Love Letters of Five Centuries. Correspondence of the first half of the 19th century Letter to parents in the style of the 19th century

Livada Julia

Creative work on the history of a 8th grade student. As one of the types of control of knowledge and skills of students, writing (for motivated students) of a historical essay is practiced. this work is a historical essay about the changes in the life of the peasants of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The essay is interesting because the student chose the form of writing on behalf of a peasant, successfully conveyed the language style of that time and skillfully selected certain historical facts and introduced them into the text.

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Creative work on the history of Russia in the second half of the 19th century

Yulia Livada, student of 8 B class

Consultant teacher: Pimenova Oksana Aleksandrovna

LETTER FROM THE 19TH CENTURY

Good afternoon or evening, my dear little brother Ivan Matveyevich. I congratulate you on Christmas and wish you everything from the Lord our God. Today I missed my soulmate and decided to describe to you my life after we got out of serfdom.

A lot has changed in our lives. Our master, God grant him long life and good health, after the release of the Manifesto of Tsar Alexander the Father went abroad with his entire family, where he remains to this day. Under the master, I served as the headman in our village, so I managed to save some money little by little. So I was able to redeem my five acres of mother land. And I wasn't the only one who did it. And those who did not redeem soon received it for free, but only a quarter of it was put on.

Dear brother, our life has become wonderful, a lot has appeared in our village. Build all the wooden huts, but there are plenty of villagers that the roofs are not covered with straw, but with tiles. Their houses have become a bit like your house on the outskirts of the city. At Christmas, I made my boots, on holidays I put them on or when it's cold, otherwise it hurts chilly in bast shoes. My grandmother, Matrena Savelyevna, is in good health, they also bought her chintz and a little silk to decorate the outfit. It will not show off in a sundress! Movo's neighbor, Nikitka Kozlov, got kerosene lamps and even a watch. The whole village went to look at such a miracle. And we eat less and less from wooden dishes, more and more from painted and earthenware. Guys and girls walk around caroling, and afterward they gather at some young widow's, sing songs, fervent ditties, dance round dances.

Dear brother, Ivan Matveyevich, do God's favor, come and visit, look at our new life and tell us about yours, in your cities, probably, a lot of wonderful things have also appeared. I bow at your feet and will forever pray to God for your health and your family. I remain your brother, Semyon Matveyevich Samosadov.

Lesson Objectives:

• to acquaint students with the features of the epistolary genre of the first half of the 19th century
• to deepen the personal characteristics of the main characters of A.S. Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin" by analyzing their letters
• develop analytical skills, creative imagination

Progress

Introduction:

“Letters, in the exact sense of the word, are conversations or conversations with those who are absent. They take the place of oral conversation, but contain the speeches of only one person. This is how the concept of writing was defined in the ancient rhetoric of Grech (1819). Letters, as a series of prose works, were placed in it as the first of seven classes of works in prose, and the following features were attributed to them: “oral conversation has the properties of an unprepared, unconstrained, artless composition, and these same qualities make it necessary to belong to any good letter. When composing letters, one should follow the rule: I write as I would speak in this case, but speak correctly, coherently and pleasantly.

More than 100 years ago, these provisions determined the high importance of letters - indicators of the time and the persons who wrote them.

The topic of our lesson is “Letters from the first half of the 19th century”, or rather letters from A.S. Pushkin, his contemporaries and his heroes. And we will start with the famous letter of Tatyana Larina to Onegin. This letter is a declaration of love. Listen to him. (Reading aloud by the teacher of the letter of Tatyana Larina).

Conversation:

Tell me what is strange in this letter, in your opinion? What do you not understand about it?

Teacher's word:

The most interesting thing in this letter is the so-called “Pushkin paradox”. It consists in the fact that brilliant Russian poems turn out to be just a “pale list” from the French message of a young lady in love. Pushkin divided Tatyana's own process of expression in her proposed text into the poetic expression of this expression in the text of the novel (Pushkin's "translation"). According to Vyazemsky, “the author said that for a long time he could not decide how to make Tatyana write without violating the female personality and plausibility in style: for fear of straying into academic prose, he thought to write a letter in prose, even thought to write it in French. But, finally, “happy inspiration came at the right time and the woman’s heart easily and freely spoke Russian: it left Tatishchev’s dictionary and Memorsky’s grammar aside.” V. Vinogradov remarked about this mystification of Pushkin: “After all, the language of Tatiana's writing, contrary to the author's preliminary apologies, is Russian, untranslatable. It does not imply a French text behind it.” Therefore, that letter of Tatiana is called “a lyrical translation from the “wonderful original” – Tatiana's heart.

