The theme of the civil war in literature. Work of students in groups

The poet Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich was born on July 3 (July 14), 1743 in the Kazan province into a family of impoverished nobles. He spent his childhood in the family estate in the village of Sokury. Since 1759, Derzhavin studied at the Kazan Gymnasium.

In 1762, the future poet entered the service of the Preobrazhensky Regiment as an ordinary guard. In 1772 he was promoted to ensign, having received the first officer rank. In 1773 - 1775, Derzhavin, as part of a regiment, participated in the suppression of the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev.

public service

Since 1777, Derzhavin entered the public service in the Governing Senate with the rank of State Councilor. In 1784 - 1788 he served as the ruler of the Olonets, and then the Tambov governorship. Even in a brief biography of Derzhavin, it is worth mentioning that he was actively engaged in improving the economy of the region, contributed to the formation of provincial administrative, judicial and financial institutions.

In 1791, Derzhavin was appointed cabinet secretary of Catherine II. Since 1793 the poet has served Privy Councilor empresses. In 1795, Derzhavin received the post of president of the College of Commerce. From 1802 to 1803 he served as Minister of Justice.

last years of life

In 1803, Derzhavin retired and settled in his estate Zvanka in the Novgorod province. The poet devotes the last years of his life literary activity. In 1813, Derzhavin, whose biography was full of trips even during this period, went to Ukraine with a visit to V.V. Kapnist. In 1815, he was present at the exam at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, listening to the works of the young Alexander Pushkin.

On July 8 (July 20), 1816, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin died on his estate. The poet was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Varlaamo-Khutynsky Monastery near Veliky Novgorod.

Creation

The work of Gavriil Derzhavin is considered the pinnacle of Russian classicism. The first works of the poet appeared in the period of his military service. In 1773, Derzhavin made his debut in the journal Antiquity and Novelty with a translation of an excerpt from Iroizh, or Vivlida's Letter to Cavnus from the works of Ovid. In 1774, the works "Ode to Greatness" and "Ode to Nobility" saw the light of day.

In 1776, the first collection of poems by the poet "Odes translated and composed at Mount Chitalagoy" was published.

Since 1779, Derzhavin has departed from the traditions laid down by Sumarokov and Lomonosov, working on philosophical lyrics. In 1782, the Felitsa ode dedicated to Empress Catherine II was published, which brought the poet wide literary fame. Soon other famous works by Derzhavin appeared - "The Nobleman", "Eugene. Zvanskaya Life”, “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky”, “God”, “Dobrynya”, “Waterfall”, “Herod and Mariamne”, etc.

In 1808, a collection of Derzhavin's works was published in four volumes.

Introduction

2. Landscape lyrics by Derzhavin

5. Anacreon verses

6. Dramatic works

Conclusion

Introduction

In the last third of the 18th century, great changes took place in poetry, as in dramaturgy.

The stability of the poetic principles of classicism was protected by the established genre system. That's why further development poetry could not be carried out without violations, and then the destruction of the canonical forms of genre formations. These violations began to be allowed, as noted, by the classicist writers themselves (Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Maikov, Kheraskov and young poets from his entourage). But a real rebellion in the realm of genres was committed by Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin.

The young poet learned from his eminent predecessors: the rules of versification from Trediakovsky, poetic practice from Lomonosov and Sumarokov. But Derzhavin's biography developed in such a way that from his very first steps in poetry, life itself was his mentor.

Indeed, the poet saw the true nature - the polyphonic and multi-colored world, in its eternal movement and changes, infinitely pushing the boundaries of the poetic (from the most high stories to the chanting of a beer mug). But Derzhavin's main enemies were all those who forgot the "public good", the interests of the people, indulging in sybaritism or flattery at court.

1. Ode in the work of G.R. Derzhavin

In "Ode for Her Majesty's Birthday, Composed During the War and the Revolt of 1774," the poet, addressing Catherine, stated: "Enemies, the monarchy, the same people," and called her to mercy. In his biographical "Notes", created already at the end of his life, Derzhavin, recalling the Peasant War, noted the extreme irritation of the people against government troops and sympathy for Pugachev ordinary soldiers.

Despite the fact that Derzhavin spent about three years in places engulfed by Pugachevism, his inability to get along with his superiors did him a disservice, he turned out to be completely bypassed by awards and in the end, against his will, he was "released into civilian life."

But the civil service was also full of upheavals. As an adviser to the income expedition, Derzhavin, by too honest and straightforward performance of his official duty, aroused the hatred of his boss, one of the most influential Catherine's nobles, Prince Vyazemsky.

Caressed by Catherine II after the appearance of "Felitsa" (1783) and sent by the governor to the Olonets province, he quarreled there with the governor Tutolmin, when he distorted the position of the peasants in his description of the region. The governor's activity of the poet in Tambov (1786-1788) was met with hostility by the authorities. Derzhavin did a lot to educate the youth of the nobility, willingly providing own house. In the "Notes" we read: "The governor had meetings in the house every Sunday, small balls, and on Thursdays concerts, on solemn, and especially on public holidays - theatrical performances of hunters, noble young people of both sexes composed. But not only only amusements, but also the very classes for young youth were established by the day in the governor's house. In the printing house opened by Derzhavin, the first provincial newspaper in Russia, Gubernskiye Vedomosti, began to be printed.

In 1791, Derzhavin became Catherine II's personal secretary to accept petitions. But proximity to the empress also did not help. service career a poet who "climbed" to the empress with affairs when she was not at all inclined to deal with them. Moreover, the poet and the monarchess were deeply disappointed in each other: having entered the palace, Derzhavin saw the wrong side of court life and "did not gather his courage and could not write such subtle praises to her as in the ode to Felitsa and that similar writings, which he did not write when he was still at court: for from afar those objects that seemed to him divine and set his spirit on fire, appeared to him, when approaching the court, very human and even low and unworthy great Catherine, then his spirit cooled so much that he could hardly write anything with a warm, pure heart in praise of her. "Derzhavin at the same time remarks with condemnation in the Notes that Catherine II ruled the state more according to" her views, rather than according to holy truth " , and he himself often bored her with his truth.

Derzhavin became acquainted with the works of his literary mentors (Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Trediakovsky, Kheraskov) at the Kazan Gymnasium. Lomonosov's motifs are heard in the poem "Monument of Peter the Great" (1776) - even the title echoes Lomonosov's "Inscription to the Statue of Peter the Great". Derzhavin sings of Peter as an enlightened monarch.

Derzhavin expressed his admiration for Lomonosov in 1779 in the "Inscription" to his portrait:

Se Pindar, Cicero, Virgil - the glory of the Rosses,

The inimitable immortal Lomonosov,

In his delights, where he only drew a pen,

Thunder is still heard from fiery pictures.

In the ode "To greatness" of them, referring to the "peoples" and "kings", the poet proclaims that true "greatness" lies in serving people. The "Ode to nobility" sounded sharply, which later formed the basis of the famous poem "The Nobleman". Derzhavin, following Kantemir and Sumarokov, affirms the extra-class value of a person:

There is no splendor of clothes here,

What equals kings and dolls,

Outward view from the ignorant,

That the name of the nobility receives.

I build a harp and a tympanum;

Not you sitting behind the crystal

In a bow, shining with metal,

You will be honored here by me, you fool.

turning point in the work of Derzhavin was 1779. The poet later recalled: “He tried to imitate Mr. Lomonosov in expression and style, but, wanting to soar, he could not stand it all the time, with a beautiful set of words, magnificence and splendor characteristic of the only Russian Pindar. And for that, since 1779, he chose a completely different path " . Derzhavin's main merit was to bring poetry closer to life. In his works, for the first time, pictures of rural life, modern political events, the nature of the middle lane, court and estate life appeared before the Russian reader. The main subject of the image was the human personality - not conditional, fictional character, but a living contemporary, with a real fate and only his inherent features. The poet spoke in verse about himself, opened the pages of his own biography - all this was new and completely unusual for Russian literature. The framework of classicism turned out to be tight for Derzhavin, and, having retained the idea of ​​the direct educational impact of art, characteristic of this trend, he completely rejected the doctrine of genre hierarchy in his creative practice. Low and high, sad and funny combined in one and the same work, reflecting life in its unity of contrasts.

Features of novelty are found, first of all, in the poem "On the birth of a porphyry child in the North" (1779). On the subject - this is a congratulatory ode written on the occasion of the birthday of the heir, the future Emperor Alexander I. It is a playful song in form, which successfully uses the fairy tale motif of fairies bringing gifts to the royal baby. Unlike the iambic tetrameter usual for the ode, it is written in trochee, which gives it a dance rhythm. The ancient deities traditional for the ode are depicted in a reduced plan: Derzhavin’s Boreas is a “dashing old man”, with “white hair and a gray beard”, nymphs “fall asleep ... out of boredom”, satyrs warm their hands by the fire. Instead of a generalized picture of nature in the poem - a specific landscape sketch of the Russian winter: "fluffy hoarfrost", "blizzards", "ice chains" on fast waters. Derzhavin, to a certain extent, still follows Lomonosov here: the image of the baby tsar is given together with the image of mother Russia:

Sim Russia is delighted

Currents of tears shed,

On my knees,

She took it into the hands of the lad.

The prince is a combination of all the perfections necessary for an earthly god. Geniuses bring him

That abundance, wealth,

That glow is porphyry;

That joy and pleasure.

That peace and quiet...

Be the master of your passions

Be on the throne man! -

reflects Derzhavin's view of the personality of the monarch: the tsar, first of all, a man, and only a man. The poet expresses his creative principle- he is going to portray not a person in general, but a person with all the qualities inherent in him.

In the verses "On birth in the North ..." a direct polemic with Lomonosov is revealed. In addition to the chorea noted in them (instead of iambic tetrameter), the playful tone in the sketch of mythological characters (satires and nymphs), we note that Derzhavin begins his poems with a line (with a slight change) from the famous ode of 1747 by Lomonosov ("With white Borea hair" - from Derzhavin, "Where with white Borea hair" - from Lomonosov).

The philosophical ode "On the Death of Prince Meshchersky" (1779) gravitates towards the romantic genre of elegy. The theme of the transience of life, the inevitability of death, the insignificance of a person in the face of eternity has long been familiar to Russian literature (let us recall, for example, the monument of the 16th century "The Controversy of the Belly and Death"). And the poet echoes these motives when he speaks of the tragic law of being:

Nothing from fatal claws

No creature runs away;

The monarch and the prisoner are a meal of worms,

The anger of the elements consumes the tombs;

Gaping time to erase the glory:

As fast waters flow into the sea,

So days and years pour into eternity;

Swallows the kingdom of greedy death

With great emotional force, Derzhavin writes about the sudden onset of death, the arrival is always unexpected for a person, again following medieval motifs in this case:

Only a mortal does not imagine dying

And he wants to be himself eternal;

Death comes to him like a thief,

And life suddenly steals.

