Buryan A.G.
Belgorod State National Research University
ESSAY AS A FORM OF STUDYING THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE WRITER IN LITERATURE CLASSES
Summary
The article considers the essay as a genre of educational biographical text, and also actualizes the methodological relevance of this genre, because it is in the essay that the principle of consistent presentation of the main stages of the artist’s creative path and the relationship of these stages with the writer’s environment is reflected.
Key words: biography, genre, essay, writer.
The study of the life and creative path of the largest artists of the word makes it possible to achieve an organic relationship in the coverage of biography and creative process. Familiarity with multiple works, allows to draw the attention of the pupils on the evolution of his personality to explore his artistic concepts, main themes and ideological fervor of creativity, thoroughly describe the main stages of life and career. Based on the knowledge of the life and work of the classic, received by students in the middle classes, the teacher not only complements the biography with new facts, but also builds its study in close relationship with the social movement, the characteristics of the entire creative path, taking into account the era in which the writer lived.
School programs in literature for high school provides three main types of genre organization of biographical materials: brief biographical information about the life and work of the writer, life and career and essay of life and work.
The most common type of study of biography in school — an essay on the life and work of the writer. This type of biography can be characterized as «complete, complete, with clearly defined boundaries story, which vividly and figuratively summarizes the basic facts of the writer’s life, highlighted the socio-individual features of his personality» [1, 15]. The structure of the biographical essay is subject to the task of reproducing the versatility of the writer’s personality traits, peculiarities of his worldview, which brings students closer to understanding the textually studied work.
Familiarity with several works that are part of the monographic theme, allows students to pay attention to the evolution of the personality of the writer, to get acquainted with his artistic concepts, to describe in detail the artistic environment of the writer. Milestones of creative development of the writer or on «degree of maturity of talent (apprenticeship, achievement of creative maturity, years of blossoming of creativity)», or on «character of an orientation of creativity (plans, plots, ideas, heroes, style)»are outlined. [2, 176]. For a comprehensive study of the work, to identify the artistic individuality of the author, it is advisable to gradually cover his life and work. Students, on the one hand, clearly convinced of how biographical information characterize and explain the creative development of the author, on the other — that the analyzed works are a fact of his life.
The biographical sketch consists of the exposition, the main part and the ending, which are closely interrelated. The exhibition usually tells about the era in which the writer lived and worked, his connections with the surrounding reality are established. In this part of the story tells about childhood and years of study, focuses on the circumstances that largely determined the identity of the artist. The gradual accumulation of knowledge about the life of the master of artistic words prepares students to understand his world, understanding the basic motives of his work.
In the main part of the biographical essay there is an acquaintance with the life experience of the writer, with the materials that became the source of his creative ideas and generalizations. This determines the next task of the teacher: thoughtfully and reasonably, in a brief form to identify and reveal the main stages of the creative path of the artist, to explain what they are due to what events of social and personal life were accompanied, which is characteristic of them in relation to all creativity.
The essay ends with a report about the last years of the artist’s life, about the new that the writer created, what he brought to life, what his works worried and continue to excite readers.
The structure of the essay may be different. In one case, the main emphasis is placed on the image of the unique personality of the writer, the clarification of his attitude to people, society; in another — biographical material is used to analyze the creative process and its main aspects: psychological (life impressions and experiences of the writer), textual (versions of the work recorded in drafts), chronological (time and circumstances of work on the work).
The variability of the structure of the biographical essay mainly depends on the availability of collected materials on the topic, on the readiness of the class. In this regard, it should be noted another feature of the biographical essay. According to Gorky’s definition, an essay as a genre is something in between a story and a study. The essay about the life of the writer is also a kind of research. After all, the main thing specific to the essay is its reliability. Therefore, the biographical story is a reflection of the teacher on the facts of the life of the writer, especially if it is separated from us for many decades.
The attention of high school students focuses on the most essential, not just entertaining. However, it should not be forgotten that the writer had a personal life. To get around or gloss over in literature classes in high school is essentially to impoverish the biography of a great man, because the private life of the writer — is primarily creativity.
In preparation for the story about the life and work of the writer should be guided by the following:
- It is known that the main interest for students are biographical materials that reveal the process of formation of personality, the formation of individual qualities that indicate the relationship of the artist with the world, the attitude to himself, his work. Therefore, from a huge number of facts selected typical, what determines the nature, thoughts, actions, work style and life.
- Particular attention is paid to the facts that characterize the era and the specific situation that shaped the Outlook of the future writer and shed light on his attitude to reality, on creative contacts with other artists and literature.
- It is also necessary to use information about the family and loved ones, which largely determined the fate of the future artist, as well as materials about childhood, adolescence, youth, education and education.
- Especially it is necessary to stop on the facts illuminating the beginning of a creative way, complexity of the first steps of the artist in the literary field. Concrete examples of hard work.
- To understand the psychology of students of literary creativity involved materials about the origin, aging, the formation of the idea of works, its characters, the plot, reflecting the long and hard work of the artist on his work.
- Valuable and significant are the facts that link the biographies of several writers, the problems that worried their contemporaries.
- For the writer, not only the surrounding reality is the object of the artistic image, but also his own personality, which is manifested in different ways in the work of art. It is necessary to involve such biographical material that students understand what passionate, painful searches and doubts, hopes and disappointments the life of every great artist of the word is full, and from this point of view try to see the unique peculiar world of the author in everything: in the selection and evaluation of life phenomena, in how he draws a person, creates his character, how he perceives and depicts nature, for the structure of the writer’s thoughts and feelings is embodied in any word, every artistic detail, the rhythm of the phrase.
- In the biographical story it is necessary to pay attention to the characteristics of the people surrounding the artist and influencing him.
- Materials on the development of traditions of national culture in the work of the writer, his appeal to the history of the people, the motives and images of oral folk art, the influence of its predecessors in literature help to better understand the complex path of ideological and moral quest of the artist associated with the epoch-making historical events of his time.
In the lecture, the logic of construction, the brightness of the content, and the «artistic» basics of the teacher’s skill are significant: the tone and pace of speech, the expressiveness of facial expressions and gestures. Indeed, in the story of the life of a writer should be a lively dialogue, and a page of memories, and an excerpt from the letter. The voice, the expression of the teacher’s face, his eyes can make this material sound or deprive him of the attractive force. It is necessary to get used to a system of thoughts and feelings of the writer to transfer in lectures thoughtfulness and delight, melancholy and inspiration» [3, 6]. But if such lessons are filled only with the teacher’s speech, the meeting of students with the writer will not take place.
Thus, we analyzed the main type of genre organization of biographical materials. This allowed us to conclude that the essay is the most appropriate form, the most fully representing the life and work of the writer.
References
- Drobot, V. N. The study of biography writer in school: Guidelines for teachers. — Kiev, 1988.
- Nikolsky, V. A. Teaching literature in high school: a Guide for teachers. — M., 1963.
- Marantsman, V. G. Biography of the writer in the system of aesthetic education of schoolchildren. — M.; L., 1968.
- Kaplan, I. E. The Study of the biography of the writer in high school: a Guide for teachers. — M., 1964.