German literature in the late 19th - early 20th century. German literature of the 20th century

The period from 1917 to 1945 in Germany was marked by upheavals that she had not known since the Thirty Years' War - defeat in two world wars, the rise to power and the collapse of fascism. And at the same time, these are the years of rise public consciousness- the victory of the revolution on November 9, 1918, the creation of the "Union of Spartacus" by the left social democrats, which became the basis of the Communist Party of Germany, which was formed in 1919. Tension and tragedy public life Germany during the period of the Weimar Republic and the fascist dictatorship, the growth of the public consciousness of the intelligentsia gave rise to a special social and political activity German literature, its philosophical and intellectual orientation.

Acute contradictions in art, which were reflected, in particular, in the development of expressionism, which was divided into the right, grouped around the Shturm magazine, and the left, whose organ was Akktion, is the result of a sharp demarcation of political forces in the country. Expressionism arose as a reaction to naturalism with its description; it relied on the idealistic philosophy of Bergson and Husserl. The left wing - "activists" - set as its task the spiritual renewal of society, the creation of a "new man". Their aesthetics, which demanded vivid depiction, generalization, ecstasy and grotesqueness, merged with political demands to actively intervene in social events, but their program was vague. Many of the "activists" united their creative destiny with the proletariat. Among the leftist expressionists, the playwrights V. Gazenklever (1890-1940), E. Toller (1893-1939), the author of The Man-Mass, G. Kaiser (1878-1945), who wrote The Gas (1918), should be singled out. The emergence of expressionist dramaturgy reflected the need for intellectual sharpness, common to all literature of that time, caused by the crisis situation in the country.

During these years, there were no sites on which there were reviews of books, and it was then that poetry was born, filled with new political content, political poems were spoken at rallies. For political agitation, the works of E. Weinert, J. R. Becher, E. Mühsam (1878-1934) and others were used. Socialist realism literature was created, at the origins of which in Germany is the drama of F. Wolff "Sailors from Catarro" (1930), later - novels by L. Renn, A. Zegers, V. Bredel and others.

Intellectualism with a pronounced socialist content is already inherent in early work B. Brecht, who, like the playwright, criticized expressionism, but was not free from some of its influence. Dramaturgy and theatrical activity E. Piscator (1893-1966).

The revolutionary crisis of 1923 and the stabilization of capitalism led to the destruction of expressionism and the emergence of a style known as "new efficiency". Its essence was in a special attention to the fact, in the rejection of emotions and manifestos. He paid tribute to K. Tucholsky, who in his poetry spoke out against fascism, against militarism.

In the 20-30s. the realistic novel - philosophical (" magic mountain"T. Mann, 1924), political ("Head" by G. Mann), socially critical with elements of utopia ("City of Anatole" by B. Kellerman, 1932), historical (novels by L. Feuchtwanger), social (novels by A. Zegers "Rise of the Fishermen", 1928; "Companions", 1932), etc. The pathos of time, the desire to understand the "new man", to comprehend modern reality lead to complicated psychologization in novels, to the emergence of a novel-myth, a novel-parabola.

Literature became a characteristic phenomenon of the time. lost generation”, reflecting the hatred of the war and the futility of the situation of young people who returned home after the end of the First World War and found themselves overboard. Most prominent representative E. M. Remarque became here. In his later novels, the anti-fascist theme is increasingly heard.

The problem of fascism in literature arises even before the victory of Hitler in 1933. The books of E. Junger, G. Grimm, the former expressionist G. Post - theorist of fascist art preach the ideas of war and blood, movement to the east to conquer "living space", create a mystical image German, in which the main idea is blood community, chosenness, etc., often based on the ideas of Nietzsche. These ideas were opposed by the works of G. Hauptmann ("Before Sunset", 1932), L. Feuchtwanger ("Success", 1930), F. Wolf ("Professor Mamlock", 1934), V. Bredel ("Test", 1935) , later - "Doctor Faustus" (1947) by T. Mann.

After the seizure of power by the Nazis, most of the writers who had not yet been published in the electronic version of the book emigrated from Germany; The communist writers E. Weinert and V. Bredel were at the head of the anti-fascist literature of the emigrants. V. Bredel, L. Renn and others ended up in the dungeons of fascism. Many German writers were killed in fascist prisons and concentration camps. Only with the victory in World War II did anti-fascist writers herald the revival of German literature of the new, post-war period.

In the 2nd half of the 19th - early 20th century. continued development of realism. Realism does not disassociate itself from aesthetic quests, it strives - often in obvious interaction with other artistic phenomena - for analyticity, voluminousness in the view of reality, for its adequate artistic image. New forms of artistic embodiment of reality appear, the range of topics and problems expands. So, if in realistic works 19th century the social and domestic beginning prevailed, then at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. it begins to be replaced by philosophical-intellectual, spiritual-personal issues.

A special place among the artistic phenomena of the 2nd half of XIX- early 20th century occupies neo-romanticism. Rejection of reality; a strong personality, often lonely, guided in his activities by altruistic ideals; acuteness of ethical problems; maximalism and romanticization of feeling, passion; tension of plot situations; the priority of the expressive beginning over the descriptive, the emotional over the rational; active appeal to the events of the past, legends and traditions, fantasy, grotesque, exotic, cultivation of adventurous and adventurous and detective stories- characteristic features of neo-romanticism, which reached its culmination in the 90s of the XIX century.

