What is an author's position? Ways of expressing the author's position in the text

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most frequently used terms in literary criticism is the author's position. It can become the basis for the topic of an essay, article, abstract or essay. The author's position in the text must be seen and understood as it is expressed.

Term transformation

It should be said that the author's position has undergone a number of qualitative changes throughout the development of literature. At the very beginning of the emergence of mass literature (that is, when literature as an art form separated from folklore, ceased to be of a political or religious nature), the author's assessment was expressed directly in the work. The author could openly talk about which character seemed to him positive or negative, expressed his attitude to what was happening in digressions, in conclusions. Over time, this way of the author's presence in the text became unacceptable, the creator of the text began to distance himself, giving the reader the opportunity to decide for himself which side he is on. This process became especially aggravated in the 20th century, this phenomenon was called by R. Barth "the death of the author." However, not all researchers agree with him, noting thatin any case, the author evaluates the situation, expresses his opinion, he just does it covertly, veiled, using various means.

Ways of expressing the author's position in drama, lyrics and epic

Depending on the type of literature and the genre of the work, the way of expressing the evaluation may be different. The most difficult task is faced by writers working with plays or with poems, because they are more limited in scope, choice of means.

Drama

The author who creates a dramatic work must be a real master of the word. After all, in his arsenal there are only replicas of heroes. Through speech, he must show the character of his character. He himself is present in the text only at the level of remarks. It is remarks that are one of the ways of expressing the author's position in the text. Consider M. Gorky's drama "At the Bottom". The author's position in relation to the inhabitants of the rooming house and the current situation is obvious: extensive remarks at the beginning of each act show us horrific pictures of the situation.

It's shabby walls, hanging ceilings, tattered sheets, a bunch of people who are indifferent to each other. Another important means of author's evaluation are speaking surnames. This technique was especially actively used in the 18th and 19th centuries. For example, in Griboedov's play "Woe from Wit" the characters are Famusov, Molchalin, Skalozub. Famusov is a surname derived from the English "famos", which means "famous". Molchalin really tries to remain silent so as not to say too much and not to lose hope of gettingnext rank. Skalozub - always friendly and deliberately courteous. The author's positions in the drama are also expressed by introducing into the canvas the work of the hero-reasoner. This character embodies the main ideas of the author. For example, in the drama of A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" Kuligin acts as such a hero. It is he who expresses his attitude towards the provincial city of Kalinov: "Cruel morals, sir, in your city."

Lyrics

In a poem, the author's position can be represented at two levels: on the semantic and on the linguistic, external. Any lyrical work is filled with feeling, in addition, most of the poems are the embodiment of the author's emotions. It is no coincidence that poets are often associated with their lyrical heroes. At the linguistic level, the author's position can be represented with the help of epithets, personifications, metaphors, antitheses, author's neologisms. Consider Blok's poem "Factory". The symbolist poet expresses his attitude to what is happening through a gloomy color scheme, he deliberately writes the word "yellow" in an unconventional way. This increases the tension, gives the verses a special rigidity.

Epos

In the epic, the author's position is much more important than in the lyrics. Indeed, in the center of the image of an epic work there is some problem: philosophical, moral, social or political. The more inconspicuous and unobtrusive the author's opinion, the better the text looks.

The expression of the author's position is easiest to consider on the example of a Russian novel. One of the most popularways, which Leo Tolstoy resorted to in his work, are lyrical digressions. In such digressions, landscapes are depicted, discussions about important life issues. In a lyrical digression, the writer's opinion is expressed almost directly, but it is not always possible to understand without special reflection. An example is the ending of Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons. Turgenev draws us picturesque nature that surrounds the grave of Bazarov. Thus, the author shows that Bazarov's ideas were erroneous, the hero was too mistaken when he called this beautiful creation of God a workshop in which a person is a worker.

It happens that the author's position is present only at the level of symbols. Writers resort to the symbolism of names, colors, numbers. From this point of view, F. M. Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" looks very interesting.

The author has been removed from the text, which is why Bakhtin called it polyphonic. Indeed, in the text there are a lot of voices, opinions and assessments, among which it is difficult to distinguish the author's. However, everything in the novel suggests that the most important thing for Dostoevsky was to carry out the Gospel idea that the life of every person is valuable in itself, that it is impossible to violate God's main commandment either for the sake of an idea, or for money, or for good purposes. Dostoevsky actively attracts characters of various levels. The very name of the main character is considered by researchers from different positions, one of which recalls the schism that occurred in the history of the Russian Church. Multiple repetition of numbers 7, 3again refers us to religious books. It took the Lord 7 days to create this world, 3 is a sacred number for Christians, symbolizing God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Conclusions

Thus, the author's positions are important for understanding the ideological intent of the works. They can be expressed in different ways. when reading works, one should pay attention, first of all, to the names and surnames of the characters, the details that are mentioned in the text, the clothes of the characters, their portrait characteristics. It is also worth paying special attention to landscape sketches and lyrical digressions.