Russian folklore fully contains all the components characteristic of world folklore, the leading categories of which are “genus” and “genre”, and their mutual correspondence. There are three genera represented in Russian folklore:
- 1) epic, divided into documentary (non-fairytale) and fairy-tale prose. Non-fairytale (documentary) prose includes such genres as legends, traditions, folk stories, incidents, and fairytale - cult-animist tales, tales about animals, magical or fantastic tales, social and everyday tales, anecdotes, parables, fables ;
- 2) lyrics, includes ritual and lyrical songs. Ritual songs include calendar-ritual songs (carols, sowings, Epiphany songs, freckles, Easter songs, Kupala songs, harvesters) and family ritual songs (wedding, funeral, lamentations). Lyrical songs include family songs (songs about love, women’s lot, satirical songs) and social songs (Cossack, recruit, soldier, serf) songs;
- 3) drama, combines calendar-ritual (nativity scene, Christmas drama, Easter drama, spring-summer games, Kupala performance) and family-ritual (birth, housewarming, wedding, funeral) works, combining dramaturgy, development of events and synthesis music, words and actions.
- 4) lyric-epic, includes heroic lyric-epic works - epics, thoughts, historical songs, and non-heroic ones - ballads, chronicle songs. These works organically combine lyrical and epic elements.
Epic, lyrical, dramatic and lyrical-epic works are divided into genres - song (carols, thoughts, songs, ballads, etc.) and prosaic (fairy tales, myths, etc.), some of them have many varieties. For example, a fairy tale as a type has the following genres, or genre varieties: tales about animals, fairy tales, fairy tales, social tales and fables.
In another classification, Russian folklore is divided into such groups of genres as ritual and non-ritual folklore. Each of these types of folklore contains a spectrum of corresponding genres.
A) Ritual folklore:
calendar folklore: winter, spring, summer and autumn cycles (carols, Maslenitsa songs, vesnyankas),
family folklore (family stories, lullabies, wedding songs, lamentations),
occasional folklore (spells, chants, rhymes).
- B) Non-ritual folklore:
- - folklore drama (Petrushka theater, nativity scene drama, religious drama),
- - poetry (epic, historical song, spiritual verse, lyric song, ballad, ditty),
- - prose: fairy tale (fairy tale: fairy tale, animal tale, social, historical) and non-fairy tale (tradition, legend, tale, mythological story,),
- - folklore of speech situations (proverbs, sayings, well wishes, curses, riddles, tongue twisters)
At the same time, there is a division of folklore into poetic and prosaic genres.
Introduction
Chapter 1 Cycles and composition of calendar ritual poetry
Chapter 3 Lamentations as a genre
Chapter 4 Conspiracies
Chapter 5 Fairy Tale
Chapter 6 Non-fairy prose
Chapter 7 Non-ritual lyrics. Lyric song
Chapter 8 Folk Drama
Chapter 9 Children's folklore
Chapter 11 Ditties
Chapter 12 Riddle
Conclusion
Used Books
Introduction
Folklore is folk wisdom. Folkloristics studies folklore. Folklore combines different types of arts (music, pagan and Christian rituals and traditions). The core of folklore is the word. Folklore is a phenomenon, not an art; it combines arts. And above all, this is a synthetic phenomenon. At the time of the formation of folklore, syncretism should be attributed (mutually; penetration; unity; coherence.) One of the most important qualities of folklore is the oral nature of its existence. The genre of folklore dies when its work ceases to be passed on from mouth to mouth. Variability is widely developed in folkloristics (everyone who hears information conveys it in their own way). Tradition in folklore is rules, frameworks that must be observed. Contamination is the merging of several plots into one. Folklore reflects the people's position, education, morality, and worldview.
a) 1 – ritual poetry. Ritual complexes associated with the calendar cycle and human economic and agricultural activities are identified.
2 – Ritual complexes associated with human life (everyday) – birth, naming, initiation, wedding ceremony, funeral.
3 – Ritual complexes associated with the physical, moral state of a person and with everything that lives in his house (conspiracies).
b) 1 – Non-ritual poetry. Epic (epic, fairy tale, ballad) and non-fairy tale (legend, tradition, true story, spiritual poems). Lyrics (lyric song). Drama (folk drama): inviting balagennyh grandfathers, Petrushka theater.
c) Small folklore genres (ditty, proverb, lullaby, sayings, nursery rhymes).
1 – Children’s folklore (riddles, teasers, nursery rhymes, etc.);
2 – Proverbs + sayings;
3 – Riddles;
Chapter 1 Cycles and composition of calendar ritual poetry
There is folklore associated with the preparation of the harvest (October - end of July - winter and spring-summer periods). The main rituals at this time are Christmastide (12/25-01/06), Maslenitsa (8 weeks before Easter) and Kupala (from June 23 to 24). As well as folklore associated with harvesting (autumn period - stubble time)
Poetry of the winter cycle.
