15. Russian literature of the 18th century: meanings, features, periodization, system of genres.

18 century - new period in literature. The transition from the literature of the Middle Ages to the literature of modern times.

Ancient Russian literature is handwritten, while literature of the 18th century is printed.

Representatives:

Kantemir is a comrade-in-arms of Peter the Great.

F. Prokopovich,

Sumarokov,

Trediakovsky,

Lomonosov,

Fonvizin

Radishchev (a rebel worse than Pugachev)

The literature of the 18th century is entirely secular literature.

There is a process of secularization of cultural life. The type of writer is changing.

Before us is not a learned monk, but a private person.

A feature of literature is an increased ideology. Enlightenment.

The idea of ​​the extra-class value of the individual,

The idea of ​​human equality.

Russia's ties with Europe are expanding (deadly! Note by Bream)

Russian literature of the 18th century is on an accelerated path of development. The whole system of genres is being updated. There is a rapid development of poetry. Reform of versification. The concept of stressed and unstressed syllables is introduced. There is a rapid development of prose.

democratization of literature. An image of a small man appeared.

Various trends are emerging. Sentimentalism arises, pre-romanticism is born, there is a growth of realistic tendencies in literature.

The transition did not happen immediately. The foundation of Russian literature of the 19th century is being laid.

The genre of history is developing. "The Story of Basil Iscariot"

The literature of the second third of the 18th century is changing. Enlightenment ideas come to the fore. Transition to the syllabic-tonic style of versification.

After the Pugachev uprising, 2 thoughts arise: educational and educational and revolutionary educational. Sentimentalism is born. Classicism gave priority to reason.

Against them is the principle of everyday plausibility. All heroes of classicism are either positive or negative. Heroes are one-liners. The aesthetic ideal of a person is a person who has mastered his passions. The principle of three unities was put forward: the unity of place, time (24 hours) and action. Mandatory presence of a love affair. The theory of three calms is being created. Lomonosov's theory delimits genres.

The originality of Russian classicism.

It was formed later than in the West. Russian classicists burned with the idea of ​​enlightenment. They combined the pathos of serving the fatherland with cutting edge ideas early education.

The idea of ​​enlightened absolutism.

The main thing in the formation of classicism is education. A. Kantemir "satire about education." Main feature- open tendentiousness.

In the 60-90s, classicism begins to transform. The genre of ode becomes popular.

16. Creativity A.D. Cantemir. Compositional and thematic originality of Cantemir's satires.

Prince Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir, satirist, translator and diplomat of the first half of XVIII century, was born in 1708 in Constantinople.

He compiled the "Symphony on the Psalter" - a systematization of sayings taken from the Psalter, facilitating their use for practical purposes. The author presented the manuscript of his work, together with the dedication, to Empress Catherine I, and the following year the book was printed in 1250 copies. At the same time, Cantemir was diligently engaged in translations and composed love songs, which he later recalled in the IV satire (verses 151 - 165).

Warmly sympathizing with the deeds of Peter I, Kantemir deliberately joined a small circle of people who kept Peter's traditions, headed by Feofan Prokopovich. Another monument to A. Cantemir's reverent attitude to the memory of Peter the Great was "Petris, or Description of the Death of Peter the Great" (1731), where the author's sincere lyricism is felt behind the clumsy verses.

Cantemir's satires were greeted with sympathetic poems by Feofan Prokopovich and Theophilus Rabbit, prefect of the Zaikonospassky Academy. In the words of Theophanes, however, one can hear a reproach for an insufficiently bold attack on a common enemy. The response to Feofan Prokopovich's sympathetic response was the third satire, which Kantemir sent to the Archbishop of Novgorod from Moscow in August 1730. At the beginning of 1731. satires IV and V were written (the first of them contains the author's appeal to his muse). In the last three satires, we no longer see a living relationship to the surrounding reality: the author's denunciations take on an abstract, philosophical character, losing both satirical force and historical significance. Only here and there scattered personal allusions to Menshikov, Osterman, Raguzinsky and others constitute a connection with Russian reality; insufficient familiarity with Russian life outside the capitals is too obvious. When in the sixth satire he spoke of a village priest who knew the road to circles, his accusatory tone did not fit with the picture of hopeless need that a more thoughtful reader creates for himself in some details.

The satires of Cantemir, with few exceptions, have two titles. One title is “thematic” (“On those who blaspheme the teaching”, “On the envy and pride of the malevolent nobles”, etc.). Another title - "non-thematic" - as a rule, denotes the addressee to whom the author refers ("To his own mind", "To the Archbishop of Novgorod", etc.), or - in the case of the dialogical construction of satire - the participants in the dialogue ("Filaret and Eugene", "Satyr and Perierg").

