Eternal images of world literature in Russian prose. Eternal images

Eternal images are artistic images of works of world literature in which the writer, based on the vital material of his time, was able to create a lasting generalization applicable in the life of subsequent generations. These images acquire a nominal meaning and retain artistic significance right up to our time. These are also mythological, biblical, folklore and literary characters who clearly expressed moral and ideological content that is significant for all mankind and were repeatedly embodied in the literature of different peoples and eras. Each era and each writer puts their own meaning into the interpretation of each character, depending on what they want to convey to the outside world through this eternal image.

An archetype is a primary image, an original; universal human symbols that form the basis of myths, folklore and culture itself as a whole and are passed down from generation to generation (stupid king, evil stepmother, faithful servant).

In contrast to the archetype, which primarily reflects the “genetic”, original characteristics of the human psyche, eternal images are always a product of conscious activity, have their own “nationality”, time of occurrence and, therefore, reflect not only the universal human perception of the world, but also a certain historical and cultural experience embodied in an artistic image. The universal character of eternal images is given by “the kinship and commonality of the problems facing humanity, the unity of the psychophysiological properties of man.

However, representatives of different social strata at different times invested their own, often unique, content into “eternal images,” i.e., eternal images are not absolutely stable and unchanging. Each eternal image has a special central motif, which gives it the corresponding cultural meaning and without which it loses its significance.

One cannot but agree that it is much more interesting for people of a particular era to compare an image with themselves when they themselves find themselves in the same life situations. On the other hand, if an eternal image loses significance for the majority of a social group, this does not mean that it disappears forever from that culture.

Each eternal image can experience only external changes, since the central motive associated with it is the essence that forever assigns a special quality to it, for example, Hamlet has the “fate” of being a philosophizing avenger, Romeo and Juliet - eternal love, Prometheus - humanism. Another thing is that the attitude towards the very essence of the hero can be different in each culture.

Mephistopheles is one of the “eternal images” of world literature. He is the hero of J. V. Goethe’s tragedy “Faust”.

Folklore and fiction from different countries and peoples often used the motif of an alliance between a demon - the spirit of evil and a person. Sometimes poets were attracted by the story of the “fall”, “expulsion from paradise” of the biblical Satan, sometimes by his rebellion against God. There were also farces that were close to folklore sources; in them the devil was given the place of a mischief maker, a cheerful deceiver who often got into trouble. The name "Mephistopheles" has become synonymous with a caustic and evil mocker. This is where the expressions arose: “Mephistophelian laughter, smile” - sarcastic and evil; “Mephistophelian facial expression” - sarcastic and mocking.

Mephistopheles is a fallen angel who has an eternal debate with God about good and evil. He believes that a person is so corrupt that, succumbing to even a slight temptation, he can easily give his soul to him. He is also confident that humanity is not worth saving. Throughout the entire work, Mephistopheles shows that there is nothing sublime in man. He must prove, using the example of Faust, that man is evil. Very often in conversations with Faust, Mephistopheles behaves like a real philosopher who follows human life and its progress with great interest. But this is not his only image. In communication with other heroes of the work, he shows himself from a completely different side. He will never leave his interlocutor behind and will be able to maintain a conversation on any topic. Mephistopheles himself says several times that he does not have absolute power. The main decision always depends on the person, and he can only take advantage of the wrong choice. But he did not force people to sell their souls, to sin, he left the right of choice to everyone. Each person has the opportunity to choose exactly what his conscience and dignity allow him to do. eternal image artistic archetype

It seems to me that the image of Mephistopheles will be relevant at all times, because there will always be something that will tempt humanity.

There are many more examples of eternal images in literature. But they have one thing in common: they all reveal eternal human feelings and aspirations, try to solve eternal problems that torment people of any generation.

