IN folk art was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it the dolls were controlled using threads), Petrushka Theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes).
The Parsley Theater was especially beloved by the people. In the 19th century, the Parsley Theater was the most popular and widespread type puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (the number of characters usually ranges from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, etc. It arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinello, with which Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.
Separate satirical scenes were presented at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that “the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal.” 1
This is how D.A. described it. Rovinsky's performance at the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:
“This comedy is played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verses, burring and nasal in his nose - the conversation is conducted through a typewriter placed to the roof of his mouth, above the tongue, just like that the same way as the French and Italians do. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse, and Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse, first in the nose, then in the belly; the whole comedy is filled with kicks, they constitute the most significant and most ridiculous part for him. spectators. There is a bargain, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long haggling, Petrushka buys a horse; the Gypsy sits down on his purchase; he throws off Petrushka and runs away, leaving him dead on the stage. Parsley and lamentations for a premature death good fellow. The Doctor comes:
Where does it hurt?
Right here!
And here?
It turns out that everything in Parsley hurts. But when the Doctor reaches a tender spot, Petrushka jumps up and hits him on the ear; The Doctor fights back, a fight breaks out, and a stick appears from somewhere, with which Petrushka finally calms the Doctor down.
What kind of Doctor are you,” Parsley shouts to him, “if you ask where it hurts?” What did you study for? You should know where it hurts!
A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in puppet terms, “fatal officer” appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (in treble):
Why did you kill the Doctor?
Answer (in the nose):
Because he doesn’t know his science well - he looks at what he’s wearing, doesn’t see it, and even asks him.
Word for word, it’s clear that Petrushka doesn’t like Fatalny’s interrogation. He seizes the old stick, and a fight ensues, which ends in the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; This puppet protest against the police usually creates a real sensation among the public.
The play, it would seem, is over; but what to do with Parsley? And then a wooden poodle dog runs onto the stage, pasted over its tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all its might (the barking is made from husky at the bottom).
Little darling,” Parsley caresses her, “let’s come live with me, I’ll feed you cat meat.”
But Shavochka, for no apparent reason, grabs Petrushka by the nose; Parsley to the side, she takes his hand, he takes it to the other, she grabs his nose again; Finally, Petrushka takes to a shameful flight. That's where the comedy ends. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin’s matchmaker, i.e. the main comedian is given vodka, then after that a special interlude called Parsley's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka is brought his bride Varushka; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he cannot bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then it happens final scene, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is already the real and “very last end” of the performance; then Petrushka goes to the outside stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.
In the intervals between the actions of the play, dances of two Arapok are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who was bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, two Pagliacci are shown playing with balls and a stick. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and funny from experienced puppeteers: the doll has no body, but only a fake simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and arms, also empty, on the sides. Puppeteer sticks a doll into the head index finger, and in the hands - the first and third fingers; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once. During puppet comedy there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classic bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ grinder serves as a “prompter,” i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping." 2
It is believed that the birthplace of modern puppet theater is India and Ancient China. Later, this type of democratic art was brought by wandering artists, possibly gypsies, to Ancient Greece, and from there spread throughout Europe. It is not known for certain when puppeteers appeared in our country, but the Russian folk theater of Petrushka enjoyed enormous popularity among people of all ages and classes for about three centuries.
Background
Researchers believe that there were 3 species in Russia:
- puppetry, in which the dolls were controlled using strings;
- the Petrushka Theater - with figurines of characters placed on the fingers of the puppeteer;
- nativity scene - a theater in which dolls were fixed motionless on rods and moved along slots made in a special box.
The latter option was popular only in the southern regions of the country and in Siberia, and until the end of the 19th century, puppets, due to the complexity of making the figures, were used quite rarely. Thus, speaking about Russian pre-revolutionary puppet shows, most often found in Parsley. It got its name from the name of the main character of funny performances performed right on the street.
