From mind to feelings
Sentimentalism closes the Age of Enlightenment, which covered the entire 18th century and gave rise to a number of literary movements. These are classicism and rococo, sentimentalism and pre-romanticism. Some experts consider romanticism to be the next direction described, and sentimentalism is identified with pre-romanticism. Each of these directions has its own characteristic distinctive features, each has its own normative personality, the one whose features better than others express the trend that is optimal for a given culture. We can name some signs of sentimentalism. This is a concentration of attention on the individual, on the strength and power of feelings, the prerogative of nature over civilization.
Towards nature
What distinguishes this direction in literature from previous and subsequent movements is primarily the cult of the human heart. Preference is given to simplicity and naturalness; the hero of the works becomes a more democratic person, often a representative of the common people. Great attention is paid to the inner world of man and the nature of which he is a part. These are the signs of sentimentalism. Feelings are always freer than reason, which classicism worshiped or even deified. Therefore, sentimentalist writers had greater freedom of imagination and its reflection in the work, which was also no longer squeezed into the strict logical framework of classicism.
New literary forms
The main genres of sentimentalism are travel and novels, but not simply, but instructive or in letters. Letters, diaries, memoirs are the most commonly used genres, as they make it possible to more widely reveal a person’s inner world. Poetry gives preference to elegy and message. That is, literary genres, in themselves, are also signs of sentimentalism. Pastoral cannot belong to any other direction than the one described.
In Russia, sentimentalism was reactionary and liberal. The representative of the first was Pyotr Ivanovich Shalikov (1768-1852). His works represented an idyllic utopia - infinitely kind kings sent by God to earth solely for the sake of peasant happiness. No social contradictions - good-naturedness and general goodness. Probably, thanks to such sweet and sour works, a certain tearfulness and far-fetchedness have become attached to this literary movement, which are sometimes perceived as signs of sentimentalism.
Founder of Russian sentimentalism
Prominent representatives of the liberal trend are Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich (1766-1826) and the early Zhukovsky Vasily Andreevich (1783-1852), these are among the famous. You can also name several progressive liberal-minded writers - A. M. Kutuzov, to whom Radishchev dedicated “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”, M. N. Muravyov, sage and poet, I. I. Dmitriev, poet, fabulist and translator, V. V. Kapnist and N. A. Lvov. The earliest and most striking work of this direction was Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza.” It should be noted that the signs of sentimentalism in Russian literature have distinctive features from Europe. The main thing is the instructive, moral and educational nature of the works. Karamzin said that you need to write the way you speak. Thus, another feature of Russian sentimentalism is the improvement of the literary language of the work. I would like to note that a positive achievement or even discovery of this literary movement is that it was the first to turn to the spiritual world of people of the lower classes, revealing its wealth and generosity of soul. Before the sentimentalists, poor people, as a rule, were shown to be rude, callous, and incapable of any spirituality.
Sentimentalism in Russian literature
The first wave of sentimental novels began in Russia in 1790 with “ Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow ” by A.N. Radishchev.
After him, many writers turned to the genre of the travel novel: Karamzin, Sumarokov, Izmailov, Shalikov, etc. This form opened up new opportunities for the free expression of their thoughts - this was important for sentimentalist writers.
In a travel novel, the picture is constantly changing; the author’s feelings depend on the landscape outside the window and on communication with ordinary people.
The little man comes to Russian literature precisely in the era of sentimentalism. It turns out that honor is not only the lot of the upper classes. Any person can have a good name if he has a clear conscience.
In Russian literature, sentimentalism divides into two wings :
- Some authors are interested in social conflict (what is this?), they look for the causes of human misfortune in the unjust structure of society, somewhere, and in Russia, with its serfdom, the problem of the little man in the face of social injustice was obvious. The leader of this direction is A.N. Radishchev.
- Other authors avoided acute social conflicts, focusing on the feelings and rich spiritual world of heroes, even those of the lower class. Here N.M. Karamzin played the main role.
