Types of dramatic compositions. Composition of a dramatic work

We have already named and briefly described the main parts of the composition. dramatic work. They do not have a given form of combination once and for all, but each time, combining in a new way, they create special types compositions. In the compositional presentation of the events of the play, a breakdown of the action into acts is distinguished. The events in the acts are located in completely different ways and depend primarily on the form of construction of the play.

In a play consisting of5 acts

1 act - exposition, at the end of the act - a plot;

2nd and 3rd - development of action;

4th - climax;

5th - denouement and finale.

In a play consisting of4thactions (acts):

1- exposure and tie;

2- development action;

3- climax;

4- denouement and epilogue;

IN3rdact play:

1- exposition, plot and the beginning of the development of the action;

2- development of action at the end of the climax;

3- denouement of the action, finale and epilogue;

In a play consisting of2ndacts:

1 - exposition, plot, development of action, culmination at the end;

2 - culmination, denouement, final epilogue can be placed at the beginning;

IN one-act play Naturally, everything is located in one act.

According to the sequence of events (naturally, major, i.e. defining the plot of the play) one by one we distinguish several types of compositions. Let's name a few.

Linear- composition. This is the most common type of composition. It is characterized by the fact that in it parts of the composition follow sequentially, one after another.

Ring - characterized by the fact that in it the beginning closes with the final, i.e. the action of the play begins with what it ends with.

Mounting - consisting of several storylines, stories that are linked into one single narrative with the help of montage. For example, two stories.

Events of the 1st story a b c d e f g h i l k

Events of the 2nd story 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Montage of these two stories:

a1 b2 c d3 4 e f5 g h6 7 i l8 k9

There is a montage of three or more stories. This type of composition allows you to achieve epic narration. The main characteristic of this type will be the coverage of various events that are not related to each other in plot, one semantic problem underlying the work.

collage - one of the most difficult compositions, but also the most interesting. It is based on a certain semantic plot built according to a structural scheme (exposition, plot, climax, denouement, epilogue), but each part of the composition is revealed by a separate story.

1 story 2 3 4 5

This is not a montage, but a collage. As a clear example, we can cite “Little Tragedies” by A.S. Pushkin, where a single plot is revealed by various stories about vices. Collage as an eccentric metaphor, but not an explicit form of composition, is present in the paintings of Picasso, in the plays of B. Brecht and P. Weiss, in the direction of E. Vakhtangov and E. Piscator. This type of composition can be used especially successfully when staging.

Paradoxical- this type of composition is characterized by a reversal of perspective and a shift in dramatic structure. This deliberate violation of the harmonic compositional unity leads to the exposure of the semantic and artistic construction, which generally removes the automaticity of the viewer's perception. In reality, this is expressed as follows: a logically developing action is interrupted by a piece or scene completely unrelated in meaning, style, even genre. On the one hand, this shows the "wrong side" of the action, character, performance; on the other hand, it communicates a new vision of an ordinary, everyday event. The location of the parts of the composition in this case becomes not exactly defined, but it will be more accurate to say un-defined: the plot can be followed, for example, by the finale, and then the exposition begins. But this type of composition is used extremely rarely in dramaturgy, it is more characteristic of directorial innovations.

Thus, we see that with a single plot set of events, in a work of art it is possible to state (arrange) them completely arbitrarily, but according to certain laws. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish sequence of events that occurred chronologically from forms of presentation these events. This brings us to the concept of disposition, which we will consider.

Disposition and composition

This concept (disposition) is used by Vygotsky L.S. in "Psychology of Art" in the analysis of the aesthetic reaction on the example of I. Bunin's story " Easy breath". In this analysis, in his opinion, the issue of composition is especially relevant: “... events a, b, c completely change their meaning ... if we rearrange them in this order, say: b, c, a; b, a, c. When analyzing a work of art, Vygotsky proposes to distinguish between the static scheme of the construction of a story (as it were, its anatomy) from the dynamic scheme of its composition (as it were, its physiology). By "disposition" in this case is meant the chronological arrangement of the episodes that make up the story. This is commonly called the disposition of the story i.e. "natural arrangement of events".

This concept is very rarely used in dramaturgy, but we still decided to include it, because. not always in theatrical practice the director is conditioned by dramaturgy. Recently, they have often resorted to staging, and in working on it, this concept becomes very important in revealing the author's intention and in building his presentation scheme.

To explain the concept of disposition, since we are talking about Vygotsky, we will use the story "Lung and Breath". So, the disposition of the story "Light Breath" by I. Bunin differs significantly from its composition. Events that happened in the life of the characters this story are presented out of order, in the wrong sequence and relationship. The story itself consists of two stories. The first is the life of Olya Meshcherskaya; the second life of a classy lady. These stories do not tell about their whole life, but about the last times in the life of Olya Meshcherskaya and the life of a cool lady after her death. We present these events in chronological order(definition and names of Vygotsky's events).

Story disposition

A- these are events related to the life of O. Meshcherskaya. They make up the main outline, the plot of the story. IN - events from the life of a classy lady. We did not include them in the general numbering, because the author does not give an exact temporal definition for them (as well as talking about easy breathing, but more on that later). In the story, these events follow a very different order.

Story Composition

14. Grave.

1. Childhood.

2. Youth.

3. Episode with Shenshin.

8. Last winter.

10. Conversation with the boss.

11. Murder.

13. Interrogation with a witness.

9. Episode with the officer.

7. Diary entry.

5. Arrival of Malyutin.

6. Communication with Malyutin.

14. Grave.

· Classy lady.

· Dream of a brother.

· The dream of an ideological worker.

12. Funeral

4. Talk about easy breathing.

The question of where to put the talk about easy breathing is very important. Vygotsky puts it almost at the very beginning. But Bunin does not give an exact temporal definition of this scene (“... one day at a big break, walking in the gymnasium garden ...”). This is the liberty of Vygotsky, from which the whole semantic concept of the story changes. If given scene stands at the beginning, then all "love stories" are some kind of development of this "easy breathing". But if, after all the stories and connections of Meshcherskaya, we put this conversation about her discovery of beauty - “easy breathing” - then her refusal to go with an officer becomes completely new meaning and the more tragic the murder becomes. We emphasize once again that chronologically (in disposition) the author does not give the exact location of this scene, but in the composition we talk about light breathing completes(!) story. This is what it might be author's intention: so that the reader himself correlates the location of this story in the life of Meshcherskaya, he himself puts it in the finale.

