Why is the language of the left-handed tale interesting? All school essays on literature

Development of a lesson on literature on the topic "N.S. Leskov "Lefty". The concept of the tale genre. Lexical features of N.S. Leskov's tale"

Goals and objectives: expanding knowledge about the life and work of N. S. Leskov; developing skills in text analysis, working with vocabulary, developing the ability to find the right meaning in the dictionary; development of monologue speech of students, to interest students in the unusualness of the narrative, nurturing a love for words, for the folk speech of heroes.

1. Organizational moment

Communicating the topic and purpose of the lesson.

2. Lesson progress

Preparation for perception.

1) Brief information from the biography of N.S. Leskova. A prepared student speaks. slide 1

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov is a Russian writer of the 19th century, according to many the most national writer of Russia. Leskov was born on February 4 (16), 1831 in the village of Gorokhovo (Oryol province) in a spiritual environment. The writer's father was an official of the criminal chamber, and his mother was a noblewoman. Nikolai spent his childhood years on the family estate in Orel. In 1839 the Leskov family moved to the village of Panino. Life in the village left its mark on the writer’s work. He studied the people through everyday life and conversations, and also considered himself one of the people.

From 1841 to 1846 Leskov attended the Oryol gymnasium. In 1948, he lost his father, and their family property burned down in a fire. Around this time, he entered the service of the criminal chamber, where he collected a lot of material for his future works. A year later he was transferred to the treasury chamber of Kyiv. There he lived with his uncle S.P. Alferev. In Kyiv, in his free time from work, he attended lectures at the university, was interested in icon painting and the Polish language, and also attended religious and philosophical circles and communicated a lot with Old Believers. During this period, his interest in Ukrainian culture awoke.

In 1857, Leskov resigned and entered the service of A. Y. Scott, the English husband of his aunt. While working for Schcott & Wilkens, he gained extensive experience in many sectors, including industry and agriculture. He first showed himself as a publicist in 1860. A year later he moved to St. Petersburg and decided to devote himself to literary activity. His works began to appear in Otechestvennye zapiski. Many of his stories were based on knowledge of Russian original life, and were imbued with sincere participation in the needs of the people.

In his stories, Leskov also tried to show the tragic fate of Russia and its unpreparedness for the revolution. In this regard, he was in conflict with the revolutionary democrats. Much has changed in the writer’s work after meeting Leo Tolstoy. National-historical issues also appeared in his works of 1870-1880. During these years, he wrote several novels and stories about artists. Leskov has always admired the breadth of the Russian soul, and this theme is reflected in the story “Lefty.” The writer died on February 21 (March 5), 1895 in St. Petersburg.

2) The teacher's word. The history of the creation of "Lefty". slide 2

Tale Nikolai Leskov was written and published in1881 .

First published in the magazine “Rus”, in 1881, No. 49, 50 and 51 under the title “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea (Workshop Legend).” First published as a separate edition in 1882. When published in Rus, as well as in a separate edition, the story was accompanied by a preface:

“I cannot say where exactly the first breeding of the fable about the steel flea was born, that is, whether it started inThule , on Izhme or in Sestroretsk , but obviously she came from one of these places. In any case, the tale of the steel flea is a specifically gunsmith legend, and it expresses the pride of Russian gunsmiths. It depicts the struggle of our masters with the English masters, from which ours emerged victorious and the English were completely shamed and humiliated. Some secret reason is revealed heremilitary failures in Crimea . I wrote down this legend in Sestroretsk according to a local tale from an old gunsmith, a Tula native who moved toSister River during the reign of the emperorAlexander the First . The narrator two years ago was still in good health and with a fresh memory; he readily recalled the old days, greatly honored the sovereignNikolai Pavlovich , lived “according to the old faith,” read divine books and raised canaries. People treated him with respect."

Nikolai Semenovich himself defined the genre of his work as a tale. What is it?

A tale is a storytelling principle based on imitation of the speech manner of the character-storyteller, lexically, syntactically, and intonationally oriented towards oral speech.The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, a person with a special character and style of speech. slide 3

Perception. Now let’s turn directly to the work itself and find the lexical features. The first interesting phrase we come across is internecine conversations. Let's look up the meaning of this word in the explanatory dictionary.

The meaning of the word Internecine according to Efremova:
Interstitial - 1. Correlative in meaning. with noun:civil strife, civil strife, connected with them.
In Ozhegov’s dictionary we find the meaning of the word - (usually about antiquity, the distant past)disagreement , discord between any social groups in the state.

