What is the peculiarity of the language of the left-handed tale? Linguistic features of the tale “Lefty

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 adviser)

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, the most interesting moments open up. And personally, it now seems to me that 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 word usages unusual for the modern Russian language at 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 significant changes have occurred in the language over 120 years - and this first reason the appearance of discrepancies with modern norms of word usage.

The second is a 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 originated from the verb “skazat”, the full meaning of which is perfectly explained by: “speak”, “explain”, “notify”, “say” or “bayat”, that is, the skaz style goes back to folklore It is closer not to literary, but to colloquial speech (which means a large number of colloquial word forms, words of so-called folk etymology, are used). 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 is carried out at all levels of language, Leskov is especially inventive in word creation. And this The second reason discrepancies with modern literary norms.

The sources of the writer's artistic language are varied - they are primarily related to 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 in the language of ancient 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 of 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, colloquial language, folk 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 drug), talma...), but any modern edition contains the necessary number of footnotes and explanations of such words, so that every student can read them on one's own. We were more interested obsolete forms of words:

Comparative adjective 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 is declined according to the masculine model, 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 It 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 familiar 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.

References.

1. . Novels and stories, M.: AST Olimp, 1998

2. . . Historical grammar of the Russian language.-M.: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1963

3. . Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language (1866). Electronic version.

Story by N.S. Leskov’s “Lefty” is a special work. The author’s idea arose from a folk joke about how “the British made a flea out of steel, but our Tula people shod it and sent it back.” Thus, the story initially assumed closeness to folklore not only in content, but also in the manner of narration. The style of “Lefty” is very unique. Leskov managed to bring the genre of the story as close as possible to oral folk art, namely skaz, while at the same time preserving certain features of literary

The originality of the language in the story “Lefty” is manifested primarily in the very manner of narration. The reader immediately gets the feeling that the narrator was directly involved in the events described. This is important for understanding the main ideas of the work, because the emotionality of the main character makes you worry with him, the reader perceives a somewhat subjective view of the actions of other characters in the story, but it is this subjectivity that makes them as real as possible, the reader himself is transported to those distant times.

In addition, the fairy-tale style of narration serves as a clear sign that the narrator is a simple person, a hero from the people. He expresses not only his thoughts, feelings and experiences, behind this generalized image stands the entire working Russian people, living from hand to mouth, but caring about the prestige of their native country. With the help of descriptions of views on the life of gunsmiths and craftsmen through the eyes not of an outside observer, but of a sympathetic fellow, Leskov raises an eternal problem: why the fate of the common people, who feed and clothe the entire upper class, is indifferent to those in power, why are craftsmen remembered only when they need to support “prestige of the nation”? Bitterness and anger can be heard in the description of Lefty's death, and the author especially clearly shows the contrast between the fate of the Russian master and the English half-skipper, who found themselves in a similar situation.

However, in addition to the tale-like manner of narration, one can note the rather widespread use of vernacular in the story. For example, in the descriptions of the actions of Emperor Alexander I and the Cossack Platov, such colloquial verbs appear as “to ride” and “to jerk”. This not only once again demonstrates the narrator’s closeness to the people, but also expresses his attitude towards the authorities. People understand perfectly well that their pressing problems do not concern the emperor at all, but they do not get angry, but come up with naive excuses: Tsar Alexander, in their understanding, is the same simple person, he may want to change the life of the province for the better, but he is forced to deal with more important matters. The absurd order to conduct “internecine negotiations” is put by the narrator into the mouth of Emperor Nicholas with secret pride, but the reader guesses Leskov’s irony: the naive artisan is trying his best to show the significance and importance of the imperial personality and does not suspect how much he is mistaken. Thus, a comic effect arises from the incongruity of overly pompous words.

