Ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, a brief summary of which is given in this article, is one of the most famous works of this Russian poet of the 18th century. He wrote it in 1782. After publication, Derzhavin’s name became famous. In addition, the ode turned into a clear example of a new style in Russian poetry.
Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a summary of which you are reading, received its name from the name of the heroine of "Tales of Prince Chlorus". The author of this work is Empress Catherine II.
In his work, Derzhavin calls the ruler of Russia herself by this name. By the way, it is translated as “happiness”. The essence of the ode boils down to the glorification of Catherine (her habits, modesty) and a caricature, even mocking depiction of her pompous surroundings.
In the images that Derzhavin describes in the ode “Felitsa” (a summary cannot be found on “Brifley”, but it is in this article), you can easily recognize some of the people close to the empress. For example, Potemkin, who was considered her favorite. And also Counts Panin, Orlov, Naryshkin. The poet skillfully depicts their mocking portraits, while demonstrating a certain courage. After all, if one of them was very offended, he could easily deal with Derzhavin.
The only thing that saved him was that Catherine II really liked this ode and the empress began to treat Derzhavin favorably.
Moreover, even in the ode “Felitsa” itself, a brief summary of which is given in this article, Derzhavin decides to give advice to the empress. In particular, the poet advises that she obey the law, the same for everyone. The ode ends with the praise of the empress.
Uniqueness of the work
Having read the brief content of the ode “Felitsa”, one can come to the conclusion that the author violates all the traditions in which such works were usually written.
The poet actively introduces colloquial vocabulary and does not shy away from non-literary statements. But the most important difference is that he creates the empress in human form, abandoning her official image. It is noteworthy that many were confused and disturbed by the text, but Catherine II herself was delighted with it.
Image of the Empress
In Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a brief summary of which contains the semantic quintessence of the work, the empress initially appears before us in the usual god-like image. For the writer, she is an example of an enlightened monarch. At the same time, he embellishes her appearance, firmly believing in the image depicted.
At the same time, the poet’s poems contain thoughts not only about the wisdom of power, but also about the dishonesty and low level of education of its executors. Many of them are only interested in their own benefit. It is worth recognizing that these ideas have appeared before, but never before have real historical figures been so recognizable.
In Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa” (Brifley cannot yet offer a summary), the poet appears before us as a brave and courageous discoverer. He forms an amazing symbiosis, complementing the laudatory ode with the individual traits of the characters and witty satire.
History of creation
It was Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa”, a brief summary of which is convenient for a general acquaintance with the work, that made a name for the poet. Initially, the author did not think about publishing this poem. He did not advertise it and hid his authorship. He seriously feared the revenge of influential nobles, whom he did not portray in the best light in the text.
Only in 1783 the work became widespread thanks to Princess Dashkova. A close ally of the empress published it in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word.” By the way, the ruler of Russia herself contributed her texts to it. According to Derzhavin’s memoirs, Catherine II was so moved when she first read the ode that she even began to cry. It was in such moved feelings that Dashkova herself discovered her.
The Empress certainly wanted to know who the author of this poem was. It seemed to her that everything was depicted in the text as accurately as possible. In gratitude for Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa,” a summary and analysis of which is given in this article, she sent the poet a golden snuff box. It contained 500 chervonets.
After such a generous royal gift, literary fame and success came to Derzhavin. No poet had known such popularity before him.
Thematic diversity of Derzhavin’s work
When characterizing Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa,” it should be noted that the performance itself is a humorous sketch from the life of the Russian ruler, as well as the nobles especially close to her. At the same time, the text raises important issues at the state level. This is corruption, the responsibility of officials, their concern for statehood.
Artistic features of the ode "Felitsa"
Derzhavin worked in the genre of classicism. This direction strictly forbade combining several genres, for example, high ode and satire. But the poet decided on such a bold experiment. Moreover, he not only combined them in his text, but also did something unprecedented for the literature of that very conservative time.
Derzhavin simply destroys the traditions of the laudatory ode, actively using reduced, colloquial vocabulary in his text. He even uses frank vernacular, which, in principle, were not welcomed in literature in those years. Most importantly, he portrays Empress Catherine II as an ordinary person, abandoning her classical ceremonial description, which was actively used in similar works.
That is why in the ode you can find descriptions of everyday scenes and even literary still life.
Derzhavin's innovation
The everyday, everyday image of Felicia, behind whom one can easily discern the empress, is one of Derzhavin’s main innovations. At the same time, he manages to create the text in such a way as not to reduce her image. On the contrary, the poet makes it real and human. Sometimes it seems that the poet is writing it from life.
While reading the poem “Felitsa”, you can be sure that the author managed to introduce into the poetry the individual characteristics of real historical characters, taken from life or created by imagination. All this was shown against the backdrop of everyday life, which was depicted as colorfully as possible. All this made the ode understandable and memorable.
As a result, in the ode “Felitsa” Derzhavin skillfully combines the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of real heroes, and also introduces an element of satire. Ultimately, an ode that belongs to a high style contains many elements of low styles.
Derzhavin himself defined its genre as a mixed ode. He argued: it differs from the classical ode in that in a mixed genre the author has a unique opportunity to talk about everything in the world. So the poet destroys the canons of classicism, the poem opens the way for new poetry. This literature is developed in the work of the author of the next generation - Alexander Pushkin.
Meanings of the ode "Felitsa"
Derzhavin himself admitted that it was a great merit that he decided to undertake such an experiment. A well-known researcher of his work, Khodasevich, notes that Derzhavin was most proud of the fact that he was the first of the Russian poets to speak in a “funny Russian style,” as he himself called it.
But the poet was aware that his ode would, in fact, be the first artistic embodiment of Russian life, and would become the embryo of a realistic novel. Khodasevich also believed that if Derzhavin had lived to see the publication of Eugene Onegin, he would undoubtedly have found echoes of his work in it.
Derzhavin in the 1770s -1780s. created philosophical and solemn odes. The poet's first successful ode was a majestic reflection on life and death
Derzhavin in the 1770s -1780s. created philosophical andsolemn odes.
The poet's first successful ode was the majestic
reflection on life and death - ode “On the death of a prince”
Meshchersky" (1779). In 1780 Derzhavin writes
philosophical ode "God", and in 1782 - a solemn
Ode "Felitsa". In it, the poet presented Catherine II not
only as a state official, but also as a person.
The style of the ode was also unusual: high calm
goes well with medium and even low styles.
At the end of the 1780s. in Derzhavin's lyrics arise
civil and satirical poems. One of them is the ode to Rulers and Judges.
V. Khodasevich: “In the struggle for the law, Derzhavin had no support either in society or in the government itself. The laws were written even intensively, but somehow with
V. Khodasevich:“In the struggle for the law, Derzhavin had no support either in society or
in the government itself. The laws were written even intensively, but somehow
it went without saying that they should only be fulfilled
to a certain extent and as needed (mainly
noble). It was not denied that it is much better to obey the laws,
rather than not fulfilling it. But only Derzhavin alone
failure to fulfill seemed something monstrous. Lawbreakers
no one directly encouraged them, but the authorities had no desire to punish them either.
Derzhavin did not want to understand this. Rushing to fight
lawbreakers, he was always sure that the "shield
Catherine" makes him invulnerable. In part, this was true. But the same shield also covered his enemies. It turned out that Minerva
Russian society equally favors the right, the guilty, and
good and to evil. Why? Here is a mystery that Derzhavin does not
“I just haven’t decided yet, but I haven’t openly set it before myself.”
