ФГБОУ
ВПО «Воронежский государственный университет»
РЕФЕРАТ
«The
theme of sibling rivalry
in British folk»
Исполнитель:
ученица
10 класса
МКОУ
«Богучарский лицей»
Еремченко
Александра Владимировна
Руководитель:
Болдырева
Ирина Петровна
Воронеж 2015
The table of contents
1.
Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3
2. The spirit of Rivalry……………………………………………………………….3
2.1 Rivalry from a psychological
point of view. ………………………………...3
2.2 Topicality of the theme of
rivalry……………………………………………4
3. Rivalry in British folklore…………………………………………………………..5
3.1 Historical aspect……………………………………………………………...5
3.2 The analysis of British folk
compositions……………………………………6
3.4 Comparison of interpretations of relationships in British folk and Russian
one…………………………………………………………………………………...17
4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...18
5. The list of used literature………………………………………………………….20
Introduction
A
question of relationships between
people has always discussed a lot of psychologists. This theme is ageless and
disputed by scientists, experts and other people all time human race is living
on the Earths. The topic is especially significant when we start to talk about relations
of siblings. I am quite lucky to have a younger brother thus the question of relations
between kids in family is extremely actual for me. I was very surprised to find
the lines devoted to this theme in British folk. So the research of English
ballads from a psychologist point of view became the topic of my work. The aim
of my exploration is to review and analyze ballads which were composed in The
Middle Ages by English people and connected with the question of relations
between sibling sisters and brothers. I want to know whether this theme was
important in that time or not and how people coped with problems which surely
emerged between siblings. The problems of my researching are:
· To
find out why the compositors of ballads paid so much attention to rivaling,
revenge and death of main characters;
· To
find some examples in Russian folk which would contain any information about
relations between siblings;
· To
compare sibling`s relations in British folk and Russian one;
· To
indicate significant differences in interpretation;
· To
prove that English ballads about sibling rivalry are actual nowadays;
The spirit of Rivalry
Rivalry
from a psychological point of view
Competition
is a special kind of human relationship, which is characterized by the
struggle for anything of value: power, prestige, recognition, love, material
prosperity, etc. Life of modern man in many respects it is built on
competition. Today competitions take place in all areas - in sports, in art,
and in the family, and friends. It is considered that the sense of competition
is useful for development of the individual, but it is quite debatable.
There
are only two kinds of competition, one structural, the other - a motivational.
Significant difference in them:
1)
Structural
rivalry means to fight for what is really vital, without which it is impossible
to live (for example, the struggle for food in the wild).
2)
Motivational
rivalry occurs when the first place there the prestige of superiority (eg, as
in sports - jump above all not necessary for life, but it is important for
public recognition).
In
human life, in most cases, we see it a second type of competition. Another
interesting fact is that whoever won, you must be the only winner.
Relatively
recently, competition in psychology became regarded not as positive as well as
negative. In the minds of people so entrenched idea that stimulates competition
for new challenges and generally affects a good thing to give up this idea for
some it will be difficult.
Due
to the fact that there is competition in the conflict in relationships and in
all other spheres of life, people tuned think only about how to win it.
However, it is often the possibility of loss is not considered as a major
problem. People start to think that they have to be winners, have to be always
right. Due to the fact that this way of thinking is implemented on a "my
gain represents your loss", which means that people compare itself with
other, even in situations in which it is not necessary.
The
strategy itself considers the question of competition pushing interest in the
struggle for possession of first place, with the result that people do not
consider the option of co-operation with others. This makes our society
aggressive and cautious with respect to each other.
Competition
as cooperation is a part of human nature, but not innate and such study is
necessary to have in the course of life. There is an opinion that it is the
spirit of rivalry helped humanity for survival, however, I think, in fact in
the first place is still cooperation: if people are not united in groups and
competed with the other one by one, it would be difficult to survive.
Topicality
of the theme of rivalry
The
theme of interpersonal relationships is always relevant, as long as the person
is alive and human society. Along with the friendly communication between
people and acts in the same competition, struggle. So, I think the theme of the
competition as a form of human relations vital and burning, especially given
the political situation in the world at the moment.
Relevance
of the topic stems not only from an individual component, but is related to the
overall survival of the human species on planet Earth. Passion to be the first
is the nature, as evidenced by natural selection, which is a means of human
evolution on the basis of its competition with other members of their species.
