We are all familiar with such a genre of folk poetry as ditties. What is their charm? The ditties are easy to remember, rhythmic, and, most importantly, deeply emotional. Interestingly, the chanting of the ditties occurs not only at festivities. Short, four-line verses compose on rather serious topics. Widespread among the people, for example, political ditties.
general characteristics
In its traditional, typical version, the ditty is a short, rhythmic rhyme, usually consisting of four lines, performed in a chant, but at a much faster pace than a usual long song.
As a genre of oral folklore, purely folk lyrics, ditties, the main purpose is to give an assessment to a particular event (moreover, the assessment must be emotional), express the thoughts and feelings of some folk community about the event, and not just tell, give information about those or other life situations.
In the system of Russian folklore, such a genre as a ditty occupies a special position and has a number of features characteristic only for this type of lyrics. One of the main characteristics is that in terms of its genre specificity, it almost instantly reacts to serious social changes, responding to the new things that prepare people for life. Moreover, this response applies not only to decisive political and historical events, but also to personal and everyday situations. The ditties do not bypass such a bright feeling as love. The thematic range of this folklore genre is unimaginably wide, ditties tell us about everything that in one way or another influenced the composer (struck, excited, surprised, etc.).
Language building
Let's walk through the main artistic features that characterize the ditty as a special folklore genre:
- A small volume (most often four lines, a special form is a couplet).
- All four lines have different contents.
- Monologous form.
- Appeals.
- Direct or rhetorical questions (may contain answers).
- Polynomial epithets (very often permanent epithets characteristic of folklore as a whole).
Ditties and other folklore genres
The ditty is quite similar to proverbs and sayings, but, of course, these genres and a number of differences. The main discrepancy is that proverbs and sayings, although they have rhyme and rhythm, are a purely prosaic genre. While the ditty is performed in chant for a fairly wide audience.
Compared to the folk lyric song, the ditty much more strongly expresses the individual author's principles. In addition, the emotional tone is different. In the ditty, he is more cheerful, joyful, activity and vitality predominate, while in the case of folk song, we often encounter minor and sadness. In terms of form, ditty is a rhymed thought, but a song is not.
As a kind of genre
Ditties, especially political ones, are a reflection of any significant event in the life of the country. It is not difficult to understand what critical points or prolonged political events are involved: collectivization, revolution, military clashes, perestroika, and much more.
Political ditties, of course, cannot be called the most popular phenomenon of folklore. However, we still will not be able to go far from them. Politics, most often directly related to each citizen, will be discussed in villages, and in the provinces, and in large, capital cities. People are used to living that way and are unlikely to change anything. For a long time, political ditties will be heard in Russian apartments, on picnics and tourist gatherings, in trains and metro, where street musicians like to perform, professional poetry magazines will also speak about politics in a special way (let’s take for example the rather famous monthly "Children Ra ").
Main topics
Currently, the main theme of the chants are political ditties about Putin and Medvedev, which is natural. However, and this is also clear, it was not always so. At all times of its existence, rhythmic folk poems have been personified. So, this tendency was widespread in the political ditties of the USSR dedicated to Khrushchev, Stalin or Brezhnev. A great many chants were created during the years of Gorbachev perestroika. Even in those distant times, when such a state with a vast territory as the Russian Empire appeared on the map, political ditties continued to live. The sovereign Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Fedorovna and her close Grigory Rasputin became the heroes of folk art. Modern political ditties about V.V. Putin are not all that we have. Such surnames as Tymoshenko, Yeltsin, Yanukovych, Poroshenko are widely rhythmic, let alone Trump, Clinton and Obama.
It is not surprising that the ditties, as a rule, paint a negative portrait of the authorities. However, there are exceptions to each rule. So, during the Soviet Union, political ditties were used by the ruling party itself to propagate socialism and the decisive measures that are applied "on the path to communism."
Examples
Let them surrender, I won’t serve
Nicholas the Fool:
Boots, overcoat - over the shoulders,
Yes, for the fast river river!
***
Stalin, Lenin, Kirov
Yes Kalinin, old dog,
You ruined Russia
You drove everyone to the collective farm.
***
A cow is dragging Stalin
A cow has only a horn.
- Where are you, Comrade Stalin?
- To dispossess people!
***
My tomatoes
Yes, the cucumbers.
Stalin Kirova nailed
In the hallway.
***
Yeltsin, Horabachev, guys,
What have you done?
Our strongest people are you
They let it go around the world.
***
Our Julia was condemned!
Yulia is a beauty!
Salo Yanukovych eats,
Eats and smiles.
***
Sleep, Vladimir Red,
Bai yes bai ...
Looks month quietly clear
In your mausoleum.
***
Vova got up from the table
And he said to everyone: "Basta!"
Now rules in Russia
St. Petersburg caste.
***
Walkers came to Moscow
Worship the deity.
That's a miracle, agree
Vova and Dima have grown together!
***
Danced, salt from the eyes!
And on our farm,
When they say Chubais
They think about Putin.
The ditties are created in order to cheer up, but nevertheless have a clearly revealing color. The main thing is that this conviction should be preserved within the framework of ethics and morality, without going beyond the boundaries of what is permitted.