Examples of the theme and idea of a work of art. Artistic idea

Hello author! Analyzing any work of art, a critic / reviewer, and just an attentive reader, starts from four basic literary concepts. The author relies on them when creating his work of art, unless, of course, he is a standard graphomaniac, who simply writes everything that comes to mind. You can write rubbish, template or more or less original without understanding these terms. But here is a text worthy of the reader's attention - it is rather difficult. So let's go over each of them. I'll try not to load.

Translated from Greek, the theme is that which is the basis. In other words, the theme is the subject of the author's image, those phenomena and events to which the author wants to draw the reader's attention.

Examples:

The theme of love, its origin and development, and possibly its end.
The theme of fathers and children.
The theme of the confrontation between good and evil.
The theme of betrayal.
The theme of friendship.
The theme of the formation of character.
Space exploration theme.

Topics change depending on the era in which a person lives, but some topics that worry humanity from era to era remain relevant - they are called " eternal themes". Above, I listed 6 "eternal topics", but the last, seventh one - "the conquest of space" - became relevant for mankind not so long ago. However, apparently, it will also become an "eternal topic".

1. The author sits down for a novel and writes everything that comes to mind, without thinking about any topics of literary works.
2. The author is going to write, say, a science fiction novel and starts from the genre. He does not care about the topic, he does not think about it at all.
3. The author coldly chooses a topic for his novel, scrupulously studies and thinks it over.
4. The author is concerned about some topic, questions about it do not let him sleep at night, and during the day he mentally returns to this topic every now and then.

The result will be 4 different novels.

1. 95% (the percentages are approximate, they are given for a better understanding and nothing more) - it will be an ordinary graphomaniac, slag, a meaningless chain of events, with logical errors, cranberries, blunders where someone attacked someone, although there was none there is no reason for that, someone fell in love with someone, although the reader does not understand at all what he / she found in her / him, someone quarreled with someone for no reason (In fact, of course, it’s understandable - so the author needed it in order to continue to freely sculpt his writings)))), etc. and so on. There are many such novels, but they are rarely printed, because few people can master them even with a small volume. Runet is littered with such novels, I think that you have watched them more than once.

2. This is the so-called "stream literature", it is printed quite often. Read and forget. For once. Will pull with beer. Such novels can captivate if the author has good fantasy but they don't touch, don't care. A certain man went there, found something, then became powerful, and so on. A certain young lady fell in love with a handsome man, from the very beginning it was clear that in the fifth or sixth chapter there would be sex, and in the final they would get married. A certain "nerd" became the chosen one and went to distribute whips and gingerbread left and right, to all those who he did not like and liked. And so on. In general, everything ... such. There are plenty of such novels both on the Web and on bookshelves, and, most likely, while reading this paragraph, you remembered a couple of three, or maybe a dozen or more.

3. These are the so-called "crafts" High Quality. The author is a pro and skillfully leads the reader from chapter to chapter, and the ending surprises. However, the author does not write about what he sincerely cares about, but he studies the moods and tastes of readers and writes in such a way that the reader is interested. Such literature is much rarer than the second category. I will not name the authors here, but you are probably familiar with suitable crafts. These are fascinating detective stories and exciting fantasy and beautiful love stories. After reading such a novel, the reader is often satisfied and wants to continue to get acquainted with the novels of his favorite author. They are rarely re-read, because the plot is already familiar and understandable. But if the characters fell in love, then re-reading is quite possible, and reading the author’s new books is more than likely (if he has them, of course).

4. And this category is rare. Novels, after reading which people walk for several minutes, or even hours, as if knocked down, under the impression, often ponder what was written. They can cry. They can laugh. These are novels that stagger the imagination, which help to cope with life's difficulties, to rethink this or that. Almost all classical literature is like that. These are the novels that people put on bookshelf in order to re-read and rethink what was read after some time. Novels that have an impact on people. Novels that are remembered. This is Literature with a capital letter.

Naturally, I'm not saying that choosing and working on a theme is enough to write a strong novel. Moreover, I will say frankly - not enough. But in any case, I think it is clear how important the topic is in a literary work.

Idea literary work is inextricably linked with its theme, and that example of the influence of the novel on the reader that I described above in paragraph 4 is unrealistic if the author paid attention only to the topic, but forgot to even think about the idea. However, if the author is concerned about the topic, then the idea, as a rule, is comprehended and worked out by him with the same attention.

What is the idea of a literary work?

The idea is the main idea of the work. It shows the attitude of the author to the theme of his work. It is in this display artistic means and lies the difference between the idea of a work of art and a scientific idea.

"Gustave Flaubert vividly expressed his ideal of the writer, noting that, like the Almighty, the writer in his book should be nowhere and everywhere, invisible and omnipresent. There are several important works fiction, in which the presence of the author is unobtrusive to the extent that Flaubert wanted it, although he himself did not manage to achieve his ideal in Madame Bovary. But even in works where the author is ideally unobtrusive, he is nevertheless scattered throughout the book and his absence turns into a kind of radiant presence. As the French say, "il brille par son absence" ("shines with its absence")" © Vladimir Nabokov, "Lectures on Foreign Literature".

If the author accepts the reality described in the work, then such an ideological assessment is called an ideological statement.
If the author condemns the reality described in the work, then such an ideological assessment is called an ideological denial.

The ratio of ideological affirmation and ideological negation in each work is different.

It is important not to go to extremes here, and this is very, very difficult. The author who forgets about the idea at the moment, the emphasis on artistry will lose the idea, and the author who forgets about artistry, since he is completely absorbed in the idea, will write journalism. This is neither good nor bad for the reader, because it is a matter of the reader's taste - to choose how to relate to this, however, fiction is precisely what fiction is and precisely what literature is.

Examples:

Two different authors describe the NEP period in their novels. However, after reading the novel by the first author, the reader is filled with indignation, condemns the events described and concludes that this period was terrible. And after reading the novel by the second author, the reader would be delighted, and would draw conclusions that the NEP is a wonderful period in history and will regret that he does not live in this period. Of course, in this example, I am exaggerating, because the clumsy expression of the idea is a sign of a weak novel, poster, popular print - which can cause rejection in the reader, who considers that the author is imposing his opinion on him. But I exaggerate in this example for a better understanding.

Two different authors wrote stories about adultery. The first author condemns adultery, the second understands the reasons for their occurrence, and the main character, who, being married, fell in love with another man, justifies. And the reader is imbued with either the ideological negation of the author, or his ideological affirmation.

Without an idea, literature is waste paper. Because the description of events and phenomena for the sake of describing events and phenomena is not only boring reading, but also tritely stupid. "Well, what did the author mean by that?" - the dissatisfied reader will ask and shrugging his shoulders, he will throw the book into a landfill. Junk, because.

There are two main ways of presenting an idea in a work.

The first - by artistic means, very unobtrusively, in the form of an aftertaste.
The second - through the mouth of the character-resonator or direct author's text. Head-on. In this case, the idea is called a trend.

