Ritual folklore. Poetry of the autumn cycle

Introductory part. The term "folklore" history of the genre, the concept of ritual folklore.

Main part.

Bibliography.

Introductory part:

Folklore (eng. folklore) - folk art, most often oral; artistic collective creative activity of the people, reflecting their life, views, ideals; poetry created by the people and existing among the masses (legends, songs, ditties, anecdotes, fairy tales, epics), folk music (songs, instrumental tunes and plays), theater (dramas, satirical plays, puppet theater), dance, architecture, fine and arts and crafts. The term “folklore” was first introduced into scientific use in 1846 by the English scientist William Toms, as a set of structures integrated by word and speech, regardless of what non-verbal elements they are associated with. It would probably be more accurate and definite to use the old one from the 20-30s. terminology that has fallen out of use. the phrase “oral literature” or not very specific sociological. limitation “oral folk literature”.

This use of the term is determined by different concepts and interpretations of the connections between the subject of folkloristics and other forms and layers of culture, the unequal structure of culture in different countries of Europe and America in those decades of the last century when ethnography and folkloristics arose, different rates of subsequent development, different composition of the main fund of texts, which science used in each country.

Thus, folklore is oral folk art - epics and songs, proverbs and sayings, fairy tales and conspiracies, ritual and other poetry - reflected the idea of ​​Russian people about their past and the world around them. The epics about Vasily Buslaevich and Sadko glorify Novgorod with its bustling city life and trade caravans sailing to overseas countries. The Russian people created a huge oral literature: wise proverbs and cunning riddles, funny and sad ritual songs, solemn epics, heroic, magical, everyday and funny tales. It is vain to think that this literature was only the fruit of popular leisure. She is the dignity and intelligence of the people. She formed and strengthened his moral character, was his historical memory, the festive clothes of his soul and filled with deep content his entire measured life, flowing according to the customs and rituals associated with his work, nature and the veneration of his fathers and grandfathers.

Folk musical art originated long before the emergence of professional music in the Orthodox church. In public life ancient Rus' folklore played a much greater role than in subsequent times. Unlike medieval Europe, Ancient Rus' did not have secular professional art. In its musical culture, only two main areas developed - temple singing and folk art of the oral tradition, including various, including “semi-professional” genres (the art of storytellers, buffoons, etc.).

By the time of Russian Orthodox hymnography, folklore had a centuries-old history, an established system of genres and means of musical expression. Folk music has firmly entered the everyday life of people, reflecting the most diverse facets of social, family, and personal life. Researchers believe that in the pre-state period (that is, before Kievan Rus was formed), the Eastern Slavs had a fairly developed calendar and family life. ritual folklore, heroic epic and instrumental music.

Songs, epics, riddles, and proverbs have reached us through many centuries, and it is often difficult to separate the early basis of a folklore work from later layers. Researchers of folk art identify “ritual folklore” as a separate group, associated with the agricultural calendar and rooted in ancient pagan beliefs. These are the songs and dances performed on Maslenitsa, on the day of Ivan Kupala, and Christmas carols. Ritual folklore also includes wedding songs and fortune telling.

In order to perceive the richness of ancient Russian ritual poetry, you need to know what rituals we are talking about, when and why they were performed, and what role the song played in this. The ritual, as a certain process, was a normative, strictly regulated religious act, subordinate to the canon that had developed over the centuries. He was born in the depths of the pagan picture of the world, the deification of natural elements. Calendar-ritual songs are considered the most ancient. Their content is associated with ideas about the cycle of nature and the agricultural calendar. These songs reflect the different stages of life of peasant farmers. They were part of winter, spring, and summer rituals that correspond to turning points in the change of seasons. When performing the ritual, people believed that their spells would be heard by the mighty gods, the forces of the Sun, Water, and Mother Earth and would send them a good harvest, offspring of livestock, and a comfortable life. Ritual songs were considered the same obligatory component of the ritual as the main ritual actions. It was even believed that if all ritual actions were not performed and the songs accompanying them were not performed, then the desired result would not be achieved. They accompanied the first plowing and harvesting of the last sheaf in the field, youth celebrations and Christmas or Trinity holidays, christenings and weddings.

Calendar-ritual songs belong to the oldest type of folk art, and they got their name due to their connection with the folk agricultural calendar - the schedule of work according to the seasons.

Calendar-ritual songs, as a rule, are small in volume and simple in poetic structure. They contain anxiety and jubilation, uncertainty and hope. One of the common features is the personification of the main image associated with the meaning of the ritual. Thus, in Christmas songs, Kolyada is depicted walking around the yards, looking for the owner, giving him all sorts of benefits. WITH similar images- Maslenitsa, Spring, Trinity - we meet in many calendar songs. The songs beg, call for goodness from these strange creatures, and sometimes reproach them for deceit and frivolity.

In their form, these songs are short poems, which in one stroke, two or three lines, indicate a mood, a lyrical situation.

Russian folk ritual poetry is closely connected with the old traditional way of life and at the same time conceals an amazing wealth of poetry that has stood the test of time for centuries.

Let's consider some types of calendar-ritual songs:

Caroling began on Christmas Eve, December 24th. This was the name of the festive rounds of houses with the singing of carols, in which the owners of the house were glorified and contained wishes for wealth, harvest, etc.

Carols were sung by children or youth who carried a star on a pole. This star symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, which appeared in the sky at the moment of the birth of Christ.

The owners presented the carolers with sweets, cookies, and money. If the owners were stingy, the carolers sang mischievous carols with comic threats, for example:

Won't you give me the pie?
We take the cow by the horns.
You won't give me guts -
We are a pig by the whisky.
Won't you give me a blink -
We are the host in the kick.

The beginning of the year was given special significance. How you spend the New Year will be the same for the whole coming year. Therefore, we tried to keep the table plentiful, people cheerful, wishing each other happiness and good luck.

Cheerful short carols were the song form of such wishes.

One of the types of New Year's songs were sub-bread songs. They accompanied New Year's fortune-telling. V. A. Zhukovsky in the poem “Svetlana” retells one of the most popular sub-bowl songs:

…Blacksmith,
Forge me gold and a new crown,
Forge a gold ring.
I should be crowned with that crown,
Get engaged with that ring
At the holy levy.

You can compare it with the folklore version:

The blacksmith is coming from the forge, glory!
The blacksmith carries three hammers, glory!
Skuy, blacksmith, a golden crown for me, glory!
From the samples I have a gold ring, glory!
From the leftovers, a pin for me, thank you!
To be crowned with this crown, glory!
Get engaged with that ring, glory!
And I’ll use that pin to pin the lining, thank you!
To whom we sing a song, goodness, glory to him!
It will come true, it will not fail, glory!

The famous underwater song is quoted in the 5th chapter of “Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin.

Characterizing Maslenitsa songs, it can be noted that in them, Maslenitsa is scolded, ridiculed, called upon to return, called by comic human names: Avdotyushka, Izotyevna, Akulina Savvishna, etc.

V.I. Dal wrote that each day of Maslenitsa had its own name: Monday - meeting, Tuesday - flirting, Wednesday - gourmet, Thursday - wide Thursday, Friday - mother-in-law's evening, Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers, Sunday - farewell. This same week it was customary to go sledding down the mountains.

As for the Trinity cycle, it can be noted that it was the richest in calendar and ritual songs, games, and round dances. No wonder poetic images and the melodies of these songs attracted the attention of many Russian writers, for example A. N. Ostrovsky: Lelya’s famous song “The cloud conspired with thunder” and the ritual song of the Trinity cycle:

The cloud conspired with thunder:
Dolya-lyoly-lyo-lyo!
“Let’s go, cloud, for a walk in the field,
To that field, to Zavodskoye!
You with the rain, and I with the mercy,
You water it, and I’ll grow it!”...

as well as composers (the song “There was a birch tree in the field...” in P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, “The Snow Maiden” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.).

Spring rituals were performed during the main days of the year, Lent, so they had almost no festive playful character.

The main spring genre is stoneflies. They, in fact, were not sung, but clicked, climbing onto hillocks and roofs. They called for spring and said goodbye to winter.

Some stoneflies are reminiscent of the lines “Cockroaches” or “Cockroaches” or “Cockroaches” (“cockroaches to drums”), familiar from childhood.

Here is one of the stoneflies of this kind:

...Tits, tits,
Bring a knitting needle!
Canaries,
Canaries,
Bring some sewing!
Rosary beads, tap beads,
Bring me a brush!
Then, ducks,
Blow the pipes
Cockroaches -
To the drums!

With the adoption of Christianity, pagan beliefs gradually lose their meaning. The meaning of magical acts that gave rise to this or that type of folk music was gradually forgotten. However, the purely external forms of ancient holidays turned out to be unusually stable, and ritual folklore continued to live as if out of connection with the paganism that gave birth to it.

The Christian Church (not only in Rus', but also in Europe) had a very negative attitude towards traditional folk songs and dances, considering them a manifestation of sinfulness and devilish seduction. This assessment is recorded in many chronicles and in canonical church decrees. For example, the answers of the Kyiv Metropolitan John II to the 11th century writer are known. Yakov Chernorizets, which says about the priests: “Those persons of the priestly rank who go to worldly feasts and drink, the holy fathers command to observe decorum and accept what is offered with a blessing; when they come in with games, dances and music, then you must, as the fathers command, get up (from the table), so as not to defile your feelings with what you can see and hear, or completely abandon those feasts or leave at a time when there will be a great temptation."

The negative reaction of the Orthodox Church was caused by a very specific area of ​​folklore, born in the depths of the so-called “laughing” or “carnival” culture of Ancient Rus'. Noisy folk festivals with elements of theatrical performance and with the indispensable participation of music, the origins of which should be sought in ancient pagan rituals, were fundamentally different from temple holidays. “Laughter” culture has always been a “distorting mirror” of reality, an absurd “stupid” life, where everything was the other way around, everything changed places - good and evil, bottom and top, reality and fantasy. These holidays are characterized by turning clothes inside out and using matting, bast, straw, birch bark, bast and other carnival paraphernalia for dressing up.

I would like to draw special attention to the fact that such outstanding Russian writers, poets, and composers as A. S. Pushkin, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, S. A. Yesenin, M. I. were interested in ritual poetry. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, P.I. Tchaikovsky and others. Many episodes of “The Snow Maiden” by A.N. Ostrovsky are based on the motifs of stone flies.

Used Books:

Russian folk poetic creativity: Reader / Ed. A. M. Novikova. - M., 1978;

Russian folk poetry: Ritual poetry / Comp. K. Chistov, B. Chistova. - L., 1984;

Kruglov Yu. G. Russian ritual songs. - M., 1982;

Poetry of peasant holidays. - L., 1970; Nursery rhymes, counting rhymes, fables. - M., 1989.

Putilov B.N. Folklore and folk culture // Putilov B.N. Folklore and folk culture; In memoriam. St. Petersburg, 2003. P. 95.

Sedakova O.A. Poetics of ritual. Funeral rituals of the Eastern and Southern Slavs. M., 2004.

Folklore and ethnography of the Russian North. L., 1973. S. 3-4.

