History of creation. Ode “Felitsa” (1782), the first poem that made the name of Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin famous. It became a striking example of a new style in Russian poetry. The subtitle of the poem specifies: “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by the Tatar Murza, who has long settled in Moscow, and lives on his business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic." This work received its unusual name from the name of the heroine of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” the author of which was Catherine II herself. She is also named by this name, which in Latin means happiness, in Derzhavin’s ode, glorifying the empress and satirically characterizing her environment.
It is known that at first Derzhavin did not want to publish this poem and even hid the authorship, fearing the revenge of the influential nobles satirically depicted in it. But in 1783 it became widespread and, with the assistance of Princess Dashkova, a close associate of the Empress, was published in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word,” in which Catherine II herself collaborated. Subsequently, Derzhavin recalled that this poem touched the empress so much that Dashkova found her in tears. Catherine II wanted to know who wrote the poem in which she was so accurately depicted. In gratitude to the author, she sent him a golden snuff box with five hundred chervonets and an expressive inscription on the package: “From Orenburg from the Kirghiz Princess to Murza Derzhavin.” From that day on, literary fame came to Derzhavin, which no Russian poet had known before.
Main themes and ideas. The poem "Felitsa", written as a humorous sketch from the life of the empress and her entourage, at the same time raises very important problems. On the one hand, in the ode “Felitsa” a completely traditional image of a “god-like princess” is created, which embodies the poet’s idea of the ideal of an enlightened monarch. Clearly idealizing the real Catherine II, Derzhavin at the same time believes in the image he painted:
Give me some advice, Felitsa:
How to live magnificently and truthfully,
How to tame passions and excitement
And be happy in the world?
On the other hand, the poet’s poems convey the idea not only of the wisdom of power, but also of the negligence of performers concerned with their own profit:
Seduction and flattery live everywhere,
Luxury oppresses everyone.
Where does virtue live?
Where does a rose without thorns grow?
This idea in itself was not new, but behind the images of the nobles depicted in the ode, the features of real people clearly emerged:
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
Then I steal captivity from the Persians,
Then I direct arrows towards the Turks;
Then, having dreamed that I was a sultan,
I terrify the universe with my gaze;
Then suddenly, I was seduced by the outfit.
I'm off to the tailor for a caftan.
In these images, the poet’s contemporaries easily recognized the empress’s favorite Potemkin, her close associates Alexei Orlov, Panin, and Naryshkin. Drawing their brightly satirical portraits, Derzhavin showed great courage - after all, any of the nobles he offended could deal with the author for this. Only Catherine’s favorable attitude saved Derzhavin.
But even to the empress he dares to give advice: to follow the law to which both kings and their subjects are subject:
You alone are only decent,
Princess, create light from darkness;
Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously,
The union will strengthen their integrity;
From disagreement to agreement
And from fierce passions happiness
You can only create.
This favorite thought of Derzhavin sounded bold, and it was expressed in simple and understandable language.
The poem ends with the traditional praise of the Empress and wishing her all the best:
I ask for heavenly strength,
Yes, their sapphire wings spread out,
They keep you invisibly
From all illnesses, evils and boredom;
May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,
Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.
Artistic originality.
Classicism forbade combining high ode and satire belonging to low genres in one work, but Derzhavin not only combines them in characterizing different persons depicted in the ode, he does something completely unprecedented for that time. Breaking the traditions of the laudatory ode genre, Derzhavin widely introduces colloquial vocabulary and even vernacular into it, but most importantly, he does not paint a ceremonial portrait of the empress, but depicts her human appearance. That is why the ode contains everyday scenes and still life;
Without imitating your Murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table.
“God-like” Felitsa, like other characters in his ode, is also shown in everyday life (“Without valuing your peace, / You read, write under the cover...”). At the same time, such details do not reduce her image, but make her more real, humane, as if exactly copied from life. Reading the poem “Felitsa”, you are convinced that Derzhavin really managed to introduce into poetry the individual characters of real people, boldly taken from life or created by the imagination, shown against the backdrop of a colorfully depicted everyday environment. This makes his poems bright, memorable and understandable.
Thus, in “Felitsa” Derzhavin acted as a bold innovator, combining the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of characters and satire, introducing elements of low styles into the high genre of ode. Subsequently, the poet himself defined the genre of “Felitsa” as a mixed ode. Derzhavin argued that, in contrast to the traditional ode for classicism, where government officials and military leaders were praised, and solemn events were glorified, in a “mixed ode” “the poet can talk about everything.” Destroying the genre canons of classicism, with this poem he opens the way for new poetry - “real poetry™”, which received brilliant development in the work of Pushkin.
