Political satire: definition of the genre, examples. Political satire: definition of the genre, examples Satirical guise

A complex, multifaceted genre found in many forms of art is political satire. To use it professionally means to have a broad outlook, to be well read, to have knowledge of political science, to accept constructive criticism, to master the art of eloquence perfectly and to take this genre seriously. He does not tolerate a deliberately subjective view; with its help it is easy to hurt other people’s feelings, offend, and humiliate.

Satire is a genre of literature and art that is a comic or poetic exposure of negative phenomena in life and society using irony, sarcasm, exaggeration, allegory, parody and grotesque. The essence of satire is to use artistic techniques and literary devices to achieve scathing criticism of absurdities, contradictions and vices. Satire often uses the technique of excessive exaggeration. The genre of satire is many centuries old, and in every era it has been used to highlight negative social and political events. Satire is always aimed at people and phenomena.

Satirical works can be moral, political, religious. Criticism in satire is conducted from the position of an unexpressed ideal. In ancient times, satire was a mixture of poetry and prose; later in Rome the genre gained independence. It used dances, songs, and poetry. Examples of the art of satire were created by Juvenal and Horace. With the help of the genre, the vicious phenomena of life are ridiculed. In literature there are entire works of satire, individual episodes, situations or images. You should be careful with political satire, as this genre can be limited by censorship.

Political satire

The genre of political satire has always been popular. Although it relates to literature, satire finds expression in the performing and visual arts. Political satire exposes individual and social imperfections, extravagances, abuse of power, and negative actions of politicians using irony, burlesque and other methods. The genre of political satire is intended not only to make the audience laugh, but also to attack an objectionable phenomenon of reality. This is the main goal that is achieved through humor.

For example, sarcasm, irony, opposition help to achieve a certain result. The founders of the genre of political satire were Lucilius, Ennius, Horace, and Aristophanes. It must contain notes of gentle humor, which is intended to smooth out criticism directed at a specific address. Otherwise, satire looks like a sermon, a dry report or lecture.

The meaning of satire

Political satire arose from the literature of Ancient Rome. It includes poetic and lyrical works of varying volume and meaning. In them the reader finds indignant, condemning negations in varying degrees - images of specific individuals, groups, phenomena. Satire, a responsible artistic genre of free speech, must be distinguished from libel and pamphlet.

The artistic value of political satire and its significance lie in the social and moral content, lyrical uplift, and the height of the ideal of the satirist. The lyrical subjective coloring of a satirical work deprives the artistic genre of objectivity, therefore political satire has the character of fleetingness.

Famous satirists

Political satire appears in all types of art - this is its main difference from a purely literary genre. It is found in theatre, literature, films, and journalism. Previously, satire flourished in Greece, Arab countries, Persia, medieval Europe, America, and Victorian England. It was widely used as a method of denunciation in the twentieth century, during the existence of the USSR and, of course, in modern times.

The famous I. Ilf and E. Petrov wrote the novel “12 Chairs,” which, with the help of humor and literary techniques, ridicules the newly formed Soviet society. Political satire was carried out by: V. Mayakovsky, Y. Olesha, D. Kharms, M. Bulgakov, S. Marshak. Many Soviet satirists were subjected to repression and censorship for using this genre.

During the “thaw” period, satirical films and television programs appeared that openly and humorously denounced the authorities. Modern satirists are A. Raikin, G. Khazanov, S. Altov, A. Arkanov, L. Izmailov, M. Zadornov. Today, the genre of political satire in Russia does not reach the popular, large-scale level that it had in the Soviet years.

Popular quotes and aphorisms

The most interesting and memorable was the political satire during the USSR. It is from there that amazing comedy films, poems, prose come from, exposing the unwanted phenomena of the time. Over the years there have been many anecdotes about him and his policies. Everyone knows that Leonid Ilyich loved medals and orders, which he awarded himself, sometimes undeservedly. That is why the following joke appeared: “An earthquake occurred in Moscow. This happened because Brezhnev’s jacket with medals fell from a chair.”

In the 21st century, political satire has moved from the realm of literature to art. Today, cartoons can often be found in socio-political newspapers, major Russian and foreign publications.

1). A certain poetic lyric-epic minor genre that developed on ancient Roman soil (in the works of satirical poets Naevius, Ennius, Lucilius, Horace, Perseus, Juvenal, etc.) and revived in the 17th–18th centuries. literature of classicism (satires by M. Renier, N. Boileau, A.D. Cantemir, etc.). The history and poetics of this genre have been studied quite fully by literary studies.

2). Another, less defined, mixed genre of literature that emerged at the end of the 3rd century. BC. in the works of the Greek Cynic philosopher Menippus of Gadara. The name of the satirical collection compiled by the Roman scientist Varro (116–27 BC) was fixed as the definition of this type of genre - Menippean satire. In the Menippean satire ( Apokolokynthosis (Pumping) Seneca, 1st century, novel by Petronius Satyricon, 1st century, etc.) combine poetry and prose, serious and comic, here the role of plot fiction is great: characters descend into the underworld, fly to heaven, etc. The artistic elements of Menippean satire are also inherent in works of quite serious content ( Consolation of philosophy Latin poet-philosopher Boethius, 6th century), as well as European novel and drama of the Renaissance and modern times ( Gargantua and Pantagruel F. Rabelais, Don Quixote Cervantes, Shakespeare's dramaturgy, etc.). In terms of the degree of study by the science of literature, Menippean satire is significantly inferior to satire as a lyric-epic genre. Close attention to the study of the folklore origins of Menippean satire and its influence on the European novel in literary criticism of the 20th century. devoted to M.M. Bakhtin, who introduced this previously little-known term into wide scientific circulation.

3). A special form of artistic reflection of reality, characteristic of all literary genres, is the exposure and ridicule of negative, internally perverse phenomena of life. In this case, satire can be spoken of as a type of artistic pathos, a special type of comic: destructive ridicule of the subject of the image, revelation of its internal inconsistency, inconsistency with its nature or purpose. In European literature of recent centuries, it is this type of satire that has become most widespread. Its history and theory are still poorly developed, which, however, does not prevent us from identifying the main characteristic features of satire of this type.

