German children's writers. Foreign Literature of the Age of Enlightenment

Everyone knows the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm or The Nutcracker by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. But the catalog of important German books for children is, of course, wider. We present the seven "first" of them, acquaintance with which is obligatory for both children and their parents who came to Germany. Not knowing these works and their authors is like speaking Russian and not knowing Pinocchio, Cheburashka, Moidodyr, Old Man Hottabych...

"Max and Moritz"

Seven stories about the tomboys Max and Moritz (Max und Moritz) one hundred and fifty years ago came up with Wilhelm Busch (Wilhelm Busch). Since then, German children have been laughing at the antics of two naughty boys. The moral of these "fables" is straightforward: disobedience leads to big trouble. In five stories, Max and Moritz successfully plot their neighbors, but the last two end sadly: first, the baker throws the young hooligans into the oven (from where they manage to get out), then the miller grinds them into flour and feeds them to the ducks.

The depth of impact on the audience, regardless of age, is connected, first of all, with the magnificent style of poetic narration: almost every stanza is “snatched up” for quotes and sayings. And also with exceptionally funny drawings, with which the author illustrated his stories.

In Russian, books about Max and Moritz were published in two translations - the poet Silver Age Konstantin Ldov and the Soviet Russian poet Vladimir Letuchy.

Wilhelm Bush is considered the father of comics and the creator of such a peculiar artistic direction like black humor. At the same time, he was and remains a classic of children's literature, as well as a classic of satire, the author of numerous stories in pictures and verse. One of them - "Plisch und Plum", also dedicated to the tricks of a couple of tomboys - inspired Daniil Kharms to a semi-retelling - a semi-original poetic version called "Plich and Plukh".

Struwwelpeter - "Stepka-ruffle"

This bright pattern"edifying" literature for young readers was created in 1844 by the Frankfurt physician and psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffmann. The book contains ten poems about "terrible" punishments for children who misbehave. There was even such a thing as "Struvelpetriada" - a genre designation for works made "under the heroes" of Heinrich Hoffmann. There were many such imitations, not all of them were addressed to children. For example, some satirists portrayed Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin in the image of "Stepka-disheveled".

Struwwelpeter is one of the first ever children's picture books. The adventures of young heroes are eerie: some burn out while playing with matches, some lose their fingers that they love to suck. But children, when this is read to them, react fearlessly: they laugh.

Curiously, the first Russian translation of the book came out just four years after the original edition. From 1857 to 1917 "Stepka-disheveled" was reprinted many times, in different editions. After October revolution the book fell into disgrace. Almost a hundred years! It went through dozens of editions in English, and one of the translators was Mark Twain.

The monument to Styopka-razrepka and other heroes of the book can be seen in the very center of Frankfurt. The city has a Heinrich-Hoffmann- & Struwwelpeter-Museum. And in Bad Tabarz, a small Thuringian town where Hoffmann liked to relax, there is Struwwelpeter-Park.

"Krabat"

The fairy tale "Krabat, or the Legends of the Old Mill" (Krabat. Das Mysterium der Mühle) - the most famous book of Otfried Preußler - fascinates with a special atmosphere of fairy tales and legends of the Lusatians (Sorben), a small nation living in an ancient Slavic enclave in the east Germany.

In the early 70s, immediately after the release of the first edition, "Krabat" was awarded prizes for the best children's book in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, received the European Prize of the University of Padua and the prize of the American Literary Association. Those who are especially interested in the Krabat mill can visit it in the East Saxon city of Schwarkolm - this is one of the unusual literary and ethnographic monuments.

"Little Waterman", "Little Baba Yaga", "Little Ghost", "Herbe Big Hat" are also very popular children's books by Preussler. His complete bibliography contains 60 titles. Preusler's books have been published in 55 languages with a total circulation of 50 million copies.

"Endless story"

At the film studio "Bavaria-film" in the pavilions for visitors, the figure of the wingless Dragon of Fortune - snow-white Falkor enjoys the greatest attention. It is placed in front blue screen used to combine images. Anyone who climbs the dragon's withers can immediately, on the monitor, see himself soaring with him in the transcendental heights - like Bastian, the hero of the book and film "The Neverending Story" (Die unendliche Geschichte).

The novel by Michael Ende, written in 1979, is, without exaggeration, the most popular German children's book of modern times, a fusion of fantasy, dizzying adventures and pure dreams. No wonder filmmakers loved her so much. "The Neverending Story" served as the basis for several film adaptations, their remakes and sequels in Germany and the USA, a thirteen-episode Canadian series, and a 26-episode German-French-Canadian cartoon.

Michael Ende is one of the most beloved children's writers, the author of many books translated into dozens of languages, including Russian: "Momo", "Magic Punch", "Jim Button and Driver Lucas", "Jim Button and the Devil's Dozen".

"Two Lots", that is, "Double Lotchen"

Das doppelte Lottchen (in Russian editions "Double Lottchen", "Two Lotts", "Tricks of the Twins") is the most "cinematic" book by Erich Kästner. From 1950 to 2017 - a dozen film adaptations! And even in the most different countries Oh. The roles of twin sisters, inexhaustible dreamers and pranksters, were performed by Lindsay Lohan, Hayley Mills, Ann-Catherine Kramer, Japanese movie star Hibari Misora and many other young actresses who became celebrities, including the twins Jutta and Isa Günther, Floriane and Fritzi Eichhorn.

Kestner's other books are also very cinematic, especially The Flying Class and Emil and the Detectives (Emil and the Detectives).

Erich Kestner classic German literature. His autobiographical novel "When I was a child" ("Als ich ein kleiner Junge war") is equally interesting for both children and adults. Kestner was known both as a poet and as a cabaret actor.

"Inkheart"

This novel (Tintenherz) was the first part of the "Ink Trilogy" Cornelia Funke (Cornelia Funke), a modern writer working in the genre of children's and youth fantasy. Other parts of the trilogy: ink blood" (Tintenblut) and "Ink Death" (Tintentod).

Her series “Through the Looking Glass”, “Ghostbusters”, “Wild Hens”, separate novels “Lord of Thieves”, “Little Werewolf”, “Fairy of Happiness” also became famous. The novels of Cornelia Funke are known, perhaps, by every German schoolchild. Well, at least he can name at least a few books offhand. It is not easy to list everything - their number has exceeded seventy.

Experts believe that best books Cornelia Funke - at the level of stories about Harry Potter. In 2005, the American magazine Time named the writer the most influential German woman in the world.

Brownie Pumukl

The literary fate of Pumuckl is of a special kind. He appeared as a character in the children's programs of the Bavarian radio, and then in the television series "Master Eder and his Pumukl" (Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl). The author of all these television and radio histories is Ellis Kaut, who wrote many children's books, but became famous thanks to the ether.

The little kobold (brownie) Pumukl invented by her became so popular that from radio programs and films it migrated to books, children's records, tape cassettes, and CDs. A total of one hundred stories have been written - some in books, some on the screen, some in audio recordings, but many "here and there."

The popularity of Pumukl in Germany is comparable to the popularity of brownie Kuzi in the countries of the former USSR. By the way, to a large extent thanks to the voices of the voice actors: Hans Klarin and Georgy Vitsin.

Ellis Caut is known not only as a writer and screenwriter, but also as a photographer. Her photo album "Munich at any time of the year" became an art bestseller.

Cover images: Amazon.de
Photo in the announcement: evgeny atamanenko / BigStock.com

German literature has given the world many wonderful writers. The names of many of them remained in the history of literature. The works of these authors are studied at school and at universities. These are famous German writers whose names everyone knows, even if they are not familiar with their works. However, most of the titles of their works are also well known to readers.

German writers and poets of the 18th century

Goethe is one of famous writers worldwide. His full name sounds like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He was not only a poet, but also a naturalist, a great thinker and statesman. He was born in 1749 and lived for 82 years. Goethe wrote poems and comedies. He is known to the whole world as the author of the book "The Suffering of Young Werther". The story of how this work greatly influenced the minds of young people - Goethe's contemporaries is widely known. And a wave of suicides swept through Germany. Young men imitated the protagonist of the work - Werther - and committed suicide because of unhappy love. In the pockets of many of the young suicides, a volume of The Sorrows of Young Werther was found.

