Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890
Definitions
Broadly defined as
"the faithful representation of reality,"
realism is
a literary technique
practiced by
many schools of writing. Although strictly
speaking,
realism is a
technique, it also denotes
a particular kind
of subject matter, especially the
representation
of
middle-class life. A reaction
against romanticism,
an interest in scientific
method,
the systematizing of
the study of documentary history,
and the influence
of
rational philosophy
all affected the rise
of realism.
According to William Harmon and
Hugh
Holman,
"Where romanticists transcend the
immediate to find
the ideal,
realists center their attention
to a remarkable
degree on the immediate, the
here and now
and the
specific action.
In American literature, the term
"realism"
encompasses
the period of time from
the Civil War
to the turn of the century during which
William
Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis,
Henry James,
Mark Twain, and
others wrote fiction devoted to
accurate representation and an exploration of
American lives in various contexts. As the United
States grew rapidly after
the Civil War,
the increasing
rates of democracy and literacy, the rapid
growth
in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding
population base due to
immigration, and a relative
rise in middle-class affluence provided a fertile
literary environment for readers interested in
understanding these rapid
shifts in culture.
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