In a certain sense, the versification of satyrs is a unique phenomenon in Russian poetry. Apart from Cantemir, almost no one used it. The verse of his satire is, of course, basically syllabic, but this is not an ordinary, not “classical” syllabic, but a reformed one. Elements of the tonic principle have been introduced into it, and therefore it would be more accurate to define it as a kind of tonic syllabic. The satires are written in thirteen-syllable verse with the usual female rhyme for the syllabic system. Each verse necessarily has a caesura dividing the verse into two half-lines; There are seven syllables in the first half-line, and six in the second. The usual syllabic versification did not at all regulate the stresses in a line, with the exception of the stress associated with rhyme. It was with this usual syllabic verse that Cantemir wrote the initial edition of the satirical cycle of five satires created in the period 1729-1731.

Numerous borrowings from Juvenal, Horace, Persia and Boileau, the author did not even think to hide; but in the images of the detractors of enlightenment there are undoubted features copied from nature, and the image of science wandering in rags is its original creation.

His satires, along with fables and epigrams, are more important for characterizing the personality of the poet and the era as a whole than as a monument to the Russian word. Cantemir was, in the opinion of many, deprived of an artistic creative gift. Another reason for the lifelessness of his creations was the lack of a living source of speech: “not a hare breed,” in his own words, he did not have the creative potential that was so powerfully manifested in the works of Lomonosov. In addition, his verse went against the musical elements of the Russian language.

With the work of Kantemir, Russian poetry of the 18th century. entered a new circle of literary names and contemporary Western European traditions.

Russian literature XVIII century, like many other cultural phenomena in Russia at that time, went through a long and difficult path of intensive development. She is associated with best traditions ancient Russian literature: its patriotism, reliance on folk art, growing interest in human personality, accusatory orientation. reform activity Peter I, the renewal and Europeanization of Russia, extensive state building, the transformation of the country into a strong world power with the cruelty of the feudal system - all this was reflected in the literature of that time. Classicism became the leading literary trend of the 18th century.

Classicism (from Latin classicus - exemplary) is a literary trend that has developed in European Literature XVII century and appeared in Russia in the XVIII century. It turned to the ancient heritage as a norm and an ideal model. It is characterized by civil issues and educational tasks. The works of classicist writers reflected the ideas of a strong independent state with the absolute power of the monarch, and the education of a citizen was considered the main task. Therefore, the main conflict in the works of classicism is the conflict between duty and feeling. The aesthetics of classicism is based on the principle of rationality and strict normativity (hierarchy of genres, clear plot and compositional organization, division of heroes into positive and negative, schematism in their depiction, etc.). material from the site

Classicism is a pan-European phenomenon. But in different countries he had his own characteristics. Russian classicism was closely connected with the ideas of the European Enlightenment about the need for fair laws, education, recognition of the value of the human person, the development of science and philosophy, revealing the secrets of the universe. At the same time, the decisive role in the transformation of the state on this kind of basis was assigned to the enlightened monarch, whose ideal the Russian classicists saw in Peter I. But in modern times they did not find such a person, because great importance in their works, social and moral education of autocrats was given: an explanation of their duties in relation to subjects, a reminder of their duty to the state, etc. On the other hand, the negative phenomena of the Russian reality of this era were subjected to satirical ridicule and exposure, which further strengthened the connection of Russian classicism with modernity and gave it a satirical sharpness. Unlike European, Russian classicism is more closely connected with folk traditions and oral folk art. He often uses material from Russian history rather than antiquity. The ideal of Russian classicists is a citizen and a patriot, striving to work for the good of the Fatherland. He must become active creative personality, to fight with public vices and in the name of duty to give up personal happiness.

The achievements of Russian classicism are associated with poetic activity and theoretical works M.V. Lomonosov, poems by G.R. Derzhavin, the fables of I.A. Krylov, comedies by D.I. Fonvizin and others. But already in the last quarter XVIII centuries, the canons of classicism were largely shaken by the classicist writers themselves, such as I.A. Krylov, D.I. Fonvizin and especially G.R. Derzhavin.

There is a clear boundary between the creations of the first and second halves of the 18th century, and works created at the beginning of the century are very different from subsequent ones.

In the west, large literary forms and preparations were underway for the creation of the genre of the novel, and Russian authors they also copied the lives of the saints and praised the rulers in clumsy, unwieldy poems. Genre diversity in Russian literature poorly represented, it lags behind European literature for about a century.

Among the genres of Russian literature early XVIII century worth mentioning:

• hagiographic literature(sources - church literature),
• panegyric literature(texts of praise),
• Russian poems(the origins are Russian epics, composed in tonic versification).

Reformer domestic literature consider Vasily Trediakovsky, the first professional Russian philologist who was educated at home and consolidated his language and style skills at the Sorbonne.

Firstly, Trediakovsky forced his contemporaries to read, and his followers to write prose - he created a lot of translations ancient Greek myths and European literature created on this classical basis, giving contemporary writers a topic for future works.

Secondly, Trediakovsky revolutionary separated poetry from prose, developed the basic rules of syllabo-tonic Russian versification, based on the experience of French literature.

