Real readers, firstly, change from era to era and, secondly, are decidedly not equal to one another in each historical moment. Especially sharply different from each other are readers of a relatively narrow artistic educated layer, who are most involved in the intellectual and literary trends of their era, and representatives of wider circles of society) who are (not entirely accurately) called “mass readers.”

A kind of vanguard of the reading public (more precisely, its artistically educated part) consists of literary critics. Their activity is a very significant component (at the same time a factor) of the functioning of literature in its modern times. The vocation and task of criticism is to evaluate works of art (mostly newly created ones) and at the same time justify their judgments. “You read a poem, look at a painting, listen to a sonata,” wrote V.A. Zhukovsky, - you feel pleasure or displeasure - that’s the taste; you analyze the reason for one and the other - that’s criticism.”

Literary criticism plays the role of a creative mediator between writers and readers. She is able to stimulate and guide writing activity. V.G. Belinsky, as is known, had a considerable influence on writers who came to literature in the 1840s, in particular on F.M. Dostoevsky, N.A. Nekrasova, I.S. Turgenev. Criticism also influences the reading public, sometimes quite actively. The critic’s “beliefs, aesthetic taste,” his “personality as a whole,” “can be no less interesting than the writer’s work.”

Criticism of past centuries (up to the 18th) was predominantly normative. She persistently correlated the works under discussion with genre models. New criticism (19th-20th centuries) proceeds from the author’s rights to creativity according to the laws that he recognized over himself. She is interested primarily in the unique and individual appearance of the work, understands the originality of its form and content (and in this sense is interpretive). “May Aristotle forgive me,” wrote D. Diderot, anticipating the aesthetics of romanticism, “but the criticism that derives immutable laws on the basis of the most perfect works is incorrect; as if there weren’t countless ways to please!”

Evaluating and interpreting individual works, criticism at the same time examines the literary process of modern times (the genre of critical review of current literature in Russia has been strengthened since the Pushkin era), and also forms artistic and theoretical programs, directing literary development (articles of the late V.G. . Belinsky about the “natural school”, the works of Vyach. Ivanov and A. Bely about symbolism). The competence of literary critics also includes the consideration of works created long ago in the light of the problems of their (critics) modernity. Vivid evidence of this is the articles of V.G. Belinsky about Derzhavin, I.S. Turgenev “Hamlet and Don Quixote”, D.S. Merezhkovsky about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

Literary criticism has an ambiguous relationship with the science of literature. Based on the analysis of works, it turns out to be directly involved in scientific knowledge. But there is also criticism - essays, which does not pretend to be analytical and demonstrative, but is an experience of subjective, predominantly emotional mastery of works. Characterizing his article “The Tragedy of Hippolytus and Phaedra” (about Euripides) as an essayistic one, I. Annensky wrote: “I intend to talk not about what is subject to research and calculation, but about what I experienced, pondering the speeches of the heroes and trying to grasp behind them is the ideological and poetic essence of tragedy.” “Sentences of taste” undoubtedly have their legal rights in literary criticism even in cases where they do not receive logical justification.

End of work -

This topic belongs to the section:

Literary theory

If you need additional material on this topic, or you did not find what you were looking for, we recommend using the search in our database of works:

What will we do with the received material:

If this material was useful to you, you can save it to your page on social networks:

Tweet

All topics in this section:

Aesthetic: meaning of the term
The original (Old Greek) meaning of the word “aesthetic” is sensually perceived (by sight and hearing). For last centuries this word began to denote a special

Beautiful
The beautiful as a philosophical and aesthetic category was already established in Ancient Greece. It is unchanged - from Plato and Aristotle to Hegel and Vl. Solovyov - interfaced with the performance

Sublime. Dionysian
During antiquity and the Middle Ages, the sublime was perceived only as a property of style. The origins of this tradition are the treatise of pseudo-Longinus “On the Sublime” (1st century AD). In the second half of the 18th century

Aesthetic emotions
Until now, we have been talking about the aesthetic in its objective, objective, existential (ontological) aspect, which has attracted the attention of philosophers and scientists for many centuries. But starting from the rub

The place and role of the aesthetic in human life and society
Modern humanity has a very diverse and rich aesthetic experience. This experience has been formed over centuries and millennia. Aesthetic experiences appear to have emerged historically and

Aesthetic and aestheticism
The place of the aesthetic in the series of values ​​and, in particular, its relationship with the ethical (moral) has been and is understood in different ways. Thinkers of Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. often placed aesthetic values

Aesthetic and artistic
The relationship between artistic creativity and aesthetic creativity as such has been and is understood in different ways. In a number of cases, art, being understood as a cognitive activity, is a world-viewer.

Imitation theory
Historically, the first experience of consideration artistic creativity as knowledge came the theory of imitation (mimesis), which arose and strengthened in Ancient Greece. Initially, imitation was called

Symbolization theory
In the Hellenistic era (based on the theory of imitation and at the same time as its overcoming), a different concept of the cognitive principles of art emerged, and in the Middle Ages strengthened: artistic creativity

Typical and characteristic
In the 19th century a new concept of art as knowledge, based on the experience of realistic creativity, strengthened and prevailed. During this era, earlier theories were overcome and simultaneously synthesized.