It is up to you to choose how to present an idea, but a thoughtful reader will surely understand whether the author gravitates toward tendentiousness or artistry.

Plot.

The plot is a set of events and relationships between characters in a work, unfolding in time and space. At the same time, the events and relationships of the characters are not necessarily presented to the reader in a causal or temporal sequence. A simple example for better understanding is a flashback.

Attention: the plot is based on the conflict, and the conflict unfolds due to the plot.

No conflict, no plot.

This is very important to understand. Many "stories" and even "novels" on the Web do not have a plot, as such.

If the character went to the bakery and bought bread there, then came home and ate it with milk, and then watched TV - this is a plotless text. Prose is not poetry, and without a plot, it is usually not accepted by the reader.

And why is such a "story" not a story at all?

1. Exposure.
2. Tie.
3. Development of action.
4. Climax.
5. Decoupling.

The author does not have to use all the elements of the plot, in contemporary literature authors often do without exposition, for example, but the main rule of fiction is that the plot must be completed.

More about plot elements and conflict in another topic.

Do not confuse plot with plot. These are different terms with different meanings.
The plot is the content of events in their sequential connection. Causal and temporal.
For a better understanding, I explain: the author conceived the story, in his head the events are arranged in order, first this event happened, then that, this follows from here, and this from here. This is the plot.
And the plot is how the author presented this story to the reader - he kept silent about something, rearranged the events somewhere, and so on. and so on.
Of course, it happens that the plot and the plot coincide when the events in the novel line up strictly according to the plot, but the plot and the plot are not the same thing.

Composition.

Oh, this composition! The weak point of many novelists, and often writers of short stories.

Composition is the construction of all elements of a work in accordance with its purpose, character and content, and largely determines its perception.

Difficult, right?

I'll say it easier.

Composition is the structure of a work of art. The structure of your story or novel.
It's such big house, consisting of various parts. (for men)
This is such a soup, in which there are just no products! (for women)

Each brick, each soup component is an element of the composition, an expressive means.

The character's monologue, description of the landscape, lyrical digressions and inserted novels, repetitions and point of view on the depicted, epigraphs, parts, chapters and much more.

The composition is divided into external and internal.

The external composition (architectonics) is the volumes of the trilogy (for example), parts of the novel, its chapters, paragraphs.

The internal composition is portraits of characters, descriptions of nature and interiors, point of view or change of points of view, accents, flashbacks and much more, as well as extra-plot components - a prologue, inserted short stories, author's digressions and an epilogue.

Each author strives to find his own composition, to get closer to his ideal composition for a particular work, however, as a rule, in compositional plan most of the texts are rather weak.
Why so?
Well, firstly, there are a lot of components, many of which are simply unknown to many authors.
Secondly, it is banal due to literary illiteracy - thoughtlessly placed accents, overdoing it with descriptions to the detriment of dynamics or dialogues, or vice versa - continuous jumping-running-jumping of some cardboard Persians without portraits or continuous dialogue without attribution or with it.
Thirdly, because of the inability to capture the volume of the work and isolate the essence. In a number of novels, without prejudice (and often for the benefit) of the plot, whole chapters can be thrown out. Or, in some chapter, a good third is given information that does not play on the plot and characters of the characters - for example, the author is fond of describing the car up to the description of the pedals and a detailed story about the gearbox. The reader is bored, he scrolls through such descriptions ("Listen, if I need to get acquainted with the device of this car model, I will read the technical literature!"), And the author believes that "This is very important for understanding the principles of driving the car of Peter Nikanorych!" and thereby makes a generally good text dull. By analogy with soup - it is worth overdoing it with salt, for example, and the soup will become too salty. This is one of the most common reasons why chiefs are asked to first practice on small form before taking up novels. However, practice shows that quite a few chief writers seriously believe that literary activity should begin with a large form, because it is exactly what publishing houses need. I assure you, if you think that all you need to write a readable novel is the desire to write it, you are greatly mistaken. You have to learn how to write novels. And learning is easier and with greater efficiency - on miniatures and stories. Despite the fact that the story is a different genre, you can perfectly learn the internal composition by working in this genre.

Composition is a way to embody the author's idea, and a compositionally weak work is the author's inability to convey the idea to the reader. In other words, if the composition is weak, the reader simply will not understand what the author wanted to say with his novel.

Thank you for attention.

1. Theme as an objective basis for the content of the work. 2. Types of topics. 3. Question and problem.

4. Types of ideas in literary text. 5. Paphos and its types.

1. In the last lesson, we studied the categories of content and form of a literary work. Theme and idea are the most important components of the content.

The term theme is often used in different meanings. Word theme of Greek origin, in the language of Plato it means position, basis. In the science of literature, the topic is most often called the subject of the image. The theme holds together all parts of the literary text, gives unity to the meanings of its individual elements. The theme is everything that has become the subject of image, evaluation, knowledge. It contains common sense content. O. Fedotov in the textbook on literary criticism gives the following definition of the topic category: “Theme is a phenomenon or object selected, meaningful and reproduced by certain artistic means. The theme shines through in all images, episodes and scenes, ensuring the unity of action. This objective the basis of the work, its depicted part. The choice of a topic, work on it are connected with the experience, interests, mood of the author. But there is no evaluation, problematicity in the topic. Subject little man- is traditional for Russian classics and is characteristic of many works.

2. In a work, one theme can dominate, subjugate the entire content, the entire composition of the text, such a theme is called the main or leading one. Such a theme is the main meaningful moment in the work. In a plot work, this is the basis of the fate of the hero, in a dramatic one, the essence of the conflict, in a lyrical work, it is formed by dominant motifs.

Often the main theme is suggested by the title of the work. The title may include general idea about life events. "War and Peace" are words denoting the two main states of mankind, and Tolstoy's work with this title is a novel that embodies life in these main states of life. But the title can communicate the specific phenomenon depicted. So, Dostoevsky's story "The Gambler" is a work that reflects destructive passion person for the game. The understanding of the topic stated in the title of the work can significantly expand as the literary text unfolds. The title itself can acquire symbolic meaning. poem " Dead Souls"became a terrible reproach to modernity, lifelessness, lack of spiritual light. The image introduced by the title can become the key to the author's interpretation of the events depicted.

M. Aldanov's tetralogy "The Thinker" contains a prologue, which depicts the time of the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral, that moment when in 1210-1215. the famous chimera of the devil is created. A chimera in medieval art is an image of a fantastic monster. From the top of the cathedral, a horned, hook-nosed beast, with his tongue hanging out, with soulless eyes, looks at the center of the eternal city and contemplates the Inquisition, fires, the great French Revolution. The motive of the devil, skeptically contemplating the course of world history, turns out to be one of the means of expressing the author's historiosophy. This motive is leading, at the topic level it is the leitmotif of Aldanov's four books on world history.

