motive
MOTIVE (from the Latin moveo “I move”) is a term transferred from music, where it denotes a group of several notes, rhythmically designed. analogies with this in literary criticism the term “M.” begins to be used to designate the minimal component of a work of art, a further indecomposable element of content (Scherer). In this sense, the concept of M. plays a particularly large, perhaps central, role in the comparative study of plots of predominantly oral literature (see, Folklore); here is a comparison of similar M.Used both as a method of reconstructing the original form of the plot and as a way of tracing its migration, it becomes almost the only method of research in all pre-Marxist schools from the Aryan Grimms and the comparative mythological M. Muller to the anthropological, eastern and comparative historical inclusive.
The depravity of the concept of M. beyond folklore, especially popularized by the formalists in their polemics with the cultural-historical school in the mechanistic concept artistic method as a technique for combining a certain number of qualitatively unchanged elements; This concept presupposes the separation of the technique (techniques) of artistic mastery from its content, i.e.
E. ultimately the separation of form from content. Therefore, in the concrete historical analysis of a literary work, the concept of M. as a formalistic concept is subject to significant criticism (see, Plot, Topics). Another meaning of the term “M.” has among representatives of Western European subjective-idealistic literary criticism, who define it as “the experience of the poet, taken in its significance” (Dilthey).
M. in this sense the starting point artistic creativity, the totality of the poet’s ideas and feelings, seeking an accessible design, determining the choice of the very material of the poetic work, and thanks to the unity of the individual or national spirit expressed in them, repeating in the works of one poet, one era, one nation and thereby accessible to isolation and analysis.
Contrasting the creative consciousness with the matter it shapes, this understanding of motive is built on the opposition of subject to object, so typical of subjective-idealistic systems, and is subject to exposure in Marxist literary criticism. Bibliography:
The concept of motive in comparative literature Veselovsky A.
N., plots, Collection. sochin., vol. II, issue. I, St. Petersburg, 1913; Leyen G. D., Das Marchen, ; R.M., Fairy tale. Research into the plot of a folk tale. T. I. Great Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian fairy tale, State University of Culture, Odessa, 1924; Arne A.
Vergleichende Marchenforschung (Russian translation by A. Andreeva, 1930); Krohn K., Die folkloristische Arbeitsmethode. See also “Fairy tale”, “Folklore”. The concept of motive among the formalists Shklovsky V., On the theory of prose, ed. "Circle", M., 1925; Fleschenberg, Rhetorische Forschungen, Dibelius-Englische Romankunst (preface). See also “Methods of Pre-Marxist Literary Studies.” The concept of motive in Dilthey’s school Dilthey W., Die Einbildungskraft des Dichters, “Ges.
Schriften", VI, 1924; His, Das Erlebnis und die Dichtung, 1922; Korner J., Motiv; "Reallexikon der deutschen Literaturgeschichte", hrsg. v. Merker u. Stammler. .
Laboratory lesson No. 4
LABORATORY PRACTICUM
Humor
Caesura
Development of action, denouement, story, “story within a story,” realism, remark, reminiscence, retardation, retrospection, rhythm, rhyme, rich rhyme, hyperdactylic rhyme, dactylic rhyme, female rhyme, ring rhyme, masculine rhyme, imprecise rhyme, cross rhyme , adjacent rhyme, exact rhyme, literary genre, novel, romanticism
WITH arcasm, satire, sextine, semiotics, septet, sentimentalism, symbolism, synecdoche, synonyms, author's rating system, content of a literary work, sonnet, spondee, comparison, style, style dominant, stylization, verse, poem, poetic foot, poetic meter, extended line, truncated line, “Onegin stanza”, poetic stanza, plot, plot, plot elements
T theme, topic, textual criticism, literary theory, terzas, literary type, typification, tragedy, tribrachium, tropes
U intensification, silence
F abula, fantasy, feuilleton, artistic form
Character, trochee, chronotope, artistry
Exposition, elegy, epigram, epilogue, epitaph, epithet, occasional epithet, metaphorical epithet, epic, epos,
Note: The highlighted terms are not included in the “Vocabulary” section of the practical lesson plans, however, their inclusion in individual dictionaries as you study the course and knowledge is mandatory.
1. The problem of motive in literary criticism.
2. Classifications of motives.
3. Folklore motifs in literature.
Quests
1. Study the works of A.N. Veselovsky “Poetics of Plots”, M.M. Bakhtin “Forms of time and chronotope in the novel” (1937-1938), research literature on the topic. Find out the following questions:
– what scientists put into the content of the concept motive;
– how concepts are related motive And plot in the works of scientists;
– which of the proposed definitions of motive is correct (illustrate the answer with examples); Please explain if more than one option is selected:
motive is 1) the theme of the work or the hero’s statement;
2) a repeated word or combination of words;
3) a recurring event or phenomenon.
2. Make a supporting summary that reveals the content of the concept motive, including a typology of motives identified by literary scholars. Complete it with the classification presented in Western European literary criticism (see below). Give examples of various kinds of motifs in folklore and literature.
“Motive (lat. motivus - motivating),<…>3. content-structural unity as a typical, meaningful situation that embraces general thematic ideas (as opposed to something defined and framed through specific features material
3. Identify the motives that unite the works of I.A. Bunina:
– “For everything, Lord, I thank you!..” (1901), “Loneliness” (1903);
- “Portrait” (1903), “The day will come - I will disappear...” (1916), “Never-Settling Light” (1917).
Individual task
Prepare a message on the topic: “Cross-cutting motives in Russian literature.”
Dictionary: motive.
Text for classroom work: texts of literary classics (student's choice)
Literature
1. Bakhtin M.M. Forms of time and chronotope in the novel. Essays on historical poetics// Bakhtin M.M. Literary critical articles. – M.: Khud. lit., 1986. – P. 121-290.
2. Veselovsky A.N. Poetics of plots // // Introduction to literary criticism: Reader: Textbook. allowance / Ed. P.A. Nikolaev. – M., 1988. – P. 285-288 (// Osmakova L.N. Reader on the theory of literature. – M., 1982. – P. 361–369).
3. Propp V.Ya. Historical roots fairy tale – L.: Leningrad State University Publishing House, 1986.
4. Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics: Textbook. allowance. – M., 1999. – P. 182-186-199, 230-240, 323-324.
5. Khalizev V.E. Theory of literature. – M., 1999. – P. 266–269.
6. Tselkova L.N. Motive // Introduction to literary criticism. Literary work: Basic concepts and terms: Textbook. allowance / Ed. L.V. Chernets. – M.: graduate School, 1999. – P. 202–209.
Every poem is a veil stretched out
on the edge of a few words. These words glow
like stars. Because of them the work exists.
