Asiya Yanovna Esalnek Fundamentals of literary criticism. Analysis of a work of art. Drama Analysis

The conversation method used in the study of epic and lyrical works is also effective for dramatic works. Most methodologists recommend using it mainly when analyzing the development of action, clarifying the conflict, problems and ideological meaning of dramatic works. One cannot but agree with this, since the conversation makes it possible to widely use the text of the work and use the facts obtained by students as a result of independent work on the work.

When analyzing dramatic works, students’ independent work on the text of the work acquires particular importance. Analysis of the speech and actions of characters helps students understand the essence of their characters and create in their imagination a specific idea of ​​their appearance. In this case, the students’ analysis of a particular phenomenon or scene of a dramatic work will to some extent resemble the work of an actor on a role.

Great importance when analyzing a play, it is necessary to clarify the subtext of the characters’ remarks. Work on clarifying the subtext of the characters’ speech can be done already in the 8th grade when studying “Woe from Wit” (act. 1, episode 7, Chatsky’s meeting with Sophia).

Special attention in the process of analyzing a dramatic work, we pay attention to the speech of the characters: it helps to reveal spiritual world the hero, his feelings, testifies to the culture of a person, his social status.

However, one cannot consider the characters’ speech only in this function; One should remember and during the work more than once draw students’ attention to the fact that every phrase of the character, every remark, “like electricity, is charged with action, for they all must move the play forward, serve the development of its conflict and plot.”

In the play, a person, placed by the playwright in certain circumstances, acts according to his own logic, the characters themselves, “without the author’s prompting,” lead events to a “fatal ending.” “With each phrase, the character takes a step up the ladder of his destiny,” wrote A. N. Tolstoy. Therefore, when reading dramatic works, some students do not have visual images of the characters at all, for others, the ideas blur, the contours and colors are constantly mixed, for others (there are, as a rule, very few of them) the images that arise in the imagination are based on visual ideas about some persons. Thus, students often recreate the appearance of a hero based on the external characteristics of the actor who played his role in a play or film.

Some students try to “draw” a visual image of the hero of the drama, based on an understanding of his character. Wherein different understanding The character and different “emotional structure” of schoolchildren give rise to different portraits of heroes.

In plays, everything is communicated and everything is accomplished through the speech of the characters themselves. The author only in exceptional cases indicates the behavior of the character and the emotional and intonation side of his speech in an unusually brief form (remarks).

Many students, when reading a play, cannot recreate in their imagination either the actions or behavior of the characters. Others, based on the logical and semantic side of the characters’ speech and perceiving it as a source of information, recreate in their imagination only the actions of the heroes. Some students (usually there are very few of them) pay attention when reading a play to stage directions that indicate the external actions of the characters, and on this basis they try to “see” the external (physical) side of their behavior, leaving without attention the mental state of the characters, which and determines their external actions. In addition, the vast majority of schoolchildren do not notice any remarks indicating the psychological state of the characters. But, “seeing” only the physical side of the character’s behavior and not “seeing” his internal state, students do not imagine him as a person. For them, the hero remains an incorporeal creature, a mouthpiece for the author's ideas; the character of the hero is not deeply known.

Schoolchildren cannot recreate the psychophysical behavior of the characters in a dramatic work on the basis of their speech, because they take into account only its content side (what is said) and lose sight of the form of expression of this content (This, however, does not limit the features of “vision” »

The experience of perceiving a dramatic genre, acquired by students in the process of studying literature, is the most important aid for the perception of a dramatic work. We mean that the student has developed certain knowledge of the specifics of the genre - its structure, elements, features of recreating characters, etc.

Another thing is the circle of historical and everyday realities, human relations, linguistic idioms.

Thus, the merchant life shown by Ostrovsky, or a certain “freedom” with which the wife and daughter of Gogol’s Gorodnichy perceive Khlestakov’s advances, will certainly require special commentary.

Sometimes, to activate the imagination of students, one should turn to historical and everyday commentary. This is done in cases where students who are far from the era depicted in the drama do not have the necessary ideas and knowledge and cannot recreate in their imagination the details of the external appearance of the character in the play, for example: the mayor’s uniform, Kabanikha’s clothes, etc. If the students do not come to the rescue, then they will not have the corresponding ideas and will only learn the meaning of the word.

The character’s aspirations, moods, and feelings “move” and change during the course of action and dialogue. All this is expressed by his speech, therefore, when analyzing the most important points dialogue, it is necessary to clarify the behavior of the character, which should be considered in its “double” nature, i.e., as psychophysical. One cannot ignore such an important moment in dramaturgy as the text.

In Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, the characters have just experienced very dramatic events, the collapse of hopes, the loss of ideals. And one of them, Doctor Astrov, suddenly, outwardly seemingly unmotivated, approaches the wall hanging geographical map and, as if completely out of place, he says: “And, in this very Africa, the heat must now be a terrible thing!”

In Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” Vaska Pepel has a most important - and not only for himself - explanation with Natasha. At this moment Bubnov interjects: “But the threads are rotten” - at this very time he is really sewing something from rags. But it is clear that this remark is not accidental, and does not carry the meaning that lies in it, so to speak, “on the surface.” And this should be made clear to students.

“The first condition for analyzing a dramatic work will be the reconstruction in... their (schoolchildren’s) imagination of the performance... Therefore, it is necessary to attract material that tells about the performance of artists who gave not only vivid, but also in tune with the author’s images.” This is undeniable. But “seeing” and “hearing” how a character acts, speaks, feels, can only be based on reading and analysis of a dramatic work.

Here is the last scene of The Inspector General. Everyone just found out that Khlestakov is “not an auditor at all.” Anger and malice take possession of the mayor. He (according to the stage directions) imperiously “waves his hand,” indignantly “hits himself on the forehead,” screams “in his heart,” “shakes his fist at himself,” “knocks his feet on the floor in anger.” The author's meager instructions should be carefully used when reading the play - they alone largely depict the psychophysical state of the hero.

Russian drama occupies a significant place in the repertoire of the country's theaters. And since, as A. N. Ostrovsky said, “only through stage performance does the author’s dramatic fiction receive a completely finished form,” of course, “it would be very good if the theater introduced students to the dramatic works studied at school.”

This, however, is not limited to the features of “vision”

students of the actions and behavior of drama characters based on the perception of the content of their speech. At best, students “see” the act itself, but, excluding it from the specific situation that to some extent predetermines it, they cannot therefore reveal the subtext of this act.

On the other hand, according to many methodologists, “it would be even wrong to precede reading by watching the play. But to visit the theater, any other production, to be in the atmosphere theater hall, to get carried away by the acting - how important this is! He will imagine a performance based on this play!”

Simultaneously with the expressive reading of the play or after it, an analysis of the work is carried out. This analysis is based on specific features constructing drama and revealing its images and, of course, the peculiarities of perception of this genre by schoolchildren.

The specific subject of depiction in drama is life in motion, or, in other words, action, and it is a holistic analysis of the play following the stage action that allows us to understand the essence of this action.

In a play, along with the central line, there are always non-main lines, “side” lines, which “flow into the main channel of the struggle, intensifying its flow.” Not to consider these lines in interconnection, to reduce everything to just one central line means to impoverish the ideological content of the dramatic work. Of course this requirement only possible by studying the play as a whole or in editing. In the same national schools that study only excerpts from drama, the plot of the play is reported by the teacher.

As mentioned above, the action of drama is manifested in the characters who come into conflict. This means that when analyzing drama, we must consider action development and the revelation of characters in organic unity. Even V.P. Ostrogorsky suggested that a teacher analyzing a dramatic work pose the following questions to students: Are people’s actions completely consistent with their characters?.. What prompts the hero to act? Does the idea or passion excite him? What obstacles does he encounter? Are they within him or outside of him? 2

A holistic analysis of drama following the development of its action obliges us to proceed from this fundamental law of dramatic art. At the same time, we must not forget that action refers not only to the actions of the characters, but also to the manifestation of character in the details of behavior. The characters in the play are revealed either in the struggle to achieve certain goals, or in the awareness and experience of their existence. The whole question is what action comes to the fore in this drama. Taking this into account, the teacher, in the process of analyzing drama, focuses either on the actions of the drama characters or on the details of their behavior. Thus, during the analysis of “The Thunderstorm,” the focus will be on the “acts of will” of the characters, while when analyzing “The Cherry Orchard,” the “detailed behavior” of the characters will be in focus.

When analyzing the images of a play, one should not limit oneself only to clarifying the actions of the characters. It is necessary to draw students' attention to how the character carries out his actions. And the teacher faces the task of forming and developing the students’ recreating imagination.

The psychophysical behavior of a character in a dramatic work - especially when reading the play, and not when perceiving it from the stage - is difficult to imagine and comprehend due to the lack of author's commentary in the drama. It can emerge only from the dialogue and the author’s meager remarks. Therefore, when starting to analyze the hero’s speech, one should remember that it characterizes the character with its cause-and-effect nature, its content, logical-semantic side and the form in which this content is embodied.

When starting to analyze the dialogue scene, you should first of all ask the students the question: In what situation and why did this dialogue arise and is being conducted? Here the author's remarks will provide some help, and, therefore, you need to pay due attention to their consideration, find out how much they equipped the students.

If the author's remarks, as is often the case, do not provide students with sufficient support for the work of their reconstructive imagination, they will have to give a number of additional materials: either sketches of the scenery (for example, for “The Thunderstorm” by B. Kustodiev), then the author’s explanations (for example, in Chekhov’s letters to Stanislavsky about the scenery of Act II of “The Cherry Orchard”), then use books (the chapter “Khitrov Market” from the essays of Vl. Gilyarovsky “Moscow and Muscovites”, photographs of shelters from the album “Moscow Art Theater” - for the play “At the Lower Depths”), etc.

One should not miss the opportunities sometimes inherent in the work itself. So, in “The Cherry Orchard”, we should point out what the situation appears to us in the speeches of the participants in the events themselves (Gaev: The garden is all white; Varya: The sun has already risen... Look, mommy, what wonderful trees!.. what air! The starlings are singing!

It is clear that reproducing a specific setting of events in the students’ imagination is not an end in itself, but contributes to the disclosure of the ideological content of the work.

Considering that schoolchildren, as a rule, do not have visual ideas about the hero of a dramatic work, and the process of understanding the image of the hero is associated with a visual idea of ​​him, it is necessary, in the process of analyzing the work as the action develops, to find out what the author says about the appearance of the hero, what they say about the character’s appearance by other characters in the play, what the hero himself says about his appearance, what details in the hero’s appearance indicate his origin and living conditions, how certain personality traits are expressed in his appearance.

But, of course, the main material is the mayor’s very words, his monologue “Look, look, the whole world, all of Christianity, how the mayor has been fooled...”. Does he understand that it was not Khlestakov who fooled him, but he fooled himself? After all, he “has lived in the service for thirty years; not a single contractor could carry out the scam, he deceived scammers upon scammers...”

Is the mayor the only one who understands that he has fooled himself? After all, Lyapkin-Tyapkin, the judge, exclaims: “How can this be, gentlemen? How did we really make such a mistake?” It turns out that the officials understood this. Therefore, the mayor’s remark is logical: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself.”

Simultaneously with the analysis of the psychophysical state of the mayor and his actions, vocabulary work is being carried out, without which it is impossible to understand his state. “Here he is now filling the entire road with bells! Will spread the story around the world. Not only will you become a laughing stock - there will be a clicker, a paper maker, who will insert you into the comedy...” - here you need, in addition to a simple interpretation of unknown Russian words, a commentary on historical and everyday realities, and an analysis of linguistic idioms.

The end of the comedy will obviously require special commentary, because the teacher will have to sum up the discussion about what the message about the arrival of a real “auditor” means, which will obviously arise in the class.

In its basic scheme, dialogue analysis should cover the following questions: In what context did the dialogue begin and continue? What are its reasons? What is the content of the dialogue? What traits of the heroes are revealed in it? How do the characters behave during the dialogue?

Students cannot be expected to develop a complete understanding of the play and its characters as a result of textual analysis conducted in class. Subsequent work is necessary - a synthesis of materials accumulated in the process of holistic analysis, for example, a generalization of observations on the images of heroes.

This work in each specific case is of a specific nature, but a number of general issues, which are clarified in a general conversation about the character: What is the role of this hero in the general flow of events of the drama? What does this hero look like? In what scenes does he reveal himself most expressively and fully? Do we know his backstory and how do we find out about it? What thoughts, views, character traits does the hero reveal in his dialogues and with whom does he conduct these dialogues? How does the hero characterize his attitude towards other characters? What is the ideological meaning of the image?

It is necessary to determine the true conflict underlying the dramatic work so that students do not have erroneous ideas about it. So, it may seem to them, for example, that in Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” the conflict is in the clash of interests of Natasha and Ash, on the one hand, and the Kostylev couple, on the other. Meanwhile, if this were so, the play would end in the third act and the fourth would simply be superfluous. And the conflict of the play is in the clash of worldviews, and the disappearance of Luke, also in the third act, only emphasizes the continuation of the spiritual struggle, the struggle with the “saving” lie, which ends in the fourth act with the vital test of “consolation”, the collapse of this “philosophy”, the revelation of futility and the harmfulness of the illusions spread by Luke.

By identifying the main conflict of the play, the teacher shows students that the essence of this conflict expresses the author’s worldview.

Form: combined lesson on summarizing what has been learned.

The purpose of the lesson: to show students the dependence of a correct understanding of the idea of ​​an episode and a dramatic work as a whole on the ability to analyze its key episodes.

1. Continue familiarizing students with the features of analyzing an episode of a dramatic work using the example of analyzing scene 21 from Act III of the comedy by A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”; give an idea of ​​the features of the stylistic devices gradation and grotesque; repeat the elements of the composition: beginning, denouement, development of action, exposition and climax.
2. To develop in students the skill of analyzing an episode of a dramatic work, characteristics of characters; develop students’ speech by introducing literary terms and theatrical vocabulary into active use.
3. To instill in students honesty and integrity, an uncompromising attitude towards lies, hypocrisy and unscrupulousness, goodwill towards others, a persistent cognitive interest in the study of both dramatic works and literature in general.

Decor boards.

1. Number.
2. Lesson topic.
3. Epigraphs for the lesson.

Texts... even the most clear and pliable ones speak only when you know how to ask them. Mark Bock

But everyone in the living room is occupied
Such incoherent, vulgar nonsense,
Everything about them is so pale, indifferent,
They slander even boringly. A.S. Pushkin

...Comedy is immortal because its conflict is immortal - the conflict between Chatsky and Molchalin, talent and mediocrity, intelligence and common sense. I.S. Gracheva

1. Literary terms:

• gradation, grotesque;
• plot, exposition, development of action, denouement.

Homework: analyze Chatsky’s final monologue in your notebook and prepare an expressive reading of it by heart.

During the classes

1. Organizing students for the lesson. Communicate to students the topic and objectives of the lesson. (Slide 1). Presentation

- Hello guys! How many of you can say that you have read and understood the comedy “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboedova? I would like to start our lesson with an excerpt from a version of the poem “Retribution” by A. Blok.

Whoever you are, among dinners,
Or keeping the ardor of office,
You may have completely forgotten
That the official Griboedov lived,
That duty did not interfere with service
He should see in an alarming dream
Chatsky's delirium about the impossible,
And Famusov's noisy ball,
And Lisa's plump lips
And - the end of all miracles -
You, Sophia... Messenger of heaven
Or a little imp in a skirt?..
I hear an indignant cry:
“Who doesn’t know Griboyedov?”
- You, you! - Enough. Goes silent
My satirical language, –
Have you read “ A million torments”,
We watched “Woe from Wit.”
In the minds everything is a dream of half-consciousness.
In the hearts there is still the same twilight.

– Today in the lesson we will try to dispel this “half-darkness” in the hearts and the “sleep of half-consciousness”, and to analyze an episode of a dramatic work, you will become acquainted with a new literary term, repeat the compositional features of a dramatic work using the example of A.S.’s comedy. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”. You will have to understand what the features of the analysis of an episode of a dramatic work are, consolidate the skills of characterizing the characters and their language, and find out the significance of the analysis of the episode for understanding the idea of ​​the work. I suggest you choose an epigraph for the lesson from among the following statements... (Slide 2). Which one is suitable as an epigraph will be discussed at the end of the lesson.

2. Clarification of the features of dramatic works and their composition (frontal conversation).

– What work is called dramatic and what can be considered as its episode?

(A dramatic work is intended to be staged, therefore a feature of its composition is its division into actions, which, in turn, consist of scenes (or phenomena). They should be considered as episodes of a dramatic work). (Slide 3)

– Whatever the work you are analyzing, it will definitely contain the elements of composition that are written on the board. Arrange them in the order they appear in the work. Are any compositional elements missing? (Slide 4)

(Exposition, beginning of the action, development of the action, climax, denouement. The climax was missed - the moment of highest tension in the action of the work).

2. Determining the criteria for analyzing the episode (drawing up a plan).

– What does it mean to analyze an episode (scene)? Formulate the questions that need to be answered.

(To analyze a scene means to determine the relationships of the characters, to understand what this scene provides for understanding the characters of the characters, their state of mind, to show with what techniques the characters are revealed in this scene and what the role of this scene is in the development of the action and conflict of the play.

1. What place does the episode occupy in the composition of the work?
2. What characters are involved in the action in this episode?
3. What means did the author use to depict the characters?
4. How does this episode help understand the idea of ​​the work?).

– Your questions resonate with the plan for analyzing the episode that we will work on today. ( Students are provided with printed materials).

3. Analysis of scene 21 from Act III of the comedy.

– Who might need an analysis of a dramatic work and why? (This is necessary for the director of the play to select the right actors, to choose the appropriate scenery; for actors to best perform the role of a particular character; for theater workers taking part in the production of the play; for the audience so that they correctly understand the essence of what is happening on stage; for critics who must give a correct assessment of both the literary work and the theatrical production).

