A fairy tale is an entertaining oral history that tells an incredible but instructive story.

Fairy tales are different. In some, the main characters are animals (sometimes they are opposed by humans). These are tales about animals.

In others, the main characters are people and fantastic creatures; animals here are most often - good helpers Main character. In these tales we're talking about about the amazing adventures of Ivan the Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool, necessarily connected with magic. These are fairy tales.

And finally, there are fairy tales in which the main characters are also people, but, unlike fairy tales, where the heroes win thanks to magic, in them the heroes become winners thanks to their intelligence, ingenuity, courage, and cunning. This is social everyday tales.

Speaking about the differences between fairy tales, it is interesting to pay attention to the origins of their fiction, fantasy. Why do animals in fairy tales talk like people, why does a dead father reward his youngest son, why does a comb thrown back turn into a forest? These and many other questions will remain unanswered if we do not turn to that era in human life when there were no fairy tales yet, but there were oral stories about people’s faith in all kinds of miracles.

Ancient man was far from a correct understanding of natural phenomena. The wind that uprooted trees, black clouds that spilled streams of water onto the ground, deafening thunder and dazzling lightning that fell on a defenseless man, animals that lay in wait for him in dense forests and deep ravines - all this filled him with fear and made him think about that in nature everything lives, moves, and has its own mind. And man identified himself and nature. He believed that animals could talk to each other, trees could move; he thought that the sun, moon, clouds, streams and rivers were living beings. And if so, it means that they could bring him both harm and benefit. Being powerless before nature, he began to worship water, fire, the sun, trees, and animals that seemed alive to him. Feeling like a part of nature, so formidable and omnipotent, he sought its protection and sought to protect himself from it.

Ancient man also worshiped his dead ancestors. Death was inexplicable to him, a mystery. It was believed that a person does not die, but only moves (he or his soul) to another world. Therefore, a deceased person, in the view of the ancients, is a living person, but possessing supernatural power due to the unusual nature of his condition. Thus arose the cult of ancestors, which demanded the worship of the dead.

All of the above explains to us why animals talk in fairy tales, why in the fairy tale “Sivka-Burka” the deceased father talks with his youngest son. Scientists have also established that the Serpent and Gorynych in fairy tales are the personification of fire, the images of Koshchei the Immortal are associated with the cult of ancestors, etc.

But all this speaks only about the origins of the fantasy of fairy tales and their implausible content. It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that fairy tales are not about a person’s belief in the supernatural nature of objects and natural phenomena, but, first of all, about the most pressing, vitally important real problems for a person. The formation of human faith in supernatural beings and natural phenomena was facilitated by other oral stories, which in their content had nothing in common with fairy tales. These stories taught how to honor the beast, how to treat it kindly and attentively, etc.

In Russian folklore there is a fairy tale reminiscent of such ancient stories. It is called “The Bear on a Linden Leg.” A terrible story! At the request of the old woman, the old man cut off the bear’s paw, and the bear takes revenge for this: he turns the old woman into a bear. Probably, in ancient times, our ancestors told young people such horror stories for edification: this is what will happen to those who raise their hands against the beast, which is worshiped by their clan and tribe! But time passed, man learned about nature, and the terrible became funny; previously terrible stories turned into heroic ones. The same story about a bear whose paw was cut off is also written with a different ending: the bear, who came to the village to take revenge for the evil done to him, dies at the hands of an old man and an old woman... And many fairy tales show us the victory of man over animals. Read, for example, the fairy tales “Old Bread and Salt is Forgotten” or “The Man, the Bear and the Fox” and you will see this.”

So, fantasy, the improbability of events spoken of in fairy tales, appeared on the basis of ancient stories about the miraculous, supernatural, magical in nature. But fairy tales themselves are a later phenomenon. Using the fiction of stories ancient man, the storytellers, in essence, spoke not about nature, not about man’s relationship with it, but about man’s life in society, about himself. And if we take a closer look at the fairy tales, then without much effort we will recognize the signs of a very specific era.

Sources:
Kruglov Yu. G. Russians folk tales: Book. for self reading. 4 - 6 grades Compiled, author of the preface, notes, dictionary by Yu. G. Kruglov. - M.: Education, 1983. - 320 p., ill. - (School library).

So, a fairy tale is an entertaining oral story that tells an incredible but instructive story.

Fairy tales are different. In some, the main characters are animals (sometimes they are opposed by humans). These are tales about animals.

In others, the main characters are people and fantastic creatures; Animals here are more often than not good helpers of the main character. These tales are about the amazing adventures of Ivan the Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool, necessarily associated with magic. These are fairy tales.

And finally, there are fairy tales in which the main characters are also people, but, unlike fairy tales, where the heroes win thanks to magic, in them the heroes become winners thanks to their intelligence, ingenuity, courage, and cunning. ( This material will help you write competently on the topic of the history of the emergence of Russian folk tales. Summary does not make it possible to understand the full meaning of the work, so this material will be useful for a deep understanding of the work of writers and poets, as well as their novels, novellas, short stories, plays, and poems.) These are social and everyday tales.

Speaking about the differences between fairy tales, it is interesting to pay attention to the origins of their fiction, fantasy. Why do animals in fairy tales talk like people, why does a deceased father reward his youngest son with a Sivka Burka, why does a comb thrown back turn into a forest? These and many other questions will remain unanswered if we do not turn to that era in human life when there were no fairy tales yet, but there were oral stories about people’s faith in all kinds of miracles.

Ancient man was far from a correct understanding of natural phenomena. The wind that uprooted trees, black clouds that spilled streams of water onto the ground, deafening thunder and dazzling lightning that fell on a defenseless man, animals that lay in wait for him in dense forests and deep ravines - all this filled him with fear and made him think about that in nature everything lives, moves, and has its own mind. And man identified himself and nature. He believed that animals could talk to each other, trees could move; he thought that the sun, moon, clouds, streams and rivers were living beings. And if so, it means that they could bring him both harm and benefit. Being powerless before nature, he began to worship water, fire, the sun, trees, and animals that seemed alive to him. Feeling like a part of nature, so formidable and omnipotent, he sought its protection and sought to protect himself from it.

Ancient man also worshiped his dead ancestors. Death was inexplicable to him, a mystery. It was believed that a person does not die, but only moves (he or his soul) to another world. Therefore, a deceased person, in the view of the ancients, is a living person, but possessing supernatural power due to the unusual nature of his condition. Thus arose the cult of ancestors, which demanded the worship of the dead.

All of the above explains to us why animals talk in fairy tales, why in the fairy tale “Sivka-Burka” the deceased father talks with his youngest son. Scientists have also established that the Serpent, Gorynych in fairy tales is the personification of fire, the images of Baba Yaga and Koshchei the Immortal are associated with cult of ancestors, etc.

But all this speaks only about the origins of the fantasy of fairy tales and their implausible content. It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that fairy tales are not about a person’s belief in the supernatural nature of objects and natural phenomena, but, first of all, about the most pressing, vitally important real problems for a person. The formation of human faith in supernatural beings and natural phenomena was facilitated by other oral stories, which in their content had nothing in common with fairy tales. These stories taught how to honor the beast, how to treat it kindly and attentively, etc.

In Russian folklore there is a fairy tale reminiscent of such ancient stories. It is called “The Bear on a Linden Leg.” A terrible story! The old man, at the request of the old woman, cut off the bear’s paw, and the bear takes revenge for this: he turns the old woman into a bear. Probably, in ancient times, our ancestors told young people such terrible stories as an edification: this is what will happen with the one who raises his hand against the beast, which is worshiped by the clan, tribe! But time passed, man learned about nature, and the terrible became funny, previously terrible stories turned into heroic ones. The same story about a bear whose paw was cut off was recorded with another the end: a bear who came to the village to avenge the harm done to him dies at the hands of an old man and an old woman... And many fairy tales show us the victory of man over animals. Read, for example, the fairy tales “The Old Bread and Salt is Forgotten" or “The Man, the Bear and the Fox" , and you will see it."

So, fantasy, the improbability of events spoken of in fairy tales, appeared on the basis of ancient stories about the miraculous, supernatural, magical in nature. But fairy tales themselves are a later phenomenon. Using the fantasy of ancient man's stories, storytellers, in essence, spoke not about nature, not about man's relationship with it, but about man's life in society, about himself. And if we take a closer look at the fairy tales, then without much effort we will recognize the signs of a very specific era.

Sources:
Kruglov Yu. G. Russian folk tales: Book. for self reading. 4 - 6 grades Compiled, author of the preface, notes, dictionary by Yu. G. Kruglov. - M.: Education, 1983. - 320 p., ill. - (School library).

Annotation: The collection contains one hundred of the most famous folk tales. Fairy tales are selected and adapted taking into account the age characteristics of students in grades 4-6.

A fairy tale is the oldest genre of oral folk art, a classic example of folklore.

Telling fairy tales in Rus' was perceived as an art that everyone could join, regardless of gender and age, and good storytellers were highly revered by the people. They teach a person to live, instill optimism in him, and affirm faith in the triumph of goodness and justice. Behind the fantastic nature of fairy-tale plots and fiction, real human relationships are hidden.

The term “fairy tale” itself appeared in the 17th century. , and was first recorded in the charter of Voivode Vsevolodsky. Until this time, the word “fable”, a derivative of the word “bayat”, that is, to tell, was widely used. Unfortunately, the names of professional storytellers of past times are not known to modern researchers, but the fact is known that already in the 19th century scientists began to closely study Russian folklore, including fairy tales.

A fairy tale is a generalizing concept. The presence of certain genre characteristics allows us to classify this or that oral prose work as a fairy tale. Belonging to the epic genus puts forward such features as narrative and plot. A fairy tale is necessarily entertaining, unusual, with a clearly expressed idea of ​​the triumph of good over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death; all the events in it are brought to an end, incompleteness and incompleteness are not characteristic of a fairy tale plot...

The main genre feature of a fairy tale is its purpose, that which connects the fairy tale with the needs of the collective. “In Russian fairy tales that have come down to us in the records of the 18th – 20th centuries, as well as in fairy tales that exist now, the aesthetic function dominates. It is due to the special nature of fairy-tale fiction.”

Fiction is characteristic of all types of fairy tales of different peoples .

IN AND. Dahl interprets the term in his dictionary “fairy tale” as “a fictional story, an unprecedented and even impossible story, legend” and cites a number of folk proverbs and sayings associated with this type of folk art, for example the famous “neither to say in a fairy tale, nor to describe with a pen.” This characterizes the fairy tale as something instructive, but at the same time incredible, a story about something that cannot actually happen, but from which everyone can learn a certain lesson. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, a whole galaxy of collections of Russian folk tales was published, incorporating the pearls of folk art.

What distinguishes Russian folk tales from other fairy tales of the peoples of the world, first of all, is their educational orientation: let us at least remember the famous saying that a fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it. Labor in Russian folk tales is portrayed not as a heavy duty, but as an honorable duty for everyone. They glorify moral values, such as altruism, willingness to help, kindness, honesty, and ingenuity. They are one of the most revered genres of Russian folklore thanks to a fascinating plot that reveals to the reader amazing world human relationships and feelings and makes you believe in miracles. Thus, Russian fairy tales are an inexhaustible source of folk wisdom, which is still used today.

The educational function of a fairy tale is one of its genre features.“Fairy-tale didacticism permeates the entire fairy-tale structure, achieving a special effect by the sharp opposition of positive and negative. Moral and social truth always triumphs - this is the didactic conclusion that the fairy tale clearly illustrates.”

The history of the emergence of fairy tales as a genre.

The historical roots of the Russian fairy tale are lost in hoary antiquity; each historical stage of the life of the Russian people is reflected in the fairy tale, introducing natural changes into it. The study of these changes, or rather, the generalization of these changes, makes it possible to talk about the specific process of the life of Russian tales, that is, about its history.

Install exactly. When exactly the Russian fairy tale was defined as a genre, when exactly it began to live as a fairy tale, and not a belief or tradition, is impossible.

The first mentions of Russian folk tales date back to Kievan Rus, but its origins are lost in time immemorial. As for feudal Rus', then there is no doubt that fairy tales, in our understanding, were one of the widespread genres of oral folk art in Kievan Rus. Monuments of ancient Russian literature have preserved enough references to storytellers and fairy tales not to doubt this.

