Works and their authors in modern times. The main stylistic trends in the literature of modern and contemporary times

1. Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" García Márquez(b. March 6, 1927, Aracataca, Colombia) - famous Colombian prose writer, journalist, publisher and politician; laureate Nobel Prize on literature 1982. Representative of the literary direction " magical realism" His novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad, 1967) brought him worldwide fame.

2. Umberto Eco(b. January 5, 1932, Alessandria, Italy) - Italian scientist-philosopher, medievalist historian, semiotics specialist, literary critic, writer. Most famous novels- "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum".

3. Otfried Preusler(b. October 20, 1923) - German children's writer, by nationality - Lusatian (Lusatian Serb). The most famous works: “Little Baba Yaga”, “Little Ghost”, “Little Waterman” and “Krabat, or Legends of the Old Mill”.

4. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev(born May 21, 1924) - Soviet and Russian writer. Author of the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” (1969), the novel “Not on the Lists” (1974), etc.

5. Ion Druta(b. 09/03/1928) - Moldavian and Russian writer and playwright.

6. Fazil Abdulovich Iskander(03/06/1929, Sukhum, Abkhazia, USSR) - an outstanding Soviet and Russian prose writer and poet of Abkhaz origin.

7. Daniil Alexandrovich Granin(b. January 1, 1919, Volsk, Saratov province, according to other sources - Volyn, Kursk region) - Russian writer and public figure. Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, Hero of Socialist Labor (1989), President of the Society of Friends of the Russian national library; Chairman of the Board of the International Charitable Foundation. D. S. Likhacheva.

8. Milan Kundera(b. April 1, 1929) is a modern Czech prose writer who has lived in France since 1975. He writes in both Czech and French.

9. Thomas Tranströmer(b. April 15, 1931 in Stockholm) is the largest Swedish poet of the 20th century. Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the way his brief, translucent images give us a renewed view of reality."

10. Max Gallo(b. January 7, 1932, Nice) - French writer, historian and politician. Member of the French Academy

11. Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa(b. 03/28/1936) - Peruvian-Spanish prose writer and playwright, publicist, politician, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.

12. Terry Pratchett(b. April 28, 1948) is a popular English writer. The most popular is his satirical fantasy series about the Discworld. The total circulation of his books is about 50 million copies.

13. Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev(b. 03/15/1924) - Russian Soviet writer. Author of the novel “Hot Snow”, the story “Battalions Ask for Fire”, etc.

14. Stephen Edwin King(b. September 21, 1947, Portland, Maine, USA) - American writer, working in a variety of genres, including horror, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, drama.

15. Victor Olegovich Pelevin(born November 22, 1962, Moscow) - Russian writer. The most famous works: “The Life of Insects”, “Chapaev and Emptiness”, “Generation “P””

16. Joan Rowling(b. July 31, 1965, Yate, Gloucestershire, England) is a British writer, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, translated into more than 65 languages ​​and sold (as of 2008) more than 400 million copies.

“M.Yu. Lermontov Hero of Our Time” - The motif of loneliness permeates all the poet’s lyrics. 4. Literary case study. Does the illustration help reveal the idea of ​​the work? Analysis of the poem "Duma". I felt the need to pour out my thoughts in a friendly conversation... but with whom?...” Commented reading. See the loneliness of the lyrical hero.

“Time standards” - Methods for comparing spaced clocks. Troposphere. Cross-correlation of the GI of the pulsar B0531+21 (“Crab”). Ionosphere. The main sources of errors in the synchronization of spaced clocks are considered. Simultaneous registration in Kalyazin (Russia) and Algonquin Park (Canada) at 2.2 GHz. GI “returns” astronomical methods to precision time services.

“The concept of space and time” - Aristotle-Leibniz concept (Relational). Concept of Democritus – Newton (Substantial). 1. Democritus - Newton. Giorgadze K. From the point of view of the second concept, space and time separated from things were not conceived. Epicurus Democritus Lucretius Car. 2. Aristotle - Leibniz. The existence of space as a kind of emptiness, not associated with material objects, was allowed.

“Units of time” - Lesson objectives: After how many days did the cat’s patience run out? Consolidation." Units of time. Topic: “Table of time units.

“Measurement of time” - Educational. Carry out a physical experiment, measure physical quantities by direct and indirect methods. Prepare students for later life, see practical benefit knowledge. Micrometer. Course content. To develop a comprehensive range of measurement skills necessary for workers in many professions.

“Lesson of a Hero of Our Time” - What are the traits appearance does the author highlight? In what meaning does M.Yu. Lermontov use the word “hero”? Work in pairs. Hero of Our Time...a portrait made up of the vices of our generation... Lesson topic. Who is the “hero of his time” in the novel? M.Yu. Lermontov. Which personal qualities named? Let's summarize.

I decided to post a little theory on blogs, the second part will be by genre - otherwise it’s kind of sad that we sometimes get confused with theory. I tried to choose accessible material from a good textbook.

Basic style directions in the literature of modern and contemporary times

The Baroque style became widespread in European (to a lesser extent Russian) culture in the 16th–17th centuries. It is based on two main processes: on the one hand, the crisis of Renaissance ideals, the crisis of the idea of ​​titanism (when man was thought of as a huge size, a demigod), on the other hand, a sharp opposition of man as a creator to the impersonal natural world. Baroque is a very complex and contradictory movement. Even the term itself does not have an unambiguous interpretation. The Italian root contains the meaning of excess, depravity, error. It is not very clear whether this was a negative characteristic of the Baroque “from outside” this style (primarily referring to the assessments of the Baroque by writers of the era of classicism) or whether this is a reflection of the Baroque authors themselves, not devoid of self-irony.
The Baroque style is characterized by a combination of the incongruous: on the one hand, an interest in exquisite forms, paradoxes, sophisticated metaphors and allegories, oxymorons, and verbal play, and on the other, deep tragedy and a sense of doom.
For example, in Gryphius’s baroque tragedy, Eternity itself could appear on stage and comment with bitter irony on the suffering of the heroes.
On the other hand, the flourishing of the still life genre is associated with the Baroque era, where luxury, beauty of forms, and richness of colors are aestheticized. However, the Baroque still life is also contradictory: bouquets, brilliant in color and technique, vases with fruit, and next to it is the classic Baroque still life “Vanity of Vanities” with the obligatory hourglass (an allegory of the passing time of life) and a skull – an allegory of inevitable death.
Baroque poetry is characterized by sophistication of forms, a fusion of visual and graphic series, when verse was not only written, but also “drawn.” Suffice it to recall the poem “ Hourglass“I. Gelwig, whom we talked about in the chapter “Poetry”. And there were much more complex forms.
In the Baroque era, exquisite genres became widespread: rondos, madrigals, sonnets, odes of strict form, etc.
The works are most prominent representatives Baroque (Spanish playwright P. Calderon, German poet and playwright A. Gryphius, German mystic poet A. Silesius, etc.) entered the golden fund of world literature. The paradoxical lines of Silesius are often perceived as famous aphorisms: “I am great as God. God is as insignificant as I am.”
Many of the discoveries of Baroque poets, thoroughly forgotten in the 18th–19th centuries, were adopted in the verbal experiments of 20th century writers.

Classicism

Classicism is a movement in literature and art that historically replaced Baroque. The era of classicism lasted more than one hundred and fifty years - from the mid-17th to the beginning of the 19th century.
Classicism is based on the idea of ​​rationality and orderliness of the world. Man is understood as, first of all, a rational being, and human society is understood as a rationally organized mechanism.
Exactly the same piece of art must be built on the basis of strict canons, structurally repeating the rationality and orderliness of the universe.
Classicism recognized Antiquity as the highest manifestation of spirituality and culture, therefore ancient art was considered a role model and an indisputable authority.
Classicism is characterized by a pyramidal consciousness, that is, in every phenomenon, the artists of classicism sought to see a rational center, which was recognized as the top of the pyramid and personified the entire building. For example, in understanding the state, the classicists proceeded from the idea of ​​a reasonable monarchy - useful and necessary for all citizens.
Man in the era of classicism is interpreted primarily as a function, as a link in the rational pyramid of the universe. The inner world of a person in classicism is less actualized; external actions are more important. For example, an ideal monarch is one who strengthens the state, takes care of its welfare and enlightenment. Everything else fades into the background. That is why Russian classicists idealized the figure of Peter I, not attaching importance to the fact that he was a very complex and not at all attractive person.
In the literature of classicism, a person was thought of as the bearer of some important idea that determined his essence. That is why in the comedies of classicism they often used “ speaking names”, immediately defining the logic of character. Let us remember, for example, Mrs. Prostakova, Skotinin or Pravdin in Fonvizin’s comedy. These traditions are clearly visible in Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit” (Molchalin, Skalozub, Tugoukhovsky, etc.).
From the Baroque era, classicism inherited an interest in emblematicity, when a thing became a sign of an idea, and the idea was embodied in a thing. For example, a portrait of a writer involved depicting “things” that confirm his literary merits: the books he wrote, and sometimes the characters he created. Thus, the monument to I. A. Krylov, created by P. Klodt, depicts the famous fabulist surrounded by the heroes of his fables. The entire pedestal is decorated with scenes from Krylov’s works, thereby clearly confirming what the author’s fame is based on. Although the monument was created after the era of classicism, it is the classical traditions that are clearly visible here.
The rationality, clarity and emblematic nature of the culture of classicism also gave rise to a unique solution to conflicts. In the eternal conflict of reason and feeling, feeling and duty, so beloved by the authors of classicism, feeling was ultimately defeated.
Classicism establishes (primarily thanks to the authority of its main theorist N. Boileau) a strict hierarchy of genres, which are divided into high (ode, tragedy, epic) and low (comedy, satire, fable). Each genre has certain characteristics and is written only in its own style. Mixing styles and genres is strictly prohibited.
Everyone from school knows the famous rule of three unities, formulated for classical drama: unity of place (all the action in one place), time (action from sunrise to nightfall), action (in the play there is one central conflict, into which all the heroes are drawn).
In terms of genre, classicism preferred tragedy and ode. True, after the brilliant comedies of Moliere, the comedy genres also became very popular.
Classicism gave the world a whole galaxy of talented poets and playwrights. Corneille, Racine, Moliere, La Fontaine, Voltaire, Swift - these are just some of the names from this brilliant galaxy.
In Russia, classicism developed somewhat later, already in the 18th century. Russian literature also owes a lot to classicism. It is enough to recall the names of D. I. Fonvizin, A. P. Sumarokov, M. V. Lomonosov, G. R. Derzhavin.