Determining the place and role of phenomenon 21 in the work, its connection with the issues.

– He will act as a director who will introduce us to his vision of the composition of the comedy and the place of 21 scenes in it... If you do not agree with the director’s interpretation, you can express your critical comments after the performance. (A student who has prepared in advance talks about the place of the episode in the composition of the work).

– The comedy begins with exposition, then in Act I the action begins. Moreover, first the actions of a love conflict - Chatsky’s arrival at Famusov’s house and his conversation with Sofia - and almost immediately a social conflict - Chatsky’s conversation with Famusov, in which the opposition of their views on the social structure and life principles. Throughout Acts II and III, these conflicts continue to develop. Chatsky, in love with Sofia, realizes that he is unloved and is looking for a happy rival. The confrontation between Chatsky and Famusov, Chatsky and Molchalin, Chatsky and the entire Famusov society is also intensifying. It turns out that Chatsky is alien to everyone, differs from others in his views on all social issues. In scene 21, this social conflict reaches its climax: everyone unanimously calls Chatsky crazy. Highest point anger, hatred and fear of those present towards Chatsky reach. High voltage in the next 22nd scene, Chatsky’s feelings (“a million torments”) and his loneliness reach. Scenes 21 and 22 can be called the culmination of the social (public) conflict. In Act IV, the love conflict also reaches its climax. There we find their denouement, and the denouement of the social conflict is not only delayed from the climax, but also somehow erased and uncertain.

– Why is there no resolution of the social (public) conflict in scene 22, as usually happens after the climax?

-The denouement involves a reduction in tension, a successful resolution of the conflict, or an open confrontation between the heroes. None of this happens either in comedy or in the life that comedy reflects.

– Why don’t representatives of Famus society go into open conflict with Chatsky?

- They are afraid of him, he seems dangerous to them, not because they declared him “crazy”, but because in an open fight with him they can lose, give in, remain a fool, and common sense tells them: it is better to stay away from Chatsky , don't contact him.

– What popular expressions from scenes 21 and 22 can serve as titles for these episodes?

– Scene 21 – “Mad About Everything”; Scene 22 – “A Million Torments.”

– What do you think the comedy would be called if it didn’t have these two scenes?

(Students give their own options, for example: “Woe from love”).

Main characters. (Slides 5, 6, 7)

– I would like to continue our conversation with another quote from the comedy: “Well, the ball!” Well Famusov! He knew how to name guests!” Let's get to know Famusov's guests better. What's the best way to do this? It would be nice if they told about themselves or if someone “introduced” them. K.S. Before staging the comedy “Woe from Wit” in the theater, Stanislavsky distributed a special questionnaire to the actors playing the roles of guests, which allowed the actors to better understand the character, habits, views of their characters and get used to the character. Our “actors” received in advance a small “questionnaire” based on Stanislavsky’s questions. Now they will talk about themselves, or more precisely, about Famusov’s guests, based on these questions. (Students talk about Famusov’s guests in the 1st or 3rd person).

- I Khlestova Anfisa Nilovna. A 65-year-old woman, I live on Pokrovka in my house, large and majestic, but somewhat dilapidated. The furnishings are old, already a little worn and dusty. I'm rich.

During the day I managed to see my sister Praskovya, discuss what kind of blackamoors Zagoretsky had brought us, and gossip about Moscow balls, aces, etc.

I treat Famusov well, but as a sister-in-law, I argue with him and command everyone.

Famusov himself invited her to the ball. I met other guests before at Famusov’s and in other places, and hosted many of them. I completely agree life position Famusova. And Chatsky, although he outrages me with his irreverence, evokes sympathy. However, this will not stop me from telling Sister Praskovya about his madness tomorrow.

- I Princess Tugoukhovskaya. I am very proud of my title, which I received with my marriage. I live with my family in a large Moscow mansion, but there is no great wealth left: I have to give balls to find a worthy match for six daughters, and spend money on a dowry. Rich grooms are needed, which means you can’t invite just anyone to the balls.

During the day I prepared for the ball, gathered my daughters, and commanded the servants. I know many of Famusov’s guests. I consider Famusov himself to be an intelligent and respectable person. What Chatsky says is not at all interesting to me. My daughters and I are interested in clothes and men. Tomorrow, and especially on Thursday evening, I will tell everyone I know about Famusov’s ball. Of course, I will also mention Chatsky’s madness.

- Let me introduce you Platon Mikhailovich Gorich. A former military man, now retired, recently married. Lives in his wife's small house in Moscow. There is an estate with serfs, but my wife likes to live in Moscow. There are few rooms in the house and the furnishings are modest, so the Gorichs themselves often do not give balls, but rather like to go to others.

Today, during the day, Platon Mikhailovich Gorich managed to complete many small tasks for his wife. He doesn't know everyone at the ball. He is next to his wife all the time. Famusov generally approves of his thoughts. He got married because it was time to do it, and his wife was found with a small fortune. He does not believe in Chatsky’s madness, but does not argue with the other guests, especially with his wife. Chatsky’s views a year ago may have been close to him.

– Natalya Dmitrievna Gorich, a young lady who recently married a retired military man, a man who is not very rich, but has a village with peasants. In Moscow she lives with her husband in her house, since the prospect of moving to the village does not appeal to her. Fortunately, she managed to get her husband in her hands so much that he never even thought about arguing with her.

During the day, Natalya Dmitrievna prepared for the ball at Famusov’s, sending her husband to the fashion store for hairpins and ribbons. Famusova respects and is proud to have met him and received an invitation to the ball. Everyone knows Famusov’s guests, since this is not the first time at such a ball. The next day she will discuss with her husband, and if possible, with her friends, Chatsky’s madness and her success at the ball.

– Countess granddaughter lives in his grandmother's house, after her death he will receive both a house and a fortune. She is not married, so she travels with her grandmother so as not to cause misunderstandings. The house is large and rich, but the grandmother has not updated either the furniture or decoration for a long time, so the Khryumins give balls extremely rarely. That’s why the Countess really likes to visit others.

During the day, the Countess prepared for the ball and convinced her grandmother to go. Famusov knows guests, but has a very low opinion of many. Didn't meet you at the ball worthy partners in dance, so I was disappointed with the ball. The only entertainment for her is the rumor about Chatsky’s madness, the spread of which the Countess’s granddaughter herself contributed greatly to. The dream is to get married profitably. We already have wealth and a title, all that remains is to find a husband among the people of our circle.

Tomorrow she will have to explain to her grandmother what kind of rumor spread at the ball, and will also tell everyone she knows about it.

– Zagoretsky Anton Antonovich. Let me be called: “ A swindler, a cheat and a sycophant...” It doesn't bother me. I live in a small, poorly furnished apartment. I don’t host parties at my place because I barely have enough money to look decent. Yes, you can’t invite anyone to such a small apartment with mismatched furniture.

During the day I managed to go to Khlestova and her sister - I brought them a blackamoor, which I bought inexpensively for the occasion (at the sale of the serfs of some bankrupt nobleman). Khlestov named the price much higher, so today he has money.

Famusov is my idol, like, in fact, any wealthy person. To become such a Moscow gentleman is my dream. In the meantime, I will fuss and grovel, provide services and spread rumors around Moscow. Chatsky's thoughts are alien to me. Tomorrow I will travel all over Moscow to talk about Chatsky’s madness. Perhaps I will be fed, or perhaps some lucky chance will present itself to serve the powers that be.

– Sergey Sergeevich Skalozub. Colonel, a famous and respectable man. I have many awards. Very rich and unmarried. I am an enviable groom for any young lady from high society. I live in my own mansion, the furnishings in the house are rich, but there is no time to give balls: there is work, and I also need to have time to go to see my friends. Once I get married, then my wife will take care of the balls.

This morning I already visited my potential father-in-law. Having learned about the ball, I managed to go home to change clothes. Such an eligible bachelor like me can be late. I already met the rest of the guests at the balls. I had seen Gorich somewhere before, but I don’t remember where. It seems he fought, and I served in the Jaeger regiment.

I look at life the same way as Famusov. I fully support and respect him. In addition, they give a good dowry for Sofia. And wealth, as we know, leads to wealth.

Tomorrow there will be something to tell the regiment. A funny incident with Chatsky’s madness will probably make everyone laugh.

- Yes, of course it is different people, but they have a lot in common. What? Describe them. Find among the notes on the board a statement in which they have already been characterized. Would you agree with her?

“They all live by the same laws, they have a common ideal, they all eagerly pick up gossip about Chatsky’s madness and spread it around. These are vulgar, indifferent and calculating people. Their slander is not boring, but terrible.

• The birth of a rumor about Chatsky's madness.

– How did it all start? How did the rumor about Chatsky's madness come about?

Act III, scene 1

Sofia (to herself): I reluctantly drove you crazy!

Phenomenon 14

Sofia: He's out of his mind.

G.N.: Have you gone crazy?

Sofia (after a pause): Not that at all...

G.N.: However, are there any signs?

Sofia (looks at him intently): It seems to me.

Phenomenon 15

G.N.: Did you hear?

G.N.: About Chatsky?

G.D.: What is it?

G.N.: Crazy!

G.D.: Empty.

G.N.: I didn’t say it, others said it...

G.D.: And you’re glad to glorify it.

Phenomenon 16

G.D.: Do you know about Chatsky?

Zagoretsky: Well?

G.D.: Crazy..!

Zagoretsky: Ah! I know, I remember, I heard...

Phenomenon 17

Countess granddaughter:... I spoke to him.

Zagoretsky: So I congratulate you.
He's crazy...

Countess granddaughter: What?

Zagoretsky: Yes, he went crazy.

Phenomenon 19

Zagoretsky: In the mountains my forehead was wounded, I went crazy from the wound.

Phenomenon 20

Countess grandmother: Prince, did you hear?

Prince: A – hmm?

Countess Grandma: He doesn't hear anything!

At least, maybe they saw that the police chief was here?

Prince: Eh – hmm?

Countess Grandmother: Who took Chatsky to prison, Prince?

Phenomenon 21

Zagoretsky: Crazy in everything!

Thus was born the gossip about Chatsky’s madness. And he owes the birth of this gossip to his beloved Sofia. (Slide 8)

• Visual means of language.

(Annotated reading of scene 21. Speech characteristics).

– The gossip about Chatsky’s madness found live support from all Famusov’s guests. Or is it not for everyone? Which of the guests does not agree with the wattle fence and why does not object to its spread?

–This is Platon Mikhailovich Gorich, who previously served with Chatsky in the same regiment and was considered his friend. He does not refute the gossip for several reasons: firstly, his wife says so, and it is better not to argue with her; secondly, this is what the Moscow aces Famusov and Skalozub say. How can you argue with them? Just look, you too will be recognized as crazy! It's better to remain silent.

– What do Famusov’s guests and the owner himself see as a manifestation of Chatsky’s madness?

- He scolded the authorities, condemned meanness, laughed “inappropriately,” advised one to live in the village, another not to serve in the archives...

- By the way, which of those present lied when accusing Chatsky?

– Molchalin, to whom Chatsky did not advise anything like this, really wants to be on an equal footing with everyone here, in the birth of gossip.

– Do you think Chatsky is crazy?

- No. He's smart. He has a critical mind, a serious education and high moral qualities that do not allow him to put up with the shortcomings of society that he encounters in Famusov's Moscow.

– What does the word “mind” mean to Chatsky? What about Famusov and his guests?

– For Chatsky, intelligence is the ability to think, high intellectual abilities. For Famusov, intelligence is the ability to maintain one’s own benefit, get along with rich people, earn high ranks, i.e. prudence, ability to adapt.

– Who do you agree with and why? Whose side is the author on?

(Students express their opinions, including how the author understands the word “mind.” In Griboyedov’s comedy “25 fools for one smart person,” in his own words). (Slide 9)

– As we found out, there are no crazy people in comedy, the characters just understand the word “mind” differently. Illustrate your point with one of the critics' statements. What do the guests see as the reasons for Chatsky’s madness?

– In the abuse of alcoholic beverages, in studying, in books.

– You wrote out the definition of gradation. Read it and show, using scene 21 as an example, how and why the author uses this stylistic device.

– Gradation– arrangement of words and expressions in ascending or descending order of importance. (Students give an example of gradation from scene 21). (Slide 10)

– What other linguistic means does the author use in this scene?

– The grotesque is used – an exaggeration taken to the point of absurdity. (For example, a proposal to close schools and lyceums or burn all books in order to rid society of the danger of madness). Many characters use colloquial, rude expressions or simply colloquial vocabulary in their speech: “crazy jumped off", "champagne glasses pulled”, “fables would leaned in”, “tea, drank beyond his years", "will require to cutting", "All they lie calendars”, etc. Others use cliches (“stop evil,” “I humbly ask,” etc.), foreign words whose meaning they do not understand (“Lankart” is a distorted word for “Lancaster”) or simply military terminology (“They will only teach in our own way: one, two..."). These and other linguistic means help to characterize the characters, their interests, and life philosophy. We understand from this distorted, illiterate, sometimes incoherent speech how uneducated they are.

– Zagoretsky pronounces his lie about Chatsky’s drunkenness “with fervor.” This means he enjoys lying and gossiping. Famusov talks to Chatsky “cautiously”, that is, carefully, because he does not want to enter into conflict, just in case he avoids an open quarrel. And everyone else wants to distance themselves from Chatsky, so they “back away from him in the opposite direction.”

4. Ideological role episode. (Slide 11)

(Determining the importance of the episode for understanding the idea of ​​the work).

– So, scene 21 is the culmination of the conflict between Chatsky and Famusov’s Moscow, whose representatives started a rumor about his madness. There was no resolution. Who is the winner and who is the loser in this confrontation and is Chatsky alone in his struggle?

- Chatsky is not alone, since non-stage characters appear in the work every now and then, causing discontent among Famusov’s society: this is Skalozub’s cousin, who left the service, and Prince Fyodor, who, having received an education, leaves for the village, and “professors” who practice split Surely there will be more. And even if there is no resolution, and Chatsky leaves with a broken heart, slandered and lonely, the Famusovs’ time is already running out. New people have appeared who do not allow Famus society to live in peace. The future is undoubtedly theirs.

5. Summing up the lesson. (Slide 12)

– We talked today about an episode of the comedy “Woe from Wit.” So what have we learned? Draw conclusions from your work in class.

- Those who oppose Famus society cannot immediately win, they are considered strange, declared crazy. They are still in the minority, but the future is theirs, and Chatsky is one of them.

– A correct understanding of each episode helps to correctly understand the main idea of ​​the entire work, its idea.

– Our work is coming to an end, and we still haven’t found an epigraph for the lesson. Which of the statements written on the board do you think is more suitable as an epigraph? (Slide 13)

– This could be a statement by A.S. Pushkin, the meaning of which coincides with our assessment of Famus society in scene 21, as, indeed, in this comedy. The words of I.S. could also become an epigraph. Gracheva, who talks about the essence of Chatsky’s opposition to the entire Famus society, about different understandings of the meaning of the word “mind”. But it was thanks to the analysis of 21 scenes that we were able to better understand what this conflict is.

But it was the analysis of the episode of the dramatic work that we performed today that helped us better understand the idea of ​​comedy and the nature of its characters. We have learned to “question texts” better, which means that Mark Bock’s statement more accurately reflects the content and results of our work in the lesson. This means that this very statement can serve as an epigraph to the lesson.

– Today in class you were attentive to the words, active and interested, so you learned a lot. I think there is no “half-darkness” left in your hearts, and “the sleep of half-consciousness” in your minds.

6. Comments on homework. (Slide 14)

– At home, analyze in writing one of Chatsky’s monologues and memorize it.

Literature

1. Leonov S.A. Literature. Integrated lessons. 8-9 grades. Teacher's manual. [Text] - M.: Iris-press, 2003.
2. Leifman I.M. Cards for differentiated control of knowledge in literature. [Text] 9th grade. – M.: Continent-Alpha, 2003.
3. Semenov A.N. Russian literature in questions and tasks. XII-XIX centuries: 9-10 grades. Teacher's manual. [Text] – M.: Vlados Humanitarian Publishing Center, 2000.
4. Let's read. We think. We bet... Didactic materials on literature: 9th grade. / Author-compiler V.Ya. Korovin and others [Text] - M.: Education, 2004.
5. Let's read. We think. We bet... A book for students’ independent work on literature: 9th grade. / Author-compiler G.I. Belenky et al. Ed. G.I. Belenky. [Text] – M.: Enlightenment. Educational literature. 1996.

Annex 1

Episode Analysis Plan

1. The place and role of this episode in the work, its connection with the issues. (The significance of the episode for the further development of events, connection with the previous ones).

2. The main characters, visual means of language. What new does observing these characters in this episode give us to understand their views on life, characters, and actions.

What means does the author use to reveal the inner world of the characters and the meaning of their actions:

A) methods of creating images;

B) artistic features of the language, their meaning.

3. How important is the episode for understanding the meaning of the entire work, its main idea.

Appendix 2

Questionnaire for Famusov's guests, compiled
Based on the “questionnaire for actors” by K.S. Stanislavsky

1. Who you are? First name, patronymic, last name. The composition of your family, social status. Where do you live?
2. What did you do today? Who did you meet?
3. How do you relate to Famusov? How do you feel about him? How did you find out about the ball at his house? Do you know the other guests? Where?
4. How do you feel about the thoughts expressed by Famusov? Chatsky?
5. Who and what will you tell tomorrow about how the ball went?

Appendix 3

Critics' statements

Chatsky... is nothing more than a madman who is in the company of people who are not at all stupid, but uneducated, and who plays smart in front of them because he considers himself smarter.

M.A. Dmitriev

Chatsky Griboyedova is the only truly heroic face of our literature..., an honest and active nature, and also the nature of a fighter.

A.P. Grigoriev

The comedy [“Woe from Wit”] is an accurate, completely accurate self-report of how an intelligent person lives, or rather dies, how an intelligent person dies in Rus'.