*A.G. Venetsianov, Portrait of N.M. Karamzin, 1828
“Poor Liza” is the pinnacle of Russian sentimentalism
What are the signs of sentimentalism in “Poor Liza”? The plot of the story is simple. That's not the beauty of it. The very idea of the work conveys to the reader the fact that the natural naturalness and rich world of Liza, a simple peasant woman, is incomparably higher than the world of the well-educated, secular, well-trained Erast, in general, and a good person, but squeezed by the framework of conventions that did not allow him to marry beloved girl. But he did not even think about getting married, because, having achieved reciprocity, Erast, full of prejudices, lost interest in Lisa, she ceased to be for him the personification of purity and purity. A poor peasant girl, even full of merit, having trusted a rich young man who condescended to a commoner (which should speak of the breadth of her soul and democratic views), is initially doomed to the final run to the pond. But the dignity of the story is in a completely different approach and perspective of the rather banal events covered. It was precisely the signs of sentimentalism in “Poor Liza” (the beauty of the soul of a common man and nature, the cult of love) that made the story incredibly popular among contemporaries. And the pond in which Lisa drowned began to be called after her (the place in the story is indicated quite accurately). The fact that the story became an event is also evidenced by the fact that even among current graduates of Soviet schools, almost everyone knows that “Poor Liza” was written by Karamzin, like “Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin, and “Mtsyri” by Lermontov.
Punk
(from the English punk - punks, bad taste, rottenness, nonsense) - a youth musical subculture that emerged in the second half of the 1970s in the USA and Great Britain, the characteristic features of which are a love for energetic and deliberately primitive rock music (punk rock ), a critical attitude towards society and politics.
The popular American band Ramones is considered the first group to play punk rock music. The Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash are recognized as the first British punk bands. Appearance of punks
Punks, as a rule, have a colorful, shocking image.
Many punks dye their hair bright, unnatural colors, comb it and fix it with hairspray, gel or beer so that it stands up straight. In the 1980s, the mohawk hairstyle became fashionable among punks. They wear rolled-up jeans; some people pre-soak their jeans in a bleach solution so that they have red streaks. They wear heavy boots and sneakers. The Ramones started wearing sneakers, and they adopted this style from Mexican punks. The biker jacket was adopted as a rock and roll attribute from the 1950s, and the motorcycle was an integral element. The first wave of punks sought to return to rock music the same deliberate cockiness and drive that the mass commercialization of music had taken away over time. A clear sign of punk is a plaid shirt worn under a biker jacket. Punk attributes
The prevailing style in clothing is “DEAD”, that is, “dead style”.
Punks put skulls and signs on clothes and accessories. They wear wristbands and collars made of leather with spikes, rivets and chains. Many punks get tattoos. They also wear torn, frayed jeans (which they specially cut themselves). Dog leash chains are attached to jeans. A number of leading fashion designers around the world saw great commercial prospects for themselves in punk fashion, so they began to produce special lines of clothing that amazed not only with the abundance of colors, but also with high quality, which, of course, was not present in the clothes of the followers of punk, made by hand . After the stores were replenished with new, very fashionable collections of clothing in the punk style at that time, they literally had no end to buyers. In the same way, interest in music itself did not fade. All punk fans, and not only them, began to wear faded jeans and specially torn T-shirts, which depicted the most famous people in the music world, especially legendary rock performers. By that time, there were also several popular punk bands, whose images and logos also began to be used as designs on clothing. Movies about punks:
- "Sid and Nancy"
- "Prey For Rock'n'Roll"
- "Garage Days"
Literature of the Sex Pistols punks - the inside story (by Judy Vermorel)
This book - almost as if the Pistols themselves were telling their story - was first published at the height of the punk explosion.
The authors had unique and ongoing access to the group, to the members' families and friends, to Malcolm McLaren and all the people in his Glitterbest office. The book received raving reviews, was translated into several languages and became part of the Sex Pistols legend. The life and death of Kurt Cobain (author Galin A.)
For some, the word “NIRVANA” means an elevated state akin to insight, for others it is a place of final calm, something like a sensitive Paradise.
But millions of rock fans understand only one thing by this - the name of the group that revolutionized the idea of the status of rock stars in the 1990s. NIRVANA was one of the unique representatives of the underground scene, which found its fans both among fans of alternative rock music, thrash metal, moshers, punkers, and among adherents of the traditional rock mainstream. Nirvana and the Seattle Sound (author Brad Morrell)
Officially, 1991 was the year of punk's breakthrough.
Having overcome years of corporate oppression, the underground has finally broken through to the surface and slipped into the secret treasuries of the establishment. One by one, its bastions surrendered: the accounting departments of monster record companies, university and pop radio stations, MTV, Time, Vanity Fair, and Vogue magazines. This powerful wave swept commentators, talent agents, and other big business leeches into Seattle and then through Hollywood, London, and New York. Heck, they even made a video about punk and covered the packaging with a parental warning sticker, proving that the punk revolution's teeth are still sharp! Domestic punk literature: “The Way of the Scum” by O. Turtles.
