Interesting facts about literature for the wall newspaper. Amazing facts from the works of Russian writers

• In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov " Woe from mind » interjection “Ah!” used 54 times, and the exclamation “Oh!” appears on the pages of the work 6 times.
• Prologue “Near the Lukomorye there is a green oak...” of the poem “Ruslan and Ludmila"Pushkin wrote for its second edition, which was released 8 years after the first publication.
• In the novel "Eugene Onegin" “There are lines: “He settled in that quiet room, // Where the village old-timer // For forty years, he was quarreling with the housekeeper, // He looked out the window and crushed flies.” Word fly not used in this context direct meaning, but for the metaphor of alcohol. There is also another metaphor used to refer to a drunk person - “ under attack ", where the word fly is used in the same sense.
• Pushkin wrote more than 70 epigraphs to his works, Gogol used at least 20, and Turgenev used almost the same number.
• The name of the main character of Pushkin's story "Queen of Spades » unknown. In the work, the author used his last name Hermann (precisely with two n). This is a German surname that is quite common in Germany. And the name Herman (with one n) began to dominate in the work after Tchaikovsky removed one during the production of the opera “The Queen of Spades.” n , turning the surname Hermann into the name Hermann.
• In Krylov's fable "Dragonfly and ant“There are lines: “The jumping dragonfly sang red summer.” However, it is known that the dragonfly cannot make sounds. The fact is that at that time the word “dragonfly” served as a general name for several types of insects. And the hero of the fable is actually a grasshopper.
• Korney Chukovsky's real name was Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov.
• Initially, on Gogol’s grave in the monastery cemetery there was a stone nicknamed Golgotha ​​because of its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during the reburial it was decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime, is noteworthy: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat».
• Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places of his novel "Crime and Punishment" As the writer admitted, he compiled a description of the yard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience- when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard.
• When Mayakovsky introduced his famous poetic “ladder” into use, fellow poets accused him of cheating - after all, poets were then paid by the number of lines, and Mayakovsky received 2-3 times more for poems of similar length.
• Prototype main character novel " Anna Karenina » Leo Tolstoy served as M.A. Hartung is the daughter of A.S. Pushkin: not by character, not by life, but by appearance. The author himself admitted this.
• Daria Dontsova, whose father was Soviet writer Arkady Vasiliev, grew up surrounded by the creative intelligentsia. Once at school she was asked to write an essay on the topic: “What was Valentin Petrovich Kataev thinking about when he wrote the story”The lonely sail is white"?", and Dontsova asked Kataev himself to help her. As a result, Daria received a bad grade, and the literature teacher wrote in her notebook: “Kataev was not thinking about this at all!”
• The basis for " Tales of the Fisherman and the Fish» A.S. Pushkin was inspired by the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm “The Fisherman and His Wife”. Pushkin’s old woman finds herself broke after she wanted to become the mistress of the sea, and her German “colleague” at this stage became the Pope. And only after the desire to become the Lord God I was left with nothing.
• Leo Tolstoy was skeptical about his novels, including " War and Peace " In 1871, he sent Fet a letter: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.” An entry in his diary in 1908 reads: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem very important to them.”
• In the 19th century, actresses refused to play Sophia in the comedy " Woe from mind ” with the words: “I am a decent woman and I don’t play in pornographic scenes!” They considered such a scene to be a night conversation with Molchalin, who was not yet the heroine’s husband.
• In Edgar Poe's story "The Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym"There is an episode from 1838 when a ship gets caught in a storm and four sailors are saved on a raft. Having no food, they decide to eat one of them by lot - and that victim is Richard Parker. In 1884, a real yacht sank, and four people on one boat also survived. They hardly read that story, but in the end they ate the cabin boy.
• Baron Munchausenwas quite real historical figure. In his youth, he left Germany for Russia to serve as a page. He then began a career in the army and rose to the rank of captain, after which he went back to Germany. There he became famous for telling extraordinary stories about his service in Russia: for example, entering St. Petersburg on a wolf harnessed to a sleigh, a horse cut in half in Ochakovo, fur coats going crazy, or a cherry tree growing on the head of a deer. These stories, as well as completely new ones attributed to the baron by other authors, led to the emergence of Munchausen as a literary character.

Interesting facts about books prove that this accessory never leaves a person’s memory. Thanks to them, we develop, gain new knowledge, and spend leisure time. Interesting facts about the book for many modern people may be uninteresting, but we live as long as books live.

1. There are 129864880 books in total on Earth.

2. The first place among all books of the world space is given to the Bible.

3. A child 4-6 years old is best accustomed to reading a book.

4. A large number of readers lose interest in the book on page 18.

5. The spines of books are eaten by “bookworms”.

6. The Dharani Scroll is the oldest printed book. Interesting historical facts confirm this.

7.The first book similar to those in modern world, was created in the 1st century BC. But the Mesopotamian tablets, created (according to scientists) more than 5,000 years ago, are considered the very first books in the world.

8.Many scroll books were long and reached 45 meters in length.