A.V. Lunacharsky

Optimism is the main mood of “Woe from Wit”. Whatever the outcome, the internal powerlessness of Famus society and the strength of Chatsky are obvious to the reader and viewer.

N.K. Piksanov

Appendix 4

Texts of scenes 21 and 22 from Act III of the comedy

Plan for analyzing a work of art.

1. History of creation.
2. Topic.
3. Issues.
4. The ideological orientation of the work and its emotional pathos.
5. Genre originality.
6. Basic artistic images in their system and internal connections.
7. Central characters.
8. The plot and structural features of the conflict.
9. Landscape, portrait, dialogues and monologues of characters, interior, setting.
10. Speech structure of the work (author’s description, narration, digressions, reasoning).
11. Composition of the plot and individual images, as well as the general architectonics of the work.
12. The place of the work in the writer’s work.
13. The place of the work in the history of Russian and world literature.

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

A. The place of the writer in the development of Russian literature.
B. The place of the writer in the development of European (world) literature.
1. The main problems of the era and the writer’s attitude towards them.
2. Traditions and innovation of the writer in the field:
a) ideas;
b) topics, problems;
V) creative method and style;
d) genre;
e) speech style.
B. Evaluation of the writer’s creativity by classics of literature and criticism.

Rough plan characteristics of the artistic image-character.

Introduction. The place of the character in the system of images of the work.
Main part. Characteristics of the character as a certain social type.
1. Social and financial situation.
2. Appearance.
3. Originality of worldview and worldview, range of mental interests, inclinations and habits:
a) the nature of activities and main life aspirations;
b) influence on others (main area, types and types of influence).
4. Area of ​​feelings:
a) type of attitude towards others;
b) features of internal experiences.
5. Author's attitude to the character.
6. What personality traits of the hero are revealed in the work:
a) using a portrait;
b) in the author's description;
c) through the characteristics of other actors;
d) using background or biography;
e) through a chain of actions;
f) in speech characteristics;
g) through “neighborhood” with other characters;
h) through the environment.
Conclusion. Which public problem led the author to create this image.

Plan for analyzing a lyric poem.

I. Date of writing.
II. Real biographical and factual commentary.
III. Genre originality.
IV. Ideological content:
1. Leading topic.
2. Main idea.
3. Emotional coloring feelings expressed in a poem in their dynamics or statics.
4. External impression and internal reaction to it.
5. The predominance of public or personal intonations.
V. Structure of the poem:
1. Comparison and development of basic verbal images:
a) by similarity;
b) by contrast;
c) by contiguity;
d) by association;
d) by inference.
2. The main visual means of allegory used by the author: metaphor, metonymy, comparison, allegory, symbol, hyperbole, litotes, irony (as a trope), sarcasm, periphrasis.
3. Speech features: epithet, repetition, antithesis, inversion, ellipse, parallelism, rhetorical question, appeal and exclamation.
4. Main rhythmic features:
a) tonic, syllabic, syllabic-tonic, dolnik, free verse;
b) iambic, trochaic, pyrrhic, spondean, dactyl, amphibrachic, anapest.
5. Rhyme (masculine, feminine, dactylic, accurate, inaccurate, rich; simple, compound) and rhyming methods (paired, cross, ring),
6. Stanza (couple, tercary, quintuple, quatrain, sextine, seventh, octave, sonnet, Onegin stanza).
7. Euphony (euphony) and sound recording (alliteration, assonance), other types of sound instrumentation.

Comprehensive analysis of a dramatic work.

1. The time of creation of the work, the history of the concept, a brief description of era.

2. To which literary movement does a dramatic work belong? How did the features of this direction appear in the work? 1

3. Type and genre of dramatic work

4. Specifics of the organization of drama action: actions, scenes, acts, phenomena, etc. The author's original components of the drama (for example, “dreams” instead of acts or actions in M. Bulgakov’s drama “Run”).

5. Playbill (characters). Features of names (for example, “speaking” names). Main, secondary and non-stage characters.

6. Features of dramatic conflict: tragic, comic, dramatic; social, everyday, philosophical, etc.

7. Features of dramatic action: external - internal; “on stage” - “behind the stage”, dynamic (actively developing) - static, etc.

8. Features of the composition of the play. The presence and specificity of the main elements: exposition, increasing emotional tension, conflict and its resolution, a new increase in emotional tension, climaxes, etc. How are all the “sharp points” (especially emotional scenes) of the work related to each other? What is the composition of the individual components of the play (acts, actions, phenomena)? Here we need to name specific episodes that are these “sharp points” of action.

9. Specifics of creating dialogue in a play. Features of the sound of each character’s theme in dialogues and monologues. ( Brief Analysis dialogical composition of one episode of your choice).

10. Theme of the play. Leading topics. Key episodes (scenes, phenomena) that help reveal the theme of the work.

11. Problems of the work. Leading problems and key episodes (scenes, phenomena) in which the problems are especially acute. The author's vision of solving the problems posed.

· actions of characters (play of actors);

· stage environment, costumes and scenery;

· mood and idea of ​​a scene or phenomenon.

13. The meaning of the title of the play.

"Analysis of a dramatic work."

It is preferable to begin the analysis of a drama with the analysis of a small fragment, episode (phenomenon, scene, etc.). The analysis of an episode of a dramatic work is carried out practically according to the same scheme as the analysis of an episode of an epic work, with the only difference that the reasoning should be supplemented with the point of analysis of the dynamic and dialogic compositions of the episode.

So,

ANALYSIS OF AN EPISODE OF A DRAMATIC WORK

The boundaries of the episode are already determined by the very structure of the drama (the phenomenon is separated from other components of the drama); give the episode a title.

Characterize the event underlying the episode: what place does it occupy in the development of the action? (Is this an exposition, a climax, a denouement, an episode in the development of the action of the entire work?)

Name the main (or only) participants in the episode and briefly explain:

Who are they?

what is their place in the system of characters (main, main, secondary, off-stage)?

Reveal the features of the beginning and ending of the episode.

Formulate the question, the problem that is in the spotlight:

Identify and characterize the theme and contradiction (in other words, mini-conflict) underlying the episode.

Describe the characters participating in the episode:

their attitude to the event;

to the question (problem);

to each other;

briefly analyze the speech of the participants in the dialogue;

identify the characteristics of the characters’ behavior, the motivation for their actions (the author’s or the reader’s);

determine the balance of forces, grouping or regrouping of heroes depending on the course of events in the episode.

Characterize the dynamic composition of the episode (its exposition, plot, climax, denouement; in other words, according to what pattern the emotional tension develops in the episode).

Describe the dialogic composition of the episode: what principle is used to cover the topic?

Analyze the plot, figurative and ideological connections of this episode with other episodes of the drama.

Now let's move on to a comprehensive analysis of the dramatic work. The success of this work is only possible if you understand the theory dramatic kind literature (see topic No. 15).

So,

The time of creation of the work, the history of the concept, a brief description of the era.

The connection between the play and any literary direction or cultural era (antiquity, Renaissance, classicism, Enlightenment, sentimentalism, romanticism, critical realism, symbolism, etc.). How did the features of this direction appear in the work?1

Type and genre of dramatic work: tragedy, comedy (of manners, characters, positions, cloak and sword; satirical, everyday, lyrical, slapstick, etc.), drama (social, everyday, philosophical, etc.), vaudeville, farce, etc. Check the meaning of these terms in the reference literature.

Specifics of the organization of drama action: division into actions, scenes, acts, phenomena, etc. The author's original components of the drama (for example, “dreams” instead of acts or actions in M. Bulgakov’s drama “Run”).

Playbill (characters). Features of names (for example, “speaking” names). Main, secondary and off-stage characters.

Peculiarities dramatic conflict: tragic, comic, dramatic; social, everyday, philosophical, etc.

Features of dramatic action: external - internal; “on stage” - “behind the stage”, dynamic (actively developing) - static, etc.

Features of the composition of the play. The presence and specificity of the main elements: exposition, increasing emotional tension, conflict and its resolution, a new increase in emotional tension, climaxes, etc. How are all the “sharp points” (especially emotional scenes) of the work related to each other? What is the composition of the individual components of the play (acts, actions, phenomena)? Here we need to name specific episodes that are these “sharp points” of action.

Specifics of creating dialogue in a play. Features of the sound of each character’s theme in dialogues and monologues. (A brief analysis of the dialogic composition of one episode of your choice).

Theme of the play. Leading topics. Key episodes (scenes, phenomena) that help reveal the theme of the work.

Problems of the work. Leading problems and key episodes (scenes, phenomena) in which the problems are especially acute. The author's vision of solving the problems posed.

actions of characters (acting);

stage environment, costumes and scenery;

the mood and idea of ​​a scene or phenomenon.

The meaning of the play's title.

1. This point is revealed if such features are clearly expressed in the work (for example, in the classicist comedies of D. Fonvizin or in the comedy “Woe from Wit” by A. Griboyedov, which combined the features of three directions at once: classicism, romanticism and realism).

When analyzing a dramatic work, you will need the skills that you acquired while completing tasks to analyze an episode of the work.

Be careful and strictly adhere to the analysis plan.

Topics 15 and 16 are closely related to each other, so successful completion of the work is possible only with a detailed study of theoretical materials on these topics.

A.S. Griboyedov. Comedy "Woe from Wit"

N. Gogol. Comedy "The Inspector General"

A.N. Ostrovsky. Comedy "Our people - we will be numbered!"; dramas "The Thunderstorm", "Dowry"

A.P. Chekhov. Play "The Cherry Orchard"

M. Gorky. The play "At the Bottom"

Introduction

Literature is one of the arts along with painting, sculpture, music, etc. At the same time, the place of literature among other arts is especially significant, in particular because it exists not only in the form of stories, novels, poems , plays intended for reading, but also forms the basis of theatrical performances, film scripts, and television films.

From literary works you can learn a lot of new and interesting things about the lives of people in modern and previous eras. Therefore, for many people, the need to read arises very early and continues throughout their lives. Of course, works of art can be perceived in different ways. In some cases, when getting acquainted with other people's destinies, reproduced by the writer, readers actively experience what is happening, but do not seek to understand, much less explain to themselves, why they have certain emotions, and in addition, they perceive the characters as living people, and not as a result fiction. In other cases, there is a need to understand the source of the emotions and aesthetic impact of a particular work. IN school age, when basic moral principles are formed and the ability to think, reflect, and understand the subject being studied is established - be it literature, physics, biology - a thoughtful attitude to what is read is especially important.

The concept of “literature” in school practice means both the subject itself and the method of studying it. In this work, under the term literature only the subject itself is understood, that is, the totality of works of verbal art that are subject to reading and study. A scientific discipline that helps to understand them and offers ways to comprehend them is called literary criticism.

Fiction in general, this is a very broad concept, including works written at different times and in different languages: Russian, English, French, Chinese, etc. Many ancient languages ​​are known thanks to preserved monuments of verbal art, although not always highly artistic. No scientist can comprehend and know all the world literature. Therefore, the study of literature at school begins with the study of native literature, in our case Russian, very often in relationship with other national literatures.

Russian literature began to develop in the 10th century. This means that it has existed for more than ten centuries. During this time, it went through different stages, the first of which, the longest in time (X-XVII centuries), is called ancient Russian literature, then the literature of the 18th century is highlighted, after which, naturally, follows the 19th century, whose literature is especially rich, diverse and accessible to the perception of any reader. Therefore, a serious acquaintance with Russian literature in high school begins with reading poems by V. L. Zhukovsky, plays by A.S. Griboyedov, and then various works our brilliant poet A.S. Pushkin.

From the above it follows that the existence of Russian literature is a literary process developing from the 10th century to the present. This process involves writers who create works of art and readers who “consume” them. School program works are offered that are called classics due to the fact that they are highly artistic and, as a rule, give readers aesthetic pleasure. Since the duty of schoolchildren is to study, to comprehend the meaning of what you teach, then the study of literature, as well as physics, for example, presupposes knowledge of some scientific approaches and principles used in comprehending works of art.

This manual does not aim to once again present certain facts from the history of Russian literature in their connection with each other (there are special textbooks for this), the principles and approaches to the study are explained and demonstrated here individual works, sets out a system of concepts that are useful and necessary when analyzing a work of art, which helps in preparing for an essay and an oral exam in literature. The introduced concepts are explained using specific literary material, and examples illustrating theses and provisions are taken in the vast majority of cases from programmatic works, so they are developed to the extent necessary to understand a particular position.

Ways to analyze a work of art

Which path is most productive in examining a work of art and mastering the principles of its analysis? When choosing a methodology for such consideration, the first thing to keep in mind: in the vast world of literary works, three types are distinguished - epic, dramatic and lyrical. These types of literary works are called types of literature.

In literary criticism, several versions of the origin of types of literature have been put forward. Two of them seem to be the most convincing. One version belongs to the Russian scientist A.N. Veselovsky (1838–1906), who believed that epic, lyricism and drama had one common source - folk ritual trochaic song. An example of this would be Russian ritual songs, which were used in calendar and wedding ceremonies, round dances, etc. and performed by a choir.

According to modern researchers, “the choir was an active participant in the rites, it acted as if in the role of a director... The choir addressed one of the participants in the rite, and as a result of such an address a dramatic situation was created: a lively dialogue was conducted between the choir and other participants in the rite, necessary ritual actions." The rituals combined a song or recitative of the singer (singers, luminaries) and the choir as a whole, which, through some kind of mimic actions or lyrical refrain, entered into a dialogue with the singer. As the singer's part emerged from the choir, the opportunity arose to narrate events or heroes, which gradually led to the formation of an epic; Lyrics just as gradually grew out of the choir's choruses; and moments of dialogue and action evolved over time into a dramatic performance.

According to another version, the possibility of the origin of the epic and lyrics in an independent way is allowed, without the participation of trochaic songs in this process. Proof of this can be prosaic tales about animals or the simplest work songs discovered by scientists and not related to ritual songs.

But no matter how the origin of epic, lyric and drama is explained, they have been known since very ancient times. Already in Ancient Greece, and then in all European countries, we encounter works of epic, dramatic, and lyrical types, which even then had many varieties and have survived to our time. The reason why works gravitate toward one or another type of literature lies in the need to express different types of content, which predetermines different way expressions. Let's start the conversation by thinking about the first two types of works, that is, epic and dramatic.

I

Epic and dramatic works

From this paragraph, the reader will learn what the specifics of epic and dramatic works are, and will become acquainted with the concepts used in the analysis of such works: character, hero, character, off-stage character, narrator, character, type, typification.

In epic and dramatic works, the reader or viewer encounters actors, which are also called heroes, or characters. There may be only a few of them in a story (for example, L.N. Tolstoy has four characters in the story “After the Ball”, and in the novel “War and Peace” there are about 600 characters). Characters are people who take part in the action, even occasionally. There are also so-called off-stage characters, which are only mentioned in the statements of the heroes or the narrator. These characters include those mentioned by the heroes plays A-C. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” Princess Marya Aleksevna, Praskovya Fedorovna, Kuzma Petrovich, Maxim Petrovich. Distinguished from a character or hero narrator, who at the same time can be an actor, main or secondary, and thereby a participant in the action. This role is played by Pyotr Andreevich Grinev in the story by A.S. Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter” or Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin in that part of the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time,” which contains his diary. In other cases, the narrator is not a character and does not take part in the action, as, for example, in the novels of I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”, F.M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”, L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and many others. In these cases, the narrator appears to be very close to the writer, but is not identical to him and cannot be identified with the biographical author. Sometimes the narrator reports that he is familiar with the characters and is somehow involved in their fate, but his main mission is to narrate the events and circumstances that occurred. We find this option in the story by A.P. Chekhov's "Man in a Case", where the teacher Burkin tells the story of the marriage of another teacher, Belikov, and thereby recreates the atmosphere of the provincial gymnasium in which both of them taught.

When reading an epic work or perceiving a stage performance, one cannot help but notice that the characters, or characters, may in some way resemble the people around us or ourselves. This happens because the heroes of a literary work are associated in our minds with certain characters or types. Therefore, we will try to understand what meaning and meaning are contained in the concepts of “characteristic” and “typical”.

Using concepts characteristic And characteristic, we, realizing it or not, pay attention to the presence of general, repeating and, therefore, essential in the specific, individual, unique. We apply the concept of characteristic to the assessment of a particular landscape reproduced by an artist or photographer, if in their drawings or photographs a certain type of trees and plants characteristic of different corners of this area. For example, Levitan’s diverse landscapes convey the landscape Middle zone This is also characteristic of Russia, and Aivazovsky’s seascapes are the appearance sea ​​elements in its various manifestations and states. Various churches and cathedrals, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square, the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, with all the originality of each of them, contain in their design something common, characteristic of church buildings of the Orthodox type, in contrast to Catholic or Muslim ones. Thus, specificity occurs when the general is seen in something specific (landscape, cathedral, house).

As for people, each person is unique and individual. But in his appearance, manner of speaking, gesticulating, moving, as a rule, something common, constant, inherent in him and revealed in different situations appears. Features of this kind can be determined by natural data, a special mentality, but they can also be acquired, developed under the influence of circumstances, a person’s social status and, thus, socially significant. They are revealed not only in the way of thinking and judging others, but even in the manner of speaking, walking, sitting, and looking. About some people we can say: he does not walk, but walks, does not speak, but broadcasts, does not sit, but sits. These kinds of actions, statements, gestures, postures are characteristic.

The concepts of type and typicality, apparently, are very close in meaning to the concepts of “character” and “characteristic”, but emphasize a greater degree of generalization, concentration and nakedness of one or another quality in a person or hero. For example, there are plenty of phlegmatic, passive, lack of initiative people around us, but in the behavior of people like Ilya Ilyich Oblomov from the novel by I.A. Goncharov’s “Oblomov”, these qualities appear with such strength and nakedness that their inherent way of life is spoken of as Oblomovism, giving this phenomenon a generalizing meaning.

