How to analyze a work. How to correctly analyze literary works in order to remember and discuss them

03.05.2019

Literary analysis involves reading a literary work very carefully to understand how the author conveys his key ideas. Start making notes on the text and read the work with maximum concentration, then formulate your arguments and make a plan. Write your analysis as planned and edit your work to submit a final copy.

Steps

Take notes and formulate arguments

Write down ideas as you read the text. When you first read a text, make notes about the aspects that stand out to you—the main conflict, character motivations, tone, and setting.

Highlight passages of text that seem interesting or worthy of attention. In one of the paragraphs does the author make an important statement? Did the text suddenly become philosophical? Highlight or mark such passages.
For example, one of the main quotes from George Orwell's novel 1984 , which is often repeated: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." Since this is the slogan of the Party (the one and only political party state), it becomes clear to us that this text will be important for the plot. You can use a colored marker to highlight this passage of text each time it is mentioned. This will make it easier for you to find a statement to analyze when, where and why Orwell repeats these lines.

Notice literary devices. The author uses literary devices to prove a point or tell a story. Literary works use alliteration artistic images, metaphors, allusions, allegories, repetitions, retrospect, various omens and other techniques.
- For example, artistic images are the living language of the author, which helps to form a mental image. They can set the tone of the entire text. Consider an example from the novel 1984 George Orwell, which appears in the fourth paragraph:
  - “The world outside, behind the closed windows, breathed cold. The wind swirled dust and scraps of paper into spirals; and although the sun was shining and the sky was sharply blue, everything in the city looked colorless - except for the posters posted everywhere.”
- This short passage allows us to imagine a harsh world, very cold and devoid of color.
Focus on key topics. Themes are the main ideas that the author repeats throughout the text. The topic could be religion, government, the struggle between good and evil, power, social order, growing up, war, education, human rights and much more. Identify topics as early as possible to make it easier for you to write down examples of such topics as you read the text.
- Among the main themes of the novel 1984 can be called war, power and social system.
Pay attention to the form of the work. Form is the structure of the text. Thus, in a voluminous work, the form includes features of the division of the text, as well as narration from the first or third person. In the poem, pay attention to line breaks, the order of couplets, appearance and even the negative space involved. Why did the author choose this form and how does it help to better present key ideas?
- Analyze how form and content relate. Do they conflict?
- For example, a poem often contains less information than a novel, so the author may use form to draw attention to hidden or unanswered questions.
Consider the historical context. Works are not created in a vacuum, so the time and place in which the author worked will always influence the work. Find out where the author lived when he wrote the novel, what was happening in the world at that time.
Determine the author's purpose. When creating a work, the author can set several goals for himself. Your task is to identify at least one of them in order to write an analysis. If you are able to support your ideas with evidence from the text, then you can choose any goal at your discretion.
- To determine the author's purpose, analyze the historical context of the book as well as the author's important themes. You can also read other analyzes and reviews, including an interview with the author.
- For example, one of Orwell's main goals when working on the novel 1984 was to show what awaits citizens if they do not control the work of their own government - a totalitarian regime that monitors every step and thought of people.
- Thus, the slogan “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength" becomes an introduction to the author's goal. It allows the reader to imagine what will happen next: members of such a society are forced to silently swallow the contradictory statements of the government. In the novel, this concept is called "doublethink".
Focus on the topic to decide on your arguments. Focus on one plot element that represents your chosen main goal of the piece. What exactly resonated with you about this particular topic? Why does she seem important?
- For example, you want to focus on how artistic imagery sets the tone of the novel 1984 . Why is it important? Without such images, the novel would have been perceived differently, and Orwell would have had difficulty presenting a convincing world to the reader.
Analyze how your evidence supports your main idea. At this point, you need to answer why your statement is really important. Show readers that your evidence is relevant to the claim.
- For example, end a paragraph with a quotation like this:
  - This world is cruel to its inhabitants, it emanates “coldness” and a premonition of trouble, and everyday life does not alternate with joyful days. Even a bright sunny day does not help to forget about gloom and despondency. Through such descriptions, Orwell demonstrates that the world of the novel may also be our future, a harsh reality without the possibility of finding joy in fantasy or fun.

SCHEME FOR ANALYSIS OF A LYRICAL (POETIC) WORK

Analysis lyrical work- This is one of the essay options. As a rule, topics of this kind look something like this: “Poem by A.A. Block “Stranger”: perception, interpretation, evaluation.” The formulation itself contains what you need to do to reveal the ideological and thematic content and artistic features of the lyrical work: 1) talk about your perception of the work; 2) interpret, that is, get closer to the author’s intention, unravel the idea embedded in the work; 3) express your emotional attitude to the work, talk about what touched, surprised you, drew your attention. Here is a diagram of the analysis of the lyrical work.

facts from the author's biography related to the creation poetic work
to whom is the poem dedicated (prototypes and recipients of the work)?

2. Genre of the poem. Signs of genre (genres).

3. The title of the work (if any) and its meaning.

4. Image lyrical hero. His closeness to the author.

5. Ideological and thematic content:

leading topic;
idea (main idea) of the work
development of the author’s (lyrical hero’s) thoughts
emotional coloring(direction) of the work and methods of its transmission

6. Artistic Features:

artistic techniques and their meaning;
key words and images associated with the idea of the work;
sound recording techniques;
presence/absence of division into stanzas;
features of the rhythm of the poem: meter, rhymes, rhymes and their connection with the author’s ideological intention.

7. Your reader's perception of the work.

SCHEME FOR ANALYSIS OF AN EPIC WORK (STORY, TALE)

1. History of the creation of the work:

facts from the author’s biography related to the creation of this work.
connection of the work with the historical era of its creation;
the place of the work in the author’s work.

2. Genre of the work. Signs of genre (genres).

3. The title of the work and its meaning.

4. On whose behalf is the story being told? Why?

5. Theme and idea of the work. Issues.

6. The plot (storylines) of the work. Conflict. Key episodes.

7. System of images of the work:

characters of the work (main, secondary; positive, negative;
features of the names and surnames of the characters;
the actions of the characters and their motivation;
household details that characterize the character;
connection of the character with the social environment;
the attitude of other characters towards the hero of the work;
self-characteristics of characters;
the author's attitude towards the characters and ways of expressing it.

8. Composition of the work:

dividing the text of a work into parts, the meaning of such division;
the presence of prologues, epilogues, dedications and their meaning;
the presence of inserted episodes and lyrical digressions and their meaning;
the presence of epigraphs and their meaning;
the presence of lyrical digressions and their meaning.

10. Artistic media, techniques that reveal the idea of the work.

11. Features of the language of the work.

METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYSIS OF A LITERARY WORK

Stepanyan Arega Sergeevna,

teacher of Russian language and literature

MBOU Secondary School No. 66, Krasnodar

Introduction

The main thing that is the condition and basis of all educational classes in literature is reading the work. The success of all work on reading largely depends on the organization of reading. literary theme.

Will the book captivate the student, will he immerse himself in the world created by the artist, or will the thoughts and feelings of the author leave him indifferent, or even cause internal rejection - the teacher always thinks about this when preparing the student’s first meeting with the work. How should it go? Should students be asked to think about certain questions during their first reading, make notes and notes, or is it better to make this first encounter with the book free, without complicating it with analytical work? At first glance, it seems tempting to layer reading with retellings, drawing up plans, conversation and analytical work; time is saved, which means additional opportunities for deeper analysis open up.

Literature is capable of reflecting the diversity of human life and society. And in this regard, the leading role belongs to prose. It is prose that reveals, on the one hand, all the depths and diversity of human psychology, and on the other, all the richness and complexity of a person’s connections with the world, with society, with history.

The prose itself is extremely diverse: from short miniatures and small sketches to multi-volume epics or cycles of novels, from descriptive essays and action-packed stories to complex philosophical and psychological works. All this diversity is characteristic of Russian classical and Soviet literature.

The writer does not just describe life. A literary image and a work of art as a whole is a complex act of reflecting reality. Life in a literary work is life, comprehended by the artist, experienced and felt by him. Hence the obligatory attention to the views of the artist, his personality.

Prose works occupy a large place in school curriculum senior classes both in the number of titles and in the number of hours allocated to study them. Analysis of prose at first glance is easier than analysis of works of other genres, especially poetry: the language is more accessible, it is easier to conduct a conversation.

But in connection with the study of prose, some additional difficulties arise in the work of a literature teacher. It is here that, most often, it is allowed to reduce the meaning and content of a work to a superficial retelling of not even the plot, but simply the outline of events; the conversation about the heroes of the work is conducted not as about artistic images, but as about living familiar people; formal characteristics of the heroes are drawn up, divorced from the artistic fabric of the work, and the conversation about artistic features works sometimes look like an optional addition to the main material.

Large prose works must be studied in fragments, which makes it even more difficult to analyze the novel or story as a whole. The methodology for analyzing a literary work has been widely developed in literary criticism. This analysis includes large complex questions connecting the problems of content and form, revealing the role of each element of a work of art and their close relationship in the creation of an artistic whole. Analyzing a work means not only understanding the characters of individual characters and the relationship between them, revealing the plot mechanism and composition, seeing the role of an individual detail and the features of the writer’s language, but most importantly, finding out how all this is determined by the writer’s idea, what Belinsky called “ the pathos of the work." The more significant the work of art, the more inexhaustible the possibilities for its analysis.

Therefore, the goal of our work is to identify the features of studying epic work large form using the example of M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”. The subject of the study is the methodology for studying the novel “The Master and Margarita”. The object of study is the novel itself. Research objectives: get acquainted with the methodological literature, characterize the methods and techniques of analyzing the work, develop a methodology for studying this novel.

