The meaning of artistic detail in the dictionary of literary terms. Artistic detail in literature: concept and examples

Expressive detail in the work, carrying a significant semantic, ideological and emotional load. A detail is capable of conveying the maximum amount of information with the help of a small amount of text; with the help of a detail in one or a few words you can get the most vivid idea of the character (his appearance or psychology), the interior, the setting. Unlike a detail, which always acts with other details, creating a complete and plausible picture of the world, a detail is always independent. Among the writers who masterfully used the detail are A. Chekhov and N. Gogol.

A. Chekhov in the story uses as a detail the mention of new galoshes and snacks on the table to show the absurdity of the suicide that occurred: “On the floor, at the very legs of the table, a long body covered with white lay motionless. In the weak light of the light bulb, in addition to the white blanket, new rubber galoshes were clearly visible.”. And then it was said that it was suicide “he committed suicide in a strange way, at the samovar, with snacks laid out on the table”.

Figuratively speaking, every part of the gun must fire. The famous literary critic Efim Dobin argues, using the example of the use of details in A. Chekhov, that the detail must undergo a strict selection and must be placed in the foreground. A. Chekhov himself advocated minimizing details, but for the skillful use of a small number of details. When staging plays, A. Chekhov demanded that little details in the setting and clothing match the details in his works. K.G. Paustovsky, in his short story “The Old Man in the Station Buffet,” explains and reflects on the meaning of details (details) in prose. Chekhov said: “A thing cannot live without detail.”

According to the compositional role of details, they can be divided into two main types: narrative details (indicating movement, a change in the picture, setting, character) and descriptive details (depicting, drawing a picture, setting, character at the moment). A detail may appear once in the text, or it may be repeated to enhance the effect, depending on the author’s intention. Details can relate to everyday life, landscape, portrait, interior, as well as gesture, subjective reaction, action and speech.

In different periods of literary history, the role of detail changed: Homer used detailed everyday descriptions to reproduce a picture of reality, while realists moved on to “talking” details, one that served the specific purpose of realistically depicting a typical person in typical circumstances, and modernists used illogical, contrasting, metaphorical details, which allowed them to further reduce the text without compromising the idea.

Literature

Dobin E. Hero. Plot. Detail. - M.: Soviet writer, 1962
Dobin E. Plot and reality. The art of detail. - L.: Soviet writer, 1981

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Functions of artistic detail

A detail can perform important ideological and semantic functions and impart an emotional load to the entire text. The functions of details can be psychological, plot and descriptive. An artistic detail is not only capable of conveying necessary information. With the help of details in a literary work, you can get the most vivid idea of the character, his appearance, psychological state or about the situation surrounding the hero.

The detail can also act as a means of figurative expressiveness. For example:

“The forest stood motionless, quiet in its dull thoughtfulness, just as sparse, half-naked, entirely coniferous. Only here and there were frail birch trees with sparse yellow leaves visible.” (V.P. Astafiev)

In this sentence, for example, the artistic detail is epithets, with the help of which a picture of an uncomfortable forest is drawn. The role of their use is to emphasize the frightened, tense state of the literary hero. Here, for example, is how Vasyutka in Astafiev’s story sees nature when he realizes his loneliness.

“...Taiga... Taiga... She stretched endlessly in all directions, silent, indifferent...”

“From above, it seemed like a huge dark sea. The sky did not end immediately, as it happens in the mountains, but stretched far, far away, pressing closer and closer to the tops of the forest. The clouds overhead were sparse, but the further Vasyutka looked, the thicker they became, and finally the blue openings disappeared completely. The clouds lay like compressed cotton wool on the taiga, and it dissolved in them.”

The landscape indicates the boy's great internal anxiety, and also describes the cause of this anxiety. He sees the “silent” and “indifferent” taiga, like a dark sea, a low sky, descending almost to the forest itself. Combinations in the text of epithet and comparison (“compressed cotton wool”), personification and metaphor (“lay down”, “dissolved”), which is an artistic detail, help the reader to more clearly imagine the heavy sky hanging over the dark taiga and at the same time conveys the idea that nature is indifferent to the fate of man. And here the function of the detail is semantic.

Let's consider another example of a detail from the text of the writer V.P. Astafieva: “With a sinking heart, he ran to the tree to feel with his hand a notch with droplets of resin, but instead he discovered a rough fold of bark.” This descriptive and plot detail enhances the drama of the situation into which the hero of the story finds himself.

Also in the text work of art there may be a sound-descriptive detail or a metaphorical detail. For example, this is a description of a helpless fly stuck in a web from the same work:

“An experienced hunter - a spider stretched a web over a dead bird. The spider is no longer there - it must have gone away to spend the winter in some hollow, and abandoned the trap. A well-fed, large spitting fly got into it and beats, beats, buzzes with weakening wings. Something began to bother Vasyutka at the sight of a helpless fly stuck in a snare. And then it hit him: he was lost!”