Sentimentalism

Sentimentalism arose in European culture in the middle of the 18th century, its first signs began to appear among English and a little later among French writers at the end of the 1720s; by the 1740s, the direction had already taken shape. Although the term “sentimentalism” itself appeared much later and was associated with the popularity of Lorenz Stern’s novel “ Sentimental Journey(1768), the hero of which travels through France and Italy, finds himself in many sometimes funny, sometimes touching situations and understands that there are “noble joys and noble anxieties beyond the boundaries of one’s personality.”
Sentimentalism existed for quite a long time in parallel with classicism, although in essence it was built on completely different foundations. For sentimental writers main value the world of feelings and experiences is recognized. At first, this world is perceived quite narrowly, writers sympathize with the love suffering of heroines (such, for example, are the novels of S. Richardson, if we remember, Pushkin’s favorite author Tatyana Larina).
An important merit of sentimentalism was the interest in inner life an ordinary person. Classicism had little interest in the “average” person, but sentimentalism, on the contrary, emphasized the depth of feelings of a very ordinary, from a social point of view, heroine.
Thus, S. Richardson’s maid Pamela demonstrates not only purity of feeling, but also moral virtues: honor and pride, which ultimately leads to a happy ending; and the famous Clarissa, the heroine of the novel with a long and rather funny story modern point title view 1 , although she belongs to a wealthy family, she is still not a noblewoman. At the same time, her evil genius and insidious seducer Robert Loveless is a socialite, an aristocrat. In Russia, at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, the surname Loveless (hinting at “love less” - deprived of love) was pronounced in the French manner of “Lovelace”, since then the word “Lovelace” has become a common noun, denoting red tape and a ladies' man.
If Richardson's novels were devoid of philosophical depth, didactic and slightly naive, then a little later in sentimentalism the opposition “natural man - civilization” began to take shape, where, unlike the Baroque, civilization was understood as evil. This revolution was finally formalized in the work of the famous French writer and philosopher J. J. Rousseau.
His novel “Julia, or the New Heloise,” which conquered Europe in the 18th century, is much more complex and less straightforward. The struggle of feelings, social conventions, sin and virtues are intertwined here into one ball. The title itself (“New Heloise”) contains a reference to the semi-legendary mad passion of the medieval thinker Pierre Abelard and his student Heloise (11th–12th centuries) 2 , although the plot of Rousseau’s novel is original and does not reproduce the legend of Abelard.
More higher value had the philosophy of “natural man”, formulated by Rousseau and still retaining a living meaning. Rousseau considered civilization the enemy of man, killing all the best in him. Hence the interest in nature, natural feelings and natural behavior. Rousseau received these ideas special development in the culture of romanticism and - later - in numerous works of art of the 20th century (for example, in “Oles” by A.I. Kuprin).
In Russia, sentimentalism appeared later and did not bring serious world discoveries. Mostly Western European subjects were “Russified”. At the same time he provided big influence on further development Russian literature itself.
The most famous work of Russian sentimentalism was “ Poor Lisa"N. M. Karamzin (1792), which had enormous success and caused countless imitations.
“Poor Liza”, in fact, reproduces on Russian soil the plot and aesthetic findings of English sentimentalism of the time of S. Richardson, however, for Russian literature the idea that “even peasant women can feel” became a discovery that largely determined its further development.

Romanticism

Romanticism as a dominant literary movement in European and Russian literature did not exist for very long - about thirty years, but its influence on world culture colossal.
Historically, romanticism is associated with the unfulfilled hopes of the Great French Revolution (1789–1793), but this connection is not linear; romanticism was prepared throughout aesthetic development Europe, gradually shaped by a new concept of man.
The first associations of romantics appeared in Germany at the end of the 18th century; a few years later, romanticism developed in England and France, then in the USA and Russia.
Being a “world style,” romanticism is a very complex and contradictory phenomenon, uniting many schools and multidirectional artistic quests. Therefore, it is very difficult to reduce the aesthetics of romanticism to any single and clear foundations.
At the same time, the aesthetics of romanticism undoubtedly represents a unity when compared with classicism or the later critical realism. This unity is due to several main factors.
Firstly, romanticism recognized the value of the human personality as such, its self-sufficiency. The world of feelings and thoughts of an individual person was recognized as the highest value. This immediately changed the coordinate system; in the “individual – society” opposition, the emphasis shifted towards the individual. Hence the cult of freedom, characteristic of the romantics.
Secondly, romanticism further emphasized the opposition between civilization and nature, giving preference to the natural elements. It is no coincidence that it was in the era of romanticism that tourism was born, the cult of picnics in nature developed, etc. At the level of literary themes, there is an interest in exotic landscapes, in scenes from rural life, to “savage” cultures. Civilization often seems like a “prison” for a free individual. This plot can be traced, for example, in “Mtsyri” by M. Yu. Lermontov.
Third, the most important feature aesthetics of romanticism, two worlds appeared: the recognition that the familiar to us social world is not the only and genuine one, the true human world must be sought somewhere other than here. This is where the idea of ​​the beautiful “there” arises - fundamental to the aesthetics of romanticism. This “there” can manifest itself in very different ways: in Divine grace, as in W. Blake; in the idealization of the past (hence the interest in legends, the emergence of numerous literary fairy tales, cult of folklore); in an interest in unusual personalities, high passions (hence the cult of the noble robber, interest in stories about “ fatal love" etc.).
Duality should not be interpreted naively. The Romantics were not at all people “not of this world,” as, unfortunately, it is sometimes imagined by young philologists. They accepted active participation in social life, and greatest poet J. Goethe, closely associated with romanticism, was not only a major natural scientist, but also a prime minister. This is not about a style of behavior, but about a philosophical attitude, about an attempt to look beyond the limits of reality.
Fourthly, demonism, based on doubt about the sinlessness of God and the aestheticization of rebellion, played a significant role in the aesthetics of romanticism. Demonism was not a necessary basis for the romantic worldview, but it formed the characteristic background of romanticism. The philosophical and aesthetic justification for demonism was the mystical tragedy (the author called it “mystery”) of J. Byron “Cain” (1821), where the biblical story about Cain is reinterpreted, and Divine truths are disputed. Interest in the “demonic principle” in man is characteristic of the most different artists era of romanticism: J. Byron, P. B. Shelley, E. Poe, M. Yu. Lermontov and others.
Romanticism brought with it a new genre palette. Elegies replaced classical tragedies and odes, romantic dramas, poems. A real breakthrough occurred in prose genres: many short stories appear, the novel looks completely new. The plot scheme becomes more complicated: paradoxical plot moves, fatal secrets, and unexpected endings are popular. Outstanding master romantic novel became Victor Hugo. His novel “Notre Dame de Paris” (1831) is worldwide famous masterpiece romantic prose. Hugo's later novels (The Man Who Laughs, Les Misérables, etc.) are characterized by a synthesis of romantic and realistic tendencies, although the writer remained faithful to romantic foundations all his life.
Having opened the world of a specific individual, romanticism, however, did not seek to detail individual psychology. Interest in “superpassions” led to the typification of experiences. If it’s love, then it’s for centuries, if it’s hate, then it’s to the end. Most often, the romantic hero was the bearer of one passion, one idea. This brought the romantic hero closer to the hero of classicism, although all the accents were placed differently. Genuine psychologism, “dialectics of the soul” became the discoveries of another aesthetic system - realism.

