What is the theme of a work of art in literature? Artwork idea

Along with the terms “theme” and “problem,” the concept of an artistic idea represents one of the facets of the content of a work of art. The concept of idea was put forward in antiquity. Plato interpreted ideas as entities that are beyond reality and constitute the ideal world, the true, in Plato’s understanding, reality. For Hegel, the idea is objective truth, the coincidence of subject and object, the highest point of development. I. Kant introduced the concept of “aesthetic idea”, associated with the concept of beauty, which, according to Kant, is subjective.

In literary criticism, the term “idea” was customary to designate the author’s thoughts and feelings figuratively expressed in works of art - this is an emotionally charged content center work of art. The author here is presented as a bearer of a certain ideological and artistic position, an exponent of a certain point of view, and not a passive “imitator” of nature. In this regard, along with the word “idea”, the concepts “concept of a work” and “author’s concept” were used.

An artistic idea is not an abstract concept, unlike scientific and philosophical categories. It cannot be expressed in a specific verbal formula, as happens, for example, in scientific texts. A figurative idea is always deeper than its schematic representation (a kind of verbal paraphrase).

However, it happens that ideas are expressed by the author directly, in fixed verbal formulas. This sometimes happens in lyrical poetic texts that strive for laconic expression. For example, M.Yu. Lermontov in the poem “Duma” puts the main idea in the first lines: “I look sadly at our generation! / Its future is either empty or dark, / Meanwhile, under the burden of knowledge and doubt, / It will grow old in inaction.”

In addition, some of the author’s ideas can be “delegated” to characters similar in worldview to the author. For example, Starodum in “Nedorosl” by D.I. Fonvizina becomes a “mouthpiece” of the author’s ideas, as “befits” a reasoner in classic comedies. In a realistic novel of the 19th century, a hero close to the author can express thoughts in tune with the author - such is Alyosha Karamazov in “The Brothers Karamazov” by F.M. Dostoevsky.

Some writers themselves formulate the idea of ​​their works in the prefaces to them (for example, M.Yu. Lermontov in the preface to the second edition of “A Hero of Our Time”).

It is thanks to its figurative expression that an artistic idea becomes deeper than even the author’s abstract explanations of his idea. As already mentioned, a specific feature of an artistic idea is that it is not reducible to an abstract position; imagery is expressed only in the artistic whole of the work. This leads to another feature of the artistic idea. A truly artistic idea is not initially given. It can change significantly from the conception stage to the completion of the work.

The idea of ​​the work includes the author’s assessment of selected facts and phenomena of life. But this assessment is also expressed in figurative form - through the artistic representation of the typical in the individual. The thought expressed in the work is not only figurative, but also emotionally charged. V.G. Belinsky wrote that the poet contemplates the idea “not with reason, not with reason, not with feeling and not with any one ability of his soul, but with all the fullness and integrity of his moral being - and therefore the idea appears, in his work, not abstract thought, not a dead form, but a living creature, in which the living beauty of the form testifies to the presence of the divine idea in it and in which ... there is no boundary between the idea and the form, but both are a whole and single organic creation.”

A literary work is thoroughly imbued with the author’s personal attitude. This component within the ideological core in modern literary criticism is called differently: emotional-value orientation, mode of artistry, type of author's emotionality.

A literary text is full of meanings, they can be found in different relationships to each other. The ideological meaning of the work is the unity of several ideas (according to L. Tolstoy’s figurative definition - “an endless labyrinth of connections”), united by a main idea that permeates the entire structure of the work. For example, the multifaceted ideological meaning of “The Captain’s Daughter” by A.S. Pushkin is a combination of the ideas of nationality, mercy, and historical justice.

The concept of an idea can be considered in its different meanings. The interpretation of this definition exists in both psychology and philosophy. Without an idea, nothing new can be created; it is a kind of engine of thought, an incentive to action. This article will help us understand what an idea is.

Idea structure

Idea is the main thought that underlies theoretical system. Creative character thinking is expressed precisely in the idea. Essentially, an idea is a thought that turns into action.

The structure of the idea is as follows:

• Formulation (statement);
• The goal that is set for a person, the ways to achieve it;
• Form for resolving a contradiction between an expert who must decide problematic situation and the situation itself.

Achieving a synthesis of knowledge is the main function of an idea. The stage of finding an idea for a solution is the highest in creative search.

Idea - thought

Thought formation is a chain consisting of:

• primary impulse;
• ideas-thoughts;
• forms.

