Encyclopedic Dictionary of F. Brockhaus and I.A.
Epic(ancient Greek ἔπος - “word”, “narration”) - a heroic narrative about the past, containing a holistic picture folk life and representing in harmonious unity a certain epic world of heroic heroes.
Epic is a literary genre distinguished along with lyricism and drama; represented by such genres as fairy tale, legend, varieties of heroic epic, epic, epic poem, story, short story, short story, novel, essay. An epic, like a drama, is characterized by the reproduction of an action unfolding in space and time - the course of events in the lives of the characters. The specific feature of Epic is the organizing role of the narrative. the speaker (the author or narrator himself) reports events and their details as something past and remembered, simultaneously resorting to descriptions of the setting of the action and the appearance of the characters, and sometimes to reasoning.
The narrative layer of speech in an epic work naturally interacts with the dialogues and monologues of the characters. The epic narrative either becomes self-sufficient, temporarily suspending the statements of the characters, or is imbued with their spirit in inappropriately direct speech; Sometimes it frames the characters’ remarks, sometimes, on the contrary, it is reduced to a minimum or temporarily disappears. But overall, it dominates the work, holding together everything depicted in it. Therefore, the features of an epic are largely determined by the properties of the narrative. Speech here acts mainly in the function of reporting what happened earlier. Between the conduct of speech and the depicted action in the Epic, a temporary distance is maintained: the epic poet talks “... about an event as something separate from himself...” (Aristotle, On the Art of Poetry).
The epic narration is told on behalf of the narrator, a kind of mediator between the person depicted and the listeners (readers), a witness and interpreter of what happened. Information about his fate, his relationships with the characters, and the circumstances of the “story” are usually missing. The “spirit of storytelling” is often “... weightless, ethereal and omnipresent...”. At the same time, the narrator’s speech characterizes not only the subject of the statement, but also himself; the epic form captures the manner of speaking and perceiving the world, the uniqueness of the narrator’s consciousness. The reader's vivid perception is always connected with close attention to the expressive principles of the narrative, i.e., the subject of the narrative, or the “image of the narrator” (the concept of V.V. Vinogradov, M.M. Bakhtin, G.A. Gukovsky).
The epic is as free as possible in the exploration of space and time. The writer either creates stage episodes, that is, pictures that record one place and one moment in the life of the characters (an evening with A.P. Sherer in the first chapters of “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy), or in descriptive, overview episodes , “panoramic” speaks of long periods of time or what happened in different places(L.N. Tolstoy’s description of Moscow, empty before the arrival of the French). In the careful recreation of processes occurring in a wide space and at significant stages of time, only cinema can compete with the Epic.
The arsenal of literary and visual means is used by the epic in its entirety (portraits, direct characterizations, dialogues and monologues, landscapes, interiors, actions, gestures, facial expressions, etc.), which gives the images the illusion of plastic volume and visual and auditory authenticity. What is depicted can be an exact correspondence to the “forms of life itself” and, on the contrary, a sharp re-creation of them. Epic, unlike drama, does not insist on the conventions of what is being recreated. Here it is conditionally not so much what is depicted, but rather the “depicting” one, that is, the narrator, who is often characterized by absolute knowledge of what happened in its smallest details. In this sense, the structure of the epic narrative, which usually differs from non-fictional messages (reportage, historical chronicle), seems to “give out” the fictitious, artistic and illusory nature of what is depicted.
The epic form is based on various types stories. In some cases, the eventfulness of the works is extremely intense (the adventure-detective plots of F. M. Dostoevsky), in others, the course of events is weakened, so that what happened seems to be drowned in descriptions, psychological characteristics, reasoning (prose by A.P. Chekhov of the 1890s, novels by T. Mann and W. Faulkner). According to I. V. Goethe and F. Schiller, retarding motives are an essential feature epic kind literature in general. The volume of text of an epic work, which can be both prosaic and poetic, is practically unlimited - from miniature stories (early Chekhov, O. Henry) to lengthy epics and novels ("Mahabharata" and "Iliad", "War and Peace" and "Quiet Don"). An epic can concentrate in itself such a number of characters and events that are inaccessible to other types of literature and art forms (only serial television films can compete with it). At the same time, the narrative form is able to recreate complex, contradictory, multifaceted characters that are in the making. Although the possibilities of epic display are not used in all works, the word Epic is associated with the idea of showing life in its integrity, revealing the essence of an entire era and the scale of the creative act. The scope of the epic genre is not limited to any type of experience or worldview. In nature, Epic is a universally wide use of the cognitive and ideological capabilities of literature and art in general. “Localizing” characteristics of the content of epic works (for example, the definition of Epic in the 19th century as a reproduction of the domination of an event over a person or the modern judgment about a “generous” attitude towards a person) do not absorb the entire history of epic genres.
