Political ditties: folk and author's ditties, political folklore

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

We are all familiar with such a genre of folk poetry as ditties. What is their beauty? Chastushkas are easy to remember, rhythmic, and, most importantly, deeply emotional. Interestingly, the singing of ditties occurs not only at festivities. Short, four-line rhymes are composed on rather serious topics. Widespread among the people, for example, political ditties.

General characteristics

In its traditional, typical form, a chastushka is a short, rhythmic rhyme, usually four lines long, sung in a singsong voice, but at a much faster tempo than a regular long song.

As a genre of oral folklore, purely folk lyrics, ditties have the main purpose - to evaluate this or that event (and the assessment must be emotional), to express the thoughts and feelings of some folk community about the event, and not just tell, give informationabout certain life situations.

In the system of Russian folklore, such a genre as a ditty occupies a special position and has a number of features that are characteristic only for this type of lyrics. One of the main characteristics is that, due to its genre specificity, it almost instantly reacts to serious social changes, responding to the new that life is preparing for people. Moreover, this response applies not only to decisive political and historical events, but also to personal, everyday situations. Do not bypass ditties and such a bright feeling as love. The thematic range of this folklore genre is unimaginably wide, ditties tell us about everything that in one way or another influenced the writer (struck, excited, surprised, etc.).

Language construction

Let's go through the main artistic features that characterize the ditty as a special folklore genre:

• Small volume (usually four lines, a special form is a couplet).
• All four lines have different content.
• Monologic form.
• Appeals.
• Direct or rhetorical questions (may contain answers).
• Polynomial epithets (very often constant epithets characteristic of folklore as a whole).

Chatushki and other folklore genres

The ditty is quite similar to proverbs and sayings, but, of course, these genres have a number of differences. The main discrepancy is that proverbs and sayings, although they have rhyme and rhythm,are purely prose. While the ditty is sung to a fairly general audience.

In comparison with the folk lyrical song, the ditty expresses the individual author's principle much more strongly. In addition, the emotional tone is different. In a ditty, it is more cheerful, joyful, activity and vitality prevail, while in the case of a folk song, we often encounter minor and sadness. In terms of form, a ditty is a rhyming thought, but a song is not.

Like a kind of genre

Chatushki, especially political ones, are a reflection of any significant event in the life of the country. It is not difficult to understand what critical points or long-term political phenomena are being discussed: collectivization, revolution, military clashes, perestroika and much more.

Political ditties, of course, cannot be called the most popular phenomenon of folk art. However, we will not be able to get far from them. Politics, most often directly related to every citizen, will be discussed in the villages, and in the provinces, and in large, metropolitan cities. People are used to living this way and are unlikely to change anything. For a long time, political ditties will be heard in Russian apartments, at picnics and tourist rallies, in electric trains and trains, subway crossings, where street musicians like to perform, professional poetry magazines will also talk about politics in a special way (let's take, for example, the rather well-known monthly "Children Ra").

Main Topics

Currently, political ditties about Putin and Medvedev are becoming the main topic of chants, which is natural for the wave. However, and this is also clear, this was not always the case. At all times of its existence, rhythmic folk rhymes were personified. So, this trend was widespread in the political ditties of the USSR dedicated to Khrushchev, Stalin or Brezhnev. A great many chants were created during the years of Gorbachev's perestroika. Even in those distant times, when such a state with a vast territory as the Russian Empire was on the map, political ditties continued to live. Sovereign Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Fedorovna and her entourage Grigory Rasputin became heroes of folk art. Modern political ditties about Vladimir Putin are not all that we have. Such surnames as Tymoshenko, Yeltsin, Yanukovych, Poroshenko are widely rhythmized, to say nothing of Trump, Clinton and Obama.

No wonder ditties tend to paint a negative portrait of government officials. However, there are exceptions to every rule. So, during the Soviet Union, political ditties were used by the ruling party itself to promote socialism and those drastic measures that are being taken "on the path to communism."

Examples

Let them surrender, I will not serve

To Stupid Nicholas:

Boots, overcoat - over the shoulders, Yes for the fast river river!

Stalin, Lenin, Kirov

Yes Kalinin, olddog, You ruined Russia

You drove everyone to the collective farm.

Stalin is being dragged by a cow, A cow only has a horn.

- Where are you going, Comrade Stalin?

- Dekulakize the people!

My tomatoes

Yes pickles.

Stalin killed Kirov

In the corridor.

Yeltsin, Gorabachev, guys, What have you done?

Our strongest people you are

The world was allowed.

Our Yulia was sued!

Yulenka is a beauty!

Salo Yanukovych eats, Eating and smiling.

Sleep, Vladimir red, Bi-bye bye…

Looks quietly clear month

To your mausoleum.

Vova got up from the table

And he said to everyone: "That's it!".

Now rules in Russia

Petersburg caste.

Walkers came to Moscow

Bow to the deity.

That's a miracle, agree, Vova and Dima grew together!

Dancing, s alt from the eyes!

And on our farm, When they say "Chubais", Think about Putin.

Ditlets are designed to cheer up, but nevertheless have a clearly accusatory color. The main thing is that this denunciation should be kept within the framework of ethics and morality, without going beyond what is permitted.