Genre compositional originality of the play by Ostrovsky Groz. The artistic originality of Ostrovsky's play “The Thunderstorm. Need help studying a topic?

Genre originality of the drama “The Thunderstorm”

“The Thunderstorm” is a folk social and everyday tragedy.

N. A. Dobrolyubov

“The Thunderstorm” stands out as the main, landmark work
playwright. “Thunderstorm” was supposed to be included in the collection “Nights on the Volga”, conceived
by the author during a trip to Russia in 1856, organized by the sea
ministry. True, Ostrovsky then changed his decision and did not unite,
as assumed at the beginning, the cycle of “Volga” plays has a general title. “The Thunderstorm” is out
as a separate book in 1859. While working on it, Ostrovsky's play
has undergone great changes - the author introduced a number of new characters, but most importantly
- Ostrovsky changed his original plan and decided to write not a comedy, but
drama. However, the power of social conflict in “The Thunderstorm” is so great that
The play can be spoken of not even as a drama, but as a tragedy. Exist
arguments in defense of both opinions, so the genre of the play is difficult to determine
definitely.

Of course, the play is written on a social and everyday theme:
it is characterized by the author’s special attention to the depiction of everyday details,
the desire to accurately convey the atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, its “cruel
morals." The fictional city is described in detail and in many ways. An important role
plays a landscape opening, but here a contradiction is immediately visible: Ku-ligin says
about the beauty of the distances beyond the river, the high Volga cliff. “Nothing,” he objects to him.
Curly. Pictures of night walking along the boulevard, songs, picturesque nature,
Katerina's stories about childhood are the poetry of Kalinov's world, which
encounters the everyday cruelty of the inhabitants, stories of “poverty
naked.” The Kalinovites have preserved only vague legends about the past - Lithuania “to us”
fell from the sky,” the wanderer Feklusha brings them news from the big world.
Undoubtedly, such attention of the author to the details of the characters’ everyday life makes it possible
talk about drama as a genre of the play “The Thunderstorm”.

Another feature characteristic of drama and present
in the play, - the presence of a chain of intra-family conflicts. At first it's a conflict
between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law behind the locks of the house gate, then about this conflict
the whole city recognizes it, and from the everyday it grows into a social one. Peculiar
drama, the expression of conflict in the actions and words of the heroes is most clearly shown in
monologues and dialogues of the characters. So, about Katerina’s life before marriage we
we learn from a conversation between young Kabanova and Varvara: Katerina lived, “about nothing
grieved”, like “a bird in the wild”, spending the whole day in pleasures and domestic
affairs. We know nothing about the first meeting of Katerina and Boris, about how
their love was born. In his article N.A. Dobrolyubov considered insufficient
“development of passion” a significant omission, said that this is why
“The struggle between passion and duty” for us is designated “not quite clearly and strongly.” But
this fact does not contradict the laws of drama.

The originality of the “Thunderstorms” genre is also manifested in the fact that
Despite the gloomy, tragic overall color, the play also has comic,
satirical scenes. Anecdotal and ignorant stories seem ridiculous to us
Feklushi about the Saltans, about the lands where all the people “have dog heads.” After release
“Thunderstorms” A.D. Galakhov wrote in a review of the play that “action and disaster
tragic, although many places excite laughter.”

The author himself called his play a drama. But could it be
otherwise? At that time, when speaking about the tragic genre, they were accustomed to dealing with the plot
historical, with main characters outstanding not only in character, but also in
position placed in exceptional life situations. Tragedy is usually
associated with images of historical figures, even legendary ones, like
Oedipus (Sophocles), Hamlet (Shakespeare), Boris Godunov (Pushkin). I think,
that on Ostrovsky’s part calling “The Thunderstorm” a drama was only a tribute to tradition.

The innovation of A. N. Ostrovsky was that
he wrote the tragedy in an exclusively life-like language, completely out of character
tragic genre material.