Who is Parsley
This nickname was given to the glove puppet, which was usually dressed in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel. It is still not entirely clear why her physiognomy was traditionally given “non-Russian” features. In particular, he has an overly large head and hands, a dark face, huge almond-shaped eyes and Most likely, Petrushka’s appearance is due to the fact that he was created in the image and likeness of the Italian Pulcinella.
As for the character's character, he is also a fraudster for whom no laws are written.
The appearance of Parsley
In Russia, a glove puppet with strange facial features and the name Ivan Ratyutyu appeared in the 17th century. However, it received its greatest distribution and its final name only 200 years later. By the way, Petrushka himself introduced himself as Pyotr Ivanovich (sometimes Petrovich) Uksusov.
Description of the theater at an early stage
In the 17th century, performances were performed without a screen. More precisely, traditional theater Petrushki assumed the participation of only one actor, who tied a skirt to his belt. A hoop was sewn to its hem, and when lifted, the puppeteer found himself hidden from prying eyes. He could freely move his arms and imagine scenes involving two characters. At the same time, the comedian almost always worked in tandem with the bear leader and also performed the functions of a clown.
Description of the theater after the mid-19th century
From the 1840s, the screen began to be used. It consisted of three frames, which were fastened with staples and covered with chintz. It was placed directly on the ground, and it hid the puppeteer. A mandatory attribute, without which it was impossible to imagine the Parsley Theater, was a barrel organ. Its sounds invited the audience, and behind the screen the comedian communicated with the audience through a special whistle. During the performance, he could run out to the audience with a long nose and a red cap. At the same time, the organ grinder became his partner, and together they acted out comic scenes.
Puppeteers
The Petrushka Theater, the history of which has not been fully studied, was considered purely masculine. To make the puppeteer's voice more squeaky and loud, a special squeaker whistle was used, which was inserted into the larynx. In addition, the puppeteer tried to speak very quickly and laugh disgustingly at every joke he made.
Subjects
The theater plays (Petrushka was their main, but not the only hero) were rather monotonous. Main plots: treatment and training for soldier service, a date with the bride, buying and testing a horse. The scenes followed one after another in a certain order. At the same time, the duration of the performance depended on how long the audience deigned to pay attention to this street performance.
The action took place in the following sequence:
- Petrushka decides to buy a horse from a gypsy horse dealer. He haggles with the seller for a long time. Then he gets tired of this activity, and he beats the gypsy, who runs away.
- Petrushka tries to climb onto the horse, but it throws him off and goes after the dealer, leaving the cunning one lying motionless.
- The doctor arrives. He asks Petrushka about his illness. It turns out that he has a thousand diseases. The doctor and Petrushka fight because the patient calls the doctor ignorant. The bully hits the medic hard on the head with his baton.
- The policeman appears and asks Petrushka why he killed the doctor. The rogue replies that he “doesn’t know his science well.” Then Petrushka hits the policeman with a baton and kills him. The dog comes running. Parsley turns to the public and asks for their help. Then he tries to appease the dog and promises to feed her cat meat. The dog grabs Petrusha by the nose and drags him away. At this point the performance ended and the audience dispersed.
"Petrushka's wedding"
Sometimes, usually during Maslenitsa and other folk festivals, the performance, at the request of the public, could last even longer. Then they acted out the scene “Petrushka’s Wedding”. Her plot was crude and frivolous. A bride was brought to Petrushka, whom he examined as if she were a horse. After he agreed to marry, long persuasions began for the bride to “sacrifice herself” before the wedding. From this point on the performance, the spectators left, taking the children away. The remaining men listened with delight to Parsley's greasy jokes.
There was also a scene with a priest or clerk. However, due to censorship reasons, it was not included in any of the collections where the texts of the performances with Petrushka were recorded.
"Death"
Among the characters in the Parsley Theater there was one most sinister one, who defeated the main character. It was Death, who, after a verbal spat, took Petrushka with him. However, the hero was soon resurrected in another place. This circumstance became the reason that some researchers began to find a connection between Parsley and pagan deities, who endlessly died and were reborn here and there.
