The main idea of ​​a work of art is the term. Theme and idea of ​​a literary work

This book contains 2,000 original ideas for short stories and novels.

When analyzing literary work traditionally use the concept of "idea", which most often means the answer to a question allegedly posed by the author.

The idea of ​​a literary work - this is the main idea that summarizes the semantic, figurative, emotional content of a literary work.

artistic idea works - this is a content-semantic integrity artwork as a product of emotional experience and development of life by the author. This idea cannot be recreated by means of other arts and logical formulations; it is expressed throughout artistic structure product, unity and interaction of all its formal components. Conditionally (and in a narrower sense) the idea stands out as the main idea, ideological conclusion and “life lesson”, naturally arising from a holistic comprehension of the work.

An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are a lot of ideas expressed in the literature. Exist logical ideas And abstract ideas . Logical ideas are concepts that are easily transmitted without figurative means, we are able to perceive them with the intellect. Logical ideas are inherent in documentary literature. But artistic novels and stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and effects, that is, abstract elements.

But there is also special kind very subtle, barely perceptible ideas of a literary work. artistic idea is an idea embodied in a figurative form. It lives only in figurative implementation and cannot be expressed in the form of a sentence or concepts. The peculiarity of this thought depends on the disclosure of the topic, the worldview of the author, transmitted by the speech and actions of the characters, on the depiction of pictures of life. It is in the linking of logical thoughts, images, all significant compositional elements. An artistic idea cannot be reduced to a rational idea that can be concretized or illustrated. The idea of ​​this type is inseparable from the image, from the composition.

The formation of an artistic idea is a complex creative process. In the literature, it is influenced personal experience, worldview of the writer, understanding of life. An idea can be nurtured for years and decades, and the author, trying to realize it, suffers, rewrites the manuscript, looking for suitable means of implementation. All themes, characters, all events selected by the author are necessary for a more complete expression of the main idea, its nuances, shades. However, it must be understood that an artistic idea is not equal to ideological concept, the plan that often appears not only in the head of the writer, but also on paper. Exploring non-artistic reality, reading diaries, notebooks, manuscripts, archives, literary critics restore the history of the idea, the history of creation, but often do not reveal the artistic idea. Sometimes it happens that the author goes against himself, yielding original intention for the sake of artistic truth, an inner idea.

One thought is not enough to write a book. If you know in advance everything that you would like to talk about, then you should not contact artistic creativity. Better - to criticism, journalism, journalism.

The idea of ​​a literary work comes out of the visual image

The idea of ​​a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes try to formulate the idea of ​​their work. Dostoevsky wrote about The Idiot: “The main idea of ​​the novel is to portray positively beautiful person". For such a declarative ideology Dostoevsky scolded: here he "distinguished himself", for example, Nabokov. Indeed, the phrase of the great novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what is the artistic and vital basis of his image. But here it is hardly possible to stand on the side Nabokov, the mundane writer of the second row, never, unlike Dostoevsky that does not set itself creative supertasks.

Along with the attempts of the authors to define the so-called main idea of his work, opposite, although no less confusing, examples are known. Tolstoy to the question “what is War and Peace”? answered as follows: "War and peace" is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed. Unwillingness to translate the idea of ​​your work into the language of concepts Tolstoy demonstrated once again, speaking of the novel "Anna Karenina": "If I wanted to say in words everything that I had in mind to express in a novel, then I would have to write the very one that I wrote first" (from a letter to N. Strakhov).

Belinsky very accurately pointed out that “art does not allow abstract philosophical, and even more rational ideas: it allows only poetic ideas; and the poetic idea is<…>not a dogma, not a rule, this is a living passion, pathos.

V.V. Odintsov expressed his understanding of the category "artistic idea" more strictly: "The idea literary composition is always specific and is not directly deduced not only from the individual statements writer (facts of his biography, public life etc.), but also from the text - from replicas goodies, publicistic inserts, remarks of the author himself, etc.”