The tragedy of “The Thunderstorm” is revealed by a conflict with the environment not
only the main character, Katerina, but also other characters. “Live” here
they envy... the dead” (N.A. Dobrolyubov). So, Tikhon’s fate is tragic here,
being a weak-willed toy in the hands of his powerful and despotic mother. By
Regarding Tikhon’s final words, N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote that Tikhon’s “grief” in
his indecision. If life is sickening, what is stopping him from throwing himself into the Volga? Tikhon
can do absolutely nothing, even that “in which he recognizes his goodness and
the rescue". Tragic in its hopelessness is the situation of Kuligin, who dreams of
the happiness of the working people, but doomed to obey the will of a rude tyrant -
Wild and repair small household utensils, earning only “our daily bread”
"honest work"

The peculiarity of tragedy is the presence of a hero,
outstanding in his spiritual qualities, according to V. G. Belinsky, “a man
highest nature,” according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, man “with the great, - and not
petty character." Turning from this position to “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky,
we certainly see that this trait of tragedy is clearly manifested in the character
main character.

Katerina differs from Kalinov’s “dark kingdom”
with his morality and willpower. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty, her dreams
full of fabulous visions. It seems that she fell in love with Boris not the real one, but
created by your imagination. Katerina could easily adapt to morality
city ​​to continue to deceive her husband, but “he doesn’t know how to deceive,
can’t hide anything,” honesty does not allow Katerina to continue pretending
in front of my husband. As a deeply religious person, Katerina had to have
enormous courage to overcome not only the fear of physical death, but
and fear “of being judged” for the sin of suicide. The spiritual power of Katerina “...and
the desire for freedom mixed with religious prejudices creates
tragedy” (V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko).

A feature of the tragic genre is the physical
death of the main character. Thus, Katerina, according to V. G. Belinsky,
“a true tragic heroine.” Katerina's fate was determined by the collision of two
historical eras. Not only her problem is that she ends her life
suicide is a misfortune, a tragedy of society. She needs to free herself from
heavy oppression, from fear weighing down the soul.

Another characteristic feature of the tragic genre
consists in a cleansing effect on the audience, which excites them
noble, sublime aspirations. So, in “The Thunderstorm”, as N.A. said.
Dobrolyubov, “there is even something refreshing and encouraging.”

The general coloring of the play is also tragic, with its gloom, with
every second feeling of an impending thunderstorm. Parallelism is clearly emphasized here
social, public thunderstorms and thunderstorms as natural phenomena.

In the presence of an undoubted tragic conflict, the play
imbued with optimism. Katerina's death testifies to the rejection of the “dark
kingdom”, about resistance, about the growth of forces called upon to replace the Kabanikhas and
Wild. The Kuligins may still be timid, but they are already beginning to protest.

So, the genre uniqueness of “The Thunderstorm” lies in the fact that
that it is, without a doubt, a tragedy, the first Russian tragedy written
on social and everyday material. This is not just Katerina’s tragedy, it’s
the tragedy of the entire Russian society, which is at a turning point in its
development, living on the eve of significant changes, in conditions of revolutionary
situation that contributed to the individual’s awareness of his own sense of self
dignity. One cannot but agree with the opinion of V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, who
wrote: “If some merchant’s wife cheated on her husband and hence all her
misfortune - then it would be a drama. But for Ostrovsky this is only the basis for
high life theme... Here everything rises to tragedy.”
Bibliography

To prepare this work we used
materials from the site http://www.ostrovskiy.org.ru/

Having listened to “The Thunderstorm” read by the author, Turgenev wrote in 1859 that this play is “the most amazing, most magnificent work of Russian, powerful, completely mastered talent.” Time has confirmed the validity of such a high assessment. In none of the playwright's previous plays has Russian life been shown as widely as in The Thunderstorm. This was reflected even in its construction. The action of the play is not confined to one house or one family. It is as if it is wide open, put on public display - on the boulevard, square, embankment.

Suffice it to remember that out of the five acts of the play, only one takes place in the Kabanovs’ house. Nature is directly included in the plot as one of the important elements. The charm of a summer night, the tragic premonitions of an inevitable thunderstorm - all this contributes to the creation of a tense emotional atmosphere in which the action develops. One of the main characters of the play is Volga, a free and indomitable force with which Katerina is compared!

