1. Allegory
Allegory is one of the types of artistic tropes that is widely used in literature. Literally, the term is translated as "allegory". ALLEGORY is an allegorical depiction of an abstract concept with the help of a specific phenomenon of reality, the signs of which help to more clearly present this concept, its main features. This is the artistic representation of ideas (concepts) through a specific artistic image or dialogue. In allegory, there is a detailed likening of one object to another with the help of a system of hints, and the direct meaning of the image is not lost, but is supplemented by the possibility of its figurative interpretation.
Allegories have been known since the time Ancient Greece. Justice was allegorically represented in the form of the goddess Themis, in the form of a blindfolded woman with scales in her hands. An allegory of hope is an anchor; allegory of freedom - broken chains; allegory of world peace - white dove. More to everyone notable examples allegories: "Kingdom of Morpheus" - a dream, "embraces of Hades" - death, "Fort Knox" - impregnability, "Themis" - justice.
Allegories are also used in folk art, in fables, fairy tales, proverbs, parables, where the images of animals are endowed with certain human qualities: the fox is cunning and enterprising, the hare is cowardly, the ram is stupid and stubborn, the wolf and the bear are aggressive and stupid. All the fables of I.A. Krylov, in which animals are endowed with negative human qualities. Continuing the traditions of folklore, many writers through allegory were able to express their attitude to various aspects public life. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in fairy tales wise gudgeon”, “Karas-idealist”, V.V. Mayakovsky in the plays "Banya", "Bedbug" ridicule certain negative moral qualities people using allegorical images.
Thus, an allegory is a word or turn of speech used not in direct, but in figurative meaning, which reminds us of the trope "metaphor". But allegory, unlike metaphor, covers the entire work, which is clearly seen in the example of M. Gorky's "Song of the Petrel".
Another example: "The carriages walked in the usual line, They trembled and creaked; The yellow and blue ones were silent, Wept and sang in green ones." To understand what these poetic lines of A. Blok are talking about, one should turn to history. At the beginning of the last century in Russia, first and second class carriages were yellow and of blue color, and the third-class carriages in which the poor traveled had green color. Contemporary Blok society is depicted by the poet with the help of allegory - yellow, blue and green carriages.
In the poem "Dead Souls" N.V. Gogol's names of characters such as Sobakevich, Molchalin, Plyushkin are filled with allegorical meaning, and A.S. Griboedova - Skalozub.
allegorical meaning in poetry acquired the seasons. Spring symbolizes spiritual rebirth, freedom, hope for a better life.
Spring again; the meadow laughs again
And the forest is cheerful with its young clothes,
And settled the tireless plow
He roams the fields with humility and hope.
/E.Baratynsky/
And here is a poem in which spring renewal is felt not only of nature, but also a spiritual rebirth, a bright hope for changes in society:
Spring! The first frame is exposed -
And noise broke into the room,
And the blessing of the nearby temple,
And the talk of the people, and the sound of the wheel.
I breathed life and will into my soul:
There - the blue distance is visible ...
And I want in the field, wide field,
Where, marching, spring pours flowers!
/A.Maikov/
Autumn in poetry often acts as a symbol of the decline of life and spirit, the unsettledness of a person, it causes melancholy and sadness in the soul:
The gardens are silent. With dull eyes
With despondency in my soul I look around;
The last leaf is swept underfoot,
The last radiant day has gone out.
/A.Fet/
Sons of heaven one day above me
Flocked, air two fighters;
One - hung with a silver fringe,
The other is in the clothes of a black man.
And, seeing the anger of the second opponent,
I felt sorry for the young warrior;
Suddenly he lifted the ends of the silvery cover,
And I noticed under it - thunder.
And their horses beat their wings,
And fire spouted brightly from the nostrils;
But the whirlwind receded before the thunders,
And the black horse fell to the ground.
/ M.Yu. Lermontov. "The battle"/
Thunderstorm at Lermontov became an allegory of a large-scale battle between Evil and Good. In the fighter, on whom silvery clothes, the archangel Michael is guessed - the head of the holy army of angels and archangels. At the same time, the poet refuses direct references to biblical terminology - initially lyrical hero suggests a final duel far from religious canons. In his opinion, victory may well go to a warrior who is on the side of Evil: "And seeing the anger of the second opponent, I regretted the young warrior ...". Only at the end does the reader learn about how the battle ended: "But the whirlwind retreated before the thunders, and the black horse fell to the ground." For Lermontov, it was important to emphasize the contrast of darkness and light. The warrior, representing the forces of Evil, is dressed in the clothes of a black man, sitting on a black horse. His adversary is "silver fringed".
There are also allegorical verses in the works of A.S. Pushkin.
I am sitting behind bars in a damp dungeon.
A young eagle bred in captivity,
My sad comrade, waving his wing,
Bloody food pecks under the window,
Pecks, and throws, and looks out the window,
As if he thought the same thing with me;
He calls me with his eyes and his cry
And he wants to say: “Let's fly away!
We are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time!
