Naturalism
Emil
Zola believed in Naturalism in the Theatre (1881). He followed the practices of Comte and thought a play should
be "a slice of life" and "a work ought to be based on truth." He believed that theatre should be a depiction of life and that
"the best style in theatre is the one which best reproduces spoken conversation."
Zola was a novelist and critic, not a playwright. He
did practice naturalism in his works, especially in his depiction of the decay of humanity to its sordid baseness.