Household stories of the 17th century. Everyday stories of the 17th century

In the second half of the XVII century. the genre of everyday story took one of the leading positions in the system of literary genres. If the ancient Russian tradition used this word to designate any narrative, then what is basically told, the story as a new literary genre, is filled with a qualitatively different content. Its subject is the individual fate of a person, his choice of his life path, awareness of his personal place in life. It is no longer as clear-cut as before, the question of copyright to the events described: the voice of the author clearly gives way to the plot as such, and the reader is left to draw his own conclusion from this plot.

"The Tale of Woe-Misfortune" is the first in the group of everyday stories of the 17th century, opening the theme young man who does not want to live according to the laws of antiquity and is looking for his own way in life. These traditional laws are personified by his parents and "good people", who give the hero reasonable advice: do not drink "two charms for one", do not look at "good red wives", be afraid not of a wise man, but of a fool, do not steal, do not lie, do not bear false witness don't think badly of people. It is obvious that before us is a free arrangement of the biblical ten commandments. However, Molodets, who "was at that time so small and stupid, not in full mind and imperfect in mind," rejects this traditional Christian morality, opposes her own way: "he wanted to live as he pleases." This motif of living for pleasure is reinforced in the story, when the "named brother" brings a cup of wine and a mug of beer to the Young Man: to drink "for his own joy and fun." It is the desire for pleasure that leads the Young Man to collapse, which the anonymous author states very ironically, telling how Grief "teaches the young man to live richly - kill and rob, so that the young man will be hanged for that, or planted in water with a stone." Life according to the new rules does not add up, forgetting parental advice leads to disaster, respectively, the only possible way out is a return to traditional Christian values: "the young man remembers the saved path - and from there the young man went to the monastery to be tonsured." The appearance of the image of the monastery at the end of The Tale of Woe-Misfortune is important, first of all, precisely as an indicator of the traditional solution to the problem of choosing one’s own path: Well done, as well as Prodigal son Simeon of Polotsk, eventually returns to the parental way. The commandments at the beginning of the path and the monastery at the end are the symbolic points of this way of life.

A fundamentally new feature of "The Tale of Woe-Misfortune" can be considered the image of the main character - the nameless Good Guy. Well done - a folklore hero by origin, a generalized representative younger generation. The absence of a name is an essential characteristic, since it is precisely this absence that is an indicator of the initial stage of the transition from the traditional Old Russian hero to the hero of modern times. It is important for the author to emphasize the generality, the fundamental vagueness of this image, and for this he resorts to the traditional folklore view of the hero. We do not know many external circumstances of his life. Where he learned to drink and play, under what circumstances he left his home - all this remains unknown to the reader. We don’t know where and where the Good Guy wanders, how he was finally received in the monastery, what was his life like there. further fate. The only characteristic of the Young Man in the Tale is his social characteristic- He comes from a merchant background.

In most ancient Russian literary works, the personality is revealed statically, not dynamically. A person acts depending on the circumstances, and the only possible change is the turn of human consciousness from evil to good, most often as a result of a miracle, which testified to the divine plan for a person. In modern fiction works, the personality of the hero turns out to be capable of self-development, and this self-development can take place both from evil to good and from good to evil, and besides, and this is very important, the development of the human personality can take place regardless of good and evil.

"The Tale of Woe-Misfortune" has only one person as its hero. This is a monodrama. All other characters are relegated to the shadows and are characterized by the author through the plural, which is most clearly opposed to the generalized, but at the same time fundamental "uniqueness" of the protagonist ("father and mother", "friends", "good people", " naked-barefoot", "transporters"). Only at the beginning of the story it is said about one "dear friend" who deceived and robbed him. But this only concrete human character in the story, apart from the Good Guy, is drawn in such a generalized way that it is more likely to be perceived as a symbol of all his drinking companions than as a specific person. There is only one brightly lit character in the story - this is the unfortunate and unfortunate Well done. True, in the "Tale", besides the Well Done, there is another brightly outlined character - this is Woe-Misfortune itself. But this character is the alter ego of the Young Man himself. This is his individual destiny, a kind of emanation of his personality.

Household stories of the 17th century.

V. In the second half of the XVII century. the genre of the story took a leading position in the system of literary genres. If the ancient Russian tradition used this word to designate any narrative, then what is basically told, the story as a new literary genre, is filled with a qualitatively different content. Its subject is the individual fate of a person, his choice of his life path, awareness of his personal place in life. The question of the author's attitude to the events described is no longer as unambiguous as before: the author's voice clearly gives way to the plot as such, and the reader is left to draw his own conclusion from this plot. The Tale of Woe-Misfortune is the first in a group of everyday stories of the 17th century, which opens the theme of a young man who does not want to live according to the laws of antiquity and is looking for his own way in life. These traditional laws are personified by his parents and kind people who give the hero reasonable advice: do not drink two charms for one, do not look at good red wives, be afraid not of a wise man, but of a fool, do not steal, do not lie, do not bear false witness, do not think badly about people . It is obvious that we have before us a free arrangement of the biblical ten commandments. However, the Good fellow, who at that time was so small and stupid, not in full mind and imperfect in mind, rejects this traditional Christian morality, opposes his own path to it: he wanted to live as he liked. This motif of living for pleasure is amplified in the story when the named brother brings a glass of wine and a mug of beer to the Young Man: to drink for his own joy and fun. It is the desire for pleasure that leads the Young Man to collapse, which is very ironically stated by an anonymous author, telling how Grief teaches the young man to live richly, kill and rob, so that the young man will be hanged for that, or planted with a stone in the water. Life according to the new rules does not add up, forgetting parental advice leads to disaster, respectively, the only possible way out is a return to traditional Christian dogmas.

The story begins literally with Adam. Following such an exposition, a story begins about the hero of the story himself - about a nameless young man.

In all previous Russian literature, we will not find works that would tell about the fate of an ordinary worldly person and set out the main events of his life. "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune" speaks of the fate of an unknown young man who violated the commandments of antiquity and paid heavily for it.

The image of "Woe-Misfortune" - fate, fate, as it arises in our story, is one of the most significant literary images. Grief simultaneously symbolizes an external force hostile to a person and the internal state of a person, his spiritual emptiness. It's like his doppelgänger.

For the time being, victory turns out to be behind the old days, it still triumphs over the awakening individualistic impulses of the younger generation. This is the main meaning of the story, which very talentedly depicts children at the turn of two eras. It is characteristic, however, that monastic life is interpreted in the story not as an ideal, not even as a norm, but as a kind of exception for those who have not managed to organize their worldly life according to the rules that have been prescribed by centuries of tradition. Turning to the monastery is sad for the young man, but the only way out of his unsuccessful life.

The epic structure of the story: the metrical structure of the verse, epic common places (coming to the ball, boasting at the feast), repetition of individual words, tautology, the use of constant epithets (wild winds, wild head, green wine)

The Tale of Frol Skobeev, Savva Gruditsyn.

