Folklore is a kind of reflection of the people's consciousness. And this distinguishes it from other forms of linguistic art, including literature, in which folk wisdom is expressed by the lonely personality of the author. A literary work can also reflect a purely personal perception of the environment, while folklore combines a collective, public vision. Modern literary criticism is increasingly turning to the phenomenon of mass literature and the peculiarities of its functioning within Russia. The authors of the 21st century have recently shown a tendency to actively interpret the spoils of traditional culture. The growth in the popularity of popular literature is ensured by the use by writers of the reader's ability to reproduce on a subconscious level the images and plots already known to him, presented in the work. Very often such a "base" is folklore.
Folklore motifs
Folklore motifs sooner or later are used by all writers of both mass and elite literature, the difference lies in their function at this level. In popular literature, folklore is primarily a "factor in the formation of national literature", that is, a guarantor of the correlation of the text with generally accepted standards of literature that the reader is ready to consume. Under such circumstances, literary scholars are trying to determine: what is folklore in literature, how do folklore motifs interact with works of mass literature and what are the features of their influence on the author's text, as well as the transformations that a folklore text experiences as it is included in the plane of a modern literary work and changes it traditional meanings. Researchers establish the limits of the occurrence of a folklore text in a literary text and trace the transformations of universal folklore archetypes. One of the main tasks will be to find out what folklore is in literature, to explore their mutual influence and connections in works of popular literature.
Traditional folklore
Authors of popular literature set the main task of writing a work to interest the reader. To do this, first of all, they strive for a masterful depiction of intrigue. Zofja Mitosek writes in the article "The End of Mimesis" that "intrigue building is a game of tradition and innovation". And if by the concept of traditions we mean “the transmission from one generation to another of traditional formsactivities and communication, as well as the customs, rules, ideas, values accompanying them,”for the reader, folklore is a worthy representative of the tradition in literature. In modern society, it is necessary to instill in the younger generation the need to study traditional folklore.
School curriculum: literature (grade 5) - genres of folklore
Fifth grade is an important phase in the development of schoolchildren's language education. The appeal to works with the use of folklore materials is due to the need for self-affirmation, the significant susceptibility of fifth grade students to folk art, the correspondence of folklore as a spoken word to the active speech of a child who is at the stage of constant development. Such education in high school gives the student a lesson in literature.
Folk genres that should be studied in modern schools:
Ritual creativity
- Calendar-ritual poetry.
- Family ritual poetry.
- Folk drama.
- Heroic epic.
- Thoughts.
Ballads and lyrical songs
- Ballads.
- Family songs.
- Community songs.
- Shooter and rebel songs.
- Chatushki.
- Songs of literary origin.
Fabulous and non-fairytale historical prose
- Folk tales.
- Legends and traditions.
Folk paremiography
- Proverbs and sayings.
- Riddles.
- Folk beliefs.
- Fables.
Folklore is a "genetic" element of the worldview
Artistic action in the plot of works of literature is most often simple and understandable, designed to meet the everyday consciousness of the reader. Folklore is a "genetic" element of the worldview and, as a rule, is laid in the mind with the first songs, fairy tales, riddles from childhood. So, at school, the peculiarities of folklore works give the student a lesson in literature (grade 5). Folklore makes the world clearer, tries to explain the unknown. Therefore, when the functions of folklore and literature interact, a powerful resource is created to influence the consciousness of the recipient, in which the text is able to mythologize human consciousness and even cause a transformation of the rational sphere of human thinking. The answer to the question "what is folklore in literature" is determined by the whole direction of the integral creative understanding and use. In works of folklore, the ideas of creativity are often revealed on the verge of intersection with literature. Perhaps this is also influenced by the original ritual folklore. Literature (grade 5) in the modern school is increasingly returning to the current topic of spiritual and cultural revival, to the fundamental principle of the existence of our people, one of the main carriers of information about which is folklore.
Tradition of Analysis
In our time, there is already a certain tradition of analyzing what folklore is in literature, according to whichequating creativity with the standards of mass culture is considered inappropriate: despite the label of "mass character" of novels, they have their own style, creative manner and, most importantly, the theme of the works. They "regenerated" from the depths of the soul the eternal topics, the reader's interest in which has been dormant since the beginning of the new era. The favorite themes of ancient authors are the village and the city, the historical connection of generations, mystical stories with a love-erotic coloring. On the basis of established historical images, a modern manner of “direct” description of events is built, traditional culture is presented in a modified version. The heroes of the works are characterized by a breadth of comprehension of life and psychological experience, descriptions of their characters are emphasized by reminiscences to the history and culture of our people, which are most often manifested in the author's digressions and remarks.
Desacralization of folklore
Emphasis is placed on the visualization of pictures, which is carried out with the help of increased dynamism of the presentation of events and the effect of understatement, which stimulates the reader to creative "cooperation". In each novel, the hero exists in a world created by the author himself, with its own geography, history, and mythology. But when reading, the recipient perceives this space as already known, that is, he penetrates the atmosphere of the work from the first pages. The authors achieve this effect by including various folklore schemes; that is, we are talking about “imitation of a myth by a non-mythological consciousness”, according to which folklore elements appear under their traditional context and acquiredifferent semantic meaning, but at the same time they perform the function of identification by the reader of the ancient meanings already known to him. Thus, in the texts of popular literature, traditions and folklore are desacralized.
The phenomenon of modification of the past and present
The phenomenon of modification of the past and present can be traced even in the nature of the construction of almost all works. The texts are replete with proverbs and sayings, which makes it possible to convey the centuries-old experience of the people in a compressed, condensed form. In the works, the main thing is that they act as elements of the monologues and dialogues of the hero - most often, elderly characters, carriers of wisdom and morality, are used in this. Signs and sayings also serve as a hint at the tragic fate of the heroes of that time. They carry a deep meaning, one sign can tell about the whole life path of the hero.
Folklore is the harmony of the inner world
So, a certain mythologization and reference to folklore in the works is a natural and as integral part of the created world as the specifics of the peasantry, ethnic color and live, real broadcasting. Mass literature is built on the "basic models" of the consciousness of the reader of a given people (which are based on "initial intentions"). In works such “initial intentions” are precisely folklore elements. With the help of folklore motifs, there is closeness to nature, harmony of the inner world, and the rest of the functions of folklore fade into the background, there is a simplificationsacredness.