Realism is a very complex and voluminous concept. As a dominant historical and literary direction, it was formed in the 30s of the 19th century, but as a way of mastering reality, realism was initially inherent in artistic creativity. Many features of realism appeared already in folklore; they were characteristic of ancient art, the art of the Renaissance, classicism, sentimentalism, etc. This “cross-cutting” character of realism was repeatedly noted by specialists, and the temptation arose more than once to see the history of the development of art as an oscillation between the mystical (romantic) and realistic ways of understanding reality.
If we talk about classic realism XIX century, then several main points should be highlighted here.
In realism, there was a rapprochement between the depicter and the depicted. The subject of the image, as a rule, was the reality “here and now.” It is no coincidence that the history of Russian realism is connected with the formation of the so-called “natural school,” which saw its task as giving as objective a picture of modern reality as possible. True, this extreme specificity soon ceased to satisfy writers, and the most significant authors (I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, etc.) went far beyond the aesthetics of the “natural school.”
At the same time, one should not think that realism has abandoned the formulation and solution of “eternal questions of existence.” On the contrary, major realist writers posed precisely these questions above all. However, the most important problems of human existence were projected onto concrete reality, onto the lives of ordinary people. Thus, F. M. Dostoevsky solves the eternal problem of the relationship between man and God not in symbolic images Cain and Lucifer, such as Byron, and the example of the fate of the beggar student Raskolnikov, who killed the old pawnbroker and thereby “crossed the line.”
Realism does not abandon symbolic and allegorical images, but their meaning changes, they do not highlight eternal problems, but socially specific. For example, the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are allegorical through and through, but they recognize the social reality of the 19th century.
Realism, like no previously existing direction, is interested in the inner world of an individual person, strives to see its paradoxes, movement and development. In this regard, in the prose of realism, the role of internal monologues increases; the hero constantly argues with himself, doubts himself, and evaluates himself. Psychologism in the works of realist masters (F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, etc.) reaches the highest expressiveness.
Realism changes over time, reflecting new realities and historical trends. Thus, in the Soviet era, socialist realism appeared, declared the “official” method of Soviet literature. This is a highly ideological form of realism, which aimed to show the inevitable collapse of the bourgeois system. In reality, however, almost all Soviet art was called “socialist realism,” and the criteria turned out to be completely blurred. Today this term has only historical meaning, towards modern literature it is not relevant.
If in the middle of the 19th century realism reigned almost unchallenged, then by the end of the 19th century the situation changed. Over the last century, realism has experienced fierce competition from others. aesthetic systems, which, naturally, one way or another changes the character of realism itself. Let’s say, M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” is a realistic work, but at the same time there is a tangible symbolic meaning, noticeably changing the settings of “classical realism”.

Modernist movements of the late 19th – 20th centuries

The twentieth century, like no other, was marked by the competition of many trends in art. These directions are completely different, they compete with each other, replace each other, and take into account each other’s achievements. The only thing that unites them is opposition to the classical realistic art, attempts to find our own ways of reflecting reality. These directions are united by the conventional term “modernism”. The term “modernism” itself (from “modern” - modern) arose in the romantic aesthetics of A. Schlegel, but then it did not take root. But it came into use a hundred years later, in late XIX century, and at first began to designate strange, unusual aesthetic systems. Today “modernism” is a term with an extremely broad meaning, which actually stands in two oppositions: on the one hand, it is “everything that is not realism,” on the other (in recent years) it is what “postmodernism” is not. Thus, the concept of modernism reveals itself negatively - by the method of “by contradiction”. Naturally, with this approach we are not talking about any structural clarity.
There are a huge number of modernist trends; we will focus only on the most significant:
Impressionism (from the French “impression” - impression) - a movement in art last third XIX - early XX centuries, which originated in France and then spread throughout the world. Representatives of impressionism sought to capture the real world in its mobility and variability, and to convey their fleeting impressions. The Impressionists themselves called themselves “new realists”; the term appeared later, after 1874, when the now famous work by C. Monet “Sunrise” was demonstrated at the exhibition. Impression". At first, the term “impressionism” had a negative connotation, expressing bewilderment and even disdain of critics, but the artists themselves, “to spite the critics,” accepted it, and over time the negative connotations disappeared.
In painting, impressionism had a huge influence on all subsequent development of art.
In literature, the role of impressionism was more modest; it did not develop as an independent movement. However, the aesthetics of impressionism influenced the work of many authors, including in Russia. Trust in “fleeting things” is marked by many poems by K. Balmont, I. Annensky and others. In addition, impressionism was reflected in the color scheme of many writers, for example, its features are noticeable in the palette of B. Zaitsev.
However, as an integral movement, impressionism did not appear in literature, becoming a characteristic background of symbolism and neorealism.
Symbolism is one of the most powerful areas of modernism, quite diffuse in its attitudes and quests. Symbolism began to take shape in France in the 70s of the 19th century and quickly spread throughout Europe.
By the 90s, symbolism had become a pan-European trend, with the exception of Italy, where, for reasons that are not entirely clear, it did not take root.
In Russia, symbolism began to manifest itself in the late 80s, and emerged as a conscious movement by the mid-90s.
According to the time of formation and the characteristics of the worldview in Russian symbolism, it is customary to distinguish two main stages 3 . Poets who made their debut in the 1890s are called “senior symbolists” (V. Bryusov, K. Balmont, D. Merezhkovsky, Z. Gippius, F. Sologub, etc.).
In the 1900s, a number of new names appeared that significantly changed the face of symbolism: A. Blok, A. Bely, Vyach. Ivanov and others. The accepted designation of the “second wave” of symbolism is “young symbolism.” It is important to take into account that the “senior” and “younger” symbolists were separated not so much by age (for example, Vyacheslav Ivanov gravitates towards the “elders” in age), but by the difference in worldviews and the direction of creativity.
The work of the older symbolists fits more closely into the canon of neo-romanticism. Characteristic motives are loneliness, the chosenness of the poet, the imperfection of the world. In the poems of K. Balmont, the influence of impressionist technique is noticeable; the early Bryusov had a lot of technical experiments and verbal exoticism.
The Young Symbolists created a more holistic and original concept, which was based on the merging of life and art, on the idea of ​​improving the world according to aesthetic laws. The mystery of existence cannot be expressed in ordinary words; it is only guessed in the system of symbols intuitively found by the poet. The concept of mystery, the unmanifestation of meanings, became the mainstay of symbolist aesthetics. Poetry, according to Vyach. Ivanov, there is a “secret record of the ineffable.” The social and aesthetic illusion of Young Symbolism was that through the “prophetic word” one can change the world. Therefore, they saw themselves not only as poets, but also as demiurges, that is, creators of the world. The unfulfilled utopia led in the early 1910s to a total crisis of symbolism, to its collapse as whole system, although the “echoes” of symbolist aesthetics can still be heard for a long time.
Regardless of the implementation of social utopia, symbolism has extremely enriched Russian and world poetry. The names of A. Blok, I. Annensky, Vyach. Ivanov, A. Bely and other prominent symbolist poets are the pride of Russian literature.
Acmeism (from the Greek “acme” - “highest degree, peak, flowering, blooming time”) is a literary movement that arose in the early tenths of the 20th century in Russia. Historically, Acmeism was a reaction to the crisis of symbolism. In contrast to the “secret” word of the Symbolists, the Acmeists proclaimed the value of the material, the plastic objectivity of images, the accuracy and sophistication of the word.
The formation of Acmeism is closely connected with the activities of the organization “Workshop of Poets”, the central figures of which were N. Gumilyov and S. Gorodetsky. O. Mandelstam, the early A. Akhmatova, V. Narbut and others also adhered to Acmeism. Later, however, Akhmatova questioned the aesthetic unity of Acmeism and even the legitimacy of the term itself. But one can hardly agree with her on this: the aesthetic unity of the Acmeist poets, at least in the early years, is beyond doubt. And the point is not only in the programmatic articles of N. Gumilyov and O. Mandelstam, where the aesthetic credo of the new movement is formulated, but above all in the practice itself. Acmeism strangely combined a romantic craving for the exotic, for wanderings with sophistication of words, which made it similar to the Baroque culture.
Favorite images of Acmeism are exotic beauty (for example, in any period of Gumilyov’s creative work, poems about exotic animals appear: giraffe, jaguar, rhinoceros, kangaroo, etc.), images of culture (in Gumilyov, Akhmatova, Mandelstam), love is resolved very plastically subject. Often an object detail becomes a psychological sign (for example, a glove by Gumilyov or Akhmatova).
At first, the world appears to the Acmeists as exquisite, but “toy-like,” emphatically unreal. For example, O. Mandelstam’s famous early poem goes like this:
They burn with gold leaf
There are Christmas trees in the forests;
Toy wolves in the bushes
They look with scary eyes.
Oh, my prophetic sadness,
Oh my quiet freedom
And the lifeless sky
Always laughing crystal!
Later, the paths of the Acmeists diverged; little remained of the former unity, although the majority of poets retained loyalty to the ideals of high culture and the cult of poetic mastery to the end. Many major literary artists came out of Acmeism. Russian literature has the right to be proud of the names of Gumilev, Mandelstam and Akhmatova.
Futurism (from the Latin “futurus” - future). If symbolism, as mentioned above, did not take root in Italy, then futurism, on the contrary, is of Italian origin. The “father” of futurism is considered to be the Italian poet and art theorist F. Marinetti, who proposed a shocking and tough theory of new art. In fact, Marinetti was talking about the mechanization of art, about depriving it of spirituality. Art should become akin to a “play on a mechanical piano”, all verbal delights are unnecessary, spirituality is an outdated myth.
Marinetti's ideas exposed the crisis of classical art and were taken up by "rebellious" aesthetic groups in different countries.
In Russia, the first futurists were the artists the Burliuk brothers. David Burliuk founded the futurist colony “Gilea” on his estate. He managed to rally around himself various poets and artists who were unlike anyone else: Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov, Kruchenykh, Elena Guro and others.
The first manifestos of Russian futurists were frankly shocking in nature (even the name of the manifesto, “A Slap in the Face of Public Taste,” speaks for itself), but even with this, the Russian futurists did not initially accept Marinetti’s mechanism, setting themselves other tasks. Marinetti's arrival in Russia caused disappointment among Russian poets and further emphasized the differences.
The Futurists aimed to create a new poetics, a new system of aesthetic values. Masterly play with words, aestheticization household items, the speech of the street - all this excited, shocked, caused resonance. The catchy, visible nature of the image irritated some, delighted others:
Every word,
even a joke
which he spews out with his burning mouth,
thrown out like a naked prostitute
from a burning brothel.
(V. Mayakovsky, “Cloud in Pants”)
Today we can admit that much of the Futurists’ creativity has not stood the test of time and is only of historical interest, but in general, the influence of the Futurists’ experiments on the subsequent development of art (and not only verbal, but also pictorial and musical) turned out to be colossal.
Futurism had within itself several currents, sometimes converging, sometimes conflicting: cubo-futurism, ego-futurism (Igor Severyanin), the “Centrifuge” group (N. Aseev, B. Pasternak).
Although very different from each other, these groups converged on a new understanding of the essence of poetry and a desire for verbal experiments. Russian futurism gave the world several poets of enormous scale: Vladimir Mayakovsky, Boris Pasternak, Velimir Khlebnikov.
Existentialism (from the Latin “exsistentia” - existence). Existentialism cannot be called a literary movement in the full sense of the word; it is rather a philosophical movement, a concept of man, manifested in many works of literature. The origins of this movement can be found in the 19th century in the mystical philosophy of S. Kierkegaard, but existentialism received its real development in the 20th century. Among the most significant existentialist philosophers we can name G. Marcel, K. Jaspers, M. Heidegger, J.-P. Sartre and others. Existentialism is a very diffuse system, having many variations and varieties. However, the general features that allow us to talk about some unity are the following:
1. Recognition of the personal meaning of existence. In other words, the world and man in their primary essence are personal principles. The mistake of the traditional view, according to existentialists, is that a person’s life is viewed as if “from the outside,” objectively, and the uniqueness human life precisely in the fact that she exists and that she is mine. That is why G. Marcel proposed to consider the relationship between man and the world not according to the “He is the World” scheme, but according to the “I – ​​You” scheme. My attitude towards another person is only a special case of this comprehensive scheme.
M. Heidegger said the same thing somewhat differently. In his opinion, the basic question about man must be changed. We are trying to answer “what is a person”, but we need to ask “who is a person”. This radically changes the entire coordinate system, since in the usual world we will not see the foundations of each person’s unique “self.”
2. Recognition of the so-called “borderline situation”, when this “self” becomes directly accessible. IN ordinary life this “I” is not directly accessible, but in the face of death, against the background of non-existence, it manifests itself. The concept of a border situation had a huge influence on the literature of the 20th century - both among writers directly associated with the theory of existentialism (A. Camus, J.-P. Sartre), and authors generally far from this theory, for example, on the idea of ​​a border situation almost all the plots of Vasil Bykov's war stories are constructed.
3. Recognition of a person as a project. In other words, the original “I” given to us forces us to make the only possible choice every time. And if a person’s choice turns out to be unworthy, the person begins to collapse, no matter what external reasons he may justify.
Existentialism, we repeat, did not develop as a literary movement, but it had a huge influence on modern world culture. In this sense, it can be considered an aesthetic and philosophical direction of the 20th century.
Surrealism (French “surrealisme”, lit. - “super-realism”) is a powerful movement in painting and literature of the 20th century, however, it left the greatest mark in painting, primarily due to its authority famous artist Salvador Dali. Dali’s infamous phrase regarding his disagreements with other leaders of the movement “a surrealist is me”, for all its shockingness, clearly places emphasis. Without the figure of Salvador Dali, surrealism probably would not have had such an impact on the culture of the 20th century.
At the same time, the founder of this movement is not Dali or even an artist, but precisely the writer Andre Breton. Surrealism took shape in the 1920s as a left-radical movement, but noticeably different from futurism. Surrealism reflected the social, philosophical, psychological and aesthetic paradoxes of European consciousness. Europe is tired of social tensions, traditional forms art, from hypocrisy in ethics. This “protest” wave gave birth to surrealism.
The authors of the first declarations and works of surrealism (Paul Eluard, Louis Aragon, Andre Breton, etc.) set the goal of “liberating” creativity from all conventions. Great importance was attached to unconscious impulses and random images, which, however, were then subjected to careful artistic processing.
Freudianism, which actualized human erotic instincts, had a serious influence on the aesthetics of surrealism.
In the late 20s - 30s, surrealism played a very noticeable role in European culture, but the literary component of this movement gradually weakened. Major writers and poets, in particular Eluard and Aragon, moved away from surrealism. Andre Breton's attempts after the war to revive the movement were unsuccessful, while in painting surrealism provided a much more powerful tradition.
Postmodernism is a powerful literary movement of our time, very diverse, contradictory and fundamentally open to any innovations. The philosophy of postmodernism was formed mainly in the school of French aesthetic thought (J. Derrida, R. Barthes, J. Kristeva, etc.), but today it has spread far beyond the borders of France.
At the same time, many philosophical origins and the first works refer to the American tradition, and the term “postmodernism” itself in relation to literature was first used by the American literary critic of Arab origin, Ihab Hasan (1971).
The most important feature of postmodernism is the fundamental rejection of any centricity and any value hierarchy. All texts are fundamentally equal and capable of coming into contact with each other. There is no high and low art, modern and outdated. From a cultural standpoint, they all exist in some “now,” and since the value chain is fundamentally destroyed, no text has any advantages over another.
In the works of postmodernists, almost any text from any era comes into play. The boundary between one’s own and someone else’s word is also destroyed, so interspersed texts are possible famous authors into a new work. This principle is called the “centon principle” (centon is a game genre when a poem is composed of different lines from other authors).
Postmodernism is radically different from all other aesthetic systems. In various schemes (for example, in the well-known schemes of Ihab Hassan, V. Brainin-Passek, etc.) dozens of distinctive features of postmodernism are noted. This is an attitude towards play, conformism, recognition of the equality of cultures, an attitude towards secondaryness (i.e. postmodernism does not aim to say something new about the world), orientation towards commercial success, recognition of the infinity of the aesthetic (i.e. everything can be art) etc.
Both writers and literary critics have an ambiguous attitude towards postmodernism: from complete acceptance to categorical denial.
In the last decade, people are increasingly talking about the crisis of postmodernism and reminding us of the responsibility and spirituality of culture.
For example, P. Bourdieu considers postmodernism a variant of “radical chic”, spectacular and comfortable at the same time, and calls not to destroy science (and in the context, art as well) “in the fireworks of nihilism” 4 .
Many American theorists have also made sharp attacks against postmodern nihilism. In particular, the book “Against Deconstruction” by J. M. Ellis, which contains a critical analysis of postmodernist attitudes, caused a stir.
At the same time, we must admit that so far no new interesting directions, offering other aesthetic solutions.

