What is a fairy tale in literature? Brief definition. Ural Historical Encyclopedia What is a Fairy Tale, what it means and how to spell it correctly

The content of the article

FAIRY TALE- one of the types of folklore prose, found among various peoples and, in turn, divided into genres. Since a unified scientific classification still does not exist, researchers identify genres or groups of fairy tales in different ways. So E.V. Pomerantseva divides them into tales 1) about animals, 2) magical, 3) adventure-novelistic and 4) everyday, while V.Ya. Propp divides fairy tales into 1) magical, 2) cumulative, 3 ) about animals, plants, inanimate nature and objects, 4) everyday or novelistic, 5) fables, 6) boring fairy tales.

The most important characteristic of a fairy tale is that it contains an obligatory focus on fiction, which also determines the poetics of the fairy tale. The main features of a fairy tale, according to V.Ya. Propp, include “inconsistency with the surrounding reality” and “extraordinary... events that are narrated” (this is the difference between a fairy tale and a literary narrative).

Fairy tale genres.

Fairy tales, as emphasized by V.Ya. Propp (whose classification is used in this section), “are distinguished not by their magic or miraculousness... but by their completely clear composition.” At the heart of a fairy tale (an idea that a variety of researchers have come to, independently of each other) is the image of initiation (initiation is a type of rite of passage, the initiation of young men into the ranks of adult men) - hence the “other kingdom” where the hero must go in order to acquire bride or fabulous values, after which he must return home. The narrative is “taken entirely outside the real life». Characteristics fairy tale: verbal ornament, sayings, endings, stable formulas.

Cumulative tales are built on the repeated repetition of some element, as a result of which either a “pile up” ( Tower of flies), or "chain" ( turnip), or “a successive series of meetings” ( Kolobok) or “references” ( The cockerel choked). There are few cumulative tales in Russian folklore. In addition to the compositional features, they are distinguished by style, richness of language, often gravitating towards rhyme and rhythm.

The rest of the tales are distinguished into special genres not on the basis of composition, which has not yet been sufficiently studied, but on other grounds, in particular, on the character characters. In addition, in non-magical fairy tales, the “extraordinary” or “wonderful” “is not taken outside the boundaries of reality, but is shown against its background. In this way, the unusualness takes on a comic character.” The supernatural (wonderful objects, circumstances) is absent here, and if it occurs, it is comically colored.

Tales about animals, plants (war of mushrooms, etc.), about inanimate nature (wind, frost, sun) and objects (bast shoe, straw, bubble, coal) make up a small part of Russian and Western European fairy tales, while among the peoples of the North, North America and Africa, fairy tales about animals are widespread (the most popular heroes are clever deceivers-tricksters (jesters) a hare, a spider, a fox, a coyote).

Everyday (novelistic) fairy tales are divided by types of characters (about clever and clever guessers, about wise advisers, about clever thieves, about evil wives, etc.).

Fables tell “about completely impossible events in life” (for example, about how wolves, having driven a person into a tree, stand on each other’s backs to get him out of there).

Boring fairy tales, according to V.Ya. Propp, are rather “jokes or nursery rhymes” with the help of which they want to calm down children who demand to tell fairy tales ( About the white bull).

The variety of folk tales in this classification is by no means exhausted, for example, in Slavic tradition We can also highlight tales of heroes, soldiers, etc.

The existence of a fairy tale.

Folk tales were performed by special storytellers - storytellers. The same fairy tale in the mouths of the performers could be transformed both for subjective reasons (the preferences of the storyteller himself, his talent) and for objective reasons, for example, depending on the nature of the audience.

The written narrative tradition has had a significant influence on folk tales. Collection Panchatantra, which united Indian parables and fables, was adopted by the literature of different peoples through translations and borrowings. A similar fate for the vault oriental tales Thousand and One Nights, first translated into French, and then from French into the languages ​​of the peoples of Europe. The Russian fairy tale tradition was influenced by both translated literature (parables, knightly novels, etc.) and popular literature. All this, in turn, enriched the oral tradition.

Collection and scientific study of fairy tales.

The science of fairy tales became an independent discipline in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its formation is not associated with any one scientific school; scientists from various scientific fields made their contribution.

Mythological school.

The main position defended by the mythological school is that the similarity of plots is determined by the common “proto-myth” inherited different peoples from a single ancestor.

The brightest representatives of the school were the German philologists and folklorists brothers Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859). Authors of interesting scientific works, including Germanic heroic tales(1829), they became famous, first of all, for the publication of German folklore - legends (1816–1818) and fairy tales that appeared a little earlier. Book Children's and family fairy tales, published in separate issues from 1812 to 1814, not only presented the monuments of German folk literature to the public with great completeness (the last lifetime edition includes 210 fairy tales), the attitude of folklorists to the material determined the approach to folk tales of other researchers.

The Brothers Grimm strived for accuracy, preserving, whenever possible, features characteristic of oral storytelling. Their collection is distinguished by clarity and simplicity; the notes provide plot options and parallels drawn from the folklore of various European peoples. The edition they prepared is not free from weaknesses: the sequence of fairy tales is random, the most typical fairy tales were chosen for publication, which prevented the material from being presented in all its diversity, in addition, the language and style of the published texts were edited, which is especially noticeable now that the so-called Elenberg manuscript has been published , where the texts are given without editing.

Among the followers of the mythological school are prominent domestic philologists F.I. Buslaev (1818–1897) and A.N. Afanasyev.

Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev (1826–1871), historian and literary critic, author of a fundamental three-volume study Poetic views of the Slavs on nature(1866–1869), played an outstanding role in the collection and publication of Russian fairy tale heritage. Collection Russian folk tales(originally published in eight separate issues from 1855 to 1864) remains unsurpassed to this day.

Speaking about the most important task of collecting and publishing “folk tales” (which, in his words, “are the essence of the fragments of the most ancient poetic word - epic,” and therefore have retained many signs of the past), A. N. Afanasyev notes not only the aesthetic and scientific merits of such a collection , but also its significance in raising children, subject to strict selection of fairy tales.