Wilhelm Heinze is a no less talented writer, however, for the most part, he is familiar only to literary critics and philologists. In Russia, he is known for the novel "Ardingello and the Blessed Isles" translated by Petrovsky. Born in 1746, died in 1803. And only in 1838 was Heinze's collected works published.

Children's German writers of the 18th century

Everyone read or listened to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as children. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are German writers known to everyone since childhood. In addition to writing fairy tales, they were also linguists and researchers of their national culture. In addition, the brothers are considered the founders of scientific Germanic studies and Germanic philology. They were born with a difference of one year: Jacob - in 1785, and Wilhelm - in 1786. Jacob outlived his brother by four years. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are loved by children of all nations. Many, as they say, grew up on their "Bremen Town Musicians", "Snow White" and "Little Red Riding Hood".

19th century writers

Nietzsche is one of the first whose name comes to mind when German writers of the 19th century are remembered. Few read his works, but many have heard of him and his philosophy. The full name of the author is Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. He was born in 1844 and lived for 56 years. He was not only a writer, but also a philosopher, as well as a philologist. Unfortunately, his creative activity ended in 1889 due to illness, and he gained popularity as a writer only after his death. The key work of Nietzsche's work is the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Theodore Storm is another 19th century writer. This is both a poet and a prose writer. Storm was born in 1817 and lived for 70 years. Most famous works Storm - these are the short stories "Angelica" and "The Rider on the White Horse".

20th century in German literature

Heinrich Böll is a laureate Nobel Prize for 1972. He was born in 1917 and has been writing stories and poems since early childhood. However, he began to print his works only in 1947. In Bell's adult prose, there is a lot about the war and post-war issues. Since he himself survived the war and was even a prisoner. More famous are Bell's collections of short stories Not Just for Christmas, When the War Started and When the War Ended, as well as the novel Where Have You Been, Adam? In 1992, Bell's novel "The Angel Was Silent" was published, it was translated into Russian in 2001. Previously, the author himself dismantled it into a series of stories for the sake of a fee, since he and his family needed money.

Remarque is also one of the most famous writers. Erich Maria Remarque took a middle name for a pseudonym in honor of his mother. He was born in 1898, in 1916 he was sent to fight on the Western Front, was seriously wounded, spent a lot of time in the hospital. All his main novels are anti-war, for this reason the Nazis even banned his books. Most famous novels: "On the western front no change”, “Three comrades”, “Life on loan”, “Arc de Triomphe” and “Love your neighbor”.

Franz Kafka is an Austrian but is considered one of the main German-language authors. His books are unique in their absurdism. Most of them were published posthumously. He was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. His collections are famous: "Punishment", "Contemplation" and "Hunger". As well as the novels The Castle and The Trial.

German writers have made a great contribution to world literature. The list of names can be continued for a long time. There are two more names to add.

Mann Brothers

Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann are brothers, both famous German writers. Heinrich Mann - prose writer, born in 1871, worked in the book trade and publishing house. In 1953, the Berlin Academy of Arts established the annual Heinrich Mann Prize. His most famous works: "Teacher Gnus", "Promised Land", "The Young Years of King Henry IV" and " mature years King Henry IV."

Paul Thomas Mann was 4 years younger than his brother. He is a Nobel laureate. Literary activity It began with the creation of the Spring Thunder magazine. Then he wrote articles for the magazine "XX Century", which was published by his brother. Fame came to Thomas with the novel "Buddenbrooks". He wrote it based on the history of his own family. Others his famous novels: "Doctor Faustus" and "Magic Mountain".

LITERATURE OF EUROPEAN ENLIGHTENMENT IN CHILDREN'S READING

Already in the works of J. A. Comenius, there was a turning point from Renaissance thinking to another, based on the idea of a rationally arranged universe and a rational person, worthy of the world in which he lives. In XVII -XVIII centuries renewed interest in the ancient heritage, but without the dead medieval scholasticism.

Name English writer Daniel Defoe (1660 or 1661 - 1731) for Russian readers is usually associated with the best childhood memories of his hero Robinson Crusoe, known to us mainly from K.I. Chukovsky's exemplary adaptation of "The Life and Amazing Adventures of the Sailor Robinson Crusoe."

Even Jean Jacques Rousseau (1717-1778) pointed to Defoe's book as the best remedy education: “Is there no means of collecting the lessons scattered in so many books, and arranging them around some goal that would be easy to see, easy to follow, and which could serve as a stimulus even at this age? There is such a book, exclaims Rousseau. "It's Robinson Crusoe!" ("Emil"). He saw in the book a scientific systematic encyclopedia, a guide for an educator, and in the hero - an example for children to follow. For several centuries, this book has been meeting the aesthetic, educational and moral-educational tasks of the changing times.

The full title of the source novel, published in 1719, is in itself a work with an exciting plot: “The life and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived for twenty-eight years all alone on a desert island off the coast of America, near the mouth of of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown by a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship, except for him, died, with an account of his unexpected release by pirates, written by himself.

The novel was based on real story one sailor who managed not only to survive on a desert island, but also to understand some truths. The novel was written by the author in the genre of memoirs on behalf of Robinson himself, it has many convincing details, and most importantly, it is psychologically reliable. The first readers did not notice the trick, convinced that there was a "sailor from York" who told his story as simply as a man of his class could do it. Perhaps, never before has the reader followed one hero with such attention, has not figured out together with him, the only thing that is evil and what is good, has not been numb with fear when looking at a human trace, has not empathized with such excitement to the hero, as if speech The book was about him. The Late Antique myth about the happy islands inhabited by the “wise men” acquired a dramatic sound under the pen of Defoe: even the islands blessed by Nature will not save a person from endless labor and the desire to leave them. On the contrary, the indigenous inhabitant of the lost paradise is just a naked savage who, like a baby, needs to be instilled with primary moral ideas, such as that one should not eat people.

The writer, without knowing it, deduced the formula for a whole genre of adventure literature, called Robinsonade. The peculiarity of this genre is that the main thing here is not even adventure, but the upbringing of the hero in special conditions. Robinson Crusoe travels the path of self-education and, having risen in his moral state, can be the educator of another person; Friday, in turn, under the influence of his master, little by little gets rid of savage inclinations. Together with them, the reader finds the way to the crossroads of civilized concepts and natural goodness.

Another great englishman, writer of the educational direction Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) has been known to us since childhood as the author of Gulliver's Travels (1726), the first parts of the novel are especially popular thanks to T. G. Gabbe's retelling for younger students. Swift directed his inherent sense of humor to a satirical ridicule of English society, while using his rich imagination to create allegorical images and plots. However, the combination of a sharply modern journalistic pamphlet with an adventure-fiction plot resulted in a novel that makes the reader forget about the specific political struggle and delve into the observation of alien worlds, each of which is somewhat similar to the world of people.

Children most of all like Gulliver's travels to Lilliputia and Giantania, which is not surprising if we take into account their interest in fairy tales about gnomes, dwarfs, giants and the mental antinomy “giants - little men” that constantly occupies them. Young readers want to be a little "Mountain Man" and look at the little folk, who on closer inspection are not as funny as they might seem at first, and then find themselves in the opposite situation, only to be harmed by the giants. Swift prepares unpleasant discoveries for the reader in almost every journey: so diverse are the ways in which seemingly rational beings disfigure their lives and the life of the whole society. He sympathizes only with thinking horses with their old-fashioned virtue (community of guingms). Gulliver is required in these travels to have the presence of mind, tolerance and a sound mind. The reader has to sympathize either with Gulliver or with the inhabitants of strange worlds.

Jonathan Swift's realistic grotesque is at the heart of the science fiction novel genre with a "contact" plot. The idea of this form is that "they" is a grotesque reflection of "us", and it is not known who is studying whom. There are a lot of examples of literature of the "Swift" genre: from the English H. G. Wells ("War of the Worlds") and Lewis Carroll (tales about Alice) to Russian authors - Korney Chukovsky ("Bibigon") and Kir Bulychev (story about a girl from the future Alice ).

Swift was the first well-known alogist writer. Despising the applied sciences and fanatical scientists, he built worlds in which the modern reader unexpectedly guesses the signs of the industrial age. For example, the machine invented by Professor La Putianin, with which you can write any texts "in the complete absence of erudition and talent": words, mixing with the movement of a lever, change their location on the frame, forming some random phrases, from which whole folios are composed. How similar it is to a children's loto, the work of avant-garde poets, to a computer, finally.

