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Federal Agency for Railway Transport

Siberian State Transport University

Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies

Russian folklore: origin and place in Russian culture

Essay

In the discipline "Culturology"

Supervisor

Professor

Bystrova A.N.

__________

Developed by

Student gr. D-112

King Y.I.

__________

year 2012

Introduction

Our ancestors, unfamiliar with writing and books, were not cut off from previous generations. Ordinary Russian people, to whom they sang songs a long time ago, told fairy tales and came up with riddles, did not know how to Not read or write. But their verbal creativity not forgotten, not lost. It was carefully passed on from mouth to mouth, from parents to children. Folklore appeared long before literature and was created on the basis of a living spoken language, which is impossible without speech intonations and gestures.

Folk songs, fairy tales, proverbs, riddles delight us with the simplicity of their words, infect us with their joy, and excite us with the depth of their thoughts.

Our folk songs are poetic and beautiful: soulful and tender lullabies with which women lull their children to sleep; funny, comic songs.

Deep meaning Full of proverbs and sayings of the Russian people.

Folk riddles are witty and varied: about nature, about the house, about people, about animals, about the objects that surround a person, in a word, about everything that we see, hear, know.

Perfection in use visual arts folklore works owe to the creative work of hundreds of people.

The purpose of this work is to review and present the views of historians and cultural scientists on the origin and place of Russian folklore in Russian culture using the exampleritual musical poetic folklore.

1. The concept of folklore

The word folklore in literal translation in English it means folk wisdom.

Folklore is poetry created by the people and existing among the masses, in which they reflect their work activities, social and everyday life, knowledge of life, nature, cults and beliefs. Folklore embodies the views, ideals and aspirations of the people, their poetic fantasy, the richest world of thoughts, feelings, experiences, protest against exploitation and oppression, dreams of justice and happiness. This is oral, verbal artistic creativity that arose in the process of the formation of human speech 1 .

M. Gorky said: “... The beginning of the art of words is in folklore.”Where did he say this, on what occasion?In a pre-class society, folklore is closely connected with other types of human activity, reflecting the rudiments of his knowledge and religious and mythological ideas. In the process of development of society, various types and forms of oral verbal creativity arose.Whose phrases are these? You didn't write them!

Some genres and types of folklore have lived a long life. Their originality can be traced only on the basis of indirect evidence: on texts of later times that retained archaic features of content and poetic structure, and on ethnographic information about peoples at pre-class stages of historical development. Where is the text from?

Only from the 18th century and later are the authentic texts of folk poetry known. Very few records survive from the 17th century.

The question of the origin of many works of folk poetry is much more complicated than that of literary works. Not only the name and biography of the author - the creator of this or that text - are unknown, but the social environment in which the fairy tale, epic, song, time and place of their creation is also unknown. The author’s ideological intention can only be judged from the surviving text, which was often written down many years later. An important circumstance ensuring the development of folk poetry in the past was, according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, the absence of “sharp differences in the mental life of the people.”Where do these words come from? And why is Chernyshevsky not on the list of references?

"Mental and moral life", - he points out, - is the same for all members of such a people - therefore, the works of poetry generated by the excitement of such a life are equally close and understandable, equally sweet and related to all members of the people."Where does he “point” this and to whom exactly?In such historical conditions, works appeared that were created by “the whole people, as one moral person.” Where is the quote from? Thanks to this, folk poetry is permeated by a collective principle. It is present in the emergence and perception by listeners of newly created works, in their subsequent existence and processing. Whose text is this?

Collectivity manifests itself not only externally, but also internally - in the folk poetic system itself, in the nature of the generalization of reality, in images, etc. In the portrait characteristics of heroes, in individual situations and images folklore works There are few individual characteristics that occupy such a prominent place in fiction. Whose text is this?

As a rule, at the moment of creation, the work experiences a period of particular popularity and creative flourishing. But there comes a time when it begins to become distorted, destroyed and forgotten. Whose text is this?

New times require new songs. Images of folk heroes express the best features of the Russian national character: the content of folklore works reflects the most typical circumstances folk life. At the same time, pre-revolutionary folk poetry could not help but reflect the historical limitations and contradictions of peasant ideology. Living in oral transmission, the texts of folk poetry could change significantly. However, having achieved complete ideological and artistic completeness, works were often preserved for a long time almost unchanged as a poetic heritage of the past, as a cultural wealth of enduring value. 2 Why is this just rewritten?

2. Specifics of folklore

Folklore has its own artistic laws. Oral form of creation, distribution and existence of works that main feature, which gives rise to the specificity of folklore, causes its difference from literature.

2.1. Traditionality

Folklore mass creativity. Works of literature have an author, works of folklore are anonymous, their author is the people. In literature there are writers and readers, in folklore there are performers and listeners.

Oral works were created according to already known models, and even included direct borrowings. In speech style they used constant epithets, symbols, similes and other traditional poetic devices. Works with a plot were characterized by a set of typical narrative elements and their usual compositional combination. In the images of folklore characters, the typical also prevailed over the individual. Tradition required the ideological orientation of the works: they taught goodness and contained the rules of human behavior in life. Whose text is this?

The general thing in folklore is the main thing. Storytellers (performers of fairy tales), singers (performers of songs), storytellers (performers of epics), voplenitsy (performers of lamentations) sought first of all to convey to listeners what was in keeping with tradition. The repeatability of the oral text allowed for its changes, and this allowed an individual talented individual to express himself. A multiple creative act, co-creation, took place, in which any representative of the people could be a participant. Whose text is this?

The development of folklore was facilitated by the most talented people endowed with artistic memory and creative gifts. They were well known and appreciated by those around them (remember I. S. Turgenev’s story “The Singers”).Who should remember? This is probably what you are suggesting me to do... Thank you, I can do without such advice.

The oral artistic tradition was the common fund. Each person could select for himself what he needed.Is this a market or a store?

In the summer of 1902, M. Gorky observed in Arzamas how two women - a maid and a cook - composed a song (the story “How they composed a song”).

“It was in a quiet street of Arzamas, before evening, on a bench at the gate of the house in which I lived. The city was dozing in the hot silence of June everyday life. I, sitting by the window with a book in my hands, listened to how my cook, the portly, pockmarked Ustinya, talking quietly with the maid<...>Suddenly Ustinya speaks smartly, but in a businesslike manner: “Okay, Mangutka, give me a hint...” “What is this?” “Let’s put together a song...” And, sighing noisily, Ustinya begins to sing quickly:

"Oh, yes, on a white day, in the clear sun,

On a bright night, during the month..."

Hesitantly feeling for the melody, the maid timidly sings in a low voice:

"I'm worried, a young girl..."

And Ustinya confidently and very, touchingly brings the melody to the end:

"My heart is always aching..."

She finished and immediately spoke cheerfully, a little boastfully: “So it has begun, the song! I, my dear, will teach you how to put together songs; how to twist a thread. Well...” After a pause, as if listening to the mournful moans of frogs, the lazy ringing of bells, She again deftly played with words and sounds:

“Oh, no, the blizzards are fierce in winter

No cheerful streams in spring..."

The maid, moving closer to her, ... now more boldly, in a thin, trembling voice, continues:

“They don’t inform from their native side

Comforting news to my heart..."

“So there you go! Ustinya said, slapping her hand on her knee. And I was younger I composed even better songs! Sometimes my friends would pester me: “Ustyusha, teach me a song!” Eh, and I’ll drown!.. Well, what will happen next? “I don’t know,” said the maid, opening her eyes, smiling.<...>"The lark sings over the fields.

The cornflowers in the fields have bloomed,” Ustinya sings thoughtfully, folding her arms on her chest, looking at the sky, and the maid echoes smoothly and boldly: “I wish I could look at my native fields!” And Ustinya, skillfully supporting a high, swaying voice, stole velvet soulful words: “I wish I could take a walk with my dear friend through the forests!”

Having finished singing, they are silent for a long time..., then the woman says quietly, thoughtfully: “Did they compose the song poorly? It’s really good, after all.”What are the rewritten parts of Gorky's story doing here? This text is familiar to me even without student essays. But what he is doing here is completely unclear.

Not everything newly created was preserved in oral history. Repeatedly repeated fairy tales, songs, epics, proverbs and other works passed “from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation.” On this path, they lost what bore the stamp of individuality, but at the same time they identified and deepened what could satisfy everyone. The new was born only on a traditional basis, and it had to not just copy tradition, but complement it. Whose text is this?

Folklore appeared in its regional modifications: folklore of central Russia, the Russian North, folklore of Siberia, Don folklore, etc. etc. However, local specifics have always had a subordinate position in relation to the all-Russian properties of folklore.

In folklore, a creative process constantly took place, which supported and developed the artistic tradition. Whose text is this?

With the advent of written literature, folklore began to interact with it. Gradually, the influence of literature on folklore increased more and more.

The oral creativity of a people embodies its psychology (mentality, disposition of the soul). Russian folklore is closely related to the folklore of the Slavic peoples. Whose text is this?

National is part of the universal. Folklore contacts arose between peoples. Russian folklore interacted with the folklore of neighboring peoples: the Volga region, Siberia, Central Asia, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, etc. Whose text is this?

2.2. Syncretism

The artistic principle did not immediately win in folklore. IN ancient society the word merged with the beliefs and everyday needs of people, and its poetic meaning, if it existed, was not realized. Whose text is this?

Residual forms of this state were preserved in rituals, conspiracies and other genres of late folklore. For example, a round dance game is a complex of several artistic components: words, music, facial expressions, gesture, dance. All of them can only exist together, as elements of a whole round dance. This property is usually denoted by the word “syncretism” (from the Greek synkretismos “connection”).