Derzhavin ensured that these poems, which they did not dare to publish in their previous form, were published in a new, sharper form. Link to copycat
Derzhavin achieved that these poems, which are notdecided to print in their previous form, were
printed in a new, sharper one. Link to
imitation of the psalm could serve as a reliable
cover, but Derzhavin crossed out the old title
“Psalm 81” and made a new one, my own:
"To rulers and judges." Such was his directness: he
knew that the play did not essentially arise from reading
The Bible, but from the contemplation of Russia.
Psalm 81. God stood up in the assembly of gods and pronounced judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Let's judge the poor
Psalm 81.God stood in the assembly of gods and pronounced judgment.
How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality?
wicked?
Give justice to the poor and the orphan; give to the oppressed and the poor
justice.
Deliver the poor and needy, pluck him from the hands of the wicked.
They don’t know, they don’t understand, they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth
hesitate.
I said: you are gods, and you are all sons of the Most High.
But you will die like men and fall like any prince.
Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You will inherit all nations.
A ruler who does not rely on popular love is essentially powerless. Secondly, that he is not a king, but a tyrant, a power grabber who can be killed
A ruler who does not rely on popular love is, in essence,powerless. Secondly, that he is not a king, but a tyrant, an invader
power, which can be driven from the throne without committing any
sacrilege. Therefore, what distinguishes a king from a tyrant is not
anointing, but the love of the people. Only this love is true
anointing Thus, not only a support, but also the most
The people become the source of royal power.
By the word people he was inclined to mean the whole nation, and this was to him
succeeded while we were talking about military or diplomatic affairs,
while the Russian people were opposed to some other. But
As soon as Derzhavin’s gaze turned to the depths of the country,
immediate feeling prompted him to call the people
only the disadvantaged, powerless part of the nation. However, things went well
not at all about the peasantry alone: a poor nobleman, searching in vain
courts and councils for a rich neighbor, or a petty official,
pressed by a large one, in Derzhavin’s eyes they were the same
representatives of the people, like the peasant suffering from
the arbitrariness of the landowner. In a word, it turned out that whoever suffers
he belongs to the people; the king of the people is protection and protection
everything weak and oppressed from everything strong and oppressive.
TO RULES AND JUDGES The Almighty God has risen and judges the Earthly gods in their host; How long, rivers, how long will you have mercy on the unjust and evil? Your d
TO AUTHORITIES AND JUDGESThe Almighty God has risen and judges
Earthly gods in their host;
How long, rivers, how long will you be
Spare the unrighteous and evil?
Your duty is: to preserve the laws,
Don't look at the faces of the strong,
No help, no defense
Do not leave orphans and widows.
Your duty: to save the innocent from harm.
Give cover to the unlucky;
To protect the powerless from the strong,
Free the poor from their shackles.
They won't listen! they see and don’t know!
Covered with bribes of tow:
Atrocities shake the earth,
Untruth shakes the skies.
Kings! I imagined that you gods have power, No one is a judge over you, But you, like me, are passionate, And just as mortal as I am. And you will fall like this, as with others
Kings! I thought you gods were powerful,No one is your judge
But you, like me, are passionate,
And they are just as mortal as I am.
And you will fall like this,
Like a withered leaf falling from the tree!
And you will die like this,
How your last slave will die!
Resurrect, God! God of the right!
And they heeded their prayer:
Come, judge, punish the evil ones,
And be one king of the earth!
1780(?)
Quintus Horace Flaccus (65 - 8 BC) I erected a monument. He is stronger than copper, he is more indestructible than the eternal pyramids, and neither the evil Aquilon nor the merciless
Quintus Horace Flaccus (65 – 8 BC)I erected a monument. It is stronger than copper
He is more indestructible than the eternal pyramids,
And not the evil Aquilon, nor the merciless rain
Now even centuries will not destroy it.
Year after year will pass, the count of eras will change,
But not all of me will die, part of me will remain alive,
They will remember me, they will not forget me yet
Ancient glorifying rite, in the Capitoline Temple
The high priest will rise with the pure virgin.
Where the Aufida foam current boils vigorously,
Where Dawn reigned in the rain-scarce land,
I will be honored everywhere, the former nobody has become everything!
For the first one managed to do it in the Italian way
Translate the Aeolian Hymn into verse.
Take a proud look at my work, Melpomene.
And crown my forehead with the Delphic laurel.
10. MONUMENT I erected a wonderful, eternal monument to myself, harder than metal and higher than the pyramids; Neither the whirlwind nor the thunder will break the fleeting, And time
flight will not crush him.So! - all of me will not die, but part of me is big,
Having escaped from decay, he will live after death,
And my glory will increase without fading,
How long will the universe honor the Slavic race?
Rumors will spread about me from the White Waters to the Black Waters,
Where the Volga, Don, Neva, the Urals flow from Riphean;
Everyone will remember this among countless nations,
How from obscurity I became known,
11. That I was the first to dare to proclaim in a funny Russian style About the virtues of Felitsa, In heartfelt simplicity to talk about God And the truth to the kings from the street
That I was the first to dare in a funny Russian syllableTo proclaim Felitsa’s virtues,
Talk about God in simplicity of heart
And speak the truth to kings with a smile.
O muse! be proud of your just merit,
And whoever despises you, despise them yourself;
With a relaxed, unhurried hand
Crown your brow with the dawn of immortality.
1795
12. Having written an ode in 1782, Derzhavin did not dare to publish it, fearing the revenge of noble nobles depicted satirically. Accidentally ode to butt
Having written the ode in 1782, Derzhavin did not dare to publish it,fearing the revenge of the noble nobles depicted in
satirically. By chance the ode fell into the hands of one
good friend of Derzhavin, advisor to the director
Academy of Sciences, writer, figure in the field of folk
education, later to Minister Osip Petrovich
Kozodavlev (early 1750s - 1819), who began to show
her to various persons, including introducing Princess E.R. to her.
Dashkova, appointed director of the Academy of Sciences in 1783.
Dashkova liked the ode, and when in May 1783 it was
publication of the "Interlocutor" was undertaken, it was decided to open
the first issue of "Felitsa". The publication of "Interlocutor" was
due to the intensification of Catherine’s struggle with the nobility
opposition, the empress’s desire to “use
journalism as a means of influencing minds."
13. Derzhavin received a golden snuffbox containing 500 chervonets as a gift from the empress and was personally introduced to her. The high merits of the ode brought her
Derzhavin received a gold medal as a gift from the Empress.a snuff box with 500 chervonets and was personally introduced to her.
The high merits of the ode brought her success in circles
the most advanced contemporaries, wide in scope
time popularity.
Derzhavin took the very name “Felitsa” from “The Tale of the Tsarevich”
Chlore", written by Catherine II for her grandson
Alexandra (1781). This name was formed by Ekaterina from
Latin words “felix” - “happy”, “felicitas” -
"happiness".
“The author called himself Murza because ... he came from
Tatar tribe; and the empress - Felice and the Kyrgyz
princess for what the late empress composed
a fairy tale under the name of Prince Chlorus, whom Felitsa, that is,
goddess of bliss, accompanied to the mountain where the rose is without thorns
blooms."
14. FELICA (...) Bring it on, Felitsa! Instruction: How to live magnificently and truthfully, How to tame the excitement of passions and be happy in the world? your voice me
FELICA(…)
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.
