A prologue is the introductory part of a work. It either precedes the storyline or main motives of the work, or represents events that preceded those described on the pages.

The exposition is in some ways akin to the prologue, however, if the prologue does not have a special impact on the development of the plot of the work, it directly introduces the reader into the atmosphere. It describes the time and place of action, central characters and their relationships. The exposure can be either at the beginning (direct exposure) or in the middle of the piece (delayed exposure).

With a logically clear construction, the exposition is followed by a plot - an event that begins the action and provokes the development of the conflict. Sometimes the plot precedes the exposition (for example, L.N. Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”). In detective novels, which are distinguished by the so-called analytical construction of the plot, the cause of events (i.e., the plot) is usually revealed to the reader after the consequence it generates.

The plot is traditionally followed by the development of action, consisting of a series of episodes in which the characters strive to resolve the conflict, but it only escalates.

Gradually, the development of the action approaches its highest point, which is called the climax. The climax is a clash between characters or a turning point in their fate. After the climax, the action moves irresistibly towards the denouement.

Resolution is the end of an action, or at least a conflict. As a rule, the denouement occurs at the end of the work, but sometimes it appears at the beginning (for example, I.A. Bunin’s “Easy Breathing”).

Often the work ends with an epilogue. This is the final part, which usually tells about the events that followed the completion of the main plot, and about the further fate of the characters. These are the epilogues in the novels of I.S. Turgeneva, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy.

Lyrical digressions

The composition may also contain extra-plot elements, for example, lyrical digressions. In them he himself appears before the reader, expressing his own opinions on various issues that are not always directly related to action. Of particular interest are the lyrical digressions in “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin and in “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol.

All of the above make it possible to give the work artistic integrity, consistency and excitement.

Composition(from Lat. soshro - fold, build) - this is the construction of a work of art.

Composition can be understood broadly - the area of ​​composition here includes not only the arrangement of events, actions, deeds, but also the combination of phrases, replicas, artistic details. In this case, the composition of the plot, the composition of the image, the composition of poetic means of expression, the composition of the narrative, etc. are separately distinguished.

The multi-story nature and diversity of Dostoevsky's novels amazed his contemporaries, but the new compositional form that emerged as a result of this was not always understood by them and was characterized as chaotic and inept. The famous critic Nikolai Strakhov accused the writer of not being able to cope with big amount plot material, does not know how to arrange it properly. IN reply letter to Strakhov, Dostoevsky agreed with him: “You pointed out the main drawback terribly accurately,” he wrote. - Yes, I suffered from this and continue to suffer: I am completely incapable of, and still have not learned to cope with, my means. Many separate novels and stories fit side by side into one, so there is no measure, no harmony.”

“To build a novel,” Anton Pavlovich Chekhov later wrote, “you need to know well the law of symmetry and balance of masses. A novel is a whole palace, and the reader must feel free in it, not be surprised and not bored, as in a museum. Sometimes you need to give the reader a break from both the hero and the author. A landscape, something funny, a new plot, new faces are good for this...”

There can be a lot of ways to convey the same event, and they, these events, can exist for the reader in the form of an author’s narration or memories of one of the characters, or in the form of a dialogue, monologue, a crowded scene, etc.

The use of various compositional components and their role in creating the overall composition for each author has a certain originality. But for narrative compositions it is important not only how the compositional components are combined, but also what, how, when and in what way is highlighted and emphasized in general construction narratives. If, say, a writer uses the form of dialogue or static description, each of them can shock the reader or pass unnoticed, appearing as a “rest,” as Chekhov noted. The final monologue, for example, or a crowded scene, where almost all the heroes of the work are gathered, can grow unusually above the work, be its central, key point. So, for example, the “trial” scene or the “In Mokroe” scene in the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” are climactic, that is, they contain the highest points of plot tension.

Compositional emphasis in the narrative, the most striking, highlighted or intense plot point should be considered. Usually this is a moment in plot development that, together with other accentuating moments, prepares the most intense point in the narrative - the climax of the conflict. Each such “emphasis” must relate to previous and subsequent ones in the same way as narrative components (dialogues, monologues, descriptions, etc.) relate to each other. A certain systematic arrangement of such accent moments is the most important task of narrative composition. It is this that creates “harmony and balance of the masses” in the composition.

The hierarchy of narrative components, some of which are highlighted more brightly or muted, strongly accentuated or have a auxiliary, passing meaning, is the basis of the composition of the narrative. It includes the narrative balance of plot episodes, their proportionality (in each case its own), and the creation of a special system of accents.

While creating compositional solution The main thing of an epic work is the movement towards the climax of each scene, each episode, as well as the creation of the desired effect by combining narrative components: dialogue and a crowded scene, landscape and dynamic action, monologue and static description. Therefore, the composition of the narrative can be defined as a combination within the epic work of narrative forms of image of different duration, having different strengths of tension (or emphasis) and constituting a special hierarchy in their sequence.

When deciphering the concept of “plot composition,” we must proceed from the fact that at the level of objective representation, the plot has its original composition. In other words, the plot of a separate epic work is compositional even before its narrative design, for it consists of an individual sequence of episodes chosen by the author. These episodes constitute a chain of events from the lives of the characters, events taking place in a certain time and located in a certain space. Composition These plot episodes, not yet connected with the general narrative flow, that is, with the sequence of means of representation, can be considered on their own.

At the level of plot composition, it is possible to divide episodes into “on-stage” and “off-stage”: the first tell about events that are directly occurring, the second about events that happen somewhere “behind the scenes” or happened in the distant past. This division is the most general at the level of plot composition, but it necessarily leads to a further classification of all possible plot episodes.