Art theme
§ 1. MEANINGS OF THE TERM “THEME” The word “theme” (“theme”), widely used in modern European languages, comes from ancient Greek. theme is what is the basis

Eternal themes
Works of art invariably capture (by the will of the author or independently of it) the constants of being, its fundamental properties. These are, first of all, such universal and natural

Cultural and historical aspect of the topic
Along with the universals of universal, natural and human existence (and in inextricable connection with them), art and literature invariably capture cultural and historical reality

Art as self-knowledge of the author
Along with eternal (universal) and national-historical (local, but at the same time supra-individual) themes, art captures a uniquely individual, spiritual and biographical

Artistic theme as a whole
The described types of themes are associated with the authors’ appeal to extra-artistic reality, without which art is unimaginable. "The basis of poetry is<...>material extracted from inspiration

Meanings of the term "author". Historical destinies of authorship
The word “author” (from the Latin author - subject of action, founder, organizer, teacher and, in particular, creator of a work) has several meanings in the field of art criticism. This is, firstly, t

The ideological and semantic side of art
The author makes himself known primarily as the bearer of one or another idea of ​​reality. And this determines the fundamental importance in the composition of art of its ideological and semantic side - that which

Unintentional in art
Artistic subjectivity is far from being reduced to rational development, to the actual comprehension of reality. The author, according to A. Camus, “inevitably says more than he intended.” With extreme sharpness

An expression of the author's creative energy. Inspiration
Artistic subjectivity includes (in addition to the comprehension of life and spontaneous “intrusions” of mental symptoms) also the experience of authors’ own creative energy, which has long been called

Art and play
A game is an activity free from utilitarian-practical goals and, moreover, unproductive, without results, containing a goal in itself. It expresses an excess of strength and cheerfulness of spirit. For

Author's subjectivity in a work and the author as a real person
The facets of artistic subjectivity described above, which are very heterogeneous - especially in the art of the 19th and 20th centuries - constitute the image of the author as a whole person, as an individual. Speaking words

Author's death concept
In the 20th century There is also another point of view on authorship, opposite to the one outlined and justified above. According to her artistic activity isolated from spiritual-biographical experience

Types of author's emotionality
In the art of recent centuries (especially the 19th - 20th centuries), the author's emotionality is uniquely individual. But it also invariably contains certain naturally recurring principles.

Heroic
Heroics constitute the predominant emotional and semantic principle of the historically early high genres, primarily epics (traditional folk epics). Here they rise to the shield and wax poetic about the post

Grateful acceptance of the world and heartfelt contrition
This circle of mentalities largely determined the emotional tonality of high genres of art, which became entrenched in the mainstream of the Christian tradition. The atmosphere of reverent contemplation of the world in its depths

Idyllic, sentimental, romantic
Along with heroism, the origins of which are in the epic of antiquity, and emotionality, dating back to the Christian Middle Ages, art contains such forms of life affirmation as the idyllic, and in the New

Tragic
This is one of the forms (perhaps the most important) of emotional comprehension and artistic mastery of life’s contradictions. As a state of mind, it is sorrow and compassion. At the heart of the tragic -

Laughter. comic, irony
The importance of laughter and everything connected with it for art and literature cannot be overestimated. Laughter as a facet of human consciousness and behavior, firstly, is an expression of cheerfulness, spiritual weight

Art in the light of axiology. Catharsis
Axiology is the doctrine of values ​​(from the ancient Greek axios - valuable). The term “value” became established in the humanities thanks to the treatise by F.G. Lotze (1870). In Russian philosophy, axiology

Artistry
The word “artistry” denotes, firstly, the inclusion of a work in the sphere of art or, at least, involvement in it, and secondly, a bright, consistent and wide disclosure in the work

Art in relation to other forms of culture
The place, role, and significance of art in different socio-historical situations were understood differently. The view has repeatedly spread that art is a dependent phenomenon.

Dispute about art and its vocation in the 20th century. Art crisis concept
The 20th century was marked by unprecedented radical shifts in the field of artistic creativity, which are associated primarily with the formation and consolidation of modernist trends and directions, in particular

Division of art into types. Fine and Expressive Arts
The distinction between types of art is carried out on the basis of elementary, external, formal characteristics of works. Aristotle also noted that types of art differ in their means

Artistic image. Image and sign
Turning to the ways (means) by which literature and other forms of art with visual representation carry out their mission, philosophers and scientists have long used

Artistic fiction. Conventionality and life-likeness
Fiction in the early stages of the development of art, as a rule, was not realized: the archaic consciousness did not distinguish between historical and artistic truth. But really

The immateriality of images in literature. Verbal plasticity
The specificity of the figurative (objective) principle in literature is largely predetermined by the fact that the word is a conventional (conventional) sign, that it does not resemble the object it refers to.

Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics (from the ancient Greek verb “I explain”) is the art and theory of interpretation of texts (in the original meaning of the word, dating back to antiquity and the Middle Ages), the doctrine

Understanding. Interpretation. Meaning
Understanding (German: Verstehen) is the central concept of hermeneutics. G.G. Gadamer: “Wherever ignorance and unfamiliarity are eliminated, the hermeneutic process of self-realization takes place.”

Dialogicity as a concept of hermeneutics
An original discussion of the problems of hermeneutics, which greatly influenced modern humanitarian thought (not only domestic), was undertaken by M.M. Bakhtin, who developed the concept of dialogicity

Unconventional hermeneutics
IN Lately Abroad (most of all in France), a different, broader idea of ​​hermeneutics has become widespread. Nowadays this term denotes the doctrine of any

The presence of the reader in the work. Receptive aesthetics
The reader can be present in the work directly, being concretized and localized in its text. Authors sometimes think about their readers and also have conversations with them

Real reader. Historical and functional study of literature
Along with the potential, imaginary reader (addressee), who is indirectly and sometimes directly present in the work, reading experience as such is interesting and important for literary studies.

