There is a huge number of works devoted to the forms of manifestation of folklore consciousness in folklore texts. Linguistic, stylistic, ethnographic features of folklore texts are researched; their compositional structure, including images and motifs; the genesis of some folklore genres and folklore works; the question of the essential properties and features of folklore, manifested in folklore texts, is considered; analyzes the moral aspect folk art and, accordingly, the importance of folklore in the upbringing of the younger generation, as well as much more. In this huge flow of literature on folklore, the many and variety of its definitions is striking, ranging from folk wisdom and the art of memory to a special form public consciousness and a means of reflecting and cognizing reality. Undoubtedly, the variety of definitions of folklore is generated by the complexity of this cultural phenomenon, its constant variability and, as a result, the heterogeneity of forms of manifestation at one or another historical stage of the development of society.
The relevance of turning to folklore consciousness as a way of harmonizing human relations with reality is also explained by the trends that take place in the development modern society. The most urgent of them, threatening the spiritual and physical survival of mankind, are, on the one hand, the development of technogenic civilization with its dominant technocratic thinking and the principle of scientific and technical rationality, which enslaves man and makes him a hostage of intensification. sociocultural processes generally; on the other hand, the aggravation of the ecological crisis on the planet.
Oral folk art and folklore
Epos. Epos as a genre (or group of genres), i.e. heroic narrative about the past, containing complete picture folk life and representing in a harmonious unity a certain epic world and heroes-heroes. The heroic epic exists both in book and in oral, and most of the book monuments of the epic have folklore origins; the very features of the genre were formed at the folklore stage. That's why heroic epic often called a folk epic. However, such an identification is not entirely accurate, since the book forms of the epic have their own stylistic and sometimes ideological specifics, and, of course, related to folk epic ballads, historical traditions and songs folk novel and so on. can be considered a heroic epic only with significant reservations.
The heroic epic has come down to us both in the form of extensive epics, book (Iliad, Odyssey, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Beowulf) or oral (Dzhangar, Alpamysh, Manas, and in the form of short "epic songs" (Russian epics, South Slavic youth songs, poems by Edda the Elder), partly grouped into cycles, less often prose tales.
Fairy tale is one of the main genres of oral folklore. poetic creativity, epic, mostly prose piece of art magical, adventurous or everyday nature with a fantasy setting. They call it a fairy tale different kinds oral prose, hence the inconsistency in the definition of its genre features. A fairy tale differs from other types of artistic epic in that the storyteller presents it, and the audience perceives it primarily as a poetic fiction, a play of fantasy. This, however, does not deprive the fairy tale of its connection with reality, which determines ideological content, language, character of plots, motives, images. Many fairy tales reflect primitive public relations and representations, totemism, animism, etc. Fairy tales that developed under feudalism are characterized by such images as the king, prince, knight, king. In the era of capitalism, the interest of storytellers in the topic of money and trade increases; fairy tales depict the contrast of wealth and poverty, the motives of class antagonism sound more and more strongly. Currently, some fairy tales continue their lives in the book, others leave the folk life or become the property of children, and others continue to interest adult listeners. There is much in common in the fairy tales of the peoples of the world, which is explained by similar cultural and historical conditions of their life. At the same time, fairy tales have national characteristics, reflect the way of life of a particular people, their work and life, natural conditions. Storytellers bring to the tales they perform their own personality traits, so most fairy tales are known in many versions.
Legend - originally the life of a saint, written for reading on the day of his memory. The term originated in medieval Catholic writing. In the 13th-15th centuries. in Europe there were numerous consolidated collections of legends on Latin, including " golden legend” (“Legenda aurea”, 13th century), translated into most Western European languages \u200b\u200band becoming a source of plots for epic, drama, and lyrics. Later legends- religious and didactic narratives, parables about animals, plants, objects of Christian worship. In the modern everyday sense, a legend is often called, regardless of genre, works that are distinguished by poetic fiction and at the same time claim to be authentic.