The composition of literary works is closely related to their genre. The most complex are epic works, the defining features of which are many plot lines, a diverse coverage of life phenomena, broad descriptions, a large number of characters, the presence of the narrator's image, the author's constant intervention in the development of the action, etc. Features of the composition dramatic works- a limited amount of “intervention” by the author (during the course of the action the author inserts only stage directions), the presence of “off-stage” characters that allow for a broader coverage of life material, etc. Basis lyrical work It is not the system of events occurring in the lives of the heroes, not the arrangement (grouping) of characters, but the sequence of presentation of thoughts and moods, expressions of emotions and impressions, the order of transition from one image-impression to another. It is possible to fully understand the composition of a lyrical work only by finding out the main thought and feeling expressed in it.

The most common three types of composition: simple, complicated, complex.

A simple composition is based, as they sometimes say, on the principle of a “string with beads”, that is, on “layering”, connecting individual episodes around one character, event or object. This method was developed back in folk tales. At the center of the story is one hero (Ivanushka the Fool). You need to catch the Firebird or win a beautiful maiden. Ivan hits the road. And all events are “layered” around the hero. This is the composition, for example, of N. A. Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The search for truth-seekers for the “happy” gives the poet the opportunity to show Rus' from different sides: both in breadth and depth, and at different times.

A complex composition also has a main character at the center of events, who develops relationships with other characters, various conflicts arise, and side storylines are formed. The combination of these plot lines forms the compositional basis of the work. This is the composition of “Eugene Onegin”, “Hero of Our Time”, “Fathers and Sons”, “The Golovlev Lords”. A complex composition is the most common type of composition of a work.

Complex composition inherent in an epic novel (“War and Peace”, “ Quiet Don"), such a work as "Crime and Punishment". Many storylines, events, phenomena, paintings - all this is connected into one whole. There are several main storylines here, which either develop in parallel, then intersect in their development, or merge. The complex composition includes both “layering” and retreats into the past - retrospection.

All three types of composition have a common element - the development of events, the actions of the characters in time. Thus, composition is the most important element of a work of art.

Often the main compositional device in a literary work is contrast, which makes it possible to realize author's intention. For example, L. N. Tolstoy’s story “After the Ball” is based on this compositional principle. The scenes of the ball (definitions with a positive emotional connotation predominate) and the execution scenes (the opposite stylistic connotations and verbs expressing action predominate) are contrasting. Tolstoy's contrasting technique is structural and ideologically and artistically decisive. The principle of opposition in the composition of M. Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil” (the individualist Larra and the humanist Danko) helps the author to embody his aesthetic ideal in the text of the work. The technique of contrast underlies the composition of M. Yu. Lermontov’s poem “How often, surrounded by a motley crowd...”. The poet’s pure and bright dream is contrasted with a deceitful society and images of soulless people.

Unique compositional techniques also include narration, which can be conducted on behalf of the author (“The Man in a Case” by A. P. Chekhov), on behalf of the hero, that is, in the first person (“The Enchanted Wanderer” by N. S. Leskov), on behalf of “folk storyteller” (“Who lives well in Rus'” by N. A. Nekrasov), on behalf of the lyrical hero (“I the last poet villages...” S. A. Yesenin), and all these features also have their own author’s motivation.

Various digressions may be included in the work, insert episodes, detailed descriptions. Although these elements delay the development of the action, they allow us to draw the characters in a more multifaceted way, to more fully reveal the author’s intentions, and to express the idea more convincingly.

The narrative in a literary work can be constructed in chronological sequence (“Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin, “Fathers and Sons” by I. S. Turgenev, autobiographical trilogies L.N. Tolstoy and M. Gorky, “Peter the First” by A.N. Tolstoy, etc.).

However, the composition of a work may not be determined by the sequence of events, not biographical facts, but by the requirements of the logic of the ideological and psychological characteristics of the hero, thanks to which he appears before us with various facets of his worldview, character, and behavior. The purpose of breaking the chronology of events is to objectively, deeply, comprehensively and convincingly reveal the character and inner world hero (“Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov).

Of particular interest is this compositional feature literary work, as lyrical digressions that reflect the writer’s thoughts about life, his moral position, his ideals. In digressions, the artist addresses topical social and literary issues, they often contain characteristics of the characters, their actions and behavior, and assessments of the plot situations of the work. Lyrical digressions allow us to understand the image of the author himself, his spiritual world, dreams, his memories of the past and hopes for the future.

At the same time, they are closely connected with the entire content of the work and expand the scope of the depicted reality.

Digressions that constitute the unique ideological and artistic originality of the work and reveal the features creative method writer, varied in form: from a brief passing comment to an extended argument. By their nature, these are theoretical generalizations, social and philosophical reflections, assessments of heroes, lyrical appeals, polemics with critics, fellow writers, appeals to their characters, to the reader, etc.

The themes of lyrical digressions in A. S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” are varied. Leading place Among them, a patriotic theme is occupied - for example, in stanzas about Moscow and the Russian people (“Moscow... How much has merged in this sound for the Russian heart! How much has resonated in it!”), about the future of Russia, which the patriotic poet saw in the hum of transformations and rapid movement forward:

The Russian highway is here and here,

Having connected, they will cross,

Cast iron bridges over water

They step in a wide arc,

Let's move mountains, underwater

Let's dig through the daring vaults...