This interpretation does not fit our text. How to determine the value? To do this, let's get acquainted with the concept of folk etymology.

Folk etymology is falseetymology , lexical association arising under the influencevernacular ; in the future it can also be perceived in literary language. slide 4

Let's think about what associations this word could have arisen from.

Student answers: internecine conversations - conversations among themselves.

And now you will begin to compile an explanatory and etymological dictionary on your own. Divide the notebook into 2 columns, in the first column write words that have a definition in a proper dictionary, in the second - those that do not. (The class can be divided into 2 groups, one works on 1 chapter, the other on the second. It is better for children to work in pairs, using the mobile Internet and Internet dictionaries)

Before writing an interpretation of a word, children are asked to think about which words could form new concepts.

Interpretation. Conversation on questions:

Why are there so many unusual, distorted words in the text of the work?

Suggested answer: The narrator is a simple person, illiterate, who changes foreign words to make it “more understandable.” Many words acquired a humorous meaning in the spirit of popular understanding.

What do you think of the characters' speech?

Suggested answer: The speech of the characters is unusual and unusual for the modern reader due to the widespread use of words of folk etymological origin.

3. Lesson summary. Reflection.

Continue with suggestions.

I met.....(creative biography of N.S. Leskov)

I learned about....(the story of the creation of "Lefty")

I remembered new terms...(tale, folk etymology)

I especially liked it..

4.Homework.

Continue compiling the dictionary for the next chapters.

1) Lesson No. 2 can be started by checking the assimilation of the meaning of new words.

Indicate the numbers of words whose interpretation there is an error.

1) escorts - One who accompanies someone

2) coven - It's enough, it's over,That's it.

3) nymphosoria - a type of ciliate, a single-celled organism

4) dayman - day duty officer.

5) agitation - agitation

6) Folding - folding icon

7) Ceramides - Egyptian pyramids.

Correlate words and realities (an object or a picture of this object) when interpreting the lexical meaning of a word.

To complicate the task, you can not give words in the right column, but ask students to choose them themselves.

2) As homework, you can assign a crossword puzzle.

3) In lesson No. 3, to consolidate your knowledge of new words, you can solve a couple of the most successful crossword puzzles.

Crossword. Sample. Work by Yulia Vodopyanova (6th grade, 2015)

Questions:

1. This type of clothing was made from camel hair

2. What was the name of the sea on which Lefty sailed on the ship?

3. Museum, meeting rarities

4. The meaning of this word is explained as to confuse, put in an awkward position.

5. Device for looking at small objects

6.This is the name of the food warehouse.

7.Determination of a nose with a hump

8. They are the main attraction of Egypt

9. The text contains a synonym for the word expectation.

10 Name of the wine drink.

4) After a more detailed conversation about the genre of the tale, give the children a creative task to come up with their own tale. Example of work by a 6th grade student.

A story about how my grandmother attended a rhythmic gymnastics competition.

One day my neighbor’s granddaughter called my neighbor in the village on her sotel (cell phone) and invited her to her rhythmic gymnastics performance. She is a group member (performs in group exercises). Granny went to the railway station, took a ticket and went to the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Her granddaughter performed at the Olympic Reserve School. Granny entered the hall and there were tons of people. She sat down and began to wait (wait). Here the girls came out in bright, beautiful bodysuits (a swimsuit on the body), with face paint like Seryozha Zersky’s (Zverev). The music started playing. The girls began to perform various tricks (throwing their legs high, behind their ears), throwing clubs up. It took my grandma's breath away. The routine was performed flawlessly (without mistakes or falls). We won.

Folk etymology is a false etymology, a lexical association arising under the influence of vernacular; in the future it can also be perceived in literary language.

table Words recorded in the explanatory dictionary The first chapter guides - Someone who accompanies someone (according to S.I. Ozhegov’s dictionary http://tolkslovar.ru /) coven - Enough, it’s over, that’s it. (according to the dictionary of Efremova T.F.) kunstkamera - Museum, collection of rarities, outlandish objects (Ozhegov) burka - Men's clothing in the form of a long cape made of thin felt, expanding at the bottom. dayman - a soldier (sailor) who was attached to a general (admiral) or officer as a government servant Folding - folding icon The second chapter began to gasp and complain. (according to the dictionary of Ushakov D.N. http://www.classes.ru/) to confuse - to embarrass, to embarrass, to put in an awkward position Words of folk etymological origin The first chapter of the tseygauz (tseykhgauz) - a coffin-like military clothing warehouse ( humpbacked) Kislyarka (Kizlyarka) - low-quality grape vodka produced in the city of Kizlyar in the Caucasus Internecine conversations - here in the sense of “conversations among themselves” The second chapter two-seater carriage (double) Abolon Polvedere (Apollo Belvedere) bustters (chandeliers) - a combination of words “ busts" and "chandeliers" storm meters (barometer) from the association with the words - to measure a storm merbluzy (camel) instead of "camel"; a combination of the words “freeze” and “camel”

Republican open day for school principals.

