Old Russian literature represents a historically logical initial stage in the development of all Russian literature as a whole, and includes literary works ancient Slavs, written from the 11th to the 17th century. The main prerequisites for its appearance can be considered a variety of forms oral art, legends and epics of the pagans, etc. The reasons for its occurrence are associated with the formation of the ancient Russian state of Kievan Rus, as well as with the baptism of Rus, it was they who gave impetus to the emergence of Slavic writing, which began to contribute to a more accelerated cultural development of the East Slavic ethnic group.

The Cyrillic alphabet, created by the Byzantine enlighteners and missionaries Cyril and Methodius, made it possible to open for the Slavs Byzantine, Greek and Bulgarian books, mostly church books, through which Christian teaching was transmitted. But due to the fact that in those days there were not so many books, for their distribution there was a need for their correspondence, this was mainly done by the ministers of the church: monks, priests or deacons. Therefore, all ancient Russian literature was handwritten, and at that time it happened that texts were not just copied, but rewritten and reworked for completely different reasons: the literary tastes of readers changed, various socio-political rearrangements arose, etc. As a result, at the moment, various versions and editions of the same literary monument have been preserved, and it happens that it is quite difficult to establish the original authorship and a thorough textual analysis is required.

Most of the monuments of Old Russian literature have come down to us without the names of their creators, in essence they are basically anonymous, and in this respect this fact is very similar to the works of oral Old Russian folklore. Old Russian literature is distinguished by the solemnity and majesty of the style of writing, as well as traditionalism, ceremoniality and repetition. storylines and situations, various literary devices(epithets, phraseological units, comparisons, etc.).

The works of ancient Russian literature include not only the usual literature of that time, but also the historical records of our ancestors, the so-called annals and chronicle narratives, notes of travelers, according to ancient walking, as well as various lives of saints and teachings (biography of people ranked by the church as saints) , essays and messages of oratorical character, business correspondence. All monuments literary creativity ancient Slavs are characterized by the presence of elements artistic creativity and emotional reflection of the events of those years.

Famous Old Russian works

At the end of the 12th century, an unknown storyteller created a brilliant literary monument of the ancient Slavs "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", it describes the campaign against the Polovtsy of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich from the Novgorod-Seversky Principality, which ended in failure and had sad consequences for the entire Russian land. The author is concerned about the future of all Slavic peoples and their long-suffering homeland, past and present historical events are recalled.

This work is distinguished by the presence of its inherent characteristic features, here there is an original processing of "etiquette", traditional techniques, it surprises and amazes the richness and beauty of the Russian language, fascinates the subtlety of rhythmic construction and special lyrical elation, delights and inspires the essence of the people and high civic pathos.

Epics are patriotic songs-tales, they tell about the life and exploits of heroes, describe events in the life of the Slavs in the 9th-13th centuries, express their high moral qualities and spiritual values. The famous epic "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" written by an unknown storyteller tells about the heroic deeds of the famous defender of the ordinary Russian people, the mighty hero Ilya Muromets, whose meaning of life was to serve the fatherland and protect it from the enemies of the Russian land.

The main negative character of the epic - the mythical Nightingale the Robber, half man, half bird, endowed with a destructive "animal cry", is the personification of robbery in Ancient Russia, which brought a lot of trouble and evil ordinary people. Ilya Muromets acts as a generalized image of an ideal hero, howling on the side of good and defeating evil in all its manifestations. Of course, there are a lot of exaggerations and fairy-tale fiction in the epic, with regard to the fantastic strength of the hero and his physical capabilities, as well as the destructive effect of the whistle of the Nightingale-Rozboynik, but the main thing in this work is the highest goal and meaning of the life of the main character of the hero Ilya Muromets - to live and work peacefully on the native land, in difficult times, always be ready to help the Fatherland.

A lot of interesting things about the way of life, way of life, beliefs and traditions of the ancient Slavs can be learned from the epic "Sadko", in the image of the main character (the merchant-guslar Sadko) all the best features and features of the mysterious "Russian soul" are embodied, this is both nobility and generosity , and courage, and resourcefulness, as well as boundless love for the Motherland, a remarkable mind, musical and singing talent. In this epic, both fairy-tale-fiction and realistic elements are surprisingly intertwined.

