Noticed that literary work like an iceberg: only one seventh of the story is on the surface, and everything else is hidden between the lines. And in order for the reader to be able to see what is not there, the author has to “hint” at an event or situation. Such allusions are called "subtexts" - this is another ingenious trick in the vast arsenal of writer's "things". In this article we will try to briefly analyze the topic called "Subtext is ...".
When did it appear and where did it settle down?
For the first time the concept of subtext entered the literature in early XIX century. This technique was originally characteristic of psychological prose or poetry of symbolism and post-symbolism. Somewhat later, it began to be used even in journalism.
In literature, the concept of "subtext" was first conceptualized by Hemingway. His philosophical definition of the term was as follows: the subtext is the hidden part of the work, where the main points of the story are located, which the reader must find on his own.
Subtext has taken root best of all in Japan, where understatement or hint is a special artistic measure that can often be found not only in works of literature, but also in other areas of art. After all, the religion and mentality of the country rising sun focused on seeing the invisible beyond the visible.
What is subtext?
As is already clear from the above: subtext in literature is an artistic hint. special kind information that reveals to the reader another side of the story. To understand it means to find what the author has kept silent about. Revealing the subtext, the reader seems to become a co-author, imagining, thinking and imagining.
Subtext is a riddle, as if the consumer was asked to guess the picture by showing only a few strokes. Directing the reader's imagination, the author makes him experience, rejoice or be sad.
Subtext is what is hidden "under the text". The text itself is just a collection of letters and a handful of punctuation marks. They don't mean anything, they're so simple, but there's something else behind them. In the white interline gaps, the experiences of the protagonist or the beauty of another world glimpse.
Examples with explanations
Subtext is phrases that make the reader imagine what is happening, represent the experiences of the protagonist. It can be found in every work. fiction. To better understand the essence of the subtext, it is worth giving a few phrases and a “subtext” transcript.
Subtext in literature is (examples):
- A. Akhmatova: “I right hand put on the glove on the left hand. After these lines, the reader understands that main character is in tension. Her actions are scattered due to experiences.
- L. Tolstoy: “Ahead, the whistle of a locomotive roared deplorably and gloomily (...) the horror of a snowstorm has become beautiful now.” It is as if the reader himself experiences the state of mind of Anna Karenina before her death: a terrible snowstorm becomes beautiful because of the fear of an approaching, "deplorable and gloomy" death.
- A. Chekhov: “A silent, submissive, incomprehensible creature, impersonal in its humility, spineless, weak from excessive kindness, quietly suffered on the sofa and did not complain.” With these words, the author tried to show the weakness of the hero (Dymov), who was dying.
Subtext can be found everywhere: it is present in literature, and in conversations, and in drama. understatement and hidden meaning is another way
Introduction
The topic of my essay is connected with the desire to explore how the subtext expresses the author's intention in the work of A.P. Chekhov. I was also interested in the opinion of well-known Russian critics about how, in their opinion, this technique helps the writer to reveal the main ideas of his works.
In my opinion, the study of this topic is interesting and relevant. I think it is important to know exactly how A.P. Chekhov built his works, "encrypting" the main thoughts in the subtext. To understand this, you need to analyze the work of Chekhov.
How can the author convey his intention with the help of subtext? I will investigate this issue in this work, based on the content of some works of A.P. Chekhov and the point of view of literary critics, namely: Zamansky S.A. and his work “The Power of Chekhov’s Subtext”, the monograph by Semanova M.L. “Chekhov - artist", the book of Chukovsky K. I. "About Chekhov", as well as research
M. P. Gromov "The Book of Chekhov" and A. P. Chudakov "Poetics and Prototypes".
In addition, I will analyze the composition of the story "The Jumper" in order to understand how the subtext affects the structure of the work. And also on the example of the story "The Jumper", I will try to find out what other artistic techniques used by the writer to most fully embody his plan.
It is these questions that are of particular interest to me, and I will try to cover them in the main part of the essay.
What is subtext?
First, let's define the term "subtext". Here is the meaning of this word in various dictionaries:
1) subtext - the inner, hidden meaning of any text, statement. (Efremova T.F. "Explanatory Dictionary").
2) subtext - internal, hidden meaning of the text, statements; content that is embedded in the text by the reader or artist. (Ozhegov S.I. "Explanatory Dictionary").
3) subtext - in literature (mainly fiction) - hidden, different from direct meaning utterances, the meaning that is restored on the basis of the context, taking into account the situation. In the theater, the subtext is revealed by the actor with the help of intonation, pause, facial expressions, and gesture. ("Encyclopedic Dictionary").
