All genres of folklore in literature. Oral folk art is a source of age-old wisdom

Oral folk art is the traditional verbal creativity of the people. It can be both ancient and new - created in our days. Its main feature is that this art of words is passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

There are a lot of genres in verbal folk art. These are myths and legends, epics, epics, proverbs and sayings, riddles, ditties, fairy tales, songs... The list of them can be endless. The creator is not an individual, but a people. That is why not a single work has its own specific, single author.

Over the centuries, the creations of people have evolved into entire verbal forms, which subsequently form rhymes (“verses”). Thanks to this technique, the works were easier to transmit and remember. Thus, ritual, round dance, dance, and lullaby songs appeared.

The subject of folklore creativity completely depended and continues to depend on the culture, beliefs, history and region of residence of the people. But main feature Such creations were and remain a combination of a direct reflection of life and a conditional one. Simply put, in folklore there is not, and was not, a mandatory reflection of life in the form of life itself; convention is always allowed in it.

Genres of folklore

To better understand what oral folk art is, it is necessary to take a closer look at its genres, and there are a great many of them in this type of verbal art.

Proverbs and sayings

Let's start with those that we know well and sometimes use in everyday life - with proverbs and sayings. These types oral art are one of the most interesting genres that have survived to this day.

No one knows for certain when these genres of oral creativity appeared. The undoubted fact remains how accurately and concisely, figuratively, logically complete, the saying expresses the people's mind and experience accumulated over many centuries.

Meanwhile, many of us have long been accustomed to thinking that proverbs and sayings are one and the same thing. Actually this is not true. A proverb is a complete sentence containing folk wisdom. It is written in simple, often rhyming language.

Example of Russian proverbs:

"God saves man, who save himself"

"Small spool but precious"

“A penny saves the ruble”

Then, as a saying, it is an established phrase or phrase. It is intended for decoration.

Example of Russian sayings:

“Stay with your nose” (be deceived)

“Disservice” (help that turns into harm)

“When the cancer whistles on the mountain” (never)

Signs

Signs are another folklore genre that has undergone quite a few changes, but still has not lost its wisdom and has reached modern people.

It appeared in ancient times, when our ancestors were very close to nature, when people observed it, the phenomena occurring around them, and found connections between events. Over time, people put their observations into words. This is how signs appeared, which through the centuries carry the collected knowledge of their ancestors.

Some examples of weather signs:

The larks fly to the warmth, the chaffinch to the cold.

A lot of sap flows from a birch tree - for a rainy summer.

Sparrows bathe in the sand - predicting rain.

Also, many old signs related to home and everyday life have survived to this day. The most common is: “Spilling salt means shedding tears.” It is believed that this sign appeared in the middle of the 17th century, during the times of riots and uprisings in Rus'. Back then, salt was literally worth its weight in gold. This is where the meaning came from - spilling such an expensive “seasoning” like salt will inevitably lead to a quarrel in the house.

A few more examples of everyday signs that are undoubtedly familiar to us:

“If you whistle at home, you’ll miss the money”

“Clothes inside out means hassle”

“If you sew on yourself, you will sew up a memory”

Fairy tales

Since ancient times, certain elements of children's folklore - fairy tales - have also been preserved. Later, this genre of oral art changed greatly. this happened under the influence of aesthetic and pedagogical functions, but still it continues to exist.

However, some genres of verbal art “die out” over time, and humanity gradually forgets about them. This process is a natural phenomenon; it does not indicate the decline of folk art. On the contrary, the process of “dying away” is a sign that, due to changes in the conditions of human existence, the artistic collective creativity of the people is developing, as a result of which new genres appear and old ones disappear.

Epics

These genres include epics (or as they were also called - antiquities - Russian heroic-patriotic songs-legends, the main plot of which was important historical events or heroic deeds of heroes and warrior maidens). This genre arose in Ancient Rus', existed until the Middle Ages and gradually began to be forgotten by the 19th century.

In addition, almost forgotten genres also include ritual folklore. Let's look at its components a little closer.

Calendar folklore and annual song cycle

These small genres appeared in connection with the need to monitor the agricultural cycle, as well as changes occurring in nature and religious holidays.

Many proverbs, signs, advice and prohibitions have developed in calendar folklore. Here are some of which have survived to this day:

“If it melts early, it won’t melt for a long time”

“March sows with snow and warms with sun”

Quite a few songs were composed by the people for the annual song cycle. So on Maslenitsa it was customary to bake pancakes, perform rituals of farewell to winter and sing ritual songs. This and some other old traditions have been preserved to this day.

Family folklore

It included such small genres as: family stories, lullabies, nurseries, nursery rhymes, wedding songs, funeral laments.

The name “Family Stories” speaks for itself, and this genre of verbal art has existed since time immemorial - perhaps as long as a person has lived in this world. It is noteworthy in that it is formed quite separately, as a rule, within the framework of the family and close circle.

In addition, this genre has its own peculiarity, it can form “certain expressions” that are understandable only to family members or people present during the event that led to the appearance of this phrase. For example, in the Tolstoy family there was such an expression as “the architect is to blame.”

The birth of this expression was preceded by an event: when Ilya Tolstoy was five years old, New Year he was given the promised cup. The happy child ran to show everyone his gift. While running across the threshold, he tripped and fell. The cup broke. Little Ilya, justifying himself, said that he was not to blame, but the architect who made this threshold was to blame. Since then, the family of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy has had its own expression equivalent to the winged one - “the switchman is to blame.”

Lullabies

One more no less interesting genre There were lullabies in family folklore. In the old days, the ability to sing lullabies was considered special art. During the game, mothers taught their daughters how to “cradle” correctly. This ability was necessary so that older girls, already at the age of six or seven, could look after the younger ones. That is why special attention was paid to this skill.

The purpose of lullabies was not only to calm, but also to protect the child. Many songs were “conspiracies.” They were called upon to protect small child from the dangers that could await him in the future. Often lullabies were addressed to spirits and mythological creatures, carriers of sleep - Dream, Dream. They were called to lull the baby to sleep. Currently, this genre of folk art is almost forgotten.

Pestushki and nursery rhymes

Pestushki and nursery rhymes were short melodies. They helped the child in development and knowledge of the world around him. Perhaps someone remembers from childhood - “Magpie-Crow...”. Such small songs and sayings encouraged the baby to take action, instilled hygiene skills, developed fine motor skills and reflexes, and helped to explore the world.

Wedding songs

Wedding songs were strikingly different from all other small genres of family folklore. Notable was the fact that these songs were not played outside the wedding ceremony. Moreover, from a functional point of view, they were extremely important, since they played a kind of “legal role” in this event. Along with wedding songs, lamentations played an important role in the ritual. They were an integral part of the holiday; they were lyrical narratives that described the experiences of the bride, parents and girlfriends.

Glorification also played a significant role. Guests used them in songs to praise the bride and groom and wish the newlyweds well-being and happiness. On top of that, not a single wedding could be complete without reproachful songs. This small component of the wedding ceremony consisted of comic songs. As a rule, they were addressed to matchmakers, because of whom the bride “left” her family, girlfriends and lost her maiden will.

Funeral lamentations or laments are another ancient folklore genre, the time and appearance of which no one knows for certain. It has survived only in “scraps” to this day, but from the name you can easily understand what we are talking about and what this genre served for.

The main feature of this oral creativity was that it had its own “formula”, or better yet, a strict sequence, which each mourner “decorated” with his own creative element - a story about the life, love or death of the deceased. Now, for example, part of the ritual, as well as crying, can be seen and heard in the film “Viy” (1967).

Occasional folklore

Folklore that does not correspond to generally accepted use. It had an individual character, determined by a specific situation and occasion. It included such small genres as chants, counting rhymes, and conspiracies.

Calls

Russian folklore is incredibly rich. They were small songs, often not devoid of humor and accompanied by playful actions. The plots of this small genre were very different: they could be chants about the weather and weather phenomena, about nature and the seasons, about animals and fairy-tale creatures...

Rain, rain! Rain, rain!

On me and on people!

A spoonful for me.

For people it’s okay.

And for the devil in the forest -

Lei a whole bucket!

Counting books

Counting tables are another small genre of verbal folk art. It arose a long time ago, but has now almost disappeared from modern folklore. Meanwhile, no matter how surprising it may sound, in ancient times, counting rhymes were widely used by adults. Their main function was the distribution of work.

Yes Yes. After all, then many types of work were not only very difficult, but sometimes life-threatening. Therefore, few people of their own free will wanted to take on such a task. And the counting rhymes made it possible to distribute the work between the participants so that no one would be “offended.” Nowadays, this “important role” of counting rhymes has been lost, but they still exist and still perform their function in children's games.