Over time, syncretism has historically faded away. Different types of art have overcome the state of primitive indivisibility and stood out on their own. Their later compounds began to appear in folklore synthesis 3 . Why does this exist here in a form primitively copied from someone else’s work?

2.3. Variability

The oral form of assimilation and transmission of works made them open to change. There were no two completely identical performances of the same work, even when there was only one performer. Oral works had a mobile, variant nature,

Variant (from Latin variantis “changing”) each single performance of a folklore work, as well as its fixed text.

Since a folklore work existed in the form of multiple performances, it existed in the totality of its variants. Each version was different from others told or sung in different time, in different places, in different environments, by different performers or by one (repeatedly). Whose text is this?

Oral folk tradition sought to preserve and protect from oblivion what was most valuable. Tradition kept changes to the text within its boundaries. For variants of a folklore work, what is important is what is common and repeated, and what is secondary is how they differ from one another.

Let's turn to the variants of the riddle about the sky and stars. They were recorded in different provinces - Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Samara, etc. (see in the ReaderWho should go and look at something in the reader? Who is this designation addressed to?).

The artistic basis of the riddle is a metaphor: something has fallen apart and cannot be put back together. Metaphor is flexible. From the options we learn what exactly could crumble. As it turns out, peas (polka dots), beads, a carpet, a ship, a cathedral were scattered. It is usually noted where this happened: at our gates, on the matting, in all cities, in all suburbs, along the mosses, along the seas, on twelve sides. In one of the options, a narrative preamble appears, explaining the circumstances of what happened:

There was a girl from St. Petersburg walking,

Carried a jug of beads:

She scattered it<...>

Finally, those who cannot collect what has been scattered are listed: the king, the queen, the red maiden, the white fish (symbol of the girl-bride), the clerks (duma clerks), priests, silversmiths, princes, smart men, literate people, us fools. The mention of Serebrenikov hints at a hidden comparison: money and coins scattered. The white fish speaks of interaction with wedding poetry. In one of the options, the impossibility of collecting what has been scattered is emphasized paradoxically with the help of the statement:

God alone will gather

He'll put it in a box.

God resembles a thrifty peasant with a box, who does not tolerate loss and disorder. Since only God can collect what has been scattered, that means no one else can. In another version, tools are named (broom, shovel), which will not help in this situation. So, in the riddle of the sky and the stars there are stable and variable elements. The function (scattering) and its consequence (impossibility of assembly) are stable. All other elements are variable. Some of the variable elements are required (what was scattered; the place where it was scattered; those who cannot collect the scattered). Along with this, optional variable elements arose sporadically (under what circumstances something fell apart, by what means it was impossible to collect it).

Despite the strength and power of tradition, variation could still go quite far and express some new creative tendency. Then a new version of the folklore work was born.

Version (from Latin versare “to modify”) a troupe of options that give a qualitatively different interpretation of the work.

For example, among the variants of the riddle we considered there is this:

A letter has been written

On blue velvet

And don’t read this letter

Neither priests nor clerks,

Not smart guys.

This is already a new version, since the stable element of the riddle (scattered cannot be collected) has acquired a different appearance (written cannot be read).From which author were these arguments and examples stolen?

As you can see, the differences between versions are deeper and more significant than the differences between variants. Options are grouped into versions according to the degree of similarity and range of differences,

Variability way of existence of folklore tradition. An idea of ​​an oral work can only be formed by taking into account as many of its variants as possible. They must be considered not in isolation, but in comparison with each other. Whose text is this?

In the oral tradition there are not and cannot be “right” or “wrong” options; it is flexible in its essence. Options of both high and low artistic quality appear, expanded or compressed, etc. They are all important for understanding the history of folklore, processes of its development. Whose text is this?

When recording a folklore work, if it is for scientific purposes, certain requirements must be observed. The collector is obliged to accurately reproduce the text of the performer, and the recording he made must have a so-called “passport” (an indication of who, where, when and from whom recorded this version). Only in this case will the version of the work find its place in space and time and will be useful for the study of folklore. Whose text is this?

2.4. Improvisation

The variability of folklore could practically be achieved through improvisation.

Improvisation (from Latin improviso “unforeseen, suddenly”) creation of the text of a folklore work, or its individual parts, during the performance process.

Between acts of performance, the folklore work was stored in memory. While being voiced, the text seemed to be born anew each time. The performer improvised. He relied on knowledge poetic language folklore, selected ready-made artistic components, created their combinations. Without improvisation, the use of speech “blanks” and the use of oral-poetic techniques would be impossible. Whose text is this?

Improvisation did not contradict tradition; on the contrary, it existed precisely because there were certain rules, an artistic canon.

Oral work obeyed the laws of its genre. The genre allowed for one or another mobility of the text and set the boundaries of fluctuation.

IN different genres improvisation manifested itself with greater or lesser force. There are genres focused on improvisation (lamentations, lullabies), and even those whose lyrics were one-off (fair cries of traders). In contrast, there are genres intended for precise memorization, therefore, as if they did not allow improvisation (for example, conspiracies).

Improvisation carried a creative impulse and generated novelty. She expressed the dynamics of the folklore process 4 . Why, as I understand it, and everywhere else, is a primitive rewriting of other people’s texts proposed?

3 . Genres of folklore

Genres in folklore also differ in the method of performance (solo, choir, choir and soloist) and different combinations of text with melody, intonation, movements (singing, singing and dancing, storytelling, acting).

With changes in the social life of society, new genres arose in Russian folklore: soldiers', coachmen's, barge haulers' songs. The growth of industry and cities gave rise to romances, jokes, worker, school and student folklore. Whose text is this?

In folklore there are productive genres, in the depths of which new works can appear. Now these are ditties, sayings, city songs, jokes, and many types of children's folklore. There are genres that are unproductive, but continue to exist. Thus, no new folk tales appear, but old ones are still told. Many old songs are also sung. But epics and historical songs are practically no longer heard live. Whose text is this?

For thousands of years, folklore was the only form of poetic creativity among all peoples. The folklore of every nation is unique, just like its history, customs, and culture. Thus, epics and ditties are inherent only in Russian folklore, dumas in Ukrainian, etc. Some genres (not just historical songs) reflect the history of a given people. The composition and form of ritual songs are different, which can be timed to coincide with periods of the agricultural, pastoral, hunting or fishing calendar; can enter into various relationships with rituals Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or other religions. Whose text is this?

Folklore of late times is the most important source for studying the psychology, worldview, and aesthetics of a particular people.

4. Ritual folklore as the most massive genre of folklore

The most extensive area of ​​​​folk musical creativity of Ancient Rus' is ritual folklore, testifying to the high artistic talent Russian people. The ritual was a normative, strictly regulated religious act, subject to the canon that had developed over the centuries. He was born in the depths of the pagan picture of the world, the deification of natural elements. The most ancient are considered to be calendar ritual songs. Their content is associated with ideas about the cycle of nature and the agricultural calendar. These songs reflect the different stages of life of peasant farmers.

They were part of winter, spring, and summer rituals that correspond to turning points in the change of seasons. When performing the ritual, people believed that their spells would be heard by the mighty gods, the forces of the Sun, Water, and Mother Earth and would send them a good harvest, offspring of livestock, and a comfortable life.

One of the most ancient genres round dance songs. They held round dances throughout almost the entire year - on Christmastide, on Maslenitsa, after Easter. Round dances-games and round dances-processions were common. Initially, round dance songs were part of agricultural rituals, but over the centuries they became independent, although images of the work of the tiller were preserved in many of them:

And we just sowed and sowed!

Oh, Did Lado, they sowed, they sowed!

And we’ll just trample, trample!

Oh, Did Lado, let's trample it down.

Dance songs that have survived to this day accompanied men's and women's dances. Men's symbolized strength and dexterity, women's - tenderness, plasticity, stateliness. For many centuries, the dance tunes “Oh you, canopy, my canopy,” “Kamarinskaya,” “Barynya,” “I have it in my little garden,” and others have retained their popularity.

On the eve of Christmas and Epiphany, round dances and round dances were replaced by the singing of sub-dish songs - a mysterious time was coming Christmas fortune telling. One of the oldest sub-bread songs is “Bread Glory”, which has repeatedly attracted the attention of Russian composers:

A We sing this song to our bread, Slava!

We eat bread and give honor to bread, Glory!

Over the centuries, the musical epic begins to be replenished with new themes and images. Epic epics are born telling about the struggle against the Horde, about travel to distant countries, about the emergence of the Cossacks, and popular uprisings.

People's memory has preserved many beautiful ancient songs for centuries. IN XVIII century, during the period of formation of professional secular genres (opera, instrumental music) folk art for the first time becomes a subject of study and creative implementation. The educational attitude towards folklore was clearly expressed by the wonderful writer, humanist A.N. Radishchev, in the heartfelt lines of his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “Whoever knows the voices of Russian folk songs admits that there is something in them that signifies spiritual sorrow... In in them you will find the formation of the soul of our people.” IN XIX V. The assessment of folklore as the “education of the soul” of the Russian people became the basis of aesthetics composer school from Glinka to Rimsky-Korsakov, and folk song itself is one of the sources of the formation of national musical thinking 5

Conclusion

The role of folklore was especially strong during the period of predominance of mythopoetic consciousness. With the advent of writing, many types of folklore developed in parallel with fiction, interacting with it, influencing it and other forms artistic creativity influence and experiencing the opposite effect. Folk musical art originated long before the emergence of professional music in the Orthodox church. Folklore played a much more important role in the social life of ancient Rus'. big role than in subsequent times. The most extensive area of ​​​​folk musical creativity of Ancient Rus' consists of ritual folklore, testifying to the high artistic talent of the Russian people. The ritual was normative, strictly regulated religious action, subject to the canon that had developed over centuries. It was born in the depths of the pagan picture of the world, the deification of natural elements.

