Genre story: features, history of development, examples. Is the story a genre of literature? Signs of a story as a genre. Features of the story as a form of artistic work The importance of artistic detail in the narrative

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

The thematic division of genres is rather arbitrary. There is no strict classification of genres by topic. For example, if they talk about the genre and thematic diversity of lyrics, they usually single out love, philosophical, and 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, prose genres (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),
  • lyroepic (ballad, poem).

Literary genres in tables

Epic genres

  • Epic novel

    Epic novel- a novel depicting folk life in critical historical eras. “War and Peace” by Tolstoy, “Quiet Don” by Sholokhov.

  • Novel

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

  • Tale

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

  • Story

    Story– small epic form, a small work with a limited number of characters. In R. most often one problem is posed or one event is described. The novella differs from R. in its 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.”


Lyrical genres

  • Lyric poem

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

  • Elegy

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

  • Message

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

  • Epigram

    Epigram- a poem that makes fun of a specific person. Characteristic features are wit and brevity.

  • Oh yeah

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

  • Sonnet

    Sonnet– a solid poetic form, usually consisting of 14 verses (lines): 2 quatrains (2 rhymes) and 2 tercet tercets


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 ("The Minor", "The Inspector General"), high comedies ("Woe from Wit") and lyrical ones ("The Cherry Orchard").

  • Tragedy

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

  • Drama

    Drama- a play with an acute conflict, which, unlike the tragic one, is not so sublime, more mundane, ordinary and can be resolved one way or another. The drama is based 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- an average lyric-epic form, a work with a plot-narrative organization, in which not one, but a whole series of experiences are embodied. Features: the presence of a detailed plot and at the same time close attention to the inner world of the lyrical hero - or an abundance of lyrical digressions. Poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol

  • Ballad

    Ballad- a medium lyric-epic form, a work with an unusual, intense plot. This is a story in verse. A story, told in poetic form, of a historical, mythical or heroic nature. The plot of a ballad is usually borrowed from folklore. Ballads “Svetlana”, “Lyudmila” V.A. Zhukovsky


Introduction

Conclusion


Introduction

For a long time, text linguistics was limited to the study of individual units of language. However, with the increasing relevance of the issue of identifying linguistic means in a literary text and analyzing its organization, linguists are now paying great attention to the detailed study of speech. Researchers such as I.R. Galperin (2006), G.Ya. Solganik (2002), N.A. Nikolina (2003) created works related to the study of text and its analysis within the framework of speech stylistics.

It seems relevant to us to consider the stylistic features of the language in Francis S. Fitzgerald’s story “The Adjuster” due to insufficient knowledge of the specifics of this author’s texts.

The subject of this study is the language and style of Francis S. Fitzgerald's story "The Adjuster".

The subject of the study is the dependence of the stylistic specificity of the story under study on the author's intention.

The purpose of the study is to study the dependence of stylistic means and compositional features of the text on the artistic intention of the author.

Achieving this goal predetermined the solution of a number of tasks:

· studying the specifics of artistic style;

· study of the features of the story as a genre;

· designation of the main directions in the work of Francis S. Fitzgerald;

· description of the structure of the text and determination of the role of stylistic constituent elements in revealing the author's intention in the story.

The story chosen as the research material is “The Adjuster,” written in 1926 by the American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald.

The following methods were used during the study:

· observation method and method of stylistic analysis to identify the stylistic specifics of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's work "The Adjuster";

· descriptive method and comparative method to summarize the results of the study.

The theoretical basis of the study included concepts and theories presented in works on text linguistics by N.S. Valgina (2001), O.A. Krylova (2006), as well as in works on the stylistics of the text by G.Ya. Solganika (2002), I.R. Galperin (2006) and others.

The novelty of the presented work lies in the fact that this study is the first to identify and describe the style features of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's story "The Adjuster". The work reveals the influence of stylistic means of the English language on the disclosure of the author's intention. The work also describes the functional and semantic types of speech, types of organization of speech by the number of participants and methods of transmitting someone else's speech used in the story.

The theoretical significance of the work is that the study makes a certain contribution to the study of the work of Francis S. Fitzgerald. Practical significance lies in the possibility of using the results obtained in practical classes on text stylistics.

The total volume of the studied material is 25 pages.

The work consists of an introduction, two parts and a conclusion.

I. Theoretical background of the study

1.1 Artistic style and its features

Functional style is a type of literary language that performs a specific function in communication. That's why styles are called functional. If we consider that style is characterized by five functions (there is no consensus among scientists about the number of functions inherent in language), then five functional styles are distinguished: colloquial-everyday, scientific, official-business, newspaper-journalistic, artistic [Solganik 2002: 173].

Functional styles determine the stylistic flexibility of language, diverse possibilities of expression, and variation of thought. [Solganik 2002: 172]. “Essentially, linguistic or functional styles are nothing more than genre styles of certain spheres of human activity and communication” [Bakhtin 1996: 165].

G.Ya. Solganik notes three features of the functional style:

) each functional style reflects a certain aspect of social life, has a special scope of application, its own range of topics;

) each functional style is characterized by certain communication conditions - formal, informal, casual, etc.;

) each functional style has a common setting, the main task of speech [Solganik 2002: 176].

There is no consensus among scientists about the identification of artistic style among other functional styles. Researchers such as I.R. Galperin, A.I. Gorshkov, N.A. Meshchersky consider the language of fiction as a phenomenon of a special kind, which cannot be put on a par with functional styles. However, other researchers such as M.N. Kozhina, N.M. Shansky, D.N. Shmelev, L.Yu. Maksimov, A.K. Panfilov believe that taking artistic style beyond functional styles impoverishes our understanding of the functions of language.

ON THE. Nikolina in her work “Philological Analysis of Text” identifies the following series of features of a literary text:

In the artistic style, the intratextual reality is created by the author’s imagination and is conditional in nature. The world depicted in a literary text relates to reality only indirectly;

A literary text is a complex system in organization. On the one hand, this is a private system of means of a national language, on the other hand, a literary text has its own code system, which the addressee must “decipher” in order to understand the text;

3. In an artistic text, “everything strives to become motivated by meaning. Here everything is full of internal meaning and language means itself, regardless of what things it serves as a sign. On this basis, reflection on the word, so characteristic of the language of art, is explained. The poetic word is reflective word. The poet searches for and discovers in a word its “closest etymological meanings,” which are valuable to him not for their etymological content, but for the possibilities of figurative application contained in them. This poetic reflection revives the dead in the language, motivates the unmotivated" [Vinokur 1959: 248] ;

The units that form a literary text acquire additional “incrementations of meaning,” or “overtones of meaning.” This determines the special integrity of the literary text [Larin 1961: 79];

All elements of the text are interconnected, and its levels exhibit or may exhibit isomorphism. Thus, according to R. Jacobson, adjacent units of a literary text usually exhibit semantic similarity. Poetic speech “projects the principle of equivalence from the axis of selection to the axis of combination” [Yakobson 1975: 201]. Equivalence serves as one of the most important ways of constructing a literary text: it is found in repetitions that determine the coherence of the text, attracting the reader to its form, updating additional meanings in it and revealing the isomorphism of different levels;

A literary text, as we see, is the result of a complex struggle between various formative elements. This or that element has the significance of an organizing dominant, dominating over the others and subordinating them to itself. The dominant is understood as that component of the work that sets in motion and determines the relationships of all other components;

A literary text is connected with other texts, refers to them or absorbs their elements. These intertextual connections influence or even determine its meaning. Taking into account intertextual connections can serve as one of the “keys” to the interpretation of a literary work;

A literary text always contains not only direct, but also implicit information [Nikolina 2003: 181].

So, a literary text is a private aesthetic system of linguistic means, characterized by a high degree of integrity and structure. It is unique, inimitable and at the same time uses standardized construction techniques. This is an aesthetic object that is perceived in time and has a linear extension [Nikolina 2003: 185].

