Plot in a work of fiction elements of plot. Composition and plot of a work of art

To the utmost general view The plot is a kind of basic scheme of the work, which includes the sequence of actions occurring in the work and the totality of the character relationships existing in it. Typically, a plot includes the following elements: exposition, plot, action development, climax, denouement and postposition, and also, in some works, prologue and epilogue. The main prerequisite for the development of the plot is time, both the historical period of action and the passage of time during the work.

The concept of plot is closely related to the concept of the plot of the work. In modern Russian literary criticism (as well as in the practice of school teaching of literature), the term “plot” usually refers to the very course of events in a work, and the plot is understood as the main artistic conflict, which develops in the course of these events. Historically, there were other views on the relationship between plot and plot, different from the one indicated. In the 1920s, representatives of OPOYAZ proposed to distinguish between two sides of the narrative: they called the very development of events in the world of the work “plot”, and the way these events are depicted by the author - “plot”.

Another interpretation comes from Russian critics of the mid-19th century and was also supported by A. N. Veselovsky and M. Gorky: they called the plot the very development of the action of the work, adding to this the relationships of the characters, and by the plot they understood the compositional side of the work, that is, how exactly the author reports the content of the plot. It is easy to see that the meanings of the terms “plot” and “plot” in this interpretation, compared to the previous one, change places.

There is also a point of view that the concept of “plot” has no independent meaning, and to analyze a work it is quite enough to operate with the concepts of “plot”, “plot diagram”, “plot composition”.

Typology of plots

Repeated attempts have been made to classify the plots of literary works, to divide them according to various signs, highlight the most typical ones. The analysis allowed, in particular, to highlight large group so-called “wandering plots” - plots that are repeated many times in different designs among different peoples and in different regions, mostly in folk art (fairy tales, myths, legends).

There are several attempts to reduce the diversity of plots to a small, but at the same time comprehensive set of plot schemes. In the famous short story “The Four Cycles,” Borges claims that all plots come down to just four options:

• On the assault and defense of the fortified city (Troy)
• About the Long Return (Odysseus)
• About the search (Jason)
• About the suicide of a god (Odin, Atis)

see also

Notes

Links

• The meaning of the word “plot” in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
• Brief summaries of literary works by various authors
• Lunacharsky A.V., Thirty-six plots, “Theater and Art” magazine, 1912, No. 34.
• Nikolaev A.I. The plot of a literary work // Fundamentals of literary criticism: tutorial for students of philological specialties. – Ivanovo: LISTOS, 2011.

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See what “Plot” is in other dictionaries:

Plot- 1. S. in literature, a reflection of the dynamics of reality in the form of the action unfolding in the work, in the form of internally connected (causal and temporal connection) actions of characters, events that form a certain unity, constituting some ... Literary encyclopedia

plot- a, m. sujet m. 1. An event or a series of interconnected and sequentially developing events that make up the content literary work. BAS 1. || trans. Relationships. He is a newcomer and immediately understands the plot of the camera: the hidden power of P... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Plot- PLOT is the narrative core of a work of art, a system of effective (factual) mutual direction and arrangement of speakers in this work persons (objects), provisions put forward in it, events developing in it... ... Dictionary of literary terms

PLOT- (French, from Latin subjectum subject). The content, the interweaving of external circumstances that form the basis of the known. literary or arts. works; in music: fugue theme. In theatrical language, an actor or actress. Dictionary of foreign words included in... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

plot- Cm … Synonym dictionary

PLOT- (from French sujet subject, subject) sequence of events in a literary text. The paradox associated with the fate of the concept of S. in the twentieth century is that as soon as philology learned to study it, literature began to destroy it. In studying C... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

PLOT- PLOT, plot, husband. (French sujet). 1. A set of actions, events in which the main content is revealed work of art(lit.). The plot of Pushkin's Queen of Spades. Choose something as the plot of a novel. 2. transfer Content, topic of what... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

PLOT- from life. Razg. Joking. iron. About what l. everyday life episode, ordinary life history. Mokienko 2003, 116. Plot for a short story. Razg. Joking. iron. 1. Something worth talking about. 2. Which l. strange, interesting story. /i> From... ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

1. Plot and plot. 2. Types of plots. 3. Composition of the plot. 4. Question about the plot in the lyrics. 5. Motive, its functions and types

We consider plot as a particular aspect of the composition of a literary work. One of the best domestic literary critics B.O. Corman, showing the plot in the text, called the composition "a network of relationships between stories, covering together the entire work." The events recreated by writers, along with the characters, form the basis objective world works. The plot is the organizing principle of most dramatic and epic works.

The origin of the word is French (sujet - subject, object). In everyday speech, in conversations, we use this particular word to denote a sequence of events. A plot is usually called a sequential change of situations and actions that are held together by a common idea. It is believed that the plot can be summarized in a few words. But in the science of literature, plot means other things.

1. Plot and plot

The understanding of plot as a set of events recreated in a work goes back to the works of A.N. Veselovsky. In the view of the author of the work “Historical Poetics,” a plot is a scheme of actions, a complex of motives. The patterns themselves can be repeated by many artists, and the smallest units of action, motives, can “wander” from one writer to another.

It is this understanding that is manifested in those modern research, where no distinction is made between categories such as plot and plot.

But there is a tradition of separating these concepts. Theorists formal school terminologically, the natural course of events and their artistic processing were distinguished. B. Shklovsky called the plot material for plot design. According to B. Tomashevsky, the plot is a set of motives in their logical cause-time relationship.

According to V. Kozhinov, to denote a system of main events that can be retold, it is better to use the Greek word “fable”; this term was used by Aristotle in his work “Poetics”. Fabula (lat. fabula- story, narration) for Aristotle meant action. Kozhinov calls it the subject of the image, the main plan for the course of the action of the epic. or dramatic a work that has already been artistically organized and in which the arrangement of characters and central motifs have been identified.

A supporter of the formal method in literary criticism M.M. Bakhtin wrote: “The plot is the general course of events that can be taken from an actual life incident.” G. Pospelov, the author of the textbook “Fundamentals of the Theory of Literature,” who was influenced by Shklovsky’s theory, considers it a delusion when the plot of a work is replaced by a retelling of events. A plot is a sequence of events in a figurative narrative, conveyed in artistic speech and given aesthetic, artistic meaning. The plot is artistically neutral. Therefore, no retelling can convey all the imagery, all the details of the plot. Transfiguration a simple story into a work of art occurs because the event outline is overgrown with artistic speech, acquiring not only informative, but also aesthetic significance.

The plot is based on information of a non-artistic nature. This is simply a conflict “scheme” that can be periodically repeated, borrowed and each time find a new specific embodiment. An example of a conflict scheme: a man, by force of circumstances, leaves his beloved for a long time, but his thoughts are divided into two: either he realizes the inviolability of her fidelity, or he imagines betrayal; finally, he decides to return secretly to check her feelings and deeds - he will either reward her for devotion or punish her for betrayal. This scheme can be complicated by any circumstances, have different endings, different variants artistic treatment and ideological and thematic load. The plots can be similar, but the plots are always unique, because they are connected with a single work, with a theme revealed in a specific way.