15. Without imitating your Murzas, you often walk on foot, and the simplest food happens at your table; Without valuing your peace, you read, write before
let's put a layer onAnd 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 the 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.
16. Not imitating your murzas, that is, courtiers, nobles. The word “Murza” is used by Derzhavin in two ways: he means himself and any leader
Not imitating your Murzas, that is, courtiers, nobles. Word“Murza” is used by Derzhavin in two ways: he means himself
and any nobleman.
You read, you write in front of the levy - Derzhavin means
legislative activity of the empress. Naloy (obsolete,
colloquially), more precisely, “lectern” (church) - a high table with a sloping
a horse on which icons or books are placed in churches. Here
used in the sense of “table”, “desk”.
You can’t saddle a parnasque horse - Catherine did not know how to write poetry. Arias
and her secretaries of state wrote poems for her literary works
Elagin, Khrapovitsky and others.
You don’t enter the assembly of spirits, You don’t go from the throne to the East - i.e.
e. you don’t attend Masonic lodges or meetings. Catherine called
Freemasons "sect of spirits". “Easts” were sometimes called Masonic
lodge. Masons in the 80s. XVIII century - members of organizations (“lodges”),
professed mystical-moralistic teachings and were in
opposition to Catherine's government.
17. And I, having slept until noon, smoke tobacco and drink coffee; Transforming everyday life into a holiday, I spin my thoughts in chimeras: Now I steal captivity from the Persians, now I steal arrows
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 there 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.
18. Or in the middle of a beautiful grove, In a gazebo, where a fountain is noisy, With the ringing of a sweet-voiced harp, Where the breeze barely breathes, Where everything was presented to me in luxury
Or among a beautiful groveIn 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.
19. Or music and singers, organ and bagpipes suddenly, or fist fighters and dancing I make my spirit happy; Or, leaving all my worries behind, I go hunting
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’ll 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.
20. And I, having slept until noon, etc. “Refers to the whimsical disposition of Prince Potemkin, like all three of the following couplets, which was about to
And I, having slept until noon, etc. “Refers to the whimsical disposition of the princePotemkin, like all three of the following couplets, which was then going to
war, then I practiced dress, feasts and all kinds of luxuries" (Ob. D.,
598).
Zug - a team of four or six horses in pairs. The right to drive in a train was
privilege of the highest nobility.
I'm flying on a fast runner. This also applies to Potemkin, but “more to gr. Al. Gr.
Orlov, who was a hunter before horse racing” (Ob. D., 598). On horseback
Orlov's factories bred several new breeds of horses, from which
The most famous breed is the famous “Oryol trotters”.
Or fist fighters - also applies to A.G. Orlov.
And amused by the barking of dogs - refers to P. I. Panin, who loved the dog
hunting (Ob. D., 598).
I amuse myself at night with horns, etc. “Refers to Semyon Kirillovich
Naryshkin, who was then the huntsman, who was the first to start a horny
music."
I read Polkan and Bova. “Refers to the book. Vyazemsky, who loved to read
novels (which the author, while serving on his team, often read before him, and
it happened that both of them were dozing and did not understand anything) - Polkan and Bova
and famous old Russian stories" (Ob. D., 599).
21. That’s it, Felitsa, I’m depraved! But the whole world looks like me. No matter how much wisdom there is, every person is a lie. We do not walk the paths of light,
We run debauchery after dreams.Between a lazy person and a grumbler,
Between vanity and vice
Did anyone accidentally find it?
The path of virtue is straight.
22. You only do not offend, You do not offend anyone, You see through foolishness, Only you do not tolerate evil; Misdeeds are treated with leniency
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.
(…)
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.
23. An unheard of thing, worthy of you! one, that you boldly tell the people about everything, and show it at hand, and allow them to know and think, and not about yourself
It's also unheard of,Worthy of you! one,
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 Zoils
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.
24. There, with the name Felitsa, you can scrape off a typo in a line, Or carelessly drop a portrait of Her on the ground, There, clownish weddings don’t float, In ice
There with the name Felitsa you canScrape out the typo in the line,
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop her to the ground
There are no clownish weddings there,
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.
25. That she renounced and was considered wise. Catherine II, with feigned modesty, rejected the titles of “Great”, “Wise”, “Mother of the Fatherland”, to
That she renounced and was considered wise. Catherine II with feignedmodesty rejected the titles of “Great”, “Wise”,
“Mother of the Fatherland”, which were presented to her in 1767 by the Senate and
the Commission for the development of a draft of a new code; so is she
entered in 1779, when the St. Petersburg nobility offered
accept the title “Great” for her.
And you allow me to know and think. In the “Nakaz” of Catherine II,
drawn up by her for the Commission to develop a draft of a new
Code and was a compilation from the works of Montesquieu and
other philosophers and educators of the 18th century, there are indeed a number
articles of which this stanza is a summary. However
No wonder Pushkin called the “Nakaz” “hypocritical”: it has reached us
a huge number of "cases" of people arrested by the Secret
expedition precisely on charges of “speaking” “indecent”,
“abusive” and other words addressed to the empress, heir
throne, book Potemkin, etc. Almost all of these people were cruel
tortured by the “whip fighter” Sheshkovsky and severely punished by secret
by courts.
.
26. There you can whisper in conversations, etc. and the next stanza is a depiction of the cruel laws and morals at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna. How about
There you can whisper in conversations, etc. and the next stanza -depiction of cruel laws and morals at the empress's court
Anna Ioannovna. As Derzhavin notes (Ob. D., 599-600),
there were laws according to which two people,
whispering among themselves were considered intruders
against the empress or the state; not having drunk much
glasses of wine, “offered for the health of the queen,” dropped
accidentally a coin with her image was suspected of malicious intent and
ended up in the Secret Chancellery. A typo, a correction, a scraping,
a mistake in the imperial title entailed punishment with whips,
as well as transferring the title from one line to another. At court
rude buffoonish “amusements” like
famous wedding of Prince Golitsyn, who was a jester at court, for
which the “ice house” was built; titled jesters
sat in baskets and clucked chickens, etc.
27. Glory to Felitsa, glory to God, Who pacified the battle; Who covered, clothed and fed the poor and the poor; Which is the eye of the radiant Jesters, cowards, unkind
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;
28. Which pacified the abuse, etc. “This verse refers to the time of peace, at the end of the first Turkish war (1768-1774 - V.Z.) in Russia
Who pacified the abuse, etc. “This verse refers to peacefulat that time, after the end of the first Turkish war (1768-1774
gg. - V.Z.) flourished in Russia when many philanthropic
institutions were created by the empress, such as: educational
house, hospitals and others” (Ob. D., 600).
Who granted freedom, etc. Derzhavin lists some
laws issued by Catherine II, which were beneficial to the nobles, landowners and merchants: she confirmed what Peter III had given to the nobles
permission to travel abroad; allowed
landowners to develop ore deposits in their possessions in
own benefit; lifted the ban on cutting down forest on its lands
without power control; "allowed free navigation on the seas and
rivers for trade" (Ob. D., 600), etc.
29. Whose law and right hand 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? Merit
Whose law, right handThey 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?
Against the background of such strict norms, Derzhavin’s odes were unusual.