The collection is compiled from various sources. The Russian Geographical Society, of which Afanasyev was a member, put materials on fairy tales from its rich archive at his disposal. P.V. Kireevsky (1808–1856) handed over to the compiler the records kept by him made by P.I. Yakushkin (1822–1872), a famous collector folk songs, V.I. Dal (1801–1872), who focused on the publication of Russian proverbs and sayings, handed over his own notes (before that he published some fairy tales, having previously processed them). In addition, texts borrowed from periodicals and popular prints of the 18th–19th centuries were included. A.N. Afanasyev himself wrote down a little more than a dozen fairy tales, but he did not intend to act as a folklorist. He set himself the task of classifying and publishing the accumulated materials, and he coped with it excellently. Russian folk tales, including about 600 texts, is not only the largest collection of its kind. Starting from the second edition, A.N. Afanasyev introduced a classification of fairy tales. He also published the options he had available.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to compensate for the different approaches to the material in the primary sources - there are both retellings and exact recordings (in some cases, local pronunciation is preserved), not all texts are provided with an indication of where they were recorded. But the compiler treated the texts with care; editorial changes on his part were rare and insignificant. Also excluded from the collection, in the words of A.N. Afanasyev himself, was “everything that was crippled” by censorship. Censorship bans affected texts that had a strong social (often anticlerical) orientation, and texts whose appearance in print was excluded for moral reasons (explicit language, erotic subjects, sometimes “with pictures,” sexual symbols).

A truncated version of this part of the Afanasiev collection was published around 1872 in Geneva under the title Russian folk tales are not for publication. The first scientific publication was published only in 1997. Among the “cherished fairy tales” (the definition adopted in scientific literature) less than a dozen fairy tales about animals, not much more fairy tales (it is characteristic that in the tradition the same fairy tales coexist with and without erotic details), the vast majority are everyday fairy tales.

Comparativist (migration) school.

Its adherents developed the idea that similarities in the works of Eurasian peoples, not necessarily related, arose either through borrowing or as a result of a common source. The migration and development over time of literary and folklore images, motives and plots. Among the representatives of the school are the German philologist T. Benfey (1809–1881), the Czech philologist J. Polivka (1858–1933), and the Finnish folklorist A. Aarne (1867–1925). In Russian literary criticism, the ideas underlying the comparative theory arose independently. Largest representative comparative studies in Russia - philologist A.N. Veselovsky (1838–1906).

English "anthropological school".

Followers of this school argued that the similarity of fairy-tale plots is dictated by their spontaneous generation in a single everyday and psychological basis. Most famous representatives schools - English ethnographer E. Taylor (1832–1917), Scottish writer E. Lang (1844–1912).

Structural approach.

The most important role in the study of the fairy tale was played by the Russian scientist Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (1895–1970). He demonstrates his approach in the book Morphology of a fairy tale(1928) using the example of a fairy tale. He considers a fairy tale as a single structure in which there are constant and stable elements, functions, and these functions do not depend on how and who performs them, the number of functions is limited, the sequence is unchanged.

There are 31 functions in total, and not every fairy tale necessarily contains all of them - absence, prohibition, violation of the prohibition, villain ( negative character), complicity (the villain deceives the hero, who unwittingly becomes his accomplice), misfortune, misfortune (flaw), active opposition, the hero leaving home, assistant (giver), magical remedy, battle with the enemy, wounding of the hero, defeated enemy, elimination of deficiency ( troubles), returning home, false hero, punishment of the false hero, transformation (recognition of the true hero and his receiving a new status), marriage, accession to the throne.

In a fairy tale, according to V.Ya. Propp, there are seven types of characters: villain, helper, donor, seeker, messenger, hero and false hero. In the absence of some characters, his functions are transferred to the hero himself. In addition to dividing into genres (fairy tales, cumulative, etc.), he proposed a further division into types, which in turn break down into plots, which break down into versions and variants.

The structural approach to the material was supplemented and partly rethought in the book Historical roots of fairy tales(1946). The author considers the initiation rite as the general basis of the fairy tale structure (we are again talking about a fairy tale). These scientific statements partly anticipated in the book Perrault's tales and parallel stories(1923) by the French researcher P. Sentiv, which does not detract from the importance of the book by V.Ya. Propp.

An original approach to the material was proposed in the monograph by E. Meletinsky, D. Segal, E. Novik Fairy tale structure (1999).

Systematization of fairy tale material.

The work of the Finnish scientist A. Aarne played a huge role in the study and systematization of fairy tales Pointer fairy tale types (1910). The index is based on the material of European fairy tales; the fairy tales themselves are divided into 1) tales about animals, 2) fairy tales, 3) legendary, 4) novelistic, 5) tales about a fooled devil and 6) anecdotes.

Important clarifications to Aarne’s work were made by the American scientist S. Thompson, who created Index of fairy tales(1928). Soviet folklorist N.P. Andreev (1892–1942), who translated Aarne's index into Russian, revised it, adding tales from the Russian fairy-tale repertoire. Book Index of fairy tales according to the Aarne system(1929) has not lost its significance. Half a century later, the work of L.G. Barag, I.P. Berezovsky, K.P. Kabashnikov, N.V. Novikov appeared Comparative Plot Index(1979), dedicated to East Slavic fairy tales.

The International Federation of Folklorists (Helsinki), founded in 1910, does a lot to study and systematize fairy tales, regularly publishing indexes and monographs. In addition, the international magazine “Fabula” (Göttingen), published since 1957, and published since 1975 in English and German, plays an important role in international folkloristics. Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales(Berlin, New York).

Interpretation of fairy tale material.

A significant role, if not in the study of fairy tales as a phenomenon of folklore, then in cultural studies and self-awareness modern culture play scientific works in psychology, interpreting fairy tale material for their own purposes.

It should be noted that the boundary between a literary fairy tale and an author's fairy tale is fluid. Often the processing of folk tales turns them completely into author's tales. It should also be remembered that the principle of processing depends not only on the author’s intention, but also on what audience the text is intended for. In this sense, it is necessary to consider various adaptations of fairy tales for a poorly prepared reader (listener) as a purely service approach, without fitting them into either the folklore or literary context.

Masters of the author's fairy tale.

