This is folk art, covering all cultural levels of society. People's lives, their views, ideals, moral principles - all this is reflected both in artistic folklore(dance, music, literature) and material (clothing, kitchen utensils, housing).
Back in 1935, the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky, speaking at the First Congress of Writers of the USSR, accurately described folklore and its significance in public life: “... the most profound heroes exist in folklore, the oral literature of the people. Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich, Vasilisa the Wise, ironic Ivanushka the fool, who never loses heart, Petrushka, who always conquers everyone. These images were created by folklore and they are an inseparable part of the life and culture of our society."
Folklore (" folk knowledge") is a separate scientific discipline, on which research is carried out, abstracts are created, dissertations are written. In Russian literature of the 19th century, the terms “folk poetry” and “folk literature” were widely used.
Oral folk art, folklore genres
Songs, fairy tales, legends, epics - this is not a complete list. Oral folk art is a vast layer of Russian culture that has been formed over the centuries. The genres of folklore are divided into two main directions - non-ritual and ritual.
- Calendar - Maslenitsa songs, Christmas carols, vesnyanka and other examples of folk song creativity.
- Family folklore - wedding songs, lamentations, lullabies, family stories.
- Occasional - spells, counting rhymes, incantations, chants.
Non-ritual folklore includes four groups:
1. Folk drama - religious, nativity scene, Parsley theater.
2. Folk poetry - ballads, epics, spiritual poems, lyrical songs, ditties, children's songs and poems.
3. Folklore prose is divided into fairy-tale and non-fairytale. The first includes fairy tales about animals, everyday life, fairy tales, and chain fairy tales (for example, the story of Kolobok). Non-fairy tale prose is stories from life telling about human encounters with images of Russian demonology - mermaids and merman, sorcerers and witches, ghouls and ghouls. This subcategory also includes stories about shrines and miracles of the Christian faith, about higher powers. Forms of non-fairy tale prose:
- legends;
- mythological stories;
- epics;
- dream books;
- legends;
4. Oral folklore: tongue twisters, well wishes, nicknames, proverbs, curses, riddles, teasers, sayings.
The genres listed here are considered the main ones.
in literature
These are poetic works and prose - epics, fairy tales, legends. Many literary forms are also classified as folklore, which reflects three main directions: dramatic, lyrical and epic. Of course, the genres of folklore in literature are not limited to this, there are many more of them, but the categories listed are a kind of empirics that have been developed over the years.
Dramatic images
Dramatic folk art includes folk dramas in the form of fairy tales with unfavorable developments and a happy ending. Any legend in which there is a struggle between good and evil can be dramatic. The characters defeat each other with varying degrees of success, but in the end good triumphs.
Genres of folklore in literature. Epic component
Russian folklore (epic) is based on historical songs with extensive themes, when guslars can spend hours telling stories about life in Rus' under quiet strings. This is a genuine folk art passed down from generation to generation. In addition to literary folklore with musical accompaniment, there is oral folk art, legends and epics, traditions and tales.
Epic art is usually closely intertwined with the dramatic genre, since all the adventures of the epic heroes of the Russian land are in one way or another connected with battles and exploits for the glory of justice. The main representatives of epic folklore are Russian heroes, among whom Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, as well as the imperturbable Alyosha Popovich, stand out.
Genres of folklore, examples of which can be given endlessly, are built on heroes fighting monsters. Sometimes a hero is helped by an inanimate object that has fabulous powers. This could be a treasure sword that cuts off dragon heads in one fell swoop.
Epic tales tell about colorful characters - Baba Yaga, who lives in a hut on chicken legs, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Ivan Tsarevich, who is nowhere without Gray wolf, and even about Ivan the Fool - happy with an open Russian soul.
Lyrical form
This folklore genre includes works of folk art that are mostly ritual: love songs, lullabies, funny ditties and lamentations. Much depends on intonation. Even sentences, spells, bells and whistles with the aim of bewitching a loved one, and these can sometimes be classified as folklore lyrics.
Folklore and authorship
Works of a fabulous literary genre(author's) often cannot be formally classified as folklore, such as, for example, Ershov's "The Tale of the Little Humpbacked Horse" or Bazhov's tale "The Mistress of the Copper Mountain" due to their being written by a certain writer. However, these stories have their own folklore source, were told somewhere and by someone in one form or another, and then transferred by the writer into book form.
Genres of folklore, examples of which are well-known, popular and recognizable, do not need clarification. The reader can easily figure out which of the authors came up with their own plot and who borrowed it from the past. It’s another matter when genres of folklore, examples of which are familiar to most readers, are challenged by someone. In this case, specialists must understand and draw competent conclusions.
Controversial art forms
There are examples when the fairy tales of modern authors, by their structure, literally ask to be folklore, but at the same time it is known that the plot does not have sources from the depths of folk art, but was invented by the author himself from beginning to end. For example, the work “Three in Prostokvashino”. There is a folklore outline - the postman Pechkin alone is worth something. And the story itself is fabulous in essence. However, if authorship is determined, then folklore affiliation can only be conditional. Although many authors believe that differences are not necessary, art is art, regardless of form. Which genres of folklore coincide with literary canons can be determined by a number of characteristics.
The difference between folklore works and literary works
Literary works, such as a novel, short story, story, essay, are distinguished by their measured, unhurried narration. The reader gets the opportunity to analyze what he read on the go, while delving into the idea of the plot. Folklore works are more impulsive, moreover, they contain only their inherent elements, such as a talker or a chorus. Often the narrator slows down the action for greater effect, using duality or trinity of the narrative. In folklore, open tautology is widely used, sometimes even accentuated. Parallelisms and exaggerations are common. All these techniques are natural for folklore works, although completely unacceptable in ordinary literature.
Different peoples, incompatible in their mentality, are often united by factors of a folklore nature. Folk art contains universal motifs, such as the common desire for everyone to reap a good harvest. Both the Chinese and the Portuguese think about this, although they live on different ends of the continent. The population of many countries is united by the desire for a peaceful existence. Since people everywhere are the same by nature, their folklore is not much different, if you do not keep in mind the external signs.
The geographical proximity of different nationalities contributes to rapprochement, and this process also begins with folklore. First of all, cultural ties are established, and only after the spiritual unification of the two peoples do politicians come to the fore.
Small genres of Russian folklore
Small folklore works are usually intended for children. The child does not perceive a long story or fairy tale, but listens with pleasure to the story about the Little Gray Top, who can grab a barrel. In the process of raising children, small genres of Russian folklore appeared. Each work of this form contains a special grain of meaning, which, as the narrative progresses, turns into either a moral or a small moral lesson.
However, most small forms of the folklore genre are chants, songs, and jokes that are useful for the development of a child. There are 5 genres of folklore that are successfully used in raising children:
- A lullaby is the oldest way to lull a child to sleep. Usually the melodic melody is accompanied by rocking of the cradle or crib, so it is important to find a rhythm when singing.
- Pestushki - simple rhymes, melodious wishes, affectionate parting words, soothing lamentations for a newly awakened child.
- Nursery rhymes are recitative songs that accompany playing with the baby’s arms and legs. They promote the development of the child, encourage him to act in an unobtrusive playful way.
- Jokes are short stories, often in verse, funny and sonorous, which mothers tell their children every day. Growing children need to be told jokes in accordance with their age so that children understand every word.
- Counting books are small rhymes that are good for developing a child’s arithmetic abilities. They are a mandatory part of collective children's games when lots need to be drawn.
Table “System of genres of Russian folklore”
Folklore - this is a type of collective verbal activity that is carried out primarily orally. The main categories of folklore are collectivity, traditionality, formulaicity, variability, the presence of a performer, and syncretism. Folklore is divided into two groups - ritual and non-ritual. Ritual folklore includes: calendar folklore(carols, Maslenitsa songs, spring songs), family folklore (family stories, lullabies, wedding songs, lamentations), occasional (spells, chants, counting rhymes). Non-ritual folklore is divided into four groups: folk drama, poetry, prose and folklore of speech situations. Folklore drama includes: the Parsley Theater, nativity scene drama, and religious drama. Folklore poetry includes: epic, historical song, spiritual verse, lyrical song, ballad, cruel romance, ditty, children's poetic songs (poetic parodies), sadistic rhymes. Folklore prose is again divided into two groups: fairy-tale and non-fairytale. Fairy-tale prose includes: a fairy tale (which, in turn, comes in four types: a fairy tale, a fairy tale about animals, an everyday fairy tale, a cumulative fairy tale) and an anecdote. Non-fairy tale prose includes: tradition, legend, tale, mythological story, story about a dream. The folklore of speech situations includes: proverbs, sayings, well wishes, curses, nicknames, teasers, riddles, tongue twisters and some others.
Folkloreritual
non-ritual
calendar folklore
carols, Maslenitsa songs, spring flowers,
stubble songs
folk drama
Petrushka theatre, nativity drama, religious drama
family folklore
family stories, lullabies, wedding songs, laments
poetry
epic, historical song, spiritual verse, lyrical song, ballad, cruel romance, ditty, children's poetic songs (poetic parodies), sadistic rhymes
occasional
spells, chants, counting rhymes
prose
fabulous
fairy tale (which, in turn, comes in four types: fairy tale, fairy tale about animals, everyday fairy tale, cumulative fairy tale) and anecdote, tale
fabulous
tradition, legend, fable, mythological story, story about a dream
folklore speech situations
proverbs, sayings, well wishes, curses, nicknames, teasers, riddles, tongue twisters
Anecdote is one ofgenresfolklore: a short oral story with a witty and unexpected ending. Jokes can rightfully be called the favorite genre of our time. In Slavic folklore, a favorite character was a man playing pranks on his fellow villagers.
A tale is a traditionally male oral story of a humorous nature, pretending to be verisimilitude; refers to small folklore forms. Popular bikes include hunting, fishing, sea, miner, theater and driver's bikes.
Ballad (ballad song, ballad verse) is one ofgenresRussianfolklore, which arose from folk songs with tragic content. The most important characteristics of ballad songs are epicness, family themes, and psychological drama. Ballad songs are characterized by a predicted fatal outcome, recognition of the tragic, and single-conflict. As a rule, they feature antagonistic characters: the destroyer and the victim. Ballads have many features that bring them closer to other song genres, rich in fantastic and magical motifs common to folk epic. The term “ballad” is relatively new in folklore. Proposed by P.V. Kireevsky in the 19th century, it took root only a century later. The people themselves, performing ballad songs, did not distinguish them from others. An example of a classic ballad is the lyric epic song “Vasily and Sofia.” The entire content is an eternal plot about lovers, whose mutual feeling is so strong that it defeats death. The lovers are destroyed by Vasily’s jealous and evil mother. The plots of many ballad songs are based on the relationship between a girl and a good fellow (“Dmitry and Domna”, “The Girl Poisoned the Young Man”).