Nikolaev A.I. Fundamentals of literary criticism: a textbook for students of philological specialties. – Ivanovo: LISTOS, 2011

§ 7.1 .Literature of the Time of Troubles. XVII century - a transitional era from ancient to new literature, from the Muscovite kingdom to the Russian Empire. This was the century that prepared the way for the comprehensive reforms of Peter the Great.

The “rebellious” century began with the Troubles: a terrible famine, civil war, Polish and Swedish intervention. The events that shook the country gave rise to an urgent need to comprehend them. People of very different views and backgrounds took up the pen: cellarer of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Abraham Palitsyn, clerk Ivan Timofeev, who in florid language outlined the events from Ivan the Terrible to Mikhail Romanov in the “Vremennik” (work was carried out until the author’s death in 1631), Prince I. A Khvorostinin is a Western writer, a favorite of False Dmitry I, who composed in his defense “The Words of Days, and Tsars, and Moscow Saints” (possibly 1619), Prince S. I. Shakhovskoy is the author of “The Tale in Memory of the Great Martyr Tsarevich Dmitry”, “ The Tale of a Certain Mnis...” (about False Dmitry I) and, possibly, the “Tale of the Book of Sowing from Previous Years”, or the “Chronicle Book” (1st tr. XVII century), which is also attributed to princes I.M. Katyrev- Rostovsky, I.A. Khvorostinin and others.

The tragedy of the Time of Troubles gave rise to vibrant journalism that served the goals of the liberation movement. A propaganda work in the form of a letter-appeal against the Polish-Lithuanian invaders who captured Moscow is “The New Tale of the Glorious Russian Kingdom” (1611). In “The Lament for the Captivity and Final Ruin of the Moscow State” (1612), depicting in a rhetorically decorated form “the fall of the great Russia,” propaganda and patriotic letters of the patriarchs Job, Hermogenes (1607), the leaders of the people’s militia, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Prokopiy Lyapunov ( 1611–12). The sudden death at the age of twenty-three of Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, a talented commander and people's favorite, gave rise to persistent rumors about his poisoning by the boyars out of envy, due to dynastic rivalry. Rumors formed the basis of a folk historical song used in the “Scripture on the death and burial of Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky” (early 1610s).

Among the most remarkable monuments of ancient Russian literature is the work of Abraham Palitsyn “History in memory of a previous generation.” Abraham began writing it after the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov in 1613 and worked on it until the end of his life in 1626. With great artistic power and with the reliability of an eyewitness, he painted a broad picture of the dramatic events of 1584–1618. Most of the book is devoted to the heroic defense of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery from Polish-Lithuanian troops in 1608–10. In 1611–12 Abraham, together with Archimandrite Dionysius (Zobninovsky) of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, wrote and sent out patriotic messages calling for the fight against foreign invaders. Abraham's energetic activity contributed to the victory of the people's militia, the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 and the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613.