The meaning of the work. Derzhavin himself subsequently noted that one of his main merits was that he “dared to proclaim Felitsa’s virtues in a funny Russian style.” As the researcher of the poet’s work V.F. rightly points out. Khodasevich, Derzhavin was proud “not that he discovered Catherine’s virtues, but that he was the first to speak in a “funny Russian style.” He understood that his ode was the first artistic embodiment of Russian life, that it was the embryo of our novel. And, perhaps,” Khodasevich develops his thought, “if “old man Derzhavin” had lived at least to the first chapter of “Onegin,” he would have heard echoes of his ode in it.”
Gavriila Romanovich Derzhavin is a real Genius, who, however, achieved success in the literary field, being already an accomplished adult. With his daring sincerity, he knew how to both conquer and destroy peace. Amazing honesty brought him to the pinnacle of fame, and then just as quickly “threw” the poet from Olympus.
A poor and humble nobleman, he served honestly and sincerely, as A.S. would later say. Pushkin in “The Captain’s Daughter”, “honestly, to whom you swear.” Derzhavin went through the difficult path of a simple soldier, achieving, however, both recognition and an officer’s rank without anyone’s help. He participates in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising, and this brings him fame.
The intelligent officer, who had previously published entire collections of controversial poems written in a language unusual for that time, remained unnoticed as a writer until, conquered by the openness of Empress Catherine II, her deeds for the benefit of Russia, he created the daring ode “Felitsa”.
The names of the characters were not chosen by chance: the young poet borrowed them from an instructive tale personally composed by the empress for her grandson. This allusion would later lay the foundation for a whole cycle of odes dedicated to Felitsa, but it was with that one, the first and perhaps the most important in the poet’s work, that a colossal breakthrough in the field of poetic art was associated.
As you know, G.R. Derzhavin lived at a time when the greatest literary figures, the “Parnassian titans,” adhered to the strict framework of classicism. Only in the second half of the 18th century did M. Lomonosov, A. Maikov, M. Kheraskov and other writers begin to deviate from these traditions, but they did not do this on such a scale, with such ease, with which Derzhavin succeeded.
He owns the expression “funny Russian syllable”. Indeed, he will proclaim “the virtues of Felitsa” in the genre of ode - in a high style, resorting to the help of high spiritual matter. And at the same time, the poet will tear apart the usual canons, as if he were tearing a piece of paper.
The theme of the ode is socio-political. Derzhavin, who participated in the suppression of the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, learned firsthand what a “senseless and merciless” Russian rebellion was; He saw and felt with his own eyes how hostile the people were towards the Russian nobility. But the poet did not call for the liberation of the peasantry - he understood that Russia would drown in blood, primarily that of the nobility, as yesterday’s slaves would begin to take revenge on their oppressors. That is why Derzhavin sees salvation in enlightened absolutism, where there is strict and strict observance of laws, a government under which there will be no arbitrariness of the authorities. This is the only way to protect the Empire from new riots, from new senseless victims. The poet finds the image of such a ruler in Catherine II. The ode “Felitsa” is not a creation of confusion for God’s chosen empress, but a lively and sincere enthusiastic response to the activities of the empress.
On the one hand, this work is plotless, since the action in it does not develop. And at the same time, there is a certain swiftness and instantaneity in it: thus, with an abundance of images of feelings, images of events are revealed in it; the poet describes in chronological order the amusements of Catherine’s courtiers, as well as the life of the empress.
The composition of the ode is inconsistent; it creates a central image, the embodiment of which is the “god-like princess,” and develops throughout the entire narrative, viewed from all sides. In this case, the technique of antithesis is used: Felitsa’s virtues are contrasted with the idleness and baseness of her “Murz”.
“Felitsa” is written in iambic tetrameter with iambic feet replaced by pyrrhic. Derzhavin turns to the classic odic ten-line stanza with complex rhyming (first cross, then pairwise, then circular); the poet alternates male and female rhymes.