Bayburin A.K., Toporkov A.L. At the origins of etiquette. L., 1990. P. 5.

Tolstaya S.M. Ritual voting: semantics, vocabulary, pragmatics // The sounding and silent world. Semiotics of sound and speech in the traditional culture of the Slavs. M., 1999. P. 135.

Nevskaya L.G. Balto-Slavic lamentation. Reconstruction of semantic structure. M., 1993. P. 108.

Eremina V.I. Historical and ethnographic origins of common places of lamentation // Russian folklore: Poetics of folklore. L., 1981. T. 21. P. 84.

Chistov K.V. On the question of the magical function of funeral lamentations // Historical and ethnographic studies on folklore: Collection of articles in memory of Sergei Aleksandrovich Tokarev. M., 1994. P. 273.

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Introduction

Chapter 1 Cycles and composition of calendar ritual poetry

Chapter 3 Lamentations as a genre

Chapter 4 Conspiracies

Chapter 5 Fairy Tale

Chapter 6 Non-fairy prose

Chapter 7 Non-ritual lyrics. Lyric song

Chapter 8 Folk Drama

Chapter 9 Children's folklore

Chapter 11 Ditties

Chapter 12 Riddle

Conclusion

Used Books

Introduction

Folklore is folk wisdom. Folkloristics is the study of folklore. Folklore combines different types arts (music, pagan and Christian rituals and traditions). The core of folklore is the word. Folklore is a phenomenon, not an art; it combines arts. And above all, this is a synthetic phenomenon. At the time of the formation of folklore, syncretism should be attributed (mutually; penetration; unity; coherence.) One of the most important qualities of folklore is the oral nature of its existence. The genre of folklore dies when its work ceases to be passed on from mouth to mouth. Variability is widely developed in folkloristics (everyone who hears information conveys it in their own way). Tradition in folklore is rules, frameworks that must be observed. Contamination is the merging of several plots into one. Folklore reflects the people's position, education, morality, and worldview.

a) 1 – ritual poetry. Ritual complexes associated with the calendar cycle and human economic and agricultural activities are identified.

2 – Ritual complexes associated with human life (everyday) – birth, naming, initiation, wedding ceremony, funeral.

3 – Ritual complexes associated with the physical, moral state of a person and with everything that lives in his house (conspiracies).

b) 1 – Non-ritual poetry. Epic (epic, fairy tale, ballad) and non-fairy tale (legend, tradition, true story, spiritual poems). Lyrics (lyric song). Drama (folk drama): inviting balagennyh grandfathers, Petrushka theater.

c) Small folklore genres (ditty, proverb, lullaby, sayings, nursery rhymes).

1 – Children’s folklore (riddles, teasers, nursery rhymes, etc.);

2 – Proverbs + sayings;

3 – Riddles;

Chapter 1 Cycles and composition of calendar ritual poetry

There is folklore associated with the preparation of the harvest (October - end of July - winter and spring-summer periods). The main rituals at this time are Christmastide (12/25-01/06), Maslenitsa (8 weeks before Easter) and Kupala (from June 23 to 24). As well as folklore associated with harvesting (autumn period - stubble time)

Poetry of the winter cycle.

Passive rite - fortune telling. Active – caroling. Both were accompanied by Christmas ritual songs, respectively, of two varieties - subservient songs and carols. Subtle songs (with the help of allegories and symbols, fortunetellers were promised wealth, prosperity, successful marriage or, conversely) have a fortune-telling, not an incantatory character, but the ending of the songs is affirming, conjuring fate. This brings them closer to spells and carols that have a magical effect. Fortune telling could come down to either the interpretation of phenomena observed by humans, or to actions performed by the fortune tellers themselves and by people or animals on their orders.

Caroling is the walking of young people around the huts, with special songs that have three names according to the chorus called out by the carolers: carols (“Oh, Kolyada!”), Ovsen (“Oh, Ovsen, Tausen!”) and grapes (“Vinogradye, red- my green!”). Carols are very archaic in content, which was determined by their purpose. The main goal of the carolers was to wish the owners goodness, wealth, and prosperity. Some carols have an air of magnificence; they idealize the wealth and well-being of a peasant family. Distinctive feature carols of the majestic type - their generalized nature. Another obligatory topic related to the purpose of carols is a request for a treat or reward. In many carols, a request or requirement for a treat is its only content. Another theme of carols is a description of walking, searching for Kolyada, the magical actions of carolers, ritual food, i.e. elements of the ritual itself. Carol composition:

1) appeal to Kolyada, search for her by carolers;

2) magnification, description of a ritual or request for a reward;

3) a wish for well-being, a request for alms.

Maslenitsa and Maslenitsa rituals.

In the center of the Maslenitsa holiday stands symbolic image Maslenitsa The holiday itself consists of three parts: a meeting on Monday, a revelry or turning point on the so-called Broad Thursday, and farewell. Songs for Maslenitsa can be divided into two groups. The first - meeting and honoring, has the appearance of grandeur. They glorify the wide, honest Maslenitsa, its dishes, and entertainment. She is completely called Avdotya Izotyevna. The character of the songs is cheerful and playful. The songs accompanying the farewell to Maslenitsa are somewhat different. They talk about the upcoming fast. The singers regret the ending of the holiday. Here Maslenitsa is already a dethroned idol, she is no longer magnified, but is called disrespectfully “a deceiver.”

Maslenitsa was usually interpreted primarily as a celebration of the victory of spring over winter, life over death.

Spring-summer cycle. Trinity-Semitic rites.

The first spring holiday - welcoming spring - falls in March. These days, in the villages, figurines of birds (larks or waders) were baked from dough and distributed to girls or children. Vesnyankas are ritual lyrical songs of the incantatory genre. The ritual of “spell” spring was imbued with the desire to influence nature in order to obtain a good harvest. Imitating the flight of birds (throwing larks from dough) was supposed to cause the arrival of real birds, the friendly onset of spring. Images of spring and birds dominate the stoneflies. Stoneflies are characterized by a form of dialogue or address in the imperative mood. Unlike a conspiracy, spring flowers, like carols, are performed collectively, which is expressed in appeals on behalf of a group of people. Spring festivities and youth games continued, starting from Red Hill, throughout April, May and June, despite the heavy field and garden work. At these festivities, drawn-out play and round dance songs were performed that had no ritual significance. Their themes - family, love - are revealed in everyday life.

Trinity-Semitic Week: Semik - the seventh Thursday after Easter, Trinity - the seventh Sunday, also called the “Russian” week or “green Christmastide”. This is a girl's holiday, taking place surrounded by blooming nature - in a field outside the outskirts, in a grove. The character of this holiday is determined by its main image - birch trees. The girls, dressed smartly and taking treats with them, went to “curl” birch trees. The girl's holiday was also accompanied by fortune telling. The girls wove wreaths and threw them into the river. By the wreath that floated far away, washed ashore, stopped, or sank, they judged the fate that awaited them. Fortune telling by wreaths was widely reflected in songs performed both during fortune telling and without regard to it.

Ivan Kupala holiday. The summer solstice holiday was celebrated on the night of Ivan Kupala (from June 23 to 24). This is a celebration of "full bloom of vegetation." During the Kupala holidays they do not help the earth, but, on the contrary, they try to take everything from it. On this night, medicinal herbs are collected. Whoever finds the fern, it was believed, will be able to find the treasure.

Funeral of Kostroma. At the same time (before Peter's Day, June 28), the holiday of Yarila or Kostroma was celebrated, which meant farewell to summer until a new revival of the forces of the earth. The central episode of the ritual is the funeral of Yarila, Kupala or Kostroma. The image of Kostroma is similar to the image of Maslenitsa. The cheerful funeral of Kostroma is similar to the same funeral of Maslenitsa.

Poetry of the autumn cycle.

Autumn rituals among the Russian people were not as rich as winter and spring-summer ones. They did not have a special calendar date and accompany the harvest. Zazhinki (the beginning of the harvest), dozhinki or obzhinki (the end of the harvest) - such work was done with the help of neighbors and was called “help” or “cleaning” - accompanied by songs. But these songs do not have a magical character. They are directly related to the labor process. The leading motive of such songs is an appeal to the harvesters. Dozhin songs are more diverse in theme and artistic techniques. They tell about the harvest and the custom of treating the reapers-tolochans. In pre-harvest songs there are elements of glorification of rich hosts who have treated the reapers well.

Chapter 2 Composition and classification of family and household ritual complexes

Family ritual poetry accompanied ceremonies celebrating major events in a person’s life – the birth of a child, the creation of a family, recruitment, death. These rites, like the calendar ones, were accompanied by the performance poetic works, some of which had a ritual origin, others - a wider sphere of existence. Works of the first kind: wedding, recruitment and funeral lamentations; Great songs, sentences, proverbs and dialogues are an integral part of maternity, recruitment and wedding rites. Works of the second kind: various kinds songs, ditties, riddles, proverbs.

Wedding ceremony.

Marriage was considered by peasants primarily as an economic act of kinship between two families pursuing mutual benefit, and the acquisition of one of them as a new worker and continuator of the family.

The wedding ceremony was divided into 3 main rituals: 1 – pre-wedding cycle (matchmaking, collusion, hand-waving or singing, marriage, bachelorette party, bathhouse); 2 – wedding ceremony (gatherings and blessing of the bride, coming to pick up the bride, wedding, wedding feast); 3 – post-wedding (awakening of the newlyweds, withdrawal or separation). Wedding lamentations - the bride had to mourn her lot, regret her girlhood and happy life V parental home and express your ill will towards the groom and his family. All this found expression in the parable - poetic genre, which is a lyrical outpouring, a monologue of great emotional tension and insight, in which traditional poetic images are combined and developed with the help of improvisation into bright contrasting pictures of a happy girlish and unhappy married life.

In addition to the bride's laments, wedding poetry also includes songs dedicated to different episodes of the wedding. A special genre wedding songs, distinguished by their function and artistic specificity, are magnifications. Greatnesses pursued the goal of endowing those being honored with all the qualities that, in the opinion of the peasant, a happy person should have. There is no doubt about the ancient magical basis of exaltations, in which what is desired is presented as reality and is depicted colorfully and idealized. A majestic song has a descriptive character, it is a portrait song, a characteristic song, and not individual, but typical. The majestic song is characterized by richly developed and precise symbolism and parallelisms associated not only with the concept of wealth, prosperity, happiness, but also with the marital status of those being magnified. In addition to the songs of praise that create positive images, at the wedding there were comic, parody glorifications - reproachful songs. In meaning and imagery, they parodied real grandeurs, creating an unattractive, diminished, but also typical portrait of owners, matchmakers, boyfriends, etc. They were performed when the girls received little for their previous glory and wanted to ridicule the “poverty” and stinginess of the guests and hosts.

Funeral rite.