9. Books made of clay were produced in Assyria.

10. The geographical atlas, preserved in the London Museum, is the heaviest book in the world.

11.Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius paid the largest fee for the book. It was received by the poet Oppian.

12. A book with the longest title was published in London.

13.The word “love” was used 2259 times in Shakespeare’s books.

14.Most a book to read considered the Bible.

15.The largest dictionary is considered to be the “German Dictionary”.

16.The most popular book hero was Napoleon.

17.In ancient times, books were chained to shelves because they were considered expensive.

18.A commemorative book made of stainless steel was created in Brazil.

19. In ancient times, books were placed on shelves with their spines facing inward.

20. A person who steals books is called a bibliocleptomaniac.

21.68% of all books in the world are purchased by women.

22.Most books are bought by people over 45 years old.

23.People read 7 hours a week.

24. There is a book in Wellington that weighs 50 kilograms. It is considered the heaviest in the world.

25.The very first book with a set date is the Psalter.

27. While reading books, our eyes look in different directions.

28.The only book in the world made of stone was discovered in Abkhazia.

29.More than 2000 years ago, the first newspaper appeared in everyday life, replacing the book.

30,10,000 books have been written about Napoleon over time.

31. The most expensive book in the world is the Codex Leicester, which was written by an Italian artist.

32.The largest publication is considered to be the documents of Great Britain, which are also called parliamentary.

34. In the 17th-19th centuries, human skin was used instead of binding for books.

35.When the Goths ravaged Athens, they killed hundreds of people, but they took care of the books.

37. In Shakespeare’s books, despite the fact that they are too dark, the word “love” is found 10 times more often than “hate.”

38.Books by Paolo Coelho are banned in Iran.

39.The smallest books can be easily scooped up with a spoon.

40.The best books were written in prison.

42.The Koran is considered the holy book of Muslims.

43.Since 1996, World Book and Copyright Day has been celebrated.

44.The best-selling book of all time in the United States is considered to be “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

46. ​​The Lord of the Rings trilogy was typed with 2 fingers.

47.In Turkey, Great Britain and America, the book “Winnie the Pooh” was banned from the very beginning.

48.The first book typed on typewriter, - "Tom Sawyer".

49. The Harry Potter books were banned in America due to their propaganda towards the occult.

50. Charles Dickens wrote the book “A Christmas Carol” in just 6 weeks.

51.First English novel considered "Robinson Crusoe".

52.The first handwritten Bible was written in 12 years.

53.Stephen King said that books teach a person a lesson.

54.Most big Book V printed form– “Collection maritime rules", which is available in the museum in Amsterdam.

55.Many people have heard of bookcrossing. This is sharing your books.

56.The book “Alice in Wonderland” has been translated into 125 languages.

57.The first autobiographical books were like chronicles.

58. Only in the Middle Ages did libraries with books appear.

59.140 million copies of The Little Prince have been sold so far.

60. In the Middle Ages, books were produced only in monastic scriptoria, which employed 20-30 people.

61.Printing first appeared in China.

62.A book was created in the USA using nanotechnology. It was written with beams of ions using an electron microscope.

63. Approximately 800 thousand book titles are published per year.

64. In Rus', books originated from Russian birch bark letters.

65.Books began to be published in Rus' in 1057.

66.Ivan Fedorov began printing books in Rus'.

68.6 minutes of reading a book relieves stress - this has been proven by scientists from the University of Sussex.

69. A person reading a book identifies himself with the character.

70. The book develops empathy.

71.The average American college graduate only manages to read 5 books after graduation.

72.The Bible is called the most long-suffering book.

73.The Bible was published in 2056 languages ​​of the world.

74.Audio books are very popular these days.

75. A book with the most amazing title was published in Great Britain.

76.The first books were created from wax and wood.

77.The first books appeared about 2000 years ago.

78.The Voynich Manuscript is considered the most mysterious book, which is written in a non-existent language.

79.During the history of printing, approximately 2 billion books were created.

80.Books are fragile and short-lived products.

81. In second place in popularity is the Guinness Book of Records.

82.The oldest book writers are Elizabeth and Sarah Delaney.

83.The Bible has approximately 773,700 words.

84.Justin Bieber also wrote a book.

85. For the first time, the book “Hamlet” was translated into Russian by Alexander Sumarokov.

86.The book “Robinson Crusoe” has a sequel.

87.The first book published in England was dedicated to the game of chess.

88. There is a night light book in the world.

90.The book-biography of Churchill consists of 22 thick volumes.

91.A person reads a book out loud much more slowly than silently.

92.To be able to read the smallest book in the world, you will need an electron microscope.

93. The collection of the most boring books in the world belongs to Rio Coselli.

94.The first audiobooks began to be published under the leadership of a foundation to support blind people.

95. Steven Bloomberg is the man who stole the most a large number of books.

96.Most big number pages in the book "Chinese Encyclopedia".

97.The very first comic book is considered to be the book “Superman”.

99. First, a person always looks at the cover of a book for 30 seconds, and then moves on.

100.Reading books at night can make you drowsy, which helps you fall asleep better.

