Reverse composition. Basics of composition: elements and techniques

Phraseological units, like words, can have two or more meanings, between which certain semantic connections and relationships are established. According to the observations of phraseologists, most of the phraseological units of the Russian language are unambiguous. Polysemy is most characteristic of phraseological units with verbal and adverbial meanings. For example, polysemantic phraseological units have a verbal meaning can't feel your feet underneath you– 1. Run very quickly. 2. Very tired, tired from a long walk, etc. 3. To be very happy, to be delighted with something.

Polysemantic phraseological units usually have two meanings, less often - more. For example: the phraseological unit “don’t hit someone who is down” has two meanings: 1. Extremely lazy, careless (about a worker). 2. Very easy, profitable, no hassle (about work); blood with milk has three meanings: 1. Healthy, blooming, strong build (about a person). 2. Beautiful (usually about a woman). 3. Fresh, rosy (about the face). The semantic structure of a polysemantic phraseological unit is an organized, orderly unity.

The specificity of the semantic structure of a polysemantic phraseological unit, according to V.P. Zhukov, “depends on the presence or absence of an internal form.” Taking this feature into account, polysemantic phraseological units are divided into two groups.

First group constitute phraseological units of a metaphorical nature, the internal form of which is manifested quite clearly (they are contrasted with free phrases of a similar lexical composition). The individual meanings of such phraseological units were formed on the basis of repeated metaphorical rethinking of the same free phrase. Therefore, all existing meanings, regardless of the degree of their proximity, are metaphorical: in phraseological units of this group, according to V.P. Zhukov, there is no and cannot be a direct meaning. For example: wagging the tail: 1. To be cunning. 2. Ingratiate yourself with someone.

The peculiarity of phraseological units of this group is that “in the semantic structure of phraseological units of a metaphorical nature, private meanings are united by an internal form, a single figurative core.”

The semantic structure of phraseological units of this group is characterized by the equality of individual meanings: since all meanings appeared as a result of parallel metaphorization of a free phrase, it is difficult to determine the sequence of appearance of meanings.

However, the private meanings of such phraseological units may in some respects be semantically unequal. First of all, this concerns phraseological units, “the individual meanings of which differ from each other on the basis of concreteness / abstractness.” For example: the phraseological unit knocking on the door has one meaning - “frequently make requests”, and another meaning - “to advance, to approach, letting you know about your appearance.” These meanings are unequal on the basis of concreteness/abstraction: the first is more concrete, the second is more abstract. But it is difficult to determine which of these meanings - concrete or abstract - appeared earlier.

Second group form phraseological units that have lost their internal form and do not have homonymous free phrases. For example: the phraseological unit neither stake nor yard has two meanings: 1. No housing. 2. There is nothing at all (about poverty). The semantic structure of phraseological units of this group is such that “great real preconditions are created for dispersal and divergence of private meanings.” This can lead to the collapse of polysemy. For example, there are significant discrepancies between the different meanings of the entire Ivanovo phraseological unit: 1. Very loud (shout, etc.). 2. Very quickly, with all your strength (to do something). 3. Very strictly (punish). Despite the common semantic feature “very,” all meanings express different concepts.

Phraseologists have identified indicators of the polysemy of phraseological units.

Variation in the semantic structure of a phraseological unit: each meaning of a polysemantic phraseological unit is characterized by its own distinctive grammatical features: special control, its own type, different syntactic function, etc. For example: the phraseological unit shed (shed) blood has two meanings: 1. To die, to die, protecting someone either or anything. 2. Put to death, kill. The first meaning is realized if the phraseological unit is used with a noun accusative case with the pretext for: shedding blood for the Motherland. The second meaning is realized if the phraseological unit controls the form genitive case without pretext: to shed the blood of innocent children.

The nature of the expression of the subject or object in terms of animateness/inanimateness, concreteness/abstractness. For example, the phraseological unit fly up into the air in combination with a concrete noun realizes the meaning of “collapse, die from an explosion” (The station building blew up into the air), and when combined with an abstract noun it means “disappear without a trace, scatter” (After what happened, our grandiose plans blew up into the air ).

In its different meanings, a polysemantic phraseological unit is combined with different accompanying words. For example, adverbial phraseology without memory combines with a limited range of accompanying verbs and has the following meanings: 1. Very strongly, passionately, to the point of self-forgetfulness. 2. Very quickly, swiftly. The first meaning is realized in combination with the accompanying verbs love, get carried away. The second with verbs of motion to run, fly, etc.: And yet I love you without memory (A. Griboyedov). - The staff members rushed into the depths of the swamp, and we rushed after everyone without memory (V. Chudakova).