So, summarizing all the definitions, we come to the conclusion that the subtext is the hidden meaning of the text.
Subtext as a way to embody the author's intention in the works of A. P. Chekhov
S. Zalygin wrote: “Subtext is good only if there is an excellent text. Understatement is appropriate when a lot has been said. Literary critic M. L. Semanova in the article “Where there is life, there is poetry. About Chekhov's titles" in the work of A.P. Chekhov says: " famous words Astrov at the map of Africa in the finale of "Uncle Vanya" ("And it must be, in this very Africa now the heat is a terrible thing") cannot be understood in their hidden meaning if readers, viewers do not see the dramatic state of Astrov, a talented, large-scale person , whose opportunities are curtailed by life and not realized. Psychological overtones these words should become clear only "in the context" of the preceding state of mind Astrov: he found out about Sonya's love for him and, without responding to her feelings, he can no longer stay in this house, especially since he unwittingly hurt Voynitsky, who was carried away by Elena Andreevna, who accidentally witnessed her meeting with Astrov.
The subtext of the words about Africa is also guessed in the context of Astrov’s momentary state: he had just parted forever with Elena Andreevna, perhaps he had just realized that he was losing dear people(Sonya, Voinitsky, nanny Marina) that ahead is a series of bleak, agonizing, monotonous years of loneliness. Astrov is emotionally disturbed; he is embarrassed, sad, does not want to express these feelings, and he hides them behind a neutral phrase about Africa (you should pay attention to the author's remark to this action: "There is a map of Africa on the wall, apparently, no one here needs it").
By creating such a stylistic atmosphere in which hidden connections, unspoken thoughts and feelings can be adequately perceived by the author's intention by the reader, the viewer, awakening the necessary associations in them, Chekhov increased the reader's activity. “In understatement - writes a famous Soviet film director
G. M. Kozintsev about Chekhov, - lies the possibility of creativity that arises in readers.
Famous literary critic S. Zamansky speaks about the subtexts in the work of A.P. Chekhov: “Chekhov's subtext reflects the hidden, underlying, extra energy person. Often this energy has not yet been determined enough to break out, to manifest itself directly, directly ... But always, in all cases, the “invisible” energy of the hero is inseparable from those of his specific and completely precise actions that make it possible to feel these latent forces. .. And Chekhov's subtext is read well, freely, not by the arbitrariness of intuition, but on the basis of the logic of the hero's actions and taking into account all the accompanying circumstances.
After analyzing the articles on the role of subtext in Chekhov's works, we can conclude that with the help of the veiled meaning of his works, Chekhov actually reveals to readers inner world each of the characters, helps to feel the state of their souls, their thoughts, feelings. In addition, the writer awakens certain associations and gives the reader the right to understand the experiences of the characters in his own way, makes the reader a co-author, awakens the imagination.
In my opinion, elements of subtext can also be found in the titles of Chekhov's works. The literary critic M. L. Semanova writes in her monograph on the work of A. P. Chekhov: or “in the tone” of which) the narration is being conducted. In the titles of works there is often a coincidence (or discrepancy) author's assessment portrayed and assessed by the narrator. "Joke", for example, is the name of the story, which is conducted on behalf of the hero. This is his understanding of what happened. The reader, on the other hand, guesses another - the author's - height of understanding: the author is not at all funny about the desecration of human trust, love, hope for happiness; for him, what happened to the heroine is not a “joke” at all, but a hidden drama.
So, having studied the articles of literary critics on the work of A.P. Chekhov, we see that the subtext can be found not only in the content of Chekhov's works, but in their titles.
Meaning of the word SUBTEXT in the Dictionary of Literary Terms
SUBTEXT
The hidden meaning of the statement, not expressed directly, but arising from the situation, individual details, replicas, dialogues of characters inner content speech. P. does not coincide with the direct meaning of the statement, with what the characters say, but allows you to understand what they feel. In a work of art, P. often reveals the author's attitude to actors, their relationships, ongoing events. Examples of the masterful use of P. are the plays of A.P. Chekhov, stories by I.A. Bunin (for example, "Cold Autumn"), a poem by M. Tsvetaeva "Longing for the Motherland! .. For a long time ...".