The term “motive” is quite ambiguous, because it is used in many disciplines - psychology, linguistics, etc.
This article will discuss the MOTIF OF A LITERARY WORK
MOTIVE - (from Latin moveo - I move) is a recurring component of a literary work that has increased significance.
Motif is a key term when analyzing the composition of a work.
The properties of a motif are its isolation from the whole and its repeatability in a variety of variations.
For example, biblical motifs.
Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita.
Bulgakov's novel is largely based on a reinterpretation of evangelical and biblical ideas and plots. The central motifs of the novel are the motifs of freedom and death, suffering and forgiveness, execution and mercy. Bulgakov's interpretation of these motifs is very far from the traditional biblical ones.
Thus, the hero of the novel, Yeshua, does not in any way declare his messianic destiny, while the biblical Jesus says, for example, in a conversation with the Pharisees, that he is not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God: “I and the Father are one.”
Jesus had disciples. Only Matthew Levi followed Yeshua. According to the Gospel, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, accompanied by his disciples. In the novel, Pilate asks Yeshua whether it is true that he rode into the city through the Susa Gate on a donkey, and he replies that he “doesn’t even have a donkey.” He came to Yershalaim exactly through the Susa Gate, but on foot, accompanied by only Levi Matvey, and no one shouted anything to him, since no one knew him in Yershalaim then” (c)
The quotation can be continued, but I think it is already clear: biblical motifs in the image of the hero have undergone a serious refraction. Bulgakov's Yeshua is not a god-man, but simply a man, at times weak, even pathetic, extremely lonely, but great in his spirit and all-conquering kindness. He does not preach all Christian dogmas, but only ideas of good that are significant for Christianity, but do not constitute everything Christian teaching.
Another main motive is also rethought - the motive of the Antichrist. If in the biblical interpretation Satan is the personification of evil, then in Bulgakov he is part of that force “that always wants evil and always does good.”
Why did Bulgakov so radically overturn traditional ideas? Apparently, in order to emphasize the author’s understanding of eternal philosophical questions: what is the meaning of life? Why does man exist?
We see a completely different interpretation of the same biblical motifs in Dostoevsky.
Hard labor changed Dostoevsky radically - a revolutionary and atheist turned into a deeply religious person. (“... Then fate helped me, penal servitude saved me... I became a completely new person... I understood myself there... I understood Christ..." (c)
Accordingly, after hard labor and exile, the religious theme becomes the central theme of Dostoevsky’s work.
That is why after “Crime and Punishment” the novel “The Idiot” had to appear, after the rebel Raskolnikov, who preached “the permission of blood,” - the ideal “Prince Christ” - Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, preaching love for one’s neighbor with every step of his life.
Prince Myshkin is truth caught in a world of lies; their collision and tragic struggle are inevitable and predetermined. In the words of General Epanchina, “They don’t believe in God, they don’t believe in Christ!” the writer’s cherished idea is expressed: the moral crisis experienced by contemporary humanity is a religious crisis.
In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky connects the decay of Russia and the growth revolutionary movement with unbelief and atheism. Moral idea novel, the struggle between faith and unbelief (“the devil fights with God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people,” says Dmitry Karamazov) goes beyond the Karamazov family. Ivan's denial of God gives rise to the sinister figure of the Inquisitor. “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor” is Dostoevsky’s greatest creation. Its meaning is that Christ loves everyone, including those who do not love him. He came to save sinners. The kiss of Christ is a call highest love, the last call of sinners to repentance.
Another example is Block. Twelve.
The work contains the image of Christ - but which one? The one who leads the twelve apostles of the new faith or the one whom the new apostles lead to execution?
There may be several interpretations, but “It was not biblical christ, not the real Christ. Let any of you turn to the Gospel and think, is it possible to imagine Jesus of Nazareth wearing a “white crown of roses”? No no. It's a shadow, a ghost. This is a parody. This is the split consciousness that misled our fathers.
Blok wrote that he walked along the dark streets of Petrograd and saw snowstorm whirlwinds swirling and he saw that figure there. It was not Christ, but it seemed to him that it was so good, so wonderful. But it wasn't good. It was a tragedy. Blok realized this, unfortunately, too late. This means that Christ was not there. There wasn't. What is the answer? Blok, as a prophet, felt people’s faith that the world could be redrawn in a bloody way and that this would be for the good. In this regard, his Christ is a pseudo-Christ. The “white corolla” contains an unconscious insight - this is an image of a pseudo-Christ. And when he turned around, it turned out that it was the Antichrist" (c)
Despite the inexhaustibility of examples of the use of biblical motifs, I will allow myself to limit myself to only these examples.
I think the main thing is clear – I’m talking about motive as a compositional category.
MOTIVE is a certain starting point for creativity, a set of ideas and feelings of the author, an expression of his worldview.
A motif is a component of a work that has increased significance.
“...Any phenomenon, any semantic “spot” - an event, character trait, landscape element, any object, spoken word, paint, sound, etc. can act as a motif in a work; the only thing that determines the motive is its reproduction in the text, so in contrast to the traditional plot narrative, where it is more or less determined in advance what can be considered discrete components (“characters” or “events”) (c) B. Gasparov.
Thus, throughout Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” there is a motif of the cherry orchard as a symbol of Home, Beauty, and Sustainability of life. (“It’s already May, the cherry trees are blooming, but it’s cold in the garden, it’s a matinee” - “Look, the late mother is walking through the garden... in a white dress!” - “Come everyone to watch Ermolai Lopakhin swing an ax at the cherry orchard and how they will fall to the ground trees!").
In Bulgakov's play "Days of the Turbins" the same motifs are embodied in the image of cream curtains. (“But, despite all these events, in the dining room, in essence, it’s wonderful. It’s hot, cozy, the cream curtains are drawn” - “... cream curtains... behind them you rest your soul... you forget about all the horrors of the civil war”)
The motif is in close contact and intersects with repetitions and their similarities, but is not identical to them.
The motif is present in the work in the most different forms- a separate word or phrase, repeated and varied, or appear in the form of a title or epigraph, or remain only guessable, lost in the subtext.
There are main (=leading) and secondary motives.
LEADING MOTIVE, or
LEITMOTHIO - the prevailing mood, the main theme, the main ideological and emotional tone of a literary work, a writer’s work, a literary movement; specific image or phrase artistic speech, persistently repeated in a work as a constant characteristic of a character, experience or situation.
In the process of repetition or variation, the leitmotif evokes certain associations, acquiring special ideological, symbolic and psychological depths.
The leading motive organizes the second, secret meaning of the work, that is, the subtext.
