Naturalism (literature)  

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Naturalism is a movement in theater, film, and literature that seeks to capture a believable everyday reality "warts and all" and in doing so often portrays the darker side of human nature.

Naturalism originated as a French movement in literature, the naturalistic writers being purportedly influenced by Darwinism and the ideas of Hippolyte Taine. They believed that one's heredity and social environment decide one's character. Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces (i.e. the environment or heredity) influencing these subjects' actions. They are both opposed to romanticism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment.

Émile Zola wrote the manifesto of naturalism in his 1880 essay Le Roman expérimental (Eng: The experimental novel). Zola's works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism which exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, prejudice, disease, prostitution, filth, etc. They were often very pessimistic and frequently criticized for being too blunt.

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Literature

As in film, naturalism is the general style, although the flexibility and amorphous quality of prose, as opposed to the concrete visual imagery of film, has allowed for a great number of other forms. In this context, naturalism is the outgrowth of Realism, a prominent literary movement in late 19th-century France and elsewhere.

Naturalistic writers were influenced by the evolution theory of Charles Darwin. They believed that one's heredity and social environment decide one's character. Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces (i.e. the environment or heredity) influencing these subjects' actions. They are both opposed to romanticism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter. For example, Émile Zola's works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, prejudice, disease, prostitution, filth, etc. They were often very pessimistic and frequently criticized for being too blunt.

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United States

American Naturalism

In the United States, the genre is associated principally with writers such as Jack London, Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Theodore Dreiser. The term naturalism operates primarily in counter distinction to realism, particularly the mode of realism codified in the 1870s and 1880s, and associated with William Dean Howells and Henry James.

Theatre

See Naturalism (theatre)

In theatre, naturalism developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that tries to create a perfect illusion of reality through detailed sets, an unpoetic literary style that reflects the way real people speak, and a style of acting that tries to recreate reality (often by seeking complete identification with the role, as advocated by Stanislavski).

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Naturalism (literature)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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