For the same purpose, to convey the internal discomfort of his hero, the writer uses the technique of internal monologue more than once in the text, and this is also a striking artistic detail. Eg:

“- Ffu-you, damn it! Where are the places? - Vasyutka’s heart sank, sweat appeared on his forehead. - All this capercaillie! “I rushed like crazy, now think about where to go,” Vasyutka spoke out loud to drive away the approaching fear. - It’s okay, now I’ll think about it and find the way. Soooo... The almost bare side of the spruce means that direction is north, and where there are more branches - south. Sooo..."

It's no secret that to get high score for part C (essay) on Unified state exam Literature requires preparatory work, either independently or with a tutor. Often, success depends on the initially correctly chosen strategy for preparing for the exam. Before you start preparing for the Unified State Exam in literature, you should answer yourself important questions. How can a tutor systematize topics so that he doesn’t have to start all over again with each new piece? What “pitfalls” are hidden in the wording of the topic? How to plan your work correctly?

One of the time-tested principles preparatory work to the essay is the breakdown of various topics into certain types. If necessary, subgroups can be distinguished within the type. Careful work with one type of topic from different writers (four to six) allows you to better understand the uniqueness of each writer’s work and at the same time learn to work with a similar topic, not be afraid of it and recognize it in any formulation. You should strive to be able to determine the type of topic for Part C and formulate it both orally and in writing. The main task of such preparation is to develop the ability to argue your thoughts and draw conclusions necessary to uncover the topic. Any form of preparation can be chosen: an essay of 1–2 pages, selection of material on a given topic, drawing up an outline for an essay, analysis of a short text, drawing up a quotation portrait of a character, analysis of a scene, even free reflections on a quote from a work...

Experience shows: the more homework a tutor gives for a certain type of topic, the more successful the exam will be. We believe that sometimes it is more useful, instead of writing an essay, to think about one type of topic and develop a plan for constructing several essays that you can use in the exam.

This article will be devoted to one type of topic - “The originality of details...”. During the exam, the topic can be formulated in different ways (“An artistic detail in the lyrics...”, “Psychological details in the novel...”, “The function of a household detail...”, “What does Plyushkin’s garden tell us?”, “No one understood so clearly and subtly, like Anton Chekhov, the tragedy of the little things in life...", etc.), the essence does not change: we got a topic associated with a certain literary concept - an artistic detail.

First of all, let us clarify what we mean by the term “artistic detail”. A detail is a detail that the author has endowed with significant meaning. An artistic detail is one of the means of creating or revealing a character's image. By artistic detail we mean a generic concept, which is divided into many particular ones. An artistic detail can reproduce features of everyday life or furnishings. Details are also used by the author when creating a portrait or landscape (portrait and landscape detail), an action or state (psychological detail), the hero’s speech (speech detail), etc. Often, an artistic detail can be at the same time portrait, everyday, and psychological. Makar Devushkin in Dostoevsky’s “Poor People” invents a special gait so that his holey soles are not visible. The holey sole is a real item; as a thing, it can cause trouble to the owner of the boots - wet feet, colds. But for the attentive reader, a torn sole is a sign whose content is poverty, and poverty is one of the defining symbols of St. Petersburg culture. And Dostoevsky’s hero evaluates himself within the framework of this culture: he suffers not because he is cold, but because he is ashamed. After all, shame is one of the most powerful psychological levers of culture. Thus, we understand that the writer needed this artistic detail in order to visually present and characterize the characters and their environment, the life of St. Petersburg in the 19th century.

The saturation of a work with artistic details is determined, as a rule, by the author’s desire to achieve an exhaustive completeness of the image. A detail that is especially significant from an artistic point of view often becomes a motif or leitmotif of a work, an allusion or a reminiscence. So, for example, Varlam Shalamov’s story “To the Show” begins with the words: “We played cards at Naumov’s horse-driver.” This phrase immediately helps the reader draw a parallel with the beginning of “The Queen of Spades”: “...they played cards with the horse guard Narumov.” But in addition to the literary parallel, the true meaning of this phrase is given by the terrible contrast of life surrounding Shalamov’s heroes. According to the writer’s intention, the reader must assess the extent of the gap between the horse guardsman - an officer of one of the most privileged guards regiments - and the horse guardsman belonging to the privileged camp aristocracy, where access is denied to “enemies of the people” and which consists of criminals. The difference, which may escape the ignorant reader, between the typical noble surname Narumov and the common people Naumov is also significant. But the most important thing is the terrible difference in the very nature of the card game. Playing cards is one of the everyday details of the work, which particularly sharply reflected the spirit of the era and the author's intention.

