Tragedy or drama? Genre of the play "Thunderstorm". Essay “Drama Genre A”

This remark, made in passing, was not specifically substantiated at the time the “Thunderstorm” appeared. It was not developed with due completeness either by criticism or by directing in the future. And yet, it is precisely this, in our opinion, that points in the most correct direction for resolving the issue of the genre of the famous play.

The tragedy, as is known, dates back thousands of years. In the process of development, it took on the most diverse concrete historical expression, but despite all the modifications, it retained its most significant general features until very recently.

The first feature of the tragedy is a deep conflict - moral, philosophical, ideological and political. The content of the tragedy is sharp violations of certain generally accepted norms, irreconcilable contradictions between the individual and social institutions. The second feature of the tragedy is the presence of a hero as a person, outstanding in his spiritual properties (mind, will, feelings). The third feature of the tragedy is that its main character enters into a struggle with unusual, internally or externally insurmountable obstacles. The fourth feature of the tragedy is the physical death of the main character, whose struggle ends in disaster for him, causing fear and compassion in the reader and viewer.

V.G. Belinsky wrote: “The idea of ​​tragedy is connected with the idea of ​​a terrible, gloomy event, a fatal outcome”; “... Destroy the fatal catastrophe in any tragedy - and you will deprive it of all its greatness, all its meaning, from a great creation you will make an ordinary thing, which over you will be the first to lose all its charming power”; “... the effect produced by tragedy is soul-shattering sacred horror.” “The tragic,” in Chernyshevsky’s understanding, “is the great suffering of a person or the death of a great person. In the first case, compassion and horror are aroused by the fact that the suffering is great, in the second - by the fact that great things perish”; “chance or necessity is the cause of suffering and death - it makes no difference, suffering and death are terrible.”

The fifth feature of tragedy is that it sets itself the ethical goal of a cleansing and uplifting effect on the audience. By depicting suffering and the passions associated with it, tragedy is designed to purify the bad passions of readers and spectators, arousing in them noble, sublime moral feelings.

Focusing its attention on the struggle that dooms the main character to suffering and death, tragedy sometimes uses a certain amount of comedy.

“All human life,” wrote Belinsky, “consists in the collision and mutual influence of heroes, villains, ordinary characters, insignificant people and fools on each other... and the subject of tragedy is life in all the complexity of its elements; therefore, tragedy “rightfully includes a comic element.” Thus, in Pushkin’s “Boris Godunov,” the comic element clearly appears in the first folk scenes of the tragedy and in the scene in the tavern. Not a single Shakespeare tragedy is complete without humor.

By pointing out the most general constructive features of the tragic genre, we do not at all want to say that only a work that embodies their entirety can be called a tragedy. The specific historical practice of the tragedy genre is much more complex.

But the main feature of tragedy, which distinguishes it at all stages of development from drama, is that it depicts a contradiction that is insoluble in given life conditions, causing the death of the main character, represented by an outstanding person.

This defining feature is evident in The Thunderstorm.

The main character of this play, in the conditions of the depicted environment, is distinguished by undoubtedly outstanding spiritual properties - moral and volitional. In “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky rose “to depict a tragic collision of living passion and a dead, inert way of life.” Katerina is “a real tragic heroine: a deep personal feeling (love for Boris) fights in her with the consciousness of family duty, sanctified by religion and public opinion of the entire “dark kingdom.” Personal will collides with a higher social law, and this leads the heroine to suffering and death."

In “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky gave a brilliant synthesis of personal tragedy and the underlying, inevitable death of an entire social order. The death of the main character in this play is a harbinger of the collapse of the social relations that destroyed her. Personal and public tragedy is revealed here in the form of social and everyday relations.

Dobrolyubov rightly wrote about The Thunderstorm that “the mutual relations of tyranny and voicelessness are brought to the most tragic consequences in it.”

“The Thunderstorm” is a folk social and everyday tragedy. Folk in the sense that it expresses democratic ideas that were advanced for its time, depicts heroes closely connected with the life, customs and interests of the people (Kuligin, Katerina, Glasha). It is not for nothing that its action takes place mainly in the public square.

In “The Thunderstorm,” Dobrolyubov explained, “the Russian character is reproduced, reflecting the “new movement of people’s life” (vol. 6, p. 350), and the “Russian situation” surrounding this character (vol. 6, p. 363).

