Oral folk art briefly. Epic genres of UNT (oral folk art) and literary genres. Russian folk tales

• What is oral folk art? Tell us using supporting words.
  author-people, word of mouth, dream of happiness, small folklore works, fairy tales (about animals, everyday life, magic), magical objects, fairy-tale transformations.

Oral folk art is small folklore works created by nameless authors and passed on from mouth to mouth. A fairy tale is one of the oldest types of oral folk art. Fairy tales are divided into magical, everyday, and about animals. Since the storytellers were ordinary people, they saved and passed on to each other only those stories that corresponded to their ideas about beauty, goodness, honesty, justice and nobility of soul, and carried a dream of happiness. Events in the fairy tale occur in such a way as to repeatedly test the hero: his strength, courage, kindness, love for people and animals. Therefore, the hero is often rescued by fairy-tale objects and miraculous transformations.

• Complete your statement. Find the information you need in a reference book, encyclopedia or the Internet.

Oral folk art - works created by anonymous authors and passed on from mouth to mouth. Songs, fairy tales, epics, proverbs, sayings, riddles - these are all works of oral folk art. In ancient times, they were composed by talented people from the people, but we do not know their names, because beautiful songs, fascinating tales, wise proverbs were not written down, but were passed down orally from one person to another, from one generation to another. When telling a fairy tale or performing a song, each storyteller or singer added something of his own, omitted something, changed something, so that the fairy tale became even more entertaining and the song even more beautiful. That is why we say that the author of songs, epics, fairy tales, proverbs, ditties, riddles is the people themselves. Getting to know the treasures of folk poetry helps us get to know our Motherland more deeply.

• What types of folk art do you know?

Fairy tales, riddles, chants, fables, epics, tales, songs, tongue twisters, nursery rhymes, proverbs, sayings.

• With a friend, make a list of books that can be placed in the Folk Art exhibition.

Russians folk tales. Proverbs and sayings. Puzzles. Nursery rhymes and jokes. Folk lyrical songs. Legends. Epics. Spiritual poems. Ballads. Jokes. Ditties. Tales. Tongue Twisters. Lullabies.

• Prepare a story about one of the folk crafts of Russia (Gzhel, Khokhloma, Dymkovo toy). Perhaps in the place where you live, some other type of folk art is developed. Prepare a message about him, first draw up a plan for your story.

Dymkovo toy

Dymkovo toy is one of the Russian folk clay art crafts. It arose in the trans-river settlement of Dymkovo, near the city of Vyatka (now in the territory of the city of Kirov). This is one of the oldest crafts in Russia, which arose in the 15th-16th centuries. For four centuries, the Dymkovo toy reflected the life and lifestyle many generations of masters. The appearance of the toy is associated with the spring holiday of Whistling, for which the female population of the Dymkovo settlement sculpted clay whistles in the form of horses, rams, goats, ducks and other animals; they were painted in different bright colors. Later, when the holiday lost its significance, the fishery not only survived, but also gained further development. Dymkovo toy is a handmade product. Each toy is the creation of one master. Making a toy from modeling to painting is a creative process that is never repeated. There are not and cannot be two absolutely identical products. To produce the Dymkovo toy, local bright red clay is used, thoroughly mixed with fine brown river sand. The figures are sculpted in parts, individual parts are assembled and sculpted using liquid red clay as a binding material. Traces of molding are smoothed out to give the product a smooth surface. Over more than four hundred years of the existence and development of the Dymkovo craft, traditional themes, plots and images have developed in it, the expressive means inherent in very plastic red pottery clay, simple ( geometric pattern) painting patterns in which red, yellow, blue, green colors predominate. Halftones and imperceptible transitions are generally alien to the Dymkovo toy. All of it is an overflowing fullness of the feeling of the joy of life. The bright, elegant Dymkovo toy does not like “loneliness”. Often the craftswomen of the Dymkovo craft create entire thematic compositions in which there is a place for both people and animals, both animate and inanimate objects. Not only a person, a horse, a dog or a deer can appear before the audience, but also a tree, a decorative fence, a carriage, a sleigh, a Russian stove... In the 19th century, from 30 to 50 families of toymakers lived and worked in the settlement of Dymkovo. Entire dynasties were formed - Nikulins, Penkins, Koshkins... The shape and proportions, color and ornament of their products had their own characteristics. At this time, Dymkovo toys were single figures of people, animals, birds, whistles, carrying ancient images - people’s ideas about the world. The Dymkovo toy has become one of the symbols of the Kirov region, emphasizing the originality of the Vyatka region and its ancient history.