Artistic detailing may be necessary or, on the contrary, excessive. For example, a portrait detail in the description of Vera Iosifovna from the story of A.P. Chekhov's “Ionych”: “...Vera Iosifovna, a thin, pretty lady in pence-nez, wrote stories and novels and willingly read them aloud to her guests.” Vera Iosifovna wears pence-nez, that is, men's glasses; this portrait detail emphasizes the author's ironic attitude towards the heroine's emancipation. Chekhov, speaking about the heroine’s habits, adds “she read aloud to guests” from her novels. Vera Iosifovna’s exaggerated passion for her work is emphasized by the author, as if in mockery of the heroine’s “education and talent.” In this example, the heroine’s habit of “reading out loud” is a psychological detail that reveals the heroine’s character.

Items belonging to the heroes can be a means of revealing character (Onegin’s office in the estate) and a means social characteristics hero (Sonia Marmeladova’s room); they can correspond to the hero (Manilov’s estate), and even be his doubles (Sobakevich’s things), or they can be opposed to the hero (the room in which Pontius Pilate lives in “The Master and Margarita”). The situation can influence the hero’s psyche, his mood (Raskolnikov’s room). Sometimes objective world is not depicted (for example, the significant lack of description of Tatyana Larina’s room). For Pushkin's Tatyana, the significant absence of substantive details is the result of poeticization; the author seems to elevate the heroine above everyday life. Sometimes the importance of subject details is reduced (for example, in Pechorin’s Journal), this allows the author to focus the reader’s attention on the inner world of the hero.

When preparing an applicant for Part C, the tutor should remember that the formulation of the topic may not include the term artistic (everyday, object, etc.) detail, but this, nevertheless, should not confuse or distract from the topic.

The tutor must discuss non-standard formulations of the topic in the form of a question or an unexpected detail with the student when preparing for part C, since the purpose of such exercises is to help better remember information and achieve free expression of thoughts. We recommend that both the tutor and the student use some topics from our list:

What do we know about Onegin's uncle? (mini-essay)
The estate and its owner. (essay on “Dead Souls”)
What does Korobochka's clock show? (mini-essay)
The world of communal apartments in the stories of M. Zoshchenko. (composition)
Turbines and their house. (essay on “The White Guard”)

The type of topic we have chosen - “Originality of details...” - is more conveniently divided into two subgroups: originality of details in the works of one author and in works different authors. Below is a work plan for each of the subgroups, which explains not what to write, but how to write, what to write about.

I. The originality of details in the works of one author:

What is meant by household item?
The degree of saturation of the work with everyday details.
The nature of household parts.
Systematization of household parts.
The degree of specificity of everyday parts and the functions that the parts perform for the time of creation of the work.

Household parts can be characterized as follows:

the degree of saturation of the space in the work with everyday details (“I clenched my hands under a black veil...”, A. Akhmatova);
combining details into a certain system (System of significant details in “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky);
a detail of an expansive nature (in Zoshchenko’s “Bath”, the narrator’s coat with the only surviving top button indicates that the narrator is a bachelor and goes to public transport during rush hour);
contrasting details with each other (the furnishings of Manilov’s office and the furnishings of Sobakevich’s office, the knocking of knives in the kitchen and the singing of a nightingale in the Turkins’ garden in “Ionych”);
repetition of the same detail or a number of similar ones (cases and cases in “The Man in the Case”);
exaggeration of details (the men in “The Wild Landowner” did not have a rod to sweep out their hut);
grotesque details (deformation of objects when depicting Sobakevich’s house);
endowment of objects independent life(Oblomov’s Persian robe becomes almost an active character in the novel; we can trace the evolution of the relationship between Oblomov and his robe);
color, sound, texture, noted when describing details (color detail in Chekhov’s story “The Black Monk”, grey colour in "The Lady with the Dog");
perspective of the depiction of details (“Cranes” by V. Soloukhin: “Cranes, you probably don’t know, // How many songs have been composed about you, // How much up when you fly, // Looks with misty eyes!”);
the attitude of the author and characters to the described everyday objects (object-sensory description by N.V. Gogol: “head down”, “ rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper...").

The originality of details in the work of one author can be consolidated when preparing the following tasks:

Two eras: Onegin's office and his uncle's office.
The room of the man of the future in Zamyatin’s dystopia “We”.
The role of household items in early lyrics Akhmatova.