If the theme is the vital material that forms the basis of the work, then the plot determines the thematic orientation of the work. The plot makes up the basic outline of the plot; these are events occurring in a natural chronological sequence. Its formula can be expressed in the sentence: “The king died and then the queen died.” With this understanding, the plot grows out of the plot; it represents a more complex artistic system. In the plot order of Bunin’s “Easy Breathing,” it should have begun with the heroine’s youth and ended with death, but a rearrangement was allowed in the plot. Plot is the sequence of events in which the author places them, with the main emphasis being on their causal relationship. Therefore, the plot is a series of actions, carefully thought out by the author, which lead through struggle to a climax and denouement. “The king died and the queen died of grief” is already a plot formula. The plot may coincide with the plot (“Ionych” by Chekhov), or it may, as in the case of the Bunin story discussed, differ from it.

Modern scientist V. Khalizev gives his own, simpler definition of plot: “The chain of events depicted in a literary work, i.e. the life of the characters in its spatio-temporal changes, in changing positions and circumstances.” Taking into account various interpretations, we can offer our own, more adapted definition: plot is a system of events in a literary work that reveals the characters of the characters and the specific relationships between them.

Methods plot construction are different. There may be an inversion of plot elements, delays in action, foreshadowing, digressions, omissions, and introductory episodes.

2. Types of plots

Depending on the nature of the connections between events, there are two types of plots. Plots with a predominance of purely temporal connections between events are chronicles. They are used in epic works of large form (“ Don Quixote"). They can show the adventures of heroes (“Odyssey”), depict the formation of a person’s personality (“Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson” by S. Aksakov). A chronicle story consists of episodes. Plots with a predominance of cause-and-effect relationships between events are called plots of a single action, or concentric. Concentric plots are often built on such a classicist principle as unity of action. Let us recall that in Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit” the unity of action will be the events associated with Chatsky’s arrival at Famusov’s house. With the help of a concentric plot, one conflict situation is carefully examined. In drama, this type of plot structure dominated until the 19th century, and in epic works small form is still in use today. A single knot of events is most often untied in novellas and short stories by Pushkin, Chekhov, Poe, and Maupassant. Chronical and concentric principles interact in the plots of multilinear novels, where several event nodes appear simultaneously (“War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy, “The Brothers Karamazov” by F. Dostoevsky). Naturally, chronicle stories often include concentric micro-plots.

There are plots that differ in the intensity of the action. Event-filled plots are called dynamic. These events contain important meaning, and the denouement, as a rule, carries a huge content load. This type of plot is typical for Pushkin’s “Tales of Belkin” and Dostoevsky’s “The Gambler.” And vice versa, plots weakened by descriptions and inserted structures are adynamic. The development of action in them does not strive for a denouement, and the events themselves do not contain any particular interest. Adynamic plots in “Dead Souls” by Gogol, “My Life” by Chekhov.

3. Composition of the plot.

The plot is the dynamic side of the artistic form; it involves movement and development. The engine of the plot is most often a conflict, an artistically significant contradiction. The term comes from Lat. conflictus - collision. A conflict is called sharp collision characters and circumstances, views and life principles, underlying the action; confrontation, contradiction, clash between heroes, groups of heroes, the hero and society, or the internal struggle of the hero with himself. The nature of the collision can be different: it is a contradiction of duty and inclination, assessments and forces. Conflict is one of those categories that permeate the structure of the entire work of art.

If we consider A. S. Griboedov’s play “Woe is Wit,” it is easy to see that the development of the action here clearly depends on the conflict that lurks in Famusov’s house and lies in the fact that Sophia is in love with Molchalin and hides it from daddy. Chatsky, in love with Sophia, having arrived in Moscow, notices her dislike for himself and, trying to understand the reason, keeps an eye on everyone present in the house. Sophia is unhappy with this and, defending herself, makes a remark at the ball about his madness. Guests who do not sympathize with him gladly pick up this version, because they see in Chatsky a person with views and principles different from theirs, and then it is very clearly revealed that it is not just family conflict(Sophia’s secret love for Molchalin, Molchalin’s real indifference to Sophia, Famusov’s ignorance of what is happening in the house), but also the conflict between Chatsky and society. The outcome of the action (denouement) is determined not so much by Chatsky’s relationship with society, but by the relationship of Sophia, Molchalin and Liza, having learned about which Famusov controls their fate, and Chatsky leaves their home.

In the vast majority of cases, the writer does not invent conflicts. He draws them from primary reality and transfers them from life itself into the realm of themes, issues, and pathos.

Several types of conflicts can be identified that are at the heart of dramatic and epic works. Frequently encountered conflicts are moral and philosophical: the confrontation between characters, man and fate (“Odyssey”), life and death (“The Death of Ivan Ilyich”), pride and humility (“Crime and Punishment”), genius and villainy (“Mozart and Salieri "). Social conflicts consist in the opposition of a character’s aspirations, passions, and ideas to the way of life around him (“ Stingy Knight", "Storm"). The third group of conflicts are internal, or psychological, those that are associated with contradictions in the character of one character and do not become the property of the outside world; this is the mental torment of the heroes of “The Lady with the Dog”, this is the duality of Eugene Onegin. When all these conflicts are combined into one whole, they speak of their contamination. IN to a greater extent this is achieved in novels (“Heroes of Our Time”) and epics (“War and Peace”). The conflict can be local or insoluble (tragic), obvious or hidden, external (direct clashes of positions and characters) or internal (in the soul of the hero). B. Esin also identifies a group of three types of conflicts, but calls them differently: conflict between individual characters and groups of characters; the confrontation between the hero and the way of life, the individual and the environment; internal conflict, psychological, when we're talking about about the contradiction in the hero himself. V. Kozhinov wrote almost the same about this: “ TO. (from Latin collisio - collision) - confrontation, contradiction between characters, or between characters and circumstances, or within character, underlying the action of lit. works. K. does not always speak clearly and openly; For some genres, especially idyllic ones, K. is not typical: they only have what Hegel called “situation”<...>In an epic, drama, novel, short story, K. usually forms the core of the theme, and the resolution of K. appears as the defining moment of the artist. ideas...” “Artist. K. is a clash and contradiction between integral human individuals.” "TO. is a kind of source of energy lit. production, because it determines its action.” “During the course of action, it can worsen or, conversely, weaken; in the end the conflict is resolved one way or another.”

The development of K. sets the plot action in motion.

The plot indicates the stages of action, the stages of the existence of the conflict.

An ideal, that is, complete, model of the plot of a literary work may include the following fragments, episodes, links: prologue, exposition, plot, development of action, peripeteia, climax, denouement, epilogue. There are three mandatory elements in this list: the plot, the development of the action and the climax. Optional - the rest, that is, not all of the existing elements must take place in the work. The components of the plot can appear in different sequences.