An idea is the first image, the first imprint of some primary impulse, occurring outside the human mind. The formation of this occurs in the supramental space. After this, the first thin idea-imprint, print, “trace” is deposited in the mental space, that is, it takes on a form, a thought. Thus, thought is the adjustment of a prototype-idea to real conditions environment. A thought takes either figurative or verbal form. It can continue and motivate a person to action.

The concept of idea in philosophy and anthropology

Scientists have been trying to interpret the essence of the idea for many centuries different directions. There are many formulations of what the main idea is.

An idea is a mental prototype of something that highlights its main and essential features.

• Philosophers say the following about the idea: the idea is a form and means of human knowledge of reality. It must be taken into account that this, in fact, is not only an element of the mental process, but also the reality of the surrounding world, towards which this process is directed.
• Psychologists consider an idea as a representation of imagination and memory, or as a representation by consciousness of an object or process in the external world.
• Cultural anthropology studies what is called cultural diffusion. She studies the spread of ideas from one culture to another. Conclusions are drawn that, despite the fact that cultures are influenced by each other, similar ideas can develop in isolation.

What is the idea of ​​a work

The idea of ​​a work of art is the main idea, which summarizes the semantic and figurative-emotional content of the work.

Answer the question: what is the idea of ​​a text? literary work, you can do it as follows. This is an idea that cannot be recreated through other forms of art. It can be expressed only through the interaction and unity of all components included in the structure of a literary work.

Thinking about what the idea of ​​a poem is, you can understand that it is formulated in the same way as the idea of ​​any literary work. And an idea in literature is a thought that is contained in a work. There are many ideas expressed in literature. They can be logical and abstract. Logical ideas are thoughts that can be easily conveyed without figurative means; we are able to perceive them with the intellect. This is typical of non-fiction. Abstract ideas are characteristic of works of art.

The gasoline is yours, the ideas are ours

When analyzing a literary work, the concept of “idea” is traditionally used, which most often means the answer to the question allegedly posed by the author.

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

Artistic idea of ​​the work – this is the content-semantic integrity of a work of art as a product of emotional experience and mastery of life by the author. This idea cannot be recreated by means of other arts and logical formulations; it is expressed throughout artistic structure work, the unity and interaction of all its formal components. Conventionally (and in a narrower sense), an idea stands out as the main thought, ideological conclusion and “life lesson” that naturally follows from a holistic comprehension of the work.

An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are a great many ideas expressed in literature. Exist logical ideas And abstract ideas . Logical ideas are concepts that are easily conveyed without figurative means; we are able to perceive them with our intellect. Logical ideas are characteristic of nonfiction literature. Fictional novels and stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and consequences, that is, abstract elements.

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

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

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

The idea of ​​a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes struggle to formulate the idea of ​​their work. Dostoevsky about “The Idiot” he wrote: “ the main idea novel - portray positively wonderful person" For such a declarative ideology Dostoevsky scolded, for example, Nabokov. Indeed, the phrase of the great novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what the artistic and life basis his image. But here you can hardly take sides Nabokov, a down-to-earth second-line writer, never, unlike Dostoevsky who does not set himself creative super-tasks.

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

Belinsky very accurately pointed out that “art does not allow abstract philosophical, much less rational ideas: it allows only poetic ideas; A poetic idea- This<…>It’s not a dogma, it’s not a rule, it’s a living passion, pathos.”

V.V. Odintsov expressed his understanding of the category “artistic idea” more strictly: “Idea literary composition is always specific and is not directly derived not only from those lying outside it individual statements writer (facts of his biography, public life etc.), but also from the text - from replicas goodies, journalistic inserts, comments by the author himself, etc.”

2000 ideas for novels and stories

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

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

The greater the artistic idea, the longer the work lives. The creators of pop literature who write outside of great ideas face very rapid oblivion.

V.V. Kozhinov called it an artistic idea semantic type works that grow from the interaction of images. An artistic idea, unlike a logical idea, is not formulated by an author’s statement, but is depicted in all the details of the artistic whole.

IN epic works the idea can be partly formulated in the text itself, as was the case in the narrative Tolstoy: “There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” More often, especially in lyric poetry, the idea permeates the structure of the work and therefore requires great analytical work. A work of art as a whole is much richer than the rational idea that critics usually isolate, and in many lyrical works isolating an idea is simply impossible, because it practically dissolves in pathos. Consequently, the idea of ​​a work should not be reduced to a conclusion or a lesson, and in general one should certainly look for it.