CHAPTER 8

CONSTRUCTION OF DRAMA

Internal construction

In the most general sense, the “construction of a drama” is its architectonics, a system of internal organization of the formal elements of a play according to a certain order, which gives the impression of a whole and carefully built organism. It is divided into external and internal structure. The internal construction of a drama should be understood as a series of elements that make up the action of the entire play. It can also be understood as the organization of the main semantic units, their alignment before writing the play. This is expressed by the theme, idea and event series. The concept of construction constantly intersects with structure.

The analysis of the internal structure is based on the study of the main problems that the author of the play faces when he builds the play. before her writing. As soon as the author has decided on the main plot and thematic content of the future play, he inevitably faces the problem of their technical implementation. Without knowing the basic techniques for constructing a drama, it is very difficult for a playwright to clearly state his intention. This would be easier to do if the drama was limited to reading How literary work(see the tragedy of Seneca), but it is intended for productions on the stage and here, completely different mechanisms for the realization of meaning in space and time are switched on. Aristotle was the first to try to determine the type of scenes that organize the internal structure of the play. To do this, he divided all the elements of the drama into two parts: generators And constituents. This division is more related to the internal structure. He also refers to the external a number of scenes:

1. Change of happiness to unhappiness.

2. scenes of recognition.

3. Scenes of "pathos", those. violent suffering, despair.

We would add to this division also:

· transition scenes- they are sometimes called insignificant or preparatory scenes.

· Moments to stop action- as a rule, these are intermissions, within the framework of the action it can be a special device as a transition from one scene to another, or as a semantic accent.

According to their ideological and thematic content, dramatic scenes can be divided into:

· main;

· central;

· side and passing;

By the number of characters taking part in the action, there can be a division into:

· crowd scenes- scenes of the struggle of one person with a group (mass); groups with a group (the beginning of "Romeo and Juliet");

· group scenes- where various representatives participate this society(ball scene in Romeo and Juliet).

What distinguishes these two groups of scenes is that in crowd scenes the characters must act; in group, as a rule, - passively present. Meanwhile, the scenes can follow one another continuously, or they can also be connected to each other by a certain technique - a “link”.

Bundles are stage- the principle according to which two scenes following each other must be united by some character so that the stage space does not remain empty for a minute. Pavie speaks of the existence of several types of ligaments in classical dramaturgy:

· bundle of presence- carried out with the help of an actor;

· bonding through noise- when an actor attracted by this sound comes out to the noise coming from the stage;

· flight bunch- when one character flees from another;

We briefly examined the first, initial division of the whole action of the play into scenes, which constitute the internal architectonics of the play. The scenes themselves, inside themselves, consist of a number of structural elements. Namely:

· Replica- a separately taken, independent, whole in meaning statement of the actor. There is a replica as a response to the previous discourse.

· Replica a parte- a remark addressed not to the character, but to himself and the public. In general, it does not fall out of the scope of action as a monologue. She can be considered a kind of dialogue with the public. Replica typology aparte(according to Pavi):

self-reflection;

- "wink" to the public;

Awareness;

Addressing the public;

· Dialogue- a sequence of remarks, a conversation between several characters. The main function of the dialogue: communication and narration.

· replica targeting- an indication of who they are addressed to;

presence or absence remarks;

· the situation is dramatic;

We decided to include among the elements related to the construction of the drama the concept of " dramatic situation". But in this case, we are talking not so much about what influence and place it occupies in the overall structure, but about its essence and functioning. Situation (from lat. situs) is a certain ratio of circumstances in which the characters are placed. In itself, it is not something static, even an outwardly "harmless" situation, contains the potential for a collision, i. the occurrence of action and maintains its balance until a certain moment. The most important in a dream is the initial situation, because. it contains the beginning of a collision, the future action of which absorbs the exposition, seeking to transform it. Depending on the genre, the development of the action tends to either destroy the original situation (tragedy) or transform it (drama and comedy).

Any linguistic message is meaningless and means nothing if the situation or context is unknown. Therefore, in in a certain sense we can say that the analysis of the play comes down to finding a situation and creating a context. This is in the theory of the theater and makes it possible for the concept of "interpretation" to exist.

The search and definition of a "dramatic situation" is based on the study and analysis of the action. At the same time, a series of actions of individual characters is analyzed, and then a situation is created that would cover them all (see Fig.)

This is sometimes called an event, but in our opinion this is not quite the right definition, because an event is an effective fact that, on the whole, radically changes the whole situation. And it would be more correct to call this scheme co-existence or dramatic. An analysis that is only textual and effective does not reveal another level - situational:

Semiotics of the text		Text
stage speech		Action
		Characters
		Situation
		Actant

A character (as an actant) - getting into this or that situation, depending on the worldview and character, performs this or that action - through a word or action - changing this situation, which is an event or fact (a partial change in the situation).

External construction

The outer construction of drama is various forms, which can be adopted by the internal structure according to theater traditions or for stage purposes. Usually a play consists of several large parts (pieces) they are called actions or acts. Their number usually ranges from one to five. ancient tragedy did not know the division into acts, the plot segments of the action were determined by the appearance of the choir and were called episodes, number from 2 to 6. The division into five acts is first encountered in the tragedies of Seneca, but becomes a normative requirement in the era of classicism in France. Acts, in turn, are divided into scenes, and they into phenomena.

Sometimes playwrights use titles action instead of Act; painting- instead of scenes, but the principle does not change from this: the play consists of several large parts, which in turn (depending on the idea, style, etc.) are broken into smaller pieces, and sometimes (like Ostrovsky's) by events. In the history of drama, the principles of division into acts and the transition from one to another have been very diverse. This could be done by the entry of the choir, the lowering of the curtain (the most common technique), a change in lighting ("blackout"), music. The need for act separation was dictated not only by the semantic content, but also technical reasons(the need to change the decoration, change candles, etc.). Classical rules prescribed to limit the act to the whole day, but this was often ignored and the act included time periods of more than one day, and only a few hours.