An important indicator of the polysemy of phraseological units is the phenomenon of limited synonymy. For example, the phraseological unit fool around has several meanings: 1) do nothing; 2) behave frivolously, fool around; 3) do stupid things. In the first meaning, this phraseological unit enters into a synonymous relationship with such phraseological units as kicking the bucket, chasing a quitter, lying on your side, spitting at the ceiling.

Like words, phraseological units can be in synonymous and antonymic relationships. V.N. Telia gives the following definition of phraseological synonyms: “these are two phrases that, differing in the lexical composition of the components, but having the same categorical meaning, are capable of replacement in a number of strictly defined syntactic constructions, without violating the structure of this construction and its semantic content.” For example, phraseological synonyms are turns of water will not muddy - “very meek”, will not hurt a fly - “meek, submissive” with general meaning“quiet, non-scandalous”; tirelessly - “diligently, a lot (to work)” and rolling up one’s sleeves - “diligently, energetically.” Synonymous relations are often connected by pairs of phraseological units, but phraseological units can also form synonymous rows, for example: with all their might, with all their might, with all their might, headlong with all their might - with the general meaning of “quickly, very quickly.” Synonymous phraseological units can differ both in shades of meaning and in their use in speech. For example, phraseological units from the ground are not visible - “young” and from a pot two inches away - “young, inexperienced” with the general meaning “not an adult” differ precisely in shades of meaning: the semantics of the second phrase contains the component “inexperienced”. Such synonymous phraseological units are ideographic.

The phraseological units low-flying bird (neutral) and cone out of the blue (colloquial) with the general meaning of “not having weight in society” are different in style: the first is inter-style, and the second refers to the colloquial style.

If synonymous relations of phraseological units are built on their semantic proximity, then antonymic relations are based on semantic opposition. Phraseological antonyms are “phraseologisms that are opposite in meaning and correlative in their main semantic feature.” For example: what holds the soul in – blood and milk; just a stone's throw away - in the middle of nowhere; at a snail's pace - by leaps and bounds. Most often, antonymous phraseological units name features associated with position in space, assessment of actions, intensity of action, etc. Antonymy of phraseological units is formed “as a result of replacing one of the components with an antonymous significant or functional word,” for example: the tongue is well suspended - the tongue is poorly suspended; go uphill - go (roll) downhill. However, the opposition of phraseological units can also arise as a result of the inclusion of the negation not in one of them. For example: it’s a bastard, but it’s not a bastard. Despite the fact that in quantitative terms antonym phraseological units are inferior to phraseological units connected by synonymous relations, they are no less important and expressive.

Translation of phraseological units

It is believed that the possibilities of achieving a full dictionary translation of phraseological units depend mainly on the relationships between the units of the source language (SL) and the target language (TL):

1) the phraseological unit has an exact, context-independent full correspondence in the TL (semantic meaning + connotations);

2) PU can be transferred to TL by one or another correspondence, usually with some deviations from the full translation;

3) The phraseological unit has no equivalents or analogues in the TL and is untranslatable in the dictionary order.

Simplifying the scheme somewhat, we can say that phraseological units are translated either by phraseological units (the first two points) - phraseological translation, or by other means (in the absence of phraseological equivalents and analogues) - non-phraseological translation. Between them there are many intermediate, average solutions, for example, depending on some characteristic features and types of phraseological units (figurative - non-figurative phraseology, proverbial - non-proverbial phraseological units), translation taking into account style, color, language, authorship of individual units, and so on. These additional aspects will more fully present the problem of translation of phraseological units, expand and facilitate the selection of the most suitable technique.