A literary text is always an addressed message: it is a form of communication between the author and the reader. The text functions taking into account “aesthetic communication”, during which the addressee must perceive the author’s intentions and demonstrate creative activity. This or that literary text that the reader turns to evokes certain “expectations” in him, which are usually determined by the ideas inherent in the addressee’s mind about the issues, composition and typical characteristics of the text, dictated primarily by its genre. Further “interpretation”, as a rule, is already associated with attention to the deployment of images, to repetitions, sequence and features of the compatibility of linguistic means of different levels. That is why philological analysis of a literary text usually starts from its content side, but then consistently includes in its scope consideration of the speech system of a literary work [Nikolina 2003: 187].

A literary text, as a part of culture, is always connected with other texts that are transformed or partially used in it and serve to express its meanings.

Thus, the main features of the artistic style include: the indirect correlation of the imaginary and real worlds; interdependence of text elements; a combination of different styles in a literary text; high degree of structure; aesthetic function.

1.2 Short story as a genre of artistic style

One of the important aspects of analyzing a literary work is identifying the genre.

Genre is a historically evolving and developing type of literary work. “Each individual utterance is individual, but each sphere of language use develops its own relatively stable types of such utterances, which we call speech genres” [Bakhtin 1996: 162].

To determine the genre of a literary work, it is necessary to take into account that genres are classified according to a number of principles:

1) according to belonging to different types of poetry: epic (heroic or comic poem), lyrical (ode, elegy, satire);

fitzgerald functional style story

2) according to the leading aesthetic quality, aesthetic “tonality” (comic, tragic, satirical);

) in terms of volume and the corresponding structure of the work: volume largely depends on two main aspects - on the type and aesthetic “tonality”. For example, lyrics are usually small in volume, tragedy requires expansion, and elegiac motifs can have a relatively small volume [Electronic source No. 3].

Many genres are divided into types based on a number of heterogeneous principles:

) the general nature of the subject (for example: a novel of everyday life, adventure, psychological, socio-utopian, historical, detective, scientific, science fiction, adventure, etc.);

) properties of imagery (this principle includes grotesque, allegorical, burlesque, fantastic satire, etc.);

) type of composition. (for example: a lyric poem can be built in the form of a sonnet, triolet, gazelle, haiku, tank, etc.) [Electronic source No. 1].

MM. Bakhtin classifies genres into primary (simple) and secondary (complex). Secondary genres - novels, dramas, various types of scientific research, etc. - arise in conditions of more complex and relatively highly developed (mainly written) cultural communication: artistic, scientific, socio-political, etc. In the process of their formation, they absorb primary genres that have developed in conditions of direct speech communication. In his work “The Problem of Speech Genres,” he notes that most literary genres are secondary, complex genres, consisting of various transformed primary genres (replicas of dialogue, everyday stories, letters, diaries, protocols, etc.) [Bakhtin 1996: 161].

According to U. Labov, “a story is a specific genre in which the presentation is constructed in the same order in which the described events of past experience occurred.” He gives his own genre scheme for the story, which consists of six components: summary, orientation, increasingly complex action, evaluation, result/resolution, coda.

W. Chafe offers a simpler story scheme of five components: orientation, plot, climax, denouement, coda.

According to M.M. Bakhtin, the main characteristics of the story are:

1) unity of time. The duration of the story is limited. Works describing the entire life of a character are quite rare.

2) unity of action. There is only one action in the story.

4) unity of place. The number of places where the story takes place is limited. Most often, these are two or three places, the rest can only be mentioned.

5) character unity. There can only be one main character in a story. Sometimes - two. Less often - several. The number of secondary characters is not limited, but each of them performs a specific function and creates the background.

6) unity of the center. The central sign in the story should determine the meaning of the story. It does not matter whether the center is the main character or the climactic event [Bakhtin 1996: 202].

Thus, the genre features of the story are: unity of time, unity of events and place, unity of character, as well as unity of the center.

II. Stylistic characteristics of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's story "The Adjuster"

The research material is the story of the American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald "The Adjuster", written in 1926. However, before moving on to the analysis of the work, it is worth turning to the biography of its creator.

The writer was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, into a family descended from an ancient Irish family. He received his name in honor of his distant relative on his father's side, Francis Scott Key, the author of the text of the US national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner."

While studying at Princeton, Francis Scott Fitzgerald played on the university football team and wrote stories and plays, which often won university competitions. By this time, he had already formed a dream of becoming a writer and author of musical comedies. During his years at Princeton, Fitzgerald had to deal with class inequality. He felt differences between himself and children from richer families. He later wrote that it was there that he developed “a lasting distrust, hostility towards the class of idlers - not the convictions of a revolutionary, but the hidden hatred of a peasant.” This was very clearly reflected in his works [Electronic source No. 4].

Francis Fitzgerald is the largest representative of the generation of writers whose creative peak occurred between the First and Second World Wars. Fitzgerald is best known for his novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, as well as a number of novels and short stories about the American Jazz Age of the 1920s. The term "Jazz Age" was coined by Fitzgerald himself and referred to the period of American history from the end of World War I to the Great Depression of the 1930s. His best books, such as “The curious case of Benjamin Button” (1921), “This side of Paradise” (1920), “Tender is the Night” (1934), remained as confirmation of the failure of philistine ideals and the collapse of the “American Dream” and tragedies of people who followed imaginary moral guidelines [Electronic source No. 4].

The story "The Adjuster" tells the story of a young married couple, Charles and Luella Hample, living in New York. At first glance, it seems that they are happy, they have a child, but in reality the couple are experiencing a serious breakdown in their relationship, which is nearing completion. Charles is sick, but he doesn’t dare tell Luella about it. He invites an old acquaintance, Doctor Moon, to his house in the hope that he can help them improve their relationship. Luella does not see the need to accept help from an outsider. However, after Doctor Moon visits their home, she does not notice that she is beginning to change.

2.2 Text structure and stylistic constituent elements of Francis S. Fitzgerald's story "The Adjuster"

The quality of the text and its stylistic specificity depend on the structure of speech. This text is narrated in third person. The distinctive features of this type of narration are a high degree of objectivity, relative completeness in conveying the inner world of other characters, in describing the life around them. In third-person narration, there is a moving relationship between “the narrator’s speech and the subject-speech plan of the characters.”

An example is the following excerpt from the story: Luella Hemple was tall, with the sort of flaxen hair that English country girls should have, but rarely do. Her skin was radiant, and there was no need of putting anything on it at all, but in deference to an antiquated fashion-this was the year 1920-she had powdered out its high roses and drawn on it a new mouth and new eyebrows- which were no more successful than such meddling deserves. This, of course, is said from the vantage-point of 1925. In those days the effect she gave was exactly right.

This passage describes the appearance of the main character, Louella Hample: her height, flaxen hair, radiant skin.

In addition, the text also contains a second-person narrative. The narrator, addressing the reader on a first-name basis, makes him feel like a character within the story. The reader seems to find himself in the center of events, looking at what is happening with his own eyes. Let's look at an example: Moving your eyes around the slightly raised horse-shoe balcony you might, one spring afternoon, have seen young Mrs. Alphonse Karr and young Mrs.

In the story, someone else's speech is conveyed through direct speech. Direct speech is a bright stylistic color, the most important means of creating a character’s character. It carries a communicative and aesthetic function. In other words, direct speech is a means of living, natural, expressive transmission of content, information, and disclosure of artistic intent. Direct speech allows you to diversify the author's monologue and avoid monotony [Solganik 2002: 175].

An example is Luella's conversation with her friend: " Ive been married three years,she was saying as she squashed out a cigarette in an exhausted lemon. "The baby will be two years old to-morrow. I must remember to get. She took a gold pencil from her case and wrote "Candles" and "Things you pull, with paper caps," on an ivory date-pad. Then, raising her eyes, she looked at Mrs. Karr and hesitated.

From the point of view of participation in speech of one, two or more people, monologue, dialogue and polylogue are distinguished. It is worth noting that in this text the dialogue form of speech prevails, and the narration is presented as a background. Dialogical speech is the primary, natural form of linguistic communication. If we keep in mind everyday dialogues, then this is, as a rule, spontaneous, unprepared speech, and to the least extent literary processed. Dialogue speech is characterized by a close meaningful connection between remarks, most often expressed in a question and an answer.