In the second half of the 18th century, in the French aristocratic salons, life was subject to the taste of educated and talented women, it was they who introduced the reading of fairy tales into fashion, and some of them, who had a literary gift, composed them themselves. Fairy tales were written by Madame d "Onua, Mademoiselle Léritier de Villodon, Madame Le Prince de Beaumont (it was she who gave us the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", 1757. Already in 1761, the fairy tale was translated into Russian and in the 19th century served as one of the sources of the fairy tale S.T. Aksakov "The Scarlet Flower"; in our time, the old story has become another world myth, on the basis of which ladies' novels and children's cartoons are created).

Interest in the fairy tale was aroused by the dispute between the "old" and "new" that flared up within the walls of the French Academy 1. The "old" defended antique patterns in art, while the "new" were supporters of national sources of beauty and called for modern creative searches. The "Old Ones" were headed by Nicolas Boileau (his treatise "Poetic Art" is devoted to the theory of classicism).

At the head of the "new" was Charles Perrault (1628 - 1703), whose name readers associate with the names of the world famous heroes his works - Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Bluebeard, etc.

Charles Perrault was born in the family of an official. He received a legal education traditional for his class and became an influential dignitary at court, and then a member of the French Academy.

Having tested his pen in the genres of poems, dialogues and theoretical treatises directed against classicism, Perrault wrote a number of brilliant fairy tales, proving that the source of inspiration must be sought in life itself and in the national culture. folk art. Noting the immoral nature of ancient fairy tales, Perrault wrote: “The situation is different with fairy tales that our ancestors invented for children. In telling them they dispensed with that grace and grace which the Greeks and Romans gave to their stories, but they constantly took great care to put into their tales a moral that was laudable and instructive. Virtue in them is always rewarded, and vice is punished. All of them are imbued with the desire to show how great the benefits that you acquire by being honest, patient, reasonable, hardworking, obedient, and what harm the absence of these qualities brings.

An attempt to prove his case was his first fairy tales in verse - “Griselda”, “Funny Desires” and “Donkey Skin” (1694); later they were included in the collection Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Bygone Times with Instructions (1697).

The author resorted to hoax, not daring to speak openly as the creator of works of the "low" genre, and signed the first edition in the name of his son - Perrot d "Armancourt - and on his behalf turned to the young niece of Louis KSU, Elizabeth-Charlotte of Orleans. Many teachings in fairy tales stem from the "education program" of girls - future court ladies, as well as boys - future gentlemen of the court.

Focusing on the wandering plots of French folklore, Perrault gave them an aristocratic gallantry and bourgeois practicality. The most important element for him was morality, so he completed each fairy tale with a poetic moralizing.

The writer sought to correlate each plot with a certain virtue: patience, diligence, intelligence, which in general constituted a code of ethical norms close to folk ethics. But the most valuable virtue, according to Charles Perrault, is good manners: it is they who open the doors to all palaces, to all hearts. Sandrillon (Cinderella), Puss in Boots, Rikka with a tuft and his other heroes win thanks to courtesy, grace and clothes suitable for the occasion. A cat without boots is just a cat, and in boots it is a pleasant companion and a clever assistant, who has earned peace and contentment for his services to the owner.

Having become a world literary myth, the fairy tale "Cinderella" differs from its folk basis and stands out among other fairy tales of Perrault with a pronounced secular character. The story is significantly combed, the elegance of presentation attracts attention. Cinderella's father is a "nobleman"; her stepmother's daughters are "noble maidens"; their rooms have parquet floors, the most fashionable beds and mirrors; ladies are busy choosing outfits and hairstyles. The description of how the sorceress-godmother dresses up Cinderella and gives her a carriage and servants is based on folklore material, but is given in much more detail and "refined".

Traditional fairy-tale elements are combined in Perrault with the realities of modern life. So, in The Sleeping Beauty, a royal childless couple goes to the waters for treatment and makes various vows, and the young man who awakened the princess "was careful not to tell her that her dress is like his grandmother's ...".

In Russia, Perrault's tales appeared in 1768 under the title "Tales of Sorceresses with Morales". In 1866, under the editorship of I.S. Turgenev, a new edition of fairy tales was published, already without moralizing. In this form, with some reductions and adaptations, the collection began to be published for the young reader in the future.

The first stories of Baron Munchausen, as presented by Raspe, were read by the Germans in the Guide for Merry People in the early 80s of the 18th century; the book was published anonymously, there was no signature of the author.

Carl Friedrich von Munchausen (1720-1797) is a real person. He spent many years in Russia, where he ended up as a page in his youth, then was enrolled in military service, participated in the Russian-Turkish war. Returning home, he told his friends about his amazing adventures in the “land of polar bears”. There is an assumption that among his listeners was Raspe, a young writer and scientist - curator of antiquities, and that the well-known poet G. A. Burger was also among the baron's acquaintances. Raspe processed the anonymous stories and compiled them into a book. An English translation of Raspe soon appeared.

In 1786, Burger translated Raspe's stories into German from English, while reworking and supplementing them. In the preface to the second edition, he wrote: “However insignificant and frivolous this book may look, it may turn out to be more valuable than many thick and venerable volumes, capable of eliciting neither laughter nor tears, and containing only what you could have read hundreds of times in exactly the same thick and venerable volumes. In German editions, the volume of the book increased by about one third: Raspe's stories were replenished with new stories composed by Burger. "Munchausen" became a truly "folk book" of the Germans and began a triumphal procession to other countries.

A Russian translation of the book appeared around 1791 under the title "If you don't like it, don't listen, but don't interfere with lying." The book has been revised many times. In modern children's literature, "Munhausen" 1 is known in the retelling of K.I. Chukovsky.

Raspe in his stories denounced lies, but at the same time criticized the dry rationalism of his contemporaries - the enemies of any fantasy. He pursued the goal not so much entertaining as educational. His Baron Munchausen is full of charm due to his constant readiness to overcome difficulties with the power of mind and will. telling incredible stories, Munchausen nevertheless defends the right to be called an honest man. He describes a journey to the moon, where he allegedly found an ideal state, i.e. invents a utopian legend in which he himself believes.

Burger continues these complex patterns in characterization of the hero. His Munchausen is a dreamer and visionary, for whom a fictional feat replaces a dream that is not feasible in reality. The baron's lies are born from the desire to break out of the boring boundaries of philistine life. At least in fiction, to believe in oneself and find a way out of a hopeless situation - such is the desire of Munchausen, and in this he is a bit like Don Quixote. The burgher, like Raspe, by no means idealized the “king of liars”, on the contrary, he sharpened the lively contradictory nature of this extraordinary nature. Munchausen can be petty, and cowardly, and immensely talkative.

Retelling the adventures of Munchausen, Chukovsky focused on the baron's journey through Russia, but in general, the geography of Munchausen's travels was expanded by him to the scale of the whole Earth: Italy, India, America, Africa, London, and even North Pole. The hero goes on "real" and fantastic journeys. The intonation of the baron-narrator is always extremely serious. A lot of detailed descriptions, specific little things reinforce the comedy of the supposedly reliable story. Muncha-uzen himself is sometimes amazed at the next situation, which does not prevent him from continuing incredible stories about his resourcefulness and courage. The amazement of the baron and other heroes, eyewitnesses of the events, should coincide with the amazement of the listeners and thereby relieve them of the suspicion that all these stories are lies. But even this psychological trick does not work, the hero's lies are so rampant.

Russia for Munchausen is a country of deep snows that cover the bell towers to the very cross, a country of wolves capable of swallowing half a horse, eight-legged hares, lakes teeming with ducks, and so on. The real participation of the baron in the war with the Turks gave rise to the most fantastic stories about this. Muncha-uzen makes a flight on the core, pulls himself and his horse by the hair out of the swamp, and finally goes to the moon.

The second part of the book in the retelling of Chukovsky is devoted mainly to southern travels. Chukovsky could not resist telling the story of his favorite character, the crocodile. He strengthened the motives of heroic valor and heroic strength of the hero, which is typical for his own fairy tales. His Munhausen constantly saves himself and saves others. In one of the stories it is altered biblical story about Jonah being swallowed by a whale. The biblical Jonah was vomited up by a whale by the will of God - by the power of prayers and tearful suffering. Chukovsky in his fairy tale "Barmaley" already touched on this plot in passing:

But in the crocodile's stomach it's dark, and cramped, and sad, and in the crocodile's stomach Barmalei is crying, crying...