Second half of the 19th - early 20th century. - a rather short period in comparison with some previous historical and cultural epochs, sometimes spanning more than one century. Nevertheless, it is quite comparable with these and other stages. cultural development humanity, for he has included whole line events of world significance and was marked outstanding achievements in the art of different countries.

The causes, meaning and scale of the crisis experienced by human consciousness in that period were substantiated by many philosophers. The works of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer were widely spread. Under the influence of A. Schopenhauer, philosophical views Friedrich Nietzsche, who a huge impact on the art of the word at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. The impact on the literary and artistic world was also very significant, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, French philosopher Henri Bergson, the creator of intuitionism - the doctrine of intuition as the main way of knowing the essence of life, and the Austrian psychiatrist, author of the theory and method of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. Bergson's views served as one of the starting points for the symbolists, and later for representatives of various avant-garde movements. Freud's psychoanalytic theory stimulated a deeply innovative approach not only to many specific sciences, but also to mythology, religion, painting, literature, aesthetics, and ethnography.

It was at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, when there was a rethinking of spiritual and aesthetic values ​​and the old beliefs collapsed. This whole period is characterized by the broadest experimentation, when many writers became the prey of one or another literary hobby. German naturalism had predecessors in France and Scandinavia. According to the then philosophical and natural-science theories, the personality was determined by heredity and environment. The humanist writer was now primarily interested in the ugly reality industrial society, with its unresolved social problems. The most typical naturalist poet was A. Holz (1863–1929); there were no bright discoveries in the field of the novel. However, the clashes of heterogeneous characters, whose lack of freedom was aggravated by determinism, contributed to the emergence of a number of dramatic works Hauptmann, who began as a naturalist and steadily expanded the scope of his work, up to classicism (plays on ancient subjects), in which he is quite comparable with Goethe, provided enduring literary value to his works. The diversity inherent in Hauptmann's dramas is also found in his narrative prose. With the advent pioneering work Freud shifted the center of gravity in literature from social conflicts to a more subjective exploration of the individual's reactions to his environment and himself. In 1901, A. Schnitzler (1862-1931) published the story Lieutenant Gustl, written in the form of an internal monologue, and a number of impressionistic theatrical sketches, where subtle psychological observations and pictures of degradation are fused. metropolitan society(Anatole, 1893; Horovod, 1900). The pinnacle of poetic achievements is the work of D. Lilienkron (1844-1909) and R. Demel (1863-1920), who created a new poetic language that can vividly express lyrical experience. Hoffmannsthal, combining the style of impressionism with the Austrian and pan-European literary tradition, created unusually deep poems and several poetic plays (The Fool and Death, 1893). No less significant achievements took place in prose. T. Mann is the most prominent representative of a galaxy of writers, among whom was his older brother G. Mann (1871–1950), known for his satirical and political novels.

Subject: Second half of the 20th century.

post-war Europe. The mood is appropriate. Feelings of crisis and disintegration, confrontation deepen. All this "happiness" comes to literature.

Neoavant-garde- First of all, the ideas of the avant-garde artists of the beginning of the century were taken. The idea of ​​rebellion, the process, comes to the fore. The idea of ​​the absurd is being adopted. Opposition to the laws and norms that exist in society. Everywhere they added "anti" - "anti-roman" ("new novel").

"Anti-romance" - " New romance"- a predominantly French phenomenon, writers opposed the presence of a plot, against characters, against psychological motivation. Description, detailed attention to detail came to the fore. Fixation, statement of facts. Alain Rob Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor.

· "Anti-poetry" - "concrete poetry". Originates in Germany. He sets himself the task of removing moralizing and moralizing from poetry. They create “subjectless” poetry. No position of the author. It was divided into "visual" and "auditory" - the visual had to be seen exactly how it was printed. Ernst Young, Eugen Gonringer, Joachim Richhert, Rudolf Otto Wiemer.

· "Antidrama" - "the theater of the absurd". The immediate forerunner is called Jean Genet. The first prehistory was his play The Maids, 1947. But the actual history of the theater of the absurd is associated with Eugene Eonesco and Samuel Beckett. A kind of "pessimistic" response to life after the war. "To say in words that mean nothing, about things that can't be said." It is based on the idea that the world is on the verge of collapse. Main features: shows not life, but the appearance of life, its illusion. The action is replaced by the process of speaking. Most of the action takes place in a closed space. The presence of walls - emphasizes the limitations of norms and laws. The first example is Eugene Eonesco, "The Bald Singer" (in the process of "communication" people do not hear each other). Beckett came to the fore with the idea of ​​loneliness, when there is a need for communication, but there is no way to realize it. The most famous "Waiting for Godot". Also "The Sound of Footsteps", "Rhinos", "Oh Beautiful Days".

After 68 years.

Europe was shaken by a wave of student riots. After the 60s, European society also changes, there is a “ mass society" ("consumer society"). The split of literature into elitist and mass.

In literature, "everything has already happened." This is where the phenomenon of postmodernism comes from.

Postmodernism“The world is a text.” Postmodernists create their "new" texts from pieces of old ones. Mixing different lexical levels. Quoting - plots, characters, writing style + direct quoting.

