What are the differences between Impressionism and Expressionism in literature?
I am a music major, and I know the difference between the two in music, and music and literature always run parallel, so you can take what I say and apply it directly to literature, ok?
Impressionism: roughly 1890-1945. It came about in 1890 because of the serious instability caused by the Austrio-Hungary aristocracy crumbling and continued because of the Great War (WWI). Impressionism was somethat "blurry", if you will. Other adjectives: melancholy, broad, profound, thick, unstable. Composers questioned tonality. The goals went down, and arrival points (cadences etc) were often disregarded. Dissonances and modality was incorporated. As for art, thin coloring over the line, tiny dots, Monet, Manet Renoir, degas, the use of the camera, etc. Use of a lot of symbolism etc. It was the end of 19th century constraints.
Expressionism: An artistic movement of the early 20c. exposing the "ugly" inner self. Obviously, as the name suggests, very expressive. There was an emancipation of the dissonances. Previously, dissonances sounded out of place, but here tonal chords and resolutions sounded out of place. Music, and I assume literature as well, was considered best regarded as a natural, logical organism growing and expanding.
I hope this helps at least a little.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:40 am
I am a music major, and I know the difference between the two in music, and music and literature always run parallel, so you can take what I say and apply it directly to literature, ok?
Impressionism: roughly 1890-1945. It came about in 1890 because of the serious instability caused by the Austrio-Hungary aristocracy crumbling and continued because of the Great War (WWI). Impressionism was somethat "blurry", if you will. Other adjectives: melancholy, broad, profound, thick, unstable. Composers questioned tonality. The goals went down, and arrival points (cadences etc) were often disregarded. Dissonances and modality was incorporated. As for art, thin coloring over the line, tiny dots, Monet, Manet Renoir, degas, the use of the camera, etc. Use of a lot of symbolism etc. It was the end of 19th century constraints.
Expressionism: An artistic movement of the early 20c. exposing the "ugly" inner self. Obviously, as the name suggests, very expressive. There was an emancipation of the dissonances. Previously, dissonances sounded out of place, but here tonal chords and resolutions sounded out of place. Music, and I assume literature as well, was considered best regarded as a natural, logical organism growing and expanding.
I hope this helps at least a little.
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