Already the first poem that brought Derzhavin fame, “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky,” makes one wonder whether the poet wrote an ode or an elegy. In this poem, a funeral ode is mixed with an elegy (a song of sad content, mourning death, separation, any loss). The rules of classicism did not allow the combination of these genres. Derzhavin found something in common in them: the motives of the frailty of earthly life and the unrealizability of happiness in view of the inevitable end. He gave sublimity to elegiac moods, and imparted a personal character to odic eloquence.
On the one hand, a particular case was summed up in the spirit of classicism and a general law: the image of all-consuming death is destructive, because man is mortal and all people will someday be swallowed up by a black abyss. The striking of the clock symbolizes the inexorable and merciless time, beating off the short term of earthly life allotted to everyone: “The verb of the times! Metal ringing! But the general sad and cruel law is reconciled by its inevitability.
On the other hand, Meshchersky’s death is a personal irreparable loss for Derzhavin, and noeg has sad thoughts about his own life. Indulging in memories, he looks back at his past:
Like a dream, like a sweet dream,
My youth has also disappeared;
Beauty is not very tender,
It's not so much joy that delights,
The mind is not so frivolous,
I'm not so prosperous.
The personal nuance that appeared in the poem contradicted the rules of classicism. At the same time, Derzhavin used words and expressions of the middle style (“sweet dream”, “youth has disappeared”), which, like the rhymes “youth - joy”, will subsequently be widely included in the middle genres - elegy and message. Such freedom also violated the norms of classicism.
Ode "God". In the ode “God,” the poet glorified Reason, the omnipotence of the Creator, his presence in everything. But at the same time, this omnipotence, the omnipotent and diffused Spirit not only delights, but also makes one tremble, arouses “pyitic horror” in Derzhavin. He overcomes fear with his mind. Since man was created by God in his own image and likeness, but placed on the sinful earth and is not eternal, he is understood by Derzhavin in full agreement with the ideas of the classicists as a weak and insignificant creature (“worm”). However, thanks to reason, he is able to feel within himself a powerful and indestructible spirit, which makes him related to God and even allows him to feel God within himself. This gift is given to a person from above from birth.
At the center of the poem is the idea that God is infinite in space and time, and man, being mortal, is finite and has completion in space and time. But since God breathed spirit into him and gave him reason, man connects heaven (the world of God) with earth (the abode of people). This connection is inherent in the idea of man, and therefore he is given the right and opportunity to comprehend God: “Only a thought dares to ascend to You...” The main difficulty overcome by Derzhavin was to express in clear images what is least expressible in words.
The poet sees a person in contrasts of feelings and mental states, pairing tragic thoughts with insignificant activities. This allowed N.V. Gogol to say about the “hyperbolic scope... of Derzhavin’s speech”: “His syllable is as large as any of our poets. If you open it with an anatomical knife, you will see that this comes from the ordinary combination of the highest words with the lowest and simplest, which no one would dare to do except Derzhavin. Who else would dare, besides him, to express himself as he expressed himself in one place about his same majestic husband, at that moment when he had already fulfilled everything that was needed on earth:
And death, like a guest, awaits
Twisting his mustache, lost in thought.
Who, besides Derzhavin, would dare to connect such a thing as the expectation of death with such an insignificant action as the twirling of a mustache? But how through this the visibility of the husband himself is more palpable and what a melancholy deep feeling remains in the soul!
"Russian girls". And yet Derzhavin is not only the architect of classicism, but also its destroyer. In the poem “Russian Girls,” Derzhavin tries to convey the national flavor, the behavior and dancing of girls, their characteristic movements (“Quietly, they move their hands, move their eyes and speak with their shoulders...”), which arose on the basis of folk culture. This poem itself is closer to the middle than high genres. It is picturesque (“How pink blood flows through blue veins”), full of humor and simple-minded pride in rural beauties. It is clear that Derzhavin formed their image under the influence of living impressions.
"Felitsa". One of Derzhavin’s most significant works, in which the norms and rules of classicism were sharply violated, was the famous ode “Felitsa” (1782).
The beginning of “Felitsa” is reminiscent of a traditional ode and at the same time differs from it:
Godlike Princess
Kyrgyzstan hordes!
In the ode of classicism, the monarch was portrayed as an earthly deity, a collection of all virtues and perfections, a wise, demanding mentor and an indulgent father of his subjects, not abandoning them with his mercy and care. With the epithet “godlike” and exclamatory intonations, Derzhavin immediately set the tone in an odic mood. Further, the qualities of the “princess” were exaggeratedly and hyperbolically praised. But instead of directly and by name the Empress Catherine II, Derzhavin wrote about some Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess. The ode was firmly connected with allegory, which Derzhavin resorted to for a reason. He had several goals. By mentioning Princess Felitsa and Prince Chlor, Derzhavin hinted at “The Tale of Prince Chlor,” written by Catherine II. It told that the prince went in search of a rose without thorns. The Kirghiz Kaysak princess Felitsa begged to assign a smart boy named Reason to him as an assistant and adviser. On the way, Prince Chlorus learns that a rose without thorns is a virtue and that it is not given for nothing, but is achieved with great difficulty. The moral growth of the prince is depicted as a climb to the top of a high mountain. Derzhavin used the plot from the allegorical and didactic fairy tale of Catherine II. Derzhavin's ode is also allegorical and didactic, and this does not contradict the norms of the genre. Derzhavin also needed the fairy tale in another respect: he did not want evil tongues to accuse him of flattery and for Catherine II to see the poet’s selfish intentions, and not sincerity and simple-minded praise.
Derzhavin, as is expected in the ode, does not give a sequence of events and episodes, but builds a “plot of thought” in the form of a gradual movement from darkness to light, from error to the knowledge of truth through moral self-education in the spirit of virtues prescribed by enlightened reason. In the course of reflection, he becomes convinced that he has found the ideal monarch in the person of Catherine II. The ode seemed to be talking about Catherine II and not about her. Derzhavin introduced into the fairy tale the image of Murza, a “wild” Muslim who was accustomed to laziness, to a luxurious and idle life. This explained the penetration of eastern vocabulary and imagery into the ode with its pomp of metaphors, comparisons, hyperbolism of praise and glorification. On the one hand, Murza was easily recognizable as a poet himself, who deliberately played up his origins (Derzhavin descended from the Tatar Murza Bagrim), and on the other hand, Murza was an independent character, even a poet, who was characterized by the lush imagery of oriental lyrics. The “wild”, uncivilized Tatar is attracted by the intelligence and moral virtues of the princess. But the simple-minded Murza does not know the “rules” of classicism, he does not know the “laws” by which an ode is written, and therefore he easily and against any norms includes in the ode low paintings, low life (playing cards, pile driving, blind man’s buff, festivities under a swing, a visit to a tavern, a shared love for pigeons with my wife and “hygienic exercises” with her - “I’m looking for her in my head”). The low world, not captured by reason and contemptuously ridiculed, which was then called “perverted light”, suddenly, through the thoughtlessness of the “wild” Murza the poet, from the low genres of satire, fables, carols migrated to the genre of ode, the high genre, bypassing and violating its boundaries , established and strictly guarded by the omnipotent Mind itself. Murza the poet combined and mixed, despite their incompatibility, styles high, medium and low. The ode genre was suddenly invaded by the genres of idyll and pastoral, maintained in a middle style. There are also low words and expressions that are completely inappropriate in the ode, conveying Russian landowner and “domestic” life (fist fights, dancing, barking dogs, fun and mischief). Everywhere Murza the poet strives to reduce the high or call it by an ordinary name: for example, he replaces the odic Olympus with a “high mountain”, Russia with the “Kyrgyz Kaysak Horde”, poetic delight with the vanity of life and the weaving of rhymes. And the ode itself is quite ambiguous, because it contains a lot of irony, laughter, and comedy.
