What is a type in literature? Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions

Initially, heroes in folklore and literary works were characterized by one main feature, one quality. In fairy tales, Baba Yaga was always evil, good fellow- brave. Koschey the Immortal is greedy, a beautiful maiden is wise and faithful. Epic hero Ilya Muromets was powerful and unshakable. Sadko is broad-minded and generous. U fairy-tale heroes hasn't happened yet individual characters, personal experiences.

IN ancient epic type developed epic hero, endowed integral character. For example, the hero Achilles in Homer’s poem “The Iliad” is a fearless warrior, this is his main characteristic, which determines all his actions. The character of Hector, the defender of Troy, is determined by his humanity, which is why he wavered in the battle with Achilles and was afraid of him. Epic characters are also found in the literature of later times: let us remember the hero N.V. Gogol - Taras Bulba.

In works ancient Russian literature the characters' characters were not described in detail, although they were also integral and consistent. So, in the story about Peter and Fevronia, it was important for the author to show the courage of Peter and the wisdom of Fevronia; Epiphanius the Wise - piety and feat St. Sergius Radonezh. Hagiographic literature was called upon to instruct people, to give examples of righteous behavior, describing the lives of saints.

In the literature of the Renaissance, heroes of a new type appear. They are no longer determined by any one trait or quality, but by their fate and position in the world. So, Hamlet in tragedy of the same name V. Shakespeare is a type tragic hero - a person who finds himself in a hopeless situation. The hero of M. de Cervantes Don Quixote, due to his madness and absurd behavior, is considered comic hero, although gradually as we read the novel we begin to recognize the seriousness and even tragedy of the image behind this comedy. Both Hamlet and Don Quixote - heroes of lofty ideals, they strive for truth and goodness and represent the type tall hero. The image of Don Quixote became the basis for the image of a tall hero in comedy. In Russian literature, an example of a hero of this kind is, for example, Chatsky in A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit.”

Drama as a type of literature is divided into genres: tragedy, comedy and drama. If the first two genres are characterized primarily by tragic and comic heroes, then in drama the center of the conflict is dramatic hero. This is the image of the unfortunate girl Larisa Ogudalova in the play “Dowry” by A.N. Ostrovsky. The images of Karandyshev and Larisa’s mother have dramatic features. And the drunkard Robinson in the play, in contrast high images Don Quixote and Chatsky, presents type of reduced comic hero.

The image of the merchant Kalashnikov in the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov's “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich...” carries epic, heroic and tragic features; the type of this hero cannot be determined unambiguously. However, the merchant Kalashnikov accurately represents a heroic personality - a man who resists injustice and defends his honor, his faith, and his people. This is explained by the fact that in the literature of the last two centuries literary styles, genres, as well as the characters' personalities, have become more complex, thereby reflecting the fact that people's views on life have become fuller and more varied.

Character(with gr. - literal line) - this is a set of psychological properties that make up the image of a literary character.

Individual details of the image, manifested in action, behavior, in certain circumstances, create a multifaceted world of the hero.

The concept of “character” refers to the category of content of a work. It is appropriate to use this term when an analysis of the idea of ​​a work is given and its pathos is determined. In the broad sense of this term all images and heroes of any text inevitably have a typical character.

In antiquity, long before the emergence of a special science about man (anthropology, ethics, physiognomy), main theme literature was the involvement of man in the sphere of uncompromising laws of fate. In the epic, the hero is still entirely dependent on the deity: he cannot act independently; he, in the words of B. Snell, “may be a character, but not yet a personality.” The hero has the same qualities as the gods, but he is a victim of those properties of which he is the bearer. This explains the designation of character with a mask in the ancient theater.

IN modern literature character is a personality structure formed by individual and typological features and manifested in behavioral characteristics, distinctive properties of nature.

In antiquity, on the contrary, character is a “stamp”, a “frozen mask”.

Literary type - an image of human individuality, the most possible, typical for a particular society.

The concept of “literary type” first appears in Hegel’s Aesthetics .