But the choice of language (French) is also remarkable for the era of the first half of the 19th century. Let us give an example from another work - “Anna Karenina” by L. N. Tolstoy. At the moment when the feelings of the heroes had already cleared up for them, but the relationship had not yet fully developed, it became impossible for Anna and Vronsky to speak Russian among themselves: the Russian “you” was too cold, and “you” meant dangerous closeness. The French language gave the conversation a neutral small talk, it could be interpreted in different ways, depending on the gesture, smile or intonation.

Another feature characteristic of the French letters of Russian nobles is the extensive use of quotations. The quotation made it possible to impart semantic uncertainty to the text. Pushkin makes extensive use of the stylistic possibilities of writing.

Work with text

:

- Find literary quotations in the text of Tatyana's letter.

- But why: "I'm writing to you - what more?". What is disturbing in such a phrase?

Teacher's word:

To explain what is the matter, I will read an excerpt from the book "Life in the Light, at Home and at Court", published in 1890, from the chapter "Rules for Writing a Letter". This chapter deals with some details of correspondence, namely, the timing of answers, the feelings that are allowed to be expressed in letters, and the decorum that should be observed in them. The chapter reads: “A young girl never writes to a man, even on behalf of her parents, best of all, not a line written by her in the hands of a man who is not related to her or who is not yet a perfect old man.” That is why a letter to Onegin for Tatyana meant “I freeze with shame and fear”, even if some unreprehensible trifles were written there, the very fact of the correspondence - “what more?” - could become dear to the honor and good name of Tatyana.

Conversation:

So, having learned about everything related to Tatyana's letter to Onegin, what new can you say about the heroes of the novel by A.S. Pushkin? What complements this in their character? How can you look at their actions in a new way?

Teacher's word:

Tatyana’s letter is permeated with a tremendous feeling, despite this it is expressed in book quotations: “an unfortunate lot”, “an inexperienced soul is agitated”, “it is destined for advice in the highest”, “until the grave you are my keeper”, “you appeared to me in dreams”, “ who are you, my guardian angel, or an insidious tempter. Moreover, there are places in the letter that are directly borrowed from Tatyana's favorite books. No wonder she wanders through the forests, “imagining the heroine of her beloved creators”, and “in oblivion” whispered “by heart a letter for a dear hero”. But the fact of the matter is that Pushkin was able to show how real feeling lives behind book words. Tatyana perfectly understands that her act is indecent from the point of view of the usual morality of the people around her: “Now, I know, it is in your will to punish me with contempt.” Any young man Tatyana knew would despise her for being the first to write him a letter. Anyone but Onegin! The inexperienced Tatyana understands people better with feelings than with her mind, she knows: Onegin is not like everyone else, the laws of the world do not matter to him, he will not condemn, will not despise her "- after all, this very singularity of Onegin attracted her to him. Letter Tatyana - impulse, confusion, passion, longing, dream.But at the same time it is all "authentic, it was written by a Russian girl, well-read and inexperienced, tender and lonely, sensitive and shy."

Conversation:

The book “Life in the Light, at Home and at Court” says: “The handwriting, the folding of the letter, the shape, quality and type of paper - all these little things determine the age, position and character of the writer. The syllable testifies to his tact and secularity.”

In the key of this provision, read aloud Onegin's letter to Tatyana.

- What can you say about the character, "tact and secularity" of Eugene Onegin, judging by his letter?

Now read the letters of A. Pushkin himself and the heroes of other works. (Group work)

We continue the conversation about the style of letters. What can you say, based on this rule, about Pushkin and his heroes, judging by their letters.

Conversation:

The following rule for writing letters reads: “In correspondence, witticisms and ambiguities should be avoided, expressions should be very softened. Written transmission of thoughts has a great disadvantage, not having the property of transmitting the tone of voice and facial expression of the writer. Why is there harshness in Dubrovsky's letter to Troekurov, while in Pushkin's letter to Bestuzhev the author is not afraid of witticisms?