Passive rite - fortune telling. Active – caroling. Both were accompanied by Christmas ritual songs, respectively, of two varieties - subservient songs and carols. Subject songs (with the help of allegories and symbols fortunetellers were promised wealth, prosperity, a successful marriage, or, vice versa) have a fortune-telling, not an incantatory character, but the ending of the songs is affirming, conjuring fate. This brings them closer to spells and carols that have a magical effect. Fortune telling could come down to either the interpretation of phenomena observed by humans, or to actions performed by the fortune tellers themselves and by people or animals on their orders.
Caroling is the walking of young people around the huts, with special songs that have three names according to the chorus called out by the carolers: carols (“Oh, Kolyada!”), Ovsen (“Oh, Ovsen, Tausen!”) and grapes (“Vinogradye, red- my green!”). Carols are very archaic in content, which was determined by their purpose. The main goal of the carolers was to wish the owners goodness, wealth, and prosperity. Some carols have an air of magnificence; they idealize the wealth and well-being of a peasant family. A distinctive feature of carols of the majestic type is their generalized nature. Another obligatory topic related to the purpose of carols is a request for a treat or reward. In many carols, a request or requirement for a treat is its only content. Another theme of carols is a description of walking, searching for Kolyada, the magical actions of carolers, ritual food, i.e. elements of the ritual itself. Carol composition:
1) appeal to Kolyada, search for her by carolers;
2) magnification, description of a ritual or request for a reward;
3) a wish for well-being, a request for alms.
Maslenitsa and Maslenitsa rituals.
At the center of the Maslenitsa holiday is the symbolic image of Maslenitsa. The holiday itself consists of three parts: a meeting on Monday, a revelry or turning point on the so-called Broad Thursday, and farewell. Songs for Maslenitsa can be divided into two groups. The first - meeting and honoring, has the appearance of grandeur. They glorify the wide, honest Maslenitsa, its dishes, and entertainment. She is completely called Avdotya Izotyevna. The character of the songs is cheerful and playful. The songs accompanying the farewell to Maslenitsa are somewhat different. They talk about the upcoming fast. The singers regret the ending of the holiday. Here Maslenitsa is already a dethroned idol, she is no longer magnified, but is called disrespectfully “a deceiver.”
Maslenitsa was usually interpreted primarily as a celebration of the victory of spring over winter, life over death.
Spring-summer cycle. Trinity-Semitic rites.
The first spring holiday - welcoming spring - falls in March. These days, in the villages, figurines of birds (larks or waders) were baked from dough and distributed to girls or children. Vesnyankas are ritual lyrical songs of the incantatory genre. The ritual of “spell” spring was imbued with the desire to influence nature in order to obtain a good harvest. Imitating the flight of birds (throwing larks from dough) was supposed to cause the arrival of real birds, the friendly onset of spring. Images of spring and birds dominate the stoneflies. Stoneflies are characterized by a form of dialogue or address in the imperative mood. Unlike a conspiracy, spring flowers, like carols, are performed collectively, which is expressed in appeals on behalf of a group of people. Spring festivities and youth games continued, starting from Red Hill, throughout April, May and June, despite the heavy field and garden work. At these festivities, drawn-out play and round dance songs were performed that had no ritual significance. Their themes - family, love - are revealed in everyday life.
Trinity-Semitic Week: Semik - the seventh Thursday after Easter, Trinity - the seventh Sunday, also called the “Russian” week or “green Christmastide”. This is a girl's holiday, taking place surrounded by blooming nature - in a field outside the outskirts, in a grove. The character of this holiday is determined by its main image - birch trees. The girls, dressed smartly and taking treats with them, went to “curl” birch trees. The girl's holiday was also accompanied by fortune telling. The girls wove wreaths and threw them into the river. By the wreath that floated far away, washed ashore, stopped, or sank, they judged the fate that awaited them. Fortune telling by wreaths was widely reflected in songs performed both during fortune telling and without regard to it.
Ivan Kupala holiday. The summer solstice holiday was celebrated on the night of Ivan Kupala (from June 23 to 24). This is a celebration of "full bloom of vegetation." During the Kupala holidays they do not help the earth, but, on the contrary, they try to take everything from it. On this night, medicinal herbs are collected. Whoever finds the fern, it was believed, will be able to find the treasure.
Funeral of Kostroma. At the same time (before Peter's Day, June 28), the holiday of Yarila or Kostroma was celebrated, which meant farewell to summer until a new revival of the forces of the earth. The central episode of the ritual is the funeral of Yarila, Kupala or Kostroma. The image of Kostroma is similar to the image of Maslenitsa. The cheerful funeral of Kostroma is similar to the same funeral of Maslenitsa.