Munchausen in the stomach of a huge fish behaves completely differently: he stamps his feet, jumps and dances to torment the fish, which finally "screamed in pain and stuck its huge snout out of the water." A hero appeared to the eyes of the Italian sailors who had caught the fish, greeting them on the cleanest Italian and bowing kindly.

In some stories, K. Chukovsky used the motifs of folklore tales, Russian and European, for example, the tale of wonderful satellites, one of which ran very fast, the other heard perfectly, the third shot accurately, the fourth had mighty strength, the fifth produced a storm with one of his nostrils. Some plots are based on phraseological expressions: remove the skin, sparks from the eyes, turn inside out.

Munchausen's fantasy reaches its maximum in stories about the Moon and Cheese Island, where extraordinary people live, where prosperity and abundance reign, and where travelers who tell fables about other countries are severely punished. Here Munchausen no longer describes his own fantastic exploits, but someone else's fantastic life. This life is reminiscent of the utopian kingdom of Brobdingnag Swift, and fabulous India, which Alexander the Great traveled through in the book Alexandria, popular in the Middle Ages.

Little readers can easily distinguish lies from truth and perceive Munchausen's stories as a fun game that requires their imagination and ingenuity. Baron Munchausen is one of the favorite children's heroes.

LITERATURE OF EUROPEAN ROMANTISM IN CHILDREN'S READING

A comprehensive critique of rationalism gradually led to the rejection of art, devoid of freedom of imagination, and to a change in cultural orientations. In the era of romanticism, i.e., in the first decades of the 19th century, beauty began to be found in samples of national "common" culture. This was due to the fact that freedom, unbridled will, violent feelings were idealized. And the "simple" people were called the bearer of strong and beautiful feelings. The writer's work was now judged by his ability to directly feel life and fantasize. Interest in folklore, folk tales and legends gives impetus to the development literary fairy tale. Deepening the understanding of the inner world of man. The mysterious soul of a child living between reality and a game, a dream, a fairy tale, becomes an important topic for romantic writers. Many works of the Romantics have enriched the world's children's literature.

The brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859), are known as the founders of German studies - the science of the history, culture and language of Germany. Their many years of work compiled the fundamental "German Dictionary" ( last volume- 1861), written "The History of the German Language" (1848). They published the texts of the Old German literary monuments- "Poor Heinrich", "Reinecke the Fox" and others, studied the German heroic epic and animal epic, the work of medieval poets - Meistersinger, German mythology, German legends, etc. interested in them and ancient literature other peoples: the heroic songs of the Scandinavian skalds, the Old Russian "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

World-wide fame not only in the scientific world, but also among children was brought to the Brothers Grimm by "Children's and Family Tales" (1812 - 1815), collected and processed by them. Two volumes contain two hundred fairy tales - the so-called "fairy canon".

Professors wrote down fairy tales that acquaintances told them. At the same time, Jacob, a more academic and pedantically strict collector, insisted on the thorough preservation of the oral text, and Wilhelm, more prone to poetry, suggested subjecting the records to artistic processing. As a result of their disputes, a special style of literary processing of oral folk tale, which is called Grimm's. Having preserved the features of the language, composition, general emotional and ideological content, the Grimm brothers conveyed the properties of German folk tales, at the same time they gave them features fiction retelling it in your own way.

A folk tale in oral existence comes to life under the influence of the charm of a particular storyteller. Listeners see him himself, words combined with facial expressions, gestures, etc. sound in full force. But it is worth making an accurate record of the tale and “losing” the narrator from sight, as the colors fade, the words fade. The skill of a fairy tale processor is to recreate the image of the narrator with specific literary techniques, to “warm” him with the charm of a fairy tale born in the elements. oral art. Thanks to the developed scientific and artistic approach, readers perceive Grimm's fairy tales not only as ethnographic material, but also as classical literature. Grimm's style became the first example for storytellers of the following generations.

The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm represent the beginning of the history of German romantic literature. The romantic poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), wrote of fairy tales in his Journey through the Harz (1824):

Only thanks to such a depth of contemplative life, thanks to "spontaneity" did the German fairy tale, the peculiarity of which is that not only animals and plants, but also objects, apparently completely inanimate, speak and act. A dreamy and naive people, in the quiet and comfort of their low forest and mountain huts, discovered the inner life of these objects, which acquired their own specific character, inherent only to them, representing a charming mixture of fantastic whimsy and a purely human mindset, and now we come across in fairy tales wonderful and at the same time completely understandable things to us: a needle and a pin leave the tailor's dwelling and go astray in the dark; a straw and an ember are melted across a stream and crashed ... That is why our life in childhood is so infinitely significant: at that time everything is equally important for us, we all hear, we see everything, all impressions are proportionate, while later on we manifest more intentionality... gaining in the breadth of life, we lose in its depth 1 .

(Translated by V.A. Zorgenfrey; edited by A.V. Fedorov)

The Fairy Tale Society organized by Jacob Grimm still exists today, it unites fairy tale lovers from different countries.

The researchers compared the Germanic fairy tales with the tales of the Slavic and Romance peoples, Indian and Persian tales. In the German versions of such fairy tales as "The Wolf and the Seven Kids", "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Thumb Boy", the reader will find a lot in common with Russian, Bulgarian, French fairy tales.

The Grimm Brothers collection has served as a rich source of plots for fairy tale writers.

Fairy tales began to be translated into Russian in the mid-1820s, first from French translation and then from the original.

V.A. Zhukovsky was especially fascinated by them; his translations-arrangements in many ways contributed to the strengthening of the authority of German children's literature in our country. A. S. Pushkin did not translate, but created completely independent literary works on their basis (such is the story of The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish).

The most popular translations for a long time were the works of S. Marshak, but one should be aware of their low accuracy.

Only in 2002, Russian readers received a complete translation of all two hundred children's fairy tales. E.I. Ivanova translated not only the fairy tales themselves, but also the detailed comments of the brothers-scientists, and from her own comments the modern fate of their fairy-tale heroes is visible - in fine arts, advertising, various theatrical and film performances. Ivanova's translation style is very different from the translation of Marshak, familiar to the older generation. The children's poet followed the manner of "synthetic" translation, which was established back in the 19th century: the reader almost does not notice the foreignness of the text, does not feel the translated language, he is completely immersed in the world of images and his own experiences. In addition, when translating, Marshak also solved his own ideological and artistic tasks: he removed religious motifs and, in general, everything that seemed inappropriate to him in Soviet publications for children, strengthened the social sounding of fairy tales. E. Ivanova, being a researcher and at the same time a critic of children's literature, adhered to a greater extent to the manner of "analytical" translation. The tales in her translation are not "improved", but they are not "cut down" for the sake of this or that fleeting trend. Her task was to convey oral intonation - but specifically German speech, and even old, often dialectal.

The edition prepared by her marks new stage in the development of Russian-German dialogue in the field of children's literature. Russian writers got the opportunity to revisit the traditions of classical romanticism and the mythological school of folklore, founded by the Brothers Grimm.

Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827) for his short life managed to leave a noticeable mark in the history of German literature. Gauf was born into the family of an official, studied theology at the University of Tübingen, and was a home teacher.

Gauf's work developed in line with the romantic direction, under the influence of the prose of the English novelist and poet Walter Scott and the German writer, author of fantastic tales, short stories and novels, E. T. A. Hoffmann. German folklore and oriental tales of the Thousand and One Nights were for Gauf a textbook of inspired fantasy.

Wilhelm Hauff wrote his fairy tales, inspired by German and Eastern motifs, for children who are able to trust fantasy. He created an extensive three-volume Tales for the Sons and Daughters of the Educated Estates (1828). The best of them are firmly established in children's reading. These are “The Tale of the Caliph-Stork”, “The Tale of Little Flour”, “Dwarf Nose”, “The History of Almansor”, “Cold Heart”, “Stinfall Cave”, etc.

The author in his preface - "A Tale under the guise of an almanac" - conveys the conversation of the Queen of Fantasia and her daughter Skazka that people are afraid of everything that comes from the kingdom of Fantasia. Only Dreams - the brothers of the Fairy Tale - can freely fly past the watchmen. Mother Fantasia advises her daughter to try her luck with children: after all, they love to look at the stars and clouds, dream of castles in the air. And now the Tale in the dress of a beautiful book-almanac comes to the children. Only children can be real readers of romantic tales, alluring colors and changeable, like mirages in the desert.