For example, the theme of the story by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Double" is the split personality of the poor official Golyadkin, who is trying to establish himself in a society that has rejected him with the help of his confident and arrogant "double". As the main theme unfolds, motifs of loneliness, restlessness, hopeless love, and the “discrepancy” of the hero with the life around him arise. The leitmotif of the entire story can be considered the motive of the hero’s fatal doom, despite his desperate resistance to circumstances. (With)
Any work, especially a voluminous one, is formed by the fusion of a very large number of individual motifs. In this case, the main motive coincides with the theme.
Thus, the theme of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is the motif of historical fate, which does not interfere with the parallel development in the novel of a number of other secondary motives, often only remotely related to the theme.
For example,
motive of truth of collective consciousness - Pierre and Karataev;
everyday motive - the ruin of the wealthy noble family of the Counts of Rostov;
numerous love motives: Nikolai Rostov and Sophie, he is also Princess Maria, Pierre Bezukhov and Ellen, Prince. Andrey and Natasha, etc.;
the mystical and so characteristic motif of Tolstoy’s subsequent work of death—reviving death—the dying insights of the book. Andrei Bolkonsky, etc.
VARIETY OF MOTIVES
In literature different eras Many MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIVES occur and function effectively. Constantly being updated in different historical and literary contexts, they at the same time retain their semantic essence.
For example, the motive of the hero’s deliberate death because of a woman.
Werther's suicide in Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther,
the death of Vladimir Lensky in Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”,
death of Romashov in Kuprin's novel "The Duel".
Apparently, this motif can be considered as a transformation of the ancient mythological motif: “the fight for the bride.”
The motif of the hero’s alienation to the world around him is very popular.
This could be the motive of exile (Lermontov. Mtsyri) or the motive of the hero’s foreignness to the vulgarity and mediocrity of the surrounding world (Chekhov. A Boring Story).
By the way, the motif of the hero’s foreignness is the central one that links all seven books about Harry Potter together.
The same motif can receive different symbolic meanings.
For example, the motive of the road.
Compare:
Gogol. Dead souls - the notorious bird-three
Pushkin. Demons
Yesenin. Rus
Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita.
In all these works there is a road motif, but how differently it is presented.
Motives are identified that have very ancient origins, leading to primitive consciousness and, at the same time, developed in the conditions of high civilization in different countries. These are the motives prodigal son, a proud king, a pact with the devil, etc. You can easily remember the examples yourself.
And here interesting point. If you analyze your creativity, go through your things, then determine which motive is most interesting for you. In other words, what question of existence do you intend to solve with your creativity?
A question to ponder, however.
MOTIVE AND THEME
B.V. Tomashevsky wrote: “The theme must be divided into parts, “decomposed” into the smallest narrative units, in order to then string these units onto a narrative core.” This is how the plot develops, i.e. “an artistically constructed distribution of events in the work. Episodes are broken down into even smaller parts that describe individual actions, events, or things. The themes of such small parts of a work that can no longer be divided are called motives.”
MOTIVE AND PLOT
The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated by the Russian philologist A.N. Veselovsky in “The Poetics of Plots”, 1913.
Veselovsky understands a motif as the building block that makes up the plot, and considered motifs to be the simplest formulas that could arise among different tribes independently of each other.
According to Veselovsky, each poetic era works on “bequeathed poetic images from time immemorial,” creating their new combinations and filling them with a “new understanding of life.” As examples of such motives, the researcher cites the kidnapping of the bride, “representation of the sun through the eye,” the struggle of brothers for an inheritance, etc.
Creativity, according to Veselovsky, was manifested primarily in a “combination of motives” that gives one or another individual plot.
To analyze the motive, the scientist used the formula: a + b. For example, “the evil old woman does not like the beauty - and sets her a life-threatening task. Each part of the formula can be modified, especially subject to increment b.”
Thus, the pursuit of the old woman is expressed in the tasks that she asks the beauty. There may be two, three or more of these tasks. Therefore, the formula a + b can become more complicated: a + b + b1 + b2.
Subsequently, combinations of motifs were transformed into numerous compositions and became the basis of such narrative genres as stories, novels, and poems.
The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; various combinations motives make up the plot.
Unlike the motive, the plot could be borrowed, move from people to people, and become “wandering.”
In the plot, each motive plays a certain role: it can be main, secondary, episodic.
Often the development of the same motif is repeated in different plots. Many traditional motifs can be developed into entire plots, while traditional plots, on the contrary, are “collapsed” into one motif.
Veselovsky noted the tendency of great poets, with the help of a “brilliant poetic instinct,” to use plots and motifs that have already been subjected to poetic processing. “They are somewhere in the deep dark region of our consciousness, like much that has been tested and experienced, apparently forgotten and suddenly striking us, like an incomprehensible revelation, like novelty and at the same time antiquity, which we do not give ourselves an account of, because we are often unable to determine the essence of that mental act that unexpectedly renewed old memories in us.” (With)
Veselovsky's position on the motive as an indecomposable and stable unit of narrative was revised in the 1920s.
“Veselovsky’s specific interpretation of the term “motive” can no longer be applied at present,” wrote V. Propp. - According to Veselovsky, a motive is an indecomposable unit of narrative.<…>However, the motives that he cites as examples are unraveling.”
Propp demonstrates the decomposition of the “serpent kidnaps the king’s daughter” motif.
“This motive is decomposed into 4 elements, each of which can be varied individually. The snake can be replaced by Koshchei, whirlwind, devil, falcon, sorcerer. Abduction can be replaced by vampirism and various actions by which disappearance is achieved in the fairy tale. A daughter can be replaced by a sister, fiancee, wife, mother. The king can be replaced by a king's son, a peasant, or a priest.
Thus, contrary to Veselovsky, we must assert that the motive is not single-membered, not indecomposable. The last decomposable unit as such does not represent a logical whole (and according to Veselovsky, the motive is more primary in origin than the plot); we will subsequently have to solve the problem of isolating some primary elements differently than Veselovsky does” (c).
Propp considers these “primary elements” to be the functions of the actors. “A function is understood as an act of an actor, defined in terms of its significance for the course of action” (c)
Functions are repeated and can be counted; all functions are distributed among the characters so that seven “circles of action” and, accordingly, seven types of characters can be distinguished:
pest,
donor,
assistant,
the character you are looking for,
sender,
hero,
false hero
Based on the analysis of 100 fairy tales from the collection of A.N. Afanasyev "Russians" folk tales"V. Propp identified 31 functions within which action develops. These are, in particular:
absence (“One of the family members leaves home”),
ban (“The hero is approached with a ban”),
violation of the ban, etc.
A detailed analysis of one hundred fairy tales with different plots shows that “the sequence of functions is always the same” and that “all fairy tales are of the same type in their structure” (c) despite apparent diversity.