Poetry of the autumn cycle.
Autumn rituals among the Russian people were not as rich as winter and spring-summer ones. They did not have a special calendar date and accompany the harvest. Zazhinki (the beginning of the harvest), dozhinki or obzhinki (the end of the harvest) - such work was done with the help of neighbors and was called “help” or “cleaning” - accompanied by songs. But these songs do not have a magical character. They are directly related to the labor process. The leading motive of such songs is an appeal to the harvesters. Dozhin songs are more diverse in theme and artistic techniques. They tell about the harvest and the custom of treating the reapers-tolochans. In pre-harvest songs there are elements of glorification of rich hosts who have treated the reapers well.
Chapter 2 Composition and classification of family and household ritual complexes
Family ritual poetry accompanied rituals marking the most important events in a person’s life - the birth of a child, the creation of a family, recruitment, death. These rituals, like the calendar ones, were accompanied by the performance of poetic works, some of which had a ritual origin, others - a wider sphere of existence. Works of the first kind: wedding, recruitment and funeral lamentations; Great songs, sentences, proverbs and dialogues are an integral part of maternity, recruitment and wedding rites. Works of the second kind: various kinds of songs, ditties, riddles, proverbs.
Wedding ceremony.
Marriage was considered by peasants primarily as an economic act of kinship between two families pursuing mutual benefit, and the acquisition of one of them as a new worker and continuator of the family.
The wedding ceremony was divided into 3 main rituals: 1 – pre-wedding cycle (matchmaking, collusion, hand-waving or singing, marriage, bachelorette party, bathhouse); 2 – wedding ceremony (gatherings and blessing of the bride, coming to pick up the bride, wedding, wedding feast); 3 – post-wedding (awakening of the newlyweds, withdrawal or separation). Wedding lamentations - the bride was supposed to mourn her lot, regret her girlhood and happy life in her parents' home, and express her ill will towards the groom and his family. All this found expression in the parable - a poetic genre that is a lyrical outpouring, a monologue of great emotional tension and insight, in which traditional poetic images are combined and developed through improvisation into bright contrasting pictures of a happy girlish and unhappy married life.
In addition to the bride's laments, wedding poetry also includes songs dedicated to different episodes of the wedding. A special genre of wedding songs, distinguished by their function and artistic specificity, are magnifications. Greatnesses pursued the goal of endowing those being honored with all the qualities that, in the opinion of the peasant, a happy person should have. There is no doubt about the ancient magical basis of exaltations, in which what is desired is presented as reality and is depicted colorfully and idealized. A majestic song has a descriptive character, it is a portrait song, a characteristic song, and not individual, but typical. The majestic song is characterized by richly developed and precise symbolism and parallelisms associated not only with the concept of wealth, prosperity, happiness, but also with the marital status of those being magnified. In addition to magnificence songs that create positive images, comic and parody magnification songs were heard at the wedding - reproachful songs. In meaning and imagery, they parodied real grandeurs, creating an unattractive, diminished, but also typical portrait of owners, matchmakers, boyfriends, etc. They were performed when the girls received little for their previous glory and wanted to ridicule the “poverty” and stinginess of the guests and hosts.
Funeral rite.
The main genre of the funeral ritual is lamentation. After declaring death, there is a lamentation on the topic: why did you leave, a request to stand up, open your eyes, and forgive offenses. Next is a crying warning. When bringing an empty coffin into the house - lamentation and gratitude to those who made the coffin. When carrying out a dead person, there are lamentations that the person will not return. When carrying a lamentation to a cemetery, in which the plot is similar to the grief of loss plus a notification. When lowered into the grave, lamentation - a request to return. When returning from the cemetery, lamentation is an imaginary search plus crying about the foreshadowing of troubles for the family. According to custom, on the day of the funeral there is a ritual dinner - a wake (trizna). The funeral service should not have been received with tears. On the contrary, it was necessary to eat more (give honor). Third day – funeral, wake; ninth day - the soul finally leaves the earth; the fortieth day is the complete ascent of the soul along 40 steps to the gates of heaven. You should definitely visit the grave on your anniversary and on parent’s day.
Chapter 3 Lamentations as a genre
Lamentations can be wedding, recruiting, funeral. The tales did not have a specific form or plot.
Recruitment ritual- of later origin than wedding and funeral rites. It took shape at the beginning of the 18th century, after Peter the Great introduced universal conscription (1699). Seeing off to “serve the sovereign” for 25 years for a peasant family was tantamount to the death of a recruit; entailed ruin and economic decline. In the army itself, there were frequent cases of brutal reprisals against soldiers, so the recruit’s relatives lamented over him as if he were dead. This ritual contained almost no magical or symbolic moments (sometimes the recruit was charmed from illnesses, and especially from bullets).