Revealing the characteristic, typical, that is, the general through the individual, when depicting heroes is the essence of art itself. Many writers are quite clearly aware of this circumstance, which is why in their statements the concepts of “character” and “type” appear quite often. By referring to these concepts, they clearly emphasize the need to generalize life phenomena in art. “In life you rarely meet pure, unalloyed types,” noted I.S. Turgenev. “Writers for the most part try to take types of society and present them figuratively and artistically - types that are extremely rarely encountered in reality in their entirety,” F.M. seems to continue the same thought. Dostoevsky, adding, “in reality, the typicality of faces is, as it were, diluted with water...” And at the same time, “the whole depth, the whole content of a work of art lies only in types and characters.” And here are two more judgments of A.N. Ostrovsky: “Fiction gives individual types and characters with their national characteristics, she draws different kinds and classes of society... Works of art, with their truthful and strongly staged characters, provide correct abstractions and generalizations.”

The concept is derived from the word “type” typing, meaning the process of creating a picture of the world or its individual fragments that will be unique and at the same time generalized. Recognizing typification as an internal need and a law of art, both writers and researchers argue that the typical in itself is rarely present in life in the form in which art needs it. Therefore, a writer requires observation and the ability to analyze and generalize. But the most important thing is that the artist is able not only to observe and generalize, he is able to create a new world, to recreate various situations in which the heroes act with all their features. Because of this, most of the heroes are fictional persons created by the creative imagination of the artist. Being similar to real persons, they more clearly demonstrate general and significant tendencies in their appearance and behavior. If, when creating a particular character, the writer is guided by some real person, then this person is called prototype. Let us recall the depiction of historical figures, in particular Kutuzov or Napoleon in “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy.

By peering into the characters' characters and trying to understand them, we thereby enter the path of analyzing a literary work, that is, into the field of literary criticism. But this is only the first step in the research. Continuing and deepening the analysis, we will inevitably come to posing the question of the content and form of a work of art, their connection and correlation.

Contents of epic and dramatic works

This paragraph substantiates and explains the concepts: content, theme, problematic, idea, contradiction, conflict, emotional attitude to reality and its types - dramatic, tragic, heroic, romance, comic, humor, satire, irony, sarcasm.

Content And form- these are concepts borrowed from philosophy and used in literary criticism to designate two sides of a work: semantic, substantive, and formal, visual. Of course, in the real existence of a work, content and form do not exist separately and independently of each other, but form an inextricable unity. This means that each element of the work is a two-sided entity: being a component of the form, it simultaneously carries a semantic load. So, for example, the message about Sobakevich’s clumsiness is both a detail of his portrait and evidence of his mental slowness. Because of this, scientists prefer to talk not just about content and form as such, but about the content of the form, or meaningful form.

However, with a research approach to a work, it is almost impossible to simultaneously consider both. This implies the need for a logical distinction and identification of two levels (or two plans) in a work. – content plan And expression plan. Let's continue our reasoning by turning to the content.

When discussing the characters depicted in a work, we are in the realm of content. Two the most important aspects content are the topic and the problem, or rather, subject matter And problematic.

Thematic analysis includes consideration of the time of action, the location of the action, the breadth or narrowness of the depicted life material, the characteristics of the characters themselves and the situations in which they are placed by the author. In some works, for example, in the story “Asya”, the stories “Khor and Kalinich”, “Biryuk” by I.S. Turgenev, the action is limited in time to two or three weeks or even days and is localized in space by the meeting of heroes in a village, an estate, or a resort. In others, for example, in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace", the action itself lasts about fifteen years, and the place of action extends quite widely: the heroes meet in a variety of places - in Moscow, St. Petersburg, on estates, on battlefields, on foreign campaigns. In addition, sometimes the action affects the personal and family sphere, sometimes it is broader, but in all cases the situations depicted are characteristic of both individuals and entire social circles.

Let us pay attention to those cases when the characters in literary works are not people, but animals, fish, birds or plants that act in fantastic situations. Works of this type are fables and fairy tales. Apparently, the topic here should also be considered characteristics people's lives recreated using fantastic characters and situations. In the fable of I.A. Krylov’s “The Monkey and the Glasses” is easily recognizable as a certain person who, having acquired something new that she does not understand or that she does not need, is ready, out of anger and stupidity, to destroy her acquisition, instead of asking or figuring out how to use it. In another fable - “The Donkey and the Nightingale” - a life situation is guessed in which a talented person (the nightingale) and a fool are involved, who, having listened to his penis, could not understand what its charm is, and advised him to learn from the one who sings doesn’t know how at all - the rooster.

The problematic is often called the set of questions posed in the work. Using this understanding as a starting point, it is important to realize and take into account that usually the writer does not declare thoughts and does not formulate questions, but reproduces life based on his understanding and vision, only hinting at what worries him, by drawing attention to certain features in the characters of heroes or the whole environment.

What is a problem in relation to current life? A problem is, first of all, what we stop and fix our attention on at one time or another, since our consciousness works very selectively. For example, when we walk down the street, we note not everything, but only some facts that catch our eye. Thinking about family and friends, we remember and analyze their actions that occupy us now. It is easy to assume that similar operations take place in the minds of writers.

Reflecting on what brings together and separates such personalities as Bezukhov and Bolkonsky, what are the similarities and differences between the life styles of Moscow and St. Petersburg noble society, what is the attractiveness of Natasha for Pierre and Andrei, what is the difference between the commanders Kutuzov, Napoleon and Barclay de Tolly, L.N. Tolstoy thereby forces readers to think about these circumstances, without being distracted from the lives of specific heroes. The word “reflecting” should be put in quotation marks, because Tolstoy probably reflects to himself, but in the novel he shows, for example, by reproducing the actions and dialogues of Prince Andrei and Pierre, how they are close and how far they are from each other. He writes out especially in detail and carefully, that is, he depicts the atmosphere and life, on the one hand, of the St. Petersburg salons of Anna Pavlovna Scherer and Helen Bezukhova, on the other, of Moscow balls and receptions in the Rostov house, in the English Club, as a result of which one gets the impression of the dissimilarity and incompatibility of the Moscow and St. Petersburg noble circles. Depicting the life of the Rostov family, the writer draws attention to the simplicity, naturalness, and goodwill of the relations of the members of this family to each other, to acquaintances (remember how Countess Rostova gives money to Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya) and to complete strangers (Count Rostov and Natasha readily give carts for rescuing wounded soldiers). It’s a different matter in St. Petersburg, where everything is subject to ritual, where only people of high society are accepted, where words and smiles are strictly dosed, and opinions change depending on the political situation (Prince Vasily Kuragin changes his attitude towards Kutuzov during the day in connection with his appointment as commander-in-chief summer of 1812),

From the above it follows that a problem is not a question, but one or another feature of the life of an individual, an entire environment, or even a people, leading to some generalizing thoughts.

When analyzing a work, along with the concepts of “theme” and “problematics”, the concept idea, which most often means the answer to the question supposedly posed by the author. However, as already mentioned, the writer does not pose questions, and therefore does not give answers, as if calling us to think about the important, from his point of view, features of life, for example, about the poverty of families like the Raskolnikov family, about the humiliation of poverty, about the the false way out of the current situation, which was invented by Rodion Romanovich in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".

A kind of answer that the reader often wants to find can be considered author's emotional attitude to the characters of the characters portrayed and to the type of their behavior. Indeed, a writer can sometimes reveal his likes and dislikes for a particular type of personality, while not always clearly assessing it. So, F.M. Dostoevsky, condemning what Raskolnikov came up with, at the same time sympathizes with him. I.S. Turgenev examines Bazarov through the lips of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, but at the same time appreciates him, emphasizing his intelligence, knowledge, and will: “Bazarov is smart and knowledgeable,” Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov says with conviction.

To summarize what has been said, we emphasize that the writer does not speak to the reader in rational language, he does not formulate ideas and problems, but presents us with a picture of life and thereby prompts thoughts that researchers call ideas or problems. And since researchers use these concepts in the analysis of works of art, it is necessary to understand what their meaning is.

How many problems can there be in a work? As many important and significant facets and aspects of life are depicted in it and attracted our attention, as many as our consciousness captures. So, for example, if we talk about Russian XIX literature century as a whole, we can say that one of the leading problems of Russian literature throughout the last century was the depiction of the inner world and spiritual potential of the Russian intelligentsia, the relationship between different types of thinking, in particular the study and identification of all kinds of contradictions in the consciousness of one hero (Onegin , Pechorin, Bazarov, Raskolnikov), in the fate of similar people (Onegin - Lensky, Bezukhov - Bolkonsky).

The inconsistency and contradiction in Onegin’s behavior is manifested, in particular, in the fact that he, having fallen in love with Tatyana after meeting in St. Petersburg and not finding a place for himself due to an excess of feelings and emotions, persistently and importunately seeks a date with her, although he sees that Tatyana does not want to respond to his messages, in one of which he writes: “If only you knew how terrible it is to languish with a thirst for love,” he writes this to a woman who has been suffering from unrequited love for several years. Contradictions are present in the thoughts and behavior of Rodion Raskolnikov. Being an educated person and quite insightful in assessing the world around him and wanting not only to test himself, but also to help his neighbors, Raskolnikov creates an absolutely false theory and tries to put it into practice by committing the murder of two women. The differences between Onegin and Lensky in the novel “Eugene Onegin” are well known, but these are differences between people who are in many ways close in spirit: they are both well-read, they have something to think about and argue about, which is why it’s so disappointing that their relationship ended tragically. Bolkonsky and Bezukhov, despite the difference in age, are true friends (Prince Andrei only trusts Pierre with his thoughts, only he singles him out from the men of the secular circle and entrusts the fate of the bride to him, leaving for a year abroad), but they are not close in everything and not We agree on everything in our assessment of many circumstances of that time.

Juxtaposition (sometimes called antithesis) different characters and types of behavior, as well as different circles of society (Moscow and metropolitan nobility in Pushkin and Tolstoy), different social strata(people and nobles in Nekrasov’s poems) clearly helps to identify similarities and differences in moral world, “family structure, in the social state of certain characters or social groups. Based on these and many other examples and facts, we can say that the source of problems, and therefore the subject of attention of many artists, very often are troubles, disharmony, that is, contradictions of different types and different strengths.

To denote contradictions that arise in life and are reproduced in literature, the concept is used conflict. Conflict is mostly spoken of in the presence of acute contradictions, manifested in the clash and struggle of heroes, as, for example, in the tragedies of W. Shakespeare or the novels of A. Dumas. If we consider from this point of view the play by A.S. Griboedov’s “Woe is Wisdom,” it is easy to see that the development of the action here clearly depends on the conflict that lurks in Famusov’s house and lies in the fact that Sophia is in love with Molchalin and hides it from daddy. Chatsky, in love with Sophia, having arrived in Moscow, notices her dislike for himself and, trying to understand the reason, keeps an eye on everyone present in the house. Sophia is unhappy with this and, defending herself, makes a remark at the ball about his madness. Guests who do not sympathize with him happily pick up this version, because they see in Chatsky a person with views and principles different from theirs, and then not just a family conflict is revealed very clearly (Sophia’s secret love for Molchalin, Molchalin’s real indifference to Sophia, ignorance Famusov about what is happening in the house), but also the conflict between Chatsky and society. The outcome of the action (denouement) is determined not so much by Chatsky’s relationship with society, but by the relationship of Sophia, Molchalin and Liza, having learned about which Famusov controls their fate, and Chatsky leaves their home.

Note that, although in Russian literature we do not often encounter direct depictions of seemingly conflictual relationships between heroes, their struggle for some rights, etc., disharmony, disorder and contradictions fill and permeate the atmosphere of life of the heroes of most works. For example, there is no struggle between Tatyana Larina and her family, between Tatyana and Onegin, but their relationship is disharmonious. A. Bolkonsky's relations with his entourage and his own wife are colored by a well-recognized conflict. Elena’s secret marriage in I.S. Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve” is also a consequence of contradictions in her family, and the number of such examples can easily be multiplied.

Moreover, contradictions can be not only of different strengths, but also of different content and nature. It is on the essence and content of the contradictions exposed in a work of art that its emotional tone depends. To denote emotional orientation (some modern researchers, continuing the traditions of V. Belinsky, speak in this case of pathos), a number of concepts that have long been established in science are used, such as drama, tragedy, heroism, romance, humor, satire.

The predominant tonality in the content of the vast majority of works of art is undoubtedly dramatic. Trouble, disorder, dissatisfaction of a person in the mental sphere, in personal relationships” in social status - these are the real signs of drama in life and literature. The failed love of Tatyana Larina, Princess Mary, Katerina Kabanova, the Rostovs' niece Sonya, Lisa Kalitina and other heroines famous works testifies to the dramatic moments of their lives.

Moral and intellectual dissatisfaction and unrealized personal potential of Chatsky, Onegin, Bazarov, Bolkonsky and others; social humiliation of Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkyan from the story by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat", as well as the Marmeladov family from the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, many heroines from the poem by N. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'”, almost all the characters in M. Gorky’s play “At the Demise” - all this serves as a source and at the same time an indicator of dramatic contradictions and dramatic tonality in the content one or another work.

The closest thing to dramatic is tragic key. As a rule, it is visible and present where there is an internal conflict, that is, a clash of opposing principles in the mind of one hero. Such conflicts include contradictions between personal impulses and supra-personal restrictions - caste, class, moral. Such contradictions gave rise to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, who loved each other, but belonged to different clans of Italian society of their time (“Romeo and Juliet” by W. Shakespeare); Katerina Kabanova, who fell in love with Boris and understood the sinfulness of her love for him (“The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky); Anna Karenina, tormented by the awareness of the duality of her position and the presence of a gap between her, society and her son (“Anna Karenina” by L.N. Tolstoy).

A tragic situation can also arise if there is a contradiction between the desire for happiness, freedom and the hero’s awareness of his weakness and powerlessness in achieving them, which entails motives of skepticism and doom. For example, such motives are heard in the speech of Mtsyri, pouring out his soul to the old monk and trying to explain to him how he dreamed of living in his aul, but was forced to spend his entire life, except for three days, in a monastery, internally

alien to him (“Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov). Tragic moods break out in Pechorin, who tells himself that he feels like a guest at someone else’s ball, who did not leave only because he was not given a carriage. Naturally, he thinks about the impossibility of realizing his spiritual impulses - his phrase from his diary is indicative: “My ambition is suppressed by circumstances” (“Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov). The tragic fate of Elena Stakhova from the novel by I.S. Turgenev “On the Eve”, who lost her husband immediately after the wedding and went with his coffin to a foreign country.

In a literary work, both tragic and dramatic principles can be combined with heroic. Heroism arises and is felt there and then when people take or perform active actions for the benefit of others, in the name of protecting the interests of a tribe, clan, state, or simply a group of people in need of help. Most often, such situations occur during periods of national liberation wars or movements. For example, moments of heroism are reflected in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in Prince Igor’s decision to enter into the fight against the Polovtsians. The presence of a heroic tone is undoubtedly in the last two books of “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy. Such pathos permeates many works of both domestic and Western European literature devoted to depicting life different nations during the struggle against Hitlerism. In these cases, heroism is especially often intertwined with tragedy. An example of such a connection can be the stories of V.V. Bykova (“Alpine Ballad”, “Sotnikov”, “ Wolf Pack", "In the Fog") and B.L. Vasilyeva (“And the dawns here are quiet”). At the same time, heroic-tragic situations can also occur in Peaceful time, in moments of natural disasters that arise due to the “fault” of nature (floods, earthquakes) or man himself (the notorious Chernobyl, various types of transport disasters).

In addition, heroics can be combined with romance. Romance is an enthusiastic state of personality caused by the desire for something high, beautiful, and morally significant. The sources of romance are the ability to feel the beauty of nature, to feel part of the world, the need to respond to someone else's pain and someone else's joy. Natasha Rostova’s behavior often gives reason to perceive it as romantic, because of all the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” she is the only one who has a lively nature, a positive emotional charge, and dissimilarity from secular young ladies, which the rational Andrei Bolkonsky immediately noticed.

It is no coincidence that Pierre Bezukhov repeatedly calls his love for her romantic love.

Romance for the most part manifests itself in the sphere of personal life, revealing itself in moments of anticipation or the onset of happiness. Since happiness in people's minds is primarily associated with love, the romantic attitude most likely makes itself felt at the moment of the approach of love or hope for it. We find images of romantically minded heroes in the works of I.S. Turgenev, for example, in his story “Asya”, where the heroes (Asya and Mr. N.), close to each other in spirit and culture, experience joy, emotional uplift, which is expressed in their enthusiastic perception of nature, art and themselves, in joy communication with each other. However, in the end, although very unexpectedly, they part, which leaves a dramatic mark on the soul and fate of each. And this once again proves that dramatic tonality rarely escapes the fate of people and therefore very often makes itself felt in works of art.

The combination of heroism and romance is possible in those cases when the hero accomplishes or wants to accomplish a feat, and this is perceived by him as something sublime, noble, elevating him in his eyes, causing impulse and inspiration. Such an interweaving of heroism and romance is observed in “War and Peace” in the behavior of Petya Rostov, who was obsessed with the desire to personally take part in the fight against the French, which led to his death. Another example is the novel by A.A. Fadeev's "Young Guard", in which the writer tried to show how spiritually his heroes - high school students, who assessed their fight against the Nazis not as a sacrifice, but as a natural feat - approached life.

Emphasizing romantic, dramatic, tragic and, of course, heroic moments in the lives of heroes and their moods in most cases becomes a form of expressing sympathy for the heroes, the way the author supports and protects them. There is no doubt that V. Shakespeare worries together with Romeo and Juliet about the circumstances that impede their love, A.S. Pushkin takes pity on Tatyana, who is not understood by Onegin, F.M. Dostoevsky mourns the fate of such girls as Dunya and Sonya, A.P. Chekhov sympathizes with the suffering of Gurov and Anna Sergeevna, who fell in love with each other very deeply and seriously, but they have no hope of uniting their destinies.

