Motif in a work of art. Motif of a literary work

1) Sierotwiń ski S.

“Subject. The subject of treatment, the main idea developed in literary work or scientific discussion.

main topic works. The main substantive moment in the work, which forms the basis for the construction of the depicted world (for example, the interpretation of the most general foundations of the ideological meaning of the work, in a plot work - the fate of the hero, in a dramatic work - the essence of the conflict, in a lyrical work - the dominant motives, etc.).

Minor topic works. The theme of a part of a work that is subordinate to the main theme. The theme of the smallest meaningful integrity into which a work can be divided is called a motive” (S. 278).

2) Wilpert G. von. Sachwörterbuch der Literatur.

“Subject(Greek - supposed), the main leading idea of ​​the work; V certain development the subject under discussion. Generally accepted in special literature concept into German terminology material history(Stoffgeschichte), which distinguishes only material (Stoff) and motive, in contrast to English. and French, not yet included. It is proposed for motives of such a degree of abstraction that they do not contain the grain of action: tolerance, humanity, honor, guilt, freedom, identity, mercy, etc.” (S. 942-943).

3) Dictionary of literary terms.

A) Zundelovich Ya. Subject. Stlb. 927-929.

“Subject- the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotional-intellectual core that the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called. content. The theme in the broad sense of the word is that complete image world, which determines the artist’s poetic worldview.<...>But depending on the material through which this image is refracted, we have one or another reflection of it, i.e., one or another idea (a specific theme), which determines this particular work.”

b) Eichenholtz M. Subject. Stlb. 929-937.

“Subjects- a set of literary phenomena that make up the subject-semantic moment of a poetic work. The following terms related to the concept of subject matter are subject to definition: theme, motive, plot, plot of an artistic and literary work.”

4) Abramovich G. Topic // Dictionary of literary terms. pp. 405-406.

“Subject<...> what is the basis the main idea literary work, the main problem posed by the writer in it.”

5) Maslovsky V.I. Topic // LES. P. 437.

“Subject<...>, the circle of events that form the life basis of the epic. or dramatic prod. and at the same time serving for the formulation of philosophical, social, ethical. and other ideological problems."

Motive

1) Sierotwiń ski S. Słownik terminów literackich. S. 161.

“Motive. The theme is one of the smallest meaningful wholes that stands out when analyzing a work.”

“The motive is dynamic. The motive that accompanies a change in a situation (part of an action) is the opposite of a static motive.”

“The motive is free. A motive that is not included in the system of cause-and-effect plot is the opposite of a connected motive.”

2) Wilpert G. von. Sachwörterbuch der Literatur.

“Motive(lat . motivus - motivating),<...>3. content-structural unity as a typical, meaningful situation that embraces general thematic ideas (as opposed to something defined and framed through specific features material, which, on the contrary, can include many M.) and can become the starting point for the content of a person. experiences or experiences in symbolic form: regardless of the idea of ​​those who are aware of the formed element of the material, for example, the enlightenment of an unrepentant murderer (Oedipus, Ivik, Raskolnikov). It is necessary to distinguish between situational M. with a constant situation (seduced innocence, a returning wanderer, triangle relationships) and M.-types with constant characters (miser, murderer, intriguer, ghost), as well as spatial M. (ruins, forest, island) and temporary M. (autumn, midnight). M.'s own content value favors its repetition and often its design into a specific genre. There are mainly lyrical ones. M. (night, farewell, loneliness), dramatic M. (feud of brothers, murder of a relative), ballad motives (Lenora-M.: the appearance of a deceased lover), fairy tale motives (test by the ring), psychological motives (flight, double), etc. etc., along with them constantly returning M. (M.-constants) of an individual poet, individual periods of creativity of the same author, traditional M. of wholes literary eras or entire peoples, as well as simultaneously performing M. independently of each other (the community of M.). The history of M. (P. Merker and his school) explores the historical development and spiritual and historical significance of traditional M. and establishes essentially different meaning and the embodiment of the same M. by different poets and in different eras. In drama and epic, they are distinguished by their importance for the course of action: central or core elements (often equal to the idea), enriching side M. or bordering M., lieutenant, subordinates, detailing filling- and “blind” M. (i.e. deviating, irrelevant to the course of action)...” (S. 591).

3) Mö lk U. Motiv, Stoff, Thema // Das Fischer Lexicon. Literatur. B.2.