Our
whole life is literally saturated competitive and rivalry. We compete anytime,
anywhere. In sports, at work, in show business and the arts. This process
involves all categories and types of people: men, women, youth and the elderly.
Moreover, adults teach their children to compete in schools and kindergartens,
and compete with no less zeal than adults do. Therefore, we can confidently say
that the competition is not only inevitable, but also encouraged people at any
age and in any field of activity.
Rivalry
in British folklore
Historical
aspect
So
when we found out what role competition plays in the life of modern man, let's
go back to the past. Make it help the work of the British folklore. I decided
to stop at a lyric-epic ballad genre, because it combines the dramatic and
suspenseful plot and some event (often real), an employee works prehistory. So
ballad - poetic piece of music consisting of 6-14 stanzas. For ballad
characterized by the presence of the refrain - one or more duplicate rows,
consistently repeated in each stanza. Refrain usually carries some extra
information, and sometimes the music is just a supplement. Thus, we see - that
ballad - a work that reflects a phenomenon or event, as well as people's
attitude towards it.
To
find the right pieces to me, I took the collection «English and Scottish
popular ballads», which was compiled by Francis J. Child (1825 - 1896). It is
noteworthy that the compiler of the collection had a lot of research, working
on manuscripts and communicating with native English folklore, before
completing his work. So opening the contents of the collection, I first noticed
how much it ballads, containing in its name the words «cruel» and «murdered».
Keeping in mind that the basis of the ballad is often a real case, I hurried to
find out what historical events took place in England during the works of the
people of these ballads. From the Internet, I learned that writing them
accounted for 1650 - 1660, and became seek information on foreign and domestic
policy of England in this period of time.
It
turned out that in the 1655 - 1659 England was at war with France and Spain,
and the war was accompanied by a fierce battle and capture of the island of
Jamaica by the English fleet. Of course, such aggressive actions could not
affect people, which in turn could not express the shock through the
establishment of works. But if we see what was happening in England at this
time, we realize that the people were far more compelling reasons for concern.
Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, spent a lot of church reforms
and tried to get unlimited, absolute power. This has led to numerous
rebellions, and subsequently to the English Revolution, which was the cause of
the Civil War, which won a victory in the parliamentary army under the
leadership of Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658). People hoping for a better life, but
after coming to power, Cromwell established a personal dictatorship.
All
these events influenced the English-speaking population and is reflected in the
work of its people.
The analysis of British folk compositions
Man
is the subject of psychological research relatively recently - only in the XIX
century, and only in this century, scientists have found that all the problems
and fears come from childhood, when the child most of the time is within the
family. It turns out that the family - the basic formative environment of
personality and individuality of each of us, so I think you should first refer
to the ballads, which figured to family and family relations, namely, the
ballads «Cruel sister», «Brother's revenge», «The murdered brother »,« The
cruel mother ». The very names suggest ballads grim story, grief and
disappointment, but the question arises: why all this pain penetrates into the
family, in the center and the unbreakable universal symbol for unity? I think
one of the reasons for this was also a civil war years 1642-1647, during which
the whole country was divided into two hostile camps: the Royalists (supporters
of the king) and Parliamentarians (supporters of the revolution). "And
there went brother against brother" - this is what can be characterized by
the changes taking place within the family, because the family can join the
supporters of different ideologies, and blood ties are not necessarily prevent
them defend their positions, hence the competition - not as a way to
self-development, and real conflict, war.
These
are the sentiments in society, I think, were ground to create ballads
«Brother's revenge» and «The murdered brother».
The Murdered Brother
'How
come that blood on your own coat sleeve!
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'It
is the blood of that skinny greyhound
That
traced the fox for me,
That
traced the fox for me.'
'Too
pale, too pale for that skinny greyhound,
Too
pale, little son, too pale.'
'It
is the blood of that old gray mare
That
plowed the corn for me.
That
plowed the corn for me.'
'Too
red, too red for that old gray mare,
Too
red, little son, too red.'
It
is the blood of your youngest son,
And
the truth I have told to you.
And
the truth I have told to you.'
'Oh
what, oh what, fell ye out about?
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'Twas
over a wand, and a withy-withy wand
That
never could be a tree.
That
never could be a tree.'
'Oh
what will you do when your father comes home?
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'My
foot I will place on an old oakum boat
And
sail me across the sea.
And
sail me across the sea.'
'Oh
what will you do with your newly wed wife?