Most importantly, it must be remembered that the construction is not a mathematically exact structure of the work. It is always in relationship with the outside world that comments on it. The construction, ideally, should refer us to the plot, through which the main ideas of the author and cultural world, in which this plot exists.

On the structure of the play, i.e. its design is influenced;

· image system(characters);

· stage type(box, arena, amphitheater);

· how characters appear;

· characters speech;

· character action;

· technology and certain aspects of theatrical writing;

CHAPTER 9

ABOUT GENRE

§ 1. On the question of defining the genre

What is a genre? With this sacramental question begins almost any article that touches upon the principles of the genre division of a particular type of art, especially dramatic. Almost every author points out terminological confusion in this matter. "Genre" is applied to the definition of comedy as such and in "comedy of manners", tragedy and "tragedy of rock" (i.e. more specific division). Such an “excessive use” of this term leads, according to P. Pavey, to the loss of its meaning and “brings to naught attempts to classify literary and theatrical forms". We will not deviate from this involuntary established tradition, and we will also undertake a small study in this area. First, we will touch on a number of definitions, we will try to consider, if not the history of the emergence, then at least the development of the genre, we will touch upon the art forms adjacent to theater and drama (music and painting). All this, perhaps, will lead to a “purified” from personal ideas, I understand the genre.

Genre - from fr. "genre" - genus, species; lat. "genus" - will give birth to a case. Genre division into genus and type is a subdivision of works of art, in each separate form of art (literature, painting, music, theater, etc.) in certain groups, according to certain laws and united by a common structural principle. Such a definition can be called a definition in the very general view. Two unresolved questions follow logically from it:

1. What is the need for such a division?

2. What are the principles of association?

In the history of the emergence and development of the genre, these two questions play a key role. A consistent answer to them will help to understand this "confusing" concept. Is it really necessary to divide into genres? What gives (or will give) such a division?

Speaking of poetic art, Aristotle writes in "Poetics" about a similar division that arose almost at the moment of the birth of poetry itself, noting what served basis for this division. “Poetry fell apart [into two kinds] according to the personal character [of the poets]” and further in the text (ch. 4). From this we can conclude: initially, dramatic poetry was divided into two channels (tragedy and comedy), each of which spoke about different things, touched on certain aspects of life, reality and the whole existence of a person. The personal character of the author chose a specific object for the image - "high" or "low" ("universals" - "phenomena") and created on the basis of imitation of him piece of art(with its structure), identical to its personal character (psychological, mental and spiritual structure of a person). Here we introduce the term - "identity of structures".

Imitation is a general category, a property of any person: “after all, imitating is inherent in people from childhood: people, after all, differ from other creatures in that they are more prone to imitation and even acquire their first knowledge through imitation.” Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to divide according to this principle, because we all imitate something and someone from birth to death. Based on this, we can determine that the “object” of imitation, and not imitation itself, will be the first category that introduces certain distinctions in the art of imitation. One object requires correspondingly one form of imitation, the other requires others. (using the terminology of Aristotle) ​​we imitate the "better", "beautiful deeds of people like ourselves". With a "low" object - "the deeds of bad people", i.e. rude, devoid of any sublimity. Speaking of "high" and "low" we do not touch on aesthetic and moral topography, we are talking about spiritual aspiration and the principle of correlating the ideal with reality, about structure identities, which manifests itself only in the "high"; "low" is a distortion of this identity:

* correspondence real ideal - tragedy ;

* discrepancy real ideal - comedy;

This is how the process of identifying forms, means and methods in the reproduction of an object is formalized. In theatrical art, there is a difference in the technology of performing tragedy and comedy, because it is absolutely impossible to mix, say, a "high" object and the forms of a "low" image. This will be a direct discredit and not only of the object, but of the artist himself. Thus, gradually we come to several, but basic principles, according to which the genre division of works of art takes place. Aristotle formulated them most precisely. “They are divided by themselves in three ways: either by different means, or by different ... objects, or by different, non-identical ways.”

What was the need for such a division? In our opinion, the need for stratification of an integral artistic and semantic space into separate worlds, which were previously attributes and qualities of this integrity, but now have become full-fledged "heroes" of the image, was dictated by the entire evolution of mankind. In the same way, the process of individualization of consciousness and it proceeds - according to A.Yu. Titov - clearly illustrates the process of selecting an actor from the ancient choir. Nevertheless, this process was considered by ancient playwrights as a reflection of the stages of Genesis, the evolution of Creation and man in it. The further process of individualization and realization of more particular potentialities, the smallest facets of Being, leads to the emergence of more particular genres. Compliance with all laws certain genres, makes it possible to create a holistic (for all its particularity) work of art, as a reflection of the same integral object.

We stopped at the principles of the difference between genres given by Aristotle. But we would like to make a small digression and turn to painting and music in order to consider the basic laws of genre division in these types of art. This will provide a more holistic and comprehensive picture of the genre as a category of art.

Composition (lat. compositeio- compilation, connection) - this concept is relevant for all types of arts. It is understood as a significant ratio of parts of a work of art. Dramatic composition can be defined as the way in which a dramatic work (in particular, a text) is ordered as an organization of action in space and time. There can be many definitions, but in them we meet two essentially different approaches. One considers the ratio of parts literary text(the discourse of the characters), the other is directly the warehouse of events, the actions of the characters (the discourse of the staging). In theoretical terms, such a division makes sense, but in the practice of stage activity it is hardly possible to implement it.

The foundations of composition were laid down in Aristotle's Poetics. In it, he names the parts of the tragedy that should be used as generators ( eide), and constituent parts ( kata to poson), into which the tragedy is divided by volume (prologue, episody, exodus, choral part, and in it parod and stasim). Here we also find the same two approaches to the problem of composition. This was also pointed out by Sakhnovsky-Pankeev, saying that at the same time it is possible to “study the composition of a play according to the formal signs of the difference between parts (subdivisions) and analyze the construction based on the features dramatic action". It seems to us that these two approaches are actually stages in the analysis of dramatic composition. Composition in drama simultaneously depends on the principle of construction of the action, and it depends on the type of conflict and its nature. In addition, the composition of the play depends on the principle of distribution and organization of the literary text between the characters and the relationship of the plot to the plot.