The earliest information about Russian fairy tales dates back to12 century. IN teachings "Word O rich And wretched" in the description of a rich man going to bed, among the servants around him, who amuse him in various ways, those who “bad and blaspheme” are indignantly mentioned, that is, they tell him fairy tales for the coming sleep. This first mention of the fairy tale fully reflected the contradictory attitude towards it that we have observed in Russian society for many centuries. On the one hand, a fairy tale is a favorite entertainment for fun, it has access to all layers of society, on the other hand, it is branded and persecuted as something demonic, not permissible, shaking the foundations of ancient Russian life. Thus, Kirill of Turov, listing the types of sins, also mentions the telling of fables; Metropolitan Photius at the beginning of the 15th century conjures his flock to refrain from listening to fables; Tsarist decrees of the 17th century speak disapprovingly of those who destroy their souls by “telling unprecedented tales.”

All this gives us reason to believe that in Ancient Rus' the fairy tale had already emerged as a genre from oral prose, demarcated from tradition, legend and myth. Its genre features - “the focus on fiction and entertainment functions are recognized equally by both its bearers and its persecutors. Already in Ancient Rus' they -<сказки небывалые>and it is as such that they continue to live in the popular repertoire in subsequent centuries.”

Researchers about the fairy tale and its genre features.

While studying the fairy tale, scientists have defined its meaning and features in different ways. Some of them, with absolute clarity, sought to characterize fairy-tale fiction as independent of reality, while others wanted to understand how the attitude of folk storytellers to the surrounding reality was refracted in the fantasy of fairy tales. Should any fantastic story be considered a fairy tale in general, or should we distinguish other types of it in oral folk prose - non-fairy tale prose? How to understand fantastic fiction, without which none of the fairy tales can do? These are the problems that have long troubled researchers.

A number of folklore researchers called a fairy tale everything that “affected ». Thus, academician Yu.M. Sookolov wrote; “By folk tale in the broad sense of the word we mean an oral-poetic story of a fantastic, adventurous or everyday nature.” The scientist’s brother, Professor B.Yu. Sokolov also believed that every oral story should be called a fairy tale. Both researchers argued that fairy tales include a number of special genres and types and that each of them can be considered separately.

An attempt to distinguish a fairy tale from other genres of folklore was made more than a hundred years ago by K.S. Aksakov. Speaking about the difference between fairy tales and epics, he wrote: “Between fairy tales and songs, in our opinion, there is a sharp line. The fairy tale and the song are different from the beginning. This distinction was made by the people themselves, and it is best for us to directly accept the division that they made in their literature. A fairy tale is a fold (fiction), and a song is reality, says the people, and its words have a deep meaning, which is explained as soon as we pay attention to the song and the fairy tale.”

Fiction, according to Aksakov , influenced both the depiction of the scene in them and the characters of the characters. Aksakov clarified his understanding of the fairy tale with the following judgments:<<В сказке очень сознательно рассказчик нарушает все пределы времени и пространства, говорит о тридесятом царстве,о небывалых странах и всяких диковинках>>. Aksakov believed that the most characteristic thing about fairy tales is fiction, and conscious fiction at that. The famous folklorist A.N. did not agree with this interpretation of fairy tales. Afanasiev . << Сказка- складка, песня- быль, говорила старая пословица, стараясь провести резкую грантцу между эпосом сказочным и эпосом историческим. Извращая действительный смысл этой пословицы, поинимали сказку за чистую ложь, за поэттческий обман,имеющий единою целью занять свободный достуг небывалыми и невозможными вымыслами. Несостоятельность такого воззрения уже давно бросалась в глаза>>,” wrote this scientist. Afanasyev did not allow the thought that<<пустая складка>> could be preserved by the people for a number of centuries and over the vast extent of the country, holding and repeating<< один и то жк представления>>. He concluded:<< нет, сказка- не пустая складка, в ней как и вообще во всех созданиях целого народа, не могло быть, и в самом деле нет ни нарочно сочиненённой лжи, ни намеренного уклоднения от действительного понимания сказки.

The feature accepted by Aksakov as significant for a fairy tale narrative was, with some clarifications, used as the basis for the definition of a fairy tale proposed by the Soviet folklorist A.I. Nikiforov. Nikiforov wrote:<< сказки - это устные рассказы, бытовом смысле события (фантастические, чудесные или житейские) и отличающиеся специальным композиционно - стилистическим построением>>. Explaining the meaning of his definition, Nikiforov pointed to three essential features of a fairy tale: the first feature of a modern fairy tale is the goal of entertaining listeners, the second feature is unusual in everyday life content, and finally, the third important feature of a fairy tale is the special form of its construction.

The dictionary of literary terms gives the following definition of a fairy tale as a genre: A fairy tale is one of the main genres of folk oral and poetic creativity.

Traditionally, there are three types of fairy tales:

1) magical;

2) household;

3) a fairy tale about animals.

Each of these types has its own characteristics.

1. Magic tales.

The task of the genre: to evoke admiration for a good hero and condemn the villain, to express confidence in the triumph of good.

According to the type of conflict, fairy tales are:

Heroic: the hero fights with magical powers;

Social and class: the hero fights with the master, with the king;

Family (pedagogical): the conflict occurs in the family or the fairy tale is of a moralizing nature.

Heroes are divided into: intercessors, villains, sufferers, helpers.

General features of fairy tales:

The presence of obvious fantasy, magic, miracle (magical characters and objects);

Encounter with magical forces;

Complicated composition;

Expanded range of visual and expressive means;

Description dominates gialogue;

Multi-episode (the tale covers a fairly long period of the hero’s life).

Examples of fairy tales are:<<Царевна-лягушка>>, <<Крошечка волке>> and others.

2. Household tales.

The task of the genre: to ridicule a person’s bad character traits, to express joyful surprise at his intelligence and resourcefulness.

Everyday tales are divided into the following types:

Anecdotal;

And novelistic ones:

Satirical anti-lord, anti-royal, anti-religious;

Fairy tales - competitions;

Fairy tales are ridicule;

General Features:

It is based on an extraordinary incident within the framework of real human relationships (there is practically no fantasy);

There is a wonderful assumption based on, for example, hyperbole:

The hero is so cunning that he can outsmart everyone in the world and go unpunished;

Instead of magic, ingenuity is used;

Realism is conventional (real life conflicts receive an extraordinary fairy-tale resolution);

The acting characters are antagonists;

The positive hero is an ironic successor;

The semantic emphasis falls on the denouement;

Widespread use of dialosh;

Abundance of verbs.

Heron: ordinary people (priest, soldier, man, woman, king, gentleman).

Examples of everyday tales are:<<Каша из топора>>, <<как мужик с барином обедал>>, <<Кому горшок мыть>> and others.

3.Tales about animals.

The task of the genre: to ridicule bad character traits, actions, to evoke compassion for the weak, the offended.

By conflict animal tales depict:

The fight between predators;

The fight of a weak animal with a predator;

The fight between man and beast.

Heroes: animals (features of animals and conditionally humans).

Special subgroups:

Tales of fox tricks;

Cumulative (chain tales).

Chain tale (cumulative tale, recursive tale, chain tale) - a tale in which dialogues or actions are repeated and developed as the plot develops. The effect of these tales is often based on repetition and characteristic rhyme.

With endless repetition:

Boring tales like “About the White Bull.”

A unit of text is included in another text (“The priest had a dog”).

With final repetition:

“Turnip” - plot units grow into a chain until the chain breaks.

General Features:

The specific composition of the characters (fairy-tale images - traditional types: fox - cunning, wolf - stupid):

Anthropomorphism (transfer inherent in man mental properties and character traits in animals);

Conflicts reflect real life relationships between people;

Lightweight composition;

A narrowed set of visual and expressive means;

Extensive use of dialogue;

Abundance of verbs;

Low-episode, fast-acting;

Introduction of small folklore forms.

Examples of fairy tales about animals are:<<Кот, Петух и Лиса>>, <<Лисичка-сестричка и Волк>>,<<Лиса, Заяц и Петух>> ,<<Лиса и Тетерев>> and others.

Russian folk song (genre varieties, poetic style)

Russian folk song is a folklore work that is preserved in people's memory and passed on from mouth to mouth, a product of the collective oral creativity of the Russian people.

Most often, a folk song does not have a specific author, or the author is unknown, but folk songs of literary origin are also known. An essential feature of most genres of Russian folk song is the direct connection of folk song with everyday life and work activity (for example, labor songs accompanying various types of labor - barge hauling, mowing, weeding, reaping, threshing, etc., ritual songs accompanying agricultural and family rituals and festivals - carols, Maslenitsa, vesnyanka, Kupala, wedding, funeral, calendar games, etc.).

In folk versification, there is a certain number of stressed words in a verse (usually three or four words), the number of syllables from stress to stress can be different; as a rule, these are unrhymed poems

Typology

Russian folk songs are divided into:

Song epic

epics (South Russian, Central Russian, Siberian);

northern epic tradition;

historical songs;

fables and buffoons;

songs in fairy tales.

Calendar ritual songs

winter greetings (carols, shchedrovki, grapes, osenki)

Christmastide (see Christmastide);

Maslenitsa;

spring (stoneflies, volochebnye, Easter);

songs of plowing and sowing;

Voznesensk;

Trinity-Semitic (see Semik, Trinity);

summer (Kupala songs);

pounding, mowing, reaping.

Family ritual songs

birth and nurturing rituals (petushka);

crying and lamentations;

wedding;

lullabies.

Folk songs are similar to other works of folklore due to their linguistic features: folk verse, repetitions, comparisons, constant epithets, the use of words with diminutive suffixes.

Family ritual songs accompanied by rituals associated with the most important events in a person’s life. Wedding songs were sung: bachelorette party songs; majestic songs of the wedding feast; wedding lamentations of the bride. Recruitment songs accompanied the ceremony of seeing off soldiers. There were also funeral songs and lamentations. The wedding ceremony was one of the most difficult. A folk wedding was divided into several stages: the pre-wedding cycle (matchmaking, conspiracy, marriage, bachelorette party), the wedding ceremonies themselves (getting ready for the bride, coming to pick up the bride, wedding, wedding feast) and post-wedding (retreats). Before the wedding, the bride was supposed to lament: to regret her free, girlish life. These are ritual lamentations:

Historical song are called epic and some lyric-epic works that tell about historical events and episodes from the lives of historical figures.

Historical songs are the continuation and development of the epic folk epic. The epic glorifies the exploits of heroes. Their exaggerated images embody popular ideas about Russian strength, power, and readiness to defend the Motherland. The enemy force appears in the epic as a fantastic, fairy-tale creature that does not have an unambiguous historical prototype. Historical events of hoary antiquity in epics lose their features of reality.

In historical songs, on the contrary, very specific historical events are mentioned and specific historical figures are named. Only outstanding events and outstanding historical figures are honored with people's memory: these are Tsars Peter I, Ivan IV (the Terrible), these are the people's intercessors - the leaders of the peasant uprisings Stepan Razin, Emelyan Pugachev, this is the free Cossack, the brave conqueror of Siberia Ermak Timofeevich...

Historical songs expressed the feelings of nameless authors in connection with wars, campaigns, and popular uprisings. This is a popular assessment of history, its creators, an expression of the soul of the people.

In the 16th century, song cycles developed around Ivan the Terrible and the hero nominated by the people, Ermak. From the folk songs it is clear why the king received his nickname. The Tsar is great, his merits are undeniable. At the same time, Ivan the Terrible, at the slightest suspicion, is ready to “execute and hang” his gunners, during punitive campaigns he destroys entire cities, and in anger sends his son to execution

Songs were sung not only in connection with rituals, but also simply for pleasure: at gatherings, during everyday work. These songs have served the people for centuries to express experiences and feelings, which is why they are called lyrical. In song folklore, lyrical songs occupy a large part. These songs appeared later than ritual songs. All shades of the spiritual life of the people were embodied in them.

In love songs they talked about the first meetings of lovers, their love joy and longing, fidelity and betrayal. Family songs told about an unhappy wife and a strict or old husband; about a husband who did not marry for love and is now unhappy, all that remains for him to remember is his former love. The young people sang about harsh parents, the daughter-in-law about an unkind mother-in-law.

