Epic stylization. epics

Most of the epic by A. K. Tolstoy is a monologue by Ilya Muromets. Why are the stanzas that made up Ilya's monologue mostly exclamatory sentences? What does the poet achieve by this? Read the monologue of Ilya Muromets and find oppositions (antitheses) in it. How do they emphasize the life position of the hero?

The monologue is a detailed statement on behalf of Ilya Muromets. His speech is enclosed in quotation marks, and before it are the words of the author. exclamatory sentences convey the emotional state of the hero, who is offended because Prince Vladimir forgot one of his best heroes, without inviting him to the feast, forgot about his past merits. Ilya's speech is built on numerous figurative antitheses: the wealth and luxury of the princely court is the life unpretentiousness of Ilya; young heroes - old Ilya; service with the prince - freedom, which the hero strives for; stuffy life in Kyiv - expanses of nature.

Ilya is accustomed to freedom and spaciousness and does not regret leaving the service with the prince - this is life position hero.

Reread the stanzas framing the hero's monologue. How does the author characterize the mood and feelings of the hero in them?

At first, the hero is angry, angry, but, on reflection, he comes to the conclusion that will and freedom are more expensive, and, having brightened his face, he inhales with pleasure the smells of nature, the air of freedom, wild will, and continues on his way.

Turgenev noted that "Tolstoy's humane nature shines through and breathes in everything he wrote." Turning to the distant past, the poet looked for the ideal of a harmonious personality in it. What qualities of Ilya Muromets did the poet sing in his poem?

The poet sings in the epic hero wisdom, inner restraint, combined with heroic power and strength.

Thoughts about the "beauty of our history" Tolstoy combined with thoughts about the "beauty of our language", widely relying in his epics and ballads on the folk poetic style. What elements of the epic style did the poet use in the poem "Ilya Muromets"?

The poem uses a melodious epic verse, measured speech, appeals characteristic of an epic, constant epithets (a heroic horse).

In the Russian epic "The Quarrel of Ilya Muromets with Prince Vladimir", Ilya, "angry" and "irritated" that the capital prince Vladimir forgot to call him as "the best hero" "to an honorable feast", began to shoot from a bow at "gilded domes", who "fell on the damp earth." Having based his poem on the epic conflict of the Russian hero with Prince Vladimir, Tolstoy largely softened it. How does Ilya Muromets appear in this conflict?

Ilya in the poem by A. K. Tolstoy appears more wise and restrained, he does not give vent to anger, does not splash out destructive power, but comes to the conclusion that, having lost his service, he gains much more - freedom.

Comparing folk epics about Ilya Muromets and Tolstoy's poem, one can trace the fate of the hero in its development. Try to create such a biography.

Ilya Muromets lay on the stove until the age of 33, and the heroic strength awakened in him only in connection with the need to stand up for mother earth. Passersby Kaliki hand Ilya the sword of the Russian hero Svyatogor. Since then, Ilya Muromets has defended Russia, selflessly served his homeland and people. He won victories over the Nightingale the Robber, the filthy Idolish, Kalin the Tsar, along with his innumerable army, and accomplished many more glorious deeds.

Bylina is folklore epic song about a heroic event or a remarkable episode of ancient Russian history. In its original form, epics arose in Kievan Rus, having developed on the basis of an archaic epic tradition and inherited many mythological features from it; however, fantasy turned out to be subordinated to the historicism of vision and reflection of reality. From the point of view of the people the meaning of the epic was to preserve historical memory, so their validity was not questioned. Epics are close to fairy tales about heroes. They artistically summarized the historical reality of the 11th-16th centuries and existed until the middle of the 20th century, corresponding to the epic creativity of many peoples of Europe and Asia. The people called them "old men", i.e. songs about real events of the distant past. The term "epic" (scientific) was introduced in the 1840s on the basis of the "epics of this time" mentioned in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

In the middle of the 18th century, a handwritten collection of epics and historical songs was created in the Urals, later called "Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirshe Danilov". In the 1830s and 1840s, P.V. Kireevsky headed the collection of Russian songs; later, as part of the multi-volume edition “Songs collected by P.V. Kireevsky”, the so-called “old series” was published, which included epics and historical songs. In the middle of the 19th century, P.N. Rybnikov discovered in the Olonets region an actively existing living epic tradition (“Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov”. M., 1861-67). The performers of epics and other epic songs were called "narrators". In the second half of the 19th and in the 20th century, a lot of work was carried out in the Russian North to identify and record epics, as a result of which a number of scientific publications appeared: A.F. Gilferding, A. Markov, A.D. Grigoriev, N. Onuchkov, A. M. Astakhova and others.

Epics and realities

Epics reflected many historical realities. The northern singers conveyed the geography and landscape of Kievan Rus, which they were not familiar with (“the expanse is a pure field”), depicted the struggle of the ancient Russian state against the nomadic steppes. Individual details of the military princely retinue life were preserved with amazing accuracy. The storytellers did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence of history, but depicted it highlights, embodied in the central episodes of epics. Researchers note their multi-layeredness: they reported the names of real-life persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander (Alyosha) Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Tushrkan, Batu). However, fiction made it possible to attribute epics to an earlier or later historical time, and allowed the combination of names. In the people's memory there was a distortion of geographical distances, names of countries and cities. The idea of the Tatars as the main enemy of Russia supplanted the references to the Polovtsy and Pechenegs.

The heyday of epics

The heyday of epics of the earliest Vladimirov cycle took place in Kyiv in the 11th-12th centuries, and after the weakening of Kyiv (from the second half of the 12th century), they moved west and north, to the Novgorod region. The folk epic that has come down to us allows us to judge only the content of the ancient songs of Kievan Rus, but not their form. The epic was assimilated by buffoons, who had a significant influence on it: in the epics, a number of scenes represent buffoons-singers at the feasts of Prince Vladimir, there are actually buffoons bylinas (“Vavilo and buffoons”). In the 16-17 centuries, the content of the epics reflected the life of the upper classes of Moscow Russia, as well as the Cossacks (Ilya Muromets is called the "old Cossack").

Science knows about 100 plots of epics (in total, more than 3,000 texts have been recorded with variants and versions, a significant part of which has been published). Due to objective historical reasons, the Russian epic did not develop into an epic: the struggle against the nomads ended at a time when living conditions could no longer contribute to the creation of an integral epic. The plots of the epics remained scattered, but they tend to cycle through the scene (Kyiv, Novgorod) and heroes (for example, the epic about Ilya Muromets). Representatives of the mythological school singled out epics about older heroes, in the images of which mythological elements were reflected (Volkh, Svyatogor, Sukhmanty, Danube, Potyk), and about younger heroes, in whose images mythological traces are insignificant, but historical features are expressed (Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Vasily Buslaev). Chapter historical school V.F. Miller divided epics into two types:

Heroic
novelistic

For the first, he considered the heroic struggle of the heroes and its state goals to be characteristic, for the second - internal clashes, social or domestic. Modern science, introducing epics into the international context of epic creativity, groups them into the following plot-thematic sections:

About senior heroes
About fighting monsters
On the fight against foreign enemies
About meetings and saving relatives
About the epic matchmaking and the struggle of the hero for his wife
About epic competitions.
A special group is made up of epics-parodies.

Poetic language of epics

The poetic language of epics is subordinated to the task of depicting the grandiose and significant. They were performed without musical accompaniment, recitative. Their melodies are solemn, but monotonous (each narrator knew no more than two or three melodies and diversified them due to the vibration of his voice). It is assumed that in ancient times epics were sung to the accompaniment of the psaltery. The verse of epics is associated with melody and refers to tonic versification, (see). The compositional basis of the plots of many epics is made up of antithesis and tripling. In the repertoire of buffoons, stylistic formulas for the external ornamentation of the plot arose: verses and outcomes (independent small works not related to the main content of epics). The tradition of epic storytelling developed formulas for the usual image - loci communes (lat. "common places"), which were used when repeating situations of the same type: a feast at Prince Vladimir, saddling a horse, a heroic ride on a horse, a hero's massacre of enemies, etc. Narration in epics was conducted leisurely, majestic. In the development of the plot, there were necessarily numerous repetitions. Slowness of action (retardation) was achieved by tripling episodes, repeating common places, the speech of the hero. The poetic style was created by the repetition of words that could be tautological (“black-black”, “many-many”) or synonymous (“villain-robber”, “fight-to fight”).

