Pushkin and Dostoevsky stood at the origins of a peculiar trend in the depiction of space and time: the combination within a work of art of concrete and abstract spaces, their mutual "flow" and interaction. At the same time, a specific place of action is given a symbolic meaning and a high degree of generalization. In this case, the concrete space becomes a universal model.

This is what happens in Dead Souls, when the real troika, on which Chichikov was riding, suddenly turns into an abstract troika, which becomes a symbol of Russia on its way to perfection.

10. Analyze one of the episodes of the poem "Dead Souls" ("Chichikov at Sobakevich", "Chichikov at Plyushkin", "Chichikov at Korobochka")

Chichikov at Korobochka

Chichikov's appearance at Korobochka takes place at night, and Chichikov does not even have time to properly look around. However, Gogol enters with the author's remark and popularly explains what kind of landowner Korobochka was. He immediately characterizes her as tight-fisted and over-thrifty, constantly complaining about everything, but slowly stuffing “colorful bags” with money and keeping old trash “just in case”, which will never present itself due to her extreme caution and, as a result, will pass to someone spiritually. testament. The author deliberately brings together such incompatible words: "spiritual testament" and "old coat", showing his ironic attitude towards this type of people.

In connection with Chichikov's request, Korobochka asked herself the main question - how not to sell too cheap. Interestingly, such an object as a dead person is easily accepted by her as a commodity, and her persistence and doubts about the "unusual enterprise" is mostly a desire to gain more. It combines a mask and a real face. A real person may be surprised to hear about Chichikov's proposal, and the mask will immediately take advantage of this surprise and wrap it up for practical use- as she understands it.

It is characteristic that Korobochka's overthrift and her many fears make her do irrational acts, and if Chichikov had not had time to figure out her character and had not promised her to buy other, ordinary goods for the treasury in the future, she would never have sold her soul.

Any novelty causes unconscious fear in such people.

Chichikov at Sobakevich's

“Sobakevich reacted quite practically to the request of Chichikov. The nature of the "fist" was reflected in the way he led the bargain. At first he asked for an unthinkable price (“one hundred rubles apiece”), then slowly, with great reluctance, he began to slow down, but in such a way that he nevertheless received more than any other from Chichikov (“Two and a half tore off for a dead soul, damn fist !").

However, Sobakevich's attitude to the strange enterprise is not limited to practicality. He is the only landowner who sees specific people behind the names of the dead, who speaks of them with an undisguised feeling of admiration: “Milushkin, bricklayer! could put the stove in any house. Maxim Telyatnikov, shoemaker: what pierces with an awl, then boots, and thanks to boots ... And Eremey Sorokoplyokhin! Yes, this peasant alone will stand for everyone, he traded in Moscow, he brought one quitrent for five hundred rubles. What a people! No reminders by Chichikov that “after all, these are all dead people” cannot bring Sobakevich back to reality: He continues to speak of the dead as if they were alive. At first, you might think that he is trying to confuse the buyer, he is inflating the price of the goods, he is cheating, he is playing. However, Sobakevich enters this game with all his feelings. He is really pleased to remember Milushkin or Telyatnikov (as a kulak master, he appreciates their skill). The line between the real and the illusory is blurred: with his "dead" Sobakevich is ready to beat the "living" - "... which of these people who are now considered living? What are these people? flies, not people.

12. Consider illustrations for Gogol's works. Which of them seem to you especially close to the author's description of the portraits of heroes?

An excellent illustrator of "Dead Souls" was the artist P. Boklevsky.

13. Why was Gogol unable to complete Dead Souls? Give a detailed answer-reasoning.

The poem "Dead Souls" was closely connected with Gogol's religious and moral quest (on this see the answer to the 4th question).

The first time Gogol, in a state of sharp exacerbation of his illness, burned the manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls in the summer of 1845. Gogol admitted that he himself set fire to "five years of work, carried out with such painful tension, where every line was shocked, where there was a lot of what made up my best thoughts and occupied my soul."

