Is it possible to consider a comedy undergrowth modern why. The essence and meaning of the comedy "Undergrowth

Sh. Valentina, studyca8 classB

MAOU Gymnasium No. 6 in Tomsk, teacher

Trushina Olga Vitalievna

Tomsk-2016

Content:

introduction (substantiation of the topic, goals and objectives of the study);

main part;

conclusion with the results of the conclusion;

Bibliography;

Appendix

Introduction

Topic: Productions of Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth": history and modernity

The relevance of the work lies in the fact that the comedy "Undergrowth" has been one of the most repertoire plays of the Russian theater for over 200 years. How many famous directors, artists were brought up on this work. Monarchy and serfdom are gone, but the play reminds people (viewers) of eternal values. The issues of raising a citizen, education, attitude to power, money are important even today. It is difficult to imagine a drama theater that would never turn to Fonvizin, would not offer its own version of the production. I study at the theater studio "Synthesis", and I think that we will also stage this play. It is interesting to find out what theatrical performances are offered by the theaters of the country to modern audiences.

Objective: prove that comedy D.I. Fonvizin's "Undergrowth" has been interesting to the theatrical audience for more than two centuries.

Tasks:

Learn the history of the first production of the play;

Analyze the theatrical performances of the comedy "Undergrowth", compare with the text of the play;

To trace what trends are typical for modern theater, which puts the comedy "Undergrowth" into the repertoire.

Practical significance : this work can be useful in literature lessons for a deeper understanding of the text of the play, for preparing for the OGE and the USE in literature, for the possible implementation of a theatrical production of the comedy "Undergrowth" in the Sintez studio

Fonvizin Denis Ivanovich worked on the comedy "Undergrowth" for about 3 years. He wrote it in 1781, when the ideas of an enlightened monarchy dominated Russia. These ideas were widespread, as they were supported by Catherine herself.II. Being a nobleman, Fonvizin had the opportunity to observe the supporters of these ideas, their thoughts and delusions, and reflected everyone in his comedy "Undergrowth".

Fonvizin's innovation as a playwright:

1. The beginning of Russian realistic dramaturgy was laid;

2.the dependence of a person's character on the environment and circumstances is determined;

3. typical phenomena of Russian life are shown and typical images are created;

4.proven the connection between serfdom and the moral character of the nobility;

5. The dangerous influence of money on a person is predicted.

First staging.

The path of comedy to the stage was very difficult. At first it was forbidden to stage it in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow. However, a little later, permission to stage was given. The premiere took place on September 24, 1782 in St. Petersburg at the Karl Knipper Theater. Denis Fonvizin himself participated in the production of this performance, he appointed the actors for the roles. The performance made a stunning impression. People admired the bold work of the author, because no one had ever created a work where the foundations of the state system would be so openly criticized. Particular attention was paid to the monologues of Starodum (actor Ivan Afanasyevich Dmitrevsky), the monologues were pronounced slowly, on low notes. Fonvizin wrote: "The success was complete." According to legend, Grigory Potemkin, after watching the comedy, said to the author: "Die, Denis, you can't write better." But CatherineIIwas offended by the ridicule of state foundations, in the circle of courtiers, the empress, as if jokingly, complained: “Already Mr. Fonvizin wants to teach me to reign.” Later, she stopped all possibilities of publishing Fonvizin's works.

But despite the cruel reaction of CatherineII, the production has become very popular in Russia. In Moscow, the comedy was staged on May 14, 1783 at the theater of Moscow University, and then 8 performances took place. The provincial theaters of Kharkov, Poltava, Kazan also successfully staged the new play.

But there were refined spectators who were contemptuous of the play. L.I. Kulakova in the monograph “D.I. Fonvizin. Biography of the writer" gives an example: "Already at the beginning of the 19th century, one of the magazines wrote that the pictures depicted in the comedy do not give people a "better tone" and "most of all please the bourgeoisie and the people." For the sake of the “better form”, the directors shortened the speeches of positive characters and crippled the language of Prostakova. (p.109)

In the 19th century, "Undergrowth" goes on 5-10 times a year. In the period 1813-1827. in Moscow, the comedy was staged 27 times, and in St. Petersburg - 14 times. It is thanks to the heroes of Fonvizin that the play of Russian actors acquires truthful, life-like features, and a realistic method of acting begins to take shape. This was especially manifested in the work of the great Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin (1788-1863), who replayed all the roles in The Undergrowth. V.I. enjoyed great love among the audience. Zhivochini (1805-1874), the actor destroyed the boundaries of the hall and the stage, could turn to the prompter, improvise, play the role behind the partner's back with facial expressions. It was one of the best mitrofans of the 19th century.

