Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
Choism in literature No. 7
Choism in prose
Prose is oral or written speech, without division into commensurate segments – poetry; in contrast to poetry, its rhythm is based on an approximate correlation of syntactic constructions.
(definition from the network)
The art (literature) of the future is the art of choice.
(From the series of articles “The question of choice”)
In the previous article, we discussed the possibility and some examples of the manifestation of choism in the literature. Now let’s take a closer look at it in the framework of prose.
To begin with, let’s remember what genres exist in prose and what they are in general. As we all know, the concept of genre determines the content of a work, not its form, most genres tend either to poetic writing (poems, plays) or to prose (novels, novellas). Nevertheless, such a division cannot be taken literally, since there are many examples when works of various genres were written in an unusual form for them. Examples of this are novels and short stories by Russian poets written in verse form: “Count Nulin”, “House in Kolomna”, “Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin, “Treasurer”, “Sasha” by Lermontov. In addition, there are genres that are equally often written in both prose and verse (fairy tale).
The literary genres traditionally attributed to prose include biography, manifesto, short story, essay, parabola, novella, parable, short story, novel, epic, essay, etc. [Wikipedia]
It is easy to imagine a representation of the problem of “choice” in any of these genres. Consequently, choism takes place in any prose. However, a very difficult question remains – how to present this problem or the topic of “choice” and emphasize the individuality of сhoism? Let’s consider the possibilities of presenting early сhoism in each of the listed genres.
A biography is an essay that tells the story of a person’s life and work. Description of human life; genre of historical, artistic and scientific prose. Modern biography (for example, the series “The Life of wonderful People”) reveals historical, national and social conditionality, psychological type of personality, its causal relationships with the socio-cultural world. [Wikipedia]
Obviously, such a genre can be uniquely dedicated to persons directly or indirectly associated with choism: artists, poets, journalists, etc. by authors and researchers who have made a significant contribution to the development and study of the issue of “choice”. On the other hand, choistic bibliography can be presented to describe the lives of people from the past, using techniques against abandonment, the dynamics of choice to convey the versatility and brightness of the path of the great.
A manifesto is a programmatic statement in a prosaic form associated with the aesthetic principles of a certain literary trend, trend, school, group. The term became widespread in the XIX century, is quite broad in its meaning, as a result of which it is conditional and applicable to a number of literary phenomena — from detailed declarations to serious aesthetic treatises, articles, prefaces. In some cases, the aesthetic performances of writers and literary critics have the character of literary manifestos, having a direct impact on the historical and literary process, despite the fact that some declarations in the form of a manifesto turn out to be short-lived and ineffective. Sometimes the literary manifestos and the real content of the literary school do not coincide. In general, manifestos represent one or another result of a lively social life, reflecting both ideological and aesthetic searches and the process of forming new literature. [Wikipedia]
The manifesto will be perhaps the most convenient and visual genre for presenting both early сhoism and its subsequent variants, which is obvious from its definition. A clear and well-formed example of this genre will be the series of articles “The Question of choice”, “Philosophy of сhoice”, “Choism in the visual arts”, etc. In addition, choism has already been mentioned more than once in public speeches of St. Petersburg poetry clubs, as well as the first Russian-Vietnamese collection “Dawn” was devoted to the topic of “choice”.
A short story is a literary small narrative genre, comparable in volume to a short story (which sometimes gives rise to their identification), but differing from it in genesis, history and structure. The novel has a greater saturation of events, a clearer plot, a clearer plot twist, leading to a denouement. Compared with more detailed narrative forms (a novella or a novel), there are few characters in a novella and one storyline (rarely several) with the characteristic presence of some one problem. It goes back to the folklore genres of oral retelling in the form of tales or instructive allegory and parable. The stories of one author are characterized by cyclization. In the traditional model of the writer-reader relationship, a story is usually published in a periodical; the works accumulated over a certain period are then published in a separate book as a collection of short stories. A typical structure of a classic novel: the beginning, the climax, the denouement. the exposition is optional. Even the romantics of the early 19th century appreciated in the novel an unexpected “falcon” turn, the so-called “pointe”, which corresponds in Aristotle’s poetics to the moment of recognition, or vicissitudes. In this regard, Viktor Shklovsky noted that the description of happy mutual love does not create a novel, a novel requires love with obstacles: A loves B, B does not love A; when B loves A, then A no longer loves B. [Wikipedia]
Although the novel is not as modern and it is rarely referred to as a genre at the present time, it is still possible to predict the manifestations of early choism in short stories. The example of Shklovsky already suggests an unconscious choism. If we develop this idea and give depth to the “choice”, for example, in feelings, another model of possible composition construction may develop – the expectation of a significant event (the preceding one) and subsequent awareness (the consequences).
An essay is a kind of a small form of epic literature, different from its other form, the story, by the absence of a single, rapidly resolving conflict and the great development of a descriptive image. Both differences depend on the specifics of the essay’s problems. It touches not so much on the problems of the formation of a personality’s character in its conflicts with the established social environment, as on the problems of the civil and moral state of the “environment”. The essay can relate to both literature and journalism. [Wikipedia]
Since the “problem of choice” is universal in its size (it can be a large, global choice, or vice versa, negligibly small, but accompanied by deep fabrications), the essay will also be an acceptable genre for choism.
Parabola — (from Greek. — comparison, juxtaposition, similarity) allegorical moralizing; a term denoting a genre variety close to the parable in prose and drama of the 20th century, although the parabola, as a short allegorical story of instructive content, has been known since antiquity, is often found in Christian literature. This is a special form of narration that moves as if along a curve (parabola): starting with abstract subjects, the story gradually approaches the main theme, and then returns to the beginning. [Wikipedia]
The very essence of matching or comparison can already be one of the tools of “choice”. That is, in such an opposition, the need to choose will manifest itself, and in this case, not only the character from the storyline can already be the chooser, but also the reader himself (internal and external choice).
