Proppa. Russian heroic epic in the works of V.Ya

The genres of folk art include Russian (oral) epic: songs, tales, traditions of a narrative nature, works about events from the lives of heroes, which were created orally, performed and memorized by ear, passed on from generation to generation. The most ancient type of oral epic, preserved in people's memory for many centuries, were the so-called epics(in the popular environment in the 19th - 20th centuries they were called antiquities) - songs of large volume, consisting of several hundred, sometimes thousands of verses.

Reading epics, we are immersed in a special world, it is inhabited by characters who are unlike real people; extraordinary events take place in it that could not happen in the real world; it is full of things that have miraculous properties. This, from a modern point of view, is a fantastic world.

Symbolic meaning Epic images have repeatedly attracted the attention of Russian and Soviet writers, among whom we find the names of G.I. Uspensky and N.A. Nekrasov, A.P. Chekhov and A.M. Gorky.

In Russian historical and philological science, the epic aroused keen interest and became the subject of diverse research after the publication in 1818 of the epic songs of the famous 18th-century collection “Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirshei Danilov.” Publisher of the collection K.F. Kalaidovich sent him a preface, which was the first scientific work devoted to the study of epics and historical songs. Attention to the epic heritage has especially increased and intensified in connection with the discovery by P. N. Rybnikov of the fact of the existence and live performance of epics in the Russian European North in the mid-19th century. To date, the history of the scientific study of epic epics has more than one and a half years.

During this time, the main paths and most significant themes in the study of the epic were determined. 1 In connection with the study of singing schools, the notes and works of the very first collectors of epic songs show a great and persistent interest in the personality and talent of the storyteller. A F Hilferding makes an important observation about the relationship between traditions and personal initiative in the singing of Onega singers.

The correlation between the collective and individual principles in epic creativity continues to arouse interest in all subsequent folkloristics right up to the present day.

The epic is concentrated, poetically and philosophically meaningful, and artistically attests to the rich historical experience of the people.

This experience concerns the most diverse aspects of national life: the fight against foreign enslavers, the formation of the state, family relations, the social struggle of the people against their oppressors, social ideals, etc. In the course of this struggle, an idea of moral values was developed, a historical ideal of human behavior and way of thinking gradually took shape, an ideal type of Russian epic hero emerged, who embodied the people's ideas about personal dignity, humanism, love for their native land, love of freedom, social activity and fearlessness in the struggle for your goals.

At the center of the epic world are its heroes - heroes. The word “hero” itself was well known in Ancient Rus'. It appears repeatedly in chronicles, often with the epithets “glorious”, “wonderful”, “brave”, “great”.

1 A.M. .Astakhova. Epics. Results and problems of the study. M.-L., 1966.

It is not without reason that Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Sadko, Vasily Buslaevich appear to us not only as epic images brought to life by folk fantasy, but also as unique and deep symbols of people’s historical aspirations, strengths and possibilities.

For centuries, epics existed exclusively in oral tradition, so they are variable and multi-layered, they have preserved signs of different eras, in particular, pagan and Christian elements are combined.

All Russian epics can be divided according to the place of creation and the characteristics of their content into two cycles - Kiev and Novgorod. Kyiv epics are heroic songs about the exploits of heroes - warriors defending the Russian land from countless hordes of enemies. Novgorod epics talk about peaceful life, everyday life, trade, and the adventures of merchants.

Before judging epics as a whole, song genres should be determined. V.Ya. Propp singles out epics heroic, fairy-tale, novelistic, as well as those on the verge of ballad, spiritual verse, etc. 1 Heroic epics form the main backbone of the song folk epic. Heroic epics are characterized by a battle, an open clash, a heroic fight between a hero, a people's intercessor, a fighter for a national cause with the enemy. The enemy can be a monster (Snake, Nightingale the Robber, Tugarin, Idolishche). Fighting with him, the hero liberates Kiev, cleanses the Russian land from the rapist and the villain (epic stories about Dobrynya the serpent fighter, Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin, Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber, Ilya and the Idolishche). The enemy could be the Tatar-Mongol hordes, threatening the very existence of the Russian state. The main hero, liberating Kiev from the enemies who besieged it, is Ilya Muromets. A significant part of heroic songs is devoted to the theme of social struggle.