"Like a dream, like a sweet dream", youth passes. All worldly joys, love, feasts are cut short by death; "Where the table was food, there is a coffin."

The fate of Prince Meshchersky, "the son of luxury, coolness of neg", is a concrete embodiment of this tragic collision human being. But even in this poem, Derzhavin managed to combine two different planes of perception of the world and combine two different artistic manners. In the second part of the poem, there are Epicurean-Horacean motifs, especially clearly expressed in the final stanza:

Life is heaven's instant gift;

Set her to rest

And with your pure soul

Bless the fate of the blow.

Unlike the first part, which is close due to the abundance of rhetorical questions and rhetorical exclamations of oratory, the second one sounds elegiacly calm and resembles a friendly conversation with the reader. Innovative character The poem is also manifested in the fact that the author portrays himself as one of the heroes of the poem.

program work Derzhavin, which made readers immediately start talking about him as a great poet, was "Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Murza, who has long lived in Moscow, and who lives on business in St. Petersburg." The ode was published in 1783 in the journal Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word. According to V.G. Belinsky, "Felitsa" is one of "Derzhavin's best creations. In it, the fullness of feeling was happily combined with the originality of the form in which the Russian mind is visible and Russian speech is heard. Despite its significant size, this ode is imbued with an internal unity of thought, sustained from beginning to end personifying modern society, the poet subtly praises Felitsa, comparing himself with her and satirically portraying his vices.

"Felitsa" is a clear example of a violation of classicist normativity, primarily due to the combination of ode and satire: the image of an enlightened monarch is opposed to the collective image of a vicious murza; half-jokingly, half-seriously, the merits of Felitsa are spoken of; the author laughs merrily at himself. The syllable of the poem represents, according to Gogol, "a combination of the words of the highest with the lowest."

Derzhavin's image of Felitsa is multifaceted. Felitsa is an enlightened monarch and at the same time a private individual. The author carefully writes out Catherine's personal habits, her lifestyle, character traits:

Not imitating your Murzas,

Often you walk

And the food is the simplest

It happens at your table.

The novelty of the poem, however, lies not only in the fact that Derzhavin depicts the private life of Catherine II, the very principle of depicting a positive hero turns out to be new in comparison with Lomonosov. If, for example, the image of Elizabeth Petrovna in Lomonosov is extremely generalized, then here the complimentary manner does not prevent the poet from showing the specific deeds of the ruler, her patronage of trade and industry, she is that "god", according to the poet,

who gave freedom

Jump into foreign areas

Allowed his people

Look for silver and gold;

Who allows water

And the forest does not prohibit cutting;

Orders and weave, and spin, and sew;

Untying the mind and hands.

Commands to love trades, science

And find happiness at home.

Felitsa "enlightens manners", writes "in fairy tales of teaching", but she looks at poetry "kind" to her as "tasty lemonade in summer". Remaining within the framework of the dithyramb, Derzhavin follows the truth and, perhaps without noticing it himself, shows the limitations of Catherine the writer, who sought to develop literature in the spirit of protective ideas.

Derzhavin, like his predecessors, contrasts the modern reign with the previous one, but again he does it in the most concrete way, with the help of a few expressive everyday details:

There with the name of Felitsa you can

Scrape the typo in the line...

In this ode, the poet combines praise for the empress with satire on her entourage, sharply violating the purity of the genre advocated by the classicists. A new principle of typification appears in the ode: the collective image of Murza is not equal to the mechanical sum of several abstract "portraits" (such a typification principle was characteristic of Kantemir's satires and even of Novikov's "Recipes"). Derzhavin's Murza is the poet himself, with his inherent frankness, and sometimes slyness. At the same time, many character traits specific Catherine's nobles. Derzhavin's innovation was also the inclusion in the ode of a still life sample - a genre that would later appear brilliantly in his other poems: There is a glorious Westphalian ham, There are links of Astrakhan fish, There are pilaf and pies ...

The innovative nature of the work was seen by his contemporaries. So, the poet E.I. Kostrov, welcoming "the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa, the princess of Kirghizkaysatskaya", noted that the "soaring" ode no longer delivers aesthetic pleasure, and put the "simplicity" of his style in Derzhavin's special merit:

Our ears are deaf from the loud lyre tones...

Frankly, it is clear that out of fashion

Soaring odes have already come out.

You knew how to exalt yourself among us with simplicity!

Derzhavin himself was also fully aware of the novelty of Felitsa, classifying it as "a work of the kind that has never happened in our language."

An important place in Derzhavin's work is occupied by civic-accusatory poems, among which "The Nobleman" (1794) and "To Rulers and Judges" (the last edition - 1795) stand out in particular.

Having based The Nobles on the early ode To Nobility, Derzhavin made an attempt to draw a social portrait of a man standing close to the throne and appointed to carry out the will of the sovereign.

The ode is based on the antithesis: perfect image an honest and incorruptible statesman is contrasted with a collective portrait of the royal favorite, plundering the country and people. As a satirist and accuser, Derzhavin is unusually resourceful. The theme of the nobleman begins with a brief and caustic, aphoristic-sounding characterization:

Donkey stays donkey

Though shower him with stars;

Where the mind must act.

He just flaps his ears.

This characterization is replaced by the author's woeful reflection on the blindness of happiness, elevating to an unattainable height a fool who has no merit before the state:

ABOUT! vain happiness hand,

Against natural order

The madman is dressed in the master

Or a fool's joke.

The incriminating characterization of the nobleman, who forgets about his public duty, is further concretized in two contrasting paintings, anticipating N.A. Nekrasov. Derzhavin depicts, on the one hand, the luxurious life of the "second Sardanapalus," living "among games, among idleness and bliss," on the other hand, the humiliation of people who depend on him. At a time when the nobleman is still “sleeping peacefully”, petitioners crowd in his waiting room: “a wounded hero, like a harrier, turned gray in battle”, a widow that “sheds bitter tears with a baby in her arms”, “bent on crutches, fearless old warrior. And the ode to satire concludes with an angry appeal to the sybarite with a demand to wake up and heed the voice of conscience.

In his positive program, Derzhavin follows Kantemir and Sumarokov, asserting the extra-class value of a person:

I want to honor the dignity, Which by themselves were able to earn titles By laudable deeds.

Speaking further about the fact that "neither a noble family nor dignity" make a person better than he is, Derzhavin, however, remains within the framework of the noble worldview when he introduces the reader to his concept of social order:

Blessed are the people! - where is the king head,

The nobles are healthy members of the body,

All diligently do their duty,

Someone else's without touching the case.

The ideal form of government for the poet remains a feudal estate monarchy. Catherine II perceived the poem "To the Rulers and Judges" as Jacobin poems. Derzhavin quite accurately transcribes the text of the 81st psalm. This is how this biblical chant sounds in modern translation: "God stood in the assembly of the gods; judgment was pronounced among the gods: how long will you judge unrighteously and show partiality to the wicked? Give judgment to the poor and the orphan; to the oppressed and the needy do justice; deliver the poor and the needy, wrest him from the hands of the wicked. They do not know, they do not understand, they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, you are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you; but you will die like men and fall like every prince. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you will inherit all nations." But what looks epicly calm in the psalm resounded with Derzhavin as an angry denunciation. Here "Derzhavin's views on the tasks of power were reflected and deep dissatisfaction with it was expressed. Derzhavin criticized the ruling Senate, condemned the "earthly gods" who breed covetousness and violence on earth. In the eyes of the reader, this poem had the most radical character. "

The poem sounds like a direct, angry appeal of the poet to the "earthly gods". The tsar in the form of an "earthly god" has been glorified in Russian poetry since the time of Simeon of Polotsk. Derzhavin is the first to not only bring the "earthly gods" off their pedestals, but also judge them impartially, reminding them of their obligations to their subjects. The poem is perceived as a pathetic oratorical speech: Do not heed! see - and do not know! Eyes covered with bribes: Villains shake the earth, Falsehood shakes the heavens.

The insignificance of kings, their human weakness become especially noticeable thanks to the antithesis "king - slave":

And you will fall like this

How a withered leaf falls from the trees!

And you will die like this

How your last slave will die!..

At the end of the arrangement, the poet calls on the Almighty to punish the "kings of the earth."

2. Landscape lyrics by Derzhavin

The short poem "The Key" (1779) opens Derzhavin's landscape lyrics with its characteristic variety of colors and sounds.

You are pure - and admire the eyes,

You are fast - and console the ear -

the poet writes, turning to the source, and draws a waterfall in the morning, afternoon, night. Already here he resorts to alliteration, one of his favorite tricks later:

And the groves slumber in silence:

And you alone, making noise, sparkle.

The introduction of a personal element into poetry was a bold but necessary step, prepared by the very logic of artistic development. In Derzhavin's poems, the image of his contemporary, a natural man, with his ups and downs, is revealed in all its fullness and contradictions.

Following Horace, GR Derzhavin called poetry "talking painting". Brilliant examples of landscapes, still lifes, and portraits were given by Derzhavin in his works.

Separate details scattered in the poems help the reader to quite clearly imagine the appearance of the people about whom the poet writes. So, for the same Catherine II - "sky-blue eyes and a gentle shadow on the cheeks", "quiet tread", "cinnamon hair" ("Image of Felitsa"); Orlov has a "wiry hand", with which he "instantly besieged six horses at the hippodrome" ("To the Athenian knight"). You can clearly imagine the cold beauty Milena,

blond face,

I am slender, I am exalted,

With a somewhat proud brow.

Or the serf girl Dasha: "stately, black-eyed and chubby"

At the same time, Derzhavin does not abandon the classicist principle of depicting a person's appearance: many of his portraits are generalized and are not aimed at revealing the individual, and verbal cliches are used to describe them; such, for example, is the early poem "The Bride", addressed to Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bastidon, the poet's bride:

Lilies on the hills of your chest shine,

Meek marshmallows are given to your liking,

The valley on the cheeks is the smile of the dawns of spring;

On the roses of your mouth, the gardens are fragrant.

Derzhavin's landscape is multicolored and dynamic. An example of this is the beginning of the poem "Waterfall":

A mountain of diamonds is falling

From the heights of the four rocks,

Pearls abyss and silver

Boils at the bottom, beats up with mounds;

From the splashes the blue hill stands,

In the distance, a roar rumbles in the forest.