Oral folk art is the verbal creativity of a people who do not write down their works, but are passed on orally (from mouth to mouth) from generation to generation. Oral folk art is also called in one word - folklore.

Folklore (English folk-lore - “folk wisdom”) is not only the oral verbal creativity of the people, but also musical.

In this article we will talk about oral folk art, which was created over many centuries.

By the way, oral folk art is studied in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th grades of school. However, if you love, then this will also certainly be interesting to you.

Features of Russian folklore

Over the course of a long time, many legends were created that were invented by people while thinking about certain problems.

From time immemorial, people have thought about what is good and what is bad; like , and .

Also, oral folk art comprehended the problem of comprehensiveness, trying to give important advice on how to become wise.

As a result of this, a lot of instructive tales, sayings and sayings appeared, helping a person get answers to a variety of questions that interest him.

Genres of oral folk art

The genres of folklore are epics, fairy tales, songs, proverbs, riddles and other things that we learned about from our ancestors.

Over time, many expressions changed, thanks to which the meaning of this or that saying became deeper and more instructive.

Often the works invented by the people rhymed and formed into poems and songs that were easily remembered. Thanks to this method, Russian folklore was passed on from mouth to mouth for many centuries.

Works of oral folk art

So, let's list the works of oral folk art in order to form a clear list of the available types of folklore.

• Epics
• Fairy tales
• Songs
• Proverbs and sayings
• Puzzles
• Legends
• Lullabies
• Pestushki and nursery rhymes
• Jokes
• Game sentences and refrains

These are the main types of works that are created not by one person, but directly by the whole people.

Oral folk art of Russia

Well, we will look at oral folk art, since we are interested in this particular topic. It must be said that other nations have very similar folklore genres.

Songs

Among the people, songs were one of the most popular ways of expression. Despite the fact that they were significantly inferior in volume to fairy tales and epics, people tried to put deep and meaningful meaning into them.

Thus, the songs reflected a person’s love experiences, thoughts about life and the future, social and family problems, and many other things.

It is worth noting that songs from oral folk art may differ in style and manner of performance. Songs can be lyrical, laudatory, dance, romantic, etc.

In oral folk art, the technique of parallelism is very often used, which helps to feel the nature of the mood of a particular character.

Historical songs were dedicated to various outstanding personalities or events.

It is worth noting that they originated in the 9th century. A striking example is the epics about heroes who possessed incredible strength, beauty, courage and bravery. The most famous Russian heroes were Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich.

As a rule, historical characters or events are described in epics in an embellished and even fantastic style.

In them, national heroes can single-handedly destroy entire enemy troops, kill various monsters and cover long distances in the shortest possible time.

The heroes of epics never fear the enemy and are always ready to speak out in defense of their Motherland.

Fairy tales

Fairy tales play an important role in oral folk art. This genre contains elements of magic and wonderful heroism.

Often, completely different classes are presented in fairy tales: from kings to simple peasants. In them you can meet workers, soldiers, kings, princesses, jesters and many other characters.

However, a fairy tale is not just a fictional and beautifully composed story for children. With the help of fairy tales, people tried to raise children, laying deep morality in them.

As a rule, all fairy tales have a happy ending. In them, good always triumphs over evil, no matter how strong and powerful it may be.

Legends

In oral folk art, legends mean oral false stories about the facts reality. They colorfully depict the events of the past.

There are many legends about the origin of peoples, states, and the exploits of fictional heroes.

This genre was especially popular in Ancient Greece. Many myths have survived to this day telling about Odysseus, Theseus and other characters.

Puzzles

Riddles are metaphorical expressions in which one object is depicted with the help of another that has some similarity with it.

On this basis, a person needs to guess this or that object through reflection and ingenuity.

In fact, it is very difficult to imagine oral folk art without riddles, which were often presented in rhymed form. For example, known to all children: “Winter and summer - the same color.” Of course, you know that this is a Christmas tree.

Thanks to fairy tales, both children and adults can develop their logical thinking and intelligence. An interesting fact is that fairy tales often contain riddles that are usually successfully solved by the main character.

Proverbs and sayings

Proverbs and sayings play one of the key roles in oral folk art. A proverb is a short figurative saying with an instructive overtone, carrying some general idea or allegory with a didactic (educational) slant.