An epic is a work of a song nature, a song-poem. It is characterized by greatness of content, grandeur, monumentality of images, and heroic pathos. The real-historical basis of epics is Rus' of the X-XI centuries. About a hundred epic stories are known. Russian and Western European epics have common plots (epic heroes fight enemies and infidels), but in Russian epics there is no idea of religious wars; Neither loyalty to the leader nor bloody revenge become the defining themes of the Russian epic. In Russian epic traditions - liberation, protection, glorification of the Russian land and its people. The discovery of Russian epic took place relatively recently, after the publication in 1804 of Kirsha Danilov’s collections, including 60 folklore works. Subsequently, the collection of epics was supplemented by the finds of P.N. Rybnikov and A.F. Hilferding. A rare fusion of wisdom and poetry distinguishes Russian epic. Each epic, in addition to the main idea of honest service to the Fatherland, contains reflections on the painful moral and psychological quest of the main characters. So, Ilya Muromets finds himself in a situation of difficult choice: marry or die.
Bylichka (byvalshchina) is a mythological story based on events that supposedly took place in real life. The reliability and factuality of these stories is confirmed by specific names; exact geographical names of the place of action. The world of fairy tales is simple and familiar. The main difference between a fairy tale and a tale lies in the attitude of the listeners and the narrator to the story being told. If they listen to a fairy tale, realizing that it is fiction, then they listen to a fairy tale as if it were true.
Children's folklore– a generalized name for small genres composed and performed both by children themselves and for them. Genres of children's folklore include songs and poems that accompany the life of a child from the cradle to adolescence: draws, chants, teasers, lullabies, pesters, sayings, nursery rhymes, counting rhymes.
A boring fairy tale (from bother - bother) is a specific genre of folklore narratives, endless fairy tales in which the same cycle of events takes place. They are often presented in poetic form
Spiritual poems are songs of religious content that arose as poetic adaptations by the people of the fundamentals of Christian doctrine. Folk names spiritual verses: antiquities, psalms, poems. A characteristic feature of spiritual poems is the opposition of the religious to the worldly. One of the oldest spiritual poems, “The Lamentation of Adam,” was known already in the 12th century. The mass dissemination of spiritual poems began around the 15th century.
The harvest song is a type of autumn songs of calendar-ritual poetry. Autumn ritual poetry has not received such development as summer poetry, glorifying nimble women - “winch daughters”, “quail daughters-in-law”, who went out early to the fields and harvested the harvest, “so that there would be something to make good jigs from.”
A riddle is a type of oral folk art, an intricate allegorical description of an object or phenomenon, offered as a test of intelligence or an exercise (for children) to develop logical thinking. The riddle belongs to those ancient types of folk art that, while continuing to live through the centuries, gradually lose their original meaning and become a qualitatively different phenomenon. Having arisen on the basis of the secret language of the clan, the riddle was once used in military and embassy negotiations, expressed the prohibitions of family life, and served poetic means transmission of wisdom.
A conspiracy is a linguistic formula that, according to popular belief, has miraculous powers. In ancient times, conspiracies were widely used in medical practice (treatment with words, prayer). They were credited with the ability to induce the desired state of a person (induce a sound sleep, tame the anger of an angry mother, keep someone going to war unharmed, feel sympathy for someone, something, etc.) or the forces of nature: “grow the turnip, sweet, grow, turnip, strong” to get a good harvest.
Calendar-ritual songs (Carols, Podblyudnye songs, Maslenitsa songs, Vesnyanka, Trinity-Semitic songs, Round dances, Kupala, Zhnivnye) - songs the performance of which was timed to strictly defined calendar dates. The most significant rituals and songs of the summer period, which began with the solstice (Peter-turn) on June 12 (25), are associated with various states of nature. Calendar-ritual poetry contains valuable ethnographic and historical information: a description of peasant life, morals, customs, observations of nature, and even elements of worldview.
A legend is one of the genres of folklore, telling about the miraculous and fantastic, which determines its structure and system of images. One of the ways a legend arises is through the transformation of legend. Often, oral stories about historical figures or events that are attributed absolute authenticity (legends about the founding of Kiev) are called legends. In these cases, the word “legend” can be replaced by the word “tradition”. The narrator, presenting facts, supplements them with those created by his own imagination or connects them with fictitious motives known to him. At the same time, the real basis often fades into the background. By theme, legends are divided into historical (about Stepan Razin), religious (about Jesus Christ and his apostles, about saints, about the machinations of the devil), toponymic (about Baikal), demonological (about the Snake, evil spirits, devils, etc.), everyday (about sinners).
Small genres - a name that unites a group of genres of different nature and originRussian folklore, exceptionally small in size (sometimes in two words: Phil the simpleton), which is their main value. This includes nursery rhymes, riddles, proverbs and anecdotes. Small genres not only decorate and enliven other texts, they are very well adapted to independent life. Unlike epic epic, small genres are not forgotten, as relevant as thousands of years ago.
Fables are works of comic poetry, small songs built on the principle of stringing together completely absurd events: Thunder rolled across the sky: A mosquito fell from a tree. It is fables that clearly demonstrate the other, scary side of the funny. A chain of distorted events, which at first seem funny, gradually creates a single picture of a “shifted”, “turned over” world. Fables are no less philosophical than epics. They, like the global metaphor of laughter, are also a way of understanding life: in clear simplicity they show us the universal connection of opposite, “wrong side” phenomena of reality. IN medieval Rus' the fulfillment of fables was certainly integral part"repertoire" of buffoons.
Folk songs are a genuine artistic encyclopedia of the life of the Russian people. Today the song, the richest layerRussian folklore, is described incompletely and contradictorily. The genre division of songs into historical and ballad, bandit and soldier, lyrical and round dance is quite conventional. All of them are examples of the finest lyricism and all, without exception, are historical. Attractive with purity and sincerity, the songs deeply reveal the character of a Russian person who values his fatherland; who never tires of admiring his native land; and to your children.
A proverb is a widespread expression that figuratively defines any life phenomenon or gives an assessment of it: A pancake is not a wedge, it will not split your belly. Where is the sorrow for the wise, and the joy for the fool.
A proverb is a short, apt, stable saying in everyday life. Compared to a proverb - a witty characteristic given to a person, object or phenomenon and decorating speech, a proverb has a complete, deep meaning and contains a wise generalization. A proverb, by definition of the people, is “a flower”, a proverb is “a berry”. The proverbs capture the life experience of the people: People quarrel, but the governors feed. A thief worth $100 is hanged, a thief worth $500 is honored. The people are like in a cloud: in a thunderstorm everything will come out.
The famous Russian scientist and poet M.V. was the first to collect and write down proverbs. Lomonosov. Subsequently, collections containing 4-9 thousand proverbs were published: “Collection of ancient Russian proverbs” (Moscow University, 4291 proverbs), “Complete collection of Russian proverbs and sayings” (Ts.M. Knyazhevich, 5365 proverbs), “Russian folk proverbs and parables" (I.M. Snegirev, 9623 proverbs and sayings), in the famous collection of V.I. Dal's "Proverbs of the Russian People" there are more than 30 thousand of them.
Tradition is an artistic and narrative genre of folklore with elements of fiction. The plot of a legend is usually based on a real event. A striking example Oral narratives of this type include legends about the son of the Tula blacksmith Demid Antufiev, Nikita Demidov, the founder of the largest factories in the Urals in the first decades of the 18th century.
A tale is an oral folk story that tells about the past without fiction: Cossack and Siberian tales, “working” prose of gold miners, craftsmen, miners, etc. In their narrative style and structure, tales are similar to traditions and legends.
A fairy tale is one of the main prose folklore genres of an artistic and fantastic nature.
Skomoroshins are diverse songs of the mischievous art of skomorokhs: jester oldies (epics - parodies), parody ballads, songs-novels of comic content, fables. They have one thing in common - laughter. If in the classical genres of Russian folklore laughter is only an element of content, then for skomoroshins it serves as an organizing artistic principle.
Tongue twisters are a comic genre of folk art, classified as small, a phrase built on a combination of sounds that make it difficult to quickly pronounce words. Tongue twisters were popularly used as a teaching tool in the formation of children's speech, its development and subsequent formation, as well as for entertainment purposes.
Chatushka (from frequent) is a short, usually rhyming song with humorous or satirical content. The ditties are performed at a cheerful, perky tempo, accompanied by an accordion.
2. Calendar ritual poetry
Vesnyanka is a song calling for spring and warmth. Vesnyankas were heard in Russian villages after Maslenitsa songs. They reminded that the time for field work was approaching, birds were flying and “bringing spring.” The main dates for the clicking of spring: March 4 - the day of Gerasim Rooker (rooks arrive); March 9 is the day of the Forty Martyrs (forty and forty birds fly); March 25 - April 7 according to the new style - Annunciation (the day when birds are released from cages into the wild).
The harvest song is a type of autumn songs in calendar-ritual poetry. Autumn ritual poetry did not develop as much as summer poetry. Only stubble songs are known, filled with gratitude and glorifying nimble women - “winch daughters”, “quail daughters-in-law”, who went out to the fields “early” and harvested the harvest, “so that there will be a good jig, okay”.
Game song - a type of spring-summer songs in the calendar-ritual folk poetry. Already the names of this type of songs reflect a cheerful mood caused by the onset of long-awaited warmth, hopes for a generous harvest (sow in the dirt, you will be a prince!), the opportunity to take off heavy clothes, show off and take a closer look at the future bride or groom. The game songs talked about sowing and growing the future harvest, the main theme here was the sun - the source and continuation of life, light and warmth, the theme of cereals and other plants, the game songs were called: “Poppy”, “Peas”, “Cabbage” ", "Flax", "Turnip", "Millet". Game songs can be divided as follows: – round dance songs, when those gathered moved in a circle or in the same circle depicted various scenes provided for by the content of the song (“There was a birch tree in the field”); - song-games performed by participants lined up in two lines, one opposite the other (“And we sowed millet”); - “ghoul” songs, when the players, while performing a song, walk after each other around the hut, lace their hands, round the line, “curl” them into a ball (“braid yourself, wattle fence,” “curl, cabbage”). In gaming poetry, echoes of ancient magic and traces of ancient forms of marriage have been preserved.
Carol song (kolyadka) is a type of winter (New Year's) songs in calendar-ritual poetry. The onset of the New Year was popularly associated with the increase in the day “by a chicken step” after the winter solstice on December 22. This observation formed the basis of popular ideas about the boundary that separates the end of the old year from the beginning of the new. The arrival of the new year was celebrated by calling Kolyada and Avsenya. The word “kolyada” goes back to the Latin name for the first day of the month – calendae (cf. calendar). In Rus', caroling was one of the main rituals performed under New Year. It was accompanied by a round of neighbors and carol songs (Avsen), among which we can distinguish songs of praise and songs of request:
Kupala songs - a cycle of songs performed on the holiday of Ivan Kupala (the night of July 6-7 - according to the new style). They contained elements of ancient magical formulas aimed at protecting the harvest from the machinations of evil spirits and so that grain would be produced generously.
The Maslenitsa song is an invitation to the wide and generous Maslenitsa (it is sometimes called Avdotya Izotyevna).
Podludnye songs are songs performed during the game that accompanied fortune telling. Each player put his own object (a ring) into the dish, then songs under the dish were sung. The host, without looking, took out the first ring he came across from the dish. The content of the song was related to the person whose ring was taken out. The underwater song contained an allegory by which the future was judged.