The landscape is distinguished by the brightness of colors in the poems "Key; "Rainbow", "Cloud", "Autumn during the siege of Ochakov", "Morning" and: many others.

Derzhavin's interest in living nature is expressed, in particular, in the exact description of animals. The poet's powers of observation affected the art £ the expression of a swallow ("Swallow") and a peacock ("Peacock"), a beloved pa (a comic poem "My lord, my poodle"):

Possessive, mature, you look like a lion,

Like a proud nobleman;

Washed, combed, bleached,

Beautiful and in a shaggy mug.

Great, curly, daring:

Like frost - white eyebrows,

Like a falcon with black eyes...

The definition of Derzhavin's poetry as "talking painting" is fair. He really attaches great importance not only to the coloristic, but also to the sound side of his poems - their "sweetness" and onomatopoeia. In "Discourse on Lyric Poetry or on an Ode" he writes: "A connoisseur will immediately notice whether poetry agrees with music in its concepts, in its feelings, in its pictures, and, finally, in imitation of nature. For example, whether the pronunciation of verse and the current of music when depicting a whistling or hissing snake like it; does the thunder rumble, does the source murmur, does the forest rage, does the grove laugh - when describing the resounding rumble of the first, the soft-muttering currents of the second, the gloomy-dull howl of the third and the cheerful echoes of the fourth. This principle of imitation of nature on the part of acoustics finds expression in many of the poet's works. So, for example, the picture of autumn nature in the ode "Autumn during the siege of Ochakov: comes to life thanks to the mention of rustling leaves:

Noisy red-yellow leaves

Spread out all over the trails.

The selection of hissing and whistling sounds allows you to convey the sound of its dried leaves. Brilliant examples of onomatopoeia can be found in the poems "The Nightingale in a Dream", "My Idol" and others.

Among Derzhavin's visual means, his epithets are especially rich. "Derzhavin's epithets are varied. The most common epithets are sensual, and among them the first place belongs to the visual epithet ... With the help of visual epithets, Derzhavin draws pictures of nature, describes animals, makes everyday sketches, gives portraits of people. And he does not just list everything he saw, but, as an artist, he saturates his canvases with color," writes N.B. Rusanov. The poet's favorite epithet is "golden". “Sometimes, trying to convey colors as accurately as possible,” the researcher points out, “the poet uses complex epithets made up of a combination of not only two (black-green), but also three (azure-gray-turquoise) colors. At the same time, combining colors, he thought carefully about their selection. As a rule, the second part of the epithet is brighter than the first and is aimed at enlivening the paint, thickening it and making it brighter: white-ruddy, black-crimson, red-yellow, silver-pink, etc. " .

The bright and varied palette of Derzhavin's epithetics ("painter of nature", according to apt definition poet I.I. Dmitrieva) was used to convey sharp contrasts and soft overflows of colors in the paintings of nature, to reproduce in a concrete-sensual form both "horrors" and "beauty" of it. The impact of color definitions in the above passage is enhanced by the presence of epithets that reveal the mood of the poet.

With the help of visual, color epithets, Derzhavin manages to concretize the appearance of a person. So, if his predecessor Lomonosov was able to notice in his heroes only heavenly eyes, bright and bright, as well as "a vision more beautiful than paradise", then Derzhavin discerned the blue eyes of the goddess of beauty, the passionate gaze of Sappho, Dasha black-eyed, the yacht eyes of Varyushka, the greedy eyes of the young diamond maker and full of sparks the falcon look of Russian girls. He saw the black eyes of a falcon, Milord's poodle, the yellow-eyed owl, the sun-eyed sturgeon.

Derzhavin not only "saw" nature perfectly, but also "heard" it well. Therefore, it is not surprising that in his poetry lifeworld turned out to be multicolored and polyphonic. The predominantly optimistic mood of the poet's work led to the predominance of "loud" sound epithets over "quiet" ones (as well as "bright" ones over "pale ones"). Derzhavin hears a sharp trumpet sound, a cheerful voice, an ardent tone. But the noisy, rattling, swearing sounds did not drown out for him the swarm of buzzing bees, the low-pitched harmony of the magical sound of the harp, the mournful moan.

Derzhavin has many metaphorical epithets: pale envy, bluish thunder, a fragile leaf, bitter and sweet tears, a hard heart, a sweet dream, a stinking shame.

3. Poems of the military-patriotic cycle

A significant place in the work of Derzhavin is occupied by the heroic-patriotic theme. The poet glorified the military exploits of the Russian people, starting from the 80s, when the Russian-Turkish war was going on, and ending with the victories over Napoleon. These are such poems as "Autumn during the siege of Ochakov" (1788), "On the capture of Ishmael" (1790), "On the return of Count Zubov from Persia" (1797), "On victories in Italy" (1799), "On the transition Alpine mountains"(1799), "Snigir" (1800), "Ataman and the Don Army" (1807), "Zazdravny eagle" (1791 - 1801), inscription "Field Marshal Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov" (1795), tombstone "On the death of Count Suvorov "(1800) and others. The main character of this cycle is "ross" - a generalized image of the Russian army. At first, following the Lomonosov tradition to a large extent, Derzhavin, in an emotionally elevated manner, using many Slavicisms, draws pictures of the battle, in which he shows the wonders of the courage of the Russians - "giant", "firm and faithful", whose "hard stone chest" boldly confronts the enemy:

Fire, unquenchable in the waves,

Ochakovo walls eats,

Ross is invincible before them

And reaps green laurels in scum;

Grey-haired storms despises,

On the ice, on the ditches, on the thunder flies,

In the waters and in the flame he thinks:

Either die or win.

At the same time, Derzhavin himself emphasizes the connection with the work of Lomonosov, taking as an epigraph to the poem "On the Capture of Ishmael" the words from the ode of his predecessor. In it, Derzhavin also depicts the exploits of Ross:

Your labors are fun for you;

Your crowns are all around the brilliance of thunders:

Are there battles in the fields - you tmish the vault of the stars,

Is there a battle in the seas - you foam the abyss -

Everywhere you fear your enemies!

In the disclosure of the military-patriotic theme, the poet, however, is not limited to the use of traditional means. The process of bringing creativity closer to life finds a clear expression in these works of Derzhavin. So, the motifs of a folk soldier's song help him create in the poem "Zazdravny eagle" (1791) extremely lively images of Russian soldiers: Oh! to use, guys, you, Russian soldiers! That you are fearless, Invincible by no one: We drink to your health.

The poem "To Ataman and the Don Army" (1807) is peculiar, in which the valor of Ataman Platov and his troops is sung in an epic spirit and the impact of the recently published "Tale of Igor's Campaign" is palpable. Here is an excerpt close to the picture of the flight of Prince Igor from captivity:

You walk in the grass - you are equal to the grass,

In the forest - and the forest is equal to the head,

You jump on a horse - the horse is quiet, not pleasant,

But a whirlwind rushes under you.

I'll blacken the stone with a black kite

You crawl into the night - and there is no trace,

By moisture or white goose white

You swim in the day - only trickles in the wake.

But Derzhavin is most independent when portraying Suvorov, whom he deeply revered as a commander and was on friendly terms with him. The poet is not afraid to lower the image of the commander, drawing his human features - simplicity, accessibility, respect for the soldier, and sometimes showing eccentricities. The Spartan way of life of Suvorov is described in the poem "To Field Marshal Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov". It turns out that "that in the royal magnificent house"

By resounding thunder

Mars rests on straw

That his helmet and sword even green in laurels,

But pride and luxury are defeated at the feet.

Suvorov as a unique human personality is revealed in the lyrical poem "Snigir". Despite the peculiarities of the genre ("Snigir" - an epitaph), Derzhavin was not afraid to show a man who looked strange and even funny in the eyes of the noble society

Suvorov - "leader", "hero", accustomed to "always be the first in strict courage" - is inseparable from the soldiers. Such is he in the named epitaph, such is he in the ode "On the crossing of the Alpine mountains."

4. The cycle of religious and philosophical lyrics

A number of the poet's poems form a cycle of religious and philosophical lyrics. Amazing Ability Russian man "to live on earth with eyes fixed on the sky" largely determined the picture of the world of Russian literature. Therefore, a system of genres of spiritual poetry has always been developed in it: odes, poetic transcriptions of biblical psalms, and prayers. The work of G.R. Derzhavin provides vivid examples of all these genres. It `s naturally. The poet grew up in religious culture, was brought up on the values ​​of the Eternal Book. In the memoirs of Derzhavin's childhood there is an interesting episode: when the poet was two years old, a comet appeared in the sky<.>, seeing it and pointing a finger, being in the nanny's arms, the first word said: "God" 3. Many years later, this is how the poet called the ode that made him world famous. According to D. Andreev, great Russian literature also began with Derzhavin's ode "God". This statement of the poet is undoubtedly true in the sense that it was here that the favorite questions of Russian literature were first clearly formulated: what is God? How are God and man connected? What awaits a person after death? Now they seem completely natural, especially for the poet, the creator of the word. But the 18th century was in many ways a century of other questions: how will Russia develop? How to make people more enlightened? What should be the ideal monarch? As you know, Derzhavin was one of Catherine's associates both in the field of education and in the field of government. Moreover, during the reign of Catherine, these two areas were more closely connected than ever before. As V. Khodasevich noted, any " cultural activities, including poetry, was a direct participation in the creation of the state. "It is impossible to call the 18th century atheistic. But, according to religious figures, "so sublimely - stormily, so elatedly - enthusiastically revealed Russia in its greatness, that there was no reason and time to seriously think about the soul - to soberly and repentantly feel like a lost brainchild of Holy Rus'." State poet Derzhavin spoke about the soul. Therefore, it is probably difficult to agree with the opinion of V. Sipovsky: "Cold blows from his ode" God. to define its essence, he brought so many different philosophical interpretations of the essence of the Divine that there is no clarity of understanding, there is only a beautiful set of human ideas about God, ideas that are contradictory, mutually annihilating one after another. show the impotence of the human mind - but be that as it may, this famous work of his is more philosophical than poetic. It has more mind, far-fetchedness than feelings, moods. " The debate about how sincere this ode has been going on for two centuries. Here are just a few statements by researchers of the poet's work:

A. Mickiewicz: "The poet, wishing to depict the Supreme Being, acts like Spinoza, begins to enumerate what it is not, in order to show what it should be. Therefore, he repeats a thousand times that God never had a beginning and never will have end, draws a similar series of denials and, in search of the ideal of greatness, depicts the infinity of space and time in geometric language.

