A short story of what epics are. A short message about epics

This epic a folklore epic song about a heroic event or a remarkable episode of ancient Russian history. In their original form, epics appeared in Kievan Rus having developed on the basis of an archaic epic tradition and inheriting many mythological features from it; however, science fiction turned out to be subordinate to the historicism of seeing and reflecting reality. From the point of view of the people the meaning of the epic was to preserve historical memory , therefore, their reliability was not questioned. Epics are close fairy tales about the heroes. They artistically generalized the historical reality of the 11-16 centuries and existed until the middle of the 20th century, corresponding to the epic creativity of many peoples of Europe and Asia. The people called them "old people", that is. songs about the actual events of the distant past. The term "epic" (scientific) was introduced in the 1840s on the basis of the "epics of this time" mentioned in the "Lay of Igor's Host".

In the middle of the 18th century in the Urals, a handwritten collection of epics and historical songs, later called "Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirsha Danilov". In the 1830s-40s, P.V. Kireevsky headed the collection of Russian songs; later, as part of the multivolume edition "Songs Collected by PV Kireevsky", the so-called "old series" was published, which included epics and historical songs. In the middle of the 19th century, PN Rybnikov discovered in the Olonets Territory an actively existing living epic tradition ("Songs Collected by PN Rybnikov". M., 1861-67). The performers of epics and other epic songs were called “storytellers”. In the second half of the 19th and 20th centuries in the Russian North, a huge work was carried out to identify and record epics, as a result of which a number of scientific publications appeared: A.F. Gilferding, A. Markov, A.D. Grigoriev, N. Onuchkova, A. M. Astakhova and others.

Epics and realities

The epics reflected many historical realities. Northern singers conveyed the geography and landscape of Kievan Rus' unfamiliar to them (“open expanse is a clear field”), depicted the struggle of the ancient Russian state against the nomadic steppe inhabitants. Separate details of the military princely-squad life were preserved with amazing accuracy. The storytellers did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence of the story, but depicted it the most important points, who were embodied in the central episodes of epics. Researchers note their multi-layered nature: they conveyed the names of real persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander (Alyosha) Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Tushrkan, Baty). However, artistic fiction made it possible to attribute the epics to an earlier or later historical time, and allowed the combination of names. V popular memory there was a distortion of geographical distances, names of countries and cities. The idea of ​​the Tatars as the main enemy of Russia supplanted the mention of the Polovtsy and Pechenegs.

The heyday of epics

The heyday of the epics itself early Vladimirov cycle took place in Kiev in the 11-12 centuries, and after the weakening of Kiev (from the second half of the 12th century), they moved to the west and north, to the Novgorod region. The folk epic that has come down to us allows us to judge only about the content of the ancient songs of Kievan Rus, but not about their form. The epic was assimilated by buffoons who had a significant influence on him: in the epics, a number of scenes represent buffoons-singers at feasts at Prince Vladimir's, there are actually buffoons bylinas ("Vavilo and the buffoons"). In the 16-17 centuries, the content of the epics reflected the life of the upper classes of Moscow Russia, as well as the Cossacks (Ilya Muromets is called the “old Cossack”).

Science knows about 100 stories of epics (in total, more than 3000 texts have been written with variants and versions, a significant part of which has been published). For objective historical reasons, the Russian epic did not develop into an epic: the struggle against nomads ended at a time when living conditions could no longer contribute to the creation of an integral epic. The plots of the epics remained scattered, but they contain a tendency to cyclization in the place of action (Kiev, Novgorod) and in heroes (for example, the epic about Ilya Muromets). Representatives of the mythological school singled out epics about older heroes, in whose images mythological elements were reflected (Volkh, Svyatogor, Sukhmantiy, Danube, Potyk), and about younger heroes, in whose images mythological traces are insignificant, but historical features are expressed (Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Vasily Buslaev). Chapter historical school V.F. Miller divided epics into two types:

1. Heroic
2. Novelistic

For the first, he considered the heroic struggle of the heroes and its state goals characteristic, for the second - internal collisions, social or domestic. Modern science, introducing epics into the international context of epic creativity, groups them into the following subject-thematic sections:

• About senior heroes
• About fighting monsters
• On the fight against foreign enemies
• About meeting and rescuing relatives
• On the epic matchmaking and the hero's struggle for his wife
• About epic competitions.
• A special group is made up of epic parodies.