A necessary consequence of satirical creativity is laughter. Laughter as a reaction to satire can sound open or muted, but it always remains - along with denunciation - the basis of satire, its way of revealing inconsistencies between appearance and essence, form and content. In this way, artistic satire differs from direct types of criticism of personal and social shortcomings. Satire is fundamentally different from humor in the nature and meaning of laughter. For humor, laughter is an end in itself; the task of a humorist writer is to amuse the reader. For satire, laughter is a means of debunking shortcomings, a weapon for flagellating human vices and manifestations of social evil. Unlike humor, satire is characterized by severity and tendentious passion. Humor usually presupposes an ambivalent attitude towards its subject - the ridiculed may well contain something positively beautiful (for example, the noble idealism of Don Quixote, the patriarchal kindness and spiritual purity of the old-world landowners from the story of the same name by N.V. Gogol, etc.). Therefore, humor is condescending, peaceful. Satire is distinguished by its unconditional rejection of its subject. At the same time, its aesthetic super-task is to denounce and arouse memories of the beautiful (good, truth, beauty), insulted by vulgarity, vice, and stupidity. The dual essence of satirical creativity was precisely defined in the treatise of 1796 About naive and sentimental poetry F. Schiller: “Reality as insufficiency is contrasted in satire with the ideal as the highest reality. Reality, therefore, necessarily becomes an object of rejection in it.”

By ridiculing the negative aspects of life, satire frees the creator and the reader from the pressure of perverse authorities, escorting, in the words of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “everything that is obsolete into the kingdom of shadows,” and thereby expresses the positive, glorifying the truly living. The ideal of the satirist is expressed negatively, reveals itself through the “anti-ideal”, through its outrageous and ridiculous absence in the specific subject of exposure.

In both humorous and satirical works, the author’s individuality is undisguised, but the forms of its manifestation are also different. In humor, laughter gravitates toward a universal “grin”; it often extends to the laugher himself (for example, to the “enthusiast” hero of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s short stories, to the lyrical hero of G. Heine’s cycle Romansero and poems by Sasha Cherny, etc.). In satirical works, the author's subjectivity is manifested in a different way - primarily in their overt bias and journalisticism, which indicate an insurmountable boundary between the moral world of the artist and the subject being denounced.

These features force some authors to talk about the artistic limitations of satire. Thus, Hegel argued in his treatise Aesthetics, that in satire “it is not the feeling of the soul that finds its expression, but the universal idea of ​​goodness... which... sullenly clings to the discord between its own objectivity and its abstract principles and empirical reality, and it does not create either true poetry or real works art." Quite often, criticism tries to show that masterpieces of satirical art are not limited to solving only satirical problems. Thus, V.G. Belinsky, reflecting on one of the peak achievements of Russian satirical literature, polemically remarks: “It is impossible to look at Dead Souls and to understand them more crudely, as seeing them as satire.” Belinsky broadly interprets the character of Gogol’s laughter, certifying it not as “satire,” but as “humor,” and finds in it, in addition to “subjectivity” and “socially accusatory pathos,” “a certain completeness of the image” and “the fusion of laughter with sad love.” . The most consistent view in modern literary criticism of pure satire as a “naked and straightforward” art, as a purely “negative, rhetorical, non-laughing, one-sidedly serious” laughter was expressed by M. M. Bakhtin. Bakhtin contrasts this kind of satire with his own concept of “ambivalent”, dual “carnival” laughter - simultaneously denying and affirming, mocking and cheerful. This laughter, according to Bakhtin, has a cult, folklore-mythological origin: ridicule and shaming had a magical meaning from time immemorial and were associated with the category of renewal, parting with the old (year, way of life, etc.) and the birth of the new. Laughter seems to capture this moment of the death of the old and the birth of the new. What is taking place here is far from naked ridicule; the denial of the old is inextricably fused in this type of laughter with the affirmation of the new and better. Bakhtin considers such laughter to be part of the so-called “grotesque realism”, speaks of its “spontaneous-dialectical”, denying-affirming character. Examples of carnival laughter are provided in abundance by the European Middle Ages (fasceniums, fablios, schwanks and other lower folk genres) and the Renaissance ( Praise for stupidity Erasmus of Rotterdam, the most striking example is Gargantua and Pantagruel F. Rabelais).

With a broad interpretation of satire (“anti-ideal”, implying “ideal”), Bakhtin’s characteristics of dual, ambivalent carnival laughter are also applicable to it. In the 19th century, during the heyday of the art of critical realism and the dominance of the novel genre in literature, satire ceased to be reduced to one-dimensional negation, it acquired new artistic meanings, complicating the ideological composition of the work. In the works of N.V. Gogol, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, F.M. Dostoevsky, satire is no less dual: while laughing, it at the same time hides “tears invisible to the world.” Having laughed, the reader seems to move from specific impressions to final reflection: the particular appears before him as a grain of the universal, and then in satire a tragic feeling is revealed, a feeling of a breakdown in the laws of existence itself. Mayor from Gogol's Inspector, Judas from Messrs. Golovlevs M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin, heroes Sentimental stories M. Zoshchenko cause a comic effect while the reader perceives them as individual characters, but as soon as they are comprehended as types, they appear as a “hole in humanity”, the tragic aspect of existence itself is revealed.

Since satirical pathos can permeate any genre, in Soviet and Russian literary criticism there were periodic attempts to present satire as an independent type of fiction (L. Timofeev, Yu. Borev). Researchers see the reasons for this in the special principles of satirical typification and in the specifics of the satirical image.

A satirical image is the result of a conscious “distortion”, thanks to which the hitherto hidden comic side and its internal ugliness are revealed in the subject. Satire seems to parody a life object. She either comes close to it, or in her exaggerations and generalizations she deviates so far from the material of life that real signs receive a fantastic, emphatically conventional embodiment in the image. This deviation of the satirical image from the “ordinary” is achieved through sharpening, hyperbolization, exaggeration, and grotesque. A fantastic plot can be embodied in grotesque forms ( Gulliver's Travels J. Swift, Lame Imp A.R. Lesazha, The story of one city M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin, Bug V.V. Mayakovsky), allegory (fables of Aesop, J. Lafontaine, I.A. Krylov), parodic exaggeration ( The worldly views of Moore the cat THIS. Hoffmann).

In the field of language, the grotesque is based on wit - a minimal element of the simplest satirical genres: pun, aphorism, anecdote.

Grotesque, caricature in satire usually reveals the comic in that side of the personality in which it resembles an inanimate thing, a mechanical part, an inert, lifeless automaton (story by A.P. Chekhov Unter Prishibeev, government officials in the novel by J. Hasek The adventures of the good soldier Schweik and etc.). The literary philosopher A. Bergson comments on this side of the grotesque: “It is comical to insert oneself into ready-made frames. And the most comical thing is to go into the state of a frame into which others will quickly insert themselves, i.e. petrify into a certain character."

The ways of satirical typification are different.