CONSPIRACY

And finally, the most amazing, but far from the last, ancient genre of oral folk art, quite complex in its structure, which, oddly enough, continues to live in our time - conspiracy. Function, since its inception of this genre, has not changed. He still continues to play the role of a “magic weapon” designed to fulfill the wish of the speaker. As mentioned above, this genre is quite original in its execution and is often complex in its design - this is its peculiarity.

We can talk about the genres of oral folk art for an infinitely long time, because all directions are interesting and unique in their own way. This article is intended only to acquaint the reader with the immense, multifaceted wealth of human culture and wisdom, which clearly reflects the experience of previous generations.

These are small folklore works. In some works there is a definition children's folklore, since such folk works enter a person’s life very early, long before mastering speech.

Pestushka(from the word nurture, that is, to nurse, groom) - a short poetic chant of nannies and mothers, with which they accompany the actions of a child that he performs at the very beginning of his life. For example, when the child wakes up, the mother strokes and caresses him, saying:

Stretchers, stretchers,
Across the fat girl
And in the hands of the veil,
And in the mouth there is a talk,
And in the head there is reason.

When a child begins to learn to walk, they say:

Big feet
Walked along the road:
Top, top, top,
Top, top, top.
Little feet
Running along the path:
Top, top, top, top,
Top, top, top, top!

Nursery rhyme - an element of pedagogy, a song-sentence that accompanies playing with a child’s fingers, arms and legs. Nursery rhymes, like pesters, accompany the development of children. Small rhymes and songs allow you to encourage the child to take action while simultaneously performing a massage, physical exercise, stimulating motor reflexes. This genre of children's folklore provides incentives to play out the plot using fingers (finger games or Ladushki), hands, and facial expressions. Nursery rhymes help instill in a child hygiene and order skills, develop fine motor skills and the emotional sphere .

Examples

"Magpie"

Magpie Crow, (running finger over palm)
Magpie Crow,
I gave it to the kids.
(curls fingers)
Gave this one
Gave this one
Gave this one
Gave this one
But she didn’t give it to this:
- Why didn’t you cut wood?
- Why didn’t you carry water?

« » (clap hands on stressed syllables)

Okay, okay, where have you been? By Grandma!
What did you eat? Porridge!
What did you drink? Mash!
Butter porridge!
Sweet mash!
(Grandma is kind!)
We drank, ate, sh-u-u-u...
Shuuu!!! (Home) Let's fly!
They sat on their heads! (“Ladushki” sang)
We sat down and sat down,
We flew on (Home)!!!

joke(from bayat, that is, to tell) - a poetic, short, funny story that a mother tells her child, for example:

Owl, owl, owl,
Big head,
She was sitting on a stake,
I looked to the side,
He turned his head.

They teach something.

The road is a spoon for dinner.
If you're afraid of the wolf, don't go into the forest.
Birds of a feather flock together.
You can’t even pull a fish out of a pond without difficulty.
Fear has big eyes.
The eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
There is no need for treasure if there is harmony in the family.
Don't have 100 rubles, but have 100 friends.
An old friend is better than two new ones.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
If I had known where you would fall, I would have laid out straws.
You make a soft bed, but sleep hard.
The Motherland is your mother, know how to stand up for her.
Seven do not wait for one.
If you chase two hares, you won't catch either.
The bee is small, but it also works.
Bread is the head of everything.
Being a guest is good, but being at home is better.

kissing. As a rule, these games were played at parties and get-togethers (usually ending with a kiss between a young guy and a girl);

ritual. Such games were characteristic of some kind of ritual, holiday. For example, Maslenitsa festivities(typical fun: removing a prize from the top of a pole, tug of war, competitions for dexterity, strength);

seasonal . Particularly common among children, especially in winter time. We played the so-called “Warmers”: the leader shows some movements, and everyone else repeats. Either traditional “collars” and “ ».

An example of a kissing game:

The drake chased the duck,
The young man was driving sulfur,
Go home, Ducky,
Go home, Gray,
Duck has seven children,
And the eighth Drake,
And the ninth itself,
Kiss me once!

In this game, the “Duck” stood in the center of the circle, and the “Drake” outside, and played similar to the game “ " At the same time, those standing in the round dance tried not to let the “drake” into the circle.

Calls- one of the types of invocation songs of pagan origin. They reflect the interests and ideas of peasants about the economy and family. For example, the spell of a rich harvest runs through all the calendar songs; For themselves, children and adults asked for health, happiness, and wealth.

Calls are an appeal to the sun, rainbow, rain and other natural phenomena, as well as to animals and especially often to birds, which were considered the harbingers of spring. Moreover, the forces of nature were revered as living: they make requests for spring, wish for its speedy arrival, and complain about winter.

Larks, larks!
Come and visit us
Bring us a warm summer,
Take the cold winter away from us.
Us Cold winter got bored
My hands and feet were frozen.

Counting book- a short rhyme, a form of drawing lots to determine who leads the game. A counting table is an element of the game that helps establish agreement and respect for the accepted rules. Rhythm is very important in organizing a counting rhyme.

Aty-baty, the soldiers were walking,
Aty-baty, to the market.
Atty-batty, what did you buy?
Aty-baty, samovar.
How much does it cost?
Aty-baty, three rubles
Aty-baty, what is he like?
Aty-baty, golden.
Aty-baty, the soldiers were walking,
Aty-baty, to the market.
Atty-batty, what did you buy?
Aty-baty, samovar.
How much does it cost?
Aty-baty, three rubles.
Aty-baty, who's coming out?
Aty-baty, it's me!

Patter - a phrase built on a combination of sounds that makes it difficult to quickly pronounce words. Tongue twisters are also called “ ”, as they promote and can be used to develop diction. Tongue twisters can be both rhymed and non-rhymed.

Greek rode across the river.
He sees a Greek: there is a cancer in the river,
He stuck the Greek's hand into the river -
Cancer for the hand of a Greek - DAC!

The bull was blunt-lipped, the bull was blunt-lipped, the bull's white lip was dull.

From the clatter of hooves, dust flies across the field.

Mystery, like a proverb, is a short figurative definition of an object or phenomenon, but unlike a proverb, it gives this definition in an allegorical, deliberately obscure form. As a rule, in a riddle one object is described through another based on similar features: “The pear is hanging - you can’t eat it” (lamp). A riddle can also be a simple description of an object, for example: “Two ends, two rings, and a nail in the middle” (scissors). This is both a folk pastime and a test of ingenuity and intelligence.

The role of riddles and jokes was also played by inverted fables, which for adults appear as absurdities, but for children - funny stories about something that does not happen, for example:

From behind the forest, from behind the mountains, Grandfather Egor is coming. He is on a gray cart, on a creaking horse, belted with an axe, a belt tucked into his belt, boots wide open, a zipun on his bare feet.
In preschool pedagogy, there are many methods and techniques for influencing children, the choice of which depends on the specific situation. Sometimes educators, when introduced to advanced pedagogical experience(in print, while watching open classes, games) discover new techniques for managing and designing play areas and mechanically transfer them to their work, without getting the desired result. Methodological techniques bring results in cases where the teacher applies them systematically and takes into account general trends mental development children, the patterns of formed activity, if the teacher knows and feels each child well. A person’s acquaintance with works of art, with the best examples of oral folk art, should begin from the first years of his life, since the period of early and preschool childhood is a defining stage in the development of the human personality. The age of up to five years is the richest in a child’s ability to quickly and greedily learn about the world around him and absorb a huge amount of impressions. It is during this period that children, with amazing speed and activity, begin to adopt the norms of behavior of those around them, and most importantly, master the means of human communication - speech. The youngest children are first introduced to works of oral folk art. The brilliant creator of language and the greatest teacher, the people, created such works of artistic expression that lead the child through all stages of emotional and moral development. A child’s acquaintance with oral folk art should begin with songs and nursery rhymes.

Oral folk art is the richest heritage of every country. Folklore existed even before the advent of written language; it is not literature, but a masterpiece of the art of oral literature. The genera of folklore creativity were formed in the pre-literary period of art on the basis of ceremonial and ritual actions. The first attempts to comprehend literary genera date back to the era of antiquity.

Types of folklore creativity

Folklore is represented by three genera:

1. Epic literature. This genus is represented in prose and poetry. Russians folklore genres epic kind represented by epics, historical songs, fairy tales, tales, legends, parables, fables, proverbs and sayings.