One of the methods of connecting lines is palology (repetition of the last words of the previous line at the beginning of the next one). It was not uncommon for adjacent lines to use syntactic parallelism. In epics, monophony (anaphora) could appear, and at the ends of lines sometimes there were consonances of homogeneous words, reminiscent of rhyme. There were alliterations and assonances. The broad typification of the characters of the epics did not exclude elements of individualization, which Hilferding noted back in 1871: Prince Vladimir is a complacent and personally completely powerless ruler; Ilya Muromets - a calm and self-confident force; Dobrynya is the personification of politeness and graceful nobility; Vasily Ignatievich is a drunkard who sobers up in a moment of trouble and becomes a hero. One of the principles of epic typification is synecdoche: epics depicted not the entire ancient Russian squad, but individual warriors-heroes defeating hordes of enemies; the enemy force could also be depicted in single images (Tugarin Zmeevich, Idolishche). The main artistic device is hyperbole. Collectors testified that the singers perceived hyperbole as a reliable representation of real qualities in their maximum manifestation.

Plots, images, poetics of epics were reflected in Russian literature (“Ruslan and Lyudmila”, 1820, A.S. Pushkin, “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ...”, 1838, M.Yu. “Lermontova”, “Who should live in Russia good”, 1863-77, N.A. Nekrasova, “ folk stories» L.N. Tolstoy). Epics were a source of inspiration for artists, composers, filmmakers.

Elements of the epic composition. It is necessary to take the text of the epic and look for what is there of these elements.

As a rule, the epic begins with the beginning. In very rare cases, the beginning is preceded by a sing-along.

Sometimes the beginning of the epic is an exposition that precedes the plot.

The exposition prepares and enhances the drama of the plot.

However, the beginning as an exposition appears very rarely in epics. As a rule, the beginning is the beginning of the plot. The most common type of epic beginnings-strings is a picture of a feast at Prince Vladimir.

The second type of beginning-string is the description of the departure of the hero. For example, Ilya Muromets leaves for Kyiv from Murom, Dobrynya Nikitich from Ryazan, Dkzh Stepanovich from Galich, etc.

The third type of initiation-string is the image of the arrival of enemies on Russian soil.

V. Ya. Propp notes: “The events of the classical epic always take place in Russia. The events of a fairy tale can be localized "in a certain kingdom", "in a certain state"

The beginnings of epics immediately seek to emphasize the historical authenticity of their content.

After the beginning-tie in the epic, the action develops. Of paramount importance is the image of the main hero-hero, which determines the features of the plot. “The epic develops according to the principle of the greatest emphasis on the protagonist,” writes D. S. Likhachev, “and therefore the action of the epic is concentrated around the hero, his fate.” The images of heroes, along with the general ones, also have certain individual features. This is reflected in the specifics of epic stories. So, for example, the social conflict is most acutely expressed in the epics, the hero of which is Ilya Muromets (for example, the epics “Ilya in a quarrel With Vladimir" and "Ilya and the Goli of the Tavern").

The plots of epics are different in their specific content, but they are also characterized by some common, typological features. One of such genre-typological features is the one-dimensionality, or one-linearity, of plot development. As a rule, one develops story line, associated mainly with the disclosure of her main image - the hero-hero. So, for example, the plot construction of the epic "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber", recorded from T. G. Ryabinin, has the following form. In the morning, Ilya Muromets left "From that city of Muroml, From that village and from Karachirov", intending to "lunch" in time for Kyiv. However, this path to Kyiv was very difficult. According to the hero, his "track hesitated." Near Chernigov, Ilya Muromets defeats the "great power" and liberates the city from the enemy. The Chernigovites ask him to be their governor, but he does not agree and, being true to his decision, continues on his way to Kyiv. On the way, he is met by the Nightingale the Robber, from whose whistle, according to the Chernigov peasants,

Then all the grasses and ants gobble up,

All the azure flowers fall asleep,

Dark woods all bow to the ground,

And that there are people, then all are dead.

But Ilya Muromets defeats the Nightingale the Robber and brings him to Kyiv. He tells Vladimir about what happened on the way. The prince does not believe that Ilya Muromets could defeat the "great power" of the enemy, standing near Chernigov, and the Nightingale the Robber. But when he enters the courtyard, he sees with his own eyes that Ilya Muromets really won and brought the Nightingale the Robber to Kyiv. The epic ends with the message that Ilya Muromets took the Nightingale the Robber "into the open field" and "cut off his wild head."

The climax in the plot of the epics is the description of the battle or other competition of the hero with the enemy. In the epic, the description of the battle (competition) of the hero with the enemy is always very short, the victory of the hero is always very easy, the enemy is always defeated by the hero himself without any outside help.

As in any epic work, the plot in the epic ends with a denouement, which to some extent emphasizes the reality and historical authenticity of the epic.

The most important compositional principle of epics is opposition principle (contrast or antithesis), which manifests itself primarily in the construction of the plot of epics. The basis of the epic plot, as a rule, is the clash of heroes with their opponents. This is often reflected in the very name of the epics (“Dobrynya and the Serpent”, “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Vasily Ignatievich and Batyga”, etc.). However, epic heroes and their foreign enemies are contrasted primarily in their spiritual appearance, moral qualities. The hero, as a rule, is kind, fair, honest, peaceful, noble and modest. Conversely, his opponent is angry, dishonorable, belligerent, self-confident and cunning.

Reception antitheses, opposition is also used when creating an external portrait of the hero and his opponent. If, for example, Ilya Muromets is a man of ordinary height, then his opponent is of frightening proportions.

Epics use compositional selection technique Main character. This is often done at the very beginning of the epic.

in the epic “Ilya in a quarrel with Vladimir”, the beginning tells that Vladimir called all the princes, boyars and heroes to a feast.

Yes, he forgot to call, but what’s better,

And what is the best and best hero,

And the old Cossack Ilya Muromets.

It is Ilya Muromets who will later become the main character of the epic.

Everyone is sitting at the table, silent,

All the good guys calmed down.

In the epic, everything is subordinated to the creation of the image of a hero.

In the epic “The Nightingale the Robber”, Chernigov residents, despite the fact that Ilya defeated the whole army and liberated their city, still do not believe that he will cope with the Nightingale the Robber, and do not advise him to go along the road where he meets everyone and destroys with his whistle omnipotent monster Nightingale the Robber. Prince Vladimir, until he was convinced of this with his own eyes, does not believe the message of Ilya Muromets that he defeated the Nightingale the Robber.

the initial underestimation of the strength of the hero is necessary for his greater triumph later. In order to defeat such a terrible enemy as the enemy, the hero must have incredible physical strength. For these purposes, the reception of g is very widely used in epics. hyperbolization. The epic speaks of the strength of the main Russian hero Ilya Muromets with such a hyperbolic expression:

From the earth, the pillar (would) be yes to the sky,

There was (would be) a golden ring in the pillar,

I would take Svyatorusska by the ring and turn!

Hyperbolization is the most important principle of creating epics. They exaggerate the strength of not only heroes, but also their opponents. And the greater this strength of opponents, the more significant is the victory of the heroes over them, the more glorification they deserve.

A significant role in the epic is played by dialogues that dramatize the plot, help to more fully characterize the characters, reveal their thoughts and experiences.

an example showing the significant role of dialogue in the epic. Kalin-Tsar invites the captivated Russian hero Ilya Muromets to come to terms with his position, sit down with him “at a single table”, eat his “sugar food”, drink “honey drink”, “keep the golden treasury” and become a traitor to the Motherland, Prince Vladimir:

Don't serve Prince Vladimir

Yes, you serve the dog Tsar Kalin.

To which Ilya Muromets defiantly replies:

And I won’t sit down with you at the same table,

I will not eat your sugary meatballs,

I will not serve you the dog Tsar Kalin,

And I will stand for the capital city of Kyiv,

And I will stand for the church for the Lord,

And I will stand for the prince for Vladimir

This dialogue with extraordinary power conveys the drama of the situation, deeply reveals to us the greatness of the image of the main Russian hero, speaks of his courage, courage, boundless devotion to the Motherland.

An important compositional role in epics is played by the method of repetition of individual episodes, the speech of heroes, etc. Most often this repetition is three times, but it can also be twice.

It is sometimes argued that the purpose of epic repetitions is to achieve slowness of action. However, slowing down the action is not an end in itself, but only a means to achieve some other goals. The main purpose of such repetitions is to most clearly express a thought that is especially important for the epic, to focus the listener's attention on some episodes that are very significant in terms of meaning, certain actions of the characters, etc.

So-called "common places" are directly connected with repetitions in epics. “Common places” are stable verbal formulas that are almost verbatim repeated by storytellers in one or different epics in similar episodes of the narrative or pictures of the description. Common places are the boasting of a hero at a feast, drinking wine, saddling a horse, describing the terrible appearance of the enemy or the large number of his troops; the description of how the hero enters the princely chambers is very stable: Most often, “common places” in epics are used when depicting a feast at Prince Vladimir, expressing threats from the enemy, showing enemy strength, describing the saddle of the hero’s horse, showing his trip, battle With enemies, etc.

"Common places" facilitate the creation of the epic: in certain cases, the narrator does not re-create the text, but uses ready-made formulas that perform important ideological and artistic functions in the epic.

The construction of the epic (composition),

chant

the main part of the epics is a story about a feat.

