Lyrical motive definition. Motif in a literary work
INTRODUCTION
“Motive”, everyone has come across this term in their life, many know its meaning thanks to their studies in music schools, but this term is also widely used in literary criticism. Motive varies in its definition, but what significance does it have in literary works? For people involved in the study and analysis of literary works, it is necessary to know the meaning of motive.
MOTIVE
Motif (French motif, German motiv from Latin moveo - I move) is a term that has passed into literary studies from musicology. It is “the smallest independent unit of musical form.”<…>Development is carried out through various repetitions of the motive, as well as its transformations, the introduction of contrasting motives<…>The motivic structure embodies the logical connection in the structure of the work” 1. The term was first recorded in the “Musical Dictionary” of S. de Brossard (1703). Analogies with music, where this term- key in analysis compositions works, help to understand the properties of a motif in a literary work: its separability from the whole and repeatability in a variety of variations.
Motif has become a term for a number of scientific disciplines (psychology, linguistics, etc.), in particular literary studies, where it has a fairly wide range of meanings: there are a number of theories of motive, which are not always consistent with each other 2 . Motive as a phenomenon artistic literature closely touches and intersects with repetitions and their similarities, but is far from identical to them.
In literary criticism, the concept of “motive” was used to characterize the components of the plot by I.V. Goethe and F. Schiller. In the article “On Epic and Dramatic Poetry” (1797), five types of motives are identified: “rushing forward, which accelerates the action”; “retreating, those that move the action away from its goal”; “slowers that delay the progress of action”; "addressed to the past"; “addressed to the future, anticipating what will happen in subsequent eras” 3.
The initial, leading, main meaning of this literary term is difficult to define. Motive is component of works of increased significance(semantic richness). A.A. Blok wrote: “Every poem is a veil, stretched on the edges of several words. These words shine like stars. Because of them the work exists” 4 . The same can be said about some words and the objects they denote in novels, short stories, and dramas. They are the motives.
Motives are actively involved in the theme and concept (idea) of the work, but they are not exhaustive. Being, according to B.N. Putilov, “stable units,” they are “characterized by an increased, one might say, exceptional degree of semioticity. Each motive has a stable set of meanings” 5. The motif is one way or another localized in the work, but at the same time it is present in a variety of forms. It can be a separate word or phrase, repeated and varied, or appear as something denoted by various lexical units, or appear in the form of a title or epigraph, or remain only guessable, lost in the subtext. Resorting to allegory, let's say that the sphere of motives consists of the links of the work, marked by internal, invisible italics, which should be felt and recognized by a sensitive reader and literary analyst. The most important feature of a motive is its ability to be half-realized in the text, revealed in it incompletely and sometimes remain mysterious.
The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated in “The Poetics of Plots” by A.N. Veselovsky. He was interested mainly in the repetition of motifs in narrative genres different peoples. The motive acted as the basis of “legend”, “ poetic language", inherited from the past: "Under motive I mean the simplest narrative unit, figuratively responding to various requests of the primitive mind or everyday observation. With the similarity or unity of everyday and psychological conditions in the first stages human development such motives could be created independently and at the same time represent similar features” 6. Veselovsky considered motifs to be the simplest formulas that could arise among different tribes independently of each other. “The hallmark of a motive is its figurative, single-member schematism...” (p. 301).
For example, an eclipse (“someone is stealing the sun”), brothers’ struggle for an inheritance, a fight for the bride. The scientist tried to find out what motives could have arisen in the minds of primitive people based on a reflection of their living conditions. He studied the prehistoric life of different tribes, their life based on poetic monuments. Acquaintance with rudimentary formulas led him to the idea that the motives themselves are not an act of creativity, they cannot be borrowed, and borrowed motives are difficult to distinguish from spontaneously generated ones.
Creativity, according to Veselovsky, was manifested primarily in a “combination of motives” that gives one or another individual plot. To analyze the motive, the scientist used the formula: a + b. For example, “the evil old woman does not like the beauty - and sets her a life-threatening task. Each part of the formula can be modified, especially subject to increment b” (p. 301). Thus, the pursuit of the old woman is expressed in the tasks that she asks the beauty. There may be two, three or more of these tasks. Therefore, the formula a + b can become more complicated: a + b + b 1 + b 2. Subsequently, combinations of motifs were transformed into numerous compositions and became the basis of such narrative genres as story, novel, poem.
The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; various combinations motives constitute plot. Unlike motive, plot could borrow move from people to people, become wandering. In the plot, each motive plays a certain role: it can be main, secondary, episodic. Often the development of the same motif is repeated in different plots. Many traditional motifs can be developed into entire plots, while traditional plots, on the contrary, are “collapsed” into one motif. Veselovsky noted the tendency of great poets, with the help of a “brilliant poetic instinct,” to use plots and motifs that have already been subjected to poetic processing. “They are somewhere in the deep dark region of our consciousness, like much that has been tested and experienced, apparently forgotten and suddenly striking us, like an incomprehensible revelation, like novelty and at the same time antiquity, which we do not give ourselves an account of, because we are often unable to determine the essence of that mental act that unexpectedly renewed old memories in us” (p. 70).
Motifs can act either as an aspect of individual works and their cycles, as a link in their construction, or as the property of the entire work of the writer and even entire genres, movements, literary epics, world literature as such. In this supra-individual aspect, they constitute one of the most important subjects of historical poetics 5 .
For last decades motives began to be actively correlated with individual creative experience and were considered as the property of individual writers and works. This, in particular, is evidenced by the experience of studying the poetry of M.Yu. Lermontova 7.
In Veselovsky’s understanding, the creative activity of the writer’s imagination is not an arbitrary game with “living pictures” of real or fictional life. The writer thinks in terms of motives, and each motive has a stable set of meanings, partly inherent in it genetically, partly emerging in the process of a long historical life.
Topic 15. Plot and motive: between “theme” and text. “Complex of motives” and types of plot schemes
I. Dictionaries
Subject
1) Sierotwiński S.Subject. The subject of treatment, the main idea developed in a literary work or scientific discussion. The main theme of the work. The main substantive moment in the work, which forms the basis for the construction of the depicted world (for example, the interpretation of the most general foundations of the ideological meaning of the work, in a plot work - the fate of the hero, in a dramatic work - the essence of the conflict, in a lyrical work - the dominant motives, etc.). Minor theme of the work. The theme of a part of a work that is subordinate to the main theme. The theme of the smallest meaningful integrity into which a work can be divided is called a motive” (S. 278). 2) Subject Wilpert G. von. (Greek - supposed), the main leading idea of the work; in a specific development of the subject under discussion. Generally accepted in special literature concept into German terminology material history (Stoffgeschichte), which distinguishes only material (Stoff) and motive, in contrast to English. and French, not yet included. It is proposed for motives of such a degree of abstraction that they do not contain the grain of action: tolerance, humanity, honor, guilt, freedom, identity, mercy, etc.” (S. 942-943). Subject 3) Dictionary literary terms.<...>But depending on the material through which this image is refracted, we have one or another reflection of it, i.e., one or another idea (a specific theme), which determines this particular work.” b) Eichenholtz M. Subject. Stlb. 929-937.“ Topics- a set of literary phenomena that make up the subject-semantic moment of a poetic work. The following terms related to the concept of subject matter are subject to definition: theme, motive, plot, plot of an artistic and literary work.” 4)<...>
Abramovich G . Topic // Dictionary of literary terms. pp. 405-406. “ Subject Subject<...>what is the basis the main idea
1) Sierotwiński S. literary work, the main problem posed by the writer in it.” 5) Maslovsky V.I. Topic // LES. P. 437. “, the circle of events that form the life basis of the epic. or dramatic prod. and at the same time serving for the formulation of philosophical, social, ethical. and other ideological problems." Motive Słownik terminów literackich. 2) S. 161. “ the main idea Motive. .
