Introduction The ballad in Renaissance and during Modern times

Development of a genre of the literary ballad

Genre of the literary ballad, having restored to life for some decades prior to the beginning of the XIX century, I reached the blossoming and the highest popularity during a romanticism era when it for some time took nearly the leading place in poetry. Popularity and timeliness of this genre during a romantic era are explained first of all by its multifunctionality, ability to serve most different (and at times and multidirectional) to the public and literary purposes. The popular ballad (knightly, heroic, historical) could satisfy the interest in the national past, in the Middle Ages which wakened at wide circles of readers, in general to old times. The mythological or wonderful element, natural to the ballad, quite corresponded to aspiration of romantics to all unusual, mysterious, mysterious, and often and to mystical or otherworldly. Inclination, primordial for the ballad, to synthesis of epic, lyrical and drama elements was well combined with attempts of romantics to create "universal poetry", "to mix artificial poetry and natural poetry" (F. Shlegel), to update it, to transfer experiences of the person, drama heat of feelings.

The ballad gave great opportunities for searches of new means of expression of poetic diction to what at least "Lyrical ballads" (1798) U. Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge brightly testify. To the second edition of this joint poetic collection U. Wordsworth lists the main objectives which both authors sought to resolve in the course of work on "Lyrical ballads" in the preface. The most important creative installation of U. Wordsworth consisted in that, "choosing events and situations from the most everyday life of simple people, to show or describe them whenever possible language to what these people speak actually; but at the same time by means of imagination to give it coloring thanks to which ordinary things will appear in unusual lighting...". A simple and bright example of that Wordsworth practically wanted to reach, the ballad "Us Seven", for which short-sighted critics also in the XX century is. fell upon the poet. Using the richest opportunities of the genre of the ballad and inexhaustible layers of a living spoken language, Wordsworth sought to move apart a framework of traditional poetry, to give it new psychological depth, to update an arsenal of its art means. "Lyrical ballads" played a huge role in development of English poetry of the XIX century¹⁰.
Not less important place was taken by a genre of the ballad and in development of the Russian poetry, especially in the first third of the XIX century. Communications of the Russian literature of XVIII — the beginning of the XIX century with folklore are studied worse today, than interrelations of the Russian and the West European literatures. Therefore formation of a genre of the literary ballad in Russia — if it is also affected in researches — considered only as transferring on the Russian soil West European the ballad is exemplary. And after all tens and tens collections of the Russian national songs (or the mixed songbooks) published in the XVIII century were made not only M. Chulkov and N. Novikov, but also such poets, as well as. Dmitriyev, M. Popov and N. Lvov. As a rule, also the long way of development passed by the Russian literary ballad from (1791) N. M. Karamzin's "Raisa" to "Lyudmila" (1808) VA is underestimated. Zhukovsky.
The most important line of searches of a ballad genre in N. M. Karamzin, I.I. Dmitriyev, G. P. Kamenev, N. F. Ostolopov, N. F. Grammatik, M. V. Milonov's creativity consists that they sought for creation of the Russian national literary ballad, practically passing a stage of preliminary development of the European ballad experience already rich by then. However along with works of these writers ballads of VA were published. Zhukovsky and I.I. Kozlov considerably leaning on the West European samples; still keep the value of the ballad of K.F. Ryleyev and A.X. Vostokov trying to master more deeply the all-Slavic ballad; P. A. Katenin and late G.R. Derzhavin who are most enriched language of the ballads with spoken national language. At the accounting of all various context of development of the Russian literary ballad it becomes clear, why in A.S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, K.K. Pavlova, A.K. Tolstoy, N. A creativity. Nekrasov and other poets of the XIX century the literary ballad becomes an organic and integral part of history of the Russian poetry¹¹.
Studying of history of formation and functioning of the Russian literary ballad shows that its place at all not on the periphery of literary development and that she had to play quite noticeable role in historic - literary process. Unlike traditional poetic forms (the ode, the message) the appeal to a ballad genre quite often in itself already declared new tendencies in development of literature, the literary language and reflected new moods in the society. What by means of ballads — willows the first stage of ballads of Zhukovsky — in the Russian literature was approved such direction as romanticism is especially indicative. The world of subjective experiences of the human person for the first time so deeply and poetically opened to the Russian reader in ballads of Zhukovsky. One of participants of literary society "Arzamas" F. F. Vigel noted in the memoirs subsequently that Zhukovsky the ballads "created to us new feelings, new pleasures. Here and the beginning of romanticism at us".
In the conditions of keen interest of the Russian readers of the beginning of the XIX century in the ballad, naturally, there was a question, what ideological and esthetic reference points it in herself bore. We will stop in this regard at least on one very indicative episode — polemic round the translations and interpretation of "Lenora" of the Burgher. "The Russian ballad" of Zhukovsky "Lyudmila" written according to author's a dung as "Byurgerova Lenore's imitation" was published in 1808 in the Bulletin of Europe magazine. The enthusiastic reception of "Lyudmila" at the Russian readers who saw outstanding work in the ballad was precisely explained subsequently with V. G. Belinsky in "Article second" (1843) about "Alexander Pushkin's Compositions": "Society of that time unconsciously felt new spirit of creativity, the new world of poetry in this ballad — and society wasn't mistaken¹²".
But VA. Zhukovsky, Russifying the ballad of the Burgher, considerably I weakened colloquial color of the German original, I softened rough expressions and I strengthened a verse harmony. In Germany conscious Installation. A. Byurgera on a nationality in the 1790th years was treated as a connivance of roughness and a pro-hundred-nationality, and F. Schiller flayed poems of the Burgher in 1791. In Russia — chronologically one quarter of the century later — there was other situation: in the polemic developed in 1816 after publication of the ballad of P. A. Katenin "Olga" (it was Russified, as well as "Lyudmila", but on spirit, as well as "Lenora" of the Burgher, is turned to national popular speech), the public opinion developed in favor of more democratic treatment of language and a plot. In the conditions of public rise in Russia in the first half of the 1820th years in literature and the literary critic there was a strong opposition of poetry and VA poetics. Zhukovsky, reflected first of all in articles and A.A. Bestuzhev, V. K. Küchelbecker and K.F. Ryleyev's letters. So polemic about the ballad at a certain stage of historical development in Russia moved forward in the center of ideological and esthetic fight and from the especially literary turned into the public.
Development of the Russian literary ballad only good that within this genre poets very various ideological and esthetic orientations successfully competed: A.A. Fet and N. A. Nekrasov, A.K. Tolstoy and I.S. Turgenev, K.K. Sluchevsky and A.A. Blok, I. Severyanin and M. Gorky. What inexhaustible well of poetic masterpieces! The publication of a complete collection only of the Russian literary ballad XIX—XX of centuries would demand many voluminous volumes¹³.