A short dialogue from fiction. Dialogue in the work of V. F. Odoevsky “Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus. Extra adverbs and other clarifications
Continuous dialogue should not be too long, otherwise it slows down the dynamics of the work. The conversation of the characters implies a real passage of time, while in general the plot develops much faster. If a lengthy dialogue is still necessary, then it should be diluted - for example, with a description of the hero’s actions, emotions, etc.
Do not litter the dialogue with phrases that do not provide useful information.
The girls said goodbye:
- Goodbye!
- Best wishes!
- I was very glad to see you!
- Come to visit us!
- We'll definitely come. We really enjoyed your stay last time.
- Well, really, it’s not worth it. Well, goodbye!
One could limit ourselves to one phrase: “The girls said goodbye.”
A similar problem is repetitions of the same thought:
Is that really what she said: go away?
- Yes exactly.
- I can not believe.
- I swear! I gave you everything word for word. So she said: go away.
- I don't believe. You must have mixed something up.
Of course, there may be exceptions to this rule, but you should still remember that empty dialogue is boring, and the reader misses boring things.
Unnaturalness
Dialogue should sound natural. You should not use complex five-line sentences or expressions in conversation that are not used in real speech.
You need to regularly water the sprouts, because otherwise they will have nowhere to get the moisture that is so necessary for their nutrition and full development.
This is not the way to say it. It's better to rephrase the sentence:
Don't forget to water the sprouts, otherwise they will dry out.
Exception to this rule: the hero deliberately tries to speak like a book, and it is clear that this is not a stylistic mistake, but the author’s idea.
Obsolete expressions
Thousand devils! - exclaimed the office manager, turning off the computer. - Oh, I'll be damned if I don't take revenge on these scoundrels!
To check if dialogue sounds natural, read it out loud. Extra words will hurt your ear.
Inconsistency of dialogue with the situation or character of the characters
In novels by newcomers, there are often scenes in which villains, in the heat of battle, talk with heroes about Good and Evil - in long sentences with adverbial phrases.
If you think this is normal, try beating a pillow for five minutes while retelling the story about Kolobok.
Did you get something coherent? Taking off my hat.
A runner immediately after a marathon cannot give lengthy interviews, a fireman in a burning building will not ask: “Please, Vasily Ivanovich, give me a fire hose!”
Overkill with attribution
Ivan looked into Masha’s face.
“What a fine fellow you are,” he said.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have succeeded,” she responded.
“Come on, it’s not worth it,” said Ivan.
We remove “he said”, “she responded”, “Ivan said” - and the meaning is not lost. The reader is absolutely clear who said what.
Extra adverbs and other clarifications
This is unfair! - the girl sobbed tearfully.
IN in this case an adverb duplicates the meaning of a verb. The word “sobbed” is quite enough.
Stamps look even worse.
Now I'll deal with you! - grinned sinisterly Emperor.
- I beg you, let me go! - screamed heartbreakingly girl wringing her hands.
Same type attribution
“Don’t forget to buy some sushi,” said the grandmother, counting out the money to her.
- And I’ll have some chocolates! - Dad said from behind the door.
You should not repeat the same attributive verbs over and over again, otherwise the reader’s attention will be fixed on these words. If it is difficult for you to choose an attributive verb, insert a phrase that will describe the hero’s action, and then his replica.
“I went to the store,” said Masha.
Grandmother counted out the money to her.
- Don't forget to buy dryers.
- And I’ll have some chocolates! - Dad’s voice was heard from behind the door.
Speaking verbs and shortcuts
If possible, try not to supply the characters’ lines with overly telling attributive verbs. Emotions should be conveyed by the essence of the scene, and not by pasted labels.
An example of such “steroid-pumped” attributive verbs is given by Stephen King in the manual “How to Write Books”:
Drop the gun, Utterson! - Jekyll rasped.
Kiss me, kiss me! - Shayna gasped.
You are teasing me! - Bill pulled back.
You should also not constantly remind the reader: this character is a scoundrel, but this one is a handsome prince. When scoundrels “grin gloatingly” and princes “raise their eyebrows contemptuously” - this is a sure sign that the author wrote “arrogantly ignoring common sense.” The hero must be characterized by his words and actions.
Long dialogue of short sentences
Where are you going?
- To the village.
- And what's in there?
- Nothing.
- What for?
- Tired of it.
- Why?
- You will not understand.
Such dialogue turns off imaginative thinking. The reader begins to see not a mental picture, but letters. If a monosyllabic exchange of words is absolutely necessary for the plot, then it must be diluted with descriptions.
