The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is inscribed with heavenly fire, that every letter in it screams, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later. "Dead Souls"

Nestor Vasilievich Kukolnik (1809 - 1868)
For what? It's like inspiration
Love the given subject!
Like a true poet
Sell ​​your imagination!
I am a slave, a day laborer, I am a tradesman!
I owe you, sinner, for gold,
For your worthless piece of silver
Pay with divine payment!
"Improvisation I"

Literature is a language that expresses everything a country thinks, wants, knows, wants and needs to know.

In hearts simple feeling the beauty and grandeur of nature is stronger, a hundred times more vivid than in us, enthusiastic storytellers in words and on paper."Hero of our time"

And everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,
And all the worlds have one beginning,
And there is nothing in nature
Whatever breathes love.

In days of doubt, in days of painful thoughts about the fate of my homeland, you alone are my support and support, oh great, mighty, truthful and free Russian language! Without you, how can one not fall into despair at the sight of everything that is happening at home? But one cannot believe that such a language was not given to a great people!
Poems in prose, "Russian language"

So, I complete my dissolute escape,
Prickly snow flies from the naked fields,
Driven by an early, violent snowstorm,
And, stopping in the wilderness of the forest,
Gathers in silver silence
A deep and cold bed.

Listen: shame on you!
It's time to get up! You know yourself
What time has come;
In whom the sense of duty has not cooled,
Who is incorruptibly straight in heart,
Who has talent, strength, accuracy,
Tom shouldn't sleep now...
"Poet and Citizen"

Is it really possible that even here they will not and will not allow the Russian organism to develop nationally, with its own organic strength, and certainly impersonally, servilely imitating Europe? But what should one do with the Russian organism then? Do these gentlemen understand what an organism is? Separation, “detachment” from their country leads to hatred, these people hate Russia, so to speak, naturally, physically: for the climate, for the fields, for the forests, for the order, for the liberation of the peasant, for Russian history, in a word, for everything, They hate me for everything.

Spring! the first frame is exposed -
And noise burst into the room,
And the good news of the nearby temple,
And the talk of the people, and the sound of the wheel...

Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell! Now every grass, every flower is rejoicing, but we are hiding, afraid, as if some kind of misfortune is coming! The thunderstorm will kill! This is not a thunderstorm, but grace! Yes, grace! It's all stormy! The northern lights will light up, you should admire and marvel at the wisdom: “from the midnight lands the dawn rises”! And you are horrified and come up with ideas: this means war or pestilence. Is there a comet coming? I wouldn’t look away! Beauty! The stars have already taken a closer look, they are all the same, but this is a new thing; Well, I should have looked and admired it! And you are afraid to even look at the sky, you are trembling! Out of everything, you have created a scare for yourself. Eh, people! "Storm"

There is no more enlightening, soul-cleansing feeling than that which a person feels when acquainted with a great work of art.

We know that loaded guns must be handled with care. But we don’t want to know that we must treat words in the same way. The word can kill and make evil worse than death.

There is a well-known trick of an American journalist who, in order to increase subscriptions to his magazine, began to publish in other publications the most harsh, arrogant attacks on himself from fictitious persons: some in print exposed him as a swindler and perjurer, others as a thief and murderer, and still others as a debauchee on a colossal scale. He didn’t skimp on paying for such friendly advertisements until everyone started thinking - it’s obvious he’s a curious and remarkable person when everyone is shouting about him like that! - and they began to buy up his own newspaper.
"Life in a Hundred Years"

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov (1831 - 1895)
I... think that I know the Russian person to his very depths, and I do not take any credit for this. I didn’t study the people from conversations with St. Petersburg cab drivers, but I grew up among the people, on the Gostomel pasture, with a cauldron in my hand, I slept with it on the dewy grass of the night, under a warm sheepskin coat, and on Panin’s fancy crowd behind the circles of dusty habits...