The theme is one of the smallest meaningful wholes that stands out when analyzing a work.”“<...>The motive is dynamic. The motive that accompanies a change in a situation (part of an action) is the opposite of a static motive.”
For narration. and dramatic works that are more action-packed are characterized by plot melodrama; many of them have historical universality and repeatability: recognition and insight, testing and retribution (punishment).” II.
1) Textbooks, teaching aids Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics. (Theme).“The topic (what is said) is the unity of meaning individual elements works. You can talk about both the theme of the entire work and the themes<...>individual parts . Every work written in language that has meaning has a theme. In order for a verbal construction to represent single work, it should have a unifying theme that develops throughout the work.” “...the theme of a work of art is usually emotionally charged, that is, it evokes a feeling of indignation or sympathy, and is developed in an evaluative way” (pp. 176-178).<...>“The concept of a theme is the concept summative, combining the verbal material of the work.<...>separation from products of parts, uniting each part with a particularly thematic unity, is called the decomposition of the work.<...>By decomposing the work into thematic parts in this way, we finally arrive at the parts motive <...>non-degradable<...>, down to the smallest fragmentation of thematic material. The theme of the indecomposable part of the work is called <...>From this point of view, the plot is a set of motives in their logical cause-time relationship, the plot is a set of the same motives in the same sequence and connection in which they are given in the work With a simple retelling of the plot of the work, we immediately discover that it is possible lower Non-excludable motives are called related ; motives that can be eliminated without violating the integrity of the causal-temporal course of events are free" . “The motives that change the situation are dynamic motives, motives that do not change the situation - static motives<Пункт>The stories are chronicle and concentric (Author - V.E. Khalizev). “The events that make up the plot can be related to each other in different ways. In some cases, they are with each other only in a temporary connection (B happened after A). In other cases, between events, in addition to temporary ones, there are also cause-and-effect relationships (B occurred as a result of A). Yes, in the phrase The king died and the queen died connections of the first type are recreated. In the phrase The king died and the queen died of grief We have before us a connection of the second type. Accordingly, there are two types of plots. Plots with a predominance of purely temporal connections between events are chronic. Plots with a predominance of cause-and-effect relationships between events are called plots of a single action, or concentric ” (pp. 171-172). 3)<...>Grekhnev V.A.
Verbal image and literary work. “Theme is usually called the circle of phenomena of reality embodied by the writer.
This simplest, but also common definition, seems to push us to the idea that the theme is entirely located beyond the line of artistic creation, being in reality itself. If this is true, it is only partly true. The most significant thing is that this is a circle of phenomena that have already been touched by artistic thought. They became an object of choice for her. And this is what is most important, even if this choice may not yet be associated with the thought of a specific work” (pp. 103-104). , “The direction of choosing a theme is determined not only by the individual preferences of the artist and his life experience, but also by the general atmosphere literary era , aesthetic preferences of literary movements and schools 1) Finally, the choice of topic is determined by the horizons of the genre, if not in all types of literature, then at least in lyric poetry” (p. 107-109). III. Special studies Motive<...>subject motive And<...>marriages with animals, transformations, an evil old woman torments a beauty, or someone kidnaps her and she has to be obtained by force and dexterity, etc. ”(p. 301). 2) Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale.“Morozko acts differently than Baba Yaga. But a function, as such, is a constant quantity. To study a fairy tale, the question is important What fairy-tale characters do, but the question is Who does and How does - these are questions of only incidental study. The functions of the characters represent those components that can replace Veselovsky’s “motives...” (p. 29). 3) Freidenberg O.M. The Poetics of Plot and Genre. M., 1997. “The plot is a system of metaphors deployed in verbal action; the whole point is that these metaphors are a system of allegories of the main image” (p. 223).“After all, the point of view put forward by me no longer requires either taking into account or comparing motives; she says in advance, based on the nature of the plot, that under all the motives of a given plot there is always a single image - therefore they are all tautological in the potential form of their existence; and that in design one motive will always be different from another, no matter how much they are brought together...” (224-225). 4) Cavelti J.G.<...>.<...>Secondly, the term “formula” is often applied to types of plots. This is exactly the interpretation of it that we will find in manuals for beginning writers.<...>where you can find clear instructions on how to play out twenty-one win-win plots: a boy meets a girl, they don’t understand each other, the boy gets a girl. Such general patterns are not necessarily tied to a specific culture and time period As such, they can be seen as examples of what some researchers call archetypes, or patterns, that are common across cultures. Writing a Western requires more than just some understanding of how to construct a compelling adventure story. but also the ability to use certain images and symbols characteristic of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as cowboys, pioneers, outlaws, frontier forts and saloons, along with corresponding cultural themes and mythology: the opposition of nature and civilization, the moral code of the American West or the law - lawlessness and arbitrariness, etc. All this allows you to justify or comprehend the action. Thus, formulas are methods. through which specific cultural themes and stereotypes are embodied in more universal narrative archetypes” (pp. 34-35). Subject 5) Zholkovsky A.K., Shcheglov Yu.K. Works on the poetics of expressiveness. (Appendix. Basic concepts of the “Topic - PV - Text” model).“1.2.<...>. Formally speaking, a topic is the source element of the output. Content-wise, this is a certain value setting, with the help of PV (“techniques of expressiveness” - N.T.) “dissolved” in the text, is a semantic invariant of the entire set of its levels, fragments and other components. Examples of themes include: the theme of the ancient Babylonian “Dialogue of Master and Slave about the Meaning of Life”: (1) the vanity of all earthly desires; theme of “War and Peace”: (2) undoubted in human life<...>, simple, real, and not artificial, far-fetched values, the meaning of which becomes clear in crisis situations... All these topics represent certain statements about (= situations from) life. Let's call them themes of the first kind. But the themes can also be value systems not about “life”, but about the tools themselves consists of one or another combination of themes of the 1st and 2nd types. In particular, this is true of works that not only reflect “life”, but also resonate with other ways of reflecting it. “Eugene Onegin” is an encyclopedia of Russian life, styles of Russian speech and styles of artistic thinking at the same time. So, theme is a thought about life and/or about the language of art that permeates the entire text, the formulation of which serves the starting point of the description-inference. In this formulation, all semantic invariants of the text should be explicitly recorded, i.e., everything that the researcher considers to be meaningful quantities that are present in the text and, moreover, cannot be deduced using PV from other quantities already included in the topic” (p. 292) . 6) Tamarchenko N.D. Motives of crime and punishment in Russian literature (Introduction to the problem).“The term “motive” in research literature correlate with two different aspects of a literary work. On the one hand, with this plot element (event or situation) which repeats itself in its composition and/or known from tradition. On the other hand, with the chosen one in this case verbal designation this kind of events and provisions, which is included as<...