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'I'll
save her the grief, and I'll save her the pain,'
And
take her for company.
And
take her for company.'
'Oh
what will you do with your sweet little boy?
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'I'll
leave him alone for to wait and to wonder
What's
come of his mammy and me.
What's
come of his mammy and me.'
'When
will you come back to your mother again?
Little
son, pray come tell me.'
'When
the moon and the sun and the stars set together.
And
that will never be.
And
that will never be.'
Lack
of consistency, incoherence, chaos - that's what distinguishes the ballads of
the Civil War, another example of which is the ballad «Brother's Revenge».
Brother's Revenge
Three
fine maids did play at ball,
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
Three
fine maids did play at ball,
Came
three lords and wooed them all,
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay.
The
first young lord was dressed in yellow,
Il-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
The
first young lord was dressed in yellow,
'Come,
fair maid, and be my marrow.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay.
The
second lord was dressed in red,
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
The
second lord was dressed in red,
The
last of the lords was dressed in green,
'Come,
fair maid, and be my queen.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'You
must ask my father dear,'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'You
must ask my father dear,
Mother,
too, who did me bear.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'I
have asked them one and all,'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'I
have asked them one and all,
Save
Sister Anne and Brother John.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
Father
dear did lead her down,
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
Father
dear did lead her down,
Mother,
sister kissed her crown.
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
John
did place her on her steed
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
John
did place her on her steed
Ere
he did the cruel deed.
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Kiss
me, Sister, ere you part.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Kiss
me, Sister, ere you part.'
As
he kissed, he stabbed her heart.
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Would
that I were on yonder stile,'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Would
that I were on yonder stile,
That
I might rest and bleed a while.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Carry
me to yon little green hill,'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'Carry
me to yon little green hill,
That
I might rest and make my will.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your father dear?'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your father dear?'
'The
milk-white steed that carried me here.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your mother own?'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your mother own?'
'She
may have my blood-stained gown.'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your brother John?'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay,
'What
will you give your brother John?'
'A
gallow's pin to hang him on!'
ll-e-o-lay
and a lullay gay.
Brother
John kills the elder sister. Why? Difficult to answer, because the reason for
this, we do not find that a sister is getting married. Apparently, this fact is
the subject of hatred younger brother. In the ballad also have duplicate rows
(«ll-eo-lay and a lullay gay»), placed twice in each stanza. But, unlike the
previous ballads, they do not carry the meaning (only the word «gay» is
actually a word) because it is just a set of sounds that can be sung - a sign
that the product should be set to music. Its melodiousness and musicality are
in stark contrast with the very plot, bloody and repulsive.
Ballad
«The Cruel Mother» is frightening because there is no competition as such, but
only murder, and the murder of the worst - children hands of their own mother.
And this is not the case when you can insert Gogol «I am the one who brought
you into the world thus I'll be the one who will kill you», here the children -
not the fruit of a failed education, as in the story "Taras Bulba"
they - victims of maternal madness. The reason that the author calls-people -
She fell in love with her father's clerk, that is absolutely not a logical
explanation for the act, so we can say that the mother is not only cruel, but
also mad. Is dramatic and the end of the ballad mother meets their dead
children on the road and asked where they think it will get - in heaven or
hell, that finally confirms her madness: ask such people, whom you cause of the
greatest pain, which only could, brazen and stupid, because their answer is
obvious. They are predicting the mother getting into hell, while they
themselves expected go to paradise. Pay attention to the city in which events
occur. This York - a city that has a rich historical and cultural heritage. For
a long time on the background to develop important political events that
influenced the whole course of the history of the kingdom of England. That is,
we see the wrong side, the reverse side of the world-famous city be what it is
observed residents, ordinary people, citizens of the Kingdom of England. And
what they see, they obviously do not like.
The Cruel Mother
There
was a lady dwelt in York:
Fal
the dal the di do,
She
fell in love with her father's clerk,
Down
by the green wood side.
She
laid her hand against a stone,
Fal
the dal the di do,
And
there she made most bitter moan,
Down
by the green wood side.
She
took a knife both long and sharp,
Fal
the dal the di do,
And
stabb'd her babes unto the heart,
Down
by the green wood side.
As
she was walking home one day,
Fal
the dal the di do,
She
met those babes all dress'd in white
Down
by the green wood side.
She
said, "Dear children, can you tell,
Fal
the dal the di do,
Where
shall I go? To heav'n or hell?"