2. Lyrical literature. All lyrical works are based on the thoughts and experiences of the lyrical hero. Examples of folklore genres of the lyrical direction are represented by ritual, lullabies, love songs, ditties, bayat, haivka, Easter and Kupala songs. In addition, there is a separate block - “Folklore lyrics”, which includes literary songs and romances.

3. Dramatic literature. This is a type of literature that combines epic and lyrical methods of depiction. The basis of a dramatic work is a conflict, the content of which is revealed through the acting of the actors. Dramatic works have a dynamic plot. Folklore genres dramatic kind are represented by family ritual, calendar songs, and folk dramas.

Individual works may contain features of lyrical and epic literature, therefore a mixed genre is distinguished - lyric-epic, which in turn is divided into:

Works with heroic characters, lyric-epic content (epic, duma, historical song).

Non-heroic works (ballad, chronicle song).

There is also folklore for children (lullaby, nursery rhyme, comfort, pestushka, fairy tale).

Genres of folklore

Folklore genres of folk art are represented in two directions:

1. Ritual works of UNT.

Performed during the rituals:

Calendar (carols, Maslenitsa activities, freckles, Trinity songs);

Family and household (birth of a child, wedding celebrations, celebration of national holidays);

Occasional works - came in the form of spells, counting rhymes, chants.

2. Non-ritual works of UNT.

This section includes several subgroups:

Drama (folklore) - nativity scenes, religious works, theater "Petrushki".

Poetry (folklore) - epics, lyrical, historical and spiritual songs, ballads, ditties.

Prose (folklore) in turn is divided into fairy-tale and non-fairy-tale. The first includes tales about magic, animals, everyday and cumulative tales, and the second is associated with famous heroes and heroes of Rus' who fought witches (Baba Yaga) and other demonological creatures. Also included in non-fairy tale prose are tales, legends, and mythological stories.

Speech folklore is represented by proverbs, sayings, chants, riddles, and tongue twisters.

Folklore genres carry their own individual plot and meaning.

Images of military battles, exploits of heroes and folk heroes are observed in epics, vivid events of the past, everyday life and memories of heroes from the past can be found in historical songs.

Stories about the actions of the heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich are epic. The folklore genre of the fairy tale tells about the actions of Ivan the Tsarevich, Ivan the Fool, Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga. Family songs are always represented by characters such as mother-in-law, wifey, hubby.

Literature and folklore

Folklore differs from literature in its unique system of constructing works. Its characteristic difference from literature is that genres folklore works have beginnings, beginnings, sayings, retardations, trinity. Also significant differences style compositions there will be the use of epithet, tautology, parallelism, hyperbole, synecdoche.

Just as in oral folk art (ONT), folklore genres in literature are represented by three genera. This is epic, lyric, drama.

Distinctive features of literature and CNT

Large works of literature, represented by novels, short stories, novellas, are written in calm, measured tones. This allows the reader, without interrupting the reading process, to analyze the plot and draw appropriate conclusions. Folklore contains a saying, a beginning, a saying and a chorus. The technique of tautology is the basic principle of storytelling. Hyperbole, exaggeration, synecdoche and parallelism are also very popular. Such figurative actions are not allowed in literature all over the world.

Small folklore genres as a separate block of UNT works

This system includes mainly works for children. The relevance of these genres continues to this day, because every person gets acquainted with this literature even before he begins to speak.

The lullaby became one of the first works of folklore. The presence of partial conspiracies and amulets is direct evidence of this fact. Many believed that otherworldly forces act around a person; if a child sees something bad in a dream, it will never happen again in reality. This is probably why the lullaby about the “little gray top” is popular even today.

Another genre is nursery rhyme. To understand what exactly such works are, we can equate it to a sentence song or a song with simultaneous actions. This genre promotes the development of fine motor skills and emotional health in a child; the key point is considered to be scenes with the play of fingers “Magpie-Crow”, “Ladushki”.

All of the above small folklore genres are necessary for every person. Thanks to them, children learn for the first time what is good and what is bad, and are accustomed to order and hygiene.

Folklore of nationalities

An interesting fact is that different nationalities, in their culture, traditions and customs, have common points of contact in folklore. There are so-called universal desires, thanks to which songs, rituals, legends, and parables appear. Many peoples hold celebrations and chanting to obtain a rich harvest.

From the above, it becomes obvious that different peoples are often close in many spheres of life, and folklore unites customs and traditions into a single structure of folk art.

Folklore is those works that are the fruit of the people’s creativity; They for a long time passed from one storyteller to the next. The term itself comes from the merger of two words - “people” and “wisdom”. Since the 19th century, a wave of interest in folklore arose, and active recording of tales, epics, legends, etc., their classification and study began.

Works of folklore

Folklore works are usually divided into lyrical, dramatic and epic. Among the dramatic genres, the so-called “ Folk dramas" Lyrical - these are folk songs, lamentations. Epic are works of relatively large volumes; This category includes:

• Legends;
• Fairy tales;
  Epic cycles: for example, Kiev, Moscow and Novgorod. Each of them is dedicated to its own theme: Kiev - heroes unite to defend their homeland around the court of Prince Vladimir. Moskovsky is about the urban customs of that time. Novgorodsky is dedicated, in particular, to such personalities as Sadko or Vasily Buslaev;
• Historical songs.

But besides the big genres, there are also small ones:

• Children's folklore (lullabies, jokes, nurseries, nursery rhymes, etc., as well as works that children themselves compose, for example, horror stories);
• Folk songs are those that were usually sung while working in the fields; This also includes ritual songs - for example, wedding songs;
• Proverbs and sayings are aphoristic sayings that reflect folk experience. For example: “An old friend is better than two new ones” or “If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either”;
• Games;
• Calls are one of the forms of the song genre, something between a song and a conspiracy. People asked the forces of nature or certain animals, which were considered symbols of spring, for happiness, health, wealth, harvest for themselves and their families. At the same time, in the texts the forces of nature were personified, they were addressed as something living.
• Counting books;
• Tongue Twisters;
• Puzzles.

The connection between folklore and literature

Although there is a huge difference between folklore and literature, they also have common features. They create artistic images, have a similar generic system, many authors sought and found inspiration (and even themes) for their works in folklore, and some author’s works took root in society so much that almost no one remembered that they had an author.

Genres of Russian folklore

Fairy tales, songs, epics, street performances - all these are different genres of folklore, folk oral and poetic creativity. You can’t confuse them, they differ in their specific characteristics, their role in people’s life is different, and they live differently in modern times. At the same time, all genres of verbal folklore have common characteristics: they are all works of verbal art, in their origins they are associated with archaic forms of art, they exist mainly in oral transmission, and are constantly changing. This determines the interaction of the collective and individual principles in them, a unique combination of traditions and innovation. Thus, the folklore genre is a historically developing type of oral poetic work. Anikin V.P. gave his characteristics to folklore. Childbirth: epic, lyric, drama

Types: song, fairy tale, non-fairy tale prose, etc.

Genres: epic, lyrical, historical song, legend, etc.

Genre is the basic unit of study of folklore. In folklore, genre is a form of mastering reality. Over time, depending on changes in everyday life and the social life of the people, the system of genres developed.

There are several classifications of folklore genres:

Starting to analyze each genre of folklore, let's start with fairy tales.

Fairy tales are the oldest genre of oral folk art. It teaches a person to live, instills optimism in him, and affirms faith in the triumph of goodness and justice.

A fairy tale is of great social value, consisting in its cognitive, ideological, educational and aesthetic meanings, which are inextricably linked. Like other peoples (Russians, perhaps, more clearly), a fairy tale is an objectified contemplation of the people’s heart, a symbol of their sufferings and dreams, hieroglyphs of their soul. All art is generated by reality. This is one of the foundations of materialist aesthetics. This is the case, for example, with a fairy tale, the plots of which are caused by reality, i.e. era, social and economic relations, forms of thinking and artistic creativity, psychology. It, like all folklore in general, reflected the life of the people, their worldview, moral, ethical, socio-historical, political, philosophical and artistic and aesthetic views. It is closely connected with folk life and rituals. Traditional Russian fairy tales were created and circulated mainly among peasants. Their creators and performers were usually people with extensive life experience, who walked a lot in Rus' and saw a lot. The lower the level of education of people, the more they talk about the phenomena of social life at the level of ordinary consciousness. Maybe that’s why the world reflected in fairy tales is formed at the level of everyday consciousness, on people’s everyday ideas about beauty. Each new era brings tales of a new type, new content and new form. The fairy tale changes along with the historical life of the people, its changes are caused by changes in the folk life, because it is a product of the history of the people; it reflects the events of history and features of folk life. Coverage and understanding of the history and life of the people in folklore changes along with changes in popular ideas, views and psychology. In fairy tales one can find traces of several eras. In the era of feudalism, an increasing place is occupied by social topics, especially in connection with the peasant movement: fairy tales expressed anti-serfdom sentiments. The 16th-18th centuries are characterized by the rich development of fairy tales. It reflects historical motifs (tales about Ivan the Terrible), social ones (tales about judges and priests) and everyday tales (tales about a man and his wife). In the fairy tale genre, satirical motifs are significantly enhanced.

