In the folk epic, the broad typification of characters did not exclude elements of individualization. A. F. Hilferding noted: "... The appearance of each physiognomy... everywhere retains typical features. Not once will Prince Vladimir act out of the role of a complacent, but not always fair ruler, who himself is personally completely powerless; not once will Ilya Muromets change the type of calm, self-confident, modest, alien to any affectation and boasting, but demanding respect for strength; everywhere Dobrynya will be the personification of politeness and graceful nobility, Alyosha Popovich - impudence and meanness, Churila - dapperness and womanism, everywhere Mikhail Potyk will be riotous, addicted. a daredevil with all sorts of passions, Staver - the stupid husband of an intelligent and devoted woman, Vasily Ignatievich - a drunkard who sobers up in a moment of trouble and who then becomes a hero, Duke Stepanovich - a boastful knight who enjoys the advantages of a higher civilization, etc., in a word, typical faces; in our epic has been developed to such an extent that each of these types has become an unchanging national property."
One of the important principles of epic typification is the depiction of the plural in the generalized singular (synecdoche). The epics transferred the quality of the mass of people onto one person: they depicted not the entire ancient Russian squad, but individual warrior-heroes defeating countless hordes of enemies.
The enemy force could also be depicted in isolated fantastic images (Tugarin Zmeevich, Idolishche). Sometimes the leader of the enemy army (Tsar Kalin) stood out.
The main artistic device of folk epic songs is hyperbole. A.F. Hilferding and other collectors testified that singers perceived hyperbole not as poetic fiction, but as a reliable depiction of real qualities in their maximum manifestation.
With the help of hyperboles, a countless enemy army was depicted, which was defeating the Russian hero. In the epic "Ilya Muromets and Kalin the Tsar", recorded from T. G. Ryabinin:
Ilya went out into the open field
And he drove up to the Tatar troops
Look at the troops in Tatar:
A lot of strength has been generated,
Like a shout from a human,
Like a horse neighing
The human heart becomes sad.
Here is an old Cossack and Ilya Muromets
He drove across the open fields of Razdolitsa,
I couldn’t get past the edge of the Silushka.
He jumped up a high mountain.
I looked at the Tatar Silushka.
And he jumped up another mountain.
Looked at everything in three or four directions,
I couldn’t see the end of the power.
In the epic "Kalin the Tsar", recorded in the 18th century:
Was getting together with him<Калином-царем>strength for a hundred miles
In all those four directions.
Why doesn't the mother of cheese the earth bend?
Why won't he part?
And the steam was from horse meat
And the month, so(l)tso faded,
You can’t see a ray of Belov’s light;
And from the Tatar spirit
We cannot be baptized alive.
Hyperboles were used to debunk enemies. The monstrous appearance of the enemy was conveyed by hyperboles that showed him as disgustingly ugly. They mockingly depicted the enormous size of the enemy.
In the epic "Ilya Muromets and Idolishche":
- How bad we eat Idolishcho
There are two fathoms of printed stones in the valley,
And the print was a fathom wide,
And that little head is such a wicked fool,
And the eyes are like beer bowls,
And the nose on his face was as big as his elbow.
Tugarin was drawn in a similar way:
The height of the dog is already three years.
The dog has two widths,
I'll put a red-hot arrow between his eyes,
I'll slit his ears and an inch of paper<...>
The amount of food eaten by the enemy was depicted hyperbolically and at the same time satirically. In the epic "Alyosha Popovich":
They started drinking, eating, chilling here,
And Tugarin Zmeevich eats bread dishonestly:
Throws a whole rug at the cheek,
Those monastery rugs;
And Tugarin drinks dishonestly:
It overwhelms the whole bowl,
Which bowl is half a third of a bucket.
He took, Tugarin, a white swan,
I suddenly swallowed it all.
There is also a monastery carpet right there.
Russian heroes at Prince Vladimir’s feast also drink a glass of one and a half buckets, and more than one. But in this case, the hyperbole conveyed a feeling of admiration for the hero:
Yes, Vladimir Stolno-Kyiv said here:
"Faithful servants, pour out some green wine,
And not a small glass - one and a half buckets;
Pour some more sweet honey,
Pour some more drunken beer,
And only four and a half buckets."
And Alyoshenka accepts with one hand
And he gives his forehead to all four directions,
And Alyoshenka drank the spell dry;
And he especially bowed to the old man Ilya Muromets.
Hyperboles reinforced the common place (locus communis), depicting the terrifying cry of the enemy. In the epic "Ilya and the Nightingale", recorded from T. G. Ryabinin:
Otherwise the Nightingale whistles like a nightingale,
Yong screams the villainous robber like an animal,
And is it because of him that the nightingale whistled,
And is it from him, from the cry of an animal,
Then all the grass ants get caught up.
All the azure flowers are falling asleep.
The dark forests bow to the earth,
And as for the people, the ecu lies dead.
At the end of the epic, the prince brought Nightingale a glass of green wine:
Nightingale drank that glass in one breath.
He whistled like a Nightingale here in the nightingale way,
The robber screamed like an animal,
The poppies on the towers have become crooked,
And the shrapnel in the towers scattered
From him the nightingale whistles,
And if there are little people, they lie dead;
And Vladimir is a prince from Stolnya-Kyiv
He covers himself with a marten fur coat.
In the epic “Ivan Gostina’s son,” recorded in the 18th century, a terrifying cry and a hyperbolic depiction of its incredible consequences are attributed to Ivan’s wonderful horse. Ivan, who was feasting with Prince Vladimir, fought with him for his horse for a great bet:
Not about a hundred rubles, not about a thousand -
About your wild head!
The wonderful brown-haired, three-year-old horse did not let his owner down. He terrified not only the stallions that competed with him, but also the entire princely court, as well as Vladimir himself and the princess:
Burko barks in Turin style,
He shot out a thorn like a snake.
Three hundred stallions were afraid,
They fled from the princely courtyard,
He cast a lot and broke two legs,
The Kologriv stallion broke his head.
Polonyan Voronko flees to the Golden Horde.
He, raising his tail, snores himself.
And the princes and boyars were frightened,
All here are merchant people
They were crawling around the yard.
And Vladimer the prince and the princess became sad.
They crawled through the underground.
He shouts out the window when he mows, this:
“Goy ecu you, Ivan Gostinoy’s son.
Get the freak out of the yard<...>"
In the depiction of Russian heroes, hyperboles are especially significant and numerous. They idealized heroes. Hyperboles depicted the heaviness of heroic weapons.
Ilya Muromets has a twelve-pound bow, a forty-pound stick, and a three-thousand-pound club. Dobrynya Nikitich has a buoy club - sixty pounds, Dobrynya takes an elm tree worth ninety pounds. Alyosha Popovich takes a damask club worth ninety pounds; Ekim-parubok has a club of three thousand pounds; at the crossing point there is a road shepalpa... thirty pounds; Vasily Buslaev has a twelve-pound elm.
All heroic equipment is just as weighty (literally and figuratively).
Mikhail Kazarinov has one and a half hundred arrows in his quiver. Svyatogor’s hat is forty pounds; Dobrynya Nikitich’s hat is forty pounds. The pectoral cross of Samson the hero on the collar of six pounds; Ilya Muromets has one and a half pounds.
The price of heroic equipment was hyperbolically emphasized.
For Mikhail Kazarin, the price of chain mail is forty thousand, the price of a helmet is three thousand, the price of a kuyak and armor is one hundred thousand, the price of a bow is three thousand, the price of an arrow is five rubles, the price of a horse is no estimate. As you can see, the most precious thing for a hero is his horse.
Hyperboles, cast in a poetic formula, depicted the extraordinary speed of the heroic ride on a horse:
As soon as we saw the daring, he stepped into the stirrups,
Haven’t you seen the heroic journeys,
We just saw a cigarette standing in an open field,
The smoke is standing, and the smoke is pouring out in a column.
Equally extraordinary are the distances that the heroic horse easily overcomes.
About the horse of Ilya Muromets:
His good horse and heroic
He began to jump from mountain to mountain,
He began to jump from hill to hill.
Small rivers, small lakes between my legs.
About Mikhaila Kazarinov’s horse:
He gallops, a horse, from shore to shore,
The Kotora River is fifteen miles wide.
Nastasya's horse:
The horse galloped for a mile,
He was buried up to his knees in the earth,
He snatched the legs from the little earthling,
He turned out the peasants' heaps of hay.
In three shots I threw away the stones.
The highest degree of hyperbole was reached at the climax of the epic plot - the depiction of the battle. Here a typical formula (locus communis) appeared: the hero grabs what came to his hand (a hat from a wild head, a battle club, a club, and even a Tatar) and begins to wave it.
Wherever the varnish waves, the streets go there.
Yes, he will wave you back - alleys.
Wherever he goes, there is a street,
Wherever you turn, the alley,
Wherever he becomes, there is a square.