Down
by the green wood side.
"O
yes! dear mother, we can tell,
Fal
the dal the di do,
For
it's we to heav'n and you to hell."
Down
by the green wood side.
Image
sister found a place in the ballad «The Cruel sister».
The
Cruel Sister
There
lived a lady by the north sea shore
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
Twa
daughters were the bairns she bore
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
One
was as bright as is the sun
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
Sae
coal black grew the elder one
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
A
knight came riding to the ladies' door
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
He
travelled far to be their wooer
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
He
courted one, aye with gloves and rings
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
But
he loved the other above all things
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
"Sister,
sister won't you walk with me
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
An'
see the ships sail upon sea?"
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
And
as they stood on that windy shore
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
The
elder sister pushed the younger o'er
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
Sometimes
she sank or sometimes she swam
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
Crying,
"Sister, reach to me your hand"
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
And
there she floated just like a swan
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
The
salt sea carried her body on
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
Two
minstrels walking by the north sea strand
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
They
saw the maiden, aye float to land
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
They
made a harp out of her breast bone
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
The
sound of which would melt a heart of stone
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
They
took three locks of her yellow hair
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
And
wi' them strung that harp so rare
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
The
first string that those minstrels tried
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
Then
terror seized the black-haired bride
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
The
second string played a doleful sound
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
"The
younger sister, oh she is drowned"
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
The
third string, it played beneath their bow
Lay
the bairn tae the bonnie broom
"And
surely now her tears will flow"
Fa
la la la la la la la la la
This,
I think, the most mysterious and charming ballad with a family theme. Let’s
talk about its refrain (duplicate lines): two of them in each stanza, and if
the second is only indicative of musicality, the first will definitely
understand. Its value in two ways: by replacing the word «bairn» on «bent»
(this confusion researchers believe a mistake, typo) and Scottish «tae» change
to the English «to», it will turn «lay the bent to the bonnie broom». «Bent» -
this herb of the field, just weed. The Celtic peoples believed that the
crosshairs of a stem of grass with a twig broom home brings good luck. As
amulets were often made small bundles. That is the first line of the refrain of
the ballad - calls for the establishment of a talisman for good luck, ordinary
matter, given the superstition of the peoples of the Middle Ages. . But Ward
was unable to save the beautiful as the day of the death of her younger sister.
The
theme of the love triangle is as old as the world. Women and men often jealous,
but few of them comes to the worst - to murder a rival or opponent. The heroine
of the ballads, the eldest of the sisters took this step to eliminate too
beautiful younger sister, who loved a man who was to become her husband older.
The presence of the ugly sisters and sisters-beauties also responds to the laws
of the genre, but envy certainly born when one of something is better than
another. The younger sister dies in agony, gasping in a stream of water, not
knowing how to swim. It is up to the last call for help his sister standing on
the shore, because she still loved her and could not believe what she could
with her to do so. Water makes the girl's body to shore, where his notice and
decide to make Pesnyary harp from the bones, and the string - from the hair of
the unfortunate girl. There is clearly implicated witchcraft, because the flesh
could not go bad so quickly. You can not assume that managed to take a few
years, as the authors point on the exact time period: at this time is the
wedding sisters murderers thus fiance, that is was only a few days after the
crime. On motivated witch ballads also indicates the second value refrain
ballads: broom - witch weapons, which put the weed to create potions, most
likely a love. Otherwise, how could distract the ugly sister knight from
thinking about the beauty and marry it to yourself? It certainly was a witch.
It turned out that the harpers were with the song it to the wedding of the
eldest sister. And harp suddenly came to life and began singing voice younger
sister about what it did happen and that the black-haired bride-killer now
receive their just deserts.
So,
in the ballads appear in front of us, all family members: father, mother,
brother and sister. Sister, brother and mother certainly become murderers, and
only the father retains the clarity of mind. The only thing that can put him in
the guilt - it is his absence, not about a family where crimes («Oh what will
you do when your father comes home? Little son, pray come tell me»).
Brother is afraid that her father finds out the truth, and seeks to escape as
quickly as possible to where the father would not have found it. Thus, we have
a patriarchal family get lost and go astray, and walk on the bloody road, where
his father - a measure of conscience and punishment at the same time. If you
think about this model resembles the country itself, England, in those days,
when there was a civil war: the population rebels, people fight with his former
friends, and their leader, king, fled to Switzerland to escape the oppression
of parliament, and is unlikely to return back to be able to defend their
country and to bring it in order.