“The name that the interpreter gives to the motif he identifies influences his work, no matter whether he wants to compile an inventory of the motifs of a particular corpus of texts or plans an analytical study of the motifs of a particular text, a comparative or historical study of them. Sometimes the formula motifs common in a certain era hide the fact that they bring together completely different phenomena: “ange-femme“ (female angel) designates, for example, in French romance both a lover stylized as an angel and a female angel; Only if both phenomena are recognized as two different motives do they obtain the prerequisite for further understanding. How significant consequences a proper name can have in identifying a motif is shown by the example of the question whether it is better to speak of “a woman and a parrot” or “a woman and a bird” in relation to Flaubert’s “Simple Heart”; here only a broader designation opens the interpreter’s eyes to certain meanings and their variants, but not a narrower one” (S. 1328).

4) Barnet S., Berman M., Burto W. Dictionary of Literary, Dramatic and Cinematic Terms. Boston, 1971.

“Motive- a repeated word, phrase, situation, object or idea. Most often, the term “motive” is used to designate a situation that is repeated in various literary works, for example, the motive of a poor man getting rich quickly. However, a motif (meaning “leitmotif” from the German “leading motive”) can arise within a single work: it can be any repetition that contributes to the integrity of the work by recalling a previous mention of a given element and everything associated with it” (p 71).

5) Dictionary of World Literary Terms / By J. Shipley.

“Motive. A word or mental pattern that is repeated in the same situations or to evoke a certain mood within a single work, or across different works of the same genre” (p. 204).

6) The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms / By J. Myers, M. Simms.

“Motive(from Latin “to move”; can also be written as “topos”) - a theme, image, or character that develops through various nuances and repetitions” (p. 198).

7) Dictionary of Literary Terms / By H. Shaw.

“Leitmotif. German term literally meaning "leading motive". It denotes a theme or motif associated in a musical drama with a specific situation, character or idea. The term is often used to designate the main impression, central image, or recurring theme in work of art as, for example, the “practicalism” of Franklin’s Autobiography or the “revolutionary spirit” of Thomas Pyne” (pp. 218-219).

8) Blagoy D. Motive // ​​Dictionary of literary terms. T. 1. Stlb. 466 - 467.

“M.(from moveo - I move, I set in motion), in the broad sense of the word, is the main psychological or figurative grain that underlies every work of art.” “... the main motive coincides with the theme. So, for example, the theme of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is the motif of historical fate, which does not interfere with the parallel development in the novel of a number of other, often only distantly related to the theme, secondary motifs (for example, the motif of the truth of collective consciousness - Pierre and Karataev. ..)". “The entire set of motifs that make up a given work of art forms what is called plot his".

9) Zakharkin A. Motive // ​​Dictionary of literary terms. P.226-227.

“M. (from the French motif - melody, tune) - an out-of-use term denoting the minimum significant component of the narrative, the simplest component of the plot of a work of art.”

10) Chudakov A.P. Motive. KLE. T. 4. Stlb. 995.

“M. (French motif, from Latin motivus - movable) - the simplest meaningful (semantic) unit of art. text in myth And fairy tale; basis, based on the development of one of the members of M. (a+b turns into a+b+b+b) or several combinations. motives grow plot (plot), which represents a greater level of generalization.” “As applied to art. literature of modern times M. is most often called abstract from specific details and expressed in the simplest verbal formula, schematic. presentation of the elements of the content of the work involved in the creation of the plot (plot). The content of M. itself, for example, the death of a hero or a walk, buying a pistol or buying a pencil, does not indicate its significance. The scale of M. depends on its role in the plot (main and secondary M.). Basic M. are relatively stable (love triangle, betrayal - revenge), but we can talk about the similarity or borrowing of M. only at the plot level - when the combination of many minor M. and the methods of their development coincide.”

11) Nezvankina L.K., Shchemeleva L.M. Motive // ​​LES. P. 230:

“M. (German Motive, French motif, from Latin moveo - I move), stable formal-contain. component lit. text; M. can be distinguished within one or several. prod. writer (for example, a certain cycle), and in the complex of his entire work, as well as k.-l. lit. direction or an entire era.”