The action develops slowly up to its peak, the highest tension - CULMINATION.

The denouement of the action comes instantly, it depicts the defeat of the enemy.

Bylina, as a rule, is crowned with an ending, for example:

One of the indispensable artistic means of epics is REPETITIONS. Separate words, lines, descriptions of events are repeated - the arrival and reception of guests, fights, cries, ominous omens and prophetic dreams. So, in the epic "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" four times there is a description of the terrible whistle of the Nightingale, and from these repetitions the strength of the robber seems even more powerful. The road of Ilya Muromets to Kyiv seems even more difficult when we encounter the repetition of the word "bewildered":

The straight-traveling path has choked up, The path has choked up, it has stumbled...

Repetitions create a special melodiousness and smoothness of epic speech:

Into his takes Into white he IN hands ... Yes At the glorious By the river By the Currant ...

retardation - slowing down the action as a result of a detailed description, for example, saddling a horse or repeating situations, for example, an exact repetition of the prince's instructions by the ambassador.

Epics are characterized by HYPERBOLES, which, as it were, enlarge the image, help to show the strength and feat of heroes more vividly, more expressively. The strength of the hero is incredibly exaggerated: for example, Ilya Muromets easily, like a swan's feather, raises a club weighing 90 pounds. Ilya's heroic horse gallops "above a standing tree, a little lower than a walking cloud." Enemies are also exaggerated in epics. Usually the hero is faced with countless hordes that "a gray wolf cannot jump in three days", "a black crow cannot fly around in a day."

With the help of EPITHETS, a special - epic, heroic - poetic world was created. The hero is defined as holy Russian, mighty; Prince Vladimir is like a gentle, glorious, bright sun, a red sun. The enemy is called filthy, evil, accursed, godless. The word being defined is often used with the same epithet. Such epithets are called PERMANENT. For example: violent head, zealous heart, damask sword, frisky legs, hot blood, combustible tears.

Even suffixes play a big role in depicting the poetic world of epics, they also determine the attitude of the performer towards his heroes. derogatory and magnifying their opponents - Idolishche, Serpent.

Bylina "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber"

The epic "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" is a complex work. There are several main episodes in it: Ilya's liberation of Chernigov from the enemy force that besieged him, after which the inhabitants of the city ask Ilya to be their governor, but he refuses, as he is going to serve in Kyiv; meeting with Nightingale the Robber, who closed the road from Chernigov to Kyiv for 30 years; arrival in Kyiv, where Prince Vladimir does not believe Ilya that he brought the Nightingale the Robber, then the hero shows the Nightingale and tells him to whistle: the boyars fall dead from the whistle, and the prince and princess "crawl". So that the Nightingale the Robber does no more harm, Ilya kills him.

(Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber)

He accomplishes his first feat on the way from home to Kyiv. This feat is the destruction of the Nightingale the Robber. The story of this meeting is often preceded by a story about how Ilya was healed of a serious illness in his parents' house. The epic about the healing of Elijah can be performed as an independent song, but very often it is combined with a song about a meeting with the Nightingale the Robber.

Ilya always is thought of as old, even in cases where there is no epithet "old". His old age is an expression of his wisdom, experience and calm strength. Ilya Muromets cannot be imagined young at all. The epithet “good fellow” is applied to him, but the word “well done” in these cases does not mean age, but daring and strength.

Not a white dawn was engaged, Not a red sun rolled out: A good fellow rode out here, Good fellow, Ilya Muromets, On his heroic horse.

His little head turned white, His beard turned gray.

Ilya Muromets, before accomplishing his feats, “sits in a seat”, “sat with a gray hair” for 30 years. He sits on the stove because he is sick, paralyzed. It is sung about him that he “had neither arms nor legs,” that is, he could not move them. “For thirty years he was sick, sitting on a pus” (Mark 91). Often he sits on the stove, where the sick sit or lie in the village. “I did not get up from the oven for thirty years” (Kir. IV, 1). At what age this disease happened to him, nothing is reported about this. Sometimes he is depicted as old from the very first lines, sometimes (rarely) it is reported that he is crippled from birth. The listener is transferred to the atmosphere of a real Russian peasant hut, which is very rare in the epic, but very common for a fairy tale. We understand why people in this case prefer prose. The epic verse of the epic was developed on high heroic plots. Here we have an everyday picture from the everyday life of a peasant family.

Parents leave for work. Their work is the clearing of the forest for sowing, which is characteristic of northern arable farming, in which the forest was burned or cut down, and the stumps were uprooted. “And how thirty years passed, in the very summertime, in the days of haymaking, and then the father and mother and the family left to clean the harvest, and they left him alone at home” (Rybn. 190). So, with varying degrees of thoroughness and realism, it is reported in many records.

Elijah is left alone. Strangers come to the house. These wanderers are described very differently. These are “passing people”, “a beggar old man”, “two kaliks who are passing, fermenting”, two old men, an orphan, in one case - two young men, etc. These are beggars who so far do not expose their extraordinaryness. They knock on the window and ask for a drink or alms. These wanderers were undoubtedly created not without the influence of a legend where wonderful wanderers knock first on the rich, who drive them away, and then on the poor, who receive them. But something else is happening here. Ilya cannot get up, cannot give them a drink.

Hey you good people! I can't get you drunk: I don't have arms or legs.

“I can’t get up”, “I can’t control my arms or legs,” Ilya replies.

I would be glad to give you all the alms saved... I can't get off the brick stove.

“And stand up, stand up, good fellow duck”, “Get up on your frisky feet”, “Let your frisky feet off the stove,” - this is how the wanderers offer with particular insistence. Ilya overcomes himself, and a miracle happens: “The frisky knives stretched out” (Mark 42). Ilya, who has not stood up for thirty years, begins to walk. “Ilya stood up on frisky feet, opened the wide gates and let the kalik into his house” (Rybn. 51). On some occasions, he expresses his jubilation. His gait immediately turns out to be heroic. He steps so that "the beams scream" and the viburnum floor under him falls.

Now Ilya goes for water or kvass and brings it to the wanderers. But they “turn away” him, that is, they do not drink themselves, but offer him to drink, or, having drunk a little, offer him to drink the rest. A second miracle happens: Ilya not only recovers, but feels a surge of enormous, inhuman strength. "What do you feel in yourself, Ilya?" Ilya beat with his forehead, the kalik congratulated: “I hear a great power in myself” (Rybn. 51). “Now, good people, I have a body in myself” (Rybn. 139). The wanderers give him a second drink, and now his strength is so great that if

From the earth the pillar was yes to the sky, To the pillar there was a gold ring, I would have taken it by the ring, turned to the Holy Russian.

Strangers are afraid of such power. They give him a third drink, and his strength is reduced by half. We already know that physical strength does not yet define the hero in the Russian epic. A hero must be strong, but heroism is determined by where the strength is directed. In one of the options, Ilya, when asked about how he feels, answers:

If there was now a ring of filthy power, I would let it beat.

The moment Ilya receives strength is the moment the peasant Ilya turns into a hero. The seat of Ilya in this respect takes on special significance: he becomes a hero, a hero miserable man of the people. Here the aesthetics of the epic and the aesthetics

fairy tales match. The poorest, the last of the peasants, sick, infirm, becomes the savior of his people.

The wonderful wanderers are disappearing, out of sight. In some versions, at the moment of disappearance, they pronounce a foreshadowing, a prophecy. They say:

Death is not written for you in battle.

In an open field, yes, death is not written for you, Don't be afraid, drive across an open field.

The words of the wanderers are only an artistic form for expressing the consciousness of Elijah himself. He cannot say about himself: “Death in battle does not exist for me,” this would contradict the whole poetics of epics. They mean that Ilya has forever ruled out the question of his death. This question was resolved for him once and for all, and he decided when Ilya realized that he was a hero. This is the complete absence of fear of death, its complete exclusion from his consciousness and makes him immortal in the eyes of the people.

It is typical for Ilya, as for a peasant hero: his first impulse, his first thought after recovery and gaining strength belongs to his parents, who are in the field at hard work. Peasant work, the peasant essence is so inextricably linked with the whole being of Ilya that he immediately goes to the field to help his parents. Parents are overjoyed, but their joy is replaced by fright and horror when they see how he works. To clear the field, he uproots the oak trees and throws them into the water. “Dubye then tears from the mother of damp earth with everything with the root” (Mark 67). “And the dube began to uproot” (Onch. 19). At first, the father thinks that Ilya will be a good peasant worker, that he "will be a great worker." But soon the parents realize that Ilya is no longer a worker in the field, that with such strength his calling is in another; mother, seeing how he works, says:

It can be seen that the child will not be a nurse for us, He will begin to ride, apparently, across a clean field.