Trinity-Semitic song is a type of summer songs in calendar-ritual poetry. The most significant groups of rituals and songs of the summer period, which began with the summer solstice (Peter-turn) - June 12 (25), are associated with various states of the sun and the plant world. Summer (Semitic) rituals, later combined with the Christian Trinity, are otherwise called green Christmastide. In the Trinity-Semitic songs, the central place is given to the birch tree - the cult tree of the Slavs, the ancestor tree, a symbol of warmth and life.
3. Songs
Barge hauler songs are songs of barge haulers and about barge haulers. The barge haulage industry originated in Russia at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, when the state was especially interested in the development of water trade relations and the attitude towards fugitive peasants or recruits hired as barge haulers was the most lenient. People went into barge haulers both from family hardships and from the cruelties of serfdom. Usually they went downstream on ships and returned, leading ships loaded with goods on a towline; in addition, they were both loaders and porters.
Historical songs are songs whose origins are associated with a particular historical event or person. At the same time, individual nuances of the event (“I am from the Kama River, Stenka Razin’s son”) or characterological details of the artistic and poetic portrait of a historical figure could be fictitious, embellished or inverted, sometimes creating an image distorted to the point of its opposite. Unlike epics, with their unchanged poetic structure, historical songs, while possessing the same information content, no longer have strict compositional rules and are subject to the laws of other genres. Over time, epics disappear from the developing new genre. Songs of the 17th-18th centuries. become more diverse and acquire social connotations. The heroes of the new songs are real characters– Stepan Razin, Emelyan Pugachev, Ivan the Terrible, Ermak. Despite their outward simplicity, historical songs have a broad folklore context; folklore symbolism is actively “at work” here: death is perceived as crossing a river, heroes are likened to eagles and falcons, symbolic images of trees - birch, oak, rowan, etc. - are widely used.
Lyrical songs are songs that reflect the world of personal feelings. The lyrical song helped the people to survive in any situation, absorbed the sadness and pain of losses, insults and disappointments, and was the only means of maintaining their own dignity in a state of humiliation and disenfranchisement. “A song is a friend, a joke is a sister,” says a Russian proverb. Through the spiritual grief, the sad “mourning” of the lyrical song, the greatness and moral beauty of the people clearly emerge.
Dance (comic) songs - the name of this group of songs speaks for itself. A good, cheerful mood is not alien to Russian songwriting, in which laughter, jokes, and ridicule find a place. Many Russian dancers have entered the golden treasury of world culture: “Kalinka” is known in almost every country. The songs “The Moon Is Shining”, “You Are My Canopy, My Canopy”, “There Was a Birch Tree in the Field” are widely known.
Robber songs are songs of robbers or about robbers. Robber (and prison) song as a genre was formed during peasant uprisings, mass escapes of peasants and soldiers from cruel forced life (XVII-XVIII centuries). The main theme of bandit and prison songs is the dream of the triumph of justice. The heroes of robber songs are daring, brave “good fellows” with their own code of honor, the desire to comprehend what is happening (“dum dumati”), and a courageous readiness to accept all the vicissitudes of fate.
Wedding songs are songs that accompanied the entire wedding event from matchmaking to the “prince’s table,” i.e., the feast table in the groom’s house: the conspiracy, the bachelorette party, the wedding, the arrival and departure of the wedding train to the church. The bride and groom, a married couple in lyrical songs are symbolized by the inseparable Utushka and Drake or the swan and swan, especially beloved in Rus'. The duck and the swan are symbols of eternal femininity, each of which reflects the complex vicissitudes of female destiny. A Russian wedding is a complex complex of almost theatrical ritual actions, including many songs: sentences, magnifications, dialogue songs, lamentations, and reproaches. 1. Wedding sentences were pronounced mostly by the groomsman, who played the most important role at the wedding: he was its “director” and the protector of the bride and groom from evil forces. Sometimes the sentences were pronounced by the matchmaker, the matchmaker, or the parents. When the groom addressed one of the participants in the ritual, dialogue songs were formed, giving the wedding ceremony the character of a performance in which almost everyone was a participant. After the verdict was pronounced, the parents put bread and salt on the tray, and occasionally money; then the guests made offerings. Dialogue songs were extremely popular at weddings. Typical example girls' songs (performed at a bachelorette party) - a conversation between a daughter and her mother. Greatnesses are song praises of the bride and groom, originally associated with incantatory magic: the well-being and happiness of the bride and groom seemed real, almost here. In later forms, the incantatory magic of magnification was supplanted by the expression of the ideal type moral behavior, beauty, prosperity.
Lamentations are lyrical songs that directly convey the feelings and thoughts of the bride, girlfriends, and wedding participants. Initially, the function of lamentation was determined by the ritual, where the bride presented her departure from home as unwanted, as an action performed against her will, in order to avoid the revenge of the patrons of the hearth. But it cannot be said that the bride’s crying was always insincere. Corial songs are joke songs, often parodies of greatness. The function of reproach songs is entertaining; they are colored with humor. They were performed after all the main actions of the wedding ceremony were completed.
Soldiers' songs (their name speaks for itself) began to take shape after Peter I's decree on recruitment (1699). Indefinite service, established by decree, forever separated the soldier from his family, from his home. Soldiers' and recruits' songs are permeated with doom (“great adversity is the service of the sovereign”), describe difficult moments of parting with relatives (“From your young eyes, tears roll like a river”), the hardships of barracks life (“Whatever day or night we , to the little soldiers, there is no calm: Dark night comes - be on guard, White day comes - stand in the ranks") and often inevitable death in battle.
Among soldiers' and recruits' songs, lamentations stand out as a special group.
Round dance songs are play songs, the name of which goes back to the name of the ancient solar Slavic deity Khorsa (cf. well, mansions, round dance). Those gathered moved in a circle, depicting the movement of the luminary across the sky, thereby glorifying, calling and propitiating the sun, which was so necessary for the harvest. In the same circle, various scenes provided for by the content of the song were depicted. The most popular round dance songs have reached our time: “There was a birch tree in the field”, “I walk along the round dance”, “Along and along the river, along and along the Kazanka”, etc.
Coachman songs - songs of coachmen or about coachmen. The life of the coachmen, whose main occupation was “yam racing,” was significantly different from the life of the peasants. They were exempt from taxes, but their situation was still extremely difficult. Often “service people” did not pay money for transportation, and when the coachmen refused to carry for free, they were beaten, or even shackled. The coachmen who tried to return back to the village were forcibly returned to the outpost. Their songs tell of a bleak fate. Particularly common in coachman songs are motifs about love for the “red maiden,” who “made my heart soar without frost,” and about the death of a coachman in the steppe, in a foreign land.
Children's folklore
A teaser is a mocking joke of a rhyming nature aimed at demoralizing an enemy.
Drawing lots is one of the most common genres of children's folklore. Like counting rhymes, draws are designed to distribute playing roles. The child chooses one thing, getting a player on his team, or something else.
Zaklichka is a children's song addressed to the sun, rainbow, rain, birds.
Lullabies are the oldest lyrical songs that accompany the motion sickness of a child. The lullaby song is distinguished by its extraordinary tenderness, regularity and calmness.
Pestushka is a song or rhyme that accompanies the child’s first conscious movements.
A nursery rhyme is a short song that accompanies a child’s first games with his fingers, arms and legs, for example, “The White-sided Magpie,” when each of the child’s fingers is fed with porridge, but the little finger is not given anything because it is too small and has not worked out anything. “Ladushki” has remained the most popular nursery rhyme since ancient times.
A counting table is a rhyming rhyme with the help of which playing children distribute roles and establish a sequence for starting the game.
Bibliography
Anikin V.P. Theory of folklore: a course of lectures. – M.: University, 2004.
Anikin V.P. Russian oral folk art: a textbook for university students, educational. according to special "Russian language and literature". – M.: Higher School, 2009.
Afanasyev A. N. Poetic views of the Slavs on nature: In 3 volumes. M., 1994 (reprint).
Gudziy N. K., Dylevsky N. M., Dmitriev L. A., Nazarevsky A. A., Pozdneev A. V., Alshits D. N., Robinson A. N. What problems arise for further study of “The Tale of the Regiment” Igor"? Question No. 7. - In the book: Sat. answers to questions on literary criticism. M., 1958, p. 25-45.
Demin A.S. Artistic worlds of ancient Russian literature. – M.: Heritage, 1993.
Dmitriev L. A. The most important problems of the study “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” - TODRL, M.; L., 1964, t. 20, p. 120-138.
Old Russian literature in research: Reader. – M.: Higher School, 1986.
Ancient Russian literature. Reader. / Comp. N.I. Prokofiev. – M.: Education, 1988.
Ivanov Vyach. Vs., Toporov V.N. Slavic language modeling semiotic systems. M., 1965.
History of Russian literature X-XVII centuries. /Ed. D.S. Likhacheva. –M.: Education, 1979.
Karpukhin I.E. Russian oral folk art: educational method. allowance. – M.: Higher School, 2005.
Kravtsov N. I. System of genres of Russian folklore; Folklore and mythology // Kravtsov N. I. Problems Slavic folklore. M., 1972. S. 83-103; 113-143.
Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. – M.: Higher School, 2003.
Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. – M.: Nauka, 1979.
Likhachev D.S. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a heroic prologue of Russian literature. L., 1967. 120 p.
Meletinsky E. M. Poetics of myth. M., 1976.
Propp V. Ya. Folklore and reality. Selected articles. M., 1976.
Putilov B. N. Folklore and folk culture. St. Petersburg, 1994.
Smirnov I.P. System of folklore genres // Lotmanov collection. T. 2. M., 1997. P. 14-39.
Specificity of folklore genres / Rep. ed. B.V. Kirdan. M., 1973.
Trubachev O. N. Ethnogenesis and culture the most ancient Slavs. Linguistic research. M., 1991.
Folklore. Poetic system / Answer. ed. A. I. Balandin, V. M. Gatsak. M., 1977.
Folklore, by its nature, content and purpose, is a deeply democratic, truly folk art. He is distinguished not only by his ideological depth, but also by his high artistic qualities. Folk poetry is distinguished by a unique artistic system of visual means and genres.
What are genres of Russian folklore?
One of the types of ancient creativity was labor songs with their simplest commands, shouts, signals given as work progresses.
Calendar folklore originally came from the urgent practical goals of people. It was associated with ideas about the annual agricultural cycle and variable natural conditions. People sought to know the future, so they resorted to fortune telling and talked about the future based on signs.
This also explained wedding folklore. It is permeated with the thought of the safety of the family and clan, and is designed for the favor of the highest patrons.
Individual elements have also been preserved from antiquity children's folklore, which changed later under the influence of aesthetic and pedagogical functions.
Among the oldest genres - funeral lamentations. With the advent of universal conscription, mourning arose for those being drafted into service—recruitment lamentations.
Genres non-ritual folklore also developed under the influence of syncretism. It includes small folklore genres ( proverbs): proverbs, fables, signs and sayings. They contained human judgments about the way of life, about work, about higher natural forces, and statements about human affairs. “This is a vast area of moral assessments and judgments, how to live, how to raise children, how to honor ancestors, thoughts about the need to follow precepts and examples, these are everyday rules of behavior... In a word, the functionality of proverbs covers almost all ideological areas.” 9
Genres of oral prose include legends, tales, tales, legends. These are stories and incidents from life that tell about a person’s meeting with characters of Russian demonology - sorcerers, witches, mermaids, etc. This also includes stories about saints, shrines and miracles - about the communication of a person who has accepted the Christian faith with forces of a higher order .