Accent and speech distortion
You need to be very careful with the transfer of accent and speech distortions. If the reader may even for a moment have difficulty reading phrases like “evolution is funny,” then it is better to simply mention that the hero is burring.
Using a name in dialogue
Hello, Masha!
- Hello, Petya! I'm so glad to see you!
What is wrong? During a conversation, we rarely call people by name, especially if no one is nearby. Therefore, this dialogue sounds false.
Retelling other people's words
I met Masha. She said: “Petya, why don’t you come to visit me?” “Because I don’t have time,” I answered.
Try to avoid direct speech in direct speech or convey other people's words as they sound in everyday conversation.
Today I met Masha. She asked where I had gone, and I lied that I didn’t have time.
Retelling what the characters already know
You know, a couple of years ago, orcs attacked our northern borders and burned five cities. And then King Sigismund the Fifteenth allocated three hundred thousand warriors on battle dragons...
- Yes, this battle was included in the chronicles for a reason. Remember how they captured the Magic Stone of Omniscience?
- Of course I remember.
Incorrect use of foreign expressions
Foreigners in novels by newcomers often speak their native language with wild errors. If you are not sure how to spell a phrase, consult a professional translator or native speaker.
Too much slang and obscenities
If your hero “talks” exclusively about the hair dryer, the reader may not “catch up” with him.
Swearing in literature is permissible only in small doses and only appropriately. Exceptions are “avant-garde” novels published in a circulation of 500 copies.
We remember that no one will judge us for the absence of profanity, but it is quite possible to confuse readers due to the abundance of obscenities.
What properties should a well-written dialogue have?
1. It must be absolutely necessary, that is, without it it is impossible to develop the plot or reveal the personality of a particular character. An example is the conversation between Chichikov and Nozdryov (N. Gogol. “Dead Souls”).
2. Each of the heroes must speak their own language. He needs to be given his favorite words, think in advance about how he will construct phrases, what his vocabulary is, what his level of literacy is, etc. This technique will allow you not only to convey the information necessary for the plot, but also to create a reliable image.
Nymph, put her in a swing, does she really give the goods? - the undertaker said vaguely. - How can she satisfy the buyer? The coffin - it takes a lot of wood...
- What? - asked Ippolit Matveevich.Yes, here is “Nymph”... Three families of them live from one merchant. Already their material is not the same, and the finish is worse, and the brush is liquid, put it in a swing. And I am an old company. Founded in one thousand nine hundred and seven. My coffin is a cucumber, selected, amateur...
I. Ilf and E. Petrov. "The twelve Chairs"
It should be remembered that the heroes cannot behave the same way with everyone and speak in the same manner with both the queen and the longshoreman.
3. Characters should not talk in a vacuum. Create a living world around them - with smells, sounds, furnishings, weather, lighting, etc.
Evening at the end of June. The samovar has not yet been removed from the table on the terrace. The housewife peels berries for jam. My husband's friend, who came to visit the dacha for a few days, smokes and looks at her sleek, naked to the elbows round hands. (A connoisseur and collector of ancient Russian icons, an elegant and dry-built man with a small trimmed mustache, with a lively look, dressed as if for tennis.) He looks and says:
Kuma, can I kiss your hand? I can't watch calmly.
Hands are soaked in juice, he offers his shiny elbow.
Lightly touching his lips, he says hesitantly:
- Kuma...
- What, godfather?
- You know what the story is: one man’s heart left his hands, and he said to his mind: goodbye!
- How did this heart leave your hands?
- This is from Saadi, godfather. There was such a Persian poet.I. Bunin. "Kuma"
4. Let the heroes not only speak, but also gesticulate, move, grimace, etc.
Oh no no no! - exclaimed the artist, - did they really think that these were real pieces of paper? I don't think they did it consciously.
The barman looked around somehow wryly and sadly, but said nothing.
- Are they scammers? - the magician asked the guest anxiously, - are there really scammers among Muscovites?
In response, the barman smiled so bitterly that all doubts disappeared: yes, there are scammers among Muscovites.M. Bulgakov. "Master and Margarita"
5. Make sure that the characters’ speech corresponds to the place, time, mood and individual characteristics of the characters. If a person wakes up with a hangover, he is unlikely to be able to joke with girls; If a sledgehammer fell on a lumberjack prisoner’s leg, he would not exclaim: “Oh, how painful!”