A. Georgievsky: "If his morality is dim, then the energy of his fantasy is strong. And thanks to this unusual energy of fantasy, Derzhavin's poetry takes the path of mythologization<...>through the wonderful nature playing with colors; through the sun and stars, the poet and the Supreme Lord of the world comprehends ... "

N. Sretensky: "Derzhavin's poetic inspiration and talent helped him emerge victorious from the difficult task of combining sincere feeling with rational didacticism, this is the rare value of the odes "God" and "Immortality of the soul".

J. Grot (about the ode "God"): "... the reasons for her unparalleled success should be sought in the strength of her lyrical flight, the depth of religious conviction and the greatness of the images inscribed in it."

In this context, two points are important. Firstly, Derzhavin’s memoirs about how the famous ode was created: “The author received the first inspiration or idea for writing this ode in 1780, being in the palace at the vigil in Bright Sunday, and then, having arrived home, he put the first lines on paper; but being busy with a position and various secular bustles, no matter how he was accepted, he could not finish it, however, having written several verses at different times. Then, from 1784, having received a resignation from the service, he began to finish, but also could not in city life; however, he was constantly impelled by an inner feeling, and in order to satisfy it, telling his first wife that he was going to his Polish villages to inspect them, he went and, having arrived in Narva, left his wagon and people at the inn, hired a small peace in the city with an old German woman, so that she would cook for him; where, shutting himself up, he composed it for several days, but, without finishing the last verse of this ode, which was already at night, he fell asleep before the light; sees in a dream that light is shining in his eyes, woke up, and in fact his imagination was so heated that it seemed to him that light was running around the walls, and with it, streams of tears poured from his eyes; he got up and that very minute, by the illuminating lamp, wrote this last stanza, ending with the fact that, in fact, he shed grateful tears for the concepts that were entrusted to him ... ""

Secondly, the poet's reflections on the genre nature of the ode. In Discourse on Lyric Poetry or on an Ode, Derzhavin singles out precisely the lyrical beginning in the ode - "fire, heat, feeling", which are especially important when creating a spiritual ode, in which "the poet is surprised at the wisdom of the Creator, in the senses he sees in this magnificent world, but in the invisible - by the spirit of faith seen; praises providence, glorifies its goodness and power; confesses before him his insignificance and sin.

It has been repeatedly noted that in the center of the ode "God" is the idea that the mysterious God, infinite in space and time, created in his own image and likeness a man who, being mortal, having completion in space and time, is similar to the Creator and connects the world of God with the world of the earth. Therefore, it is man, unlike other creatures, who is given the right and the opportunity to comprehend God:

Only the thought to ascend to You dares...

E. Etkind noted that in the ode "God" Derzhavin managed to express the least verbally expressible - the concepts of Infinity and Eternity, which was achieved by combining "the abstract with the concrete, the metaphysical with the physical, the spiritual with the material":

How sparks pour, strive,

So the suns will be born from You;

Like on a frosty, clear day in winter

Motes of hoarfrost sparkle,

Rotate, shake, shine,

So the stars in the abyss under You...

Thus, the idea is embodied in a style with rare adequacy. The composition of the ode is also "divinely" harmonious: it belongs to both God and man equally. The first part - five stanzas - a story about God. In stanza I, an attempt is made to define God in relation to space, time, and motion. In stanza II, the process of understanding God is described and the impossibility of this is revealed; stanza III tells about the Creator of the world, about His incomprehensible gift of the Word. Stanza IV is a recognition that God is the beginning of all life on earth, the source of life. Finally, stanza V is admiration for the greatness of God, according to whose laws all existing worlds live. The second part of the ode - five stanzas - belongs to a person. In stanza I, the poet, as one of humanity, recognizes his complete insignificance before the greatness of the Creator; in II - is aware of himself as a creation of God; in stanza III, he comprehends the truth that it was he who was entrusted by God to become a link between himself and all living beings. Stanza IV - the joy of discovering that man is the beloved creation of the Lord and he has been given eternal life. Stanza V is man's hymn to God. Derzhavin's "God" is both a song to the Creator, and a person's attempt to penetrate the secrets of the universe, and the fulfillment of the eternal dream of the opportunity to see God.

From the ode "God" it was a natural step to comprehend the link that connects God and man. This is told by the ode "Christ", the main idea of ​​which can be traced already in the epigraph: "No one will come to the Father, only me." In the ode, Derzhavin turned to the image of Christ, which was not typical of the poetry of the 18th century and became the focus of attention of poets only starting with Pushkin. And in this sense, the ode "Christ" is very important, since it marked the path of Russian literature from an abstract, distant God - to a living and close God.

The ode is built on rhetorical questions: "Who are you?", which already contain a riddle, a mystery, at the discovery of which "horror, darkness" run through human "bones". In his ode, Derzhavin succeeded in merging possibility with "impossibility" by combining the divine and the earthly in the description of Christ:

You are God - but You suffered from torment!

You are a man - but you were a stranger to revenge!

In the ode "Christ" the main law of creating an ode is violated, in which all the "elements poetic word turned out to be<...>used, constructed at the angle of oratorical action. "The ode ends with an appeal to Christ, close to prayer and its melodious intonation:

O All-holy! Eternal Siy!

Quiet Light of God's Glory!

Pour yours, Christ! beauty

On the spirit, on the heart and on mores,

And do not stop living in me;

And if I dodge

From Your eyes I will be darkened,

In my tears, shine again!

In the ode "Waterfall" Derzhavin addresses the theme of the transience of being and asks the question of what eternity is, which of the people has the right to immortality. The magnificent picture of the waterfall, with which the poem opens, contains an allegory: the waterfall is a fleeting time, and the wolf, doe and horse coming to it are signs of such human qualities like malice, meekness and pride.

Most human destinies disappear without a trace in eternity, and only a few remain in the memory of posterity. To decide who is worthy of immortality, Derzhavin compares two types of figures - Potemkin and Rumyantsev. The powerful tsar's favorite Potemkin, whose power during his lifetime was unlimited, did not deserve the right to immortality in the people's memory, since he was looking for "false glory". Another thing is Rumyantsev, who

He kept the common benefit,

Was merciful in the bloody war

And he spared the very lives of his enemies.

Serving the "common good", observance of duty to humanity - that is the meaning of the life of an individual, such is Derzhavin's conclusion. Thus, the theme of the transience of life, first touched upon in the poems "On the Death of Prince Meshchersky", receives a new philosophical understanding.

The "eternal" questions of being became the subject of comprehension of another genre of spiritual poetry by G.R. Derzhavin - prayers. The famous prayer of the poet "Incomprehensible God, Creator of all creatures" appeared in the first edition under the title "Translation from the Prayer of Mr. Voltaire" and was a free translation of the "Prayer" that concludes Voltaire's "Poem on Natural Law". It resembled a Christian prayer in its structure, like other works of the poet in this genre: "Who, Lord, can know Your statutes?", "God the Creator", "Oh God, Creator of immortal souls", "Oh God! I honor Your limits of luminosity ". All the poet's prayers are permeated by one deep feeling- gratitude to the Creator, admiration for him:

And heaven and earth, and air and seas,

And heart and destiny in

In your hands, King...

ode to derzhavin lyrics alliteration

Therefore, the structure of Derzhavin's prayers can be expressed in a simple scheme: the lyrical hero (I) is the Creator (He). The whole world of the lyrical hero belongs to God, who is called "Center, Consent, Love, Source of life, goodness, happiness." A person needs to rely on the mercy of the Creator, pray and cry, cry and wish for one thing - "I will merge with the Creator!". The desire to merge with the Creator, to understand His plan determines the poetics of another genre of Derzhavin's spiritual poetry - poetic transcriptions of biblical psalms and imitations of psalms. As you know, the book of psalms of King David was very popular in Rus'. "Hardly any other book has been in such great use and had so much influence. It was used 1) as a liturgical book, 2) as an educational book, 3) as an edifying book for home reading, 4) as a saving book in some special cases of life. "For Derzhavin, the Psalter was not only a source for creating a poetic transcription. He saw more - he was looking for an answer to the questions that tormented him, worried, rejoiced. Arrangements of the psalms, according to L. K. Ilyinsky, became the "chronicle of moods" of the poet, who, on the basis of the biblical text, creates his own, unique and inimitable creation. Realities penetrate into the arrangements of the ancient text Derzhavin's century, creating a unique artistic effect.

So, in the poetic transcription of Psalm 90, already in the title "To the Winner" there is an appeal to a specific person. The text is based only on the idea of ​​the psalm - God helps the righteous: "He loved me, I will deliver him, because he called my name." In the transcription of the psalm, a specific person, Prince Potemkin, defeats not abstract, but specific enemies of the Russian people

The specific historical content determines the title of the work "To Overcome the Enemy" (1811) and, of course, corresponds more to the text of the transcription than to the psalm itself. Derzhavin also sings a song to God, but on the occasion of a specific historical event:

From the high fell our enemy rapids,

The whole world sings a laudatory face to the Creator:

Great! great! great!

In the arrangement of "Sermon", in the image of the biblical kingdom of prosperity, a picture of the life of the Russian state is created, as Derzhavin dreams of seeing it:

planted in the house

God of Valor from aphids will ascend:

Honesty, wisdom, faith is strict

They will flourish in the Russian kingdom.

In the meantime - "Avilities shake the earth, Falsehood shakes the heavens." And the citizen poet addresses strong of the world this with its political and human program:

Your duty is: to keep the laws,

Do not look at the faces of the strong,

No help, no defense

Leave no orphans and widows...

("Lords and Judges")

Disappointed in earthly gods Tired of fighting untruth, Derzhavin seeks refuge with the Heavenly Father. All his spiritual poetry is an invisible ladder, where at each new step the lyrical hero comprehends the idea of ​​the nature of the divine, is cleansed of sins and rises upward: "Who, Lord, can know Your statutes?" (1775), "Incomprehensible God, Creator of all creatures" (1776), "Calmened unbelief" (1779), "Lords and Judges" (1780), "God" (1784), "Christ" (1814). He rises so that there, at the top, he understands that it is impossible to comprehend God.

5. Anacreon verses

A large section of Derzhavin's poetry consists of Anacreontic poems, on which he worked mainly in the 90s, and in 1804 he published a separate book. The poet's turn to anacreontics reflected the new interest in antiquity that arose among Russian writers at the end of the 18th century.

The collection widely presents the favorite motives of Anacreontics: the joy of love, table fun, feminine charm, the beauty of nature. With remarkable skill, the poet depicts a young girlish charm in a graceful poem "Russian Girls" (1799):

As through the blue veins

Pink blood is shed

On the cheeks of fire

The pits were pierced by love;

Like their sable eyebrows,

Falcon's gaze full of sparks,

Their smile is the soul of a lion

And eagles' hearts are broken.