The purpose of conspiracies, like ritual poetry, was to have a magical effect on nature. Over time, the conspiracy acquired the meaning of a spell in words and, in connection with this, became a stable poetic formula, most often built on a comparison of a real action or phenomenon with the desired one and used to achieve therapeutic or other goals. An important feature of the conspiracy is belief in the magical power of words. There are two types of conspiracies: white - aimed at getting rid of illnesses and troubles and containing elements of prayer (witchcraft) - and black - aimed at causing damage, harm, used without prayer words (witchcraft associated with evil spirits). The use of spells in most cases was combined either with various types of traditional medicine, or with symbolic actions - echoes of ancient magic. By topic, conspiracies are divided into 3 groups: medicinal - against illness and painful condition of people and domestic animals, as well as against damage; economic - agricultural, livestock breeding, fishing - against drought, weeds, for taming domestic animals, hunting, fishing; aimed at regulating public and personal relationships between people: love sugars and cures for illnesses, to attract honor or favor. Christianity has had a great influence on conspiracies. Christian images of healing saints and prayers were supposed to strengthen the authority of the magical formula at a time when pagan beliefs had already been forgotten by the people. Composition of spells: introduction (usually a prayer address), beginning (indicating where the speaker or the person being spoken should go and what he should do); the main part (containing an expression of desire, an appeal-demand, dialogue, an action followed by a listing, expulsion of the disease) and fastenings (again a prayer appeal).
Chapter 5 Fairy Tale
Folk tale.
A fairy tale is a genre of non-ritual folklore. The most ancient genre in folklore. The genre is epic, narrative. A fairy tale is a work that is based on fiction. Initially, the fairy tale was not fun. A fairy tale is what they say. The most famous collector and publisher of fairy tales is A.N. Afanasyev (he replenished his stock of fairy tales from the records of P.I. Yakushin). He divided fairy tales into:
1. tales about animals;
2. short story tales;
3. fairy tales are magical.
Now the classification of fairy tales has changed. Highlight:
1 – cumulative;
2 - magical;
3 – tales about animals;
4 – adventurous;
5 – household;
6 – novelistic;
7 – satirical;
8 – fairy tales of the children's dramatic genre;
Folk dramatic art is a set of forms of dramatic creativity in different genres (round dance songs, ritual poetry). The degree of dramatization and theatricalization in different genres of folklore is different. It manifests itself in two forms: 1 – in the dramatic performance of epic and lyrical works; 2 – in the performance of folk plays by actors or puppets.
Chapter 9 Children's folklore
Children's folklore - works created by children and existing among them. But many works are invented and performed by adults for children (lullabies, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, tongue twisters). One of the regularities is a desirable element in a children's fairy tale - a hero-peer. National genres (proverbs, sayings, riddles) are distinguished. This is a genre for both children and adults. But within this genre itself there will still be an age division. Vinogradov also noticed that in rituals, ritual complexes, there are actions entrusted to children. For example: magpies, stoneflies. Or, for example, singing Christ’s words is a child’s prerogative. Over time, caroling and Christ-speaking merged together. Now, they have disappeared almost completely. But there are genres that live almost forever - sadistic poems, horror stories.
Chapter 10 Proverbs and sayings
A proverb is a short, stable in speech, rhythmically (proverbs were rhythmic, because this contributed to their faster memorization, in a time when there was no written language), organized figurative folk saying, which has the ability to be used in multiple meanings in speech according to the principle of analogy. To these properties it is also worth adding nationality, instructiveness, and categorical affirmation or denial. The most significant of all collections of proverbs is recognized as the collection by V.I. Dahl "Proverbs of the Russian people." It includes over 30,000 proverbs, sayings and other “small” genres of Russian folklore. The secret of the origin of proverbs is hidden in them themselves. Many proverbs invade the sphere of business relations and customs and become part of them. Initially, there were short sayings (“Mosquitoes hustle - go to the bucket”; “Dry March, but wet May give good bread”), expressing advice, household rules that had to be obeyed. The emergence of sayings is associated with the appearance in speech of stable figurative expressions that serve to compare similar phenomena. Structurally, the proverb is an image that defines either persons (“a pig under an oak tree” - ungrateful; “not one of the brave dozen” - a coward) or circumstances (“when the cancer whistles on the mountain”, “after the rain on Thursday”). The content of a saying determines its place in a sentence as a grammatical component - it acts as either a subject, or a predicate, or an object, or a circumstance. On this basis, attempts have been made to grammatically classify sayings.
