Hoffmann, E. Poe).
3. Belief in the omnipotence of the human spirit, in its ability to renew itself. The Romantics discovered the extraordinary complexity, the inner depth of human individuality. For them, a person is a microcosm, a small universe. Hence the absolutization of the personal principle, the philosophy of individualism. At the center of a romantic work there is always a strong, exceptional personality opposed to society, its laws or moral standards.
4. “Dual world”, that is, the division of the world into real and ideal, which are opposed to each other. Spiritual insight, inspiration, which is subject to the romantic hero, is nothing more than penetration into this ideal world (for example, the works of Hoffmann, especially vividly in: “The Golden Pot”, “The Nutcracker”, “Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober”) . The romantics contrasted the classicist “imitation of nature” with the creative activity of the artist with his right to transform the real world: the artist creates his own, special world, more beautiful and true.
5. "Local color" A person who opposes society feels a spiritual closeness with nature, its elements. This is why romantics so often use exotic countries and their nature (the East) as the setting for action. Exotic wild nature was quite consistent in spirit with those striving beyond the boundaries of everyday life romantic personality. Romantics were the first to pay close attention to the creative heritage of the people, their national, cultural and historical characteristics. National and cultural diversity, according to the philosophy of the romantics, was part of one large unified whole - the “universum”. This was clearly realized in the development of the historical novel genre (authors such as W. Scott, F. Cooper, V. Hugo).

The Romantics, absolutizing the creative freedom of the artist, denied rationalistic regulation in art, which, however, did not prevent them from proclaiming their own, romantic canons.

Genres have developed: fantasy stories, historical novel, a lyric-epic poem, the lyricist reaches extraordinary flowering.

The classical countries of romanticism are Germany, England, France.

Beginning in the 1840s, Romanticism in major European countries gave way to leading position critical realism and fades into the background.

Romanticism in Russia:

The origin of romanticism in Russia is associated with the socio-ideological atmosphere of Russian life - the nationwide upsurge after the War of 1812. All this determined not only the formation, but also the special character of the romanticism of the Decembrist poets (for example, K. F. Ryleev, V. K. Kuchelbecker, A. I. Odoevsky), whose work was inspired by the idea of ​​civil service, imbued with the pathos of love of freedom and struggle.

Characteristic features of romanticism in Russia:

A) The acceleration of the development of literature in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century led to the “rush” and combination of various stages, which in other countries were experienced in stages. In Russian romanticism, pre-romantic tendencies were intertwined with the tendencies of classicism and the Enlightenment: doubts about the omnipotent role of reason, the cult of sensitivity, nature, elegiac melancholy were combined with the classic orderliness of styles and genres, moderate didacticism (edification) and the fight against excessive metaphor for the sake of “harmonic accuracy” (expression A. S. Pushkin).

b) A more pronounced social orientation of Russian romanticism. For example, the poetry of the Decembrists, the works of M. Yu. Lermontov.

In Russian romanticism, such genres as elegy and idyll receive special development. The development of the ballad (for example, in the work of V. A. Zhukovsky) was very important for the self-determination of Russian romanticism. The contours of Russian romanticism were most clearly defined with the emergence of the genre of lyric-epic poem (southern poems by A. S. Pushkin, works by I. I. Kozlov, K. F. Ryleev, M. Yu. Lermontov, etc.). The historical novel is developing as a large epic form (M. N. Zagoskin, I. I. Lazhechnikov). A special way of creating a large epic form is cyclization, that is, the combination of seemingly independent (and partially published separately) works (“Double or My Evenings in Little Russia” by A. Pogorelsky, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” by N. V. Gogol, “Our Hero” time" by M. Yu. Lermontov, "Russian Nights" by V. F. Odoevsky).

Naturalism

Naturalism (from the Latin natura - “nature”) is a literary movement that developed in the last third of the 19th century in Europe and the USA.

Characteristics of naturalism:

1. The desire for an objective, accurate and dispassionate depiction of reality and human character, determined by physiological nature and environment, understood primarily as the immediate everyday and material environment, but not excluding socio-historical factors. The main task of naturalists was to study society with the same completeness with which a natural scientist studies nature; artistic knowledge was likened to scientific knowledge.
2. A work of art was considered as a “human document”, and the main aesthetic criterion was the completeness of the cognitive act carried out in it.
3. Naturalists rejected moralization, believing that reality depicted with scientific impartiality was in itself quite expressive. They believed that literature, like science, has no right in choosing material, that there are no unsuitable plots or unworthy topics for a writer. Hence, plotlessness and social indifference often arose in the works of naturalists.

Naturalism received particular development in France - for example, naturalism includes the work of such writers as G. Flaubert, the brothers E. and J. Goncourt, E. Zola (who developed the theory of naturalism).