How necessary and urgent are the questions of composition in the study and analysis of a dramatic work? It is hardly possible to exaggerate their role. In 1933, B. Alpers pointed out that “questions of composition in the near future will be one of the central production issues dramatic practice". This belief has not lost its sharpness in our time. Insufficient attention to the problems of composition leads to the fact that directors are often forced to change the composition of the play, which generally violates the author's intention, although it largely clarifies the meaning.

The main elements in building a composition are repetition, which creates certain rhythmic sequences, and the violation of this repetition is contrast. These principles are always meaning and, in some cases, semantic. Kinds dramatic compositions we will consider later, but we note that any composition, based on some model (in the role of which the idea acts), is initially drawn up as a kind of “plan”, designed to maximally express the author’s intention and the main idea of ​​the work. The composition at this stage is subordinated to the task of revealing, developing and resolving the main conflict. Therefore, if we consider the conflict as a clash of characters, then "composition is the realization of conflicts in a dramatic action, which, in turn, is realized in language." Thus, we remove the contradictions in the problem of understanding the dramatic composition. In matters of poetics, composition is the law of constructing levels of meaning in a work of art. Composition allows perception to go from part to whole and vice versa, from one level of meaning to another, from primary meanings and meanings to some kind of generalization, generalized content. The director in his work adds additional structural principles due to the technology of the play's realization on the stage: pictorial composition, architectural composition, organization of the hall - stage, openness or closeness of the production, and many others. etc. To them one can add a paradoxical composition, the meaning of which is to reverse the perspective of the dramatic structure.

Considering general principles, it is necessary to consider the parts of the composition, and here we turn again to Aristotle. He was the first in theory to single out the parts of the tragedy that make up its composition. In every tragedy, writes Aristotle, there must be six parts:

legend ( mythos);

Characters ( ethe);

Speech ( lexis);

Thought ( dianoia);

spectacle ( opsis);

Musical part ( melos).

The first four parts relate directly to dramaturgy, the last two - directly to the presentation. Aristotle considers the warehouse of events (the legend) to be the most important of all parts. the purpose of imitation is to represent an action, not a quality. In his opinion, characters give people exactly qualities. “Happy or unhappy ... are [only] as a result of action ... [in tragedy] action is not carried out in order to imitate characters, but, [on the contrary], characters are affected [only] through action; Thus, the purpose of the tragedy is the events(our italics. - I.Ch.)”. Denoting the warehouse of events as the most important part of the tragedy, Aristotle considers the principles of organizing events into a single whole as the basis for building a composition.

What should be the store of events? The first condition is that the action must have a “known scope”, i.e. be complete, whole, having a beginning, a middle and an end. The warehouse of events, like any thing that consists of parts, not only must "have these parts in order," but the volume must also be non-random. This is the law of unity and wholeness, and it expresses the relation of the part to the whole. As the next principle, Aristotle singled out the position according to which the composition should express the action concentrated not around one person, but the action. "Because with one person an infinite number of events can occur, of which others have no unity." Theatrical imitation consists in imitation of a single and whole action, which involves all the characters in its zone. Therefore, the warehouse of events is an expression of this general action. Events must be composed in such a way that “with the rearrangement or removal of one of the parts, the whole would change and be upset, because the presence or absence of which is imperceptible, is not part of the whole.” It should be noted here that this is the law of "event exclusion", which must be applied in the analysis of the play when highlighting events and separating them from facts. If the excluded changes the plot of the entire play, this is an event; if not, it is a fact that affects the action of a character or several characters, but not the plot of the entire play.

Speaking of the plot, we should understand it as a "story", as defined by Aristotle, which undoubtedly affects the overall composition of the play. Tales are simple and complex (woven). Complex ones differ from simple ones, Aristotle points out, by the presence of a fracture (change of fate) based on recognition (for more details about these concepts, see "Poetics"). Aristotle calls the above parts generating, because these principles organize and order the warehouse of events in a certain sequence.

Prologue- an introductory monologue, sometimes a whole scene containing a presentation of the plot or the initial situation.

episody- direct development of the action, dialogic scenes.

Exod- the final song accompanying the solemn departure of the choir.

choral part- it includes stasim (song of the choir without actors); the number and volume of stasims are not the same, but after the third the action moves towards a denouement; kommos- a joint vocal part of the soloist and the choir.

These are the parts of the tragedy that make up its composition. Each of these parts contains a different number of events, but there is a certain difference between them. Next, you need to consider each of these parts, and then the types of compositions that they form.

The plot is a set of events in a work of art, given in the sequence that corresponds to the author's intention, that is, in the one in which the author wants to inform the reader about these events. This is where the plot differs from the plot. B.V. Tomashevsky (1890-1957), a well-known Russian literary critic, said that the plot is what really happened, and the plot is how the reader found out about it. The plot is how you can retell the content of the work (fabula in Latin means “narration, history”, the plot is a processed plot, a story told in the sequence of events that was created by the author's intention).

The main stages of the plot are exposition (“prehistory”, what precedes the beginning of the development of the action, “life before the start of the event”), plot (the beginning of the action, the conflict is indicated), development of the action (the conflict develops, matures), climax (the conflict reaches its greatest tension and jokes), denouement (resolution of the conflict in one way or another), epilogue (aftereffect: the consequences of what is described, “life after the event”). In the classical drama, the most important successive stages of the plot are especially clearly expressed: the plot, the development of the action, the climax, the denouement. So, in the drama "Dowry" after a brief exposition (phenomenon 1 and the beginning of phenomenon 2, in which the viewer receives general impression about life in the Volga city and future heroes of events) the plot takes place already in the second phenomenon of the first act: it becomes known that Sergei Sergeyevich Paratov has arrived in the city, and Larisa Ogudalova is marrying an insignificant, miserable, poor official Karandyshev. The action is rapidly developing, the tension of conflicts - love, base monetary interests of the characters, hopes and hopelessness - culminates in the third act (phenomenon 12: Larisa makes her decision and leaves on the ship with Paratov for the night, which is tantamount to shame and death); the denouement comes at the end of the fourth act (appearances 11-12): Karandyshev kills Larisa with a pistol shot, and she dies. Her last line and last remarks the author conclude the play: “... Live, live everyone! You need to live, but I need to ... die ... I don’t complain about anyone, I don’t take offense at anyone ... you are all good people ... I love you all ... everyone, I love. (Sends a kiss). There is no epilogue in this case. The sequence of plot elements can be, and often is, broken. So, in Gogol's "Inspector General" the first phrase of the comedy (remember it) serves as an outset.

