Any analysis literary work begins with defining its theme and idea. There is a close semantic and logical connection between them, thanks to which the literary text is perceived as an integral unity of form and content. Correct understanding of the meaning literary terms the theme and idea make it possible to establish how accurately the author was able to realize his creative concept and whether his book is worth the reader’s attention.
The theme of a literary work is a semantic definition of its content, reflecting the author’s vision of the depicted phenomenon, event, character or other artistic reality.
An idea is a writer’s plan, pursuing a specific goal in creating artistic images, using the principles of plot construction and achieving the compositional integrity of a literary text.
What is the difference between a theme and an idea?
Figuratively speaking, a theme can be considered any reason that prompted the writer to take up the pen and transfer it to blank slate paper, the perception of the surrounding reality reflected in artistic images. You can write about anything; another question: for what purpose, what task should I set myself?
The goal and task determine the idea, the disclosure of which constitutes the essence of an aesthetically valuable and socially significant literary work.
Among the diversity literary themes There are several main directions that serve as guidelines for the flight of the writer’s creative imagination. These are historical, social, everyday, adventure, detective, psychological, moral and ethical, lyrical, philosophical themes. The list goes on. It will include original author's notes, literary diaries, and stylistically refined extracts from archival documents.
The theme, felt by the writer, acquires spiritual content, an idea, without which the book page will remain just a coherent text. The idea can be reflected in a historical analysis of problems important to society, in the depiction of complex psychological moments on which human destiny depends, or simply in the creation of a lyrical sketch that awakens a sense of beauty in the reader.
The idea is the deep content of the work. Theme is a motive that allows you to realize a creative idea within a specific, precisely defined context.
The difference between a topic and an idea
The theme determines the actual and semantic content of the work.
The idea reflects the tasks and goals of the writer, which he strives to achieve while working on a literary text.
The theme has formative functions: it can be revealed in small literary genres or be developed into a major epic work.
The idea is the main content core of a literary text. It corresponds to the conceptual level of organization of the work as an aesthetically significant whole.
(No ratings yet)
Essays on topics:
- The story “Mowers” is a poetic sketch accompanied by the writer’s reflections on the fate of his people. The reason for writing the story was the writer heard...
- The novel “Doctor Zhivago” by B. L. Pasternak found its reader not so long ago, because Soviet officials considered it forbidden for a long time....
- In 1835, the collection “Arabesques” was published in St. Petersburg, in which Nikolai Gogol’s story “Scraps from the Notes of a Madman” was published. She...
- Myths are found in the folklore of all peoples of the world. The roots of the word “myth” stretch back to ancient Greece - it means “tradition, legend”....
Subject(gr. thema literally means something underlying) - this is an object of knowledge. Subjects- these are those phenomena of life that are reflected in the work.
In ancient times, it was believed that the integrity of a literary work was determined by the unity of the main character. But Aristotle also drew attention to the fallacy of such a view, pointing out that the stories about Hercules remain different stories, although dedicated to one person, and the Iliad, which tells about many heroes, does not cease to be an integral work.
What gives a work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed.
The subject of depiction in works of literature can be a variety of phenomena. human life, natural life, flora and fauna, as well as material culture (buildings, furnishings, views of cities, etc.).
But the main subject of knowledge in fiction is the characteristic features of human life. These are the social characters of people both in their external manifestations, relationships, activities, and in their internal, mental life.
Yesin: Topic –“the object of artistic reflection, those life characters and situations that seem to pass from reality into a work of art and form the objective side of its content.”
Tomashevsky:“Unity of meanings of individual elements of a work. It brings together the components of an artistic design.”
The plot may be the same, but the theme is different. In popular literature, the plot weighs heavily on the theme. Life very often becomes the object of depiction.
The topic is often determined by the author’s literary preferences and his belonging to a certain group.
The concept of internal theme is themes that are cross-cutting for the writer; this is the thematic unity that unites all his works.
The theme is the organizing beginning of the work.
Problem - this highlighting of some aspect, the emphasis on it, which is resolved as the work unfolds, is the writer’s ideological understanding of the social characters that he depicted in the work. The writer highlights and enhances those properties, aspects, relationships of the characters depicted that he considers the most significant.
The problematic, to an even greater extent than the topic, depends on the author’s worldview. Therefore, the life of the same social environment can be perceived differently by writers who have different ideological worldviews.
Moliere in the comedy “Tartuffe,” having portrayed the main character as a scoundrel and a hypocrite who deceives straightforward and honest people, depicted all his thoughts and actions as manifestations of this main negative character trait. The name Tartuffe became a common noun for hypocrites.
Idea- this is what the author wants to say, why this work was written.
It is thanks to the expression of ideas in images that literary works have such a strong effect on the thoughts, feelings, will of readers and listeners, on their entire inner world.
The attitude towards life expressed in a work, or its ideological and emotional assessment, always depends on the writer’s understanding of the characters he portrays and follows from his worldview.
The idea of a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; This is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer.
The reader is usually sinceregives in to the illusion that everything depicted in the productionknowledge is life itself; he is addicted to actionthe fate of the heroes, experiences their joys, sympathizes with themsuffering or internally condemns it. At the same timethe reader often does not immediately realize what essentialfeatures are embodied in the heroes and in the entire course of the artof the events being described and what significance the details havetheir actions and experiences.
But these detailsare created by the writer in order to, through them, elevate the characters of some heroes in the minds of the reader and reduce the characters of others.
Just by re-reading the works andby thinking about them, the reader can come to the realizationwhat general properties of life are embodied in certainother heroes and how they are comprehended and evaluated by the writertel. Literary criticism often helps him in this.
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………...2
1. Idea. Artistic concept. Subject. The plot in the choreographic composition…………………………………………………………………………………..5
2. Theme of story dances……………………………………………………………..13
3. Creative process………………………………………………………...17
4. Dramatic links in a choreographic work…………….19
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….25
References……………………………………………………………27
Download:
Preview:
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………...2
1. Idea. Artistic concept. Subject. The plot in the choreographic composition…………………………………………………………………………………..5
2. Theme of story dances……………………………………………………………..13
3. Creative process………………………………………………………...17
4. Dramatic links in a choreographic work…………….19
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….25
References……………………………………………………………27
Introduction
The art of ballet today has acquired universal significance both as a genre and as a science. Ballet for society as a whole is a benefit clothed in a special form of beauty “ talking body"The originality of the language classical dance, conveying not words, but thoughts, concepts - makes the dramaturgy of the ballet not literary form, but psychological. The psychology of ballet drama is associated with the spiritual, philosophical spheres of thinking that influence a person figuratively, creatively, associatively, artistically, aesthetically.
To enhance the impact on the emotions and feelings of the viewer, the author-director has such auxiliary expressive means as music, scenography, light, etc., i.e. a whole arsenal of additional factors and techniques that enhance dramaturgy. The playwright of a ballet (work), unlike other authors of the performing arts, can, by demonstrating one expressive pose or gesture, inspire or evoke a whole range of thoughts, a whole figurative concept, reveal the meaning of a phenomenon, event, replace a huge “monologue” with one “replica”.
Ballet is a symphony of visible thoughts, expressed through dance, movement, composition, direction, and editing of all components in an infinitely varied combination of these forces.
Any work of art in all its types and genres must create a holistic image of what is depicted.
The subject of the image in a dramatic work is social conflict(of one scale or another), personified in the heroes of the work. In order for a work of drama to have an artistic impact, it must create a complete picture, a complete image of the event.
The drama creates an image of a conflict event, an image of a social clash. This image must have three mandatory elements that determine its integrity. First of all, it is necessary to explain what is happening, where, why and why the collision arose, to depict its beginning. Without this it will not be clear.
It is necessary to show the development of the collision, its essence. And finally, it is necessary to show what this development has led to. “What it led to” is not equivalent to the concept “how it ended.”
Any event in life, and especially under the pen of the author, will end completely by accident, and not as a result of a given development, not as a result of the struggle of contradictions that manifested themselves in a given conflict. Creation complete image events is mandatory artistic requirement to a work of drama.
At the same time, composition includes the organization of the action of the work, the disclosure of material through the plot, which is a kind of “clothing of the conflict,” that is, a means of concretizing it.
The series of events, that is, the sequential development of the life process in the drama, the stages of its conflict, also has its relationship to the whole, the details to the general. The flow of action is a consequence of the development of the conflict. The concept of composition is thus associated with the construction of dramatic action.