In Russia, naturalism was not widespread; it played only a certain role at the initial stage of the development of Russian realism. Naturalistic tendencies can be traced among the writers of the so-called “natural school” (see below) - V. I. Dal, I. I. Panaev and others.

Realism

Realism (from Late Latin realis - material, real) - literary and artistic direction XIX-XX centuries It originates in the Renaissance (the so-called “Renaissance realism”) or in the Enlightenment (“Enlightenment realism”). Features of realism are noted in ancient and medieval folklore and ancient literature.

Main features of realism:

1. The artist depicts life in images that correspond to the essence of the phenomena of life itself.
2. Literature in realism is a means of a person’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.
3. Knowledge of reality occurs with the help of images created through typification of facts of reality (“typical characters in a typical setting”). Typification of characters in realism is carried out through the “truthfulness of details” in the “specifics” of the characters’ conditions of existence.
4. Realistic art is life-affirming art, even with a tragic resolution to the conflict. The philosophical basis for this is Gnosticism, the belief in knowability and an adequate reflection of the surrounding world, in contrast, for example, to romanticism.
5. Realistic art is characterized by the desire to consider reality in development, the ability to detect and capture the emergence and development of new forms of life and social relations, new psychological and social types.

Realism as a literary movement was formed in the 30s of the 19th century. The immediate predecessor of realism in European literature was romanticism. Having made the unusual the subject of the image, creating an imaginary world of special circumstances and exceptional passions, he (romanticism) at the same time showed a personality that was richer in mental and emotional terms, more complex and contradictory than was available to classicism, sentimentalism and other movements of previous eras. Therefore, realism developed not as an antagonist of romanticism, but as its ally in the struggle against the idealization of social relations, for the national-historical originality of artistic images (the flavor of place and time). It is not always easy to draw clear boundaries between romanticism and realism of the first half of the 19th century; in the works of many writers, romantic and realistic features merged - for example, the works of O. Balzac, Stendhal, V. Hugo, and partly Charles Dickens. In Russian literature, this was especially clearly reflected in the works of A. S. Pushkin and M. Yu. Lermontov (the southern poems of Pushkin and “Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov).

In Russia, where the foundations of realism were already in the 1820-30s. laid down by the work of A. S. Pushkin (“Eugene Onegin”, “Boris Godunov”, “The Captain’s Daughter”, late lyrics), as well as some other writers (“Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboyedov, fables by I. A. Krylov ), this stage is associated with the names of I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky and others. Realism of the 19th century is usually called “critical”, since the defining principle in it was precisely social-critical. Heightened social-critical pathos is one of the main distinguishing features of Russian realism - for example, “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol, the activities of writers of the “natural school”. Realism of the 2nd half of the 19th century reached its peak precisely in Russian literature, especially in the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky, who became central figures in the world literary process at the end of the 19th century. They enriched world literature with new principles for constructing a socio-psychological novel, philosophical and moral issues, and new ways of revealing the human psyche in its deepest layers.

The European direction of classicism was based on the ideas of rationalism and the canons of ancient art. It presupposes strict rules for creating a work of art, which give it conciseness and logic. Attention is paid only to a clear elaboration of the main part, without being scattered on the details. The priority goal of this direction is to fulfill the social and educational function of art.

The formation of classicism occurs in each united territory, but in different time periods. The need for this direction is felt in historical period transition from feudal fragmentation to territorial statehood under an absolute monarchy. In Europe, the emergence of classicism occurred primarily in Italy, but one cannot fail to note the significant influence of the emerging French and English bourgeoisie.

Classicism in painting

(Giovanni Battista Tiepolo "Cleopatra's Feast")

IN creative searches sculptors and artists turned to ancient art and transferred its features into their works. This generated a wave of public interest in art. Despite the fact that the views of classicism imply a natural depiction of everything that is presented in the picture, the masters of the Renaissance, like ancient creators, idealized human figures. The people depicted in the paintings are more like sculptures: they “freeze” in eloquent poses, male bodies are athletic, and female figures are hyperbolically feminine, even the elderly heroes have taut and elastic skin. This trend, borrowed from ancient Greek sculptors, is explained by the fact that in ancient times man was presented as an ideal creation of God without flaws or shortcomings.

(Claude Lorrain "Afternoon. Rest on the Flight to Egypt")

Ancient mythology also had a significant impact on the development of style. At the initial stages it was expressed literally, in the form of mythical plots. Over time, the manifestations became more veiled: mythology was represented by ancient buildings, creatures or objects. The late period was marked by a symbolistic interpretation of myths: through individual elements the artists conveyed their own thoughts, emotions and moods.

