Raymond William’s contribution to Modern literary criticism with the reference to his essay Realism and contemporary novel.
v Introduction:-
Raymond Williams (1921-1988) was a follower of Marxism was a domination literary personality, who made cultural inquiry in literary composition. He performed many roles to contribute to literature, critic, fiction, movies, culture, and awareness and political opposition. He was the true architect of the international disciple of cultural studies. He works as professor of literature at Cambridge, as public intellectual leader of radical cause and author of 7 novels, number of plays and about two dozens academic books. To this railway man’s son the local life of the thriving market toward of Abergavenny and the tradition pattern of mixed forming and market gardening which deepened on it proved the young William with the combination of the country rootedness and welsh Metropolitanism. The local grammar school introduced him to the great freedom of movies and Marxism.
He won the scholarship to Cambridge and went up to Trinity college and in time to join the Community part and leave it for good. He completed two years study of English literature and worked as editor of the undergraduate newspaper. He witnessed the tragedy of the century in the form of struggles of fascism with socialism and liberalism. After came back from war, he produced two classic books like.
- “Culture and society” (1959)
- “The Long and Revolution” (1961)
His “Culture and Society” offers a conceptual history culture as a deployed in English social theory form Carlyle and John Stuart Mill to T. S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis. He opposed the new engines of Capitalism than being welcomed not heart of the bourgeoisie. William charted any amylases culture as a weapon with which he criticize this new economic monster and its unprecedented class society. At Cambridge, he launched himself upon the grad architecture of the inquiry founded in the books like “Modern Tragedy” and “Television Technology and Cultural Form (1974)
William Raymond, the Marxist critic later into cultural critic. He is in opposition to T.S. Eliot, I.A. Richards. And F. R. Leavis, how constituted culture as an enlist domain. He asked the higher to ask question to European Cultural Society. We can Study the transformation of his personality and attitude for cultural criticism to cultural studies. He was indeed neo the founder of the centre for Contemporary Cultural studies (1964) In Birmingham England.
v His essays; “Realism and The contemporary novel
This above essay is taken form his “The Long Revolution” where he talked about the tree Revolution in Europe society.
1. The Democratic Revolution 2. The Industrial Revolution. 3. The Cultural Revolution
Further, he mentions these revolutions as incomplete and continuous happening in the history of Europe. As a Marxist, he initiates his essay with the discussion and find on the historical aspect of English critical tradition of a century form 1859 to 1956 he reveals his aims to write the Essay as
- The first aim of he writing the essay was to discuss the exiting variations in realism.
- His own views of the ways in which the modern novel has developed.
- To discuss the possible new smashing realism.
v His concept of Realism
In the essay Realism and the contemporary Essay, he illustrate many terms of realism. He stress on “an ordinary, contemporary, everyday reality opposed to romantic or legendary subjects.” He considers novel as
“the product of middle class, bourgeoisie and mainly developed in early 18th century the period of realistic novel”
He quotes the Daily new in 1881 which says the novel is
“unnecessarily faithful portrayal of offensive incidents.”
He mention from sociological reality to psychological during the span of the 20 century. By using the Russian terms like Narodnost, Tipichimost Idieanot and Partisonst, he illustrate the social realism in a novel. According to him the novelist presents realism as noraodnost. .. the technical effect as an expression of spirit opposite to formalist. It rejects an ordinary technical meaning of realism where as the term Idieanot and Partinost the terms to refer to the Ideological content and Partison affiliations to such realism. Thus they suggested the development of the ideological or revolutionary attitudes already described. Finally he use the term’s “Tipichimost’ as typical characters in a typical situation. Through Marxist thought, this idea of realism is developed.
v Various the Types of Novels:-
Raymond Williams intended to present his ideas on or about realism in a novel. So he had to discuss the different kinds of novels. He says novel is not only a form of literature, but also of one place, it include most the form of writing. He say,
“Now the novel is not so much a literary form as a hole literature in itself, with its wide boundaries, there is room for almost every kind of cotemporary writing
So for his novel is potential literature. It is such a form that can include all the forms of literature. Further. He give example to prove his argument like Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace, “Middle Master”
v Social Novel:-
There are two divisions of the social novel 1. The descriptive novel. 2. The Formula Novel.
v The Descriptive Social novel or documentary deals with a particular social or community. He says, “If we want to know about life in a town, or in a university or on a merchant-ship, or in a patrol in Burma this is the book.” Further he adds, “Of all current kinds of novel, this kind at its best is apparently nearest to what I am calling the realist novel.”
v Formula Novel About this type of the novel Raymond William says, “a particular pattern, is abstracted from the sum off social experience and a society is created from this pattern.” As we find the novels like “A Brave New World’ ‘Nineteen Eight Four’ are powerful social fiction in the which a pattern taken from contemporary society is materialized in another time or place.
v Personal Novel:-
Like the social novel, we have tow two divisions of novel as (1) Personal Documentary Novel (2) Personal Formula Novel.
v Personal Formula Novel: This type of novel deals with a certain kind of personal relationship. To clarify this idea. William says, “There are often very like parts of the realist novels as described and there is a certain continuity of method and substance.”
E.g. E.M. Forster’s – “A passage to India.”
In order to distinguish personal documentary novel form social documentary novel, he say in the social descript novel there is lack of dimension but in different direction.”
But in the novel personal Documentary “characters were not the aspects society, here the society is an aspect of the characters. Here the society is an aspect of the character. He emphasizes upon society and the people of that society through the discussion of novels-realist novel.
v Personal Formula Novel:- William calls it as “the fiction of special pleading” He illustrate James Joyce’s’ – “Portrait of the Artist as a young Man’ to exemplify this kind of novel where the vision of the world is seen through one character. Human individual are created from the sum of experiences.
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