There, where the mountain turns white behind the cloud,
There, where the sea edges turn blue,
There, where we walk only the wind ... yes, I! .. "
/ A.S. Pushkin. "Prisoner"/
Pushkin paints a very sad picture, comparing the southern city with a damp dungeon, and his own life with the life of a prisoner. He associated the sultry south with a prison cell, and his work in the office with imprisonment. To emphasize the hopelessness of his situation, the poet draws a parallel with an eagle fed in captivity, which is his brother in misfortune. At the same time, the author notes that the proud bird, which has never experienced an intoxicating feeling of freedom, is much stronger and more freedom-loving than he, because with her cry and look, she seems to “... want to say: “Come on, let's fly away!”. And, succumbing to her persuasion, the poet himself realizes - “we are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time!" In the poem “The Prisoner”, he rather unambiguously hints that he is going to go “where the sea edges turn blue” - he will soon apply for his transfer to serve in the office of Odessa.
Another poem by Pushkin with allegorical content:
In the desert stunted and stingy,
On the ground, the heat of the red-hot,
Anchar, like a formidable sentry,
Worth - alone in the entire universe.
The nature of the thirsty steppes
She gave birth to him on the day of wrath,
And green dead branches
And watered the roots with poison.
Poison drips through its bark,
By noon, melting from the heat,
And freezes in the evening
Thick transparent resin.
Not even a bird flies to him,
And the tiger will not go: only a black whirlwind
Will run into the tree of death -
And rushes away, already pernicious.
And if the cloud irrigates,
Wandering, its dense leaf,
From its branches, already poisonous,
Rain flows into combustible sand.
But man man
He sent to the Anchar with an imperious look,
And he obediently flowed on the way
And by morning he returned with poison.
He brought the tar of death
Yes, a branch with withered leaves,
And sweat on a pale brow
It flowed in cold streams;
Brought - and weakened and lay down
Under the arch of the hut on the basts,
And the poor slave died at the feet
Invincible lord.
And the king fed that poison
Your obedient arrows
And with them death sent
To neighbors in alien confines.
/A.S. Pushkin "Anchar"/
Anchar is the name of an Indian tree whose juice contains a deadly poison. But is it only about the tree here? This poem is about the unrighteous world order, about the role of man in it, about the tragic, irreconcilable relationship between the invincible ruler and the poor, disenfranchised slave. At the beginning of the poem, the author introduces the concept of "anchar" - "tree of poison". The poison that is present in the tree is saturated with everything, from roots to leaves. Any living creature that approaches the terrible tree perishes. Neither the beast nor the bird approach him, knowing his harmful property. And the highest being on earth, man, sends another man to the tree for deadly resin. the main idea poems are an active protest against the unlimited power of one person over another. The tragedy lies in the fact that both the bearer of it (prince, tsar) and subjects (disenfranchised slaves) find this power natural and legitimate. main topic poems are a universal evil, considered both from a philosophical and from a universal human point of view. Evil is the scourge of mankind. The symbol of evil - anchar - "the tree of death." Anchar is associated with the philosophical problem of life and death. These verses are an allegory, where each line is metaphorical, in addition to an explicit, direct plot, carries a symbolic content.
So, both metaphor and allegory are artistic tropes in the language of a literary work. Both means are used to create a bright, visible image based on the figurative meaning of words, which makes these different paths related. But the mechanism for the emergence of an allegory is somewhat different than that of a metaphor. Metaphor is based on comparison, while allegory is based on allegory. An allegory appears in a literary text or in journalism, if an abstract concept is depicted with the help of a specific object that helps to embody this concept more clearly, to show its main features, it is an encrypted image in the form of an allegory. For example, abstract concepts are embodied with the help of concrete images: world peace is a white dove with an olive branch in its beak; cunning is a fox; deceit is a snake. An allegory can be voluminous, for example, the whole fable is an allegory. Metaphor is based on comparison, it can be embodied in one word or expression and shows only some facet of the subject under consideration, while allegory creates a detailed and complete image.
2. Symbol
IN literary texts symbolism lies in comparison, metaphors and even in epithets. A SYMBOL is a sign, an object or a sign that replaces another object and expresses its essence, hidden from prying eyes. In addition, the symbol is a guide to the artistic world of the author, who applied given symbol.
A symbol in literature is a category of aesthetics and a principle of establishing patterns. Each symbol carries a special meaning. In literature and poetics, the symbol helps the reader understand the mysteries of the world both in art and in reality. In other words, a symbol in literature is an image that expresses the meaning of an object or phenomenon in a specific form.
Many literary scholars believe that a symbol in literature is a trope. However, there are several opinions on this matter. For example, one of them is this: symbols are similar to tropes, especially with metaphor and comparison, but the semantic content of the symbol is deeper and fuller. The difference between a symbol and a metaphor is that the metaphor is created in front of the reader. A symbol has the property of entering into a metaphor. But this is optional. Unlike an allegory, a symbol can contain a plurality of images and meanings that are explained by the context. SYMBOL in literature is a method of giving depth and expressiveness to an image, thanks to which a variety of plans are connected: plot, mythological, historical, and so on.
In each era, the symbols were different, but there are many established symbols. For example, the heart is a symbol of love. Black represents sadness, loss, and even death. Dog - devotion; donkey - stubbornness; scepter - power; rose - femininity; lily - purity and innocence; lion - strength; mirror - the other world; the sun (according to Dostoevsky) is a symbol of life; candle - faith in God, divine power. Light in folk traditions is correlated with the sun, summer, warmth, flowers. It symbolizes the beauty of life, embodies truth, righteousness, holiness and world order. It symbolizes God's grace and turns away from man evil spirit. Solar (solar) symbols carry divine images and his strength.