Topic: German literature of the first half of the 20th century.

First and main feature German literature was greatly influenced by various historical and political events.

The countdown to the 20th century is from 1871. Year of the proclamation of the German Empire.

Since that time, a split in literature begins. On "pleasing" and "objectionable" authors. Decadence was rather poorly represented in Germany. Naturalism and echoes of symbolism and impressionism developed here.

The most pronounced philosophical basis decadence - ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche.

At the turn of the century from avant-garde movements reaches a maximum impressionism.

But, the writers achieved the greatest achievements within the framework of realism. German literature of the beginning of the century - flourishing of prose, especially the novel.

By the end of the 1920s, 2 opposing camps were formed:

· "Writers of blood and soil" - "pleasing to the state." Adhered to and propagated the theory of purity Aryan race. True "Aryan" is possible only in rural areas.

· "Literature of asphalt" - the writers of this direction did not call themselves that.

1933 is a turning point. For Hitler comes to power.

May 10, 1933 - the day when central square Berlin, a fire was lit from "objectionable" books. At the same time, lists of objectionable authors are created - i.e. those who were subject to direct destruction. A wave of mass emigration began in the 1930s. Most often they went to France, Switzerland and the USA.

Heinrich Mann (1871-1950).

One of the greatest satirist writers of the 20th century. Social and political issues came to the fore in his works. His name became famous in 1900, after the novel " Country of kissel shores».

worldwide fame comes in 1905 appears the novel " Teacher Gnus or the End of a Tyrant". The text is sharp and problematic at the time. Initially, it was devoted to the problems of the German school system late 19th, early 20th century.

His success was further consolidated by the novel “ loyal subject". It was completed in 1914. This is the first part of the Mann trilogy, which was called " Empire". Two other parts: Poor», « Head". In fact, " loyal subject"- the continuation of" Teacher Gnus ", logical. GG - a man brought up in these rules. The novel itself became a kind of "bestseller" of the time. After the publication of this book, the government began to pay unhealthy attention to G. Mann. By the 30s, his name was "first on the list for destruction." In exile, he changes the genre - from satire he goes into a historical novel. First of all, they note: Youth of King Henry IV», « mature years King Henry IV».

Thomas Mann (1875-1955).

As he himself joked: he and his brother had a division of labor - G. Mann created satire; T. Mann - philosophical/psychological literature.

Founder of the "intellectual novel". First of all, in such a novel, the author refers to the past, but using the past as an example, he speaks about issues that are relevant for a contemporary. Such a novel has rich intellectual and philosophical problems: “What is good and evil?”, “Where does war come from?”. The hero of such a novel is a hero with a rich inner world, an intellectual hero. The main content of such a novel is not the action, but the reflections and conversations of the characters.

Before such works, T. Mann created a number of short stories, in 1901 he wrote the novel " Buddenbrooks". For this novel, in 1929 he will receive the Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel.

The first "intellectual" novel - " magic mountain". 1924. The main content is conversations with patients.

The second "intellectual" sample: a cycle of 4 novels " Joseph and his brothers". Based on the biblical legend.

Often, the pinnacle of his novels is called " Doctor Faustus". Written in 1947. The basis is not the tragedy of Goethe, but a medieval legend, because the legend unambiguously condemns Faust.

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962).

The author was greatly influenced by his childhood. He was born in the south of Germany, in the most freedom-loving lands. Interested in the East. He escaped from the seminary without receiving a secondary education. But at the same time - one of the most educated writers of that time. Tried to kill himself several times. Passed several sessions of hypnosis "Just for lulz".

Those. – main ideas: philosophy of the East and introspection. In relation to his texts: "The way inside", "The way to yourself".

In 1919, his story " Demian". There was no name of G. Hess on the cover, the story was signed "Emil Sinclair" - by the name of GG. This work is considered the first global step in the development of "The Way into Yourself". It's about school, about growing up, about trying to commit suicide, about a collision with the adult world.

World fame brings the story " steppe wolf ". "Notes only for lunatics". Here another important idea appears - “the duality of the human soul”. GG says that 2 creatures coexist in it. For the youth of the 60s (the Hippie movement), this book will become virtually a cult.

Also famous for the novel Bead Game". Text that takes you to the future. Time - people stopped reading books, the top of the intellectual level - a crossword puzzle in the newspaper. And there is a "bead game" - a game with the values ​​of all worlds, cultures, sciences and peoples.

1946 - laureate Nobel Prize on literature.

Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970).

His real name is "Erich Paul Remarque", but he changes his second name in honor of his mother. Entered literature after the 1st World War. I went to war myself. This war came as a shock to him. He was wounded in the arm/leg/head. After recovering, he learns that his mother, whom he adored, died of cancer. He returns home, but his father has already married a second time and Remarque cannot find his place at home. Tried to "forget" in alcohol. But he finds another means - to write down all his experiences on paper. This is how his first work appears. On the western front no change". It is often called "the first true book about the war" (which Sasha would gladly argue with). Dirt of war, trenches, lice, torn off arms/legs. He wrote a novel for himself, but his friend persuaded him to take the manuscript to the publisher. And this brought Remarque both fame and money. Within the framework of this novel, he refers to the so-called "Literature of the Lost Generation". About young people who went through the first world war, and they either died in the war, or they are lost in life.