“The term “M.” receives a more strict meaning when it contains elements of symbolization (road by N.V. Gogol, garden by Chekhov, desert by M.Yu. Lermontov<...>). The motive, therefore, unlike the theme, has a direct verbal (and objective) fixation in the text of the work itself; in poetry, its criterion in most cases is the presence of a key, supporting word that carries a special semantic load (smoke in Tyutchev, exile in Lermontov). In the lyrics<...>M.'s circle is most clearly expressed and defined, so the study of M. in poetry can be especially fruitful.

For storytelling. and dramatic works that are more action-packed are characterized by plot melodrama; many of them have historical universality and repeatability: recognition and insight, testing and retribution (punishment).”

Scientists call the motive either the smallest event unit of the plot, or the unit of the plot, or an element of the text in general, regardless of the plot or plot. Let's try to understand the different interpretations of one of the most common terms.

There are many opinions on the origin of the motif: from him. motive, French motif, from lat. moveo - moving, from French. motif – melody, tune.

In the Russian science of literature, A.N. was the first to turn to the concept of motive. Veselovsky. Analyzing myths and fairy tales, he came to the conclusion that the motive is the simplest narrative unit, which cannot be further decomposed. From our point of view, this category has a plot character.

The thematic concept of the motif is developed in the works of B. Tomashevsky and V. Shklovsky. In their understanding, a motive is the themes into which a work can be divided. Each sentence contains motives - small themes

Most folklore and literary works have a motif, being the smallest element of the plot. The outstanding Russian folklorist V. Ya. Propp played a huge role in the study of the plot. In his book “The Morphology of the Fairy Tale” (1929), he demonstrated the possibility of the existence of several motives in a sentence. Therefore, he abandoned the term motive and resorted to his own category: the functions of the characters. He built a model of the plot of a fairy tale, consisting of sequences of elements. According to Propp, there are a limited number of such functions of heroes (31); Not all fairy tales have all the functions, but the sequence of the main functions is strictly observed. The fairy tale usually begins with the parents leaving the house (absentee function) and turning to the children with a ban on going outside, opening the door, or touching anything (prohibition). As soon as the parents leave, the children immediately violate this prohibition (violation of the prohibition), etc. The meaning of Propp's discovery was that his scheme was suitable for all fairy tales. All fairy tales have the motive of the road, the motive of searching for the missing bride, the motive of recognition. From these numerous motives various plots are formed. IN given value the term motive is more often used in relation to works of oral folk art. “Morozko acts differently than Baba Yaga. But a function, as such, is a constant quantity. To study a fairy tale, the question is important What fairy-tale characters do, but the question is Who does and How does - these are questions of only incidental study. The functions of the characters represent those components with which Veselovsky’s “motives” can be replaced...” 10

In most cases, a motif is a repeated word, phrase, situation, object or idea. Most often, the term “motive” is used to designate a situation that is repeated in various literary works, for example, the motive of parting with a loved one.

Motifs help create images and have various functions in the structure of the work. Thus, the mirror motif in V. Nabokov’s prose has at least 3 functions. Firstly, epistemologically: the mirror is a means of characterizing the character and becomes a way of self-knowledge of the hero. Secondly, this motif carries an ontological load: it acts as a boundary between worlds, organizing complex spatio-temporal relationships. And thirdly, the mirror motif can perform an axiological function, expressing moral, aesthetic, and artistic values. Thus, the hero of the novel “Despair” turns out to have a favorite word for mirror, he likes to write this word backwards, loves reflections, similarities, but is completely unable to see the difference and goes so far as to mistake a person with a dissimilar appearance for his double. Nabokovsky's Herman kills in order to mystify those around him, to make them believe in his death. The mirror motif is invariant, that is, it has a stable basis that can be filled with new meaning in a new context. Therefore, it appears in various versions in many other texts, where the main ability of the mirror is in demand - to reflect, to double the object.

Each motive generates an associative field for the character, for example, in Pushkin’s story “The Station Warden,” the motive of the prodigal son is set by pictures hanging on the walls of the stationmaster’s house, and is revealed with particular poignancy when his daughter comes to his grave. The motif of the house can be included in the space of the city, which, in turn, can consist of motifs of temptation, seduction, demonism. The literature of Russian emigrants is most often characterized by a mood that is revealed in the motifs of nostalgia, emptiness, loneliness, and emptiness.