5. Journalism of the 16th century. Correspondence between Ivan the Terrible and Kurbsky: stylistic features.

The beginning of a significant correspondence was the accusatory message of Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky, a major military leader, who, having reason to expect disgrace and execution, fled in 1564. to Lithuania, from where he sent a letter to Ivan IV. In it, he accuses Ivan the Terrible of exorbitant cruelty, unjustified persecution, and threatens the tsar with the Last Judgment. The answer was the first message of the tsar, designated as the tsar's message to the "Russian State". In this message, characterized by Kurbsky as "broadcast and noisy", Ivan IV outlined his state program, defended his autocrat's right to unlimited power, condemned the boyars, by which he meant all the forces opposing him. The tsar furiously rejected Kurbsky's reproaches, and he took the reproach of "resistance to Orthodoxy" with particular pain. The question of the authorship of works signed with the name of Ivan IV is rather complicated, because Grozny, as the head of state, signed a huge number of diplomatic messages and other documents. Opinions about whether the king was a writer are rather controversial. The main feature of the "Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible with Andrei Kurbsky", which distinguishes it from other journalistic works of the 16th century, is "a significant increase in the individual beginning in the styles of the works." Before Ivan IV, there was not a single writer in whose work the individual beginning and personality of the author would be expressed with such force. In his messages, Grozny reflected the destruction of the once strict boundaries between the genres of literature and business writing. Ivan IV skillfully used in his work the freedom that the epistolary genre provided. In the work of Ivan the Terrible, the methods of sharp journalistic polemics reached a special development. A lively argument with the opponent, abundant rhetorical questions addressed to him, mocking parody of the opponent's arguments and, at the same time, a frequent appeal to his mind ("you would yourself

reasoned"). These features run through all the messages of Ivan IV. In literature, Tsar Ivan was primarily an innovator. For any medieval writing, including Russian, literary etiquette is characteristic. There were strict rules in literature, in what expressions it was necessary to write about enemies and friends, about military exploits and about church life, where there was a place for everyday details, and where it was necessary to express solemnly and majestically. In the Middle Ages, spoken and literary languages stood far apart. Lively turns of speech could sometimes be found in business documents and in records of court testimony. For literature, they were considered contraindicated. Ivan the Terrible was perhaps the first to use colloquial language and vernacular in his messages. The tsar's ability to blow up the literary etiquette of medieval writing was clearly manifested in his correspondence with Kurbsky. However, the latter was very talented, but remained entirely within the literary tradition. In their form, Ivan the Terrible's letters are very unconventional; you can even notice buffoonish features in it, contrasting with high pathos within the same work. Grozny often behaved like a storyteller. He did not write to the reader, but talked to the interlocutor, trying to use a clear and

intelligible style of presentation. The appearance of words and phrases characteristic of oral speech was caused by the democratization of the structure of the text - an important process that affected all levels of the language ancient Russian literature. Ivan IV is the first Russian writer in whose work the image of the author is clearly expressed. In his free attitude to literary creativity, Grozny was far ahead of his era.

general characteristics. On the background "secularization" culture and literature in the 17th century, i.e. gradual liberation from the guardianship of the church, the gradual displacement of church genres, new, purely secular genres of literature appear, in particular, everyday and satirical stories appear.

The emergence of the genre of everyday story and its problems are closely connected with the changes that took place in Russian life in the 17th century: with the general upsurge of Russian culture, a craving for enlightenment, a protest against the inert house-building life, and interest in the human person. The everyday story captured the essential aspects of a person's private and public life. For the first time, the hero of the story is not a historical figure, but a fictional person. The author shows great attention to the private life of an ordinary person.

One of the remarkable phenomena of the literature of the second half of XVII century is also the formation and development of satire as an independent literary genre. Everyday and satirical story is spreading among the common people. This literature is opposed to the official literature, the literature of the ruling class, partly continuing the old traditions.

Democratic literature is in opposition to the feudal class: it is literature that emphasizes the injustice that prevails in the world, reflecting dissatisfaction with reality and social orders. The union with the environment, so characteristic of the personality of the previous time, is destroyed in it. Dissatisfaction with one's fate, one's position, others is a new trait, unknown to previous periods. The democratic literature of this period is characterized by a conflict of the individual with the environment, complaints of this individual about his lot, a challenge to public order, sometimes - self-doubt, prayer, fear, fear of the world, a sense of his own defenselessness, faith in fate, in fate, the theme of death. , suicide and the first attempts to resist their fate, to correct injustice. In democratic literature, a special style of depicting a person is developing: a style that is sharply reduced, deliberately everyday, asserting the right of every person to public sympathy. Democratic literature strives for the complete exposure and exposure of all the ulcers of reality. Rudeness helps her in this - rudeness in everything: the rudeness of the new literary language, half colloquial, half taken from business writing, the rudeness of the depicted life, the rudeness of eroticism, the corrosive irony in relation to everything in the world, including oneself.

The person depicted in the works of this literature does not occupy any official position, or his position is very low. This is just a suffering person, suffering from hunger, cold, from social injustice, from the fact that he has nowhere to lay his head. The new hero is surrounded by the ardent sympathy of the author and readers. His position is the same as any of the readers can have. He does not rise above the readers either by his official position, or by any role whatsoever in historical events, or by his moral height. He is deprived of everything that distinguished and exalted the characters in the previous literary development. This man is by no means idealized. Against! If in all previous medieval styles of depicting a person, this latter was certainly somehow higher than all his readers, was to a certain extent an abstract character, hovering in some kind of his own, special space, where the reader, in essence, did not penetrate, now the acting the face appears quite equal to it, and sometimes even humiliated, demanding not admiration, but pity and indulgence. The hero is depicted in the most unattractive positions. This is a simplification of the hero, taken to the limits of the possible. It is in this way of depicting a person that the consciousness of the value of the human person in itself most of all appears: naked, hungry, barefoot, sinful, without any hope for the future, without any signs of any position in society. Take a look at a man - as if inviting the authors of these works, look how hard it is for him on this earth! He is lost among the poverty of some and the wealth of others. Today he is rich, tomorrow he is poor; today he made his money, tomorrow he lived. He wanders "between the yards", eats alms from time to time, is mired in drunkenness, plays dice. He is powerless to overcome himself, to enter the "saved path." And yet he deserves sympathy.

There is a teaching voice in these works, but it is not the voice of a self-confident preacher, as in the works of the previous time. This is the voice of the author offended by life or the voice of life itself. Actors perceive the lessons of reality, under their influence they change, make decisions. The hero makes a decision not under the influence of the influx of Christian feelings or the prescriptions and norms of feudal behavior, but as a result of the blows of life, the blows of fate.

Ancient Russian literature did not know an openly fictional character. All characters in works XI - early XVII V. - historical or claiming to be historic. If in Old Russian works and there are fictitious persons, then the ancient Russian writer seeks to assure his reader that these persons did exist. Fiction - miracles, visions, prophecies that come true - the writer passes off as real facts and he himself believes in their reality.

In the 17th century, writers sought to get rid of historical name character, however, it was not so easy to overcome the centuries-old belief that in a literary work only what is genuine, what really happened and historically significant is interesting. It was even more difficult to embark on the path of open fiction. The streak of searching for an exit from predicament, searches, which, in the end, led to the creation of an imaginary hero of the literature of the new time, a hero with a fictitious name, with a fictitious biography. This is an average, non-historical, “everyday” person, about whom one can write everything, obeying only the internal logic of the image itself, recreating this image in the most typical positions for him.

One of the most significant transitional phenomena was the emergence of namelessness of actors. Nameless people become heroes - people who are simply called “well done” or “poor”, “rich”, “naked and poor man”, “hawk”, “peasant son”, “maiden”, “some merchant”, “jealous husband " etc. The namelessness of the hero already in itself meant that there was a discovery of new, completely different than before, ways of artistic generalization. But it should be noted that the namelessness of the hero facilitated the path to fiction, the path to the creation of typical, not at all idealized heroes.

