Classicism, its philosophical and aesthetic foundations. Lebedeva O.B

The concept of classicism Firstly, there is practically no doubt that classicism is one of the artistic methods that actually existed in the history of literature (sometimes it is also designated by the terms “direction” and “style”), that is, the concept of classicism as a creative method presupposes its content is a historically determined method of aesthetic perception and modeling of reality in artistic images: the picture of the world and the concept of personality, the most common for the mass aesthetic consciousness of a given historical era, are embodied in ideas about the essence of verbal art, its relationship with reality, its own internal laws. Secondly, the thesis that classicism arises and is formed in certain historical and cultural conditions is equally indisputable. The most common research belief connects classicism with the historical conditions of the transition from feudal fragmentation to a unified national-territorial statehood, in the formation of which the centralizing role belongs to the absolute monarchy. This is a necessary historical stage of social development, therefore the third irrefutable thesis of classicism researchers is that classicism is an organic stage in the development of any national culture, despite the fact that different national cultures go through the classicist stage at different times, due to the individuality of the national version of the formation of a common social models of a centralized state. The chronological framework of the existence of classicism in different European cultures is defined as the second half of the 17th - the first thirty years of the 18th century, despite the fact that early classicist trends were noticeable at the end of the Renaissance, at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Within these chronological limits, French classicism is considered the standard embodiment of the method. Closely connected with the heyday of French absolutism in the second half of the 17th century, it gave European culture not only great writers - Corneille, Racine, Moliere, La Fontaine, Voltaire, but also a great theorist of classicist art - Nicolas Boileau-Dépreau. Being himself a practicing writer who earned fame during his lifetime for his satires, Boileau was mainly famous for the creation of the aesthetic code of classicism - the didactic poem “Poetic Art” (1674), in which he gave a coherent theoretical concept of literary creativity, derived from the literary practice of his contemporaries. Thus, classicism in France became the most self-conscious embodiment of the method. Hence its reference value. The historical prerequisites for the emergence of classicism connect the aesthetic problems of the method with the era of aggravation of the relationship between the individual and society in the process of the formation of autocratic statehood, which, replacing the social permissiveness of feudalism, seeks to regulate by law and clearly delimit the spheres of public and private life and the relationship between the individual and the state. This determines the content aspect of literature. The basic principles of poetics are motivated by the system of philosophical views of the era. They form a picture of the world and a concept of personality, and these categories are embodied in a set of artistic techniques of literary creativity.

The most general philosophical concepts present in all philosophical movements of the second half of the 17th - late 18th centuries. and directly related to the aesthetics and poetics of classicism are the concepts of “rationalism” and “metaphysics”, relevant for both idealistic and materialistic philosophical teachings of this time. The founder of the philosophical doctrine of rationalism is the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650). The fundamental thesis of his doctrine: “I think, therefore I exist” - was realized in many philosophical movements of that time, united by the common name “Cartesianism” (from the Latin version of the name Descartes - Cartesius). In essence, this is an idealistic thesis, since it brings out the material existence from an idea. However, rationalism, as the interpretation of reason as the primary and highest spiritual ability of man, is equally characteristic of the materialist philosophical movements of the era - such, for example, as the metaphysical materialism of the English philosophical school of Bacon-Locke, which recognized experience as a source of knowledge, but put it below the generalizing and analytical activity of the mind, extracting from the multitude of facts obtained by experience the highest idea, a means of modeling the cosmos - the highest reality - from the chaos of individual material objects. The concept of “metaphysics” is equally applicable to both varieties of rationalism - idealistic and materialistic. Genetically, it goes back to Aristotle, and in his philosophical teaching it denoted a branch of knowledge that explores the highest and unchangeable principles of all things, inaccessible to the senses and only rationally and speculatively comprehended. Both Descartes and Bacon used the term in the Aristotelian sense. In modern times, the concept of “metaphysics” has acquired additional meaning and has come to mean an anti-dialectical way of thinking that perceives phenomena and objects without their interrelation and development. Historically, this very accurately characterizes the peculiarities of thinking of the analytical era of the 17th-18th centuries, the period of differentiation of scientific knowledge and art, when each branch of science, standing out from the syncretic complex, acquired its own separate subject, but at the same time lost connection with other branches of knowledge. As we will see later, a similar process occurred in art.