However, it happens that the depiction of romantic moods becomes way to debunk the hero, sometimes even his condemnation. For example, Lensky’s vague poems evoke the slight irony of A.S. Pushkin, the romantic vine of Grushnikov - the caustic mockery of M.Yu. Lermontov. Image by F.M. Dostoevsky's dramatic experiences of Raskolnikov are in many ways a form of condemnation of the hero, who conceived a monstrous option for correcting his life and became confused in his thoughts and feelings. The tragic collision of Boris Godunov, shown by A.S. Pushkin in the tragedy “Boris Godunov”, also aims to condemn the hero - smart, talented, but unjustly received the royal throne.

Much more often, humor and satire play a discrediting role. Under humor And satire V in this case another variant of emotional orientation or type of problematic is implied. Both in life and in art, humor and satire are generated by such characters and situations that are called comic. The essence of the comic is to discover and identify the discrepancy between the real capabilities of people (and, accordingly, characters) and their claims, or the discrepancy between their essence and appearance.

Let's imagine a student who has no knowledge of literature or mathematics, but he behaves as if he knows them better than anyone. This cannot but cause a mocking attitude towards him, because the desire to appear knowledgeable has no basis in reality. Or another example. Let us imagine a public figure who has neither intelligence nor abilities, but claims to lead society. This behavior will most likely give rise to a bitter smile. A mocking and evaluative attitude towards comic characters and situations is called irony. Irony can be light and not malicious, but it can also become unkind and judgmental. Deep irony, which causes not a smile and laughter in the usual sense of the word, but a bitter experience, is called sarcasm.

The reproduction of comic characters and situations, accompanied by an ironic assessment, leads to the appearance of humorous or satirical works of art. Moreover, not only works of verbal art (parodies, anecdotes, fables, stories, short stories, plays), but also drawings, sculptures, and facial expressions can be humorous and satirical. Let's consider a few examples.

The performances of circus clowns are mostly humorous in nature, causing good laughter from the audience, because they, as a rule, imitate the performances of professional acrobats, jugglers, trainers and deliberately emphasize the difference in the performance of these performances by masters and clowns. In the story by S.Ya. Marshak about how “an absent-minded man from Basseynaya Street” got into the wrong carriage and could not get to Moscow in any way, also depicts a comic situation of error” designed for good laughter. In the above examples, irony is not a means of condemning someone, but reveals the nature of comic phenomena, which are based, as already said, on the discrepancy between what is and what should be.

IN story A, P. Chekhov's “The Death of an Official”, the comic is manifested in the absurd behavior of Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, who, while in the theater, accidentally sneezed on the general’s bald head and was so frightened that he began to pester him with his apologies and pursued him until he aroused the general’s real anger that and led the official to death. The absurdity lies in the discrepancy between the act committed (he sneezed) and the reaction it caused (repeated attempts to explain to the general that he, Chervyakov, did not want to offend him). In this story, the funny is mixed with the sad, since such fear of a high-ranking person is a sign of the dramatic position of a small official in the system of official relations.

Fear can give rise to unnaturalness in human behavior. This situation was reproduced by N.V. Gogol in the comedy “The Inspector General,” which shows how the Mayor and other “masters of the city,” out of fear of the inspector, commit acts that cannot but cause laughter from the audience. The emphasis on absurdities in this work is evidence of a lack of sympathy for the characters, as in AP’s story. Chekhov, but by the way of their condemnation. The fact is that in the person of the Mayor and his entourage there appear significant persons called upon to be responsible for the life of the city, but not corresponding to their position and therefore afraid of the exposure of their sins - bribery, greed, indifference to the fate of their subjects. The identification of serious contradictions in the behavior of heroes, giving rise to a clearly negative attitude towards them, becomes a hallmark of satire.

Classic examples of satire are provided by the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, in whose works - fairy tales and stories - there is an image of stupid landowners who would like to get rid of the peasants, but, being unadapted to any occupation, run wild (“Wild Landowner”); stupid generals who, like the aforementioned landowners, don’t know how to do anything, thinking that buns grow on trees, and therefore are capable of starving to death if it weren’t for the man who fed them (“Like a man fed two generals”); cowardly intellectuals who are afraid of everything, hide from life and thereby cease to be intellectuals (“The Wise Minnow”); thoughtless mayors, whose mission is to take care of the city and the people, but none of those shown in the story are capable of fulfilling this mission due to their stupidity and limitations (“The Story of a City”) - in a word, characters who deserve evil irony and harsh condemnation. An example of satire in Russian literature of the 20th century is the work of M.A. Bulgakov, where the subject of ridicule and exposure are various aspects of Russian life of the 20-30s, including the bureaucratic order of Soviet institutions, depicted in the story “The Diaboliad”; or the atmosphere of literary life in Moscow, where mediocre writers and critics are ready to persecute talented artists, and their own interests are focused exclusively on money, apartments and all kinds of benefits that membership in MASSOLIT provides (“The Master and Margarita”), the narrow-mindedness and aggressiveness of people like Sharikov, who become dangerous when they gain power (“Heart of a Dog”).

Of course, the distinction between humor and satire is not absolute. Very often they are woven together, complementing each other and supporting the ironic coloring of what is depicted. So, for example, when, speaking about Manilov, N.V. Gogol draws attention to the absurd position of his house, the wonderful names of his children (Alcides and Themistoclus), the cloyingly polite form of his communication with his wife and guest, this evokes a good-natured smile from his readers. But when it is reported that neither Manilov nor his manager know how many peasants have died on the estate, or how the same Manilov, amazed at Chichikov’s idea, nevertheless agrees to enter into a deal and sell the “dead,” the smile ceases to be good-natured: humor develops into satire.

The desire to understand the shortcomings and absurdities of life does not always lead to the creation of great literary and artistic works; it can find expression in other forms, for example, in satirical miniatures that are very common nowadays, heard from the stage, examples of which are the speeches of M. Zhvanetsky, M. Zadorny and some other authors. The audience actively reacts to the humorous and satirical meaning of their performances, because they recognize in their characters and situations the absurd, sometimes ugly and therefore comical features of our everyday life.

Satirical works may include elements of fantasy, that is, implausibility in the depiction of the world. We encounter fantastic characters and situations not only in fairy tales. The fantastic element is present, for example, in the famous novel by the English writer D. Swift “Gulliver’s Travels” and even in the comedy by N.V. Gogol’s “The Inspector General”: it’s hard to believe that every single official was deceived and believed in Khlestakov as an auditor. In literature and in art in general, that special form of fiction, where the proportions of life are especially strongly violated, and the image is based on sharp contrasts and exaggerations, is called grotesque. An example of the grotesque in painting is the paintings of the Spanish artist Goya, many paintings of the modern avant-garde, and in literature the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and in particular “The History of a City”.

The concepts discussed above - drama, tragedy, heroism, romance, humor, satire - do not cover all variations of the problematic and emotional orientation of literary works. In addition, many types of emotional orientation can be intertwined, superimposed on one another, forming a kind of alloy. As a result, the problems of the work are often very rich and multifaceted.

And now let us turn to the consideration of what constitutes the form, that is, the figurative and expressive side of the work. Considering the certain closeness of epic and dramatic works, which could be felt when analyzing the content, in this case we will not separate them fundamentally, although we will also show the differences in their artistic organization.

Content form of epic and dramatic works

In this paragraph, the reader will become acquainted with the concepts: portrait, interior, plot, landscape, lyrical digressions, composition, plot, denouement, climax, episode, scene, dialogue, monologue.

The heroes participating in an epic work usually appear somehow outlined. The description of their external appearance, including clothing, manners, postures, gestures, facial expressions, given by the narrator or the characters themselves, is portrait. So, for example, in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time”, the portrait of Bela is given by Maxim Maksimych (“And she was definitely beautiful: tall, thin, her eyes were black, like those of a mountain chamois, and looked into your soul”), the portrait of Pechorin is given in the words of the narrator (“He was of average height; his slender, slender figure and broad shoulders proved a strong build, capable of enduring all the difficulties of nomadic life and climate changes, not defeated by either the debauchery of metropolitan life or spiritual storms...”), and Grushnitsky and Princess Mary - Pechorin (“Grushnitsky is a cadet”). ... He is well built, dark and black-haired; he looks about twenty-five years old, although he is hardly twenty-one years old...”; “This Princess Mary is very pretty... She has such velvety eyes... her lower and upper eyelashes are so long that the rays of the sun are not reflected in her pupils").

A certain place, more or less, depending on the nature of the heroes and the situation, is occupied by interior, that is, a description of everyday life, which includes the appearance of the house, furnishings, furniture, in a word, its decoration. As an example, let’s give a description of Onegin’s office: “Will I portray in a true picture // A solitary office, // Where the fashion student is exemplary // Dressed, undressed and dressed again? // Amber on the pipes of Constantinople, // Porcelain and bronze on the table, // And, a joy to pampered feelings, // Perfume in cut crystal; // Combs, steel files, // Straight scissors, curved ones, // And thirty kinds of brushes // For both nails and teeth.”

The interior of N.V. is depicted in particular detail. Gogol in the poem “Dead Souls”: “There was a certain kind of peace; for the hotel was also of a certain kind, that is, exactly the same as hotels in provincial cities, where for two rubles a day travelers get a quiet room with cockroaches peeking out like prunes from all corners, and a door to the next room, always filled with a chest of drawers, where the neighbor, a silent and calm person, but extremely curious, settles down” or: “After looking around looking at the room, Chichikov took two quick glances: the room was hung with old striped wallpaper; between the windows there are old small mirrors with dark frames in the shape of curled leaves; Behind every mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking; wall clock with a painted clock on the dial...”; continuing his inspection of the interior of Korobochka’s house, “Chichikov noticed that not all of the paintings were birds: between them hung a portrait of Kutuzov and a painted oil paints some old man with beautiful cuffs on his uniform, like they used to embroider under Pavel Petrovich.”

Concerning landscape, then it can serve as an interior, a scene of action, or it can be an object of observation or emotional experiences of the characters. Giving a picture of the night at the beginning of the story “Taman” and including some details of everyday life, M.Yu. Lermontov helps to imagine the circumstances in which Pechorin had to find himself in this city: “The full moon shone on the reed roof and white walls of my new home;... in the courtyard, surrounded by a cobblestone delight, stood another shack, smaller and older than the first. The shore sloped down to the sea almost right next to its walls, and below, dark blue waves splashed with a continuous murmur. The moon quietly looked at the restless, but submissive element, and I could distinguish in its light, far from the shore, two ships.”

And “Princess Mary” begins with a description of the view from the window of Pechorin’s house in Pyatigorsk, giving the opportunity to see the environment in which the action will take place: “The view from three sides is wonderful. To the west, the five-headed Beshtu turns blue, like “the last cloud of a scattered storm”; Mashu rises to the north, like a Persian cap, and covers this entire part of the sky; It’s more fun to look to the east: below me, a clean, brand new town is colorful, healing springs are noisy, a multilingual crowd is noisy.” On the pages of the same story, a little later,” Pechorin (here he is the narrator) resorts to landscape moments to convey his state: “Returning home, I sat on horseback and galloped into the steppe; I love to ride a hot horse through the tall grass, against the desert wind; I greedily swallow the fragrant air and direct my gaze into the blue distance... Whatever bitterness lies in my heart, whatever anxiety torments my thoughts, everything will dissipate in a minute; the soul will become light, the fatigue of the body will overcome the anxiety of the mind. There is no female gaze that I would not forget at the sight of curly mountains, illuminated by the southern sun, at the sight blue sky or listening to the sound of a stream falling from cliff to cliff.”

In a dramatic work, portrait details, interior or landscape are outlined in the author's remarks, which precede the beginning of the action, or in the characters' remarks, and are realized by actors, make-up artists, set designers, and directors. At the same time, you can learn about the appearance of the heroes from the remarks of other heroes or themselves.

A necessary principle for depicting heroes in epic and dramatic works is the reproduction of events that arise from the actions of the characters, which constitutes plot. The plot is made up of events, and events are made up of the actions of the characters.

Concept act includes both externally tangible actions conveyed, in particular, by verbs (arrived, entered, sat down, met, spoke, headed), and internal intentions, thoughts, experiences. It is from the actions of individuals or groups that personal or historical events arise. Thus, the recreated L.N. Tolstoy, the war of 1812 is an event consisting of thousands of actions and, accordingly, micro-actions of its participants - soldiers, generals, marshals, civilians. The set of actions in their movement and development forms a chain of episodes, or plot, of a literary work.

Designating actions as some chain may seem insufficiently accurate, since in some cases the so-called single-line plot, that is, a plot that can be presented graphically in the form of sequentially interconnected links of one chain, in others - multi-line, that is, one that should be presented in the form of a complex network and intersecting lines. Moreover, episodes can be of different plans or volumes, that is, with the participation of a different number of characters and different amounts of time allocated to a given episode. Therefore, they sometimes distinguish episode And stage, which is a more extended episode.

The first, that is, single-line, version of the plot is easier to imagine by remembering some short story, for example, “Blizzard” by A.S. Pushkin, The plot begins with the message that the noble girl Marya Gavrilovna and the army ensign Vladimir Nikolaevich, who lived in neighboring estates, are in love. Because of their parents’ ban, they corresponded secretly, swore eternal love for each other, and eventually came up with the idea of ​​getting married secretly. The wedding took place in a small church on a winter day in 1812. The story recreates in detail all the actions of both heroes, that is, how someone got ready and got to the church. Marya Gavrilovna arrived on time, Vladimir was prevented by a snowstorm. While he was getting there, a “daring” officer passed by, who found himself next to the bride in a dark church, and the priest, without noticing the substitution, married Marya Gavrilovna to him. Realizing immediately what had happened, Marya Gavrilovna fell ill. Vladimir went to the army and took part in the Battle of Borodino. After some time Marya

Gavrilovna and the strange officer met by chance (they lived in the same district), fell in love and each shared their secret. A happy ending has arrived.

To reproduce the plot, it is necessary to recreate all the episodes that follow one after another. In each episode there is some action, be it receiving a letter, deciding to get married, coming to church, etc. Therefore, when listing some of them, we used words denoting some actions, that is, verbs. In this story, these episodes are brief and undeveloped, but they constitute the sequence of events of the work, that is, the plot. At the same time, it is the plot that occupies a very large place in this story, as in other “Belkin’s Tales”.

Let's consider more difficult case using the example of the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin".

The very first words with which the novel begins and which belong to Onegin (“My uncle had the most honest rules, // When he was seriously ill, // He forced himself to be respected // And he couldn’t have invented a better idea”) actually mark the beginning of the action that will unfold later . After the hero’s words, instead of a story about his arrival in the village, the author talks about his father, his upbringing and, in great detail, about the type of life of an 18-year-old young man in St. Petersburg society. Almost one day of such a life is reproduced, about which it is said: “He will wake up in the afternoon, and again // Until the morning his life is ready. // Monotonous and colorful. // And tomorrow is the same as yesterday.” At the same time he pounces external portrait, the costume, the manner of dressing, the decoration of the office are outlined. In the 52nd stanza of the first chapter, the message appears again: “Suddenly he actually received // From the manager a report // That his uncle was dying in bed // And he would be glad to say goodbye to him.” This information precedes the quoted words of the hero. She forces him to go to the village, where, having buried his uncle, Onegin remains to live, accidentally meets Lensky, then periodically meets with him; Thanks to Lensky, he ends up in the Larin family, arouses everyone’s interest and Tatyana’s emotions, as a result of which he receives a letter and after a while drops by to explain things to Tatyana. The next big episode, or rather scene: Tatiana’s name day - with a quarrel, a challenge to a duel. Then the duel, Onegin’s departure from the village and his disappearance before appearing in St. Petersburg. These events take several months - from summer to winter, more precisely, until the end of January, when Tatiana's Day is celebrated. The Larins continue to live in the village, marry Olga off, hopelessly try to marry off Tatyana, and next winter go to Moscow. After marriage, Tatyana moves to St. Petersburg, settling in one of the aristocratic houses in the capital. The moment Onegin appears in this house, it turns out that she has been married for about two years. Another half a year passes after their new meeting. Thus, more than four years have passed since the action began.

We drew attention to this example to show that the action (plot) here develops and moves in one direction, forming a kind of chain of episodes and scenes. Naturally, not all the episodes that make up this chain were named here, but it was shown what exactly constitutes the event, that is, plot sphere of the novel structure.

The recording of events is accompanied by a description of various attributes of St. Petersburg, provincial and Moscow life, everyday lifestyle, portraits of heroes, as well as nature. The duration of action can be calculated precisely by the change of landscapes, that is, seasons. In addition, in this novel there are a lot of direct statements by the author, which are called lyrical digressions. Lyrical digressions sometimes seem to follow from the story or description. Reporting on Onegin’s visit to the theater, the poet cannot help but include in the text his thoughts about this “magical land”, where “Fonvizin, the friend of freedom, shone,” plays by Knyazhnin, Ozerov, Katenin, Shakhovsky were staged, where Semenova danced, and the famous ballet director gained fame Didlo. Describing the atmosphere of the St. Petersburg ball, Pushkin cannot help but exclaim: “In the days of fun and desire // I was crazy about balls.” And so in most cases. Very often, descriptions of nature, without which this novel is unthinkable, because outside of nature (arable lands, fields, meadows, forests) the life of a Russian landowner family is unthinkable, turn into his own reflections: “Flowers, love, village, idleness, // Fields! I am devoted to you with my soul." The abundance of such digressions is a feature of this novel, in which the poet wanted to directly express many of his thoughts, and the poetic form of speech greatly contributed to this.

Talking about the different components of the text (plot, landscape, portrait), we entered the area compositions, which may include different elements, but in an epic work the integrity of the building, which we call a work of art, rests on the plot. The plot is the main binding principle that cements the text of the work.