Often the title indicates the most acute social or ethical problems of reality. The author, comprehending them in the work, can put the question in the title of the book: this happened with the novel “What is to be done?” N.G. Chernyshevsky. Sometimes a philosophical opposition is outlined in the title: for example, in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment". Sometimes there is an assessment or a sentence, as in the scandalous book by Sullivan (Boris Vian) "I will come to spit on your graves." But the title does not always exhaust the theme of the work, it can be provocative, even polemical to the entire content of the text. So, I. Bunin deliberately titled his works in such a way that the title did not reveal anything: neither the plot nor the theme.

Apart from main theme there may be topics for certain chapters, parts, paragraphs, and finally just sentences. B. V. Tomashevsky noted the following on this occasion: “In artistic expression, individual sentences, combined with each other in their meaning, result in a certain construction united by a common thought or theme.” That is, the entire literary text can be divided into its constituent parts, and in each one a specific topic can be distinguished. So, in the story “The Queen of Spades”, the theme of the cards turns out to be an organizing force, it is suggested by the title, the epigraph, but other themes are expressed in the chapters of the story, which sometimes come down to the level of motives. In a work, several themes can be of equal magnitude; they are declared by the author as strongly and significantly as if each of them were the main theme. This is a case of the existence of contrapuntal themes (from lat. punctum contra punctum- point against point), this term has musical basis and means the simultaneous combination of two or more melodic independent voices. In literature, this is a conjugation of several topics.

Another criterion for distinguishing topics is their connection with time. Transient topics, the topics of one day, the so-called topical, do not live long. They are characteristic of satirical works (the theme of slave labor in the fairy tale by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "Konyaga"), texts of journalistic content, fashionable superficial novels, that is, fiction. Topical topics live as long as they are allowed by the topic of the day, interest modern reader. The capacity of their content may be either very small or completely uninteresting to subsequent generations. The theme of collectivization in the countryside, presented in the works of V. Belov, B. Mozhaev, now does not affect the reader, who lives not so much with the desire to understand the problems of the history of the Soviet state, but in the problems of life in the new capitalist country. The widest limits of relevance and significance are reached by universal (ontological) Topics. Human interests in love, death, happiness, truth, the meaning of life are unchanged throughout history. These are themes relating to all times, all nations and cultures.

"Analysis of the subject involves consideration of the time of the action, the place of the action, the breadth or narrowness of the material depicted." About the methodology for analyzing topics in his manual, writes A.B. Esin.

3. In most works, especially of the epic kind, even general ontological themes are concretized, sharpened in the form actual problems. To solve a problem, it is often necessary to go beyond old knowledge, past experience, to reevaluate values. For three hundred years, the theme of the “little man” has existed in Russian literature, but the problem of his life is solved in different ways in the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky. The hero of the story "Poor People" Makar Devushkin reads "The Overcoat" by Gogol and "The Stationmaster" by Pushkin and notices the peculiarity of his position. The girl is looking at human dignity otherwise. He is poor, but proud, he can declare himself, his right, he can challenge " big people", the strong of this world, because he respects the person in himself and others. And he is much closer to the character of Pushkin, also a man of great heart, depicted lovingly, than the character of Gogol, a suffering, petty man, presented very low. G. Adamovich once remarked that “Gogol essentially mocks his unfortunate Akaky Akakievich, and it is not by chance that [Dostoevsky in Poor Folk] contrasted him with Pushkin, who in “ stationmaster"he treated the same helpless old man much more humanely."

Often the concepts of topic and problem are identified, they are used as synonyms. It will be more accurate if the problem is seen as concretization, updating, sharpening of the topic. The theme may be eternal, but the problem may change. The theme of love in Anna Karenina and the Kreutzer Sonata has a tragic content precisely because at the time of Tolstoy the problem of divorce in society was not solved at all, there were no such laws in the state. But the same theme is unusually tragic in Bunin's book " Dark alleys”, written during the 2nd World War. It is revealed against the background of the problems of people whose love and happiness are impossible in an era of revolutions, wars, and emigration. The problems of love and marriage of people born before the cataclysms of Russia are solved by Bunin in an exceptionally original way.

In Chekhov's story "Thick and Thin" the theme is the life of Russian bureaucracy. The problem will be voluntary servility, the question of why man goes to self-deprecation. The theme of space and possible interplanetary contact, the problem of the consequences of this contact is clearly indicated in the novels of the Strugatsky brothers.

In the works of Russian classical literature, the problem most often has the character of a socially significant issue. And more than that. If Herzen posed the question “Who is to blame?”, and Chernyshevsky asked “What to do?”, then these artists themselves offered answers, solutions. In the books of the 19th century, an assessment was given, an analysis of reality and ways to achieve a social ideal. Therefore, Chernyshevsky's novel "What is to be done?" Lenin called the textbook of life. However, Chekhov said that the solution of problems is not necessarily in literature, because life, continuing indefinitely, itself does not give final answers. Something else is more important - correct setting problems.

Thus, a problem is one or another feature of the life of an individual, an entire environment, or even a people, leading to some generalizing thoughts.

The writer does not speak with the reader in a rational language, he does not formulate ideas and problems, but presents us with a picture of life and thereby prompts thoughts that researchers call ideas or problems.

4. When analyzing a work, along with the concepts of "thematics" and "problematics", the concept of an idea is also used, which most often means the answer to a question allegedly posed by the author.

Ideas in literature can be different. An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are logical ideas, or concepts, which we are able to perceive with the intellect and which are easily conveyed without figurative means. For novels and short stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and effects, then a network of abstract elements.

But there is special kind very subtle, barely perceptible ideas of a literary work. An artistic idea is a thought embodied in a figurative form. It lives only in figurative implementation, it cannot be presented in the form of a sentence or concepts. The peculiarity of this thought depends on the disclosure of the topic, the worldview of the author, transmitted by the speech and actions of the characters, on the depiction of pictures of life. It is in the clutch of logical thoughts, images, all significant compositional elements. An artistic idea cannot be reduced to a rational idea that can be concretized or illustrated. The idea of this type is inseparable from the image, from the composition.

The formation of an artistic idea is a complex creative process. It is influenced by personal experience, the worldview of the writer, understanding of life. An idea can be nurtured for years, the author, trying to realize it, suffers, rewrites, looking for adequate means of implementation. All themes, characters, all events are necessary for a more complete expression of the main idea, its nuances, shades. However, it is necessary to understand that an artistic idea is not equal to an ideological concept, the plan that often appears not only in the head of the writer, but also on paper. Exploring non-artistic reality, reading diaries, notebooks, manuscripts, archives, scientists restore the history of the idea, the history of creation, but do not discover the artistic idea. Sometimes it happens that the author goes against himself, yielding to the original idea for the sake of artistic truth, an inner idea.

One thought is not enough to write a book. If you know in advance everything that you would like to talk about, then you should not contact artistic creativity. Better - to criticism, journalism, journalism.

The idea of a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes try to formulate the idea of their work. Dostoevsky said about The Idiot: “The main idea of the novel is to depict positively beautiful person". But Nabokov did not take him for the same declarative ideology. Indeed, the phrase of the novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what is the artistic and vital basis his image.