The founder of the author's fairy tale can be considered the French poet and critic Charles Perrault (Perrault, 1628–1703). To the collection Tales of My Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Old Times with Lessons, which was published in 1697 and was signed not by the name of Perrault himself, but by the name of his son Darmancourt, 8 fairy tales were included (when reprinting the book, the author included 3 more poetic fairy tales), each fairy tale contained a moral in verse. The style of these works brought them closer to court literature.

The tradition of the author's fairy tale was influenced by the Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi (1720–1806), whose plays combined motifs borrowed from Italian folklore and motifs from oriental fairy tales, but transformed by the imagination of the writer and the influence of commedia dell'arte, the poetics that the author used. Among the dozen fairy tales written by Gozzi are: Love for Three Oranges (1761), Deer King(1762) and Turandot(1762), imbued with a kind of fairy-tale psychologism, distinguished by the sharpness of collisions and the accuracy of the characters’ characteristics.

One of the best masters The author of the German fairy tale was the prose writer Wilhelm Hauff (Hauff, 1802–1827). A peculiar combination of oriental motifs with motifs of national folklore marks his Fairy tales for the sons and daughters of the educated classes(1826–1828). The works that the author composed for adults have become classic children's reading.

The tales of the Danish prose writer Hans Christian Andersen (Andersen, 1805–1875) are addressed to an audience, regardless of age. In his books Tales told to children (1835), New fairy tales (1844–1848), Stories (1852–1855), New fairy tales and stories(1858–1872) combines tales of different origins (from those heard in childhood to those written on plots borrowed from Italian folk songs, the poetry of Anacreon, etc.).

Italian writer Carlo Collodi (real name Lorenzini, 1826–1890) created classic fairy tale The Adventures of Pinocchio. History of the puppet(1880). Behind the adventures of the wooden doll, attentive readers discerned a background and on this basis interpreted the fairy-tale episodes as a gospel plot (the carpenter-father, last supper at the Red Crayfish Tavern).

A unique situation has developed in English literature, where a whole school of author's fairy tales has formed. An important role was played by the characteristic features of English prose, including ironic narration and humor on the verge of the absurd. English authors in many ways anticipated later genre discoveries. It is also important that many English literary fairy tales were initially told to a small circle of listeners (the details and plot twists may have been incomprehensible to outsiders), and only later were transferred to paper.

Literary critic N. Demurova notes: “Ruskin, Kingsley and Macdonald use the “morphology” of fairy tales, adapting the morphology of English and German folklore to construct their own fairy tale narratives, designed in Christian and ethical tones, generally not going beyond the limits of reductions and replacements allowed by the structure of folk tales and assimilation. A special role is played by confessional and superstitious replacements. Dickens and Thackeray create in their fairy tales a very different organic fusion in which the element of parody (and sometimes self-parody) is extremely strong. motives and techniques, they deviate far from the strict structure of a folk tale, retaining only some of its moves and characteristics.”

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), rejecting didacticism and ridiculing the pedagogical pomposity that permeates the works of minor and tertiary writers, created fairy tales in in a certain sense“anti-fairy tales” that destroy established canons, altering the usual ones plot schemes. The material was also used and borrowed - for example, a fairy tale Sultan Stork(1842), an ironic variation based on the fairy tale by V. Gauf, and a completely original fairy tale Ring and rose (1855).

Charles Dickens (Dickens, 1812–1870) paid tribute to the author’s tale; it’s worth mentioning at least Magic bone» ( A novel written during the holidays, 1868). Books have become classics King of the Golden River(1841, first edition - 1851) by John Ruskin (Ruskin, 1819–1900) and Children of the water(1863) by Charles Kingsley (Kingsley, 1819–1875).

George MacDonald (1824–1905) played a huge role in the history of English fairy tales. The sentimental intonation that colors the narrative pays off by being entertaining, while the relationships of the heroes with folklore characters are like in a fairy tale The Princess and the Goblin(1872) fit within the framework of literary rather than oral tradition. Other works include fairy tales Princess and Kurdi (1877), Golden Key(1867) and originally included in the novel Adela Cathcart fairy tales Weightless Princess(1864) and Giant's Heart(1864), subsequently published separately. Mystical motifs occupy a prominent place in D. MacDonald's prose. His books influenced, by their own admission, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis and R. R. Tolkien. L. Carroll, who was friends with the children of D. MacDonald, also took his experience into account.

Origin of the tale Alice in Wonderland(1865) by Lewis Carroll (real name: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898) is indicative. The fairy tale was composed at the request of the little Liddell sisters, and it had the features of oral improvisation: ill-conceived composition, relying not on a precisely chosen word, but on intonation. Again, at the request of the listeners, the fairy tale was recorded, receiving the name Alice's Adventures Underground(1863), and subsequently edited. After success Alice in Wonderland And Through the mirror and what Alice saw there, or Alice through the looking glass(1871) were also published in facsimiles Alice's Adventures Underground And Alice for children, which confirmed the idea of ​​the diversity of fairy tales. This is where numerous interpretations of L. Carroll’s works originate, including psychoanalytic and mathematical ones.

Tale Topsy-turvy, or a Lesson for Fathers(1882) F. Anstey (real name - Thomas Anstey Guthrie, 1856-1934) a typical shapeshifter, used in folk poetry, and in theatrical farces. The reason why the heroes of the story, father and son, swapped places is atypical. Plot of the story Copper jug(1900) adapted from the book Thousand and One Nights.

The story, which later became known as Wind in the willows(1908), was composed by Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932) for his son, so oral stories formed its basis. The characters, quite suitable for fairy tales about animals, Rat, Mole, Badger, Toad, both in appearance and behavior resemble English gentlemen, and the adventures that befell them are completely in the literary tradition.

James Matthew Barrie (Barrie, 1860–1937) invented the story on which the story is based Peter Pan and Wendy(1911), for the children of his close friends. Growing from an oral story, this story was embodied in both prose and drama - there is a play of the same name.

Rudyard Kipling (Kipling, 1865–1936) used in his prose knowledge not only of his native folklore, but also of world mythology. Mythological motifs and reminiscences are distinguishable in The Jungle Book(1894) and The second jungle book(1895). In the collection That's how fairy tales are(1902) combines stories that were initially told to the daughter. It would be more accurate to call them not fairy tales, but etiological stories ( folk genre, offering listeners an explanation of certain cultural situations, the history of the origin of things and rules of behavior). A fairy tale constructed according to such laws can be found in The Jungle Book (How Fear Came). In collections Puck from the Puka Hills(1906) and Awards and fairies(1910) there are both fairy-tale characters and historical figures. The author wanted to show the continuity of human history.

