Realism

1. Realism 1865-1915 Music

2. Describe the moment… • Write a description of the setting of this classroom. Be as detailed as possible. Even if a detail seems too mundane to be included, include it anyway. Use as much detail as possible in your description.

3. Similarities Differences • Supernatural • Emotions • Fascination With Nature • But as it relates to the mind • Deal with the supernatural as it relates to the unusual within the real world • Fear of the internal • Exploration of societal oppressions • Romanticism = fantastical while Realism = reality From Romanticism (Transcendentalism and Gothicism) to Realism and Naturalism

4. Big Ideas of Realism • Realism, which began in Europe, first appeared in America following disillusionment after the Civil War. • Realism was a response to Romanticism which glorified the imagination. • Realists sought to explore the motivations, behaviors, and actions of real people. • Realist sought to capture the present, not the past or the future. They were focused on capturing what was happening in the moment.

5. A Realist’s View on Life… • Realists saw life as a thing that was often cruel and never embellished. • Photography and Photographic Realism

6. Realism in Art

7. Post-War Disillusionment • Many realist writers and artists in America used realism to explore feelings of disillusionment after the civil war and during the beginning of the first world war • Realism was an attempt to express the brutality and truth of the moment through literature and art • Wilfred Owen • "Disabled"

8. Realism and Women • Kate Chopin • Charlotte Perkins Stetson • Sought to write honestly about the suppressed passions of women confined to traditional roles • Challenged patriarchal rules regarding roles of women. • Women were often written of as confined or suppressed and finding freedom or expression in unconventional ways. Realist Poem Options: • Emily Dickinson • “Because I could not stop for death”

9. Realism Vs. Naturalism • Realism • Though realists attempted to capture and explore the moment, they were often focused on the internal mind as opposed to external or physical events • Realists often explored the supernatural • Naturalism • Naturalists wrote during the same time period as realists and were focused and motivated by similar things • However, naturalists were hyper focused on “nature” or the “natural” rather than the mind or supernatural • Naturalists were interested in the nature of reality

10. Naturalism • Stephen Crane • Champion of the common man • One of the first naturalist within the time period of American Realism • Jack London • Famous for writing about the wild • Uses animals and nature to explore issues of society • Stephen Crane • "A Slant of Sun on Dull Brown Walls“ • "A Spirit Sped"

11. Realism and Classes • Realist writers in this category were often members of the upper class but criticized the upper classes devaluing the worth of the individual.

12. Poem Selections for Analysis • Wilfred Owen • "Disabled" • Emily Dickinson • “Because I could not stop for death” • Stephen Crane • "A Slant of Sun on Dull Brown Walls“ • "A Spirit Sped"