Aesopian language. What does Aesopian language mean

Aesopian language is a special style of narration, which uses a set of allegorical devices - allegories, allusions, paraphrases, ironies, etc. to express a specific thought.

Often used to disguise, hide, veil the true thoughts of the author or the names of the characters.

Aesop the fabulist

The very term "Aesopian language" was introduced by Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Little is known about Aesop's life. Lived in the 6th century BC Ancient Greece sage Aesop. The historian Geradot claimed that Aesop was born on the island of Samos, but a century later Heraclides of Pontus stated that Aesop was from Thrace. The ancient Greek writer Aristophanes was also interested in his life.

In the end, on the basis of some facts and references, there was a certain legend about the sage Aesop. He was lame, foolish, very inquisitive, smart, quick-witted, cunning and resourceful. Being a slave of a businessman from the island of Samos, Aesop could not speak openly, freely about what he thought, saw.

He composes parables (as they will later be called fables), where the characters were animals and objects, but their character and mannerisms were presented in such a way that human nature was easily captured. Aesop's allegorical fables ridiculed human vices: stupidity, avarice, greed, envy, pride, vanity and ignorance. For his service, the fabulist was released and gained freedom.

According to legend, the death of the sage was tragic. While in Delphi, Aesop, with his caustic remarks, turned several inhabitants of the city against him. And in retaliation, they planted the stolen golden cups from the temple on him, sounded the alarm about the loss and indicated which of the pilgrims could allegedly steal them. After a search, the cup was found, and Aesop was stoned. Later, his innocence was proven and the descendants of the then murderers were forced to pay the viru - a fine for killing a free man.

Aesopian language - the meaning of phraseology

Phraseologism “Aesopian language” is widely used today. Aesopian languages ​​​​will be called speech full of hints, omissions and; or a deliberately veiled meaning of what was said.

Aesopian language in literature

Aesopian language is common in such literary genres, as a fable, a fairy tale, a legend, in the genres of journalism, political satire.

Aesop's language became an integral element in the works of times of strict censorship, when writers could not openly express their thoughts and assess current events, which often contradicted the official ideology.

A striking example of the use of Aesopian language is the story-parable written by J. Orwell in a satirical manner " Barnyard". It depicts historical events revolutionary Russia 1917. The main characters are animals that live on the English farm of Mr. Jones. Each animal represents a social stratum. The conditions in which they live seem unfair to them, so the animals decide to make a revolution and create an equal classless fair existence. However, equality has not been achieved.

Examples from Saltykov-Shchedrin

Among Russian writers, Saltykov-Shchedrin used the language of Aesop most vividly. Let us turn to his allegorical work “The History of a City”. The writer introduces the reader to the city of Foolov and its inhabitants - the Foolovites. He describes them as lazy, inactive, unable to make their own decisions, wanting to quickly find someone who will decide for them, take responsibility for their fate.

At the very beginning, the Foolovites go in search of the prince, and give preference to foreign rulers, admitting their own insolvency: "Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no order in it ...".

Reading the work, you understand that the author does not describe a specific city, but the whole of Russia and its people. You can find more obvious correspondences: Scoundrels - Pavel I, Benevolensky - Speransky, Gloomy-Burcheev - Arakcheev, Sadtilov - Alexander I. And the ending of the work is symbolic: how unsuccessful are the efforts of Grim-Burcheev to stop the flow of the river, it is also in vain to try to impede the decisions of tyrants, standing in power.

Saltykov-Shchedrin's Aesopian language is also present in his fairy tale "Gudgeon" about a cowardly fish, which symbolizes cowardice, selfishness of people who remain indifferent to everything except themselves.

In “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals,” the author tells about the obedience of the people through the images of the allegorical image of a peasant who, on orders, began to twist a rope to tie himself; or about the stupidity, short-sightedness of officials who are far from the pressing everyday problems, who believe that French rolls grow on trees.

Aesopian language

AESOP LANGUAGE (named after the fabulist Aesop) cryptography in literature, an allegory that deliberately masks the thought (idea) of the author. He resorts to a system of "deceptive means": traditional allegorical devices (allegory, irony, paraphrase, allusion), fable "characters", translucent contextual pseudonyms (fairy tales by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin).