Genres song epic: epics, historical songs, military songs, spiritual songs and poems.
Gradually, folklore moves away from everyday functions and acquires elements of artistry. The role of the artistic principle in it increases. As a result of historical evolution, folklore became poetic in its main and fundamental qualities, having reworked the traditions of all previous states of folklore. 10
Artistic creativity is embodied in all forms fairy tales: tales about animals, magic, everyday.
This type of creativity is also represented in riddles.
The earliest types of artistic creativity include ballads.
Lyrical songs also have an artistic function. They are performed outside of rituals. The content and form of lyrical songs are associated with the expression of the experiences and feelings of the performers.
To artistic song folklore the newest formation modern researchers attribute romances And ditties.
Children's folklore has its own system of genres, correlated with the age characteristics of children. It has artistic and pedagogical functions. It is dominated by gaming principles.
The artistic spectacular theatrical basis contains folklore spectacles and folk theater. It is presented in a wide variety of genres and types ( games, dressing up, nativity scene, playgrounds, puppet shows etc.).
A separate type of artistic representation is formed by the so-called fair folklore. It arose from fair performances, shouts of traders, farce barkers, joke speech, jokes and folk sayings.
At the junction of the combination of long-standing traditions of folklore and the trends of a new culture, the genre has developed joke.
A detailed account of individual folklore genres will be made in subsequent sections of the manual.
Types of small genres of folklore
Lullaby
Lullaby- one of the oldest genres of folklore, as evidenced by the fact that it retains elements of a charm-charm. People believed that a person is surrounded by mysterious hostile forces, and if a child sees something bad and scary in a dream, then in reality it will not happen again. That is why you can find the “little gray wolf” and other frightening characters in the lullaby. Later, lullabies lost their magical elements and acquired the meaning of good wishes for the future. So, a lullaby is a song that is used to lull a child to sleep. Since the song was accompanied by the measured swaying of the child, rhythm is very important in it.
Pestushka
Pestushka(from the word nurture, that is, to nurse, groom) - a short poetic chant of nannies and mothers, with which they accompany the actions of a child that he performs at the very beginning of his life. For example, when the child wakes up, the mother strokes and caresses him, saying:
Stretchers, stretchers,
Across the fat girl
And in the hands of the veil,
And in the mouth there is a talk,
And in the head there is reason.
When a child begins to learn to walk, they say:
Big feet
Walked along the road:
Top, top, top,
Top, top, top.
Little feet
Running along the path:
Top, top, top, top,
Top, top, top, top!
Nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme- an element of pedagogy, a song-sentence that accompanies playing with a child’s fingers, arms and legs. Nursery rhymes, like pesters, accompany the development of children. Small rhymes and songs allow you to encourage the child to take action in a playful way, while simultaneously performing massage, physical exercises, and stimulating motor reflexes. This genre of children's folklore provides incentives to play out the plot using fingers (finger games or Ladushki), hands, and facial expressions. Nursery rhymes help instill in a child the skills of hygiene, order, and develop fine motor skills and the emotional sphere.
Examples
"Magpie"
Option 1
Magpie Crow, (running finger over palm)
Magpie Crow,
I gave it to the kids.
(curls fingers)
Gave this one
Gave this one
Gave this one
Gave this one
But she didn’t give it to this:
- Why didn’t you cut wood?
- Why didn’t you carry water?
Option 2(features in the cartoon “The Little Mouse Song”):
Magpie Crow
Cooked porridge
She fed the babies:
Gave this one
Gave this one
Gave this one
But she didn’t give it to this.
"Okay" (clap hands on stressed syllables)
Okay, okay, where have you been? By Grandma!
What did you eat? Porridge!
What did you drink? Mash!
Butter porridge!
Sweet mash!
(Grandma is kind!)
We drank, ate, wow...
Shuuu!!! (Home) Let's fly!
They sat on their heads! ("Ladushki" sang)
We sat down and sat down,
Then we flew home!!!
joke
joke(from bayat, that is, to tell) - a poetic, short, funny story that a mother tells her child, for example:
Owl, owl, owl,
Big head,
She was sitting on a stake,
I looked to the side,
Turned his head.
Proverbs
They teach something.
The road is a spoon for dinner.
Don't go into the forest to be afraid of the wolf.
Birds of a feather flock together.
You can't pull a fish out of a pond without difficulty.
Fear has big eyes.
The eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
There is no need for treasure if there is harmony in the family.
Don't have 100 rubles, but have 100 friends.
An old friend is better than two new ones.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
If I had known where you would fall, I would have laid out straws.
You make a soft bed, but sleep hard.
The Motherland is your mother, know how to stand up for her.
Seven do not wait for one.
If you chase two hares, you won't catch either.
The bee is small, but it also works.
Bread is the head of everything.
Being a guest is good, but being at home is better.
Games
There were special songs for the games. Games could be:
- kissing. As a rule, these games were played at parties and get-togethers (usually ending with a kiss between a young guy and a girl);
- ritual. Such games were characteristic of some kind of ritual, holiday. For example, Maslenitsa festivities (typical fun: removing a prize from the top of a pole, tug of war, competitions for dexterity, strength);
- seasonal. Particularly common among children, especially in winter. We played the so-called “Warmers”: the leader shows some movements, and everyone else repeats. Or the traditional “collar” and “stream”.
An example of a kissing game:
Drake
The drake chased the duck,
The young man was driving sulfur,
Go home, Ducky,
Go home, Gray,
Duck has seven children,
And the eighth Drake,
And the ninth itself,
Kiss me once!
In this game, the "Duck" stood in the center of the circle, and the "Drake" outside, and played like a game of "cat and mouse". At the same time, those standing in the round dance tried not to let the “drake” into the circle.
Calls
Calls- one of the types of invocation songs of pagan origin. They reflect the interests and ideas of peasants about the economy and family. For example, the spell of a rich harvest runs through all the calendar songs; For themselves, children and adults asked for health, happiness, and wealth.
Calls are an appeal to the sun, rainbow, rain and other natural phenomena, as well as to animals and especially often to birds, which were considered the harbingers of spring. Moreover, the forces of nature were revered as living: they make requests for spring, wish for its speedy arrival, and complain about winter.
Larks, larks!
Come and visit us
Bring us a warm summer,
Take the cold winter away from us.
We're tired of the cold winter,
My hands and feet were frozen.
Counting book
Counting book- a short rhyme, a form of drawing lots to determine who leads the game. A counting table is an element of the game that helps establish agreement and respect for the accepted rules. Rhythm is very important in organizing a counting rhyme.
Aty-baty, the soldiers were walking,
Aty-baty, to the market.
Atty-batty, what did you buy?
Aty-baty, samovar.
How much does it cost?
Aty-baty, three rubles
Aty-baty, what is he like?
Aty-baty, golden.
Aty-baty, the soldiers were walking,
Aty-baty, to the market.
Atty-batty, what did you buy?
Aty-baty, samovar.
How much does it cost?
Aty-baty, three rubles.
Aty-baty, who's coming out?
Aty-baty, it's me!
Patter
Patter- a phrase built on a combination of sounds that makes it difficult to quickly pronounce words. Tongue twisters are also called “pure twisters” because they contribute and can be used to develop diction. Tongue twisters can be both rhymed and non-rhymed.
Greek rode across the river.
He sees a Greek: there is a cancer in the river,
He stuck the Greek's hand into the river -
Cancer for the hand of a Greek - DAC!
The bull was blunt-lipped, the bull was blunt-lipped, the bull's white lip was dull.
From the clatter of hooves, dust flies across the field.
Mystery
Mystery, like a proverb, is a short figurative definition of an object or phenomenon, but unlike a proverb, it gives this definition in an allegorical, deliberately obscure form. As a rule, in a riddle one object is described through another based on similar features: “The pear is hanging - you can’t eat it” (lamp). A riddle can also be a simple description of an object, for example: “Two ends, two rings, and a nail in the middle” (scissors). This and folk pastime, and a test of ingenuity and ingenuity.
The role of riddles and jokes was also played by inverted fables, which for adults appear as absurdities, but for children - funny stories about something that does not happen, for example:
From behind the forest, from behind the mountains, Grandfather Egor is coming. He is on a gray cart, on a creaking horse, belted with an axe, a belt tucked into his belt, boots wide open, a zipun on his bare feet.
General history
Oral folk art (folklore) existed even in the pre-literate era. Works of folklore (riddles, tongue twisters, fables, etc.) were transmitted orally. They memorized them by ear. This contributed to the emergence of different versions of the same folklore work.
Oral folk art is a reflection of the life, way of life, and beliefs of ancient people. Works of folk art accompany a person from birth. They contribute to the formation and development of the child.
Links
- Irina Gurina. Useful poems and fairy tales for all cases of disobedience
see also
Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
- Uranium(VI)-diuranium(V) oxide
- Inclination (rotation)
See what “Small genres of folklore” are in other dictionaries:
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Meletinsky E. M.- Eleazar Moiseevich Meletinsky (October 22, 1918, Kharkov December 16, 2005, Moscow) Russian scientist philologist, cultural historian, Doctor of Philology, professor. Founder of the research school of theoretical folkloristics. Contents 1... ...Wikipedia
Meletinsky Eleazar Moiseevich- Eleazar Moiseevich Meletinsky (October 22, 1918, Kharkov December 16, 2005, Moscow) Russian scientist philologist, cultural historian, Doctor of Philology, professor. Founder of the research school of theoretical folkloristics. Contents 1... ...Wikipedia
Genres of Russian folklore
Fairy tales, songs, epics, street performances - all these are different genres of folklore, folk oral and poetic creativity. You can't confuse them, they differ in their specific features, their role in people’s life is different, and they live differently in modern times. At the same time, all genres of verbal folklore have common characteristics: they are all works of verbal art, in their origins they are associated with archaic forms of art, they exist mainly in oral transmission, and are constantly changing. This determines the interaction of the collective and individual principles in them, a unique combination of traditions and innovation. Thus, the folklore genre is a historically developing type of oral poetic work. Anikin V.P. gave his characteristics to folklore. Childbirth: epic, lyric, drama
Types: song, fairy tale, non-fairy tale prose, etc.
Genres: epic, lyrical, historical song, legend, etc.
Genre is the basic unit of study of folklore. In folklore, genre is a form of mastering reality. Over time, depending on changes in everyday life, social life people, a system of genres developed.
There are several classifications of folklore genres:
|
Historical classification Zueva Tatyana Vasilievna, Kirdan Boris Petrovich |
Classification by functionality Vladimir Prokopyevich Anikin |
|
Early traditional folklore * Labor songs, * Fortune telling, conspiracies. Classic folklore *Rituals and ritual folklore: calendar, wedding, lamentations. * Small genres of folklore: proverbs, sayings, riddles. * Non-fairy prose: legends, stories, tales, legends. * Song epic: epics, historical songs, spiritual songs and poems, lyrical songs. * Folklore theater. * Children's folklore. Folklore for children. Late traditional folklore * Ditties * Workers' folklore * Folklore of the Second World War period |
Household ritual folklore 1. Labor songs 2. Conspiracies 3. Calendar folklore 4. Wedding folklore 5. Lamentations Worldview non-ritual folklore 1. Proverbs 2. Oral prose: legends, stories, tales, legends. 3. Song epic: epics, historical songs, military songs, spiritual songs and poems. Artistic folklore 2. Riddles 3. Ballads 4. Lyrical songs 5. Children's folklore 6. Spectacles and folk theater 7. Romance songs 8. Ditties 9. Jokes |
Starting to analyze each genre of folklore, let's start with fairy tales.