The moon is associated with folk beliefs exclusively with world of the dead. The moon is opposed to the sun - the deity of life, heat and light. All Slavs believed that Moonlight dangerous. The moon symbolized chastity, indifference, volatility and inconstancy. However, the full moon was associated with a circle, that is, with a symbol of perfection and wholeness.
Candle - spiritual image. The candle is most often depicted in a world of darkness and ignorance. She is one of the most important symbols Orthodox tradition. Symbolizes Christ, church, grace, faith, memory and so on. In a private sense, a candle is associated with the loneliness and trembling of the human soul, as well as the brevity of its earthly existence. No wonder a candle is lit when a person dies. Relatives with this rite want to illuminate his path to the world of death.
The understanding of the symbol acquires a special role in the direction of poetry of the late 19th - early 20th centuries - SYMBOLISM. One of the most important principles of symbolic poetry is synthesis and suggestion: a symbol must have these qualities. But in the symbolist environment, the word "symbol" was often confused with allegory and myth. Allegory is the embodiment of certain abstract ideas, while the symbol reveals the obscure - it plunges into the mystery of an idea or into a state of mind that the poet is trying to extract from his own depths.
Symbolic poetry is the enemy of precepts, rhetoric, false sensibility and objective descriptions; it seeks to clothe the idea in a sensually comprehensible form, but this form is not an end in itself, it only serves to express the idea without leaving its power. On the other hand, symbolic art opposes the idea being closed in on itself. Pictures of nature, human deeds, all the phenomena of life are significant for the symbolists as tangible reflections of ideas, indicating their secret relationship with them.
Symbolist synthesis corresponded to a special style, hence in this poetry unusual word formations, significant repetitions, mysterious silences, and unexpected understatement are frequent. Symbolic poetry is poetry in which two contents merge: the hidden and the obvious, its content is always complete in itself, it has an independent existence, rich in shades. In allegory, on the other hand, concrete meaning is a subordinate element, playing a secondary role.
The set of symbols of this or that poet is far from always individual: he can draw his symbolism from the arsenal of the era, cultural direction, social circle. The symbol is associated with the memory of culture. Most of the most enduring symbols have mythological images as their source. critical role in understanding the purpose and nature of art, the symbol acquires in Russian symbolism. Symbolists saw in the symbol the ideal artistic image, taken from nature and transformed by creativity, an image that combines the experience of the artist and features taken from nature. One of the most prominent symbolist poets of the Silver Age was Nikolai Gumilyov.
One of the through characters in the art world Gumilyov is an image-motif of the barbarian elements, especially in early period his work: themes of savagery, exotic primitive cultures - the so-called "African theme". Gumilyov considered the primitive a potential source of renewal in art. The image-motive of barbarism, on the one hand, was associated with the motive of waiting for the onset of an inevitable salvific catastrophe and with the moods of the end of the century that permeated the worldview of modernism. It is based on a destructive force that brings retribution and redemption at the same time. The barbaric element in the poetry of symbolism is the actualization of the folk, ancient culture, search in the primitive primeval semi-fairytale world of "true" existence, appeal to the "origins".
The lyrical hero of N. Gumilyov is aware of his goal of conquering and taming the barbarian elements and identifies himself with the conquistador-messionary. The cultural sign "conquistador" functions along with other widespread images-signs.
I am a conquistador in an iron shell,
I'm merrily chasing a star
I walk through the abysses and abysses
And rest in a joyful garden...
/N.Gumilyov/
The lyrical hero of Blok's poetry is also associated with spontaneity, yearning to merge with the Virgin, who carries the cosmic, ordering principle.
Many of Gumilyov's texts are built on the opposition of barbarism and culture, more precisely, on the neutralization of this antithesis, that is, the equalization of barbarism and culture. The role of barbarism in such poems can be played by images exotic world associated with the "animal", "natural" beginning:
Over the reeds of the sluggish Nile,
Where only butterflies and birds fly,
A forgotten grave hides
Criminal, but captivating queen.
The darkness of the night carries its deceptions,
The moon rises like a sinful siren
Whitish fogs run
And a hyena sneaks out of the cave.
Her moaning is furious and rude,
Her eyes are sinister and sad,
And terrible menacing teeth
On the pinkish marble of the grave.
"Look, the moon, in love with the mad,
Look, stars, slender visions,
And the dark Nile, the lord of silent waters,
And butterflies, and birds, and plants.
See how my hair is standing up,
How the eyes sparkle with evil lights.
Isn't it true, I'm the same queen,
Like the one that sleeps under these stones?
Her heart beat full of betrayal,
Death wore curved eyebrows,
She was such a hyena
She, like me, loved the smell of blood.”
Through the villages the dogs howl in fear,
Little children are crying in the houses,
And the gloomy grab the fellahs
For long, ruthless whips.
/ N. Gumilyov. "Hyena"/
The poem "Hyena" is a typical example of the fact that in Gumilyov's poetry symbolic signs are used as allegories. At the same time, the allegory develops a kind of ambiguity - it refers to more than one sign system. Within each sign system, it has one, definite, meaning, but in the text its meaning is simultaneously directed at least in two directions. At the beginning of the poem, two images are given -
Queens:
"Above the reeds of the sluggish Nile, where only butterflies and birds rush about, the forgotten grave of the criminal but captivating queen is hidden"
And hyenas:
"The darkness of the night carries its deceptions, the moon rises like a sinful siren, whitish fogs flee, and a hyena sneaks out of the cave. Her moans are sorrowful and rude, her eyes are ominous and dull, and menacing teeth on the pinkish marble of the grave are terrible."