Throughout the entire development of “The Thunderstorm”, one can clearly feel the course of an inexorable “fate”, corrupting the centuries-old foundations of religious, moral and everyday concepts that were once historically established in society. Dobrolyubov pointed out “the decisive necessity of that fatal end that Katerina has in “The Thunderstorm”” (vol. 6, p. 361).

2

The tragedy of “The Thunderstorm” is achieved by the conflict not only of the main character, but to some extent also of other characters.

Thus, the situation of the noble enthusiast Kuligin is tragic in its hopelessness, dreaming of the invention of wonderful machines, of the happiness and contentment of the working people, but doomed to repair small household utensils. In the same sense, even the fate of Tikhon, who is a pathetic toy of unbridled self-will, is tragic to a certain extent. Regarding Tikhon’s final words, Dobrolyubov wrote: “Tikhon’s words provide the key to understanding the play for those who would not even understand its essence before; they make the viewer think not about a love affair, but about this whole life (where the living envy the dead, and even some suicides). Strictly speaking, Tikhon’s exclamation is stupid: The Volga is close, who’s stopping him from rushing in if life is sickening? But this is his grief, this is what is hard for him, that he cannot do anything, absolutely nothing, even what he recognizes as his goodness and salvation. This moral corruption, this destruction of man, affects us more heavily than any, even the most tragic incident: there you see simultaneous death, the end of suffering, often deliverance from the need to serve as a pitiful instrument of some abomination; and here - constant oppressive pain, relaxation, a half-corpse, rotting alive for many years... And to think that this living corpse is not one, not an exception, but a whole mass of people subject to the corrupting influence of the Wild and Kabanovs! And not expecting deliverance for them is, you see, terrible! But what a joyful, fresh life a healthy personality breathes upon us, finding within himself the determination to end this rotten life, at any cost!..” (vol. 6, p. 362).

Depicting the social and everyday characters and mores of pre-reform reality, Ostrovsky, as already noted, showed that the principles of absolute authority, which then dominated life, had long ago lost all their meaning and moral force. They only slowed down social development and suppressed the human personality. These conditions created the preconditions for an insoluble contradiction in the fate of the people of that time, their tragedy.

The general coloring of the play is also tragic, with its gloominess, with its emphasized parallelism of the social storm and the natural storm.

“Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!” - Kuligin says to Boris (D. I, Rev. 3). “But what a people here! - Kudryash turns to Boris. - You know it yourself. They will eat you, they will drive you into the coffin” (d. III, scene 2, scene 2). This persistently repeated characteristic of the morals of the city of Kalinov is illustrated by the entire figurative system of the play, which gives it a clearly tragic overtones.

It is quite natural that the comic elements in this play, in comparison with others, are minimal.

Despite the presence of an undoubted tragic conflict, the play is permeated with social optimism. The death of Katerina testifies to the rejection of the dark kingdom, resistance to it, and the growth of forces called upon to sweep away the power of the Wild and Boars. In conditions of arbitrariness and violence, the bright Kuligins are already beginning to protest, albeit timidly. Dissatisfaction with despotism is communicated to Kudryash, Varvara, and Glasha.

All this fully explains Dobrolyubov’s testimony that “the majority of those who have read and seen this play agree that it produces a less serious and sad impression than Ostrovsky’s other plays (not to mention, of course, his sketches of a purely comic nature). There is even something refreshing and encouraging in “The Thunderstorm”. This “something” is, in our opinion, the background of the play, indicated by us and revealing the precariousness (and the near end) of tyranny. Then the very character of Katerina, drawn against this background, also breathes upon us with new life, which is revealed to us in her very death” (vol. 6, p. 334).

3

Understanding the “Thunderstorm” as a tragedy met not only sympathy and support, but also strong objections.

Speaking about the tragic genre, researchers are accustomed to dealing with historical plots, with images outstanding not only in character, but also in position, placed in one or another exceptional life situation. Tragedy was usually associated with heroes like Sophocles' Oedipus, Shakespeare's Hamlet and Othello, Pushkin's Boris Godunov, A.K.'s The Death of Ivan the Terrible. Tolstoy.

Ostrovsky created a tragedy based on the life material of a completely different social circle. He chose a woman from a merchant environment as a tragic hero, and emphasized not the exclusivity, but the typicality of her position, and transferred interest from intrigue to social characters and morals, giving special importance to extra-plot characters. Naturally, the tragedy sounded unusual, and this confused and confused many not only pre-October, but also post-October critics, researchers and directors.