In literary theory, “type” and “character” are close, but not interchangeable.;

“Character” reveals to a greater extent typical personality traits, its psychological properties, A " type" is a generalization of certain social phenomena associated with typical features.

For example, Maxim Maksimych is a typical Russian soldier, “just a decent person,” as L.N. Tolstoy said about him, while Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a type of “suffering egoist,” the embodiment of “the vices of an entire generation in their full development.” The concept of “typing” includes the process of creating a holistic picture of the world and is the basis of the creative process. Recognizing typification as an internal need and a law of art, writers realize that the typical is not a copy of reality, but an artistic generalization. In Moliere, Harpagon and Tartuffe are typical characters, but they are not social, but psychological types, illustrating neglect of moral requirements. If we want to call someone a miser or a hypocrite, we use these proper names as common nouns. The strict hierarchy of genres of classicism also gives rise to normalization literary types. Social conflicts appear in the work reflected in the souls of the heroes.

The division of characters into positive and negative in classic aesthetics is natural. There should be no intermediate types, since art is charged with the task of correcting vices and glorifying virtues ideal person. The psychology of the “little man” was outlined by Pushkin in “ Stationmaster"("Belkin's Tales") in all its obviousness social existence. An equally significant aspect of the topic is the analysis of dramatic family relationships.

Pushkin’s concept becomes the source of subsequent literary generalizations, predetermines the plots of Gogol (“The Overcoat”), Dostoevsky (Poor People) and Tolstoy about “unhappy families”, conflict situations, where “each family is unhappy in its own way.” The “little man” becomes the dominant type in the “natural school.” L.M. Lotman wrote that “the man appeared to the writers” natural school» cast social form, distorting human nature" The further evolution of the literary type of the “little man” is associated with a shift in emphasis, in the words of M. M. Bakhtin, “from the environment to the person.” Already in early work“Poor People” by F. M. Dostoevsky focuses on the spiritual world of the hero, although dependence on social circumstances still determines the misfortunes of Makar Devushkin. Dobrolyubov in the article “ Downtrodden people" noted: "In the works of Dostoevsky we find one common feature, more or less noticeable in everything he wrote: this is pain about a person who recognizes himself as unable or, finally, not even entitled to be a real person, a complete, independent person, in himself.”

The novel “Poor People” combines two views on the “little man” - Pushkin’s and Gogol’s; Makar Devushkin, after reading both stories, comes to the conclusion that “we are all Samson Vyrins.” This recognition points to a dramatic discovery - the tragedy is predetermined, there is no way to fight circumstances that are insurmountable. Famous phrase Dostoevsky: “We all came out of Gogol’s “Overcoat”” - implies not so much apprenticeship as the continuation and development of the theme of mercy, immeasurable love for a person rejected by society. The world of Akakiy Akakievich is confined to the dream of an overcoat, the world of Makar Devushkin is caring for Varenka. Dostoevsky represents the type of dreamer who is content with little, and all his actions are dictated by the fear of losing the modest gift of fate. Thematic similarity is found between “Poor People” and the story “White Nights,” the hero of which gives himself a derogatory description: “A dreamer is not a person, but, you know, some kind of creature of the neuter kind. He settles in for the most part somewhere in an inaccessible corner, as if hidden in it even from daylight.”

