Features of the genre of the tale “Lefty” by N. S. Leskova
“The Tale of the Tula Oblique Left-Handed Man and the steel flea"Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov wrote in 1881. The author’s original intention was to “pass off” his work as folk legend, written down by him. But designated as a story by an old gunsmith, “The Tale ... of a Left-Handed Man” turned out to be so talented that many readers mistook it for a work of oral folk art.
The word “skaz” itself suggests that the story is told orally. Listeners perceive the narrator’s intonation, speech free from norms literary language, filled with colloquial words and phrases.
The first thing readers pay attention to is the lively spoken language of the work. The narrator and the characters use words in the wrong meaning: internecine conversations are conversations among themselves, sounds are distorted (“horny nose” instead of humpbacked, “bow” instead of “bend”). They connect unfamiliar words (“busters” combined busts and “chandeliers”, “Melkoskop” - “microscope” and “finely”). Foreign words are reinterpreted into Russian (“pudding” becomes “studing”, “microscope” becomes “melkoskopom”).
However, Leskov’s neologisms tell the reader more than correctly used words. They evoke whole figurative pictures in our minds. So, the word “busters” did not just combine two words. It’s as if we see a ballroom in a palace, bright and majestic. This speaks of the richness and imaginativeness of people's thinking.
The history of left-handedness itself is closely connected with folklore. After all, even before Leskov’s work, there were legends about Tula masters.
The choice of a man from the people as the main character is also not accidental. Lefty embodied the best national traits: talent, intelligence, honesty, nobility, love for the homeland. However, his death also symbolizes the fate of an ordinary person, unnecessary and forgotten by the state.
The opposition between power and people is typical for folklore tradition. The people are depicted as gifted and brilliant, and the authorities are self-willed and cruel to them. Lefty loves his homeland and, dying, thinks that he shouldn’t clean his gun with a brick, “otherwise<…>they are not suitable for shooting.” The authorities are indifferent to to the common man, worry only about their own well-being.
It is no coincidence that readers mistook Leskov’s “Lefty” for a folklore work. Not only the language of the tale, the image of its main character and the main ideas turned out to be understandable to the common man. Author's attitude, indifference and sympathy for the people's lot, perhaps, bring the work closer to the reader than all artistic techniques.
Literature lesson 6th grade
Features of the language of the tale by N.S. Leskova "Lefty".
GOAL: Improve text analysis skills; develop creative features students; instill a love of reading the works of N.S. Leskov. Develop universal learning activities of students.
TASKS:
Help students conceptualize artistic content tale;
- teach schoolchildren language analysis literary work;
- develop annotated reading skills.
- develop students’ search and research skills;
- expand horizons by enriching schoolchildren’s speech with new words.
Lesson progress
Survey
What work did we meet in class?
Name the genre of this work. (tale)
What is skaz? (The epic genre based on folk legends and legends. The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, a person with a special character and style of speech)
2. Vocabulary work.
There are cards in front of you. Let's read these words, which are taken from the tale
Kunstkamera – museum, collection of rare things;
Kizlyarka – grape sour wine;
Nymphosoria – something outlandish, microscopic;
Dance – dance;
Small scope – microscope;
Whistling - messengers sent to convey news;
Tugament – document;
Ozyamchik – peasant
cloth
like a coat;
Grandevu – meeting, date;
Dolbitsa – table.
These words are ordinary, do we use them in our speech?
How can you characterize and name these words?
Now, having answered my questions, think about what is the topic of our lesson?
Let's write down the topic of our lesson: Language features Tale N.S. Leskova "Lefty".
What is the purpose of our lesson? pay attention to the genre features of the tale, to the connection between the tale and folk art; to comprehend the originality of Leskov’s depiction of the features of the Russian national character.
Why are there so many unusual, distorted words in the text of the work?
(The narrator is a simple man, illiterate, who cheats foreign words, to make it “clearer”. Many words acquired a humorous meaning in the spirit of popular understanding.)