Derzhavin also begins the "gypsy" theme in Russian literature.

Poems are traditionally considered anacreontic: "To Euterpe" (where the poet advises the beauty to enjoy life while she is young), "Sleeping Eros", "Anacreon at the Stove", "Cupid", "Lucy", "To Women". Others did not become only examples of intimate lyrics. For them, as well as for the work of the poet as a whole, a civic orientation is characteristic. Thus, in the poems "Gift", "Clear", "To Yourself", "Desire", "Tonchia", "Silence", "Freedom", Derzhavin spoke about his discord with the royal court. In the song "The Crown of Immortality" (1798), he creates the image of a freedom-loving poet who prefers personal independence to royal favors.

In the poem "Clear", written based on the first ode of Anacreon, the question of the relationship between civil and personal motives in poetry is solved in a peculiar way. At first glance, Derzhavin, unlike Lomonosov, prefers love in his Conversation with Anacreon:

So there is no need for sonorous systems.

Let's change the strings again;

Let's sing heroes

Let's start singing love.

But the poet refuses "sonorous tunings" not because his lyre is not capable of solemn praise ("thunder from the lyre was heard, and fire flew from the strings"), but because "the hero he wants to sing is in royal disgrace Involuntarily renouncing "sonorous formations", i.e., from praising anyone other than Rumyantsev and Suvorov, the poet remains independent, true to himself. Derzhavin's Anacreontic works are not literal translations or imitations of ancient originals, but their processing and alteration in a Russian way. For this, the poet turns to Russian songs and fairy tales, uses folk vocabulary. The names of ancient gods are often replaced by Slavic ones. Derzhavin warns his readers in the preface to Anacreontic Songs: “Inde, I mentioned Slavic deities in them, instead of foreign ones, to note that we can decorate our poetry with our mythology: Lel (god of love), Zimstrela (spring), Lada (goddess beauty), Delight (god of luxury)".

Images of folk poetry are present, for example, in the song "Cupid and Psishey". The image of Cupid and Psishei intertwined with flowers, connected by them, goes back to round dance ("Braid, wattle...") and wedding songs. In "Offering to the Beauties" the author gives "Lel's golden songs" to the girls who ride in sledges in winter and walk in "meadows and ants" in summer. The folk song is reminiscent of the poem "Dasha offering", although Apollo and other ancient deities are mentioned there.

You sat with me in the evening

Sweetheart, and sang a song:

"We need a garden, a garden, my light."

At least I thought: there is no money,

But, loving, how to refuse?

I began to walk and think

How can I help you.

How would a garden be.

Both the size of this song, and the vocabulary (“evening”, “my light”, etc.), and the inclusion of proverbs and sayings (“but as the morning of the evening is more cunning, I will be smarter tomorrow”) indicate Derzhavin’s conscious orientation towards folklore. In a fabulous manner, the garden that the hero dreams of is described:

Fish walk in the ponds

Birds of paradise in the bushes

Deer are white, goldenhorns,

Through the yellow roads

Through the hills they jump, slippery,

And the cats scream overseas.

The image of a fallow deer or deer with golden horns is also found in folk songs:

Is there a white deer walking in that grass,

White deer, golden antlers.

The song "Shooter" adjoins the folklore tradition, in which the plot situation of the Anacreontic works - the battle with Cupid - is replaced by a duel with a white swan. The influence of folk poetry is not in doubt in "Comic Desire", which is an imitation of Anacreon's ode "To his girlfriend", but rather reminiscent of a joke folk song, not without reason this "ode from those plays that were published in song books." fairy tale motifs used in "Lyubushka": the author does not want to be a "werewolf" and "invisible or a snake in the tower to the girls to fly", but prefers to wrap himself with "monous gold" around the white neck of his beloved. When creating "Anacreontic Songs", Derzhavin set himself another important task: "Out of love for the native word ... to show its abundance, flexibility, lightness and, in general, the ability to express the most tender feelings, which are hardly found in other languages" 1. He accomplished this task brilliantly.

6. Dramatic works

The successes of the Russian theater inspired Derzhavin to create dramatic works, which, however, compared with his poems, were not distinguished by high literary merit and were not successful. He wrote tragedies: "Herod and Mariamne", "Eupraxia", "Dark One", "Ataba... or the Destruction of the Peruvian Empire" (the latter is not completed). The genre of one of his dramatic works - "Pozharsky, or the Liberation of Moscow" - he defines as "a heroic performance." Derzhavin also created the comedy "Mess from Kondratiev". He also tried his hand at the fashionable genre of comic opera - "The fool is smarter than the smart", "Miners", "Terrible, or the Conquest of Kazan", "Dobrynya".

The opera "Dobrynya" belongs to the genre of "drama with voices" popular in the second half of the 18th century. In it, colloquial prose speech alternates with poetic arias, duets, ensembles and choirs, accompanied by an orchestra and often dances. When creating this work, Derzhavin set a rather serious task: to write an opera that would not serve as "amusement only in the courts, and then only on solemn occasions," but would be "downright popular." “All actions,” the poet points out, “are taken partly from history, partly from fairy tales, partly from folk songs.” However, one can speak about the nationality and historicism of "Dobrynya" purely conditionally: referring to the times of Prince Vladimir, Derzhavin endowed his heroes with the features of medieval knights, and gave the play as a whole a sentimental flavor. This is understandable, since the source of Derzhavin's opera is not an epic, but a "heroic fairy tale" from Levshin's collection "Russian Tales": "About Prince Vladimir, Tugarin Zmeevich and Dobrynya Nikitich", which had the character of a magical adventurous story. Dobrynya and the prince bear little resemblance epic heroes. Derzhavin’s Dobrynya is a knight of the “bogatyr” order, founded, as in Levshin’s fairy tale, by the prince himself. The "iron, stone, invincible" prince, unlike the epic Vladimir the Red Sun, has a tender, sensitive heart. This sentimental hero "passionately kisses the hand" of his lady of the heart and even faints. The heroes act in a chivalrous setting: tournaments are held, heralds are mentioned, the main character of the Opera Limit lives in a "Gothic golden-domed tower" and plays melancholic melodies on the harp. At the same time, some private details indicate that Derzhavin nevertheless turned directly to folk art.

Derzhavin's entry into the field of dramatic poetry was, of course, a delusion, but since in the last period of his life it occupied him most of all and he discovered amazing performance in it, we, as a biographer, must consider at least in the main features this branch of his poetry. activity, along with the motives that drew him to it, and the degree of success he achieved.

We know that he, while still being the governor of Tambov, and then settling again in St. Petersburg, wrote several compositions on various occasions for presentation at the theater. But he especially indulged in this kind of poetry from 1804. Success in lyrics seemed to him too easy and cheaply acquired. The miserable state in which the Russian theater was at that time could also contribute to a new direction. Recently, only one remarkable work has appeared at it, namely Kapnist's Yabeda; but, banned after the first performances in the reign of Paul, this comedy, even under Alexander, could not be played for a long time and was allowed only for sale. Shakhovskoy had not yet begun his career as an author; The Russian stage, with the rare exceptions that it owed to Ilyin and Krylov, was supplemented either with old plays by Knyazhnin and Fonvizin, or with bad translations and alterations. Between the latter, the magic-comic opera "Mermaid", borrowed from the German play "Das Donauweibchen", which made a splash in Vienna and Berlin, was especially lucky. One of the diligent translators for our then theater, Krasnopolsky, translated it into Russian customs. With the transformation of the Danube into the Don. This alteration first appeared on the stage in the autumn of 1803 in magnificent surroundings and with the participation of the best artists. Despite the absurdity of its content, "Mermaid" became for a long time the favorite play of the St. Petersburg public and was given every other day. Arias were heard everywhere, for example, "Men in the world, like flies, cling to us."

Shortly before that, Katerina Semenovna Semenova, who made her debut, delighted the audience.

In July 1804, Derzhavin wrote to Kapnist: “Now there is a taste for comic operas here, which are decorated with magical scenery and comfort the eyes and ears more than the mind with music. not as before, in the unity of time and never less than 5 acts, on the contrary, in parts. will present us with a different spectacle. You will ask me how this is done, for where there is a connection there must be a plan, a beginning and an end. But you are mistaken. V short words description of the current theatre.

Confident in the versatility of his poetic talent, having already tried it in his compositions of a dramatic form, Derzhavin wanted to take part in the elevation of the Russian stage with his own labors. Six months before the letter, from which they borrowed, only that the lines quoted, on January 30, 1804, he wrote to A. M. Bakunin: “Now I want to try in the dramatic field, and you would oblige me if from the Metastasian operas some extracts or plans briefly reported them, so that I, having become acquainted with his disposition and spirit, could more reliably embark on this field, for such important lyrical plays, it seems, are more characteristic of me than others.

From these words, it becomes clear to us under what influence Derzhavin wrote his two large dramatic works with music, choirs and recitatives: Dobrynya (in five acts) and Pozharsky (in four). Hence their similarity, in character and composition, with similar works of Catherine II, who in her time equally diligently read Metastasio.

The borrowing by both her and Derzhavin of plots from the fairy-tale world and national history was in accordance with the general trend, which at that time Western literature began to pass to us. In the first of these plays by Derzhavin, one can see an effort to make abundant use of the element of folk poetry, although at the same time it is revealed at what a low level the study of antiquity and ancient literature was then still in our country. One of the main sources was Derzhavin's "Ancient Russian Poems" (epics), which had just been published by Klyucharev, as well as collections of fairy tales by Popov and Chulkov, which he had long known. Meanwhile, however, the play presents incongruities at every turn: next to borrowings from Russian epics, knights are constantly mentioned, and Dobrynya is dedicated to this title on the stage itself. The heroine of the opera, Prelepa, on the model of the French comedy, has a confidante Method, with whom the roguish servant Dobrynya Torop is accommodating. Prelepa grew up in Kholmograd, a sacred place for the entire North, where, according to Tatishchev, the northern kings went on a pilgrimage. There, Prelepa was brought up together with Dobrynya in the school of the sorceress Dobrada. When Vladimir wanted to marry, she was brought to Kyiv with many other girls, and the choice of the prince fell on her. But here, in the person of Tugarin, the Serpent Gorynych appears and claims that he was in connection with her. Vladimir challenges him to a duel and defeats the slanderer, but Tugarin manages to substantiate his accusation with the help of some letter, and the court pronounces a sentence on Prelepa. Finally, however, her innocence is revealed, and Vladimir, having learned the story of her childhood, blesses her for marriage with Dobrynya; at the same time Torop marries Method. The action is constantly interrupted by choirs, duets and dancing. In some places, only the talent of the author is manifested in successful verses.