Guryanova E.P. teacher of Russian language and literature.

Open lesson on literature in 6th grade a.

Subject: N. S. Leskov (1831-1895). Tale "Lefty". Features of the tale

Lesson Objectives : briefly introduce students to the biography and work of Leskov; give an idea of ​​the genre of the tale; to interest students in a non-ordinary narrative.

Lesson equipment: portrait of N.S. Leskov, multimedia lesson on the work of N.S. Leskova

Methodical techniques: teacher’s story, expressive reading, explanation of theoretical issues, conversation on issues.

During the classes

I. Checking homework Working with an interactive whiteboard.Simulator based on the poem by N.A. Nekrasov "Railway"

II. Teacher's word.Open the first page of the media lesson. Portrait and biography of Leskov. (Leskov “Lefty”)

We are turning to the work of one of the most interesting Russian writers, Nikolai Semenovich Leskov, for the first time. But you've probably heard about his famous hero, Lefty. This hero received, with the light hand of the writer, an independent life.

The birthplace of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov is the city of Orel.

The writer was born on February 16, 1831, his father graduated from theological seminary, but did not want to become a priest, but became an official and rose to ranks that gave hereditary nobility.

When N. S. Leskov was seventeen years old, his father died of cholera, and the future writer had to work and serve. He moves to Kyiv to live with his uncle, lives and works there. In Kyiv, he is caught by significant changes for the era: the death of Nicholas I, the lifting of many prohibitions, and the harbinger of future reforms, from which they expected more than they brought. The new era caused a rise in commercial and industrial activity, which required educated, enterprising people, and Leskov began working in a commercial enterprise, for which he moved to the Penza province in 1857. For three years he traveled all over Russia. Later, in response to a newspaper reporter’s question: “Where do you get the material for your works?” - Leskov pointed to his forehead: “From this chest.” Here are the impressions of my commercial service, when I had to travel around Russia on business, this was the best time of my life, when I saw a lot and lived easily.”

III. Tale as a form of storytelling. Heuristic conversation.

The subtitle indicates the genre of the work - tale. Remember what work written in the tale genre we studied last year. Who is its author?

How do we define the genre of a tale?(Tale is a genre of epic based on folk tales and legends. It is characterized by a combination of accurate sketches of folk life and customs with the fabulously fantastic world of folklore. The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, a person with a special character and style of speech)open the “Genre of the work” page

What is the difference between a tale and a fairy tale?(The tale is based on a legend, which in turn arose on the basis of a real event)

So first the real event happens. Then, based on this event, a legend arises among the people, which is told by folk storytellers. The writer gets acquainted with this legend and tells it to the readers, recreating the appearance of the narrator (storyteller). Event - legend - tale.

How do you explain what a narrator's persona is?(The narrator in the tale is not a real person, but an artistic image, but it seems to readers that he has all the features of a real person)

What features does the image of the narrator in Bazhov’s tales have?(The narrator is an old, experienced man who knows the mining business well, lives and works all his life in the same place where his heroes live. He loves and respects his comrades, is attentive to nature, to the feelings and lives of other people. It seems that the storyteller is old, with gray hair, kind eyes and deep wrinkles on his face. He is dressed in the clothes that craftsmen wore. When he tells his stories, he smiles a little sadly.)

What story by Bazhov did we read in class? Was it interesting for you to read it?

Which tales of Bazhov have you read on your own?

Let's return to the topic of the lesson. The story of the slanting left-hander and the lame flea is a fairy tale. What can we assume, knowing the genre of the work?(We can assume that the work was written by Leskov based on a legend he heard from some person. This legend, in turn, arose on the basis of a real event)Open the page “Lefty. History of creation"

And in the first edition of “Lefty,” the author pointed to an allegedly existing person, from whom he heard a legend about a master who shoed a flea. But what makes Leskov’s tale so surprising is that neither the storyteller nor the folk legend existed. There was only one joke: “The British made a flea out of steel, but our Tula people shod it and sent it back to them.”