Dictionary of literary terms. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, word meanings and what is SUBTEXT in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- SUBTEXT in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- SUBTEXT in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
latent, implicit meaning of the utterance, artistic narrative, dramatic remarks, the second plan of a stage role, making themselves felt in an indirect way. Based on … - SUBTEXT in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- SUBTEXT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
in literature (mainly fiction) a hidden meaning, different from the direct meaning of the statement, which is restored on the basis of the context, taking into account the situation. AT … - SUBTEXT in encyclopedic dictionary:
, -a, m. (bookish) Internal, hidden meaning of the text, statement; content, which is embedded in the text by a reader or actor. II adj. subtext... - SUBTEXT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
SUBTEXT, in literature (predominantly artistic) a hidden meaning different from the direct meaning of the statement, which is restored on the basis of the context, taking into account the situation. … - SUBTEXT in the Full accentuated paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
podte "by the way, podte" by the way, podte "by the way, podte" by the way, podte "by the way, podte" by the way, podte" by the way, podte" by the way, podte" by the way, podte" by the way, podte" by the way, ... - SUBTEXT in the Dictionary of Linguistic Terms:
Not verbally expressed, implied meaning ... - SUBTEXT in the Popular Explanatory-Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
-a, m. Internal, hidden the meaning of some. text, statements. Speak with context. With Chekhov, in literature and in the theater, the concept of ... - SUBTEXT in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
subtext... - SUBTEXT in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
m. text, ... - SUBTEXT in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
subtext, ... - SUBTEXT full spelling dictionary Russian language:
subtext... - SUBTEXT in the Spelling Dictionary:
subtext, ... - SUBTEXT in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Ozhegov:
internal, hidden meaning of the text, statements; content that is embedded in the text by the reader or ... - SUBTEXT in Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB:
in literature (mainly fiction) - a hidden meaning, different from the direct meaning of the statement, which is restored on the basis of the context, taking into account the situation. … - SUBTEXT in the Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova:
subtext m. Internal, hidden meaning of some kind of smth. text, ... - SUBTEXT in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova:
- SUBTEXT in the Big Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
m. The inner, hidden meaning of any text, ... - NIGHT IN MADRID in Wiki Quote.
- HISTORY OF SEXUALITY in Gender Studies Glossary..
- SEX in the Newest Philosophical Dictionary.
- ADORNO in the Newest Philosophical Dictionary:
(Adorno), Wiesengrund-Adorno (Wiesengrund-Adorno) Theodor (1903-1969) - German philosopher, sociologist, musicologist, composer. One of the leading representatives of the Frankfurt School, made a major contribution ... - THE STAR OF REDIMENSION in the Dictionary of Postmodernism:
- Rosenzweig's book, one of important documents Jewish modernism. (Z.I. - the image of the Star of David, at the same time constituting a conjugate gestalt.) Represents ... - METC
(Metz) Christian (1931-1993) Leader of French non-classical film aesthetics; a film semiotician who develops a structural-psychoanalytic theory of cinema. Creatively applying a number of ideas of J. Lacan to the analysis ... - MESSAGE in the Lexicon of non-classics, artistic and aesthetic culture of the XX century, Bychkov:
(message - English: message) Meaning, ideological content artwork. M. is transmitted to the recipient implicitly or explicitly, it can be artistic or non-artistic. … - Garcia Marquez in the Lexicon of non-classics, artistic and aesthetic culture of the XX century, Bychkov:
(Garcia Marquez) Gabriel (b. 1928) World-famous Colombian writer who played a leading role in the development of the method of magical realism. Nobel Prize Laureate … - MAGICAL REALISM in the Dictionary of Fine Art Terms:
- (Magic Realism) a trend in American art in the 1940s-1950s. The plots of the works are taken from everyday reality, but have overtones of surrealism, fantasy ... - GARDEN ART in Encyclopedia Japan from A to Z:
- unique phenomenon, representing a carefully developed philosophical and aesthetic system of understanding Nature as a universal model of the universe. Thanks to this, any Japanese garden is ... - NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES
(Nacht der langen Messer), "Bloody Purge", a bloody massacre unleashed by Hitler on July 30, 1934 in order to stop the growing influence of his political ... - SEEKT, HANS VON in the Encyclopedia of the Third Reich:
(Seeckt), (1866-1936), commander of the armed forces Weimar Republic. Born April 22, 1866 in Silesia in the family of a general German army. At 19…
Word " symbol " derived from Greek word symbolon, which means " conditional language". In ancient Greece, this was the name given to halves of a stick cut in two, which helped their owners to recognize each other, wherever they were. Symbol- an object or word conditionally expressing the essence of a phenomenon.