Having established the relationship between the accentology of Russian and ancient languages: “the longitude and brevity of syllables in the new Russian versification are not the same, of course, as those of the Greeks and Latins<...> , but only tonic, that is, consisting of a single accent of the voice” (368), Trediakovsky in his reform followed the path of consistent analogies. The sounds of a language vary in quality: they are vowels and consonants. The semantic unit that follows the sound - the syllable - consists of sounds of different qualities, with the vowel being the syllable-forming one. Syllables are combined into a larger semantic unit - a word, and within a word one syllable - stressed - is qualitatively different from the others; The word-forming syllable is a stressed syllable, which in any word is always one and can be combined with any number of unstressed syllables, just as in a syllable one vowel sound can be combined with one or more consonants. Thus, Trediakovsky comes close to the idea of ​​a new rhythmic unit of verse - a foot, which is a combination of a stressed syllable with one or more unstressed syllables. The smallest rhythmic unit of tonic verse is a long sound, regularly repeated within the verse at regular intervals made up of short sounds. The smallest rhythmic unit of a syllabic verse is a syllable, the number of which in one verse determines its rhythm. By combining stressed and unstressed syllables into groups that repeat within a verse for Russian versification, Trediakovsky enlarges the smallest rhythmic unit of a verse, taking into account both the number of syllables in a verse (syllabic) and the different quality of stressed and unstressed sounds. Thus, combining the syllabic and tonic principles of versification in the concept of foot, Trediakovsky comes to the discovery and scientific justification of the syllabic-tonic system of versification. Giving the definition of a foot: “A measure, or part of a verse, consisting of two syllables” (367), Trediakovsky identified the following types of feet: spondee, pyrrhic, trochee (trocheus) and iambic, especially stipulating the need for a regular repetition of feet in verse. Having begun with a trochaic or iambic foot, the verse must continue with these same feet. This creates a productive sound model of Russian rhythmic verse, which differs from prose, in Trediakovsky’s words, “by the measure and fall of the verse that is sung” (366) - that is, by the regular repetition of identical combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables within one verse and moving from verse to verse within within the entire poetic text. However, this is where Trediakovsky’s positive achievements in the field of Russian versification end. Due to a number of objective reasons, his reform in a specific application to Russian versification turned out to be limited by Trediakovsky’s too strong connection with the tradition of Russian syllabics: it was on this that he was guided in his poetry studies: “the use accepted from all our poets” (370) had a decisive influence on the degree the radicality of the conclusions that Trediakovsky dared to draw from his epoch-making discovery. The limitations of his reform are already noticeable in the fact that in the “New and Brief Method...” three-syllable feet - dactyl, anapest and amphibrachium - are not even mentioned, although subsequently, in search of analogues of the Homeric hexameter, Trediakovsky develops a magnificent and perfect model of the hexameter dactyl - a metric analogue of the ancient hexameter in Russian versification. This unconditional preference for disyllabic feet in general, and trochee in particular - “that verse is perfect and better in all numbers, which consists only of trochees” (370) - testifies to the unovercome power of the syllabic tradition over Trediakovsky’s metrical thinking. It was already said above that every Russian syllabic verse had an obligatory stressed syllable - the penultimate one. Thus, each syllabic verse ended with a trochaic foot, which determined the feminine type of clause and rhyme. And as an obligatory element of Russian syllabic verse, this final trochaic foot had a rather strong rhythmic influence on the entire verse: words in the verse were often selected and arranged in such a way that there was a tendency to organize the rhythm of the verse according to the laws of trochaic, which led to a drop in stress on odd syllables . Of course, this was completely spontaneous, but, nevertheless, according to researchers, such accidental trochaic verses in the Russian syllabus accounted for up to 40%. Here is a typical example from Satire I by A.D. Kantemir: If in the first verse the stresses are completely disordered and fall on the 2nd, 5th, 9th, 11th and 12th syllables, then in the second there is a clear tendency for the stresses to fall on odd syllables: 1, 3 , 5, 7, 8, 12th. It is not violated by the fact that after the seventh syllable, stress begins to fall on even syllables - 8 and 12, since between the seventh and eighth syllables there is a caesura - an intonation pause, equal in duration to the unstressed syllable and making up for its absence. It was precisely this tendency of Russian syllabic verse to self-organize in the rhythm of trochee that Trediakovsky discerned. And this explains both his passion for trochee and his conviction that only two-syllable feet are characteristic of Russian versification. Further, it is necessary to note the fact that in Trediakovsky’s sphere of attention as an object of reform there was only a long verse - a syllabic 11- and 13-syllable. Trediakovsky did not work with short poems at all, believing that they did not need reform. And this judgment of his was not entirely unfounded: for short poems, the final foot of the trochee had an incomparably stronger rhythmic influence, so that they often turned out to be completely tonically correct. For example, the famous poem by Feofan Prokopovich on the Prut campaign of Peter I is written in almost correct trochaic tetrameter: The fact that Trediakovsky limited his reform to one type of verse - long, and also prescribed for it the only possible rhythm - trochaic, had several other consequences, also tending to limit the practical use of syllabic tonics in the area of ​​clauses and rhymes. Firstly, in accordance with the traditions of the heroic 13-syllable system, which has a paired rhyme, Trediakovsky recognized only this, having a negative attitude towards the cross and sweeping types of rhyme. Secondly, the type of rhyme and clause dictated by the trochee (feminine) excluded the possibility of masculine and dactylic endings and rhymes, as well as the possibility of their alternation. As a result, it turned out that Trediakovsky, the discoverer of the syllabic-tonic principle of versification, created only one type of syllabic-tonic verse. The syllabic thirteen syllable reformed by him, from a modern point of view, is something like a seven-foot trochee with the fourth foot truncated to one stressed syllable. The second stage of the reform of Russian versification was carried out by Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov in the “Letter on the Rules of Russian Poetry,” which he, who was then studying in Germany, sent from Marburg to St. Petersburg with the text of his first solemn ode “To the Capture of Khotin” in 1739. “Letter. ..” Lomonosov was the result of his careful study of Trediakovsky’s “New and Brief Method...”. Lomonosov did not doubt the main provisions of Trediakovsky’s reform: he fully shares his predecessor’s conviction that “Russian poetry should be composed according to the natural property of our language; and what is very unusual for him should not be brought in from other languages.” Despite the fact that Lomonosov here does not use the words “syllabic versification”, “poly-accent of the Russian language” and “Polish versification”, it is quite obvious that we are talking specifically about the accentological discrepancy between the Polish versification (“other languages”) and the “natural property” of the Russian language - unfixed stress. Moreover, the first rule proposed by Lomonosov as the basis of the principle of versification testifies that Lomonosov, like Trediakovsky, considers accentology to be the basis of versification and fully shares the analogy of forceful stress-unstress with longitude-brevity proposed by Trediakovsky: “First: in the Russian language Those only syllables are long, over which there is strength, and the rest are all short” (466). However, further significant differences begin: already in the second rule concerning the formation of Russian poetry, a conscious protest against Trediakovsky’s limitations caused by the latter’s commitment to the syllabic tradition is obvious:

In all Russian correct verses, long and short, it is necessary to use stops peculiar to our language, established in a certain number and order. These are what they should be, the property of the words found in our language teaches this.<...>In the treasure of our language we have inexhaustible wealth of long and short sayings; so there is no need to introduce two-syllable and three-syllable feet into our poems (467-468).

In one rule, Lomonosov removes two of Trediakovsky’s restrictions at once - short poems, in his opinion, are just as subject to reform as long ones, and Trediakovsky’s set of two-syllable feet is supplemented by three-syllable feet. In total, Lomonosov offers six types of feet: iambic, anapest, iambo-anapaest, formed from an iambic foot in combination with an anapest foot, trochee, dactyl and dactylochoreus, composed of trochee and dactyl feet. A natural consequence of this expansion of the range of rhythms was the admission of different types of rhyme, as well as the approval of the possibility of alternating clauses and rhymes:

<...>Russian poetry is red and characteristic masculine, feminine and three vowel letters containing[dactylic] rhymes<...>may end;<...>more we masculine, feminine and trivowels We can have rhymes, then the change that always delights human feelings orders them to be decently mixed among themselves (471. Lomonosov’s italics).