6. The length of sentences in dialogues should be correlated with the speed of development of events. In crisis situations, a person speaks briefly; at home by the fireplace he can afford flowery phrases and poetic comparisons.
Perhaps the author's intention is most clearly expressed in dialogue. The role of dialogue in the Russian novel of the 19th century has not been sufficiently studied; the forms and means of identifying the author’s point of view in the dialogue attract almost no attention from researchers. The most interesting theoretical issues were considered in the works of V.V. Vinogradov - “On fictional prose” (1930), “On the language of fiction” (1959), “Stylistics.
Dialogue in Pushkin's prose was examined at one time by V. V. Vinogradov. IN last years The dialogues of “Belkin’s Tales” were carried out by V.V. Odintsov 2. There is no special study of the dialogue in the novel “The Captain’s Daughter”. That is why it is necessary to dwell on this topic - however, mainly in terms of identifying the author’s position in the dialogue.
Dialogue is an organic part of the narrative, it is connected with it and at the same time occupies a special place in it. This place was not always the same - dialogue as an element of artistic prose developed historically. Development proceeded along the lines of its complication, increasing its role in the development and disclosure of the ideological content and conflicts of the work of art as a whole.
Dialogue in a prose work has many functions, which were also formed historically. It can serve purely informative purposes - to find out the past of the hero, the background of the events being narrated, to characterize characters etc. Dialogue can contribute to the development of the plot, create and reveal secrets and complexities of the characters’ relationships. Dialogue, arising directly from the narrative, in initial stage took the simplest forms: exchange of remarks, questions and answers, auto-characteristics, a story about events, interrupted by replicas-questions of another participant in the dialogue, etc.
The artistic improvement of prose was most clearly manifested in the complication and improvement of dialogue. Highest level he achieved in realistic prose. Thus, Pushkin becomes the beginning of a new stage in the development of dialogue. The realistic character of a person is a complex individuality, a person with his own self-awareness. Her relationships with other persons are not neutral. Plot twists and turns often put her in conflicting relationships with other people. A new type of it is formed - a dialogue-argument, a clash of ideas. It was in such a dialogue that the character was fully revealed, the beliefs, goals, and aspirations of the characters were revealed. The dialogue began to express the main ideological meaning of the work.
Complicating the structure of the dialogue and enriching it with new functions did not lead to the abandonment of the previous, albeit primitive forms - they continued to be used and fulfill their role in the work (information content, a means of characterization, etc.). This established a kind of hierarchy of dialogues. The central, leading place began to be occupied by a dialogue-dispute, a dialogue in which two truths and two beliefs collided. It was in these dialogues that the author’s position manifested itself. The dialogue of Pushkin’s prose reached its full development – the complication of its structure and the form of revealing the author’s intention – in “The Queen of Spades” and “The Captain’s Daughter”.
At the same time, it must be taken into account that the dialogue, like the very content of the work - its plot, its ideological concept, its characters, are ultimately determined by reality itself, its contradictions, its conflicts, which it is realism that artistically explores and embodies the entire internally connected system of aesthetic means. In the novel “The Captain's Daughter” this manifests itself especially clearly.
M. Bakhtin saw, researched and described it from Dostoevsky. But for the first time it was created by Pushkin in “The Queen of Spades”. Full of expression, Hermann’s dialogue with the Countess, which turned into a monologue (the Countess responds to all Hermann’s frantic questions and requests with silence), is an action, a crazy, almost delusional act, which for the first time shows Hermann to us as he really is. It is known how highly Dostoevsky appreciated and how deeply he understood this story by Pushkin.
What was revealed in “The Queen of Spades” was developed in “The Captain’s Daughter” and was most fully revealed in the dialogues between Grinev and Pugachev. Grinev’s refusal to recognize Pugachev as sovereign surprised the rebel. A situation was being created that required action: “Pugachev looked at me quickly. “So you don’t believe,” he said, “that I was Tsar Peter Fedorovich? Well, good. Isn't there good luck for the daring? Didn’t Grishka Otrepiev reign in the old days? Think what you want about me, but don’t lag behind me. What do you care about other things? He who is not a priest is a father.”