Dostoevsky reconsiders famous type a romantic hero who immerses himself in the world perfect dream, despising reality. Dostoevsky's heroes doomedly preach humility in life, which leads them to death. Another twist on the theme of the little man is associated with the writer’s interest in the topic of drunkenness as an allegory of rebellion against public morality. In the novel “Crime and Punishment,” this type of vice is viewed not as a consequence of social evil, but as a manifestation of selfishness and weakness. Oblivion in drunkenness does not save a person who has “nowhere else to go”; it destroys the destinies of loved ones: Sonya Marmeladova is forced to go to the panel, Katerina Ivanovna goes crazy, and, if not for chance, her children would have faced inevitable death. Chekhov does not express compassion for the “little man,” but shows the real “smallness” of his soul. The story “The Death of an Official” examines the problem of the voluntariness of social obligations undertaken by a person. It is resolved in a grotesque manner. Chervyakov dies not as a “humiliated and insulted” person, but as an official who has lost his natural appearance out of fear. Chekhov proved with all his creativity that a person should not conform his potentialities to the limits allowed by society. The spiritual needs of the individual must triumph over vulgarity and insignificance: “A person needs not three arshins of land, but the whole globe" The isolation of “case life,” the writer insists, is harmful. The story “The Man in a Case” creates a frightening image of Belikov, an apologist for protective morality. His entire behavior is permeated with the fear that “something might not happen.” The writer exaggerates the image of a defender of social morality; a black suit, glasses, galoshes, and an umbrella are expressive details of the image that create an expressive portrait of a frightening social phenomenon. Belikov's death may seem to bring deliverance to people who fear the zealous guardian of morality, but an optimistic solution to a tragic collision is alien to Chekhov. The writer sadly admits that hopes to correct people who differ from Belikov in their lifestyle, but not in their inner self-awareness, are vain. At the end of the story, a symbolic emphasis is placed to make sure that protective ideas remain alive. The scene of Belikov's funeral is framed by the image of rain, and all those present open their umbrellas; this is read as the inescapability of what the fearful teacher actually stood for.

- (Greek imprint, model). The problem of T. and typification is not a specific problem of literary criticism. It takes place in the sciences different areas knowledge. The question of T. and typification in the literature is characterized by its own characteristics, which ... ... Literary encyclopedia

Type- TYPE (Τυπος blow, sign of blow, seal, image, in Aristotle general idea). An object or phenomenon containing features that are repeated in large series We consider other similar phenomena or objects to be typical. Elementary... ... Dictionary of literary terms

type- a, m. type typos imprint, form, sample. 1. outdated Letter, letter, font. The printed sheets were hitherto called their Fryazhsky work. Where did this grydar and its type get its start in Russia, we don’t know for sure... ... Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language

Literary House- This article is about the house of I. F. Lopatin at 68 Nevsky Prospekt. About the house of I. F. Lopatin at 100 Nevsky Prospect. See Nevsky, 100. This article is about the Dekhterev house on Nevsky Prospect. About Dekhterev’s house by... ... Wikipedia

Literary language- – the basic, supra-dialectal form of the existence of a language, characterized by greater or to a lesser extent processing, normalization, multifunctionality, stylistic differentiation, tendency towards regulation. In its social and... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media

LITERARY LIFE- LITERARY LIFE, special forms of life, human relations and behaviors generated literary process and constituting one of it historical contexts; the term was introduced by B. M. Eikhenbaum and Yu. N. Tynyanov (in 1927 1929). L.b., no... ...

literary character- (Greek character trait, feature) artistic embodiment set of sustainable mental characteristics, forming the personality of a literary character; V literary character is imprinted as conditioned by social history... ... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus in literary studies

Literary language - Literary language the basic, supra-dialectal form of existence of a language, characterized by more or less processing, polyfunctionality, stylistic differentiation and a tendency towards regulation. In its cultural and social... ... Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary

LITERARY PROCESS- LITERARY PROCESS, historical existence, functioning and evolution of literature both in a certain era and throughout the history of a nation, country, region, world. L. p. In each historical moment includes both verbally... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

Literary language- – the main form of existence national language, accepted by its bearers as exemplary; historically established system of commonly used linguistic means, having undergone long-term cultural processing in the works of authoritative masters... ... Stylistic encyclopedic dictionary of the Russian language

Books

• Russian archive. Historical and literary collection. 1901, . This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. Original title: Russian 1st archive. Historical and literary collection. 1901. Issues 5-8 “Russian... Buy for 1770 rubles
• Russian archive. Historical and literary collection. 1863, . This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. “Russian Archive” is a monthly historical and literary magazine published in Moscow from 1863 to 1917.…

Literary type

The concept of “literary type” first appears in Hegel’s Aesthetics. In literary theory, “type” and “character” are close, but not interchangeable; "character" reveals more typical features personality, its psychological properties, and “type” is a generalization of certain social phenomena and is associated with typical traits. For example, Maxim Maksimych is a typical Russian soldier, “just a decent person,” as L.N. Tolstoy said about him, while Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a type of “suffering egoist,” the embodiment of “the vices of an entire generation in their full development.”