Let's consider first phraseological translation . Phraseological translation involves the use in the translation text of stable units of varying degrees of proximity between a foreign language unit and the corresponding TL unit - from complete and absolute equivalent to approximate phraseological correspondence. In order to talk further about this method of translation, let us define the phraseological equivalent. A phraseological equivalent is a phraseological unit in the TL that is equivalent in all respects to the unit being translated. As a rule, regardless of the context, it should have the same denotative and connotative meanings, i.e. there should be no differences between correlative phraseological units in terms of semantic content, stylistic relevance, metaphoricality and emotional-expressive coloring, they should have approximately the same component composition, have a number of identical lexical and grammatical indicators: compatibility (for example, in relation to the requirement of animate/inanimate), belonging to the same grammatical category, usage, connection with contextual satellite words, etc.; and one more thing - the lack of national flavor. We are talking, essentially, about complete and absolute equivalence. All of these are already existing, relatively few units, work with which comes down to their detection in the PL. An incomplete (partial) phraseological equivalent is a TL unit that is an equivalent, complete and absolute, correlative multi-valued unit in a foreign language, but not in all its meanings.
There are relatively few partial equivalents, since in general the phenomenon of polysemy is less characteristic of phraseology. Cases of relative phraseological equivalence are much more common. A relative phraseological equivalent is inferior to an absolute one only in that it differs from the original phraseological unit in any of the indicators: other, often synonymous components, small changes in form, changes in syntactic structure, etc. Otherwise, it is a full correspondence to the translated phraseological unit, “relativity” ” which is hidden by the context. The difference may be, for example, in compatibility, in the unequal lexical and semantic content of individual components. For example, "to step on the throat" corresponds to the equivalent Armenian language"grab by the collar" In other cases, the equivalent may differ from the original PU in its component composition; for example, the same image can be expressed more economically or extensively. Images can be very close, touching, for example, “rain” - “rain” - “precipitation”; very distant, but logically comparable: for example, a Russian, a Bulgarian and a Frenchman see “similarity” in “two drops of water”, for a German and a Czech it is “two eggs”, for an Englishman – “two peas”, for Armenians – “two halves of an apple” " In Russian, the phrase “there is nowhere for a stick to fall” is equivalent to the Armenian “there is nowhere for a needle to fall.” But the images of two analogues (in the FL and TL) may have nothing in common with each other as images, which does not prevent the equivalents from properly performing their function in translation. In principle, the ability to convey phraseological units by analogues with imagery that has absolutely no points of contact in the FL and TL is explained mainly by the fact that for the most part these are erased or half-erased metaphors, not perceived or, rather, perceived subconsciously by the native speaker. The degree of brightness of the image - from very low to zero in phraseological fusions, and in unities it is higher, but rarely reaching intensity in free combination - is one of the main prerequisites for choosing a translation method between analogue and tracing paper. Finally, there are extremely frequent differences that arise in cases of using such translation techniques as various kinds of transformations such as antonymic translation, specification and generalization, to which, like lexical ones, phraseological units are also susceptible. Individual equivalents can also be classified as phraseological. Not finding complete correspondence in the TL, the translator is sometimes forced to resort to word creation, forming a new phraseological unit in the spirit of the translated unit, which is as close as possible to “natural”. Therefore, we are talking about contextual translation here.

Phraseological equivalents and analogues are found most often in the following groups of stable units.
1. International phraseology - phraseological units that entered the languages of many peoples from historical (mainly ancient), mythological, literary sources, were borrowed from language to language or arose from different nations independently of one another due to the commonality of human thinking, the proximity of individual moments social life, labor activity, production, development of science and arts. The mere belonging of a phraseological unit to international is not enough to ensure its correct translation. Firstly, not all “international units” included in one language are found in other languages. Secondly, despite the same translation method - tracing, there are still minor formal differences between the equivalents (phrase - a compound word, prepositional - non-prepositional construction, different suffixation, etc.), and this sometimes significantly complicates the translator. For example, the Russian equivalent of scapegoat is English. scapegoat – translation compound word(which happens much more often in German). Thirdly, although relatively rarely, there can be more than one equivalent and then the translator cannot automatically replace his unit with an equivalent one. All these “buts” present a strict requirement to the translator: to check every doubtful case in a dictionary.

2. Stable comparisons. Many peoples say: he sings like a nightingale, is brave like a lion, is stubborn like a donkey, is drunk like a pig, etc. But for the same qualities, along with these images, there are others that are unusual for the PY. The comparison with the “nightingale” is clearly not suitable for countries where it is not known, and the translator should think very carefully before introducing an unusual image. The rest of the comparisons require the same - to translate into our own, familiar ones, or to preserve the “exotic”: for example, the British and French see stubbornness rather in a mule, and a donkey is also a symbol of stupidity; As for drunkenness, along with the pig, many other images appear among different nations: French. (drunk like) a song thrush, a monk (Franciscan, Templar) or a slice of bread in broth.

3. Compound terms. Compound terms (including compound names) – special group Phrases that require equivalents in TL in any case. However, since in them the terminological principle prevails over the phraseological one, we present them here with the caveat that they are always translated by equivalents, but not necessarily phraseological ones: many compound terms in one language have single-word equivalents in another (cf. Russian gear, English gear ).