Mass reader
The range of reading and, most importantly, the perception of what people read from different social strata are very different. So, in the Russian peasant, and partly urban, worker and craft environment of the 19th century. tse

Literary hierarchies and reputations
Literary works fulfill their artistic purpose in different ways, to a greater or lesser extent, or even evade it altogether. In this regard, it is essential that

Fiction
The word “fiction” (from the French belles lettres - elegant literature) is used in different meanings: in in a broad sense- fiction (this word is used today

Fluctuations in literary reputations. Unknown and forgotten authors and works
The reputations of writers and their works are marked by greater or lesser stability. It is impossible to imagine, for example, that the opinion of Dante or Pushkin as stars of the first magnitude would be

Elite and anti-elite concepts of art and literature
The functioning of literature (especially over the past centuries), as is clear from what has been said, is marked by a sharp disproportion between what is created and accumulated, carried out.

Poetics: meanings of the term
In centuries distant from us (from Aristotle and Horace to the classicist theorist Boileau), the term “poetics” denoted the teachings of verbal art in general. This word was synonymous with

Work. Cycle. Fragment
The meaning of the term " literary work", central to the science of literature, seems self-evident. However, it is not easy to give it a clear definition.

Russian dictionaries
Meaning of the term

The world of a literary work is the objectivity recreated in it through speech and with the participation of fiction. It includes not only material data, but also the psyche, consciousness
The character and his value orientation

In literary works, images of people, and in some cases, their likenesses: humanized animals, races, are invariably present and, as a rule, fall into the spotlight of readers' attention.
Character and writer (hero and author) The author invariably expresses (of course, in language artistic images , and not direct conclusions) your attitude to the position, attitudes, value orientation

your character (hero)
Portrait

A portrait of a character is a description of his appearance: physical, natural and, in particular, age properties (facial features and figures, hair color), as well as everything in a person’s appearance that
Nature. scenery

The forms of nature's presence in literature are varied. These are mythological embodiments of her powers, and poetic personifications, and emotionally charged judgments (whether individual words
Time and space

Fiction is specific in its exploration of space and time. Along with music, pantomime, dance, stage direction, it belongs to the arts, the images of which
The plot and its functions

The word “plot” (from the French sujet) denotes a chain of events recreated in a literary work, i.e. the life of the characters in its spatio-temporal changes, in the successive
Plot and conflict

It is legitimate to distinguish two kinds (types) of plot conflicts: firstly, local and transitory contradictions, and secondly, stable conflict states (positions).
This side of literary works is considered by both linguists and literary scholars. Linguists are interested in literary speech primarily as one of the forms of using language

Artistic speech in its connections with other forms of speech activity
The speech of literary works, like a sponge, intensively absorbs a variety of forms of speech activity, both oral and written. For many centuries on pi

Composition of artistic speech
Artistic speech means are heterogeneous and multifaceted. They constitute a system, which was emphasized in the writings written with the participation of P.O. Jacobson and J. Mukarzhovsky “Theses on

Specifics of artistic speech
The question of the properties of artistic speech was intensively discussed in the 1920s. It was noted that in verbal art the aesthetic function of speech dominates (P.O. Yakobson), which from everyday life

Poetry and prose
Artistic speech realizes itself in two forms: poetic (poetry) and non-poetic (prose).

Initially, the poetic form decisively prevailed
Text as a concept of philology

Initially (and most deeply) this term was strengthened in linguistics. For a linguist, a text is an act of using natural language that has a certain set of properties. To him
Text as a concept of semiotics and cultural studies

In recent decades, the term “text” has become widely used outside the framework of philology (linguistics and literary criticism). Texts) considered as a semiotic and defined phenomenon
Text in postmodern concepts

Over the course of the last quarter of a century, a concept of the text has also emerged and strengthened, which decisively rejects the usual ideas about it that we have outlined. It can be called
Heterogeneity and foreign words

The text of a literary work is generated by the creative will of the writer: it is created and completed by it. At the same time, individual links of speech tissue can be in very
Stylization. parody. tale

Stylization is the intentional and explicit orientation of the author towards a style previously existing in literary literature, its imitation, reproduction of its features and properties. So, in the era of
Reminiscence

This term refers to the “references” to previous literary facts present in literary texts; individual works or their groups, reminders about them. Reminis
Intertextuality

Russian dictionaries
The composition of a literary work, which constitutes the crown of its form, is the mutual correlation and arrangement of units of the depicted and artistic speech means,

Repeats and Variations
Without repetitions and their similarities (“half-repetitions,” variations, complementary and clarifying reminders of what has already been said), verbal art is unimaginable. This group of compositional techniques serves

Detailed image and summative symbols. Defaults
Artistically recreated objectivity can be presented in detail, in detail, in detail, or, on the contrary, it can be designated summarily, in summary. Here it is right to use

Co- and oppositions
In the construction of works, comparisons of subject-speech units play almost the decisive role. L.N. Tolstoy said that “the essence of art” lies “in<...>endlessly

Temporal organization of text
One of the most important facets of the composition of a literary work is the sequence of introduction of units of speech and reconstructed objectivity into the text. "In a true artistic

Content of the composition
Compositional techniques, as can be seen from the above, are associated with all levels of objectivity and speech. The construction of a literary work is a multifaceted phenomenon, having various aspects.

Principles for considering a literary work
Among the tasks performed by literary criticism, the study of individual works occupies a very important place. This is self-evident. Attitudes and prospects for mastering verbal and artistic

Description and analysis
The essence of the work cannot be comprehended in any concrete and convincing way by extracting from it individual judgments of the narrator, character, lyrical hero, put

Literary interpretations
Unlike ordinary readers, as well as essayistic and artistic-creative comprehension of a literary work (in which emotions and intuitions may well predominate, diet

Contextual learning
The term “context” (from the Latin contextus – close connection, connection) is firmly entrenched in modern philology. For a literary scholar, this is an endlessly wide area of ​​connections between literatures.

Division of literature into genera
It has long been customary to unite literary and artistic works into three large groups called literary genera. It is epic, drama and lyric. Although not everything created by writers (especially

Origin of literary families
Epic, lyricism and drama were formed at the earliest stages of the existence of society, in primitive syncretic creativity. He devoted the first of three chapters of his “Isto” to the origin of literary families.