The main genre of the funeral ritual is lamentation. After declaring death, there is a lamentation on the topic: why did you leave, a request to stand up, open your eyes, and forgive offenses. Next is a crying warning. When bringing an empty coffin into the house - lamentation and gratitude to those who made the coffin. When carrying out a dead person, there are lamentations that the person will not return. When carrying a lamentation to a cemetery, in which the plot is similar to the grief of loss plus a notification. When lowered into the grave, lamentation - a request to return. When returning from the cemetery, lamentation is an imaginary search plus crying about the foreshadowing of troubles for the family. According to custom, on the day of the funeral there is a ritual dinner - a wake (trizna). The funeral service should not have been received with tears. On the contrary, it was necessary to eat more (give honor). Third day – funeral, wake; ninth day - the soul finally leaves the earth; the fortieth day is the complete ascent of the soul along 40 steps to the gates of heaven. You should definitely visit the grave on your anniversary and on parent’s day.

Chapter 3 Lamentations as a genre

Lamentations can be wedding, recruiting, funeral. The tales did not have a specific form or plot.

Recruitment ritual- of later origin than wedding and funeral rites. It took shape at the beginning of the 18th century, after Peter the Great introduced universal conscription (1699). Seeing off to “serve the sovereign” for 25 years for a peasant family was tantamount to the death of a recruit; entailed ruin and economic decline. In the army itself, there were frequent cases of brutal reprisals against soldiers, so the recruit’s relatives lamented over him as if he were dead. This ritual contained almost no magical or symbolic moments (sometimes the recruit was charmed from illnesses, and especially from bullets).

The purpose of conspiracies, like ritual poetry, was to have a magical effect on nature. Over time, the conspiracy acquired the meaning of a spell in words and, in connection with this, became a stable poetic formula, most often built on a comparison of a real action or phenomenon with the desired one and used to achieve therapeutic or other goals. An important feature of the conspiracy is belief in the magical power of words. There are two types of conspiracies: white - aimed at getting rid of illnesses and troubles and containing elements of prayer (witchcraft) - and black - aimed at causing damage, harm, used without prayer words (witchcraft associated with evil spirits). The use of spells in most cases was combined either with various types of traditional medicine, or with symbolic actions - echoes of ancient magic. By topic, conspiracies are divided into 3 groups: medicinal - against illness and painful condition of people and domestic animals, as well as against damage; economic - agricultural, livestock breeding, fishing - against drought, weeds, for taming domestic animals, hunting, fishing; aimed at regulating public and personal relationships between people: love sugars and cures for illnesses, to attract honor or favor. Christianity has had a great influence on conspiracies. Christian images healing saints and prayers were supposed to strengthen the authority of the magical formula at a time when pagan beliefs had already been forgotten by the people. Composition of spells: introduction (usually a prayer address), beginning (indicating where the speaker or the person being spoken should go and what he should do); the main part (containing an expression of desire, an appeal-demand, dialogue, action followed by a listing, expulsion of the disease) and fastenings (again a prayer appeal).

Chapter 5 Fairy Tale

Folk tale.

A fairy tale is a genre of non-ritual folklore. The most ancient genre in folklore. The genre is epic, narrative. A fairy tale is a work that is based on fiction. Initially, the fairy tale was not fun. A fairy tale is what they say. The most famous collector and publisher of fairy tales is A.N. Afanasyev (he replenished his stock of fairy tales from the records of P.I. Yakushin). He divided fairy tales into:

1. tales about animals;

2. short story tales;

3. fairy tales are magical.

Now the classification of fairy tales has changed. Highlight:

1 – cumulative;

2 - magical;

3 – tales about animals;

4 – adventurous;

5 – household;

6 – novelistic;

7 – satirical;

8 – fairy tales of the children's dramatic genre;

Folk dramatic art is a set of forms of dramatic creativity in different genres (round dance songs, ritual poetry). The degree of dramatization and theatricalization in different genres of folklore is different. It manifests itself in two forms: 1 – in the dramatic performance of epic and lyrical works; 2 – in the performance of folk plays by actors or puppets.

Chapter 9 Children's folklore

Children's folklore - works created by children and existing among them. But many works are invented and performed by adults for children (lullabies, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, tongue twisters). One of the regularities is a desirable element in a children's fairy tale - a hero-peer. National genres are distinguished (proverbs, sayings, riddles). This is a genre for both children and adults. But within this genre itself there will still be an age division. Vinogradov also noticed that in rituals, ritual complexes, there are actions entrusted to children. For example: magpies, stoneflies. Or, for example, singing Christ’s words is a child’s prerogative. Over time, caroling and Christ-speaking merged together. Now they have disappeared almost completely. But there are genres that live almost forever - sadistic poems, horror stories.

Chapter 10 Proverbs and sayings

A proverb is a short, stable in speech, rhythmically (proverbs were rhythmic, because this contributed to their faster memorization, in a time when there was no written language), organized figurative folk saying, which has the ability to be used in multiple meanings in speech according to the principle of analogy. To these properties it is also worth adding nationality, instructiveness, and categorical affirmation or denial. The most significant of all collections of proverbs is recognized as the collection by V.I. Dahl "Proverbs of the Russian people." It includes over 30,000 proverbs, sayings and other “small” genres of Russian folklore. The secret of the origin of proverbs is hidden in them themselves. Many proverbs invade the sphere of business relations and customs and become part of them. Initially, there were short sayings (“Mosquitoes hustle - go to the bucket”; “Dry March, but wet May give good bread”), expressing advice, household rules that had to be obeyed. The emergence of sayings is associated with the appearance in speech of stable figurative expressions that serve to compare similar phenomena. Structurally, the proverb is an image that defines either persons (“a pig under an oak tree” - ungrateful; “not one of the brave dozen” - a coward) or circumstances (“when the cancer whistles on the mountain”, “after the rain on Thursday”). The content of a saying determines its place in a sentence as a grammatical component - it acts as either a subject, or a predicate, or an object, or a circumstance. On this basis, attempts have been made to grammatically classify sayings.

Chapter 11 Ditties

Ditties – new genre Russian folk poetry. Their appearance dates back to the second half of the 19th century. Chastooshkas are a small genre of folk lyrics, usually four-line or two-line songs, which are a lively response to the phenomena of life, with a clear positive or negative assessment, in which jokes and irony play an important role: ditties express the direct reaction of their authors and performers to what is depicted in them. The reasons that gave rise to the miniature form of folk lyrics - ditties, were: a significant disruption of life, a rapid change in its phenomena, which caused the need to quickly express attitudes towards them and determined the multi-subject nature of the ditties. Chastushki originated among peasants. They arose on a general folklore basis and go back to many genres, as if combining their features. At the same time, it is especially closely connected with some genres. The process of birth of ditties is associated with the transformation of the traditional lyrical song and its reduction in new conditions. The genre features of ditties include their extreme brevity and economy of expression and transmission. life content, plot situations and experiences of the characters. Chastushki has several structural types. The main ones are: -two; -four; - six lines. In addition, two more types can be distinguished: ditties without a chorus and ditties with a chorus. Couples are most often love ditties (I have suffered, I will suffer, Whom I love, I will not forget). Quatrains are the most common form. It expresses all the basic forms and situations (They say that she is not white. What should we do, dear? Girls paint and bleach themselves, I wash myself with water.). Sixth lines – rare form. It is obviously older and more connected with the traditional song (Early in the morning, my mother woke me up: - Get up, daughter, get up, - Having finished my work. I didn’t want to get up, Having sat with my dear one.). All three of these forms usually do not have a chorus. However, there are ditties in which the chorus plays an important expressive role; At the same time, he can link ditties into entire songs.

Chapter 12 Riddle

A riddle is an allegorical image of an object or phenomenon that is proposed to be guessed. It consists of two parts: the riddle itself and the answer. The riddle and the answer are organically linked. In most cases, the answer names an object or action, and the riddle is its metaphorical image. In a riddle, it is important to highlight the main, main features of the riddle. Often riddles rhyme. Characteristic of most riddles is a tale verse. Riddle is an ancient genre. Its ancient existence is indicated by the spread of riddles among peoples with an underdeveloped culture. The riddle can be included in a fairy tale (“The Greedy Old Woman”) and in songs (songs of groomsmen at a wedding).

Conclusion

I have only superficially examined some genres of Russian folklore.

Many more questions remained unanswered. However, even this superficial study shows what a huge path of development Russian folklore has gone through.

He went down in the history of our country as an active participant in our entire life, of each person individually, from birth to his death.

Throughout life, folklore helps a person live, work, relax, helps make decisions, and also fight enemies.

Used Books

1. Russian folklore / Ed. V. P. Anikina; - M.: Khud. Lit., 1985. –367 pp.;

2. T. M. Akimova, V. K. Arkhangelskaya, V. A. Bakhtina / Russian folk poetic creativity (a manual for seminar classes). – M.: Higher. School, 1983. – 208 p. ;

3. L. N. Tolstoy Epics / Reprint. Preface V. P. Anikina; - M.: Det.Lit., 1984. – 32 p. ;

4. Kruglov Yu. G. Russian ritual songs: Textbook. manual for teachers Institute for special "Russian" language or T.". – 2nd ed., rev. and additional – M.: Higher. school 1989. –320 p.

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Specifics of folklore as art

Orthoepy allows two variants of pronunciation of the word “fololkl” O r" and "folklore".

The term "folklore" folklore), accepted in international science about a hundred years ago and entered into Russian usage a little later, means “folk wisdom” in translation. In some countries, folklore refers to the entire folk culture - from clothing and national cuisine to lullabies.

In our country, folklore usually means folklore, in other words - oral literature as a body of texts.

Fine literature and folklore. Similarities and differences, form of existence

There are fundamental differences between folklore and literature that reveal the specificity of folklore.

Literature represents a special the sphere of spiritual activity - the sphere of art. The same can be said about folklore. But to say this does not mean to say everything. Folklore- This area of ​​folk culture, it covers national life, is associated with work and leisure, social and everyday relations.

Each social group develops its own folklore, expressing the collective identity of this group. Much in Russian folklore created peasants : after all, the former Russia was a peasant country. The population of medieval cities and settlements - artisans, handicraftsmen, townspeople, traders - made a great contribution to Russian folklore. townspeople . For a long time in in cities there were jokes and fairy tales, works of heroic epic. There is no doubt that the Novgorod epics have an urban origin.

In fact, there is all-Russian folklore(many proverbs and sayings) is the folklore of various groups, distinguished according to the following characteristics:

Local (folklore of the Yaik Cossacks, folklore of Mezen),

Confessional (folklore of sectarians),

Professional (folklore of lumberjacks or railway workers),

Age (children's folklore).

The fundamental differences between folklore and literature concern the nature of artistic creativity. Literature is the art of words.

Folklore too. However, this is oral folk art. Therefore, very the performing principle plays an important role in folklore. The same fairy tale sounds differently in the mouths of storytellers of different talents. They talk about the syncretism of folklore, that is, about the combination in oral creativity of the expressive means of different arts - verbal, musical, theatrical, etc.

Creative process in folklore and literature it proceeds differently. In literature creativity is individual, in folklore it is collective. It means that a folklore work expresses not individual self-awareness, but the worldview of the group in which it lives et.