One of the most popular genres of ancient Russian literature is Russian fairy tales, they describe fantastic fictitious plots, unlike epics, and in which morality is necessarily present, some obligatory teaching and instruction for the younger generation. For example, the fairy tale “The Frog Princess”, well-known since childhood, teaches young listeners not to rush where it is not necessary, teaches kindness and mutual assistance and the fact that a kind and purposeful person on the way to his dream will overcome all obstacles and difficulties and will definitely achieve what he wants. .

Old Russian literature, consisting of a collection of the greatest historical manuscripts, is National treasure several peoples at once: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, is "the beginning of all beginnings", the source of all Russian classical literature and artistic culture generally. Therefore, everyone must know her works, be proud of the great literary talent of their ancestors. modern man who considers himself a patriot of his state and respects its history and greatest achievements of his people.

How were great books created? How did Nabokov write Lolita? Where did Agatha Christie work? What was Hemingway's daily routine like? These and other details of the creative process of famous authors are in our issue.

The first thing you need to write a book is inspiration. However, each writer has his own muse, and it does not come always and not everywhere. Whatever tricks the famous authors went to in order to find the very place and the very moment when the plot and characters of the book took shape in their head the best way. Who would have thought that great works were created in such conditions!

Agatha Christie (1890-1976), having already published a dozen books, in the questionnaire line "occupation" indicated - "housewife". She worked in fits and starts, not having a separate office, not even a desk. She wrote in the bedroom at the washstand or could perch at the dinner table in between meals. “I used to feel a little embarrassed about ‘going to write’. But if I managed to retire, close the door behind me and make sure that no one interfered, then I forgot about everything in the world.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) wrote his first novel, The Other Side, at a training camp on scraps of paper in his spare time. After serving, he forgot about discipline and began to use alcohol as a source of inspiration. I slept until lunch, sometimes worked, and spent the night in bars. When there were bouts of activity, he could write 8000 words in one go. This was enough for big story, but it was not enough for the story. When Fitzgerald wrote Tender is the Night, he had great difficulty staying sober for three or four hours. “Subtle perception and judgment during editing are incompatible with drinking,” Fitzgerald wrote, confessing to the publisher that alcohol interferes with creativity.

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) wrote Madame Bovary for five years. The work progressed too slowly and painfully: "Bovary" does not work. In a week - two pages! There is something to fill your face with despair. Flaubert woke up at ten in the morning, without getting out of bed, read letters, newspapers, smoked a pipe, talked with his mother. Then he took a bath, had breakfast and lunch at the same time and went for a walk. For one hour he taught his niece history and geography, then sat down in an armchair and read until seven in the evening. After a plentiful supper, he talked with his mother for several hours and, finally, with the onset of night, he began to compose. Years later he wrote: “After all, work is the best way slip away from life."

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) got up at dawn all his life. Even if he drank late the night before, he got up no later than six in the morning, fresh and rested. Hemingway worked until noon, standing near the shelf. There was a typewriter on the shelf, on the typewriter lay a wooden board lined with sheets for printing. Having written all the sheets with a pencil, he removed the board and retyped what he had written. Every day he counted the number of written words and built a graph. “When you finish, you feel empty, but not empty, but refilled, like making love to your loved one.”

James Joyce (1882-1941) wrote about himself: "A man of little virtue, prone to extravagance and alcoholism." No regime, no organization. He slept until ten, breakfasted in bed with coffee and bagels, earned money by taking English and piano lessons, constantly borrowing money and distracting creditors with talk of politics. To write "Ulysses", it took him seven years with breaks for eight illnesses and eighteen moves to Switzerland, Italy, France. Over the years, he spent about 20,000 hours at work.

Haruki Murakami (b. 1949) gets up at four in the morning and writes for six hours straight. After work, he runs, swims, reads, listens to music. Lights out at nine o'clock. Murakami believes that the repetitive mode helps him to go into a trance, which is useful for creativity. He once led a sedentary lifestyle, gained weight and smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. Then he moved to the village, began to eat fish and vegetables, quit smoking and has been running for more than 25 years. The only downside is the lack of communication. To comply with the regime, Murakami has to decline all invitations, and friends are offended. “Readers don’t care what my daily routine is, as long as the next book is better than the previous one.”

Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) sketched novels on small cards, which he folded into a long catalog drawer. He wrote down pieces of text on cards, and then put them together from fragments of the page and chapter of the book. Thus, the manuscript and the desktop fit in the box. "Lolita" Nabokov wrote at night in the back seat of the car, believing that there is no noise and distractions. Growing older, Nabokov never worked in the afternoon, watched football matches, sometimes allowed himself a glass of wine and hunted butterflies, sometimes running up to 25 kilometers for rare specimens.

Jane Austen (1775-1817), author of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, ​​Reason. Jane Austen lived with her mother, sister, friend and three servants. She never had the opportunity to be alone. Jane had to work in the family living room, where she could be disturbed at any moment. She wrote on small pieces of paper, and as soon as the door creaked, warning her of a visitor, she had time to hide the notes and take out a basket of needlework. Later, Jane's sister Cassandra took over the household chores. Grateful Jane wrote: “I can’t imagine how you can compose when lamb cutlets and rhubarb are spinning in your head.”

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) wrote In Search of Lost Time for nearly 14 years. During this time, he wrote one and a half million words. In order to fully concentrate on his work, Proust hid from society and hardly left his famous oak-lined bedroom. Proust worked at night, slept until three or four hours during the day. Immediately after waking up, he lit a powder containing opium - this is how he treated asthma. He ate almost nothing, only had coffee with milk and a croissant for breakfast. Proust wrote in bed, with a notebook on his knees and pillows under his head. In order not to fall asleep, he took caffeine in tablets, and when it was time to sleep, he ate caffeine with veronal. Apparently, he tortured himself on purpose, believing that physical suffering allows one to reach heights in art.

George Sand (1804-1876) used to write 20 pages a night. Working at night has become a habit for her since childhood, when she looked after her sick grandmother and only at night could do what she loved. Later, she left her sleeping lover in bed and moved to her desk in the middle of the night. The next morning she did not always remember that she wrote in a sleepy state. Although George Sand was an unusual person(wore men's clothes, had affairs with both women and men), she denounced the abuse of coffee, alcohol or opium. To stay awake, she ate chocolate, drank milk, or smoked a cigarette. “When the moment comes to give form to your thoughts, you need to completely control yourself, both on the stage of the stage and in the shelter of your office.”

Mark Twain (1835-1910) wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on a farm where he had a separate gazebo-study built for him. Worked at open windows pressing sheets of paper with bricks. No one was allowed to approach the study, and if Twain was really needed, the family blew the bugle. In the evenings, Twain read what he had written to his family. He continuously smoked cigars, and wherever Twain appeared, after him it was necessary to ventilate the room. While working, he was tormented by insomnia, and, according to the recollections of friends, he began to treat her with champagne at night. Champagne did not help - and Twain asked his friends to stock up on beer. Then Twain said that only Scotch whiskey helped him. After a series of experiments, Twain simply went to bed at ten in the evening and suddenly fell asleep. All this greatly amused him. However, he was entertained by any life events.

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) worked three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. The rest of the time was Savor, lunches and dinners, drinking with friends and girlfriends, tobacco and drugs. This mode brought the philosopher to nervous exhaustion. Instead of taking a break, Sartre got hooked on Coridran, a mixture of amphetamine and aspirin that was legal until 1971. Instead of the usual dosage of a tablet twice a day, Sartre took twenty pieces. The first was washed down with strong coffee, the rest slowly chewed during work. One tablet is one page of the Critique of Dialectical Reason. According to the biographer, Sartre's daily menu included two packs of cigarettes, several pipes of black tobacco, more than a liter of alcohol, including vodka and whiskey, 200 milligrams of amphetamine, barbiturates, tea, coffee and fatty foods.

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) is considered the most prolific writer of the 20th century. He has 425 books to his credit: 200 dime novels under pseudonyms and 220 under his own name. Moreover, Simenon did not comply with the regime, he worked in bouts for two or three weeks, from six to nine in the morning, giving out 80 printed pages at a time. Then I walked, drank coffee, slept and watched TV. When writing a novel, he wore the same clothes until the end of work, supported himself with tranquilizers, never corrected what he wrote, and weighed himself before and after work.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a beech at the time of his work. He got up late, around nine o'clock, did not talk to anyone until he washed, changed clothes and combed his beard. I had breakfast with coffee and a couple of soft-boiled eggs and locked myself in the office until dinner. Sometimes his wife Sofya sat there, quieter than a mouse, in case you had to rewrite a couple of chapters of War and Peace by hand or listen to the next portion of the composition. Before dinner Tolstoy went for a walk. If he returned in a good mood, he could share his impressions or work with children. If not, I read books, played solitaire and talked with guests.

Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) published 78 books during his 92 years of life. Maugham's biographer called his work writing not a calling, but rather an addiction. Maugham himself compared the habit of writing with the habit of drinking. Both are easy to acquire and both are hard to get rid of. Maugham came up with the first two phrases while lying in the bath. After that, he wrote a daily norm of one and a half thousand words. “When you write, when you create a character, he is with you all the time, you are busy with him, he lives.” Stopping writing, Maugham felt infinitely lonely.

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Perhaps the works of Alexander Sergeevich most often attracted attention. The novel "Eugene Onegin" inspired brilliant composer P.I. Tchaikovsky to create the opera of the same name. The libretto, which is only in general terms reminiscent of the original source, Konstantin Shilovsky. All that remains of the novel love line 2 pairs - Lensky and Olga, Onegin and Tatyana. Onegin's mental throwings, because of which he was included in the list " extra people, are excluded from the plot. The opera was first staged in 1879 and since then has been included in the repertoire of almost every Russian opera house.

It is impossible not to remember the story " Queen of Spades"and created by P.I. Tchaikovsky based on its motives in 1890. The libretto was written by the composer's brother, M.I. Tchaikovsky. Pyotr Ilyich personally wrote the words for Yeletsky's arias in Act II and Liza in Act III.

The story "The Queen of Spades" was translated into French by Prosper Merime and became the basis of the opera written by the composer F. Halevi.

Pushkin's drama "Boris Godunov" formed the basis of the great opera written by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky in 1869. The premiere of the performance took place only 5 years later due to obstacles. The ardent enthusiasm of the public did not help - the opera was removed from the repertoire several times for censorship reasons. Obviously, the genius of both authors highlighted too clearly the problem of the relationship between the autocrat and the people, as well as the price that one has to pay for power.

Here are some more works by A.S. Pushkin, which became the literary basis of the operas: The Golden Cockerel, The Tale of Tsar Saltan (N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov), Mazepa (P.I. Tchaikovsky), The Little Mermaid (A.S. Dargomyzhsky), "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (M.I. Glinka), "Dubrovsky" (E.F. Napravnik).

M.Yu. Lermontov in music

On the basis of Lermontov's poem "The Demon", a well-known literary critic and researcher of his work P.A. Viskovatov wrote the libretto for the opera by the famous composer A.G. Rubinstein. The opera was written in 1871 and staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1875.

A.G. Rubinstein wrote music for another work by Lermontov: "The Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov." An opera entitled The Merchant Kalashnikov was staged in 1880 at the Mariinsky Theatre. The author of the libretto was N. Kulikov.

The drama of Mikhail Yuryevich "Masquerade" became the basis for the libretto of the ballet "Masquerade" by A.I. Khachaturian.

Other Russian writers in music

The drama "The Tsar's Bride" by the famous Russian poet L.A. Mea formed the basis of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera written in late XIX century. The action takes place at the court of Ivan the Terrible and bears the pronounced features of that era.

Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Maid of Pskov, for which the composer himself wrote the libretto based on L.A. May.

Rimsky-Korsakov also wrote music for the opera The Snow Maiden based on the fairy tale by the great Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky.

Opera based on the fairy tale by N.V. Gogol's "May Night" was written by Rimsky-Korsakov based on the composer's own libretto. Another work of the great writer, "The Night Before Christmas", became the literary basis of P.I. Tchaikovsky "Cherevichki".

In 1930, the Soviet composer D.D. Shostakovich wrote the opera "Katerina Izmailova" based on the novel by N.S. Leskov "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". The innovative music of Shostakovich caused a flurry of harsh politically motivated criticism. The opera was withdrawn from the repertoire and restored only in 1962.

