The genre of the poem is to whom it is good to live in Russia. The history of creation and the genre of the poem “Who in Russia should live well”

“My favorite brainchild,” Nekrasov wrote in his manuscript about the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia.” Later, in one of his letters to the journalist P. Bezobrazov, the poet himself defined the genre of the poem “Who should live well in Russia”: “This will be the epic of modern peasant life.”

And here the modern reader will immediately have a lot of questions, because the word epic reminds us of large-scale works, for example, Homer's epics or Tolstoy's multi-volume books. But does an unfinished work even have the right to be called an epic?

To begin with, let's figure out what is meant by the concept of "epopee". The problematics of the epic genre involves consideration of the life of not a single hero, but of an entire nation. Any significant events in the history of this people are selected for the image. Most often, this moment is war. However, at the time of Nekrasov's creation of the poem, there is no war going on in Russia, and the poem itself does not mention military operations. And yet, in 1861, another event, no less significant for the people's life, took place in Russia: the abolition of serfdom. It causes a wave of controversy in the highest circles, as well as confusion and a complete reorganization of life among the peasants. It is to this turning point that Nekrasov dedicates his epic poem.

The genre of the work “To whom it is good to live in Russia” required the author to comply with certain criteria, first of all, the scale. The task of showing the life of an entire nation is not at all easy, and it was this task that influenced Nekrasov's choice of a plot with a journey as the main plot-forming element. Travel is a common motif in Russian literature. Both Gogol in "Dead Souls" and Radishchev ("Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow") addressed him, even in the Middle Ages there was a popular genre of "walking" - "Walking over three seas". This technique allows you to depict in the work a complete picture of folk life, with all its customs, joys and sorrows. At the same time, the main plot fades into the background, and the narrative breaks up into many separate kaleidoscopic parts, from which at the same time a three-dimensional picture of life gradually emerges. Peasants' stories about their fates are replaced by drawn-out lyrical songs, the reader gets acquainted with a rural fair, sees festivities, elections, learns about the attitude towards a woman, mourns with a beggar and has fun with a drunk.

It is characteristic that the parts sometimes deviate so strongly from each other in the plot that they can be interchanged without harm to the composition of the work. This at one time caused a long debate about the correct arrangement of the chapters of the poem (Nekrasov did not leave clear instructions on this).

At the same time, this "patchwork" of the work is compensated by the internal unceasing development of the plot - one of the prerequisites for the epic genre. The people's soul, sometimes very contradictory, sometimes despairing under the yoke of troubles and yet not completely broken, moreover, constantly dreaming of happiness - this is what the poet shows the reader.

Among the features of the genre “To whom it is good to live in Russia”, one can also name a huge layer of folklore elements included in the text of the poem, from directly introduced songs, proverbs, sayings and to implicit references to this or that epic story, the use of turns like “Savel, the Russian hero”. Here you can clearly see Nekrasov's love for the common people, his sincere interest in the topic - it is not for nothing that the collection of material for the poem lasted for so many years (more than 10)! Note that the inclusion of folklore elements in the text is also considered a sign of the epic - this allows you to more fully depict the features of the national character and way of life.

The bizarre combination of historical facts with fairy tale motifs is also considered a genre originality of the poem. In the beginning, written according to all the laws of fairy tales, seven (magic number) peasants set off on their journey. The beginning of their journey is accompanied by miracles - a warbler speaks to them, in the forest they find a self-assembled tablecloth. But their further path will not go according to a fairy tale.

The skillful combination of a fabulous, unburdening plot with the serious political problems of post-reform Russia favorably distinguished Nekrasov's work immediately after the publication of parts of the poem: it looked interesting against the background of one-sided pamphlets and at the same time made one think. This also allowed the epic poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” not to lose its interest for the reader today.

Artwork test

Nekrasov called "To whom it is good to live in Russia" a poem. However, in terms of genre, it was not similar to any of the famous Russian poems. “Who is living well in Russia” is a folk heroic poem. Nekrasov combined the features of three genres: a "peasant" poem depicting the life of a peasant, a satirical review depicting the enemies of the people, and a heroic-revolutionary poem revealing the images of fighters for the people's happiness. Nekrasov seeks to merge these three lines of his artistic creativity in the poem.

The first line is most fully represented in the poem. The depiction of folk life is encyclopedic. The most complete reflection of this trait is given precisely in the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." The second and third lines, due to the incompleteness of the poem, do not surpass his other works.

Nekrasov in other works managed to show himself more vividly both as a satirist and as a poet of the heroic epic. In the poem "Contemporaries" he skillfully "stigmatizes and castigates the people's enemy" - the capitalists and the pack of those who served the owners of money and those in power. The images of revolutionary fighters are developed more, they are depicted more emotionally in the poem "Russian Women". The revolutionary solution of the topical issues of our time in the conditions of censorship terror could not have received a more complete artistic expression even under the pen of Nekrasov.

Nekrasov's ideological and, on this basis, emotional attitude to reality determined, within the framework of the new genre, the use of various techniques and means inherent not only in epic, but also in lyrical and dramatic genres. Both a calm epic story and various songs (historical, social, everyday, propaganda, satirical, intimate lyrical) are organically merged here; here, legends, lamentations, fantasy of fairy tales, beliefs, metaphorical representations characteristic of a person of religious perception, and a lively, realistic dialogue, proverbs, sayings inherent in a materialistic worldview appeared in a synthetic unity; here and caustic satire, disguised in allegory, in omissions, in allegorical form. The wide coverage of reality required the introduction of a large number of independently developed episodes into the framework of the main event, which are necessary as links in a single artistic chain.