As noted by G.Ya. Solganik, abuse of direct speech and dialogues usually harms the artistry of the work. “You cannot write essays with continuous dialogues,” noted M. Gorky, “even if their material is full of drama. This manner of writing harms the picturesqueness of the presentation. To begin a story with dialogue means to create the impression of sketchiness, and the predominance of dialogue over description and image deprives a story of brightness, liveliness" [Solganik 2002: 182].

One of the main purposes of dialogue in fiction is the speech characteristics of characters. By introducing the characters’ direct statements into the verbal fabric, the author thereby uses their remarks, monologues, and dialogues to characterize the characters’ speech. For a deeper understanding, let's look at a few examples:

"Such a nice house, Mrs. Hemple," said Doctor Moon impersonally; "and let me congratulate you on your fine little boy.

"Thanks.coming from a doctor, thats a nice compliment." She hesitated.

"Do you specialize in children?

"Im not a specialist at all,he said. "Im about the last of my kind-a general practitioner,.

At the beginning of Luella's acquaintance with Doctor Moon, their dialogue characterized the girl as a modest person, but very interested in the Doctor's personality and profession, while Doctor Moon seems mysterious, but creates the impression of a very intelligent person, competent in his field.

The following dialogue reveals other character traits of Luella Hample:

"Dont be afraid, Mrs. Hemple," said Doctor Moon suddenly.This was forced upon me. I do not act as a free agent-"

"Im not afraid of you,she interrupted. But she knew that she was lying. She was a little afraid of him, if only for his dull insensitiveness to her distaste.

"Tell me about your trouble,he said very naturally, as though she were not a free agent either. He wasn'tt even looking at her, and except that they were alone in the room, he scarcely seemed to be addressing her at all.

"Didnt you see him rubbing his face at dinner?she said despairingly. "Are you blind?s become so irritating to me that I think II'll go mad.

This dialogue characterizes the heroine as an impatient, hot-tempered and irritable girl. When the doctor asks about the reason for the discord in her relationship with her husband, Luella interrupts him and ends the dialogue with an irritated answer.

There is also a polylogue in the text. Polylogue is a form of natural conversational speech in which several speakers participate, for example, a family conversation, a feast, a group discussion of a topic. The general features of dialogue - connectedness of remarks, meaningful and constructive, spontaneity, etc. - are clearly manifested in polylogue [Solganik 2002: 184].

Let's look at an example of a polylogue:

"This is Doctor Moon—this is my wife."A man a little older than her husband, with a round, pale, slightly lined face, came forward to meet her.

"Good evening, Mrs. Temple," he said. "I hope Im not interfering with any arrangements of yours.

"Oh, no," Luella cried quickly. "Im delighted that youre coming to dinner. Were quite alone.

In this example of a polylogue, we see that three characters participate in the conversation: Mrs. Hample, Mr. Hample and Dr. Moon. Polylogue is used to characterize characters and their relationships. In the example, Mr. and Mrs. Hample show politeness and hospitality, while Dr. Moon shows tact when first meeting Luella.

In the story one can notice the prevalence of such functional and semantic types of speech as narration and description. “Description consists of depicting a whole series of signs, phenomena, objects or events that must be imagined all at the same time” [Kogan 1915: 89]. The first example of description occurs at the beginning of the story. For example, a description of a room at the Ritz Hotel:

At five oclock the sombre egg-shaped room at the Ritz ripens to subtle melody-the light clat-clat of one lump, two lumps, into the cup, and the ding of the shining teapots and cream-pots as they kiss elegantly in transit upon a silver tray There are those who cherish that amber hour above all other hours, for now the pale, pleasant toil of the lilies who inhabit the Ritz is over-the singing decorative part of the day remains.

The author uses lexical language means, namely epithets: sombre egg-shaped room, subtle melody, kiss elegantly, the shining teapots, the pale, pleasant toil of the lilies, the singing decorative part of the day.

Narration is a depiction of events or phenomena that do not occur simultaneously, but follow each other or condition each other [Solganik, 2002: 142]. Sentences of narrative contexts do not describe actions, but narrate about them, i.e. the event itself, the action, is transmitted. Like other functional and semantic types of speech, narration is a reflection of real reality in which a story, novel, or novel takes place. Here's an example of a story:

Mrs. Karr and Mrs. Hemple were twenty-three years old, and their enemies said that they had done very well for themselves. Either might have had her limousine waiting at the hotel door, but both of them much preferred to walk home (up Park Avenue) through the April twilight.

The author uses lexical language means denoting the place of action ( up Park Avenue),faces ( Mrs. Karr and Mrs. Hemple)and designations of the actions themselves ( had done very well, preferred to walk home).

Integrity and coherence - these are essentially the main, constructive features of a text - reflect the content and structural essence of the text. In this case, researchers, in particular, distinguish between local connectivity and global connectivity. Both types of coherence can be seen in this text. Local coherence is the coherence of linear sequences (statements, interphrase unities). It is determined by lexical and grammatical means.

Let's look at examples of parallel communication. The stylistic resources of parallel communication are also very significant. They have a whole range of stylistic shades - from neutral to solemn, even pathetic [Solganik, 2002: 159]. For example:

The one in the dress was Mrs. Hemple-when I say "the dress" I refer to that black immaculate affair with the big buttons and the red ghost of a cape at the shoulders, a gown suggesting with faint and fashionable irreverence the garb of a French cardinal, as it was meant to do when it was invented in the Rue de la Paix.

In this example, the sentences are united by one topic - a description of Luella Hample's appearance.

Reflecting the nature of thinking, naming actions, events, phenomena located nearby, parallel connections by their very nature are intended for description and narration [Solganik, 2002: 159].

The next type of connection between sentences is adjunction. This is a principle of constructing a statement in which part of it in the form of separate, as if additional information, is attached to the main message. For example:

". a supper after the theater to meet some Russians singers or dancers or something, and Charles says he wont go. If he doesn'tt-then Im going alone.And that s the end .

Thus, in the text there are: parallel connection and connecting connection.

The artistic style differs from other functional styles by its special aesthetic function. Its implementation is due to the active use of various stylistic devices (tropes and figures of speech).

Epithets are distinguished by colorful definition, figurative characterization of objects and actions, and vivid evaluation [Derevianko 2015: 164].

as interesting to me as a-as a boiler-room; it wasn'tt so bad as it seemed; the same shape as hers.

egg-shaped room ripens to subtle melody.

It should be noted that at the lexical level there is a large number of verbs, with the help of which the author shows the dullness and ordinariness of the heroine’s life: hesitated, bored, get nervous, want to scream.

Comparisons and evaluative vocabulary are practically absent, but colloquial vocabulary is found, for example: vile(vile (colloquial) - mean, disgusting).

The syntactic level is quite simple: it has a direct word order, but the author uses exclamatory and interrogative sentences to increase the expressiveness of the narrative. For example:

"No, I invited you! I ve got the money right here! ;

"That s right! Here, wait a minute, Chuck! ;

"Didn t you see him rubbing his face at dinner? ;

"Are you blind?"

The title is one of the most important elements of the semantic and aesthetic organization of a literary text, therefore the choice of title is one of the most difficult tasks of the author. The title is the associative center of the work. It tunes the reader and focuses his attention on the topic, the essence of which will be revealed in the subsequent text. That is why it is important to consider the title of the text to identify the author’s assessment.

The story's title, "The Adjuster," refers to a minor character, Dr. Moon, who nevertheless plays an important role in the story. It is Doctor Moon who helps the Hample family find a common language with each other and understand the importance of their relationships. In the story, this character appears as unexpectedly and mysteriously as he disappears, symbolizing the inevitability of what is happening. However, his image makes it clear to the heroes that everything in this life depends on them, and no matter how difficult the situation may seem, there is always a way out.