A means of typifying life phenomena during this period is parody and the form of “open lies” - fiction. The emergence of parody is due to the fact that in the fiction of the medieval reader, the lie was frightened: everything that is not “historical”, that was not in reality, is a deceit, and deceit is from the devil. But an openly admitted fiction is not a lie, especially if this fiction is covered up with a joke. In addition, parody gave vent to popular discontent - dissatisfaction not with individual historical figures, but with the social structure itself. It made it possible to broadly generalize life phenomena, which was especially needed by representatives of the township and the peasantry. Fable, in turn, stated as ordinary what was just unusual in life, and thereby emphasized the abnormality of the usual state of affairs. Along with parody and fiction, animal epic penetrates the literature of the 17th century from folklore. This is a frankly admitted fiction, about which the reader is, as it were, warned in advance.

In the 17th century, with the development of individualism, the fate of a person turns out to be his “personal” fate. The fate of a person is perceived as something inspired from the outside, “sticking” to a person, as his second being and is often separated from the person himself, personified. This personification occurs when internal conflict in man, the conflict between passion and reason reaches supreme power. Fate is by no means "innate" to man. For example, in The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, Savva's fate appears in the form of a Demon, tempting him to various destructive deeds; in "The Tale of Woe - Misfortune" the fate of the young man is embodied in the image of Grief, relentlessly pursuing him.

For Literature XVII century is characterized by the principle of broad generalization of life phenomena. The authors achieve the breadth of generalization by depriving their works and their heroes of all historical references, names and titles. The namelessness of the characters is connected with another feature characteristic of the democratic literature of the 17th century - with elements of a kind of autobiography, to one degree or another inherent in many works of this time. Autobiographism makes it possible to get rid of the artistic generalization of the historical name of the character that hindered the development, to introduce a simple, ordinary "non-historical" hero into literature.

The literature of the 17th century is characterized by a method of composing works on behalf of many persons, where a collective author acts as if, the work is composed on behalf of a whole group of people, and the misadventures of this entire group are described. There are also works whose characters appear already under fictitious names: Thomas, Yerema, Sava, etc., which, like the names of some stories, for example, “The Tale of Priest Sava and Great Glory”, are borrowed from Russian proverbs: “There was Sava , there was also glory”, “From Sava glory”, “From Sava you want glory”, etc. Proverbial names are nicknames; they are given to specific living persons to whom the proverb is applicable.

In Old Russian literary works of the previous time, the author's point of view was always and in everything manifested, the voice of the author was always heard, interpreting events and phenomena. The author's opinion was always in sight, his attitude to the depicted was always distinct. The characters in the works were subject to the ideological scheme of the author, they were an illustration of his general thought. With the development of purely literary genres in the 17th century, a literary work ceases to be the author's monologue. Dramatic works appear, a typical feature of which is the complete remoteness of the image from the portrayer. Reader-friendly adventurers appear in literature, clever people (Frol Skobeev), “lost” people (the hero of The Tale of Woe - Misfortune), who sold their souls to the devil (Savva Grudtsyn), offended by fate, unrecognized, indulging in some kind of passion, etc. d. The appearance of all these heroes became possible, since the author's point of view on them ceased to manifest itself openly.

In the literature of the 17th century, a special style of portraying a person develops: a style that is sharply reduced, deliberately everyday, asserting the right of every person to public sympathy. The separation of the author's point of view from the moralizing presented in the work, the justification of a person who, from the church point of view, was a "sinner", meant the death of the medieval normative ideal and the gradual exit of literature onto a new path of inductive artistic generalization - a generalization based on reality, and not on a normative ideal. . There is a discovery of the value of the human personality in itself, the discovery of the value of the author's personality. This is how a new type appears. professional writer, there is an awareness of the value of the author's text, the concept of copyright appears, which does not allow a simple borrowing of the text from predecessors, an interest is shown in autobiographies, in personal notes.

In the visual arts, the discovery of the value of the human personality manifests itself in a very diverse way: parsunas (portraits) appear, linear perspective, which provides for a single individual point of view on the image, illustrations appear for works of democratic literature depicting an “average” person, and splint is born.

Democratic satire - a new genre that arose and developed in the 17th century. The works of this genre reflected the mood populace and denounced the injustice of the social system. The anti-feudal orientation brought satire closer to oral folk art, from where it drew plots and artistic and visual means. In turn, many satirical stories became the property of folklore.

"SHEMYAKIN COURT"

Federal Agency for Education Russian Federation

State educational institution

Higher professional education

"Brotherly State University"

Department of History

Course work.

Russian literature of the 17th century

Student of group I-08 Sokolov D.A.

Scientific director:

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor Soldatov S.A.

Bratsk 2009

Introduction

Why did I choose this topic for writing a term paper? The answer is simple. When setting the task of writing this work, I took into account, and wanted to find out what kind of works of literature, styles, genres and relevance were at that time. When embarking on the study of Old Russian literature, it is necessary to take into account its specific features, which differ from the literature of modern times.

My work consists of two stages: literature of the 1st and 2nd half of the 17th century. The first stage is connected with the development and transformation of traditional historical and hagiographic genres of ancient Russian literature. The events of the first Peasants' War and the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Swedish intervention dealt a blow to religious ideology, providential views on the course of historical events. The second stage in the development of Russian literature in the second half of the 17th century. associated with the church reform of Nikon, with the events of the historical reunification of Ukraine with Russia, after which an intensive process of penetration into ancient Russian literature of Western European literature began. The historical story, losing connection with specific facts, becomes not only an everyday biography, but also an autobiography - a confession of a hot rebellious heart.

The process of self-awareness of the individual is reflected in a new genre - everyday story, in which a new hero appears - a merchant's son, a seedy, rootless nobleman. The nature of translated literature is changing.

The process of democratization of literature meets with a response from the ruling classes.

My course work is devoted to a detailed coverage of these historical processes.

Chapter 1. Literature of the first half 17th century

1.1 Tales of the "Troubled" time

The turbulent events of the beginning of the 17th century, which received the names of "troubles" among contemporaries (such a definition for a long time kept in historical science, fixed by noble and bourgeois historiography), found wide reflection in literature. Literature acquires an exclusively topical journalistic character, promptly responding to the demands of the time, reflecting the interests of various social groups participating in the struggle.

Society, having inherited from the previous century an ardent faith in the power of the word, in the power of conviction, seeks to propagate certain ideas in literary works, achieving specific effective goals.

Among the stories that reflected the events of 1604-1613, one can single out works that express the interests of the ruling boyars. Such is the "Tale of 1606" - journalistic work, created by a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The story actively supports the policy of the boyar tsar Vasily Shuisky, tries to present him as a popular choice, emphasizing the unity of Shuisky with the people. The people turn out to be a force that the ruling circles cannot but reckon with. The story glorifies courageous boldness"Shuisky in his struggle with" evil heretic", "stripped"Grishka Otrepiev. To prove the legitimacy of Shuisky's rights to the royal throne, his family is elevated to Vladimir Svyatoslavich of Kyiv.

The author of the story sees the causes of "distemper" and "disorganization" in the Muscovite state in the pernicious rule of Boris Godunov, who, by the villainous murder of Tsarevich Dmitry, stopped the existence of the family of lawful kings of Moscow and " rapture the tsar's throne in Moscow".

Subsequently, "The Tale of 1606" was revised into "Another Legend". Defending the positions of the boyars, the author portrays him as the savior of the Russian state from adversaries.

"The Tale of 1606" and "Another Legend" are written in the traditional book manner. They are built on the contrast of the pious champion of the Orthodox faith Vasily Shuisky and " crafty, sly"Godunova," wicked heretic" Grigory Otrepyev. Their actions are explained from traditional providentialist positions.

This group of works is opposed by stories that reflect the interests of the nobility and the townspeople's trade and craft strata of the population. Here we should first of all mention those journalistic messages that Russian cities exchanged, rallying their forces to fight the enemy.