Heroes of the comedy "Undergrowth"

There are 13 heroes in the play: nobles, landowners, serfs, commoners. There are main characters, secondary and off-stage characters.
Each character has his own speech characteristic.

Kuteikin, a half-educated seminarian, uses Church Slavonicisms in his speech: “Peace to the Lord’s house and many years from children and households.”

Tsyfirkin, a former soldier, speaks clearly in a military way: "We wish your honor to be healthy for a hundred years, twenty, and even more."

The language of the positive characters is bookish, filled with social vocabulary and Old Slavonicisms. In modern productions, it is the monologues of Starodum and Pravdin that are cut the most.

For example, these words were removed from the production of the Maly Theater:
Starodum: “People forget the duty of obedience, seeing in their master himself a slave of his vile passions.
Pravdin: "... from my own feat of my heart, I will not leave to notice those malicious ignoramuses who have complete power over their people, use it for evil inhumanly."

But the speech of negative characters in productions is not reduced.

Common speech, abusive words have not changed in more than 200 years. “I’m not going to bark with you, brother. Otrodu, father, did not quarrel with anyone. I have such a temper."

It was the speech of negative characters that went to the people, became proverbs and sayings:
“I don’t want to study, I want to get married” (Mitrofanushka)
“I overate henbane” (Mitrofanushka)
"Learning is nonsense" (Skotinin)
“For good, for health” (Skotinin)

Performance by the Maly Theatre.

The premiere of the performance took place on January 6, 1986, and since then it has firmly entered the repertoire of the Maly Theater. During this time, the cast has changed more than once, but one thing is invariable - the classic reading of Fonvizin's play. Of course, if you meticulously compare all the replicas and monologues of the characters, we will see: after all, something was edited. Action 1, yavl 1 - Pravdin’s reasoning about the command “go around the local district ...” is excluded

Action 3, yavl.2-excluded the words of Starodum: “Leave wealth to children! Not in the head. They will be smart, they will manage without it; but riches do not help a foolish son. I saw good fellows in golden caftans, but with a lead head ... "

Today, these words sound more relevant than in the 80s of the 20th century, when the performance was staged.

Act 4, yavl.1 - the dialogue between Starodum and Sophia about reading is excluded. Starodum’s thought about Western authors has not become outdated: “I happened to read everything from them that was translated into Russian. True, they strongly eradicate prejudices, but bring virtue back from the root. In the same phenomenon, other monologues of Starodum are also shortened: “Without good manners, a smart person is a monster”, “Think about what a position is? This is a sacred vow…”

Action 5, yavl.1 - the words about education are excluded: “We see all the unfortunate consequences of bad education. But what can come out of Mitrofanushka for the fatherland, for whom ignorant parents still pay money to ignorant teachers?

The rest of the text is spoken by the actors word for word. But, thanks to the excellent acting skills, the performance is watched in the 21st century. This is confirmed by the feedback from the audience.

This performance of the Maly Theater is a classic production, “following the author”, no jokes, except for those that are in comedy, no newfangled directorial innovations, everything is strictly according to the text. I was very afraid how such a complex (even by ear) text would hold the viewer's attention, but the artists of the old school did a great job.

Yesterday I was with my 12-year-old daughter and her friend at the play "Undergrowth". At the entrance, seeing whole classes of children aged 13-14, I immediately thought that the performance could be ruined. And hearing how they began to squeal, shout and clap, like at football, confirmed my worst fears.

But after ten minutes the children were completely captured by the performance.
Despite the fact that the language is outdated, the children understood everything and were absorbed in the action.
Wonderful performance and wonderful acting. Amazing scenery and costumes, how nice to see such a production! And how modern it is without any attempts and pretensions!
I highly recommend going!

We sat in the second row of the stalls. The teenagers around were serious, did not make noise

Schoolchildren predominate in the hall, because this work is included in the literature program. The Maly Theater is famous for its performances of the classics, so the excitement is understandable - the hall is full. We must pay tribute to the teenagers - they watched with pleasure, in silence, almost without rustling and negotiations. (from the website .)

The version of the Maly Theater has interesting directorial and acting finds.

For example, in act 3, at the end of scene 8, Vralman openly flirts with Prostakova. "Sweat, my mother! Sallet bird! With him, your voices are top notch.

Act 4, phenomenon 7. The dialogue between Starodum and Skotinin is an unexpected serious revelation of both:

Starodum. You are happier than me. People touch me.

Skotinin. And me so pigs.