Between these two clashing titans - science and theology - there is a stunned public, quickly losing faith in the immortality of man and in any deity, quickly descending to the level of a purely animal existence. Such is the picture of the hour illuminated by the brilliant noonday sun of the Christian and scientific era!
"Isis Unveiled"

Sit down, I'm glad to see you. Throw away all fear
And you can keep yourself free
I give you permission. You know, the other day
I was elected king by everyone,
But it doesn't matter. They confuse my thoughts
All these honors, greetings, bows...
"Crazy"

Gleb Ivanovich Uspensky (1843 - 1902)
- What do you want abroad? - I asked him while in his room, with the help of the servants, his things were being laid out and packed for sending to the Warsaw station.
- Yes, just... to feel it! - he said confusedly and with a kind of dull expression on his face.
"Letters from the Road"

Is the point to get through life in such a way as not to offend anyone? This is not happiness. Touch, break, break, so that life boils. I am not afraid of any accusations, but I am a hundred times more afraid of colorlessness than death.

Poetry is the same music, only combined with words, and it also requires a natural ear, a sense of harmony and rhythm.

You experience a strange feeling when, with a light pressure of your hand, you force such a mass to rise and fall at will. When such a mass obeys you, you feel the power of man...
"Meeting"

Vasily Vasilievich Rozanov (1856 - 1919)
The feeling of the Motherland should be strict, restrained in words, not eloquent, not talkative, not “waving your arms” and not running forward (to appear). The feeling of the Motherland should be a great ardent silence.
"Secluded"

And what is the secret of beauty, what is the secret and charm of art: in the conscious, inspired victory over torment or in unconscious melancholy human spirit, who sees no way out of the circle of vulgarity, squalor or thoughtlessness and is tragically condemned to appear smug or hopelessly false.
"Sentimental Memory"

Since birth I have lived in Moscow, but by God I don’t know where Moscow came from, what it is for, why, what it needs. In the Duma, at meetings, I, together with others, talk about the city economy, but I don’t know how many miles there are in Moscow, how many people there are, how many are born and die, how much we receive and spend, how much and with whom we trade... Which city is richer: Moscow or London? If London is richer, why? And the jester knows him! And when some issue is raised in the Duma, I shudder and be the first to start shouting: “Pass it over to the commission!” To the commission!

Everything new in an old way:
From a modern poet
In a metaphorical outfit
The speech is poetic.

But others are not an example to me,
And my charter is simple and strict.
My verse is a pioneer boy,
Lightly dressed, barefoot.
1926

Under the influence of Dostoevsky, as well as foreign literature, Baudelaire and Edgar Poe, my fascination began not with decadence, but with symbolism (even then I already understood their difference). I entitled the collection of poems, published at the very beginning of the 90s, “Symbols”. It seems that I was the first to use this word in Russian literature.

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov (1866 - 1949)
The running of changeable phenomena,
Past the howling ones, speed up:
Merge the sunset of achievements into one
With the first shine of tender dawns.
From the lower reaches of life to the origins
In a moment, a single overview:
In one face with a smart eye
Collect your doubles.
Unchanging and wonderful
Gift of the Blessed Muse:
In the spirit the form of harmonious songs,
There is life and heat in the heart of the songs.
"Thoughts on Poetry"

I have a lot of news. And all are good. I'm lucky". It's written to me. I want to live, live, live forever. If you only knew how many new poems I wrote! More than a hundred. It was crazy, a fairy tale, new. Publishing new book, not at all similar to the previous ones. She will surprise many. I changed my understanding of the world. No matter how funny my phrase may sound, I will say: I understand the world. For many years, perhaps forever.
K. Balmont - L. Vilkina

Man - that's the truth! Everything is in man, everything is for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds... proud!

"At the bottom"

I feel sorry for creating something useless and no one needs right now. Collection, book of poems in given time- the most useless useless thing... I don’t want to say by this that poetry is not needed. On the contrary, I maintain that poetry is necessary, even necessary, natural and eternal. There was a time when everyone seemed to need entire books of poetry, when they were read in bulk, understood and accepted by everyone. This time is the past, not ours. For the modern reader no need for a collection of poems!

Language is the history of a people. Language is the path of civilization and culture. That is why studying and preserving the Russian language is not an idle activity because there is nothing to do, but an urgent necessity.