Myths are the creations of a collective popular fantasy, generally reflecting reality in the form of sensually concrete personifications and animated beings, which are thought by the primitive consciousness to be quite real. The specificity of myths appears most clearly in primitive culture, where myths are the equivalent of science, an integral system in terms of which the whole world is perceived and described. Later, when such forms of social consciousness as art, literature, science, religion, political ideology, etc., are singled out from mythology, they retain a number of mythological models that are uniquely rethought when included in new structures; myths is experiencing its second life. Special interest represents their transformation in literary creativity.
Epics, epic songs composed by the people in Ancient Rus' and reflecting historical reality mainly 11-16 centuries. In the process of centuries-old development, epics changed, absorbed the events of a later time, and sometimes events more early era. Epic treasures were discovered in the areas of Zaonezhye, Pinega, Mezen, Pechora, and the coast of the White Sea. From the end of the 18th century epics attracted the attention of writers and scientists as highly artistic monuments of folk art.
In the center of the epics are images of heroes endowed with high moral character, selflessly devoted to the motherland. In the image of the beloved hero Ilya Muromets, the people created a poetic biography peasant son with his calm self-confidence and unaffected strength. He stands at the head of the heroic outpost, blocking the path of enemies (this topic was formed back in the conditions Mongol invasion). Equally poetic are the images of other heroes guarding native land, - Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. The theme of the defense of the Motherland is naturally merged in epics with the theme of people's life and work. So, the first feat that Ilya Muromets performed after healing was uprooting stumps and clearing the field for arable land. The epic about Volga and Mikul Selyaninovich reflected the eternal dream of the working people about easy plowing, about work that ensures life.
A proverb is a short, rhythmically organized, stable in speech, figurative saying of the people. Has the ability to multi-valued use on the principle of analogy. The proposition "They cut down the forest - the chips fly" is interesting not by its direct meaning, but by the fact that it can be applied to other similar situations. The subject of the statement is considered in the light of the universally recognized truth expressed by the proverb. Hence its ideological and emotional character. The compositional division of the judgment in proverbs, often supported by rhythm, rhyme, assonances, alliterations, coincides with the syntactic one.
The riddle is a genre of folk poetic creativity among all peoples of the world; a poetic, often allegorical description of an object or phenomenon. In ancient times, it had a cult significance, was associated with beliefs and rituals that forbade naming objects by their proper names.
Later the riddle acquires for the most part aesthetic and cognitive value. Serves to test ingenuity. Riddles are distinguished by a variety of subjects and richness. artistic techniques, they are characterized by compositional clarity, rhyme, the presence of rhythm, sound writing. Meet in riddles comic elements, having a social meaning: “The priest stands low, there are a hundred rizok on it” (cabbage). The riddle is widely included in other genres of folklore, as well as in literature.
Conclusion
In the process of existence genres verbal folklore are experiencing "productive" and "unproductive" periods ("ages") of their history (emergence, spread, entry into the mass repertoire, aging, extinction), and this is ultimately associated with social and cultural changes in society. The stability of the existence of folklore texts in folk life explains not only artistic value, but also by the slowness of changes in the way of life, outlook, tastes of their main creators and keepers - the peasants. The texts of folklore works of various genres are changeable (albeit to varying degrees). However, in general, traditionalism has an immeasurably greater force in folklore than in professional literary creativity.
The collective nature of verbal N. t. does not mean that it is impersonal: talented masters actively influenced not only the creation, but also the dissemination, improvement, or adaptation of texts to the needs of the collective. Under the conditions of the division of labor, peculiar professions of performers of works arose (ancient Greek rhapsodes and aeds, Russian buffoons, Ukrainian kobzars, Kazakh and Kyrgyz akyns, etc.). In some countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, transitional forms of verbal folklore developed in the Caucasus: works created by certain individuals were distributed orally, but the text changed relatively little, the author's name was usually known and often entered into the text (for example, Toktogul Satylganov in Kyrgyzstan, Sayat-Nova in Armenia ).
The richness of genres, themes, images, poetics of verbal folklore is due to the variety of its social and everyday functions, as well as the methods of performance (solo, choir, choir and soloist), the combination of text with melody, intonation, movements (singing, singing and dancing, storytelling, acting out , dialogue, etc.).
