1. Topic, themes, problems of the work.
2. The ideological concept of the work.
3. Pathos and its varieties.
References
1. Introduction to literary criticism: textbook / ed. L.M. Krupchanov. – M., 2005.
2. Borev Yu.B. Aesthetics. Literary theory: encyclopedic dictionary terms. – M., 2003.
3. Dal V.I. Dictionary of the living Great Russian language: in 4 volumes - M., 1994. - T.4.
4. Esin A.B.
5. Literary encyclopedic dictionary / ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, P.A. Nikolaeva. – M., 1987.
6. Literary encyclopedia terms and concepts / ed. A.N. Nikolyukina. – M., 2003.
7. Soviet encyclopedic dictionary / ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. – 4th ed. – M., 1989.
Literary scholars rightly argue that what gives a literary work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed. Thus, in order to delve deeper into the content of the work, it is necessary to determine its components: theme and idea.
"Theme ( Greek. thema), according to V. Dahl’s definition, is a proposal, position, task that is being discussed or explained.”
The authors of the Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary give the topic a slightly different definition: “The topic [what is the basis] is 1) the subject of description, image, research, conversation, etc.; 2) in art an object artistic image, circle life phenomena, displayed by a writer, artist or composer and held together by the author’s intention.”
In the “Dictionary of Literary Terms” we find the following definition: “Theme is what is the basis literary work, the main problem posed by the writer in it" .
In the textbook “Introduction to Literary Studies,” ed. G.N. Pospelov's theme is interpreted as an object of knowledge.
A.M. Gorky defines a theme as an idea, “which originated in the author’s experience, is suggested to him by life, but nests in the receptacle of his impressions still unformed and, demanding embodiment in images, arouses in him the urge to work on its design.”
As you can see, the above definitions of the topic are diverse and contradictory. The only statement with which one can agree without reservation is that the topic is truly the objective basis of any work of art. We have already talked above about how the process of birth and development of a theme occurs, how a writer studies reality and selects life phenomena, what is the role of the writer’s worldview in the selection and development of a theme ( see the lecture “Literature is a special kind artistic activity person").
However, the statements of literary scholars that the theme is a circle of life phenomena depicted by the writer, in our opinion, are not comprehensive enough, since there are differences between the life material (the object of the image) and the theme (subject matter) of the work of art. The subject of the image in the works fiction may be the most various phenomena human life, life of nature, flora and fauna, as well as material culture(buildings, settings, views of cities, etc.). Sometimes they are even depicted fantastic creatures– talking and thinking animals and plants, various kinds of spirits, gods, giants, monsters, etc. But this is by no means the topic of a literary work. Images of animals, plants, and views of nature often have an allegorical and auxiliary meaning in a work of art. They either represent people, as happens in fables, or are created to express human experiences (in lyrical images nature). Even more often, natural phenomena with its flora and fauna are depicted as the environment in which human life with its social character takes place.
When defining a theme as vital material taken for depiction by a writer, we must reduce its study to an analysis of the depicted objects, and not characteristic features human life in its social essence.
Following A.B. Yesin, under topic literary work we will understand " object artistic reflection , those life characters and situations (relationships of characters, as well as human interaction with society as a whole, with nature, everyday life, etc.), which seem to move from reality into a work of art and form the objective side of its content ».
The theme of a literary work covers everything depicted in it and therefore can be comprehended with the necessary completeness only on the basis of penetration into all the ideological and artistic richness of this work. For example, to determine the theme of the work by K.G. Abramov "Purgaz" ( unification of what was fragmented into many often warring clans Mordovian people at the end of XII - early XIII centuries, contributing to the salvation of the nation, the preservation of its spiritual values), it is necessary to take into account and comprehend the multilateral development of this topic by the author. K. Abramov also shows how the character of the main character was formed: the influence of everyday life and national traditions the Mordovian people, as well as the Volga Bulgars, among whom, by the will of fate and his own desire, he had the opportunity to live for 3 years, and how he became the head of the clan, how he fought with the Vladimir princes and the Mongols for domination in the western part of the Middle Volga region, what efforts he made to ensure that the Mordovian people became united.
In the process of analyzing the topic, it is necessary, according to the authoritative opinion of A.B. Yesin, firstly, to distinguish between reflection object(topic) and image object(specific situation depicted); secondly, it is necessary distinguish between concrete historical and eternal themes. Specific historical themes are characters and circumstances born and conditioned by a certain socio-historical situation in a particular country; they are not repeated beyond a given time, they are more or less localized (for example, the theme “ extra person"in Russian literature of the 19th century). When analyzing a specific historical topic, one must see not only the socio-historical, but also the psychological certainty of character, since comprehension of character traits helps to correctly understand the unfolding plot and the motivation for its twists and turns. Eternals themes record recurring moments in the history of various national societies; they are repeated in life in different modifications different generations, to different historical eras. These are, for example, the themes of love and friendship, life and death, relationships between generations and others.
Due to the fact that the topic requires various aspects of consideration, along with its general concept, the concept is also used topics, i.e. those lines of development of the theme that are outlined by the writer and constitute its complex integrity. Close attention to the diversity of topics is especially necessary when analyzing major works, in which there is not one, but many topics. In these cases, it is advisable to highlight one or two main topics related to the image central character, or a number of characters, and treat the rest as side characters.