The concept of "typing" includes the process of creating complete picture world, is the basis of the creative process.

Recognizing typification as an internal need and a law of art, writers realize that the typical is not a copy of reality, but an artistic generalization.

In Moliere, Harpagon and Tartuffe are typical characters, but these are not social, but psychological types, illustrating neglect of moral requirements. If we want to call someone a miser or a hypocrite, we use these proper names as common nouns.

V. G. Belinsky in the article “On the Russian story and the stories of Mr. Gogol” defines the typifying features of a literary hero: “Don’t say: here’s a man with with a huge soul, with ardent passions, with an extensive mind, but a limited mind, who loves his wife to such a fury that he is ready to strangle her with his hands at the slightest suspicion of infidelity - say more simply and briefly: here is Othello!.. Do not say: here is the official who mean by conviction, malicious with good intentions, criminal in good faith - say: here is Famusov!

The schematism of classic images is associated with the intentional intention of the authors, using the example of a particular character, to illustrate ethical and aesthetic principles. That is why the image, reduced to a theoretical premise, is marked by maximum typicality. However, an image that bears any one dominant feature, while winning in typicality, often loses in artistry.

The aesthetics of classicism are based on the principles of rationalism. Classicists assert a view of work of art as a creation consciously created, rationally organized, logically provable. Having put forward the principle of “imitation of nature,” classicists consider compliance with known rules and restrictions to be an indispensable condition. The goal of art is the artistic transformation of nature, the transformation of nature into a beautiful and ennobled aesthetic reality.

The strict hierarchy of genres of classicism also gives rise to the normalization of literary types. Social conflicts appear in the work reflected in the souls of the heroes. The division of characters into positive and negative in classic aesthetics is natural. There should be no intermediate types, since art is charged with the task of correcting vices and glorifying the virtues of an ideal person.

Classical playwrights turn to Aristotle, who argued that tragedy “seeks to depict the best people than those currently existing." Heroes classic plays forced to struggle with circumstances that, like in the tragedy of antiquity, cannot be prevented. In the classic version of the conflict, the resolution of the tragic situation now depends not on fate, but on the titanic will of the hero, personifying the author’s ideal.

According to the poetics of the genre, the heroes of the tragedy could be mythological characters, monarchs, generals, persons who determined by their will the destinies of many people and even an entire nation. It is they who embody the main requirement - to sacrifice selfish interests in the name of the common good. As a rule, the content of character in a tragedy comes down to one essential trait. It determined the moral and psychological appearance of the hero. Thus, in Sumarokov’s tragedies, Kiy (“Khorev”) and Mstislav (“Mstislav”) are depicted by the playwright only as monarchs who violated their duty to their subjects; Khorev, Truvor, Vysheslav are like heroes who know how to control their feelings and subordinate them to the dictates of duty. Character in classicism is not depicted on its own, but is given in relation to the opposite property. The conflict between duty and feeling, caused by a dramatic combination of circumstances, made the characters of the heroes of the tragedies similar, and sometimes indistinguishable.

In the works of classicism, especially in comedy, the main character trait of the hero is fixed in his behavior and in his name. For example, the image of Pravdin cannot show at least any flaw, and Svinin cannot show the slightest dignity. Vice or virtue take on a specific figurative form in Fonvizin’s comedies: the prude Zhekhvat, the braggart Verkholet.