Prologue(gr. prolog - preface) is an introduction to the main plot actions. It may give the root cause of events: the dispute about the happiness of men in “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” It clarifies the author's intentions and depicts the events preceding the main action. These events can affect the organization of the artistic space - the place of action.

Exposition(from Latin expositio - presentation, display) is an explanation, a depiction of the life of the characters in the period before the conflict. It gives the arrangement and relationships of the characters in a play, novel, story, short story, poem. For example, the life of young Onegin. It may contain biographical facts and motivate subsequent actions. An exposition can set the conventions of time and space and depict events preceding the plot. A. Kvyatkovsky’s “Poetic Dictionary” also speaks about exposition in a lyric poem: “Exposition is usually given in the first stanza, where the initial thought is expressed, which is developed in further stanzas.” We think that the term in such a context takes on a metaphorical meaning rather than retaining its main meaning.

The beginning– this is conflict detection.

Development of action is a group of events necessary for the conflict to occur. It presents twists that escalate the conflict.

Unexpected circumstances that complicate a conflict are called twists and turns.

Climax - (from Latin culmen - top ) - the moment of the highest tension of action, the utmost aggravation of contradictions; the pinnacle of conflict; K. reveals the main problem of the work and the characters of the characters most fully; after it the effect weakens. Often precedes the denouement. In works with many plot lines, it is possible to have not one, but several Ks.

Denouement- this is the resolution of the conflict in the work; it completes the course of events in action-packed works, for example, short stories. But often the ending of works does not contain a resolution to the conflict. Moreover, in the endings of many works, sharp contradictions between the characters remain. This happens both in “Woe from Wit” and in “Eugene Onegin”: Pushkin leaves Eugene at “an evil moment for him.” There are no resolutions in “Boris Godunov” and “The Lady with the Dog.” The endings of these works are open. In Pushkin's tragedy and Chekhov's story, despite all the incompleteness of the plot, the last scenes contain emotional endings and climaxes.

Epilogue(gr. epilogos - afterword) is the final episode, usually following the denouement. In this part of the work, the fate of the heroes is briefly reported. The epilogue depicts the final consequences arising from the events shown. This is a conclusion in which the author can formally complete the story, determine the fate of the heroes, sum up his philosophical, historical concept("War and Peace"). The epilogue appears when resolution alone is not enough. Or in the case when, after the completion of the main plot events, it is necessary to express a different point of view (“The Queen of Spades”), to evoke in the reader a feeling about the final outcome of the depicted life of the characters.

The events related to the resolution of one conflict of one group of characters make up the storyline. Accordingly, if there are different storylines, there may be several climaxes. In “Crime and Punishment” this is the murder of a pawnbroker, but this is also Raskolnikov’s conversation with Sonya Marmeladova.

4. Question about the plot in the lyrics.

Having a plot in a literary work is sometimes problematic. From most definitions it is clear that the plot is artistic method organization of events, which means it is associated primarily with epic and dramatic works. To a lesser extent, the plot manifests itself in the lyrics. In an epic work, the plot has its own form of existence - narration. In drama it is the development of action. What about the lyrics? After all, poetry has more expressiveness, and the word denotes events and objects to a lesser extent.

Lydia Ginzburg and Boris Korman suggested talking about the specifics of the lyrical plot, by which we mean that the word itself in small work becomes an event and the plot in the lyrics is a combination of such words-events. The poem “I loved you...” depicts the movement of a person’s feelings, and not a change in events. More precisely, the event in the poem is a change in the soul. This is a love story that lives only in the heart, without pouring out into the objective, external world.

Scientists therefore say that there are no specific plots in the lyrics, but there is a lyrical, that is, psychological, plot, non-fable motives. In many works of “pure lyricism” there is a chain of mental movements objectified by speech, there is the reality of experience, states of the human soul. There is nothing to retell in them.

The plot that appears in a lyrical work transforms it into a lyric-epic or lyric-dramatic plane. This is typical for ballads and poems. B. Tomashevsky wrote: “Fabulous motives are rare in lyric poetry. Featured much more often static motives, unfolding into emotional ranks. If the poem talks about some action, the act of a hero, an event, then the motive of this action is not woven into the causal-temporal chain and is devoid of plot tension that requires a plot resolution. Actions and events appear in the lyrics in the same way as natural phenomena, without forming a plot situation.” “Lyrics are a non-story genre. The lyrics convey the poet's feelings; elements of the story, action, plot are dissolved here in emotional experience,” and events, facts are only a reason for the poet’s experiences, and they are completely dissolved in these experiences. The poet’s immersion in his emotional experiences, in a lyrical state, allows him to reduce the plot to a minimum and even eliminate it completely.

The paradox associated with the fate of the concept WITH. in the twentieth century, is that as soon as philology learned to study it, literature began to destroy it. So, if in ancient and medieval literature the plot grew out of the plot, then in the literature of the 19th century and later its basis may be different. Tolstoy, for example, speaking about the structure of Anna Karenina, emphasized not the plot significance, but the role of “internal connection”. V. Kozhinov explains that internal connection should be understood as “a certain correlation of characters and circumstances, a specific connection of artistic thoughts.”

Russian scientists and representatives of the formal school played a decisive role in the study of the plot. Writers of modernism and postmodernism played a role in the destruction of the plot (see, for example, the new novel, theater of the absurd).

5. Motive, its functions and types

Scientists call the motive either the smallest event unit of the plot, or the unit of the plot, or an element of the text in general, regardless of the plot or plot. Let's try to understand the different interpretations of one of the most common terms.

There are many opinions on the origin of the motif: from him. motive, French motif, from lat. moveo - moving, from French. motif – melody, tune.

In the Russian science of literature, A.N. was the first to turn to the concept of motive. Veselovsky. Analyzing myths and fairy tales, he came to the conclusion that the motive is the simplest narrative unit, which cannot be further decomposed. From our point of view, this category has a plot character.

The thematic concept of the motif is developed in the works of B. Tomashevsky and V. Shklovsky. In their understanding, a motive is the themes into which a work can be divided. Each sentence contains motives - small themes

Most folklore and literary works have a motif, being the smallest element of the plot. The outstanding Russian folklorist V. Ya. Propp played a huge role in the study of the plot. In his book “The Morphology of the Fairy Tale” (1929), he demonstrated the possibility of the existence of several motives in a sentence. Therefore, he abandoned the term motive and resorted to his own category: functions characters. He built a model of the plot of a fairy tale, consisting of sequences of elements. According to Propp, there are a limited number of such functions of heroes (31); Not all fairy tales have all the functions, but the sequence of the main functions is strictly observed. The fairy tale usually begins with the parents leaving the house (absentee function) and turning to the children with a ban on going outside, opening the door, or touching anything (prohibition). As soon as the parents leave, the children immediately violate this prohibition (violation of the prohibition), etc. The meaning of Propp's discovery was that his scheme was suitable for all fairy tales. All fairy tales have the motive of the road, the motive of searching for the missing bride, the motive of recognition. From these numerous motives various plots are formed. In this meaning, the term motive is more often used in relation to works of oral folk art. “Morozko acts differently than Baba Yaga. But a function, as such, is a constant quantity. To study a fairy tale, the question is important What do fairy tale characters, and the question Who does and How does - these are questions of only incidental study. The functions of the characters represent those components with which Veselovsky’s “motives” can be replaced...”

