SMALL LITERARY GENRES

Genre (from the French genre - genus, type) is a historically developing and developing type of work of art.

Small literary genres are distinguished:

According to form

Novella
Oh yeah
Opus
Feature article
Story
Sketch
Essay
Etude
Sketch

Parable
Farce
Vaudeville
Sideshow
Parody

By birth:
epic
Fable
Bylina
Ballad
Myth
lyrical

Lyric poem
Elegy
Message
Epigram
Sonnet
Stanzas

Romance
Madrigal

Small poetic forms of other peoples:
Haiku
Gazella
Airens
Rubai (quatrain)
Tanka
Limerick (limrick)

Fairy tale
Song

Small genres of folklore
Mystery
Proverb
Proverb
Patter
Ditty

DIFFERENCE IN SHAPE

NOVELLA

A short story (Italian: novella - news), like a short story, belongs to the genre of short fiction.
Boccaccio established the short story as a literary genre in the 14th century. This suggests that the novella is much older than the story in age. That is, a more or less clear concept defining what a “story” is arose in Russian literature in the 18th century. But there are no obvious boundaries between a story and a novella, except that the latter at its very beginning resembled more of an anecdote, that is, a short funny sketch of life. The novella has retained some of the features inherent in it in the Middle Ages to this day.
It differs from a short story only in that it always has an unexpected ending (O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi"), although in general the boundaries between these two genres are very arbitrary.
Unlike a short story, the plot in a short story is sharp, centripetal, often paradoxical; there is no descriptiveness or compositional rigor. In any short story, the center of the narrative is dominated by chance; here the vital material is enclosed within the framework of one event (the early stories of A. Chekhov and N. Gogol can be classified as short stories).
Goes back to the folklore genres of oral retelling in the form of legends or instructive allegories and parables. Compared to more developed narrative forms, a short story does not involve many characters, one storyline (rarely several) and one problem.
A representative of the school of formalism, B. M. Eikhenbaum, distinguished between the concepts of a short story and a story, saying that a short story has a plot, and a story is more psychological and closer to a plotless essay. The action-packed nature of the novella was also pointed out by Goethe, who believed that the novella was “an unheard-of event that had happened.”
Using the example of the work of O. Henry, Eikhenbaum identified the following features of the short story in its purest, “unclouded” form: brevity, sharp plot, neutral style of presentation, lack of psychologism, unexpected denouement. A story, in Eikhenbaum’s understanding, does not differ from a short story in volume, but differs in structure: characters or events are given detailed psychological characteristics, and visual and verbal texture comes to the fore.
For Edgar Poe, a novella is a fictional story that can be read in one sitting; for H.G. Wells - in less than an hour.

OH YEAH
An ode is a poetic work that is written in a sublime style. Usually this genre of literature is dedicated to a particular event or a specific character. Answering the question of what an ode is, we can say that it is a song of praise or a poem of praise that elevates a certain person above the rest of the world.

In ancient times, the term “ode” (Latin oda) did not define any poetic genre, but generally meant “song” or “poem”. Ancient authors used this term in relation to various kinds of lyric poems and divided odes into “praiseful”, “lamentable”, “dancing”, etc. Of the ancient lyrical formations, the odes of Pindar are of greatest importance for odes as a genre of European literature (see. ) and Horace (see).
Ode to Ancient Greece usually performed by a dancing choir accompanied by complex music. It is characterized by rich verbal ornamentation, which was intended to deepen the impression of solemnity, emphasized grandiloquence, and a weak connection of parts.
The Middle Ages were completely unaware of the ode genre as such. It originated in European literatures during the Renaissance, in the 16th century. In France, the founder of the ode was the poet Ronsard, who introduced the term itself.
At this time, the plot of the ode must have had important “state” significance (victories over external and internal enemies, restoration of “order”, etc.). The main feeling that inspires her is delight. The main tone is the praise of the leaders and heroes of the monarchy: the king and the persons of the royal house. Hence the general solemn elation of the style, rhetorical both by its nature and by its very speech function (the ode was intended, first of all, for solemn pronouncement), built on the constant alternation of exclamatory and interrogative intonations, the grandeur of the image, the abstract “sublimity” of the language, equipped with mythological terms, personifications, etc.
The first attempts to introduce the ode genre into Russian poetry belonged to Kantemir, but the term itself was first introduced by Tredyakovsky in his “Solemn Ode on the Surrender of the City of Gdansk.” Subsequently, Tredyakovsky composed a number of “praiseworthy and divine odes.”
However, the true founder of the Russian ode, who established it as the main lyrical genre of feudal-noble literature of the 18th century, was Lomonosov. The purpose of Lomonosov's odes is to serve the exaltation of the feudal-noble monarchy of the 18th century. in the person of its leaders and heroes. Because of this, the main type cultivated by Lomonosov was the solemn Pindaric ode; all elements of the style should serve to identify the main feeling - enthusiastic surprise mixed with awe at the greatness and power state power and its carriers.
At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, ode became the second main genre of Russian literature. Derzhavin's work, which marked the highest flowering of the ode genre on Russian soil, is distinguished by its exceptional diversity. Of particular importance are his accusatory odes (“Nobleman”, “To Rulers and Judges”, etc.).
Dmitriev wrote solemn odes. It was with solemn odes that the activities of Zhukovsky, Tyutchev, and young Pushkin began.
But over time, the ode in literature lost its former meaning, and was replaced by ballads and elegies. Today, few people use this genre to exalt a hero or event; it, as a genre, has become unpopular, but the best odes remain forever in the history of literature

OPUS (Latin opus - literally, work, composition) is a term used for the serial numbering of the composer's works. (Example: Beethoven's sonata, opus 57).
Throughout the world, this word refers to a literary or musical work. However, in Russia this term for some reason acquired a mocking meaning. This is what they say when they want to mock or disparage the work of some author.
Examples: “What a thick opus he wrote.” “Let me present you with my first opus.”

Essay - one of all varieties of small form epic literature- a story that differs from its other form, the short story, in the absence of a single, acute and quickly resolved conflict and in the greater development of the descriptive image. Both differences depend on the specific issues of the essay. Essay literature does not address the problems of developing the character of an individual in his conflicts with the established social environment, as is inherent in the short story (and novel), but the problems of the civil and moral state of the “environment” (usually embodied in individual individuals) - “moral descriptive” problems; it has great cognitive diversity. Essay literature usually combines features of fiction and journalism.
Types of essays:

Portrait sketch. The author explores the hero's personality, his inner world. Through this description, the reader guesses about the socio-psychological background of the committed actions. It is necessary to indicate the details that make the character of this person dramatic and elevate him above all other characters. In modern Russian publications, the portrait sketch looks different. Most often this summary biographies, a set of classic human qualities. Therefore, the portrait essay is more of a literary genre than a journalistic one.

Problem essay. The main task of the author is journalistic coverage of the problem. He enters into dialogue with the reader. First, he identifies a problematic situation, and then his thoughts on this matter, supporting them with his own knowledge, official data, and artistic and visual means. This genre is more popular in magazine periodicals, as it surpasses newspaper analytical articles in size and depth.

Travel essay. It took shape much earlier than other types of essays. It is based on the author's story about the journey, about everything he saw and heard. Many Russian writers turned to this genre: A. S. Pushkin, A. N. Radishchev (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”), A. A. Bestuzhev, A. P. Chekhov and others. May include elements of other essays. For example, portrait is used to describe the people and their customs that the author met during his travels. Or elements of a problem essay can be used to analyze the situation in different cities and villages.

Historical sketch. Chronological, scientifically based presentation of the history of the subject of research. For example, "Historical sketch of the Vyatka region", 1870. The essay presents and analyzes real facts and phenomena of social life, usually accompanied by a direct interpretation of them by the author.