"Hoy!" Epitaph of rock-gouging. On the issue of punk aesthetics. Punk Aesthetics of confrontation. Punk virus. Punk rock from A to Z. Punk encyclopedia. Radio "Anarchy". Dumb punk rock for intellectuals. Punk philosophy: More than noise. and others...
Links to books can be found on the following pages:
- ipunk.ru - punk literature
- pfrecords.ucoz.ru - catalog of articles about punks
Additional information about punks:
- neforserovsity.3dn.ru - website of informals of the city of Serov: Who are the punks
- urbancolor.ucoz.ru - punks: style, attributes, symbolism
- pankuem.ru - fashion for punk style
- love69.blog.tut.by - piercing at home
- lisar.ucoz.ru - “Punk virus in Russia” - a collection of interviews with Russian punk bands
Originally from France
Sentimentalism itself is a more significant phenomenon in fiction than classicism with its rationalism and dryness, with its heroes, who, as a rule, were crowned heads or generals. “Julia, or the New Heloise” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau burst into fiction and laid the foundations for a new direction. Already in the works of the founder of the movement, general signs of sentimentalism appeared in literature, forming a new artistic system that glorified the common man, capable of empathizing with others without any self-interest, endlessly loving loved ones, and sincerely rejoicing in the happiness of others.
Foreign sentimentalism
Traditionally, England is called the place of origin of sentimentalism. The first work created in this movement is considered to be the poetic collection “The Seasons” (James Thompson) , glorifying the splendor of natural landscapes.
The continuator of the tradition was Thomas Gray, who began to write very similarly. Gray attached great importance to a detailed description of the beauty of nature and talked about the hardships of the existence of ordinary people.
English sentimentalism was also glorified by such authors as Laurence Sterne and Samuel Richardson . In France, representatives are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jacques de Saint-Pierre. A distinctive characteristic of French sentimentalism can be called descriptions of the sensual tossing of characters and beautiful natural views in the background.
Although the sentimentalists lost popularity in a fairly short time, the works they created opened the way for new literary trends in Russia and Europe.
Similarities and differences
The signs of classicism and sentimentalism largely coincide, because both of these movements belong to the Age of Enlightenment, but they also have differences. Classicism glorifies and deifies reason, and sentimentalism - feeling. The main slogans of these directions also differ: in classicism it is “a person subject to the dictates of reason”; in sentimentalism it is “a feeling person”. The forms of writing also differ - the logic and rigor of the classicists, and the works of authors of a later literary movement, rich in digressions, descriptions, memories and letters. Based on the above, we can answer the question of what are the main features of sentimentalism. The main theme of the works is love. Specific genres - pastoral (elegy), sentimental story, letters and travel. In the works there is a cult of feelings and nature, a departure from straightforwardness.
History of the development of sentimentalism
The third stage in the history of Russian literature of the 18th century is associated with the emergence in the 60s of a new direction - sentimentalism, which gradually begins to replace classicism. Sentimentalism includes A. N. Radishchev, P. Yu. Lvov, N. M. Karamzin, M. N. Muravyov and others.
Sentimentalism (from English sentimental - sensitive) - unlike classicism, the main attention is paid not to the idea, but to the person.
Man, with his simple feeling, is proclaimed the highest value. For the first time in the history of literature, writers turn to the life and feelings of a private person. Reason and rationalism recede into the background. It turns out that depicting the life of a simple person, a commoner, is just as valuable as depicting grandiose historical events. It turns out that “even peasant women know how to love” - this is the conclusion Karamzin makes in the story “Poor Liza,” but before, writers had never addressed the fate and feelings of a common man.
Rice. 1. Karamzin. "Poor Lisa"
The main place in the ideas of sentimentalists is occupied by feelings and sensitivity. Therefore, the principle of sensitivity forms the basis of the creative method of writers. They are interested in specific people with individual destinies. The heroes of sentimentalism are clearly divided into negative and positive, and precisely from the point of view of their ability to feel. The first, accordingly, includes sensitive ones, capable of true feeling, the second - insensitive heroes, either incapable of true feeling, or ready to betray it at any moment.
Russian sentimentalism is a direction that completes the development of literature of the 18th century and prepares for the advent of another literary era, the advent of the “golden age” in Russian poetry and prose, the advent of Griboyedov and Pushkin, Lermontov and Gogol, as well as many other outstanding figures of the early 19th century.
The story “Poor Liza” by N. M. Karamzin, written in 1792, became the first sentimental story in Russian literature.
