The central aesthetic category of sentimentalism is. Sentimentalism in literature

1. Literary movement - 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. In the struggle and change of directions, patterns are most clearly expressed literary process. It is customary to distinguish the following literary trends:

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

2. Literary movement - often identified with a literary group and school. Denotes a collection creative personalities, which are characterized by ideological and artistic closeness and programmatic and aesthetic unity. Otherwise, literary movement- this 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 XVII-beginning. XIX centuries. The name is derived from the Latin “classicus” - exemplary.

Features of classicism:

1. Appeal to images and forms 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 piece of art as an artificial creation - consciously created, intelligently organized, logically constructed.
3. 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 - monarchs, generals, mythological characters, religious ascetics) and “low” (comedy, satire, fable that depicted private daily life people of the middle classes). 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 in late XVII century, classicism was revived during the Enlightenment - Voltaire, M. Chenier and others. After the Great french revolution With the collapse of rationalist ideas, classicism declines, and romanticism becomes the dominant style of European art.

Classicism in Russia:

Russian classicism originated in the second quarter XVIII 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. Characteristics Russian classicism:

A) Satirical focus- 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 of development of the ode genre (M. V. Lomonosov and G. R. Derzhavin);
G) The general patriotic pathos of Russian classicism.

At the end of the XVIII - beginning. 19th century Russian classicism is influenced by sentimentalist and pre-romantic ideas, which is reflected in the poetry of G. R. Derzhavin, the tragedies of V. A. Ozerov and civil lyrics 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 the literature of sentimentalism is more individualized: by origin (or convictions) he is a democrat, the rich spiritual world of 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 late XVIII-first half of the 19th century century, gaining 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 peak in romanticism highest point. 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 contingencies, 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.). Theme "lying in evil" scary world“was especially clearly reflected in the “drama of rock” or “tragedy of rock” (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. In the center romantic work always stands strong, exceptional personality opposing 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 opposed the classicist “imitation of nature” creative activity 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 opposed to 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. The exotic wild nature was quite consistent in spirit with the romantic personality striving beyond the boundaries of everyday life. Romantics are the first to pay close attention to creative heritage 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 genre of the historical novel (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 developed: fantastic story, 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 critical realism and faded 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 ordering 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 refused to moralize, 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 in initial stage 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. Philosophical basis 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”, “ Captain's daughter”, late lyrics), as well as some other writers (“Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboedov, 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 the social-critical one. Heightened social-critical pathos is one of the main distinctive features Russian realism - for example, “The Inspector General”, “ Dead Souls"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 late XIX century central figures world literary process. They enriched world literature new principles for constructing a socio-psychological novel, philosophical and moral issues, new ways of revealing human psyche in its deep layers.

Sentimentalism as artistic direction arose in Western art in the second half of the 18th century.

In Russia, its heyday occurred from the end of the 18th century to early XIX V.

Meaning of the term

Sentimentalism - from French. sentiment (feeling). The ideology of reason of the Enlightenment in sentimentalism is replaced by the priority of feeling, simplicity, solitary reflection, and interest in the “little man.” J. J. Rousseau is considered the ideologist of sentimentalism.

Jean Jacques Rousseau
The main character of sentimentalism becomes a natural person (living in peace with nature). Only such a person, according to sentimentalists, can be happy having found inner harmony. In addition, it is important to educate feelings, i.e. natural principles of man. Civilization (the urban environment) is a hostile environment for people and distorts their nature. Therefore, a cult arises in the works of sentimentalists privacy, rural existence. Sentimentalists considered the concepts of “history,” “state,” “society,” and “education” to be negative. They were not interested in the historical, heroic past (as the classicists were interested in it); everyday impressions were the essence for them human life. Hero of literature of sentimentalism - a common person. Even if this is a person of low birth (a servant or a robber), then his wealth inner world is in no way inferior to, and sometimes even surpasses, the inner world of people of the upper class.
Representatives of sentimentalism did not approach a person with an unambiguous moral assessment - a person is complex and capable of both lofty and low actions, but by nature it is inherent in people good start, and evil is the fruit of civilization. However, every person always has a chance to return to their nature.

Development of sentimentalism in art

England was the birthplace of sentimentalism. But in the second half of the 18th century. it became a pan-European phenomenon. Sentimentalism manifested itself most clearly in English, French, German and Russian literature.