The events of the Time of Troubles gave impetus to the creation of numerous regional literary monuments (usually in the form of stories and tales of miracles from locally revered icons), dedicated to episodes of the struggle against foreign intervention in different regions of the country: in Kursk, Yaroslavl, Veliky Ustyug, Ustyuzhna, Tikhvinsky, Ryazan Mikhailov monastery and other places.

§ 7.2 .Historical truth and fiction. Development of fiction. A feature of the literature of the 17th century. is the use of fictional plots, legends and folk legends. The central monument of legendary historiography of the 17th century. – Novgorod “The Tale of Sloven and Rus” (no later than 1638). The work is dedicated to the origins of the Slavs and the Russian state (from the descendants of Patriarch Noah to the calling of the Varangians to Novgorod) and includes the mythical letter of Alexander the Great to the Slavic princes, popular in ancient Slavic literature. The legend was included in the Patriarchal Chronicle of 1652 and became the official version of early Russian history. It had a significant influence on subsequent Russian historiography. The historical outline is completely subordinated to fictional intrigue with elements of an adventurous plot in “The Tale of the Murder of Daniil of Suzdal and the Beginning of Moscow” (between 1652–81).

In the depths of traditional hagiographical genres (tales about the founding of a monastery, the appearance of the cross, a repentant sinner, etc.), the sprouts of new narrative forms and literary devices. A fictional folk-poetic plot is used in the “Tale of the Tver Youth Monastery” (2nd half of the 17th century). The work, dedicated to a traditional theme - the founding of a monastery, is turned into a lyrical story about a man, his love and fate. The basis of the conflict is the unrequited love of the prince’s servant George for the beautiful Ksenia, the daughter of the village sexton, who rejected him on her wedding day and “by God’s will” married her betrothed, the prince. Heartbroken, Gregory becomes a hermit and founds the Tverskaya Otroch Monastery.

Murom literature first half XVII V. gave wonderful images of ideal female types. As in “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom,” which captures the sublime image of a wise peasant princess (see § 6.5), the events in these stories unfold not in the monastery, but in the world. Features of the life and biography are connected by “The Tale of Ulyaniya Osorina”, or “The Life of Julian Lazarevskaya”. The author, the son of Ulyaniya Kallistrat (Druzhina) Osoryin, created a work that is unusual for hagiographic literature, and in many ways diverges from generally accepted views on the deeds of saints. The Murom landowner with all her behavior affirms the sanctity of a virtuous life in the world. She embodies the ideal character of a Russian woman, compassionate and hardworking, daily engaged in business and caring for her neighbors. "The Tale of Martha and Mary" or "The Tale of the Unzhe Cross" paints vivid pictures taken from life. The miraculous origin of the local shrine, the life-giving cross, is connected here with the fate of loving sisters, separated for a long time by a quarrel between their husbands over a place of honor at the feast.

In the 17th century works are being created with frankly fictitious plots, anticipating the emergence of fiction in the proper sense of the word. Extremely important for understanding changes in cultural consciousness is “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn” (possibly 1660s). The work is in close connection with demonological legends and motifs widespread in Russian literature of that time. It is enough to name, for example, “The Tale of the Possessed Wife Solomonia” by priest Jacob from Veliky Ustyug (probably between 1671 and 1676), a fellow countryman of the actually existing merchants Grudtsyn-Usov. At the same time, the basis of “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn” is the theme of the contract between man and the devil and the sale of the soul for worldly goods, honors and love pleasures, which was thoroughly developed in the Western European Middle Ages. The successful outcome of demonological plots is intended to testify to the power of the Church, defeating the machinations of the devil, to the saving intercession of heavenly powers, and especially the Mother of God (as, for example, in the famous cycle of medieval works about Theophilus, one of which was translated by A. Blok, or in the case of Savva Grudtsyn). However, in the story, religious didactics, characteristic of stories about repentant sinners, is overshadowed by a colorful depiction of everyday life and customs, and folk-poetic images dating back to Russian fairy tales.

Writers of the 17th century for the first time they realized the self-sufficient value of artistic comprehension of the world and artistic generalization. This turning point in the history of Russian literature is clearly reflected in “The Tale of Misfortune” - an unusually lyrical and deep work written in beautiful folk poetry. “The Tale of Misfortune-Grief” was conceived as a moral and philosophical parable about the prodigal son, an unfortunate vagabond hawk-moth, driven by an evil fate. IN collective image The fictional hero (a nameless young merchant) reveals with amazing force the eternal conflict between fathers and sons, the theme of a fatal unfortunate fate, the desired deliverance from which is only death or entering a monastery. The ominously fantastic image of Grief-Misfortune personifies the dark impulses of the human soul, the guilty conscience of the young man himself.

The Tale of Frol Skobeev became a new phenomenon in the literature of Peter the Great's time. Its hero is a noble nobleman who seduced a rich bride and secured a comfortable life for himself with a successful marriage. This is a type of cunning cunning, joker and even swindler. Moreover, the author does not condemn his hero at all, but even seems to admire his resourcefulness. All this brings the story closer to works of the picaresque genre, fashionable in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. “The Tale of Karp Sutulov” (late 17th – early 18th centuries), which glorifies the resourceful female mind and ridicules the unlucky love affairs of a merchant, priest and bishop, also has an entertaining plot. Its satirical orientation grows out of the folk culture of laughter, which flourished in the 17th century.

§ 7.3 .Folk laughter culture. One of the brightest signs of the transitional era is the flourishing of satire, closely connected with folk laughter culture and folklore. Satirical literature of the 17th century. reflected a decisive departure from the old book-Slavic traditions and “ soulful reading", accurate folk speech and imagery. For the most part, monuments of folk laughter culture are independent and original. But even if Russian writers sometimes borrowed plots and motifs, they gave them a vivid national imprint.

The ABC of the Naked and Poor Man is directed against social injustice and poverty. Judicial red tape and legal proceedings are ridiculed by “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich” (possibly from the end of the 16th century), corruption and bribery of judges – “The Tale of Shemyakin’s Court”, which develops a picaresque line in Russian literature on the basis of a “vagrant” plot. The target of satire is the life and customs of the clergy and monasticism (“Kalyazin petition”, “The Tale of Priest Sava”). The ill-fated losers, who literally have the luck of drowning, are presented in a clownish form in The Tale of Thomas and Erem.

Monuments of folk laughter culture with great sympathy depict the intelligence, dexterity and resourcefulness of the common man (“The Tale of Shemyakin’s Court”, “The Tale of peasant son"). Behind the outer comic side of “The Tale of Hawkmoth,” who outdid the righteous and took the best place in heaven, hides a polemic with church ritual formalism and is proof that human weaknesses cannot interfere with salvation if there is faith in God and Christian love for others in the soul .

Folk laughter culture XVII V. (“The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”, depicting a land dispute, and “Kalyazin Petition”, depicting the drunkenness of monks) widely uses genres of business writing for comic purposes: the form of court cases and petitions - official petitions and complaints. The language and structure of medical books, recipes and documents of the Pharmacy Order are parodied by the clownish “Medicine for Foreigners”, obviously created by one of the Muscovites.

In the 17th century for the first time in the history of ancient Russian literature, parodies of the Church Slavonic language and liturgical texts appear. Although the number of monuments of this kind is small, undoubtedly, only a few parodies have survived to our time, created among scribes who were well-read in church books and knew their language well. Writers of the 17th century they knew how not only to pray, but also to have fun in the Church Slavonic way. Sacred plots are played out to a greater or lesser extent in “The Tale of the Peasant’s Son” and “The Tale of the Hawk Moth.” In the genre of parodia sacra, the “Service for the Tavern” was written - a clownish tavern liturgy, the oldest copy of which dates back to 1666. “Service for the Tavern” is in line with traditions dating back to such Latin services for drunkards, such as, for example, “The Most Drunken Liturgy” (XIII century) - the greatest monument of medieval learned buffoonery in the literature of the vagants. The Western European “vagrant” plot, “turning inside out” church confession, is used in “The Tale of the Hen and the Fox.”

The dystopian genre also came to Rus' from Western Europe. The satirical “Tale of Luxurious Life and Joy,” a Russian adaptation of a Polish source, depicts a fairy-tale paradise of gluttons and drunkards in a Rabelaisian manner. The work is opposed to popular utopian legends like those that fed the legends about Belovodye, a wonderful, happy country where true faith and piety bloom, where there is no untruth or crime. Faith in Belovodye lived among the people for a long time, forcing brave dreamers to go in search of the blessed land to distant overseas lands back in the second half of the 19th century. (see essays by V. G. Korolenko “At the Cossacks”, 1901).

§ 7.4 .Activation of local literary life. Since the Time of Troubles, local literatures have been developing, maintaining connections with the center and, as a rule, traditional forms of storytelling. XVII century presents in abundance examples of the glorification of local shrines that have not received all-Russian veneration (lives, tales of miraculous icons, stories of monasteries) and examples of the creation of new editions of already known works. From the literary monuments of the Russian North, one can highlight the biographies of saints who lived in the 16th century: “The Tale of the Life of Varlaam of Keretsky” (17th century) - a Kola priest who killed his wife and in great grief wandered in a boat with her corpse along the White Sea, begging for God's forgiveness, and “The Life of Tryphon of Pechenga” (late 17th - early 18th centuries) - the founder of the northernmost monastery on the Pechenga River, educator of the Sami in the western part of the Kola Peninsula.