When analyzing the content of a literary work great value has a definition of its problems. In literary criticism, the problematics of a literary work are usually understood as the area of comprehension, the writer’s understanding of the reflected reality: « Issues (Greek. problema – something thrown forward, i.e. isolated from other aspects of life) – this is the writer’s ideological understanding of the social characters that he depicted in the work. This comprehension consists in the fact that the writer highlights and strengthens those properties, aspects, relationships of the characters depicted, which he, based on his ideological worldview, considers the most significant.”
In works of art that are large in volume, writers, as a rule, pose a variety of problems: social, moral, political, philosophical, etc. It depends on what aspects of the characters and what contradictions of life the writer focuses on.
For example, K. Abramov in the novel “Purgaz”, through the image of the main character, understands the policy of uniting the Mordovian people, scattered into numerous clans, however, the disclosure of this problem (socio-political) is quite closely connected with the moral problem (refusal of the woman he loved, the order to kill Tengush , one of the leaders of the clan, etc.). Therefore, when analyzing a work of art, it is important to understand not only the main problem, but also the entire problem as a whole, to identify how deep and significant it is, how serious and significant are the contradictions of reality that the writer depicted.
One cannot but agree with the statement of A.B. Esin that the problems contain the author’s unique view of the world. In contrast to the theme, the problematic is the subjective side of the artistic content, therefore, the author’s individuality, “original moral attitude author to the subject." Often different writers create works on the same topic, however, no two major writers, whose works would coincide in their problematics. The uniqueness of the issue is unique business card writer.
For practical analysis of the problem, it is important to identify the originality of the work, comparing it with others, to understand what makes it unique and unique. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish in the work under study type problems.
The main types of problems in Russian literary criticism were identified by G.N. Pospelov. Based on the classification of G.N. Pospelov, taking into account the current level of development of literary criticism A.B. Esin proposed his own classification. He highlighted mythological, national, novel, sociocultural, philosophical problems. In our opinion, it makes sense to highlight the issues moral .
Writers not only pose certain problems, they look for ways to solve them, and relate what they depict to social ideals. Therefore, the theme of a work is always connected with its idea.
N.G. Chernyshevsky, in his treatise “Aesthetic Relations of Art to Reality,” speaking about the tasks of art, states that works of art “reproduce life, explain life and pass judgment on it.” It is difficult to disagree with this, since works of fiction always express the ideological and emotional attitude of writers to topics social characters which they depict. The ideological and emotional assessment of the characters depicted is the most active aspect of the content of the work.
"Idea (Greek. idea – idea, prototype, ideal) in literature - expression author's attitude to what is depicted, the correlation of this depicted with the ideals of life and man affirmed by writers“, - this definition is given in the “Dictionary of Literary Terms”. We find a somewhat refined version of the definition of an idea in the textbook by G.N. Pospelova: “ The idea of a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; this is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer, manifested in choice, and in comprehension, and in the assessment of characters ».
When analyzing a work of art, identifying an idea is very important and significant for the reason that the idea is progressive, corresponding to the course of history, trends social development, is required quality all truly artistic works. Understanding the main idea of a work should follow from an analysis of its entire ideological content (author's assessment events and characters, the author's ideal, pathos). Only under this condition can we correctly judge him, his strength and weakness, the nature and roots of the contradictions in him.
If we talk about K. Abramov’s novel “Purgaz”, then the main idea that the author expresses can be formulated as follows: the strength of the people lies in their unity. Only by uniting all the Mordovian clans, Purgaz, as a talented leader, was able to resist the Mongols and liberate the Mordovian land from the conquerors.
We have already noted that the themes and issues of artistic works must meet the requirements of depth, relevance and significance. The idea, in turn, must meet the criteria of historical truthfulness and objectivity. It is important for the reader that the writer expresses such an ideological and emotional understanding of the characters depicted, which these characters are truly worthy of in terms of the objective, essential properties of their lives, in terms of their place and significance in national life in general, in the prospects for its development. Works that contain a historically true assessment of the phenomena and characters depicted are progressive in their content.
The primary source of artistic ideas in reality, according to I.F. Volkov, are “only those ideas that entered the artist’s flesh and blood, became the meaning of his existence, his ideological and emotional attitude to life.” V.G. Belinsky called such ideas pathos . “A poetic idea,” he wrote, “is not a syllogism, not a dogma, not a rule, it is a living passion, it is pathos.” Belinsky borrowed the very concept of pathos from Hegel, who in his lectures on aesthetics used the word “pathos” to mean ( Greek. pathos - a strong, passionate feeling) the artist’s high enthusiasm for comprehending the essence of the life depicted, its “truth”.
E. Aksenova defines pathos this way: “Pathos is an emotional animation, a passion that permeates a work (or its parts) and gives it a single breath - what can be called the soul of a work. In pathos, the artist’s feeling and thought form a single whole; it contains the key to the idea of the work. Pathos is not always and not necessarily a pronounced emotion; This is where the artist’s creative individuality is most clearly manifested. Along with the authenticity of feelings and thoughts pathos imparts liveliness and artistic persuasiveness to a work and is a condition for its emotional impact on the reader " Pathos is created by artistic means: the depiction of characters, their actions, experiences, events in their lives, and the entire figurative structure of the work.