Purpose test work is: studya choreographic work in terms of theme and idea.
Test objectives:
Consider the concepts of “idea”, “artistic concept”, “theme”, “plot” and identify their meaning in the process of a choreographic work;
Consider the theme of story dances;
Expand the concept of “creative process”;
Study the dramatic elements in a choreographic work.
The concepts of “idea”, “artistic concept”, “plot” and their meaning in the process of a choreographic work were taken from the source:
Bogdanova G.F. "Fundamentals of choreographic dramaturgy." The subject of story dances was discussed in the book: Zaripova R.S., Valyaeva A.R. "From concept to plot." The creative process was studied in the book: Zakharova R.V. “Composing a Dance.” Dramatic links in choreographic works were taken from the source: Bogdanova G.F. "Fundamentals of choreographic dramaturgy."
The test, the structure of which is determined by the assigned tasks, includes an introduction, conclusion, and a list of references.
1. Idea. Artistic Intent. Subject. The plot in the choreographic composition.
As long as there is no topic, the author’s work on the work cannot begin. Theme is a problem posed by life and encourages the author to create.
An idea is a solution to some issue, some topic. The entire process of creating a work is a process of revealing and solving a theme and transforming it into an idea.
An idea is never open and never static. It dies as soon as it stops developing or becomes banal and harmful.
A fruitful idea can live for thousands of years; it does not disappear at the end of the work, but leaves with the person and appears every time the work is addressed again.
The ideas laid down by the ancient authors of Egypt, Greece, China and others have endured for more than three millennia.
There are promising ideas and those that have no development. There are ideas that temporarily lose their relevance and seem to freeze in historical oblivion, and then come to life again. Thus, in connection with the emergence of centrifugal forces in Russia, the ideas of “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign” are becoming very modern.
Ideas can be subjective or objective. A subjective idea is verified by objective laws. There are cases when an author, intending to expose one phenomenon, actually fights another, since the original idea is either insignificant or false and does not stand the test of objective law, that is, life.
Sometimes works with a false idea appear, they appear most often in unfree societies. A false idea is usually accompanied by a false form. Ideas, like topics, can be main or secondary.
IN genuine work there is a struggle of ideas, during which the main idea either wins or dies if it was false.The idea of a performance, play, or script is usually called the super-task of the work.
An artistic idea is a kind of “key” to a work or to separate parts, components, elements, to images.
The idea in a ballet performance reflects a pattern historical period, the ideology of the era. Influences social life through artistic images.
The idea of a choreodramaturg is always subject to the law of dramaturgy and its five sections: exposition, plot, development, climax and denouement. It permeates the entire work, all its components, both external and internal - psychological. It includes a number of concepts without which an essay is practically impossible: theme, plot, type, type, method, style, etc.
A ballet performance is thinking unfolding in a dialectical and artistic process, developing an idea.
The idea permeates all parts of the work and is a subtext in plot collisions. This is the essence of ballet, the problem, its meaning, significance, the author’s concept.
An idea is a principle of worldview that expresses philosophical, social, moral, political aspects, positions, thinking and attitudes towards the world.
An idea is the unity of thought, a feeling - knowledge, and intuition, anticipation, foresight and anticipation. The idea is conveyed through the psychologism of the behavior of the images and the clash of their characters.
It is revealed in the process of developing the theme and plot. IN pure form An artistic idea is abstract in nature and has no artistic value. The more distinct the struggle between opposing forces, the higher the value of an idea. The truth of an idea is in the process, in the development of the plot of a work of art.
The idea allows the author to draw moral and psychological conclusions, to present his thoughts and feelings to the public court of the viewer and, at the same time, to evoke, provoke in the viewer certain emotions, feelings, thoughts, to evoke empathy, sympathy, through complicity (of the direct viewer).
In a work, the idea is diffused in all its parts and elements and, as it were, cements the composition with its energy.
An idea has the ability to self-develop, because differentiated in the worldviews of the author, performers, spectators and their attitude to the work and to the world.
Artistic concept.
The choreodramaturg's idea is connected with his worldview. And the choice of a theme or plot is only a search for form, intention, plan, idea, idea to express one’s attitude, one’s views on life’s problems.
A plan is a representation, imagination, anticipation of an idea in figurative form. A certain prototype of a work, evoked by the imagination “from the future.”
The idea is the beginning of the creative process. And externally - this can be expressed in the form of sketches, plans, programs, applications, sketches, sketches, tests, reflections, etc. The idea and its implementation are related to the “subtext” of the work, i.e. with ideas that are the movers, conductors, guides of “end-to-end action” in the plot.
An idea can be born spontaneously, by accident, but it can be nurtured for years, as if tested by time.
The impetus for a plan can be various factors: a bright thought, an imaginative phenomenon or action, an object that evokes associations, emotional stress, a meeting with an interesting person and other impulsive energy factors that influence the consciousness, subconscious, and psyche.
In the course of working on the implementation of a plan, it is concretized, clarified, polished, and sometimes can fundamentally change, which, however, does not change its original value in the enormous heuristic activity of the creative process.
The choreographer, the author, in the process of implementing the plan, gains the opportunity to clarify for himself the main directions of the search, predict the tactical and strategic moves of the plot, check the next results in the process of practice and logically follow the planned plan.
The director’s ability to construct and guide his idea through the labyrinths of all kinds of obstacles, and its deep and comprehensive development, expresses the culture, worldview, professionalism of the author, and his skill.
Subject
To express his ideas and plans, a choreographer looks for and finds topics that might interest the audience.
What is relevant is not what is modern in theme or plot, but what carries current ideas, ideas of today.
The choice of topic depends on the worldview, the author’s attitude to social phenomena, on intelligence, outlook, culture, professionalism, way of thinking, citizenship, moral and aesthetic beliefs, philosophical and legal views, ideological, political and other positions.
Topic and ideological platform ballet theater, his repertoire must be in unity with the trend of aesthetics in the art of society, both in his country and throughout the world.
The aesthetic value of the themes of ballet works lies in the unity of realistically assessed events taking place on stage and their artistic interpretation and presentation (form).
The theme can be expressed conceptually (the theme of revolution, intelligence, personality); metaphorically (the theme of “fathers and sons”, the theme of “humiliated and insulted”, “superfluous” people, etc.); household name (Hamlet, Don Quixote, Demon, Don Juan, Khlestakov).
In art there are so-called “eternal themes” in which the psychology of behavior of human characters, temperaments, passions inherent in all centuries, peoples and countries lives and is realized: love, good and evil, life and death, money, power, freedom, will, beauty, the search for the meaning of life and much more. etc.
« Eternal themes"is a living memory of human morality, ethics, human relationships, a memory that humanity consolidates in the images of art.
“Eternal themes” in art move from one era to another and carry the most generalized and stable traits of a person’s character in the process of historical development.
Man has always been interested in the man himself, and the manifestations of his character in those or other circumstances. IN classical ballets a person faces, as in life, with such eternal concepts as duty, honor, conscience, ashes, sin, heroism, patriotism, jealousy, envy, slander, betrayal, revenge, freedom and many others. etc.
In ballet, all these qualities are conveyed by its language, its non-verbal system, and its choreographic techniques. “The true, only, eternal plot of ballet is dance” (T. Gautier).
Contemplating and empathizing with the characters of the play, in the souls, minds and hearts of the audience, a sort of selection of internal moral qualities, self-esteem, self-development, self-improvement takes place.
“Eternal Themes” are designed to spiritualize, improve, purify and elevate the human in man with the beauty of the form of ballet art.
Themes, plots, twists and turns, collisions in various ballet productions can be very diverse, taken from different eras, countries, genres (fairy tales, legends, myths, parables) and transferred to the present day.
But the “eternity of themes” will always excite a person, always influence his living soul. The morality of “eternal themes”, their cognitive and educational role, spirituality pass from generation to generation and are the basis of classical works.
This reveals the connection between tradition and innovation, as one of the basic laws of aesthetics.
Plot. Fable. Content and meaningfulness.
The plot of a ballet performance is its content, i.e. a set of events through which the characters of the characters are revealed.
The plot of a choreographic composition is associated with the type of artistic thinking, with a specific cultural and historical era, creative method, civic position, ethical standards and aesthetic tastes of the choreographer.
The plot is revealed through the plot of the work, through the main conflict situations, collisions, vicissitudes, connected into a single figurative and artistic system.
In the plot, through events, through actions, clashes of characters, through the setting, images are manifested.
