Essay analysis of the episode of Yaroslavna's lament in the work The Word of Igor's Campaign. Skeptical view of the "Word"

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There are not so many female characters in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, so against the general background of the narrative they noticeably catch the reader’s eye. One of these is the image of Euphrosyne Yaroslavna. This is a real historical character, but it is worth noting that in the text her description and characteristics do not fully correspond to reality. The author of the “Lay” transforms her image, gives additional characteristics, this process is associated with the peculiarities of chants at that time.

The main moment of revealing the image of Yaroslavna (in the text she is named exclusively by her patronymic) falls on the time period marked by the defeat of the troops of Prince Igor, her husband. After news of the tragedy, the woman goes to the walls of the city and announces the cry. This part of the text is better known as “Yaroslavna’s Lament.”

Pagan elements

It should be noted that, despite the fact that at the time of writing the text of the “Lay” Christianity was already widespread among the Slavs, Yaroslavna’s lament is actually devoid of any symbols or images associated with this religion. On the contrary, many pagan inclusions form the basis of her speech.

First, let’s define the concept of “crying.” The word itself is related to the verb “to cry” and means a sorrowful speech with tears for someone. Such lamentations were common during funeral processions. This action is not a creation of modern times. This tradition has its roots in the pagan past of the people.

Yaroslavna's lament does not depart far from this tradition. At first glance, this seems strange, because Prince Igor, her husband, was captured, but no one took his life. However, it should be taken into account that the image of Yaroslavna is collective. This means that the author shows us not a specific person, but an image endowed with generally accepted character traits of the ideal woman of that time, therefore, through the mouth of Yaroslavna, not only the princess speaks, but also virtually any Russian woman waiting for her husband to return.

Symbols-images of Yaroslavna’s crying

The text of “The Lay” is practically devoid of artistic paths, therefore it is necessary to carry out analysis, first of all, looking at the images-symbols.

I'm a sad cuckoo
I'll fly along the Danube,
And in the distant river Kayala
I'll wet my sleeve.

This is how the princess's speech begins. In the very first lines we encounter such a symbol as the cuckoo. In the mythology of the ancient Slavs, this bird was not the least important. For them, she was, first of all, a soothsayer. The cuckoo could predict both joyful and sad moments. The present epithet “sad” indicates to us the tragedy of the event, the author chose the image of this bird for a reason - there is still hope for a positive outcome, but it is necessary to look at the fact that the epithet itself is not in the original text, the translator used it to convey the mood dictated by the author .

An important point is the fact that the cuckoo does not have a husband (legends give different reasons). As we can see, from the first lines the author shows us the dual character of this character: Yaroslavna’s husband is alive, but the husbands of many Russian wives have died, their loved ones remained “cuckoos” - widows.
The next person Yaroslavna addresses is the wind:

Wind, wind in an open field,
Fast-flying, dear friend,
By choice or by choice
Are you blowing around like that?

The wind god Stribog was one of the most important gods in the pantheon of the ancient Slavs. His cult persisted for an unusually long time. The Slavs unconditionally considered him the only ruler of the airspace and ruler over all birds.

The epithet “fast-flying” is also absent from the original; this is the author’s interpretation of the functions of the deity - at that time, moving oneself or transmitting any information over a considerable distance was a difficult action, and the wind could do it quickly, moreover, bypassing all obstacles.

The next image is a river:
My glorious Dnieper! You're in the open spaces
Fast waves rushed by...

This symbol also carries a dual principle. On the one hand, the river is a source of food (fish) and water, and therefore life. On the other hand, this is a rather insidious element - failures during navigation or floods can cause death. The symbolism of death is reinforced by the present tradition among some ancient Slavic tribes of setting up funeral fires on the banks of the river. Thus, the author again emphasizes the fine line between life and death.

The last image that can be seen in crying is the Sun.

The sun, the golden sun, You burn brightly in the sky, The red, dear sun, You give warmth and light to everyone.

Such an appeal is based not only on the heavenly body, but also on the pagan god. Dazhbog (sun god) was endowed with two functions. The first was to be a source of light, without which life could not exist. The second was rooted in the ideas of the ancient Slavs about the origin of princely families. Based on beliefs, we can conclude that in society the image of the sun was the source of princely power, but it is impossible to say that the image of Prince Igor is hidden under the image of the sun. The rhetorical question (in the original: “To what, sir, do you spread your ardent ray in the best way?”), which follows, confirms this fact.

Other tropes and stylistic figures present in the text

In second place, after symbolic images, in terms of frequency of use are rhetorical appeals and questions. Yaroslavna asks questions to the wind and the sun. In both the first and second cases, the question contains a certain reproach, which is contrasted with the achievements or power of the elemental deity.

Yaroslavna says to the wind (in the original): “Why are the Khinov arrows mowing on their easy kriltsa in my frets?” Literally translated, this means: why do you throw the khan’s arrows on your wings at my husband’s warriors? (reproach of action). In contrast to this, the woman exclaims: “fly woe under the clouds, cherishing ships on the blue sea” (you blow under the clouds, cherishing ships on the blue sea).

In relation to the sun, which gives warmth to everyone, the princess exclaims: “Why, lord, did you extend your hot rays to the warriors of my army?

In a waterless field, thirst twisted their bows, and filled their quivers with grief?
The only one to whom Yaroslavna turns with a request is the Dnieper. “Follow me, sir, with my darling,” she says.

The woman addresses all the deities using the common address: “O Dnieper Slovutich!”, “O wind, sail,” “Bright and thrice bright sun.” There are also less common forms of address in the text: “master”, “master”, they perform an expressive function.

Other tropes are also present in small quantities in the text.

With the help of epithets (“lungs”, “blue”, “hot”, “waterless”), either the power of the ruler of the elements or the tragedy of what happened is emphasized.

Metaphors enhance the expression: “my joy was dispelled by the feather grass” - brought grief; “You extended your hot rays onto the warriors of my army” - indicates heat and heat; “their quivers were filled with grief” - denotes the degree of despondency.

Thus, Yaroslavna’s cry is not only a personal expression of the princess’s grief, it is a cry for all the soldiers who failed in the Polovtsian lands. The presence of pagan symbols, a wide system of appeals, rhetorical questions, the use of epithets and metaphors partially bring the princess’s speech closer to a prayer in which personal and public were mixed, requests for the successful completion of the campaign and praise of the strength and power of the elements.

“Yaroslavna’s Lament” from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: analysis

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Option 1

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

Yaroslavna's lament

1.1.1. Who is Yaroslavna? Who does she personify in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”?

The image of Yaroslavna is the first female image in ancient Russian literature. He united in himself the sorrow and courage of all Russian wives, mothers, daughters of the Russian land.

Yaroslavna is the patronymic of Prince Igor's wife Efrosinya Yaroslavna, daughter of Yaroslav of Galicia, one of the most powerful Russian princes.

In “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign,” she personifies all Russian wives grieving for their husbands. Her “crying” speaks eloquently about this.

1.1.2. What role does the word “cuckoo” play in the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “..., the unknown cuckoo crows early. “I’ll fly,” he says, “like a cuckoo along the Danube...”

In oral folk poetry, the word cuckoo meant a lonely woman without a family. The cuckoo's cuckooing was popularly associated with the prophecy of long life. Calling herself a cuckoo, Yaroslavna expresses her bitterness at separation from her beloved husband. Yaroslavny calls himself an “unknown cuckoo,” emphasizing his loneliness.