Understanding the image of Katerina as a tragic heroine was made difficult for many by D.I.’s judgments about her. Pisareva: “Katerina, having committed many stupid things, throws herself into the water and thus commits the last and greatest absurdity.” The critic did not understand that death was the only type of protest that Katerina could choose. Passionately hating the despotism surrounding her, Katerina did not want to live on her knees. And this reflected her enormous willpower and spontaneous protest.

Katerina's death undoubtedly increased hatred of despotism.

One cannot but agree with the comments of N.P. Kashin to the final scene of the play: “Something incredible happened: the weak-willed Tikhon found the strength to tell his mother the absolute truth that she had ruined Katerina. That house-building life, the true representative of which is Kabanikha, has cracked. Kabanikha will “talk” to Tikhon at home, but this is no longer the same Tikhon. His fate, however, can be predicted: he, of course, will become drunk, and this will only be an extra touch in the picture of “cruel morals,” but Kabanikha’s authority has already been shaken.”

The death of Katerina, which strengthened and intensified Kuligin’s indignation, causing the timid Tikhon to “revolt” against his mother, undoubtedly contributed to the destruction of the old order, i.e., repeating the words of Pisarev, “the cessation or alleviation of suffering.”

When speaking out against classifying “The Thunderstorm” as a tragedy, researchers most often referred to the fact that its main character does not have true strength of character. “Katerina,” wrote V. Volkenstein, “feels the power of the supreme divine law over her. She not only violates family norms of a certain way of life, she rebels against God. The prophecy of a madwoman, the prophetic voices that Katerina hears, the picture of the Last Judgment that she notices at the moment of great confusion - with all these means the author introduces us to the atmosphere of tragic “fight against God.” However, Katerina is weak: barely feeling her sin, her “tragic guilt,” Katerina dies and commits suicide; she is unable to persistently fight with God.”

By pointing out Katerina's weakness, the researcher is clearly sinning against the truth. Tormented by the guilt of sinful love for Boris, she nevertheless decided to neglect the social and everyday laws of the environment and connect her life with Boris. She asks Boris to take her to Siberia, where he is going at the behest of his uncle. But Boris turned out to be too weak to help Katerina break free. The only means of protest for Katerina was death.

This is exactly how the playwright himself understood the death of his heroine: “Katerina,” Ostrovsky commented on his favorite character, “is a woman with a passionate nature and strong character. She proved this with her love for Boris and suicide. Katerina, although overwhelmed by her environment, at the first opportunity gives herself over to her passion, saying before this: “Come what may, but I will see Boris!” ... Katerina’s situation became hopeless. You can't live in your husband's house. There is nowhere to go. To parents? Yes, at that time they would have tied her up and brought her to her husband. Katerina came to the conclusion that it was impossible to live as she lived before and, having a strong will, drowned herself.”

Ostrovsky covered the most pressing issues of his time in the struggle and protest against the constraining and oppressive principles of the old life in “The Thunderstorm”, mainly based on the material of family and everyday relations. By this, he gave it the character of a family play, however, only in the form of expression, in the material, and not in the essence of the questions posed in it. “The Thunderstorm” poses not specific, but general, key questions of that era.

Based on the real conditions of the depicted time, Ostrovsky showed his heroine in an environment of contradictions, which, despite all her rightness, with all her passionate desire to live, with all her craving for freedom, still turned out to be insurmountable for her and led to death, to disaster . Having understood and embodied the emotional drama of Katerina and her very death as a passionate and heroic affirmation of a better life worthy of a person, Ostrovsky created in “The Thunderstorm” a wonderful social and everyday tragedy imbued with the spirit of genuine nationality.

Tragedy or drama? Genre of the play "Thunderstorm"

The genre of A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is a controversial issue in Russian literature. This play combines the features of both tragedy and drama (i.e., “everyday tragedy”).

The tragic beginning is associated with the image of Katerina, who is presented by the author as an extraordinary, bright and uncompromising person. She is contrasted with all the other characters in the play. Compared to other young heroes, she stands out for her moral maximalism - after all, everyone except her is ready to make a deal with their conscience and adapt to circumstances. Varvara is convinced that you can do whatever your heart desires, as long as everything is “sewn and covered.” Katerina, on the other hand, does not allow remorse to hide her love for Boris, and she publicly confesses everything to her husband. And even Boris, whom Katerina fell in love with precisely because she thought he was not like the others, recognizes the laws of the “dark kingdom” over himself and does not try to resist him. He meekly endures the bullying of the Wild for the sake of receiving an inheritance, although he perfectly understands that at first he “will be abused in every possible way, as his heart desires, but will still end up not giving anything or just some little thing.”