Moscow puppet theaters
To October Revolution such permanent cultural institutions did not exist, and performances were staged by single artists on the streets or in booths, or they were invited to private homes to entertain guests. The first real puppet theaters in Moscow appeared in the early 1930s. The most famous of them eventually became the largest in the world. This is the theater. S. Obraztsova. It is located at: st. Sadovaya-Samotechnaya, 3. In addition, around the same time, the Moscow Puppet Theater appeared in the capital, originally created to popularize children's literature. He toured the country and introduced viewers to new works by Soviet authors, written specifically for the younger generation.
Later, other puppet theaters in Moscow appeared: “Albatross”, “Firebird”, “Fairytale”, “Chamber” and others. Here you can watch not only children's performances, but also productions specially created for adults.
To preserve the traditions of Russian street performances for children and adults, Andrei Shavel and artist Valentina Smirnova organized a new creative team. It was called the Russian folk theater "Petrushka" and debuted in 1989 in the city of Fresino.
The theater puts on 30-minute performances right on the street and tries not to deviate from the traditional scenarios of farcical performances.
The emergence of the Petrushka Theater is connected with the desire of its creators to preserve the best that was in the street mass art of past centuries.
Performances are also performed indoors. In such cases, the audience is also introduced to the history of Petrushka and the Russian farce theater. In their work, the actors use props that are exact copies of the screens and puppets that their predecessors had, who entertained the public on the streets of Russian cities 150-200 years ago.
Now you know how the Russian folk puppet theater arose. Parsley still arouses interest among children today, so be sure to take them to some show in a farce style.
FOLK PUPPET THEATER, ITS TYPES
The Russians knew three types of puppet theater: the marionette theater (in which the puppets were controlled using threads), the Petrushka theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and the nativity scene (in which the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in boxes) . Puppet theater did not become widespread. The Parsley Theater was popular. The nativity scene was distributed mainly in Siberia and southern Russia.
Petrushka Theater is a Russian folk puppet comedy. Its main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, in the south - Vanya, Vanka, Vanka Retatouille, Ratatouille, Rutyutyu (tradition of the northern regions of Ukraine). The Parsley Theater arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinella, with which the Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.
An early sketch of the Petrushka Theater dates back to the 30s. XVII century This illustration was placed by the German traveler Adam Olearius in the description of his trip to Muscovy. Regarding the drawing, D. A. Rovinsky wrote: “... A man, having tied a woman’s skirt with a hoop at the hem to his belt, raised it up - this skirt covers him above his head, he can freely move his hands in it, display dolls on top and present entire comedies.<...>In the picture, on a portable skirt stage, it is not difficult to discern a classic comedy that has survived to our time about how a gypsy sold a horse to Petrushka." Rovinsky cited Olearius' remark that the puppet comedian was always with the bear leader; he also corrected the "positions" of the goat and the clown's skits, according to Olearius, were always of the most modest content 1
Later, the raised women's skirt with a hoop at the hem was replaced by a screen - at least in descriptions of the Petrushka Theater in the 19th century. the skirt is no longer mentioned.
In the 19th century The Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (each
number of characters - usually from 7 to 20), from a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery.
The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs.
About the structure of the Petrushka Theater D. A. Rovinsky wrote: “The doll does not have a body, but only a simple skirt is faked, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and hands, also empty, on the sides. The puppeteer sticks his index finger into the doll’s head, and hands - the first and third fingers; he usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once."
Characteristics appearance Parsley - a large hooked nose, a laughing mouth, a protruding chin, a hump or two humps (on the back and on the chest). The clothes consisted of a red shirt, a cap with a tassel, and smart boots on his feet; or from a clownish two-tone clown outfit, collar and cap with bells. The puppeteer spoke for Petrushka with the help of a squeak - a device thanks to which the voice became sharp, shrill, and rattling. (The pischik was made of two curved bone or silver plates, inside of which a narrow strip of linen ribbon was fastened). For the rest characters The comedy puppeteer spoke in his natural voice, moving the squeak behind his cheek.
