Genre is historical. Historical genre in literature

Just like a historian, a writer can recreate the appearance and events of the past, although artistic reproduction of them, of course, differs from the scientific one. The author, relying on the data of history, includes in his works also creative fiction - he depicts what could be, and not just what was in reality.

The best works that represent the historical genre have not only an aesthetic value, but also a historical and cognitive value. Fiction can draw a complete image of a bygone era, reveal ideology, social activity, psyche, everyday life in living images. Historical and everyday genres are closely related, because life is part of history. Consider the history of the formation of historical genres in literature.

Historical Adventures

Not any work describing events of the past, seeks to recreate them as they were in reality. Sometimes this is only a material for colorful paintings, an acute plot, a special color - exotic, sublime, etc. This is characterized by historical adventures (for example, the works of A. Dumas "Ascanio", "Herminia", "Black", "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Corsican Brothers" and others). Their main task is to create an entertaining story.

The emergence of a historical genre

Art historical literature began to take shape towards the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. At this time, a historical novel is created - a special genre, which sets a goal to directly depict the life of past epochs. He (like the later historical drama) is radically different from works devoted to the events of previous eras. Art historical literature begins to take shape in connection with a significant change in historical knowledge, that is, the process of its formation as a science. It is through this that these types of genres appear.

The first authors who created in new genres

The first writer, who began to create works of interest to us, is V. Scott. Prior to this, I. Goethe and F. Schiller, great German writers, contributed to the development of literature . In the works of the first historical drama is represented by works "Egmont" (1788) and "Gets von Berlichingen" (1773). The second created "Wallenstein" (1798-1799), "William Tell" in 1804, and "Maria Stewart" in 1801. However, the real frontier was precisely the work of Walter Scott, who is considered the ancestor of the genre of the historical novel.

He owns a whole series of works depicting the period of the Crusades (Richard the Lionheart, Ivanhoe, Robert, the Earl of Paris), as well as the formation of national monarchies in Europe (Quentin Durward), the bourgeois revolution in England (the " Woodstock, Puritans), the crash in Scotland of the clan system (Rob Roy, Waverley), and others. For the first time in his works, the writer's re-creation of the past is based on the study of historical sources (while the artist used to be limited to playing General course of events And the most characteristic features of past figures). The work of this writer had an impact on the further development that various kinds of genres underwent.

Many classical writers turn to historical themes. These include V. Hugo, whose pen belongs to various books. Historical novels created by this author - "Cromwell", "Ninety-third year", "Notre Dame de Paris" and others.

This topic interested in A. de Vigny ("Saint-Mar"), Manzoni, who created in 1827, "Betrothed", as well as F. Cooper, M. Zagoskin, I. Lazhechnikov and others.

Features of works created by romantics

The historical genre, represented by works of romantics, does not always have historical value. This is hampered by a subjective treatment of events, and the replacement of actual social conflicts by the struggle between good and evil. Most often, the main characters of novels are only the embodiment of the writer's ideal (for example, Esmeralda in the work of Hugo), and not specific historical types. In many ways, the political convictions of the creator are also affected. So, A. de Vigny, who sympathized with the aristocracy, the program hero of his work made a representative of the so-called feudal fronts.

Realistic direction

But do not evaluate the merits of these works in terms of historical reliability. For example, Hugo's novels have tremendous emotional power of impact. However, an important stage in the further development of the historical genre in the literature of the 19th century was associated with the victory of realistic principles in it. Realistic works began to depict social characters, the role of the people in the historical process, penetration into the complex process of the struggle of the various forces participating in it. These aesthetic moments were in many ways prepared by the school of Walter Scott ("Jacquerie" Merimee, "Shuan" Balzac). Genre historical in realistic refraction in Russia won in the works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin ("Arap of Peter the Great," "Boris Godunov," "Captain's Daughter").

Deepening the psychological analysis

In the 19th century, in the 1930s and 1940s, a deepening in the works of psychological analysis (for example, the image of Waterloo in the work "Parma's Mansion" by Stendhal) became new. The top of the historical genre in the 19th century is the epic "War and Peace" by Tolstoy LN. In this work, historicism manifests itself in the creation of various historical types, a large-scale comprehension of the course of history, as well as in accurately conveying the everyday, social, linguistic, psychological and ideological features of the depicted Time.

Historical genre in the middle of the 19th century

In the middle of the 19th century, after numerous achievements of a realistic school, the most outstanding of which were raised on historical material by the fate of the nation and the people's life, there is a regression in the further development of artistic historical literature. This is due mainly to the general tendency of bourgeois ideology to intensify reactionary forces in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and also with an increasingly strong departure from the historicism of social thought. Modernize the history of the authors of various historical novels. For example, A. Frans in his 1912 work "Gods Thirst", dedicated to the period of the French Revolution, holds the idea that humanity in its development is marking time.

The so-called symbolic literature is widely spread, claiming at times for a deep understanding of the historical process, but in reality it creates only subjective constructions that have a mystical character. Examples can be given the following: created in 1901 by A. Schnitzler's work "Coverlet of Beatrice", in 1908, by Merezhkovsky, - "Paul I" and "Alexander I".

Historical genre in the East

In some countries of Eastern Europe, on the contrary, at this time, acquires a great public sound and importance of the historical genre. This is due to the fact that in this period the liberation struggle began in these states. Sometimes historical literature acquires a romantic character. For example, in the works of G. Sienkiewicz, the Polish novelist: "The Flood", "Fire and Sword", "Kamo Gyodeshi", "Pan Volodyevsky", "Crusaders".

In many countries of the East, the national liberation movement was the basis for the formation of the historical novel. In India, for example, its creator is B.Ch. Chottopadhay.

The development of the genre after the October Revolution

In Western Europe, after the October Revolution, a new round of development of the historical realistic novel begins. It allowed Western realists to write a series of works that are outstanding examples of artistic historical literature. The appeal to the past at the same time was associated with the need to protect traditions and cultural heritage, with speeches against the fascists of the writers-humanists. For example, it was written in 1939 by T. Mann's novel "Lotta in Weimar", numerous novels by Feuchtwanger. These differing democratic, humanistic orientation, closely associated with modern art, are characterized at the same time by the painstaking work of the author over various historical sources. But in them there is sometimes an imprint of concepts characteristic of historical bourgeois science. For example, Feuchtwanger sometimes has an idea of the progress of history as a struggle between inertia and reason, the role of the people is also underestimated in him, subjectivism sometimes appears.

Socialist Realism

A new stage is connected with socialist realism, in which the historical genre enters literature. His philosophy claimed that historical being is the collective creativity of the people, therefore literature at that time had all the conditions for development, relying on the principles of historicism. On this path she achieved outstanding results. The most important themes were the image of significant, critical epochs. Characteristic of the historical literature of that time was the desire for greater generalizations, epic. An example is the novel "Peter I" by AN Tolstoy, depicting the image of this ruler, but at the same time narrating about the destinies of the people of our country in a critical period of development.

The most important themes of Soviet literature were the struggle against the monarchy, the fate of advanced culture in tsarist Russia, as well as the period of preparation for the revolution and a description of it. To the great extent historical literature belongs to the work "The Life of Klim Samgin", created by M. Gorky , M. A Sholokhov - "Quiet Flows the Don", A.N. Tolstoy - "Walking on the agony" and others.

Today, a historical detective-a genre represented in the works of Boris Akunin, Umberto Eko, Agatha Christie, Alexander Bushkov and other authors, is becoming very popular.