In ancient times, it was believed that the integrity of a literary work was determined by the unity of the main character. But Aristotle also drew attention to the fallacy of such a view, pointing out that the stories about Hercules remain different stories, although they are dedicated to one person, and the Iliad, which tells about many heroes, does not cease to be a complete work. It is not difficult to verify the validity of Aristotle’s judgment based on the material of modern literature. For example, Lermontov showed Pechorin in both “The Princess of Lithuania” and “A Hero of Our Time”. Nevertheless, these works did not merge into one, but remained different.

What gives a work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed. Therefore, when we say that a work contains what is necessary or, on the contrary, that it contains what is superfluous, we mean precisely this unity.

The term “theme” is still used in two meanings. Some people understand by topic vital material, taken for the image. Others - main social problem posed in the work. From the first point of view, the theme of, for example, Gogol’s “Taras Bulba” is the liberation struggle Ukrainian people with the Polish gentry. On the second side, there is the problem of national partnership as the highest law of life, determining the place and purpose of man. The second definition seems more correct (although by no means excluding the first in some cases). Firstly, it does not allow for confusion of concepts, since, understanding the topic as life material, they usually reduce its study to the analysis of the depicted objects. Secondly - and this the main thing is the concept The theme as the main problem of the work naturally comes from its organic connection with the idea, which was rightly pointed out by M. Gorky. “A theme,” he wrote, “is an idea that originated in the author’s experience, is suggested to him by life, but nests in the receptacle of his impressions, not yet formalized, and, demanding embodiment in images, arouses in him the urge to work on its design.”

In some works, the problematic nature of the themes is emphasized by the writers themselves: “The Minor”, ​​“The Woe of Otuma”, “Hero of Our Time”, “Who is to Blame?”, “What to Do?”, “Crime and Punishment”, “How the Steel Was Tempered” and etc. Although the titles of most works do not directly reflect the problems posed in them (“Eugene Onegin”, “Anna Karenina”, “The Brothers Karamazov”, “ Quiet Don", etc.), in all truly significant works, important questions of life are raised, and there is an intense search for possible and necessary solutions to them. Thus, Gogol invariably strove in each of his creations to “say what has not yet been said to the world.” L. Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace” loved “folk thought”, and in “Anna Karenina” - “family thought”.

Understanding the topic can only be achieved by careful analysis of the literary work as a whole. Without understanding the entire diversity of the depicted picture of life, we will not penetrate into the complexity of the problematics, or themes of the work (that is, into the entire chain of questions posed, ultimately going back to the main problem), which alone allows us to truly understand the theme in all its concrete and unique significance.

The concept of the main idea of ​​a literary work. Writers not only pose certain problems. They look for ways to solve them, correlate what is depicted with what they affirm social ideals. Therefore, the theme of a work is always connected with its main idea. N. Ostrovsky in the novel “How the Steel Was Tempered” not only posed the problem of the formation of a new person, but also solved it.

The ideological meaning of a literary work. One of the common mistakes in understanding the idea of ​​a work is to reduce it in all cases only to direct positive statements of the author. This leads to a one-sided interpretation of the work and thereby to a distortion of its meaning. For example, in L. Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection” his main force do not constitute recipes for the salvation of humanity affirmed by the writer, but, on the contrary, crushing criticism public relations, based on the exploitation of man by man, that is, the critical ideas of Tolstoy. If we rely only on the positive (from Tolstoy’s point of view) statements of the writer in “Resurrection,” then we can reduce the main idea of ​​this novel to preaching moral self-improvement as a principle of individual human behavior and non-resistance to evil through violence as a principle of relationships between people. But if we turn to Tolstoy’s critical ideas, we will see that the ideological meaning of “Resurrection” includes the writer’s disclosure of the economic, political, religious and moral deception perpetrated by exploiters against the working people.

Understanding the main idea of ​​the novel can and should follow from an analysis of its entire ideological content. Only under this condition can we correctly judge the novel, its strength and weakness, the nature and social roots of the contradictions in it.

In addition, it must be taken into account that in a number of literary works only critical ideas are directly expressed. Such works include, for example, “The Inspector General” by Gogol and many satirical works Saltykov-Shchedrin. IN similar works denunciation of various social phenomena is also given, of course, in terms of certain positive ideals, but directly; however, we are dealing here precisely with critical ideas, by which only we can judge the height and correctness ideological meaning works.

7. Form and content of a work of art.

Content and form are concepts long established by philosophical thinking, with the help of which not only in works of art, but also in all phenomena of life, two sides of their existence are distinguished: in the very general meaning- this is their activity and their structure.
The content of a literary work is always a mixture of what is depicted and expressed by the writer.