Chapter 1. Features of studying an epic work
1.1. Ways to study the analysis of an epic work

The effectiveness of students' study of literature is largely determined by the variety of ways to study works and lesson systems in the literature course in general and for each year of study in particular. There are several ways: studying the work according to the images of the characters, studying the work as the action develops, studying by themes and problematic issues. The selection and sequence of studying themes, images or scenes within each path can be varied, i.e. possible different systems lessons in one way.

The next is a problem-thematic way of studying. This path is designed for students who have a good command of the text. The prototypical path of study attracts attention with its emphasized attention to the humanistic content of literature, the interest of students in specific characters of books, the great - often too much - clarity and naturalness of breaking up the material into lessons, but insufficient attention is paid to the integrity of the work. However, with allowances for greater problematic nature and greater reliance on the text, attention to the integrity of the work and the image of the author in it, it is quite acceptable in schools.

If a teacher analyzes a work as the action develops, this allows one to organically combine reading and studying the work, convey to students the author’s concept of life, the composition of the work, and finally master the text itself. But in practice, the problematic nature of the lesson is not always maintained; this path can easily turn into an amorphous commented reading.

The problem-thematic path, making it possible to enlarge the analysis, contributes to a more generalized perception of literature by students. But it contains the ease of substituting specific artistic content general provisions. It is mandatory for students to first read the work being studied.

Currently, a comprehensive, or mixed, way of learning is becoming increasingly popular, when within one lesson system one combines work on scenes, work on images, and work on topics, and all this from a certain angle, with a certain pedagogical concept. Teachers consider this path of learning to be the most flexible, allowing them to work with students of different levels of development and facilitating preparation for self-education.

The teacher, choosing one of the ways to analyze a particular work, takes into account its compliance this work, preparedness of students and the place of the work in the system of work in a given class.
Let's show this using the example of class IX. Suppose that the first work - the drama "The Thunderstorm" - is studied by holistic analysis. The analysis of the novel “Fathers and Sons” is based on the study of images. The novel “What to do?” will be studied by posing problematic questions that boil down to answering one general question “what to do?” When analyzing the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” it is easy to outline a system of lessons on the themes and individual images of the poem. When studying the novel “The Golovlevs,” a problematic overview of the entire novel is given and several chapters that paint the image of the main character are textually analyzed.

Does this mean that the system of study paths in a year can only be
such? No, this is one of the options.

For the most reasonable and multifaceted impact on students, a flexible system of learning paths is needed, when the shortcomings of one are compensated by the advantages of the other.

The combination of different ways of studying a work is also important from the point of view of the most expedient organization of students’ independent reading of large works, since this makes it possible to somewhat disperse the order in which students read works; this is largely determined precisely by studying.

The conduct of classes depends mainly on the capabilities of the students. The different preparedness of students determines both the choice of methods and their various combinations in any way of studying the novel.
So, depending on the preparedness of students, we can outline the main options for work:

1st option - after the teacher’s introductory, introductory words - a series of conversations about the work with reading and analysis of excerpts from it and a final lecture by the teacher summing up the work. This option uses mainly reading and reproduction of text and a heuristic method of work. Other methods are used to a lesser extent. The option is most suitable for students who are not immediately prepared for generalizing work. But if the conversations are more rich in serious questions, problematic situations, and creative tasks, it can also be suitable for stronger classes.

2nd option - a detailed introductory lecture by the teacher on the significance of this book in the history of literature and seminar classes with reports and speeches by students on specific topics. In this case, mainly reproductive-creative and research methods of teaching are combined, others - to a lesser extent. This option is suitable for classes with strong or average levels of preparedness, as well as for distance learning for adults, in order to make the work more compact. Options with a different combination of reading, reproduction and independent “discoveries” of students are also possible. This is determined directly during the study of the work.

When studying a work of large form, the most effective, from our point of view, system of lessons is one that is built on analysis of the work as the action develops, with a subsequent stage of work on images and generalizing themes. Such a complex, or mixed, path is applicable to Tolstoy’s novel, firstly, because this work is the largest and most complex in the school course and it is difficult for students to master it right away.

The percentage of students who read a novel before studying it in school, in whole or in part, is negligible. Therefore, gradual reading and research is needed, giving time and the opportunity to read and think about the book. Secondly, it is necessary to help students then summarize the material accumulated during reading and research.

A holistic study of a work does not negate either the introductory or final lessons. It is necessary to prepare students to perceive the work, and then give them a kind of afterword to the book, when the reader once again rises above the work, embraces it as a whole, compares it with other works and retrospectively resolves a number of issues. Each stage of study, being independent, at the same time opens the way for the next one, not extinguishing, but arousing a deeper interest in the work than at the previous stage.

This path of analysis, when holistic study is the central stage, represents the interpenetration of all stages of studying a work of art - its direct perception, analytical comprehension and going beyond the work. To do this, it is especially important to set at the beginning of the study a central problem that is solved throughout the analysis and runs through all lessons. This task should cover the work as a whole and lead to an understanding of its ideological and artistic concept.

The central problem, which absorbs, in Tolstoy’s words, “the unity of the original author's attitude to the subject,” is a problematic question for the work. This basic question runs through the entire system of lessons, and each of them gives its own piece of the answer. Each lesson should have its own problem related to the general one. Sometimes you can go from the topic of the lesson and material to clarifying a specific problem, sometimes, on the contrary, from the problem to the material. It should be understood that any analysis, including a holistic one, must now be in highest degree problem analysis, and not just a preparatory stage of work on mastering the content.

A system of issues of moral and aesthetic education in each lesson is also determined. It is necessary to find out the maximum opportunities for the moral and ideological education of students and to promote the transformation of knowledge into communist beliefs. To do this, you need to take into account two factors: the historical approach to the work and the modern solution to the same problems. First of all, we should find in the work those heroes and those problems that coincide with the interests of our contemporaries.

The system of questions for aesthetic education when studying this novel consists of the features of the writer’s style, the pattern of development of the plot and composition of the work, as well as questions about the beauty in life, in the appearance of the heroes - questions of the moral and aesthetic ideal of the writer.

So, the choice of path to study an epic work depends on the degree of complexity of the work and the level of preparedness of the students.

1.2. Methods and techniques for studying large-form epic works

The success of studying a novel depends on a combination of various methods and techniques used in the classroom. The reproductive-creative method of work, manifested in the students’ work on the textbook, assimilation of the teacher’s lecture, heuristic conversations, independent tasks based on the model, creative tasks, and elements of research work should be used.

In addition, very important is the heterogeneity in the pace of work on the text, the optimal combination of “slow” textual work, in one case, and faster, overview coverage of the issue in another.

To the same extent, it is important to combine the generality of conclusions and problems with the specificity of facts. For some, the most productive move is from specificity to generalizations, while for others, from generalizations to specific analysis that confirms the conclusions.

Most effective method- this is a conversation. When analyzing a large epic work at school, it is necessary to acquaint students with a system of questions and tasks, the implementation of which ensures sequential study Topics. With their help, students will understand the topic, ideological meaning, artistic originality and the place of the work in the history of literature, as well as the creative image of the writer as a whole. Questions and assignments should be designed for students to work comprehensively on the text of the work (primarily), on the relevant chapters of the literature textbook, on critical literature indicated by the teacher and in the textbook, on information gleaned from the teacher. Only such work can provide students with deep and lasting knowledge.

A number of questions will require students to simply reproduce knowledge obtained from various sources. The predominant questions in teaching are heuristic and research questions. These are tasks that require comparison of different assessments of the work, proof or refutation of certain points of view, analysis of the figurative structure of the work.

Many tasks should be addressed directly to the student’s personal opinion, determining his personal position; however, each time the student must be led to this by serious work on arguing his opinion, based primarily on a deep analysis of the work itself, and comparing “his” conclusions with existing ones.

It is necessary to lead all students through different types of tasks, but not through all specific tasks, but gradually, increasing the degree of difficulty. You can vary the questions, of course, you can simplify them if necessary. But it cannot be considered correct if weak students are offered tasks only for simple reproduction of a plot, text of a work or textbook, or simple analysis questions. In this way you will never develop either a love for literature and a desire to read it, or knowledge; It is impossible to develop students this way and they will remain at the same level literary development, in which they came to school, even if they received some specific knowledge.7

At the same time, the difficult task of individualizing learning must be realized. In frontal work in the classroom it is established
spontaneously, by the students themselves: everyone answers the questions they can, and in the way they can. The selection of tasks for independent individual work of students should be done according to a more strict calculation of the teacher.

The most difficult questions for students are those that require the student to make comparisons (works with works, themes with themes), as well as knowledge of a wide range of material for argumentation, requiring an understanding of the aesthetic criteria for evaluating a work, as well as the development of a recreating imagination. In these cases, the difficulty is created by the need for developed, complex, multi-stage skills.

The highest degree of difficulty includes those questions where the material itself is complex (a contradictory phenomenon, different assessments of the same fact, philosophical richness of the material). Questions that require good specific knowledge of generally uncomplicated specific episodes or words are also called difficult (this involuntarily reflects the tendency of students to superficial knowledge). Knowing something outside the syllabus is also a difficult task.

The least difficult ones include questions that require analysis of specific scenes or many images, relatively simple problem tasks, questions about the moral and psychological essence of the characters’ behavior, in most cases about their speech characteristics.
Students also consider the retelling and analysis of key chapters and questions about knowledge of the basic facts of the writer’s creative life to be the same. The remaining questions are of medium difficulty.