Genre is a type of literary work. There are epic, lyrical, dramatic genres. Lyroepic genres are also distinguished. Genres are also divided by volume into large (including rum and epic novel), medium (literary works of “medium size” - novels and poems), small (story, short story, essay). They have genres and thematic division: adventure novel, psychological novel, sentimental, philosophical, etc. The main division is connected with the genres of literature. We present to your attention the genres of literature in the table.

Thematic division of genres is rather conditional. There is no strict classification of genres by topic. For example, if they talk about the genre-thematic diversity of lyrics, they usually single out love, philosophical, landscape lyrics. But, as you understand, the variety of lyrics is not exhausted by this set.

If you set out to study the theory of literature, it is worth mastering the groups of genres:

  • epic, that is, genres of prose (epic novel, novel, story, short story, short story, parable, fairy tale);
  • lyrical, that is, poetic genres (lyric poem, elegy, message, ode, epigram, epitaph),
  • dramatic - types of plays (comedy, tragedy, drama, tragicomedy),
  • lyrical epic (ballad, poem).

Literary genres in tables

epic genres

  • epic novel

    epic novel- a novel with a picture folk life in turning points historical eras. "War and Peace" by Tolstoy, " Quiet Don» Sholokhov.

  • Novel

    Novel- a multi-problem work depicting a person in the process of his formation and development. The action in the novel is saturated with external or internal conflicts. By subject, there are: historical, satirical, fantastic, philosophical, etc. By structure: a novel in verse, an epistolary novel, etc.

  • Tale

    Tale- an epic work of medium or large form, built in the form of a narrative of events in their natural sequence. Unlike the novel, in P. the material is chronicled, there is no sharp plot, there is no blue analysis of the feelings of the characters. P. does not pose tasks of a global historical nature.

  • Story

    Story- a small epic form, a small work with a limited number of characters. R. most often poses one problem or describes one event. The short story differs from R. in an unexpected ending.

  • Parable

    Parable- moral teaching in allegorical form. A parable differs from a fable in that it draws its artistic material from human life. Example: Gospel parables, the parable of the righteous land, told by Luke in the play "At the Bottom".


Lyric genres

  • lyric poem

    lyric poem- a small form of lyrics written either on behalf of the author, or on behalf of a fictional lyrical hero. Description of the inner world of the lyric hero, his feelings, emotions.

  • Elegy

    Elegy- a poem imbued with moods of sadness and sadness. As a rule, the content of elegies is philosophical reflections, sad thoughts, grief.

  • Message

    Message- a letter of poetry addressed to a person. According to the content of the message, there are friendly, lyrical, satirical, etc. The message can be. addressed to one person or group of people.

  • Epigram

    Epigram- a poem that makes fun of a specific person. Character traits- wit and brevity.

  • Oh yeah

    Oh yeah- a poem, distinguished by the solemnity of style and sublimity of content. Praise in verse.

  • Sonnet

    Sonnet- a solid poetic form, usually consisting of 14 verses (lines): 2 quatrains-quatrains (for 2 rhymes) and 2 three-line tercetes


Dramatic genres

  • Comedy

    Comedy- a type of drama in which characters, situations and actions are presented in funny forms or imbued with the comic. There are satirical comedies (“Undergrowth”, “Inspector General”), high (“Woe from Wit”) and lyrical (“The Cherry Orchard”).

  • Tragedy

    Tragedy- a work based on an irreconcilable life conflict, leading to the suffering and death of heroes. William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

  • Drama

    Drama- a play with a sharp conflict, which, unlike the tragic, is not so elevated, more mundane, ordinary and somehow resolved. The drama is built on modern rather than ancient material and establishes a new hero who rebelled against circumstances.


Lyric epic genres

(intermediate between epic and lyric)

  • Poem

    Poem- the average lyrical-epic form, a work with a plot-narrative organization, in which not one, but a whole series of experiences is embodied. Features: the presence of a detailed plot and at the same time close attention to inner world lyrical hero - or an abundance of lyrical digressions. poem " Dead Souls» N.V. Gogol

  • Ballad

    Ballad- an average lyrical-epic form, a work with an unusual, tense plot. This is a story in verse. A story told in poetic form, historical, mythical or heroic. The plot of the ballad is usually borrowed from folklore. Ballads "Svetlana", "Lyudmila" V.A. Zhukovsky