Chapter 11 Ditties
Chatushki is a new genre of Russian folk poetry. Their appearance dates back to the second half of the 19th century. Chastooshkas are a small genre of folk lyrics, usually four-line or two-line songs, which are a lively response to the phenomena of life, with a clear positive or negative assessment, in which jokes and irony play an important role: ditties express the direct reaction of their authors and performers to what is depicted in them. The reasons that gave rise to the miniature form of folk lyrics - ditties, were: a significant disruption of life, a rapid change in its phenomena, which caused the need to quickly express attitudes towards them and determined the multi-subject nature of the ditties. Chastushki originated among peasants. They arose on a general folklore basis and go back to many genres, as if combining their features. At the same time, it is especially closely connected with some genres. The process of birth of ditties is associated with the transformation of the traditional lyrical song and its reduction in new conditions. The genre features of ditties include their extreme brevity and economy of expression and transmission of life content, plot situations and the experiences of the characters. Chastushki has several structural types. The main ones are: -two; -four; - six lines. In addition, two more types can be distinguished: ditties without a chorus and ditties with a chorus. Couples are most often love ditties (I have suffered, I will suffer, Whom I love, I will not forget). Quatrains are the most common form. It expresses all the basic forms and situations (They say that she is not white. What should we do, dear? Girls paint and bleach themselves, I wash myself with water.). Six lines are a rare form. It is obviously older and more connected with the traditional song (Early in the morning, my mother woke me up: - Get up, daughter, get up, - Having finished my work. I didn’t want to get up, Having sat with my dear one.). All three of these forms usually do not have a chorus. However, there are ditties in which the chorus plays an important expressive role; At the same time, he can link ditties into entire songs.
Chapter 12 Riddle
A riddle is an allegorical image of an object or phenomenon that is proposed to be guessed. It consists of two parts: the riddle itself and the answer. The riddle and the answer are organically linked. In most cases, the answer names an object or action, and the riddle is its metaphorical image. In a riddle, it is important to highlight the main, main features of the riddle. Often riddles rhyme. Characteristic of most riddles is a tale verse. Riddle is an ancient genre. Its ancient existence is indicated by the spread of riddles among peoples with an underdeveloped culture. The riddle can be included in a fairy tale (“The Greedy Old Woman”) and in songs (songs of groomsmen at a wedding).
Conclusion
I have only superficially examined some genres of Russian folklore.
Many more questions remained unanswered. However, even this superficial study shows what a huge path of development Russian folklore has gone through.
He went down in the history of our country as an active participant in our entire life, of each person individually, from birth to his death.
Throughout life, folklore helps a person live, work, relax, helps make decisions, and also fight enemies.
Used Books
1. Russian folklore / Ed. V. P. Anikina; - M.: Khud. Lit., 1985. –367 pp.;
2. T. M. Akimova, V. K. Arkhangelskaya, V. A. Bakhtina / Russian folk poetic creativity (a manual for seminar classes). – M.: Higher. School, 1983. – 208 p. ;
3. L. N. Tolstoy Epics / Reprint. Preface V. P. Anikina; - M.: Det.Lit., 1984. – 32 p. ;
4. Kruglov Yu. G. Russian ritual songs: Textbook. manual for teachers Institute for special "Russian" language or T.". – 2nd ed., rev. and additional – M.: Higher. school 1989. –320 p.
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Folklore, translated from English, means “folk wisdom, folk knowledge.” It was first introduced by the English scientist W.J. Toms in 1846. At first, this term covered the entire spiritual (beliefs, dances, music, wood carving, etc.), and sometimes the material (housing, clothing) culture of the people. Since the beginning of the 20th century. the term is also used in a narrower, more specific meaning: oral folk art.
Folklore is an art that has been formed over many centuries and changes over time.
Only all 3 of these factors, present AT THE SAME TIME, are a sign of folklore and distinguish it from literature.
Syncretism is the unity and indivisibility of various types of art, characteristic of the early stages of its development. Artistic creativity is not separated from other types of activity and, together with them, is directly included in practical life. Syncretism is an undeveloped state of early traditional folklore. The most ancient types of verbal art arose in the process of the formation of human speech in the Upper Paleolithic era. Verbal creativity in ancient times was closely connected with human labor activity and reflected religious, mythical, historical ideas, as well as the beginnings of scientific knowledge. Ritual actions, through which primitive man sought to influence the forces of nature, fate, were accompanied by words: spells and conspiracies were pronounced, and various requests or threats were addressed to the forces of nature. The art of words was closely connected with other types of primitive art - music, dance, decorative art. In science this is called “primitive syncretism.” Traces of it are still visible in folklore.