Thus, this story is narrated from a third person, which is characterized by the completeness of the transmission of the inner world of the characters. In addition, the text emphasizes second-person narration, which allows the reader to see what is happening with their own eyes. Someone else's speech in the story is conveyed through direct speech. Its main function is to create the character's character.

In a story, one can distinguish such functional and semantic types of speech as narration (depiction of events following each other) and description (depiction of a number of signs, phenomena and events).

For a more colorful description of phenomena, objects and influence on the reader’s aesthetic perception, the author uses epithets, comparisons, etc. in the text.

Conclusion

In the first part of this study, we consider the main features of artistic style, which include linguistic means of various styles, intertextual connections, explicit and implicit information and aesthetic function. In addition, we consider the genre features of the story. The main features of the story as a genre include a small volume, limited time of action in the work, a single plot line, as well as the unity of place and character.

The second part of the study examined the main directions of the work of Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the creator of the term “Jazz Age,” which revealed to the whole world the failure of ideals and the “American Dream.”

In the course of analyzing Francis Scott Fitzgerald's work "The Adjuster", we also identify and describe stylistic constituent elements. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that in this story the narration is told from a third person, description and narration prevail. In addition to dialogue, which plays the main role in the narrative, there is also polylogue. Someone else's speech in the text is conveyed in the form of direct speech.

Thus, stylistic analysis of the text allows us to reveal the ideological content of the work, its artistic features, and also contributes to achieving the correct perception of the work as a whole.

List of sources used

1.Bakhtin M.M. Literary critical articles. - M., 1996. - P.159-206

2.Valgina N.S. Text theory. Tutorial. - M., 2003. - P. 173.

.Galperin I.R. Text as an object of linguistic research. 4th edition, stereotypical. M: KomKniga, 2006. - P.144.

.Derevianko A.A., Nechiporuk T.V., Chernaya T.N., Chekh N.V. Features of the interaction of the epithet with other tropes in the poetic texts of A.A. Akhmatova // Young scientist. - 2015. - No. 11. - P.1599-1602.

.Kogan P.S. Theory of literature. - M., 1915, P.89.

.Larin B.A. The spoken language of Muscovite Rus' // The initial stage of the formation of the Russian national language. L., 1961, pp. 22-34.

.Nikolina N.A. Philological analysis of text: textbook. aid for students higher ped. textbook establishments. - M., 2003. - P.256.

.Solganik G.Ya. Text stylistics: Textbook. - 4th edition. - M., 2002. - P.256.

.Jacobson R. Linguistics and poetics // Structuralism: pros and cons. - M., 1975. - P. 204.

10.W. Chafe. Discourse, Consciousness, and Time: The Flow and Displacement of Conscious Experience in Speaking and Writing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; P.137.

11. Electronic resources

12.1. #"justify">13. 2. https://ru. wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4 ,_%D0%A4%D1%80%D1%8D%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%81_%D0%A1%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%82 #. D0.91. D0. B8. D0. BE. D0. B3. D1.80. D0. B0. D1.84. D0. B8. D1.8F (accessed May 7, 2016)

.3. #"justify">. 4. http://www.prometod.ru/index. php? type_page&katalog&id=947&met6 (access date 05/10/2016)

Education

Genre story: features, history of development, examples. Is the story a genre of literature? Signs of a story as a genre

January 6, 2016

The short story genre is one of the most popular in literature. Many writers turned to him and continue to turn to him. After reading this article, you will learn what the features of the short story genre are, examples of the most famous works, as well as popular mistakes that authors make.

A short story is one of the small literary forms. It is a short narrative work with a small number of characters. In this case, short-term events are depicted.

A Brief History of the Short Story Genre

V. G. Belinsky (his portrait is presented above) back in the 1840s distinguished the essay and story as small prose genres from the story and novel as larger ones. Already at this time, the predominance of prose over poetry was fully evident in Russian literature.

A little later, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the essay received the widest development in the democratic literature of our country. At this time, there was an opinion that it was documentary that distinguished this genre. The story, as it was believed then, is created using creative imagination. According to another opinion, the genre we are interested in differs from the essay in the conflicting nature of the plot. After all, an essay is characterized by the fact that it is mainly a descriptive work.

Unity of time

In order to more fully characterize the short story genre, it is necessary to highlight the patterns inherent in it. The first of them is the unity of time. In a story, the time of action is always limited. However, not necessarily only one day, as in the works of classicists. Although this rule is not always followed, it is rare to find stories in which the plot covers the entire life of the main character. Even less often are works created in this genre, the action of which lasts for centuries. Usually the author depicts some episode from the life of his hero. Among the stories in which the entire fate of the character is revealed, one can note “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (author Leo Tolstoy) and “Darling” by Chekhov. It also happens that not the whole life is represented, but a long period of it. For example, in Chekhov's "The Jumper" a number of significant events in the fate of the heroes, their environment, and the difficult development of relationships between them are depicted. However, this is given in an extremely condensed and condensed manner. It is the conciseness of the content, greater than in the story, that is the general feature of the story and, perhaps, the only one.

Unity of action and place

There are other features of the short story genre that need to be noted. The unity of time is closely connected and conditioned by another unity - action. A short story is a genre of literature that should be limited to describing a single event. Sometimes one or two events become the main, meaning-forming, culminating events in it. This is where the unity of the place comes from. Usually the action takes place in one place. There may be not one, but several, but their number is strictly limited. For example, there may be 2-3 places, but 5 are already rare (they can only be mentioned).

Character Unity

Another feature of the story is the unity of the character. As a rule, in the space of a work of this genre there is one main character. Occasionally there may be two of them, and very rarely - several. As for the secondary characters, there can be quite a lot of them, but they are purely functional. A short story is a genre of literature in which the task of the secondary characters is limited to creating the background. They can hinder or help the main character, but nothing more. In the story "Chelkash" by Gorky, for example, there are only two characters. And in Chekhov’s “I Want to Sleep” there is only one, which is impossible neither in a story nor in a novel.

Unity of the center

The characteristics of a story as a genre, listed above, one way or another come down to the unity of the center. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine a story without some defining, central sign that “pulls together” all the others. It doesn’t matter at all whether this center will be some static descriptive image, a climactic event, the development of the action itself, or a significant gesture of the character. The main character must be in any story. It is due to him that the entire composition is held together. It sets the theme of the work and determines the meaning of the story being told.

The basic principle of constructing a story

The conclusion from thinking about “unities” is not difficult to draw. The thought naturally suggests itself that the main principle of constructing the composition of a story is the expediency and economy of motives. Tomashevsky called the smallest element of the text structure a motive. It could be an action, a character, or an event. This structure can no longer be decomposed into components. This means that the author’s greatest sin is excessive detail, oversaturation of the text, a pile-up of details that can be omitted when developing this genre of work. The story should not dwell on details.

You need to describe only the most significant things to avoid a common mistake. It is very typical, oddly enough, for people who are very conscientious about their works. They have a desire to express themselves to the maximum in each text. Young directors often do the same thing when they stage their graduation films and performances. This is especially true for films, since the author’s imagination in this case is not limited to the text of the play.

Imaginative authors love to fill the literary genre of the story with descriptive motifs. For example, they depict how the main character of the work is being chased by a pack of cannibal wolves. However, if dawn begins, they always stop at describing long shadows, dim stars, reddened clouds. The author seemed to admire nature and only then decided to continue the chase. The fantasy story genre gives maximum scope to the imagination, so avoiding this mistake is not at all easy.

The role of motives in the story

It must be emphasized that in the genre that interests us, all motives should reveal the theme and work towards meaning. For example, the gun described at the beginning of the work must certainly fire in the finale. Motives that lead astray should not be included in the story. Or you need to look for images that outline the situation, but do not overly detail it.

Features of the composition

It should be noted that it is not necessary to adhere to traditional methods of constructing a literary text. Breaking them can be spectacular. A story can be created almost on descriptions alone. But it’s still impossible to do without action. The hero simply must at least raise his hand, take a step (in other words, make a significant gesture). Otherwise, the result will not be a story, but a miniature, a sketch, a poem in prose. Another important feature of the genre that interests us is a meaningful ending. For example, a novel can last forever, but a story is constructed differently.