Fairy tales - the oldest genre oral folk art. It teaches a person to live, instills optimism in him, and affirms faith in the triumph of goodness and justice.
A fairy tale is of great social value, consisting in its cognitive, ideological, educational and aesthetic meanings, which are inextricably linked. Like other peoples (Russians, perhaps, more clearly), a fairy tale is an objectified contemplation of the people’s heart, a symbol of their sufferings and dreams, hieroglyphs of their soul. All art is generated by reality. This is one of the foundations of materialist aesthetics. This is the case, for example, with a fairy tale, the plots of which are caused by reality, i.e. era, social and economic relations, forms of thinking and artistic creativity, psychology. It, like all folklore in general, reflected the life of the people, their worldview, moral, ethical, socio-historical, political, philosophical and artistic and aesthetic views. It is closely connected with folk life and rituals. Traditional Russian fairy tales were created and circulated mainly among peasants. Their creators and performers were usually people with extensive life experience, who walked a lot in Rus' and saw a lot. The lower the level of education of people, the more they talk about the phenomena of social life at the level of ordinary consciousness. Maybe that’s why the world reflected in fairy tales is formed at the level of ordinary consciousness, on everyday ideas people about beauty. Each new era brings tales of a new type, new content and new form. A fairy tale changes along with the historical life of the people, its changes are determined by changes in the people's life itself, because it is a product of the history of the people; it reflects the events of history and features of folk life. Coverage and understanding of the history and life of the people in folklore changes along with changes in popular ideas, views and psychology. In fairy tales one can find traces of several eras. In the era of feudalism, social themes occupied an increasing place, especially in connection with the peasant movement: fairy tales expressed anti-serfdom sentiments. The 16th-18th centuries are characterized by the rich development of fairy tales. It reflects historical motifs (tales about Ivan the Terrible), social ones (tales about judges and priests) and everyday tales (tales about a man and his wife). In the fairy tale genre, satirical motifs are significantly enhanced.
XYIII - first half of the 19th century. - The last stage of the existence of feudal-serf society. This time is characterized by the development of capitalist relations and the decomposition of serfdom. The fairy tale takes on an even more vivid social aspect. It includes new characters, most notably a smart and cunning soldier. In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which saw the increasingly rapid and widespread development of capitalism in Russia, great changes occurred in folklore. The satirical motives and critical orientation of the tale are intensified; the basis for this was the aggravation of social contradictions; The purpose of satire is increasingly becoming to expose the power of money and the arbitrariness of authorities. Autobiography occupied a greater place, especially in tales about going to the city to earn money. The Russian fairy tale becomes more realistic and acquires a closer connection with modernity. The illumination of reality and the ideological essence of the works also become different.
The cognitive significance of a fairy tale is manifested, first of all, in the fact that it reflects the features of real life phenomena and provides extensive knowledge about the history of social relations, work and life, as well as an idea of the worldview and psychology of the people, and the nature of the country. The ideological and educational significance of the fairy tale is that it is inspired by the desire for good, the protection of the weak, and victory over evil. In addition, a fairy tale develops an aesthetic sense, i.e. sense of beauty .
It is characterized by the revelation of beauty in nature and man, the unity of aesthetic and moral principles, the combination of reality and fiction, vivid imagery and expressiveness.
A fairy tale is a very popular genre of oral folk art, an epic genre, and a plot genre. A fairy tale differs from other prose genres (traditions and legends) in its more developed aesthetic side, which is manifested in its focus on attractiveness. The aesthetic principle, in addition, manifests itself in the idealization of positive heroes, a vivid image of " fairy world", amazing creatures and objects, miraculous phenomena, romantic overtones of events. M. Gorky paid attention to the expressions in fairy tales of people's dreams about a better life: “Already in ancient times, people dreamed of the opportunity to fly through the air - this is what the fairy tale talks about, about the flying carpet. We dreamed of accelerating movement on the ground - a fairy tale about running boots...”
In science, it is generally accepted to divide fairy-tale texts into three categories: fairy tales, short-story (everyday) tales, and tales about animals.
Fairy tales were very popular among the people. Fiction in fairy tales has the nature of fantasy. The magical principle contains the so-called survival moments and, first of all, the religious-mythological view of primitive man, his spiritualization of things and natural phenomena, his attribution to these things and phenomena magical properties, various religious cults, customs, rituals. Fairy tales are full of motifs containing belief in the existence of the other world and the possibility of returning from there, the idea of death enclosed in some material object (egg, flower), a miraculous birth (from drinking water), and the transformation of people into animals and birds. The fantastic beginning of a fairy tale grows on a spontaneous-materialistic basis and remarkably correctly captures the patterns of development of objective reality.
This is what M. Gorky called “an instructive invention - the amazing ability of human thought to look ahead of the fact.” The origin of science fiction has its vital roots in the peculiarities of the way of life and in the dream of people about domination over nature. All these are just traces of mythological ideas, since the formation of the classical form of a fairy tale ended far beyond the historical boundaries of primitive communal society, in a much more developed society. The mythological worldview only provided the basis for the poetic form of the fairy tale.
An important point is that the stories fairy tales, the miracles they talk about have a vital basis. This, firstly, is a reflection of the characteristics of the work and life of people of the tribal system, their relationship to nature, and often their powerlessness before it. Secondly, a reflection of the feudal system, primarily early feudalism (the king is the hero’s opponent, the struggle for inheritance).
A character in fairy tales is always a bearer of certain moral qualities. The hero of the most popular fairy tales is Ivan Tsarevich. He helps animals and birds, who are grateful to him for this and, in turn, help him. He is represented in fairy tales as folk hero, the embodiment of the highest moral qualities - courage, honesty, kindness. He is young, handsome, smart and strong. This is the type of brave and strong hero.
A significant place in fairy tales is occupied by female heroines who embody the folk ideal of beauty, intelligence, kindness, and courage. The image of Vasilisa the Wise reflects the remarkable features of a Russian woman - a beauty, majestic simplicity, gentle pride in herself, a remarkable mind and a deep heart full of inexhaustible love. To the consciousness of the Russian people, this is exactly how female beauty was imagined.
The serious meaning of some fairy tales provided grounds for judgment on the most important issues of life. Thus, some fairy tales embody the freedom-loving aspiration and struggle of the Russian people against tyranny and oppressors. The composition of a fairy tale determines the presence of characters who are hostile to the positive heroes. The hero's victory over hostile forces is the triumph of goodness and justice. Many researchers have noted the heroic side of the fairy tale and its social optimism. A.M. Gorky said: “It is very important to note that pessimism is completely alien to folklore, despite the fact that the creators of folklore lived hard, their slave labor was meaningless by the exploiters, and their personal lives were powerless and defenseless. But with all this, the collective seems to be characterized by the consciousness of its immortality and confidence in victory over all forces hostile to it.” Fairy tales in which social and everyday relations are at the center of the action are called social and everyday tales. In this type of fairy tales, the comedy of actions and verbal comedy are well developed, which is determined by their satirical, ironic, humorous nature. The theme of one group of fairy tales is social injustice, the theme of another is human vices, in which the lazy, stupid, and stubborn are ridiculed. Depending on this, two varieties are distinguished in social and everyday fairy tales. Social and everyday tales arose, according to researchers, in two stages: everyday - early, with the formation of the family and family life during the decomposition of the clan system, and social - with the emergence of class society and the aggravation of social contradictions during the period of early feudalism, especially during the disintegration of the serfdom. and during the period of capitalism. The growing lack of rights and poverty of the masses caused discontent and protest and were the basis social criticism. Positive hero social and everyday tales - a socially active, critical person. Hard work, poverty, darkness, and often unequal marriages in terms of age and property status caused complications in family relationships and determined the appearance of stories about an evil wife and a stupid and lazy husband. Socially everyday fairy tales are distinguished by their acute ideological orientation. This is reflected, first of all, in the fact that the stories mainly have two important social themes: social injustice and social punishment. The first theme is realized in plots where a gentleman, merchant or priest robs and oppresses a peasant and humiliates his personality. The second theme is realized in stories where an intelligent and quick-witted man finds a way to punish his oppressors for centuries of lawlessness and makes them look ridiculous. In social and everyday fairy tales, people's aspirations and expectations, the dream of a socially just, happy and peaceful life, are much more clearly expressed. “These tales show the way of life of the people, their home life, their moral concepts and this crafty Russian mind, so inclined towards irony, so simple-minded in its craftiness.”
In fairy tales, as well as in some other genres of folklore prose, which reflected the strengths and weaknesses of peasant psychology, the centuries-old dream of happy life, about a certain “peasant kingdom”. The search for “another kingdom” in fairy tales is a characteristic motif. A fairy-tale social utopia depicts the people's material well-being, well-fed contentment; The man eats and drinks to his heart's content and has a "feast for the whole world." N. G. Chernyshevsky noted: “The poverty of real life is the source of life in fantasy.” The peasant judges a “happy” life for himself according to the example of those material goods owned by kings and landowners. The peasants had a very strong faith in the “good king”, and fairy tale hero becomes just such a king in many fairy tales. At the same time, the fairy-tale king, in his behavior, way of life, and habits, is likened to a simple peasant. The royal palace is sometimes depicted as a rich peasant courtyard with all the attributes of a peasant farm.
Tales about animals are one of the oldest types of folklore. Going back to ancient forms of reflecting reality in the early stages of human consciousness, fairy tales about animals expressed a certain degree of knowledge of the world.