1.1.3. What means artistic expression does the author use in “Yaroslavna’s Lament”?

Yaroslavna's lament is very close to folklore. It uses constant epithets“the bright, bright sun”, metaphors “dry up their torments”, “in sorrow their quivers fastened.” Yaroslavna turns to the forces of nature: to the sun, wind, to water (Dnieper). Rhetorical appeals are accompanied by interjections and exclamations: “Oh wind, sail!”, “Bright and bright sun!”, “Oh Dnieper Slovutich!”.

Yaroslavna’s lament uses threefold repetition (“Yaroslavna has been crying on the wall of Putivl since the morning, wailing...”), which makes it similar to works of oral folk art.

In Yaroslavna’s speech, high-style words are used: “lord”, “lord”, “cherished”. She calls her husband the word “lada,” which in folk poetry meant “beloved.”

1.1.4. What role does Yaroslavna’s crying play in the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”?

Yaroslavna personifies in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” all Russian wives whose share was the bitter fate of mourning their husbands who found untimely death on the battlefield. however, in this work she hopes to return her beloved. That’s why he turns with hope to all the forces of nature. In addition, Yaroslavna begs the forces of nature to protect not only her husband, but also his warriors:“Why do you throw Khin’s arrows on your light wings at the warriors of my fret?”

The strength of her love, the strength of her civic feeling wins - and a miracle happens: Prince Igor returns from captivity.

Yaroslavna's cry can be seen as a protest against war, destruction and sacrifice.

1.1.5. Compare the translation of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” by N. Zabolotsky and the literal translation given above. What do these translations have in common? How does poetic translation differ from literal translation?

Both the literal translation of Yaroslavna’s lament and the poetic translation of N. Zabolotsky are based on folk poetry. These works use the same images of the wind, the sun and the Dnieper; the appeals to these forces of nature are very close:

“Oh wind, sail! Why, sir, do you blow so hard? Why do you throw Khin’s arrows on your light wings at the warriors of my fret?” (literal translation)

Why are you, wind, whining viciously?

Why are the fogs swirling by the river,

You raise the Polovtsian arrows,

Are you throwing them into Russian regiments? (N. Zabolotsky)

Rhetorical questions also bring these passages together.

In a literal translation, the arrows are called “Khinovsky”, and in a poetic translation - “Polovtsian”. This is the same name, only in a literal translation it is written in Old Russian, and in Zabolotsky - in Russian.

However, there are also differences between these works. In N. Zabolotsky’s text the picture is much broader than that presented by the literal translation.

In a literal translation, we learn that Yaroslavna “has been crying since the morning. And N. Zabolotsky expands this picture: “Only the dawn will break in the morning.”

The literal translation does not give characteristics of Yaroslavna, and N. Zabolotsky uses the epithets: “Yaroslavna, full of sadness ...” and “Young Yaroslavna.” So you can see. that the poetic translation is more lyrical, it openly expresses author's attitude to the heroine.

Option 2

“Ode on the day of Elizabeth Petrovna’s accession to the All-Russian throne, 1747”

1.2.1. What are the characteristic features odes as a genre using this fragment as an example?

Ode - a poem of an enthusiastic nature in honor of some significant event or historical person. “Ode on the Day of the Accession...1847” belongs to the high style. It uses words from book vocabulary, Old Slavonicisms: joy, dare, gold, enjoy. Old Slavonicisms help to feel the solemn style of the poem, a sense of pride in one’s homeland.

1.2.2. What dignity does the empress emphasize?

admires the beauty of Elizaveta Petrovna:

Her Zephyr's soul is quieter

And the vision is more pleasant than Paradise.

Lomonosov shows not only the beauty, but also the generosity of Elizaveta Petrovna: “... your generosity encourages Our spirit and directs us to run...” Lomonosov notes her desire for peace. She “put an end to the war.”

And yet, the author calls the main advantage of the Empress the desire to see the Russian people happy:

I Rossov enjoy happiness,

I don’t change their calmness,

The whole west and east."

1.2.3. What themes are reflected in this ode?

The ode reflected various themes. First of all, this is the theme of the Motherland. The poet speaks about the glorious past of Russia, about the merits of PeterI, who “I trampled upon Russia with rudeness, raised myself to the skies.”

The theme of science is also reflected in the ode. Lomonosov writes:

…Here in the world to expand science

Elizabeth did so.

At the end of the ode we find a Hymn to Science and parting words to the younger generation:

O blessed are your days!

Be encouraged now...

1.2.4. What means of artistic expression does the author use in the lines:

Kings and kingdoms of the earth are a delight,

Beloved silence...

For what purpose does Lomonosov use this remedy?

At the very beginning of the ode, he uses a periphrasis - a trope, which consists of replacing the name of a person, object or phenomenon with a description of their essential features or an indication of their characteristic features:

Kings and kingdoms of the earth are a delight,

Beloved silence...

What could be more desirable than peace? Lomonosov calls the world “earthly joy”, “beloved silence”, “bliss”. The theme of peace is directly related to the image of the empress, who “restored peace” and put an end to the war with Sweden.

1.2.5. Compare Lomonosov’s ode “On the Day of Ascension...” with the ode “Felitsa”.

Find common features these works.

In literatureIn the 18th century, strict adherence to the requirements of classicism was adopted. Works of high “calm”, to which the ode belongs, are characterized by appeal to high themes or historical figures and the use of words of a high, solemn style. Her civic pathos, solemn language, full of oratorical exclamations and appeals, lush, metaphors and comparisons often expanded into an entire stanza, Slavicisms and biblical images abundantly scattered, her, in the words of Lomonosov himself, “sublimity and splendor” served as a model for almost all Russians poets of the XVIII V.

Odes by Lomonosov and Derzhavin are dedicated to women who played a significant role in the history of Russia: Elizaveta Petrovna and EkaterinaII. “Felitsa” is a hymn to the enlightened monarch, addressed directly to Catherine II, while the ode is addressed not only to Elizaveta Petrovna, but also to Russia, to its past and future.

Both Lomonosov and Derzhavin use words of a solemn style, Old Slavonicisms: virtue, transmits, bliss. However, in Derzhavin’s ode there is a deviation from the norms of classicism. Derzhavin introduces colloquial words into the ode:

Keeping customs, rituals,

Don’t be so quixotic with yourself...

Thus, Derzhavin emphasized the difference between the empress and her entourage, whom he calls “Murzas” in the text.

Both odes are characterized by the inclusion of compliments - flattering comments about the empresses. I. Lomonosov and Derzhavin showed the meekness of the empresses. Lomonosov writes:

Befitting the divine lips,

Monarch, this gentle voice...

Derzhavin also focuses on Catherine’s virtuesII. For both Lomonosov and Derzhavin, it is important that our state prospers thanks to the empress’s merits:

May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,

Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.

Option 1

Ballad "Svetlana"

1.2.1. Prove that the work “Svetlana” belongs to the ballad genre.

A ballad is a work romantic genre. In it, the life of the heroes is presented in opposition to fate, as a duel between a person and circumstances that prevail over him. The basis of the ballad plot lies in a person overcoming the barrier between the real and the other world.

The ballad creates a romantic setting: night, fog, “the moon glows dimly,” and the heroine is alone with her fears and experiences.