In folklore there is no individual authorial self-awareness, and it is incorrect to talk about the “anonymity” of folklore works. An anonymous person is a person who hides his name. In folklore, no one hides anything, and in it in general there is no concept of "author". Folklore text is in constant motion. Folklore performers are a kind of “co-authors”, “editors”: they do not create anything fundamentally new, but tell and sing what is known to many.

Types of world folklore

Types of world folklore: archaic, classical and modern.
Archaic folklore develops among peoples at a primitive stage of development. There is no written language yet, and all culture is oral. Therefore, in this case we can talk about panfolklore: it embraces the entire culture of an ethnic group. This is the folklore of people with mythological thinking.

Classical folklore develops in an era when states are formed and writing and literature emerge, but relations between people largely remain patriarchal.

Here artistic time and artistic space are formed, artistic fiction appears, and a genre system takes shape.

The most important thing is that modern folklore develops in close proximity to popular culture. Cheap songbooks, a pulp novel, a popular book - all this feeds on folk art and at the same time nourishes it.

Poetics of archaic folklore

Mythology reflects the most primitive level of human thinking, which has not yet learned cause-and-effect patterns, has not learned to generalize and has not developed abstract concepts, has not separated the cosmic from the biological, the human from the animal. Myth is the most ancient poetry.

Mythology is not only an ancient, pagan worldview, but also a system of thinking that is in development

Etiological(“causal”, explanatory) – myths that explain the appearance of various natural and cultural features and social objects – stories about the origin of animals and objects.

Cult– explaining the origin of the cult action. If a cult myth is esoteric, it can be highly sacralized.

Cosmogonic- (less archaic and more sacralized) - tell about the origin of the cosmos as a whole and its parts connected in a single system.

Anthropogonic– myths about the origin of man, or tribal ancestors (totemia).

Astral- about stars and planets. Solar and lunar - about the sun (marked positively) and the moon (negative). Better represented in developed mythologies. Masculine and feminine principles.

Twins- about wonderful creatures, represented in the form of twins and acting as the ancestors of the tribe.

Totemic- the idea of ​​supernatural kinship between a certain group of people and totemic species of animals and plants.

Calendar myths– cycle of calendar rituals, agricultural magic.

Heroic- exploits and lives of heroes.

Eschatological– about the end of the world (the gods punish people for crimes).

Mythology- this is a kind of philosophy that determined the “rules” of behavior of primitive man and found specific, practical embodiments in rite (ritual).

In the most archaic myths, the creation of the world is attributed to ancestors, in which the animal principle is not separated from the human. These totemic ancestors act simultaneously both as demiurges (creators of the world) and as cultural heroes(creators of human culture). Current status the world - relief, celestial bodies, animal breeds and plant species, way of life, social groups and religious institutions, all natural and cultural objects - turns out to be a consequence of events of a long time past and the actions of mythical cultural heroes.

Thus, in Chukotka and Kamchatka there is a cycle of myths about Vorone-Kutkhe. Raven takes a handful of earth from the vast ocean and creates dry land. He steals balls containing celestial bodies from the keeper of the light. By cunning he obtains water from its keeper and spits it out in the form of rivers. He carves salmon and other types of fish from various types of trees. Finally, Raven makes a man out of wood, leaves and stones. The raven, therefore, is both an ancestor, a demiurge, and a cultural hero. For all that, Raven was not at all an object of religious cult. Along with significant deeds, he commits a lot of unsuccessful ones; he is not only a serious cultural hero, but also a prankster who achieves his goals with dexterity, cunning and deception. When he fails, they laugh at Raven. The unity of the serious and the comic is characteristic of all archaic mythology. This mythological prankster was called trickster .

In a late-birth society, cultural heroes acquire a human appearance. They are no longer occupied with creating the world, but with obtaining cultural objects necessary for man in his struggle with nature. First of all, this is making fire and developing healthy grains. In addition, cultural heroes fight against monsters that interfere with the peaceful life of people and personify the forces of nature or aliens hostile to humans. Such cultural heroes are well known to us from ancient greek mythology(Hercules, Prometheus).

It is in archaic mythology that many genres of folklore originate, which will be formed much later.

Genre features of classical folklore

Each genre has its own artistic world and special treatment to reality.

The concept of genre, both folklore and literary, associated with the artistic laws of reality transformation

Development of the genre

Each genre goes through a full cycle in its development:

Generated by certain socio-historical circumstances,

The period of its productive development begins,

Stabilization time

Aging and death.

This happened in the 30-40s of the 20th century, when some folklorists tried to create a Soviet epic, the so-called “novina” - epic texts about the new reality - with the help of epic poetics. This led to the creation of such artistic wonders:

Here the hero sat down in a high-speed ZIS,

Is it like the armored tank?

Yes, I went to Razdolitsa, an open field

Yes, along that cross path.

Let's leave this text without comment.

It can be said that the genre picture of Russian folklore does not represent a monolithic whole.

Firstly, ancient genres coexist with more recent ones.

Secondly, the diversity of the genre picture of Russian folklore is explained by the huge scale of settlement of Russians- from the Baltic Sea coast to the shores Pacific Ocean. As Russians migrate local artistic traditions emerged. This makes classical Russian folklore extremely colorful:

Next to the ancient spells live the bullet spells from the times of the First world war,

Next to the archaic ritual of curling a birch tree is a New Year tree. Thus, classical folklore - complex connection archaic and modern forms.

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Genres of Russian folklore

Fairy tales, songs, epics, street performances - all these are different genres of folklore, folk oral and poetic creativity. You can’t confuse them, they differ in their specific characteristics, their role in people’s life is different, and they live differently in modern times. At the same time, all genres of verbal folklore have common characteristics: they are all works of verbal art, in their origins they are associated with archaic forms of art, they exist mainly in oral transmission, and are constantly changing. This determines the interaction of the collective and individual principles in them, a unique combination of traditions and innovation. Thus, the folklore genre is a historically developing type of oral poetic work. Anikin V.P. gave his characteristics to folklore. Childbirth: epic, lyric, drama

Types: song, fairy tale, non-fairy tale prose, etc.

Genres: epic, lyrical, historical song, legend, etc.

Genre is the basic unit of study of folklore. In folklore, genre is a form of mastering reality. Over time, depending on changes in everyday life and the social life of the people, the system of genres developed.

There are several classifications of folklore genres:

Historical classification Zueva Tatyana Vasilievna, Kirdan Boris Petrovich	Classification by functionality Vladimir Prokopyevich Anikin
Early traditional folklore * Labor songs, * Fortune telling, conspiracies. Classic folklore * Rituals and ritual folklore: calendar, wedding, lamentations. * Small genres of folklore: proverbs, sayings, riddles. * Non-fairy prose: legends, stories, tales, legends. * Song epic: epics, historical songs, spiritual songs and poems, lyrical songs. * Folklore theatre. * Children's folklore. Folklore for children. Late traditional folklore * Ditties * Workers' folklore * Folklore of the Second World War period	Household ritual folklore 1. Labor songs 2. Conspiracies 3. Calendar folklore 4. Wedding folklore 5. Lamentations Worldview non-ritual folklore 1. Proverbs 2. Oral prose: legends, stories, tales, legends. 3. Song epic: epics, historical songs, military songs, spiritual songs and poems. Artistic folklore 2. Riddles 3. Ballads 4. Lyrical songs 5. Children's folklore 6. Spectacles and folk theater 7. Romance songs 8. Ditties 9. Jokes

Starting to analyze each genre of folklore, let's start with fairy tales.

Fairy tales are the oldest genre of oral folk art. It teaches a person to live, instills optimism in him, and affirms faith in the triumph of goodness and justice.

A fairy tale is of great social value, consisting in its cognitive, ideological, educational and aesthetic meanings, which are inextricably linked. Like other peoples (Russians, perhaps, more clearly), a fairy tale is an objectified contemplation of the people’s heart, a symbol of their sufferings and dreams, hieroglyphs of their soul. All art is generated by reality. This is one of the foundations of materialist aesthetics. This is the case, for example, with a fairy tale, the plots of which are caused by reality, i.e. era, social and economic relations, forms of thinking and artistic creativity, psychology. It, like all folklore in general, reflected the life of the people, their worldview, moral, ethical, socio-historical, political, philosophical and artistic and aesthetic views. It is closely connected with folk life and rituals. Traditional Russian fairy tales were created and circulated mainly among peasants. Their creators and performers were usually people with extensive life experience, who walked a lot in Rus' and saw a lot. The lower the level of education of people, the more they talk about the phenomena of social life at the level of ordinary consciousness. Maybe that’s why the world reflected in fairy tales is formed at the level of everyday consciousness, on everyday ideas people about beauty. Each new era brings tales of a new type, new content and new form. The fairy tale changes along with the historical life of the people, its changes are caused by changes in the folk life, because it is a product of the history of the people; it reflects the events of history and features folk life. Coverage and understanding of the history and life of the people in folklore changes along with changes in popular ideas, views and psychology. In fairy tales one can find traces of several eras. In the era of feudalism, social themes occupied an increasing place, especially in connection with peasant movement: fairy tales expressed anti-serfdom sentiments. The 16th-18th centuries are characterized by the rich development of fairy tales. It reflects historical motifs (tales about Ivan the Terrible), social ones (tales about judges and priests) and everyday tales (tales about a man and his wife). In the fairy tale genre, satirical motifs are significantly enhanced.

XYIII - first half of the 19th century. - The last stage of the existence of feudal-serf society. This time is characterized by the development of capitalist relations and the decomposition of serfdom. The fairy tale takes on an even more vivid social aspect. It includes new characters, most notably a smart and cunning soldier. In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which saw the increasingly rapid and widespread development of capitalism in Russia, great changes occurred in folklore. The satirical motives and critical orientation of the tale are intensified; the basis for this was the aggravation of social contradictions; The purpose of satire is increasingly becoming to expose the power of money and the arbitrariness of authorities. Autobiography occupied a greater place, especially in tales about going to the city to earn money. The Russian fairy tale becomes more realistic and acquires a closer connection with modernity. The illumination of reality and the ideological essence of the works also become different.

The educational significance of a fairy tale is manifested, first of all, in the fact that it reflects the features of real life phenomena and provides extensive knowledge about the history of social relations, work and life, as well as an idea of ​​​​the worldview and psychology of the people, and the nature of the country. The ideological and educational significance of the fairy tale is that it is inspired by the desire for good, protection of the weak, and victory over evil. In addition, a fairy tale develops an aesthetic sense, i.e. sense of beauty .

It is characterized by the revelation of beauty in nature and man, the unity of aesthetic and moral principles, the combination of reality and fiction, vivid imagery and expressiveness.

A fairy tale is a very popular genre of oral folk art, an epic genre, and a plot genre. A fairy tale differs from other prose genres (traditions and legends) in its more developed aesthetic side, which is manifested in its focus on attractiveness. The aesthetic principle, in addition, manifests itself in the idealization of positive heroes, a vivid depiction of the “fairy-tale world”, amazing creatures and objects, miraculous phenomena, and romantic overtones of events. M. Gorky drew attention to the expressions in fairy tales of people's dreams about a better life: “Already in ancient times, people dreamed of the opportunity to fly through the air - this is what the fairy tale talks about, about the flying carpet. We dreamed of accelerating movement on the ground - a fairy tale about running boots...”