XYIII - first half of the 19th century. - The last stage of the existence of feudal-serf society. This time is characterized by the development of capitalist relations and the decomposition of the serfdom system. The tale becomes even more vivid social aspect. It includes new characters, most notably a smart and cunning soldier. In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which saw the increasingly rapid and widespread development of capitalism in Russia, great changes occurred in folklore. The satirical motives and critical orientation of the tale are intensified; the basis for this was the aggravation social contradictions; The purpose of satire is increasingly becoming to expose the power of money and the arbitrariness of authorities. Autobiography occupied a greater place, especially in tales about going to the city to earn money. The Russian fairy tale becomes more realistic and acquires a closer connection with modernity. The illumination of reality and the ideological essence of the works also become different.

The cognitive significance of a fairy tale is manifested, first of all, in the fact that it reflects the characteristics of phenomena real life and provides extensive knowledge about the history of social relations, work and life, as well as an idea of ​​the worldview and psychology of the people, and the nature of the country. The ideological and educational significance of the fairy tale is that it is inspired by the desire for good, protection of the weak, and victory over evil. In addition, a fairy tale develops an aesthetic sense, i.e. sense of beauty .

It is characterized by the revelation of beauty in nature and man, the unity of aesthetic and moral principles, the combination of reality and fiction, vivid imagery and expressiveness.

Fairy tale - very popular genre oral folk art, epic genre, plot. A fairy tale differs from other prose genres (traditions and legends) in its more developed aesthetic side, which is manifested in its focus on attractiveness. The aesthetic principle, in addition, manifests itself in the idealization of positive heroes, a vivid image of " fairy world", amazing creatures and objects, miraculous phenomena, romantic overtones of events. M. Gorky drew attention to the expressions in fairy tales of people's dreams about a better life: “Already in ancient times, people dreamed of the opportunity to fly through the air - this is what the fairy tale talks about, about the flying carpet. We dreamed of accelerating movement on the ground - a fairy tale about running boots...”

In science, it is generally accepted to divide fairy tale texts into three categories: fairy tales, short story (everyday) tales and tales about animals.

Fairy tales were very popular among the people. Fiction in fairy tales has the nature of fantasy. The magical principle contains the so-called survival moments and, first of all, the religious-mythological view of primitive man, his spiritualization of things and natural phenomena, his attribution to these things and phenomena magical properties, various religious cults, customs, rituals. Fairy tales are full of motifs containing belief in the existence of the other world and the possibility of returning from there, the idea of ​​death enclosed in some material object (egg, flower), a miraculous birth (from drinking water), and the transformation of people into animals and birds. The fantastic beginning of a fairy tale grows on a spontaneous materialistic basis and remarkably correctly captures the patterns of development of objective reality.

This is what M. Gorky called “an instructive invention - the amazing ability of human thought to look ahead of the fact.” The origin of science fiction has its vital roots in the peculiarities of the way of life and in the dream of people about domination over nature. All these are just traces of mythological ideas, since the formation of the classical form of a fairy tale ended far beyond the historical boundaries of primitive communal society, in a much more developed society. The mythological worldview only provided the basis for the poetic form of the fairy tale.

The important point is that the plots of fairy tales, the miracles they talk about, have a basis in life. This, firstly, is a reflection of the characteristics of the work and life of people of the tribal system, their relationship to nature, and often their powerlessness before it. Secondly, reflection feudal system, especially early feudalism (the king is the enemy of the hero, the struggle for inheritance).

A character in fairy tales is always a bearer of certain moral qualities. The hero of the most popular fairy tales is Ivan Tsarevich. He helps animals and birds, who are grateful to him for this and, in turn, help him. He is presented in fairy tales as a folk hero, the embodiment of the highest moral qualities - courage, honesty, kindness. He is young, handsome, smart and strong. This is the type of brave and strong hero.

A significant place in fairy tales is occupied by female heroines who embody the folk ideal of beauty, intelligence, kindness, and courage. The image of Vasilisa the Wise reflects the remarkable features of a Russian woman - a beauty, majestic simplicity, gentle pride in herself, a remarkable mind and a deep heart full of inexhaustible love. To the consciousness of the Russian people, this is exactly how female beauty was imagined.

The serious meaning of some fairy tales provided grounds for judgment on the most important issues of life. Thus, some fairy tales embody the freedom-loving aspiration and struggle of the Russian people against tyranny and oppressors. The composition of a fairy tale determines the presence of characters who are hostile to the positive heroes. The hero's victory over hostile forces is the triumph of goodness and justice. Many researchers have noted the heroic side of the fairy tale and its social optimism. A.M. Gorky said: “It is very important to note that folklore is completely alien to pessimism, despite the fact that the creators of folklore lived hard, their slave labor was meaningless by the exploiters, and personal life powerless and defenseless. But with all this, the collective seems to be characterized by the consciousness of its immortality and confidence in victory over all forces hostile to it.” Fairy tales in which social and everyday relations standing at the center of the action are called social-domestic. In this type of fairy tales, the comedy of actions and verbal comedy are well developed, which is determined by their satirical, ironic, humorous nature. The theme of one group of fairy tales is social injustice, the theme of another is human vices, in which the lazy, stupid, and stubborn are ridiculed. Depending on this, two varieties are distinguished in social and everyday fairy tales. Social and everyday tales arose, according to researchers, in two stages: everyday - early, with the formation of a family and family life during the decomposition of the tribal system and social - with the emergence of class society and the aggravation of social contradictions during the period of early feudalism, especially during the decomposition of the serfdom and during the period of capitalism. The growing lack of rights and poverty of the masses caused discontent and protest, and were the basis for social criticism. Positive hero socially everyday tales- socially active, critical person. Hard work, poverty, darkness, often unequal marriage in terms of age and property status caused complications in family relationships and determined the appearance of stories about an evil wife and a stupid and lazy husband. Socially everyday fairy tales are distinguished by their acute ideological orientation. This is reflected, first of all, in the fact that the stories mainly have two important social themes: social injustice and social punishment. The first theme is realized in plots where a gentleman, merchant or priest robs and oppresses a peasant and humiliates his personality. The second theme is realized in stories where an intelligent and quick-witted man finds a way to punish his oppressors for centuries of lawlessness and makes them look ridiculous. In social and everyday fairy tales, the aspirations and expectations of the people are much more clearly expressed, the dream of a socially fair, happy and peaceful life. “In these fairy tales one can see the way of life of the people, their home life, their moral concepts and this crafty Russian mind, so inclined to irony, so simple-minded in its craftiness.”

Fairy tales, as well as some other genres of folklore prose, reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of peasant psychology, expressed the centuries-old dream of a happy life, of a certain “peasant kingdom.” The search for “another kingdom” in fairy tales is a characteristic motif. A fairy-tale social utopia depicts the people's material well-being, well-fed contentment; The man eats and drinks to his heart's content and has a "feast for the whole world." N. G. Chernyshevsky noted: “The poverty of real life is the source of life in fantasy.” The peasant judges a “happy” life for himself according to the example of those material goods owned by kings and landowners. The peasants had a very strong faith in the “good king,” and the fairy-tale hero becomes just such a king in many fairy tales. At the same time, the fairy-tale king, in his behavior, way of life, and habits, is likened to a simple peasant. The royal palace is sometimes depicted as a rich peasant courtyard with all the attributes of a peasant farm.

Tales about animals are one of the oldest types of folklore. Going back to ancient forms of reflecting reality in the early stages of human consciousness, fairy tales about animals expressed a certain degree of knowledge of the world.

