Epics about Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich in School Study

Abstract

The article is devoted to a little-studied methodological problem – the study of epics about Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich at the lessons of Russian literature in a secondary school. The urgency of this problem lies in the fact that the considered epic stories about Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich are still not sufficiently comprehended taking into account the achievements of modern methodological science, the advanced experience of teachers of Russian literature. As you know, epic epics are usually divided into two main cycles: Kiev and Novgorod. For the Kiev cycle of epics, images of three heroes are characteristic - Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. The named heroes are inseparable in the popular perception. In many epic plots, all three heroes, in difficult battles with the enemies of the Russian land, act together, help each other out. Possessing many similar features, at the same time, each of them is endowed with its own individual and personal qualities, in many respects complement and enrich each other. However, the program on Russian literature for general secondary schools for textual study from the Kiev cycle recommended only epics about Ilya Muromets. As for the epics about Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, they are not provided for by the program for textual study. In this regard, teachers of literature do not consider the study of these epics or limit themselves to a brief retelling of their content. But in the epics about Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, no less vivid and expressive images of heroes are created – the defenders of the Russian land. Acquaintance of schoolchildren with their images, plots and motives will significantly expand the schoolchildren’s ideas about the Kiev cycle of epics, about their differences from Novgorod ones. Based on the foregoing, the author of the article, using the example of studying the epics “Dobryna and the Serpent”, “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin”, gives the teacher of literature scientifically substantiated, experimentally verified methodological recommendations for their effective study.