A motive is an essential semantic (content) element of the text for understanding the author’s concept (for example, the motive of death in “The Tale of dead princess..." by A.S. Pushkin, the motive of loneliness in the lyrics of M.Yu. Lermontov, the motive of cold in "Easy Breathing" and " Cold autumn"I.A. Bunin, the motif of the full moon in "The Master and Margarita" by M.A. Bulgakov). M., as a stable formal-contain. component lit. text, can be selected within one or several. prod. writer (for example, a certain cycle), and in the complex of his entire work, as well as k.-l. lit. direction or an entire era 11”. The motif may contain elements of symbolization (a road by N.V. Gogol, a garden by Chekhov, a desert by M.Yu. Lermontov). The motif has a direct verbal (in lexemes) fixation in the text of the work itself; in poetry, its criterion in most cases is the presence of a key, supporting word that carries a special semantic load (smoke in Tyutchev, exile in Lermontov).

According to N. Tamarchenko, each motive has two forms of existence: a situation and an event. A situation is a set of circumstances, a position, a situation in which the characters find themselves. An event is something that happened, a significant phenomenon or fact of personal or public life. An event changes the situation. A motif is the simplest narrative unit that connects the events and situations that make up the lives of the characters in a literary work. An event is something that happened, a phenomenon, a fact of personal or public life. The situation is a set of circumstances, positions in which the characters find themselves, as well as the relationship between them. The event changes this ratio. Motives can be dynamic or adynamic. Motives of the first type accompany changes in the situation, as opposed to a static motive.

In recent years, literary criticism has outlined a synthesis of approaches to understanding motive. This movement was largely determined by the works of R. Yakobson, A. Zholkovsky and Yu. Shcheglov. The motive is no longer considered as part of the plot or plot. Having lost its connection with the event, the motive is now interpreted as almost any semantic repetition in the text - a repeating semantic spot. This means that the use of this category is quite legitimate when analyzing lyrical works. The motive can be not only an event, a character trait, but also an object, sound, or landscape element that has increased semantic significance in the text. A motive is always a repetition, but the repetition is not lexical, but functional-semantic. That is, in a work it can be manifested through many options.

Motives can be varied, among them are archetypal, cultural and many others. Archetypal ones are associated with the expression of the collective unconscious (the motive of selling the soul to the devil). Myths and archetypes represent a collective, culturally authoritative variety of motifs to which French thematic criticism devoted itself to the study of the 1960s. Cultural motifs were born and developed in works of literature, painting, music, and other arts. Italian motifs in Pushkin’s lyrics are a layer of the diverse culture of Italy mastered by the poet: from the works of Dante and Petrarch to the poetry of the ancient Romans.

Along with the concept of motive, there is the concept of leitmotif.

Leitmotif. A term of Germanic origin, literally meaning "leading motive". This is a frequently repeated image or motif that conveys the main mood; it is also a complex of homogeneous motifs. Thus, the leitmotif of “the vanity of life” usually consists of motives of temptation, seduction, and anti-home. The leitmotif of “return to a lost paradise” is characteristic of many of Nabokov’s works in the Russian-language period of creativity and it includes motives of nostalgia, longing for childhood, and sadness about the loss of a child’s outlook on life. In Chekhov's "The Seagull" the leitmotif is a sounding image - the sound of a broken string. Leitmotifs are used to create subtext in a work. When combined, they form the leitmotif structure of the work.

Literature

Fundamentals of literary criticism: Textbook. benefit for philological faculties ped. university / Under the general ed. V. P. Meshcheryakova. M.: Moscow Lyceum, 2000. pp. 30–34.

Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of Literature. Poetics. M., 1996. pp. 182–185, 191–193.

Fedotov O.I. Introduction to literary criticism: Textbook. allowance. M.: Academy, 1998. pp. 34–39.

Khalizev V. E. Introduction to literary criticism. Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets. M., 1999. pp. 381–393.

Tselkova L.N. Motive // ​​Introduction to literary studies. Literary work: basic concepts and terms / Under. ed. L. V. Chernets. M., 1999. pp. 202–209.

additional literature

1. History and narration: Sat. articles. M.: New Literary Review, 2006. 600 p.

2. Materials for the “Dictionary of Plots and Motives of Russian Literature”: from plot to motive / Ed. V.I. Tyupy. Novosibirsk: Institute of Philology SB RAS, 1996. 192 p.

3. Theory of literature: Textbook. manual: In 2 volumes / Ed. N. D. Tamarchenko. – M.: Publishing house. Center "Academy", 2004. T. 1. P. 183–205.

