ARTISTIC REFLECTION OF REAL-LIFE FACTS IN THE PLAYS OF ILYAS EFENDYEV

Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 168/2025 63 PHILOLOGICAL SCIENCES ARTISTIC REFLECTION OF REAL-LIFE FACTS IN THE PLAYS OF ILYAS EFENDYEV Rzayeva G. Senior Lecturer Agjabadi Branch of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Azerbaijan https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17608970 Abstract In the history of Azerbaijani literature, one of the personalities who played an important role in the development of dramaturgy, prose and journalism since the middle of the 20th century was Ilyas Efendiyev. In addition to continuing the realistic traditions of national literature, he also gave impetus to the formation of new artistic and aesthetic qualities. The writer's creativity has become an expression not only of the literary process, but also of the socio-moral landscape of the era. Ilyas Efendiyev is one of the personalities who formed an important stage in the development of Azerbaijani literature. His works have left an indelible mark on the psychological depth of national dramaturgy, the formation of modern artistic language and the artistic expression of human spirituality in art. The writer's creativity remains relevant for our modern era, both from a literary and moral-aesthetic point of view. Ilyas Efendiyev, in addition to continuing the realistic traditions of national literature, gave impetus to the formation of new artistic and aesthetic qualities. The writer's work has become an expression not only of the literary process, but also of the socio-moral landscape of the era. Keywords: Ilyas Efendiyev, realism, national literature, truths of life, play, dramaturgy, creative manner, etc. Ilyas Efendiyev (1914–1996) took his first steps in literature in the genre of short stories, but later became known more as a playwright. One of the main innovations he brought to literature was the ability to delve into the depths of human psychology, a dramaturgical model based on internal monologue and situational tension. In Efendiyev's works, simple events of everyday life are filled with deep philosophical and spiritual content. The main themes in the writer's works are values such as human dignity, moral purity, conscience, love and freedom. He presents human character under the influence of the social environment, and also brings to the fore the moment of moral choice of each hero. This aspect is clearly visible in his plays such as "You Are Always With Me", "The Song Remained in the Mountains", "The Atayevs' Family", "The Battle of Lovers in Hell" (1, p.4). In Azerbaijani literature, Ilyas Efendiyev (1914– 1996) is one of the artists who opened a new stage in the development of dramaturgy in the second half of the 20th century. He is known as a writer who penetrated the depths of human psychology in national dramaturgy and artistically reflected the socio-moral problems of the time with real shades of life. The events, images and situations in Efendiyev's plays present a real picture of Azerbaijani society, fully showing the relationships between people and time. One of the main poetic features of Ilyas Efendiyev's dramaturgy is realism. The writer presents life material as it is, without idealizing it, but with artistic generalization. In plays such as "You Are Always With Me", "The Atayev Family", "Days of Joy", "The Song Remained in the Mountains", "Strange Boy", the fate of people from different walks of life, their spiritual searches, conflicts and relationships with the social environment are vividly reflected. The main idea for Efendiyev is the issue of human moral integrity and inner freedom. He reveals the inner world of his heroes with psychological details, presenting them against the background of real life contradictions. Efendiyev brings to the center of dramaturgy such problems as the moral crisis arising in the process of development of society, the undermining of the family institution, alienation in human relations, the clash of modernity and tradition. For example, in the play “The Atayevs’ Family”, intra-family relations, intergenerational conflict and the concept of moral responsibility are realistically developed. Here the writer shows that social well-being does not provide a person’s moral comfort, and the loss of moral values leads to individual tragedies. In the play “You are always with me”, the author realistically describes the psychological picture of the post-war years, the moral turmoil of a person related to memory and love. The work presents the socio-cultural realities of the era in unity with personal feelings. The play focuses on the impact of war on human psychology and social relations. The work shows both individual and collective tragedy: the heroes face losses, memories and mutual responsibilities. Efendiyev formulates the idea here as follows: historical and social difficulties can change the inner world of a person, but they retain the spiritual integrity and power of love. The heroes of the play are depicted with realistic portraits. They reflect the person of the modern era, full of internal contradictions and psychological complexities. The main character is a person who has gone through wars and losses, but has preserved his spiritual stability. His internal dialogues show a person being caught between hope and fear. The female image in Ilyas Efendiyev's play acts as a family, love and moral support. She also performs the function of a bridge between the past and the future. The supporting characters in the work reflect different layers of society 64 Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 168/2025 and the social realities of the time. Their dialogues illuminate social conflicts and people's relationships with each other. Each of the characters enhances both the dramatic tension and artistic meaning in the play (2, p.17). As for the artistic features of the work, Efendiyev presents the events as they are, far from artificial idealism. The social and moral crisis of the post-war society is reflected in the characters. The internal monologues and mutual relations of the heroes accurately show their psychological state. The conversations of the characters are simple, natural and convincing, reflecting the social and moral state of each character. In the work, the author symbolically shows the impact of war and losses through memories, music and everyday events. Although the structure of the play is based on the principles of classical dramaturgy, Efendiyev enriches it with psychological realism. Events develop sequentially, but the author's attention is mainly focused on the inner world of the heroes. This gives the work both dramaturgical and philosophical depth. The play "You Are Always With Me" is a brilliant example of Ilyas Efendiyev's art of reflecting real life realities in artistic form. By realistically presenting human destinies, moral and psychological difficulties after the war, the author brought a valuable example of psychological