>element no longer part of the plot, but in composition of the text . The need to distinguish between these aspects in the study of plot was first, as far as we know, shown by V.Ya. Proppom. It was their discrepancy that forced the scientist to introduce the concept of “function”. In his opinion, the actions of the characters in a fairy tale, identical in terms of their role in the course of the action, can have a variety of verbal designations directly expressed in the type of plot scheme. How do the complexes of the most important motifs that vary this scheme, characteristic of various genres, relate to it: for example, for a fairy tale (shortage and departure - crossing and the main test - return and elimination of the shortage) or for an epic (disappearance - search - finding)?<...>This problem in our science was posed and solved in a very clear form by O.M. Freudenberg. In her opinion, “the plot is a system of metaphors deployed in action When an image is developed or verbally expressed, it is thereby already subject to a certain interpretation; expression is putting into form, transmission, transcription, and therefore an already known allegory.” What kind of “main image” is the plot recognized here as an interpretation? A little lower it is said that this is “an image cycle of life-death-life": it's clear that we're talking about 1) Finally, the choice of topic is determined by the horizons of the genre, if not in all types of literature, then at least in lyric poetry” (p. 107-109). about the content of the cyclic plot scheme. But this scheme can have various variations, and the differences in the motives that implement it do not negate the fact that “all these motives are tautological in the potential form of their existence.” The difference is “the result of differentiating metaphorical terminology,” so that “the composition of the plot depends entirely on the language of metaphors.” Comparing the apparently complementary ideas presented by V.Ya. Propp and O.M. Freudenberg, one can see a “three-layer” or “three-level” structure: (1) “main image” (i.e., the situation generating the plot in its content);. <..>” (p. 301).<...>“But the schematism of the plot is already half conscious, for example, the choice and order of tasks and meetings is not necessarily determined by the theme given by the content of the motive, and presupposes an already known freedom; The plot of a fairy tale, in a certain sense, is already an act of creativity.<...>the less one or another of the alternating tasks and meetings is prepared by the previous one, the weaker their internal connection, so that, for example, each of them could stand in any turn, the more confidently we can assert that if in various folk environments we come across the formula with an equally random sequence we have the right to talk about borrowing...” (p. 301-302).“ Subjects- This complex circuits, in the imagery of which<...>generalized known acts of human life and psyche in alternating forms of everyday reality. The evaluation of the action, positive or negative, is also connected with the generalization.” (p. 302). “The similarity of outlines between a fairy tale and a myth is explained not by their genetic connection, and a fairy tale would be a bloodless myth, but by the unity of materials and techniques and schemes, only timed differently” (p. 302).“The same points of view can be applied to the consideration of poetic stories And motives; they present the same signs “The entire set of motifs that make up a given work of art forms what is called community And repeatability from myth to epic, fairy tale, local saga and novel; and here it is allowed to talk about a dictionary of typical schemes and provisions...” “Under Zholkovsky A.K., Shcheglov Yu.K. I mean a theme in which various situations-motives scurry about...” (p. 305) / “I do not want to say by this that the poetic act is expressed only in repetition or a new combination of typical plots. There are anecdotal stories, prompted by some random incident...” (p. 305-306). 2) Zelinsky F.F. Origin of Comedy // Zelinsky F. From the life of ideas.“As you can see, there is no common, central dramatic motif that would dominate the entire play (meaning Aristophanes’ comedy “The Acharnians” - ), as is customary in our comedy; to put it briefly, we can say that in Aristophanes we have stringing dramatic, as opposed to centralizing ), as is customary in our comedy; to put it briefly, we can say that in Aristophanes we have About the theory of prose. pp. 26-62. Zholkovsky A.K., Shcheglov Yu.K.“...it is completely incomprehensible why a random sequence of motifs should be preserved when borrowing.” “Coincidences are explained only by the existence of special laws of plot formation. Even the assumption of borrowing does not explain the existence of identical fairy tales at a distance of thousands of years and tens of thousands of miles” (p. 29). 2)“Constructions of the type a+ (a=a) + (a (a + a)) + ... etc., that is, according to the formula of an arithmetic progression without bringing similar terms.<...>There are fairy tales built on a kind of plot tautology like a+ (a+a) (a+ (a+a) + a2), etc.” (Following example: the “chain” fairy tale “The Ruffed Chicken” - ) (p. 44).“The action of a literary work takes place on a certain field; The chess pieces will correspond to mask types, the roles of modern theater. The plots correspond to gambits, that is, the classic plays of this game that players use in variants. The tasks and vicissitudes correspond to the role of the enemy’s moves” (p. 62).» <...>“. 4) Morphology of a fairy tale. . “ “A function is understood as an act of an actor, defined from the point of view of its significance for the course of action.” “... in what grouping and in what sequence do these functions occur? Veselovsky says: “Choice and routine How The Poetics of Plot and Genre. “The composition of the plot depends entirely on the language of metaphors...” (p. 224-225).“What is in solar compositions is removal and return, in vegetative compositions is death and Sunday; there are exploits, here are passions, there is struggle, here is death.” “Thus, in any archaic plot we will certainly find a figure of bifurcation-antithesis, or, as it could be called, a figure of symmetrical-inverse repetition” (pp. 228-229). 6)<...>Bakhtin M.M. Forms of time and chronotope in the novel // Bakhtin M. Questions of literature and aesthetics.“The plots of all these novels they reveal enormous similarities and, in essence, are composed of the same elements (motives); in individual novels the number of these elements, their relative weight in the overall plot, and their combinations change. It’s easy to draw up a summary typical plot scheme...” (p. 237).“Motifs such as meeting-parting (separation), loss-gain, search-find, recognition-misrecognition, etc., are included as components in the plots of not only novels different eras and different types, but also literary works of other genres (epic, dramatic, even lyrical). These motives are chronotopic in nature (though in Chudakov A.P. different genres in different ways)” (p. 247).<О романе “Золотой осел”>“But the main complex of motives is meeting - separation - searching - finding Poetics / Trans. A.K. Zholkovsky // Structuralism: pros and cons.<...>“Causality is closely related to the temporal sequence of events; they are even very easy to confuse with each other. This is how Forster illustrates the difference between them, believing that in every novel both are present, with causal connections forming its plot, and temporal connections forming the narrative itself: “The king died and after him the queen died” is a narrative; “The king died and after him the queen died of grief” - this is the plot.”“Temporal, chronological organization, devoid of any causality, prevails in the historical chronicle, chronicle, private diary and ship's log In the literature, an example of causality in pure form The portrait genre and other descriptive genres can serve, where a time delay is required ( typical example The portrait genre and other descriptive genres can serve, where a time delay is required (- Kafka's short story "Little Woman"). Sometimes. on the contrary, literature built on temporal organization does not, at least at first glance, obey causal dependencies. Such works can directly take the form of a chronicle or “saga,” such as “Budenbroki”” (pp. 79-80).<...> <Порождаемые тексты>8) Zholkovsky A.K., Shcheglov Yu.K. Lotman Yu.M.