The plot is a certain plan, architectonics, summary, libretto. The plot can be briefly retold, but the plot is almost impossible to retell, because... its meaning is closer to a script than to a composition.
The plot is the structural basis of the essay, the backbone, a story about events and particulars. Elements of a plot: beginning, conflict, development, climax and resolution. Each choreographer, working on the same theme, develops the plot in his own way, using his own plot.
The plot is a way of existence and development of the plot, it is a collision moving according to its own internal laws, everything is subordinated to a single “through line” - an idea.
The plot of a ballet performance is its content, a set of events, phenomena, forms that help reveal the characters of the characters. There is a philosophical saying; “... every crisis, even every turning point in development, inevitably leads to a discrepancy between the old form and the new content.”
The concept of content includes: theme, plot, images, collisions, form, etc. The concept of content includes; ideological orientation, social significance, the author’s worldview, social significance and value of the work, its relevance, artistry, impact of beauty, aesthetics, psychologism, subtext, philosophical orientation, etc. Therefore, the aesthetics of ballet deliberately distinguishes between two concepts - “content” and “meaningfulness”, because the first tends to means, technical techniques, and the second has to do with the ideological and aesthetic understanding of the work as a whole.
Thus, the idea of a work is its “preimage”, “prototype”, “prototype”. To express his ideas and plans, a choreographer looks for and finds topics that might interest the audience. Themes, plots, twists and turns, and collisions in various ballet productions can be very diverse, taken from different eras, countries, and genres.
2. Theme of story dances
Choreographic art reflects both many aspects of modern reality and the past of different peoples.
Already in ancient times, people expressed various emotional states with plastic movements.
Over the years, the increasing complexity of relations between people, the desire to explain natural phenomena has led to a variety of topics and plots solved with the help of plastic art.
The content of the dances and performance techniques developed. The processes of interpenetration of different cultures expanded and deepened, which not only blurred their boundaries, but also selected and honed the technical techniques of the national art of each people.
Theme of labor. “The labor process revealed the importance of rhythm. Movements subordinated to rhythm gave rise to dancing - one of the earliest manifestations of culture.”
Ancient dances, reflecting labor processes, had a playful nature. The emergence of new types of labor changed people's attitudes towards it and towards each other, and all this was reflected in dance. For example, in the dance “Lenok” it was told about how flax is sown, collected, and crushed.
When starting to compose a dance on the theme of labor, the choreographer must remember that the plasticity with which its content is revealed is associative in nature, so it is important to take into account the following rules:
The labor process is not fully reflected in dance.
Stage, key moments and elements of the labor process that most clearly characterize it are brought into play; not an illustration is given, but a kind of hint of it, an association with it;
It is necessary to find the specifics of the work, its elements that require a bright stage solution using choreographic erasers, allow you to create stage works;
Find elements that depict the labor process, allowing you to complicate them with choreographic movements, create artistic and figurative movements, and characteristic vocabulary. Avoiding pantomime retelling and illustrativeness;
Find an artistic and figurative compositional structure that reflects the main content of the dance - poeticization of labor.
It is problematic to show the work of watch assemblers through dance, but the “dance of the clock” is possible, as for example, in the musical children’s theater “Zadumka” the curious “Dance of the Clock” was staged.
The right musical material can be of great help to the choreographer. The rhythmic and melodic pattern of which should help reveal the nature of work, and the emotional structure should help reveal the state and attitude of people at work.
Theme of everyday life. Everyday life is a way of everyday life, a non-productive sphere, including both the satisfaction of people’s material needs (food, housing) and the development of spiritual benefits, culture, communication, recreation, and entertainment.
Social, urban, rural, family, individual life is formed under the influence of material production, social relations, level of culture, and national characteristics.
We owe our knowledge about the life of past generations to art and examples in which people’s worldviews, moral standards, and spiritual stages of development of various societies, classes and groups were fixed.
Most dances on everyday themes reveal issues of morality. They always reflect the content of the morality of society. First of all, this is the inner world of a person, the manifestation of his relationships with other people:
Loyalty to duty, honor;
Fight for freedom, against evil;
Problems of partnership, friendship, love, family relationships.
Dances on everyday themes are performed in various genres:
Dramatic, often with lyrical motives (“Moldavian wedding” - dance ensemble “Zhok”; “They gave it to the young” - Ural folk choir; “Love-herbs” - Omsk folk choir; “Coachmen” - Volga Folk Choir;
Tragic, often in a heroic way (“Towards the Dawn” - dance ensemble “Beryozka”; “Khorumi”, “Partisans” - State Academic Ensemble Folk Dance them. I. Moiseeva;
Comically, these dances are often called “comic” or playful (“Yurochka” - dance ensemble of Belarus; “When the Cossacks cry” - Song and Dance Ensemble of the Don Cossacks; “Oh, under the cherry tree” - dance ensemble of Ukraine named after Pavel Virsky;
In the sphere of creative interests of choreographers there are also acute social problems and the most subtle lyrical experiences.
Nature theme. Man is a child of nature. Since ancient times, man has endowed everything around him with his own qualities, in other words, he spiritualized nature. He did not doubt for a minute that, say, a bear’s mind is similar to a human’s, and a bear is guided by the same aspirations as a person.
He spiritualized trees, bushes, speeches and rivers, and, finally, elemental forces - wind and rain, lightning and thunder.
The deification and personification of nature made it possible to reproduce it on the walls of rocks, in poetic, musical creativity and plastic.
Works of art, where he, a person, seemed to become a deer, a birch tree, a snowflake, told not so much about their lives, but about human relationships and experiences.
Personification is one of the examples of imagery in a fairy tale, fable, or poetic speech. Observing the surrounding nature, people resorted to its images when creating dance works. In ancient times, hunting dances appeared, which, reflecting the nature of human activity, like many other things, acquired a magical connotation.
To hit a stuffed animal means to hit it during a hunt. Many hunting dances have survived to this day, especially among the peoples of the north and Siberia of Russia: the dance of the walrus among the Chukchi and Germans, the dance of the bear among the Khanty and Mansi, in which the hunt for these animals is imitated.
During the period of cattle breeding, man tamed a horse and learned to control it. In the minds of the people, the ideal of a shepherd, a rider, emerged, and the plasticity of his image arose and took shape.
With the help of figurative and imitative movements, many peoples created various dances of riders and riders (“Dance of the Bashkir riders”, “Gaucho” - dance of the Argentine shepherds).
Today it is impossible to imagine a New Year's performance at the Christmas tree without dancing a hare, fox, squirrel, puppy, etc. There are many dances, the main image of which is fauna: “Swan”, “Roosters”, “Geese-Swans”, “Dragonfly and Ant” and even “Caterpillar Dance”.
Poetic images flora are present in the works of almost all peoples. These are already more complex techniques of rethinking, personification (“Birch”, “Golden Rye”, “Verbonka”, “Crystals”).
Even more complex multi-valued images. reflecting natural phenomena (“Blizzard”, “Spring has come”, “Ognevushka - galloping”).
When composing a dance, the choreographer must clearly answer the questions: why is he staging this dance? Dance, like other forms of art, should evoke sublime feelings in the audience and cultivate ethical tastes and ideals. By showing the viewer a certain range of life phenomena, the director conveys significant content through the dance, be it a plot on a historical or modern theme.
3. Creative process
Composing a dance is a complex and lengthy process. The choreographer-author must have the gift, the ability to find and “grow” the idea of a future production, and also skillfully use the principles of musical and choreographic drama, techniques for composing a composition, etc.
The creative process is divided into two stages:
the emergence of the idea and its incarnation. The first one is determined general abilities(erudition, worldview, need for artistic creativity), the second requires special abilities and skills, consciously used skill.
The creative process of a choreographer consists of 3 phases:
1. Collecting and summarizing life material, defining themes, ideas. There is a desire to reveal them in the work: a search is underway for an appropriate musical composition or it already dictates the nature of the theme or idea.
2. Modeling of characters, images, proposed circumstances, their interaction. The general turns into the particular. An idea, a theme tends to acquire events, characters, a style, genre, and logic of relationships emerge. The choreographer begins to think from the image and draw it with his inner vision, i.e. see, and only then compose.
3. The embodiment of the external features of the image. There is a transformation into the one who needs to be portrayed. The choreographer “enters” the image born of his imagination, but this does not exclude control.
Consciousness seems to bifurcate: one creates an image, lives by it, the other observes from the side. The form of the work is being created.