The truth of fairy tales is that although they talk about animals, they reproduce similar human situations. The actions of animals more openly reveal inhumane aspirations, thoughts, reasons for the actions committed by people. Animal stories are all stories in which there is room not only for fun, but also for the expression of serious meaning. In fairy tales about animals, birds and fish, animals and plants act. Each of these tales has a meaning. For example, in the fairy tale about the turnip, the meaning turned out to be that no amount of strength, even the smallest one, is superfluous, and it happens that it is not enough to achieve a result. With the development of human ideas about nature, with the accumulation of observations, tales include stories about man's victory over animals and about domestic animals, which was the result of their instructions. The identification of similar features in animals and humans (speech - cry, behavior - habits) served as the basis for combining their qualities with human qualities in the images of animals; animals speak and behave like people. This combination also led to the typification of animal characters, which became the embodiment of certain qualities (fox - cunning, etc.). This is how fairy tales acquired an allegorical meaning. Animals began to mean people of certain characters. Animal images became a means of moral teaching. In fairy tales about animals, negative qualities are not only ridiculed (stupidity, laziness, talkativeness), but also the oppression of the weak, greed, and deception for profit are condemned. The main semantic aspect of fairy tales about animals is moral. Fairy tales about animals are characterized by bright optimism; the weak always come out of difficult situations. The connection of the fairy tale with the ancient period of her life is revealed in the motives of the fear of the beast, in overcoming fear of it. The beast has strength and cunning, but no human intelligence. Images of animals acquire meaning at a later stage in the life of a fairy tale. social types. In such variants, in the image of a sly fox, a wolf and others, one can see human characters that arose in the conditions of a class society. Behind the image of the animal in them one can guess the social relations of people. For example, in the fairy tale “About Ersha Ershovich and his son Shchetinnikov” a complete and accurate picture of ancient Russian legal proceedings is given. In the fairy tales of every nation, universal themes receive a unique national embodiment. Russian folk tales reveal certain social relationships, show the way of life of the people, their home life, their moral concepts, the Russian view, the Russian mind - everything that makes a fairy tale nationally distinctive and unique. The ideological orientation of Russian fairy tales is manifested in the reflection of the people's struggle for a wonderful future. Thus, we saw that the Russian fairy tale is a generalized, evaluative and purposeful reflection of reality, which expresses human consciousness, and in particular the consciousness of the Russian people. The old name of a fairy tale - fable - indicates the narrative nature of the genre. In our time, the name “fairy tale” and the term “fairy tale”, which began to come into use in the 17th century, are used among the people and in scientific literature. 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 fairy tale is distinguished by its strict form and the obligatory nature of certain moments. 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. In manuscripts of the 16th - 17th centuries. records of the fairy tales “About Ivan Ponamarevich” and “About the Princess and Ivashka the White Shirt” have been preserved. In the 18th century In addition to handwritten collections of fairy tales, printed publications began to appear. Several collections of fairy tales have appeared, which include works with characteristic compositional and stylistic fairy-tale features: “The Tale of the Thief Timoshka” and “The Tale of the Gypsy” in V. Levshin’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1780-1783), “The Tale of Ivan the Bogatyr” , a peasant’s son” in P. Timofeev’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1787). In the 60s of the XIX century. A.N. Afanasyev published a collection “Treasured Tales”, which included satirical tales about bars and priests. IN late XIX- early 20th century A number of important, well-prepared collections of fairy tales appear. They gave an idea of ​​the distribution of works of this genre, its state, and put forward new principles of collecting and publishing. After the October Revolution, collecting fairy tales, as well as collecting works of folklore in general, took on organized forms.

Mikhailova O. S. Considered: tales about animals. Historical roots of fairy tales about animals (animistic, anthropomorphic, totemistic ideas, folk beliefs). Evolution of the genre. Heroes of fairy tales about animals. Style. Absence of abstract fable allegorism. The satirical function of allegories. Irony. Paradoxical plot. Dialogue. Compositional features. Cumulative tales. Fairy tales. Miracle, magic as a fairy-tale-plot basis of fairy tales. Historical roots of fairy tales (mythological ideas, folk demonology, folk rituals, everyday prohibitions, magic, etc.). Poetic conventions of fairy tales. The main ideas of fairy tales. Compositional features. Features of the author's word. Dialogue. Fairy tales. Heroes and their functions. Fairytale chronotope. Everyday tales. The proximity of an everyday fairy tale to a short story. Ways of forming the genre of short story tales. Typology of everyday tales (family tales, about masters and servants, about the clergy, etc.). Poetics and style (everyday “groundedness”, entertaining plot, hyperbolization in the depiction of characters, etc.).

One cannot but agree with the opinion of V.P. Anikin that fairy tales seem to have subjugated time, and this applies not only to fairy tales. In each era they live their own special lives. Where does a fairy tale have such power over time? Let us think about the essence of the similarity that fairy tales have with equally stable, seemingly “timeless” truths expressed by proverbs. A fairy tale and a proverb are united by the extraordinary breadth of artistic generalization contained in them. Perhaps this property is most clearly revealed in allegorical tales.

The next genre is “epic”. The word “epic” is raised to the word “byl”; it means a story about what once happened, what happened, the reality of which they believed. The word "epic" as a term denoting folk songs with a certain content and a specific artistic form. The epic is the fruit of artistic invention and poetic flight of imagination. But fiction and fantasy are not a distortion of reality. Epic stories always contain deep artistic and life truth. The content of the epic is extremely varied. Basically, this is an “epic” song, i.e. narrative in nature. The main core of the epic consists of songs of heroic content. The heroes of these songs do not seek personal happiness, they perform feats in the name of the interests of the Russian land. The main characters of the Russian epic are warriors. But the type of heroic epic is not the only one, although it is the most characteristic of the Russian epic. Along with heroic ones, there are epics of a fairy-tale-heroic or purely fairy-tale nature. Such, for example, are the epics about Sadko and his stay in the underwater kingdom. An epic narrative can also have a social-everyday or family-everyday character (novelistic epics). Some of these epics can be classified as a special group of ballad songs. It is not always possible to draw the line between epic and ballad songs.

In folklore collections, epics of both heroic, fairy-tale, and novelistic nature are usually placed side by side. Such a combination gives a correct idea of ​​the breadth and scope of Russian epic creativity. Taken together, all this material forms a single whole - the Russian folk epic. Currently, we have a huge amount of epic material, and the epic can be well studied. From the end of the seventeenth century. epic stories (“Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Mikhailo Potyk”, etc.) penetrate into the handwritten story and are presented as entertaining reading material under the name “History”, “Word” or “Tale” [9]. Some of these stories are very close to the epic and can be divided into verses, others are the result of complex literary processing under the influence of ancient everyday literature, fairy tales, Russian and Western European adventure novels. Such “histories” were very popular, especially in cities where genuine epics were written in the 17th - 18th centuries. was little known. The first collection containing epics in the proper sense is the “Collection of Kirsha Danilov,” first published by A.F. Yakubovich in 1804 under the title “Ancient Russian Poems.” It was most likely created in Western Siberia. The manuscript contains 71 songs, with notes for each text. There are about 25 epics here. Most of the songs were recorded from voices, the recordings are very accurate, many features of the singers’ language have been preserved, and the texts are of very great artistic value. Kirsha Danilov is traditionally considered the creator of the collection, but who he is and what his role in compiling this first collection of epics and historical songs in Russia is unknown. The first collector of epics was Pyotr Vasilyevich Kireevsky (1808 - 1856). Kireyevsky not only collected songs himself, but also encouraged his friends and relatives to do this work. Among Kireyevsky's collaborators and correspondents were the poet Yazykov (his main assistant), Pushkin, Gogol, Koltsov, Dal, and scientists of that time. The epics were published as part of ten issues of “Songs collected by P.V. Kireevsky (1860 - 1874). The first five issues contain epics and ballads, the second half is devoted mainly to historical songs. The collection contains recordings of epics made in the Volga region, in some central provinces of Russia, in the North and in the Urals; These records are especially interesting because many of them were made in places where epics soon disappeared and were no longer recorded. One of the most remarkable collections of epics is a collection published by Pavel Nikolaevich Rybnikov (1832 - 1885). Having been exiled to Petrozavodsk, traveling around the province as secretary of the statistical committee, Rybnikov began to write down epics of the Olonets region. He recorded about 220 epic texts. The collection was published under the editorship of Bessonov in four volumes “Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov” in 1861 - 1867. In addition to epics, this collection contains a number of wedding songs, lamentations, fairy tales, etc. The appearance of Rybnikov's collection was a great event in public and literary life. Together with Kireevsky's collection, it opened up a new field of science. Ten years after the appearance of Rybnikov’s collection, Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding went to the same places specifically for the purpose of recording epics. In two months he managed to record more than 300 texts. Some epics were recorded by him later, from singers who came to St. Petersburg. The collected songs entitled “Onega epics recorded by Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding in the summer of 1871” were published in one volume. There are 318 texts in total. The songs are arranged by region, village and performer. The texts were recorded with all the care and precision possible for the collector. From now on, arranging material by performer became the practice of publishing epics and fairy tales and continues to this day. The sixties were the years special attention to the poetry of peasants. During these years, “Folk Russian Tales” by A.N. Afanasyev (1855 - 1864), “Great Russian Tales” by I.A. Khudyakov (1863), “Proverbs of the Russian People” by V.I. Dahl (1861) were published. With the onset of the reaction of the 80s, interest in folk poetry fell for some time. Only in 1901 A.V. Markov published a small collection of “White Sea epics”. Markov moved to the far north and visited the eastern shore of the White Sea. In total, the collection contains 116 epics. The plot, style and form of existence of epics turned out to be significantly different here than in the Onega region. Several new subjects were found. In all respects, Markov’s collection significantly expanded the existing scientific understanding of the epic. One of the largest and most significant expeditions was the expedition of A.D. Grigoriev to the Arkhangelsk province, which lasted three summers. Over three summers of collecting work, he recorded 424 texts, which were subsequently published in three volumes entitled “Arkhangelsk epics and historical songs” (1904 - 1910). As a result, Grigoriev’s collection became the largest and one of the most interesting in Russian folklore. The records are highly accurate. For the first time, recording epic tunes on a phonograph was widely used. A sheet music book is included with each volume. A detailed map of the North is attached to the entire publication, indicating the places where the epics were recorded. In 40 - 60 years. XIX century In Altai, the remarkable ethnographer Stepan Ivanovich Gulyaev recorded epics. Siberian records are of great importance, since they often retain a more archaic form of plot than in the North, where epics have changed more. Gulyaev recorded up to 50 epics and other epic songs. His entire collection was published only in Soviet times. IN summer months 1908 - 1909 brothers Boris and Yuri Sokolov made a folklore expedition to the Belozersky region of the Novgorod province. It was a well-organized scientific expedition. Its goal was to cover all the folklore of a given region with records. The predominant genres were fairy tales and songs, but unexpectedly epics were also found. 28 texts were recorded. Bylinas were collected not only in the North, in Siberia and the Volga region. Their existence in the 19th - 20th centuries. was discovered in places of Cossack settlements - on the Don, on the Terek, among the Astrakhan, Ural, and Orenburg Cossacks.