Epics, parables, anecdotes, tongue twisters, riddles, and much more. oral folk creation gives brightness and expressiveness. For example, with the help of proverbs, phraseological units, you can tactfully hint to a person at his mistakes, without offending him.
Folklore works are anonymous. They do not have a specific author. It is something created by a group of people. oral folk creation reflects their way of life, traditions, customs, ideas about life. Each nationality has its own folklore, which has its own characteristics and character.
oral folk creation influenced the activities of many poets, writers and other artists. So, some experts believe that some of the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, published in the collection "Tales of My Mother Goose", are folklore. And the writer simply processed them and presented them to the reader in a new light. Therefore they are literary tales. In Russian, A.S. folklore was actively used in their work. Pushkin, N.A. Nekrasov, N.V. Gogol, A.N. Tolstoy, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Of course, folklore works have survived to this day, having lost their originality to a certain extent. But the meaning at the same time remained the same - to convey to the subsequent traditions and customs of their people.
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Actively use oral folk art in the upbringing and development of children. It contributes to their intellectual, moral development.
Sources:
- Folklore - Russia.
- Charles Perrot. Report on the work of the writer.
Chastushka is a lyrical short song consisting of 2 or 4 lines. However, it is customary to sing ditties so that the verse follows the verse, one ditty follows the other. They are sung (spoken out) in one breath, in a fast rhythm. It is believed that the word itself was formed from the verb part or the adjective frequent. As a rule, one person sings a ditty, another picks it up, then more performers turn on, and so on in a circle. They usually dance to a ditty. This genre belongs to the field of Russian folk art.
Instruction
Regarding the appearance of the ditty, the opinions of scientists differ. According to some, the ditty existed among the people at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. It was carried by itinerant artists. Opponents of this point of view argue that the ditty appeared as a special song form at the end of the 19th century.
It is difficult to say which of the scientists is right, but in the famous explanatory dictionary Vladimir Dal does not have the word "chastushka". Most of the same, to the fact that the ditty as a genre, as a verbal-musical, was first mentioned in 1889 by Gleb Uspensky in the essay “New folk songs».
in an amazing way ditties arose almost at the same time in different regions of Russia. In each locality, the people gave their fervent songs their own unique flavor. Sometimes the essence, in the sound or theme, was heard in the name itself: Saratov suffering, Volga matanechki, Ryazan ihokhoshki, Vyatka clumsy, Ural gibberish, etc. In different parts of the world, these songs were called differently - a buzzer, a shorty, a chorus, a gypsy, a gathering, a stomp, etc., but in all cases it was a ditty.
Chastushka is performed under various folk musical instruments, but most often under the accordion and balalaika. However musical accompaniment- not the main thing when performing a ditty, other peoples sing it without accompaniment at all.
The structure of the ditty is unpretentious, although not as simple as it might seem at first glance. It can be seen that it organically combines tradition and innovation.
The tradition consists in a strictly defined volume (as a rule, 4 lines in an ordinary ditty, 2 in suffering), in the presence of a whole set of well-established and habitual beginnings and refrains, the invariance of turns and images, the rhyming of even lines (rarely paired rhyming).
Novelty is brought to the ditty in different ways in different parts of Russia. Each ditty carries a secret. Somewhere they omit the first line of the beginning, giving the “word” to the accordion or balalaika. Other performers, on the contrary, fill with words even a loss or musical break. There are a lot of options, surprises can pop up at any time. All of them have the right to life, because this is creativity.
No matter how frivolous the ditty may be considered by other critics, two positive components cannot be taken away from it:
Chastushkas reflect the history of the people, according to their content, one can judge events from the point of view ordinary people. Chastushki is the mood of the masses. They are full of lively responses to ongoing events or individual life situations. On them it is quite possible to trace the history;
Chastushka carries a lot of positive (even Saratov suffering). It can be sad, but at the same time, optimistic notes are certainly present in it, there is always a particle of humor (often - bantering with oneself).