Veselovsky's point of view was also disputed by other scientists. After all, motives arose not only in primitive era, but also later. “It is important to find such a definition of this term,” wrote A. Bem, “that would make it possible to highlight it in any work, both ancient and modern.”
According to A. Bem, “a motif is the ultimate level of artistic abstraction from the specific content of a work, enshrined in the simplest verbal formula.”
As an example, the scientist cites a motif that unites three works: the poem “ Caucasian prisoner"Pushkin, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by Lermontov and the story "Atala" by Chateaubriand, is the love of a foreigner for a captive; incoming motive: the release of a captive by a foreigner, either successful or unsuccessful. And as a development of the original motive - the death of the heroine.
© Copyright: Copyright Competition -K2, 2014
Certificate of publication No. 214050600155
Topic 15. Plot and motive: between “theme” and text. “Complex of motives” and types plot schemes
I. Dictionaries
Subject
1) Sierotwiński S.Subject. The subject of treatment, the main idea developed in a literary work or scientific discussion. The main theme of the work. The main substantive moment in the work, which forms the basis for the construction of the depicted world (for example, the interpretation of the most general foundations of the ideological the meaning of the work, in a fable work - the fate of the hero, in a dramatic work - the essence of the conflict, in a lyrical work - the dominant motives, etc.). Minor theme of the work. Theme of a part of the work, subordinate main topic. The theme of the smallest meaningful integrity into which a work can be divided is called a motive” (S. 278). 2) Wilpert G. von. Subject(Greek - supposed), the main leading idea of the work; in a specific development of the subject under discussion. Generally accepted in special literature concept into German terminology material history(Stoffgeschichte), which distinguishes only material (Stoff) and motive, in contrast to English. and French, not yet included. It is proposed for motives of such a degree of abstraction that they do not contain the grain of action: tolerance, humanity, honor, guilt, freedom, identity, mercy, etc.” (S. 942-943). 3) Dictionary of literary terms. A) Zundelovich Ya. Subject. Stlb. 927-929. “ Subject- the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotional-intellectual core that the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called. content. Topic in in a broad sense words is that holistic image of the world that determines the artist’s poetic worldview.<...>But depending on the material through which this image is refracted, we have one or another reflection of it, i.e., one or another idea (a specific theme), which determines this particular work.” b) Eichenholtz M. Subject. Stlb. 929-937. “ Subjects- totality literary phenomena, constituting the subject-semantic moment of a poetic work. The following terms related to the concept of subject matter are subject to definition: theme, motive, plot, plot of an artistic and literary work.” 4) Abramovich G. Topic // Dictionary of literary terms. pp. 405-406. “ Subject<...>
what is the basis main idea literary work, the main problem posed by the writer in it.” 5) Maslovsky V.I. Topic // LES. P. 437. “ Subject<...>, the circle of events that form the life basis of the epic. or dramatic prod. and at the same time serving for the formulation of philosophical, social, ethical. and other ideological problems." Motive
1) Sierotwiński S. Słownik terminów literackich. S. 161. “ Motive. The theme is one of the smallest meaningful wholes that stands out when analyzing a work.” “ The motive is dynamic. The motive that accompanies a change in a situation (part of an action) is the opposite of a static motive.” “ The motive is free. A motive that is not included in the system of cause-and-effect plot is the opposite of a connected motive.” 2) Wilpert G. von. Sachwörterbuch der Literatur. “ Motive(lat .
motivus - motivating),<...>3. content-structural unity as a typical, meaningful situation that embraces general thematic ideas (as opposed to something defined and framed through specific features material
II. Textbooks, teaching aids
1) Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics. (Theme). “The theme (what is said) is the unity of meaning of the individual elements of the works. You can talk about both the theme of the entire work and the themes individual parts. Every work written in language that has meaning has a theme.<...>In order for a verbal structure to represent a single work, it must have a unifying theme that develops throughout the work.” “...the theme of a work of art is usually emotionally charged, that is, it evokes a feeling of indignation or sympathy, and is developed in an evaluative way” (pp. 176-178). “The concept of a theme is the concept summative, combining the verbal material of the work.<...>the separation from a work of parts that unite each part with a particularly thematic unity is called decomposition of the work.<...>By decomposing the work into thematic parts in this way, we finally arrive at the parts non-degradable, down to the smallest fragmentation of thematic material.<...>The theme of the indecomposable part of the work is called motive <...>From this point of view, the plot is a set of motives in their logical cause-time relationship, the plot is a set of the same motives in the same sequence and connection in which they are given in the work<...>With a simple retelling of the plot of the work, we immediately discover that it is possible lower <...>Non-excludable motives are called related; motives that can be eliminated without violating the integrity of the causal-temporal course of events are free". “The motives that change the situation are dynamic motives, motives that do not change the situation - static motives”(pp. 182-184). 2) Introduction to literary criticism / Ed. G.N. Pospelov. Ch. IX. General properties of the form of epic and dramatic works.<Пункт>The stories are chronicle and concentric (Author - V.E. Khalizev). “The events that make up the plot can be related to each other in different ways. In some cases, they are with each other only in a temporary connection (B happened after A). In other cases, between events, in addition to temporary ones, there are also cause-and-effect relationships (B occurred as a result of A). Yes, in the phrase The king died and the queen died connections of the first type are recreated. In the phrase The king died and the queen died of grief We have before us a connection of the second type. Accordingly, there are two types of plots. Plots with a predominance of purely temporal connections between events are chronic. Plots with a predominance of cause-and-effect relationships between events are called plots of a single action, or concentric” (pp. 171-172). 3) Grekhnev V.A. Verbal image and literary work. “Theme is usually called the circle of phenomena of reality embodied by the writer. This simplest, but also common definition, seems to push us to the idea that the theme is entirely located beyond the line of artistic creation, being in reality itself. If this is true, it is only partly true. The most significant thing is that this is a circle of phenomena that have already been touched artistic thought. They became an object of choice for her. And this is what is most important, even if this choice may not yet be associated with the thought of a specific work” (pp. 103-104). “The direction of choosing a theme is determined not only by the individual preferences of the artist and his life experience, but also by the general atmosphere of the literary era, aesthetic preferences literary trends and schools<...>Finally, the choice of topic is determined by the horizons of the genre, if not in all types of literature, then at least in lyric poetry” (p. 107-109).