"A NEW STORY ABOUT THE GLORIOUS RUSSIAN KINGDOM ..." The publicistic propaganda appeal draws attention - " New story about the glorious Russian kingdom and the great state of Moscow. "Written in late 1610 - early 1611, at the most intense moment of the struggle, when Moscow was occupied by Polish troops, and Novgorod was captured by Swedish feudal lords, "New Tale", referring to " all sorts of ranks to people", called them to active actions against the invaders. She sharply denounced the treacherous policy of the boyar authorities, which, instead of being " landowner"native land, turned into a domestic enemy, and the boyars themselves into" earth-eaters", "kriviteli".

A characteristic feature of the story is its democracy, a new interpretation of the image of the people - this " great... waterless sea". Calls and messages of Hermogenes are addressed to the people, enemies and traitors are afraid of the people, the author of the story appeals to the people. However, the people in the story do not yet act as an effective force.

The general pathetic tone of presentation is combined in the "New Tale" with numerous psychological characteristics. For the first time in literature, there is a desire to discover and show the contradictions between the thoughts and actions of a person. In this growing attention to the disclosure of a person’s thoughts that determine his behavior, lies literary significance"New story".

"LAMENT OF THE CAPTURE AND FINAL RUIN OF THE MOSCOW STATE". Thematically close to the "New Tale" is the "lament for the captivity and final ruin of the Muscovite state", created, obviously, after the capture of Smolensk by the Poles and the burning of Moscow in 1612. Rhetorically laments the fall" pigra ( pillar) piety"ruin" god-planted grapes". The burning of Moscow is interpreted as a fall" multinational state". The author seeks to find out the reasons that led to " the fall of high Russia", using the form of an edifying short "conversation". In an abstract generalized form, he speaks of the responsibility of the rulers for what happened " over the highest Russia". However, this work does not call for a struggle, but only mourns, convinces to seek consolation in prayer and hope in God's help.

"THE STORY ABOUT THE DEATH OF PRINCE MIKHAIL VASILIEVICH SKOPIN-SHUISKY". With his victories over False Dmitry II, Skopin-Shuisky gained fame as a talented commander. His sudden death at the age of 20 gave rise to various rumors that, allegedly out of envy, he was poisoned by the boyars. These sentiments were reflected in folk songs and legends, the literary processing of which is the story.

It begins with a rhetorical book introduction, in which genealogical calculations are made, tracing the Skopin-Shuisky family to Alexander Nevsky and Augustus Caesar.

The story has an anti-boyar orientation: Skopin-Shuisky is poisoned " on the advice of evil traitors"- the boyars, only they do not mourn for the commander. The story glorifies Skopin-Shuisky as national hero, defender of the motherland from enemy enemies.

"TALE" AVRAAMIA PALITZIN. Clever, cunning and rather unscrupulous businessman Avraamy Palitsin was in close relations with Vasily Shuisky, secretly communicated with Sigismund III, seeking benefits for the monastery from the Polish king. Creating the "Tale", he sought to rehabilitate himself and tried to emphasize his merits in the fight against foreign invaders and the election of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne.

Much attention in the "Tale" is paid to the depiction of the deeds and thoughts of both the defenders of the monastery fortress, and enemies and traitors. Based on the traditions of the "Kazan Chronicler", "The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople", Avraamy Palitsin creates an original historical work in which a significant step is taken towards recognizing the people as an active participant in historical events.

"CHRONICLE BOOK" ATTRIBUTED TO KATYREV-ROSTOVSKY. The events of the first peasant war and the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Swedish intervention are dedicated to the Chronicle Book, attributed to Katyrev-Rostovsky. It was created in 1626 and reflected the official government point of view on the recent past.

The purpose of the Chronicle Book is to strengthen the authority of the new ruling dynasty Romanovs. "Chronicle Book" is a coherent pragmatic narrative from recent years the reign of Ivan the Terrible until the election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne. The author strives to give an epicly calm "objective" narrative.

A characteristic feature of the "Chronicle Book" is the desire of its author to introduce landscape sketches into the historical narrative, which serve as a contrasting or harmonizing background for ongoing events. The works of the period of the struggle of the Russian people with the Polish-Swedish intervention and the Peasant War under the leadership of Bolotnikov, continuing to develop the traditions of historical narrative literature reflected the growth of national consciousness. This was manifested in a change in the view of the historical process: the course of history is determined not by God's will, but by the activity of people. The stories can no longer help talking about the people, about their participation in the struggle for the national independence of their homeland, about the responsibility of "the whole earth" for what has happened.

This, in turn, determined the increased interest in the human person. For the first time there is a desire to portray the internal contradictions of character and to reveal the reasons by which these contradictions are generated. Rectilinear characteristics of a person are beginning to be replaced by a deeper depiction of conflicting properties. human soul. At the same time, as D.S. Likhachev, characters historical persons in works from the early 17th century. shown against the backdrop of folk talk about them. Human activity is given in a historical perspective and for the first time begins to be evaluated in its "social function". Events 1604-1613 caused a number of significant changes in the public consciousness. The attitude towards the king has changed as to God's chosen one, who received his power from the forefathers, from Augustus Caesar. The practice of life convinced that the tsar was elected by the "zemstvo" and was morally responsible to his country, to his subjects for their fate. Therefore, the actions of the king, his behavior are not subject to the divine, but to the human court, the court of society.

The events of 1607-1613. a crushing blow was dealt to religious ideology, the undivided dominance of the church in all spheres of life: not God, but man creates his own destiny, not God's will, but the activity of people determines the historical fate of the country.

All this testifies to the intensification of the process of "secularization" of culture and literature, i.e. its gradual liberation from the tutelage of the church, religious ideology.

1.2 Evolution of hagiographic literature

The process of "secularization" of ancient Russian literature was reflected in the transformation of such a stable genre as hagiography. Its canons, firmly fixed by Makaryev's "Fourth Menaion", are destroyed by the invasion of everyday realities, folklore legends from the 15th century, as evidenced by the lives of John of Novgorod, Mikhail Klopsky. In the 17th century life gradually turns into a household story, and then becomes an autobiography-confession.

"THE STORY ABOUT YULIA LAZAREVSKAYA". Changes in the traditional genre of life can be traced in the "Tale of Julian Lazarevskaya". This story is the first biography of a noblewoman in ancient Russian literature. It was written by the son of Juliana Druzhina Osorin, the headman of the city of Murom, in the 20-30s of the 17th century. The author of the story is well aware of the facts of the biography of the heroine, she is dear to him moral character, her human features. The positive character of a Russian woman is revealed in the everyday atmosphere of a rich noble estate.

The qualities of an exemplary hostess come to the fore. After getting married, the young Juliana is responsible for the complex management of the noble estate. Catering to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, sister-in-law, she monitors the work of serfs, housekeeping; at the same time, she often has to settle social conflicts that arise between the servants and the masters.

The story faithfully depicts the position of a married woman in a large noble family, her lack of rights and numerous duties. Housekeeping so absorbs Juliana that she is deprived of the opportunity to attend church, and yet she is a "saint". "The Tale of Yuliana Lazarevskaya" creates the image of an energetic, intelligent Russian woman, an exemplary wife and mistress, patiently enduring the trials that life brings down on her. As befits a saint, Juliana herself foresees her death and piously dies. Ten years later, her incorruptible body is found, which works miracles.

Thus, in The Tale of Yuliana Lazarevskaya, elements of everyday life are closely intertwined with elements of the hagiographic genre, but everyday narrative elements are clearly beginning to take the predominant place.

