expressionism (literature)

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Literary style which, like expressionism in art, attempts to portray the inner workings of a person's mind by, effectively, turning them ‘inside out’ and allowing mental states to shape their face, body, and even the world in which they live. In theatre, expressionism results in a drama of social protest, in which representation of the outer world took second place to the inner turmoil experienced by the main character, which is expressed via long monologues.

This can be seen as a reaction against a comfortable, unthinking, uncaring and increasingly mechanized society. Central characters, particularly in the work of Austrian novelist Franz Kafka, are trapped inside a distorted vision of the world that either reflects their own psychological conflicts or those of the society in which the original readers lived. German novelists associated with expressionism also include Max Brod, and Karl Kraus. Expressionist literature in Germany was effectively wiped out by the Nazis in the 1930s.

In expressionist literature, the physical consequences of a distorted situation are followed through as if it were completely real. Expressionist writers divide over the final consequences of this. Personal tragedies usually end in the destruction of the character. However, when the focus is the state of society a positive ending can result, with the victory of traditional human values over repression and mass production. This is particularly apparent in the theatre. Expressionist drama flourished in Germany, in the work of Reinhard Johannes Sorge, Georg Kaiser, Ernst Toller, Paul Kornfeld, Reinhard Johannes Sorge, Georg Kaiser, Ernst Toller, Paul Kornfeld, Fritz von Unruh, and Walter Hasenclever. Brecht and Piscator developed a form known as epic theatre.

In the USA, a strong expressionist influence can be traced in the plays of Eugene O'Neill, Elmer Rice, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. In Irish literature, some of the work of Seán O'Casey and James Joyce can be characterized as expressionist. Notable expressionist poetry includes the work of Georg Heym, Ernst Stradler, August Stramm, Gottfried Benn, Georg Trakl, and Else Lasker-Schüler. This poetry eschewed details of description and narrative, and attempted a lyrical intensity capable of conveying the essence of an inward experience. As in expressionist drama and painting, disgust with materialistic society was combined with a sense of foreboding of its imminent collapse.

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