The Petrushka Theater's performance consisted of a set of skits that had a satirical orientation. M. Gorky spoke about Petrushka as invincible hero puppet comedy, which defeats everyone and everything: the police, the priests, even the devil and death, but he himself remains immortal.
The image of Parsley is the personification of festive freedom, emancipation, and a joyful feeling of life. Petrushka's actions and words were opposed to accepted standards of behavior and morality. Parsley's improvisations were topical: they contained sharp attacks against local merchants, landowners, and authorities. The performance was accompanied by musical inserts, sometimes parodic: for example, the image
funeral under "Kamarinskaya" (see in the Reader "Petrushka, aka Vanka Ratatouille").
This hero's name was Petrushka, Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Vanka Ratatouille. He became the main character of the Russian folk puppet theater. Parsley comedy has been very popular and extremely widespread since the end of the 18th century. Parsley performers performed at fairs and festivities, showing their simple comedy several times a day. The Petrushka Theater itself was simple. The most common was the “walking” Parsley.
The “theater” consisted of a folding light screen, a set of dolls placed in a box, a barrel organ (or violin), as well as the puppeteer himself and his assistant musician. In any place and at any time, moving from city to city, they put up their “theater” on the street under open air. And here he is, a small living man with a long nose, jumps onto the edge of the screen and begins to speak in a sharp, shrill voice. And to do this, the puppeteer-comedian had to place on his tongue a small device consisting of two bone plates, inside of which a narrow strip of linen ribbon was secured.
The extraordinary love of the people for their puppet hero was explained in different ways: some believed that the reason for this was the topicality and satirical orientation of the parsley comedy; others believed that the simplicity, clarity and accessibility of the theater to any age and class made it so popular.
The performance at the Petrushka Theater consisted of separate scenes, but in each of them the participation of the main character, Petrushka, was required. The main scenes of the traditional comedy about Petrushka were the following: the exit of Petrushka, the scene with the bride, the purchase of a horse and testing it, the treatment of Petrushka, training him for soldier service (sometimes the scene with the policeman, master) and final scene. First, laughter or a song would be heard from behind the screen, and Petrushka would immediately appear on the screen. He bowed and congratulated the audience on the holiday. This is how the show began. He was dressed in a red shirt, corduroy pants, tucked into smart boots, and wore a cap on his head. Often Parsley was also given a hump, or even two.
The originality of the Petrushka Theater was that the viewer received pleasure not from getting to know a new work, but from watching a long-known comedy be played. All attention was focused on the nuances of the game, on the movements of Parsley, on the dexterity and skill of the parsley. There were always two heroes on the screen: Petrushka and someone else. And the reason for this is simple: the parsley man could control only two dolls at a time, holding each of them in his hand. And the introduction of additional characters into the scene naturally required more puppeteers. The musician also played an important role in the Petrushka Theater. He not only accompanied the action with music, but also participated in the dialogue - he was Petrushka’s interlocutor. The composition of the parsley comedy could also include pantomimic scenes not related to the action of the comedy. Thus, the Petrushka Theater is famous, where a pantomime was shown with the participation of “puppets representing different nationalities" They all sang and danced, and at that time Petrushka sat on the edge of the screen and sang “On the pavement street...”. Other performances included a dance of two black araps. But, despite all the insert numbers and pantomimes, Petrushka remained the only main character in this peculiar theater. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in his “Diary of a Writer” for January 1876 speaks about the performance of Petrushka at the St. Petersburg artists’ club: “Children and their fathers stood in a solid crowd and watched the immortal folk comedy, and truly, this was almost the most fun of the whole holiday. Tell me, why is Petrushka so funny, why do you always have fun when you look at him, everyone has fun, both children and old people?”