The same oddities are noticed in Pozharsky's "heroic performance" completed in 1806, therefore, a year before Kryukovsky's well-known tragedy on the same plot appeared on the stage, which was a huge success. Given the situation in Russia at that time, it was natural that writers considered it their task to arouse a patriotic mood in society. We already know with what reverence Derzhavin looked at Pozharsky, a "great" Pozharsky, in his words, "whom history knows little of." He chose the form of the opera because, according to the view prevailing at that time, he saw in it the highest kind of dramatic creativity, combining all branches of art and therefore capable of acting on the audience more than any other idea. Among the intrigues directed against Pozharsky by Trubetskoy and Zarutsky, Marina, similar to popular belief, is Derzhavin's sorceress and wants to lure Pozharsky into her networks, who really hesitates, but finally emerges victorious from the struggle with his passion. And here magic works before the eyes of the audience, cupids, sylphs, nymphs, satyrs appear.

Soon, however, Derzhavin wanted to test his strength and tragedy. Ozerov's success attracted him to this field: he considered it possible for himself to achieve primacy in all branches of poetry. On November 23, 1804, the tragedy "Oedipus in Athens" was presented for the first time, and the public, unaccustomed to visiting the Russian theater, accepted it with such enthusiasm, which had not been an example for a long time. Here is Ekat. Sem. Semenova made her debut in the tragedy. At the end of the play, the audience unanimously demanded the author, but he shied away from this honor. High society began to go to performances of Oedipus. Having printed the play, Ozerov dedicated it to Derzhavin in a letter written in excessively laudatory terms; no one has ever extolled Derzhavin as much as Ozerov, "wishing to bring a tribute of surprise and delight to that great genius who showed himself to be Lomonosov's only rival." "To the inspirational songs of your muse," says the tragic poet, "I owe the liveliest pleasures of life." This dedication evoked a no less pompous message from Derzhavin; in the enclosed letter it is explained that he was slow in answering, because he wanted to add to it the remarks of "a certain society of friends, who, having undertaken to examine this creation, thought to notice its incomparable beauties and some errors." The society of friends mentioned here consisted, of course, of the followers of Shishkov, who several years later became members of the well-known Beseda. Naturally, they could not like much of Ozerov. They found even more shortcomings in his "Dmitry Donskoy", presented for the first time at the beginning of 1807. Derzhavin openly expressed his remarks about this tragedy at court. He found, among other things, that this tragedy lacked historical fidelity, and was dissatisfied with the fact that here, without any reason, Dmitry Donskoy was presented in love with an unprecedented princess, who arrived alone in the camp and, contrary to all the customs of that time, staggers around the princely tents. Yes, he talks about his love for Dmitry. It came to Ozerov. Already offended by the attacks on Oedipus before, he began to loudly ascribe envy to the poet's criticism, spoke of this even to the empress, and ceased acquaintance with Derzhavin. It was then that the lyric poet decided to teach the young tragedian a lesson and began to compose tragedies himself. The first of them bore the title "Herod and Mariamne". It was undertaken as a result of the challenge with which the Russian Academy at the end of 1806 turned to Russian writers, inviting those who wished to write a tragedy in verse. The prize amounted to 500 rubles. sent to the academy by an unknown person. It was awarded to Kheraskov for the tragedy "Zoreida and Rostislav". As for Derzhavin, he did not submit his work to the competition, but published it on his own with a dedication to the Russian Academy. Previously, he reported his tragedy to A. S. Khvostov for viewing, to whom he addressed a message on this matter.

Voltaire, when publishing his "Mariamne", noted that the rich plot of this tragedy would have deserved to be developed according to a more extensive plan, and this was what guided Derzhavin in choosing the subject for his work. We do not consider it necessary to enter into an analysis of both this and other dramatic works of his; judgment on them has already been pronounced by both contemporaries and posterity. Merzlyakov wittily called them "the ruins of Derzhavin." Of course, in each of them there are separate places, remarkable either for their lyrical strength or for their happy thought, but in general they suffer from a lack of liveliness of action, tailored to the standards of the so-called pseudo-classical drama; besides, the language of dialogue in them is for the most part heavy and incorrect.

Ever since the tragedy "Herod and Mariamne" appeared, Derzhavin's dramatic performance has become amazing. Following that, he wrote the tragedies "Eupraksia", "Dark" and "Atabalibo, or the Destruction of the Peruvian Empire". The action of "Evpraksia" revolves around the heroic act of the Ryazan princess, who rushed out of the tower with a child in her arms at the sight of the approaching Batyev army. Probably, the reason for writing this tragedy was also an invitation from the Russian Academy, published at the beginning of 1808, during which it was written. Bishop Eugene, having received it for viewing and intending to rewrite it for himself, gave the following review of it in a letter to the poet: "Eupraksia's monologues are very characteristic, and patriotism is poured throughout the tragedy with striking features that can shame us at the present time." In the tragedy "Dark" Derzhavin sets out the conditions that he recognizes as necessary in this kind of composition; such are the observance of unities, the curious plot, the naturalness of the course of action, the unexpected and striking end. He attached particular importance to the preservation of historical truth. "All the actors," he says, "are not fictitious, but genuine historical ones, and each has properties that are proper to them." In general, he boasted of the observance of historical fidelity in his tragedies. Atabalibo, probably the fruit of reading Marmontel's Incas and Kotzebue's The Gishpians in Peru, was written during the last period of Derzhavin's life and remained unfinished. In the words of Aksakov, who read it aloud in his house, "this tragedy, with choirs and a splendid performance that could not be performed on stage, was Derzhavin's favorite work."

After the four tragedies mentioned, in a few years he managed to write more operas: "Ioann the Terrible, or the Conquest of Kazan", "The fool is smarter than the smart" and "Miners", the last two in the popular taste. His return from tragedies to opera is explained by the lofty concept that he had about this. last kind as the pinnacle of art. He dreamed of the opportunity to give the historical opera the same significance that the tragedy with the choirs had among the ancient Greeks, and to act through it to excite patriotism. Catherine II, in his opinion, fully understood the superiority of opera and its educational value. “We saw and heard,” he says, “what effect had the heroic musical performance composed by her in wartime called Oleg’s Initial Reign.” In these thoughts, he n in 1814 he wrote the opera The Terrible. The spectacle of the conquest of the Kazan kingdom, it seemed to him, suited the circumstances of Russia after the triumph over Napoleon; he compared the French with the bloodthirsty Tatar hordes, and likened their leader to a magician who, more by deceit and charm than by true art, wanted to frighten his rivals.

But Derzhavin's activity in the field of dramatic poetry was not limited to this either; at the same time, he managed to translate in verse Racine's Phaedra, as well as several operas from Metastasio, one from de Bellois, and so on. In conclusion, let us also mention the little comedy-joke "Mess from Kondratiev", written by him for his home theater and based on the fact that he had three servants of this name, which often led to funny misunderstandings. Many suspected in this play a hidden allusion to the then ministers, who, according to Derzhavin, did not know their positions and which of them was the first.

As an example of the outstanding thoughts and well-aimed observations scattered in the dramas of our poet, we will cite several verses from Evpraksia, showing how correctly he already understood one feature of the Russian folk character that is recognized by all in our time. Batu says to his close associate, Burundai:

About Russian courage, your praise is in vain to me.

Their stone chest is noticeable to all peoples;

Russians cannot be defeated with weapons,

But by cunning - and I undertake it not falsely:

I could give many examples.

And Svyatoslav himself died in the camp by surprise.

Only a formidable scolding will pass - their fun is their property,

Carelessness is the element, feasts and hospitality.

In the midst of the world, they have no care to scold forging.

How many times have they been suddenly harmed by an ally!

Unfortunately, this same passage can serve as an example of the bad language and monotonous meter of Derzhavin's tragedies. About how he himself, meanwhile, highly valued his dramatic works, we know enough from the stories of S. T. Aksakov. We also know from the poet's correspondence that he liked to send them in manuscript to his friends and admirers: Dmitriev, Karamzin, Kapnist, A. S. Khvostov, Evgeny Bolkhovitinov. Especially cherishing the advice of the famous actor I. A. Dmitrevsky, he also informed him of his notebooks for viewing. When reading them, he noted in the margins the places that required explanations. These notes greatly disturbed Derzhavin, and when Dmitrevsky, returning the manuscript to him, turned over the sheet in his presence, the poet looked ahead anxiously and ran his eyes through the pages. Seeing this, the evasive old man said to him: "Your Excellency, be completely calm: I am not making these remarks for you, but, you know, there are always rogues in the theater who are ready to find fault with authors: I want to warn you against them." Among the writers to whom Derzhavin addressed with his dramatic works were still young people at that time, Gnedich and P. A. Korsakov (later the publisher of Mayak and translator from Dutch). The former, in 1810, read Derzhavin's translation of Phaedra before a meeting of guests, and the latter, on his instructions, later (1813) compared this translation with the original and pointed out to him the places that required changes. Soon after the publication of four volumes of his poems, Derzhavin was already thinking about publishing the tragedies Herod and Mariamne, Eupraxia, and Phaedra. We have seen above that the first was indeed published during the lifetime of the poet; others remained unpublished. About their publication he corresponded in 1809 with the well-known Moscow publisher Beketov, who answered him that "it would be an honor and pleasure to print them in his printing house" and asked him to order good drawings for engraving the title pages. The matter, however, stopped there.

Derzhavin's desire to see his tragedies staged was far from being realized. His only play, played at the St. Petersburg theater, was Herod and Mariamne. Doubting that she could be a success, Prince Shakhovskoy, then director of the theater, did not agree to accept her for a long time, responding to the author with a lack of money to stage his work with proper brilliance. Finally, however, he agreed, and on November 23, 1808, Derzhavin's tragedy was presented with choirs set to music by Davydov. The main roles, Herod and Mariamna, were performed by Yakovlev and Karatygina. Thanks to these two talents, the success exceeded all expectations, and the performance was repeated several times. Book. Shakhovskoy was all the more pleased that his student Valberkhova, who played Solomiya, was well received by the public. According to Zhikharev, Derzhavin very much wanted to see "Evpraksia" on the stage; in order to force Prince Shakhovsky to accept the play, he even volunteered to bear the cost of staging it. Shakhovskoy, fearing failure, persisted, but finally gave in to Dmitrevsky's persuasion, however, so that some changes and reductions were made in the tragedy. Derzhavin agreed to this; but Dmitrevsky, fearing that the play would still not be successful at the theater, explained to the author that it would be more profitable for him to stage it at home, since then the scenery and costumes would remain in his hands. Derzhavin heeded this advice.