It is worth at least mentioning other masters of the author's fairy tale - these are Walter de la Mare (de la Mare, 1873–1956), Elinor Farjeon (1881–1965), Alan Alexander Milne(Milne, 1882–1956), Pamela Lyndon Travers (Travers, real name: Helen Lyndon Goff, 1899 or 1906–1996). This genre is English literature continues to develop.

Literary and author's fairy tales actively developed not only in England. Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) created a classic children's book Nils Holgerson's wonderful journey through Sweden(1906–1907). Other Swedish writer, Astrid Lindgren (Lindgren, 1907–2003) began writing fairy tales after World War II. Her books, albeit indirectly, reflected the changes that Western society has undergone: behavioral stereotypes have become different, social norms are less strict, and therefore, even a few years earlier, books such as Pippi Longstocking(1945–1946) or The Kid and Carlson, who lives on the roof(1955–1968), would not have seen the light of day.

The Italian prose writer Gianni Rodari (1920–1980) is associated both with the tradition of folk tales and with the literary tradition, which is reflected in fairy tales The Adventures of Cipollino(1951) and Journey of the Blue Arrow(1952), and also in the book Tales on the phone(1962). The storyteller summarized his experience in the book The grammar of fantasy(1973), a kind of self-instruction manual for those who want to try composing. He actively uses various literary works, including the works of representatives of the Russian formal school - V.B. Shklovsky, etc.

Book Tim Thaler, or Sold Laughter(1962) by German novelist and poet James Crews (1926–1999) shining example that a “children’s” book can be read at different levels. The recent attempt to compile a dictionary of magic and sorcery as a tool for interpreting this text by J. Cross-Tink is interesting and fruitful.

To understand how special a place the fairy tale occupied in Russian culture, and the significant role it played, we should remember that in Ancient Rus' there was no fiction. This situation was created due to the fact that literature did not have an entertainment function; the issues raised by it were political, historical, and religious issues. Reading brought “benefits”, not “pleasure”. But, as V.Ya. Propp pointed out, “the fairy tale... is the main genre of folk prose, pursuing strictly aesthetic goals.” Although other genres objectively have aesthetic functions, the narrator has a different goal in mind (tradition introduces the past, legend offers moral teaching, etc.).

The circle of “unprofitable reading” developed only in the 17th–18th centuries. Among the “stories” and “stories”, short-story tales, including “fairy tales not for publication,” occupy an important place. In a certain sense, this tendency made itself felt in the 19th century, when Russian literary and author's fairy tales began to take shape.

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783–1852) became one of the founders of the Russian fairy tale. It is curious that, in 1831, when he wrote tales about the Sleeping Princess and Tsar Berendey, he entered into creative competition with A.S. Pushkin, who was developing similar plots.

Among the fairy tales of A.S. Pushkin (1799–1837), at least two are associated with “cherished” fairy tales - this is an openly frivolous fairy tale Tsar Nikita(1822) and anticlerical The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda(1831), the plot of which was recorded by the author along with other fairy tales he heard. Pushkin's fairy tales reflected familiarity with a variety of texts, from folk tales from the collection of the Brothers Grimm to high literature, motifs and whole storylines from which they learned - the short story by the American prose writer Washington Irving (1783–1859) suggested some plot moves Tales of the Golden Cockerel(1834). The author’s acquaintance with Russian folklore also had an undoubted influence on Pushkin’s fairy tales - the plot Tales of dead princess and about the seven heroes(1833) was popular among peasants, as well as the theme Tales of Tsar Saltan(1831), in the latter the influence of popular literature is also noticeable.

One of the best Russian fairy tales Black chicken, or Underground inhabitants. Magic story for children(1829) written by Antony Pogorelsky (real name and surname - Alexey Alekseevich Perovsky, 1787–1836). The title of the fairy tale and some of its motifs reflect the author’s familiarity with esoteric literature (the second plan of the fairy tale, of course, not intended for a children’s audience, is built on this basis).

A significant role in the development of Russian literary and author's fairy tales was played by Vladimir Ivanovich Dal with his variations on the themes of Russian folk tales, Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov (1815–1869), author of a poetic fairy tale The Little Humpbacked Horse(1834), Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (1862–1889), creator of numerous satirical tales.

A special place is occupied by the work of N.P. Wagner (1829–1907). Tales of the Cat Purr(first edition - 1872), a collection of various fairy tales, some of which were written under the obvious influence of G. H. Andersen, and includes absolutely independent fairy tales. They were so popular that from 1872 to 1913 the book went through nine editions.

The fact that the Soviet author's fairy tale took off as a genre is the great merit of Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (real name and surname - Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov, 1882–1969). Having begun to compose poetic fairy tales even before the revolution, the first experience of this kind was a fairy tale Crocodile(1916), improvised for his son. He created a number of fairy tales that have become classics - Moidodyr (1923), cockroach (1923), Fly Tsokotukha (1924), Barmaley (1925), Aibolit(1929). K.I. Chukovsky defended the right of fairy tales to exist in the years when a purposeful struggle was waged against them: fairy tales were considered unnecessary, and even harmful reading, developing empty daydreaming in children.

An interesting experience in creating an author's fairy tale in line with the folk oral tradition was carried out by Boris Viktorovich Shergin (1896–1973), who had an excellent knowledge of northern folklore, who wrote down fairy tales from his school days and published several books of original fairy tales (the first Near the Arkhangelsk city, at the ship's shelter, 1924), and Stepan Grigorievich Pisakhov (1879–1960), creator of the cycle Northern Munchausen, told from the perspective of a Pomeranian peasant, whose first book If you don't like it, don't listen(1924) was published simultaneously with Shergin’s book.

A milestone in the development of the author's fairy tale was the book by Yuri Karlovich Olesha (1899–1960) Three fat men(1924, published in 1928), his only experience in children's literature. The author was influenced by a variety of sources, from the prose of Western European writers to the performance of S. M. Eisenstein Simplicity is enough for every wise man, however, the fairy tale is absolutely original and represents, probably, the first, and unusually successful, experience of a revolutionary fairy tale (the heroes overthrow the yoke of the Three Fat Men and free the people languishing under the yoke of rulers, evil loafers and parasites).