“The Thunderstorm” essentially represents a new genre, hitherto unknown in Russian drama. This is a tragedy built not on historical, but on modern material. The question of genre is very important: genre suggests in which way a work of art should be understood and interpreted. Throughout the 19th century. “The Thunderstorm” was viewed as an everyday drama, which predetermined increased attention to everyday life, to the details of a certain historical era. Meanwhile, “The Thunderstorm” is a phenomenon of a larger aesthetic scale. Katerina is not just a victim of family oppression; the conflict in the play is of a more universal nature, precisely indicated in Dobrolyubov’s title. Tragedy differs from everyday or psychological drama not only in its objective-tragic conflict (including an insoluble contradiction between ideal and reality), but also in a special artistic way of reflecting life, a special poetic structure of the narrative. In this regard, one cannot ignore the folk-poetic basis of “The Thunderstorm”.

Genre originality of the drama “The Thunderstorm”

“The Thunderstorm” is a folk social and everyday tragedy.

N. A. Dobrolyubov

“The Thunderstorm” stands out as the main, landmark work of the playwright. “The Thunderstorm” was supposed to be included in the collection “Nights on the Volga,” conceived by the author during a trip to Russia in 1856, organized by the Ministry of the Navy. True, Ostrovsky then changed his mind and did not unite, as he initially intended, the cycle of “Volga” plays under a common title. “The Thunderstorm” was published as a separate book in 1859. During Ostrovsky's work on it, the play underwent great changes - the author introduced a number of new characters, but most importantly, Ostrovsky changed his original plan and decided to write not a comedy, but a drama. However, the power of social conflict in “The Thunderstorm” is so great that the play can not even be spoken of as a drama, but as a tragedy. There are arguments in defense of both opinions, so the genre of the play is difficult to determine unambiguously.

Of course, the play was written on a social and everyday theme: it is characterized by the author’s special attention to depicting the details of everyday life, the desire to accurately convey the atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, its “cruel morals.” The fictional city is described in detail and in many ways. The landscape concept plays an important role, but a contradiction is immediately visible here: Kuligin speaks of the beauty of the distances beyond the river, the high Volga cliff. “Nothing,” Kudryash objects to him. Pictures of night walks along the boulevard, songs, picturesque nature, Katerina’s stories about childhood - this is the poetry of Kalinov’s world, which collides with the everyday cruelty of the inhabitants, stories about “naked poverty.” The Kalinovites have preserved only vague legends about the past - Lithuania “fell to us from the sky”, news from the big world is brought to them by the wanderer Feklusha. Undoubtedly, such attention by the author to the details of the characters’ everyday life makes it possible to talk about drama as a genre of the play “The Thunderstorm”.

Another feature characteristic of drama and present in the play is the presence of a chain of intra-family conflicts. At first it is a conflict between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law behind the locks of the house gate, then the whole city learns about this conflict, and from an everyday one it develops into a social one. The expression of conflict in the actions and words of the characters, characteristic of drama, is most clearly shown in the monologues and dialogues of the characters. So, we learn about Katerina’s life before marriage from a conversation between young Kabanova and Varvara: Katerina lived “not worried about anything,” like a “bird in the wild,” spending the whole day in pleasures and household chores. We know nothing about the first meeting of Katerina and Boris, or how their love began. In his article, N.A. Dobrolyubov considered the insufficient “development of passion” to be a significant omission, and said that this is why the “struggle between passion and duty” is designated “not quite clearly and strongly” for us. But this fact does not contradict the laws of drama.

The originality of the “Thunderstorms” genre is also manifested in the fact that, despite the gloomy, tragic overall coloring, the play also contains comic and satirical scenes. Feklushi’s anecdotal and ignorant stories about the Saltans, about lands where all the people “have dog heads,” seem ridiculous to us. After the release of “The Thunderstorm,” A.D. Galakhov wrote in a review of the play that “the action and the catastrophe are tragic, although many places excite laughter.”

The author himself called his play a drama. But could it have been otherwise? At that time, when speaking about the tragic genre, we were accustomed to dealing with a historical plot, with main characters outstanding not only in character, but also in position, placed in exceptional life situations. Tragedy was usually associated with images of historical figures, even legendary ones, such as Oedipus (Sophocles), Hamlet (Shakespeare), Boris Godunov (Pushkin). It seems to me that on Ostrovsky’s part calling “The Thunderstorm” a drama was only a tribute to tradition.

