In Russian literature of the 20th century, Konstantin Paustovsky turned out to be a writer with a complex and multifaceted perception of the world around him. The author sought inspiration in folk experience, and used the imagery and magic of native speech to convey beauty.
Nature in the works of Paustovsky – in the material of attiremag .
The role of the theme of nature in Paustovsky’s work
The creative life of Konstantin Paustovsky began with the desire to see and travel everything. As it turned out, the writer turned out to be a grateful listener and an artist of words. The author’s talent helped the reader to be transported to the most beautiful corners of the country. The plot of the works could be any manifestation of the life of flora and fauna. The prose writer’s efforts were aimed at finding the unusual in the everyday.
In the essay “Language and Nature,” the author showed how important it is to feel what you are writing about. Only then are bright and vivid images created for the reader. The master of words was attentive to details and adhered to the strict accuracy of the ongoing changes in living nature.
Konstantin Paustovsky used every cell of his soul when working on his works. When describing native nature, all five senses were involved, creating artistic details of a living and unique image. Even simple rain through the eyes of the author could turn out to be spore, mushroom, shower, blind, silver, etc. At the same time, the drops speckled, whispered and rang.
In his formulations, the author relied on experience. Konstantin Georgievich was convinced that one cannot write books if one does not have an idea of how grass grows in a swamp, how birch and aspen leaves differ, and what winds bring rain and drought. The prose writer believed that his colleagues’ hands should not only be calloused from the pen, but also cracked from the river water.
By the way, the author strictly adhered to this principle. A feature of Paustovsky’s work was the geographical approach. Konstantin Georgievich saw the Kola Peninsula, was in the Caucasus, Volga, Central Asia, Siberia, Crimea and many other places in the country. Echoes of these trips could be seen in the author’s work. But the most sung was the middle zone of Russia in the story “Meshcherskaya Side”.
The natural environment in Paustovsky’s work turned out to be inextricably linked with the formation of a harmonious person. Happiness in the eyes of the writer was seen through the prism of such values as love of nature and unity with the world. In his works, the author also touched on moral issues and shared folk wisdom. The writer was sure that literature can awaken the good sides of a person’s soul.
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The image of nature in the works of Paustovsky
The theme of nature in Paustovsky’s work began with “Crimean” stories. In the 20s, there was a noticeable attraction to exotic landscapes with expression and a riot of colors.
Subsequently, the description of nature in Paustovsky’s work was subordinated to a specific goal through color epithets. For example, the shade of the sea surface in the works could be from light green to dark blue with a transition to the color of peridot and malachite.
Since the 30s, ideas have appeared that made contemporaries think about protecting their native land. The writer turned out to be a pioneer who developed the idea of perceiving Russian nature as an invaluable gift that requires careful handling.
Subsequently, Paustovsky created landscapes that became the hero of the story. Details of the surrounding world also revealed feelings, formed the image of the character, and showed the time and place of action where the plot unfolded. In his work, the author used a description that predicted the further development of events in the work (“Coffee Harbor”).
And in the story “The Lost Day” the landscape was enriched with visual impressions and aromas. The author’s raindrops smelled of the bitterness of thyme, and the horizon expanded in the darkness of the night and captured the mountains and steppes. It became clear that the image of nature is not the background of the action, but an independent, humanized character of the plot with a psychological state, feelings and thoughts.
As a result, the reader saw a dynamic picture with the extraordinary richness of nature, and the artistic features of Paustovsky’s prose were lyricism, melody of phrases, lightness and philosophical depth of the narrative.
Choice of expressive means
The author began his journey with imitative poems. Then the first essays appeared, the novel “Romance”. However, the most popular genres in creative biography turned out to be novels and short stories.
In prose, Paustovsky used understandable language that conveys the beauty of the phenomena and colors of Russian nature. In the description, the author depicted shades, halftones, aromas, sounds. So, for example, strawberries could smell like heated stumps, water could grumble, and the sea could mutter in its sleep.
Konstantin Paustovsky turned out to be a master of words, who inserted various speech techniques into his works to describe the natural world. The author also used means of expression, among which epithets, comparisons, and vivid imagery turned out to be popular.
These expressive means were most noticeably visible in the popular collection “Meshcherskaya Side”. Among the quotes, a phrase from the work is often remembered: “ It smells like rain – a gentle and at the same time pungent smell of moisture, damp garden paths .”
The forests in the stories reminded the author of cathedrals, the water in the river could shine like black glass, and the mountains looked like a block of ancient silver. These literary techniques made it possible to discern prose poetry in Paustovsky’s work.
Konstantin Paustovsky adhered to objectivity in the narration. The author did not express his own opinion and only gave a description of the phenomena.
Words that reveal color perception are worthy of special attention. When analyzing the image of nature in Paustovsky’s work, we also noticed a tendency towards halftones: “ gray sky ”, “ brown-black earth ”.
The romantic direction of the story was supported by precise, succinct descriptions. Color epithets sometimes became expressive, and orange winds and snowy music appeared on the pages of books.
By the way, the author turned out to be original in semantic characteristics: “ in the blue cool fogs ”, “ in the crimson ominous haze ”, “ black clouds ”. Another favorite technique of the writer turned out to be metaphors: “ ocean of lights ”, “ wing of a storm ”.
In Paustovsky’s works, a unique landscape painting appears, which was created by the melody of words and with the help of syntax, for example, homogeneous members. The descriptions turned out to be so reliable that sometimes the reader forgot that he was looking at a verbal and not a pictorial picture.
Passionate love for his native land forced the author to find the exact words that helped him see the surrounding beauty with a fresh look. The attitude towards nature in Paustovsky’s work is shown with amazing accuracy of every smell and shade. Thanks to such expressive means of speech, Konstantin Georgievich turned out to be one of the greatest writers of Russian literature with a unique style.