The expressive means of the ode are distinguished by a stunning variety of imagination. The main poetic device is the antithesis mentioned above, as well as allusions to Count Orlov, P. Panin, etc. Derzhavin turns to a sublime syllable, and therefore a huge place in the ode is devoted to Church Slavonic words. “Felitsa” is not rich in metaphors (“fry in ice baths”), but it is replete with epithets (“a sweet-voiced harp”, “sapphire wings”, “a despicable liar”), comparisons (“a meek angel”, a comparison of the empress with a feeder, “like a wolf of sheep” , you don’t crush people”), hyperbole (characteristic of the poetic mood of the ode as a whole). Among the stylistic figures, inversion and gradation (“pleasant, sweet, useful”) stand out especially. The technique of irony, which turns into sarcasm, stands apart. They appear in the stanzas where the lyrical hero describes his own amusements, pointing out that he, the hero, is depraved, but also “the whole world is like that.” This remark allows us to emphasize the greatness and virtue of the empress, whose subjects are unworthy to serve her.
In this ode, for the first time, a mixture of styles occurs: in a solemn work, features of a “low” style - sarcasm - are suddenly revealed. In addition, this is the first ode in the history of Russian literature where the image of the author is so clearly manifested, where his personal opinion is expressed. Derzhavin portrays himself in the image of a lyrical hero, unworthy of the honor of serving an enlightened empress, who shuns high titles, magnificent festivities, entertainment unworthy of a noble man, and luxury; Felitsa is not characterized by cruelty and injustice. The poet portrays the empress as a God-fearing ruler who is interested in the well-being of her people - it is not without reason that the ode contains a comparison with an angel sent to earth to rule the Russian state.
The daring, individual, bright praise, which Gabriel Romanovich himself defined as a “mixed ode,” was enthusiastically received by the empress. Derzhavin's innovation made it possible to discard the strict framework of classicism, inaccessible to a wide range of readers. The originality of the work, its rich and attractive language will subsequently receive the widest distribution; the trend will be developed in the works of first V. Zhukovsky, and then the main “reformer” of the Russian literary language A.S. Pushkin. Thus, Derzhavin’s “Felitsa” anticipates the emergence of the romantic movement in Russian literature.
Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa” made a strong impression at the court of Catherine II, primarily due to the admiration of the empress herself, but the empress’s attitude only gave way to the work, and the ode took its well-deserved place in Russian poetry thanks to its merits.
The idea for the ode was prompted by “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” written by the Empress to her grandson Alexander and published in 1781. Derzhavin used the names and motifs of this tale to write an ode, poignant in content and instructive in purpose, in which he went beyond the traditional praise of a person in power. Having written the work in 1782, Derzhavin did not dare to make it public, but the ode fell into the hands of Princess E.R. Dashkova, director of the Academy of Sciences. Dashkova, without his knowledge, published an ode in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word” entitled “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Tatar Murza, who had long settled in Moscow, and lived on business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic in 1782.” This is followed by the addition that the ode was composed in Russian and its author is unknown.
The ode is built on contrast: it contrasts Princess Felitsa, by whose name Derzhavin means Empress Catherine II herself, and her depraved and lazy subject, Murza. The allegorical images in the ode were too transparent, and contemporaries easily recognized who was behind them and for what purpose they were used. It was convenient for Derzhavin, without falling into primitive flattery, to sing the virtues of the empress when addressing the Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess; this gave him greater freedom to express his thoughts. Calling himself a Murza, the poet uses a subtle technique: on the one hand, Derzhavin has the right to do this, because his family comes from the Tatar Murza Bagrim, on the other hand, the poet means Catherine’s nobles who surrounded her throne. Thus, Derzhavin’s Murza in “Felitsa” is a collective portrait of the court nobles - “Murzas”: idle, “transforming everyday life into a holiday,” spending their lives in feasts and luxury “among wines, sweets and aroma,” in entertainment and laziness. Describing the uselessness of nobles, Derzhavin draws a conclusion regarding general morals that need correction, as if suggesting to his ruler what needs to be changed in the state:
That's it, Felitsa, I'm depraved!
But the whole world looks like me,
Who knows how much wisdom,
But every person is a lie.
The next, larger part of the ode is devoted to a description of the virtues of Catherine II, but here Derzhavin’s doxology aims to give advice, indicate correct behavior in governance and relations with subjects, extolling simplicity, hard work, justice, virtue, sanity and other qualities of the queen. At the end of the ode, Derzhavin proclaims the ideal image of government and life of the state,
Whose law, right hand
They give both mercy and judgment.
Prophetic, wise Felitsa!
Where is a rogue different from the honest?