The work of Evgeny Lvovich Schwartz (1896–1958) demonstrates the “mechanism” of creating an author’s fairy tale. If in his first plays, such as Underwood(1929), fairy-tale motifs occupy a modest place, then subsequently the fairy tale grows to the volume of the entire work, while the plots borrowed from G.H. Andersen - Naked King (1934), The Snow Queen (1939), Shadow(1940) – transformed by Schwartz’s imagination, they become absolutely independent. Later plays, For example, The Dragon(1944) and An ordinary miracle(1954), demonstrate an excellent knowledge of Western European fairy tales, but are an integral part of the playwright’s artistic world.

The book by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1883–1945) was a success The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio(1936). He first addressed this topic in 1924, when his retelling of Carlo Collodi’s book about the adventures of Pinocchio was published. However, the book, which tells about the adventures of the wooden boy Pinocchio, is far from the Italian source, it is original in plot, and its hero is more charming than the hero of the Italian fairy tale. This book, in a certain sense, is a pamphlet that reflects the culture of the “Silver Age”, which is perfectly familiar to the author. A hint that there are several plans here is given in the author’s designation of the genre “ new novel for children and adults,” but the genre is not indicated in the printed text. A.N. Tolstoy also approached retellings of folk tales in his own way. In the fairy-tale collection he planned in five volumes, he, as the critic noted, enriches the “root” version of the fairy tale at the expense of other variants. Due to various circumstances, only the first volume (1941) saw the light of day.

Lazar Ilyich Lagin (real name Ginzburg, 1903–1979), creating the story Old Man Hottabych(1938), also focused on a foreign model. However, the book by F. Anstey Copper jug was just the source of the plot, the author is building a different narrative, in his opinion, fairy-tale magic in a socialist country that has achieved considerable success and, most importantly, developed a new type of person, is not entirely appropriate, it is not for nothing that the genie Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Hottab in the end tries to participate in building a socialist society.

Alexander Melentyevich Volkov (1891–1977) also began by retelling someone else’s book. Tale The Wizard of Oz(first edition – 1939) is directly related to the book of the American writer L.F. Baum (1856–1919) The Wise Man of Oz(first edition – 1900). Subsequently released Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers, Seven Underground Kings, Fire god of the Marrans, Yellow fog And The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle– original compositions.

The work of Tamara Grigorievna Gabbe (1903–1960) also includes “variations on a theme” and original works. The processing and retelling of fairy tales written by Western European prose writers has become, on the one hand, literary school, on the other hand, the source of plots and details used by the playwright in his own works, therefore plays The City of Craftsmen, or The Tale of the Two Hunchbacks"(1943) and Tin rings(other name - Almanzor's Magic Rings, 1960) form a complex whole, characterized by recognizable motifs, regrouped and inscribed in the original work.

The transitional genre between literary and author's fairy tales is presented in collections Finist – Yasny Sokol(1947) and Magic ring(1949), collected by Andrei Platonovich Platonov (1899–1951). Russian folk tales have been transformed so much that it is hardly correct to call it “processing.”

By the 50s, the genre designation “fairy tale” or “fairy tale” became commonplace. fairy tale”, in fact, is not a completely accurate substitution for the concept of “author’s fairy tale”.

The books of Vitaly Georgievich Gubarev (1912–1981) become famous Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1951), In the Far Far Away Kingdom (1956), Three on an island(1959). The first of them attempted unsuccessful attempt create a “revolutionary fairy tale”. The book's real popularity came from the film of the same name directed by A.A. Rowe, released in 1963.

Using the example of the trilogy of Nikolai Nikolaevich Nosov (1908–1976) The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends(separate edition - 1954), Dunno in Sunny City(separate edition – 1958) and Dunno on the Moon(separate edition - 1971) it is not difficult to see that the genre of the author's fairy tale can accommodate any structural formation, from utopia to pamphlet.

Valery Vladimirovich Medvedev (born 1923) in the story Barankin, be human!(1962) is close to the science fiction genre.

The Leningrad school of author's fairy tales should be highlighted. Leading place it was occupied by Radiy Petrovich Pogodin (1925–1993), the author of books designed for different age audiences. If the story Step off the roof(1968) is addressed to teenagers, then A book about Grishka. The story about the axle and the nut that is inside(1974) and About the foal Misha and the mouse Terenty(1978) were written for younger schoolchildren.

A curious trend - the movement from the author's own fairy tale to a rather literary fairy tale - is demonstrated by the stories of Eduard Nikolaevich Uspensky (b. 1937). In the book Crocodile Gena and his friends(1966) he creates an unusual system of characters, making the main character a creature he invented, a book Down the magic river(1979) is built on a play with the clichés and stereotypes of a folk tale, which seems to emphasize the way the source material is processed (in this case, reduced) folklore work, acquiring the features of an author's fairy tale.

Fairy tale in literature and art.

Entered the treasury visual arts illustrations for fairy tales by C. Perrault French artist G. Dore. Fairy-tale motifs and plots were used by Russian artists V.M. Vasnetsov, I.Ya. Bilibin, G.I. Narbut.

Many musical works have been written based on fairy tale plots, in particular, on the plots of fairy tales by Charles Perrault: based on the fairy tale Cinderella(opera by G. Rossini, ballet by S. Prokofiev), based on a fairy tale Blue Beard(opera by B. Bartok Duke Bluebeard's Castle).

Soviet fairy tales filmed by directors A. Rowe and A. Ptushko gained worldwide recognition. Excellent films made by director N. Kosheverova (including Cinderella according to Perrault's fairy tale, Two friends based on the script by E. Schwartz, completed after his death by playwright N. Erdman, Shadow based on the play by E. Schwartz). Film fairy tales by B. Rytsarev and ironic variations on fairy-tale themes by film director M. Zakharov are well known.

Even a “cherished” fairy tale was reflected in the cinema: one of the central episodes of the film by S. Eisenstein Alexander Nevskiy(1938) - a retelling of the “off-the-record fairy tale” about the hare and the fox.