The Russian scientist A.N. Veselovsky believed that the origins of poetry are in folk ritual. Primitive poetry, according to his concept, was originally a choir song accompanied by dancing and pantomime. The role of the word at first was insignificant and entirely subordinated to rhythm and facial expressions. The text was improvised according to the occasion of the performance until it acquired a traditional character.
As humanity accumulated more and more significant life experience that needed to be passed on to subsequent generations, the role of verbal information increased. The separation of verbal creativity into an independent art form is the most important step in the prehistory of folklore.
Types of folklore: Epic (legends, fairy tales, traditions, epics - genres) Lyric-epic genre (transitional) - romance
Lyrics (songs, ditties); Drama (folklore theater)
Types of folklore: Archaic - folklore develops among peoples at the primitive stage of development. There is no written language yet; culture is oral. The folklore of people with mythological thinking covers the entire culture of the ethnic group. Classical - folklore takes shape in the era when states are formed, writing and literature emerge. Here artistic fiction is formed, a genre system is formed. Modern is post-folklore, which developed in Russia after the abolition of serfdom. His element is the city. Epic songs, fairy tales and traditional lyrical songs are being replaced by songs of a new formation, ditties, and anecdotes.
Folklore (according to V.E. Gusev) - verbally - musically - choreographically - the dramatic part of folk art (the spiritual component of folk culture) - not material art. Materially expressed (DPI) – folk art.
Folklore is a syncretic and synthetic art, because combines various types of art.
Signs of folklore: Orality (not only the form of dissemination, but the form in which it has the greatest aesthetic impact); Impersonality (the work has an author, but is not identified); Collectivity (as an aesthetic category. The quality of the project accepted by the team corresponds to folk tradition. Collectivity = tradition + improvisation); Traditionality (works are inserted on the basis of traditions); Variability (different options in different territories); Improvisation; Nationality (aesthetic category, expression of ideals, interests, aspirations of the people).
Tradition is stable patterns, artistic techniques and means used by a community of people for many generations and passed on from generation to generation. Tradition is understood as the most general principles of creativity, and in folklore - a set of stable plot forms, types, heroes, and poetic forms.
Genres of folklore:
The folklore genre is a set of works united by a common poetic system, everyday use, forms of performance and musical structure. (V.Ya. Propp) Genre is a unit of classification of folklore
Ph-r is divided into genera (epic, lyric, drama), genera - into types (eg, songs, fairy tales, etc.), and types into genres. If the method of existence of works is used as the basis for the classification, then the genre will be divided into ritual and non-ritual.
The epic reproduces reality in narrative form in the form of objective pictures. Divided into: Songs (poems)
Epics; historical songs; ballads; spiritual poems; Prose; Fairytale prose; Animal Tales; Fairy tales; Jokes
Novels; Non-fairy prose; Legends; Legends; Bylichki (demonological stories).
In epic folklore genres, the main artistic feature is the plot. It is built on a conflict, which is based on the hero's clash with supernatural or real opponents. The plot can be both simple and complex, the events can be perceived as both real and fictional, and the content can be related to the past, present and future.
Lyrics - lyrics poetically depict the inner, mental state of a person, his subjective experiences
Songs of Ditties; Lamentations; Dramatic genres of folklore have a spectacular and playful nature, and convey an attitude to reality in play action; Ritual games; Dramatic games; Late theatrical genres; Theater of live actors; Puppet show; Rayok;
According to the method of existence of works, folklore is divided into: Ritual; Ritual calendar; Ritual family; Non-ritual.
In addition, there are small genres of folklore: paremias; Proverbs and sayings; Puzzles
And also such types as children's folklore (lullabies, teasers, horror stories, chants, etc., folklore of workers (songs, ditties, prose), folklore of the Second World War (ditties, f-r of the front, rear, hijacked into occupation, Victory and .etc.)
Each folklore genre has its own circle of heroes, its own plots and stylistic devices, however, all folklore genres in their natural existence are interconnected and form a system. In this system, outdated f.zh. are destroyed. and on their basis new ones are born.
Folklore researchers: V.N. Tatishchev (18th century), Slavophiles P.V. Kirievsky, N.M. Yazykov, V.I. Dahl et al.; 1850-60s: F.I. Buslaev, A.N. Afanasyev, A.N. Veselovsky, V.F. Miller; beginning of the Soviet era: B.M. and Yu.M. Sokolovs, D.K. Zelenin, M.K. Azadovsky, N.P. Andreev. Second floor. 20 in: V.I. Chicherov, V.Ya. Propp, N.N. Veletskaya, V.K. Sokolova, L.N. Vinogradova, I.E. Karpukhin, V.P. Anikin, E.V. Pomerantseva, E.M. Meletinsky, V.A. Bakhtin, V.E. Gusev, A.F. Nekrylova, B.N. Putilov, etc.
