20th-century Uzbek literature is the literature of the Soviet period that followed the Jadids. Writers worked under ideological constraints (socialist realism), yet produced many works that deeply reflected the life of the people, history and human psychology. The literature of this period is closest to today’s reader: most of the stories and novellas in the school curriculum were written in these years. Exams ask you to match author — work — character and to state a work’s idea.
§1. Overview of the period
1930s–1950s: the novel and novella take shape; historical themes; poetry of the war years (1941–1945).
1960s–1980s: the "thaw" — the inner world of the individual, moral problems, a return to historical memory; a new generation of poets (Erkin Vohidov, Abdulla Oripov, Rauf Parfi).
Main genres: novel, novella, short story, drama, lyric poetry, narrative poem (doston); in poetry the barmoq metre became dominant, while aruz survived in the ghazal.
When analysing, consider when the work was written: many authors expressed their ideas through symbols and allusions.
Why does the period matter? In wartime poetry, for example, the main themes were patriotism and endurance; after the 1960s poets wrote more and more about the inner world of the individual and the fate of language and history.
§2. Masters of prose (1930–1960)
G‘afur G‘ulom (1903–1966) — poet and prose writer.
The novella «Shum bola» ("The Naughty Boy") — the adventures of the clever rascal Qoravoy portray old-time life with humour and satire.
The poem «Sen yetim emassan» ("You Are Not an Orphan", 1942) — the people’s care for children orphaned by the war.
Poems «Sog‘inish», «Kuzatish»; the novella «Yodgor».
Worked example
In what historical situation was G‘afur G‘ulom’s poem «Sen yetim emassan» ("You Are Not an Orphan") written, and what is its idea?
Date and situation: 1942, the Second World War; thousands of orphaned children evacuated from areas near the front were brought to Uzbekistan.
Reality: Uzbek families took these children in as their own, and the poem expresses this kindness of the people.
Artistic device: the lyric speaker addresses the orphan directly and comforts the child: there is a new home and a family.
Answer: wartime; the idea is humanity and the people’s compassion — treating a child of another nation as one’s own.
Oybek (Muso Toshmuhammad o‘g‘li, 1905–1968).
«Qutlug‘ qon» ("Sacred Blood") — life before the revolution; the characters Yo‘lchi, Gulnor and Mirzakarimboy.
«Navoiy» (1944) — a historical-biographical novel about Alisher Navoi and Herat in his time.
«Bolalik» ("Childhood") — an autobiographical novella.
Abdulla Qahhor (1907–1968) — the leading master of the Uzbek short story, known for his concise, precise and ironic style.
Stories: «Bemor» ("The Sick Woman"; Sotiboldi, a poor man unable to cure his wife), «O‘g‘ri» ("The Thief"; Qobil bobo, a peasant whose ox is stolen, and the officials’ abuses), «Anor» ("The Pomegranate"; Turobjon, unable to get a pomegranate for his pregnant wife), «Dahshat» ("Horror"; Unsin).
Identify the main conflict and idea of Qahhor’s story «O‘g‘ri».
Event: Qobil bobo’s ox is stolen; he goes to the officials for help.
The officials (the amin, the ellikboshi) extort bribes from him instead of helping.
The conflict is between a simple peasant and corrupt officials; the real "thief" is the system itself.
Idea: exposing the injustice and oppression of the colonial era; the title is symbolic.
§3. Poetry and drama (1930–1960)
Hamid Olimjon (1909–1944) — narrative poems «Zaynab va Omon» and «Oygul bilan Baxtiyor» (the latter based on a folk tale), the drama «Muqanna»; lyric poems.
Zulfiya (1915–1996) — poet, wife of Hamid Olimjon; «Bahor keldi seni so‘roqlab» ("Spring came asking for you") — loyalty and longing.
Maqsud Shayxzoda (1908–1967) — the tragedy «Mirzo Ulug‘bek»: the tragedy of a great scholar, the clash of knowledge and ignorance; the lyric poem «Toshkentnoma».
Usmon Nosir — a gifted lyric poet, victim of the repressions; Mirtemir.
§4. Prose of the 1960s–1980s
Said Ahmad (1920–2007) — the trilogy «Ufq»; the comedy «Kelinlar qo‘zg‘oloni» ("The Daughters-in-Law’s Revolt"; Farmonbibi); the novel «Jimjitlik».