Rationalistic satire is focused on depicting phenomena of social life. The depiction of individual traits is limited here, and the fantastic assumption is widely used. Satire of this type often takes on a pamphlet-like quality; the study of life takes the form of “proof by contradiction.” The image-character in works of this kind tends to turn into a symbol and is unthinkable outside of the artistic grotesque ( Organ from Stories of a city M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin). Compositionally, works of this type are often constructed as dialogues through which warring ideas or qualities collide. This is how human properties fight under the masks of animals in fables. But in the genres of a satirical novel, utopia or pamphlet, philosophical systems and social ideologies can also oppose each other. In such works, there is most often an observer hero, whose attention moves from object to object and forms a plot - usually illusory, almost fairy-tale, utopian. The hero can visit non-existent lands in order to take an outside glance at familiar earthly conditions and unexpectedly catch their absurdity (Micromegas in Voltaire’s story of the same name, the hero of the novel Another light S. de Bergerac), he can travel to completely earthly countries in order to meet the quirks of his contemporaries ( Gilles Blas at Lesage). In the picaresque epic, wanderings are associated with the search for everyday comic scenes on real roads in England, France, Spain ( The Adventures of Tom Jones, Foundling G. Fielding, etc.). The more universal questions the author poses in the work, the more fantastic the routes of the hero-observer turn out to be. In grotesque works of this kind with broad philosophical issues, he sometimes freely deals with space and - especially - with time. There are frequent anachronisms, modernization of antiquity or archaization of modernity ( Penguin Island A. France), transfers of the hero from the present to the past or future ( A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court M. Twain, play by M. A. Bulgakov Ivan Vasilievich, Moscow 2042 V. Voinovich, etc.). Satire of this type flourishes during periods of great historical disruption, powerful social upheavals, fraught with a revision of the entire previous system of values. It is no coincidence that rationalistic satire experienced rapid development primarily in the 18th (Voltaire, Diderot, Swift, N. Radishchev, etc.) and 20th (F. Sologub, M. Bulgakov, F. Kafka, etc.) centuries.

Another type of satire is represented by works that ridicule a flawed personality and explore the psychological nature of evil. This kind of satire is closely related to the genre of the realistic novel. Realistic details and accurate observations are widely introduced into the works. The grotesque is represented only by light touches - unobtrusive emphases by the author of some aspects of the hero’s life, subtle shifts in emphasis in the depiction of familiar reality. This type of satire can be called psychological. The image-character here is interpreted in the light of the dominance of one quality (the immoral ambition of Rebecca Sharp in Vanity Fair W. Thackeray, etc.). The plot in this kind of satire is a consistent life story, colored by the author’s emotions of sadness, bitterness, anger, pity.

An important type of satire is represented by artistic parodies. Historically, satire cannot be separated from parody at all. Every parody is satirical, and every satire contains an element of parody. Parodying is the most natural way to overcome outdated genres and stylistic techniques, a powerful means of updating the artistic language, saving it from inertia and mechanicalness, from meaningless and outlived elements of tradition. Parody is one of the key means of literary evolution. Already at the dawn of the history of European literature, parody asserts its rights: in the 5th century. BC. a parody of the Greek heroic epic arises - Batrachomyomachy, where described by Homer in Iliad the war between the Trojans and the Achaeans is represented by the struggle of mice and frogs. The epic word itself becomes the subject of ridicule here. This parody is a satire on an already dying genre and style of the era. Essentially every parody will play such a role in the history of literature. Sometimes the ridicule of the genre and style fades into the background, but the mischievous intonation of the parody remains, causing laughter directly at the heroes of the parody (the novel Kings and cabbage and novellas of the cycle Dear rogue O.Henry , Amazing Crafts Club G. Chesterton, partly Moscow – Petushki Ven. Erofeev as a parody of the traveler's notes genre). In parody satire, the principle of compositional symmetry is common - double heroes ( Medieval novel, Prince and the Pauper M. Twain), heroes-opposites (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza); in the world surrounding the hero, the laws of play, performance, and practical jokes dominate (the illusions of Don Quixote, the dukedom of Sancho Panza). The everyday equivalent of a literary parody is a hoax, which generally easily becomes the motivation for a satirical plot.

Different types of satirical typification can enter into complex interactions. So, in Don Quixote the general concept is parodic and ironic, but the character of the main character is revealed in a psychological way, and the picture of the world opposing him is a philosophically generalized image. The plot of the novel is quite rationalistic: the reader is offered the traditional “hunt” of an observer for observations.

Already from the 5th century. BC. the satirical element plays a crucial role in ancient Attic comedy (Greek satire reached its peak in the comedies of Aristophanes) and Aesop's fables.

As a small lyric-epic genre, satire was formed in the literature of Ancient Rome. Quintilian’s famous saying: “Satire tota nostra est” (“The satire is entirely ours”). Initially, the genre here was probably of a mixed nature (hence its name). The genre of satire is finally taking shape in the works of Lucilius. Here its main formative features are already evident: a dialogical, conversational basis, a literary-parodic element, an autobiographical beginning, a figurative denial of modernity and contrasting it with the ideal past - the old Roman virtues (virtus).

Roman satire reaches its peak in the works of Horace. His satires are a series of conversations flowing into one another against the backdrop of a keen sense of modernity. It is “my time”, “my contemporaries”, their way of life and morals that are the true heroes of Horatian satires. They are not ridiculed in the full sense of the word, but they are spoken of with a smile, freely, cheerfully and mockingly. Free laughter in relation to the existing world order and the prevailing truth is softened to a smile.

A different version of the genre is presented in the works of Juvenal. Here a new tone appears in the assessment of reality - indignation, indignation (indignatio). The poet recognizes indignation as the main driving force of his satire: “Facit indignatio versum” (“Indignation creates verse”). It seems to replace laughter. The “flagellation” nature of Juvenal’s satires had a special influence on the social satire of the 18th and 19th centuries. (J. Swift, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, etc.).

In the Middle Ages, examples of satire were provided by folklore and folk “culture of laughter.” The rise of cities is associated with the spread of the anecdote and the satirical poetic short story (fabliau in France, schwank in Germany), the satirical epic about animals ( Novel about the Fox), area farce. The carnival tradition gives rise to an extensive oral and written culture of laughter, including parodic versions of religious ritual, designed to rid the surrounding world of solidification and “death.” The Italian folk comedy del arte (“comedy of masks”) played a huge role in the history of satire.

Renaissance satire aimed at revising the dominant ideology and established forms of medieval life ( Decameron G. Boccaccio, poetic satire by S. Brant Ship of Fools, Praise for stupidity Erasmus of Rotterdam, Letters from dark people and etc.). In the novel by Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel The author's humanistic program is carried out in grotesque, hyperbolic, funny images that undermine the monolithic seriousness of the official medieval ideology. Intended as a literary parody, Don Quixote Cervantes's work outgrows the framework of the concept and becomes a universal comic panorama of the world on the border of two eras, at the “point of transition” from the high heroism of the Middle Ages to the merchant-selfish relations of the new, pre-bourgeois era. The original object of ridicule - the “knight of the sad image” - turns out to be the judge of a “dislocated” world.