1 Propp V.Ya. Genre composition of Russian folklore //Russian literature. - 1964. - No. 4. - S., 58-76.

The hero of these songs fights with the prince and his boyar entourage for his trampled dignity (the epic about Sukhman), rebels against the power of the rich and noble, leading the protest of the poor and commoners (the epic about the rebellion of Ilya Muromets against Prince Vladimir; the plot about the struggle of Vasily Buslaevich with the Novgorodians) . Among the epics of this genre there are also songs about heroic matchmaking (for example, the epic about the Danube wooing a bride to Prince Vladimir). But matchmaking, the search for a wife, unless it is connected with the fight against foreign enemies, is usually no longer heroized in epic epics, although historically this was not always the case. Many stories about matchmaking have become a genre fabulous epic They are characterized by typical images and situations of a fairy tale. So, for example, in the epic about Sadko we meet a magical donor who sends Sadko from the bottom of the Ilmen lake a wonderful gift (magic remedy) - a fish with golden feathers. This gift allows the hero in a dispute to win a rich mortgage from Novgorod merchants. In this epic, like a fairy-tale hero. Sadko finds himself in another world, an underwater kingdom, where he is offered to choose a bride among the daughters of the sea king. The hero of another fairy-tale epic, Mikhail Potyk, is buried along with his dead wife. But, being buried, he prudently used metal rods to kill the snake trying to destroy him.

Bylinas have a special artistic form and method of poeticizing heroes. novelistic. There is no open battle, no battle, no military clash. There is an everyday episode of a meeting, dispute, matchmaking or some other incident. An example of a novelistic epic is the song about Mikula and Volga. The peasant-worker, the mighty plowman is contrasted in it with the feudal prince. The theme of another novelistic epic about Nightingale Budimirovich is matchmaking, but not related to the heroism of the fight against foreigners, not complicated by the hopelessly tragic discrepancy between the future spouses. The epic is light in nature, its tone is cheerful, and it ends with a happy union of lovers.

Epic tradition starting from the 111th-18th centuries. can serve as one of the sources of newly emerging genres of oral folk art, such as the ballad, for example. There are known epics that are, as it were, halfway to the ballad B Russian folk ballad tragic stories of love and family relationships are glorified 1 . The same, for example, is the song about Danil Lovchanin or the final part of the epic about the Danube and Nastasya, which tells how the hero, jealous of his warrior wife for his heroic glory, kills her as she awaits the birth of her son, and then commits suicide himself in a fit of despair

On the periphery of epic creativity are the epics are bland, which are united with other epic songs by the commonality of some poetic devices. Their world is close to the mocking world of folk tales, satirical songs, and folk parodies.

But it is the heroic epics, both in their poetic form and content, that represent the most characteristic and specific type of song-epic creativity for the epic epic as a whole.

The epic is a unique phenomenon of Russian culture. It is not reproducible under new historical conditions. Its rich content could only be embodied in those original, archaic artistic forms, which in their totality make up the amazing and in many ways mysterious poetic world of the heroic epic song.

1 Propp V.Ya. Decree. Op. pp. 63-65.

“RUSSIAN HEROIC EPIC IN THE WORKS OF V.YA. PROPPA"

Abstract of a student of group 244 of the faculty (JNF)

Novikov Boris Yurievich

Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

State educational institution of higher professional education

St. Petersburg State Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics

(Technical University)