Literary critic G.A. Gukovsky also spoke of the need to distinguish between rational, that is, rational, and literary ideas: "By an idea, I mean not only a rationally formulated judgment, statement, even not only the intellectual content of a work of literature, but the whole sum of its content, which constitutes its intellectual function, its goal and task." And he further explained: “To understand the idea of ​​a literary work means to understand the idea of ​​each of its components in their synthesis, in their systemic interconnection.<…>At the same time, it is important to take into account structural features works - not only the words-bricks that make up the walls of the building, but the structure of the combination of these bricks as parts of this structure, their meaning.

The idea of ​​a literary work is an attitude to the depicted, the fundamental pathos of the work, a category that expresses the author's tendency (inclination, intention, preconceived idea) in the artistic coverage of this topic. In other words, idea -it is the subjective basis of a literary work. It is noteworthy that in Western literary criticism, based on other methodological principles, instead of the category “artistic idea”, the concept of “intention”, some kind of premeditation, the author’s tendency to express the meaning of the work, is used.

The grander the artistic idea, the longer the work lives. The creators of pop literature, who write outside of great ideas, will soon be forgotten.

V.V. Kozhinov called the artistic idea the semantic type of the work, which grows out of the interaction of images. An artistic idea, unlike a logical idea, is not formulated by the author's statement, but is depicted in all the details of the artistic whole.

IN epic works the idea may be partly formulated in the text itself, as was the case in the narrative Tolstoy: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth." More often, however, especially in lyrics, the idea permeates the structure of the work and therefore requires a great deal of analytical work. A work of art as a whole is much richer than the rational idea that critics usually single out, and in many lyrical works it is simply impossible to single out an idea, because it practically dissolves in pathos. Therefore, one should not reduce the idea of ​​a work to a conclusion or a lesson, and in general it is imperative to look for it.

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There is an inextricable logical connection.

What is the theme of the work?

If you raise the issue of the theme of the work, then intuitively each person understands what it is. He just explains from his point of view.

The theme of a work is what underlies a particular text. It is with this basis that the most difficulties arise, because it is impossible to determine it unambiguously. Someone believes that the theme of the work - which are described there, is the so-called life material. For example, topic love relationship, war or death.

Also, the topic can be called the problems of human nature. That is, the problem of the formation of personality, moral principles or a conflict of good and bad deeds.

Another topic can be verbal basis. Of course, it is rare to find works about words, but this is not the point here. There are texts in which the play on words comes to the fore. Suffice it to recall the work of V. Khlebnikov "Changeling". His verse has one feature - the words in the line are read the same in both directions. But if you ask the reader what the verse actually was, he is unlikely to answer something intelligible. Since the main highlight of this work is the lines that can be read both from left to right and from right to left.

The theme of the work is a multifaceted component, and scientists put forward one or another hypothesis regarding it. If we talk about something universal, then the theme of a literary work is the “foundation” of the text. That is, as Boris Tomashevsky once said: "The theme is a generalization of the main, significant elements."

If the text has a theme, then there must be an idea. An idea is the writer's intention, which pursues a specific goal, that is, what the writer wants to present to the reader.

Figuratively speaking, the theme of the work is what made the creator create the work. So to speak, the technical component. In turn, the idea is the "soul" of the work, it answers the question of why this or that creation was created.

When the author is completely immersed in the topic of his text, truly feels it and is imbued with the problems of the characters, then an idea is born - spiritual content, without which the page of the book is just a set of dashes and circles.

Learning to find

For example, one can cite a little story and try to find its main theme and idea:

• The autumn downpour did not bode well, especially late at night. All residents knew about it. small town, so the lights went out in the houses a long time ago. In all but one. It was an old mansion on a hill outside the city, which was used as an orphanage. In this terrible downpour, on the threshold of the building, the teacher found a baby, because there was a terrible turmoil in the house: to feed, bathe, change clothes and, of course, tell a fairy tale - after all, this is the main tradition of the old orphanage. And if any of the inhabitants of the city knew how grateful the child found on the doorstep would be, they would have answered the soft knock on the door that sounded in every house that terrible rainy evening.