The story is a small epic genre form of fiction with an emphasis on small volume and the unity of the artistic event.
As a rule, the story is dedicated to a specific fate, talks about a separate event in a person’s life, and is grouped around a specific episode. This is its difference from a story, which is a more detailed form of storytelling and usually describes several episodes, a segment of the hero’s life. But the point is not in the number of pages (there are short stories and relatively long stories), and not even in the number of plot events, but in the author’s focus on extreme brevity. Thus, Chekhov’s story “Ionych” is close in content not even to a story, but to a novel (almost the entire life of the hero is traced). But all the episodes are presented very briefly, the author’s goal is the same - to show the spiritual degradation of Doctor Startsev. According to Jack London, “a story is... a unity of mood, situation, action.”
The small volume of the story also determines its stylistic unity. The narration is usually told from one person. This can be the author, the narrator, or the hero. But in the story, much more often than in “large” genres, the pen is, as it were, passed to the hero, who himself tells his story. Often before us is a tale: the story of a certain fictitious person who has his own, clearly expressed speech style (stories by Leskov, in the 20th century - by Remizov, Zoshchenko, Bazhov, etc.).

A synonym for the word "sketch" is the word "sketch". Actually, translated from English, “sketch” is a sketch. A sketch can be called a sketch, sketch, template. The word "sketch" has another definition.
A sketch is a short performance of light, humorous content, designed for external effect and usually given on open stages, in circuses, music halls (theatre). Acrobatic sketch of eccentrics.

Essay (from the French essai “attempt, trial, experience”) is a literary genre, a prose composition of small volume and free composition. Therefore, in foreign schools, the essay is a common exercise that allows students not only to show the level of their knowledge, but also to express themselves. On the other hand, the essay is a full-fledged genre, in the arsenal of which there are a lot of brilliant works belonging to writers, scientists, doctors, teachers and ordinary people.
The essay expresses the author's individual impressions and thoughts on a specific issue or subject and does not pretend to be an exhaustive or definitive interpretation of the topic. In terms of volume and function, it borders, on the one hand, with scientific article and a literary essay (with which an essay is often confused), on the other, with a philosophical treatise.
The essayistic style is characterized by imagery, fluidity of associations, aphorism, an emphasis on intimate frankness and conversational intonation. The main purposes of an essay are to inform, persuade, and entertain the reader, to express the author's self, or a combination of one or more purposes. The topic of the essay should contain a question, a problem, and motivate thinking. When writing an essay, the author must completely liberate his thoughts and feelings, without thinking about or looking at authorities.
Three simple rules that Viktor Krotov developed for beginning writers will help you write an essay.

Firstly, you need to write about what really interests you, that is, choose an interesting TOPIC.
Secondly, you need to write about what you really feel and think, that is, decide
with THOUGHTS.
Thirdly, you need to write the way you want, without relying on existing examples and samples, that is
you need to choose your own INTONATION.

The essay has many varieties. It can be presented in the form of a reflection, sketch, story, sketch, essay or study.
The essay genre was not typical for Russian literature. Examples of the essayistic style are found in A. N. Radishchev (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”), A. I. Herzen (“From the Other Shore”), F. M. Dostoevsky (“A Writer’s Diary”). At the beginning of the 20th century, V. I. Ivanov, D. S. Merezhkovsky, Andrei Bely, Lev Shestov, V. V. Rozanov turned to the essay genre, and later - Ilya Erenburg, Yuri Olesha, Viktor Shklovsky, Konstantin Paustovsky, Joseph Brodsky. Literary critical assessments of modern critics, as a rule, are embodied in a variation of the essay genre.

A sketch is a work of fine art made from nature for the purpose of studying it and usually serves as a preliminary development of a work or part of it, as well as the process of creating such a work.

Sketch - in fine arts- a preparatory sketch for a future work.
An etude is a piece of music.
Etude is one of the types of chess composition.
Etude - in theater pedagogy - an exercise to improve acting technique.

Sketch

What is not finished is only outlined in general terms (about a work of literature, a report, a drawing or a painting).

DIFFERENCE IN CONTENT

A parable is a short story in verse or prose in an allegorical, edifying form. The reality in the parable is given outside of chronological and territorial signs, without indicating the specific historical names of the characters. A parable must include an explanation of the allegory so that the meaning of the allegory is clear to the reader. A parable differs from a fable in that it draws its artistic material from human life(gospel parables, Solomon's parables).

Farce
The word “farce” (according to Efremova’s dictionary) has the following meanings:
1.
- A theatrical play of light, playful, often frivolous content with extensive use of external comic effects.
- The acting of an actor, in which the comic effect is achieved only by external techniques, as well as external techniques with the help of which comedy is achieved.

2. Indecent, shameful, cynical spectacle.
3. A rude joke, a buffoonish prank.

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by V. Dahl:
Farce - (French) a joke, a funny prank, a funny prank of a joker. To farce, to break down, to fool around, to imitate, to make people laugh, to make jokes or things.

Vaudeville

Vaudeville - (French vaudeville), a genre of light comedy play or performance with an entertaining intrigue or anecdotal plot, accompanied by music, couplets, and dances.
Vaudeville originated and developed in France. In the 16th century “vaudeville” was the name given to mocking street city couplet songs, usually ridiculing the feudal lords who became the main enemies of monarchical power in the era of absolutism. By the middle of the 18th century. Vaudeville became a separate theatrical genre.
French vaudeville gave impetus to the development of the genre in many countries and had a significant influence on the development of European comedy in the 19th century. The basic principles of the genre's structure are fast rhythm, ease of dialogue, lively communication with the audience, brightness and expressiveness of characters, vocal and dance numbers.
In Russia, vaudeville appeared at the beginning of the 19th century as a genre developing on the basis of comic opera. A. Griboedov, A. Pisarev, N. Nekrasov, F. Koni, D. Lensky, V. Sollogub and others contributed to the formation of the Russian dramatic school of vaudeville. However, by the end of the 19th century. vaudeville is practically disappearing from the Russian stage, supplanted both by the rapid development of realistic theater and, on the other hand, by the no less rapid development of operetta. At the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, perhaps the only noticeable phenomenon of this genre were ten one-act plays by A. Chekhov (The Bear, The Proposal, Anniversary, Wedding, etc.).
In our time, the vaudeville genre has not received development. Now other, more complex comedy genres - comedy and tragicomedy - have become the most popular.

Sideshow

Interlude - (from the Latin intermedius - located in the middle), an inserted scene (comic, musical, dance, etc.) that is not directly related to the main action of the play. Interludes can be performed both during the intermission that separates parts of the main performance, and can be directly included in the action in the form of a kind of excursion, both thematic (within one genre) and genre (clown inserts in Shakespeare’s tragedies).
The sideshow gained great popularity during the Renaissance, especially in comedies based on improvisation. This genre was widely used in their work by Moliere, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Goldoni, Gozzi and other great playwrights.
In Russia, sideshow appeared in the 16th century in court Russian theater, and were usually played by jesters, “foolish persons.”
In modern theatrical and pop art, interludes often take on the character of a kind of “cabbage show”, built on direct communication with auditorium and have a topical focus.

A parody is a work of art that aims to create a comic effect in the reader (viewer, listener) by deliberately repeating the unique features of an already known work in a specially modified form. In other words, a parody is a “work of ridicule” based on an already existing well-known work. Parodies can be created in various genres and areas of art, including literature (prose and poetry), music, cinema, pop art and others. One specific work, works of a certain author, works of a certain genre or style, manner of performance and characteristic external characteristics of the performer (if we are talking about an actor or pop artist) can be parodied.
In a figurative sense, parody is also called inept imitation (implying that when trying to create a semblance of something worthy, the result was something that could only make you laugh).
Parody originated in ancient literature. The first known example of the genre is Batrachomyomachy (“War of the Mice and Frogs”), which parodies the high poetic style of Homer’s Iliad. When writing “The War of Mice and Frogs”, the technique of travesty was used - a low subject (a mouse and a frog) is narrated in a high style.
The genre of parody has survived centuries and has survived to this day.
The comedy of a parody is usually achieved using a combination of fairly standard methods, the most common of which are:

Violation of the unity of style and subject matter of presentation. Typical examples are travesty and burlesque, when comedy is achieved by changing the “high” or “low” style of presentation traditionally accepted for the topics described to the opposite style. This may include, for example, the parody performance of poetry, when gloomy and solemn texts, implying a serious, solemn reading, are read in the manner of nursery rhymes at a matinee.