O‘tkir Hoshimov (1941–2013) — «Bahor qaytmaydi», «Dunyoning ishlari» (memoir-stories about his mother), «Ikki eshik orasi» (the war and the post-war village), «Nur borki, soya bor».
Pirimqul Qodirov (1928–2010) — «Yulduzli tunlar» ("Starry Nights") — a historical novel about Babur’s life.
Shukur Xolmirzayev — master of the short story and novella.
Xudoyberdi To‘xtaboyev — «Sariq devni minib» ("Riding the Yellow Giant", the adventures of Hoshimjon), an adventure-satirical novel for children.
§5. Poetry of the 1960s–1980s
Erkin Vohidov (1936–2016) — the qasida «O‘zbegim», the poem «Ruhlar isyoni» ("Revolt of Spirits", about the Bengali poet Nazrul Islam), the comedy «Oltin devor»; translated Goethe’s «Faust» into Uzbek.
Abdulla Oripov (1941–2016) — the poem «O‘zbekiston», a philosophical meditation on the history and fate of the homeland; the drama-poem «Jannatga yo‘l»; author of the lyrics of the State Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Distinguish the novels «Yulduzli tunlar» and «Ulug‘bek xazinasi».
«Yulduzli tunlar» — by Pirimqul Qodirov; the hero is Babur.
«Ulug‘bek xazinasi» — by Odil Yoqubov; at its centre are Mirzo Ulug‘bek and the fate of his scholarly legacy.
Both are historical novels, but about different heroes and eras (mid-15th century vs late 15th — early 16th century).
The trap: "starry" suggests Ulugh Beg the astronomer, but the novel is about Babur.
§6. Socialist realism, repression and "meaning between the lines"
From the 1930s socialist realism was declared the only official method of Soviet literature: writers had to depict life "in its revolutionary development" from the Party’s point of view. In the repressions of 1937–1938 Qodiriy, Cho‘lpon, Fitrat, Usmon Nosir and others perished, and many works were banned.
As a result literature developed two layers: an official one that met ideological demands and a hidden one that told the truth through symbol, historical theme and allegory.
During the "thaw" from the mid-1950s some repressed writers were rehabilitated, and attention to the inner life of the individual grew.
In the 1960s–1980s historical themes (Navoi, Ulugbek, Babur, Beruni) became a safe way to recall national identity.
When reading a Soviet-era work, ask: what did the author say openly, and what through symbol?
Worked example
Why did works about historical figures multiply in the 1960s–1980s (Shayxzoda’s «Mirzo Ulug‘bek», Odil Yoqubov’s «Ulug‘bek xazinasi», Pirimqul Qodirov’s «Yulduzli tunlar»)?
Constraint: openly criticising present-day problems was dangerous.
Opportunity: writing about the past allowed freer reflection on knowledge and ignorance, power and the individual, homeland and exile.
Social need: readers wanted to know their national history and great ancestors, and these books awakened national self-awareness.
Answer: the historical theme became both a means of restoring historical memory and a way of speaking allegorically about contemporary problems.
Check yourself
Who wrote the novella «Shum bola»?
Who is the main character of the story «Bemor»?
Who wrote the tragedy «Mirzo Ulug‘bek»?
Who translated Goethe’s «Faust» into Uzbek?
In which year did Oybek write the novel «Navoiy»?
Who wrote the novel «Ikki eshik orasi»?
Who is the main character of «Yulduzli tunlar»?
Who wrote the words of the State Anthem of Uzbekistan?
Common mistakes
Naming Abdulla Qahhor as the author of «Shum bola» (it is G‘afur G‘ulom).
Thinking «Yulduzli tunlar» is about Ulugh Beg (it is about Babur).
Confusing the tragedy «Mirzo Ulug‘bek» (Shayxzoda) with the novel «Ulug‘bek xazinasi» (Odil Yoqubov).
Attributing «Zaynab va Omon» to Hamza or the Jadids (it is Hamid Olimjon’s).
Attributing «Kelinlar qo‘zg‘oloni» to Qahhor (it is Said Ahmad’s).
Dismissing Soviet-era works as purely ideological and missing their symbolic, hidden meanings.