Also, the stylization of foreign words causes a smile; the narrator, with the same proud expression, speaks about Platov’s “aspiration”, about how the flea “dances,” but he doesn’t even realize how stupid it sounds. Here Leskov again demonstrates the naivety of ordinary people, but besides this, this episode conveys the spirit of the times, when sincere patriotism still hid a secret desire to be like enlightened Europeans. A particular manifestation of this is the adaptation of names of works of art that are too inconvenient for a Russian person into the native language; for example, the reader learns about the existence of Abolon Polvedersky and is again surprised in equal measure by both the resourcefulness and, again, the naivety of the Russian peasant.

Even Russian words must be used in a special way by fellow Lefty; he again, with an important and sedate look, reports that Platov “could not quite” speak French, and authoritatively notes that “he doesn’t need it: he’s a married man.” This is an obvious verbal alogism, behind which lies the author’s irony, caused by the author’s pity for the man, and, moreover, the irony is sad.

From the point of view of the uniqueness of the language, special attention is drawn to neologisms caused by ignorance of the thing that the man is talking about. These are words such as “busters” (chandelier plus bust) and “melkoskop” (so named, apparently, according to the function it performs). The author notes that in the minds of the people, objects of lordly luxury have merged into an incomprehensible tangle, people do not distinguish busts from chandeliers, they are so in awe of their senseless pompousness of palaces. And the word “melkoskop” became an illustration of another idea of ​​Leskov: Russian masters are wary of the achievements of foreign science, their talent is so great that no technical inventions will defeat the master’s genius. However, at the same time, in the finale, the narrator sadly notes that machines have nevertheless supplanted human talent and skill.

The originality of the language of the story “Lefty” lies in the manner of narration, in the use of vernacular and neologisms. With the help of these literary techniques, the author managed to reveal the character of Russian craftsmen; the reader is shown bright, original images of Lefty and the narrator.

Story by N.S. Leskova "Lefty"– this is a special work. The author’s idea arose from a folk joke about how “the British made a flea out of steel, but our Tula people shod it and sent it back.” Thus, the story initially assumed closeness to folklore not only in content, but also in the manner of narration. The style of "Lefty" is very unique. Leskov managed to bring the genre of the story as close as possible to oral folk art, namely skaz, while at the same time preserving certain features of a literary author's story.

The originality of the language in the story "Lefty" is manifested primarily in the very manner of narration. The reader immediately gets the feeling that the narrator was directly involved in the events described. This is important for understanding the main ideas of the work, because the emotionality of the main character makes you worry with him, the reader perceives a somewhat subjective view of the actions of other characters in the story, but it is this subjectivity that makes them as real as possible, the reader himself is transported to those distant times.

In addition, the fairy-tale style of narration serves as a clear sign that the narrator is a simple person, a hero from the people. He expresses not only his thoughts, feelings and experiences, behind this generalized image stands the entire working Russian people, living from hand to mouth, but caring about the prestige of their native country. With the help of descriptions of views on the life of gunsmiths and craftsmen through the eyes not of an outside observer, but of a sympathetic fellow, Leskov raises an eternal problem: why the fate of the common people, who feed and clothe the entire upper class, is indifferent to those in power, why are craftsmen remembered only when they need to support "prestige of the nation"? Bitterness and anger can be heard in the description of Lefty's death, and the author especially clearly shows the contrast between the fate of the Russian master and the English half-skipper, who found themselves in a similar situation.

However, in addition to the tale-like manner of narration, one can note the rather widespread use of vernacular in the story. For example, in descriptions of the actions of Emperor Alexander I and the Cossack Platov, such colloquial verbs appear as “to ride” and “to jerk.” This not only once again demonstrates the narrator’s closeness to the people, but also expresses his attitude towards the authorities. People understand perfectly well that their pressing problems do not concern the emperor at all, but they do not get angry, but come up with naive excuses: Tsar Alexander, in their understanding, is the same simple person, he may want to change the life of the province for the better, but he is forced to deal with more important matters. The absurd order to conduct “internecine negotiations” is put by the narrator into the mouth of Emperor Nicholas with secret pride, but the reader guesses Leskov’s irony: the naive artisan is trying his best to show the significance and importance of the imperial personality and does not suspect how much he is mistaken. Thus, a comic effect arises from the incongruity of overly pompous words.