Literature is the most interesting topic, which connects almost all people and nations. Each country has its favorite writers, fashion magazines, and news newspapers. But there are also books and writers who have become legends. They belong to the world, they are read all over the world, they are translated.

And interesting facts about literature

The most large selection all over the internet.

Gone with the Wind is Margaret Mitchell's only book. After working as a journalist and remarrying, she became a housewife and really missed old job, then she began to write this book. Work on the book took about 10 years.

IN Western Europe And in America, book spines are signed from top to bottom. This tradition goes back to the times when there were few books: if the book is lying on the table (or in a small stack), the reader should be able to easily read the title. And in Eastern Europe and Russia has adopted the tradition of signing the spines from bottom to top, because it is more convenient to read when the books are on the shelf.

Bulgakov wrote “The Master and Margarita” for a total of more than 10 years. Hidden dating is also contained in the indication of the age of the Master - the most autobiographical of all the characters in the novel. The master is “a man about thirty-eight years old.” Bulgakov himself turned the same age on May 15, 1929. 1929 is also the year when Bulgakov began working on “The Master and Margarita.”

In 2000, Frederic Beigbeder’s novel “99 Francs” was published, recommended for sale in France at exactly that price. The same principle was the reason why publications in other countries were published under a different name, corresponding to the exchange rate: “39.90 marks” in Germany, “9.99 pounds” in the UK, “999 yen” in Japan.

The first newspaper, very similar to modern ones, is considered to be the French “La Gazette”, which was published since May 1631. The significance of “Le Gazette” was very great, King Louis XIII himself, Cardinal Richelieu wrote in it, and it was in it that paid advertising began to be placed.

Alexandre Dumas, when writing his works, used the services of many assistants - the so-called “literary blacks”. Among them, the most famous is Auguste Macquet, who invented the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo and made significant contributions to The Three Musketeers.

Audiobooks are voiced piece of art, lecture, excursion, recorded on any storage medium, read professional actor or by a group of them for the purpose of further distribution and listening. About when exactly the first audiobook appeared, there are different opinions. Many believe that the prototype of the first audiobook dates back to 1933, when anthropologist J.P. Harrington recorded stories and legends told by Native American tribes. Discussions about creating audio books for the blind began in the early 1930s in the USA. The first such attempts were made in 1931 by the US Congress. The first audiobooks were produced by the American Foundation for the Blind in 1932, and in 1934 Congress approved free distribution of audiobooks. Commercial audiobooks were pioneered by Dylan Thomas, who recorded his audiobook A Child's Christmas in Wales on cassette in 1952. This book did not receive too much distribution, but a start had already been made.

Boris Pasternak and Marina Tsvetaeva. When the poetess emigrated to Berlin, they began to correspond. This correspondence was like a novel in letters. They saw each other in Moscow, many years later. Pasternak constantly helped Tsvetaeva financially. While packing her for evacuation, he joked about the packing rope, that you could hang yourself on it, it would hold up. Then it turned out that it was on this rope that Tsvetaeva committed suicide in Yelabuga.

Virginia Woolf wrote all her books standing up.

Founded in 1892, Vogue is probably one of the oldest fashion magazines in the world. This American super cult fashion magazine is published once a month in 23 different national and local regions. American version Vogue magazine was founded by Arthur Turnure as a weekly newspaper. From 1988 to the present, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue has been the legendary lady Anna Wintour.

Three of Franz Kafka's novels - "America", "The Trial" and "The Castle" - remained unfinished. But if the understatement, by and large, only benefits “The Trial” and “The Castle,” then the open ending of “America” seems like a cruel joke.

From 1912 to 1948, Olympic medals were awarded not only to athletes, but also to artists. Back at the end of the 19th century, Pierre de Coubertin, proposing to revive the Olympics, expressed the idea that competition should be both in sports disciplines and in various fields of art, and the works should be related to sports. There were five main medal categories: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. However, after the 1948 Olympics, it became clear that almost all participants in such competitions were professionals earning money through art, and it was decided to replace such competitions simply with cultural exhibitions.

Larousse Gastronomique (1938) is the world's premier gastronomic encyclopedia, the absolute first item on any list of food-related books. The editor-in-chief of Larousse Gastronomique was Prosper Montagne, the great French chef educator. At the time of the first edition of the book, the king of French cuisine, Auguste Escoffier, was still alive, who wrote the preface to the encyclopedia (and did not hesitate to point out that Montagne borrowed a lot from his own “Culinary Guide”). However, this was the first attempt to create a book of this kind, and it turned out to be unusually successful - the encyclopedia actually became a living monument to haute French cuisine.

Library of Congress - National Library USA, the largest library in the world. It was founded on April 24, 1800, when US President John Adams signed a law moving the state capital from Philadelphia to Washington. Among other things, this law contained a provision for the allocation of $5,000 (then a very significant amount) “for the purchase of books that may be needed by Congress, and the creation of appropriate premises for their storage.” It houses over 5,500 incunabula (including the Gutenberg Bible), book collections of T. Jefferson and a number of other US presidents, collections of works of Chinese (330 thousand volumes) and Japanese (450 thousand volumes) literature, a collection of rare American publications (60 thousand . vol.), 14.5 million books and brochures, 132 thousand volumes of bound newspapers, 3.3 million units of sheet music, etc.