III. Special studies
Motive , topic And plot 1) Veselovsky A.N. Poetics of plots // Veselovsky A.N. Historical poetics. “The word “plot” requires a closer definition<...>we must agree in advance what is meant by plot, to distinguish motive from plot as a complex of motives.” "Under motive I mean a formula that, in the early stages of public opinion, answered the questions that nature posed to man everywhere, or that consolidated especially vivid, seemingly especially important, or repeated impressions of reality. The hallmark of the motif is its figurative, single-member schematism; These are the elements of lower mythology and fairy tales that cannot be further decomposed: someone steals the sun<...>marriages with animals, transformations, an evil old woman torments a beauty, or someone kidnaps her and she has to be obtained by force and dexterity, etc. ”(p. 301). 2) Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale. “Morozko acts differently than Baba Yaga. But a function, as such, is a constant quantity. To study a fairy tale, the question is important What do fairy tale characters, and the question Who does and How does - these are questions of only incidental study. The functions of the characters represent those components that can replace Veselovsky’s “motives...” (p. 29). 3) Freidenberg O.M. The Poetics of Plot and Genre. M., 1997. “The plot is a system of metaphors deployed in verbal action; the whole point is that these metaphors are a system of allegories of the main image” (p. 223). “After all, the point of view put forward by me no longer requires either taking into account or comparing motives; she says in advance, based on the nature of the plot, that under all the motives of a given plot there is always a single image - therefore they are all tautological in the potential form of their existence; and that in design one motive will always be different from another, no matter how much they are brought together...” (224-225). 4) Cavelti J.G. Study of literary formulas. pp. 34-64. “A literary formula is a structure of narrative or dramatic conventions used in very large number works. This term is used in two meanings, combining which we obtain an adequate definition of the literary formula. Firstly, it is a traditional way of describing certain specific objects or people. In this sense, some Homeric epithets can be considered formulas: “Fleet-footed Achilles”, “Zeus the Thunderer”, as well as a whole series his characteristic comparisons and metaphors (for example, “the talking head falls to the ground”), which are perceived as traditional formulas of wandering singers, easily fitting into the dactylic hexameter. With an expansive approach, any culturally determined stereotype often found in literature - red-haired hot-tempered Irishmen, eccentric detectives with remarkable analytical skills, chaste blondes, passionate brunettes - can be considered a formula. It is only important to note that in in this case we are talking about traditional constructs determined by a specific culture of a certain time, which outside this specific context may have a different meaning<...>. Secondly, the term “formula” is often applied to types of plots. This is exactly the interpretation of it that we will find in manuals for beginning writers. where you can find clear instructions on how to play out twenty-one win-win plots: a boy meets a girl, they don’t understand each other, the boy gets a girl. Such general patterns are not necessarily tied to a specific culture and time period<...>As such, they can be seen as examples of what some researchers call archetypes, or patterns, that are common across cultures.<...>Writing a Western requires more than just some understanding of how to construct a compelling adventure story. but also the ability to use certain images and symbols characteristic of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as cowboys, pioneers, outlaws, frontier forts and saloons, along with corresponding cultural themes and mythology: the opposition of nature and civilization, the moral code of the American West or the law - lawlessness and arbitrariness, etc. All this allows you to justify or comprehend the action. Thus, formulas are methods. through which specific cultural themes and stereotypes are embodied in more universal narrative archetypes” (pp. 34-35). 5) Zholkovsky A.K., Shcheglov Yu.K. Works on the poetics of expressiveness. (Appendix. Basic concepts of the “Topic - PV - Text” model). “1.2. Subject. Formally speaking, a topic is the source element of the output. Content-wise, this is a certain value setting, with the help of PV (“techniques of expressiveness” - N.T.) “dissolved” in the text, is a semantic invariant of the entire set of its levels, fragments and other components. Examples of themes include: the theme of the ancient Babylonian “Dialogue of Master and Slave about the Meaning of Life”: (1) the vanity of all earthly desires; theme of "War and Peace": (2) undoubted in human life, simple, real, and not artificial, far-fetched values, the meaning of which becomes clear in crisis situations...<...>All these topics represent certain statements about (= situations from) life. Let's call them themes of the first kind. But topics can also be values not about “life”, but about the instruments of artistic creativity themselves - a kind of statement about language of literature, about genres, plot structures, styles, etc. Let's call them themes of the second kind.<...>Usually the topic literary text consists of one or another combination of themes of the 1st and 2nd types. In particular, this is true of works that not only reflect “life”, but also resonate with other ways of reflecting it. “Eugene Onegin” is an encyclopedia of Russian life, styles of Russian speech and styles of artistic thinking at the same time. So, theme is a thought about life and/or about the language of art that permeates the entire text, the formulation of which serves the starting point of the description-inference. In this formulation, all semantic invariants of the text should be explicitly recorded, i.e., everything that the researcher considers to be meaningful quantities that are present in the text and, moreover, cannot be deduced using PV from other quantities already included in the topic” (p. 292) . 6) Tamarchenko N.D. Motives of crime and punishment in Russian literature (Introduction to the problem). “The term “motive” in research literature correlate with two different aspects of a literary work. On the one hand, with this plot element(event or situation) which repeats itself in its composition and/or known from tradition. On the other hand, with the chosen one in this case verbal designation this kind of events and provisions, which is included as element no longer part of the plot, but in composition of the text. The need to distinguish between these aspects in the study of plot was first, as far as we know, shown by V.Ya. Proppom. It was their discrepancy that forced the scientist to introduce the concept of “function”. In his opinion, the actions of the characters in a fairy tale, identical in terms of their role in the course of the action, can have a variety of verbal designations<...>Thus, under the outer layer of a particular plot, an inner layer is revealed. The functions are necessary and always the same, according to V.Ya. Proppa, the sequences form nothing more than a single plot scheme. The verbal designations of its constituent “nodes” (such as dispatch, crossing, difficult tasks etc.); the narrator (storyteller) selects one or another option from the general arsenal of traditional formulas.” “Basic situation directly expressed in the type of plot scheme. How do the complexes of the most important motifs that vary this scheme, characteristic of various genres, relate to it: for example, for a fairy tale (shortage and departure - crossing and the main test - return and elimination of the shortage) or for an epic (disappearance - search - finding)? This problem in our science was posed and solved in a very clear form by O.M. Freudenberg. In her opinion, “the plot is a system of metaphors deployed in action<...>When an image is developed or verbally expressed, it is thereby already subject to a certain interpretation; expression is putting into form, transmission, transcription, and therefore an already known allegory.” What kind of “main image” is the plot recognized here as an interpretation? A little lower it is said that this is “an image cycle of life-death-life": it is clear that we are talking about the content of the cyclical plot scheme. But this scheme can have various variations, and the differences in the motives that implement it do not negate the fact that “all these motives are tautological in the potential form of their existence.” The difference is “the result of differentiating metaphorical terminology,” so that “the composition of the plot depends entirely on the language of metaphors.” Comparing the apparently complementary ideas presented by V.Ya. Propp and O.M. Freudenberg, one can see a “three-layer” or “three-level” structure: (1) “main image” (i.e., the situation generating the plot in its content); (2) interpretation of this image in one or another version of the complex of schema-forming motifs and, finally, (3) interpretation of this version of the plot scheme in multiple verbal designations characteristic of one or another “system of metaphors”. This approach to the problem of motive, plot and its basis (situation) can be compared with that characteristic of German tradition distinguishing the concepts “Motiv”, “Stoff” (plot) and “Thema” according to increasing degrees of abstraction” (p. 41-44). Complex of motives and plot scheme 1) Veselovsky A.N. Poetics of plots // Historical poetics. “The simplest type of motive can be expressed by the formula a+b: the evil old woman does not love the beauty - and sets her a life-threatening task. Each part of the formula can be modified, especially subject to increment b; there can be two, three (popular favorite number) or more tasks; There will be a meeting along the hero’s path, but there may be several of them. So the motive grew into plot. <..