Poetic language of epics

The poetic language of epics is subordinated to the task of depicting the grandiose and the significant. They were performed without musical accompaniment, recitative. Their melodies are solemn, but monotonous (each narrator knew no more than two or three melodies and diversified them due to the vibration of the voice). It is assumed that in ancient times the epics were sung to the accompaniment of gusli. The verse of the epics is associated with the melody and refers to the tonic versification, (see). Compositional basis plots of many epics are antithesis and trebling. In the repertoire of buffoons, stylistic formulas for the external ornamentation of the plot arose: tunes and outcomes (independent small works not related to the main content of epics). The tradition of epic storytelling developed the formulas for the usual image - loci communes (lat. "Common places"), which were used when repeating situations of the same type: a feast at Prince Vladimir, saddle a horse, a heroic ride on a horse, reprisal of a hero with enemies, etc. unhurriedly, stately. Numerous repetitions were necessarily present in the unfolding of the plot. The slowness of the action (retardation) was achieved by tripling the episodes, repeating common passages, and the hero's speech. The poetic style was created by repetitions of words that could be tautological ("black-black", "many-many") or synonymous ("villain-robber", "fight-fight").

One of the techniques for joining strings is palilogy (repetition last words the previous line at the beginning of the next). Often, contiguous lines used syntactic parallelism. In epics, monotony (anaphora) could appear, and at the ends of the lines sometimes there were consonances of homogeneous words resembling rhyme. Alliterations and assonances appeared. The wide typification of the characters of the epics did not exclude elements of individualization, which Hilferding noted back in 1871: Prince Vladimir is a complacent and personally completely powerless ruler; Ilya Muromets is a calm and self-confident force; Dobrynya is the personification of politeness and graceful nobility; Vasily Ignatievich is a drunkard, sobering in a moment of trouble and becoming a hero. One of the principles of epic typification is the synecdoche: epics did not depict the entire Old Russian squad, but individual warriors-heroes defeating hordes of enemies; the enemy force could also be depicted in single images (Tugarin Zmeevich, Idolische). Main artistic device- hyperbole. The collectors testified that the singers perceived hyperboles as a reliable depiction of real qualities in their maximum manifestation.

Plots, images, poetics of epics were reflected in Russian literature ("Ruslan and Lyudmila", 1820, A.S. Pushkin, "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ...", 1838, M.Yu. "Lermontov", "Who should live in Russia good ", 1863-77, N.A. Nekrasov," folk stories"Leo Tolstoy). Epics were a source of inspiration for artists, composers, filmmakers.

Snow Maiden, Baba Yaga, Ivan Tsarevich - stories with the participation of these characters, most people hear in early childhood... However, the world of folklore is much richer, it contains not only fairy tales, but also songs, ballads, epics. Not everyone will be able to give the correct answer to the question of what is its role in literature. So what exactly is this genre?

Epics in Russian literature: history

This term began to be used only in 1839, it was coined by the folklorist Ivan Sakharov. Earlier works related to this genre, were called "oldies", "old people". The most ancient of them were known as early as the 10th century, in those days they were told to the accompaniment of gusli. In the future, the tradition of using musical accompaniment faded away. It wasn't until the early 18th century that such stories began to be published.

So, what is an epic in literature? The definition briefly sounds like an epic song-legend, which is one of the varieties of oral folk art, which has a heroic-patriotic character. The main characters similar stories first of all, heroes became. Plots related to the life of Ancient Rus allow one to better imagine the way of thinking of people who lived in the 9th-13th centuries.

Features of the genre

Epics in Russian literature mainly described heroic events, often in them one or another fascinating historical incident was considered. The plots were taken both from the history of Kievan Rus and from the events of prehistoric times. Among the characters of such works, in addition to courageous heroes fighting against evil, there are fantastic images, for example, Serpent Gorynych, Nightingale the robber. Also, the roles of heroes went to real historical figures like the Kiev princes Igor, Vladimir.