In terms of genre, “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is in many ways closer to prosaic narration than to lyric-epic poems characteristic of Russian literature of the first half of the 20th century.

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One of the main characters of Nekrasov's poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” - Savely - the reader will recognize when he is already an old man who has lived a long and difficult life. The poet draws a colorful portrait of this amazing old man: With a huge gray ...

In many of his works, Nekrasov reflects on the fate of the Russian peasant woman: in the poem "Frost, Red Nose", the poems "Troika", "The village suffering is in full swing ...", "Orina, the soldier's mother" and in many others. In the gallery of wonderful women's...

The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" became one of the central ones in the work of N. A. Nekrasov. The time when he worked on the poem is a time of great change. The passions of the representatives of the revolutionary democratic trends were seething in the society. The best part of intelligence...

The poem "Who is living well in Russia?" - the pinnacle of creativity N. Having started writing it in 1863, he worked for 15 years, until his death, without completing the work. In the poem, the author showed a broad picture of post-reform Russia, the changes that took place in it. This product was new and unexpected at that time, there were no similar ones to Krom. This is a folk book. This is the originality of the poem "To whom in Russia ...". Its composition corresponds to the author's intention. According to N.'s original plan, the peasants, during their journey, would meet with everyone they considered happy, up to the king himself. But then the composition of the poem was somewhat changed. In the prologue, we meet 7 peasants from 7 different villages, whose names reflect the conditions in which the poor of Russia lived. Part 1 - "Journey", during which the peasants meet a large number of people who can be considered happy. But upon closer acquaintance with these people, it turns out that their happiness is not at all what the wanderers need. 2nd part - "Peasant woman". In it, the author tells readers about the fate of a simple peasant woman, Matrena Timofeevna. Before us is a picture of the life of this Russian. women, and we, together with the peasants, are convinced that “it’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women!”. The third part - "Last Child" - is devoted to the description of the life of a landowner in post-reform Russia. Conclude. part of the poem "A feast for the whole world." It seems to sum up the whole poem. And only in this part we meet the “happy” person - Grisha Dobrosklonov. In the “Conclusion” Grisha’s song “Rus” also sounds - the anthem of his native country and the great Russian. people. The poem “To whom in Russia…” is very close in style to the works of UNT. Readers are faced with this as soon as they start reading it: In what year - count, In what land - guess, On the pillar path Seven men converged ... The first 2 lines here are the beginnings characteristic of Russian epics and fairy tales. There are a lot of folk signs and riddles in the poem: Kukuy! Cuckoo, cuckoo! Bread will sting, You will choke on an ear - You will not cuckle! The very rhythm of the poem is close to the rhythm of the verse. produced th Russian. folklore, many songs similar in sound to folk, many forms of words that are used. in folklore: diminutives - bread, comparisons: Like a fish in a blue sea, you will whirl! Like a nightingale You will flutter from the nest! In the characterization of N.'s heroes, the portrait occupies an important place. The character of the heroes is revealed and their speech is c/o. The peasants speak a simple language, while representatives of other classes express their thoughts in a different way. The landlords in the poem are depicted as a dying class. In “To whom in Russia such a picture of folk life is developed, which are few in Russian. and world L. And therefore the poem is considered the pinnacle of creativity, ch. life's work N.

Poem N.A. Nekrasov "Who should live well in Russia" as an epic of peasant life.

In the poem "To whom ..." all the themes and features of Nekrasov's poems were synthesized, all the principles that were used in other poems were reflected here: 1. Interesting immersions in the folk element ("Frost, red nose"); 2. N.'s reflections on people's intercessors; 3. satirical jet. The work lasted 12 years: from 1865-1877 (died). Already the title of this poem sets one up for a truly all-Russian review of life and for the fact that this life will be explored from top to bottom. From the very beginning, the main character of it is also defined in the work - a man. It is in the muzhik environment that the famous dispute arises, and the seven truth-seekers, with their truly muzhik desire to get to the bottom of the root, set off to travel around Russia, endlessly repeating, varying and deepening their question: who is happy in Russia? But the Nekrasov peasants who set out on their journey most of all resemble a symbol of the post-reform people's Russia that started off, thirsting for change. After the prologue, the fabulousness leaves and gives way to more lively and modern folklore forms. the changes that have taken place in her. This product was new and unexpected at that time, there were no similar ones to Krom. This is the originality of the poem "To whom in Russia ...". It is a deep artistic study of folk life, raises the most important problems of the era.. Its composition corresponds to the author's intention. According to N.'s original plan, the peasants, during their journey, would meet with everyone they considered happy, up to the king himself. But then the composition of the poem was somewhat changed. In the prologue, we meet 7 peasants from 7 different villages, whose names reflect the conditions in which the poor of Russia lived. Part 1 - "Journey", during which the peasants meet a large number of people who can be considered happy. But upon closer acquaintance with these people, it turns out that their happiness is not at all what the wanderers need. 2nd part - "Peasant woman". In it, the author tells readers about the fate of a simple peasant woman, Matrena Timofeevna. Before us is a picture of the life of this Russian. women, and we, together with the peasants, are convinced that “it’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women!”. The third part - "Last Child" - is devoted to the description of the life of a landowner in post-reform Russia. Ch. The Rural Fair is an example of polyphony, emphasizing such qualities of Russian character as diligence, patience, ignorance, backwardness, sense of humor, and talent.