In the epic "Kalin the Tsar", recorded in the 18th century, the leader of a countless enemy army ordered the Tatars to capture Ilya. The order was carried out: They tied his white hands
Silk chemburas are strong. Even tied up, Ilya kindly offers Kalin to move away from Kyiv with the Tatars, or they will not be alive.
And then Kalina got into trouble
And he spits in Ilya’s clear eyes:
"And the Russian people are always boastful,
All entangled, like a bald demon,
Is he still standing in front of me, bragging himself!”
And then Ilya became in trouble,
For great annoyance it seemed
What Kalin spits in his clear eyes,
Jumped down half a tree standing,
He tore the chemburas on his mighty shoulders.
They won't let Ilya get near the good horse
And to the point of the heavy club,
Three thousand litas to copper.
Ilya grabbed the Tatar by the legs.
Which went to Kyiv-grad,
And the Tatar began to wave,
No matter where he turns, the streets lie here,
Wherever it turns - with alleys
And he himself sentences the Tatar:
"And the Tatar is strong - he doesn’t break,
But the dog is too long - it won’t break!”
And only Ilya uttered a word,
The head of his Tatar will come off,
That head fell in strength along,
And it hits them, breaks them, and completely destroys them.
The rest of the Tatars went to escape,
Everyone drowned in swamps and rivers,
They left their carts and lagiri.
Ilya returned to King Kalin,
He grabbed Kalin in his white hands,
Kalina himself says:
“You, kings, are not beaten or executed.
They don’t beat you, they don’t execute you and they don’t hang you!”
He will bend it with a stern.
He lifted himself above the violence of his head.
He hit him on a flammable stone,
He turned into shitty crumbs.
In some cases, hyperbole emphasized the extraordinary duration of the battle. So, in the epic “Duel of Danube Ivanovich with Dobrynya Nikitich”, recorded by A.D. Grigoriev, the heroes fought with buoy sticks, sharp sabers, spears of seven fathoms, and then
The boys jumped off their good horses
And they fought in close combat, hand-to-hand,
And good fellows also fight remotely,
And two guys are also fighting,
And the kids fight for three days;
They sank into the ground up to their knees,
No one can outdo each other.
In epics with a peaceful content, their own hyperboles appeared. For example, in the epic "Duke", recorded from P. A. Voinov, Duke Stepanovich's mother - the wife of an old mother - is dressed so luxuriously that there is not much silk, after all, all in gold. She was introduced to Dobrynya Nikitich like this:
“And oh, you, daring, good fellow!
Come early in the morning,
And become a poor colic in the church.
Lak the first crowd passed the sweepers,
Another crowd will pass the shovelers,
The third crowd will pass the spreaders,
They spread out the scarlet cloth,
Three women walk like mulberries.
They carry a sunflower umbrella,
You should be able to say hello to her here."
In the epic "Volga", recorded from I. Kasyanov, the plowman Mikula Selyaninovich also had an unusually beautiful appearance: his curls scattered like ray pearls, his eyes were as clear as a falcon, his eyebrows as black as sable. But what is especially striking is Mikula Selyaninovich’s clothing, which was not at all intended for plowing:
Oratai's boots are green morocco:
Here are the awls of the heels, sharp noses,
A sparrow will fly under your heel.
At least roll an egg near your nose.
The orata has a downy hat,
And his caftan is black velvet.
The maple bipod is just as luxurious: it has silk buds, damask beads, silver suckers, and a red-gold horn. The nightingale filly is also beautiful in appearance - that is, red, with a white tail and white mane. Behind the external splendor of the plowman, his bipod and filly, their inner power and strength is hidden, which is revealed as the plot unfolds.
Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002
The structure of the epic is characterized by so-called general or typical passages or formulas. These are the enduring elements of storytelling. In fact, the beginnings can also be common places, since their texts usually remain almost unchanged, only slightly adapting to this or that epic. Stable passages are the hero’s boasting at a feast, drinking wine, saddling a horse, describing the terrible appearance of the enemy or the large number of his troops; The description of how the hero enters the princely chambers is very consistent: He placed the cross according to the written word, He bowed according to the learned, He bowed low to all three and four sides, To Prince Vladimir himself in particular, He also bowed to all his princes. This is how Ilya Muromets behaves when entering Vladimir’s chambers, this is how Duke behaves when entering the church where Vladimir is praying. Stable structural elements include some types of repetitions, especially triple ones, where the same episode is given verbatim three times. This type of repetition also exists in fairy tales, but episodes of a different kind are repeated there. In the epics, the hero enters into a duel with the enemy three times, three times Alyosha wooes Dobrynya’s wife, three times Sadko throws gifts into the water for the king of the sea. A unique type of repetition is the use of a leitmotif, which can be repeated many times in the same epic and emphasize its main theme. P. G. Bogatyrev, in the article “Functions of leitmotifs in Russian epics,” examined this issue based on the material of the epic “Ilya Muromets and Kalin the Tsar,” sung to Hilferding by T. G. Ryabinin. P. G. Bogatyrev expresses this leitmotif with the formula present in the epic: “... stand for the faith, for the fatherland.” In this epic it is repeated ten times, which has not only structural but also ideological significance, emphasizing the basis of the epic. Vladimir’s daughter and he himself regret that there is no Ilya and there is no one “to stand now for the faith, for the fatherland”; the prince's daughter asks Ilya to stand up for the faith, for the fatherland; Ilya asks the heroes to stand up for the faith, for the fatherland; Ilya responds to Kalin’s offer to serve him that he will “serve... for the faith, for the fatherland”; and once again it’s Ilya repeating Kalina. So the leitmotif marks the essence of the epic, which is a typical epic technique. There are also stable endings or outcomes in epics. The ending “It’s old, it’s deed” is very common. It is found in many epics. Some endings mark precisely the end of the epic: And here they sing the glory of that old fashioned, And in these places the old fashioned is over. Often in the endings we are talking about the glory of the hero: Here they will say about the good old days, And the blue sea for silence, And for good people to obey. All of the indicated features of the traditional structure of epics correspond to a solemn, majestic style and serve to highlight the ideological essence of the works. This is also served by the structure of the plot and the course of development of the action. The basis of the plot is usually an important, significant event, but at the center of the epic there is always a hero: he acts, he achieves a certain goal. His actions are dramatic. Acute tension is created when enemies clash and during conflicts between a hero and a prince, during competitions in wealth, etc. The narrative, like the action itself, develops unilinearly, without introductory episodes. There are, however, so-called retardations - slowdowns of action as a result of a detailed description, for example, of saddling a horse or repetition of situations, for example, an ambassador's exact repetition of the prince's instructions. The events in the epics are not only important, but also extraordinary: the hero defeats the enemy, liberates Kyiv from the siege, saves the girl from captivity; Danube kills Nastasya and commits suicide himself; Chur Ila and Duke amaze everyone with their wealth, Ilya meets his son and kills him; Dobrynya kills the snake, and Alyosha kills Tugarin. The image of the hero is to some extent individualized; Ilya, Dobrynya, Alyosha and other heroes differ from each other. In the creation of their images, plot development plays a large role, which is quite natural in an epic work. Direct characterizations of the heroes are rare and brief. Dialogue occupies an important place: this is a dramatic explanation of the characters, in which the goals of their actions and mental states are clarified. The depiction of the inner world of the characters in epics is not developed, but it is more developed than in a fairy tale! Thus, in the epic “Ilya Muromets and Kalin the Tsar,” the prince’s daughter understands what he himself does not understand: you cannot put a hero in a cellar. The prince realized this later, but for now he is walking around the hill and shedding tears; when Ilya saved Kyiv from the enemy, Prince Vladimir hugs him by the neck and presses him to his zealous heart. What we have before us is a motivated movement of feeling. It should be said that in epics a certain aspect of the depiction of the inner world of the heroes dominates - the connection of personal feelings with the big events that occur in the work. The high moral system of the hero’s feelings and his inner world is revealed. Ilya especially stands out: his feelings and thoughts are subordinated to concerns about his native land. The significance of the events and heroes of the epics determined the general nature of their depiction - hyperbolization. In epics, the entire depicted world is hyperbolic: the heroes themselves, events, the objective world. Hyperbolization occurs in a special type of situation, for example, when a hero fights with a club “ninety pounds”, when he, grabbing the enemy by the legs, beats a strong army: he waves to the right - a street, waves to the left - a side street. In the epics, the size of the objects is enormous, the weight of the bag with the earth's pull is enormous, the height of Svyatogor is enormous, the distances that the heroes cover on their wonderful horses. The enemies are also huge, which allows us to emphasize the strength and courage of the heroes who enter into the fight with them. This is a special world - hyperbolic. The image of such a world serves to exalt the heroes and ridicule their enemies. The artistic world of epics is not only hyperbolic, but also contrasting. Contrast plays a multifaceted role. First of all, the images of the hero and the enemy are contrasted: Ilya and Idolishch, Dobrynya and the Snake, Alyosha and Tugarin, Vasily Ignatievich and Batyga. This opposition distinguishes them not only in appearance (an ordinary person is a giant), but also in character (the defender of his native land is an invader, the savior is a rapist, a Russian and a Christian are a foreigner and an infidel, a filthy one). Oppositions can create special tensions: father - son, husband - wife (Ilya-Sokolnik, Danube - Nastasya). Situational contrasts are especially common: everyone brags - one doesn’t brag, the initial underestimation of the hero and the subsequent revelation of his real qualities, action and an unexpected result. The stylistic originality of epics is determined, on the one hand, by the traditional means of expression of the