The epic was formed in different ways. Lyric-epic, and on their basis and actually epic songs, like drama and lyric poetry, arose from ritual syncretic performances. The formation of the prose genres of the Epic, in particular the fairy tale, is genetically connected with individually told myths. Early epic creativity and the further development of forms of artistic storytelling were also influenced by oral and then written historical traditions.
In ancient and medieval literature, the folk heroic epic was very influential. Its formation marked the full and widespread use of epic capabilities. A carefully detailed narrative, maximally attentive to everything visible and full of plasticity, has overcome naive-archaic poetics short messages characteristic of myth, parable and early fairy tale. The heroic epic is characterized by the “absolutization” of the distance between the characters and the one who narrates; the narrator is endowed with the gift of imperturbable calm and “omniscience” (it was not for nothing that Homer was likened to the Olympian gods), and his image - the image of a being who has risen above the world - gives the work the flavor of maximum objectivity. “... The narrator is alien to the characters, he not only surpasses the listeners with his balanced contemplation and sets them in this mood with his story, but, as it were, takes the place of necessity...” (Schelling F., Philosophy of Art.).
But already in ancient prose the distance between the narrator and the characters ceases to be absolutized: in the novels “The Golden Ass” by Apuleius and “Satyricon” by Petronius, the characters themselves talk about what they saw and experienced. In the literature of the last three centuries, marked by the predominance of romantic genres, “personal”, demonstrative-subjective narration dominates. On the one hand, the narrator's omniscience covers the thoughts and feelings of the characters that are not expressed in their behavior. On the other hand, the narrator often looks at the world through the eyes of one of the characters, imbued with his state of mind. Thus, the battle of Waterloo in Stendhal’s “Parma Monastery” is not at all reproduced in the Homeric way: the author, as it were, reincarnated as young Fabrizio, the distance between them practically disappeared, the points of view of both were combined (the method of narration inherent in L. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, G. Flaubert, T. Mann, Faulkner). This combination is caused by an increased interest in originality inner world heroes, sparingly and incompletely manifested in their behavior. In connection with this, a method of narration also arose in which the story of what happened is at the same time a monologue of the hero ("The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Death" by V. Hugo, "The Meek" by Dostoevsky, "The Fall" by A. Camus). Internal monologue as a narrative form is absolutized in the literature of the “stream of consciousness” (J. Joyce, partly M. Proust). Narration methods often alternate; events are sometimes told different heroes, and each in his own manner (“Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov, “To Have and Have Not” by E. Hemingway, “The Mansion” by Faulkner, “Lotte in Weimar” by T. Mann). In monumental examples of E. 20th century. (“Jean Christophe” by R. Rolland, “Joseph and His Brothers” by T. Mann, “The Life of Klim Samgin” by M. Gorky, “Quiet Don” by M. A. Sholokhov) synthesizes the long-standing principle of “omniscience” of the narrator and personal, full of psychologism image forms.
In novel prose of the 19th-20th centuries. Emotional and semantic connections between the statements of the narrator and the characters are important. Their interaction gives artistic speech an internal dialogical quality; the text of the works captures a set of different quality and conflicting consciousnesses. "Vote" different persons can either be reproduced alternately or combined in one utterance - a “two-voice word”. Narrative polyphony is not typical for the canonical genres of ancient eras, where the voice of the narrator reigned supreme, and the characters spoke in the tone in which they spoke. In the literature of the last two centuries, on the contrary, internal dialogicity and polyphony of speech are widely represented, thanks to which people’s verbal thinking and spiritual communication between them are mastered.
In a narrower and more specific sense of the word, the heroic Epic as a genre (or group of genres), that is, a heroic narrative about the past, containing a holistic picture of the people. life and representing in harmonious unity a certain epic world and heroic heroes. Heroic Eros exists both in book and oral form, and most of the book monuments of the Epics have folklore origins; The very features of the genre developed at the folklore stage. Therefore, the heroic Epic is often called the folk Epic. However, such an identification is not entirely accurate, since the book forms of the Epic have their own stylistic and sometimes ideological specificity, and are certainly attributable to the folk Epic. Ballads, historical legends and songs, folk novel etc. can be considered a heroic epic only with significant reservations.
The Heroic Epic has come down to us both in the form of extensive epics, book ("Iliad", "Odyssey", "Mahabharata", "Ramayana", "Beowulf") or oral ("Dzhangar", "Alpamysh", "Manas", and in the form of short “epic songs” (Russian epics, South Slavic youth songs, poems by Edda the Elder), partly grouped into cycles, less often - prose tales (sagas, Nart (Nart) epic).
The folk heroic Epic arose (based on the traditions of the mythological Epic and heroic tales, later - historical legends and partly panegyrics) in the era of the decomposition of the primitive communal system and developed in ancient and feudal society, in conditions of partial preservation of patriarchal relations and ideas, in which what is typical for the heroic Epic the depiction of social relations as blood, clan may not yet represent a conscious artistic device.