Finally, the consistent abolition of all restrictions imposed by Trediakovsky on the use of the syllabic-tonic principle led Lomonosov to the idea of ​​​​the need to introduce another rhythmic determinant of verse, absent from Trediakovsky. Since Trediakovsky worked only with long verse, he did not need the concept of meter. And Lomonosov, who worked with both short and long poems, was closely faced with the need to define a verse not only by the type of rhythm (iamb, trochee, etc.), but also by length. Thus, in his “Letter...” the concept of size is formed, although Lomonosov does not use the term “size” itself, but only lists existing sizes, denoting them with the Greek terms hexameter (hexameter), pentameter (pentameter), tetrameter (tetrameter), trimeter ( trimeter) and dimeter (two-foot). Six types of feet, each of which can be used in five variants of meter, give the theoretical possibility of the existence of “thirty genera” of poetry (470). Compared to one “genus” - Trediakovsky’s seven-foot trochee, Lomonosov’s thirty metrical-rhythmic variants of poems are already a whole poetic system. Of course, Lomonosov was not free from subjective biases in the field of versification. But if the source of Trediakovsky’s subjective predilection for trochee was the irresistible power of the syllabic tradition, then Lomonosov’s love for the iambic had deeper aesthetic foundations. The ascending intonation that determines the rhythmic pattern of the iambic foot corresponded to the high status of the genre of the solemn ode, and the main reason for Lomonosov’s predilection for the iambic was this harmony of form and content:

<...>pure iambic verses, although a little difficult to compose, however, rose quietly upward, matter multiplying nobility, splendor and height. Nowhere can they be better used than in solemn odes, which is what I did in my current one (470).

In the entire Lomonosov reform there was only one unproductive moment - this was the requirement for purity of rhythm, the restriction on the use of pyrrhic in two-syllable meters (iambic and trochaic). However, this did not have the nature of a ban or a strict order. And in practice, Lomonosov very quickly abandoned this provision, since the non-use of pyrrhic in two-syllable meters limited the poems lexically. The maximum length of a word in pure iambic and trochaic verse without pyrrhic is no more than three syllables, and any restriction was contrary to the very spirit of the Lomonosov reform, carried out under the motto: “Why should we neglect this [Russian language] wealth, endure arbitrary poverty?”<...>? (471). Thus, the gradual implementation of the reform of Russian versification ultimately established in Russian poetry the syllabic-tonic principle of versification, which maximally corresponds to the accentology of the Russian language and is still the fundamental principle of Russian versification. Trediakovsky is the discoverer of this reform, the author of the theoretical justification and the first experience of practical application of the principle, while Lomonosov is the systematizer who extended the scope of its application to all poetic practice without exception.

Regulation of the genre system of Russian literature in the aesthetics of A.P. Sumarokova The next normative act of Russian classicism was the regulation of the genre system of Russian literature, carried out in 1748 by Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov in a poetic didactic message based on the traditions of the aesthetic message of Horace “To the Pisoes (On the Art of Poetry)” and the didactic poem by N. Boileau “Poetic Art” " Printed in 1748 as a separate brochure “Two epistles (The first is about the Russian language, and the second about poetry)” by Sumarokov, later united by him under the title “Instructions for those who want to be a writer,” provided the developing Russian classicism with an aesthetic code, which, despite all in his orientation towards the European aesthetic tradition, he was completely original both in his description of literary genres (since he was focused on the Russian literary process) and in his relations with the living literary process (since in a number of cases theoretical descriptions of genres preceded their real appearance in Russian literature). Thus, the name of Sumarokov is connected with Russian classicism by a particularly strong associative connection: he acted both as a theorist of the method and as its recognized leader in his literary practice. As for the general aesthetic provisions of “Two Epistles...”, they practically do not differ from the main theses of European classicism: in Sumarokov’s view, literary creativity is a rational process:

The genre system of literature seemed to Sumarokov to be clearly hierarchically organized: in the theoretical aspect, he put forward a general classicist position on the inadmissibility of mixing high and low styles, but in practice, as we will see later, his own high and low genre models were in constant interaction:

At the same time, “Two Epistles...” by Sumarokov testify to a certain aesthetic independence of Russian classicism, its reliance on the living practice of Russian literature of the 18th century. In addition to the “exemplary” Western European writers, the text of the epistle on poetry mentions Kantemir, Feofan Prokopovich and Lomonosov, and in a characteristic comparative context: the satirist Kantemir is likened to the satirist Boileau, the odopist Lomonosov - to the odopist Pindar and Malherbe, and Sumarokov himself, in a place that, according to In his opinion, he occupied a position in Russian literature, likening him to Voltaire. Most of all, Sumarokov’s orientation towards national trends in literary development is noticeable in the composition of the genres that he characterizes in his epistles. So, for example, he devoted practically no space to the highest genre of European classicism - the epic poem - and briefly mentioned the very fact of the existence of the literary epic. The genres that in Russian literature have taken on the charge of satirical exposure and didactics are characterized in exceptional detail and fully - satire as such, the heroic-comic poem (a parody of the epic), fable and comedy, and the description of comedy itself is also very original. If Boileau, describing a comedy, fluently lists the comedic types of characters and focuses mainly on the plot, intrigue, witty and brilliant style, then Sumarokov’s entire description of the genre comes down to characterology: Russian comedy, which has yet to appear in literature, differs from Western European comedy precisely on this basis: French comedy is mainly a comedy of intrigue, Russian is a comedy of character:

Even in this cursory sketch, it is obvious that the comedic characters in Sumarokov’s presentation are incomparably brighter and more specific than Boileau’s universal “fool, miser and spendthrift”. In those cases when Sumarokov describes genres that already exist in Russian literature, he relies precisely on national rather than European genre models. This happens, for example, with the characterization of a song (absent in Boileau), which has been very popular since the Peter the Great era , as well as with the characteristics of the solemn ode, described according to the genre model that has developed in Lomonosov’s work:

But, perhaps, the most important proof of Sumarokov’s orientation specifically towards national aesthetic problems is the leitmotif of the need for a special poetic language, which internally organizes the entire problematic of “Two Epistles...”, the first of which is symptomatically devoted specifically to issues of stylistic literary norm: it was its absence that was one of the the main difficulties in the formation of Russian literature in the 18th century. The cross-cutting requirement for “purity of style”, following the “order in verse” already achieved as a result of the versification reform, reinforced by Sumarokov’s conviction that “Our beautiful language is capable of everything,” directly connects the emerging problem of stylistic reform of the Russian literary language with hierarchical genre thinking, recorded in the “Two Epistles...”. Having arranged genres along the hierarchical ladder of high and low, Sumarokov came close to realizing the necessary aesthetic relationship between genre and style:

And even the main direction of the future stylistic reform, namely, establishing the proportions of the spoken Russian language and the stylistics of Slavic book writing, was already quite obvious to Sumarokov in 1748: in addition to the declaration of the need for a Russian literary language (“We need a language like the Greeks had” ), Sumarokov directly indicates the path on which this universal norm could be achieved:
Reform of the literary language style by M. V. Lomonosov It was in this direction - having established the proportions of Slavicisms in the literary language and firmly regulating the norms of their compatibility with Russianisms, Lomonosov carried out a reform of the literary language in the “Preface on the benefits of church books in the Russian language” - the most recent normative act of Russian classicism (this work of Lomonosov supposedly dates back to 1758), thereby finally cementing firm and clear ideas about the laws of verbal art. In his stylistic reform, Lomonosov was guided by the most important tasks of the literary theory of classicism - the need to differentiate literary styles and establish strong genre-style correspondences - and the objective linguistic reality of the first half of the 18th century. in Russia. This was a situation of a kind of bilingualism, since all this time in Russia two varieties of bookish written language existed in parallel. One of them is the tradition of Old Russian books, liturgical literature in the Church Slavonic language (in the 18th century it was called “Slavonic” as opposed to “Russian” - Russian), which, although it was closely related to Russian, was still a different language. The second is the tradition of business everyday writing, incomparably closer to the living spoken Russian language, but having a distinct clerical character - it was the written language of official business papers, correspondence and documents. Neither one nor the other tradition could meet the demands placed on the language of belles-lettres. And, carrying out the stylistic reform, Lomonosov proceeded from the main thing: centuries-old Russian bilingualism, the functioning of the Slavic language of ancient books along with the living Russian spoken language led to a very deep and organic assimilation of a large number of Slavicisms by the latter. Compare, for example, the Slavicisms “enemy”, “brave” instead of the Russianisms “enemy”, “good”, “need” instead of “need”, “hope” instead of “hope”, etc. There was also a very frequent situation when Slavicism did not supplant Russianism, but remained in the Russian language with its own independent meaning: “country” - “side”, “ignorant - ignorant”, “burning” - “hot”, “truth” - “truth”, “expel” - “drive out” " etc. . Therefore, Lomonosov, substantiating the norms of the literary style of the new Russian written language and, therefore, based on the reality of the living contemporary Russian language, based his reform on precisely this “Slavic Russian” linguistic community. He divided all the words of the Russian language into three groups. To the first he included words “that are still in use among the ancient Slavs and today among Russians, for example: God, glory, hand, now, I honor"(474), that is, common to the Church Slavonic and Russian languages, not different in content and form. To the second - “which, although they are used little in general, and especially in conversations, are intelligible to all literate people, for example: I open, Lord, planted, I cry"(474) - that is, words that have practically disappeared from colloquial use, but are common in the Church Slavonic written tradition. Dilapidated and incomprehensible archaisms (“obavayu, ryasny, ovogda, svene”) Lomonosov was excluded from this group. Finally, the third group included native Russian words, “which are not in the remains of the Slavic language, that is, in church books, for example: I say, a stream, which, for now, is only "(474). And for this group there was also an exception: “despicable words that are not decent to use in any calm manner” (474). Lomonosov does not give examples of such words, but from the context of his other works it is clear that here he means not so much profanity as crude colloquial vulgarisms such as “get loose” or “bump.” Based on this division of the lexical composition of the Russian language into three genetic layers, Lomonosov proposes his theory of styles: "high, mediocre[medium or simple] and low", Moreover, he also lists the genres to which this or that style is most appropriate. High style involves the use of Slavic-Russian words and allows the inclusion of Church Slavonicisms that have not lost their semantic relevance. This is the style of a heroic poem, ode, oratory. The middle style is formed on the basis of Slavic Russian vocabulary, but allows the inclusion of “Slavic sayings, used in a high style, but with great care so that the syllable does not seem inflated” and “low words; however, be careful not to descend into meanness” (475). The middle style is the style of all prose theatrical plays, poetic epistles, satires, eclogues and elegies, as well as scientific and artistic prose. The low style is based on native Russian vocabulary, Church Slavonicisms are generally excluded from it, but the use of words common to Church Slavonic and Russian languages ​​is permissible; The use of “common, low words” is also allowed (475). This is the style of epigram, song, comedy, epistolary and narrative everyday prose. Thus, it is obvious that the reform of the literary language was carried out by Lomonosov with a clear focus on the middle style: it is the words that are common to the Russian and Church Slavonic languages ​​and therefore do not have a strict assignment to the high or low style that are at the center of the entire system: in one or the other Slavic Russian vocabulary of a different proportion is included in all three styles. The cutting off of linguistic extremes - hopelessly outdated Slavicisms and crude vulgar vernacular also indicates that, in theoretical terms, Lomonosov was focused precisely on homogenizing the stylistic norm of the new Russian literary language, although this orientation came into certain conflict with his genre-style poetic practice. As a writer and poet, Lomonosov in his solemn odes gave a brilliant example of precisely the high literary style. His lyrics (anacreontic odes) and satirical-epigrammatic poetry did not have such an influence on the subsequent literary process. However, in his theoretical orientation towards the average literary norm, Lomonosov turned out to be just as insightful as in the reform of versification: this is a highly productive direction in Russian literary development. And, of course, it is not at all accidental that soon after this final normative act of Russian classicism, Russian fiction began to develop rapidly (1760-1780). ), and at the end of the century it was precisely this line of Lomonosov’s style reform that was picked up by Karamzin, who created the classical style norm for Russian literature of the 19th century. But before this happened, Russian literature of the 18th century. traveled a chronologically short, but aesthetically unusually rich path of formation and development of its genre system, the origins of which lay in the first regulated genre of new Russian literature - the genre of satire, which found its embodiment in the work of A. D. Kantemir. Likhachev D.S. See more details: Vinokur G. O. Report on Lomonosov II Questions of literature. 1997. May-June. pp. 319-320.

Classicism (from Latin classicus - exemplary) is the artistic style of European art of the 17th-19th centuries, one of the most important features of which was the appeal to ancient art as the highest example and reliance on the traditions of the High Renaissance. (from Latin classicus - exemplary) - the artistic style of European art of the 17th-19th centuries, one of the most important features of which was the appeal to ancient art as the highest example and reliance on the traditions of the High Renaissance. Bordeaux The city is famous for its ensembles of squares in the style of classicism (XVIII century)

M.F.Kazakov. Petrovsky Palace Russian classicism is one of the brightest pages in the history of world architecture.

V.I. Bazhenov. Pashkov house - 1788

O. Montferrand. St. Isaac's Cathedral - 1830

A.N. Voronikhin. Kazan Cathedral - 1811 And the Kazan Cathedral spread its hands. Embracing the blue evening... I. Demyanov.