Faculty of Humanities

Department of Cultural Studies

Saint Petersburg

I . Introduction

The works of the famous professor at Leningrad University, specialist in Russian folklore Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (1895-1970), created by him in the first half and mid-twentieth century, are considered one of the most significant contributions to the development of Russian folklore studies. I am a little interested in Russian folklore and I have long wanted to get acquainted with them. These fundamental studies are accessible even to readers without special philological training. They explore not only folklore, its genres and manifestations in rites and rituals, but also its meaning for the people, its poetics, its influence on modern culture. Book by V.Ya. Propp's “Russian Heroic Epic” is the first and still remains the only monograph dedicated to Russian epics. It first appeared in 1955, the second revised edition was published in 1958. The scientist’s works “Morphology of a Fairy Tale” (1928) and “Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale” (1946) had already been published, influencing the nature of this research. The author has examined all the varied plots, so it is possible to use the book as a reference book on the epic. Each thought is first formulated, and then developed and proven. The most important judgments are duplicated. Pedagogical experience allowed V.Ya. Propp organizes sections and topics most clearly, presents facts and their analysis in accessible and lively language. The reader is not tired of unnecessary details, but is not left without numerous references and explanations. The ordered material and the description of the methods for processing it convince us of the correctness of the conclusions made by the author. The monograph “Russian Heroic Epic” received the first university prize. In the future, it will be considered specifically; all references, except those specifically stated, will refer to the publication indicated in the list of references.

II . main part

II -1. VIEWS OF VARIOUS SCIENTISTS ON THE WORKS OF V.Ya. PROPPA

After the publication of the work “Russian Heroic Epic,” an impulse arose for polemics on many issues of epic studies. The main dispute among V.Ya. Proppa turned around with B.A. Rybakov, an influential supporter of the historical school in the folklore community (Rybakov B.A. Historical view of Russian epics // History of the USSR. 1961. No. 5. pp. 141-166; No. 6. pp. 80-96; Propp V.Ya. On the historicism of the Russian epic (response to academician B.A. Rybakov) // Russian literature. 1962. No. 11. pp. 98-111; see also: On the historicism of Russian folklore and methods of its study // Propp V.Ya. Poetics folklore. M., 1998. pp. 185-208). Scientists B.N. Putilov, Yu.I. Yudin and I.Ya. Froyanov developed and supplemented the ideas of V.Ya. Proppa. Subsequently, a tendency arose both to apply the scientist’s methodology in the analysis of the epic plot, and to identify the historical basis of the epic. When researching epics, modern folklorists conduct a scientific search, invariably using the achievements of V. Ya Propp.

II -2. METHODOLOGICAL PREREQUISITES FOR ANALYSIS

In his work “Russian Heroic Epic” V.Ya. Propp shows talent as a researcher and skills as a teacher. Before starting to consider the material, the author determines the subject of study itself. He considers the most decisive features of an epic to be, of course, the heroic nature of its content, as well as the musical form of performance, poetic and special metrical structures. It is important for him here to separate the heroic epic proper both from some prose genres, for example, fairy tales and some types of old stories, and in general from works of epic poetic size, such as epic spiritual poems, ballad and buffoon songs. Also, historical songs closely related to it are separated from the epic, and the author stands here in opposition to the historical and neo-historical schools dominant at that time [see: pp. 6-12]. Supporters of this trend sought to discover in the epic a reflection of a specific historical event and to find historical prototypes for its heroes. At the same time, the general concept of the song and its main idea were not taken into account. From here followed illegitimate and debunked attempts to deduce the epic characters from the chronicles, to correlate the appearance of the epic with the formation of Kievan Rus, to attribute the authorship of the epics not to the people, but to the elite elite. The author strongly objects to this. He himself stands on the fact that the epic, part of folklore, is an exclusively folk creation, expresses folk ideals and therefore is kept in the people's memory. From this point of view, the scientist successfully explains almost all epic plots, only in rare cases resorting to references to ideological or authorial influence.