realism to Azerbaijani dramaturgy (3, p.38). The play emphasizes the importance of preserving the spiritual integrity of a person in both an individual and social context. The heroes of Ilyas Efendiyev are not artificial, but living portraits of society. They live with the worries, desires and contradictions of everyday life. The writer preserves reality in their manner of speaking, behavior, and feelings. This is especially evident in the play “The Song Remained in the Mountains”. Here, the bitter reality of the war years, losses and the unshakable will of man are expressed in poetic language. Efendiyev also pays special attention to the psychological depth of female characters. In his plays, a woman is presented not only as an object of love, but also as a spiritual support, a personality standing at the center of family and society. Ilyas Efendiyev's language is simple, but has an emotional impact. He clearly shows the social status, way of thinking, and psychological state of the characters through colloquial language. The author's stage speech is based on natural dialogues in life, which gives the plays sincerity and credibility. Efendiyev combines the principles of classical dramaturgy with the psychological depth of modern dramaturgy in the artistic structure. Ilyas Efendiyev's plays reflect the stages of social and moral development of Azerbaijani society as an artistic chronicle. In his work, real life realities are presented not only as a subject of observation, but also as an object of artistic and philosophical analysis. In Efendiyev's dramaturgy, the clash of a person's inner world and the social environment has created a new qualitative stage in the development of the national theater. Efendiyev presents the spiritual world of man, social and moral problems, as well as the values of patriotism, family, friendship and labor on a dramatic level, giving an educational message to the audience. In Efendiyev's plays, the educational significance is manifested in several aspects. In the plays, the internal struggle of the heroes, their moral dilemma and the process of choice provide the audience with a moral example. For example, in the play "You Are Always With Me", the psychological and moral revival of the heroes who have gone through the war teaches the values of humanity, patience and conscience to young people (4, p.27). In the work "The Atayevs' Family", the issue of intergenerational conflict and the preservation of family values is shown through dramatic means. The plays emphasize the importance of properly building family relationships, and children are educated in a sense of respect for the family and responsibility. The author's plays were mainly written against the backdrop of war and social crisis. Patriotism, social responsibility and labor values are one of the main themes in these works. In the play “The Song Remained in the Mountains”, the consequences of war and the support of people for each other, as well as the importance of national unity and solidarity, are instilled in the audience. In Efendiyev’s plays, he shows the consequences of right and wrong, justice and injustice through the choices of the heroes. This educates the audience’s thinking and develops their ability to judge ethically and morally. Ilyas Efendiyev uses various artistic means to realize the educational goal. The inner world of the heroes is presented clearly and convincingly for the audience. This develops a sense of empathy and understanding in the younger generation. Social and moral issues are clearly visible through simple and natural dialogues. Also, motifs such as war, loss, and memories strengthen the educational message. Ilyas Efendiyev’s plays are an important example of the educational function in Azerbaijani dramaturgy. They are not only intended for performance, but also serve the spiritual and moral development of the younger generation. In his plays, Efendiyev presents the inner world of man, family, friendship, patriotism and moral choices in realistic and artistic-philosophical shades, forming thoughts and feelings in the audience. From this point of view, his works are evaluated as an important tool for both theater and educational work (5, p.47). Efendiyev's dramaturgy brought a modern breath to Azerbaijani theater art. Unlike the classical concept of conflict, he brought internal drama and psychological contradictions to the fore. In his works, stage events are presented in the form of a moral struggle rather than an external confrontation. His heroes no longer fit into simple categories such as "positive" and "negative"; they listen to the voice of their conscience in the face of life's complex dilemmas. The writer's language is sincere, natural and rich in artistic expression. Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 168/2025 65 Efendiyev's dramaturgy, especially in the 1960s– 80s, laid the foundation for modern psychological theater on the Azerbaijani stage. His plays, while continuing the traditions of Jafar Jabbarli, also reflected the aesthetic searches of the new era. Ilyas Efendiyev also showed fruitful creativity in the field of prose. In his stories and narratives such as “Don't Look Back, Old Man”, “The Tale of Valehin with a Yellow Shirt”, “The Day of the Murder”, the writer brought to the forefront the inner world of man, values such as conscience and responsibility. His prose language is poetic, emotional and realistic (6, p.51). In his journalistic articles, the writer attached special importance to the role of literature and art in the moral education of the people, and to the fact that art should serve man. Ilyas Efendiyev's creativity is not limited to his time. His artistic and aesthetic principles have become a school for subsequent generations of writers. Efendiyev's influence is also clearly felt in the work of authors such as Anar, Elchin, and Isi Malikzade. He turned the elegance and inner freedom of the spiritual world of man into the main value of literature, and strengthened the line of humanism and aesthetic realism in Azerbaijani literature. Ilyas Efendiyev is one of the personalities who formed an important stage in the development of Azerbaijani literature. His works left an indelible mark on the psychological depth of national dramaturgy, the formation of modern artistic language, and the artistic expression of human spirituality in art. The writer's work remains relevant for our modern era, both from a literary and spiritual-aesthetic point of view. References: 1. Efendiyev I. Selected Works. Baku: Yazichi, 1985. 2. Mirzayev M. Ilyas Efendiyev's Dramaturgy. Baku: Elm, 2002. 3. Gasimzade Y. History of Azerbaijani Dramaturgy. Baku: Maarif, 1987. 4. Mammadli R. Psychological realism in the dramaturgy of 20th century Azerbaijan. Baku: Science and Education, 2014. 5. Guliyev N. The problem of modernity and realism in Azerbaijani literature. Baku: Science, 2008. 6. Huseynov M. Ilyas Efendiyev: the image of man and time. “Azerbaijan” magazine, No. 5, 2016.