1 Kozhinov V. Plot, plot, composition. pp. 408-485.

2Korman B.O. The integrity of a literary work and an experimental dictionary of literary terms. P.45.

3Medvedev P.N. Formal method in literary criticism. L., 1928. P.187.

4Plot // Introduction to literary criticism. P.381.

5Kozhinov V.V. Collision // KLE. T. 3. Stlb. 656-658.

6Tomashevsky B.V. Theory of literature. Poetics. pp. 230-232.

7Zhirmunsky V.M. Introduction to literary criticism: A course of lectures. P. 375.

8 Tolstoy L.N. Full collection cit.: In 90 volumes. M., 1953. T.62. P. 377.

9Kozhinov V. S. 456.

10Propp V.Ya. Morphology of a fairy tale. C.29.

11Nezvankina L.K., Shchemeleva L.M. Motive // ​​LES. P. 230

Motif is a term that entered the literature from musicology. Was first recorded in " musical dictionary"S. de Brossard in 1703. Analogies with music, where this term key in analyzing the composition of a work, they help to understand the properties of a motif in a literary work: its isolation from the whole and its repetition in a variety of situations.

In literary criticism, the concept of motive was used to characterize components the plot by Goethe and Schiller. They identified five types of motives: accelerating action, slowing down action, distancing action from the goal, facing the past, anticipating the future.

The concept of motive as the simplest narrative unit was first theoretically substantiated in the Poetics of Plots Veselovsky. He was interested in the repetition of motifs in different genres at different nations. Veselovsky considered motives to be the simplest formulas that could arise in different tribes independently of each other. (struggle for the inheritance of brothers, fight for the bride, etc.) he comes to the conclusion that creativity is primarily manifested in a combination of motives that gives one or another plot (in a fairy tale there is not one task, but five, etc.)

Subsequently, combinations of motifs were transformed into various compositions and became the basis of such genres as novels, stories, and poems. The motive itself, according to Veselovsky, remained stable and indecomposable; combinations of motives make up the plot. The plot could be borrowed, passed from people to people, or become wandering. In a plot, each motive can be main, secondary, episodic... many motives can be developed into entire plots, and vice versa.

Veselovsky's position on the motive as an indecomposable unit of narrative was revised in the 20s. Propp : motives are decomposed, the last decomposable unit does not represent a logical whole. Propp calls the primary elements functions of the actors - actions of the characters, defined in terms of their significance for the course of the action.. seven types of characters, 31 functions (based on Afanasyev’s collection)

It is particularly difficult to identify motives in the literature last centuries: their diversity and complex functional load.

In literature different eras there are many found and functioning mythological motives. Constantly updating within the framework of historical literary context, they retain their essence (the motive of the hero’s conscious death because of a woman, apparently it can be considered as a transformation of the fight for the bride highlighted by Veselovsky (Lensky in Pushkin, Romashov in Kuprin).

A generally accepted indicator of a motive is its repeatability .

The leading motive in one or many works of a writer can be defined as leitmotif . It can be considered at the level of theme and figurative structure of the work. In Chekhov's Cherry Orchard, the motif of the garden is a symbol of Home, beauty and sustainability of life... we can talk about the role of both the leitmotif and the organization of the second, secret meaning works - subtext, undercurrent (phrase: “life is lost” - the leitmotif of Uncle Vanya. Chekhov)

Tomashevsky: Episodes are broken down into even smaller parts that describe individual actions, events, and things. Themes such small parts of a work that cannot be further divided are called motives .

IN lyrical in a work, a motif is a recurring set of feelings and ideas expressed in artistic speech. Motifs in lyric poetry are more independent, because they are not subordinated to the development of action, as in epic and drama. Sometimes the poet’s work as a whole can be considered as an interaction, a correlation of motives. (In Lermontov: motives of freedom, will, memory, exile, etc.) One and the same motive can receive different symbolic meanings V lyrical works different eras, emphasizing the closeness and originality of the poets (Pushkin’s road in Besy and Gogol’s in M.D., the homeland of Lermontov and Nekrasov, Yesenin’s and Blok’s Rus', etc.)

At his lectures, Stepanov said only the following:

According to Tomashevsky, motives are divided

Free and bound motifs:

Those that can be skipped (details, details play an important role in the plot: they do not make the work sketchy.)

Those that cannot be omitted when retelling, because the cause-and-effect relationship is broken... form the basis of the plot.