The architectonics of the drama - its division into structural units, from the largest - actions - to the smallest - scenes or the smallest - phenomena - resembles the structure of a nesting doll: phenomena are added to scenes, scenes - to actions. In many plays, the scenes are not distinguished at all, and the actions consist of a successive series of phenomena. The elementary building block of a play is thus a phenomenon. It represents a certain situation with the place and other circumstances of the action given by the playwright and a certain set of participants (characters).

Source (abridged): Mikhalskaya, A.K. Literature: Basic level: Grade 10. At 2 o'clock. Part 1: account. allowance / A.K. Mikhalskaya, O.N. Zaitsev. - M.: Bustard, 2018

It is preferable to start the analysis of a drama with the analysis of a small fragment of it, an episode (phenomena, scenes, etc.). The analysis of an episode of a dramatic work is carried out practically according to the same scheme as the analysis of an episode epic work, with the only difference that the reasoning should be supplemented with an analysis of the dynamic and dialogic compositions of the episode.

So,
ANALYSIS OF THE EPISODE OF A DRAMATIC WORK

1. The boundaries of the episode are already defined by the very structure of the drama (the phenomenon is separated from other components of the drama); name the episode.
2. Describe the event underlying the episode: what place does it take in the course of the development of the action? (Is this an exposition, a climax, a denouement, an episode in the development of the action of the whole work?)
3. Name the main (or only) participants in the episode and briefly explain:
   • Who are they?
   • what is their place in the system of characters (main, title, secondary, off-stage)?
4. Reveal the features of the beginning and ending of the episode.
5. Formulate a question, a problem that is in the center of attention:
   • author; characters.
6. Identify and characterize the theme and contradiction (in other words, a mini-conflict) underlying the episode.
7. Describe the characters in the episode:
   • their attitude to the event;
   • to the question (problem);
   • to each other;
   • briefly analyze the speech of the participants in the dialogue;
   • make an analysis of the author's remarks (explanations for speech, gestures, facial expressions, postures of the characters);
   • identify the features of the behavior of characters, the motivation of actions (author's or reader's);
   • determine the alignment of forces, grouping or regrouping of heroes depending on the course of events in the episode.
8. Characterize the dynamic composition of the episode (its exposition, plot, climax, denouement; in other words, according to what scheme the emotional tension develops in the episode).
9. To characterize the dialogical composition of the episode: what is the principle of covering the theme of the dialogue?
10. Understand author's attitude to the event; correlate it with the climax and the idea of ​​the whole work as a whole; determine the attitude of the author to the problem.
11. Formulate the main idea (author's idea) of the episode.
12. Analyze the plot, figurative and ideological connection of this episode with other episodes of the drama.

Now let's move on to complex analysis dramatic work. The success of this work is possible only if you understand the theory dramatic kind literature (see topic number 15).

So,
1. The time of creation of the work, the history of the idea, a brief description of era.
2. The connection of the play with any literary direction or cultural era (antiquity, renaissance, classicism, Enlightenment, sentimentalism, romanticism, critical realism, symbolism, etc.). How did the features of this trend appear in the work? 1
3. Type and genre of a dramatic work: tragedy, comedy (of manners, characters, positions, cloak and sword; satirical, everyday, lyrical, buffoonery, etc.), drama (social, everyday, philosophical, etc.), vaudeville, farce, etc. Specify the meaning of these terms in the reference literature.
4. The specifics of the organization of the action of the drama: division into actions, scenes, acts, phenomena, etc. Author's original components of the drama (for example, "dreams" instead of acts or actions in M. Bulgakov's drama "Running").
5. Playbill of the play (characters). Features of names (for example, "speaking" names). Main, secondary and off-stage characters.
6. Peculiarities dramatic conflict: tragic, comic, dramatic; social, everyday, philosophical, etc.
7. Features of dramatic action: external - internal; "on stage" - "behind the stage", dynamic (actively developing) - static, etc.
8. Features of the composition of the play. The presence and specificity of the main elements: exposition, an increase in emotional tension, a conflict and its resolution, a new increase in emotional tension, culminations, etc. How are all the "sharp points" (especially emotional scenes) of the work connected? What is the composition of the individual components of the play (acts, actions, phenomena)? Here it is necessary to name specific episodes that are these "sharp glasses" of action.
9. The specifics of creating dialogue in a play. Features of the sound theme of each character in dialogues and monologues. ( Brief analysis dialogue composition of one episode of your choice).
10. The theme of the play. Leading themes. Key episodes (scenes, phenomena) that help to reveal the theme of the work.
11. The problem of the work. Leading issues and key episodes(scenes, phenomena), in which the problems are especially acutely stated. The author's vision of solving the problems posed.
12. The specifics of the author's remarks explaining:
    • actions of characters (play of actors);
    • stage setting, costumes and scenery;
    • the mood and idea of ​​a scene or phenomenon.
    • The specificity of the author's position, expressed through remarks.
13. Meaning of the play's title.

1. This point is revealed if such features are clearly expressed in the work (for example, in the classic comedies by D. Fonvizin or in A. Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit", which combined the features of three directions at once: classicism, romanticism and realism).

The word "composition" goes back to the Latin words "compositio" (drawing up) and "compositus" - well-placed, slender, correct.

The subject of the image in a dramaturgic work is, social conflict, personified in the heroes of the work.

The history of dramaturgy shows that it is by no means easy to create an integral artistic image of a conflict event, to observe a seemingly simple condition, to show not only the beginning of the conflict, but also its development and result. The difficulty lies in finding the only correct dramatic development, and then the completion of the initial situation.

When the beginning of the play remains the most interesting part of it and further development goes from the beginning not “up”, but “down”, the author is forced to throw new “logs” into his dying fire, replacing the development this conflict from its initial situation by setting up some new, additional collisions. This path excludes the completion of the play by resolving the conflict with which it began, and leads, as a rule, to artificial completion by way of volitional order of the author of the play with the destinies of his characters.