IN lyrical digressions the novel passes and philosophical theme. The author reflects on good and evil, eternity and transience human life, about the transition of a person from one phase of development to another, higher one, about egoism historical figures(“We all look at Napoleons...”) and the general historical destinies of humanity, about the law of natural change of generations on earth:

Alas! on the reins of life

Instant generational harvest

By the secret will of providence,

They rise, mature and fall;

Others are following them...

The author also speaks about the meaning of life, about wasted youth, when it passed “without a goal, without work”: the poet teaches youth a serious attitude towards life, evokes contempt for existence “in the inaction of leisure”, strives to infect with his tireless thirst for work, creativity, inspired labor that gives the right and hope for the grateful memory of descendants.

The artist’s literary and critical views were clearly and fully reflected in the lyrical digressions. Pushkin recalls ancient writers: Cicero, Apuleius, Ovid Naso. The author writes about Fonvizin, who satirically depicted nobility XVIII century, calls the playwright “a brave ruler of satire” and “a friend of freedom”, mentions Katenin, Shakhovsky, Baratynsky. A picture is given in the digressions literary life Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, the struggle of literary tastes is shown: the poet sneers at Kuchelbecker, who opposed elegies (“...everything in an elegy is insignificant; // Its empty purpose is pitiful...”) and called for writing odes (“Write odes, gentlemen” , “...the purpose of the ode is high // And noble...”). The third chapter contains an excellent description of the “moral” novel:

Your own syllable on important mode mood,

Used to be a fiery creator

He showed us his hero

Like a sample of perfection.

Noting the significant influence that Byron had on him (“...By the proud lyre of Albion // he is familiar to me, he is dear to me”), the poet ironically remarks about romanticism:

Lord Byron by a lucky whim

Cloaked in sad romanticism

And hopeless selfishness.

The author reflects on the realistic method artistic creativity(in “Excerpts from Onegin’s Journey”), defends a realistically accurate language of poetry, advocates the liberation of language from superficial influences and trends, against the abuse of Slavicisms and in foreign words, as well as against excessive correctness and dryness of speech:

Like rosy lips without a smile,

No grammatical error

I don't like Russian speech.

The lyrical digressions also express the author’s attitude towards characters and events: more than once he speaks with sympathy or irony about Onegin, calls Tatyana a “sweet ideal”, speaks with love and regret about Lensky, condemns such a barbaric custom as a duel, etc. The digressions (mainly in chapter one) also reflected the author’s memories of his past youth: about theatrical meetings and impressions, about balls, the women he loved. The lines dedicated to Russian nature are imbued with a deep feeling of love for the Motherland.

STYLE DOMINANTS

There are always some points in the text of a work at which the style “comes out.” Such points serve as a kind of stylistic “tuning fork”, tuning the reader to a certain “aesthetic wave”... Style is presented as “a certain surface on which a unique trace has been identified, a form that by its structure reveals the presence of one guiding force.” (P.V. Palievsky)

Here we are talking about STYLE DOMINANTS, which play an organizing role in the work. That is, all techniques and elements must be subordinated to them, the dominants.

Style dominants - This:

Plot, descriptiveness and psychologism,

Conventionality and life-likeness,

Monologism and heteroglossia,

Verse and prose,

Nominativity and rhetoric,

- simple and complex types of composition.

COMPOSITION -(from Latin compositio - composition, binding)

The construction of a work of art, determined by its content, character, purpose and largely determining its perception.

Composition is the most important organizing element artistic form, giving the work unity and integrity, subordinating its components to each other and the whole.

IN fiction composition is a motivated arrangement of components of a literary work.

A component (UNIT OF COMPOSITION) is considered to be a “segment” of a work in which one method of depiction (characterization, dialogue, etc.) or a single point of view (of the author, narrator, one of the characters) on what is depicted is preserved.

The relative position and interaction of these “segments” form the compositional unity of the work.

Composition is often identified with both the plot, the system of images, and the structure of a work of art.

In the most general form, there are two types of composition - simple and complex.

SIMPLE (linear) composition comes down only to combining parts of a work into a single whole. In this case there is a straight line chronological sequence events and a single narrative type throughout the entire work.

For a COMPLEX (transformational) composition the order of combination of parts reflects a special artistic meaning.

For example, the author begins not with exposition, but with some fragment of the climax or even the denouement. Or the narrative is conducted as if in two times - the hero “now” and the hero “in the past” (remembers some events that highlight what is happening now). Or a double hero is introduced - from a completely different galaxy - and the author plays on the comparison/contrast of episodes.

In fact, it is difficult to find a pure type of simple composition; as a rule, we are dealing with complex (to one degree or another) compositions.

DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE COMPOSITION:

external composition

figurative system,

character system changing points of view,

parts system,

plot and plot

conflict artistic speech,

extra plot elements

COMPOSITION FORMS:

narration

description

characteristic.

COMPOSITE FORMS AND MEANS:

repetition, reinforcement, contrast, montage

comparison,

"close-up" plan, "general" plan,

point of view,

temporary organization of the text.

REFERENCE POINTS OF THE COMPOSITION:

climax, denouement,

strong positions text,

repetitions, contrasts,

twists and turns in the fate of the hero,

spectacular artistic techniques and funds.

The points of greatest reader tension are called REFERENCE POINTS OF THE COMPOSITION. These are peculiar landmarks that guide the reader through the text, and it is in them that the ideological issues works.<…>they are the key to understanding the logic of composition and, accordingly, the entire internal logic of the work as a whole .