In addition to the external conflict, there is also an internal conflict, a conflict between passion and duty. It manifests itself especially clearly in the scene with the key, when Katerina delivers her monologue. She is torn between the need to throw the key and the strong desire not to do so. The second one wins: “Come what may, I will see Boris.” . Almost from the very beginning of the play it becomes clear that the heroine is doomed to death. The motif of death is heard throughout the entire action. Katerina says to Varvara: “I will die soon.”

Catharsis (the cleansing effect of tragedy on the audience, the excitement of noble, sublime aspirations) is also associated with the image of Katerina, and her death shocks not only the viewer, it forces the heroes who had hitherto avoided conflicts with the powers that be to speak differently. In the last scene, Tikhon lets out a cry addressed to his mother: “You ruined her! You! You!"

In terms of strength and scale of personality, only Kabanikha can be compared with Katerina. She is the main antagonist of the heroine. Kabanikha puts all her strength into defending the old way of life. External conflict goes beyond everyday life and takes the form of social conflict. Katerina's fate was determined by the collision of two eras - the era of a stable patriarchal structure and the new era. This is how the conflict appears in its tragic guise.

But the play has features and drama. Accuracy of social characteristics: the social position of each hero is precisely defined, largely explaining the character and behavior of the hero in different situations. One can, following Dobrolyubov, divide the characters in the play into tyrants and their victims. For example, Dikoy is a merchant, the head of a family, and Boris, who lives as his dependent, is a tyrant and his victim. Each person in the play receives a share of significance and participation in events, even if it is not directly related to the central love affair (Feklusha, the half-crazy lady). The daily life of a small Volga town is described in detail. “In the foreground I always have the environment of life,” said Ostrovsky.

Ostrovsky adhered to the realistic method in his work. This could not but affect his understanding of the drama genre. It is known that the author’s definition and the definition of literary scholars may differ slightly. The play ends tragically, although Ostrovsky initially did not envision such an outcome, planning to write a “comedy.” But gradually the plot became more complicated, and we had to move away from the original plan. Ostrovsky worked out the everyday background in detail, typified other characters, while at the same time filling Katerina’s character with unique features, making the heroine more poetic.

The author's definition of the genre "Thunderstorms" is extremely simple - drama. The events of the play are simple and understandable to every viewer. The characters are easy to imagine as real people. But there are also tragic events in the work. Nevertheless, “The Thunderstorm” cannot be completely called a tragedy. Tragedies usually involve intense struggle, a struggle of ideals, a personal or social catastrophe, ending in the death of one or more heroes. The author’s definition of “The Thunderstorm” was rather a kind of tribute to tradition, but it is possible that by defining “social and everyday drama” the author wanted to give the work greater social significance.

The correlation with any genre also determines the essence of the conflict. In The Thunderstorm, everyday circumstances lead to tragic consequences. It can be easily seen that “The Thunderstorm” combines both the dramatic and the tragic, however, it is impossible to attribute the work to any one genre. “The Thunderstorm” is neither a drama nor a tragedy. Some critics suggested combining these two concepts, calling The Thunderstorm an “everyday tragedy.” But this term did not catch on. The question of the genre of this play in literary criticism has not yet been resolved, but one should not neglect the author’s definition of the play “The Thunderstorm”.

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What is the author’s definition of the genre of the play “The Thunderstorm”?

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>

Varvara. What?

Wants to run.

Katerina. (sighing)

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

Indicate the surname that Varvara and Katerina bear.

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

Katerina and Varvara talk to each other, exchanging remarks. What is this form of character communication called?

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

Establish a correspondence between the three characters of “The Thunderstorm”, who played a certain role in the fate of the main character, and their position in the system of images of the play.

Write down the numbers in your answer, arranging them in the order corresponding to the letters:

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

The heroines' remarks are accompanied by the author's comments and explanations (she wants to run, sighing). What are their names?

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

Katerina and Varvara represent different personality types. What is the technique of opposition called in a work of art?

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

Indicate the literary direction, the principles of which were embodied in A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”.

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Answer:

What features of Katerina’s inner world are reflected in her stories about herself?

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

In what works of Russian literature do the authors resort to contrasting female images, and in what ways can these heroines be correlated with Katerina and Varvara from “The Thunderstorm”?

Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1, C2.

Katerina and Varvara.

Katerina.<...>Do you know what came to my mind?