Of course, for all questions, both the easiest and the most difficult, knowledge of the book itself and the student’s participation in its analysis are necessary. Determining the degree of difficulty will allow the teacher to more accurately focus on assigning a number of questions to students’ independent homework, with the opportunity to give individual assignments to individual students along with the general class assignments.

When organizing a lesson, it is advisable to create working groups, instructing them various tasks. In groups, the children will distribute responsibilities among themselves; here there may be feasible work for students of different levels; in the process, abilities are revealed that the teacher might not even suspect. When collectively prepared answers or reports are discussed, competition arises, reminiscent of competitions among KVN teams; the prepared answer is perceived by group members as their personal, hard-earned one, and they defend their opinion.

It is useful, in addition to the speakers, to identify a group of opponents who become familiar with the main points of the speech in advance, independently think through the topic, raise questions that require additional solutions, and review the speech. And a group of arbitrators may also be appointed to look for a solution controversial issues. Their task is to carefully study the text of the work and compare each judgment with it.

The lesson usually starts introductory remarks teachers, where problems are posed that need to be solved in class. The introduction can be prepared not necessarily by the teacher, but also by an initiative group of students - the organizers of the seminar. Then comes the main part of the lesson - discussion of problems. In the final speech, the teacher will draw conclusions that are not needed in order to once and for all resolve all issues, which often do not have a clear solution. It is necessary to highlight the most important achievements of the participants and evaluate the work of each.

So, a teacher has many active forms of learning in his arsenal. Building a lesson
The teacher involves everyone in the work. Likewise, when studying an epic work, there are several ways of analysis. We found out that there are such types of studying an epic work. The first way - while maintaining the path of following the author, you can trace the issues, composition, style, and main groups of characters in the work. The next is a problem-thematic way of studying. This path is designed for students who have a good command of the text. The unique path of study attracts children throughout the lesson with emphasized attention to the human studies content of literature.

Holistic study is the central stage and represents the interpenetration of all stages of studying a work of art - its direct perception, analytical comprehension and going beyond the work. To do this, it is especially important to set at the beginning of the study a central problem that is solved throughout the analysis and runs through all lessons.

Combination various forms student activities in the lesson such as conversation, messages, expressive reading, dramatization and many others, allows you to avoid monotony and increase interest, maintain the performance of the children.

Chapter 2. Methodology for studying the novel by M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

2.1. Two points of view on the methodology of teaching the novel

Recently, the problem of works that are mostly related to thematic issues has acquired particular significance. There is no doubt that this literature is now in the field of view of high school students and cannot be ignored by the teacher.

Much in the era of the 20s now appears to us differently and in the additional coverage of such works as the stories of Babel, “Doctor Zhivago” by Pasternak, “The Old Man” by Trifonov, etc., including M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” "

The analysis of these works should help students understand from the height of our current knowledge the path traversed by our country and literature. In these works the author poses very serious philosophical and social problems, so for many students to understand and
It will be very difficult to understand it, it all depends on the level of preparedness of the class. Therefore, the teacher must choose the most appropriate way to analyze the work.

So, in one class, when studying the novel “The Master and Margarita,” the main method of analysis can be a conversation, during which the teacher poses a problematic question, the answer to which can spark a discussion.

In another class, choose the method of a review lecture with a conversation accompanied by student reports.

Let's consider both ways of studying M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"

2.2. Conversation turning into discussion as the main form of teaching

So, when conducting a conversation, it is very important to ensure that the exchange of opinions about the novel by M.A. Bulgakov took place in the form of a discussion, which allows you to develop the skills of competent polemics and the ability to freely exchange thoughts.

At the first introductory lesson, you can prepare a journey “Through the pages of the writer’s books.” For the purpose of its organization, a council is created that determines the range of works by M.A. Bulgakov, which the class will become familiar with, the form of presenting the material is determined, and creative groups are created. Each of the groups studies the works recommended for reading and prepares its own message about them in accordance with the chosen form: either it will be a message from one student, supplemented by reading individual episodes in person, or literary dramatizations of excerpts from the works are prepared, and so on. Preparation of each creative group supervised by literature consultants from among the students. The lesson is preceded by a lecture from the teacher about the historical situation in Russia.

- What main storylines can you name?

At the end of the conversation, the teacher does not refute the opinions expressed, does not give preference to any of them, but notes the most interesting and meaningful speeches, invites you to think about the novel in order to compare initial impressions with what comes out as a result of the analysis at the last lesson. Then the teacher moves on to the problems artistic creativity that are covered in the book. It is necessary to immediately draw the attention of students to how sharply satirical M. Bulgakov depicted the literary and literary environment. The following questions are used for analysis:

Expressively read the comic dialogue between Koroviev and Behemoth about writers before the arson of the restaurant in Griboyedov’s house from Chapter 28.
- Why did M. Bulgakov put words of reproof into the mouth of evil spirits?

Summing up the results of the work, the teacher says that the morals prevailing in the writing community are subjected to especially sharp and merciless criticism in the novel. Paradoxical as it may seem, writers who are called upon to think about the highest things in life - about the purpose of man, about his place in the world around him, about the ways of development of society - Bulgakov is concerned with something completely different: they seek profitable business trips, high fees, expansion of living space, obtaining gardening -garden plots and so on. None of them ever thinks about literature, with the exception of Berlioz’s very first conversation with Ivan Bezdomny. Members of MASSOLIT are mediocre and unspiritual philistines and ordinary people who dream of benefits and material benefits and for the sake of them are ready to slander and denigrate anyone. This is what happened with the Master: critics Latunsky, Ahriman and others like them defamed his book even before it came out of print and brought the author to a psychiatric hospital, to the point of mental breakdown, when he destroyed his own brainchild with his own hands.

2.3. Conversation and lecture with student reports

The use of an educational lecture when studying a work in high school
classes have their own specifics. When studying a work, the teacher reveals the content of the most significant phenomena in the development of literature of a certain period, in the work of an individual writer, highlighting only the most important and characteristic moments. Lectures require the most active independent work of students and require joint creativity of the teacher and students.

According to some teachers, a school lecture is, on the one hand, a work of art, and on the other, a strict didactic form. The lecture involves students' participation in solving the problem and allows them to continue exploring it. This makes a system of active forms of learning necessary. Single, random lectures or seminars without a certain logic will not bring any benefit.

The experience of many teachers and methodologists suggests that the goal of such lessons cannot be limited to recreating the “background” against which the writer’s creative individuality will then appear. The saturation of the material, the multitude of ideas, events and the limited hours allocated for their assimilation give rise to the problem of selecting information, clearly systematizing it, as well as using techniques for mobilizing students’ existing knowledge, preparing reports, messages in advance, expressively reading works and fragments that included in lecture.12

Among the typical disadvantages when conducting lectures on review topics, the following should be highlighted: knowledge is acquired at the level of abstract concepts without relying on artistic text, on emotional impressions; reviews often lack a concept or a leading idea; cross-cutting lines, ideas, problems that can unite review and monographic topics into a holistic picture of the historical and literary process are not highlighted.

A specific feature of the literature program in classes is the presence individual works, studied in review. You can determine an approximate sequence in guiding students’ activities when studying the following topics:

1. Organization of preliminary reading of the work and preparation of the necessary messages by students, their expressive reading, etc. on the basis of group and individual tasks(before starting work on the topic).

2. Introductory (introductory) lecture by the teacher, defining the plan of work on the topic, organizing independent work of students with a work of art, a textbook, critical articles, outlining problematic issues and tasks. Determining the composition of the work, its problematic and thematic content.

3. Selection of individual scenes, chapters, sections for textual study.

4. Preparation of reports and messages from students, organization of a seminar, debate (on sample questions and tasks).

5. Conducting a final seminar based on the most important problematic issues. Summary lecture, literature recommendation for extracurricular reading.

The nature of the study determines the need for advanced preparation for the lecture and separate groups of student assistants who read the text in depth in advance and prepare fragments of it for reproduction.

One should not be afraid that the orientation lecture will, as it were, predetermine the students’ perception of a work that most of them have not read: “As experience shows, the perception of a work, the analysis of which precedes reading, has its own merits, especially when students are somewhat lagging behind in the level of abstract development. logical thinking. Analysis of a work before reading it contributes to a deeper perception of the work, since analysis in the lesson outlines the approach to it that students will naturally rely on during subsequent reading; during a review study, this path has a right to exist.

Review topics in the literature course and class are varied in content and in the principles on the basis of which they are highlighted. In this course, as is known, the role of retrospective connections increases, the implementation of which makes it possible to organize repetition and, to some extent, rethink familiar facts anew.

In review classes, the lecture is almost always combined with incidental analysis of specific episodes of works chosen by students at their own discretion.

Analysis of a work in the final year of high school takes on to a greater extent features of an aesthetic order. M.A. Bulgakov is an author already familiar to schoolchildren. At nine-year-old school they read and thought about the story “ dog's heart" Many in the theater and cinema watched “Days of the Turbins” and other plays by Bulgakov, the film adaptation of the satirical fantasy “Fatal Eggs”. However, studying the novel “The Master and Margarita” requires the integrity of the characteristics of the writer’s worldview and a generalized view of the development of Russian and world literature, the successor of whose traditions was Bulgakov, who boldly contrasted the pragmatism of the 20th century with millennia of Christian culture. The novel-myth for the writer was a way artistic opposition pagan barbarism and Christian humanism.