The first history of Siberia is the chronicle of the Tobolsk clerk Savva Esipov (1636). Its traditions were continued in the “History of Siberia” (late 17th century or until 1703) by the Tobolsk nobleman Semyon Remezov. The cycle of stories is dedicated to the capture of Azov by the Don Cossacks in 1637 and their heroic defense of the fortress from the Turks in 1641. The “poetic” “Tale of the Azov Siege of the Don Cossacks” (1641–42) combines documentary accuracy with Cossack folklore. In the “fairytale” story about Azov (70s–80s of the 17th century) that used it, historical truth gives way to artistic fiction based on a large number of oral traditions and songs.

§ 7.5 .Western European influence. In the 17th century Muscovite Rus' is rapidly ending the medieval era, as if in a hurry to make up for lost time over the previous centuries. This time is marked by a gradual but steadily increasing desire of Russia for Western Europe. In general, Western influence did not penetrate to us directly, but through Poland and Lithuanian Rus' (Ukraine and Belarus), which largely adopted Latin-Polish culture. Western European influence increased the composition and content of our literature, contributed to the emergence of new literary genres and themes, satisfied new reader tastes and needs, provided abundant material for Russian authors and changed the repertoire of translated works.

The largest translation center was the Ambassadorial Prikaz in Moscow, which was in charge of relations with foreign states. At various times it was headed by outstanding diplomats, political and cultural figures - such as, for example, the philanthropists and bibliophiles Boyar A. S. Matveev (§ 7.8) or Prince V. V. Golitsyn. In the 70s–80s. XVII century they directed the literary, translation and book activities of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In 1607, a native of Lithuanian Rus', F.K. Gozvinsky, who served there, translated Aesop’s fables and his legendary biography from ancient Greek. Another embassy translator, Ivan Gudansky, participated in the collective translation of the “Great Mirror” (1674–77) and independently translated from Polish the famous knightly novel “The Story of Melusine” (1677) with a fairy-tale plot about a werewolf woman.

The translated chivalric romance became one of the most significant events of the transition era. He brought with him many new exciting stories and impressions: exciting adventures and fantasy, a world of selfless love and friendship, the cult of ladies and female beauty, description of knightly tournaments and duels, knightly code of honor and nobility of feelings. Foreign fiction came to Russia not only through Poland and Lithuanian Rus', but also through the South Slavs, the Czech Republic and other routes.

“The Tale of Bova the Prince” was especially loved in Rus' (according to V.D. Kuzmina, no later than the middle of the 16th century). It goes back through a Serbian translation to the medieval French novel about the exploits of Bovo d’ Anton, which traveled throughout Europe in various poetic and prose adaptations. Oral existence preceded the literary treatment of the famous “Tale of Eruslan Lazarevich,” which reflected the ancient Eastern legend about the hero Rustem, known in the poem “Shah-name” by Firdousi (10th century). Among the early translations (no later than the mid-17th century) is “The Tale of Stilfried” - a Czech adaptation of a German poem from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. about Reinfried of Brunswick. “The Tale of Peter of the Golden Keys” (2nd half of the 17th century) was translated from Polish, going back to the popular French novel about Peter and the beautiful Magelona, ​​created in the 15th century. at the court of the Burgundian dukes. In the XVIII – XIX centuries. the stories about Bova the Prince, Peter the Golden Keys, and Eruslan Lazarevich were favorite folk tales and popular print books.

Foreign fiction appealed to the taste of the Russian reader, causing imitations and adaptations that gave it a pronounced local flavor. Translated from Polish, “The Tale of Caesar Otto and Olund” (1670s), telling about the adventures of the slandered and exiled queen and her sons, was reworked in a church-didactic spirit into “The Tale of the Queen and the Lioness” (late 17th century .). There are still debates about whether “The Tale of Vasily Goldhair,” close to the fairy-tale story about a proud princess (probably the 2nd half of the 17th century), is translated or Russian (written under the influence of foreign entertainment literature).

In the last third of the 17th century. popular collections of stories and pseudo-historical legends with a predominant church-moralistic spirit, translated from Polish, are becoming widespread: “The Great Mirror” in two translations (1674–77 and 1690s) and “Roman Acts” (last tr. XVII century. ), which used plots from late Roman writers, which explains the title of the book. In the same way, through Poland, secular works come to Russia: “Facetius” (1679) - a collection of stories and anecdotes that introduces the reader to the short stories of the Renaissance, and apothegmata - collections containing apothegmata - witty sayings, anecdotes, entertaining and moralizing stories. No later than the last quarter of the 17th century. The Polish collection of apothegms of A. B. Budny († after 1624), a figure of the Reformation era, was translated twice.

§ 7.6 .Pioneers of Russian versification. Rhyme in ancient Russian literature originated not in poetry, but in rhetorically organized prose with its love for the equality of structural parts of the text (isokolia) and parallelism, which were often accompanied by consonance of endings (homeoteleutons - grammatical rhymes). Many writers (for example, Epiphanius the Wise, Andrei Kurbsky, Abraham Palitsyn) consciously used rhyme and rhythm in prose.

Since the Time of Troubles, verse poetry has firmly entered Russian literature with its spoken verse, unequally complex and rhymed. Pre-syllabic poetry was based on ancient Russian book and oral traditions, but at the same time it experienced influences coming from Poland and Lithuanian Rus'. The older poets were well acquainted with Western European culture. Among them, an aristocratic literary group stands out: princes S.I. Shakhovskoy and I.A. Khvorostinin, okolnichy and diplomat Alexei Zyuzin, but there were also clerks: Fyodor Gozvinsky, a native of Lithuanian Rus', and Antony Podolsky, one of the writers of the Time of Troubles, Evstratiy - author "serpentine" or "serpentine" verse, common in Baroque literature.

For the 30s–40s. XVII century The formation and flowering of the “prikaz school” of poetry, which united employees of the Moscow orders, took place. The center of literary life became the Printing Yard, the largest center of culture and the place of work of many writers and poets. The most prominent representative of the “school of ordered poetry” was the monk Savvaty, the director (editor) of the Printing House. His colleagues Ivan Shevelev Nasedka, Stefan Gorchak, and Mikhail Rogov left a noticeable mark on the history of Virsch poetry. All of them wrote mainly didactic messages, spiritual instructions, poetic prefaces, often giving them the form of extended acrostics containing the name of the author, addressee or customer.

An echo of the Troubles is the work of clerk Timofey Akundinov (Akindinov, Ankidinov, Ankudinov). Enmeshed in debt and under investigation, in 1644 he fled to Poland and for nine years, moving from one country to another, posed as the heir of Tsar Vasily Shuisky. In 1653, he was handed over by Holstein to the Russian government and quartered in Moscow. Akundinov is the author of a poetic declaration to the Moscow embassy in Constantinople in 1646, the metrics and style of which are typical for the “order school” of poetry .

In the last third of the 17th century. spoken verse was supplanted from high poetry by more strictly organized syllabic verse and moved into lower literature.

§ 7.7 .Baroque literature and syllabic poetry. Syllabic versification was brought to Russia (largely through Belarusian-Ukrainian mediation) from Poland, where the main syllabic meters in Baroque literature developed in the 16th century. based on examples of Latin poetry. Russian verse received a qualitatively new rhythmic organization. The syllabic is based on the principle of equisyllabicity: rhyming lines must have the same number of syllables (most often 13 or 11), and in addition, exclusively feminine rhymes are used (as in Polish, where words have a fixed stress on the penultimate syllable). The work of the Belarusian Simeon of Polotsk was of decisive importance in the dissemination of a new verbal culture and syllabic poetry with a developed system of poetic meters and genres.

Having moved to Moscow in 1664 and becoming the first court poet in Russia, Simeon of Polotsk was the creator of not only his own poetic school, but the entire literary movement of the Baroque - the first Western European style to penetrate Russian literature. Until the end of his life († 1680), the writer worked on two huge collections of poetry: “The Vertograd of Many Colors” and “Rhythmologion, or Poetry Book.” His main poetic work, “The Vertograd of Many Colors,” is a “poetry encyclopedia” typical of Baroque culture with thematic headings arranged in alphabetical order (1,155 titles in total), often including entire cycles of poems and containing information on history, natural philosophy, cosmology, and theology. , ancient mythology, etc. Characteristic of elite baroque literature and “Rhythmologion” - a collection of panegyric poems for various occasions in life royal family and nobles. In 1680, the “Rhyming Psalter” by Simeon of Polotsk was published - the first poetic arrangement of psalms in Russia, created in imitation of the “Psalter of David” (1579) by the Polish poet Jan Kokhanovsky. An extremely prolific author, Simeon of Polotsk wrote plays in verse on biblical subjects: “About King Nechadnezzar...” (1673 - early 1674), “The Comedy of the Parable of the Prodigal Son” (1673–78), containing the conflict of fathers typical of Russian life of that time and children, polemical works: the anti-Old Believer “Rod of Government” (ed. 1667), sermons: “The Soulful Dinner” (1675, published 1682) and “The Soulful Supper” (1676, published 1683), etc.