Naturally, each phase - collecting-generalization, modeling, embodiment - does not live independently, but at some stage determines the character of the others, often introducing significant changes. Here there is an interaction of general and special abilities that model content and form at all stages of creativity.
4. Dramatic links in a choreographic work
Every dramatic work has an exposition, that is, an initial part. Exposition is the initial part of a dramatic work.
Its purpose: to provide the viewer with the information necessary to understand the upcoming action of the play. Sometimes it is important to let the viewer know in what country and at what time the events take place. Sometimes it is necessary to communicate something that preceded the conflict. The exhibition also has one more task.
With its help, so to speak, in its space, a person who comes to the theater is transformed into a spectator, into a participant in the collective perception of the play. The exhibition gives the viewer an idea of the genre of the work. The exposition should arouse the viewer's interest in the upcoming action on stage.
The most common type of exhibition is showing that last segment of everyday life, the course of which will be interrupted by the outbreak of conflict.
Dramaturgy has much in common with folk tales and most likely originates from them. Dramaturgy took from folk tale, as its main theme, its main miracle, a social miracle - the victory of good over evil.
There is also a lot in common between the construction of a fairy tale and the structure of a dramatic work. In particular, the exposition of most plays is built on the same principle as the exposition of a fairy tale.
“Once upon a time...” - and suddenly a “golden fish” or “golden egg” appears of this work– the conflict that will be depicted in it. Based on this, this type expositions - showing the last period of life, the course of which will be interrupted by the conflict.
Another type of exposition is the prologue - the author’s direct appeal to the viewer, short story about the characters of the future action and its character.
In some cases, the prologue exhausts the exposition. Often, however, the prologue only opens the exposition, which then continues until the conflict begins by showing the flow of life that precedes it.
In some plays there is a different type of prologue, the so-called theatrical prologue. In these cases, all the functions of the exposition are performed by a small scene played before the start of the performance.
Sometimes a play begins with an inversion, that is, showing how the conflict will end before the action begins. This technique is often used by authors of action-packed works, in particular detective stories.
The task of inversion is to captivate the viewer from the very beginning, to keep him in additional tension with the help of pre-given information about what end the depicted conflict will lead to. Sometimes the exposition is combined with the plot.
The beginning
The concept of “plot” includes the plot of the main conflict of the work, the development of which is the subject of the image in the work.
At the outset, the movement of the conflict begins - dramatic action. Sometimes the main conflict of a work does not appear immediately, but is preceded by a system of other conflicts.
Development
Development can be different, it can take place in the struggle of two or several plans. Development can be independent, without struggle, one thought that undergoes development. When there is development of thought, there is also dramaturgy.
Climax
The most common method of working on choreographic dramaturgy is the path from particulars to the whole, from the comparison of individual linguistic elements in a plastic motif to the growing confrontation of images (acting heroes, characters) in the whole work.
First, the choreographer makes a general list of what should happen on stage in order. Then, in this protocol list of dramatic situations and the events arising from them, the action of each individual hero (character) is determined.
He builds the logic of the development of each specific image (hero, character) approximately according to the following scheme: action - motive, action - behavior, action - character, action - collision, action - event.
This method of work puts at the center of creative searches the clarification in each molecule of musical and dance action (in an artistic-figurative detail, in a plastic motif) of the elements of confrontation and bringing them to a concretely tangible, emotionally rich struggle.
An artistic and figurative detail is the most effective means of displaying a choreographic idea, the most important element in creating the dramaturgy of a work. The ability to create bright, artistic and imaginative details, in which visual and expressive aspects are inextricably fused, is an indicator of choreographer’s skill.
It is the details that create the stage choreographic image.
At the climax, firstly, the choreographic idea conceived by the choreographer is expressed in the form in which he imagines it, and secondly, the ideological position that prompted the choreographer to express this idea is highlighted.
For a choreographer, working on the climax is perhaps the most crucial moment. And since the climax is also the pinnacle of the ever-growing confrontation between the main characters, whose starting positions are stated at the beginning of the work, the responsibility of the choreographer increases many times over. He needs to demonstrate all the skills and abilities in order to distribute key (impact) moments throughout the entire perspective of the dramatic structure of the work, in all layers (in artistic and figurative details, in plastic motifs, in the actions of heroic characters, in individual episodes-parts). Be able to choose circumstances, give the heroes (characters) relationships, saturate their effective confrontation with feeling, rhythm, mix together sound, color, plastic solutions, put all this into the through flow of intrigue and make it work for the climax.
The confrontation between the main characters (characters) begins to appear from the first dramatic event (the first fact of the collision), but it is most fully revealed in the last climactic event.
The climax is the highest surge of confrontation between the main characters (characters). This is an explosion causing a maximum change in the balance between them. This is an action that has reached full development, an event that finally changes the relationship of opposing forces in the work.
Between the first and last dramatic event, not only intrigue develops in the actions of the main characters (characters), but also all the richness of the work, its atmosphere, characters, dance vocabulary, variety of proposed circumstances, logic of development, etc. are revealed.
In this sense, the climax serves as a criterion for the artistry of a work, a criterion by which the work can be analyzed in reverse order. That is why the climax must be bright, convincing, and must give the work unity and artistic integrity.
Denouement.
The denouement in a dramatic work is the moment of resolution of the main conflict, the removal of the conflict contradiction, which is the source of the movement of the work.
The resolution of the conflict is possible only if the unity of action is preserved, the main conflict that began in the beginning is preserved. This implies the requirement: this outcome of the conflict must be contained as one of the possibilities for its resolution already in the beginning.
In the denouement, or better to say, as a result of it, a new situation is created in comparison with the one that took place in the beginning, expressed in a new relationship between the heroes. This new attitude can be quite varied.
Final
The finale is the emotional and semantic completion of the action of the work. Emotionally, this means that we are talking not only about the semantic result, not just about the conclusion from the work.
If in a fable the moral is expressed directly - “the moral of this fable is this”, then in a dramatic work the ending is a continuation of the action, the last chord.
The finale concludes the work with a dramatic generalization and not only completes this action, but opens the door to perspective, to connection this fact with wider social phenomena. The finale is, as it were, a test of the dramaturgy of the work as a whole. If the basic elements of its composition are violated, if the action that began as the main one is replaced by another, the ending will not work.
Often the author ends a work with an ersatz finale. Not every ending, under one pretext or another, is a finale and can serve as the emotional and semantic conclusion of a work. The most common type of ersatz finale is the “retribution” of the author with the hero.
Thus, the basis of each work of drama is a fundamental structure consisting of these three elements: the beginning of the struggle, the course of the struggle and the result of the struggle.
The beginning of the struggle is revealed in the beginning of the main conflict. The course of the struggle is revealed through specific actions and clashes of the heroes - through the so-called vicissitudes that make up the general movement of action from the beginning of the conflict to its resolution.
Conclusion
In a choreographic work, the main thing is not the visible object, but the soul of the images, the essence of this or that phenomenon.It can convey the super-real, fantastic, fairy-tale, and mythical in a realistic form and means.The work has a universal language, a language of visual images with its own “vocabulary”, “syntax”, conventional signs and its “grammar”.
The dramaturgy of ballet is life in stage action, because on paper there is not and cannot be the dramaturgy of a dance text.Only with stage implementation the idea, form, content receive a finished form.The composition of a dramatic work is a complex concept.
It is considered a universal phenomenon, relating to all elements of drama: theme, idea, conflict, plot, every image, every act, every scene, cue, stage direction.
Composition is a way of grouping the material that makes up the fabric of a work. The latter was what A. Pushkin meant when he said that the most important thing in a work of art is the plan: the relationship of parts to the whole, details to the general. Indeed, the order in which the parts are distributed in relation to the whole determines the composition.
The composition realizes the ideological content of the drama and develops its problematics. By how the logic of the development of the action is constructed, how the contradiction is resolved, not resolved, and how the contradiction is removed, one can judge the author’s position, the main idea of the work.
From this we can conclude that the composition serves to concretely express an idea in action. So, the composition is determined by the content.
It reflects certain patterns of dramaturgy of a particular historical era, its social subjects. If we expand this formula, we can say that dance is a musical and choreographic miniature, the idea of which is expressed in a clear dramatic structure - with its own exposition, plot, climax and finale.
Idealism, conciseness, originality of the concept and its implementation, modernity and intelligibility of expressive means, virtuosity and spirituality of performance - these are the features that a dance number should have.