The ballad reflects romantic images and paintings. In the “dead silence” of the night, alarming sounds were heard: the plaintive cry of the “messenger of midnight” cricket, the ominous croak of a raven.

The ballad uses the image of a “snow-white dove”, which protects Svetlana with its wings, as if answering her fervent prayer. This shows the romantic idea of the ballad - love triumphs over death.

1.2.2. What role does the intro play in a ballad?

In the ballad "Svetlana", Zhukovsky attempted to create an independent work, based in its plot on the national customs of the people - in contrast to the ballad "Lyudmila", which was a free translation of the ballad of the German poet Burger "Lenora". In "Svetlana" the poet used an ancient belief about fortune-telling of peasant girls on the night before Epiphany.

In describing fortune telling, the poet uses colloquial words: “once on Epiphany evening...”, “slipper,” “ardent wax.” This gives a national flavor to the picture of fortune telling. In its melodiousness and simplicity, this part of the ballad resembles folk songs, in which ritual poetry is reflected:

...Spread out a white board

And over the bowl they sang in harmony

The songs are amazing.

1.2.3. Can the image of Svetlana in this ballad be called a romantic image? Why do you think so?

Svetlana in the ballad can be called romantic heroine. She is silent and sad. She is surrounded by a romantic setting - night, fog, moon. The main content of her life is love. This feeling has captured her so much that she can’t think of anything other than her sweetheart:

How can I, girlfriends, sing?

Dear friend is far away;

I'm destined to die

Lonely in sadness.

Loneliness, thoughts of death, the desire to know “your lot” - all this corresponds to a romantic character.

Full of “secret timidity” and fear from which she “can barely... breathe,” Svetlana nevertheless decides to resort to fortune telling.

1.2.4. What means of artistic expression does the author use to convey his attitude towards the heroine?

Zhukovsky with special love and tenderness. Introducing the heroine, he writes: Silent and sad

Darling Svetlana.

The epithets “silent and sad” convey the poet’s sympathy, and the epithet “sweetheart” helps not only to see the girl’s pleasant appearance, but also to feel the author’s sympathy.

The ballad ends with an optimistic conclusion:

ABOUT! don't know these terrible words

You, my Svetlana...

The address “my Svetlana” conveys the author’s love for the heroine.

To complete task 1.5, give a detailed, coherent answer (5-8 sentences).

Argue your point of view based on this fragment or other episodes of the work.

1.2.5. Read the beginning of the ballad “Lyudmila” and compare it with the ballad “Svetlana”. What unites the ballads “Svetlana” and “Lyudmila”?

The ballads “Lyudmila” and “Svetlana” are united by similar plots: both Lyudmila and Svetlana feel their loneliness, they are sad about their lovers, they cannot think about anything else. The action in both ballads takes place against the background romantic landscape: at night the groom comes for each of them and takes them away with him. At the beginning of the ballads, both heroines mentally address their lovers.

Or won't you remember me?

Where, which side are you on?

Where is your abode? ("Svetlana")

"Where are you, honey? What's wrong with you?

With foreign beauty,

Know, in a faraway place

Cheated, unfaithful, on me;

Or an untimely grave

Your bright gaze has been extinguished." ("Lyudmila")

Svetlana and Lyudmila’s questions remain unanswered. Uncertainty of fate gives rise to despondency and thoughts of death. Svetlana tells her friends:

Dear friend is far away;

I'm destined to die

Lonely in sadness.

And Lyudmila, assuming that her dear friend died in the war, says:

“Make way, my grave;

Coffin, open; live fully;

The heart cannot love twice."

ABOUT! don't know these terrible words

You, my Svetlana...("Svetlana")

Where, Lyudmila, is your hero?

Where is your joy, Lyudmila?

Oh! Sorry, hope is sweetness! ("Lyudmila")

The ballads differ in their endings: Lyudmila dies, sharing the fate of her fiancé, and her fiancé comes to Svetlana in the morning.

Option 2

"THE RIVER OF TIMES IN ITS FLOW..."

1.2.1. What kind of lyricism does the poem belong to? Why do you think so?

The poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” refers to philosophical lyrics. In it, the poet focuses on the problem of life and death. The poet reflects that there is nothing eternal in life. He sadly asserts that even creativity (lyres and trumpets) are subject to oblivion.

1.2.2. What images are presented in the poem?

, reflecting on human life, uses the image of time in the poem. He calls it “the river of times” and “the vent of eternity.” The river, which you cannot step in twice, is traditionally associated with human life, fast flowing and sometimes unpredictable. Time moves inexorably forward, one generation is replaced by another. This is the meaning of life.

1.2.3. How do you understand the expression: everything “will be devoured by the mouth of eternity”?

Reflecting on time, the poet comes to the idea that everything a person lives by will sooner or later end, “devoured” by “the mouth of eternity.” The word "vent" means a narrow and deep hole. The colloquial word “will be devoured” gives rise to the image of a millstone grinding grains. It can be assumed that the poet means that over time nothing remains of real life, that everything will “sink into oblivion.”

It is known that this poem was used as an epigraph to the ode “God,” which states that only God is “eternal in the flow of time.”

1.2.4. What means of artistic expression does the author use in the poem?

In the poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” metaphors are used: “river of times”, “the abyss of oblivion”, “it will be devoured by the mouth of eternity”, “the common fate will not escape!” All these metaphors encourage the reader to think that everything a person lives with is temporary, that before death everyone is equal: both ordinary people and kings.

Sound design plays a big role in the poem. It alternates hard and soft tense sounds [р] and [р′]:

[Р′] eka in [р′] emen in his art [р′] emlenyi

……………………………………………..

On [r] odes, tsa [r] stva and ca [р′] to her.

Alliteration on [р] and [р′] makes it possible to understand the author’s idea that everything in our lives is changeable.

1.2.5. Compare the poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” with the poem “Waterfall”. What do these poems have in common?

The poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” with the poem “Waterfall” combines a high, solemn syllable. In the poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” Old Slavonicisms are used: aspiration, oblivion. And in the poem “Waterfall” there are also Old Slavonic words: “silver”, “through the stream”, “by the milky river”. The high syllable makes it possible to feel the significance of the paintings presented by the poet.

In these poems we can see the same image of the river. However, in the poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” the river personifies the flow of time, and in the poem “Waterfall” the river has the direct meaning of moving water: “... the waves flow quietly, / Are drawn by the milky river.”

One more image unites these poems - “the vent”. In both poems it means extreme point. In the poem “The River of Times in its Aspiration...” this is the “mouth of eternity”, and in the poem “Waterfall” it is an all-consuming abyss:

In the person of Chatsky, Famusov sees a younger generation of people who live not according to established traditions, but in their own way. Famusov dismissively calls the younger generation “proud” and considers it necessary to instill in them the need to live the way “their fathers” lived.

Throughout the monologue, Famusov uses forms plural, speaking not only about young people (“all of you are proud,” “what do you think,” “you, the current ones”), but also about your generation (“we, for example,” “in our opinion”). This emphasizes the idea that the conflict between generations is not a personal, but a social problem.

1.1.4. Find rhetorical questions and rhetorical exclamations in Famusov’s monologue. State their role.

In the above monologue, Famusov considers it necessary to give instructions to young people like Chatsky, who do not know how to live the way the “elders” lived.

For this purpose, rhetorical questions are used in the monologue: “Would you ask what the fathers did?”, “You deigned to laugh; How is he?”, “Huh? What do you think?”