In archaic forms Epic (Karelian and Finnish runes, heroic poems of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Siberia, Nart epic, the most ancient parts of the Babylonian “Gilgamesh”, the Elder Edda, “Sasuntsi David”, “Amiraniani”) heroism appears in a fairy-tale-mythological shell (heroes possess not only military, but also “shamanic” power, epic enemies appear in the guise of fantastic monsters) ; main themes: the fight against “monsters”, heroic matchmaking to the “betrothed”, family revenge.
In the classical forms of the Epic, heroes-leaders and warriors represent historical people, and their opponents are often identical to the historical “invaders,” foreign and heterodox oppressors (for example, the Turks and Tatars in the Slavic Epics). The “epic time” here is no longer the mythical era of first creation, but the glorious historical past at the dawn national history. The oldest state political entities(for example, Mycenae - "Iliad", the Kiev state of Prince Vladimir - epics, the state of the four Oirots - "Dzhangar") act as a national and social utopia. In the classical forms of Epics, historical (or pseudo-historical) persons and events are glorified, although the depiction of historical realities itself is subject to traditional plot schemes; sometimes ritual-mythological models are used. The epic background is usually the struggle of two epic tribes or nationalities (more or less correlated with real history). In the center there is often a military event - historical (the Trojan War in the Iliad, the battle on Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata, on Kosovo Polje in Serbian youth songs), less often - mythical (the fight for Sampo in the Kalevala). Power is usually concentrated in the hands of an epic prince (Vladimir - in epics, Charlemagne - in the "Song of Roland"), but the bearers of active action are heroes, whose heroic characters, as a rule, are marked not only by courage, but also by independence, obstinacy, even fury (Achilles in the Iliad, Ilya Muromets in epics). Obstinacy sometimes leads them to conflict with the authorities (in the archaic epic - to fight against God), but the directly social nature of the heroic act and the commonality of patriotic goals for the most part provide a harmonious resolution of the conflict. In the Epics, mainly the actions (deeds) of the heroes are depicted, and not their emotional experiences, but their own plot story supplemented by numerous static descriptions and ceremonial dialogues. The stable and relatively homogeneous world of the Epic corresponds to a constant epic background and often measured verse; The integrity of the epic narrative is preserved by focusing on individual episodes.
1 The concept of the heroic epic.
“Epic” - (from Greek) word, narrative,
one of three types of literature telling about various events of the past.
The heroic epic of the peoples of the world is sometimes the most important and only evidence of past eras. It goes back to ancient myths and reflects human ideas about nature and the world.
Initially it was formed in oral form, then, acquiring new plots and images, it was consolidated in written form.
The heroic epic is the result of collective folk art. But this does not at all diminish the role of individual storytellers. The famous “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, as we know, were written down by a single author - Homer.
"The Tale of Gilgamesh" Sumerian epic 1800 BC.
Table I tells about the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, whose unbridled prowess caused a lot of grief to the inhabitants of the city. Having decided to create a worthy rival and friend for him, the gods molded Enkidu from clay and settled him among wild animals. Table II is devoted to the martial arts of the heroes and their decision to use their powers for good, cutting down a precious cedar in the mountains. Tables III, IV and V are devoted to their preparations for the road, travel and victory over Humbaba. Table VI is close in content to Sumerian text about Gilgamesh and the celestial bull. Gilgamesh rejects Inanna's love and reproaches her for her treachery. Insulted, Inanna asks the gods to create a monstrous bull to destroy Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill a bull; Unable to take revenge on Gilgamesh, Inanna transfers her anger to Enkidu, who weakens and dies.
The story of his farewell to life (VII table) and Gilgamesh’s lament for Enkidu (VIII table) become turning point epic tale. Shocked by the death of his friend, the hero sets out in search of immortality. His wanderings are described in Tables IX and X. Gilgamesh wanders in the desert and reaches the Mashu Mountains, where scorpion men guard the passage through which the sun rises and sets. “Mistress of the Gods” Siduri helps Gilgamesh find the shipbuilder Urshanabi, who ferried him across the “waters of death” that are fatal to humans. On the opposite shore of the sea, Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim and his wife, to whom in time immemorial the gods gave eternal life.
Table XI contains famous story about the Flood and the construction of the ark, on which Utnapishtim saved from destruction human race. Utnapishtim proves to Gilgamesh that his search for immortality is futile, since man is unable to defeat even the semblance of death - sleep. In parting, he reveals to the hero the secret of the “grass of immortality” growing at the bottom of the sea. Gilgamesh obtains the herb and decides to bring it to Uruk to give immortality to all people. On the way back, the hero falls asleep at the source; a snake rising from its depths eats the grass, sheds its skin and, as it were, receives a second life. The text of Table XI known to us ends with a description of how Gilgamesh shows Urshanabi the walls of Uruk he erected, hoping that his deeds will be preserved in the memory of his descendants.