Act 5, phenomenon 4. The plan to kidnap Sophia failed. Prostakova is about to start cracking down on the serfs. Her threats are scary. Even a modern teenager understands what the arbitrariness of a landowner is and how great her power over serfs is: “Well! Now I will let the canals open to my people. Now I'm going to take them all one by one. Now I'm trying to figure out who let her out of her hands. No, scammers! No, thieves! I won’t forgive a century, I won’t forgive this mockery!”

I liked the idea of ​​Afanasy Ivanovich Kochetkov, the first performer of the role of Starodum in this production, that “in our vague reality, it is almost impossible to predict how, when and how exactly the morality underlying the classical work will resonate in the viewer.

"Musical performances

But oddly enough, fewer theaters are choosing a classic comedy production.Sometime in 1969the play was set to music by the famous composer Julius Kim. And, director Julius Eidlin staged the opera "Undergrowth". The authors have kept all the storylines. As the directors say, they have created a folk opera, which contains parody, humor, and “bright musical numbers”.

Today this performance can be seen at the Stavropol Academic Drama Theater named after. M.Yu. Lermontov.

Director Mikhail Kovalchuk in an interview (Stavropolskaya Pravda, 2014) shared his findings:
“There will be many unexpected things, for example, Skotinin’s musical number in the style of a gavotte”
Or Starodum, a kind of free man with money ... his number in the style of an old romance.

Thanks to musical processing, comedy has become more modern, accessible.
Source:www. stavteatr. en

The Vologda Youth Theater followed the same path.

The didactic plot of "Undergrowth" was turned into an entertaining satirical story, freed from "cumbersomeness and moralizing", retaining the main conflict between ignorance, lack of spirituality and virtue, adorned with the reason of enlightenment (

What are you laughing at? Laugh at yourself! N. V. Gogol Many, many years have passed since that memorable day (September 24, 1782), when the premiere of D. I. Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" took place. For a long time already there is no serfdom. The political system changed three times. And comedy is alive and, apparently, will never get old. It raises the eternal problems of all people: how to raise children, what is the civic duty of every person, what should be the state power. The colorful figure of Prostakova at times causes a friendly laugh, but at the end of the play you involuntarily think: when in a modern family a mother indulges a child in everything, is she not likened to Prostakova? In The Undergrowth, two worlds collide. Starodum, Pravdin, Milon and Sophia personify the world of high ideals of education, honor, civic prowess, kindness and decency. The Prostakovs and Skotinins live in a world of ignorance, violence, dishonor, meanness. The eternal clash of good and evil! Good wins in the play, but only thanks to the intervention "from above". What has changed now? Do good and justice always triumph? The two worlds continue to oppose each other. We are increasingly seeing examples of cruelty and violence. And it all starts with education. Let us recall how Starodum and Prostakov relate to education differently. “Not the rich one who counts money to hide it in a chest, but the one who counts too much to help someone who doesn’t have what they need,” Starodum says to his young niece. Not all current parents give such advice to their children. On the contrary, very often you can hear the opposite: “Take it! Do not give! Don't you dare give up!" But this is the same thing that Prostakova taught: “I found money - I didn’t share it with anyone. Take everything for yourself, Mitrofanushka. Mitrofan's ignorance in the play is, of course, deliberately exaggerated. But the reluctance to learn is still encountered today, when more and more people rely not on knowledge, but on money. Fonvizin dreamed of universal enlightenment, and in the first place he put not education in itself, but the mind, combined with "good manners." According to Starodum, enlightenment elevates only a virtuous soul, and in a depraved person, science "is a fierce weapon to do evil." Fonvizin seemed to foresee the detrimental consequences of scientific discoveries if unworthy people use them: Let our minds be kind, And our hearts be smart! The names of the heroes of the play, especially its main character, have long become common nouns, and this speaks of the enduring significance of "Undergrowth". Some characters move from one book to another. The Skotinins, for example, come to life in Pushkin's novel: The Skotinins, the gray-haired couple, With children of all ages, counting From thirty to two years... Mitrofanushka is an ignoramus. But the ignoramus and the fool are not the same thing. Mitrofan is ignorant, but not a fool. He could say about himself in the words of Petrusha Grinev from The Captain's Daughter: “I lived underage, chased pigeons ... Meanwhile, I was sixteen years old. Here my fate changed. Much coincides: they have the same dovecote, age, and teachers. "Let's go serve ..." - Pravdin says to Mitrofan. “It’s time for him to serve,” Grinev’s father decides. From this moment on, the fates of these two "undergrown" diverge. All his life, Petrusha Grinev will remember his father's parting words: "Take care of honor from a young age." No one said such words to Mitrofan. As you can see, Pushkin did not forget Fonvizin's comedies. We remember her too. In some ways, this is a learning tool for all of us. How modern Fonvizin's arguments about honor, patriotism, and positions sound! I think that the leader of each country should remember Fonvizin's words about the appointment of a monarch: "He is guilty of answering not only for the bad that he did, but also for the good that he did not do." Top officials are responsible for the crimes of officials - so Fonvizin believed. His brilliant humor is amazingly tenacious, he is always out of place. Let us recall, for example, the moralizing of the Fox from the fable “Lisitsino’s moralizing” translated by Fonvizin: “When you want to steal, then hunt so much that you can pay off for the fact that they usually punish small thieves, and not big ones.” Starodum in the comedy "Undergrowth" tells us that "an honest person without a great rank is a noble person, that virtue replaces everything, and nothing can replace virtue." The main thing is to be honest. Good manners in the family are especially necessary so that children see an example of honesty, decency, in a word, virtue, in the face of their parents. Then the son will not turn away from his mother in a difficult moment for her, and the brother from his sister. Then there will be no tyranny in the family. Then enlightenment will be for the good of all. If only we would not allow “malice” into our lives!