In this regard, we propose to construct a problematic analysis of “The Master and Margarita” as a comparison of Pushkin and Gogol traditions in the work of the writer of the 20th century, as a duel of skeptical irony and faith in man in the mind of the artist, who saw how easily society is liberated from the layers of culture and causal consciousness How, during periods of social upheaval, the animal nature in a person emerges. The central question posed by the teacher and which can cause a debate: does good or evil rule the world? This is a difficult question and without prior preparation and knowledge it will be difficult to answer. Therefore, the teacher's lectures are designed to help students.

The first lesson, “Satirist and Lyricist,” plays the role of setting up the study of the novel. Reviewing the life and creative path of Bulgakov, including student reports about the writer’s works already studied and read, the teacher concentrates the lesson around the problematic question: “Does irony or lyricism lead Bulgakov through life and sound more clearly in his work?”

During the conversation, the teacher invites students to reflect on their first impressions of the novel “The Master and Margarita.”

1. Which of the novel’s heroes do you think is the most beautiful and the most disgusting? Which of them do you sympathize with most?

2. Why did Bulgakov replace the original titles “The Black Magician”, “Woland’s Tour”, calling his work “The Master and Margarita”?

3. Whose portrait: the master, Margarita, Woland, Ivan Bezdomny, Pilate, Yeshua - is it easier for you to draw with words? Try this.

4. How do you imagine Margarita and Woland on the last flight (Chapter 82) or the master when he shouts to the sitting procurator: “Free! Free! He is waiting for you!"?

5. Did you read the Yershalaim or Moscow chapters of the novel with great excitement? How are these chapters connected by events, characters, thoughts and how do they differ from each other?

6. Why do the words “stone”, “stone” accompany the description of Yerushalayim and the people living in it? Explain the metaphors and comparisons in the sentences describing the conversation between the procurator and Yeshua: “The swallow’s wings snorted just above the hegemon’s head, the bird darted towards the bowl of the fountain and flew out into freedom. The procurator looked up at the prisoner and saw that near him a column of dust had caught fire... No one knows what happened to the procurator of Judea, but he allowed himself to raise his hand, as if shielding himself from a sunbeam, and behind this hand, as if behind a shield, send some suggestive glance to the prisoner.”

7. Who was convicted and for what, and who was saved and why in Bulgakov’s novel?

8. What works of Pushkin and Gogol did you remember while reading “The Master and Margarita”?

9. Is the meaning of Bulgakov’s novel close to Dante’s “Divine Comedy” or Goethe’s “Faust”?

10. What questions do you have when reading the novel?

The second lesson, “Between Faith and Doubt,” can begin with a conversation with a comparison of students’ reading impressions and the formation of a general problematic question for the novel, creating the prospect of studying it in class. This general question in different classes can appear in many versions: “Is good or evil endowed with omnipotence in Bulgakov’s novel?”, “Which of the novel’s heroes: Woland, Yeshua or the master is more approved by the author than others?”, “Is Woland omnipotent and why in in the Yershalaim chapters he only observes events, but in the Moscow chapters he carries them out?”, “What are the masks and true faces heroes of the novel?”, “What crimes do the heroes of the novel commit and which of them and why is forgiveness given?”, “Is the author of the novel closer to the Pushkin or Gogol tradition?”, “Faith in man and the miracle of life or irony and skepticism win in the novel?”

Each of these problems requires a comprehensive analysis of the work and raises other questions that create a continuous series of problematic situations. The resolution of one of them leads to the emergence of another and leads to an answer to the general problematic question for the novel.

Having chosen a promising question for analysis that most interested the class, the teacher characterizes Bulgakov’s attitude towards Pushkin and Gogol in order to deepen the problematic situation of the lesson on material familiar to students from a previous literature course.

The teacher's word includes approximately the following content:

M.A. Bulgakov, who survived the tragic turning points of life at the beginning of the 20th century, in his last, as he said, “sunset” novel, tried to comprehend the world as a whole and find the fundamental foundations of nature and man.

For such a global goal, it was necessary to compare historically different layers of life, a kind of projection of eternity into modernity. This artistic move was characteristic of European literature of the 20-30s (D. Joyce “Ulysses”; T. Mann “Doctor Faustus”). Bewilderment at the speed and cruelty of the century, its scope and insignificance always led the artist to turn to a historical perspective, and this characteristic property thinking based on culture. Therefore, Shakespeare needed “Antony and Cleopatra”, “Timon of Athens”, and Pushkin “Boris Godunov” and “The Bronze Horseman”.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" belongs to this deep layer of the most essential phenomena of literature that determine the position of man in the world. In an era when Once again in Russia “everything turned upside down” when
Europe becomes emboldened by fascism, when man is reduced by dictatorial regimes to a “trembling creature”, Bulgakov writes a novel that is included in the great debate about the nature of man.

In Russian literature, two opposing assessments of the capabilities of the individual have developed. Pushkin, knowing all the abysses of darkness that fills the human soul, following Dante and the Renaissance, considered goodness to be the basis of human nature. And therefore, for him, “genius and villainy are two incompatible things.” Gogol, poisoned by uncertainty in realizing his dreams and fear of the ugliness of life, largely showed to what “insignificance, pettiness, disgustingness a person could descend.” The Pushkin direction, represented by Herzen and Ostrovsky, Goncharov and Turgenev, Fet and L. Tolstoy, Garshin and Chekhov, was imbued with faith in man and goodness as the basis of life. The Gogolian movement, from Dostoevsky to Saltykov-Shchedrin, doubted the justification of this faith and, without losing the humanistic ideal, was angry and mourned the crushing of hopes. Of course, there was no Chinese wall between these directions. And in the works of Turgenev and L. Tolstoy we will find bitter pages and thoughts in the spirit of Dostoevsky, who himself did not escape the tenderness of daydreaming. However, a dominant attitude existed. Bulgakov, depicting a world in which all the previous foundations of life have been destroyed and human existence has become illogical, cannot help but follow the brilliant paradoxist Gogol. But Bulgakov retains the values of culture, and Pushkin’s belief in the significance of man, his good potential, his ability to reach the heights of tragedy, and not the madness of farce, permeates the novel “The Master and Margarita.”

Bringing together and separating the Yershalaim and Moscow chapters, Bulgakov confronts himself as the author and the reader with a cruel choice of two dimensions of life. Good and evil are crucified on the wings of one cross, and in this conjugation and confrontation of Pushkin and Gogol’s movements within one work lies the audacity and novelty of “The Master and Margarita.”

Let's introduce students to how the names of Pushkin and Gogol were perceived by Bulgakov and what they meant to him. For Bulgakov, satire is a form of expressing reality, pushing away from it.

During interrogation at the OPTU in 1926, Bulgakov justified the direction of his work in the following way: “I see many shortcomings in modern life: thanks to the mindset of my mind, I treat them satirically and depict them in my works... I am a satirist” (Mikhail Bulgakov. Diary. Letters. 1914 -1940 - M.: Modern writer, 1997- 151, 153)

“My teacher is Gogol,” Bulgakov stated more than once. Having read V. Veresaev’s book, in a letter to him dated August 2, 1933, in the midst of work on “The Romance of the Devil,” Bulgakov says; “...sat for two nights over your Gogol. God! What a figure! What a personality!” The commitment to Gogol was so great that in a moment of mental crisis, when Bulgakov, hounded by bans on printing and performing his works on stage, wrote a letter to Stalin in 1931, asking for permission to travel abroad, the satirist writer tried to repeat the model of behavior of his famous predecessor: “.. It always seemed to me that in my life I would have to make some kind of great self-sacrifice and that it was precisely to serve my fatherland that I would have to wander somewhere far from it. I only knew that I was not going at all
then, in order to enjoy foreign lands, but rather to endure it, as if I had a presentiment that I would only learn the value of Russia outside Russia and gain love for it far from it.” It is difficult to consider these words as a stylization of Gogol; here there is a sincere attempt to follow his path.

The real closeness of Bulgakov's writing and personal behavior to
Gogol is also noticeable in the burning of his works. Pushkin, however, also burned his diary and the tenth chapter of Onegin, having previously encrypted it. But Pushkin was forced to burn it because of possible accusations of unreliability and the desire to hide the names of his friends - the Decembrists - from a hostile gaze. Bulgakov and Gogol burned manuscripts because of dissatisfaction with themselves, because of the discrepancy between the plan and the implementation. However, here too, Bulgakov, in the end, follows Pushkin and restores, redoing, the text of the novel about the devil, carefully copying out “The Master and Margarita.” Repetition Latin proverb“Manuscripts don’t burn” was learned through suffering by the author of the novel.
A repetition of Gogol's behavior was impossible not only because historical circumstances had changed, but also because Bulgakov was in many ways not like Gogol. The satire that Bulgakov valued was not as pathetic and solemn as Gogol’s. In a letter to P.S. Popov dated October 23, 1939, Bulgakov speaks of the “Archive of Countess D.”: “... this is a magnificent satire on high society society. In general, Apukhtin is a subtle, soft, ironic prose writer...” Pushkin’s grace of irony captivates Bulgakov more than Gogol’s caustic sarcasm.
Taking on order Art Theater for staging " Dead souls", On May 7, 1932, Bulgakov writes to P.S. Popov: “Dead Souls” cannot be staged. Take this as an axiom from a person who knows the work well.” What made Bulgakov say this? Probably the lack of dynamism in Gogol’s prose and the lack of light, which so upset Pushkin when reading the first chapters of Gogol’s poem. And Bulgakov decisively invades Gogol’s plot, dramatizing it, bringing it into the vastness of history and culture: “My first plan: the action takes place in Rome (don’t make big eyes!). Since he sees her from the “beautiful distance” - and so we will see! This plan was rejected by the theater, and Bulgakov was in despair: “I feel incredibly sorry for my Rome!” In essence, here Bulgakov finds artistic opportunities to open up the space of life narrowed to the negative. And this is rather the Pushkin and Chekhov freedom of comparing the high possibilities of life and its pitiful or sad realities. In The Master and Margarita, this structure will find a place in the comparison of the Yershalaim and Moscow chapters.