There were songs of robbers, prisons, soldiers, coachmen, barge haulers, songs about serfdom - they helped to endure the hardships of life and ease mental anguish. Such songs healed the human soul. The singer felt that he was not alone in his grief, that such grief was experienced by many, many people. The people's sympathy for the suffering, which was heard in these songs, brought comfort. Here, for example, is the robber’s song “Don’t make noise, mother green oak tree, Don’t disturb me in my thoughts...”. It is sung by Vladimir Dubrovsky’s bandit group, and Pugachev sings it in A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter.” Although the robbers violated many laws, in the song one can hear sympathy for their unfortunate lot. It glorifies bravery and one hears sad thoughts about imminent death, the expectation of severe retribution.

These types of lyrical songs are also called drawn-out, “vocal”, “long”. All these definitions indicate the leisurely, sing-song nature of the song. The main thing in the song is the music. It is difficult to convey content without music, since there is practically no rhyme and the lyrics of the song are not perceived as poetry. The rhythmic pattern appears here only when singing; the singer inserts numerous repetitions, exclamations, and interjections into the text, which, on the one hand, enhances emotionality, and on the other, emphasizes the rhythm.

Russian epic epic (cyclization, themes, images, poetics)

EPIC - folk epic song, a genre characteristic of the Russian tradition. The basis of the plot of the epic is some heroic event, or a remarkable episode of Russian history (hence the popular name of the epic - “old man”, “old woman”, implying that the action in question took place in the past). The term “epic” was introduced into scientific use in the 40s of the 19th century. folklorist I.P. Sakharov (1807–1863).

Means of artistic expression. Over the course of many centuries, unique techniques have been developed that are characteristic of the poetics of epics, as well as the method of their execution. In ancient times, it is believed that storytellers played along with themselves on the harp, and later epics were performed in recitative. Epic poems are characterized by a special pure-tonic epic verse (which is based on the commensurability of the lines by the number of stresses, which achieves rhythmic uniformity). Although the storytellers used only a few melodies when performing epics, they enriched the singing with a variety of intonations and also changed the timbre of their voices.

Emphatically solemn style of presentation of the epic, which tells about heroic and often tragic events, determined the need to slow down the action (retardation). For this purpose it is usedsuch a technique as repetition, Moreover, not only individual words are repeated: ... eta scythe, scythe, ... from far, far away, marvelous, marvelous (tautological repetitions), but also an intensification of synonyms: fight-fight, tribute-duties, (synonymous repetitions), often the end of one line is the beginning another: And they came to Holy Rus', / To Holy Rus' and to the city of Kiev..., triple repetitions of entire episodes are not uncommon, with enhanced effect, and some descriptions are extremely detailed.The presence of “common places” is also characteristic of epics. when describing similar situations are used certain formulaic expressions: In this way (and in an extremely detailed way) the saddle of a horse is depicted: Ay Dobrynya comes out into the wide yard, / He saddles the bridle of a good horse, / After all, he puts on a braid bridle, . “Commonplaces” also include a description of a feast (mostly at Prince Vladimir’s), a banquet, and a heroic ride on a greyhound horse. The folk storyteller could combine such stable formulas at his own discretion.

The language of epics is characterized by hyperboles, with the help of which the narrator emphasizes the character traits or appearance of the characters that are worthy of special mention. Another technique that determines the listener’s attitude to the epic is the epithet (mighty, Holy Russian, glorious hero and filthy, evil enemy), and stable epithets are often found (violent head, hot blood, frisky legs, flammable tears). Suffixes also play a similar role: everything related to heroes was mentioned in diminutive forms (cap, little head, dumushka, Alyoshenka, Vasenka Buslaevich, Dobrynyushka, etc.), but the negative characters were called Gloomy, Ignatyishch, the king of Batuisch, filthy Ugarish. A significant place is occupied by assonance (repetition of vowel sounds) and alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds), additional organizing elements of verse.

Bylinas, as a rule, have three parts: a chorus (usually not directly related to the content), the function of which is to prepare for listening to the song; the beginning (within its limits the action unfolds); ending.

It should be noted that certain artistic techniques used in the epic are determined by its theme (for example, antithesis is characteristic of heroic epics).

Plots of epics. The number of epic stories, despite the many recorded versions of the same epic, is very limited: there are about 100 of them. There are epics based on the matchmaking or struggle of the hero for his wife (Sadko, Mikhailo Potyk, Ivan Godinovich, Danube, Kozarin, Solovey Budimirovich and later ones - Alyosha Popovich and Elena Petrovichna, Khoten Bludovich); fight with monsters (Dobrynya and the snake, Alyosha and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber); the fight against foreign invaders, including: repelling Tatar raids (Ilya’s quarrel with Vladimir, Ilya and Kalin, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich), wars with the Lithuanians (Bylina about the Lithuanian raid).

Satirical epics or epic parodies stand apart (Duke Stepanovich, Contest with Churila).

The main epic heroes. Representatives of the Russian “mythological school” divided the heroes of epics into “senior” and “junior” heroes . In their opinion, the “elders” (Svyatogor, Danube, Volkh, Potyka) were the personification of elemental forces; epics about them uniquely reflected the mythological views that existed in Ancient Rus'. The “younger” heroes (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich) are ordinary mortals, heroes of a new historical era, and therefore are endowed with mythological features to a minimal extent. Despite the fact that serious objections were subsequently raised against such a classification, such a division is still found in the scientific literature.

Images of heroes are the people's standard of courage, justice, patriotism and strength (it is not for nothing that one of the first Russian aircraft, which had an exceptional carrying capacity at that time, was named by its creators “Ilya Muromets”).

Svyatogor refers to the oldest and most popular epic heroes. His very name indicates a connection with nature. He is tall and powerful; the earth can hardly bear him. This image was born in the pre-Kiev era, but subsequently underwent changes. Only two stories have come down to us, initially associated with Svyatogor (the rest arose later and are fragmentary in nature): the story of Svyatogor’s discovery of a saddle bag, which, as specified in some versions, belonged to another epic hero, Mikula Selyaninovich. The bag turns out to be so heavy that the hero cannot lift it, he strains himself and, dying, finds out that this bag contains “all earthly burdens.” The second story tells about the death of Svyatogor, who meets on the road a coffin with the inscription: “Whoever is destined to lie in a coffin will lie in it,” and decides to try his luck. As soon as Svyatogor lies down, the coffin lid jumps up on its own and the hero cannot move it. Before his death, Svyatogor transfers his strength to Ilya Muromets, thus the hero of antiquity passes the baton to the new hero of the epic who comes to the fore.

Ilya Muromets, undoubtedly, the most popular hero of epics, a mighty hero. The epic does not know him as a young man, he is an old man with a gray beard. Oddly enough, Ilya Muromets appeared later than his epic younger comrades Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. His homeland is the city of Murom, the village of Karacharovo.

The peasant son, the sick Ilya, “sat sitting on the stove for 30 years and three years.” One day, wanderers came to the house, “walking kaliki.” They healed Ilya, giving him heroic strength. From now on, he is a hero who is destined to serve the city of Kyiv and Prince Vladimir. On the way to Kyiv, Ilya defeats the Nightingale the Robber, puts him in a Toroki and takes him to the princely court. Among other exploits of Ilya, it is worth mentioning his victory over the Idol, who besieged Kyiv and forbade begging and remembering God's name. Here Elijah acts as a defender of the faith.

His relationship with Prince Vladimir is not going smoothly. The peasant hero does not meet with due respect at the prince’s court, he is treated with gifts, and is not given a place of honor at the feast. The rebellious hero is imprisoned in a cellar for seven years and doomed to starvation. Only the attack on the city by the Tatars, led by Tsar Kalin, forces the prince to ask for help from Ilya. He gathers the heroes and enters the battle. The defeated enemy flees, vowing never to return to Rus'.

Nikitich- a popular hero of the Kyiv epic cycle. This heroic snake fighter was born in Ryazan. He is the most polite and well-mannered of the Russian heroes; it is not for nothing that Dobrynya always acts as an ambassador and negotiator in difficult situations. The main epics associated with the name of Dobrynya: Dobrynya and the serpent, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich, Dobrynya’s fight with the Danube, Dobrynya and Marinka, Dobrynya and Alyosha.

Alesha Popovich- originally from Rostov, he is the son of a cathedral priest, the youngest of the famous trinity of heroes. He is brave, cunning, frivolous, prone to fun and jokes. Scientists belonging to the historical school believed that this epic hero traces his origins to Alexander Popovich, who died in the Battle of Kalka, however, D.S. Likhachev showed that in reality the opposite process took place, the name of the fictional hero entered the chronicle. The most famous feat of Alyosha Popovich is his victory over Tugarin Zmeevich. The hero Alyosha does not always behave in a dignified manner; he is often arrogant and boastful. Among the epics about him are Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin, Alyosha Popovich and the Petrovich sister.

Sadko is also one of the most ancient heroes, in addition, he is perhaps the most famous hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle. The ancient plot about Sadko, which tells how the hero wooed the daughter of the sea king, subsequently became more complicated, and surprisingly realistic details appeared regarding the life of ancient Novgorod.

The epic about Sadko is divided into three relatively independent parts. In the first, guslar Sadko, having impressed the sea king with the skill of his playing, receives advice from him on how to get rich. From this moment on, Sadko is no longer a poor musician, but a merchant, a rich guest. In the next song, Sadko bets with Novgorod merchants that he can buy all the goods of Novgorod. In some versions of the epic, Sadko wins, in some, on the contrary, he is defeated, but in any case he leaves the city due to the intolerant attitude of the merchants towards him. The last song tells about Sadko's journey across the sea, during which the sea king calls him to himself in order to marry his daughter and leave him in the underwater kingdom. But Sadko, having abandoned the beautiful princesses, marries Chernavushka the mermaid, who personifies the Novgorod river, and she brings him to his native shores. Sadko returns to his “earthly wife”, leaving the daughter of the sea king. V.Ya. Propp points out that the epic about Sadko is the only one in the Russian epic where the hero goes to the other world (underwater kingdom) and marries an otherworldly creature. These two motifs indicate the antiquity of both the plot and the hero.

Vasily Buslaev. Two epics are known about this indomitable and violent citizen of Veliky Novgorod. In his rebellion against everyone and everything, he does not pursue any goal other than the desire to riot and show off. The son of a Novgorod widow, a wealthy city dweller, Vasily from an early age showed his unbridled temper in fights with peers. Having grown up, he gathered a squad to compete with all of Veliky Novgorod. The battle ends in complete victory for Vasily. The second epic is dedicated to the death of Vasily Buslaev. Having traveled with his squad to Jerusalem, Vasily mocks the dead head he encounters, despite the ban, swims naked in Jericho and neglects the requirement inscribed on the stone he found (you cannot jump over the stone lengthwise). Vasily, due to the indomitability of his nature, begins to jump and gallop over it, catches his foot on a stone and breaks his head. This character, who embodied the unbridled passions of Russian nature, was M. Gorky’s favorite hero. The writer carefully saved up materials about him, cherishing the idea of ​​writing about Vaska Buslaev, but upon learning that A.V. Amphiteatrov was writing a play about this hero, he gave all the accumulated materials to his fellow writer. This play is considered one of the best works of A.V.Amphiteatrov.

Historical stages of development of epics. Researchers disagree on when epic songs appeared in Rus'. Some attribute their appearance to the 9th–11th centuries, others to the 11th–13th centuries. One thing is certain - having existed for so long, passed on from mouth to mouth, the epics did not reach us in their original form; they underwent many changes, as the political system, the domestic and foreign political situation, and the worldview of listeners and performers changed. It is almost impossible to say in what century this or that epic was created; some reflect an earlier, some a later stage in the development of the Russian epic, and in other epics researchers distinguish very ancient subjects under later layers.

V.Ya.Propp believed that the most ancient are the plots associated with the hero’s matchmaking and with snake fighting. Such epics are characterized by elements that are also significant for a fairy tale, in particular: tripling the plot components (Ilya, at a crossroads, runs into a stone with an inscription foreshadowing one fate or another, and sequentially chooses each of the three roads), prohibition and violation of the prohibition (Dobrynya is forbidden swim in the Puchai River), as well as the presence of ancient mythological elements (Volkh, born from a serpent father, has the gift of transformation into animals, Tugarin Zmeevich in different versions of the epic appears either as a snake, or as a snake endowed with anthropomorphic features, or as a creature of nature or human, or snake; in the same way, the Nightingale the Robber turns out to be either a bird, or a man, or even combines both features).