Then the description of these images goes on simultaneously - by comparing one with the other, this comparison is organized by a direct statement of their equivalence:
“... Look, everyone, how my hair is puffed up, how my eyes sparkle with evil lights, isn’t it, am I the same queen as the one that sleeps under these stones? Her heart was beating full of betrayal, death wore curved eyebrows, she was the same hyena, she, like me, loved the smell of blood.
Cultural and savage are equalized. The image of the queen here is a sign of culture, and the image of a hyena is a sign of the primitive savage beginning. In the poem "Hyena", the word "queen" returned to an extra-symbolic meaning. But the very possibility of reading the poem in an allegorical sense speaks of a certain potential for the presence in Gumilev's word of something that distinguishes it from the standard word. And this is not only about poetic metaphor.
Even though words don't have symbolic meaning, they are "loaded" with allegorism. Understanding the poem is possible if the image of the queen is understood as a sign of culture, under the image of the hyena - barbarism, savagery. This means that the “direct” meaning of the word is also supplanted by the “sign” one. This is easy to feel, given that the very images of the queen and the hyena are conditional. Gumilyov's allegory is the transformation of a symbol.
The very appearance of the image of the queen as a sign of culture is largely prompted by the fact that culture as such was perceived by Gumilyov through symbolism. The images associated with the destructive elements in the poem "Barbarians" - these are "powerful rude people" appear in the country that awaits them humiliated:
When the country wept under the disgrace of God
And the barbarians entered the city in a silent crowd,
In the crowded square, the queen set up a bed,
Severe enemies were expected by the queen, naked.
The heralds trumpeted. Banners flew in the wind
Like autumn leaves, rotten, brown leaves.
Luxurious piles of oriental silks and linen
Tassels cast of gold were decorated from the edges.
The queen was like a panther of harsh deserts,
With eyes - failures of dark, wild happiness.
Trembling breasts rose under the pearl net,
Wrists fluttered on swarthy arms and legs.
And her call rushed like the sound of a silver lute:
"Hurry, heroes bearing bows and slings!
Nowhere, never will you find a homeless wife,
Whose miserable moans will be more desirable and sweeter for you!
Hurry, heroes, bound in copper and steel,
Let fierce nails dig into the poor body,
And your hearts will fill with rage and sadness
And they will be redder than purple bunches of grapes.
I have been waiting for you for a long time, mighty, rude people,
I dreamed, admiring the glow of your camps.
Go, torment your blooming breasts for flour,
The herald will blow his trumpet - do not spare the cherished treasures.
A silver horn adorned with elephant bone,
On a bronze platter, the slaves handed it to the herald,
But the barbarians of the north frowned proud eyebrows,
They recalled wanderings on snow and on ice.
They remembered the cold sky and the dunes
In the green slums cheerful twittering of birds,
And royal blue female eyes... and strings,
With which skalds thundered about female greatness.
The wide square was seething, sparkling with people,
AND southern sky opened its fiery fan,
But the gloomy chief restrained the stunned horse,
With a haughty smile, he turned his troops to the north.
/N.Gumilyov "Barbarians"/
So, a symbol is a kind of trail. I will quote a Soviet and Russian literary critic and classical philologist, historian ancient literature and Russian poetry by M.L. Gasparov:
“... in addition to the six tropes of traditional rhetorical theory, poetic practice invented a seventh one, which has not yet received an indisputable name and definition. Tropes were the cases of using a word in a non-dictionary, figurative sense, that is, exactly the generation of a new meaning that modernists were striving for. The six traditional tropes were: metaphor..., metonymy.... synecdoche.... irony..., hyperbole... real man", that is, a hero; “Here you had to be a hero, but he is only a man”, that is, a coward). To this list, the new time has added, so to speak, antiemphasis - the expansion of meaning, its blurring ... Which word from the traditional repertoire of literary terminology naturally suggests itself to designate a new device? Symbol".
You can not use in the same poems just descriptions of objects. This technique will not affect the opinion of the reader. He won't be interested. Therefore, in art, versification, prose, allegories and metaphors should be used. In the Russian language there are means that are responsible for artistic expression. One of them is an allegory.
Wikipedia gives this definition. An allegory, that is, an allegory, describes an idea with the help of artistic techniques or dialogues. The value of allegory is difficult to overestimate. The technique has found its application in poems, parables.
It originates in mythology, then finds its place in folk art and is reflected in the art of capturing images. Examples of allegory in literature are a description of the qualities of a person, which are indicated by the images in the work.
At the same time, information means a metaphorical meaning. For example, Themis is a symbol of justice. The definition of allegory includes the concept that something indefinite calls a real object.
To express his attitude, his thoughts, the author uses the example of an allegory in:
- Fine Arts. The masters who painted masterpieces during the Renaissance endowed works deep meaning. At first glance, it could be a set of strange objects, but through this the artist expressed his attitude. Not every person understood the meaning of the paintings, but only those who understood the meaning of the image.
- Sculptural works. Each of them can carry some meaning. This is especially true for cultural heritage.
- literary works. When reading a poem or prose, the reader comprehends the meaning of the work through images. It develops the imagination and makes you think. Some critics may even argue what is being veiled in one way or another.
Examples in sculpture and fine art are allegorical. Freedom can be imagined in the image of a woman towering above the rest.