Symbol contains a figurative meaning, in this it is close to a metaphor. However, this closeness is relative. Metaphor is a more direct assimilation of one object or phenomenon to another. Symbol much more complex in structure and meaning. The meaning of the symbol is ambiguous and it is difficult, often impossible to fully reveal. Symbol contains a certain secret, a hint, allowing only to guess what is meant, what the poet wanted to say. The interpretation of a symbol is possible not so much with reason as with intuition and feeling. The images created by symbolist writers have their own characteristics, they have a two-dimensional structure. In the foreground - a certain phenomenon and real details, in the second (hidden) plane - the inner world of the lyrical hero, his visions, memories, pictures born of his imagination. An explicit, objective plan and a hidden, deep meaning coexist in the symbolist image. The symbolists are especially fond of the spiritual spheres. They seek to penetrate them.
subtext - implicit meaning, which may not coincide with the direct meaning of the text; hidden associations based on the repetition, similarity or contrast of individual elements of the text; emerges from the context.
Detail – expressive detail in a work that carries a significant semantic and emotional load. Artistic details: furnishings, appearance, landscape, portrait, interior.
1.10. Psychologism. Nationality. Historicism.
In any work of art, the writer one way or another tells the reader about the feelings, experiences of a person. But the degree of penetration into the inner world of the individual is different. The writer can only record some feeling of the character (“he got scared”), without showing the depth, shades of this feeling, the reasons that caused it. This depiction of a character's feelings cannot be considered psychological analysis. Deep penetration into the inner world of the hero, a detailed description, analysis of various states of his soul, attention to the shades of experiences is called psychological analysis in literature(often called simply psychologism ). Psychological analysis appears in Western European literature in the second half of the 18th century (the era sentimentalism when epistolary and diary forms are especially popular. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the works of Z. Freud and C. Jung, the foundations of depth psychology personality, the conscious and unconscious beginning opens up. These discoveries could not but influence literature, in particular, the work of D. Joyce and M. Proust.
First of all, they talk about psychologism when analyzing an epic work, since it is here that the writer has the most means of depicting the inner world of the hero. Along with the direct statements of the characters, there is the speech of the narrator, and you can comment on this or that remark of the hero, his act, reveal the true motives of his behavior. This form of psychology is called summarily denoting .
In cases where the writer depicts only the features of the behavior, speech, facial expressions, appearance of the hero. it indirect psychologism, since the inner world of the hero is shown not directly, but through external symptoms, which may not always be unambiguously interpreted. The methods of indirect psychologism include various details of a portrait (an internal link to the corresponding chapter), a landscape (an internal link to the corresponding chapter), an interior (an internal link to the corresponding chapter), etc. Psychological methods also include default. Analyzing in detail the behavior of the character, the writer at some point does not say anything at all about the experiences of the hero and thus forces the reader to conduct a psychological analysis himself. For example, Turgenev's novel "The Nest of Nobles" ends like this: "They say Lavretsky visited that remote monastery where Lisa had hidden - he saw her. Moving from choir to choir, she walked close past him, walked with the even, hastily-submissive gait of a nun - and did not look at him; only the eyelashes of the eye turned to him quivered a little, only she tilted her emaciated face even lower - and the fingers of her clenched hands, intertwined with a rosary, pressed even more tightly to each other. What did they both think they felt? Who will know? Who will say? There are such moments in life, such feelings ... You can only point at them - and pass by. Liza's gestures make it difficult to judge her feelings, it is only obvious that she has not forgotten Lavretsky. How Lavretsky looked at her remains unknown to the reader.
When the writer shows the hero "from the inside", as if penetrating into the consciousness, the soul, directly showing what happens to him at one time or another. This type of psychology is called direct . The forms of direct psychologism can include the speech of the hero (direct: oral and written; indirect; internal monologue), his dreams. Let's consider each in more detail.
In a work of art, the speeches of the characters are usually given a significant place, but psychologism arises only when the character detail talks about his experiences, expresses his views on the world. For example, in the novels of F.M. Dostoevsky's heroes begin to speak extremely frankly with each other, as if confessing everything. It is important to remember that characters can communicate not only verbally, but also in writing. Written speech is more thoughtful, there are much less violations of syntax, grammar, logic. All the more they are significant, if appear. For example, a letter from Anna Snegina (the heroine of the poem of the same name by S.A. Yesenin) to Sergei is outwardly calm, but at the same time unmotivated transitions from one thought to another are striking. Anna actually confesses her love to him, because she writes only about him. She does not speak directly about her feelings, but transparently hints at it: "But you are still dear to me, / Like a homeland and like spring." But the hero does not understand the meaning of this letter, therefore he considers it "unreasonable", but intuitively understands that Anna, perhaps, has been in love with him for a long time. It is no coincidence that after reading the letter the refrain changes: at first, “We are all in these years loved, // But they didn't love us enough”; then “We all loved during these years, // But, it means, // They loved us too.”
