Realism in the context of literature represents a style of writing as well as a period of time, i.e. between 1865 and 1910. Realism, as the name suggests, simply meant that novelists were supposed to keep their attention to details and try as much as possible to portray the nature of the real world or events in it as they were (Katherine Godin). Realism was simply summarized as verisimilitude, the “on the face” quality of realistic literature as being real or in close resemblance to the reality, truth or fact; or “the faithful representation of reality” (Josh Rahn). Amongst the realists, there was a belief that the function of any piece of work was to depict the real events without adjustments like an author’s judgment or comments. Realism emerged in response to romanticism which also describes a style of writing, as well as marking a period of time, from 1830 to 1865. The term can hence be properly understood by comparing and contrasting it to romanticism. Realism’s description of events and characters were knowledge based or resulted from some experience, this is contrary to romanticism which was majorly inspired by an author’s imaginations. Characterization in realism portrayed human beings or animals in their actual complexity of motive and temperament (Josh Rahn); they are comprehensible relating to nature, to their social settings, to their past lives and to each other. Romanticism on the other side maintained a style of characterization that categorized characters, for example, to be either villains and heroes, or underdogs and oppressors. Realism also centered on an urban setting and was time specific contrary to romanticism which dwelt on rural settings which were of domestic and idealized.
Works Cited
Josh Rahn. "Realism." The Literature Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2016.
Katherine Godin. "The Literary Realism Movement: A Response to Romanticism." Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 July 2016.