A proverb is a figurative saying that reflects some phenomenon of life. However, it is not a complete statement. Often sayings can be humorous in nature.

Proverbs and sayings are usually classified as small genres of oral folk art.

In addition to them, this genre can include jokes, lullabies, play sentences, riddles, pesters and nursery rhymes. Next, you can consider all these types of folklore in more detail.

Lullabies

In oral folk art, lullabies are often called tales, since the root of the word “bait” is “to tell.”

With their help, parents tried to lull their children who could not sleep. That is why various lullabies began to appear among the people, listening to which the child quickly fell asleep.

Pestushki and nursery rhymes

Pestushki and nursery rhymes in folklore were used to educate a growing child. Pestushki comes from the word “nurse”, that is, “nurse” or “educate.” Previously, they were actively used to comment on the movements of a newborn.

Gradually, the pestles turn into nursery rhymes - rhythmic songs sung while the child plays with his toes and hands. The most famous nursery rhymes in oral folk art are “Magpie-Crow” and “Ladushki”.

Interestingly, they also contain a certain morality. Thanks to this, from the first days of life, the baby learns to distinguish between good and evil, as well as the good or bad qualities of a person.

Jokes

When the kids grew up, so-called jokes began to be sung to them, which had a deeper content and were not associated with games.

In their structure, they resembled short fairy tales in verse. The most famous jokes are “Ryaba Hen” and “Cockerel – Golden Comb”.

Most often, jokes describe some bright event that corresponds to the active life of a child.

However, since it is difficult for kids to focus on one topic for a long time, jokes have a very short plot.

Game sentences and refrains

For a long time, game sentences and choruses have been very popular among the people. They were used during games. They talked about possible consequences in case of violation of established rules.

Basically, sentences and refrains included various peasant activities: sowing, reaping, haymaking, fishing, etc. After their frequent repetition, children learned correct manners from an early age and acquired generally accepted rules of behavior.

Types of oral folk art

From all that has been said, we can conclude that oral folk art consists of many components. Briefly, to reinforce students of grades 2, 3, 5 and 7, let us recall its types:

• Epics
• Fairy tales
• Songs
• Proverbs and sayings
• Puzzles
• Legends
• Lullabies
• Pestushki and nursery rhymes
• Jokes
• Game sentences and refrains

Thanks to all this, the people were able to skillfully convey the deep thoughts and traditions of their ancestors in a short form, preserving good traditions and folk wisdom.

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Immense oral folk art. It has been created for centuries, there are many varieties of it. Translated from in English"folklore" is "folk meaning, wisdom." That is, oral folk art is everything that is created by the spiritual culture of the population over the centuries historical life his.

Features of Russian folklore

If you carefully read the works of Russian folklore, you will notice that it actually reflects a lot: the play of the imagination of the people, the history of the country, laughter, and serious thoughts about human life. Listening to the songs and tales of their ancestors, people thought about many difficult issues of their family, social and work life, thought about how to fight for happiness, improve their lives, what a person should be, what should be ridiculed and condemned.

Varieties of folklore

Varieties of folklore include fairy tales, epics, songs, proverbs, riddles, calendar refrains, magnification, sayings - everything that was repeated passed from generation to generation. At the same time, the performers often introduced something of their own into the text they liked, changing individual details, images, expressions, imperceptibly improving and honing the work.

Oral folk art for the most part exists in a poetic (verse) form, since it was this that made it possible to memorize and pass on these works from mouth to mouth for centuries.

Songs

A song is a special verbal and musical genre. It is a small lyrical-narrative or lyrical work that was created specifically for singing. Their types are as follows: lyrical, dance, ritual, historical. Folk songs express the feelings of one person, but at the same time of many people. They reflected love experiences, events of social and family life, reflections on difficult fate. In folk songs, the so-called technique of parallelism is often used, when the mood of a given lyrical character is transferred to nature.

Historical songs are dedicated to various famous personalities and events: the conquest of Siberia by Ermak, the uprising of Stepan Razin, the peasant war led by Emelyan Pugachev, the battle of Poltava with the Swedes, etc. The narration in historical folk songs about some events is combined with the emotional sound of these works.