In the literature of sentimentalism, the emphasis is transferred from the environment to the person, to the sphere of his spiritual life. Preference is given to characters in which “sensitivity” predominates. Sentimentality, according to G. Pospelov’s definition, “is a more complex state, caused mainly by the ideological understanding of a certain inconsistency in social characters people. Sensitivity is a personal psychological phenomenon; sentimentality has a general cognitive meaning.” Sentimentality of experience is the ability to recognize the external insignificance of other people’s lives, and sometimes in one’s own own life something intrinsically significant. This feeling requires the hero’s mental reflection (emotional contemplation, the ability of introspection). A striking example of a sentimental character is Werther Goethe. The title of the novel is symptomatic - “Suffering young Werther" In Goethe's work, suffering is perceived not as a chain of unfortunate events, but as a spiritual experience that can cleanse the hero's soul and ennoble his feelings. The author did not idealize his hero. At the end of work on the novel, Goethe wrote that he depicted “ young man immersed in extravagant dreams,” who “perishes... as a result of unhappy passions.”

After a century of “thinking” (as Voltaire called the Age of Enlightenment), authors and readers felt that thought, a logically proven idea does not exhaust the potential of the individual: you can put forward a spectacular idea for improving the world, but this is not enough to correct a vicious world. The era of romanticism is coming. In its content, art reflects the rebellious spirit of man. The romantic theory of genius crystallizes in literature. “Genius and villainy are two incompatible things” - this phrase from Pushkin defines the main types of characters in romanticism. Poets have discovered an unusual complexity, depth spiritual world man, the inner infinity of personality.

Intense interest in strong feelings and the secret movements of the soul, towards the mysterious side of the universe, gives rise to a psychologism of images that is exceptional in intensity. The desire for the intuitive encourages writers to imagine characters in extreme situations, persistently comprehend the hidden sides of nature. Romantic hero lives by imagination, not reality. Special psychological types are emerging: rebels who oppose a high ideal to a triumphant reality; villains who tempt man with omnipotence and omniscience; musicians (gifted people capable of penetrating the world of ideas). Many Romantic heroes become literary myths, symbolizing the thirst for knowledge (Faust), uncompromising devotion (Quasimodo) or absolute evil (Cain). In romanticism, as in sentimentalism, the extra-class value of a person is decisive in assessing the character of a literary hero. That is why the authors deliberately weaken the fact of a person’s dependence on circumstances caused by social conflicts. The lack of motivation of character is explained by its predetermination and self-sufficiency. "Alone, but fiery passion“guides the actions of the heroes.

At the center of romantic aesthetics is a creative subject, a genius who rethinks reality, or a villain who is convinced of the infallibility of his vision of reality. Romanticism professes the cult of individualism, emphasizing not the universal, but the exclusive.

The basis of the literary characterology of realism is social type. The psychological discoveries of romanticism are reinforced in realism by broad social and historical analysis, ideological motivation for the hero’s behavior. The character, as a rule, is determined by circumstances and environment.

In Russian realistic literature types add up literary heroes, which have common characterological features, their behavior is determined by similar circumstances, and the disclosure of the image in the text is based on traditional plot collisions and motives. The brightest were “ extra person», « little man", "common man".

Who is literary character? We devote our article to this issue. In it we will tell you where this name came from, what literary characters and images are, and how to describe them in literature lessons according to your desire or the teacher’s request.

Also from our article you will learn what an “eternal” image is and what images are called eternal.

Literary hero or character. Who is this?

We often hear the concept of “literary character”. But few can explain what we are talking about. And even schoolchildren who have recently returned from a literature lesson often find it difficult to answer the question. What is this mysterious word “character”?

It came to us from ancient Latin (persona, personnage). The meaning is “personality”, “person”, “person”.

So, a literary character is an active person. We are mainly talking about prose genres, since images in poetry are usually called “lyrical hero”.

Without characters It is impossible to write a story or a poem, a novel or a story. Otherwise, it will be a meaningless collection of, if not words, then perhaps events. The heroes are people and animals, mythological and fantastic creatures, inanimate objects, for example, Andersen’s steadfast tin soldier, historical figures and even entire nations.