The innovation of A. N. Ostrovsky lay in the fact that he wrote a tragedy based on exclusively life-like material, completely uncharacteristic of the tragic genre.

The tragedy of “The Thunderstorm” is revealed by a conflict with the environment not only of the main character, Katerina, but also of other characters. Here “the living envy... the dead” (N. A. Dobrolyubov). So, the fate of Tikhon, who is a weak-willed toy in the hands of his powerful and despotic mother, is tragic here. Regarding Tikhon’s final words, N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote that Tikhon’s “grief” lies in his indecision. If life is sickening, what is stopping him from throwing himself into the Volga? Tikhon cannot do anything at all, not even that “in which he recognizes his goodness and salvation.” Tragic in its hopelessness is the situation of Kuligin, who dreams of the happiness of the working people, but is doomed to obey the will of the rude tyrant - Dikiy and repair small household utensils, earning only “his daily bread” by “honest labor”.

A feature of the tragedy is the presence of a hero, outstanding in his spiritual qualities, according to V. G. Belinsky, “a man of the highest nature,” according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, a person “with a great, not petty character.” Turning from this position to “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky, we certainly see that this feature of the tragedy is clearly manifested in the character of the main character.

Katerina differs from Kalinov’s “dark kingdom” in her morality and willpower. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty, her dreams are full of fabulous visions. It seems that she fell in love with Boris not the real one, but the one created by her imagination. Katerina could well adapt to the morality of the city and continue to deceive her husband, but “she doesn’t know how to deceive, she can’t hide anything,” honesty does not allow Katerina to continue pretending in front of her husband. As a deeply religious person, Katerina had to have enormous courage to overcome not only the fear of physical death, but also the fear of “being judged” for the sin of suicide. Katerina’s spiritual strength “...and the desire for freedom, mixed with religious prejudices, create a tragedy” (V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko).

A feature of the tragic genre is the physical death of the main character. Thus, Katerina, according to V.G. Belinsky, is “a real tragic heroine.” Katerina's fate was determined by the collision of two historical eras. It’s not just her misfortune that she commits suicide, it’s a misfortune, a tragedy of society. She needs to free herself from the heavy oppression, from the fear weighing down her soul.

Another characteristic feature of the tragic genre is its cleansing effect on the audience, which arouses in them noble, sublime aspirations. So, in “The Thunderstorm,” as N.A. Dobrolyubov said, “there is even something refreshing and encouraging.”

The general coloring of the play is also tragic, with its gloom and every second feeling of an impending thunderstorm. Here the parallelism of a social, public thunderstorm and a thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon is clearly emphasized.

Despite the presence of an undoubted tragic conflict, the play is imbued with optimism. Katerina’s death testifies to the rejection of the “dark kingdom”, resistance, and the growth of forces called upon to replace the Boars and Wild Ones. The Kuligins may still be timid, but they are already beginning to protest.

So, the genre uniqueness of “The Thunderstorm” lies in the fact that it, without a doubt, is a tragedy, the first Russian tragedy written on social and everyday material. This is not only the tragedy of Katerina, but the tragedy of the entire Russian society, which is at a turning point in its development, living on the eve of significant changes, in a revolutionary situation that contributed to the individual’s awareness of self-esteem. One cannot but agree with the opinion of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, who wrote: “If some merchant’s wife cheated on her husband and hence all her misfortunes, then it would be a drama. But for Ostrovsky this is only the basis for a high life theme... Here everything rises to tragedy.”

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.ostrovskiy.org.ru/

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A.N. Ostrovsky is not just a playwright. He is rightfully considered the father of Russian drama. After all, before him, in the literature of the 19th century, theatrical art developed very poorly. Ostrovsky's plays were new, fresh and interesting. It was thanks to this author that people flocked to theaters again. One of the most famous plays is "The Thunderstorm".