genre, and on the other, by their evaluative nature in accordance with the content of the works and the images of the characters. In epics, the most commonly used expressive and figurative means are epithets, comparisons, and tautological phrases. They are both traditional and evaluative. These expressive means exist in other genres, but they are more typical for epics. Let us give an example of epithets inherent specifically in epics: “a good squad”, “white tents”, “a red-hot arrow”, “a sharp spear”, “strong mighty heroes”, “capital Kyiv-grad”, “at the affectionate prince Vladimir”, “ white oak tables”, “ringing harp”. They don't exist in other genres. Epic definitions are also typical: “heroic horse”, “heroic dream”; tautological epithets: “bright room”, “dark dungeon”, “salt”, “honey honey”, “old age”. Traditionality leads to the stability of tautologies and epithets. Prince Vladimir is called affectionate even when he is angry; Ambassador Kalina, speaking with Vladimir about his tsar, calls him “the dog Kalin-tsar.” The contrast evokes the following paired diminutive and magnifying forms: Idolishche, hands like a rake, heads with a bowl, little eyes, Ilyushenka, Dobrynyushka, Alyoshenka, Ivanushko (Godenovich), Ovdotyushka. From what has been said, it is clear that traditionalism, hyperbolicity, contrast, evaluativeness - those principles that determine the stylistic expressive and visual means of epics correspond to the content and ideological and artistic essence of the genre. Historical and cultural significance of the Russian epic epic. The historical and cultural significance of the Russian epic epic is enormous. It has exceptional educational value. The epics reflect the peculiar features of the time of their formation and active existence. Works of this genre conveyed the spirit of the times, the mood of the Russian people during the years of terrible trials. They represent an artistic history of the Russian people during the period of feudalism. They expressed the people's aspirations and ideals. The ideological significance of epics is enormous. They fostered love for their native land, pride in its wealth, power and beauty. Bylinas contributed to the formation and development of the national self-awareness of the Russian people. In the era before the Mongol-Tatar invasion, they served to unite the Russian people to fight the Pechenegs and Cumans. During the years of Mongol-Tatar rule, they strengthened the spirit of the Russian people, testifying to their rebellion and intransigence. The ideas of unity, independence and protection of Russian lands are expressed in epics with exceptional force. For centuries, images of heroes have been an example of high patriotism and ideal moral qualities. Epics have high artistic merit: rich life content, ideological content, aesthetic brightness, skill in creating pictures of heroic deeds and images of people from an era distant from us. Slender composition, economy and expressiveness in artistic means, the accuracy of definitions make epics models of perfection. Bylinas played a prominent role in the development of Russian art - literature, music, painting. Pushkin, Nekrasov, Tolstoy, Gorky addressed creative experience epic Rimky-Korsakov in the opera “Sadko” and Grechaninov in the opera “Dobrynia Nikitich”, Vasnetsov in “Three Knights” and “The Knight at the Crossroads”, Repin in “Sadko” were inspired by the plots and images of epics, enriching Russian literature with the experience of folk art. . Russian epics are widely translated into many languages of the world and studied in other countries. Soviet and foreign scientists unanimously recognize the enormous historical and cultural significance of the
The question of the epic as a collective creation of the people is closely related to the question of the language of epics as a means of artistic representation. This issue has been discussed many times, but the aesthetic value vernacular in epics is not sufficiently understood and appreciated.
Language of works folk poetry, like the language of any other literary and artistic works, serves not only as a means of communication, but as a means of an artistic way of expressing the worldview of their creators.
The poetic language of epics is so rich and varied that only its most general and important features can be indicated here, and their development should be the subject of special works. In this case, the poetic language of epics will be considered in the form in which it is known to the Russian reader from collections of epics, starting with the collection of Kirsha Danilov and ending with modern records. The study of earlier periods in the development of the epic language is a special, very complex task that requires special research, since we do not have any direct materials relating to the period before the second half of the 18th century. Earlier materials are monuments not of oral, but of book speech. Before solving the problem of studying the development of poetic language by reconstructing an earlier composition from a later one, it is necessary to consider what this later material is in its completed, established form, richly represented by materials.
Based on the above, it is necessary first of all to establish the specific differences between the poetic language of the epic and the language of other types of folk poetry.
The poetic system of the epic is fundamentally different from the poetic system of folk lyrics. One of the main techniques artistic expression folk lyrics (including all types of it, including wedding and funeral lamentations) is metaphorical. “Metaphor” usually means “the transfer of characteristics from one object to another.” It is possible that such a definition of metaphor will be fruitful for linguistic research itself; for the purposes of study artistic language it is unusable. The creative act of creation artistic image does not consist in the transfer of characteristics. This definition comes not from an analysis of the creative act of an artistic image, but from the etymology of the term inherited from Aristotle, which means “transfer”. There is no opportunity here to reconsider this issue. For the study of folk poetry, the concept of “transfer of characteristics” turns out to be fruitless. It will be more fruitful to define the metaphorical nature of folk poetry as a certain type allegories, as the replacement of one visual image with another. Thus, the image of a crying girl may in itself be poetic, but it may not be. But if the image of a crying girl is replaced by the image of a birch tree lowering its branches to the water, it will be perceived poetically. In this sense, Russian folk lyrics are metaphorical to the highest degree, and most of the images are drawn from the nature surrounding the singers.
If we approach the poetic language of epics from this point of view, it turns out that the language of the epic is almost completely devoid of metaphor. This does not mean that the singer does not master the art of allegory. The absence of metaphors in the epic is not a flaw, but an indicator of a different system. There are metaphors and comparisons in the epic, but they are very rare and do not constitute the main artistic principle of the epic.
Indeed, you can listen or watch several dozen songs without finding a single metaphorical turn. Such expressions as mother of the cheese earth, Mother Volga, clear falcons and others belong to the whole people, and not only to heroic poetry, but these phrases are rare. Only in the epic is Vladimir called the red sun. In the same place where the narrative intersperses with places lyrical character, metaphors also appear. In the epic about the Lithuanian raid there is a lyrical lament of the hero about his old age, which is expressed in the following beautiful verses using allegories:
Oh, you youth, you are great!
My youth flew away into an open field,
In an open field and a clear falcon;
Old age flew to me from the open field,
From the open field yes black raven,
And she sat on the shoulders of heroes!
But old age cannot break a hero. The hero sets off against the Lithuanians, despite his old age, and the singer (T. G. Ryabinin) notes that “the heart in him does not rust.” The epic about Ilya, Ermak and Tsar Kalina tells how young Ermak is the first to rush into battle, without comrades. The rest of the heroes arrive later and turn to Ermak with the following words: “You, Ermak, have had breakfast, leave us some lunch,” calling breakfast the beginning of the battle, and lunch its height. In this case, the metaphorical turn is perceived as a joke.
All of these examples represent isolated locations in the background huge amount lines completely devoid of such phrases. Metaphor in epic is a rare phenomenon.
The most striking use of metaphors is observed in cases where sharp indignation is expressed. Thus, Kalin, advancing on Kyiv, is called a dog. Ilya Muromets scolds his horse when he refuses to jump over the ditch - “a wolf’s feed, a bag of grass.” Vasily Buslaevich scolds his godfather with words such as “a trash basket”, “a junk harness” and others.
The Poganoe idol is depicted in the following very vivid images:
His head is like a strong beer pot,
If only his mustache was like a royal dish,
If only his eyes were as strong as cups,
If only his hands were like a rake,
If only his knives were strong.
Thus, metaphor in the epic has a limited circulation, it is used mainly in lyrical places, or to express anger, indignation, condemnation, or it is of a comic nature, but even in these cases it is rarely used.
How can one explain such a limited use of metaphor in epic, while lyric poetry is thoroughly permeated with metaphor?
The subject of the lyrics are phenomena of everyday life, most often personal life. The individual experiences of individuals in themselves, although they may excite deep sympathy, are of only limited general interest. Interest is largely determined by the form of their expression. So, love, separation, death loved one primarily affect those directly affected. Such feelings can acquire wider universal interest only if, through the power of poetry, they are given a generalizing character; allegorical, metaphorical, as one of the ways of poeticization, gives personal events a universal significance, gives them deep interest, and evokes sympathy.
With epic the situation is different. Those objects, those phenomena of life that are glorified in it, the heroes created by him and the events depicted by him are so high, perfect and beautiful, have in themselves such broad national interest that they do not need any metaphor. They do not require any substitution, replacement, or correlation with images from other areas of life, for example, from nature. On the contrary, as will be seen, the entire poetic system of the epic is aimed at isolating and defining what is needed from the entire surrounding world with perfect clarity and accuracy, so that the image created by the poetic imagination appears before the listener in all its visual concreteness. If in a lyrical song the listener, instead of a crying girl, sees a birch tree lowering its branches to the water, then in an epic such a replacement is impossible and unnecessary.