Therefore, along with cases of defining the so-called main idea, other examples are known. Tolstoy to the question "What is "War and Peace"? answered as follows: “War and Peace is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed.” Tolstoy once again demonstrated his unwillingness to translate the idea of his work into the language of concepts, speaking of the novel Anna Karenina: “If I wanted to say in words everything that I had in mind to express in a novel, then I should have written the very one that I wrote first” (letter to N. Strakhov).

Belinsky very accurately pointed out that “art does not allow abstract philosophical, and even more rational ideas: it allows only poetic ideas; and the poetic idea is<…>not a dogma, not a rule, it is a living passion, pathos" (lat. pathos- feeling, passion, inspiration).

V.V. Odintsov expressed his understanding of the category of artistic idea more strictly: “The idea of a literary work is always specific and is not derived directly not only from those lying outside it. individual statements writer (facts of his biography, social life, etc.), but also from the text - from replicas goodies, journalistic inserts, remarks of the author himself, etc.”

Literary critic G.A. Gukovsky also spoke about the need to distinguish between rational, that is, rational, and literary ideas: "By an idea, I mean not only a rationally formulated judgment, statement, even not only the intellectual content of a work of literature, but the whole sum of its content, which constitutes its intellectual function, its goal and task." And he further explained: “To understand the idea of a literary work means to understand the idea of each of its components in their synthesis, in their systemic interconnection.<…>At the same time, it is important to take into account structural features works - not only the words-bricks that make up the walls of the building, but the structure of the combination of these bricks as parts of this structure, their meaning.

O.I. Fedotov, comparing the artistic idea with the theme, the objective basis of the work, said the following: “An idea is an attitude towards the depicted, the fundamental pathos of the work, a category that expresses the author’s tendency ( inclination, intention preconceived idea) in the artistic coverage of this topic. Therefore, the idea is the subjective basis of the work. It is noteworthy that in Western literary criticism, based on other methodological principles, instead of the category of artistic idea, the concept of intention, some kind of premeditation, the author's tendency in expressing the meaning of the work is used. This is discussed in detail in the work of A. Companion "The Demon of Theory". In addition, in some modern domestic research scientists apply the category "creative concept". In particular, it sounds in the textbook edited by L. Chernets.

The grander the artistic idea, the longer the work lives.

V.V. Kozhinov called the artistic idea the semantic type of the work, which grows out of the interaction of images. Summarizing the statements of writers and philosophers, we can say that thin. The idea, in contrast to the logical idea, is not formulated by the author's statement, but is depicted in all the details of the artistic whole. The evaluative or value aspect of a work, its ideological and emotional orientation is called a trend. In the literature of socialist realism, the trend was interpreted as partisanship.

IN epic works ideas can be partly formulated in the text itself, as it is in Tolstoy's narrative: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth." More often, especially in lyrics, the idea permeates the structure of the work and therefore requires a lot of analytical work. The work of art as a whole is richer than the rational idea that critics usually isolate. In many lyrical works, the selection of an idea is untenable, because it practically dissolves in pathos. Therefore, one should not reduce the idea to a conclusion, a lesson and look for it without fail.

5. Not everything in the content of a literary work is determined by themes and ideas. The author expresses the ideological emotional attitude to the subject through images. And, although the author's emotionality is individual, some elements naturally repeat themselves. IN various works similar emotions, close types of illumination of life are manifested. The types of this emotional orientation include tragedy, heroism, romance, drama, sentimentality, as well as the comic with its varieties (humor, irony, grotesque, sarcasm, satire).

The theoretical status of these concepts causes much controversy. Some modern scientists, continuing the traditions of V.G. Belinsky, they call them "types of pathos" (G. Pospelov). Others call them "artistic modes" (V. Tyup) and add that these are the embodiments of the author's concept of personality. Still others (V. Khalizev) call them “ideological emotions”.

At the heart of the events, actions depicted in many works, there is a conflict, confrontation, the struggle of someone with someone, something with something.

At the same time, contradictions can be not only different strength but also of different content and character. A kind of answer that the reader often wants to find can be considered the emotional attitude of the author to the characters of the characters portrayed and to the type of their behavior, to conflicts. Indeed, a writer can sometimes reveal his likes and dislikes for a particular type of personality, while not always unambiguously assessing him. So, F.M. Dostoevsky, condemning what Raskolnikov invented, at the same time sympathizes with him. I.S. Turgenev examines Bazarov through the lips of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, but at the same time appreciates him, emphasizing his mind, knowledge, will: “Bazarov is smart and knowledgeable,” says Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov with conviction.

It is on the essence and content of the contradictions exposed in a work of art that its emotional tonality depends. And the word pathos is now perceived much broader than a poetic idea, it is the emotional and value orientation of the work and characters.

So, different types of pathos.

tragic tone is present where there is a violent conflict that cannot be tolerated and cannot be safely resolved. This may be a contradiction between man and inhuman forces (rock, God, elements). It can be a confrontation between groups of people (a war of nations), finally, internal conflict, that is, the clash of opposite principles in the minds of one hero. This is the realization of an irreparable loss: human life, freedom, happiness, love.

Understanding the tragic goes back to the writings of Aristotle. The theoretical development of the concept refers to the aesthetics of romanticism and Hegel. Central character- this is a tragic hero, a person who finds himself in a situation of discord with life. This is a strong personality, not bent by circumstances, and therefore doomed to suffering and death.

Among such conflicts are the contradictions between personal impulses and superpersonal restrictions - caste, class, moral. Such contradictions gave rise to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, who loved each other, but belonged to different clans of the Italian society of their time; Katerina Kabanova, who fell in love with Boris and understood the sinfulness of her love for him; Anna Karenina, tormented by the consciousness of the abyss between her, society and her son.

A tragic situation can also develop in the presence of a contradiction between the desire for happiness, freedom and the hero's awareness of his weakness and impotence in achieving them, which entails motives of skepticism and doom. For example, such motives are heard in the speech of Mtsyri, pouring out his soul to an old monk and trying to explain to him how he dreamed of living in his village, but was forced to spend his whole life, except for three days, in a monastery. The fate of Elena Stakhova from the novel by I.S. Turgenev "On the Eve", who lost her husband immediately after the wedding and went with his coffin to a foreign country.

The height of tragic pathos is that it instills faith in a person who has courage, remaining true to himself even before death. Since antiquity tragic hero you have to experience a moment of guilt. According to Hegel, this guilt lies in the fact that a person violates the established order. Therefore, the concept of tragic guilt is characteristic of works of tragic pathos. It is in the tragedy "Oedipus Rex", and in the tragedy "Boris Godunov". The mood in the works of such a warehouse is sorrow, compassion. Since the second half of the 19th century, the tragic has been understood more and more widely. It includes everything that causes fear, horror in human life. After the spread of the philosophical doctrines of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, the existentialists attach universal significance to the tragic. According to such views, the main property human being is catastrophic. Life is meaningless because of the death of individual beings. In this aspect, the tragic is reduced to a sense of hopelessness, and those qualities that were characteristic of strong personality(affirmation of courage, resilience) are leveled and not taken into account.