History of creation

A.N. Ostrovsky was sent on a special mission to central Russia. Here the writer was able to see provincial life in all its glory. Like any other writer, Ostrovsky first of all paid attention to the life and way of life of the Russian merchants, townspeople, and noble people of the province. He was looking for characters and plots. As a result of the trip, the play "The Thunderstorm" was written. And a little later, a similar incident occurred in one of them. Ostrovsky was able to predict events that happened in the future. The characterization of the play "The Thunderstorm" as an integral work shows that the author is not just an insightful person, but also a talented playwright.

The artistic originality of the drama

The play has a number of artistic features. It should be said that Ostrovsky was both a novelty in dramaturgy and a supporter of tradition. To understand, it is necessary to analyze the genre, the main characters, the conflict and the meaning of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm”.

Genre

There are three dramatic forms: tragedy and drama. Of these, comedy is the oldest, followed by comedy, but drama as a genre appears only in the 19th century. Its founder in Russia was A.N. Ostrovsky. The play "The Thunderstorm" fully corresponds to his canons. In the center of the image are ordinary people, not historical figures, not people with their own shortcomings and merits, in whose souls feelings, attachments, likes and dislikes develop. The situation is also common. However, there is an acute life conflict, most often unresolvable. Katerina (the main character of the drama) finds herself in a life situation from which there is no way out. The meaning of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” is multifaceted (this will be discussed below), one of the interpretation options is the inevitability of something, the predetermination and tragedy of the situation.

Main characters

The main characters of the play: Kabanikha, her son Tikhon, Katerina (Kabanova’s daughter-in-law), Boris (her lover), Varvara (Tikhon’s sister), Dikoy, Kuligin. There are other characters, each of which has its own meaning.

Kabanikha and Dikoy personify everything negative that exists in the city of Kalinov. anger, tyranny, the desire to lead everyone, greed. Tikhon Kabanov is an example of resigned worship of his mother; he is spineless and stupid. Varvara is not like that. She understands that her mother is wrong in many ways. She also wants to free herself from under her pressure and does it in her own way: she simply deceives her. But such a path is impossible for Katerina. She cannot lie to her husband; betrayal for her is a great sin. Compared to others, Katerina looks more thinking, feeling and alive. Only one hero stands aside - Kuligin. He plays the role of a reasoning hero, that is, a character into whose mouth the author puts his attitude to the situation.

The meaning of the title of the play "The Thunderstorm"

A symbolic title is one of the ways to express the ideological intent of a work. There is a huge meaning in one word, it is multi-layered.

Firstly, thunderstorms happen twice in the city of Kalinov. Each character reacts differently. Kuligin, for example, sees a physical phenomenon in a thunderstorm, so it does not cause him much fear. Of course, the meaning of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” is not only that this phenomenon is present in the text. The symbol of a thunderstorm is closely connected with the main character - Katerina. For the first time, this natural phenomenon catches the heroine on the street when she is talking with Varvara. Katerina was very scared, but not of death. Her horror is justified by the fact that lightning can kill suddenly, and she will suddenly appear before God with all her sins. But she has one most serious sin - falling in love with Boris. Upbringing and conscience do not allow Katerina to completely surrender to this feeling. Having gone on a date, she begins to experience enormous torment. The heroine also makes a confession during a thunderstorm. Hearing the thunderclap, she cannot stand it.

Depends on the level of interpretation. On a formal level, this is the beginning and culmination of the drama. But on a symbolic level, this is the fear of God’s punishment, of retribution.

We can say that a “thunderstorm” hung over all the inhabitants of the city. Purely outwardly, these are attacks from Kabanikha and Wild, but on the existential level it is the fear of answering for one’s sins. Perhaps that is why she causes horror not only in Katerina. Even the word “thunderstorm” itself is pronounced in the text not only as the name of a natural phenomenon. Tikhon leaves home, rejoicing that his mother will no longer bother him, that she will no longer order him around. Katerina is not able to escape from this “thunderstorm”. She found herself backed into a corner.