Genres of literature of the second half of the 18th century:

• Drama (comedy, tragedy),
• Prose ( sentimental journey, sentimental story, sentimental letters),
• Poetic forms (heroic and epic poems, odes, a huge variety of small lyrical forms)

Russian poets and writers of the 18th century

Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin occupies in Russian literature significant place along with D.I. Fonvizin and M.V. Lomonosov. Together with these titans of Russian literature, he is included in the brilliant galaxy of the founders of Russian literature. classical literature the Age of Enlightenment in the second half of the 18th century. At this time, largely due to the personal participation of Catherine II, science and art were rapidly developing in Russia. This is the time of the appearance of the first Russian universities, libraries, theaters, public museums and a relatively independent press, however, very relative and for a short period, which ended with the advent of A.P. Radishchev. By this time, as Famusov Griboedova called it, "the age of the golden Catherine", the most fruitful period of the poet's activity belongs.

Selected Poems:

Fonvizin's play is a classic example of a comedy in compliance with the traditional rules for creating plays:

• The trinity of time, place and action,
• Primitive typification of heroes (classicism assumed the lack of psychologism and depth of character of the hero, so they were all divided into either good and bad, or smart and stupid)

The comedy was written and staged in 1782. The progressiveness of Denis Fonvizin as a playwright lies in the fact that in classical play he combined several problems (the problem of family and upbringing, the problem of education, the problem social inequality) and created more than one conflict (love conflict and socio-political). Fonvizin's humor is not light, serving solely for entertainment, but sharp, aimed at ridiculing vices. Thus, the author has brought classic realistic traits.

Biography:

Selected work:

Time of creation - 1790, genre - travel diary, typical for French sentimental travelers. But the journey turned out to be filled not with bright impressions of the voyage, but with gloomy, tragic colors, despair and horror.

Alexander Radishchev published Journey in his home printing house, and the censor, apparently having read the title of the book, mistook it for another sentimental diary and released it without reading it. The book had the effect of an exploding bomb: in the form of disparate memories, the author described the nightmarish reality and the life of the people he met at each station along the way from one capital to another. Poverty, filth, extreme poverty, mockery of the strong over the weak and hopelessness - these were the realities of the modern state for Radishchev. The author received a long-term exile, and the story was banned.

Radishchev's story is not typical for a purely sentimental work - instead of tears of tenderness and charming travel memories, so generously scattered by French and English sentimentalism, an absolutely real and merciless life picture is drawn here.

Selected work:

The story "Poor Lisa" is an adapted European plot on Russian soil. Created in 1792, the story has become a model of sentimental literature. The author sang the cult of sensitivity and sensual human nature, put into the mouths of the characters " internal monologues revealing their thoughts. Psychologism, subtle portrayal of characters, great attention to inner world heroes - a typical manifestation of sentimental traits.

The innovation of Nikolai Karamzin manifested itself in the original resolution by him love conflict heroines - the Russian reading public, accustomed mainly to the happy ending of stories, for the first time received a blow in the form of suicide main character. And in this meeting with the bitter truth of life turned out to be one of the main advantages of the story.

Selected work:

On the Threshold of the Golden Age of Russian Literature

Europe went from classicism to realism in 200 years, Russia had to hurry up with the development of this material in 50-70 years, constantly catching up and learning from someone else's example. While Europe was already reading realistic stories, Russia had to master classicism and sentimentalism in order to move on to creating romantic works.

The golden age of Russian literature is the time of the development of romanticism and realism. Preparing for the appearance of these stages in Russian writers passed at an accelerated pace, but the most important thing that was learned by the writers of the 18th century was the ability to assign to literature not only an entertaining function, but also an educational, critical, moral-forming one.

Literature of the Petrine era. Enlightenment and education during the period of Peter's reforms. Features of the Masonic movement in Russia.

One of the main themes of the Petrine era is, of course, the problem of the human personality. A person begins to be perceived as an actively acting person, valuable both in itself and even more for "services to the fatherland." It is not wealth and not the nobility of the family that are valued, but public benefit, intelligence and courage: it is they who, in the new conditions, can elevate a person to one of the highest rungs of the social ladder. In 1722, the “Table of Ranks of all military, civil and court ranks” appeared, opening up the opportunity for people of non-noble rank to receive it for services to the state.

This new person should act not blindly on orders, but imbued with the consciousness of the necessity and benefit of certain government measures, therefore, it is necessary to explain the state policy to him. To this end, from the end of 1702, the first printed newspaper in Russia, Vedomosti, began to be published, which reported “on military and other matters worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Muscovite state and in other surrounding countries.”

Peter launched a broad publishing activity, textbooks are printed (for example, "Arithmetic, that is, the science of numerals" by L. Magnitsky, 1703), historical books, political treatises and scientific works. Along with this, quite unusual books appeared, such as The Honest Mirror of Youth (1717), which could well be called a guide to etiquette, as it told how to behave for youths and youths. The first part of the “Mirror” includes teaching aids for literacy and the alphabet, as well as a set of Orthodox instructions, and the second contains clearly formulated rules of everyday behavior for young nobles written in a bright figurative style.