The largest number of epics that have come down to us dates back to the period from the 11th to the 13th–14th centuries. They were created in the southern Russian regions - Kyiv, Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Rostov-Suzdal. The most relevant during this period was the theme of the struggle of the Russian people with the nomads who raided Kievan Rus, and later with the Horde invaders. The epics begin to group around the plot of the defense and liberation of the Motherland, brightly colored with patriotic feelings. People's memory has preserved only one name for the nomadic enemy - Tatar, but researchers find among the names of heroes of epics the names of not only Tatar, but also Polovtsian military leaders. In the epics there is a noticeable desire to raise the people's spirit, to express love for the native country and fierce hatred of foreign invaders, the exploits of powerful and invincible folk heroes are praised. At this time, the images of Ilya Muromets, the Danube Matchmaker, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich, Vasily Kazemirovich, Mikhailo Danilovich and many other heroes became popular.

With the formation of the Moscow state, starting from the 16th century, heroic epics gradually faded into the background, buffoons (Vavila and the buffoons, Birds) and satirical epics with their acute social conflicts became more relevant. They describe the exploits of heroes in peaceful life, the main characters confront princes and boyars, and their task comes down to protecting their own family and honor (Sukhman, Danilo Lovchanin), while the buffoon epics ridicule the ruling strata of society. At the same time, a new genre is emerging - historical songs, which tell about specific historical events that took place from the 13th to the 19th centuries, there is no fiction and exaggeration characteristic of epics, and in battles several people or an entire army can act as heroes at once.

In the 17th century epics are gradually beginning to supplant translated knightly romances adapted for Russian audiences, meanwhile they remain popular folk entertainment. At the same time, the first written retellings of epic texts appeared.

Cyclization of epics. Although, due to special historical conditions, a coherent epic never took shape in Rus', scattered epic songs are formed into cycles either around a hero or according to the community of the area where they lived. There is no classification of epics that would be unanimously accepted by all researchers; however, it is customary to single out the epics of the Kyiv, or “Vladimirov”, Novgorod and Moscow cycles. In addition to them, there are epics that do not fit into any cycles.

Kyiv or “Vladimirov” cycle. In these epics, heroes gather around the court of Prince Vladimir. The prince himself does not perform feats, however, Kyiv is the center that attracts heroes called upon to protect their homeland and faith from enemies. V.Ya. Propp believes that the songs of the Kyiv cycle are not a local phenomenon, characteristic only of the Kyiv region; on the contrary, epics of this cycle were created throughout Kievan Rus. Over time, the image of Vladimir changed, the prince acquired features that were initially unusual for the legendary ruler; in many epics he is cowardly, mean, and often deliberately humiliates the heroes (Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya’s Quarrel with Vladimir).

Novgorod cycle. The epics differ sharply from the epics of the “Vladimirov” cycle, which is not surprising, since Novgorod never knew the Tatar invasion, but was the largest trading center of ancient Rus'. The heroes of Novgorod epics (Sadko, Vasily Buslaev) are also very different from others.

Moscow cycle. These epics reflected the life of the upper strata of Moscow society. The epics about Khoten Bludovich, Duke and Churil contain many details characteristic of the era of the rise of the Moscow state: the clothes, morals and behavior of the townspeople are described.

Collection and publication of Russian epics. The first recording of Russian epic songs was made at the beginning of the 17th century. Englishman Richard James . However, the first significant work on collecting epics, which had enormous scientific significance, was done Cossack Kirsha Danilov approximately 40–60 18th century. The collection he collected consisted of 70 songs. For the first time, the recordings in incomplete form were published only in 1804 in Moscow, under the title Ancient Russian Poems, and for a long time they were the only collection of Russian epic songs.

The next step in the study of Russian epic songs was made by P.N. Rybnikov (1831–1885). He discovered that epics were still performed in the Olonets province, although by that time this folklore genre was considered dead. Thanks to P.N. Rybnikov’s discovery, it was possible not only to study the epic epic more deeply, but also to get acquainted with the method of its performance and with the performers themselves. The final collection of epics was published in 1861–1867 under the title Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov. Four volumes contained 165 epics

This was followed by collections by A.F. Hilferding (1831–1872), P.V. Kireevsky (1808–1856), N.E. Onchukov (1872–1942), etc., the material for which was collected mainly in Siberia, in the Middle and Lower Volga region, on the Don, Terek and Ural (in the Central and Southern regions the epic epic has been preserved in very small quantities).

Russian and Soviet folkloristics. For the first time, K.F. Kalaidovich tried to comprehend the Russian epic as an integral artistic phenomenon and understand its relationship with the course of Russian history(1792–1832) in the preface to his second edition of the collection Ancient Russian Poems collected by Kirsha Danilov (1818).

According to representatives of the “mythological school”, to which F.I. Buslaev (1818–1897), A.N. Afanasyev (1826–1871), O.F. Miller (1833–1889) belonged, epic songs were nothing more than derived from more ancient myths. Based on these songs, representatives of the school tried to reconstruct the myths of primitive peoples.

“Comparatist” scientists, including G.N. Potanin (1835–1920) and A.N. Veselovsky (1838–1906), considered the epic an ahistorical phenomenon. They argued that the plot, after its inception, begins to wander, changing and enriching itself.

Representative of the “historical school” V.F. Miller (1848–1913) studied the interaction between epic and history. According to him, the epic recorded historical events, and thus the epic is a kind of oral chronicle.

V.Ya. Propp occupies a special place in Russian and Soviet folklore (1895–1970). In his innovative works, he combined a historical approach with a structural approach (Western structuralists, in particular C. Levi-Strauss (b. 1909), called him the founder of their scientific method, to which V. Ya. Propp sharply objected).

Epic stories and heroes in art and literature. Since the publication of Kirsha Danilov’s collection, epic stories and heroes have firmly entered the world of modern Russian culture. Traces of acquaintance with Russian epics are easy to see in A.S. Pushkin’s poem Ruslan and Lyudmila and in the poetic ballads of A.K. Tolstoy.

The images of Russian epics are also reflected in music in many ways. Composer A.P. Borodin (1833–1887) created the farce opera Bogatyrs (1867), and gave the name Bogatyrskaya to his 2nd symphony (1876); he used images of the heroic epic in his romances.

A.P. Borodin’s colleague in the “mighty handful” (an association of composers and music critics) N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) twice turned to the image of the Novgorod “rich guest”. First, he created the symphonic musical picture Sadko (1867), and later, in 1896, the opera of the same name. It is worth mentioning that the theatrical production of this opera in 1914 was designed by the artist I.Ya. Bilibin (1876–1942).

V.M. Vasnetsov (1848–1926), is mainly known to the public for his paintings, the subjects of which are taken from the Russian heroic epic, suffice it to name the canvases Knight at the Crossroads (1882) and Bogatyrs (1898).

M.A. Vrubel (1856–1910) also turned to epic stories. Decorative panels Mikula Selyaninovich (1896) and Bogatyr (1898) interpret these seemingly familiar images in their own way.

Heroes and plots of epics are precious material for cinema. For example, the film directed by A.L. Ptushko (1900–1973) Sadko (1952), for which the original music was written by composer V.Ya. Shebalin, partly using the classical music of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the musical design, was one of the most spectacular films of its time. And another film by the same director, Ilya Muromets (1956), became the first Soviet widescreen film with stereophonic sound. Animator director V.V. Kurchevsky (1928–1997) created an animated version of the most popular Russian epic, his work is called Sadko the Rich (1975).

"The Tale of Bygone Years." Basic ideas and types of chronicle narration

"The Tale of Bygone Years." At the beginning of the 12th century. (believed to be around 1113) The “Initial Code” was again revised by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. Nestor’s work received the name “The Tale of Bygone Years” in science from the first words of its lengthy title: “Behold the tale of bygone (past) years, where the Russian land came from, who began to reign first in Kiev, and where the Russian land began to eat.”

Nestor was a scribe with a broad historical outlook and great literary talent: even before working on The Tale of Bygone Years, he wrote The Life of Boris and Gleb and The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk. In “The Tale of Bygone Years” Nestor set himself a grandiose task: not only to supplement the “Initial Code” with a description of the events at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, of which he was a contemporary, but also to most decisively rework the story about the most ancient period of the history of Rus' - “where is Russian land has gone."

Nestor introduces the history of Rus' into the mainstream of world history. He begins his chronicle with an account of the biblical legend about the division of the earth between the sons of Noah. Citing a lengthy list of the peoples of the whole world (extracted by him from the “Chronicle of George Amartol”), Nestor inserts into this list a mention of the Slavs; Elsewhere in the text, the Slavs are identified with the “Norics” - the inhabitants of one of the provinces of the Roman Empire, located on the banks of the Danube. Nestor talks in detail about the ancient Slavs, about the territory occupied by individual Slavic tribes, but especially in detail - about the tribes that lived on the territory of Rus', in particular about the “meek and quiet customs” glades, on whose land the city of Kyiv arose. Nestor clarifies and develops Nikon’s Varangian legend: the Varangian princes Askold and Dir, mentioned in the “Initial Code,” are now declared to be just boyars of Rurik (and “not his tribe”), and it is they who are credited with the campaign against Byzantium during the time of Emperor Michael. Having established from documents (texts of agreements with the Greeks) that Oleg was not Igor’s governor, but an independent prince, Nestor sets out the version according to which Oleg is a relative of Rurik, who reigned during Igor’s childhood.

At the same time, Nestor includes in the chronicle some new (compared to the “Initial Code”) folk historical legends, such as the story of Olga’s fourth revenge on the Drevlyans, stories about the duel of a young Kozhemyaki with a Pecheneg hero and about the siege of Belgorod by the Pechenegs (we are talking about them will go below).

So, it is to Nestor that “The Tale of Bygone Years” owes its broad historical outlook, the introduction into the chronicle of the facts of world history, against the background of which the history of the Slavs unfolds, and then the history of Rus'. It is Nestor who strengthens and improves the version about the origin of the Russian princely dynasty from the “called” Norman prince. Nestor is an active champion of the ideal of the state structure of Rus', proclaimed by Yaroslav the Wise: all princes are brothers and they all must obey the eldest in their family and occupying the Kiev grand princely table.

Thanks to the state view, breadth of outlook and literary talent of Nestor, “The Tale of Bygone Years” was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but an integral, literary history of Rus'” .

It is believed that the first edition of The Tale of Bygone Years has not reached us. Its second edition, compiled in 1117 by the abbot of the Vydubitsky monastery (near Kiev) Sylvester, and the third edition, compiled in 1118 by order of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, have survived. In the second edition, only the final part of The Tale of Bygone Years was revised; This edition has come down to us as part of the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377, as well as other later chronicles. The third edition, according to a number of researchers, is presented in the Ipatiev Chronicle, the oldest list of which, the Ipatiev Chronicle, dates back to the first quarter of the 15th century.

Composition “Tales of Bygone Years”. Let us now consider the composition of “The Tale of Bygone Years” as it appears to us in the Laurentian and Radzivilov Chronicles.

The introductory part outlines biblical legend about the division of the earth between the sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japheth - and the legend about the Babylonian pandemonium, which led to the division of the “single race” into 72 nations, each of which has its own language. Having determined that the “language (people) Slovenian” is from the tribe of Japheth, the chronicle further tells about the Slavs, the lands they inhabit, the history and customs of the Slavic tribes. Gradually narrowing the subject of its narrative, the chronicle focuses on the history of the glades and tells about the emergence of Kyiv. Speaking about the ancient times when the Kyiv glades were tributaries of the Khazars, The Tale of Bygone Years proudly notes that now, as was destined for a long time, the Khazars themselves are tributaries of the Kyiv princes.

