Refrains are repetitive fragments in poetry, prose and music. Examples in the literature

Refrains are repetitive motifs in musical or literary works. They are the main theme that determines the form of the work. Similar repetitions first arose in ancient culture, but they were significantly developed in the works of medieval authors. In poetry, refrains are found quite often, they give melody and sonority to verses and create a kind of semantic accent.

Refrain in music

Most pieces of music, regardless of the direction in which they are created, contain repetitions. Refrains are choruses in songs. In musical terminology, this word denotes a phenomenon that is characteristic, first of all, for a form such as the rondo. The meaning of the word "refrain" in French is the verb "to repeat". Expressive means, which occurs today in music, poetry and even prose, is of French origin, since it is an integral part of the ballad. This genre was finally formed in the late Middle Ages in France.

Ballad

This term is present both in literary criticism and in musicology. The first ballads appeared in the early medieval culture, but they did not yet have a clear structure. Later, when this term began to mean a musical or poetic genre, formal signs were established in it. The main one is the presence of repetitions.

Refrain - this (in literature and music) expressive means, characteristic primarily for the ballad. The first examples of poetic works in this genre arose in French literature. Later, the structure of the ballad was used by various authors, at different times. In Russian poetry of the twentieth century, there are many examples. One of them is "A ballad about a smoky train" where you can see a lot of repetitions. As a refrain, Alexander Kochetkov used several phrases.

In the works of later authors there is also a refrain. This in the literature, a frequently occurring phenomenon can be not only a sign of a ballad. Repetitions were used in their poems and authors, whose creations are not related to this ancient genre.

Poetry of the XX century

Refrains are repetitive phrases that can be separated by strings. But more often they are introduced at the end of the stanza. In the works of the poets of the Silver Age, such stylistic devices are encountered quite often. In the poem of Marina Tsvetaeva "Yesterday still looked in the eye" every second stanza ends with a rhetorical question. In the words "My dear, what have I done to you?" Is the primordially feminine question and the idea that love, no matter how strong it may be, sooner or later goes away. Thus, the refrain here not only gives the product harmony and melody, but also carries an important semantic load.

In the poem "Winter Night", the refrain is a couplet "The candle was burning on the table, the candle was burning." And this repetition in the work of Boris Pasternak performs a symbolic function. The lines belong to the main character of the novel "Doctor Zhivago". Pasternak's character once, on a cold February evening, saw a soft gentle light in a small window. Later he wrote a poem, where the candle is a symbol of quiet happiness and solitude. With the help of this symbol, the author conveyed the feelings that he experienced when suddenly in a strange window he saw a particle of unattainable happiness for him.

Military poetry

Refrains are artistic devices that are more often found in lyrical works. In poetry of the military era, where the main theme could be not only patriotic thoughts, but also the themes of separation and long expectation, there are also these stylistic means. A vivid example is the legendary poem "Wait for me, and I will return." The refrain in the lines of Konstantin Simonov is only two words. And these words - "wait for me." In poems that have become almost a prayer for thousands of women during the war, the author's conviction is concluded that only with the help of love and faithful waiting will the beloved soldier be able to return home alive.

Prose

Not only in poetry there is a refrain. Examples from the literature indicate that this poetic device can also exist in harmony in prose. However, we are talking, of course, about works of small volume. A quote from a poem by an unknown author occurs several times in Turgenev's work "How good, how fresh the roses were". This refrain adds musicality and lyricism to a work that can be attributed, thanks to poetic repetitions, to a completely unique genre - a poem in prose.

But stories that do not have a lyrical plot can contain refrains. Such examples can be seen in the prose of Sergei Dovlatov. This author, who is often called the master of ultrashort prose, has a story called "Once Upon a time we lived in the mountains." These words are repeated here repeatedly. They give completeness to a small work. And this sad, but not without irony, story, like much else in Dovlatov's prose, confirms the extraordinary poetry of his style.