Slightly more widespread than metaphor is comparison. The comparison is very close to a metaphor. In metaphor, one image is replaced by another; in comparison, the original image is preserved, but is brought closer to another by similarity. Ilya “sits on a horse like a hundred-year-old oak.” Such a comparison, although very colorful, is not at all in the spirit of the epic. It is an individual creation of the singer, there are no options for it. Oak image obscures the image of Elijah, the people know and love the image of Elijah as he is. Comparison is not a phenomenon specific to the epic, although one can find in it whole line wonderful comparisons. Through comparison, for example, the abstract turns into the concrete, or rather, acquires visibility. Singers know the means to represent, for example, the passage of time in visible images.
Again, day after day, it’s like rain,
Week after week - like grass grows,
And year after year - like a river flows.
Comparison is used when describing female beauty:
The face is white, as if White snow,
Cheeks like poppies,
She walks like a peacock,
Her speech is swan-like.
The eyes are compared with the eyes of a falcon, the eyebrows with black sables, the gait of a white doe, etc. In this case, the comparison does not reach the same degree of artistic perfection as when comparing time with rain or a river. It is unlikely that the eyes of a Russian beauty can be compared with the eyes of a falcon, or even more so her voice with the voice of a swan, which the singer probably has not even heard. It is more successful to use the image of a falcon for such comparisons as “All ships fly like falcons,” or: “His horse runs like a falcon flies.” The falcon is one of the favorite images to symbolize youth, courage, mobility, beauty and independence, although this image is more developed in lyric poetry than in epic.
The relatively minor position that comparison occupies in the poetics of epics is explained by the fact that the entire system of poetic expressiveness of the epic is aimed, as will be seen, not at bringing together by similarity, but at differentiating by difference.
If this observation is correct, it explains one of the characteristic techniques of the epic, also known in other types of folk poetry, one of its poetic achievements, namely negative comparison.
Negative comparison contains convergence, but at the same time introduces differentiation. The army of the Tatars is compared to a menacing cloud, to an approaching dark cloud, but at the same time this is not a cloud or a cloud - these are real Tatars.
Negative comparison meets all the most stringent requirements of folk aesthetics. It contains allegorical imagery, but at the same time remains consistent with reality. Perhaps that is why it is one of the favorite techniques of folklore, and in particular epic, and is used in the most important, dramatic places in the narrative. Thus, the hero’s departure from home is described as follows:
The dawn was breaking,
The sun rolled out not red,
A good fellow came out here,
Good fellow Ilya Muromets
On his heroic horse.
The gray beard of Ilya Muromets is compared to snow:
Snowballs that are not white have turned white,
The old man's gray beard turned white.
A son going out into the field and asking his parents for blessings is compared to a young oak tree that is bending to the ground; but this is not an oak tree, this is a good job.
Negative comparison is one of the most characteristic and typical poetic techniques Russian heroic epic. In one step it combines imagery with the highest degree of realistic description. To depict life in such a way, with such accuracy and vitality, that the imaginary appears as real, so that it can be seen, so that one can follow developing events as if they were playing out before one’s eyes - this is the main desire of the singer.
With such an attitude towards what is depicted, the word acquires a completely special meaning. The word is a means of coining an image, and the singer values it to the highest degree. This desire for accuracy is met by another method of artistic representation, namely epithet. We can say that the epithet is one of the main visual means of the epic. While metaphorical phrases are a rare phenomenon, the artistic speech of absolutely all singers is abundantly peppered with epithets.
Here again it is necessary to make a terminological clarification. The opinion that a poetic epithet serves to “decorate” speech cannot be accepted by a Soviet researcher. The widespread doctrine of epithets boils down to the fact that basically two main types of epithets are recognized. One is the so-called decorating epithets; they are also recognized as strictly poetic. These epithets do not establish a new characteristic for the defined object, but fix a characteristic that is included in the concept of the object (blue sky, fast running, dark forest etc.). Another kind - defining or necessary, communicating something about an object that is not included in its concept (a young apple tree, a straight road, etc.). A number of intermediate species are recognized, but in general this division underlies even modern theoretical aids.
It can be argued that such a division is completely erroneous; it essentially leads us to Kant’s doctrine of synthetic and analytical judgments, with the only difference that here what Kant says about the predicate is applied to the attribute. This division does not recognize cognitive goals and functions for art, leaving behind “purely aesthetic” functions. The term “decorating” does not stand up to criticism and should be completely abandoned.
The study of epithets of folk poetry leads to the conclusion that the epithet in all cases there is a means of clarification, although the objects and purposes of clarification can be very different. The epithet gives the noun precise visual or other definition, forcing the listener or reader to see or perceive the object the way the singer wants it, as needed for the given narrative.
Epithets are characteristic not only of one heroic epic. As A.P. Evgenieva showed, funeral lamentations are extremely rich in them. But the selection of epithets, the worldview or emotions they express for each genre will be completely different. Most lamentation epithets are completely impossible in epic and vice versa.
Evil, unbearable melancholy, unquenchable
Everything will fill my hapless womb.
(Barsov. Lamentations
Northern Territory, I, 1872, p. 61)
The epithets “evil”, “obnoxious”, “unhappy”, etc. are completely impossible in heroic epic, especially when applied to such nouns as “melancholy” or “womb”. Thus, although epithets are not a distinctive feature of the epic, their content differs from the epithets of other genres.
From a logical point of view, an epithet is a definition. One of the purposes of a definition is to distinguish an object from similar ones. Thus, the word “yard” can have dozens different meanings, depending on the defining epithet. But when it says “embassy courtyard”, the courtyard is distinguished from all possible courtyards and in this case is designated from the side of its purpose. Epithets, defining objects relative to other objects of the same genus or type, are found extremely often not only in poetic works, but also in prose, everyday business or scientific speech. The epic is extremely rich in them: spare clothes, road clothes, travel shalyga, messenger letter, guilty letter, Streletskaya street, straight road, roundabout road, beer glass, etc. Omission of such epithets in other cases could lead to misunderstanding or even nonsense. These epithets are based on designation through some kind of selective act. Changing the epithet would denote a different subject. The road is straight and roundabout - different roads, and not the same one.
Although epithets of this kind are not a feature of poetic speech, they perform a certain artistic function in the epic, the function of precise designation.
Characteristic, for example, is the stability with which the epithet “right” is used in the epic. “He stepped with his right foot into the glorious Gridnya of the prince”; Dobrynya unfastens the bow “from the right damask stirrup”; Ilya ties the Nightingale the Robber “to the right stirrup of damask steel”; during reconnaissance, the hero “crouched to the ground with his right ear”; offended at the feast, he “hung his head on the right side.” Although one could do without such a precise designation, the singer cannot do without it; he sees so clearly, so accurately and distinctly the events he depicts and the people he depicts, that he not only sees the fact of Ilya tying the Nightingale the Robber to the stirrup, but sees, How he does this, sees that he is tying it to the right, and not to the left stirrup, and so conveys the event.
The epithets are even more widely represented in the epic, based not on the electoral act (in response to the question “which”), but on determining quality("Which"). If the epithet were changed, the same object would appear in a different form. This type of epithets performs a wide variety of functions.
Many of these epithets are intended to transform a vague, amorphous idea into a specific visual image. When they say: stone, sky, flowers, beast, raven, face, curls, braid, chambers, chair, etc., then these are general ideas. If you give them, for example, coloring, they turn into bright visual images: a blue stone, a clear sky, azure flowers, a black raven, a ruddy face, yellow curls, a light brown braid, white chambers, a golden chair. The world of things came to life and became bright and colorful. It’s one thing to say “I’ve been traveling for 24 hours,” but it’s another thing to say
And he rode from day to evening,
A and dark night until the light of day.
We not only find out how long the hero has been on the road, but also see the darkness of the night and the light of the morning.
Another way to achieve the same goals is to specify material, from which the item is made: damask dagger, silk whip, marten coat, sable cap; tables are always oak, stoves are brick, sails are linen, etc. Sometimes words are created that immediately designate both material and color: white oak tables, white stone chambers, white linen (Russian) or black velvet (Tatar) tent, etc.
Epithets define an object not only in terms of its color and material, but in terms of any other bright distinctive features, the introduction of which contributes to the instant sensory perception of the object: mother damp earth, clear field, clear field in Razdolitsa, arable fields, spring creeks, birch trees near Toya near the gag (that is, inclined), higher than the spherical tree (that is, wide at the top), a dark forest, a damp oak, a prowling wolf, a clear flying falcon, a wavy mountain, loose sand, shallow rivers, swamps, a walking cloud, on a long spring day and etc.