In the literature of the 17th century. the satirical beginning becomes impoverished. Laughter fades into the background, loses its radicalism and universality, and is content with private phenomena. And only in the comedy genre, in the work of J.B. Molière, satire flourishes, depicting clearly defined types (The Miser, Tartuffe, Jourdain). Poetic satires of this era only resurrect the genres of antiquity (N. Boileau, fables by J. Lafontaine).

In the literature of the 18th century, during the Age of Enlightenment, the satirical principle manifests itself in a variety of genres. A picaresque romance develops ( Moll Flanders D. Defoe, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle T.J. Smoletta and others). A picaresque novel and comedy of this time ( Marriage of Figaro Beaumarchais, etc.) reflect the awakened self-awareness of a representative of the “third estate”, the birth of a “private person”, liberated from the power of the social mechanism. The cheerful mockery of the accuser contrasts here with the poetics of the baroque novel - one of the important genres of the era, where mockery was often accompanied by tragic bitterness. Development of parody satire in the 18th century. associated with the work of L. Stern ( Tristram Shandy, Sentimental Journey). The genre of a satirical novel (or story) begins to perform the functions of a philosophical treatise ( Ramo's nephew D. Diderot, Voltaire's philosophical stories). Artistic works of French enlighteners, like Gulliver's Travels J. Swift, create a picture of an imperfect world awaiting radical change. Moreover, Swift’s denial is universal, “supersocial” in nature - the writer is outraged not so much by society as by humanity, which has not come up with a better form of organization for itself than society. Thus, reflected in the mirror of satire, the main illusion of the era collapses - the cult of reason, a rational way of life, an “enlightened” and therefore “reasonable person”: according to Swift, the rational principle is completely alien to the illogical and “destructive” nature of man.

English satirical magazines of the 18th century played a significant role in the history of satirical creativity in modern times. (“Spectator” and “Chatterbox”). They created and consolidated the genres of small-scale magazine satire: dialogical, essay, parody. The feuilleton genre is flourishing. This type of ridicule of modernity in new conditions largely repeats the forms of Horatian satire (spoken dialogue, a gallery of speaking characters who soon disappear without a trace, semi-dialogues, letters, a mixture of humorous and serious reflections). The magazine type of satirical creativity in its main features has survived to this day.

At the beginning of the 19th century. Romantic writers introduced a number of new features into satire. Their satire is directed primarily against the cultural and literary patterns of modernity. Such are the literary-satirical and parody plays of L. Tieck, fairy tales and stories by C. Brentano, A. Chamisso, F. Fouquet, and partly E. T. A. Hoffman. The denied reality is condensed for the romantics in the image of a “philistine” - a layman, a bourgeois, who is fundamentally alien to the creativity, the embodied spirit of vulgarity and triviality. Later, throughout the 19th century, satire continued to exist in the form of magazine feuilletons, as well as a special element of figurative negation in the dominant genre of the era - the novel (C. Dickens, Thackeray, O. de Balzac, V. Hugo, etc.)

Later, throughout the 19th century, satire continued to exist in the form of magazine feuilletons, as well as a special element of figurative negation in the dominant genre of the era - the novel (C. Dickens, Thackeray, O. de Balzac, V. Hugo, etc.).

Foreign modernist satire of the 20th century. prone to abstract philosophical interpretation of the plot and cosmic symbolism (A. Camus, F. Dürrenmatt, V.V. Nabokov). Satire is increasingly invading science fiction (A. Asimov, K. Vonnegut, R. Bradbury, S. Lem, R. Sheckley), defining the genres of dystopias and warning novels.

In Western literature of the 1960–1990s, the satirical line itself was largely influenced by the American school of “black humor” (J. Barthelme, D. Donleavy, J. Hawkes, etc.). A tragic farcical narrative with extensive use of travesty and grotesque techniques comes to the fore. The basic postulates of the traditional humanistic value system and the ideology of existentialism are parodically rethought, which turn out to be untenable when in contact with the predatory homogenizing standards of “mass society” and “consumer civilization” ( Trick J. Heller, 1972). The world order is presented as an absurd cycle and a kingdom of entropy, capable of provoking only misanthropic laughter - the only truly human reaction to the universal absurdity of existence ( Gravity Rainbow T. Pynchon, 1973). Literature of this kind is characterized by a parable character, combined with the element of evil ridicule of the stiltedness of ideals, the stereotyped nature of life's interests, and the predictability of social behavior ( Dead father D. Bartelmy, 1975). In the end, “black satire” comes from the surrealist philosophical category of evil laughter in anticipation of the end of the world, since there are no other “hopes for deliverance.” Foreign satirical literature of the 1980s - early. The 1990s as a whole breaks down into many national variants of ridiculing local social vices. Parodying cultural clichés, which are the focus of attention of Western postmodern writers, typologically goes back to the rebellious skepticism of “black humor”, but is devoid of its philosophical depth and remains in the sphere of playing with the “totalitarian” signs of mass civilization. In the second half of the 1990s, a new supranational trend emerged in Western, primarily European and Latin American, literature - anti-globalist satire, which reflected the ideological uprising of the “new left” intellectuals against the dictatorship and social institutions of the “new world order” ( This world without me F. Klevy, 1998, Endless tunnel P. Carrera, 2000, Snail H. Blumen, 2001, etc.). However, this line of literature has not yet developed an original artistic language and continues to use traditional techniques of satirical debunking on new thematic material.

Old Russian literature

I didn’t know satirical creativity in the proper sense of the word. In Rus', the depiction of the bad sides of reality, contrary to the religious and moral ideal, unlike the Western European tradition, was not associated with laughter. Laughter was interpreted by ancient Russian scribes as a spiritually ambiguous, sinful, passionate principle. The author’s negative attitude took the form not of ridicule, but of denunciation, emphatically serious, often mournful - in the genre of accusatory words, in chronicles, in hagiography. Laughing forms turned out to be completely outside the boundaries of official culture - in folklore genres, in wedding and agrarian rituals, in the art of buffoons . The essence of the attitude towards laughter in the Russian Middle Ages was most fully expressed in the lives of holy fools, whose behavior in outward appearance resembled the behavior of a jester. However, laughing at holy fools was considered a sin (an episode from Lives of St. Basil: those who laughed at his nakedness went blind and were healed only after repenting of their ignorant laughter). Crying over the ridiculous is the effect that the holy fool strives for, revealing deep wisdom under the guise of stupidity, and holiness behind external blasphemy.