Thus, pathos is the writer’s emotional and evaluative attitude towards the person depicted, characterized by great strength of feelings .
In literary criticism, the following main types of pathos are distinguished: heroic, dramatic, tragic, sentimental, romantic, humorous, satirical.
Heroic pathos affirms the greatness of the feat individual and the whole team, its enormous importance for the development of the people, nation, humanity. Figuratively revealing the main qualities heroic characters, admiring them and praising them, the artist of words creates works imbued with heroic pathos (Homer “Iliad”, Shelley “Prometheus Unchained”, A. Pushkin “Poltava”, M. Lermontov “Borodino”, A. Tvardovsky “Vasily Terkin”; M . Saigin “Hurricane”, I. Antonov “In a single family”).
Dramatic pathos characteristic of works that depict dramatic situations that arise under the influence of external forces and circumstances that threaten the desires and aspirations of the characters, and sometimes their lives. Drama in works of art can be both ideologically affirming pathos, when the writer deeply sympathizes with the characters (“The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”), and ideologically negative, if the writer condemns the characters of his characters in the drama of their situation (Aeschylus “Persians”).
Quite often, the drama of situations and experiences arises during military clashes between nations, and this is reflected in works of fiction: E. Hemingway “A Farewell to Arms”, E.M. Remarque “A Time to Live and a Time to Die”, G. Fallada “Wolf Among Wolves”; A. Beck " Volokolamsk highway", K. Simonov "The Living and the Dead"; P. Prokhorov “We Stood” and others.
Often writers in their works depict the drama of the situation and experiences of the characters, which arises due to social inequality people (“Father Goriot” by O. Balzac, “The Humiliated and Insulted” by F. Dostoevsky, “Dowry” by A. Ostrovsky, “Tashto Koise” (“According to Old Customs”) by K. Petrova and others.
Often the influence of external circumstances gives rise to internal contradiction in a person’s mind, a struggle with himself. IN in this case the drama deepens to the point of tragedy.
Tragic pathos its roots are connected with tragic character conflict in a literary work, caused by the fundamental impossibility of resolving existing contradictions, and is most often present in the genre of tragedy. Reproducing tragic conflicts, writers depict the painful experiences of their heroes, difficult events in their lives, thereby revealing the tragic contradictions of life, which have a socio-historical or universal character (W. Shakespeare “Hamlet”, A. Pushkin “Boris Godunov”, L. Leonov “Invasion”, Y. Pinyasov “Erek ver” (“Living Blood”).
Satirical pathos. Satirical pathos is characterized by denial negative aspects social life and character traits of people. The tendency of writers to notice the comic in life and reproduce it on the pages of their works is determined primarily by the properties of their innate talent, as well as by the peculiarities of their worldview. Most often, writers pay attention to the discrepancy between people's claims and real capabilities, which results in the development of comical life situations.
Satire helps you realize important aspects human relationships, gives orientation in life, frees from false and outdated authorities. In world and Russian literature there are a lot of talented, highly artistic works with satirical pathos, including: the comedies of Aristophanes, “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais, “Gulliver’s Travels” by J. Swift; “Nevsky Prospekt” by N. Gogol, “The History of a City” by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “Heart of a Dog” by M. Bulgakov). In Mordovian literature, no significant work with clearly expressed satirical pathos has yet been created. Satirical pathos is characteristic primarily of the fable genre (I. Shumilkin, M. Beban, etc.).
Humorous pathos. Humor emerged as a special type of pathos only in the era of romanticism. Due to false self-esteem, people not only in public, but also in everyday life and family life may discover internal contradictions between who they really are and who they say they are. These people pretend to be important, which they actually do not have. Such a contradiction is comical and evokes a mocking attitude, mixed more with pity and sadness than with indignation. Humor is laughter at the relatively harmless comic contradictions of life. A striking example of a work with humorous pathos is the story “ Posthumous notes The Pickwick Club" by Charles Dickens; “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” by N. Gogol; “Lavginov” by V. Kolomasov, “An agronomist came to the collective farm” (“An agronomist came to the collective farm” by Yu. Kuznetsov).
Sentimental pathos characteristic primarily of sentimental works created in the 18th century, characterized by exaggerated attention to the feelings and experiences of the heroes, depiction of the moral virtues of socially humiliated people, their superiority over the immorality of a privileged environment. Vivid examples include the works “Julia, or the New Heloise” by J.J. Rousseau, "Suffering" young Werther» I.V. Goethe, " Poor Lisa» N.M. Karamzin.
Romantic pathos conveys the spiritual enthusiasm that arises as a result of identifying a certain sublime principle and the desire to identify its features. Examples include the poems of D.G. Byron, poems and ballads by V. Zhukovsky and others. In Mordovian literature, works with clearly expressed sentimental and romantic pathos are absent, which is largely due to the time of origin and development written literature(second half of the 19th century).
TEST QUESTIONS:
1. What definitions of theme take place in literary criticism? Which definition do you think is most accurate and why?
2. What are the problems of a literary work?
3. What types of problems do literary scholars distinguish?
4. Why is problem identification considered important stage in the analysis of works?
5. What is the idea of a work? How is it related to the concept of pathos?
6. What types of pathos are most often found in works of native literature?
Lecture 7
PLOT
1. The concept of plot.
2. Conflict as driving force plot development.
3. Plot elements.
4. Plot and plot.
References
1) Abramovich G.L. Introduction to literary criticism. – 7th ed. – M., 1979.