Famusov expresses in his monologue his admiration for people who have achieved public recognition and respect, therefore his speech uses rhetorical exclamations: “Maxim Petrovich! Joke!”, “Maxim Petrovich! Yes!"

At the same time, both for moralizing and to express his attitude towards Maxim Petrovich, Famusov uses both rhetorical questions and rhetorical exclamations:

Who hears a friendly word at court?

Maxim Petrovich! Who knew honor before everyone?

Maxim Petrovich! Joke!

Such examples show Famusov’s confidence in the correctness of his life position.

1.1.5. Read Chatsky’s monologue “And as if the world began to grow stupid...” and compare it with Famusov’s monologue “That’s it, you are all proud! What do these monologues have in common?

Famusov and Chatsky - representatives different generations, they have different attitudes towards life. Both of them are smart and understand that they are exponents of different ideologies. Famusov is conservatively opposed to any changes in society, and Chatsky represents the interests of young nobles who cannot put up with the remnants of the past. Both of them touch on the same topic: “the present century and the past century.”

For Famusov, there is no other way than to continue the traditions of the “fathers,” which is why he cites the example of the life of his uncle Maxim Petrovich.

Chatsky hates the old way of life. He calls last century a “straightforward” age of “submission and fear.”

If Famusov admires the way Maxim Petrovich lived and believes that servility towards high-ranking officials is not negative trait, then Chatsky condemns this servility, calling people like Maxim Maksimych “hunters of indecency everywhere.” And Famusov, in turn, calls his uncle a smart man who “fell ... painfully, got up well” and therefore “knew honor at court.” Calling the new generation “current”, Famusov condemns its inability to live.

Chatsky ridicules such a path to a prosperous life:

And a peer, and an old man

Another, looking at that leap,

And crumbling into old skin,

Tea kept saying: “Ah! If only I could do the same!”

Of course, Chatsky expresses advanced ideas startedXIX century, but he does not know life, unlike Famusov. Chatsky is mistaken when he says: “Yes, nowadays laughter frightens and keeps shame in check...” Chatsky underestimates the strength of the “past century”, which is why he experiences “a million torments” after he was declared crazy.

Option 2

. Elegy "Sea"

1.2.1. What are the features of elegy as a genre of lyric poem? Explain them using the example of the poem “Sea”.

Elegy is a poem - a philosophical reflection on life, love, nature, the passage of time. An elegy is usually imbued with a romantic mood and romantic images. Behind real objects and phenomena, romantics still hide something unspoken, unspoken. The poem “The Sea” presents the main image of the sea in a calm state, during a storm and after it. For the lyrical hero it is imbued with some kind of mystery: “Tell me your deep secret.”

1.2.2. How are the images of sea and sky related in the poem?

The images of sea and sky complement each other. The calm surface of the sea reflects the clear azure of the sky, the “golden clouds”, and the shine of the stars. You can feel the harmony in nature. Zhukovsky writes about the sea:

You burn with evening and morning light,

You caress his golden clouds

During a storm, the sea is restless, it breaks, howls, torments the hostile darkness, and the clouds go away.

The unity of sea and sky is shown in the final lines:

And the sweet shine of the returned skies

It doesn’t give you back silence at all;

1.2.3. How does the lyrical hero of the poem “Sea” appear before us?

Lyrical hero The poem “Sea” is close to nature. He is attracted by the power and mystery of the sea. For the lyrical hero, the sea is like a living creature. This is indicated by personifications:

I stand enchanted over your abyss.

You lively; You breathe; confused love,

Alarming Duma filled You.

1.2.4. What lexical means of expression help the author convey the state of the lyrical hero in this poem?

The poet conveys the state of the lyrical hero through description seascape. The poem is an elegy. The tetrameter amphibrachium in the white (unrhymed) verses of the elegy conveys both the silence of the sea and the movement of the waves. The refrain (lines repeated like a chorus in a song) “silent sea, azure sea” helps create the image of a beautiful, calm sea. In describing the storm, the poet uses alliteration, that is, he skillfully groups the same or similar consonant sounds [з], [р] and [р"], [ш]: “be h word of mouth", "la h at r noe", "You beat w oh, you're welcome w oh, you waves are rising w uh, you r ve w b and those rz ae w"a hostile darkness..."

When reading, the illusion of hissing boiling, bubbling waves is created.

The sea appears to be a living, sensitive and thinking creature that conceals a “deep secret.” Hence - metaphors, metaphorical comparisons, personifications: the sea “breathes”, it is filled with “ confused love, an anxious thought." The poet uses rhetorical questions, addresses the sea with a question, as if to a person: “What moves your vast bosom? What is your tense chest breathing?”

The poet gives the answer to this question as an assumption. Unraveling the “mystery” of the sea reveals the views on the life of Zhukovsky the romantic. The sea is in captivity, like everything on earth. Everything on earth is changeable, impermanent, life is full of losses, disappointments and sadness. The image of the sea is accompanied by the image of the sky. Only there, in heaven, is everything eternal and beautiful. That is why the sea reaches out “from earthly captivity” to the “distant, bright” sky, admires it and “trembles for it.”

1.2.5. What does the poem “Sea” have in common with the poem below “How good are you, O night sea...”?

In the poem “How good are you, O night sea...”, as well as in the elegy “The Sea,” the central image is the image of the sea. But Tyutchev focuses on the night landscape, and, like Zhukovsky, Tyutchev’s sea is changeable:

How good you are, O night sea, -

It's radiant here, dark gray there...

In both poems, the poets express admiration for the sea:

Silent sea, azure sea,

The sea is bathed in a dim glow,

How good you are in the solitude of the night! (Tyutchev)

Both poets use a high style, a solemn style in describing the colors of the sea: in Zhukovsky the sea is “azure”, it flows with “luminous azure”, in Tyutchev the sea is “radiant”, it “glitters” under the radiance of the moon.

The lyrical hero of Zhukovsky and Tyutchev animates the sea element, as indicated by the personifications: “you breathe; “You are filled with confused love, Anxious thoughts” (in Zhukovsky), “like a living thing, Walking and breathing” (in Tyutchev).

Both poets make extensive use of sound in describing the sea. In Tyutchev, like in Zhukovsky, alliteration is observed on [z], [p]

Z you are great h be you r sky,

Whose is this? r A h day so n r A h are you blowing?

The waves rush, thundering and light r kaya,

Sensitive h everywhere looks from above.

Like Zhukovsky, Tyutchev uses rhetorical questions: “Whose holiday are you celebrating like this?” and exclamations of “How good you are in the solitude of the night!”

Both poets convey admiration for the unbridled element and experience timidity and confusion in front of it:

I stand enchanted over your abyss. (Zhukovsky)

All as if in a dream, I stand lost

Oh, how willingly I would be in their charm

I would drown my entire soul... (Tyutchev)

Option 1

Famusov’s monologue “Taste, father, excellent manners…»

1.1.1. In Famusov’s presented monologue, the unwritten “laws” of secular society are revealed. Formulate these laws.

The comedy "Woe from Wit" reveals the typical features of the life of the highest noble society. Famusov is a representative of this society. In his monologue "Taste, father, excellent manner..." he illuminates the basic principles of life of the nobles, who "have all their own laws."