In Pushkin, Bulgakov felt an artist and a person close to himself in his worldview and passions in art. The writer connected his fight with Soviet society with the name of Pushkin. And although Bulgakov is not a poet: “Since childhood I could not stand poetry (I’m not talking about Pushkin, Pushkin is not poetry!),” but a satirist, Pushkin’s trusting attitude towards life is an internal norm for him. Therefore, the alienation of people in modern life is unbearable for Bulgakov: “Since childhood, I have hated these words: “Who will believe?” Where it is "who will believe?" “I don’t live, I don’t exist” (letter to V.V. Veresaev dated July 22, 1931).

Bulgakov is closer to Pushkin's position of acceptance of life, rather than Gogol's repulsion from it. Having decided, together with Veresaev, to write a play about the last days of Pushkin, Bulgakov painfully and passionately argues with his co-author, following Pushkin’s style of a complex, rather than single-line image of a person: “...I consider your image of Dantes to be scenically impossible. He's so poor
trivial, emasculated, which cannot be staged in a serious play. The tragically deceased Pushkin cannot be given an operetta ballroom officer as a murderer... Dantes cannot exclaim “Oh, la-la!” It's about Pushkin's life in this play. If he is given frivolous partners, it will humiliate Pushkin.” For Bulgakov, everything around Pushkin occurs at the level of high tragedy, and not a vulgar farce. But Bulgakov is lucky with Gogol: “...over the past few years I have made 16 things, and all of them died, except one, and that was a dramatization of Gogol!” (letter to Veresaev dated October 5, 1937). The complications with the play about Pushkin are so great that Bulgakov is in despair when, due to the ban on playing the play, theaters demand a penalty from the author: “Among other things, on the second of April I will go to court - businessmen from the Kharkov theater are trying to extract money from me, playing on misfortune with "Pushkin". Now I can’t hear the word Pushkin without a shudder, and every hour I curse myself for having the unfortunate idea of writing a play about him” (letter to P.S. Popov dated March 24, 1937).

Nevertheless, Bulgakov’s attitude towards Pushkin always triumphed over all threatening circumstances. Retribution for love for Pushkin is inevitable in an environment that is hostile to the poet. In essence, Bulgakov, following Gogol, fixes the distance between the public and Pushkin, but in the writer of the 20th century there is not only bitter laughter at the vulgarity, which is fundamentally inaccessible to poetry, but indignation, mockery, pain for the misunderstood height of the tragedy.

In the same “Notes on Cuffs” Bulgakov talks about Pushkin
evening, crowned with a portrait of the poet: “Nozdryov looked at me from a golden frame. He was amazingly good. The eyes are impudent. Convex. And even one sideburn is thinner than the other.” Bulgakov protests, telling the artist: “Excuse me, you’re kidding me. After all, your Pushkin has the eyes of a robber!” The transformation of the poet into a Gogol hero outrages Bulgakov, so acutely is he aware of the confrontation between these elements. But nothing can be explained to the public, which is given over to evil: “... when Salieri poisoned Mozart in a dramatization, the theater expressed its pleasure at this with approving laughter and thunderous shouts.

Thus, although the names of Pushkin and Gogol always stood side by side for Bulgakov, the satirist helped to realize and show the ugly realities of modern life, the poet - its eternal values.

Then the class is divided into groups, each must find places in the text of the novel that are reminiscent of the works of Pushkin and Gogol. A comparison of reminiscences, situations, meanings and style of Bulgakov’s novel and the texts of the classics of the 19th century leads students to the idea that in the minds of the author of “The Master and Margarita” throughout the novel there is a struggle between Pushkin’s and Gogol’s views on life, its different dimensions: ironic and lyrical. The resolution of the question of which Bulgakov is leaning towards depends on the duel between good and evil in the novel. Naturally, the problematic question of the next lesson arises: “Does good or evil rule the world?”

In homework, students are asked to think about this issue, select episodes and quotes that argue the pros and cons of solving it.

Lesson 5. “Love is the path to eternity”

Understanding the path of the earthly, and not biblical heroes of the novel: the master, Margarita, Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, who became Homeless, the students are convinced that good, according to Bulgakov, is indestructible, just as life is incessant, that only true love to man, truth, art, despite all torment, can preserve goodness in human soul.

Having posed the question to the class: “Are the “good people” in Bulgakov’s novel destroyed or saved: the master, Margarita, Homeless?”, the teacher organizes a debate during which the results of the study of the complex work are summed up.

2.4. System of lessons based on the novel by M.A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”

The Russian literature program aims the teacher at a deep and comprehensive analysis of the famous book by M.A. Bulgakov, its correlation with the traditions of world literature, the disclosure of allegorical and symbolic content, the complexity of philosophical, moral and social issues. Based on the requirements of the program, we can offer the following lesson system.

Lesson 1. Biography of the writer. Analysis of the reader's perception of the novel "The Master and Margarita". The originality of the composition of the work.

Lesson 2. Bulgakov's Moscow. The satirical skill of the writer.

Lesson 3. The problem of artistic creativity in the novel. MASSOLIT. The writer's tragedy of the Master. The fate of Ivan Bezdomny.

Lesson 4. Faustian theme in the novel. Woland, the Master and Margarita. Faust and the Master. Woland and Mephistopheles.

Lesson 5. New Testament history in Bulgakov’s book. Yeshua HaNotsri and Pontius Pilate.

Lesson 6. Theme and idea of the novel. Teacher's summary lecture. Preparing for an essay.

Considering that in last years Numerous publications have appeared about M.A.’s novel. Bulgakov, in the article we place the main emphasis on organizing research and analytical work with the class; Teachers will select materials for generalizations independently from those available sources recommended by the author.

The first lesson should begin with an introductory word about the literary fate of Mikhail Bulgakov, emphasizing that most of his works reached the reader only in the 60s-80s, since until that time they were banned. Reports about the life and work of the writer can be prepared by students, for which they should use “The Biography of Mikhail Bulgakov” by M. Chudakova, an article by N.D. Boborykin or a book by L. Yanovskaya.

During the lesson, the filmstrip “Mikhail Bulgakov” is watched. You can also prepare a trip “Through the pages of the writer’s books.” For the purpose of its organization, a council is created that determines the range of works by M.A. Bulgakov, which the class will become familiar with, the form of presenting the material is determined, and creative groups are created.
Each of the groups studies the works recommended for reading and prepares its own message about them in accordance with the chosen form: either it will be a message from one student, supplemented by reading individual episodes in person, or literary dramatizations of excerpts from the works are prepared, and so on. The preparation of each creative group is supervised by literature consultants from among the students.

After the reports of each creative group, the teacher sums up the journey and notes the most interesting messages. Then a conversation is organized with students about the impact the book had on them. The following questions are used:

What impression did the novel “The Master and Margarita” leave on you? How did you understand it?

Which pages did you like?

When reading which episodes of the novel did you find it difficult not to laugh?

What episodes seemed dramatic and even tragic to you?

How do you assess the figure of the Master? Was the writer successful in portraying him?
- Which of the other characters in the novel do you remember?

Which heroes are there more in it - positive or negative? Why?

What makes it difficult to perceive the course of events in the novel?

What main storylines can you name? Make a plot plan for the work.

It is very important to ensure that an exchange of opinions about M.A.’s novel Bulgakov took place in the form of a discussion, which allows you to develop the skills of competent polemics and the ability to freely exchange thoughts. At the end of the conversation, the teacher does not refute the opinions expressed, does not give preference to any of them, but notes the most interesting and meaningful speeches, invites you to think about the novel in order to compare initial impressions with what comes out as a result of the analysis at the last lesson.

As homework for the second lesson, students reread
chapters 4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 27 and select from them episodes that characterize the life of Moscow in the 30s of the 20th century.

The second lesson begins with checking how much the material has been learned about
life and work of writing. Control questions:

Tell us about the writer’s childhood and youth. Why did M. Bulgakov decide to choose the profession of a doctor?

What was the attitude of the future writer to the February and October revolutions? How did he end up in the Volunteer Army?

Tell us about the beginning of M. Bulgakov’s literary activity.
- What was the fate of his dramatic works?

What forced M. Bulgakov to write a letter to the USSR Government? What was Stalin's reaction to this message?

When did the writer start working on the novel “The Master and Margarita”?
- What was the path of M. Bulgakov’s books to the general reader?
- What is the attitude towards the writer’s work these days?

Then the teacher says that the image of Moscow in M. Bulgakov’s novel
is one of the most important. Students analyze selected episodes at home using the following questions and tasks:

What characteristic episodes of Soviet life are present in M. Bulgakov’s novel?

What meaning does the writer put into the name “bad apartment”?

Who are called "Woland's henchmen"? What happens to Styopa Likhodeev and Nikanor Ivanovich, Varenukha and Rimsky? Why are none of them able to resist evil?

Pay attention to Chapter 12 “Black Magic and Its Exposure”.
- Read Woland’s words about Soviet people expressively. How did you understand his reasoning? How do Muscovites behave in the episodes with money and in the “fashionable ladies' store”? Why did Woland need to stage such a performance?