Very often its ending is paradoxical and unexpected. It was with this that Lev Vygotsky associated the emergence of catharsis in the reader. Modern researchers (in particular, Patrice Pavy) view catharsis as an emotional pulsation that appears as one reads. However, the significance of the ending remains the same. The ending can radically change the meaning of the story and prompt a rethinking of what is stated in it. This must be remembered.

The place of the story in world literature

The short story is an epic genre that occupies an important place in world literature. Gorky and Tolstoy turned to him both in their early and mature periods of creativity. Chekhov's short story is his main and favorite genre. Many stories have become classics and, along with major epic works (stories and novels), are included in the treasury of literature. Such are, for example, Tolstoy’s stories “Three Deaths” and “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Turgenev’s “Notes of a Hunter”, Chekhov’s works “Darling” and “Man in a Case”, Gorky’s stories “Old Woman Izergil”, “Chelkash”, etc.

Advantages of the short story over other genres

The genre that interests us allows us to highlight particularly clearly this or that typical case, this or that aspect of our life. It makes it possible to depict them so that the reader's attention is completely focused on them. For example, Chekhov, describing Vanka Zhukov with a letter “to his grandfather in the village,” full of childish despair, dwells in detail on the contents of this letter. It will not reach its destination and because of this it becomes especially strong from the point of view of exposure. In the story “The Birth of Man” by M. Gorky, the episode with the birth of a child, which occurs on the road, helps the author in revealing the main idea - the affirmation of the value of life.

The story is a short epic genre. Let’s define its features and, using the example of A.P. Chekhov’s story “Chameleon,” consider them.

Features of the story

  • Small volume
  • Limited number of actors
  • One storyline is often the fate of the main character.
  • The story tells about several, but more often than not one, important episode from a person’s life.
  • Secondary and episodic characters in one way or another reveal the character of the main character, the problem associated with this main character.
  • In terms of the number of pages, the story can be voluminous, but the main thing is that all the action is subordinated to one problem, connected with one hero, one storyline.
  • Details play a big role in the story. Sometimes one detail is enough to understand the character of a hero.
  • The story is told from one person. This could be the narrator, the hero, or the author himself.
  • The stories have an apt, memorable title, which already contains part of the answer to the question raised. .
  • The stories were written by authors in a certain era, so, of course, they reflect the characteristics of the literature of a particular time. It is known that until the 19th century, stories were close to short stories; in the 19th century, subtext appeared in stories, which could not have happened in an earlier era.

Example.

Illustrations by Gerasimov S.V. to the story by Chekhov A.P.
"Chameleon". 1945

Story by A.P. Chekhov's "Chameleon"

  • Small in volume. Chekhov is generally a master of the short story.
  • The main character is the police warden Ochumelov. All the other characters help to understand the character of the main character, including the artisan Khryukin.
  • The plot is built around one episode - the dog biting the finger of the goldsmith Khryukin.
  • The main problem is ridicule of veneration of rank, sycophancy, servility, evaluation of a person by the place in society that he occupies, the lawlessness of people in power. Everything in the story is subordinated to the disclosure of this problem - all the changes in Ochumelov’s behavior in relation to this dog - from the desire to restore order so that there are no stray dogs, to his affection for the dog, which, as it turned out, belonged to the general’s brother.
  • Details play an important role in the story. In this case, it is Ochumelov’s overcoat, which he either takes off or puts back on his shoulders (at this time his attitude to the current situation changes).
  • The narration is told on behalf of the author. In a small work, Chekhov was able to express his indignation, satirical, even sarcastic attitude towards the order in Russia, in which a person is valued not by his character, deeds and actions, but by the rank he holds.
  • The title of the story, “Chameleon,” very accurately reflects the behavior of the main character, who changes his “color,” that is, his attitude to what is happening, in connection with who owns the dog. Chameleonism as a social phenomenon is ridiculed by the author in the story.
  • The story was written in 1884, during the heyday of critical realism in Russian literature of the 19th century. Therefore, the work has all the features of this method: ridiculing the vices of society, a critical reflection of reality.

Thus, using the example of Chekhov’s story “Chameleon” by A.P., we examined the features of this genre of literature.

The short story genre is one of the most popular in literature. Many writers turned to him and continue to turn to him. After reading this article, you will learn what the features of the short story genre are, examples of the most famous works, as well as popular mistakes that authors make.

A short story is one of the small literary forms. It is a short narrative work with a small number of characters. In this case, short-term events are depicted.

A Brief History of the Short Story Genre

V. G. Belinsky (his portrait is presented above) back in the 1840s distinguished the essay and story as small prose genres from the story and novel as larger ones. Already at this time, the predominance of prose over poetry was fully evident in Russian literature.

A little later, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the essay received the widest development in the democratic literature of our country. At this time, there was an opinion that it was documentary that distinguished this genre. The story, as it was believed then, is created using creative imagination. According to another opinion, the genre we are interested in differs from the essay in the conflicting nature of the plot. After all, an essay is characterized by the fact that it is mainly a descriptive work.

Unity of time

In order to more fully characterize the short story genre, it is necessary to highlight the patterns inherent in it. The first of them is the unity of time. In a story, the time of action is always limited. However, not necessarily only one day, as in the works of classicists. Although this rule is not always followed, it is rare to find stories in which the plot covers the entire life of the main character. Even less often are works created in this genre, the action of which lasts for centuries. Usually the author depicts some episode from the life of his hero. Among the stories in which the entire fate of a character is revealed, one can note “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (author Leo Tolstoy) and It also happens that not the whole life is presented, but a long period of it. For example, in Chekhov's "The Jumper" a number of significant events in the fate of the heroes, their environment, and the difficult development of relationships between them are depicted. However, this is given in an extremely condensed and condensed manner. It is the conciseness of the content, greater than in the story, that is the general feature of the story and, perhaps, the only one.

Unity of action and place


There are other features of the short story genre that need to be noted. The unity of time is closely connected and conditioned by another unity - action. A story is one that should be limited to a description of a single event. Sometimes one or two events become the main, meaning-forming, culminating events in it. This is where the unity of the place comes from. Usually the action takes place in one place. There may be not one, but several, but their number is strictly limited. For example, there may be 2-3 places, but 5 are already rare (they can only be mentioned).

Character Unity

Another feature of the story is the unity of the character. As a rule, there is one main character in the space of a work of this genre. Occasionally there may be two of them, and very rarely - several. As for the secondary characters, there can be quite a lot of them, but they are purely functional. A short story is a genre of literature in which the task of the secondary characters is limited to creating the background. They can hinder or help the main character, but nothing more. In the story "Chelkash" by Gorky, for example, there are only two characters. And in Chekhov’s “I Want to Sleep” there is only one, which is impossible neither in a story nor in a novel.

Unity of the center

The characteristics of a story as a genre, listed above, one way or another come down to the unity of the center. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine a story without some defining, central sign that “pulls together” all the others. It doesn’t matter at all whether this center will be some static descriptive image, a climactic event, the development of the action itself, or a significant gesture of the character. The main character must be in any story. It is due to him that the entire composition is held together. It sets the theme of the work and determines the meaning of the story being told.

The basic principle of constructing a story

The conclusion from thinking about “unities” is not difficult to draw. The thought naturally suggests itself that the main principle of constructing the composition of a story is the expediency and economy of motives. Tomashevsky called the smallest element a motive. This could be an action, a character or an event. This structure can no longer be decomposed into components. This means that the author’s greatest sin is excessive detail, oversaturation of the text, a pile-up of details that can be omitted when developing this genre of work. The story should not dwell on details.

You need to describe only the most significant things to avoid a common mistake. It is very typical, oddly enough, for people who are very conscientious about their works. They have a desire to express themselves to the maximum in each text. Young directors often do the same thing when they stage their graduation films and performances. This is especially true for films, since the author’s imagination in this case is not limited to the text of the play.