In a literary work, both tragic and dramatic beginnings can be combined with heroic. heroics arises and is felt there and then, when people undertake or take active actions for the sake of the good of others, in the name of protecting the interests of a tribe, clan, state, or simply a group of people in need of help. People are ready to take risks, to meet death with dignity in the name of realizing lofty ideals. More often similar situations occur during periods of national liberation wars or movements. Moments of heroics were reflected in the Tale of Igor's Campaign in Prince Igor's decision to join the fight against the Polovtsy. At the same time, heroic-tragic situations can also take place in peacetime, at moments natural Disasters arising through the "fault" of nature (floods, earthquakes) or the person himself. Accordingly, they appear in the literature. Events in folk epic, legends, epics. The hero in them is an exceptional figure, his deeds are a socially significant feat. Hercules, Prometheus, Vasily Buslaev. Sacrificial heroism in the novel "War and Peace", the poem "Vasily Terkin". In the 1930s and 1940s, heroism was required under duress. From the works of Gorky, the idea was planted: in everyone's life there should be a feat. In the 20th century, the literature of the struggle contains the heroism of resistance to lawlessness, the heroism of upholding the right to freedom (V. Shalamov's stories, V. Maksimov's novel "Admiral Kolchak's Star").

L.N. Gumilyov believed that the truly heroic could only be at the origins of the life of the people. Any process of nation formation begins with heroic deeds small groups of people. He called these people passionaries. But crisis situations that require heroic-sacrificial deeds from people always arise. Therefore, the heroic in literature will always be significant, high and inescapable. An important condition for the heroic, Hegel believed, is free will. A forced feat (the case of a gladiator), in his opinion, cannot be heroic.

Heroic can be combined with romance. romance called the enthusiastic state of the individual, caused by the desire for something high, beautiful, morally significant. The sources of romance are the ability to feel the beauty of nature, to feel like a part of the world, the need to respond to someone else's pain and someone else's joy. The behavior of Natasha Rostova often gives reason to perceive it as romantic, because of all the heroes of the novel "War and Peace" she alone has a lively nature, a positive emotional charge, and dissimilarity to secular young ladies, which was immediately noticed by the rational Andrei Bolkonsky.

Romance for the most part and manifests itself in the sphere of personal life, revealing itself in moments of expectation or the onset of happiness. Since happiness in the minds of people is primarily associated with love, then the romantic worldview most likely makes itself felt at the moment of approaching love or hope for it. We meet the image of romantically inclined heroes in the works of I.S. Turgenev, for example, in his story "Asya", where the characters (Asya and Mr. N.), close to each other in spirit and culture, experience joy, emotional upsurge, which is expressed in their enthusiastic perception of nature, art and themselves, in joy communication with each other. And yet, most often, the pathos of romance is associated with an emotional experience that does not turn into action, an act. Achieving a lofty ideal is impossible in principle. So, in Vysotsky's poems, it seems to young men that they were born late to participate in wars:

... And in basements and semi-basements

The kids wanted under the tanks,

They didn't even get a bullet...

The world of romance is a dream, a fantasy, romantic ideas are often associated with the past, exotic: Lermontov's Borodino, Kuprin's Shulamith, Lermontov's Mtsyri, Gumilyov's Giraffe.

The pathos of romance can act together with other types of pathos: irony in Blok, heroism in Mayakovsky, satire in Nekrasov.

The combination of heroism and romance is possible in those cases when the hero performs or wants to perform a feat, and this is perceived by him as something sublime. Such an interweaving of heroism and romance is observed in "War and Peace" in the behavior of Petya Rostov, who was obsessed with the desire to personally take part in the fight against the French, which led to his death.

The prevailing tonality in the content of the overwhelming number of works of art, undoubtedly, dramatic. Trouble, disorder, dissatisfaction of a person in the spiritual sphere, in personal relationships, in public position- these are the real signs of drama in life and literature. The failed love of Tatyana Larina, Princess Mary, Katerina Kabanova and other heroines of famous works testifies to the dramatic moments of their lives.

Moral and intellectual dissatisfaction and unfulfillment of the personal potential of Chatsky, Onegin, Bazarov, Bolkonsky and others; social humiliation of Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin from the story of N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat", as well as the Marmeladov family from the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment", many heroines from the poem by N.A. Nekrasov “Who should live well in Rus'”, almost all the characters in M. Gorky's play “At the Bottom” - all this serves as a source and indicator of dramatic contradictions.

Emphasizing romantic, dramatic, tragic and, of course, heroic moments in the lives of heroes and their moods in most cases becomes form of expression of sympathy for the characters, the way they are supported and protected by their author. Undoubtedly, W. Shakespeare is going through with Romeo and Juliet about the circumstances that prevent their love, A.S. Pushkin pities Tatyana, who is not understood by Onegin, F.M. Dostoevsky mourns the fate of such girls as Dunya and Sonya, A.P. Chekhov sympathizes with the suffering of Gurov and Anna Sergeevna, who fell in love with each other very deeply and seriously, but they have no hope of uniting their destinies.

However, it happens that the image of romantic moods becomes way of debunking the hero, sometimes even condemning him. So, for example, the vague verses of Lensky evoke a slight irony of A. S. Pushkin. The depiction of Raskolnikov's dramatic experiences by F. M. Dostoevsky is in many ways a form of condemnation of the hero, who conceived a monstrous version of correcting his life and became entangled in his thoughts and feelings.

Sentimentality is a kind of pathos with a predominance of subjectivity and sensitivity. All R. In the 18th century it was dominant in the works of Richardson, Stern, Karamzin. He is in the "Overcoat" and " old-world landowners", at early Dostoevsky, in "Mu-mu", Nekrasov's poetry.

More often in a discrediting role are humor and satire. Under humor and satire this case another variant of emotional orientation is implied. Both in life and in art, humor and satire are generated by such characters and situations that are called comic. The essence of the comic is to detect and reveal the discrepancy between the real capabilities of people (and, accordingly, the characters) and their claims, or the discrepancy between their essence and appearance. The pathos of satire is devastating, satire reveals socially significant vices, exposes a deviation from the norm, ridicules. The pathos of humor is affirmative, because the subject of a humorous sensation sees not only the shortcomings of others, but also his own. Awareness of one's own shortcomings gives hope of healing (Zoshchenko, Dovlatov). Humor is an expression of optimism (“Vasily Terkin”, “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” by Hasek).

A mockingly evaluative attitude to comic characters and situations is called irony. Unlike the previous ones, it carries skepticism. She does not agree with the assessment of life, situation or character. In Voltaire's story "Candide, or Optimism", the hero refutes his own attitude with his fate: "Everything that is done, everything is for the better." But the reverse opinion “everything is for the worse” is not accepted. The pathos of Voltaire is in mocking skepticism towards extreme principles. Irony can be light, non-malicious, but it can become unkind, judgmental. Deep irony, causing not a smile and laughter in in the usual sense words, but a bitter experience, is called sarcasm. The reproduction of comic characters and situations, accompanied by an ironic assessment, leads to the appearance of humorous or satirical works of art: Moreover, not only works can be humorous and satirical verbal art(parodies, anecdotes, fables, stories, stories, plays), but also drawings, sculptural images, mimic representations.

