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REALISM Definition: The term realism has many varying meanings. A central idea is the view that the author should represent things, actions, events and humans as they are. In 19th century drama, it refers to a less extreme form of naturalism. They used method acting which is a style of acting in which the actor immerses himself into the characters personality, even outside rehearsal times, in order to feel his way into the character, thereby approaching the action from the feeling life of the character, rather than from the objective study of the actor. Realism is also a literary technique practiced by many schools of writing. “Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.” --William Dean Howells How, where and when Realism began: Realism came about partly as a response to these new social , artistic conditions. The "movement" began in France and by 1860 had some general rules. These were: · Truth resides in material objects and we perceive to all five senses; · Truth is verified through science · The scientific method—observation—would solve everything · Human problems were the highest form of science · Art—according to the realist view—had as its purpose, to better mankind. Realists centred their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence" (A Handbook to Literature 428).
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