First of all, they were proud of the nobility and valued the fact that they could pass on their title by inheritance, because “honor comes from father and son.” In noble society, a person was assessed by the degree of his wealth:

... Be bad, but if you get enough

Two thousand ancestral souls, -

He's the groom.

Famusov talks about that. that in their society they accept all “invited and uninvited, especially foreigners...”. A person is judged by wealth and nobility, and not by high moral qualities:

Whether an honest person or not,

It’s the same for us, dinner is ready for everyone.

A defender of the autocratic-serf system, Famusov admires the old order, the loyalty of well-born Muscovites to noble traditions, and the old principles of life.

1.1.2. How does Famusov relate to young people? Why do you think so?

Since this monologue is addressed to Colonel Skalozub, Famusov is in a complacent mood.Famusov shows that he is not always happy with the younger generation. This is indicated by the metaphor “we chide.” However, he speaks with tenderness about his children and grandchildren, admiring their intelligence:

We scold them, and if you figure it out,

At the age of fifteen, teachers will be taught!

1.1.3. How does Famusov characterize his attitude towards the female half of secular society?

Famusov, in the presence of Skalozub, maintains small talk. We will not see his sincere attitude towards women.Famusov speaks disapprovingly of the fact that they can rebel in a general rebellion,” but at the same time admits that the role of women in secular society significant:

However, this is only beautiful words! And yet Famusov respectfully calls the most famous names

Tatyana Yurievna! Pulcheria Andrevna!

And whoever saw the daughters, hang your head...

He wants to marry Sophia to Skalozub, who “has a golden bag and aspires to be a general,” and therefore calls his daughters patriots for their interest in the military.

1.1.4. What means of artistic expression does Griboyedov use in the lines:

...we have been doing this since ancient times,

What honor is there between father and son;

Be bad, but if you get enough

Two thousand ancestral souls, -

He's the groom.

The other one, at least be quicker, puffed up with all sorts of arrogance,

Let yourself be known as a wise man,

But they won’t include you in the family. Don't look at us.

After all, only here they also value the nobility.

This passage uses the metaphors “it has been going on since ancient times”, “there will be two thousand family souls”, “inflated with all sorts of arrogance” to show why a person is valued in a noble society.

Famusov uses the colloquial words “reasonable”, “at least be quicker”, “don’t look at us” to show that the nobles do not tolerate smart people who do not have wealth.

“But they won’t include you in the family.” What kind of family are we talking about? Of course, about a noble society, where they are proud of their origin and wealth. This means that the words nobility and “family” with emphasis on the first syllable can be considered as contextual synonyms.

1.1.5. Read the dialogue between Chatsky and Molchalin. What in Molchalin’s remarks is consonant with the thoughts expressed by Famusov in the monologue “Taste, father, excellent manner...

In Molchalin’s remarks we see confirmation of Famusov’s thought that women play a lot important role in the life of noble society. Famusov told Skalozub:

Order the command in front of the front!

Be present, send them to the Senate!

Irina Vlasevna! Lukerya Aleksevna!

Tatyana Yurievna! Pulcheria Andrevna

Molchalin, teaching Chatsky, also calls the name of Tatyana Yuryevna - very influential woman in high society because

Officials and officials -

All her friends and all her relatives...

Famusov’s monologue speaks of admiration for Moscow:

I will say emphatically: barely

Another capital will be found, like Moscow.

And Molchalin’s remark reveals admiration for the life that nobles lead in Moscow:

Well, really, why would you serve with us in Moscow?

And take awards and have fun?

The whole point of life for nobles comes down to moving up the career ladder with the help of the “right people.”

Many have written about the creative power of love. Dmitry Levchik, offering his version of the creation of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” argues that pain and jealousy are no less capable of giving rise to a great work, and the inexplicable “punctures” and shortcomings of the famous poem become natural if it was written... by a woman.

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a mystery work. The poem found by Musin-Pushkin was prepared for publication, but its original burned down during the fire of Moscow in 1812. Therefore, historians argue about the authenticity of the “Lay” (there is a version that it is a forgery of the 18th century), and about the time of its writing (XII, XIII or XVI centuries), and about authorship, and about the number of languages and dialects in which it was written “The Word” (for example, there is a version about the Russian-Polovtsian writing of the poem). And all authors find arguments in favor of their version.
It seems to me that everyone is more or less right, simply because the poem was rewritten several times, and there is little left of the original version of the 12th century. Naturally, being a lover of Russian history and literature, I could not resist the temptation to present my version. At least about who the author of this poem is.

1.

And here I am forced to ask a few questions. First of all, to yourself.
How did the hero of the poem, Prince Igor, reach the Polovtsians? On foot? Well, obviously not. Most likely, on horseback. As usual, we moved around the steppe. But pay attention to the fact that in the text of the Lay there are almost no Russian horses and cavalry. More precisely, there is no detailed description of them. There are references to saddles and stirrups. There is almost no description of the harness, harness, or horse fighting. There is no mention of Spurs, for example. And they have been known in Rus' since the 11th century and were a widespread attribute of the Russian horseman just twenty years after the event described in the poem, in early XIII century. Is it possible that Igor’s squad, which was advanced in the times of the 12th century, did not have this equipment? She even had it! These spurs are on display at the State Historical Museum! And by some chance, it was at the stand dedicated to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

By the way, only women rode without spurs in Rus'. Let's remember this and continue our research.

How does Igor’s squad conduct the battle? The poem very strangely describes the tactics of the battle with the Polovtsians. Let us remember the most famous line of “Words”: “The great Russians fenced off the fields with emblazoned shields, seeking honor for themselves and glory for the prince.” It is interpreted unambiguously: the Russians stood shield to shield in close formation, “blocked the field with red shields, seeking honor for themselves and glory for the prince.” That is, they fought on foot. That is, they finally reached the Polovtsians on foot?

Maybe Igor did not ride on horses, but, for example, on boats. He simply went down the “Great Don,” that is, the Seversky Donets. Which is very logical for the Novgorod-Seversky prince. That's why there were few horses. Perhaps only two princes. Across the steppe, Igor’s march would have been instantly heard. The Cuman reconnaissance would have realized that a small detachment was coming, and the Cumans would have accepted necessary measures for defense. Maybe the author of “The Lay” simply does not imagine how well sound travels in the steppe and how well one can see the movements of masses of people from any elevation? Something is wrong here. After all, the Polovtsians clearly missed Igor’s first blow. Conclusion - the blow was delivered from a direction and in a way from which the Polovtsians did not expect. The blow was sudden. Perhaps from the Don, from the river (assuming that Igor came on boats). That's why the strike was successful.

And then we had to get away. It was here, perhaps, during one of the stops that the Polovtsian khans Gzak and Konchak cut him off from the boats. And they killed the squad. The poem mentions the desire of Igor’s soldiers to break through to the water. Modern commentators say that Igor's army suffered from thirst. They even inserted this into “Yaroslavna’s Lament”:
The sun is three times bright! With you
Everyone is welcome and warm.
Why are you a daring army of the prince?
Did you burn with hot rays?
And why are you waterless in the desert?
Under the attack of the formidable Polovtsians
Thirst has drawn down the marching bow,
Is your quiver full of grief?
No! Apparently, it wasn’t water that Igor’s soldiers wanted to drink! They made their way to the boats!
It seems that everything “fits together.” Moreover, in “Yaroslavna’s Lament” it is mentioned that the army of Svyatoslav of Kyiv against Khan Kobyak moved precisely on boats. Remember: “Oh, Dnieper Slovutitsyu! You have broken through stone mountains through the Polovtsian land. You cherished Svyatoslavlin’s gardens until Kobyakov’s regiment.” But why, why is there no description of rooks in the poem? Strange. Very strange.