Classicism in sculpture Fidelity to the ancient image. Heroic and idyllic compositions. Heroic and idyllic compositions. Idealization of military valor and wisdom of statesmen. Idealization of military valor and wisdom of statesmen. Public monuments. Public monuments. Contradiction with accepted moral standards. Contradiction with accepted moral standards. Absence of sudden movements, external manifestations of emotions such as anger. Absence of sudden movements, external manifestations of emotions such as anger. Simplicity, harmony, consistency of the composition of the work. Simplicity, harmony, consistency of the composition of the work.

Classicism in painting Interest in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Systematization and consolidation of the achievements of the great artists of the Renaissance. Systematization and consolidation of the achievements of the great artists of the Renaissance. A meticulous study of the heritage of Raphael and Michelangelo, imitating their mastery of line and composition. A meticulous study of the heritage of Raphael and Michelangelo, imitating their mastery of line and composition. Simplicity, harmony, consistency of the composition of the work. Simplicity, harmony, consistency of the composition of the work. Social, civil issues. Social, civil issues. The main characters are kings, generals, statesmen. The main characters are kings, generals, statesmen. Support of classicism through funding of academic institutions. Support of classicism through funding of academic institutions.

New worldview of man in the 17th century. in different regions of Europe it found expression in unique forms of spiritual culture. In some countries, after the crisis of Renaissance culture, the Baroque era begins (Italy, Flanders), in others a new style is formed - classicism. By the beginning of the 17th century, Baroque was already a unified style in all types of art, while classicism was late in its formation. The stylistic system of classicism cannot be assessed only within the 17th century, because its spread in modified forms across European countries occurred in the 18th and early 19th centuries. But the theory of classicism, unlike the baroque, was very developed and was even ahead of artistic practice. Classicism as an integral artistic system originated in France. It is often called the culture of absolutism, because in the 17th century. In France, a classic example of an absolutist state is emerging. But the art of classicism cannot be reduced to serving absolutism. Classicism took shape in the first half of the century, when the question of the future of France remained open. There was a process of state and national construction in which there was still a balance of the main social forces of the country - royal power, nobility and the growing bourgeoisie. It was not royal power in itself, but precisely this balance that allowed the emergence of classical art, which glorified not absolute submission to the monarch, but ideological citizenship. This art demanded from everyone - rulers and subordinates - reasonable actions, concern for social balance, order and measure. Classicism is a reflective and constructive art. It tried to create ideal models of a just and harmonious world based on reasonable ideas about the public good. The theorists of classicism considered the education of society to be the main task of art. Of course, no art can be built solely on the principles of reason, otherwise it would cease to be art. Classicism came from the Renaissance heritage and the experience of modernity, so it was equally characterized by the spirit of analysis and admiration for the ideal. Classicism replaces the culture of the Renaissance, when this culture itself was in a state of crisis, when Renaissance realism degenerated into the aestheticized, meaningless art of mannerism. In the historical conditions of the 17th century. The humanistic faith in the victory of good over evil, in the harmonious principle of human nature, was lost. The loss of this faith led to a direct crisis in artistic creativity, because it lost its ideal - a person with a rich spiritual life and a noble goal. Therefore, the most important link connecting classicism with the art of the High Renaissance was the return to the modern stage of an active, strong hero - a purposeful, energetic person, thirsty for happiness and in love with life. But in contrast to the Renaissance ideal, a strong moral criterion existing in society acted on the path to happiness of the hero of the New Age. Public morality, as an immutable law of human dignity, was supposed to inspire a person and guide his actions. It is precisely such a hero who appears in the tragedies of Corneille, Racine, and the comedies of Moliere. It is no coincidence that the aesthetic theory of classicism is developed primarily in French drama and literature. Treatises of French writers and poets played an outstanding role in the development of the main stylistic forms of classicism. Parallel to the formation of the theory, the first fully classicistic works of art arose. One of the first theorists and poets of classicism was Nicolas Boileau-Dépreaux (1636-1711). In his poetic treatise “Poetic Art” the theoretical principles of classicism were brought together for the first time. The norms and canons of classicism are presented in this work in a lively and intelligible form. The poetic system must be subject to the discipline of reason. Rational development of the topic comes to the fore. Boileau's call to “Love thought in verse” became the great principle of classicist poetry. The main requirement for a poet is to subordinate his creativity to the discipline of reason. Reason must rule over feeling and imagination. But not only in the content of the work, in the meaning, but also in its form. To perfectly reflect the content, a correct verified method, high professional skill, and virtuosity are required. Unity of form and content is one of the basic principles of classicism. Classicism saw the aesthetic ideal of beauty in ancient culture. Ancient art was proclaimed the norm for both Renaissance art and Baroque. But the relationship between this norm and the artistic practice of classicism is fundamentally different. For the Renaissance, ancient art was a school of mastery and an incentive for independent creative search, and not a canonical model. The Baroque masters theoretically recognized the canons of antiquity, but in their work they were far from them. In the art of classicism, the norms of antiquity acquire the meaning of immutable truth. Following these canons in the conditions of modern culture dooms the art of classicism to the “secondary nature” of truth. The name itself - classicism, not classicism, emphasizes this secondary nature. Classicism saw in ancient culture not only an aesthetic, but also an ethical ideal. The art of Ancient Greece and Rome was an example of art with great social resonance, which preached high civil and moral ideals. The inner core of the use of ancient canons in the art of classicism was the rational principle. This element occupied an important place in the creative process even in the Renaissance. But then rationalism was put forward in opposition to the irrational feeling of the Middle Ages as the main means in comprehending the laws of nature and art. In classicism, reason appears not as a natural element of human activity, but as an object of cult. Rationalism became the basis and essence of the theory of classicism. Reason was proclaimed the main criterion of artistic truth and beauty. The art of classicism fundamentally separated itself from the sphere of subjective feelings in the perception of beauty. Classicism claimed to assert absolute moral truths and unshakable artistic forms established by reason and expressed in rules. Creativity must obey laws. The classicists derived these laws based on their observations of ancient art. One of the first theorists of classicism, the great French playwright Pierre Corneille (1606-1684), commenting on Aristotle's Poetics and referring to the historical experience of centuries, tried to derive the formal laws of drama. One of the main ones was the law of three unities - time, place and action. Corneille's work was a real reform of drama. He is the author of several treatises on the theory of drama and critical analyzes of his own writings. Corneille's tragedy "The Garden" became the national pride of the French. Very quickly it was translated into many European languages. The fame of the play and its author was extraordinary. “Cid” is still in the permanent repertoire of not only French, but also many other theaters in Europe. Corneille made the plots of his plays (“Horace”, “Cinna”, etc.) dramatic moments from the historical past, the fate of people during periods of acute political and social conflicts. He especially often used material from Roman history, which provided him with abundant material for political reflection on modern topics. The main dramatic conflict in Corneille's tragedies is the clash of reason, feelings, duty