Realism — English definition
Defined in 2 courses:
- A late-1800s movement that portrayed ordinary people, ordinary speech, and real social conditions honestly, reacting against romantic idealization. (English 11: American Voices, Identity & Public Memory)
- A movement of the mid-to-late 1800s that turned to ordinary people and real social conditions, honestly rendered (Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy; Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in Russia). (English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice)
Where it is taught
- American Literary Movements & Themes — Close Reading & Literary Analysis, English 11: American Voices, Identity & Public Memory, Grade 11
- Literary Movements & Context — Close Reading & Literary Analysis, English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Grade 12
In use
As the century turned harder and more industrial, Realism pushed back.
American Literary Movements & Themes
As the century wore on and cities swelled with factory smoke, Realism turned to the world as it actually was — crowded, unequal, and modern.
Literary Movements & Context
Taught alongside
- literary movement
- the American Dream
- individualism
- Transcendentalism
- Modernism
- Romanticism
- historical context
- the sublime