2) Gorky A.M.. Conversations with young people (any publication).
3) Dobin E.S. Plot and reality. The art of detail. – L., 1981.
4) Introduction to literary criticism / ed. G.N. Pospelov. – M., 1988.
5) Esin A.B. Principles and techniques of analyzing a literary work. – 4th ed. – M., 2002.
6) Kovalenko A.G.. Artistic conflict in Russian literature. – M., 1996.
7) Kozhinov V.V.. Plot, plot, composition // Theory of literature: Main problems in historical coverage: in 2 books. – M., 1964. – Book 2.
8) Literary encyclopedic dictionary / ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, P.A. Nikolaev. – M., 1987.
9) Literary encyclopedia of terms and concepts / ed. A.N. Nikolyukina. – M., 2003.
10) Shklovsky V.B.. Energy of delusion. Book about the plot // Favorites: in 2 volumes - M., 1983. - Volume 2.
11) Brief literary encyclopedia: in 9 volumes / chapter. ed. A.A. Surkov. – M., 1972. – T.7.
It is well known that a work of art is a complex whole. The writer shows how this or that character grows and develops, what are his connections and relationships with other people. This development of character, the history of growth, is shown in a series of events, which, as a rule, reflect the life situation. Direct relationships between people presented in a work, shown in a certain chain of events, in literary criticism are usually designated by the term plot.
It should be noted that understanding the plot as the course of events has a long tradition in Russian literary criticism. It developed back in the 19th century. This is evidenced by the work of the outstanding literary critic, representative of the comparative-historical school in Russian literary criticism of the 19th century A.N. Veselovsky "Poetics of Plots".
The problem of plot has occupied researchers since Aristotle. Much attention G. Hegel also paid attention to this problem. Despite such a long history, the problem of the plot remains largely debatable to this day. For example, there is still no clear distinction between the concepts of plot and plot. In addition, the definitions of plot found in textbooks and textbooks according to literary theory, different and quite contradictory. For example, L.I. Timofeev considers the plot as one of the forms of composition: “Composition is inherent in every literary work, since we will always have in it one or another relationship of its parts, reflecting the complexity of the life phenomena depicted in it. But not in every work we will deal with a plot, i.e. with the revelation of characters through events in which the properties of these characters are revealed... One should reject the widespread and erroneous idea of plot only as a distinct, fascinating system of events, due to which they often talk about the “non-plot” of certain works in which there is no such clarity and fascination of the system of events (actions). Here we're talking about not about the absence of a plot, but about its poor organization, ambiguity, etc.
The plot in a work is always present when we are dealing with certain actions of people, with certain events that happen to them. By connecting the plot with the characters, we thereby determine its content, its conditionality by the reality that the writer is aware of.
Thus, we approach both composition and plot as a means of revealing, discovering a given character.
But in some cases general content the work does not fit only into the plot, cannot be revealed only in the system of events; hence - along with the plot - we will have extra-plot elements in the work; the composition of the work will then be broader than the plot and will begin to manifest itself in other forms.”
V.B. Shklovsky considers the plot as a “means of understanding reality”; in the interpretation of E.S. Dobin, the plot is a “concept of reality.”
M. Gorky defined the plot as “connections, contradictions, likes, dislikes and, in general, relationships between people - stories of growth and organization of one or another character, type.” This judgment, like the previous ones, in our opinion, is not accurate, because in many works, especially dramatic ones, characters are depicted outside the development of their characters.
Following A.I. Revyakin, we tend to adhere to this definition of the plot: « A plot is an event (or system of events) selected in the process of studying life, realized and embodied in a work of art, in which conflict and characters are revealed in certain conditions of the social environment».
G.N. Pospelov notes that literary plots are created in different ways. Most often, they quite fully and reliably reproduce real life events. These are, firstly, works based on historical events (« Early years King Henry IV" by G. Mann, "The Damned Kings" by M. Druon; “Peter I” by A. Tolstoy, “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy; “Polovt” by M. Bryzhinsky, “Purgaz” by K. Abramov); secondly, autobiographical stories(L. Tolstoy, M. Gorky); thirdly, known to the writer life facts . The events depicted are sometimes completely fictional, a figment of the author’s imagination (“Gulliver’s Travels” by J. Swift, “The Nose” by N. Gogol).
There is also such a source of plot creativity as borrowing, when writers widely rely on already known literary plots, processing them and supplementing them in their own way. In this case, folklore, mythological, ancient, biblical, etc. subjects are used.
Home driving force any plot is conflict, contradiction, struggle or, according to Hegel's definition, collision. The conflicts underlying works can be very diverse, but they, as a rule, have general significance and reflect certain life patterns. Conflicts are distinguished: 1) external and internal; 2) local and substantial; 3) dramatic, tragic and comic.
Conflict external – between individual characters and groups of characters – is considered to be the simplest. There are many examples of this type of conflict in the literature: A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”, A.S. Pushkin " Stingy Knight", M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The History of a City”, V.M. Kolomasov "Lavginov" and others. A more complex conflict is considered to be one that embodies the confrontation between the hero and the way of life, the individual and the environment (social, everyday, cultural). The difference from the first type of conflict is that the hero here is not opposed by anyone in particular, he does not have an opponent with whom he could fight, who could be defeated, thereby resolving the conflict (Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”).