One of the main characters of the comedy "Undergrowth" by Fonvizin is Prostakov Mitrofan Terentyevich, the noble son of the Prostakovs. The name Mitrofan means “similar”, similar to the mother. Maybe with this name Mrs. Prostakova wanted to show that her son is a reflection ...

Prostakova is a rough and unbridled nature. She is impudent when she meets no resistance, and at the same time she is cowardly when she encounters strength. Merciless to those who are in her power, she humiliates herself, ready to wallow at her feet, begging for a petition...

D. I. Fonvizin was destined to live in a rather gloomy era of the reign of Catherine II, when the inhuman forms of exploitation of serfs reached the limit, after which only a peasant revolt could follow. This frightened the Russian autocrat, ...

The comedy "Undergrowth" absorbed all the experience accumulated by Fonvizin earlier, and in terms of the depth of ideological issues, the courage and originality of the artistic solutions found, remains an unsurpassed masterpiece of Russian dramaturgy of the 18th century....

The play was conceived by D.I. Fonvizin as a comedy on one of the main themes of the era of enlightenment - as a comedy about education. But later the writer's intention changed. The comedy "Undergrowth" is the first Russian socio-political comedy, and the theme of education is connected ...

1. New!

   In the very year when the fate of Panin's party was decided, when Panin himself lost strength, Fonvizin opened the battle in literature and fought to the end. The central moment of this battle was "Undergrowth", written a little earlier, around 1781, but staged in 1782 ...

Fonvizin wrote his comedy back in 1781. The premiere of this play took place in 1782 and left mixed impressions on the audience. For that time, it was a non-standard and unexpected production, rarely anyone could so easily put the pressing problems of humanity on public display, open people's eyes to their vices. "Undergrowth" is still gathering full houses, as the problems raised in it are relevant in our lives.

The play was conceived by D.I.

Fonvizin as a comedy on one of the main themes of the Enlightenment - the theme of education. But later "Undergrowth" grew into something more. In addition to the topic of education, Fonvizin raised the problem of relations between nobles and serfs, which is acute in society.

Comedy, written more than two centuries ago, has not lost its relevance to this day. One of the central problems in the work is the problem of education. A significant part of the work is devoted to ridiculing the upbringing of Mitrofanushka. Mitrofan does not respect hired teachers, does not want to perceive anything, and his mother, Ms. Prostakova, indulges him in everything. She doesn’t care about her son’s education, what matters to her is that she can boast that her son has many teachers and even a foreigner among them. She only cares about her own prestige. But even today there are such Mitrofans who do not want to study. Many schoolchildren go to school not for knowledge, but because they "have to".

No less important was the problem of serf oppression. In those years, peasants were treated like things: they could be sold, exchanged for something and much more. Fonvizin tried to show people the inhumanity of some landlords towards serfs using the example of Mrs. Prostakova, who soullessly mocked the peasants for no reason. The author sympathizes with the fate of ordinary people, such as Trishka and Eremeevna, tries to open people's eyes to the shortcomings of the society in which they live. And although in our time there is no serfdom, in some people there is still cruelty and hatred towards others. Class hatred, wars, racial hatred, national conflicts - all this exists in our world. I think these problems need to be addressed. Fonvizin in his work very accurately showed that rude, evil and stupid people do not achieve anything good in this life.