In that small excerpt two themes can be distinguished: abandoned children and an orphanage. In fact, these are the main facts that forced the author to create the text. Then you can see that the introductory elements appear: a foundling, a tradition and a terrible thunderstorm that forced all the inhabitants of the city to lock themselves in their houses and turn off the lights. Why is the author talking about them? These introductory descriptions will be the main idea of ​​the passage. They can be summarized by saying that the author is talking about the problem of mercy or unselfishness. In a word, he tries to convey to every reader that, regardless of weather conditions, one must remain human.

How is a theme different from an idea?

The theme has two differences. First, it determines the meaning (main content) of the text. Secondly, the topic can be developed as in great works as well as in short stories. The idea, in turn, shows the main goal and task of the writer. If you look at the presented passage, you can say that the idea is the main message from the author to the reader.

Determining the theme of a work is not always easy, but such a skill is useful not only in literature lessons, but also in Everyday life. It is with its help that it will be possible to learn to understand people and enjoy pleasant communication.

Subject(gr. thema literally means something underlying) - this is the subject of knowledge. Subject- these are the phenomena of life that are reflected in the work.

In ancient times, it was believed that the integrity of a literary work is determined by the unity of the protagonist. But even Aristotle drew attention to the fallacy of such a view, pointing out that the stories about Hercules remain different stories, although they are dedicated to one person, and the Iliad, which tells about many heroes, does not cease to be an integral work.

The holistic character of the work is given not by the hero, but by the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea disclosed.

The subject of the image in the works of art literature can be a variety of phenomena. human life, life of nature, flora and fauna, as well as material culture (buildings, furnishings, types of cities, etc.).

But the main subject of knowledge in fiction is the characteristic features of human life. These are the social characters of people both in their external manifestations, relationships, activities, and in their inner, spiritual life.

Esin: Subject -"an object artistic reflection, those life characters and situations that, as it were, pass from reality into a work of art and form the objective side of its content.

Tomashevsky:“The unity of the meanings of the individual elements of the work. It brings together the components of an artistic construction.”

The plot may be the same, but the theme is different. In mass literature, the plot gravitates over the topic. Life very often becomes the object of the image.

The theme is often determined by the literary predilections of the author, his belonging to a certain group.

The concept of an internal theme - topics that are cross-cutting for the writer, this is the thematic unity that unites all his works.

The theme is the organizing beginning of the work.

Problem - this is the selection of some aspect, the emphasis on it, which is resolved as the work unfolds, is the ideological comprehension by the writer of those social characters that he depicted in the work. The writer singles out and enhances those properties, sides, relationships of the portrayed characters that he considers the most significant.

The problematics, to an even greater extent than the subject matter, depends on the worldview of the author. Therefore, the life of one and the same social environment can be perceived differently by writers with different ideological worldviews.

Moliere in the comedy "Tartuffe", having brought out in the person of the protagonist a swindler and a hypocrite who deceives straightforward and honest people, portrayed all his thoughts and actions as manifestations of this main negative character trait. The name Tartuffe has become a household name for hypocrites.

Idea- this is what the author wants to say, why this work was written.

It is thanks to the expression of ideas in images that literary works have such a strong effect on the thoughts, feelings, will of readers and listeners, on their entire inner world.

The attitude to life expressed in the work, or its ideological and emotional assessment, always depends on the writer's understanding of the characters he portrays and follows from his worldview.

The idea of ​​a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; it is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer.

The reader is usually sincerelends itself to the illusion that everything depicted in themanagement is life itself; he is into actionthe fates of the heroes, experiences their joys, sympathizes with theirsuffering or inwardly condemns them. WhereinThe reader is often not immediately aware of the essentialfeatures are embodied in the characters and throughout the course of artabout the events being discussed and how important the details aretheir actions and experiences.

But these detailsare created by the writer in order to elevate the characters of some heroes in the mind of the reader through them and lower the characters of others.

Only by reading the works andby thinking about them, the reader may come to realizewhat general properties lives are embodied in those orother characters and how they are interpreted and evaluated by the writerTel. Literary criticism often helps him in this.

Video lesson 2: Composition, stages of action development

Subject. Idea. Issues. Plot. Composition. Epigraph. Antithesis

Subject- a set of events that form the basis of a literary work.

