Expressionism VS Impressionism: Differences Between Two Styles Of Literature

Expressionism vs Impressionism; an elaborated discussion on this style of literature; the forms and the philosophy behind expressionism and impressionism. How a piece of literature is a piece of impression or an expression. Though we know that literature is mostly based on impression; and it’s a way of expressing the impressions inside.

But, Today in this article we will learn about the literary form of expressionism and impressionism. Expressionism and impressionism both are famous forms of art and these two forms of art are the main ingredients of modern art; the real shapes and the real look of things don’t matter much.

Things that matter are the inner emotions and the philosophy; the thought behind an art. Here in this article, we will discuss expressionism vs impressionism elaborately. we will learn the presence of these two states of literature. We will learn the differences between expressionism vs impresionism.

What Is Expressionism?

Expressionism is a modernist movement that originated in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Expressionism is a style of painting, music, or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to express the inner world of emotion rather than external reality.

Expressionist literature often presents the world from a subjective perspective, distorting it for emotional effect to evoke moods or ideas. This can result in the use of intense, passionate language, complex and symbolic imagery, and a focus on individual psychology.

The Expressionism movement was a reaction against the realism and naturalism of the 19th century, and it influenced a wide range of writers, including Franz Kafka, James Joyce, and Eugene O’Neill. These authors used expressionist techniques to explore complex psychological states, societal pressures, and existential concerns.

What Is Impressionism?

Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement that originated in France and is characterized by small, thin brush strokes, open composition, and a focus on accurately depicting the changing qualities of light and color. The name derives from Claude Monet’s painting “Impression, Soleil Levant”, which was rejected by the Salon jury in 1863.

In literature, impressionism refers to writing, whether that be prose, verse, or drama, that depends on a character’s impressions of a scene, event, or experience. This type of literature is hard to characterize but, it should be centered on the character’s mental life and the way they feel and sense things.

Impressionistic literature can be defined as when an author centers their story’s attention on the character’s mental life such as the character’s impressions, feelings, sensations, and emotions, rather than trying to interpret them.

Authors such as Virginia Woolf (Mrs Dalloway) and Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness and “The Lagoon”) are among the foremost creators of the type. These novels have been said to be the finest examples of a genre that is not easily comprehensible.

The term is used to describe a work of literature characterized by the selection of a few details to convey the sense of impressions left by an incident or scene. This style of writing occurs when characters, scenes, or actions are portrayed from a subjective point of view of reality.

Expressionism Vs Impressionism: An Elaborated Discussion

After learning what is expressionism and impressionism in literature; now we will move forward to expressionism vs impressionism. We will discuss the difference between expressionism vs impressionism elaborately. Impressionism and Expressionism are two different movements that have had significant impacts on both art and literature.

Impressionism in literature is a style that seeks to capture the fleeting effects of experience, the impressions made by life on the observer. Impressionism focuses on the mood or moment, often through the use of a few spectacular details that stand out in the mind,

rather than reproducing the physical properties of the world. The imagists in English poetry were influenced by the Impressionist movement in France. On the other hand, Expressionism in literature aims to depict the subjective emotions of the author.

Expressionism originated as a reaction to the slice-of-life school and is not related to Impressionism. Expressionist literature often takes on exaggerated, fantastic, and baffling forms of expression to convey the inner reality of the author’s mind.

The techniques of James Joyce in fiction, of Eliot in poetry, and O’Neill in drama, are said to derive from Expressionist theory. But, both movements have had a profound impact on literature, they approach the task of representation in fundamentally different ways.

Impressionism seeks to capture the fleeting impressions of the world, while Expressionism seeks to convey the inner emotional reality of the author by depicting the emotional gesture. So, this is the end of the query of Expressionism vs Impressionism.