and passion. Victory always remained with reason and duty. The viewer had to leave the theater without any contradictions or doubts. The source of the tragic is extreme passion, and the viewer was supposed to learn a lesson - it is necessary to keep passions in check. In the tragedies of another famous playwright Jean Racine (1639-1699), the audience saw not only a majestic hero, but a person with weaknesses and shortcomings (“Andromache”, “Berenika”, “Iphigenia in Aulis”). Racine's plays reflected the salon life of Versailles. The Greeks and Romans, inevitable according to the demands of classical poetry, seemed to be the real French of their time. On stage they performed in curled wigs, cocked hats and swords. The kings that Racine brought to the stage were idealized portraits of Louis XIV. The king's reign lasted more than 50 years, and in European history this time was even called the century of Louis XIV. Under favorable circumstances, France rose to such a height of economic and mental development and political power that it became the leading European power and the trendsetter of taste and fashion for all of Europe. The establishment of absolutism corresponded to the personal inclinations of the king. Power-hungry, narcissistic, spoiled by the flattery of his courtiers, Louis loved to repeat the phrase “I am the state.” In order to raise royal prestige, special attention was paid to court life. Strict etiquette distributed the royal time with punctual detail, and the most ordinary act of his life (for example, dressing) was arranged with extreme solemnity. Louis XIV was not satisfied with the admiration for himself that he saw and heard from the courtiers; he began to attract outstanding writers, French and foreign, to his side, giving them monetary rewards and pensions so that they would glorify himself and his reign. French literature gradually took on a courtly character. In 1635, the Academy of Letters was established in Paris. From that time on, classicism became the official dominant trend in literature. Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) stood relatively far from the courtyard. It occupies a unique place in the literature of classicism. Lafontaine is not afraid of interest in “lower” genres; he relies on folk wisdom and folklore, which determines the deeply national character of his work. His creative heritage is multifaceted, but he owes his fame as one of the greatest poets of France to his fables. (La Fontaine's traditions were used by IA Krylov.) In their edifying morality, we see a manifestation of one of the most important principles of classicism - art should educate and convince. The figurative system of the classical style turned out to be unproductive for the art of lyrical poetry, painting, and music. The unstable, changeable sphere of emotions was alien to classicism. The principles of the new style - "harmonious balance of forms and ideal proportions - were essentially the principles of architecture. It is in the field of this art that the main achievements of classicism lie, which determined its spread over two centuries of European culture. The basic principles of the style found their organic embodiment in the architecture of classicism. Classical architecture developed in France, England and Holland. Ideally, this style is the complete opposite of Baroque. It is characterized by clear geometry of forms, strict lines, clear volumes, harmonious compositional design. Classicism turned to the forms of ancient architecture, it used not only its motifs and individual elements , but also patterns of design. The basis of the architectural language of classicism was the order in forms closer to antiquity than baroque. Instead of the spontaneous irrational baroque, the architectural image of classicism strives to express ideas about logic, order and measure. But in the 17th century, architecture had not yet come to a consistent and clear embodiment of these ideas. In practice, the connection with the Baroque system was still visible. This borrowing of some Baroque techniques was especially visible in the architecture of France. It was impossible to solve the problems of glorifying the absolute monarchy, which were posed by the theorists of official art, using strictly classical figurative means. Therefore, the architects of classicism often resorted to baroque techniques of ceremonial representation. They decorated the facades of their buildings in the Baroque spirit, which sometimes makes it difficult for an inexperienced viewer to strictly define the style. Only in the 18th century, when the royal power took on the appearance of an enlightened monarchy and changed its social doctrine, did classicism develop a completely independent figurative structure. France of the 17th century is characterized by the interweaving of late Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque features with features of classicism. But the main direction was classicism, all the others accompanied it. In the general mainstream of modern culture, there was a process of gradual transformation of a fortified castle into an unfortified palace. In the city it was included in the general structure of streets and squares; outside the city it was connected with an extensive park. Drawbridges were replaced by stone ones, ditches became elements of the park, towers at the entrance were replaced by pavilions. Garden and park ensembles of the Tuileries, Fontainebleau and others were created. They laid the foundations of the art of the regular French garden with its enfilades of straightened alleys, trimmed with grass and shrubs, which were given the geometric shape of cones and balls. The gardener became an architect and sculptor, began to think in spatial categories, and subordinate living material to rational design. The growing need for housing changed the development of the city. At the beginning of the century, a type of hotel developed in Paris that dominated for two centuries. These are houses of the nobility with a courtyard and garden. They combine simple and convenient plans with facades lavishly decorated with sculpture, relief and order. In the new appearance of city houses, roofs were of great importance, the design and shape of which changed. In the 30s of the 17th century. the architect Mansar proposed a broken roof shape using the attic for housing. This system, called the attic after the author, became widespread throughout Europe. From the beginning of the 17th century. The architecture of English classicism is emerging. This period coincides with the time of vigorous industrial development of the country and the formation of capitalism. The initiator and creator of the first large-scale compositions of classicism was the architect Inigo Jones. He owns the projects of the famous Banqueting House (buildings for official receptions) and Lindsay House in London. He was the architect of Quans House (the Queen's residence) in Greenwich. This is a brilliant example of classicism in the history of housing construction. In the most strict forms of classicism, the ensemble of buildings of the Royal Palace of Whitehall and the ensemble of Greenwich Hospital in London were created (architects Jones, Christopher Wren, etc.). Classicism developed new forms in various areas - the creation of city squares of various types (Covent Garden Square in London, Place Vendôme in Paris), the construction of palace complexes (Versailles, Whitehall), temples (St. Paul's Cathedral in London - architect K. Wren, Cathedral of the Invalides - architect Hardouin-Mansart), public buildings - town halls, hospitals, private residential buildings, mansions of the nobility, buildings of trading companies (the ensemble of the Invalides - architect Bruan, Trinity College Library in Cambridge", the customs building in London - architect K. Rehn; the town hall building in Augsburg - architect Elias Holl, the town hall in Amsterdam - architect J. van Kampen, the scale building in Gouda, etc.) Classicism developed forms of architectural language that met both the tastes of the absolute monarchy and the bourgeois social order . Versailles, the new residence of Louis XIV, occupies a special place in French architecture. Versailles became the aesthetic tuning fork of the style of the era. This is an architectural ensemble of a palace, park and city, unprecedented in grandeur and integrity. Three avenues extend from the huge square in front of the palace, the central* axis stretches for 16 kilometers through the city, square, palace and park. Many architects took part in the creation of the Versailles ensemble over several construction periods - Levo, Orbe, Mansart, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Gabriel. This ensemble consistently embodied the principles of classicism - regularity, strict symmetry, clarity of composition, clear subordination of parts, calm rhythm of alternating windows, pilasters, columns. At the same time, the lush decorative finish, especially in the interior, is reminiscent of Baroque. The halls of the palace are arranged in enfilades, richly decorated with