Also, the stylization of foreign words causes a smile; the narrator, with the same proud expression, speaks about Platov’s “aspiration”, about how the flea “dances,” but he doesn’t even realize how stupid it sounds. Here Leskov again demonstrates the naivety of ordinary people, but besides this, this episode conveys the spirit of the times, when sincere patriotism still hid a secret desire to be like enlightened Europeans. A particular manifestation of this is the adaptation of names of works of art that are too inconvenient for a Russian person into the native language; for example, the reader learns about the existence of Abolon Polvedersky and is again surprised in equal measure by both the resourcefulness and, again, the naivety of the Russian peasant.

Even Russian words must be used by fellow Lefty in a special way; he again, with an important and sedate look, reports that Platov “could not quite” speak French, and authoritatively notes that “he doesn’t need it: he’s a married man.” This is an obvious verbal alogism, behind which lies the author’s irony, caused by the author’s pity for the man, and, moreover, the irony is sad.

From the point of view of the uniqueness of the language, special attention is drawn to neologisms caused by ignorance of the thing that the man is talking about. These are words such as “busters” (chandelier plus bust) and “melkoskop” (so named, apparently, according to the function it performs). The author notes that in the minds of the people, objects of lordly luxury have merged into an incomprehensible tangle, people do not distinguish busts from chandeliers, they are so in awe of their senseless pompousness of palaces. And the word “melkoskop” became an illustration of another idea of ​​Leskov: Russian masters are wary of the achievements of foreign science, their talent is so great that no technical inventions will defeat the genius of the master. However, at the same time, in the finale, the narrator sadly notes that machines have nevertheless supplanted human talent and skill.

The first writer who comes to his mind is, of course, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. The second portrait that appears before the inner gaze of the domestic bookworm is the face of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. But there is one classic who, as a rule, is forgotten in this context (or not mentioned so often) - Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. Meanwhile, his works are also saturated with the “Russian spirit,” and they also reveal not only the peculiarities of the Russian national character, but also the specifics of all Russian life.

In this sense, Leskov’s story “Lefty” stands apart. It reproduces with extraordinary accuracy and depth all the flaws in the structure of domestic life and all the heroism of the Russian people. People, as a rule, now do not have time to read the collected works of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, but they should find time to open a book on the cover of which it is written: N. S. Leskov “Lefty”.

Plot

The story supposedly begins in 1815. Emperor Alexander the First, on a voyage across Europe, also visits England. The British really want to surprise the Emperor, and at the same time show off the skills of their craftsmen, and for several days they take him around different rooms and show him all sorts of amazing things, but the main thing they have in store for the finale is a filigree work: a steel flea that can dance. Moreover, it is so small that without a microscope it is impossible to see it. Our Tsar was very surprised, but his accompanying Don Cossack Platov was not at all. On the contrary, he kept bawling that ours could do no worse.

He soon died, and ascended the throne who accidentally discovered a strange thing and decided to check Platov’s words by sending him to visit the Tula masters. The Cossack arrived, instructed the gunsmiths and went home, promising to return in two weeks.

The masters, including Lefty, retired to the house of the main character of the tale and worked there for two weeks, until Platov returned. Local residents heard the constant knocking, but the craftsmen themselves never left Lefty’s house during this time. They became recluses until the work was done.

Platov arrives. They bring him the same flea in a box. He furiously throws the first craftsman he came across into the carriage (he turned out to be left-handed) and goes to St. Petersburg to see the Tsar “on the carpet.” Of course, Lefty did not get to the king right away; he was first beaten and kept in prison for a short time.

The flea appears before the bright eyes of the monarch. He looks and looks at her and cannot understand what the Tula people did. Both the sovereign and his courtiers struggled with the secret, then the Tsar-Father ordered to invite Lefty, and he told him that he should take and look not at the whole flea, but only at its legs. No sooner said than done. It turned out that the Tula people had shoed the English flea.