What nationalists and patriots these internationalists become when they need it! And with what arrogance they mock the “frightened intellectuals” - as if there is absolutely no reason to be afraid - or at the “frightened ordinary people”, as if they have some great advantages over the “philistines”. And who, exactly, are these ordinary people, the “prosperous townsfolk”? And who and what do revolutionaries care about, in general, if they so despise the average person and his well-being?
"Cursed Days"

In the struggle for their ideal, which is “liberty, equality and fraternity,” citizens must use means that do not contradict this ideal.
"Governor"

“Let your soul be whole or split, let your worldview be mystical, realistic, skeptical, or even idealistic (if you are so unhappy), let creative techniques be impressionistic, realistic, naturalistic, let the content be lyrical or fabulistic, let there be a mood, an impression - whatever you want, but I beg you, be logical - may this cry of the heart be forgiven me! – are logical in concept, in the structure of the work, in syntax.”
Art is born in homelessness. I wrote letters and stories addressed to a distant, unknown friend, but when the friend came, art gave way to life. I'm not talking about, of course home comfort, but about life, which means more than art.
"You and I. Love Diary"

An artist can do no more than open his soul to others. You cannot present him with pre-made rules. It is a still unknown world, where everything is new. We must forget what captivated others; here it is different. Otherwise, you will listen and not hear, you will look without understanding.
From Valery Bryusov's treatise "On Art"

Alexey Mikhailovich Remizov (1877 - 1957)
Well, let her rest, she was exhausted - they tormented her, alarmed her. And as soon as it’s light, the shopkeeper gets up, starts folding her goods, grabs a blanket, goes and pulls out this soft bedding from under the old woman: wakes the old woman up, gets her on her feet: it’s not dawn, please get up. It's nothing you can do. In the meantime - grandmother, our Kostroma, our mother, Russia! "

"Whirlwind Rus'"

Art never addresses the crowd, the masses, it speaks to the individual, in the deep and hidden recesses of his soul.

Mikhail Andreevich Osorgin (Ilyin) (1878 - 1942)
How strange /.../ There are so many cheerful and cheerful books, so many brilliant and witty philosophical truths, but there is nothing more comforting than Ecclesiastes.

Babkin was brave, read Seneca
And, whistling carcasses,
Took it to the library
Noting in the margin: “Nonsense!”
Babkin, friend, is a harsh critic,
Have you ever thought
What a legless paralytic
A light chamois is not a decree?..
"Reader"

The critic's word about the poet must be objectively concrete and creative; the critic, while remaining a scientist, is a poet.

"Poetry of the Word"

Only great things should be thought about, only great tasks should a writer set himself; put it boldly, without being embarrassed by your personal small strengths.

Boris Konstantinovich Zaitsev (1881 - 1972)
“It’s true that there are goblins and water creatures here,” I thought, looking in front of me, “and maybe some other spirit lives here... A powerful, northern spirit that enjoys this wildness; maybe real northern fauns and healthy, blond women wander in these forests, eat cloudberries and lingonberries, laugh and chase each other.”
"North"

You need to be able to close a boring book...leave a bad movie...and part with people who don't value you!

Out of modesty, I will be careful not to point out the fact that on my birthday the bells were rung and there was general popular rejoicing. Gossips They connected this rejoicing with some big holiday that coincided with the day of my birth, but I still don’t understand what another holiday has to do with it?

That was the time when love, good and healthy feelings were considered vulgarity and a relic; no one loved, but everyone thirsted and, as if poisoned, fell for everything sharp, tearing apart the insides.
"The Road to Calvary"

Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Nikolai Vasilievich Korneychukov) (1882 - 1969)
“Well, what’s wrong,” I say to myself, “at least in a short word for now?” After all, exactly the same form of saying goodbye to friends exists in other languages, and there it does not shock anyone. great poet Walt Whitman, shortly before his death, said goodbye to his readers with a touching poem “So long!”, which means in English - “Bye!”. The French a bientot has the same meaning. There is no rudeness here. On the contrary, this form is filled with the most gracious courtesy, because the following (approximately) meaning is compressed here: be prosperous and happy until we see each other again.
"Alive as Life"

Switzerland? This is a mountain pasture for tourists. I myself have traveled all over the world, but I hate these ruminant bipeds with Badaker for a tail. They devoured all the beauty of nature with their eyes.
"Island of Lost Ships"

Everything that I have written and will write, I consider only mental rubbish and I do not regard my merits as a writer as anything. And I’m surprised and perplexed why by appearance smart people find some meaning and value in my poems. Thousands of poems, whether mine or those of the poets I know in Russia, are not worth one singer from my bright mother.