The father says the same: “This, apparently, my son will ride in an open field, he will be a Pole in an open field, and there will be no fighter for him” (Mark 67). Sometimes the father himself invites him to go to Kyiv, more often he blesses Ilya to leave at his own request with extremely interesting instructions for us. In the shortest and most apt form, the father's instruction is expressed as follows:

And have pity on the field of a Christian, And do not spare on the field all of you Tatar.

Ilya himself quite accurately determines the purpose of his departure. Its purpose is to devote oneself to the service of Kyiv and Vladimir. He realized himself as a hero not only in strength, but also in his life's work. He goes “to bow to the prince of Kyiv”, “to pawn for the prince for Vladimir”, “I’m going to stand up for Kyiv”, etc. We already know that the idea of serving Kyiv and Vladimir is one of the main ideas of the early Russian epic. This is the idea of national and state unity in the era of feudal fragmentation.

This is how the epic ends. Its individual terms come from fairy tales and legends. A seat on the stove, a drink that gives strength, farewell to parents - all these are fabulous motifs. In some versions, Ilya chooses or finds a horse for himself, as is narrated about the fabulous Ivanushka. But although the constituent parts are mostly of fairy-tale origin, the epic itself is by no means a fairy tale. Ilya, straight from the hut or from the field, goes not for the sake of adventure, but to protect the homeland and serve it.

The continuation of this epic is the epic about Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber.

The epic about the Nightingale the Robber in some of its components is earlier than the epics we have already considered about Dobrynya, Alyosha and Ilya, according to others, on the contrary, it turns out to be later. In general, it can be considered later, since it is not archaic elements, not the presence of a mythological monster in it, but those motives that testify to the overcoming of the most ancient heritage and give it a completely new content. We consider this epic as the last one about the fight between heroes and monsters.

In the development of the epic, there comes a moment when the heroic battle with the monster can no longer fully satisfy the artistic needs of the people. The fight with this kind of monsters begins to lose its heroic character. She begins to take on an adventurous and entertaining character. This is exactly what is observed in the epic about the Nightingale the Robber. Its plot, the narration, has extraordinary amusement for the people.

Ilya in this epic performs not one feat, but two. One feat is that he strikes an inhuman monster - the Nightingale the Robber. This feat belongs to a waning tradition, it has its roots in the past. Another feat is that Ilya liberates Chernigov from the besieging enemies, and this feat already indicates the future development of the epic, he is the first of Ilya's own military exploits. The people call this epic "the first trip", and such a name should be recognized as more correct. In the epic about Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber, Ilya already fully manifests his heroic qualities. True, the epic about the Nightingale is of an adventure nature, and this can explain that not in all versions the details of the song are subordinate to the main idea. There are options in which Ilya is not going to serve Kyiv; its goal is to, after standing for matins in Murom, to be in time for early mass in Kyiv. It is sometimes mentioned that he travels on the day of Passover. He wants to take the straight road so that he can be on time. Since he travels on the day of Passover, he sometimes makes a vow not to bleed his hands along the way, not to take out arrows, not to bleed his sword, etc. How much this commandment will actually be observed will become clear later.

Ilya travels to Kyiv with all possible speed. Elijah's horse is never winged. This is not a magic horse that flies through the air. Ilya's horse is a heroic horse, not a fabulous one, although he is sometimes supplied with external fairy-tale attributes.

Events do not develop in the way that Ilya and the listener of the song expect with him, but in a completely different way, and this unexpectedness is one of the artistic features of the epic.

Rushing towards Kyiv, Ilya, quite unexpectedly for himself, sees an obstacle, and from this, in fact, the action begins to develop. He drives up to Chernigov to ask there for a direct road to Kyiv, but then he sees that

Near Chernigov, the silushki are black-black, Black-black, like a black crow.

Quite often, Ilya directly runs into the Nightingale the Robber. We must recognize this form of song as defective, incomplete. Outwardly, the Chernihiv adventure easily falls out of the song, but internally it is a necessary part of the narrative and cannot fall out without damaging the ideological and artistic integrity of the song. The name of the city is subject to some fluctuations (Bezhegov, Beketovets, Turgov, Orekhov, Obalkov, Kidosha, Chizhenets, Smolyagin and others, in the written tradition - Sebezh), but Chernigov prevails. The enemies that have besieged the city are of the most uncertain character. Most often they are called "strength". Sometimes, though not too often, they are called Tatars, even more rarely - Lithuanians, sometimes both together:

He came to the city in Beketovets, And the cursed filthy Lithuania ran over, Here the filthy Tatars overcame Tyih Beketov's peasants.

These enemies are not Tatars. How concretely and historically true the Tatars are depicted in the epic, we will see below. The force that besieged Chernihiv does not threaten the state as a whole. Vladimir in Kyiv often does not even know what happened in Chernigov. We also cannot allow this episode to reflect any of the internecine wars, because, as we know and as Dobrolyubov emphasized, specific wars are not reflected in the epic at all. The significance of this episode lies in the fact that the hero of the song is no longer only a serpent fighter, but a deliverer from the enemy army. That is why the main national hero of the epic, Ilya Muromets, was made the hero of the song. Ilya cannot remain indifferent to the fate of Chernigov.

A heroic heart is quarrelsome and indefatigable: More than a fire-little heart will play out.

The peaceful, pious intention to hold Matins in Murom and Mass in Kyiv is relegated to the background. Ilya Muromets very easily refuses the commandment not to bloody weapons.

How forgive me, Lord, in such a fault! I will no longer lay great commandments.

Or more ironically:

Every man bequeaths a covenant, but not every covenant keeps.

This means that church morality crumbles to dust when it comes to what constitutes the highest morality of the people, about how to save their native land.

Combat is always described very briefly and purely "epic".

How he began to beat the filthy Tatars, With a horse to trample and prick with a spear, He nailed the filthy ones in a single hour, He did not leave the filthy ones for seeds.

Such brevity in the description of the battle is typical for this song. We will have a more detailed description of the battles in the epics about the reflection of the Tatars from Kyiv.

Having liberated the city, Ilya enters Chernihiv. Sometimes he finds all the townspeople in the church, and they do not even suspect that the city has already been liberated.

He drove into the city of Smolyagin, How are the peasants and Smolyagin? Everyone goes to the cathedral church From the first to the last. They repent, take communion, Say goodbye to the white light, In the open field they are equipped for war.

While the people of Chernigov were praying in despair, Ilya saved the city thanks to the fact that he did not think about disregarding the church commandment. When the singer sings that the Chernigovites, instead of thinking about protection, "repent and take communion, equip themselves for the death penalty" (Rybn. 189), this is not only a description of the confusion that has gripped the city, but also sounds like an expression of regret for the Chernigovites, who do not found nothing better than to pray and repent. Despair and despondency reign in the city, sometimes described extremely vividly. Ilya tells the people of Chernigov the joyful news. They do not believe, they go out to the city wall, look into a fist or a tube and really see a field strewn with corpses.

The Chernigov episode ends with a detail that is very important for understanding the meaning of this episode, as well as for understanding the psychology of Ilya Muromets. Chernihiv residents offer Ilya voivodeship, but Ilya always refuses him.

Chernigovians were helpless in the face of the enemy, not because they did not have courage. They were preparing for defense, they were ready to die as one for their native city, they did not think about surrendering the city to the strongest enemy, preferring death. They were inactive because there was no power that could lead the people's movement. Therefore, the Chernigov peasants offer Ilya the voivodeship, that is, power. The keys of the city are brought to him on a golden platter.

BYLINA - folklore epic song, a genre characteristic of the Russian tradition. The basis of the epic plot is some heroic event, or a remarkable episode of Russian history (hence the popular name of the epic - "old", "old", implying that the action, about which in question, took place in the past). The term "epic" was introduced into scientific use in the 40s of the 19th century. folklorist I.P. Sakharov (1807–1863).Means of artistic expression. Over the course of many centuries, peculiar techniques have been developed that are characteristic of the poetics of the epic, as well as the way they are performed. In ancient times, it is believed that storytellers played along on the harp; later epics were performed in recitative. Epics are characterized by a special purely tonic epic verse (based onlies the commensurability of lines in terms of the number of stresses, which is how rhythmic uniformity is achieved). Although the storytellers used only a few melodies when performing epics, they enriched the singing with a variety of intonations, and also changed the timbre of the voice.

