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ILMIY METODIK JURNAL
Ulduz Farhad Kahramanova
Doctor of Philosophy in Philology,
Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Acting Associate Professor at the Department of
“Literature”
,
Orcid ID: 0009-0003-4418-9319
THEORY OF THE LITERARY MOVEMENT OF REALISM IN WORLD LITERARY
CRITICISM
Annotation:
In the article, the researcher explained the main condition in realism, which is one
of the literary movements, in what form it should be a convincing depiction of existence. Thus,
according to the researcher, we can say that from the word realism real, it is possible to see that
in works written with this literary method, it is possible to reflect life with real lines, as it is. That
is why in Europe, realism was also called the natural school. In fact, the words nature and reality
expressed the same meaning, they are synonymous terms with each other. The meaning of the
word realism meant the real world realities and the small amount of space given to artistic fiction.
The literary movement of realism is a community of writers who create typical characters in
typical conditions, who have a realistic attitude to life. As can be seen, the problem that the work
is not finished by reflecting everything as it is, and that a realist writer must create typical
characters in typical conditions, has also been substantiated by the researcher.
Keywords:
realism, literary movement, typical conditions, typical character, bourgeois society.
Abstract:
There is no artistic method or literary trend in the history of literature that is not
related to life. The realism literary trend, as a method of artistic creation and a literary trend, is
also a phenomenon of the 19th century. That is, in the 19th century, we encounter the rapid
development of realism in connection with the strengthening of the bourgeoisie. Thus, the
realism literary trend, as a literary trend, was founded in the middle of the 19th century in France
by representatives of the organization called the “Realist School”. That is, in the 19th century,
realism stood at the level of a literary school. It was not correct to associate realism only with the
development of bourgeois society. More precisely, the realism that arose in connection with
bourgeois society formed the realism literary trend. The realism found in the work of great artists
who wrote and created in the past, in ancient and medieval times, is called spontaneous realism.
That is, realistic works written in the classical period using the realistic literary method are called
spontaneous realist works. The basis of realism is the progressive idea of life, people, and
the era. Realism does not stop at putting forward the principle of correct depiction of life.
Realism also glorifies the social ideal. Realism also gave a correct description of the
revolutionary movement.
Keywords:
realism, literary movement, typical conditions, typical character, bourgeois society.
It is known that every literary event, movement is created and formed by the order of time.
When writing a work, the writer does not think about which movement he represents.
A literary movement is a union of artists around the same platform based on their artistic styles.
That is, if artists with a romantic perspective unite around the platform of romanticism, and
artists with a realistic perspective unite around the platform of realism, they form a literary
movement. Those who end with “ism” are literary movements. A literary movement is a
grouping of writers in terms of ideas, professions, and beliefs in a certain era in the conditions of
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 02, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
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ideological struggle. The method of artistic creativity and the literary movement are not the same
concept. Thus, the method of artistic creativity is a broader, more continuous concept.
Writers who are close in style, that is, in style, unite in a certain literary direction, which is called
the creative method in literary criticism. Here, 3 aspects are key: idea, method of approaching the
truth of life, method of description. From this point of view, we can say that a literary movement
is also a creative method. The difference is that a literary school is often associated with the
name of a magazine or prominent artists. A literary school associated with the name of writers
can be continued after them. For example: Nizami literary school, Fuzuli literary school, Vagif
literary school, etc.
Literary trends have spread to Azerbaijani literature from European literature. The creative
method has always manifested itself in the creativity of classical artists in Azerbaijani literature.
Thus, the creativity of Nizami Ganjavi, Mahammad Fuzuli, etc. is based on the romantic method.
Or the creativity of M.P. Vagif, M.V. Vidadi is based on the realistic method.
Literary trends can replace each other. Writers who are close to each other in terms of ideology,
attitude to life, principles of describing and evaluating life events, and their artistic methods are
united on a certain platform, which is called a literary trend. A literary trend or literary school
constitutes the creative unity of such writers. This creative unity is reflected in the ideology, style,
method of reflecting life, rules for constructing the plot, features of artistic language, and system
of metaphors of these writers.
Mikayil Rafili defined a literary movement as follows: “Writers who are close to each other in
terms of ideology, attitude to life, principles of describing and evaluating life events, in terms of
artistic methods, are united on a certain platform, which is also called a literary movement.” (3,
89) Literary movements arise as a result of the unity of artists who are close to each other in
terms of beliefs, professions, ideas, and literary methods at a certain stage of historical
development. No matter how individual creative styles the artists have, living together in certain
historical conditions and environments, the same goal and purpose unite them on a single
theoretical platform, in a literary direction. Classicism, sentimentalism, romanticism, realism,
naturalism, symbolism, and other literary movements that emerged and operated at different
stages of historical development have existed. The most widespread literary movements or
methods are realism and romanticism.
Realism is derived from the Latin word "realis" and means true, real, material. The goal of
realistic depiction is to reveal and show life as it is, accurately and correctly, in all its complexity.
Realism, as a literary method, is based on the truths of life. Realism reflects not the random
aspects of life, but the main typical, characteristic aspects. Works written with the realistic
literary method are examples of art belonging to the realism literary movement. The germs of the
realistic creative method:
1. Correct reflection of life
2. The dominant place of the living folk language in literature
3. Convincing depiction of folk customs and traditions
The main condition in realism, which is one of the literary movements, is a convincing depiction
of existence. Since realism comes from the word real, the main requirement in works written
with this literary method is to reflect life with real lines, as it is. That is why in Europe realism
was also called the natural school. In fact, the words nature and reality expressed the same
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 02, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
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meaning, they are synonymous terms with each other. The meaning of the word realism was the
real world realities and the lack of space given to artistic fiction.