After establishing the scope of consideration of V.Ya. Propp explores issues of epic methodology in pre-revolutionary and Soviet science. He shows the inconsistency of most of the directions, trying to focus attention on the need to study the epic without breaking away from the historical or artistic sides. Much attention is paid to the merits of Russian revolutionary democrats (N.A. Dobrolyubov, N.G. Chernyshevsky and, especially, V.G. Bellinsky, the author of many articles on folk poetry), as well as A.M. Gorky. This is undoubtedly due to the situation of the struggle against cosmopolitanism and the chauvinistic spread of ideas of the superiority and originality of everything Russian, characteristic of the time the monograph was created. Of course, the indisputable and mentioned at every opportunity opinions of K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin and other social democrats are also not determined by the orientation of V.Ya. Propp, but the dominant ideology. The author himself insists on defining the ideas of epics, for which you need to understand them correctly and delve into all the details. He studies and compares various records to provide a complete picture of the plot. Here he does not compile a consolidated version and does not identify the most frequently encountered options, does not look for regional differences, but by analyzing the author’s additions and alterations introduced over time, he tries to reveal the meaning that was originally invested. The resulting picture may not be confirmed by any of the specific versions of the epic, but it always allows us to identify the collective plan of the people. Various entries in relation to this plan are only particular artistic cases of its implementation. V.Ya. Propp sees the epic as reflecting the age-old ideals of the people; its creation dates back to all the centuries, during which it was polished and acquired new or lost old features. He denies the mythologization of the history of the people by the epic, because on the contrary, the epic in its development discards the remnants of mythology. He sees the process of relationship between epic and history as dependent not on events, but on different eras. It is in this direction that he conducts his research [see: pp. 12-28].

An undoubted advantage is the brief information included in the appendices about the analysis of each of the epics under consideration by other researchers [see: pp. 558-591]. In the event that there is too much literature on a given song to mention it all, the author selects the most significant works. He singles out works with which he completely disagrees, leaving the rest without comment.

II -3. FEATURES OF THE HEROIC EPIC OF DIFFERENT ERAS

Primitive communal system. V.Ya. Propp is convinced that the heroic epic began to take shape long before the start of feudal relations. Since there are no direct traces of the existence of such a phenomenon, he cites as an example the numerous peoples who inhabited the territory of the USSR, who were delayed in development at the level of decomposition of the primitive communal system. They all have heroic epics. Using the comparison method, the scientist reveals in the epic songs of the peoples of Siberia and the Far North the development of the epic from mythology; the transition of heroic deeds from the struggle for the family unit (lyrical feelings do not play a role) to the defense of the native people or battles against oppressors; transformation of elemental hosts into hostile monsters; common to all heroes is a high moral spirit and a willingness to forget their interests for the common good (often they are leaders); hyperbolic appearance and actions of heroes and their enemies. The epic testifies to the beginning of the struggle for a new social order: the family is a factor that destroys tribal relations, and the hero’s knighthood is not a sign of the past, where support was implied by itself, but a reaction to the emergence of class inequality and exploitation. In the Russian epic, the hero's collisions in different worlds took a place in fairy tales, but were not preserved in epics. Heroic texts reflect the ideals that lie in the future, the aspirations of the era. This is the key to their longevity. The conclusions drawn are used by the author in the study of the Russian epic, making it possible to highlight its most ancient elements, which makes it easier to consider its development. The author reveals a very interesting feature of Russian epic songs. While the external form of songs of other peoples is multi-component and the plot develops not due to complication, but by adding new, identical links, Russian epics are essentially one-part and monolithic. Only the songs about Sadko and Potyka retained the features of their former multi-composition. Possible merging of two plots into one (contamination), according to V.Ya. Propp, this is a secondary phenomenon, and simplicity, brevity and indivisibility are the result of long-term improvement of the epic [see. details: pp. 29-58].

Propp, Vladimir

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp(April 17 (), St. Petersburg - August 22, Leningrad) - an outstanding Russian and Soviet folklorist, one of the founders of modern text theory.

Biography

Born on April 17 (29), 1895 in St. Petersburg in a family of Volga Germans. In 1914–1918 studied Russian and German philology at the Faculty of Philology at Petrograd University. Subsequently he taught German at universities in Leningrad.

Since 1932, he taught and conducted scientific work at Leningrad University (LSU). In 1937 he became an associate professor, from 1938 - a professor at Leningrad State University, successively in the departments of Romance-Germanic philology, folklore and, until 1969, Russian literature; in 1963-64 served as acting head of the department.