Conclude. part of the poem "A feast for the whole world." It seems to sum up the whole poem. And only in this part we meet the “happy” person - Grisha Dobrosklonov. In the “Conclusion” Grisha’s song “Rus” also sounds - the anthem of his native country and the great Russian. people. The motive of the true happiness of the people arises in the last chapter “Good time - good songs”, and it is associated with the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov, in which the moral ideal of the writer was embodied. It is Grisha who formulates the author's idea about the happiness of the people: The share of the people, Happiness, Light and freedom, First of all! There are many images of rebels and people's intercessors in the poem. Such, for example, is Ermil Girin. In difficult times, he asks for help from the people and receives it. Such is Agap Petrov, who threw an angry accusation at Prince Utyatin. The wanderer Jonah also carries rebellious ideas. The peasants speak a simple language, while representatives of other classes express their thoughts in a different way. The landlords in the poem are depicted as a dying class. An interesting topic is "Sinners and the righteous at Nekrasov." The focus of the poet is the penitent sinner; The plot of repentance of the “great sinner” underlies the “Legend of the Two Great Sinners” from the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”. Another example is Savely, who buried the German Vogel alive; as can be seen from the text of the poem, he does not consider himself a sinner at all (“branded, but not a slave,” he answers “cheerfully” to his son’s reproaches). But Savely is not a murderer - he, feeling guilty for the death of Dyomushka, goes “to repentance // To the Sand Monastery”.

The ability to repent is the most important feature of Nekrasov's heroes; Ermila Girin is very important, ready to commit suicide because of the consciousness of his sin. It is significant that not a single landowner (except for the owner Yakov the faithful, who lamented “I am a sinner, a sinner! Execute me!”) Is not able to realize his sin and repent.

Place N.A. Nekrasov in Russian poetry of the second half of the 19th century. Tradition and innovation.

N. A. Nekrasov entered the history of Russian literature as a realist poet, who paints true pictures of Russian reality, and as an outstanding journalist. The names of the most popular magazines of the 19th century Sovremennik and Otechestvennye Zapiski are associated with his name. It was on the pages of these magazines that he published his works telling about the hard lot of the Russian peasant (“Uncompressed strip”, the poem “Frost, Red Nose”, “Reflections at the front door”), about the difficult and hopeless life of the urban poor (“About the weather”, “Gardener”, “Am I driving down a dark street at night ...”, “Yesterday, at six o'clock ...”), poems dedicated to A. Ya. Panaeva (“You and I are stupid people ...”, “If, tormented by rebellious passion ...”, “Oh, letters from a dear woman to us ...”) and many other works.

For the first time in Russian poetry, Nekrasov's poems, with sharpness and directness, revealed pictures of folk life to the reader. The poet depicted a wretched Russian village with its sadness and poverty and the “uncompressed strip” of a peasant who “has no urine”. In his works, they found a response to the suffering of a simple person.

Nekrasov's poems were a huge success, everyone felt that a poet had appeared who had not yet been in Russia. He delivered a denunciatory verdict on the autocracy, expressed his love for the people and bright faith in the beautiful future of the Motherland.

The heyday of the poet's work dates back to the 60s of the 19th century. In this “difficult and dashing” time, his muse spoke in a “brisk” language. Chernyshevsky wrote about him: "You are now the best - one might say, the only beautiful - hope of our literature."

Many of the poet's poems are dedicated to the Motherland and people. Even in the early period of Nekrasov's work, it was discovered that “homeland”, “land” was an all-consuming theme for him. It is difficult to imagine any poem by Nekrasov in which there would be no Russian nature and Russian people. “Yes, only here can I be a poet!” - he exclaimed, returning from abroad. Foreign land never attracted him, the poet did not even attempt to renounce, at least for a short time, “from the song that was inspired by snowstorms and blizzards of native villages.” The poet was in awe of the Motherland; he cordially depicted the village, peasant huts, the Russian landscape: “Again, it is, the dear side, with its green fertile summer ...” From this fiery love for the Motherland, for its great people and amazing Russian nature, poetry has grown, which makes up our wealth .

Nekrasov rooted for the fate of Russia and called for work to transform it into a "mighty and omnipotent" country. The poet highly appreciated in the Russian people his activity in the struggle for happiness.

Yes, not shy - for the dear homeland

The Russian people have endured enough.

Nekrasov guessed the great role of Russia.

Show Russia that there are people in it,

What is her future...

The poet sends a curse to the oppressors of the people - "the owners of luxurious chambers."

The most famous poems of Nekrasov are devoted to the image of the national hero. Nekrasov was a singer of the plowman people and lovingly portrayed a peasant walking behind a plow. And the poet saw how hard his life was, heard how his longing groaned over the endless expanse of meadows and fields, how he pulled his strap. The poet sympathizes with the enslaved people:

Name me a place like this

I didn't see that angle.

Wherever your sower and keeper,

Wherever the Russian peasant moaned.

Separate episodes turn into a broad picture of serf reality. “Forgotten Village” - this name refers not only to one village, but to the whole country, in which there are no number of such “forgotten villages”. Whoever the peasants met in the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia”, everywhere, instead of a happy life, they saw overwork, great grief, immense people's suffering.

There is a lot of longing and sadness in Nekrasov's poetry, there are a lot of human tears and grief in it. But in Nekrasov's poetry there is also a Russian scope of nature, which calls for an insane feat, for a struggle:

Go into the fire for the honor of the fatherland,

For faith, for love.