In other words, the theme is everything that the author tells his reader about.

Ideaof a work of art is the main idea, the emotional component, the semantic content of the work.

To understand the idea, you need to carefully analyze the text. The idea contains the individual view of the writer on the world, his purely personal understanding of ongoing processes and phenomena.

• National Historical
• philosophical
• Socio-political
• Moral and ethical

When they are interested in any work, they are primarily interested in the plot. This is the set of events that make up the work.

Plot represents the content of a literary opus, reveals the characters' characters, demonstrates the author's attitude to the phenomena and life situations described by him.

In addition to the events taking place in the lives of the characters, the plot may contain lyrical digressions that reveal the events inner life author.

Composition- the method of constructing a literary work.

The organization of the composition can be plot or non-plot. Compositional construction necessary for the author to fully realize his intention.

Components of the composition:

plot composition

grouping of characters

arrangement of other actors

speech features

composition of elements not included in the plot

Epigraph.Often, before the work, the author places some short saying, one or two lines, a quatrain.

The purpose of this technique is to help the reader better understand the author's intention. The epigraph is the key to understanding the intention of the author of the work.

Antithesis- a stylistic device in literature, when images and concepts are opposed to each other in a diametrically opposite sense.

Stages of action development

Exposure.The exposition “opens” the plot of the work. In this part, the reader is given an introduction to events that will soon develop.

The author tells the reader about what happened before the start of the work. Basically, in this part, the main characters are characterized. Exposure can be direct or delayed. If the work begins with an exposition, this is a direct view, if the author determines the place of exposition in the middle or closer to the end, then there is a delayed exposition part. Most popular example such an arrangement is a description of Chichikov's life.

tie- an event that determines the start of an action.

The plot either organizes the conflict itself, or reveals conflict situation at the start of the work.

climax- the highest, most intense point in the development of action, when the conflict reaches the top of its development.

After the climax, the action gradually moves to the denouement.

denouement- the outcome of the action, a certain semantic point of the work.

The conflict took place, the plot goes into the final stage.

Epiloguecompletes the work. As a rule, in this part the author talks about future fate their heroes later certain time after the events described in the work.

Lyrical digression – special reception composition, with the help of which the author has the opportunity to express his subjective opinion regarding the heroes of the work, any actions or phenomena, to comment on the development of the plot.

IN digression may contain abstract author's reflections that are not directly related to the plot, but thematically retain unity with common theme works (" Dead Souls", "Eugene Onegin").

Conflict(lat. "collision") - confrontation, contradictions that determine the development of the plot of any literary work.

Between whom and whom does the conflict arise? All literature is built on several types of conflict:

• between actors
• between the main character and other characters
• between the hero and society
• hero's conflict with himself

The form of conflict expression is external or internal.

The most obvious conflict dramatic works, epic.

The story is often told in the first person. In this case, the writer himself, called the author - the narrator, acts as a narrator. He personally observed the events that he describes in his work. The author-narrator does not become part of the characters, he only observes what is happening, evaluates the events and their participants. So, Maxim Maksimovich is well acquainted with Pechorin, he can tell a lot about him.

Sometimes the author - the narrator, by the will of the author, turns into the Narrator (writing with capital letter emphasizes its equal position in the text). The narrator is endowed with character, supplied with certain manners, his own character.

The first image of the author in domestic literature created in "Eugene Onegin", he enters the general circle of characters on equal terms, participates in the action, explains what is happening, gives assessments, comments on events. The reader observes him as the author - the narrator, the author - the character, the author - the lyrical hero.

Character . No literary work can exist without characters through which the plot develops. The character can be the main character or the minor character. In addition to active personal participation in the action, the character can be introduced to the reader by another actor or author. The center of attention in some works can be one character (Rudin, Pechorin), in others - several at once ("Quiet Don").

Interiorin the work fiction depicts the interior (saying modern language- draws the design of the room).

The authors often use the description of the home environment to characterize the character, enhancing the emotional perception of the text. Eg home furnishings in "War and Peace" characterizes inner world the inhabitants of the house.

