Topic > Analysis of the Transition from Romanticism to Realism in Art

At the end of the 18th century, a movement known as the Romantic Era spread throughout the world. The works of authors, artists and musicians have been influenced by emotions and imagination. Characters in literature in that time period depend on the large scale of impulses that guide them in their decisions. Whether it was a logical choice or not, they followed their hearts. The image created by Romanticism was a perfect and unrealistic lifestyle due to the adoration of the beauty of nature and human emotions. Although some romantic works have ended in tragedy, this is due to the emotions we have the power to feel. Romanticism promoted the idea that people would follow their hearts. However, all this gradually ended towards the middle of the 19th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Queen Victoria's reign began in 1937 and began to undergo numerous changes. Along with a new rule, came a new movement. This new era produced the Victorian period and coincided with realism. The realism movement was "a reaction against romantic and classical idealization and a rejection of classical academic subjects." Therefore, realistic views have become the focal point in works abroad. Music and literature have become less romantic and more logical. Music in Russia was more nationally based than in the past, and literature throughout the world promoted the new ways of thinking that flourished. Instead of focusing on Romantic-era issues, such as love, the focus was on everyday life and rational thought. Due to the shift from romanticism to realism, the literature and music of multiple different cultures became more logical instead of emotionally involved. Since the beginning of realism, literature has become more of a challenge to the previous era. “The Romantics valued creative imagination as a motif for inspired literature and as a potential means of completely reorienting human culture.” The royalists were almost the opposite; It highlights the importance of truth at home and in society. As an effect of dramatic changes in thinking, literature tended to convey the transformation of thought processes. It was demonstrated by comparing some of the characters' logical actions to the other characters' illogical behaviors. The characters present in the works obviously differ from the others in clearly representing the realists and the romantics. Some realistic opinions are extraordinarily strong opinions on emotional issues. Romantics trusted love, even when it wasn't a positive quality. Therefore, unlike romantics, realists avoided love because they were more concerned about their lives. The realistic characters cheekily point out and mock the silly forms of the romantic, exactly as he was doing in this time period. When addressing problems with realistic and relatable situations, Henrik Ibsen was one of the authors who showed characters with opposing thoughts. His plays speak to numerous controversial issues that existed during that time period, but were frowned upon. By writing about these issues in a pragmatic manner, he sought to open society's minds to such issues. At first his works were rejected, but over time they were praised much more. A dollhouse, for example, was an exaggeration in the way of thinking about the Victorian era. The idea of ​​a woman taking control and not being obedient to her wives was not acceptable. However, Ibsen raises the question nonchalantly, but with an opennesssymbolism. “His characteristic metaphors of corruption and contagion, along with the hangover violence in his works, informed by the turmoil of nineteenth-century Europe, maintain their relevance” (Klein). Several lessons can be learned from Ibsen's work. In A Doll's House, it is clear that Nora's husband treats her like a doll or even a dollgirl. The husband's role was to provide, while the wife's role was to raise the children. When Nora overstepped her limits by helping her husband financially, Torvald became angry. When Nora realizes that only a submissive life is confined to her house, she closes the door and leaves everything behind (A Doll's House). In this period every woman was like Nora, a victim of the mentality of Victorian society. There is no understanding between a man and a woman; They could perceive each other as equals. Although Nora was happy with her life at first, she realized the importance of being someone. Similarly to Nora, Mrs. Alving de Ghosts, who was silent and submissive throughout her husband's life, slowly came to the same conclusion as Nora; A better life awaits them as long as they are honest with themselves. They took action by taking control of their lives and became an example for women around the world. Hedda Gabler, another of Ibsen's plays, has become another source of inspiration for women. Gabler was a strong, independent woman who gave in to the norms of her society. Even though he could have managed his life on his own, he decided to marry by social agreement. As unhappy as he was, he manipulated everyone around him just to calm his boredom. This was unthinkable even in Victorian times. Men were supposed to have the power, but Gabler was in control while her husband looked at her with such adoration. It