In most cases, a motif is a repeated word, phrase, situation, object or idea. Most often, the term “motive” is used to designate a situation that is repeated in various literary works, for example, the motive of parting with a loved one.

Motifs help create images and have various functions in the structure of the work. Thus, the mirror motif in V. Nabokov’s prose has at least 3 functions. Firstly, epistemologically: the mirror is a means of characterizing the character and becomes a way of self-knowledge of the hero. Secondly, this motif carries an ontological load: it acts as a boundary between worlds, organizing complex spatio-temporal relationships. And thirdly, the mirror motif can perform an axiological function, express moral, aesthetic, artistic values. Thus, the hero of the novel “Despair” turns out to have a favorite word for mirror, he likes to write this word backwards, loves reflections, similarities, but is completely unable to see the difference and goes so far as to mistake a person with a dissimilar appearance for his double. Nabokovsky's Herman kills in order to mystify those around him, to make them believe in his death. The mirror motif is invariant, that is, it has a stable basis that can be filled with new meaning in a new context. Therefore he appears in various options in many other texts where it is in demand main ability mirrors - reflect, double an object.

Each motive generates an associative field for the character, for example, in Pushkin’s story “The Station Agent” the motive prodigal son is set by pictures hanging on the walls of the caretaker’s house, and is revealed with particular poignancy when his daughter comes to his grave. The motif of the house can be included in the space of the city, which, in turn, can consist of motifs of temptation, seduction, demonism. The literature of Russian emigrants is most often characterized by a mood that is revealed in the motifs of nostalgia, emptiness, loneliness, and emptiness.

A motive is an essential semantic (content) element of the text for understanding the author’s concept (for example, the motive of death in “The Tale of dead princess..." by A.S. Pushkin, the motive of loneliness in the lyrics of M.Yu. Lermontov, the motive of cold in " Easy breathing" and "Cold Autumn" by I.A. Bunin, the motif of the full moon in "The Master and Margarita" by M.A. Bulgakov). M., as a stable formal-contain. component lit. text, can be selected within one or several. prod. writer (for example, a certain cycle), and in the complex of his entire work, as well as k.-l. lit. direction or an entire era.” The motif may contain elements of symbolization (a road by N.V. Gogol, a garden by Chekhov, a desert by M.Yu. Lermontov). The motif has a direct verbal (in lexemes) fixation in the text of the work itself; in poetry, its criterion in most cases is the presence of a key, supporting word that carries a special semantic load (smoke in Tyutchev, exile in Lermontov).

According to N. Tamarchenko, each motive has two forms of existence: a situation and an event. A situation is a set of circumstances, a position, a situation in which the characters find themselves. An event is something that happened, a significant phenomenon or a personal fact, public life. An event changes the situation. A motif is the simplest narrative unit that connects the events and situations that make up the lives of the characters in a literary work. An event is something that happened, a phenomenon, a fact of personal or public life. The situation is a set of circumstances, positions in which the characters find themselves, as well as the relationship between them. The event changes this ratio. Motives can be dynamic or adynamic. Motives of the first type accompany changes in the situation, as opposed to a static motive.

IN last years In literary criticism, a synthesis of approaches to understanding motive is planned. This movement was largely determined by the works of R. Yakobson, A. Zholkovsky and Yu. Shcheglov. The motive is no longer considered as part of the plot or plot. Having lost its connection with the event, the motive is now interpreted as almost any semantic repetition in the text - a repeating semantic spot. This means that the use of this category is quite legitimate when analyzing and lyrical works. The motive can be not only an event, a character trait, but also an object, sound, or landscape element that has increased semantic significance in the text. A motive is always a repetition, but the repetition is not lexical, but functional-semantic. That is, in a work it can be manifested through many options.

Motives can be varied, among them are archetypal, cultural and many others. Archetypal ones are associated with the expression of the collective unconscious (the motive of selling the soul to the devil). Myths and archetypes represent a collective, culturally authoritative variety of motifs to which French thematic criticism devoted itself to the study of the 1960s. Cultural motifs were born and developed in works of literature, painting, music, and other arts. Italian motifs in Pushkin’s lyrics are a layer of the diverse culture of Italy mastered by the poet: from the works of Dante and Petrarch to the poetry of the ancient Romans.

Along with the concept of motive, there is the concept of leitmotif.

Leitmotif. Term German origin, literally meaning "leading motive". This is a frequently repeated image or motif that conveys the main mood; it is also a complex of homogeneous motifs. Thus, the leitmotif of “the vanity of life” usually consists of motives of temptation, seduction, and anti-home. The leitmotif of “return to a lost paradise” is characteristic of many of Nabokov’s works in the Russian-language period of creativity and it includes motives of nostalgia, longing for childhood, and sadness about the loss of a child’s outlook on life. In Chekhov's "The Seagull" the leitmotif is a sounding image - the sound of a broken string. Leitmotifs are used to create subtext in a work. When combined, they form the leitmotif structure of the work.

Literature

1. Fundamentals of literary criticism: Textbook. manual for philological faculties of pedagogy. university / Under the general ed. V. P. Meshcheryakova. M.: Moscow Lyceum, 2000. pp. 30–34.

2. Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of Literature. Poetics. M., 1996. pp. 182–185, 191–193.

3. Fedotov O.I. Introduction to literary criticism: Textbook. allowance. M.: Academy, 1998. pp. 34–39.

4. Khalizev V. E. Introduction to literary studies. Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets. M., 1999. pp. 381–393.

5. Tselkova L.N. Motive // ​​Introduction to literary studies. Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets. M., 1999. pp. 202–209.

additional literature

1. History and narration: Sat. articles. M.: New literary review, 2006. 600 p.

2. Materials for the “Dictionary of Plots and Motives of Russian Literature”: from plot to motive / Ed. V.I. Tyupy. Novosibirsk: Institute of Philology SB RAS, 1996. 192 p.

3. Theory of literature: Textbook. manual: In 2 volumes / Ed. N. D. Tamarchenko. – M.: Publishing house. Center "Academy", 2004. T. 1. P. 183–205.

Kozhinov V. Plot, plot, composition. pp. 408-485.

Corman B.O. The integrity of a literary work and an experimental dictionary of literary terms. P.45.

Medvedev P.N. Formal method in literary criticism. L., 1928. P.187.

Plot // Introduction to literary criticism. P.381.

Kozhinov V.V. Collision // KLE. T. 3. Stlb. 656-658.

Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics. pp. 230-232.

Zhirmunsky V.M. Introduction to literary criticism: A course of lectures. P. 375.

Tolstoy L.N. Full collection cit.: In 90 volumes. M., 1953. T.62. P. 377.

Kozhinov V. S. 456.

Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale. C.29.

Nezvankina L.K., Shchemeleva L.M. Motive // ​​LES. P. 230

Architectonics of the work. Composition of the work.

