Eternal questions in Russian literature (School essays). Preparation for exams in literature. Eternal themes in literature Themes and motives of Russian classics

The term “literary tradition” is used in literature when we are talking about a continuity that unites successive literary phenomena.

The concept of literary tradition

In its meaning, the concept of literary tradition is identical to the concept of borrowing, influence and imitation. The constituent elements of a literary tradition can be the following components of poetics: stylistics, composition, rhythm and theme. These components are often transmitted by literary tradition not separately, but in combination with each other.

The area of ​​literary tradition is also quite wide: it can be both international creativity and the creativity of one people. For example, Gogol created a literary tradition in Russia, which over time spread far beyond its borders. The literary tradition does not differ in intensity, so we see that Pushkin’s traditions at different times either intensify in literature or disappear almost completely.

At first glance, an extinct tradition can not only be revived, but also take its place as the dominant one in the literary process, thanks to the influence of suitable historical conditions.

In the literary process there is the concept of parodying a literary tradition. A striking example of this is Dostoevsky’s work “The Village of Stepanchikovo”, in which the author parades Gogol’s style and his ideology.

Eternal themes in literature

Traditional problems. Literary works, in their absolute majority, have stable eternal themes, the peculiarity of which is that they are practically inexhaustible, since they will always be relevant in any society. No matter how many options there are for revealing them, there is still something left unsaid every time, as well as something that lends itself to a completely different interpretation in new historical conditions.

Getting acquainted with various literary works, we are amazed at how the same topic is seen by different writers. By and large, many literary works that have come down to us describe the same plot, but divided and corrected over the centuries.

The eternal themes of literature can be divided into the following categories:

1. Ontological- themes of unidentified eternal phenomena: space, light, darkness.

2. Anthropological topics:
- the concept of being - sin, involvement, pride, human life, death.
- epoch-making events - wars, revolutions, peace, civic activities.
- the sphere of social instincts - love, friendship, family, zeal for power, social transformation of a person.

Discussions about eternal problems are also very characteristic of the literary process. The main eternal problem that is discussed in literary works is the issues and problems of morality of man and society. Along with the description of this problem, the literature also indicates ways to solve it - for society this is a revolution or reform, for a person - moral improvement.

Another traditional eternal problem is the question of society’s rejection of an individual, the so-called lone hero. A special place in the literary process is occupied by the clarification of universal human problems - the search for the meaning of life, understanding of good and evil, internal torment, etc.

The role of Russian literature is very difficult to overestimate. This role is multifaceted, like literature itself. Gorky wrote: “Our literature is our pride.”

Russian literature is called “the pinnacle of world humanism.” Classical Russian literature is a model for many people. The same Maxim Gorky wrote: “The giant Pushkin is our greatest pride and the most complete expression of the spiritual forces of Russia, and the merciless Gogol towards himself and people, the yearning Lermontov, the sad Turgenev, the angry Nekrasov, the great rebel Tolstoy, ... Dostoevsky, the sorcerer of the language Ostrovsky - not similar to each other, as it can be in our Rus',” and we will add that they are our prophets, teachers, the conscience of the nation.

A person turns to their work, to the work of other Russian writers, all his life: looking for answers to questions that trouble the soul, comprehending the science of relationships between people and genders, learning to live.

Great psychological writers include F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov. Using the example of their literary heroes, we understand what good and evil are, what helps a person develop and move on. We understand what temptation is, which leads to the moral fall of a person. By reading their works, we learn to make the right choices in life, understand people and ourselves, and objectively evaluate the world around us.

Belinsky wrote about Turgenev that he was a writer in whose soul “all the sorrow and questions of the Russian people” are in his soul. And also, according to the same Belinsky, this writer has an extraordinary ability to depict pictures of Russian nature. The landscapes he describes instill love for the Motherland and a sense of patriotism. Turgenev's socio-psychological novels reveal the subtle soul of a Russian woman.

Speaking about Russian literature, one cannot help but recall Russian poetry, because the work of many Russian poets is famous throughout the world.

Pushkin... Who doesn't love his work? Children love his fairy tales, a girl in love for the first time, wiping away her tears, reads the poet’s love lyrics, and those who like to contemplate Russian landscapes quote one or another of his poems by heart. True, they have precision in their choice of words and therefore we find ourselves in his work. Reading his works, we believe him, we become better, we correct our mistakes, we learn to love.