Epics

The term "epic" was introduced by I.P. Sakharov in the 19th century. It represents oral folk art in the form of a song of a heroic, epic nature. The epic arose in the 9th century; it was an expression of the historical consciousness of the people of our country. Bogatyrs are the main characters of this type of folklore. They embody the people's ideal of courage, strength, and patriotism. Examples of heroes who were depicted in works of oral folk art: Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets, Mikula Selyaninovich, Alyosha Popovich, as well as the merchant Sadko, the giant Svyatogor, Vasily Buslaev and others. The basis of life, at the same time enriched with some fantastic fiction, constitutes the plot of these works. In them, heroes single-handedly defeat entire hordes of enemies, fight monsters, and instantly overcome vast distances. This oral folk art is very interesting.

Fairy tales

Epics must be distinguished from fairy tales. These works of oral folk art are based on invented events. Fairy tales can be magical (in which fantastic forces are involved), as well as everyday ones, where people are depicted - soldiers, peasants, kings, workers, princesses and princes - in everyday settings. This type of folklore differs from other works in its optimistic plot: in it, good always triumphs over evil, and the latter either suffers defeat or is ridiculed.

Legends

We continue to describe the genres of oral folk art. A legend, unlike a fairy tale, is a folk oral story. Its basis is an incredible event, a fantastic image, a miracle, which is perceived by the listener or storyteller as reliable. There are legends about the origin of peoples, countries, seas, about the sufferings and exploits of fictional or real-life heroes.

Puzzles

Oral folk art is represented by many riddles. They are an allegorical image of a certain object, usually based on a metaphorical rapprochement with it. The riddles are very small in volume and have a certain rhythmic structure, often emphasized by the presence of rhyme. They are created in order to develop intelligence and ingenuity. The riddles are varied in content and theme. There may be several versions of them about the same phenomenon, animal, object, each of which characterizes it from a certain aspect.

Proverbs and sayings

Genres of oral folk art also include sayings and proverbs. A proverb is a rhythmically organized, short, figurative saying, an aphoristic folk saying. It usually has a two-part structure, which is supported by rhyme, rhythm, alliteration and assonance.

The saying represents figurative expression, which evaluates some phenomenon of life. It, unlike a proverb, is not a whole sentence, but only a part of a statement included in oral folk art.

Proverbs, sayings and riddles are included in the so-called small genres of folklore. What is it? In addition to the above types, these include other oral folk art. The types of small genres are complemented by the following: lullabies, nurseries, nursery rhymes, jokes, game choruses, chants, sentences, riddles. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Lullabies

Small genres of oral folk art include lullabies. People call them bikes. This name comes from the verb "bait" ("bayat") - "to speak." This word has the following ancient meaning: “to speak, to whisper.” It is no coincidence that lullabies received this name: the oldest of them are directly related to spell poetry. Struggling with sleep, for example, the peasants said: “Dreamushka, get away from me.”

Pestushki and nursery rhymes

Russian oral folk art is also represented by pestushki and nursery rhymes. At their center is the image of a growing child. The name “pestushki” comes from the word “to nurture”, that is, “to follow someone, raise, nurse, carry in one’s arms, educate.” They are short sentences with which in the first months of a baby’s life they comment on his movements.

Imperceptibly, the pestles turn into nursery rhymes - songs that accompany the baby's games with his toes and hands. This oral folk art is very diverse. Examples of nursery rhymes: “Magpie”, “Ladushki”. They often already contain a “lesson”, an instruction. For example, in “Soroka” the white-sided woman fed everyone porridge, except for one lazy person, although he was the smallest one (his little finger corresponds to him).

Jokes

In the first years of children's lives, nannies and mothers sang songs of more complex content to them, not related to play. All of them can be designated by the single term “jokes.” Their content is reminiscent of short fairy tales in verse. For example, about a cockerel - a golden comb, flying to the Kulikovo field for oats; about the rowan hen, which “winnowed peas” and “sowed millet.”

In a joke, as a rule, a picture of some bright event, or it depicts some kind of rapid action that corresponds to the active nature of the baby. They are characterized by a plot, but the child is not capable of long-term attention, so they are limited to only one episode.

Sentences, calls

We continue to consider oral folk art. Its types are complemented by slogans and sentences. Children on the street very early learn from their peers a variety of calls, which represent an appeal to birds, rain, rainbows, and the sun. Children, on occasion, shout out words in chorus. In addition to nicknames, in a peasant family any child knew the sentences. They are most often pronounced one by one. Sentences - appeal to a mouse, small bugs, a snail. This may be imitation of various bird voices. Verbal sentences and song calls are filled with faith in the powers of water, sky, earth (sometimes beneficial, sometimes destructive). Their utterance introduced adult peasant children to the work and life. Sentences and chants are combined into a special section called “calendar children's folklore”. This term emphasizes the existing connection between them and the time of year, holiday, weather, the whole way of life and the way of life of the village.