Imaginative authors love to fill the story with descriptive motifs. For example, they depict how the main character of the work is being chased by a pack of cannibal wolves. However, if dawn begins, they always stop at describing long shadows, dim stars, reddened clouds. The author seemed to admire nature and only then decided to continue the chase. The fantasy story genre gives maximum scope to the imagination, so avoiding this mistake is not at all easy.


The role of motives in the story

It must be emphasized that in the genre that interests us, all motives should reveal the theme and work towards meaning. For example, the gun described at the beginning of the work must certainly fire in the finale. Motives that lead astray should not be included in the story. Or you need to look for images that outline the situation, but do not overly detail it.

Features of the composition

It should be noted that it is not necessary to adhere to traditional methods of constructing a literary text. Breaking them can be spectacular. A story can be created almost on descriptions alone. But it’s still impossible to do without action. The hero simply must at least raise his hand, take a step (in other words, make a significant gesture). Otherwise, the result will not be a story, but a miniature, a sketch, a poem in prose. Another important feature of the genre that interests us is a meaningful ending. For example, a novel can last forever, but a story is constructed differently.

Very often its ending is paradoxical and unexpected. This is precisely what was associated with the appearance of catharsis in the reader. Modern researchers (in particular, Patrice Pavy) view catharsis as an emotional pulsation that appears as one reads. However, the significance of the ending remains the same. The ending can radically change the meaning of the story and prompt a rethinking of what is stated in it. This must be remembered.

The place of the story in world literature

A story that occupies an important place in world literature. Gorky and Tolstoy turned to him both in their early and mature periods of creativity. Chekhov's short story is his main and favorite genre. Many stories have become classics and, along with major epic works (stories and novels), are included in the treasury of literature. Such are, for example, Tolstoy’s stories “Three Deaths” and “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Turgenev’s “Notes of a Hunter”, Chekhov’s works “Darling” and “Man in a Case”, Gorky’s stories “Old Woman Izergil”, “Chelkash”, etc.

Advantages of the short story over other genres

The genre that interests us allows us to highlight particularly clearly this or that typical case, this or that aspect of our life. It makes it possible to depict them so that the reader's attention is completely focused on them. For example, Chekhov, describing Vanka Zhukov with a letter “to his grandfather in the village,” full of childish despair, dwells in detail on the contents of this letter. It will not reach its destination and because of this it becomes especially strong from the point of view of exposure. In the story “The Birth of Man” by M. Gorky, the episode with the birth of a child, which occurs on the road, helps the author in revealing the main idea - the affirmation of the value of life.

A story is a large literary form of written information in literary and artistic design. When recording oral retellings, the story became isolated as an independent genre in written literature.

The story as an epic genre

The distinctive features of the story are a small number of characters, little content, and one storyline. The story does not have intertwining events and cannot contain a variety of artistic colors.

Thus, a story is a narrative work, which is characterized by a small volume, a small number of characters and the short duration of the events depicted. This type of epic genre goes back to the folklore genres of oral retelling, to allegories and parables.

In the 18th century, the difference between essays and stories was not yet defined, but over time, a story began to be distinguished from an essay by the conflict of the plot. There is a difference between the story of "large forms" and the story of "small forms", but often this distinction is arbitrary.

There are stories in which the characteristic features of a novel can be traced, and there are also small works with one plot line, which are still called a novel and not a story, despite the fact that all the signs point to this type of genre.

Novella as an epic genre

Many people believe that a short story is a certain type of story. But still, the definition of a short story sounds like a type of short prose work. The short story differs from the short story in its plot, which is often sharp and centripetal, in the rigor of its composition and volume.

A novella most often reveals a pressing problem or issue through one event. As a model, the short story arose during the Renaissance - the most famous example is Boccaccio's Decameron. Over time, the novella began to depict paradoxical and unusual incidents.

The heyday of the short story as a genre is considered to be the period of romanticism. Famous writers P. Merimee, E.T.A. Hoffman and Gogol wrote short stories, the central line of which was to destroy the impression of familiar everyday life.

Novels that depicted fateful events and the play of fate with man appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Writers such as O. Henry, S. Zweig, A. Chekhov, I. Bunin paid considerable attention to the short story genre in their work.

The story as an epic genre

A prose genre such as a story is an intermediate place between a story and a novel. Initially, the story was a source of narration about some real, historical events ("The Tale of Bygone Years", "The Tale of the Battle of Kalka"), but later it became a separate genre for reproducing the natural course of life.

The peculiarity of the story is that at the center of its plot there is always the main character and his life - the revelation of his personality and the path of his destiny. The story is characterized by a sequence of events in which harsh reality is revealed.

And such a topic is extremely relevant for such an epic genre. Famous stories are “The Station Agent” by A. Pushkin, “Poor Liza” by N. Karamzin, “The Life of Arsenyev” by I. Bunin, “The Steppe” by A. Chekhov.

The importance of artistic detail in storytelling

For a full disclosure of the writer’s intention and for a complete understanding of the meaning of a literary work, artistic detail is very important. This could be a detail of an interior, a landscape or a portrait; the key point here is that the writer emphasizes this detail, thereby drawing the attention of readers to it.

This serves as a way to highlight some psychological trait of the main character or mood that is characteristic of the work. It is noteworthy that the important role of artistic detail is that it alone can replace many narrative details. In this way, the author of the work emphasizes his attitude towards the situation or person.

Need help with your studies?

Previous topic: O’Henry’s “The Last Leaf”: Reflections on the Purpose of the Artist and Art
Next topic:   Krylov's fables: “The Crow and the Fox”, “The Cuckoo and the Rooster”, “The Wolf and the Lamb”, etc.

Introduction

This course work provides an opportunity to become familiar with the work of W. S. Maugham in general terms. In foreign literary criticism, interest in Maugham’s work has not faded throughout the twentieth century.

The object of the study is Maugham's stories. What might they have in common, and also what makes them unique? The first chapter does not relate to the writer’s work; it describes the features of a story, what can be considered a story, the genre and stylistic features of the story, whether the short story can be classified as a story. In the second chapter you can get acquainted with the biography of the prose writer in general. The third chapter is devoted to the stories of W.S. Maugham, a summary of some stories and analysis are given. How do the periods of creativity differ, and on what basis can the stories be ungrouped?

The subject of the analysis is the genre and stylistic features of Maugham's stories and narrative elements.

The relevance of this work lies in the pronounced individuality of W. S. Maugham’s style. The goal is to prove this, analyze the stories and talk about Maugham's personality.

> Short story as a genre

> Genre characteristics of a short story

Literary genres, like all social phenomena, are subject to the laws of evolution. Therefore, genres of literature will never be completely completed: they are in constant dialectical change, while maintaining certain genre features. Genre is a phenomenon so complex that it cannot be defined even with a detailed definition. Genres merge, intersect, and in any genre there comes a turning point, the so-called “crisis of the genre,” then involuntary changes occur. These changes are inevitable; they are caused by various reasons - historical, socio-political, artistic and others. These reasons determine the formation and development of each genre.

A short story is a small form of epic prose, comparable to a story as a more developed form of storytelling. Goes back to folklore genres (fairy tales, parables); how the genre became isolated in written literature; often indistinguishable from a short story, and since the 18th century. - and an essay. Sometimes a short story and an essay are considered as polar varieties of a story.

First of all, we are interested in the question of the story as a holistic phenomenon, always changing over time, but at the same time stable. What are the characteristic features that distinguish a story from other types of literature? Literary scholars have been searching for an answer to this question for a long time. The problem of the genre specificity of the story was posed and solved in the works of I.A. Vinogradova, B.N. Eikhenbaum, V.B. Shklovsky, V. Hoffenscheffer, and other critics back in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century.

Some literary scholars classify the short story as a short story, some classify the short story and short story as genre varieties of short prose. I am inclined to the latter opinion, because the novella is characterized by intense action and drama, the main character struggles with something throughout the story. So the short story is a short novel. In a story, there can only be a narration, a description, and at the end of it some idea, a philosophical thought is conveyed, or the exclusivity of the hero or events is simply shown, while tension is not the goal, and the plot does not get confused.

