Strategies and tactics of feuilleton in the newspaper Yuzhny kray (Vasily Ivanov, Nadezhda Lukhmanova)

Abstract

The article analyses the feuilleton as a speech genre. The communicative tasks, linguistic embodiment, images of the author and the addressee in the context of studying the forms of interaction between literature and journalism in transitional epochs are investigated. Based on the texts of Shpilka (Vasily Ivanov) and Nadezhda Lukhmanova, the author of the article examines the strategies and tactics of the feuilleton in the newspaper Yuzhny kray for 1900–1905. The term “feuilleton” contains at least two meanings: (1) a heading with artistic and journalistic texts; (2) genre commonality of texts. The determination of the genre by socio-cultural circumstances and the natural revival of the satirical trend for the pre-revolutionary time are substantiated. Among the features uniting the texts, the article notes the concentration on current events, the lightness and liveliness of the style, the combination of artistic and journalistic properties in the texts, the ease and spontaneity of the composition. Social and political issues, as well as the principles of relevance and topicality, began to dominate by 1905. The growth of sociality in the feuilleton can be explained by a number of factors: impact as a fundamental feature of the genre, as well as the format of the newspaper text itself, where an ongoing dialogue with subscribers is conducted, which provides influence and enhances the role of interaction with the interests of readers. One cannot fail to note the factor of time, especially before the revolution, when the polarity in views among members of society increased, and journalism and propaganda strategies were used more, including through newspaper materials. In the space of feuilleton studies, literary and artistic features and journalistic ideas are combined. For Shpilka’s texts, the most appropriate definition would be the following: the feuilleton is an artistic and journalistic genre in which the comic essence of negative phenomena and situations of reality is revealed through the inverse, associative development of a theme using allegory techniques. Lukhmanova’s texts in form and direction gravitate towards the novella. They are characterized by confession, narrative essay, descriptiveness and detail. Thus, when comparing the works of the two feuilletonists, it is more appropriate to speak of the varieties of the feuilleton. The works of both authors lead to the intersection of journalism and literature, which corresponds to the original borderline of the genre. In the space of their feuilleton studies, literary and artistic features and journalistic ideas are combined.