Gogol believed that the second volume was not a success, but in order for him to clearly see what this book should be, it is necessary to burn what has already been written so that there is not a single clue and hope to repeat what has already been done:

“As soon as the flames carried away the last pages of my book, its content suddenly rose again in a purified and bright form, like a phoenix from a fire.”

This was followed by another five years of hard work. And on the first day of 1852, Gogol informs his friends that the second volume is "completely finished."

But in the last days of January, menacing symptoms began to appear in Gogol's moral disposition and health. The death of his longtime good friend E. M. Khomyakova made a depressing impression on him, and Gogol was seized by the fear of death.

Soon Archpriest Matvey Konstantinovsky arrived in Moscow, who had a great influence on Gogol and persuaded him to strictly and rigorously fulfill the gospel covenants (as he understood them). Matvey Konstantinovsky inspired Gogol with the idea of ​​destroying some of the chapters of the poem, allegedly due to their inaccuracy (the archpriest especially did not like the chapters where he himself was taken out) and believed that the poem could have a harmful effect on readers. Gogol might have considered that the second volume remained unconvincing. That he did not cope with the main task of his life.

Gogol's condition deteriorated sharply: he has incomprehensible stomach pains, weakness, apathy, and a complete disgust for food.

On February 7, Gogol confesses and takes communion, burns the manuscript on the night of February 11-12, and dies on the morning of February 21.

Essay plan
1. Introduction. Author's intention.
2. The main part. The plot-compositional structure of the poem.
— Two-part composition. Exposition, plot and development of the action in the first part of the poem.
— Chapters describing the landowners and their location.
- "Sideways" and their role in the plot.
— The second part of the poem. Action development, climax, denouement.
- Compositional inserts and lyrical digressions.
— artistic time and artistic space in the poem.
3. Conclusion. Artistic originality of Gogol's plot.