If she is holding a weapon in her hands, then this may be a symbol of strength. Almost everyone is familiar with the sculpture "Motherland". This is a bright symbol of victory over the German invaders. The sculpture of the "Bronze Horseman" means rule. Moreover, its individual elements have their own meaning.
Use of allegory in literature
There are many examples of allegorical devices from fiction. An allegory is an allegory, when the concept and the subject are not spoken directly, but other phenomena are used. That is, the author, as it were, hints to the reader what he has in mind. He does it very subtly and filigree, choosing images with meaning.
Most often, with the help of allegories, universal human values are described:
- good,
- justice,
- courage.
If the writer is talking about hope, he may use the image of an anchor. The concept of freedom is broken fetters. And the white dove is a generally accepted symbol of peace. Dreaming is the realm of Morpheus and so on. Everyone in the world is familiar with the symbol of medicine, where a snake wraps around a bowl.
To understand what an allegory is in literature, you need to take several works and analyze them. Do not confuse allegory and metaphor. They have a difference. For example, a metaphor can be used in conversation, while an allegory is a more complex construction used in writing.
If we carefully analyze folk art, then you can see that animals symbolize the qualities of a person. For example, a fox is associated with cunning, a hare with cowardice, a ram with stubbornness, a wolf with aggression. Ivan Krylov in his fables, using this technique, drew attention to the shortcomings of some people. To do this, he used the images of animals.
Important! Many writers use this technique to convey to the public their opinion about various aspects of life.
Such allegories are more common in literature than metaphors. They were actively used by A. Blok in the poem “On railway". After reading a few lines about the color of the wagons, the reader might not immediately understand what was at stake.
To decipher this work, you should remember the history.
Then the color of the carriages spoke of the class division of society: the yellow and blue carriages were “silent” - this is the first and second class, and the green ones “cried and sang” - this is the third class for the poor.
N.V. Gogol used allegories in the names of the characters. Seasons also have great importance. For example, the image of spring is freedom without restrictions, a new beginning, hope. And autumn, on the contrary, decline, sadness, melancholy.
Relationship with religion
The task of religion is to change a person for the better. With the help of biblical stories, parables, commandments, a person comprehends the secrets of unconditional love, humility.
If we take a parable, then it will consist entirely of allegories. It is important for a person to understand hidden meaning works and draw the right conclusions.
Allegory is an important element on which accuracy and imagery depend. For those who do not understand the veiled image, its meaning will remain hidden, and the rest will understand what exactly the author wanted to tell the reader.
Useful video
Conclusion
The more allegorical images in the work, the more interesting their interpretation and explanation. There are allegories that are understandable, but there are those over which critics are still arguing. And this is good, because truth is born in a dispute.
Allegory is one of the methods of allegory. It expresses an abstract idea, concept (wisdom, love, fidelity, cunning, kindness, etc.) in a concrete image. An allegory, unlike a symbol, can have only one, definite interpretation. Thus, in the European cultural tradition, the cross is understood as an allegory of faith, the lion is an allegory of power, the heart is an allegory of love, etc.
Many allegorical images are of mythological origin. For example, ancient greek goddess Themis acts as an allegory of justice, and the Roman Fortune is an allegory of happiness.
This technique is often used in parables and fables, where the wolf allegorically depicts greed, the fox - cunning, etc.
In addition to well-known allegories, there are also author's ones. These include images of things from V. Mayakovsky's "Mystery Buff": Sickle, Hammer, Needle, Saw, etc. As one of the methods of allegorization of heroes, the authors use "talking" names and surnames: secretary Molchalin at A. Griboedov, judge Lyapkin -Tyapkin at N. Gogol's, the mayor of Negodyaev in the city of Glupov at M. Saltykov-Shchedrin's, the "chief boss" Pobedonosikov at V. Mayakovsky's, etc.
(Source: Schoolchildren's Handbook: Grades 5-11. - M .: AST-PRESS, 2000)
Unlike the grotesque, allegory and symbol do not deform the real image of reality (unless, of course, the animalistic allegory of the fable is taken into account). And if, nevertheless, we attribute them to the category of conditional forms, it is primarily because we have before us two-dimensional images that offer us certain conditions for understanding the need to move into another dimension of meaning. The essence here is not contained directly in the phenomenon, as is the case with things and processes. real world. In symbol and allegory, it seems to be hidden behind the phenomenon, hiding "on the other side" of it. Symbol and allegory presuppose the existence of two semantic series: the one contained in the image, and the one to which it alludes. The coexistence in the image of the depicted and the implied is what unites these conditional structures.
What separates them? The allegory clearly and directly alludes to the second wide plan of the image. Hints verbally: the second dimension of its meaning is suggested to the reader either in the form of a fable maxim, or in the form of a deciphering title (“The Cart of Life” by Pushkin), or directly in the text (“The key of youth, the key is fast and rebellious”, “And the third key is the cold key oblivion" - in Pushkin).
Allegory at Krylov's
However, the degree of persistence of the allegorical allusion is different. The most steadily and consistently transfers thought into the background of the image is a fable allegory, resorting to a maxim. In the pre-Krylov fable, it is assigned to the author's word and appears, as a rule, in the finale. But Krylov is already rebuilding and diversifying the forms of its embodiment. Not infrequently, she reveals in him a hastily thrown aphorism, a clot folk wisdom. Such an aphorism not only ends, but sometimes opens a fable text (“The strong are always to blame for the weak”, etc.). Sometimes the maxim is put into the mouths of fable characters, imbued with the naturalness of the living spoken word addressed to the interlocutor. The meaning of Krylov's moralizing is often narrower than the figurative picture that unfolds in the fable plot. Yes, and the images of Krylov's characters carry the possibility of meaning, not blocked by the fable maxim. Not blocked, if only because, together with them, the unique Russian life, manifestations of Russian mores, enters the world of Krylov's fable, and all this no longer fits in the faceless universality of moralizing.