Such epithets applied to natural phenomena show how subtly the singer feels nature. There are no descriptions of nature in Russian epic. But it is enough for the singer to say two or three words, and we, as if alive, see before us Russian nature with its endless open spaces, winding rivers, dark forests, soft hills, and grain-bearing fields.
Similar apt epithets characterize not only nature, but everything that surrounds the singer: people, buildings, the entire environment of life, down to such details as benches, windows, locks, towels, etc. A listing of such epithets would take entire pages. Lists of epithets and a formal classification of epithets exist, but such lists provide little insight into their artistic significance, which consists, as the young Dobrolyubov put it in one of his earliest articles, in “the desire for figurativeness and liveliness of impression.”
But the epithet not only makes you see the object in all its brightness. Artistic epithet makes it possible to express, for example, feelings characters, their relationship to each other and thereby characterize them. So, for example, in the Russian epic, family members always express their tender feelings towards each other; the son will say, turning to his mother: “you are light, dear mother”, parents say about their children “dear children”, the husband will say about his wife “beloved little family”, the wife about her husband - “beloved sovereign”; respectively: “my beloved nephew”, “my dear uncle”, etc.
The epithet expresses worldview people, their attitude to the world, their assessment of the environment. People either love it or hate it. There are no middle feelings in his poetry.
Accordingly, the epic knows only or vividly goodies, embodying the highest ideals of the people, their courage, perseverance, love for the homeland, truthfulness, restraint, cheerfulness, or brightly negative heroes - enemies of the homeland, invaders, rapists, enslavers; Negative types also include enemies of the social order, such as princes, boyars, priests, and merchants. Accordingly, there is truth and untruth or falsehood, in the broad sense of the word. There is also nothing in between truth and falsehood. The people love their heroes with enthusiastic love and respect them; they hate their enemies with active hatred and are always ready to enter into a decisive life-or-death struggle with them. The struggle in the epic always leads to victory or reveals the rightness of some and the moral bankruptcy of others. This is one of the expressions vitality the people, their faith in the inevitable victory of the just, popular cause.
Accordingly, everything that the singer loves and accepts in life is portrayed as excellent and best; the corresponding group of epithets, which can be called evaluative epithets, is extremely rich. The singer designates his homeland, Rus', as nothing other than holy. Its heroes are the Holy Russian mighty heroes. The hero has great strength, physical and moral; it is said about his heart that he has a heroic, indomitable heart; he has a “zealous heart.” He moves his powerful shoulders, jumps up on quick legs, and has a wild little head. The epithet “kind” attached to the word “well done” is characteristic, which does not mean kindness, but the totality of all those qualities that one should have true hero. Such combinations as “a distant, portly, kind fellow,” “a kind, good fellow,” clearly show what is meant by the word “kind.”
Accordingly, the hero always has the best weapons: he has a Cherkassy saddle, a forged saddle, and the saddle is usually described in great detail: all the accessories are of the highest and most exquisite quality, but not for “beauty-bass”, but for strength. The hero always has a sharp saber, a tight, explosive bow with a silk string and red-hot arrows; he has strong armor, a heroic horse, which he feeds with “white millet”. However, in accordance with the entire aesthetics of the Russian epic, according to which it is not the external, ostentatious side that is important, the horse is not distinguished by its size or beauty. Ilya has a small, shaggy Burushko. External plainness contrasts with high qualities invisible to the eye. Mikula Selyaninovich has a nightingale filly, an ordinary peasant horse, which, however, overtakes the horse of Prince Volga. Mikula's plow is sometimes described according to the opposite principle: the horns of a fish tooth on it, the suckers of red gold, etc.
The best is always reported about the things and people sung in the epic. Objects and people are drawn as they should ideally be. The girl is always a beauty, a beautiful maiden; there are no others in the epic. The dress is always colored, and not some colorless one, the berries are sweet, the drinks are strong, the gifts are rich, the words are reasonable, the speech is touching, etc. If the hero washes, it is always only with clean, cold, spring water, and he wipes himself only with clean water. , and not some collected towel.
In this regard, the epithet “glorious” is characteristic. This epithet denotes the totality of those qualities public order, which entail national recognition and glory. Hence the frequent ending to songs - “they sing glory.” All heroes in general and each individually are called glorious; this word denotes an outpost (“on the glorious one on the Moscow outpost”); this word can be used to name Russian rivers (“near the nice little river near Smorodina”), or individual cities, like Murom, the birthplace of Ilya Muromets, or the capital of Rus' - Kyiv (“in the glorious city in Kyiv”).
The selection of epithets used to designate negative phenomena is immeasurably poorer. The singer doesn’t like to dwell on them for long. There is only one unchanging and constant word with which the singer denotes both the enemies of his homeland and his attitude towards them. This word is “filthy.” The Tatars are endowed with only this one constant epithet. It also denotes Lithuania when it is planning a campaign against Rus' (in other cases it is “good”). Idolishche is also called “filthy.” You can find in some cases some other epithets, but in general the attitude towards all kinds of enemies of the hero and the people is expressed not so much by epithets as by metaphorical designations of an abusive order, examples of which are given above.
The enemies of social order are similarly characterized by epithets that are both evaluative and characterizing. So, when the boyars are called “fat-bellied,” the listener not only sees the figure of such a boyar before his eyes, but also shares the feelings of hatred and ridicule that the singers put into this word.
The issue of the so-called “permanent” as well as “petrified” epithets should be especially covered. Both of these terms should be considered unfortunate. They instill the idea that the stock of epithets has been created once and for all and that the people use them without much discernment or meaning.
Vsev especially valued these epithets. Miller, since at first glance they confirm his theory of the creative impotence of singers. He writes: “It is obvious that the epithet has already lost its original freshness and imagery, and circulates in the school of singers like a walking coin, sometimes spent opportunely, sometimes in vain, mechanically.” All in. Miller considers it absurd that the faces in the epic do not change with age. Ilya Muromets is constantly called old, even when he leaves home after healing. Dobrynya is always young, even after serving in Kyiv for 12 years. He then returns to his young wife, who does not age.
“These examples are sufficient to show the mechanical use of constant epithets found both in ours and in other epics.”
In reality the situation is different. The fact that faces in epics and fairy tales do not age is associated with a special concept of time in folklore, which cannot be discussed here. The girl in the epic will always be called the “red maiden,” and the fellow “good fellow,” not because the epithet has frozen, but because, according to folk aesthetics, no fellow except the kind can be praised. Permanent epithet is used for features that the people consider constant and necessary and which they repeat not due to creative impotence, but because without this feature the subject for epic poetry is impossible. Where this requirement is not present, as we have seen, a wide variety of epithets are possible.
The situation is somewhat different with the so-called fossilized epithets, which are used where their use, from the point of view of modern literary requirements, would be inappropriate. Such irrelevance is again not a sign of “petrification” or creative impotence. The people consider all the signs they define not as their subjective opinions or impressions, but as signs objectively inherent in the objects, persons and phenomena being defined. So, the honest widow Amelfa Timofeevna objectively, that is, in all cases of life and always, is an honest widow, and she cannot be any other. The singer does not allow and cannot imagine any other attitude towards her or any other image of her, since he does not allow any violations of the truth. Therefore, Dobrynya calls her mother not only “darling mother,” but also “the honest widow Amelfa Timofeevna.” On the other hand, Tatars can only be nasty and nothing else in any case. It is absolutely impossible for a Russian singer to take the Tatar point of view. Therefore, it is quite natural for the singer that the Tatar king Kalin would address his subordinates with the words:
Oh you, my Tatars,
Oh, my filthy ones.
For the same reasons, Marinka, in a conversation with Dobrynya, calls herself a whore and a poisoner.
There is no doubt that this reflects a certain limited horizon, characteristic of peasants in general, but by no means creative impotence. This kind of use of epithets follows from the inability of the people to make any kind of compromise in their opinions and in their assessment.
The presented materials and observations show how rich and varied the use of epithets is in Russian epic. An epithet distinguishes an object from similar ones and thus defines it. The epithet promotes precise and clear designation. It creates vivid visual images by highlighting distinctive qualities. The epithet corresponds to one of the main aspirations of the linguistic art of epic, which is to give words the proper weight and sound, so that the words and the images expressed by them are embedded and imprinted. Finally, the epithet expresses the attitude of the people to the world around them, expresses popular opinion, his trial and evaluation.
It is easy to see that these same goals can be achieved by other means, not just epithets. Thus, the Russian language provides ample opportunities to express one’s attitude - positive or negative - through the use of diminutive, affectionate or, conversely, derogatory forms.
The abundance of endearments expresses the extraordinary kindness of the people towards everything that is worthy of love, recognition, and affection. Probably, no other language in the world has such richness and such flexibility and expressiveness of affectionate or diminutive forms as the Russian language. This is reflected extremely clearly in the epic. People call all the main positive heroes by affectionate names: Alyoshenka, Dobrynyushka, less often - Ileyushka or Ilyushenka, Dunayushka, Vasenka Buslaevich, Ivanushka Godinovich. The hero has a smart little head, he thinks a strong or great idea, he gets up early, dresses quickly, washes himself white.