Intergeneric and extrageneric forms
The types of literature are not separated from each other by an impenetrable wall. Along with works that unconditionally and completely belong to one of the literary genres, there are also those

The concept of “meaningful form” as applied to genres
Consideration of genres is unimaginable without reference to the organization, structure, and form of literary works. Theorists of the formal school persistently spoke about this. So, B.V. Tomashevs

Novel: genre essence
The novel, recognized as the leading genre of literature of the last two or three centuries, attracts the close attention of literary scholars and critics. It also becomes the subject of section

Genre structures and canons
Literary genres(in addition to substantive, essential qualities) have structural, formal properties that have different degrees of certainty. At earlier stages (before the era of

Genre systems. Canonization of genres
In each historical period, genres relate to each other differently. They, according to D.S. Likhachev, “enter into interaction, support each other’s existence and at the same time

Genre confrontations and traditions
In eras close to us, marked by increased dynamism and diversity of artistic life, genres are inevitably drawn into the struggle of literary groups, schools, and movements. When e

Literary genres in relation to extra-artistic reality
Genres of literature are connected with extra-artistic reality by very close and diverse ties. The genre essence of works is generated by globally significant cultural and historical phenomena

Meanings of the term
The word genesis (from the ancient Greek genesis) means the origin, emergence, process of formation and initial formation of an object (phenomenon), capable

On the history of studying the genesis of literary creativity
Each of the literary schools focused on one group of factors in literary creativity. In this regard, let us turn to the cultural-historical school (second

Cultural tradition in its significance for literature
As part of a context that stimulates literary creativity, a responsible role belongs to the intermediate link between anthropological universals (archetypes and mythopoetics, to

Dynamics and stability in the composition of world literature
The fact that literary creativity is subject to change as history moves forward is self-evident. What attracts less attention is that literary evolution takes place at some point

Stages of literary development
The idea of ​​the presence of moments of commonality (repetition) in the development of literature is rooted in literary criticism and no one disputes it. different countries and peoples, about its one “actor

Literary communities (art systems) 19th – 20th centuries
In the 19th century (especially in its first third) the development of literature went under the sign of romanticism, which opposed classicist and enlightenment rationalism. Originally Roma

Regional and national specificity of literature
The deep, essential differences between the cultures (and, in particular, literatures) of the countries of the West and the East, these two great regions, are self-evident. Original and distinctive features about

International literary connections
The symphonic unity that was discussed is ensured by world literature, first of all, by a single fund of continuity (for the topic, see pp. 356–357), as well as by the commonality of stages of development

Basic concepts and terms of the theory of literary process
In the comparative historical study of literature, terminological issues turn out to be very serious and difficult to resolve. Traditionally identified international literary communities

Literary criticism is biased intuitive-intellectual reading of verbal and artistic texts, permeated with interests, worries, temptations, doubts that connect verbal art with the multicolored reality of life. Literary critical statements are addressed to a wide range of social and moral issues, to “the living needs of the social organism” (Grigoriev A. Literary criticism). According to R. Barth, literary criticism “occupies an intermediate position between science and reading” (Barth R. Selected Articles). A literary critic, capable of expressing an individual understanding of the artistic revelations contained in the text, is a conscious or involuntary intermediary on the path of a literary work from the author to the reader. In one person he often represents both the writing workshop and the reading world. “The function of criticism,” wrote F. Brunetier in 1891, “is to influence public opinion, the authors themselves and the general direction development of literature and art" (Brunetiere F. Literary criticism. Foreign aesthetics and theory of literature of the 1920s). Literary critical work is almost invariably accompanied by a polemical mood, a polemical dialogue with the author, with intended readers, with fellow opponents. A literary critic is one of the first, not yet having any traditions of interpreting a newborn text, to determine its value parameters. A critic can also turn to texts that are ancient in origin, but continue to powerfully influence the mindset of the reading public. I. A. Goncharov’s critical sketch “A Million Torments” (1872), which responded to the production of “Woe from Wit” (1822-24) on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and contained a detailed analysis of A. S. Griboedov’s comedy itself, is separated from the time of birth comedy for several decades. With such a time distance from to a greater extent probability, the journalistic pathos of a critical speech makes itself felt, returning to the literary events of yesterday to clarify their topical sound. Literary critical texts comprehend and shape the literary process. Relying on the rich historical experience Western European and Russian literature, V.G. Belinsky concluded: “Art and literature go hand in hand with criticism and have a mutual effect on each other” (“Speech on Criticism,” 1842). In modern philology, literary criticism is distinguished between professional, literary and readerly. Professional criticism includes literary critical activity, which has become the dominant occupation for the author. Professional criticism is a phenomenon bordering between artistic literature and literary criticism. “A critic, while remaining a scientist, is a poet” (Bely A. Poetry of the Word Semiotics). A professional critic is characterized by a depth of literary and general cultural memory, a strictly aesthetic approach to the phenomenon of verbal literary text, ways of reacting to the ethical, social and moral dictates of our time, to reader demand.