In general, the less persistently and straightforwardly an allegorical image seeks to decipher its meaning, the more full-blooded the image, the more alive the allegorical picture. To be convinced of this, it suffices to compare, for example, Baratynsky's The Road of Life and Pushkin's The Cart of Life.
Allegory in Baratynsky's "Road of Life"
The lyrical miniature of Baratynsky literally from line to line accumulates in its composition details pointing to the second allegorical plan of the image: “the road of life”, “good fate”, “postal years”, “travel runs of life”. All these are metaphors in which the conjugation of the two planes is so obvious that we never for a moment lose the feeling of how dependent the first “road” layer of the image is here. Only the line “they take you from the tavern to the tavern” falls out of the metaphorical context. However, even that is only partly. The context deciphers its meaning, and it becomes clear to us that Baratynsky's "taverns" designate the stages of human existence. In general, the poetic image of Baratynsky balances on the verge between allegory and extended metaphor, the conjugation of two life spheres (objective and psychological) is so frank here.
Allegory in Pushkin's "Cart of Life"
Compared with Baratynsky's "Dear Life" in Pushkin's "Cart of Life", the subject-plot layer of the image is widely deployed. What Baratynsky throws fleetingly (the image of the stages, stages of human existence), this in Pushkin receives a wide compositional spread.
The whole poem is perceived as an allegory of three ages human life: youth, maturity and old age. Allusions to the second, allegorical meaning of the image are more sparingly scattered here; they are only in the title of the poem and in the image of time: "a dashing coachman - gray time." But the main thing is that Pushkin's picture of a road trip acquires such details that give it a certain pictorial autonomy. It is entertaining in and of itself, if only by changing quite real, psychologically accurate moods of the traveler. First, the liveliest curiosity, the joy of movement and the readiness to face all the hardships of the journey; then a decline in interest and the appearance of a feeling of inconvenience on the way, and finally indifference and a habit that extinguishes the sharpness and freshness of impressions. Pushkin's allegory bears the imprint of a bold poetic simplicity and comic elegance for those times, however, not obscuring the dramatic seriousness of its meaning. Conversational intonation and an abundance of prose only reinforce this impression.
A different speech pattern of thought is characteristic of Baratynsky's allegory. Her romantically elevated style (“golden dreams”, “good fortune”, “madmen”) prompts us to recall the traditionally refined dictionary of Russian elegiac lyrics. early XIX centuries.
Allegory in the poem "Tavern of Life" by Annensky
Sometimes an allegorical hint appears in a work as a sharp semantic surprise. Until we stumble upon it, we tend to perceive what is depicted in a life-like way, and not in a conventional way. Such is the poem of Innokenty Annensky "Tavern of Life".
The last word of this poem "undertaker" sharply shifts the semantic relationships of all the details. At first, we have before us a colorful image of the tavern, perceived by the eye of the regular. And only having risen to the top of the last, "key" word, we see how, in a single moment, before our eyes, it seems as if the veil falls from the trivial masquerade of life. A second, tragically deep meaning of the image is revealed, and all its specifics begin to sound in a new way. And the attributes of a tavern feast with its naked prosaicness, and the ominous grimace of boredom, appearing through a feverish thirst for oblivion, and the dull repetition of a life ritual designed only to distract thought from the formidable and dark underside of being - everything finds here special meaning in the light of the final truth about the fatal proximity of death. Death is always near, always on the alert and ready to blow on the swollen stub of a candle.
Allegorical image of China
Outside the fable, in which allegory is organic insofar as here it grows into the genre principle of representation, outside these limits, allegory in poetry always carries a certain risk and threat of rationalism. Therefore, in the 19th century, allegory less and less often reminds of itself in poetry, gravitating rather towards prose, towards its satirical genres. Here it is used as easy way meaning encoding and as a form of artistic "defamiliarization". And in both qualities in satire and in criticism of the XIX century use, for example, the allegorical image of China. Allowing to slightly veil the picture of Russian customs (however, in such a way that the meaning of the image was quite accessible to the "initiates"), this allegory with all its "Chinese" attributes, depriving the perception of Russian reality, created a comic effect. Chinese traditionalism was perceived by Russian progressives (Belinsky, for example) as an exaggerated form of social immobility, and the notorious Chinese tangerines as a caricature incarnation of despotism. Of course, all this was more a myth than a reality, but a myth that was convenient to use for harsh criticism of the "ulcers of Russian reality." A. K. Tolstoy picks up the allegorical semantics of China with virtuoso comedy.
The example of the allegorical use of "Chinese" semantics proves that allegory in poetry (and in prose too) is by no means always individual in its artistic origin. It is sometimes borrowed from the arsenal of tradition, but, picked up by a major artistic individuality, it naturally acquires a unique artistic twist.