How did the Polovtsians themselves reach Igor? It seems that in some versions of the translation of the Lay even “unoiled carts” on which the Polovtsians move are mentioned. Logical. It is logical to transport some of the weapons on convoy carts. And these carts creak so much that they scare away the surrounding swans. But I turned to the very first translation of the poem and saw that there were no “carts”. There are "telgi". Where is the proof that “telgi” are “carts” and not “kestrels,” that is, birds of prey that are frightened by the movements of the Polovtsian army? That’s why the swans are worried, sensing that predators are out hunting outside of school hours. This is even more logical for the text of the poem. This is how the Polovtsian convoy “disappears”. There are no "carts".

Now let's look at the description of the weapons of the Russians and Polovtsians. The text of the “Tale” contains a mention and description of such weapons: sabers, swords, helmets, chain mail, shields, knives, spears, throwing spears, bows, arrows. However, there is no description or mention of such weapons as axes and poleaxes, maces and poleaxes, and flails. Particularly alarming is the lack of mention of battle axes. After all, along with a sword, almost every warrior had an ax. In general, axes were at that time a much more common weapon than the sabers repeatedly mentioned in the Lay. Also, the text of the poem does not mention the masks on the helmets. Neither Russians nor Polovtsians. Go to the State Historical Museum and look at these faces. This is an ordinary weapon part. But it is obvious that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” did not know all this. Could the author in this situation be a warrior or a person who knows what Prince Igor’s warrior looks like? Obviously not.

Let us turn again to the battle tactics of Prince Igor. The phrase haunts me: “The great Russians fenced off the fields with emblazoned shields.” No matter how you interpret it, it still turns out that Prince Igor built a closed linear formation of infantrymen against the Polovtsian cavalry. This is ridiculous. Infantry can resist cavalry only if it is formed in a square. But not linearly! The ancient Romans already knew this. But Igor didn’t know? I don't believe it!

Some modern commentators also write that the prince was so noble that he even hurried the warriors so that they could fight on an equal basis with the foot non-combatants. This is the same as transferring tankers from tanks into the trenches with the infantry for universal equality in battle. That is, Igor led the infantry into an open field and, forming a linear formation, exposed mobile Polovtsian archers and cavalrymen to cavalry attacks. This can't be true!

At the same time, he somehow managed to win his first victory. And suddenly. “Right off the bat, the filthy Polovtsian plakas trampled underfoot, and, drying with arrows across the field, the red Polovtsian girls rushed, and with them gold, and pavoloks, and precious oxamites.” How? How did Igor manage to defeat the cavalry with infantry? And he also pursued the Polovtsians. How? Running?

But at the same time, most of the other realities of the 12th–13th centuries are mentioned in the poem. Right down to the beaver trim on the princess's sleeve. The author saw this. And the author understands the ethics of the knights of that time: “It is better to be killed by swords than to be killed by the hands of the filthy!” Death is better than captivity. We must keep our word.

And how wonderfully the feelings of the Russian princess Yaroslavna are described! How beautiful is her cry! At the same time, many commentators note that in Putivl she could not cry on the wall, since the city wall was destroyed at that time. But the author of “The Lay” has no time for the wall. A woman’s experiences are important to him! Sometimes one gets the impression that it is precisely for the sake of “Yaroslavna’s Lament” that the entire poem was written!

“On the Danube, Yaroslavny hears a voice, it’s too early to shout: “I’ll fly - speech - along the Danube, I’ll wet the Bebryan sleeve in the Kayal River; in the morning the prince will see his bloody wounds on his cruel body.” Yaroslavna cries early in Putivl on her visor, arching: “Oh, the wind, the sail! Why, sir, do you forcibly fly! Why do Khinov’s arrows fly on their easy wings in my frets? “Why, sir, did my joy dissipate?” Yaroslavna early cries to the city of Putiv on the fence, arching: “Oh, Dnieper Slovutitsa! You pierced the stone mountains through the land of Polovtsian. You cherished Svyatoslavlin’s gardens until Kobyakov’s regiment. Cherish, sir, my kindness to me, but you did not send to It’s too early for him to go to sea!” Yaroslavna cries early in Putivl on her visor, arcuchi: “Bright and bright sun! You are warm and red for everyone. Why, sir, do you spread your hot ray on your way? In the waterless field I long for the rays of the harness, tighter for them?”

I will specifically repeat the beginning of the cry in N. Zabolotsky’s translation:

I, poor thing, will turn into a cuckoo,
I'll fly along the Danube River
And a sleeve with a beaver edge,
I bend down and soak in Kayal.
The fogs will fly away,
Prince Igor will open his eyes slightly,
And in the morning I will wipe away the bloody wounds,
Bent over the mighty body.

Who is he? Who felt so subtly female soul? And could a man even feel and write like that?

So, the author is a man who knew very well many of the realities of that time, but who had not seen the steppe, who had not seen Russian soldiers, who had not seen major battles. Where could this author be? His place of residence is obviously the mountains. The author is a resident of a mountainous area, and one where stories about Rus' and Russians reach, but Russians themselves rarely go there. At least, probably, there are only representatives of the feudal class, and then they are women. The author speaks Russian well. He is Russian-speaking at least.

There is another clue in the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, a geographical one:

Venetians, Greeks and Moravians,
Every day they sing about Russians!
They magnify Prince Svyatoslav,
Igor the brave is cursed.
And the guest of the German land laughs,
that when there is no more strength,
Igor the Prince in Kayala Polovtsian
drowned Russian wealth.

Which countries are listed? Rus', Polovtsian field, Venice, Greece, Moravia, Germany. It is strange that the most powerful country in this region at that time, Hungary, is not mentioned. That is, eastern and central Europe are mentioned without the main country of this part of the world. This is the zone of traditional influence of Byzantium. And at that time the conflict zone between Byzantium and Hungary. At the same time, the author of the Lay knows the Carpathians precisely as Hungarian (Ugric) mountains. Yaroslav Osmomysl Galitsky is also mentioned in the text of the Lay, who “Sitting high on your gold-plated table, propping up the Ugric mountains with your iron planks, blocking the queen’s path.” That is, Hungary is mentioned without a name, or rather, its king is mentioned without a name.

Apparently, the author does not like the Hungarian king Belo Alexei so much, considers him a pseudo-ruler, that he does not even want to talk about him. Only an ardent supporter of Bela’s main enemy, Andronikos I Komnenos, who ruled in Byzantium in 1183–1185, could behave this way. Moreover, only people very close to him, for example, his relatives, could hate Andronicus’ enemies so much. By the way, this Andronik is the great-great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, since he is the son of Irina, the daughter of the Przemysl Prince Volodar Rostislavovich, the grandfather of Yaroslav Osmomysl, the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. Perhaps the author of the Lay is related to the house of Osmomysl. Then everything is logical.