4. Grammatical phraseology. Grammatical phraseology is a conventional name for separately formed parts of speech, mainly compound prepositions and conjunctions. Prepositions during (which), in connection with (with which), conjunctions since, due to the fact that, while, etc., like terms, require an equivalent in the TL, but also not necessarily a phraseological one. Among them there are units of international distribution, such as English. In accordance with with the exception of, etc. So, in order to correctly translate phraseological units from a foreign language into a TL, the translator must have not only excellent knowledge of languages, but also have complete knowledge history and culture of countries, be a good psychologist and be able to correctly use all kinds of dictionaries.

Now let's talk in more detail about non-phraseological translation . Non-phraseological translation conveys a given phraseological unit using lexical, rather than phraseological, means of the TL. They usually resort to it only after making sure that none of the phraseological equivalents or analogues can be used. Such a translation, even taking into account the compensatory possibilities of the context, can hardly be called complete: there are always some losses (imagery, expressiveness, connotation, aphorism, shades of meaning), which forces translators to turn to it only in cases of extreme necessity. Non-phraseological translation includes: 1.

1. Lexical translation. Strictly lexical translation is applicable, as a rule, in cases where a given concept is designated in one language by a phraseological unit, and in another – by a word. Thus, many English verbs expressed in phrases can be conveyed completely painlessly by their lexical equivalent: set or put on fire - “ignite”, catch fire - “ignite”, “ignite”. This translation, although not entirely painless, also lends itself to phraseological units that have synonymous words in a foreign language. These are mostly idioms, i.e. combinations denoting objects or concepts. Unlike “one-word” and closer to what is called free translation, the semantic content of phraseological units can be conveyed by variable phrases. Such translations quite satisfactorily fulfill their role in the dictionary, indicating the exact semantic meaning of the unit. However, in context, any correspondence must acquire a “phraseological appearance” or, at least, a stylistic coloring and expressiveness close to the original. In a word, even when lexically translating phraseological units, one must always strive to get closer to the phraseological one, to convey at least some of its elements or aspects.

2. Tracing, or literal translation, are usually preferred in cases where other techniques, in particular phraseological ones, cannot convey a phraseological unit in its entirety of its semantic-stylistic and expressive-emotional meaning, and for one reason or another it is desirable to “bring it” to the reader figurative basis. Tracing is possible only when a literal translation can convey to the reader the true content of the entire phraseological unit (and not the meaning of its constituent parts). This is feasible, firstly, in relation to figurative phraseological units, mainly phraseological units that have retained their metaphorical nature; You can trace, secondly, a number of proverbs and, first of all, those that do not have subtext. This technique can, thirdly, convey some stable comparisons, but only after making sure that the TL speaker will perceive them correctly. Many tracing papers can be classified as phraseological translation. For example, I won’t let you tear your nail off your finger, i.e. son from father: translated almost literally and resulting in a completely meaningful phrase in Russian, denoting the separation of close people from each other.

3. Descriptive translation - essentially comes down to the translation not of the phraseological unit itself, but of its interpretation, as is often the case with units that do not have equivalents in the TL. These can be explanations, comparisons, descriptions, interpretations - all means that convey as clearly and short form the content of phraseological units, all with the same constant desire for phraseologization. In context this translation path independent meaning does not have.

Speaking about the methods of translation of phraseological units and the choice between them, it remains to stipulate the following concepts: contextual translation and selective translation.

Most often about contextual translation we remember in the absence of equivalents and analogues - when a phraseological unit has to be conveyed by non-phraseological means. In Russian, the phraseological unit “...the time is just around the corner” corresponds to the original in the text “not so far”; Russian: “...like Christ’s in his bosom” - “...life is cheap there.”

Selective translation is considered not as a translation of “a stable combination of words through one of the possible phraseological synonyms”, but somewhat more broadly - as an inevitable initial stage of any translation of a stable combination, and indeed translation in general. They choose, usually relying on dictionary (known, generally accepted - you don’t have to go to the dictionary for them) matches, primarily options, i.e. synonyms or similar meanings of polysemantic phraseological units.

Most phraseological units are characterized by unambiguity: they have only one meaning, their semantic structure quite monolithic, indecomposable: stumbling block- "obstacle" have your head in the clouds- "indulging in fruitless dreams" at first sight- “at first impression”, to baffle - “to lead to extreme difficulty, confusion”, etc.