When setting off on a journey, the one who left writes first, the one who remains answers without postponing it for a long time. Concerning close friends, higher social status and older, in correspondence the same rules are observed as for visits, that is, the letter is sent at the same time as the visit was to be made. It is indecent in a letter to express intimacy that does not exist in personal relationships. The letter begins with a reply to the letter received, and if there was none, then a few words relating to the subsequent meeting of the corresponding persons. You should write about the person to whom the letter is intended, and about subjects that may interest him. Then you can already tell about yourself, describe your situation and pastime, in conclusion, turn again to the personality of the correspondent, ask about various circumstances related to him, and then express a desire to see you soon, guided by the desire to talk as little as possible about yourself, one should not, however, go to extremes, and, as many do, fill the letter with mere repetitions of the letter of his correspondent. There are letters of the highest degree worthy of people containing approximately the following: “In your last letter you announce your departure to N..., where, apparently, you spent a very pleasant time. You enjoyed such and such pleasures there, and say that you are leaving this place with regret, because you are afraid of feeling too alone on sea baths in N .... and so on ”In a word, this is an exact copy of the letter received, warns book "Life in the light, at home and at court"

Let us turn to Sasha's letter from A.S. Pushkin.

Now let's talk about official letters. An official document must necessarily be a “clean and clear text”, without spelling errors, where postscripts were not allowed. Which of the following letters can be classified as official - business?

Let's pay attention to the appeals and signatures in the letters. How do they differ from those that we use now in letters? (In the first half of the 19th century, appeals and signatures were frozen formulas transferred from one letter to another: “Dear Sir”, “Dear Friend”, “Your Most Obedient Servant”, “Highest Servant”).

Teacher's word:

What about official letters(especially among military people), here the forms of letters are clearly distinguished from “junior” to “senior” in rank and from “senior” to “junior”: in his own hand only his last name; when the younger one writes to the elder, he himself signs the rank, rank and surname. So, if in a letter from a junior rank to a senior with his own hand, and not by the hand of a clerk, only the surname turns out to be signed, then this is a gross violation of the rules, this is an insult., Which can end in a scandal. In the same way, the place where the date of the letter should be put was significant: the boss put the number on top, the subordinate on the bottom, and if the subordinate violated this rule, he was in trouble. Also in official letters it was necessary to strictly observe the form of addressing persons of different ranks in accordance with their class.

Game task:

Before you are cards, on one side of which is the name of the rank or rank, and on the other side - appeals. Choose the appropriate address for each rank.

- His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign	- king to emperor
- Your Excellency	- commander-in-chief of the army
- Your Excellency	- top military officials
Your honor	- university rector - foreman class
- Your Highness	- staff officers
- your honor	- any noble
- Your Eminence, His Eminence Vladyka	- Metropolitan and Archbishop
- Your Eminence, His Grace Vladyka	- bishop
- Your Reverence	- archimandrite and abbot
- Your Reverence	- Priest

Teacher's word:

In general, etiquette in letters had to be observed with great accuracy. There is a known case when a senator, who came with an audit, in an address to the governor (and the governor was from the Mamonov counts and was famous for his pride) instead of the usual: “Gracious sovereign” used: “My gracious sovereign!”, Angrily emphasizing the inappropriateness of the possessive “mine” in the official conversion, was stripped of his rank.

Homework:

So, you got acquainted with the rules for writing letters that existed in the first half of the 19th century. In order to check how much you have mastered the material of this lesson, I will ask you to write letters yourself in the style of the era we are interested in, while observing all the rules of writing.

(Having completed the task, the students draw up a newspaper, which includes letters from Pushkin, his heroes and their own letters)

Letters used in class:

Tatyana's letter to Onegin.

I am writing to you - what more?
What else can I say?
Now I know in your will
Punish me with contempt.
but you, to my unfortunate share
Though a drop of pity keeping,
You won't leave me
At first I wanted to be silent;
Believe me: my shame
You would never know
When I had hope
Rarely, at least once a week
To see you in our village
Just to hear your words
You say a word, and then
All think, think of one
And day and night until a new meeting.
But, they say, you are unsociable;
In the wilderness, in the village, everything is boring for you,
And we ... we do not shine with anything.
Even though you are welcome.