Hyperbolization. The characteristic features of the work or genre being parodied, the cliches widely used in it, are strongly, to the point of absurdity, emphasized and repeated many times.

- “Turning” the work. The characteristic features of the work are replaced in a parody with the exact opposite (Example: the book by Zhvalevsky and Mytko “Porry Gutter and the Stone Philosopher,” parodying the books about Harry Potter).

Context offset. The context is changed in such a way that exactly repeated features of the original work become absurd and funny.

DIFFERENCE BY GENERUS:

1. SMALL EPIC GENRES

A fable is a short, most often poetic, moralizing story. The heroes of fables can be not only people, but also animals, plants, objects endowed with one or another human qualities. Fable narration is usually allegorical, however, its moralizing character is always preserved. Any fable has a moral, which can be given at the beginning or at the end of the work. Usually it is for the sake of this moral that a fable is written.
The first fables were known in ancient times. It is believed that the first ancient Greek fabulists were Hesiod (late 9th–8th centuries BC) and Stesichorus (6th century BC).
The most famous fabulist of antiquity is Aesop, who lived in the 6th century BC. new era. His works have become classics and have been translated into many languages ​​of the world. Aesop is a semi-legendary person, about whose life there were many stories that mixed truth and fiction. Traditionally, its homeland is called Phrygia, a region in Asia Minor. It is believed that he was a slave who passed from one master to another several times and suffered many misadventures.
Aesop's fables were written in prose, witty, clear and simple. The works of the Phrygian slave or those attributed to him were compiled into collections called Aesop's Fables. They were copied, studied in schools, and learned by heart. Aesop's Fables have become one of the most popular works in ancient world. Their stories influenced Syrian, Armenian, Arabic, Jewish, and Indian literature.
It is with the name of the Greek fabulist that the concept of “Aesopian language” is associated, which began to be widely used in Russia from the end of the 18th century. Aesopian language was used by authors who wanted to hide their ideas from censorship, but at the same time convey them to readers in a fairly accessible and understandable form.
The most famous of Western European fabulists is Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695). This French poet spent most of his life in Paris. Despite his popularity in court circles, La Fontaine never gained access to the court, as Louis 14 was irritated by his carefree nature and complete neglect of both official and family responsibilities. In addition, La Fontaine's first patron was the intendant of finance, Nicolas Fouquet, and the disgrace that befell this all-powerful minister harmed the poet in the eyes of the king.
In Russia, the development of the fable genre occurred in the post-Petrine era. The first 18th-century man of letters to write six imitations of Aesop was Antiochus Cantemir (1708–1744). At the same time, V.K. Trediakovsky (1703–1769) published several Aesopian fables written in hexameter. After Kantemir and Trediakovsky, the fable became one of the favorite genres of poets of the 18th century. Many fables were written by A.P. Sumarokov (1718–1777), who called them fables-parables. In total, he created 334 fables, some of which are free translations of La Fontaine, but most are original works.
But all the fabulists of the 18th–19th centuries. eclipsed by I.A. Krylov (1768–1844). Krylov's fables are written vividly and accurately vernacular, captivate with their imagery and surprise. Despite the fact that Krylov translated Aesop and La Fontaine, most of his works are completely original. Some of his fables were written for one reason or another, related to a specific political or social event, but have long gone beyond the scope of works “on the topic of the day.”
Starting from the middle - second half of the 19th century. The fable genre is becoming increasingly rare, both in Russia and Western Europe. Moral and ironic narratives, allegorical images, morality that concludes the story - all these features of the fable genre begin to seem outdated and satirical works began to take on completely different forms.
In our time, Soviet satirical poets, for example, Demyan Bedny or S.V. Mikhalkov, tried to revive the fable genre.

The term “epics” was first introduced by Ivan Sakharov in the collection “Songs of the Russian People” in 1839. The popular name for these works is old, old, old. This is the word the storytellers used. In ancient times, old songs were performed to the accompaniment of the gusli, but over time this tradition became a thing of the past.
According to the classification, epics are traditionally divided into two large cycles: Kiev and Novgorod. At the same time, a significantly larger number of characters and plots are associated with the first. The events of the epics of the Kyiv cycle are confined to the capital city of Kyiv and the court of Prince Vladimir. The heroes of these antiquities: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich and others. The Novgorod cycle includes stories about Sadka and Vasily Buslaev. There is also a division into “senior” and “junior” heroes. The “elders” - Svyatogor and Volga (sometimes also Mikula Selyaninovich), represent the remains of an epic from the time of the tribal system, personify the ancient gods and forces of nature - powerful and often destructive. When the time of these giants passes, they are replaced by “younger” heroes. This is symbolically reflected in the epic “Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor”: the ancient warrior dies and Ilya, having buried him, goes to serve Prince Vladimir.
In the 19th-20th centuries. epics have completely disappeared from our literature and are now only majestic cultural heritage bygone past. Already in Soviet times, attempts were made to adapt the epic genre to the conditions and requirements of our time. This is how, for example, a lament about Lenin appeared, “Stone Moscow cried all over,” recorded from the storyteller Marfa Semyonovna Kryukova. But such an amazing combination of ancient form and new, relevant content did not take root in folk art.

Ballad (from the French ballade, - to dance) is a lyric-epic work, that is, a story presented in poetic form, historical, mythical or heroic character. The plot of a ballad is usually borrowed from folklore. Ballads are often set to music.
The ballad appeared among the Southern Romance peoples around the 12th century. This is a small lyric poem consisting of four stanzas, eight, ten or twelve stanzas, interspersed with a refrain (refrain), and usually containing a love complaint. It was originally sung to accompany dancing.
In Italy, ballads were composed by Petrarch and Dante.
In France, Provence is considered the birthplace of the ballad. The Provençal troubadours loved to use this form of short epic poem. Under Charles VI, Alain Chartier and Duke Charles of Orleans became famous for composing ballads. Around 1390, a group of noble poets from the entourage of Louis of Orleans compiled the Book of a Hundred Ballads, based on the first collection of Seneschal Jean d'E.
In the 17th century, ballads were written by the famous fabulist La Fontaine. Under his pen, B. was distinguished by her simplicity and wit.
In England, the ballad has been known for a long time. In the 19th century, there was reason to believe that the ballad was brought by the Norman conquerors, but here it received only the flavor of gloomy mystery. The very nature of England, especially in Scotland, inspired the bards of these countries with a mood that was reflected in the depiction of bloody battles and terrible storms. Bards in their ballads sang of the battles and feasts of Odin and his comrades; Later, poets of this kind sang the exploits of Douglas, Percy and other heroes of Scotland. There are also ballads about Robin Hood, about the beautiful Rosamund, about King Edward IV. Robert Burns provided literary adaptations of many ballads. He masterfully reproduced old Scottish legends. Burns's exemplary work of this kind is The Beggar's Song.
Walter Scott, Southey, Campbell and some other first-class English writers also used the poetic form of the ballad. Walter Scott owns the ballad “Smalholm Castle”, translated by V. A. Zhukovsky, which captivated Russian lovers of romanticism.
The first Russian ballad, and, moreover, original both in content and form - “Gromval” by G. P. Kamenev But the main representative This kind of poetry in Russian literature was V. A. Zhukovsky, to whom his contemporaries gave the nickname “balladeer” (Batyushkov). His first ballad “Lyudmila” (1808) was adapted from Burger (“Lenore”). She made a strong impression on her contemporaries. Zhukovsky also translated the best ballads of Schiller, Goethe, Moore, and W. Scott into Russian. His original ballad “Svetlana” (1813) was recognized as his best work, so critics and wordsmiths of the time called him “Svetlana’s singer.”
After Zhukovsky, the ballad was represented by such samples as “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”, “Demons” and “Drowned Man” (A.S. Pushkin), “Airship” (M.Yu. Lermontov), ​​“Sun and Moon”, “Forest” "(Polonsky), etc. We find entire sections of ballads in the poems of Count A.K. Tolstoy (mainly on ancient Russian themes) and in A.A. Fet.

Myth (from the Greek mythos - legend).