2 more novels are devoted to this topic: “ Return», « Three comrades».

Remarque was also interested in "love on the verge of death."

Remarque himself emigrated in the 30s, but before Hitler came to power. For with the proceeds, he simply went to Switzerland, because "because he could." But he set himself the goal of becoming a famous and rich writer. But he himself was tormented by self-loathing all his life.

Rushed from woman to woman, from country to country.

« Triumphal Arch », « Life in loans". Although the Germans themselves know it, study it, but do not like it.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

He wrote mainly parables and short stories. The most famous of them is "Transformation". He also wrote 3 unfinished novels: "America", "Process", "Castle".

In his work, Kafka followed the path of simplifying the plot and simplifying the language. But at the same time, his texts are very difficult to understand. He complicates his texts from novel to novel. From Kafka's point of view, a person is doomed to loneliness in the world.

Existentialism, surrealism and…

Bertolt Brecht (1887-1956).

He started as a poet in the 20s of the 20th century. The first verses were included in the collection "Home Sermons". In fact, his poems are parodies of the poems of Schiller and Goethe.

In the mid-20s, Brecht became a representative of the "left" art in Germany. He gets close to the communists, takes a lot of ideas from their movement. Many of his poems become "the anthem of the German workers." At the same time, Brecht turned to dramaturgy.

He became the creator epic theater". Those. from his point of view old theater' has completely outlived its usefulness. Brecht believed that one had to go to the theater in order to think. The theater should raise the most pressing problems of our time. A person, coming to the Brechtian theater, should never forget that everything he sees is a fake. The hero does not need to empathize. The task of the viewer is to understand the motives of behavior. At the end, the viewer should come to the conclusion: "The hero always has another way out."

To solve these problems, Brecht used a set of techniques. He himself staged plays, he himself was a director. First take:

The effect of "alienation". Brecht tried to show the object/plot from an unexpected angle.

· The action taking place on the stage does not always coincide with the plot of the play.

The use of insert songs. ("Zongov").

· Use of previously known stories.

Brecht used costumes and sets to a minimum (mustache, nameplates and scenery names)

The most famous: "Mother Courage and her children", "Caucasian chalk circle", " kind person from Sachuan", "Life of Gallileo".

Topic: German literature of the second half of the 20th century.

After World War II, Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany. Accordingly, the literature was "divided". The main stumbling block was the question "Who was to blame for the 2nd World War." The GDRites answered very simply - "Hitlar and his party are to blame and that's it."

FRGshtsy - "Every German is to some extent to blame," they didn’t think of it right away.

The split occurred in 1947, when the first congress of German writers took place, where the question “Whom to judge?” was raised.

GDR- everything is owl. Everything is communion-positive.

The leading figure was Anna Zegers. For a long time she headed the Union of Writers of the GDR. Her most famous novel was written before the war, The Seventh Cross.

Of those who were not pleased with the literature of the GDR, two are the following:

Johannes Bobrovsky.

The main theme of his work is the interaction of Germans and of Eastern Europe. Almost all the action takes place in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus.

2 novels: Levin's Mill, Lithuanian Glavirs.

Christo Wolf.

Psychological and historical-mythological prose. One of the most famous: "Cassandra". Later, she would write “honestly and openly” about what happened on the territory of the GDR.

Germany: the theme of "the past not overcome" became the leading theme. An attempt to understand the causes of the war, in its consequences.

Heinrich Bell. (1917-1985).

Started with the theme of the past. He tried to reveal, comparing the events of the present and the events of the past. 2 novels were created: "A house without a master", "Billiards at half past ten". In the 1950s and 1960s Böll became interested in the topic of the absurdity of life. Within the framework of this theme, he creates the novel Through the Eyes of a Clown. He does not introduce a new image of the “sad jester” in it, but it is thanks to Böll that the term “sad clown” enters the literature more fully.

At the end of Böll's life, the topic of violence will become more interesting. "The Desecrated Honor of Katharina Blum". 1972 - Blum wins the Nobel Prize.

Günther Grass. (1927-…).

It was he who was one of those who developed and started the themes of the Absurd, the Jester and clowning.

1959 - creates the novel "The Tin Drum".

With all his works, Grass tries to respond to actual problems modernity.

One of his last works: "My century". A text in which Grass tries to show the entire 20th century in 100 chapters. It was for this novel that he won the Nobel Prize.

Patrick Zyuskind (1949-…).

He is often referred to as the "phantom of literature". Not advertised and does not interact. The work with which he enters literature is the play "Double bass".

Also famous: the stories "The Dove", "The History of Mr. Sommer".

Benjamin Lebert (1982-…).

He rose to fame in 1999 when he released the novel Crazy. In addition, they came out: "Not a white crow", "You can ...".

Topic: French literature the first half of the 20th century.

The countdown of the 20th century is also conducted from the 70s of the 19th century. Peculiarity - at the turn of the century, it was France that determined literary processes , it was concentrated the largest number directions. Feature - struggle and interpenetration of these directions.

Directions: naturalism/impressionism/symbolism/realism.

Paul Verlaine (1844-1896).