STRONG TEXT POSITIONS:

These include formally identified parts of the text, its end and beginning, including the title, epigraph, prologue, beginning and end of the text, chapters, parts (first and last sentence).

MAIN TYPES OF COMPOSITION:

ring, mirror, linear, default, flashback, free, open, etc.

PLOT ELEMENTS:

exposition, plot

action development

(vicissitudes)

climax, denouement, epilogue

EXTRA-PLOT ELEMENTS

description (landscape, portrait, interior),

insert episodes.

Ticket number 26

1.Poetic vocabulary

2. Epicness, drama and lyricism of a work of art.

3. The volume and content of the style of the work.

Poetic vocabulary

P.l.- one of the most important aspects of a literary text; subject of study in a special branch of literary criticism. The study of the lexical composition of a poetic (i.e., artistic) work involves correlating the vocabulary used in a separate sample artistic speech any writer, with commonly used vocabulary, that is, used by the writer’s contemporaries in various everyday situations. The speech of society that existed in the historical period to which the work of the author of the analyzed work belongs is perceived as a certain norm, and therefore is recognized as “natural”. The purpose of the study is to describe the facts of deviation of individual author's speech from the norms of “natural” speech. The study of the lexical composition of a writer’s speech (the so-called “writer’s dictionary”) turns out to be a particular type of such stylistic analysis. When studying the “writer’s vocabulary,” attention is paid to two types of deviations from “natural” speech: the use of lexical elements that are rarely used in “natural” everyday circumstances, i.e., “passive” vocabulary, which includes the following categories of words: archaisms, neologisms, barbarisms, clericalisms, professionalisms, jargons (including argotisms) and vernacular; the use of words that realize figurative (therefore rare) meanings, i.e. tropes. The author’s introduction of words from one and the other group into the text determines the imagery of the work, and therefore its artistry.

(everyday vocabulary, business vocabulary, poetic vocabulary and so on.)

Poetic vocabulary. The archaic vocabulary includes historicisms and archaisms. Historicisms include words that are the names of disappeared objects, phenomena, concepts (chain mail, hussars, food tax, NEP, October child (a child of primary school age preparing to join the pioneers), NKVD officer (employee of the NKVD - People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs), commissar, etc. .P.). Historicisms can be associated both with very distant eras and with events of relatively recent times, which, however, have already become facts of history ( Soviet authority, party activist, secretary general, politburo). Historicisms do not have synonyms among active words vocabulary, being the only names of the corresponding concepts.

Archaisms are names of existing things and phenomena, for some reason supplanted by other words belonging to the active vocabulary (cf.: every day - always, comedian - actor, zlato - gold, know - know).

Obsolete words are heterogeneous in origin: among them there are original Russian (full, shelom), Old Slavonic (glad, kiss, shrine), borrowed from other languages ​​(abshid - “retirement”, voyage - “travel”).

Of particular interest stylistically are words of Old Church Slavonic origin, or Slavicisms. A significant part of Slavicisms were assimilated on Russian soil and stylistically merged with neutral Russian vocabulary (sweet, captivity, hello), but there are also Old Church Slavonic words that modern language are perceived as an echo of high style and retain its characteristic solemn, rhetorical coloring.

The history of poetic vocabulary associated with ancient symbolism and imagery (the so-called poetisms) is similar to the fate of Slavicisms in Russian literature. Names of gods and heroes of Greek and Roman mythology, special poetic symbols(lyre, ellisium, Parnassus, laurels, myrtles), artistic images ancient literature in the first thirds of the XIX V. were integral part poetic dictionary. Poetic vocabulary, like Slavicisms, strengthened the opposition between sublime, romantically colored speech and everyday, prosaic speech. However, these traditional means of poetic vocabulary were not used for long in fiction. Already among the successors of A.S. Pushkin's poetisms are archaized. Writers often turn to outdated words as an expressive means of artistic speech. The history of the use of Old Church Slavonic vocabulary in Russian fiction, especially in poetry, is interesting. Stylistic Slavicisms made up a significant part of the poetic vocabulary in the works of writers of the first third of the 19th century. Poets found in this vocabulary the source of the sublimely romantic and “sweet” sound of speech. Slavicisms, which have consonant variants in the Russian language, primarily non-vocal ones, were shorter than Russian words by one syllable and were used in the 18th-19th centuries. on the basis of “poetic license”: poets could choose from two words the one that corresponded to the rhythmic structure of speech (I will sigh, and my languid voice, like a harp’s voice, will die quietly in the air. - Bat.). Over time, the tradition of “poetic license” is overcome, but outdated vocabulary attracts poets and writers as a powerful means of expression.

Obsolete words perform various stylistic functions in artistic speech. Archaisms and historicisms are used to recreate the flavor of distant times. They were used in this function, for example, by A.N. Tolstoy:

“The land of Ottic and Dedich are those banks of deep rivers and forest glades, where our ancestor came to live forever. (...) he fenced off his dwelling with a fence and looked along the path of the sun into the distance of centuries.

And he imagined many things - difficult and difficult times: the red shields of Igor in the Polovtsian steppes, and the groans of the Russians on Kalka, and the peasant spears mounted under the banners of Dmitry on the Kulikovo field, and the ice drenched in blood Lake Peipsi, and the Terrible Tsar, who expanded the united, henceforth indestructible, boundaries of the earth from Siberia to the Varangian Sea...”

