- Fable - poetic or prose literary work moralizing, satirical nature. At the end or at the beginning of the fable there is a short moralizing conclusion - the so-called morality. The characters are usually animals, plants, things. The fable ridicules the vices of people.
Fable is one of the oldest literary genres. IN Ancient Greece Aesop was famous (VI-V centuries BC), who wrote fables in prose. In Rome - Phaedrus (1st century AD). In India, the collection of fables “Panchatantra” dates back to the 3rd century. The most prominent fabulist of modern times was the French poet Jean La Fontaine (17th century).
In Russia, the development of the fable genre dates back to the mid-18th - early 19th centuries and is associated with the names of A.P. Sumarokov, I.I. Khemnitser, A.E. Izmailov, I.I. Dmitriev, although the first experiments in poetic fables were back in the 17th century with Simeon of Polotsk and in the first half of the 18th century with A.D. Kantemir, V.K. Trediakovsky. In Russian poetry, fable free verse is developed, conveying the intonations of a relaxed and crafty tale.
I. A. Krylov's fables, with their realistic liveliness, sensible humor and excellent language, marked the heyday of this genre in Russia. IN Soviet time The fables of Demyan Bedny, Sergei Mikhalkov and others gained popularity.
A fable is a literary genre whose heroes are animals endowed with character traits inherent in humans. The manner of narrating the plot is satirical, where in an allegorical form the vices of the heroes, their wrong behavior, bad character traits, as well as the result to which this can lead, are ridiculed and directly indicated. The moral of the fable is a direct moral lesson.
In contact with
Classmates
The emergence and development of the fable genre
According to sources that have survived to this day, the author of the first fables was slave Aesop from the island of Samos. According to some sources, his owner's name was Iadmon, according to others - Xanthus. Aesop became famous for centuries for his extraordinary mind and the fact that for his wisdom and ability to give his master important advice, he was granted freedom. A special feature of Aesop's fables was that he, in an allegorical form, described to his master a situation that was exciting him and the correct way out of it.
Aesop's fables have not survived in their original form. But they were passed on by the people from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, and were later artistically revised and written down in Latin and Greek by poets of our era (Phaedrus - 1st century, Babrius - 2nd century and Avian - 5th century).
Fable literary genre in Europe
Beginning in the 16th century, poets and prose writers in Europe became interested in translations of ancient literature. WITH early XVII century, the fable in Europe received its rapid development and moved into the category literary genre.
Famous European fabulists are: German poets G. Lessing and H. Gellert, French poet J. Lafontaine, English poet T. Moore. They were fond of ancient literature and imitated Aesop's style.
Fable in Russia
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. ekakh many poets and writers of Russia, paying tribute to European fashion, also engaged in translations of ancient literature, as well as translations into Russian of the works of European fabulists. These include: S. Polotsky, A. Sumarokov, I. Khemnitser, A. Izmailov, I. Dmitriev, A. Kantemir, V. Trediakovsky. Very moralizing fables for children were written by L. Tolstoy. Thanks to the efforts of the listed great Russian poets and writers, a new genre appeared, developed and established itself in Russian literature - the fable.
The main master of Russian fables in poetic form is Ivan Andreevich Krylov. His characters are realistic, lively and recognizable; ridiculed vices and shortcomings are not unique to the individual, but are characteristic of large groups people and even society as a whole; their morality is endowed with centuries-old folk wisdom, which makes them understandable and relevant for any time and people.
In Soviet literature, the fable continued to occupy its significant niche among literary genres. The “father” of the Soviet fable was Demyan Bedny. Its theme was revolutionary, it ridiculed the remnants of the bourgeois mentality, contrasting it with the new socialist way of life and its inherent values.
In later Soviet literature, the successor of the fable genre was Sergei Mikhalkov. His characters were of a sharply expressed satirical nature, aimed at exposing servility, sycophancy and other morally base acts that flourished in society at that time.
Fabulists of different nationalities and nationalities that inhabited the territory found their place in Soviet literature Soviet Union. Their characters were endowed with national traits and specific flavor, they were relevant and instructive.
