What do myths and epics have in common? Folk genres fairy tale and epic: similarities and differences

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The epic is very close to the historical song, but nevertheless there is a deep and fundamental difference between them. The epic is older than the historical song. The epic and the historical song express the consciousness of the people at different levels historical development V different forms.A closer comparison of a fairy tale with an epic on the same plot will always turn out that there are differences not only in the form of execution, but also in the content itself: a fairy tale usually turns heroic feat on a fun adventure.
The epic began to penetrate ancient Russian literature. Starting from the 17th century, we have handwritten stories, the subject of which are the exploits of heroes. Of these, the most favorite were the stories about Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber and about Mikhail Potyk. Such works were called “story”, “history” or “legend”. Book language of that time, the story was told about those heroes and their exploits about which the people sang. These “stories” were, of course, not intended for singing, but for reading.
Unlike myth and, later, fairy tales, the hero of the epic does not possess any talismans or magical means. True, there are cases when the hero has not only superhuman strength, but also the ability to transform into animals or by magical means, but such cases are rare. This is the “arsenal of myth”, which the epic epic still uses for some time. The hero does not win by virtue of his magical armament, embodied in talismans, amulets, magical tools or objects, he wins only with courage, strength, courage, complete fearlessness. To arouse admiration and love of listeners, the hero must have outstanding qualities. He is endowed with the highest moral qualities and external attractiveness.
What is the main moral quality of the hero? It consists in the fact that the hero always thinks about himself only last. The hero does not strive for his personal well-being, his activities are aimed at the benefit of people. There is no doubt that this ideal is associated with the tribal system, where the individual always has the support of the collective. However, if something heroic and lofty is seen in such support, then this means that they see something extraordinary in it. The readiness to help everyone is not the result of desires for the past, where this help was implied by itself, it is a reaction to the present, where this help is no longer implied by itself, where there is already a division into the haves and have-nots, where exploitation and violence have already arisen. The hero helps the disadvantaged, that is, the poor in property.
This character of heroism is neither externally nor internally connected to the main narrative. One can observe that the new concept of heroism is invading the old one. composition system and begins to violate it. The hero commits actions that are not related to the main thread of the narrative, even disrupting and slowing down its flow, but internally necessary to create its complete appearance. These acts consist of the hero, in various forms, saving someone from trouble.
The Russians were participants in the greatest historical upheavals of the European-Asian Middle Ages. The fight against the Tatars required the efforts of all the people. Now the people could no longer be content with songs in which the hero defeated a monstrous snake, although he did not forget about these songs and continued to edit them artistically. New songs have appeared about the fight against historical, real enemies. Only their epic form and method of performance are traditional in these songs. In them, the people created images of heroes defending the greatest property and shrine - their homeland. The character of these heroes is not created by tradition and is not derived from it. It was forged in a specific historical struggle and embodies the best, heroic qualities of the people. The group of these epics is later than the group of epics about the hero’s matchmaking or his struggle with monsters.

Such genres as heroic epic, myth and epic are among the most ancient literary works. They became the first genres of literature, originating at a time when humanity first began to use writing.

Heroic epic, myth, epic; difference between myth and fairy tale

Myth, epic and heroic epic have a number of characteristics that generalize them, as well as some points that still speak about deep differences between them. These genres arose on a real historical basis.

Heroic epic and epic often glorify peoples who resisted invaders, heroes of military conflicts, glorify their courage, boldness and patriotism. In myths, the motive of heroism is partly mixed with mystification, but they are also based on historical events, the reality of which is still in doubt.

Myth over ancient genre, than the heroic epic and epic. Its origin is attributed to the heyday of ancient civilizations. It is false to believe that myths existed exclusively in Ancient Greece and Rome. IN Slavic culture myths also occupied a leading place.

However, due to the fact that the Slavs early stages their development did not have writing, many myths were lost in the thickness of history and have not survived to this day. In modern literary theory, the fairy tale genre is considered in the status of a “degraded myth.”

To dispel false identification of myth and fairy tale, the main distinctive features these genres. Firstly, a fairy tale and a myth perform different functions: a myth explains to a person the origin of the phenomena around him, a fairy tale performs an educational and entertaining function.

Secondly, a person perceives a myth as an exaggerated reality, while a fairy tale is initially considered a fiction.

Techniques for creating a heroic character in an epic

In the process of creating a heroic character in the epic, stylistic, lexical devices, and syntactic schemes were often widely used.

Quite often in the heroic epic there are phraseological units, which emphasize the hero’s virtues: “fast as lightning.” Heroic character the main character is a composite phenomenon - most often it includes positive features several people, and sometimes the whole people.