In Petrine literature, the traditions of school drama continued to develop. Here the emergence of a school theater within the walls of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy played a big role. Religious plots in this dramatic genre were supplanted by secular ones, telling about political topical events, containing panegyrics to Peter I and his associates. In the future, the journalistic and panegyric nature of dramaturgy is further enhanced.

Freemasonry penetrated into Russia after it appeared in certain forms in the West. Documentary data on the first Russian Masonic lodges date back to 1731. It was in this year that Lord Lovell, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of London, appointed John Philips as Captain of the Provincial Grand Master "For All Russia".

The then "rulers of the souls" of Russian society - Prince Golitsyn, "chicks of Petrov's nest", Prokopovich, Tatishchev, Kantemir, Prince Shcherbatov, Sumarokov, Kheraskov, Radishchev, Griboedov were drawn to the Masons. The most striking personality in Freemasonry in the 18th century was N. I. Novikov (1744-1818).

Novikov owned publishing enterprises: the satirical magazines Truten, Purse, and Painter; educational magazines "Morning Light"; historical publications "Ancient Russian bibliography", "Experience of a historical dictionary about Russian writers". He donated part of his income to schools for orphans, free hospitals, and during the famine arranged food assistance.

I. P. Elagin (1725-1793) is considered to be the next outstanding figure of Russian Freemasonry. The chief chamberlain, a real privy councilor, opened the first Masonic lodge in 1750, which worked according to the English system. His initiation took place in a French knight's lodge. Elagin was a zealous Freemason, a provincial Grand Master of all Russia.

Freemasonry was the first attempt at an independent activity of society, it was supposed to reflect the general position of society. The forces of Russian society were still small, and positive education was extremely weak. So it was more like fantasy.

The idea of ​​"spiritual construction", mutual moral improvement, religious tolerance and other ideals, having fallen on untouched soil, resounded in the understanding of freemasons in their special purity and significance. All Masonic work, until the prohibition in 1822, was devoted to the search for truth, even when it was only about rituals, degrees, or other secret knowledge.

The ideology of the Enlightenment is gradually penetrating into Russia, the supporters of which advocated the further Europeanization of the country, the development of education, and proclaimed the power of reason. Its prominent representative in Russia was M.V. Lomonosov. Himself a native of the lower classes, he proposed to make education accessible to all classes. He linked his hopes for the best with the enlightenment of monarchs, the ideal of which he saw in Peter I.

It follows from this that the Russian Freemasons consciously and unconsciously associated the transforming activity of Peter with Masonic ideas. After all, at that time, civilization poured into Russia in a stormy stream, science, art, and medicine developed28. Spiritual and material values ​​were reassessed and views on life were revised, beliefs changed. All this happened and not without the intervention of Masonic lodges. After all, those concepts that they conveyed to the audience at meetings were discussed and conclusions were drawn from them.

Classicism. I critical and philosophical foundations classicism. The formation of classicism in Russia, its socio-historical background and national identity. The life and personality of M. V. Lomonosov. Heroiko - patriotic poetry of Lomonosov, an ode as a leading genre. Genre of ode in Russian literatureXVIII century. Ideological and artistic originality of Lomonosov's odes. “Ode to put on the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna. 1747". (Excerpt by heart).

Classicism is characterized by high civic themes, strict observance of certain creative norms and rules. Classicism, as a certain artistic direction, tends to reflect life in ideal images, gravitating towards a certain “norm”, a model.

Classicism - urban, metropolitan literature. There are almost no images of nature in it, and if landscapes are given, then urban ones, pictures of artificial nature are drawn: squares, grottoes, fountains, trimmed trees.

Russian classicism originated and developed on original soil, taking into account the experience that had accumulated before its established and developed Western European classicism. The peculiar features of Russian classicism are as follows: firstly, from the very beginning, Russian classicism has a strong connection with modern reality, which is illuminated in the best works from the point of view of advanced ideas.

The second feature of Russian classicism is the diatribe-satirical stream in their work, conditioned by the progressive social ideas of the writers. The presence of satire in the works of Russian classicist writers gives their work a vitally truthful character. Living modernity, Russian reality, Russian people and Russian nature in to some extent reflected in their works.

The third feature of Russian classicism, due to the ardent patriotism of Russian writers, is their interest in the history of their homeland. All of them study Russian history, write works in national, historical themes. They strive to create fiction and its language on national foundations, give it their own, Russian face, show attention to folk poetry and vernacular. Along with the general features inherent in both French and Russian classicism, the latter also has such features that give it the character of national identity. For example, this is an increased civic-patriotic pathos, a much more pronounced accusatory-realistic tendency, less alienation from oral folk art. The everyday and solemn cantes of the first decades of the 18th century largely prepared the development of various genres of lyric poetry in the middle and second half of the 18th century.

The main thing in the ideology of classicism is state pathos. The state, created in the first decades of the 18th century, was declared the highest value. The classicists, inspired by the Petrine reforms, believed in the possibility of its further improvement. It seemed to them a rationally arranged social organism, where each estate performs the duties assigned to it. Four major literary figures contributed to the approval of classicism: A.D. Kantemir, V.K. Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov and A.P. Sumarokov.