Signs of the fable genre
The fable genre has several characteristics and features that distinguish it from other literary genres.:
How to distinguish a fable from a fairy tale
Fable, fairy tale and parable are consonant with each other. They have much in common, but there are also very significant differences between them, which make it possible to unmistakably determine which specific literary genre they belong to.
Fables, fairy tales and parables have the following common features:
- are instructive;
- can be in prose or poetry;
- the main characters can be animals and plants endowed with human character traits;
- The story is told in an allegorical form.
Differences:
As an example, let us remember “The Tale of the Dead Princess” by A. S. Pushkin. The story begins with the king’s first wife dying, with whom he has a little daughter. After a year of melancholy and sadness, the king marries someone else. Over time, the daughter grows into a beauty, and then events begin to unfold related to the female jealousy of the stepmother towards her stepdaughter. And so on, until the moment when Prince Elisha finds her in a crystal coffin and awakens her from a long sleep with a kiss. I mean, it's a long story.
Fables describe a separate small episode of some event. As an example, let’s take I. Krylov’s fable “The Elephant and the Pug.” We don’t know anything about this event: what kind of Elephant this is, where and why it was brought, how long the Elephant stayed in the city. We only know that Moska jumped out of the crowd of onlookers and barked at this important visiting guest. That's the whole plot, but the moral is clear to everyone, and it has not lost its relevance to this day.
Importance in raising children
In raising a child, fables are very important. A child becomes acquainted with it at the age when the first books begin to be read to him. Not yet comprehending all the deep meaning, the child begins to distinguish bad behavior some characters from the good behavior of others, understand the allegorical forms of the characters, understand humor and draw the first conclusions for yourself. Illustrations serve to better perceive the plot and the child learns to visually perceive and distinguish the images described.
The fable genre is a fictitious incident, a fiction told for embellishment, for the sake of a catchphrase, an allegorical, instructive narrative, a fable, a fable, a parable, where it is customary to depict animals and even things in words.
Fable is the oldest genre of verbal art, a small work in volume. But this does not detract from its merits. The moral given by the author at the beginning of the work helps readers tune in to the right mood, immediately and unmistakably understand the author’s thoughts expressed in Aesopian language. It is important to understand why the fable was written, what its main meaning is. With its help, a person, just barely feeling like a human, was looking for an answer to the question: how to behave in this huge, complex world?
The main instructive idea of the fable is morality. This is what makes it similar to the parable. The characters in the fable are animals, plants, birds, fish, and things. The heroes behave humanly and are endowed with human qualities. We learn the character traits and behavioral characteristics of a person, which the author disapproves of, ridicules or condemns.
The language of fables is easy, simple, they are remembered well, especially the beginning and the end, in which the most important thing is most often said.
A special place in the formation and development of the genre belongs to Ancient Greece. Scientists believe that the first fable that has come down to us belongs to Hesiod (VIII - VII centuries BC) - this is the parable of the nightingale and the hawk, addressed to cruel and unjust rulers.
If something can be proven by deeds, then there is no need to waste words on it.
Whether the evil is great or small, there is no need to do it.
The true treasure for people is the ability to work.
Aesop, who lived in Ancient Greece on the island of Samos in the sixth - fifth centuries BC, was the first to compose and tell fables. His fables were prosaic.
The syllable was simple and only slightly rose above everyday speech.
Aesop, unable to directly express his thoughts, spoke in fables about the lives of animals, referring to the relationships between people. Aesopian language, understandable to a sophisticated reader, made it possible to avoid persecution and express forbidden thoughts using various techniques. First of all, silences and omissions were used. Irony was also widely used for Aesopian purposes.
Aesop is of Phrygian origin. He was ugly, but wise and had literary talent. Aesop was the slave of the wealthy Samian citizen Iadmon. He was later released and spent some time at the court of the Lydian king Croesus. Aesop was accused of sacrilege by the Delphic priests and was thrown from a cliff.
Aesop's name later became a symbol. His works were passed on from mouth to mouth. And in the third century BC, his fables were recorded in 10 books. There is reason to believe that at the end of the fifth century a written collection of Aesop's fables was known in Athens, which was used to teach children in schools. “You are ignorant and lazy, you haven’t even learned Aesop,” says one character in Aristophanes.