After the death of Simeon of Polotsk, the place of court writer was taken by his student Sylvester Medvedev, who dedicated an epitaph to the memory of his mentor - “Epitafion” (1680). Having led the Moscow Westerners - the “Latinists”, Medvedev led a decisive struggle with the party of Grecophile writers (Patriarch Joachim, Euthymius Chudovsky, brothers Ioannikiy and Sophrony Likhud, Hierodeacon Damascus), and fell in this struggle, executed in 1691. In collaboration with Karion Istomin Medvedev wrote a historical essay about the reforms of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the Streltsy revolt of 1682 and the first years of the regency of Princess Sophia - “A brief contemplation of the years 7190, 91 and 92, what happened in them in citizenship.” End of the 17th century was the time of greatest creative success for the court author Karion Istomin, who wrote a huge number of poems and poems, epitaphs and epigrams, orations and panegyrics. His innovative pedagogical work, the illustrated poetic “Primer” (entirely engraved 1694 and typeset 1696), was reprinted and used as an educational book at the beginning of the 19th century.

A school of poetry also existed in the New Jerusalem Monastery of the Resurrection founded by Patriarch Nikon, the most prominent representatives of which were Archimandrites Herman († 1681) and Nikanor (2nd half of the 17th century), who used isosyllabic versification.

An outstanding representative of Baroque authors was the Ukrainian Dimitri Rostovsky (in the world Daniil Savvich Tuptalo), who moved to Russia in 1701. A writer of versatile talents, he became famous as a wonderful preacher, poet and playwright, author of works against the Old Believers (“Search for the schismatic Bryn faith”, 1709). The work of Demetrius of Rostov, the East Slavic “metaphrast,” summed up ancient Russian hagiography. For almost a quarter of a century he worked on a general collection of the lives of saints. Having collected and processed numerous Old Russian (Great Menaion of Cheti, etc.), Latin and Polish sources, Demetrius created a “hagiographic library” - “Lives of the Saints” in four volumes. His work was published for the first time in the printing house of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in 1684–1705. and immediately won lasting readership.

§ 7.8 .The beginning of Russian theater. Development of Baroque culture with its favorite postulate life is a stage, people are actors contributed to the birth of the Russian theater. The idea of ​​its creation belonged to the famous statesman, Westerner boyar A.S. Matveev, head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. The first play of the Russian theater was “The Artaxerxes Action”. It was written in 1672 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the plot of the biblical book of Esther by Lutheran pastor Johann Gottfried Gregory from the German settlement in Moscow (possibly with the participation of Leipzig medical student Laurentius Ringuber). “The Artaxerxes Act” was created in imitation of Western European drama of the 16th – 17th centuries. on biblical stories. The play, written in German poetry, was translated into Russian by employees of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. First staged on the opening day of the court theater of Alexei Mikhailovich on October 17, 1672, it ran for 10 hours without intermission.

Russian theater was not limited to religious subjects. In 1673, it turned to ancient mythology and staged the musical ballet “Orpheus” based on the German ballet “Orpheus and Eurydice”. Gregory's successor, the Saxon Georg Hüfner (in the Russian pronunciation of that time - Yuri Mikhailovich Gibner or Givner), who directed the theater in 1675–76, compiled and translated “Temir-Aksakov’s Action” based on various sources. The play, dedicated to the struggle of the Central Asian conqueror Timur with the Turkish Sultan Bayezid I, was topical in Moscow both from a historical perspective (see § 5.2) and in connection with the brewing war with Turkey over Ukraine in 1676–81. Despite the fact that the court theater existed for less than four years (until the death of the “chief theatergoer”, Alexei Mikhailovich on January 29, 1676) , it was with him that the history of Russian theater and drama began.

By the beginning of the 18th century. School theater, used for educational and religious-political purposes in Western European educational institutions, penetrates into Russia. In Moscow theatrical performances were performed at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (see § 7.9), for example, “The Terrible Comedy of the Treason of a Voluptuous Life” (1701), written on the theme of the Gospel parable about the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. A new stage in the development of school theater was the dramaturgy of Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov, the author of “comedies” for the Nativity of Christ (1702) and for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (probably 1703–05). In the Rostov school, opened by Demetrius in 1702, not only his plays were staged, but also the works of teachers: the drama “The Crown of Demetrius” (1704) in honor of the heavenly patron of the Metropolitan Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, composed, it is believed, by the teacher Evfimy Morogin. At the beginning of the 18th century. Based on the lives, as edited by Dmitry of Rostov, plays were performed in the court theater of Princess Natalya Alekseevna, the beloved sister of Peter I: the “comedy” of Varlaam and Joasaph, the martyrs Evdokia, Catherine, etc.

§ 7.9 .Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. The idea of ​​​​creating the first higher educational institution in Muscovite Rus' belonged to the Baroque authors - Simeon of Polotsk and Sylvester Medvedev, who wrote on behalf of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich “Privilees of the Moscow Academy” (approved in 1682). This document defined the foundations of a state higher educational institution with an extensive program, rights and prerogatives for the training of secular and ecclesiastical professional personnel. However, the first leaders and teachers of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, opened in Moscow in 1687, were the opponents of Simeon of Polotsk and Sylvester Medvedev - the learned Greek brothers Ioannikis and Sophronius Likhud. The Academy, where Church Slavonic, Greek, Latin, grammar, poetics, rhetoric, physics, theology and other subjects were taught, played an important role in the spread of enlightenment. In the first half of the 18th century. From its walls came such famous writers and scientists as A. D. Kantemir, V. K. Trediakovsky, M. V. Lomonosov, V. E. Adodurov, A. A. Barsov, V. P. Petrov and others.

§ 7.10 .Church schism and Old Believer literature. The rapidly expanding work of the Moscow Printing House required an increasing number of experts in theology, grammar and Greek. To translate and edit the books, the “Kyiv elders” Epiphany Slavinetsky, Arseny Satanovsky and Damaskin Ptitsky, who came to Moscow in 1649–50, were invited to Russia. Boyar F. M. Rtishchev built St. Andrew's Monastery for the “Kyiv elders” on his estate on the Sparrow Hills. There they began academic work and opened a school in which young Moscow clerks studied Greek and Latin. Southwestern Russian bookishness became one of the sources of Nikon's church reform. Its other component was the modern Greek church rite, the differences of which from the Old Russian rite were of concern to Patriarch Joseph.

In 1649–50 the learned monk Arseny (in the world Anton Sukhanov) carried out responsible diplomatic assignments in Ukraine, Moldova and Wallachia, where he participated in a theological debate with the Greek hierarchs. The dispute is described in the “Debate with the Greeks about Faith,” where the purity of Russian Orthodoxy and its rituals (two fingers, special alleluia, etc.) is proven. In 1651–53 with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, Arseny traveled to the Orthodox East (Constantinople, Jerusalem, Egypt) for the purpose of comparative study of Greek and Russian church practice. Sukhanov outlined what he saw during the trip and critical reviews of the Greeks in the essay “Proskinitarium” ‘Admirer (of holy places)’ (from the Greek rspukhnEsh ‘to worship’) (1653).

In 1653, Patriarch Nikon began to unify the Russian church ritual tradition with the modern Greek one and with the Orthodox Church in general. The most significant innovations were: the replacement of the two-finger sign of the cross with the three-finger sign (to which the Byzantines themselves switched under Latin influence after the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204); printing on prosphora a four-pointed cross (Latin “kryzha”, as the Old Believers believed) instead of the Old Russian eight-pointed one; transition from a special hallelujah to a triple hallelujah (from its twice repetition during worship to three times); exclusion from the eighth article of the Creed ("true Lord") definition true; writing the name of Christ with two And (Jesus), and not with one ( Isus) (in translations from Greek of the Ostromir Gospel of 1056–57, Izbornik of 1073, both options are still presented, but subsequently in Rus' the tradition of writing a name with one i) and much more. As a result of the “book law” in the second half of the 17th century. a new version of the Church Slavonic language was created.

Nikon's reform, which broke the centuries-honored Russian way of life, was rejected by the Old Believers and marked the beginning of a church schism. The Old Believers opposed orientation towards foreign church orders, defended the faith of their fathers and grandfathers, ancient Slavic-Byzantine rituals, defended national identity and were against the Europeanization of Russian life. The Old Believer environment turned out to be unusually rich in talents and bright personalities, and a brilliant galaxy of writers emerged from it. Among them were the founder of the “God-loving” movement Ivan Neronov, Archimandrite Spiridon Potemkin, Archpriest Avvakum Petrov, Solovetsky monks Gerasim Firsov, Epiphanius and Geronty, a preacher of self-immolation as the last means of salvation from the Antichrist, Hierodeacon Ignatius of Solovetsky, his opponent and denouncer of “suicidal deaths” Efrosin, priest Lazar, deacon Fyodor Ivanov, monk Abraham, Suzdal priest Nikita Konstantinov Dobrynin and others.

The inspired speeches of Archpriest Avvakum attracted to him numerous followers not only from the lower classes, but also from the aristocracy (boyar F. P. Morozova, princess E. P. Urusova, etc.). This was the reason for his exile to Tobolsk in 1653, then to Dauria in 1656 and later to Mezen in 1664. In 1666, Avvakum was summoned to Moscow for a church council, where he was defrocked and anathematized, and the next year he was exiled to the Pustozersky prison together with other defenders of the “old faith”. During their almost 15-year imprisonment in an earthen prison, Avvakum and his comrades (Elder Epiphanius, priest Lazar, deacon Fyodor Ivanov) did not stop fighting. The moral authority of the prisoners was so great that even the prison guards participated in the dissemination of their works. In 1682, Avvakum and his comrades were burned in Pustozersk “for great blasphemy against the royal house.”