References
- Bogdanov G.F. Fundamentals of choreographic drama: a textbook. – 2nd edition, add. – M.: MGUKI, 2010.
- Ballet: encyclopedia. M.: Sov. encyclopedia., 1981.
- Vanslov V.V. Articles about ballet. L., 1980.
- Vakhromeev V.V. Elementary theory of music. M., 1975.
- Zaripov R.S., Valyaeva A.R. From concept to plot. Novosibirsk, 2009.
- Zakharov R.V. Composition of dance. Pages of teaching experience. M., 1983.
- Katysheva D. Issues in the theory of drama: action, composition, genre.
- Sheremetyevskaya. N. Dance on the stage. Moscow "Art" 1985
1. Topic, themes, problems of the work.
2. The ideological concept of the work.
3. Pathos and its varieties.
References
1. Introduction to literary criticism: textbook / ed. L.M. Krupchanov. – M., 2005.
2. Borev Yu.B. Aesthetics. Theory of literature: encyclopedic dictionary of terms. – M., 2003.
3. Dal V.I. Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language: in 4 volumes - M., 1994. - T.4.
4. Esin A.B.
5. Literary encyclopedic dictionary / ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, P.A. Nikolaeva. – M., 1987.
6. Literary encyclopedia of terms and concepts / ed. A.N. Nikolyukina. – M., 2003.
7. Soviet encyclopedic dictionary / ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. – 4th ed. – M., 1989.
Literary scholars rightly argue that what gives a literary work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed. Thus, in order to delve deeper into the content of the work, it is necessary to determine its components: topic and idea.
"Theme ( Greek. thema), - according to V. Dahl’s definition, - a proposal, position, task that is being discussed or explained.”
The authors of the Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary give the topic a slightly different definition: “The topic [what is the basis] is 1) the subject of description, image, research, conversation, etc.; 2) in art, an object of artistic depiction, a range of life phenomena depicted by a writer, artist or composer and held together by the author’s intention.”
In the “Dictionary of Literary Terms” we find the following definition: “Theme is what is the basis of a literary work, the main problem posed in it by the writer.” .
In the textbook “Introduction to Literary Studies,” ed. G.N. Pospelov's theme is interpreted as an object of knowledge.
A.M. Gorky defines a theme as an idea, “which originated in the author’s experience, is suggested to him by life, but nests in the receptacle of his impressions still unformed and, demanding embodiment in images, arouses in him the urge to work on its design.”
As you can see, the above definitions of the topic are diverse and contradictory. The only statement with which we can agree without reservation is that the theme is truly the objective basis of any work of art. We have already talked above about how the process of birth and development of a theme occurs, how a writer studies reality and selects life phenomena, what is the role of the writer’s worldview in the selection and development of a theme ( see the lecture “Literature is a special type of artistic human activity”).
However, the statements of literary scholars that the theme is a circle of life phenomena depicted by the writer, in our opinion, are not comprehensive enough, since there are differences between the life material (the object of the image) and the theme (subject matter) of the work of art. The subject of the image in the works fiction may be the most various phenomena human life, natural life, animal and plant life, as well as material culture (buildings, furnishings, views of cities, etc.). Sometimes even fantastic creatures are depicted - talking and thinking animals and plants, various kinds of spirits, gods, giants, monsters, etc. But this is by no means the topic of a literary work. Images of animals, plants, and views of nature often have an allegorical and auxiliary meaning in a work of art. They either represent people, as happens in fables, or are created to express human experiences (in lyrical images nature). Even more often, natural phenomena with its flora and fauna are depicted as the environment in which human life with its social character takes place.
When defining a theme as vital material taken for depiction by a writer, we must reduce its study to the analysis of the depicted objects, and not characteristic features human life in its social essence.
Following A.B. Yesin, under topic literary work we will understand " object of artistic reflection , those life characters and situations (relationships of characters, as well as human interaction with society as a whole, with nature, everyday life, etc.), which seem to pass from reality into a work of art and form the objective side of its content ».
The theme of a literary work covers everything depicted in it and therefore can be comprehended with the necessary completeness only on the basis of penetration into all the ideological and artistic richness of this work. For example, to determine the theme of the work by K.G. Abramov "Purgaz" ( unification of what was fragmented into many often warring clans Mordovian people at the end of XII - early XIII centuries, contributing to the salvation of the nation, the preservation of its spiritual values), it is necessary to take into account and comprehend the multilateral development of this topic by the author. K. Abramov also shows how the character of the main character was formed: the influence of the life and national traditions of the Mordovian people, as well as the Volga Bulgars, among whom, by the will of fate and his own desire, he had the opportunity to live for 3 years, and how he became the head of the clan , how he fought with the Vladimir princes and the Mongols over domination in the western part of the Middle Volga region, what efforts he made to ensure that the Mordovian people became united.
In the process of analyzing the topic, it is necessary, according to the authoritative opinion of A.B. Yesin, firstly, to distinguish between reflection object(topic) and image object(the specific situation depicted); secondly, it is necessary distinguish between concrete historical and eternal themes. Specific historical themes are characters and circumstances born and conditioned by a certain socio-historical situation in a particular country; they are not repeated beyond a given time, they are more or less localized (for example, the theme “ extra person"in Russian literature of the 19th century). When analyzing a specific historical topic, one must see not only the socio-historical, but also the psychological certainty of character, since comprehension of character traits helps to correctly understand the unfolding plot and the motivation for its twists and turns. Eternals themes capture recurring moments in the history of various national societies, they are repeated in different modifications in the lives of different generations, in different historical eras. These are, for example, the themes of love and friendship, life and death, relationships between generations and others.
Due to the fact that the topic requires various aspects consideration, along with its general concept, the concept topics, i.e. those lines of development of the theme that are outlined by the writer and constitute its complex integrity. Close attention to the variety of topics is especially necessary when analyzing large works in which there are not one, but many topics. In these cases, it is advisable to highlight one or two main themes associated with the image of the central character, or a number of characters, and consider the rest as secondary ones.
When analyzing the content of a literary work great value has a definition of its problems. In literary criticism, the problematics of a literary work are usually understood as the area of comprehension, the writer’s understanding of the reflected reality: « Issues (Greek. problema – something thrown forward, i.e. isolated from other aspects of life) – this is the writer’s ideological understanding of the social characters that he depicted in the work. This comprehension consists in the fact that the writer highlights and strengthens those properties, aspects, relationships of the characters depicted, which he, based on his ideological worldview, considers the most significant.”
In works of art that are large in volume, writers, as a rule, pose a variety of problems: social, moral, political, philosophical, etc. It depends on what aspects of the characters and what contradictions of life the writer focuses on.
For example, K. Abramov in the novel “Purgaz”, through the image of the main character, understands the policy of uniting the Mordovian people, scattered into numerous clans, however, the disclosure of this problem (socio-political) is quite closely connected with the moral problem (refusal of the woman he loved, the order to kill Tengush , one of the leaders of the clan, etc.). Therefore, when analyzing a work of art, it is important to understand not only the main problem, but also the entire problem as a whole, to identify how deep and significant it is, how serious and significant are the contradictions of reality that the writer depicted.
One cannot but agree with the statement of A.B. Esin that the problems contain the author’s unique view of the world. In contrast to the subject matter, the problematic is the subjective side of artistic content, therefore, the author’s individuality, “original moral attitude author to the subject." Often different writers create works on the same topic, however, there are no two major writers whose works would coincide in their problems. The originality of the issue is a kind of calling card of the writer.
For practical analysis problems, it is important to identify the originality of the work, comparing it with others, to understand what makes it unique and unique. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish in the work under study type problems.
The main types of problems in Russian literary criticism were identified by G.N. Pospelov. Based on the classification of G.N. Pospelov, taking into account the current level of development of literary criticism A.B. Esin proposed his own classification. He highlighted mythological, national, novel, sociocultural, philosophical problems. In our opinion, it makes sense to highlight the issues moral .
Writers not only pose certain problems, they look for ways to solve them, and relate what they depict to social ideals. Therefore, the theme of a work is always connected with its idea.
N.G. Chernyshevsky, in his treatise “Aesthetic Relations of Art to Reality,” speaking about the tasks of art, asserts that works of art “reproduce life, explain life and pass judgment on it.” It is difficult to disagree with this, since works of fiction always express the ideological and emotional attitude of writers to the social characters they depict. The ideological and emotional assessment of the characters depicted is the most active aspect of the content of the work.