Hero hero

The main character of the epics known today is a hero - a hero - a man with enormous physical strength, a sense of patriotism, courage and determination. Hero - hero - central figure heroic epics. In contrast to him, negative heroes are often included - invaders, mythological creatures, with whom he fights to protect his fatherland and his people.

The role of the literary word in an epic work

IN epic works Lexical techniques are always used, which are combined into epic formulas. The artistic epic formula is a combination of a noun and an adjective with a stable epithet - black death, white face, good fellow.

Popular genres of folklore include fairy tales and epics. Although they are very similar, these genres each have their own specific characteristics and were written for different purposes. Let's consider the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics.

A brief introduction to the fairy tale genre

Fairy tales are among the popular genres of Russian folklore. First, fairy tales about animals appeared, then magical and social ones. In what specific features genre?

The events described in it were perceived as fiction.
The purpose of writing is instructive, less often entertaining.
The form of presentation is prose.

Most often, fairy tales were passed on “by word of mouth,” which is why they do not have specific authors. Each narrator could forget something or, conversely, add something, so the texts had many variations.

Description of epics as a genre

Another interesting folk genre is the epic, an epic song, the main characters were heroes, princes and other defenders common people. Their opponents were often endowed with powerful strength. Thus, the Serpent Gorynych, a three-headed monster spewing fire from its insatiable mouths, captured entire villages of Russians.

Let us briefly highlight the key features of the genre:

A poetic form of storytelling, most often texts were written in tonic verse with an even number of stresses (2-4).
The presence of a clear structure: chorus - beginning - exposition - ending.
Heroes often had real prototypes or were perceived by the popular consciousness as the embodiment of evil.

In general, this genre was loved by the Russian people, because in the texts good always prevailed over evil.

Common features

Let's look at the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics. First of all, let's highlight common features, inherent in both genres:

No attribution.
Initially, there was only an oral form of presentation.
Use of traditional wording and templates.
They reflected the features of life and everyday life of the people of their era.

These are the main similarities between fairy tales and epics. The differences will be described below. We also note that both genres used images of fantastic characters who most often embodied evil (the Serpent Gorynych in epics, Baba Yaga and Koschey in fairy tales).

Differences

Considering the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics, we note that they were created for different purposes:

A fairy tale is for instructing and entertaining listeners.
Epic - for chanting the exploits of heroes.

Further, speaking about the similarities and differences between epics and fairy tales, it should be noted that different characters acted in them. At first glance, both of them are objects of fiction. However, in fairy tales, heroes were initially perceived as imaginary. In epics they often had real historical background and embodied the ideal qualities of people's defenders.

The next similarity and difference between the fairy tale and the epic is in the plot of the text. In the epic, feats were sung, some historical events, important for the entire people, which was not in fairy-tale texts. The latter were often dedicated to a specific character and his fate.

Comparison example

To further understand the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics, let’s compare two texts - “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” and “Marya Morevna”. Both works are very interesting and have fascinating story, familiarity with which will be useful for both children and adults.

The first sign that distinguishes the texts catches the eye: a fairy tale is told in prose, an epic - in a special verse.

Next, we will consider other similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics. At the beginning of the texts there is an indication of the location of the action. “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state” - this is how “Marya Morevna” begins; the formula for the genre is traditional and devoid of specifics. And “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” directly speaks of where the events unfold - the city of Chernigov.

The following similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics are the main characters. It seems that both of them - Ivan Tsarevich and the hero Ilya - are brave, decisive and courageous, but Ilya’s main goal is a selfless feat for the sake of salvation native people, and Ivan with all his positive qualities still works in own interests- wanting to regain his lost wife.

Features of presentation

Considering the similarities and differences between epics and fairy tales as genres of Russian folklore, it should be noted that both of them used stable expressions that pass from text to text:

“The fairy tale will soon be told, but the deed will not be done soon.”
“Black and black”, “let the gray beast not prowl.”

Their use not only created a special poetics, but also helped to remember rather voluminous works.

Also often used constant epithets: “good fellow”, “heroic strongwoman”, “straight path”.

The similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics indicate that these are different folklore genres, but having many common features.

Epics- folk songs about exploits heroes, preserved in the north of Russia in the memory of singer-storytellers. Epic songs in which heroic events are sung. The epics artistically summarized the reality of the 11th-16th centuries.

Epics were recorded mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries in the Russian North - their main custodian: in the former Arkhangelsk province, in Karelia, on the Mezen, Pechora, Pinega rivers, on the White Sea coast, in the Vologda region. In addition, starting from the 18th century, epics were written down among the old-timers of Siberia, the Urals, the Volga and in the central Russian provinces. Echoes of epics were preserved in Cossack songs on the Don, Terek, Lower Volga, and Urals.