The truth of fairy tales is that although they talk about animals, they reproduce similar human situations. The actions of animals more openly reveal inhumane aspirations, thoughts, and reasons for the actions committed by people. Animal stories are all stories in which there is room not only for fun, but also for the expression of serious meaning. In fairy tales about animals, birds and fish, animals and plants act. Each of these tales has a meaning. For example, in the fairy tale about the turnip, the meaning turned out to be that no amount of strength, even the smallest one, is superfluous, and it happens that it is not enough to achieve a result. With the development of human ideas about nature, with the accumulation of observations, tales include stories about man's victory over animals and about domestic animals, which was the result of their instructions. The identification of similar features in animals and humans (speech - cry, behavior - habits) served as the basis for combining their qualities with human qualities in the images of animals; animals speak and behave like people. This combination also led to the typification of animal characters, which became the embodiment of certain qualities (fox - cunning, etc.). This is how fairy tales acquired an allegorical meaning. Animals began to mean people of certain characters. Animal images became a means of moral teaching. In fairy tales about animals, negative qualities are not only ridiculed (stupidity, laziness, talkativeness), but also the oppression of the weak, greed, and deception for profit are condemned. The main semantic aspect of fairy tales about animals is moral. Fairy tales about animals are characterized by bright optimism; the weak always come out of difficult situations. The connection of the fairy tale with the ancient period of her life is revealed in the motives of the fear of the beast, in overcoming fear of it. The beast has strength and cunning, but no human intelligence. At a later stage in the life of a fairy tale, images of animals acquire the meaning of social types. In such variants, in the image of a sly fox, a wolf and others, one can see human characters that arose in the conditions of a class society. You can guess the image of the animal in them social relations of people. For example, in the fairy tale “About Ersha Ershovich and his son Shchetinnikov” a complete and accurate picture of ancient Russian legal proceedings is given. In the fairy tales of every nation, universal themes receive a unique national embodiment. In Russians folk tales certain social relations are revealed, the way of life of the people is shown, their home life, their moral concepts, the Russian view, the Russian mind - everything that makes the fairy tale nationally distinctive and unique. The ideological orientation of Russian fairy tales is manifested in the reflection of the people's struggle for a wonderful future. Thus, we saw that the Russian fairy tale is a generalized, evaluative and purposeful reflection of reality, which expresses human consciousness, and in particular the consciousness of the Russian people. The old name of a fairy tale - fable - indicates the narrative nature of the genre. Nowadays, the name “fairy tale” and the term “fairy tale”, which began to come into use in the 17th century, are used among the people and in scientific literature. A fairy tale is a very popular genre of oral folk art, an epic, prose, plot genre. It is not sung like a song, but told. The fairy tale is distinguished by its strict form and the obligatory nature of certain moments. Fairy tales have been known in Rus' since ancient times. In ancient writing there are plots, motifs and images reminiscent of fairy tales. Telling fairy tales is an old Russian custom. In manuscripts of the 16th - 17th centuries. records of the fairy tales “About Ivan Ponamarevich” and “About the Princess and Ivashka the White Shirt” have been preserved. In the 18th century In addition to handwritten collections of fairy tales, printed publications began to appear. Several collections of fairy tales have appeared, which include works with characteristic compositional and stylistic fairy-tale features: “The Tale of the Thief Timoshka” and “The Tale of the Gypsy” in V. Levshin’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1780-1783), “The Tale of Ivan the Bogatyr, the peasant’s son” in P. Timofeev’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1787) . In the 60s of the XIX century. A.N. Afanasyev released the collection “ Treasured tales", where they entered satirical tales about bars and priests. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. appears whole line important, well-prepared collections of fairy tales. They gave an idea of the distribution of works of this genre, its state, and put forward new principles of collecting and publishing. After October revolution the collection of fairy tales, like the collection of folklore in general, took on organized forms.
Mikhailova O. S. Considered: tales about animals. Historical roots of tales about animals (animistic, anthropomorphic, totemistic ideas, folk beliefs). Evolution of the genre. Heroes of fairy tales about animals. Style. Absence of abstract fable allegorism. The satirical function of allegories. Irony. Paradoxical plot. Dialogue. Compositional features. Cumulative tales. Fairy tales. Miracle, magic as a fairy-tale-plot basis of fairy tales. Historical roots of fairy tales (mythological ideas, folk demonology, folk rituals, everyday prohibitions, magic, etc.). Poetic conventions of fairy tales. The main ideas of fairy tales. Compositional features. Features of the author's word. Dialogue. Fairy tales. Heroes and their functions. Fairytale chronotope. Everyday tales. The closeness of an everyday fairy tale to a short story. Ways of forming the genre of short story tales. Typology of everyday tales (family tales, about masters and servants, about the clergy, etc.). Poetics and style (everyday “groundedness”, entertaining plot, hyperbolization in the depiction of characters, etc.).
One cannot but agree with the opinion of V.P. Anikin that fairy tales seem to have subjugated time, and this applies not only to fairy tales. In each era they live their own special lives. Where does a fairy tale have such power over time? Let us think about the essence of the similarity that fairy tales have with the equally stable, as if “timeless” truths expressed by proverbs. A fairy tale and a proverb are united by the extraordinary breadth of artistic generalization contained in them. Perhaps this property is revealed most clearly in allegorical tales.
The next genre is “epic”. The word “epic” is raised to the word “byl”; it means a story about what once happened, what happened, the reality of which they believed. The word "epic" as a term denoting folk songs with a specific content and specific artistic form. The epic is the fruit of artistic invention and poetic flight of imagination. But fiction and fantasy are not a distortion of reality. Epics always contain deep artistic and life truth. The content of the epic is extremely varied. Basically, this is an “epic” song, i.e. narrative in nature. The main core of the epic consists of songs of heroic content. The heroes of these songs are not looking for personal happiness, they are performing feats in the name of the interests of the Russian land. The main characters of the Russian epic are warriors. But the type heroic epic- not the only one, although it is the most characteristic of the Russian epic. Along with heroic ones, there are epics of a fairy-tale-heroic or purely fairy-tale nature. Such, for example, are the epics about Sadko and his stay in the underwater kingdom. An epic narrative can also have a social-everyday or family-everyday character (novelistic epics). Some of these epics can be classified as a special group of ballad songs. It is not always possible to draw the line between epic and ballad songs.
In folklore collections, epics of both heroic, fairy-tale, and novelistic nature are usually placed side by side. Such a combination gives a correct idea of the breadth and scope of Russian epic creativity. Taken together, all this material forms a single whole - the Russian folk epic. Currently, we have a huge amount of epic material, and the epic can be well studied. From the end of the 17th century. epic stories (“Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Mikhailo Potyk”, etc.) penetrate the handwritten story and are presented as entertaining reading material under the name “History”, “Word” or “Tale” [9]. Some of these stories are very close to the epic and can be divided into verses, others are the result of complex literary processing under the influence of ancient everyday literature, fairy tales, Russian and Western European adventure novels. Such “histories” were very popular, especially in cities where genuine epics were written in the 17th - 18th centuries. was little known. The first collection containing epics in the proper sense is the “Collection of Kirsha Danilov,” first published by A.F. Yakubovich in 1804 under the title “Ancient Russian Poems.” It was most likely created in Western Siberia . The manuscript contains 71 songs, with notes for each text. There are about 25 epics here. Most of the songs were recorded from voices, the recordings are very accurate, many features of the singers’ language have been preserved, and the texts are of very great artistic value. Kirsha Danilov is traditionally considered the creator of the collection, but who he is and what his role was in compiling this first collection of epics and historical songs in Russia is unknown. The first collector of epics was Pyotr Vasilyevich Kireevsky (1808 - 1856). Kireyevsky not only collected songs himself, but also encouraged his friends and relatives to do this work. Among Kireevsky's collaborators and correspondents were the poet Yazykov (his main assistant), Pushkin, Gogol, Koltsov, Dal, and scientists of that time. The epics were published as part of ten issues of “Songs collected by P.V. Kireevsky (1860 - 1874). The first five issues contain epics and ballads, the second half is devoted mainly to historical songs. The collection contains recordings of epics made in the Volga region, in some central provinces of Russia, in the North and in the Urals; These records are especially interesting because many of them were made in places where epics soon disappeared and were no longer recorded. One of the most remarkable collections of epics is a collection published by Pavel Nikolaevich Rybnikov (1832 - 1885). Having been exiled to Petrozavodsk, traveling around the province as secretary of the statistical committee, Rybnikov began to write down epics of the Olonets region. He recorded about 220 epic texts. The collection was published under the editorship of Bessonov in four volumes, “Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov” in 1861 - 1867. In addition to epics, this collection contains a number of wedding songs, lamentations, fairy tales, etc. The appearance of Rybnikov's collection was a great event in social and literary life. Together with Kireevsky's collection, it opened up a new field of science. Ten years after the appearance of Rybnikov’s collection, Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding went to the same places specifically for the purpose of recording epics. In two months he managed to record more than 300 texts. Some epics were recorded by him later, from singers who came to St. Petersburg. The collected songs entitled “Onega epics recorded by Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding in the summer of 1871” were published in one volume. There are 318 texts in total. The songs are arranged by region, village and performer. The texts were recorded with all the care and precision possible for the collector. From now on, arranging material by performer became the practice of publishing epics and fairy tales and continues to this day. The sixties were the years special attention to the poetry of peasants. During these years, “Folk Russian Tales” by A.N. Afanasyev (1855 - 1864), “Great Russian Tales” by I.A. Khudyakov (1863), “Proverbs of the Russian People” by V.I. Dahl (1861) were published. With the onset of the reaction of the 80s, interest in folk poetry fell for some time. Only in 1901 A.V. Markov published a small collection of “White Sea epics”. Markov moved to the far north and visited the eastern shore of the White Sea. In total, the collection contains 116 epics. The plot, style and form of existence of epics turned out to be significantly different here than in the Onega region. Several new subjects were found. In all respects, Markov’s collection significantly expanded the existing scientific understanding of the epic. One of the largest and most significant expeditions was the expedition of A.D. Grigoriev to the Arkhangelsk province, which lasted three summers. Over three summers of collecting work, he recorded 424 texts, which were subsequently published in three volumes entitled “Arkhangelsk epics and historical songs” (1904 - 1910). As a result, Grigoriev’s collection became the largest and one of the most interesting in Russian folklore. The records are highly accurate. For the first time, recording of epic melodies on a phonograph was widely used. A sheet music book is included with each volume. Attached to the entire publication detailed map North, indicating the places where the epics were recorded. In 40 - 60 years. XIX century In Altai, the remarkable ethnographer Stepan Ivanovich Gulyaev recorded epics. Siberian records have great importance, since they often retain a more archaic form of plot than in the North, where epics have changed more. Gulyaev recorded up to 50 epics and other epic songs. His entire collection was published only in Soviet times. In the summer months of 1908 - 1909. brothers Boris and Yuri Sokolov made a folklore expedition to the Belozersky region of the Novgorod province. It was a well-organized scientific expedition. Its goal was to cover all the folklore of a given region with records. The predominant genres turned out to be fairy tales and songs, but unexpectedly epics were also found. 28 texts were recorded. Bylinas were collected not only in the North, in Siberia and the Volga region. Their existence in the 19th - 20th centuries. was discovered in places of Cossack settlements - on the Don, on the Terek, among the Astrakhan, Ural, and Orenburg Cossacks.
The largest collector of Don Cossack songs was A.M. Listopadov, who devoted fifty years of his life to this work (starting from 1892 - 1894). As a result of multiple trips to Cossack villages, Listopadov wrote down great amount songs, including more than 60 epics; his notes provide a comprehensive picture of the Don epic in the form in which it was preserved by the beginning of the twentieth century. The value of Listopadov’s materials is especially enhanced by the fact that not only the texts, but also the tunes were recorded.
As a result of collecting work, it became possible to determine the features of the content and form of the Cossack epic, its plot composition, manner of execution, and to imagine the fate of the Russian epic in the Cossack regions. The merit of Russian scientists in the field of collecting epics is extremely great. Through their labors, one of the best assets of Russian history was saved from oblivion. national culture. The work of collecting epics was carried out entirely by individual enthusiasts who, sometimes overcoming various and very difficult obstacles, selflessly worked on recording and publishing monuments of folk poetry.