Archaisms, especially Slavicisms, give speech a sublime, solemn sound. Old Church Slavonic vocabulary played this role back in ancient Russian literature. In poetic speech of the 19th century. Old Russianisms, which also began to be used to create the pathos of artistic speech, became stylistically equal to the high Old Slavonic vocabulary. The high, solemn sound of outdated words is also appreciated by writers of the 20th century. During the Great Patriotic War, I.G. Ehrenburg wrote: “By repelling the blows of predatory Germany, it (the Red Army) saved not only the freedom of our Motherland, it saved the freedom of the world. This is the guarantee of the triumph of the ideas of brotherhood and humanity, and I see in the distance a world enlightened by grief, in which goodness will shine. Our people showed their military virtues..."

Outdated vocabulary may take on an ironic tone. For example: Which parent does not dream of an understanding, balanced child who grasps everything literally on the fly. But attempts to turn your child into a “miracle” tragically often end in failure (from the gas). The ironic rethinking of outdated words is often facilitated by the parodic use of elements of high style. In a parody-ironic function, outdated words often appear in feuilletons, pamphlets, and humorous notes. Let us cite an example from a newspaper publication during the preparation for the day the president took office (August 1996).

In order to correctly use words borrowed from other languages ​​in your speech, you need to have a good understanding of their meaning.

One of the words often used in various fields of activity, mainly in art, is “composition”. What does this word mean and in what cases is it used?

Word "composition" borrowed from Latin, where "composition" means composing, adding, linking a whole from parts. Depending on the field of activity, the meaning of this word may acquire certain semantic variations.

Thus, chemist-technologists are well aware of composite materials, which are a composition of plastic and mineral chips, sawdust or other natural material. But most often this word is found in descriptions of works of art - painting, music, poetry.

Any art is an act of synthesis, which results in a work that has the power of emotional impact on viewers, readers or listeners. An important component of creativity, concerning the organizational principles of art form, is composition.

Its main function is to give integrity to the connection of elements and to correlate individual parts with general plan author. For each type of art, composition has its own meaning: in painting it is the distribution of shapes and color spots on canvas or paper, in music it is the combination and relative position musical themes and blocks, in literature - structure, rhythm of the text, etc.

Literary composition is the structure of a literary work, the sequence of arrangement of its parts. It serves for best expression general idea of ​​the work and can use all forms for this artistic image, available in the literary baggage of a writer or poet.


Important parts literary composition are the dialogues and monologues of his characters, their portraits and the systems of images used in the work, plot lines, and the structure of the work. Often the plot develops in a spiral or has a cyclical structure, a large artistic expression Descriptive passages, philosophical digressions and interweaving stories told by the author are distinguished.

The work may consist of separate short stories interconnected by one or two actors, or have a single plot line and narrate on behalf of the hero, combine several plots (a novel within a novel) or have no plot line at all. It is important that its composition serves to most fully express the main idea or enhance the emotional impact of the plot, embodying everything the author intended.

Let's consider the composition of S. Yesenin's poem “Birch”.

White birch
Below my window
Covered with snow
Exactly silver.

The first stanza paints a general picture: the author’s gaze from the window falls on a snow-covered birch tree.

On fluffy branches
Snow border
The brushes have blossomed
White fringe.

In the second stanza, the description of the birch becomes more prominent.


Reading it, we clearly see in front of us branches covered with frost - wonderful, fairytale picture Russian winter.

And the birch tree stands
In sleepy silence,
And the snowflakes are burning
In golden fire.

The third stanza describes the picture early morning: people have not yet woken up, and silence envelops the birch tree, illuminated by the dim winter sun. The feeling of calm and quiet charm of winter nature intensifies.

And the dawn is lazy
Walking around
Sprinkles branches
New silver.

Quiet, windless winter morning imperceptibly turns into the same quiet sunny day, but the birch tree, like the Sleeping Beauty from the fairy tale, remains. The skillfully constructed composition of the poem is aimed at making readers feel the charming atmosphere of a winter Russian fairy tale.

Composition in musical art extremely important. Complex musical composition relies on several basic musical themes, the development and variation of which allows the composer to achieve the emotional effect desired by the composer. The advantage of music is that it directly affects the emotional sphere of the listener.

Let's take as an example a familiar musical composition - Anthem Russian Federation. It begins with a powerful opening chord that immediately puts the listener in a solemn mood. The majestic melody floating over the hall evokes the memory of Russia’s numerous victories and achievements, and for older generations it is a connecting link between today's Russia and the USSR.


The words “Glory to the Fatherland” are reinforced by the ringing of timpani, like a burst of rejoicing among the people. Further, the melody becomes more melodious, incorporating Russian folk intonations - free and broad. In general, the composition awakens in listeners a sense of pride in their country, its endless expanses and majestic history, its power and unshakable fortress.

Olga Valentinovna VIKTOROVA is a senior lecturer at the Moscow State University of Culture and Arts.

Literary composition on the school stage

The most common theatrical genre on the school stage - this is, of course, a literary composition. It is popular because it is the most accessible in work, as many teachers believe. The form of literary composition allows one to react vividly to events taking place in the modern world, to speak out, as they say, “on the topic of the day.” The idea, the main idea can be expressed especially clearly and succinctly by means of literary and artistic composition, which allows it to be used as an effective pedagogical technique when solving problems school education. It is believed that a literary composition is more accessible to work with and is more preferable for staging, since it does not require much rehearsal work with performers, allows you to combine almost any literary material and not “fence a garden” of scenery on stage, as when staging a dramatic play. This is roughly the general opinion. All this is true... and not true. Let's try to figure it out.