Architectonics is the construction of a work as a single whole, the relationship of its constituent parts and elements, determined by the idea of ​​the work.

Architectonics is the construction of a work of art, its general external form and the interrelation of individual parts.

The concept of architectonics combines the relationship of parts of a work, the arrangement and mutual connection of its components (components), which together form some kind of artistic unity. The concept of architectonics includes both the external structure of the work and the construction of the plot: the division of the work into parts, the type of narration (from the author or on behalf of a special narrator), the role of dialogue, one or another sequence of events (temporal or in violation of the chronological principle), an introduction to narrative fabric of various descriptions, author's reasoning and lyrical digressions, grouping of characters, etc. Architectural techniques constitute one of the essential elements of style (in in a broad sense words) and together with it are socially conditioned. If we take, for example, Turgenev’s novels, we will find in them consistency in the presentation of events, smoothness in the course of the narrative, an orientation towards the harmonious harmony of the whole, an important compositional role landscape. These features are easily explained both by the life of the estate and the psyche of its inhabitants. Dostoevsky's novels are constructed according to completely different laws: the action begins in the middle, the narrative flows quickly, in leaps and bounds, and the external disproportion of the parts is also noticeable. These properties of architectonics are in the same way determined by the characteristics of the depicted environment - the metropolitan philistinism. Within the same literary style Architectural techniques vary depending on the artistic genre (novel, story, short story, poem, dramatic work, lyric poem). Each genre is characterized by a number of specific signs, requiring a unique composition.

Composition- the construction of a work of art, determined by its content and character. Composition is the most important element of the artistic form, giving the work unity and integrity.

Composition(from Latin compositio - composition, composition), 1) the construction of a work of art, determined by its content, nature and purpose and largely determining its perception. Composition is the most important organizing component of a work of art, giving it integrity, subordinating its elements to each other and to the whole. The laws of composition in a work of art, emerging in the process artistic comprehension in reality, to one degree or another reflect the objective laws of the real world. These patterns appear in a figuratively translated form, associated with the specifics of a particular type of art, artistic idea, material of the work, etc., reflecting aesthetic principles era, style, artistic direction.

The composition determines the nature and strength of the impact literary text on perception.

#composition of “The Iliad” – several days and several bright episodes.

Free composition - through the perception of the heroes of life associated with associations # "Wheels" J. Joyce

The drama has its own composition. There are works without the composition “Theater of the Absurd”

The problem of composition is connected with the problem of artistic time - perhaps. sequential “War and Peace”, maybe linear (develops in the present and past) # “The Shore” by Bondarev; M.B. time is “flat” - the principle of the bed “The Sound and the Fury” William F.

Types of metaphor

Since antiquity, there have been descriptions of some traditional types of metaphor:

• A sharp metaphor is a metaphor that brings together concepts that are far apart from each other. Model: saying filling.
• An erased (genetic) metaphor is a generally accepted metaphor, the figurative nature of which is no longer felt. Model: chair leg.
• A formula metaphor is close to an erased metaphor, but differs from it by even greater stereotyping and sometimes the impossibility of transformation into a non-figurative construction. Model: worm of doubt.
• An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is consistently implemented throughout a large fragment of a message or the entire message as a whole. Model: The book hunger does not go away: products from the book market increasingly turn out to be stale - they have to be thrown away without even trying.
• A realized metaphor involves operating with a metaphorical expression without taking into account its figurative nature, that is, as if the metaphor had a direct meaning. The result of the implementation of a metaphor is often comic. Model: I lost my temper and got on the bus.

Among other tropes (Trope is a change in the own meaning of a word or a verbal turn, which results in an enrichment of meaning), metaphor occupies a central place, as it allows you to create a capacious image based on vivid, unexpected associations. Metaphorization can be based on the similarity of the most diverse features of objects: color, shape, volume, purpose, position, etc. In poetry, metaphors are most often used to help create images. In a broad sense, the term “image” means a reflection of some phenomenon of the external world in our consciousness. In a work of art, images are the embodiment of the author’s thinking, his unique vision and a vivid image of the picture of the world. Creation bright image based on the use of similarities between two objects that are distant from each other, almost on a kind of contrast. For a comparison of objects or phenomena to be unexpected, they must be quite different from each other, and sometimes the similarity can be quite insignificant, unnoticeable, giving food for thought, or may be absent altogether.
The uniqueness of metaphor, as a type of trope, is that it represents a comparison, the members of which have merged so much that what was being compared was supplanted by what it was being compared with, for example:
"A bee from a wax cell
Flies for field tribute"
(A.S. Pushkin)
In the above lines, honey is compared with tribute and a beehive with a cell, with the first terms being replaced by the second.

Why do we need metaphors at all? Russian language experts say that:
- Metaphor is needed to make some idea or thought more memorable.
- Metaphor is necessary when you need to reformulate a problem, destroy a limitation, see the situation in new perspective.
- Metaphor can be used to subtly convey new point vision, or even make it clear that a person’s problem is not new and there have been solutions to it for a long time.
- Metaphor is even used to change a person’s limiting beliefs, leading the person to new possibilities.

Forms of irony

Direct irony is a way to belittle, give a negative or funny character to the phenomenon being described.

Anti-irony is the opposite of direct irony and allows you to present the object of anti-irony as underestimated.

Self-irony is irony directed at oneself. In self-irony and anti-irony, negative statements may imply the opposite (positive) subtext. Example: “Where can we fools drink tea?”

Socrates irony is a form of self-irony constructed in such a way that an object, to whom it is addressed, as if independently comes to natural logical conclusions and finds the hidden meaning of an ironic statement, following the premises of “one who does not know the truth” subject.

Ironic worldview- a state of mind that allows one not to take common assertions on faith and stereotypes, and not to take various “generally accepted values” too seriously.

Irony as a means comic presentation of material is a powerful tool for the formation of literary style, built on contrasting the literal meaning of words and statements with their true meaning (“The bullet turned out to be poisoned after hitting the leader’s poisonous body” - Georgy Alexandrov)

The plot of a literary work of art.

Plot (from French sujet) – a chain of events depicted in literary

work, the life of the characters in its spatio-temporal

dimensions, in changing positions and circumstances.

The events recreated by the creator form the basis of the objective

the world of a work are an integral part of its form. How

the organizing beginning of most epic and dramatic

works, the plot can be significant in a lyrical way

literature.

Understanding the plot as a set of events recreated in

work, dates back to Russian literary criticism of the 19th century. :

A. N. Veselovsky in one of the sections of the monograph “Historical Poetics”

presented a holistic description of the problem of literary plots from the point of view

from the point of view of comparative historical analysis.

At the beginning of the 20th century, V. B. Shklovsky, B. V. Tomashevsky and others

representatives of the formal school of literary criticism made an attempt

change the proposed terminology and connect the plot of the work with its

plot (from Latin fibula - legend, myth, fable). They offered under

plot to understand the artistically constructed distribution of events, and

under the plot - a set of events in their mutual internal connection.