The content of epics is varied. About 100 stories are known to science; in total, more than 3,000 texts have been recorded with variants and versions, a significant portion of which have been published. Usually epics are heroic or novelistic in nature. Idea heroic epics– glorification of unity and independence Russian land, in novelistic epics marital fidelity was glorified, true friendship, personal vices were condemned. Bylinas condemned social injustice and the arbitrariness of princely power. The people called the epics “old”, “starinka”, “starinushka”. The term “epic” is purely scientific; it was proposed in the first half of the 19th century by I.P. Sakharov. The word "epic" was taken by him from the "Tale of the Regiment" and artificially used to mean folklore genre to emphasize its historicism.

When singing certain events in epics, storytellers never became like chroniclers; they did not strive to convey a chronicle sequence of events, but depicted only the central moments. The singers were attracted not by an accurate recording of history, but by the expression of its popular assessments, the reflection of popular ideals.

The epics conveyed the names of real-life persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Batu, Tugorkan). So the epic prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko combined Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh. Dobrynya Nikitich, uncle of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, lived in the 10th and early 11th centuries. There are chronicle mentions of him. For example, the epic Dobrynya is the matchmaker of Vladimir Svyatoslavich. The historical Dobrynya played this role in 980, when Vladimir decided to marry the Polotsk princess Rogneda.

In the 12th century In Novgorod there was a merchant named Sotko. Sadko is a hero of Novgorod epics.

Ilya Muromets in Russian written sources mentioned in the 16th century, and in German oral tradition it has been known since the 13th century. According to some legends, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there was a tomb with the relics of Ilya Muromets. The rise of Ilya Muromets over other heroes was facilitated by the fact that he came from North-Eastern Rus', which from the 12th century began to play a leading role among the ancient Russian lands.

Putilov. Russian historical song folklore.

Epics are works whose plots are the result of fiction. This fiction is always based on historical reality, but not in the form of specific events and facts. An epic is an artistic generalization historical experience people an entire era. In this generalization, the historical ideals of the people are in the foreground.

HISTORY OF THE COLLECTION. A significant difficulty is created by the fact that we have not reached us, and perhaps there were no records of epics earlier. early XVII century. The oldest B. records are only 300 years old. Taking into account the inevitable variability of any folklore text in oral transmission from generation to generation, we have to admit that even our most ancient records of B. did not preserve B. in their original content and form. Later recordings of epics, made by learned collectors from the mouths of the people in the 18th-20th centuries, quite naturally included a number of even further “layers” and were subject to greater or lesser changes and additions from a long series of generations of individual storytellers. Restoring the original appearance of each B. and its further evolution can be (and then relatively) done only on the basis of a careful comparison and comparison of all the variants of B. that have come down to us, both old and new records.

This explains why learned folklorists value so much every old manuscript with an epic text and every new B. entry on the same plot. There are only about 40 B. stories, but records of B. texts have now accumulated over 1,500 issues.

The oldest recording of Russian epic songs is a recording of historical songs, almost contemporary with the events sung in them, made for the Englishman Richard James, who lived in Russia in 1619-1620. Actually, B. texts in manuscripts of the 17th century. We got five. The oldest handwritten text is “The Tale of Kyiv heroes, how they went to Constantinople and how they beat the Constantinople heroes and did themselves honor” (at the end of the text this “Tale” is called “The Heroic Word”). This and similar handwritten texts from B. XVII century. must be considered together with other handwritten B. texts XVIII And early XIX centuries

From mid-18th century V. a wonderful one came to us collection of epics, compiled by the Cossack Kirsha Danilov for the Ural rich factory owner Demidov and containing over 70 songs.

The discovery of the riches of the Russian B. epic falls on the 60-70s. XIX century In 1861-1867, “Songs collected by P. N. Rybnikov” (224 B. issues) were published, and in 1872 - “Onega B.”, recorded in 1871 by A. F. Hilferding (318 issues).

During 1862-1874, editions of the posthumous work “Songs collected by P. V. Kireevsky” were published (11 volumes in total).

two collections: N. S. Tikhonravov and V. F. Miller. The then young learned collectors made trips beyond B. to different parts of this vast province; as a result, science has been enriched by detailed collections of biographies: A. V. Markov, “Belomorskie Byelorussia”, M., 1901 (116 issues); A. D. Grigorieva (total 424 issues), “Arkhangelsk B. and historical songs", vol. I, M., 1904 and vol. III, M., 1910 (volume II was not published) and N. E. Onchukova, "Pechorsky B.", In the Saratov region (M. and B. Sokolovs and others - 24 rooms), in Siberia (Tan-Bogoraz, Gulyaev, etc. - 27 rooms); quite significant B. material was recorded among the Don, Terek, Ural, and Orenburg Cossacks (collections of Listopadov, Arefin, Dogadin, Zheleznov, Myakushin, Pankratyev, Karpinsky - information about all these records is combined in the article by V. F. Miller - “Cossack Epic Songs XVI and XVII centuries" in his "Essays on Folk Literature", vol. III, M., 1924).