Varvara. What?

Katerina. Why don't people fly!

Varvara. I do not understand what you say.

Katerina. I say: why don’t people fly like birds? You know, sometimes I feel like I'm a bird. When you stand on a mountain, you feel the urge to fly. That's how she would run up, raise her hands and fly. Something to try now? Wants to run.

Varvara. What are you making up?

Katerina. (sighing). How playful I was! I've completely withered away from you.

Varvara. Do you think I don't see?

Katerina. Was that what I was like? I lived, didn’t worry about anything, like a bird in the wild. Mama doted on me, dressed me up like a doll, and didn’t force me to work; I used to do whatever I want. Do you know how I lived with girls? I'll tell you now. I used to get up early; If it’s summer, I’ll go to the spring, wash myself, bring some water with me, and that’s it, I’ll water all the flowers in the house. I had many, many flowers. Then we’ll go to church with Mama, everyone and pilgrims - our house was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some kind of work, more like gold velvet, and the wanderers will begin to tell us: where they were, what they saw, different lives, or sing poetry. So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women go to sleep, and I walk around the garden. Then to Vespers, and in the evening again stories and singing. It was so good!

Varvara. Yes, it’s the same with us.

Katerina. Yes, everything here seems to be out of captivity. And to death I loved going to church! Exactly, it happened that I would enter heaven, and I didn’t see anyone, and I didn’t remember the time, and I didn’t hear when the service was over. Exactly how it all happened in one second. Mama said that everyone used to look at me, what was happening to me! Do you know: on a sunny day such a light pillar comes down from the dome, and smoke moves in this pillar, like clouds, and I see, it used to be as if angels were flying and singing in this pillar. And sometimes, girl, I would get up at night - we also had lamps burning everywhere - and somewhere in a corner I would pray until the morning. Or I’ll go into the garden early in the morning, the sun is just rising, I’ll fall on my knees, pray and cry, and I myself don’t know what I’m praying for and what I’m crying about; that's how they'll find me. And what I prayed for then, what I asked for, I don’t know; I didn’t need anything, I had enough of everything. And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Either there are golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and invisible voices are singing, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees seem not to be the same as usual, but as if depicted in images. And it’s like I’m flying, and I’m flying through the air. And now I sometimes dream, but rarely, and not even that.

A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”

Solutions to long-answer tasks are not automatically checked.
The next page will ask you to check them yourself.

Name the literary movement, one of the brightest representatives of which in Russia was V. A. Zhukovsky and whose principles were embodied in the poem “The Sea”.

V. A. Zhukovsky, 1822

Answer:

What is the author’s definition of the genre of the poem “Sea”?

Read the work below and complete tasks B8-B12; NW, C4.

V. A. Zhukovsky, 1822

Answer:

At the beginning of the poem, the lyrical hero turns to the sea with questions that he tries to answer himself. What are these types of questions called?

Read the work below and complete tasks B8-B12; NW, C4.

Ostrovsky adhered to the realistic method in his work. This could not but affect his understanding of the drama genre. It is known that the author’s definition and the definition of literary scholars may differ slightly. The play ends tragically, although Ostrovsky initially did not envision such an outcome, planning to write a “comedy.” But gradually the plot became more complicated, and we had to move away from the original plan. Ostrovsky worked out the everyday background in detail, typified other characters, while at the same time filling Katerina’s character with unique features, making the heroine more poetic.

The author's definition of the genre "Thunderstorms" is extremely simple - drama. The events of the play are simple and understandable to every viewer. The characters are easy to imagine as real people. But there are also tragic events in the work. Nevertheless, “The Thunderstorm” cannot be completely called a tragedy. Tragedies usually involve intense struggle, a struggle of ideals, a personal or social catastrophe, ending in the death of one or more heroes.
The author’s definition of “The Thunderstorm” was rather a kind of tribute to tradition, but it is possible that by defining “social and everyday drama” the author wanted to give the work greater social significance.

The correlation with any genre also determines the essence of the conflict. In The Thunderstorm, everyday circumstances lead to tragic consequences. It can be easily seen that “The Thunderstorm” combines both the dramatic and the tragic, however, it is impossible to attribute the work to any one genre. “The Thunderstorm” is neither a drama nor a tragedy. Some critics suggested combining these two concepts, calling The Thunderstorm an “everyday tragedy.” But this term did not catch on. The question of the genre of this play in literary criticism has not yet been resolved, but one should not neglect the author’s definition of the play “The Thunderstorm”.