IMAGE AND MOTIF OF TIME IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE OF THE EARLY 1940-IES (THE TALE OF LOST TIME BY E. SCHWARTZ, THE HOT STONE BY A. GAIDAR, TWELVE MONTHS BY S. MARSHAK)
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2019-6-56-62
Introduction. In the history of Russian literature for children, the period of 1940s is distinguished by the thorough attention to the image and motif of time by major writers. It becomes, on the one hand, the universal motive and reflects “the style of epoch” (Yuri Mineralov), on the other hand, great writers – Arkady Gaidar, Samuil Marshak, Evgeny Schwarz – present their artistic understanding of the time phenomenon in their individual styles, motives, images, techniques. The “inner form” (Aleksandr Potebnya) of an artistic work, that image of the “image of time” is interesting as a phenomenon. As a result of the comparative analysis, general and peculiar stylistic features, which represent the image of time in individual styles of the specified writers, were revealed. It was important to take works that are close in time of writing and analyse them in a synchronic perspective: all selected works are written in the range of 1941–43. As a result of the comparative analysis, the general ideology of the era reflected in the individual styles of these authors was manifested, that determines the relevance of the presented work. The aim of the study is to compare the plots and systems of images in the context of images and associative traditions of literature for children in 1940es. The novelty of the work lies in the convincing identification of stylistic dominants of the image and motif of time in these works at the level of plot, system of images, a particular technique – a sudden change in the age of the characters. Material and methods. The methodology of the study is based on the works on “inner form” by Aleksandr Potebnya and works on style by Pavel Sakulin, Yury Mineralov. In the definition of biographical time, we follow Valentin Halizev, in determining the motive we follow the work of “Historical poetics” by Aleksandr Veselovsky. Research methods: comparative-typological, historical. The theoretical significance of the work realises in the use of research materials in “Literature for Children”, “Introduction to literary studies” academic courses. The practical significance of the work is implemented in material for seminars for the study of A. P. Gaidar, Marshak and E. L. Schwartz works, and also for “Theoretical basis of the readers’ activities” practical classes on course. Results and discussion. The results of the study lead to the identification of typological convergence of the image and motive of time in the literature for children of the 1940s. However, one can trace the typological variation in individual styles of A. P. Gaidar, S. Ya. Marshak, and E. L. Schwartz. The Gaidar’s image of an old man is an integral part of his customary system of images, and it also plays a key role in the revealing of the image of time. In the works we have reviewed, Gaidar emphasizes the exceptional importance of transferring not just life, but life-building experience from the old to the young. It can be stated that the transfer of such experience motif is the leitmotif in the works of Gaidar (See Timur and His Team and The Hot Rock). On the contrary, the old men in The Tale of Lost Time, a story about Schwartz, are endowed with destructive evil magic power that can only resist the team of schoolchildren living in reality and, what is most important, catching up with their time. In the dramatic tale The Twelve Months by S. Marshak, the Princess’s individualistic attempt to control and speed up time is exposed not only negatively, but at the same time it looks pointedly senseless and absurd. Conclusion. In the reviewed works the motif and image of time are disclosed in the combination of art and didactics, what is considered traditional feature for literature for children. The stylistic convergence of the works by E. Schwartz and A. Gaidar is embodied in the plot-forming role of biographical time. The key stages, such as childhood and senility, reflect the symbolic plan of the beginning and the end of life. The change of epochs and generations, the transfer of social experience, major events in the life of society and individuals reveal the inextricable link between historical, social and creative levels.
Keywords: image and motif of time, style dominants, inner form, individual style, style of the epoch, biographical time, plot, literature for children
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Issue: 6, 2019
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: TOPICAL ISSUES OF LITERARY CRITICISM
Pages: 56 — 62
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