A myth is a story. This is a symbolic expression of certain events that took place among certain peoples at a certain time, at the dawn of their history.
In myths, events are considered in temporal sequence, but often the specific time of the event does not matter, only the starting point for the beginning of the story is important. Myths have served for a very long time as the most important source of information about the past, making up a large part of some historical works of antiquity (for example, Herodotus and Titus Livy).
Since mythology reflects reality in the forms of figurative storytelling, it is close in its meaning to fiction and has historically influenced it. early development big influence.
The development of the art of creating myths can most easily be traced through the material of ancient literature. As you know, Greek mythology was not only an arsenal Greek art, but also its “soil”. This can be attributed, first of all, to the Homeric epic (“Iliad”, “Odyssey”). Later, the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas in India, Avesta in Iran, Edda in the German-Scandinavian world and other myths appeared.
Roman poetry gives new types of attitudes towards myths. Virgil connects myths with a philosophical understanding of history, creating a new structure of a mythological image associated with religion. Ovid, on the contrary, separates mythology from religious content.
Medieval poetry continued Virgil's attitude towards myths, while the Renaissance continued Ovid's.
Since the late Renaissance, non-antique images of the Christian religion and chivalric romance are translated into figurative system ancient mythology, understood as a universal language (“Jerusalem Liberated” by T. Tasso, idylls by F. Spe, praising Christ under the name of Daphnis). Allegorism and the cult of convention reach their apogee by the 18th century.
In the 17th century, the English philosopher Francis Bacon, in his essay “On the Wisdom of the Ancients,” argued that “myths in poetic form preserve the most ancient philosophy, moral maxims or scientific truths, the meaning of which is hidden under the cover of symbols and allegories.”
For modern writers What is characteristic is not a deliberate and pompous admiration for myths (as with the late romantics and symbolists), but a free attitude towards them, which is complemented by irony, parody and analysis, and the patterns of myths are sometimes found in simple and everyday objects.

2. SMALL LYRIC GENRES

A lyric poem is a small genre form of lyricism, written either on behalf of the author (“I loved you” by Pushkin) or on behalf of a fictional lyrical hero (“I was killed near Rzhev...” by Tvardovsky).
Lyric poetry (from the Greek;;;;;;; - “performed to the sounds of the lyre, sensitive, lyric”) - reproduces the subjective personal feeling or mood of the author. According to Ozhegov’s dictionary, lyricism means sensitivity in experiences, in moods, softness and subtlety of the emotional beginning.
In all centuries, people have sought to express their feelings and emotions through various types of art. Majestic statues, luxurious buildings, mesmerizing paintings... The list of masterpieces created by man is endless. Unfortunately, not every creation of art has survived to this day. But poems created even several centuries ago have been preserved. Rhymed lines created by the talents of their time were passed on from mouth to mouth. Over time, any poem combined with music could become a romance or song that is still known to us today.

In the first period of ancient Greek lyric poetry was sung mainly to the accompaniment of the flute, and later - the guitar.
European lyric poetry received particular development in Italy in the 14th century. Back in the 13th century, under the influence of the Provencals, Italian troubadours began to appear; There were especially many of them at the court of the poet-emperor Frederick II.
The poets of the so-called Sicilian school prepared the future flowering of Italian lyric poetry and developed its two main forms: the canzone and the sonnet. At the same time, spiritual lyrics developed in Central Italy - laude, songs of praise to God, imbued with extreme mysticism.

Elegy (from the Greek eleos - plaintive song) is a small lyrical form, a poem imbued with a mood of sadness and sadness. As a rule, the content of elegies consists of philosophical reflections, sad thoughts, and grief.
In early ancient poetry, a poem written in elegiac distich, regardless of content; later (Callimachus, Ovid) - a poem with the character of thoughtful sadness. In modern European poetry, elegy retains stable features: intimacy, motives of disappointment, unhappy love, loneliness, and the frailty of earthly existence.
In Russian poetry, Zhukovsky was the first to introduce the genre of elegy into literature. He also introduced new techniques of versification and became the founder of Russian sentimental poetry and one of its great representatives. He wrote many poems in the spirit and form of elegy, filled with mournful reflection.
These are “Evening”, “Slavyanka”, “On the death of Cor. Wirtembergskaya". His “Theon and Aeschines” is also considered an elegy (more precisely, it is an elegy-ballad). Zhukovsky called his poem “The Sea” an elegy.
In the first half of the 19th century, it became fashionable to call one's poems elegies. Batyushkov, Baratynsky, Yazykov and others especially often called their works elegies. Subsequently, however, this went out of fashion. Nevertheless, the poems of many Russian poets are imbued with an elegiac tone.
Such authors as Pavel Fonvizin, Bogdanovich, Ablesimov, Naryshkin, Nartov, Davydov and others attempted to write elegies in Russia before Zhukovsky.

The message (from the Greek epistole - letter) is a small lyrical form, a poetic genre, widespread in the first half of the 19th century. This is a letter in verse.
Its content is very diverse - from philosophical reflections to satirical paintings and epic narratives. When addressing a known or imaginary person, the author of the message speaks to him in the usual epistolary style, which sometimes rises to solemnity and pathos, sometimes - which is more characteristic of the message - decreases to a simple and friendly tone, in accordance with the person to whom it is addressed.
Old poetics considered grace, wit, and lightness of verse to be especially characteristic of the style of the message. The most common meters are hexameter and Alexandrian verse, but others are also allowed. Pushkin often used the original iambic trimeter in his messages.
In Russian literature of the 18th century, the form of epistles (also called “letter, epistole, poetry”) was very common; It is unlikely that during this time there will be at least one outstanding poet who did not write a message.
Particularly noteworthy are the messages of Zhukovsky, who left a lot of them; Between them there are real messages in the old style, and inspired, and artlessly humorous notes in verse.
Karamzin (“To Pleshcheev,” “To Women,” “To the Poor Poet”), Gnedich (“Peruvian to Spaniard”) and others also wrote messages.
Pushkin's epistles are excellent examples of this literary form; they are deeply sincere, free and simple, like an ordinary letter, elegant and witty, far from the conventional style of classical messages; the message to Delvig (“Skull”) is interspersed in a simple letter and interspersed with prose; other messages were also originally intended not for printing, but only for the addressee. In Pushkin's lyrics, messages occupy a prominent place, especially messages to Batyushkov, Galich, Pushchin, Delvig, Gorchakov, V. Pushkin Zhukovsky, Chaadaev, Yazykov, Rodzianko. The messages “To Siberia” and “Ovid” are of a special nature.
In further development, the messages essentially lose any difference from ordinary lyric poems. Lermontov's "Valerik" - a letter in verse - no longer has anything in common with the template of a classic message. The same free character imprints the messages of Tyutchev (“To A. N. Muravyov”, “To Ganka”, “To Prince A. A. Suvorov”), Nekrasov (“To Turgenev” and “Saltykov”), Maykov, Polonsky, Nadson (“ Letter to M.V.V."

An epigram (from the Greek epigramma - inscription) is a small lyrical form, a poem ridiculing a specific person. The emotional range of the epigram is very wide - from friendly ridicule to angry denunciation. Characteristic features are wit and brevity.
An example is one of Derzhavin’s epigrams:

A donkey will remain a donkey
Even if you shower it with stars,
Where should one act with the mind,
He just flaps his ears.

A sonnet (from the Italian soneto - song) is a small lyrical form. A lyric poem consisting of fourteen verses, constructed and arranged in a special order. A strict form that requires the fulfillment of many conditions. The sonnet is written primarily in iambic pentameter or hexameter; Iambic tetrameter is used less frequently. The 14 verses of the sonnet are grouped into two quatrains and two tercets (terzettos). In two quatrains - in the first half of the sonnet - how general rule, there must be two rhymes: one feminine, the other masculine. In the two tercets of the second half of the sonnet there are different rhymes, of which there may be two or three.
The sonnet is a solid poetic form. William Shakespeare made a particularly great contribution to the development of this genre. Below is one of his sonnets.

When your forehead is furrowed
Deep traces of forty winters,
Who will remember the royal outfit,
Disdaining your pathetic rubbish?