Allegorical image of the sea
Such, for example, is the traditional image of traveling by sea (of course, this is the sea of life, or the sea of troubles, or, finally, the sea of fate) with all its set plot motifs: storm, shipwreck, desired harbor. These motifs can be presented as a complete set or with some links cut off. But in any case, the reader's perception, accustomed to the allegorical parallel "sea" - "life", easily penetrates into the second semantic plan Images. The traditional allegorism of this correlation, apparently, made it easier for the reader to allegorically interpret the plot of Pushkin's poem "Arion" (a plot based on ancient myth about Arion) in the light of the author's fate, despite the absence of any explicit allegorical hints.
An allegorical image can be placed at the center of a fairly extensive prose narrative. And then it becomes its focus, focus, absorbing the plot and semantic lines of the whole. A similar image is sometimes on the verge of symbolism, but differs from a symbol in transparency and certainty of meaning. Such is the allegory of the "red flower" in V. M. Garshin's story "Red Flower".
Allegory by Garshin and Novalis
That this is an allegorical image of evil, the context of the story leaves no doubt. The breadth of its semantic horizons, its philosophical nature make it related to the symbol. But there is no hidden flicker of meanings and a feeling of addictive depth generated by the symbol in the Garshin image. To make this quite obvious, it is enough to compare it with the symbolism of the "blue flower" in the novel of the outstanding German romantic Novalis "Heinrich von Ofterdingen". Novalis has a huge conjugating energy in this image, he leaves a lot of reflections in the structure of the novel, connecting first of all its two spheres, two worlds - prosaic and poetic, real and ideal. It reflects both Novalis's utopian dream of the possibility of a total "romanticization" of life, and his perception of a fairy tale as the universal principle of poetry. The “Blue Flower” is the embodiment of the elusive and inexplicable poetry of being, scattered in the world and, as it were, gathered in a single “object”. This is also a symbol of the magically escaping soul of Matilda, and which for Heinrich concentrated all the charm of the world, for this soul is nothing but an emanation of "eternal femininity." Not without reason, at the end of the novel, she seems to be reborn in a new incarnation (according to the law of metempsychosis) in the guise of a young creature, reminiscent of Heinrich's deceased lover.
Allegory and metaphor. The other day I wrote a poem and thought about them in earnest. What is allegory in literature? And the metaphor? I realized, suddenly, that I can hardly remember the differences. Therefore, today is a repetition. Who is with me? 🙂 In the process of analysis, we also discovered such an important concept as trails. We will also wander along them and consider examples of paths in the literature.
I got the information from Wikipedia, the poetic dictionary of Kwiatkovsky and the encyclopedia of the poet stichera. Then it is presented here in her own words in a very, very abbreviated form. For dummies 🙂
Trails. Not unknown paths, but others
Allegory and metaphor... It turns out that they are relatives! Because they are all paths.
Yes Yes! Exactly. And not only them. There are many other trails as well. And about them a little later.
And to begin with, it is worth understanding their essence. Let's get started.
A trope is a word or expression used, let's say, for other purposes to enhance imagery.
For example. You say "light breakfast". And here it is! Here already, this very trope appears. For you did not mean that you raise breakfast without difficulty. You meant something else! This is where the trope is.
But allegory and metaphor, as well as pun, comparison, epithet and much, much more, all these are types of these same tropes. Let's try to deal with at least some of them. Let's start with an allegory.
Allegory. What is allegory in literature?
So. Allegory ... This is the endowment of some abstract concept, well, for example, the soul, in a certain concrete way. In fact, it turns out that the allegory is rather visual. The image of death in the form of a skeleton or justice in the form of a woman with scales - this is she - an allegory in her visual performance.
But this moment does not in the least prevent the presence of allegory in literature. After all, the image can be described in words in such a way that there will be no questions with the visualization.
The most striking and illustrative example, in my opinion, of allegory in literature is Krylov's fables.
Each animal there implies some kind of human quality. The donkey is an allegorical image of stubbornness, the fox, as usual, is cunning, the lamb is meekness, and so on.
And now, having slightly understood the concept of allegory, I can say that, in the verse, allegorical images are presented as the main characters. And now, having with you the concept of allegory and examples of its definition, you can, as a training, find allegorical images in this poem 🙂.
An example of an allegory in prose ... For example. Allegorical image of time ...
Now let's move on to the metaphor.
Metaphor
Metaphor is something that we meet at every step. Even at this very step 🙂 .
This portable use names, properties or actions, simply because this name, property, or action is very similar to what one would like to express. For example, "it's raining", "iron will", "iron horse".
And here are the metaphors from the poem: “foamy fog”, “wash the bones”, “through laughter”, “lacquer with vodka”, etc.
Metaphor is also different types, but we will not, perhaps, so deepen. I will only note that if a metaphorical expression is revealed in a large segment or in the entire verse, then this will be an expanded metaphor. Here, for example, the verse, according to this statement, has a detailed metaphor of autumn recipes for the entire verse, if we consider “autumn recipes” as a metaphorical expression.
Well, since such a thing has gone, let's try to briefly consider other types of trails in the examples.
Metonymy
This is the replacement of one concept in the expression by another - similar in some way. For example, "Glasses are foaming" instead of "Champagne is foaming" or "I read Pushkin" instead of "I read Pushkin's poems." In "Love" and "Recipes for Autumn" - I did not find it. Who finds - report.
Synecdoche
A kind of metonymy. Using a particular instead of a whole, or vice versa. "I need a roof" instead of "I need a place to live."
Epithet
Figurative definition, description of something. That is, when you, describing the property of this very thing, use a figurative meaning to describe it.
