Page 210 - DENG402_HISTORY_OF_ENGLISH_LITERATURE

Unit 27: Realism, Naturalism, Imagism and Surrealism

Freud’s work with free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious was of utmost importance Notes
to the Surrealists in developing methods to liberate imagination. They embraced idiosyncrasy,
while rejecting the idea of an underlying madness. Later, Salvador Dalí explained it as: “There is
only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.”
Beside the use of dream analysis, they emphasized that “one could combine inside the same
frame, elements not normally found together to produce illogical and startling effects.” Breton
included the idea of the startling juxtapositions in his 1924 manifesto, taking it in turn from a
1918 essay by poet Pierre Reverdy, which said: “a juxtaposition of two more or less distant
realities. The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the
stronger the image will be — the greater its emotional power and poetic reality.”
The group aimed to revolutionize human experience, in its personal, cultural, social, and political
aspects. They wanted to free people from false rationality, and restrictive customs and structures.
Breton proclaimed that the true aim of Surrealism was “long live the social revolution and it
alone!” To this goal, at various times Surrealists aligned with communism and anarchism.

In 1924 they declared their philosophy in the first “Surrealist Manifesto”. That same year they
established the Bureau of Surrealist Research, and began publishing the journal La Revolution
surrealiste.

27.5 Summary
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects “in
accordance with secular, empirical rules”, as they are considered to exist in third person
objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation.
The focus on the “thing” as “thing” (an attempt at isolating a single image to reveal its
essence) also mirrors contemporary developments in avant-garde art, especially Cubism.
During the war, Andre Breton, who had trained in medicine and psychiatry, served in a
neurological hospital where he used Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic methods with sol-
diers suffering from shell-shock.
Freud’s work with free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious was of utmost
importance to the Surrealists in developing methods to liberate imagination.

27.6 Keywords

Imagism : Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry
that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language.
Surrealism : Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is
best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members.
Naturalism : Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to
1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, hered-
ity, and environment had in escapable force in shaping human character

27.7 Review Questions

1. What is the relationship between realism and naturalism?
2. What is Imagism?
3. What is surrealism? Explain.

Answers : Self Assessment
1. Realism 2. Revolution 3. Naturalism
4. Charles Darwin's 5. Literary movement
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