The content of a literary work is life, as it is understood by the writer and correlated with his idea of ​​the ideal of beauty.
The figurative form of revealing the content is the life of the characters, as it is generally presented in the works, the professor notes. G. N. Pospelov. The content of the work relates to the sphere of spiritual life and activity of people, while the form of the work is a material phenomenon: directly - this is the verbal structure of the work - an artistic speech that is pronounced out loud or “to oneself”. The content and form of a literary work represents a unity of opposites. The spirituality of the ideological content of a work and the materiality of its form is the unity of opposite spheres of reality.
Content, in order to exist, must have form; form has meaning and significance when it serves as a manifestation of content.
Hegel wrote very convincingly about the unity of content and form in art: “A work of art that lacks the proper form is precisely why it is not an authentic, that is, a true work of art, and for the artist as such it serves as a bad excuse if, in saying, that his works are good (or even excellent) in their content, but lack proper form. Only those works of art in which the content and form are identical and represent true works art."

Ideological - artistic unity of content and form of a work is formed on the basis of the primacy of content. No matter how great the writer’s talent, the significance of his works is, first of all, determined by their content. The purpose of their figurative form and all genre, compositional and linguistic elements is to completely vividly and artistically accurately convey the content. Any violation of this principle, this unity of artistic creativity, has a negative impact on a literary work and reduces its value. The dependence of form on content does not make it, however, something secondary. The content is revealed only in it; therefore, the completeness and clarity of its disclosure depends on the degree of correspondence of the form to the content.

When talking about content and form, we need to remember their relativity and correlation. The content of a work cannot be reduced only to an idea. It is the unity of objective and subjective, embodied in a work of art. Therefore, when analyzing a work of art, one cannot consider its idea outside the figurative form. The idea, which in a work of art acts as a process of cognition, comprehension of reality by the artist, should not be reduced to conclusions, to a program of action, which constitutes only part of the subjective content of the work.

When analyzing a literary work, the concept of “idea” is traditionally used, which most often means the answer to the question allegedly posed by the author.

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

The artistic idea of ​​a work is the content-semantic integrity of a work of art as a product of emotional experience and mastery of life by the author. This idea cannot be recreated by means of other arts and logical formulations; it is expressed by the entire artistic structure of the work, the unity and interaction of all its formal components. Conventionally (and in a narrower sense), an idea stands out as the main thought, ideological conclusion and “life lesson” that naturally follows from a holistic comprehension of the work.

An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are a great many ideas expressed in literature. There are logical ideas and abstract ideas. Logical ideas are concepts that are easily conveyed without figurative means; we are able to perceive them with our intellect. Logical ideas are characteristic of nonfiction literature. Fictional novels and stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and consequences, that is, abstract elements.

But there is also a special type of very subtle, barely perceptible ideas in a literary work. An artistic idea is a thought embodied in figurative form. It lives only in figurative transformation and cannot be expressed in the form of sentences or concepts. The peculiarity of this thought depends on the disclosure of the topic, the author’s worldview, conveyed by the speech and actions of the characters, and on the depiction of pictures of life. It lies in the combination of logical thoughts, images, and all significant compositional elements. An artistic idea cannot be reduced to a rational idea that can be specified or illustrated. The idea of ​​this type is integral to the image, to the composition.

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

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

The idea of ​​a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes struggle to formulate the idea of ​​their work. Dostoevsky wrote about “The Idiot”: “The main idea of ​​the novel is to portray a positively beautiful person.” For such a declarative ideology, Dostoevsky was scolded, for example, by Nabokov. Indeed, the phrase of the great novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what is the artistic and vital basis of his image. But here it is hardly possible to take the side of Nabokov, a down-to-earth writer of the second rank, who, unlike Dostoevsky, never set himself creative super-tasks.

PLOT AND FABULA

The difference between “plot” and “fable” is defined in different ways; some literary scholars do not see a fundamental difference between these concepts, while for others, “plot” is the sequence of events as they occur, and “plot” is the sequence in which the author has them.

The plot is the factual side of the story, those events, incidents, actions, states in their causal and chronological sequence. The term “plot” refers to what is preserved as the “base”, “core” of the narrative.

The plot is a reflection of the dynamics of reality in the form of the action unfolding in the work, in the form of internally related (causal-temporal) actions of characters, events that form a unity, constituting some complete whole. The plot is a form of theme development - an artistically constructed distribution of events.

Driving force The development of the plot, as a rule, is a conflict (literally “clash”), a conflicting life situation, placed by the writer at the center of the work.