Folk and romantic traditions in Sh. Galim’s play “The Gold Bracelet”

The article analyzes Sh. Galimov’s play “The Gold Bracelet”. It was written in 1940, but only recently, this play has reached us. The play continues folk traditions, medieval dastans and tales. One of the important themes of the play, that depicts the epoch of khans, is the theme of love, personal freedom and social contradictions. In the play, the khan’s daughter loses her golden bracelet and the heroes are looking for it. All these events are shown in a symbolic meaning that is a struggle for personal freedom and social equality. However, literal and cultural ideology of the 1930s (the time, when the play was created) made a great impact on the events and the characters’ actions. Unlike medieval Turkic-Tatar works, the author makes a commoner rather than a member of the upper class the main character of the play. As the conflict unfolds, Amanzabi Khan, portrayed as a greedy and cruel tyrant, is killed by Bibi’s daughter. Thus, Sh. Galim departed from the traditions of Tatar literature and acted in accordance with the ideological requirements of his time. The romantic foundation of the play is revealed through rich literary devices and artistic details such as antithesis and exaggeration. The theme of love is shown with help of night dreams and different challenges, that the heroes have to face.

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