: this braid, braid , from far away , marvelous marvelous (repetitions are tautological), but also the injection of synonyms:fight , tribute-duties , (repetitions are synomimic), often the end of one line is the beginning of another:And they came to holy Russia, / To holy Russia and near Kyiv city ... , three-time repetitions of entire episodes are not uncommon, with increased effect, and some descriptions are extremely detailed. The epic is also characterized by the presence of “common places”, when describing situations of the same type, certain formulaic expressions are used: in this way (at the same time in the utmost detail) saddling a horse is depicted:Ay, Dobrynya goes out into the wide yard, / He bridles the saddle of a good horse, / After all, he imposes a bridle of ribbon, / After all, he imposes sweatshirts on sweatshirts, / After all, he imposes felts on felts, / He is a Cherkasy saddle on the top. / And he tightened the girths tightly, / And the girths of the overseas sholka, / And the overseas sholpan sholka, / Glorious copper buckles would be from Kazan, / Studs of damask-iron Siberian, / Not beautiful basses, brothers, valiant, / And for the fortification, it was heroic . The "common places" also include a description of a feast (for the most part, at Prince Vladimir), a feast, a heroic ride on a greyhound horse. A folk narrator could combine such stable formulas at his own will.

diminutives (hat, little head, little thought, Aleshenka, Vasenka Buslaevich, Dobrynushka, etc.), but negative characters were called Ugryumishch, Ignatishch, Tsar Batuishch, Ugarishch filthy. Considerable place is occupied by assonances (repetition of vowel sounds) and alliteration (repetition of consonants), additional organizing elements of the verse.

Epics, as a rule, are three-part: a sing-along (usually not directly related to the content), the function of which is to prepare for listening to the song; beginning (within its limits, the action unfolds); ending.

It should be noted that some artistic techniques, used in the epic, are determined by its theme (for example, antithesis is characteristic of heroic epics).

The narrator's gaze never turns to the past or the future, but follows the hero from event to event, although the distance between them can vary from a few days to several years.

Plots of epics. The number of epic stories, despite the many recorded versions of the same epic, is very limited: there are about 100 of them. There are epics based on matchmaking or the struggle of the hero for his wife (Sadko , Mikhailo Potyk , Ivan Godinovich , Danube , Kozarin , Nightingale Budimirovich and later -Alyosha Popovich and Elena Petrovichna , Hoten Bludovich ); fighting monstersDobrynya and the snake , Alyosha and Tugarin , Ilya and Idolishche , Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber ); fight against foreign invaders, including: repelling Tatar raids (Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir , Ilya and Kalin , ), wars with Lithuanians (Bylina about the arrival of Lithuanians ). Stand apart are satirical epics or epics-parodies (Duke Stepanovich , Competition with Churila ). The main epic heroes. Representatives of the Russian "mythological school" divided the heroes of epics into "senior" and "junior" heroes. In their opinion, the “elders” (Svyatogor, Danube, Volkh, Potyka) were the personification of elemental forces, epics about them in a peculiar way reflected the mythological views that existed in Ancient Russia. The “younger” heroes (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich) are ordinary mortals, heroes of the new historical era, and therefore are endowed with mythological features to a minimal extent. Despite the fact that serious objections were subsequently raised against such a classification, such a division is still found in the scientific literature.

The images of heroes are the national standard of courage, justice, patriotism and strength (it was not for nothing that one of the first Russian aircraft, which had an exceptional carrying capacity for those times, was called the creators of "Ilya Muromets").

Svyatogor refers to the oldest and most popular epic heroes. His very name indicates a connection with nature. He is great in stature and mighty, his earth bears with difficulty. This image was born in the pre-Kiev era, but subsequently underwent changes. Only two plots have come down to us, initially associated with Svyatogor (the rest arose later and are fragmentary): the plot of the discovery of Svyatogor's bag, which belonged, as specified in some versions, to another epic hero, Mikula Selyaninovich. The bag turns out to be so heavy that the bogatyr cannot lift it; The second story tells about the death of Svyatogor, who meets a coffin on the way with the inscription: “Whoever is destined to lie in a coffin will lie in it,” and decides to try his luck. As soon as Svyatogor lies down, the lid of the coffin jumps up by itself and the hero cannot move it. Before his death, Svyatogor passes on his power to Ilya Muromets, thus the hero of antiquity passes the baton to the new hero of the epic that comes to the fore.Ilya Muromets , no doubt the most popular hero of epics, a mighty hero. Epos does not know him young, he is an old man with a gray beard. Oddly enough, Ilya Muromets appeared later than his epic younger comrades Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. His homeland is the city of Murom, the village of Karacharovo.

The peasant son, the sick Ilya, "sat on the stove for 30 years and three years." One day wanderers came to the house, “passable kaliks”. They healed Ilya, endowing him with heroic strength. From now on, he is a hero who is destined to serve the city of Kyiv and Prince Vladimir. On the way to Kyiv, Ilya defeats the Nightingale the Robber, puts him in "toroks" and takes him to the prince's court. Of the other exploits of Ilya, it is worth mentioning his victory over Idolishche, which laid siege to Kyiv and forbade begging and commemorating God's name. Here Elijah acts as a defender of the faith.

His relationship with Prince Vladimir is not smooth. The peasant hero does not meet with due respect at the court of the prince, he is bypassed with gifts, he is not put in a place of honor at the feast. The rebellious hero is imprisoned in the cellar for seven years and is doomed to starvation. Only an attack on the city of the Tatars, led by Tsar Kalin, forces the prince to ask for help from Ilya. He gathers heroes and enters the battle. The defeated enemy flees, vowing never to return to Russia.

Nikitich - a popular hero of the epics of the Kyiv cycle. This snake fighter was born in Ryazan. He is the most polite and educated of the Russian heroes, it is not for nothing that Dobrynya always acts as an ambassador and negotiator in difficult situations. The main epics associated with the name of Dobrynia:Dobrynya and the snake , Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich , The battle of Dobrynya with the Danube , Dobrynya and Marina , Dobrynya and Alyosha . Alyosha Popovich originally from Rostov, he is the son of a cathedral priest, the youngest of the famous trinity of heroes. He is bold, cunning, frivolous, prone to fun and jokes. Scientists belonging to the historical school believed that this epic hero traces his origins to Alexander Popovich, who died in the Battle of Kalka, however, D.S. Likhachev showed that the reverse process actually took place, the name of the fictional hero penetrated into the annals. The most famous feat of Alyosha Popovich is his victory over Tugarin Zmeevich. The hero Alyosha does not always behave in a worthy manner, he is often arrogant, boastful. Among epics about him - Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin , Alyosha Popovich and sister Petrovich . Sadko is also one of ancient heroes, in addition, he is perhaps the most famous hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle. The ancient story about Sadko, which tells how the hero wooed the daughter of the sea king, subsequently became more complicated, surprisingly realistic details appeared concerning the life of ancient Novgorod.

The bylina about Sadko is divided into three relatively independent parts. In the first, the harpist Sadko, who impressed the king of the sea with the skill of his game, receives advice from him on how to get rich. From that moment on, Sadko was no longer a poor musician, but a merchant, a rich guest. In the next song, Sadko bets with Novgorod merchants that he will be able to buy all the goods of Novgorod. In some versions of the epic, Sadko wins, in some, on the contrary, he is defeated, but in any case he leaves the city because of the intolerant attitude of the merchants towards him. The last song tells about Sadko's journey through the sea, during which the sea king calls him to him in order to marry his daughter and leave him in the underwater kingdom. But Sadko, having abandoned the beautiful princesses, marries Chernavushka the mermaid, who personifies the Novgorod river, and she takes him to his native shores. Sadko returns to his "earthly wife", leaving the daughter of the sea king.

V.Ya.Proppindicates that the epic about Sadko is the only one in the Russian epic where the hero goes to other world(underwater kingdom) and marries an otherworldly being. These two motifs testify to the antiquity of both the plot and the hero.Vasily Buslaev. Two epics are known about this indomitable and violent citizen of Veliky Novgorod. In his rebellion against everyone and everything, he does not pursue any goal, except for the desire to run amok and show off. The son of a Novgorod widow, a wealthy citizen, Vasily from childhood showed his unbridled temper in fights with peers. Growing up, he gathered a squad to compete with all of Veliky Novgorod. The battle ends with the complete victory of Vasily. The second epic is dedicated to the death of Vasily Buslaev. Having traveled with his retinue to Jerusalem, Basil mocks at the dead head he met, despite the ban, bathes naked in Jericho and neglects the requirement inscribed on the stone he found (you cannot jump over the stone along). Vasily, due to the indomitability of his nature, begins to jump and jump over it, catches his foot on a stone and breaks his head. This character, in which the unbridled passions of Russian nature are embodied, was a favorite heroM. Gorky. The writer carefully accumulated materials about him, cherishing the idea of writing about Vaska Buslaev, but when he learned that A.V. Amfiteatrov was writing a play about this hero, he gave all the accumulated materials to his colleague. This play is considered one of the the best works A.V. Amfiteatrova.Historical stages of development of the epic. Researchers disagree on when epic songs appeared in Russia. Some attribute their appearance to the 9th–11th centuries, others to the 11th–13th centuries. One thing is certain - having existed for such a long time, passed from mouth to mouth, epics did not reach us in their original form, they underwent many changes, as the political system, the internal and external political situation, the worldview of listeners and performers changed. It is almost impossible to say in what century this or that epic was created, some reflect an earlier, some a later stage in the development of the Russian epic, and in other epics, researchers distinguish very ancient plots under later layers.