All this testifies to the process of destruction of the canonical hagiographic genres. Pious ascetic monk - central hero life is replaced by a secular hero, who begins to be portrayed in a real everyday environment. The next step along the path of bringing life closer to life will be made by Archpriest Avvakum in his famous autobiographical life.

1.3 Evolution of genres of historical narrative

Genres of historical narrative (historical story, legend) in the 17th century. undergo significant changes. Their content and form are subject to democratization. Historical facts are gradually replaced by fiction, an entertaining plot, motifs and images of oral folk art begin to play an increasingly important role in the narrative.

"TALE ABOUT THE AZOV SIEGE SEAT OF THE DON COSSACKS". The process of democratization of the genre of the historical story can be traced in the poetic "Tale of the Sea of Azov Don Cossacks". It arose in the Cossack environment and captured the selfless feat of a handful of daredevils, who not only captured the Turkish fortress of Azov in 1637, but also managed to defend it in 1641 from significantly superior enemy forces.

There is a very convincing assumption that its author was the Cossack captain Fedor Poroshin, who arrived with the Cossack embassy in Moscow in 1641 in order to convince the tsar and the government to accept the Azov fortress from the Cossacks " under your arm".

Being himself a participant in the events, Fedor Poroshin truthfully and in detail described the feat of the Don Cossacks, while using the form of a Cossack military reply familiar to him. He managed to give a bright poetic sound to the genre of business writing, which was achieved not so much by mastering best traditions historical narrative literature (tales about Mamaev massacre, "The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople"), so much wide and creative use of Cossack folklore, as well as a truthful and accurate description of the events themselves.

A distinctive feature of the story is its hero. This is not an outstanding historical personality of the ruler of the state, a commander, but a small team, a handful of brave and courageous daredevils-Cossacks who accomplished a heroic feat not for the sake of personal glory, not out of self-interest, but in the name of their homeland - the Muscovite state, which " great and spacious, shining brightly in the midst of all other states and hordes of Busormansikhs, Persian and Hellenic, like the sun in the sky". A high sense of national self-consciousness, a sense of patriotism inspires them to a feat. And although they are " Rus' is not revered even for a stinking dog", the Cossacks love their homeland and cannot betray it. With poisonous irony they answer the Turkish ambassadors who offered them to surrender the fortress without a fight and go to the service of the Sultan. The answer of the Don Cossacks to the Turks to a certain extent anticipates the famous letter of the Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan.

After all, 5000 Cossacks are advancing forces Turkish Sultan in 3,000,000 warriors! And despite this, the Cossacks proudly and contemptuously reject the proposals of the ambassadors for the peaceful surrender of the city and accept an unequal battle. The siege lasts 95 days; 24 enemy assaults were repelled by the Cossacks, destroying the tunnel, with the help of which the enemies tried to capture the fortress. Gathering all their strength, the Cossacks go on the last and decisive sortie. First, they say goodbye to their homeland, to their native steppes and Quiet Don Ivanovich. Cossacks say goodbye not only to native nature, but also with their sovereign, who is for them the personification of the Russian land.

In the last, decisive battle with the enemy, the Cossacks are victorious, and the Turks are forced to lift the siege.

Glorifying the selfless feat of the Cossacks - faithful Russian sons, the author of the story cannot but pay tribute to tradition: the victory achieved by the Cossacks is explained by the miraculous intercession of heavenly forces led by John the Baptist. However, religious fiction serves here only as a means of exalting the patriotic deed of the defenders of Azov. The story expresses the desire to create an image of the "mass", to convey its feelings, thoughts and moods, and also given the assertion of the strength of the people, triumphant over " strength and puff" "king of Tours".

Speaking on behalf of the entire Don Cossacks, the author seeks to convince the government of Mikhail Fedorovich " accept" "his sovereign patrimony Azov grad". However Zemsky Sobor 1641-1642 decided to return the fortress to the Turks, and the zealous champion of the annexation of Azov to Moscow, the accuser of the oppression of the Cossacks by the boyars and nobles - Fedor Poroshin was exiled to Siberia.

The heroic defense of the Azov fortress by the Cossacks in 1641 was also reflected in the "documentary" story, devoid of the artistic pathos characteristic of the "poetic" story. In the last quarter of the 17th century, the plot of historical stories about the Azov events (1637 and 1641), under the influence of Cossack songs associated with the Peasant War under the leadership of Stepan Razin, turns into a "fabulous" "Story of the Azov capture and siege seat from the Tsar of Tur Brahim of the Don Cossacks.

Chapter 2. Literature of the second half 17th century

2.1 Household stories

The process of awakening the consciousness of the individual is reflected in what appeared in the second half of the 17th century. new genre - everyday story. His appearance is associated with a new type of hero, who declared himself both in life and in literature. The everyday story vividly reflected the changes that have taken place in the consciousness, morality and life of people, that struggle between "old" and "novelty" of the transitional era, which permeated all spheres of personal and public life.

"A TALE OF SORRY AND SORRY". One of outstanding works Literature of the second half of the XVII century is "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune". central theme the story is the theme of the tragic fate of the younger generation, which is trying to break with the old forms of the family and household way of life, domostroevskoy morality.

The introduction to the story gives this theme a universal sound. The biblical story about the fall of Adam and Eve is interpreted here as disobedience, disobedience of the first people to the will of the god who created them. The basis of the plot of the story is the sad story of the life of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live according to his will, " as he likes". The appearance of a generalized-collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time was a very remarkable and innovative phenomenon. In literature, a historical personality is replaced by a fictional hero, in whose character the features of an entire generation of the transitional era are typified.

Well done grew up in a patriarchal merchant family, surrounded by vigilant care and care of loving parents. However, he strives for freedom from under his native roof, he longs to live according to his own will, and not according to parental instructions. The constant guardianship of his parents did not teach the Young Man to understand people, to understand life, and he pays for his gullibility, for his blind faith in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. The reason for the further misadventures of the hero is his character. Boasting of your happiness and wealth destroys the Young Man. From that moment on, the image of Grief appears in the story, which, as in folk songs, personifies the tragic fate, fate, fate of a person. This image also reveals the inner split, the confusion of the hero's soul, his lack of confidence in his abilities.

In the advice that the Good Gore gives, it is easy to detect the painful thoughts of the hero himself over life, over the instability of his material well-being. In a true depiction of the process of formation of the declassed elements of society, there is a great social significance story.

The author sympathizes with the hero and at the same time shows his tragic doom. The good fellow pays for his disobedience. To the time-honored traditional way of life, he cannot oppose anything but his desire for freedom. The story sharply contrasts two types of attitudes towards life, two worldviews: on the one hand, parents and "good people" - the majority standing guard over the "house-building" social and family morality; on the other hand, - Well done, embodying the desire of a new generation to free life.

It should be noted that the instructions of parents and the advice of "kind people" concern only the most general practical issues of human behavior and are devoid of religious didactics.

The interweaving of epic and lyrics gives the story an epic scope, gives it lyrical sincerity. In general, the story, according to N.G. Chernyshevsky, "follows the right course of the folk poetic word."

"The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn". Thematically, the Tale of Woe and Misfortune adjoins the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, created in the 70s of the 17th century. This story also reveals the theme of the relationship between two generations, contrasts two types of attitudes towards life.

The basis of the plot is the life of the merchant's son Savva Grudtsyn, full of worries and adventures. The narrative about the fate of the hero is given against a broad historical background. Savva's youth takes place during the struggle of the Russian people with the Polish intervention; V mature years the hero takes part in the war for Smolensk in 1632-1634. The story mentions historical figures: Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar Streshnev, governor Shein, centurion Shilov; and the hero himself belongs to the well-known merchant family of the Grudtsyn-Usovs. However, the main place in the story is occupied by pictures of private life.