I am afraid that Russian literature has only one future: its past.
Article "I'm afraid"

We have been looking for a long time for such a task, similar to a lentil, so that the connected rays of the work of artists and the work of thinkers, directed by it to a common point, would meet in general work and could ignite and turn even the cold substance of ice into a fire. Now such a task - the lentil that guides together your stormy courage and the cold mind of thinkers - has been found. This goal is to create a common written language...
"Artists of the World"

He adored poetry and tried to be impartial in his judgments. He was surprisingly young at heart, and perhaps also in mind. He always seemed like a child to me. There was something childish in his buzz cut head, in his bearing, more like a gymnasium than a military one. He liked to pretend to be an adult, like all children. He loved to play “master”, the literary superiors of his “gumilets,” that is, the little poets and poetesses who surrounded him. The poetic children loved him very much.
Khodasevich, "Necropolis"

Me, me, me. What a wild word!
Is that guy over there really me?
Did mom love someone like that?
Yellow-gray, half-gray
And all-knowing, like a snake?
You have lost your Russia.
Did you resist the elements?
Good elements of dark evil?
No? So shut up: you took me away
You are destined for a reason
To the edges of an unkind foreign land.
What's the use of moaning and groaning -
Russia must be earned!
"What you need to know"

I didn't stop writing poetry. For me, they contain my connection with time, with new life my people. When I wrote them, I lived by the rhythms that sounded in the heroic history of my country. I am happy that I lived during these years and saw events that had no equal.

All the people sent to us are our reflection. And they were sent so that we, looking at these people, correct our mistakes, and when we correct them, these people either change too or leave our lives.

In the wide field of Russian literature in the USSR, I was the only literary wolf. I was advised to dye the skin. Ridiculous advice. Whether a wolf is dyed or shorn, it still does not look like a poodle. They treated me like a wolf. And for several years they persecuted me according to the rules of a literary cage in a fenced yard. I have no malice, but I am very tired...
From a letter from M.A. Bulgakov to I.V. Stalin, May 30, 1931.

When I die, my descendants will ask my contemporaries: “Did you understand Mandelstam’s poems?” - “No, we didn’t understand his poems.” “Did you feed Mandelstam, did you give him shelter?” - “Yes, we fed Mandelstam, we gave him shelter.” - “Then you are forgiven.”

Ilya Grigorievich Erenburg (Eliyahu Gershevich) (1891 - 1967)
Maybe go to the House of Press - there will be one sandwich with chum caviar and a debate - “about proletarian choral reading”, or in Museum of Science and Industry– there are no sandwiches, but twenty-six young poets read their poems about the “locomotive mass.” No, I will sit on the stairs, shiver from the cold and dream that all this is not in vain, that, sitting here on the step, I am preparing the distant sunrise of the Renaissance. I dreamed both simply and in verse, and the results turned out to be rather boring iambics.
"The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito and His Students"

The best classic books of autumn 2018

Our new rating The top 100 best classics books have undergone significant changes. It's all because of the new beginning educational school, and a school curriculum that clearly sets the tone in this category. Nevertheless, only the truly best classic books, not only Russian, but also foreign, were included in it. After all, this list best classics compiled based on your requests on the Internet and perfectly reflects the interest of readers in our country.

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Story " Sunstroke» Author: Bunin I. A. Year of publication of the story: 1925 Many consider Bunin’s story “Sunstroke” to be one of the writer’s best works. It is included in school curriculum, and has also been filmed more than once. The last film adaptation was released in 2014 and was very successful. This aroused even more interest in reading the story “Sunstroke”, and also allowed Ivan Bunin to take […]

Literature as an art form is extremely diverse. But each of its genres has its best, so to speak, exemplary works. These books make up an array classical literature, they will never go out of fashion, they will be understandable and close to people different countries and eras.