Aesopian language

(named after the ancient Greek fabulist Aesop), a special type of secret writing, censored allegory, which was used by fiction, criticism and journalism, deprived of freedom of expression under conditions of censorship (see Censorship). As a reaction to the ban on touching certain ideas, topics, events, names of E. I. worked out, for example, in the Russian press of the late 18th and early 20th centuries, a system of "fraudulent means," methods of ciphering (and deciphering) free thought. A specific role was played in it by fable images, allegorical “fairytale descriptions” (especially by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who introduced the expression “E. Ya.”) into wide use, translucent periphrases and pseudonyms, (pamphlet by A.V. Amfiteatrov's "Lord Obmanov" about the royal family), hidden allusions and more direct hints, irony ("full of tact", it was invulnerable to censorship), etc. The denunciations of domestic reality were veiled by “foreign” themes, the everyday phrase became a mockery (“What do you want?” - about the newspaper Novoye Vremya by A. S. Suvorin). The reader knew that a “great work” is a revolution, a “realist” is K. Marx, and “disappeared from anthologies” is V. G. Belinsky or N. G. Chernyshevsky. In this sense, E. I. was public and served as a means not only political struggle but also the realistic art of the word. Master E. I. in France was A. Rochefort. Over time, the style of satire subjugated the techniques characteristic of E. Ya., and now the writer resorts to them regardless of any pressure from censorship. Separately and collectively interacting with other ways of aesthetic word usage, they became features of specific individual styles (for example, "Penguin Island" by A. France, produced by M. A. Bulgakov, "War with Salamanders" by K. Chapek, various genres of science fiction and humorous literature).

Lit .: Chukovsky K., Mastership of Nekrasov, 4th ed., M., 1962; Bushmin A. S., Satire of Saltykov-Shchedrin, M.≈L., 1959, ch. 6; Efimov A. I., The language of satire by Saltykov-Shchedrin, M., 1953, ch. eight; Paklina L. Ya., The art of allegorical speech. Aesopian word in fiction and journalism, Saratov, 1971.

V. P. Grigoriev.

Wikipedia

Aesopian language

Aesopian language(named after the fabulist Aesop) - cryptography in literature, allegory, deliberately masking the thought (idea) of the author. He resorts to a system of "deceptive means": traditional allegorical devices (allegory, irony, paraphrase, allusion), fable "characters", translucent contextual pseudonyms. The slave Aesop could not directly point out the vices of the masters in his fables, so he replaced their images with animals with the corresponding characteristics. Since then, the language of allegories has been called Aesop's.

In Russian literature, the tradition of using this technique has been formed since the end of the 18th century to circumvent censorship. This technique was widely used by the satirist Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. Subsequently, Aesopian language in satire became part of individual style many writers and was also used outside of censorship pressure.

The use of the Aesopian language was investigated by the literary critic Lev Losev. He defined the Aesopian language as literary system the interaction of the author with the reader, in which the meaning remains hidden from the censor.

We have repeatedly heard the expression "Aesopian language." What does this term mean and where does it come from? It is not known for certain whether such a person lived, or is this a collective image. There are many legends about him, and in the Middle Ages his biography was compiled. According to legend, he was born in the VI century BC. e. in and was a slave of Croesus, however, a dodgy mind, ingenuity and cunning helped him gain freedom and glorified him for many generations.

Naturally, it was the founding father of this technique who first applied the Aesopian language. Examples of it are given to us by a legend that tells that Croesus, having drunk too much, began to assure that he could drink the sea, and made a bet, putting his entire kingdom at stake. The next morning, having sobered up, the king turned to his slave for help, and promised to grant him freedom if he would help him out. The wise servant advised him to say: “I promised to drink only the sea, without the rivers and streams that flow into it. Shut them down and I will keep my promise." And since no one could fulfill this condition, Croesus won the bet.