Immediately the wonder was returned to the British, and in words something like the following was conveyed: “We, too, can do something.” Here we will pause in the plot presentation and talk about what the image of Lefty is in the tale of N. S. Leskov.

Lefty: between the gunsmith and the holy fool

Lefty’s appearance testifies to his “superiority”: “he’s left-handed with an oblique look, the hair on his cheek and temples was torn out during training.” When Lefty arrived to the Tsar, he was also dressed in a very peculiar way: “in shorts, one trouser leg is in a boot, the other is dangling, and the leg is old, the hooks are not fastened, they are lost, and the collar is torn.” He spoke to the king as he was, without observing manners and without fawning, if not on an equal footing with the sovereign, then certainly without fear of power.

People who are at least a little interested in history will recognize this portrait - this is a description of the ancient Russian holy fool; he was never afraid of anyone, because Christian Truth and God stood behind him.

Dialogue between Lefty and the British. Continuation of the story

After a short digression, let’s turn again to the plot, but at the same time let’s not forget the image of Lefty in Leskov’s tale.

The British were so delighted with the work that they demanded that the master be brought to them without hesitating for a second. The king respected the British, equipped Lefty and sent him with an escort to them. There are two important moments in the protagonist’s voyage to England: a conversation with the British (Leskov’s story “Lefty” is perhaps the most entertaining in this part) and the fact that, unlike Russians, our ancestors do not clean the barrels of guns with bricks.

Why did the British want to keep Lefty?

The Russian land is full of nuggets, and they don’t pay much attention, but in Europe they immediately see “diamonds in the rough.” The English elite, having once looked at Lefty, immediately realized that he was a genius, and the gentlemen decided to keep our man, teach him, clean him up, enrich him, but that was not the case!

Lefty told them that he didn’t want to stay in England, he didn’t want to study algebra, his education—the Gospel and the Half-Dream Book—was enough for him. He doesn't need money, nor women.

It was with difficulty that the left-handed man was persuaded to stay a little longer and look at Western technologies for the production of guns and other things. Our craftsman was of little interest in the latest technologies of that time, but he was very attentive to the storage of old guns. Studying them, Lefty realized: the British do not clean the barrel of their guns with bricks, which makes the guns more reliable in battle.

Despite this discovery, the main character of the tale still greatly missed his homeland and asked the British to send him home as soon as possible. It was impossible to send by land, because Lefty did not know any languages ​​other than Russian. It was also unsafe to sail on the sea in the fall, because it is restless at this time of year. And yet they equipped Lefty, and he sailed on a ship to the Fatherland.

During the journey, he found himself a drinking buddy, and they drank all the way, but not out of fun, but out of boredom and fear.

How bureaucracy killed a man

When friends from the ship were put ashore in St. Petersburg, the Englishman was sent to where all foreign citizens are supposed to be - to the “messenger house”, and Lefty was sent in an ill state through the bureaucratic circles of hell. They couldn’t admit him to any hospital in the city without documents, except the one where they were taken to die. Moreover, various officials said that Lefty should be helped, but here’s the problem: no one is responsible for anything and no one can do anything. So the left-handed man died in a hospital for the poor, and on his lips there was only one phrase: “Tell the Tsar Father that guns cannot be cleaned with bricks.” He nevertheless told it to one of the sovereign’s servants, but it never reached the Almighty. Can you guess why?

That's almost all on the topic “N.S. Leskov “Lefty”, brief content.”

The image of Lefty in Leskov’s tale and the model of the fate of a creative person in Russia

After reading the work of the Russian classic, a conclusion involuntarily arises: a creative, brilliant person simply has no hope of surviving in Russia. He will either be tortured by unchristian bureaucrats, or he will destroy himself from within, and not because he has some unresolved issues, but because Russian people are not able to simply live, his lot is to die, burning up in life like a meteorite in the earth’s atmosphere . This is how the image of Lefty in Leskov’s tale turns out to be contradictory: on the one hand, a genius and a craftsman, and on the other hand, a person with a serious destructive element inside, capable of self-destruction in conditions when you least expect it.