In the story of A.P. Chekhov’s “The Death of an Official” comically manifests itself in the ridiculous behavior of Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, who, while in the theater, accidentally sneezed on the general’s bald head and was so frightened that he began to pester him with his apologies and pursued him until he aroused the general’s real anger, which and led the official to death. The absurdity in the inconsistency of the perfect act (sneezed) and the reaction caused by it (repeated attempts to explain to the general that he, Chervyakov, did not want to offend him). In this story, sadness is mixed with the funny, since such a fear of a high face is a sign of the dramatic position of a small official in the system of official relations. Fear can generate unnaturalness in human behavior. This situation was reproduced by N.V. Gogol in the comedy "The Government Inspector". The identification of serious contradictions in the behavior of the characters, giving rise to a clearly negative attitude towards them, becomes a hallmark of satire. Classical examples of satire are given by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (“How a peasant fed two generals”).

Grotesque(French grotesque, literally - bizarre; comical; Italian grottesco - bizarre, Italian grotta - grotto, cave) - one of the varieties of the comic, combines terrible and funny, ugly and sublime in a fantastic form, and also brings together the distant, combines the incongruous , intertwines the unreal with the real, the present with the future, reveals the contradictions of reality. As a form of comic grotesque, it differs from humor and irony in that in it the funny and funny are inseparable from the terrible and sinister; as a rule, images of the grotesque carry a tragic meaning. In the grotesque, behind external implausibility, fantasticness lies a deep artistic generalization of important phenomena of life. The term "grotesque" became widespread in the fifteenth century, when during the excavations of underground rooms (grottoes) wall paintings with bizarre patterns were discovered, in which motifs from plant and animal life were used. Therefore, distorted images were originally called grotesque. As an artistic image, the grotesque is distinguished by its two-dimensionality and contrast. Grotesque is always a deviation from the norm, convention, exaggeration, deliberate caricature, so it is widely used for satirical purposes. Examples of the literary grotesque are N.V. Gogol's story "The Nose" or "Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober" by E.T.A. Hoffmann, fairy tales and stories by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

To define pathos means to establish the type of attitude towards the world and man in the world.

Literature

1. Introduction to literary criticism. Fundamentals of the theory of literature: a textbook for bachelors / V. P. Meshcheryakov, A. S. Kozlov [and others]; under total ed. V. P. Meshcheryakova. 3rd ed., revised. and additional Moscow, 2013, pp. 33–37, 47–51.

2. Esin A. B. Principles and methods of analysis of a literary work: Proc. allowance. M., 1998. S. 34–74.

additional literature

1. Gukovsky G. A. Studying a literary work at school: Methodological essays on methodology. Tula, 2000, pp. 23–36.

2. Odintsov VV Stylistics of the text. M., 1980. S. 161–162.

3. Rudneva E. G. Paphos of a work of art. M., 1977.

4. Tomashevsky B. V. Theory of Literature. Poetics. M., 1996. S. 176.

5. Fedotov OI Introduction to literary criticism: Proc. allowance. M., 1998. S. 30–33.

6. Esalnek A. Ya. Fundamentals of literary criticism. Analysis of literary text: Proc. allowance. M., 2004. S. 10–20.

Fedotov OI Introduction to literary criticism. M., 1998.

Sierotwiński S. Słownik terminów literackich. S. 161.

Tomashevsky B.V. Theories of literature. Poetics. M., 1996. S. 176.

Esalnek A.Ya. Fundamentals of literary criticism. Analysis of a work of art: Tutorial. M., 2004. S. 11.

Esin A.B. Principles and methods of analysis of a literary work: Textbook. M., 1998. S. 36-40.

Adamovich G. Report on Gogol // Berberova N. People and lodges. Russian Masons of the XX century. - Kharkov: "Kaleidoscope"; M .: "Progress-Tradition", 1997. S. 219.

A logically formulated general idea about a class of objects or phenomena; idea of something. The concept of time.

Dostoevsky F.M. Collected works: In 30 tons. T. 28. Book 2. P.251.

Odintsov V.V. Text style. M., 1980. S. 161-162.

Gukovsky G.A. The study of literature in school. M.; L., 1966. S.100-101.

Gukovsky G.A. S.101, 103.

Companion A. Demon theory. M., 2001. S. 56-112.

Chernets L.V. literary work as artistic unity// Introduction to literary criticism / Ed. L.V. Chernets. M., 1999. S. 174.

Esalnek A. Ya. S. 13-22.

This book contains 2,000 original ideas for short stories and novels.

When analyzing a literary work, the concept of “idea” is traditionally used, which most often means the answer to a question allegedly posed by the author.

The idea of a literary work - this is the main idea that summarizes the semantic, figurative, emotional content of a literary work.

Artistic idea of the work - this is the content-semantic integrity of a work of art as a product of emotional experience and development of life by the author. This idea cannot be recreated by means of other arts and logical formulations; it is expressed throughout artistic structure product, unity and interaction of all its formal components. Conditionally (and in a narrower sense) the idea stands out as the main idea, ideological conclusion and “life lesson”, naturally arising from a holistic comprehension of the work.

An idea in literature is a thought contained in a work. There are a lot of ideas expressed in the literature. Exist logical ideas And abstract ideas . Logical ideas are concepts that are easily transmitted without figurative means, we are able to perceive them with the intellect. Logical ideas are inherent in documentary literature. But artistic novels and stories are characterized by philosophical and social generalizations, ideas, analyzes of causes and effects, that is, abstract elements.

But there is also a special kind of very subtle, barely perceptible ideas of a literary work. artistic idea is an idea embodied in a figurative form. It lives only in figurative implementation and cannot be expressed in the form of a sentence or concepts. The peculiarity of this thought depends on the disclosure of the topic, the worldview of the author, transmitted by the speech and actions of the characters, on the depiction of pictures of life. It is in the linking of logical thoughts, images, all significant compositional elements. An artistic idea cannot be reduced to a rational idea that can be concretized or illustrated. The idea of this type is inseparable from the image, from the composition.

The formation of an artistic idea is a complex creative process. In literature, it is influenced by personal experience, the writer's worldview, and understanding of life. An idea can be nurtured for years and decades, and the author, trying to realize it, suffers, rewrites the manuscript, looking for suitable means of implementation. All themes, characters, all events selected by the author are necessary for a more complete expression of the main idea, its nuances, shades. However, it is necessary to understand that an artistic idea is not equal to an ideological concept, the plan that often appears not only in the head of the writer, but also on paper. Exploring non-artistic reality, reading diaries, notebooks, manuscripts, archives, literary critics restore the history of the idea, the history of creation, but often do not discover the artistic idea. Sometimes it happens that the author goes against himself, yielding to the original idea for the sake of artistic truth, an inner idea.

