The system of images in literature is the total number of all the characters that are in the work of art, their interaction with each other. It involves the disclosure of the characters and their significance in conveying the writer's intent and in the plot as a whole.
The system of images in the literature is a collection of separately taken various phenomena. Such processes in a work are called artistically. It should not only reflect, but more importantly, combine reality into a single integral picture of being.
The artistic image has aesthetic value. He also creates a non-existent unique world, invented by the writer. And each author seeks to show these images in such a way that his personal understanding of ideas about life and its laws becomes clear.
Classification
It is better to understand what the system of images in literature means, their laconic characteristic will help:
1. The artistic image.
This method shows reality using art, in particular literature. It does this in detail and at the same time generalized. It is created by depicting a picture of human life transformed in a fictional world with the help of a writer’s imagination.
2. Literary character.
Any (epic, dramatic) acting figure as an example of a system of images in the literature.
3. The image of the author.
The person who plays this role in the book. Usually endowed with the writer's life ideas, but at the same time also partially conveys the author’s fiction.
4. The image of the lyrical hero.
This description is in the book of the author's artistic double, which conveys the thoughts and feelings of the writer, but is not identified with him. With the help of a lyrical hero, the writer shows what is characteristic and typical of the present in general.
5. The image of the narrator.
A specific character who narrates events.
6. The epic hero.
A character in an epic work that contains traits of national historical significance.
7. The main character.
The main character of a literary work, around which all the main events revolve.
8. The dramatic hero.
Character, character of a dramatic work of art.
9. Minor character ..
An image in a work of literature that is not the main character or participant in the central conflicts of the book.
10. Off-stage character.
In a dramatic work - a hero who does not take part in the plot at all, but is mentioned in the words of the characters.
The artistic image and its versatility
In addition, the system of images in literature is a combination of various elements, independent fragments of a generalized expression of reality, which have their own life and semantic content.
Unlike the painter, the writer does not need to write off what is happening from nature, his main goal is not to show the events taking place in real life, but to convey the most essential, valuable. After all, not everything is as it looks at first glance. This also applies to the appearance of people. As an example of a system of images in literature, the author needs to show precisely those traits that reflect the character and soul of a person.
The formation of the term
The system of images is a definition in literature, which was interpreted differently in different periods of human development, took various forms. Because once a person is transformed - a direct object that is depicted, then the forms by which he is reflected in art will certainly change.
Of course, there are different directions for the authors in describing the real world, it depends on their personal ideas about it. For instance:
- realists;
- modernists;
- sentimentalists;
- romance.
Over time, depending on the stage of development of art, the framework of reality and fiction, common to many and unique, reality and a distant ideal, changed.
Main directions
Classicism - a direction of the 17-19th centuries, which was based on antique samples, literature, brought to the fore the struggle of feelings, emotions and duty in the name of the family and the state. Of course, positive heroes were obliged to follow their duties, and negative ones - to their desires.
Romantic writers, on the contrary, exalted characters who had the courage to resist their usual environment, duty and society, did not even recognize him or were rejected by him.
Realists, as the name implies, sought to show a rational knowledge of the world, to reveal causal relationships between objects and phenomena.
The modernists believed that it was real to know the essence of the world and man only using the irrational means and capabilities of the human body: intuition, inspiration, insight, etc.
The value of works of art
The image in the works of Russian literature among realist writers implies, first of all, the presence in the center of attention of a person and his relationship with the surrounding reality, society.
The heroes of modernists and romantics, on the contrary, were more directed toward themselves, their own inner world.
It is worth noting that all these areas, in addition to literature, have equally proved themselves in other forms of art: music, painting, poetry, architecture and sculpture.
According to the creators, ideally, the reader does not just passively perceive artistic images, but is a participant, co-creator of the action. Emotionally reacts to what is happening, fills a work of art with its feelings and thoughts.
Art tools
The system of images in literature is also a means of expression with which these images are created. These include:
1. Speech characteristics of the characters:
a) dialogue (conversation between several heroes);
b) a monologue (speech of one person);
c) internal monologue (internal thoughts of a person).
2. Subtext - the secret, implicit meaning of what is happening, the hidden relationship of the author.
3. A symbol is an image that expresses the significance of a phenomenon.
4. Portrait - an image of the appearance of the character, which gives a characteristic of his personal qualities.
5. The interior.
6. A detail is a detail that, with the help of expressiveness, gives some kind of semantic or emotional load.
7. Characteristics of the author - the author’s attitude to the story.
These elements help to create a holistic picture of the images, give believable reality to the fictional reality, forcing the reader to believe in what is happening and to react emotionally.
Disclosure of the author’s intention
The main idea, the idea certainly is in every literary work. She summarizes its meaning and emotional content.
The artistic idea of the writer is the single integrity of the content book. This is a product of emotional experiences and ideas about the life of the writer himself.
The disclosure of the author’s intention is carried out with the help of the artistic structure, unity and a clear relationship of all its components.
The most effective way to express the intention of the author is the choice of the narrator. This is best shown with concrete examples.
The system of images in the literature
In Russian art classics, there are many similar illustrations:
- F. M. Dostoevsky, The Teenager. The narration is conducted on behalf of the protagonist of the book.
- I. S. Turgenev, “Notes of a Hunter”. The narrator is not the hero of what is happening. He narrates, organizing the text into a single artistic whole. Moreover, its value is very arbitrary.
- M. Yu. Lermontov, “Hero of our time”. It contains a small number of stories connected among themselves, which are conducted on behalf of several storytellers.
- L. N. Tolstoy, "After the Ball." This literary work takes the form of a “story in a story,” with the narration coming from one of the persons conducting the conversation.
- N. V. Gogol, “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka”. The narrator selects the hero. Ruddy Panko is a specific character who has typical traits.
These examples of image systems in the literature show that different authors express their own opinion about the story in their own way, choosing different types of storytellers.