After the October Revolution, the work of collecting epics took on a different character. Now it is beginning to be carried out systematically and systematically by research institutions. In 1926-1928 State Academy artistic sciences in Moscow, equipped an expedition under the slogan “In the footsteps of Rybnikov and Hilferding.” The epics of the Onega region are among the best, and the Onega region is among the richest in epic tradition. As a result of planned and systematic work, 376 texts were recorded, many of them in excellent preservation.
Long-term and systematic work was carried out by Leningrad scientific institutions. In 1926 -1929. The State Institute of Art History sent complex art history expeditions to the North, which included folklorists. In 1931 - 1933 work on the creation of folklore was carried out by the folklore commission of the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences in Petrozavodsk. A total of 224 texts were published in the collection. The publication is distinguished by high scientific level. For each of the epics, salts are given for all variants known in science. In subsequent years, expeditions were also organized to study the epic genre. The collecting work of Russian scientists was intensive and fruitful both in pre-revolutionary and Soviet times. Much is stored in archives and is still waiting to be published. The number of published epics can be estimated at approximately 2,500 song units.
The concept of epics was also considered by V.V. Shuklin.
Epics and myths, the ancient epic genre of epics (North Russian people called them antiquities) took shape in the 10th century. The word epic, i.e. "truth". "act". Found in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. Its author begins his song “according to the epics of this time, and not according to the thoughts of Boyan.” The appearance of epics under Prince Vladimir is not accidental. His warriors performed their feats not on long campaigns, but in the fight against nomads, i.e. in plain sight, so they became available for epic chanting.
Also Anikin V.P. spoke about the fact that among oral works there are those by which the significance of folklore in folk life is primarily judged. For Russian folk, these are epics. Only fairy tales and songs stand next to them, but if we remember that ballads were both spoken and sung, then their predominance over other types of folklore will become clear. Epics differ from songs in their solemnity, and from fairy tales in the grandeur of their plot action. An epic is both a story and a majestic song speech. The combination of such properties became possible because epics arose in ancient times, when storytelling and singing were not yet separated as decisively as they happened later. Singing gave the storytelling solemnity, and storytelling through singing gave it a resemblance to the intonations of human speech. The solemnity of the tone corresponded to the glorification of the heroic deed in the epics, and the singing put the story into measured lines so that not a single detail disappeared from people's memory. This is an epic, a song story.
It is also worth noting one of the genres of folklore, “legends,” which were discussed by T. V. Zueva and B. P. Kirdant.
Legends are prose works, in which fantastic understandings of events are associated with phenomena of inanimate nature, with the world of plants, animals, as well as people (planet, people, individuals); with supernatural beings (God, saints, angels, unclean spirits). The main functions of legends are explanatory and moralizing. The legends are associated with Christian ideas, but they also have a pagan basis. In legends, man turns out to be immeasurably higher than evil spirits
Legends existed both oral and written. The term “legend” itself comes from medieval writing and translated from Latin means “that which must be read.”
The following genres can be combined into one. Since they have a lot in common, these are proverbs and sayings. Kravtsov N.I. and Lazutin S.G. said that a proverb is a small non-lyrical genre of oral creativity; a form of saying that has entered into speech circulation, fitting into one grammatically and logically complete sentence, often rhythmic and supported by rhyme. It is characterized by extreme brevity and simplicity.
Sayings are closely related to proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings belong to small genres of folklore. In most cases they are even more concise than proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings are not specifically performed (they are not sung or told), but are used in lively colloquial speech. At the same time, sayings differ significantly from proverbs in the nature of the content, in the form, and in the functions performed in speech.
The collection and study of sayings went simultaneously with the collection and study of proverbs. N. P. Kolpakova, M. Ya. Melts and G. G. Shapovalova believed that the term “proverb” began to be used to designate a type of folk poetry only from the end of the 17th century. Previously, proverbs were called “parables.” However, the existence of proverbs as special sayings expressing popular judgments in figurative form can be noted in very distant times. folklore fairy tale epic riddle
Proverbs contain echoes of many specific historical events. ancient Rus'. However, the historical value of the proverb lies not only in this, but mainly in the fact that it preserved many historically developed views of the people, for example, the idea of the unity of the army and the people: “Peace stands before the army, and the army stands before the world”; about the strength of the community: “The world will stand up for itself”, “You cannot win over the world”, etc. It is impossible not to emphasize the opinion of N. S. Ashukin and M. G. Ashukina. The proverb captures the high ethical ideals of the working people, their love for their homeland: “The native side is the mother, the foreign side is the stepmother”; deep respect for work, skill, skill, intelligence, courage, truth, honesty. Many proverbs have been created on these topics: “You can’t catch a fish from a pond without labor,” “Across the fields and through the brush,” “Crafts have their trade,” “ It's time, fun time”, “Ugly in face but good in mind”, “Learning is better than wealth”, “Truth is more valuable than gold”, “Poverty and honesty are better than profit and shame.” And, on the contrary, the proverb denounces laziness, deceit, drunkenness and other vices: “Laziness does no good, it dines without salt”, “Give him a flaky egg”, “It spreads with a leaf and aims to bite” (about duplicity), “He got drunk on honey , hung over with tears,” etc.
IN AND. Dahl also gave his own definition of a saying. A saying is a roundabout expression, figurative speech, a simple allegory, a circumlocution, a way of expression, but without a parable, without judgment, conclusion, application; this is the first half of the proverb.
Another major genre of folklore is the “riddle”. The object of a folk riddle is the diverse world of objects and phenomena surrounding a person.
The folk riddle also draws its images from the world of everyday objects and phenomena surrounding a person, which the worker encountered in the process of his activity.
The usual form of a riddle is a short description or a condensed story. Each riddle includes a hidden question: who is it? What is this? etc. In a number of cases, the riddle is expressed in a dialogical form: “Crookedly, slyly, where did it run? - Green, curly, - watch out for you” (fence).
The riddle is distinguished by its two-part construction; it always involves a solution.
Many of the riddles have rhyming endings; in some, the first part rhymes, but the second part maintains the meter. Some riddles are based on the rhyming of words alone; The riddle rhymes with the answer: “What kind of matchmaker is there in the hut?” (grasp); “What kind of Samson is in the hut?” (screen).
The riddle is still preserved among the people not only as a means of entertainment, but also as a means of education, the development of children's intelligence and resourcefulness. The riddle answers the child's questions: what comes from? what is made of what? what are they doing? what is good for what?
The systematic collection of Russian folk riddles began only in the second half of the 19th century. By the 17th century Only records made by amateur collectors apply.
Proverbs and sayings
The collection and publication of proverbs began in the 17th century. However, in the most ancient collections, along with folk ones, proverbs of book origin were also included. The compilers discarded popular proverbs that were hostile to religion and the authorities. The most democratic tendencies in the selection and publication of folk proverbs appeared in N. Kurganov’s “Pismovnik” (1769), where the compiler included 908 proverbs.
In 1848, I. M. Snegirev published “Russian folk proverbs and parables.” His collection was dominated by genuine folk proverbs. Following Snegirev, in 1854. Proverbs were published by F. I. Buslaev. In a special article “Russian life and proverbs,” he commented on them from the point of view of mythological theory. In 1861 V. I. Dahl’s great work “Proverbs of the Russian People” was published, which included about 30,000 proverbs, sayings and other small genres of folk poetry. The most important collections of proverbs of the second half of the 19th century. and the beginning of the 20th century. there were collections: “Winged Words” by S. V. Maksimov (1890), “Aimed and Walking Words” by M. I. Mikhelson (1894), “The Life of the Russian People in their Proverbs and Sayings” by I. I. Illustrov (1915). Kravtsov N.I., Lazutin S.G. They believed that both proverbs and sayings, and riddles belong to the small (aphoristic) genres of folklore.
Riddles have much in common with proverbs and sayings in content and artistic form. However, they also have specific features, represent an independent genre of folklore.
The term "mystery" ancient origin. In the Old Russian language the word “guess” meant “to think”, “to reflect”. This is where the word “mystery” comes from. The riddle gives a substantive description of some phenomenon, the recognition of which requires considerable thought. Most often, riddles are allegorical in nature. Anikin V.P. said that the riddle emphasizes the variety of forms, the brightness of the colors of the world surrounding the peasant: “Red, round, oblong leaves” (rowan). Some riddles create a sound image: “I listen, I listen: sigh after sigh, but not a soul in the hut,” says the riddle about the dough, which makes a sound similar to a sigh during fermentation. Sound images appeared especially often in riddles about peasant work.
The world around us is a mystery constant movement: “Grayish, toothy, prowling around the field, looking for calves, looking for guys” (wolf); “The small, hunchbacked one crossed the whole field, went through all the paddocks” (reap); “Five sheep eat up the stack, five sheep run away” (hands and tow).
I would like to say a little about “tradition.” Folklorists have not yet given a sufficiently satisfactory and substantiated definition of legends. Often in scientific literature, traditions and legends are mixed, although these are different genres. This is explained by proximity, as well as the presence of transitional forms, some of which are closer to legends, while others are closer to legends.
Legends are popularly called “bylya” and “byvalshchina”. They are characterized by historical themes. The legends are close to historical songs, but have a prosaic form, not a poetic one.
Legends - epic, i.e. narrative, plot genre. The collection of Russian folk legends was not carried out systematically.
You also cannot miss such a genre of folklore as “ditties”. Zueva T.V. and Kirdant B.P. emphasize that the most developed genre of late traditional folklore are ditties.
Chats are short rhymed lyrical songs that were created and performed as a lively response to various life phenomena, expressing a clear positive or negative assessment. Many ditties contain jokes or irony. The earliest ditties had six lines. The main type - four-line - was formed in the second half of the 19th century; it was performed with and without dance. The dance ditties themselves, which are performed only with dancing (for example, with a square dance), are also four-line.
In addition, there are two-line ditties: “suffering” and “Semyonovna”.
The chastushkas have varied, but repeating, stable melodies, both drawn-out and fast. It is typical to perform many texts in one tune. In live existence, ditties are sometimes characterized by recitativeness.
Chastushki finally took shape in the last quarter of the 19th century. Simultaneously in different parts of Russia: in the center, middle and lower Volga region, in the northern, eastern and southern provinces.