Berenice Vesnina

Literature:

Pomerantseva E.V. The fate of a Russian fairy tale. M., 1965
Permyakov G.L. From sayings to fairy tales (Notes on general theory cliche). M., 1970
Roshiyanu N. Traditional fairy tale formulas. M., 1974
Novikov N.V. Images of an East Slavic fairy tale. L., 1974
Kotlyar E.S. Myth and fairy tale of Africa. M., 1975
Braude L.Yu. Scandinavian literary fairy tale. M., 1979
Kazak E.V. Genre originality of Charles Perrault's fairy tales. Dnepropetrovsk, 1984
Crook I.I. East Slavic tales about animals. Minsk, 1989
Zueva T.V. Fairy tale. M., 1993
Korepova K.E. Russian popular folk tale. Nizhny Novgorod , 1999
Friedel Lenz. Figurative language of folk tales. M., 2000

What is a "Fairy Tale"? How to spell this word correctly. Concept and interpretation.

Fairy tale SKA?ZKA - the oldest folk genre narrative literature, predominantly of a fantastic nature, with the purpose of moralizing or entertaining. Fairy tales reveal the character of the people, their wisdom and high moral qualities. The most common types of stories are tales about animals, based on the personification of animals, fish, birds, and fairy tales, telling about extraordinary events and adventures. Often, folk fantasy seemed to predict the appearance in reality of wonderful things, later invented by human genius (in Russian fairy tales, a flying carpet is an airplane, a wonderful mirror is a television and a radar). In addition to animals and magical symbols, people also create socio-political symbols: such, for example, is the Russian folk tale of Ersha Ershovich, son of Shchetinnikov. The Arabic poems “A Thousand and One Nights” are widely known in world literature. The fairy tale genre is a very difficult one, and therefore there are few fairy tale writers in world literature - H. Andersen, V. Hauff, the Brothers Grimm, C. Perrault, whose fairy tales are intended primarily for children. For adults, E. T. A. Hoffman, E. Poe, O. Wilde wrote in the S. genre, in Russia - M. Gorky, M. Saltykov-Shchedrin (political S.), and in Soviet times - P. Bazhov. Among the poetic stories known are the folk story "The Fool", the fairy tales of A. Pushkin ("The Tale of Tsar Saltan...", "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel", etc.) and the famous "The Little Humpbacked Horse" by P. Ershov, where they are used folk motifs; fairy tales by V. Zhukovsky; political S. (“The Jumping Horse” by S. Basov-Verkhoyantsev and others).

Fairy tale- one of the main genres of oral folk poetry, epic, mainly... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Fairy tale- TALE, fairy tales, w. 1. A narrative work of oral folk art about fictional characters... Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary

Fairy tale- and. 1. A narrative work of oral folk art about fictitious persons and events. /... Efremova's Explanatory Dictionary

Fairy tale- TALE, one of the genres of folklore: epic, mainly prose work about animals or... Modern encyclopedia

Fairy tale- FAIRY TALE - one of the main genres of folklore, an epic, predominantly prosaic work of... Large encyclopedic dictionary

Fairy tale- fairy tale noun, f., used. often Morphology: (no) what? fairy tales, why? fairy tale, (see) what? sk?zk... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

Fairy tale- scarlet tale (Balmont); fragrant (Nadson); inspired (Fofanov); magical (K.R.); thoughtful...

Does not necessarily imply exciting action with magical transformations, where glorious heroes defeat mythical monsters with the help of amazing artifacts. Many of these stories are based on events that could very well take place in real life. These are everyday tales. They teach goodness, ridicule human vices: greed, stupidity, cruelty and others, often containing an ironic basis and social background. What is an everyday fairy tale? This is an instructive story without any special supernatural miracles, useful for children, and often thought-provoking even for adults.

"Turnip"

You don't have to look too far to find an example of such a tale. They can use the well-known story about the turnip that my grandfather planted in the garden. The old man did not expect that it would grow too big, so much so that he would not be able to pull it out of the ground alone. In order to cope with this difficult task, the grandfather called all members of his family for help. They turned out to be a grandmother, granddaughter and animals living in the house. Thus, the turnip was pulled out. The idea of ​​a simple plot is not difficult to understand. When everyone acts together, amicably and unitedly, everything will definitely work out. Even a little mouse took part in the described action.

Using this example, it is easy to understand what an everyday fairy tale is. Of course, the story mentioned contains some fantastic facts. For example, a turnip cannot grow so huge, and animals are not smart enough to do such work. However, if we put aside these details, the moral of the story turns out to be very useful and can be useful in real life.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales

The peculiarity of everyday fairy tales is that most often they contain healthy satire. Naive innocence turns out to be wiser than the most sophisticated cunning, and resourcefulness and ingenuity repel arrogance, vanity, arrogance and greed. Here vices are ridiculed, regardless of person and rank. In such stories, the stupidity and laziness of almighty kings and the greed of hypocritical priests are mercilessly castigated.

A wonderful hero of Russian fairy tales often turns out to be Ivanushka the Fool. This is a special character who always emerges victorious from all, even the most incredible challenges. You can understand what an everyday fairy tale is by remembering other interesting and bright heroes created by the imagination of the Russian people. They are a cunning man who is able to fool all his offenders from among the greedy rich, as well as a soldier whose resourcefulness will delight anyone.

"Porridge from an ax"

Among the examples of everyday fairy tales in which the above-mentioned characters are involved is “Porridge from an Axe.” This is a very short but instructive story about how easily and cheerfully you can overcome life's difficulties and adversities if you approach everything with humor and have an approach to people.

A resourceful soldier, having come to billet a stingy old woman who pretended to be poor so as not to treat the guest with anything, decided to use a trick to achieve his goal. He volunteered to cook food from an axe. Driven by curiosity, the mistress of the house, without noticing it herself, provided the soldier with all the food necessary for cooking and allowed him to take away the ax, which supposedly had not yet been cooked. Here, the sympathies of all readers and listeners, as a rule, are on the side of the resourceful serviceman. And interested parties have a chance to have a good laugh at the greedy old woman. This is the everyday fairy tale at its best.