Sentimentalism in English literature

James Thomson
At the end of the 20s of the 18th century. James Thomson wrote the poems "Winter" (1726), "Summer" (1727), "Spring" and "Autumn", later published as "The Seasons" (1730). These works encouraged the English reading public to take a closer look at native nature and see the charm of the idyllic village life in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city. The so-called “cemetery poetry” (Edward Young, Thomas Gray) appeared, which expressed the idea of ​​​​the equality of all before death.

Thomas Gray
But sentimentalism expressed itself more fully in the genre of the novel. And here, first of all, we should remember Samuel Richardson, an English writer and printer, the first English novelist. He usually created his novels in the epistolary genre (in the form of letters).

Samuel Richardson

The main characters exchanged long, frank letters, and through them Richardson introduced the reader into the intimate world of their thoughts and feelings. Remember how A.S. Does Pushkin write about Tatyana Larina in his novel “Eugene Onegin”?

She liked novels early on;
They replaced everything for her;
She fell in love with deceptions
And Richardson and Russo.

Joshua Reynolds "Portrait of Laurence Stern"

No less famous was Laurence Sterne, the author of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey. Stern himself called the “sentimental journey” “a peaceful journey of the heart in search of nature and all spiritual attractions that can inspire us with more love for our neighbors and for the whole world than we usually feel.”

Sentimentalism in French literature

At the origins of French sentimental prose are Pierre Carlet de Chamblen de Marivaux with the novel “The Life of Marianne” and Abbe Prevost with “Manon Lescaut”.

Abbot Prevost

But the highest achievement in this direction was the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), a French philosopher, writer, thinker, musicologist, composer and botanist.
Main philosophical works Rousseau, where his social and political ideals were set out, were “ New Eloise", "Emile" and "The Social Contract".
Rousseau was the first to try to explain the causes of social inequality and its types. He believed that the state arises as a result of a social contract. According to the agreement, the supreme power in the state belongs to all the people.
Under the influence of Rousseau's ideas, new democratic institutions such as referendum and others arose.
J.J. Rousseau made nature an independent object of depiction. His “Confession” (1766-1770) is considered one of the most frank autobiographies in world literature, in which he clearly expresses the subjectivist attitude of sentimentalism: a work of art is a way of expressing the author’s “I”. He believed that “the mind can make mistakes, but the feeling never.”

Sentimentalism in Russian literature

V. Tropinin “Portrait of N.M. Karamzin" (1818)
The era of Russian sentimentalism began with N. M. Karamzin’s “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791-1792).
Then the story “Poor Liza” (1792) was written, which is considered a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose. She had big success among readers and became a source of imitation. Works with similar titles appeared: “Poor Masha”, “Unhappy Margarita”, etc.
Karamzin's poetry also developed in line with European sentimentalism. The poet is not interested in the external, physical world, but the inner, spiritual world of man. His poems speak “the language of the heart,” not the mind.

Sentimentalism in painting

Especially strong influence The artist V. L. Borovikovsky experienced sentimentalism. Chamber portraits predominate in his work. IN female images V. L. Borovikovsky embodies the ideal of beauty of his era and the main task of sentimentalism: the transmission of the inner world of man.

In the double portrait “Lizonka and Dashenka” (1794), the artist depicted the maids of the Lvov family. It is obvious that the portrait was painted with great love for the models: he saw the soft curls of hair, the whiteness of their faces, and a slight blush. The intelligent look and lively spontaneity of these simple girls are in line with sentimentalism.

In many of his intimate, sentimental portraits, V. Borovikovsky was able to convey the diversity of feelings and experiences of the people depicted. For example, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina" is one of the most popular women's portraits artist's brushes.

V. Borovikovsky “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina" (1797). Canvas, oil. 72 x 53.5 cm. Tretyakov Gallery(Moscow)
V. Borovikovsky created an image of a woman not associated with any social status - she is simply a beautiful young woman, but living in harmony with nature. Lopukhina is depicted against the backdrop of a Russian landscape: birch trunks, ears of rye, cornflowers. The landscape echoes Lopukhina’s appearance: the curve of her figure echoes the bent ears of corn, white birch trees are reflected in the dress, blue cornflowers echo the silk belt, a soft lilac shawl echoes the drooping rosebuds. The portrait is full of life authenticity, depth of feeling and poetry.
Almost 100 years later, the Russian poet Ya. Polonsky dedicated poetry to the portrait:

She passed a long time ago, and those eyes are no longer there
And that smile that was silently expressed
Suffering is the shadow of love, and thoughts are the shadow of sadness,
But Borovikovsky saved her beauty.
So part of her soul did not fly away from us,
And there will be this look and this beauty of the body
To attract indifferent offspring to her,
Teaching him to love, suffer, forgive, be silent.
(Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina died very young, at the age of 24, from consumption).

