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Ulduz Farhad Kahramanova
Doctor of Philosophy in Philology, Assoc. Prof., Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University
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Orcid ID:
0009-0003-4418-9319
HISTORICITY AND MODERNITY IN LITERARY CRITICISM AS AN AESTHETIC
CATEGORY
Annotation:
The article extensively analyzes the unity of historicity and modernity in works of
art. Also, the theoretical analysis of the problem of historical subject and modern subject in
works of art is explained by the researcher. Thus, the fact that the concepts of modern subject
and modernity of the subject, historical subject and historicity are completely different concepts
has been brought to the level of analysis by the researcher. The problems of historical truth,
artistic truth, and truth of life have been clarified in the research work.
Keywords:
literary criticism, historical subject, modern subject, historical truth, artistic truth,
truth of life, modernity, aesthetic category
Abstract:
modern subject and modernity of the subject are completely different concepts. Works
with historical and modern themes should have a spirit of modernity so that the works can
remain on the level of history even after years have passed. For this, the writer's imagination
should not be interfered with. He should generalize issues and problems that are of great
importance in public life.
A writer can turn to historical, modern, symbolic or fantastic subjects in the creative process. The
main issue in choosing a subject is the writer's social interest. The demands of life determine
another quality of the subject. This is the relevance of the subject. The writer is free to choose a
subject. The main condition for a writer when choosing a subject is the modernity of the subject.
The subject in modern life and the modernity of the subject are different concepts. Thus, the
writer must be able to give a modern content to the subject he writes about (whether modern or
historical). Modernity is not writing about modern life, modernity is the close correspondence of
the problems posed in the work with today, that is, relevance.
In works with modern themes, the truth of life is at the forefront, and in works with historical
themes, the reflection of historical truth is at the forefront. However, in relation to both modern
and historical themes, artists are united by an attempt to penetrate deeply into the essence of truth.
The first basic condition for an artist to write a work on a historical theme is to study that
historical material deeply and thoroughly. The writer should not waste the efforts of the historian.
He should read the most reliable sources and accurately recreate the historical period and
conditions he describes before his eyes. Artistry is the main condition for the transformation of
historical truth into artistic truth.
Keywords:
literary criticism, historical theme, modern theme, historicity, modernity, aesthetic
category
It is known from literary criticism textbooks that there are two types of themes in works of art: 1.
Historical themes: These are events that have occurred in history, and the artist conveys his idea
to the reader by choosing a theme for himself. Works written on historical themes must have a
spirit of modernity and relevance so that the work can live. Since the historical works studied in
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our literature today have high modernity qualities, those works maintain their relevance over the
years. This comes from the strong spirit of modernity in those works. For example: Nariman
Narimanov's "Nadir Shah", Mammad Rahim's "Khurshidbanu Natavan", Ilyas Efendiyev's
"Sheikh Khiyabani", "The Ruler and His Daughter", Mammad Said Ordubadi's "Dumanly
Tabriz", "The Sword and the Pen" are among the works that are particularly distinguished by
their modernity qualities.
2. Modern themes: Events that occur in modern life are daily changes. Modern themes become
historical themes as history passes and over time. Therefore, modern topics should be treated in
such a way that there is a truth of life in them. Years later, they should stand the test of history.
For example: Works dedicated to the definition of the Soviet regime - Stalin, Lenin, etc., lost
their modernity over time. Because they did not pass only through the writer's imagination. The
regime interfered with the artist so that he would write only a description of the Soviet regime,
rather than real truth. In other words, works of this type were modern not for later periods, but
for their own time. In other words, they were not relevant.
Modern topics and the modernity of the topic are completely different concepts. Historical and
modern works should have a spirit of modernity so that the works can remain on the level of
history even after years have passed. For this, the writer's imagination should not be interfered
with. He should summarize issues and problems that are of great importance in the life of society.
The writer can turn to historical, modern, symbolic or fantastic themes in the creative
process. The main issue in choosing a theme is the writer's public interest. The demands of life
determine another quality of the theme. This is the relevance of the theme. The writer is free to
choose a theme. The main condition for the writer when choosing a theme is the modernity of the
theme. The theme in modern life and the modernity of the theme are different concepts. Thus,
the writer must be able to give a modern content to the theme he writes about (whether modern
or historical). Modernity is not writing about modern life, modernity is the close correspondence
of the problems posed in the work with today, that is, relevance.