Conflict interior - a psychological conflict, when the hero is not at peace with himself, when he carries certain contradictions within himself, sometimes contains incompatible principles (Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”, Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”, etc.).
Sometimes in a work one can simultaneously detect both of these types of conflict, both external and internal (A. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm”).
Local(resolvable) conflict presupposes the fundamental possibility of resolution through active actions (Pushkin “Gypsies”, etc.).
Substantial(unresolvable) conflict depicts a persistently conflicted existence, and real practical actions capable of resolving this conflict are unthinkable (Shakespeare's Hamlet, Chekhov's The Bishop, etc.).
Tragic, dramatic and comic conflicts are inherent dramatic works with the same genre names. (For more information about the types of conflicts, see the book A.G. Kovalenko “Artistic conflict in Russian literature”, M., 1996).
Public disclosure in the plot significant conflict promotes understanding of trends and patterns of social development. In this regard, it is worth noting some points that are essential for understanding the multifaceted role of the plot in the work.
The role of plot in the work of G.L. Abramovich defined it as follows: “Firstly, it must be borne in mind that the artist’s penetration into the meaning of the conflict presupposes, as the modern English writer D. Lindsay, “penetration into the souls of people participating in this struggle.” Hence the great educational significance of the plot.
Secondly, the writer “willy-nilly becomes involved with his mind and heart in the conflicts that make up the content of his work.” Thus, the logic of the development of events by the writer is reflected in his understanding and assessment of the depicted conflict, his public views, which he one way or another conveys to readers, instilling in them the necessary, from his point of view, attitude towards this conflict.
Thirdly, every great writer focuses his attention on conflicts that have important for his time and people."
Thus, the plots of the works of great writers have a deep socio-historical meaning. Therefore, when considering them, it is necessary first of all to determine what kind of social conflict lies at the heart of the work and from what positions it is depicted.
The plot will only fulfill its purpose when, firstly, it is internally complete, i.e. revealing the causes, nature and development paths of the depicted conflict, and secondly, it will attract the interest of readers and force them to think about the meaning of each episode, each detail in the movement of events.
F.V. Gladkov wrote that there are different gradations of plot: “... one book has a plot calm, there is no intrigue or cleverly tied knots in it, it is a chronicle of the life of one person or a whole group of people; another book with exciting plot: these are adventure novels, mystery novels, detective novels, criminal novels.” Many literary scholars, following F. Gladkov, distinguish two types of plots: the plot is calm (adynamic) and the plot is sharp(dynamic). Along with the named types of plots in modern literary criticism Others are also offered, for example, chronic and concentric (Pospelov G.N.) and centrifugal and centripetal (Kozhinov V.V.). Chronicles are stories with a predominance of purely temporary connections between events, and concentric - with a predominance of cause-and-effect relationships between events.
Each of these types of plots has its own artistic possibilities. As noted by G.N. Pospelov, the chronicle of the plot is, first of all, a means of recreating reality in the diversity and richness of its manifestations. Chronic plotting allows the writer to master life in space and time with maximum freedom. Therefore it is widely used in epic works large shape(“Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais, “Don Quixote” by M. Cervantes, “Don Juan” by D. Byron, “Vasily Terkin” by A. Tvardovsky, “Wide Moksha” by T. Kirdyashkin, “Purgaz” by K. Abramov) . Chronicle stories perform various artistic functions: they reveal the decisive actions of the heroes and their various adventures; depict the formation of a person’s personality; serve to master the socio-political antagonisms and everyday life of certain strata of society.
The concentricity of the plot - identifying cause-and-effect relationships between the events depicted - allows the writer to explore one conflict situation and stimulates the compositional completeness of the work. This type of plot structure dominated drama until the 19th century. Among the epic works, one can cite as an example “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky, “Fire” by V. Rasputin, “At the Beginning of the Path” by V. Mishanina.
Chronicle and concentric plots often coexist (“Resurrection” by L.N. Tolstoy, “Three Sisters” by A.P. Chekhov, etc.).
From the point of view of the emergence, development and completion of the life conflict depicted in the work, we can talk about the main elements of plot construction. Literary scholars identify the following plot elements: exposition, plot, development of action, climax, peripeteia, denouement; prologue and epilogue. It should be noted that not all works of fiction that have a plot structure contain all the designated plot elements. Prologue and epilogue are found quite rarely, most often in epic works that are large in volume. As for exposition, it is quite often absent from stories and novellas.
Prologue defined as an introduction to a literary work that is not directly related to the developing action, but seems to precede it with a story about the events that preceded it or about their meaning. The prologue is present in I. Goethe’s Faust, “What is to be done?” N. Chernyshevsky, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by N. Nekrasov, “The Snow Maiden” by A. Ostrovsky, “Apple Tree at high road» A. Kutorkina.
Epilogue in literary criticism it is characterized as final part in a work of art, reporting future fate heroes after those depicted in a novel, poem, drama, etc. events. Epilogues are often found in the dramas of B. Brecht, novels by F. Dostoevsky (“The Brothers Karamazov”, “Humiliated and Insulted”), L. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”), K. Abramov “Kachamon Pachk” (“Smoke on the Ground” ).
