SPECIFICS OF STUDYING MARKO VOVCHOK’S NOVELLA “AFTER FINISHING SCHOOL” (“INSTYTUTKA”) IN THE MODERN UKRAINIAN LITERATURE HISTORY COURSE

Abstract

The article examines the methodological and literary foundations for studying Marko Vovchok’s novella “After Finishing School” within a history of Ukrainian literature course for students majoring in Secondary Education (Ukrainian Language and Literature) at the first (bachelor’s) level of higher education, with a view to its further use in literature classes in teaching. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to find new approaches to studying the aforementioned text, as well as works of classical Ukrainian literature, in higher education institutions. The purpose of the article is to analyze the thematic, problematic, and figurative levels of Marko Vovchok’s novella “After Finishing School” in terms of its study within the course of Ukrainian literature by students majoring in “Secondary Education (Ukrainian Language and Literature)” to propose relevant points of focus and methodological tactics aimed at developing the skills of analyzing literary works and forming the students’ teaching competencies. The research methodology combines descriptive, analytical, synthetic, typological, biographical methods and philological analysis of fiction. The results of the research show key parameters for analyzing the story (social and moral-ethical issues, realism of the depiction, transition from narrative to descriptive style), and emphasizes the psychological, axiological, and humanistic dimensions of the artistic world of the work. It presents a scheme for analyzing the novella “After Finishing School” on practical/seminar classes, which involves working through three blocks: 1) the theme and idea of the writing characteristics in the context of the author’s works; 2) analysis of the plot and compositional features and issues of the writing (the subtext of the title, the function of the dedication, the characteristics of the composition, the author’s approach to plot development, the parallels with related issues in the writings of key authors of the second half of the 19th century); 3) interpretation of three groups of characters in the novella – protagonists, antagonists, and controversial figures – with an emphasis on their psychological characteristics, axiological ostensiveness, plot-forming functions, and symbolic subtext. The author shows that the chosen approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of Marko Vovchok’s artistic concept and develop students’ analytical and interpretative skills when working with artistic texts.