Basically, due to the compositional complexity of creating a dramatic work, a fair conviction arose that dramaturgy is the most complex kind of literature. Add to this: good dramaturgy. For seventy pages of a bad play are easier to write than nine hundred pages of a bad novel.

In order to cope with compositional difficulties, the playwright must have a good understanding of his artistic task, know the basic elements of dramatic composition and imagine " typical structure» construction of a dramatic work. Of course, no work of art is written according to a predetermined pattern. The more original the essay, the better.

The "scheme" in no way encroaches either on the individual originality of each given play, or on the infinite variety of works of dramatic art as a whole. It is conditional in nature and serves to clearly explain what compositional requirements are in question. It will also be useful for analyzing the structure of dramatic works.

Since without the basic elements of a dramatic composition - images of the beginning of the struggle, the course (development) of the struggle and the result of the struggle - it is impossible to create a holistic image of a conflict event, their presence and the named sequence of arrangement in a dramatic work are necessary, in the full sense of the word, elementary artistic requirement of dramatic art.

Hegel drew attention to the need for the presence of the three named basic elements in a work of dramaturgy. Therefore, the fundamental scheme underlying the dramatic work is usually called the Hegelian triad.

For clarity, the fundamental structure of a dramatic work - Hegel's triad - can be depicted as follows:

The father of drama theory was Aristotle (384-322 BC). His "Poetics" is the first work that has come down to us containing the theory of dramatic art in Ancient Greece 1 . The most difficult thing in drama is the creation of a plot, Aristotle writes: “The plot is the basis and, as it were, the soul of tragedy” ...

“There are two parts to every tragedy: the plot and the denouement. The plot "embraces" an event that is outside the drama, and some of those that lie in itself" 2.

The tie is that part of the action "which extends from the beginning to the moment, which is the limit from which the transition to happiness [or from happiness to unhappiness] occurs" 3 . the denouement is the rest of the action "from the beginning of this transition to the end" 4 . Thus Aristotle establishes two very important element compositions of the drama associated with its action. From the ancient poetics, the rules of composition, obligatory for the authors of comedies and tragedies, were extracted. Here they are:

1. The basis of the drama is the plot. This position of Aristotle, confirmed by Horace, is accepted by all drama theorists. It served as a rationale for the need to carefully develop the intrigue of the play. Drama theorists and practitioners prefer simple plots over complex plots. However, while most critics and writers rejected the complex composition of the dramatic action, considering it artificial, A. K. Tolstoy remained a supporter of a well-developed dramaturgy. He saw in her important tool artistic effect. The construction of the drama by A.K. Tolstoy compared with the composition of the symphony, which has a certain "pattern". Every tragedy must have its own dramatic core. But it is not immobile, but rather represents a certain movement of action 5 .

2. Typification of characters.

Typification is understood as the correspondence of the character's image to the characteristics of a certain age, gender, profession, social position etc. According to this understanding of typification, Achilles must always be angry, and Orestes gloomy, etc. character: grouchiness for old people, amorousness for young people, cunning for servants, and the like.

As is well known, outstanding works of drama violated such a limited understanding of typing.

3. The five-act structure of the play.

The division of the drama into five acts had its rational justification. Its essence was seen in the fact that each act represented a certain step in the composition of the play. “The Romans believed that the plot should be five acts,” wrote Giraldi Chintno. - The first contains the exposition. In the second, what is given in the exposition begins to move towards its end. In the third, obstacles arise and change occurs. In the fourth, an opportunity begins to appear to correct what caused all the troubles. In the fifth, the expected end takes place with a denouement corresponding to the entire exposition.

Some rules of composition were of particular importance, since they determined the specifics of the dramatic action. This applies, in particular, to how to build the action as a whole. There were two trends in theory and practice in the 16th century. One was to build the action of the tragedy, to concentrate attention on the already accomplished misfortune. A friend is to dynamically depict events, emphasizing their drama. Opposed to this dynamic principle is a principle which may be called static. The event itself has already happened and the action is only to establish the fact of the incident. This kind of concept was proposed by Scaliger, who considered it ideal 1 .

Based on the fundamental structure of the work, we list the specific elements of the dramatic composition, and then reveal the essence and purpose of each of them.

The beginning of the struggle is revealed in the exposition and in the beginning of the main conflict.

The course of the struggle is revealed through the specific actions and clashes of the heroes - through the so-called twists and turns that make up general movement actions from the beginning of the conflict to its resolution. In many plays (though not all) there is a pronounced moment higher voltage action is the climax.

The result of the struggle is shown in the denouement (resolution) of the main conflict and in the finale of the play.

Each dramatic work necessarily has an exposition, that is, an initial part.

The exposition is the initial part of a dramatic work. Its purpose is to inform the viewer of the information necessary to understand the upcoming action of the play. Sometimes it is important to let the viewer know in which country and at what time the events take place. Sometimes it is necessary to report something from what preceded the conflict.

Great French philosopher and the writer Denis Diderot (1713-1784) in his treatise "On Dramatic Poetry" - "On Interest", in which Diderot develops the question: how to capture the attention of the public? In plays, the action should arise naturally, as if spontaneously: “Let them (the characters) form the plot of the amia without noticing it, let everything be dark for them, let them go to the denouement without suspecting it” 1 . the meaning of this principle is that the viewer's attention should be focused not on external events, but on the experiences of the characters, their thoughts and feelings, their reactions to reality.

The action should be built economically and thoughtfully in order to focus on the most important and essential.

Already the exposition of the drama is of great importance for the entire subsequent development of dramatic events.

“The events chosen for the beginning of the play will serve as the plot of the first scene; she will call the second, the second will call the third, and the act will be completed. It is important that the action proceed with increasing speed and be clear... the more events the first action leaves in an undeveloped state, the more details will be for the following acts. However, in striving for the reality of the exposition, one can make a mistake that will ruin the drama. The initial event should not be such that its interest exceeds the interest of subsequent scenes and events: “If you start with a strong moment, the rest will be written with equal tension, or completely wither. How many plays have been killed by the beginning! The poet was afraid to start coldly and his positions were so strong that he could not support the first impression he made on me.