Later, Aesop's fables were translated, often revised, and translated into verses into many languages of the world, including by the famous fable writers Jean Lafontaine and Ivan Krylov. Some of Aesop's fables were retold in prose for children by L. N. Tolstoy.
In Russian, a complete translation of all Aesop's fables was published in 1968.
There's nothing more dangerous than an ignorant friend
More flies drown in food than in vinegar.
J. Lafontaine
Aesop's traditions were continued in the works of other authors. In the 17th century, the ancient genre was exalted by the French writer La Fontaine.
Lafontaine Jean is a famous French poet and fabulist. Since childhood, he had a rebellious disposition and was sent to study law at the Parisian Oratorian Seminary.
La Fontaine's literary fame is based entirely on his fables, which he composed exclusively for the highest Parisian society, for the court aristocracy.
When writing his fables, La Fontaine drew inspiration from primary sources: Aesop, Phaedrus. Aesop's fable had a practical purpose, illustrating a lesson. In La Fontaine, the center of gravity gradually shifts to the story.
Lafontaine's task is to tell an old fable in a new, fresh and original way. He introduces a lot of new, real-life material into the traditional plot framework. La Fontaine's Fables show a broad picture of modern French life.
The features of La Fontaine's style are closely related to his worldview. It is based on clarity, sobriety and accuracy of observation of reality at the same time - an acute sense of the contradictions of this reality, which gives rise to a humorous, mocking interpretation of events.
The fables of Jean La Fontaine had a tremendous influence on the development of all European literature. In Russia, all the prominent Russian fabulists followed in the footsteps of La Fontaine: Sumarokov, Izmailov, Dmitriev, Krylov.
I love, where there is an opportunity, to pinch vices.
It's good to be strong
It's twice as smart to be smart.
Helpful Fool more dangerous than the enemy.
I. A. Krylov
For the true glory of his talent and for the history of Russian literature, the famous Russian fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov was born only when he was forty years old. He realized his destiny and dedicated his work to the fable. In 1808 the first edition of his Fables was published.
The book was sold out in great demand and brought Krylov enormous success. It was published a lot. Although Krylov often used the plots of Aesop and La Fontaine, his works are absolutely independent. There are only 30 fables based on borrowed plots, the rest belong to him, both in fiction and in story. Krylov inherited the tradition of identifying people with animals from his predecessors.
But the skill of Krylov, the fabulist, does not lie in imitation of this tradition. The fables of I. A. Krylov are perfect in the power of expression, in the beauty of form and liveliness of the story, subtle humor and pure vernacular. The famous fabulist mercilessly executed with laughter all sorts of shortcomings of the human race, all kinds of evil, various types of stupidity and vulgarity, attributing these shortcomings to animals, and did it brilliantly.
The fact that folk expressions have dissolved in the language of Krylov’s fables is one of its peculiarities.
Zhukovsky wrote that Krylov’s fables taught readers to “love the Russian language.” This is living folk speech, which Krylov boldly introduced into Russian poetry. This is a feature of I. A. Krylov’s fables. The great fabulist made a huge contribution to the formation of the Russian literary language.
And vice versa, many expressions began to be perceived as proverbs: “And Vaska listens and eats,” “But the little chest just opened,” “I didn’t even notice the elephant.”
Krylov's smart and caustic fables raised entire generations of progressive people, and Krylov himself in each new era found himself among the best progressive writers.
Krylov's fables are a special world that comes to us in childhood, but unlike many children's books, then it does not go anywhere, but remains with us forever.
I. A. Krylov was one of the best writers. Derzhavin himself highly appreciated his talent. Foreigners, as well as Russians, revered Krylov’s talent. His fables, especially those with more national flavor, were translated into various European languages.
And people carry through life what they learned from such seemingly simple Krylov fables. Everyone knows that “an obliging fool is more dangerous than an enemy”, that “the strong are always to blame for the powerless”, that “it’s a disaster if a cobbler starts baking pies, and a pie-maker begins to sew boots”, that “flattery is vile and harmful”, but “there is always a flatterer in the heart”. will find a corner."