The author's unusual style and manner of narration give the work originality. Let's pay attention to the new, unusual words of the tale.
What elements folklore works did you notice?
Initiation: the king “wanted to travel around Europe and see wonders in different states; replays: the emperor is surprised by miracles, and Platov remains indifferent to them; motive roads:“got into the carriage and drove off”; The ending of the tale contains edification: “And if they had brought Levshin’s words to the sovereign in due time, in the Crimea the war with the enemy would have taken a completely different turn.”
Theory of literature.
The plot of the work is simple. Yuri Nagibin defines it this way: “The British made a flea out of steel, but our Tula people shod it and sent it back to them.”
Say that....
What is the plot of a work of art?
- Name the elements of the plot.
- What is the plot, exposition, climax, denouement?
Fill out the diagram for constructing a work of art
PHYSICAL MINUTE.
All the guys stood up together
And they walked on the spot.
Stretch on your toes
And they turned to each other.
We sat down like springs,
And then they sat down quietly.
4. Game “Scattered Postcards”.
Here are illustrations that depict the main episodes from the work. Restore their plot sequence.
“The British give the Russian Emperor a flea”
“Nikolai Pavlovich sends Platov to Tula”
"The work of Tula masters"
"Lefty at the Royal Reception"
"Lefty in England"
“The return of Lefty to St. Petersburg and his inglorious death”
5. Working with a table
Observations on the language of the tale:
“Use of vocabulary and phraseology of other styles:
| vernacular | borrowed words | phraseological units characteristic of oral speech |
|
| jerked, adjusted, from where, I'll back off, nonsense, | cab drivers | ajidation, plaisir, postilion, Zeyhauz | give it a miss out of the blue |
Conclusion
Let's draw a conclusion from the work we have done according to the plan that is in front of you:
In the tale "Lefty" vocabulary is widely used colloquial style, which is explained by genre features works.
Syntactic constructions, which are used in the tale, are characteristic of colloquial style: there's a lot here incomplete sentences, particles, addresses, interjections, introductory layers, lexical inversions. All this creates: the illusion of absence preliminary thinking about a statement that is characteristic oral speech.
Write this conclusion in your notebook.
7. Self-assessment
Guys, now you can evaluate your work in class:
1. During the lesson I worked ... actively / passively
2. I am ... satisfied / not satisfied with my work in class
3. The lesson seemed... short / long
4. During the lesson I ... got tired / not tired
5. My mood has become... better / worse
6. The lesson material was... clear / not clear to me
7. Homework it seems... easy / difficult to me
Crossword.
1) What book did Lefty use to study literacy in Russia?
2) What did Lefty give up, not wanting to meet an English girl?
3) What science did Lefty not know at all?
4) Who accompanied Lefty to England?
5) Where did Lefty settle in England?
6) To which city in England was Lefty brought?
7) Who did the British promise to send money to if Lefty stayed with them?
8) What did the English masters offer to Lefty so that he would remain in England and become an amazing master?
9) What did the English masters promise to show Lefty in England?
10) How did Lefty return to Russia?
11) What feeling is characteristic of Leskov’s heroes: Lefty, Platov, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich?
The writer’s work is distinguished by a unique manner of presentation using his own style of narration, which allows him to convey folk speech motifs with the greatest accuracy.
The artistic feature of the writer’s works is the presentation literary stories in the form of legends in which the narrator introduces himself as a participant in the event being described, while the speech style of the work reproduces lively intonations oral histories. It should be noted that Leskov’s tale does not have the traditions of Russian folk tales, since it is presented in the form of stories based on popular rumor, allowing one to understand the authenticity of the author’s narrative.
In the images of narrators in his tales, the author uses various representatives societies that lead the story in accordance with their upbringing, education, age, profession. The use of this manner of presentation makes it possible to give the work brightness and vitality, demonstrating the richness and diversity of the Russian language, which complements the individual characteristics of the characters in Leskov’s stories.