Classification of literary heroes

They can confuse any literature connoisseur with their quantity. And it’s especially hard for secondary school students. And especially because they prefer to play their favorite game instead of doing homework. How to classify heroes if a teacher or, even worse, an examiner demands it?

The most win-win option: classify the characters according to their importance in the work. According to this criterion, literary heroes are divided into main and secondary. Without the main character, the work and its plot will be a collection of words. But in case of loss minor characters we will lose a certain branch storyline or expressiveness of events. But overall the work will not suffer.

The second classification option is more limited and is suitable not for all works, but for fairy tales and fantasy genres. This is the division of heroes into positive and negative. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella, poor Cinderella herself - goodie, she evokes pleasant emotions, you sympathize with her. And here are the sisters and evil stepmother- clearly heroes of a completely different type.

Characteristics. How to write?

Heroes literary works sometimes (especially in a literature lesson at school) they need a detailed description. But how to write it? The option “once upon a time there was such a hero. He is from a fairy tale about this and that” is clearly not suitable if the assessment is important. We will share with you a win-win option writing characteristics of a literary (and any other) hero. We offer you a plan with brief explanations of what and how to write.

• Introduction. Name the work and the character you will talk about. Here you can add why exactly you want to describe it.
• The place of the hero in the story (novel, story, etc.). Here you can write whether he is major or minor, positive or negative, a person or a mythical or historical figure.
• Appearance. It would not be amiss to include quotes, which will show you as an attentive reader, and will also add volume to your description.
• Character. Everything is clear here.
• Actions and their characteristics in your opinion.
• Conclusions.

That's all. Keep this plan for yourself, and it will come in handy more than once.

Famous literary characters

Although the very concept of a literary hero may seem completely unfamiliar to you, if you tell you the name of the hero, you will most likely remember a lot. This is especially true famous characters literature, for example, such as Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, Assol or Cinderella, Alice or Pippi Longstocking.

Such heroes are called famous literary characters. These names are familiar to children and adults from many countries and even continents. Not knowing them is a sign of narrow-mindedness and lack of education. Therefore, if you don’t have time to read the work itself, ask someone to tell you about these characters.

The concept of image in literature

Along with character, you can often hear the concept of “image”. What is this? Same as the hero or not? The answer will be both positive and negative, because a literary character may well be literary way, but the image itself does not have to be a character.

We often call this or that hero an image, but nature can appear in the same image in a work. And then the topic of the examination paper can be “the image of nature in the story...”. What to do in this case? The answer is in the question itself: if we are talking about nature, you need to characterize its place in the work. Start with a description, add character elements, for example, “the sky was gloomy,” “the sun was mercilessly hot,” “the night was frightening with its darkness,” and the characterization is ready. Well, if you need a description of the hero’s image, then how to write it, see the plan and tips above.

What are the images?

Our next question. Here we will highlight several classifications. Above we looked at one - images of heroes, that is, people/animals/mythical creatures and images of nature, images of peoples and states.

Also, images can be so-called “eternal”. What's happened " eternal image"? This concept names a hero who was once created by an author or folklore. But he was so “characteristic” and special that after years and eras other authors write their characters from him, perhaps giving them other names, but that doesn’t matter the essence changing. Such heroes include the fighter Don Quixote, the hero-lover Don Juan and many others.

Unfortunately, modern fantasy characters do not become eternal, despite the love of fans. Why? What's better than this funny Don Quixote of Spider-Man, for example? It's difficult to explain this in a nutshell. Only reading the book will give you the answer.

The concept of "closeness" of the hero, or My favorite character

Sometimes the hero of a work or movie becomes so close and loved that we try to imitate him, to be like him. This happens for a reason, and it’s not for nothing that the choice falls on this character. Often a favorite hero becomes an image that somehow resembles ourselves. Perhaps the similarity is in character, or in the experiences of both the hero and you. Or this character is in a situation similar to yours, and you understand and sympathize with him. In any case, it's not bad. The main thing is that you only imitate worthy heroes. And there are plenty of them in the literature. We wish you to meet only with good heroes and imitate only the positive traits of their character.