sculptural decor, colored marble, gilded bronze reliefs, frescoes, and mirrors. The park became an important part of the ensemble, inseparable from its architectural expressiveness. It can be considered a programmatic work of a new type of art - landscape gardening. Andre Linotre (1613-1700) perfected his creativity, which combined elements of architecture, sculpture, gardening, and hydraulic engineering on the basis of an ensemble. For the first time in history, landscapes organized by artists turned into works of art. The park was decorated with sculptures by the famous masters François Girandon (1628-1715) and Antoine Coisevox (1640-1720). This sculpture had a programmatic character - glorifying the reign of the great monarch. The sculptors used baroque motifs in a classical way: they strived for the isolation of each figure and their symmetrical placement. A typical example of classicist architecture was the eastern façade of the Louvre (sometimes called the “Colonnade of the Louvre”) by the architect Claude Perrault (1613-1688). With its rational simplicity, harmonious balance of parts, clarity of lines, calm and majestic staticism, Perrault's colonnade corresponded to the established ideal of the era. In 1677, the Academy of Architecture was created, the main task of which was to summarize the accumulated experience of architecture in order to develop “ideal eternal laws of beauty.” Further construction had to follow these laws. Classicism was officially recognized as the leading style of architecture. Art was supposed to visually express and glorify the greatness of the monarchy, the power of the nation and the state in magnificent palaces and parks, city ensembles, and public buildings. The Academy gave a critical assessment of the principles of the Baroque, recognizing them as unacceptable for France. Proportions were recognized as the basis of beauty. It was considered mandatory to have a clear floor division by order and to highlight the central axis of the building, which must necessarily correspond to a building ledge, balcony or pediment. The wings of the facade were to be closed by pavilions. The dictates of official classicism were also felt in the fine arts. The creator of the classicist movement in painting was Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). This French artist studied and worked in Rome (two years spent at the invitation of Louis XIII in Paris at the royal court were not fruitful for his work). Poussin combined an outstanding theorist and practitioner. In his Roman workshop, where painters and theorists gathered, the artist’s thoughts found fertile ground for dissemination. Poussin did not write special scientific treatises; the artist’s thoughts about the goals and possibilities of painting came to us in his correspondence and transmission by other authors. He believed that the art of “majestic style” consists of 4 elements - content, its interpretation, construction and style. The main thing is that the content and plot be majestic and beautiful. To do this, the artist needs to discard everything small so as not to contradict the sublime meaning of the story. The subject of the image must be “prepared” for the idea of ​​beauty, the main thing in this preparation is order, measure and form. Order and form - Poussin constantly talks about this, and Descartes, the founder of the philosophy of rationalism, also talks about this: “things that we perceive very clearly and distinctly are true.” Only intelligent “preparation” can spiritualize matter so that it becomes truly beautiful. Nature in art should be presented in a form ennobled by reason, deprived of that which does not correspond to the opinion of the rational course of things, the rules of “decency” and good form. The landscape should represent the epic power and harmony of nature, it is a composed landscape. As an expression of this beauty, the world of Poussin’s Arcadia arises, inhabited by celestials, heroes, satyrs, nymphs and beautiful people (“Kingdom of Flora”, “Arcadian Shepherds”, “Landscape with Polyphenes”). He drew themes from mythology, the books of Holy Scripture, and historical legends. Poussin was attracted by strong characters, majestic actions, and the triumph of reason and justice. He chose subjects that gave food for thought and promoted virtue. In this he saw the social purpose of art. Poussin brings to the fore the themes of public duty and moral necessity, presented in the form of a dramatic plot: the soldiers swear allegiance to Germanicus, who was poisoned on the orders of Tiberius, Erminia cuts off her luxurious hair to bandage the wounded hero and save him, King Solomon acts as a bearer of moral justice in a dispute between two mothers over a child (“The Death of Germanicus”, “Tancred and Erminia”, “The Capture of Jerusalem”, “The Rape of the Sabine Women”). The basis of classicism painting is the exact immutable laws of the artistic organization of the work. Poussin's compositions are ordered, a clear constructive scheme is visible in them, the main action always takes place in the foreground. The main importance in artistic language is given to form, pattern, line. The fetishization of the mind was a threat to true art. Achieving a balance between calculation and inspiration, between the rational and the emotional, the intuitive is a very difficult creative task. Poussin was the only painter of the 17th century in whose work the concept of classicism was truly productively embodied. For other masters, the task turned out to be impossible. The abstract rational principle took over, and the classicist system turned into an academic one. It was dominated by a dogmatic approach, relying on established canons. The French Academy of Arts was created in 1648 and was under the leadership of the king's first minister. In painting, as in all other forms of art, there was a process of strict regulation and subordination of artistic creativity to the tasks of absolutism. The Academy was called upon to develop formal rules for virtuoso art. Some artists of that time argued that only scientists could be connoisseurs of art. The idea of ​​improving painting through reason was very strong. There were even mathematical tables of the achievements of each painter. The Academy met at regular meetings, where prominent artists, in the presence of their students, examined paintings from the royal collection of the Louvre. Analyzes of the paintings were based on classification. Everything was distributed according to the categories of design, proportion, color, composition. The highest genre of painting was considered historical, which included scenes from the Bible, ancient mythology, and famous literary works. Only the perfect is worthy of depiction; everything low, as in the poetry of the classicists, was rejected as an accidental, unnecessary detail that distracts attention from the main thing. Portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and everyday scenes were considered “minor genres.” Academics have developed a whole system of rules based on the correspondence of movements and gestures to certain mental states - fear, anger, joy, surprise, etc. Classic treatises gave precise instructions on how to convey certain emotional states and included drawings and diagrams. The proportions of the human body were built according to ancient canons. With the primacy of drawing over painting, the figures on the canvases of the classicists resembled ancient sculptures. But antiquity became not a natural form of expression of the ideal, but a mandatory prop for works of “high style.” Rational and dry normativity led to the degeneration of classicism into academicism. He expelled imagination, fantasy, and individual vision from art. The set of rules governing the creative process contributed to the regulation of art, its subordination to the control of absolutism. The historically necessary role of classicism was to develop the conscious principle inherent in all creativity. But due to historical conditions, this trend took on a too dry and rational tone. The consciousness of artistic creativity has turned into mechanical expediency. The idea of ​​the primacy of thought has turned into its opposite - lifeless formalism. Cast style formulas played both a positive and negative role. We must be able to see classical art in all the richness and diversity of its content. Artistic practice is always richer than theory and, as a rule, outlives its era. The dramas of Corneille and Racine, the comedies of Molière and the fables of La Fontaine, the landscapes of Poussin and Lorrain are still alive today, confirming their immortality in the history of world culture. Questions 1. What are the general features of the classicism style? 2. How are the cultural ideals of antiquity, the Renaissance and classicism related? 3. What role did rationality play in the art of classicism? 4. What principles of classicism were formed in French drama? 5. How did the theorists of classicism understand the main task of art? 6. Name the main features of the classicism style in architecture and painting.