Having reached such a brilliant flowering in Krylov’s work, the fable almost disappeared from Russian literature for more than a century.
In Soviet times, the fable was presented in the works of Demyan Bedny. Nowadays, fable traditions are continued by S. V. Mikhalkov and S. I. Oleinik.
The fable genre is still relevant today, so we decided to try our hand at this field.
Thanks to this project, we learned a lot about the fable as a literary genre and its features.
We got acquainted with the work of famous fabulists: Aesop, Jean La Fontaine, I. A. Krylov, and tried our creative powers in this genre.
Fable is a genre of didactic literature; a short work in verse or prose that allegorizes human actions, social relations, the vices of people are ridiculed. Often the fable contains comedy (satire), and often motives of social criticism. The characters in it are animals, insects, birds, fish (rarely humans). The subject of fable work can also be inanimate things.
At the end of the fable there is a final argument that explains its intention and is called morality. The moral may appear at the beginning of the work, or it may, as it were, disappear into the fable. Unlike a parable, which takes place only in context (“about”), a fable exists independently and forms its own traditional range of images and themes.
When did the fable appear in Rus'?
When did the first fable appear in Rus'? The answer to this question may suggest
Several variants. The first translator of Aesop's fables in Rus' was Fyodor Kasyanovich Gozvinsky (1607). He also introduced the definition of the fable genre into cultural use, having observed it from Anthony the Sage: “ A fable, or a parable, has come from its creators. It happens with rhetoricians. And because a parable, or a fable, is a false word, depicting the truth...».
In a later period, such masters worked as: Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir (1708–1744), Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (1703–1768), Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (1718–1777), Ivan Ivanovich Khemnitser (1745–1784). Their path is translations of Aesop's fable works, as well as the works of European fable creators: G. Lessing, H. Gellert (Germany), T. Moore (England), Jean de La Fontaine (France).
Sumarokov’s fable is amusing, Khemnitser’s is instructive, Dmitriev’s is salon-like, Krylov’s is slyly sophisticated, Izmailov’s is colorful and everyday.
To the fable genre different time also addressed by the authors: Simeon of Polotsk (XVII century), , , M.M. Kheraskov, , D.I. Fonvizin, V.S. Filimonov, L.N. Tolstoy, Kozma Prutkov, D. Bedny, and others.
What is a metaphor?
Metaphor(from the Greek word metaphora, lit. transfer) is a type of trope, the transfer of the properties of one object (phenomenon or aspect of being) to another, on the basis of their similarity in some respect or by contrast... Metaphor is a hidden comparison in which the words “as, as if , as if” are omitted, but implied. Do not forget that when such words appear in the text, this is no longer a metaphor - but a comparison.
How to analyze a fable - read
How to write a fable - read
Fables for children
The owner gives the chickens food
He began to throw crumbs of bread to them.
Peck these little ones
And the jackdaw wanted
Yes, I didn’t have that courage,
To approach the crumbs. When it comes, -
When throwing them, the owner will only wave his hand,
All the jackdaws are gone and gone, and the crumbs are gone and gone;
And the chickens, meanwhile, did not know timidity,
The little ones pecked and pecked.
In many cases in the world this is how it goes,
That happiness is obtained through other courage,
And the brave will find there,
Where the timid will lose.
A bright fly agaric grew among a forest clearing.
His impudent appearance caught everyone's eye:
- Look at me! There is no more noticeable toadstool!
How beautiful I am! Beautiful and poisonous! —
A Porcini in the shade under the Christmas tree he was silent.
And that’s why no one noticed him...
Author: I.I. Dmitriev “BURDROOM AND VIOLET”
Between the Burdock and the Rosebush
Violet hid herself out of envy;
She was unknown, but did not know sorrows, -
He is happy who is satisfied with his corner.
Author: V.K. Trediakovsky “RAVEN AND FOX”
There was nowhere for the Raven to take away some of the cheese;
He flew up into the tree with the one he fell in love with.