Chatushki is the main genre of peasant lyrics in later traditional folklore. And finally, I would like to consider a few more genres of folklore—all varieties of “songs.” Which are described in detail by S.V. Alpatov, V.P. Anikin, T.B. Dianova, A.A. Ivanova, A.V. Kulagina. Definition of the genre and the question of the limitation of the term “historical song”. The difference between a historical song and an epic. Continuity of historical songs with epics. Historical song as a stage in the development of epic creativity. Principles of selective, interested depiction of events and persons in historical songs. A historical song as a work relevant for its time and the question of the subsequent transformation of its meaning and images. Early examples of historical songs: a song about Avdotya Ryazanochka, about the murder of Shchelkan Dudentievich, Polonyanki (“Mother meets daughter in Tatar captivity”, etc.). The diversity of early historical songs and the question of later changes in them. A cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible and the events of his reign (“The Capture of Kazan”, “Temryuk-Mastryuk”, “The Wrath of Ivan the Terrible on His Son”, “Raid of the Crimean Khan”, etc.), about Ermak (“Ermak in the Cossack Circle”, etc. .), about the Time of Troubles (“Grishka Otrepyev”, “The Cry of Ksenia Godunova”, “Skopin-Shuisky”, “Minin and Pozharsky”), etc. The people’s view of historical figures and understanding of the meaning of their activities. Cossack historical songs about Stepan Razin (“Razin and the Cossack circle.” “Razin’s March to Yaik,” “Son,” “Razin near Astrakhan,” “Song of the Razins.” “Esaul reports on the execution of Razin”). Poeticization of Razin as the leader of the Cossack freemen. Condemnation of Razin by the Cossack circle. The lyrical beginning as a factor transforming the epic narrative. A special lyrical-epic structure of the songs. Historical songs about Peter the Great and the events of his reign (“The Tsar judges the Streltsy.” “About the beginning Northern War”, “Well done going to Poltava”, “Tsar Peter on the ship”, etc.). Historical songs about events Patriotic War 1812 (“Napoleon writes a letter to Alexander”, “Kutuzov calls to defeat the French”, “Napoleon in Moscow”, “Cossack Platov”, etc.). Question about songwriters. Reflection of the thoughts and feelings of soldiers in songs. The idea of defending the fatherland. New themes in soldier and Cossack historical songs in comparison with songs from other cycles. Types of characters in historical songs: folk hero, king, commander. Image of the people. Poetics and style of historical songs. Genre varieties: epic songs (with a detailed plot, one-episode), lyric-epic songs. Collections of historical songs of the XIII - XIX centuries. four books published in the series “Monuments of Russian Folklore”, Institute of Russian Literature Ak. Sciences, 19601973. Ballad songs. The term “ballad” and its history (Provençal dance songs of the 11th-17th centuries; Anglo-Scottish ballads; literary romantic ballads). Russian folk names for ballad songs: “verse”, “song”. Definition of the genre, its characteristics. The most important properties of ballad songs: epicness, family and everyday themes, psychological drama, the art of the tragic. Origin of ballad songs. The question of the time of their origin is debatable: a look at the appearance of ballads in the era of the decomposition of ancient syncretism (A. N. Veselovsky), in the early period of written history (N. P. Andreev), during the Middle Ages (V. M. Zhirmunsky, D. M . Balashov, B. N. Putilov, V. P. Anikin). Ballad songs about the Tatar (later Turkish) Polon: “The girl was taken prisoner by the Tatars”, “Russian girl in Tatar captivity”, “The red girl is running from the Polon”, “The rescue of the Polonyanka”, “Prince Roman and Marya Yuryevna”, “Two slaves” ", "Escape of slaves from captivity." Later adaptations of ballads about Polon: “Young Khancha”, “Pan brings Russian Polonyanka to his wife”. Plots of ballad songs of the 14th-16th centuries: “Vasily and Sophia”, “Dmitry and Domna”, “Rowanka”, “Prince Mikhailo”, “Widow’s Children”, etc. Love ballads: “Dmitry and Domna”, “Cossack and tavern ”, “The kidnapping of a girl”, “A girl defends her honor”, “A nun drowns a child”. Family and everyday ballads: “Prince Roman was losing his wife”, “The husband was ruining his wife”, “Rowan”; “Fedor Kolyshatoy”, “Alyosha and the sister of two brothers”, “Brother, sister and lover”, “Sister-poisoner”, “Daughter of a thousand-man”, “Forcible tonsure”. Incest theme: “Hunter and his sister”, “Brother married his sister”, “Ivan Dorodorovich and Sophia the princess”, etc. Ballads of the 17th-18th centuries: “The slandered wife”, “The wife of her husband stabbed to death”, “The Robber Brothers” and sister”, “The Robber’s Wife”, etc. The crisis of the traditional ballad genre. Appearance at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. new ballads. Ballads: o social inequality: “Well done and the princess”, “Prince Volkonsky and Vanya the key-keeper”, “The princess and the chamberlain”, “The girl dies from the love of the voivode’s son”; about poverty and grief: “Grief”, “Well done and grief”, “Well done and the Smorodina River”, etc. Features of the composition and plot of ballads: open course of action, predicted fatal outcome, tragic recognition. The role of monologues and dialogues. Dramatic. Single-conflict. Dynamics of action development. Characteristics: destroyer, victim. Fantastic motifs: metamorphosis, werewolf, talking animals and birds, magical (living and dead water as a means of healing). Art psychological image. Poetic language, allegory. Connections between ballads and epics, historical songs, spiritual poems, lyrical songs). New ballads, their connections with old ones (plot and thematic similarities and differences). History of collecting ballads. Collection by N. P. Andreev and V. I. Chernyshev, collection by D. M. Balashov.
Lyrical songs. Determination of the genre features of non-ritual songs as a type of folk lyrics: their freedom from ritual, relative non-confinement to the time of performance, the predominance of poetic functions over pragmatic ones, the use of a unique metaphorical and symbolic language for versatile life content and revealing the inner world of a person. The possibility of lyrical non-ritual songs being included in rituals and work cycles and the diversity of folk terminology explained by this. Genetic connection of non-ritual songs with ritual lyrics (spells, magnifications, lamentations, game songs) and ballads. Continuity and reworking artistic traditions in the process of developing a style. Problems of classification of non-ritual lyrical songs. A variety of systematization principles: by topic (love, family, recruitment, daring), by social environment creations and existence (soldiers’, burlatsky’s, coachmen’s, Cossack’s, etc.), by the predominant composition of performers (male and female), by the forms of melody and intra-syllable chant (frequent and drawn-out), by connection with movement (stepping, marching, dancing), by emotional dominant (comic, satirical). A combination of several principles when creating scientific classifications (V. Ya. Propp, N. P. Kolpakova, T. M. Akimova, V. I. Eremina). System artistic images non-ritual lyrics. The diversity of folk characters and social types in songs, the depiction of diverse relationships between people. Images of nature, everyday life, social phenomena. The place of conditionally generalized images of love, melancholy, grief, will, separation, death and others in artistic system folk lyrics. Characteristics combining diverse images in the creation of symbolic pictures that form the subject-content basis of non-ritual songs. Techniques for portraying characters: idealization, humor, satire. Features of the composition of non-ritual songs. Their structure is based on their belonging to the lyrical genre. Figurative-symbolic parallelism and its forms (A. N. Veselovsky), the technique of stepwise narrowing of images (B. M. Sokolov), the principle of chain-associative connection (S. G. Lazutin), the juxtaposition of autonomous thematic and stylistic formulas (G. I . Maltsev). N.P. Kolpakova, N.I. Kravtsov about the main types and forms of composition. Poetic language of non-ritual lyrics: functions constant epithets, comparisons, metaphors, antithesis. Stereotypical stable verbal complexes in songs. The originality of the rhythmic-syntactic structure of folk song verse (repetition system, syllable breaks, intra-syllable chants, stanzas, meter). Use of lexical and phonetic expressiveness in lyrics oral speech. Collection of folk songs. Activities of P. V. Kireevsky. Folk lyrics as part of the collection of P. V. Shein, a collection of folk songs by A. I. Sobolevsky “Great Russian folk songs”. Types of publications of songs of local traditions.
Spiritual poems. Definition of spiritual poems as a complex of epic, lyric-epic and lyrical works, the unifying principle of which is the concept of “spiritual”, religious-Christian, opposed to the worldly, secular. Popular names for the genre: “poems”, “antiques”, “psalms”, “cants”. Origin of spiritual poems and sources: books of the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments), Christian canonical and apocryphal literature that penetrated into Rus' after Epiphany from the end of the 10th century. (lives, biblical stories, moral stories, etc.), church sermons and liturgy. Senior spiritual poems (epic) and junior (lyrical). The creators and performers of spiritual poems are kaliki (cripples) travelers, pilgrims to holy places. Folk rethinking of biblical and evangelical themes, lives, apocrypha. “Spiritual poems are the result of the people’s aesthetic assimilation of the ideas of Christian doctrine” (F. M. Selivanov). The main idea of spiritual verses: affirmation of the superiority of the spiritual over the material, physical, glorification of asceticism, martyrdom for the faith, denunciation of sinfulness, non-observance of God's commandments. Reflection of cosmogonic ideas in older spiritual verses. Main themes and plots: poems about the universe (“Pigeon Book”); on biblical Old Testament stories (“Osip the Beautiful”, “Lamentation of Adam”); evangelical (“Nativity of Christ”, “Massacre of the Innocents”, “Dream of the Virgin Mary”, “Crucifixion of Christ”, “Ascension”); about heroes-snake fighters (“Fedor Tiron”, “Egory and the Serpent”), martyrs (“Egory and Demyanishche”, “Kirik and Ulita”, “Galaktion and Epistimia”, “About the Great Martyr Barbara”), ascetics (“Josaph and Varlaam ”, “Alexey the man of God”); miracle workers (“Mikola”, “Dmitry of Thessaloniki”); righteous and sinners (“Two Lazaruses”, “About Mary of Egypt”, “About the Prodigal Son”, “Anika the Warrior); about the end of the world and the Last Judgment (“Mikhailo the formidable archangel judge”, “Archangels Mikhailo and Gabriel - carriers across the fiery river”). Echoes of pagan beliefs in poems about the raw mother earth (“The Cry of the Earth”, “The Unforgivable Sin”, “The Rite of Farewell to the Earth before Confession”). Edifying poems about worldly temptations and salvation in the desert, the need for repentance (“Friday and the Hermit,” “Poem about laziness,” “Basily of Caesarea”). Poems on subjects from ancient Russian history (“Boris and Gleb”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Mikhail and Fyodor of Chernigov”, “Dmitry Donskoy”). Younger spiritual poems (psalms, cants) on themes from Old Believer history (XVII-XI centuries): “About Nikon”, “Verse about the Antichrist”, “Mount Athos” and songs of sectarian mystics (Skoptsov, Khlysty). Poetics. General folklore properties of spiritual poems, allowing them to be correlated with epics, ballads, historical and lyrical songs. The influence of literary Christian stylistics, the widespread use of Church Slavonicisms. Spatiotemporal characteristics art world spiritual poems. The specificity of the miraculous, associated in them with Christ and the saints (healing of the sick, invulnerability during torture, resurrection from the dead, etc.). Composition (a chain of episodes of a particular event or the life of a character). Monologue poems (“The Lamentation of Joseph the Beautiful”), the role of dialogues (“The Dream of the Virgin Mary”). Poetic language (epithets, parallelisms, comparisons). Image of the earth after the Last Judgment. Description of the separation of the soul from the body, crossing the fiery river, etc. History of the collection (P. V. Kireevsky, V. G. Varentsov, T. S. Rozhdestvensky and M. I. Uspensky). Study of spiritual verses. Mythological direction (F. I. Buslaev, A. N. Afanasyev, O. F. Miller); cultural and historical direction (research by A. N. Veselovsky, A. I. Kirpichnikov, V. P. Adrianova); historical and everyday life (“Materials on the history of the study of Russian sectarianism and schism (Old Believers)”, edited by V. D. Bonch-Bruevich (St. Petersburg, 1908-1911),; four issues). Resumption of research in the early 70s of the twentieth century. : articles by Yu. A. Novikov, S. E. Nikitina, F. M. Selivanov and others.