In science, it is generally accepted to divide fairy tale texts into three categories: fairy tales, short story (everyday) tales and tales about animals.

Fairy tales were very popular among the people. Fiction in fairy tales has the nature of fantasy. The magical principle includes the so-called survival moments and, first of all, the religious-mythological view of primitive man, his spiritualization of things and natural phenomena, the attribution of magical properties to these things and phenomena, various religious cults, customs, and rituals. Fairy tales are full of motifs containing belief in the existence of the other world and the possibility of returning from there, the idea of ​​death enclosed in some material object (egg, flower), a miraculous birth (from drinking water), and the transformation of people into animals and birds. The fantastic beginning of a fairy tale grows on a spontaneous materialistic basis and remarkably correctly captures the patterns of development of objective reality.

This is what M. Gorky called “an instructive invention - the amazing ability of human thought to look ahead of the fact.” The origin of science fiction has its vital roots in the peculiarities of the way of life and in the dream of people about domination over nature. All these are just traces of mythological ideas, since the formation of the classical form of a fairy tale ended far beyond the historical boundaries of primitive communal society, in a much more developed society. The mythological worldview only provided the basis for the poetic form of the fairy tale.

The important point is that the plots of fairy tales, the miracles they talk about, have a basis in life. This, firstly, is a reflection of the characteristics of the work and life of people of the tribal system, their relationship to nature, and often their powerlessness before it. Secondly, a reflection of the feudal system, primarily early feudalism (the king is the hero’s opponent, the struggle for inheritance).

A character in fairy tales is always a bearer of certain moral qualities. The hero of the most popular fairy tales is Ivan Tsarevich. He helps animals and birds, who are grateful to him for this and, in turn, help him. He is presented in fairy tales as a folk hero, the embodiment of the highest moral qualities - courage, honesty, kindness. He is young, handsome, smart and strong. This is the type of brave and strong hero.

A significant place in fairy tales is occupied by female heroines who embody the folk ideal of beauty, intelligence, kindness, and courage. The image of Vasilisa the Wise reflects the remarkable features of a Russian woman - a beauty, majestic simplicity, gentle pride in herself, a remarkable mind and a deep heart full of inexhaustible love. To the consciousness of the Russian people, this is exactly how female beauty was imagined.

The serious meaning of some fairy tales provided grounds for judgment on the most important issues of life. Thus, some fairy tales embody the freedom-loving aspiration and struggle of the Russian people against tyranny and oppressors. The composition of a fairy tale determines the presence of characters who are hostile to the positive heroes. The hero's victory over hostile forces is the triumph of goodness and justice. Many researchers have noted the heroic side of the fairy tale and its social optimism. A.M. Gorky said: “It is very important to note that folklore is completely alien to pessimism, despite the fact that the creators of folklore lived hard, their slave labor was meaningless by the exploiters, and personal life powerless and defenseless. But with all this, the collective seems to be characterized by the consciousness of its immortality and confidence in victory over all forces hostile to it.” Fairy tales in which social and everyday relations are at the center of the action are called social and everyday tales. In this type of fairy tales, the comedy of actions and verbal comedy are well developed, which is determined by their satirical, ironic, humorous nature. The theme of one group of fairy tales is social injustice, the theme of another is human vices, in which the lazy, stupid, and stubborn are ridiculed. Depending on this, two varieties are distinguished in social and everyday fairy tales. Social and everyday tales arose, according to researchers, in two stages: everyday - early, with the formation of the family and family life during the decomposition of the clan system, and social - with the emergence of class society and the aggravation of social contradictions during the period of early feudalism, especially during the disintegration of the serfdom. and during the period of capitalism. The growing lack of rights and poverty of the masses caused discontent and protest, and were the basis for social criticism. Positive hero social everyday tales- socially active, critical person. Hard work, poverty, darkness, and marriages often unequal in age and property status caused complications family relations and determined the appearance of stories about an evil wife and a stupid and lazy husband. Socially everyday fairy tales are distinguished by their acute ideological orientation. This is reflected, first of all, in the fact that the stories mainly have two important social themes: social injustice and social punishment. The first theme is realized in plots where a gentleman, merchant or priest robs and oppresses a peasant and humiliates his personality. The second theme is realized in stories where an intelligent and quick-witted man finds a way to punish his oppressors for centuries of lawlessness and makes them look ridiculous. In social and everyday fairy tales, the aspirations and expectations of the people are much more clearly expressed, the dream of a socially fair, happy and peaceful life. “In these fairy tales one can see the way of life of the people, their home life, their moral concepts and this crafty Russian mind, so inclined to irony, so simple-minded in its craftiness.”

Fairy tales, as well as some other genres of folklore prose, reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of peasant psychology, expressed the centuries-old dream of a happy life, of a certain “peasant kingdom.” The search for “another kingdom” in fairy tales is a characteristic motif. A fairy-tale social utopia depicts the people's material well-being, well-fed contentment; The man eats and drinks to his heart's content and has a "feast for the whole world." N. G. Chernyshevsky noted: “The poverty of real life is the source of life in fantasy.” The peasant judges a “happy” life for himself according to the example of those material goods owned by kings and landowners. The peasants had a very strong faith in the “good king”, and fairy tale hero becomes just such a king in many fairy tales. At the same time, the fairy-tale king, in his behavior, way of life, and habits, is likened to a simple peasant. The royal palace is sometimes depicted as a rich peasant courtyard with all the attributes of a peasant farm.

Tales about animals are one of the oldest types of folklore. Going back to ancient forms of reflecting reality in the early stages of human consciousness, fairy tales about animals expressed a certain degree of knowledge of the world.

The truth of fairy tales is that although they talk about animals, they reproduce similar human situations. The actions of animals more openly reveal inhumane aspirations, thoughts, reasons for the actions committed by people. Animal stories are all stories in which there is room not only for fun, but also for the expression of serious meaning. In fairy tales about animals, birds and fish, animals and plants act. Each of these tales has a meaning. For example, in the fairy tale about the turnip, the meaning turned out to be that no amount of strength, even the smallest one, is superfluous, and it happens that it is not enough to achieve a result. With the development of human ideas about nature, with the accumulation of observations, tales include stories about man's victory over animals and about domestic animals, which was the result of their instructions. The identification of similar features in animals and humans (speech - cry, behavior - habits) served as the basis for combining their qualities with human qualities in the images of animals; animals speak and behave like people. This combination also led to the typification of animal characters, which became the embodiment of certain qualities (fox - cunning, etc.). This is how fairy tales were acquired allegorical meaning. Animals began to mean people of certain characters. Animal images became a means of moral teaching. In fairy tales about animals, negative qualities are not only ridiculed (stupidity, laziness, talkativeness), but also the oppression of the weak, greed, and deception for profit are condemned. The main semantic aspect of fairy tales about animals is moral. Fairy tales about animals are characterized by bright optimism; the weak always come out of difficult situations. The connection of the fairy tale with the ancient period of her life is revealed in the motives of the fear of the beast, in overcoming fear of it. The beast has strength and cunning, but no human intelligence. At a later stage in the life of a fairy tale, images of animals acquire the meaning of social types. In such variants, in the image of a sly fox, a wolf and others, one can see human characters that arose in the conditions of a class society. Behind the image of the animal in them one can guess the social relations of people. For example, in the fairy tale “About Ersha Ershovich and his son Shchetinnikov” a complete and accurate picture of ancient Russian legal proceedings is given. In the fairy tales of every nation, universal themes receive a unique national embodiment. In Russians folk tales certain social relations are revealed, the way of life of the people is shown, their home life, their moral concepts, the Russian view, the Russian mind - everything that makes the fairy tale nationally distinctive and unique. The ideological orientation of Russian fairy tales is manifested in the reflection of the people's struggle for a wonderful future. Thus, we saw that the Russian fairy tale is a generalized, evaluative and purposeful reflection of reality, which expresses human consciousness, and in particular the consciousness of the Russian people. The old name of a fairy tale - fable - indicates the narrative nature of the genre. Nowadays, the name “fairy tale” and the term “fairy tale”, which began to come into use in the 17th century, are used among the people and in scientific literature. A fairy tale is a very popular genre of oral folk art, an epic, prose, plot genre. It is not sung like a song, but told. The fairy tale is distinguished by its strict form and the obligatory nature of certain moments. Fairy tales have been known in Rus' since ancient times. In ancient writing there are plots, motifs and images reminiscent of fairy tales. Telling fairy tales is an old Russian custom. In manuscripts of the 16th - 17th centuries. records of the fairy tales “About Ivan Ponamarevich” and “About the Princess and Ivashka the White Shirt” have been preserved. In the 18th century In addition to handwritten collections of fairy tales, printed publications began to appear. Several collections of fairy tales have appeared, which include works with characteristic compositional and stylistic fairy-tale features: “The Tale of the Thief Timoshka” and “The Tale of the Gypsy” in V. Levshin’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1780-1783), “The Tale of Ivan the Bogatyr” , a peasant’s son” in P. Timofeev’s collection “Russian Fairy Tales” (1787). In the 60s of the XIX century. A.N. Afanasyev released the collection “ Treasured tales", which included satirical tales about bars and priests. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. A number of important, well-prepared collections of fairy tales appear. They gave an idea of ​​the distribution of works of this genre, its state, and put forward new principles of collecting and publishing. After the October Revolution, collecting fairy tales, as well as collecting works of folklore in general, took on organized forms.

Mikhailova O. S. Considered: tales about animals. Historical roots tales about animals (animistic, anthropomorphic, totemistic ideas, folk beliefs). Evolution of the genre. Heroes of fairy tales about animals. Style. Absence of abstract fable allegorism. The satirical function of allegories. Irony. Paradoxical plot. Dialogue. Compositional features. Cumulative tales. Fairy tales. Miracle, magic as a fairy-tale-plot basis of fairy tales. Historical roots of fairy tales (mythological ideas, folk demonology, folk rituals, everyday prohibitions, magic, etc.). Poetic conventions of fairy tales. The main ideas of fairy tales. Compositional features. Features of the author's word. Dialogue. Fairy tales. Heroes and their functions. Fairytale chronotope. Everyday tales. The closeness of an everyday fairy tale to a short story. Ways of forming the genre of short story tales. Typology of everyday tales (family tales, about masters and servants, about the clergy, etc.). Poetics and style (everyday “groundedness”, entertaining plot, hyperbolization in the depiction of characters, etc.).

One cannot but agree with the opinion of V.P. Anikin that fairy tales seem to have subjugated time, and this applies not only to fairy tales. In each era they live their own special lives. Where does a fairy tale have such power over time? Let us think about the essence of the similarity that fairy tales have with equally stable, seemingly “timeless” truths expressed by proverbs. A fairy tale and a proverb are united by the extraordinary breadth of artistic generalization contained in them. Perhaps this property is revealed most clearly in allegorical tales.