This Fox wanted to eat;
In order to get the hang of it, I would think of the following flattery:
Raven's beauty, feathers honoring the color,
And also praising his stuff,
“Straight away,” she said, “I’m mailing you with a bird.”
Zeus's ancestors, be your voice for yourself
And I will hear the song, I am worthy of all your kindnesses.”
The raven is arrogant with his praise, I think I am decent to myself,
He began to scream and scream as loudly as possible,
So that the latter can receive a seal of praise;
But thereby dissolved from his nose
That cheese fell to the ground. Fox, encouraged
With this selfishness, he says to him to laugh:
“You are kind to everyone, my Raven; only you are fur without a heart.”
Author: Krylov I.A.: “The Cuckoo and the Rooster”
“How, dear Cockerel, are you singing, loud, important!” -
“And you, Cuckoo, my light,
How do you pull smoothly and slowly:
We don’t have such a singer in the whole forest!” -
“I’m ready to listen to you, my kumanek, forever.”
“And you, beauty, I promise,
As soon as you shut up, I’m waiting, I can’t wait,
So that you can start again...
Where does such a voice come from?
And pure, and gentle, and tall!..
Yes, that’s how you come from: you’re not big,
“And the songs are like your nightingale!” -
“Thank you, godfather; but, according to my conscience,
You eat better than the bird of paradise,
“I refer to everyone in this.”
Then Sparrow happened to say to them: “Friends!
Even though you become hoarse, praising each other, -
“All your music is bad!..”
_________
Why, without fear of sin,
Does the Cuckoo praise the Rooster?
Because he praises the Cuckoo.
The fable genre has an ancient and rich history. In the history of fables, either storytelling or edification came to the fore, and depending on this, the genre acquired different character: either the aesthetic or the instructive principle was strengthened in it.
The duality of the fable - the story and the moral conclusion - forms a combination of two principles in the genre - aesthetic and logical. One of them is expressed in the form of a picture, images, and the other - in the form of a thought, an idea. An aphoristically formulated conclusion, moral teaching, or morality is most often given at the end or beginning of the fable.
The fabulist tells a fable in order to convey to us some significant moral idea, but in order for it to be understood, he either first hides it or explains it with a story. In both cases, he covers up his goal, wanting us to come to the conclusions we need and evaluate the persuasiveness of his “lesson.” Such a cover involves turning to circumstances that seem to be far from human life, but have them in mind.
Allegory, allegory, irony, and satire tear the fable out of the everyday realm and transfer it to the sphere of fiction and art.
Fable is one of the types of lyric-epic genre. A fable is close to a parable and an apologist; it is a short, most often poetic story, usually of a moralizing nature. Usually the fable is characterized by an ironic or satirical allegory. The fable makes extensive use of allegory; The characters are often not only people, but also animals, plants, fish, and things. The fabulist tells the story not at all impartially, but with the utmost interest, expressing his attitude towards what is depicted. When presenting events, he often accompanies them with his own commentary, often speaking on behalf of one or another “ actor" The author's lyrical voice is heard throughout the work. The plot of the fable itself is extremely simple: it is one short but extremely characteristic episode in which the main features of the characters should be fully revealed.
The history of the Russian fable as an original literary genre dates back to XVIII century and is associated with the name of Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir (1708-1744). His first experiments in the fable genre date back to 1731-1738. Initially they are distributed in lists. They were published only posthumously in his collected works in 1762.
The literary fable genre became widespread in Russia in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Russian writers gave examples of fable creativity: V.K. Trediakovsky (1703-1769), M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765), A.P. Sumarokov (1717-1777), M.M. Kheraskov (1733-1807), I.I. Khemnitser (1745-1784), I.I. Dmitriev (1760-1837), I.A. Krylov (1768 or 1769-1844), V.S. Filimonov (1787-1858). Fables in the first half of the 19th century were written by famous Russian writers, starting with V.A. Zhukovsky, K.N. Batyushkova, F.N. Glinka, D.V. Davydova, V.L. Pushkina, P.A. Vyazemsky and others, ending with Kuzma Prutkov (1803-1863). This far from complete list of writers of the first half of the 19th century who paid attention to the fable genre speaks of the wide spread of fable traditions in Russian literature of the first half of the 19th century, the foundations of which were laid in the 18th century. During the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries, the Russian fable underwent a complex evolution from the classic fable tradition (Kantemir, Lomonosov and others) to sentimentalism (I.I. Dmitriev, M.N. Muravyov and others), to realism (I.A. Krylov and his followers - writers of the second row - V.S. Filimonov, Kozma Prutkov and others). However, it should be noted that throughout its entire history of development, the Russian fable participated in the formation of national moral consciousness.