In Pustozersk prison Avvakum created his main works: “The Book of Conversations” (1669–75), “The Book of Interpretations and Moral Teachings” (c. 1673–76), “The Book of Reproof, or the Eternal Gospel” (c. 1676) and a masterpiece of Russian literature – “Life” in three author’s editions 1672, 1673 and 1674–75. The work of Avvakum is far from the only autobiographical life in the 16th – 17th centuries. Among its predecessors were the story of Martyriy Zelenetsky (1580s), “The Tale of the Anzersky Skete” (late 1630s) by Eleazar and the remarkable “Life” (in two parts 1667–71 and ca. 1676) by Epiphanius, spiritual father Habakkuk. However, the “Life” of Avvakum, written in unique “Russian natural language” in its richness and expressiveness, is not only an autobiography, but also a sincere confession of a truth-seeker and a fiery sermon of a fighter ready to die for his ideals. Avvakum, the author of more than 80 theological, epistolary, polemical and other works (some of them have been lost), combines extreme traditionalism with bold innovation in creativity, and especially in language. The word Habakkuk grows from the deepest roots of truly popular speech. The living and figurative language of Avvakum is close to the literary style of the Old Believer Ioann Lukyanov, the author of pilgrimage notes about the “walk” to Jerusalem in 1701–03.

“The Tale of noblewoman Morozova”, a work of high artistic merit. Soon after the death of the disgraced noblewoman, an author close to her (obviously, her brother, boyar Fyodor Sokovnin) created in the form of a life a vivid and truthful chronicle of one of the most dramatic events in the history of the early Old Believers.

In 1694, in the northeast of Lake Onega, Daniil Vikulin and Andrei Denisov founded the Vygovsky hostel, which became the largest book and literary center of the Old Believers in the 18th - mid-19th centuries. The Old Believer book culture, which also developed in Starodubye (from 1669), on Vetka (from 1685) and in other centers, continued the Old Russian spiritual traditions in new historical conditions.

Features of Old Russian literature. Questions and assignments.

Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, the heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.

The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.

Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.

A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.

A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what and how should be depicted.

Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing and is based on book Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, and visual means of folk art.

The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, it is reproduced in monuments ancient literature hero, ideals are formed and created.

In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.

The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th–20th centuries.

3. Literature of the New Age

The romantics had different philosophical beliefs and political tastes - passionately loving and passionately hating, they created different images that contrasted expressively with the world - it could be a legendary figure (Cain for Byron, Prometheus for Shelley, Grazhin for Mickiewicz, Hiawatha Longfellow), or a lonely sufferer challenging society (the hero of the eastern Ohms of Byron0, or an enthusiastic artist defending his high calling (in Hoffmann). Arnie, Brentano, Eichendorff - German writers who occupied conservative positions - sympathetically portrayed the past.

Outstanding scientists for their time were the German storytellers Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Children's and family tales - "The Golden Goose", "Puss in Boots"), who wrote works on history German language, works about the culture and traditions of the ancient Germans.

George Gordon Byron, English romantic poet; member of the House of Lords, in the poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”, oriental poems (including “The Giaour”, “Lara”, “Corsair”), philosophical and symbolic dramatic poems- mysteries “Manfred and Cain”, a cycle of love-meditative poems on biblical motifs“Jewish Melodies” expresses a keen sense of the catastrophic nature of historical and personal existence, the loss of ideals in modern society, the universality of disappointment in reality (motives of world sorrow - cosmic pessimism). Protest against the evil of the world, upholding individual rights takes on an ironic and satirical overtones (the poem “ Bronze Age"). The German romantic writer, composer, artist - Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (The Devil's Elixir, The Golden Pot, Little Tsakhes, The Lord of the Fleas) also combined bizarre fantasy, subtle philosophical irony, reaching the point of mystical grotesque with a critical perception of reality. ).

The English writer Walter Scott, the founder of the English realistic novel, made a huge contribution to the history of foreign literature thanks to novels written on the material of European (including Scottish) history at its turning points - “Songs of the Scottish Border”, “The Song of the Last Minstrel”, “ "The Maid of Lake Waverley", "The Puritans", "Rob Roy", "Ivanhoe", "Quentin Dorward".

Another English writer, Charles Dickens, consciously refuses to depict social evil in recreating human life. The humorous, morally descriptive "Sketches of Bose" are dedicated to the inhabitants of various strata of London society, in the sentimental novel " Posthumous notes The Pickwick Club" (with a naive and touching eccentric hero), the idyllic Katrina of English society is determined by the belief in the good nature of man. The adventure novels “The Adventures of Oliver Twist”, “Nicholas Nickleby”, “Martin Chuzzlewit” are imbued with the pathos of compassion for the humiliated (especially for the experiences of a child’s soul), and rejection of all forms of social injustice. Dickens’s social optimism (the novels “The Curiosity Shop”, “The Christmas Stories”) conflicted with the grotesque-realistic depiction of the destructive psychology of possessiveness and pragmatism: the novels of education “Dombey and Son” and “David Copperfield”, with autobiographical features, the novel “Bleak House” ", detective novel "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".

Victor Hugo, a French romantic writer, wrote a preface to the drama Cromwell in 1827, which became the manifesto of the French romantics. The plays “Hernani”, “Marion Delorme”, “Ruy Blas” are the embodiment of rebellious ideas in Hugo. In the historical novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831), anti-clerical tendencies are strong. After the coup d'etat, the great writer published the political pamphlet "Napoleon the Lesser" and a collection of satirical poems "Retribution", the novels "Les Miserables", "Toilers of the Sea", "The Man Who Laughs", depicting the life of different layers of French society, imbued with democratic, humanistic ideals. The French poet Pierre Jean Béranger embraced the ideas of utopian socialism ("Mad Men") and gained fame for similar satires of the Napoleonic regime ("King Yveto"). Bérenger's songs, imbued with revolutionary spirit, humor, optimism, and plebeian candor, gained wide popularity. (“Prince of Navarre”, “White Cockade”).

The French writer Frederic Stendhal, in his book Racine and Shakespeare (1823-25), created the first manifesto of the realistic school. The novels are marked by mastery of psychological analysis and realistic depiction of social contradictions: “Red and Black” about the tragic career of a plebeian experiencing a conflict between ambition and honor; “The Parma Monastery”, full of poeticization of free feeling, denunciation of the political reaction after Napoleonic wars. The political life of French society is no less comprehensively reflected in the works of Honore de Balzac, a French writer. Epic " Human Comedy"of 90 novels and stories is connected by a common concept and many characters: the novel “The Unknown Masterpiece”, “ Shagreen leather”, “Eugenie Grande”, “Père Goriot”, “Cesar Birotto”, “Lost Illusions”, “Cousin Beta”, which suggests that the epic is a realistic picture of French society that is grandiose in its breadth of coverage.

It was distinguished by a rich centuries-old tradition Polish literature. In the second half of the 18th century, it promoted major masters of Enlightenment classicism, but Polish Romanism was awarded world fame. The works of composers Chopin and Moniuszko, poet and playwright Yuri Slovacki and the most remarkable in this galaxy - the great Polish poet Adam Mickiecz (Poetry, Grazyna, Dziady, Konrad Wallenrod) are associated with Romanism. The latter, among other things, acted as a figure in the national liberation movement.

James Fenimore Cooper, an American writer, combined elements of enlightenment and romanticism. His historical and adventure novels about the War of Independence in the North. America, the era of the frontier, sea voyages (“Spy”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “The St. John’s Wort”, “Pathfinder”, “Pilot”), socio-political satire (“Monicins”) and journalism (pamphlet treatise “American Democrat”) , in which the dangerous struggle for life, the picturesque depiction of landscapes, and anxiety for the fate of the country brought the writer world fame. Another American writer and novelist Henry Longfellow, in epic poems, ballads, lyrics, often aphoristic-didactic, sentimental (in mood), combining both song-folklore and book traditions, turned to the heroic past of the United States, medieval legends, Christian theme. (“Psalm of Life”, “Song of Hiawatha”).

Denmark made a very noticeable contribution to world literature in the person of Hans Christian Anderson, a storyteller and philosopher. His works in the oldest literary genre - fairy tales, which combine romance and realism, fantasy and humor, satirical elements with irony, brought him worldwide fame. Based on folklore (“Flint”), imbued with humanism, lyricism and humor (“Stable tin soldier", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Mermaid", " The Snow Queen"), fairy tales condemn social inequality

Creativity is a reflection of a large historical period German poet and the publicist Heinrich Heine. The romantic irony of a hero suffering from the imperfections and prose of life, sarcasm and lyricism, a daring challenge to self-satisfied vulgarity in the Book of Songs (1827), imbued with folk melodic elements, and the collection Romacero (1851), where skepticism and notes of despair do not suppress the courage to confront fate (with 1848 Heine is bedridden). Stinging political poems (including the poems “Atta Troll” and “Germany. The Winter’s Tale”), denouncing modern feudal-monarchical and philistine Germany.

Modern times are a period of complex processes in the social life of Europe and an ambiguous period of time in the history of the whole world, carried away by revolutions, coups and reforms. Therefore, the 20th century, not only in literature, but also in all genres of art and social formations, was a completely new, advanced and tougher era.