Cases are known: in states of depression and stress, as soon as people sing a few ditty verses, the mental pain goes away, and heart wounds heal. Perhaps this comes from the fact that a person will simply shout, dancing, - letting off steam. And perhaps this is how the power of collective folk art is manifested. Even if it is as simple as a ditty.
Chastushka - welcome in any company in our time. She, as before, is popular and loved by the masses. She has not lost her meaning - the opportunity to speak out, to play a trick on herself and others, to make fun of a situation or a person (a lazy person, an official, a drunkard). Chastushka always keeps up with the times. She will never exhaust herself.
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Advice 3: What is Saltykov Shchedrin's fairy tale "The Wise Gudgeon" about
writing creativity satirist Saltykov-Shchedrin at all stages was aimed at opening the eyes of contemporaries to the ignorance, stupidity, bureaucracy and lawlessness that flourished in Russia at that time.
Fairy tales for "children of a fair age"
In the most hard years reaction and strict censorship, which created simply unbearable conditions for the continuation of his literary activity, Saltykov-Shchedrin found a brilliant way out of this situation. It was at that time that he began to write his works in the form of fairy tales, which allowed him to continue the scourging of vices. Russian society despite the frenzy of censorship.
Fairy tales became for the satirist a kind of economical form that allowed him to continue the themes of his past. Hiding the true meaning of what was written from censorship, the writer used Aesopian language, grotesque, hyperbole and antithesis. In fairy tales for fair age» Saltykov-Shchedrin, as before, spoke about the plight of the people and ridiculed their oppressors. Bureaucrats, pompadour mayors and other impartial characters appear in fairy tales in the form of animals - an eagle, a wolf, a bear, etc.
"Lived - trembled, and died - trembled"
One of these works is the textbook fairy tale “ wise scribbler”, written by Saltykov-Shchedrin in 1883. The plot of the tale, which tells about the life of the most ordinary minnow, is known to anyone. educated person. Having a cowardly character, the gudgeon leads a secluded life, tries not to stick out of his hole, shudders at every rustle and a flashing shadow. So he lives until his death, and only at the end of his life does he realize the worthlessness of his miserable existence. Before his death, questions arise in his mind concerning his whole life: “Who did he pity, whom did he help, what did he do good and useful?”. The answers to these questions lead the minnow to rather sad conclusions: that no one knows him, no one needs him, and hardly anyone will remember him at all.
According to the spelling norms of the 19th century, the word "minnow" was written through "and" - "piskar".
In this plot, the satirist in a caricature form clearly reflects the mores of modern petty-bourgeois Russia. The image of a minnow has absorbed all the unpleasant qualities of a cowardly, self-contained man in the street, constantly shaking for his own skin. “He lived - trembled, and died - trembled” - such is the moral of this satirical tale.
Expression " wise minnow” was used as a common noun, in particular, by V. I. Lenin in the fight against liberals, the former “left Octobrists”, who switched to supporting the right-liberal model of constitutional democracy.
Reading the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin is quite difficult, some people still cannot understand deep meaning invested by the writer in his works. The thoughts that are set forth in the tales of this talented satirist are still relevant in Russia, mired in a series of social problems.