One of the last literary works Márquez's Remembering My Sad Whores was published in 2004 by Random House Mondadori. Shortly before the presentation, book “pirates” managed to get hold of the manuscript and illegally put the book on sale. In response to this unfortunate event, Marquez changed the ending of the story, and the millionth edition was sold out at a record short term. The counterfeit products were soon confiscated by the police, and these items are now coveted by many collectors.

The Cuban poet Julian del Casal, whose poems were distinguished by deep pessimism, died of laughter. He was having dinner with friends, one of whom told a joke. The poet began to have an attack of uncontrollable laughter, which caused aortic dissection, bleeding and sudden death.

Albert Camus smoked throughout his life. It is difficult to find photographs of him without a cigarette. He even named his cat “Cigarette.”

Alchemist – Paulo Coelho was published in more than 117 countries and translated into 67 languages. In 2002, the Portuguese Journal di Letras, an authority on local literature and the literary market, announced that The Alchemist had sold more copies than any other book written in Portuguese in the history of the language.

Franz Kafka published only a few short stories during his lifetime. Being seriously ill, he asked his friend Max Brod to burn all his works after his death, including several unfinished novels. Brod did not fulfill this request, but, on the contrary, ensured the publication of the works that brought Kafka worldwide fame.

George Byron created a completely new direction - “gloomy selfishness.”

Byron and Lermontov are distant relatives. His ancestor Gordon, who lived in the sixteenth century, was married to Margaret Learmonth. She had the roots of a famous Scottish family, which gave rise to the origin of Mikhail Yuryevich himself.

In the novel by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina threw herself under a train at the Obiralovka station near Moscow. IN Soviet time this village became a city and was renamed Zheleznodorozhny.

Most readers consider the suppression of individuality through government censorship to be the main theme of the novel Fahrenheit 451, but Ray Bradbury himself states that this perception is incorrect. The author's main message is the danger of television, which destroys interest in reading literature, replacing it with entertainment, and deep knowledge with superficial “factoids.”

In 2002, a “new” Harry Potter book was published in China by an anonymous author called Harry Potter and Bao Zulong. It was an accurate translation of Tolkien's The Hobbit, in which all the characters were replaced with heroes from the works of JK Rowling. Rowling's lawyers were only able to get the Chinese publisher to issue an apology in the press and a fine of $3,400, and the book sold millions of copies.

The writer Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, was also an amateur ornithologist. Therefore, it is not strange that it was the ornithological reference book of the American James Bond “Birds of the West Indies” that gave the name to the famous spy peace.

The most widely read is Komsomolskaya Pravda. Founded back in 1925, it has not lost popularity for many years. After Komsomolskaya Pravda in the ranking is the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. It is read in more than sixty countries. In 1990, this tabloid was included in the Guinness Book of Records for the fact that its circulation exceeded thirty-three million copies, and the number of readers exceeded one hundred million. In America, several newspapers can be called the most popular - the New York Post, The New York Times", " The Wall Street Journal", "Daily News", etc.

According to Andrei Bitov, he first learned about Zen Buddhism at the age of thirty, having read the dissertation of an English literary critic entitled “Zen Buddhism in the early works of Andrei Bitov.”

The Little Prince is considered the most widely read and translated book in the French language, and has been translated into 250 languages ​​and dialects, including Braille for the blind. More than 140 million copies of the tale have been sold worldwide since 1943.

Reader's Digest magazine covers many topics from the most different areas life, being a companion to any person.

Mark Twain crossed the Atlantic Ocean 29 times, visited Palestine and Odessa, wrote 30 books and more than 50 thousand letters. During his black-and-white era, he wore only white suits and had more than two dozen of them in his wardrobe. Plus the obligatory white hat and red socks.

The literary heritage of Sherlock Holmes is not limited to the stories and tales of Arthur Conan Doyle. Only officially published works about the brilliant detective from writers different levels fames number in the hundreds. Among these authors are Conan Doyle's son Adrian, Isaac Asimov and Neil Gaiman, Mark Twain and Stephen King, Boris Akunin and Sergei Lukyanenko.

"The Little Prince" was an atypical work for Exupery; before that, he had not written children's books. The tale was written in 1942 in New York shortly before the writer's death. In 1943, he achieved a return to the front, and in the summer of 1944 he went on a reconnaissance flight in his Lightning P-38 aircraft and did not return.

Baron Munchausen was a very real historical figure. In his youth, he left the German town of Bodenwerder for Russia to serve as a page. He then began a career in the army and rose to the rank of captain, after which he went back to Germany. There he became famous for telling extraordinary stories about his service in Russia: for example, entering St. Petersburg on a wolf.