The next genre is “epic”. The word “epic” is raised to the word “byl”; it means a story about what once happened, what happened, the reality of which they believed. The word "epic" as a term denoting folk songs with a specific content and specific artistic form. The epic is the fruit of artistic invention and poetic flight of imagination. But fiction and fantasy are not a distortion of reality. Epics always contain deep artistic and life truth. The content of the epic is extremely varied. Basically, this is an “epic” song, i.e. narrative in nature. The main core of the epic consists of songs of heroic content. The heroes of these songs do not seek personal happiness, they perform feats in the name of the interests of the Russian land. The main characters of the Russian epic are warriors. But the type of heroic epic is not the only one, although it is the most characteristic of the Russian epic. Along with heroic ones, there are epics of fairy-tale-heroic or purely fairy-tale character. Such, for example, are the epics about Sadko and his stay in underwater kingdom. An epic narrative can also have a social-everyday or family-everyday character (novelistic epics). Some of these epics can be identified in special group ballad songs. It is not always possible to draw the line between epic and ballad songs.

In folklore collections, epics of both heroic, fairy-tale, and novelistic nature are usually placed side by side. Such a combination gives a correct idea of ​​the breadth and scope of Russian epic creativity. Taken together, all this material forms a single whole - the Russian folk epic. Currently, we have a huge amount of epic material, and the epic can be well studied. From the end of the 17th century. epic plots (“Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Mikhailo Potyk”, etc.) penetrate into the handwritten story and, under the name “History”, “Word” or “Tale”, are presented as entertaining material for reading [9]. Some of these stories are very close to the epic and can be divided into verses, others are the result of complex literary processing under the influence of ancient everyday literature, fairy tales, Russian and Western European adventure novels. Such “histories” were very popular, especially in cities where genuine epics were written in the 17th - 18th centuries. was little known. The first collection containing epics in the proper sense is the “Collection of Kirsha Danilov,” first published by A.F. Yakubovich in 1804 under the title “Ancient Russian Poems.” It was most likely created in Western Siberia. The manuscript contains 71 songs, with notes for each text. There are about 25 epics here. Most of the songs were recorded from voices, the recordings are very accurate, many features of the singers’ language have been preserved, and the texts are of very great artistic value. Traditionally, Kirsha Danilov is considered the creator of the collection, but who is he and what is his role in compiling this first collection of epics and epics in Russia? historical songs, - unknown. The first collector of epics was Pyotr Vasilyevich Kireevsky (1808 - 1856). Kireyevsky not only collected songs himself, but also encouraged his friends and relatives to do this work. Among Kireyevsky’s collaborators and correspondents was the poet Yazykov (his chief assistant), Pushkin, Gogol, Koltsov, Dal, scientists of that time. The epics were published as part of ten issues of “Songs collected by P.V. Kireevsky (1860 - 1874). The first five issues contain epics and ballads, the second half is devoted mainly to historical songs. The collection contains recordings of epics made in the Volga region, in some central provinces of Russia, in the North and in the Urals; These records are especially interesting because many of them were made in places where epics soon disappeared and were no longer recorded. One of the most remarkable collections of epics is a collection published by Pavel Nikolaevich Rybnikov (1832 - 1885). Being exiled to Petrozavodsk, traveling around the province as secretary of the statistical committee, Rybnikov began to write down epics of the Olonets region. He recorded about 220 epic texts. The collection was published under the editorship of Bessonov in four volumes, “Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov” in 1861 - 1867. In addition to epics, this collection contains a number of wedding songs, lamentations, fairy tales, etc. The appearance of Rybnikov's collection was a great event in social and literary life. Together with Kireevsky's collection, it opened up a new field of science. Ten years after the appearance of Rybnikov’s collection, Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding went to the same places specifically for the purpose of recording epics. In two months he managed to record more than 300 texts. Some epics were recorded by him later, from singers who came to St. Petersburg. The collected songs entitled “Onega epics recorded by Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding in the summer of 1871” were published in one volume. There are 318 texts in total. The songs are arranged by region, village and performer. The texts were recorded with all the care and precision possible for the collector. From now on, arranging material by performer became the practice of publishing epics and fairy tales and continues to this day. The sixties were years of special attention to the poetry of peasants. During these years, “Folk Russian Tales” by A.N. Afanasyev (1855 - 1864), “Great Russian Tales” by I.A. Khudyakov (1863), “Proverbs of the Russian People” by V.I. Dahl (1861) were published. With the onset of the reaction of the 80s, interest in folk poetry falls for a while. Only in 1901 A.V. Markov published a small collection of “White Sea epics”. Markov moved to the far north and visited the eastern shore of the White Sea. In total, the collection contains 116 epics. The plot, style and form of existence of epics turned out to be significantly different here than in the Onega region. Several new subjects were found. In all respects, Markov’s collection significantly expanded the existing scientific understanding of the epic. One of the largest and most significant expeditions was the expedition of A.D. Grigoriev to the Arkhangelsk province, which lasted three summers. Over three summers of collecting work, he recorded 424 texts, which were subsequently published in three volumes entitled “Arkhangelsk epics and historical songs” (1904 - 1910). As a result, Grigoriev’s collection became the largest and one of the most interesting in Russian folklore. The records are highly accurate. For the first time, recording of epic melodies on a phonograph was widely used. A sheet music book is included with each volume. A detailed map of the North is attached to the entire publication, indicating the places where the epics were recorded. In 40 - 60 years. XIX century In Altai, the remarkable ethnographer Stepan Ivanovich Gulyaev recorded epics. Siberian records have great importance, since they often retain a more archaic form of plot than in the North, where epics have changed more. Gulyaev recorded up to 50 epics and other epic songs. His entire collection was published only in Soviet times. In the summer months of 1908 - 1909. brothers Boris and Yuri Sokolov made a folklore expedition to the Belozersky region of the Novgorod province. It was a well-organized scientific expedition. Its goal was to cover all the folklore of a given region with records. The predominant genres were fairy tales and songs, but unexpectedly epics were also found. 28 texts were recorded. Bylinas were collected not only in the North, in Siberia and the Volga region. Their existence in the 19th - 20th centuries. was discovered in places of Cossack settlements - on the Don, on the Terek, among the Astrakhan, Ural, and Orenburg Cossacks.

The largest collector of Don Cossack songs was A.M. Listopadov, who devoted fifty years of his life to this work (starting from 1892 - 1894). As a result of repeated trips to Cossack villages, Listopadov recorded a huge number of songs, including more than 60 epics; his notes provide a comprehensive picture of the Don epic in the form in which it was preserved by the beginning of the twentieth century. The value of Listopadov’s materials is especially enhanced by the fact that not only the texts, but also the tunes were recorded.

As a result of collecting work, it became possible to determine the features of the content and form of the Cossack epic, its plot composition, manner of execution, and to imagine the fate of the Russian epic in the Cossack regions. The merit of Russian scientists in the field of collecting epics is extremely great. Through their labors, one of the best assets of Russian history was saved from oblivion. national culture. The work of collecting epics was carried out entirely by individual enthusiasts who, sometimes overcoming various and very difficult obstacles, selflessly worked on recording and publishing monuments of folk poetry.

After the October Revolution, the work of collecting epics took on a different character. Now it is beginning to be carried out systematically and systematically by research institutions. In 1926-1928. The State Academy of Art Sciences in Moscow equipped an expedition under the slogan “In the footsteps of Rybnikov and Hilferding.” The epics of the Onega region are among the best, and the Onega region is among the richest in epic tradition. As a result of planned and systematic work, 376 texts were recorded, many of them in excellent preservation.

Long-term and systematic work was carried out by Leningrad scientific institutions. In 1926 -1929. The State Institute of Art History sent complex art history expeditions to the North, which included folklorists. In 1931 - 1933 work on the creation of folklore was carried out by the folklore commission of the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences in Petrozavodsk. A total of 224 texts were published in the collection. The publication is distinguished by a high scientific level. For each of the epics, salts are given for all variants known in science. In subsequent years, expeditions were also organized to study the epic genre. The collecting work of Russian scientists was intensive and fruitful both in pre-revolutionary and Soviet times. Much is stored in archives and is still waiting to be published. The number of published epics can be estimated at approximately 2,500 song units.

The concept of epics was also considered by V.V. Shuklin.

Epics and myths, the ancient epic genre of epics (North Russian people called them antiquities) took shape in the 10th century. The word epic, i.e. "truth". "act". Found in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. Its author begins his song “according to the epics of this time, and not according to the thoughts of Boyan.” The appearance of epics under Prince Vladimir is not accidental. His warriors performed their feats not on long campaigns, but in the fight against nomads, i.e. in plain sight, so they became available for epic chanting.

Also Anikin V.P. said that among oral works there are those by which the significance of folklore in folk life is primarily judged. For Russian folk, these are epics. Only fairy tales and songs stand next to them, but if we remember that ballads were both spoken and sung, then their predominance over other types of folklore will become clear. Epics differ from songs in their solemnity, and from fairy tales in the grandeur of their plot action. An epic is both a story and a majestic song speech. The combination of such properties became possible because epics arose in ancient times, when storytelling and singing were not yet separated as decisively as they happened later. Singing gave the storytelling solemnity, and storytelling through singing gave it a resemblance to the intonations of human speech. The solemnity of the tone corresponded to the glorification of the heroic deed in the epics, and the singing put the story into measured lines so that not a single detail would disappear from people’s memory. This is an epic, a song story.

It is also worth noting one of the genres of folklore, “legends,” which were discussed by T. V. Zueva and B. P. Kirdant.

Legends are prose works in which fantastic understandings of events are associated with phenomena of inanimate nature, with the world of plants, animals, and people (planet, people, individuals); with supernatural beings (God, saints, angels, unclean spirits). The main functions of legends are explanatory and moralizing. The legends are associated with Christian ideas, but they also have a pagan basis. In legends, man turns out to be immeasurably higher than evil spirits

Legends existed both oral and written. The term “legend” itself comes from medieval writing and translated from Latin language means "that which must be read".

The following genres can be combined into one. Since they have a lot in common, these are proverbs and sayings. Kravtsov N.I. and Lazutin S.G. said that a proverb is a small non-lyrical genre oral creativity; a form of saying that has entered into speech circulation, fitting into one grammatically and logically complete sentence, often rhythmic and supported by rhyme. It is characterized by extreme brevity and simplicity.

Sayings are closely related to proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings belong to small genres of folklore. In most cases they are even more concise than proverbs. Like proverbs, sayings are not specifically performed (they are not sung or told), but are used in lively colloquial speech. At the same time, sayings differ significantly from proverbs in the nature of the content, in the form, and in the functions performed in speech.