The complexity of Pugachev’s mental state, his ability to quickly assess the current situation and immediately make a decision are superbly and Pushkin-like, accurately and succinctly conveyed by the colloquial expression - “Well, good.” He boldly refuses to play the sovereign and takes the conversation to a different, serious level - historical. A new Pugachev was opening up - justifying his actions with the philosophy of history, the philosophy of Russian imposture. He only names Grishka Otrepyev, but this is a sign of a huge phenomenon. There were many impostors in Rus'. After all, the game of Pyotr Fedorovich was determined by the political history of Russia. He was killed, and the widow of the murdered man unlawfully sat on the throne, while according to the law, the heir, the son of Peter III, Paul, should have reigned. In fact, Catherine II was an impostor. This could not be said, but in Pugachev’s philosophy of history and in his desire to “replace” Pyotr Fedorovich, this political phenomenon is present. Grinev’s oath to Catherine II in the light of this philosophy is a fiction!
Pugachev’s philosophy of history also includes a high assessment of man (“Is there no luck for the daring?”). He himself appears to us as such a “daring” person. A daredevil, in his understanding, is a free person, alien to slavish obedience, a rebel who despises humility and fear of death, who knows how. boldly go towards your goal.
Dialogue in prose fiction
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For linguists, dialogue in fiction is valuable primarily as excellent material for research. Linguists study the essence of artistic dialogue, the principles and patterns of its organization, the structure of replicas, their semantic connection in dialogic unity and the entire text.
Based on these studies, four distinctive features of artistic dialogue are identified:
1) artistic dialogue must have a certain length, which is not at all necessary for dialogue in life;
2) it is thought out in advance by its creator, which is not the case in spontaneous natural speech;
3) artistic dialogue develops action, all its elements are closely connected and interconnected, which is not necessary for dialogue in life;
4) dialogue in a literary text is subject to the rules of time, rhythm and tempo, outside of which a literary text does not exist.
In dramatic works there is a classification of dialogues:
1) by genre (comedy, tragedy, drama);
2) by role in the plot development of a work of art (service, informational, explanatory).
R. Zimmer identified three types of dramatic dialogue:
1) disputable;
2) expressive;
3) situational.
In the discursive type of dialogue, “the message function dominates in communication, non-verbal means (facial expressions, gestures) are used insignificantly, there is no individualization of the characters’ speech, a refined style predominates, the whole drama appears as a mouthpiece of the author’s ideas.”
In an expressive type of dialogue, speech is emotionally charged, the nature of the characters’ actions is individual, the role of extra-speech context increases, and a larger number of author’s remarks appear, compared to the previous type of dialogue, that influence the meaning of the characters’ words and remarks.
The situational type of dialogue is characterized by the predominance of spoken language, individually colored speech, which acts as “one of the components of the characters’ existence.” In the description of relatively unrelated situational pictures, the social relationships of the characters play a major role.
Please contact
attention to detail. Now I want to talk about those details that are especially
should, it seems to me, be valued in themselves. These are details, little things,
testifying to simple human feelings, about humanity. They can
to be without people - in the landscape, in the life of animals, but most often in relationships between
people.
Old Russian icons are very “canonical”. This
traditional art. And the more valuable in them is everything that deviates from canonicity,
which gives vent to the artist’s human attitude towards what he depicts. In one icon
"The Nativity", where the action takes place in an animal cave, depicts
a small sheep that licks the neck of another larger sheep. Maybe this
daughter caresses her mother? This detail is not at all provided for by strict
iconographic norms of the “Nativity” composition, so it seems especially
touching. Among the very “official” - suddenly such a cute detail...
In the 17th century murals of the Moscow church in
Nikitniki suddenly shows a young birch tree among the stencil landscape, yes
so “Russian”, touching that you immediately believe that the artist knew how to appreciate
Russian nature. Autobiographical works of the Rila monks have been preserved
monastery in Bulgaria. One such 19th-century autobiography tells the life
a monk who collected donations for the monastery. And he's been in some very bad times.
provisions: sometimes the doors of houses were closed in front of him, he was not allowed to spend the night,
often he had nothing to eat (of the money donated to the monastery, he gave himself nothing
didn’t take it), etc. And so he exclaims in one place in his notes: “Oh, the monastery
My monastery, how warm and satisfying it is!” This monk's story ends
a stencil curse to anyone who spoils the book, distorts the text, etc. But
further he writes: “If I write this, then do not think badly of me, that I am evil and
bad!" Isn't it touching? Please note that these “curses”
to the sloppy reader and inattentive copyist were an ordinary stencil, so
Many manuscripts were coming to an end.
It was common to think that in Ancient Rus'
allegedly poorly understood the beauty of nature. This opinion was based on the fact that
ancient Russian works are rare detailed descriptions nature, no landscapes,
which ones are in new literature. But here is what Metropolitan Daniel writes in the 16th century:
“And if you want to cool off (that is, take a break from work. - D.L.) - go to
the threshold of your temple (your house - D.L.), and see the sky, the sun, the moon,
stars, clouds, ohvi highest, ohvi lowest, and cool off in them.”