But there are phraseological units that have several meanings. For example, the phraseological unit wet chicken can mean: 1) “a weak-willed, ingenuous person, a weakling”; 2) “a person who looks pitiful, depressed; upset about something”; fool around - 1) “do nothing”; 2) “behave frivolously, fool around”; 3) "do stupid things."

Polysemy usually arises in phraseological units that have retained partially motivated meanings in the language. For example, the phraseological unit baptism of fire, which originally meant “first participation in battle,” began to be used in a broader meaning, pointing to the “first serious challenge in any matter." Moreover, polysemy is easier to develop in phraseological units that have a holistic meaning and are correlated in their structure with phrases.

For modern language The development of figurative, phraseological meaning of terminological combinations is characteristic: specific gravity, center of gravity, fulcrum, birthmark, reduce to one denominator and under.

Homonymous relations phraseological units arise when phraseological units of identical composition appear in completely different meanings: take word 1 - “by own initiative speak at a meeting" and take the word 2 (from someone) - "to receive a promise from someone, an oath of something."

Homonymous phraseological units can appear in a language if the basis figurative expressions there are different signs of the same concept. For example, the phraseological unit let the rooster in the meaning - “start a fire, set fire to something” goes back to the image of a fiery red rooster, reminiscent of a flame in the color and shape of its tail (a variant of the phraseological unit - let the red rooster fly); the phraseological unit let (give) a rooster in the meaning - “to make false sounds” was created on the basis of the similarity of the singer’s voice, breaking into high note, with a rooster crowing. Such homonymy is the result of a random coincidence of components that form phraseological units.

In other cases, the source of phraseological homonyms becomes the final break in the meanings of polysemantic phraseological units. For example, the meaning of a phraseological unit tiptoe- “walking on the tips of your toes” served as the basis for the appearance of his figurative homonym tiptoe- “to ingratiate oneself, to please someone in every possible way.” IN similar cases It is difficult to draw a line between the phenomenon of polysemy of phraseological units and homonymy of two phraseological units.

Special mention should be made of the so-called “external homonymy” of phraseological units and free phrases. For example, the phraseological unit soap your neck means “teach (someone) a lesson, punish”, and the semantics of the free combination soap your neck is completely motivated by the meanings of the words included in it: Need a good onesoap your neckchild to wash away all the dirt. In such cases, the context suggests how one or another expression should be understood - as a phraseological unit or as a free combination of words appearing in their usual lexical meaning; For example: A heavy and strong fish rushed... under the shore. I beganbring it out into the open (Paust.). Here, the highlighted words are used in their literal meaning, although the metaphorical use of the same phrase is also entrenched in the language - phraseological unit bring to light.

However, since free phrases are fundamentally different from phraseological units, there is no reason to talk about homonymy of such expressions in the exact meaning of the term: this is a random coincidence of linguistic units of different orders.

Composition is the arrangement of parts of a literary work in a certain order, a set of forms and methods of artistic expression by the author, depending on his intention. Translated from Latin language means “composition”, “construction”. Composition builds all parts of the work into a single, complete whole.

It helps the reader to better understand the content of the works, maintains interest in the book and helps to draw the necessary conclusions in the end. Sometimes the composition of a book intrigues the reader and he looks for a sequel to the book or other works by this writer.

Composition elements

Among such elements are narration, description, dialogue, monologue, inserted stories and lyrical digressions:

Narration - main element compositions, the author's story, revealing the content of the work of art. Occupies most the volume of the entire work. Conveys the dynamics of events; it can be retold or illustrated with drawings.
Description. This is a static element. During the description, events do not occur; it serves as a picture, a background for the events of the work. The description is a portrait, an interior, a landscape. Landscape is not necessarily an image of nature, it can be a city landscape, lunar landscape, description of fantastic cities, planets, galaxies or description of fictional worlds.
Dialogue- conversation between two people. It helps to reveal the plot, deepen the characters characters. Through the dialogue between two heroes, the reader learns about the events of the past of the heroes of the works, about their plans, and begins to better understand the characters’ characters.
Monologue- speech of one character. In the comedy by A. S. Griboedov, through Chatsky’s monologues, the author conveys thoughts advanced people his generation and the experiences of the hero himself, who learned about his beloved’s betrayal.
Image system. All images of a work that interact in connection with the author’s intention. These are images of people fairy tale characters, mythical, toponymic and subject. There are awkward images invented by the author, for example, “The Nose” from Gogol’s story of the same name. The authors simply invented many images, and their names became commonly used.
Insert stories, a story within a story. Many authors use this technique to create intrigue in a work or at the denouement. A work may contain several inserted stories, the events in which take place in different time. Bulgakov in “The Master and Margarita” used the device of a novel within a novel.
Author's or lyrical digressions. Gogol has many lyrical digressions in his work “Dead Souls”. Because of them, the genre of the work has changed. This large prose work is called the poem “Dead Souls”. And “Eugene Onegin” is called a novel in verse because large quantity author's digressions, thanks to which readers are presented with an impressive picture Russian life early 19th century.
Author's description. In it, the author talks about the character of the hero and does not hide his positive or negative attitude towards him. Gogol in his works often gives ironic characteristics to his heroes - so precise and succinct that his heroes often become household names.
Plot of the story- this is a chain of events occurring in a work. The plot is the content literary text.
Fable- all events, circumstances and actions that are described in the text. The main difference from the plot is the chronological sequence.
Scenery- description of nature, real and imaginary world, city, planet, galaxies, existing and fictional. Landscape is an artistic device, thanks to which the character of the characters is revealed more deeply and an assessment of events is given. You can remember how it changes seascape in Pushkin’s “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish,” when the old man comes to the Golden Fish again and again with another request.
Portrait- this description is not only appearance hero, but also his inner world. Thanks to the author’s talent, the portrait is so accurate that all readers have the same idea of the appearance of the hero of the book they read: what Natasha Rostova, Prince Andrei, Sherlock Holmes looks like. Sometimes the author draws the reader's attention to some characteristic feature hero, for example, Poirot’s mustache in Agatha Christie’s books.

Don't miss: in the literature, examples of use.

Compositional techniques

Subject composition

The development of the plot has its own stages of development. There is always a conflict at the center of the plot, but the reader does not immediately learn about it.

Subject composition depends on the genre of the work. For example, a fable necessarily ends with a moral. Dramatic works of classicism had their own laws of composition, for example, they had to have five acts.

The composition of works of folklore is distinguished by its unshakable features. Songs, fairy tales, and epics were created according to their own laws of construction.

The composition of the fairy tale begins with the saying: “Like on the sea-ocean, and on the island of Buyan...”. The saying was often composed in poetic form and was sometimes far from the content of the fairy tale. The storyteller attracted the attention of the listeners with a saying and waited for them to listen to him without being distracted. Then he said: “This is a saying, not a fairy tale. There will be a fairy tale ahead."

Then came the beginning. The most famous of them begins with the words: “Once upon a time” or “In a certain kingdom, in the thirtieth state...”. Then the storyteller moved on to the fairy tale itself, to its characters, to wonderful events.

Techniques of a fairy-tale composition, a threefold repetition of events: the hero fights three times with the Serpent Gorynych, three times the princess sits at the window of the tower, and Ivanushka on a horse flies to her and tears off the ring, three times the Tsar tests his daughter-in-law in the fairy tale “The Frog Princess”.

The ending of the fairy tale is also traditional; about the heroes of the fairy tale they say: “They live, live well and make good things.” Sometimes the ending hints at a treat: “A fairy tale for you, but a bagel for me.”

Literary composition is the arrangement of parts of a work in a certain sequence, it is complete system forms artistic image. The means and techniques of composition deepen the meaning of what is depicted and reveal the characteristics of the characters. Each work of art has its own unique composition, but there are its traditional laws that are observed in some genres.

During the times of classicism, there was a system of rules that prescribed certain rules for writing texts to authors, and they could not be violated. This rule of three unities: time, place, plot. This is a five act structure. dramatic works. These are telling names and a clear division into negative and goodies. The compositional features of classicism are a thing of the past.

Compositional techniques in literature depend on the genre of the work of art and on the talent of the author, who has available types, elements, techniques of composition, knows its features and knows how to use these artistic methods.