During his lifetime, he received the title "Singer of Decline and Sorrow." A typical, flamboyant decadent poet. Initially, his work was dominated by impressionism.

Initially, Verlaine led a rather quiet life, until he met Arthur Rimbaud. Together with him he leaves to "wander around Europe." Actively writes at this time, is considered the "peak" of his work.

Their relationship ends tragically - Verlaine shoots Rimbaud and ends up in prison (1873).

In prison, Verlaine turns to religious themes. His poems of the subsequent period are as close as possible in form and content to prayer and sermon.

By the 90s, he becomes famous.

His best creations were included in the collection Songs / Romances without Words, published in 1847. In fact, his best impressionist poems are collected there. They are sometimes called "soul landscapes".

Fleeting moments, natural motifs. Emotional experiences that are reflected in these very landscapes / moments.

Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891).

It is considered the most-most French poet. His work is called "the gospel of every poet." His life has been a constant challenge/escape of sorts. Started writing at the age of 8, knew several languages. Often left home. Gradually, he created a poetic theory/setting for himself: “Poetry of Clairvoyance”. Later, as an adult, he will call this period of his life: "It's time for Hell." Those. - its entire peak is a period of 4 years: from 15 to 19 years. It was at this time that he creates his masterpieces.

Actually, in 1873 he published the collection "It's time in Hell". Rambo's poetry is primarily symbolism.

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893).

It is believed that Maupassant completes the realism of the 19th century and begins the realism of the 20th with his work. He was a student of Flaubert.

He became famous for his novels. A total of 16 collections of short stories and 6 novels have been released. Thanks to him, the short story has become a leading, popular genre.

Maupassant is a master of psychological prose. experiences and inner world hero. He is also called the "master of subtext."

Short stories about love prevail, but there are works about politics and religion.

The most famous short story is Pyshka.

His most famous novels are "Life", "Dear Friend". The best and most famous is "Life".

Literature of the early 20th century.

Avant-garde trends: France is the birthplace of surrealism.

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918).

His real name is "Wilhelm Albert Vladimir Apolinary Kostrovitsky". Never Belarusian. Born in Rome. He liked to emphasize his "chips" - Slavic roots, birth in Italy, life in Paris.

He gets to Paris at the age of 18, and, not being a Frenchman by origin, begins to rustle around full program. The first publications - 1901. In 1913, a collection of his poems "Alcohols" was published. In the foreground - love lyrics. Themes of rejected/unaccepted love. Top - "Ponte Mirabeau" - "the anthem of the rejected world." It was in this collection that Apollinaire completely abandoned the rejection of punctuation marks.

1918 2nd collection: “Calligrams. Poems of peace and war. Calligram - "poetry / drawings". Most famous: "The slaughtered dove and the fountain."

2/3 of his poems were published posthumously, only in the 50s.

Paul Eluard (1895-1952).

Eugene Grendel on the passport. He started as a surrealist poet, but was not a very bright adherent of all the chips in this direction. But his poetry is distinguished by the brightness of images. At the beginning of everything - unexpected image, bright, delusional.

Collections "City of Sorrow" "Love Poetry" "Life Itself" "Rose for All".

"Love Poetry" - the brightest.

Eluard is one of the brightest masters love lyrics. The best poems are dedicated to his wife.

In the 30s, Eluard departed from the traditions of surrealism and took a civil anti-fascist position. His most famous later poem is "Freedom".

In the French prose of this time, the main theme is "the clash of man and society", "the clash of culture and civilization".

Prose writers:

Henri Barbusse. He won fame for his anti-war writings. Most: the novel "Fire". Was approved in the Scoop.

Anatole Franz. One of the brightest realists. Grotesque parody philosophical novel"Penguin Island" The author discusses the history of France and Europe on the example of an island where penguins were endowed with reason.

Romain Rolland. Affirmed the heroic beginning. He was interested in the fate of creative people. 10-volume epic novel "Jean-Christophe". A novel about the composer's life, based on the life stories of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner. The novel Colas Breugnon.

André Gide. Addressed in his prose to moral problems. In his books he tried to resolve the conflict between the spiritual and the sensual. The novel "The Counterfeiters".

Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He was interested in questions of the meaning of life, the place of man in it. How to live in order to remain human. "Planet of Humans". ,

German literature in the late 19th - early 20th century

In the 70s years XIX in. profound changes took place in German social life. Instead of a number of small, semi-feudal states, the German Empire, united under the rule of the Prussian dynasty, with a rapidly developing industry, grew up. The majority of the German people got nothing out of it. The peasantry was in poverty, especially in Prussia, the petty bourgeoisie was ruined, the workers received beggarly wages, working 12 hours a day.

Marx and Engels led the German labor movement. In 1875, the Social Democratic Party was organized, which at this stage led the struggle of the German workers. At the beginning of the XX century. there were a number of labor unrest, especially intensified after the Russian revolution of 1905. But in the Social Democratic Party, opportunist elements began to play the leading role. Therefore, at the beginning of the First World War, the leaders of the German Social Democrats voted for war credits.