The most common type of exposure is showing that last segment everyday life, the course of which will be interrupted by the occurrence of a conflict.

According to Gogol, the incident should seem alive, natural, recently happened. Only when the drama gives a natural, truthful picture of life, when the thought embedded in it is capable of influencing the public, “then the work is lively, dramatic, boiling before the eyes of the viewer. And at the same time, the highly didactic is the height of creativity, accessible only to great geniuses.

Dramaturgy has much in common with the folk tale and most likely comes from it. Dramaturgy took from the folk tale, as its main theme, its main miracle, a social miracle - the victory of good over evil. There is also much in common between the construction of a fairy tale and the structure of a dramatic work. In particular, the exposition of most plays is built on the same principle as the exposition of a fairy tale. So, for example, "An old man lived with his old woman by the very blue sea," says at the beginning of Pushkin's "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish." “The old man was fishing with a net. The old woman was spinning her yarn. This went on for “exactly thirty years and three years”, but there was no “fairy tale”. Only when the old man caught a goldfish that spoke human voice, this ordinary flow of life was interrupted, an occasion arose for this story, the "Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" began.

The beginning in many plays is built on the same principle: “Once upon a time ...” and suddenly there is “ gold fish” or the “golden egg” of this work is the conflict that will be depicted in it.

Another type of exposition - Prologue - a direct appeal of the author to the viewer, short story about the characters of the future action and its character. In a number of cases, the prologue exhausts the exposition, since the plot of the play's conflict is contained (announced) in itself. Often, however, the prologue only opens the exposition, which then continues until the beginning of the conflict by showing the flow of life that preceded it. This is how the beginning of Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" is constructed. The exposition after a short prologue continues throughout the first act.

Sometimes a play begins with an inversion, that is, showing how the conflict will end before the action begins. This technique is often used by the authors of action-packed works, in particular, detective stories. The task of inversion is to captivate the viewer from the very beginning, keep him in additional tension with the help of information about the end of the depicted conflict.

From what has been said, it should be clear that the exposition - the initial part of a dramatic work - lasts until the beginning of the plot - the plot of the main conflict of this play. It is extremely important to emphasize that we are talking about the beginning of the main conflict, the development of which is the subject of the image in this play.

IN " educational book literature” Gogol solves the problems of dramatic composition. Gogol defines the elements of composition that provide a truly dramatic development of the Action. The first thing a playwright must take care of is to create a "strictly and cleverly considered plot" 1 . The most important condition is the unity of action: “All persons who must act, or, better, between whom a case should be started, must be taken in advance by the author; the fate of each of them is preoccupied by the author and cannot carry and move them quickly and in multitude in the form of phenomena flying by. Every arrival of a person, apparently insignificant at the beginning, already announces his participation later. Everything that is not is only because it is connected with the fate of the hero himself” 2 .

The most important compositional principle, according to Gogol, is that “the writer, deprived of the opportunity to cover the whole of reality, chooses one event, one incident, but one in which the most important patterns of life are revealed.

The plot should embrace all the faces, and not just one or two, - touch on what excites, more or less, all the acting characters. Here every hero; the course and course of the play produces a shock to the whole machine: not a single wheel should remain as rusty and not included in the case.

Thus, the notion - "setting" - includes the setting of the main conflict of the play. In the plot, his movement begins - a dramatic action.

For example, from the very beginning of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" we meet with manifestations of the age-old conflict between the families of Montague and Capulet. But this enmity of theirs is not the subject of the image in this work. It lasted for centuries, so they "lived and were", but there was no reason for this play. Only when the young representatives of the two warring clans - Romeo and Juliet - fell in love with each other, did the conflict arise, which became the subject of the image in this work - the conflict between the bright human feeling love and a dark misanthropic feeling of tribal enmity.

Some contemporary playwrights And theater critics express the opinion that in our time, when the pace and rhythms of life have accelerated immeasurably, it is possible to bypass the bases of the exposition, and start the play right away with the action, with the outset of the main conflict. This way of putting the question is wrong. Only the heroes of the play can “start” a conflict. But we must understand the meaning and essence of what is happening. Like every moment real life-- the life of the heroes of the play can only take place in a specific time and in a specific space. Not to designate either one or the other, or at least one of these coordinates, would mean an attempt to depict some kind of abstraction. The conflict in this unimaginable case would arise from nothing, which contradicts the laws of the mother's movement in general. Not to mention such a difficult moment in its development as the movement human relations. Thus, the idea of ​​doing without exposition in creating a play is not well thought out.

Sometimes the exposure is combined with the plot. That is how it is done in N.V. Gogol. The very first phrase of the mayor, addressed to the officials, contains all the necessary information for understanding the subsequent action, and at the same time, is the plot of the main conflict of the play. Gogol's "Inspector General" is the embodiment of precisely this principle of comedy composition and a classic example of compositional unity ... In "The Inspector General" there is not a single person, not a single position that was not closely connected with the main event, with its idea. All the characters participate in the plot and its subsequent development of the action. Each of them lives on the stage and reveals his own character in relation to the central conflict. All the characters in his play actively participate in the events and each has its own individual face.

And so, according to Gogol, it is the idea that determines all the elements of the composition in the drama: the plot, the plot, the development of the action, the role and significance of individual characters 1 .

Sometimes the main conflict of the play does not appear immediately, but is preceded by a system of other conflicts. Shakespeare's Othello is full of conflicts. Conflict between Desdemona's father, Brabantio and Othello. The conflict between Desdemona's unfortunate fiancé, Rodrigo, and his rival, the more fortunate Othello. Conflict between Rodrigo and Lieutenant Cassio. There is even a fight between them. Conflict between Othello and Desdemona. It arises at the end of the tragedy and ends with the death of Desdemona. Conflict between Iago and Cassio. And finally, another conflict. He is the main conflict of this work - the conflict between Iago and Othello, between the bearer of envy, servility, chameleonism, careerism, petty selfishness, which is Iago, and a direct, honest, trusting person, but possessing a passionate and furious character, which is Othello.

Resolution of the main conflict. As already mentioned, the denouement in a dramatic work is the moment of resolving the main conflict, the removal of the conflict contradiction, which is the source of the movement of the action.