In the last ten years of his work, writer Sergei Dovlatov deliberately avoided sentences with words starting with the same letter. According to him, this rule helped him discipline himself, protecting him from verbosity and emptiness. Dovlatov’s works with this principle include “Suitcase”, “Reserve”, “Branch” and others.

Cosmopolitan - This world-famous magazine was founded back in 1886 as a literary magazine, and was published for the first time as a magazine for women in 1965.

In 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bernard Shaw, who called the event "a token of gratitude for the relief he has given the world by not publishing anything this year."

One day, Chuck Palahniuk was relaxing in nature and got into an argument with a neighboring camp, after which he was soundly beaten. Returning to work with a bruised face, Palahniuk saw that none of his colleagues were asking what happened. That’s when he came up with the idea for the novel “Fight Club.”

When asked what 5 books you would take with you to a desert island, Bernard Shaw replied that he would take 5 books with blank pages. This concept was embodied in 1974 by the American publishing house Harmony Books, releasing a book called “The Book of Nothing,” which consisted exclusively of 192 blank pages. She found her buyer, and subsequently the publishing house republished this book more than once.

Worldwide famous series The Harry Potter books were first published in 1995, although they were written in 1992? JK Rowling, having written the first part of the series, for a very long time could not get her work published by a publishing house. All publishers refused to publish this book, not believing that it could be successful.

James Barrie created the image of Peter Pan - the boy who will never grow up - for a reason. This hero became a dedication to the author’s older brother, who died the day before he turned 14 years old, and forever remained young in the memory of his mother.

The novel “The Three Musketeers” was originally published chapter by chapter in the magazine Le Siècle from March to July 1844. This is a traditional novel with a continuation, a novel-feuilleton: the chapter ended at the very interesting place so that the reader looks forward to the continuation. Main character d'Artagnan was a real person and his name was Charles de Batz de Castelmore.

Ken Kesey in his novel “Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” did not just choose people with mental disorders. In 1959, at Stanford University, to earn money, Kesey went to work as a psychiatrist assistant at the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital. There he voluntarily participated in experiments to study the effects of LSD, mescaline and other psychedelics on the body.

Mark Twain's wife. Even in her youth, Laivi became disabled after she fell on the ice. Twain carefully looked after his wife and always helped her in everything. He was madly in love with Livey until her death in 1904. Twain suffered this loss with difficulty and never fully came to his senses until the end of his life. He simply did not want to live in the world without Livey.

on UNESCO statistics, Jules Verne is the most “translated” author in the world. His books have been published in 148 languages. In the 60s of the 19th century, the Russian Empire banned the publication of Jules Verne’s novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” in which spiritual censors found anti-religious ideas, as well as the danger of destroying trust in Holy Scripture and the clergy.

Friedrich Nietzsche never married and had no children. There were, of course, women in his life, and he proposed more than once, but was refused. Nietzsche wrote: “There have been only four women in my life. The two of them who made me even a little happier were prostitutes. Elizabeth (sister) was quite smart (and even too smart sometimes), but she refused to marry me.”

In the 19th century, actresses refused to play Sophia in “Woe from Wit” with the words: “I am a decent woman and I don’t play in pornographic scenes!” They considered such a scene to be a night conversation with Molchalin, who was not yet the heroine’s husband.

In the 1950s in the United States, best-selling book lists were compiled not only by actual sales, but also by customer requests in bookstores. Radio host Gene Shepard decided to make fun of this system and asked listeners of his show to ask in stores for the book “I, Libertine” by his fictional writer Frederick Ewing. This draw allowed the book to enter the official New York Times bestseller chart. After some time, a book with this title and pseudonym was actually published, although only after the hoax was exposed.

The English artist and poet Dante Rossetti buried his wife in 1862, placing his unpublished poems in the coffin. A few years later he was offered to publish a book, but the poet could not restore the poems from memory. Then his friends persuaded him to exhume his wife’s body, and the poems were published.

14 years before the sinking of the Titanic, Morgan Robertson published a story that became her prediction. In the story, the ship Titan, much like the Titanic in size, also collided with an iceberg on an April night, killing most of the passengers.

Koltsov’s 1924 feuilleton talked about a major scam uncovered during the transfer of an oil concession in California. The most senior US officials were involved in the scam. It was here that the expression “things smell like kerosene” was used for the first time.

Among newspapers, perhaps the most authoritative, popular and influential is the American publication The New York Times. Almost everyone knows this name. Number of copies published weekdays is more than one million one hundred thousand, and on holidays and weekends - more than one million six hundred thousand.

The world-famous book “Kama Sutra” includes not only a description of sexual positions, but also reflections on the topic of relationships between men and women and life in general? In fact, only a fifth of this Indian book (15 chapters out of 64) is devoted to sexual positions. Most of the book consists of reflections on love in general, on girls, on men, on relationships between the sexes, on courtship and charm.