The tales of Gauf, most often published in children's publications, belong to the Arabic cycle. The cycle is built in much the same way as the "Thousand and One Nights": in initial tale- "Caravan" - the heroes agree on telling fairy tales and wonderful stories, and all other fairy tales cling to one another, sometimes they also contain an offshoot fairy tale. Thus, a continuous and potentially endless chain of plots is created. Everyday details and everyday reasoning emphasize the extraordinary nature of magic, or, conversely, the realities of life give magic an ironic tinge. For example, the magic shoes are very large for Little Torment, and besides, they are ugly. It is precisely and ridiculously explained why Muk chose them out of all the items: “After all, when he puts them on, everyone will see that he has long been out of diapers.” The caliph and the vizier, having turned into storks, cannot help laughing at the sight of a young stork rehearsing a dance.

Many details convey the exoticism of the East. For example, a father punishes his son with twenty-five strokes of the chubuk, while turning away the amber mouthpiece.

Since fairy tales are someone else's story, the leading artistic medium they contain the narrator's speech, emotionally rich, with flexible intonations. The interest of the narrator, his direct assessments of the characters and events are transmitted to the reader, who acts as a listener and interlocutor - along with five caravan merchants. Irony and sympathy - these are the two main intonations that sound in the course of the story. funny and powers of the world this, and the weak. Likewise, virtues and vices are almost equally distributed among people of different classes. The human soul comes to the fore in its various manifestations - high and low, but at the same time without sentimental idealization. For example, the caliph and the vizier in the guise of storks, being purely positive heroes, bicker among themselves for a long time about which of them should marry an owl.

Gauf’s fascination with oriental tales was also reflected in his German plots (“Dwarf Nose”, “Young Englishman”), which gained oriental splendor of descriptions, brightness of details, and even in their construction resemble fairy tales about sultans and viziers. Gauf interferes with the modest burgher environment, familiar to German fairy tales, strange, exotic heroes; their behavior disturbs the boring peace of the townsfolk. Gauf's romantic thinking is characterized by a satirical, merciless denial of all the vulgar, stupid things that he observed in his compatriots.

Gauf's unbridled fantasy is born on earth, in the midst of human reality. It transforms this reality, highlights in it meaning and nonsense, truth and falsehood.

Romantic writers inevitably had to develop realistic principles for depicting the world and man, which, as it turned out, did not at all cancel free imagination. On the contrary, the union of realism and imagination strengthened the position of the romantically inclined author and allowed him to look at real life with its "low" truths and comprehend its sublime meaning.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) was born in the small town of Odense on the island of Funen in Denmark, the son of a shoemaker and laundress. Since childhood, he heard folk stories, legends and fairy tales from his grandmother and neighbors. His acquaintance with literature began with the fables of La Fontaine, the comedies of the Dane L. Holberg and the tales of the Thousand and One Nights.

Already in childhood, Andersen wrote poetry, tragedies, and also sang and recited, dreaming of becoming an actor. At the age of 14, the future "king of fairy tales" went to Copenhagen, hoping to fulfill his dream. He worked as an extra, performed on stage as a dancer and singer, taking lessons from an Italian singer. Then (since 1822) he studied at the gymnasium in Slagels. The first publications of his works date back to this time - under the pseudonym William Christian Walter, made up of the names of Shakespeare, his own and Scott. At first, Andersen tried to write poetic fairy tales and ballads. Disapproving reviews cooled the creative ardor of the future storyteller, and only in 1835 did he return to the fairy tale genre.

Andersen's life was spent in wanderings. The country that appeared in the eyes of the traveler as the earthly embodiment of Eden was Italy. The action of many of his fairy tales and stories takes place in Italy or is transferred there (“Thumbelina”, “The Little Mermaid”, etc.). While in Germany, he talked with Jacob Grimm. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm influenced his work; traces of influence are especially clear in the fairy tales "Big Klaus and Little Klaus", "Flint", "Blue Fire".

The fairy tale genre became for Andersen a universal form of aesthetic comprehension of reality. It was he who introduced the fairy tale into the system of "high" genres.

Tales Told to Children (1835-1842) based on a rethinking folk motives(“Flint”, “Wild Swans”, “Swineherd”, etc.), and “Stories Told to Children” (1852) - on the rethinking of history and modern reality. At the same time, even Arabic, Greek, Spanish and other subjects acquired from Andersen the flavor of Danish folk life.

The fantasy of the storyteller in its richness argues with the folk fantasy. Relying on folk stories and images, Andersen did not resort too often to fantastic fiction. In his view, life is full of miracles that you only need to see and hear. Any thing, even a very insignificant one - a darning needle, a barrel - can have its own amazing story. Arise literally from nothing bright pictures under the magical umbrella of Ole Lukoye. Each of the five peas of one pod has its own entertaining and instructive "biography". People live in an endless world of real miracles, among which are extraordinary adventures, meetings, wonderful feelings. Wonderful is the very life of man - from childhood to old age; all seasons are wonderful; a miracle lives in a chamomile, in a nightingale, in an elder bush or in a mighty oak, in every house, not to mention palaces. Faith in the original beauty and harmony of being, in the victory of good over evil, gives special charm to Andersen's fairy tales and stories.

The storyteller developed his own style of narration - directly naive, mildly ironic. His narrator knows how to admire everything that children like, while remaining an adult.

Reflections on his own extraordinary fate determined the character of many of Andersen's heroes - small, defenseless in wide world, among the nooks and crannies of which it is so easy to get lost. The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, Gerda, Chimney Sweep, Camomile - these and other heroes embody the author's ideal of courage and faith in goodness. The storyteller invariably rewarded them, thereby confirming the law of fate's good will towards such heroes. The reward for the Steadfast Tin Soldier is the opportunity to look at the charming dancer and burn out either from the fire of the stove, or from love; the death of both is perceived not as a tragedy, but as a triumph of love. A good end to stories is by no means obligatory, but the victory of good over evil is indispensable. The antagonists of exalted heroes are commoners of all stripes. So, Thumbelina has to save herself from a toad and her son, from a beetle, a field mouse, a mole. None of them can understand that Thumbelina is a creature of another world.

Occasionally, the writer turned to stories from children's lives, much more often his characters are tested. adult life and adult feelings. The impetus for the development of the conflict is often the mention of some special “meta” of the hero, which distinguishes him from others and predetermines his difficult fate (“The Ugly Duckling”, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Little Mermaid”, etc.).

Andersen does not take on the mission of a moralizer, although his tales and stories are highly instructive. They develop in the reader an unchanging love for life, wisdom in relation to evil, form that harmonious state of mind, which is the key to happiness. The philosophy of life is expressed in the words of the storyteller: “There is no such person in the world who has not smiled at least once in his life with happiness. Only for the time being, this happiness is hidden where it is least expected to be found.

In Russia, Andersen's works appeared in the mid-40s - thanks to the professor of St. Petersburg University P. A. Pletnev, who published the first translations. These were the fairy tales "The Leaf", "The Bronze Boar", "The Rose from Homer's Grave", "The Union of Friendship". Later, A. O. Ishimova in her magazine for girls "Asterisk" publishes the fairy tale "Flowers of Little Ida". In 1863, the "Women's Society of Translators" is preparing a number of fairy tales for the Russian reader. In the 70s, a collection of Andersen's fairy tales was published in three volumes, translated by P. Weinberg, M. Vovchok, S. Maikov. In 1894 - 1895, a four-volume collection of fairy tales and stories by Andersen was published - in translations by A.P. and N.G. Ganzen; their translations are still considered the best.

Already in the works of J. A. Comenius, there was a turning point from Renaissance thinking to another, based on the idea of a rationally arranged universe and a rational person worthy of the world in which he lives. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, interest in the ancient heritage was renewed, but without the dead medieval scholasticism.

English writer's name Daniel Defoe(1660 or 1661 - 1731) for Russian readers is usually associated with the best childhood memories of his hero Robinson Crusoe, known to us mainly by the exemplary arrangement of K.I. Chukovsky "The Life and Wonderful Adventures of the Sailor Robinson Crusoe".