Exposition (lat. expositio - explanation) call the background to the events underlying the work. The exposition sets out the circumstances, preliminarily outlines the characters, characterizes their relationships, i.e. The life of the characters before the start of the conflict (commencement) is depicted.
In the work of P.I. Levchaev’s “Kavonst kudat” (“Two Matchmakers”), the first part is an exhibition: it depicts the life of a Mordovian village shortly before the first Russian revolution, the conditions in which people’s characters are formed.
The exposition is determined by the artistic objectives of the work and can be different in nature: direct, detailed, scattered, supplemented throughout the entire work, delayed (see “Dictionary of Literary Terms”).
Tie-up in a work of fiction, it is usually called the beginning of a conflict, the event from which the action begins and thanks to which subsequent events arise. The beginning can be motivated (if there is exposition) or sudden (without exposition).
In P. Levchaev’s story, the plot will be Garay’s return to the village of Anay, his acquaintance with Kirei Mikhailovich.
In subsequent parts of the work, Levchaev shows action development, That course of events that follows from the plot: meeting with his father, with his beloved girl Anna, matchmaking, Garay’s participation in a secret meeting.
TOPIC in Greek - “that which is due”; I mean - it is the basis. In English-language criticism, the concept of theme roughly corresponds to the concept of “idea” in Russian literary criticism, which uses the word “theme” in different meanings, usually confused without reason. By no means in all meanings of this word the theme is an element of the work.
The concept of a theme is primarily correlated with the concept of “subject” - the subject of comprehension, processing, implementation. So the first meaning of the word in this circle of ideas is the object of reconstruction in a work of art belonging to objective reality, its essential properties. In this sense, the theme, of course, does not yet belong to the work. It can be said that in the very in general terms modern A.S. Pushkin’s young hero, his character and fate are the theme of “Eugene Onegin”.
Second. Subject of reproduction mastered in creative process, while working on a piece. In this sense, the theme is also not yet an element of the created work. Both the topic and ideological plan in the process of creativity can evolve significantly. So, L.N. Tolstoy, having conceived a novel about a Decembrist, returned from Siberia under an amnesty and resisting thanks to his high moral qualities low, in the author’s opinion, modernity, gradually moved to an extremely broad historical theme (with actually historical and at the same time modern issues), which formed the basis of the epic novel “War and Peace.”
Third. Level of content of the work, thematic content - creative concept of reality, essential meaning figurative world, the main means of expressing ideological and aesthetic content. In this meaning of the word, the theme is even more difficult to define than in the first two, although it is more specific than the theme as a source thematic content, localized in primary reality and the creative process. Literary critics give only a conceptual, logical analogue of the theme (as well as ideas); it is more or less fully assimilated only as a result of perceiving the entire work, when it is read to the end. Unlike a plot, a theme cannot be retold (despite the fact that a retelling of a plot is also not a plot); these are not just images of people and events, but their conceptual content. Very roughly we can say that the theme of “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol is not Chichikov’s purchase of “dead souls” (the basis of the plot), but the lack of spirituality of landowners, officials, and partly the common people inhabiting the modern world. in a broad sense Russia (the action is conditionally somewhat pushed into the past). This theme expresses the idea (also a very approximate definition) of the contradiction between the current reality and the enormous possibilities of a country like Russia - a contradiction that urgently requires resolution from everyone, the return of spirituality to everyone who is capable of internal change.
Fourth. Topic like some general properties art world of this writer or the poet in general. For example, thought becomes the theme of a number of poems by E.A. Baratynsky, for the late A.P. Chekhov, the important themes are a person’s awareness of his life, what should and, more often, what should not be in it, or, conversely, a person’s loss of the ability to such awareness, for M.A. Sholokhov’s main theme is the life of the Don Cossacks (in “ Quiet Don”with a predominance of universal human problems). This is a typological understanding of the topic.
Fifth. Another typological understanding of the topic is a broader one. This is what unites the topic different writers, sometimes very far from each other in time, creative principles, etc.: love theme, friendship theme, war (and peace) theme, village life theme, family theme; social (for example, the topic “ little man"), political and many other topics. In Soviet times, it was customary to positively evaluate works for their “hot topic,” but often a specific artistic theme(in the third meaning) was primitive in them, borrowed from newspapers, and did not contain any signs of a genuine creative discovery. On the other hand, in 1962, the story of A.I. was heard throughout the world. Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, which opened for literature camp theme and remained in it the most perfect work of art. But even regardless of its aesthetic merits, the story would have had enormous resonance as the first work in the Soviet Union on a previously completely taboo topic. In this case, the fifth meaning of the word “theme” is close to the first.
In modern times, the basis of thematic content, as a rule, is formed by characters in their relationships with each other and the surrounding (in realism - formative) circumstances.
Subject(gr. thema literally means something underlying) - this is an object of knowledge. Subjects- these are those phenomena of life that are reflected in the work.
In ancient times, it was believed that the integrity of a literary work was determined by the unity of the main character. But Aristotle also drew attention to the fallacy of such a view, pointing out that the stories about Hercules remain different stories, although dedicated to one person, and the Iliad, which tells about many heroes, does not cease to be an integral work.
What gives a work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed.