So, the author is a resident of a mountainous region, educated, knows how a princess dresses, he is not indifferent to women’s experiences, knows knightly morality, has never seen warriors or battles, and is also an ardent supporter of Andronikos I Komnenos. Knowing this, we can assume that the author is a woman, a nun, a native of Russian ruling class, most likely from the Principality of Przemysl, possibly living in the mountainous area of Byzantium. Most likely in the Balkans. Only such an assumption can explain why the author knows what the fashionable cut of the sleeve of women's clothing is, but does not know what a battle ax is! Only such an assumption can explain why the author “point-blank does not see” Bela as Hungarian. And this is precisely what explains why Prince Igor sits on his horse “like a woman.” How else could a woman talk about a horseman?

2.

There is another riddle in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. The poem does not mention the name of Prince Igor's wife. Only patronymic - Yaroslavna. Although this is not a mystery to us at all. Most historians consider her to be the daughter of the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. And they believe that her real name is Euphrosyne. Maybe. What complicates matters is that Osmomysl had three daughters. The second, whose name we do not know, was the wife of the Hungarian king. The name of the third is known: Vysheslava, later Queen of Poland. However, Euphrosyne as Igor’s wife is not in the chronicles. She was “figured out.”

And there is another version that Igor had not one, but two wives. We can assume the following. Efrosinya Yaroslavna, in separation from the prince, suddenly became worse. Of course, she was not rejuvenated or made beautiful during six births (she gave birth to Igor five boys and a girl). But in separation she gave up. She cried her eyes out, became haggard, lost weight, and became unattractive. Igor, having escaped from captivity, did not return to his old wife, but married a young one. And the worst thing is that the viper sisters, the wives of the kings of Hungary and Poland, approved Igor’s second marriage. And in the “interests of the state” Yaroslavna was exiled to a Byzantine monastery in the Balkans. Away from Rus'.

There she could well have told about her fate to one of the novices who understood Russian. She, imbued with the story, wrote the basis of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Anything is possible. History knows stories that are not like this! But this almost fantastic assumption explains to us why Euphrosyne’s name is not in the poem. Yes, simply because she accepted something different in monasticism. And apparently, she did not even want (or had the right) to tell her worldly name to her sister in Christ. And she didn’t ask. Or I didn’t dare. Or she couldn't. This is how the nameless Yaroslavna entered the poem.

Thus, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” may become the first female chivalric novel in verse, written in Russian in a convent in the Balkans. And in this sense, it is a monument not only of Russian, but also of Byzantine and Balkan literature.

And this is not a battle song. In our opinion, this is a lyrical romance about the love of Princess Yaroslavna for her husband Igor.

...She remembered. She remembered everything, of course. I remembered the first time I saw him. A hero, slanting fathoms in his shoulders, a firm, authoritative voice, and a look... the look of slightly slanted, brown eyes inherited from his Polovtsian mother, that look bewitched, suppressed, called and beckoned... The young princess could not take her eyes off his eyes, from this look.
She remembered how her sisters whispered in the corners of the little lights. But it was not they, but her, his beloved daughter, who betrothed such a handsome man to Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia-Volyn.
At less than sixteen years old, Euphrosyne became his wife mighty prince Novgorod-Seversky Igor.

She also remembered the first time he hugged her, she remembered how she felt dizzy with happiness...
I also remembered the first birth, the pain, happiness and joy of motherhood. Vladimir, Oleg, Rostislav, Roman, Svyatoslav... How even the little princes looked like their dad!

I remembered how she dissuaded him from attacking his neighbors. She dissuaded me from going to Smolensk. She didn’t like, oh, how she didn’t like Igor’s then ally, the Polovtsian Khan Konchak, with his always sweaty head and sticky eyes. He was the complete opposite of Igor. Well, such a person could not be a friend to her husband. But even then, when Konchak became Igor’s enemy, even then she also dissuaded Igor from going against Konchak. She felt that the enmity with the Polovtsian Khan would not end well.

And when that ill-fated campaign happened on Easter, when there were already rumors about the death of the army, when she realized that the prince would not return soon, then grief overwhelmed her.
She almost did not leave the Transfiguration Cathedral, constantly said prayer, asked the Lord that the prince would remain alive, that he would return to her... She cried all her eyes out, her legs were tired of kneeling, there was aching all over her body. But the prince was still not there... And there was no news about him...

It was then, on the advice of her nurse, whom she brought with her from Galich and whose family included Volynian sorcerers, that she turned to completely non-Orthodox forces. She sacrificed a dove and began to pray to the water master, the Dnieper-Slavutich, the wind, the sun-Yaril.
And the miracle happened. The old magic helped! The prince turned out to be alive! And soon after this news came another - he escaped from captivity, and already in native land!
But apparently it’s impossible Orthodox person turn to evil forces. This is a sin. And one sin leads to another sin and misfortune.

The prince has returned, returned, but it’s as if he’s not himself! He didn’t hug or caress. Nothing! And then she found out about her, about that young noblewoman whom the prince now fell in love with. I understand that this is retribution for the sin of praying to idols. And nothing can be done about it... And then, when they told her that she had to leave the world, and then, when she, like a weak-willed doll, was put in a cart and sent here to the monastery, and then, when she took monastic vows, she no longer cried. There were no tears.

At the monastery I learned to sew, knead dough, and care for chickens. She was obedient. It became even easier. News from Rus' rarely reached here. Few people understood Russian. And this also made it easier. No one bothered to ask questions about his former life. And only one young novice, originally from Przemysl, a very young girl, sent to the monastery from childhood and knowing nothing about life outside the walls, only she occasionally asked to tell about how life was there... in the world...

She was telling. She didn't tell everything. But even from these stories, she saw how the girl’s eyes lit up, how she whispered something, as if she was trying to remember the words of Euphrosyne’s story...

And then the news came about Igor’s wedding, about the gifts that Euphrosyne’s sisters gave the newlyweds (Envious! Now is your time to hurt!). The news came about the birth of his daughter...

Then, late at night, without noticing it, Euphrosyne began to howl quietly, like a woman, in her cell. And the tears that had not been on her cheeks for so many years began to flow again. "Cain! Judas! Traitor!" - came out of her lips.
This was Yaroslavna’s real cry...

On the wall of the abbess's cell of the monastery hung an icon of the Blessed Virgin. On it, the Queen of Heaven was depicted in royal vestments, in all her strength, and even the halo above her head was like a crown. The abbess stood in the middle of the cell. A young novice was kneeling in front of her. “Did you write this? Did you write such a sinful text? Is that why I taught you to read and write?” The novice was neither alive nor dead... She herself showed her song to Mother Superior, she was sure that she would like such a song, a song about eternal marital love... But it was different! Mother was angry. “How do such thoughts come into your head! What are you writing?! “I will wash the mighty body of the prince, I will dry the wounds on him with a sleeve with a beaver edge”... This is sinful! I impose penance on you... Fasting, prayer, and most importantly - never write anything again! Leave!" The novice left. The abbess again took the text and began to read. No! Such a text must be destroyed... in the fire... But the morning is wiser than the evening! In the morning I’ll figure out what to do with the song...
The abbess lay down. Sleep came surprisingly quickly. Strange dream. She saw Her! Her! Queen of Heaven! I saw more than one. There were people nearby... a cross... the Savior in the hands of the disciples... Mother Superior realized that in a miraculous way the Mother of God was showing her, unworthy, Golgotha, the removal of Our Savior from the cross... And then she saw how the Mother of God approached her Son, not dressed in common clothes tunic, and just like on the icon, in royal robes. She came up and wiped the blood from his face and body with the sleeve of her royal robe. The sleeve was trimmed with beaver fur. The blood of the Savior clearly remained on the fur...
The Mother Superior woke up... No! This is a sign! The song cannot be burned or destroyed! But there’s no place for her in a monastery either! What to do... Unless we send this song away from human eyes and ears somewhere to wild Scythia? To the north... Where there are no real Christians... Yes, that’s probably what will have to be done...
Away from human eyes...