Composition

COMPOSITION (from the Latin “componere” - to fold, to build) is a term used in art criticism. In music, K. is called the creation of a musical work, hence: composer - author of musical works. In literary criticism, the concept of K. passed from painting and architecture, where it denotes the combination individual parts works into an artistic whole. K. is a branch of literary criticism that studies the construction of a literary work as a whole. Sometimes the term K. is replaced by the term “architectonics”. Each theory of poetry has a corresponding doctrine about K., even if this term is not used.
The dialectical materialist theory of calculus in its developed form does not yet exist. However, the basic provisions of the Marxist science of literature and individual excursions of Marxist literary scholars in the field of studying composition make it possible to outline the correct solution to the problem. K. G. V. Plekhanov wrote: “The form of an object is identical with its appearance only in a certain and, moreover, superficial sense: in the sense of external form . A deeper analysis leads us to an understanding of form as the law of an object, or, better, its structure” (“Letters without an address”).
In its worldview, a social class expresses its understanding of the connections and processes in nature and society. This understanding of connections and processes, becoming the content of a poetic work, determines the principles of arrangement and deployment of material - the law of construction; First of all, one should proceed from the concept of characters and motives and through it move on to the composition of verbal material. Each style expressing the psychoideology of a particular class has its own type K. In different genres of the same style, this type sometimes varies greatly, while at the same time maintaining its basic characteristics.
For more information about K.'s problems, see the articles Style, Poetics, Plot, Versification, Theme, Image.

Literary encyclopedia. - At 11 t.; M.: Publishing House of the Communist Academy, Soviet encyclopedia, Fiction. Edited by V. M. Fritsche, A. V. Lunacharsky. 1929-1939 .

Composition

(from Latin composito - composition, linking), construction of a work of art, organization, structure of the form of the work. The concept of “composition” is close in meaning to the concept of “structure of a work of art,” but the structure of a work means all its elements in their interrelation, including those related to the content ( plot roles characters, the correlation of heroes with each other, author's position, a system of motives, an image of the movement of time, etc.). You can talk about the ideological or motivic structure of a work, but not about the ideological or motivic composition. IN lyrical works the composition includes the sequence lines And stanzas, the principle of rhyming (rhyme composition, stanza), sound repetitions and repetitions of expressions, lines or stanzas, contrasts ( antitheses) between different verses or stanzas. In dramaturgy, the composition of a work consists of a sequence scenes And acts contained in them replicas And monologues characters and author's explanations ( remarks). In narrative genres, composition is a depiction of events ( plot) and extra-plot elements: descriptions of the setting of the action (landscape - descriptions of nature, interior - description of the decoration of the room); descriptions of the characters’ appearance (portrait), their inner world ( internal monologues, improperly direct speech, generalized reproduction of thoughts, etc.), deviations from the plot narrative, which express the author’s thoughts and feelings about what is happening (the so-called author’s digressions).
The plot, characteristic of dramatic and narrative genres, also has its own composition. Elements of plot composition: exposition (depiction of the situation in which the conflict arises, presentation of characters); the beginning (the origin of a conflict, starting point plot), development of action, climax (the moment of the highest aggravation of the conflict, plot peak) and denouement (exhaustion of the conflict, “end” of the plot). Some works also have an epilogue (a story about the subsequent fate of the heroes). Certain elements of the plot composition may be repeated. So, in the novel by A.S. Pushkin « Captain's daughter" three climax of the episode(take Belogorsk fortress, Grinev at Pugachev’s headquarters in Berdskaya Sloboda, Masha Mironova’s meeting with Catherine II), and in the comedy N.V. Gogol"The Inspector General" has three endings (a false ending - Khlestakov's engagement to the mayor's daughter, the second ending - the arrival of the postmaster with the news of who Khlestakov really is, the third ending - the arrival of the gendarme with the news of the arrival of the true auditor).
The composition of the work also includes the structure of the narrative: changing narrators, changing narrative points of view.
There are certain repeating types of composition: ring composition(repetition of the initial fragment at the end of the text); concentric composition (plot spiral, repetition of similar events as the action progresses), mirror symmetry (repetition, in which for the first time one character performs a certain action in relation to another, and then he performs the same action in relation to the first character). Example mirror symmetry- a novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”: first Tatyana Larina sends a letter to Onegin with a declaration of love, and he rejects her; Then Onegin, having fallen in love with Tatyana, writes to her, but she rejects him.