He threw his marten fur coat over one shoulder,
A sable hat for one ear,
He grabbed a damask stick under his bosom.
Here in three lines (from T. G. Ryabinin) there are five diminutives. Setting off on her little journey, Dobrynya asks her mother for a blessing; he puts a sweatshirt under his saddle, takes red-hot arrows, etc. Ilya Muromets at the outpost puts on his boots and takes a telescope.
The abundance of endearments and diminutives is one of the manifestations of folk humanism, the ability to have soft and kind feelings towards those who deserve these feelings.
Accordingly, the anger of the people, their disapproval, hatred and ridicule are expressed in derogatory forms, the possibilities of which in the Russian language are also quite rich and colorful.
Vasenka Buslaevich is contrasted with his Godfather, pilgrim elder, Gloomy, Andronishche or Ignatyche. Batu is called the king of Batuishe, Tugarin is a filthy Ugarishche, Vladimir’s insidious adviser is called Vaska Torokashko. The Idol has arms like rakes and ears like saucers.
The study of the epithet showed that each word is given certainty and weight. The desire to increase the specific weight of each word can explain one of the features of the poetic language of epics, which at first glance seems to have no artistic significance, but which in fact is found only in artistic poetic speech, mainly in epic. This feature consists in the use of prepositions different from prosaic language. In an epic, a preposition can appear not only before the entire group of words to which it belongs, but is often repeated before each word separately. The Danube “worships on all three and four sides.” Combinations such as: “to Slavn, to the city, to Kyiv, to affectionate, to Prince, to Vladimir” are constantly used; “against many princes, against boyars, against mighty Russian heroes” (a feast is convened); “in the glorious city of Murom, in the village of Karacharovo”; “Who would tell us about the old, about the old, about the past, about that Ilya about Muromets?”
These are not isolated cases characteristic of individual singers or localities, this is the general law of the epic style. The preposition in these cases ceases to play the role of just a preposition. As a preposition, it would be needed only once, and the same singer in prose will not repeat prepositions as persistently and systematically as is done in poetry. Taking a closer look at these cases, we can establish that prepositions here perform a dividing function. A preposition separates the definition from the defined, separates two or three definitions from one another, etc. In short, the repetition of prepositions separates words from each other. This achieves a certain discharge of words and thus increases the specific weight of each word individually.
An explanation has been put forward that the repeated use of prepositions is supposedly dictated by the desire for slow speech, but such an explanation is doubtful. Why is slow speech more artistic than normal or accelerated speech? Pace in itself is not a sign of artistry; this technique is found only in artistic speech.
In the book by M.P. Shtokmar, the following is said regarding the repetition of prepositions: “Various repetitions of function words and particles that do not carry independent stress play a very noticeable role in folk poetic speech, as a result of which such repetitions turn out to be one of the factors of polysyllabicity of the folk language. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to note the repetition of prepositions.” That an extra number of prepositions increases the number of syllables is indisputable, just as it is indisputable that this increase affects the rhythm. But this still doesn't explain anything.
When it is said: “she took him by the little hands for white ones, by his rings for golden ones,” then in this combination the whiteness of pampered hands with gold rings stands out more sharply and prominently than with a simple statement in prose: she took him by the white hands with gold rings . To state a fact, one preposition is enough; to highlight colorful, vivid details, they are separated from one another, thanks to which they appear in all their meaning. In the lines “who would tell us about the old, about the past,” etc., the division of words emphasizes that we are not talking about anyone, but about Ilya Muromets; that everything that will be sung about really happened; that this was not now, but in ancient times. The dividing function of the preposition corresponds to how the singer sees, divides, emphasizes, and highlights the phenomena of the world.
All of the above leads to the observation that the proportion of words in the epic is extremely large, that singers weigh words and value them. From this point of view, the techniques by which the epic introduces direct speech. “Khotinushka said these words.” This is a permanent form of introducing direct speech. These words not only introduce direct speech; they contain the idea that every word of this speech will have meaning. “He began to pronounce word by word.” But not only the characters in the song say “verbally,” the singer himself says so, and this is one of the foundations of the aesthetics of the epic. The word is like a chisel, with which the sculptor forces every detail of what is depicted to appear, turning the amorphous and undivided into formed and refined.
One way to emphasize the meaning of a word is to repeat the target word or group of words. Singers widely use this technique: “here comes an old Cossack, old, old Cossack Ilya Muromets.” Ilya’s old age, which is very important for the appearance of the hero and a characteristic feature of him, is highlighted and emphasized here by the fact that the word “old” is repeated three times. Another example: the triumph of Marinka, who burns the earth from under Dobrynya’s trace in order to bewitch him with her love spells, is expressed in the line: “the oak wood caught fire, the oak wood caught fire.”
This technique, once developed, can sometimes be used where it is essentially not needed: “because of the forest, the dark forest.” None special significance in the course of the action, the forest does not have exactly the same character as a forest; but repetition is a characteristic technique of the epic style, and its use does not violate artistry even where, strictly speaking, one could do without it.
Literal repetition of the same word (tautology) is relatively rare. From the same root are formed different words, and singers with great art use this technique. When Ilya observes the approach of the Tatars from the city wall or from a hill, he sees that they are “black as a black crow.” Here the designation of blackness is given in three different forms; the repetition emphasizes the myriad of approaching Tatars. This also includes such combinations as tightly, tightly, tightly, quickly, quickly, forever and ever.
The horse stands white and white,
The tail-mane is black.
Repetition enhances the meaning and weight of a word, gives sharpness to the quality or property indicated through repetition. “Tightly” means complete inviolability this word under all circumstances of life without any exceptions; “for ever” sounds stronger than “forever” or “forever”, meaning that there will never be an end.
Repetition acquires special power when the repeated words or groups of them are divided into different lines. The end of a line creates a natural pause, and thus creates a short stop between repeated words or word combinations. Repeated combinations can appear at the end of one line and the beginning of the next (so-called palilogy), or both repeated elements appear at the beginning of the line (anaphora). Repetition at the end of lines (epiphora) as an artistic device is unknown in Russian epic.
Don't hit me in the white face,
By the whiteness of the face, by the ruddy one.
The division into two lines enhances the sharpness of the shout: the inadmissibility of beating in the face in a heroic fight.
He had one child,
One child and one.
The repetition of the words “one child” in two lines emphasizes the full significance of the fact that there was only one son.
Yes, I have a new saber,
Yes, it’s a new saber, not chiseled,
Not a chiseled saber, not bloody.
Our Prince Vladimir became sad,
He became sad and worried.
In this case, the repeated elements appear at the beginning of the lines. This type of repetition in its artistic significance does not differ from repetition at the end of one and the beginning of the next line. In this case, this technique emphasizes the strength of Vladimir’s despair.
A special case of repetition occurs when one time a sign is given in its positive form, another - through the negation of its opposite. In prose speech, a statement through the negation of the opposite (litotes) can serve both to weaken the statement and to strengthen it: “made a small mistake” is perceived as a weakened form of “big mistake.” On the contrary: “made a considerable mistake” is a strengthened form of “small mistake”, meaning that the mistake was essentially made big.
IN folk speech This technique is used only for strengthening. When it is said “for great annoyance, not a little,” then the negation “not for a little” emphasizes the meaning of the word “great” and strengthens the statement. Even sharper:
We just saw a considerable miracle,
Like a no small miracle, a great one.
Denying the opposite strengthens the statement:
He poured a glass of green wine.
A considerable amount of charm, one and a half buckets.
Not for beauty, for pleasing, -
For the sake of the heroic fortress.
All this shows with what skill the people master the techniques of isolation and characterization, how great the variety of artistic means is.
In cases where we are not talking about an object or quality, but about an individual character, it is not the name that is repeated, but the pronoun replacing it:
He, Dunayushka, was an ambassador,
He, the Danube, knew many lands.
The double repetition of the word “he” in the name of the Danube should emphasize that it is the Danube, and not anyone else, that can be sent to foreign lands for a bride for Vladimir.
A pronoun can take a contracted form, in which case it is essentially an article. “The way Ugarin sits and looks at him.” “Ugarin-ot” is an abbreviation for “Ugarin that” or “this”, that is, mentioned, indicated. This is an underdeveloped definite article, not commonly used in modern literary prose, but performing in the epic the artistic function of highlighting, emphasizing during secondary mention; such increased emphasis meets one of the main aesthetic requirements of the epic, which consists in the accuracy of the designation of the highlighted objects. The examples are extremely numerous: “Well done, he was smart for that,” “The feast is about half a feast,” “Like the day goes to evening.”
I came to woo Annushka,
Like the same one on Annushka Putyachnaya.
In the last example full form pronouns more sharply emphasizes the accuracy of designation and emphasis (Annushka Putyatichna, and not some other) than the abbreviated form of it “from”.
From repetitions aimed at strengthening the specific weight of a word, one should distinguish combinations and compounds of words that are similar in meaning or even go back to the same root, but have a different purpose.