Why did you visit us?
In the wilderness of a forgotten village
I would never know you
I would not know the bitter torment
Souls of inexperienced excitement
Reconciled with time (who knows?),
By heart I would find a friend,
Would be a faithful wife
And a good mother.

Another!... No, no one in the world
I wouldn't give my heart!
It is in the council that is ordained from above,
That is the will of heaven: I am yours;
My whole life has been a pledge
Faithful goodbye to you;
I know you were sent to me by God
Until the grave you are my keeper ...
You appeared to me in dreams
Invisible, you were already sweet to me,
Your wonderful look tormented me,
Your voice resounded in my soul
For a long time ... no, it was not a dream!
You just entered, I instantly found out
All numb, blazed
And in her thoughts she said: here he is!
Isn't it true, is it? I heard you
You spoke to me in silence
When I helped the poor
Or comforted by prayer
The anguish of an agitated soul?
And at this very moment
Aren't you, sweet vision,
Flickered in the transparent darkness,
Crouched quietly to the headboard?
Is it not you, with joy and love,
Words of hope whispered to me?
Who are you, my guardian angel
Or an insidious tempter:
Resolve my doubts.
Maybe it's all empty
Deception of an inexperienced soul!
And something completely different is destined ...
But so be it! my fate
From now on, I give you
I shed tears in front of you.
I beg your protection...
Imagine I'm here alone
Nobody understands me,
My mind is failing
And I must die silently
I'm waiting for you: with a single look
Revive the hopes of the heart
Or break a heavy dream,
Alas, a well-deserved reproach!
I'm cumming! Scary to read...
With shame, I freeze with fear ...
But your honor is my guarantee,
And I boldly entrust myself to her ...

Nomination "Stylization"

Choose one of the suggested quotes and try to write it in a way that reflects the calligraphic features of the period when this idea was expressed.

For reference, please refer to the samples below.

Statements about language (for the nomination "Stylization")

What you know how to do well, don't forget, and what you don't know how to do, learn it - like my father, sitting at home, knew five languages, that's why the honor from other countries. Laziness is the mother of everything: what one knows, one will forget, and what one does not know, one will not learn.

"Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh"

You can’t make a ship without nails, nor a righteous man without reading books, and just as the captives have their parents on their minds, so the righteous has reading books. For a warrior, beauty is a weapon, and for a ship, sails, and for a righteous person, reading books.

"The word of a certain monk about reading books" (from "Izbornik" 1073)

After all, great is the benefit to people from the teachings of the book; we are instructed and taught by books on the path of repentance, for from the words of the book we gain wisdom and temperance. After all, these are the rivers that water the entire universe, these are the sources of wisdom; there is immeasurable depth in books; we are comforted by them in sorrow ...

"The Tale of Bygone Years", 1038

You cannot catch a quickly lost bird again, you cannot return a word that has flown out of your mouth.

Izbornik "Bee"

Prostrate in the enrichment of the mind and in the decoration of the Russian word.

M. V. Lomonosov

In Russia, verbal sciences will never let the Russian word fall into decay.

M. V. Lomonosov

The beauty, magnificence, strength and richness of the Russian language is quite clear from books written in past centuries, when our ancestors did not know any rules for compositions, but they hardly thought that they exist or can be.

M. V. Lomonosov

The enrichment and purity of the language have never been so necessary for other peoples as they have become necessary for us, despite the real richness and beauty and strength of the Russian language.

E. R. Dashkova

The perception of other people's words, and especially without necessity, is not an enrichment, but a deterioration of the language.

A. P. Sumarokov

Let there be honor and glory to our language, which in its native wealth, almost without any foreign admixture, flows like a proud, majestic river - it makes noise, thunders - and suddenly, if necessary, softens, murmurs in a gentle stream and sweetly flows into the soul, forming all measures that consist only in the fall and rise of the human voice.

N. M. Karamzin

You marvel at the preciousness of our language: every sound is a gift: everything is grainy, large, like pearls themselves, and, really, there is another name for the most precious thing itself.

N.V. Gogol

There is no word that would be so bold, brisk, so burst out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant, like a well-spoken Russian word.