The largest collector of Don Cossack songs was A.M. Listopadov, who devoted fifty years of his life to this work (starting from 1892 - 1894). As a result of multiple trips to Cossack villages Listopadov recorded a huge number of songs, including more than 60 epics; his notes provide a comprehensive picture of the Don epic in the form in which it was preserved by the beginning of the twentieth century. The value of Listopadov’s materials is especially enhanced by the fact that not only the texts, but also the tunes were recorded.

As a result of collecting work, it became possible to determine the features of the content and form of the Cossack epic, its plot composition, manner of execution, and to imagine the fate of the Russian epic in the Cossack regions. The merit of Russian scientists in the field of collecting epics is extremely great. Through their efforts, one of the best assets of Russian national culture was saved from oblivion. The work of collecting epics was carried out entirely by individual enthusiasts who, sometimes overcoming various and very difficult obstacles, selflessly worked on recording and publishing monuments of folk poetry.

After the October Revolution, the work of collecting epics took on a different character. Now it is beginning to be carried out systematically and systematically by research institutions. In 1926-1928. State Academy artistic sciences in Moscow, equipped an expedition under the slogan “In the footsteps of Rybnikov and Hilferding.” The epics of the Onega region are among the best, and the Onega region is among the richest in epic tradition. As a result of planned and systematic work, 376 texts were recorded, many of them in excellent preservation.

Long-term and systematic work was carried out by Leningrad scientific institutions. In 1926 -1929. The State Institute of Art History sent complex art history expeditions to the North, which included folklorists. In 1931 - 1933 work on the creation of folklore was carried out by the folklore commission of the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences in Petrozavodsk. A total of 224 texts were published in the collection. The publication is distinguished by high scientific level. For each of the epics, salts are given for all variants known in science. In subsequent years, expeditions were also organized to study the epic genre. The collecting work of Russian scientists was intensive and fruitful both in pre-revolutionary and Soviet times. Much is stored in archives and is still waiting to be published. The number of published epics can be estimated at approximately 2,500 song units.

The concept of epics was also considered by V.V. Shuklin.

Epics and myths, ancient epic genre epics (North Russian people called them antiquities) took shape in the 10th century. The word epic, i.e. "truth". "act". Found in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. Its author begins his song “according to the epics of this time, and not according to the thoughts of Boyan.” The appearance of epics under Prince Vladimir is not accidental. His warriors performed their feats not on long campaigns, but in the fight against nomads, i.e. in plain sight, so they became available for epic chanting.

Also Anikin V.P. spoke about the fact that among oral works there are those by which the significance of folklore in folk life is primarily judged. For Russian folk, these are epics. Only fairy tales and songs stand next to them, but if we remember that ballads were both spoken and sung, then their predominance over other types of folklore will become clear. Epics differ from songs in their solemnity, and from fairy tales in the grandeur of their plot action. An epic is both a story and a majestic song speech. The combination of such properties became possible because epics arose in ancient times, when storytelling and singing were not yet separated as decisively as they happened later. Singing gave the storytelling solemnity, and storytelling through singing gave it a resemblance to the intonations of human speech. The solemnity of the tone corresponded to the glorification of the heroic deed in the epics, and the singing put the story into measured lines so that not a single detail would disappear from people’s memory. This is an epic, a song story.

It is also worth noting one of the genres of folklore, “legends,” which were discussed by T. V. Zueva and B. P. Kirdant.

Legends are prose works, in which fantastic understandings of events are associated with phenomena of inanimate nature, with the world of plants, animals, as well as people (planet, people, individuals); with supernatural beings (God, saints, angels, unclean spirits). The main functions of legends are explanatory and moralizing. The legends are associated with Christian ideas, but they also have a pagan basis. In legends, man turns out to be immeasurably higher than evil spirits

Legends existed both oral and written. The term “legend” itself comes from medieval writing and translated from Latin language means "that which must be read".

The following genres can be combined into one. Since they have a lot in common, these are proverbs and sayings. Kravtsov N.I. and Lazutin S.G. said that a proverb is a small non-lyrical genre of oral creativity; a form of saying that has entered into speech circulation, fitting into one grammatically and logically complete sentence, often rhythmic and supported by rhyme. It is characterized by extreme brevity and simplicity.

Sayings are closely related to proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings belong to small genres of folklore. In most cases they are even more concise than proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings are not specifically performed (they are not sung or told), but are used in real life. colloquial speech. At the same time, sayings differ significantly from proverbs in the nature of the content, in the form, and in the functions performed in speech.

The collection and study of sayings went simultaneously with the collection and study of proverbs. N. P. Kolpakova, M. Ya. Melts and G. G. Shapovalova believed that the term “proverb” began to be used to designate a type of folk poetry only from the end of the 17th century. Previously, proverbs were called “parables.” However, the existence of proverbs as special sayings expressing popular judgments in figurative form can be noted in very distant times. folklore fairy tale epic riddle

Many specific historical events of ancient Rus' found echoes in proverbs. However, the historical value of the proverb lies not only in this, but mainly in the fact that it preserved many historically developed views of the people, for example, the idea of ​​​​the unity of the army and the people: “Peace stands before the army, and the army stands before peace”; about the strength of the community: “The world will stand up for itself”, “You cannot win over the world”, etc. It is impossible not to emphasize the opinion of N. S. Ashukin and M. G. Ashukina. The proverb captures the high ethical ideals of the working people, their love for their homeland: “The native side is the mother, the foreign side is the stepmother”; deep respect for work, skill, skill, intelligence, courage, truth, honesty. Many proverbs have been created on these topics: “You can’t catch a fish out of a pond without labor,” “Across arable land and brush,” “Craft has its trade,” “It’s time for business, it’s time for fun,” “Those who are ugly in face are good in mind,” “Learning is better than wealth”, “Truth is more valuable than gold”, “Poverty and honesty are better than profit and shame.” And, on the contrary, the proverb denounces laziness, deceit, drunkenness and other vices: “Laziness does no good, it dines without salt”, “Give him a flaky testicle”, “He spreads a leaf and aims to bite” (about duplicity), “He got drunk on honey , hung over with tears,” etc.

IN AND. Dahl also gave his own definition of a saying. A saying is a roundabout expression, figurative speech, a simple allegory, a circumlocution, a way of expression, but without a parable, without judgment, conclusion, application; this is the first half of the proverb.

Another major genre of folklore is the “riddle”. The object of a folk riddle is the diverse world of objects and phenomena surrounding a person.