Scientific activity

In his work “Morphology of a Fairy Tale” (Leningrad,), Propp identifies recurring constant elements - the functions of the character (31 in total), laying the foundation for the structural-typological study of narrative. Propp's work had a significant influence on the development of structuralist studies of mythological, folklore, and literary texts.

In his work “Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale” (Leningrad, 2010), Propp develops the hypothesis developed by Sentivo. Propp sees in folk tales a reminder of totemic initiation rituals. It is quite obvious that the structure of fairy tales has the character of initiation. But the whole problem is to find out whether the fairy tale describes a system of rituals relating to any particular stage of culture, or whether its initiation scenario turns out to be “imaginary”, in the sense that it is not associated with any historical and cultural context , but rather expresses the ahistorical archetypal behavior of the psyche. As an example, Propp refers to totemic initiations; this type of initiation was categorically inaccessible to women, but the main character of Slavic fairy tales turns out to be just a woman: the old witch, Baba Yaga. However, Baba Yaga acts as an initiating elder from the point of view of the hypothesis about the ritual origin of the fairy tale. And the initiator, although always a man, had symbolic characteristics of both sexes, or even only female.

In other words, fairy tales do not provide an exact reminder of any specific stage of culture: here various historical cycles and cultural styles mix and collide with each other. Only patterns of behavior that could exist in many cultural cycles and at different historical moments have been preserved here.

The assumption that fairy tales originate from oral traditions told during initiation is confirmed by the similarity of motives and functions of characters in fairy tales of various peoples. In addition, Propp provides ethnographic data showing the process of decomposition of the ancient totemic religion and the transformation of once sacred oral traditions into fairy tales. Considering ethnic groups that have not yet parted with totemism (and do not have fairy tales as such), which are in the process of its decomposition and modern fairy tales of “cultured” peoples, Propp comes to the conclusion about the unity of the origin of the fairy tale.

Bibliography

Propp V.Ya. “Folklore and reality” - M.: Nauka, 1989. – 233s.

Literature

Unknown V. Ya. Propp. "Tree of Life. Diary of old age. Correspondence" / Preface, compiled by A.N. Martynova; Prepared text, commentary by A.N. Martynova, N.A. Prozorova. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2002. ISBN 5-89329-512-9
Warner E. E. “Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp and Russian folklore studies..”, Publishing house: St. Petersburg State University. 2005. ISBN 5-8465-0092-7
Vilmos Voigt: Propp, Vladimir Jakovlevich. In: Enzyklopädie des Märchens, volume 10 (2002), 1435-1442.
Serena Grazzini: Der strukturalistische Zirkel. Theorien über Mythos und Märchen bei Propp, Lévi-Strauss, Meletinskij. Wiesbaden 1999 (DUV: Literaturwissenschaft).
Reinhard Breymayer: Vladimir Jakovlevič Propp (1895-1970) - Leben, Wirken und Bedeutsamkeit. B: Linguistica Biblica 15/16 (1972), 36-77 (67-77 Bibliographie).

Links

Olshansky D. The birth of structuralism from the analysis of a fairy tale / Toronto Slavic Quarterly, No. 25

Vladimir Propp (1985-1970) / Literary Encyclopedia (2008)

Biography of Vladimir Propp in the Gallery of Russian Thinkers (International Society of Philosophers, 2007)

Author	Description	Year	Price	Book type
Digest of articles	The collection offered to the attention of readers has been prepared for the anniversary of the only specialist in our country and one of the largest in international saga studies on the Old Norse sagas of the ancients... - Russian Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Science, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pages) e-book	2012	139	eBook
A. Pumpur	The heroic epic “Lachplesis” was recreated in the second half of the 19th century by the poet Andrei Pumpur (1841-1902) based on legends, tales and songs of the Latvian people. The first work of Latvian epic... - Soviet writer. Leningrad branch, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pages) Poet's library. Big series	1985	490	paper book
	This set consists of 33 volumes of the Lenizdat Library series. The series includes the best works of world fiction. The set will be of interest to all lovers of classical... - Lenizdat, (format: 84x108/32, 19008 pages) Lenizdat Library	1972	3600	paper book