Realizing the place and significance of N.S. Leskov in the literary process, we always note that he is an amazingly original writer. The external dissimilarity of his predecessors and contemporaries sometimes made him see in him a completely new phenomenon, which had no parallel in Russian literature. Leskov is brightly original, and at the same time you can learn a lot from him.He is an amazing experimenter who gave birth to a whole wave of artistic searches in Russian literature; He is a cheerful, mischievous experimenter, and at the same time extremely serious and deep, setting himself great educational goals.

Leskov’s creativity, one might say, knows no social boundaries. He brings out in his works people of various classes and circles: and landowners - from the rich to the semi-poor, and officials of all stripes - from the minister to the quarterly, and the clergy - monastic and parish - from the metropolitan to the sexton, and military men of various ranks and types of weapons, and peasants, and people from the peasantry - soldiers, artisans and every working person. Leskov willingly shows different representatives of the nationalities of Russia at that time: Ukrainians, Yakuts, Jews, Gypsies, Poles... Leskov’s versatility of knowledge of the life of each class, estate, and nationality is amazing. Leskov's exceptional life experience, his vigilance, memory, and his linguistic flair were needed to describe the life of the people so closely, with such knowledge of everyday life, economic structure, family relationships, folk art, and the folk language.

With all the breadth of coverage of Russian life, there is a sphere in Leskov’s work to which his most significant and famous works belong: this is the sphere of life of the people.

Who are the heroes of Leskov’s most beloved works by our readers?

Heroes" Sealed angel" - mason workers, "Left-handed" - blacksmith, Tula gunsmith, " Toupee artist"- serf hairdresser and theatrical make-up artist

To place a hero from the people at the center of the narrative, it is necessary First of all, master his language, be able to reproduce the speech of different layers of the people, different professions, destinies, ages. The task of recreating the living language of the people in a literary work required special art, when Leskov used the form of skaz.

The tale in Russian literature comes from Gogol, but was especially skillfully developed by Leskov and glorified him as an artist. The essence of this manner is that the narration is not conducted on behalf of a neutral, objective author; the narrative is narrated by a narrator, usually a participant in the events being reported. The speech of a work of art imitates the living speech of an oral story. Moreover, in a fairy tale, the narrator is usually a person from a different social circle and cultural layer to which the writer and the intended reader of the work belong. Leskov’s story is told by either a merchant, or a monk, or an artisan, or a retired mayor, or a former soldier. . Each narrator speaks in a way that is characteristic of his education and upbringing, his age and profession, his concept of himself, his desire and ability to impress his listeners.

This manner gives Leskov’s story a special liveliness. The language of his works, unusually rich and varied, deepens the social and individual characteristics of his heroes, and becomes for the writer a means of subtle assessment of people and events. Gorky wrote about Leskov's tale:"...The people of his stories often talk about themselves, but their speech is so amazingly alive, so truthful and convincing that they stand before you as mysteriously tangible, physically clear, as people from the books of L. Tolstoy and others, otherwise to say, Leskov achieves the same result, but with a different technique of mastery."

To illustrate Leskov’s storytelling style, let’s take some tirade from "Lefty" This is how the narrator describes, based on Lefty's impressions, the living and working conditions of English workers : “Every worker they have is constantly well-fed, is not dressed in rags, but each one is wearing a capable tunic vest, shod in thick boots with iron knobs, so as not to get his feet on anything; he works not with a boilie, but with training and has for himself concepts. In front of everyone, in plain sight, hangs a multiplication dot, and under his hand is an erasable board: all that the master does is look at the dot and compare it with the concept, and then he writes one thing on the board, erases another, and puts it together neatly: what is written on the numbers , that’s what actually happens.”

