Я всё-таки взялся за эти курсы и сегодня как раз тот день, когда мы сдаём первое эссе. Первая неделя - сказки братьев Гримм. Честно - я никогда не делал ничего подобного. Моя художественная литература со всеми прилагающимися к ней сочинениями и эссе кончилась ещё в школе, но даже там мы никогда не делали ничего подобного. Способ анализа текста, который предложил профессор Эрик Рабкин, крут, иначе не сказать. Взять и выделить в тексте все слова, связанные с одной тематикой - допустим, едой. Проанализировать получившуюся картину в контексте общей морали произведения и его сюжета. Затем рассмотреть этот же текст, но выбирая всё, относящееся, допустим, к теме секса, символике мужского и женского начал, жизни и снова проанализировать. И так, постепенно, выйти на уровень символики повествования и отследить общие для культур архетипы. Всё, что я мог сказать, когда впервые увидел видео с инструкцией, как писать эссе, это: "вау". И, конечно, мне было интересно попробовать и, конечно, я нервничал.) Но, думаю, справился. Ниже под катом, собственно, эссе и текст сказки, которую анализировал. Мой английский всё ещё не идеален, да.) И я просто фанатично влюблён в последнюю фразу "And so they were all dead together". Даже не знаю, что именно меня восхищает. Конструкция, наверное.
The fairy-tail “The Death of the Hen” is all around idea of what is going on when somebody tries to “eat a big nut”, what literally mean – to get a revelation, that you can’t understand or, if we are going to associate it with Bible symbols – forbidden knowledge. The cock and the hen are symbols of Adam and Eve, nut mountain – metaphor of the place where you can get a revelation, and the nut is a revelation itself. It also can be the picture of forbidden fruit, that Serpent offer to Eve. Moreover, when the hen breaks her promise, harmony of the perfect universe is broken, four elements are dissociated. The hen is choking – she can’t get air. Cock is trying to find water, red silk can be a picture of fire and garland - a metaphor for the earth. But from the Biblical point of view the hen is now sinful and all who sympathize her – no matter understand they or not what is going on - are sharing her fate: they die, they become mortal. It is like in the moment when they are trying to save or to bury her – they share her sins and till this moment they are in some kind of wheel of suffering, they have no revelation that can help them to merge four elements. Second time they try to merge them is when they are trying to cross the brook – water itself. Straw is a symbol of air, coal is a fire and stone is earth. But they can’t collect them together, so they can’t reconstruct the harmony and die.
Another interesting moment is the opposition of water that can give life – in the beginning of the story, and the water that is taking life away – in the very end.
Once on a time the cock and the hen went to the nut mountain, and they agreed beforehand that whichever of them should find a nut was to divide it with the other. Now the hen found a great big nut, but said nothing about it, and was going to eat it all alone, but the kernel was such a fat one that she could not swallow it down, and it stuck in her throat, so that she was afraid she should choke.
"Cock!" cried she, "run as fast as you can and fetch me some water, or I shall choke!"
So the cock ran as fast as he could to the brook, and said, "Brook, give me some water, the hen is up yonder choking with a big nut stuck in her throat." But the brook answered, "First run to the bride and ask her for some red silk."
So the cock ran to the bride and said,
"Bride, give me some red silk; the brook wants me to give him some red silk; I want him to give me some water, for the hen lies yonder choking with a big nut stuck in her throat."
But the bride answered,
"First go and fetch me my garland that hangs on a willow." And the cock ran to the willow and pulled the garland from the bough and brought it to the bride, and the bride gave him red silk, and he brought it to the brook, and the brook gave him water. So then the cock brought the water to the hen, but alas, it was too late; the hen had choked in the meanwhile, and lay there dead. And the cock was so grieved that he cried aloud, and all the beasts came and lamented for the hen; and six mice built a little waggon, on which to carry the poor hen to her grave, and when it was ready they harnessed themselves to it, and the cock drove. On the way they met the fox.
"Halloa, cock," cried he, "where are you off to?"
"To bury my hen," answered the cock.
"Can I come too?" said the fox.
"Yes, if you follow behind," said the cock.
So the fox followed behind and he was soon joined by the wolf, the bear, the stag, the lion, and all the beasts in the wood. And the procession went on till they came to a brook.
"How shall we get over?" said the cock. Now in the brook there was a straw, and he said,
"I will lay myself across, so that you may pass over on me." But when the six mice had got upon this bridge, the straw slipped and fell into the water and they all tumbled in and were drowned. So they were as badly off as ever, when a coal came up and said he would lay himself across and they might pass over him; but no sooner had he touched the water than he hissed, went out, and was dead. A stone seeing this was touched with pity, and, wishing to help the cock, he laid himself across the stream. And the cock drew the waggon with the dead hen in it safely to the other side, and then began to draw the others who followed behind across too, but it was too much for him, the waggon turned over, and all tumbled into the water one on the top of another, and were drowned.
So the cock was left all alone with the dead hen, and he digged a grave and laid her in it, and he raised a mound above her, and sat himself down and lamented so sore that at last he died. And so they were all dead together.