Parsley is a glove puppet, one of the characters of the Russian folk theater. Depicted in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel. In V. Dahl's dictionary it is:
the nickname of a farce doll, a Russian jester, a jokester, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; The whole clownish, puppet den is also called Petrushka.
The origin of this doll, which appeared in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, has not been reliably clarified. Although in Russia Parsley has been known since the 17th century. Russian puppeteers used marionettes (string puppet theater) and parsleys (glove puppets). Until the 19th century, preference was given to Parsley, by the end of the century - to puppets, as parsley makers united with organ grinders.
Petrushka's appearance is by no means Russian: he has an exaggerated big hands and the head, the facial features are hypertrophied, the face itself (carved from wood) is treated with a special plant liquid, which makes it look darker; large almond-shaped eyes and a huge hooked nose, completely white eyeballs and a dark iris, due to which Parsley’s eyes appear black. He inherited Parsley's appearance from the Italian Pulcinella. Many people mistakenly believe that Parsley’s wide-open mouth is a smile, but this is not so; being negative character, Petrushka constantly stretches her lips in a grin. He has four fingers on his hands (a possible symbol that Petrushka is not a person, but some character from another world).
A typical misconception is to revere Petrushka as an extremely ancient and primordially Russian hero, based on his archetypal character traits, which originated in the depths of human ideas about themselves. Parsley is the younger relative of the older ones: the Neapolitan Pulcinella, the French Polichinelle, the English Punch, the Turkish Karagöz, the German Hanswurst and Kasperle, the Spanish Don Cristobal and others - despite the fact that all of them are theatrical puppets and are controlled using threads. The only analogue of Petrushka in terms of driving technique is the Guignol glove doll, which appeared in Lyon in early XIX century.
The parsley screen consisted of three frames, fastened with staples and covered with chintz. It was placed directly on the ground and hid the puppeteer. The barrel organ gathered the audience, and behind the screen the actor began to communicate with the audience through a peep (whistle). Later, with laughter and reprise, he ran out himself, in a red cap and with a long nose. The organ grinder sometimes became Parsley's partner: because of the squeaker, his speech was not always intelligible, and he repeated Parsley's phrases and conducted a dialogue. The comedy with Petrushka was played out at fairs and booths.
In Russia, only men “drove” Petrushka. To make the voice louder and squeakier (this was necessary both for audibility at fair performances and for the special character of the character), they used a special squeak inserted into the larynx. Petrushka's speech had to be “piercing” and very fast.
There were main plots: Parsley's treatment, soldier training, the scene with the bride, buying a horse and testing it. The stories were passed from actor to actor, by word of mouth. No character in the Russian theater had the popularity equal to Petrushka.
According to a widespread but unproven version, plays with the participation of Petrushka were still part of the repertoire of buffoons and consisted of humorous skits and dialogues. Each scene depicted a fight between Petrushka and one character or another (fights were carried out using fists, sticks, etc.).
Usually the performance began with the following plot: Petrushka decides to buy a horse, the musician calls the gypsy horse dealer. Parsley examines the horse for a long time and bargains with the gypsy for a long time. Then Petrushka gets tired of the bargaining, and instead of money, he beats the gypsy on the back for a long time, after which he runs away. Petrushka tries to mount the horse, but it throws him off to the laughter of the audience. This could continue until people laughed it off. Finally the horse runs away, leaving Petrushka lying dead. The doctor comes and asks Petrushka about his illnesses. It turns out that everything hurts. A fight ensues between the Doctor and Petrushka, at the end of which Petrushka hits the enemy hard on the head with a baton. “What kind of doctor are you,” shouted Petrushka, “if you ask where it hurts? Why did you study? You yourself should know where it hurts!” The quarterly appears. - “Why did you kill the doctor?” He answers: “Because he doesn’t know his science well.” After the interrogation, Petrushka hits the policeman on the head with a club and kills him. A growling dog comes running. Parsley unsuccessfully asks for help from the audience and the musician, after which he flirts with the dog, promising to feed it cat meat. The dog grabs him by the nose and drags him away, and Petrushka shouts: “Oh, my little head with its cap and brush is gone!” The music stops, signaling the end of the performance.