One thought is not enough to write a book. If everything that I would like to talk about is known in advance, then you should not turn to artistic creativity. Better - to criticism, journalism, journalism.

The idea of a literary work comes out of the visual image

The idea of a literary work cannot be contained in one phrase and one image. But writers, especially novelists, sometimes try to formulate the idea of their work. Dostoevsky about The Idiot he wrote: "The main idea of the novel is to portray a positively beautiful person." For such a declarative ideology Dostoevsky scolded: here he "distinguished himself", for example, Nabokov. Indeed, the phrase of the great novelist does not clarify why, why he did it, what is the artistic and vital basis of his image. But here it is hardly possible to stand on the side Nabokov, the mundane writer of the second row, never, unlike Dostoevsky that does not set itself creative supertasks.

Along with the attempts of the authors to determine the so-called main idea of their work, opposite, although no less confusing, examples are known. Tolstoy to the question “what is War and Peace”? answered as follows: "War and peace" is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed. Unwillingness to translate the idea of your work into the language of concepts Tolstoy demonstrated once again, speaking of the novel "Anna Karenina": "If I wanted to say in words everything that I had in mind to express in a novel, then I would have to write the very one that I wrote first" (from a letter to N. Strakhov).

Belinsky very accurately pointed out that “art does not allow abstract philosophical, and even more rational ideas: it allows only poetic ideas; and the poetic idea is<…>not a dogma, not a rule, this is a living passion, pathos.

V.V. Odintsov expressed his understanding of the category “artistic idea” more strictly: “The idea of a literary work is always specific and is not derived directly not only from the individual statements of the writer lying outside of it (the facts of his biography, social life, etc.), but also from the text - from replicas of goodies, journalistic inserts, remarks of the author himself, etc.”

Literary critic G.A. Gukovsky also spoke about the need to distinguish between rational, that is, rational, and literary ideas: “By an idea, I mean not only a rationally formulated judgment, statement, not even just the intellectual content of a work of literature, but the entire sum of its content, which constitutes its intellectual function, its goal and task. And he further explained: “To understand the idea of a literary work means to understand the idea of each of its components in their synthesis, in their systemic interconnection.<…>At the same time, it is important to take into account the structural features of the work - not only the words-bricks that make up the walls of the building, but the structure of the combination of these bricks as parts of this structure, their meaning.

The idea of a literary work is an attitude to the depicted, the fundamental pathos of the work, a category that expresses the author's tendency (inclination, intention, preconceived idea) in the artistic coverage of this topic. In other words, idea -it is the subjective basis of a literary work. It is noteworthy that in Western literary criticism, based on other methodological principles, instead of the category “artistic idea”, the concept of “intention”, some kind of premeditation, the author’s tendency to express the meaning of the work, is used.

The grander the artistic idea, the longer the work lives. The creators of pop literature, who write outside of great ideas, will soon be forgotten.

V.V. Kozhinov called the artistic idea the semantic type of the work, which grows out of the interaction of images. An artistic idea, unlike a logical idea, is not formulated by the author's statement, but is depicted in all the details of the artistic whole.

In epic works, the idea may be partly formulated in the text itself, as was the case in the narrative. Tolstoy: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth." More often, especially in lyrics, the idea permeates the structure of the work and therefore requires a lot of analytical work. A work of art as a whole is much richer than a rational idea, which critics usually isolate, and in many lyrical works, it is simply impossible to single out an idea, because it practically dissolves in pathos. Therefore, one should not reduce the idea of a work to a conclusion or a lesson, and in general it is imperative to look for it.

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Any analysis of a literary work begins with the definition of its theme and idea. There is a close semantic and logical connection between them, thanks to which the literary text is perceived as an integral unity of form and content. A correct understanding of the meaning of the literary terms theme and idea allows you to establish how accurately the author managed to embody his creative idea and whether his book is worth the reader's attention.

The theme of a literary work is the semantic definition of its content, reflecting the author's vision of the depicted phenomenon, event, character or other artistic reality.

An idea is the intention of a writer pursuing a specific goal in creating artistic images, in using the principles of plot construction and achieving the compositional integrity of a literary text.

What is the difference between a theme and an idea?

Figuratively speaking, any occasion that prompted the writer to take up the pen and transfer to Blank sheet paper, the perception of the surrounding reality reflected in artistic images. You can write about anything; another question: for what purpose, what task should we set for ourselves?

The goal and task determine the idea, the disclosure of which is the essence of an aesthetically valuable and socially significant literary work.

Among the variety of literary themes, there are several main directions that serve as guidelines for the flight of the writer's creative imagination. These are historical, social, adventure, detective, psychological, moral and ethical, lyrical, philosophical themes. The list goes on. It will include original author's notes, literary diaries, and stylistically refined extracts from archival documents.

The theme, felt by the writer, acquires spiritual content, an idea without which book page will remain just connected text. The idea can be reflected in the historical analysis of problems important for society, in the depiction of complex psychological moments on which the human destiny, or simply in creating a lyrical sketch that awakens the reader's sense of beauty.

The idea is the deep content of the work. A theme is a motive that allows you to realize a creative idea within a specific, clearly defined context.

The difference between a theme and an idea

The theme determines the actual and semantic content of the work.

The idea reflects the tasks and goals of the writer, which he seeks to achieve while working on a literary text.

The theme has formative functions: it can be revealed in small literary genres or be developed into a major epic work.

The idea is the main content core of a literary text. It corresponds to the conceptual level of organization of the work as an aesthetically significant whole.

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Idea(gr. ideas- prototype, ideal, idea) - the main idea of the work, expressed through its entire figurative system. It is the way of expression that fundamentally distinguishes the idea of a work of art from a scientific idea. The idea of a work of art is inseparable from its figurative system, therefore it is not so easy to find an adequate abstract expression for it, to formulate it in isolation from the artistic content of the work. L. Tolstoy, emphasizing the inseparability of the idea from the form and content of the novel "Anna Karenina", wrote: "If I wanted to say in words everything that I had in mind to express in a novel, then I would have to write a novel, the very one that I wrote first.

And one more difference between the idea of a work of art and the idea of a scientific one. The latter requires a clear justification and strict, often laboratory, evidence, confirmation. Writers, unlike scientists, do not, as a rule, strive for strict evidence, although such a tendency can be found among naturalists, in particular E. Zola. It is enough for the artist of the word to pose this or that question of concern to society. In this setting itself, the main ideological content of the work can be concluded. As A. Chekhov noted, in such works as "Anna Karenina" or "Eugene Onegin" not a single issue is "resolved", but nevertheless they are permeated with deep, socially significant ideas that concern everyone.