The origin of the plot in typological light //
1. Which of the given definitions of the concept “theme” emphasizes a) the objectivity towards which the author’s creative concept and assessments are directed; b) subjectivity, i.e. precisely the assessments and intentions themselves; c) a combination of both? Please note that in the latter case it is necessary to distinguish between an eclectic, ill-considered mixture of different approaches and a thoughtful solution
, conscious avoidance of one-sidedness. Which judgments that you have examined emphasize the “objectivity” of the theme (its presence in tradition, and even beyond the boundaries of art) and where, on the contrary, the term characterizes the work itself or the specifics of creative consciousness?
2. Try to correlate the given definitions of “motive” with three theoretically possible solutions to the problem: motive - an element of the theme (understood as the reader’s characteristic of the subject of the image or statement);
motive - an element of the text, i.e. the author's verbal designation of a separate event or situation; finally, the motive is an element of a series of events or a series of situations, that is, it is part of the plot (or plot).
3. Are there any judgments in the selected materials that distinguish the verbal designation of the motive (verbal formula) from the role of the act or event so designated in the plot; do they separate a motive as an action or position from that image of a person or the world, the reflection or even interpretation of which is a number of motives?
4. Find and compare the opinions of different authors that the plot is, in essence, a complex of motives. Select among them those who consider the sequence of motives: a) a random combination of them;
b) the result of individual, authorial, conscious combination;
Motif is a key term when analyzing the composition of a work.
The properties of a motif are its isolation from the whole and its repeatability in a variety of variations.
For example, biblical motifs.
Bulgakov. Master and Margarita.
Bulgakov's novel is largely based on a reinterpretation of evangelical and biblical ideas and plots. The central motifs of the novel are the motifs of freedom and death, suffering and forgiveness, execution and mercy. Bulgakov's interpretation of these motifs is very far from the traditional biblical ones.
Thus, the hero of the novel, Yeshua, does not in any way declare his messianic destiny, while the biblical Jesus says, for example, in a conversation with the Pharisees, that he is not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God: “I and the Father are one.”
Jesus had disciples. Only one Levi, Matthew, followed Yeshua. According to the Gospel, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, accompanied by his disciples. In the novel, Pilate asks Yeshua whether it is true that he rode into the city through the Susa Gate on a donkey, and he replies that he “doesn’t even have a donkey.” He came to Yershalaim exactly through the Susa Gate, but on foot, accompanied by only Levi Matvey, and no one shouted anything to him, since no one knew him in Yershalaim then” (c)
The quotation can be continued, but I think it is already clear: biblical motifs in the image of the hero have undergone serious refraction. Bulgakov's Yeshua is not a god-man, but simply a man, at times weak, even pathetic, extremely lonely, but great in his spirit and all-conquering kindness. He does not preach all Christian dogmas, but only ideas of good that are significant for Christianity, but do not constitute the entire Christian teaching.
Another main motive is also rethought - the motive of the Antichrist. If in the biblical interpretation Satan is the personification of evil, then in Bulgakov he is part of that force “that always wants evil and always does good.”
Why did Bulgakov so radically overturn traditional ideas? Apparently, in order to emphasize the author’s understanding of eternal philosophical questions: what is the meaning of life? Why does man exist?
We see a completely different interpretation of the same biblical motifs in Dostoevsky.
Hard labor changed Dostoevsky radically - a revolutionary and atheist turned into a deeply religious person. (“... Then fate helped me, penal servitude saved me... I became a completely new person... I understood myself there... I understood Christ..." (c)
Accordingly, after hard labor and exile religious theme becomes the central theme of Dostoevsky's work.
That is why after “Crime and Punishment” the novel “The Idiot” had to appear, after the rebel Raskolnikov, who preached the “permission of blood,” - the ideal “Prince Christ” - Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, preaching love for one’s neighbor with every step of his life.
Prince Myshkin is truth caught in a world of lies; their collision and tragic struggle are inevitable and predetermined. In the words of General Epanchina, “They don’t believe in God, they don’t believe in Christ!” the writer’s cherished idea is expressed: the moral crisis experienced by contemporary humanity is a religious crisis.
In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky connects the disintegration of Russia and the growth of the revolutionary movement with unbelief and atheism. The moral idea of the novel, the struggle of faith with unbelief (“the devil fights with God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people,” says Dmitry Karamazov) goes beyond the Karamazov family. Ivan's denial of God gives rise to the sinister figure of the Inquisitor. "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" - greatest creation Dostoevsky. Its meaning is that Christ loves everyone, including those who do not love him. He came to save sinners. The kiss of Christ is a call of the highest love, the last call of sinners to repentance.
Another example is Block. Twelve.
The work contains the image of Christ - but which one? The one who leads the twelve apostles of the new faith or the one whom the new apostles lead to execution?
There may be several interpretations, but “This was not the biblical Christ, not the real Christ. Let any of you turn to the Gospel and think, is it possible to imagine Jesus of Nazareth wearing a “white crown of roses”? No no. It's a shadow, a ghost. This is a parody. This is the split consciousness that misled our fathers.
Blok wrote that he walked along the dark streets of Petrograd and saw snowstorm whirlwinds swirling and he saw that figure there. It was not Christ, but it seemed to him that it was so good, so wonderful. But it wasn't good. It was a tragedy. Blok realized this, unfortunately, too late. This means that Christ was not there. Did not have. What is the answer? Blok, as a prophet, felt people’s faith that the world could be redrawn in a bloody way and that this would be for the good. In this regard, his Christ is a pseudo-Christ. The “white corolla” contains an unconscious insight - this is an image of a pseudo-Christ. And when he turned around, it turned out that it was the Antichrist" (c)
Despite the inexhaustibility of examples of the use of biblical motifs, I will allow myself to limit myself to only these examples.
I think the main thing is clear – I’m talking about motive as a compositional category.
MOTIVE is a certain starting point for creativity, a set of ideas and feelings of the author, an expression of his worldview.
A motif is a component of a work that has increased significance.