Go and die flawlessly:

You won't die in vain. The case is solid

When blood flows under him!

The fact that Nekrasov was really a folk poet is also evidenced by the fact that many of his poems became songs, romances (“Pedlars”, a romance about the robber Kudeyar).

The main motives of the lyrics of N.A. Nekrasov.

Typology of novels by I.S. Turgenev ("Rudin", "Noble Nest", "On the Eve", "Fathers and Sons", "Nov"). "Secret psychologism" of the writer.

The secret psychologism of Turgenev

One of the manifestations of Turgenev's talent was the invention of his own method of describing the psychological state of the hero, which later became known as "secret psychologism".

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was convinced that any writer, when creating his work, should be, first of all, a psychologist, depicting the state of mind of his characters and penetrating into the sacred depths of their inner state, their feelings and experiences.

So, for example, we know that Turgenev, while working on the novel, kept a diary on behalf of his hero, Bazarov. Thus, the writer could convey his feelings much deeper, because, keeping a diary, the author for a while, as it were, “turned” into Bazarov and tried to evoke in himself those thoughts and feelings that the hero could also experience. However, at the same time, the writer believed that the reader should not be told in detail about the process of origin and development of feelings and experiences in the hero, that only their external manifestations should be described. Then the author will not bore the reader (as Turgenev said, "the best way to get bored is to say everything"). In other words, the writer set himself the goal not so much to explain the essence of the psychological states of his characters as to describe these states, to show their "external" side.

In this sense, the development of Arkady's condition before leaving Nikolskoye is characteristic.

First, Turgenev shows Arkady's train of thought, what he thinks. Then the hero has some kind of vague feeling (the author does not fully explain this feeling to us, he just mentions it). After some time, Arkady realizes this feeling. He thinks about Anna Odintsova, but gradually his imagination draws a different image for him - Katya. And finally, Arkady's tear falls on the pillow. At the same time, Turgenev does not comment on all these experiences of Arkady in any way - he simply describes them. So, for example, readers themselves must guess why, instead of Anna Sergeevna, Arkady sees Katya in his imagination and why at that moment a tear drips onto his pillow.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, describing the "content" of his hero's experiences, never claims anything. He describes everything in the form of assumptions. This is evidenced, for example, by numerous author's remarks ("possibly", "maybe", "should be"). In other words, the author again gives the reader the right to guess for himself what is happening inside the hero.

Also, a very common method of Turgenev when depicting the state of mind of the hero is silence. Only the action of the hero is shown, which is not commented at all. Just stating a fact. So, for example, after an explanation with Odintsova, Bazarov goes into the forest and returns only a few hours later, all dirty. With boots wet with dew, disheveled and sullen. Here we ourselves have to guess what the hero felt when he wandered through the forest, what he thought about and what he experienced.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that the principle of secret psychologism makes the novel "Fathers and Sons" extremely fascinating. The reader himself, as it were, becomes the protagonist of the novel, he is, as it were, drawn into the action. The author does not let the reader fall asleep, constantly gives him food for thought. Reading a novel without thinking is almost impossible. You always have to interpret the characters in one way or another. It can also be said that it is partly this principle that makes the novel relatively small in size, which also makes it easier to read.

To whom in Russia to live well? This issue still worries many people, and this fact explains the increased attention to the legendary poem by Nekrasov. The author managed to raise a topic that has become eternal in Russia - the topic of asceticism, voluntary self-denial in the name of saving the fatherland. It is the service of a high goal that makes a Russian person happy, as the writer proved using the example of Grisha Dobrosklonov.

“Who is living well in Russia” is one of the last works of Nekrasov. When he wrote it, he was already seriously ill: he was struck by cancer. That is why it is not finished. It was collected bit by bit by the poet's close friends and arranged the fragments in random order, barely capturing the confused logic of the creator, broken by a fatal illness and endless pains. He was dying in agony, and yet he was able to answer the question posed at the very beginning: Who lives well in Russia? In a broad sense, he himself turned out to be lucky, because he faithfully and selflessly served the interests of the people. This ministry supported him in the fight against the fatal illness. Thus, the history of the poem began in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century, approximately in 1863 (serfdom was abolished in 1861), and the first part was completed in 1865.

The book was published in fragments. The prologue was already published in the January issue of Sovremennik in 1866. More chapters came out later. All this time, the work attracted the attention of censors and was mercilessly criticized. In the 70s, the author wrote the main parts of the poem: "Last Child", "Peasant Woman", "Feast for the Whole World". He planned to write much more, but due to the rapid development of the disease, he could not and stopped at "Feast ...", where he expressed his main idea regarding the future of Russia. He believed that such holy people as Dobrosklonov would be able to help his homeland, mired in poverty and injustice. Despite the fierce attacks of reviewers, he found the strength to stand up for a just cause to the end.

Genre, genre, direction

ON THE. Nekrasov called his creation “the epic of modern peasant life” and was precise in his wording: the genre of the work “Who should live well in Russia?” - epic poem. That is, at the base of the book, not one kind of literature coexists, but two whole: lyrics and epic:

1. epic component. In the history of the development of Russian society in the 1860s, there was a turning point when people learned to live in new conditions after the abolition of serfdom and other fundamental changes in the usual way of life. This difficult historical period was described by the writer, reflecting the realities of that time without embellishment and falsity. In addition, the poem has a clear linear plot and many original characters, which indicates the scale of the work, comparable only to a novel (epic genre). The book also absorbed the folklore elements of heroic songs that tell about the military campaigns of heroes against enemy camps. All these are generic features of the epic.
2. lyric component. The work is written in verse - this is the main property of lyrics, as a kind. The book also has a place for author's digressions and typical poetic symbols, means of artistic expression, features of the characters' confession.