Precise indications of the years begin in the “Tale of Bygone Years” from 852, since from that time, according to the chronicler, Rus' was mentioned in the “Greek chronicle”: this year the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir attacked Constantinople. A chronological calculation is also provided here - a countdown of the years that have passed from one significant event to another. The calculation concludes with a calculation of the years from “the death of Yaroslavl to the death of Svyatopolch” (i.e., from 1054 to 1113), from which it follows that the “Tale of Bygone Years” could not have been compiled earlier than the beginning of the second decade of the 12th century.

Further in the chronicle it is told about major events 9th century - “the calling of the Varangians”, the campaign of Askold and Dir against Byzantium, the conquest of Kyiv by Oleg. The legend about the origin of Slavic literacy included in the chronicle ends with an important statement for the general concept of “The Tale of Bygone Years” about the identity of the “Slovenian” and Russian languages ​​- another reminder of the place of the Polyans among the Slavic peoples and the Slavs among the peoples of the world.

Subsequent chronicle articles tell about Oleg's reign. The chronicler cites the texts of his treaties with Byzantium and folk legends about the prince: a story about his campaign against Constantinople, with spectacular episodes, undoubtedly of a folklore nature (Oleg approaches the walls of the city in boats moving under sails on land, hangs his shield over the gates of Constantinople, "showing victory"). The well-known legend about Oleg’s death is also given here. The sorcerer predicted the prince's death from his beloved horse. Oleg decided: “Nikoli is everywhere, I don’t see him anymore.” However, he later learns that the horse has already died. Oleg laughed at the false prediction and wished to see the bones of the horse. But when the prince stepped on the “forehead” (skull) of the horse, he was stung by a snake that “emerged” from the forehead, fell ill and died. The chronicle episode, as we know, formed the basis of A. S. Pushkin’s ballad “Song of the Prophetic Oleg.”

This legend is accompanied by a lengthy extract from the “Chronicle of George Amartol”; a reference to the Byzantine chronicle should confirm that sometimes the prophecies of pagan sages turn out to be prophetic, and therefore the introduction into the chronicle of the story about the death of Oleg predicted by the magi is not reprehensible for a Christian chronicler.

Oleg was succeeded on the Kiev “table” by Igor, whom the chronicler considered the son of Rurik. Two campaigns of Igor against Byzantium are reported and the text of the agreement concluded by the Russian prince with the Byzantine emperors-co-rulers: Roman, Constantine and Stephen is given. Igor's death was unexpected and inglorious: on the advice of his squad, he went to the land of the Drevlyans to collect tribute (usually his governor Sveneld collected the tribute). On the way back, the prince suddenly turned to his soldiers: “Go with the house tribute, and I’ll come back with more.” The Drevlyans, having heard that Igor intended to collect tribute a second time, were indignant: “If a wolf (if a wolf gets into the habit) gets into a sheep, then carry out the whole flock, if not kill it, so and so: if we don’t kill it, then we will all be destroyed.” . But Igor did not heed the warning of the Drevlyans and was killed by them.

The story of Igor's death in the chronicle is very brief; but in the people's memory there are legends about how Igor's widow, Olga, took revenge on the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband. These legends were reproduced by the chronicler and are read in the “Tale of Bygone Years” in article 945.

After the murder of Igor, the Drevlyans sent ambassadors to Olga with an offer to marry their prince Mal. Olga pretended that she “loved” the words of the ambassadors, and ordered them to appear the next day, not on horseback or on foot, but in a very unusual way: by order of the princess, the Kievites were to bring the Drevlyans to the princely court in boats. At the same time, Olga orders a deep hole to be dug near her mansion. When the triumphant Drevlyan ambassadors (they sit in the boat “proudly,” the chronicler emphasizes) were brought into the princely court, Olga ordered them to be thrown together with the boat into a pit. Approaching its edge, the princess asked with a grin: “Are you kind?” “Worse than us (worse for us) are Igor’s deaths,” answered the Drevlyans. And Olga ordered them to be buried alive in a hole.

Olga ordered the second embassy, ​​consisting of noble Drevlyan “men,” to be burned in a bathhouse, where the ambassadors were invited to “wash themselves.” Finally, the princess ordered the squad of Drevlyans sent to meet Olga to bring her into the capital of Mala with honor during the funeral feast at Igor’s grave.

A careful consideration of the legends about how Olga took revenge on the Drevlyans three times reveals the symbolic meaning of the legend’s subtext: each revenge corresponds to one of the elements of the pagan funeral rite. According to the customs of that time, the dead were buried in a boat; a bath was prepared for the deceased, and then his corpse was burned; on the day of burial, a funeral feast was held, accompanied by war games.

This story about Olga’s three revenges was already read in the “Initial Code”. Another legend was included in the Tale of Bygone Years - about the fourth revenge of the princess.

Having killed the Drevlyan squad, Olga nevertheless could not take their capital - the city of Iskorosten. Then the princess again resorted to cunning. She turned to the besieged, convincing them that she was not going to impose a heavy tribute on them, as Igor had once done, but was asking for an insignificant ransom: three sparrows and three doves per house. The Drevlyans again did not realize Olga’s treachery and readily sent her the required tribute. Then Olga’s warriors, on her orders, tied a “tser” (lit tinder, dried tinder fungus) to the birds’ legs and released them. The birds flew to their nests, and soon the entire city was on fire. People who tried to escape were captured by Olga's soldiers. So, according to legend, the princess avenged her husband’s death.

Further, the chronicle tells about Olga’s visit to Constantinople. Olga actually came to Constantinople in 957 and was received by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. However, the story of how she “outwitted” (outwitted) the emperor is absolutely legendary: according to it, Olga was baptized in Constantinople, and Constantine was her godfather. When the emperor invited her to become his wife, Olga objected: “Why do you want to give me water, having baptized me yourself and named me daughter?”

The chronicler enthusiastically depicts Igor's son Svyatoslav, his belligerence, chivalrous straightforwardness (he supposedly warned his enemies in advance: “I want to go against you”), and unpretentiousness in everyday life. The chronicle tells about Svyatoslav’s campaigns against Byzantium: he almost reached Constantinople and, having conquered the Balkan countries, intended to move his capital to the Danube, because there, in his words, “there is the middle of the earth,” where all the goods flow - precious metals, expensive fabrics , wine, horses and slaves. But Svyatoslav’s plans were not destined to come true: he died in an ambush of the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids.

After the death of Svyatoslav, an internecine struggle broke out between his sons - Oleg, Yaropolk and Vladimir. Vladimir emerged victorious, becoming the sole ruler of Rus' in 980.

In the section “The Tale of Bygone Years” dedicated to the reign of Vladimir, great place The theme of the baptism of Rus' is occupied. The chronicle reads the so-called “Philosopher’s Speech,” with which a Greek missionary allegedly addressed Vladimir, convincing the prince to accept Christianity. “The Philosopher’s Speech” had great educational significance for the ancient Russian reader - it briefly outlined the entire “sacred history” and communicated the basic principles of the Christian faith.

Various folk legends were grouped around the name of Vladimir. They were also reflected in the chronicle - in memories of the generosity of the prince, his crowded feasts, where almost all the warriors were invited, about the exploits of unknown heroes who lived during the time of this prince - about the victory of the Kozhemyaki youth over the Pecheneg hero or about the elder, with his wisdom liberated the city of Belgorod from the Pecheneg siege. These legends will be discussed below.

After the death of Vladimir in 1015, internecine struggle broke out again between his sons. Svyatopolk is the son of Yaropolk and a captive nun, whom Vladimir, having killed his brother, made his wife, killed his half-brothers Boris and Gleb. The chronicle reads a short story about the fate of the martyred princes, about the struggle of Yaroslav Vladimirovich with Svyatopolk, which ended in the latter’s military defeat and terrible divine retribution. When Svyatopolk was defeated in battle. turned to flight, a demon “attacked” him, “and weakened his bones, making him unable to mount a horse.” It seems to Svyatopolk that a pursuit is following him, he hurries his warriors, who carry him on a stretcher. “Driven by God’s wrath,” Svyatopolk dies in the “desert” (in a remote, uninhabited place) between Poland and the Czech Republic, and from his grave, according to the chronicle, “emanates... the stench of evil.” The chronicler takes the opportunity to emphasize that the terrible death of Svyatopolk should serve as a warning to the Russian princes, to protect them from renewed fratricidal strife. This idea will be heard from the pages of the chronicle more than once: both in the story of the death of Yaroslav, and in the description of the strife among his sons in the 70s. XI century, and in the story about the blinding of the Terebovl prince Vasilko by his blood brothers - David and Svyatopolk.

In 1037, the chronicle tells about the construction activities of Yaroslav (in particular, about the foundation of the famous St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, fortress walls with the Golden Gate, etc.) and glorifies his love of books: the prince “was diligent in books and revered them (them) often in the night and in the day." On his orders, numerous scribes translated books from Greek “into Slovenian (i.e. Russian) writing.” Of great importance is the dying will of Yaroslav, placed in Article 1054, who called on his sons to live in peace, to take care of the land of “their father and grandfather,” which they acquired “through their great labor,” and to obey the eldest in the family - the Kyiv prince.

Weather records in the Tale of Bygone Years alternate with stories and messages, sometimes only indirectly related to the political history of Rus', to which, strictly speaking, the chronicle should be dedicated. Thus, article 1051 contains a lengthy story about the founding of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. This topic will be continued in the “Tale of Bygone Years” and further: the article of 1074 tells about the death of the abbot of this monastery, Theodosius, and gives episodes of the ascetic life in the monastery of Theodosius himself and other monks; Article 1091 describes the transfer of the relics of Theodosius and praises the saint. In the article of 1068, in connection with the Polovtsian invasion of Rus', the chronicler discusses the causes of the disasters of the Russian land and explains the “finding of foreigners” by divine punishment for sins. Article 1071 reads a story about an uprising led by the Magi in the Rostov land; The chronicler talks about the machinations of demons and cites two more stories, thematically related to the previous one: about a Novgorodian who told fortunes to a magician, and about the appearance of a sorcerer in Novgorod. In 1093, the Russian princes were defeated by the Polovtsians. This event was the reason for the chronicler’s new reasoning about why God is “punishing the Russian land”, why “crying has spread throughout all the streets.” There is a dramatic description of the suffering of Russian captives who wander, driven to a foreign land, “sad, tormented, cordoned off in winter (suffering from the cold), in greed, and in thirst, and in trouble,” saying to each other with tears: “Az beg this city.” , “Yaz sowing all (villages)...” This article, as mentioned above, may have ended the Initial Code.

The last decade of the 11th century. was full of stormy events. After internecine wars, the instigator and indispensable participant of which was Oleg Svyatoslavich (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” calls him Oleg Gorislavlich), the princes gathered in 1097 in Lyubech for a congress, at which they decided from now on to live in peace and friendship, to hold their father’s possessions and do not encroach on other people's inheritances. However, immediately after the congress, a new atrocity was committed: the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich convinced the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich that the Terebovl prince Vasilko was plotting against them. Svyatopolk and Davyd lured Vasilko to Kyiv, captured him and gouged out his eyes. This event shocked all the princes: Vladimir Monomakh, according to the chronicler, complained that such evil did not exist in Rus' “neither under our grandfathers, nor under our fathers.” In article 1097 we find a detailed story about the dramatic fate of Vasilko Terebovlsky; it was probably written specifically for the chronicle and was fully included in it.

We do not know exactly what the final part of The Tale of Bygone Years in the second edition looked like. In the Laurentian Chronicle, the text of the article of 1110 is artificially torn off: the record of the chronicler Sylvester immediately follows the story of a miraculous sign in the Pechersk Monastery, which is considered as the appearance of an angel; at the same time, in the Ipatiev Chronicle, following the description of the sign, one reads a discussion about angels, which, undoubtedly, was included in the original text of the article of 1110, i.e., it should have been present in the text of the second edition of The Tale of Bygone Years. In addition, it is unknown whether article 1110 was the last in this edition: after all, Sylvester’s postscript states that he wrote “books and chroniclers” in 1116. The question of the relationship between the second edition of The Tale of Bygone Years and the third edition remains controversial , as well as the exact text that ended the second edition of the Tale.

"THE Tale of Bygone Years" AND ITS EDITIONS

In 1110–1113, the first edition (version) of the Tale of Bygone Years was completed - a lengthy chronicle collection that included numerous information on the history of Rus': about the Russian wars with the Byzantine Empire, about the calling of the Scandinavians Rurik, Truvor and Sineus to reign in Rus', about the history of Kiev. Pechersky Monastery, about princely crimes. The probable author of this chronicle is the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. This edition has not been preserved in its original form.