According to the modern illustrated encyclopedia "Literature and Language":

“Eternal images” are mythological, biblical, folklore and literary characters who clearly expressed moral and ideological content that is significant for all mankind and have been repeatedly embodied in the literature of different countries and eras (Prometheus, Odysseus, Cain, Faust, Mephistopheles, Hamlet, Don Juan , Don Quixote, etc.). Each era and each writer puts its own meaning into the interpretation of one or another eternal image, which is due to their multi-colored and multi-valued nature, the wealth of possibilities inherent in them (for example, Cain was interpreted both as an envious fratricide and as a brave fighter against God; Faust - as a magician and a miracle worker, as a lover of pleasure, as a scientist, obsessed with a passion for knowledge, and as a seeker of the meaning of human life; Don Quixote - as a comic and tragic figure, etc.). Often in literature, characters are created as variations of eternal images, which are given different nationalities. features, or they are placed in a different time (as a rule, closer to the author of the new work) and/or in an unusual situation (“Hamlet of the Shchigrovsky district” by I.S. Turgenev, “Antigone” by J. Anouilh), sometimes they are ironically reduced or parodied (satirical story by N. Elin and V. Kashaev “Mephistopheles’ Mistake”, 1981). Characters whose names have become household names in the world and national world are also close to eternal images. literature: Tartuffe and Jourdain (“Tartuffe” and “The Bourgeois in the Nobility” by J.B. Molière), Carmen (the short story of the same name by P. Merimee), Molchalin (“Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboyedov), Khlestakov, Plyushkin (“ The Inspector" and "Dead Souls" by N.V. Gogol), etc.

In contrast to the archetype, which primarily reflects the “genetic”, original characteristics of the human psyche, eternal images are always a product of conscious activity, have their own “nationality”, time of occurrence and, therefore, reflect not only the specifics of the universal human perception of the world, but also a certain historical and cultural experience embodied in an artistic image.

The Directory of Literary Terms gives the following definition:

“Eternal images” are artistic images of works of world literature, in which the writer, based on the vital material of his time, was able to create a lasting generalization applicable in the life of subsequent generations. These images acquire a nominal meaning and retain artistic significance right up to our time.

Thus, Prometheus summarizes the features of a person who is ready to give his life for the good of the people; Antea embodies the inexhaustible power that an inextricable connection with his native land, with his people gives to a person; in Faust - man’s indomitable desire to understand the world. This determines the meaning of the images of Prometheus, Antaeus and Faust and the appeal to them by advanced representatives of social thought. The image of Prometheus, for example, was extremely highly valued by K. Marx.

The image of Don Quixote, created by the famous Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes (XVI - XVII centuries), personifies a noble, but devoid of vital soil, dreaming; Hamlet, the hero of Shakespeare's tragedy (XVI - early XVII centuries), is a common image of a divided person, torn by contradictions. Tartuffe, Khlestakov, Plyushkin, Don Juan and similar images live for many years in the consciousness of a number of human generations, since they summarize the typical shortcomings of a person of the past, stable traits of human character, brought up by feudal and capitalist society.

“Eternal images” are created in a certain historical setting and only in connection with it can they be fully understood. They are “eternal,” that is, applicable in other eras, to the extent that the human character traits generalized in these images are stable. In the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, there are often references to such images for their application in a new historical situation (for example, the images of Prometheus, Don Quixote, etc.).

In the context of this course work, the definition of “eternal images” from the reference book of literary terms is much closer in meaning than the similar definition of a modern illustrated encyclopedia, and I will take it as a basis.

So, “eternal images” are artistic images of works of world literature in which the writer, based on the vital material of his time, was able to create a lasting generalization applicable in the life of subsequent generations.

If people from different centuries could meet and talk about literature or simply about life, then the names of Hamlet, Faust, Don Juan would unite the interlocutors. These heroes seem to come out of the works and live their own independent lives; painters and sculptors, composers, playwrights, and poets try to create their portraits; they dedicate their works to them. There are many monuments in the world to heroes who have left the pages of books.

The tragic Hamlet, the dissolute Don Juan, the mysterious Faust, the dreamy Don Quixote - these are the images I explored in my work.