The folk riddle also draws its images from the world of everyday objects and phenomena surrounding a person, which the worker encountered in the process of his activity.

The usual form of a riddle is short description or a condensed story. Each riddle includes a hidden question: who is it? What is this? etc. In a number of cases, the riddle is expressed in a dialogical form: “Crooked and crafty, where did it run? - Green, curly, - watch out for you” (fence).

The riddle is distinguished by its two-part construction; it always involves a solution.

Many of the riddles have rhyming endings; in some, the first part rhymes, but the second part maintains the meter. Some riddles are based on the rhyming of words alone; The riddle rhymes with the answer: “What kind of matchmaker is there in the hut?” (grasp); “What kind of Samson is in the hut?” (screen).

The riddle is still preserved among the people not only as a means of entertainment, but also as a means of education, the development of children's intelligence and resourcefulness. The riddle answers the child's questions: what comes from? what is made from what? what are they doing? what is good for what?

The systematic collection of Russian folk riddles began only in the second half of the 19th century. By the 17th century Only records made by amateur collectors apply.

Proverbs and sayings

The collection and publication of proverbs began in the 17th century. However, in the most ancient collections, along with folk ones, proverbs of book origin were also included. The compilers discarded popular proverbs that were hostile to religion and the authorities. The most democratic tendencies in the selection and publication of folk proverbs appeared in N. Kurganov’s “Pismovnik” (1769), where the compiler included 908 proverbs.

In 1848, I. M. Snegirev published “Russian folk proverbs and parables.” His collection was dominated by genuine folk proverbs. Following Snegirev, in 1854. Proverbs were published by F. I. Buslaev. In a special article “Russian life and proverbs,” he commented on them from the point of view of mythological theory. In 1861 V. I. Dahl’s great work “Proverbs of the Russian People” was published, which included about 30,000 proverbs, sayings and other small genres of folk poetry. The most important collections of proverbs of the second half of the 19th century V. and the beginning of the 20th century. there were collections: “ Winged words"S. V. Maksimova (1890), "Accurate and current words" by M. I. Mikhelson (1894), "The life of the Russian people in their proverbs and sayings" by I. I. Illustrov (1915). Kravtsov N.I., Lazutin S.G. They believed that both proverbs and sayings, and riddles belong to the small (aphoristic) genres of folklore.

Riddles have much in common with proverbs and sayings in content and artistic form. However, they also have specific features and represent an independent genre of folklore.

The term “riddle” is of ancient origin. In the Old Russian language the word “guess” meant “to think”, “to reflect”. This is where the word “mystery” comes from. The riddle gives a substantive description of some phenomenon, the recognition of which requires considerable thought. Most often, riddles are allegorical in nature. Anikin V.P. said that the riddle emphasizes the variety of forms, the brightness of the colors of the world surrounding the peasant: “Red, round, oblong leaves” (rowan). Some riddles create a sound image: “I listen, I listen: sigh after sigh, but not a soul in the hut,” says the riddle about the dough, which makes a sound similar to a sigh during fermentation. Sound images appeared especially often in riddles about peasant work.

The world around a person is a mystery in constant movement: “Grayish, toothy, prowling the field, looking for calves, looking for guys” (wolf); “The small, hunchbacked one crossed the whole field, went through all the paddocks” (reap); “Five sheep eat up the stack, five sheep run away” (hands and tow).

I would like to say a little about “tradition.” Folklorists have not yet given a sufficiently satisfactory and substantiated definition of legends. Often in scientific literature, traditions and legends are mixed, although these are different genres. This is explained by proximity, as well as the presence of transitional forms, some of which are closer to legends, while others are closer to legends.

Legends are popularly called “bylya” and “byvalshchina”. They are characterized by historical themes. The legends are close to historical songs, but have a prosaic form, not a poetic one.

Legends - epic, i.e. narrative, plot genre. The collection of Russian folk legends was not carried out systematically.

You also cannot miss such a genre of folklore as “ditties”. Zueva T.V. and Kirdant B.P. emphasize that the most developed genre of late traditional folklore are ditties.

Chats are short rhymed lyrical songs that were created and performed as a lively response to various life phenomena, expressing a clear positive or negative assessment. Many ditties contain jokes or irony. The earliest ditties had six lines. The main type - four-line - was formed in the second half of the 19th century; it was performed with and without dance. The dance ditties themselves are also four-line, which are performed only to dance (for example, to a square dance).

In addition, there are two-line ditties: “suffering” and “Semyonovna”.

The chastushkas have varied, but repetitive, stable melodies, both drawn-out and fast. It is typical to perform many texts in one tune. In live existence, ditties are sometimes characterized by recitativeness.

Chastushki finally took shape in the last quarter of the 19th century. Simultaneously in different parts of Russia: in the center, middle and lower Volga region, in the northern, eastern and southern provinces.

Ditties are main genre peasant lyrics in later traditional folklore. And finally, I would like to consider a few more genres of folklore—all varieties of “songs.” Which are described in detail by S.V. Alpatov, V.P. Anikin, T.B. Dianova, A.A. Ivanova, A.V. Kulagina. Definition of the genre and the question of the limitation of the term “historical song”. The difference between a historical song and an epic. Continuity of historical songs with epics. Historical song as a stage in the development of epic creativity. Principles of selective, interested depiction of events and persons in historical songs. A historical song as a work relevant for its time and the question of the subsequent transformation of its meaning and images. Early examples of historical songs: a song about Avdotya Ryazanochka, about the murder of Shchelkan Dudentievich, Polonyanki (“Mother meets daughter in Tatar captivity”, etc.). The diversity of early historical songs and the question of later changes in them. A cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible and the events of his reign (“The Capture of Kazan”, “Temryuk-Mastryuk”, “The Wrath of Ivan the Terrible on His Son”, “Raid of the Crimean Khan”, etc.), about Ermak (“Ermak in the Cossack Circle”, etc. .), about the Time of Troubles (“Grishka Otrepyev”, “The Cry of Ksenia Godunova”, “Skopin-Shuisky”, “Minin and Pozharsky”), etc. The people’s view of historical figures and understanding of the meaning of their activities. Cossack historical songs about Stepan Razin (“Razin and the Cossack circle.” “Razin’s March to Yaik,” “Son,” “Razin near Astrakhan,” “Song of the Razins.” “Esaul reports on the execution of Razin”). Poeticization of Razin as the leader of the Cossack freemen. Condemnation of Razin by the Cossack circle. Lyrical beginning as a factor transforming the epic narrative. A special lyrical-epic structure of the songs. Historical songs about Peter the Great and the events of his reign (“The Tsar judges the archers.” “About the beginning of the Northern War”, “Well done going to Poltava”, “Tsar Peter on the ship”, etc.). Historical songs about the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 (“Napoleon writes a letter to Alexander”, “Kutuzov calls to defeat the French”, “Napoleon in Moscow”, “Cossack Platov”, etc.). Question about songwriters. Reflection of the thoughts and feelings of soldiers in songs. The idea of ​​defending the fatherland. New themes in soldier and Cossack historical songs in comparison with songs from other cycles. Types of characters in historical songs: folk hero, king, commander. Image of the people. Poetics and style of historical songs. Genre varieties: epic songs (with a detailed plot, one-episode), lyric-epic songs. Collections of historical songs of the XIII - XIX centuries. four books published in the series “Monuments of Russian Folklore”, Institute of Russian Literature Ak. Sciences, 19601973. Ballad songs. The term “ballad” and its history (Provençal dance songs of the 11th-17th centuries; Anglo-Scottish ballads; literary romantic ballads). Russian folk names for ballad songs: “verse”, “song”. Definition of the genre, its characteristics. The most important properties of ballad songs: epicness, family and everyday themes, psychological drama, the art of the tragic. Origin of ballad songs. The question of the time of their origin is debatable: a look at the appearance of ballads in the era of the decomposition of ancient syncretism (A. N. Veselovsky), in the early period of written history (N. P. Andreev), in the Middle Ages (V. M. Zhirmunsky, D. M . Balashov, B. N. Putilov, V. P. Anikin). Ballad songs about the Tatar (later Turkish) Polon: “The girl was taken prisoner by the Tatars”, “Russian girl in Tatar captivity”, “The red girl is running from the Polon”, “The rescue of the Polonyanka”, “Prince Roman and Marya Yuryevna”, “Two slaves” ", "Escape of slaves from captivity." Later adaptations of ballads about polon: “Young Khancha”, “Pan brings Russian polonyanka to his wife”. Plots of ballad songs of the 14th-16th centuries: “Vasily and Sophia”, “Dmitry and Domna”, “Rowanka”, “Prince Mikhailo”, “Widow’s Children”, etc. Love ballads: “Dmitry and Domna”, “Cossack and tavern ”, “The kidnapping of a girl”, “A girl defends her honor”, ​​“A nun drowns a child”. Family and everyday ballads: “Prince Roman was losing his wife”, “The husband was ruining his wife”, “Rowan”; “Fedor Kolyshatoy”, “Alyosha and the sister of two brothers”, “Brother, sister and lover”, “Sister-poisoner”, “Daughter of a thousand-man”, “Forcible tonsure”. Incest theme: “Hunter and his sister”, “Brother married his sister”, “Ivan Dorodorovich and Sophia the Princess”, etc. Ballads of the 17th-18th centuries: “The slandered wife”, “The wife of her husband stabbed to death”, “The Robber Brothers” and sister”, “The Robber’s Wife”, etc. The crisis of the traditional ballad genre. Appearance at the end of the 18th century the beginning of the nineteenth V. new ballads. Ballads: about social inequality: “Well done and the princess”, “Prince Volkonsky and Vanya the key-keeper”, “The princess and the chamberlain”, “The girl dies from the love of the voivode’s son”; about poverty and grief: “Grief”, “Well done and grief”, “Well done and the Smorodina River”, etc. Features of the composition and plot of ballads: open course of action, predicted fatal outcome, tragic recognition. The role of monologues and dialogues. Dramatic. Single-conflict. Dynamics of action development. Characteristics: destroyer, victim. Fantastic motifs: metamorphosis, werewolf, talking animals and birds, magical (living and dead water as a means of healing). The art of psychological depiction. Poetic language, allegory. Connections between ballads and epics, historical songs, spiritual poems, lyrical songs). New ballads, their connections with old ones (plot and thematic similarities and differences). History of collecting ballads. Collection by N. P. Andreev and V. I. Chernyshev, collection by D. M. Balashov.