The first edition of the Tale of Bygone Years reflected the political interests of the then Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. In 1113, Svyatopolk died, and Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh ascended the Kiev throne. In 1116 by the monk Sylvester (in the Promonomakhian spirit) and in 1117-1118. An unknown scribe from the circle of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich (son of Vladimir Monomakh) revised the text of the Tale of Bygone Years. This is how the second and third editions of The Tale of Bygone Years arose; the oldest list of the second edition has reached us as part of the Laurentian Chronicle, and the earliest list of the third – as part of the Ipatiev Chronicle.

Encyclopedia "Around the World"

EDITING “THE TALE OF BYE YEARS”

Having become the Prince of Kyiv, Vladimir Monomakh retained his “fatherland” - the Principality of Pereyaslavl, as well as the Suzdal and Rostov lands. Veliky Novgorod also recognized the power of Vladimir, obeying his orders and accepting princes from him. In 1118, Vladimir demanded that “all the Novgorod boyars” come to him to swear them in. He released some of them back to Novgorod, and “keep some of them with you.” Under Vladimir, the former military power of the ancient Russian state, weakened by previous feudal strife, was restored. The Polovtsians were dealt a crushing blow, and they did not dare to attack the Russian land...

One of the measures during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kyiv in 1113 was the correction of Nestorov’s “Tale of Bygone Years” in order to more correctly cover the reign of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, hated by the Kyiv working people. Monomakh entrusted this matter to the abbot of the Vydubetsky monastery, Sylvester. The Vydubetsky Monastery was founded by the father of Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and, naturally, supported the side of this prince, and after his death - the side of his son. Sylvester conscientiously completed the task assigned to him. He rewrote “The Tale of Bygone Years” and supplemented it with several inserts about the negative actions of Svyatopolk. Thus, Sylvester introduced into the “Tale of Bygone Years” under 1097 the story of priest Vasily about the blinding of Vasilko Rostislavich. Then, in a new way, he outlined the history of the campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians in 1103. Although this campaign was led by Svyatopolk, as the senior prince of Kyiv, by the pen of Sylvester Svyatopolk was relegated to the background, and Vladimir Monomakh, who actually participated in this campaign, but did not lead it, was put in first place.

The fact that this version could not belong to Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, is clear from a comparison with it of the story about the same campaign, available in the “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon”, which probably comes, according to tradition, from Nestor himself. In the story "Paterikon" Vladimir Monomakh is not even mentioned, and the victory over the Polovtsians is attributed to Svyatopolk alone, who received a blessing before the campaign from the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.

While editing Nestor's "Tale of Bygone Years", Sylvester did not continue it for a single year, but issued an indication of the authorship of the Kiev-Pechersk monk. Under the same year 1110, Sylvester made the following postscript: “Hegumen Sylvester of St. Michael wrote this book, chronicler, hoping from God to receive mercy from Prince Volodymyr, who reigned over Kiev for him, and at that time I was abbot under St. Michael, in the summer of 6624 (1116) Indictment 9. And if you read these books, then be in your prayers.” Since Sylvester's edition received official recognition, it formed the basis for all subsequent Russian chronicle writing and has come down to us in many later chronicle lists. Nestorov’s text of “The Tale of Bygone Years,” which remained the property of only the Kiev-Pechersk tradition, has not reached us, although some traces of differences between this text and Sylvester’s edition were preserved, as already said, in individual stories of the later “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon.” In this “Paterikon” there is also a reference to Nestor, who wrote the Russian “chronicler”.

In 1118, Sylvester’s edition of The Tale of Bygone Years was continued, apparently due to the inclusion of the famous “Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” written that year. According to the convincing assumption of M. Priselkov, the addition was made by the son of Vladimir Monomakh Mstislav, who was then in Novgorod. Of great interest among these additions are two stories about the northern countries, heard by the author in 1114, when he was present at the laying of a stone wall in Ladoga. The Ladoga mayor Pavel told him about the northern countries beyond Ugra and Samoyede. Another story about these countries, heard by the author from Novgorodian Gyuryata Rogovich, is placed under the year 1096, indicating that it was heard “before these 4 years.” Since both stories are closely related to each other in content, the words “before these 4 years” should be attributed to the time of writing this insert in 1118, when the author heard the first story.. Since the original of Mstislav’s manuscript has not reached us, but only its later lists, then the only explanation for the resulting confusion can be a random rearrangement of the original sheets from which these lists were then made. This assumption is all the more acceptable since in the available lists under the year 1096 there is also the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh,” written no earlier than 1117.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign." Ideological content, artistic form, connection with folklore.

“Tales of Igor’s Campaign” was discovered by the famous collector of ancient Russian manuscripts, Count A.I. Musin-Pushkin at the end of the 18th century. From that time on, intensive study of this outstanding monument of ancient Russian literature began.

Researchers analyzed the text of the Lay, its artistic merits, language, examined the ideological concept of the monument, the historical outlook of its author, clarified the circumstances of the discovery of the manuscript of the Lay and the principles of its publication. Most of these issues have now been studied quite deeply and comprehensively.

Controversy about the time of writing the Lay.

In the research literature on the Lay, a significant place is occupied by controversy about the authenticity of the monument or the time of its creation.

Distrust in the antiquity of the Lay arose after the destruction of the manuscript in a fire in 1812. There were several reasons for the emergence of a “skeptical view” of the antiquity of the Lay. Firstly, at the beginning of the 19th century. scientists knew too little about the literature of Ancient Rus', and therefore the “Word” seemed to them unnaturally perfect for the level of artistic culture of Kievan Rus. Secondly, they were confused by the unclear, “dark places” of the Lay, the abundance of incomprehensible words in it, which at first they tried to explain using material from other Slavic languages. But the main reason for the emergence of distrust in the “Word” was that direction in Russian historiography of the early 19th century, which is called the “skeptical school.” Doubt about the authenticity of the “Tale” was only a particular episode in this trend: “skeptics” also questioned the antiquity of Russian chronicles, the collection of ancient Russian laws - “Russian Truth”, the works of Kirill of Turov, etc.

IN mid-19th V. After the discovery of the “Zadonshchina”, the oldest known copy of which dates back to the end of the 15th century, they stopped doubting the antiquity of the “Word”. However, in the 90s. In the same century, Louis Léger put forward the hypothesis that it was not the author of “Zadonshchina” who imitated “The Lay”, but, on the contrary, “The Lay” is an imitation of “Zadonshchina”. This assumption by L. Leger was developed in the works of the French scientist, academician A. Mazon, and later in the works of the Soviet historian A. A. Zimin. A. A. Zimin believed that the “Lay” was written on the basis of “Zadonshchina” in the 18th century. and its author was Joel Bykovsky, the Yaroslavl archimandrite, from whom A. I. Musin-Pushkin acquired the collection with “The Lay”

Subsequent studies of the entire sum of issues raised in A. A. Zimin’s hypothesis: the relationship between “The Lay” and “Zadonshchina”, the language and style of “The Lay”, the history of the discovery of the collection and publication of “The Lay” by A. I. Musin-Pushkin, personality characteristics and creativity of Joel Bykovsky - clearly confirmed the authenticity and antiquity of the “Lay”

“Composition “Words”.

“The Lay” begins with an extensive introduction, in which the author recalls the ancient singer of “slavs” Boyan, wise and skillful, but nevertheless declares that he will not follow this tradition in his work, he will lead his “song” “according to the epics of this time , and not according to Boyanu’s plans.”

Having determined the chronological range of his narration (“from old Vladimer to present-day Igor”), the author talks about Igor’s daring plan to “send” his regiments to the Polovtsian land, “to drink the helmet of the Don.” He seems to be “trying on” Boyan’s poetic manner to his theme (“It wasn’t the storm that brought the falcons across the wide fields - the Galician herds ran to the Great Don” or: “Komoni neighs beyond Sula - glory rings in Kiev”).

Genre "Words".

The composition of “Words” is unusual for a historical story. We see that the author’s focus is not so much on a consistent story about the events of the campaign itself, but rather on reasoning about it, assessing Igor’s actions, thinking about the reasons for the “toughness” and sadness that gripped the entire Russian land in the present, referring to the events of the past with its victories and misfortunes. All these features of the Lay lead us to the question of the genre of the monument. This question is all the more important because in ancient Russian literature, with its strict system of genres, “The Lay” (like a number of other monuments) appears to be outside the genre system. A. N. Robinson and D. S. Likhachev compare “The Lay” with the genre of the so-called “chanson de gesture” - “songs about exploits”, its analogies in this case are, for example, “The Song of Roland” or other similar works of Western European feudal epic.

The Lay combines epic and bookish principles. “The epic is full of calls for the defense of the country...” writes D. S. Likhachev. “His “direction” is characteristic: the call comes as if from the people (hence the folkloric origin), but it is addressed to the feudal lords - the golden word of Svyatoslav, and hence the bookish origin.” .

Poetics of the Word.

The poetics of “The Lay” is so unique, its language and style are so colorful and original, that at first glance it may seem that “The Lay” is completely outside the sphere of literary traditions of the Russian Middle Ages.

In general, the style of monumental historicism is manifested in the Lay in a varied and profound way. The action of “The Lay” unfolds over a vast area from Novgorod the Great in the north to Tmutorokan (on the Taman Peninsula) in the south, from the Volga in the east to Galich and the Carpathians in the west. The author of the Lay mentions in his addresses to the princes many geographical points of the Russian land; the glory of Svyatoslav extends far beyond its borders - to the Germans, Czechs and Venetians. The characters in “The Lay” see the Russian land as if with “panoramic vision,” as if from a great height. Such, for example, is the appeal of Yaroslavna from Putivl not only to the sun and wind, but also to the distant Dnieper, which can cherish her beloved husband from Polovtsian captivity. Yaroslav Osmomysl also governs his principality within expressly “spatial” boundaries, propping up the Ugric Mountains, “courts along the Danube.” The battle with the Polovtsians itself takes on worldwide proportions: black clouds, symbolizing the enemies of Rus', come from the sea itself.

We have already spoken about the historicism of the Lay, also a characteristic feature of monumental historicism. And the events, and actions, and the very qualities of the heroes of “The Lay” are assessed against the background of the entire Russian history, against the background of events not only of the 12th, but also of the 11th century.

In a word, the author’s digressions shift (and deliberately and deliberately shift) the actual course of events, because the author’s goal is not so much to tell about them, which are well known to contemporaries, but to express his attitude towards them and reflect on what happened. Having understood these features of the plot structure of the Lay, we will see that it makes no sense to speculate about at what moment and where exactly the solar eclipse found Igor and Vsevolod and how accurately the Lay records this moment, about whether the Polovtsians collected tribute “ white from the courtyard,” or how expedient it was to call for help to Igor Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, who was already striving to intervene in South Russian affairs. “The Word” is not documentary, it is epic, it does not so much narrate events as reflect on them.

Nature actively participates in the fate of Igor, in the fate of the Russian land: the grass wilts with pity, and, on the contrary, the Donets and the birds living in the coastal groves joyfully help Igor, who is escaping from captivity.

This does not mean that the Lay does not depict nature as such. But it is characteristic that in it, as in other ancient Russian monuments, there is no static landscape: the surrounding world appears to the reader in movement, in phenomena and processes. The “Word” does not say that the night is light or dark - it “fades”, the color of the river water is not described, but it says that “the rivers flow muddy”, the Dvina “flows like a swamp”, the Sula no longer “flows in silver streams” ; the banks of the Donets are not described, but it is said that the Donets spreads green grass for Igor on its silver banks, dresses him with warm mists under the canopy of a green tree, etc.

The time of writing “The Lay” and the question of its author.

the monument could have been created no later than October 1, 1187 - the time when Yaroslav Osmomysl died, since in the Lay he is mentioned as alive.

“The Word” in new Russian literature.