In the traditional folk culture of Russians there is no generalizing concept corresponding in meaning to the Western European term “music”. However, this word itself is used, but most often it means a musical instrument, preferably a purchased one, such as an accordion or balalaika.

Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, dramatic games and performances formed an organic part of festive folk life, be it village gatherings, religious schools, soldier and factory barracks, or fair booths. In later times, this experience was enriched by borrowings from professional and popular literature and democratic theater.

The formation of the most famous folk plays occurred in the era of social and cultural transformations in Russia at the end of the 18th century. From that time on, popular prints and pictures appeared and were widely distributed, which were both topical “newspaper” information and sources of knowledge for the people. Sellers of popular prints ofeni penetrated into the most remote corners of Russia. Popular prints, sold at all fairs since the 19th century, were a must-have decoration peasant hut. At city and later rural fairs, carousels and booths were set up, on the stage of which performances on fairy-tale and national historical themes were performed, which gradually replaced earlier translated plays.

The specifics of the genre each time determined and limited the choice of repertoire, artistic means and methods of performance. The peculiarity of urban spectacular folklore partly helps to understand the widespread use of folk comedians in performances. They literally permeate the verbal fabric, and they largely determine the external form and content of ideas.

List of used literature

1. Bakhtin M.M. Folk art and culture of the Middle Ages. M.: Yurayt 2001. 326 p.
2. Velichkina O.V. Music in Russian folk weddings. M.: Eksmo 2003. 219 p.
3. Vertko K.A. Russian folk musical instruments..-M. : Unipress 2004. 176 p.
4. Gusev V.E. Rituals and ritual folklore.-M. :Phoenix 2003. 236
5. Propp V.Ya Folklore.-M. : Yurayt 2000. -221 s.

1 Propp V.Ya Folklore.-M. : Yurayt 2000. с.21

2 Propp V.Ya Folklore.-M. : Yurayt 2000. с.43

3 Velichkina O.V. Music in Russian folk weddings. M.: Eksmo 2003. p.50

4 Velichkina O.V. Music in Russian folk weddings. M.: Eksmo 2003. p.69

5 Propp V.Ya Folklore.-M. : Yurayt 2000. с.190.

The content of the article

FOLKLORE. The term “folklore” (translated as “folk wisdom”) was first introduced by the English scientist W.J. Toms in 1846. At first, this term covered the entire spiritual (beliefs, dances, music, wood carving, etc.), and sometimes the material (housing, clothing) culture of the people. In modern science there is no unity in the interpretation of the concept of “folklore”. Sometimes it is used in its original meaning: an integral part of folk life, closely intertwined with its other elements. Since the beginning of the 20th century. the term is also used in a narrower, more specific meaning: verbal folk art.

The most ancient types of verbal art arose in the process of the formation of human speech in the Upper Paleolithic era. Verbal creativity in ancient times was closely connected with human labor activity and reflected religious, mythical, historical ideas, as well as the beginnings of scientific knowledge. Ritual actions, through which primitive man sought to influence the forces of nature, fate, were accompanied by words: spells and conspiracies were pronounced, and various requests or threats were addressed to the forces of nature. The art of words was closely connected with other types of primitive art - music, dance, decorative art. In science this is called " primitive syncretism“Traces of it are still visible in folklore.

The Russian scientist A.N. Veselovsky believed that the origins of poetry are in folk ritual. Primitive poetry, according to his concept, was originally a choir song accompanied by dancing and pantomime. The role of the word at first was insignificant and entirely subordinated to rhythm and facial expressions. The text was improvised according to the performance until it acquired a traditional character.

As humanity accumulated more and more significant life experience that needed to be passed on to subsequent generations, the role of verbal information increased. The separation of verbal creativity into an independent art form is the most important step in the prehistory of folklore.

Folklore was a verbal art, organically inherent people's life. The different purposes of works gave rise to genres, with their various topics, images, style. In the ancient period, most peoples had tribal traditions, work and ritual songs, mythological stories, and conspiracies. The decisive event that paved the line between mythology and folklore proper was the appearance of the fairy tale, the plots of which were perceived as fiction.

In ancient and medieval society, a heroic epic took shape (Irish sagas, Kyrgyz Manas , Russian epics, etc.). Legends and songs reflecting religious beliefs also arose (for example, Russian spiritual poems). Later, historical songs appeared, depicting real historical events and heroes, as they remained in people's memory. If ritual lyrics (rites accompanying the calendar and agricultural cycles, family rituals associated with birth, wedding, death) originated in ancient times, then non-ritual lyrics, with its interest in the ordinary person, appeared much later. However, over time, the boundary between ritual and non-ritual poetry is erased. Thus, ditties are sung at a wedding, while at the same time some of the wedding songs become part of the non-ritual repertoire.

Genres in folklore also differ in the method of performance (solo, choir, choir and soloist) and various combinations of text with melody, intonation, movements (singing, singing and dancing, storytelling, acting, etc.)

With changes in the social life of society, new genres arose in Russian folklore: soldiers', coachmen's, barge haulers' songs. The growth of industry and cities gave rise to romances, jokes, worker, school and student folklore.

In folklore there are productive genres, in the depths of which new works can appear. Now these are ditties, sayings, city songs, jokes, and many types of children's folklore. There are genres that are unproductive, but continue to exist. Thus, no new folk tales appear, but old ones are still told. Many old songs are also sung. But epics and historical songs are practically no longer heard live.

The science of folklore - folkloristics - classifies all works of folk verbal creativity, including literary ones, into one of three genera: epic, lyric, and drama.

For thousands of years, folklore was the only form of poetic creativity among all peoples. But with the advent of writing for many centuries, right up to the period of late feudalism, oral poetic creativity was widespread not only among the working people, but also among upper strata society: nobility, clergy. Having arisen in a certain social environment, a work could become a national property.

Collective author.

Folklore is a collective art. Each piece of oral folk art not only expresses the thoughts and feelings of certain groups, but is also collectively created and disseminated. However, the collectivity of the creative process in folklore does not mean that individuals did not play any role. Talented masters not only improved or adapted existing texts to new conditions, but sometimes also created songs, ditties, and fairy tales, which, in accordance with the laws of oral folk art, were distributed without the name of the author. With the social division of labor, unique professions arose related to the creation and performance of poetic and musical works(ancient Greek rhapsodes, Russian guslars, Ukrainian kobzars, Kyrgyz akyns, Azerbaijani ashugs, French chansonniers etc.).

In Russian folklore in the 18th–19th centuries. there was no developed professionalization of singers. Storytellers, singers, storytellers remained peasants and artisans. Some genres of folk poetry were widespread. Performing others required certain training, a special musical or acting gift.

The folklore of every nation is unique, just like its history, customs, and culture. Thus, epics and ditties are inherent only in Russian folklore, dumas - in Ukrainian, etc. Some genres (not just historical songs) reflect the history of a given people. The composition and form of ritual songs are different; they can be timed to coincide with periods of the agricultural, pastoral, hunting or fishing calendar, and enter into various relationships with the rituals of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or other religions. For example, the ballad among the Scots has acquired clear genre differences, while among the Russians it is close to a lyrical or historical song. Among some peoples (for example, Serbs), poetic ritual lamentations are common, among others (including Ukrainians) they existed in the form of simple prosaic exclamations. Each nation has its own arsenal of metaphors, epithets, comparisons. Thus, the Russian proverb “Silence is gold” corresponds to the Japanese “Silence is flowers.”

Despite the bright national coloring of folklore texts, many motifs, images and even plots are similar among different peoples. Thus, a comparative study of the plots of European folklore has led scientists to the conclusion that about two-thirds of the plots of fairy tales of each nation have parallels in the tales of other nationalities. Veselovsky called such plots “wandering”, creating the “theory of wandering plots,” which was repeatedly criticized by Marxist literary criticism.

For peoples with a common historical past and speaking related languages ​​(for example, the Indo-European group), such similarities can be explained common origin. This similarity is genetic. Similar features in the folklore of peoples belonging to different language families, but have long been in contact with each other (for example, Russians and Finns) are explained by borrowing. But also in the folklore of the peoples living on different continents and probably never communicated, there are similar themes, plots, characters. Thus, one Russian fairy tale talks about a clever poor man who, for all his tricks, was put in a sack and is about to be drowned, but he, having deceived the master or the priest (they say, huge schools of beautiful horses are grazing under the water), puts him in the sack instead of himself. The same plot can be found in the fairy tales of Muslim peoples (stories about Haju Nasreddin), and among the peoples of Guinea, and among the inhabitants of the island of Mauritius. These works arose independently. This similarity is called typological. At the same stage of development, similar beliefs and rituals, forms of family and social life develop. And therefore, both ideals and conflicts coincide - the confrontation between poverty and wealth, intelligence and stupidity, hard work and laziness, etc.

Word of mouth.

Folklore is stored in the memory of the people and reproduced orally. The author of a literary text does not have to directly communicate with the reader, but a work of folklore is performed in the presence of listeners.