To create satirical works When writing them, the writer uses verbal play using witticisms, jokes, linguistic curiosities, combined with unclear-sounding foreign phrases, and sometimes deliberately distorted, outdated and incorrectly used words. The linguistic manner of Leskov’s works is accurate, colorful, and richly variegated, making it possible to convey numerous simple dialects of Russian speech, thereby differing from classical forms refined, strict literary style that period of time.
Identity artistic style The writer is also distinguished by the characteristic logical structure of his works, in which various literary devices in the form of unusual rhymes, self-repetitions, colloquialisms, puns, tautologies, diminutive suffixes that form the author’s colloquial manner of word formation.
IN storylines Leskov's legends reveal a combination of everyday, everyday stories about ordinary people and fabulous motifs of legends, epics, fantasies, which allows readers to present the work in the form of an amazing, unique, charismatic phenomenon.
The originality of the narrative style
Leskov started his own literary activity at a fairly mature age, but it was precisely this maturity that allowed the author to form his own style, his own narrative manner. Distinctive feature Leskov is the ability to quite accurately convey the folk style of speech. He really knew what people were saying, and he knew it incredibly accurately.
Here it should be noted a very significant fact that readers can observe in the tale about Lefty. There are many so-called folk words, which stylize the narrative as a story that one man could tell to another. At the same time, all these words were invented by Leskov himself, he did not take and retell folk speech, but he was so competent in this aspect of the language that he himself actually came up with some innovations for such speech, moreover, innovations that looked quite harmonious and, perhaps, , after publication, the works really began to be used by ordinary people in their communication.
Also worthy of special attention is the genre invented by Leskov for Russian literature, and this genre is the tale. Etymologically, the term goes back to the word fairy tale and the verb to say, that is, to tell a story.
The tale, however, is not a fairy tale and stands out as a completely special genre, which is distinguished by its versatility and originality. It is most similar to a story that one person could tell to another somewhere in a tavern, or during a break at work. In general, it is something like a popular rumor.
Also, a tale, a typical example of which is the work (most famous by Leskov) “The Tale of the Tula slanting left-hander who shoed a flea,” represents to some extent epic work. As you know, the epic is distinguished by the presence of some grandiose hero who has special qualities and charisma. The tale, in turn, is based, as it were, on true history, but from this story he makes something incredible, epic and fabulous.
The manner of presentation leads the reader to think about some kind of narrator and about the friendly communication that occurs between the reader and this narrator. So the Tale of the Lefty, for example, comes from the persona of some gunsmith from near Sestroretsk, that is, Leskov says: they say, these stories come from the people, they are real.
By the way, such a narrative style, which is further supported by the characteristic structure of the work (where there are amazing rhythms and rhymes, self-repetitions that again lead to the idea of colloquial speech, puns, vernacular, colloquial manner of word formation) often leads the reader to the idea of the authenticity of the story. For some critics, the tale of the left-hander created the impression of a simple retelling of the stories of Tula artisans; ordinary people sometimes even wanted to find this left-hander and find out details about him. At the same time, the left-hander was completely invented by Leskov.
This is the peculiarity of his prose, which seems to combine two realities. On the one hand, we see stories about everyday life and ordinary people, on the other hand, fairy tale and epic are intertwined here. In fact, in this way Leskom conveys an amazing phenomenon.
Thanks to the tale and his style, Leskov managed to understand how to convey the experience of the consciousness of an entire people. After all, what does it consist of? From stories, legends, tales, fantasies, fictions, conversations, conjectures that are superimposed on everyday reality.
This is what ordinary people exist and “breathe” with, this is their originality and beauty. Leskov, in turn, was able to capture this beauty.
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SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL CONFERENCE
"FIRST STEPS INTO SCIENCE"
LANGUAGE FEATURES OF N. S. LESKOV’S TALE “LEFT-HANDED.”
Completed by a student of grade 8 "G" MOBU secondary school No. 4
Mayatskaya Anastasia.