A different number of characters may take part in plot episodes and scenes, be present different shapes implementation and interaction of characters: reflections to oneself or out loud, alone or in the presence of listeners (monologue) or conversations between two ( dialogue) or more (polylogue) heroes, as well as meetings of other kinds, including fights, duels, clashes in battles, in everyday life, etc. At the same time, verbal communication and self-expression of heroes has the most important place in both epic and dramatic works, and therefore dialogues and monologues, being one of the most important ways of presenting heroes, are mostly included in the plot as its components.

Let's try to present another version of the plot and compositional organization of an epic work based on the material of the story by A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter".

This story, like “The Blizzard,” is extremely rich in event elements, that is, the actions and actions of the characters that make up the plot. This includes episodes from the personal lives of the heroes and historical events in which they are participants. Landscape sketches are mostly woven into the story of events: let us remember how a snowstorm in the steppe caused the meeting of the main characters - Grinev and Pugachev.

The plot recreates a life situation, revealing the characters of the characters involved and their understanding by the author. The life situation of "The Captain's Daughter" includes many characters, and the plot action, despite the small volume of text, covers a large period of time. The events presented here take place from the winter of 1772–1773, when Grinev first meets Pugachev, until the autumn of 1774, when, after a trip to St. Petersburg, his bride Marya Ivanovna and her meeting with the Empress, Grinev is released from arrest, Pugachev is executed, and Marya Ivanovna returns to Grinev's parents. The story ends with the publisher’s message that after his release, Grinev married Marya Ivanovna and “their offspring prosper in the Simbirsk province. Thirty miles from *** there is a village owned by ten landowners. – In one of the master’s wings they show a handwritten letter from Catherine II behind glass and in a frame. It was written to the father of Pyotr Andreevich and contains a justification for his son and praise for the mind and heart of Captain Mironov’s daughter.” This constitutes an epilogue to the story, in which the characters no longer participate, but talks about one of the grandchildren who delivered his grandfather’s manuscript to the publisher

Pyotr Andreevich Grinev. Such an epilogue is essentially not part of the plot.

What is unique? of this type plot?

The fate of a young nobleman was a common theme in novels and stories in Russian literature of the 20s and 30s of the 19th century. The depiction of historical events, such as the peasant movement, was unusual and new. The inclusion of heroes in the historical situation allowed us to take a different look at traditional heroes, such as Grinev, and introduce them to those like Pugachev and his associates. If according to the official version Pugachev is a villain and a traitor, then for A.S. Pushkin is a more complex figure. But how to show it? And S. Pushkin found such an opportunity by presenting his essay in witness note form– P.A. Grinev, an honest and truthful, sincere and moral person.

Already in the first chapters we learn that Grinev is decent (relationships with Zurin), noble (duel in defense of Masha Mironova), sensitive and attentive to to a stranger, even a non-noble rank (thanks to the counselor), and also very observant. Starting from Chapter VI, he appears as a participant in the “strange”, in his words, incidents that began in the fall of 1773, when the Cossacks rebelled.

Being a participant in all incidents, officer Grinev, who took the oath to the empress, tries to be objective and tries to understand Pugachev, penetrate his thoughts, evaluate his actions. Thanks to Grinev’s observation, it turns out that the villain Pugachev is smart, that he is supported by a huge part of the Cossack population, that he is characterized by a desire for justice, a sober understanding of the situation and a natural desire to feel at least for a while a free man. Other characters emerge from Grinev’s story - Pugachev’s associates, Captain Mironov, Marya Ivanovna, Shvabrin, the general commander of the tsarist troops in Orenburg. The totality of all the actions and actions of the heroes in their connection and sequence constitutes the plot, the beginning and end of which are mentioned above. Within the designated time, the course of action is not disrupted chronologically.

At the same time, the narrator realizes and emphasizes the distance between the time of the events that happened and the time of their description. Therefore, he tells the story in the past tense and supplements it with comments that are the result of his personal analysis of those events. These comments are few in number, but important, for example in the part where the hero recalls that he “was engaged in literature; His experiments, for that time, were considerable, and Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov, several years later, praised them very much.” Particularly important are Grinev’s considerations at the beginning of Chapter VI, which says that the beginning of the Pugachev uprising and the appearance of the Cossacks at the walls of the Belogorsk fortress was preceded by the indignation of the Cossacks in their main town. “The reason for this was the strict measures taken by General Traubenberg in order to bring the army to proper obedience. The consequence was the barbaric murder of Traubenberg, a willful change in government and finally the pacification of the rebellion with grapeshot and cruel punishments.” Evidence of cruelty on the part of the authorities is also torture, which was then universally used in contrast to “the meek reign of Emperor Alexander,” in connection with which Grinev writes: “Young man! If my notes fall into your hands, remember that the best and most lasting changes are those that come from improving morals, without any violent upheaval.”

Thus, the originality of both the content and form of presentation in this work depends not only on the material itself, but also on the choice of the narrator. In addition to an objective presentation of events, the hero-narrator includes letters and notes from various characters in the narrative to show the manner of written communication at that time. Moreover, everyone here writes in Russian, although correspondence in the noble society of that time was often conducted in French. All fourteen chapters are provided with epigraphs. The meaning of epigraphs is to supplement, to enrich the author's text with proverbs, sayings, and fragments of songs by famous poets of that time and folk ones.

As already mentioned, the details of the plot, portrait, interior, landscape, etc. are arranged, arranged, connected in a certain way, forming composition works. The immediate “culprit” of a particular composition is the narrator. He should not be identified with the author, who is the initiator and creator of everything that happens, but in the text we are dealing with a narrator who in some cases is very close or identical to the author (“Eugene Onegin”), in others he is different from him (“The Brothers Karamazov "). It is the author who entrusts the role of narrator to Grinev (in “ The captain's daughter"), two heroes (Varenka and Makar in "Poor People"), several heroes (a passing officer, Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin in "A Hero of Our Time") or a special person who does not participate in the action, but watches the heroes or hears them history (a passing official in “The Station Agent”).

The role of the narrator is determined by the fact that it is he who reports about the actions of the heroes, about their meetings, about the events that occurred between meetings, etc. For example, in “Eugene Onegin” the narrator informs about Onegin’s arrival in the village, about his friendship with Lensky, about their visit to the Larins, about the duel, about the Larins’ trip to Moscow, etc. In the same novel, the narrator recreates Onegin’s background, describing his life in St. Petersburg before arriving in the village. His words convey the setting of the action, outline the appearance of most of the characters, and express judgments during the course of the story, which are called lyrical digressions.

Concerning dramatic works, then they have no narrators, there is practically no connecting text, except in cases where there are remarks about the characters and the location of the action. Here, all the information comes from the characters themselves, pronouncing monologues, dialogues and individual remarks. The absence of a narrator and his speech is compensated for by scenic possibilities, in the choice of which the director plays a decisive role. Therefore, the literary text, which makes up the verbal fabric of the future performance, during the production process is supplemented by the gestures and movements of the actors (facial expressions and pantomime), their costumes and appearance, scenery created by the designer, sound effects and some other factors, often predetermined by the playwright’s plan, but implemented by the director of the performance. Consequently, the analysis of stage performance is the field not only of a literary critic, but also of a theater scholar. However, the plot structure of a dramatic work gives us the right to analyze it, as in an epic work.

So, if the reader of an epic work faces an author-narrator who presents the characters and events from his own point of view, then in drama there is no such intermediary. In a drama, the characters act independently on stage, and the viewer himself makes the conclusions that follow from their actions and experiences. The time of the action depicted in the drama must coincide with the time of the stage performance. And the performance, as a rule, lasts no more than three to four hours. This affects the length of the dramatic text and the plot. The plots of plays should be compact, and the conflicts more or less naked. Unlike the epic, in dramatic performances no one tells about the plots, that is, about the action. Actions are presented by the characters themselves in dialogues and monologues. Therefore, speech acquires special significance in drama, and the main dramatic text is a chain of dialogical remarks and monologues of the characters themselves.

Let's try to consider the structure of the plot of a dramatic work, I mean the nature of dialogues and monologues, from which the plot is made up, referring to the play by A.N. Ostrovsky "The Thunderstorm". In some cases, such as the dialogue between Katerina and Varvara in the first act of the play and Katerina’s monologue “with the key,” they should be recognized as dynamic or driving components of the plot, because they become a certain moment in the development of the action. Another version of the relationship between word and action can be observed in the scenes of Boris’s confession to himself about his love for Katerina or Katerina’s confession to Varvara about her love for Boris, where the monologues reveal the inner state of the characters and thus do not reveal obvious dynamics. Episodes like those where Boris tells Kuligin and Katerina Varvara about their past life turn out to be important primarily from the point of view of understanding the characters' characters, being the background to events and serving as an exposition of the action.

Continuing the conversation about the plot, it is necessary to add that in some literary works, in particular in the discussed play by A.N. Ostrovsky, we encounter a plot in which the beginning (the message about the love of Katerina and Boris) and the end (the death of Katerina) of the action are quite clearly indicated. Such points, or moments, in the plot are called tie And denouement. Of course, in the plot of any work there is a beginning and a climax, but it is not always advisable to denote them using the indicated terms. We should talk about the plot when the contradictions and conflicts that are the source of the course of events, a kind of engine of the plot, are outlined and tied up before the reader’s eyes. For example, in “The Thunderstorm” such a source turns out to be the love of Katerina and Boris and the circumstances that impede it.

Let us consider again from this angle the comedy by A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". Having arrived from abroad, Chatsky unexpectedly notices that Sophia is not happy with him, that she has some kind of secret that determines her actions. Trying to understand the reasons for her behavior and finding himself in Famusov’s house, he meets with his household and guests, as a result of which a chain of episodes arises. The denouement comes when both Chatsky and Famusov find out what Sophia’s secret is and what kind of relationships have developed in the house.

There is another contradiction in this play - antipathy towards Chatsky not only on the part of Sophia, but also other characters and Chatsky’s dislike for them not for personal, but for ideological and moral reasons, which strengthens and accelerates the clash between Sophia and Chatsky, allowing her to attract him to alert his guests and call him crazy. However, this contradiction, unlike the one above, does not have a resolution in the play; it only provokes a deterioration in the relationships of the characters. The denouement lies in the exposure of the personal relationships of Sophia, Famusov, Molchalin and Liza, which are revealed to the gaze of Chatsky, who hears the last conversation between Liza, Molchalin and Sophia, pronounces the final monologue and leaves Famusov’s house.

Let's take the third case and find that the beginning and end of the action do not always become the beginning and resolution. So, in the play by A.P. Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”, the anticipation of Ranevskaya’s arrival and even Lopakhin’s notification of the sale of her estate can hardly be called the beginning. According to Ranevskaya herself, she returned to Russia due to failures in her personal life, longing for her daughter and a bad mood. She is unable to take a real part even in saving the estate, and she is not very concerned about it. The biggest changes in the event of the sale of the estate threaten Varya and Firs, who live in the manor’s house. The rest, as one might assume, will leave home without feeling any drastic changes in their fate and without experiencing particularly negative emotions from parting with each other. The denouement can be considered the general emotional mood associated with the fact that the faces of the earth are disappearing The Cherry Orchard as some kind of historical and cultural value that there is no one to save now. It is possible that viewers or readers feel this even more strongly than the participants in the stage action themselves.

So, in each of the works considered, some kind of life situation is presented, which unfolds and changes before the eyes of the readers. But the nature of the changes varies depending on the issue, that is, on the author’s understanding of the situation, which determines type of plot. As one can see, the plots of “The Thunderstorm” and “Woe from Wit” have something in common in the principle of action development, namely the presence of a plot, a causal-temporal connection between episodes and a denouement. Here the action unfolds around the relationships of several characters, and the relationships themselves are built under the influence of an internal impulse, which is the complex relationship between the characters.

In other cases, particularly in The Cherry Orchard, the action is not concentrated on two or three heroes; The action involves several virtually equal characters, in whose fate, as a rule, no noticeable changes occur. As a result, there is no obvious connection here; a temporary connection between the episodes predominates, that is, they do not follow from one another, but seem to be attached to one another based on chronological sequence.

The indicated patterns in the organization of the plot and the relationship between words and actions can be traced in epic works. Among the stories and stories (the novel will be discussed below) there are those that, in terms of the type of plot, are reminiscent of “Woe from Wit” or “The Thunderstorm”, and those that are closer to “The Cherry Orchard”.

An example of stories with a fairly clear plot is “Belkin’s Tales” by A.S. Pushkin and in particular "The Shot", where the plot is a meeting in the regiment of Silvio and the count, which marked the beginning of their rivalry, and then a duel, during which only one shot was fired, and the second - Silvio - remained behind him. The denouement is a new meeting of the heroes, which took place six years later, when Silvio, having arrived at the count’s house, finally fired his shot, saw the owner’s confusion and left, carrying out his plan. In that a short story there is a brief account of Silvio's subsequent fate, which constitutes an epilogue.

A plot of a different type - with the absence of a clearly defined plot, with weakened causal connections between episodes, with a predominance of temporary motivations in the development of action - is presented in many stories by A.P. Chekhova, I.A. Bunin and other writers. Let us take as an example the story of I.A. Bunin's "Cold Autumn", where in just two and a half pages of text the life of the heroine is reproduced over thirty years. In the plot of the story, several episodes can be distinguished - the scene of the heroes' engagement, the scene of their farewell the day after the engagement on a cold autumn evening, the groom's departure to the front (we are talking about the First World War) and receiving news of his death; then, on behalf of the heroine, the main moments of her life are only named and listed - marriage, death of her husband, departure from Russia and, ultimately, a lonely existence in Nice. Here the chronicle principle clearly prevails in the organization of action, and the feeling of integrity of the narrative is created by a dramatic tone that colors the fate of the heroine, starting with the loss of her fiancé and ending with the loss of Russia and all her loved ones.

A.P. Chekhov developed a fundamentally new for that time and very productive principle of organizing action, which can be seen in many of the writer’s stories. One of the most characteristic and perfect of its kind is his story “Ionych”. Judging by the title, at the center of the story is the fate of the main character Dmitry Ionych Startsev, which is shown over the course of about ten years, although the narration of this story takes only 18 pages. However, in addition to the story about the fate of the hero, during which it is recorded how from a doctor devoted to treating patients in a zemstvo, that is, a free hospital, he turns into a practicing doctor who already owns three houses and continues to acquire new ones, there is a lot here great attention is devoted to characterizing the mental and moral atmosphere in the city of S., which largely determined the nature of the hero’s evolution, but which is also important in itself as a symptom of the general state of Russian provincial life at the end of the last century.

The atmosphere of the city is clarified first of all through the example of the “most educated and talented” Turkin family, which includes dad Ivan Petrovich, mummy Vera Iosifovna and daughter Katenka, and then through the example of other residents, who are always called ordinary people by both the hero and the author. The daughter’s talent lay in her ability to play the piano loudly (which she was embarrassed to remember a few years later); her mother’s talent consisted in writing mediocre songs and not telling anyone interesting novels; and daddy’s indispensability as the owner of an interesting and cultured house lies in his “ability” to entertain guests with stupid anecdotes, pretentiously ridiculous jokes and words like the following: “Hello, please”; "Bonjourte"; “You have no Roman law... This is very perpendicular on your part,” repeated from year to year.

As for the other inhabitants of the city, their level was below any criticism. “Startsev visited different houses and met many people... The inhabitants irritated him with their conversations, views on life, and even their appearance. Experience taught him little by little that while you play cards with an ordinary person or have a snack with him, then he is a peaceful, good-natured and even intelligent person, but as soon as you talk to him about something inedible, for example, about politics or science, he becomes a dead end or develops such a philosophy, stupid and evil, that all that remains is to wave your hand and walk away. When Startsev tried to talk even with a liberal man in the street, for example, that humanity, thank God, is moving forward and that over time it will do without passports and without the death penalty, the man in the street looked at him sideways and incredulously and asked: “So, Then anyone can stab anyone on the street?” And Startsev avoided conversations.”

The need to convey the atmosphere of a provincial town seems to overshadow the romantic events in the life of Startsev, who in the first year of his stay in the city fell in love with Katenka and proposed to her, but her conviction in her talent and desire to go to the conservatory forced her to refuse the proposal, and that was the end of their novel. After she returned a few years later, the offer was not repeated. This limited the outwardly noticeable events and changes in the hero’s life.

Therefore, a significant part of the plot episodes both before and after the romantic explanations of Startsev and Katenka are those that, in the form of everyday meetings, conversations and evenings in the Turkins’ house, demonstrate the established, established structure of life in the city of S. with its inertia, mental limitations, and real lack of culture. Doctor Startsev understands perfectly well what this life is worth, he continues to treat patients, but does not communicate with anyone and limits himself to receiving banknotes, although he is hardly satisfied with this, but he cannot imagine another life option, because for this it would be necessary to change the entire way of the city everyday life The emphasis on depicting everyday life, or more precisely the way of life, creates a feeling of staticity and the absence of noticeable dynamics in the development of the action. But the tension of the narrative does not weaken because of this, it “feeds” on the mood that arises in the reader, a mood that is mostly colored in dramatic tones, although sometimes with an admixture of humor.

Similar life situations reproduced in other works of Chekhov, for example, in the story “The Literature Teacher.” Here too love story, the main person of which is the gymnasium teacher Sergei Vasilyevich Nikitin. He falls in love with Masha, the youngest daughter in the Shelestov family, which is considered one of the most intelligent, open, and hospitable in the city. The beginning of the described events dates back to May, when lilac and acacia bloom, and the end - to March of the next year. Nikitin, like Startsev, is happy with his communication with this family, fascinated by Masha-Manusya - Maria Godefroy. And although the author-narrator constantly draws his attention to the oddities of life in this house, Nikitin does not yet perceive them critically. And there are a lot of strange things.