The development of the fable genre went through many stages of development until it became a national property and the property of written culture.
The Russian fable goes back to two sources - the world fable tradition and national folklore. From the world tradition, the Russian fable borrowed common fable plot schemes, architectonics and some other genre features.
Elements of the fable genre are present in the folklore of all peoples, including the most ancient Sumerian-Akkadian texts. A significant influence on world literature was exerted by the monument of ancient Indian literature, created on a folklore basis, consisting of books of fables and moralizing short stories “Panchatantra” (5th - 4th centuries BC). "Kalila and Dimna" is an Arabic version of this ancient Indian collection of fables. No later than the 13th century, a Slavic translation of this collection appeared, then distributed in lists in Rus' under the name “Stephanit and Ikhnilat”. In 1762, “Political and Moral Fables of Pilpay, Indian Philosopher” was published, translated from the French Academy of Sciences by translator B. Volkov. According to the conclusion of academician I.Yu. Krachkovsky, this was the second path along which the same Arabic version came to the Russian reader.
The ancient Greek fables of Aesop and the Indian fables of Pilpay were the richest fund from which subsequent fabulists drew their stories, applying these stories in their own way to modern times, reinterpreting and telling them. Aesop's fables were well known in Russia. The oldest translation into Russian of Aesop's fables is considered to be the translation made in 1608 in Moscow by “Fyodor Kasyanov, son of Gozvinsky, of Greek words and Polish translator.” He translated 148 works of the ancient Greek fabulist.
The most famous in the 18th century (and later during the time of Krylov) was the translation into Russian of the book “Esopian Fables with Moral Teachings and Notes by Roger Letrange”, made in the “St. Petersburg Chancellery of the Academy of Sciences by Secretary Sergei Volchkov” (St. Petersburg, 1747). This book went through at least five reprints until 1815 (1760, 1766, 1791, 1810, 1815).
During the 19th century, about ten editions of Aesop's fables were published. At the same time, sometimes the publications were supplemented by the publication of adaptations of Aesopian plots by Russian fabulists I.I. Dmitriev, I.A. Krylov and others. They, of course, combined traditions with innovation, which is characteristic of Russian fabulists. Aesop's fables are written in prose. But Russian fabulists gravitated toward poetic retellings of Aesopian stories. This tradition dates back to antiquity. Since Aesop's fables and parables had an internal desire for rhythm, already ancient writers - Phaedrus (c. 15 BC - c. 70 AD), Babrius (late 1st - early 2nd century), Avian (late IV - early V centuries) began the poetic development of common fable plots. One of the earliest poetic translations of Aesop in the poetic arrangement of Phaedrus appeared in St. Petersburg in 1764 under the title: “Phaedra, the Freedman of Augustus, moral fables, composed from Aesop’s example, and from Latin Russian verses translated by the Academy of Sciences by translator Ivan Barkov.” In 1814, another poetic translation appeared: “Fables of Phaedrus, published by Koshansky, professor of the Lyceum,” St. Petersburg, medical typ., 1814, 201 p. It should be noted that Phaedrus’s early fables were written on traditional Aesopian themes, and later new, original themes were developed.
In the second half of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries in Russia, not only ancient, but also Western European fabulists became popular among the educated part of society. Fables of Ludwig Holberg (1684-1754), “the father of Danish-Norwegian literature” translated by D.I. Fonvizin's works went through three editions in Russia (1761, 1765, 1787). Translations of fables by German writers (Gellert, Meisner) and French fabulists - Saint-Lambert, La Fontaine - were especially popular. La Fontaine's fables were perceived as exemplary works, influencing the poetics of the genre in Russian literature, and served as a valuable source for A.P. Sumarokova, I.I. Dmitrieva, I.A. Krylov and other Russian fabulists of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries.