Sources:
- wise scribbler
1. Calendar ritual poetry 4
1.1. WINTER HOLIDAYS 4
1.2. Shrovetide 9
1.3. SPRING HOLIDAY SONGS 11
1.4. KUPAL SONGS 15
1.5. LIFE SONGS 16
2. Family ritual poetry 18
2.1. WEDDING SONGS 18
2.2. LAMENTS 33
2.3. CONSPIRACIES 49
2.4. PROVERBS AND SAYINGS 54
2.5. MYSTERIES 58
3. Tales 62
3.1. TALES ABOUT ANIMAL 62
3.2. FAIRY TALES 76
3.3. HOUSEHOLD NOVELLISTIC FAIRY TALES 110
4. Non-fairytale prose 126
4.1. LEGEND 126
4.2. LEGENDS 130
4.3. BYLICHKI 138
5. Fairy tale poetry 145
5.1. EPIC 145
1. VOLKH VSESLAVIEVICH 145
2. SVYATOGOR AND ILYA MUROMETS 151
3. ILYA MUROMETS AND NINGINGALING THE ROBBER 159
4. ILYA MUROMETS AND KALIN - KING 168
5. DOBRNYA AND SNAKE 193
6. ALESH POPOVICH AND TUGARIN ZMEEVITCH 202
7. SADKO 211
8. VASILY BUSLAEV 226
9. DEATH OF VASILY BUSLAEV 238
5.2. HISTORICAL SONGS 248
5.3. BALLAD SONGS 261
5.4. SPIRITUAL VERSES 273
5.5. TRADITIONAL NON-RITUAL LYRICAL SONGS 284
5.6. PARTS 298
6. People's Theater 319
6.1. JOKES OF ST. PETERSBURG SHOW-SHOW "GRANDFARS" 324
6.2. FOLK DRAMA 327
7. Children's folklore 335
7.1. FUNNY FOLKLORE 353
7.2. GAME FOLKLORE 357
Literature 362
1. Calendar ritual poetry
1.1. winter holidays
Carol, carol!
The carol came on the eve of Christmas.
We walked, we were looking for a holy carol
In all yards, in lanes.
We found a carol near Petrov's yard.
Petrov's yard is an iron tyn,
There are three towers in the middle of the courtyard.
In the first tower - the moon is bright,
In another tower - the sun is red,
And in the third tower - frequent stars.
The moon was bright - Peter sir light Ivanovich,
Red sun - Anna Kirillovna,
Frequent stars are their children.
Hello owner and hostess!
For many years, for many years!
A characteristic type of majestic carol. Consists of 3 parts:
The arrival of carols, the search for her by carolers.
Greatness: characteristics of the owners and their court. It contains ancient poetic images. Iron tyn - a poetic understanding of a strong enclosing circle. The owners are like the sun, the moon, the stars - highest form praise associated with the cult of heavenly bodies.
Wish for well-being.
Kolyada came
Christmas Eve
Give me a cow
Butterhead!
Him with an ear of octopus,
From the grain of his carpet,
From half-grain - a pie.
The Lord would give you
And living, and being,
And wealth
And God forbid that
Who is in this house
The rye is thick for him,
Dinner rye.
And create for you, Lord,
Even better than that!
In this carol, the motif of the carolers' request for refreshments appears. In the text, the motive of good wishes for a rich harvest, health, happiness and wealth to the owners is well developed. Christian elements appeared. An artistic technique characteristic of folklore is used - hyperbole: from grain - a carpet, from half-grain - a pie. There are paired rhymes in the text: cow-head, busha-dinner.
Sheila Mashechka three widths.
Mashechka, Mashechka, panya, speak softly to us.*
I sewed the first to the Lord God,
I sewed another to my dear aunt,
I sewed the third one for my brother Fedenka.
She sewed the first with gold and silver,
She sewed another with red silk,
The third was sewn with black silk.
* The chorus is repeated after each line.
With this carol, the mummers called the young daughter of the owner, who brought them a treat. As an artistic technique, triple repetition is used twice.
Oh, early, early chickens * sang.
Holy evening good people!**
Even earlier, Vanechka got up.
Walked around the yard, rang the bell.
Get up, brothers, let's go fishing,
Let's go to catches, to green oak forests,
Let's catch a pavushka, Vanechka's little wife.
* Roosters.
** Chorus repeats after each line.
Before you is the Far Eastern version of the New Year's Ukrainian shedrovka - greatness in honor of the unmarried son of the owner. It contains wedding motives, the song predicts a quick marriage.
Go-go-go, goat, go-go, gray, go-go, white,
Recently from Moscow, with long hair.
I’ll cut off with horns, I’ll knit with braids!
Do not go, goat, under that village,
Under Zhuravichi, under Buravichi:
There are archers-fighters of Nikolaev.
They shot a goat in the left ear -
Yuha flowed from the right ear.
Here the goat fell, and then it disappeared.
Oh, you furry bear, blow into the goat's vein so that the goat lives.
Get up, motherfucker, get up, motherfucker! (Goat gets up.)