The features of the “fiction reading” genre took quite a long time to form. The ancient Hellenes held special esteem for the art of recitation - a genre in which strict boundaries of the melody of speech and mandatory conventional gestures were defined. The form of pronunciation of the text was mandatory and subordinated the content. An ideal classical role model was being created. Declamation rules developed over several centuries. This is how a special theatrical performing genre was formed. However, the strictness of the canon greatly limited the creative nature of the actor, since deviation from the rules was considered a rebellion against culture. Only at the beginning of the 19th century deprived of life the rules of recitation began to recede under the onslaught of a new theatrical truth, the foundation of which was laid by the great French tragedian Talma. Having begun his studies at the Royal School of Declamation and Singing, he subsequently overcame the established rules of melodious speech and external gesture. Formalism and illustrativeness were replaced by emotionality and passion, a varied life intonation. The content of the spoken text has become no less important for the performer than the form.

The foundation of the Russian school of artistic expression was laid in the 1830s at the first public readings of writers and actors. At the origins of this initiative were A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol, recognized as gifted readers. They also made the first theoretical generalizations in the art of literary expression. Simplicity and truthful life intonation - this is what should lie at the basis of the art of sound literature. In the book “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” Gogol, in the chapter “Readings of Russian Poets before the Public,” wrote: “We are somehow more willing to act together, even to read... Skillful readers must be created among us: among us there are few eloquent talkers capable show off in chambers and parliaments, but there are many people capable of anything sympathize”.

Now, it turns out that there is the main thing in the sounding word - not an ideal role model, empty and cold, but a living word that can evoke sympathy in listeners, the author's thoughts and feelings, lived by the performer on stage, as if they were his own. Only through natural, lively intonation can one achieve reciprocal empathy from the listener.

In the 20th century, the genre of artistic expression reached its apogee and multiplied into a number of related performing genres. First of all, this is the author's reading at meetings with readers, which was very loved, for example, by Yesenin and Mayakovsky. At the beginning of the 20th century, reading evenings by A.Ya. became popular. Zakushnyak and V.I. Kachalov, where the actors acted as readers and storytellers. A little later, the genre of “one-man theater” emerged, one of the founders of which was actor V.N. Yakhontov, and the genre of “living portrait” by I.L. Andronikova. “Theater of one actor” combined the features of artistic reading, artistic storytelling and, in part, the laws of dramatic theater. Within this genre, a literary and artistic composition emerged, wedged between literature and theater.

Irakli Andronikov wrote about Vladimir Yakhontov: “What Yakhontov did was fusion of artistic reading with theatrical action" That is, the composition must combine simplicity and vitality of intonation with theatrical action, built according to the laws of dramatic art. Only if this symbiosis is observed will the literary and artistic composition be holistic and impact the viewer. Thus, the myth about the simplicity of staging a literary composition has been noticeably shaken. “Growing a vegetable garden” will still have to be done, only it will be more thoughtful and selected than in a dramatic play, and there will be no less work with the performers than on the role. The search for that very natural intonation, understanding and experiencing the events of the composition by the student, and not by the teacher, is very painstaking and slow work.

"Art expressive reading” as an academic subject was introduced into the training programs of gymnasiums and lyceums in Russia, France, Germany and America in the 19th century. Its necessity was explained simply - he taught to express the content of what was being spoken, he taught to draw sound pictures using words so that the audience could see them. For what? To evoke the expected response from the listener. This is our goal, our the main task when staging a composition. How to achieve this? Create a “film of visions” of the events that are being narrated, as K.S. wrote. Stanislavsky, and convey it to the viewer, thereby evoking his emotion, his empathy for the events taking place in the composition. When studying artistic expression with students, the teacher must definitely remember one interesting discovery - the artistic word forms imaginative thinking. Agree, this is especially important today, when the reading culture is declining, being replaced by other forms of leisure time - cinema, computer games, the Internet, where the video sequence is already predetermined from the very beginning. Such a task will be more important than simply obtaining information about the author or time. Often, teachers take on the production of a literary composition, seeing in it only a continuation of the curriculum, presented in an innovative form, and set exclusively informational tasks.

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Now a few words about the ideological orientation in literary composition. The genre took shape in the 1920s–1930s. In Russia, this was an era of strict ideological priorities. The word expresses the spirit of the times and transmits it to centuries. The word in artistic compositions of the 20s and 30s expressed the spirit of that time very definitely, categorically. Apparently, this was the reason why the cliche “on the topic of the day” became attached to the genre of literary and artistic composition and became a kind of “classicist ideal” of its time, to which one should strive. The ideological orientation in the composition became canonical, which over time became a “noose” for the genre.

Let the artistic word in the composition express the spirit of its time, and not be a teacher’s pointer, as is often the case today. An ideal cannot be imposed from the outside, it must be formed in a person independently, born in him through the development of empathy (feeling), through independent comprehension of good and evil with the help of good literature with a varied life intonation. So it turns out that literary composition is not as accessible and easy to work with as it seemed. Populism is not the popularity of the genre, and the harm from it is much greater than the intended benefit, because clichéd judgments are no better than no judgments at all. Clichédness in imaginative thinking no better than no creative thinking at all. So why do we need school theatrical “achievements” that achieve nothing - neither speech hearing, nor taste for the artistic word and literature in general, nor developed imaginative thinking, nor developed creative imagination of the student? Let's remember these “pitfalls” and try to get around them, let's correctly determine priorities and choose truly important goals when working with children, and not solve private educational problems.

If you still decide to take on staging a literary composition, then knowledge of some theatrical laws and rules for creating a literary and artistic composition will help you. You need to treat them as recommendations that do not limit your creative nature, but, on the contrary, help to reveal it.