According to the fair conclusion of researchers of the classic fable by M.L. Gasparov and I.Yu. Podgaetskaya “under the pen of La Fontaine, the fable, which was considered a “low” genre in the theory of classicism, acquired the grandeur and scale of truly high poetry. In addition, La Fontaine's fables largely determined further development European and Russian fables, being also a kind of intermediary between the ancient and national fables.”
Numerous translations of the classical fable into Russian, interest in the work of Western European fabulists speaks not of a tendency to borrow, but of a desire to contribute in every possible way to the process of formation and national self-determination of the Russian fable genre, without remaining aloof from classical traditions.
In the first third of the 19th century, the Russian fable, which was gradually gaining strength in the work of the great Russian fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov, rose to the height of world standards; The “rivalry” of Russian fabulists in the presentation and retelling of fable plots that were previously cultivated almost completely ceases. The Krylov fable tradition with its unchanging nationality and deeply national flavor becomes the leading one.
The most valuable source that shaped the originality of the Russian fable is fertile soil oral folk art. Outside of folklore, it is impossible to form an idea of the genesis of the fable and its artistic originality. A.A. Potebnya at one time noted the genetic relationship of the fable with proverb And proverb. The famous collector of proverbs I. Snigirev in the preface to “Russians folk proverbs and parables" (M., 1848) wrote: "Just as many parables and fables have been reduced to proverbs... so the latter are equally developed in fables and parables." The relationship between proverbs and fables is also discussed in the two-volume collection of V.I. Dahl “Proverbs of the Russian people. A collection of proverbs, sayings, sayings, proverbs, sayings, jokes, riddles, beliefs" (2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1879).
A number of fable plots go back to Russian folk tale. The fairy tale tradition in the depiction of fable characters can be easily found by comparing them with fairy tales about animals (see “Russian folk tales by A.N. Afanasyev. Preparation of the text, preface, note, V.Ya. Propp, vol. I-III, M., 1957).
The active interaction of fables with oral folk art is also observed when comparing them with folk anecdotes and satirical stories. The folklore tradition remained a constantly active factor in the development of the fable at the post-Krylov stage of its development, although in Krylov it is outlined most broadly and fully.
Creativity researcher I.A. Krylova N.L. Stepanov notes four main stages in the development of the Russian fable:
First half of the 18th century. The Russian reader gets acquainted with the fable genre. This period is represented by the fables of Kantemir, Lomonosov, Trediakovsky, Barkov.
The end of the 50s - the beginning of the 60s of the 18th century. The rapid flowering of the fable is associated with the activities of Sumarokov and his students and followers.
- The 90s of the 18th century, when the fable again occupied a prominent place on the pages of magazines and such fabulists as Khemnitser and Dmitriev appeared. This period, as it were, completes the “classicistic” period of development of the fable of the 18th century and creates the fable of sentimentalism.
- 1800-1840s of the 19th century; This period is marked by the appearance of Krylov's fables and a new flowering of the fable genre in the works of his contemporaries.
As we see from the classification of N.L. Stepanov, the turning point is the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, when the classic fable is replaced by a sentimental fable. Here it is necessary to note the appearance of M.N.’s fables. Muravyova (1757-1807), Yu.A. Neledinsky-Meletsky (1752-1829) and others. But the central place in the development of the sentimental fable genre is occupied by I.I. Dmitriev.
The origins of the Russian fable cannot be determined unambiguously: on the one hand, the interest of the Russian literary community in the traditions of the ancient fable played a huge role, as evidenced by the large number of translations into Russian of the fables of Aesop, Phaedrus and others; then interest in Western European fables also attracted the attention of translators and fabulists. On the other hand, mastering the plots of ancient and Western European fables, Russian fabulists created original works, relying on such an important source as oral folk art- fairy tales, proverbs, sayings that expressed folk wisdom, clearly manifested in the Russian fable heritage, the pinnacle of which is the work of Krylov.