The upsurge in German public life that began in the 1970s made itself felt in literature as well. In a difficult situation, in an unceasing struggle, the German critical realism. Its opposite was the various currents of naturalism and decadence, which in Germany, as well as throughout Europe, became widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Naturalism

Zola's theories were well known in Germany, and a number of writers strove to follow them. There were also their own, German theorists of naturalism. Carried away by the theory of heredity, German naturalists refused to generalize, to create deep characters. The "leaders" of German naturalism were Arno Goltz and Johannes Schlaf, who wrote stories under the common pseudonym of Peter Holmsen. In Art, Its Essence and Laws (1891), Goltz stated that "art must strive to become nature," demanding careful copying of nature. In the works of Goltz and Schlaf, the smallest facts, experiences and impressions of the characters were recorded. This trend led away from the big problems of life.

Symbolism

Symbolism also developed in the countries of the German language. A talented Austrian poet, a soulful lyricist and a great master of form, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), was close to symbolism. Rilke is characterized by a subtle understanding of nature, he was able to tell about the most intimate and pure feelings. Such are many of the poems of the Prayers of Girls cycle, poetically revealing female psychology. Rilke was also a talented translator. He studied Russian well and for the first time translated The Lay of Igor's Campaign into German.

But in Rilke's work, there was a gravitation towards vague symbolism and a certain touch of mysticism. He wrote a lot about suffering and death, often using biblical and gospel motifs; it is characterized by resignation to fate, a painful fear of life.

Rilke was twice in Russia (in 1899 and 1900), saw Tolstoy, these trips made a strong impression on him. But he developed wrong ideas about Russia. He saw in the Russian people only boundless obedience to fate, God-seeking, humility. These traits were reflected in his collection "Book of Hours", written in 1899-1903, after visiting Russia. The heroes of the collection are Russian monks offering prayers from the depths of their cells. The psychological sophistication of these images, the preaching of blind obedience to providence, a certain sophistication of form characterize this book.

Far from all the decadents who wrote in German, were inclined to preach humility and humility. Many of them were significantly influenced by Nietzsche.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche expounded his philosophical ideas in works of an unusual, aphoristic form, under original and unexpected headings; " fun science”, “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music”, “Human, Too Human”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. His philosophy was of a voluntaristic nature and was imbued with anti-democratic tendencies. Nietzsche put forward the reactionary and immoral ideal of the "superman", standing above good and evil. He considered the chosen race to be northern, Germanic, and the best remedy education of the race recognized the war, curing from the "illusions" of pity and humanism. These ideas of Nietzsche later gained great popularity in German militaristic circles and formed the basis of the monstrous racial theory of fascism with its cult of war. At the same time, Nietzsche's contempt for petty-bourgeois ideology, his criticism of Christianity, his preaching of "heroic pessimism" attracted to him many writers in Europe and the United States, who tried to ignore the dangerous and reactionary essence of his teaching.

In the realm of art, Nietzsche was opposed to realism. He believed that art is driven by geniuses, strong lonely personalities, that it should glorify tragic heroes who are far from the crowd. At the same time, he ridiculed the decadents for their weakness and passivity (which did not prevent him from writing decadent poetry). *

Most of the German decadents combined the positions of aestheticism and sophistication with the Nietzschean preaching of war and violence.

Nietzsche was strongly influenced by Stefan George (1863-1933), head of the circle of aesthetes that published the journal Sheets of Art. This subtle esthete, who wrote poems of very complex form (the collections The Carpet of Life, The Seventh Ring, 1907), idealized strong personality; in the poem "Alga-bal" he portrayed the Roman emperor Heliogabalus, who does not stop before a crime in order to satisfy his thirst for power. Algabal y Gheorghe kills brother, but, fearing everything "low", he is afraid to stain snow-white clothes in his blood.

Lilienkron (1844-1909) preached war and nationalism; he sang of German officers and landowners in his military short stories (collections "Summer Battle", "War and Peace") dedicated to the Franco-Prussian war, glorified the victory over the French, and he also gave examples of purely impressionistic lyrics.

Realists

Naturalism and decadence were far from representative of all German literature. late XIX- early 20th century In its depths, with new features characteristic of the 20th century, critical realism developed. This trend was most clearly revealed in the work of G. Mann, T. Mann and G. Hauptmann.

In a number of other, less significant writers, we can also see a sincere desire for deep and topical issues.

The novels of Kretzer and Polenets enjoyed well-deserved fame. Kretzer in the novels The Dispossessed (1883) and The Deceived (1882) shows the plight of the workers crushed by exploitation. His most successful novel is Master Timpe (1888). Here the writer shows the ability to pose big problems, create typical images and critically approach the present. Kretzer talks about the takeover by large enterprises of small ones, which was very relevant for the 80s. Honest, conscientious craftsman Thimpe, owner of a small turning workshop, must inevitably perish in a collision with Urban, the owner of a large factory, a clever businessman who does not stop even at a crime.

The works of Polenets were distinguished by significant social richness and poignancy. He knew the German countryside well and devoted many stories and novels to it. The novel The Peasant (1895) was highly appreciated by L. Tolstoy. In the preface to the Russian translation, L. Tolstoy called Polenets' novel a real model artistic creativity and contrasted it with "many contemporary" works. In the novel The Peasant, as Tolstoy says, the development of the action follows directly from the character of the hero, Byutner, who came into conflict with environment. The novel well shows the life of the German village and the tragedy of its darkness.