Katerina's image

The heroine commits suicide, and because of this, her image is very contradictory. She is devout, afraid of “fiery Gehenna,” but at the same time she commits such a grave sin. Why? Apparently, moral suffering, moral torment is stronger than her thoughts about hell. Most likely, she simply stopped thinking about suicide as a sin, seeing it as a punishment for her sin (cheating on her husband). Some critics see in her an exceptionally strong personality who has challenged society, the “dark kingdom” (Dobrolyubov). Others believe that voluntary death is not a challenge, but, on the contrary, a sign of weakness.

It is impossible to say with certainty how to evaluate this act of the heroine. The meaning of the title of the play “The Thunderstorm” emphasizes that in the society that has developed in Kalinov, such cases are not surprising, because this is an ossified, backward city, ruled by tyrants such as Dikoy and Kabanikha. As a result, sensitive natures (Katerina) suffer without feeling support from anyone.

Conclusions. Features and meaning of the title of the play "The Thunderstorm" (briefly)

1. The drama became a vivid example of the life of provincial cities, exposing one of the main problems of Russia - tyranny.

2. The drama corresponds to the canons of the genre (there is a reasoning hero, there are negative characters), but at the same time it is innovative (it is symbolic).

3. “Thunderstorm”, which is included in the title of the play, is not just a compositional element, it is a symbol of God’s punishment and repentance. The meaning of the title of the play "The Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky takes the play to a symbolic level.

“The Thunderstorm” is a folk social and everyday tragedy.

N. A. Dobrolyubov

“The Thunderstorm” stands out as the main, landmark work of the playwright. “The Thunderstorm” was supposed to be included in the collection “Nights on the Volga,” conceived by the author during a trip to Russia in 1856, organized by the Ministry of the Navy. True, Ostrovsky then changed his mind and did not unite, as he initially intended, the cycle of “Volga” plays under a common title. “The Thunderstorm” was published as a separate book in 1859. During Ostrovsky's work on it, the play underwent great changes - the author introduced a number of new characters, but most importantly, Ostrovsky changed his original plan and decided to write not a comedy, but a drama. However, the power of social conflict in “The Thunderstorm” is so great that the play can not even be spoken of as a drama, but as a tragedy. There are arguments in defense of both opinions, so the genre of the play is difficult to determine unambiguously.

Of course, the play was written on a social and everyday theme: it is characterized by the author’s special attention to depicting the details of everyday life, the desire to accurately convey the atmosphere of the city of Kalinov, its “cruel morals.” The fictional city is described in detail and in many ways. The landscape concept plays an important role, but a contradiction is immediately visible here: Kuligin speaks of the beauty of the distances beyond the river, the high Volga cliff. “Nothing,” Kudryash objects to him. Pictures of night walks along the boulevard, songs, picturesque nature, Katerina’s stories about childhood - this is the poetry of Kalinov’s world, which collides with the everyday cruelty of the inhabitants, stories about “naked poverty.” The Kalinovites have preserved only vague legends about the past - Lithuania “fell to us from the sky”, news from the big world is brought to them by the wanderer Feklusha. Undoubtedly, such attention by the author to the details of the characters’ everyday life makes it possible to talk about drama as a genre of the play “The Thunderstorm”.

Another feature characteristic of drama and present in the play is the presence of a chain of intra-family conflicts. At first it is a conflict between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law behind the locks of the house gate, then the whole city learns about this conflict, and from an everyday one it develops into a social one. The expression of conflict in the actions and words of the characters, characteristic of drama, is most clearly shown in the monologues and dialogues of the characters. So, we learn about Katerina’s life before marriage from a conversation between young Kabanova and Varvara: Katerina lived “not worried about anything,” like a “bird in the wild,” spending the whole day in pleasures and household chores. We know nothing about the first meeting of Katerina and Boris, or how their love began. In his article, N.A. Dobrolyubov considered the insufficient “development of passion” to be a significant omission, and said that this is why the “struggle between passion and duty” is designated “not quite clearly and strongly” for us. But this fact does not contradict the laws of drama.

The originality of the “Thunderstorms” genre is also manifested in the fact that, despite the gloomy, tragic overall coloring, the play also contains comic and satirical scenes. Feklushi’s anecdotal and ignorant stories about the Saltans, about lands where all the people “have dog heads,” seem ridiculous to us. After the release of “The Thunderstorm,” A.D. Galakhov wrote in a review of the play that “the action and the catastrophe are tragic, although many places excite laughter.”