I do not give examples from works
well-known, recognized as highly artistic. How many of these touching
human episodes in War and Peace, especially in everything connected with
the Rostov family, or in Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter” and in any artistic
work. Isn’t it for them that we love Dickens, Turgenev’s “Notes of a Hunter”,
the wonderful “Grass and Ant” by Fyodor Abramov or “The Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov.
Humanity has always been one of the most important phenomena of literature - great and
small. It is worth looking for these manifestations of simple human feelings and concerns. They
precious. And they are especially precious when you find them in correspondence, in
memories, in documents. There are, for example, a number of documents testifying
about how ordinary peasants avoided participating in
construction of a prison in Pustozersk, where Avvakum was to be a prisoner. And this
absolutely everything, unanimously! Their evasions are almost childish, they show
simple and kind people.
What work is the dialogue from? Who are its participants?
1. - No, that’s enough, I’m not afraid of you! –
I despise your threats
I curse your murder...
Die too!
I will die loving...
2. - Who are you?.. Alone, sometimes at night, -
Why are you here?.. - I was coming to you,
Save me; in my destiny
I have only one hope left...
I enjoyed happiness for a long time,
She was more carefree day by day...
And the shadow of bliss passed;
I'm dying. Listen to me.
3. - Tell me, my friend: you don’t regret
About quitting forever?
Why did I give up?
Do you mean:
People of the fatherland, the city.
What to regret? If only you knew
When would you imagine
The captivity of stuffy cities!
there are people in heaps behind the fence,
They don’t breathe the morning cool,
Not the spring smell of meadows;
They are ashamed of love, thoughts are driven away,
They trade according to their will,
They bow their heads before idols
And they ask for money and chains.
4. “If only I were a queen,”
One girl says,
Then for the whole Epiphany world
I would prepare a feast."
“If only I were a queen,”
Her sister says,
Then there would be one for the whole
I wove fabrics.”
“If only I were a queen,”
The third sister said,
I would for the father-king
She gave birth to a hero."
5. - Oh, nanny, nanny, I’m sad,
I'm sick, my dear:
I'm ready to cry, I'm ready to cry!..
My child, you are unwell;
Lord have mercy and save!
What do you want, ask...
Let me sprinkle you with holy water,
You're burning all over... - I'm not sick:
I... you know, nanny... is in love.
6. - So you're married! I didn’t know before!
How long ago? - About two years. –
On whom?
7. “I’m married, I’ve been married for four years now, and I don’t know who my wife is, and where she is, and whether I should ever meet her!”
What are you saying? How strange! Continue; I'll tell you later... but go ahead, do me a favor.
8. - Where are you from?
From Priluchin; I am the daughter of Vasily the blacksmith, I’m going mushroom hunting. And you, master? Tugilovsky, or what?
That's right, I'm the young master's valet.
9. -Who am I, in your opinion?
God knows you; but whoever you are, you are telling a dangerous joke.
Isn’t there good luck for the daring?.. Serve me faithfully and truthfully, and I will make you a field marshal and a prince. How do you think?
No. I am a court nobleman; I swore allegiance to the Empress: I cannot serve you.
10. -You're not from here, are you?
Exactly so, sir: I just arrived from the provinces yesterday.
Did you come with your family?
No way, sir. I came alone.
One! But you are still so young.
I have neither father nor mother.
You are here, of course, on some business?..
-...I came to ask for mercy, not justice.
11. - You are free…
No. It's too late - I'm married.
What are you saying! No, you are not his wife, you were forced, you could never agree...
I agreed, I swore an oath... I didn’t cheat. I waited for you until the last minute... But now, I tell you, it’s too late.
12. - Let me go visit today.
Please; And where to?
To Tugilovo, to the Berestovs. The cook's wife is their birthday girl, and yesterday they came to invite us to dinner.
Here! The masters are quarreling, and the servants are treating each other.
13. - For a long time or recently, I don’t know,
But wait, I just know the price
Instant life, only from then on
And I understood what the word happiness means.
Go away - you are a dangerous man!
Dangerous! how?
I'm afraid to listen to you.
I'll shut up; just don't drive away
the one to whom your appearance is one joy.
I don't have arrogant hopes
I don't demand anything but to see
I owe you when I'm already on life
I'm condemned.
Come on - this is not the place
Such speeches, such madness...