(Scientific supervisor)
Dostoevsky's equal - he is a missed genius.
Igor Severyanin.
Any subject, any activity, any work seems uninteresting to a person if it is not clear. The work of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov “Lefty” is not very popular among seventh graders. Why? I think because it is complex and incomprehensible to schoolchildren of this age. And when you start to think about it, figure it out, assume and get to the bottom of the truth, then things open up. most interesting moments. And personally, I now think the story “Lefty” is one of the most extraordinary works of Russian literature, in the linguistic structure of which so much is hidden for a modern schoolchild...
The linguistic features of the story “Lefty” were subject of study our work. We tried to deal with every word usage unusual for the modern Russian language, and, if possible, find the reasons for the differences. We had to track changes of this kind in all sections of the language: phonetics, morphemics, morphology, syntax, punctuation, spelling, orthoepy. This is what it's all about structure our work is a description of linguistic changes in different sections of the language, although it should be noted right away that this classification is very relative, because some language changes can be attributed to several sections at once (however, like many phenomena of modern language).
So , target work - study the work “Lefty” (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea) for its linguistic features, identify usages unusual in the modern Russian language in all language levels and, if possible, find explanations for them.
2. The reasons for the occurrence of inconsistencies in word usage in the tale “Lefty” and the modern Russian language.
“The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea” was published in 1881. It is clear that in the language over 120 years there have been significant changes and This first reason the appearance of discrepancies with modern norms of word usage.
The second one is genre feature. “Lefty” entered the treasury of Russian literature also because it brought to perfection such a stylistic device as the skaz.
A tale is, by definition, “an artistic orientation towards an oral monologue of a narrative type; it is an artistic imitation of monologue speech.” If you think about the definition, it will become obvious that a work of this genre is characterized by a mixture of spoken (“oral monologue”) and book (“artistic imitation”) speech.
“Skaz”, as a word in the Russian language, clearly comes from the verb “skazat”, the full meaning of which is perfectly explained by: “speak”, “explain”, “notify”, “say” or “bayat”, that is fantastic style goes back to folklore. It is closer not to literary, but to colloquial speech (which means it is used large number colloquial word forms, words of so-called folk etymology). The author, as it were, is eliminated from the narrative and reserves the role of recording what he hears. (Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka is in this style). In "Lefty" the imitation of oral monologue speech carried out at all levels of language, Leskov is especially inventive in word creation. And this second reason discrepancies with modern literary norms.
Sources artistic language The writer's experiences are varied - they are primarily associated with his stock of life observations, deep acquaintance with the life and language of various social groups. The sources of the language were ancient secular and church books and historical documents. "On my own behalf I speak with the tongue old fairy tales and church-folk in purely literary speech,” said the writer. In his notebook, Leskov records ancient Russian words and expressions that interested him for their expressiveness, which he later uses in the text. works of art. Thus, in the texts of the works the author also used Old Russian and Church Slavonic word forms, rooted in the distant linguistic past. And this third reason discrepancies between language word forms in Leskov’s work and modern ones.
Igor Severyanin, also distinguished by his unusual word-creation, once wrote a sonnet dedicated to him. There were lines:
Dostoevsky's equal, he is a missed genius.
Enchanted wanderer of the catacombs of language!
It is through these catacombs of language in Leskov’s work “Lefty” that I suggest you go.
VOCABULARY.
Turning to popular vernacular, spoken language, folklore expressions, using words with folk etymology, Leskov tries to show that Russian folk speech is extremely rich, talented, and expressive.
Obsolete words and forms of words.
The text of the work “Lefty”, of course, is unusually rich in archaisms and historicisms (chubuk, postilion, kazakin, erfix (sobering agent), talma...), but any modern edition contains required quantity footnotes, explanations of such words, so that each student can read them independently. We were more interested obsolete forms of words:
Adjective comparative degree more useful, that is, more useful;
The participle “servant” as a noun from the lost verb “serve”: “... showed to the servant on the mouth."