Literary criticism in Russia

In Russia, the formation of literary criticism, its understanding of its subject and its tasks takes place in the 18th century. The literary text, however, is not yet recognized as an aesthetic phenomenon, and its Critical Assessment is built primarily on a rationalistic basis; The critic's thought is closed and focused on a narrow circle of writers and lovers of the elegant. At the beginning of the 19th century, a sharp confrontation between rationalistic and aesthetic approaches to the work was indicated. Criticism is gradually becoming professionalized and acquiring a magazine character. Since the mid-19th century, the opposition between real, aesthetic and organic criticism has been indicated. Immersion in aesthetic analysis contrasts the utilitarian approach to literature; a work of art becomes a convenient pretext for concentrated reflection on the problems of “real life.” Literary criticism of the radical trend invades near-literary issues related to the “topic of the day” and enters into fierce debates with points of view that are unacceptable to it on the most important social issues. “Olympic calm,” asserts D.I. Pisarev, “may be very appropriate in a scientific meeting, but it is no good on the pages of a magazine serving a young, not yet fermented society” (Pisarev D.I. Works: In 4 volumes) . In the last third of the 19th century, abandoning aesthetic criteria, criticism increasingly subordinated its assessments to certain sociological concepts. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the active work of critics, whose creative path began back in the 1860-70s under the influence of the ideas of real criticism (N.K. Mikhailovsky, A.M. Skabichevsky, L.E. Obolensky, etc.). A criticism is formed, focused mainly on the phenomenon of the text and at the same time addressed to a larger philosophical, religious, aesthetic context. Literary-critical platforms of modernist movements are emerging, distinguished by a wide genre and thematic range and stylistically refined diversity. The signs of mass magazine and newspaper (“feuilleton”) criticism are finally determined. The original literary critical concepts of V.S. Solovyov, I.F. Annensky, and V.V. Rozanov clearly reveal themselves as standing apart.

IN Soviet time the traditions of aesthetic criticism are being destroyed, the functions of which are partly taken over by literary criticism. New ways of communication between authors and readers are developed on the basis of normatively interpreted ideas about the “testaments” of the revolutionary-democratic criticism of the “sixties”. Rapp's postulates about the utilitarian role of literature take over. Literary criticism of the 1920s is characterized by a clear movement from analytical pluralism to pseudo-monologism and fusion with official structures. 1930-50s - a period of consolidation, forced doctrinaire “unanimity” and cruel control over the art of speech by official party literary criticism 1960s - a “thaw” in social and literary life, marked by the destruction of blinkered monologue consciousness, the strengthening of the subjective principle in criticism , a return to lost forms and methods of communication with the reader (the revival of magazine literary criticism, relatively independent from the authorities, and polemical discussions). The 1970s were marked by the turn of criticism to the classical verbal and artistic experience, to the moral potential Russian classics. Recent decades The 20th century is marked by a noticeable strengthening of self-valued, aesthetic, anti-utilitarian tendencies in literary criticism.

In Western European professional literary criticism of the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was an increased interest in the biographical method (“Literary-critical portraits”, 1836-39, S.O. Sainte-Beuve; “Literary walks”, 1904-27, R. de Gourmont and etc.), to positivist approaches to the assessment of belles-lettres, going back to the Frenchman I. Taine, the Italian F. De Sanctis, the Dane G. Brandes. In literary criticism of the 20th century in the West, the intuitionist ideas of A. Bergson and B. Croce, the psychoanalytic doctrine of S. Freud, the existentialism of J. P. Sartre, and the semiology of R. Barthes enjoy special credit.

Writer's criticism implies literary-critical and critical-journalistic speeches of writers, the main body of whose creative heritage is literary texts (in Russia - literary-critical articles, letters of V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, F. M. Dostoevsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, D. S. Merezhkovsky, Rozanov, A. A. Blok, M. Gorky, A. P. Platonov, A. T. Tvardovsky, A. I. Solzhenitsyn and others .). In the creative practice of some authors, a relative balance develops between poetic and literary-critical creativity itself (A.S. Khomyakov, I.S. Aksakov, Annensky). Writer's criticism is interesting for its clearly manifested unconventionality, the suddenness of associative series, the involuntary or completely conscious desire to understand the “alien” in the all-consuming light of one’s own poetic practice, in the scale of one’s innermost aesthetic quests.

Reader criticism is a variety of reactions to artistic literature, belonging to people who are not professionally associated with the literary field. Reader criticism is often marked by spontaneity and imbued with the spirit of confession.

The phrase literary criticism comes from Greek kritike, which means the art of disassembling.

Literary criticism arose simultaneously with literature itself, since the processes of creating a work of art and its professional evaluation are closely interrelated. For centuries, literary critics belonged to the cultural elite, as they were required to have exceptional education, serious analytical skills, and impressive experience.

Despite the fact that literary criticism appeared in antiquity, it only took shape as an independent profession in the 15th and 16th centuries. Then the critic was considered an impartial “judge” who had to consider the literary value of the work, its compliance with genre canons, and the author’s verbal and dramatic skill. However, gradually literary criticism began to reach a new level, since literary criticism itself developed at a rapid pace and was closely intertwined with other sciences of the humanities cycle.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, literary critics were, without exaggeration, “arbiters of destinies,” since the career of a particular writer often depended on their opinions. If today public opinion is formed in slightly different ways, then in those days it was criticism that had a primary influence on the cultural environment.

The tasks of a literary critic

It was possible to become a literary critic only by understanding literature as deeply as possible. Nowadays, a review of a work of art can be written by a journalist, or even by an author who is generally far from philology. However, during the heyday of literary criticism, this function could only be performed by a literary scholar who was no less well versed in philosophy, political science, sociology, and history. The critic's minimum tasks were as follows:

1. Interpretation and literary analysis of a work of art;
2. Evaluation of the author from a social, political and historical point of view;
3. Revealing the deep meaning of the book, determining its place in world literature through comparison with other works.

A professional critic invariably influences society by broadcasting his own beliefs. That is why professional reviews are often characterized by irony and harsh presentation of material.

The most famous literary critics

In the West, the strongest literary critics were initially philosophers, among them G. Lessing, D. Diderot, G. Heine. Often, venerable contemporary writers, for example V. Hugo and E. Zola, also gave reviews to new and popular authors.