And to the question: “Where are they hiding now?
Remnants of the beauty of happy years?" -
What do you say? At the bottom of faded eyes?
But your answer will be an evil mockery.

More worthy words would be:
"Look at my children.
My former freshness is alive in them,
They are the justification for my old age."

Let the blood run cold over the years
It burns again in your heir!

Stanzas are a lyric-epic work consisting of compositionally complete stanzas, isolated from each other. This is expressed in the prohibition of semantic transfers from one stanza to another and in the obligatory nature of independent rhymes that are not repeated in other stanzas.

In a closer sense, stanzas were a traditional stanza in the form of an octave of 5 or 6 iambic feet, otherwise known as an octave. Stanzas are a classic form of epic poetry (Ariosto, Tasso, Camões); Byron gave them incomparable brilliance (Don Juan, Childe Harold). Russian octaves: “Aul Bastundzhi” by Lermontov, “House in Kolomna” by Pushkin.

Monostich (one-line, one-liner)

Literary form: a poem consisting of one line. It is generally accepted that one-line poems already appeared in ancient poetry, although there is no absolutely reliable evidence for this: most of the one-line texts of ancient Greek and Roman authors that have reached us are, apparently, fragments of poems that have not been completely preserved.
In Russia, such different authors as Konstantin Balmont, Daniil Kharms, Ilya Selvinsky, Lev Ozerov and others turned to the monostich. At the turn of the 1980s-90s. poet Vladimir Vishnevsky even created his own based on the monostich author's genre, which brought wide popularity to both the author and the form he used.
Examples:
- young Bryusov “O close your pale legs” famous monostych (one-line poem) by Valery Bryusov. The only line of the poem ends with a period, there is no comma after the “O”.

One-line text by Vladimir Vishnevsky “And for a long time I will be so kind and with this...”.

Some experts prefer the term “one-liner” to the term “monostich”. Outside of scientific literature, a monostich is also called a one-stich; in poetry terminology, however, this word is more often used to designate an isolated (separated from the rest of the text by breaks) verse in a multi-line poem.

The term "romance", which originated in medieval Spain, originally referred to a common song in the Spanish (Roman) language. Romance - in Spanish. The content of the poem set to music was usually love and lyrical. This term then spread to other countries.
Romance is similar to song. But its difference from a song is its special melodiousness and clear, prominent melody. A romance usually does not have a chorus (refrain), although there are exceptions. In romance music, unlike songs, more attention is paid to mood (rather than rhythm, for example); the essence of romance is in the content of the poems and melody, and not in the accompaniment. Romances are usually chamber music (singing with the accompaniment of one instrument, usually the piano). But here, of course, there are exceptions - orchestral accompaniment.

Features of the romance genre:
- In a romance, words, music, and vocals are important at the same time.

A romance is a more intimate work than a song, so it can only be lyrical, while a song can be patriotic, heroic, etc.

Due to the fact that a romance usually expresses a feeling of love, the addressee is always present or implied in it, i.e. a romance, in a sense, must have a dialogue, even if it is an internal one.

Instrumental works “songs without words” are close to romance, in which the melodic line predominates. The most famous are “Songs without Words” by F. Mendelssohn. Romance verses are usually melodic, melodious, touching and tender, or tragic.
Russian romance emerged as a genre in the first half of the 19th century; this was associated with the flourishing of romanticism in world, including Russian, literature. Composers A. Alyabyev, A. Varlamov and A. Gurilev played an important role in the development of Russian romance. Among the best and most famous works of Alyabyev can be called the romance “The Nightingale” (1826) to the words of A. Delvig, “ Winter road", "Two Crows" to the poems of A. Pushkin, "Evening Bells" to the words of I. Kozlov.
Many Russian romances had a gypsy flavor both in content and in music. From classical Russian literature we know that gypsy singing was a favorite pastime of the Russian nobility.
Beginning of the 20th century called the “golden age” of Russian romance. Then listeners were captivated by the talent of A. Vertinsky, V. Panina, A. Vyaltseva, N. Plevitskaya, and later by Pyotr Leshchenko, Isabella Yuryeva, Tamara Tsereteli and Vadim Kozin.
In Soviet times, especially since the late 1930s, romance was persecuted as a relic of the tsarist era, harmful to the builders of a socialist future. Many famous performers were silenced, some were repressed. The revival of Russian romance began only in the 1970s. At this time, Valentin Baglaenko, Nikolai Slichenko, Valentina Ponomareva, Nani Bregvadze, Boris Shtokolov and others became outstanding performers of romances.

MADRIGAL - (French madrigal, from the Greek mandra herd, because before the madrigal was a shepherd's song).
A madrigal in classical poetry is a small lyrical poem-compliment, a poem of laudatory content.
Originally a musical and poetic genre of the Renaissance. In the XIV-XVI centuries, poetic madrigals were created, as a rule, for musical embodiment. Later, the literary madrigal was not associated with music and was a genre of salon and album poetry.
Examples of madrigals in Russian poetry are represented by the works of A. P. Sumarokov, I. I. Dmitriev, V. L. Pushkin, and later by K. N. Batyushkov, A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov. The names of real recipients, as a rule, were replaced by the conventionally poetic Alina, Laisa, Selina, Lila and the like. An example of a madrigal by V. I. Tumansky:

You have everything that the gentle sex is proud of
The pleasures, beauty and freshness of youth
He who knows your mind will marvel,
He who knows the heart gives his to you.

Often the form of the madrigal was parodically rethought and the epigram was designated by this genre definition. An example of such a “madrigal” is “Madrigal to the Regimental Lady” by N. S. Gumilyov:

Like Guria in Mohammedan
Eden, in roses and silk
So you are in the Uhlan Life Guards
Her Majesty's regiment.

SMALL POETIC FORMS OF OTHER PEOPLES

Traditionally, a haiku is three lines, 5+7+5=17 syllables. Most haiku consist of two sentence parts, 12+5 or 5+12. These parts are separated by a special separating word that acts as a punctuation mark. Often there are no separating words at all, and the haiku themselves are usually written in Japanese as a single vertical column. In this case, the breakdown is simply implied according to the classic pattern of 5 + 7 + 5 (in much the same way as when writing Russian poetry in a line, one can assume that the rhymed words are at the ends of the lines). In general, being “initial stanzas” in origin, haiku often have an “unfinished look”, i.e. do not represent grammatically complete sentences.

Examples:
White Night -
how long does the phone ring
at a neighbor's house

Alexey Andreev

There are clear stars above me
the whole world is sleeping
The two of us look up.

Gazella (gazelle)

A special poetic form in which the end of each even-numbered verse is a repetition of the end of the first verse.
This is a poetic form, which is a small lyric poem (usually love or landscape) in the poetry of the peoples of the East.
The ghazal originated in the seventh century and was performed to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument.

A ghazal consists of a series of beits (a beit is a couplet consisting of two poetic lines connected by a single complete thought), of which there are usually no more than 12, with only one rhyme for the entire poem.
Along with rhyme, ghazal also uses redif (redif is a word or a series of words repeated after the rhyme and closing the line).

This form reached particular perfection in the 12th century poet Nizami (1141-1203).

In my soul there is always a market ready for my dear,
From sighs I wove a cover for my dear.

I melt like sugar over the sugar lalas,
I am ready to carry the load of shackles for my dear.

The unfaithful woman broke her vows,
And I really don’t have words for my dear...

The Persian poets Saadi (1184-1291) and Hafiz were also recognized masters of this type of poetry. (1300-1389).

Airens are a monostrophic poetic form of Armenian medieval poetry. Consists of four 15-syllable verses. In medieval Armenia, airens were performed in song form.

Airens are the pinnacle of Armenian love poetry from the 14th to the 16th centuries and are rooted in folklore. Love, the bitter fate of the wanderer - pandukhta, philosophical thoughts are the main motives of the airens, most of them one-stanza poems, which are the functional Armenian equivalent of a sonnet. The Airens are characterized by the cult of the feeling of love, the worship of the beloved as a shrine. Biblical images and motifs are sometimes used, but they are included in the depiction of real love. In many airens there is a departure from the traditionally lush description of female beauty and the subtlest artistic taste of the author is revealed.