Sources of plots - mythology, historical legend, literature

past times. Traditional subjects, i.e. antique, wide

used by classicist playwrights.

Numerous works are based on events

of a historical nature, or taking place in a place close to the writer

reality, his own life. So, tragic story Don

Cossacks and the drama of the military intelligentsia at the beginning of the 20th century, life

prototypes and other phenomena of reality were the subject of the author's

attention in the works of M. A. Sholokhov “Quiet Don”, M. A. Bulgakov

“The White Guard”, V.V. Nabokov’s “Mashenka”. In literature, plots that arose are also common

as a figment of the artist’s imagination (the story “The Nose” by N.V. Gogol).

It happens that the series of events in a work go into subtext,

giving way to the recreation of the hero’s impressions, thoughts, experiences,

descriptions of nature. These are, in particular, stories

I. A. Bunin “Chang’s Dreams”, L. E. Ulitskaya “Pearl Soup”.

The plot has various functions. Firstly, he

captures the picture of the world: the writer’s vision of being, possessing

deep meaning, giving hope - a harmonious world order.

In historical poetics, this type of artist’s views is defined as

classic, it is typical for the plots of literature of past centuries

(works of G. Heine, N. Karamzin, I. Goncharov,

A. Chekhov, etc.). Conversely, a writer can imagine the world as

hopeless, deadly existence, conducive to spiritual

darkness. The second way of seeing the world - non-classical - underlies

many literary plots XX–XXI centuries Literary heritage

F. Kafka, B. Poplavsky and others were noted by everyone

pessimism and disharmony in the general state of the characters.

Secondly, the series of events in the works are designed to reveal and

to recreate life's contradictions - conflicts in the fate of heroes who are excited, tense, and experience deep dissatisfaction with something. By its nature, the plot is involved in

What is meant by the term “drama”.

Thirdly, plots organize a field of active search for characters,

allow them to fully reveal themselves to the thinking reader in their actions,

cause a range of emotional and mental responses to what is happening.

The plot form is well suited for detailed recreation

volitional principle in a person and is characteristic of the literature of the detective genre.

Theorists, professional researchers, literary editors

artistic publications distinguish the following types of literary

plots: concentric, chronicle, and also, according to V. E. Khalizev,

those that are in cause-and-effect relationships are supra-genre.

Plots in which one particular aspect comes to the fore

event situation (and the work is based on one plot

lines) are called concentric. Single-line event series

were widespread in the literature of antiquity and classicism.

In literature, chronicles are stories in which events

dispersed and deployed separately from each other. According to

V. E. Khalizeva, in these plots the events have no causal relationship with each other.

investigative connections and are correlated with each other only in time, as is

takes place in Homer's epic "Odyssey", Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote",

Byron's poem "Don Juan".

The same scientist identifies as a type of chronicle

multilinear plots, i.e. unfolding parallel to each other,

somewhat independent; only occasionally touching

plot schemes, such as, for example, in L. N. Tolstoy’s novels “Anna

Karenina”, I. A. Goncharova “Cliff”.

Plots that are especially deeply rooted in the history of world literature

where events are concentrated among themselves in cause-and-effect relationships and reveal a full-fledged conflict: from the beginning of an action to its denouement.

A good example– tragedies by W. Shakespeare, dramas by A. S. Griboyedov and

A. N. Ostrovsky, novels by I. S. Turgenev.

These types of literary plots are well described and carefully

studied in literary criticism. V. Ya. Propp in the monograph “Morphology

fairy tales" with the help of the concept of "function of characters" revealed

the significance of the character’s action for the further course of events39.

Researchers of structuralist orientation A. Greimas, K. Bremont

believe that storytelling meditation relies on special way

thinking associated with a change in view of the essence of human

activities marked by signs of freedom and independence, responsibility

and irreversibility.

In classic stories, where actions move from beginning to end,

vicissitudes play a big role - sudden shifts in the destinies of characters:

all sorts of turns from happiness to unhappiness, from success to failure or

vice versa, etc. Unexpected incidents with the characters give

The work has a deep philosophical meaning. As a rule, in stories with

abundant twists and turns embody a special idea of ​​power

various accidents over the fate of a person.

Peripeteia gives the work important element entertaining.

Causing increased interest in reading among the contemplative reader,

event intricacies are characteristic of both literature

of an entertaining nature, as well as for serious, “summit” literature.

In the literature, along with the considered plots (concentric,

chronicle, those where there is a plot, conflict, denouement),

special emphasis is placed on event sequences that focus on the state

the human world in its complexity, diversity and persistent conflict. Moreover, the hero here craves not so much to achieve some

then the goal, how much it correlates itself with the surrounding disharmonious

reality as an integral part of it. He is often task-focused

knowledge of the world and one’s place in it, is in constant search

agreement with oneself. Philosophically important “self-discoveries” of heroes

F. Dostoevsky, N. Leskov, S. Aksakov, I. Goethe, Dante are leveled

external event dynamics of the narrative, and the twists and turns here

turn out to be unnecessary.

The stable-conflict state of the world was actively mastered

literature: works by M. de Cervantes “Don Quixote”, J. Milton

« Lost heaven", "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum", A. Pushkin "Eugene

Onegin”, A. Chekhov’s “Lady with a Dog”, plays by G. Ibsen and others deeply

debatable, consistently revealing “layers of life” and “doomed”

be left without a solution.

Because the plot of a literary work orders the world

artistic images in its temporal extent, then in the environment

professional researchers inevitably face the question of

sequence of events in plots and techniques that provide

unity of perception of the artistic canvas.

The classic scheme of a single-line plot: plot, development of action,

climax, denouement. The chronicle plot is composed, framed by chains

episodes, sometimes including concentric microplots, are not outwardly

related to the main action - inserted short stories, parables, fairy tales and

other literary processed material. This method of connecting parts

the work deepens the internal semantic connection between the inserted and

main plots.

The technique of plot framing in the presence of a narrator reveals

the deep meaning of the story being conveyed, as, for example, reflected in

the work of Leo Tolstoy “After the Ball”, or emphasizes various

attitude to many actions, both of the hero-narrator himself and of his

random fellow travelers, in particular, in the story by Nikolai Leskov

"The Enchanted Wanderer".

The method of installation (from the gr. montage - assembly, selection) came to

literature from cinema. As a literary term, it

the meaning comes down to the discontinuity (discreteness) of the image, the breakdown

narratives into many small episodes, the fragmentation of which

the unity of the artistic concept is also hidden. Assembly

the image of the surrounding world is characteristic of the prose of A. I. Solzhenitsyn.

In a work, the plot inversion is most often

various silences, secrets, omissions that prepare recognition,

discovery, organizing the twists and turns that move the action itself towards

interesting ending.