Actually, the culture of laughter begins to take shape in Rus' under Western influences only in the 17th century. Under Peter I, the traditional ban on laughter and fun was gradually lifted. The paradox of the situation is that at the beginning of the 18th century. casts from the forms of “folk carnival culture” are implanted in Russia from above and often cause protest from the “lower classes” (masquerades, stupid processions, clownish weddings, “the most extravagant, all-jokey and all-drunken council” of Peter the Great). From the end of the 17th century. examples of serious moralizing satire appear, created by Latinizing authors ( Vertograd multicolor Simeon of Polotsk, etc.).

Satire in Russia.

In the 18th century satire is thriving in Russia. It takes on a wide variety of genres: epigram, message, fable, comedy, epitaph, parody song, journalism. The creator of Russian satire as a small poetic genre focused on ancient and classic examples was A.D. Kantemir (eight satires in a handwritten collection of 1743). Satires Kantemir's poetics and themes were guided by the theory set forth in the poetic treatise of N. Boileau Poetic art. In accordance with European classicist canons, reality was contrasted here with the ideal as barbaric - enlightened, senseless - reasonable. Cantemir, imitating Latin verse, developed a new syntax, intensively used inversions (reverse word order) and hyphenations, sought to bring the verse closer to “simple conversation,” introduced vernaculars, proverbs and sayings.

However, Cantemir's stylistic innovations were not continued in Russian literature. The next step in the development of domestic satire was made by A.P. Sumarokov, author of the book 1774 Satires, who outlined his theoretical views on the purpose of satire and its place in the hierarchy of classic genres in two epistles 1747 - About Russian language And About poetry. Satire against mediocre authors becomes an important means of literary struggle.

In the second half of the 18th century. Poetic satire in Russia is losing its former role and giving way to magazine satire. In the 1760–1790s, new satirical magazines were opened one after another in Russia: “Useful Hobby”, “Free Hours”, “Mixture”, “Drone”, published by I.S. Krylov “Mail of Spirits”, “Spectator” and many other. In the literary consciousness, a broad understanding of the satirical as an intergenre variety of ideological and emotional approach to the subject of depiction is being formed. One of the first examples of satire in the broad sense of the word is the comedy by D.I. Fonvizin Minor (1782).

In the 19th century the line of poetic satire in Russian literature is gradually fading. Its most significant examples are born in the context of literary polemics (satires by M.A. Dmitriev and others). Magazine satire is increasingly gravitating toward the feuilleton genre. Elements of satire intensively penetrate the novel and drama and contribute to the final formation of the poetics of critical realism. The most striking images of satire in Russian literature of the 19th century. are represented by the works of A.S. Griboyedov, N.V. Gogol, A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin, N.A. Nekrasov. A satirical vision of the world prevailed in the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who embodied on Russian soil the traditions of “high indignation”, castigating Juvenile laughter. The genre nature of the writer’s works was influenced by his satirical approach: novel forms gravitated towards essayism, feuilletonism, and the ancient diatribe - polemical sermon-debunking.

Yet actually satirical laughter in the 19th century. reduced and difficult to separate from other forms of comic, irony and humor (the work of A.P. Chekhov).

A bright page in the history of Russian satire of the early 20th century. connected with the activities of the magazines “Satyricon” (1908–1914) and “New Satyricon” (1913–1918), in which the largest satirist writers of the era actively published: A. Averchenko, Sasha Cherny (A. Glikberg), Teffi (N. Buchinskaya ) etc. The magazines did not shy away from bold political satire, addressed a wide range of poetic and prose genres, and attracted outstanding artists as illustrators (B. Kustodiev, K. Korovin, A. Benois, M. Dobuzhinsky, etc.)

Among the most notable phenomena of domestic satire of the 20th century. – lyrics and plays by V. Mayakovsky, prose by M. Bulgakov, M. Zoshchenko, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, dramatic tales by E. Shvarts. Satire of the Soviet period is perceived almost exclusively in the sphere of ideology; by the nature of its negation, it breaks down into “external”, denouncing capitalist reality ( Black and white, 1926, V. Mayakovsky), and “internal”, in which the denial of particular flaws is combined with a general affirmative principle. In parallel with official satire, there are humorous folklore genres (anecdote, ditty) and satirical literature not permitted for publication. Unofficial satire is dominated by the grotesque and fantasy, and utopian and dystopian elements are highly developed ( dog's heart And Fatal eggs M. Bulgakov, both – 1925, continuing the Gogol and Shchedrin traditions, dystopia by E. Zamyatin We, 1920).

Satire occupies an important place in the works of representatives of the first wave of Russian literary emigration (A. Averchenko, Sasha Cherny, Teffi, V. Goryansky, Don-Aminado (A. Shpolyansky), etc.). Their heritage is dominated by the genres of satirical story and feuilleton. In 1931 in Paris, M. Kornfeld resumed the publication of Satyricon. In addition to previous authors, the published issues include I. Bunin, A. Remizov, A. Kuprin. A special place in the magazine is occupied by satire on Soviet reality and the customs of the emigration.

From the late 1950s and into the 1960s, in the wake of the “thaw,” satire in the USSR was on the rise and took on the role of latent polemical opposition to the dominant ideology. The official version of the Soviet epic heroics about the “guiding and guiding force of the party” during the Great Patriotic War is satirically subverted in the novel by V. Voinovich The life and extraordinary adventures of soldier Ivan Chonkin (1969).

Inheriting the traditions of J. Hasek, the author depicts the events of Russian history through the eyes of a “little man,” whose deliberate spontaneity gives him the right to detachedly and freely perceive what is happening, revealing its internal absurdity.

In the 1970s and 1980s, domestic satire picked up the traditions of M. Zoshchenko and made the main bearer of satirical consciousness the figure of a “simple Soviet man,” a sober conformist who snatches from his surroundings the slightest manifestations of the absurdity of Soviet life, forming a general mosaic of social ill-being. The ideological ambiguity of this kind of verbal production and its hidden opposition determined the gradual movement of satire from large literary forms to the miniature oral genres of the anecdotal story and pop reprise (M. Zhvanetsky, A. Arkanov, etc.) - here the very form of the laughter tale provides the guarantee of the writer’s inner freedom . In dramaturgy, the satirical principle was most clearly manifested in the works of G. Gorin of the 1970s–1990s ( Kill Herostratus, Til, The most truthful, Kin IV, The House That Swift Built, Jester Balakirev etc.), in whose tragicomic plays transparent allusions to modernity are invariably placed in the generalized plan of a philosophical parable, in no way reducible to flat sociality. Satirical creativity of representatives of the “third wave” of Russian emigration ( Moscow 2042 V. Voinovich, 1986, French Soviet Socialist Republic A. Gladilina, 1987, etc.) for the most part fit into the genre framework of dystopia and do not go beyond the limits of one-dimensional ridicule of Soviet reality.