Even the same narrator, voluntarily or involuntarily, changes something with each performance. Moreover, the next performer conveys the content differently. And fairy tales, songs, epics, etc. pass through thousands of lips. Listeners not only influence the performer in a certain way (in science this is called feedback), but sometimes they themselves become involved in the performance. Therefore, every piece of oral folk art has many variants. For example, in one version of the fairy tale Princess Frog The prince obeys his father and marries the frog without any further discussion. And in another, he wants to leave her. In different fairy tales, the frog helps the betrothed to complete the king’s tasks, which are also not the same everywhere. Even such genres as epics, songs, ditties, where there is an important restraining element - rhythm, melody, have excellent options. Here, for example, is a song recorded in the 19th century. in Arkhangelsk province:

Dear Nightingale,

You can fly everywhere:

Fly to happy countries,

Fly to the glorious city of Yaroslavl...

Around the same years in Siberia they sang to the same tune:

You are my little darling,

You can fly everywhere

Fly to foreign countries,

To the glorious city of Yeruslan...

Not only on different territories, but also in various historical eras the same song could be performed in variations. Thus, songs about Ivan the Terrible were remade into songs about Peter I.

In order to remember and retell or sing some piece of work (sometimes quite voluminous), people have developed techniques that have been polished over centuries. They create a special style that distinguishes folklore from literary texts. Many folklore genres have a common origin. So, the folk storyteller knew in advance how to start the tale - In some kingdom, in some state... or Lived once…. The epic often began with the words Like in the glorious city of Kyiv…. In some genres, endings are also repeated. For example, epics often end like this: Here they sing his glory…. A fairy tale almost always ends with a wedding and a feast with a saying I was there, I drank honey and beer, it flowed down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth, or And they began to live and live and make good things.

There are also other, most varied repetitions found in folklore. Single words may be repeated: Past the house, past the stone one, // Past the garden, the green garden, or the beginning of the lines: At dawn it was dawn, // At dawn it was morning.

Entire lines, and sometimes several lines, are repeated:

Walking along the Don, walking along the Don,

A young Cossack is walking along the Don,

And the maiden weeps, and the maiden weeps,

And the maiden weeps over the fast river,

And the maiden weeps over the fast river.

In works of oral folk art, not only words and phrases are repeated, but also entire episodes. Epics, fairy tales, and songs are built on the threefold repetition of identical episodes. So, when the Kaliki (wandering singers) heal Ilya Muromets, they give him a “honey drink” to drink three times: after the first time he feels a lack of strength, after the second - an excess, and only after drinking the third time does he receive as much strength as he needs it.

In all genres of folklore there are so-called common, or typical, passages. In fairy tales - the fast movement of a horse: The horse runs - the earth trembles. The “courtesy” (politeness, good manners) of the epic hero is always expressed by the formula: He laid the cross in a written way, but he bowed in a learned way. There are beauty formulas - Neither can I say it in a fairy tale, nor describe it with a pen. The command formulas are repeated: Stand before me like a leaf before the grass!

Definitions are repeated, so-called constant epithets, which are inextricably linked with the word being defined. So, in Russian folklore, the field is always clean, the month is clear, the maiden is red (krasna), etc.

Other artistic techniques also help with listening comprehension. For example, the so-called technique of stepwise narrowing of images. Here is the beginning of the folk song:

It was a glorious city in Cherkassk,

New stone tents were built there,

In the tents the tables are all oak,

A young widow is sitting at the table.

A hero can also stand out through contrast. At a feast at Prince Vladimir:

And how everyone sits here, drinks, eats and brags,

But only one sits, does not drink, does not eat, does not eat…

In the fairy tale, two brothers are smart, and the third ( main character, winner) is a fool for the time being.

Certain folklore characters have stable qualities assigned to them. So, the fox is always cunning, the hare is cowardly, and the wolf is evil. There are certain symbols in folk poetry: nightingale - joy, happiness; cuckoo - grief, trouble, etc.

According to researchers, from twenty to eighty percent of the text consists of ready-made material that does not need to be memorized.

Folklore, literature, science.

Literature appeared much later than folklore, and has always, to one degree or another, used its experience: themes, genres, techniques - different in different eras. Yes, stories ancient literature rely on myths. Author's fairy tales, songs, and ballads appear in European and Russian literature. The literary language is constantly enriched by folklore. Indeed, in the works of oral folk art there are many ancient and dialect words. With the help of endearing suffixes and freely used prefixes, new expressive words are created. The girl is sad: You are my parents, my destroyers, my slaughterers.…. The guy complains: You, my darling cool wheel, have spun my head!. Gradually, some words enter the colloquial, and then literary speech. It is no coincidence that Pushkin urged: “Read folk tales, young writers, in order to see the properties of the Russian language.”

Folklore techniques were especially widely used in works about the people and for the people. For example, in Nekrasov’s poem Who can live well in Rus'?? – numerous and varied repetitions (of situations, phrases, words); diminutive suffixes.

At the same time, literary works penetrated folklore and influenced its development. As works of oral folk art (without the name of the author and in various versions), the rubai of Hafiz and Omar Khayyam, some Russian stories of the 17th century, Prisoner And Black shawl Pushkin, beginning Korobeinikov Nekrasova ( Oh, the box is full, full, // There are also chintz and brocade.// Have pity, my sweetheart, //Well done shoulder…) and much more. Including the beginning of Ershov's fairy tale The Little Humpbacked Horse, which became the origin of many folk tales:

Behind the mountains, behind the forests,

Beyond the wide seas

Against heaven on earth

An old man lived in a village.

Poet M. Isakovsky and composer M. Blanter wrote a song Katyusha(Apple and pear trees bloomed...). The people sang it, and about a hundred different Katyushas appeared. So, during the Great Patriotic War sang: Apple and pear trees don’t bloom here... The Nazis burned apple and pear trees…. The girl Katyusha became a nurse in one song, a partisan in another, and a communications operator in the third.

At the end of the 1940s, three students - A. Okhrimenko, S. Christie and V. Shreiberg - composed a comic song:

In an old and noble family

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy lived

He ate neither fish nor meat,

I walked along the alleys barefoot.

It was impossible to print such poems at that time, and they were distributed orally. More and more new versions of this song began to be created:

Great Soviet writer

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy,

He didn't eat fish or meat

I walked along the alleys barefoot.

Under the influence of literature, rhyme appeared in folklore (all ditties are rhymed, there is rhyme in later folk songs), division into stanzas. Under the direct influence of romantic poetry (), in particular ballads, arose new genre urban romance.

Oral folk poetry is studied not only by literary scholars, but also by historians, ethnographers, and cultural experts. For ancient, pre-literate times, folklore is often the only source that has conveyed certain information to the present day (in a veiled form). So, in a fairy tale, the groom receives a wife for some merits and exploits, and most often he marries not in the kingdom where he was born, but in the one where his future wife is from. This detail of a fairy tale, born in ancient times, suggests that in those days a wife was taken (or kidnapped) from another family. The fairy tale also contains echoes of the ancient rite of initiation - the initiation of boys into men. This ritual usually took place in the forest, in a “men’s” house. Fairy tales often mention a house in the forest inhabited by men.

Folklore of late times is the most important source for studying the psychology, worldview, and aesthetics of a particular people.

In Russia at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries. Interest in the folklore of the 20th century has increased, those aspects of it that not so long ago remained outside the boundaries of official science (political jokes, some ditties, Gulag folklore). Without studying this folklore, the idea of ​​the life of the people in the era of totalitarianism will inevitably be incomplete and distorted.

Lyudmila Polikovskaya

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Introduction

1. History of folklore

2. The essence and concept of the term “folklore”

3. Specific features of folklore

4. Relevance of studying folklore

Bibliography

Introduction

Folklore - folk wisdom. Folkloristics is the study of folklore. Folklore combines different types of arts (music, pagan and Christian rituals and traditions). The core of folklore is the word. Folklore is a phenomenon, not an art; it combines arts. And above all, this is a synthetic phenomenon. At the time of the formation of folklore, syncretism should be attributed (mutually; penetration; unity; coherence.) One of the most important qualities folklore - the oral nature of its existence. The genre of folklore dies when its work ceases to be passed on from mouth to mouth. Variability is widely developed in folkloristics (everyone who hears information conveys it in their own way). Tradition in folklore is rules, frameworks that must be observed. Contamination is the merging of several plots into one. Folklore reflects the people's position, education, morality, and worldview.

1. History of folklore

The spoken word, ancient stories passed from generation to generation, from mouth to mouth, were the beginning from which, over thousands of years, folk tales about the Gods, fairy tales and stories grew, and then history, science, and literature.

The people carried this spoken word, the rhythms of chants from the primeval forest through the centuries and settled throughout the earth, and, creating this or that culture in every corner, they placed the word and rhythm as the basis of their oral and musical creativity.

“The Russian people created a huge oral literature: wise proverbs and cunning riddles, funny and sad ritual songs, solemn epics - spoken in a sing-song voice, to the sound of strings - about the glorious exploits of heroes, defenders of the people’s land - heroic, magical, everyday and ridiculous tales.

It is vain to think that this literature was only the fruit of popular leisure. She was the dignity and intelligence of the people. She established and strengthened him moral character, was his historical memory, the festive clothes of his soul and filled with deep content his entire measured life, flowing according to the customs and rituals associated with his work, nature and veneration of his fathers and grandfathers." "Russian folklore" / Edited by V.P. Anikina; - M.: Khud. Lit., 1985. - p. 3.