How can we not remember the works of Fet and Tyutchev? They are poets and artists of Russian nature. Their creativity plays a big role in the aesthetic education of a person. They awaken in him observation, attentiveness, and a sense of love for nature. “I love a thunderstorm at the beginning of May, When the first thunder of spring, As if frolicking and playing, Rumbles in the blue sky,” Tyutchev wrote simply, but you couldn’t say it better. You not only hear, but also see the timid rumbles of thunder and even smell the first spring thunderstorm. Or “There is in the initial autumn. A short but wonderful time - The whole day is as if crystal, And the evenings are radiant...” - well, how can we say more precisely about the warm period of autumn, “Indian summer”.

Let's remember Nekrasov's work. His understanding of the simple Russian soul, the soul of a Russian woman, is incomparable. The lines of his works are imbued with concern for the fate of the Russian people and awaken in us a feeling of compassion.

All Russian literature teaches us to be human. A person - a personality! Russian literature is our priceless asset, it is the textbook of life from which our parents learned and we learn.

Essay on the topic: Eternal motives in world literature

But there are problems that concern all people at all times, regardless of their nationality, living conditions, or social status. Each generation again and again poses deep philosophical questions to itself: what is life and death, what is love, how the world and man work, what is the meaning of life, what values ​​are above all, what is God... These questions are reflected, including , and in literature they are called “eternal motives”.

One of the generally recognized geniuses of world literature who revealed the depths of the human soul is the Englishman W. Shakespeare, who lived in the 16th century. His plays are deeply philosophical works that touch on important issues of existence. Thus, Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” depicts an eternal conflict, the confrontation between man and the surrounding world.

The hero of the tragedy, the young prince Hamlet, discovers something terrible: he learns that his father was poisoned by his own brother in the struggle for the throne. Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude, also took part in this crime.

The young hero is terrified and completely confused. He is disappointed in the whole world and all people - what can you expect from them if those closest to you turned out to be insidious and cynical traitors?

Thus, Hamlet finds himself face to face with an unjust world, or rather, with his illusions about this world. He begins to doubt the value and purpose of life in general - if evil is so strong and insurmountable, is there any point in living?

But gradually Hamlet understands and accepts his mission - to “straighten” the dislocated joints of “Time”. He enters into the fight against Evil, wanting to restore justice, the “course of Time” and the relationship between Light and Darkness. As a result of this confrontation, the hero resolves many issues for himself, the main one of which is the question of the essence of death. As a result, he comes to the realization that death turns a person into nothing, and life is an eternal contradiction between reality and ideals.

The hero of another classic of world literature is I.V. Goethe, the scientist Faust, also sought to understand the essence of life and death, as well as to learn all the secrets of the Universe. What is the meaning of human life? What is the purpose of beauty and what is beauty? What is creativity and inspiration? What is love? Where does good end and evil begin? What is the human soul and is there any value more valuable than it?

All these questions arise before Faust in the process of his research. The hero experiences everything himself: he sinks to the very bottom, communicating with the devil, and rises to the very heights, experiencing love for Margarita. During his life's journey, he makes many mistakes, but in the end he comes to realize the meaning of his life - creative work for the benefit of people.

In another Shakespeare tragedy - “Romeo and Juliet” - the author solves the question of what love is, what its power and meaning in life are. Using the example of his heroes, the great Englishman shows that this feeling is beautiful in all its manifestations.

All people are capable of experiencing love, regardless of age and social status, it has different incarnations and guises (the love of the Nurse for Juliet, parents for their children, the love of a man and a woman, the love of friends, the love of a Duke for his people, the love of a priest for his flock, finally, God’s love for people). Moreover, this feeling is vital for everyone, because the whole world is based on it.

Shakespeare, in the spirit of the Renaissance traditions, says that all manifestations of love, both spiritual and physical, are beautiful. By denying any of these components, people deliberately impoverish themselves.

Using the example of the feelings of Romeo and Juliet, we understand that love is a powerful force that can reconcile irreconcilable enemies (the Montague and Capulet families) and overcome any intrigues, even death itself.

Another classic of world literature - the Frenchman J. B. Moliere (18th century) - in his comedy "Tartuffe" deeply revealed another "eternal" theme - the theme of Hypocrisy and its destructive power.