The narrator did not see any English workers. He dresses them according to his imagination, combining a jacket with a vest. He knows that they work there “according to science”; in this regard, he himself has only heard about the “multiplication dot”, which means that a master who works not “by eye”, but with the help of “digits”, must check his products with it. The narrator, of course, does not have enough familiar words; he distorts or uses unfamiliar words incorrectly. “Shiblets” become “schiglets” - probably by association with panache. The multiplication table turns into a “chicken” - obviously because the students “chuck” it. Wanting to designate some kind of extension on the boots, the narrator calls it a knob, transferring to it the name of the extension on a stick.

Popular storytellers often reinterpret strange-sounding foreign words into Russian., which, with such alteration, receive new or additional meanings; Leskov especially willingly imitates this so-called “folk etymology” ". Thus, in “Lefty” the barometer turns into a “storm meter”, the “microscope” into a “small scope”, the “pudding” into a “studying” " etc. Leskov, who passionately loved puns, wordplay, witticisms, and jokes, filled “Levsha” with linguistic oddities. But their set does not give the impression of excess, because the immense brightness of the verbal patterns is in the spirit of folk buffoonery. And sometimes a verbal game not only amuses, but behind it there is a satirical denunciation.

The narrator in a tale usually addresses some interlocutor or group of interlocutors, the narrative begins and progresses in response to their questions and comments. At the core "Toupee artist" - the story of an old nanny to her pupil, a nine-year-old boy. This nanny is a former actress of the Oryol serf theater of Count Kamensky. This is the same theater that is described in Herzen’s story “The Thieving Magpie” under the name of the theater of Prince Skalinsky. But the heroine of Herzen’s story is not only a highly talented, but, due to exceptional life circumstances, also an educated actress... Leskov’s Lyuba is an uneducated serf girl, by natural talent capable of singing, dancing, and performing roles in plays “by sight” (that is, by hearsay, following other actresses She is not able to tell and reveal everything that the author wants to tell the reader, and she cannot know everything (for example, the master’s conversations with his brother). Therefore, not the entire story is told on behalf of the nanny; part of the events are presented by the author, including excerpts and small quotes from nanny's story.

In Leskov's most popular work - "Lefty" we encounter a tale of a different kind. There is no author, no listeners, no narrator. More precisely, the author’s voice is heard for the first time after the completion of the tale: in the final chapter, the writer characterizes the story told as a “fabulous legend,” an “epic” of the masters, “a myth personified by folk fantasy.”

(*10) The narrator in “Lefty” exists only as a voice that does not belong to a specific, named person. This is, as it were, the voice of the people - the creator of the “gunsmith legend”.

"Lefty"- not an everyday tale, where the narrator narrates events he has experienced or personally known to him; here he retells a legend created by the people, as folk storytellers perform epics or historical songs. As in the folk epic, in “Lefty” a number of historical figures act: two kings - Alexander I and Nicholas I, ministers Chernyshev, Nesselrode (Kiselvrode), Kleinmichel, ataman of the Don Cossack army Platov, commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress Skobelev and others.

Contemporaries did not appreciate either “Lefty” or Leskov’s talent in general.They believed that Leskov was excessive in everything: he applied bright colors too thickly, put his characters in too unusual positions, forced them to speak in an exaggeratedly characteristic language, and strung too many episodes onto one thread. and so on.

Most associated with the creativity of the people "Lefty". At the very basis of its plot lies a comic saying in which the people expressed admiration for the art of Tula masters: "The Tula people shoed a flea". Used by Leskov and popularly used legends about the skill of Tula gunsmiths. Back at the beginning of the 19th century, an anecdote was published about how an important Russian gentleman showed an expensive English pistol to a craftsman at the Tula Arms Factory, and he, taking the pistol, “unscrewed the trigger and showed his name under the screw.” In “Lefty,” Platov arranges the same demonstration to prove to Tsar Alexander that “we have our own at home just as well.” In the English “armoury cabinet of curiosities”, (*12) taking the especially praised “pistol” in his hands, Platov unscrews the lock and shows the tsar the inscription: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.”