IV. Working with the textbook. Reading an excerpt from an article by Yu. Nagibin.

The image of the narrator and the images of the heroes created by Leskov turned out to be so convincing that after the publication of this tale, a legend arose in Tula about a left-handed man who shod a flea.

Reading an excerpt from L.A. Anninsky’s book “Leskovskoye Necklace”. Leskov created the image of the narrator on whose behalf the story is told. When talking about the heroes of the work, we will keep in mind that the narrator is the same hero. He has a special speech and his own special attitude to the events he talks about.

V. Expressive reading and conversation on issues.Open the text “Left-handed” on the interactive board

1. The teacher reads the first chapter of the tale.

1. What elements of folklore did you notice? (INThere is a beginning in a story, there are repetitions. The ending of the tale contains edification: “And if they had brought the leftist’s words to the sovereign in due time, in the Crimea the war with the enemy would have taken a completely different turn.”)
2. Who do you think the storyteller, narrator could be?(The narrator is most likely a simple person, a craftsman, a craftsman. In his speech there are many irregularities, colloquialisms, inversions characteristic of folklore works; historical characters - Alexander I and Platov - are shown from the point of view of a commoner.)
3. When and where does the story take place? (The action takes place in Russia and England shortly after the Napoleonic War, and mentions the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815. The trip of Alexander I with Platov to London is a historical fact. Mention is made of the Decembrist uprising of 1825, called “confusion.”)

2. Listening to the reading of the second chapter and commentary on it on the interactive whiteboard. “Point of view of the Tula master”

VI. Characteristics of heroesOpen the page “Statesmen and Lefties”

(Alexander Pavlovich: “He traveled to all countries and everywhere, through his kindness, he always had the most internecine conversations with all sorts of people”; “We Russians are no good with our meaning”; etc.

Platov: “And as soon as Platov notices that the sovereign is very interested in something strange, then all the escorts are silent, and Platov will now say: so and so, and we have our own at home no worse, - and will take him away with something”; “and Platov maintains his expectation that everything means nothing to him”; and etc.)

Let's pay attention to the new, unusual words of the tale. How are they formed? Give examples. Open the “Speech of Heroes” page.(New words are formed, the narrator or hero encounters words unfamiliar to an illiterate person and changes them so that it is “more understandable.” For example: “melkoskop” - microscope; “kislyarka” - kizlyarka; “Abolon Polvedere” - Apollo Belvedere; “dolbitsa” " - table; "double-seater" - "ceramides"- pyramids; “prelamut” - mother of pearl; "Candelabria" - Calabria, etc.)

What is the role of such words? (Such “folk” words create a humorous effect.)

V. Testing at the end of the lesson using an interactive whiteboard.

Homework

1. Re-read chapters 4-10 of the tale;

1. Write down quotes characterizing Nikolai Pavlovich, Platov, left-hander.

1. Prepare a retelling of the episode of your choice.

The action of the story “Lefty” takes place in the Russian Empire during the reign of Tsars Alexander the First and Nikolai Pavlovich. The work contrasts the attitude of the emperors towards the Motherland and the achievements of the Russian people. In the story, the author noticeably sympathizes with Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich, as well as with the main character, the Tula master Leftsha, whose views are akin to the imperial ones. They are united by the belief that nothing is impossible for a Russian. The characterization of Lefty from Leskov’s story “Lefty” is an opportunity to understand the essence of a real simple Russian person.

Closeness to the people

With the main character of the work N.S. Leskov does not introduce us right away. Over the course of several chapters, it seems that the main character of the story is the Cossack Platov. The true protagonist appears as if by chance. Perhaps, the author did this deliberately in order to emphasize the essence of the character of Lefty from the story “Lefty” - he comes from the people and himself is their personification, with all his simplicity, naivety, indifference to wealth, great faith in Orthodoxy and devotion to the Fatherland. For the same purpose, the author does not give the hero a name. Lefty is one of three Tula craftsmen who were given the honor of making something like this to prove to Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and the self-confident British what the Russian people are capable of.

The generality of the image of Lefty is emphasized not only by his namelessness, but also by a little information about him. As we read, we don't know anything about his age or family. Before us is only his laconic portrait: “Left-handed with an oblique face, a birthmark on his cheek, and the hair on his temples torn out during training.”