Even Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1717-1778) pointed to Defoe's book as the best means of education: “Is there no way to collect the lessons scattered in so many books, to connect them around some goal that would be easy to see, behind which would it be easy to follow and which could serve as a stimulus even at this age? There is such a book, exclaims Rousseau. "It's Robinson Crusoe!" ("Emil"). He saw in the book a scientific systematic encyclopedia, a guide for an educator, and in the hero - an example for children to follow. For several centuries, this book has been meeting the aesthetic, educational and moral-educational tasks of the changing times.

The novel was based on the real story of a sailor who managed not only to survive on a desert island, but also to understand some truths. The novel was written by the author in the genre of memoirs on behalf of Robinson himself, it has many convincing details, and most importantly, it is psychologically reliable. The first readers did not notice the trick, convinced that there was a "sailor from York" who told his story as simply as a man of his class could do it. Perhaps, never before has the reader followed one hero with such attention, has not figured out together with him, the only thing that is evil and what is good, has not been numb with fear when looking at a human trace, has not empathized with such excitement to the hero, as if speech The book was about him. The Late Antique myth about the happy islands inhabited by the “wise men” acquired a dramatic sound under the pen of Defoe: even the islands blessed by Nature will not save a person from endless labor and the desire to leave them. On the contrary, the indigenous inhabitant of the lost paradise is just a naked savage who, like a baby, needs to be instilled with primary moral ideas, such as that one should not eat people.

The writer, without knowing it himself, deduced the formula for a whole genre of adventure literature, called robinsonade. The peculiarity of this genre is that the main thing here is not even adventure, but the upbringing of the hero in special conditions. Robinson Crusoe travels the path of self-education and, having risen in his moral state, can be the educator of another person; Friday, in turn, under the influence of his master, little by little gets rid of savage inclinations. Together with them, the reader finds the way to the crossroads of civilized concepts and natural goodness.

Another great Englishman, an enlightenment writer Jonathan Swift(1667-1745) is known to us since childhood as the author "Gulliver's Travels" (1726), the first parts of the novel are especially popular thanks to T. G. Gabbe's retelling for younger students. Swift directed his inherent sense of humor to a satirical ridicule of English society, while using his rich imagination to create allegorical images and plots. However, the combination of a sharply modern journalistic pamphlet with an adventure-fiction plot resulted in a novel that makes the reader forget about the specific political struggle and delve into the observation of alien worlds, each of which is somewhat similar to the world of people.

Swift was the first well-known alogist writer. Despising the applied sciences and fanatical scientists, he built worlds in which the modern reader unexpectedly guesses the signs of the industrial age. For example, the machine invented by Professor La Putianin, with the help of which one can write any texts “in the complete absence of erudition and talent”: words, being mixed by the movement of a lever, change their location on the frame, forming some random phrases from which entire folios are composed. How similar it is to a children's loto, the work of avant-garde poets, to a computer, finally.

In the second half of the 18th century, in the French aristocratic salons, life was subject to the taste of educated and talented women, it was they who introduced the reading of fairy tales into fashion, and some of them, who had a literary gift, composed them themselves. Fairy tales were written to madam d "Onua, mademoiselle LeritierdeWillodon, madam Le Prince de Beaumont(It was she who gave us the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”, 1757. Already in 1761, the fairy tale was translated into Russian and in the 19th century served as one of the sources for S.T. Aksakov’s fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”; in our time, the old plot has become even one worldwide myth, on the basis of which ladies' novels and children's cartoons are created).

At the head of the "new" was Charles Perrault(1628 - 1703), whose name readers associate with the names of the world-famous heroes of his works - Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Bluebeard, etc.

Charles Perrault was born in the family of an official. He received a legal education traditional for his class and became an influential dignitary at court, and then a member of the French Academy.

Having tried his pen in the genres of poems, dialogues and theoretical treatises directed against classicism, Perrault wrote a number of brilliant fairy tales, proving that the source of inspiration must be sought in life itself and in national folk art. Noting the immoral nature of ancient fairy tales, Perrault wrote: “The situation is different with fairy tales that our ancestors invented for children. In telling them they dispensed with that grace and grace which the Greeks and Romans gave to their stories, but they constantly took great care to put into their tales a moral that was laudable and instructive. Virtue in them is always rewarded, and vice is punished. All of them are imbued with the desire to show how great the benefits that you acquire by being honest, patient, reasonable, hardworking, obedient, and what harm the absence of these qualities brings.

An attempt to prove his case was his first fairy tales in verse - “Griselda”, “Funny Desires” and “Donkey Skin” (1694); later they were included in the collection "Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Bygone Times with Teachings" (1697).

Rudolf Erich Raspe(1737-1794) and Gottfried August Burger(1747-1794) - German writers, creators of one of the most famous literary heroes - Baron Munchausen, whose name has become a household name - as an unrestrained liar.

Carl Friedrich von Munchausen (1720-1797) is a real person. He spent many years in Russia, where he ended up as a page in his youth, then he was enrolled in military service, and participated in the Russian-Turkish war. Returning home, he told his friends about his amazing adventures in the “land of polar bears”. There is an assumption that among his listeners was Raspe, a young writer and scientist - curator of antiquities, and that the well-known poet G. A. Burger was also among the baron's acquaintances. Raspe processed the anonymous stories and compiled them into a book. An English translation of Raspe soon appeared.

In 1786, Burger translated Raspe's stories into German from English, while reworking and supplementing them. In the preface to the second edition, he wrote: “However insignificant and frivolous this book may look, it may turn out to be more valuable than many thick and respectable volumes that cannot cause either laughter or tears and contain only what you have already read hundreds of times in in exactly the same thick and venerable volumes. In German editions, the volume of the book increased by about one third: Raspe's stories were replenished with new stories composed by Burger. "Munchausen" became a truly "folk book" of the Germans and began a triumphal procession to other countries.

A Russian translation of the book appeared around 1791 under the title "If you don't like it, don't listen, but don't interfere with lying." The book has been revised many times. In contemporary children's literature "Munhausen" 1 known in the retelling of K.I. Chukovsky.

Raspe in his stories denounced lies, but at the same time criticized the dry rationalism of his contemporaries - the enemies of any fantasy. He pursued the goal not so much entertaining as educational. His Baron Munchausen is full of charm due to his constant readiness to overcome difficulties with the power of mind and will. Telling incredible stories, Munchausen nevertheless defends the right to be called an honest man. He describes a journey to the moon, where he allegedly found an ideal state, i.e. invents a utopian legend in which he himself believes.

Retelling the adventures of Munchausen, Chukovsky focused on the baron's journey through Russia, but in general, the geography of Munchausen's travels was expanded by him to the scale of the entire Earth: Italy, India, America, Africa, London and even the North Pole. The hero goes on "real" and fantastic journeys. The intonation of the baron-narrator is always extremely serious. A lot of detailed descriptions, specific little things reinforce the comedy of the supposedly reliable story. Muncha-uzen himself is sometimes amazed at the next situation, which does not prevent him from continuing incredible stories about his resourcefulness and courage. The amazement of the baron and other heroes, eyewitnesses of the events, should coincide with the amazement of the listeners and thereby relieve them of the suspicion that all these stories are lies. But even this psychological trick does not work, the hero's lies are so rampant.

The second part of the book in the retelling of Chukovsky is devoted mainly to southern travels. Chukovsky could not resist telling the story of his favorite character, the crocodile. He strengthened the motives of heroic valor and heroic strength of the hero, which is typical for his own fairy tales. His Munhausen constantly saves himself and saves others. In one of the stories, the biblical story about Jonah being swallowed by a whale is altered. The biblical Jonah was vomited up by a whale by the will of God - by the power of prayers and tearful suffering. Chukovsky in his fairy tale "Barmaley" already touched on this plot in passing:

But in the crocodile's stomach it's dark, and cramped, and sad, and in the crocodile's stomach Barmalei is crying, crying...