The direction within which the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” was written is realism. However, the author significantly expanded its boundaries by adding fantastic and folklore elements (prologue, beginnings, symbolism of numbers, fragments and heroes from folk legends). The poet chose the form of travel for his idea, as a metaphor for the search for truth and happiness, which each of us carries out. Many researchers of Nekrasov's work compare the plot structure with the structure of the folk epic.

Composition

The laws of the genre determined the composition and plot of the poem. Nekrasov was finishing the book in terrible agony, but still did not have time to finish it. This explains the chaotic composition and many branches from the plot, because the works were formed and restored from drafts by his friends. In the last months of his life, he himself was unable to clearly adhere to the original concept of creation. Thus, the composition “Who is living well in Russia?”, comparable only to the folk epic, is unique. It was developed as a result of the creative development of world literature, and not the direct borrowing of some well-known model.

1. Exposition (Prologue). The meeting of seven men - the heroes of the poem: "On the pillar path / Seven men came together."
2. The plot is the oath of the heroes not to return home until they find the answer to their question.
3. The main part consists of many autonomous parts: the reader gets to know a soldier happy that he was not beaten, a serf proud of his privilege to eat out of the master's bowls, a grandmother whose turnip was mutilated in her garden to her delight ... While the search for happiness stands still, the slow but steady growth of national self-consciousness is depicted, which the author wanted to show even more than the declared happiness in Russia. From random episodes, a general picture of Russia emerges: impoverished, drunk, but not hopeless, striving for a better life. In addition, the poem contains several large and independent inserted episodes, some of which are even placed in autonomous chapters (“Last Child”, “Peasant Woman”).
4. Climax. The writer calls Grisha Dobrosklonov, a fighter for the people's happiness, a happy man in Russia.
5. Interchange. A serious illness prevented the author from completing his great plan. Even those chapters that he managed to write were sorted and marked by his confidants after his death. It must be understood that the poem is not finished, it was written by a very sick person, therefore this work is the most complex and confusing of Nekrasov's entire literary heritage.
6. The final chapter is called "A Feast for the Whole World". All night the peasants sing about the old and new times. Kind and hopeful songs are sung by Grisha Dobrosklonov.

What is the poem about?

Seven peasants met on the road and argued about who should live well in Russia? The essence of the poem is that they were looking for an answer to this question on the way, talking with representatives of different classes. The revelation of each of them is a separate story. So, the heroes went for a walk in order to resolve the dispute, but only quarreled, starting a fight. In the night forest, at the moment of a fight, a chick fell from the bird's nest, and one of the men picked it up. The interlocutors sat down by the fire and began to dream in order to also acquire wings and everything necessary for traveling in search of the truth. The warbler bird turns out to be magical and, as a ransom for her chick, tells people how to find a self-assembled tablecloth that will provide them with food and clothes. They find her and feast, and during the feast they vow to find the answer to their question together, but until then they will not see any of their relatives and not return home.

On the way, they meet a priest, a peasant woman, a farce Petrushka, a beggar, an overworked worker and a paralyzed former courtyard, an honest man Yermila Girin, a landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, a survivor of the mind of the Last Duck and his family, a serf Yakov the faithful, God's wanderer Ion Lyapushkin but none of them were happy people. Each of them is associated with a story full of genuine tragedy of suffering and misfortune. The goal of the journey is reached only when the wanderers stumble upon the seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, who is happy with his selfless service to his homeland. With good songs, he instills hope in the people, and this is how the poem “Who lives well in Russia” ends. Nekrasov wanted to continue the story, but did not have time, but he gave his heroes a chance to gain faith in the future of Russia.

Main characters and their characteristics

It is safe to say about the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Russia” that they represent a complete system of images that streamlines and structures the text. For example, the work emphasizes the unity of the seven wanderers. They do not show individuality, character, they express the common features of national self-consciousness for all. These characters are a single whole, their dialogues, in fact, are a collective speech that originates from oral folk art. This feature makes Nekrasov's poem related to the Russian folklore tradition.