Firstly, the house is full of cats and dogs that annoy guests, for example, by soiling trousers or hitting the legs with a tail as hard as a stick. Daddy constantly says: “This is rudeness! Rudeness and nothing more!” Sister Varya starts an argument on any occasion, even when it comes to the weather, finds fault with any words and makes comments to everyone, repeating: “This is old!”; "It's flat!"; "Army sharpness!" The other inhabitants of the city are also very peculiar. The gymnasium teacher Ippolit Ippolitich can only think in truisms. But the director credit society a certain Shebaldin, wanting to demonstrate his erudition, having learned that Nikitin had not read the “Hamburg dramaturgy of the German scientist Lessing, came into indescribable horror: “He waved his hands, as if he had burned his fingers, and backed away from Nikitin.” My beloved Manyusya has three cows, but does not give her husband a glass of milk at his request.

Therefore, several months were enough for Nikitin to understand that his happiness in marriage with Manyusya was not only ephemeral, but simply impossible, and he dreams of escaping, but where?.. His thoughts are limited to the dream of living for a few days in a hotel on Neglinnaya in Moscow, where he It once seemed very uncomfortable.

The plot episodes also differ in the degree of intensity of the action. The action can develop energetically and dynamically, as in the play by A.S. Griboedova; maybe much calmer, as in the plays of A.P. Chekhov. A similar picture occurs in narrative works. For example, in the novels of F.M. Dostoevsky's action is intense, dramatic, often mysterious, almost detective-like; at L.N. Tolstoy - outwardly calm and smooth. In all cases, during the course of action, climax moments, that is, points of particularly strong manifestation of contradictions and a possible turn of events. Thus, the duel between Lensky and Onegin could lead not only to Onegin’s departure, but also to the end of the action. But it turned out to be one of the climaxes, after which, according to the author’s plan, the action continued to develop until new emotionally intense meetings between Onegin and Tatyana took place, which determined the denouement of their relationship and the end of the action, i.e., the completion of the plot. With this, we will complete our reflections on the plot and composition of epic and dramatic works, inviting us to think about the features of artistic speech in such works.

Artistic speech in epic and dramatic works

This paragraph clarifies the concepts: dialogue, monologue, remark, speech of the narrator, and then characterizes the linguistic features that are used in artistic speech, giving it one or another appearance: emotionally charged words (neologisms, historicisms, Slavicisms, dialectisms); types of verbal allegory (metaphors, metonymies, epithets, hyperboles, litotes); various syntactic structures (inversions, repetitions, rhetorical questions, exclamations, appeals, etc.).

In the previous section it was already said that dialogues and monologues, being statements of characters and at the same time episodes in the lives of heroes, as a rule, are included in the plot as its components. Moreover, in the epic, the statements of the heroes are accompanied by the speech of the author-narrator, and in the drama they represent a continuous dialogical-monological chain. Therefore, in the epic we observe a complex speech structure, in which there are statements of characters that reflect the character of each of them, and the speech of the narrator, whoever he is. It follows from this that speech itself can and should also be an object of analysis.

The characters' speech mostly appears in the form of dialogue, detailed, extensive, or in the form of replicas. The functions of dialogues can be different: these are messages about what is happening, and an exchange of opinions, and ways for the characters to express themselves. If the words of one character in communication with another or even other characters clearly grow, they seem to develop into a monologue. These are, for example, Raskolnikov’s statements in “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky" when he finds himself alone with Porfiry Petrovich or Sonya. In such cases, Raskolnikov has a listener, whose presence influences his speech, giving it an emotionally persuasive character:

“I need you, that’s why I came to you.

“I don’t understand,” Sonya whispered.

- Then you will understand. Didn't you do the same? You also stepped over... were able to step over. You committed suicide, you ruined your life... (it’s all the same!). You could live in spirit and mind, but you’ll end up on the Sennaya... But you can’t stand it, and if you’re left alone, you’ll go crazy, just like I. You’re already like crazy; Therefore, we must go together, along the same road. Let's go to!"

A large place in the same novel is occupied by Raskolnikov’s monologues, which he pronounces to himself or out loud, but alone with himself: lying in his closet, wandering around St. Petersburg and comprehending his thoughts and actions. Such monologues are more emotional and less logically organized. Here is just one example of his thoughts after the scene on the bridge, where he witnessed the suicide of a woman. “Well, this is the outcome! - he thought, walking quietly and sluggishly along the embankment of the ditch. – I’ll cum anyway, because I want to... Is this the outcome, however? But still! There will be an arshin of space - heh! What an end, though! Is it really the end? Should I tell them or not? Eh...damn! And I’m tired: I wish I could lie down or sit down somewhere quickly! The most shameful thing is that it’s very stupid. I don't care about that either. Ugh, what nonsense comes to mind..."

Monologue-type speech is typical for the heroes of “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, especially for Bolkonsky and Bezukhov. Their monologues are different, depending on the situation, but, as a rule, they are not so emotional: “No, life is not over at thirty-one years old,” Prince Andrei suddenly finally, invariably decided. Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary for everyone to know it: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary for everyone to know me, so that my life does not go on for me alone So that they don’t live like this girl, regardless of my life, so that it affects everyone and so that they all live with me!”

The heroes of Gogol's "Dead Dead" are occupied with completely different problems, and their conversations are typical for the environment of the provincial nobility, about which A.S. Pushkin wrote in his novel: “Their prudent conversation // About haymaking, about wine, // About the kennel, about their relatives, // Of course, did not shine with either feeling, // Neither poetic fire, // Neither wit, nor intelligence, //No dormitory for art.” There are such heroes in Eugene Onegin. But there are also those in whose souls there are some impulses for the better. And these impulses result in Lensky’s foggy verses (“The world will forget me; but you // Will you come, maiden of beauty, // Shed a tear over the early urn // And think: he loved me, // He dedicated it to me alone // Dawn sad life of a stormy!..”), and Tatyana has a letter full of romantic emotions to her loved one, where she, in particular, says: “Another!.. No, to no one in the world // I would not give my heart! // It is destined in the highest council... / Until the will of heaven: I am yours; // My whole life was a guarantee // of a faithful meeting with you; // I know you were sent to me by God; //Till the grave you are my keeper...”

So, the speech of the heroes is very diverse, but its main task is to present the hero with his character and mentality. The narrator's speech is more multifaceted. As mentioned above, it is the narrator who informs about everything that is happening, he very often himself introduces the situation of the action, the appearance of the heroes, he also conveys the thoughts of the heroes sometimes in direct speech, quoting their dialogues and monologues, and sometimes in the form of improperly direct speech, coloring the speech of the heroes with his intonation, sometimes he shares his own thoughts. Depending on the meaning of what is being depicted and the attitude of the author-narrator towards it, his speech can be different - more or less neutral and expressive. In most cases, the narrator’s emotionality is implicit, hidden, noticeable only during careful reading. And the reason for this is the specificity of the works epic kind, which consists in recreating a figurative picture of life, that is, the objective world, which consists of the external appearance of the heroes, their relationships, that is, actions, deeds, the nature surrounding them or the environment they created. The expressiveness of the narrator's speech should not obscure the expressiveness of the depicted world itself. The reader follows how the characters live, what they look like, what they think, etc. The words of the author - the narrator-narrator - should help accomplish this very task. But works are different, and so are the tasks and the writer. Let us give a few examples that allow us to imagine different types of speech of the narrator and at the same time illustrate the ways of interaction between objective details of varying emotional significance and their verbal designation.

“Princess Helen smiled; she stood up with the same unchanging smile completely beautiful woman, with which she entered the living room. Making a slight noise with her shiny robe, decorated with ivy and moss, and sparkling with the whiteness of her captivity, the gloss of her hair and diamonds, she walked between the parting men.”(“War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy). The portrait of the heroine is recreated here with the help of figurative details, in the designation of which epithets play a significant role, performing a descriptive function and devoid of additional expressiveness, including allegory.

“Olga Ivanovna hung all the walls entirely with her own and other people’s sketches, framed and unframed, and near the piano and furniture she arranged a beautiful crowd of Chinese umbrellas, easels, colorful rags, daggers, busts... In the dining room… I hung up the bast shoes and sickles, and put the scythes and rakes in the corner.”(“The Jumper” by A.P. Chekhov). The ironic coloring of this picture is created, firstly, by a special kind of details, unusual for a city living room, and secondly, by the use of expressive vocabulary (rags, busts, beautiful tightness).

“While all the people were jumping from one service to another, Comrade Korotkov served in the Glavtsentrbazspimat (Main Central Base of Match Materials) as a clerk. Having warmed up in the spimat, the gentle, quiet blond Korotkov completely erased from his soul the idea that there are vicissitudes of fate in the world, and instead instilled in its place the confidence that he, Korotkov, would serve at the base until the end of his life on the globe.”(“The Diaboliad” by M.A. Bulgakov). The ironic intonation that predominates in this passage arises, in particular, due to the then fashionable abbreviations (Glavtsentrbazpimat), peculiar metaphors (people rode, eradicated thought, instilled confidence), and then familiar phraseology (until the end of life on the globe).

“They are fading from memory, these years, rushing by like a roaring waterfall. Having brought down their foamy whirlpool on us, they carried us out into a quiet lake, and on its sleepy surface we gradually forget the songs of the storm. Memory drops links of memories, events float into oblivion like water poured into a sieve"("Count Puzyrkin" by B.A. Lavrenev). The sad-romantic tone arises here mainly due to the metaphorical nature of the speech. The first one and a half phrases are an extended metaphor, where the main concept is “years”. They are accompanied by other metaphors (songs of a storm, memory drops links of memories, events float away), epithets (roaring waterfall, foamy whirlpool, sleepy surface), comparison. The impression is complemented by syntactic features - peculiar repetitions, where the narrator’s manner of speech emerges.

So, artistic speech, be it the speech of characters in epic and drama or the speech of the narrator in epic works, manifests itself in a variety of forms and variations. This presupposes and conditions the consideration of certain linguistic features that form this or that character of speech. These features include: the choice of words that can be neutral and emotional, their use in literal and figurative meanings, giving them different sound colors, as well as the ability to create certain syntactic structures. Let's look at some cases using examples from different types of works.

I. Words used in their literal meaning are neutral (child, house, eyes, fingers) and emotionally charged (child, home, eyes, fingers). Emotional coloring is achieved in different ways:

a) the use of words with diminutive and augmentative suffixes: soldier, daughter-in-law, home (“By the way: Larina is simple, // But a very sweet old lady” - A.S. Pushkin);

b) attracting Slavicisms, i.e. words, phraseological units and individual elements in the composition of a word of Old Slavic origin, an indicator of which is the use of incomplete forms (“Beauty, hail Petrov, and stand // Unshakable, like Russia”; “Where, where have you gone, // My spring gold days" - A.S. Pushkin; "You cool press to my lips // Yours silver rings"; “Now follow me, my reader, // To the sick capital of the north, // To distant Finnish breg» – A.A. Block);

d) consumption dialectisms, in other words, linguistic features characteristic of territorial dialects (“ Dozhzhok now greenery is the first priority”; “She rushed run» – I.A. Bunin);

e) the inclusion of obsolete words, i.e. words that have fallen out of active use, exist in the passive stock and are mostly understandable to native speakers, among whom there are differences historicisms, which have fallen out of use due to the loss of the concepts they denote, and archaisms, or words that name existing realities, but are displaced for some reason from active use by synonyms (“At that time it appeared on

on the road there is a noisy and brilliant cavalcade: ladies in black and blue Amazons, gentlemen in costumes that are a mixture of Circassian and Nizhny Novgorod” - M.Yu. Lermontov; “Well, have you finally decided on something? Cavalry Guard will you be or a diplomat?” – L.N. Tolstoy; “The organ grinder accompanied... a girl of about fifteen” dressed as young lady, V crinoline, V mantilke, wearing gloves” – F.M. Dostoevsky; " Fingers light as a dream // My zenits he touched. // Opened up prophetic the apple of his eye, // Like a frightened eagle” - A.S. Pushkin);

f) the use and inclusion in the text of borrowed words, colloquial words and expressions (put, sentence, kilometer, reticulite, business), jargon (vidak, cool, party) etc.

2 When using words and figurative meanings, different forms of allegory arise, among which the main ones are:

A) metaphor, or a word in a figurative meaning. It arises when in the consciousness of a poet or any person there is a comparison, a correlation of different, but somewhat similar objects, phenomena, states and, due to their similarity, the replacement of the name of one with the name of another. In a line from a poem by A.S. Pushkin “A bee from a wax cell flies for a field tribute”), the honeycomb is called a cell, and the collection of pollen is called a tribute. One type of metaphor is personification, where inanimate phenomena are compared to living ones (“October has already arrived”, “The sky was already breathing in autumn” - A.S. Pushkin);

b) metonymy. It arises as a result of replacing something with something, but, unlike metaphor, not on the basis of similarity, but on the basis of connection, dependence, contiguity of objects, their parts, as well as phenomena and states. Let us give examples from the works of A.S. Pushkin, “All flags will visit us” means all countries and ships. Or: “And the shine, and the noise, and the talk of balls, and at the hour of the single feast, the hissing of foamy glasses and punch, a blue flame,” - of course, the noise and talk of people and the hissing of wine are meant;

V) hyperbola, i.e. exaggeration (“A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper” - N.V. Gogol;

G) litotes, i.e. understatement (“A little man with a fingernail” - N. Nekrasov);

d) irony, i.e. the use of a word or expression in the opposite sense (“Here, however, was the color of the capital; // And the nobility, and fashion models, // Faces encountered everywhere, // Necessary fools” - A.S. Pushkin) and etc.

3. Syntactic constructions also conceal a number of expressive possibilities. Among them:

A) inversion, i.e., a violation of the usual word order (“At that time, Evgeniy came home from guests young"; "Dawn rises in the darkness cold" - A.S. Pushkin);

b) replays the same word, group of words or entire syntactic periods (“I love mad youth, // And crampedness, and shine, and joy, // And I will give a thoughtful outfit”; With a firm gait, quietly, evenly // Walked four steps, // Four mortal stages" - A.S. Pushkin);

V) rhetorical questions, appeals, exclamations(“Dreams, dreams! Where is your sweetness?; “Enemies! How long have they been apart // Their thirst for blood has separated them?” - A.S. Pushkin).

4. The expressive role is played by epithets, i.e. artistic definitions. They differ from logical ones, which denote a necessary quality that separates one object or phenomenon from another (“Who is there in a crimson beret speaking to the Spanish ambassador?”) in that they highlight and emphasize some attribute with an emotional purpose (“And before younger the capital has faded old Moscow"; " Humble Sinner, Dmitry Larin").

Narrative and dramatic works can be written in verse, that is, in rhythmically organized speech (“Boris Godunov”, “Eugene Onegin”, “Woe from Wit”, Shakespeare’s tragedies), but this does not happen often.

Artistic image

This paragraph substantiates the concept of “artistic image” in relation to the concepts of “hero”, “character” and “character”, and shows its specificity.

To conclude the conversation about epic and dramatic works, let’s try to introduce one more concept - artistic image– and explain what it means and in what case it is used in the analysis of works. It is advisable to consider this concept by placing it in a row with the concepts of character (hero) - character (type) - image. These three words really denote different facets of the same phenomenon, therefore in scientific and pedagogical practice they are often used as synonyms, which is not always justified. The character can walk, talk, fall in love - this is quite natural. But in relation to the image, such word usage is unacceptable. As for character, it is often replaced by the concept of image, when they say, for example, “the image of Pechorin,” meaning the character of Pechorin or some other hero. This replacement is more reasonable, since the use of both image and character emphasizes the generality inherent in the hero or artistic character. However, such a replacement of concepts is not always justified, and here’s why.

The concepts of “character” and “distinctiveness,” as mentioned above, are intended to denote and record the presence of some common, recurring features in the appearance of both people and heroes, which are manifested or revealed in their appearance, behavior, manner of speaking and thinking. Availability in literary dictionary The concept of “image” implies that this or that hero (character), be it Pechorin, Bezukhov, Oblomov, Raskolnikov or Melekhov, being a generalized and at the same time specific person who can be imagined and imagined, was created by the artist using artistic means. For a painter, such media are pencil, watercolor, gouache, oil, canvas, paper, cardboard, etc., for a sculptor - plaster, stone, marble, wood, cut, hammer, etc., for a writer - the word. In this case, the word appears in three functions. Firstly, the word, as we have already seen, is a component of dialogues and monologues, that is, the statements of the heroes; secondly, a means of recreating the external and internal appearance of characters, their behavior, portrait, everyday environment, landscape; thirdly, the method of transmitting the author's comments and remarks.

The concept of image applies primarily to characters in epic and dramatic works (lyrical works will be discussed in the next chapter). We should not forget that characters are not real persons, but similar to them or very close (if we are talking about historical and memoir literature), they took shape in the mind and imagination of the artist and are depicted in the work using artistic means available to literature, which were discussed in the section on the specifics of the substantive form of epic and dramatic works.

If animals, birds, and plants appear as characters, then, as a rule, they personify people and their individual properties. Therefore, as already mentioned, in Krylov’s fables the habits of animals are taken into account (the cunning of foxes, the curiosity of monkeys, the habit of wolves to attack lambs, etc.), but the specificity of human relationships is conveyed and thereby creates an allegorically figurative picture of human weaknesses.

They often talk about collective images: the image of Russia, the image of the people, the image of the city, etc. This is possible, but we must keep in mind that the idea of ​​a city, country, etc. is made up of impressions that are born as a result of the perception of individual characters , as well as the setting, atmosphere, which is created by the same characters by the narrator. Consequently, an artistic image is a specific and at the same time generalized person or a holistic picture that has an emotional meaning and is reproduced using words.

Test questions

Name the literary families and explain how their origin is explained.

What is characteristic and how does it differ from typical?

How do themes, problems and ideas differ and, conversely, are similar?