Polenz, perhaps unwittingly, rose in his work to the idea that the peasant, in order to avoid destruction, must abandon the petty-property ideology and keep pace with the proletariat. Plekhanov especially liked this idea and, like Tolstoy, gave a flattering review of this novel by Polenets.

Theodore Fontane (1819-1898) also belonged to the realist trend with his socio-psychological stories and novels (The Sinner, 1882, Effie Brist, 1895, and others).

Expressionists

Noteworthy is a peculiar and significant literary trend in Germany - expressionism. Much in common with decadentism - extreme subjectivism, idealism, gravitation towards abstraction. Expressionism was intensively developed during the First World War and after it. Expressionists expressed a stormy protest against wars, violence, exploitation, recognized the need for revolution, but understood it in their own way. So, the expressionist theorist Rubiner imagined it as a revolution human spirit. In general, the revolution in every possible way emphasized the moment of spiritual liberation, and it was thought by many expressionists to take place without any violence. They believed that the essential lies not in the reality depicted by the artist, but in himself. Art serves only as an expression of his inner "I". Hence the name "expressionism" - from French word expression - "expression".

The expressionists overestimated the role of the intelligentsia in the revolution. The fate of the revolution is decided, according to the expressionists, not by the masses, but by individuals. An artist can do a lot with his inspired word. The left expressionists, Kaiser, Toller, Rubiner, Hasenclever, as well as the early J. Becher, also stood on such positions. The organ of the Left Expressionists was the Aktion (Action) magazine, founded in 1910, but active during the First World War. Drama became a favorite genre of expressionists, since it was she who gave scope to the passionate emotional expression of the thoughts and feelings of the artist.

The expressionists were anti-war. But, protesting against violence, they saw violence in any just war, and in the class struggle. They are characterized by non-resistance tendencies.

E. Toller

Typical in this regard is the work of Toller. Having gone to war in 1914 as a volunteer, he quickly got rid of the chauvinistic frenzy and became an ardent opponent of the Kaiser monarchy. Even before the end of the war, he ended up in a military prison. After the fall of the empire, Toller participated in the creation of the Social Democratic Munich government. But with his good-heartedness and fear of violence, he hastened the surrender of the republican troops to the forces of counter-revolutions.

Toller himself spent five years in prison and wrote there the plays "Mass Man" and "Destroyers of Machines", which were broadcast in the 1920s in the Soviet Union. At the first performance of the play "Man-Mass" in 1920 in Munich, Toller was present under escort. When he got out of prison, he walked away from political life. After the fascist coup, Toller emigrated.

Toller's work is characteristic of the spontaneous rebellion of the expressionists. In the drama "Mass Man" the Woman from the world of the oppressors came to the people to be with them to the end. She sacrificed for this her happiness, her beloved, who turned away from her. During the uprising, the Woman protects the captives and hostages, begs the rebels not to take revenge, to break that they are "a loving people." She is suspected of treason and they want to arrest her, but the troops that remained on the side of the bourgeoisie defeat the rebels with a surprise attack, and the Woman Leader has already been arrested by the enemies. Nameless (the personification of the "mass" of workers) arrives and invites her to run away. But for this you need to kill the watchman. The woman refuses. In vain are the words of the Nameless One that people need her.

In another work by Toller - "The Destroyers of Machines" - England is shown at the beginning of the 19th century. and workers' revolt against the replacement of their labor by machines. But they themselves are dark, and their rebellion is meaningless, they destroy the machines and kill the person who stood for them. Toller constantly emphasizes the organizing role of the intelligentsia, gives interesting image Byron delivering a speech against the execution law for machine destroyers.

G. Kaiser

Another expressionist, Georg Kaiser (plays "Coral" - 1918, "Gas I" and "Gas II" - 1918-1920), gives tragic scene the position of the workers in capitalist society—they have been turned into some kind of appendage to machines. But he contrasts capitalism with a patriarchal life in the bosom of nature, far from the city with its noisy culture.

The formal features of the creativity of the expressionists are very peculiar. In their works, instead of specific images, there are often generalized concepts expressing the “essence” of what they want to portray. Instead of their own faces - Woman, Warrior, Worker. Expressionist dramas were usually staged without scenery, only in cloth, the directors abandoned the depiction of everyday life and emphasized the abstract essence of the images.

The Expressionists, for all their inherent shortcomings, were able to protest against the war and responded violently to the events of our time. They had a certain influence on the development of Western European drama.

In the same years (in the first decades of the 20th century) critical realism continued to develop in German literature. A significant role in the development of German literature was played by the activities of a group of critics—the left-wing Social Democrats F. Mehring, K. Zetkin, K. Liebknecht, and R. Luxemburg. Close in their views to Bolshevism, they basically correctly posed and solved the most important questions of party spirit and folk literature, defended the place of the classical heritage in the new, proletarian culture, and fought against the reactionary falsification of the work of great writers. The works of the German left social democrats on the history and theory of literature (especially the "Legend of Lessing" by F. Mehring, written in 1892, as well as articles by K. Zetkin about Schiller, Ibsen and Bjornson, articles by R. Luxembourg about Mickiewicz and about creativity L. N. Tolstoy) were of fundamental importance for the development of Marxist aesthetic thought and were directed against revisionism and reformism.