"Mahabharata" Indian epic of the 5th century AD.
“The Great Tale of the Descendants of Bharata” or “The Tale of the Great Battle of the Bharatas.” The Mahabharata is a heroic poem consisting of 18 books, or parvas. As an appendix, it has another 19th book - Harivanshu, i.e. “Genealogy of Hari”. In its current edition, the Mahabharata contains over one hundred thousand slokas, or couplets, and is eight times larger in volume than Homer's Iliad and Odyssey taken together.
The main tale of the epic is dedicated to the history of irreconcilable enmity between the Kauravas and Pandavas - the sons of two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu. In this enmity and the struggle caused by it, according to the legend, they are gradually drawn into numerous nations and the tribes of India, northern and southern. It ends scary bloody battle, in which almost all participants on both sides die. Those who won the victory at such a high cost unite the country under their rule. Thus, the main idea of the main story is the unity of India.
Medieval European epic
"Song of the Nibelungs" is a medieval Germanic epic poem written by an unknown author in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Belongs to one of the most famous epic works of mankind. Its content boils down to 39 parts (songs), which are called “adventures”.
The song tells about the marriage of the dragon slayer Sieckfried to the Burgundian princess Kriemhild, his death due to Kriemhild's conflict with Brünnhilde, the wife of her brother Gunther, and then about Kriemhild's revenge for the death of her husband.
There is reason to believe that the epic was composed around 1200, and that its place of origin should be sought on the Danube, in the area between Passau and Vienna.
In science, various assumptions have been made regarding the identity of the author. Some scholars considered him a shpilman, a wandering singer, others were inclined to think that he was a clergyman (perhaps in the service of the Bishop of Passau), and others that he was an educated knight of low birth.
“The Song of the Nibelungs” combines two initially independent plots: the tale of the death of Siegfried and the tale of the end of the House of Burgundy. They form, as it were, two parts of an epic. Both of these parts are not entirely consistent, and certain contradictions can be noticed between them. Thus, in the first part, the Burgundians receive a generally negative assessment and look rather gloomy in comparison with the bright hero Siegfried, whom they killed, whose services and help they so widely used, while in the second part they appear as valiant knights courageously meeting their tragic fate. The name “Nibelungs” is used differently in the first and second parts of the epic: in the first they are fairy-tale creatures, northern treasure keepers and heroes in the service of Siegfried, in the second they are the Burgundians.
The epic reflects primarily the knightly worldview of the Staufen era ( The Staufens (or Hohenstaufens) were an imperial dynasty that ruled Germany and Italy in the 12th – first half of the 13th centuries. The Staufens, especially Frederick I Barbarossa (1152–1190), attempted extensive external expansion, which ultimately accelerated the weakening of central power and contributed to the strengthening of the princes. At the same time, the Staufen era was characterized by a significant, but short-lived cultural upsurge.).
Kalevala
Kalevala - Karelo - Finnish poetic epic. Consists of 50 runes (songs). It is based on Karelian folk epic songs. The arrangement of “Kalevala” belongs to Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), who connected individual folk epic songs, making a certain selection of versions of these songs and smoothing out some irregularities.
The name "Kalevala", given to the poem by Lönnrot, is the epic name of the country in which Finnish folk heroes live and act. Suffix lla means place of residence, so Kalevalla- this is the place of residence of Kalev, the mythological ancestor of the heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, sometimes called his sons.
In Kalevala there is no main plot that would connect all the songs.
It opens with a legend about the creation of the earth, sky, stars and the birth of the Finnish protagonist, Väinämöinen, by the daughter of air, who arranges the earth and sows barley. The following describes different adventures a hero who, by the way, meets a beautiful maiden of the North: she agrees to become his bride if he miraculously creates a boat from the fragments of her spindle. Having started work, the hero wounds himself with an ax, cannot stop the bleeding and goes to an old healer, to whom he tells a legend about the origin of iron. Returning home, Väinämöinen raises the wind with spells and transports the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the country of the North, Pohjola, where he, according to the promise made by Väinämöinen, binds for the mistress of the North a mysterious object that gives wealth and happiness - the Sampo mill (runes I-XI).
The following runes (XI-XV) contain an episode about the adventures of the hero Lemminkäinen, a warlike sorcerer and seducer of women. The story then returns to Väinämöinen; his descent into the underworld is described, his stay in the womb of the giant Viipunen, his obtaining from the latter three words necessary to create a wonderful boat, the hero’s sailing to Pohjola in order to receive the hand of the northern maiden; however, the latter preferred the blacksmith Ilmarinen to him, whom she marries, and the wedding is described in detail and wedding songs are given, outlining the duties of the wife and husband (XVI-XXV).