The story consists of a series of consecutive episodes that make up the main milestones of Savva's biography: youth, mature years, old age and death.

In his youth, Savva, sent by his father on commercial affairs to the city of Orel Solikamsk, indulges in amorous pleasures with the wife of his father's friend Bazhen II, boldly trampling on the sanctity of the family union and the sanctity of friendship. The author sympathizes with Savva, condemns the act " evil and unfaithful wife", insidiously seducing him. But this traditional motif of seducing an innocent lad acquires real psychological outlines in the story.

Showing the participation of Savva in the struggle of Russian troops for Smolensk, the author glorifies his image. Savva's victory over enemy heroes is depicted in a heroic epic style. In these episodes, Savva approaches the images of Russian heroes, and his victory in fights with enemy "giants" rises to the significance of a national feat.

The denouement of the story is connected with the traditional motif of the "miracles" of the Mother of God icons: the Mother of God, by her intercession, saves Savva from demonic torment, having previously taken a vow from him to go to the monastery. Healed, received back his smoothed " handwriting", Savva becomes a monk. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that Savva remains a "young man" throughout the story. The image of Savva, as the image of the Young Man in "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune", summarizes the features of the younger generation, striving to throw off the oppression of centuries traditions, to live to the fullest extent of their daring valiant forces.

The image of the demon allows the author of the story to explain the reasons for the hero’s extraordinary successes and defeats in life, as well as to show the restless soul of a young man with his thirst for a stormy and rebellious life, his desire to become noble. The style of the story combines traditional book techniques and separate motives oral folk poetry. The novelty of the story lies in its attempt to depict an ordinary human character in an ordinary everyday environment, to reveal the complexity and inconsistency of character, to show the meaning of love in a person's life. Quite rightly, therefore, a number of researchers consider "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" as the initial stage in the formation of the novel genre.

"THE STORY ABOUT FROL SKOBEEV". If the hero of the stories about Woe and Misfortune and Savva Grudtsyn, in his desire to go beyond the traditional norms of morality and domestic relations, fail, then the poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, the hero of the story of the same name, is already shamelessly violating ethical norms, achieving personal success in life: material well-being and strong social position.

The story reflected the beginning of the process of merging the boyars-patrimonials and the service nobility into a single noble estate, the process of exaltation new nobility from clerks and clerks, parish " artistic" for changing " ancient, honest birth"The author does not condemn his hero, but admires his resourcefulness, dexterity, craftiness, cunning, rejoices in his successes in life and does not at all consider Frol's actions shameful. Achieving his goal, Frol Skobeev does not rely on God, nm on the devil, but only on one's energy, mind and worldly practicality.Religious motives occupy a rather modest place in the story.A person's actions are determined not by the will of a deity, a demon, but by his personal qualities and are consistent with the circumstances in which this person acts.

The fate of a hero who has achieved success in life reminds us of the fate of the "semi-powerful ruler" Alexander Menshikov, Count Razumovsky and other representatives of the "Petrov's nestlings".

"THE TALE ABOUT KARP SUTULOV". This story is a link between the genre of everyday and satirical story. In this work, satire begins to occupy a predominant place. The dissolute behavior of the clergy and eminent merchants is exposed to satirical denunciation. The story of the unlucky love affairs of the archbishop, the priest and the merchant acquires the features of subtle political satire. Not only the behavior of the “tops” of society is ridiculed, but also hypocrisy, the hypocrisy of religion, which gives the “right” to churchmen to sin and “let go” of sins.

The heroine of the story is an energetic, intelligent and cunning woman - the merchant's wife Tatyana. She is not embarrassed by the obscene offers of the merchant, the priest and the archbishop, and she tries to make the most of them. Thanks to her resourcefulness and intelligence, Tatyana managed to maintain marital fidelity and acquire capital, for which she was awarded the praise of her husband, the merchant Karp Sutulov.

The whole structure of the story is determined by the folk satirical anti-priest tale: the slowness and consistency of the narration with obligatory repetitions, fantastically fabulous incidents, sharp satirical laughter, exposing eminent unlucky lovers found in chests in " single srachitsy".

The satirical depiction of the depraved morals of the clergy and merchants brings the Tale of Karp Sutulov closer to the works of democratic satire of the second half of the 17th century.

2.2 Democratic satire

One of the most remarkable phenomena in the literature of the second half of the 17th century is the design and development of satire as an independent literary genre, due to the specifics social life that time.

Significant aspects of the life of feudal-serf society were subjected to satirical denunciation; unjust and corrupt court; social inequality; the immoral life of monastics and clergy, their hypocrisy, hypocrisy and greed; " state system"soldering the people through" tsarev tavern".

"The Tale of Shemyakin's Court". In "Tale of Shemyakin court"The object of the satirical denunciation is Judge Shemyaka, a bribe-taker and a hook-maker. Seduced by the possibility of a rich "promise", he casuistically interprets the laws. The artistic structure of the story is determined by the Russian satirical folk tale about the unrighteous judge and the fairy tale about "wise guessers" - the speed of development of the action, improbable injection the crimes committed by the "wretched", the comic of the position the judge and the plaintiffs find themselves in. The outwardly impartial tone of the narration in the form of "judicial replies" sharpens the satirical sound of the story.

"THE STORY ABOUT YERSH YERSHOVICH SON SHCHETINNIKOV". A vivid satirical depiction of the practice of the voivodeship court, introduced in the 60-80s of the 17th century, is the story of Ersh Ershovich, which has come down to us in four editions.

The story denounces the cunning, sly and arrogant "tether" Yersh, who seeks to appropriate other people's possessions by violence and deceit, to placate the surrounding peasants.

The story is the first example of literary allegorical satire, where fish act in strict accordance with their properties, but their relationship is a mirror of the relationship of human society.

"ALPHABET ABOUT THE NAKED AND POOR MAN". The ABC of a Naked and Poor Man is dedicated to exposing social injustice and social inequality. Using the form of didactic alphabets, the author turns it into a sharp weapon of social satire. The hero of the story - " naked and poor"a man who tells with caustic irony about his sad fate.

"KALYAZINSKAYA CHELOBITNAYA". A great place in the satirical literature of the XVII century. occupies an anti-clerical theme. The greed and greed of the priests are exposed in the satirical story "The Tale of the Priest Savva", written in rhymed verses.

A vivid accusatory document depicting the life and customs of monasticism is the "Kalyazinsky petition". In the form of a tearful petition, the monks complain to the Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Simeon about their new archimandrite, the rector of the monastery, Gabriel. The petition emphasizes that the main source of the monastery's income is distillation and brewing, and Gabriel's ban only repairs the monastery's treasury. In the petition sounds the requirement immediate replacement archimandrite by a man, much " lying wine and beer to drink, but not to go to church", as well as a direct threat to rebel against their oppressors.

A characteristic feature of the petition style is its aphorism: mockery is often expressed in the form of folk rhyming jokes. These jokes reveal in the author of "Kalyazinskaya Petition" "the crafty Russian mind, so inclined towards irony, so simple-hearted in its cunning."

"THE TALE OF THE HEN AND THE FOX". In the allegorical images of the Russian folk animal tale, the Tale of the Kura and the Fox denounces the hypocrisy and hypocrisy of the priests and monks, the internal falsity of their formal piety.

The story denounces not only the clergy, but also criticizes the text " scripture", aptly noticing its contradictions. Shows that with the help of the text of the "sacred books" any morality can be justified.

A huge achievement of democratic satire was the depiction, for the first time in our literature, of the life of disadvantaged people, " nakedness and barefoot in all its unvarnished squalor.