What is an epic in literature? It is also a work that does not have an author. Legends traveled from generation to generation, acquired new fascinating details. People who performed heroic songs, were respectfully called "storytellers". They were required not to memorize works by heart, but the ability to colorfully convey them, not to allow distortion of meaning.

Structure

Trying to understand what an epic in literature is, it is necessary to imagine the structure of such a text. Basically, the works consisted of three compositional elements: solo, beginning, ending. The stories began with a solo, which was a kind of introduction. The solo was required not to tell about the plot, but to attract the attention of the audience.

What is an epic in literature without an origin? It is about the story itself, which dedicated the listeners to the main events that were described in folk works in an embellished form. The ending was also present, which is a kind of summing up of the results. Also, a joke could take on the role of the ending.

An example of a typical heroic epic is a story describing the struggle of Ilya Muromets with the terrible Nightingale the robber, who knows how to destroy life around him with the help of a whistle. The great hero, of course, takes the monster prisoner, breaking into his lair, and then takes his life. The same category includes the same famous work about the battle of Dobrynya with the Serpent.

Social epics

Social and everyday works were also in great demand. An example of such an epic is the story of Sadko, a young gifted guslar who cannot gain fame in any way. In the end, the young man receives the patronage of the Sea Lord, impressed by his talent, but escapes from him and returns to his homeland, refusing the untold treasures offered to him.

The characters of social epics were mainly peasants, merchants, and princes are also found among them. In addition to the aforementioned Sadko, such heroes as Mikula and Volga gained popularity. Social and heroic works equally attractive by the high-quality portrayal of the characters of the main actors.

So, what is an epic in literature? The short answer is a work imbued with patriotism, belief in the triumph of good and defeat of evil.

Epics - a poetic heroic epic of ancient Russia, reflecting the events historical life of the Russian people mainly of the XI-XVI centuries. The name is widespread among the people: antiquity, old-fashioned, old-fashioned. In scientific and popular science literature until the 40s of the XIX century. they were more often called: heroic tales. The term epics came into general use in the second half of the 19th century. VF Miller, and after him other scholars believed that this term was first introduced by a collector-lover of folklore in the 30-40s of the XIX century. IP Sakharov, who used the expression “Words about Igor's Campaign” (see “Start Songs According to Bylinas of This Time ...”). Recent searches by Soviet researchers have shown that the terms "epic" and "true" as the names of ancient Russian epic songs were used by writers and researchers of the XVIII - early XIX v. In some areas, these names are also found in the vernacular.

ORIGIN OF BYLINS

In folklore, there are different views on the time of the emergence of epics. Some researchers (V.F. Miller, B. and Yu. Sokolov, and others) believe that the genre of epics took shape in the conditions of Kievan Rus, simultaneously described events, and in the subsequent time it received only development.

Other scientists (M.E.Khalaysky, S.K.

Recently, it was nominated interesting theory, which claims that epics were mainly formed in the Middle Ages, after the fall of Kievan Rus, as heroic songs, united by the image of the capital city of Kiev and Kiev prince Vladimir. According to this theory, epics were composed as songs about the past, and not about the present. "Epic time" of epics - the era of the Kiev state, depicted in epics as a time when people performed feats and restored justice; this epic time was contrasted with modernity with its separate policy of princes and the Tatar yoke in Russia.

Undoubtedly, it should be recognized that by the origin of epics - epic songs feudal Russia... How special genre they received their initial development in the process of creating the ancient Russian state. In its development, epics go through several stages that correspond to historical reality and reflect it. Continuing the traditions of the epic creativity of the East Slavic tribes, from which the Kiev state was formed several centuries later, the historical epic of the pre-Mongol period of Russia, as can be judged from the texts that have come down to us, represented the sum of individual songs glorifying the power and greatness of the Kiev state. During the Tatar yoke, the concept of Kievan Rus arises as an epic time of epics, and a cyclization of the epic is outlined, fostering patriotic feelings and aspirations of the people; at the same time, the main image of the Russian epic becomes the image of a hero uniting all best forces states for crushing resistance to the enemy. In the same period, the development of ancient Russian cities as important state and cultural centers leads to coverage in the epic of the social and family life of Russia, its ideological and cultural life... Both of these periods were the heyday of the former epic. And although we do not have records of epics made before the 17th century, the stability of the content and form of the Old Russian epic allows us to consider the main composition of epics as folk art of medieval Russia.