One of the arts of a professional tutor is the ability to create a complex work with a type of topic. A full-fledged work for part C must necessarily contain an answer to the question of what functions the household parts perform in the work. We will list the most important:

character description (French sentimental novel in the hands of Tatiana);
opening technique inner world hero (pictures of hell in a dilapidated church, stunning Katerina);
means of typification (furnishings of Sobakevich’s house);
means of characterization social status person (Raskolnikov’s room, similar to a coffin or closet);
detail as a sign of a cultural-historical nature (Onegin’s office in Chapter I of the novel);
a detail of an ethnographic nature (the image of an Ossetian sakli in “Bel”);
details designed to evoke certain analogies in the reader (for example, Moscow–Yershalaim);
a detail designed for the emotional perception of the reader (“Farewell to the New Year’s tree” by B.Sh. Okudzhava, “Khodiki” by Yu. Vizbor);
symbolic detail (the dilapidated church in “The Thunderstorm” as a symbol of the collapse of the foundations of the Domostroevsky world, a gift to Anna in I.I. Kuprin’s story “The Garnet Bracelet”);
characteristics of living conditions (life in Matryona’s house from “ Matryona Dvor» A.I. Solzhenitsyn).

As a training exercise, we suggest thinking through a plan for the following topics:

The function of everyday details in the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin”.
Functions of household parts in the “Overcoat”.
Researchers called the heroes of the "White Guard" a "commonwealth of people and things." Do you agree with this definition?
In Bunin's poem “The whole sea is like a pearl mirror...” there are more signs, colors and shades than specific objects. It is all the more interesting to think about the role of object details, for example, the legs of a seagull. How would you define this role?
What is the role of objective details in Bunin’s poem “The old man sat, obediently and sadly...” (cigar, watch, window - your choice)? (Based on Bunin’s poem “The old man sat, obediently and sadly...”).

II. The originality of details in the works of different authors. For example, an essay on the topic “Household item in the prose of A.S. Pushkina, M.Yu. Lermontov and N.V. Gogol" can be written according to the following plan:

What is meant by a household item?
The difference in the author's tasks and the differences in this regard in the selection of household parts.
The nature of household details compared by all authors.
The functions of household items that they perform in the work.

To answer questions C2, C4, the tutor must explain to the student how the literary tradition connected the works, show the similarities and differences in the use of artistic detail in the works of different authors. IN Unified State Exam assignments According to the literature, the wording of tasks C2, C4 may be different:

In what works of Russian literature do we encounter descriptions of everyday life and how in them does everyday life interact with humans?
In what works of Russian classics does Christian symbolism (description of cathedrals, church services, Christian holidays) play an important role, as in the text of the story “Clean Monday”?
What role does artistic detail play in Chekhov's stories? In what works of Russian literature does an artistic detail have the same meaning?

For tasks C2, C4, a small answer of 15 sentences will be sufficient. But the answer must include two or three examples.

Many years before his death, in house number 13 on Alekseevsky Spusk, the tiled stove in the dining room warmed and raised little Elena, Alexey the elder and very tiny Nikolka. As I often read “The Carpenter of Saardam” near the glowing tiled square, the clock played the gavotte, and always at the end of December there was the smell of pine needles, and multi-colored paraffin burned on the green branches. In response, the bronze ones, with gavotte, which stand in the bedroom of the mother, and now Elenka, beat the black wall towers in the dining room. My father bought them a long time ago, when women wore funny sleeves with bubbles at the shoulders. Such sleeves disappeared, time flashed like a spark, the father-professor died, everyone grew up, but the clock remained the same and chimed like a tower. Everyone is so used to them that if they somehow miraculously disappeared from the wall, it would be sad, as if one’s own voice had died and nothing could fill the empty space. But the clock, fortunately, is completely immortal, the Saardam Carpenter is immortal, and the Dutch tile, like a wise rock, is life-giving and hot in the most difficult times.

Here is this tile, and the furniture of old red velvet, and beds with shiny knobs, worn carpets, variegated and crimson, with a falcon on the hand of Alexei Mikhailovich, with Louis XIV basking on the shore of a silk lake in the Garden of Eden, Turkish carpets with wonderful curls in the oriental the field that little Nikolka imagined in the delirium of scarlet fever, a bronze lamp under a lampshade, the best cabinets in the world with books that smelled of mysterious ancient chocolate, with Natasha Rostova, Captain's Daughter, gilded cups, silver, portraits, curtains - all seven dusty and full rooms that raised the young Turbins, the mother left all this to the children in the most difficult time and, already out of breath and weakening, clinging to the crying Elena’s hand, said:

Together... live together.

But how to live? How to live?

M. Bulgakov.

"White Guard".

This text asks you to complete two tasks:

C1. Researchers called the house of the White Guard heroes “a community of people and things.” Do you agree with this definition? Give reasons for your answer.
C2. In what other works of Russian literature do we encounter descriptions of everyday life and how in them does everyday life interact with humans? Support your answer with examples.