Thus, a story (especially a short one) is a modification of the genres of fable, fairy tale, legend, which are already outdated in style, and they have been replaced by the so-called short story. For example, from a historical point of view, Krylov’s fables contain philosophical thoughts. The fable “The Crow and the Fox” traces the idea of ​​flattery and the idea that flattery is false and deceptive, that one should beware of it and not fall into its snare, because... a person flatters for profit. In this case, the author uses the technique of allegory.

The story's roots lie in folklore. Legend, anecdote, satire, song, proverbs and other types of folk art determined the emergence of the narrative (told) genre in fiction.

It was from folklore that writers drew methods for realistic depictions of people, pictures of nature, images, themes and plots for their works. The story arose on the basis of genres of oral folk art, became a convenient form of artistic reflection of reality and became widespread. Elements of the story were observed in ancient literature (II - IV centuries AD), but as a separate genre, the story was finally formed in the Renaissance. Examples of the first works of the storytelling genre were “The Canterbury Tales” by J. Chaucer in England, and “The Decameron” by Boccaccio in Italy.

In a story, the material for twists and turns are the actions of the characters. The elements of the composition are almost always located in a causal and logical sequence. Details are carefully selected, mainly the most striking characteristic ones, this creates laconicism. Its task is to show the subject, the image in its uniqueness. The denouement of the story is a logical conclusion, which is the idea of ​​the whole story.

According to most literary scholars, the main characteristic features of the story are as follows:

Small volume;

Image of one or more events;

Clear conflict;

Brief presentation;

The law of distinguishing the main character from among the characters;

Revealing one dominant character trait;

One problem and the resulting unity of construction;

Limited number of characters;

Completeness and completeness of the narrative;

The presence of dramatic structure.

Based on these characteristics, we can derive the definition of a story.

A story is a short narrative work of art about one or more events in the life of a person or group of people, which depicts typical pictures of life. Thus, the story isolates a particular incident from life, a separate situation and gives them a high meaning. The main task of the narrator is to convey the event, the image, in its authentic uniqueness. A number of researchers see the genre difference of the story in the features of the depiction of character: in the story he is static, that is, he does not change in actions and actions, but only reveals himself. Jack London, for example, said that “development is not inherent in the story, it is a feature of the novel.”

The small size of the work entails the need to create material that is strictly limited in volume; the story keeps the author in strictness both compositionally and stylistically.

An artistic detail plays a special role in creating a picture in a story, i.e. particularly insightful detail. It helps the author achieve maximum image compression.

Ø Epic a type of narrative literature, which is characterized by the depiction of events and human characters external to the author (the author’s personality remains outside the text).

Ø Lyrics a type of literature characterized by the embodiment of the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the author. At the center of lyrical works is a description of the inner world of the author himself.

Ø Drama a type of literature, the basis of which is live action, which unfolds before the eyes of the audience at the present moment. The characters' characters are revealed through acute conflicts in the form of dialogues and monologues.

EPIC GENRES

· Story- a small form of epic prose, a prose work that depicts one, or less often, several events with a small number of characters.

· Tale- a genre of narrative literature, most often the story of one human life, connected with the destinies of other people, told on behalf of the hero or the author himself. The nature of the development of the action is more complex than the story.

· Novella- a genre of narrative literature, approaching a story or story, with a sharp, exciting plot. A short narrative story with an unusual and strict plot, with a clear composition.

· Feature article- a genre close in scope to a story or tale, based on reliable events.

· Novel- a genre of narrative literature that reveals the history of several, sometimes many human destinies over a long period of time, sometimes entire generations. Conveys the most profound and complex processes.

· Epic or epic novel- a special type of novel, monumental in the breadth and time of the events depicted, especially significant not only for the life of an individual, but also of a nation. A characteristic feature of the epic is the presence of multiple relationships between the characters. The epic tells about significant, heroic, historical events.

LYRIC GENRES

· Oh yeah- a lyrical work of glorifying content, which is expressed in pathetic and solemn verse. An ode is dedicated to some historical event or hero.

· Song– a small lyrical work intended for singing or imitating the features of vocal performance.

· Romance- a lyrical work of love, which differs from a song in greater sophistication of emotions and some sentimentality.

· Elegy- a lyrical genre in which predominantly philosophical reflections, sad thoughts, and longing for the past are expressed.

· A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines. The classical (Italian) scheme of a sonnet is two quatrains and two tercets. Shakespearean sonnet- three quatrains and a couplet.


· Message- a lyrical work in the form of an address to a real or fictitious person or group of persons.

· Satire- a work of art that depicts negative phenomena of reality in a funny, grotesque form.

· Epigram- a short satirical poem making fun of a specific person.

LYRO-EPIC GENRES

· Fable– a small satirical work of an allegorical (allegorical) nature with moralizing purposes.

· Ballad- a small plot poem based on some unusual incident.

· Poem- a poetic work, which is characterized by the presence of a detailed plot and a broad development of the image of the lyrical hero.

DRAMATIC GENRES

A work that is staged on the stage of a drama theater is called drama[ancient Greek drama – “action”, “action”]or play[French piece – “piece”]. In the XVI-XVII centuries. The word “play” was used to describe any fragment presented by actors or performed by musicians in the 18th century. - text written specifically for the stage.

In the 18th century “drama” was called not only a type of literature, but also a genre of drama.

· Tragedy(Greek: “tragod” And a") is a dramatic genre based on a particularly intense, irreconcilable conflict, fraught with catastrophic consequences and most often ending in the death of the hero. Tragedy imitates or depicts the tragic, but necessarily significant.

§ Comedy(Greek: chest of drawers And a") is a dramatic genre that depicts life situations and characters that cause laughter. The core of comedy is absurd events, funny and amusing actions of people, their characters.

§ Drama. The concept of “drama” has two meanings: a type of literature (epic, lyric, drama) and a genre within the same type. Formed in the 18th century. The drama combines the genre features of tragedy and comedy. Drama (in the narrow sense of the word) is a dramatic genre characterized by the presence of an acute conflict, which, in comparison with the tragic, is not so sublime, more down-to-earth and can be resolved one way or another.

§ Mime ( from Greek " m And mesis"- “imitation”). Mamas are short skits with comic content that combine improvised dialogue, singing and dancing. Mimes were also the name given to actors who played without words, using body plasticity and facial expressions. Appeared in the era of Antiquity.

§ Tragicomedy(from the connection - “tragedy” and “comedy”) - a dramatic work built on the basis of a tragic conflict, the resolution of which is associated with comic, absurd situations and does not necessarily require the death of the hero. Formed during the Renaissance. In a tragedy, events and characters are viewed in two ways: good-evil, generosity-stinginess, black-white, etc.

§ Melodrama ( from Greek "melos" - "song", "melody" and "drama"). Formed in the 18th century. Initially, such performances were accompanied by music. Later, melodramas began to be called plays that depicted dramatic events, but everything ended well. The characters in the melodrama speak to each other in a raised tone, their speech is accompanied by sharp gestures, they cry or sob.

§ Vaudeville(fr . Vaudeville, presumably, the term comes from the name of the French city songs - French voix de ville - “voices of the city”). It was developed in European theaters at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. The text in vaudeville - prosaic or poetic - alternated with funny couplets, anecdotes, and moral teachings.

§ Monodrama(from the Greek “monos” - “one”, “only” and “drama”) - a stage work for one actor. It develops at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The short story is the most concise form of fiction. The story is difficult precisely because of its small volume. The story requires especially serious, in-depth work on the content, plot, composition, language, because... in small forms the defects are more clearly visible than in large ones.

A story is not a simple description of an incident from life, not a sketch from life.

The story, like the novel, shows significant moral conflicts. The plot of a story is often as important as in other genres of fiction. The author's position and the significance of the topic are also significant.