What are the latest adventures of Koroviev and Behemoth in Torgsin and the MASSOLIT restaurant? How did you understand Koroviev’s words about trade? Why did Behemoth and Koroviev destroy both the store and the restaurant?

We know the Petersburg of Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov and Dostoevsky, Griboedov's Moscow. What is characteristic of Mikhail Bulgakov's Moscow?

The lesson ends with a generalization of what has been learned, for which material is used about the adventures of Woland and his retinue in Moscow, presented in the article by A.K. Kiseleva.

At home, students must choose from chapters 5 and 28 a description of the morals of the contemporary literary environment of M. Bulgakov. They should pay special attention to Chapter 13, which sets out dramatic story Masters.

The third lesson should begin with comparison writer's fate Masters with the life of Mikhail Bulgakov himself. The source material can be the facts of the writer’s biography already known to students, discussed in the first lesson, and the content of the 13th chapter of the novel.

Then the teacher moves on to the problems of artistic creativity that are raised in the book. It is necessary to immediately draw the attention of students to how sharply satirical M. Bulgakov depicted the literary and literary environment. The following questions are used for analysis:

What are Woland and Berlioz arguing about in Chapter 1? What prompted you to address such a topic?

Why don't Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny understand Woland?
- What was the “seventh proof”?

What did Ivan Bezdomny encounter when he was pursuing Woland?

How does M. Bulgakov describe the house where MASSOLIT is located? Read this description aloud expressively.

What problems are MASSOLIT members working on?

How did Ivan Bezdomny behave in the restaurant? How did he later characterize Ryukhin? What thoughts awoke in Ryukhin under the influence of Bezdomny’s words?

Expressively read the comic dialogue between Koroviev and Behemoth about writers before the arson of the restaurant in Griboyedov’s house from Chapter 28. Why did M. Bulgakov put words of reproof into the mouth of evil spirits?

Tell the story of the Master. Why did he present it specifically to Ivan Bezdomny?

Who organized the persecution of the Master?

How did Margarita take revenge on his persecutors?

Who did the Master write his novel about? What dictated the choice of plot and characters?

What drove the hero crazy? How did he get to the clinic?

What conclusions did Ivan Bezdomny draw for himself after his meetings with Woland and the Master?

How do the stories of the Master and Ivan Bezdomny end in the novel?

This is what happened with the Master: critics Latunsky, Ahriman and others like them defamed his book even before it came out of print and brought the author to a psychiatric hospital, to the point of mental breakdown, when he destroyed his own brainchild with his own hands.

The master who wrote about the greatest event in the spiritual life of mankind - the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, turns out to be a stranger in the writing community. His contemporaries renounced God - They don’t need Him, just as they don’t need the Master’s novel, and that’s why they attack him so unanimously. Here we see a clear parallel to the own fate of Mikhail Bulgakov and the Master, because, as you know, out of almost two hundred articles and reviews about the writer’s works published during his lifetime, only two were positive.

And it is quite natural that the life of the House of Writers is concentrated not in discussion halls and literary studios, but in a restaurant in which Woland’s henchmen start a fire at the end of their Moscow adventures, depriving the artisans of literature of their most pleasant and convenient way of spending time.

The only one positive character, belonging to the writing community, is Ivan Bezdomny, who realized that high poetry was not for him, and therefore abandoned his pseudonym and became professor Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev. But the clash with the mighty mystical powers left an imprint on his entire subsequent life, and from time to time he is subject to attacks of unusual melancholy, tearing him out of the captivity of everyday life.

After summarizing what has been learned, the teacher suggests re-reading chapters 19-24 and 29-31 of M. Bulgakov’s novel and the first part of Goethe’s “Faust” for the next lesson, turning in the last Special attention to scenes 7, 25 in which the story of Faust and Margaret is told.

In the introductory part of the fourth lesson, it is worth pointing out the large amount of analytical work that needs to be done: students must compare the novel by M. Bulgakov with the greatest work of I.V. Goethe - the philosophical tragedy "Faust". First of all, it makes sense to address the similarities between the characters and the situations in which they find themselves in both works. The lesson can be conducted in the form of a seminar, during which each group of students receives a problem task.

What epigraph did the writer choose for his novel? Why exactly these words of Mephistopheles? What is the connection between Woland’s actions and the epigraph?

How do you evaluate Margarita's self-sacrifice? Why did she enter into a deal with Woland? Why does he say the words: “Never ask for anything”?

Compare the characters of the main heroines of “Faust” and “The Master and Margarita”. How is Bulgakov's Margarita different from the meek Gretchen Goethe?

Compare Faust and the Master. What did they both devote their lives to? Why did Faust make an agreement with Mephistopheles?

What episodes of “Faust” does the scene in the novel “Satan’s Ball” echo? What is its ideological and artistic load?

Compare the appearance of Woland in M. Bulgakov’s novel with the appearance of Mephistopheles before Faust in Goethe’s tragedy. How is Bulgakov's Woland different from his predecessor Mephistopheles? At what point in Faust's state of mind does Mephistopheles appear?

Why did no one, except the Master and Margarita, recognize Satan in Bulgakov’s novel?

Compare Woland’s words about man in chapters 1 and 12 of “The Master and Margarita” with the words of Mephistopheles from “Prologue in Heaven” of Goethe’s philosophical tragedy. What gives credibility to the reasoning of both characters?

The lesson-seminar ends with a summary of the work. Characterizing the role of Woland in Bulgakov's novel, it should be noted that he does not look like a traditional tempter, an enemy of the human race: he punishes sinners here on earth for the evil they have committed; Styopa Likhodeev, Varenukha, Rimsky and many other characters in the book become victims of the prince of darkness’s henchmen and himself. In this regard, we should once again return to the epigraph of the novel and clarify how the development of the action deepens and reveals its meaning.

Both Woland and Mephistopheles appear before the heroes at the same time - in an hour of severe mental crisis, when the entire previous life seems in vain: at such a moment Faust brings a cup of poison to his lips, and the Master burns his creation. However, Faust, being a true son of the Age of Enlightenment, selflessly seeks the truth and fights Mephistopheles, winning this fight. The master does not meet with Woland; instead, Margarita enters into an alliance with the dark forces.

The image of Margarita acquires independent meaning; it is not for nothing that her name is included in the title of the novel. It's strong and purposeful personality, going her own way. If the meek Gretchen Goethe flatly refused an alliance with Mephistopheles and saved her soul at the cost of her life, then Bulgakov’s heroine voluntarily enters into a deal with Woland and is proud of it. Transformed into a witch, she plays the role of Satan's prom queen. Believing him, she drinks the cup of drink and gives it to the Master to taste, after which both fall dead. Here is the same motive as in “Faust” - both Margarita and Gretchen are unwitting poisoners of their loved ones: “Poisoner!” - whisper the Master’s numb lips. The hero calls himself not a writer, but a Master, and Margarita calls him the same.

The word “master” in the novel is used in the sense of “creator” - this is precisely the capacity in which the author of the book about Pontius Pilate and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ acts. In the Master’s secluded basement, Margarita learned not only the happiness of great love, but also the joy of participation in creativity: completing the book he created became the meaning of her life.

But the Master with his own hands destroyed his creation, betrayed himself. By this act he summoned Woland, the prince of darkness. And he chooses Margarita as his instrument to master the soul of the creator. At the end of the novel, when the jester masks are thrown off, Woland and his gloomy retinue rush on horseback towards the approaching darkness, taking with them the souls of the Master and Margarita. The ending of the work is deeply pessimistic, it indicates that man has lost the fight to the forces of evil, and in this sense, the ending of “The Master and Margarita” is the complete opposite of “Faust,” which is imbued with faith in the strengths and capabilities of man.

Materials for a general description of Woland’s image can be taken from the article by M.A. Brodsky (3).

The fifth lesson opens with students' messages about the history of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, which they prepared on the basis of the texts of the Gospels. The teacher may suggest comparing the canonical gospel texts with the story of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, set out in the novel by M. Bulgakov. (For comparison, it is advisable to use chapter 27 of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 15 of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 23 of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19 of the Gospel of John.)

The discrepancy between the novel and the canonical gospel texts is discussed in the already mentioned article by M.A. Brodsky; the specified material can be used as a summary of the first part of the lesson. Then work begins on the chapters of Bulgakov’s novel with the help of the teacher’s questions.

Compare the “gospel” chapters of Bulgakov’s novel, telling the story of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, with the “Prologue in Heaven” from Goethe’s tragedy. God giving Faust into the hands of Mephistopheles, and God giving his son to be tortured - is there a parallel here?

What place does Yeshua occupy in the system of images of the novel? Why are chapters about him the ideological and philosophical center of Bulgakov’s novel?

How is the procurator of Judea depicted in chapter 2?

What feelings does he have for Yeshua?

What caused the procurator’s surprise in Yeshua’s story?

What does Yeshua argue with Pontius Pilate about? How do you understand Yeshua’s words that it is not the procurator who has power over his life?

At what point in the conversation did the procurator sense danger?
- Why did he approve the death sentence of the Small Sanhedrin?

Why do Kaifa and Pontius Pilate hate each other? What kind of relationship do they have?

How is the suffering of Matthew Levi described in chapter 16? How he wanted to help
Yeshua?

Why didn’t Pilate want to directly tell Afranius about his desire to take revenge on Judas?

Read Chapter 2.6 “Burial” carefully. What does Pontius Pilate regret? What dream does he have the night after his execution?

Why does the procurator want to show mercy to Matthew Levi? Why doesn't he accept it?

At what point does Matthew Levi soften?
- What is the final fate of Pontius Pilate?

Why in last chapter Do all the plot lines of the novel converge?