1. Seven Wanderers are former serfs "from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutov, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neyolova, Neurozhayka, too." All of them put forward their own versions of who lives well in Russia: a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a sovereign minister or a tsar. Perseverance is expressed in their character: they all demonstrate unwillingness to take sides. Strength, courage and the pursuit of truth - that's what unites them. They are ardent, easily succumb to anger, but the appeasement compensates for these shortcomings. Kindness and responsiveness make them pleasant interlocutors, even despite some meticulousness. Their temper is harsh and cool, but life did not spoil them with luxury: the former serfs always bent their backs, working for the master, and after the reform, no one bothered to attach them properly. So they wandered in Russia in search of truth and justice. The search itself characterizes them as serious, thoughtful and thorough people. The symbolic number "7" means a hint of good luck that awaited them at the end of the journey.
2. Main character- Grisha Dobrosklonov, seminarian, son of a deacon. By nature, he is a dreamer, a romantic, loves to compose songs and make people happy. In them, he talks about the fate of Russia, about her misfortunes, and at the same time about her mighty strength, which will someday come out and crush injustice. Although he is an idealist, his character is firm, as are his convictions to devote his life to the service of the truth. The character feels a calling to be a people's leader and singer of Russia. He is happy to sacrifice himself to a lofty idea and help his homeland. However, the author hints that a difficult fate awaits him: jails, exile, hard labor. The authorities do not want to hear the voice of the people, they will try to shut them up, and then Grisha will be doomed to torment. But Nekrasov makes it clear with all his might that happiness is a state of spiritual euphoria, and it can only be known by being inspired by a lofty idea.
3. Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina- the main character, a peasant woman, whom the neighbors call lucky because she begged the wife of her husband's military leader (he, the only breadwinner of the family, was to be recruited for 25 years). However, the story of a woman's life reveals not luck or good fortune, but grief and humiliation. She knew the loss of her only child, the anger of her mother-in-law, everyday, exhausting work. Detailed and her fate is described in an essay on our website, be sure to look.
4. Savely Korchagin- the grandfather of Matryona's husband, a real Russian hero. At one time, he killed a German manager who mercilessly mocked the peasants entrusted to him. For this, a strong and proud man paid for decades of hard labor. Upon his return, he was no longer good for anything, the years of imprisonment trampled on his body, but did not break his will, because, as before, he stood up for justice with a mountain. The hero always said about the Russian peasant: "And it bends, but does not break." However, without knowing it, the grandfather turns out to be the executioner of his own great-grandson. He did not notice the child, and the pigs ate it.
5. Ermil Girin- a man of exceptional honesty, a steward in the estate of Prince Yurlov. When he needed to buy the mill, he stood in the square and asked people to rush to help him. After the hero got to his feet, he returned all the borrowed money to the people. For this, he earned respect and honor. But he is unhappy, because he paid for his authority with freedom: after the peasant revolt, suspicion fell on him in his organization, and he was imprisoned.
6. Landlords in the poem“To whom in Russia to live well” are presented in abundance. The author portrays them objectively and even gives some images a positive character. For example, the governor's wife Elena Alexandrovna, who helped Matryona, appears as a people's benefactor. Also, with a note of compassion, the writer portrays Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, who also treated the peasants tolerably, even arranged holidays for them, and with the abolition of serfdom, he lost the ground under his feet: he was too accustomed to the old order. In contrast to these characters, the image of the Last Duck and his treacherous, prudent family was created. The relatives of the hard-hearted old serf-owner decided to deceive him and persuaded the former slaves to participate in the performance in exchange for profitable territories. However, when the old man died, the rich heirs brazenly deceived the common people and drove him away with nothing. The apogee of the nobility of the nobility is the landowner Polivanov, who beats his faithful servant and sends his son to the recruits for trying to marry his beloved girl. Thus, the writer is far from denigrating the nobility everywhere, he is trying to show both sides of the coin.
7. Kholop Yakov- an indicative figure of a serf, the antagonist of the hero Saveliy. Yakov absorbed the whole slavish essence of the oppressed class, downtrodden with lack of rights and ignorance. When the master beats him and even sends his son to certain death, the servant meekly and meekly endures the offense. His revenge was a match for this humility: he hanged himself in the forest right in front of the master, who was crippled and could not get home without his help.
8. Iona Lyapushkin- God's wanderer, who told the peasants several stories about the life of people in Russia. It tells about the epiphany of ataman Kudeyara, who decided to atone for sins by killing for good, and about the cunning of Gleb the headman, who violated the will of the late master and did not release the serfs on his orders.
9. Pop- a representative of the clergy, who complains about the difficult life of a priest. The constant clash with grief and poverty saddens the heart, not to mention the popular witticisms against his dignity.

The characters in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" are diverse and allow us to paint a picture of the customs and life of that time.

Topic

• The main theme of the piece is freedom- rests on the problem that the Russian peasant did not know what to do with it, and how to adapt to new realities. The national character is also “problematic”: people-thinkers, people-seekers of truth still drink, live in oblivion and empty talk. They are not able to squeeze slaves out of themselves until their poverty acquires at least the modest dignity of poverty, until they stop living in drunken illusions, until they realize their strength and pride, trampled down by centuries of humiliating state of affairs that have been sold, lost and bought.
• Happiness Theme. The poet believes that a person can get the highest satisfaction from life only by helping other people. The real value of being is to feel needed by society, to bring goodness, love and justice to the world. Selfless and selfless service to a good cause fills every moment with sublime meaning, with an idea, without which time loses color, becomes dull from inaction or selfishness. Grisha Dobrosklonov is happy not with wealth and position in the world, but with the fact that he leads Russia and his people to a brighter future.
• Homeland Theme. Although Russia appears in the eyes of readers as a poor and tortured, but still a beautiful country with a great future and a heroic past. Nekrasov pities his homeland, devoting himself entirely to its correction and improvement. The homeland for him is the people, the people are his muse. All these concepts are closely intertwined in the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." The author's patriotism is especially pronounced at the end of the book, when wanderers find a lucky man who lives in the interests of society. In a strong and patient Russian woman, in the justice and honor of a peasant hero, in the sincere good-heartedness of a folk singer, the creator sees the true image of his state, full of dignity and spirituality.
• The theme of labor. Useful activity elevates the impoverished heroes of Nekrasov above the vanity and depravity of the nobility. It is idleness that destroys the Russian master, turning him into a self-satisfied and arrogant nonentity. But the common people have skills that are really important for society and genuine virtue, without them there will be no Russia, but the country will manage without noble tyrants, revelers and greedy seekers of wealth. So the writer comes to the conclusion that the value of each citizen is determined only by his contribution to the common cause - the prosperity of the motherland.
• mystical motif. Fantastic elements appear already in the Prologue and immerse the reader in the fabulous atmosphere of the epic, where you have to follow the development of the idea, and not the realism of the circumstances. Seven owls on seven trees - the magic number 7, which promises good luck. The raven praying to the devil is another guise of the devil, because the raven symbolizes death, grave decay and infernal forces. He is opposed by a good force in the form of a warbler bird, which equips the men on the road. A self-assembled tablecloth is a poetic symbol of happiness and contentment. The “Wide Path” is a symbol of the open ending of the poem and the basis of the plot, because on both sides of the road, travelers open up a multifaceted and genuine panorama of Russian life. Symbolic is the image of an unknown fish in unknown seas, which has swallowed "the keys to female happiness." A weeping she-wolf with bloodied nipples also clearly demonstrates the difficult fate of a Russian peasant woman. One of the most vivid images of the reform is the “great chain”, which, having broken, “spread one end along the gentleman, the other along the peasant!”. The seven wanderers are a symbol of the entire people of Russia, restless, waiting for change and seeking happiness.