You disperse, have fun, (Dancing.)
Bow to the master pan at the feet. (Bows.)
Oh, you, good sir, shukay hryvnia pennies!
Still that is not enough, shukay piece of fat!
Where the goat has a tail, there is a bush,
Where a goat has a foot, there is a live shock,
Where a goat is with a horn, there is a haystack of life!
Congratulations, host and hostess,
Happy New Year with a new happiness!
To be healthy, live happily!
A variant of the Far Eastern ritual Christmas song, recorded from settlers from the Chernihiv region. Performed in the owner's house by mummers with a "goat". The song echoes the ancient agricultural magic associated with the goat, a cult animal. The arrival of the mummers, the actions of the goat and good wishes were supposed to contribute to the harvest, fertility, happiness and health of all households. The mummers with the goat usually went on the night of Christmas, but, judging by this text, the rite could be performed on new year's eve. In the text, the influence of Ukrainian vocabulary is felt: yuha, shukay.
Bread and salt for a long time,
Moreover, our young lady
To whom we sang, that's good,
Who will take out, will soon come true,
It will come true soon, it will not pass,
The podblyudnaya song, in which the glory of bread was sung, usually opened New Year's fortune-telling. She predicted wealth and satiety to the girl whose decoration was taken out of the dish.
A falcon flew from the street
Dove from another
Flew, kissed,
Embraced with gray wings,
To whom we sang, that's good,
To whom it will come out, it will come true,
That will come true, it will not pass,
The podblyudnaya song predicted an early happy wedding.
I sit on the trough, I look for self-interest,
I'll keep looking, I'll keep watching.
Look, look, self-interest in the yard,
Greed in the yard, a hundred rubles on the table.
The song predicted a long girlhood and a late wedding.
Death is walking down the street
He carries a pancake on a saucer.
Who gets the ring
That will come true
Will come true soon
Doesn't pass.
This sly song foretold death. It uses funeral symbolism: death brings a pancake.
1.2. MASLENITSA
Oh, we met Maslenitsa,
Met, Lyuli, met,
We made cheese with butter,
They started, darling, they started.
We covered the mountain with pancakes,
Covered, Lyuli, covered,
Topped with oil.
Watered, soul, watered.
As from cheese the mountain is steep,
And from the oil the mountain is clear,
The mountain is clear, Lyuli, the mountain is clear.
And snow is falling on the mountain,
Snow is falling, lyuli, snow is falling,
And mothers call us home
They call home, lyuli, they call home,
And we don't want to go home
We want to ride
Ride, lyuli, ride,
From the mountain to the fir tree,
To the elushka, lyuli, to the elushka!
The song was sung at the beginning of the holiday. It exaggerates the image of the amount of food consumed on a holiday: a mountain of cheese, poured with oil and covered with pancakes. The meeting and celebration of Maslenitsa is a joyful event filled with fun, fun, skiing from the mountains. The refrain "lyuli" is typical for ritual and round dance songs.
Shrovetide lit up -
The whole world is tired.
Walked sideways to us
Through the back streets, back streets,
Carried iron pancakes,
She busted her stomach!
Baked pancakes -
She ate it all!
Walked merrily
The songs played
Cheated, tricked
Didn't make it to the year
Made it to the post!
And we have a radish tail
Submitted to the post!
Stretched to the post -
Burn, Satan!
Hello, goodbye
Come that year!
The song was performed at the farewell to Maslenitsa, during the burning of the effigy. She is no longer magnified, she is scolded for being tired, spent, ate everything and brought her to a hungry fast. At the same time, they remember that she walked merrily. They see her off with the words: “Burn, Satan”, noting her sinful pagan essence, and yet they invite: “Come for that year!”
Introduction
Folklore is a kind of folklore artistic creativity, very necessary and important for the study of folk psychology today.
Folklore includes works that convey the main key ideas people about the main life values: work, family, love, public duty, homeland. Our children are brought up on these works even now. Knowledge of folklore can give a person knowledge about the Russian people, and ultimately about himself.