Under the conditions of the Moscow state and after the reforms of Peter's time, the genre of epics continues to live and develop, but basically reflects the same historical events as in previously created works. New texts of epics appear in most cases as retellings of stories and fairy-tale epics. Epics in Muscovite Rus, undoubtedly, did not remain unchanged; they introduced the features of modern social and political struggle, culture and everyday life; they were interpreted as works that speak of the present, although they narrated about the past.

BILIN CLASSIFICATION

By their nature, epics are divided into heroic, the main theme of which is the fight against an external enemy and the defense of Russia, and short stories, which mainly describe the social and family life of the medieval Russian state.

Due to the fact that the main blows of the enemy fell on the southern Russian principalities and north-eastern Russia, heroic themes heroic epics, telling about the defense of the homeland from the enemy, are concentrated around Kiev. This is the so-called Kiev cycle of epics.

The Kiev cycle of epics, the main characters of which are Ilya Muromets, Dobryia Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, are adjacent to the Galician-Volyn epics. The difference Galician-Volyn bylinas from Kiev is that they usually talk about the struggle with the enemy, attacking from the west (see the epics about Prince Roman).

Novelistic epics, as a rule, talk about the life of Novgorod and its people. The originality of Novgorod epics is due to the historical fate of Novgorod. It is known that Novgorod and the Novgorod land were placed in a special position in relation to Tatar yoke... The Novgorod lands, especially the outlying lands of the Russian North, suffered to a lesser extent from the Tatar yoke. It is quite understandable that the topic of family and social life for the Novgorod lands was common even at the time of the invasion of the Tatars. The most famous epics of the Novgorod cycle are about Sadko and Vasily Buslaev.

It is impossible to determine the exact age of this or that epic, because they have evolved over the centuries. Scientists began to record them en masse only after 1860, when another living tradition performances of epics. By that time the Russian heroic epic has undergone significant changes. Like archaeologists removing one layer of soil after another, folklorists freed texts from later "layers" in order to find out how the epics sounded a thousand years ago.

It was possible to establish that the oldest epic plots tell about the collision mythological hero and the Kiev hero. One more early plot dedicated to the matchmaking of a hero to a foreign princess. The oldest heroes Russian epics are considered Svyatogor and Volkh Vseslavievich. At the same time, the people often introduced characters contemporary to them into archaic plots. Or vice versa: an ancient mythological character, at the behest of the narrator, became a participant in recent events.

The word "epic" entered scientific use in the 19th century. Among the people, these stories were called antiquities. Today, about 100 stories are known, which are narrated in more than 3000 texts. Epic songs, epic songs about the heroic events of Russian history as an independent genre took shape in the 10th – 11th centuries - during the heyday of Kievan Rus. On initial stage they were based on mythological subjects... But the epic, unlike the myth, told about the political situation, about the new statehood Eastern Slavs, and therefore, instead of pagan deities, they acted historical figures... The real hero Dobrynya lived in the second half of the 10th - early 11th century and was an uncle to Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Alyosha Popovich is associated with the Rostov warrior Alexander Popovich, who died in 1223 in the battle on the Kalka River. The saint monk lived, presumably, in the XII century. At the same time, the Novgorod chronicle mentioned the merchant Sotko, who turned into a hero of Novgorod epics. Later, the people began to correlate the heroes who lived in different time, with a single epic era of Prince Vladimir Red Sun. The figure of Vladimir merged the features of two real rulers at once - Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh.

Real characters in folk art began to intersect with the heroes of ancient myths. For example, Svyatogor, presumably, got into the epic from the Slavic pantheon, where he was considered the son of the god Rod and the brother of Svarog. In the epics, Svyatogor was so huge that the earth did not carry him, because he lived in the mountains. In one story he met the warrior Ilya Muromets ("Svyatogor and Ilya Muromets"), and in the other - with the farmer Mikula Selyaninovich ("Svyatogor and the earthly craving"). In both cases, Svyatogor died, but, remarkably, not in a battle with young heroes - his death was predetermined from above. In some versions of the text, dying, he passed on part of his strength to the hero of the new generation.