Further runes (XXVI-XXXI) are again occupied by the adventures of Lemminkäinen in Pohjola. The episode about the sad fate of the hero Kullervo, who out of ignorance seduced his own sister, as a result of which both brother and sister commit suicide (runes XXXI-XXXVI), belongs in the depth of feeling, sometimes reaching true pathos, to the best parts of the entire poem.
Further runes contain a lengthy story about the common enterprise of the three Finnish heroes - obtaining the Sampo treasure from Pohjola, about Väinämöinen's making of the kantele, by playing which he enchants all of nature and lulls the population of Pohjola to sleep, about the taking away of the Sampo by the heroes, about their persecution by the sorceress-mistress of the North, about the fall Sampo at sea, about the benefits shown by Väinämöinen home country through fragments of the Sampo, about his struggle with various disasters and monsters sent by the mistress of Pohjola to Kalevala, about the hero’s marvelous playing on a new kantela, created by him when the first one fell into the sea, and about the return of the sun and moon to them, hidden by the mistress of Pohjola (XXXVI- XLIX).
The last rune contains a folk apocryphal legend about the birth of a miraculous child by the virgin Maryatta (the birth of the Savior). Väinämöinen gives advice to kill him, since he is destined to surpass him in power Finnish hero, but the two-week-old baby showers Väinämöinen with reproaches of injustice, and the ashamed hero, having sung a wondrous song for the last time, leaves Finland forever in a shuttle, giving way to the baby Maryatta, the recognized ruler of Karelia.
Other peoples of the world have developed their own heroic epics: in England - “Beowulf”, in Spain - “The Song of My Sid”, in Iceland - “The Elder Edda”,
in France - “The Song of Roland”, in Yakutia - “Olonkho”, in the Caucasus - “Nart epic”, in Kyrgyzstan - “Manas”, in Russia - “epic epic”, etc.
Despite the fact that the heroic epic of peoples was composed in different historical settings, it has many common features and similar features. First of all, this concerns the repetition of themes and plots, as well as the common characteristics of the main characters. For example:
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The collective memory of the people was a heroic epic, which reflected their spiritual life, ideals and values. The origins of the Western European heroic epic lie in the depths of the barbarian era. Only by the VIII - IX centuries. The first records of epic works were compiled. The early stage of epic poetry, associated with the formation of early feudal military poetry - Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Old Scandinavian - has reached us only in fragments.
The early epic of Western European peoples arose as a result of the interaction of heroic fairy tales and songs and primitive mythological epic about the first ancestors - “cultural heroes” who were considered the ancestors of the tribe.
The heroic epic has come to us in the form of grandiose epics, songs, in mixed poetic and song form, and less often in prose.
The oldest Icelandic literature by time of origin includes skaldic poetry, Eddic songs and Icelandic sagas (prose tales). The most ancient songs of the skalds have been preserved only in the form of quotations from the Icelandic sagas of the 13th century. According to Icelandic tradition, skalds had social and religious influence, and were brave and strong people. The poetry of the skalds is dedicated to the praise of some feat and the gift received for it. Skaldic poetry is unknown to lyricism; it is heroic poetry in the literal sense of the word. The poems of about 250 skalds have survived to this day. The first of the Icelandic sagas, “The Saga of Egil,” tells about one of them, the famous poet-warrior Egil Skallagrimson (10th century).
Along with the original poetry of the skalds in Iceland during the same period, songs about gods and heroes, which were works of an impersonal tradition, were also widely known. Their main content is the main mythological subjects - the exploits of gods and heroes, tales of the origin of the world, its end and rebirth, etc. These songs were recorded approximately in the middle of the 13th century. and are conventionally united by the title “Elder Edda”. The date of origin of one or another of the Eddic songs has not been established; some of them go back to the Viking Age (IX - XI centuries).
The Icelandic sagas are dedicated to events that took place a century after the settlement of Iceland by the Norwegians (“age of sagas” - 930 - 1030). Compiled in prose form, they tell about the most famous representatives individual clans, about tribal feuds, military campaigns, fights, etc. The number of heroes of the sagas is very significant, as is their volume. The huge body of sagas is like a vast epic, the heroes of which are thousands of Icelanders acting at approximately the same time. The unnamed authors of the Icelandic sagas describe not only events, but also the morals, psychology, and faith of their time, expressing the collective opinion of the people.
Celtic epic is the oldest European literature. Irish sagas originated in the 1st century. AD and took shape over several centuries. They have existed in written form since the 7th century. - (came down to us in the records of the 12th century). The early Irish sagas are mythological and heroic. Their content is the pagan beliefs of the ancient Celts, the mythical history of the settlement of Ireland. In the heroic sagas, the main character Cuchulainn reflected the national ideal of the people - a fearless warrior, honest, strong, generous. In the heroic sagas, a lot of space is devoted to the description of the fights of Cuchulainn.