Where does old age not wander around the world?
Does merit find bread for itself?
Where does revenge not drive anyone?
Where do conscience and truth live?
Where do virtues shine? —
Isn't it yours at the throne?
It is not surprising that after such a wise and passionate appeal, the empress distinguished Derzhavin, giving him an expensive gift and bringing him closer to her. Catherine II was so impressed by the faithfulness of Derzhavin’s characteristics of her nobles that she sent them lists of odes, noting on the copies which passage from the text related to the addressee. Derzhavin, in addition to poetic recognition, gained a reputation as an honest subject-citizen.
Derzhavin's ode makes a strong impact on the reader and listener with its structure, sonority of language, refinement of expressions and phrases, and energetic rhythm, which the poet based on iambic tetrameter. Derzhavin achieved an amazing unity of seemingly mutually exclusive registers of poetic speech: solemnity of style and conversational intonation in addresses. The ode seems to flow forward thanks to a cascade of anaphors and syntactic parallelisms, as, for example, in the sixth stanza, in which the threefold beginning of the lines “where-where-where” is also replaced by the threefold “there-there-there”. Finally, everyday descriptions of real life are so detailed that when reading, you become, as it were, a witness of that time.
“Felitsa” Gavriil Derzhavin
Godlike princess
Kirghiz-Kaisak horde!
Whose wisdom is incomparable
Discovered the right tracks
To Tsarevich young Chlorus
Climb that high mountain
Where does a thornless rose grow?
Where virtue lives, -
She captivates my spirit and mind,
Let me find her advice.Bring it on, Felitsa! instruction:
How to live magnificently and truthfully,
How to tame passions and excitement
And be happy in the world?
Your voice excites me
Your son is accompanying me;
But I am weak to follow them.
Disturbed by the vanity of life,
Today I control myself
And tomorrow I am a slave to whims.Without imitating your Murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Not valuing your peace,
You read and write in front of the lectern
And all from your pen
You shed bliss on mortals;
Like you don't play cards,
Like me, from morning to morning.You don't like masquerades too much
And you can’t even set foot in the club;
Keeping customs, rituals,
Don't be quixotic with yourself;
You can't saddle the horse of Parnassus,
You don’t enter a gathering of spirits,
You don’t go from the throne to the East;
But walking the path of meekness,
With a charitable soul,
Have a productive day.And I, having slept until noon,
I smoke tobacco and drink coffee;
Transforming everyday life into a holiday,
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
Then I steal captivity from the Persians,
Then I direct arrows towards the Turks;
Then, having dreamed that I was a sultan,
I terrify the universe with my gaze;
Then suddenly, seduced by the outfit,
I'm off to the tailor for a caftan.Or am I at a rich feast,
Where do they give me a holiday?
Where the table glitters with silver and gold,
Where are thousands of different dishes:
There's a nice Westphalian ham,
There are links of Astrakhan fish,
There are pilaf and pies there,
I wash down the waffles with champagne;
And I forget everything in the world
Among wines, sweets and aroma.Or among a beautiful grove
In the gazebo where the fountain is noisy,
When the sweet-voiced harp rings,
Where the breeze barely breathes
Where everything represents luxury to me,
To the pleasures of thought he catches,
It languishes and revitalizes the blood;
Lying on a velvet sofa,
The young girl feels tender,
I pour love into her heart.Or in a magnificent train
In an English carriage, golden,
With a dog, a jester or a friend,
Or with some beauty
I'm walking under the swing;
I go to taverns to drink mead;
Or, somehow I’ll get bored,
According to my inclination to change,
With my hat on one side,
I'm flying on a fast runner.Or music and singers,
Suddenly with an organ and bagpipes,
Or fist fighters
And I make my spirit happy by dancing;
Or, taking care of all matters
I leave and go hunting
And I am amused by the barking of dogs;
Or over the Neva banks
I amuse myself with horns at night
And the rowing of daring rowers.Or, sitting at home, I will play a prank,
Playing fools with my wife;
Then I get along with her at the dovecote,
Sometimes we frolic in blind man's buff;
Then I’m having fun with her,
Then I look for it in my head;
I like to rummage through books,
I enlighten my mind and heart,
I read Polkan and Bova;
Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.That's it, Felitsa, I'm depraved!
But the whole world looks like me.
Who knows how much wisdom,
But every person is a lie.
We do not walk the paths of light,
We run debauchery after dreams.