The history of literature knows many cases when the works of a writer were very popular during his lifetime, but as time passed, they were forgotten almost forever. There are other examples: the writer was not recognized by his contemporaries, but the real value of his works was discovered by subsequent generations.

But there are very few works in literature, the importance of which cannot be overestimated, because they create images that excite every generation of people, images that inspire the creative search of artists of different times. Such images are called “eternal” because they are carriers of traits that are always inherent in a person.

Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra lived out his life in poverty and loneliness, although during his lifetime he was known as the author of the talented, vivid novel “Don Quixote.” Neither the writer himself nor his contemporaries knew that several centuries would pass, and his heroes would not only not be forgotten, but would become “the most popular Spaniards,” and their compatriots would erect a monument to them. That they will emerge from the novel and live their own independent lives in the works of prose writers and playwrights, poets, artists, composers. Today it is even difficult to list how many works of art were created under the influence of the images of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza: Goya and Picasso, Massenet and Minkus turned to them.

The immortal book was born from the idea of writing a parody and ridiculing the chivalric romances that were so popular in Europe in the 16th century, when Cervantes lived and worked. And the writer’s plan expanded, and on the pages of the book his contemporary Spain came to life, the hero himself changed: from a parody knight he grows into a funny and tragic figure. The conflict of the novel is both historically specific (it reflects the writer’s contemporary Spain) and universal (for it exists in any country at all times). The essence of the conflict: the clash of ideal norms and ideas about reality with reality itself - not ideal, “earthly”.

The image of Don Quixote has also become eternal due to its universality: always and everywhere there are noble idealists, defenders of goodness and justice, who defend their ideals, but are unable to really assess reality. Even the concept of “quixoticism” arose. It combines a humanistic striving for the ideal, enthusiasm, lack of selfishness, on the one hand, and naivety, eccentricity, adherence to dreams and illusions, on the other. Don Quixote's inner nobility is combined with the comedy of her external manifestations (he is able to fall in love with a simple peasant girl, but sees in her only a Beautiful noble lady).

The second important eternal image of the novel is the witty and earthy Sancho Panza. He is the complete opposite of Don Quixote, but the heroes are inextricably linked, they are similar to each other in their hopes and disappointments. Cervantes shows with his heroes that reality without ideals is impossible, but they must be based on reality.

A completely different eternal image appears before us in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. This is a deeply tragic image. Hamlet understands reality well, soberly assesses everything that happens around him, and firmly stands on the side of good against evil. But his tragedy is that he cannot take decisive action and punish evil. His indecisiveness is not a sign of cowardice; he is a brave, outspoken person. His hesitation is a consequence of deep thoughts about the nature of evil. Circumstances require him to kill his father's killer. He hesitates because he perceives this revenge as a manifestation of evil: murder will always remain murder, even when a villain is killed. The image of Hamlet is the image of a person who understands his responsibility in resolving the conflict between good and evil, who stands on the side of good, but his internal moral laws do not allow him to take decisive action. It is no coincidence that this image acquired a special resonance in the 20th century - an era of social upheaval, when each person solved for himself the eternal “Hamlet question”.

Several more examples of “eternal” images can be given: Faust, Mephistopheles, Othello, Romeo and Juliet - they all reveal eternal human feelings and aspirations. And each reader learns from these images to understand not only the past, but also the modern.

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ESSAY

ETERNAL IMAGES IN WORLD LITERATURE

Mephistopheles is one of the “eternal images” of world literature. He is the hero of J. V. Goethe’s tragedy “Faust”.

It seems to me that the image of Mephistopheles will be relevant at all times, because there will always be something that will tempt humanity.