N.V. Gogol

Language is the history of the people. Language is the way of civilization and culture. That is why the study and preservation of the Russian language is not an idle hobby from nothing to do, but an urgent need.

A. I. Kuprin

The Russian language in skillful hands and in experienced lips is beautiful, melodious, expressive, flexible, obedient, dexterous and roomy.

A. I. Kuprin

The greatest wealth of a people is its language! For thousands of years countless treasures of human thought and experience have accumulated and live forever in the word.

M. A. Sholokhov

What is language? First of all, it is not only a way to express your thoughts, but also to create your thoughts. Language has the opposite effect. A person who turns his thoughts, his ideas, his feelings into language… he is also, as it were, permeated by this way of expression.

A. N. Tolstoy

Many Russian words themselves radiate poetry, just as gems radiate a mysterious brilliance ...

K. G. Paustovsky

Language is like the sea. On one side, the waters of the sea are transparent and salty, on the other, they are desalinated by the river flowing into it and full of its turbidity. And all this at the same time, only at different points in space.

Lev Uspensky

History reference

The earliest form of the Cyrillic script was charter. The letters of this font had almost square proportions, clear angles and lines. There were no spaces between words, but the distance between the letters themselves was quite large.

Old Russian Cyrillic script (XI century charter)

An example of an ancient Russian charter of the 11th century. Font of the Ostromir Gospel in artistic processing V.V. Lazursky.

Fragment of the Ostromir Gospel (XI century)

Semi-charter

From the middle of the 14th century, it became widespread semi-charter. It was less beautiful than the charter, but it allowed you to write faster. The letters have acquired a slope, become more rounded. The text began to be divided into words.

A sample of a semi-charter of Russian early printed books. Font from the "Apostle" of 1564 by Ivan Fedorov in artistic processing by V. V. Lazursky. Moscow, 1946

Fragment of the page of the "Apostle" by Ivan Fedorov, 1564

In the 15th century, the semi-ustav was replaced by cursive.

To increase the speed of writing, the letters began to be connected to each other. The letter becomes sweeping, there are many options for writing each letter. And since each scribe developed his own handwriting, such a letter was sometimes very difficult to read!

Shorthand samples.

18th century font

Gracious Empress …………!

Retreating from
common practice is to say compliments in such letters, although you
and well-deserved, I allow myself to follow the dictates of my heart and I hasten to congratulate
Happy birthday to you, wishing you many, many years and a serene
happiness.

I do not dare to think that you doubt my boundless devotion to you and that
the deepest respect with which I have the honor to be

Your obedient servant ………….

*****
____________________________________________________________________________________
The author is not me.
If this is your girlfriend, then you can partially use Love letters great classics. For example, A.S. Pushkin - Bride N.N. Goncharova:

Moscow, March 1830* (city and date to be changed)

Today is the anniversary of the day I first saw you; this day... in my life...

The more I think, the more I become convinced that my existence cannot be separated from yours: I was created to love you and follow you; all my other concerns are one delusion and madness. Far from you, I am relentlessly haunted by regrets about the happiness that I did not have time to enjoy. Sooner or later, however, I will have to drop everything and fall at your feet. The thought of the day when I will be able to have a piece of land in ... only smiles at me and enlivens me in the midst of heavy anguish. There I can wander around your house, meet you, follow you...

8 chose

"A letter is such a noun, without which postal officials would sit behind the staff, and postage stamps would not be sold."
A.P. Chekhov

The art of writing letters is almost forgotten today. No, we do not consider treasury, business correspondence, which is sent in tons from end to end of our country. By the way, mountains of instructions and dozens of reference books have been written about it. Let's talk about that personal correspondence that was forced out Email And mobile connection. And congratulations? They have become virtual postcards with " congratulations"and a fan mailing of SMS with the same text composed by someone else. It's sad if real letters and sincere personal congratulations leave our lives forever.