The great talent of a simple master

Despite his outward ugliness, Lefty has a great talent that amazed not only the Tsar himself, but also English craftsmen. Lefty, together with two other Tula craftsmen, managed to shoe a miniature flea without any special knowledge or equipment. In this case, Lefty got the most difficult job - forging miniature nails for horseshoes.

The quality without which the characterization of Lefty from the story “Lefty” will be incomplete is the modesty of a brilliant master. The folk craftsman did not boast of his achievement and did not consider himself a hero, but simply conscientiously carried out the instructions of the sovereign, and also tried with all his heart to show what a Russian person was capable of. When Emperor Nicholas realized what the craftsmen's work was, which at first he could not see even through his small scope, he was surprised how they could do it without equipment. To which Lefty modestly replied: “We are poor people and due to our poverty we do not have a small scope, but our eyes are so focused.”

Indifference to wealth and comfort

Lefty also showed modesty and indifference to wealth during his trip to England. He did not agree to study abroad; promises of neither money nor fame convinced him. Lefty asked for one thing - to go home as soon as possible. This simplicity and modesty became the reason for the hero’s inglorious death, which no one knew about. He was embarrassed by a comfortable cabin and high society, so he spent the entire journey across the winter sea on the deck, which is why he fell ill.

Arriving in St. Petersburg, he was unable to introduce himself and say that he was carrying out the tsar’s instructions. Therefore, he was robbed and was not admitted to any hospital except the simplest one for the poor, where he died. The author contrasted the image of Lefty with the Englishman who sailed with him, who was settled in a good hotel and cured. And Lefty died tragically because of his modesty and simplicity.

Lefty Character Traits

Love for the Motherland and a sense of responsibility to one’s state are the main character traits of Lefty. Master Lefty's last thought was the desire to convey to the Tsar at all costs that there is no need to clean guns with bricks. If he had been able to convey this, Russian military affairs would have been even more successful, but his request never reached the sovereign. Even dying, this simple Tula master remained true to his character, the main feature of which was to think first of all about the Fatherland, and not about himself.

In the image of Lefty N.S. Leskov showed the full depth of the Russian person: naive, simple and even funny, but for whom there is nothing dearer than the Orthodox faith and native side. Devotion to the Motherland, responsibility for its future and great natural skill - these are the qualities that underlie the characteristics of the hero of the tale “Lefty”.

Work test

Realizing the place and significance of N.S. Leskov in the literary process, we always note that he is an amazingly original writer. The external dissimilarity of his predecessors and contemporaries sometimes made him see in him a completely new phenomenon, which had no parallel in Russian literature. Leskov is brightly original, and at the same time you can learn a lot from him.He is an amazing experimenter who gave birth to a whole wave of artistic searches in Russian literature; He is a cheerful, mischievous experimenter, and at the same time extremely serious and deep, setting himself great educational goals.

Leskov’s creativity, one might say, knows no social boundaries. He brings out in his works people of various classes and circles: and landowners - from the rich to the semi-poor, and officials of all stripes - from the minister to the quarterly, and the clergy - monastic and parish - from the metropolitan to the sexton, and military men of various ranks and types of weapons, and peasants, and people from the peasantry - soldiers, artisans and every working person. Leskov willingly shows different representatives of the nationalities of Russia at that time: Ukrainians, Yakuts, Jews, Gypsies, Poles... Leskov’s versatility of knowledge of the life of each class, estate, and nationality is amazing. Leskov's exceptional life experience, his vigilance, memory, and his linguistic flair were needed to describe the life of the people so closely, with such knowledge of everyday life, economic structure, family relationships, folk art, and the folk language.

With all the breadth of coverage of Russian life, there is a sphere in Leskov’s work to which his most significant and famous works belong: this is the sphere of life of the people.

Who are the heroes of Leskov’s most beloved works by our readers?

Heroes" Sealed angel" - mason workers, "Left-handed" - blacksmith, Tula gunsmith, " Toupee artist"- serf hairdresser and theatrical make-up artist

To place a hero from the people at the center of the narrative, it is necessary First of all, master his language, be able to reproduce the speech of different layers of the people, different professions, destinies, ages. The task of recreating the living language of the people in a literary work required special art, when Leskov used the form of skaz.