In North America, literary criticism as a distinct cultural sphere- By historical reasons- developed much later, so its heyday was already at the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, the key persons were considered V.V. Brooks and W.L. Parrington: it was they who had the greatest influence on the development of American literature.

The golden age of Russian literature was famous for its strongest critics, the most influential of which:

• DI. Pisarev,
• N.G. Chernyshevsky,
• ON THE. Dobrolyubov
• A.V. Druzhinin,
• V.G. Belinsky.

Their works are still included in school and university curricula, along with the masterpieces of literature themselves, to which these reviews were devoted.

For example, Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky, who was unable to finish either the gymnasium or the university, became one of the most influential figures in literary criticism of the 19th century. He has written hundreds of reviews and dozens of monographs on the works of the most famous Russian authors from Pushkin and Lermontov to Derzhavin and Maykov. In his works, Belinsky not only considered the artistic value of the work, but also determined its place in the socio-cultural paradigm of that era. The position of the legendary critic was sometimes very harsh, destroying stereotypes, but his authority is still at a high level to this day.

Development of literary criticism in Russia

Perhaps the most interesting situation with literary criticism developed in Russia after 1917. Never before has any industry been politicized as in this era, and literature was no exception. Writers and critics have become instruments of power, exerting a powerful influence on society. We can say that criticism no longer served high goals, but only solved the problems of power:

• strict screening of authors who did not fit into the country’s political paradigm;
• the formation of a “perverted” perception of literature;
• promotion of a galaxy of authors who created “correct” examples of Soviet literature;
• maintaining the patriotism of the people.

Alas, from a cultural point of view, this was a “black” period in national literature, since any dissent was harshly persecuted, and truly talented authors did not have a chance to create. That is why it is not at all surprising that government officials, including D.I., acted as literary critics. Bukharin, L.N. Trotsky, V.I. Lenin. Politicians had their own opinions about the most famous works literature. Their critical articles were published in huge editions and were considered not only the primary source, but also the final authority in literary criticism.

For several decades Soviet history The profession of literary critic has become almost meaningless, and there are very few of its representatives left due to mass repressions and executions.

In such “painful” conditions, it was inevitable that opposition-minded writers would appear, who at the same time acted as critics. Of course, their work was classified as prohibited, so many authors (E. Zamyatin, M. Bulgakov) were forced to work in immigration. However, it is their works that reflect the real picture in the literature of that time.

A new era in literary criticism began during the Khrushchev “thaw”. The gradual debunking of the cult of personality and a relative return to freedom of expression of thought revived Russian literature.

Of course, restrictions and politicization of literature have not gone away, however, articles by A. Kron, I. Ehrenburg, V. Kaverin and many others began to appear in philological periodicals, who were not afraid to express their opinions and turned the minds of readers upside down.

A real surge in literary criticism occurred only in the early nineties. Enormous upheavals for the people were accompanied by an impressive pool of “free” authors who could finally be read without threat to life. The works of V. Astafiev, V. Vysotsky, A. Solzhenitsyn, Ch. Aitmatov and dozens of other talented wordsmiths were vigorously discussed both in professional circles and by ordinary readers. One-sided criticism was replaced by controversy, when everyone could express their opinion about the book.

These days, literary criticism is a highly specialized field. Professional assessment literature is in demand only in scientific circles, and is truly interesting to a small circle of literature connoisseurs. Public opinion about a particular writer is formed by a whole range of marketing and social tools that have nothing to do with professional criticism. And this state of affairs is only one of the integral attributes of our time.

Literary critic - who is he?

Already written more information, but still not enough for an objective determination. Although some steps have already been taken. All that remains is to deal with the figure of the literary and artistic critic himself. What should this person be like? How to define a professional critic, and how not to confuse him with an ordinary journalist who scolds something artistic from time to time? To be a true critic, several conditions are required. Firstly, literary education is necessary, and secondly, the subject of analysis of a professional critic should be a literary text, and not personal relationships with those who create these texts. In a word, the work of a literary critic is pure literature without any political or ideological impurities. There are, however, other, much harsher opinions about the profession of criticism. Thus, the famous Ernest Hemingway once rather angrily remarked that literary critics are lice on the clean body of literature.

It is worth recognizing that these points of view are still too extreme. The statements of Georgy Adamovich seem more objective to me, who believed that criticism is justified only when the writer manages to say something of his own through someone else’s fiction, that is, when, by his natural makeup, he flares up, touching someone else’s fire, and then burns and glows himself.

Many people guess, and some know, that the relationship between critics and writers as such is not going smoothly. Mutual grievances and ambitions, an attempt to determine primacy have always prevented a sober look at the problem of the relationship between a literary text and its analysis. I will also draw attention to the other side of this antagonism. It is no secret that the writers themselves often acted as literary critics. Moreover, it goes without saying that the subject of their analysis was not their own works. There are also other cases when literary critics began to appear in print as authors of literary texts. Here it is appropriate to recall Alexander Blok’s judgment that there are no genres in literature, but only belonging to the poetic spirit. Therefore, I can assume that the literary and art critic is more of a state than a constantly functioning human unit.

When trying to define literary criticism, it is also important to note that it is performed in the form of a logically organized text and must be presented in understandable language.

So, here I come to the definition of literary art criticism:

Literary and artistic criticism is a type of intellectual activity expressed through an organized text, which is based on an analysis of a work of art or works, performed by a person with a literary education in a certain spiritual state, without taking into account personal and political preferences.