Munchausen in the stomach of a huge fish behaves completely differently: he stamps his feet, jumps and dances to torment the fish, which finally "screamed in pain and stuck its huge snout out of the water." A hero appeared before the eyes of the Italian sailors who had caught the fish, greeting them in the purest Italian and bowing kindly.

genre fairy tale german children's

Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737-1794) and Gottfried August Burger (1747-1794) - German writers, creators of one of the most famous literary heroes - Baron Munchausen, whose name has become a household name - as an unrestrained liar. The first stories of Baron Munchausen, as presented by Raspe, were read by the Germans in the Guide for Merry People in the early 80s of the 18th century; the book was published anonymously, there was no signature of the author. Carl Friedrich von Munchausen (1720-1797) is a real person. He spent many years in Russia, where he ended up as a page in his youth, then he was enrolled in military service, and participated in the Russian-Turkish war. Returning home, he told his friends about his amazing adventures in the “land of polar bears”. There is an assumption that among his listeners was Raspe, a young writer and scientist - curator of antiquities, and that the well-known poet G.A. was also among the baron's acquaintances. Burgher. Raspe processed the anonymous stories and compiled them into a book. Soon an English translation of Raspe also appeared.

In 1786 Burger translated Raspe's stories into German from in English, while reworking and supplementing them. In the preface to the second edition, he wrote: “However insignificant and frivolous this book may look, it may turn out to be more valuable than many thick and respectable volumes that cannot cause either laughter or tears and contain only what you have already read hundreds of times. in exactly the same thick and respectable volumes. In German editions, the volume of the book increased by about one third: Raspe's stories were replenished with new stories composed by Burger. "Munchausen" became a truly "folk book" of the Germans and began a triumphal procession to other countries.

A Russian translation of the book appeared around 1791 under the title "If you don't like it, don't listen, but don't interfere with lying." The book has been revised many times. In modern children's literature, "Munchausen" is known in the retelling of K.I. Chukovsky

Raspe in his stories denounced lies, but at the same time criticized the dry rationalism of his contemporaries - the enemies of any fantasy. He pursued the goal not so much entertaining as educational. His Baron Munchausen is full of charm due to his constant readiness to overcome difficulties with the power of mind and will. Telling incredible stories, Munchausen nevertheless defends the right to be called an honest person. He describes a journey to the moon, where he allegedly found an ideal state, i.e. invents a utopian legend in which he himself believes.

Burger continues these complex patterns in characterization of the hero. His Munchausen is a dreamer and visionary, for whom a fictional feat replaces a dream that is not feasible in reality. The baron's lies are born from the desire to break out of the boring boundaries of philistine life. At least in fiction, to believe in oneself and find a way out of a hopeless situation - such is the desire of Munchausen, and in this he is a bit like Don Quixote. The burgher, like Raspe, by no means idealized the "king of liars", on the contrary, he sharpened the lively contradictory nature of this extraordinary nature. Munchausen can be petty, and cowardly, and immensely talkative.

Retelling the adventures of Munchausen, Chukovsky focused on the baron's journey through Russia, but in general, the geography of Munchausen's travels was expanded by him to the scale of the entire Earth: Italy, India, America, Africa, London and even the North Pole. The hero goes on "real" and fantastic journeys. The intonation of the baron-narrator is always extremely serious. A lot of detailed descriptions, specific little things reinforce the comedy of the supposedly reliable story. Munchausen himself is sometimes amazed at the next situation, which does not prevent him from continuing incredible stories about his resourcefulness and courage. The amazement of the baron and other heroes, eyewitnesses of the events, should coincide with the amazement of the listeners and thereby relieve them of the suspicion that all these stories are lies. But even this psychological trick does not work, the hero's lies are so rampant.

Russia for Munchausen is a country of deep snows that cover the bell towers to the very cross, a country of wolves capable of swallowing half a horse, eight-legged hares, lakes teeming with ducks, and so on. The real participation of the baron in the war with the Turks gave rise to the most fantastic stories about this. Munchausen makes a flight on the core, pulls himself and his horse by the hair out of the swamp, and finally goes to the moon.

The second part of the book in the retelling of Chukovsky is devoted mainly to southern travels. Chukovsky could not resist telling the story of his favorite character, the crocodile. He strengthened the motives of heroic valor and heroic strength of the hero, which is typical for his own fairy tales. His Munchausen constantly saves himself and saves others. In one of the stories, the biblical story about Jonah being swallowed by a whale is altered. Biblical Jonah was vomited by a whale by the will of God - by the power of prayers and tearful suffering. Chukovsky in his fairy tale "Barmaley" already touched on this plot in passing:

But in the crocodile's stomach it's dark, and cramped, and depressing, and in the crocodile's stomach, Barmaley is crying, crying...

Munchausen in the stomach of a huge fish behaves completely differently: he stamps his feet, jumps and dances to torture the fish, which finally "screamed in pain and stuck its huge snout out of the water." A hero appeared before the eyes of the Italian sailors who had caught the fish, greeting them in the purest Italian and bowing kindly.

Munchausen's fantasy reaches its maximum in stories about the Moon and Cheese Island, where extraordinary people live, where prosperity and abundance reign, and where travelers who tell fables about other countries are severely punished. Here Munchausen no longer describes his own fantastic exploits, but someone else's fantastic life. This life is reminiscent of the utopian kingdom of Brobdingnag Swift, and the fabulous India, which Alexander the Great traveled through in the book Alexandria, popular in the Middle Ages.

Little readers easily distinguish lies from truth and perceive Munchausen's stories as a fun game that requires their imagination and ingenuity. Baron Munchausen is one of the favorite children's heroes.

The Grimm brothers, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859), are known as the founders of German studies - the science of the history, culture and language of Germany. Their many years of work compiled the fundamental "German Dictionary" (the last volume - 1861), wrote the "History of the German Language" (1848). They published the texts of old German literary monuments - "Poor Heinrich", "Reinecke the Fox" and others, studied German heroic epic and animal epic, the work of medieval poets - Meistersinger, German mythology, German legends, etc. They were also interested in the ancient literature of other peoples: the heroic songs of the Scandinavian skalds, the Old Russian "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

World-wide fame not only in the scientific world, but also among children was brought to the Brothers Grimm by "Children's and Family Tales" (1812-1815), collected and processed by them. Two volumes contain two hundred fairy tales - the so-called "fairy canon".

Professors wrote down fairy tales that acquaintances told them. At the same time, Jacob, a more academic and pedantically strict collector, insisted on the thorough preservation of the oral text, and Wilhelm, more prone to poetry, suggested subjecting the records to artistic processing. As a result of their disputes, a special style of literary processing of an oral folk tale was born, which is called Grimm's. Having preserved the features of the language, composition, and general emotional and ideological content, the Grimm brothers conveyed the properties of German folk tales, at the same time they imparted to them the features of fiction, retelling them in their own way.

A folk tale in oral existence comes to life under the influence of the charm of a particular storyteller. Listeners see him himself, words combined with facial expressions, gestures, etc. sound in full force. But it is worth making an accurate record of the tale and “losing” the narrator from sight, as the colors fade, the words fade. The skill of the story processor lies in the fact that specific literary devices to recreate the image of the narrator, to “warm up” with his charm a fairy tale born in the elements of oral creativity. Thanks to the developed scientific and artistic approach, readers perceive Grimm's fairy tales not only as ethnographic material, but also as classical literature. Grimm's style became the first example for storytellers of the next generations.

Only thanks to such a depth of contemplative life, thanks to "immediacy" did the German fairy tale arose, the peculiarity of which is that not only animals and plants, but also objects, apparently completely inanimate, speak and act. The dreamy and naive people, in the quiet and comfort of their low forest and mountain huts, discovered the inner life of these objects, which acquired their own specific character, inherent only to them, representing a charming mixture of fantastic whimsy and a purely human turn of mind, and now we come across in fairy tales wonderful and at the same time completely understandable things to us: a needle and a pin leave the tailor's dwelling and go astray in the dark; a straw and an ember are melted across a stream and crashed ... That is why our life in childhood is so infinitely significant: at that time everything is equally important for us, we all hear, we see everything, all impressions are proportionate, while later on we manifest more premeditation, winning in the breadth of life, we lose in its depth.

The Fairy Tale Society organized by Jacob Grimm still exists today, it unites fairy tale lovers from different countries.

The Grimm Brothers collection has served as a rich source of plots for fairy tale writers.

Fairy tales began to be translated into Russian in the mid-1820s, first from a French translation, and then from the original.

V.A. Zhukovsky was especially fascinated by them; his translations-arrangements in many ways contributed to the strengthening of the authority of German children's literature in our country. A.S. Pushkin did not translate, but created on their basis completely independent literary works(such is the story of "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish").

The most popular translations for a long time were the works of S. Marshak, but one should be aware of their low accuracy.