Lomonosov's first work dealing with problems of language was the Letter on the Rules of Russian Poetry (1739, published in 1778), written back in Germany, where he substantiates the applicability of syllabo-tonic versification to the Russian language. According to Lomonosov, each literary genre should be written in a certain "calm": "high calm" is "required" for heroic poems, odes, "prosaic speeches about important matters"; middle - for poetic messages, elegies, satires, descriptive prose, etc.; low - for comedies, epigrams, songs, "writings of ordinary affairs." "Shtils" were ordered, first of all, in the field of vocabulary, depending on the ratio of neutral (common for Russian and Church Slavonic languages), Church Slavonic and Russian colloquial words. “High calm” is characterized by a combination of Slavic words with neutral words, “middle calm” is built on the basis of neutral vocabulary with the addition of a certain number of Slavic words and colloquial words, “low calm” combines neutral and colloquial words. Such a program made it possible to create a single stylistically differentiated literary language. The theory of "three calms" had a significant impact on the development of the Russian literary language in the second half of the 18th century. up to the activities of the school N.M. Karamzin (from the 1790s), who headed for the rapprochement of the Russian literary language with colloquial.

Lomonosov's poetic heritage includes solemn odes, philosophical ode-reflections "Morning reflection on God's majesty" (1743) and "Evening reflection on God's majesty" (1743), poetic transcriptions of psalms and the adjoining Ode chosen from Job (1751) , the unfinished heroic poem Peter the Great (1756-1761), satirical poems (Hymn to the Beard, 1756-1757, etc.), the philosophical "Conversation with Anacreon" (translation of Anacreontic odes in conjunction with their own answers to them; 1757-1761), heroic idyll Polydor (1750), two tragedies, numerous poems on the occasion of various festivities, epigrams, parables, translated poems.

The pinnacle of Lomonosov's poetic work is his odes, written "on occasion" - in connection with notable events in the life of the state, for example, the accession to the throne of Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II. Lomonosov used solemn occasions to create vivid and majestic pictures of the universe. The odes are replete with metaphors, hyperbole, allegories, rhetorical questions, and other tropes that create internal dynamics and sound richness of the verse, imbued with patriotic pathos, reflections on the future of Russia. In the Ode on the day of the accession to the All-Russian throne of Elizabeth Petrovna (1747), he wrote:

The sciences feed young men,

They give joy to the old,

Decorate in a happy life

Save in case of an accident.

Classicism marked itself milestone in the development of Russian literature. At the time of this assertion literary direction the historical task of transforming versification was solved. At the same time, a solid foundation was laid for the formation of the Russian literary language, eliminating the contradiction between the new content and the old forms of its expression, which was revealed with all its sharpness in the literature of the first three decades of the 18th century.

G. R. Derzhavin: life and work. Connection with the classicist tradition and the beginning of the destruction of the canonical system of classicism. Themes of Derzhavin's poetry. "Felitsa" "an essay that has not yet been in our language." (Excerpt by heart).

Gavriil Romanovich DERZHAVIN(1743-1816) - writer and state. figure. Born into a poor noble family, in 1759-62 he studied at the Kazan Gymnasium. From 1762 he served in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, he received his first officer rank in 1772. During peasant war under the leadership of E. I. Pugachev, he took an active part in the actions of governments. troops. From 1777 Derzhavin was in the civil service in the Senate. Olonetsky and Tambov governor. In 1791-93 Derzhavin was the secretary of state of Empress Catherine II, from 1793 - a senator. Subsequently, Derzhavin served as president of the Commerce College, State. Treasurer, Minister of Justice. From 1803 retired. In official activities, which he greatly appreciated, which was reflected in his "Notes", Derzhavin showed "zealousness", honesty, justice, while being extremely uncompromising, which led him to clash with superiors, including Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I .

Literary. Derzhavin's activities began during his service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 1776, his first collection, Odes Composed and Translated at Mount Chitalagae, was published, marked by the influence of M. V. Lomonosov and A. P. Sumarokov. In the 1780s in Derzhavin's poetry, a significant place is occupied by the image of Catherine II, sung under the name of Felitsa (one name ode brought him the reputation of the greatest poet of the era). Repeatedly Derzhavin also wrote in the genre of a spiritual ode ("God", 1780-84). However, later he became disillusioned with the empress and, in search of a positive. the hero turned to the figures of P.A. Rumyantsev and A.V. Suvorov ("Waterfall", 1791-94, "Bullfinch", 1800).