>” (p. 301). “But the schematism of the plot is already half conscious, for example, the choice and order of tasks and meetings is not necessarily determined by the theme given by the content of the motive, and presupposes an already known freedom; The plot of a fairy tale, in a certain sense, is already an act of creativity.<...>the less one or another of the alternating tasks and meetings is prepared by the previous one, the weaker their internal connection, so that, for example, each of them could stand in any turn, the more confidently we can assert that if in various folk environments we come across the formula with an equally random sequence<...>we have the right to talk about borrowing...” (p. 301-302). “ Subjects- these are complex schemes, in the imagery of which generalized known acts of human life and psyche in alternating forms of everyday reality. The evaluation of the action, positive or negative, is also connected with the generalization.<...>” (p. 302). “The similarity of outlines between a fairy tale and a myth is explained not by their genetic connection, and a fairy tale would be a bloodless myth, but by the unity of materials and techniques and schemes, only timed differently” (p. 302). “The same points of view can be applied to the consideration of poetic stories And motives; they present the same signs community And repeatability from myth to epic, fairy tale, local saga and novel; and here it is allowed to talk about a dictionary of typical schemes and provisions...” “Under plot I mean a theme in which various situations-motives scurry about...” (p. 305) / “I do not want to say by this that the poetic act is expressed only in repetition or a new combination of typical plots. There are anecdotal stories, prompted by some random incident...” (p. 305-306). 2) Zelinsky F.F. Origin of Comedy // Zelinsky F. From the life of ideas. “As you can see, there is no common, central dramatic motif that would dominate the entire play (meaning Aristophanes’ comedy “The Acharnians” - N.T.), as is customary in our comedy; to put it briefly, we can say that in Aristophanes we have stringing dramatic, as opposed to centralizing drama of modern comedy. I must make a reservation that while attributing a centralizing dramatism to modern comedy, I do not think of denying it from the ancients: we find it in a developed form in Plautus and Terence...” (pp. 365-366). 3) Shklovsky V. Connection of plot composition techniques with general style techniques // Shklovsky V. About the theory of prose. pp. 26-62. “...it is completely incomprehensible why a random sequence of motifs should be preserved when borrowing.” “Coincidences are explained only by the existence of special laws of plot formation. Even the assumption of borrowing does not explain the existence of identical fairy tales at a distance of thousands of years and tens of thousands of miles” (p. 29). “Constructions of the type a+ (a=a) + (a (a + a)) + ... etc., that is, according to the formula of an arithmetic progression without bringing similar terms. There are fairy tales built on a kind of plot tautology like a+ (a+a) (a+ (a+a) + a2), etc.” (Following example: the “chain” fairy tale “The Ruffed Chicken” - N.T.) (p. 44). “The action of a literary work takes place on a certain field; The chess pieces will correspond to mask types, the roles of modern theater. The plots correspond to gambits, that is, the classic plays of this game that players use in variants. The tasks and vicissitudes correspond to the role of the enemy’s moves” (p. 62). 4) Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale. “A function is understood as an act of an actor, defined from the point of view of its significance for the course of action.” “... in what grouping and in what sequence do these functions occur?<...>Veselovsky says: “Choice and routine tasks and meetings (examples of motives) assumes an already known freedom» <...>“. “The sequence of functions is always the same”(p. 30-31) . “ Morphologically, any development from sabotage (A) or shortage (a) through intermediate functions to wedding (C*) or other functions used as a denouement can be called a fairy tale” (p. 101). “...one can easily imagine a magical, enchanting, fantastic fairy tale constructed in a completely different way (cf. some fairy tales by Andersen, Brentano, Goethe’s fairy tale about the snake and the lily, etc.). On the other hand, non-fairy tales can be constructed according to the given scheme” (p. 108). “...the same composition can be the basis of different plots. Whether the snake kidnaps the princess or the devil kidnaps the peasant's or priest's daughter is indifferent from the point of view of composition. But these cases can be considered as different stories” (p. 125). 5) Freidenberg O.M. The Poetics of Plot and Genre. “The composition of the plot depends entirely on the language of metaphors...” (p. 224-225). “What is in solar compositions is removal and return, in vegetative compositions is death and Sunday; there are exploits, here are passions, there is struggle, here is death.” “Thus, in any archaic plot we will certainly find a figure of bifurcation-antithesis, or, as it could be called, a figure of symmetrical-inverse repetition” (pp. 228-229). 6) Bakhtin M.M. Forms of time and chronotope in the novel // Bakhtin M. Questions of literature and aesthetics. “The plots of all these novels<...>they reveal enormous similarities and, in essence, are composed of the same elements (motives); in individual novels the number of these elements, their relative weight in the overall plot, and their combinations change. It’s easy to draw up a summary typical plot scheme...” (p. 237). “Motifs such as meeting-parting (separation), loss-gain, search-find, recognition-misrecognition, etc., are included as constituent elements in the plots of not only novels of different eras and different types, but also literary works of other genres (epic, dramatic, even lyrical). These motifs are chronotopic in nature (though in different ways in different genres)” (p. 247). “But the main complex of motives is meeting - separation - searching - finding- is only another, so to speak, reflected plot expression of the same human identity” (p. 256). “ The image of a fairy-tale man- with all the enormous diversity of fairy-tale folklore - it is always based on motives transformations And identities(nor, in turn, is the specific content of these motives varied)” (p. 262-263).<О романе “Золотой осел”>“Thus, the adventurous series with its randomness is here completely subordinated to the encompassing and meaningful series: guilt - punishment - redemption - bliss. This series is governed by a completely different, non-adventurous logic” (p. 269). 7) Todorov Tsv. Poetics / Trans. A.K. Zholkovsky // Structuralism: pros and cons. “Causality is closely related to the temporal sequence of events; they are even very easy to confuse with each other. This is how Forster illustrates the difference between them, believing that in every novel both are present, with causal connections forming its plot, and temporal connections forming the narrative itself: “The king died and after him the queen died” is a narrative; “The king died and after him the queen died of grief” - this is the plot.” “Temporal, chronological organization, devoid of any causality, prevails in the historical chronicle, chronicle, private diary and ship's log<...>In literature, an example of causality in its pure form is the portrait genre and other descriptive genres where a time delay is mandatory (a typical example is Kafka’s short story “Little Woman”). Sometimes. on the contrary, literature built on temporal organization does not, at least at first glance, obey causal dependencies. Such works can directly take the form of a chronicle or “saga,” such as “Budenbroki”” (pp. 79-80). 8) Lotman Yu.M. The origin of the plot in typological light // Lotman Yu.M. Favorite Articles: B 3 vol. T. I. P. 224-242. “For the typologically initial situation, we can assume two fundamentally opposite types of texts. In the center of the cultural mass there is a myth-generating textual device. The main feature of the texts it generates is their subordination to cyclical time movement” (p. 224). “This central text-generating device performs the most important function - it builds a picture of the world<...> <Порождаемые тексты>“they reduced the world of excesses and anomalies that surrounded man to the norm and structure.” “They did not treat one-time and natural phenomena, but about timeless events, endlessly reproduced and, in this sense, motionless.” “As a counterparty mechanism, it (this device - N.T.) needed a text-generating device, organized in accordance with linear temporal movement and recording not patterns, but anomalies. These were the oral stories about “incidents”, “news”, various happy and unhappy excesses. If a principle was fixed there, then here is an accident” (p. 225).