A story is a one-dimensional work, it has one plot line. One incident from the life of the characters, one bright, significant scene can become the content of a story, or a comparison of several episodes covering a more or less long period of time. Too slow plot development, prolonged exposition, and unnecessary details harm the perception of the story. Sometimes, when the presentation is too laconic, new shortcomings arise: the lack of psychological motivation for the actions of the heroes, unjustified failures in the development of action, the sketchiness of characters devoid of memorable features. The story should not just be short, it should have truly artistic brevity. And here artistic detail plays a special role in the story.

A story usually doesn't have many characters or many subplots. Overload with characters, scenes, and dialogues are the most common shortcomings of stories by novice authors.

So, the story is a small prose work and its components are: unity of time, unity of action and unity of events, unity of place, unity of character, unity of center, meaningful ending and catharsis.

Under UNITY OF TIME it is implied that the time of action in the story is limited. Usually the basis of a story is one event or incident that occurred in a specific and fairly short period of time.

Stories that span a character's entire life aren't very common. However, when aiming for the global, the author must be aware that in this case he will have to sacrifice many details.

The unity of time determines UNITY OF ACTION. The story, as a rule, is devoted to the development of one conflict. Often authors try to cram a bunch of characters into a volume of 20 thousand, each with their own life story (conflict). It’s good if their stories have at least some points of contact with the story of the main character, then such a narrative can be pulled out. The author needs to set himself a limit: one story - one story. That is, concentrate on a single event that happened/is happening in the life of a particular hero.

Unlike a novel or story, a story gives the author an orientation towards extreme brevity, including in the description of actions.

Unity of action is associated with EVENT UNITY. That is, the story is either limited to describing a single event, or one or two events become meaningful.

UNITY OF PLACE. In a story, meaningful events occur in one place, well, two. Maximum of three. More for the story is unrealistic. Please note that we are talking about places that determine the development of the conflict of the story, which is one! If the author wants to describe the whole world in detail, then he risks getting not a story, but a novel.

CHARACTER UNITY. Typically, a story has one main character. Let me remind you that the main character is the one who plays the main role and is the spokesman for the plot action. Sometimes there are two of them. Very, very rarely - several (main characters), but then they appear in a bunch and are not much different from each other - like, for example, seven kids.

There can be as many minor characters as you like, even a division. But why so many? If you say a few words about each person, that’s exactly 20 thousand characters. And there is not enough space for the main character. The task of secondary characters is to help or hinder the main character, to create a background. Therefore, the author must strictly dose character descriptions. For the main thing - more, for the secondary - a little bit. Describe only what is directly related to the conflict, what serves to resolve it. The rest is out. A secondary character should not overshadow the main character.

All of the above unities come down to UNITY OF THE CENTER.

A story cannot exist without a center of crystallization. It can be a climactic event, or a development of action, or even some kind of descriptive image - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that there is a core that will support the entire compositional structure.

MEANINGFUL ENDING AND CATHARISSIS- the story must have an end. The action must be completed and, preferably, logically. Throughout the story, the characters moved towards each other and were finally reunited. Or, on the contrary, they did not meet, which is why they died on the same day.

But this is not the whole ending - there is also an ideological component to the story. The author intended to tell the world an important thought in artistic form, and in the finale this thought should find its maximum expression. If I found it, the story took place.

Ideally, when reading a story, the reader should experience some kind of emotional pulsation, and the ending should cause catharsis. That is, to have a cleansing and ennobling effect, to elevate and educate. This is why literature is needed, so that the reader, through the hero, better understands himself.

Plot . It’s probably not worth worrying about its originality. In the end, everything was written long ago before us. The maximum that we can do is to present a story as old as the world with style and grace that is unique to us.

The story has one plot line. The hero wants/doesn’t want to do something. He is opposed/helped by minor characters, natural phenomena or the social environment. The hero lives/struggles/sometimes suffers and, finally, does/doesn’t do what he should/shouldn’t do.

Here is the diagram of any literary conflict - the core on which the author strings invented episodes. All episodes must be tailored to a single goal - revealing the main conflict of the work. Everything else is on the side.

There is always intrigue. The main character must do at least something. At least yawn - loudly and protractedly. Otherwise, the story turns into a very long mood miniature. Writing plotless stories is a very great art. As well as reading. The composition of the story should be proportionate: 20% of the volume for the introduction, 50% for the main action, 10% for the climax and 20% for the denouement. Let's go through the terms again and connect them with texture.

Exposition- depiction of time, space, characters.

“Once upon a time there were three little pigs. Three brothers. They are all the same height, round, pink, with the same cheerful tails.

Even their names were similar. The piglets' names were: Nif-Nif, Nuf-Nuf and

Naf-Naf. All summer they tumbled in the green grass, basked in the sun, basked in puddles.”

Tie – the beginning of a conflict, an imbalance in the relationship between the characters.

“But autumn has come.

The sun was no longer so hot, gray clouds stretched above

yellowed forest.

It’s time for us to think about winter,” Naf-Naf once said to his brothers,

waking up early in the morning. - I'm shaking all over from the cold. We might catch a cold.

Let's build a house and spend the winter together under one warm roof.

But his brothers did not want to take the job. Much nicer in

last warm days walking and jumping in the meadow, rather than digging the earth and dragging

heavy stones"

Main action– increasing conflict, intensifying confrontation between the heroes.

“- It will be in time! Winter is still far away. We’ll take a walk again,” said Nif-Nif and

flipped over his head.

When necessary, I will build myself a house,” said Nuf-Nuf and lay down in

Well, as you wish. Then I will build my own house alone,” said Naf-Naf.

I won't wait for you.

Every day it became colder and colder."

Climax- the highest point of the struggle, the peak of the conflict, when its outcome becomes clear.

“He carefully climbed onto the roof and listened. The house was quiet.

“I’ll still eat some fresh pig today!” - thought the wolf and,

He licked his lips and climbed into the pipe.

But as soon as he began to go down the pipe, the piglets heard a rustling sound. A

when soot began to fall on the lid of the boiler, the smart Naf-Naf immediately guessed

what's the matter.

He quickly rushed to the cauldron, in which water was boiling on the fire, and tore off the

cover it.

Welcome! - Naf-Naf said and winked at his brothers.

Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf had already completely calmed down and, smiling happily,

looked at their smart and brave brother.

The piglets didn't have to wait long. Black as a chimney sweep wolf

splashed straight into boiling water.

He had never been in so much pain!

His eyes bulged out of his head and all his fur stood on end.

With a wild roar, the scalded wolf flew into the chimney back onto the roof,

rolled down it to the ground, somersaulted over his head four times, rode

on his tail past the locked door and rushed into the forest.”

Interchange – new state of the environment and heroes after the resolution of the conflict.

“And three brothers, three little pigs, looked after him and rejoiced,

that they so cleverly taught the evil robber a lesson.

And then they sang their cheerful song.

From then on, the brothers began to live together, under one roof.

That's all we know about the three little pigs - Nif-Nifa, Nuf-Nufa

and Naf-Naf"

The absence of any part or a strong imbalance in proportions definitely spoils the story.

“The Three Little Pigs,” by the way, has a very precise composition! That is why we remember this fairy tale to this day.

A sluggish and drawn-out beginning leads to the reader giving up reading the story after the third paragraph.

Deviations from the plot in the form of descriptions of nature and citing scientific articles are allowed, but ask yourself the question - why does the reader need this? If absolutely necessary, let them remain, but if there is even the slightest doubt, all deviations are out!

The scope of the story is limited and involves the exclusion of what is not related to the plot. In a story (compared to a novel), the significance of an individual episode increases, and the details acquire a symbolic character. The main author's efforts should be devoted to the description of the main character. The main character can be described directly, or more sophisticatedly, through the use of a variety of artistic details.

A story written in clumsy language will only be read by the author’s immediate relatives. The author's biggest sin is piling up unnecessary details. Stories are also spoiled by excessive detail in the description of actions, the so-called. "caterpillar".

The only way to develop a style is to read good literature. Pin it - write it yourself. To hone and improve a style means to listen to criticism. Well, and in conclusion, as recommended, a paradoxical denouement.

There are no rules without exceptions. Sometimes violating the laws of story construction leads to stunning effects.