As we see, love for the people, the desire to discover and show the best sides of the Russian folk character did not make Leskov a panegyrist, did not prevent him from seeing the features of slavery and ignorance that his history imposed on the people. Leskov does not hide these traits in the hero of his myth about the brilliant master. The legendary Lefty and his two comrades managed to forge and attach horseshoes with nails to the legs of a steel flea made in England. On each horseshoe “the artist’s name is displayed: which Russian master made that horseshoe.” These inscriptions can only be seen through a “microscope that magnifies five million times.” But the artisans did not have any microscopes, but only “shot eyes.”

This is, of course, a fabulous exaggeration, but it has a real basis. Tula craftsmen have always been especially famous and are still famous for their miniature products, which can only be seen with the help of a strong magnifying glass.

Admiring the genius of Lefty, Leskov, however, is far from idealizing the people as they were, according to historical conditions, at that time. Lefty is ignorant, and this cannot but affect his creativity. The art of the English craftsmen was manifested not so much in the fact that they cast the flea from steel, but in the fact that the flea danced, wound up with a special key. Savvy, she stopped dancing. And the English masters, cordially welcoming Lefty, sent to England with a savvy flea , indicate that he is hampered by a lack of knowledge: "...Then you could have realized that in every machine there is a calculation of force, otherwise you are very skilled in your hands, but you did not realize that such a small machine, like in the nymphosoria, is designed for the most accurate accuracy and does not have shoeings cannot. Because of this, now the nymphosoria does not jump and does not dance." Leskov attached great importance to this point. In an article devoted to the tale of Lefty, Leskov contrasts Lefty’s genius with his ignorance, and his (ardent patriotism) with the lack of concern for the people and homeland in the ruling clique. Leskov writes: “The reviewer of “New Time” notes that in Lefty I had the idea to bring out not one person, and that where it says “Lefty”, you should read “Russian people”.

Lefty loves his Russia with a simple-hearted and ingenuous love. He cannot be tempted by an easy life in a foreign land. He is eager to go home because he is faced with a task that Russia needs to complete; thus she became the goal of his life. In England, Lefty learned that the muzzles of guns should be lubricated, and not cleaned with crushed bricks, as was customary in the Russian army then, - which is why “bullets dangle in them” and guns, “God bless war, (...) are not suitable for shooting ". With this he hurries to his homeland. He arrives sick, the authorities did not bother to provide him with a document, the police completely robbed him, after which they began to take him to hospitals, but they would not admit him anywhere without a “tugament”, they threw the patient onto the floor, and finally, “the back of his head split on the paratha” . Dying, Lefty thought only about how to bring his discovery to the king, and still managed to inform the doctor about it. He reported to the Minister of War, but in response he received only a rude shout: “Know (...) your emetic and laxative, and don’t interfere with your own business: in Russia there are generals for that.”

In the story" Stupid artist" the writer depicts a rich count with an “insignificant face” that exposes an insignificant soul. This is an evil tyrant and tormentor: people he dislikes are torn to pieces by hunting dogs, executioners torment them with incredible tortures. Thus, Leskov contrasts truly courageous people from the people with “gentlemen”, maddened by immense power over people and imagining themselves courageous, because they are always ready to torment and to destroy people at their own whim or caprice - of course, with the hands of others. There were enough such “foreign hands” at the service of the masters: both serfs and civilians, servants and people appointed by the authorities to assist in every possible way the “powers of this world.” The image of one of the master's servants is vividly depicted in "The Stupid Artist." This is pop. Arkady, undaunted by the torture that threatens him, perhaps fatal, tries to save his beloved girl from the abuse (*19) of her by a depraved master. The priest promises to marry them and hide them at his place for the night, after which both hope to get into the “Turkish Khrushchuk”. But the priest, having previously robbed Arkady, betrays the fugitives to the count's people sent to search for the escaped ones, for which he receives a well-deserved spit in the face.