QUESTIONS
1. Which of the given definitions of the concept “theme” emphasizes a) the objectivity towards which the author’s creative concept and assessments are directed; b) subjectivity, i.e. precisely the assessments and intentions themselves; c) a combination of both? Please note that in the latter case it is necessary to distinguish between an eclectic, ill-considered mixture of different approaches and a thoughtful problem solving, conscious avoidance of one-sidedness. Which judgments that you examined emphasize the “objectivity” of the theme (its presence in tradition, and even outside of art) and where, on the contrary, the term characterizes the work itself or the specifics of creative consciousness? 2. Try to correlate the given definitions of “motive” with three theoretical possible options solutions to the problem: motive - an element of the theme (understood as the reader’s characterization of the subject of the image or statement); motive - an element of the text, i.e. the author's verbal designation of a separate event or situation; finally, the motive is an element of a series of events or a series of situations, that is, it is part of the plot (or plot). 3. Are there any judgments in the selected materials that distinguish the verbal designation of the motive (verbal formula) from the role of the act or event so designated in the plot; do they separate a motive as an action or position from that image of a person or the world, the reflection or even interpretation of which is a number of motives? 4. Find and compare the opinions of different authors that the plot is, in essence, a complex of motives. Select among them those who consider the sequence of motives: a) a random combination of them; b) the result of individual, authorial, conscious combination; c) the manifestation of the necessity inherent in tradition, the expression of traditionally established meaning and, thereby, a certain plot “language”. 5. Which of the following statements highlight and distinguish between types of plot schemes? What exactly are their types and on what grounds are they differentiated? Compare solutions to the problem by different authors.
Motif is a term that entered the literature from musicology. Was first recorded in " musical dictionary"S. de Brossard in 1703. Analogies with music, where this term is key when analyzing the composition of a work, help to understand the properties of the motive in literary work: its isolation from the whole and repetition in a variety of situations.
In literary criticism, the concept of motive was used to characterize components the plot by Goethe and Schiller. They identified five types of motives: accelerating action, slowing down action, distancing action from the goal, facing the past, anticipating the future.
The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated in the Poetics of Plots Veselovsky. He was interested in the repetition of motifs in different genres among different peoples. Veselovsky considered motives to be the simplest formulas that could arise in different tribes independently of each other. (struggle for the inheritance of brothers, fight for the bride, etc.) he comes to the conclusion that creativity is primarily manifested in a combination of motives that gives one or a different plot (in a fairy tale there is not one task, but five, etc.)
Subsequently, combinations of motives were transformed into various compositions and became the basis of such genres as the novel, story, poem. The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; combinations of motives make up the plot. The plot could be borrowed, passed from people to people, or become wandering. In the plot, each motive can be primary, secondary, or episodic. Many motifs can be developed into entire plots, and vice versa.
Veselovsky's position on the motive as an indecomposable unit of narrative was revised in the 20s. Propp: motives are decomposed, the last decomposable unit does not represent a logical whole. Propp calls the primary elements functions of the actors- actions of the characters, defined in terms of their significance for the course of the action.. seven types of characters, 31 functions (based on Afanasyev’s collection)
It is particularly difficult to identify motifs in the literature of recent centuries: their diversity and complex functional load.
In the literature of different eras there are many mythological motives. Constantly updating within the historical and literary context, they retain their essence (the motive of the hero’s conscious death because of a woman, apparently it can be considered as a transformation of the fight for the bride highlighted by Veselovsky (Lensky in Pushkin, Romashov in Kuprin)
A generally accepted indicator of a motive is its repeatability.
The leading motive in one or many works of a writer can be defined as leitmotif. It can be considered at the level of theme and figurative structure of the work. In Chekhov's Cherry Orchard, the motif of the garden as a symbol of Home, beauty and sustainability of life... we can talk about the role of both the leitmotif and the organization of the second, secret meaning of the work - subtext, undercurrent.. (phrase: “life is lost” - the leitmotif of Uncle Vanya. Chekhov)
Tomashevsky: Episodes are broken down into even smaller parts that describe individual actions, events, and things. Topics such small parts of a work that cannot be further divided are called motives.
IN lyrical In a work, a motif is a repeating complex of feelings and ideas expressed in artistic speech. Motifs in lyric poetry are more independent, because they are not subordinated to the development of action, as in epic and drama. Sometimes the poet’s work as a whole can be considered as an interaction, a correlation of motives. (In Lermontov: motives of freedom, will, memory, exile, etc.) The same motive can receive different symbolic meanings in lyrical works of different eras, emphasizing the closeness and originality of poets (Pushkin’s road in Besy and Gogol’s in M.D., the homeland of Lermontov and Nekrasov, Yesenin’s and Blok’s Rus', etc.)
According to Tomashevsky, motives are divided
Free and bound motifs:
- - those that can be skipped (details, details they play an important role in the plot: they do not make the work schematic.)
- - those that cannot be omitted when retelling, because the cause-and-effect relationship is broken...they form the basis of the plot.
Dynamic and static motifs:
1. changing the situation. The transition from happiness to unhappiness and vice versa.