This movement of a high genre, style, or tone into a low one is called travestying, a conscious reduction of themes and images.
Since the author of “Felitsa” is hidden behind Murza, who, unlike Murza, is skilled in poetry and who is well aware of the “rules” of classicism, this means that Derzhavin entered into a poetic game with Catherine II. The playful beginning transformed the high ode, combining it with lower genres (satire, idyll, pastoral, anecdote, etc.). Thanks to the poetic play, the style of the ode became more diverse, richer and more picturesque. In addition to Church Slavonicisms, biblicalisms and archaisms, it included words of the middle style, colloquial, used in everyday life. The norms of the odic genre and classicism in general were violated.
Derzhavin's innovation consisted in the destruction of the monumental unity of odic images - the hero (heroine) of the ode and the author-poet. Derzhavin achieves the unity of these images on grounds other than in the classical examples of the ode. He achieves unity not as a result of depicting the heroine in one key, on one plane - outside of everyday life, without biographical details, but through a combination of private and general, biographical and state, human and imperial properties and qualities. Derzhavin went even further, creating the image of a poet.
Derzhavin’s poet is both enlightened and unenlightened, subject to human weaknesses and knows that they need to be overcome, gives biographical details about himself, and of a very personal, “homely” nature, and ascribes to himself the delusions, whims and behavior of other people. He is a nobleman, a dignitary and a simple, ordinary person who wants to educate himself in the spirit of reasonable concepts and is unable to cope with temptations. He is attracted by virtue, but he constantly deviates from the truly moral path, finds the ideal of wisdom in the person of Catherine II, even experiences its influence and immediately moves away from it. He sincerely believes that Catherine II is a model of virtue, but, seeing her surroundings, he doubts his faith. Derzhavin creates the images of the heroine and the poet as contradictory and united in these contradictions. Unity is achieved not by cutting off human qualities from civil virtues, as was customary before him in the ode, but by combining autobiographical traits with the traits of a statesman-minded figure.
So, Derzhavin divided the image into its two essential sides: human, everyday, domestic and official, civil, state.
In contrast to the empress, who is an example of human virtue and statesmanship, a nobleman is drawn. He likes life as an eternal, endlessly lasting holiday with endless pleasures, but he knows that, spending his days in vanity, he does not bring any benefit to the Fatherland and does not fulfill his duty. However, the nobleman is captivated by idleness, and he cannot overcome temptations and seductions; he plunges into himself and indulges his imagination, carried away in thoughts into unrealizable areas.
The sudden change of mood of the nobleman - from high, but useless dreams to low life and insignificant, petty desires - is capricious and whimsical.
It testifies that the nobleman does not rule over thoughts and feelings, but obeys them. He is even more captivated by feasts and entertainment. Derzhavin describes the feast in such a way that the luxury and richness of food on the table is clearly preferable for him to government activities, arguments of reason, considerations of duty and the general benefit.
A groundless dreamer and passionate epicurean 1, indulging in the pleasures of the flesh, luxuriates with the “young maiden.” Here he feels like a hero of a rural idyll or pastoral 2. But Derzhavin’s nature, in the spirit of classicism, is artificial: the grove was planted by man, there is a gazebo with a fountain in it, a harp sounds, the grass is called a “velvet sofa.” The stanza contains all the signs of the idyll and pastoral genres. The nobleman also loves entertainment in the spirit of national customs: either riding in a carriage, or racing “on a fast horse,” or horn music, or fist fights, or hunting, or even pranks with his wife. Derzhavin writes with irony about the enlightenment of the mind and soul, which reason requires, but with which a pampered nature cannot cope:
I like to rummage through books,
I enlighten my mind and heart,
I read Polkan and Bova;
Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.
Having told about his activities and habits, the nobleman pronounces an impartial verdict on himself:
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.
In other words, nobles and dignitaries reputed to be wise men are actually subject to all sorts of vices and lack moral virtues, unlike Catherine II. There is an abyss between statesmanship and moral virtues, and the distance between him and the empress is increasingly increasing: Catherine II is depicted as an earthly goddess, and the nobleman - as a mere mortal who is not given the opportunity to achieve wisdom and virtue, but is allowed to enjoy the sight of the queen and sing her enthusiastic praise. Ironically belittling his own merits, Derzhavin complimentarily and slyly exaggerated the virtues of the empress.
By introducing a personal, biographical element into the ode, Derzhavin rebuilt the genre and updated it. He himself understood that such an ode as “Felitsa” “has never existed in our language.” By violating the norms of the genre, Derzhavin undermined the theory and practice of classicism and increased doubts about the indisputability of Enlightenment truths.
Continuing this line of his work at the beginning of the 19th century, Derzhavin abandoned the ode altogether, moving on to poems glorifying wine, love, life full of joy, beauty and pleasure 3. In this new lyrical image of a carefree and wise lover of life, he appears in his last poems.
At the end of his creative days, Derzhavin met death either with jubilant sounds, confident in poetic immortality, or with calm despair, close to the dispassionate consciousness of the death of the “sounds of the lyre and trumpet” in the abyss of eternity.
Questions and tasks
- How did you understand the content and main idea of Derzhavin’s philosophical ode “God”? Give a detailed answer-reasoning.
- Can we say that the poet introduced biographical features into his lyrics and made himself its hero?
- What changes has the ode genre undergone under the pen of Derzhavin and how has its style changed? Analyze the image of the poet in the ode “Felitsa”.
- How do you understand the statement that Derzhavin is as much the architect of classicism as his destroyer?
1 Epicurean - a person who considers idleness and sensual pleasures to be the meaning and value of life - love, wine, friendly conversations, feasts, etc.
2 Pastoral is a work of art that depicts the life of happy shepherds and shepherdesses in the lap of rural nature.
3 Such lyrics were called anacreontic - after the Greek singer Anacreon, who lived five hundred years before the birth of Christ. His works have come down to us in fragments, but the motifs contained in them were taken up by many European poets. Following Lomonosov, Derzhavin also responded to them.
How many times has this happened before: if necessary, you just need to touch on the personality of some poet, how captivating it is... And in the end you become not an outside observer, but an ardently interested researcher of his creative path. G. Derzhavin is no exception: time decided that a superficial acquaintance with him turned into a genuine interest in his personality.