The Fenian cycle dates back to the 12th century. His hero is Finn MacCool, his son the singer Oisin and their army. This cycle existed in many editions, a number of them tell about Oisin’s wanderings to wonderful countries and about his return to Ireland after its Christianization. In the dialogues between Oisin and St. Patrick compares the life of the people before and after Christianization.
Although the ancient Irish sagas were recorded already in the 12th century, up to the 17th century. they continued to exist in the form of oral tradition, eventually taking the form of Irish folk tales and ballads.
The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, dating back to the late 7th and early 8th centuries, was formed on the basis of earlier oral heroic songs. The hero of the epic is a brave knight from the South Scandinavian tribe of Gauts, who saves the Danish king Hrothgar who is in trouble. The hero performs three miraculous feats. He defeats the monster Grendal, who exterminated the king's warriors. Having mortally wounded Grendal and defeated his mother, who was avenging her son, Beowulf becomes king of the Gauts. Being already old, he accomplishes his last feat - he destroys the terrible dragon, taking revenge on the Gauts for the golden cup stolen from him. The hero dies in a duel with the dragon.
"Beowulf" is a bizarre interweaving of mythology, folklore and historical events. Snake wrestling, three wonderful duels - elements of a folk tale. At the same time, the hero himself, fighting for the interests of his tribe, his tragic death - character traits a heroic epic, historical in its core (some names and events described in the epic are found in the history of the ancient Germans). Since the formation of the epic dates back to the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th centuries, i.e. more than a century after the adoption of Christianity by the Anglo-Saxons, Christian elements are also found in Beowulf.
In the 12th century. appear first written monuments medieval heroic epic in adaptations. Being original, they are based on the folk heroic epic. Images medieval epic are in many ways similar to the images of traditional epic heroes- This fearless warriors, valiantly defending their country, brave, faithful to their duty.
The heroic medieval epic in an idealized form reflects the popular norms of heroic behavior; it reflects, in a synthesized form, the people's ideas about royal power, the squad, and heroes; it is permeated with the spirit of popular patriotism.
At the same time, since the medieval heroic epic in its adaptations was created during a period of already quite developed culture of its time, traces of the influence of knightly and religious ideas of the era of its creation are obvious in it. The heroes of the medieval epic are faithful defenders of the Christian faith (Sid, Roland), vassals devoted to their lords.
In medieval literature, three extensive epic cycles were developed - about Alexander the Great, about King Arthur and about Charlemagne. The last two were the most popular, because... Alexander the Great lived in the pre-Christian era.
The Carolingian epic centers on the Spanish war. Unlike King Arthur, the hero of the Carolingian epic is a real historical figure - Charlemagne. At the center of the epic about the Spanish War is the glorification of the feat of Charlemagne's nephew Roland, which served as the basis for one of the early monuments of the medieval heroic epic - the French "Song of Roland". The poem was composed during the era crusades. (In the middle of the 11th century, it was widely known - it was sung by the troops of William the Conqueror before the battle of Hastings in 1066.) Its earliest manuscript dates back to the 12th century. The historical basis of the "Song" is the campaign of Charlemagne to Spain in 778 with the aim of forcefully introducing Christianity among the Moors. (The folk tale connected the events of 778 with the struggle of the Franks against the Arab invasion of Europe.) However, Charlemagne’s attempt was unsuccessful - the Moors destroyed the retreating Franks in the Roncesvalles Gorge. This event became the plot heroic song, and later it was literary processed and formed the basis of the “Song of Roland” (although the poem is based on historical events and personalities, there is a lot of fiction in it). The main character of the "Song" is a historical figure; he is mentioned in the chronicle of Charlemagne as a noble feudal lord.
The hero of the poem, Roland, the nephew of Charlemagne, advises the king to send his stepfather Ganelon to negotiate with the Saracen king Marsilius. However, the latter betrays the Franks by concluding a secret agreement with Marsilius. Seeking revenge on his stepson for the risky mission, Ganelon advises Charles to leave the Roncesvalles Gorge, leaving only Roland's warriors there. The Moors destroy the hero's detachment, Roland himself dies last, remembering his fallen warriors. Ganelon, who betrayed the hero, was condemned to a shameful death.
The Spanish epic - "The Song of My Cid" - was composed during the period of the "Reconquista" (12th century), the time of the Spaniards' struggle to return the lands seized by the Moors. The prototype of the hero of the poem was a historical figure - Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (the Moors called him “Sid”, i.e. master).
The Song tells how Cid, exiled by King Alfonso of Castile, wages a brave fight against the Moors. As a reward for his victories, Alphonse wooed Sid's daughters to noble infantes from Carrion. The second part of the "Song" tells about the treachery of Sid's sons-in-law and his revenge for the desecrated honor of his daughters.
The absence of fiction, the realistic depiction of the life and customs of the Spaniards of that time, the very language of the “song”, close to the folk one, make “The Song of My Cid” the most realistic epic in medieval literature.