Game sentences and refrains

Genres of oral folk art include playful sentences and refrains. They are no less ancient than calls and sentences. They either connect parts of a game or start it. They can also serve as endings and determine the consequences that exist when conditions are violated.

The games are striking in their resemblance to serious peasant activities: reaping, hunting, sowing flax. Reproducing these cases in strict sequence with the help of repeated repetition made it possible to instill in the child from an early age respect for customs and the existing order, to teach the rules of behavior accepted in society. The names of the games - "Bear in the Forest", "Wolf and Geese", "Kite", "Wolf and Sheep" - speak of a connection with the life and way of life of the rural population.

Conclusion

Folk epics, fairy tales, legends, and songs contain no less exciting colorful images than in the works of art of classical authors. Original and surprisingly accurate rhymes and sounds, bizarre, beautiful poetic rhythms - like lace are woven into the texts of ditties, nursery rhymes, jokes, riddles. And what vivid poetic comparisons we can find in lyrical songs! All this could have been created only by the people - the great master of words.

Oral folk art represents a vast layer of Russian culture, formed over many centuries. The works of Russian folklore reflect many of the feelings of the people and their experiences, history, serious thoughts about the meaning of life, humor, fun and much more. Most works of oral folk art exist in poetic form, which made it possible to remember them well and pass them on from generation to generation orally.

Small genres of folklore include works of small volume: ditties, nursery rhymes, jokes, proverbs, riddles, lullabies, fables, tongue twisters. Sometimes they are classified as children's folklore, because in ancient times a person's acquaintance with these works occurred at an age when he did not even speak. These works are interesting for their brightness, accessibility, and form that is understandable to everyone.

Small genres of Russian folklore:

Russian folk proverbs

Russian proverbs and sayings are short, rhythmically organized, figurative folk sayings, often with edifying, instructive content; these are original folk aphorisms. They often consist of two parts, supported by rhyme, have rhythm, characteristic alliteration and assonance.

Russian folk nursery rhymes

Folk nursery rhymes are rhymed short stories, songs and rhymes, combined with simple movements, designed to entertain the child, train his memory, develop fine motor skills and coordination of movements, and harmonious development of the child as a whole, through an unobtrusive form of play.

Russian folk jokes

Jokes or amusements are small, funny, often rhymed works that tell in a bright, entertaining form about interesting events that happened to its heroes. They are distinguished by dynamic content, energetic actions of the characters, designed to interest the child, develop his imagination, and bring positive emotions.

Russian folk tales

Russian folk tales are small-scale fairy tales, sometimes presented in rhymed form, the plot of which is built on meaningless events that defy logic. Their task is to amuse the listener, instill in the child a sense of humor, logic, imagination and develop the entire thinking process as a whole.

Russian folk tongue twisters

Russian tongue twister is a short comic phrase built on a combination of hard-to-pronounce sounds, invented by our ancestors for entertainment and now used to correct problems with speech and diction.

Folklore(folk-lore) is an international term of English origin, first introduced into science in 1846 by the scientist William Toms. Literally translated, it means “folk wisdom”, “folk knowledge” and denotes various manifestations of folk spiritual culture.

Other terms have also become established in Russian science: folk poetry, folk poetry, folk literature. The name “oral creativity of the people” emphasizes the oral nature of folklore in its difference from written literature. The name “folk poetic creativity” indicates artistry as a sign by which a folklore work is distinguished from beliefs, customs and rituals. This designation puts folklore on a par with other types of folk art and fiction. 1

Folklore is complex, synthetic art. His works often combine elements various types arts - verbal, musical, theatrical. It is studied by various sciences - history, psychology, sociology, ethnology (ethnography) 2. It is closely connected with folk life and rituals. It is no coincidence that the first Russian scientists approached folklore broadly, recording not only works of verbal art, but also recording various ethnographic details and the realities of peasant life. Thus, the study of folklore was for them a unique area of ​​national studies 3 .

The science that studies folklore is called folkloristics. If literature is understood not only as written artistic creativity, but as verbal art in general, then folklore is a special branch of literature, and folkloristics is thus part of literary criticism.

Folklore is verbal oral creativity. It has the properties of the art of words. In this way he is close to literature. At the same time, he has his own specific features: syncretism, traditionality, anonymity, variability and improvisation.

