Essay on the topic: Eternal motives in world literature
Every nation has its own books, originating from distant and ancient folklore. National literatures reflect the specifics of life - the way of thinking of people from different countries, their culture, way of life and traditions. The art of the word of each nation is original and peculiar.
But there are problems that concern all people at all times, regardless of their nationality, living conditions, social status. Each generation again and again raises deep philosophical questions before itself: what is life and death, what is love, how the world and man work, what is the meaning of life, what values \u200b\u200bare above all that God is ... These questions are reflected, including , and in the literature and 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 life. Thus, Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" depicts an eternal conflict, a confrontation between man and the world around him.
The hero of the tragedy, the young prince Hamlet, is faced with a terrible thing: he learns that his father, in the struggle for the throne, was poisoned by his brother. Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude, also participated 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 the closest ones turned out to be insidious and cynical traitors?
Thus, Hamlet finds himself face to face with an unjust world, or rather, with his own illusions about this world. He begins to doubt the value and purpose of life in general - if evil is so strong and irresistible, is there any point in living?
But gradually Hamlet understands and accepts his mission - to "straighten" the dislocated joints of "Time". He enters into a struggle with Evil, wishing to restore justice, "the course of Time" and the ratio of Light and Darkness. As a result of this confrontation, the hero solves many questions for himself, the main 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 - I.V. Goethe, the scientist Faust, also sought to know 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 dearer than it?
All these questions arise before Faust in the process of his research. The hero experiences everything on himself: he sinks to the very bottom, communicating with the devil, and rises to the very peaks, feeling love for Margarita. In the course of his life, 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 Shakespearean tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the author decides what love is, what is its strength and meaning in life. By the example of his heroes, the great Englishman shows that this feeling is beautiful in all its manifestations.
Love can be experienced by all people, regardless of age and social status, it has different incarnations and guises (the Nurse's love 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, a priest's love 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 consciously impoverish themselves.
Using the feelings of Romeo and Juliet as an example, we understand that love is a powerful force capable of reconciling irreconcilable enemies (the Montagues and Capulet families) and overcoming any intrigues, even death itself.
Another classic of world literature - 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 speech), then there is a destructive lie, crippling fate, encroaching on the most sacred. The bearer of just such a lie and its other manifestations (hypocrisy, hypocrisy) is in the comedy the saint Tartuffe.
This man, skillfully deceiving and hypocritical, achieves his own, purely selfish, goals - to get the wealth of Orgon, to 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, ruthlessly 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, the eternal motives in world literature help to illuminate important aspects of human life 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 their place in life, understand and assimilate intransient values, and set their priorities.
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The role of Russian literature is very difficult to overestimate. This role is as multifaceted as 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. All 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 to himself and to people Gogol, yearning Lermontov, sad Turgenev, angry Nekrasov, the great rebel Tolstoy, ... Dostoevsky, the magician of the language Ostrovsky - not similar to each other, as it can be in our Rus ”, and we 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: he is looking for answers to questions that excite the soul, comprehends the science of relationships between people, sexes, learns to live.
The great writers-psychologists are F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov. By the example of their literary heroes, we understand what good and evil are, which helps a person to develop and move on. We understand what temptation is, which leads to the moral fall of a person. Reading their works, we learn to make the right choice in life, to understand people and in ourselves, to objectively evaluate the world around us.
Belinsky wrote about Turgenev that he was a writer, in whose soul "all the grief and questions of the Russian people." And also, according to the same Belinsky, this writer has the ability to unusually portray pictures of Russian nature. The landscapes described by him bring up love for the Motherland, 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 all over the world.
Pushkin ... Who doesn't love his work? Children love his fairy tales, for the first time a girl in love, 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 accuracy in the choice of words, and therefore in his work we find ourselves. Reading his works, we believe him, we become better, we correct our mistakes, we learn to love.
And how not to remember the work of Fet, Tyutchev? They are poets-artists of Russian nature. Their creativity plays an important role in the aesthetic education of a person. They awaken in him observation, attentiveness, a feeling of love for nature. "I love a thunderstorm in early May, When the spring, the first thunder, As if frolicking and playing, Rumbles in the blue sky," Tyutchev wrote simply, but you couldn't say better. You not only hear, but also see timid rumbles of thunder and even smell the first spring thunderstorm. Or “There is in the original autumn. A short but wondrous time - The whole day is like a crystal, And the evenings are radiant ... "- well, how can one say more precisely about the warm period of autumn," Indian summer ".
Let's remember the work of Nekrasov. His understanding of the simple Russian soul, the soul of a Russian woman, is incomparable. The lines of his works are imbued with anxiety for the fate of the Russian people, awaken in us a sense of compassion.