Classicism

Classicism is one of the most important trends in the art of the past, an artistic style based on normative aesthetics, requiring strict adherence to a number of rules, canons, and unities. The rules of classicism are of paramount importance as means to ensure the main goal - to enlighten and instruct the public, turning it to sublime examples. The aesthetics of classicism reflected the desire to idealize reality, due to the refusal to depict a complex and multifaceted reality. In theatrical art, this direction established itself in the works, first of all, of French authors: Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, Moliere. Classicism had a great influence on the Russian national theater (A.P. Sumarokov, V.A. Ozerov, D.I. Fonvizin, etc.).

Historical roots of classicism

The history of classicism begins in Western Europe at the end of the 16th century. In the 17th century reaches its highest development, associated with the heyday of the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV in France and the highest rise of theatrical art in the country. Classicism continued to exist fruitfully in the 18th and early 19th centuries, until it was replaced by sentimentalism and romanticism.

As an artistic system, classicism finally took shape in the 17th century, although the concept of classicism itself was born later, in the 19th century, when an irreconcilable war was declared on it by romance. “Classicism” (from the Latin “classicus”, i.e. “exemplary”) presupposed a stable orientation of new art towards the ancient style, which did not mean simply copying ancient models. Classicism also maintains continuity with the aesthetic concepts of the Renaissance, which were oriented towards antiquity.

Having studied the poetics of Aristotle and the practice of Greek theater, the French classics proposed rules of construction in their works, based on the foundations of rationalistic thinking of the 17th century. First of all, this is strict adherence to the laws of the genre, division into higher genres - ode, tragedy, epic and lower ones - comedy, satire.

Laws of classicism

The laws of classicism are most characteristically expressed in the rules for constructing tragedy. The author of the play was, first of all, required that the plot of the tragedy, as well as the passions of the characters, be believable. But the classicists have their own understanding of verisimilitude: not just the similarity of what is depicted on stage with reality, but the consistency of what is happening with the requirements of reason, with a certain moral and ethical norm.

The concept of a reasonable predominance of duty over human feelings and passions is the basis of the aesthetics of classicism, which differs significantly from the concept of the hero adopted in the Renaissance, when complete personal freedom was proclaimed, and man was declared the “crown of the Universe.” However, the course of historical events refuted these ideas. Overwhelmed by passions, the person could not make up his mind or find support. And only in serving society, a single state, a monarch who embodied the strength and unity of his state, could a person express himself and establish himself, even at the cost of abandoning his own feelings. The tragic collision was born on a wave of colossal tension: hot passion collided with inexorable duty (in contrast to the Greek tragedy of fatal predestination, when the human will turned out to be powerless). In the tragedies of classicism, reason and will were decisive and suppressed spontaneous, poorly controlled feelings.

Hero in the tragedies of classicism

The classicists saw the truthfulness of the characters' characters in strict subordination to internal logic. The unity of the character of the hero is the most important condition for the aesthetics of classicism. Generalizing the laws of this direction, the French author N. Boileau-Depreo, in his poetic treatise Poetic Art, states: Let your hero be carefully thought out, Let him always remain himself.

The one-sidedness and internal static character of the hero does not exclude, however, the manifestation of living human feelings on his part. But in different genres these feelings are manifested in different ways, strictly according to the chosen scale - tragic or comic. N. Boileau says about the tragic hero:

A hero in whom everything is petty is only suitable for a novel,

Let him be brave, noble,

But still, without weaknesses, no one likes him...

He cries from insults - a useful detail,

So that we believe in its credibility...

So that we crown you with enthusiastic praise,

We should be moved and moved by your hero.

Let him be free from unworthy feelings

And even in weaknesses he is powerful and noble.

To reveal human character in the understanding of the classicists means to show the nature of the action of eternal passions, unchangeable in their essence, their influence on the destinies of people. Basic rules of classicism. Both high and low genres were obliged to instruct the public, elevate its morals, and enlighten its feelings. In tragedy, the theater taught the viewer perseverance in the struggle of life; the example of a positive hero served as a model of moral behavior. The hero, as a rule, a king or a mythological character, was the main character. The conflict between duty and passion or selfish desires was always resolved in favor of duty, even if the hero died in an unequal struggle. In the 17th century The idea became dominant that only in serving the state does an individual gain the opportunity for self-affirmation. The flourishing of classicism was due to the establishment of absolute power in France, and later in Russia.

The most important standards of classicism - the unity of action, place and time - follow from those substantive premises discussed above. In order to more accurately convey the idea to the viewer and inspire selfless feelings, the author should not have complicated anything. The main intrigue should be simple enough so as not to confuse the viewer and not deprive the picture of its integrity. The requirement for unity of time was closely linked to unity of action, and many different events did not occur in the tragedy. The unity of place has also been interpreted in different ways. This could be the space of one palace, one room, one city, and even the distance that the hero could cover within twenty-four hours. Particularly bold reformers decided to stretch the action for thirty hours. The tragedy must have five acts and be written in Alexandrian verse (iamb hexameter). The visible excites more than the story, But what the ear can tolerate, sometimes the eye cannot tolerate. (N. Boileau)

Related information.