If the audience liked it, then they did not let the actors go, applauded, threw money, demanding a continuation. Then they played a small scene “Petrushka’s Wedding”. A bride is brought to Parsley, he examined her the way a horse is examined. He likes the bride, he doesn’t want to wait for the wedding and begins to beg her to “sacrifice herself.” From the scene where the bride “sacrifices herself,” the women left and took their children with them. According to some reports, another skit in which a clergyman was present was a great success. It was not included in any of the recorded texts; most likely, it was removed by censorship. There were scenes in which Petrushka did not participate. It was dancing and juggling with balls and sticks.
Parsley defeated all opponents except one - Death. In the last, final scene, Death took Petrushka with him. However, since Petrushka was used in a farce theater, it is natural that the performance was shown several times and in different places. Thus, Petrushka, who “died” for one circle of viewers, “resurrected” for another. This gives researchers reason to draw parallels between the image of Parsley and many different pagan gods, endlessly dying and resurrecting.
At the beginning of the 20th century, “The Comedy about Petrushka” begins to collapse. Parsley growers began to appear at children's parties and New Year trees, the text of the scenes changed, losing its sharpness. Parsley stopped killing. He swung his club and scattered his enemies. He spoke politely, and the “wedding” changed, turning into a dance with the bride. The rude, common speech disappeared, and with it the individuality of the hooligan-joker, to whom both old and young came running.
Certain elements of the traditional “Comedy about Petrushka” (in particular, free “paradise” verse) were used by S. Ya. Marshak in the play for children's theater“Petrushka the Foreigner” (1927).
35. Raek. Device. Raeshny verse (definition, theme) artistic techniques.
People's Theater, consisting of a small box with two magnifying glasses in front. Inside it, pictures are rearranged or a paper strip with homegrown images of different cities, great people and events is rewound from one skating rink to another. Raeshnik moves the pictures and tells sayings and jokes for each new story. These pictures were often made in popular print style, initially had a religious content - hence the name “paradise”, and then began to reflect a wide variety of topics, including political ones. Fair trade was widely practiced.
Rayoshnik or rayochnik - a storyteller, performer of a rayk, as well as a person visiting a rayon. In addition, the term rayoshnik (or rayoshny verse) refers to the rhymed prose spoken by the narrator and his characters.
RAYOSHNY VERSE, RAYOK - the oldest form of Russian folk dismetric verse (free verse) with adjacent rhymes, determined by intonation-phrase and pause division. In short, it's a rhyming phrase book. Subjects and genres of R. s. the most diverse: from topical satire to cheerful jokes. Most of the folk theater plays and texts of performances for the folk puppet theater (nativity scene, parsley, booth) were compiled in the form of a raika, unusually flexible in its structure and most suitable for improvisational performances on stage.
Example R. s. (from the book “Folk Poetic Satire”, Leningrad, 1960):
And here, gentlemen, is the lottery.
An oxtail and two fillets!..
The twelve stone clock is still being played
Yes, on three bricks.
Brought from non-farm goods on firewood!
Also played is a teapot without a lid, without a bottom -
Only one handle!..
Real Chinese porcelain!
Was thrown out into the yard
And I picked it up, yes I mean,
That you can also win porcelain in the lottery!
Well, guys, come on -
Buy up my tickets!..
Cigarette tickets will do for you,
And the rubles will move in my purse!..
In Russian literature R. s. was neglected for a long time, despite the fact that the most prominent Russian poets turned to this capacious folk form verse, for example, by A. Pushkin in “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda,” in the spirit people's district:
Once upon a time there was a priest,
Thick forehead,
Pop went to the market
View some products.
Balda meets him
He goes without knowing where.
“Why, dad, did you get up so early?
What are you asking for?..”