Comparison
of interpretations of relationships in British folk and Russian one
Despite
the obvious connection ballads with historical events and the fact that these
events at each country, still want to make a comparative analysis works with
similar themes, but belong to the people of different countries. If we talk
about Russian fairy tales about family, then immediately come to mind such
items as "Geese and Swans", "Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka,"
and so on. One of the main differences from Russian folklore of the British is
that the heroes of the last nameless, we only know what we have in front of
family members, while the heroes of Russian folk art always have names.
Favorite names for the characters - Alionushka and Ivan appearing in fairy
tales, which I would consider.
According
to the history of wars, posted on the website "Military History of
Russia", it is known that during the period from IX to the beginning of
the XXI century, our country has taken part in more than 70 wars and various
other local armed conflicts. This means that, as for the British works, some
impact bloodshed is still there, that is, works are on an equal footing. For me
it is important to find in fairy tales and ballads describe the relationship
siblings and compare their English counterparts.
Ivan
always gets into stories, and Alenka was forced out of his disembarrass.
Consider the example of their relationship tale "Geese and Swans."
Ivan, trusted by parents elder sister, runs away from home, and carry him into
the forest geese. I must say that this primarily to blame Alenushka, because if
she did not play with my friends, nothing would have happened. Realizing his
guilt and anxious for his brother, Alenushka goes to save him, that performs
successfully after going through several tests, which, in fact, we are not
interested, because they did not show the relationship of brother and sister.
So they both willful and disobedient: Alionushka is watching, and Ivan escapes.
But the main thing is that his sister is still going to save his brother and
sister in this brotherly love and gratitude. Unity - that's what distinguishes
the heroes of Russian fairy tales. Another type of Russian fairy tales - the
one whose protagonists are three brothers, two of which often compete, and the
third (Ivan the Fool) is not greedy and often not too smart, but it is always a
winner, but the idea of killing yet in such tales does not sound. Examples of
tales about three brothers, "Vasilisa the Wise", "Emelya",
"Humpbacked Horse" and so on.
So,
we see that in the British ballad main type of family relations is a rivalry,
while, as in the Russian folk tale - love and care.You can also say that the
cause in the genre: the ballad - for adults, fairy tale - for children, so it
is not a place of death. Yes, but the Russian people, too, could elect the form
of a ballad to his arguments, but he did not, that is not what makes the
difference in the relationship. Another reason may be the different time of
writing Russian fairy tales and Scottish ballads, but that folklore is
undergoing constant change. This is the distinctive feature of folk art: it can
change even I, if come up with something worthwhile, and my contemporaries like
it so that together we can convey my version of the new generations of Russian
people.
Answer
the question of why the rivalry in British folklore is more common than in the
Russian challenge. I think it depends on the national experience, traditions
and customs, as well as the national identity of literature and art.
Conclusion
So,
in the course of the study I found out that the cause of death heroes of
ballads is a historical factor, namely, the civil war in England during the
writing of the people ballads «The Cruel Sister», «The Cruel Mother»,
«Brother's Revenge» and «The Murdered Brother ». I, as the bearer of the
Russian language, it was easy to find works of Russian folklore with similar
themes to compare them with ballads. Since writing the conditions were the
same, I concluded that the differences in the relationship of heroes influence
national identity of each of the peoples in question.
Having
considered the rivalry from a psychological point of view and the findings of
scientists that it is eternal and inevitable, and examples of this kind of
relationship we find in all ages and in all walks of life, we can conclude that
the competition - not just a character trait and trait life. Over the years,
human nature remains unchanged despite the changing world around us, the
emergence of new technological inventions and development of new ideologies.
Subject rivalry relevant and will always relevant. "It is impossible to
find someone who would truly inferior: this is contrary to human nature" -
Alfred Adler.
The
list of used literature
1)
«The
English and Scottish popular ballads» Фрэнсис
Джэймс
Чайлд
2)
Сайт «Военная История России» http://histrf.ru/ru/rvio/activities/projects/item-1141
3)
Сайт «Википедия» https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki
4)
Сайт «Народный собор» http://www.narodsobor.ru/events/history/14854-skolko-raz-voevala-rossiya#.VTaiVqb_l8t
5)
Сайт «Стихи.ру»: «Исследование сказки
«Гуси-лебеди»» http://www.stihi.ru/2012/08/01/7398
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