“...Any phenomenon, any semantic “spot” - an event, character trait, landscape element, any object, spoken word, paint, sound, etc. can act as a motif in a work; the only thing that determines a motive is its reproduction in the text, so in contrast to a traditional plot narrative, where it is more or less determined in advance what can be considered discrete components (“characters” or “events”) (c) B. Gasparov.
So, throughout Chekhov’s play “ The Cherry Orchard"The motif of the cherry orchard is used as a symbol of Home, Beauty, and Sustainability of life. (“It’s already May, the cherry trees are blooming, but it’s cold in the garden, it’s a matinee” - “Look, the late mother is walking through the garden... in a white dress!” - “Come everyone to watch Ermolai Lopakhin swing an ax at the cherry orchard and how they will fall to the ground trees!").
In Bulgakov's play "Days of the Turbins" the same motifs are embodied in the image of cream curtains. (“But, despite all these events, in the dining room, in essence, it’s wonderful. It’s hot, cozy, the cream curtains are drawn” - “... cream curtains... behind them you rest your soul... you forget about all the horrors of the civil war”)
The motif is in close contact and intersects with repetitions and their similarities, but is not identical to them.
The motif is present in the work in the most different forms- a separate word or phrase, repeated and varied, or appear in the form of a title or epigraph, or remain only guessable, lost in the subtext.
There are main (=leading) and secondary motives.
LEADING MOTIVE, or
LEITMOTHIO - the prevailing mood, the main theme, the main ideological and emotional tone of a literary work, a writer’s work, a literary movement; a specific image or turn of artistic speech, persistently repeated in a work as a constant characteristic of a character, experience or situation.
In the process of repetition or variation, the leitmotif evokes certain associations, acquiring special ideological, symbolic and psychological depths.
The leading motive organizes the second, secret meaning of the work, that is, the subtext.
For example, the theme of the story by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Double" is the split personality of the poor official Golyadkin, who is trying to establish himself in a society that has rejected him with the help of his confident and arrogant "double". As the main theme unfolds, motifs of loneliness, restlessness, hopeless love, and the “discrepancy” of the hero with the life around him arise. The leitmotif of the entire story can be considered the motive of the hero’s fatal doom, despite his desperate resistance to circumstances. (With)
Any work, especially a voluminous one, is formed by the fusion of a very large number of individual motifs. In this case, the main motive coincides with the theme.
Thus, the theme of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is the motif of historical fate, which does not interfere with the parallel development in the novel of a number of other secondary motives, often only remotely related to the theme.
For example,
motive of truth of collective consciousness - Pierre and Karataev;
everyday motive - the ruin of the wealthy noble family of the Counts of Rostov;
numerous love motives: Nikolai Rostov and Sophie, he is also Princess Maria, Pierre Bezukhov and Ellen, Prince. Andrey and Natasha, etc.;
mystical and so characteristic in further creativity Tolstoy's motif of regenerating death - the book's dying insights. Andrei Bolkonsky, etc.
VARIETY OF MOTIVES
In the literature of different eras, many MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIVES are found and effectively function. Constantly being updated in different historical and literary contexts, they at the same time retain their semantic essence.
For example, the motive of the hero’s deliberate death because of a woman.
Werther's suicide in Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther,
the death of Vladimir Lensky in Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”,
death of Romashov in Kuprin's novel "The Duel".
Apparently, this motif can be considered as a transformation of the ancient mythological motif: “the fight for the bride.”
The motif of the hero’s alienation to the world around him is very popular.
This could be the motive of exile (Lermontov. Mtsyri) or the motive of the hero’s foreignness to the vulgarity and mediocrity of the surrounding world (Chekhov. A Boring Story).
By the way, the motif of the hero’s foreignness is the central one that links all seven books about Harry Potter together.
One and the same motive can receive different symbolic meanings.
For example, the motive of the road.
Compare:
Gogol. Dead Souls- the notorious bird-three
Pushkin. Demons
Yesenin. Rus
Bulgakov. Master and Margarita.
In all these works there is a road motif, but how differently it is presented.
Motives are identified that have very ancient origins, leading to primitive consciousness and, at the same time, developed in conditions of high civilization. different countries. These are the motives of the prodigal son, the proud king, the pact with the devil, etc. You can easily remember the examples yourself.
And here is an interesting point. If you analyze your creativity, go through your things, then determine which motive is most interesting for you. In other words, what question of existence do you intend to solve with your creativity?
A question to ponder, however.
MOTIVE AND THEME
B.V. Tomashevsky wrote: “The theme must be divided into parts, “decomposed” into the smallest narrative units, in order to then string these units onto a narrative core.” This is how the plot develops, i.e. “an artistically constructed distribution of events in the work. Episodes are broken down into even smaller parts that describe individual actions, events, or things. The themes of such small parts of a work that can no longer be divided are called motives.”
MOTIVE AND PLOT
The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated by the Russian philologist A.N. Veselovsky in “The Poetics of Plots”, 1913.
Veselovsky understands a motif as the building block that makes up the plot, and considered motifs to be the simplest formulas that could arise among different tribes independently of each other.
According to Veselovsky, each poetic era works on “bequeathed from time immemorial” poetic images", creating their new combinations and filling them with a "new understanding of life." As examples of such motives, the researcher cites the kidnapping of the bride, “representation of the sun through the eye,” the struggle of brothers for an inheritance, etc.
Creativity, according to Veselovsky, was manifested primarily in a “combination of motives” that gives one or another individual plot.
To analyze the motive, the scientist used the formula: a + b. For example, “the evil old woman does not like the beauty - and sets her a life-threatening task. Each part of the formula can be modified, especially subject to increment b.”
Thus, the pursuit of the old woman is expressed in the tasks that she asks the beauty. There may be two, three or more of these tasks. Therefore, the formula a + b can become more complicated: a + b + b1 + b2.
Subsequently, combinations of motifs were transformed into numerous compositions and became the basis of such narrative genres as stories, novels, and poems.
The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; various combinations of motifs make up the plot.
Unlike the motive, the plot could be borrowed, passed from people to people, and become “wandering.”
In the plot, each motive plays a certain role: it can be main, secondary, episodic.
Often the development of the same motif is repeated in different plots. Many traditional motifs can be developed into entire plots, while traditional plots, on the contrary, are “collapsed” into one motif.
Veselovsky noted the tendency of great poets, with the help of a “brilliant poetic instinct,” to use plots and motifs that have already been subjected to poetic processing. “They are somewhere in the deep dark region of our consciousness, like much that has been tested and experienced, apparently forgotten and suddenly striking us, like an incomprehensible revelation, like novelty and at the same time antiquity, which we do not give ourselves an account of, because we are often unable to determine the essence of that mental act that unexpectedly renewed old memories in us.” (With)
Veselovsky's position on the motive as an indecomposable and stable unit of narrative was revised in the 1920s.
“Veselovsky’s specific interpretation of the term “motive” can no longer be applied at present,” wrote V. Propp. - According to Veselovsky, a motive is an indecomposable unit of narration.<…>However, the motives that he cites as examples are unraveling.”