Only in 2002, Russian readers received a complete translation of all two hundred children's fairy tales. E.I. Ivanova translated not only the fairy tales themselves, but also the detailed comments of the brothers-scientists, and from her own comments one can see the modern fate of their fairytale heroes- in the visual arts, advertising, various theatrical and film productions. Ivanova's translation style is very different from the translation of Marshak, familiar to the older generation. The children's poet followed the manner of "synthetic" translation, which was established back in the 19th century: the reader almost does not notice the foreignness of the text, does not feel the translated language, he is completely immersed in the world of images and his own experiences. In addition, when translating, Marshak also solved his own ideological and artistic tasks: he removed religious motifs and, in general, everything that seemed inappropriate to him in Soviet publications for children, strengthened the social sounding of fairy tales. E. Ivanova, being a researcher and at the same time a critic of children's literature, adhered to a greater extent to the manner of "analytical" translation. The tales in her translation are not "improved", but they are not "cut down" for the sake of this or that fleeting trend. Her task was to convey oral intonation - but specifically German speech, and even old, often dialectal.

The publication prepared by her marks a new stage in the development of Russian-German dialogue in the field of children's literature. Russian writers got the opportunity to revisit the traditions of classical romanticism and the mythological school of folklore, founded by the Brothers Grimm.

Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827) in his short life managed to leave a noticeable mark on the history of German literature. Gauf was born into the family of an official, studied theology at the University of Tübingen, and was a home teacher.

Gauf's work developed in line with the romantic direction, under the influence of the prose of the English novelist and poet Walter Scott and the German writer, author of fantastic tales, short stories and novels, E.T.A. Hoffmann. German folklore and oriental tales of the Thousand and One Nights were for Gauf a textbook of inspired fantasy.

The tales of Gauf, most often published in children's publications, belong to the Arabic cycle. The cycle is built in much the same way as "A Thousand and One Nights": in the initial fairy tale - "Caravan" - the characters agree on telling fairy tales and wonderful stories, and all other fairy tales cling to one another, sometimes they also contain a fairy tale - branch. Thus, a continuous and potentially endless chain of plots is created. Everyday details and everyday reasoning emphasize the extraordinary nature of magic, or, conversely, the realities of life give magic an ironic tinge. For example, the magic shoes are very large for Little Torment, and besides, they are ugly. It is precisely and ridiculously explained why Muk chose them out of all the items: “After all, when he puts them on, everyone will see that he has long been out of diapers.” The caliph and the vizier, having turned into storks, cannot help laughing at the sight of a young stork rehearsing a dance.

Many details convey the exoticism of the East. For example, a father punishes his son with twenty-five strokes of the chubuk, while turning away the amber mouthpiece.

Since fairy tales are someone's story, the leading artistic means in them is the narrator's speech, emotionally rich, with flexible intonations. The interest of the narrator, his direct assessments of the characters and events are transmitted to the reader, who acts as a listener and interlocutor - along with five caravan merchants. Irony and sympathy - these are the two main intonations that sound in the course of the story. Ridiculous and the strong of this world, and the weak. Likewise, virtues and vices are almost equally distributed among people of different classes. The human soul comes to the fore in its various manifestations - high and low, but at the same time without sentimental idealization. For example, the caliph and the vizier in the guise of storks, being purely positive heroes, bicker among themselves for a long time about which of them should marry an owl.

Gauf’s fascination with oriental tales was also reflected in his German plots (“Dwarf Nose”, “Young Englishman”), which gained oriental splendor of descriptions, brightness of details, and even in their construction resemble fairy tales about sultans and viziers. Gauf places strange, exotic heroes in a modest burgher environment, familiar to German fairy tales; their behavior disturbs the boring peace of the townsfolk. Gauf's romantic thinking is characterized by a satirical, merciless denial of all the vulgar, stupid things that he observed in his compatriots.

Gauf's unbridled fantasy is born on earth, in the midst of human reality. It transforms this reality, highlights in it meaning and nonsense, truth and falsehood.

Otfried Preusler (born 1923) is a German writer who grew up in Bohemia. The main universities of life for him were the years spent in the Soviet prisoner of war camp, where he ended up at the age of 21. “My education is based on such subjects as elementary philosophy, practical human science and the Russian language in the context of Slavic philology,” he said in an interview. Not surprisingly, Preusler is fluent in Russian, and also Czech languages.

The writer's work reflects his views on modern pedagogy. In the same interview, he emphasized: “What distinguishes today's guys is the consequences of the influences of the outside world: highly technical everyday life, the value of a consumer society striving for success at any cost, i.e. factors unfavorable for childhood. In his opinion, it is they who collectively take away childhood from children, shorten it. As a result, children do not linger in childhood, “too early interact with the heartless world of adults, immerse themselves in human relationships for which they are not yet ripe ... therefore, the goal of modern pedagogy is to return children to childhood ...)

The Nazi ideology, which permeated all the pores of German society during the period of the Hitler regime, could not but subjugate the German children's book publishing. Young readers were plentifully fed with cruel medieval legends that reinforced the idea of a superman, and sugary pseudo-tales that expressed bourgeois morality.

Preusler followed the path of deheroization of German children's literature. Fairy tales for kids “Little Baba Yaga”, “Little Waterman”, “Little Ghost” form a trilogy, which was released between 1956 and 1966. This was followed by fairy tales about the gnome - "Herbe the Big Hat" and "Herbe the Dwarf and the Leshy". AT goodies there is nothing majestic, but arrogance and a sense of superiority in negative characters are just laughed at. The main characters are usually very small (Little Baba Yaga, Little Waterman, Little Ghost). Although they know how to conjure, they are far from omnipotent and even sometimes oppressed and dependent. The purpose of their existence is proportionate to their growth. The dwarfs are stocking up on provisions for the winter, Little Baba Yaga dreams of finally getting to the Walpurgis Night festival, Little Waterman explores his native pond, and Little Ghost would like to turn black again into white. The example of each of the heroes proves that it is not at all necessary to be like everyone else, and the “white crows” are right. So, Little Baba Yaga, contrary to witch rules, does good.

The narration in fairy tales follows the change of days, each of which is marked by some event that goes a little beyond the limits of the usual even existence. So, the dwarf Herbe on a weekday puts off work and goes for a walk. The behavior of magical heroes, if it violates generally accepted canons, is only for the sake of completeness and joy of life. In all other respects, they observe etiquette, the rules of friendship and good neighborhood.

For Preusler, fantastic creatures are more important, inhabiting that part of the world that is interesting only to children. All the heroes are born of popular fantasy: they are literary brothers and sisters of the characters of German mythology. The storyteller sees them in a familiar setting, understands the originality of their characters and habits associated with the way of life of a gnome or goblin, witch or merman. At the same time, the fantastic beginning itself does not play a big role. Dwarf Herba needs witchcraft to build a dwarf hat. Little Baba Yaga wants to know all the magic tricks by heart in order to use them for good deeds. But there is nothing mysterious in Preusler's fantasy: Little Baba Yaga buys a new broom in a village petty shop.

Dwarf Hörbe is distinguished by thriftiness. Even for a walk, he prepares carefully, not forgetting a single detail. His friend the goblin Zvottel, on the contrary, is careless and does not know the comfort of home at all. Little Baba Yaga, as befits schoolgirls, is restless and at the same time diligent. She does what she sees fit, incurring the resentment of her aunt and the elder witch. Little Merman, like any boy, is curious and gets into various troubles. Little Ghost is always a little sad and lonely. The works are replete with descriptions that can interest the little reader no less than plot actions. The object is depicted through color, shape, smell, it even changes before our eyes, like a gnome's hat, which in spring is “pale green, like the tips of spruce paws, in summer it is dark, like lingonberry leaves, in autumn it is variegated gold, like fallen leaves, and in winter it becomes white-white, like the first snow.

The fairy-tale world of Preusler is childishly cozy, full of natural freshness. Evil is easily defeated, and it exists somewhere in the big world. The main value of fabulous kids is friendship, which cannot be overshadowed by misunderstandings.

The fairy tale-novel Krabat (1971), based on the medieval legend of the Lusatian Serbs, is distinguished by a more serious tone of narration and sharpness of the conflict. This is a fairy tale about a terrible mill, where Melnik teaches witchcraft to his apprentices, about the victory over him of his fourteen-year-old student Krabat, about the main force that opposes evil - love.

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