In Othello, the denouement of the main conflict comes when Othello learns that Iago is a slanderer and a scoundrel. Let's pay attention to the fact that this happens after the murder of Desdemona. It is wrong to believe that the denouement here is precisely the moment of the murder. The main conflict of the play is between Othello and Iago. Killing Desdemona, Othello does not yet know who he is. main enemy. Consequently, only the elucidation of the role of Iago is here the denouement.

The resolution of the conflict is possible only if the unity of action is preserved.

The theory of drama at one time considered it necessary to observe three unities in a dramatic work: the unity of time, the unity of place and the unity of action. Practice, however, has shown that dramaturgy can easily do without observing the unity of place and time, but the unity of action is truly necessary condition the existence of a dramatic work as a work of art.

The observance of the unity of action is essentially the observance of a single picture of the development of the main conflict. Thus, it is a condition for creating a holistic image of the conflict event, which is depicted in this work. The unity of action - a picture of the development of the main conflict that is continuous and not replaced in the course of the play - is the criterion artistic integrity works. Violation of the unity of action - the substitution of the conflict tied up in the plot - undermines the possibility of creating a holistic artistic image conflict event, inevitably seriously reduces the artistic level of a dramatic work 1 .

As you know, the rule of three unities does not belong to either Aristotle or Horace. It was created for the first time in the Renaissance. The first of these rules is unity of action- was already known in antiquity. It followed from the definition of plot and action given by Aristotle, who demanded that there should be nothing in the drama that was not related to the main plot of the work.

Law unity of time was first formulated by Giraldi Cinthio in his Discourse on Comedy and Tragedy (1543). “... Both of them (that is, comedy and tragedy) limit their action to one day or a little more time,” wrote Giraldi Cinthio. The ancient playwrights limited the action of comedy and tragedy to one day. Scaliger accepted Maggi's point of view: the action of the play should correspond to the time of the performance. Castelvetro believes that it is not the unity of action that dictates the need for unity of time, but vice versa: “comedy and tragedy contain one action, not because the plot is not appropriate to have more than one action, but because limited space, on which the action takes place, and the limited time - no more than twelve hours - do not allow showing many events.

Thus, Castelvetro notes the relationship of the three unities - action, place and time. He was the first to formulate the rule of three unities as an internal integral law of drama. Castelvetro sees aesthetic value in the composition of the drama, subject to the rules of the three unities. “In the unity of action,” he wrote, “it means something else, namely, that the plot will be more beautiful and the author will be more admired if he depicts the action of one hero” 1 .

IN denouement, or rather, as a result of it, a new situation is created in comparison with the one that took place in the plot, expressed in a new relationship between the characters. This new attitude can be quite varied. One of the heroes may die as a result of the conflict.

The denouement, according to Aristotle, includes the entire course of events arising from the initial conflict.

Aristotle points out that a well-composed plot should contain an image of the transition from happiness to unhappiness 2 . It's connected with emotional impact a tragedy that should arouse feelings of compassion and fear. The turn of events in a happy direction for the heroes will not arouse feelings of compassion and fear. Aristotle considers a third possibility. In simple plots, the action has a certain ending - such as should be in a tragedy, that is, unhappy. But along with this, there is a tragedy that has a "double composition", that is, those where the action "ends oppositely for the best and worst people" 3 . We are talking here about such a denouement, when good people achieve happiness, and bad people are overtaken by misfortune 4 .

The final is the emotional and semantic completion of the work. “Emotionally” means that we are talking not only about the semantic result, not just about the conclusion from the work.

If in a fable morality is expressed directly - “the moral of this fable is this”, then in a dramatic work the finale is a continuation of the action of the play, its last chord. The finale concludes the play with a dramatic generalization and not only completes this action, but opens the door to perspective, to connection. this fact with a wider social organism.

An example of a strong ending is the end of Shakespeare's already mentioned tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The main characters of the tragedy have already died. This

unleashed, resolved the conflict that arose due to their love. But Shakespeare writes the end of the tragedy. The leaders of the warring clans are reconciled at the grave of their dead children. The condemnation of the wild and absurd enmity that separated them sounds all the stronger because in order to stop it, it took two beautiful, innocent, young creatures to be sacrificed. Such an ending contains a warning, a generalized conclusion against those dark prejudices that cripple human fates. But at the same time, this conclusion is not "added" to the action of the tragedy, it is not "suspended" by the author. It follows from the natural continuation of the events of the tragedy. The burial of the dead, the repentance of the parents responsible for their deaths do not need to be invented - all this naturally completes and ends the "sad" story of Romeo and Juliet.

The finale in the play is, as it were, a verification of the dramaturgy of the work as a whole. If the main elements of his composition are violated, if the action that began as the main one is replaced by another, the final will not work. If the playwright did not have enough material, lacked talent or knowledge, lacked dramatic experience in order to complete his work with a genuine finale, the author often, in order to get out of the situation, ends the work with the help of an ersatzfinal. But not every ending under one pretext or another is the final, can serve as the emotional and semantic completion of the work. There are several stamps, typical examples of ersatzfinal. They are especially visible in the movies. When the author does not know how to end the film, the characters, for example, sing a cheerful song or, holding hands, go into the distance, getting smaller and smaller... The most common type of ersatzfinal is the author's "punishment" of the hero. In the play "104 pages about love" its author - E. Radzinsky - specially made his heroine a representative of a dangerous profession - an aeroflot stewardess.

In the play by E. Radzinsky, the death of the plane on which the heroine flew has nothing to do with the action of the play. The relationship between the hero and the heroine developed largely artificially, through the author's willful efforts. Different tempers heroes complicated their relationship, however, the ground for the development of a conflict, a genuine contradiction, reflecting any significant social problem, not in the play. Conversations "on the subject" could go on endlessly. In order to somehow complete the work, the author himself "ruined" the heroine with the help of an accident - a fact external to the content of the play. This is a typical ersatzfinal 1 .

The problem of such an ersatzfinal - with the help of the hero's murder - was considered by E.G. Kholodov: “If this alone achieved drama, it would not be easier than to be known as tragic poet. Lessing ridiculed such a primitive understanding of the problem of the tragic”: “any scribbler who would bravely strangle and kill his heroes and not let a single one leave the stage alive or healthy would also imagine himself as tragic as Euripides » 2 .