Plot is a system of incidents, the course of events in narrative and dramatic works, and sometimes in lyrical works. In an extremely general form, a plot is a kind of basic scheme of a work, which includes the sequence of actions occurring in the work and the totality of character relationships existing in it. Typically, a plot includes the following elements: exposition, beginning, development of action, climax, denouement and postposition, and also, in some works, prologue and epilogue. The main prerequisite for the development of the plot is time, both the historical period of action and the passage of time during the work. The basis of the plot is conflict, it can be: 1) a conflict of desires, 2) interests, 3) heroes, 4) persons. The concept of plot is closely related to the concept of the plot of the work. In modern Russian literary criticism, the term “plot” usually refers to the very course of events in a work, and the plot is understood as the main artistic conflict that develops in the course of these events. Repeated attempts have been made to classify the plots of literary works, divide them according to various criteria, and highlight the most typical ones. The analysis made it possible, in particular, to identify a large group of so-called “ wandering stories" - plots that are repeated many times in different designs among different peoples and in different regions, mostly in folk art (fairy tales, myths, legends). French explorer Georges Polti published the book Thirty-Six in 1895 dramatic situations", in which he reduced all the experience of world drama to the development of 36 standard plot collisions.

Delving into the historical depths of the question of plot (from the French - content, the development of events in time and space (in epic and dramatic works, sometimes in lyrical works)) and plot, we find theoretical discussions on this matter for the first time in Aristotle’s Poetics. Aristotle does not use the terms “plot” or “plot” themselves, but in his reasoning he shows interest in what we now mean by plot, and expresses a number of valuable observations and comments on this matter. Not knowing the term “plot”, as well as the term “fable”, Aristotle uses a term close to the concept of “myth”. By it he understands the combination of facts in their relation to the verbal expression vividly presented before the eyes.

When translating Aristotle into Russian, the term “myth” is sometimes translated as “plot”. But this is inaccurate: the term “fabula” is Latin in origin, “Gautage”, which means to tell, narrate, and in exact translation means story, narration. The term “plot” in Russian literature and literary criticism begins to be used around the middle of the 19th century, that is, somewhat later than the term “plot”.

For example, “plot” as a term is found in Dostoevsky, who said that in the novel “Demons” he used the plot of the famous “Nechaevsky case”, and in A. N. Ostrovsky, who believed that “plot often means completely ready-made content ... with all the details, but there is a plot short story about some incident, incident, a story devoid of any color.”

In G. P. Danilevsky’s novel “Mirovich,” written in 1875, one of the characters, wanting to tell another a funny story, says: “...And listen to this comedian’s plot!” Despite the fact that the novel takes place in the middle of the 18th century and the author monitors the verbal authenticity of this time, he uses a word that has recently appeared in literary use.

The term “plot” in its literary sense was widely introduced into use by representatives of French classicism. IN " Poetic art" Boileau reads: "You must introduce us into the plot without delay. // You should maintain the unity of the place in it, // Than to tire our ears and disturb our minds with an endless, meaningless story.” In Corneille's critical articles on the theater, the term “plot” is also found.

Assimilating the French tradition, Russian critical literature uses the term plot in a similar sense. In the article “On the Russian story and the stories of N.V. Gogol” (1835), V. Belinsky writes: “Thought is the subject of his (the modern lyric poet’s) inspiration. Just as in an opera words are written for music and a plot is invented, so he creates, at the will of his imagination, a form for his thought. In this case, his field is limitless.”

Subsequently, such a major literary theorist, the second half of the 19th century century, like A. N. Veselovsky, who laid the foundation for the theoretical study of plot in Russian literary criticism, is limited only to this term.

Dividing the plot into constituent elements- motives, having traced and explained their origin, Veselovsky gave his definition of plot: “Plots are complex schemes in the imagery of which well-known acts of human life and psyche are summarized in alternating forms of everyday reality.

The evaluation of the action, positive and negative, is already connected with the generalization.” And then he concludes: “By plot, I mean a scheme in which different situations—motives—scurry about.”

As we see, in Russian criticism and literary tradition For quite a long time, both terms have been used: “plot” and “plot”, although without distinguishing between their conceptual and categorical essence.

The most detailed development of these concepts and terms was made by representatives of the Russian “formal school”.

It was in the works of its participants that the categories of plot and fable were first clearly distinguished. In the works of the formalists, plot and plot were subjected to careful study and comparison.

B. Tomashevsky writes in “Theory of Literature”: “But it is not enough to invent an entertaining chain of events, limiting them to a beginning and an end. It is necessary to distribute these events, to construct them in some order, to present them, to make a literary combination out of the plot material. The artistically constructed distribution of events in a work is called a plot.”

Thus, the plot here is understood as something predetermined, like some story, incident, event taken from the life or works of other authors.

So, for quite a long time in Russian literary criticism and criticism, the term “plot” has been used, which originates and is borrowed from French historians and literary theorists. Along with it, the term “fable” is also used, quite widely used since the middle of the 19th century. In the 20s of the 20th century, the meaning of these concepts was terminologically divided within the same work.

At all stages of the development of literature, the plot occupied a central place in the process of creating a work. But by the middle XIX century Having received brilliant development in the novels of Dickens, Balzac, Stendhal, Dostoevsky and many others, the plot seems to begin to weigh on some novelists... “What seems beautiful to me and what I would like to create,” writes the great French stylist in one of his letters in 1870 Gustave Flaubert (whose novels are beautifully plotted) is a book that would have almost no plot, or at least one in which the plot would be almost invisible. The most wonderful works those in which there is the least amount of matter... I think that the future of art lies in these prospects...”

In Flaubert's desire to free himself from plot, a desire for a free plot form is noticeable. Indeed, later in some novels of the 20th century the plot no longer has such a dominant meaning as in the novels of Dickens, Tolstoy, and Turgenev. The genre of lyrical confession and memoirs with in-depth analysis has gained the right to exist.

But one of the most widespread genres today, the detective novel genre, has made a fast-paced and unusually sharp plot its basic law and only principle.

Thus, the modern plot arsenal of the writer is so huge, he has at his disposal so many plot devices and principles for constructing and arranging events that this gives him inexhaustible possibilities for creative solutions.

Not only did the plot principles become more complex, but the method of storytelling itself became incredibly complex in the 20th century. In the novels and stories of G. Hesse, X. Borges, G. Marquez, the basis of the narrative is complex associative memories and reflections, the displacement of different episodes far removed in time, and multiple interpretations of the same situations.

Events in an epic work can be combined in different ways. In the “Family Chronicle” by S. Aksakov, in the stories of L. Tolstoy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, Youth” or in “Don Quixote” by Cervantes, the plot events are interconnected by a purely temporal connection, since they develop sequentially one after another over a long period of time. period of time.

The English novelist Forster presented this order in the development of events in a short figurative form: “The king died, and then the queen died.” This type of plot began to be called chronicle, in contrast to concentric, where the main events are concentrated around one central moment, are interconnected by a close cause-and-effect relationship and develop in a short period of time. “The king died, and then the queen died of grief,” - this is how the same Forster continued his thought about concentric plots.

Of course, it is impossible to draw a sharp line between the two types of plots, and such a division is very conditional. Most a shining example Concentric novels could be called the novels of F. M. Dostoevsky.