Propp demonstrates the decomposition of the “serpent kidnaps the king’s daughter” motif.
“This motive is decomposed into 4 elements, each of which can be varied individually. The snake can be replaced by Koshchei, whirlwind, devil, falcon, sorcerer. Abduction can be replaced by vampirism and various actions by which disappearance is achieved in the fairy tale. A daughter can be replaced by a sister, fiancee, wife, mother. The king can be replaced by a king's son, a peasant, or a priest.
Thus, contrary to Veselovsky, we must assert that the motive is not single-membered, not indecomposable. The last decomposable unit as such does not represent a logical whole (and according to Veselovsky, the motive is more primary in origin than the plot); we will subsequently have to solve the problem of isolating some primary elements differently than Veselovsky does” (c).
Propp considers these “primary elements” to be the functions of the actors. “A function is understood as an act of an actor, defined in terms of its significance for the course of action” (c)
Functions are repeated and can be counted; all functions are distributed among the characters so that seven “circles of action” and, accordingly, seven types of characters can be distinguished:
pest,
donor,
assistant,
the character you are looking for,
sender,
hero,
false hero
Based on the analysis of 100 fairy tales from the collection of A.N. Afanasyev "Russians" folk tales"V. Propp identified 31 functions within which action develops. These are, in particular:
absence (“One of the family members leaves home”),
ban (“The hero is approached with a ban”),
violation of the ban, etc.
A detailed analysis of one hundred fairy tales with different plots shows that “the sequence of functions is always the same” and that “all fairy tales are of the same type in their structure” (c) despite their apparent diversity.
Veselovsky's point of view was also disputed by other scientists. After all, motives arose not only in primitive era, but also later. “It is important to find such a definition of this term,” wrote A. Bem, “that would make it possible to highlight it in any work, both ancient and modern.”
According to A. Bem, “a motif is the ultimate level of artistic abstraction from the specific content of a work, enshrined in the simplest verbal formula.”
As an example, the scientist cites a motif that unites three works: the poem “ Prisoner of the Caucasus"Pushkin, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by Lermontov and the story "Atala" by Chateaubriand, is the love of a foreigner for a captive; incoming motive: the release of a captive by a foreigner, either successful or unsuccessful. And as a development of the original motive - the death of the heroine.
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Motif is a term that entered the literature from musicology. Was first recorded in " musical dictionary"S. de Brossard in 1703. Analogies with music, where this term is key when analyzing the composition of a work, help to understand the properties of a motif in a literary work: its isolation from the whole and its repetition in a variety of situations.
In literary criticism, the concept of motive was used to characterize the components of a plot by Goethe and Schiller. They identified five types of motives: accelerating action, slowing down action, distancing action from the goal, facing the past, anticipating the future.
The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated in the Poetics of Plots Veselovsky. He was interested in the repetition of motifs in different genres among different peoples. Veselovsky considered motives to be the simplest formulas that could arise in different tribes independently of each other. (struggle for the inheritance of brothers, fight for the bride, etc.) he comes to the conclusion that creativity is primarily manifested in a combination of motives that gives one or another plot (in a fairy tale there is not one task, but five, etc.)
Subsequently, combinations of motifs were transformed into various compositions and became the basis of such genres as novels, stories, and poems. The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; combinations of motives make up the plot. The plot could be borrowed, passed from people to people, or become wandering. In a plot, each motive can be main, secondary, episodic... many motives can be developed into entire plots, and vice versa.
Veselovsky's position on the motive as an indecomposable unit of narrative was revised in the 20s. Propp : motives are decomposed, the last decomposable unit does not represent a logical whole. Propp calls the primary elements functions of the actors - actions of the characters, defined in terms of their significance for the course of the action.. seven types of characters, 31 functions (based on Afanasyev’s collection)
It is particularly difficult to identify motives in the literature last centuries: their diversity and complex functional load.
In the literature of different eras there are many mythological motives. Constantly updating within the historical and literary context, they retain their essence (the motive of the hero’s conscious death because of a woman, apparently it can be considered as a transformation of the fight for the bride highlighted by Veselovsky (Lensky in Pushkin, Romashov in Kuprin).
A generally accepted indicator of a motive is its repeatability .
The leading motive in one or many works of a writer can be defined as leitmotif . It can be considered at the level of theme and figurative structure of the work. In Chekhov's Cherry Orchard, the motif of the garden is a symbol of Home, beauty and sustainability of life... we can talk about the role of both the leitmotif and the organization of the second, secret meaning works - subtext, undercurrent (phrase: “life is lost” - the leitmotif of Uncle Vanya. Chekhov)
Tomashevsky: Episodes are broken down into even smaller parts that describe individual actions, events, and things. Themes such small parts of a work that cannot be further divided are called motives .
IN lyrical In a work, a motif is a repeating complex of feelings and ideas expressed in artistic speech. Motifs in lyric poetry are more independent, because they are not subordinated to the development of action, as in epic and drama. Sometimes the poet’s work as a whole can be considered as an interaction, a correlation of motives. (In Lermontov: motives of freedom, will, memory, exile, etc.) The same motive can receive different symbolic meanings in lyrical works of different eras, emphasizing the closeness and originality of poets (Pushkin’s road in Besy and Gogol’s in M.D., the homeland of Lermontov and Nekrasov, Yesenin’s and Blok’s Rus', etc.)
At his lectures, Stepanov said only the following:
According to Tomashevsky, motives are divided
Free and bound motifs:
Those that can be skipped (details, details they play important role in the plot: do not make the work schematic.)
Those that cannot be omitted when retelling, because the cause-and-effect relationship is broken... form the basis of the plot.
Dynamic and static motifs:
1. Changing the situation. The transition from happiness to unhappiness and vice versa.
Peripeteia (Aristotle: “the transformation of an action into its opposite) is one of the essential elements of complicating the plot, denoting any unexpected turn in the development of the plot.
2. Not changing the situation (descriptions of the interior, nature, portrait, actions and deeds that do not lead to important changes)
Free motives can be static, but not every static motive is free.
I don’t know which book this is from Tomashevsky, because in “Theory of Literature. Poetics." He's writing:
Motivation. The system of motifs that make up the theme of a given work should represent some artistic unity. If all parts of a work are poorly fitted to one another, the work “falls apart.” Therefore, the introduction of each individual motive or each set of motives must be justified(motivated). The appearance of one or another motive should seem necessary to the reader in a given place. The system of techniques that justify the introduction of individual motives and their complexes is called motivation. Motivation methods are varied, and their nature is not uniform. Therefore, it is necessary to classify motivations.
TO oppositional motivation.
Its principle lies in economy and expediency of motives. Individual motifs can characterize objects introduced into the reader's field of view (accessories) or the actions of characters ("episodes"). Not a single accessory should remain unused in the plot, not a single episode should remain without influence on the plot situation. It was about compositional motivation that Chekhov spoke when he argued that if at the beginning of the story it is said that a nail is driven into the wall, then at the end of the story the hero should hang himself on this nail. (“Dowry” by Ostrovsky using the example of weapons. “There is a carpet above the sofa on which weapons are hung.”