Lyrical songs. Determination of the genre features of non-ritual songs as a type of folk lyrics: their freedom from ritual, relative non-confinement to the time of performance, the predominance of poetic functions over pragmatic ones, the use of a unique metaphorical and symbolic language for versatile life content and revealing the inner world of a person. The possibility of lyrical non-ritual songs being included in rituals and work cycles and the diversity of folk terminology explained by this. Genetic connection of non-ritual songs with ritual lyrics (spells, magnifications, lamentations, game songs) and ballads. Continuity and processing of artistic traditions in the process of style formation. Problems of classification of non-ritual lyrical songs. A variety of principles of systematization: by theme (love, family, recruiting, daring), by the social environment of creation and existence (soldiers, burlats, coachmen, Cossacks, etc.), by the predominant composition of performers (male and female), by the forms of melody and intra-syllable chants (frequent and drawn-out), by connection with movement (stepping, marching, dancing), by emotional dominant (comic, satirical). A combination of several principles when creating scientific classifications (V. Ya. Propp, N. P. Kolpakova, T. M. Akimova, V. I. Eremina). System of artistic images of non-ritual lyrics. The diversity of folk characters and social types in songs, the depiction of diverse relationships between people. Images of nature, everyday life, social phenomena. The place of conditionally generalized images of love, longing, grief, will, separation, death and others in the artistic system of folk lyrics. Characteristic features of combining diverse images in the creation of symbolic pictures that form the subject-content basis of non-ritual songs. Techniques for portraying characters: idealization, humor, satire. Features of the composition of non-ritual songs. Their structure is based on their belonging to the lyrical genre. Figurative-symbolic parallelism and its forms (A. N. Veselovsky), the technique of stepwise narrowing of images (B. M. Sokolov), the principle of chain-associative connection (S. G. Lazutin), the juxtaposition of autonomous thematic and stylistic formulas (G. I . Maltsev). N.P. Kolpakova, N.I. Kravtsov about the main types and forms of composition. The poetic language of non-ritual lyrics: the functions of constant epithets, comparisons, metaphors, antithesis. Stereotypical stable verbal complexes in songs. The originality of the rhythmic-syntactic structure of folk song verse (repetition system, syllable breaks, intra-syllable chants, stanzas, meter). The use of lexical and phonetic expressiveness of oral speech in lyrics. Collection of folk songs. Activities of P. V. Kireevsky. Folk lyrics as part of the collection of P. V. Shein, a collection of folk songs by A. I. Sobolevsky “Great Russian Folk Songs”. Types of publications of songs of local traditions.

Spiritual poems. Definition of spiritual poems as a complex of epic, lyric-epic and lyrical works, the unifying principle of which is the concept of “spiritual”, religious-Christian, opposed to the worldly, secular. Popular names for the genre: “poems”, “antiques”, “psalms”, “cants”. Origin of spiritual poems and sources: books of the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments), Christian canonical and apocryphal literature that penetrated into Rus' after Epiphany from the end of the 10th century. (lives, biblical stories, moral stories, etc.), church sermons and liturgy. Senior spiritual poems (epic) and junior (lyrical). The creators and performers of spiritual poems are kaliki (cripples) travelers, pilgrims to holy places. Folk rethinking of biblical and evangelical themes, lives, apocrypha. “Spiritual poems are the result of the people’s aesthetic assimilation of the ideas of Christian doctrine” (F. M. Selivanov). The main idea of ​​spiritual verses: affirmation of the superiority of the spiritual over the material, physical, glorification of asceticism, martyrdom for the faith, denunciation of sinfulness, non-observance of God's commandments. Reflection of cosmogonic ideas in older spiritual verses. Main themes and plots: poems about the universe (“Pigeon Book”); on biblical Old Testament stories (“Osip the Beautiful”, “Lamentation of Adam”); evangelical (“The Nativity of Christ”, “The Massacre of the Innocents”, “The Dream of the Virgin Mary”, “The Crucifixion of Christ”, “The Ascension”); about heroes-snake fighters (“Fedor Tiron”, “Egory and the Serpent”), martyrs (“Egory and Demyanishche”, “Kirik and Ulita”, “Galaktion and Epistimia”, “About the Great Martyr Barbara”), ascetics (“Josaph and Varlaam ”, “Alexey the man of God”); miracle workers (“Mikola”, “Dmitry of Thessaloniki”); righteous and sinners (“Two Lazaruses”, “About Mary of Egypt”, “About prodigal son", "Anika the warrior); about the end of the world and the Last Judgment (“Mikhailo the formidable archangel judge”, “Archangels Mikhailo and Gabriel - carriers across the fiery river”). Echoes of pagan beliefs in poems about the raw mother earth (“The Cry of the Earth”, “The Unforgivable Sin”, “The Rite of Farewell to the Earth before Confession”). Edifying poems about worldly temptations and salvation in the desert, the need for repentance (“Friday and the Hermit,” “Poem about laziness,” “Basily of Caesarea”). Poems on subjects from ancient Russian history (“Boris and Gleb”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Mikhail and Fyodor of Chernigov”, “Dmitry Donskoy”). Younger spiritual poems (psalms, cants) on themes from Old Believer history (XVII-XI centuries): “About Nikon”, “Verse about the Antichrist”, “Mount Athos” and songs of sectarian mystics (Skoptsy, Khlysty). Poetics. General folklore properties of spiritual poems, allowing them to be correlated with epics, ballads, historical and lyrical songs. The influence of literary Christian stylistics, the widespread use of Church Slavonicisms. Spatio-temporal characteristics of the artistic world of spiritual poems. The specificity of the miraculous, associated in them with Christ and the saints (healing of the sick, invulnerability during torture, resurrection from the dead, etc.). Composition (a chain of episodes of a particular event or the life of a character). Monologue poems (“The Lamentation of Joseph the Beautiful”), the role of dialogues (“The Dream of the Virgin Mary”). Poetic language (epithets, parallelisms, comparisons). Image of the earth after the Last Judgment. Description of the separation of the soul from the body, crossing the fiery river, etc. History of the collection (P.V. Kireevsky, V.G. Varentsov, T.S. Rozhdestvensky and M.I. Uspensky). Study of spiritual verses. Mythological direction (F. I. Buslaev, A. N. Afanasyev, O. F. Miller); cultural and historical direction (research by A. N. Veselovsky, A. I. Kirpichnikov, V. P. Adrianova); historical and everyday life (“Materials on the history of the study of Russian sectarianism and schism (Old Believers)” edited by V. D. Bonch-Bruevich (St. Petersburg, 1908-1911), four issues). Resumption of research in the early 70s of the twentieth century. : articles by Yu. A. Novikov, S. E. Nikitina, F. M. Selivanov and others.