The writer shows that lies are an integral part of human nature and human society. But if there is an innocent lie or a lie for the good (Elmira’s tricks, Dorina’s speeches), then there is also a destructive lie, crippling destinies, encroaching on the most sacred. The bearer of just such a lie and its other manifestations (hypocrisy, hypocrisy) is the saintly Tartuffe in the comedy.

This man, skillfully deceiving and hypocritical, achieves his own, purely selfish, goals - to get Orgon's wealth, have fun with his wife Elmira, and so on. For Tartuffe, nothing is sacred or inviolable - he is ready to slander, humiliate, destroy everything in his path, mercilessly and methodically. Thus, this hero is the embodiment of absolute Evil. But Moliere’s characters, unlike Shakespeare’s Hamlet, defeat Tartuffe, which means, albeit temporarily, they defeat Evil itself. In this they are helped, of course, by Good, which is interpreted by the playwright in the spirit of the Enlightenment - in the person of the state and the enlightened monarch.

Thus, eternal motifs in world literature help illuminate important aspects of human existence associated with deep philosophical problems. It has always been important for a person to understand who he is, where he is and where he is going. World classics answer these questions, help the reader find his place in life, understand and assimilate enduring values, and set his priorities.

Includes the ability to write texts correctly and competently. Are you familiar with the situation when you realize with horror that you cannot write anything? Or are thoughts spinning in your head, but not poured out on paper? Sometimes writing an essay can be a real nightmare. We will show you how to make your life better and successfully pass the literature exam.

In order to successfully complete the most insidious version of the Unified State Exam in literature or write a good essay, you need not only to know a standard set of definitions such as “kinds, genres and types of literature” or “image of the author”, “literary-historical process”, etc., but also be able to navigate the themes of literary works.

The bulk of texts from the school curriculum are works of Russian classics of the 19th century. We mean Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and other masters of words. Speaking about their thematic originality, it should be noted that classical literature mainly touches on the so-called “eternal themes”. And if you learn to understand this and think properly, then consider half the exam passed.

Most of the works touch upon traditional problems, stable eternal themes that have interested man since the very moment of his appearance. And new generations of writers endow reasoning with their own meaning.

So, people have been concerned for centuries with the topics of life, death, love, hatred, humility, pride, etc. For example, Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment shows the restless Rodion Raskolnikov, who cannot find harmony with the world around him and commits a crime. His “Am I a trembling creature or do I have the right” touches on the eternal theme of morality, the problem of a person’s choice of one path or another.

Another question of interest to the classics is the search for a “hero of the times,” an image of a person reflecting spiritual quests in the 19th century. In this context, writers are concerned with the problem of a special person, a lone hero who is not accepted by society. It is touched upon, for example, by Lermontov’s novels “A Hero of Our Time,” Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons,” and Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin.”

Literature in the 19th century was generally fixated on searches, the desire to find not only the hero of a generation, but also moral ideals, to understand the meaning of life, to get closer to the fundamentals of the existence of the universe, etc. Thus, the classics tried to answer the fundamental questions of human existence.

Therefore, we recommend that you first dive into these problems, and then learn to reflect. Then speedy memorization of the plots of school classics may disappear altogether, because in any exam in literature, the Unified State Exam or essay, the main thing is, after all, knowledge not of the content, but of the problems of the texts. In other words, their essences.

Composition.

Eternal questions of Russian literature.

The eternal questions of Russian literature are questions of the relationship between good and evil, temporary and eternal, faith and truth, past and present. Why are they called eternal? Because they have not ceased to excite humanity for centuries. But the main, I would say, key questions of all Russian literature were the following: “What is the basis of the life of a Russian person? How can you save your soul and not let it perish in this far from perfect world?”

L.N. helps us answer these questions. Tolstoy in his moralizing “folk” stories. One of them is “How people live.”

The hero of the story - poor shoemaker Semyon - finds himself in a situation where it is necessary to make a moral choice: to pass by a stranger, naked, freezing, or to help him? He wanted to pass, but the voice of his conscience did not allow him to do so. And Semyon brings him home. And there Matryona’s wife, dissatisfied, crushed by poverty, thinking only that “there is only a scrap of bread left,” attacked her husband with reproaches. However, after Semyon’s words: “Matryona, is there no God in you?!” - “suddenly her heart sank.” She took pity on the wanderer in trouble and gave away her last bread, trousers and her husband’s shirt. The shoemaker and his wife not only helped the helpless man, but let him live with them. The one they saved turns out to be an angel whom God sent to earth to find answers to the questions: “What is in people? What are they not given? How do people live?” Observing the behavior of Semyon, Matryona, a woman who took in orphans, the angel comes to the conclusion: “... it seems only to people that they are alive by caring for themselves, and that they are alive by love alone.”