When characterizing the Christian-evangelical storyline of Bulgakov’s book, the teacher can use the articles of A. Korablev and
L.F. Kiseleva.

Getting ready for last lesson, students should think about the theme and idea of M.A.'s novel. Bulgakov and define them in your own words.

The sixth and last lesson is structured as a generalization lesson. It begins with a conversation about the content of the entire work.

How did you understand the ending of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel?

What is main idea works?

How does the novel resolve the issue of eternal human values?

How is the problem of the artist and power solved in the novel?

What is unique about the composition of the work?

What features of the writer's style can you list after reading the novel? - What are the features of the narrative in each storyline?

What vocabulary does the writer use when depicting Moscow in the 30s? How does the writer’s poetic syntax change when the narrative goes into the distant past, into New Testament times?

Compare your initial impressions of the novel with what you discovered about it after completing the analysis. How has your perception of Bulgakov’s book changed? What remains unclear?

After the conversation with the students, there follows a general lecture by the teacher, which talks about the originality of the novel’s composition, the skill of satirical generalizations, the richness of the theme and the depth of ideological content.

The main book of M.A. Bulgakov is complex plot construction, it intertwines the stories of Yeshua Ha-Notsri and Pontius Pilate, the Master and Margarita, Ivan Bezdomny, there are reminiscences from Goethe’s “Faust”, the adventures of Woland and his retinue in Moscow and their influence on the destinies of minor characters are described. All this not only creates a unique appearance of the work, but also makes it difficult to perceive.

Bulgakov's mastery of satire was fully demonstrated in the novel.
Many scenes in the book, in particular the antics of Koroviev, Behemoth and Azazello, cause laughter, especially in chapter 12, where the scenes in the “fashionable ladies' store” are described in a magnificent grotesque manner.
No one is able to resist Woland’s henchmen, because according to the dominant atheistic ideology, evil spirits simply do not exist. In addition, the vast majority of the characters in “The Master and Margarita” can, not without reason, be called “dead souls” - they are petrified in the limitations of once and for all established dogmas.

It should be noted that Bulgakov’s Woland is a curious figure, he is not devoid of nobility, acts as a defender of order, punishes the evil and unjust. This interpretation of the image of evil contains Bulgakov’s great insight; he depicted a special world in the novel - order without mercy, strength without kindness, cruelty without justice.
The writer reveals the deep, satanic nature of Stalin’s power, which is based on inhumane principles, and it took long and long years, before her true essence was revealed. Tragically alone in the novel is the figure of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, who embodies the good principles of life. He has a simple and solid strength, he rejects any compromises with power, although he understands perfectly well that this threatens him with death. His great example prompted the Master to create a novel, but human weakness prevented the hero from surviving his path to Golgotha to the end; he is broken. He longs for only one thing - peace, and peace is mercifully granted to him in the last pages of the novel.
The master is as lonely among people as Yeshua; only Margarita and Ivan Bezdomny were able to understand him. Thus, Bulgakov’s book is also a novel about the tragic loneliness of a master creator in this world.

At the end of the lesson, after the teacher’s general lecture, the following sample essay topics are suggested:

1. The tragedy of the Master and Margarita.

2. Bulgakov’s skill as a satirist in the novel “The Master and Margarita.”

3. How do I understand the universal human and philosophical meaning of Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”.

4. Faustian theme in the novel “The Master and Margarita”.

5. The dialectic of good and evil in the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.
So, we found out that when analyzing the novel “The Master and Margarita,” the most common type of lesson, combining the teacher’s word with the independent work of students, is a lecture with elements of conversation.

The teacher reports new material, directs the thoughts of students, motivates them to activity, and listeners solve specific problems, perform mental operations, and discover something new for themselves.

The teacher’s task is to ensure that questions addressed to students arise naturally, in the process of thought, the answers to them are necessarily included in the course of reasoning, and the children feel like participants in a joint search for the truth.

Important to consider psychological condition guys participating in such an activity: for those who answer the question, this particular question appears as the most important. Therefore, during a lecture, the teacher has to constantly remember the proportions, the true place of each question.

Listeners should have an understanding of the problem as a whole, in correct ratio main provisions and points that argue, develop, illustrate. Therefore, in such a lesson, other types of independent work are also necessary: drawing up a plan or theses, answering questions, etc.

Specific lesson objectives are associated with this. Participation in such a lesson requires the student to determine his own position, personal opinion, and identify abilities. The main goal of lessons on studying a novel is to develop the ability to work independently, to look for a solution to a problem, comprehensively revealing one’s personal qualities.
Of course, in other lessons we should strive for this, but still the conversation is
To a greater extent than, for example, a lecture, it creates favorable conditions for the realization of the capabilities of each student, for independent knowledge and creativity.

We can distinguish three types of student activities in the classroom when analyzing a novel:

1) detailed presentations by students on questions posed in advance and discussion of both the problems themselves and the presentations;

2) discussion of students’ abstracts or reports;

3) dispute.

The lesson requires serious preliminary work from the teacher (think through the form of participation of each student, prepare questions, conduct consultations, etc.

Conclusion

So, we found out that:

1. For the most reasonable and multifaceted impact on students, a flexible system of learning paths is needed, when the shortcomings of one are compensated by the advantages of the other. The combination of different ways of studying a work is also important from the point of view of the most expedient organization of students’ independent reading of large works, since this makes it possible to somewhat disperse the order in which students read works; this is largely determined precisely by studying.

2. When studying a work of large form, the most effective, from our point of view, system of lessons is one that is built on analysis of the work as the action develops, with a subsequent stage of work on images and generalizing themes. We methodically developed a way to analyze M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” in two ways. Both ways can be used in school learning, depending on the preparedness of the class.

Analysis of an epic work in school is a complex creative process, which is subject to many requirements coming from both literary criticism and pedagogical disciplines. This defines the dual nature school analysis, a complex combination of issues that are subjectively significant for students and objectively significant.

Revealing the main issues of the methodology for analyzing the novel, we subordinate them to the main, from our point of view, aspect - the task of forming in students the need to read or re-read the work, to understand its main problems, historical and universal significance. Only under this condition can literature influence the reader, educating and shaping the “man within the man.”

It is especially important to determine the correct pedagogical concept of analysis, the most effective educational approach to
work.

Literature

1) Abramovich G. L. Introduction to literary criticism. M., 1979

2) Boborykin N.D. Mikhail Bulgakov // Literature at school. 1991- No. 1. p. 52-65

3) Brodsky M.A. “The Master and Margarita” - the anti-Bible of the 20th century? // Russian literature. 1997- No. 6. p. 30-35

4) Questions of analysis of works of art. Ed. BUT.
Korsta. M, 1969.

5) Gukovsky G. A. Studying a literary work at school. M.-
L., 1966.

6) Study of the creativity of N.V. Gogol at school / ed. L.I. Timofeeva. -
M., 1954

7) The art of analyzing a work of art / Comp. T. G. Brazhe.
M, 1971.

8) Kiselev A.K. Roman M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" in the 11th
class // Literature at school. 1991. No. 1. p. 102-107.

9) Kiseleva L.F. Dialogue between good and evil in Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and
Margarita" // Philological Sciences. 1991- No. 6.

10) Korablev A. Secret action in “The Master and Margarita” // Questions
literature. 1991- No. 5- p. 34-35

12) Marantsman V. G., Chirkovskaya T. V. Problem-based study of a literary work at school. M., 1977

13) Methods of teaching literature / ed. O.Yu. Bogdanov. - M.:
ed. Academy Center, 1999

14) Methods of teaching literature: a textbook for pedagogical institutes /
R.F. Brandeev, T.V. Beast - M.: Education, 1985.

15) V. I. Sorokin, Analysis of a literary work in secondary school,
Uchpedgiz, 1955

16) Timofeev L.I. Fundamentals of the theory of literature. M., 1976.

17) L. V. Shchepilova, Introduction to literary criticism, Uchpedgiz, M., 1956.

18) Chudakova M. Biography of Mikhail Bulgakov // Moscow. 1987. No.
6-8; 1988. № 11-12.

19) Yanovskaya L. Creative path Mikhail Bulgakov. M., 1983.

When analyzing a work of art, one should distinguish between ideological content and artistic form.

A. Ideological content includes:

1) subject matter works - socio-historical characters chosen by the writer in their interaction;

2) issues- the most significant properties and aspects of the already reflected characters for the author, highlighted and strengthened by him in the artistic depiction;

3) pathos works - the ideological and emotional attitude of the writer to the depicted social characters (heroics, tragedy, drama, satire, humor, romance and sentimentality).

Pathos - highest form ideological and emotional assessment of the writer’s life, revealed in his work. Affirmation of the greatness of the feat of an individual hero or an entire team is an expression heroic pathos, and the actions of the hero or team are characterized by free initiative and are aimed at the implementation of high humanistic principles. The prerequisite for heroic fiction is the heroism of reality, the fight against the elements of nature, for national freedom and independence, for the free labor of people, the fight for peace.

When the author affirms the deeds and experiences of people who are characterized by a deep and irremovable contradiction between the desire for a sublime ideal and the fundamental impossibility of achieving it, then we have before us tragic pathos. The forms of the tragic are very diverse and historically changeable. Dramatic Pathos is distinguished by the absence of the fundamental nature of a person’s opposition to extrapersonal hostile circumstances. Tragic character always marked by exceptional moral height and significance. The differences in the characters of Katerina in “The Thunderstorm” and Larisa in Ostrovsky’s “Dowry” clearly demonstrate the difference in these types of pathos.

