Refreshes are repeating motifs in musical or literary works. They are the main theme that determines the form of the work. Such repetitions first appeared in ancient culture, but received significant development in the works of medieval authors. In poetry, refrains are quite common, they give poetry melody, sonority and create a kind of semantic emphasis.
Refrain in music
Most musical works, regardless of the direction in which they are created, contain repetitions. Refrains are choruses in songs. In musical terminology, this word denotes a phenomenon characteristic primarily of a form such as rondo. The meaning of the word "refrain" in translation from French is the verb "repeat." The expressive tool that is found today in music, poetry and even prose is of French origin, since it is an integral part of the ballad. This genre was finally formed in the late Middle Ages precisely in France.
Ballad
This term is present both in literary studies and in musicology. The first ballads appeared in early medieval culture, but then they still did not have a clear structure. Later, when this term began to mean a musical or poetic genre, formal signs were established in it. The main one is the presence of repetitions.
Refrain is (in literature and music) expressive means, characteristic first of all for a ballad. The first examples of poetic works in this genre arose in French literature. Later, the structure of the ballad was used by various authors at different times. There are many examples in Russian poetry of the 20th century. One of them is “The Ballad of a Smoked Wagon,” where you can see many repetitions. Alexander Kochetkov used several phrases as refrains.
In the works of later authors, refrain is also found. This frequently occurring phenomenon in the literature may not only be a sign of a ballad. Repetitions were also used in their poems by authors whose works are not related to this ancient genre.
20th century poetry
Refreshes are repeating phrases that can be separated by lines. But more often they are introduced at the end of the stanza. In the works of poets of the Silver Age, such stylistic devices are quite common. In the poem of Marina Tsvetaeva “Yesterday I looked into my eyes” every second stanza ends with a rhetorical question. In the words "My dear, what have I done to you?" the primordially feminine question lies and the idea that love, no matter how strong it may be, sooner or later leaves. Thus, the refrain here not only gives harmony and melody to the work, but also carries an important semantic load.
In the poem “Winter Night” the couplet “The candle burned on the table, the candle burned” appears as a refrain. And this repetition in the work of Boris Pasternak performs a symbolic function. The lines belong to the main character of the novel Doctor Zhivago. The character of Pasternak once, on a cold February evening, saw a soft gentle light in a small window. He later wrote a poem where the candle is a symbol of quiet happiness and solitude. With the help of this symbol, the author conveyed the feelings he experienced when he suddenly saw in a strange window as if a particle of happiness unattainable for him.
Military poetry
Refrains are artistic techniques that are more commonly found in lyrical works. In the poetry of the war, where the main theme could be not only patriotic thoughts, but also the themes of separation and long waiting, these stylistic means are also present. A striking example is the legendary poem "Wait for me and I will return." The refrain in the lines of Konstantin Simonov is only two words. And these words are "wait for me." The verses, which became almost a prayer for thousands of women during the war, contain the author’s conviction that only with the help of love and faithful expectation will the beloved soldier be able to return home alive.
Prose
Refrain is not only found in poetry. Examples from the literature indicate that this poetic device can exist quite harmoniously in prose. However, we are certainly talking about small-scale works. A quote from an unknown author’s poem is found several times in Turgenev’s work “How Good, How Fresh the Roses Were”. This refrain gives musicality and lyricism to a work that can be attributed, thanks to poetic repetitions, to a completely unique genre - a poem in prose.
But stories without a lyrical plot can contain refrains. Such examples can be seen in the prose of Sergei Dovlatov. This author, who is often called the master of ultra-short prose, has a story called "Once upon a time we lived in the mountains." These words are repeated here repeatedly. They give completeness to a small work. And this sad, but not without irony story, like many other things in Dovlatov's prose, confirms the extraordinary poetry of his style.