"Idea (Greek. idea – idea, prototype, ideal) in literature - an expression of the author’s attitude towards what is depicted, the correlation of this image with the ideals of life and man affirmed by writers“, - this definition is given in the “Dictionary of Literary Terms”. We find a somewhat refined version of the definition of an idea in the textbook by G.N. Pospelova: “ The idea of a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; this is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer, manifested in choice, and in comprehension, and in the assessment of characters ».
When analyzing a work of art, identifying an idea is very important and significant for the reason that a progressive idea, corresponding to the course of history, trends in social development, is a necessary quality of all truly artistic works. Understanding the main idea of a work should follow from an analysis of its entire ideological content (the author’s assessment of events and characters, the author’s ideal, pathos). Only under this condition can we correctly judge him, his strength and weakness, the nature and roots of the contradictions in him.
If we talk about K. Abramov’s novel “Purgaz”, then the main idea that the author expresses can be formulated as follows: the strength of the people lies in their unity. Only by uniting all the Mordovian clans, Purgaz, as a talented leader, was able to resist the Mongols and liberate the Mordovian land from the conquerors.
We have already noted that the themes and issues of artistic works must meet the requirements of depth, relevance and significance. The idea, in turn, must meet the criteria of historical truthfulness and objectivity. It is important for the reader that the writer expresses such an ideological and emotional understanding of the depicted characters, which these characters are truly worthy of in terms of the objective, essential properties of their lives, in terms of their place and significance in national life in general, in the prospects for its development. Works that contain a historically true assessment of the phenomena and characters depicted are progressive in their content.
The primary source of artistic ideas in reality, according to I.F. Volkov, are “only those ideas that entered the artist’s flesh and blood, became the meaning of his existence, his ideological and emotional attitude to life.” V.G. Belinsky called such ideas pathos . “A poetic idea,” he wrote, “is not a syllogism, not a dogma, not a rule, it is a living passion, it is pathos.” Belinsky borrowed the very concept of pathos from Hegel, who in his lectures on aesthetics used the word “pathos” to mean ( Greek. pathos - a strong, passionate feeling) the artist’s high enthusiasm for comprehending the essence of the life depicted, its “truth”.
E. Aksenova defines pathos this way: “Pathos is an emotional animation, a passion that permeates a work (or its parts) and gives it a single breath - what can be called the soul of a work. In pathos, the artist’s feeling and thought form a single whole; it contains the key to the idea of the work. Pathos is not always and not necessarily a pronounced emotion; This is where the artist’s creative individuality is most clearly manifested. Along with the authenticity of feelings and thoughts pathos imparts liveliness and artistic persuasiveness to a work and is a condition for its emotional impact on the reader " Pathos is created by artistic means: the depiction of characters, their actions, experiences, events in their lives, and the entire figurative structure of the work.
Thus, pathos is the writer’s emotional and evaluative attitude towards the person depicted, characterized by great strength of feelings .
In literary criticism, the following main types of pathos are distinguished: heroic, dramatic, tragic, sentimental, romantic, humorous, satirical.
Heroic pathos affirms the greatness of the feat of an individual and an entire team, its enormous significance for the development of a people, a nation, and humanity. Figuratively revealing the main qualities of heroic characters, admiring them and praising them, the artist of words creates works imbued with heroic pathos (Homer “Iliad”, Shelley “Prometheus Unchained”, A. Pushkin “Poltava”, M. Lermontov “Borodino”, A. Tvardovsky “Vasily Terkin”; M. Saigin “Hurricane”, I. Antonov “In a United Family”).
Dramatic pathos characteristic of works that depict dramatic situations arising under the influence external forces and circumstances that threaten the desires and aspirations of the characters, and sometimes their lives. Drama in works of art can be both ideologically affirming pathos, when the writer deeply sympathizes with the characters (“The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”), and ideologically negating, if the writer condemns the characters of his characters in the drama of their situation (Aeschylus “Persians”).
Quite often, the drama of situations and experiences arises during military clashes between nations, and this is reflected in works of fiction: E. Hemingway “A Farewell to Arms”, E.M. Remarque “A Time to Live and a Time to Die”, G. Fallada “Wolf Among Wolves”; A. Bek “Volokolamsk Highway”, K. Simonov “The Living and the Dead”; P. Prokhorov “We Stood” and others.
Often writers in their works depict the drama of the situation and experiences of the characters, which arises due to social inequality people (“Father Goriot” by O. Balzac, “The Humiliated and Insulted” by F. Dostoevsky, “Dowry” by A. Ostrovsky, “Tashto Koise” (“According to Old Customs”) by K. Petrova, etc.
Often the influence of external circumstances gives rise to internal contradiction in a person’s mind, a struggle with himself. In this case, the drama deepens to the point of tragedy.
Tragic pathos its roots are connected with tragic character conflict in a literary work, caused by the fundamental impossibility of resolving existing contradictions, and is most often present in the genre of tragedy. Reproducing tragic conflicts, writers depict the painful experiences of their heroes, difficult events in their lives, thereby revealing the tragic contradictions of life, which have a socio-historical or universal character (W. Shakespeare “Hamlet”, A. Pushkin “Boris Godunov”, L. Leonov “Invasion” ", Y. Pinyasov "Erek ver" ("Living Blood").
Satirical pathos. Satirical pathos is characterized by the denial of negative aspects public life and character traits of people. The tendency of writers to notice the comic in life and reproduce it on the pages of their works is determined primarily by the properties of their innate talent, as well as by the peculiarities of their worldview. Most often, writers pay attention to the discrepancy between people's claims and real capabilities, which results in the development of comical life situations.
Satire helps to understand the important aspects of human relationships, gives orientation in life, and frees us from false and outdated authorities. In world and Russian literature there are a lot of talented, highly artistic works with satirical pathos, including: the comedies of Aristophanes, “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais, “Gulliver’s Travels” by J. Swift; “Nevsky Prospekt” by N. Gogol, “The History of a City” by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “Heart of a Dog” by M. Bulgakov). In Mordovian literature, no significant work with clearly expressed satirical pathos has yet been created. Satirical pathos is characteristic primarily of the fable genre (I. Shumilkin, M. Beban, etc.).
Humorous pathos. Humor emerged as a special type of pathos only in the era of romanticism. Due to false self-esteem, people not only in public, but also in everyday life and family life may discover internal contradictions between who they really are and who they say they are. These people pretend to be important, which they actually do not have. Such a contradiction is comical and evokes a mocking attitude, mixed more with pity and sadness than with indignation. Humor is laughter at the relatively harmless comic contradictions of life. A striking example of a work with humorous pathos is the story “ Posthumous notes The Pickwick Club" by Charles Dickens; “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” by N. Gogol; “Lavginov” by V. Kolomasov, “An agronomist came to the collective farm” (“An agronomist came to the collective farm” by Yu. Kuznetsov).
Sentimental pathos characteristic primarily of sentimental works, created in the 18th century, characterized by exaggerated attention to the feelings and experiences of the heroes, depiction of the moral virtues of socially humiliated people, their superiority over the immorality of a privileged environment. Vivid examples include the works “Julia, or the new Heloise” by J.J. Rousseau, “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by I.V. Goethe, " Poor Lisa» N.M. Karamzin.
Romantic pathos conveys the spiritual enthusiasm that arises as a result of identifying a certain sublime principle and the desire to identify its features. Examples include the poems of D.G. Byron, poems and ballads by V. Zhukovsky and others. In Mordovian literature, works with clearly expressed sentimental and romantic pathos are absent, which is largely due to the time of the emergence and development of written literature (the second half of the 19th century).
TEST QUESTIONS:
1. What definitions of theme take place in literary criticism? Which definition do you think is most accurate and why?
2. What are the problems of a literary work?
3. What types of problems do literary scholars distinguish?
4. Why is identifying issues considered an important step in the analysis of works?
5. What is the idea of a work? How is it related to the concept of pathos?
6. What types of pathos are most often found in works of native literature?
Lecture 7
PLOT
1. The concept of plot.
2. Conflict as driving force plot development.
3. Plot elements.
4. Plot and plot.
References
1) Abramovich G.L. Introduction to literary criticism. – 7th ed. – M., 1979.
2) Gorky A.M.. Conversations with young people (any publication).
3) Dobin E.S. Plot and reality. The art of detail. – L., 1981.
4) Introduction to literary criticism / ed. G.N. Pospelov. – M., 1988.