Azerbaijani literature experienced a period conditioned by its entry into a new qualitative stage,
starting from the late 50s and 60s. Thus, after the collapse of the Stalin regime, the human factor
came to the fore in literature and played a special role in the formation of national consciousness.
National self-awareness and growing interest in national identity rose to the level of the social
order of society. Interest in history in literary prose strengthened. In the 60s, the tendency
towards historical themes in literary prose became widespread in the 70s-80s. The historical
novel emerged from the traditional genre mold during this period. Thus:
1. Works reflecting historical events with deep generalization and revealing their philosophy.
2. Works taking a ready-made plot from historical events and “narrating” it appeared.
In the 60s-80s, there was a tendency towards the aesthetic principles of socialist realism in the
literary process. Criticism and literary criticism evaluated our literature in the late 50s-60s as the
beginning of a new qualitative stage. Thus, Stalin's dictatorial regime was ending its life and the
easing of the political climate with the coming to power of N.S. Khrushchev also had an impact
on the literary and cultural sphere.
According to literary critics, we can say that the emergence of the realistic historical novel in
world literature is associated with the name of the famous English writer Walter Scott (1771-
1832). Walter Scott was the first to turn historical facts into the target of artistic research in his
works. Walter Scott's novels created serious interest in historical themes in the literature of the
peoples of the world, and since then countless examples of this genre have appeared. The history
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 17, issue 01, 2025
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of interest in historical themes in Azerbaijani literature is not so far from the novel by W. Scott.
Undoubtedly, the story "The Deceived Kevakib" written in 1857 by M.F. Akhundzadeh, who
preferred European-style genres in his work, can also be considered an echo of W. Scott's
interest in history in Azerbaijani literature with its historical theme. Thus, M.F. Akhundov's
appeal to the historical theme stems from the fact that he was based on W. Scott's literary
experience through Belinsky's works. The initiative to write a work in the style of W. Scott is
called "reference to artistic experience." According to Akhundov, a work of fiction is not history.
It is unnecessary to seek accuracy in historical science there. Historical facts and sources take on
the content of artistic truth in a work of fiction, and this allows the writer to expand the content
of historical facts and material.
According to literary critic Tayyar Salamoglu, if the emergence of the realistic historical novel in
world literature is associated with the name of the English writer Walter Scott, the history of
interest in historical themes in Azerbaijani literature is not so far from Walter Scott's novel. Thus,
M.F. Akhundzadeh's work "The Deceived Kevakib" (1857) can also be considered an echo of
Walter Scott's interest in history in Azerbaijani literature with its historical theme. The plot of
this work of Mirza Fatali Akhundov is based on a historical event. Shah Abbas and Yusif Sarraj
are also historical figures. The work is taken from the period of the Safavid dynasty of the 16th
century Iranian history. Since it is written on a historical theme, "The Deceived Kevakib" is a
historical novel.
According to Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh, there are 2 attitudes towards the problem of historical
and artistic truth:
1. According to M. F. Akhundzadeh, a work of fiction is not history. Therefore, it is unnecessary
to seek accuracy in historical science there.
2. Historical facts and sources take on the content of artistic truth in a work of fiction and allow
the writer to expand the content of historical facts and material.
The first stages of development of the appeal to historical themes in Azerbaijani literary prose
fall on the Soviet period, in the 30s of the 20th century. In these years, Mammad Said Ordubadi's
novels "Sword and Pen", Y.V. Chamanzaminli's "Gizlar Bulagi", "Kan Idzhan" should be
specially noted. The innovation brought to the genre poetics of the Azerbaijani historical novel
began in the 60s with I. Shikhli's novel "Deli Kur", and continued in the 70s in Farman
Karimzadeh's novels "Qarli Asyrim" and Isa Huseynov's "Masher".
However, during the Soviet regime, there was a negative tendency towards historical themes in
literary policy. As an obvious fact, this tendency continued in the 30s. Writers were
unequivocally called upon to take themes from everyday life, and they understood modernity as
writing from modern life. The attitude of the criticism of the 1930s to the historical subject had a
methodological character. That is, the artist could appeal to any historical period. However, this
appeal had to serve the Soviet methodology. This methodology was also developed by Maxim
Gorky and expressed in his articles. In a historical work, the past should not be analyzed in its
objective form, but only its ugly sides should be made the subject of analysis, and its
abominations should be revealed. As can be seen, in Maxim Gorky's concept, historicity was
subordinated to the distortion of historical truth, and modernity to modernization. The modernity
of the appeal to the historical subject in the critical thought of the 1930s was mainly in this
direction.