2.3 Historical stories

TALES ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF MOSCOW. In the second half of the XVII century. the historical story is gradually losing historicism, acquiring the character of a love-adventure short story, which then serves as the basis for the development of an adventurous-adventure story. love story. The main attention is shifted to personal life a person, there is an interest in moral, ethical, everyday issues.

The chronographic story about the beginning of Moscow still retains a certain historicity: here the foundation of Moscow is associated with Yuri Dolgoruky. The short story is already completely losing its historicism. New in the short story is not only its plot, built on a love affair, but the desire to show the psychological state.

In the story-tale, any hints of historical events are already completely absent. Her hero is Daniil Ivanovich, who founded the Krutitsy Bishop's House.

THE STORY ABOUT THE FOUNDATION OF THE TVER OTROCH MONASTERY. The transformation of a historical story into a love-adventure novel can be traced on the example of the Tale of the founding of the Tver Otroch Monastery. Her hero is the prince's servant, the youth Gregory, wounded by love for the sexton's daughter Xenia.

The story is widely represented by the symbolism of wedding folk songs.

The hagiographic elements prevailing at the end of the story do not destroy the integrity of its content, which is based on fiction.

"TALE ABOUT SUHAN". In search of new images, forms of storytelling associated with the heroic theme of defending the homeland from external enemies, the literature of the second half of the 17th century. refers to the folk epic. The result of book processing of the epic plot was "The Tale of Sukhan", preserved in the only list of the end of the 17th century. Her hero - a hero - is fighting the Mongol-Tatar conquerors, who, led by Tsar Azbuk Tavruevich, want to captivate the Russian land.

Thus, having lost historicism, the genres of historical literature in the 17th century. acquires new qualities: they develop fiction, entertaining, the influence of the genres of oral folk art is increasing, and the history itself becomes independent form ideology, gradually turning into a science.

2.4 Literature in translation

In the 17th century the economic and cultural ties of the Russian state with Western Europe are being strengthened. A major role in this was played by the reunification of Ukraine with Russia in 1654. Founded in 1631 by Petro Mohyla, the Kiev-Mohyla Academy is becoming a real forge of cultural personnel. A number of schools were created by the students of the academy in Moscow.

"GREAT MIRROR". The Russian reader gets acquainted with the collection of religious-didactic and moralizing-everyday stories "The Great Mirror", translated from the Polish original in 1677. The collection uses apocryphal and hagiographic literature, which illustrated certain provisions of Christian dogma. A large place in the collection was given to the glorification of the Mother of God.

The composition of the "Great Mirror" also includes purely secular stories, denouncing female stubbornness, female malice, exposing ignorance, hypocrisy. Such, for example, is the well-known anecdote about a dispute between a husband and wife over whether the field has been mowed or sheared.

The presence of entertaining narrative material in the collection contributed to its popularity, and a number of its plots passed into folklore.

"ROMAN ACTS". In 1681, in Belarus, the collection "Roman Acts" was translated from the Polish printed edition. The Russian collection contains 39 works about historical figures associated with Rome. In terms of genre, the stories were not homogeneous: they combined the motives of an adventure story, fairy tale, a playful anecdote and a didactic story. Narrative material was usually given an allegorical moralistic interpretation. Some stories defended medieval ascetic morality, but most of the stories glorified the joys of life.

So, in one work, motives close to the original everyday story and Christian didactics were combined.

"Facecia" In the second half of the XVII century. the collection "Apothegmata" is translated into Russian, which contains the sayings of philosophers and instructive stories from their life. In 1680, "Facetia" was translated from Polish into Russian, dating back to the collection of Poggio Bracciolini. Funny anecdotes from Everyday life of people. "Facetia" attracted the reader with amusement, brilliance of wit.

"HISTORY OF SEVEN SAGES". The story "the story of the seven wise men" was very popular, which became known to the Russian reader through the Belarusian translation and goes back to the ancient Indian story. The story included fifteen short stories, united by a single plot frame. All these short stories are purely domestic content.

"The Tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich". "The Tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich" adjoins the translated stories. It arose in the Cossack environment on the basis of an oriental plot, dating back to the poem of the great Tajik-Persian poet Firdousi "Shah-Name". The hero of the poem, Rustem, in Russian reworking, turned into the daring hero Uruslan, and then Yeruslan. Uruslan possesses hyperbolic heroic strength. He shows valor and courage, in battle he does not know tired and constantly wins. Uruslan is disinterested, noble and forgiving. Cunning, deceit, deceit are alien to him. He performs his exploits in the name of truth, honor and justice, but his exploits are also guided by the desire to find the perfect in the world. feminine beauty.

The hero was close and understandable to the Russian reader, who saw in him a reflection of his ideal of a person.

The strengthening of Russia's cultural ties with the West is also reflected in the stories of Russian ambassadors.

So, as a result of the changes that have taken place in the life, way of life and consciousness of people, the nature of translated literature is changing. Works of predominantly secular content are translated. However, translators still do not aim to convey the original with maximum accuracy, but adapt it to the tastes and needs of their time, sometimes filling it with purely Russian content, using the achievements and discoveries in the depiction of human character made by the original literature. The heroes of translated stories are portrayed in many ways, their actions organically follow from the properties and qualities of character. The exceptional circumstances in which they operate serve as a means of sharpening positive sides their nature.

Conclusion

Thus, summing up the work done, I can say with confidence that all 2 stages of Russian literature are consecrated in the work. Throughout the seven centuries of development, our literature faithfully and consistently reflected the main changes that took place in the life of society. For a long time, artistic thinking was inextricably linked with the religious and medieval historical form of consciousness, but gradually, with the development of national and class self-consciousness, it begins to free itself from church ties.

Literature has worked out clear and definite ideals of the spiritual beauty of a person who gives himself entirely to the common good, the good of the Russian land, the Russian state. The focus of literature was the historical fate of the motherland, issues of state building. That is why epic historical themes and genres play a leading role in it. Deep historicism in the medieval sense determined the connection of our ancient literature with the heroic folk epics, and also determined the features of the depiction of human character. A characteristic feature of ancient literature is its inseparable connection with reality. This connection gave our literature an extraordinary journalistic sharpness, an agitated lyrical emotional pathos, which made it an important means of political education of contemporaries and which gives it the enduring significance that it has in the subsequent centuries of the development of the Russian nation, Russian culture.

From the statistical still image of a person, our writers went to the disclosure of the inner dynamics of feelings, to the image of different psychological states person, to the identification of individual personality traits.

Bibliography

2. Kukushkina M.V. Monuments of culture. - Yearbook 1974., M., 1975

3. Likhachev D.S. Man in the literature of ancient Rus'

4. Robinson A.N. Military stories of Ancient Rus' (series "Literary monuments"). M. - L., 1949

5. Orlov A.S. Historical and poetic stories about Azov (capture in 1637 and siege in 1641). M., 1906.

6. Chernyshevsky N.G. Full Sobr. Works, v.2. Pg, 1918

7. Russian novels of the 17th century / Afterword. and comment. M.O. Skripil to the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn. M., 1954

8. Belinsky V.G. Full coll. op. in 13 volumes, v.5

9. Eremin I.P. Literature of Ancient Rus'.

Tutoring

Need help learning a topic?

Our experts will advise or provide tutoring services on topics of interest to you.
Submit an application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.

A new stage in the development of Old Russian literature begins after church reform Nikon in 1653 and the historical reunification of Ukraine with Russia in 1654.

As a result of the intensive rapprochement between Russia and the countries Western Europe there was penetration into ancient Russian culture numerous elements of European culture.