The collection and study of sayings went simultaneously with the collection and study of proverbs. N. P. Kolpakova, M. Ya. Melts and G. G. Shapovalova believed that the term “proverb” began to be used to designate a type of folk poetry only from the end of the 17th century. Previously, proverbs were called “parables.” However, the existence of proverbs as special sayings expressing popular judgments in figurative form can be noted in very distant times. folklore fairy tale epic riddle

Many specific historical events of ancient Rus' found echoes in proverbs. However, the historical value of the proverb lies not only in this, but mainly in the fact that it preserved many historically developed views of the people, for example, the idea of ​​​​the unity of the army and the people: “Peace stands before the army, and the army stands before peace”; about the strength of the community: “The world will stand up for itself”, “You cannot win over the world”, etc. It is impossible not to emphasize the opinion of N. S. Ashukin and M. G. Ashukina. The proverb captures the high ethical ideals of the working people, their love for their homeland: “The native side is the mother, the foreign side is the stepmother”; deep respect for work, skill, skill, intelligence, courage, truth, honesty. Many proverbs have been created on these topics: “You can’t catch a fish out of a pond without labor,” “Across the fields and the waste,” “Crafts have their trade,” “It’s time for business, fun time“,” “Ugly in face but good in mind,” “Learning is better than wealth,” “Truth is more valuable than gold,” “Poverty and honesty are better than profit and shame.” And, on the contrary, the proverb denounces laziness, deceit, drunkenness and other vices: “Laziness does no good, it dines without salt”, “Give him a flaky testicle”, “He spreads a leaf and aims to bite” (about duplicity), “He got drunk on honey , hung over with tears,” etc.

IN AND. Dahl also gave his own definition of a saying. A saying is a roundabout expression, figurative speech, a simple allegory, a circumlocution, a way of expression, but without a parable, without judgment, conclusion, application; this is the first half of the proverb.

Another major genre of folklore is the “riddle”. The object of a folk riddle is the diverse world of objects and phenomena surrounding a person.

The folk riddle also draws its images from the world of everyday objects and phenomena surrounding a person, which the worker encountered in the process of his activity.

The usual form of a riddle is a short description or a condensed story. Each riddle includes a hidden question: who is it? What is this? etc. In a number of cases, the riddle is expressed in a dialogical form: “Crooked and crafty, where did it run? - Green, curly, - watch out for you” (fence).

The riddle is distinguished by its two-part construction; it always involves a solution.

Many of the riddles have rhyming endings; in some, the first part rhymes, but the second part maintains the meter. Some riddles are based on the rhyming of words alone; The riddle rhymes with the answer: “What kind of matchmaker is there in the hut?” (grasp); “What kind of Samson is in the hut?” (screen).

The riddle is still preserved among the people not only as a means of entertainment, but also as a means of education, the development of children's intelligence and resourcefulness. The riddle answers the child's questions: what comes from? what is made of what? what are they doing? what is good for what?

The systematic collection of Russian folk riddles began only in the second half of the 19th century. By the 17th century Only records made by amateur collectors apply.

Proverbs and sayings

The collection and publication of proverbs began in the 17th century. However, in the most ancient collections, along with folk ones, proverbs of book origin were also included. The compilers discarded popular proverbs that were hostile to religion and the authorities. The most democratic tendencies in the selection and publication of folk proverbs appeared in N. Kurganov’s “Pismovnik” (1769), where the compiler included 908 proverbs.

In 1848, I. M. Snegirev published “Russian folk proverbs and parables.” His collection was dominated by genuine folk proverbs. Following Snegirev, in 1854. Proverbs were published by F. I. Buslaev. In a special article “Russian life and proverbs,” he commented on them from the point of view of mythological theory. In 1861 V. I. Dahl’s great work “Proverbs of the Russian People” was published, which included about 30,000 proverbs, sayings and other small genres of folk poetry. The most important collections of proverbs of the second half of the 19th century. and the beginning of the 20th century. there were collections: “Winged Words” by S. V. Maksimov (1890), “Aimed and Walking Words” by M. I. Mikhelson (1894), “The Life of the Russian People in their Proverbs and Sayings” by I. I. Illustrov (1915). Kravtsov N.I., Lazutin S.G. They believed that both proverbs and sayings, and riddles belong to the small (aphoristic) genres of folklore.

Riddles have much in common with proverbs and sayings in content and artistic form. However, they also have specific features, represent an independent genre of folklore.

The term “riddle” is of ancient origin. IN Old Russian language the word “guess” meant “to think”, “to reflect”. This is where the word “mystery” comes from. The riddle gives a substantive description of some phenomenon, the recognition of which requires considerable thought. Most often, riddles are allegorical in nature. Anikin V.P. said that the riddle emphasizes the variety of forms, the brightness of the colors of the world surrounding the peasant: “Red, round, oblong leaves” (rowan). Some riddles create a sound image: “I listen, I listen: sigh after sigh, but not a soul in the hut,” says the riddle about the dough, which makes a sound similar to a sigh during fermentation. Sound images appeared especially often in riddles about peasant work.

The world around a person is a mystery in constant movement: “Grayish, toothy, prowling the field, looking for calves, looking for guys” (wolf); “The small, hunchbacked one crossed the whole field, went through all the paddocks” (reap); “Five sheep eat up the stack, five sheep run away” (hands and tow).

I would like to say a little about “tradition.” Folklorists have not yet given a sufficiently satisfactory and substantiated definition of legends. Often in scientific literature, traditions and legends are mixed, although these are different genres. This is explained by proximity, as well as the presence of transitional forms, some of which are closer to legends, while others are closer to legends.

Legends are popularly called “bylya” and “byvalshchina”. They are characterized by historical themes. The legends are close to historical songs, but have a prosaic form, not a poetic one.

Legends - epic, i.e. narrative, plot genre. The collection of Russian folk legends was not carried out systematically.

You also cannot miss such a genre of folklore as “ditties”. Zueva T.V. and Kirdant B.P. emphasize that the most developed genre of late traditional folklore are ditties.

Chats are short rhymed lyrical songs that were created and performed as a lively response to various life phenomena, expressing a clear positive or negative assessment. Many ditties contain jokes or irony. The earliest ditties had six lines. The main type - four-line - was formed in the second half of the 19th century; it was performed with and without dance. The dance ditties themselves are also four-line, which are performed only to dance (for example, to a square dance).

In addition, there are two-line ditties: “suffering” and “Semyonovna”.

The chastushkas have varied, but repetitive, stable melodies, both drawn-out and fast. It is typical to perform many texts in one tune. In live existence, ditties are sometimes characterized by recitativeness.

Chastushki finally took shape in the last quarter of the 19th century. Simultaneously in different parts of Russia: in the center, middle and lower Volga region, in the northern, eastern and southern provinces.

Ditties are main genre peasant lyrics in later traditional folklore. And finally, I would like to consider a few more genres of folklore—all varieties of “songs.” Which are described in detail by S.V. Alpatov, V.P. Anikin, T.B. Dianova, A.A. Ivanova, A.V. Kulagina. Definition of the genre and the question of the limitation of the term “historical song”. The difference between a historical song and an epic. Continuity of historical songs with epics. Historical song as a stage in the development of epic creativity. Principles of selective, interested depiction of events and persons in historical songs. A historical song as a work relevant for its time and the question of the subsequent transformation of its meaning and images. Early examples of historical songs: a song about Avdotya Ryazanochka, about the murder of Shchelkan Dudentievich, Polonyanki (“Mother meets daughter in Tatar captivity”, etc.). The diversity of early historical songs and the question of later changes in them. A cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible and the events of his reign (“The Capture of Kazan”, “Temryuk-Mastryuk”, “The Wrath of Ivan the Terrible on His Son”, “Raid of the Crimean Khan”, etc.), about Ermak (“Ermak in the Cossack Circle”, etc. .), about the Time of Troubles (“Grishka Otrepyev”, “The Cry of Ksenia Godunova”, “Skopin-Shuisky”, “Minin and Pozharsky”), etc. The people’s view of historical figures and understanding of the meaning of their activities. Cossack historical songs about Stepan Razin (“Razin and the Cossack circle.” “Razin’s March to Yaik,” “Son,” “Razin near Astrakhan,” “Song of the Razins.” “Esaul reports on the execution of Razin”). Poeticization of Razin as the leader of the Cossack freemen. Condemnation of Razin by the Cossack circle. The lyrical beginning as a factor transforming the epic narrative. A special lyrical-epic structure of the songs. Historical songs about Peter the Great and the events of his reign (“The Tsar judges the archers.” “About the beginning of the Northern War”, “Well done going to Poltava”, “Tsar Peter on the ship”, etc.). Historical songs about the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 (“Napoleon writes a letter to Alexander”, “Kutuzov calls to defeat the French”, “Napoleon in Moscow”, “Cossack Platov”, etc.). Question about songwriters. Reflection of the thoughts and feelings of soldiers in songs. The idea of ​​defending the fatherland. New themes in soldier and Cossack historical songs in comparison with songs from other cycles. Types of characters in historical songs: folk hero, king, commander. Image of the people. Poetics and style of historical songs. Genre varieties: epic songs (with a detailed plot, one-episode), lyric-epic songs. Collections of historical songs of the XIII - XIX centuries. four books published in the series “Monuments of Russian Folklore”, Institute of Russian Literature Ak. Sciences, 19601973. Ballad songs. The term “ballad” and its history (Provençal dance songs of the 11th-17th centuries; Anglo-Scottish ballads; literary romantic ballads). Russian folk names for ballad songs: “verse”, “song”. Definition of the genre, its characteristics. The most important properties ballad songs: epic, family and everyday themes, psychological drama, the art of the tragic. Origin of ballad songs. The question of the time of their origin is debatable: a look at the appearance of ballads in the era of the decomposition of ancient syncretism (A. N. Veselovsky), in the early period of written history (N. P. Andreev), in the Middle Ages (V. M. Zhirmunsky, D. M Balashov, B. N. Putilov, V. P. Anikin). Ballad songs about the Tatar (later Turkish) Polon: “The girl was taken prisoner by the Tatars”, “Russian girl in Tatar captivity”, “The red girl is running from the Polon”, “The rescue of the Polonyanka”, “Prince Roman and Marya Yuryevna”, “Two slaves” ", "Escape of slaves from captivity." Later adaptations of ballads about polon: “Young Khancha”, “Pan brings Russian polonyanka to his wife”. Plots of ballad songs of the 14th-16th centuries: “Vasily and Sophia”, “Dmitry and Domna”, “Rowanka”, “Prince Mikhailo”, “Widow’s Children”, etc. Love ballads: “Dmitry and Domna”, “Cossack and tavern ”, “The kidnapping of a girl”, “A girl defends her honor”, ​​“A nun drowns a child”. Family and everyday ballads: “Prince Roman was losing his wife”, “The husband was ruining his wife”, “Rowan”; “Fedor Kolyshatoy”, “Alyosha and the sister of two brothers”, “Brother, sister and lover”, “Sister-poisoner”, “Daughter of a thousand-man”, “Forcible tonsure”. Incest theme: “Hunter and his sister”, “Brother married his sister”, “Ivan Dorodorovich and Sophia the princess”, etc. Ballads of the 17th-18th centuries: “The slandered wife”, “The wife of her husband stabbed to death”, “The Robber Brothers” and sister”, “The Robber’s Wife”, etc. The crisis of the traditional ballad genre. Appearance at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. new ballads. Ballads: about social inequality: “Well done and the princess”, “Prince Volkonsky and Vanya the key-keeper”, “The princess and the chamberlain”, “The girl dies from the love of the voivode’s son”; about poverty and grief: “Grief”, “Well done and grief”, “Well done and the Smorodina River”, etc. Features of the composition and plot of ballads: open course of action, predicted fatal outcome, tragic recognition. The role of monologues and dialogues. Dramatic. Single-conflict. Dynamics of action development. Characteristics: destroyer, victim. Fantastic motifs: metamorphosis, werewolf, talking animals and birds, magical (living and dead water as a means of healing). Art psychological image. Poetic language, allegory. Connections between ballads and epics, historical songs, spiritual poems, lyrical songs). New ballads, their connections with old ones (plot and thematic similarities and differences). History of collecting ballads. Collection by N. P. Andreev and V. I. Chernyshev, collection by D. M. Balashov.