To imagine what his “spiritual odes” are, it is necessary, first of all, to understand how the poet’s mental state contributed to their writing. This point requires a retreat: the originality of his nature, the rare combination of his love of life with insight (which, by the way, is not characteristic of all poets) give him a separate place among the poets of Catherine’s era. The poet's work must always be considered in the context of his environment - be it people or circumstances. Let's consider. Derzhavin was born into a poor noble family, lost his father early and was soon orphaned. He began his service as a simple soldier and did not soon receive the rank of officer (such a leisurely career advancement was “facilitated” by his cool disposition; he said about himself that he was “hot and, in truth, the devil”). Only in his mature years, thanks to the masterfully written “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaysat princess Felitsa,” where sincerity and a bold look at the order that had taken root in Catherine II’s circle were the main components, he managed to attract attention to himself. And subsequently make a brilliant career. Catherine, as an intelligent woman, could not help but respond to such a temperamental message with many bold attacks towards her courtiers and artless praises addressed to her. Recognition allowed Derzhavin to “unfold” to the full power of his talent. The very concept of “God” is closely connected, in his opinion, with the concept of “poetry”. It is interesting to see how he interprets the latter in his “Discourse on Lyric Poetry or Ode”: “Lyrical poetry appears from the very shrouds of the world... A man who arose from the dust and admired the wonders of the universe, the first voice of his joy, surprise and gratitude had to be uttered a lyrical exclamation... This is the true and initial source of the Ode... It is not science, but fire, heat, feeling." There was plenty of “fire and feeling” in his nature. It is not surprising that the author, who speaks so much about the ode, could not write in another genre. For: “Ode, with its speed, brilliance and power, like lightning, enveloping the universe in a single moment, forms the greatness of the Creator.” A person who felt the unity of God and the Almighty could not remain within the framework of the idea of an ode from the era of classicism, which was not close to other poets. He felt that these ideas had become ossified from many years of monotonous approach to them. He knew. that God is also human, man himself with all his shortcomings and imperfections, which is why he so boldly began to introduce the author’s words and unusual-sounding folk motifs into the ode. This innovation of his anticipated the future emergence of romanticism, from which Pushkin and other poets of his time emerged. Rethinking the significance of the spiritual principle in a person will find continuation in “David” by Griboyedov, “The Prophet” by Lermontov and Pushkin.
Although Pushkin had the imprudence to frivolously speak of Derzhavin’s talent: “a bad translation from some wonderful original,” he understood that his own elegance of words and ease of style would not have appeared without such a foundation as Derzhavin. Gavrila Romanovich himself called his language “a funny Russian syllable”; If only he knew what this “fun” would lead to in the 19th century! Without denying the ode its loftiness, he added: “...loftiness consists in the strength of the spirit, or in the truth that dwells in God.”
Derzhavin's personality has enormous inner charm; each of his works is filled with it. Gogol’s words about Derzhavin are emotional: “The mind is perplexed to decide where this hyperbolic scope of his speech came from. Is this a remnant of our fabulous heroism, which in the form of some dark prophecy still floats over our land, transforming it into something higher , awaiting us, or was it inspired on him by his distant Tatar origin... whatever it was, this quality in Derzhavin is amazing... Everything is wild, enormous; but wherever the power of inspiration helped him, there all this bulk serves to bring an object to life with unnatural force, so that it seems as if it sees with a thousand eyes.” The range of opinions about him is wide, which marks his high talent and originality - such people never leave their contemporaries indifferent.
Derzhavin became interested in poetry early and for a long time “wrote on the table,” or rather, “in the chest”: while moving on duty, he was once forced to burn a chest with his papers (due to the threat of not being able to pass quarantine), and they, according to - Apparently, there were a lot. This act is another illustration of Derzhavin’s broad nature. Which poet would dare to destroy his creations with his own hands?.. The lack of education was made up for by close communication with representatives of the “Lvov circle” - a group of young poets, artists, composers: N. A. Lvov, M. N. Muravyov, I. I. Khemnitser (especially with him), V.V. Kapnist, D.S. Bortnyansky, V.L. Borovikovsky. Young talents were driven by the need to find a new path in art and literature. Derzhavin's lively mind could not help but respond to these searches; individuality in everything made him feel uncomfortable in the old system of genres, which prompted him to study. The fact that Derzhavin was able to finally sum up his apprenticeship and declare himself as a poet is the great merit of Ya. B. Knyazhnin, the publisher of the St. Petersburg Bulletin. It was there that the ode “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky” was published in 1779. In fact, these were poems by an unknown poet, because there was no signature under them. They sounded a real death knell:
Verb of times! metal ringing!
Your terrible voice confuses me;
Calling me, calling your moan,
He calls and brings you closer to the coffin.
I barely saw this light,
Death is already gnashing its teeth,
Like lightning, a scythe shines,
And my days are cut by like grain.
This ode was to the reader as a reminder of the inevitability of death. But how it sounded and how it was presented; the author lamented and was indignant: “I barely saw this light, / Already death is gnashing its teeth...” Appeals to Meshchersky: “Where, Meshchersky, have you hidden?” and to Perfilyev: “This day or tomorrow to die, / Perfilyev, we must, of course,” show the enormity of the grief that accompanies a person in his life’s journey when he loses friends and relatives. Derzhavin tries to cover this gap between a living friend (Perfilyev) and a dead one (Meshchersky), describing death from all sides accessible to human perception. The shock caused by the sudden death of a friend - a merry fellow and a hospitable man (who, apparently, was close in character to the author) is great, and he tries to somehow reconcile his rebellious feelings with reality, but it turns out that death covers everything:
We are sliding on the edge of the abyss,
Into which we will fall headlong;
Let us accept our death with life,
We are born to die.
Just one line: “We are born to die” can cause confusion even in a persistent person. One can only guess how it affected more vulnerable people. Pictures of the triumph of death follow one after another and fascinate with their grandiose tragedy. Derzhavin achieves a special expressiveness of the image of death by making it motionless: death is greedy for life, for all its manifestations, but at the same time it is in no hurry, because it is confident in its power. A motionless, hundred-eyed monster, she sits in the center of the universe and watches from under closed eyelids, expecting her next victim. People, animals, stars, planets - all of them are crushed when they collide with this obstacle. Everything is dying. only she is eternal.
But! Reading the lines, imbued with a feeling of some kind of inhuman horror and inner spiritual numbness, the reader suddenly catches himself in the fact that other sensations gradually begin to awaken in him. He cannot yet isolate them, but with each new reading they declare themselves more and more insistently. And at some point a person realizes that he is experiencing... pleasure. It’s a paradox, but soon an even more incomprehensible fact arises: pleasure turns into delight! Just as a certain phenomenon, having reached a critical point, turns into its opposite, so chilling horror at a certain stage gives way to delight. This phenomenon was described by Aristotle as “catharsis” (in relation to ancient drama). The tragic events playing out on stage suddenly bring clarity to the soul, and the viewer experiences an inexplicable, painful pleasure from this. The reader experiences a similar thing from the ode “To Death...” This can also be explained by the fact that at some point the soul, burdened with a heavy burden of hopelessness and fear, makes an unconscious leap towards the root cause - God, and the person “remembers” who he is In fact. He begins to understand that it is not right for him to grovel before the brainless “hundred-eyed monster,” because he is a child of the eternal God. It is this awareness that plays a decisive role: the reader, having gone through, figuratively speaking, several circles of hell, repeatedly experiences conflicting feelings and... is purified. This shaking up of a human being gives him strength... to live on! Now he knows that there is a power in the world that can boldly face death, and this power is in himself. This power is the human spirit. His greatness allows a person to fearlessly embrace death with his mind and at the same time, challenging it, calling it by name.
What then, in comparison with death, is “the desire for glory... the desire”, “the acquisition of riches”, “the excitement of all passions”?.. Derzhavin asks, what are these earthly claims for a person if he is able to withstand confrontation with eternity? If there were no death, then nothing would disturb the spirit, and man would have only one thing left - to pursue fame, wealth, “delights and pleasures.” This is where the real horror is - a person ceases to be a person. Such a conclusion could not leave Derzhavin indifferent: perhaps for him, as the author, such an unexpected result was a revelation. His contemporaries discerned this feature, and it subsequently (in the twentieth century) received ideological justification from existentialist philosophers: death, according to them, is the only fact in front of which it is impossible for a person to remain in a state of automatic existence. Derzhavin could not have known the famous phrase of D. Donne, but our contemporaries know it: “... the death of every person diminishes me too, for I am alone with all humanity, and therefore never ask for whom the bell tolls: it also tolls for you ".