Close to the concept of "the idea of a work" is the concept of "ideological content". The last term in more associated with the position of the author, with his attitude to the depicted. This attitude may be different, just as the ideas expressed by the author may be different. The position of the author, his ideology is determined primarily by the era in which he lives, the social views inherent in this time, expressed by one or another social group. For educational literature XVIII The century was characterized by high ideological content, due to the desire to reorganize society on the principles of reason, the struggle of enlighteners against the vices of the aristocracy and faith in the virtue of the "third estate". At the same time, aristocratic literature, devoid of high citizenship (Rococo literature), also developed. The latter cannot be called "unprincipled", just the ideas expressed by this trend were the ideas of a class opposite to the enlighteners, a class that was losing historical perspective and optimism. Because of this, the ideas expressed by "precise" (refined, refined) aristocratic literature were devoid of great social resonance.

The ideology of the writer is not reduced only to the thoughts that he puts into his creation. The selection of the material on which the work is based, and a certain circle of characters is also important. The choice of heroes, as a rule, is determined by the corresponding ideological attitudes of the author. For example, the Russian natural school"The 1840s, which professed the ideals of social equality, sympathetically draws the life of the inhabitants of the city" corners "- petty officials, poor bourgeois, janitors, cooks, etc. In Soviet literature, comes to the fore" real man", concerned primarily with the interests of the proletariat, sacrificing the personal for the sake of the national good.

The problem of correlation in the work of "ideological" and "artistic" seems to be extremely important. Not always even outstanding writers manages to translate the idea of the work into a perfect art form. Often, word artists, in their desire to express their exciting ideas as accurately as possible, stray into journalism, begin to "argue" rather than "depict", which, ultimately, only worsens the work. An example of such a situation is the novel by R. Rolland "The Enchanted Soul", in which highly artistic initial chapters contrast with the latter, which are something like journalistic articles.

In such cases, full-blooded artistic images turn into schemes, into simple mouthpieces of the author's ideas. Even such greatest artists of the word as L. Tolstoy resorted to "direct" expression of the ideas that excited them, although in his works such a method of expression is given relatively little space.

Usually a work of art expresses the main idea and a number of minor ones associated with side storylines. So, in the famous tragedy "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, along with the main idea of the work, which says that man is a toy in the hands of the gods, ideas about the attractiveness and at the same time the frailty of human power (the conflict between Oedipus and Creon), about the wise "blindness "(dialogue of the blind Tiresias with the bodily sighted, but spiritually blind Oedipus) and a number of others. It is characteristic that ancient authors tried to express even the deepest thoughts only in artistic form. As for the myth, its artistry without a trace "absorbed" the idea. It is in this connection that many theorists say that the older the work, the more artistic it is. And this is not because the ancient creators of "myths" were more talented, but because they simply had no other way to express their ideas due to the underdevelopment of abstract thinking.

Speaking about the idea of the work, about its ideological content, it should also be borne in mind that it is not only created by the author, but can also be contributed by the reader.

A. Frans said that we bring our own meaning to each line of Homer, different from the one that Homer himself put into it. To this, critics of the hermeneutic trend add that the perception of the same work of art is different in different eras. Readers of each new historical period usually "absorb" the dominant ideas of their time into the work. And indeed it is. Didn't they try in Soviet times to fill the novel "Eugene Onegin", based on the "proletarian" ideology dominant at that time, with something that Pushkin did not even think about? In this regard, the interpretation of myths is especially revealing. In them, if desired, you can find any modern idea from political to psychoanalytic. It is no coincidence that Z. Freud saw in the myth of Oedipus a confirmation of his idea about the initial conflict between the son and the father.

The possibility of a broad interpretation of the ideological content of works of art is precisely due to the specifics of the expression of this content. figurative, artistic expression ideas is not as accurate as scientific. This opens up the possibility of a very free interpretation of the idea of the work, as well as the possibility of "reading" into it those ideas that the author did not even think about.

Speaking about the ways of expressing the idea of a work, one cannot fail to mention the doctrine of pathos. V. Belinsky's words are known that "a poetic idea is not a syllogism, not a dogma, not a rule, it is a living passion, it is pathos." And therefore the idea of a work "is not an abstract thought, not a dead form, but a living creation." The words of V. Belinsky confirm what was said above - the idea in a work of art is expressed by specific means, it is "live", and not abstract, not a "syllogism". This is profoundly true. It is only necessary to clarify how the idea nevertheless differs from pathos, because such a difference is not visible in Belinsky's formulation. Paphos is above all a passion, and it is associated with a form of artistic expression. In this regard, they speak of "pathetic" and dispassionate (among naturalists) works. The idea, which is inextricably linked with pathos, still refers more to what is called the content of the work, in particular, they talk about "ideological content". True, this division is relative. Idea and pathos merge together.

Subject(from Greek. theme)- what is put in the basis, the main problem and the main circle life events depicted by the writer. The theme of the work is inextricably linked with its idea. The selection of vital material, the formulation of problems, that is, the choice of a topic, are dictated by the ideas that the author would like to express in the work. V. Dahl in " explanatory dictionary"defined the topic as" a situation, a task that is being discussed or explained. "This definition emphasizes that the theme of a work is, first of all, a statement of a problem," tasks ", and not just certain events. The latter can be the subject of an image and be defined also as the plot of the work. Understanding the "theme" mainly as a "problem" suggests its closeness to the concept of "idea of the work". This connection was noted by Gorky, who wrote that "a theme is an idea that originated in the author's experience, is prompted to him life, but nestles in the receptacle of his impressions still unformed, and, demanding embodiment in images, arouses in him the urge to work on its design. "The problematic orientation of the theme is often expressed in the very title of the work, as is the case in the novels" What is to be done? "Who is to blame?".At the same time, one can almost speak of a regularity, which consists in the fact that almost all literary masterpieces have emphatically neutral names, most often repeating the name of the hero: "Faust", "Odyssey", "Hamlet", "The Brothers Karamazov", "Don Quixote", etc.

Emphasizing the close connection between the idea and the theme of a work, one often speaks of "ideological and thematic integrity" or of its ideological and thematic features. Such a combination of two different, but closely related concepts seems to be quite justified.

Along with the term "theme" is often used and close to it in meaning - "theme", which implies the presence in the work of not only the main theme, but also various secondary thematic lines. The larger the work, the wider the coverage of vital material in it and the more complex ideological basis, the more such thematic lines. The main theme in I. Goncharov's novel "The Cliff" is a story about the drama of finding one's way in modern society(line of Faith) and the "cliff" that ends such attempts. The second theme of the novel is noble dilettantism and its detrimental effect on creativity (Raisky's line).

The theme of a work can be both socially significant - this was precisely the theme of "Cliff" for the 1860s - and insignificant, in connection with which sometimes it is said about the "small subject matter" of one or another author. However, it should be borne in mind that some genres, by their very nature, involve "small topics", that is, the absence of social significant topics. Such, in particular, is the intimate lyrics, to which the concept of "small subject matter" is inapplicable as an evaluative one. For large works, a good choice of theme is one of the main conditions for success. This is clearly seen in the example of A. Rybakov's novel Children of the Arbat, whose unprecedented reader success was ensured primarily by the exposing of Stalinism, which was acute for the second half of the 1980s.

Examples of the theme and idea of ​​a work of art. Artistic idea

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Examples of the theme and idea of a work of art. Artistic idea