Folklore is a synthetic art form. Often in his works elements of various types of art are combined - verbal, musical, choreographic and theatrical. But the basis of any folklore work is always the word. Folklore is very interesting to study as the art of the word. In this regard, the study, knowledge and understanding of the poetics of folklore is of paramount importance.
The purpose of this term paper- explore poetic legacy folk art culture of the Russian people.
The goal involves solving the following tasks:
To analyze and summarize the materials of educational, scientific, and fiction literature on this topic;
Consider the features of poetic folklore works of the Russian people;
Consider the genre structure and features of the genres of Russian folk poetry.
The theoretical basis of the course work was the works of S. G. Lazutin, V. M. Sidelnikov; T. M. Akimova and other researchers of Russian folklore.
The structure of the course work includes an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.
Oral folk art of the Russian people
Russian folklore: concept and essence
Folklore folk wisdom) is the designation artistic activity popular masses, or oral folk art, which arose even in the pre-literate period. This term was first introduced into scientific use by the English archaeologist W.J. Toms in 1846. And it was widely understood as a combination of spiritual and material culture people, their customs, beliefs, rituals, various forms arts. Over time, the content of the term narrowed.
There are several points of view that interpret folklore as folk artistic culture, as oral poetic creativity and as a combination of verbal, musical, game types of folk art. With all the variety of regional and local forms, folklore is characterized by common features such as anonymity, collective creativity, traditionalism, close connection with labor activity, everyday life, the transmission of works from generation to generation in the oral tradition.
Collective life determined the emergence of various peoples similar genres, plots, such means artistic expressiveness, as hyperbole, parallelism, various types of repetitions, constant and complex epithet, comparisons. The role of folklore was especially strong during the period when mythopoetic consciousness predominated. With the advent of writing, many types of folklore developed in parallel with fiction, interacting with it, influencing it and other forms of artistic creativity and experiencing the opposite effect.
Researchers believe that even in the pre-state period (that is, before the formation of Kievan Rus) East Slavs had a fairly developed calendar and family ritual folklore, heroic epic and instrumental music.
The people's memory has kept many beautiful ancient songs for centuries. In the 18th century, folk art for the first time becomes the subject of study and creative implementation. Enlightenment attitude to folklore was vividly expressed by wonderful writer humanist A.N. Radishchev in the heartfelt lines of his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “Who knows the voices of Russian folk songs, he admits that there is something in them, the sorrow of the soul that signifies ... In them you will find the formation of the soul of our people.
As a rule, at the time of creation, a work of oral folk art is experiencing a period of special popularity and creative flourishing. But there comes a time when it begins to distort, collapse and be forgotten. New times require new songs. images folk heroes express best features Russian national character; the content of folklore works reflects the most typical circumstances of folk life.
Living in oral transmission, the texts of folk poetry could change significantly. However, having reached full ideological and artistic completeness, the works were often preserved for a long time almost unchanged as a poetic heritage of the past, as a cultural wealth of enduring value.
“Show me the people who would have more songs,” wrote N.V. Gogol. - Our Ukraine rings with songs. Along the Volga, from the headwaters to the sea, burlatsky songs are poured on the entire string of dragging barges.
To the songs, huts are cut from pine logs throughout Rus'. Bricks rush from hand to hand to the songs and cities grow like mushrooms ... "
So Gogol wrote about the song, but the same can be said about the fairy tale, and about proverbs, and about many other types of oral folk art.
In the north, on the coast of the White Sea, along the banks of the Mezen, Pinega and Pechora rivers, on Lake Onega and the small lakes surrounding it, in relatively recent times one could hear epic, or antiquity, as the storytellers themselves and their listeners call them, that is, epic songs about the ancient Russian heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, about the Novgorod gusler Sadko, about the hero Duke Stepanovich.
These epics are sung, they are affected by a kind of measured melody.
A good storyteller usually, in order to attract the attention of listeners, began with a sing-along. Sometimes it’s just a few words, sometimes it’s a whole independent picture:
Is it height, heavenly height,
Depth, depth ocean-sea,
Wide expanse throughout the earth,
Deep whirlpools of the Dnieper.
