The Armenians have for a long time had a rich history of written and oral literature. However, the effect of the European interest in oral literature and folklore in the 19th century played a great role in initiating a new movement of writers whose main interests were centered on the collection of stories, myths, songs, and oral epic poems. The period from1843-1848 saw bright Armenian students being sent off to European universities mainly in France to complete their education. Additionally, the genocide in 1915 wiped out a great proportion of the Armenian writers at the time and this was followed by a great period of silence (Freedman 22). After this period of silence, a new wave of writing came to be and this was greatly influenced by the western European literary trends. Poetry, theatre, music and art experienced a great upsurge as a result (Bardakjian 34). To date, most of the Armenian literature has been influenced greatly by the literary movements and styles that are common with the Europeans. This paper seeks detailed insight on the western European literary trends on the literary works in Armenia.
The dominant paradigm of novel writing mostly after the 19th century was gradually transitioning to that of realism. Most of the great novelist in Armenia had gone through schools in Europe and this is greatly manifested through their new approach of character and subject matter. The writers paid great attention to detail in an effort to bring out the real experience of the circumstances surrounding the given situation. In the past, the novel would just reflect what happens without commenting or sounding judgmental. This is mostly brought out by realist writers mostly in the writing of poems (Freedman 31). At the beginning of the 20th century, the Armenian culture came to a complete turning point. The future of writing as exhibited through the literary works depended greatly on the recognition of its roots and the ability to express them in a new way through a modern style of writing.
Some of the notable realist writers were Daniel Varoujan who wrote poems that encouraged criticism and encouraged populism. The author was interested in bringing out the realist representation of life by highlighting almost everything that people wanted to know. The poems focused on the main events rather than the plot and this helps in bringing out the real tribulations surrounding human beings. The poem titled Coming Home expressed the joy and anxiety associated with the relief of going back home after a while. It realistically explains the true feeling and the deep desire to be comfortably home. Another poem is that titled The Red Soil which highlights the deep pain and anguish associated with losing innocent lives. He tries to express the anguish and the pain by stating how the soil has been a sponge of wound to highlight the extent of the bloodshed (Bardakjian 51).
The concept of romanticism has been adopted and used by most of the Armenian writers. The incidents that occurred in Armenia from 1915-1916 inspired so many Armenian writers to express their views about them through their literary works. Most of the works were written by Armenian historians who were inclined to describe the events that marked the genocide. The form of writing that was mostly used to describe this period is one that had a strong emotional inclination to the point where it even become difficult for the neutral view of history to prevail. Most of the authors’ views were based on the notion of individualism, patriotism, philosophical idealism, reverence of nature and a cultivation of emotion and sensation. Generally, all of these notions are based on the concept of romanticism.
The revivalist authors such as Vahan Takeyan’s writings were influenced by his life in Constantinople were greatly identical to that of the romanticists of Europe (Freedman 22). Zabel Yesayan is one such writer whose works bring out the emotions, pain and suffering that people had to go through during the genocide. Around that time, she wrote The Death Pangs of a Nation and The Testimony of a Genocide Survivor highlight the main events from a romantic point of view due to the fact that it cultivates one’s emotion and sensations. This kind of writing was synonymous with the western writers at the time who would express their thoughts through romantic poems (Freedman 29).
Vahan Takeyan is one of the Armenian poets whose works were greatly influenced by a major western trend of romanticism. By looking at his works, it becomes clear that he set himself up to answer three main questions. That is, why he is here, what he must do, and what he should hope for. The solution to these questions is that he is here to love, he is called upon to suffer and he can hope to protest, to write and to dream. One of his poems titled To the Armenian Nation, talks of giving himself to the nation and asks her to forgive him. This shows his deepest emotions of love and patriotism to his country. Tekeyan also wrote poems in which he expressed great bitterness mainly motivated by his experience of the Turkish executions. One of his bitterest poem titled Let us Swear he comforts people by telling them that God will someday offer them a comfortable place to amend their pain. Some of his poems also express his constant renewal of spirit through contact with the worldly things such as the sun and the sea (Freedman 37).
The concept of realism has also been embraced by Armenian poets’ like Daniel Varoujan who is considered to be among the founders of realism of modern literary works taken up by Armenians over the years. He revolutionized the style of writing in the country and gained confidence from his readers since he expressed his thoughts in an honest manner without shame. Realist writers mainly focus on giving their honest opinions and criticizing the events in a given situation. This is different from the concept of narrating just for the purpose of informing. Most of his works were written in the form of poems that addressed the social issues, the war and the loss of life. The poem titled Coming Home verbalizes the hope of the Armenians and their aspirations as they waited to be delivered from oppression. Another great poem that his wrote was that titled The Red Soil. Through this he brings out the real image of the effects of war and the loss of lives as expressed through the sad, silent and dilated stare from his pupils. Reading this helps one to have a real image of the events that may have led to the situation (Bardakjian 76). This is the concept on which realism is based.
Generally, the Armenian literary history has evolved over the years and this has been attributed to the experience of the writers in the European nations mostly through schooling. The most notable of these writers spent part of their lives in European nations like France and this has mainly influenced the literary works that they produced later on in their lives. The concept of romanticism which is synonymous with European writers was embraced by writers such as Zapel Yesayan and Bedros Tourian who wrote poems that brought out the emotions of the readers. Their poems also highlighted their respect for nature and their true love for their country. All these concepts are adopted from the literary works in European countries. Another generation of writers came up a while later and their style was that of realism. These people were not afraid to point out the real issues by commenting or criticizing the cruel acts that were leveled against the people during the time. Their focus was not only on telling the story. Rather, they wanted people to identify with the situations in their story. One such poet that stood out in addressing the issues and the aftermath of such issues in a realist manner is Daniel Varuoujan. The symbolism, imagery and irony used in describing these events help one to create an image of what happened at the time. Through this he boldly pens down his honest opinion of the facts surrounding the issue rather than just giving an account of what happened.
Works Cited
Freedman, Jeri. The Armenian Genocide. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2009. Print.
Bardakjian, Kevork B. A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature, 1500-1920. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000. Print.