The term "folklore" was introduced into science by the English scientist William Toms in 1846. The term is accepted in international science and translated means the wisdom of the people. It is difficult to give a brief definition of such a concept. Folklore is the life of a people, its history, its gradual development. Folklore is not something invented from above, it is created by the people in the process of life and for the benefit.

2. Essence and conceptterm" folklore"

Folklore is folk art, most often oral; artistic collective creative activity of the people, reflecting their life, views, ideals, principles. Folklore includes works that convey the basic, most important ideas of the people about the main values ​​in life: work, family, love, social duty, homeland. Our children are still being brought up on these works. Knowledge of folklore can give a person knowledge about the Russian people, and ultimately about himself.

Folklore is artistic folk art, artistic creative activity of working people; poetry, music, theater, dance, architecture, fine and decorative art created by the people and existing among the masses applied arts. In collective artistic creativity, people reflect their work activities, social and everyday life, knowledge of life and nature, cults and beliefs. folklore ethnography ritual

Folklore, formed in the course of social labor practice, embodies the views, ideals and aspirations of the people, their poetic fantasy, the richest world of thoughts, feelings, experiences, protest against exploitation and oppression, dreams of justice and happiness.

Folklore is national, this is its dignity. Every nation has traditions, customs, and symbols of worship. The nation cherishes its cultural acquisitions and passes them on from mouth to mouth as the most valuable. "Each national culture has its own spiritual discoveries and discoveries, its own dramas and tragedies, its own vision of the world... The future of every nation is connected with national culture, which is the guarantor of life for it. This idea has its own immanent logic: it is it that lays the spiritual and intellectual potential of the nation, strengthens the spiritual health of the people, creates it moral ideal". Arnoldov L.I. National cultures: modern vision. M: IPK, 1992. P. 5.

Folklore is a historical category. In works of folk art there live heroes who became famous for victories in wars and unprecedented discoveries. Songs and epics present events of long ago, proverbs and sayings born at the place of labor, and not just words. Each generation embraces its cultural gifts and carries them on. I.V. Malygina believes that cultural heritage is a very important, very significant part of every national culture, however, it is not always fully realized and understood if it is considered only from the point of view of modernity. Therefore, to comprehend the original image of the world of a particular people, it is necessary to expand the time frame of cultural research. The author classifies national culture as a historical science.

Folk art is a natural process. The people and works of art are integral parts.

Folklore forms a long chain of its works. Passed on from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, the works were modified and acquired new forms of existence, but the people preserved them and brought them to the present day. Works of folk art have neither authorship nor any affiliation; they are the priceless property of every nation. Works of folklore are not the creations of individuals, but the result of individual and mass creativity, dialectically interconnected. They are a reflection of real reality in the consciousness of the masses, the result of the processing of this reality in folk fantasy, and therefore allow us to look for the expression of folk ideals, aspirations, moods, and feelings in folklore.

Many writers, philosophers, and thinkers have been engaged in solving the mystery of the authorship of works of folklore. The intriguing process of the eternal life of some works made us think about its beginning.

Science is complete different opinions about the beginning of folk art. Many scientists are trying to understand the phenomenon of the existence of folk traditional culture. The problem of national heredity, expressed in the system of genres and in the implementation of the diachronological transfer of the wealth of national folklore from generation to generation, worries many ethnographers from the point of view of the historical and genetic tree of the nation.

Folkloristics

The science of folklore - folkloristics - is a completely independent, living and interesting science, closely related to another science close to it - ethnography. Ethnography deals with the description and study of the life of various peoples, their economy, crafts, artistic crafts, household tools and objects household items, clothing and weapons, beliefs, rituals and games. Each people’s way of life develops differently, and its historical life develops differently in different material and social conditions. And folklore, reflecting the life of the people in various manifestations, each nation has its own characteristics. “The true history of the working people cannot be known without knowing oral folk art” “Book about Russian folklore” / N. Kolpakova; - L.: Manual for students high school, 1948. - p. eleven.

Folklore studies a complex of verbal, verbal-musical, musical-choreographic, gaming and dramatic types of folk art. Its basic object is Russian folklore, the folklore of the peoples of Russia and foreign countries.

o theory, history, textual criticism of folklore;

o its classification and systematization;

o issues of its collection and archiving;

o study of the interaction between folklore and professional arts;

o methodology of folklore research;

o history of collecting and studying folklore.

For folkloristics, it is important to develop already established industries and create new ones. Philological folkloristics studies the traditional spiritual culture of the people in its linguistic expression.

About folklore in the words of great people.

"Folklore (English folk-lor) - folk wisdom, folk knowledge, works of folk poetry and music. Folkloristics is the science of folk poetic creativity (folklore). "Accurately, briefly, laconically, B.A. Vvedensky, a famous Soviet and Russian scientist in the field of radiophysics, defines the large-scale concept of folklore.

A.S. Kargin, Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Culturology of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Russian Academy of Sciences, gives the following definition: “Folklore is the most important element that makes up the history of culture, its protagonist, reflecting, on the one hand, the major events in the life of the people and the state, on the other - certain cycles of human life, times year, work activities. At the same time, folklore is an independent form of spiritual practice, developing according to its own laws and having its own capabilities and means of influencing the history of man, his thoughts and actions." Kargin L.S. Folk artistic culture: Course of lectures. M., 1997. P. 182.

L.L. Kupriyanova, Academician and Scientific Secretary of the Republican Academy of Additional Education, characterizing the phenomenon of “folklore”, calls it “the repository of the wisdom and vitality of the people.”

L.V. Shamina, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, calls folklore a set of genres of folk art, united by functionality, poetic features, origin and historical destiny.

M.S. Kolesov, who believes that “folklore is a special sphere of non-professional spiritual culture of society, which: in content expresses the worldview and psychology of the masses; in form is art; has as its social carrier the people as a community of direct producers of material goods; performs both aesthetic and and practical functions."

3. Specific features of folklore

According to D.S. Likhachev, the attitude towards the past forms its own national image. Every person is a bearer of the past and a bearer of national character; he is part of society and part of its history. By not preserving the memory of the past within himself, he destroys part of his personality, and by cutting himself off from his national, family and personal roots, he dooms himself to premature withering.

Every nation has its own characteristics of development and existence. But these features are also influenced by some factors - geographical location, climatic conditions, historical background. Each nation finds its own forms of self-expression with a certain idea and meaning.

The specific properties of a people’s culture affect not only the entire history of the country, but also each individual. A person cannot live in isolation from his roots; he grows and absorbs the culture of his ancestors. Therefore, it is often and quickly possible to determine what nationality a person is and judge his genetic characteristics. “Every historical culture imposes certain permanent features on the individual and, knowing its general character, we can guess individual living faces underneath it, even if we haven’t seen them at all, just as, on the contrary, seeing similar faces, we can understand the general meaning of culture, which for for some reason it became unclear or was forgotten." Rozanov V.V. Religion and culture. M: Pravda, 1990. P. 82.

Culture is the basis for the development of an individual and society as a whole. The culture of an individual nation is specific, which is why all nations are so different, but the meaning, the idea of ​​a highly moral, artistic vision of the world connects everyone. Culture, despite constant intellectual changes, is the fundamental basis of social development, one of the productive means of shaping and becoming a person.

Cultures are specific, but constant interaction between peoples different countries brings creativity together. The culture of one people cannot live separately, just as a person cannot exist outside of this process. The complex act of merging and coexistence of cultures of different peoples is necessary for each of them. Thanks to this difficult action, the culture of an individual people is enriched. The boundaries and possibilities of each other's knowledge are expanding. In the process appear common features and differences are accepted.

It is characteristic of all types of folklore that the creators of the work are simultaneously its performers, and the performance, in turn, can be the creation of variants that enrich the tradition; Also important is the close contact of performers with people who perceive art, who themselves can act as participants in the creative process.

The main features of folklore include the long-preserved indivisibility and highly artistic unity of its types: poetry, music, dance, theater, and decorative art merged in folk ritual actions; in the people's home, architecture, carving, painting, ceramics, and embroidery created an inseparable whole; folk poetry is closely related to music and its rhythmicity, musicality, and the nature of the performance of most works, while musical genres are usually associated with poetry, labor movements, and dances. The works and skills of folklore are directly passed on from generation to generation.

Functions of folklore

Folklore contributes to deepening knowledge about folk spiritual culture in its past and present. Folklore introduces you to the life, traditions, and customs of your own and the “neighboring people.”

With the help of folklore, the assimilation of moral and behavioral cultural norms and values ​​enshrined in the culture of a nation is carried out. Moral and behavioral norms and values ​​are expressed in a system of images. Revealing the characters of fairy-tale characters, delving into the essence of their actions, the student understands what is good and what is bad, thereby easily determining his likes and dislikes, and comprehending popular ideas about human beauty. Wise folk proverbs and sayings inform about behavioral norms.

With the help of folklore, it is possible to develop a respectful attitude both towards the culture of one’s own ethnic group and a tolerant attitude towards other ethnic cultures. By studying folklore, the child realizes that the people are the creator, the creator cultural heritage to be admired and proud of. Folklore - centuries-old people's labor, preserving the history of the ethnic group.

Folklore contributes to the development of aesthetic taste. The child feels the beauty of folk thought, he has a need to communicate with the people. He strives to understand what means people use in their creativity, and tries to apply them in the future.

The functions of folklore as a whole and its individual genres could not help but change depending on the general changes in the structure of the entire spiritual culture, on the type of relationship between folklore and, relatively speaking, “non-folklore” forms and types of spiritual culture.