The specificity of both questions is that they are closely related, which makes the task of the teacher preparing for the Unified State Exam easier. Thus, when answering the questions proposed in these tasks, students can remember that the image of everyday life often helps to characterize the person around whom this everyday life is built ( typical example- first chapter of Onegin). The relationship between man and everyday life is different. Everyday life can absorb a person or be hostile to him. This happens, for example, in Gogol’s “ Dead souls", in Chekhov's "Gooseberry". Everyday life can emphasize the special warmth of a person, as if extending to the surrounding things - remember “ Old world landowners» Gogol or Oblomovka. Everyday life may be absent (reduced to a minimum), and thereby emphasize the inhumanity of life (depiction of the camp by Solzhenitsyn and Shalamov).

War may be declared on everyday life (“On rubbish”, Mayakovsky). The image of the Turbins’ house is constructed differently: before us is truly a “commonwealth of people and things.” Things and the habit of them do not make Bulgakov’s heroes philistines; on the other hand, things, from a long life next to people, seem to become alive. They carry the memory of the past, warm, heal, feed, raise, educate. These are the Turbins' stove with tiles, clocks, books; symbolic meaning The novel is filled with images of lampshades and cream curtains. Things in Bulgakov's world are spiritual.

It is they who create beauty and comfort at home and become symbols of the eternal: “The clock, fortunately, is completely immortal, the Saardam carpenter is immortal, and the Dutch tile, like a wise rock, is life-giving and hot in the most difficult times.” Let us remind you that quoting the text when answering the exam is welcome.

A topic such as artistic detail, which is infinitely broad, presupposes a creative attitude to the literary heritage. In this article we were able to highlight only some aspects of this broad and very interesting topic. We hope that our recommendations will help both high school students in preparing for the literature exam, and teachers in preparing for classes.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - a recognized master short story. The ability to succinctly express thoughts, which grew from a gymnasium hobby into real serious work with words, became the main distinguishing feature of the Russian classic.

Entering literature as an author short stories- “sketch”, A.P. Chekhov actively collaborated with periodicals(mainly with humorous magazines). The rules of newspaper layout dictated certain restrictions on the number of characters. In works that appeared on the pages of periodicals, the author was required to demonstrate the entire essence of artistic images in the most concise form.

In order to impartially, but at the same time clearly show life as it is, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov resorted to the use of various expressive and visual means. With their help, in just one or two pages of text, he was able to convey diversity, and often absurdity real world. The writer’s favorite technique was the use of such an element as an artistic detail.

Artistic details of Chekhov in the story “The Death of an Official”

The detail in the work is one of known methods creating a character image. For example, they were actively used by N.V. Gogol to characterize his heroes. Special meaning This technique is acquired in works of small volume, where there are no lengthy dialogues, and every word is carefully selected.

What is an artistic detail? This is an expressive detail with the help of which the essence of a person, event or phenomenon is revealed. Most often, it is played by some object of the material world - it can be a thing, an item of clothing, furniture, a home, etc. Often facial expressions, gestures, manner of speech characters also become artistic details.

What is the role of artistic detail in Chekhov's prose? It is intended to give the reader full view about the character. So, in the story “The Death of an Official” () with the main character, the “wonderful” office worker Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, there was an embarrassment in the theater. The fact is that while watching “The Bells of Corneville” he suddenly sneezed. The author emphasizes the ordinariness of the situation: they say, it doesn’t happen to anyone. To his misfortune, the official notices that he accidentally stained the bald head of the civil general Brizzhalov sitting in front. And although he does not attach any significance to the random episode, from that moment on Chervyakov’s life turns into a nightmare. Fear of high rank forces him to offer his deepest apologies during the performance, during intermission, and the next day, for which Chervyakov specially visits the general’s reception room. But assurances that the apology was accepted and that what happened was a mere trifle do not have the desired effect on him. Chervyakov is even going to write a letter to the general, but, on reflection, decides to confess again. With his servility, the official drives Brizzhalov into a frenzy, and he eventually kicks out the intrusive visitor. Tired of the mental torment tormenting him, Chervyakov returns home and dies on his sofa.

In fact, officials who were at the lower levels of the career ladder often became heroes of A.P.’s works. Chekhov. This was due primarily to the fact that this class was extremely inert mass, leading a rather meaningless – and therefore exemplary – life.

In the story “The Death of an Official” there is a noticeable collision of two opposite worlds. On the one hand, in the exposition the author seems to set us up in a bohemian mood: the hero came to the theater and enjoys the performance. On the other hand, the attentive reader is immediately alarmed by a strange detail: Chervyakov, sitting in the second row, watches the opera through binoculars. Such a plexus high impulses with low ones is again demonstrated in a phrase that gives a complete picture of the hero’s way of thinking: “Not my boss, a stranger, but still awkward.” That is, Chervyakov apologizes not so much in accordance with the rules of etiquette, but out of necessity dictated by his official position.