1. Sociocultural situation and historical landmarks that determined the nature of the development of German culture. The formation of the world system of monopoly capitalism in Germany was belated, but by the beginning of the 20th century. the transition has ended. Germany has surpassed England in economics. With the reign of Wilhelm II from 1888, an aggressive policy was established under the slogan - "to achieve a place under the sun for Germany." It was also the slogan that united the empire. Ideological basics - teachings German philosophers (Nietzsche, Spengler, Schopenhauer)

In the popular social-democratic movement, the tendency towards the gradual peaceful resolution of conflicts is opposed to the revolutionary theory of Marxism. For a short time, apparent calm was established, but in literature - a premonition of the apocalypse. The impact of the 1905 revolution led to the strengthening of the social democratic ideology and the growth of the labor movement in 1911. - a clash of interests between France and Germany in North America, almost leading to war.

The Balkan crisis and the First World War of 1914, the revolution of 1917 in Russia led to mass strikes and the November People's Revolution in Germany (1918). The revolutionary situation was finally crushed in 1923. The post-war revolutionary upsurge was replaced by ... the stabilization of capitalism.

1925. - The Weimar bourgeois republic, Germany is actively involved in the process of Americanization of Europe. After the need and disasters of the war, the need for entertainment was natural (which caused the development of the corresponding industry, the cultural market, the emergence of mass culture). The general characteristic of the period is the "golden twenties".

The 1930s that followed were called "black". 1929 America's overproduction crisis paralyzed the world economy. In Germany, there is an economic and political crisis - a change of governments that do not control the situation. Unemployment is massive. The National Socialist Party is gaining strength. The confrontation between the forces of the developed KKE (Communist Party of Germany) and the NSP (National Socialist Party) ended in victory for the latter. 1933 - Hitler came to power. The militarization of the economy has become the main means of social stability. Simultaneously politicized cultural life. The era of literary "isms" is over. The era of reaction began and the struggle against objectionable. Since this period, German literature has been developing in anti-fascist emigration. The Second World War.

2. Literature of the turn of the century and the 1st half of the 20th century was marked by a crisis of bourgeois culture, expressed by F. Nietzsche.

In the 1890s, there was a move away from naturalism. 1894 - Hauptmann's naturalistic drama "Weavers". A feature of German naturalism is "Consistent naturalism," which required a more accurate reflection of objects that changed with lighting and position. The "second style" developed by Schlaf suggests dividing reality into many instantaneous perceptions. "the photographic image of the era" could not reveal the invisible signs of the impending new EPOCH. In addition, a protest against the concept of a shelf dependence of a person on the environment has become a sign of the new time. Naturalism has declined, but its techniques have survived in critical realism

Impressionism not received distribution in Germany. German writers almost never attracted the analysis of infinitely variable states. Infrequently engaged in a neo-romantic study of special psychological states. Deutsch neo-romanticism included features of symbolism, but there was almost no mystical symbolism. The romantic duality of the conflict between the eternal and the mundane, the explainable and the mysterious was usually emphasized.

The predominant trend in the first half of the 20th century. was expressionism. Leading Genre - Scream Drama

Along with "-isms" at the turn of the century to the end of the 20s. a layer of proletarian literature was actively taking shape. Later (in the 1930s), socialist prose developed in emigration (A. Zegers and Becher's poetry).

The popular genre at that time was the novel. In addition to the intellectual novel, there were historical and social novels in German literature, which developed a technique close to the intellectual novel, and also continued the traditions of German satire.

Heinrich Mann(1871 - 1950) worked in the genre of a socially accusatory novel (influenced by French literature). The main period of creativity - 1900-1910. The novel The Loyal Subject (1914) brought fame to the writer. In the words of the author himself, "The novel depicts the previous stage of that tal, which then reached power." The hero is the embodiment of loyalty, the essence of the phenomenon, embodied in a living character.

The novel is a biography of a hero who has worshiped authority since childhood: a father, a teacher, a policeman. The author uses biographical details to enhance the nature of the hero; He is a slave and a despot at the same time. His psychology is based on cringing and a thirst for power to humiliate the weak. The story about the hero fixes his constantly changing social position (second style!). The mechanistic nature of actions, gestures, words of the hero - convey the automatism, the mechanistic nature of society.

The author creates an image according to the laws of caricature, deliberately shifting the proportions, sharpening and exaggerating the characteristics of the characters. The heroes of G. Mann are characterized by the mobility of masks = caricature. All of the above in the aggregate is G. Mann's "geometrical style" as one of the options for conventionality: the author balances on the verge of authenticity and implausibility.

Lion Feuchtwanger(1884 - 1954) - a philosopher who was interested in the East. He became famous for his historical and social novels. In his work, the historical novel is more than social romance, depended on the technique of the intellectual novel. Common features

* Transferring modern problems that concern the writer to the environment of the distant past, modeling them in a historical plot - modernizing history (historically reliable plot, facts, description of life, national color, to which the relations of the characters are introduced contemporary issues).

* Historically costumed modernity, a novel of streaks and allegories, where modern events and faces of “False Nero” - L. Feuchtwanger, “The Cases of Mr. Julius Caesar” B. Brecht) are depicted in a conditional historical shell.