With their psychological depth and versatility, the Airens significantly enriched the Armenian love lyrics. The most powerful airens are poems about suffering, bitterness, and separation. The love airens reflected the entire humanism of the poets. The poets’ faith in man was so deep that even in their thoughts they did not allow betrayal in love, which was compared to snowfall in the middle of summer. Such views on love were in conflict with the customs of feudal society, which trampled on the free feelings of man.

Airen usually consists of four fifteen-syllable lines (occasionally five). Each line is clearly divided by a caesura into two half-lines. The two-syllable and three-syllable foot strictly alternate. Thus, the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th syllables are stressed in each line. The rhyme is masculine, usually through (the endings of all four lines are consonant). Sometimes there is an additional rhyme: some middle lines, indicated by a caesura, rhyme with each other, or with the end of their own or an adjacent line. In accordance with these features, some Russian translators (for example, V.Ya. Bryusov, P.G. Antokolsky, V.K. Zvyagintseva) rendered the airens in quatrains, and some in octahets.

Examples:

1 You said: "I'm yours!" Is this really a lie?
You have repented of loving! Or will you find something else?
It will be such grief for me that you will cling to someone else
And you will press his lips to the traces of my kisses!

2. “You walk tall, say hello to my dear one, moon!”
- “I’ll say hi to my dear, but I don’t know where she is.”
- “Do you see the tree in the garden where there is a high wall?
She drinks from a blue cup under the tree
And in Armenian speech he glorifies the sweetness of affection and wine."

Nahapet Kuchak
(XVI century)

Rubai (quatrain)

Rubai is a Persian quatrain. A special genre of poetry is quatrains with an AABA rhyme scheme. Each of them contains at least a grain of humor and (or) wisdom.
Rubai is an exclusively Persian poetic genre, native to the people, not borrowed from Arabic literature.
Apparently, Rudaki was the first to introduce such quatrains into written poetry. Omar Khayyam approved the internal laws of the rubaiyat, carved out and transformed this form into a new philosophical and aphoristic poetic genre. Each of his quatrains is a small poem. Later, under the influence of Persian culture, this genre was adapted and used in other countries.

Examples:
1

Here again the day has disappeared, like a light moan of the wind,
He has disappeared from our lives, friend, forever.
But as long as I'm alive, I won't worry
About the day that has passed away and the day that is not born.

Where did we come from? Where are we going on our way?
What is the meaning of our life? He is incomprehensible to us.
How many pure souls are under the azure wheel
It burns to ashes, to dust, and where, tell me, is the smoke?

Omar Khayyam (1048-1123).

According to the classical canon, the tanka should consist of two stanzas. The first stanza contains three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, respectively, and the second - two lines of 7-7 syllables. The total is a five-line verse of 31 syllables. This is what form is all about. We must not forget that a line and a stanza are different things.
The content should be like this. The first stanza presents a natural image, the second - the feeling or sensation that this image evokes. Or vice versa.

Oh, can't sleep
Alone on a cold bed.
And then this rain -
It knocks so much that even for a moment
It's impossible to close your eyes.

Akazome-emon
translator: T. Sokolova-Delyusina

I thought all about him
And in an accidental nap I forgot.
And then I saw him.
Oh, I wish I could realize that this is a dream,
Would I have woken up?!

Blossomed in vain
The cherry blossom has passed, -
Oh, my life is short!
Without moving my eyelids, I look
A look as long as rain.
Tanka of the poetess Ono no Komachi.
Translator V. Sanovich

Limerick (limrick)

This genre first appeared in England in the 18th century. But already in the 20th century, original limericks spread throughout Europe.
In Russia, the limerick genre is actively developing thanks to ironist poets, in particular Anatoly Belkin, Igor Irtenev, Sergei Satin, Sergei Shorgin, Olga Arefieva and many others.

Traditionally, a limerick has five lines, built according to the AABBA scheme, and in canonical form the end of the last line repeats the end of the first. The plot of the limerick is structured something like this: the first line says who and where, the second - what they did, and then - what came of it. Most often, a limerick is written in an anapest (the 1st, 2nd and 5th lines are in trimeter, the 3rd and 4th are in two-foot), less often in amphibrachium, and even more rarely in dactyl.

Examples of limericks:

Edward Lear (1872)

There was a young person of Ayr, There lived a nice lady,
Whose head was remarkable square: It looks completely square,
On the top, in fine weather, Whoever meets her,
She wore a gold feather; I admired from the bottom of my heart:
Which dazzled the people of Ayr. “How nice this lady is!”
Translation by Grigory Kruzhkov (1993)

Anatoly Belkin:

Member of the Folketing from Denmark
Excelled in Kabbalah and fortune telling
And friends from parliament
By pages of regulations
Predicts the outcome of the meeting.

Folklore genres of oral folk art

Fairy tale
An epic narrative, predominantly of a prosaic nature, with a focus on fiction; reflects the ancient ideas of the people about life and death, about good and evil; is designed for oral transmission, so the same plot has several versions (Kolobok, Linden Leg, Vasilisa the Wise, The Fox and the Crane, Zayushkina's Hut).

Song
Musical and poetic art form; expresses a certain ideological and emotional attitude towards human life (Songs about S. Razin, E. Pugachev)

Small genres of folklore
Mystery
A poetic description of an object or phenomenon, based on similarity or contiguity with another object, characterized by brevity and compositional clarity. “The sieve hangs, not twisted with hands” (web).

Proverb
A short, figurative, rhythmically organized folk expression that has the ability to be used in multiple meanings in speech according to the principle of analogy (“Seven do not wait for one”).

Proverb
An expression that figuratively defines the essence of any life phenomenon and gives it an emotional assessment; does not contain a complete thought (“Easy in sight”).

Patter
A humorous expression deliberately built on a combination of words that are difficult to pronounce together
(“The Greek was driving across the river, he saw the Greek in the river with a crab, he put the Greek’s hand in the river: the crab grabbed the Greek’s hand”).

Ditty
A short rhyming song performed at a fast tempo, a quick poetic response to an event of an everyday or social nature.

"I'll go dance
There's nothing to bite at home
Rusks and crusts,
And there are supports on the legs."
Genrikh Uzhegov

The entire nomenclature of ancient genres that had developed before this turn was then energetically rethought under its influence.

Since the time of Aristotle, who gave the first systematization of literary genres in his “Poetics,” the idea has become stronger that literary genres represent a natural, once and for all fixed system, and the author’s task is only to achieve the most complete compliance of his work with the essential properties of the chosen genre. The understanding of the genre as a ready-made structure presented to the author led to the emergence of a whole series of normative poetics containing instructions for authors regarding exactly how an ode or tragedy should be written. The pinnacle of this type of writing is Boileau’s poem-treatise “ Poetic art" (). This does not mean, of course, that the system of genres as a whole and the characteristics of individual genres really remained unchanged for two thousand years - however, changes (and very significant ones) were either not noticed by theorists, or were interpreted by them as damage, a deviation from the necessary models. And only towards the end of the 18th century the decomposition of the traditional genre system, associated, in accordance with general principles literary evolution, both with intraliterary processes and with the influence of completely new social and cultural circumstances, went so far that normative poetics could no longer describe and curb literary reality.

Under these conditions, some traditional genres began to rapidly die out or become marginalized, while others, on the contrary, moved from the literary periphery to the very center of the literary process. And if, for example, the rise of the ballad at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, associated in Russia with the name of Zhukovsky, turned out to be quite short-lived (although in Russian poetry it then gave an unexpected new surge in the first half of the 20th century - for example, with Bagritsky and Nikolai Tikhonov, - and then at the beginning of the 21st century with Maria Stepanova, Fyodor Swarovsky and Andrei Rodionov), the hegemony of the novel - a genre that normative poets for centuries did not want to notice as something low and insignificant - dragged on in European literature for at least a century. Works of a hybrid or undefined genre nature began to develop especially actively: plays about which it is difficult to say whether they are a comedy or a tragedy, poems for which it is impossible to give any genre definition, except that it is a lyrical poem. The decline of clear genre identifications was also manifested in deliberate authorial gestures aimed at destroying genre expectations: from Lawrence Sterne’s novel “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,” which ends in mid-sentence, to “Dead Souls” by N. V. Gogol, where the subtitle is paradoxical for a prose text the poem can hardly fully prepare the reader for the fact that he will now and then be knocked out of the fairly familiar rut of a picaresque novel by lyrical (and sometimes epic) digressions.