In the same vein, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov describes the wife of an office worker. In the story, her image appears in only three sentences. But isn’t it an indicative detail that the frightened wife calms down immediately as soon as she realizes that Brizzhalov is a “strange” boss?

Moreover, the comparison of the general and the official in their attitude to life suggests differences much deeper than inequality social statuses. Chervyakov’s limitations and narrow views contrast sharply with Brizzhalov’s complacency. However, there is a paradox here. With all Chervyakov’s awareness of his low place on the hierarchical ladder, he, probably without realizing it himself, believes that the general certainly cares about his modest person: “I forgot, but he himself has malice in his eyes...”, “He doesn’t want to talk!” He’s angry, that means...”, “General, but he can’t understand!..”.

Chervyakov’s inability to understand his own thoughts, to listen to the voice of reason and not fear, excessive suspicion, external insecurity and downtroddenness - all this speaks of the character’s passivity, his habit of living according to orders. In his admiration for strongmen of the world Therefore, he cannot in any way go beyond the framework of the position that he has determined for himself. Therefore, before an audience with the general, Chervyakov specially cuts his hair and puts on a new uniform - another important feature.

He remains in the same resigned position even after death. In the last sentence of the story, Chekhov brings out the most revealing detail: “Coming home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and... died.” There is a bitter irony here: the hero lived, “mechanically” and according to instructions from above, and died without taking off his uniform. As we can see, the uniform is a symbol of the irresistible sycophancy generated by the bureaucratic environment.

The author also mentions that before his death, “something came off in Chervyakov’s stomach.” Not in the chest, but precisely in the stomach - thus, the torment that the reader witnessed was difficult to call mental. Therefore, the detail in the stories of A.P. Chekhov becomes a comprehensive means of forming not only a social, but also a psychological portrait of a character.

Brief description of the early period of Chekhov's work

Chekhov - master of artistic detail. Early period his work is an example of laconic presentation. Later, in a letter to his brother Alexander, he derived the now famous formula: “Brevity is the sister of talent,” which can be called distinctive feature all his works. Avoiding a one-sided portrayal of reality, Chekhov in his stories always intertwined the low with the high, and the comic with the dramatic. And in this he was especially helped by the use of artistic detail, since it set the reader in a certain mood and made it possible to form a complete picture of the hero, even within the framework of a short humorous story. Already in early works Anton Pavlovich Chekhov traces trends that will later turn into plays and bring him into the ranks of recognized world classics.

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Just as a large mosaic picture is made up of pieces of a mosaic, a spacious whole of literary character, narrative and description is made up of artistic details and individual images. If this comparison is lame, it is only in the sense that in the mosaic composition the “mechanical” principle of addition (the whole from “pieces”) is still noticeable and the boundaries of the parts are easily noticeable. Meanwhile, in a verbal work of art, small details within a large figurative whole are connected by an organic connection, naturally “flowing” into each other, so that only a keen “peer” allows one to notice the outlines of individual microstructures.

And one more condition is required for the aesthetic perception of detail: one must appreciate what is characteristic and individual in reality, the completeness and living play of life even in its small manifestations. A detail, of course, is a detail in the picture of the whole, but not every detail is a detail, but only that which is saturated with the energy of individual vision. In what an indifferent glance slides past, the keen eye of an artist sees not only a manifestation of the infinite diversity of life (after all, we cease to feel this over the years), but also such details in which a thing, a phenomenon, a character sometimes turns to us with its most significant side .

Obviously, this requires not only the gift of special observation, not only the special sharpness of external vision, but the insight and power of internal vision, heightened sensitivity of the soul. That is why we perceive a correctly and precisely found detail as a small discovery (especially in poetry), giving rise to delight, as if the naive and blissfully clairvoyant “vision” of childhood had unexpectedly returned to us.

The fact that this requires a special ability, which constitutes the most important component of artistic talent, is confirmed by the confessions of great artists of words. Ivan Bunin wrote that nature gave him a special gift of “tenfold” vision and “tenfolded hearing.”

Afanasy Fet admits in his memoirs that he consciously exercised his initially gifted powers of observation, taking lonely walks in which there was always food for her. The life of nature in its small, half-noticeable manifestations, some bustle of ants dragging a blade of grass or something of the same kind, was endlessly entertaining for him and attracted his attention for a long time.

Behind all this lies the ability for deep contemplation, characteristic only of an artist (whether it is a painter, a poet, or a prose writer). This is a special, cognitive contemplation, in which, according to A.F. Losev, there is no longer a subject and an object, taken in their separation, but there is, as it were, a “marriage” fusion of both, born of love (only on it is every true cognition). This is “disinterested” contemplation, free from the predatory impulses of the will - the eternal source of suffering. That is why, according to Schopenhauer, the poet is the “clear eye of the universe.”