An outstanding monument of the German epic - "The Song of the Nibelungs" - was written down around 1225. The plot of the "Song" is based on ancient German legends from the time of the Great Migration - the death of one of the German kingdoms - the Burgundian - as a result of the invasion of the Huns (437). However, it is extremely difficult to recognize this historical episode from the era of nomad invasions in the Song. Only a distant echo of those distant events can be heard.
The Dutch prince Siegfried woos the Burgundian queen Kriemhilde and helps her brother Gunther deceive the Queen of Iceland Brunhilde as his wife. Years later, Brünnhilde discovers the deception and orders Siegfried to be killed (the brother of his wife Krimhilda is involved in the conspiracy against Siegfried). The kings lure the golden treasure of the fabulous Nibelungs from Kriemgilda, and Siegfried's killer hides it in the Rhine. Krimgilda vows to take revenge for the treacherous death of her husband (killed by a stab in the back). She marries the king of the Huns, Attila, and after some time invites all her relatives with their warriors to the Hunnic land (in the “Song” the Burgundians appear under the name of the Nibelungs). During the feast, Krimgilda deliberately starts a quarrel, during which the entire Burgundian family dies. Krimgilda herself dies at the hands of the only surviving warrior...
Epic literally means “narration” from Greek. Its main task is to describe events from the outside. For a long time, the epic did not touch upon events related to the inner experiences of a person. And even when the situation has changed, the description of feelings and inner life continued to be detached and reasonable.
Objectives of the epic in literature
An epic is a mutual reflection on the events of both the author and his readers. And they, in turn, demand a sober assessment of things. This allows you to better see the connection between the causes and effects that accompany human life. It allows you to look behind the curtain of everyday haste and unite what at first glance seems random, but in reality is a pattern.
Epic as a genre of literature
The volume of work written in the epic genre includes small stories, large novels, and epics. The main role in such works is assigned to the narrator himself. While narrating about characters and events, he distances himself, as if he is not participating in it, which is what creates the unique atmosphere of the work. In addition, such stories leave not only a trace of the events described, but also preserve the memory of the narrator himself, his way of thinking and manner of speaking. It is worth noting that an epic work contains all kinds of literary devices. Thanks to the use of narrative form in epic works, readers have the opportunity to penetrate deeply into the inner world of a person, hidden from prying eyes.
Development of epic literature in cultural history
Considering epic literature before the 18th century, we can safely say that the poem was the most widespread genre in this field. The main source of its plot was folk legends. All images were generalized and idealized, information was provided in poetic form.
But the main genre, in the period from the 18th to the 19th centuries, which is the epic, is the novel. Modernity is described in prose form, images are individualized, speech becomes a reflection public consciousness. But the full display of life concerned more stories, stories and short stories.
The original essence of the epic was the retelling of exploits. Thus, the leading characters were positive, brave, brave heroes and their opponents, who are evil. The heroes of the epic were mostly idealized, mystical properties were attributed to them, but at the same time they continued to be people who care about their loved ones and compatriots. The heroic epic mainly combines war and love. The main character embarks on the warpath against the forces of evil, showing valor, honor, dignity and kindness. And in the end, having gone through all the obstacles and overcome all the evil, he receives pure and bright love.
Hoaxing and attributing supernatural abilities to heroes makes the story more interesting for readers, introducing them to another world in which there is no gray ordinariness. It is filled with events, exploits and emotions of heroes shown from the outside. Thus, epic is one of the oldest genres of literature and storytelling. He is able to show the reader not only events that are long gone, but also the soul of the narrator. And given the fact that epic is still one of the most widespread genres among modern writers and poets, we can conclude that this is one of the most significant forms of literature. And thanks to its versatility, every reader will be able to find an epic work that corresponds to his inner cultural and spiritual needs.
General, typological and nationally unique
in the heroic epic. Similarities of the heroic epic different nations Western Europe
Heroic epic: concept, content, typology
An analysis of specialized literature shows that many researchers of foreign literature have turned to the study of poetic heroic poems. Therefore, the term “epic” turned out to be full of different meanings and is now used to mean different types literary works.
Let us give examples of several meanings of the word “epic”. The term "epos" in Russian can act as either a noun (epos) or an adjective (epic). As an adjective, it serves to denote narrative genres, as opposed to lyrical and dramatic genres.
The noun "epic" denotes a certain type of literary work, i.e. literary genre. The works designated as epic are very diverse, and no definition has yet been presented that would correspond to all types. But there are several partial definitions. For example:
an epic is a long narrative in verse;
it is a long heroic narrative in verse;
is a long narrative poem in a sublime style that talks about traditional or historical heroes, and so on.
None of them can be used to determine
genre divisions. A long narrative, heroic or not, can also be told in prose or through combinations of prose and verse. /3.6/.