First it is introduced as a detail of the setting. In the sixth scene, attention is drawn to this detail in the remarks. At the end of the action, Karandyshev, running away, grabs a pistol from the table. In the 4th act, he shoots Larisa with this pistol. The introduction of the weapon motif here is compositionally motivated. This weapon is necessary for the outcome. It serves as preparation last moment drama.) The second case of compositional motivation is the introduction of motives as characterization techniques . The motives must be in harmony with the dynamics of the plot. (Thus, in the same “Dowry” the motif of “Burgundy”, made by a counterfeit wine merchant at a cheap price, characterizes the wretchedness of Karandyshev’s everyday environment and prepares for Larisa’s departure).
These characteristic details can be in harmony with the action:
1) by psychological analogy (romantic landscape: Moonlight night for a love scene, storm and thunder for a scene of death or crime),
2) by contrast (motive of “indifferent” nature, etc.).
In the same "Dowry", when Larisa dies, the singing of a gypsy choir can be heard from the restaurant doors. One must also take into account the possibility false motivation . Accessories and incidents may be introduced to distract the reader's attention from the true situation. This very often appears in detective stories, where a number of details are given that lead the reader down the wrong path. The author makes us assume the outcome is not what it actually is. The deception is unraveled at the end, and the reader is convinced that all these details were introduced only to prepare surprises at the denouement.
Realistic motivation
From each work we demand an elementary “illusion”, i.e. no matter how conventional and artificial the work may be, its perception must be accompanied by a sense of the reality of what is happening. For a naive reader this feeling is extremely strong, and such a reader can believe in the authenticity of what is being presented, can be convinced of the real existence of the heroes. Thus, Pushkin, having just published “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion,” publishes “The Captain’s Daughter” in the form of Grinev’s memoirs with the following afterword: “Peter Andreevich Grinev’s manuscript was delivered to us from one of his grandchildren, who learned that we were busy with work related to to the time described by his grandfather.
We decided, with the permission of our relatives, to publish it separately." An illusion of the reality of Grinev and his memoirs is created, especially supported by moments of Pushkin’s personal biography known to the public (his historical studies on the history of Pugachev), and the illusion is also supported by the fact that the views and beliefs expressed by Grinev , in many respects diverge from the views expressed by Pushkin on his own. Realistic illusion in a more experienced reader is expressed as a requirement for “vitality.”
Firmly knowing the fictional nature of the work, the reader still demands some correspondence with reality and in this correspondence sees the value of the work. Even readers who are well versed in the laws of artistic construction cannot psychologically free themselves from this illusion. In this regard, each motive must be introduced as a motive likely in this situation.
We do not notice, getting used to the technique of an adventure novel, the absurdity that the hero’s salvation always arrives five minutes before his inevitable death, the audience ancient comedy did not notice the absurdity that in the last act all the characters suddenly turned out to be close relatives. However, how tenacious this motive is in drama is shown by Ostrovsky’s play “Guilty Without Guilt,” where at the end of the play the heroine recognizes her lost son in the hero). This motive of recognizing kinship was extremely convenient for the denouement (kinship reconciled interests, radically changing the situation) and therefore became firmly entrenched in tradition.
So, realistic motivation has its source either in naive trust or in the demand for illusion. This does not prevent the development of fantastic literature. If folk tales usually arise in a popular environment that allows for the real existence of witches and brownies, they continue to exist as some kind of conscious illusion, where a mythological system or a fantastic worldview (the assumption of really unjustifiable “possibilities”) is present as some kind of illusory hypothesis.
It is curious that fantasy stories in developed literary environment, under the influence of the requirements of realistic motivation, usually give double interpretation plot: can it be understood and how real event, and how fantastic. From the point of view of the realistic motivation for constructing the work, the introduction to the work of art is easy to understand extraliterary material, i.e. topics that have real meaning beyond the realm of fiction.
Thus, in historical novels they bring to the stage historical figures, one or another interpretation of historical events is introduced. See in the novel “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy a whole military-strategic report on the Battle of Borodino and the fire of Moscow, which caused controversy in the specialized literature. Modern works depict everyday life familiar to the reader, raising questions of moral, social, political, etc. order, in a word, themes are introduced that live their own lives outside of fiction.
Artistic motivation
The introduction of motives is the result of a compromise between realistic illusion and the requirements of artistic construction. Not everything borrowed from reality is suitable for a work of art.
On the basis of artistic motivation, disputes usually arise between old and new literary schools. The old, traditional movement usually denies the presence of artistry in new literary forms. This, for example, is reflected in poetic vocabulary, where the very use of individual words must be in harmony with solid literary traditions (the source of “prosaisms” - words prohibited in poetry). As a special case of artistic motivation, there is a technique defamiliarization. The introduction of non-literary material into a work, so that it does not fall out of the work of art, must be justified by novelty and individuality in the coverage of the material.
We must talk about the old and familiar as new and unusual. The ordinary is spoken of as strange. These methods of defamiliarization of ordinary things are usually themselves motivated by the refraction of these themes in the psychology of the hero, who is unfamiliar with them. L. Tolstoy’s technique of defamiliarization is known when, describing the military council in Fili in “War and Peace,” he introduces as a character a peasant girl who observes this council and in her own, childish way, without understanding the essence of what is happening, interprets all actions and speeches of council members.
Scientists call the motive either the smallest event unit of the plot, or the unit of the plot, or an element of the text in general, regardless of the plot or plot. Let's try to figure it out different interpretations one of the most common terms.
There are many opinions on the origin of the motif: from him. motive, French motif, from lat. moveo - moving, from French. motif – melody, tune.
In the Russian science of literature, A.N. was the first to turn to the concept of motive. Veselovsky. Analyzing myths and fairy tales, he came to the conclusion that the motive is the simplest narrative unit, which cannot be further decomposed. From our point of view, this category has a plot character.