No less interesting are the circumstances surrounding the writing of the ode “To Rulers and Judges” (1780). It was originally called "Psalm 81". Questions of the meaning of life, the manifestation of the divine will in man (be it a king or his last slave), man’s place in the world - all this worried Derzhavin. This restlessness can be traced in his work, starting with the Chitalagai odes and ending with his last ode, “On Corruptibility.” "To Rulers and Judges" is an arrangement of Psalm 81 (published in No. 11 of the St. Petersburg Bulletin). According to the author: vices are deeply alien to human nature, but they are present in people, and this makes him angry. The author is sensitive to the common man; after all, everyone is equal by nature, but who inspired people to do arbitrariness over the weaker?.. The original looks like this: “God stood in the assembly of gods; among the gods he pronounced judgment: how long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the poor and the orphan, to the oppressed and the poor... I said: you are gods and sons of the Most High - all of you, but you will die like men and fall like any prince. Arise, O God, judge the earth..." Ode - the poet's direct appeal to to earthly gods who have forgotten why they were put in power and endowed with the right to carry out justice. The Tsar, as God's protege, has been known in Russian literature since the time of S. Polotsk, but only as an object of glorification. In Derzhavin (what an irrepressible soul!) the unpredictability of his nature again got the better of him: he knocks kings off pedestals built over centuries and boldly judges them, reminding them of their responsibilities to the people (they don’t forget about their rights):
Your duty is: to preserve the laws,
Don't look at the faces of the strong...
......................
Your duty: to save the innocent from harm,
Give cover to the unlucky ones.
Derzhavin's many years of stay at Catherine's court gave him a lot of impressions and observations of the life of the courtiers. He still remembers his hungry childhood and all the ordeals that his family had to endure. The arbitrariness that he had to face (due to his restless heart, which irritated the greedy and stupid nobles), reminded him of itself every time he saw its manifestation in relation to others. This clearly shows Derzhavin’s strict adherence to the law: the poet’s purpose is to remember the truth. The author’s interpretation of the psalm is a successful technique, which, as time will tell, hit more than one target:
They won't listen! they see and don’t know!
Covered with a bribe of tow.
Derzhavin experiences despair - he does not see a force on earth capable of resisting blatant lawlessness. He prophesies an unenviable fate for the “earthly gods” and calls out to God:
And you will die like this,
How your last slave will die!
.....................
Resurrect, God! God of the right!
And they heeded their languor:
Come, judge, punish the evil ones
And be one king of the earth!
But censorship removed the ode from the book. In Derzhavin’s indifference to the fate of the people, personal reasons are visible: the unsuccessful governorship in the Olonets province. Five years later, the ode sounded harsher and louder: in the Olonets land, Governor Derzhavin was faced with the arbitrariness of the governor, the tyrant Tutolmin. The inability to fix anything forced the first to flee. Derzhavin publishes the ode with a new title and no longer makes reference to the psalm; he is not afraid of censorship. In 1795, he personally bound a book with odes and presented it to the Empress. We must make a reservation: the last quarter of the 18th century was a very tense period in Russian history (Pugachev’s peasant war and social instability). The foundations of the state are being shaken. Tension in the world (the American revolution and the revolution in France, a country with which Russia had close relations) played a significant role in the change in the empress’s views on the “inconvenient” Derzhavin. Now she sees in him not the simple-minded singer of her state genius, but almost a traitor. Derzhavin miraculously managed to escape investigation. This is how the poet’s friend Ya. I. Bulgakov described it: “What are you, brother, writing for Jacobin poetry?” “King David,” said Derzhavin, “was not a Jacobin, therefore, his songs cannot be disgusting to anyone.” Only later did he learn that the Jacobins paraphrased Psalm 81 and sang it on the streets of Paris in order to inspire the people who rebelled against Louis XVI.
As an honest and straightforward person, Derzhavin wonders why “Catherine’s shield,” under which he once felt invulnerable, simultaneously covers his enemies? It turns out that Minerva of Russia is equally condescending to both the right and the guilty. On the one hand, indignation at such injustice does not allow Derzhavin’s civic sense to remain silent, on the other, deep confidence in the machinations of evil officials surrounded by the empress pushes him to present the ode. At first the poet was in awe of her. But gradually he shifts the emphasis from man (whose standard for a long time was Catherine in his eyes) to God. He is the only support that will not collapse and bury you. This was facilitated by Derzhavin’s life experience, which from event to event pushed him to rethink his life. In his ode "On Perishability" he summarized:
The river of times in its aspiration
Takes away all people's affairs
And drowns in the abyss of oblivion
Nations, kingdoms and kings.
And if anything remains
Through the sounds of the lyre and trumpet,
Then it will be devoured by the mouth of eternity
And the common fate will not go away.
Written on the eve of Derzhavin’s death, in 1816, the ode is striking in its hopelessness: there is not even a hint of immortality in it, which the poet spoke about in relation to himself at the beginning of his journey. He denies it even to the most poetic gift. The inevitability of the final absorption of any human affairs by the abyss of time is revealed in the poem not only at the semantic, but also at the phonetic level. The line “Through the sounds of the lyre and trumpet” with its sonorous R is contrasted with the line that destroys this sonority in the hissing: “Then eternity will be devoured by the mouth...” (it also contains an R, but it sounds alarming next to the F). The sounds of the lyre and trumpet are music, poetry, through which a person tries to establish himself on earth. And in the end, they are swallowed up by the mouth of eternity, that is, eternal silence, nothingness... In terms of piercingness and semantic accuracy, this poem almost surpasses all of Derzhavin’s philosophical works. Eight lines on a slate board - as a result of life.
But that comes later. There remains one more masterpiece that the modern reader cannot pass by, and that Derzhavin’s contemporaries could not pass by either. Suffice it to say that its extraordinary popularity at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries led to its translation into many European languages, as well as Japanese and Chinese. Gavrila Romanovich outlined this fact in his “Notes”: an ode, “which everyone boasts about.” This ode came about as a result of much thought. He began writing it in 1780, and finished it in 1784. M.V. Lomonosov had a great influence on him, so God in it appears not as an incorporeal spirit, alienated from nature, but as a creative principle opposing death. The church’s idea of the three essences of the Divine, by the will of the author, turns into “three metaphysical faces, that is: infinite space, continuous life in the movement of matter and the endless flow of time,” which God combines in himself. Being a son of his era - the Age of Enlightenment, Derzhavin tries to interpret the concept of “God” broadly, taking into account all the manifestations of Divine Providence on earth. He notices the “nature of order,” that is, harmony, strict order and a certain pattern in the world around him. Unconditional faith coexists with attempts to prove His existence with purely subjective arguments - man’s desire for a higher, powerful, fair and beneficent creative principle. Because God for Derzhavin is the beginning of beginnings, the entire universe, the primary source of everything, this is what “fills everything, embraces, builds, preserves”:
Soul of my soul and king!