Dynamic and static motifs:

1. Changing the situation. The transition from happiness to unhappiness and vice versa.

Peripeteia (Aristotle: “the transformation of an action into its opposite) is one of the essential elements of complicating the plot, meaning every unexpected turn in the development of the plot.

2. Not changing the situation (descriptions of the interior, nature, portrait, actions and deeds that do not lead to important changes)

Free motives can be static, but not every static motive is free.

I don’t know which book this is from Tomashevsky, because in “Theory of Literature. Poetics." He's writing:

Motivation. The system of motives that make up the theme of this work, should represent some artistic unity. If all parts of a work are poorly fitted to one another, the work “falls apart.” Therefore, the introduction of each individual motive or each set of motives must be justified(motivated). The appearance of one or another motive should seem necessary to the reader in this place. The system of techniques that justify the introduction of individual motives and their complexes is called motivation. Motivation methods are varied, and their nature is not uniform. Therefore, it is necessary to classify motivations.

TO oppositional motivation.

Its principle lies in economy and expediency of motives. Individual motifs can characterize objects introduced into the reader's field of view (accessories) or the actions of characters ("episodes"). Not a single accessory should remain unused in the plot, not a single episode should remain without influence on the plot situation. It was about compositional motivation that Chekhov spoke when he argued that if at the beginning of the story it is said that a nail is driven into the wall, then at the end of the story the hero should hang himself on this nail. (“Dowry” by Ostrovsky using the example of weapons. “There is a carpet above the sofa on which weapons are hung.”

First it is introduced as a detail of the setting. In the sixth scene, attention is drawn to this detail in the remarks. At the end of the action, Karandyshev, running away, grabs a pistol from the table. In the 4th act, he shoots Larisa with this pistol. The introduction of the weapon motif here is compositionally motivated. This weapon is necessary for the outcome. It serves as preparation for the last moment of the drama.) The second case of compositional motivation is the introduction of motives as characterization techniques . The motives must be in harmony with the dynamics of the plot. (Thus, in the same “Dowry” the motif of “Burgundy”, made by a counterfeit wine merchant at a cheap price, characterizes the wretchedness of Karandyshev’s everyday environment and prepares for Larisa’s departure).

These characteristic details can be in harmony with the action:

1) by psychological analogy ( romantic landscape: Moonlight night for a love scene, storm and thunder for a scene of death or crime),

2) by contrast (motive of “indifferent” nature, etc.).

In the same "Dowry", when Larisa dies, the singing of a gypsy choir can be heard from the restaurant doors. One must also take into account the possibility false motivation . Accessories and incidents may be introduced to distract the reader's attention from the true situation. This very often appears in detective stories, where a number of details are given that lead the reader down the wrong path. The author makes us assume the outcome is not what it actually is. The deception is unraveled at the end, and the reader is convinced that all these details were introduced only to prepare surprises at the denouement.

Realistic motivation

From each work we demand an elementary “illusion”, i.e. no matter how conventional and artificial the work may be, its perception must be accompanied by a sense of the reality of what is happening. For a naive reader this feeling is extremely strong, and such a reader can believe in the authenticity of what is being presented, can be convinced of the real existence of the heroes. So, Pushkin, having just published “History Pugachev revolt", publishes " Captain's daughter" in the form of Grinev's memoirs with the following afterword: "Peter Andreevich Grinev's manuscript was delivered to us from one of his grandchildren, who learned that we were busy with work dating back to the time described by his grandfather.

We decided, with the permission of our relatives, to publish it separately." An illusion of the reality of Grinev and his memoirs is created, especially supported by moments of Pushkin’s personal biography known to the public (his historical studies on the history of Pugachev), and the illusion is also supported by the fact that the views and beliefs expressed by Grinev , in many ways diverge from the views expressed by Pushkin on his own.Realistic illusion in a more experienced reader is expressed as a requirement for “vitality.”

Firmly knowing the fictional nature of the work, the reader still demands some correspondence with reality and in this correspondence sees the value of the work. Even readers well versed in the laws artistic construction, cannot psychologically free themselves from this illusion. In this regard, each motive must be introduced as a motive likely in this situation.

We do not notice, getting used to the technique of an adventure novel, the absurdity that the hero’s salvation always occurs five minutes before his inevitable death, the audience of the ancient comedy did not notice the absurdity that in last action all the characters suddenly turned out to be close relatives. However, how tenacious this motive is in drama is shown by Ostrovsky’s play “Guilty Without Guilt,” where at the end of the play the heroine recognizes her own in the hero. lost son). This motive of recognizing kinship was extremely convenient for the denouement (kinship reconciled interests, radically changing the situation) and therefore became firmly entrenched in tradition.