Literary works

Great writers also worked in fairy-tale genres. A clear indication of this are the works of the genius XIX century Saltykov-Shchedrin. Imitating folk art, the author assigned a certain social status to the characters, thereby conveying his political ideas to readers.

Most of his stories should rather be classified as tales about animals. They contain allegories, the purpose of which is to reveal social vices. But this does not exhaust the list of works of this writer, consonant with the genres of folk tales. Everyday tales created on social basis, for example, is reminiscent of “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals.” This unique narrative breathes subtle humor and inimitable satire, and its characters are so reliable that they are relevant for any era.

Jokes

Anecdotes are also examples of everyday tales. Of course, not everyone has the same attitude towards this kind of folklore. But in this colorful genre, folk identity, the concept of morality and various vicissitudes of social relations are clearly expressed. In addition, this form of creativity is always relevant and constantly evolving.

According to modern folkloristics, everyday jokes in different areas have their own characteristic features and peculiarities, which are of interest for scientific study. This also applies to the general patterns of formation and development of this genre, which have become a topic for research and presentation in many scientific works and dissertations. At all times, an anecdote has turned out to be an excellent way for people to respond to the arbitrariness of the authorities, to phenomena and events that contradict their concepts of justice and ethics.

Other forms of the genre

It is not difficult to understand how an everyday fairy tale differs from a magical one. Of course, stories about sorcerers and fantastic adventures are always interesting and find their fans. But capacious, witty stories that reveal the full depth of social and human relations simply cannot be irrelevant. Other varieties of the genre of everyday fairy tales include riddles and ridicule. The first of them is an allegorical description of a certain object or event and is asked in the form of a question. And the second is clearly satirical short work, which especially gives a reason to have fun at the vices of unworthy people. There are also boring fairy tales. This is a very interesting genre. In such stories, a certain set of words is deliberately repeated; there is no plot as such, because the action essentially develops in a vicious circle. A striking and famous example similar story could serve as “The Tale of the White Bull.”

All of the above works constitute a treasury folklore, a storehouse of his wisdom and sparkling humor carried through the centuries.

1) Folklore tale- epic genre of written and oral folk art: a prosaic oral story about fictional events in the folklore of different peoples. A type of narrative, mostly prosaic folklore ( fairy tale prose), which includes works of different genres, the texts of which are based on fiction. Fairy-tale folklore is opposed to “reliable” folklore narration ( non-fairy prose) (see myth, epic, historical song, spiritual poems, legend, demonological stories, tale, legend, epic).

2) Literary fairy tale- epic genre: a fiction-oriented work, closely related to a folk tale, but, unlike it, belongs to a specific author, did not exist in oral form before publication and had no variants. Literary fairy tale or imitates folklore ( literary fairy tale written in folk poetic style), or creates a didactic work (see didactic literature) based on non- folklore stories. The folk tale historically precedes the literary one.

The plot of a fairy tale is based on a story about overcoming a loss or shortage with the help of miraculous means or magical helpers. In the exhibition of the fairy tale there are consistently 2 generations - the older (the king and the queen, etc.) and the younger - Ivan and his brothers or sisters. Also included in the exhibition is the absence of the older generation. An intensified form of absence is the death of the parents. The plot of the tale is that the main character or heroine discovers a loss or shortage, or there are motives of prohibition, violation of the prohibition and subsequent disaster. Here is the beginning of the counteraction, that is, sending the hero from home.

Plot development is a search for what is lost or missing.

The climax of a fairy tale is that the protagonist or heroine fights an opposing force and always defeats it (the equivalent of fighting is solving difficult problems that are always solved).

Denouement is overcoming a loss or lack. Usually the hero (heroine) “reigns” at the end - that is, acquires a higher social status than he had at the beginning.

Wikipedia

(Dictionary literary terms) Fairy tale- This the oldest genre oral folk poetry, epic, mostly prosaic, work of a magical, adventurous or everyday nature. Like all folk art, fairy tales are deeply national, but at the same time, most fairy tale plots are found among many peoples of the world. If you choose cognate words for the word fairy tale, the result will be a series of words that to a certain extent reveal its meaning: fairy tale - tell - tell. Essentially, a fairy tale is what is told, an oral story about something interesting both for the performer and for the listener, despite the fact that it is always focused on fiction, be it moral stories about animals, fairy tales, adventurous stories, satirical jokes. Ignorance of fairy tales was regarded by A.S. as one of the significant shortcomings of education. Pushkin: I listen to fairy tales and make up for the shortcomings of my damned upbringing. What a delight these tales are! each one is a poem!

Gradually, the literary fairy tale became a full-fledged direction of fiction. Today this genre is universal; it reflects the phenomena of the surrounding reality, its problems, achievements, successes and failures. At the same time, the connection with folklore remained the same, inextricable. So, let's try to figure out what a literary fairy tale is.

Definition

First, let's give a definition: a fairy tale is a folk-poetic narrative work that tells about fictional events and characters. Often involving fantastic and magical phenomena.

Now let’s find out what a literary fairy tale is.

This is a genre of storytelling with a fantastic or magical plot that takes place in real or magical world, in which both real people can act and the Author can raise moral, social, aesthetic problems of history and modernity.

The definitions are similar, but in the second, concerning a literary fairy tale, there is a certain specification and clarification. They relate to the types of characters and space, as well as the author and the problems of the work.

Features of a literary fairy tale

Now let's list the main features of a literary fairy tale:

• Reflects the aesthetics and worldview of its era.
• Borrowing characters, images, plots, features of language and poetics from folk tales.
• A combination of fiction and reality.
• Grotesque world.
• There is a game beginning.
• The desire to psychologize heroes.
• The author's position is clearly expressed.
• Social assessment of what is happening.

Folk and literary tale

What is a literary fairy tale, how does it differ from a folk fairy tale? The author's fairy tale is considered a genre that has absorbed folklore and literary principles. It grew out of folklore, transforming and changing its genre differences. We can say that the folk tale has evolved into a literary one.

A literary fairy tale goes through a number of stages as it moves away from the original source - the fairy tale. We list them in order of increasing distance:

1. A simple recording of folk tales.
2. Processing recordings of folk tales.
3. Retelling of a fairy tale by the author.
4. In the author's fairy tale, the internal form differs from the folk one, and folklore elements change depending on the writer's intention.
5. Parodies and stylizations - their tasks are related to pedagogical orientation.
6. A literary fairy tale is as far removed from common folklore plots and images as possible. The speech and style of such a tale are closer to the literary tradition.