Upon closer examination, the aesthetic function of many folklore genres turns out to be not the only one, not the dominant one. In its more or less pure form, it was formed relatively late. However, it was formed late even in the sphere professional culture. Thus, in the history of Russian literary prose, what could be called fiction, for which the aesthetic function became dominant, arose only in the 17th century.

Classification of folklore.

Various experiments in classifying folklore were undertaken already at the end of the last century, and they were directly related to discussions about the scope of the concept “folklore”. However, they reflect different methodological principles different directions in science. Without pretending to be a complete review of general classifications, I will dwell on some of them that are of fundamental interest (special classifications of individual types of folklore will be indicated below, as the presentation progresses).

Naturally, those numerous folklorists who consider folklore as a set of various types of folk culture solve the problem of classification as a grouping of these types. Thus, J. L. Gomm united all the products of folk tradition into two main groups: one consisted of myths, fairy tales, legends, the other - customs, ceremonies, actions and beliefs (or, in other terminology, customs, rites, actions).1 A more developed classification was proposed by Sh.S. Ben. She combined all types of folklore into three main groups with the following divisions.

I. Beliefs and actions relating to: earth and heaven; plant world; the animal world; human existence; things made by man; soul and to the other world; superhuman being (gods, deities, etc.); omens and predictions; the art of magic; diseases and healing.

II. Customs: social and political institutions; rituals of individual life; occupations and production; calendar holidays; games, dancing, sports and entertainment.

III. Prose, singing and sayings: stories perceived as true, i.e. myths, legends, heroic tales, etc.; stories for entertainment (fairy tales in all their varieties); songs and ballads; Proverbs and sayings; proverbs and nursery rhymes; local sayings.

Sentiv divided folklore into three large sections of the life of the “folk classes”: A) “material life”, B) “intellectual life” and C) “social life”. In the first group he included all types of folk material culture and various forms of production activity of the masses. In the second group - folk language, folk knowledge, folk philosophy, magical rituals, religious beliefs and prejudices of the masses, folk aesthetics with the following divisions: 1) folk art - graphics, decoration of household utensils, clothing, homes; folk imagery; art of sound - singing and instrumental music; 2) folk literature - riddles, dances, songs and ballads; fairy tales, fables and folk theater; folk books; rhythm of language and singing. To the third group, Sentiv includes family relationships, various associations, unions and societies in which " simple people" - right up to amateur sports, hunting, singing, etc. societies, as well as various workers' organizations, trade unions, etc.

American folklorist R.S. Boggs, who included only verbal creativity in the field of folklore, in the 40s proposed limiting the division of folklore into three large groups: A) literary folklore, B) linguistic folklore and C) scientific folklore (the system of ideas and beliefs of the masses, their prejudices, etc.). Another American folklorist, A. Taylor, who understands folklore more broadly, distinguishes its following areas - “folklore of physical objects”, or various types of folk material culture, “folklore of gestures and games”, “folklore of ideas” and, finally, “ oral folklore", or "folklore of words".

Genres of folklore.

All folklore genres are usually grouped, as in literature, into three groups or three types: dramatic, prose and song. Any folklore originates in small genres, which include riddles, proverbs and sayings.

A proverb is understood as an apt figurative saying of an edifying nature, typifying a wide variety of life phenomena and having the form of a complete sentence.

Proverbs satisfied many of the spiritual needs of workers: cognitive-intellectual (educational), production, aesthetic, moral, etc. Proverbs are not antiquity, not the past, but the living voice of the people: the people retain in their memory only what they need today and will need tomorrow . When a proverb talks about the past, it is assessed from the point of view of the present and the future - it is condemned or approved depending on the extent to which the past reflected in the aphorism corresponds to people's ideals, expectations and aspirations. A proverb is created by the entire people, therefore it expresses the collective opinion of the people. It contains a popular assessment of life, observations of the people's mind. A successful aphorism, created by an individual mind, does not become a popular proverb if it does not express the opinion of the majority. Folk proverbs have a form that is favorable for memorization, which enhances their significance as ethnopedagogical tools. Proverbs remain firmly in memory. Their memorization is made easier by the play of words, various consonances, rhymes, rhythms, sometimes very skillful. The ultimate goal of proverbs has always been education; since ancient times they have acted as pedagogical tools. On the one hand, they contain a pedagogical idea, on the other hand, they have an educational influence and carry educational functions: they tell about the means, methods educational influence, corresponding to the ideas of the people, give characterological assessments of the personality - positive and negative, which, defining one way or another the goals of personality formation, contain a call for education, self-education and re-education, condemn adults who neglect their sacred responsibilities - pedagogical, etc.

Proverbs contain a lot of material of a practical nature: everyday advice, wishes in work, greetings, etc.

The most common form of proverbs is instructions. From a pedagogical point of view, instructions of three categories are interesting: instructions instructing children and youth in good morals, including rules good manners; teachings calling on adults to behave decently, and, finally, instructions of a special kind, containing pedagogical advice, stating the results of education, which is a kind of generalization of pedagogical experience. They contain a wealth of educational material on issues of upbringing. Positive and negative personality traits, according to proverbs, are presented as goals of education and re-education, implying every possible improvement in the behavior and character of people. At the same time, it is noteworthy that all nations recognize the infinity of human perfection. Any person, no matter how perfect he is, can rise to another level of perfection. This step leads not only a person, but also humanity to progress. Many proverbs are motivated and reasoned calls for self-improvement.

The Literary Encyclopedia describes a riddle as “an intricate poetic description of an object or phenomenon that tests the ingenuity of the guesser.” The definitions of a riddle are based on the same features:

The description is often framed as an interrogative sentence;

The description is laconic and the mystery has a rhythm.

So the mystery is short description an object or phenomenon, often in poetic form, containing an intricate task in the form of an explicit (direct) or implied (hidden) question.

Riddles are designed to develop children's thinking, to teach them to analyze objects and phenomena from various areas of the surrounding reality; Moreover, the presence of a large number of riddles about the same phenomenon made it possible to give a comprehensive description of the subject (phenomenon). But the significance of riddles in mental education is far from being limited to the development of thinking; they also enrich the mind with information about nature and knowledge from various areas of human life. The use of riddles in mental education is valuable because the totality of information about nature and human society acquired by the child in the process of active mental activity.

Riddles contribute to the development of a child’s memory, imaginative thinking, and speed of mental reactions.

The riddle teaches the child to compare signs various items, find commonality in them and thereby develops his ability to classify objects and discard their unimportant features. In other words, with the help of a riddle the foundations of a theoretical creative thinking.

A riddle develops a child's observation skills. The more observant a child is, the better and faster he solves riddles. A special place in the process of raising children is occupied by the diagnostic function of the riddle: it allows the teacher, without any special tests or questionnaires, to identify the degree of observation, intelligence, mental development, as well as the level of creative thinking of the child.

Proverb - from the simplest poetic works What a fable or proverb is, can stand out and independently turn into living speech, the elements in which condense their content; this is not an abstract formula of the idea of ​​the work, but a figurative hint of it, taken from the work itself and serving as its substitute (for example, “a pig under the oak tree”, or “a dog in the manger”, or “he washes dirty linen in public”)

A saying, unlike a proverb, does not contain a general instructive meaning.

Proverbs and sayings are comparative or allegorical statements and contain the worldly wisdom of the people. From these two sprouts, metaphors (in riddles) and figurative comparisons (in sayings), folk poetry grows.

Song genres of folklore are represented by epic songs and ballads, ritual and lyrical songs, ditties, work songs and improvisations. Lamentations also join the song genre.

The songs reflect the age-old expectations, aspirations and innermost dreams of the people. The songs are unique in their musical and poetic presentation of the idea - ethical, aesthetic, pedagogical. Beauty and goodness appear in unity in the song. Good fellows, praised by the people, are not only kind, but also beautiful. Folk songs have absorbed the highest national values, focused only on goodness, on human happiness.

Songs - more complex shape folk poetry than riddles and proverbs. The main purpose of songs is to instill a love of beauty, to develop aesthetic views and tastes. The song is characterized by a high poeticization of all aspects of people's life, including the education of the younger generation. The pedagogical value of the song is that beautiful singing was taught, and it, in turn, taught beauty and goodness. The song accompanied all events of people's life - work, holidays, games, funerals, etc. The whole life of people passed in a song that the best way expressed the ethical and aesthetic essence of the individual. Full song cycle- This is a person’s life from birth to death. Songs are sung to a baby in a cradle who has not yet learned to understand, to an old man in a coffin who has ceased to feel and understand. Scientists have proven the beneficial role of gentle song in mental development baby in the womb. Lullabies not only put the baby to sleep, but also caress him, soothe him, and bring joy. Some categories of songs are aimed at specific age groups, although, of course, most songs cannot be sharply differentiated and distributed by age. Some adult songs are sung by small children with special enthusiasm. Therefore, we can only talk about the predominant performance of certain songs at a given age.

Noteworthy means of educational influence are pestles and nursery rhymes. In them, the growing child occupies the entire attention of the adult. Pestushki got their name from the word to nurture - to nurse, to carry in one's arms. These are short poetic refrains that accompany the child’s movements during nurturing.

Pestlets make sense only when accompanied by a tactile device - a light bodily touch. A gentle massage, accompanied by a cheerful, simple song with clear pronunciation of poetic lines, puts the child in a cheerful, cheerful mood. Pestushki takes into account all the main aspects of the child’s physical development. As he begins to find his feet, he is told one thing; a child taking his first steps is taught to stand more firmly on his feet and at the same time other pestles speak.