About the classics

So, we have already found out that classical literature represents the best, most talented works created in certain periods. The very concept of classics arose at the end of antiquity. Then it was understood as certain writers who, thanks to their authority, were models for masters of words, as well as in the field of obtaining various knowledge.

First classic writer the Greeks certainly considered the famous Homer . Already in ancient times classical period The Hellas of his works “Odyssey” and “Iliad” were considered absolute standards dramatic genre that no one will ever be able to achieve.

At the end of the ancient era in Europe, a list of canonical works began to take shape - those texts that were used for educational purposes. In different cultural centers list of names in this list varied, although only slightly. The backbone of the canon was made up of the same authors everywhere.

Only at the end of the Middle Ages did not only ancient authors, but also writers who lived in later eras begin to be classified as classics. The list of classical literature began to gradually expand. These works were considered practically impersonal; they were the common property of mankind.

More modern interpretation classics arises during the period European Renaissance when literature moves away from religion, secularization of all spheres occurs public life. At that time, Greek writers were considered the greatest authorities.

Over time, interest in antiquity increased so much that such a thing arose cultural direction like classicism. Its essence was to imitate the best examples of Greek art.

Gradually, in addition to the narrow concept of classics, which included Greek literature, a broader interpretation appeared, which included all the best works of literature in one genre or another.

The best books of classical literature

There are many great works in this category that are worth reading. Something closer to modern man, something is not very good. But all classical literature has significant artistic and universal value . However, there are the best of the best who modern world are considered a must-read for any educated person:

• Lev Tolstoy ;
• Fedor Dostoevsky ;
• Victor Hugo ;
• Erich Maria Remarque ;
• Ernest Hemingway ;
• Mikhail Bulgakov and many others.

Theodore Dreiser

In this book of the famous American writer tells the life story of Clyde Griffiths. He set himself the goal of achieving success and climbing up the social ladder.

To do this, Griffiths uses absolutely any methods, be it meanness, betrayal or even crime. Novel , who is dressed in the form of a detective, in fact touches on a number of important philosophical and social issues relating to modern society .

William Somerset Maugham

In this famous creation classics of British literature tells about the tragic love story, unfolding among exotic surroundings . A young and promising bacteriologist, Walter Fein, falls madly in love with the frivolous and superficial girl Kitty. The young lady agrees to marriage only for the reason that “it’s time.”

Since Kitty doesn't love her husband, she quickly starts an affair in Hong Kong, where the couple moved after their wedding. When Walter finds out about the betrayal, he decides to take revenge on his wife in the most brutal way. Further, the plot becomes more and more tragic character and ends with Walter's death.

Well, don’t waste time and start reading the best works classical prose, which, by the way, are available on our website for free online access.

Being an active reader, I will try to take on the role of an assistant and sketch out a few ideas, compiling a list of the most recognized and most successful, from my point of view, works, both domestic and foreign literature. Most of these novels have already gained, and continue to gain, popularity, which means that these are exactly the books that you need to read in order to discover and understand this magical, mysterious and so tempting world of literature.

1. What to read from the classics? Relevance of the issue.

Usually such a question arises from those who suddenly realized the need for self-education or decided to fill in their gaps from school course on Russian literature.

This is where the main difficulty arises. Everyone definitely wants to read something from the collection of world masterpieces. But is there even such a thing as literary masterpiece? Critics argue that it is impossible to answer this question unequivocally: some like Russian literature, some like foreign literature, some read to their heart’s content, and some cannot imagine an evening without an exciting love story.

Having visited one of the large used bookstores in the capital, I asked the sellers what questions visitors most often ask. As it turns out, one of the most common requests is precisely the request for advice on what to read from the classics.

It turns out that in fact there are many people interested, literature of this kind is in demand, but low awareness sometimes scares off potential clients.