The prerequisites for the emergence of folklore appeared in the primitive communal system with the beginning of the formation of art. The ancient art of words was characterized utility- the desire to practically influence nature and human affairs.

The oldest folklore was in syncretic state(from the Greek word synkretismos - connection). A syncretic state is a state of unity, indivisibility. Art was not yet separated from other types of spiritual activity; it existed in conjunction with other types of spiritual consciousness. Later, the state of syncretism was followed by the separation of artistic creativity along with other types public consciousness into an independent area of ​​spiritual activity.

Folklore works anonymous. Their author is the people. Any of them is created on the basis of tradition. At one time V.G. Belinsky wrote about the specifics of a folklore work: there are no “famous names, because the author of literature is always a people. No one knows who composed his simple and naive songs, in which the internal and external life of a young people or tribe was so artlessly and vividly reflected. And he moves on a song from generation to generation, from generation to generation; and it changes over time: sometimes they shorten it, sometimes they lengthen it, sometimes they remake it, sometimes they combine it with another song, sometimes they compose another song in addition to it - and then poems come out of the songs, of which only the people can call themselves the author." 4

Academician D.S. is certainly right. Likhachev, who noted that there is no author in a folklore work not only because information about him, if he existed, has been lost, but also because he falls out of the very poetics of folklore; it is not needed from the point of view of the structure of the work. In folklore works there may be a performer, a storyteller, a storyteller, but there is no author or writer as an element of the artistic structure itself.

Traditional succession covers large historical periods - entire centuries. According to academician A.A. Potebny, folklore arises “from memorable sources, that is, it is transmitted from memory from mouth to mouth as far as memory lasts, but it has certainly passed through a significant layer of popular understanding” 5 . Each bearer of folklore creates within the boundaries of generally accepted tradition, relying on predecessors, repeating, changing, and supplementing the text of the work. In literature there is a writer and a reader, and in folklore there is a performer and a listener. “Works of folklore always bear the stamp of time and the environment in which they lived for a long time, or “existed.” For these reasons, folklore is called mass folk art. It has no individual authors, although there are many talented performers and creators who are perfect mastering generally accepted traditional techniques of saying and singing. Folklore is directly folk in content - that is, in the thoughts and feelings expressed in it. Folklore is also folk in style - that is, in the form of conveying the content. Folklore is folk in origin, in all respects and the properties of traditional figurative content and traditional stylistic forms." 6 This is the collective nature of folklore. Traditionality- the most important and basic specific property of folklore.

Any folklore work exists in large quantities options. Variant (lat. variantis - changing) - each new performance of a folklore work. Oral works had a mobile, variable nature.

A characteristic feature of a folklore work is improvisation. It is directly related to the variability of the text. Improvisation (Italian improvvisazione - unforeseen, suddenly) - the creation of a folklore work or its parts directly in the process of performance. This feature is more characteristic of lamentations and crying. However, improvisation did not contradict tradition and was within certain artistic boundaries.

Taking into account all these signs of a folklore work, we present the most short definition folklore given by V.P. Anikin: “folklore is the traditional artistic creativity of the people. It equally applies to oral, verbal, and other fine arts, both to ancient creativity and to new, created in modern times and created in our days." 7

Folklore, like literature, is the art of words. This gives grounds to use literary terms: epic, lyric, drama. They are usually called childbirth. Each genus covers a group of works of a certain type. Genre- type of artistic form (fairy tale, song, proverb, etc.). This is a narrower group of works than the genus. Thus, by genus we mean a way of depicting reality, by genre - a type of artistic form. The history of folklore is the history of changes in its genres. They are more stable in folklore compared to literary ones; genre boundaries in literature are wider. New genre forms in folklore do not arise as a result of the creative activity of individuals, as in literature, but must be supported by the entire mass of participants in the collective creative process. Therefore, their change does not occur without the necessary historical grounds. At the same time, genres in folklore are not unchanged. They arise, develop and die, and are replaced by others. So, for example, epics arise in Ancient Rus', develop in the Middle Ages, and in the 19th century they are gradually forgotten and die out. As living conditions change, genres are destroyed and consigned to oblivion. But this does not indicate decline folk art. Changes in the genre composition of folklore are a natural consequence of the process of development of artistic collective creativity.

What is the relationship between reality and its reflection in folklore? Folklore combines a direct reflection of life with a conventional one. “Here there is no obligatory reflection of life in the form of life itself; convention is allowed.” 8 It is characterized by associativity, thinking by analogy, and symbolism.