One of the varieties of such combinations is that an addition of the same root is added to the verb: think a thought, winter the winter, do service, joke jokes, bequeath a covenant, bargain, trade, etc. The purpose of such combinations is not to to strengthen the meaning of a word, but to give it precision. “Think”, “joke”, “serve”, “winter” and similar verbs for folk poetics are not specific and precise enough, inexpressive and vague. “Thinking” is not the same as “thinking thoughts.” Through the addition, the verb receives definiteness. An epithet is often added to the addition, and then that completeness and clarity of expression is achieved that is so characteristic of the language of the epic: to think a strong thought, to perform a considerable service, to joke worthless jokes.
Another type of this kind of combination is that another word is added to it, very close to it in meaning: at that time, he began to spin and became sad, from that grief, from the sadness, without shame, without shame, I know, I know, he goes by way and by road, and others. Such combinations are very characteristic of the epic and are very numerous and varied.
It is usually believed that such combinations are caused by a desire for slowness of speech. They were also explained by the requirements of the rhythm of the verse. Both of these explanations must be considered incorrect. There is no deliberate desire for slow speech. All observations of the poetry of epics speak, on the contrary, of the extreme economy of linguistic means, of conciseness, laconicism, and clarity. Likewise, the action always develops quickly, energetically, full of passionate tension and merciless struggle. “Epic calm” exists only in unsuccessful theories. It is also impossible to admit that these turns are dictated by the requirements of rhythm: the system of musical and the system of poetic rhythm are in such a relationship that they do not interfere with each other, but are in harmonious combination. In cases where musical rhythm requires a beat, a syllable, but the text does not give it, the singer stretches out the vowels, as the musical notations show with precise subtext. In those cases when, due to the flow or nature of the musical phrase, the vowel sound cannot be stretched, words with a weakened semantic function, but supporting the rhythm, such as “a”, “a i”, “ai”, “da”, are inserted into the text. “then”, “the same”, “whether”, “after all”, “everything”. Such words are usually called enclitics. That a folk poet could use words that have a certain, clearly expressed meaning as enclitics to fill the rhythm is as unlikely as in literary poems the use of words for the sake of rhyme and not for the sake of meaning. If such cases exist, they indicate the poor talent of the poet or singer, the decline of poetry, but they cannot be defined as a system characteristic of the epic.
In science, combinations of this kind are usually called synonymous. The theory of A.P. Evgenieva is based on this. Without exception, she considers all such combinations to be synonymous and in her conclusions she says: “Synonymy serves to enhance the meaning, accentuation of individual words, syntagmas, verses, which bear the main semantic load.” Thus, synonymy is considered as a type of tautology, which should also emphasize the meaning and weight of the words being highlighted.
This point of view cannot be considered correct. In folk speech of the same locality, absolute synonyms, as a rule, do not exist at all; they are possible only as a rare case; what at first glance appears to be synonyms to the observer actually expresses a very subtle, but for the singer-poet a very significant and tangible difference. The point is that phrases and combinations of this kind are not synonymous. It’s time and time, the path and the road, to be tormented and sad, shame and disgrace, etc. from the point of view of the singer and in reality different concepts. They complement each other. They are not caused by the slowness of speech or the desire to enhance meaning, but, like epithets, they testify to the desire for the greatest precision of expression, for the finest differentiation in the meaning attached to words. Thus, the word “shame” expresses a feeling in relation to the speaker (shame - to be ashamed), shame - in relation to environment(shame - to disgrace yourself). “Path” means the fact of movement in general, regardless of the forms of its implementation; “road” means specifically those places on the ground, the line along which the person moving follows. You can go to places where there is no road, you can pave the way and build roads. Similar differences can be established in all cases of such combinations.
In cases where not only words, but synonymous ones are repeated at the end of lines groups of words, we no longer have only the phenomenon of semantic order, but the order of organization of poetic speech. The rhythm and metric of the epic verse cannot be studied here. They constitute the subject of a special discipline. But some individual phenomena associated with the rhythmic use of words still need to be briefly considered.
Belinsky drew attention to the repetition of verbal groups at the end of lines and gave them something different and more correct interpretation, than was subsequently done in the works of some scientists (“psychological parallelism” by Veselovsky), Belinsky extremely boldly and convincingly attributed them to the field rhymes and interpreted them as semantic rhymes. He writes: “In Russian folk poetry, rhyme plays a big role not in words, but in meaning: the Russian person does not chase rhyme - he puts it not in consonance, but in cadence, and seems to prefer semi-rich rhymes to rich ones; but its real rhyme is the rhyme of meaning: by this word we mean the duality of verses, of which the second rhymes with the first in thought. Hence these frequent and apparently unnecessary repetitions of words, expressions and entire verses; hence these negative similarities, which, so to speak, the real subject of speech is shaded».
The last words show that Belinsky considered the phenomena of versification in connection with the semantic side of verse. Here are some examples:
How clearly the falcon flew out,
As if a white gyrfalcon was flying out.
There was a feast, an honorable feast,
There was a table, a table of honor.
All of you in Kyiv are remarried,
Only I, Vladimir the Prince, am single,
And I go single, I go out unmarried.
Rhyme is not a phenomenon associated only with sound. Rhyme clearly marks the end of the stanza and, together with rhythm, introduces into the speech the principle of some organization of it, creating some kind of verbal pattern. The pair of rhymes creates some symmetry. The same and more perfect and complete symmetry is created by the given parallelisms, which Belinsky called semantic rhyme; the law of symmetry is one of the laws of folk art. Folk art is permeated with symmetry. art, like embroidery, lace, trim, etc.; Peasant buildings, both civil and church, are symmetrical. We can talk about symmetry of speech as one of the artistic techniques of folk verse.
All the examples and observations given speak about one thing: the presence of very specific and very strict requirements, the presence of a pronounced folk aesthetics. One of the main requirements of this aesthetics is the choice of a word or combination of words that would give the most clear and distinct visual image. Everything here requires the greatest, finest finishing. In the epic you can see the importance attached to details in folk art. The singer cannot imagine his art outside of these details.
The main features of the poetic language of epics relate to the field of vocabulary. This is understandable, since the word is the building material from which both human speech and a work of art are created.
But artistic value in the epic there are not only phenomena of vocabulary, but also some phenomena of morphology and syntax.
So, for example, the freedom with which singers handle verbal forms and tenses is noteworthy.
It can be noted that in the epic the imperfect form is preferred, and it is used where in general Russian speech or in prose the perfect form would be required. The imperfect form expresses not only the incompleteness of the action, but also its repetition, as well as its duration. However, completeness or incompleteness, one-time or multiplicity do not have the decisive significance in the epic that the duration and length (duration) of the action have. The imperfect form is used for clearly one-time and completed actions, only if the action is depicted as continuous.
imposed he is a red-hot arrow,
Pulled a silken bowstring.
In modern literary language such use of species would be impossible. In both cases it would be necessary to use the same form, and a perfect one at that: put an arrow, pull the bowstring. But the singer orders differently: “imposed” denotes a certain duration of action, “pulled” - its instantaneity.
Such cases show that species are not used from the point of view of the completion or incompleteness of an action; It can be observed that the imperfect view is preferred. It is constantly said: “he himself said these words” (instead of “said”), “he went to get married” (instead of “went”), “Vasilisa Mikulichna sat on a good horse” (instead of “sat down”), “what will you take with you” (instead of “will you take”), etc.
The imperfect form is preferred because it fits better with the whole aesthetic of epic poetry than the perfect form. “Said,” “entered,” “sat down,” “put down,” etc., are mere statements of fact; on the contrary: “spoke”, “entered”, “sat down”, “imposed” not only establish a fact, but draw his. Depicted as a long action, it is better presented to the imagination than a short, torn, one-time, complete one. Poems such as “and wrote the label, soon wrote” completely reveal the singer’s artistic aspirations. Just establishing an action by using the elephant “wrote” does not yet satisfy artistic requirements. The singer sees the person writing before his eyes, and, as an illiterate person, he is amazed at the speed with which the literate ones write. Therefore, to the dispassionate statement of the fact “wrote” is added the picture of this letter: “wrote soon.”
In the scene of Tugarin’s defeat by Alyosha, all moments of the fight are presented in an imperfect form, while the fact of his finishing off is presented in a perfect form.
He soon jumped out onto the street,
If only Yugarishcha had not been dropped on the floor,
On the flight, Yes Non picked him up, -
I stepped on one of his legs and tore my friend off.
The imperfective form is used even in the present tense with verbs that usually do not form it: “let Dobrynyushka Nikitich young rise up,” “they took wine, they are serving it to the daring good fellow.”
Relative freedom can also be observed in the use of tenses. The singer, of course, understands that the events of the song refer to the past. This is evidenced by the fact that people call such songs “old times”, this is evidenced by such principles as “who would tell us about the old, about the past,” and the predominance of the past tense in the songs. However, this question is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The art of epic is to some extent related to dramatic art. When the viewer looks at the stage, he, of course, knows that the events depicted on stage in the vast majority of cases belong to the past. They are perceived as events occurring before our eyes in the present.