The tale in Russian literature comes from Gogol, but was especially skillfully developed by Leskov and glorified him as an artist. The essence of this manner is that the narration is not conducted on behalf of a neutral, objective author; the narrative is narrated by a narrator, usually a participant in the events being reported. The speech of a work of art imitates the living speech of an oral story. Moreover, in a fairy tale, the narrator is usually a person from a different social circle and cultural layer to which the writer and the intended reader of the work belong. Leskov’s story is told by either a merchant, or a monk, or an artisan, or a retired mayor, or a former soldier. . Each narrator speaks in a way that is characteristic of his education and upbringing, his age and profession, his concept of himself, his desire and ability to impress his listeners.

This manner gives Leskov’s story a special liveliness. The language of his works, unusually rich and varied, deepens the social and individual characteristics of his heroes, and becomes for the writer a means of subtle assessment of people and events. Gorky wrote about Leskov's tale:"...The people of his stories often talk about themselves, but their speech is so amazingly alive, so truthful and convincing that they stand before you as mysteriously tangible, physically clear, as people from the books of L. Tolstoy and others, otherwise to say, Leskov achieves the same result, but with a different technique of mastery."

To illustrate Leskov’s storytelling style, let’s take some tirade from "Lefty" This is how the narrator describes, based on Lefty's impressions, the living and working conditions of English workers : “Every worker they have is constantly well-fed, is not dressed in rags, but each is wearing a capable tunic vest, shod in thick boots with iron knobs, so as not to get his feet on anything; he works not with a boilie, but with training and has for himself concepts. In front of everyone, in plain sight, hangs a multiplication dot, and under his hand is an erasable board: all the master does is look at the dot and compare it with the concept, and then he writes one thing on the board, erases another, and neatly puts together what is written on the numbers. , that’s what actually happens.”

The narrator did not see any English workers. He dresses them according to his imagination, combining a jacket with a vest. He knows that they work there “according to science”; in this regard, he himself has only heard about the “multiplication dot”, which means that a master who works not “by eye”, but with the help of “digits”, must check his products with it. The narrator, of course, does not have enough familiar words; he distorts or uses unfamiliar words incorrectly. “Shiblets” become “schiglets” - probably by association with panache. The multiplication table turns into a “chicken” - obviously because the students “chuck” it. Wanting to designate some kind of extension on the boots, the narrator calls it a knob, transferring to it the name of the extension on a stick.

Popular storytellers often reinterpret strange-sounding foreign words into Russian., which, with such alteration, receive new or additional meanings; Leskov especially willingly imitates this so-called “folk etymology” ". Thus, in “Lefty” the barometer turns into a “storm meter”, the “microscope” into a “small scope”, the “pudding” into a “studying” " etc. Leskov, who passionately loved puns, wordplay, witticisms, and jokes, filled “Levsha” with linguistic oddities. But their set does not give the impression of excess, because the immense brightness of the verbal patterns is in the spirit of folk buffoonery. And sometimes a verbal game not only amuses, but behind it there is a satirical denunciation.

The narrator in a tale usually addresses some interlocutor or group of interlocutors, the narrative begins and progresses in response to their questions and comments. At the core "Toupee artist" - the story of an old nanny to her pupil, a nine-year-old boy. This nanny is a former actress of the Oryol serf theater of Count Kamensky. This is the same theater that is described in Herzen’s story “The Thieving Magpie” under the name of the theater of Prince Skalinsky. But the heroine of Herzen’s story is not only a highly talented, but, due to exceptional life circumstances, also an educated actress. Leskov’s Lyuba is an uneducated serf girl, with natural talent capable of singing, dancing, and performing roles in plays “by sight” (that is, by hearsay, following other actresses). She is not able to tell and reveal everything that the author wants to tell the reader, and she cannot know everything (for example, the master’s conversations with his brother). Therefore, not the entire story is told from the perspective of the nanny; part of the events are presented by the author with the inclusion of excerpts and small quotes from nanny's story.

In Leskov's most popular work - "Lefty" we encounter a tale of a different kind. There is no author, no listeners, no narrator. More precisely, the author’s voice is heard for the first time after the completion of the tale: in the final chapter, the writer characterizes the story told as a “fabulous legend,” an “epic” of the masters, “a myth personified by folk fantasy.”

(*10) The narrator in “Lefty” exists only as a voice that does not belong to a specific, named person. This is, as it were, the voice of the people - the creator of the “gunsmith legend”.

"Lefty"- not an everyday tale, where the narrator narrates events he has experienced or personally known to him; here he retells a legend created by the people, as folk storytellers perform epics or historical songs. As in the folk epic, in “Lefty” a number of historical figures act: two kings - Alexander I and Nicholas I, ministers Chernyshev, Nesselrode (Kiselvrode), Kleinmichel, ataman of the Don Cossack army Platov, commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress Skobelev and others.