The comedy "Undergrowth" rightfully occupies an important place in classical literature. After all, many years later, the problems raised in it will be relevant, and if society finds a solution to these problems, then "Undergrowth" will be a reminder of what they have left, and why it is not worth returning to the previous way of life.

Denis Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" is one of the brightest works of Russian classicism. The questions that the author focuses on in the play excite the minds of viewers and readers even in our time - more than three centuries after it was written. The work created by Fonvizin is difficult to compare with traditional classic comedies, because the ironic farce, the mockery of the vices of society, the topical topics in the play look as funny as they are tragic. Using the techniques of contrast, ridicule, irony, the playwright brings the reader to the deep meaning and essence of The Undergrowth.

The ideological meaning of the comedy "Undergrowth"

At first glance, the work is an ordinary everyday play - the central plot of "Undergrowth" is linear and is tied around Sophia's marriage. The girl lost her parents at an early age and now lives in the care of the Prostakov landlord family. Prostakova, wanting to get rid of the "extra mouth" decides to marry Sophia without her consent to marry her brother - Skotinin. However, the news that the girl became the heiress of a huge fortune, and her uncle arrives from day to day, changes Prostakova's plans. The woman refuses Skotinin, offering her undersized son Mitrofan as the new groom. Fortunately, Starodum, Sophia's uncle, turns out to be a reasonable person who exposes the interests of Skotinin and Prostakova, supporting the girl's desire to marry her beloved Milon.

Even from a brief description of "Undergrowth" it becomes clear that the plot of the play fits perfectly into the canons of classic comedies. However, the work is supplemented by a secondary storyline associated with Mitrofan - a stupid, spoiled, lazy, greedy and cruel young man, the son of the Prostakovs. Despite such a negative characterization, he is the most comical character in the play - the most ridiculous scenes of the work are connected precisely with his training. In general, there are only two funny characters in "Undergrowth" - Mitrofan and Skotinin. They amuse with their stupidity, misunderstanding, when it is better to be silent, instead of saying absurd things.

"Undergrowth" can rightly be called a play of education - since family ties in the work determine the character and inclinations of a person. However, if Skotinin and Mitrofan are similar even in love for pigs, which also causes laughter, then one does not want to laugh at Prostakova. Tyrannical, cruel and rude to her peasants and relatives, a woman finds no joy either in her "gloomy fool" husband, or in her son, whom she blindly loves. Even her statements about how to count correctly (the scene of Tsyfirkin's lesson) are funny, but rather ridicule the mores of the old nobility than herself. In terms of activity and influence in the play, she can be compared with Pravdin, however, if a man defends humanistic, highly moral ideals, then Prostakova is the bearer of “his own”, landlord morality, which prescribes the greatest value of money and ranks over the life of her serfs, honest name, education and virtue.

The main meaning of "Undergrowth" lies precisely in this opposition of two radically opposite views - new, humane, educational and outdated, landowners. Fonvizin focuses attention not only on the negative beginning of the latter, but also on the need to change the views of the old nobility, otherwise the "fruits of malevolence" will be inevitable. The author emphasizes that the origins of this malevolence in the education itself - Prostakova and Skotinin adopted their views from their parents and passed them on to Mitrofan in the same way that the foundations of humanism were laid in Sophia by her parents.

The essence of the comedy "Undergrowth"

The essence of "Undergrowth" follows from the ideological meaning of comedy - education must be correct and instill high ideals. According to the traditions of classicism, the names of the characters largely complement the characterization of the characters and additionally reveal the author's idea. Fonvizin gave Skotinin such a surname for a reason. In addition, remember that Prostakova only received a last name from her husband, she is also Skotinina. Mitrofan is the son of Skotinina. And the characters really resemble animals - they are illiterate, stupid, used to looking only for their own benefit, for which they are ready for anything (that is, they completely lack such a trait as integrity and their own dignity). It is also noteworthy that Mitrofan is taught by people of the lower classes, in fact, servants. In the village of Prostakova, servants take care of the cattle, so a young man from childhood is brought up not as a worthy nobleman, but, at best, as a servant.

Fonvizin not only exposes the ignorance of the Skotinins, contrasting them with the bearers of high human ideals - Pravdin, Starodum, Sophia, Milon, but also focuses on the failure of traditional upbringing and education, emphasizing the need for personal development. This is precisely the essence of the work. Fonvizin believed that as soon as each "Mitrofan" received the right upbringing and a decent education, Russian society would change and become better. Nowadays, the comedy "Undergrowth" is a reminder to every reader of the highest human ideals and the need to improve every day so as not to become like Mitrofan.

Artwork test