"Lefty"

ORIGINALITY OF NARRATION. LANGUAGE FEATURES. While discussing the genre uniqueness of the story, we said nothing about such a definition of the genre as “skaz”. And this is no coincidence. The tale as a genre of oral prose implies a focus on oral speech, narration on behalf of a participant in the event. In this sense, “Lefty” is not a traditional tale. At the same time, skaz can also be called such a way of storytelling, which involves “separation” of the narrative from the participant in the events himself. In “Lefty” exactly this process occurs, especially since the word “fable” is used in the story, suggesting the fantastic nature of the narrative. The narrator, being neither a witness nor a participant in the events, actively expresses his attitude to what is happening in various forms. At the same time, in the tale itself one can detect the originality of the position of both the narrator and the author.

Throughout the story the style of narration changes. If at the beginning of the first chapter the narrator outwardly unsophisticatedly sets out the circumstances of the emperor’s arrival in England, then successively talks about the events taking place, using colloquialisms, outdated and distorted forms of words, different types of neologisms etc., then already in the sixth chapter (in the story about the Tula masters) the narrative becomes different. It does not completely lose its colloquial character, however becomes more neutral, distorted forms of words and neologisms are practically not used . By changing the narrative style, the author wants to show the seriousness of the situation described.. It doesn't happen by chance even high vocabulary, when the narrator characterizes “the skilled people on whom the hope of the nation now rested.” The same kind of narrative can be found in the last, 20th chapter, which obviously, to summarize, contains the author's point of view, so its style differs from that of most of the chapters.

The narrator’s calm and apparently dispassionate speech often includes expressively colored words(for example, Alexander Pavlovich decided to “travel” around Europe), which becomes one of the forms of expressing the author’s position, deeply hidden in the text.

The narrative itself skillfully emphasizes intonation features of characters' speech(cf., for example, the statements of Alexander I and Platov).

According to I.V. Stolyarova, Leskov “directs readers’ interest to the events themselves”, which is facilitated by the special logical structure of the text: most of the chapters have an ending, and some have a kind of beginning, which makes it possible to clearly separate one event from another. This principle creates the effect of a fantastic manner. It can also be noted that in a number of chapters, it is at the end that the narrator expresses the author’s position: “And the courtiers who are standing on the steps all turn away from him, thinking: “Platov got caught and now they’ll drive him out of the palace,” that’s why they couldn’t stand him for bravery” (end of chapter 12).

It is impossible not to note the use of various techniques that characterize the features of not only oral speech, but also folk poetry in general: tautologies(“they shod on horseshoes”, etc.), peculiar forms of verbs with prefix(“I admired”, “send”, “clap”, etc.), words with diminutive suffixes(“palm”, “little belly”, etc.). It is interesting to pay attention to the entered text of the saying(“morning is wiser than night”, “snow on your head”). Sometimes Leskov can modify them.

ABOUT the mixing of different manners of narration is evidenced by the nature of neologisms. They can go into more detail describe an object and its function(two-seater carriage), scene(busters - combining the words busts and chandeliers, the writer gives a more complete description of the room in one word), action(whistles - whistle and messengers accompanying Platov), ​​designate foreign curiosities(marble coats - camel coats, etc.), the state of the heroes (waiting - waiting and agitation, an annoying couch on which Platov lay for many years, characterizing not only the hero’s inaction, but also his wounded pride). The appearance of neologisms in Leskov is in many cases due to literary play.

“Thus, Leskov’s tale as a type of narration was not only transformed and enriched, but also served to create a new genre variety: the tale. A fairy tale is distinguished by its great depth of coverage of reality, approaching in this sense the novel form. It was Leskov’s fairy tale that contributed to the emergence of a new type of truth-seeker, who can be put on a par with the heroes of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky” (Mushchenko E.G., Skobelev V.P., Kroichik L.E. S. 115). The artistic originality of “Lefty” is determined by the task of searching for special forms of expressing the author’s position to assert the strength of national character.