Artistic detail in the lyrics

In a lyric poem, a detail or a chain of details are often the supporting points of the image. Sometimes such details carry special associative possibilities, pushing our imagination, prompting it to “complete” the entirety of the lyrical situation, outlined only by cursory strokes. Its objective and psychological perspective is expanding before our eyes, going into the mysterious depths of life. And now sometimes the whole fate of a person with its hidden tragedy flashes before our mental gaze.

A lyrical image is sometimes born in the womb of one brightly individual detail. There is still nothing, no pattern of rhythm, no vague prototype of the composition, only a vaguely sounding “musical” wave torments the poet’s imagination, and already in this fog the living detail of existence has flashed with a bright light, uniting the external world and the internal world. Sometimes the movement of lyrical thought begins with it, other details are adjusted to it, the expression contained in them spreads throughout the entire lyrical image. But even if such a detail is just a touch of an “external” picture (a lyrical landscape, for example), even here it contains a poetic surprise that refreshes our perception of the world.

Such a detail sometimes enters indelibly into our sense of life, so that our very attitude towards it is no longer conceivable without these poetic discoveries. It is unthinkable, for example, our perception of the pre-storm without Tyutchev’s details: “The green fields are greener before the thunderstorm,” “The fragrance is hotter than roses. The voice of a dragonfly is louder." The fact is that these details not only captured the sharpness of Tyutchev’s poetic vision. In them, if you like, a certain real law of the phenomenon emerges: the awakening before a thunderstorm of the implicit, muffled in the ordinary sound and flowering of nature, of some “selected” sounds and “selected” colors accompanying its “fateful minutes.”

Artistic detail from Ryleev and Pushkin

A detail directed into the inner world is especially eloquent when it contains a laconic image of some instantaneous movement, in which a holistic image of the soul seems to involuntarily emerge. Pushkin was delighted by Ryleev’s lines in the poem “Voinarovsky”:

Mazepa smiled bitterly,
Lying down silent on the grass
And he wrapped himself in a wide cloak.

The hero's external gesture here is more eloquent than many descriptions. The artistic echo of this detail is echoed in Pushkin’s depiction of Napoleon in the poem “Hero”:

He fades away motionless.
Covered with a combat cloak...

Unlike Ryleev, Pushkin sharpens the contrast between immobility and the need for action that burns Napoleon’s soul. The battle cloak of the leader, tormented by the torture of peace, is a detail that amazes with its tragic depth.

Artistic detail from Turgenev ("On the Eve")

In prose, such an artistic detail, rooted in an instant psychological gesture, can flash as part of a fairly spacious description, marking a strong emotional outburst, tantamount to a mental crisis. In the novel “On the Eve”, Turgenev depicts Elena’s ever-increasing impatience in anticipation of the last meeting with Insarov. Everything that happens to her in this scene happens as if by inertia. She finds no place for herself, taking on one thing or another, and does everything as if automatically. Turgenev depicts this all-consuming impatience of the soul, for which everything familiar would definitely lose its meaning, by forcing the rhythmic and intonation means of influencing the reader. Elena begins to greedily rush time, and the rhythm of Turgenev’s speech reflects this pulsation of the empty, traceless passage of time. At this moment, a sharp decline occurs in the heroine’s soul. The strength of this decline is equal to the strength of expectation. Turgenev does not disclose further progress the heroine's thoughts, he is focused only on external manifestations the storm that unfolded in her soul. After this powerlessness, following a river of tears, a decision suddenly matures in Elena, a strong-willed impulse, the essence of which is not yet clear to her. And here, in a rich psychological context, an external gesture appears, a detail symbolizing the transformation of the soul: “She suddenly rose up and sat down: something strange was happening in her: her face changed, her moist eyes dried up and shone by themselves, her eyebrows drew down, her lips shrank."

This is the peak of a complex mental process, and in depicting a sharp and seemingly unexpected turning point in the soul, Turgenev accurately and subtly maintains the logic of character. After all, his Elena is strong-willed and active nature, and the effective nature of her character eventually takes its toll. As before, as if automatically, not yet conscious of her action, but driven by an irresistible force, which is the call of the will, she rushes towards a goal that reminds of itself almost instinctively, almost subconsciously. And this goal is to see Insarov at all costs.

Turgenev places such extremely rich psychological details in the image rarely, but large-scale. The excessive, in his opinion, psychological detail of Leo Tolstoy clearly did not suit him.

