Children's works occupy an important place among other varieties of fiction, as they largely reflect the characteristics of the culture of a particular nation, its value system. Each culture has its own concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, fair and unjust. In childhood, we absorb the values ​​that remain with us for life. The value of literature for children, therefore, should not be underestimated.
It should be noted a characteristic feature of children's books - a combination of artistry and pedagogical requirements. Such literature should not only entertain, but also teach, guide, orient. Children's writers of the 18th century (and their works, of course) sought to convey important knowledge about the world to children, to instill the right values.
Let’s take two countries - Great Britain and Russia - and on the example of children's works created in these states, we will be convinced that this is indeed so. 18th century literature, writers and their works are brought to your attention.
18th Century Children's Literature
Each of us has our favorite books from childhood: fairy tales "Alice in Wonderland", "Baby and Carlson, who lives on the roof", "Matilda", "Thumbelina", "Gulliver's Travels" and "Robinson Crusoe" (list, of course , each has its own). But suppose that we would not grow in the 21st century in Russia, but in the 18th century in England, what could we read then?
From the above list we would only have left the book "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe (1719) and "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift (1726) in a special version for children, written in a simplified language, with many pictures.
However, does this mean that in the 18th century, English children had nothing to read? Let's figure it out.
The fact is that fairy tales always existed, and there never was a lack of them. Even when there was no written language, they were passed down from generation to generation in the form of folklore. But in the 17-18 centuries, with the development of typography, began to appear more and more professional writers, in particular children. Fairy tales at the time, as now, delighted and frightened children, creating fantastic worlds that adults, absorbed in everyday worries, did not always approve of.
Here are just the main children's writers of the 18th century and their works.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Back to 18th century England. At that time, so to speak, the real "best seller" was Defoe's work. In the book "Robinson Crusoe" praised the courage, perseverance, resourcefulness of a man forced to exist in extreme conditions. Jonathan Swift's tale, in which the author calls for the discovery of new dimensions and horizons, is also very popular.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
The success of Gulliver's Travels even led to other books for children appearing in which the desire to imitate this work was clearly read, with the words “Gulliver” and “midget” in the titles to evoke a well-known association. One of the earliest examples was the Children's Midget Journal, published in 1751, created by John Newbury, a writer from London. Another example is the Lilliputian Library, or the Gulliver Museum, in ten volumes of small format, published in Dublin in the 1780s. This book was released specifically for children, and its price was small so that children could buy it for themselves. The total cost of 10 volumes was only five British shillings, and individual parts could be bought at six pence each. However, even this relatively low price was still too high for many children and their parents. Only representatives of middle- and high-income families could afford to buy such literature and possessed literacy sufficient to read it.
Other books
Cheap books in the genre of popular literature already existed and were available to the poorer sections of the population. They included children's stories, stories, travels, songs, prayer books, stories about robbers, robbers and killers. These volumes were of poor quality and sold for one or two pennies.
In 1712, a translation into the English language of the famous Arabic fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights" appeared.
As you can see, children's literature of that time was actively developing in England. But what was on the territory of Russia? Read more about this.
Russian books for children of the 18th century
Actually, children's writers of the 18th century and their works appear (the first Russian books written especially for children were created on the territory of our state in the 17th century, the 18th century continued this tradition).
The era of Peter I gave impetus to the development of education, in particular, literature for children. The king himself believed that it was very important to take care of the upbringing of the younger generation. At this time, children's books mainly pursue an educational goal. Textbooks, ABCs, and primers are printed.
"Youth honest mirror"
18th century writers (Russians) open a list of children's literature with educational literature. An example is Youth Honest Mirror. In this poem, the rules of conduct at court were introduced, which Peter I introduced with his reforms. This book was compiled by the czar’s close associates by his personal decree. At the head of the writers working on the work, was Gavrila Buzhinsky. In the book, among other things, were placed materials on spelling, alphabet, copybooks. The “Youth of Honest Mirror” was intended for the future elite, the support of the king — for children who were to become courtiers in the future. The book contains the main idea that in achieving success it is more important not the person’s origin, but his personal merits, although the special position of the nobility was emphasized. His vices were pointed out and criticized. For the girls, a special code of twenty virtues was created, among which helpfulness, silence, religiosity, and industriousness should be especially noted. The writers of the 18th century (Russian) revealed the list of female virtues figuratively, using examples, creating vivid female images in their works.