V.Ya.Propp believed that the most ancient plots are related to the matchmaking of the hero and snake fighting. Such epics are characterized by elements that are significant for fairy tale, in particular: tripling the plot components (Ilya, at a crossroads, runs into a stone with an inscription foreshadowing one or another fate, and successively chooses each of the three roads)

, prohibition and violation of the prohibition (Dobrynya is forbidden to swim in the Puchay River), as well as the presence of ancient mythological elements (Volkh, born from a snake father, has the gift of reincarnation in animals, Tugarin Zmeevich in different versions of the epic appears as a snake,sometimes a snake endowed with anthropomorphic features, sometimes a creature of nature, either human or snake; in the same way, the Nightingale the Robber turns out to be either a bird, or a man, or even combines both traits).

The largest number of epics that have come down to us belongs to the period from the 11th to the 13th-14th centuries. They were created in the southern Russian regions - Kyiv, Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Rostov-Suzdal. The most relevant in this period is the theme of the struggle of the Russian people with the nomads who raided

to Kievan Rus, and later with the Horde invaders. Epics begin to group around the plot of the defense and liberation of the Motherland, brightly colored with patriotic feelings. The people's memory has preserved only one name for the nomadic enemy - Tatar, butresearchers find among the names of the heroes of epics the names of not only Tatar, but also Polovtsian military leaders. In epics, the desire to raise the national spirit, express love for the native country and fierce hatred of foreign invaders is noticeable, the exploits of the mighty and invincible folk heroes-heroes are praised. At this time, the images of Ilya Muromets, Danube-in-law, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich, Vasily Kazemirovich, Mikhailo Danilovich and many other heroes become popular.

With the formation of the Moscow state, starting from the 16th century, heroic epics gradually fade into the background, buffoons become more relevant (

Vavila and buffoons , Birds ) and satirical epics with their sharp social conflicts. They describe the exploits of heroes in civilian life, the main characters oppose princes and boyars, and their task is to protect their own family and honor (Sukhman, Danilo Lovchanin), while the ruling strata of society are ridiculed in buffoon epics. At the same time, a new genre is emerging - historical songs,which tells about specific historical events that took place from the 13th to the 19th centuries, there is no fiction and exaggeration characteristic of epics, and in battles several people or an entire army can act as heroes at once.

In the 17th century epics are gradually beginning to supplant the translated chivalric novel adapted for the Russian audience, meanwhile they remain popular folk entertainment. At the same time, the first written retellings of epic texts appear.

Historical reality and fiction in epics. The relationship between reality and fiction in epics is by no means straightforward; along with explicit fantasies, there is a reflection of the life of Ancient Russia. Behind many epic episodes, real social and domestic relations, numerous military and social conflicts that took place in antiquity. It is also noteworthy that in the epics certain details of life are conveyed with amazing accuracy, and often the area where the action takes place is described with amazing accuracy. It is also interesting that even the names of some epic characters are recorded in the annals, where they are described as real personalities.

Nevertheless, the folk narrators who sang of the exploits of the princely retinue, unlike the chroniclers, did not literally follow the chronological course of events, on the contrary, the folk memory carefully preserved only the most vivid and remarkable historical episodes, regardless of their location on the time scale. A close connection with the surrounding reality led to the development and change in the structure and plots of epics, according to the course of the history of the Russian state. Moreover, the genre itself existed until the middle of the 20th century, of course, undergoing various changes.

Cyclization of epics. Although, due to special historical conditions, an integral epic never took shape in Russia, scattered epic songs are formed into cycles either around a certain hero, or according to the common area where they existed. There is no classification of epics that would be unanimously accepted by all researchers., nevertheless, it is customary to single out the epics of the Kyiv, or "Vladimirov", Novgorod and Moscow cycles. In addition to them, there are epics that do not fit into any cycles.Kyiv or "Vladimirov" cycle. In these epics, the heroes gather around the court of Prince Vladimir. The prince himself does not perform feats, however, Kyiv is the center that attracts heroes who are called to protect their homeland and faith from enemies. V.Ya.Propp believes that the songs of the Kyiv cycle are not a local phenomenon, characteristic only for the Kyiv region, on the contrary, the epics of this cycle were created throughout Kievan Rus. Over time, the image of Vladimir changed, the prince acquired features that were initially unusual for the legendary ruler, in many epics he is cowardly, mean, often deliberately humiliates the heroes (Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin , Ilya and Idolishche , Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir ). Novgorod cycle. Epics differ sharply from the epics of the "Vladimir" cycle, which is not surprising, since Novgorod never knew the Tatar invasion, but was the largest shopping center ancient Russia. The heroes of Novgorod epics (Sadko, Vasily Buslaev) are also very different from others.Moscow cycle. These epics reflected the life of the upper strata of Moscow society. The epics about Khoten Bludovich, Duke and Churil contain many details typical of the era of the rise of the Muscovite state: clothes, customs and behavior of the townspeople are described.

Unfortunately, Russian heroic epic did not fully develop, this is its difference from the epics of other peoples. Poet

N.A. Zabolotsky at the end of his life he tried to make an unprecedented attempt - on the basis of disparate epics and epic cycles to create a single poetic epic. This bold plan prevented him from carrying out death.Collection and publication of Russian epics. The first recording of Russian epic songs was made at the beginning of the 17th century. Englishman Richard James. However, the first significant work on collecting epics, which was of great scientific importance, was done by the Cossack Kirsha Danilov around the 40-60 of the 18th century. The collection he collected consisted of 70 songs. For the first time, incomplete records were published only in 1804 in Moscow, under the titleAncient Russian Poems and for a long time were the only collection of Russian epic songs.

The next step in the study of Russian epic songs was made by P.N. Rybnikov (1831–1885). He discovered that epics were still performed in the Olonets province, although by that time this folklore genre was considered dead. Thanks to the discovery of P.N. Rybnikov, an opportunity presented itself not only to study epic epic, but also to get acquainted with the way of its execution and with the performers themselves. The final collection of epics was published in 1861-1867 under the title

Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov . Four volumes contained 165 epics (for comparison, we mention that inCollection of Kirsha Danilov there were only 24).

This was followed by collections by A.F. Gilferding (1831–1872), P.V. Kireevsky (1808–1856), N.E. in the Middle and Lower Volga regions, on the Don, Terek and Urals (in the Central and Southern regions, the epic epic was preserved in very small sizes). The last recordings of epics were made in the 20-30s of the 20th century. Soviet expeditions traveling in the north of Russia, and from the 50s of the 20th century. the epic epic practically ceases to exist in live performance, remaining only in books.

Russian and Soviet folklore. For the first time, K.F. Kalaidovich (1792–1832) tried to comprehend the Russian epic as an integral artistic phenomenon and understand its relationship with the course of Russian history in the preface to the second edition of the collection he undertook (1818). According to representatives of the "mythological school" to which they belongedF.I. Buslaev(1818–1897), A.N. Afanasiev (1826–1871), O.F. Miller (1833–1889), epic songs were nothing more than derivatives of more ancient myths. Based on these songs, representatives of the school tried to reconstruct the myths of primitive peoples.

Comparative scientists, including G.N. Potanin (1835–1920) and

A.N. Veselovsky(1838–1906) considered the epic to be an ahistorical phenomenon. They argued that the plot, after its inception, begins to wander, changing and enriching itself.

The representative of the "historical school" VF Miller (1848-1913) studied the interaction between the epic and history. In his opinion, historical events were recorded in the epic, and thus the epic is a kind of oral chronicle.

V. Ya. Propp (1895–1970) occupies a special place in Russian and Soviet folklore. In his pioneering work, he combined a historical approach with a structural approach (Western structuralists, in particular

C.Levi-Strauss(b. 1909), called him the ancestor of their scientific method, against which V.Ya. Propp sharply objected).Epic stories and heroes in art and literature. Ever since the publication of Kirsha Danilov's collection, epic stories and heroes have become firmly established in the world of modern Russian culture. It is not difficult to see traces of acquaintance with Russian epics in the poem by A.S. PushkinRuslan and Ludmila and in the poetic ballads of A.K. Tolstoy.

The images of Russian epics also received a multifaceted reflection in music. Composer A.P. Borodin (1833–1887) created an opera-farce

Bogatyrs (1867), and gave the title to his 2nd symphony (1876)Bogatyrskaya , he used the images of the heroic epic in his romances.

Sadko (1867), and later, in 1896, the opera of the same name. It is worth mentioning that theatrical production This opera was designed in 1914 by the artist I.Ya. Bilibin (1876–1942).

V.M.Vasnetsov (1848–1926), is mainly known to the public from his paintings, the plots for which are taken from the Russian heroic epic, it is enough to name the canvases

Knight at the Crossroads (1882) and Bogatyrs (1898). M.A. Vrubel (1856–1910) also turned to epic stories. Decorative panels Mikula Selyaninovich (1896) and Bogatyr (1898) interpret these seemingly well-known images in their own way.