Robert Louis Stevenson. The first film adaptation of the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was filmed in 1908; since then it has been filmed more than 60 times. And our viewers are better known for the film adaptations of the novels “Treasure Island” (the 1988 cartoon of the same name is especially popular)

The dramatic searches of the founder of Cubism, Pablo Picasso, were inspired by his work on sets and costumes for surrealistic performances. Having decided to try himself not only as an artist and decorator, Picasso in the 1940s wrote two absurdist plays - “Desire Caught by the Tail” and “Four Little Girls”.

Scientists from Yale University decided to test whether there is a connection between reading books and life expectancy. They relied on data from large national survey(more than 3 thousand people over 50 took part in it, whose health was monitored for several years). All participants were divided into three groups: those who do not read at all, those who read up to 3.5 hours a week, and those who read more than 3.5 hours a week. On average, a love of reading extended life by two years, regardless of gender, income level, education or health.

The title of Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 was chosen because, supposedly, at this temperature paper spontaneously combusts (and in the plot of the novel, the government is trying to confiscate and burn all books from the population). In fact, paper spontaneously combusts at temperatures just above 450 degrees Celsius. According to Bradbury, the mistake was caused by the fact that when choosing the name, he consulted with a specialist from the fire service, who confused the temperature scales.

The merry fellow and drunkard Hasek would have become a symbol of Czech literature even without Švejk. He has about 1,500 short stories, pamphlets and other essays. The book “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” was supposed to consist of six parts, but Hasek managed to finish only three and begin the fourth. Death interrupted the author’s work on “Adventures,” and when the 39-year-old rebel was buried, the publisher asked Karel Vanek, Hasek’s friend, to finish the book.

Arthur Conan Doyle, in his stories about Sherlock Holmes, described many forensic methods that were still unknown to the police. These include collecting cigarette butts and cigarette ashes, identifying typewriters, and examining traces at the crime scene with a magnifying glass. Subsequently, the police began to widely use these and other Holmes methods.

William Shakespeare is recognized as the most “filmed” classic. “Hamlet” alone has been filmed 21 times! During the first years of the twentieth century, films based on Shakespeare's works were made in England and France, Germany and Italy, Denmark and America.

Illustration: Elizaveta Clover

The creators of the heritage of Russian literature evoke a lot of conflicting feelings, both with their works and personal successes. Sometimes authors inspire, sometimes disappoint, often make you laugh, sometimes sadden you, or make you sympathize with their plight. Disputes around the biographies of writers, as well as around their works, have not subsided for decades. No matter how complicated the lives of writers or the motives of their creations may be, only one thing is certain: Russian literature is famous a huge amount interesting facts framing immortal works.

Griboyedov and his grief from his sharp mind

The comedy in verse by Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov “Woe from Wit” made the writer a classic of Russian literature. It is interesting to know that the interjection “Oh!” appears on the pages of the work 6 times, and the exclamation “Ah!” Griboedov used it 54 times.

The first to see the comedy was the fabulist Krylov. The writer was afraid of Ivan Andreevich and highly valued his point of view, so he considered it necessary to appear with literary masterpiece in front of Krylov. The man grumpily accepted the work from Griboedov’s hands, and at the end of the reading, he said that the censors would not be able to appreciate this work, moreover, Alexander Sergeevich faces a “ticket” to Siberia for what he wrote.

The many faces of Pushkin

Interest is aroused not only by life, but also by creative fruits. Few people know that the reader might never have seen the famous Mermaid in Chains, Koshchei and the Scientist's Cat. After all, the writer supplemented the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” with the poem “At the Lukomorye Green Oak” only 8 years after the first publication.

Eugene Onegin is no less interesting for researchers. The work contains the expression “...I looked out the window and crushed flies.”

“He settled in that peace,
Where is the village old-timer?
For about forty years he was quarreling with the housekeeper,
I looked out the window and squashed flies.”

This phrase should not be taken literally. Here we were not talking about annoying insects at all.

Squashing a fly has at least two meanings:

• drink wine, get drunk...
• an image of the stagnant life of a noble pastime and dull entertainment.

Most likely, the ironic metaphor that Pushkin used illustrated here typical characteristic a person who likes to drink. IN modern language there is a definition of “being under the influence,” in other words, “being not sober.” And this version is more appropriate. But we will never determine with absolute certainty what Pushkin meant...

In another Pushkin work, “The Queen of Spades,” an attentive reader must have noticed that the main character does not have a name, only his surname Hermann is known. An important nuance here is the double “n” at the end. When the story was presented in opera of the same name, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky changed the surname to the main name of the character, calling him Herman, with one “n” at the end.

Surprisingly, it is “The Queen of Spades” that is considered one of the first works in Russian that was successful in Europe.

By the way, the plot of “The Queen of Spades” was suggested to Pushkin by the young Prince Golitsyn, who, having lost, regained what he had lost by betting, on the advice of his grandmother, on three cards that had once been suggested to her by Saint Germain. This grandmother is the “mustachioed princess” N.P. Golitsyn, known in Moscow society, nee Chernysheva, the mother of Moscow governor D.V. Golitsyn.

Immediately after publication in 1834 mystical story gains remarkable success among the reading public. From Pushkin's diary entry:

“My “Queen of Spades” is in great fashion. Players punt on three, seven, ace.”