For example, in the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” the plot events rapidly unfold over the course of several days, are interconnected solely by a causal relationship and are concentrated around one central moment of the murder of the old man F. P. Karamazov. The most common type of plot - the most often used in modern literature - is the chronicle-concentric type, where events are in a cause-time relationship.

Today, having the opportunity to compare and study classic examples of plot perfection (novels by M. Bulgakov, M. Sholokhov, V. Nabokov), we can hardly imagine that in its development the plot went through numerous stages of formation and developed its own principles of organization and formation. Aristotle already noted that a plot must have “a beginning that presupposes a further action, a middle that presupposes both a previous and a subsequent one, and an ending that requires a previous action but has no subsequent one.”

Writers have always had to deal with many plot and compositional problems: how to introduce new characters into the unfolding action, how to take them away from the pages of the story, how to group and distribute them in time and space. Such a seemingly necessary plot point as the climax was first truly developed only by the English novelist Walter Scott, the creator of tense and exciting plots.

Introduction to literary criticism (N.L. Vershinina, E.V. Volkova, A.A. Ilyushin, etc.) / Ed. L.M. Krupchanov. - M, 2005

The idea of ​​a work of art.

Idea(from the Greek idea - prototype, ideal) - the main idea of ​​the work, expressed through its entire figurative system. It is the method of expression that distinguishes the idea of ​​a work of art from a scientific idea.

The main thesis of statements about the art of V.G. Plekhanov – “art cannot live without an idea” - and he repeats this thought several times, analyzing this or that work of art. “The dignity of a work of art,” writes Plekhanov, “is ultimately determined by the specific gravity of the feeling, the depth of the idea that it expresses.”

For educational literature of the 16th century. was characterized by a high ideological level, due to the desire to reorganize society on the principles of reason. At the same time, the so-called salon, aristocratic literature “in the Rococo style”, devoid of high citizenship, also developed.

And in the future, two parallel ideological currents have always existed and exist in literature and art, sometimes touching and mixing, but more often separating and developing independently, gravitating towards opposite poles.

In this regard, the problem of the relationship between “ideological” and “artistry” in a work seems extremely important. But even outstanding word artists are not always able to translate the idea of ​​a plan into perfection. art form. Most often, writers, completely “absorbed” in the implementation of this or that idea, stray into ordinary journalism and rhetoric, leaving artistic expressiveness in the second and third plans. This applies equally to all genres of art. According to V.G. Belinsky, the idea of ​​a work “is not an abstract thought, not a dead form, but a living creation.”

1. 1. Theme of the work of art .

Subject(from the Greek theme) - what is the basis, the main problem and the main circle of life events depicted by the writer. The theme of the work is inextricably linked with its idea. The selection of material, formulation of problems (choice of topic) is dictated by the ideas that the author would like to express in the work.

It was about this connection between the theme and the idea of ​​a work that M. Gorky wrote: “A theme is an idea that originated in the author’s experience, is suggested to him by life, but nests in the container of his impressions still unformed, and requiring embodiment in images, arouses in him a urge to work its design."

Along with the term “topic”, the term “subject”, which is close in meaning to it, is often used. subject matter" Its use indicates that the work includes not only the main one, but also a number of auxiliary themes and thematic lines; or the themes of many works are in close connection with one, or a set of several related themes, forming a broad theme of one class.

The plot of a work of art.

Plot(from the French sujet - subject) - the course of the narrative about the events unfolding and happening in a work of art. As a rule, any such episode is subordinated to the main or subplot.

However, in literary criticism there is no uniform definition of this term. There are three main approaches:

1) plot is a way of developing a theme or presenting a plot;

2) plot is a way of developing a theme or presenting a plot;

3) plot and plot have no fundamental difference.

The plot is based on a conflict (a clash of interests and characters) between the characters. That is why where there is no narrative (lyrics), there is no plot.

The term “plot” was introduced in the 11th century. classicists P. Corneille and N. Boileau, but they were followers of Aristotle. Aristotle called what is called “plot” “legend”. Hence the “course of the narrative.”

The plot consists of the following main elements:

Exposition

Action development

Climax

Denouement

Exposition(Latin expositio - explanation, presentation) - a plot element containing a description of the lives of the characters before they begin to act in the work. Direct exposure located at the beginning of the story, delayed exposure fits anywhere, but it must be said that modern writers rarely use this plot element.

The beginning- the initial, starting episode of the plot. She usually appears at the beginning of the story, but this is not the rule. So, about Chichikov’s desire to buy dead Souls we find out only at the end of Gogol's poem.

Development of action proceeds “according to the will” of the characters in the narrative and the author’s intention. The development of action precedes the climax.

Climax(from Latin culmen - top) - the moment of the highest tension of action in the work, its turning point. After the climax comes the denouement.

Denouement- the final part of the plot, the end of the action, where the conflict is resolved and the motivation for the actions of the main and some is revealed minor characters and their psychological portraits are clarified.

The denouement sometimes precedes the plot, especially in detective works, where in order to interest the reader and capture his attention, the story begins with a murder.

Other supporting plot elements are prologue, backstory, author's digression, inserted novella And epilogue.

However, in modern literary process we often do not encounter any extended expositions, nor prologues and epilogues, nor other elements of the plot, and sometimes even the plot itself is blurred, barely outlined, or even completely absent.

4. The plot of a work of art.

Fabula (from Latin fabula - fable, story) - a sequence of events. This term was introduced by ancient Roman writers, apparently referring to the same property of storytelling that Aristotle spoke about.

Subsequently, the use of the terms “plot” and “fable” led to confusion, which is almost impossible to resolve without introducing other, clarifying and explanatory terms.

In modern literary criticism, the interpretation of correlation and plot, proposed by representatives of the Russian “formal school” and discussed in detail in the works of G. Pospelov, is more often used. They understand the plot as “the events themselves,” chronologically recorded, while the plot is “a story about events.”

Academician A.N. Veselovsky in his work “Historical Poetics” (1906) proposed the concept of “ motive ", giving it the meaning of the simplest narrative unit, similar to the concept of "element" in the periodic table. Combinations of the simplest motifs form, according to Veselovsky, the plot of a work of art.

5. Composition(from Latin compositio - composition, linking) - the construction, arrangement of all elements of the form of a work of art, determined by its content, nature and purpose and largely determining its perception by the viewer, reader, listener.

Composition can be internal or external.

To the sphere internal composition include all static elements of the work: portrait, landscape, interior, as well as extra-plot elements - exposition (prologue, introduction, background), epilogue, inserted episodes, short stories; digressions (lyrical, philosophical, journalistic); motivations for narration and description; forms of speech of the characters (monologue, dialogue, correspondence, diary, notes; forms of narration (spatial-temporal, psychological, ideological, phraseological.

TO external composition include division epic work into books, parts and chapters; lyrical - into parts and stanzas; lyric-epic - for songs; dramatic - on acts and pictures.

Much is known today about composition, as well as about other elements of the plot of a work of art, but not every author manages to create an ideal composition. The point, obviously, is not so much in “knowing” how to do it, but in having the talent, taste and sense of proportion of the artist.