V. Borovikovsky “Portrait of E.N. Arsenyeva" (1796). Canvas, oil. 71.5 x 56.5 cm. State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg)
But this portrait depicts Ekaterina Nikolaevna Arsenyeva - eldest daughter Major General N.D. Arsenyeva, student of the society noble maidens at the Smolny Monastery. Later she will become a maid of honor to Empress Maria Feodorovna, and in the portrait she is depicted as a crafty, flirtatious shepherdess, with ears of wheat on her straw hat, and an apple, the symbol of Aphrodite, in her hand. It is felt that the girl’s character is light and cheerful.

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- desire to present the human personality in the movement of the soul, thoughts, emotions, revealing the inner world of 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:

Source of material Internet site

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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 a 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 depicting the life of the common people, so not a single writer mentioned Catherine the Great in his works.

The most important event of this period was the peasant war led by Emelyan Pugachev, after which many nobles sided with the peasants. Already in the 70s, mass societies began to appear in Russia, 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 striking example and manifesto is 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 a 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, psychological story, as well as confessional prose (diary, travel notes, travel). Sentimentalism, unlike classicism, was far from poetic forms.

The literary movement affirms the transcendental value of the 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, while in the works of Russian authors they, on the contrary, became more acute. 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 tale and fable, idyll, elegy, romance, song.

"Fashionable wife" by I. I. Dmitriev

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 into a wealthy 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 of human life. A major role in the emotional coloring of the work is played by the animated landscape, in which the willow slumbers, the 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.

The main features of Russian sentimentalism.

Sentimentalism in Russian literature.

Sentimentalism penetrated into Russia in the 1780s and early 1790s thanks to translations of the novels “Werther” by J.V. Goethe, “Pamela,” “Clarissa” and “Grandison” by S. Richardson, “The New Heloise” by J.-J. Rousseau, "Paul and Virginie" by J.-A. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. The era of Russian sentimentalism was opened by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin with “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791–1792).

His story "Poor Liza" (1792) is a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose; from Goethe's Werther he inherited a general atmosphere of sensitivity, melancholy and the theme of suicide.

The works of N.M. Karamzin gave rise to a huge number of imitations; at the beginning of the 19th century appeared "Poor Masha" by A.E. Izmailov (1801), "Journey to Midday Russia" (1802), "Henrietta or the Triumph of Deception over Weakness or Delusion" by I. Svechinsky (1802), numerous stories by G.P. Kamenev ( "The Story of Poor Marya"; "Unhappy Margarita"; Beautiful Tatiana"), etc.

Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev belonged to Karamzin’s group, which advocated the creation of a new poetic language and fought against the archaic pompous style and outdated genres.

Marked by sentimentalism early work Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. The publication in 1802 of a translation of Elegy written in the rural cemetery of E. Gray became a phenomenon in artistic life Russia, because he translated the poem “into the language of sentimentalism in general, translated the genre of elegy, and not the individual work of an English poet”, which has its own special individual style (E.G. Etkind). In 1809 Zhukovsky wrote sentimental story"Maryina Grove" in the spirit of N.M. Karamzin.

Russian sentimentalism had exhausted itself by 1820.

It was one of the stages of the pan-European literary development, which ended the Age of Enlightenment and opened the way to romanticism.

• moving away from the straightforwardness of classicism
• emphasized subjectivity of approach to the world
• cult of feeling
• cult of nature
• cult of innate moral purity, innocence
• affirmation of the rich spiritual world of representatives of the lower classes
• attention is paid peace of mind of a person, and feelings come first, not reason and great ideas

Sentimentalism (from the French sentiment - feeling) - a movement in literature and art of the second half of the XVIII century, characterized by an increased interest in human feelings and a heightened emotional attitude to the surrounding world. (“A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Stern, “The New Heloise” by Rousseau, “Poor Liza” by Karamzin). The innovation of sentimentalism lies in its exclusive attention to the mental state of the individual and appeal to the experiences of a simple, humble person. Karamzin owns remarkable works in this regard words: “...And peasant women know how to love” (“Poor Liza”). Others argued that a commoner, close to nature, not perverted by aristocratic prejudices, is morally superior to any nobleman.