In general, the artistic reflection of the historical theme is based on 2 aesthetic categories:
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1. Historical truth 2. Artistic truth (Reality of Life) - an artistic reflection of the problems of
modern life.
In historical novels, the goal of self-awareness was set by returning to the roots and re-living the
roots in a historical-philosophical way. Every nation wants to know its past and immortalize it at
the level of an artistic document, it returns to its past in order to understand itself. Since the 80s,
the national way of thinking has come to the fore in relation to history.
According to literary critics, 2 types of historical works are distinguished in Azerbaijani
historical prose:
Type I. Novels written on the principle of documentary: “Between Two Fires”, “Sword and Pen”,
“Famous”, “Khudaferin Korpusu”, “Chaldıran vuevu”, “Gyzilbashlar”, etc. The plot of such
historical novels is based on well-known and famous historical events. The image of prominent
historical figures is at the center of the plot.
Type II. Novels written on the basis of the principle of non-documentary, that is, “narrating”
historical events: “Gızlar bulagı”, “Deli Kur”, “Köch”, etc. The plot of such historical works of
art is completely invented, but the historical event and historical specificity described in the work
do not raise doubts. What is required is to correctly understand and honestly show the general
characteristics of that period. In such novels, the theme and plot are written based on the author’s
fantasy. Some literary critics do not consider it important to be based on documents and real
historical events. They see it not in the expectation of the accuracy of historical facts, but in the
correct transmission of the atmosphere of the spirit of the era.
Literary critic Tayyar Salamoğlu said in his monograph “Genre Evolution in the Azerbaijani
Novel of the 80s” regarding the concept of “historical novel” that in works written on the
principle of “documentary”, the material comes from history, while in novels written with the
“writer’s fantasy”, the artistic text in the artist’s imagination and imagination is the basis. That is,
the transformation of historical truth into artistic truth is realized with the help of the writer's
fantasy and imagination.
1. Historicity preserved in the principle of documentary: the spirit of historical facts, sources and
documents, the character of historical figures, the spirit of the historical period as a whole
2. Historicity preserved in the principle of non-documentary, that is, in the writer's fantasy: the
correct reflection of the spirit of the historical period, the preservation of the logic of preserving
historical regularities
Based on the research of the Russian scientist I.P. Varfolomyev, literary critic Tayyar Salamoglu
refers novels created on the basis of documentary to the historical-realist novel type, and novels
created on the basis of non-documentary, that is, novels created on the basis of the writer's
fantasy, to the historical-romantic novel type.
In works with modern themes, the truth of life is at the forefront, and in works with historical
themes, the reflection of historical truth is at the forefront. However, in relation to both modern
and historical themes, artists are united by an attempt to deeply penetrate the essence of truth.
The first basic condition for an artist to write a work on a historical subject is to study that
historical material deeply and thoroughly. The writer should not waste the historian's hard work.
He should read the most reliable sources and accurately recreate the historical period and
conditions he describes before his eyes. Artistry is the main condition for transforming historical
truth into artistic truth.
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 17, issue 01, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
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Literary critic Vilayat Guliyev writes: “The author is free in relation to historical facts, and no
one intends to take this freedom away from him. But on one condition - loyalty to the essence
and spirit of historical events. When historical truth is not correctly reflected, the work loses its
power of modernity. Because truth, like historicity, is the basis of modernity.”
Literary critic Mehdi Huseyn writes: “A historian is not a psychologist. But an artist must be a
psychologist. Without this, even if the science of history is created, a historical work of art
cannot be created.”
Among the factors that determine artistry, artistic language stands out. Artistic language is
created at the expense of artistic thinking. The first sincere bridge between the work and the
reader is created by the language of the work. The historical color of the era, time, is achieved
primarily through this language.
Literature:
1. Khalid Alimirzayev, (2008) “Scientific-theoretical foundations of literary criticism”, Baku
2. Mir Jalal, Panah Khalilov, (2005) “Fundamentals of literary criticism”, Baku, Chasıoğlu
3. Mammad Aliyev, (2012) “Fundamentals of literary theory”, Baku
4. Mahammadali Mustafayev, (2021) Literary theory, Baku
5. Nizaməddin Shamsizadeh, (2012) “Literary theory”, Baku
6. Najafova Bika Aliyulla gizi, (2022), The problem of historicity and modernity in Azerbaijani
literary criticism (in prose of the 1960s-1980s), Baku, dissertation submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
7. Rafik Yusifoglu, (2001) "Fundamentals of Literary Studies", Baku