In the book by N.P. Kolpakova “Russian folk everyday song”, among others, “game” and “lyrical” are named. The term “everyday” is unfortunate because it inspires the idea that, in addition to everyday songs, there are some other, non-everyday songs. The term “household” should be completely removed from scientific use as too broad and therefore not having any specific meaning. All songs are decidedly everyday songs, either because they live and are used in everyday life, or because they directly or indirectly reflect the life of the Russian village.
Carols can just as much be called everyday songs as soldiers' marching songs or lullabies; the only difference is which aspects of Russian life are directly or indirectly reflected in it. There are no songs outside of everyday life.
The division into “game”, on the one hand, and “lyrical”, on the other, is incorrect because lyricism is a broad concept, which includes the most diverse types of folk non-epic songs. This distribution is based on a narrow understanding of “lyrics” as an expression of deeply personal and intimate feelings. For folklore, such an understanding of “lyrics” is inapplicable.
Lyrics, along with epic and grammar, is a type of poetic creativity that expresses not only personal feelings of sadness, love, etc., but popular feelings of joy, sorrow, anger, indignation, and expresses it in a wide variety of forms. These forms constitute genres, while “lyrics” are not a genre. “Game” songs are one of the private forms of song performance; contrasting the concepts of “lyrical” and “game” songs and asserting their incompatibility is as wrong as talking about the incompatibility of the concepts of tree and birch.
The inability to distinguish genus and species, as well as to apply broader and narrower categories of classification, is generally very common. We can say that this method of distribution prevails in our country. The material is divided into categories without further subdivisions or ramifications, and phenomena of a very broad and very narrow nature fall into one row. The result is an enumeration without any divisions, without branches. Meanwhile, many errors could be avoided by using some signs for categories, others for subcategories, instead of combining them in one row, where they do not exclude each other.
It is quite obvious that as long as there are such erroneous ideas about the composition of Russian folklore, about the categories of this composition and about their relationships, the question of the genres of Russian song cannot be resolved.
How to get out of difficulties? We proceed from two theoretical premises. The first is that in folklore, with the unity or cohesion of content and form, the content is primary; it creates its own form, and not vice versa. This position remains true regardless of philosophical debates about what is meant by form and what by content.
The second premise is that different social groups create different, rather than identical, songs. Both of these premises are closely related. We believe that peasants, farm laborers, soldiers, workers will create songs with different content and that, due to this difference in content, their form will be different. This means that division on social grounds will not contradict division on poetic grounds. On the contrary, such a division will make it possible to introduce some system into the motley and varied world of song.
Without prejudging the question of what is called a genre in the field of lyric poetry and what is not, we will try to divide songs based on social affiliation. From this point of view, three large groups can be distinguished:
- songs of peasants doing agricultural work;
- songs of peasants separated from agricultural labor;
- workers' songs.
Let us first dwell on the songs of the peasants themselves.
The traditional division of peasant lyrics into ritual and non-ritual is logically and factually correct. It is also correct to divide ritual lyrics into calendar and family ritual lyrics.
The word “calendar songs” when applied to the lyrics is not entirely appropriate. These are songs of major national holidays that had a pronounced agricultural character. Therefore, it would be more correct to call the totality of these songs agricultural ritual lyrics.
Songs of this type are easily and naturally divided according to the holidays during which they were performed. At Christmas time, carols were sung - songs that glorified the owners and promised them a rich harvest, multiplication of livestock, health and prosperity. In gratitude for these promises (which were once credited with magical powers), the owners gave gifts to the carolers. On New Year's Eve they sang subbly songs. These songs accompanied fortune-telling, which consisted of placing several rings in a dish of water, and then short songs were sung, promising marriage, separation, death, travel, etc. During the songs, the rings were taken out, and the one to whom the ring belonged took a song to yourself.
Continuing the review, we can name Maslenitsa songs. Their number is very small and they are poorly preserved. These are funny songs about meeting and seeing off Maslenitsa. On Yegoryev Day in central Russia, for the first time after winter, cattle were driven out to pasture. On this occasion, special songs were sung, Yegoryev’s songs, the content of which boiled down to spells or conspiracies to protect livestock from wolves, deaths and lack of food. During the vernal equinox, the welcoming of spring was celebrated. On the day of this holiday, larks or waders were baked and given to children. Children tied them to twigs or trees, which was supposed to represent the arrival of birds, and sang special songs called stoneflies.
These songs called for spring and praised it. The birds seemed to bring spring on their wings. The seventh Thursday after Easter was called Semik. On this day, they decorated the birch tree, danced under it and sang songs in praise of the birch tree. The girls worshiped each other, and songs were also sung about this. These songs are usually called Semitic songs. In these songs, ritual motifs are intertwined with love ones. We know that special Kupala songs were sung during the summer solstice - on the day of Ivan Kupala, but the Russians did not preserve such songs. Finally, during the harvest, stubble songs were sung in this way.