The narrator, of course, could not keep many thousands of verses in his memory if the epic texts did not repeat the so-called typical formulas worked out for centuries, or common places, which he used in his narration: descriptions of a feast, a bogatyr's party, the arrival of a bogatyr in princely ramparts, saddling a horse, etc.
Other methods of epic are also stable, passing from one work to another - definitions, permanent epithets, exaggerations of the depicted phenomena - hyperbole etc.
Together, all these techniques create a slowly unfolding, solemn, monumental narrative of exploits. mighty heroes always ready to defend their native Russian land.
Russian hero, embodying best qualities man: courage, honesty, loyalty, selfless love for the motherland, - Ilya Muromets.
Epics tell about his miraculous strength, about the fight with the Nightingale the Robber, with the invader Idolishch filthy, about the victory over Kalin the Tsar, about the quarrel with Prince Vladimir.
Together with him at the outpost of the heroic brave and kind, but loving to brag Alyosha Popovich and smart, educated by that time Dobrynya Nikitich.
All of them are real defenders of the Kyiv state.
Kazan cat, Astrakhan mind, Siberian mind. Woodcut. End of the 17th century
Illustration by A. Kotyagin for "The Parable of the Two Men".
A completely different world is revealed in Novgorod epics about the daring Vasily Buslaev, who does not believe in anything but his strength and courage, about the harpman Sadko, who enchants the king of the sea with his play. These epics acquaint us with the life of rich Novgorod, with its wide trade relations.
One of the best Russian epics is about the plowman Mikul Selyaninovich, endowed with a wonderful heroic strength and personifying the working Russian people.
Separate epics, as well as folk tales were recorded as early as the 17th century. Their publication began in the 18th century. The epic about Vavila and buffoons, recorded from the famous Pinega storyteller M.D. Krivopolenova, is unique. It tells about how buffoons, by the power of their art, reward the good and punish the evil, transform reality and, finally, defeat the king Dog and enthrone the plowman Vikula. This wonderful, highly artistic epic reveals folk aesthetic and ethical ideas.
Somewhat later than epics, folk historical songs arose. They sing about Ivan the Terrible and Peter I, about Suvorov and Kutuzov, about Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev, etc. In these songs, the people conveyed their assessment historical events, their attitude to historical figures.
The songs about Razin and Pugachev expressed the deep hatred of the people for the boyars and tsarist governors, boundless love and trust in the leaders of peasant uprisings.
“A passer-by stopped, took off his purse from his shoulders and laid the purse on the damp ground. Svyatogor the hero says:
- What do you have in your bag?
“Get up off the ground and you’ll see.”
Illustration by A. Komarik to the Russian folk epic Svyatogor and earthly traction.
Ivanushka on the Humpbacked Horse. Illustration by N. Maksimov for P. P. Ershov's fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse".
The most common genre in Russian folk art at present is song. Huge song treasures are collected in the famous collections of P. V. Kireevsky, P. I. Shein, A. A. Sobolevsky.
Sad and cheerful, dreary and cheerful, folk songs are always poetic and beautiful, amaze with their artistic skill. The manner of their performance was perfectly revealed by I. S. Turgenev in his famous “Notes of a Hunter” - in the story “Singers”.
“New time - new songs,” says folk proverb. New living conditions and demands gave rise in the XIX century. a short, perky ditty, and in the late XIX - early XX century. the revolutionary song was widely disseminated. In the novel "Mother" M. Gorky showed the power of such a song and its role in the life of workers.
And today, in the city and the countryside, songs composed by professional and amateur poets are heard.
In the folklore of the Russian people, in addition to songs, numerous prose genres live: legends, legends and fairy tales (see the article “Folk Tale”).
In all the diverse highly artistic folk art - in fairy tales and epics, historical songs and ditties, in riddles, proverbs and sayings, in ritual folklore- reflected rich inner world Russian man, his life and way of life.
No wonder the tireless propagandist of folk poetry, its collector and researcher, the founder of the Soviet science of folk art M. Gorky wrote: “ true story one cannot know the working people without knowing the oral folk art ... "