When a hero communicates with someone, questions often arise: to what extent is he frank, does he pursue some goal, does he want to make the right impression, or vice versa (like Anna Snegina) hide his feelings. When Pechorin tells Princess Mary that he was originally good, but society spoiled him, and as a result, two people began to live in him, he tells the truth, although at the same time, perhaps, he thinks about the impression that his words will make on Mary.
In many works of the 19th century, individual thoughts of the hero are found, but this does not mean that the writer deeply and fully reveals his inner world. For example, Bazarov, during a conversation with Odintsova, thinks: “You are flirting<...>, you miss me and tease me because I have nothing to do, but to me ... ”The hero’s thought breaks off“ at the most interesting place, ”what exactly he is experiencing remains unknown. When the detailed reflection of the hero is shown, natural, sincere, spontaneous, internal monologue , which preserves the character's speech style. The hero thinks about what worries him most, when he needs to make some important decision. are revealed main topics, problems internal monologues of a character. For example, in Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, Prince Andrei often reflects on his place in the world, on great people, on public problems, and Pierre - about the structure of the world as a whole, about what truth is. Thoughts are subject to the internal logic of the character, so you can trace how he came to a particular decision, conclusion. This technique was called N.G. Chernyshevsky the dialectic of the soul : “Count Tolstoy's attention is most of all drawn to how some feelings and thoughts spill out of others, it is interesting for him to observe how a feeling that directly arises from this provision or impressions, subject to the influence of memories and the power of the combinations represented by the imagination, pass into other senses, return again to the same point, and again and again wander, changing, along the whole chain of memories; like a thought born first sensation, leads to other thoughts, gets carried away further and further, merges dreams with real sensations, dreams of the future with reflection on the present.
Distinguish from internal monologue mindflow , when the thoughts and experiences of the hero are chaotic, not ordered in any way, there is absolutely no logical connection, the connection here is associative. This term was introduced by W. James, the most bright examples its use can be seen in the novel by D. Joyce "Ulysses", M. Proust "In Search of Lost Time". It is believed that this technique was discovered by Tolstoy, using it in special occasions when the hero is half asleep, half delirious. For example, through a dream, Pierre hears the word “harness”, which he turns into “conjugate”: “The most difficult thing (Pierre continued to think or hear in a dream) is to be able to combine the meaning of everything in his soul. Connect everything? Pierre said to himself. No, don't connect. You can't combine thoughts, but match all these thoughts - that's what you need! Yes, need to match, need to match! Pierre repeated to himself with inner delight, feeling that with these, and only with these words, what he wants to express is expressed, and the whole question that torments him is resolved.
- Yes, you need to pair, it's time to pair.
- It is necessary to harness, it is time to harness, Your Excellency! Your Excellency, - repeated a voice, - it is necessary to harness, it's time to harness ... ”(Vol. 3. Part 3, Ch. IX.)
In "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky dreams Raskolnikov help to understand the change in his psychological state throughout the novel. First, he has a dream about a horse, which is a warning: Raskolnikov is not a superman, he is able to show sympathy.
In the lyrics, the hero directly expresses his feelings and experiences. But the lyrics are subjective, we see only one point of view, one look, but the hero can tell in great detail and sincerely about his experiences. But in the lyrics, the feelings of the hero are often indicated metaphorically.
In a dramatic work, the state of the character is revealed primarily in his monologues, which resemble lyrical statements. However, in the drama of the XIX-XX centuries. the writer pays attention to the facial expressions, gestures of the character, fixes the shades of intonation of the characters.
HISTORICISM OF LITERATURE- the ability of fiction to convey a living image historical era in concrete human images and events. In more narrow sense the historicism of the work is related to how faithfully and subtly the artist understands and depicts the meaning of historical events. “Historicism is inherent in all truly artistic works, regardless of whether they depict the present or the distant past. An example is “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” and “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin ”(A.S. Suleimanov). "The lyric is historical, its quality is determined by the specific content of the era, it draws the experiences of a person of a certain time and environment" ( L. Todorov).
NATIONALITY of literature - the conditionality of literary works by the life, ideas, feelings and aspirations of the masses, the expression in literature of their interests and psychology. Picture of N.l. largely determined by what content is invested in the concept of "people". “The nationality of literature is associated with the reflection of essential folk features, the spirit of the people, its main national characteristics” (L.I. Trofimov). “The idea of nationality opposes the isolation, elitism of art and orients it towards the priority of universal human values” ( Yu.B.Borev).