Heroes and plots of epics are precious material for cinema. For example, a film directed by A.L. Ptushko (1900–1973)

Sadko (1952), the original music for which was written by the composer V.Ya.Shebalin, partly using classical music N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, was one of the most spectacular films of its time. Another film by the same directorIlya Muromets (1956) became the first Soviet widescreen film with stereo sound. Animation director V.V.Kurchevsky (1928-1997) created an animated version of the most popular Russian epic, his work is calledsadko rich (1975). Berenice Vesnina LITERATURE Epics of the North. Notes by A.M. Astakhova . M. - L., 1938-1951, vols. 1–2
Ukhov P.D. epics. M., 1957
Propp V.Ya., Putilov B.N.epics. M., 1958, vols. 1–2
Astakhova A.M. Epics. Results and problems of the study . M. - L., 1966
Ukhov P.D. Attribution of Russian epics . M., 1970
Ancient Russian poems collected by Kirshe Danilov . M., 1977
Azbelev S.N. Historicism of epics and the specifics of folklore . L., 1982
Astafieva L.A. The plot and style of Russian epics . M., 1993
Propp V.Ya. Russian heroic epic . M., 1999

The content of the article

BYLINA- folklore epic song, a genre characteristic of the Russian tradition. The basis of the plot of the epic is some heroic event, or a remarkable episode of Russian history (hence the popular name of the epic - "old", "old", implying that the action in question took place in the past). The term "epic" was introduced into scientific use in the 40s of the 19th century. folklorist I.P. Sakharov (1807–1863).

Means of artistic expression.

Over the course of many centuries, peculiar techniques have been developed that are characteristic of the poetics of the epic, as well as the way they are performed. In ancient times, it is believed that storytellers played along on the harp; later epics were performed in recitative. Epics are characterized by a special purely tonic epic verse (which is based on the commensurability of lines by the number of stresses, which achieves rhythmic uniformity). Although the storytellers used only a few melodies when performing epics, they enriched the singing with a variety of intonations, and also changed the timbre of the voice.

The emphatically solemn style of presentation of the epic, which tells about heroic and often tragic events, determined the need to slow down the action (retardation). For this, a technique such as repetition is used, and not only individual words are repeated: ... this braid, braid, …from far away, marvelous marvelous(repetitions are tautological), but also the injection of synonyms: fight, tribute-duties, (repetitions are synomimic), often the end of one line is the beginning of another: And they came to holy Russia, / To holy Russia and near Kyiv city ..., three-time repetitions of entire episodes are not uncommon, with increased effect, and some descriptions are extremely detailed. The epic is also characterized by the presence of “common places”, when describing situations of the same type, certain formulaic expressions are used: in this way (at the same time in the utmost detail) saddling a horse is depicted: Ay, Dobrynya goes out into the wide yard, / He bridles the saddle of a good horse, / After all, he imposes a bridle of ribbon, / After all, he imposes sweatshirts on sweatshirts, / After all, he imposes felts on felts, / He is a Cherkasy saddle on the top. / And he tightened the girths tightly, / And the girths of the overseas sholka, / And the overseas sholpan sholka, / Glorious copper buckles would be from Kazan, / Studs of damask-iron Siberian, / Not beautiful basses, brothers, valiant, / And for the fortification, it was heroic. The "common places" also include a description of a feast (for the most part, at Prince Vladimir), a feast, a heroic ride on a greyhound horse. A folk narrator could combine such stable formulas at his own will.

The language of epics is characterized by hyperbole, with the help of which the narrator emphasizes the character traits or appearance of the characters worthy of special mention. Another technique determines the listener's attitude to the epic - an epithet (a powerful, holy Russian, glorious hero and a filthy, evil enemy), and stable epithets are often found (violent head, hot blood, frisky legs, combustible tears). Suffixes also play a similar role: everything related to heroes was mentioned in diminutive forms (cap, little head, little thought, Alyoshenka, Vasenka Buslaevich, Dobrynushka, etc.), but negative characters were called Ugryumish, Ignatish, Tsar Batuish, Ugarish filthy. Considerable place is occupied by assonances (repetition of vowel sounds) and alliteration (repetition of consonants), additional organizing elements of the verse.

It should be noted that certain artistic techniques used in the epic are determined by its theme (for example, antithesis is typical for heroic epics).

The narrator's gaze never turns to the past or the future, but follows the hero from event to event, although the distance between them can vary from a few days to several years.

Plots of epics.

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

Stand apart are satirical epics or epics-parodies ( Duke Stepanovich, Competition with Churila).

The main epic heroes.

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

Svyatogor

refers to the oldest and most popular epic heroes. His very name indicates a connection with nature. He is great in stature and mighty, his earth bears with difficulty. This image was born in the pre-Kiev era, but subsequently underwent changes. Only two plots have come down to us, initially associated with Svyatogor (the rest arose later and are fragmentary): the plot about the discovery of Svyatogor's bag, which belonged, as specified in some versions, to another epic hero, Mikula Selyaninovich. The bag turns out to be so heavy that the bogatyr cannot lift it; The second story tells about the death of Svyatogor, who meets a coffin on the way with the inscription: “Whoever is destined to lie in a coffin will lie in it,” and decides to try his luck. As soon as Svyatogor lies down, the lid of the coffin jumps up by itself and the hero cannot move it. Before his death, Svyatogor passes on his power to Ilya Muromets, thus the hero of antiquity passes the baton to the new hero of the epic that comes to the fore.

Ilya Muromets,

undoubtedly the most popular hero of epics, the mighty hero. Epos does not know him young, he is an old man with a gray beard. Oddly enough, Ilya Muromets appeared later than his epic younger comrades Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. His homeland is the city of Murom, the village of Karacharovo.

Nikitich

- a popular hero of the epics of the Kyiv cycle. This snake fighter was born in Ryazan. He is the most polite and well-mannered of the Russian heroes, it is not for nothing that Dobrynya always acts as an ambassador and negotiator in difficult situations. The main epics associated with the name of Dobrynia: Dobrynya and the snake, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich, The battle of Dobrynya with the Danube, Dobrynya and Marina, Dobrynya and Alyosha.

Alyosha Popovich

- a native of Rostov, he is the son of a cathedral priest, the youngest of the famous trinity of heroes. He is bold, cunning, frivolous, prone to fun and jokes. Scientists belonging to the historical school believed that this epic hero traces his origins to Alexander Popovich, who died in the Battle of Kalka, however, D.S. Likhachev showed that the reverse process actually took place, the name of the fictional hero penetrated into the annals. The most famous feat of Alyosha Popovich is his victory over Tugarin Zmeevich. The hero Alyosha does not always behave in a worthy manner, he is often arrogant, boastful. Among the epics about him - Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin, Alyosha Popovich and sister Petrovich.

Sadko

is also one of the oldest heroes, in addition, he is perhaps the most famous hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle. The ancient story about Sadko, which tells how the hero wooed the daughter of the sea king, subsequently became more complicated, surprisingly realistic details appeared concerning the life of ancient Novgorod.

Vasily Buslaev.

Two epics are known about this indomitable and violent citizen of Veliky Novgorod. In his rebellion against everyone and everything, he does not pursue any goal, except for the desire to run amok and show off. The son of a Novgorod widow, a wealthy citizen, Vasily from childhood showed his unbridled temper in fights with peers. Growing up, he gathered a squad to compete with all of Veliky Novgorod. The battle ends with the complete victory of Vasily. The second epic is dedicated to the death of Vasily Buslaev. Having traveled with his retinue to Jerusalem, Basil mocks at the dead head he met, despite the ban, bathes naked in Jericho and neglects the requirement inscribed on the stone he found (you cannot jump over the stone along). Vasily, due to the indomitability of his nature, begins to jump and jump over it, catches his foot on a stone and breaks his head. This character, in which the unbridled passions of Russian nature are embodied, was M. Gorky's favorite hero. The writer carefully accumulated materials about him, cherishing the idea of writing about Vaska Buslaev, but when he learned that A.V. Amfiteatrov was writing a play about this hero, he gave all the accumulated materials to his colleague. This play is considered one of the best works of A.V. Amfiteatrov.

Historical stages of development of the epic.

Researchers disagree on when epic songs appeared in Russia. Some attribute their appearance to the 9th–11th centuries, others to the 11th–13th centuries. One thing is certain - having existed for such a long time, passed from mouth to mouth, epics did not reach us in their original form, they underwent many changes, as the political system, the internal and external political situation, the worldview of listeners and performers changed. It is almost impossible to say in what century this or that epic was created, some reflect an earlier, some a later stage in the development of the Russian epic, and in other epics, researchers distinguish very ancient plots under later layers.