Lyrical songs. Determination of the genre features of non-ritual songs as a type of folk lyrics: their freedom from ritual, relative non-confinement to the time of performance, the predominance of poetic functions over pragmatic ones, the use of a unique metaphorical and symbolic language for versatile life content and revealing the inner world of a person. The possibility of lyrical non-ritual songs being included in rituals and work cycles and the diversity of folk terminology explained by this. Genetic connection of non-ritual songs with ritual lyrics (spells, magnifications, lamentations, game songs) and ballads. Continuity and processing of artistic traditions in the process of style formation. Problems of classification of non-ritual lyrical songs. A variety of systematization principles: by topic (love, family, recruitment, daring), by social environment creations and existence (soldiers’, burlatsky’s, coachmen’s, Cossacks’, etc.), by the predominant composition of performers (male and female), by the forms of melody and intra-syllable chant (frequent and drawn-out), by connection with movement (stepping, marching, dancing), by emotional dominant (comic, satirical). A combination of several principles when creating scientific classifications (V. Ya. Propp, N. P. Kolpakova, T. M. Akimova, V. I. Eremina). System of artistic images of non-ritual lyrics. Diversity folk characters and social types in songs, depicting diverse relationships between people. Images of nature, everyday life, social phenomena. The place of conditionally generalized images of love, longing, grief, will, separation, death and others in the artistic system of folk lyrics. Characteristics combining diverse images in the creation of symbolic pictures that form the subject-content basis of non-ritual songs. Techniques for portraying characters: idealization, humor, satire. Features of the composition of non-ritual songs. Their structure by belonging to lyrical kind. Figurative-symbolic parallelism and its forms (A. N. Veselovsky), the technique of stepwise narrowing of images (B. M. Sokolov), the principle of chain-associative connection (S. G. Lazutin), the juxtaposition of autonomous thematic and stylistic formulas (G. I Maltsev). N.P. Kolpakova, N.I. Kravtsov about the main types and forms of composition. The poetic language of non-ritual lyrics: the functions of constant epithets, comparisons, metaphors, antithesis. Stereotypical stable verbal complexes in songs. The originality of the rhythmic-syntactic structure of folk song verse (repetition system, syllable breaks, intra-syllable chants, stanzas, meter). The use of lexical and phonetic expressiveness of oral speech in lyrics. Collection of folk songs. Activities of P. V. Kireevsky. Folk lyrics as part of the collection of P. V. Shein, a collection of folk songs by A. I. Sobolevsky “Great Russian folk songs.” Types of publications of songs of local traditions.

Spiritual poems. Definition of spiritual poems as a complex of epic, lyric-epic and lyrical works, the unifying principle of which is the concept of “spiritual”, religious-Christian, opposed to the worldly, secular. Popular names for the genre: “poems”, “antiques”, “psalms”, “cants”. Origin of spiritual poems and sources: books of the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments), Christian canonical and apocryphal literature that penetrated into Rus' after Epiphany from the end of the 10th century. (lives, biblical stories, moral stories, etc.), church sermons and liturgy. Senior spiritual poems (epic) and junior (lyrical). The creators and performers of spiritual poems are kaliki (cripples) travelers, pilgrims to holy places. Folk rethinking of biblical and evangelical themes, lives, apocrypha. “Spiritual poems are the result of the people’s aesthetic assimilation of the ideas of Christian doctrine” (F. M. Selivanov). The main idea of ​​spiritual verses: affirmation of the superiority of the spiritual over the material, physical, glorification of asceticism, martyrdom for the faith, denunciation of sinfulness, non-observance of God's commandments. Reflection of cosmogonic ideas in older spiritual verses. Main themes and plots: poems about the universe (“Pigeon Book”); on biblical Old Testament stories (“Osip the Beautiful”, “Lamentation of Adam”); evangelical (“The Nativity of Christ”, “The Massacre of the Innocents”, “The Dream of the Virgin Mary”, “The Crucifixion of Christ”, “The Ascension”); about heroes-snake fighters (“Fedor Tiron”, “Egory and the Serpent”), martyrs (“Egory and Demyanishche”, “Kirik and Ulita”, “Galaktion and Epistimia”, “About the Great Martyr Barbara”), ascetics (“Josaph and Varlaam ”, “Alexey the man of God”); miracle workers (“Mikola”, “Dmitry of Thessaloniki”); righteous and sinners (“Two Lazaruses”, “About Mary of Egypt”, “About the Prodigal Son”, “Anika the Warrior); about the end of the world and the Last Judgment (“Mikhailo the formidable archangel judge”, “Archangels Mikhailo and Gabriel - carriers across the fiery river”). Echoes of pagan beliefs in poems about the raw mother earth (“The Cry of the Earth”, “The Unforgivable Sin”, “The Rite of Farewell to the Earth before Confession”). Edifying poems about worldly temptations and salvation in the desert, the need for repentance (“Friday and the Hermit,” “Poem about laziness,” “Basily of Caesarea”). Poems on subjects from ancient Russian history (“Boris and Gleb”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Mikhail and Fyodor of Chernigov”, “Dmitry Donskoy”). Younger spiritual poems (psalms, cants) on themes from Old Believer history (XVII-XI centuries): “About Nikon”, “Verse about the Antichrist”, “Mount Athos” and songs of sectarian mystics (Skoptsov, Khlysty). Poetics. General folklore properties of spiritual poems, allowing them to be correlated with epics, ballads, historical and lyrical songs. The influence of literary Christian stylistics, the widespread use of Church Slavonicisms. Spatio-temporal characteristics of the artistic world of spiritual poems. The specificity of the miraculous, associated in them with Christ and the saints (healing of the sick, invulnerability during torture, resurrection from the dead, etc.). Composition (a chain of episodes of a particular event or the life of a character). Monologue poems (“The Lamentation of Joseph the Beautiful”), the role of dialogues (“The Dream of the Virgin Mary”). Poetic language (epithets, parallelisms, comparisons). Image of the earth after Last Judgment. Description of the separation of the soul from the body, crossing the fiery river, etc. History of the collection (P.V. Kireevsky, V.G. Varentsov, T.S. Rozhdestvensky and M.I. Uspensky). Study of spiritual verses. Mythological direction (F. I. Buslaev, A. N. Afanasyev, O. F. Miller); cultural and historical direction (research by A. N. Veselovsky, A. I. Kirpichnikov, V. P. Adrianova); historical and everyday life (“Materials on the history of the study of Russian sectarianism and schism (Old Believers)” edited by V. D. Bonch-Bruevich (St. Petersburg, 1908-1911), four issues). Resumption of research in the early 70s of the twentieth century. : articles by Yu. A. Novikov, S. E. Nikitina, F. M. Selivanov and others.

Ritual folklore is works of oral folk art, which, unlike non-ritual folklore, were an organic part of traditional folk rituals and were performed in rituals. In the life of the people, rituals occupied important place: they evolved from century to century, gradually accumulating the diverse experience of many generations.

The rituals had ritual and magical significance and contained rules of human behavior in everyday life and work.

Russian rituals

Russian rituals are genetically related to the rituals of other Slavic peoples and have typological similarities with the rituals of many peoples of the world. Russian ritual folklore was published in the collections of P.V. Kireevsky, E.V. Barsov, P.V. Shein, A.I. Sobolevsky.

Types of rituals

Rituals are usually divided into industrial and family. Already in ancient times, Slavic farmers celebrated the winter and summer solstice and the associated changes in nature with special holidays. The observations developed into a system of mythological beliefs and practical work skills, which was consolidated by the annual (calendar) cycle of agrarian ritual holidays and the accompanying ritual folklore.

A complex symbiosis was formed by annual church folk agricultural holidays, which was partly reflected in ritual folklore. On the night before Christmas and on New Year's Eve, while going around the courtyards, they sang round songs that had different names: carols (in the south), ovsen (in the central regions), grapes (in the northern regions). Throughout the Christmas week, Christ was glorified with special songs, and his birth was depicted in the folk puppet theater - nativity scene.

During Christmastide (from Christmas to Epiphany), fortune-telling with songs was common, and funny dramatic scenes were played out. Songs, incantations, lamentations, and sentences were also performed during other calendar rituals. Family rituals developed on a common basis with calendar ones and are genetically connected with them, but at the center of family rituals there was a specific real person.

Rituals and life events

Rituals accompanied many events in his life, among which the most important were birth, marriage and death. Traces of ancient birth songs and wishes are preserved in lullabies. The main genre of funeral and memorial rites were lamentations. Lamentations were included in the recruiting ritual and in the wedding of the Northern Russian type, where they were especially developed. Wedding poetry was rich and varied. At the wedding, sentences were also performed and dramatic scenes were performed.

In ancient times, the main function of wedding folklore was utilitarian-magical: according to the ideas of the people, oral works contributed to a happy fate and well-being; but gradually they began to play a different role - ceremonial and aesthetic. The genre composition of ritual folklore is diverse: verbal and musical, dramatic, game, choreographic works. Ritual songs are especially important - the most ancient layer of musical and poetic folklore. The songs were sung by the choir. Ritual songs reflected the ritual itself and contributed to its formation and implementation.

Spell songs were a magical appeal to the forces of nature in order to achieve well-being in the household and family. In songs of greatness, participants in the ritual were poetically idealized and glorified: real people (bride and groom) or mythological images (Kolyada, Maslenitsa). Opposite to the majestic songs are reproaches, which ridiculed the participants in the ritual, often in a grotesque form; their content was humorous or satirical. Game and round dance songs were performed during various youth games, they described and accompanied by imitation of field work, and family scenes were acted out (for example, matchmaking). Lyrical songs are the latest phenomenon in the ritual. Their main purpose is to express thoughts, feelings and moods. Thanks to lyrical songs, a certain emotional flavor was created and traditional ethics were established.

Ritual folklore includes also conspiracies, spells, some tales, beliefs, omens, proverbs, sayings, riddles, in the 20th century. Ritual ditties appeared. Works of non-ritual folklore could be spontaneously included in the ritual complex.

Folk rites and ritual folklore have received a deep and multifaceted reflection in Russian literature (“Eugene Onegin”, 1823-31, A.S. Pushkin, “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, 1831-32, N.V. Gogol, “To whom on It’s good to live in Russia”, 1863-77, N.A. Nekrasova, “The Snow Maiden”, 1873, A.N. Ostrovsky, “War and Peace”, 1863-69, L.N. Tolstoy, lyrics by S.A. Yesenin and etc.).