O. G. Tkachenko. Elegy as a scientific problem: theoretical-historical view.

Abstract

On the basis of the theoretical and historical-literary works of the 17th–20th centuries, the reception of the genre of elegy as a continually formed type of poetic thinking with a stable organization of formal and informative elements that have artistic and compositional consistency, capable of renewal and development, has been adopted.
The author proves that the reception of the genre of elegy in the literary-critical discourse has undergone significant changes in the historical paradigm. Each era creates its genre system, and genres, in turn, contribute to the formation of the literary trend. Determining the fact that in different epochs the category of the genre had not the same importance in the literary consciousness, one cannot but notice that in the process of genre evolution, elegy as a lyrical work acquired two persistent traits: the reflexive, meditative form and the mundane tonality of the content.
The study of the theory of elegy indicates that the scientific research format of literary critics is characterized differently: from the statement of the genre, its poetics, views on the theory in a comparative way, the definition of genre dominant, motivational invariants, the classification of thematic varieties, complex study of the genre system for the determination of the specifics of the genre of elegy in the works of some poets. It defines the evolution of the genre's assessments in literary criticism and allows presenting the genre of elegy as a self-sufficient artistic and lyrical phenomenon.
The study uses the following scheme for classifying literary works: kind – lyrics, type – meditative, genre – elegy, which, according to the author, is the most suitable for the study of elegiac poetry, transparent to find out the individual place of elegy in the system of lyrical genres.
The author proposes a definition of elegy: a meditative lyrical work of a mournful tonality, the poetic plot basis of which is an emotional reaction of the subject to certain events, situations, mental impulses (something heard, mentioned, experienced), or the specific state of mind of the lyrical “I”, which is marked by melancholy, sadness, and even suffering.