Contemporaries did not appreciate either “Lefty” or Leskov’s talent in general.They believed that Leskov was excessive in everything: he applied bright colors too thickly, put his characters in too unusual positions, forced them to speak in an exaggeratedly characteristic language, and strung too many episodes onto one thread. and so on.

Most associated with the creativity of the people "Lefty". At the very basis of its plot lies a comic saying in which the people expressed admiration for the art of Tula masters: "The Tula people shoed a flea". Used by Leskov and popularly used legends about the skill of Tula gunsmiths. Back at the beginning of the 19th century, an anecdote was published about how an important Russian gentleman showed an expensive English pistol to a craftsman at the Tula Arms Factory, and he, taking the pistol, “unscrewed the trigger and showed his name under the screw.” In “Lefty,” Platov arranges the same demonstration to prove to Tsar Alexander that “we have our own at home just as well.” In the English “armoury cabinet of curiosities”, (*12) taking the especially praised “pistol” in his hands, Platov unscrews the lock and shows the tsar the inscription: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.”

As we see, love for the people, the desire to discover and show the best sides of the Russian folk character did not make Leskov a panegyrist, did not prevent him from seeing the features of slavery and ignorance that his history imposed on the people. Leskov does not hide these traits in the hero of his myth about the brilliant master. The legendary Lefty and his two comrades managed to forge and attach horseshoes with nails to the legs of a steel flea made in England. On each horseshoe “the artist’s name is displayed: which Russian master made that horseshoe.” These inscriptions can only be seen through a “microscope that magnifies five million times.” But the artisans did not have any microscopes, but only “shot eyes.”

This is, of course, a fabulous exaggeration, but it has a real basis. Tula craftsmen have always been especially famous and are still famous for their miniature products, which can only be seen with the help of a strong magnifying glass.

Admiring the genius of Lefty, Leskov, however, is far from idealizing the people as they were, according to historical conditions, at that time. Lefty is ignorant, and this cannot but affect his creativity. The art of the English craftsmen was manifested not so much in the fact that they cast the flea from steel, but in the fact that the flea danced, wound up with a special key. Savvy, she stopped dancing. And the English masters, cordially welcoming Lefty, sent to England with a savvy flea , indicate that he is hampered by a lack of knowledge: "...Then you could have realized that in every machine there is a calculation of force, otherwise you are very skilled in your hands, but you did not realize that such a small machine, like in the nymphosoria, is designed for the most accurate accuracy and does not have shoeings cannot. Now the nymphosoria does not jump and dance through this.” Leskov attached great importance to this point. In an article devoted to the tale of Lefty, Leskov contrasts Lefty’s genius with his ignorance, and his (ardent patriotism) with the lack of concern for the people and homeland in the ruling clique. Leskov writes: “The reviewer of “New Time” notes that in Lefty I had the idea to bring out not one person, and that where it says “Lefty”, you should read “Russian people”.

Lefty loves his Russia with a simple-hearted and ingenuous love. He cannot be tempted by an easy life in a foreign land. He is eager to go home because he is faced with a task that Russia needs to complete; thus she became the goal of his life. In England, Lefty learned that the muzzles of guns should be lubricated, and not cleaned with crushed bricks, as was customary in the Russian army then, - which is why “bullets dangle in them” and guns, “God bless war, (...) are not suitable for shooting ". With this he hurries to his homeland. He arrives sick, the authorities did not bother to provide him with a document, the police completely robbed him, after which they began to take him to hospitals, but they would not admit him anywhere without a “tugament”, they threw the patient onto the floor, and finally, “the back of his head split on the paratha” . Dying, Lefty thought only about how to bring his discovery to the king, and still managed to inform the doctor about it. He reported to the Minister of War, but in response he received only a rude shout: “Know (...) your emetic and laxative, and don’t interfere with your own business: in Russia there are generals for that.”

In the story" Stupid artist" the writer depicts a rich count with an “insignificant face” that exposes an insignificant soul. This is an evil tyrant and tormentor: people he dislikes are torn to pieces by hunting dogs, executioners torment them with incredible tortures. Thus, Leskov contrasts truly courageous people from the people with “gentlemen”, maddened by immense power over people and imagining themselves courageous, because they are always ready to torment and to destroy people at their own whim or caprice - of course, with the hands of others. There were enough such “foreign hands” at the service of the masters: both serfs and civilians, servants and people appointed by the authorities to assist in every possible way the “powers of this world.” The image of one of the master's servants is vividly depicted in "The Stupid Artist". This is pop. Arkady, undaunted by the torture that threatens him, perhaps fatal, tries to save his beloved girl from the abuse (*19) of her by a depraved master. The priest promises to marry them and hide them at his place for the night, after which both hope to get into the “Turkish Khrushchuk”. But the priest, having previously robbed Arkady, betrays the fugitives to the count's people sent to search for the escaped ones, for which he receives a well-deserved spit in the face.