The subject of depiction in works of literature can be a variety of phenomena of human life, natural life, flora and fauna, as well as material culture (buildings, furnishings, views of cities, etc.).
But the main subject of knowledge in fiction is the characteristic features of human life. These are the social characters of people both in their external manifestations, relationships, activities, and in their internal, mental life.
Yesin: Topic –“the object of artistic reflection, those life characters and situations that seem to pass from reality into a work of art and form the objective side of its content.”
Tomashevsky:“Unity of meanings of individual elements of a work. It brings together the components of an artistic design.”
The plot may be the same, but the theme is different. In popular literature, the plot weighs heavily on the theme. Life very often becomes the object of depiction.
The topic is often determined by the author’s literary preferences and his belonging to a certain group.
The concept of internal theme is themes that are cross-cutting for the writer; this is the thematic unity that unites all his works.
The theme is the organizing beginning of the work.
Problem - this highlighting of some aspect, the emphasis on it, which is resolved as the work unfolds, is the writer’s ideological understanding of the social characters that he depicted in the work. The writer highlights and enhances those properties, aspects, relationships of the characters depicted that he considers the most significant.
The problem is still to a greater extent than the subject depends on the worldview of the author. Therefore, the life of the same social environment can be perceived differently by writers who have different ideological worldviews.
Moliere in the comedy “Tartuffe,” having portrayed the main character as a scoundrel and a hypocrite who deceives straightforward and honest people, depicted all his thoughts and actions as manifestations of this main negative character trait. The name Tartuffe became a common noun for hypocrites.
Idea- this is what the author wants to say, why this work was written.
It is thanks to the expression of ideas in images that literary works have such a strong effect on the thoughts, feelings, will of readers and listeners, on their entire inner world.
The attitude to life expressed in a work, or its ideological and emotional assessment, always depends on the writer’s understanding of the characters he portrays and follows from his worldview.
The idea of a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; This is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer.
The reader is usually sinceregives in to the illusion that everything depicted in the productionknowledge is life itself; he is addicted to action,the fate of the heroes, experiences their joys, sympathizes with themsuffering or internally condemns it. At the same timethe reader often does not immediately realize what essentialfeatures are embodied in the heroes and in the entire course of the artof the events being described and what significance the details havetheir actions and experiences.
But these detailsare created by the writer in order to, through them, elevate the characters of some heroes in the minds of the reader and reduce the characters of others.
Just by re-reading the works andby thinking about them, the reader can come to the realizationwhat general properties of life are embodied in certainother heroes and how they are comprehended and evaluated by the writertel. Literary criticism often helps him in this.
Any analysis of a literary work begins with identifying its theme and idea. There is a close semantic and logical connection between them, thanks to which the literary text is perceived as an integral unity of form and content. Correct understanding of the meaning of literary terms topic And idea allows you to determine how accurately the author was able to realize his creative concept and whether his book is worth the reader’s attention.
Definition
Subject of a literary work is a semantic definition of its content, reflecting the author’s vision of the depicted phenomenon, event, character or other artistic reality.
Idea- the intention of a writer pursuing a specific goal in creating artistic images, using the principles of plot construction and achieving the compositional integrity of a literary text.
Comparison
Figuratively speaking, a theme can be considered any reason that prompted the writer to take up the pen and transfer it to blank slate paper reflected in artistic images perception surrounding reality. You can write about anything; another question: for what purpose, what task should I set myself?
The goal and task determine the idea, the disclosure of which is the essence of an aesthetically valuable and socially significant literary work.
Among the diversity literary themes There are several main directions that serve as guidelines for the flight of the writer’s creative imagination. These are historical, social, adventure, detective, psychological, moral and ethical, lyrical, philosophical themes. The list goes on. It will include both original author's notes and literary diaries, and stylistically refined extracts from archival documents.
The theme felt by the writer takes on spiritual content, an idea without which book page will remain just coherent text. The idea can be reflected in historical analysis problems important to society, in the depiction of complex psychological moments on which human destiny, or simply in creating a lyrical sketch that awakens a sense of beauty in the reader.
The idea is the deep content of the work. Theme is a motive that allows you to realize a creative idea within a specific, precisely defined context.
Conclusions website
- The theme determines the actual and semantic content of the work.
- The idea reflects the tasks and goals of the writer, which he strives to achieve while working on a literary text.
- The theme has formative functions: it can be revealed in small literary genres or be developed into a major epic work.
- The idea is the main content core literary text. It corresponds to the conceptual level of organization of the work as an aesthetically significant whole.
Subject
Subject
(Greek theme - what is supposed to be), in literary criticism - the content of a work in its most general view or the content of any fragment of the work. In the literature of antiquity, the Middle Ages, Renaissance And classicism the topic of the essay was strictly related to his genre. Thus, the exploits of kings and generals were narrated in epic poems; their deeds were praised in solemn odah; the conflict between man and fate or the struggle between duty and passion was depicted in tragedies, and human vices were exposed in comedies. In the era romanticism the clear correlation between genre and theme was destroyed; it was preserved only in some genres. For example, idyll- a short poetic work about the simple joys of rural life, and elegy- a sad lyrical poem about lost youth and disappointed hopes. Various literary trends and currents (see Literary direction and current) have preference different topics. In classicism it is heroic themes, themes of service to the state, in romanticism - love theme, themes of loneliness, death, etc., in symbolism– religious and mystical themes.
Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .
TOPIC- the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotional-intellectual core that the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called. content. The theme in the broad sense of the word is that holistic image of the world that determines the artist’s poetic worldview. Under the sign of this image, the artist combines the most diverse phenomena of reality. Thanks to this image, the synthetic activity of the artist is possible, which distinguishes him from the non-artist.
Every artist has his own theme, his own image of the world.
But depending on the material through which this image is refracted, we have one or another reflection of it, i.e. one or another idea (a specific theme) that defines this particular work, where only one of the faces of the single image guiding the artist’s entire work is revealed. If, from this point of view, we approach, approximately, Lermontov, whose main theme is the Demon, then we can outline a number of particular themes that determined one or another plot of his individual works. The theme of a demon seeking salvation through love defines the plot of “The Demon”; the theme of a demon being reduced to a human image - the plot of “A Hero of Our Time,” etc. The concept of the theme will become even more prominent if we compare it with musical concept leit-motif, with what is usually called, when applied to a literary work, the “red thread”. Because famous topic, the main idea, influences the significance of a particular moment and individual moments are perceived against the background of the thematic whole, one can, of course, talk about a “red thread” running through the entire work. But at the same time, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the concept of “leit motif” or “red thread”. While the leit-motif, the guiding motive, runs through the entire work, sometimes in the form of repetitions (repetition of the same sounds, thoughts, repetition of the positions of characters, repetition of descriptions in general or in particular, etc.), then in in the form of different variations - if the leit-motif and the “red thread” clearly breaks through here and there, connecting individual parts - the theme itself remains outwardly unidentified, forming a mental center around which everything is located, but which is not fixed in any single phrase. For this reason, it seems completely wrong to define the topic famous work only by this or that technique and a recurring moment, for the theme runs through every moment, it is everywhere and nowhere, as someone noted when applied to music, which can be extended to literature. A theme can only repeat itself, and its development lies in these repetitions. Proof of the validity of this thought is both the work of great writers as a whole (Lermontov’s theme is the demon, Tyutchev’s theme is the struggle between the day and night principles, etc.), and their individual works.
J. Zundelovich.
Subject. This is sometimes the name given to the derived verb stem of the common Indo-European language. on O, alternating with e, Wed Greek φέρομεν “we carry” (μεν - the end of the 1st l. plural), φέρετε “you carry” (τε - the end of the 2nd l. plural); most vowel sounds O, e at the end of T. called. thematic vowels, and the conjugation of verbs from T. to oh - thematic conjugation(cm.).
N.D. Literary encyclopedia: Dictionary of literary terms: In 2 volumes / Edited by N. Brodsky, A. Lavretsky, E. Lunin, V. Lvov-Rogachevsky, M. Rozanov, V. Cheshikhin-Vetrinsky. - M.; L.: Publishing house L. D. Frenkel, 1925
Synonyms:
See what “theme” is in other dictionaries:
topic- y, w. theme, German Thema gr. theme installed; position. 1. A range of life phenomena, events that make up the content of a work of literature, painting, etc. or that form the basis of a scientific research, report, etc. BAS 1. Here’s your topic... Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language
Subject- THEME is the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotionally intellectual core that the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called... ... Dictionary of literary terms
- (lat. theme). 1) content. 2) main idea essays. 3) in music: the main motive that must be developed by the composer. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. TOPIC [gr. theme] linguistic with current... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
TOPIC, themes, women. (Greek theme). 1. The subject of some kind of reasoning or presentation. Essay on the topic of the Napoleonic Wars. Choose collective farm life as the theme of the story. “Let me tell you a small incident on this topic.” Leskov. ||… … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
Cm … Dictionary of synonyms
- “THEME”, USSR, Mosfilm, 1979, color, 99 min. Psychological drama. The “theme” stated in the previous film by director Gleb Panfilov “I Ask for the Word” found a direct continuation in this film. Panfilov undergoes in-depth research... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema
TOPIC (in philosophy and history of science) a term introduced by J. Holton as key concept thematic analysis. The term "theme" is used by Holton in three various aspects: thematic concepts, hypotheses and methodologies. Holton doesn't... Philosophical Encyclopedia
Subject- [from the Greek thema, literally what is put (as the basis)], 1) the subject of description, research, conversation, etc. 2) In art (literature, theater, cinema, painting) the object of artistic depiction, the range of life phenomena captured in ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Proposal, subject of discussion, development task; main idea. Wed. “We won’t talk about this topic, we’re talking about the mother.” And in general, let’s drop all topics for now. Au revoir. A. A. Sokolov. Secret. 20. Wed. He... private letters...... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
TOPIC, s, women. 1. Subject, main content of reasoning, presentation, creativity. Move to another topic. T. story. 2. Main motive musical work. T. with variations. | adj. thematic, aya, oe (to 1 meaning). The thematic line of the novel... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
Female, Greek a proposal, position, task that is being discussed or explained. | Melody, tune, musical. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. V.I. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
Books
- Topic 1. Part 1. Food, products, in a restaurant (DVD), Bystrova Marina. Topic 1. Part 1. Top up quickly vocabulary! DVD cards + usage examples + voice-over (Russian-English). Food, groceries, in a restaurant. Learn Russian words in a quick way! DVD...