Classification of epics:

heroic epics will differ from B. short stories, as they have long been Vs. Miller differentiated by content. In heroic epics, the movement is characterized by centripetal force towards the main thing acting person- to the hero. It does not always develop in a straight line, but very often with sudden shifts in the opposite direction. The favorite technique of the heroic B. is the technique of antithesis (Ilya, despite the warning sign at the crossroads of three roads, travels along them and with his actions refutes these warnings; Dobrynya does not listen to his mother’s instructions and bathes in the Puchai River, etc.). Similar to the technique of antithesis in the development of action in heroic epics, we see the same technique of contrast in the organization of the image of B. heroes. At the beginning of B. the hero is underestimated, even discredited, the enemy seems more significant than him, stronger, then all this 13 is immediately refuted by the further, especially the final moment of the heroic B.: the hero alone deals with a hostile force of many thousands. For example, such couples as Ilya and Idolishche, Potanya and Kostryuk, Dobrynya and the Serpent, etc. are depicted in contrast. various shapes hyperbolization as appearance epic heroes both their attributes and their actions and exploits.

B. short stories (Churila and Katerina, Alyosha and Dobrynya, Khoten Bludovich, etc.), in contrast to heroic B., include significantly more elements purely dramatic action. Various forms of dialogue play a significant role in the poetics of poetry, and in heroic and military poetry, dialogue, or direct speech in general, is less common than in short story poetry, for which the dialogical form of presentation is largely a formal sign of a special style. genre. Dialogue performs an essential dynamic function in the structure of fiction - it significantly moves the action in fiction.

Epics are also combined into cycles:

By time

By territory

By heroes

Kyiv and Novgorod cycles

Ticket 27. main plots of Russian epics. Novgorod and Kyiv cycles.

Plots of epics. Quantity epic stories, despite the many recorded versions of the same epic, it is very limited: there are about 100 of them. There are epics based on the matchmaking or struggle of the hero for his wife ( Sadko, Mikhailo Potyk, Ivan Godinovich, Danube, Kozarin, Solovey Budimirovich and later - Alyosha Popovich and Elena Petrovichna, Hoten Bludovich); fighting monsters ( Dobrynya and the snake, Alyosha and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber); the fight against foreign invaders, including: repelling Tatar raids ( Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir, Ilya and Kalin, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich), wars with Lithuanians ( An epic about the raid of Lithuanians).

Satirical epics or epic parodies stand apart ( Duke Stepanovich, Competition with Churila).

The main epic heroes. Representatives of the Russian “mythological school” divided the heroes of epics into “senior” and “younger” heroes. In their opinion, the “elders” (Svyatogor, Danube, Volkh, Potyka) were the personification of elemental forces; epics about them uniquely reflected the mythological views that existed in Ancient Rus'. The “younger” heroes (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich) are ordinary mortals, heroes of a new historical era, and therefore are endowed with mythological features to a minimal extent. Despite the fact that serious objections were subsequently raised against such a classification, such a division is still found in the scientific literature.

Images of heroes are the people's standard of courage, justice, patriotism and strength (it is not for nothing that one of the first Russian aircraft, which had an exceptional carrying capacity at that time, was named by its creators “Ilya Muromets”).

Epics are divided into:

Kyiv.

Epic Kyiv is a symbol of the unity and state independence of the Russian land. Here, in the courtyard of Prince Vladimir, the events of many epics take place. The military might of Rus' is personified by heroes. Among heroic epics those in which Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich act are put forward in first place. These main defenders of the Russian land come from three classes: peasant, princely and priestly. Bylinas sought to present Rus' as united in the fight against enemies.

Ilya – peasant son, originally from the village of Karacharova near the city of Murom. Until the age of thirty, he was sick - he could not use his arms or legs. The poor wanderers healed Ilya and gave him unprecedented strength. Ilya’s enormous power should benefit all of Rus', so he rushed to Kyiv. Along the way, he accomplished his first exploits: he defeated enemy troops near Chernigov, and cleared the road from the robber nightingale.

After Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich is most loved by the people. This is a hero of princely origin, he lives in Kyiv. The main thing of his life is military service Rus'.

Dobrynya’s heroic feat is depicted in the epic “Dobrynya and the Snake” - a story about how on the Puchai River Dobrynya fought off a snake with one hat, knocking off three of its trunks. The snake begged and offered to make peace. Dobrynya released the snake, but then I saw, as he grabbed the prince’s daughter and went to rescue her. This time the battle was long, but Dobrynya won.