The short participle of “blankets” (that is, dressed) from the disappeared blanket.
The participle “hosha”, formed from the verb “to want” (with the modern suffix –sh-, by the way)
The use of the word “although” instead of the modern “though”: “Now if I had Although there is one such master in Russia..."
The case form “on digits” is not a mistake: along with the word “digit”, there also existed the now obsolete (with a touch of irony) form “tsifir”.
Obsolete form of the adverb " alone" instead of "however".(Like " far away burst out: hurray "y).
The appearance of the so-called prosthetic consonant “v” between vowels
(“right-wingers") was characteristic of the Old Russian language in order to eliminate the unusual phenomenon of gaping (confluence of vowels).
Colloquial expressions:
-“...a glass of sour milk choked out";
-“..great I’m driving”, that is, quickly
-“...so watered without mercy,” that is, they beat.
-“...something will take..." that is, it will distract.
-“...smoked without stop"
Pubel poodle
Tugament instead of document
Kazamat - casemate
Symphon - siphon
Grandevu - rendezvous
Schiglets = boots
Washable – washable
Half skipper-sub skipper
Puplection - apoplexy (stroke)
Words with folk zytymology, most often formed by combining words.
Coach two-seater– a combination of the words “double” and “sit down”
The text shows fluctuations in the gender of nouns, which is typical of the literary norm of that time: “. .shutter slammed"; and unusual, erroneous forms: “his by force did not hold back", that is, the instrumental case according to the model masculine declined, although the nominative case is a feminine noun.
Mixing case forms. The word “look” can be used both with nouns in V. p. and with nouns in R. p.., Leskov mixed these forms: “... in different states miracles look."
- “Everything here is in your sight,” and provide.”, that is, “view”.
- “... Nikolai Pavlovich was terrible... memorable." (instead of “memorable”)
- “...they look at the girl without hiding, but with all relatedness.”(relatives)
-“...so that not a single minute for the Russian usefulness didn’t disappear” (benefits)
Inversion:
- “...now very angry.”
- “...you will have something worthy of presenting to the sovereign’s splendor.”
Mixing styles (colloquial and bookish):
- “...I want to go to my native place as soon as possible, because otherwise I might get a form of insanity.”
-“...no emergency holidays” (special)
- “...wants a detailed intention to discover about the girl...”
-“..from here with the left-hander and foreign species have come.”
-“...we’re going to look at their weapons cabinet, there are such nature of perfection"
- “...every person has everything for himself absolute circumstances has." In addition, the use of such a form of the predicate verb is not typical of the Russian language (as, for example, English; and it is the English that the hero is talking about).
-“.. I don’t know now , for what need Is this kind of repetition happening to me?
Conclusion.
As can be seen from the examples given, changes have occurred at all levels of language. I believe that having become acquainted with at least some of them, seventh graders will not only receive new information, but will also be very interested in reading the work “Lefty”.
For example, we suggested that our classmates work with examples from the “Vocabulary” section, here you can show your ingenuity, your linguistic flair, and no special preparation is required. Having explained several variants of words with folk etymology, they offered to figure out the rest on their own. The students were interested in the work.
And I would like to end my research with the words of M. Gorky: “Leskov is also a wizard of words, but he did not write plastically, but told stories, and in this art he has no equal. His story is an inspired song, simple, purely Great Russian words, descending one after another into intricate lines, sometimes thoughtfully, sometimes laughingly, ringing, and you can always hear in them a reverent love for people...”
1.Introduction (relevance of the topic, structure of the work, purpose of the study).
2. Reasons for the occurrence of inconsistencies in word usage in the work “Lefty” and in the modern Russian language.
3. Study of the language features of the tale “Lefty” at all levels:
Vocabulary;
Morphology;
Word formation;
Phonetics;
Textual criticism;
Syntax and punctuation;
Spelling.
4. Conclusion.
Literature used.
