The First Manifesto of Surrealism in Surrealism
How revolutionary was Surrealism? Shucks, it had its very own manifesto.
In 1924, André Breton, a French poet who is also the most important figure in the Surrealist movement, issued The First Manifesto of Surrealism. The publication of this manifesto is considered to mark the "official" beginning of the Surrealist movement.
In the manifesto, Breton defined Surrealism as: "Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express—verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner—the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern."
Yeah, they were confusing, but the Surrealists were also organized (and used a ton of SAT vocab words). As we can see, the emphasis on automatic writing and the irrational—which characterizes Surrealism as a movement—was already present in Breton's definition of Surrealism. This manifesto played a very important part in defining the movement and giving it expression.
Chew On This
The First Manifesto of Surrealism defined Surrealism as a movement.
And here's a poem by André Breton, "No Proof," which shows automatic writing—one of the concepts defined in The First Manifesto—in action.