Pushkin wrote more than 70 epigraphs to his works. For comparison: the number of epigraphs of Gogol and Turgenev is 20 each.

It is noteworthy that eldest daughter Pushkin - M.A. Hartung, became one of the most important prototypes of Anna Karenina for the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. The writer met Maria Alexandrovna in 1868 in the house of General A. A. Tulubiev and, under the impression, described some of her features appearance: dark hair, white lace and a small purple garland of pansies.

The mystery of the prose writer Nikolai Gogol

Remembering the mystical, but at the same time very topical writer Nikolai Gogol, it is worth noting that this man was passionate about needlework. He enjoyed knitting, cutting, and sewing. The man skillfully made neckerchiefs, scarves, and dresses for his sisters. Surely so contradictory nature Nikolai Vasilyevich was also drawn by the creative endeavors of the master of the pen.

Fans of Russian literature will be interested to know that the play “The Inspector General” is based on real events. Alexander Pushkin told Gogol about what happened in the Novgorod province. It was this writer who insisted on completing The Inspector General, despite the fact that Gogol was going to stop the story. However, the play was destined to live. The result still pleases readers to this day.

Nikolai Vasilyevich’s whole life is a tangled mystery. Mysticism followed the author, and even after his death, heirs and researchers were left with more riddles than answers. Nikolai Vasilyevich’s grave was covered with a stone, which was popularly called Golgotha ​​for its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When the time came to “relocate” the cemetery, the stone was moved to the grave of another mystic - Mikhail Bulgakov. Surprising in this story is Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeated more than once to Gogol: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

Dragonfly Krylova

In the fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant,” the fabulist Krylov describes the dragonfly as a singing creature, but everyone knows that this insect does not sing. It turned out that previously the dragonfly was common name for several types of insects, and Krylov actually wrote about the grasshopper.

Chukovsky is banned

The name of the master of Russian children's literature was actually different. The writer's real name is Nikolai Ivanovich Korneychukov. It is noteworthy that the real names in this connection are the first and last names. There is no middle name on the poet's birth certificate. He was illegitimate. Being already quite old, Chukovsky asked to be called simply Kolya.

It is known that the writer’s work was subject to very strict censorship. Chukovsky’s diary displayed extremely honestly full picture horror of that time. They are literally full of references to the desperate struggle against censorship, which from time to time banned almost everything that was written by the poet. Fairy tales were banned, entire pages from articles and books were thrown out. Today it is very difficult to believe the arguments of officials who are stunned by autocracy:

So, in “Moidodyr” for the words “God, God,” Chukovsky went to explain himself to the censor. In "Cockroach" they saw an anti-Stalinist subtext.

"Stash" by Raskolnikov

A huge contribution to the treasury Russian literature did

The 19th century is one of the most significant in Russian literature. It was this era that gave the world the names of great classics who influenced not only Russian, but also world culture. The main ideas characteristic of literature this time is growth human soul, the struggle between good and evil, the triumph of morality and purity.

Difference from the previous century

Giving general characteristics Russian literature of the 19th century, it can be noted that the previous century was characterized by very calm development. Throughout the previous century, poets and writers sang the dignity of man and tried to instill high moral ideals. And only at the end of the century more daring and daring works began to appear - the authors began to focus on human psychology, his experiences and feelings.

Reasons for the rise

In the process of working on homework or a report on the topic “General characteristics of Russian literature of the 19th century,” a student may have a natural question: what caused these changes, why literature was able to achieve such high level development? The reason for this was social events - the war with Turkey, the invasion of Napoleonic troops, the abolition of serfdom, and the public reprisal of oppositionists. All this contributed to the fact that completely new methods began to be used in literature. stylistic devices. When working on the general characteristics of Russian literature of the 19th century, it is worth mentioning that this era rightfully went down in history as the “Golden Age”.

Literature focus

Russian literature of that time was distinguished by its very bold posing of questions about meaning. human existence, about the most pressing socio-political, moral and ethical problems. She extends the significance of these questions far beyond her own historical era. When preparing a general description of Russian literature of the 19th century, one must remember that it became one of the most powerful means impact on both Russian and foreign readers, gaining fame as an influential force in the development of education.

Phenomenon of the era

If you need to give a general description of Russian literature of the 19th century briefly, it can be noted that a common feature of this era was such a phenomenon as “literary centrism.” This means that literature became a way of communicating ideas and opinions in political debates. She turned into powerful tool expressions of ideology, determined value guidelines and ideals.

It is impossible to say for sure whether this is good or bad. Of course, giving a general description of the Russian literature of the 19th century century, one can blame the literature of that time for being too “preachy”, “instructive”. After all, it is often said that the desire to become a prophet can lead to inappropriate guardianship. And this is fraught with the development of intolerance towards dissent of any kind. Of course, there is some truth in such reasoning, however, when giving a general description of Russian literature of the 19th century, it is necessary to take into account the historical realities in which the writers, poets, and critics of that time lived. A. I. Herzen, when he found himself in exile, described this phenomenon as follows: “For a people who have been deprived of freedom of speech and self-expression, literature remains almost the only outlet.”