was as if gender roles had changed in this work. Ibsen mentioned the growing social problems related to gender roles throughout his works. He expressed the flaws that the company had along with the solution of leaving that situation. Nora left her husband; Mrs. Alving has learned to be honest; Gabler committed suicide. These solutions, of course, are extreme, but they teach that no one should put up with them. A realistic man without much controversy was John Millington Synge. During this time period, his work, Riders to the Sea, was not as controversial as his other literary works. However, different perspectives, such as character visualization, are applicable in this situation. Having lost so many men at sea, Maurya did not expect more men to return to face the sea. However, the priest naively thought that his son would return home alive. Maurya's daughters tried to remain optimistic, but they knew what was coming. 'Bartley's death becomes a symbol of the death of all men, just as the sea becomes a symbol of a relentless mortality that makes existence meaningless and the Christian faith (represented by the young priest of the work) is irrelevant'. Therefore, this game challenges multiple issues that people had previously acquired. In the past, a priest was considered omniscient and everyone believed him. However, as time passed, the public began to realize that priests are not always right. Synge taught that life depends on how individuals perceive it. Pleasure and well-being can come from the angle from which you look at the situation. For some people it seems that it is easier to think that a man lost at sea is alive. Other people might be calmer knowing that the man is not alive and suffering. During this time period, women very often found themselves in this situation because of the men in their livesthey needed exercise at sea. While most people aren't necessarily in this exact situation today, the lesson on perception can be applied to most situations. Some people may define perceptions as negativity and positivity, but ultimately perception must be determined by the benefits it provides. Another author who contributed to the literature of realism was Anton Chekhov. However, he took different approaches to his works. He treated the issues "from a sadly comic perspective". Chekhov focused on characters more than anything else. In The Cherry Orchard, his characters represented the romantics and realists. He also belonged to the groups that were coming to power at that time. For example, social classes were changing in Russia during the realism movement. The middle class was growing while the aristocrats began to lose their wealth. Royalists were waking up to the fact that working and earning money could get them somewhere. Lopakhin was the perfect example of this; He worked hard and profited from his expenses until he had no money to spend. However, as a realist, he still tried to help others not to lose their life's work. Meanwhile, the Romantics and upper classes, like Lubov, were losing everything they owned. They were given solutions, but rejected due to their pride. As the realist era swept the world, the mentality was adapting to survive. People were forced to have a more open mind to be successful, and the characters in The Cherry Orchard began to realize this. It was becoming common in society to observe people struggling in desperate social situations, and that is exactly what Chekhov was trying to portray. Similar to the transitions of time periods, the Romantics were losing power as the Royalists rose to power. It seemed like all the characters already had a destiny that they were destined to live. Modern thought has taken over literary works, as well as real life. Literature was not the only form of humanities influenced by the realism movement. In Russia, music has also changed radically. “After the Revolution, popular musical expression was controlled to remain accessible to the masses and ideologically acceptable. "Massive singing" developed, and secular marches and hymns remained prominent. In other words, Russian music became more patriotic. In most cases, nationalism was more evident. in popular music (Stapleton-Corcoran). Surprisingly, it was amateur composers who began writing nationalist music that appealed to the masses. However, other composers still wrote music in the Romantic genre. The taste for music began to expand to a variety of genres except jazz, tango and foxtrot, which were considered inappropriate. In the 1920s, during the realism movement, opera was just beginning to flourish. Today, Russian opera is becoming popular again. Other forms of the humanities have also undergone significant changes. Philosophies and scientific discoveries were made. 'Scientific realism' affirms the existence of numerous observable and unobservable entities of which it claims to be able to give the best representations. “Since the Middle Ages, realism has been opposed to idealism. Here realism means that reality exists independently of ideas about it in the mind, and idealism represents the view that we cannot know anything that is not in our mind.” Realism in philosophy concerns questions that are not yet understood. Plato and Aristotle were now outdated and the philosophers were busy.