Between a lazy person and a grouch,
Between vanity and vice
Did anyone accidentally find it?
The path of virtue is straight.I found it, but why not be mistaken?
To us, weak mortals, on this path,
Where does reason itself stumble
And one must follow passions;
Where are the learned ignoramuses for us?
Like the darkness of travelers, their eyelids are dark?
Seduction and flattery live everywhere,
Pasha oppresses everyone with luxury.-
Where does virtue live?
Where does a rose without thorns grow?You alone are only decent,
Princess! create light from darkness;
Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously,
The union will strengthen their integrity;
From disagreement to agreement
And from fierce passions happiness
You can only create.
So the helmsman, sailing through the show-off,
Catching the roaring wind under sail,
Knows how to steer a ship.You just won’t offend the only one,
Don't insult anyone
You see through your fingers the tomfoolery
The only thing you cannot tolerate is evil;
You correct misdeeds with leniency,
Like a wolf, you don’t crush people,
You know right away their price.
They are subject to the will of kings, -
But God is more just,
Living in their laws.You think sensibly about merit,
You give honor to the worthy,
You don't consider him a prophet,
Who can only weave rhymes,
What crazy fun is this?
Honor and glory to the good caliphs.
You condescend to the lyrical mode:
Poetry is dear to you,
Pleasant, sweet, useful,
Like delicious lemonade in summer.There are rumors about your actions,
That you are not at all proud;
Kind in business and in jokes,
Pleasant in friendship and firm;
Why are you indifferent to adversity?
And in glory she is so generous,
That she renounced and was considered wise.
They also say it’s not false,
It's like it's always possible
You should tell the truth.It's also unheard of,
Worthy of you alone
It's like you're bold to the people
About everything, and show it and at hand,
And you allow me to know and think,
And you don’t forbid about yourself
To speak both true and false;
As if to the crocodiles themselves,
All your mercies to Zoilas,
You are always inclined to forgive.Pleasant rivers of tears flow
From the depths of my soul.
ABOUT! when people are happy
There must be their destiny,
Where is the meek angel, the peaceful angel,
Hidden in the porphyry lightness,
A scepter was sent down from heaven to wear!
There you can whisper in conversations
And, without fear of execution, at dinners
Don't drink to the health of kings.There with the name Felitsa you can
Scrape out the typo in the line,
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop it on the ground.
They are not fried in ice baths,
They don’t click on the nobles’ mustaches;
Princes don't cluck like hens,
Favorites don't want to laugh at them
And they don’t stain their faces with soot.You know, Felitsa! are right
And men and kings;
When you enlighten morals,
You don't fool people like that;
In your rest from business
You write lessons in fairy tales
And you repeat to Chlorus in the alphabet:
"Don't do anything bad,
And the evil satyr himself
You will make a despicable liar.”You are ashamed to be considered great,
To be scary and unloved;
The bear is decently wild
Tearing animals and shedding their blood.
Without extreme distress in the heat of the moment
Does that person need lancets?
Who could do without them?
And how nice it is to be a tyrant,
Tamerlane, great in atrocity,
Who is great in goodness, like God?Felitsa glory, glory to God,
Who pacified the battle;
Which is poor and wretched
Covered, clothed and fed;
Which with a radiant eye
Clowns, cowards, ungrateful
And he gives his light to the righteous;
Equally enlightens all mortals,
He comforts the sick, heals,
He does good only for good.who gave freedom
Jump into foreign regions,
Allowed his people
Seek silver and gold;
Who allows water
And it doesn’t prohibit cutting down the forest;
Orders to weave, and spin, and sew;
Untying the mind and hands,
Tells you to love trading, science
And find happiness at home;Whose law, right hand
They give both mercy and judgment.-
Prophecy, wise Felitsa!
Where is a rogue different from the honest?
Where does old age not wander around the world?
Does merit find bread for itself?
Where does revenge not drive anyone?
Where do conscience and truth live?
Where do virtues shine? -
Isn't it yours at the throne?But where does your throne shine in the world?
Where, branch of heaven, do you bloom?
In Baghdad? Smyrna? Cashmere? -
Listen, wherever you live, -
I appreciate my praises to you,
Don’t think about hats or beshmetya
For them I wanted from you.
Feel the good pleasure
Such is the wealth of the soul,
Which Croesus did not collect.I ask the great prophet
May I touch the dust of your feet,
Yes, your words are the sweetest current
And I will enjoy the sight!