(Fyodor Mikhailovich Matveev "View of Rome. Colosseum")

The function of classicism in the bosom of world artistic culture is moral public education, the formation of ethical norms and rules. The regulation of creative laws established a strict hierarchy of genres, each of which contained formal boundaries:

• Low(still life, landscape, portrait);
• High(historical, mythological, religious).

(Nicolas Poussin "The Arcadian Shepherds")

The founder of the style is considered to be the painter Nicolas Poussin. His works are built on sublime philosophical subjects. From a technical point of view, the structure of the paintings is harmonious and complemented by rhythmic coloring. Vivid examples of the master’s works: “The Finding of Moses”, “Rinaldo and Armida”, “The Death of Germanicus” and “The Arcadian Shepherds”.

(Ivan Petrovich Argunov "Portrait of an unknown woman in a dark blue dress")

In Russian art of classicism, portrait images predominate. Admirers of this style are A. Agrunov, A. Antropov, D. Levitsky, O. Kiprensky, F. Rokotov.

Classicism in architecture

The fundamental features of the style are clarity of lines, clear, uncomplicated forms, and lack of abundance of details. Classicism sought to rationally use every square meter of space. Over time, the style was influenced by different cultures and worldviews of masters from all over Europe. In the architecture of classicism, the following directions are distinguished:

• Palladianism

The initial form of manifestation of classicism, the founder of which is considered to be the architect Andrea Palladio. The absolute symmetry of the buildings reveals the spirit of architecture Ancient Greece and Rome;

• empire style

The direction of high (late) classicism, the birthplace of which is considered to be France during the reign of Napoleon I. The royal style combines theatricality and classical elements (columns, stucco molding, pilasters), arranged in accordance with clear rules and perspective;

• neo-Greek

The "return" of ancient Greek imagery with features of the Italian Renaissance in the 1820s. The founders of the direction are Henri Labrouste and Leo von Klenze. The uniqueness lies in the detailed reproduction of classics on parliament buildings, museums, and churches;

• regency style

In 1810-1830 A style developed that combined classical trends with French design. Particular attention is paid to the decoration of the facades: geometrically correct patterns and ornaments of the walls are complemented by decorated window openings. The emphasis is on decorative elements framing the front door.

(Stupinigi - country residence of the monarchs of the House of Savoy, province of Turin, Italy)

The main features of classicism in architecture:

• Majestic simplicity;
• Minimal amount details;
• Laconicism and rigor of both external and internal decoration of buildings;
• A dim color palette dominated by milky, beige, and light gray shades;
• High ceilings decorated with stucco;
• The interior included items exclusively with a functional purpose;
• Decorative elements used were regal columns, arches, exquisite stained glass windows, openwork railings, lamps, carved fireplace grates, and light curtains made of simple materials.

(Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow)

Classicism is recognized as one of the most widespread styles throughout the world. In Europe, the vector of development of this trend was influenced by the works of the masters Palladio and Scamozzi. And in France, the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot was the author of structural solutions basic to the style. Germany acquired several administrative buildings in classic style thanks to the masters Leo von Klenze and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Andreyan Zakharov, Andrey Voronikhin and Karl Rossi made an invaluable contribution to the development of this direction in Russia.

Conclusion

The era of classicism left behind many magnificent creations of artists and architects, which can be seen throughout Europe to this day. The most large-scale projects of the late 17th and early 19th centuries took place under the auspices of classicism: city parks, resorts, and even new cities were rebuilt. By the 20s of the 19th century, the strict style was diluted with elements of luxurious Baroque and Renaissance.

In the 17th century, there were two main literary movements that opposed each other - Baroque and Classicism.

Interpreters of classicism usually declare that the most important feature of classicist poetics is its normative character. The theoretical thought of classicism, ahead of artistic practice and long before the appearance of the most complete and authoritative code of classicist laws that received pan-European significance - "The Poetic Art" by Nicolas Boileau (1674), formed a set of laws and rules mandatory for all artists. And yet, many supporters of classicism did not always strictly adhere to its rules. It does not follow from this, however, that outstanding representatives of classicism (in particular, Moliere) went beyond the boundaries of classicism in their literary activities. Even violating some particular requirements, the writers remained faithful to the basic, fundamental principles of classicism.

Therefore, for all the importance of normativity for the art of classicism, it is not its most important feature. Moreover, normativity is only the result inherent in classicism fundamental anti-historicism. The classicists declared “good taste”, conditioned by the “eternal and unchanging” laws of reason, to be the supreme “judge” of beauty. The classicists recognized the example and ideal of the embodiment of the laws of reason and, therefore, good taste antique art, and poetics Aristotle And Horace were interpreted as a statement of these laws.