In the 20th century, literary genres were particularly strongly influenced by the separation of mass literature from literature focused on artistic exploration. Mass literature has once again felt an urgent need for clear genre prescriptions that significantly increase the predictability of the text for the reader, making it easy to navigate through it. Of course, the previous genres were not suitable for mass literature, and it quite quickly formed a new system, which was based on the genre of the novel, which was very flexible and had accumulated a lot of varied experience. At the end of the 19th century and in the first half of Michel Butor and Nathalie Sarraute, signs of a new genre are clearly visible. Thus, modern literary genres (and we already encounter this assumption in the thoughts of M. M. Bakhtin) are not elements of any predetermined system: on the contrary, they arise as points of concentration of tension in one place or another of the literary space in accordance with artistic tasks , here and now put forward by this circle of authors, and can be defined as “a stable thematically, compositionally and stylistically type of statement.” Special study of such new genres remains a matter for tomorrow

Literary genera and literary genres are a powerful means of ensuring the unity and continuity of the literary process. They relate to the characteristic features of the narrative, plot, author's position and the relationship of the narrator with the reader.

V. G. Belinsky is considered the founder of Russian literary criticism, but even in antiquity Aristotle made a serious contribution to the concept literary kind, which was later scientifically substantiated by Belinsky.

So, the types of literature are called numerous collections works of art(texts), which differ in the type of relationship of the speaker to the artistic whole. There are 3 types:

• Epic;
• Lyrics;
• Drama.

Epic as a type of literature aims to tell in as much detail as possible about an object, phenomenon or event, the circumstances associated with them, and the conditions of existence. The author seems to be detached from what is happening and acts as a storyteller. The main thing in the text is the narrative itself.

The lyrics have the goal of telling not so much about events, but about the impressions and feelings that the author has experienced and is experiencing. The main thing will be the image of the inner world and soul of a person. Impressions and experiences are the main events of the lyrics. Poetry dominates this type of literature.

Drama tries to depict an object in action and show it on a theatrical stage, to present what is described surrounded by other phenomena. The author's text is visible here only in stage directions - brief explanations of the characters' actions and remarks. Sometimes the author’s position is reflected by a special character-reasoner.

Each type of literature includes several genres.

Literary genres

A genre is a group of works united by historically characteristic common features of form and content. Genres include novel, poem, short story, epigram and many others.

However, between the concepts of “genre” and “genus” there is an intermediate one - type. It is a less broad concept than gender, but broader than genre. Although sometimes the term “type” is identified with the term “genre”. If we distinguish between these concepts, then the novel will be considered a type of fiction, and its varieties (dystopian novel, adventure novel, fantasy novel) will be considered genres.

Example: genus - epic, type - story, genre - Christmas story.

Types of literature and their genres, table.

Modern literary scholars distinguish 4 types of literature - lyroepic (lyroepos). The poem belongs to it. On the one hand, the poem talks about the feelings and experiences of the main character, and on the other hand, it describes the history, events, and circumstances in which the hero finds himself.

The poem has a plot-narrative organization; it describes many experiences of the main character. The main feature is the presence, along with a clearly structured storyline, of multiple lyrical digressions or drawing attention to the character’s inner world.

The lyric-epic genre includes the ballad. It has an unusual, dynamic and extremely tense plot. It is characterized by a poetic form, a story in verse. May be historical, heroic or mythical in nature. The plot is often borrowed from folklore.

The text of an epic work is strictly plot-based, focused on events, characters and circumstances. It is built on storytelling, not experience. The events described by the author are separated from him, as a rule, by a large period of time, which allows him to be impartial and objective. The author's position can be manifested in lyrical digressions. However, in purely epic works they are absent.

Events are described in the past tense. The narration is unhurried, unhurried, measured. The world seems complete and fully known. Lots of detailed details, great thoroughness.

Major epic genres

An epic novel can be a work that covers a long period in history, describes many characters, with intertwining storylines. Has a large volume. The novel is the most popular genre these days. Most of the books on bookstore shelves are in the romance genre.

The story is classified as either a small or medium genre, focusing on one storyline, on the fate of a specific hero.

Minor genres of epic

The story personifies small literary genres. This is the so-called intensive prose, which, due to its small volume, lacks detailed descriptions, enumeration and an abundance of details. The author is trying to convey a specific idea to the reader, and the entire text is aimed at revealing this idea.

The stories are characterized by the following features:

• Small volume.
• The plot centers on a specific event.
• A small number of heroes - 1, maximum 2-3 central characters.
• It has a specific topic to which the entire text is devoted.
• It has the goal of answering a specific question, the rest are secondary and, as a rule, are not disclosed.

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to determine what is a story and what is a novella, even though these genres have completely different origins. At the dawn of its appearance, the novella was a short, dynamic work with an entertaining plot, accompanied by anecdotal situations. There was no psychologism in it.

Essay is a genre of non-fiction literature based on real facts. However, very often an essay can be called a story and vice versa. There won't be much mistake here.

In a literary fairy tale, a fairy-tale narrative is stylized; it often reflects the mood of the entire society and expresses some political ideas.

Lyrics are subjective. Addressed to the inner world of the hero or the author himself. This type of literature is characterized by emotional interest and psychologism. The plot fades into the background. What is important is not the events and phenomena themselves, but the hero’s relationship to them, how they influence him. Often events reflect the state of the character's inner world. The lyrics have a completely different attitude towards time, it seems as if it doesn’t exist, and all events take place exclusively in the present.

Lyrical genres

The main genres of poems, the list of which goes on:

• Ode is a solemn poem that aims to praise and exalt
• hero (historical figure).
• Elegy is a poetic work with sadness as the dominant mood, representing a reflection on the meaning of life against the backdrop of a landscape.
• Satire is a caustic and accusatory work; the epigram is classified as a poetic satirical genre.
• An epitaph is a short work of poetry written on the occasion of the death of someone. Often becomes an inscription on a tombstone.
• Madrigal is a short message to a friend, usually containing a hymn.
• The epithalamus is a wedding hymn.
• An epistle is a verse written in the form of a letter, implying openness.
• A sonnet is a strict poetic genre that requires strict adherence to form. Consists of 14 lines: 2 quatrains and 2 tercets.

To understand drama, it is important to understand the source and nature of its conflict. Drama is always aimed at direct representation; dramatic works are written for performance on stage. The only means of revealing the character of a hero in a drama is his speech. The hero seems to live in the spoken word, which reflects his entire inner world.

The action in a drama (play) develops from the present to the future. Although events occur in the present time, they are not completed, they are directed towards the future. Since dramatic works are aimed at staging them on stage, each of them involves entertainment.

Dramatic works

Tragedy, comedy and farce are genres of drama.

At the center of classical tragedy is an irreconcilable eternal conflict that is inevitable. Often a tragedy ends with the death of heroes who were unable to resolve this conflict, but death is not a genre-defining factor, since it can be present in both comedy and drama.

Comedy is characterized by a humorous or satirical depiction of reality. The conflict is specific and, as a rule, can be resolved. There is a comedy of characters and a comedy of situations. They differ in the source of comedy: in the first case, the situations in which the heroes find themselves are funny, and in the second, the heroes themselves are funny. Often these 2 types of comedy overlap with each other.

Modern dramaturgy gravitates towards genre modifications. A farce is a deliberately comic work in which attention is focused on comic elements. Vaudeville is a light comedy with a simple plot and a clearly visible author's style.

There is no way to define drama as a kind of literature and drama as a literary genre. In the second case, drama is characterized by an acute conflict, which is less global, irreconcilable and insoluble than tragic conflict. The work centers on the relationship between man and society. The drama is realistic and close to life.