Artistic detail in Gogol

In the history of literature, there are artists who are keenly attentive to the life of things, to the attributes of the objective world surrounding human existence. Such were Gogol and Goncharov. With rare insight, Gogol anticipated the threat of the total reification of man, a sign of the coming civilization, in which man is no longer so much the creator and master of things as their slave and thoughtless consumer. In Gogol, an objective, material detail sometimes becomes, as it were, an “index” of the soul and replaces it without a trace. In its pictorial function, it is a “mirror” in which the character is reflected. Under these conditions, a special emphasis is placed on subject detail: for Gogol it is the most important means of depicting the world and man. There is no trace of Pushkin's restraint in handling detail. Gogol's detailing is demonstratively abundant: things crowd human space here and crowd them so much that there is no longer any feeling of the spaciousness of life. However, Gogol’s characters, inseparably merged with this materialized reality, no longer yearn for this space. For them, everyday life has forever obscured existence.

The “ship” of Gogol’s plot in “Dead Souls,” for example, sails in the middle of a vast “ocean” of things. The material world here is sometimes condensed, sometimes somewhat sparse, but in any case so vast that in this respect Gogol is unlikely to be comparable to any of the Russian classics. The same dense material environment surrounds (even earlier) the characters in Mirgorod and Petersburg Tales. Where there is an abundance of objective details, the specificity of each individual one weakens somewhat, but it is the totality of things that acquires special pictorial power - a system of mirrors in which the deathly face of the character is reflected. In the emptiness of existence, a thing acquires fatal irrational power over Gogol’s heroes. In Gogol it (the thing) claims to be a hero, sometimes falling into energy center plot, becoming the source of its movement (the gun in “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich Quarreled,” the stroller, the overcoat). The material world is that “crust of earthliness”, which, in Gogol’s words, crushed the “high destiny of man” (words spoken by Gogol during his studies at the Nizhyn gymnasium).

Artistic detail from Goncharov ("Oblomov")

The material detail in I. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” lives a different life. Subject environment here it is at the same time denser and more spacious than anywhere else in Goncharov’s works, and in the depiction of things here they make themselves felt too clearly art lessons Gogol. But here, in all its obviousness, Goncharov’s unique attitude towards material artistic detail emerges. Goncharov’s connection between object and character is warmer and more intimate. Oblomov’s robe, which has its own plot story, symbolically objectifying the spiritual movement of the hero, his milestones and stages, this robe, of course, is shrouded in comic expression, but there is no trace of the tragedy that accompanies it, nor the grotesque whimsicality in the spirit of Gogol.

The comedy emitted by this detail is smilingly sad, it is completely devoid of satirical poison, just like author's attitude has nothing to do with the hero with any kind of exposure. Oblomov’s attachment to the robe is almost reflexive and characterizes not only Oblomov’s laziness, but also the need for breadth and space, even in everyday manifestations of both. It is important to understand that this is a robe “without a hint of Europe,” and, at the risk of falling into comical seriousness, one can still say that it marks an aversion to any regulation and purely external good looks, elevated to a cult, but at the same time, of course. and the excesses of Eastern quietism, the captivity of contemplation, suppressing the will. Finally, Goncharov’s detailing reflects the author’s attraction to a strong way of life, to the traditional foundations of Russian life, eroded by the cartoonishly absurd and predatory passions of the time, the foam and scum of nihilism. That is why the objective world of grandmother Berezhkova’s “noble nest” in “The Precipice” is covered in the poetry of Russian life, permeated with the warm glow of family love for the whole world.

Artistic detail from Chekhov

A different attitude towards the subject detail in artistic styles gravitating towards small narrative forms. It is clear that on this artistic basis, detail is not treated as wastefully as in a great epic. “He never has unnecessary details,” said L. N. Tolstoy about A. P. Chekhov (according to A. V. Goldenweiser), “every one is either necessary or beautiful.” The laconicism and concentration of meaning in Chekhov's substantive detail are such that detail can replace a spacious description. In this sense, Treplev’s words about Trigorin’s style (“The Seagull”): “The neck of a broken bottle shines on his dam and the shadow of a mill wheel turns black - that’s it.” Moonlight night ready...” - close to Chekhov’s handling of detail. But to perceive them as an unconditional rule, as a principle of the Chekhov style, excluding deviations, would be reckless. It is enough to recall the spacious landscape descriptions in “House with a Mezzanine,” in “The Black Monk,” in “Student,” etc., and it will become clear that the range of deviations from Trigorin’s “canon” is very extensive. A detailed description, seemingly risky in conditions of compression and concentration of forms, is easily and organically combined in Chekhov with the symbolization of detail, as the composition of the story “Student” convinces. Against the backdrop of a fairly spacious landscape description, a detail stands out here, drawing the “ power lines"of the whole," "bonfire." Having pushed the hero’s imagination, resurrecting in his memory the episode of the Gospel night in the Garden of Gethsemane, this detail connects the temporal layers of the image, throwing a bridge from the past to the present.