Peripeteia (Aristotle: “the transformation of an action into its opposite”) is one of the essential elements of complicating the plot, denoting any unexpected turn in the development of the plot.
2. not changing the situation (descriptions of the interior, nature, portrait, actions and deeds that do not lead to important changes)
Free motives can be static, but not every static motive is free.
I don’t know which book this is from Tomashevsky, because in “Theory of Literature. Poetics." He writes:
Motivation. The system of motives that make up the theme of this work, should represent some artistic unity. If all parts of a work are poorly fitted to one another, the work “falls apart.” Therefore, the introduction of each individual motive or each set of motives must be justified (motivated). The appearance of one or another motive should seem necessary to the reader in a given place. The system of techniques that justify the introduction of individual motives and their complexes is called motivation. Motivation methods are varied, and their nature is not uniform. Therefore, it is necessary to classify motivations.
1. compositional motivation.
Its principle lies in economy and expediency of motives. Individual motifs can characterize objects introduced into the reader’s field of vision (accessories) or the actions of characters (“episodes”). Not a single accessory should remain unused in the plot, not a single episode should remain without influence on the plot situation. It was about compositional motivation that Chekhov spoke when he argued that if at the beginning of the story it is said that a nail is driven into the wall, then at the end of the story the hero should hang himself on this nail. (Ostrovsky’s “Dowry” using the example of a weapon. “There is a carpet above the sofa on which weapons are hung.” At first this is introduced as a detail of the situation. In the sixth scene, attention is drawn to this detail in the remarks. At the end of the action, Karandyshev, running away, grabs a pistol from the table In Act 4, he shoots at Larisa with this pistol. The introduction of the weapon motif here is compositionally motivated. It serves as a preparation for the final moment of the drama.) The second case of compositional motivation is the introduction of motives. characterization techniques. The motives must be in harmony with the dynamics of the plot. (Thus, in the same “Dowry” the motif of “Burgundy”, made by a counterfeit wine merchant at a cheap price, characterizes the wretchedness of Karandyshev’s everyday environment and prepares for Larisa’s departure). These characteristic details can be in harmony with the action: 1) by psychological analogy (romantic landscape: moonlit night for a love scene, storm and thunderstorm for a scene of death or crime), 2) by contrast (the motif of “indifferent” nature, etc.). In the same "Dowry", when Larisa dies, the singing of a gypsy choir can be heard from the restaurant doors. One must also take into account the possibility false motivation. Accessories and incidents may be introduced to distract the reader's attention from the true situation. This very often appears in detective stories, where a number of details are given that lead the reader down the wrong path. The author makes us assume the outcome is not what it actually is. The deception is unraveled at the end, and the reader is convinced that all these details were introduced only to prepare surprises at the denouement.
2. realistic motivation
From each work we demand an elementary “illusion”, i.e. no matter how conventional and artificial the work may be, its perception must be accompanied by a sense of the reality of what is happening. For a naive reader, this feeling is extremely strong, and such a reader can believe in the authenticity of what is being presented, can be convinced of the real existence of the heroes. Thus, Pushkin, having just published “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion,” publishes “ Captain's daughter" in the form of Grinev's memoirs with the following afterword: "Peter Andreevich Grinev's manuscript was delivered to us from one of his grandchildren, who learned that we were busy with work dating back to the time described by his grandfather. We decided, with the permission of our relatives, to publish it separately." An illusion of the reality of Grinev and his memoirs is created, especially supported by publicly known moments of Pushkin’s personal biography (his historical studies on the history of Pugachev), and the illusion is also supported by the fact that the views and beliefs expressed by Grinev , in many ways diverge from the views expressed by Pushkin on his own. Realistic illusion in a more experienced reader is expressed as a requirement for “lifeliness.” Firmly knowing the fictionality of the work, the reader still demands some kind of correspondence with reality and in this correspondence even readers see the value of the work. well-oriented in the laws of artistic construction, cannot psychologically free themselves from this illusion. In this regard, each motive must be introduced as a motive. likely in this situation. We do not notice, getting used to the technique of an adventure novel, the absurdity that the hero’s salvation always occurs five minutes before his inevitable death, the audience of the ancient comedy did not notice the absurdity that in the last act all the characters suddenly turned out to be close relatives. However, how tenacious this motive is in drama is shown by Ostrovsky’s play “Guilty Without Guilt,” where at the end of the play the heroine recognizes her own in the hero. lost son). This motive of recognizing kinship was extremely convenient for the denouement (kinship reconciled interests, radically changing the situation) and therefore became firmly entrenched in tradition.
So, realistic motivation has its source either in naive trust or in the demand for illusion. This doesn't stop you from developing. fantastic literature. If folk tales usually arise in a popular environment that allows for the real existence of witches and brownies, they continue to exist as some kind of conscious illusion, where a mythological system or a fantastic worldview (the assumption of realistically unjustifiable “possibilities”) is present as some kind of illusory hypothesis.
It is curious that fantastic narratives in a developed literary environment, under the influence of the requirements of realistic motivation, usually give double interpretation plot: it can be understood both as a real event and as a fantastic one. From the point of view of the realistic motivation for constructing the work, it is easy to understand the introduction to the work of art extraliterary material, i.e. topics that have real meaning beyond fiction. So, in historical novels historical figures are brought onto the stage, one or another interpretation is introduced historical events. See in the novel “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy a whole military-strategic report on the Battle of Borodino and the fire of Moscow, which caused controversy in the specialized literature. IN modern works everyday life familiar to the reader is presented, questions of moral, social, political, etc. are raised. order, in a word, themes are introduced that live their own lives outside of fiction.
3. artistic motivation
The introduction of motives is the result of a compromise between realistic illusion and the requirements of artistic construction. Not everything borrowed from reality is suitable for a work of art.
On the basis of artistic motivation, disputes usually arise between old and new literary schools. The old, traditional direction usually denies the new literary forms presence of artistry. So this, for example, affects poetic vocabulary, where the very use of individual words must be in harmony with solid literary traditions (the source of “prosaisms” - words prohibited in poetry). As a special case of artistic motivation, there is a technique defamiliarization. The introduction of non-literary material into a work, so that it does not fall out of the work of art, must be justified by novelty and individuality in the coverage of the material. We must talk about the old and familiar as new and unusual. The ordinary is spoken of as strange. These methods of defamiliarization of ordinary things are usually themselves motivated by the refraction of these themes in the psychology of the hero, who is unfamiliar with them. L. Tolstoy’s technique of defamiliarization is known when, describing the military council in Fili in “War and Peace,” he introduces as a character a peasant girl who observes this council and in her own, childish way, without understanding the essence of what is happening, interprets all actions and speeches of council members.