A theory of literary realism

Abstract

The European Medieval romance was far from realistic. However, the modern literary realism both in England and America has been multi-faceted. An English face of it is often the manifestation of man in search of salvation via the application of his mental capacity in a chaotic world of tension and progress. In his remote island, the hero of Daniel Defoe is concerned mainly with the development of his kingdom and the application of his sovereignty over the natives. But an American form of literary realism is that however the romance is not divided in it from the novel, but it shows the present as sharply separated from the past. The realism of Howells is the realism of here and now, that of Mark Twain is a criticism of the present social situation, and the realism of James is often concerned with the psychological development of his key characters. © 2014 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.