Lecture, abstract. Literary genera and genres - concept and types. Classification, essence and features. 2018-2019.

Characteristics of lyric-epic genres

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. The question of genre as a variety of one or another is quite complex. This term is found in music, painting, architecture, theater, cinema, and literature.

Determining the genre of a work is a task that not every student can cope with. Why is genre division necessary at all? Where are the boundaries separating a novel from a poem, and a short story from a story? Let's try to figure it out together.

Genre in literature - what is it?

The word "genre" comes from the Latin genus ( species, genus). Literary reference books report that:

A genre is a historically established variety, united by a certain set of formal and substantive features.

From the definition it is clear that in the process of genre evolution it is important to highlight three points:

1. each genre of literature is formed over a long period of time (each of them has its own history);
2. the main reason for its appearance is the need to express new ideas in an original way (substantive criterion);
3. distinguish one type of work is distinguished from another by external signs: volume, plot, structure (formal criterion).

All genres of literature can be represented this way:

These are three typology options that help classify a work into a particular genre.

The history of the emergence of literary genres in Rus'

The literature of European countries was formed according to the principle of movement from the general to the particular, from the anonymous to the author. Artistic creativity both abroad and in Russia was nourished by two sources:

1. spiritual culture, the center of which was monasteries;
2. in folk speech.

If you look closely at the history of literature in Ancient Rus', you will notice how new ones are gradually coming to the patericons, lives of saints and patristic works.

At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries such genres of ancient Russian literature, as a word, walking (the ancestor of the travel novel), (everyday “splinter” of a moral parable), heroic poem, spiritual verse. Based on oral traditions, which emerged separately during the period of collapse ancient myth to a fairy-tale epic and a realistic military story.

By interacting with foreign written traditions, Russian literature is enriched new genre forms: a novel, a secular philosophical story, an author's fairy tale, and - a lyrical poem, a ballad.

The realistic canon brings to life a problematic novel, story, story. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, genres with blurred boundaries became popular again: essay (), sketch, short poem, symbolist. Old forms are filled with original meaning, transform into each other, and destroy given standards.

Dramatic art has a powerful influence on the formation of the genre system. Installation for theatricality changes the appearance of such genres familiar to the average reader as a poem, a story, a short story, and even a small lyric poem (in the era of the “sixties” poets).

In modern literature remains open. There is a prospect of interaction not only within individual genres, but also within various types of art. Every year a new genre appears in literature.

Literature by genus and species

The most popular classification breaks down works “by type” (all of its components are shown in the third column in the figure shown at the beginning of this publication).

To understand this genre classification, you need to remember that literature, like music, is worth on “three pillars”. These whales, called genera, are in turn divided into species. For clarity, let's present this structure in the form of a diagram:

1. The most ancient “whale” is considered. Its progenitor, who split into legend and tale.
2. appeared when humanity stepped beyond the stage of collective thinking and turned to the individual experiences of each member of the community. The nature of the lyrics is the author’s personal experience.
3. older than epic and lyric poetry. Its appearance is associated with the era of antiquity and the emergence of religious cults - mysteries. Drama became the art of the streets, a means of releasing collective energy and influencing masses of people.

Epic genres and examples of such works

The largest epic forms known to modern times are the epic and the epic novel. The ancestors of the epic can be considered a saga, widespread in the past among the peoples of Scandinavia, and a legend (for example, the Indian “The Tale of Gilgamesh”).

Epic is a multi-volume narrative about the fate of several generations of heroes in historically established circumstances and fixed by cultural tradition.

A rich socio-historical background is required against which the events of the characters’ private lives unfold. For an epic, such features as a multicomponent plot, connections between generations, and the presence of heroes and antiheroes are important.

Because it depicts large-scale events over the course of centuries, it rarely features careful psychological portrayal, but the epics created in the last few centuries combine these attitudes with achievements contemporary art. “The Forsyte Saga” by J. Galsworthy not only describes the history of several generations of the Forsyte family, but also gives subtle vivid images individual characters.

Unlike the epic epic novel covers a shorter period of time (no more than a hundred years) and tells the story of 2-3 generations of heroes.

In Russia, this genre is represented by the novels “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, “Quiet Don” by M.A. Sholokhov, “Walking through torment” by A.N. Tolstoy.

To medium forms Epic includes novel and story.

The term " novel" comes from the word "Roman" (Roman) and is reminiscent of antiquity, which gave birth to this genre.

The Satyricon of Petronius is considered an example of an ancient novel. In medieval Europe, the picaresque novel became widespread. gives the world a travel novel. Realists develop the genre and fill it with classical content.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the following appeared types of novels:

1. philosophical;
2. psychological;
3. social;
4. intellectual;
5. historical;
6. love;
7. detective;
8. adventure novel.

IN school curriculum many novels. Giving examples, name the books by I.A. Goncharov “Ordinary History”, “Oblomov”, “Cliff”, works by I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”, “Noble Nest”, “On the Eve”, “Smoke”, “New”. The genre of “Crime and Punishment”, “The Idiot”, “The Brothers Karamazov” by F. M. Dostoevsky is also a novel.

Tale does not affect the fate of generations, but has several storylines developing against the backdrop of one historical event.

"The Captain's Daughter" A. S. Pushkin and “The Overcoat” by N.V. Gogol. V.G. Belinsky spoke about championship narrative literature in the culture of the 19th century.

Small epic forms(story, essay, short story, essay) have one plot line, a limited number of characters and are distinguished by a compressed volume.

Examples include stories by A. Gaidar or Y. Kazakov, short stories by E. Poe, essays by V.G. Korolenko or essay by W. Wulf. Let’s make a reservation: sometimes it “works” as a genre of scientific style or journalism, but has artistic imagery.

Lyrical genres

Large lyrical forms represented by a poem and a wreath of sonnets. The first is more plot-driven, which makes it similar to the epic. The second one is static. The wreath of sonnets, consisting of 15 14-verse lines, describes a topic and the author’s impressions of it.

In Russia, poems have a socio-historical character. “The Bronze Horseman” and “Poltava” by A.S. Pushkin, “Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” N.A. Nekrasov, “Requiem” by A.A. Akhmatova - all these poems lyrically describe Russian life and national characters.

Small forms of lyrics numerous. This is a poem, canzona, sonnet, epitaph, fable, madrigal, rondo, triolet. Some forms originated in medieval Europe (the sonnet genre was especially loved by lyricists in Russia), some (for example, the ballad) became the legacy of the German romantics.

Traditionally small Poetic works are usually divided into 3 types:

1. philosophical lyrics;
2. love lyrics;
3. landscape lyrics.

Recently, urban lyrics have also emerged as a separate subtype.

Dramatic genres

Drama gives us three classic genres:

1. comedy;
2. tragedy;
3. actual drama.

All three types of performing arts originated in Ancient Greece.

Comedy was initially associated with religious cults of purification, mysteries, during which carnival action unfolded on the streets. The sacrificial goat “comos”, which was later called the “scapegoat”, walking through the streets along with the artists, symbolized all human vices. According to the canon, they are what comedy should make fun of.

Comedy is the genre of “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboyedov and “Nedoroslya” D.I. Fonvizina.

There are 2 types of comedy: comedy provisions and comedy characters. The first played with circumstances, passed off one hero as another, and had an unexpected ending. The second pitted the characters against each other in the face of an idea or task, generating a theatrical conflict on which the intrigue rested.

If during a comedy the playwright expected the healing laughter of the crowd, then tragedy The goal was to bring tears. It was bound to end with the death of the hero. Empathizing with the characters, the viewer or purification.

“Romeo and Juliet” and also “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare were written in the tragedy genre.

Actually drama- This is a later invention of dramaturgy, removing therapeutic tasks and focusing on subtle psychologism, objectivity, and play.

Determining the genre of a literary work

How was the poem "Eugene Onegin" called a novel? Why did Gogol define the novel “Dead Souls” as a poem? And why is Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” a comedy? Genre designations are clues that remind you that in the world of art there are right directions, but, fortunately, there are no forever beaten paths.

Just above is a video that helps determine the genre of a particular literary work.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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