Being a slave, and then a freedman, the sage wrote fables in which he ridiculed the stupidity, greed, lies and other vices of people he knew - mainly his own. former owner and his fellow slave owners. But since he was a bonded man, he clothed his narrative in allegories, paraphrases, resorted to allegories, and brought out his heroes under the names of animals - foxes, wolves, crows, etc. This is the Aesopian language. The characters in the funny stories were easily recognizable, but the "prototypes" could do nothing but rage silently. In the end, ill-wishers planted a vessel stolen from the temple for Aesop, and the priests of Delphi accused him of theft and sacrilege. The sage was given the choice to declare himself a slave - in this case, his master had to pay only a fine. But Aesop chose to remain free and accept the execution. According to legend, he was thrown off a cliff at Delphi.

Thus, thanks to his ironic, but allegorical style, Aesop became the ancestor of such a fable. In subsequent eras of dictatorships and infringement of freedom of expression, the fable genre was very popular, and its creator remained a real hero in the memory of generations. It can be said that the Aesopian language has outlived its creator by a long way. So, an antique bowl with a picture of a hunchback is kept in it (according to legend, Aesop had an ugly appearance and was a hunchback) and a fox that tells something - art historians believe that the ancestor of the fable is depicted on the bowl. Historians claim that in the sculptural row of the "Seven Wise Men" in Athens there was once a statue of Aesop the chisel of Lysippus. At the same time, a collection of the writer's fables appeared, compiled by an anonymous author.

In the Aesops, the language was extremely popular: the famous “Tale of the Fox” was composed in just such an allegorical style, and in the images of a fox, a wolf, a rooster, a donkey and other animals, the entire ruling elite and clergy of the Roman Church are ridiculed. This manner of speaking vaguely, but aptly and caustically, was used by Lafontaine, Saltykov-Shchedrin, the famous composer of fables Krylov, the Ukrainian fabulist Glibov. Aesop's parables were translated into many languages, they were composed in rhyme. Many of us from school probably know the fable about the crow and the fox, the fox and the grapes - the plots of these short moralizing stories were invented by an ancient sage.

It cannot be said that the Aesopian language, the meaning of which during the times of regimes where censorship ruled the ball, is irrelevant today. The allegorical style, which does not directly name the target of satire, seems to be addressed with its “letter” to a tough censor, and with its “spirit” - to the reader. Since the latter lives in realities that are subject to veiled criticism, he easily recognizes it. And even more: a dodgy manner of ridicule, full of secret hints that require a guess, hidden symbols and images is much more interesting to readers than a direct and undisguised accusation of the authorities of any offenses, therefore even those writers and journalists who have nothing afraid. We see its use in journalism, and in journalism, and in pamphlets on current political and social topics.

Aesopian language, Aesopian speech (on behalf of the ancient Greek fabulist Aesop), a special type of cryptography in literature, an allegory that deliberately masks the thoughts of the author. In fact, the whole genre of fable is an allegory of this kind, to a large extent fairy tales, parables, science fiction, utopias and dystopias, many types of philosophical and journalistic works, including satirical dialogues of the ancient Greek writer Lucian, condemning the moral decline and social vices of the late Roman Empire: "Conversations of the Gods", "Conversations in the Realm of the Dead", etc. Aesopian language is used by Voltaire in the philosophical story "Candide, or Optimism", refuting the popular con. 17 - beginning. 18th century the thesis of the philosopher and mathematician G. W. Leibniz: "Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." In "Persian Letters" French writer and philosopher of the 18th century. Charles de Montesquieu denounces the vanity, vanity and prejudices of "civilized" absolutist France through the lips of the "naive" Persians. Written on the basis of the European "animal epic", J. W. Goethe's poem "Reinecke the Fox" ridicules feudal arbitrariness. The reception of the Aesopian language is used in the pamphlet novel by A. Frans "Penguin Island", in the anti-fascist novels by K. Chapek "The War with the Salamanders" and A. Camus "The Plague", in many works by M. M. Zoshchenko, M. A. Bulgakov, A. P. Platonov, V. S. Vysotsky, V. P. Kataev. In Russia, the Aesopian language was formed primarily as a reaction to severe censorship restrictions. According to M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “I owe the censorship to the habit of writing allegorically ... A special, slavish manner of writing was created, which can be called Aesopian, a manner that reveals remarkable resourcefulness in the invention of reservations, omissions, allegories and other deceptive means” . Having arisen in the "interline space" of literature (an expression of the famous Russian bibliologist and bibliophile N. A. Rubakin), the Aesopian language became not only a means of expressing criticism, but also a special sphere of the art of the word. He uses fable allegory, allegorical "fabulous descriptions", paraphrases (a description of an object instead of its name: for example, N. A. Nekrasov called Siberia the Westminster Abbey of Russia, in England it is a tomb the best people), pseudonyms (A. V. Amfiteatrov called a pamphlet about the Romanov dynasty “Lord Obmanovs”), allusions (hints), irony, burlesque and travesty (the depiction of “high” objects in “low style” and vice versa), parody and grotesque.

