2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
A lyrical work is a special phenomenon in literature. It opens the hidden sensual world of its creator, therefore it has certain features. It is not always possible to distinguish lyrics from epic or drama (other literary genres). Sometimes it is concluded not in poetic stanzas, but in prose. Suffice it to recall the lyrical digressions of Gogol, Pushkin, poems in Turgenev's prose. Conversely, epic works can be described poetically. Here “Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin or “Vasily Terkin” by Tvardovsky immediately come to mind. Let's analyze the features of a lyrical work and how it differs from epic and drama.
Types of Literature
Art, including verbal art, is a reflection of a person's life, so multifaceted, full of various events. That is why it is impossible to reflect it in full, using only one scheme. This is how literary genera arose - epic, lyrics and drama. Yes, they are similar in that, as in a mirror, they show the life of people, but they also differ in a set of certain features. Let's briefly analyzethem.
An epic work is characterized by a message about any events in a narrative form. Moreover, it can be either a short episode from life, then we are talking about the genres of a short story or a story, or a larger event, the history of a family or state (a story, a novel). The main difference is that everything is presented in a narrative manner, sometimes the author resorts to descriptions or reflections.
Drama also has a certain plot, but it is built not with a narrative text, but with a clear fixation of the speech of the characters (cues). Thus, we can say that this kind of literature combines the features of epic and lyric poetry, because in the latter, expression comes to the fore. Since antiquity, two genres of dramaturgy have coexisted: tragedy and comedy. The first focuses on the hero's conflict with himself, his mental anguish (remember Shakespeare's Hamlet or Pushkin's Salieri). Comedy, on the other hand, describes life situations, sometimes ridiculous misunderstandings (“Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare). Tragicomedy is a genre that has appeared relatively recently. It combines the features of the two fundamental pillars of dramaturgy.
Lyric: definition of concept
What is a lyrical work? This is a kind of literature that opens the inner world of the author. Moreover, he is not static: the attitude and feelings associated with it can change, just like the mood of the hero.
Most often, a poetic stanza is used to embody a lyrical work. Perhaps the types of lyricalworks are the most diverse in comparison with the epic or drama. Indeed, the world of feelings is the most multifaceted and fickle. Even within one poem, the poet's mood can change from sadness to joy. This is what happens in the work "I loved you" by Pushkin.
A special place in a lyrical work is occupied by a lyrical hero. It can reflect both the feelings and thoughts of the author himself, and argue with him.
To understand this concept, it is enough to recall "Eugene Onegin" by A. Pushkin. Here, the lyrical hero is not the main character "rake" Onegin, but the author himself, he, as it were, tells about these events from the outside. However, Eugene in one place still takes on the role of a lyrical hero when he writes a letter to Tatyana.
Literary genres
Types of lyrical works, as well as epic and dramatic ones, are usually called "genres". It is noteworthy that the ancient Greeks had their own muse for each type of verbal art. These creatures, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, were good companions of Apollo, who was in charge of the arts.
There were nine Muses in total. Each of them had its own character and activity. So the noble and at the same time strict Polyhymnia was responsible for the solemn singing (hymns), and Calliope, who was in charge of the epic, on the contrary, was very businesslike and calm.
What is a literary genre? This is the basis of the work, a kind of skeleton, with the help of which the writer or poetcreates his own unique work. For example, fables have been known since ancient times, Krylov also wrote them. The genre is guessed immediately, this is indicated by the allegorical nature of the narrative and a certain morality. This will be the enduring hallmark of the fable genre.
It is also important for the reader to know what genre of work he picks up, because in this way a special mood is created, the tonality of the work is determined.
Lyric works, examples of which we will consider below, are also divided into genres. They can create both a solemn, inspiring mood, and a sad, even mournful one.
Ode and anthem
As we have already mentioned, the muse of solemn chants, hymns, is Polyhymnia. She is noble, impulsive, but at the same time very restrained. These works are distinguished by special solemnity, their task is to glorify. The hymns reflect the admiration of the lyrical hero. Moreover, admiration is so powerful, energetic and strong that one involuntarily wants to get up when reading it. What examples can be given? This is the beginning of the poem "The Bronze Horseman" by A. S. Pushkin. By the way, this passage is called the anthem of the northern capital, St. Petersburg. The opening lines: “I love you, creation of Peter…” immediately set a powerful charge of energy and power.
The anthem can also be expressed in prosaic form. “Song of the Petrel” by Maxim Gorky is just that. It is called a hymn to freedom. It is this state that is symbolized by the petrel, who challenged the elements, struggling with it.
Another solemn lyrical work is an ode. This genre, unlike the anthem, sings of somea specific historical event ("Ode on the day of the ascension …" by Lomonosov), a phenomenon ("Liberty" by Pushkin) or a person ("God" by Derzhavin).
Elegy
A lyrical work is not only power and solemnity. A significant part of the poems reflect calm feelings, more often love ones. With such works, the ancient Greeks associated the muse Erato. In her image most often there are features of suffering and tenderness. Such are the poems of the elegy genre. These works are sad, they are full of thoughts about love, also about life or fate, their destiny.
The genre of elegy did not remain in antiquity, many writers and poets actively used it. So, in Pushkin it is “I loved you” or “To the sea”, in Lermontov “I go out alone on the road”, there are examples of elegies in the literature of the 20th century, for example, Akhmatova has “March Elegy”, and Blok has “Autumn elegy.”
Epistle and epigram
Epistolary lyrical work is very popular in literature. This is nothing but a message. This genre allows you to reveal the most intimate feelings and desires. It is worth recalling only a textbook example of a message - Pushkin's "To Chaadaev". Or S. Yesenin's poem "Mother's Letter". It is important to note that there are cases when this genre includes elements of elegy. For example, A. Pushkin's message to A. P. Kern (the famous "I remember a wonderful moment"). Here, in addition to addressing the beloved, there is also reflection on one's feelings, a kind of reflection of what happened to the poet during meetings with his beloved.
Epigram (also called "satire") is another genre of lyrics. These works are very short, their main task is to make fun of someone. Satire can be more detailed, it denounces any social phenomenon. In this genre, the 18th-century poet Kantemir was very successful.
Sonnet
The sonnet deserves special attention. This literary genre requires the poet to strictly adhere to the form. The main thing in the sonnet is 14 lines. A distinction is made between the English version (three quatrains and two couplets) and the French version (two quatrains and two tertiary lines). The latter took root during the era of symbolist poets. Blok, Balmont, and also Bryusov used it. The classic English sonnet is known to the world through the works of Shakespeare.
The content of the sonnet is also regulated. Each stanza is a thesis for some kind of conclusion, which the reader will learn about in the last lines. This genre of lyrics is also called intellectually poetic.
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