What types of emotional orientation are there? Describe the categories: dramatic, tragic, heroic, romantic, comic and irony.

What are the specifics of humor and satire?

What is an artistic image? What are the signs of an artistic image in epic and dramatic works?

What is content form?

What concepts are used to refer to different sides artistic form literary work?

Describe the plot, portrait, interior, landscape.

What forms of characters' statements do you know?

What is the relationship between dialogues, monologues and plot action?

What is the composition of an epic work?

Who can be the narrator in an epic work?

What is the difference between the structure of narrative and dramatic works?

What is the difference between the literary text of a dramatic work and a play?

What verbal techniques determine the specificity of the speaker’s speech?

How do the objective world and the verbal fabric correlate in an epic work?

II

Lyrical work

This paragraph substantiates the specifics of a lyrical work, in connection with which the following concepts are introduced: subjective world, lyrical hero, lyrical experience, lyrical motive, types of lyrical works.

Another (third) type of literature consists of lyrical works, which are often identified with poems, while poetry is only one of the signs of a lyrical work. In addition, the poetic type of speech is found in both epic and dramatic works, and lyrics can exist in the form of prose (for example, “The Russian Language” by I.S. Turgenev).

Lyrical works differ from epic and dramatic works in volume and structural appearance. The main person we meet in lyrical works is called lyrical hero. The lyrical hero also has character, but his character is revealed not in actions and deeds, as in an epic work, but in thoughts and emotions. The main purpose and originality of the lyrics is that it conveys to us thoughts, feelings, emotions, moods, thoughts, experiences, in a word, the internal, subjective state of the individual, which, using a generalized concept, is often called lyrical experience.

The internal, subjective state of the lyrical hero can manifest itself in different ways. In some cases (let's call this the first type of lyrics) The reader immediately experiences a stream of emotions or reflections of the lyrical hero, which is close to the author or adequate to him, as in the poems “Duma” or “Both Boring and Sad” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Love, hope of quiet glory” or “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands” by A.S. Pushkin, “I had a voice” or “I was not with those who abandoned the earth” by A.A. Akhmatova. In the poems listed there are no visible or imaginary pictures, there are almost no messages about the facts of personal or public life. The lyrical hero of “Duma” shares his emotionally charged reflections, which replace each other, obeying the logic of thought. He is concerned about the mental and moral character of his generation, and clearly the best part of it, to which, apparently, the poet counts himself:

So I pray at your liturgy

After so many tedious days.

So that a cloud over dark Russia

Became a cloud in the glory of the rays.

The commonality of this with Lermontov’s previous poem is that here the statement of the lyrical hero is a monologue, a description of a mental state, and not external facts or events.

Let's remember the poems second type, such as “Village”, “Liberty”, “Prophet”, “Autumn” AS. Pushkin, “Sail”, “To the Death of a Poet”, “Dagger” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “About valor, about exploits, about glory” by A.A. Blok, “Letter to Mother” by S.A. Yesenina and many others. Each of them contains some facts, events, descriptions of nature. Let us first pay attention to “Sail” by M.Yu. Lermontov, in which the first two lines of each stanza reproduce some kind of picture (“The sail turns white...”, “The waves are playing - the wind whistles...”, “Under it is a stream of lighter azure...”), and the second two convey the state of mind (“What is looking for is he in a distant country?”, “Alas! He is not looking for happiness...”, “And he, rebellious, asks for a storm...”). Here the visual and the lyrical principles are rhythmically combined. In other cases, the relationship between these principles is more complex.

In the poem “The Death of a Poet” various facts related to the death of the poet are named and mentioned (vicious slander, a murderer thrown into Russia by the will of fate, a poet glorified by Pushkin and defeated, like him, a society that does not tolerate other people’s glory and freedom) , however, all these facts do not form a complete picture, that is, a plot; they appear as if torn, fragmentary and are, in essence, a reason, stimulus, material for lyrical thought and experience. “The poet is dead!” – exclaims M.Yu. Lermontov repeats a few lines later: “Killed, why sobs now,” - in neither case, not detailing the circumstances of Pushkin’s death, but seeing his goal in conveying the emotional and mental state that arose in connection with the death of the poet.

Third type lyrical works, which includes “Borodino” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Anchar” A.S. Pushkin, “Reflections at the Main Entrance” by N.A. Nekrasov, “To Comrade Netta, the Ship and the Man” by V.V. Mayakovsky arises when a more or less complete picture is recreated in a poem. However, here, too, the main emotional charge is carried not by the facts themselves, but by the thoughts and moods they give rise to, and therefore it is hardly worth seeing in the soldiers having a conversation before the Borodino battle, in the slave sent for poison, in the men standing at the entrance of a St. Petersburg house nobles, in Theodore Nett, whose name the steamship is named, characters and try to comprehend their characters as such. Therefore, we must keep in mind that the lyrical hero should be considered not the person who is being spoken about, but the one who seems to be speaking, thinking (remembering). Let's take another example - a poem by N.A. Nekrasov “In Memory of Dobrolyubov”, which recreates the image of an ascetic, patriot, devoted to his work, a pure and honest worker - Dobrolyubov and expresses the attitude of the poet himself towards him. The lyrical hero here is not Dobrolyubov Nekrasov, who, through admiration for the life of his friend and comrade-in-arms, managed to convey the attitude and mindset of the democratic intelligentsia of his time.

And here is an example from the work of A. A. Akhmatova - the poem “About Poems”:

In this text there are no external hints about the emotional state of the lyrical heroine, but behind everything that has been said one can feel the utmost mental and spiritual tension that arises at the moment of poetic creativity.

So, in the lyrics you need to see thoughts, feelings, emotions, moods, experiences, reflections, in a word, the internal state of a person. Such a person is most often a poet who shares his experiences that arose in connection with some circumstances of his life. It is no coincidence that biographical researchers strive to find out or guess these circumstances. But even when the experience was born out of the ups and downs of the poet’s personal life, it can turn out to be close and understandable to other people. For example, the feeling of joy and at the same time sorrow in the poem by A.S. Pushkin “My first friend, my priceless friend”, dedicated to the arrival of his friend I. Pushchin to Mikhailovskoye, as well as memories of past love in the poems “I loved you”, “I remember a wonderful moment” by A.S. Pushkin or “I Met You” by F.I. Tyutchev is in tune with many people. And this means that in poetic experiences there is generality, that is, specificity.

Let's give another example from a poem by A.A. Akhmatova’s “My husband whipped me patterned”, proving that the lyrical hero and the author are not necessarily identical.

My husband whipped me with a patterned one,

Double folded belt.

For you in the casement window

I sit with the fire all night.

Contents of the lyrical work

This paragraph clarifies the idea of ​​the essence of a lyrical work by explaining the structure of the lyrical content, in particular the meaning of the motive as a source of lyrical experience; the main provisions are confirmed by the analysis of individual poems by different poets, in particular N.A. Nekrasova.

Consideration of a lyrical work, as well as an epic one, implies an analytical approach and a conditional selection of content and form. The state of mind recreated in lyrics is always generated, provoked or conditioned by something. In other words, emotional reflection or mood has some reason or source, indicated in the work itself or hidden in the poet’s mind. After reading the poem by A.S. Pushkin’s “Flower?”, one can imagine the mechanism of the emergence of lyrical experience. Let us recall its first lines:

As for the essence of themes and motives, they include a variety of thoughts and aspects of the lives of people, nature, and society as a whole. For example, historical events (“Borodino” by M.Yu. Lermontov), ​​the state of the country (“Motherland” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Russia” by A.A. Blok, “Love, Hope, Quiet Glory” by A.S. Pushkin) , the fate of poetry (“Prophet” by A.S. Pushkin, “Prophet” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Poet and Citizen” by N.A. Nekrasov, “Muse” by A.A. Akhmatova), gone or true love(“I loved you”, “I remember a wonderful moment” by A.S. Pushkin, “I’m sad because I love you” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “About valor, about exploits, about glory” by A.A. Blok ), friendship (“My first friend, my priceless friend”, “In the depths of Siberian ores” by A.S. Pushkin, “In memory of A.I. Odoevsky” by M.Yu. Lermontov), ​​life of nature (“Autumn” by A.S. . Pushkin, “Autumn” by S.A. Yesenin), etc.

But themes and motives always give rise to one or another emotional state or reflection. Thanks to this, the lyrical content is a fusion of motives with the emotional thought, reflection, and mood generated by them.

Of course, motives can intertwine and cause complex, ambiguous thoughts and moods. So, in the above-mentioned poem by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “On the Death of a Poet” we capture both the pain and suffering caused by the death of the poet, and outright hatred for the killer who did not see a national genius in Pushkin, and admiration for the talent of the great poet, and anger at the reaction to this death of the conservative part of society. Let's give another example - a poem by S.A. Yesenin “Letter to Mother”; where the poet remembers his mother, imagines her appearance (“Why do you often go on the road // In an old-fashioned dilapidated shushun”), understands the reason for her sadness, anxiety, concern, inspires a feeling of calm, reminds of his tenderness and love for her (“I still as gentle"), talks about his desire to return to his native home, but realizes that this is only a dream, that he himself has become different - changed, lost faith, lonely and hoping only for “help and joy” of his mother’s love. Naturally, when reading a poem, an emotional state of bitterness, melancholy, disappointment arises, combined with warmth, tenderness, and a feeling of inner care for a loved one.

Let’s try to imagine the originality of the lyrical hero and his characteristic motives and moods using the material of N.A.’s work. Nekrasova.

The peculiarity of N.A.’s poetry Nekrasova is her utmost depiction. People and pictures that become the subject of lyrical experiences appear before the reader very visibly, clearly, almost like in epic works. Therefore, when analyzing Nekrasov’s poetry, the question often arises: what is more important and significant - the reproduction of various pictures and situations, similar to those given in “Reflections at the Main Entrance” and “The Railway,” or the experiences of the lyrical hero? Both the facts described here and the emotional reaction to them are significant. However, it is no coincidence that N.A. Nekrasov calls the poem not “At the Main Entrance,” but “Reflections at the Main Entrance,” thereby directing the reader’s attention to the lyrical type of content.

What worries the lyrical hero N.A. Nekrasova? Firstly, the life of the author himself, his personal suffering and thoughts about a difficult childhood, the death of his mother (“Motherland”), a difficult poetic fate (“My poems, living witnesses”), loneliness in his declining years (“I will soon die”). , self-doubt (“Knight for an Hour”).

But in most other works, the poet’s lyrical hero is preoccupied with thoughts not about himself, but about the people around him. At the same time, he pays his main attention to the poor, disadvantaged, and unhappy of his contemporaries, whose share becomes the subject of his constant thoughts. Among them are powerless men, railroad builders, a poor mother who has nothing to bury her child (“I’m Driving Down a Dark Street at Night”); a village grandfather who is destined for a bleak fate (“Troika”), a sick peasant who is unable to harvest his field (“Uncompressed Strip”).

Concern for the humiliated and sympathy for them turned his gaze to those of his contemporaries whom he called people's intercessors and who devoted their lives to caring for the good of the people. This is how poems arise in which N.A. Nekrasov recalls the fate of Belinsky, admiring his merits (“A naive and passionate soul, // In whom beautiful thoughts were boiling”) and suffering from the oblivion of his memory; expresses his respect to Chernyshevsky, who, in his words, “sees the impossibility of serving good without sacrificing oneself.” He also dedicates deeply tender lines to Dobrolyubov (“Mother Nature, if only you sometimes didn’t send such people to the world, // The field of life would die out”). The poet considered it possible to include himself among the people’s intercessors: “I dedicated the lyre to my people. // Perhaps I will die unknown to him. // But I served him and my heart is calm.”

N.A. did not go unnoticed. Nekrasov and the theme of poetry (“The Poet and the Citizen”, “Yesterday at Six o’clock” and others). Recreating the image of the Muse, he compares her with a peasant woman who was tortured by the executioners: “And I said to the Muse: look! // Your dear sister.”

Reflecting on the motives of N.A.’s poetry Nekrasov, it should be said that, along with civil lyrics, he also has poems dedicated to friends, women whom he met and loved (“You and I stupid people", "I don't like your irony").

The moods shared by the lyrical hero are rarely joyful and optimistic; his lyrics are full of bitterness and sadness. It is precisely this mood that is evoked by thoughts about a hungry family, about an uncleaned field, about unhappy men, about those tortured in railway workers, about fellow intellectuals who died from illnesses, like Belinsky and Dobrolyubov, or were torn away from normal life, like Chernyshevsky and Shevchenko.

At the same time, it was Nekrasov who tried to find a reason to instill joy and hope in his contemporaries. Most often this was when his thoughts turned to children - smart, talented, thirsty for knowledge (“Schoolboy”, “Peasant Children”), or to those who devoted their energies to art - Gogol, Turgenev, Shevchenko and others.

Content form of a lyrical work

This paragraph shows the specificity of the artistic image in a lyrical work, explains what is its specificity, generality and what artistic means form the structure of a lyrical work. In this regard, the concept of composition, verbal organization is clarified, the concept of rhythmic organization and its components is introduced - type of verse (tonic, syllabic, syllabic-tonic, free, dolnik), foot, size (trochee, iambic, dactyl, amphibrach, anapest), rhyme, rhyme, stanza.

Having comprehended the specifics of a lyrical work, in particular the question of what is its meaning and content, let us think about what is the specificity of the image in the lyrics and by what means is it created?

In epic and dramatic works, the image is associated with the character, and the necessary qualities of the image are generality, emotionality and specificity. Let's see if these qualities manifest themselves in the lyrics, and if so, how exactly. The specificity, that is, generality, of lyrical experiences was discussed above. Here is another fragment from A. S. Pushkin’s poem, which can serve as an example generality experiences conveyed in the lyrics, since the emotional statement present here is undoubtedly dear to many people:

Two feelings are wonderfully close to us -

I write in them my heart finds:

In the lyrics. As already noted, the inner world of a person cannot be seen or even imagined. Meanwhile, emotional thoughts or states always belong to some person - and in this sense we can talk about concreteness. Therefore, it is no coincidence that when perceiving many poems there is a feeling of the immediacy of the experiences that visited the lyrical hero, as, for example, in the poem by A. A Fet:

Lounging on the chair, I look at the ceiling,

Where, to the delight of the imagination.

A circle is quietly suspended above the lamp

Spinning like a ghostly shadow.

All of the above indicates that the lyrics also have their own image - image-thought, image-experience, image-state. By what means is it reproduced?

In a lyrical work, you should not look for the name of the lyrical hero, the place and time of the occurrence of thought and experience.

The text of a lyrical poem may contain portrait sketches, as, for example, in the poems of A.S. Pushkin: “You appeared before me, // Like a fleeting vision, // Like a genius of pure beauty” or “Friend of my harsh days, // A decrepit dove mine,” but they refer to the face that arose in the memories or momentary thoughts of the lyrical hero and became a source of thought and experience.

As already noted, in lyrical works we rarely find a detailed course of events; here, individual facts are often named, sometimes events that are not always connected in appearance and often do not form a consistent line. At the same time, certain facts, events, circumstances, actions, memories and impressions mentioned in the text of the poem, as a rule, are interspersed with thoughts and emotions, which we tried to show using the example of the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov "Sail". The change of such layers indicates movement, dynamics and thereby compositions lyric text. The composition is usually based on the train of thought or experiences of the lyrical hero, a chain of thoughts and emotions on which facts and impressions are strung.

Let's look at this with another example, remembering the poem by A.S. Pushkin “Am I wandering along noisy streets.” It consists of eight quatrains. The main idea that permeates the entire text is the thought of the finitude of life (“We will all descend under the eternal vaults”). She defines a sequence of paintings that succeed each other (“I caress a sweet baby,” “I look at a solitary oak tree”), and then reflections on “where fate will send death,” about what is “closer to the sweet limit // I would still like to rest,” and about the fact that the departure of one person does not mean the end of life in general (“And let young life play at the grave’s entrance, // And eternal nature // shine with eternal beauty”).

The composition of a lyrical work is largely determined by verbal aspects, such as rhythm, rhyme, syntactic features and strophic organization.

As already mentioned, any speech, including artistic speech, is composed of words in their literal meaning, of words and expressions in a figurative meaning; words are combined into syntactic structures that have certain features, and if we have poetry before us - in rhythmically organized periods. Due to the fact that a lyrical work is a reflection of the emotional-mental, internal state of the lyrical hero, its verbal organization is extremely emotional. Let us illustrate this using the example of a poem by A.S. Pushkin’s “Winter Evening”, which conveys the sad state of a person living in the wilderness, cut off from big world and consoles himself with work and communication with his nanny. The poem is written in the form appeals to the nanny, which is repeated four times over four stanzas - quatrains. Present here emotionally charged vocabulary(shack, old lady, girlfriend), when describing nature they appear personifications(“A storm covers the sky with darkness, // Whirling snow whirlwinds”, “The heart will be more cheerful”) and personifying comparisons(“Like an animal, she will howl, // Then she will cry like a child, // Then she will rustle on the dilapidated roof, // Like a belated traveler, // She will knock on our window”). In addition, there are epithets, including personifying ( poor youth, dilapidated shack, good friend).

The emotional richness of the text is also created due to syntactic features, which include the use repetitions of one word(“let’s pour out”), repetitions of the whole structure(“Then she will howl like a beast, //Then she will cry like a child”), repetitions at the beginning of the lines, that is anaphora(“Then like an animal... That’s like a traveler... That’s on the roof...”), inversions(“over the dilapidated roof”, “belated traveler”, “snow whirlwinds”, “howling storms”), rhetorical questions and appeals(“Why are you, my old lady, silent at the window?” or “Let’s drink out of grief, where is the mug?”). These questions do not require or imply an answer, but they allow you to strengthen a particular thought or mood.

The emotional nature of speech intensifies and its rhythmic organization: used in this case trochee– two-syllable meter with stress on odd syllables in the stanza:

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