Letters from the past

In those days, when long-distance letters were delivered on postal troikas, and in the cities they were carried by postmen and postmasters (respected, by the way, people) kept order, and the letters themselves sometimes took months and the same answer to them, the epistolary genre was in high esteem. Writing letters was taught by special manuals - letter writers, the author of the letter worked very carefully on each line, rewriting it cleanly, trying to prevent not only mistakes, but also inaccuracies and omissions, observing all decorum. The content of the letters was extensive, they set out the rules for writing various kinds of letters in separate punctati, such as: "Letters of notice", "Letters giving advice". "Letters of recommendation", "Letters of apology", "Letters containing the search for friendship or affection", "Letters containing simple courtesy", "Letters of thanks", "Letters of love and (which is so relevant) "Letters of congratulations" as well as many other befitting letters.

“In letters, one courtesy of the conclusion, dryness and barrenness of matter, is allowed to be rewarded with a choice of smooth, entertaining, not too extensive greetings. Brevity gives clarity, and therefore pleasantness. Grace should be noticeable everywhere, luring to reading. words and phrases are rough and incoherent ... "

The syllable of the letter should have been not too tall, but not clownish either, but was supposed to resemble an ordinary conversation, set out on paper. It must be taken into account that they were expressed then quite differently than they are now! One can imagine the text of the current communication on the street set out on paper ... . Many exclamations, which are now so common in electronic communication, were not welcomed, but it was required to write simply and freely, without being carried upwards by verbal confusion.

Particular attention was paid to the clarity, cleanliness, decency and literacy of the letters. Maybe those who lived in those days guessed that their letters could eventually become a literary heritage and be available for reading?

Among others were the following rules: what is decent to write to an equal, what is beautiful in a letter from an old man and an important person, and what is ridiculous in a letter from a young person and low family and rank. Letters were written on good paper, without blots, in clear, legible handwriting (one of the subjects in the gymnasium was calligraphy), which attracted attention.

congratulatory messages

A separate topic is congratulations on the holidays. Although in those days there were not as many holidays as today, there were many occasions: Christmas and New Year, Easter, Angel Day, christenings, weddings, birthdays and even promotions. Most of all, the New Year and Christmas greetings, written on wonderful postcards, each of which was a gift in itself, brought the mail the most trouble! Sometimes congratulations were attributed to the text of the letter, and sometimes they were the reason for the beginning of the letter.

Dear Ivan Maksimovich!
Kindly make an order to send me a fee * to the address: the editors of "Russian Thought" for transfer to me.
I congratulate you on the New Year, with new happiness.
sincerely respect you
A. Chekhov. Art. Lopasnya.

"... At the end of my letter, I accept the honor of congratulating you, dear sir, on the New Year, I wish your Excellency all the well-being during it, as well as in all your subsequent lives, I am sure that your well-being is the well-being of honest people, and I sincerely call myself with the deepest respect and obsequious devotion, gracious sovereign, your excellency, the most humble and most humble servant, Ippolit Bogdanovich.

Greeting cards and letters were usually written to relatives or close friends living in the distance. Those who lived nearby, in the same city, were usually congratulated by "making a visit" or sending business card. Before the advent of postcards, they used the last or first letter of the year for congratulations, expressing wishes at the end or beginning of the letter.

"If it is necessary to write a letter solely about the New Year, then its content should include memories of the past year, about health, about events that have happened pleasant to the recipient and various incidents; one should wish to have a good coming year."

"To my dearest sisters, if they have not completely forgotten me, my sincere respect, equally to Mikhail Nikolaevich, and, congratulating you and them on the upcoming New Year, with a sincere desire for all the best, I will remain forever with spiritual respect and devotion, gracious Empress aunt, your submissive nephewF. Tyutchev"

"Dear sir, Alexander Sergeevich, I have the honor to congratulate you on the past New Year and new happiness, and I wish you, my dear benefactor, health and well-being."
Arina Rodionovna - A.S. Pushkin

"... I congratulate your radiant person and your children on the New Year, on new happiness. I wish you to win 200 thousand and become a real state councilor, and above all, to be healthy and have our daily bread in sufficient quantity for such a glutton as you."
A.P. Chekhov - Al. P. Chekhov

How interesting it is to read these messages from the past on preserved postcards from the 19th century! The postcards themselves, the syllable with which congratulations are written, work like a time machine, taking us decades back, and it’s a little pity that they don’t write these now ....

Would you like to bring back the tradition of handwritten letters and greetings? Maybe it's worth starting right now and choosing the most beautiful New Year cards, send them to the closest people?