Pestushki gradually turn into nursery rhyme songs that accompany the child’s games with fingers, arms, and legs. In these games there is often a pedagogical element - instruction in hard work, kindness, and friendliness.

Song is a complex form of folk poetry. The main purpose of songs is aesthetic education. But they aim to implement other aspects of personality formation, i.e. are a comprehensive means of influencing the individual.

The songs reveal the external and internal beauty of a person, the meaning of beauty in life; they are one of the best means development of aesthetic tastes among the younger generation. Beautiful melodies enhance the aesthetic impact of the poetic words of the songs. The influence of folk songs on peasant youth has always been enormous, and their significance has never been limited to the beauty of verse and melody ( external beauty, beauty of form). The beauty of thoughts and the beauty of content are also among the strengths of folk songs.

And the very words of the songs, and the conditions, and the nature of their performance contribute to the strengthening of health and the development of hard work. The songs glorify health, it is called happiness, the highest good. People have always believed that songs develop the voice, expand and strengthen the lungs: “To sing loudly, you need to have strong lungs,” “A sonorous song expands the chest.”

The importance of songs in the labor education of children and youth is invaluable. As mentioned above, songs accompanied and stimulated the labor process; they contributed to the coordination and unification of the labor efforts of workers.

Fairy tales are an important educational tool, developed and tested by people over centuries. Life and folk education practices have convincingly proven the pedagogical value of fairy tales. Children and fairy tales are inseparable, they are created for each other, and therefore familiarity with the fairy tales of one’s people must be included in the education and upbringing of every child.

The most characteristic features of fairy tales are nationality, optimism, fascinating plot, imagery and fun, and, finally, didacticism.

The material for folk tales was the life of the people: their struggle for happiness, beliefs, customs, and the surrounding nature. There was a lot of superstition and darkness in the beliefs of the people. This is dark and reactionary - a consequence of the difficult historical past of the working people. Most fairy tales reflect the best features of the people: hard work, talent, loyalty in battle and work, boundless devotion to the people and homeland. The embodiment of the positive traits of the people in fairy tales has made fairy tales an effective means of transmitting these traits from generation to generation. Precisely because fairy tales reflect the life of a people, their best features, and cultivate these features in the younger generation, nationality turns out to be one of the most important characteristics fairy tales

Many folk tales inspire confidence in the triumph of truth, in the victory of good over evil. As a rule, in all fairy tales there is suffering positive hero and his friends are transient, temporary, joy usually comes after them, and this joy is the result of struggle, the result of joint efforts. Children especially like the optimism of fairy tales and enhance educational value folk pedagogical means.

The fascination of the plot, imagery and fun make fairy tales a very effective pedagogical tool.

Imagery- an important feature of fairy tales, which facilitates their perception by children who are not yet capable of abstract thinking. The hero usually very clearly and clearly shows those main character traits that bring him closer to national character people: courage, hard work, wit, etc. These features are revealed both in events and through various artistic means, such as hyperbolization. Thus, the trait of hard work as a result of hyperbolization reaches the utmost brightness and convexity of the image (in one night build a palace, a bridge from the hero’s house to the king’s palace, in one night sow flax, grow, process, spin, weave, sew and clothe the people, sow wheat , grow, harvest, thresh, thresh, bake and feed people, etc.). The same should be said about such traits as physical strength, courage, boldness, etc.

Imagery is complemented funnyness fairy tales The wise teacher-people took special care to ensure that fairy tales were interesting and entertaining. A folk tale contains not only bright and lively images, but also subtle and cheerful humor. All nations have fairy tales, the special purpose of which is to amuse the listener.

Didacticism is one of the most important features of fairy tales. Fairy tales from all peoples of the world are always instructive and edifying. It was precisely noting their instructive nature, their didacticism, that A.S. wrote. Pushkin at the end of his "Tale of the Golden Cockerel":

The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it!

A lesson to good fellows.

Due to the features noted above, fairy tales of all nations are an effective means of education. Fairy tales are a treasure trove pedagogical ideas, brilliant examples of folk pedagogical genius.

Folk theater, existing in forms organically related to oral folk art, originated in ancient times: the games that accompanied hunting and agricultural holidays contained elements of transformation. Theatricalization of the action was present in calendar and family rituals(Yuletide dressing up, wedding, etc.).

In folk theater, a distinction is made between live theater and puppet theater. The Russian Petrushka Theater was close to the Ukrainian nativity scene and the Belarusian batleyka.

The most characteristic feature of folk theater (as in general folk art) is the open convention of costumes and props, movements and gestures; During the performances, the actors directly communicated with the public, who could give cues, intervene in the action, direct it, and sometimes take part in it (sing along with the choir of performers, portray minor characters in crowd scenes).

The folk theater, as a rule, had neither a stage nor decorations. The main interest in it is focused not on the depth of revealing the characters of the characters, but on the tragic or comical nature of situations and situations.

The folk theater introduces young spectators to verbal folklore, develops memory and imaginative thinking. Comic characters make fun of people's vices, dramatic characters teach empathy. By participating in his simple performances, the child learns to speak correctly and beautifully, give a speech in front of an audience, and overcome shyness.

Folk dance is one of the oldest types of folk art. The dance was part of folk performances at festivals and fairs. The appearance of round dances and other ritual dances is associated with folk rituals. Gradually moving away from ritual actions, round dances were filled with new content that expressed new features of everyday life.

Peoples engaged in hunting and animal husbandry reflected their observations of the animal world in their dance. The character and habits of animals, birds, and domestic animals were figuratively and expressively conveyed: the Yakut dance of the bear, the Russian crane, the gander, etc. Dances on the theme of rural labor appeared: the Latvian dance of reapers, the Hutsul dance of woodcutters, the Estonian dance of shoemakers, the Belarusian lyanka, the Moldavian poame ( grape). Folk dance often reflects the military spirit, valor, heroism, and reproduces battle scenes (Georgian khorumi, berikaoba, Cossack dances, etc.). The theme of love occupies a large place in folk dance art: dances expressing the nobility of feelings, respectful attitude towards a woman (Georgian kartuli, Russian Baynov square dance).

Dance allows you to develop plasticity, special coordination of movements, techniques for relating movement to music. Children learn to move rhythmically, communicate with each other in motion (round dance, stream).

Folk arts and crafts immortalize the vast, ever-living soul of the people, their rich practical experience and aesthetic taste. In Belarus, artistic woodworking, pottery, weaving, painting, weaving and embroidery were the most developed.

In certain features of folk art, norms of work and life, culture and beliefs can be traced. The most common element is the ornament born in antiquity, which helps to achieve the organic unity of the composition and is deeply interconnected with the technique of execution, the feeling of the subject, the plastic form, and the natural beauty of the material. Folk craftsmen have been highly valued since ancient times. The secrets of their craft were passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, combining the wisdom and experience of the past and the discoveries of the present. Children with early age got involved in work and helping parents. Working together helps children better master a craft, learn from the experience of a mentor (parents), and instills hard work.

4. Relevance of studying folklore

Attention to folklore, ancient layers of culture, tradition in general, as an inexhaustible source of human education and development, has been especially active in recent years in the socio-pedagogical environment. This is due to the functional characteristics of folklore genres, the deep spirituality and wisdom of folk art, and the continuity of the process of transmitting national culture from generation to generation.

At the beginning of the new century, there is an increased interest in national culture, ethnic processes, traditional artistic creativity, and folklore. Scientists note a special growth in the historical and national self-awareness of each people, explaining this by socio-psychological and political reasons.

Preservation and development of national culture, one's roots is the most important task, which requires careful attitude to historical and cultural monuments, to traditional folk art. The revival of folklore, folk customs, rituals and holidays, traditional arts and crafts and fine arts is current problem modernity. Folklore, its genres, means, and methods most fully fill out the entire picture of people's life, giving a vivid picture of the life of the people, their morality, and spirituality. Folklore reveals the soul of a people, its virtues and characteristics. From a scientific point of view, folklore is a phenomenon that deserves special study and careful evaluation.

Bibliography

1. Adonyeva S.B. Pragmatics of modern folklore. - SPb.: St. Petersburg. state univ., 2000.

2. Gusev V.E. Folklore: (History of the term and its modern meanings) // SE. - 1966. - N 2.

3. Kagarov E.G. What is folklore // Artistic folklore. T. 4/5. - M., 1929.

4. Putilov B.N. Folklore and folk culture. - St. Petersburg, 1994.

5. Rusin M.Yu. Folklore: Traditions and modernity. - Kyiv, 1991.

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Introduction

The works created by the people several centuries ago convey the wisdom, talent, and insight of the people themselves. Fairy tales, proverbs, sayings - all these means literary expressiveness, which people have created over the centuries, are not only interesting works, for which you can spend more than one hour, but is also the moral source of the people.

In the first part of my work, genres of folklore, as well as its subtypes, will be considered. The second part of the work contains material about images of evil spirits in the national folklore of different peoples. The third part of my work involves comparing similar images of evil spirits.

This work is devoted to the study of the characteristics of national folklore, and it will also examine some of the most famous images of evil spirits. Using the example of some of the folklore heroes I have chosen, I will try to consider the path of development literature has taken, and I will also focus on what people believed in and what they worshiped. In my work I address the problem of interests modern society to folk art, as well as the relevance of folk art in modern literature.

I chose this topic because it is quite interesting and informative; what also seemed very interesting to me in this topic is that I will be working mainly with folk tales, and working with texts, especially fairy tales, is always a fascinating and entertaining process . I also found it very interesting that now people practically do not pay attention to images of evil spirits in literature.