Great value in art XIX-XX acquired centuries romantic pathos, with the help of which the significance of the individual’s desire for an emotionally anticipated universal ideal is affirmed. Close to romantic sentimental pathos, although its range is limited to the family and everyday sphere of manifestation of the feelings of the heroes and the writer. All these types of pathos carry within them affirmative beginning and realize the sublime as the main and most general aesthetic category.

The general aesthetic category for the negation of negative tendencies is the category of the comic. Comic- this is a form of life that claims to be significant, but has historically outlived its positive content and therefore causes laughter. Comic contradictions as an objective source of laughter can be realized satirically or humorous. The angry denial of socially dangerous comic phenomena determines the civil nature of the pathos of satire. Mocking the comic contradictions in the moral and everyday sphere of human relations evokes a humorous attitude towards what is depicted. Ridicule can be either a denial or an affirmation of the depicted contradiction. Laughter in literature, as in life, is extremely diverse in its manifestations: smile, mockery, sarcasm, irony, sardonic grin, Homeric laughter.

B. Art form includes:

1) Details of subject visualization: portrait, actions of characters, their experiences and speech (monologues and dialogues), everyday environment, landscape, plot (sequence and interaction of external and internal actions of characters in time and space);

2) Composition details: order, method and motivation, narratives and descriptions of the depicted life, author's reasoning, digressions, inserted episodes, framing ( image composition- the relationship and arrangement of object details within a separate image);

3) Stylistic details: figurative and expressive details of the author's speech, intonation-syntactic and rhythmic-strophic features of poetic speech in general.

Scheme of analysis of a literary work.

1. History of creation.

2. Topic.

3. Issues.

4. The ideological orientation of the work and its emotional pathos.

5. Genre originality.

6. Basic artistic images in their system and internal connections.

7. Central characters.

8. The plot and structural features of the conflict.

9. Landscape, portrait, dialogues and monologues of characters, interior, setting.

11. Composition of the plot and individual images, as well as the general architectonics of the work.

12. The place of the work in the writer’s work.

13. The place of the work in the history of Russian and world literature.

A general plan for answering the question about the meaning of the writer’s creativity.

A. The place of the writer in the development of Russian literature.

B. The place of the writer in the development of European (world) literature.

1. The main problems of the era and the writer’s attitude towards them.

2. Traditions and innovation of the writer in the field:

b) topics, problems;

c) creative method and style;

e) speech style.

B. Evaluation of the writer’s work by classics of literature and criticism.

An approximate plan for characterizing an artistic image-character.

Introduction. The place of the character in the system of images of the work.

Main part. Characteristics of the character as a certain social type.

1. Social and financial situation.

2. Appearance.

3. The originality of worldview and worldview, the range of mental interests, inclinations and habits:

a) the nature of activities and main life aspirations;

b) influence on others (main area, types and types of influence).

4. Area of feelings:

a) type of attitude towards others;

b) features of internal experiences.

6. What personality traits of the hero are revealed in the work:

c) through the characteristics of other actors;

d) using background or biography;

e) through a chain of actions;

f) in speech characteristics;

g) through “neighborhood” with other characters;

h) through the environment.

Conclusion. What social problem led the author to create this image?

Plan for analyzing a lyric poem.

I. Date of writing.

II. Real biographical and factual commentary.

III. Genre originality.

IV. Ideological content:

1. Leading topic.

2. Main thought.

3. The emotional coloring of feelings expressed in a poem in their dynamics or statics.

4. External impression and internal reaction to it.

5. The predominance of public or personal intonations.

V. Structure of the poem:

1. Comparison and development of basic verbal images:

a) by similarity;

b) by contrast;

c) by contiguity;

d) by association;

d) by inference.

2. Basic visual arts allegories used by the author: metaphor, metonymy, comparison, allegory, symbol, hyperbole, litotes, irony (as a trope), sarcasm, periphrasis.

3. Speech features in terms of intonation and syntactic figures: epithet, repetition, antithesis, inversion, ellipse, parallelism, rhetorical question, address and exclamation.

4. Main rhythmic features:

a) tonic, syllabic, syllabic-tonic, dolnik, free verse;

b) iambic, trochaic, pyrrhic, spondean, dactyl, amphibrachic, anapest.

5. Rhyme (masculine, feminine, dactylic, accurate, inaccurate, rich; simple, compound) and methods of rhyming (paired, cross, ring), game of rhymes.

6. Stanza (couple, tercet, quintet, quatrain, sextine, seventh, octave, sonnet, Onegin stanza).

7. Euphony (euphony) and sound recording (alliteration, assonance), other types of sound instrumentation.

How to keep a short record of the books you read.

2. The exact title of the work. Dates of creation and appearance in print.

3. The time depicted in the work and the place where the main events take place. The social environment, the representatives of which are depicted by the author in the work (nobles, peasants, urban bourgeoisie, bourgeoisie, commoners, intelligentsia, workers).

4. Epoch. Characteristics of the time in which the work was written (from the side of the economic and socio-political interests and aspirations of contemporaries).

5. Brief content plan.

Analyzing a work of art is a very subjective thing. Articles by classic critics are works of art in themselves. Often the opinions of both literary critics and readers differ polarly. How can we find objective truth here? How to give an adequate assessment to the fragment under study?

Today we will discuss two questions:

what should be assessed and
how to evaluate it.

This is the essence of such an analysis.

The question of what exactly should be assessed can be given a completely objective answer. World experience converges in understanding what exactly characterizes a work, what structural elements can be identified, what is important and what is not so important. This means that it is possible to formulate techniques for analyzing a work of art that meet modern ideas about such analysis and propose a formalized scheme for analyzing a work of art.

The proposed analysis scheme includes seven steps, divided into two stages.

Step 1. Genre.

Step 2. Concept.

Step 3. Composition.

Step 4. Heroes.

Step 5. Language.

Step 6. I believe - I don’t believe.

Step 7. Hooked - not hooked.

So, everything in order.

Stage 1. Step 1. Genre

The correct definition of genre is a necessary start to the analysis of a literary work. In this post we will discuss, first of all, literature. Analysis of artistic works of other forms of art, such as paintings or symphonies, although common features With literary analysis, but has such pronounced specificity that it deservedly requires a separate discussion. We will focus on prosaic literary texts. We will talk, first of all, about stories and stories. To a large extent, what has been said applies to novels and plays. To a lesser extent - to poetry.

Genre affiliation must be taken into account when analyzing so that texts do not compete with other genres. Science fiction writers must compete with science fiction writers, and feuilletonists must compete with feuilletonists. They just different rules and criteria. Bandy is also hockey, but in ice hockey there are different sticks and forceful techniques are allowed. In the “instruction” genre, lyrical digressions are not very appropriate, but in the “essay” genre they are quite welcome.

Stage 1. Step 2. Concept

When analyzing a literary work, first of all, it is necessary to understand what topic it is devoted to and what its idea is.

Theme usually refers to the subject of the image : situations, relationships, actions of characters, etc. The idea reflects the goals and objectives that the author seeks to achieve while working on the text.

Other concepts at the conceptual level are problem and conflict.

A problem is a question that a writer poses to the reader. Authors rarely formulate such a question directly, but usually make it clear what they see as the answer.

It is important to distinguish the concept of “problem” from the concept of “topic”. The topic is the answer to the question “what did the author write about?” Let's say: about love. A problem is a question to which a work seeks an answer. For example: what can a loving person sacrifice?

The problem is the essence of the conflict in which the person is involved. main character. He may be opposed by another character, a group of characters, society as a whole, or some circumstances

It happens that the hero conflicts with himself, for example, with his conscience.

As a result of conflict resolution. The hero either dies, comes to terms with circumstances, or wins. I recommend reading the posts “” and ““ for more information about the conflict.

All these concepts are included in the conceptual outline of the analysis. In a good story they are clearly readable. If, after reading the text, you clearly understand what it is about, what the idea, problem and conflict are, then the author has a clear concept of what he wrote.

The genre adequacy of the concept is very important. A story on the theme “the horrors of the Holocaust” does not seem appropriate in the “parody” genre; a children’s fairy tale “about Santa Claus” is unlikely to fit in the “satire” genre.

Stage 1. Step 3. Composition

The next level of analysis is compositional. Here, first of all, you should analyze the plot. The following components of a plot are often distinguished: exposition, plot, development, climax, denouement.

Exposition in literary criticism is usually called that part of the text that precedes the beginning of the unfolding of events. The exhibition gives an initial description of the characters, describes the circumstances of the place and time, and shows the reasons that drive the plot conflict.

The plot is an event that is the beginning of an action; it triggers conflicts.

Remember in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet encounters a ghost? This is the beginning. The plot is one of the key points of the plot.

Development, in literary criticism, is often understood as the course of events, the spatio-temporal dynamics of what is depicted. The tension increases as the conflict develops until the climax occurs.

The climax in literary criticism is the event where the conflict reaches maximum tension and a decisive clash occurs between the parties to the conflict.

The denouement is the last part of the development of the conflict, where it comes to its logical conclusion. Here the hero wins, is defeated or dies. If he survived, then the denouement is sometimes followed by an epilogue. It tells about what happened outside the plot, as they say, “where the heart calmed down.”

We talked about the plot in more detail in the previous post - ““.

Composition analysis also includes so-called extra-plot elements. They don't move the action forward; the characters remain in the same position. There are three types of extra-plot elements: descriptions, author's digressions and inserted episodes. The presence of extra-plot elements should not disrupt the natural dynamics of plot development; only under this condition can they serve as an additional means of compositional expressiveness.

Stage 1. Step 4. Heroes

Sincerely,