The innovation of Derzhavin's poetry consists primarily in combining different themes and tonalities in one poem (odic and satirical - "Vision of Murza", 1783-84; "Nobleman", 1794, civic and philosophical - "Waterfall"), emotionality, comparative simplicity language. Lyrics of Derzhavin. largely autobiographical, it creates the image of a lyrical "I", revealed in several aspects: everyday, biographical and ideological, which is characterized by a sense of death awaiting a person ("On the death of Prince Meshchersky", 1779) and at the same time feelings. enjoyment of the beauty of life (collection "Anacreontic Songs", 1804; Horatian odes). In the last years of his life, Derzhavin, surrounded by a halo of glory, turned to dramaturgy (tragedies, comic operas, etc.). Although he himself highly appreciated his dramatic. experiments, they were not successful with contemporaries. Among Derzhavin's prose writings are Notes from Incidents Known to All and True Cases Containing the Life of Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1812-13), Explanations on Derzhavin's Works... (1809-10), Discourse on Lyric Poetry or about an ode" (1805-15).

D. I. Fonvizin as a Russian writer-educator. The comedy "Undergrowth" is the pinnacle of Russian dramaturgy of the 18th century, the first Russian socio-political comedy. The issue of comedy.

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin came from a Russified German family, whose original surname was von Wiesen. The modern spelling Fonvizin was proposed by A.S. Pushkin much later.

At first, Fonvizin studied with private teachers, then entered the gymnasium at Moscow State University, where he later studied. But he did not graduate from the University, he quit to start his service. While still at the gymnasium, he made his debut as a writer and translator from German: when Fonvizin was in his first year at the university, a translator was needed at the court, and he was accepted into the service of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, where he worked all his life. In 1763, Fonvizin moved to St. Petersburg, where he met writers, incl. with Elagin: he joins his circle and becomes a fan of the theory of declinations.

1764 - Fonvizin's debut as a playwright: he publishes the play Korion. It is written weakly, but in full accordance with the theory of declensions - this is a reworking of French comedy.

After this failure, Fonvizin did not write for a long time, only in 1769 he created the comedy Brigadier. This play shows that Fonvizin understood that it is not enough just to give the characters Russian names, you also need to introduce Russian problems into the play. In the Brigadier, such a problem is gallomania- imitation of everything French, it was relevant in Russia in the middle of the 18th century; Another, no less urgent problem is the education of young nobles. But also in the Brigadier, the influence of the theory of declensions is also felt, because the plot move there is borrowed from French dramaturgy - this is the so-called. symmetry in red tape(a situation where, in two married couples, husbands simultaneously take care of other people's wives). But since the Brigadier was nevertheless intelligently adapted for Russia, he is considered the first Russian play.

Fonvizin knew how to distinguish and describe any problems of Russian society, had a good sense of humor, and could think in a state-like way. All this manifested itself in his main work - the comedy Undergrowth, written in 1781. However, the comedy was first published only in 1830, after the death of Fonvizin.

The main problem that is raised in this comedy is the upbringing of a young Russian nobleman, the ideas of enlightenment. This was very relevant in the 1780s, when even the Empress Catherine herself thought a lot about education, she was an opponent of home education with tutors.

In the 18th century, there were several philosophical theories about education. According to one of them, initially the child is not a full-fledged personality, he only copies the behavior of adults. Since Catherine shared this theory, she recommended that children be separated from their parents and placed in educational institutions. Fonvizin, who was also a supporter of this theory, just shows in the comedy Undergrowth all the perniciousness of home education.

Fonvizin seeks to prove that education is synonymous with happiness.

The protagonist of the comedy is a young nobleman Mitrofan, who has many negative role models before his eyes. Firstly, his mother, Mrs. Prostakova, is a cruel and willful landowner who sees no point in education at all. Secondly, his nurse Eremeevna is a slave in her spirit, from whom Mitrofan takes over the psychology of admiration for the strong (as well as from his father). Thirdly, his uncle, Taras Skotinin, is a nobleman who does not want to serve his fatherland; most of all he loves his pigs. It is emphasized that Mitrofanushka takes something from all of them.

Despite the satire, the play was not originally intended to be funny. Contemporaries, reading it, were horrified.

Comedy, no doubt, is a product of the era of classicism, but with some deviations from the canonical rules. For example, only one rule from the trinity is observed here - the unity of the place, because all the action takes place on the Prostakovs' estate.

There are heroes-masks: Sophia is the mistress, Starodum is the father (although he is not stupid!), he is also the hero-reasoner, Milon is the hero-lover, Mitrofan and Skotinin are negative suitors, Pravdin is the god from the car. There is no soubrette role here.

In the play, as it should be, there are five actions: exposition, plot, development of the conflict, climax and denouement (which includes an unjustified denouement and catharsis, when we feel sorry for Prostakov).

The classic conflict of feeling and duty is expressed in the fact that the positive characters of this play live in obedience to reason, the state and the will of their elders. Negative ones become slaves to their feelings, often evil and selfish. Of course, in the end, the positive characters are rewarded with happiness, and the negative ones are the losers.

There are many speaking surnames in the comedy: Skotinin, Tsifirkin, Milon, etc.

The play is written in a low style, in easy colloquial language, in prose.

A. N. Radishchev. "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" - outstanding monument Russian social thought and literature. The problem of the work. The image of the people in the Journey. Image of officials, landlords, yard.

Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev is a Russian writer, one of the main representatives of "enlightenment philosophy" in Russia. Born in 1749.