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a monument ancient Russian literature. It was written in the 12th century, during the period of early feudal statehood, when the country was in a state of fragmentation and the unity of the state was disrupted by civil strife and foreign invasions.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” like every work of literature, has ideological content and an artistic form, which is determined by the gender, genre, language, and the entire system of composing means and techniques with the help of which the content is created. The composition of the work is closely related to this. Each episode is an important component, without which the work loses its meaning and form.
“Yaroslavna’s Lament” is very important episode in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” There are some episodes in this work that foreshadow further developments. Such episodes are: the moment when “The sun blocked his (Igor’s) path with darkness”; “Svyatoslav’s Dream”, “Yaroslavna’s Lament” - without them, the feeling of that time, the 12th century, when the work was written, will be lost, since in Ancient Rus' people deeply believed in various kinds of omens. The author creates an atmosphere with the help of this episode; thanks to such passages, the reader can now better understand the work.
The chronicle contained only a dry statement of facts, and the episode “Yaroslavna’s Lament” is an element inserted by the author of “The Lay” to enhance the emotional sound of the work. “Yaroslavna’s Lament” seems to return us to reality after lyrical digression the author, in which he recalls the first Russian princes and their numerous campaigns against the enemies of Rus' and contrasts them with contemporary events. In general, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was created in order to express the real reaction of the inhabitants of Rus' to the events taking place, since this cannot be in the chronicle passage.
This episode carries a huge emotional load: the author’s attitude to everything that happens is concentrated here. Apart from this episode, feelings are not expressed so openly anywhere else. The author was able to very accurately convey Yaroslavna’s suffering, thereby expressing the attitude of the entire Russian land to the events taking place. Indeed, for the history of Rus' this defeat was of considerable importance. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is imbued with heroic and tragic pathos, that is, the writer’s emotional and evaluative attitude towards the person depicted. Also “Yaroslavna’s Lament” has a very great value for the composition “Words about Igor’s Campaign”. Turning to the forces of nature, asking them for help, Yaroslavna seems to be preparing the escape of Prince Igor from Polovtsian captivity.
Without this episode, the logic of the narrative would have been disrupted; without it, the Tale of Igor’s Campaign would not have been able to express the idea so clearly, that is, the condemnation of the internecine war and the call of the princes to unify, and the problem - fragmentation and the path to unification.
The space in the “Word” is constantly changing, sometimes expanding, sometimes narrowing. At this moment, the artistic space in the work narrows to Putivl. In the episode itself, the space expands to enormous limits, since Yaroslavna, in her cry, reminiscent of a lyrical folk song, addresses all the forces of nature at the same time: the wind, the Donets, and the sun. “Nature in “The Lay” is not the background of events, not the scenery in which the action takes place - it is itself character, something like an ancient choir” (D. S. Likhachev). Appeal to all the forces of nature creates the feeling that a person is surrounded by a huge space. This conveys the views of the people of that time, that is, the 12th century, on the world: “... medieval man strives to embrace the world as fully and widely as possible, reducing it in his perception, creating a “model” of the world - like a microcosm...” (Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature Poetics artistic space).
I read “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in two different translations - by D. Likhachev and in the poetic translation by N. Zabolotsky. I think that reading several different translations allows the reader to look at events from a different perspective. different sides and understand them better. In each translation, the translator’s personality is revealed - he is, as it were, the author of the text. Zabolotsky’s language is closer to the public, even colloquial:
What are you, Wind, telling viciously,
Why are the fogs swirling by the river...
While Likhachev:
Oh wind, sail!
Why, sir, are you blowing towards me?
But still we have the feeling that this is a translation ancient Russian work thanks to inversion:
At dawn in Putivl, wailing,
Like a cuckoo in early spring,
The young Yaroslavna calls,
On the wall is a sobbing city...
Zabolotsky uses various artistic techniques: personifications, comparisons, inserts own pieces to enhance emotional coloring. For example, Likhachev does not have such lines:
The fogs will fly away,
Prince Igor will open his eyes slightly...
.
You, sowing enemy arrows,
Only death blows from above...
That is, Zabolotsky gives more detailed, artistic descriptions. Likhachev uses mainly metaphors, while Zabolotsky uses comparisons in the same phrases, for example: “... the unknown cuckoo crows early” (D. Likhachev), “... like the cuckoo calls to the Jurassic.” In both translations it is used large number personifications, since Yaroslavna addresses the wind, the river and the sun, as if they were alive: “My glorious Dnieper!”, “The sun is three times bright!”, “What are you, Wind...”
Thus, the episode “Yaroslavna’s Lament” has great importance, both semantic and emotional. In this episode, by conveying Yaroslavna’s suffering, the author expresses the state of the entire Russian land at that time.

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Yaroslavna's lament

Reconstruction and translation by D. Likhachev

Old Church Slavonic text

On the Danube Yaroslavl a voice is heard,
zegzice is unknown, it’s too early to say:
“I’ll fly,” he said, “on the route along the Dunaevi,
I’ll wash my hairy sleeve in Kayal Retz,
In the morning the prince will see his bloody wounds
on his body."

Opera "Prince Igor". Yaroslavna's lament (listen)

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl (on the visor), Arkuchi:
“Oh, the wind, the sail!
Why, sir, are you forcing yourself?
Why are Khinov’s arrows moot?
(in his easy way)
in my opinion howl?
You never know how the mountain blows under the clouds,
cherishing ships on the blue sea?
Why, sir, is my joy
scattering along the feather grass?

Yaroslavna is too early to cry
I’m putting the city on the fence, Arkuchi:
“About the Dnieper Slovutitsyu!
You have broken through stone mountains
through the Polovtsian land.
You cherished Svyatoslavl's nosads
to Kobyakov's cry.
Cherish, sir, my kindness towards me,
but I wouldn’t have sent tears to him
It's early at sea."

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl on the visor, arkuchi:
“Bright and bright sun!
You are warm and red to everyone:
to which, sir, shine your ardent rays
Are you okay?
In the abyssal field I long for their rays to be harnessed,
Shall they wear it tightly?”

Translation

Yaroslavna's Lament - listen to audio

Yaroslavna cries early
“Oh wind, sail!
Why, sir, are you blowing towards me?
Why are you rushing Khin's arrows?
on their light wings
on my dear warriors?
Wouldn't it be enough for you to breathe under the clouds?
cherishing ships on the blue sea?
Why, sir, did you scatter my joy through the feather grass?”

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl-city on a visor, saying:
“Oh Dnepr Slovutich!
You punched stone mountains through the Polovtsian land.
You cherished Svyatoslav’s plantings on yourself
to Kobyakov's camp.
Come, sir, to my dear one,
so that I don’t send tears to him
it’s early at sea!”

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl on a visor, saying:
“Bright and thrice bright sun!
You are warm and wonderful to everyone:
why, lord, did you spread your hot rays
on the warriors of my fret?
In a waterless field thirst twisted their bows,
Have they filled their quivers with grief?”