The author himself called his play a drama. But could it have been otherwise? At that time, when speaking about the tragic genre, we were accustomed to dealing with a historical plot, with main characters outstanding not only in character, but also in position, placed in exceptional life situations. Tragedy was usually associated with images of historical figures, even legendary ones, such as Oedipus (Sophocles), Hamlet (Shakespeare), Boris Godunov (Pushkin). It seems to me that on Ostrovsky’s part calling “The Thunderstorm” a drama was only a tribute to tradition.

The innovation of A. N. Ostrovsky lay in the fact that he wrote a tragedy based on exclusively life-like material, completely uncharacteristic of the tragic genre.

The tragedy of “The Thunderstorm” is revealed by a conflict with the environment not only of the main character, Katerina, but also of other characters. Here “the living envy... the dead” (N. A. Dobrolyubov). So, the fate of Tikhon, who is a weak-willed toy in the hands of his powerful and despotic mother, is tragic here. Regarding Tikhon’s final words, N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote that Tikhon’s “grief” lies in his indecision. If life is sickening, what is stopping him from throwing himself into the Volga? Tikhon cannot do anything at all, not even that “in which he recognizes his goodness and salvation.” Tragic in its hopelessness is the situation of Kuligin, who dreams of the happiness of the working people, but is doomed to obey the will of the rude tyrant - Dikiy and repair small household utensils, earning only “his daily bread” by “honest labor”.

A feature of the tragedy is the presence of a hero, outstanding in his spiritual qualities, according to V. G. Belinsky, “a man of the highest nature,” according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, a person “with a great, not petty character.” Turning from this position to “The Thunderstorm” by A. N. Ostrovsky, we certainly see that this feature of the tragedy is clearly manifested in the character of the main character.

Katerina differs from Kalinov’s “dark kingdom” in her morality and willpower. Her soul is constantly drawn to beauty, her dreams are full of fabulous visions. It seems that she fell in love with Boris not the real one, but the one created by her imagination. Katerina could well adapt to the morality of the city and continue to deceive her husband, but “she doesn’t know how to deceive, she can’t hide anything,” honesty does not allow Katerina to continue pretending in front of her husband. As a deeply religious person, Katerina had to have enormous courage to overcome not only the fear of physical death, but also the fear of “being judged” for the sin of suicide. Katerina’s spiritual strength “...and the desire for freedom, mixed with religious prejudices, create a tragedy” (V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko).

A feature of the tragic genre is the physical death of the main character. Thus, Katerina, according to V.G. Belinsky, is “a real tragic heroine.” Katerina's fate was determined by the collision of two historical eras. It’s not just her misfortune that she commits suicide, it’s a misfortune, a tragedy of society. She needs to free herself from the heavy oppression, from the fear weighing down her soul.

Another characteristic feature of the tragic genre is its cleansing effect on the audience, which arouses in them noble, sublime aspirations. So, in “The Thunderstorm,” as N.A. Dobrolyubov said, “there is even something refreshing and encouraging.”

The general coloring of the play is also tragic, with its gloom and every second feeling of an impending thunderstorm. Here the parallelism of a social, public thunderstorm and a thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon is clearly emphasized.

Despite the presence of an undoubted tragic conflict, the play is imbued with optimism. Katerina’s death testifies to the rejection of the “dark kingdom”, resistance, and the growth of forces called upon to replace the Boars and Wild Ones. The Kuligins may still be timid, but they are already beginning to protest.

So, the genre uniqueness of “The Thunderstorm” lies in the fact that it, without a doubt, is a tragedy, the first Russian tragedy written on social and everyday material. This is not only the tragedy of Katerina, but the tragedy of the entire Russian society, which is at a turning point in its development, living on the eve of significant changes, in a revolutionary situation that contributed to the individual’s awareness of self-esteem. One cannot but agree with the opinion of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, who wrote: “If some merchant’s wife cheated on her husband and hence all her misfortunes, then it would be a drama. But for Ostrovsky this is only the basis for a high life theme... Here everything rises to tragedy.”

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.ostrovskiy.org.ru/