Here's the definition. The literary criticism that can be observed in recent years does not, alas, meet this definition. Theory, as always, diverged from practice quite fundamentally. Even such an obvious sign of artistic criticism as the organization of the text is not followed by everyone. I won't give many examples here. They lie beyond the boundaries of good and evil, but in the last ten years we have had to deal with them quite often. The condition that a critical text should be based on a work of art is not always met. Often, in polemical fervor, a critic analyzes not a literary text, but the arguments of his opponent or simply some kind of literary phenomena, rumors, gossip. In this case, literary criticism instantly turns into literary journalism. Many do not feel this most important line. There is no point in dwelling on literary education. This question is very slippery. When we are not talking about education, then the matter, of course, is not only about the red or blue diploma. The point is the diversity of the humanitarian tools that the critic uses, the point is awareness of those issues without which it is impossible to work seriously. Unfortunately, in the articles of professional critics there are often obvious inaccuracies that indicate a lack of this very literary education.

The most difficult thing, undoubtedly, for a critic is to do without personal biases. This includes such categories as belonging to a literary clan and obligations to defend the interests of its representatives regardless of the quality of the literary text, as dependence on the conditions of the book market that needs advertising of a particular book product, as the inability to overcome personal hostility towards an individual writer . I will quote again a fragment from Sergei Yesin’s book “The Power of the Word”: “In both criticism and promotion, a terrible groupism reigned in our country. The point here is not only in the notorious secretarial literature. But if there was secretarial literature, there was secretarial criticism. These are now former heads of departments the prose of many thick magazines may shout that they did not personally edit G. Markov, V. Kozhevnikov, V. Povolyaev, Y. Surovtsev. They themselves may not have edited, literary slaves edited it, but they tacitly or not tacitly approved. , keeping silent at the editorial boards and congratulating the luminaries on their publications.” This fragment is also interesting because it tells about the bias of literary criticism, although in itself it is charmingly subjective in a writerly way.

Clannish criticism has recently become some kind of scourge of everything literary process. Liberal criticism has long turned into a common advertising gimmick for one or another publishing house, and patriotic criticism, alas, sometimes displays unacceptable didactic intolerance, regardless of what text is the subject of analysis.

There must be a certain spiritual state in criticism. I believe that criticism is the same as all others, a type of creativity that requires inspiration and all other creative quests associated with it. Literary critical work should not be perceived as some kind of day-to-day fulfillment of official duties. Literary criticism in the highest sense is belonging to the true poetic spirit. Alas, both the system of fees and simply the literary service do not always contribute to the fulfillment of this condition that is decisive for any creativity. But this, without any doubt, is a personal matter for each critic.

In general, the concept of “criticism” means judgment. It is no coincidence that the word “judgment” is closely related to the concept of “court”. To judge, on the one hand, means to consider, reason about something, analyze an object, try to understand its meaning, bring it into connection with other phenomena, etc., in a word, to carry out some examination of the subject. On the other hand, to judge means to make a final qualifying conclusion about an object, i.e. either condemn it, reject it, or justify it, recognize it as positive, and this court can be analytical, i.e. Some elements of the judged object may be considered positive, while others may be considered negative. Any criticism really includes, if it wants to be thorough, a kind of investigation, that is, a detailed examination of the subject, as well as a verdict about it.

Works of art in general and literary and artistic works in particular represent a certain organization of certain external material or symbolic elements (signs). In the end, are we dealing directly with sound, linear, colorful material, etc., in other words, is there an image in front of us that physically speaks for itself, or does it affect us through the medium of that “meaning” that associated with it - always, in the final analysis, a work of art is an organization of certain elements for certain purposes. Which ones exactly? While the expedient design of certain elements in the economy is aimed at creating an object that is directly used in practical life, as an object of everyday life or further production, a work of art acquires its value only insofar as it affects the human psyche. Even in cases where a work of art is merged with a practically useful thing (building, furniture, ceramics, etc.), the artistic side of this thing is still deeply different from the directly practical one, and its strength lies precisely in the impression that it affects the consciousness of others.

A work of art is completely unthinkable without influencing the aesthetic sense of the perceiver: if the work does not give pleasure, then it cannot be recognized as artistic; This pleasure does not consist in satisfying any elementary human needs, but is independent.

Literary criticism closely merges with literary criticism. A literary critic who is not aware of the aesthetic power of a work of art and the direction in which this force acts is a one-sided literary critic. On the other hand, a critic is also one-sided if, when discussing a work of art, he pays no attention either to its genesis or to the reasons for those of its features that give it sharpness, brightness, and expressiveness. A judgment about the principles of a work of art in its entirety is unthinkable without genetic study, that is, without a clear idea of ​​what social forces gave rise to a given literary work. These tendencies cannot be analyzed, a judgment cannot be made about them, if the critic himself does not have precise social and ethical criteria, if he does not know what good and evil are for him. Here the critic cannot help but be an ethicist, economist, politician, sociologist, and only in the complete completion of sociological knowledge and social trends is the figure of the critic complete. Carrying out your tasks, explaining and evaluating works modern literature in the light of the ideals of one or another social movement, a critic who takes a historically progressive position cannot but proceed from a general understanding of the objective features, patterns, and prospects for the development of literature. And he, naturally, must rely on those observations, scientific generalizations and conclusions to which literary criticism leads. But literary criticism, while fulfilling its tasks, studying literature in its national and epochal originality throughout its historical development, cannot be indifferent to the tasks that literary criticism undertakes. No matter how far a literary critic goes back into the depths of centuries in his research, he must study any national literature of the past in such a logical perspective of its development that would explain its present. A literary critic cannot conduct his research “indifferently to good and evil, knowing neither pity nor anger.” He is always a participant in the public life of his country and era.

Criticism from the Greek “kritice” - to disassemble, to judge, appeared as a unique form of art back in antiquity, over time becoming a real professional occupation, which for a long time had an “applied” character, aimed at the general assessment of a work, encouraging or, on the contrary, condemning the author’s opinion, as well as whether or not to recommend the book to other readers.

Over time this literary direction developed and improved, beginning its rise during the European Renaissance and reaching significant heights by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries.