There is something similar in epic poetry. Referring the sung events to the past, the singer at the same time sees them before his eyes. For him they take place in the present. This can explain that the past tense alternates with the present in epics.
He began to drive around the open field,
His heart flares up,
The blood was spraying inside him.
In the description of the arrival of the ship Nightingale Budimirovich performed by Krivopolenova, we have the following sequence of tenses: runs, runs out thirty nasads (ships); lowered sail; gangways are tossing around; came Nightingale; beret present; came to Kyiv. Subsequently, the scene of gifting is given in the present tense, the construction of the tower and the exit to the towers of Zapava is told entirely in the past; in the further narration, tenses are interspersed with a predominance of past tense.
This shows that the singer does not make a fundamental difference between narration and description. Narration is interpreted as description. Time expresses not only temporal, but also spatial relationships. Through the use of the present tense, events relating to the past are transferred to the space that lies before the listener's mental gaze in the present. Listener sees current events.
This transfer of events from the past into the temporal-spatial present affects not only the application and alternation of tenses. It can be observed that such words as “nonche”, “now”, “here”, “now”, “here” are introduced into the narrative. All these words denote either the present tense or presence before the eyes. Individual words are typical for certain areas (“nonche” is typical for Pechora), but the essence of the matter does not change: “here they come and board the scarlet ship”, “here they say goodbye to the four distant sides”, “yes she now went home at random” , “he said, yes, that’s the word,” “Avdotya was pouring some green wine here,” “he grabbed the knife by the stem, he didn’t let the knife reach him.” Singers sometimes even abuse this technique:
They have become young now encourage
If only they were young nonh shake nonh.
An interesting contradiction can be observed in attributing an action to the past or present. Bringing the action into the present contributes to the image fiction as reality. But the singer does not equate the reality of artistic fiction with the reality of the empirical life around him. Passing off fiction as reality, the singer at the same time sets certain boundaries for this. This can explain that, for example, on Pechora the text of songs is interspersed with the word “kaby”, which in these cases serves not as a conjunction, but as an adverb. The examples are extremely numerous.
At the affectionate prince at Vladimir
If only there was feasting and dining.
Usually the word “if only” is at the beginning of the line.
In the epic about Vasily Ignatievich, the innkeeper, on the orders of Vladimir, returns the pawned weapons without ransom, after which Vasily equips himself for battle.
If only they gave everything to Vassenka without money,
If only Vasily began to equip himself,
If only Vasily could become worthy,
If he saddled, he would bridle a good horse,
How tight the bow pulled.
In other localities, “de” is preferred, abbreviated “say,” which expresses the nature of the modality of the action: “They ran into the quiet of the harbor, lowered the canvas sails”; “He laid the gangplank with its end on the ground.” The word “le” has the same function: “Le people went out into the street.”
The contradiction lies in the fact that words denoting its reality (non, here) are added to the words denoting the modality of the action (if only, whether). The combination of these words shows that fiction, while remaining fiction, is at the same time understood as reality: “If only a fellow here would awaken”; “They took if there was no green wine here.”
As it was before in the city of Murom,
If only the Cossack lived, if only there were a non-old Cossack here,
If only he were old, they write, the Cossack Ilya Muromets.
The first line says that all this happened “before”; in the second line it happens “non”. It happens “if only,” they write about it, but at the same time it happens “here.”
Pushkin perfectly felt the artistic significance of such combinations and, using the folk poetic language, began his song about the prophetic Oleg with the words:
How the prophetic Oleg is getting ready now.
This expresses the unity of fiction (if only) and reality (now, here), past and present, art and life.
Of great importance for understanding ancient Russian literature is the question of what were the features of epics. This type of genre was very popular among our distant ancestors, so consideration of the problem posed is still relevant. School literature classes should be preceded by a short explanation from the teacher on the topic at hand, as this will help to understand their content, style features, meaning and ideological load.
Literary devices
The features of epics can be easily traced based on the most famous works of this genre. When reading at least a few texts, a technique such as repetition immediately catches your eye. With their help, anonymous authors sought to strengthen the main idea and main meaning. In addition, in this way ancient storytellers achieved a special sound and melodiousness of their works.
It should be noted here that these ancient epic songs were performed on especially solemn occasions, so it was very important to set the listeners in a certain mood. Based on the foregoing, we can add that the features of the epics reflected the spirit of their time, when the military enterprises of the princely squad became an object of respect and glorification.
The role of epithets
This expressiveness plays perhaps the most important role in conveying in words a visual picture of what is happening. Unknown authors spared no expense in color, glorifying the strength and power of ancient knights and warriors. The peculiarities of epics are easily explained by the purpose for which they were created: the desire to praise and perpetuate the exploits of heroes.
To emphasize their glory and greatness, the singers used the same epithets, which, with constant repetition, created an expressive and colorful picture of the battle in the listener’s imagination. As a rule, epithets were applied to characterize the appearance of a warrior, his horse, and also the enemy. The descriptions of ancient Russian cities are unusually beautiful: princely chambers, palaces, squads.
Hyperboles
Artistic Features epics reflect the thinking of medieval Russians, who were inclined to exalt the exploits of their favorite heroes. For this purpose, the authors used hyperboles that were intended to capture the imagination of the listener. In fact, the exploits of the knights are presented in unusually epic tones. For example, in ancient legends, the hero defeats the enemy with one swing and blow; from the blow of his horse’s hoof, the earth trembles and leaves fall from the trees. The same techniques apply to describing negative characters. For example, the Nightingale the Robber whistles so much that all living things around scatter, and a strong wind rises.
Accents
The artistic features of epics also reveal some features of the musical art of our ancestors. These ancient epic songs were built according to special rules that gave them melodiousness, regularity and a certain rhythm of sound. The lines of these works use several accents, usually three. They were placed on the third syllables from the beginning and from the end.
This principle was not mandatory, but was applied quite often. This performance gave the epic a special sound expressiveness and epic. However, sometimes, to enhance the melodiousness of the text, the syllables were sung as one word, without divisions or pauses.
Composition
No less important is the question of what features of the construction of epics were used most often. All works of the genre under consideration began with the beginning - opening remarks, which revealed the time and place of action. Here students should pay attention to high degree historical authenticity: legends always indicate a real city, they talk about the prince who ruled at the time when the events described took place, sometimes the author mentioned specific places, which gave the story credibility and truthfulness.
This is followed by the plot and climax, which are revealed literally in one breath, without pauses, delays or retreats. Thus, the storytellers painted one picture of the event, not allowing the listener to be distracted for a single minute. The denouement, as a rule, came quite quickly: it talks about the honors that the hero received as a reward for his feat.
Subjects
The features of Russian epics reveal the inner world of ancient Russian man. Thanks to these amazing legends, we can understand what exactly interested our distant ancestors. Of course, the most favorite subjects were stories about the exploits and military battles of heroes. However, in addition to this, there were also themes dedicated to the glorification of simple toiling farmers. There were epics about the extraordinary adventures of heroes; for example, tales about the merchant Sadko were very popular. These epics glorify not the military prowess of the knights, but such character traits as cunning, daring, and worldly wisdom, which allowed them to find a way out of the most difficult situations.
Russian epics were created on various topics. They all raise important questions, associated with love for the Motherland, protecting it from enemies. The epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” belongs to the Kyiv cycle. The main characters in the story are Prince Volga Svyatoslavovich and the peasant Mikula Selyaninovich.
The artistic technique of this epic
Epics convey the opinion of the people about certain events and about rulers. These opinions change and are supplemented with details. Essentially, epics are stories about things that were very important to ordinary people. After all, it was the people's memory that preserved and passed on from generation to generation the main thoughts of epics. In the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” there are many turns of phrase that emphasize the images of the characters. They should be specified in more detail:
- Mikula Selyaninovich alone easily copes with the huge tree stumps that he turns out of the ground. Moreover, he throws large stones into the furrow;
- the entire squad of Prince Volga Svyatoslavovich was unable to lift the plow used by Mikula. This emphasizes the strength of the hero, his abilities, inaccessible to the princely warriors;
- Mikula's plow itself is described in detail. The epic points to a damask pump and other metal elements of this tool;
- The epic is full of phrases describing the strength of the hero. All of them are obvious exaggerations. However, they are necessary to emphasize Mikula's power. It is necessary to show that the work of the farmer is more important than the military work of the vigilantes. Therefore, the farmer Mikula is presented as much stronger than the prince’s warriors.
All of the above exaggerations are called hyperboles. This literary device, on which this epic is based.
What is this literary device for?
Hyperbole is an exaggeration. The real possibilities of people are acquiring fabulous volumes. But it is precisely because of the hyperbole that the epic is well remembered. Moreover, listeners correctly understand the meaning inherent in it. Hyperbole conveys the importance of Mikula Selyaninovich's strength. It is this literary device that serves to indicate the superiority of a simple plowman over the princely squad.