This topic is quite relevant in our time. After all, in Lately Interest in the unreal and fictitious is lost; fairy tales in our time are rapidly relegated to the background. They are rarely read, unless only to children, and the deep subtext of the content is rarely thought of.

The hypothesis of my work is that people began to “move away” from fairy tales, and, consequently, from the heroes who are present in them.

In my work I have set the following goal: generalization and comparison of images of evil spirits in national folklore.

In this regard, the objectives of the abstract are:

Review and summarize material about the meaning and characteristics of oral folk art.

Study the images of evil spirits in Slavic, Russian and Latvian folklore

Conduct a survey on the topic: “Which heroes of national folklore do you know?”

What is folklore?

Folklore (English folklore - folk wisdom) is a designation for the artistic activity of the masses, or oral folk art, which arose 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 understood broadly as the totality of the spiritual and material culture of the people, their customs, beliefs, rituals, and various forms of art. Over time, the content of the term narrowed. There are several points of view that interpret folklore as folk artistic culture, as oral poetry and as a set of verbal, musical, game types of folk art. With all the diversity of regional and local forms, folklore has common features, such as anonymity, collective creativity, traditionalism, close connection with work, everyday life, and the transmission of works from generation to generation in the oral tradition. Collective life determined the appearance among different peoples of the same type of genres, plots, such means of artistic expression as hyperbole, parallelism, various types of repetitions, constant and complex epithet, and comparisons. The role of folklore was especially strong during the period of predominance of mythopoetic consciousness. 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. An inexhaustible source of Russian musical originality (the most ancient types of folklore) In the social life of ancient Rus', folklore played a much greater role than in subsequent times. Unlike medieval Europe, Ancient Rus' did not have secular professional art. In its musical culture, only two main areas developed - temple singing and folk art of the oral tradition, including various, including “semi-professional” genres (the art of storytellers, buffoons, etc.). By the time of Russian Orthodox hymnography (1), folklore had a long history, an established system of genres and means of musical expression.

Folklore is folk art that originated in ancient times - the historical basis of the entire world artistic culture, the source of national artistic traditions, and an exponent of national self-awareness. Some researchers also classify all types of non-professional art (amateur art, including folk theaters) as folk art. A precise definition of the term “folklore” is difficult, since this form of folk art is not immutable and ossified. Folklore is constantly in the process of development and evolution: ditties can be performed to the accompaniment of modern musical instruments on modern themes, new fairy tales can be dedicated to modern phenomena, folk music can be influenced by rock music, and modern music itself can include elements of folklore, folk visual and applied art may be influenced by computer graphics, etc.

Folklore is divided into two groups -- ritual And non-ritual. Ritual folklore includes: calendar folklore (carols, Maslenitsa songs, freckles), family folklore (family stories, lullabies, wedding songs, lamentations), occasional folklore (spells, chants, counting rhymes). Non-ritual folklore is divided into four groups: folklore drama, poetry, prose and folklore of speech situations. Folklore drama includes: the Parsley Theater, nativity scene drama, and religious drama.

Folklore poetry includes: epic, historical song, spiritual verse, lyrical song, ballad, cruel romance, ditty, children's poetic songs (poetic parodies), sadistic rhymes. Folklore prose is again divided into two groups: fairy-tale and non-fairytale. Fairy-tale prose includes: fairy tale (which, in turn, comes in four types: fairy tale, a tale about animals, everyday tale, cumulative tale) and anecdote. Non-fairy tale prose includes: tradition, legend, tale, mythological story, story about a dream. The folklore of speech situations includes: proverbs, sayings, well wishes, curses, nicknames, teasers, dialogue graffiti, riddles, tongue twisters and some others. There are also written forms of folklore, such as chain letters, graffiti, albums (for example, songbooks).

Literature is the art of words. But there is another type of verbal art - oral folk art (oral literature, oral literature), or folklore. Folklore has specific features that fiction does not have.

The international term "folklore" appeared in England in the mid-19th century. It comes from English. folk-lore (“folk knowledge”, “folk wisdom”) and denotes folk spiritual culture in varying degrees of its types.

Folklore is a subject of study different sciences. Folk music is studied by musicologists, folk dances by choreographers, rituals and other spectacular forms of folk art by theater experts, folk decorative and applied arts by art historians. Linguists, historians, psychologists, sociologists and other scientists turn to folklore. Each science sees in folklore what interests it. The role of ethnology (from the Greek ethnos: “people” + logos: “word, teaching”), a science that pays a lot of attention to people’s life, is especially significant.

For philologists, folklore is important as the art of words. Philological folkloristics studies the totality of oral works of art different genres created by many generations of people.

Folk verbal creativity was kept in the memory of people; in the process of communication, works passed from one to another and were not written down. For this reason, folklorists must engage in so-called “field work” - go on folklore expeditions to identify performers and record folklore from them. Recorded texts of oral folk works (as well as photographs, tape recordings, diary notes from collectors, etc.) are stored in folklore archives. Archival materials can be published, for example, in the form of folklore collections.

When a folklorist engages in the theoretical study of folklore, he uses both published and archival recordings of folk works.

Folklore has its own artistic laws. The oral form of creation, distribution and existence of works is the main feature that gives rise to the specificity of folklore and causes its difference from literature.

Folklore is mass creativity. Works of literature have an author, works of folklore are anonymous, their author is the people. In literature there are writers and readers, in folklore there are performers and listeners.

Oral works were created according to already known models, and even included direct borrowings. The speech style used constant epithets, symbols, comparisons and other traditional poetic devices. Works with a plot were characterized by a set of typical narrative elements and their usual compositional combination. In the images of folklore characters, the typical also prevailed over the individual. Tradition required the ideological orientation of the works: they taught goodness and contained the rules of human behavior in life.

The general thing in folklore is the main thing. Storytellers (performers of fairy tales), singers (performers of songs), storytellers (performers of epics), voplenitsy (performers of lamentations) sought first of all to convey to listeners what was in keeping with tradition. The repeatability of the oral text allowed for its changes, and this allowed an individual talented individual to express himself. A multiple creative act, co-creation, took place, in which any representative of the people could be a participant.

The development of folklore was facilitated by the most talented people endowed with artistic memory and creative gifts. They were well known and appreciated by those around them (remember I. S. Turgenev’s story “The Singers”).

The oral artistic tradition was the common fund. Each person could select for himself what he needed.

In the summer of 1902, M. Gorky observed in Arzamas how two women - a maid and a cook - composed a song (the story “How they composed a song”).

“It was in a quiet street of Arzamas, before evening, on a bench at the gate of the house in which I lived. The city was dozing in the hot silence of June everyday life. I, sitting by the window with a book in my hands, listened to how my cook, the portly, pockmarked Ustinya, talking quietly with the maid<...>Suddenly Ustinya speaks smartly, but in a businesslike manner: “Okay, Mangutka, tell me...” - “What is this?” - “Let’s put together a song...” And, sighing noisily, Ustinya begins to sing quickly:

"Oh, yes, on a white day, in the clear sun,

On a bright night, during the month..."

Hesitantly feeling for the melody, the maid timidly sings in a low voice:

"I'm worried, a young girl..."

And Ustinya confidently and very, touchingly brings the melody to the end:

"My heart is always aching..."

She finished and immediately spoke cheerfully, a little boastfully: “So it has begun, the song! I, my dear, will teach you how to put together songs; how to twist a thread. Well...” After a pause, as if listening to the mournful moans of frogs, the lazy ringing of bells, She again deftly played with words and sounds:

"Oh, the blizzards are fierce in winter

No cheerful streams in spring..."

The maid, moving closer to her, ... now more boldly, in a thin, trembling voice, continues:

“They don’t inform from their native side

Comforting news to my heart..."

“So there you go! - Ustinya said, slapping her hand on her knee. - And when I was younger, I composed even better songs! Sometimes my friends would pester me: “Ustyusha, teach me a song!” Eh, and I’ll drown!.. Well, what will happen next? “I don’t know,” said the maid, opening her eyes and smiling.<...>"The lark sings over the fields.

The cornflowers in the fields have bloomed,” Ustinya sings thoughtfully, folding his arms on his chest, looking at the sky, and the maid echoes smoothly and boldly:

“I should like to look at my native fields!”

And Ustinya, skillfully maintaining a high, swaying voice, spreads soulful words like velvet:

I’d like to take a walk with my dear friend through the forests!”

Having finished singing, they are silent for a long time..., then the woman says quietly, thoughtfully: “Did they compose the song poorly? It’s really good, after all.”

Not everything newly created was preserved in oral history. Repeatedly repeated fairy tales, songs, epics, proverbs and other works passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation." On this path, they lost what bore the stamp of individuality, but at the same time they identified and deepened what could satisfy everyone. The new was born only on a traditional basis, and it had to not just copy tradition, but complement it.

Folklore appeared in its regional modifications: folklore of central Russia, the Russian North, folklore of Siberia, Don folklore, etc. etc. However, local specifics have always had a subordinate position in relation to the all-Russian properties of folklore.

In folklore, a creative process constantly took place, which supported and developed the artistic tradition.

With the advent of written literature, folklore began to interact with it. Gradually, the influence of literature on folklore increased more and more.

The oral creativity of a people embodies its psychology (mentality, disposition of the soul). Russian folklore is closely related to the folklore of the Slavic peoples.

The national is part of the universal. Folklore contacts arose between peoples. Russian folklore interacted with the folklore of neighboring peoples - the Volga region, Siberia, Central Asia, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, etc.

Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002