5) Esin A.B. Principles and techniques of analyzing a literary work. – 4th ed. – M., 2002.
6) Kovalenko A.G.. Artistic conflict in Russian literature. – M., 1996.
7) Kozhinov V.V.. Plot, plot, composition // Theory of literature: Main problems in historical coverage: in 2 books. – M., 1964. – Book 2.
8) Literary encyclopedic dictionary / ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, P.A. Nikolaev. – M., 1987.
9) Literary encyclopedia of terms and concepts / ed. A.N. Nikolyukina. – M., 2003.
10) Shklovsky V.B.. Energy of delusion. Book about the plot // Favorites: in 2 volumes - M., 1983. - Volume 2.
11) Brief literary encyclopedia: in 9 volumes / chapter. ed. A.A. Surkov. – M., 1972. – T.7.
It is well known that a work of art is a complex whole. The writer shows how this or that character grows and develops, what are his connections and relationships with other people. This development of character, the history of growth, is shown in a series of events, which, as a rule, reflect the life situation. Direct relationships between people presented in a work, shown in a certain chain of events, in literary criticism are usually designated by the term plot.
It should be noted that the understanding of plot as the course of events has a long tradition in Russian literary criticism. It developed back in the 19th century. This is evidenced by the work of the outstanding literary critic, representative of the comparative-historical school in Russian literary criticism of the 19th century A.N. Veselovsky "Poetics of Plots".
The problem of plot has occupied researchers since Aristotle. Much attention G. Hegel also paid attention to this problem. Despite such a long history, the problem of the plot remains largely debatable to this day. For example, there is still no clear distinction between the concepts of plot and plot. In addition, the definitions of plot found in textbooks and textbooks according to literary theory, different and quite contradictory. For example, L.I. Timofeev considers the plot as one of the forms of composition: “Composition is inherent in every literary work, since we will always have in it one or another relationship of its parts, reflecting the complexity of the life phenomena depicted in it. But not in every work we will deal with a plot, i.e. with the revelation of characters through events in which the properties of these characters are revealed... One should reject the widespread and erroneous idea of plot only as a distinct, fascinating system of events, due to which they often talk about the “non-plot” of certain works in which there is no such clarity and fascination of the system of events (actions). Here we are not talking about the absence of a plot, but about its poor organization, ambiguity, etc.
The plot in a work is always present when we are dealing with certain actions of people, with certain events that happen to them. By connecting the plot with the characters, we thereby determine its content, its conditionality by the reality that the writer is aware of.
Thus, we approach both composition and plot as a means of revealing, discovering a given character.
But in a number of cases, the general content of the work does not fit into the plot alone and cannot be revealed only in the system of events; hence - along with the plot - we will have extra-plot elements in the work; the composition of the work will then be broader than the plot and will begin to manifest itself in other forms.”
V.B. Shklovsky considers the plot as a “means of understanding reality”; in the interpretation of E.S. Dobin, the plot is a “concept of reality.”
M. Gorky defined the plot as “connections, contradictions, sympathies, antipathies and, in general, relationships between people - stories of growth and organization of one or another character, type.” This judgment, like the previous ones, in our opinion, is not accurate, because in many works, especially dramatic ones, characters are depicted outside the development of their characters.
Following A.I. Revyakin, we tend to adhere to this definition of the plot: « A plot is an event (or system of events) selected in the process of studying life, realized and embodied in a work of art, in which conflict and characters are revealed in certain conditions of the social environment».
G.N. Pospelov notes that literary subjects are created in different ways. Most often, they fairly fully and reliably reproduce real life events. These are, firstly, works based on historical events (« Early years King Henry IV" by G. Mann, "The Damned Kings" by M. Druon; “Peter I” by A. Tolstoy, “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy; “Polovt” by M. Bryzhinsky, “Purgaz” by K. Abramov); secondly, autobiographical stories(L. Tolstoy, M. Gorky); thirdly, known to the writer life facts . The events depicted are sometimes completely fictional, a figment of the author’s imagination (“Gulliver’s Travels” by J. Swift, “The Nose” by N. Gogol).
There is also such a source of plot creativity as borrowing, when writers widely rely on already known literary plots, processing and supplementing them in their own way. In this case, folklore, mythological, ancient, biblical, etc. subjects are used.
The main driving force of any plot is conflict, contradiction, struggle or, according to Hegel's definition, collision. The conflicts underlying works can be very diverse, but they, as a rule, have general significance and reflect certain life patterns. Conflicts are distinguished: 1) external and internal; 2) local and substantial; 3) dramatic, tragic and comic.
Conflict external - between individual characters and groups of characters - is considered to be the simplest. There are many examples of this type of conflict in the literature: A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”, A.S. Pushkin " Stingy Knight", M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The History of a City”, V.M. Kolomasov "Lavginov" and others. A more complex conflict is considered to be one that embodies the confrontation between the hero and the way of life, the individual and the environment (social, everyday, cultural). The difference from the first type of conflict is that the hero here is not opposed by anyone in particular; he has no opponent with whom he could fight, who could be defeated, thereby resolving the conflict (Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”).
Conflict interior - a psychological conflict, when the hero is not at peace with himself, when he carries certain contradictions within himself, sometimes contains incompatible principles (Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”, Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”, etc.).
Sometimes in a work one can simultaneously detect both of these types of conflict, both external and internal (A. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm”).
Local(resolvable) conflict presupposes the fundamental possibility of resolution through active actions (Pushkin “Gypsies”, etc.).
Substantial(unresolvable) conflict depicts a persistently conflicted existence, and real practical actions capable of resolving this conflict are unthinkable (Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Chekhov’s “The Bishop”, etc.).
Tragic, dramatic and comic conflicts are inherent dramatic works with the same genre names. (For more information about the types of conflicts, see the book A.G. Kovalenko “Artistic conflict in Russian literature”, M., 1996).
Disclosure of a socially significant conflict in the plot contributes to the understanding of trends and patterns of social development. In this regard, it is worth noting some points that are essential for understanding the multifaceted role of the plot in the work.
The role of plot in the work of G.L. Abramovich defined it as follows: “Firstly, it must be borne in mind that the artist’s penetration into the meaning of the conflict presupposes, as the modern English writer D. Lindsay, “penetration into the souls of people participating in this struggle.” Hence the great educational significance of the plot.
Secondly, the writer “willy-nilly becomes involved with his mind and heart in the conflicts that make up the content of his work.” Thus, the logic of the development of events by the writer is reflected in his understanding and assessment of the depicted conflict, his social views, which he one way or another conveys to the readers, instilling in them the attitude towards this conflict that is necessary, from his point of view.
Thirdly, every great writer focuses his attention on conflicts that are important for his time and people.”
Thus, the plots of the works of great writers have a deep socio-historical meaning. Therefore, when considering them, it is necessary first of all to determine what kind of social conflict lies at the heart of the work and from what positions it is depicted.
The plot will only fulfill its purpose when, firstly, it is internally complete, i.e. revealing the causes, nature and development paths of the depicted conflict, and secondly, it will attract the interest of readers and force them to think about the meaning of each episode, each detail in the movement of events.
F.V. Gladkov wrote that there are different gradations of plot: “... one book has a plot calm, there is no intrigue, cleverly tied knots in it, it is a chronicle of the life of one person or a whole group of people; another book with exciting plot: these are adventure novels, mystery novels, detective novels, criminal novels.” Many literary scholars, following F. Gladkov, distinguish two types of plots: the plot is calm (adynamic) and the plot is sharp(dynamic). Along with the named types of plots, modern literary criticism offers others, for example, chronic and concentric (Pospelov G.N.) and centrifugal and centripetal (Kozhinov V.V.). Chronicles are stories with a predominance of purely temporary connections between events, and concentric - with a predominance of cause-and-effect relationships between events.
Each of these types of plots has its own artistic possibilities. As noted by G.N. Pospelov, the chronicle of the plot is, first of all, a means of recreating reality in the diversity and richness of its manifestations. Chronic plotting allows the writer to master life in space and time with maximum freedom. Therefore, it is widely used in epic works of large form (“Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais, “Don Quixote” by M. Cervantes, “Don Juan” by D. Byron, “Vasily Terkin” by A. Tvardovsky, “Wide Moksha” by T. Kirdyashkina, “Purgaz” by K. Abramov). Chronicle stories perform different artistic functions: reveal the decisive actions of the heroes and their various adventures; depict the formation of a person’s personality; serve to master the socio-political antagonisms and everyday life of certain strata of society.