Pun
It turns out that it is also a trope. A pun is when you use it in the same phrase different meanings the same word. A pun is possible, for example, when using homonyms. We have poems with homonyms, for example, (“I already have the right to know that this right is on the right”)
Litotes
- underestimation, mitigation - "life is only a moment." And here -
Hyperbola
On the contrary - a deliberate exaggeration - "he eats like an elephant."
Dysphemism
Everything is simple here - a rough designation of a non-rough concept. For example, instead of “face” - “muzzle” ... Then - yourself 🙂.
Euphemism
- vice versa. Replacing something neutral with something rough. For example, use, “pancake”, “winder trees”, etc. instead of obscene words.
Comparison
This is when something is compared with something in order to enhance the imagery of the object of comparison. For example, "And he suddenly waved away indifferently, As in the heat from a bored fly."
paraphrase
An indirect reference to something. That is, they seemed to be mentioned, but they were not directly named.
For example: "And with him - no sleep, no Murzik, no guest." "No Murzik" - here it means "no pet". Or "night light". Is it clear?
personification
it is when inanimate objects acquire the properties and signs of animate ones. " Well, you'll manage, with a swirled whistle
From the north, call the little sister-friend...»
Irony
It's clear. This is when they say one thing, they seem to be praising, but they imply and do not hide it - the exact opposite, for example, “Well, well done!”.
Sarcasm
– highest degree irony. This is when with anger and hatred.
Well, it seems that the main types and an example of tropes in literature have been considered.
I hope that it has become clearer to someone what allegory is in literature and how allegory and metaphor differ. I got it! Therefore - cheers, comrades (presumably, it was another kind of trail - pathos 🙂)!
Thanks for reading!
Allegory is an allegory, a visual, pictorial expression of abstract phenomena through a specific image, that is, in an allegory, a specific image receives abstract meaning, is generalized, this or that concept is contemplated through the image. According to the mechanism of creation, allegory is close to metaphor.
Allegory functions: creating subtext, bright image, characteristics of psychological character traits, moral assessment.
Allegory is especially clearly manifested in various didactic poetic genres, for example: a fable, a parable. They are usually built entirely on this technique. This is also characteristic of other allegorical works, the basis of which is the intention to illustrate or explain something abstract with concrete.
Where can allegory be used? This tool is very common in various fields art. It is feasible not only in poetry, but also in various plastic arts. Such as sculpture or allegory in painting. It is common for the image artistic reality, is traditionally used in both book literature and folklore. Dictionary literary terms defines this means as an image through a concrete image of an abstract concept. Allegory is very often used in fables and fairy tales. In them, under the guise of animals, various human vices can be implied. Important political and historical events can be depicted allegorically. In Russian literature, the masters of using this tool were I. A. Krylov and M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Each in their own genre, they created magnificent examples of works (allegorical). The use of this technique by both authors is difficult.
The panther, the lion, and the she-wolf represent the three chief vices then regarded as prevalent in the world, namely, voluptuousness, pride, and covetousness. (Dante)
Question 22. Stylistic functions of allusion.
Allusion is a trope, which consists in a hint at a literary, historical, mythological or political fact, enshrined in textual culture or in colloquial speech:
An allusion is a borrowing of some element from a foreign text, serving as a reference to the source text, being a sign of the situation, functioning as a means for identifying certain fixed characteristics. In this sense, an allusion is an intertext, an element of an existing text that is included in the text being created.
If the allusion is understood broadly, then it can consist in a direct mention and be hidden. Hidden allusions may be periphrastic, may be constructed as a riddle.
Allusions can be well-known and contextual. Contextual allusions are understandable in a certain era or in a certain circle.
The technique of allusion can be used to veil the meaning in conditions of censored printing (“Aesopian language”).
Allusion is a very effective stylistic means of creating imagery, expressiveness, influencing the mental and sensual spheres of the addressee.
M.D. Tukhareli offers the following classification of allusions according to their semantics:
Proper names are anthroponyms. The same group includes: zoonyms often found in a work of art - the names of animals, birds; toponyms - geographical names; cosmonyms - names of stars, planets; ktematonyms - names of historical events, holidays, works of art, etc.; theonyms - names of gods, demons, mythological characters etc.
Biblical, mythological, literary, historical and other realities.
Echoes of quotations, popular sayings, contamination, reminiscences.
From the point of view of structure, an allusion can be represented by a word, a combination of words, and larger verbal formations in terms of volume and construction. M. D. Tukhareli singles out allusions - superphrasal units, allusions - paragraphs, allusions - stanzas, allusions - prose stanzas, allusions - chapters, and finally, allusions - works of art.
As for the last variety of allusion, A. Mamaeva calls it architectonic. Such an allusion is represented by a whole work of art, repeating the arrangement of parts and features of another artwork. But only one example of this kind of allusion has been found in world literature - "Ullis" by D. Joyce, duplicating Homer's "Odyssey".
Functions of allusions
As part of a work of art, allusion has great potential for creating subtext. This technique gives the author the opportunity to convey a large amount of information in a concise form, express his attitude to the characters or events, lead the reader to a certain thought. Allusion performs the following functions:
Evaluative-characterizing (comparison of a character with some object);
Text structuring.
The intertextual connection carried out by the allusion belongs to the form of associative cohesion, since it helps to hold the work of art together and at the same time introduces additional information from the outside.
Leaving the denunciation without attention,
The king himself consoled Judah
And malice with the noise of punishment
Promised to reconcile for a long time! (Pushkin)