Posted on Allbest.ru

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Eternal images

Mythological, biblical, folklore and literary characters who clearly expressed moral and ideological content significant for all mankind and were repeatedly embodied in the literature of different countries and eras (Prometheus, Odysseus, Cain, Faust, Mephistopheles, Hamlet, Don Juan, Don Quixote, etc. ). Each era and each writer puts its own meaning into the interpretation of one or another eternal image, which is due to their multi-colored and multi-valued nature, the wealth of possibilities inherent in them (for example, Cain was interpreted both as an envious fratricide and as a brave fighter against God; Faust - as a magician and a miracle worker, as a lover of pleasure, as a scientist, obsessed with a passion for knowledge, and as a seeker of the meaning of human life; Don Quixote - as a comic and tragic figure, etc.). Often in literature, characters are created as variations of eternal images, which are given different nationalities. features, or they are placed in a different time (usually closer to the author of the new work) and/or in an unusual situation (“Hamlet of Shchigrovsky District” by I.S. Turgeneva, " Antigone” by J. Anouilh), sometimes ironically reduced or parodied (the satirical story by N. Elin and V. Kashaev “The Mistake of Mephistopheles”, 1981). Characters whose names have become household names in the world and national world are also close to eternal images. literature: Tartuffe and Jourdain (“Tartuffe” and “The Bourgeois in the Nobility” by J.B. Moliere ), Carmen (short story of the same name by P. Merimee ), Molchalin (“Woe from Wit” by A. S.. Griboedova ), Khlestakov, Plyushkin (“The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls” N.V.. Gogol

) and etc. Unlike archetype

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .

See what “eternal images” are in other dictionaries:

- (worldwide, “universal”, “age-old” images) they mean images of art that, in the perception of a subsequent reader or viewer, have lost their originally inherent everyday or historical meaning and from ... ... Wikipedia

Literary characters to whom the utmost artistic generality and spiritual depth impart an all-human, all-time significance (Prometheus, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Hamlet, Faust, Majnun) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Eternal images- ETERNAL IMAGES, mythological and literary characters, to whom the utmost artistic generality, symbolism and inexhaustibility of spiritual content impart a universal, timeless meaning (Prometheus, Abel and Cain, the Eternal Jew, Don... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Mythological and literary characters to whom the utmost artistic generality, symbolism and inexhaustibility of spiritual content impart universal, universal significance (Prometheus, Abel and Cain, the Eternal Jew, Faust, Mephistopheles, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

eternal images- literary characters to whom extreme artistic generality and spiritual depth impart universal, timeless meaning. Category: artistic image Example: Hamlet, Prometheus, Don Juan, Faust, Don Quixote, Khlestakov Eternal images... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

eternal images- artistic images that, having arisen in specific historical conditions, acquire such obvious ahistorical significance that subsequently, turning into unique symbols, so-called supertypes, they appear again and again in... ... Dictionary of literary terms

Or, as idealist criticism called them, world, “universal”, “eternal” images. They mean images of art that, in the perception of a subsequent reader or viewer, have lost their originally inherent everyday or historical... Literary encyclopedia

Prominent Soviet critic and literary critic. Genus. in Chernikhovo town, Volyn province. in a wealthy Jewish family. From the age of 15 he participated in the Jewish labor movement, and from 1905 in the Bund. During the reaction period, he emigrated abroad, where he studied... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Isaac Markovich (1889) a prominent Soviet critic and literary critic. R. in Chernikhovo town, Volyn province. in a wealthy Jewish family. From the age of 15 he participated in the Jewish labor movement, and from 1905 in the Bund. During the reaction period he emigrated abroad, where... ... Literary encyclopedia

IMAGE- artistic, a category of aesthetics that characterizes a special way of mastering and transforming reality, inherent only in art. O. is also called any phenomenon creatively recreated in a work of art (especially often ... ... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

Books

Art. Eternal images of art. Mythology. 5th grade. Textbook. Vertical. Federal State Educational Standard, Danilova Galina Ivanovna. The textbook opens the author's line of G.I. Danilova in art. It introduces the most valuable heritage of humanity - the works of ancient and ancient Slavic mythology. Contains a large…
Art. 6th grade. Eternal images of art. Bible. Textbook for general education. institutions. Federal State Educational Standard, Danilova Galina Ivanovna. The textbook introduces the most valuable asset of humanity - works of art created on biblical subjects. Contains extensive illustrative material that provides a visual…