The concentricity of the plot - identifying cause-and-effect relationships between the events depicted - allows the writer to explore one conflict situation and stimulates the compositional completeness of the work. This type of plot structure dominated drama until the 19th century. Among the epic works, one can cite as an example “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky, “Fire” by V. Rasputin, “At the Beginning of the Path” by V. Mishanina.
Chronicle and concentric plots often coexist (“Resurrection” by L.N. Tolstoy, “Three Sisters” by A.P. Chekhov, etc.).
From the point of view of the emergence, development and completion of the life conflict depicted in the work, we can talk about the main elements of plot construction. Literary scholars identify the following plot elements: exposition, plot, development of action, climax, peripeteia, denouement; prologue and epilogue. It should be noted that not all works of fiction that have plot structure, all designated plot elements are present. Prologue and epilogue are found quite rarely, most often in epic works that are large in volume. As for exposition, it is quite often absent from stories and novellas.
Prologue defined as an introduction to a literary work that is not directly related to the developing action, but seems to precede it with a story about the events that preceded it or about their meaning. The prologue is present in I. Goethe’s Faust, “What is to be done?” N. Chernyshevsky, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by N. Nekrasov, “The Snow Maiden” by A. Ostrovsky, “Apple Tree on the High Road” by A. Kutorkin.
Epilogue in literary criticism it is characterized as the final part in a work of art, informing about the further fate of the characters after those depicted in the novel, poem, drama, etc. events. Epilogues are often found in the dramas of B. Brecht, novels by F. Dostoevsky (“The Brothers Karamazov”, “The Humiliated and Insulted”), L. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”), K. Abramov “Kachamon Pachk” (“Smoke on the Ground” ).
Exposition (lat. expositio - explanation) call the background of the events underlying the work. The exposition sets out the circumstances, preliminarily outlines the characters, characterizes their relationships, i.e. The life of the characters before the start of the conflict (commencement) is depicted.
In the work of P.I. Levchaev’s “Kavonst kudat” (“Two Matchmakers”), the first part is an exposition: it depicts the life of a Mordovian village shortly before the first Russian revolution, the conditions in which people’s characters are formed.
The exposition is determined by the artistic objectives of the work and can be different in nature: direct, detailed, scattered, supplemented throughout the entire work, delayed (see “Dictionary of Literary Terms”).
Tie-up in a work of fiction, it is usually called the beginning of a conflict, the event from which the action begins and thanks to which subsequent events arise. The beginning can be motivated (if there is exposition) or sudden (without exposition).
In P. Levchaev’s story, the plot will be Garay’s return to the village of Anay, his acquaintance with Kirei Mikhailovich.
In subsequent parts of the work, Levchaev shows action development, That course of events that follows from the plot: meeting with his father, with his beloved girl Anna, matchmaking, Garay’s participation in a secret meeting.
The gasoline is yours, the ideas are ours
When analyzing a literary work, the concept of “idea” is traditionally used, which most often means the answer to the question allegedly posed by the author.
The idea of a literary work - this is the main idea that summarizes the semantic, figurative, emotional content of a literary work.
Artistic idea of the work – this is the content-semantic integrity of a work of art as a product of emotional experience and mastery of life by the author. This idea cannot be recreated by means of other arts and logical formulations; it is expressed by the entire artistic structure of the work, the unity and interaction of all its formal components. Conventionally (and in a narrower sense), an idea stands out as the main thought, ideological conclusion and “life lesson” that naturally follows from a holistic comprehension of the work.
An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are a great many ideas expressed in literature. There are logical ideas And abstract ideas . Logical ideas are concepts that are easily conveyed without figurative means; we are able to perceive them with our intellect. Logical ideas are characteristic of nonfiction literature. Fictional novels and stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and consequences, that is, abstract elements.
But there is also a special type of very subtle, barely perceptible ideas in a literary work. Artistic idea is a thought embodied in figurative form. It lives only in figurative transformation and cannot be expressed in the form of sentences or concepts. The peculiarity of this thought depends on the disclosure of the topic, the author’s worldview, conveyed by the speech and actions of the characters, and on the depiction of pictures of life. It lies in the combination of logical thoughts, images, and all significant compositional elements. An artistic idea cannot be reduced to a rational idea that can be specified or illustrated. The idea of this type is integral to the image, to the composition.
Forming an artistic idea is a complex creative process. In literature, it is influenced by personal experience, the writer’s worldview, and understanding of life. An idea can be nurtured for years and decades, and the author, trying to realize it, suffers, rewrites the manuscript, and looks for suitable means of implementation. All themes, characters, all events selected by the author are necessary for a more complete expression of the main idea, its nuances and shades. However, it is necessary to understand that an artistic idea is not equal ideological plan, that plan that often appears not only in the writer’s head, but also on paper. Exploring non-fictional reality, reading diaries, notebooks, manuscripts, archives, literary scholars restore the history of the idea, the history of creation, but often do not discover the artistic idea. Sometimes it happens that the author goes against himself, yielding to the original plan for the sake of artistic truth, an internal idea.
One thought is not enough to write a book. If you know in advance everything that you would like to talk about, then you should not turn to artistic creativity. Better - to criticism, journalism, journalism.
The idea of a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes struggle to formulate the idea of their work. Dostoevsky about “The Idiot” he wrote: “The main idea of the novel is to portray a positively beautiful person.” For such a declarative ideology Dostoevsky scolded, for example, Nabokov. Indeed, the phrase of the great novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what is the artistic and vital basis of his image. But here you can hardly take sides Nabokov, a down-to-earth second-line writer, never, unlike Dostoevsky who does not set himself creative super-tasks.
Along with the authors' attempts to determine the so-called main idea of his work, opposite, although no less confusing, examples are known. Tolstoy to the question “what is “War and Peace”? answered as follows: ““War and Peace” is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed.” Reluctance to translate the idea of your work into the language of concepts Tolstoy demonstrated once again, speaking about the novel “Anna Karenina”: “If I wanted to say in words everything that I had in mind to express in a novel, then I would have to write the very one that I wrote first” (from a letter to N.Strakhov).
Belinsky very accurately pointed out that “art does not allow abstract philosophical, much less rational ideas: it allows only poetic ideas; and the poetic idea is<…>It’s not a dogma, it’s not a rule, it’s a living passion, pathos.”
V.V. Odintsov expressed his understanding of the category “artistic idea” more strictly: “The idea of a literary work is always specific and is not directly derived not only from those lying outside it individual statements writer (facts of his biography, social life, etc.), but also from the text - from remarks goodies, journalistic inserts, comments by the author himself, etc.”
2000 ideas for novels and stories
Literary critic G.A. Gukovsky also spoke about the need to distinguish between rational, that is, rational, and literary ideas: “By idea I mean not only a rationally formulated judgment, statement, not even just the intellectual content of a work of literature, but the entire sum of its content, constituting its intellectual function, its goal and task.” And he further explained: “To understand the idea of a literary work means to understand the idea of each of its components in their synthesis, in their systemic interconnection.<…>. At the same time, it is important to take into account structural features works - not only the words-bricks from which the walls of the building are made, but the structure of the combination of these bricks as parts of this structure, their meaning.”
The idea of a literary work is an attitude towards what is depicted, the fundamental pathos of the work, a category that expresses the author’s tendency (inclination, intention, preconceived thought) in the artistic coverage of a given topic. In other words, idea is the subjective basis of a literary work. It is noteworthy that in Western literary criticism, based on other methodological principles, instead of the category “artistic idea”, the concept of “intention”, a certain premeditation, the tendency of the author to express the meaning of the work is used.
The greater the artistic idea, the longer the work lives. The creators of pop literature who write outside of great ideas face very rapid oblivion.
V.V. Kozhinov called it an artistic idea semantic type works that grow from the interaction of images. An artistic idea, unlike a logical idea, is not formulated by an author’s statement, but is depicted in all the details of the artistic whole.
In epic works, the idea may be partly formulated in the text itself, as was the case in the narrative Tolstoy: “There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” More often, especially in lyric poetry, the idea permeates the structure of the work and therefore requires a lot of analytical work. artwork as a whole is much richer than the rational idea that critics usually isolate, and in many lyrical works isolating an idea is simply impossible, because it practically dissolves in pathos. Consequently, the idea of a work should not be reduced to a conclusion or a lesson, and in general one should certainly look for it.