The role of literature in society

N.G. Chernyshevsky said practically the same thing: “Literature in our country still concentrates the entire mental life of the people.” Here it is worth paying attention to the word “yet.” Chernyshevsky, who argued that literature is a textbook of life, still recognized that the mental life of the people should not be constantly concentrated in it. However, “for now”, in those conditions of Russian reality, it was she who took on this function.

Modern society should be grateful to those writers and poets who, in difficult times, social conditions, despite persecution (it is worth remembering the same N. G. Chernyshevsky, F. M. Dostoevsky and others), with the help of their works they contributed to the awakening of the bright in man, spiritual origin, integrity, active opposition to evil, honesty and mercy. Taking all this into account, we can agree with the opinion expressed by N. A. Nekrasov in his message to Leo Tolstoy in 1856: “The role of a writer in our country is, first of all, the role of a teacher.”

General and different in representatives of the “Golden Age”

When preparing materials on the topic “General characteristics of Russian classical literature of the 19th century,” it is worth saying that all representatives of the “Golden Age” were different, their world was unique and original. It is difficult to classify the writers of that time under any one general image. After all, every true artist (by this word we mean a poet, a composer, and a painter) creates own world, guided by personal principles. For example, the world of Leo Tolstoy is not similar to the world of Dostoevsky. Saltykov-Shchedrin perceived and transformed reality differently than, for example, Goncharov. However, representatives of the “Golden Age” also have common feature- this is responsibility to the reader, talent, a high understanding of the role that literature plays in a person’s life.

General characteristics of Russian literature of the 19th century: table

The “Golden Age” is a time of writers of completely different literary movements. First, let's look at them in a summary table, after which each of the directions will be considered in more detail.

Russian literature of this era reflected the leap that was made in the previous century. The “Golden Age” began mainly with the flourishing of two movements - sentimentalism and romanticism. Since the middle of the century, the direction of realism has become increasingly powerful. This is the general characteristic of Russian literature of the 19th century. The tablet will help the student navigate the main movements and representatives of the “Golden Age”. In the process of preparing for the lesson, it should be mentioned that the further socio-political situation in the country is becoming more and more tense, the contradictions between the oppressed classes and common people. This leads to the fact that in the middle of the century the development of poetry somewhat subsides. And the end of the era is accompanied by revolutionary sentiments.

Classicism

This direction is worth mentioning when giving a general description of Russian literature of the early 19th century. After all, classicism, which arose a century ago before the beginning of the “Golden Age”, primarily refers to its beginning. This term translated from Latin language means “exemplary” and is directly related to imitation classic images. This trend arose in France in the 17th century. At its core, it was associated with absolute monarchy and the establishment of the nobility. It is characterized by ideas of high civic themes, strict adherence to the norms of creativity, established rules. Classicism reflects real life in ideal images that gravitate towards a certain model. This direction strictly adheres to the hierarchy of genres - the highest place among them is occupied by tragedy, ode and epic. They illuminate the most important problems for society and are designed to display the highest, heroic manifestations human nature. As a rule, “high” genres were contrasted with “low” ones - fables, comedies, satirical and other works that also reflected reality.

Sentimentalism

Giving a general description of the development of Russian literature of the 19th century, one cannot fail to mention such a direction as sentimentalism. The narrator's voice plays a big role in it. This direction, as indicated in the table, is different increased attention to a person's experiences, to his inner world. This is the innovation of sentimentalism. In Russian literature, Karamzin’s “Poor Liza” occupies a special place among the works of sentimentalism.

The words of the writer are noteworthy, which can characterize this direction: “And peasant women know how to love.” Many claimed that a common person, a commoner and a peasant, is morally superior in many ways to a nobleman or a representative of high society. Landscape plays an important role in sentimentalism. This is not just a description of nature, but a reflection of the inner experiences of the characters.

Romanticism

This is one of the most controversial phenomena of Russian literature of the Golden Age. For more than a century and a half, there have been debates about what lies at its basis, and no one has yet given any recognized definition to this movement. The representatives themselves this direction They emphasized the uniqueness of the literature of each individual people. One cannot but agree with this opinion - in each country, romanticism acquires its own characteristics. Also, giving a general description of the development of Russian literature of the 19th century, it is worth noting that almost all representatives of romanticism advocated for social ideals, but did so in different ways.

Representatives of this movement dreamed not of improving life in its particular manifestations, but of a complete resolution of all contradictions. For many romantics, the prevailing mood in their works is the struggle against evil, protest against the injustice reigning in the world. Also, romantics tend to turn to mythological, fantasy, folk tales. In contrast to the direction of classicism, serious influence is given to the inner world of man.

Realism

The goal of this direction is a truthful description of the surrounding reality. It is realism that matures on the basis of a tense political situation. Writers are starting to turn to social problems, to objective reality. The three main realists of this era are considered to be Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Turgenev. The main theme of this direction is life, customs, life events ordinary people from the lower classes.