What is Surrealism?

Surrealism in literature can be defined as an artistic attempt to bridge together

reality and the imagination. Surrealists seek to overcome the contradictions of the
conscious and unconscious minds by creating unreal or bizarre stories full of
juxtapositions.
Founded by André Breton (1896-1966), surrealism began as an artistic movement in
Paris in the 1920s and lasted until the 1940s. Writer and philosopher Breton
propelled this movement with his publication of The Manifesto of Surrealism, as a
way of fighting against the way art was understood at the time.
With the horrors of World War I still in Europe's wake, art had become controlled by
politics. It came to be used as a way of maintaining order and keeping the
revolution at bay. However, surrealists wanted to break free from the constraints
being posed on art, and to do so in an extreme, yet positive way. Though they
fought against political control, the movement's goal was not political in nature.
Surrealism sought to free people spiritually and psychologically. These artists and
writers wanted to repair the damage done by WWI. Unfortunately, World War II was
on the brink, and such a movement made the surrealists a target. During the rise of
Nazism and Fascism, many surrealists were forced to seek haven in America.
Fortunately for American culture, their ideas began affecting changes in the States
as well.
While the movement itself may have ended, surrealism still exists in much of
today's literature. Using surrealist imagery, ideas, or poetic techniques, writers
attempt to stretch the boundaries, free the mind, and make readers think.

Characteristics in Literature
Surrealism is meant to be strange and shocking. It is meant to push the envelope in
a way that forces people out of their comfortable ideas, so much so that it has even
been known to cause riots. While the idea of surrealism is complex, surrealist
literature does have common characteristics:
Surrealist literature will have contrasting images or ideas. This technique is used to
help readers make new connections and expand the reader's reality, or rather the
reader's idea of what reality is. They pull from Freudian ideas of 'free association' as
a way to steer readers away from societal influence and open up the individual's
mind.
Surrealism will use images and metaphors to compel the reader to think deeper and
reveal subconscious meaning. Instead of relying on plot, surrealist writers instead
focus on the characters, discovery, and imagery to force readers to dig into their
unconscious and analyze what they find.
Surrealism also uses poetic styles to create dreamlike and fantastic stories that often
defy logic. Rather than incorporate the normal prosaic structure like linear plots
and structured settings, surrealism uses poetic techniques, like leaps in thinking
(free association), abstract ideas, and nonlinear timelines.

Literary Examples
Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) was a French poet known for his obscure and
surreal writing style. One collection of poetry, Les Poésies de S. Mallarmé, is known to
have inspired and pushed the surrealist movement forward.
(excerpt taken from the poem 'Les Fenêtres')
'And I feel that I am dying, and, through the medium
Of art or of mystical experience, I want to be reborn,
Wearing my dream like a diadem, in some better land
Where beauty flourishes.'
In this excerpt, notice Mallarmé's shift away from reality and towards the 'dream'.
Surrealism strives to expand the reader's idea of what reality is. Here, Mallarmé
writes of how he uses art to get closer to this new reality, where dreams can be
worn like a 'diadem' (or crown), meaning something to show off proudly.