On the territory of Russia, the rise of literary criticism occurred in the mid-19th century, when it, having become a unique and striking phenomenon in Russian literature, began to play a huge role in the social life of that time. In the works of eminent critics XIX century(V.G. Belinsky, A.A. Grigoriev, N.A. Dobrolyubov, D.I. Pisarev, A.V. Druzhinin, N.N. Strakhov, M.A. Antonovich) was concluded not only detailed review literary works other authors, an analysis of the personalities of the main characters, a discussion of artistic principles and ideas, and a vision and own interpretation of the whole picture of the modern world as a whole, its moral and spiritual problems, and ways to solve them. These articles are unique in their content and the power of their impact on the minds of the public, and today they are among the most powerful tools for influencing the spiritual life of society and its moral principles.

Russian literary critics of the 19th century

At one time, A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin” received many varied reviews from contemporaries who did not understand the brilliant innovative techniques of the author in this work, which has a deep, genuine meaning. It was this work of Pushkin that the 8th and 9th critical articles of Belinsky’s “Works of Alexander Pushkin” were devoted to, who set himself the goal of revealing the relationship of the poem to the society depicted in it. The main features of the poem, emphasized by the critic, are its historicism and the truthfulness of the reflection of the actual picture of the life of Russian society in that era; Belinsky called it “an encyclopedia of Russian life”, and in highest degree folk and national work."

In the articles “A Hero of Our Time, the Work of M. Lermontov” and “Poems of M. Lermontov,” Belinsky saw in Lermontov’s work an absolutely new phenomenon in Russian literature and recognized the poet’s ability to “extract poetry from the prose of life and shock souls with its faithful depiction.” The works of the outstanding poet show the passion of poetic thought, which touches on all the most pressing problems modern society, the critic called Lermontov the successor of the great poet Pushkin, noting, however, the complete opposite of their poetic character: for the former, everything is permeated with optimism and described in bright colors, for the latter, on the contrary, the writing style is distinguished by gloom, pessimism and grief over lost opportunities.

Selected works:

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Dobrolyubov

Famous critic and publicist of the mid-19th century. N. And Dobrolyubov, a follower and student of Chernyshevsky, in his critical article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom” based on Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”, called it the author’s most decisive work, which touched upon very important “painful” social problems of that time, namely the clash personality of the heroine (Katerina), who defended her beliefs and rights, with “ dark kingdom"- representatives of the merchant class, distinguished by ignorance, cruelty and meanness. The critic saw in the tragedy described in the play the awakening and growth of protest against the oppression of tyrants and oppressors, and in the image main character the embodiment of the great people's idea of ​​liberation.

In the article “What is Oblomovism,” devoted to the analysis of Goncharov’s work “Oblomov,” Dobrolyubov considers the author a most talented writer who in his work acts as an outside observer, inviting the reader to draw conclusions about its content. Main character Oblomov is compared with others " extra people of his time" Pechorin, Onegin, Rudin and is considered, according to Dobrolyubov, the most perfect of them, he calls him a "nonentity", angrily condemns his character traits (laziness, apathy towards life and reflection) and recognizes them as a problem not only of one specific person, and the entire Russian mentality in general.

Selected works:

Apollo Aleksandrovich Grigoriev

The play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky made a deep and enthusiastic impression on the poet, prose writer and critic A. A. Grigoriev, who in the article “After the “Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky. Letters to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev” does not argue with Dobrolyubov’s opinion, but somehow corrects his judgments, for example, replacing the term tyranny with the concept of nationality, which, in his opinion, is inherent specifically in the Russian people.

Selected work:

D.I. Pisarev, the “third” outstanding Russian critic after Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov, also touched upon the topic of Goncharov’s Oblomovism in his article “Oblomov” and believed that this concept very successfully characterizes a significant vice of Russian life that will always exist, highly appreciated this work and called it relevant for any era and for any nationality.

Selected work:

The famous critic A.V. Druzhinin, in his article “Oblomov,” a novel by I.A. Goncharov,” drew attention to the poetic side of the nature of the main character, landowner Oblomov, which evokes in him not a feeling of irritation and hostility, but even a certain sympathy. He considers the most important positive qualities Russian landowner's tenderness, purity and gentleness of soul, against the background of which the laziness of nature is perceived more tolerantly and is regarded as a certain form of protection from the influences of harmful activities " active life» other characters

Selected work:

One of the famous works of the outstanding classic of Russian literature I.S. Turgenev, which caused a stormy public response, was the novel “Fathers and Sons” written in 18620. In the critical articles “Bazarov” by D. I. Pisarev, “Fathers and Sons” by I. S. Turgenev” by N. N. Strakhov, as well as M. A. Antonovich “Asmodeus of Our Time,” a heated debate flared up over the question of who should be considered the main the hero of Bazarov's work - a jester or an ideal to follow.

N.N. Strakhov in his article “Fathers and Sons” by I.S. Turgenev" saw the deep tragedy of Bazarov's image, his vitality and dramatic attitude to life and called him the living embodiment of one of the manifestations of the true Russian spirit.

Selected work:

Antonovich viewed this character as an evil caricature of the younger generation and accused Turgenev of turning his back on democratically minded youth and betraying his former views.

Selected work:

Pisarev saw in Bazarov a useful and real person, which is capable of destroying outdated dogmas and outdated authorities, and thus clearing the way for the formation of new advanced ideas.

Selected work:

The common phrase that literature is created not by writers, but by readers turns out to be 100% true, and the fate of the work is decided by the readers, on whose perception it depends future destiny works. It is literary criticism that helps the reader form his personal final opinion about this or that work. Critics also provide invaluable assistance to writers when they give them an idea of ​​how understandable their works are to the public, and how correctly the thoughts expressed by the author are perceived.