How do folk traditions of literary fairy tales manifest themselves?

What is a literary fairy tale? These, as we have already said, are combinations of literary and folklore. Therefore, in order to answer the question, let’s determine what folk heritage the literary fairy tale inherited.

Writers usually take folklore stories as a basis. For example:

• magical origin or birth of the main character;
• the stepmother's dislike for her stepdaughter;
• the hero's trials are necessarily moral in nature;
• rescued animals that become the hero’s assistants, etc.

Writers also exploit those endowed with certain functions. For example:

• The ideal hero.
• The ideal hero's assistant.
• The one who sends the hero on his journey.
• Giver of a magical thing.
• The one who harms the ideal hero and prevents you from completing the assignment.
• A stolen person or thing.
• A false hero is one who tries to take credit for the exploits of others.

Space and time fairy world are often built according to the laws of folklore. This is a fantastic, uncertain place, and time either slows down or speeds up, it is also magical and does not lend itself to the laws of reality. For example: the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state; whether long or short; The tale is told quickly, but the deed is not done quickly.

Trying to bring their tales closer to folk tales, writers resort to the use of folk poetic speech: epithets, triple repetitions, vernacular, proverbs, sayings, etc.

By turning to folk traditions, we were able to answer what a literary fairy tale is in its connection with folklore. Let us now consider another component of our fairy tale - the literary one, and try to understand what separates it from the folk heritage.

What is a literary fairy tale and how does it differ from a folk tale?

Examples and comparisons of literary and folk tales allow us to highlight a number of their differences.

A literary fairy tale is distinguished by its depiction. The author tries to describe the area and events in detail, to make the characters closer to reality, so that the reader believes in what is happening as much as possible.

Thus, what is a literary fairy tale if not the psychologism of the heroes? The writer is trying to explore the character’s inner world and depict experiences. Thus, Pushkin in “Tsar Saltan,” depicting the hero’s meeting with his wife and son, describes: “A zealous spirit began to beat within him... the spirit in him became busy, the king burst into tears.” You won't find this in folklore.

Ershov, Pushkin, Odoevsky and other fairy tale writers endow their characters with full-fledged character. These are not just heroes typical of folklore, these are full-fledged living people with their own aspirations, experiences, and contradictions. Even the little devil in “The Tale of Balda” is endowed by Pushkin with a naive, childish character.

What else is different about a literary fairy tale?

What is a literary fairy tale? The answers to this question can be found in the specifics, namely, in the vivid expression of a fairy tale, it manifests itself through assessments, attitudes towards what is happening, from which it is easy to guess which of the characters the author sympathizes with and which he dislikes or ridicules. So, describing the priest, his fears and natural greed, Pushkin ridicules this.

A literary fairy tale will always reflect the author's view of the world, his idea of ​​life and ideas. We will see the writer, his aspirations, values, spiritual world, desires. In a folk tale, only the ideals and values ​​of the entire people can be reflected; the personality of the narrator in it will be erased.

So, what is a literary fairy tale in its classical sense? This is a fusion of the author's originality and folk traditions.

Origins of the literary fairy tale

The roots of literary fairy tales go back to ancient times. There is a recorded Egyptian tale of two brothers dating back to the 13th century. BC e. The epic also contains references to fairy tales, for example, in the Babylonian cycle about Gilgamesh, among the Assyrians - in the legends about Ahikar, in Greek - the Iliad and the Odyssey.

During the Middle Ages, the literary fairy tale was used by the church, turning it into a parable. This tradition survived until the 19th century.

The Renaissance brought elements of fairy tales into the short story, using them to create satirical and didactic elements.

The emergence of a literary fairy tale

But only in the 18th century. literary fairy tale has become independent artistic genre, largely due to the passion for romanticism folk traditions. At this time, in order to answer the question of what a literary fairy tale is, examples would have to be taken from Charles Perrault and A. Galland in Europe and from M. Chulkov in Russia.

In the 19th century The popularity of literary fairy tales is increasing. Goethe, Chamisso, Tieck, Edgar Poe, Hoffmann, Andersen turn to this genre. Russian literature of this period is also rich in fairy tales. These are V. Zhukovsky, A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, A. Tolstoy and others.

Tales of Pushkin

What is a literary fairy tale? The definition we gave above is perfectly illustrated by the fairy tales of A.S. Pushkin. Initially, they were not intended for children, but quickly found themselves in the circle of children's reading. The names of these fairy tales have been known to us since childhood:

• "The Tale of Tsar Saltan".
• "The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda."
• "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish".
• "The Tale of the Dead Princess and the 7 Heroes."
• "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel."

All these tales have a plot connection with folk tales. Thus, “The Tale of Balda” is reminiscent of the folk tale “The Farmhand Shabarsh.” “About the Fisherman and the Fish” - “The Greedy Old Woman”, a recording of which was presented to the poet by V.I. Dal, a famous collector of folklore. “The Tale of Saltan” is close to the fairy tale “About Wonderful Children.” Pushkin saw inexhaustible themes and subjects for literature in folk art. Thus, the poet’s fairy tales, better than any definition, can answer the question of what a literary fairy tale is.

Summary of “Tales of the Priest and His Worker Balda”

Let's consider one of Pushkin's fairy tales. The essence of this tale is a satire on church ministers who deceive the people. Also ridiculed human qualities: stupidity, greed and hypocrisy. Out of greed, the priest decides to hire a servant for a pittance who will do the hard work. Stupidity forces him to agree to Balda's proposal. But as the reckoning approaches, deceit and malice awaken in the priest - he decides to destroy the worker.

In this tale, as in others, Pushkin creates psychologically perfect characters. The author gives each person character and personal characteristics. And the language, although poetic, is as close as possible to the folk language. Pushkin always sought to move away from pretentious literary verse to something lighter, more flexible, and freer. He managed to find all these qualities in folk art.

Thus, the literary fairy tale has a rich history of development, is a unique fusion of folklore and author's work and continues to develop to this day.