"Lefty"

ORIGINALITY OF NARRATION. LANGUAGE FEATURES. While discussing the genre uniqueness of the story, we said nothing about such a definition of the genre as “skaz”. And this is no coincidence. The tale as a genre of oral prose implies a focus on oral speech, narration on behalf of a participant in the event. In this sense, “Lefty” is not a traditional tale. At the same time, skaz can also be called such a way of storytelling, which involves “separation” of the narrative from the participant in the events himself. In “Lefty” exactly this process occurs, especially since the word “fable” is used in the story, suggesting the fantastic nature of the narrative. The narrator, being neither a witness nor a participant in the events, actively expresses his attitude to what is happening in various forms. At the same time, in the tale itself one can detect the originality of the position of both the narrator and the author.

Throughout the story the style of narration changes. If at the beginning of the first chapter the narrator outwardly unsophisticatedly sets out the circumstances of the emperor’s arrival in England, then successively talks about the events taking place, using colloquialisms, outdated and distorted forms of words, different types of neologisms etc., then already in the sixth chapter (in the story about the Tula masters) the narrative becomes different. It does not completely lose its colloquial character, however becomes more neutral, distorted forms of words and neologisms are practically not used . By changing the narrative style, the author wants to show the seriousness of the situation described.. It doesn't happen by chance even high vocabulary, when the narrator characterizes “the skilled people on whom the hope of the nation now rested.” The same kind of narrative can be found in the last, 20th chapter, which obviously, to summarize, contains the author's point of view, so its style differs from that of most of the chapters.

The narrator’s calm and apparently dispassionate speech often includes expressively colored words(for example, Alexander Pavlovich decided to “travel” around Europe), which becomes one of the forms of expressing the author’s position, deeply hidden in the text.

The narrative itself skillfully emphasizes intonation features of characters' speech(cf., for example, the statements of Alexander I and Platov).

According to I.V. Stolyarova, Leskov “directs readers’ interest to the events themselves”, which is facilitated by the special logical structure of the text: most of the chapters have an ending, and some have a kind of beginning, which makes it possible to clearly separate one event from another. This principle creates the effect of a fantastic manner. It can also be noted that in a number of chapters, it is at the end that the narrator expresses the author’s position: “And the courtiers who are standing on the steps all turn away from him, thinking: “Platov got caught and now they’ll drive him out of the palace,” that’s why they couldn’t stand him for bravery” (end of chapter 12).

It is impossible not to note the use of various techniques that characterize the features of not only oral speech, but also folk poetry in general: tautologies(“they shod on horseshoes”, etc.), peculiar forms of verbs with prefix(“I admired”, “send”, “clap”, etc.), words with diminutive suffixes(“palm”, “little belly”, etc.). It is interesting to pay attention to the entered text of the saying(“morning is wiser than night”, “snow on your head”). Sometimes Leskov can modify them.

ABOUT the mixing of different manners of narration is evidenced by the nature of neologisms. They can go into more detail describe an object and its function(two-seater carriage), scene(busters - combining the words busts and chandeliers, the writer gives a more complete description of the room in one word), action(whistles - whistle and messengers accompanying Platov), ​​designate foreign curiosities(marble coats - camel coats, etc.), the state of the heroes (waiting - waiting and agitation, an annoying couch on which Platov lay for many years, characterizing not only the hero’s inaction, but also his wounded pride). The appearance of neologisms in Leskov is in many cases due to literary play.

“Thus, Leskov’s tale as a type of narration was not only transformed and enriched, but also served to create a new genre variety: the tale. A fairy tale is distinguished by its great depth of coverage of reality, approaching in this sense the novel form. It was Leskov’s fairy tale that contributed to the emergence of a new type of truth-seeker, who can be put on a par with the heroes of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky” (Mushchenko E.G., Skobelev V.P., Kroychik L.E. S. 115). The artistic originality of “Lefty” is determined by the task of searching for special forms of expressing the author’s position to assert the strength of national character.