It is appropriate to mention those events that indirectly influenced the fact of writing the ode “God”. Providence predetermined Derzhavin even in infancy that he would write about God. In 1744, during his infancy, a very unusual comet appeared in the sky. It is known that the comet at all times predicted dramatic changes both in the destinies of nations and in the fate of an individual. P.I. Bartenev designated it this way: the comet “was distinguished by a long tail with six curved rays and made a strong impression on the people.” The first word that little Derzhavin uttered, pointing his finger at her, was: “God!” Does this not explain the incredible success that the appearance of this ode in print caused?.. You can’t help but think. Without diminishing the significance of the heavenly sign, we can say that the main reason for success was the idea of the unity of God and man, which is reflected in the lines:
I am the connection of worlds existing everywhere,
I am an extreme degree of substance;
I am the center of the living
The initial trait of a deity.
The author’s overwhelming joy from feeling like the crown of His creation reaches a crescendo in the line:
I am a king - I am a slave - I am a worm - I am God!
This is the revelation of 1784 - as opposed to the revelation "The Monarch and the Prisoner - a meal of worms" of 1779. From this it can be understood that Derzhavin, like many poets before him, is waging an invisible battle with decay and non-existence. To comprehend the truth and translate it into lines is not an easy process, and not accessible to everyone. Derzhavin succeeded and succeeded brilliantly! An indisputable fact is that it was the ode “God” that became the culmination of his work. It had its final stage. At the end of the winter of 1784, when the sleigh route was still standing, Derzhavin got ready to go to Kazan, but for some reason he stayed in St. Petersburg. The need to write suddenly manifested itself and turned out to be so great that without explanation he abandoned his family and ran away. The soul persistently craves solitude, and Derzhavin, despite the beginning of the muddy roads, reaches Narva, where he abandons the carriage and servants near the inn. He locks himself in a room belonging to a German landlady and writes. I wrote, taking breaks only to sleep and eat. He wrote with one goal in mind: to depict the greatness of God as fully as possible. Peering, as if into a mirror, into the ode he created, he visibly saw himself reflected in it, and the aching feeling of unity with Him became stronger and stronger. He became more and more amazed, identifying himself with God. Towards morning these feelings intensified, he grabbed a pen and, lighting the lamp, wrote the last line. Tears streamed down his face...
It was God who guided his pen, it was God’s providence that determined the appearance of his best work. How could it be otherwise?.. After all, the poet himself is the initial feature of the Deity. The path along which Derzhavin’s thought developed is clearly traceable - fixing the material manifestation of Him in the world:
Measure the ocean deep,
Count the sands, the rays of the planets...
the author comes to the conclusion that:
You have no number or measure!
Then a person (“I”) appears and in the process of reasoning and comparison, in which the “heart” and “hands” participate, the result arises:
And I am nothing in front of you.
...................
Nothing! - But you shine in me.
...................
I am - of course, you are too!
This statement is already worth a lot: a person is not alone, there is One to whom one can cling to with one’s soul:
You exist - and I am no longer nothing!
A moment later, the joyful soul rushes to him and exclaims:
I am your creation, creator!
And the question of the meaning of life is resolved at a deep level - the level of feelings unexpectedly quickly and clearly:
So that my spirit is clothed in mortality
And so that through death I return,
Father! - to your immortality.
These three Derzhavin lines are capable of producing a revolution in human consciousness. Having shocked contemporaries, they may find a response in the minds of future generations and serve as material for a scientific substantiation of the existence of God. One cannot belittle the role of Derzhavin’s poetry in resolving eternal human questions: what is man and what is God.
As a symbol of an entire era in literature, as a generator of ideas for future generations, as an unbroken creator, he is a model of a person for each of us. Not to be like Derzhavin the poet, but to be like Derzhavin the citizen - this is the ethical standard to which one should strive. His whole life can be justified in the face of eternity by his "Confession":
I didn't know how to pretend
Look like a saint
To inflate yourself with an important dignity
And take the form of a philosopher,
I loved sincerity
I thought only they liked it
The human mind and heart
They were my genius.
If I shone with delight,
Fire flew from my strings,
I didn’t shine with myself, but with God;
Outside myself, I sang to God...
1807
He achieved heights in many fields. He overcame the path from an unknown soldier to the Minister of Justice, from an ordinary “paper maker” to a brilliant poet. It is probably difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his genius. But it is quite possible to achieve something in life, having him as an example. He never went against God within himself, which allowed him until his last days to remain a happy family man, recognized by his era as a poet and public figure, simply a man who did not live his life in vain.
O you, endless space,
Alive in the movement of matter,
Eternal with the passage of time,
Without faces, in three faces of a deity!
The spirit is everywhere present and united,
For whom there is no place and no reason,
Whom no one could comprehend
Who fills everything with himself,
Encompasses, builds, preserves,
Whom we call: God.
Measure the ocean deep,
Count the sands, the rays of the planets
Although a high mind could, -
You have no number or measure!
Spirits cannot be enlightened,
Born from your light,
Explore your destinies:
Only the thought of ascending to you dares,
Disappears in your greatness,
Like a moment gone by in eternity.
Chaos being before time
From the abyss you called to eternity,
And eternity, born before the age,
In yourself you have founded:
Making up oneself,
Shining from myself,
You are the light where the light came from.
Creating everything with one word,
Stretching out into the new creation,
You were, you are, you will forever be!
You contain a chain of beings within yourself,
You support it and live it;
You match the end with the beginning
And you give life to death.
How sparks fly, strive,
Thus the suns will be born from you;
Like on a foul, clear day in winter
Specks of frost sparkle,
They rotate, they sway, they shine,
So the stars are in the abysses below you.
The light of the kindled millions
They flow in immeasurability,
They make your laws
Life-giving rays pour down.
But these lamps are fiery,
Or the red crystals of the mass,
Or waves of golden boiling host,
Or burning ethers,
Or together all the luminous worlds -
Before you is like night before day.
Like a drop dropped into the sea,
The whole firmament is before you.
But what is the visible universe to me?
And what am I in front of you?
In that ocean of air,
Multiplying the worlds by a million
A hundred times other worlds - and then,
When I dare to compare with you,
It will only be one point;
And I am nothing in front of you.
Nothing! - But you shine in me
Your majesty of kindness;
You portray yourself in me,
Like the sun in a small drop of water.
Nothing! - But I feel life,
I fly unfed
Always a guy in heights;
My soul yearns to be with you,
He delves into, thinks, reasons:
I am - of course, you are too!
You exist! - the rank of nature speaks,
My heart tells me that
My mind assures me
You exist - and I am no longer nothing!
A particle of the whole universe,
Placed, it seems to me, in venerable
In the middle of nature I am the one
Where did you end up with bodily creatures?
Where did you begin the heavenly spirits
And a chain of creatures connected everyone with me.
I am the connection of worlds that exist everywhere,
I am an extreme degree of substance;
I am the center of the living
The trait is the initial of the deity;
My body is crumbling into dust,
I command thunder with my mind,
I am a king - I am a slave - I am a worm - I am a god!
But, being so wonderful, I
Where did it happen? - unknown;
But I couldn’t be myself.
I am your creation, creator!
I am a creature of your wisdom,
Source of life, giver of blessings,
Soul of my soul and king!
Your truth needed it
So that the abyss of death may pass
My existence is immortal;
So that my spirit is clothed in mortality
And so that through death I return,
Father! - to your immortality.
Inexplicable, incomprehensible!
I know that my soul
Imagination is powerless
And draw your shadow;
But if praise must be given,
That is impossible for weak mortals
There is nothing else to honor you with,
How can they just rise to you,
Getting lost in the immeasurable difference
And grateful tears are shed.