Realism In Literature Essay

Realism is seen in many works of the Renaissance period. Two of the more popular pieces of literature of this time are Paradise Lost and Dr. In the late part of the 1400's, along with the taking over of the throne by Henry VII, England entered a stage that is known today as the Renaissance.

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In the late 1800's, the United States was experiencing "swift growth and change" as a result of a changing economy, society, and culture because of an influx in the number of immigrants into America.

Realists such as Henry James and William Dean Howells, two of the most prolific writers of the Nineteenth-century, used typical realistic methods to create an accurate depiction of changing American life.

During the Renaissance the use of realism really took flight and was seen in almost every, if not all, pieces of literature.

It was especially seen in the prose and the poetry of the time period.

America needed a literature that would explain what had happened and what was happening to their society.

American writers turned to what is now known as modernism.William Dean Howells, while opposing idealization, made his "comic criticisms of society" (Bradley 114) by comparing American culture with those of other countries.In his "comic" writings, Howells criticized American morality and ethics but still managed to accurately portray life as it happened.Many of these changes could be seen in the work that the authors of this time period were doing.Several prominent characteristics of literature are apparent during the Renaissance. Realism is defined as "a way of representing life that emphasizes ordinary people in everyday experiences.The prose of the time period used many different subjects.The subjects included things such as philosophy, travel, and history.The writers experimented in writing and began writing pastoral poems and using allegories in the poems that they wrote.Pastoral poetry shows and reflects the rural life of the people in England, and it shows the aspect of everyday society that was not commonly seen in previous works of literature.In other words, realists objectively looked at American society and pointed out the aspects that it had in common with the general truths of existence.This realistic movement evolved as a result of many changes and transitions in American culture.