So, realistic motivation has its source either in naive trust or in the demand for illusion. This doesn't stop you from developing. fantastic literature. If folk tales usually arise in a popular environment that allows for the real existence of witches and goblins, they continue to exist as some kind of conscious illusion, where a mythological system or a fantastic worldview (the assumption of realistically unjustifiable “possibilities”) is present as some kind of illusory hypothesis.

It is curious that fantastic narratives in a developed literary environment, under the influence of the requirements of realistic motivation, usually give double interpretation plot: it can be understood both as a real event and as a fantastic one. From the point of view of the realistic motivation for constructing the work, it is easy to understand the introduction to the work of art extraliterary material, i.e. those having real value beyond the bounds of fiction.

So, in historical novels are brought to the stage historical figures, one or another interpretation is introduced historical events. See in the novel “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy a whole military-strategic report on the Battle of Borodino and the fire of Moscow, which caused controversy in the specialized literature. IN modern works everyday life familiar to the reader is presented, questions of moral, social, political, etc. are raised. order, in a word, themes are introduced that live their own lives outside of fiction.

Artistic motivation

The introduction of motives is the result of a compromise between realistic illusion and the requirements of artistic construction. Not everything borrowed from reality is suitable for a work of art.

On the basis of artistic motivation, disputes usually arise between old and new literary schools. The old, traditional direction usually denies the new literary forms presence of artistry. This is how, for example, it affects poetic vocabulary, where the very use of individual words must be in harmony with solid literary traditions(source of “prosaisms” - words prohibited in poetry). How special case there is a technique for artistic motivation defamiliarization. The introduction of non-literary material into a work, so that it does not fall out of the work of art, must be justified by novelty and individuality in the coverage of the material.

We must talk about the old and familiar as new and unusual. The ordinary is spoken of as strange. These methods of defamiliarization of ordinary things are usually themselves motivated by the refraction of these themes in the psychology of the hero, who is unfamiliar with them. There is a well-known technique of defamiliarization by L. Tolstoy, when, describing the military council in Fili in “War and Peace,” he introduces as actor a peasant girl observing this council and in her own, childish way, without understanding the essence of what was happening, interpreting all the actions and speeches of the council participants.

motive

This word, one of the main ones in musicology, also has a responsible place in the science of literature. It is rooted in almost all modern European languages, goes back to the Latin verb moveo (I move) and now has a very wide range of meanings.

The initial, leading, main meaning of this literary term is difficult to define. A motif is a component of works that has increased significance (semantic richness). He is actively involved in the theme and concept (idea) of the work, but is not identical to them. Being, according to B.N. Putilov, “stable semantic units”, motives “are characterized by an increased, one might say exceptional, degree of semioticity. Each motive has a stable set of meanings.”

The motif is one way or another localized in the work, but at the same time it is present in a variety of forms. It can be a separate word or phrase, repeated and varied, or appear as something denoted by various lexical units, or appear in the form of a title or epigraph, or remain only guessable, lost in the subtext. Having resorted to allegory, it is legitimate to assert that the sphere of motives consists of the links of the work, marked by internal, invisible italics, which should be felt and recognized by a sensitive reader and literary analyst. The most important feature of a motive is its ability to be half-realized in the text, revealed in it incompletely, and mysterious.

Motifs can act either as an aspect of individual works and their cycles, as a link in their construction, or as the property of the entire work of the writer and even entire genres, movements, literary eras, world literature as such. In this supra-individual aspect, they constitute one of the most important subjects of historical poetics.

Since the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the term “motive” has been widely used in the study of plots, especially historically early folklore ones. So, A.N. Veselovsky, in his unfinished “Poetics of Plots,” spoke of the motif as the simplest, indivisible unit of narrative, as a repeating schematic formula that forms the basis of plots (originally myths and fairy tales). These are, the scientist gives examples of motives, the abduction of the sun or a beauty, water drying up in a source, etc.

The motives here are not so much related to individual works, how many are considered as the common property of verbal art. Motives, according to Veselovsky, are historically stable and endlessly repeatable. In a cautious, conjectural form, the scientist argued: “Isn’t poetic creativity limited by certain certain formulas, stable motifs that one generation accepted from the previous one, and this from the third?