What is not given to people? We get an answer to this question when a gentleman appears on the pages of the story, who came to order boots, and received barefoot boots, since “not a single person can know whether he needs boots for a living person or barefoot boots for a dead person by the evening.”

He's still alive. He behaves arrogantly, speaks rudely, emphasizing his wealth and importance. In his description, a detail attracts attention - a hint of spiritual death: “like a person from another world.” Deprived of feelings of love and compassion, the master is already dead during his lifetime. He did not save his soul, and by evening his useless life ended.

According to Tolstoy, one must love “not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth.” Semyon and Matryona, his heroes, live according to moral laws, which means: they have a living soul. With their love they save the life of a stranger, therefore, they save their soul, their life. I think that without goodness, mercy, and compassion there can be no love.

Let us also remember Yaroslavna from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” When she cries, she doesn’t think about herself, she doesn’t feel sorry for herself: she wants to be close to her husband and his warriors in order to heal their bloody wounds with her love.

Our literature has always paid great attention to the issue of time. How are the past and present connected? Why do people turn to the past so often? Maybe because it is precisely this that gives him the opportunity to deal with the problems of the present, to prepare himself for Eternity?

The theme of thinking about life, uncontrollably passing away, took a prominent place in the lyrics of A.S. Pushkin. In his poem “Once again I visited...” he talks about the general law of life, when everything changes, the old goes away, and the new takes its place. Let us pay attention to the words “on the border of my grandfather’s possessions.” The adjective “grandfathered” evokes thoughts of past generations. But at the end of the poem, speaking about the “young grove,” the poet remarks: “But let my grandson hear your welcoming noise...”. This means that thinking about the course of life leads to the idea of ​​the change and connection of generations: grandfathers, fathers, grandchildren.

Very significant in this regard is the image of three pines, around which the “young grove” grew. Old people guard the young shoots crowding under their shade. They may be sad that their time is running out, but they cannot help but rejoice at the growing replacement. That is why the poet’s words sound so truthful and natural: “Hello, young, unfamiliar tribe!” It seems that Pushkin is speaking to us centuries later.

A.P. also writes about the connection between times. Chekhov in his story "Student". The action in it begins on the eve of the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. Theological Academy student Ivan Velikopolsky goes home. He is cold and painfully hungry. He thinks that severe poverty, ignorance, hunger, oppression are qualities inherent in Russian life both in the past and in the future, and that life will not get better if another thousand years pass. Suddenly Ivan saw the fire of a fire and two women near it. He warms himself next to them and tells the gospel story: on the same cold, terrible night, they led Jesus to trial before the high priest. The Apostle Peter, who loved him, waited and warmed himself by the fire in the same way. And then he denied Jesus three times. And when he realized what he had done, he cried bitterly.

His story touched ordinary peasant women to tears. And Ivan suddenly realized that the event that took place 29 centuries ago is relevant to the present, to these women, to himself and to all people. The student comes to the conclusion that the past is connected to the present by a continuous chain of events that follow from one another. It seemed to him that he had touched one end and trembled the other. And this means that not only the horrors of life, but also truth and beauty have always existed. They continue to this day. I also understood something else: only truth, goodness and beauty guide human life. He was overcome by an inexpressibly sweet expectation of happiness, and life now seemed wonderful and full of high meaning.

To the lyrical hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin and the hero of the story A.P. Chekhov's "Student", Ivan Velikopolsky, the involvement of their personal life in everything that happened in the world of the past and present was revealed. Glorious domestic names A.S. Pushkina, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov are also links in a single continuous chain of time. They live here with us now and will continue to live. We really need them in our difficult times, when people often put material things above moral things, when many have forgotten what love, compassion, and mercy are. Since ancient times, Russian literature has reminded us of the commandments of our ancestors: love each other, help the suffering, do good and remember the past. This will help protect the soul from temptations and help keep it pure and bright. What could be more important in life? I think nothing.

Leonid Bogdanov, 11th grade student.