On the occasion of his coronation Catherine II, Radishchev was granted a page. In January 1764 he arrived in St. Petersburg and until 1766 studied in the page corps. When Catherine ordered twelve young noblemen to be sent to Leipzig for scientific studies, including six pages from the most distinguished behavior and academic success, among which was Radishchev. When sending students abroad, instructions were given regarding their studies, written by Catherine II herself. Radishchev's stay abroad was described in his Life of F.V. Ushakov.

After spending five years in Leipzig, he, like his comrades, forgot the Russian language, so on his return to Russia he studied it under the guidance of the famous Khrapovitsky, Catherine's secretary. Upon graduation, Radishchev became one of the most educated people of his time not only in Russia. Radishchev entered the headquarters of General-in-Chief Bruce, who commanded in St. Petersburg, as chief auditor. In 1775, Radishchev retired with the rank of second major in the army. In 1778 he was again appointed to serve in the state chamberlain college for an assessor's vacancy. In 1788 he was transferred to the service in the St. Petersburg customs, assistant manager, and then manager. Studying the Russian language and reading led Radishchev to his own literary experiments. In 1789 he published "The Life of Fyodor Vasilyevich Ushakov with the addition of some of his writings." Taking advantage of the decree of Catherine II on free printing houses, Radishchev started his own printing house at his home and in 1790 published his main work: "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow." The book sold out quickly. Her bold discussions about serfdom and other sad phenomena of the then public and state life attracted the attention of the empress herself, to whom someone delivered the Journey. Although the book was published "with the permission of the deanery council," that is, with the permission of the established censorship, persecution was nevertheless raised against the author. At first they did not know who the author was, since his name was not put on the book; but, having arrested the merchant Zotov, in whose shop the Journey was sold, they soon learned that the book had been written and published by Radishchev. He was also arrested. Ekaterina reacted to Radishchev's book with strong personal irritation. Imprisoned in a fortress and interrogated, Radishchev declared his repentance, renounced his book, but at the same time, in his testimony, he often expressed the same views that were cited in Journey. The fate of Radishchev was predetermined: he was found guilty of the very decree to bring him to trial. The Criminal Chamber sentenced him to death penalty. But "by mercy and for general joy", on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Sweden, the death penalty was replaced by exile to Siberia, to the Ilim prison, "for a ten-year hopeless stay." His wife's sister, E.V., came to visit him in Siberia. Rubanovskaya, and brought the younger children (the older ones stayed with their relatives for education). In Ilimsk, Radishchev married E.V. Rubanovskaya. Shortly after his accession, Emperor Pavel returned Radishchev from Siberia, and Radishchev was ordered to live in his estate in the Kaluga province, the village of Nemtsov, and the governor was ordered to observe his behavior and correspondence.

Radishchev's contemporaries, Ilyinsky and Born, certify the truth of the legend about Radishchev's death. This tradition says that when Radishchev submitted his liberal project on the necessary legislative reforms - a project where the emancipation of the peasants was again put forward, the chairman of the commission, Count Zavadovsky, made him a strict reprimand for his way of thinking, severely reminding him of his former hobbies and even mentioning Siberia. Radishchev, a man with severely disturbed health, with broken nerves, was so shocked by Zavadovsky's reprimand and threats that he decided to commit suicide, drank poison and died in terrible agony. Radishchev died on the night of September 12, according to the old style of 1802, and was buried at the Volkovo cemetery. Radishchev's name was banned for a long time; it almost never appeared in print. Shortly after his death, several articles about him appeared, but then his name almost disappears in the literature and is very rare; only fragmentary and incomplete data are given about him. Batyushkov included Radishchev in his program of essays on Russian literature. Only in the second half of the fifties was the ban removed from the name of Radishchev and many articles about him appeared in the press.

9. Sentimentalism. N. M. Karamzin is the head of Russian sentimentalism. The ideological and creative evolution of Karamzin the prose writer. "Letters of a Russian Traveler" as a Phenomenon of Russian Sentimentalism. The genre of the story in the work of Karamzin. The story "Poor Liza" as the highest achievement of Russian sentimentalism. "History of the Russian State" N.M. Karamzin.

At the end of the 18th century, literature appears a new literary trend - sentimentalism.

Sentimentalism (fr. sentimentalism, from fr. Sentiment - feeling) - the mindset in Western European and Russian culture and the corresponding literary trend. The works written within the framework of this artistic direction focus on the reader's perception, that is, on the sensuality that arises when reading them.

The founder of sentimentalism and the largest writer in this direction was N. M. Karamzin - a poet, prose writer, essayist, journalist. Many poems, ballads and stories brought him all-Russian fame. His greatest merits are associated with such works as "Letters of a Russian Traveler", the story "Poor Lisa", "History of the Russian State", as well as with the transformation of the literary language.

Having creatively mastered the elements of sentimentalism in previous Russian literature, Karamzin was able to theoretically substantiate the principles of sentimentalism and reproduce them in his literary practice. In his works, noble sentimentalism found its fullest expression.