There is a sharp struggle between supporters of Byzantine-Greek and Latin-Polish education. The process of differentiation of fiction begins, its isolation from historical and religious-didactic writing.

Chronicles gradually cease to exist, being preserved only on the periphery (“Siberian Chronicles”), historical stories are modified beyond recognition, life becomes a household story and autobiography.

Everyday stories with fictional plots and heroes appear, democratic satire develops; drama and theater arise, syllabic poetry is widely developed; the nature of translated literature is changing.

The everyday story vividly reflects the changes that have taken place in the consciousness, morality and life of people, that struggle between "old" and "new" of the transitional era, which permeated all spheres of personal and social life.

"A Tale of Grief and Misfortune"

One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the XVII century. is "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune". The central theme of the story is the theme of the tragic fate of the younger generation, which is trying to break with the old forms of family and everyday life, domostroy morality.

The introduction to the story gives this topic a universal generalized sound. The biblical story about the fall of Adam and Eve is interpreted here as disobedience, disobedience of the first people to the will of God who created them.

The source of this disobedience is not the devil-tempter, as the Bible interpreted, but the man himself, his heart "unreasonable and inexperienced."

Such an interpretation of the biblical story speaks of a new world outlook that the author has developed: the reason for a person’s transgression of the commandment of humility, humility is in himself, in his character, and not the result of the influence of otherworldly forces.

The basis of the plot of the story is the tragic life story of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live according to his will, "as he pleases."

The appearance of a generalized-collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time was a very remarkable and innovative phenomenon.

In literature, a historical personality is replaced by a fictional character, in whose character the features of an entire generation of the transitional era are typified.

The constant guardianship of his parents did not teach the Young Man to understand people, to understand life, and he pays for his gullibility, for his blind faith in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. It is ruined by the "king's tavern".

But Well done does not give up, he does not bear his guilty head in parental home, he wants to prove his case by going to "a foreign country, distant, unknown."

Personal experience convinced him that it was impossible to live without the advice of "good people". And having humbly listened to their instructions, Molodets "taught ... to live skillfully": "... from a great mind, he made a big belly of an old man."

The reason for the further misadventures of the hero is his character. Boasting of one's happiness and wealth destroys the Young Man ("... but the praiseworthy word is always rotten," the author moralizes).

From that moment on, the image of Grief appears in the story, which, as in folk songs, personifies the tragic fate, fate, fate of a person. This image also reveals the internal split, the confusion of the hero's soul, his lack of confidence in his abilities.

In the mind of Molodets, traditional ideas are still alive. So, he cannot overcome the old view of a woman as a "vessel of the devil", the source of all the troubles and misfortunes of a man; he remains faithful to the religious beliefs of his fathers.

Not believing the insidious advice of Grief, the Good, however, is not able to disobey the same advice when they come from the archangel Gabriel, whose appearance was taken by Grief.

In the advice that the Good Gore gives, it is easy to detect the painful thoughts of the hero himself over life, over the instability of his material well-being.

The story emphasizes that the reason for the ruin of Molodets is the "king's tavern", where the hero leaves "his bellies" and changes his "living room dress" into a "tavern gunka".

So the “guest son” turns into a homeless tramp, replenishing the large army of “walking people” wandering through the cities and towns of Rus'.

Pictures of "immeasurable nakedness and bare feet" are vividly drawn, in which the motives of the protest of the poor class against social injustice, against the evil fate sound.

In a truthful depiction of the process of formation of the declassed elements of society, there is a great social significance of the story.

Well done, who rejected parental authority, who did not want to submit to his father and mother, is forced to bow his proud head before Gorinsky. "Good people" sympathize with the fate of the Young Man, advise him to return to his parental shelter and ask for forgiveness.

However, now Grief does not want to let go of his victim. It stubbornly and relentlessly pursues the Young Man, mocking all his attempts to escape from his "ill-fated fate." Going with the Young Man "arm in hand", Grief "teaches" him "to live richly - kill and rob."

This makes the Young Man remember the "saved path" and go to the monastery. For the hero and author of the story, the monastery is by no means the ideal of a righteous life, but the last opportunity to escape from his unfortunate lot.

The story sharply contrasts two types of attitudes to life, two worldviews: on the one hand, parents and "good people" - the majority, standing guard over the "house-building" social and family morality; on the other hand, the Young Man, embodying the desire of the new generation for a free life.

It should be noted that the instructions of parents and the advice of "kind people" concern only the most general practical issues of human behavior and are devoid of religious didactics.

The fate of the Young Man is presented in the form of his life, but the story no longer has anything in common with traditional hagiography. Before us is a typically secular everyday biographical story.

The author is fluent in the poetics of folklore, its figurative system, and the forms of epic verse. Image good fellow, "naked, barefoot", "girded with a bast" of Grief, the epic picture of the feast, the song symbolism of the episode of the persecution of the Young Man by Grief - all this finds a direct correspondence both in epic folk poetry and in lyrical songs about Grief.

The interweaving of epic and lyrics gives the story an epic scope, gives it lyrical sincerity. In general, the story, according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, follows the true course of the folk poetic word.

Kuskov V.V. History of ancient Russian literature. - M., 1998

The strengthening of centralized autocratic power, based on the service nobility, led to an increase in exploitation and enslavement of the peasants. The growing economic oppression caused the emergence of mass peasant unrest, which resulted in a broad popular movement - a peasant war led by Ivan Bolotnikov. With the death of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich, the dynasty of Ivan Kalita ceases to exist. Opposition arises in the country from the side of the boyars, which receives support from outside, from the Polish magnates. The turbulent events of the beginning of the 17th century - the Troubles were widely reflected in literature. The literature of this period acquires an exceptionally topical character, promptly responding to the demands of the time, reflecting the interests of various social groups participating in the struggle. The works of this period, continuing to develop the traditions of historical narrative literature of the 16th century, clearly reflected the growth of national self-consciousness. This was manifested in a change in the view of the historical process: the course of history is determined not by God's will, but by human activity. And the stories of the beginning of the 17th century cannot help but talk about the people, about their participation in the struggle for the national independence of their homeland. There is an increased interest in the human personality. For the first time there is a desire to portray the internal contradictions of character and to reveal the reasons by which these contradictions are generated. The rectilinear characterization of man in 16th-century literature is beginning to be replaced by a deeper depiction of the contradictory properties of the human soul. At the same time, as D.S. Likhachev points out, the characters of historical figures in the works of the beginning of the century are shown against the background of folk talk about them. Human activity is given in a historical perspective, and for the first time begins to be evaluated in its “social function”. The events of the Time of Troubles dealt a crushing blow to religious ideology, the undivided dominance of the church in all spheres of life: not God's will, but the activity of people determines the historical fate of the country. The role of the trade and craft townspeople in the social, political and cultural life, and this, in turn, entails the democratization of literature. Bookish rhetorical style is increasingly being penetrated various forms business writing, oral folk art is increasingly being used. All this leads to the “secularization” of the culture and literature of the 17th century, i.e., to the gradual liberation from the guardianship of the church, to the gradual displacement of church genres and the emergence of new, purely secular genres of literature, in particular, everyday stories appear.

(No ratings yet)

Essays on topics:

The emergence of the genre of everyday story and its problems are closely connected with the changes that took place in Russian life in the 17th century: with ...
The turn of the century is an important page in the life of literature associated with great names. Leo Tolstoy was still alive, Chekhov's heroes acted, ...
The name of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, which had been banned for a long time, finally rightfully took its place in the history of Russian literature of the Soviet period....
1. Romanticism. Romanticism has been known to Russian literature since the Middle Ages. But the 19th century gave it completely different shades. He originated...