Issues

• In the epic poem, Nekrasov touched on a large number of acute and topical issues of that time. The main problem is “Who is it good to live in Russia?” - the problem of happiness, both socially and philosophically. It is connected with the social theme of the abolition of serfdom, which greatly changed (and not for the better) the traditional way of life of all segments of the population. It would seem that here it is, freedom, what else do people need? Is this not happiness? However, in reality, it turned out that the people, who, due to long slavery, do not know how to live independently, turned out to be thrown to the mercy of fate. A priest, a landowner, a peasant woman, Grisha Dobrosklonov and seven peasants are real Russian characters and destinies. The author described them, relying on rich experience of communicating with people from the common people. The problems of the work are also taken from life: disorder and confusion after the reform to abolish serfdom really affected all classes. No one organized jobs for yesterday's serfs, or at least land allotments, no one provided the landowner with competent instructions and laws governing his new relationship with workers.
• The problem of alcoholism. Wanderers come to an unpleasant conclusion: life in Russia is so hard that without drunkenness the peasant will completely die. Forgetfulness and fog are necessary for him in order to somehow pull the strap of a hopeless existence and hard labor.
• The problem of social inequality. The landlords have been torturing the peasants with impunity for years, and Savelyia has been deformed for the murder of such an oppressor all her life. For the deceit, there will be nothing for the relatives of the Last, and their servants will again be left with nothing.
• The philosophical problem of the search for truth, which each of us encounters, is allegorically expressed in the campaign of seven wanderers who understand that without this discovery their life is depreciated.

The idea of ​​the work

The road skirmish of the peasants is not an everyday quarrel, but an eternal, great dispute, in which all layers of Russian society of that time appear to one degree or another. All its main representatives (priest, landowner, merchant, official, tsar) are called to the peasant court. For the first time men can and have the right to judge. For all the years of slavery and poverty, they are not looking for retribution, but for an answer: how to live? This is the meaning of Nekrasov's poem "Who is living well in Russia?" - the growth of national consciousness on the ruins of the old system. The author's point of view is expressed by Grisha Dobrosklonov in his songs: “And your burden was lightened by fate, companion of the days of the Slav! You are still a slave in the family, but the mother is already a free son! ..». Despite the negative consequences of the reform of 1861, the creator believes that behind it is a happy future for the fatherland. It is always difficult at the beginning of change, but this work will be rewarded a hundredfold.

The most important condition for further prosperity is to overcome internal slavery:

Enough! Finished with the last calculation,
Done with sir!
The Russian people gather with strength
And learning to be a citizen

Despite the fact that the poem is not finished, Nekrasov voiced the main idea. Already the first of the songs of “A Feast for the Whole World” gives an answer to the question posed in the title: “The share of the people, their happiness, light and freedom, first of all!”

End

In the finale, the author expresses his point of view on the changes that have taken place in Russia in connection with the abolition of serfdom and, finally, sums up the results of the search: Grisha Dobrosklonov is recognized as the lucky one. It is he who is the bearer of Nekrasov's opinion, and in his songs the true attitude of Nikolai Alekseevich to what he described is hidden. The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” ends with a feast for the whole world in the truest sense of the word: this is the name of the last chapter, where the characters celebrate and rejoice at the happy end of the search.

Conclusion

In Russia, the hero of Nekrasov, Grisha Dobrosklonov, is well, as he serves people, and, therefore, lives with meaning. Grisha is a fighter for the truth, a prototype of a revolutionary. The conclusion that can be drawn on the basis of the work is simple: a lucky man has been found, Russia is embarking on the path of reforms, the people, through thorns, are drawn to the title of citizen. This bright omen is the great meaning of the poem. For more than a century it has been teaching people altruism, the ability to serve high ideals, and not vulgar and passing cults. From the point of view of literary skill, the book is also of great importance: it is truly a folk epic, reflecting a controversial, complex, and at the same time the most important historical era.

Of course, the poem would not be so valuable if it only gave lessons in history and literature. She gives life lessons, and this is her most important property. The moral of the work “Who lives well in Russia” is that it is necessary to work for the good of one’s homeland, not to scold it, but to help it with deeds, because it’s easier to push around with a word, but not everyone can and wants to really change something. Here it is, happiness - to be in your place, to be needed not only for yourself, but also for the people. Only together can a significant result be achieved, only together can we overcome the problems and hardships of this overcoming. Grisha Dobrosklonov, with his songs, tried to unite, rally people so that they would meet changes shoulder to shoulder. This is his holy purpose, and everyone has it, it is important not to be too lazy to go out on the road and look for him, as the seven wanderers did.