Recognition of the existence of eternal and objective, i.e. independent of the artist’s consciousness, the laws of art, entailed the requirement of strict discipline of creativity, the denial of “unorganized” inspiration and self-willed imagination. For classicists, of course, the baroque exaltation of the imagination as the most important source of creative impulses is absolutely unacceptable. Supporters of classicism return to the Renaissance principle of “imitation of nature,” but interpret it more narrowly. In the interpretation of the classicists, he did not assume the truthfulness of the reproduction of reality, but verisimilitude, by which they meant the depiction of things not as they are in reality, but as they should be according to reason. Hence the most important conclusion: the subject of art is not all of nature, but only a part of it, identified after careful selection and essentially reduced to human nature, taken only in its conscious manifestations. Life, its ugly sides should appear in art as ennobled, aesthetically beautiful, nature - as “beautiful nature”, delivering aesthetic pleasure. But this aesthetic pleasure is not an end in itself, it is only a path to the improvement of human nature, and, consequently, society.

In practice, the principle of “imitation of beautiful nature” often meant a call to imitate ancient works as ideal examples of the embodiment of the laws of reason in art.

The preference for reason over feeling, rational over emotional, general over particular explains both the strengths and weaknesses of classicism. On the one hand, this determines the attention of classicism to inner world man, to psychology: the world of passions and experiences, the logic of mental movements and the development of thought are at the center of both classic tragedy and classic prose. On the other hand, the general and the individual are in complete rupture and the heroes embody the contradiction of human essence as abstract, devoid of individuality, containing only the general.

This misunderstanding of the dialectic of the general and the individual also determines the way of constructing character in classicism. The rationalistic method of “dividing difficulties”, formulated by the greatest rationalist philosopher of the 17th century, Rene Descartes, when applied to art meant highlighting human character, as a rule, one leading, main feature. Thus, the way of typing characters here is deeply rationalistic. One can, using Lessing’s expression, say that the classicists’ heroes are more “personified characters” than “characterized personalities.”

The classicist way of typifying characters by highlighting the main, defining trait in them undoubtedly contributed to the improvement of art psychological analysis, satirical sharpening of the theme in comedies. At the same time, the requirement of reasonable integrity, unity and logical consistency of character interferes with its development. An exclusive interest in the “conscious” inner life of a person often forces one to ignore the external environment and material conditions of life. In general, the characters of classic works, especially tragedies, lack historical specificity. The mythological and ancient heroes in them feel, think and act like nobles of the 17th century. A greater connection between character and circumstances, although within the limits of classic typification, is found in comedy, the action of which usually takes place in modern times, and the images acquire, for all their generality, life-like authenticity.

From the general aesthetic principles of classicism follow the specific requirements of its poetics, most fully formulated in Boileau’s “Poetic Art”:

1) harmony and proportionality of parts;

2) logical harmony and laconicism of the composition;

3) simplicity of the plot;

4) clarity and clarity of language;

5) denial of fantasy (except for ancient mythology, interpreted as “reasonable”)

One of the fundamental and sustainable theoretical principles classicism is the principle of dividing each art into genres and their hierarchical correlation. The hierarchy of genres in classicist poetics is carried to its logical end and concerns all aspects of art.

Genres are divided into “high” and “low”, and mixing them is considered unacceptable. “High” genres (epic, tragedy, ode) are designed to embody state or historical events, i.e. life of monarchs, generals, mythological heroes; “low” (satire, fable, comedy) - should depict the private, everyday life of “mere mortals”, people of the middle classes. The style and language must strictly correspond to the chosen genre. The classicists limited the vocabulary allowed in poetry, trying to avoid ordinary “low” words, and sometimes even specific names of everyday objects. Hence the use of allegories, descriptive expressions, and a predilection for conventional poetic cliches. On the other hand, classicism fought against excessive ornamentation and pretentiousness of poetic language, against contrived, sophisticated metaphors and comparisons, puns and similar stylistic devices that obscured the meaning.

Unlike Baroque, which by the end of the 17th century had practically exhausted its artistic possibilities and gave way to other directions, classicism turned out to be very persistent and viable, existing in European culture up to the 19th century. At the same time, at each stage of literary development, it acquired new forms that corresponded to the new tasks of art (enlightenment classicism of the 18th century and the Enlightenment era, the so-called “Weimar classicism” of Goethe and Schiller in the mature period of their work). Only in the first decades of the 19th century, when romanticism came to the fore, did classicism become a brake on further development literature and was decisively rejected by romantic aesthetics.

France became the recognized center of classicism of the 17th century. Here it was formed first, and here it took its most complete forms.

Related information.