The most complete features of Karamzin's sentimental prose - the pathos of humanity, psychologism, subjective-sensitive perception of reality, the lyricism of the narrative and the simple "elegant" language - were manifested in his stories. They reflected the author's increased attention to the analysis of love feelings, emotional experiences of the characters, increased attention to psychological actions.

The plot of the story "Poor Lisa" is not pretentious and is very common in literature: the love of a poor girl and a young nobleman. At the heart of the Karamzin story - life situation. The social inequality of a peasant girl and a nobleman predetermined the tragic outcome of their love. However, for Karamzin, it is important first of all to convey the psychological state of the characters, to create an appropriate lyrical mood that can evoke a reciprocal emotional feeling in the reader. He does not focus on the social experiences that are mentioned in the story, translating them into a moral and ethical plane. Karamzin only hints at the fact that social inequality makes it difficult for the marriage of a nobleman and a peasant woman. Lisa, in a conversation with Erast, says that he "cannot be her husband", since she is a peasant woman. And although all Karamzin's sympathies are on the side of the charming, meek poor Lisa, about the fate of which the sensitive author sheds tears, nevertheless he tries to explain Erast's act by the circumstances, the character of the hero. Erast was endowed with "a kind heart, kind by nature, but weak and windy." However, the habit of an idle and prosperous life forced him, due to selfishness and weakness of character, to improve his affairs by marrying a rich widow. Having conveyed the scene of Erast's farewell to Lisa, to whom he gives a hundred rubles, Karamzin exclaims: “My heart bleeds this minute. I forget a man in Erast - I'm ready to curse him - but my tongue does not move - I look at the sky, and a tear rolls down my face. Karamzin does not have sharp assessments, there is no pathos of indignation, he is looking for consolation and reconciliation in the suffering of heroes. Dramatic, and sometimes tragic events are not intended to cause indignation, anger, but a sad, melancholy feeling.

A large place in the story is occupied by the author's lyrical digressions, dialogue, monologue of the characters. The lyrical manner of narration creates a certain mood. This in the story is also served by the landscape against which the action develops, a landscape consonant with the moods of the characters. For the first time in Karamzin's prose, the landscape became a means of conscious aesthetic influence - the "landscape of the soul."

Karamzin often resorts to verbal repetitions, epithets expressing the emotionality or contemplation of the characters, and other expressive poetic means.

The significance of Karamzin's work goes beyond sentimentalism, beyond the boundaries of the 18th century, since it had a strong influence on the literature of the first three decades of the 19th century.

In the literature of the second half of the XVIII century. Classicism dominated, preaching the ideas of "enlightened absolutism". One of the major representatives of this trend was A.P. Sumarokov (1718-1777). Unlike his contemporaries, who came from the people - Lomonosov and Trediakovsky, Sumarokov is a nobleman, a supporter of serfdom. In his opinion, "peasant freedom is not only harmful to society, but also pernicious, and why it is pernicious, that should not be interpreted." Sumarokov wrote in almost all genres of lyrics, left a large number of fables ("parables"), and most importantly - laid the foundations of Russian classic dramaturgy. His tragedies "Khorev", "Sinav and Truvor", "Demetrius the Pretender" early XIX in. were included in the repertoire of the Russian theater. Among Sumarokov's comedies, "Cuckold by Imagination" stands out, which in many respects anticipates the comedies of Fonvizin in its bright everyday coloring and expressive language characteristics.

The largest poet of the second half of the XVIII century. was G. R. Derzhavin (1743-1816). Derzhavin's work, varied in subject matter and vivid in language, completed the development of Russian poetry in the 18th century. Literary fame for Derzhavin was brought by the ode "Felitsa", in which the chanting of Catherine was combined with the denunciation of her favorites and nobles. The satirical line of Derzhavin's poetry is most fully reflected in the ode "The Nobleman", which branded "miserable demigods", "tinsel kings on thrones of cards." In patriotic odes, Derzhavin glorified the successes of Russian weapons, the military art of Suvorov.

G. R. Derzhavin adhered to conservative, and later even reactionary views. In contrast to him, D. I. Fonvizin (1745-1792) criticized serfdom. Fonvizin's talent flourished in dramaturgy, where he created truly original works. Fonvizin brought to the stage not conventional images embodying vices or virtues, but living people. Central work Fonvizin is "Undergrowth" (1782). This is the first social comedy - a satire on ignorant nobles who trampled human dignity disenfranchised peasants. Serfdom is summarized in satirical characters: in the cruel landowner Prostakova, in Skotinin, who cares more about pigs than about living people. The language of comedy is folk, speech actors individualized. "Undergrowth" is an angry denunciation of serfdom. Fonvizin had not yet broken with classicism, but in essence he was one of the first realists, the immediate predecessor of Griboyedov, Pushkin, Gogol.

The growth of bourgeois relations in the country and the aggravation of class contradictions caused a crisis in Russian classicism. Last third of the 18th century passes under the sign of the birth and development of a new trend in literature - sentimentalism.