The realism literary movement is a union of writers who create typical characters in typical
conditions, who have a realistic attitude to life. As can be seen, the work does not end with
reflecting everything as it is, a realist writer must have created typical characters in typical
conditions. That is, the main condition is to show typical characters in typical conditions, to
generalize characters. F. Engels characterizes realism in one of his letters as follows: “In my
opinion, realism, in addition to the correct presentation of details, also involves the presentation
of typical characters in typical conditions.” So, 2 aspects of the theory of realism attract
particular attention:
1. Typical conditions: This is the definition of historicity in realism. That is, a certain historical
period, a certain time period.
2. Typical character: This is the definition of the concept of man. That is, the creation of
convincingly realistic images of different countries, periods, and people from certain classes. For
example: In Samad Vurgun's drama "Vagif", Vidadi is presented as a religious, believing
character in God.
Some writers, forgetting these basic conditions of realism, describe the truth of life in a
naturalistic way and do not pay attention to the issue of generalization. They describe the truth of
life exactly, in a photographic way, which is contrary to realism. Great artists have not and do
not describe life in a naturalistic way. Even the famous writer Emile Zola, who gave the
theoretical foundations of naturalism, did not follow this in his outstanding works.
There is no artistic method or literary trend in the history of literature that is not related to life.
The realism literary trend, as an artistic creative method and literary trend, is also a phenomenon
of the 19th century. That is, in the 19th century, we encounter the rapid development of realism
in connection with the strengthening of the bourgeoisie. Thus, the realism literary trend as a
literary trend was founded in the middle of the 19th century in France by representatives of the
organization called the "Realist School". That is, in the 19th century, realism stands at the level
of a literary school. It was not correct to associate realism only with the development of
bourgeois society. More precisely, the realism that arose in connection with bourgeois society
formed the realism literary movement. The realism found in the works of great artists who wrote
and created in the past, in ancient and medieval times, is called spontaneous realism. That is,
realistic works written in the real literary method in the classical period are called spontaneous
realist works.
The basis of realism is the progressive idea of life, people, and the era. Realism does not
only put forward the principle of correct depiction of life. Realism also glorifies the social ideal.
Realism also gave a correct depiction of the revolutionary movement. The literary movement of
realism gave world literature such powerful representatives as Balzac, Maupassant, Gogol, L.
Tolstoy, F. Dostoevsky, J. Mammadguluzade, M.A. Sabir. Signs of realism have also existed in
Azerbaijani literature throughout its history.
The highest form of realism was critical realism. In the first half of the 19th century, the critical
realism movement also developed in France simultaneously with romanticism. The critical
realism literary movement was also formed on the basis of the realistic literary method. The
word criticism in the expression of critical realism referred to capitalist backwardness. Thus, the
formation and development of critical realism in artistic creation was associated with the
collapse and bankruptcy of feudal relations and the increase in protests and dissatisfaction with
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 02, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
ILMIY METODIK JURNAL
social inequality in bourgeois society. That is, the purpose of the concept of critical realism was
to analyze and criticize bourgeois society, to reveal and show the cruelty of people. Critical
realists defended the happiness and freedom of the people, preparing the victory and triumph of
the people's ideals. A critical attitude to the past occupies a central place in the literature of
critical realism. In a short time, critical realism gave rise to such classics as Stendhal, Dickens
and Balzac. Balzac, while commenting on his literary program related to critical realism, called
himself the secretary of French society. Balzac's main works were of the nature of socio-
psychological essays.
The theorist of realism in Azerbaijani literature is Yashar Garayev and his fundamental
monograph entitled "Stages of Azerbaijani Realism". In the stage of Azerbaijani realism from
M.P. Vagif to M.F. Akhundzadeh, literary figures such as A. Bakikhanov, M.Sh. Vazeh, I.
Gutgashinli and G. Zakir raised it to the level of a movement. Literary critic Yashar Garayev
shows in his work “Stages of Azerbaijani Realism” (1989) that the first stage in the study of our
national realism coincides with the first years of the 19th century. The first great creators of the
theory of realism in Azerbaijan were the nationally spirited realistic poems of Vagif and Zakir.
National realism in Azerbaijan is associated with the work of M.F. Akhundov. Also, F.
Kocharli’s articles on “Representation” can be considered the first theoretical document. Literary
critic F. Kocharli, referring to the first stage in the history of the literary development of realism,
wrote that Vagif is considered the founder of Azerbaijani literature. The author names G. Zakir
as the most prominent representative of the new direction that manifested itself in poetry. The
Vagif origin of national realism and the Zakir-Akhundov realism that began with him are
confirmed by the observations of Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli. Thus, Y.V. Chamanzaminli said
that the realism that began with Akhundov and Zakir was raised to the peak by Sabir. “Zakir
dealt with a limb of a sick nation, showed the microbes that destroyed it, while Sabir reveals the
rotten aspects in the div of the entire nation. Zakir is a neighborhood, provincial poet. Sabir, on
the other hand, emerged from Azerbaijaniism, the Eastern Renaissance, and became a poet of
universal humanity.” It should be noted that the realism of the Vagif and Zakir eras are examples
of art written with a realistic literary method.
LITERATURE:
1. Khalid Alimirzayev, (2008) “Scientific and theoretical foundations of literary criticism”, Baku
2. Mir Jalal, Panah Khalilov, (2005) “Fundamentals of literary criticism”, Baku, Chasıoğlu
3. Mammad Aliyev, (2000) “Fundamentals of literary theory”, Baku
9. Mahammadali Mustafayev, (2021) Theory of literature, Baku
4. Nizaməddin Shamsizadeh, (2012) “Theory of literature”, Baku
5. Rafiq Yusifoğlu, (2001) “Fundamentals of literary criticism”, Baku