In the literature of domestic social art and postmodernism in general (“Lianozov group”, D. Prigov, L. Rubinstein, T. Kibirov), the satirical principle is manifested primarily in the parodic play on the cliches of Soviet and post-Soviet cultural mythology in order to discredit the “totalitarian” language and style itself mass thinking.

Vadim Polonsky

Literature:

Adrianova-Peretz V.P. Essays on the history of Russian satirical literature of the 17th century. M. – L., 1937
Borev Yu. Comic... M., 1970
Svirsky G. At the Place of Execution: Literature of Moral Resistance(1946–1976 ). London, 1979
Likhachev D.S., Panchenko A.M. Laughter in ancient Rus'. M., 1984
Stennik Yu.V. Russian satire of the 18th century. L., 1985
Feinberg L. Introduction to Satire. Ames (Iowa). 1968;L. Satire and transformation of genre. Philadelphia. 1987
Peskov A.M. Boileau in Russian literature of the 18th – first third of the 19th centuries. M., 1989
Bakhtin M.M. The work of Francois Rabelais and the laughter culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. M., 1990
Bakhtin M.M. On questions about the historical tradition and folk sources of Gogol’s laughter. – Collection op.: in 6 vols. T. 5. M., 1996
Spiridonova L.A. The Immortality of Laughter: The Comic in the Literature of Russian Abroad. M., 1999
Resistance and laughter. Humor and satire in Russian literature of the 20th–23rd centuries. – Digest of articles. M., 2001
Karaulin S. “The importance of being serious” (satire and humor of modern Russia). St. Petersburg, 2002

The word “satire” is familiar to every educated person. But what satire is is not always easy to fully understand. After all, satire is a term not only from the field of art and literature, but even philosophy, politics and sociology.

So what is satire in literature and art? Let's try to figure it out.

Definition

Satire is, rather, a moral category, as it serves to expose (ridicule) social and human vices through words, music and visual means. To prevent satire from looking like a sermon, it is diluted with humor and irony. Among the artistic means in satirical works of art and literature, hyperbole, sarcasm, allegory, parody, and grotesque are also used. They are means of artistic comparison, exaggeration and ridicule.

Application examples

A striking example of satire in literature are the works of J. Swift, M. Twain, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, M. Zoshchenko and A. Averchenko. Satire on the stage (in show business) is parodists and performers of satirical couplets. A textbook example of satire in the press is the Soviet satirical magazine “Crocodile” and such a genre of journalism as the feuilleton. Charlie Chaplin and Stanley Kubrick can be called representatives of the satirical movement in cinema. Modern punk rock bands, such as the Sex Pistols, also use satire in their work.

So what is satire? The definition of this term can be formulated as follows: it is a sharp and vivid exposure of various phenomena using comic (artistic) means.

Satire (lat. satira, from the earlier satura - Satura , literally - a mixture, all sorts of things)

A. Z. Vulis.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what “Satire” is in other dictionaries:

- (Latin satira) a manifestation of the comic in art, which is a poetic humiliating denunciation of phenomena using various comic means: sarcasm, irony, hyperbole, grotesque, allegory, parody, etc. Success in it was achieved ... Wikipedia

A type of comic (see Aesthetics), distinguished from other types (humor, irony) by the sharpness of its exposure. At its inception, sung was a specific lyrical genre. It was a poem, often significant in volume, the content of... ... Literary encyclopedia

Satire- SATIRE. In a somewhat vague and vague sense, satire is any literary work in which a certain definite attitude towards the phenomena of life is expressed, namely, condemnation and ridicule of them, exposing them to general laughter... Dictionary of literary terms

- (lat.). A type of poetry that aims to ridicule the weaknesses and vices of modern society. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. SATIRE lat. satira, ancient lat. satura, from lat. satur, full, full; at first… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

SATIRE, satires, women. (lat. satira). 1. An accusatory literary work depicting negative phenomena of reality in a funny, ugly form (lit.). Satires of Cantemir. Playful satire. Horace. Juvenal's angry satire. The scourge of satire.... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (an essay ridiculing human weaknesses and vices). Wed. Poisonous satire... forgotten... at this moment he is ready to compose a panegyric in favor of Aristarkh Fedorovich and brand his closest acquaintances with satire. Goncharov. Break. 5, 15. Wed… … Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

One of the most remarkable phenomena in literature of the second half of the 17th century. is the design and development of satire as an independent literary genre, which is due to the specifics of life at that time.

The formation of a “single all-Russian market” in the second half of the 17th century. led to the strengthening of the role of the trade and craft population of cities in the economic and cultural life of the country. However, politically this part of the population remained powerless and was subjected to shameless exploitation and oppression. The posad responded to increased oppression with numerous urban uprisings, which contributed to the growth of class consciousness. The emergence of democratic satire was a consequence of the active participation of the townspeople in the class struggle.

Thus, Russian reality "rebellious" The 17th century was the soil on which satire arose. Social acuity and anti-feudal orientation of literary satire brought her closer to With folk oral and poetic satire, which served as the inexhaustible source from which she drew her artistic and visual means.

Essential aspects of the life of feudal society were subjected to satirical exposure: the unfair and corrupt court; social inequality; the immoral life of monasticism and the clergy, their hypocrisy, hypocrisy and greed; "state system" of soldering people through "Tsar's Tavern"

The stories about the Shemyakin court and about Ersha Ershovich are dedicated to exposing the legal system based on the Council Code of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of 1649.

"The Tale of the Shemyakin Court." In “The Tale of Shemyakin’s Court,” the object of satirical denunciation is Judge Shemyak, a bribe-taker and a philanderer. Seduced by the possibility of a rich “promise,” he casuistically interprets the laws. Formally accusing the defendant, "wretched"(poor) peasant, Shemyaka applies to him the exact form of punishment that was provided for by the Code of 1649. The judge did not allow any deviations from legal norms, but with his decision he put the “plaintiffs” - a rich peasant, a priest and a city dweller - in a position where they forced to pay off "wretched" so that he does not require compliance with the court order.

The court's decision puts both the rich peasant, punished for his greed, and the priest, who finds himself in the position of a deceived husband, in a ridiculous position.

The poor man triumphs over the world of greed, self-interest, and judicial arbitrariness. Thanks to intelligence and resourcefulness "poor" seeks acquittal at trial: putting a stone wrapped in a scarf in his bosom, "poor" showed it to the judge during the trial of each claim. If the judge's decision had not been in his favor, then, undoubtedly, the stone would have flown at Shemyaka's head. Therefore, when the judge found out that instead of a rich promise, the poor man had a stone in his bosom, he began “Praise God for judging by him.”