All Russian literature teaches us to be human. Human - Personality! Russian literature is our invaluable asset, it is a life textbook, according to which our parents studied, we learn.
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 thoughts spinning in your head, but not pouring out on paper? Sometimes writing an essay becomes a real nightmare. We will show you how to make life better and successfully pass the literature exam.
To successfully complete the most insidious version of the USE in literature or write a good essay, you need not only to know the standard set of definitions like "genres, genres and types of literature" or "the image of the author", "literary-historical process", etc., but also be able to navigate the themes of literary works.
The bulk of the texts from the school curriculum are the works of Russian classics of the 19th century. We mean Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and other masters of the word. Speaking about their thematic originality, it should be noted that classical literature deals mainly with the so-called "eternal themes". And if you learn to understand this and properly think, then, consider, the half-exam passed.
Most of the works touch on traditional problems, stable eternal themes that have interested a person from the very moment of his appearance. And new generations of writers are giving reasoning their own meaning.
So, for centuries, people have been worried about the themes of life, death, love, hate, 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 “creature I tremble or have the right” touches upon the eternal theme of morality, the problem of a person's choice of one way or another.
Another question of interest to the classics is the search for a "hero of the time", an image of a person reflecting spiritual quest 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 affected, for example, by the novels of Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time", Turgenev "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 the generation, but also moral ideals, to understand the meaning of life, to get closer to the foundations 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 immerse yourself in these problems, and then learn to reflect. Then the high-speed memorization of plots of school classics may disappear altogether, because in any exam in literature, the Unified State Exam or an essay, the main thing is still not knowledge of the content, but of the problems of the texts. In another way, their essence.
Russian classical literature of the 19th century is the literature of "eternal themes". Russian writers tried to answer complex questions of life: about the meaning of life, about happiness, about the Motherland, about human nature, about the laws of life and the Universe, about God ... But, as people with an active life and social position, the Russian classics could not stand aside from the urgent problems of their time. In this regard, "eternal themes" in Russian literature were expressed, it seems to me, through the search for a "hero of the time."
So, "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov reflects the age-old problem of "fathers" and "children". Alexander Andreevich Chatsky protests against the old order, rooted in the Russian nobility. The comedy hero fights for "new" laws: freedom, intelligence, culture, patriotism.
Arriving at the house of Famusov, Chatsky dreams of the daughter of this rich master - Sophia. But here only disappointments and blows await the hero. First, it turns out that Famusov's daughter loves another. Secondly, that the people in this master's house are strangers to the hero. He cannot agree with their views on life.
Chatsky's position in comedy is unenviable. His struggle is difficult and stubborn, but the victory of the new, according to Griboyedov, is inevitable. Chatsky's words will spread, will be repeated everywhere and will create their own storm. They are already of great importance among the "new", progressive people. Thus, the writer decides the question of "fathers" and "children" in favor of children.
Another Russian writer who worked in the second half of the 19th century is I.S. Turgenev also touched upon this eternal question. His novel "Fathers and Sons" solves the problem of intergenerational relations in a slightly different way. From the point of view of Turgenev, only the continuity of generations, the continuity of culture, traditions and views, a reasonable combination of the old and the new, can lead to positive development.
Using the example of the protagonist - Evgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov - the writer shows that only one denial, without the desire to build something new, leads only to destruction and death. This is a barren path. And the denial of one's human nature is generally absurd. Bazarov, imagining himself a superman and despising "noble nonsense" about love, feelings, suddenly falls in love. For him, it becomes a real test, which the hero, alas, cannot stand; in the ending of the novel, he dies. Thus, Turgenev also shows the inconsistency of Bazarov's nihilistic theory, and once again emphasizes the need for the continuity of generations, the value of the culture of ancestors, the need for harmony and gradualness in everything.
Roman A.S. Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" also touches upon many "eternal themes": love, happiness, freedom of choice, the meaning of life, the role of moral values \u200b\u200bin human life.
Almost from the very beginning of the novel, Pushkin shows the "superficiality" of his hero. Onegin is a fan of fashion, does and reads only what can show off in high society. The hero learned early on to hypocrite, to pretend, to deceive in order to achieve his goal. But his soul always remained empty at the same time, because Onegin's nature is much deeper, more interesting, richer than the light required.
The search for the meaning of life begins, which gave its result only after a terrible tragedy - the murder of the young poet Lensky by Onegin in a duel. This event turned everything in the hero's soul, and his moral rebirth began. The fact that the hero has changed is evidenced by the eighth chapter of the novel. Onegin became independent of the opinion of the world, he turned into an independent strong personality, capable of living the way he wants, and not the high society of St. Petersburg, capable of love and suffering.