7. Epigrams and fables of Derzhavin

In 1805, Count Khvostov, who published laudatory verses in honor of Derzhavin in his Friend of Education, asked him to contribute some of his works to this journal.

Avoiding appearing in a magazine that was published very casually and did not enjoy the respect of the public, the poet replied that since he was preparing a complete edition of his "sprinklings", he was afraid to fill the readers' teeth on edge. At the same time, he mentioned that he could not get rid of one St. Petersburg journalist and handed him "some trifle, which he had scattered in shreds", that is, inscriptions on various occasions and several fables; in a letter to Mr. He added to Khvostov that he considered himself very unskillful and heavy in this kind.

Although, indeed, this section of his poems does not, generally speaking, have special merits, but since it is quite extensive and, moreover, not without historical interest, then we must pause a little on it. In its place, it has already been noted that from the very beginning of his literary activity Derzhavin sometimes wrote epigrams and fables. At a later time, cooking complete collection of his writings, he intended to devote a whole volume to this kind of poetry, but did not have time to fulfill his plan. Between his manuscripts, we found two notebooks, one of which contained up to 25 fables, and the other about 200 different small works, such as epigrams, inscriptions for portraits, epitaphs, etc. They acquaint us with various details of the then literature, as well as with the poet's views on some contemporary faces and events. From his early poems of this kind we have already had occasion to learn his attitude towards Sumarokov. He has several epigrams on other contemporary writers. He especially liked to make fun of Nikolev, Struisky, Count Khvostov and his former colleague Emin. He once competed with the latter in Anacreontic poetry. Emin began one of these plays with verses:

Recently in the dark night

Ending the day well

Chasing the worries away

I slept peacefully.

On this occasion, Derzhavin, later composing an epigram for Emin's comedy, ended with a verse:

Only one day in your life

He knew how to conduct decently.

Corresponding with Count Khvostov, Derzhavin at first spoke to him courtesy about his indefatigable and prolific muse, but soon, as we have seen, he found it necessary to restrain his Pegasus, and later even wrote several epigrams on him. Suvorov's nephew, and thanks to this kinship, a chamber junker, and then a count, Khvostov, since the 90s of the last century, began to indulge in metromania, publishing his poems in Princess Dashkova's New Monthly Works. In his odes, he strove and, as it seemed to him, managed to keep up with the famous lyrics. Incidentally, he also wrote an ode to God and asked Derzhavin:

How do you like my ode to God?

In the epigram, which served as an answer to this question, Samokhvalov boasts that although he did not copy the horse described by Horace, nevertheless, -

Wherever the head would be, painted the tail there.

How Derzhavin looked at the magazine Friend of Education, where they so zealously smoked incense for him, can be seen from his epigram on the occasion of the change in color of the wrapper on the books of this publication in 1806:

In red clothes was last year this magazine,

And enlightenment shone on us like red lead;

But now it's blue

Is it really more pleasant for us to lie in it?

The epigram on Skryplev (Khvostov), ​​which begins like this:

An unoiled cart creaks

In the sandy steppe without a shore

And manure is carrying with gold...

Next to this epigram another can be placed, "On the Rhymerist", also remarkable for its plasticity of expressions:

Did you see, rhymer, in the market you are pancakes

From buckwheat flour, cold, dry,

No salt, no yeast, no butter baked,

And, in a word, callous and tough,

What can only be pushed into the throat with a pestle?

Isn't it difficult - judge - to eat such pancakes,

Is not the death penalty for grave sins?

Alas! your poems.

During friendly relations with Derzhavin, Khvostov even managed to involve him in a poetic correspondence with himself, in which Volkhov represents the lyrics, and his interlocutor appears under the name of the Kubra river, which washed his estate in the Vladimir province. In response to the greetings of the radiant poet, "The Friend of Enlightenment" published "Volkhov's Message to Kubrz":

In vain, dear Kubra,

You sing about my glory;

Pretty young girl!

I would sing about your beauty.

Thus, we see that Derzhavin's literary relationship to gr. Khvostov were different at different times; due to the mutual personal friendliness of both, these relations were rather difficult for the first and therefore not always sincere on his part. His epigrams to the incompetent friend remained, of course, in the manuscript. Much more direct were his relations with cousin singer Kubra, Alexander Semenovich Khvostov, once a colleague of Derzhavin under Prince Vyazemsky. He belonged to one literary circle with Lvov and Khemnitzer, he wrote very little himself, but he was known as a man of talent and taste and was known as a wit and epicurean. When once gr. Khvostov reproached him for his laziness, he answered:

My lot is lazy, and the lot is inevitable:

Tell me, dear friend, what is it that you are diligent?

Sometimes namesakes quarreled in earnest, as we will see below, when we talk about Beseda; we shall now mention only another less serious case. Once, a dispute ensued between them about whether it is permissible in Russian verses to insert pyrrhic, a foot consisting of two syllables without stress, next to iambic and trochee. Count Khvostov, accused of using it, rightly argued that pyrrhicism is inevitable and is often found in all our poets, starting with Lomonosov. Finding that he was right, Derzhavin wrote several humorous verses to his opponent, in which he noted that Count

Proud of his victory, Pyrrhic again sounds like a creaking cart.

Alexander Semyonovich Khvostov answered with verses, although bad, but curious in their view of the poetry of his relative; they end like this:

I only wish that the count for a hundred beauties

And Lomonosov, and your

At least one putnenky gave thoughts a turn

Throughout his years and our years.

Derzhavin greatly valued the advice of Alexander Semyonovich and, among other things, told him to view his tragedy Herod and Mariamne in 1808 with a special message, to which he replied:

Derzhavin accepted the command,

From now on, I am a critic and a piit;

Singer Felitsa approval

Whom, whom will not be proud of?

On another occasion, he defended our poet from the attacks of critics in this way:

Are wave crashes terrible?

The pygmies' plans for Heracles are not dangerous;

The smoke of Etna fiery Olympus carelessly sees;

Zoilov is not afraid of Omir's weak cry.

Singer Felitsa Lavr in the midst of a daring vran voice

It grows and rises in honor of the Russian Parnassus.

Derzhavin, by the way, has epigrams about Kostrov ("Khmelnin") as a translator of Homer, not Kachenovsky ("puffed up and lame-footed historian") and about Voeikov. The latter was guilty of the fact that, together with Kachenovsky, he very sharply attacked the work of Stanevich, one of the most zealous admirers of Shishkov, in Vestnik Evropy. It is also impossible to ignore Derzhavin's epigrams on Karamzin (which has already been Mentioned) and on Zhukovsky (in connection with the quarrel, which we will to speak later), and next to them - and his sarcastic response to the following review by Sergei Glinka, published in the "Russian Bulletin" in 1809 regarding the new edition of the works of our poet: "In the third part there are Anacreontic odes, which were already in print, with with the addition of some new compositions of this kind. Anacreon and Sappho would doubtless have admired many of these songs. It must be admitted, however, that there are among them some that the Graces would like to throw a veil over...

In his response to this review, Derzhavin addresses the defense of the Russian Graces:

Tells you, Graces, to pull up the veil

To the songs of my playful sage.

To know that he was not attracted by the apple of Eden,

his mother is not from Adam's rib, his father is not from clay:

He is not curious, as his grandfathers were.

But you, Graces, are, of course, following in the footsteps of your great-grandmother:

Through the haze you closed those songs

And smiled at the forbidden fruit.

Here, then, is the poet's own justification against the accusation which, as we have seen, more than one Glinka brought against him for some of his Anacreontic songs.

To one kind of poetry with epigrams can be attributed those poems by Derzhavin in which he expresses his thoughts about the lessons he learned in life or disappointments, for example, "Proof of Talents"

The thought of his merits and failures greatly occupied the aged poet. This is evidenced by two of his epitaphs to himself:

Silver and gold did not give in excess

And he did not take bribes from the innocent,

I did not lead you into trap by deceit

And did not forge anyone's misfortune;

But, by faith-truth, venting anger,

He left three kings in debt.

Come breathe, passerby, to the coffin,

I'll bury his bones.

Here lies Derzhavin, who supported justice;

But, crushed by untruths, he fell defending the laws.

Arise from curial chairs,

Inexperienced boyar son,

And the lush tree of distant ancestors

Do not move, accidental ruler!

Here the poet refers, of course, to the young employees of Alexander I, and mainly to Kochubey. In the last verse of the passage, they are called young patricians.

These same persons, with the addition of Arakcheev, Speransky and the young commander Kamensky, delivered food to Derzhavin's later fables. In the first epoch of his literary activity, the poems of this kind found in him still have no application to modern circumstances and persons, and their plots are simply borrowed from Aesop's and Fedro's apologist. Later, and especially during the reign of Paul, in Derzhavin's fables, one can already see historical basis, the intention to present allegorically some feature of time or feature of a person. Such, for example, are the fables "The Ship and the Needle", "The Jet and the House", "The Mistress". All the fables he wrote during the reign of Alexander I have a satirical meaning: "The Stork" represents Arakcheev; "Zhmurki" - the young sovereign with his employees; here the moralizing is also clear: "you should not allow yourself to be bandaged"; the fable "Lashmany" proves the need for unity of power; "Ministers' choice" - to have as a subject the election of an industrious bee (Derzhavin himself), albeit noisy, but passionate in caring for the common good, in addition to the spider and ant; "Spider" aims at Kochubey or Speransky. In the fable "Old and Young Pigeons" the unreliability of young leaders is generally exhibited and, in particular, a reprimand is pronounced against young military leaders, it seems, about the battle of Austerlitz or the failures in the Turkish campaign of 1810. This is indicated by the moralizing fable:

Without the old leaders, but without recognizing the ford

Poke into the water -

It is dangerous to fight according to one theory.

In the fable "The Loophole and the Waterfall", Russian soldiers, under the command of the old commander, although "a simple man, not a sage and not a hero", perform miracles of courage:

What advice should we take from the parable?

An experienced mind only sees and averts harm.

With his fables during the reign of Alexander, Derzhavin justified the saying: "what hurts someone, he talks about it." IN literary terms they all lack decoration; although in them there is a noticeable desire for simplicity and nationality, the language of Derzhavin's fables is generally careless and incorrect. Krylov had not yet appeared on the stage.

Conclusion

Like no other poet of the 18th century, Derzhavin managed to enrich the rhyme, meter, and stanza of Russian verse. Before Derzhavin, Russian poetry used a limited range of rhymes. "In fact, the active stock of rhymes of the 40-60s is determined by only a few hundred consonances, and the rhyming repertoire of high genres is especially narrow, where several dozen combinations can be distinguished, passing from work to work from one poet to another."