So the poor man triumphs over the powerful of this world, “truth” triumphs over “falsehood” thanks to the greed of the covetous judge.

The artistic structure of the story is determined by the Russian satirical folk tale about an unjust judge and the fairy tale about the “wise guessers” - the speed of development of the action, the improbable escalation of the crimes that the “wretched” one commits, the comical situation in which the judge and the plaintiffs find themselves. The outwardly impartial tone of the narration in the form of a “judicial reply” sharpens the satirical sound of the story.

"The Tale of Ersha Ershovich, son of Shchetinnikov." A vivid satirical depiction of the practice of the voivode court, introduced in the 60-80s of the 17th century, is the story of Ersha Ershovich, which has come down to us in four editions. The first, senior, edition more fully reflected the social contradictions of the era.

The story depicts one of the characteristic phenomena of its time - a land dispute waged by peasants - "God's orphans" Bream and Chub and “dashing man”, “snatcher”, “robber”, “boyar son Ruff”.

Bream and Chub claim their ancestral rights to Lake Rostov, forcibly taken from them by Ruff, about which they beat the great judges with their foreheads "boyar" Sturgeon, Beluga and Voivode Soma.

Rejecting the claim, Ruff not only tries to prove the legality of his rights to ownership of the seized lands, but also makes a counterclaim, stating that his father had Bream and Chub "in a serf." Thus, Ersh not only withdraws the claim (slaves had no legal rights), but also tries to turn free peasants into his slaves.

The interrogation of witnesses establishes the guilt of Ersh, who turns out to be a simple peasant, and not "boyar son" The court sentences Ruff “to be executed by trade,” “to be hanged against the sun on hot days for his theft and for lying.”

The story exposes the cunning, sneaky and arrogant “snitch” Ruff, who seeks to appropriate other people’s possessions and enslave the surrounding peasants through violence and deceit.

At the same time, the author shows the superiority of Ruff over the clumsiness, stupidity and greed of his judges, in particular Sturgeon, who almost paid with his life for his greed and gullibility. Mockery of the court's decision is also heard in one of the endings of the second edition. Ruff, having heard the verdict, declares that the judges judged not according to the truth, but according to bribes, and, spitting in their eyes, he “jumped into the brushwood: only that Ruff was seen.” Thus, the object of satirical denunciation in the story is not only "dashing man" Ruff, but also his eminent judges.

The story exposes the system of bribery that reigns in court. So, Men (burbot), not wanting to go as an attesting witness, “The bailiff promises great promises to the perch and says: “Mr. Okun! I’m not fit to be a witness: my belly is big - I can’t walk, and my eyes are small, I can’t see far, and my lips are thick - I don’t know how to speak in front of kind people.”

The story is the first example of literary allegorical satire, where fish act in strict accordance with their properties, but their relationships are a mirror of the relationships of human society. The author uses images of folk tales about animals, satirically sharpening their social meaning. The satirical denunciation is enhanced by the successfully found form of a business document - a “court list”, a protocol report on a court hearing. Compliance with the formulas of clerical language and their inconsistency with the content give the story a bright satirical expressiveness.

V. G. Belinsky called this story and “The Tale of the Shemyakin Court” “the most precious historical documents,” who saw in them a vivid reflection of the characteristics of the Russian national mind with its subtle irony and mockery.

"ABC about a naked and poor man."“The ABC of the Naked and Poor Man” is dedicated to exposing social injustice and social inequality. Using the form of didactic ABC books, the author turns it into a sharp weapon of social satire. The hero of the story - "naked and poor" man, telling with caustic irony about his sad fate. He sees the cause of his misfortunes in "dashing people" - rich people The main sting of satire is directed against them. These are the ones who “a lot of everything, money and dresses”, those, “who live richly, but give us nothing naked.” The aphoristic, laconic and expressive style of the story, social acuity contributed to its popularity.

"Kalyazin petition". A large place in the satirical literature of the 17th century. occupies an anti-clerical theme. The selfishness and greed of priests are exposed in the satirical story “The Tale of Priest Savva,” written in rhyming verses.

A vivid accusatory document depicting the life and customs of monasticism is the “Kalyazin Petition.” The monks did not retire from the bustle of the world in order to mortify their flesh and indulge in prayer and repentance. Behind the walls of the monastery lies a well-fed life full of drunken revelry. The story chooses one of the largest monasteries in Rus' - the Kalyazin Monastery - as the object of satirical denunciation, which allows the author to reveal the typical features of the life of Russian monasticism in the 17th century.

In the form of a tearful petition, the monks complain to the Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Simeon about their new archimandrite, the abbot of the monastery, Gabriel. Using the form of a business document, the story shows the discrepancy between the life practice of monasticism and the requirements of the monastic charter. Drunkenness, gluttony and debauchery, rather than fasting and prayer, became the norm of life for the monks. That is why the monks are outraged by the new archimandrite, who is radically changing the previously established “orders” and demanding strict adherence to the rules. They complain that the new archimandrite does not give them peace, “he orders us to go to church soon and to languish us, your pilgrims; and we, your pilgrims, are a circle of buckets without trousers, sitting in only scrolls, in cells, not having time to correct the cell rule at night in nine buckets and pouring the broth with beer into buckets in order to blow off the foam from top to bottom...” The monks are also outraged that Gabriel began to strictly enforce their morality. “By his own archimandrite order

At the monastery gates, a crooked Falaley was placed with a rustle, he doesn’t let us, your pilgrims, through the gates, he doesn’t order us to go into the settlements - to look at the cattle yard, to drive the calves into the camp, and to put the chickens underground, to give blessings to the cowsheds.”

The petition emphasizes that the main source of the monastery’s income is distillation and brewing, and Gabriel’s ban only creates chaos in the monastery’s treasury.

The formal piety of the monks, who are unhappy with the fact that they are forced to go to church and say prayers, is also exposed. They complain that the archimandrite “He doesn’t take care of the treasury, he burns a lot of incense and candles, and thus, he, the archimandrite, dusted the church, smoked the censers, and we, your pilgrims, had our eyes eaten out and our throats sore.” The monks themselves are ready not to go to church at all: “...we’ll take the vestments and books out to dry, we’ll lock up the church, and we’ll fold the seal into a splint.”

The satirist did not ignore the social discord that was characteristic of the monastery brethren: on the one hand, the choir members, the lower brethren, and on the other, the ruling elite, led by the archimandrite.