Literary character. Any work consists of several components, including characters, human images. literary character carries in itself something single, individual and unique, relating only to specific image works. Character is one of the main constituent parts works in general.

Type- the hero of a literary work, a certain collective image, which absorbed the phenomenon of time, historical moment, public event, etc.

An example literary hero, by which one can judge people who have not found common language with society, rejected, misunderstood, Pechorin or Onegin can serve.

Hero lyrical - a lyrical image of a poet whose inner world is revealed through a state of mind or experience in a particular situation.

To be more precise, this is one of the possible manifestations of the author's consciousness. Lyrical hero may have own biography, sometimes - outlined in in general terms appearance.

It is a complex of artistic images of a work, incorporating not only the images of characters, but also accompanying images - details, symbols, etc.

Portraitcontains a description of the appearance of the character, how he looks, so that the reader can more clearly imagine the character of the work, reproduce it in his imagination.

The portrait gives a description not only of facial features, but also how and what the character is dressed in, notes the manner of conversation, facial features, and characteristic gestures. In addition, the literature often uses psychological picture- when the author wants to show the inner world of his hero through appearance.

Scenery, depicting nature in a literary work, can serve as a special device for describing the state of a character at a certain moment, an original means of characterizing him.

"Talking Surname" . Very often, for better "recognizability" of the character, the authors resort to such a special technique as giving acting person"talking" surname. The surname at the same time reflects any trait of his character, behavior. The method was especially often used by Russian classic writers (Skotinin, Lyapkin-Tyapkin, Vralman, etc.).

remark most often accompanies dramatic works. With the help of a remark, the author, as it were, "accompanies" the action - he explains what is happening, clarifies, explains. The remark is intended for the actors involved in the play, it facilitates the work of the director when staging the action on stage.

"Eternal Themes" and "Eternal Images" in Literature. When it comes to the “eternal” in literature, the conversation concerns “eternal topics” and “ eternal images". Eternal implies something that has enduring significance for all mankind throughout the entire period of existence of the universe.

SUBJECT- The subject, the main content of reasoning, presentation, creativity. (S. Ozhegov. Dictionary of the Russian language, 1990.)
SUBJECT(Greek Thema) - 1) The subject of presentation, images, research, discussion; 2) statement of the problem, which predetermines the selection of vital material and the nature artistic narrative; 3) the subject of a linguistic statement (...). (Dictionary foreign words, 1984.)

Already these two definitions can confuse the reader: in the first, the word "theme" is equated in meaning with the term "content", while the content of a work of art is immeasurably wider than the theme, the theme is one of the aspects of the content; the second makes no distinction between the concepts of topic and problem, and although topic and problem are philosophically related, they are not the same thing, and you will soon understand the difference.

The following definition of the topic, accepted in literary criticism, is preferable:

SUBJECT- this is a vital phenomenon that has become the subject of artistic consideration in the work. The range of such life phenomena is THEME literary work. All phenomena of the world and human life constitute the sphere of the artist's interests: love, friendship, hatred, betrayal, beauty, ugliness, justice, lawlessness, home, family, happiness, deprivation, despair, loneliness, struggle with the world and oneself, solitude, talent and mediocrity, joys of life, money, social relations, death and birth, secrets and mysteries of the world, etc. and so on. - these are the words that call life phenomena that become themes in art.

The task of the artist is to creatively study the life phenomenon with interesting to the author sides, that is artistically reveal the topic. Naturally, this can only be done asking a question(or several questions) to the phenomenon under consideration. This very question, which the artist asks, using the figurative means available to him, is problem literary work.

So,
PROBLEM is a question that does not have a unique solution or involves a set of equivalent solutions. The ambiguity of possible solutions of the problem differs from tasks. The collection of such questions is called PROBLEMS.

The more complex the phenomenon of interest to the author (that is, the more subject), the more questions ( problems) it will cause, and the more difficult these issues will be to solve, that is, the deeper and more serious it will be issues literary work.