Aesopian, or Aesopian, language allows the writer to disguise the content of thought and convey it to the general press, despite the prohibition of the authorities. The name “Aesopian language” spread in Russia as a result of the explanations of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who often used this technique in his political satire: “... My manner of writing is the manner of a slave. It consists in the fact that the writer, taking up the pen, is not so much concerned with the subject of the forthcoming work, but with thinking over ways to carry it out among readers. Even the ancient Aesop was engaged in such deliberation…” Indeed, ancient Greek fabulist Aesop, unable to express his thoughts directly, told in fables about the life of animals, referring to the relationship of people.

Aesopian language, understandable to the sophisticated reader, made it possible to avoid persecution and express forbidden thoughts using various techniques. First of all, silences and omissions were used. For example, Rakhmetov in the novel "What is to be done?" N. G. Chernyshevsky devoted all his life without a trace revolutionary activity, but the author does not speak about the content of his work and describes it only externally: “he was at home a little”, “everyone went and traveled around”. In the same way, the hero of V. A. Sleptsov’s novel “Hard Times” at first glance only walks, rests, talks at ease with others, travels around without visible target, as he himself claims, "wherever necessary." In fact, Ryazanov's revolutionary propaganda activity is making decisive changes in the fate of those he meets, forcing many to start a new, better life.

Irony was also widely used for Aesopian purposes. Suffice it to recall the content of well-intentioned verses, supposedly pen-owned the reactionary poet Yakov Kham, whose parody works Dobrolyubov placed in The Whistle, a satirical supplement to the Sovremennik magazine.

Allusions and citations of famous literary works were also used to express forbidden ideas.

Yes, a hint popular song times of the Great french revolution 18th century "Things will go" allows Chernyshevsky to express his conviction that a revolutionary upheaval is necessary and beneficial. And revolutionary moods and faith in the triumph of a just cause on the final pages of the novel What Is To Be Done? expressed with the help of quotations from fighting in spirit, optimistic poems by M. Yu. Lermontov, V. Scott, T. Good.

Sometimes, for the purpose of disguise, pseudonyms are used that replace the true title of the book, the name of a person: for example, a materialist philosopher who critically analyzed the essence and origin of religion, Ludwig Feuerbach, appears on the pages of the novel What Is To Be Done? under the name french king Louis XIV and as the author of a book "on the divine."

The appeal to the Aesopian language was a sad necessity, reflecting the lack of rights of the Russian press, which, in order to somehow break through the barriers of the censorship department, had to rely on the ability of readers to understand hidden meaning written. “The damned time of Aesopian speeches, literary servility, slave language, ideological serfdom! The proletariat put an end to this vileness, from which everything living and fresh in Russia was suffocating, ”V. I. Lenin wrote in the article“ Party Organization and Party Literature ”about the situation of the Russian censored press.

Aesopian language techniques - allegory, metaphor, irony, paraphrase, allusion - open the way for figurative expression and therefore, to a certain extent, enliven the work. In this sense, one must understand the words of Saltykov-Shchedrin that the form of the Aesopian language was sometimes “not without benefit”, as it forced the writer to find “such explanatory features and colors that, with a direct presentation of the subject, there would be no need ...”

The ingenious satirist achieved great success in the fight against censorship and developed an extensive system of Aesopian terms (“fuit” is a political reference, “wrong interpretations” - revolutionary ideas, "wrathful movements of history" - revolutions, etc.). Moreover, he showed satirical world, in the images of which reflected life tsarist Russia: "Poshekhonye", "Folupov", "Tashkent" designate in Shchedrin's satire the whole of Russia with the lack of rights of its population and the unlimited power of the autocracy and its minions.