The cruel, greedy and selfish archimandrite is also the object of satirical denunciation. It is he who is hated by the clergy for the oppression he inflicts on them. He introduces a system of corporal punishment in the monastery, savagely forcing the monks under “shout the canons with whispers.” “He, the archimandrite, lives spaciously, puts large chains on our brothers’ necks on holidays and on weekdays, but he broke our batogs and tore off our whispers.” The greedy archimandrite starves the monastic brethren by putting them on the table “steamed turnips, dried radishes, jelly with mash, porridge from the bottom, Martov shti and kvass is poured into the brothers.”

In the petition there is a demand for the immediate replacement of the archimandrite with a person who is very “lying down, drinking wine and beer, but not going to church,” as well as a direct threat to rebel against their oppressors.

Behind the external buffoonery of drunken monks in the story is hidden the people's hatred of monasteries and church feudal lords. The main means of satirical denunciation is caustic irony, hidden in the tearful complaint of the petitioners.

A characteristic feature of the petition style is its aphorism: ridicule is often expressed in the form of folk rhyming jokes. For example: “And we... don’t have enough to eat anyway: turnips and horseradish, and the black cup Ephraim”; “The mice are swollen from the bread, and we are dying of hunger” etc. These jokes reveal in the author of the “Kalyazin Petition” “a crafty Russian mind, so inclined to irony, so simple-minded in its craftiness.”

"The Tale of the Hen and the Fox." In the allegorical images of the Russian folk tale about animals, the Tale of the Hen and the Fox exposes the hypocrisy and hypocrisy of priests and monks, the internal falsity of their formal piety. In the cunning, hypocritical Fox, it is not difficult to recognize a typical clergyman who unctuously "divine words" covers up base and selfish goals. As soon as the Fox lured Kur and grabbed him in her claws, the unctuous mask of a confessor, grieving over Kur’s sins, fell from her. Now Fox is counting the personal insults that Kur caused her by preventing her from emptying the chicken coop.

The story exposes not only the clergy, but also criticizes the text of the “holy scripture,” aptly noting its contradictions. In word disputes, both Kur and Fox operate with the text of “scripture” to prove their rightness. Thus, Lisa, accusing Kur of the mortal sin of polygamy and lack of love for one’s neighbor, relies on the Gospel text, and Kur parries the blow with a reference to the text of the book “Genesis” (Old Testament). The story shows that with the help of the text of the “sacred books” any morality can be justified.

All this testified to the development of social consciousness, the spirit of criticism, which begins to take possession of the mind of a person seeking to test Christian dogmas.

"The Tale of Hawk Moth." The Tale of Hawk Moth is built on the bold antithesis of “hawk moth” and the “saints” in paradise. This story shows the moral superiority of a drunkard over "righteous". The apostle Peter, the murderer of the first martyr Stephen, the adulterer King David, the sinner rescued by God from hell, King Solomon, the murderer of Arius, St. Nicholas, were awarded heavenly bliss. Hawkmoth, who is opposed to him, accuses the saints of crimes, but he himself did not commit any crimes: he did not kill anyone, did not commit adultery, did not renounce God, but, on the contrary, glorified Christ with every glass.

He even regards the desire of the “saints” not to allow the “hawk moth” into heaven as an act of violation of the Gospel commandment of love: “And you and Luke wrote in the Gospel: love one another; but God loves everyone, but you hate the stranger!” he boldly says to John. “John the Theologian! Either sign off with your hand, or sign off your words!” And John, backed against the wall, is forced to admit: "Youecuour man, hawk moth; come to our paradise!” And in paradise, hawk moth occupies the best place, which the “saints” did not even dare to approach.

In a funny joke, a fairy-tale situation, there is an angry satire on the church and the church dogma of veneration of saints.

"Festival of Tavern Markets." On the parallel of a drunkard - a Christian martyr, the satirical story “The Festival of Tavern Markets”, or “Service to the Tavern”, is built. The story denounces the “state system” of organizing drunkenness through the “tsar’s tavern.” In order to replenish the state treasury in the middle of the 17th century. A monopoly was introduced on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. The whole country was covered with a network of "tsar's taverns", headed by "kissers" so nicknamed because they took an oath - they kissed the cross - "bess-

It’s scary to wait for his sovereign favors for profit, and don’t keep any fear in that device, don’t drive away the roosters.”

“Tsarev Tavern” became the source of a real national disaster. Taking advantage of their rights, the “kissers” shamelessly soldered and robbed the working people. Therefore, the denunciation of the tavern in the story acquired particular poignancy and relevance.

The story does not give a religious and moralistic assessment of drunkenness, but by attacking "Tsar's Tavern" denounces him as "obscene teacher" And "Christian soul robber." The form of church service used (small and large vespers) in honor of “three blinders of wine and beer and honey, Christian beaters and human minds of void-makers” allows the author of the story to freely develop his theme. He curses the "tsar's tavern" - "the house of the destroyer" reason "inexhaustible poverty" evil "teachers" leading person to "naked and barefoot."

By denouncing the “tavern kings,” the story pours out its anger on those who contribute to the development of drunkenness, i.e. to the ruling elite. The author warns against drunkenness, which brings only troubles and misfortunes, deprives people of their humanity and moral dignity.

Caustic irony is created by the discrepancy between the solemn form of church hymns, chants, and the objects sung in them - the “tsar’s taverns.” The author speaks with irony about the “new martyrs” who suffered from the tavern, and ends the story with the life of a drunkard. Using the form of a church prologue to life, the author shows a terrible picture of the moral fall of man and says with irony: “If such misfortunes had been endured for God’s sake, there would truly have been new martyrs, and their memory would be worthy of praise.”

A result of the growing class consciousness of the democratic urban strata of the population, satire testified to the loss of the church's former authority in all spheres of human life.

Democratic satire affected essential aspects of feudal-serf society, and its development went hand in hand with the development of folk satire. The general ideological orientation, a clear class meaning, and the absence of abstract moralizing brought literary satire closer to folk satire, which contributed to the transition of satirical stories into folklore.

Based on the experience of folk satire, literary satire often used forms of business writing (“court case”, judicial reply, petition), church literature (church service, hagiography). The main means of satirical denunciation were parody, exaggeration, and allegory. The nameless heroes of satirical stories conveyed a broad artistic generalization. True, the heroes are still devoid of individual traits; they are only collective images of the social environment that they represent. But they were shown in everyday everyday settings, their inner world was revealed for the first time in satirical characters.

A huge achievement of democratic satire was the depiction, for the first time in our literature, of the life of disadvantaged people, "naked and barefoot" in all its unvarnished squalor.

While exposing the disorders of the feudal-serf system, democratic satire could not, however, indicate ways to eliminate them.

Democratic satire of the 17th century. took a huge step towards bringing literature closer to life and laid the foundations for the satirical direction that developed in Russian literature of the 18th century. and reached unprecedented heights in the 19th century.