V.Ya.Propp believed that the most ancient plots are related to the matchmaking of the hero and snake fighting. Such epics are characterized by elements that are also significant for a fairy tale, in particular: the tripling of plot terms (Ilya, at a crossroads, runs into a stone with an inscription foreshadowing one fate or another, and successively chooses each of the three roads), prohibition and violation of the prohibition (Dobrynya is forbidden swim in the Puchai River), as well as the presence of ancient mythological elements (Volkh, born from a snake father, has the gift of reincarnation in animals, Tugarin Zmeevich in different versions of the epic appears either as a snake, or as a snake endowed with anthropomorphic features, or as a creature of nature or human, or snake; in the same way, the Nightingale the Robber turns out to be either a bird, or a man, or even combines both traits).

The largest number of epics that have come down to us belongs to the period from the 11th to the 13th-14th centuries. They were created in the southern Russian regions - Kyiv, Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Rostov-Suzdal. The topic of the struggle of the Russian people with the nomads who raided Kievan Rus, and later with the Horde invaders, becomes the most relevant in this period. Epics begin to group around the plot of the defense and liberation of the Motherland, brightly colored with patriotic feelings. Folk memory has preserved only one name for the nomadic enemy - Tatar, but researchers find among the names of the heroes of epics the names of not only Tatar, but also Polovtsian military leaders. In epics, the desire to raise the national spirit, express love for the native country and fierce hatred of foreign invaders is noticeable, the exploits of the mighty and invincible folk heroes-heroes are praised. At this time, the images of Ilya Muromets, Danube-in-law, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich, Vasily Kazemirovich, Mikhailo Danilovich and many other heroes become popular.

With the formation of the Moscow state, starting from the 16th century, heroic epics gradually fade into the background, buffoons become more relevant ( Vavila and buffoons, Birds) and satirical epics with their sharp social conflicts. They describe the exploits of heroes in civilian life, the main characters oppose princes and boyars, and their task is to protect their own family and honor (Sukhman, Danilo Lovchanin), while the ruling strata of society are ridiculed in buffoon epics. At the same time, a new genre arises - historical songs, which tell about specific historical events that took place from the 13th to the 19th centuries, there are no fiction and exaggeration characteristic of epics, and in battles several people or an entire army can act as heroes at once.

Historical reality and fiction in epics.

The relationship between reality and fiction in epics is by no means straightforward; along with explicit fantasies, there is a reflection of the life of Ancient Russia. Behind many epic episodes, real social and domestic relations, numerous military and social conflicts that took place in antiquity are guessed. It is also noteworthy that in the epics certain details of life are conveyed with amazing accuracy, and often the area where the action takes place is described with amazing accuracy. It is also interesting that even the names of some epic characters are recorded in the annals, where they are described as real personalities.

Cyclization of epics.

Although, due to special historical conditions, an integral epic never took shape in Russia, scattered epic songs are formed into cycles either around a certain hero, or according to the common area where they existed. There is no classification of epics that would be unanimously accepted by all researchers, however, it is customary to single out epics of the Kyiv, or “Vladimirov”, Novgorod and Moscow cycles. In addition to them, there are epics that do not fit into any cycles.

Kyiv or "Vladimirov" cycle.

In these epics, the heroes gather around the court of Prince Vladimir. The prince himself does not perform feats, however, Kyiv is the center that attracts heroes who are called to protect their homeland and faith from enemies. V.Ya.Propp believes that the songs of the Kyiv cycle are not a local phenomenon, characteristic only for the Kyiv region, on the contrary, the epics of this cycle were created throughout Kievan Rus. Over time, the image of Vladimir changed, the prince acquired features that were initially unusual for the legendary ruler, in many epics he is cowardly, mean, often deliberately humiliates the heroes ( Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir).

Novgorod cycle.

Epics differ sharply from the epics of the "Vladimir" cycle, which is not surprising, since Novgorod never knew the Tatar invasion, but was the largest trading center of ancient Russia. The heroes of Novgorod epics (Sadko, Vasily Buslaev) are also very different from others.

Moscow cycle.

These epics reflected the life of the upper strata of Moscow society. The epics about Khoten Bludovich, Duke and Churil contain many details typical of the era of the rise of the Muscovite state: clothes, customs and behavior of the townspeople are described.

Unfortunately, the Russian heroic epic did not fully develop, this is its difference from the epics of other peoples. The poet N.A. Zabolotsky at the end of his life tried to make an unprecedented attempt - on the basis of disparate epics and epic cycles to create a single poetic epic. This bold plan prevented him from carrying out death.

Collection and publication of Russian epics.

The first recording of Russian epic songs was made at the beginning of the 17th century. Englishman Richard James. However, the first significant work on collecting epics, which was of great scientific importance, was done by the Cossack Kirsha Danilov around the 40-60 of the 18th century. The collection he collected consisted of 70 songs. For the first time, incomplete records were published only in 1804 in Moscow, under the title Ancient Russian Poems and for a long time were the only collection of Russian epic songs.

The next step in the study of Russian epic songs was made by P.N. Rybnikov (1831–1885). He discovered that epics were still performed in the Olonets province, although by that time this folklore genre was considered dead. Thanks to the discovery of P.N. Rybnikov, it was possible not only to study the epic epic in depth, but also to get acquainted with the method of its performance and with the performers themselves. The final collection of epics was published in 1861-1867 under the title Songs collected by P.N. Rybnikov. Four volumes contained 165 epics (for comparison, we mention that in Collection of Kirsha Danilov there were only 24).

For the first time, K.F. Kalaidovich (1792–1832) tried to comprehend the Russian epic as an integral artistic phenomenon and understand its relationship with the course of Russian history in the preface to the second edition of the collection he undertook (1818).

According to the representatives of the “mythological school”, to which F.I. Buslaev (1818–1897), A.N. Afanasiev (1826–1871), O.F. derived from older myths. Based on these songs, representatives of the school tried to reconstruct the myths of primitive peoples.

Comparative scientists, including G.N. Potanin (1835–1920) and A.N. Veselovsky (1838–1906), considered the epic to be an ahistorical phenomenon. They argued that the plot, after its inception, begins to wander, changing and enriching itself.

V. Ya. Propp (1895–1970) occupies a special place in Russian and Soviet folklore. In his innovative works, he combined a historical approach with a structural approach (Western structuralists, in particular K. Levi-Strauss (b. 1909), called him the founder of their scientific method, against which V. Ya. Propp sharply objected).

Epic stories and heroes in art and literature.

Ever since the publication of Kirsha Danilov's collection, epic stories and heroes have become firmly established in the world of modern Russian culture. It is not difficult to see traces of acquaintance with Russian epics in the poem by A.S. Pushkin Ruslan and Ludmila and in the poetic ballads of A.K. Tolstoy.

The images of Russian epics also received a multifaceted reflection in music. Composer A.P. Borodin (1833–1887) created an opera-farce Bogatyrs(1867), and gave the title to his 2nd symphony (1876) Bogatyrskaya, he used the images of the heroic epic in his romances.

N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), an associate of A.P. Borodin in the “mighty bunch” (association of composers and music critics), twice turned to the image of the Novgorod “rich guest”. First he created a symphonic musical picture Sadko(1867), and later, in 1896, the opera of the same name. It is worth mentioning that the theatrical production of this opera in 1914 was designed by the artist I.Ya. Bilibin (1876–1942).

V.M.Vasnetsov (1848–1926), is mainly known to the public from his paintings, the plots for which are taken from the Russian heroic epic, it is enough to name the canvases Knight at the Crossroads(1882) and Bogatyrs (1898).

M.A. Vrubel (1856–1910) also turned to epic stories. Decorative panels Mikula Selyaninovich(1896) and Bogatyr(1898) interpret these seemingly well-known images in their own way.

Heroes and plots of epics are precious material for cinema. For example, a film directed by A.L. Ptushko (1900–1973) Sadko(1952), the original music for which was written by the composer V.Ya.Shebalin, partly using the classical music of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the musical design, was one of the most spectacular films of its time. Another film by the same director Ilya Muromets(1956) became the first Soviet widescreen film with stereo sound. Animation director V.V.Kurchevsky (1928-1997) created an animated version of the most popular Russian epic, his work is called sadko rich (1975).

Berenice Vesnina

Literature:

Epics of the North. Notes by A.M. Astakhova. M. - L., 1938-1951, vols. 1–2
Ukhov P.D. epics. M., 1957
Propp V.Ya., Putilov B.N. epics. M., 1958, vols. 1–2
Astakhova A.M. Epics. Results and problems of the study. M. - L., 1966
Ukhov P.D. Attribution of Russian epics. M., 1970
Ancient Russian poems collected by Kirshe Danilov. M., 1977
Azbelev S.N. Historicism of epics and the specifics of folklore. L., 1982
Astafieva L.A. The plot and style of Russian epics. M., 1993
Propp V.Ya. Russian heroic epic. M., 1999

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