Criticism

The reviewers were attentive to the work of Nekrasov, because he himself was an important person in literary circles and had great authority. Entire monographs were devoted to his phenomenal civil lyrics with a detailed analysis of the creative methodology and the ideological and thematic originality of his poetry. For example, here is how the writer S.A. spoke about his style. Andreevsky:

He retrieved the anapaest abandoned on Olympus from oblivion and for many years made this heavy, but flexible meter as walking as from the time of Pushkin to Nekrasov only airy and melodious iambic remained. This rhythm, chosen by the poet, reminiscent of the rotational movement of a hurdy-gurdy, made it possible to stay on the borders of poetry and prose, to joke with the crowd, to speak fluently and vulgarly, to insert a cheerful and cruel joke, to express bitter truths and imperceptibly, slowing down the tact, with more solemn words, to turn into ornate.

Korney Chukovsky spoke with inspiration about the thorough preparation of Nikolai Alekseevich for work, citing this example of writing as a standard:

Nekrasov himself constantly “visited Russian huts”, thanks to which both soldier and peasant speech became thoroughly known to him from childhood: not only from books, but also in practice, he studied the common language and from his youth became a great connoisseur of folk poetic images, folk forms thinking, folk aesthetics.

The death of the poet came as a surprise and a blow to many of his friends and colleagues. As you know, F.M. Dostoevsky with a heartfelt speech inspired by the impressions of a recently read poem. Specifically, among other things, he said:

He, indeed, was highly original and, indeed, came with a "new word."

The “new word”, first of all, was his poem “Who in Russia should live well”. No one before him was so deeply aware of the peasant, simple, worldly grief. His colleague in his speech noted that Nekrasov was dear to him precisely because he bowed "to the people's truth with his whole being, which he testified to in his best creations." However, Fedor Mikhailovich did not support his radical views on the reorganization of Russia, however, like many thinkers of that time. Therefore, criticism reacted violently to the publication, and in some cases aggressively. In this situation, the honor of a friend was defended by a well-known reviewer, a master of the word Vissarion Belinsky:

N. Nekrasov in his last work remained true to his idea: to arouse the sympathy of the upper classes of society for the common people, their needs and requirements.

Quite sharply, recalling, apparently, professional disagreements, I. S. Turgenev spoke about the work:

Nekrasov's poems, collected in one trick, are burning.

The liberal writer was not a supporter of his former editor and openly expressed his doubts about his talent as an artist:

In white threads sewn together, seasoned with all sorts of absurdities, painfully hatched fabrications of the mournful muse of Mr. Nekrasov - she, poetry, is not even worth a penny ”

He really was a man of very high nobility of soul and a man of great mind. And as a poet he is, of course, superior to all poets.

The idea of ​​the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" arose in the early 1860s. Nekrasov continued to work on the poem until the end of his life, but did not have time to complete it. Therefore, when publishing the poem, serious difficulties arose - the sequence of chapters remained unclear, the author's intention could only be guessed approximately. Researchers of Nekrasov's work settled on three main options for the arrangement of chapters in the poem. The first was based on the sequence of the seasons in the poem and the author's notes and suggested the following order: "Prologue and the first part" - "Last child" - "Feast - for the whole world" - "Peasant Woman". The second interchanged the chapters "Feast - for the whole world" and "Peasant Woman". With this arrangement, the idea of ​​the poem looked more optimistic - from serfdom to commemoration "on the roofs", from satirical pathos to pathetic. In the third and most common version - most likely, it was he who met you when reading the poem ("Prologue and first part" - "Peasant woman" - "Last child" - "Feast - for the whole world") - also had its own logic. The feast, arranged on the occasion of the death of the Last Child, smoothly turns into a “feast for the whole world”: according to the content of the chapter, “The Last Child” and “Feast - for the whole world” are very closely connected. In the chapter "Feast - for the whole world" there is, finally, a truly happy person.

We will rely on the third option, simply because it became generally accepted when the poem was published, but at the same time we will remember that the poem remained unfinished and we are dealing with a reconstruction, and not the actual author's intention.

Nekrasov himself called his work "the epic of modern peasant life." The epic is one of the most ancient literary genres. The first and most famous epic, which guided all the authors referring to this genre, Homer's Iliad. Homer gives an extremely wide cut of the life of the Greeks at a decisive moment for the nation, the period of the ten-year war of the Greeks with the Trojans - at a turning point, the people, like the individual, reveals themselves brighter. With the innocence of a Greek commoner, Homer does not miss even the smallest details of the life and military way of his heroes. The listed signs have become genre-forming, we can easily find them in any epic, in the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” as well.

Nekrasov tries to touch on all facets of folk life, pays attention to the most insignificant details of folk life; the action of the poem is timed to the culminating moment for the Russian peasantry - the period that came after the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

The compositional core of the epic was the journey of seven men, which made it possible to expand the boundaries of the artistic space of the poem to the maximum. The seven wanderers are, as it were, one whole, they are hardly distinguishable from each other; whether they speak in turns or in chorus, their lines merge. They are only eyes and ears. Unlike the poem “Frost, Red Nose”, in “Who Lives Well in Russia”, Nekrasov tries to be completely invisible, hide behind the canopy and show the people's point of view on what is happening. Sometimes, for example, in the famous passage about Belinsky and Gogol, which the peasant has not yet carried from the market, the author's voice nevertheless breaks through, but this is one of the few exceptions.