What is literary and artistic composition? This is an independent work of art created by the director on the basis of non-dramatic material, used in whole or in part, such as: poetry, prose, journalism, memoirs, excerpts from plays (as an addition, a shade of thought), scientific literature, criticism, documents. The composition may include music, songs, photos and video materials.

Staging and editing should not be confused with composition. Dramatization is a translation of prose literary material into the language of dramaturgy, that is, writing a play. Montage is a method of selecting, constructing and connecting parts of a composition through which the action develops. Montage is a special method of artistic thinking, a way of creating a work of art. An example is the novel “The Master and Margarita”: here are the chapters where the events unfold modern history, are mounted with chapters telling about the events of Sacred History. With this method of constructing a literary text, the smooth development of the storyline is interrupted. Why did Bulgakov need this? By answering this question, we will understand why editing is needed in a work of art. This is a clash of through and counter-through action, it is also a way to include an associative series in the viewer (this method was often used by F. Fellini and A. A. Tarkovsky in their films), it can also be a way of constructing an event series when the event is not directly named, but is embodied in other musical or literary material. For example: a documentary chronicle of the events of Pushkin’s duel is interrupted by a poetic text - this is not an illustration of the event that took place, but its comprehension. The verse used is the author's position in relation to the event that occurred, a judgment.

V.N. was the first to turn to the method of artistic montage in composition. Yakhontov and brought it to the highest level of artistry - he synthesized modern and historical material, combined various authors and various genres. You can read about how he created his compositions from the choice of material to their execution on stage in his book “One Actor Theater”.

Where to start staging a composition? From the choice and precise definition of the topic and selection of material. To decide on a topic, first of all you need to analyze the capabilities and interests of your future performers and the audience to whom you will show it. The formulated topic and the selected material must correspond to the performers’ age, depth of understanding of the problem, complexity of the literary material, and their interests. The language of the composition must correspond to the language of the audience, must be understood by this audience and find an internal response from it. Your technical capabilities when staging a composition are also important: how many people can fit on your stage without compromising perception? What are the capabilities of your sound, lighting and video equipment? All these little things can be decisive when implementing an already written literary script. If your solution is based on lighting or video effects, but there is no opportunity for implementation, then the solution will have to be changed during rehearsals, which is not always possible.

When selecting material, we should already have a general idea of ​​the structure of the future composition, its storyline. Try to answer the question: “What am I going to talk about? history? And why am I going to tell it here, today, to these people?” An example of the plot of one composition: a girl lives in her favorite city, which she is proud of, among her favorite people. The war begins, and everything that was dear and loved since childhood begins to collapse before our eyes. To stop the destruction, the girl and all the remaining residents of the city do everything possible and impossible. As a result, by joint efforts they stop the enemy and win. The theme of the composition is the Leningrad Siege. The composition uses blockade diaries, poems by A. Akhmatova and O. Berggolts.

When working with one author, it is better to limit the topic to an issue. It often happens that the exact topic (about what?) and idea (for what?) are formulated only in the process of working with the composition, and not in advance; they are clarified and checked. When working with many authors and diverse works, the selection will depend on your construction. The composition should have a dramatic development, it will depend on your plot. From the abundance of selected material, we begin to assemble a composition, taking into account the event pieces, using the artistic montage method: exposition - the beginning of beginnings, the ancients called it attack, it reveals your internal motives for addressing this topic; plot - this is the event from which the intrigue begins to develop; action development - this is the development of the narrative, a series of events and their consequences, obstacles to the development of the plot, which lead to the highest point of intensity in the composition, that is, to the climax; climax - this is the one highest point the intensity of the conflict, after which life cannot go on as before and tends to denouement conflict; conclusion - this is your position, your assessment of what happened. The composition does not always have a plot, but in a plotless associative composition the load on the performer increases. He must carry the development of the intrigue, and only a good, experienced actor can do this. But in any case, without taking into account the dramatic structure, the composition may turn out to be “about nothing.” Using the montage method, we build not only events and facts, but also confront each other with conflicting views and thoughts. We can combine consistent and peacefully developing events with episodes that are contrasting in form and content. At V.N. Yakhontov’s composition “Petersburg” combined excerpts from Pushkin’s poem “ Bronze Horseman", Gogol's story "The Overcoat" and Dostoevsky's "White Nights". Thanks to the combination of the images of Bashmachkin, Evgeny and the Dreamer, opposing the “elements”, each with their own, a generalized image of the Little Man was sculpted.

Here are some basic ways of constructing material in literary compositions. They do not necessarily exist separately; most often they are mixed with each other.

• Historical (chronological) method of constructing material. More often found in biographies or when presenting events of a historical nature. The connecting link here is dates or significant events. With this construction of the material, there is a cause-and-effect relationship.
• Spatial method of construction. There is a wide temporal or geographical coverage of events here. One of the compositions on the theme of love and creativity was based on the Song of Songs, included the love story of Dante and Beatrice (Boccaccio’s commentary and Dante’s sonnets were used), the love story of Mayakovsky and Lily Brik (Mayakovsky’s letters and poems were used) and ended with a Shakespearean sonnet.
• The stepwise construction method uses a sequential presentation of the topic - a chain of premises and consequences, when one follows from the other. Often this is a combination of external speech (letters and memories) with internal speech (poems as the experience of the lyrical hero).
• Construction based on the principle of repetition. In poetry, this is a single image or rhythmic figure, a plot or melodic element is used several times, develops and emphasizes the significance of the problem posed. In cinema, this is the repeated repetition of a plot or frame.
• A concentric way of presenting material is when the presentation is built around a single center. Other literary works used are also perceived through the prism of one work. Through B. Pasternak's poem "Hamlet", which was the basis of the literary composition, a narrative was told about the events and poets of that era, poetry and documentary materials were used.
• The deductive method of presenting material is built from general provisions to specific examples and conclusions. Many reciters of the Soviet era were based on this principle, for example, Yakhontov’s composition about Lenin: the actor began the narrative with documents - the first decrees of the Bolsheviks, and ended with excerpts from Mayakovsky’s poem “Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”.
• The inductive method of presenting material is, on the contrary, built from particulars to general conclusions.