First of all, let's focus on the short stories. By the way, they should be understood as more short form presentation of current events than, for example, a story or story. This type of narration is characterized by the presence of only one storyline, and the quantity characters very limited.

I would highlight the following works:

1. Augustine "Treatises"
2. D. Swift "Gulliver's Travels"
3. F. Kafka "The Process"
4. M. de Montaigne "The Complete Essay"
5. N. Hawthorne "Letter to Scarlet"
6. G. Melville "Moby Dick"
7. R. Descartes "Principles of Philosophy"
8. Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist"
9. G. Flaubert "Madame Bovary"
10. D. Austin "Pride and Prejudice"

1. Aeschylus "Agamemnon"
2. Sophocles "The Myth of Oedipus"
3. Euripides "Medea"
4. Aristophanes "Birds"
5. Aristotle "Poetics"
6. W. Shakespeare "Richard III", "Hamlet", "Dream in summer night"
7. Moliere "Tartuffe"
8. W. Congreve "This is what they do in the world"
9. Henrik Johan Ibsen "A Doll's House"

Dreamers and romantics very often try to find answers to their questions in poetry. What to read from the classics in poetic genre? Many things. But I would especially highlight:

1. Homer "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
2. Horace "Odes"
3. Dante Alighieri's Inferno
4. W. Shakespeare "Sonnets"
5. D. Milton " Lost heaven"
6. W. Wordsworth "Selected"
7. S.T. Coleridge "Poems"

As for the works of our country, is there really nothing worthy? - Well, of course not! - If I were asked to answer the question of what to read from Russian classics, I would, of course, recommend “The Master and Margarita” by M. Bulgakov, “Mtsyri” by M. Lermontov, poetry and poems by A. Pushkin.

3. Reading masterpieces of world literature. What does this give us?

Is it worth returning to this direction or is it better and more correct to pay more attention modern works? It is very, very difficult to answer this question unambiguously.

Sometimes opinions are simply divided radically.

For example, opponents argue that it is already completely outdated, has lost its relevance, and has gradually turned into some kind of utopia. In turn, philologists and students of linguistic universities defend the masterpieces of the world epic, insisting that without studying history, culture and the intricacies of language, it is impossible to understand and comprehend our today's world.

Well, well... Each side is right in its own way... Probably everyone will agree that, say, Homer’s “Odyssey” is not the so-called pulp reading for a vacation or an empty pastime. It is difficult to read a work of this kind and you need to do it thoughtfully, slowly and without distraction, comprehending and remembering the details. Not everyone can do this.

It is precisely such books that can introduce the reader to the world of both native and foreign literature and help to better understand the traditions, culture and mentality of peoples. And they will also discover all the charm and richness of colors of the narrative language, thereby replenishing lexicon reading.

Undoubtedly, reading all the books mentioned in this article may take several years, but in any case, it will certainly not be time wasted.

Classic Literature Foundation in different times replenished outstanding geniuses their peoples and their era. We love them for the opportunity to plunge into the world of the distant past, which is why classical literature remains popular at all times.

Classical literature: general characteristics

It happens that a certain mood makes us pay attention to classic books, because the most famous works often the best. Not in vain, because it’s these the best works others were inspired famous authors- representatives of subsequent popular generations in literature. Golden classics, an eternal series of books, will be a salvation for those who are not seduced by modern literary works, because it was the authors from this list of classics who were genre pioneers long before the postmodern era arrived, and literary world flared up with all the genre diversity that was difficult to even imagine in the conventional 19th century. Nevertheless, all this became possible precisely thanks to the classics, as evidenced by numerous reviews.

Books of world classics: list

As you know, classical works are not just books, but also markers of an era, which are considered exemplary examples of how the best writers saw their literary heritage. Moreover, most often the problem classical works resonates with the worldview of an entire generation, which makes the mass reader love these books with all his soul. This is also the reason that these books are often included in the school curriculum of different countries, because such works help to understand what a whole cross-section of society was thinking and breathing in a specific time frame.

This list shows just a few best samples classical literature. But if you are wondering what to read from the literature included in the golden fund of world culture, then here you will definitely find something for yourself.