I ask for heavenly strength,
Yes, their sapphire wings spread out,
They keep you invisibly
From all illnesses, evils and boredom;
May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,
Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.
Analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “Felitsa”
In 1781, “The Tale of Prince Chlorus” appeared in print, which Empress Catherine II composed for her grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I. This instructive work influenced not only little Alexander Pavlovich, but also Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin (1743–1816). It inspired the poet to create an ode to the empress, which he called “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz princess Felitsa, written by the Tatar Murza, who had long settled in Moscow, and lived on his business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic 1782."
The poem was first published in 1783 in the magazine Sobesednik. The poet did not leave a signature under the work, but like the entire text of the ode, the title is full of hints. For example, the “Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess” means Catherine II, who was the mistress of the Kyrgyz lands. And under Murza is the poet himself, who considered himself a descendant of the Tatar prince Bagrim.
The ode contains many allusions to various events, people and sayings related to the reign of Catherine II. Take, for example, the name given to it by the author. Felitsa is the heroine of The Tale of Prince Chlorus. Like the empress, she has a husband who prevents her from realizing her good intentions. In addition, Felitsa, according to Derzhavin’s explanation, is the ancient Roman goddess of bliss, and it was with this word that many contemporaries characterized the reign of Catherine II, who favored the sciences, arts and held rather free views on the social structure.
These and other numerous virtues of the empress are praised by Gabriel Romanovich. In the first stanzas of the ode, the poet walks through the empress’s entourage. The author allegorically describes the unworthy behavior of the courtiers, speaking as if about himself:
With my hat on one side,
I'm flying on a fast runner.
In this passage we are talking about Count Alexei Orlov, who is eager for fast races.
Another fragment speaks of the idle Prince Potemkin, soaring in the clouds:
And I, having slept until noon,
I smoke tobacco and drink coffee;
Transforming everyday life into a holiday,
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras.
Against the background of these playmakers, the figure of the wise, active and fair empress acquires an aura of virtue. The author rewards her with the epithets “generous”, “kind in business and jokes”, “pleasant in friendship”, “wise”, metaphors “branch of heaven”, “meek angel”, etc.
The poet mentions the political successes of Catherine II. Using the metaphor of “Dividing Chaos into spheres orderly,” he points to the establishment of the province in 1775 and the annexation of new territories to the Russian Empire. The author compares the reign of the empress with the reign of her predecessors:
There are no clownish weddings there,
They are not fried in ice baths,
They don’t click on the mustaches of nobles...
Here the poet hints at the reign of Anna Ioannovna and Peter I.
Gabriel Romanovich also admires the queen’s modesty. In lines:
You are ashamed to be considered great,
To be scary, unloved...
indicates Catherine II’s renunciation of the titles “Great” and “Wise”, which were offered to her by the Senate nobles in 1767.
As an artist, the poet is especially captivated by the empress’s attitude towards freedom of expression. The author is fascinated by the queen’s love for poetry (“Poetry is dear to you, Pleasant, sweet, useful...”), the opportunity she affirmed to think and speak out as you want, to travel, organize enterprises, etc.
Catherine II herself highly appreciated the poet’s skill. She liked the ode “Felitsa” so much that the Empress presented Derzhavin with a richly decorated snuff box, which she herself sent to her entourage. Contemporaries also reacted very favorably to the poem. Many reviews noted not only the truthfulness and lack of flattery in the lines of the ode, but also its elegant composition and poetic style. As Russian philologist J. K. Grot wrote in his commentary, this ode gave rise to a new style. “Felitsa” is devoid of pompous expressions and does not contain a list of gods, as was previously customary.
Indeed, the language of the ode is simple but exquisite. The author uses epithets, metaphors, pictorial comparisons (“like stars in the sky”). The composition is strict but harmonious. Each stanza consists of ten lines. First comes a quatrain with a cross rhyme of the form abab, then a couplet cc, followed by a quatrain with a ring rhyme of the form deed. Meter: iambic tetrameter.
Although the poem contains quite a few expressions that are outdated today, and many of the hints may be incomprehensible, it is still easy to read.