Doesn’t each new poetic era work on images bequeathed from time immemorial, necessarily revolving within their boundaries, allowing itself only new combinations of old ones and only filling them with a new understanding of life? Based on the understanding of motive as the primary element of plot, going back to Veselovsky, scientists of the Siberian branch Russian Academy Sciences are now working on compiling a dictionary of plots and motifs in Russian literature.

For last decades motives began to actively correlate with individual creative experience, be considered as the property of individual writers and works. This, in particular, is evidenced by the experience of studying the poetry of M.Yu. Lermontov.

Attention to the motives hidden in literary works allows us to understand them more fully and deeply. Thus, some “peak” moments of the embodiment of the author’s concept in famous story I.A. Bunin about the suddenly cut short life of a charming girl are “ easy breath"(the phrase that became the title), lightness as such, as well as the repeatedly mentioned cold. These deeply interconnected motifs turn out to be perhaps the most important compositional “strings” of Bunin’s masterpiece and, at the same time, an expression of the writer’s philosophical idea of ​​the existence and place of man in it. The cold accompanies Olya Meshcherskaya not only in winter, but also in summer; it also reigns in the episodes framing the plot, depicting a cemetery in early spring. The above motives are combined into last sentence story: “Now this light breath has again dissipated in the world, in this cloudy sky, in this cold spring wind.”

One of the motifs of Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” is spiritual softness, often associated with feelings of gratitude and submission to fate, with tenderness and tears, most importantly, marking certain higher, illuminating moments in the lives of the heroes. Let's remember the episodes when old prince Volkonsky learns about the death of his daughter-in-law; wounded Prince Andrei in Mytishchi. After a conversation with Natasha, who feels irreparably guilty before Prince Andrei, Pierre experiences some special elation. And here it speaks of his, Pierre’s, “blossomed to a new life, softened and encouraged soul.” And after captivity, Bezukhov asks Natasha about last days Andrei Bolkonsky: “So he calmed down? Have you softened up?

Perhaps the central motif of “The Master and Margarita” by M.A. Bulgakov - light emanating from full moon, disturbing, exciting, painful. This light somehow “affects” a number of characters in the novel. It is associated primarily with the idea of ​​torment of conscience - with the appearance and fate of Pontius Pilate, who was afraid for his “career”.

For lyric poetry verbal motives are typical. A.A. Blok wrote: “Every poem is a veil, stretched on the edges of several words. These words shine like stars. Because of them the poem exists." Thus, in Blok’s poem “Worlds Fly” (1912), the supporting (key) words are aimless and insane; the ringing that accompanies it, the intrusive and buzzing sound of a tired soul immersed in darkness; and (in contrast to all this) unattainable, vainly alluring happiness.

In Blok’s “Carmen” cycle, the word “treason” performs the function of motive. This word captures the poetic and at the same time tragic element of the soul. The world of betrayal here is associated with the “storm of gypsy passions” and leaving the homeland, coupled with an inexplicable feeling of sadness, the “black and wild fate” of the poet, and instead with the charm of boundless freedom, free flight “without orbits”: “This is music secret betrayals?/Is this the heart captured by Carmen?”

Note that the term “motive” is also used in a different meaning than the one on which we rely. Thus, themes and problems of a writer’s work are often called motives (for example, the moral rebirth of man; the illogical existence of people). IN modern literary criticism There is also an idea of ​​the motive as an “extrastructural” beginning - as the property not of the text and its creator, but of the unrestricted thought of the interpreter of the work. The properties of the motive, says B.M. Gasparov, “grow anew every time, in the process of analysis itself” - depending on what contexts of the writer’s work the scientist turns to.

Thus understood, the motive is conceptualized as the “basic unit of analysis,” an analysis that “fundamentally abandons the concept of fixed blocks of structure that have an objectively specified function in the construction of the text.” A similar approach to literature, as noted by M.L. Gasparov, allowed A.K. Zholkovsky in his book “Wandering Dreams” to offer readers a number of “brilliant and paradoxical interpretations of Pushkin through Brodsky and Gogol through Sokolov.”

But no matter what semantic tones are attached to the word “motive” in literary criticism, the irrevocable significance and genuine relevance of this term, which captures the really (objectively) existing facet of literary works, remains self-evident.

V.E. Khalizev Theory of literature. 1999