Derzhavin abandoned rhyming standards. He significantly expanded the number of combinations in the endings of poems and destroyed genre gradations in the use of rhyme. “Destroying the former artistic-genre style, Derzhavin introduces into one poem both assonances, and truncations, and approximate rhymes, and out-of-tune dissonances ... Derzhavin’s rhyming is always precisely connected with the content (in broad sense) and depends entirely on the context. Derzhavin's rhyme is truly a "slave" of content. Depending on the context, the same type of rhyme can acquire different functions, but always definitely expressive.

Derzhavin is original in the field of metrics. He uses a wide variety of sizes, often allowing for "mixing measures."

Derzhavin's historical merit was his introduction into poetry of the "ordinary poetic word." For Derzhavin, the framework of the three styles established by Lomonosov became narrow. He took them off and opened a wide road to vernacular. "Thus, Derzhavin introduced the Russian colloquial and energetically contributed to the strengthening of the national-democratic foundations of our literary language.

Gogol wrote about Derzhavin’s style: “Everything is large with him. His style is as large as that of any of our poets. no one but Derzhavin dared to express himself in the same way as he expressed himself in one place about the same majestic man, at that moment when he had already fulfilled everything that was needed on earth.

Derzhavin willingly uses folk forms of verbs - to scare, to let go; gerunds - shining, winning, smiling; past participles are sometimes used in an abbreviated form: bend over, descend; he meets folk words- bucket, mockery, rastabars, help, tazat, tricks, shlendat.

Derzhavin often puts Slavicisms next to folk sayings, and, according to the observation of Ya.K. Grot, "often the Church Slavonic word appears in Derzhavin in folk form and, conversely, the folk is clothed in the form of Church Slavonic. "Derzhavin uses the words howl (warriors), exclamation, belly (life), mirror, class (ear), cathedral (meeting), thousand, etc., as well as such already for him archaisms of time, like infection (temptations), shame (spectacle), coolness (pleasure, bliss), rights (laws), etc. Derzhavin has few foreign words and only those that in his time entered the main vocabulary of the Russian language : aroma, gloss, masquerade, monument, obelisk, echo, etc.

Derzhavin created new words, not all of them took root, but some entered the Russian language. So, in "Felice" he formed a verb on behalf of the hero of Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote": "you do not quixotic yourself", after which the word "quixoticism" appeared and firmly entered our speech.

Word formation occupies a significant place in Derzhavin's linguistic innovation. He especially likes to create compound names adjectives (most often epithets for color) and complex participles, forming them with the help of various suffixes: ship-destroying shame, fire-feathered helmet, deliciously ripe fruits, merry Erata, sun-eyed sturgeon, etc.

A special merit of the poet should be recognized as his artistic study of the dialectics of the existence of the macro- and microcosm. Hence the beloved poetic device the poet is the antithesis. He sometimes manages to reveal the dialectical connection of contradictions in their unity.

Derzhavin's "funny Russian style" contributed to the renewal of poetry. Combining the words "high" and "low", he freed Russian poetry from the fetters of the theory of "three calms", opened the way for the development of a realistic language.

Expanding the object of poetry (from a beer mug to cosmic phenomena), Derzhavin more and more brought it to life, became, in the words of Belinsky, "the first living verb of our Russian poetry."

Reproducing in poetry the multi-colored world (in some of the poet's poems we are faced with a real feast of colors, for example, in the poem "Peacock") and the polyphonic world (the poet heard the roar of cannons, and the murmur of pearl jets, and the rustle of dry leaves), G.R. Derzhavin blazed new paths for its development.

The place of the poet in Russian literature was accurately defined by Belinsky: "With Derzhavin, new period Russian poetry, and just as Lomonosov was its first name, so Derzhavin was its second. In the person of Derzhavin, Russian poetry has taken a great step forward.

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In this article we will tell you briefly about the life and work of Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin, an educator and representative of Russian classicism.

G.R. Derzhavin (1743-1816) was a Russian poet and playwright, as well as a statesman of the 18th century under Catherine II.

Life

Gabriel was born on July 3 (14), 1743 in a family of noblemen who suffered poverty in the Kazan province. Derzhavin began his studies at home, on the estate in the village of Sokuru, and at the age of 16 he entered the local gymnasium. In 1762, Gabriel became an ordinary guardsman in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, and 10 years later he received his first officer rank. A year later, as part of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, he began the suppression of the Pugachev uprising, which lasted until 1775.

At the age of 34, Gavriil Romanovich became a state councilor, and in 1784-1788 he served as governors: first of Olonets, then of Tambov. Derzhavin was an active official - he was engaged in improving the economy of the region, contributed to the formation of the necessary state institutions.

In 1791, at the age of 48, Derzhavin became Catherine II's Cabinet Secretary, and two years later he was appointed her Privy Councilor, and two years later, President of the College of Commerce. For about a year, already at the beginning of the 19th century, he served as Minister of Justice.

Derzhavin's career as an official can be called outstanding, and given the fact that at that time he was also engaged in literature, it can even be called breathtaking.

In 1803, Gavriil Romanovich finished his service, having retired in order to concentrate entirely on literary activity. At the same time, Derzhavin traveled a lot in the last years of his life. Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin died on his estate on July 8 (20), 1816.

Creation

Derzhavin devoted a lot of time to work and made an impressive career. At the same time, he is considered the largest representative of Russian classicism.

Gavriil Romanovich began to write during his military service. The debut took place in 1773 - then a translation of an excerpt from the works of Ovid appeared. A year later, Derzhavin's "Ode to Greatness" and "Ode to Nobility" were published. The first collection of poems was not long in coming - it appeared in 1776.

Wide literary fame was brought to the poet by the ode "Felitsa", which he dedicated to the empress. It is worth noting that this happened 9 years before Derzhavin was appointed cabinet secretary of Catherine II.

After that, other now-famous works by Derzhavin appeared: "The Nobleman", "On the Death of Prince Meshchersky", "God", "Dobrynya", "Waterfall" and others.

Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin occupies Russian literature a significant place along with D.I. Fonvizin and M.V. Lomonosov. Together with these titans of Russian literature, he is included in the brilliant galaxy of the founders of Russian classical literature of the Enlightenment era, dating back to the second half of the 18th century. At this time, largely due to the personal participation of Catherine II, science and art were rapidly developing in Russia.

This is the time of the appearance of the first Russian universities, libraries, theaters, public museums and a relatively independent press, though very relative and for a short period, which ended with the advent of A.P. Radishchev. By this time, as Famusov Griboedova called it, "the age of the golden Catherine", the most fruitful period of the poet's activity belongs.

Life

The future poet was born on July 14, 1743 in the Sokura family estate near Kazan.
Even in early childhood, he lost his father, an officer in the Russian army, and was brought up by his mother Fyokla Andreevna Kozlova. Derzhavin's life was bright and eventful, largely due to his mind, energy and character. There were incredible ups and downs. According to his biography, one could write an adventurous novel based on real events. But, more about everything.

Since 1762, as befits noble children, he was accepted into the Preobrazhensky Regiment as an ordinary guardsman. In 1772 he became an officer and from 1773 to 1775. took part in the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion. At this time, two completely opposite in meaning and improbability cases happen to him. During the Pugachev rebellion, he completely lost his fortune, but soon won 40,000 rubles in a card game.

Only in 1773 did his first poems see the light of day. Some interesting facts of his life belong to this period of his life. Like many officers, he did not shy away from revelry and cards, which almost deprived Russia of a great poet. Cards brought him to cheating, for the sake of money all sorts of unseemly tricks were committed. Fortunately, he was able to realize the perniciousness of this path in time and change his lifestyle.

In 1777 he retired from military service. Enters to serve as a State Councilor in the Senate. It is worth noting that he was an incorrigible truth-seeker, moreover, he did not particularly worship the authorities, for which he never enjoyed the love of the latter. From May 1784 to 1802 was on public service, including was from 1791-1793. cabinet secretary of Catherine II, however, the inability to open flatter and stop reports unpleasant to royal ears in time contributed to the fact that he stayed here for a short time. During the period of service, he reached the career of the Minister of Justice of the Russian Empire.

Thanks to his truth-loving and irreconcilable character, Gavriil Romanovich did not stay in each position for more than two years due to constant conflicts with thieving officials, which is evident from the chronology of his service. All attempts to achieve justice only irritated his high patrons.

During all this time I have been creative activity. The odes "God" (1784), "Thunder of victory, resound!" (1791, unofficial anthem Russia), well known to us from Pushkin's story "Dubrovsky", "Velmozha" (1794), "Waterfall" (1798) and many others.
After his retirement, he lived in his family estate Zvanka in the Novgorod province, where he devoted all his time to creativity. He passed away on July 8, 1816.

Literary creativity

Derzhavin became widely known in 1782 for the publication of the ode Felitsa, dedicated to the empress. Early works- an ode to the marriage of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, published in 1773. In general, in the work of the poet, the ode occupies one of the leading places. His odes have come down to us: “On the death of Bibikov”, “On the noble”, “On the birthday of Her Majesty”, etc. In the first compositions, one can feel an undisguised imitation of Lomonosov. Over time, he moved away from this and adopted, as a model for his odes, the works of Horace. He posted his writings mainly in the Saint Petersburg Bulletin. These are: “Songs to Peter the Great” (1778), an epistol to Shuvalov, “On the death of Prince Meshchersky”, “Key”, “On the birth of a porphyry child” (1779), “On the absence of the empress to Belarus”, “To the first neighbor”, “ Rulers and Judges" (1780).

The lofty tone, lively pictures of these works attracted the attention of writers. The poet attracted the attention of society with his "Ode to Felitsa", dedicated to the queen. A snuff box studded with diamonds and 50 gold coins were the reward for the ode, thanks to which he was noticed by the queen and the public. The odes “On the Capture of Ishmael” and “Waterfall” brought him no less success. The meeting and close acquaintance with Karamzin led to cooperation in Karamzin's Moscow Journal. Here his “Monument to the Hero”, “On the Death of Countess Rumyantseva”, “Majesty of God” were printed.

Shortly before the departure of Catherine II, Derzhavin presented her with his handwritten collection of works. This is remarkable. After all, the flowering of the poet's talent fell precisely on the period of her reign. In fact, his work has become a living monument to the reign of Catherine II. In the last years of his life, he tried to experiment with tragedies, epigrams and fables, but they do not have the same height as his poetry.

Criticism has been mixed. From reverence to almost complete denial of his work. Only the works of D. Grog dedicated to Derzhavin that appeared after the revolution, his efforts to publish the works and biography of the poet made it possible to evaluate his work.
Derzhavin for us is the first poet of that era, whose poems can be read without additional comments and explanations.