A heroic narrative poem can be short, no longer than a few dozen lines. A long narrative poem is not necessarily about physical struggle and heroic deeds. What is a “heroic” feat? Kill a strong opponent in a duel? To risk own life to save another person? Endure torture? Overcome your own “nature”? And these are just some of the problems of defining a genre.
According to the type of organization of the texture of the work, epics can be classified as follows: poetic form, prose, or combinations thereof. /10/.
According to the organization of the plot: the plot tells about the struggle in which two groups oppose each other; single heroes are usually representatives of groups. These groups can be two peoples (for example, Russians and Tatars), tribes, clans; or gods and demons (for example, the Greek Olympians and Titans). Opponents meet in physical combat.
In polytheistic cultures, human opponents can use their ability to magic (witchcraft; deities use their own physical strength like human warriors and their miraculous abilities, which correlate with human magical abilities). The form of combat is either a duel between individuals or a battle between groups of warriors.
Conflict arises over power, fame, or material wealth (which includes owning women). According to the type of relationship to reality: epic belongs to the realistic genres.
In polytheistic cultures, man's capacity for witchcraft, magic, and the gods' ability to perform miracles are included in the overall concept of reality.
Oral composition, oral performance and oral transmission of the epic give rise to formality and require ready-made models at all levels of the work.
Oral performance can range from perfect impromptu performance to exact reproduction of a memorized text, or reading aloud and singing from a written text.
A recorded work can be at any stage: from a bona fide recording of a single oral performance to entirely original works. In between these extreme cases The various results of editing and rewriting of such records (now called "traditional" epic, which includes, for example, the Finnish Kalevala, the Indian classical Mahabharata) are located.
So, let's try to summarize all the data obtained about the oral heroic epic.
Firstly, this work can be presented in both poetry and prose, which does not have of great importance for the genre.
Secondly, the basis of the heroic poem is the opposition of two groups to each other: in battle or through their representatives in a duel, in physical struggle with the help of witchcraft, magic and miracles.
Thirdly, the works are mostly performed in a realistic manner.
Fourth, the heroic epic has a central status for a given culture; if it has no religious aspects, its status is average and inferior to that of religious literature, which occupies a central position in culture.
Fifthly, works are composed and performed orally with intensive use of literary formulaic means. Oral performances may be written by hand. The works of the past have reached us in more or less thoroughly edited or revised form.
Now let's move on to the direct classification of the heroic epic.
So, we can distinguish three groups of heroic poems.
The first group is the “episodic” type: individual works do not depend on each other and have repeatability in the same way as folk tales.
It features many characters, many of whom are historical figures, but for the most part they are taken out of their actual historical context, reduced to simple names and play standard roles in the narrative.
All characters are thought of as belonging to the same generation and equal in status. Here and there the father or son of a warrior appears on the stage. For example, in the South Slavic epic, characters who lived in the 14th century can coexist in the same work with characters who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Plots rarely tell about the real historical event; These are typical stories that repeat each other. Not a single character has an epic biography.
The second type of heroic epic tradition is the biographical epic. The tradition is built around a central character and traces his biography. It can be continued with the biography of his son and grandson.
The central character is the king, the head of the tribe and the like, and the other knights are his paladins. The historicity of the central hero, and even more so of his paladins, is often controversial. Again, all knights belong to the same generation and interact with each other. Never, or almost never, is a work performed entirely in one sitting; rather, it is a chain of independent works, each of which follows the episodic nature of the epic and is performed separately.
Differences from episodic epic lie in the hierarchical organization of characters, in the figure of the central hero, in the episodes of his birth, growing up and death, which form an entire tradition. All this is absent from the tradition of episodic epic. Examples include Armenian, Tibetan and Central Asian Turkic oral epics.
The third type of heroic epic is the "epic cycle": a group of completed works, each of which features the same characters. The works themselves are independent of each other and relate to the same epic plots as the works of episodic epic.
The characters are perceived as belonging to the same generation. They are hierarchically linked to each other as paladins of the central actor who is their lord.
Individual holistic works are not subordinated to an organizational principle, which could be the biography of the central character.
The epic cycle does not give detailed biography. For example: the Russian epic tradition does not provide a biographical description of the life of Prince Vladimir as a bearer of supreme power.
Like folk tales, the same epic story exists in many cultures; Epic works, like folk tales, are repeatable. There is no people who do not preserve the memory of their past.
When in the development of his culture he reaches the stage at which writing appears, this memory is deposited in the form of calendar records, annals, and chronicles. But even before writing, even centuries before the state, tribal, clan life, any people told and sang about the deeds and events of their past and current life, about their gods and the exploits of their heroes.
This is how a legendary and historical song arises, sung aloud, more or less embellished with fairy-tale and mythological fiction.
The era in which the heroic epic of any people is created always leaves the stamp of the environment in which and for which they were created on these poetic creations. Epics are as diverse as the destinies of countries and peoples, as national characters, like a language.