But in modern times, “The Lay” made a huge impression on Russian readers. Russian poets, literally from the very first years after the publication of the Lay, found in it grateful material for imitations and variations on ancient Russian themes, and endless attempts began to find the best poetic equivalent to the great monument of antiquity. Of the translations of the 19th century, of course, the best were those by V. A. Zhukovsky (positively assessed by A. S. Pushkin), M. D. Delarue, A. N. Maykov, L. Mey; at the beginning of our century, poems based on the “Lay” were created by A. A. Blok, and “The Lay” was translated by K. D. Balmont. Excellent translations belong to Soviet translators and poets - S. V. Shervinsky, V. Stelletsky, G. Storm, I. Novikov, N. Zabolotsky and others. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is widely known in translations into the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR, into Ukrainian language it was translated by M. Rylsky, into Belarusian by Y. Kupala, and into Georgian by S. Chikovani. There are translations of the “Word” made abroad, the monument has been translated into English, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Spanish, German, Polish, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Finnish, French, Japanese and other languages.

Stories about the Tatar-Mongol invasion in ancient Russian literature. Their patriotic pathos and poetic forms of its expression.

St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture

Department of Directing and Variety Acting

Toolkit for students

Shestakov V.A.

Saint Petersburg

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….……3-4

Chapter 1. Origin of the fairy tale

1.1. Classification of fairy tales……………………………...…….........5-10

1.2. The most famous storytellers of Russia and the world……..………………..10-12

1.3. Features of the language of a fairy tale…………………….……...……..…………....13

Chapter 2. Setting up a fairy tale

2.1. Selection of literary material……………………………………………………14

2.2. Writing a dramatization………………………………………………………...14-16

2.3. Plan for the director's analysis of the tale (explication)……………….........16

2.4. Work on staging a fairy tale……………………………………..17-18

Chapter 3. Plots of fairy tales composed and staged by student directors…………………………………………………………………………………..19-35

Chapter 4. Glossary…………….......................................…… ….…………..36

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..37-38

References…………………………………………………………….…………………39

INTRODUCTION

At all times in his life, a person encountered difficulties and inexplicable phenomena in the reality around him. And there was always a desire to overcome, to understand the world around me. Dreams about this were reflected in oral folk art - folklore, one of the forms of which is fairy tale.

The fairy tale is one of the popular and favorite genres in folklore and literature of the peoples of the world. Gradually, the literary fairy tale became a full-fledged direction 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. Let's try to figure out what a literary fairy tale is.

First, let's define this concept.

Fairy tale - one of the genres of folklore or literature. An epic, predominantly prose work of a magical, heroic or everyday nature, a folk poetic narrative work telling about fictional events and heroes. Often involving fantastic and magical phenomena. These are entertaining stories about unusual, fictional events and adventures.

All over the world, people tell stories to entertain each other. Sometimes fairy tales help to understand what is bad and what is good in life. Fairy tales appeared long before the invention of books, and even writing. People composed them in ancient times and, passing them on from mouth to mouth, carefully carried them through the centuries.

Scientists have interpreted the tale in different ways. A fairy tale was everything that had anything to do with fiction. A number of folklore researchers called everything that was “told” a fairy tale.

There is no people who do not know a fairy tale. Since ancient times, people have been attracted by the sincerity, beauty and truthfulness, vitality and wit of fairy tales. Ancient Rus' I didn’t know the word “fairy tale”. Instead, the word “fable” was used. Bayat means to say, to tell. A fairy tale is a world of fiction.

The fairy-tale world is alive. Mandatory attributes of this world are miracles, extraordinary animals, birds, plants, sudden transformations, talismans, prophetic words.

In a fairy tale, what did not happen and could not happen, is told as if it actually happened. The fairy tale fosters such human qualities as kindness and justice. She protects the offended.

Based on the connections between various items, phenomena, actions of heroes in a fairy tale, one can draw a conclusion about its essence. The fairy tale originated a long time ago. The word “fairy tale” (fairy tale) itself appeared in the Russian language no earlier than the 17th century. But this does not mean that there were no fairy tales before this time. From the meaning of the word, two characteristics of a fairy tale can be deduced:

1. fairy tale - narrative genre (bayat - say):

2. a fairy tale is an incredible thing, a fiction.

A fairy tale was told for the purpose of entertainment. The content of a fairy tale consists of extraordinary events (fantastic, miraculous, everyday). They did not believe in the reality of the events, and this is one of the main signs of a fairy tale.

Tripling in a fairy tale is a sign of great antiquity.

The tale has humor and fantasy (animals, a stove talking, a ball showing the way).

There are also non-Russian states in fairy tales. They are always located overseas and are called overseas. “Overseas” in a fairy tale is the same as foreign: an overseas princess, overseas wines. In the fairy tale, the Serpent Gorynych, a dragon with 3, 6, 12 heads, are representatives of everything evil and unkind.

Chapter 1. Origin of the fairy tale

Classification of fairy tales

According to the scientific definition in literature, a fairy tale is an “epic literary genre, a narrative about any magical or adventurous events, which has a clear structure: beginning, middle and ending.” From any fairy tale the reader must learn some lesson, a moral. Depending on the type and type, a fairy tale also performs other functions. There are many classifications of the genre.

Type fairy tales are divided (authorship) into literary and folk. Already from the names it is clear that literary tales are those that were written by a specific famous writer-storyteller, and folk tales are those that do not have one author. Folk tales are passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, and the original author is unknown to anyone. Let's consider each type separately.

Folk tales

A fairy tale is an epic genre of oral folk art: a prosaic oral story about fictional events in the folklore of different peoples. Fairy tales always depict the confrontation between good and evil; the heroes are divided into positive ones, who in fairy tales are the embodiment folk ideas about high morality, goodness, justice, true beauty, and negative ones, personifying dark forces, hostile to humans.

Folk tales are rightfully considered a powerful source historical facts, information about the life and social system of a certain people. Over the course of their history, each of the nations has come up with a huge number of instructive stories for adults and children, passing on their experience and wisdom to the next generations.

Folk tales reflect human relationships and changes in moral principles, show that basic values ​​remain unchanged, teach to draw a clear line between good and evil, joy and grief, love and hate, truth and falsehood.

The peculiarity of folk tales is that the deepest social meaning is hidden in a simple and easy to read text. In addition, they preserve the richness of the vernacular. What kind of folk tales are there? They can be both magical and everyday. Many folk tales tell about animals.

The question often arises about when the first Russian folk tale was invented. This will probably remain a mystery, and one can only speculate. It is believed that the first “heroes” of fairy tales were natural phenomena - the Sun, Moon, Earth, etc. Later they began to obey humans, and images of people and animals entered fairy tales. There is an assumption that all Russian folk narratives have a basis in reality. In other words, some event was retold in the form of a fairy tale, changed over the centuries and came to us in the form to which we are accustomed. We figured out what kind of Russian folk tales there are. It's time to talk about fairy tales whose authors are well known to readers.

Literary tales

A literary fairy tale is a genre of storytelling with a fantastic or magical plot, taking place in a real or magical world, in which both real and fictional characters can act. The author can raise moral, social, aesthetic problems of history and modernity.

As modern researcher I.G. writes. Mineralova, a literary fairy tale is an author’s, artistic, prose or poetic work, based either on folklore sources, or purely original; the work is predominantly fantastic, magical, depicting the wonderful adventures of fairy-tale characters and, in some cases, aimed at children; a work in which magic, miracle plays the role of a plot-forming factor. At the same time, in a literary fairy tale the lyrical component, the author’s beginning, sounds more clearly.

The definitions are similar, but in the second, concerning 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. We can say that the folk tale has evolved into a literary one.

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.

Social assessment of what is happening.

Usually literary works is a subjective adaptation of a folk story, however, new stories are found quite often. The characteristic features of a literary fairy tale are psychologism, sublime speech, vivid characters, and the use of fairy-tale cliches.

Another feature of this genre is that it can be read at different levels. Thus, the same story is perceived differently by representatives of different age groups. Children's fairy tales by Charles Perrault seem like an innocent story to a child, while an adult will find serious problems and morals in them. Often books that are initially aimed at young readers are interpreted by adults in their own way, just as fantasy stories for adults are enjoyed by children.

Who are they, the authors of fairy tales? Surely everyone has heard about “The Tales of My Mother Goose” by Charles Perrault, the fairy tales of the Italian Gozzi, the works of the German writer Wilhelm Hauff, the Brothers Grimm and the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. We must not forget about the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Their stories are loved by children and adults around the world. Entire generations grow up listening to these fairy tales. At the same time, all literary works are interesting from the point of view of literary criticism; they all fall under a certain classification and have their own artistic features and author's techniques. The most famous and beloved fairy tales are used to make films and cartoons.

Types of fairy tales.

Fairy tales are also classified by type. There are four main types of folk tales: magical, everyday, heroic and animal tales.

All types have their own characteristics, which become clear through comparative analysis. Let's try to understand each of them in more detail.

Fairy tales

Fairy tales were originally associated with myths and had a magical meaning, they were a kind of spells. Fairy tales about a snake (in Russian fairy tales this is Miracle Yudo, the many-headed serpent), folk tales about a wonderful wife (Elena the Wise, The Frog Princess), about a stepmother and stepdaughter (Moroz Ivanovich, The Golden Shoe, Khavroshechka), about mining wonderful objects (Magic Ring, Wonderful Shirt) and the adventures of people with the cannibal (Dashing One-Eyed).

Magic fairy tales of peoples are distinguished by a rich verbal ornament; they are characterized by intricate sayings and endings, fairy-tale formulas, and numerous repetitions.

general characteristics the main character of a fairy tale.

The main character of the fairy tale is a young hero. He is always young, a teenager, a youth. He gets a difficult task. The fairy tale tells how he overcomes all obstacles, proves his courage, resourcefulness, and shows his best qualities.

The hero of a fairy tale always leaves home. He doesn’t know where to go, doesn’t know the goal, goes at random (“wherever his eyes look”), sometimes falls into despair and cries. The hero of the fairy tale achieves success without any effort, thanks to a magical remedy or assistant he deserves.

The hero of a fairy tale must meet with the kidnappers or owners of the desired object or person. He enters into single combat with the Serpent Gorynych, monsters.

Having obtained the item, the hero returns and arrives home.

In a fairy tale, the hero is never described, but we imagine him as wonderful, since he does not act for himself, but he always helps someone out, and deserves a reward for himself.

Basic attributes of a fairy tale.

The hero of a fairy tale never passes by a hut on chicken legs. What kind of hut is this? This hut is not a simple one - it stands on the border of the ordinary and unusual world, the magical world (once the kingdom of the dead). Here the hero is tested, and he becomes invincible. The hero remains the same, but he acquires a wonderful assistant - a ball, for example, who shows the way.

There are two kingdoms in a fairy tale: one is the one from which the fairy tale begins “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state”, the other is the “thirtieth kingdom” (the world of magic).

Baba Yaga is a border guard, she guards the entrance to this Magic world. The entrance is through a hut, outside of which dark forest and the thirtieth kingdom. The main task of Baba Yaga is to test the hero and show the way, give a magic remedy or a magical assistant.

The givers of magical remedies can be an old woman or old people, grateful animals (having provided a service to an animal in trouble, the hero shows responsiveness and generosity, for which he is rewarded).

Magic is everywhere in a fairy tale. Magic - magic, witchcraft, sorcery, supernatural ability - the main attributes of a fairy tale. In mythology, this ability was given to people who entered into an alliance with evil spirits, the devil - witches, sorcerers, werewolves.

Serpent Gorynych is a representative of the evil principle, a dragon with 3, 6, 12 heads, monsters are mythological characters generated by the earth or emerging from the earth, located in its depths.

And what miracles happen in a fairy tale! Here the hut turns its back to the forest, and its front to the hero. The frog princess turns into Vasilisa the Wise, here we see the Firebird, here is a carpet that will “burn with fire,” and there are apples that will “tear into pieces,” the club itself “let’s beat the people,” but here is living water and dead water.

Heroic tales (epics)

Epics are folk songs. They were created to be performed at holidays and feasts. They were performed by special people - storytellers, who chanted epics from memory and accompanied themselves on the harp.

The epics got their name from the word “byl”, that is, they sing about what actually happened. But, as in any genre of oral folk art, the epic was retold by each singer in his own way: one place was told in more detail, supplemented with new details, another was shortened.

In the North of Rus', epics were called antiquities. Bylinas, antiquities - these are words denoting what once happened in ancient times and remained in the memory of the people.