The thematic concept of the motif is developed in the works of B. Tomashevsky and V. Shklovsky. In their understanding, a motive is the themes into which a work can be divided. Each sentence contains motives - small themes
Most folklore and literary works have a motif, being the smallest element of the plot. The outstanding Russian folklorist V. Ya. Propp played a huge role in the study of the plot. In his book “The Morphology of the Fairy Tale” (1929), he demonstrated the possibility of the existence of several motives in a sentence. Therefore, he abandoned the term motive and resorted to his own category: the functions of the characters. He built a model of the plot of a fairy tale, consisting of sequences of elements. According to Propp, there are a limited number of such functions of heroes (31); Not all fairy tales have all the functions, but the sequence of the main functions is strictly observed. The fairy tale usually begins with the parents leaving the house (absentee function) and turning to the children with a ban on going outside, opening the door, or touching anything (prohibition). As soon as the parents leave, the children immediately violate this prohibition (violation of the prohibition), etc. The meaning of Propp's discovery was that his scheme was suitable for all fairy tales. All fairy tales have the motive of the road, the motive of searching for the missing bride, the motive of recognition. From these numerous motives various plots are formed. In this meaning, the term motive is more often used in relation to works of oral folk art. “Morozko acts differently than Baba Yaga. But the function, as such, is a constant quantity. To study a fairy tale, the question is important Morphology of a fairy tale. fairy-tale characters do, but the question is What fairy-tale characters do, but the question is Who does - these are questions of only incidental study. The functions of the characters represent those components with which Veselovsky’s “motives” can be replaced...” 10
In most cases, a motif is a repeated word, phrase, situation, object or idea. Most often, the term “motive” is used to designate a situation that is repeated in various literary works, for example, the motive of parting with a loved one.
Motifs help create images and have various functions in the structure of the work. Thus, the mirror motif in V. Nabokov’s prose has at least 3 functions. Firstly, epistemologically: the mirror is a means of characterizing the character and becomes a way of self-knowledge of the hero. Secondly, this motif carries an ontological load: it acts as a boundary between worlds, organizing complex spatio-temporal relationships. And thirdly, the mirror motif can perform an axiological function, expressing moral, aesthetic, and artistic values. Thus, the hero of the novel “Despair” turns out to have a favorite word for mirror, he likes to write this word backwards, loves reflections, similarities, but is completely unable to see the difference and goes so far as to mistake a person with a dissimilar appearance for his double. Nabokovsky's Herman kills in order to mystify those around him, to make them believe in his death. The mirror motif is invariant, that is, it has a stable basis that can be filled with new meaning in a new context. Therefore, it appears in various versions in many other texts, where the main ability of the mirror is in demand - to reflect, to double the object.
Each motive generates an associative field for the character, for example, in Pushkin’s story “The Station Warden,” the motive of the prodigal son is set by pictures hanging on the walls of the stationmaster’s house, and is revealed with particular poignancy when his daughter comes to his grave. The motif of the house can be included in the space of the city, which, in turn, can consist of motifs of temptation, seduction, demonism. The literature of Russian emigrants is most often characterized by a mood that is revealed in the motifs of nostalgia, emptiness, loneliness, and emptiness.
A motive is an essential semantic (content) element of the text for understanding the author’s concept (for example, the motive of death in “The Tale of dead princess..." by A.S. Pushkin, the motive of loneliness in the lyrics of M.Yu. Lermontov, the motive of cold in "Easy Breathing" and " Cold autumn"I.A. Bunin, the motif of the full moon in "The Master and Margarita" by M.A. Bulgakov). Motive // Dictionary of literary terms.., as a stable formal-contain. component lit. text, can be selected within one or several. prod. writer (for example, a certain cycle), and in the complex of his entire work, as well as k.-l. lit. direction or an entire era 11”. The motif may contain elements of symbolization (a road by N.V. Gogol, a garden by Chekhov, a desert by M.Yu. Lermontov). The motif has a direct verbal (in lexemes) fixation in the text of the work itself; in poetry, its criterion in most cases is the presence of a key, supporting word that carries a special semantic load (smoke in Tyutchev, exile in Lermontov).
According to N. Tamarchenko, each motive has two forms of existence: a situation and an event. A situation is a set of circumstances, a position, a situation in which the characters find themselves. An event is something that happened, a significant phenomenon or fact of personal or public life. An event changes the situation. A motif is the simplest narrative unit that connects the events and situations that make up the lives of the characters in a literary work. An event is something that happened, a phenomenon, a fact of personal or public life. The situation is a set of circumstances, positions in which the characters find themselves, as well as the relationship between them. The event changes this ratio. Motives can be dynamic or adynamic. Motives of the first type accompany changes in the situation, as opposed to a static motive.
In recent years, literary criticism has outlined a synthesis of approaches to understanding motive. This movement was largely determined by the works of R. Yakobson, A. Zholkovsky and Yu. Shcheglov. The motive is no longer considered as part of the plot or plot. Having lost its connection with the event, the motive is now interpreted as almost any semantic repetition in the text - a repeating semantic spot. This means that the use of this category is quite legitimate when analyzing and lyrical works. The motive can be not only an event, a character trait, but also an object, sound, or landscape element that has increased semantic significance in the text. A motive is always a repetition, but the repetition is not lexical, but functional-semantic. That is, in a work it can be manifested through many options.
Motives can be varied, among them are archetypal, cultural and many others. Archetypal ones are associated with the expression of the collective unconscious (the motive of selling the soul to the devil). Myths and archetypes represent a collective, culturally authoritative variety of motifs to which French thematic criticism devoted itself to the study of the 1960s. Cultural motifs were born and developed in works of literature, painting, music, and other arts. Italian motifs in Pushkin’s lyrics are a layer of the diverse culture of Italy mastered by the poet: from the works of Dante and Petrarch to the poetry of the ancient Romans.
Along with the concept of motive, there is the concept of leitmotif.
Leitmotif. A term of Germanic origin, literally meaning "leading motive". This is a frequently repeated image or motif that conveys the main mood; it is also a complex of homogeneous motifs. Thus, the leitmotif of “the vanity of life” usually consists of motives of temptation, seduction, and anti-home.
The leitmotif of “return to a lost paradise” is characteristic of many of Nabokov’s works in the Russian-language period of creativity and it includes motives of nostalgia, longing for childhood, and sadness about the loss of a child’s outlook on life. In Chekhov's "The Seagull" the leitmotif is a sounding image - the sound of a broken string. Leitmotifs are used to create subtext in a work. When combined, they form the leitmotif structure of the work.
Literature
Fundamentals of literary criticism: Textbook. manual for philological faculties of pedagogy. university / Under the general ed. V. P. Meshcheryakova. M.: Moscow Lyceum, 2000. pp. 30–34.
Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of Literature. Poetics. M., 1996. pp. 182–185, 191–193.
Fedotov O.I. Introduction to literary criticism: Textbook. allowance. M.: Academy, 1998. pp. 34–39.
Khalizev V. E. Introduction to literary criticism.
Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets.
M., 1999. pp. 381–393.
Tselkova L.N. Motive // Introduction to literary studies.
Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets.
M., 1999. pp. 202–209.
2Korman B.O. The integrity of a literary work and an experimental dictionary of literary terms.
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3Medvedev P.N. Formal method in literary criticism.
L., 1928. P.187.
4Plot // Introduction to literary criticism. P.381.
5Kozhinov V.V. Collision // KLE. T. 3. Stlb. 656-658.
6Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics. pp. 230-232.
7Zhirmunsky V.M. Introduction to literary criticism: A course of lectures. P. 375.
8 Tolstoy L.N. Full collection cit.: In 90 volumes. M., 1953. T.62. P. 377.
9Kozhinov V. S. 456.