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

Composition

COMPOSITION. The composition of a work in the broad sense of the word should be understood as a set of techniques used by the author to “arrange” his work, techniques that create the overall design of this latter, the order of its individual parts, transitions between them, etc. The essence of compositional techniques is thus reduced to the creation of some complex unity, a complex whole, and their meaning is determined by the role they play against the background of this whole in the subordination of its parts. Being, therefore, one of the most important moments embodiment of poetic intent, composition of this work is determined by this plan, but it differs from other of these moments by the immediacy of its connection with the general spiritual mood of the poet. Indeed, if, for example, the poet’s metaphors (see this word) reveal the holistic image in which the world confronts him, if the rhythm (see this word) reveals the “natural melodiousness” of the poet’s soul, then it is the nature of the arrangement of metaphors that determines their significance in recreating the image of the whole, and compositional features rhythmic units - their very sound (see “Enjambement” and “Stanza”). A striking proof of the noted fact that well-known compositional techniques are directly determined by the poet’s general spiritual mood can, for example, be Gogol’s frequent lyrical digressions, which undoubtedly reflect his preaching and teaching aspirations or the compositional moves of Victor Hugo, as noted by Emile Fage. Thus, one of Hugo’s favorite moves is the gradual development of mood, or, to put it musical terms, as if a gradual transition from pianissimo to piano, etc. As Fage quite correctly emphasizes, such a move in itself speaks for the fact that Hugo’s genius is a “florid” genius, and such a conclusion is really justified general idea about Hugo (the purely oratorical in the sense of emotionality, the effectiveness of this move is clearly manifested when Hugo omits some member of the gradation and abruptly moves from one level to another). Also interesting from this point of view is another technique of Hugo’s composition noted by Fage - to develop his thought in a way that is widespread in everyday life, namely, to pile up repetitions instead of proofs. Such repetition, leading to an abundance of " common places” and itself being one of the forms of the latter, undoubtedly indicates, as Fage notes, the limitations of Hugo’s “ideas”, and at the same time again confirms the “floridity” (the bias of influence on the will of the reader) of his genius. Already from the examples given, which show that compositional techniques are generally determined by the poet’s general spiritual mood, it simultaneously follows that certain special tasks require certain techniques. Of the main types of composition, along with the named oratorical, we can name narrative, descriptive, explanatory composition (see, for example, “A guide to the English language”, edited by H. C. O. Neill, London, 1915) Of course, individual techniques in each of these species are determined both by the poet’s holistic “I” and by the specificity of a separate plan (see, “Strophe” - about the construction of Pushkin’s “I remember wonderful moment"), but we can outline some general sticky, characteristic of each of the compositional types. So, the narrative can develop in one direction and events follow in a natural way. chronological order or, conversely, the time sequence may not be observed in the story, and events may develop in different directions, arranged according to the degree of increase in action. Also found (in Gogol), for example, compositional technique narrative, consisting of a branch from the general narrative flow of individual streams that do not merge with each other, but flow into the general flow at certain intervals. Among the characteristic techniques of descriptive compositions, one can, for example, indicate the composition of the description according to the principle general impression or the opposite, when they start from a clear fixation of individual particulars. Gogol, for example, often uses a combination of these techniques in his portraits. Having illuminated some image with hyperbolic light (see Hyperbole) in order to sharply outline it as a whole, Gogol then writes out individual particulars, sometimes completely insignificant, but acquiring special significance against the background of the hyperbole, which deepens the usual perspective. As for the fourth of the named types of composition - explanatory, then first of all it is necessary to stipulate the convention of this term in applying it to poetic works. Having a very definite meaning as a method of embodying thoughts in general (this can include, for example, the method of classification, illustration, etc.), an explanatory composition in a work of art can manifest itself in the parallelism of the arrangement of individual moments (see, for example, the parallel arrangement of Ivan’s characteristics Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich in Gogol’s story) or, conversely, in their contrasting opposition (for example, by delaying the action by describing the characters), etc. If we approach works of art from the point of view of their traditional belonging to epic, lyrical and dramatic, then here too one can find specific features each group, as well as within their smaller divisions (composition of a novel, poem, etc.). In Russian literature, something has been done in this regard only recently. See, for example, the collections “Poetics”, books - Zhirmunsky - “Composition lyric poems”, Shklovsky’s “Tristan Shandy”, “Rozanov”, etc., Eikhenbaum’s “Young Tolstoy”, etc. It should, however, be said that the approach of these authors to art only as a set of techniques forces them to move away from the most essential in their work above literary text- from establishing the definability of certain techniques creative theme. This approach turns these works into a collection dead materials and raw observations, very valuable, but awaiting their animation (see Reception).

Ya. Zundelovich. Literary Encyclopedia: Dictionary literary terms: In 2 volumes / Edited by N. Brodsky, A. Lavretsky, E. Lunin, V. Lvov-Rogachevsky, M. Rozanov, V. Cheshikhin-Vetrinsky. - M.; L.: Publishing house L. D. Frenkel, 1925

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