In the person of Tatyana Larina, Pushkin shows us an example of moral purity, nobility, sincerity, spontaneity, independence, the ability for strong feelings.
While in the finale of Eugene Onegin there is hope for the hero's happiness, the main character of the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" does not find its place, happiness in this life.
Pechorin is disappointed in his contemporary world and in his generation: "We are no longer capable of great sacrifices, neither for the good of mankind, nor even for our own happiness." Such thoughts lead Grigory Alexandrovich to boredom, indifference and even despair. It is the state of apathy and blues that makes Pechorin lonely. He has nowhere to hide from this feeling, it completely absorbs the hero.
Pechorin lost faith in man, in his importance in this world. Inevitable boredom gives rise to disbelief in love and friendship in the hero. These feelings, perhaps, appeared at a certain moment in his life, but still did not bring happiness to Pechorin. This person feels "superfluous" in his society, in general, "superfluous" in life. As a result, Pechorin dies. Lermontov shows us that in the world of disharmony there is no place for a person who with all his soul, albeit unconsciously, strives for harmony.
The striving for harmony with oneself and the world distinguishes another hero of Russian literature of the 19th century - Rodion Raskolnikov. In search of this harmony, he conducts an experiment on himself - he breaks the moral law by killing an old money-lender and her sister.
The main character's mistake lies in the fact that he sees the cause of evil in the very nature of man, and considers the law, which gives the power of this world to do evil, to be eternal. Instead of fighting against the immoral system and its laws, Raskolnikov follows them.
For breaking the moral law within himself, the hero bears inevitable punishment. It consists, first of all, in the torments of his own conscience. Gradually Rodion comes to an understanding of his terrible mistake, to awareness and repentance. But the final transformation of the hero also takes place outside the framework of the novel.
The heroes of Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace" are also in search of themselves, their path, harmony. So, Pierre Bezukhov, overcoming the process of painful disappointments and mistakes, eventually finds the meaning of life.
The hero strives with all his might for the light, for the truth. This is what accidentally brings him to the Masonic lodge. In addition, Pierre's activities appeal to the peasants: he suggests establishing hospitals and schools for them. But the most important stage in the hero's life begins with the invasion of Napoleon's troops. Pierre could not stand aside when such a terrible danger threatened his fatherland. It is here, in the war, that Pierre draws closer to the common people, realizes their wisdom, the value of his way of life, his philosophy.
Acquaintance with Platon Karataev in French captivity helped him penetrate deeper into the worldview of the patriarchal peasantry. Pierre realized the main thing: a person does not need so much for happiness. The reason for the suffering and torment of the human spirit most often lies in acquisitiveness, excessive greed.
Thus, all Russian literature of the 19th century can be called the literature of the search for a Hero. The writers strove to see him as a person capable of serving the motherland, benefitting it with their deeds and thoughts, as well as simply being able to be happy and harmonious, develop and move forward.
In the process of searching for a "hero of the time", Russian writers sought to solve the "eternal questions" of being: the meaning of life, the nature of man, the laws of the Universe, the existence of God, and so on. Each of the classics solves these problems in their own way. But unchanged in general for Russian classical literature is the constant striving to find answers to fundamental questions, without the solution of which it is impossible for a single person to exist.
The term "literary tradition" is used in literature when it comes to a continuity that unites successive literary phenomena.
The concept of literary tradition
In its meaning, the concept of literary tradition is identical with the concept of borrowing, influence and imitation. The following components of poetics can serve as constituent elements of the literary tradition: stylistics, composition, rhythm and theme. These components are often transmitted by the literary tradition not separately, but in combination with each other.
The scope of the literary tradition is also wide enough: it can be both international creativity and the creativity of one people. For example, Gogol created a literary tradition in Russia, which eventually spread far beyond its chapels. The literary tradition does not differ in intensity, so we see that Pushkin's traditions at different times are intensified in literature, then disappear almost completely.
At first glance, a faded tradition can not only be revived, but also take its place as dominant in the literary process, thanks to the influence of suitable historical conditions.
In the literary process, there is the concept of parodying the literary tradition. A striking example of this is the work of Dostoevsky "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. How many options for their disclosure would not exist, all the same, every time there is something unsaid, 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 themes:
- the concept of being - sin, involvement, pride, human life, death.
- epoch-making events - wars, revolutions, peace, civil activity.
- the sphere of social instincts - love, friendship, family, zeal for power, social transformations of a person.
Reasoning about eternal problems is also very characteristic of the literary process. The main eternal problem that is discussed in literary works is the questions and problems of morality of man and society. Along with the description of this problem, the literature also indicates the ways of its solution - for society it 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, inner torment, etc.