Translated literature
Translated literature, such as Aesop's fables, also spread in the eighteenth century. These fables written in the 6th century BC. e. the sage Aesop, are well accepted by children due to the opportunity to present themselves in the image of heroes - animals, birds, trees, flowers ... Aesop's fables give the opportunity to overcome his vices and develop associative thinking by joking and playing.
After the 50s, actually 18th century children's writers and their works begin to appear. But still, the bulk of children's literature is borrowed from the West (especially from France). It should be noted, of course, the famous French storyteller of the 17th century, Charles Perrault. His fairy tales "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Blue Beard" are known and loved by children around the world. Not only readers, but also poets and writers of the 18th century drew inspiration from these works.
18th century writers
The list opens Feofan Prokopovich. This author has written two books for children - A Brief Russian History, as well as The First Teaching to the Young Men. In the introduction to the second book, he noted that childhood is a very important time in the life of every person, since it is then that the main character traits and habits are formed. Children should read books and love them.
Catherine II
Not only professional poets and writers of the 18th century created children's books. Even the heads of state considered it their duty to teach young people on their own. A real example in this was shown by Catherine II. She created a large number of works, among which were books for children, for example, “The Tale of Tsarevich Chlore” and “The Tale of Tsarevich Thebes”. Of course, they were far from fairy tales in the modern sense of the word, with their vivid characters and heroes. These works merely depicted vices and virtues in general, in an abstract way. However, the example of Catherine II was contagious, and he was later followed by many famous Russian writers of the 18th century, creating works especially for children.
Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov
An important contribution to the development of children's literature was made by Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov. He is the publisher of the first children's magazine, "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind." It published works of various genres: fairy tales, short stories, plays, jokes, etc. Not only fiction was presented in the journal. It included scientific and popular children's articles telling young readers about nature, the world around, various countries, and cities, and the peoples inhabiting them. These articles were written figuratively, interestingly, in the form of a conversation. Novikov in his works preached the ideas of good and humanism, human dignity, which, in his opinion, should be instilled in children from a young age. The magazine was a great success and was very popular at that time. Famous writers of the 18th century were published in this edition.
Nikolai Mikhalovich Karamzin
It is necessary to say a few words about Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. This writer has created and translated over 30 different works for children. Being a representative of sentimentalism (which was followed by many Russian writers of the 18th century), so close to children's nature, he became especially loved among young readers of middle and older age. In 1789, the first works of Karamzin were published in the journal "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind." Nikolai Mikhailovich wrote for children after the closure of this magazine. In the last decade of the 18th century, he created such works as The Beautiful Princess, The Deep Forest and Ilya Muromets. In the last tale, Russian epics were reflected. This work has not been completed. Ilya Muromets, created by the author’s pen, did not at all look like a typical hero from epics, as we usually imagine, but only partially resembled the latter. The fairy tale does not describe battles with the enemies of Russia; it reveals the lyrical part of the soul of Ilya Muromets in communication with his beloved. In the spirit of sentimentalism, Karamzin described in detail the feelings of the heroes, creating vivid pictures.
Conclusion
Thus, the 18th century brought a lot of new things to children's literature both abroad and in our country. Literature for children actively continued its development in the 19th and then in the 20th century. Moreover, in its development, continuity is clearly felt. For example, the tales of Charles Perrault in various versions were later used by Andersen, Pushkin, the brothers Grimm, and Irving. That is, the motives of some tales perfectly took root in others. The works of Russian writers of the 18th century were read both in 19 and later. Children's literature of the 19th century is characterized by an even greater connection with fiction for adults, as well as with education and culture in general.