One more oldest character- Volkh (Volga) Vseslavievich, born of a woman and a snake. This werewolf, great hunter and sorcerer is mentioned in Slavic mythology like the son of Chernobog. In the epic "Volkh Vseslavievich" Volkh's squad set off to conquer a distant kingdom. Having penetrated the city with the help of witchcraft, the warriors killed everyone, leaving only young women for themselves. This plot clearly refers to the era of tribal relations, when the ruin of one tribe by another was worthy of praise. In more late period When Russia repulsed the attacks of the Pechenegs, Polovtsians, and then the Mongol-Tatars, the criteria of the heroic retirement changed. The defender began to be considered a hero native land, and not the one who waged the war of conquest. In order for the epic about Volkh Vseslavievich to correspond to the new ideology, an explanation appeared in it: the campaign was against the tsar, who allegedly planned to attack Kiev. But this did not save Volkh from the fate of the hero of a bygone era: in the epic Volga and Mikula, the werewolf sorcerer lost in cunning and strength to the same peasant Mikula, who appeared in the epic about Svyatogor. New hero defeated the old one again.

Creating a heroic epic, the people presented outdated plots in a new light. So, the later epics of the XI, XII and XIII centuries were based on the revised new way motive of matchmaking. In tribal relations, marriage was the main duty of a man who entered a mature period, as many myths and tales told about. In the epics "Sadko", "Mikhailo Potyk", "Ivan Godinovich", "Danube and Dobrynya woo a bride for Prince Vladimir" and other heroes married foreign princesses, just as in ancient times brave men "got" a wife in a foreign tribe. But this act often became a fatal mistake for the heroes, leading to death or betrayal. We must marry our own people and, in general, think more about the service, and not about personal life - this was the setting in Kievan Rus.

Every event significant for the people was reflected in epics. The surviving texts mention the realities from the era and, the war with Poland and even with Turkey. But the main place in the epics starting from the XIII-XIV centuries was occupied by the struggle of the Russian people with the Horde yoke. In the XVI-XVII centuries, the tradition of performing epics gave way to the genre historical song... Until the 20th century, the heroic epic lived and developed only in the Russian North and in some regions of Siberia.

What are Epics?

Epics- these are ancient Russian epic songs-legends, chanting the heroic deeds of heroes reflecting the historical events of the 11th - 16th centuries.

Russian epics are one of the most original phenomena in world folklore both in terms of content and in terms of form. They reflect the spirit of the independent, powerful, hardworking, stern and good-natured Russian people with tremendous force, and their main features are innate patriotism and inexhaustible cheerfulness. Epics reflected many historical events associated primarily with the struggle of the ancient Russian state against the nomads. At the same time, the storytellers did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence historical events, and with the help of fiction they tried to convey to the audience the most important moments dedicated to the glorious history of Kievan Rus. It was the epics that brought to us the names of real persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Alyosha Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Sadko, Polovtsian and Tatar khans Tugorkan and Baty.

Science knows about a hundred stories of epics, which remained scattered, but according to the place of action (Kiev, Veliky Novgorod) and according to the heroes (Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Vasily Buslaev) we can talk about peculiar epic cycles.

The poetic language of epics is subordinated to the task of depicting something significant, even grandiose. Epics were performed without musical accompaniment, recitative, although in ancient times they were probably performed to the accompaniment of gusli.

In Russia long time there was a tradition of handwritten collections of epics. V mid XVIII centuries in the Urals or in Western Siberia the collection of Kirsha Danilov, which later received worldwide fame, was formed, which was first published in Moscow in 1804 under the title Ancient Russian Poems, and was subsequently reprinted many times. Today, there are dozens of scientific publications of the Russian epic, created on the basis of collecting activities and painstaking research work prominent Russian folklorists.

It is no coincidence that plots and images of epics are displayed in the national classical literature(Ruslan and Lyudmila A.S. Pushkin, Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, young oprichnik and swashbuckling merchant Kalashnikov M.Yu. Lermontov, Who lives well in Russia N.A. K. Tolstoy, Magus, Alexander Nevsky, Song about the boyar Evpatiy Kolovrat L.A. Mei, folk stories by L.N. Tolstoy), and also became a source of inspiration for a number of artists, composers, filmmakers.