A novel is a work of epic prose, close to a novel, tending to a consistent presentation of the plot, limited by a minimum of storylines. It depicts a separate episode from life; it differs from the novel in less completeness and breadth of pictures of everyday life and mores. It does not have a stable volume and occupies an intermediate place between a novel, on the one hand, and a short story or novella, on the other. He tends to chronicle the plot, reproducing the natural course of life. The number of characters in the story, in general, is less than in the novel, and the clear distinction characteristic of the novel between the main and secondary characters in the story, as a rule, is absent or this distinction is not essential for the development of the action. The plot of a realistic story is often associated with the “malice of the day”, with what the narrator observes in social reality and what he perceives as a topical reality. Sometimes the author himself characterized the same work in different genre categories. So, Turgenev first called “Rudin” a novel, and then a novel. [Wikipedia]
A choicest story, even subject to the rules of the genre (with a consistent presentation of the plot, limited to a minimum of storylines) leaves room for the choice and operation of the expectation-awareness model. It should be emphasized that the possibilities of early choism cannot be unambiguously limited to the relation of a particular work to the genre, at least unambiguously (this still remains the prerogative of the author). Therefore, almost all the features of choism in prose are equally valid and apply to all genres.
A parable is a short story in verse or prose in an allegorical, edifying form. The reality in the parable is revealed outside of chronological and territorial signs, without specifying the specific historical names of the actors. The parable necessarily includes an explanation of the allegory so that the meaning of the allegory is clear to the reader. Despite its similarity to the fable, the parable claims to be a universal generalization, sometimes ignoring particular issues. The parable is also a genre of epic: a small narrative work of an edifying nature containing religious or moral teaching in an allegorical (allegorical) form. [Wikipedia]
The parable of the sphere of the world is the most striking and well-known example demonstrating the early choism in the parable. This work, translated into many languages, revealed not only all the features of the genre, but also the “choice” with the expectation-awareness model is more than transparently presented.
The story is a small epic genre form of fiction — small in terms of the depicted phenomena of life, and hence in terms of the volume of its text. [Wikipedia]
In such a form, as in a story or in a parable, the problem of “choice” can manifest itself using the expectation-awareness model, and by opposition, or by choosing internal or external.
The novel is a large narrative work with a complex and developed plot. [Wikipedia]
The main difference from a choicest story or novella in this case will be, first of all, the volume of the work, which will make it possible to create a more complex plot, saturated with a large number of problems of “choice”, as well as other problems and topics intertwined with each other in order to create a unique and complex modern literary structure.
The epic is a monumental epic work in its form, characterized by national issues. In historical and literary science, since the 19th century, the term epic has often been used in an expanded meaning, covering any major work with signs of epic construction. In this sense, there are “epic novels” where the main characters are described against the background of major events of historical significance: “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy, “The Quiet Don” by M. A. Sholokhov. In “heroic and romantic epics” the main characters actively and purposefully participate in important historical events, during which their personality is formed: “Peter I” by A. N. Tolstoy. [Wikipedia]
Although the epic genre is more likely to be appropriated by critics or even by time itself, it can be said that there is a possibility and prerequisites for the appearance of a choistic epic. In many ways, it will be similar to the genre of the choicest novel. It can be assumed that such a work will show confusing and ambiguous storylines in which different “choices” will be shown in the expectation-awareness model with external and internal choices.
An essay is a prose work of small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and considerations on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming to be a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject. [Wikipedia]
A choicest essay will be in many ways similar to a short story or a novella. The principles and rules are also valid here: the plot and constructive method of posturing, external and internal choice and the expectation-awareness model.
Despite the lack of direct connection with literature and prose, it is necessary to consider another genre that is in great demand in modern times. Blockbuster is a very popular and commercially successful product of the film and theater industry. [Wikipedia]
In text form, a blockbuster can only be presented as a script. But with some assumptions, we can say that the blockbuster genre is based on a novel, short story, essay, etc. In this case, we can consider such a phenomenon as a choicest blockbuster. What could be interesting about such a work?
Based on the above, we can draw a preliminary conclusion that choism in prose needs such a form of representation of the plot, when the events described at a certain moment literally lose their connection with each other. That is, to make smooth transitions from the unthinkable to reality and vice versa. But unlike surrealism, it is necessary that the work looks complete and these bright transitions are combined with the rest of the work. The blockbuster genre is very well suited for this form of presentation, the plots of which are just so full of impressive events, dynamism and harmony. In a sense, a number of films and theatrical plays (scripts) of the XX-XXI centuries can be attributed to unconscious or naive choism.
In addition to this, it should be noted that there are two types of manifestations of choism in prose – plot and constructive. In the plot, the theme of “choice” is summed up by the actions of the characters, the events described, landscapes, dialogues, etc. In a constructive way, the choice is represented by the very construction of words, sentences, paragraphs, which symbolize the smoothness of transitions with the formation of a single whole, or on the contrary, I form a sharp contrast of parts of the work.
Although many genres belong to prose, for example, a novel, a short story, a novella, a biography, an essay, a manifesto, a novella, there is a place for early choism in all of them, as a new trend in literature. The problem of “choice” previously considered in philosophy and fine art can be presented in any genre, but there is no single “formula for the success” of сhoism in prose. This can be a choice, as well as the plot part, as well as the construction of the work itself. The choice is external and internal – made by the characters of the work or by the reader. Any manifestation of a bright, contrasting and non-standard solution dividing into, before and after (expectation–awareness) – these are the distinctive signs of choism in prose, and in literature in general.