The theme and the problem are historically dependent phenomena. different eras dictate to artists different topics and problems. For example, the author of the ancient Russian poem of the XII century "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" was worried about the topic of princely strife, and he asked himself questions: how to make Russian princes stop caring only about personal gain and quarrel with each other, how to unite the disparate forces of a weakening Kyiv state? The 18th century invited Trediakovsky, Lomonosov and Derzhavin to think about scientific and cultural transformations in the state, about what an ideal ruler should be like, raised in literature the problems of civic duty and equality of all citizens without exception before the law. Romantic writers were interested in the secrets of life and death, penetrated into the dark nooks and crannies human soul, solved the problems of a person's dependence on fate and unsolved demonic forces, the interaction of a talented and extraordinary person with a soulless and mundane society of inhabitants.

19th century with its focus on literature critical realism drew artists to new themes and made them think about new problems:

• Through the efforts of Pushkin and Gogol, the “small” person entered literature, and the question arose about his place in society and his relationship with “big” people;
• became the most important women's theme, and with it the so-called public " women's issue"; A. Ostrovsky and L. Tolstoy paid much attention to this topic;
• the theme of home and family acquired a new meaning, and L. Tolstoy studied the nature of the connection between upbringing and a person’s ability to be happy;
• unsuccessful peasant reform and further social upheavals aroused a keen interest in the peasantry, and the topic peasant life and fate, discovered by Nekrasov, became the leading one in literature, and with it the question: what will be the fate of the Russian peasantry and all of great Russia?
• tragic events in history and public sentiments brought to life the theme of nihilism and opened up new facets in the theme of individualism, which received further development Dostoevsky, Turgenev and Tolstoy in an attempt to resolve the issues: how to warn the younger generation against tragic mistakes radicalism and aggressive hatred? How to reconcile the generations of "fathers" and "children" in a troubled and bloody world? How is the relationship between good and evil to be understood today, and what is meant by both? How, in an effort to be different from others, do not lose yourself?
• Chernyshevsky addresses the topic of the public good and asks: "What should be done?" so that a person in Russian society could honestly earn a comfortable life and thereby increase social wealth? How to "equip" Russia for a prosperous life? Etc.

Note! The problem is question, and it should be formulated mainly in interrogative form, especially if the formulation of problems is the task of your essay or other work in the literature.

Sometimes in art, it is the question posed by the author that becomes a real breakthrough - a new one, previously unknown to society, but now burning, vital. Many works are created in order to pose a problem.

So,
IDEA(Greek Idea, concept, representation) - in literature: the main idea of ​​a work of art, the method proposed by the author for solving the problems posed by him. A set of ideas, a system of author's thoughts about the world and man, embodied in artistic images called IDEA CONTENT artistic work.

Thus, the scheme of semantic relations between the topic, problem and idea can be represented as follows:

When you are engaged in the interpretation of a literary work, you are looking for hidden (saying scientific language, implicit) meanings, analyze explicitly and gradually the thoughts expressed by the author, you just study ideological content works. Working on task 8 previous work(analysis of a fragment of M. Gorky's story "Chelkash"), you dealt with the issues of its ideological content.

When performing tasks on the topic "Content of a literary work: Author's position" pay attention to the contact statement.

You have set a goal: to learn to understand a critical (educational, scientific) text and correctly, accurately state its content; learn to use analytical language when presenting such a text.

You must learn to solve the following tasks:

• highlight the main idea of ​​the entire text, determine its topic;
• highlight the essence of individual statements of the author and their logical connection;
• convey the author's thoughts not as "one's own", but through indirect speech("The author believes that...");
• expand your lexicon concepts and terms.

Source text: With all his creativity, Pushkin, of course, is a rebel. He certainly understands the correctness of Pugachev, Stenka Razin, Dubrovsky. He, of course, would be, if he could, on December 14 on Senate Square, along with his friends and like-minded people. (G.Volkov)

Variant of the completed task: By firm conviction criticism, in his work Pushkin is a rebel. The scientist believes that Pushkin, realizing the correctness of Pugachev, Stenka Razin, Dubrovsky, would definitely be, if he could, on December 14 on Senate Square, along with like-minded people.