In 1782, the not yet very famous poet Derzhavin wrote an ode dedicated to the “Kirghiz-Kaisak princess Felitsa.” That's what the ode was called "To Felitsa" . A difficult life taught the poet a lot; he knew how to be careful. The ode glorified the simplicity and humanity of Empress Catherine II in dealing with people and the wisdom of her reign. But at the same time, in ordinary, if not rude, colloquial language, she spoke about luxurious amusements, about the idleness of Felitsa’s servants and courtiers, about “Murzas” who were by no means worthy of their ruler. In the Murzas, Catherine’s favorites were clearly visible, and Derzhavin, wanting the ode to fall into the hands of the Empress as quickly as possible, was at the same time afraid of this. How will the autocrat look at his bold trick: mockery of her favorites! But in the end, the ode ended up on Catherine’s table, and she was delighted with it. Far-sighted and intelligent, she understood that courtiers should be put in their place from time to time, and the hints of the ode were an excellent occasion for this. Catherine II herself was a writer (Felitsa was one of her literary pseudonyms), which is why she immediately appreciated the artistic merits of the work. Memoirists write that, having called the poet to her, the empress generously rewarded him: she gave him a golden snuffbox filled with gold ducats.
Fame came to Derzhavin. The new literary magazine "Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word", which was edited by the Empress's friend Princess Dashkova, and Catherine herself published in it, opened with the ode "To Felitsa". They started talking about Derzhavin, he became a celebrity. Was it just a matter of successful and bold dedication of the ode to the empress? Of course not! The reading public and fellow writers were struck by the very form of the work. The poetic speech of the “high” odic genre sounded without exaltation and tension. Lively, imaginative, mocking speech of a person who understands well how real life works. Of course, they spoke laudably about the empress, but also not pompously. And, perhaps, for the first time in the history of Russian poetry as about a simple woman, not a celestial being:
Without imitating your Murzas, you often walk, and the simplest food happens at your table.
Strengthening the impression of simplicity and naturalness, Derzhavin dares to make bold comparisons:
You don’t play cards like me, from morning to morning.
And, moreover, he is frivolous, introducing into the ode details and scenes that were indecent by the secular standards of that time. This is how, for example, a Murza courtier, an idle lover and an atheist, spends his day:
Or, sitting at home, I will play a trick, Playing fools with my wife; Sometimes I go to the dovecote with her, sometimes I frolic in blind man's buff, sometimes I have fun in a pile with her, sometimes I look in my head with her; Then I love to rummage through books, I enlighten my mind and heart: I read Polkan and Bova, I sleep over the Bible, yawning.
The work was filled with funny and often sarcastic allusions. Potemkin, who loves to eat well and drink well (“I wash down my waffles with champagne / And I forget everything in the world”). On Orlov, who boasts of magnificent trips (“a magnificent train in an English, golden carriage”). On Naryshkin, who is ready to give up everything for the sake of hunting (“I leave worry about all matters / Leaving behind, go hunting / And amuse myself with the barking of dogs”), etc. In the genre of a solemn laudatory ode, nothing like this has ever been written before. Poet E.I. Kostrov expressed a general opinion and at the same time slight annoyance at his successful opponent. In his poetic “Letter to the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa, Princess of Kirgizkaisatskaya” there are the lines:
Frankly, it is clear that soaring odes have gone out of fashion; You knew how to elevate yourself among us with simplicity.
The Empress brought Derzhavin closer to her. Remembering the “fighting” qualities of his nature and incorruptible honesty, she sent him to various audits, which, as a rule, ended with noisy indignation of those being inspected. The poet was appointed governor of the Olonets, then Tambov province. But he could not resist for long: he dealt with local officials too zealously and imperiously. In Tambov, things went so far that the governor of the region, Gudovich, filed a complaint to the empress in 1789 about the “arbitrariness” of the governor, who did not take anyone or anything into account. The case was transferred to the Senate Court. Derzhavin was dismissed from office and until the end of the trial he was ordered to live in Moscow, as they would say now, under a written undertaking not to leave.
And although the poet was acquitted, he was left without a position and without the favor of the empress. Once again, one could only rely on oneself: on enterprise, talent and luck. And don't lose heart. In the autobiographical “Notes” compiled at the end of his life, in which the poet speaks about himself in the third person, he admits: “There was no other way left but to resort to his talent; as a result, he wrote the ode “Image of Felitsa” and by the 22nd on the day of September, that is, on the day of the empress’s coronation, he handed her over to the court<…>The Empress, having read it, ordered her favorite (meaning Zubov, Catherine’s favorite - L.D.) the next day to invite the author to dinner with him and always take him into her conversation.”
Read also other topics in Chapter VI.