The idea of ​​constructing a composition is born from the idea of ​​the composition set by the director. You also need to remember about the proportionality of the parts of your composition. The exposition and conclusion (ending) are the shortest parts, and the climax (main event) is most often located a little further than the middle of your composition. When composing a composition, it is often necessary to sacrifice some selected material in the name of the integrity and completeness of the work.

The literary material has been collected, and we can move on to bringing it to life on stage. The performer in the composition is not a dramatic actor, but an actor-reader. He does not transform into the characters of the composition, but talks about them and the events taking place, experiencing the thoughts and feelings of the author in his own way, drawing his own conclusions and placing his own accents. The director’s task is to correctly determine the reader’s position: maybe reader-author , who is at the center of events and evaluates them in his own way; reader-character , standing in the position of one of the heroes, interpreting the events taking place from the character’s position; or reader - lyrical hero , telling about his personal experiences and reflections.

For the performer, the action in the composition develops before the narrative begins. IN dramatic performance the actor “doesn’t know” what will happen to him in a minute and how the performance will end, his reaction is immediate and immediate; the performer in the composition knows what will happen next and how it will all end, thereby placing emphasis on the events taking place and leading the viewer to a logical conclusion stage action. The performer does not transform into an “image,” that is, he does not play a character, but conveys his author's attitude to him, since reincarnation will not allow him to express the author's idea. Such unnecessary transformation into “images” is often found in inept reading of fables. The performer seems to have played for all the characters, but what the fable is about is not clear. Communication with the audience in a literary composition occurs directly, in contrast to a dramatic performance, in which there is a “fourth wall,” that is, the auditorium is not united with the stage into a single playing space. The viewer in the composition becomes an interlocutor and partner, a participant in the action.

ABOUT speech work We talked about performers and priorities at the beginning of the article, now we’ll talk about non-verbal means of expression: music, mise-en-scène, gesture, costume, props and stage lighting. Careful selection of expressive means is important here. The composition requires the utmost laconicism of the means with their maximum expressiveness. Ineptly or excessively used means become your enemies, they interfere with the performer and the viewer, distracting them from the main thing, from the main stage action. Here is how the master of creating literary compositions V. Yakhontov speaks about it: “I already held the essence of theatrical charm and the mechanics of illusions, sometimes the most simple ones, in my hands - based on the great law that a boy’s wand turns into a war horse, and he convinces this not only for myself, but, what is even more surprising, for the surrounding spectators... Having embarked on this path, I forced my simple, unremarkable objects to create a number of additional representations. I had to convince the audience that I was not raising a stick, but the pistol of Dantes, who killed Pushkin... The audience was convinced by my acting faith in these transformations.”

Mise-en-scene in literary composition it is the most meager, but also the most expressive and precise means. The figure of a person on stage is very expressive in itself, and there is no need to add unnecessary fussy movements. Often only a change in the performer's gesture is akin to changing a major mise-en-scène in a dramatic performance. Remember how Via Artmane’s heroine, actress Julia Lambert, spoke about this in the film “Theater”, based on the novel by S. Maugham. Changing the mise-en-scene can lead to a change in the idea of ​​the production. And, of course, the stage pause, which is often more eloquent than the subtext, is the main expressive means in verbal action. In life, we are accustomed to fussing with words and gestures, and they sometimes reveal the inner state of the performer and are very important for understanding what is happening. Let the viewer see and understand them, take your time.

Props in the composition it does not carry the meaning of everyday things, as in a dramatic performance (just like the costume). It carries a deep image, a certain meaning, a generalization. In one of the compositions about the life of A.S. Pushkin's libel, written against the poet, rolls up into a tube and becomes the barrel of a pistol from which the poet is killed. In V. Yakhontov’s composition “Petersburg”, different colors of umbrellas represent male and female characters. He often transforms one subject throughout the entire composition into various images.

Music It must be used very carefully in composition. It concentrates the viewer's attention on the main topic. In musical selection, it is better to adhere to a single style and solution - it can be illustrative, it can reveal internal or future events, it can be used, on the contrary, in contrast with ongoing events and maintain the internal rhythm of the production. Often music serves as an internal monologue and drives the action. One of the most common mistakes new directors make is using music while reading. Music, by its nature, may turn out to be stronger than the semantic load in the word, or the performer turns out to be incompetent with strong musical accompaniment and the word becomes petty and unnecessary. Reading music is very difficult.

As the ancients said, the one who walks can master the road. Understanding comes with experience, and you will not be able to avoid mistakes the first time. But experience is gained not only through independent productions. Read more specialized literature - books by Vladimir Yakhontov, Suren Kocharyan, Sergei Yursky, Alexander Kravtsov... See more literary and artistic productions in professional and amateur theaters. Learn from your own and others' experiences.