The epics arose during the times of Kievan Rus, when our land was attacked by numerous enemies: Mongol-Tatars, Polovtsians, Pechenegs.

In epics you can learn not only about the exploits and battles of Russian heroes, but also about the lives of people in those days: where they lived, how they dressed, with whom they traded, what trades they had, how they worked.

Everyday tales

Household fairy tales appeared later than everyone else. The events in them, like in any fairy tales, are fictional, but, unlike a fairy tale, everything here is ordinary, everything happens in everyday life.

They usually talk about rich and poor. The poor people in these fairy tales are smart, hardworking, skillful, and the rich people are evil, stupid, greedy and lazy. True, in these fairy tales the poor are always on the side. The poor, thanks to their intelligence and dexterity, carry out all the orders of the rich, solve riddles and punish stupid and cowardly kings, merchants, and priests. The people laugh at the evil and greedy rich people and praise the kind and brave poor people.

The hero is usually a poor peasant, worker or soldier. The most favorite fairy tale hero is a soldier. He is dexterous, resourceful both in word and in deed, brave, knowing everything, able to do everything, cheerful, cheerful.

There are no miracles here. There is, as it were, a competition of wits: who will outwit whom, who will be smarter. The end of a fairy tale always restores justice.

Animal Tales

In fairy tales about animals, animals implausibly argue, talk, quarrel, love, make friends, and quarrel: the cunning “fox is beautiful in conversation,” the stupid and greedy “wolf—a wolf—grabbing from under a bush,” “the mouse is a chewer,” the cowardly “ little bastard - bow-legged, "jumping up the hill." The cat Kotofey Ivanovich declares himself to be the governor of the forest animals. Chicken Ryaba persuades grandma and grandpa not to cry over a broken egg. The rooster is excellent with his scythe and chases the fox out of the hare's hut.

They have human qualities: they can be cunning and stupid, stingy and wise, and have the ability to think. It is not the strong who wins in such fairy tales, but the cunning and smart. All this is implausible, fabulous.

Once upon a time there lived a grandfather and a woman, and they had a chicken Ryaba - a wonderful fairy tale! Short, nothing extra. And there is so much action and heroes in it - a grandfather, a woman, a chicken, a mouse. A whole performance. The same performance - lively, interesting - and a fairy tale about a turnip. Such tales are intended for the little ones. Listening to them, the baby learns a lot, develops his mind and imagination - after all, you need to see and imagine all these animals running and playing.

The fairy tale “Kolobok” conveys the idea: the gullible and perky are not afraid of enemies, but he can be destroyed by the flattery of a hidden enemy.

In fairy tales for little ones there are often poetic and song inserts. And long, endless fairy tales are both a game and an exercise in speech, in logical thinking. In a fairy tale "Teremok" Each hero does the same thing: he comes, knocks on the mansion and settles in it. It seems that the fairy tale will continue endlessly. But the heroes are all different - each new guest is larger than the previous one, and a bear will definitely appear and destroy the tower. This is the end of the game.

The most popular fairy tales about animals are those about the fox. Remember how, pretending to be dead, she tricks a simple-minded man and steals his fish, teaches a stupid wolf to catch fish with his tail in an ice hole, smears himself in a kneading bowl, forces the wolf, who suffered through her fault from beatings, to carry her on himself, while singing the song: “Beating the unbeaten one is lucky.” In fairy tales, the fox is cunning, a deceiver, and sometimes gets into trouble herself. The fox is true to herself everywhere in fairy tales. Her cunning became a proverb: “When you look for a fox in front, it is behind.” The fairy tale tells us that a selfish invention, no matter how implausible and incredible it may seem (to catch fish with its tail!), will always find a fool who will believe it.

The fox has a lot of tricks and pranks in his memory. She chases the hare out of the bast hut (“The Fox and the Hare”) and steals the stored honey (“The Bear and the Fox”). You can’t list all her tricks and pranks.

And the fairy tale about how a man and a bear shared the harvest (“tops for you, roots for me”) teaches ingenuity and gives knowledge about the plants that feed people.

There are a lot of funny things in fairy tales about animals. It's fun and uplifting.

When reading a fairy tale, I worry, worry, and when everything ends well, I feel pleasure, like from any other good book.

Tales about animals include the following Russian folk tales: “Kolobok”, “Teremok”, “The Fox and the Wolf”, “The Fox and the Hare”, “The Golden Comb Cockerel”, “The Bear and the Fox”, “The Ryaba Hen”, “Winter Move” animals", "The Wolf and the Seven Goats" and others.

I offer several definitions of a fairy tale, taken from different sources:

• 1. “A fictional story, an unprecedented and even impossible story, a legend” (V. Dal. Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. M., 1994. Vol. 4. P. 170).
• 2. “A narrative, ordinary folk-poetic work about fictional persons and events, mainly with the participation of magical, fantastic forces” (S. Ozhegov. Dictionary of the Russian Language. M., 1986. P.625).
• 3. “A narrative work of oral folk art about fictitious events, sometimes with the participation of magical fantastic forces (Dictionary of the Russian Language. M., 1988. T. IV. P. 102).
• 4. "One of the main genres of oral folk poetry, epic, predominantly prose piece of art magical, adventurous or everyday character with a focus on fiction" (Literary encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1988. P.383).
• 5. “A short instructive, often optimistic story, including truth and fiction” (S.K. Nartova-Bochaver. 1996).
• 6. “An abstracted form of local legend, presented in a more condensed and crystallized form. The original form of folk tales are local legends, parapsychological stories and stories of miracles that arise in the form of ordinary hallucinations due to the invasion of archetypal contents from the collective unconscious” (M.A. von Franz 1998, pp. 28-29).

The authors of almost all interpretations define a fairy tale as a type of oral narrative with fantastic fiction. The connection with myth and legends pointed out by M.L. Von Franz takes the fairy tale beyond the limits of a simple fantasy story. A fairy tale is not only a poetic invention or a game of fantasy; through content, language, plots and images, it reflects the cultural values ​​of its creator.

Any fairy tale is focused on a social and pedagogical effect: it teaches, encourages activity and even heals. In other words, the potential of a fairy tale is much richer than its ideological and artistic significance. From a socio-pedagogical point of view, the socializing, creative, holographic, valeological-therapeutic, cultural-ethnic, verbal-figurative functions of a fairy tale are important.

• 1. Socializing function - introducing new generations to the universal and ethnic experience accumulated in the international world of fairy tales.
• 2. Creative function - the ability to identify, form, develop and realize the creative potential of the individual, his imaginative and abstract thinking.
• 3. The holographic function manifests itself in three main forms: the ability of a fairy tale to reveal the big in the small; the ability to imagine the universe in three-dimensional spatial and temporal dimensions (sky - earth - underworld; past present Future); the ability of a fairy tale to actualize all human senses, to be the basis for the creation of all types, genres, and types of aesthetic creativity.
• 4. Developmental - therapeutic function - nurturing a healthy lifestyle, protecting a person from harmful hobbies and addictions.
• 5. Cultural-ethnic function - introduction to the historical experience of different peoples, ethnic culture: way of life, language, traditions, attributes.
• 6. Lexico-figurative function - the formation of a person’s linguistic culture, mastery of polysemy and artistic and figurative richness of speech.

It is impossible to say exactly when fairy tales appeared, but we can confidently say that this happened before the advent of writing. Proof of this is the numerous finds of fairy tales in the most ancient manuscript sources. Based on known data, it can be argued that initially fairy tales passed from mouth to mouth. Thus, not only conservation took place, but also evolution. Each narrator conveyed the meaning of the tale in contemporary words. However, the allegorical meaning had to remain alone.

Naturally, folk tales had their own author, but over the years and distances this lost its meaning and was forgotten. So the story, retold several times, lost its authorship. And the plot for a fairy tale could be anything: from a difficult journey to an ordinary everyday situation. Also, all animate and inanimate objects could act as heroes: trees, mountains, animals and birds, people and deities.

The word "fairy tale" in it modern sense appeared only in the 17th century. Before this they said “fable” or “fable” (from the word “bayat” - to tell).

A fairy tale is a very popular genre of oral folk art, an epic, prose, plot genre. It is not sung like a song, but told. The subject of the story is unusual, surprising, and often mysterious and strange events: the action has an adventurous character. The plot is distinguished by its multi-episode nature, completeness, dramatic tension, clarity and dynamic development of action. The fairy tale is distinguished by its strict form, the obligatory nature of certain moments, and also traditional beginnings and endings. The beginning takes listeners into the world of a fairy tale from reality, and the ending brings them back. She jokingly emphasizes that the fairy tale is fiction.

The fairy tale differs from other prose genres in its more developed aesthetic side. The aesthetic principle is manifested in the idealization of positive heroes, and in a vivid depiction of the “fairy-tale world” and romantic overtones of events.

Fairy tales have been known in Rus' since ancient times. In ancient writing there are plots, motifs and images reminiscent of fairy tales. Telling fairy tales is an old Russian custom. Even in ancient times, the performance of fairy tales was available to everyone: men, women, children, and adults. There were people who cherished and developed their fabulous heritage. They have always been respected by the people.

In the 18th century, several collections of fairy tales appeared, which included works with characteristic compositional and stylistic fairy-tale features: “The Tale of the Gypsy”; "The Tale of the Thief Timashka."

The all-Russian collection by A.N. was of great importance. Afanasyev "Folk Russian Tales" (1855 - 1965): it includes fairy tales that existed in many parts of Russia. Most of them were recorded for A.N. Afanasyev and his closest correspondents, of whom it is necessary to note V.I. Dalia.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, a number of collections of fairy tales appeared. They gave an idea of ​​the distribution of works of this genre, its state, and put forward new principles of collecting and publishing. The first such collection was the book by D.N. Sadovnikov "Tales and legends of the Samara region" (1884). It contained 124 works, and 72 were recorded from only one storyteller A. Novopoltsev. Following this, rich collections of fairy tales appeared: “Northern Tales”, “Great Russian Tales of the Perm Province” (1914). The texts are accompanied by explanations and indexes.

After the October Revolution, the collection of fairy tales took on organized forms: it was conducted by scientific institutes and higher education institutions. educational establishments. They continue this work today.

In Russian fairy tales, wealth never had its own value, and the rich were never a kind, honest and decent person. Wealth had meaning as a means to achieve other goals and lost this meaning when the most important life values have been achieved. In this regard, wealth in Russian fairy tales was never earned through labor: it came by chance (with the help of fairy-tale assistants - Sivka-Burka, the Little Humpbacked Horse...) and often left by chance.

The images of Russian fairy tales are transparent and contradictory. Any attempts to use the image fairy tale hero How the image of a person leads researchers to the idea of ​​the existence of a contradiction in a folk tale - the victory of the hero-fool, the “low hero”. This contradiction is overcome if we consider the simplicity of the “fool” as a symbol of everything that is alien to Christian morality and its condemnation: greed, cunning, self-interest. The simplicity of the hero helps him to believe in a miracle, to surrender to its magic, because only under this condition is the power of the miraculous possible.

Another one important feature people's spiritual life is reflected in folk tales - conciliarity. Labor acts not as a duty, but as a holiday. Conciliarity - the unity of action, thought, feeling - in Russian fairy tales opposes selfishness, greed, everything that makes life gray, boring, prosaic. All Russian fairy tales, embodying the joy of work, end with the same saying: “Here, out of joy, they all started dancing together...”.

The fairy tale also reflects other moral values ​​of the people: kindness, like pity for the weak, which triumphs over selfishness and manifests itself in the ability to give the last to another and give one’s life for another; suffering as a motive for virtuous actions and deeds; victory of spiritual strength over physical strength. The embodiment of these values ​​makes the meaning of the fairy tale the deepest, as opposed to the naivety of its purpose. The affirmation of the victory of good over evil, order over chaos determines the meaning life cycle living being. The meaning of life is difficult to express in words; it can be felt in oneself or not, and then it is very simple.

Thus, the wisdom and value of a fairy tale is that it reflects, reveals and allows you to experience the meaning of the most important universal human values ​​and life meaning generally.

From the point of view of everyday meaning, the fairy tale is naive, from the point of view of life meaning, it is deep and inexhaustible.