1. . Novels and stories, M.: AST Olimp, 1998
2. . . Historical grammar of the Russian language.-M.: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1963
3. . Dictionary living Great Russian language (1866). Electronic version.
The action of the story "Lefty" takes place in Russian Empire during the reign of Tsars Alexander the First and Nikolai Pavlovich. The work contrasts the attitude of the emperors towards the Motherland and the achievements of the Russian people. In the story, the author noticeably sympathizes with Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich, as well as with the main character, the Tula master Leftsha, whose views are akin to the imperial ones. They are united by the belief that nothing is impossible for a Russian. The characterization of Lefty from Leskov’s story “Lefty” is an opportunity to understand the essence of a real simple Russian person.
Closeness to the people
With the main character of the work N.S. Leskov does not introduce us right away. Over the course of several chapters, it seems that the main character of the story is the Cossack Platov. True main character appears as if by chance. Perhaps, the author did this deliberately in order to emphasize the essence of the character of Lefty from the story “Lefty” - he comes from the people and himself is their personification, with all his simplicity, naivety, indifference to wealth, great faith in Orthodoxy and devotion to the Fatherland. For the same purpose, the author does not give the hero a name. Lefty is one of three Tula craftsmen who were given the honor of making something like this to prove to Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and the self-confident British what the Russian people are capable of.
The generality of the image of Lefty is emphasized not only by his namelessness, but also by a little information about him. As we read, we don't know anything about his age or family. Before us is only his laconic portrait: “Left-handed with an oblique face, a birthmark on his cheek, and the hair on his temples torn out during training.”
The great talent of a simple master
Despite his outward ugliness, Lefty has a great talent that amazed not only the Tsar himself, but also English craftsmen. Lefty, together with two other Tula craftsmen, managed to shoe a miniature flea without any special knowledge or equipment. In this case, Lefty got the most difficult work– forge miniature nails for horseshoes.
The quality without which the characterization of Lefty from the story “Lefty” will be incomplete is the modesty of a brilliant master. The folk craftsman did not boast of his achievement and did not consider himself a hero, but simply conscientiously carried out the instructions of the sovereign, and also tried with all his heart to show what a Russian person was capable of. When Emperor Nicholas realized what the craftsmen's work was, which at first he could not see even through his small scope, he was surprised how they could do it without equipment. To which Lefty modestly replied: “We are poor people and due to our poverty we do not have a small scope, but our eyes are so focused.”
Indifference to wealth and comfort
Lefty also showed modesty and indifference to wealth during his trip to England. He did not agree to study abroad; promises of neither money nor fame convinced him. Lefty asked for one thing - to go home as soon as possible. This simplicity and modesty became the reason for the hero’s inglorious death, which no one knew about. He was embarrassed by the comfortable cabin and high society, so he spent the entire journey across the winter sea on the deck, which is why he got sick.
Arriving in St. Petersburg, he was unable to introduce himself and say that he was carrying out the tsar’s instructions. Therefore, he was robbed and was not admitted to any hospital except the simplest one for the poor, where he died. The author contrasted the image of Lefty with the Englishman who sailed with him, who was settled in a good hotel and cured. And Lefty died tragically because of his modesty and simplicity.
Lefty Character Traits
Love for the Motherland and a sense of responsibility to one’s state are the main character traits of Lefty. Last thought Master Lefty had the desire to convey to the Tsar at all costs that there is no need to clean guns with bricks. If he had been able to convey this, Russian military affairs would have been even more successful, but his request never reached the sovereign. Even dying, this one is simple Tula master remained true to his character, main feature who was primarily thinking about the Fatherland, and not about himself.
In the image of Lefty N.S. Leskov showed the full depth of the Russian person: naive, simple and even funny, but for whom there is nothing dearer than the Orthodox faith and native side. Devotion to the Motherland, responsibility for its future and great natural skill - these are the qualities that underlie the characteristics of the hero of the tale “Lefty”.
Work test