They sang about the imminent completion of work and about the treat that awaits the reapers. Such songs were accompanied by glorification of the owner, in whose field the reapers helped to reap. We could highlight carols, sub-bread songs, Maslenitsa songs, vesnyankas, Yegoryevsk songs, Semitic songs, stubble songs. All of them belong to the field of ritual agricultural lyrics, but they have different contents and different forms, are performed differently, at different times and differ in their tunes.
Each of these types constitutes a genre, that is, it has a common poetic system and is performed in the same terms, in the same forms, and in the same musical style. A more detailed division of them is possible. So, for example, it is possible to establish different types of carols, sub-bowl songs, stoneflies, but these types do not represent new genres.
Another large area of ritual poetry is family ritual songs. These include funeral and wedding songs.
Funeral cries, or lamentations, or, as they are sometimes called popularly, screams, accompany all moments of the funeral rite: the dressing of the deceased, farewell before being taken out, immersion in the ground, the moment of relatives returning home to an empty hut. Each of these moments can be accompanied by songs that are specific in their content, but they can also be mixed.
The metrical structure of laments differs from the metrical structure of all other types of folk lyrics. In the classical form of laments, the meter is trochaic with a dactylic ending, the lines are long, covering from four to seven feet for different performers. Each line is syntactically complete, after each line there is a long pause, during which the singer sobs and sobs.
Wedding poetry also mainly consists of laments. The bride laments, or, if she does not know how to do this, the mourner. The main moments of the wedding ceremony, such as the conspiracy, bachelorette party, wedding day and others, are each accompanied by their own lamentations. The bride asked not to give her away in marriage, to postpone the wedding day, she is afraid of life in a new house, where hard work and unkind treatment await her.
All this shows that wedding laments represent a completely different genre than funeral laments. The bride sang sad songs, while the rest of the youth sang happy songs. This includes wedding songs for the newlyweds, their parents and guests of honor. On the contrary, mocking songs were sung towards the groomsmen, matchmakers and matchmakers; to get rid of such ridicule, it was necessary to pay off with money. The friend also created fun. But he did not sing, but performed various sentences, the content of which was greetings. These greetings may be accompanied by ridicule directed at girls, children, or, for example, grumpy old women who are offered to be shoved onto the stove, etc.
Friend's sentences are not songs. They are performed in rhymed prose, interspersed with all kinds of witticisms and jokes. Thus, the lamentations of the bride, majestic wedding songs and sentences of the groomsmen and songs of ridicule constitute the main genres of wedding poetry.
We move on to consider non-ritual lyrics - the richest type of folk song creativity. Having touched on ritual lamentations, we must resolve the issue of non-ritual lamentations. We mean those lamentations or laments that are performed over various misfortunes and disasters with which peasant life was so rich. Do these laments belong to the same genre as funeral laments or not?
One of these disasters is the transfer of a guy to a recruit, and subsequently the conscription of recruits into the army. This moment was accompanied by lamentations or cries, which are commonly called recruiting lamentations. But cries and lamentations could be accompanied by any other sad moment in the life of a peasant: a fire, sending a patient to the hospital; on various occasions, farm laborers and orphans lamented about their lot; they cried as they reminisced about their past.
During the Great Patriotic War, women wailed when they received news of the death of their husband, son, or brother. Refugees cried when returning home, seeing their homes destroyed. It is generally accepted to combine all types of lamentations into one genre, distinguishing three main types: funeral, recruitment and wedding. We saw above that the bride’s wedding lamentations constitute a completely special genre.
There are more grounds for combining the laments of recruits and others with funeral laments. Indeed, the verse in both cases is sometimes completely the same, especially in the mouths of the same performers. Thus, the famous Irina Fedosova performed funeral and recruitment lamentations in exactly the same way. The difference here seems to concern only the subject matter, and this does not yet give grounds to talk about different genres.
From our point of view, the similarity of the metric system does not yet provide grounds for unification into one genre. Funeral laments are ritual poetry, with its roots going back to pagan times. The composition of ritual laments is determined by the course of the ritual, and therefore it is uniform, but the composition of non-ritual laments is as diverse as life itself is diverse. The world of ideas, images and vocabulary are also deeply different. They also differ in their everyday use, and this, as we have seen, is one of the signs of the genre.
We come to the conclusion that in the field of lamentations there are three genres: two ritual ones - weddings and funerals, and one non-ritual one, which includes recruitment lamentations and others associated with wartime disasters, as well as laments associated with various misfortunes of the old peasant life.
V.Ya. Propp. Poetics of folklore - M., 1998