The plot of the poem by N.V. Gogol was presented to A.S. Pushkin. And the writer found it suitable for his work. “After The Inspector General, I felt, more than ever before, the need for a complete essay, where there would be more than one thing that should be laughed at. found that the plot dead souls“It’s good for me because it gives me complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out a lot of the most diverse characters,” wrote N.V. Gogol. And he brilliantly realized his plan.
Let's try to consider the plot-compositional structure of the poem. First of all, we note that the work is divided into two parts. The first part includes the exposition (description of the provincial town), the plot (Chichkov's arrival), the development of the action (the hero's visit to officials and landlords).
All chapters (2–6) describing Chichikov's visits to the landowners are built according to the same compositional scheme. They include landscape, village description, interior, detailed portrait hero, dialogue with Chichikov. The order in which the images of the landowners appear in the poem also has a special meaning. Researchers believe that here Gogol implements the principle of "decreasing guilt" of the character. The first to appear in this gallery is Manilov, whose figure is the most lifeless, reminding readers of a frozen statue. Korobochka, Nozdrev and Sobakevich - each of them, in a certain sense, is already “close to life”. Plyushkin is the last to appear on the scene. This is the only character, except for Chichikov, whose backstory is revealed to us by the author. But why does Gogol single out this hero? The fact is that "Dead Souls" was conceived by the writer as a great epic, a poem similar to " Divine Comedy» Dante. The first volume was supposed (according to the author) to correspond to "Hell", the second - to "Purgatory", the third - to "Paradise". Gogol planned to tell about the gradual ascent of heroes from lower forms of life to higher ones. Chichikov was considered by him as a hero capable of finding the truth. And along with him, the author planned to make the hero of the third volume and Plyushkin as a character capable of moral revival. That is why Gogol opens to readers life story this hero.
The researchers noted that the first part of the poem is less dynamic. At first glance, all the movement here is Chichikov's trips, his visits to officials and landowners. However, in this part, the “internal movement” is very noticeable, gradually preparing the denouement of the poem. And in this regard, the order in which the hero visits the landlords has another meaning - an increase in the threat to Chichikov's enterprise. The so-called "side passages" in the plot of the poem are connected with this. As A. Bely notes, “the three horses racing Chichikov across Russia are Chichikov's entrepreneurial abilities; one of them - no luck where you need it, why the move of the troika - a side move that raises nonsense ("everything went like a crooked wheel")<…>Chichikov rides sideways: the details of the lateral triple run are an extra detail of the emblem of the crooked path: “You will pass ... so you go to the right”, “I couldn’t remember if I passed two or three turns”; “turned… onto a cross road… thinking little… where the road would lead…”; "turned off the road and dragged along the chosen field ...". Connect the side entrances of the troika with the side passage of Chichikov and road failures (he got in the wrong place), and you will be surprised at the integrity of the reception: he went to Zamanilovka, ended up in Manilovka; went to Sobakevich, got to Korobochka, from Korobochka - again he didn’t get to Sobakevich, but to the tavern and to Nozdryov; from Nozdrev, he got into a fight with the crew of the governor's daughter, because of which a scandal arose later ... ". And the threats to Chichikov really increase as the action develops. So, Manilov simply does not understand the essence of Pavel Ivanovich's proposal, but even he asks: "Will this negotiation be inconsistent with civil decrees and further types of Russia?" Near Korobochka's house, Chichikov falls into the mud. This scene is deeply symbolic. As A. Bely notes, “thunder, swimming in the mud, hitting the fence, a puddle and the light illuminating it - all for a reason; in Korobochka's house and the second bottom of the cherished chest is discovered. Here the hero not only meets a certain resistance in the form of misunderstanding - he himself gives the landowner a paper - "to sue". Trouble awaits Chichikov in Nozdrev's house as well. Pavel Ivanovich not only fails to make a deal, but he is almost beaten. Finally, Sobakevich immediately understood the essence of his proposal and even threatened Chichikov in a certain sense: “Do you need dead souls? .. You know ... this kind of purchase ... is not always permissible, and tell me, or anyone else, - such a person will not have any power of attorney." The last landowner, Plyushkin, does not at all want to accept Chichikov. Then they still manage to agree: Chichikov has to part with the money.
In the second part of "Dead Souls" the action develops rapidly and energetically, many events take place. The second part of the poem includes the development of the action (the signing of the bill of sale, the ball, Chichikov's infatuation with the governor's daughter), the extended culmination (Nozdrev's scandalous trick at the ball, his arrival in the city of Korobochki, the spread of rumors about Chichikov). In the second part, Gogol gives us the background of the hero (a belated exposition of the image). Sometimes researchers consider this belated exposition to be Gogol's parody of romantic plots. The second part of the poem in a certain sense repeats the scheme of the first. Through the narratives of Korobochka, Manilov, Sobakevich, Plyushkin, Nozdrev, all Chichikov's visits to them are repeated again. The visit of officials is also repeated, but with a much less successful outcome. And this repetition frames the central action of the poem. This is how urban scenes begin and end. However, the compositional ring is created by the protagonist of the poem himself. Gogol's Chichikov arrives in the city of N from nowhere and leaves for nowhere, for infinity. The circle is thus closed.
The poem contains compositional inserts. This is "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin", a parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich, a letter from a stranger addressed to Chichikov. Also, the narrative is full of lyrical digressions, the author's thoughts about Russia, about the Russian people, about life, about the types of writers, about the diversity of human characters, about the Russian language.
We also note the special principle of combining artistic time and artistic space in the poem. "Dead Souls" reminds us painting, the main background of which is the atmosphere of a provincial city, where everything is static, dead. In the background are the estates of the landowners. Life here also seems to freeze. In the foreground, the figure of Chichikov looms. And he already introduces a certain dynamism and energy into the narrative, determining external events and provoking internal movement in the poem.
Thus, in the plot of Gogol, the factor of surprise and obscurity plays an important role. Almost until the end of the first volume, the outcome of the intrigue is not clear to readers. The motives of the hero's scam are not entirely clear. However, in last chapter the author seems to bring us closer to unraveling both the intentions and the character of Chichikov. The history of the case, therefore, turns into a history of character. This is the originality of Gogol's plot.

Topic: Dead Souls

Questions and answers to N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" (No. 1)

ATTENTION! This text has several options. Links are after the text

1. Why do you think A. S. Pushkin, after listening to the first chapters of Dead Souls (Gogol himself read these chapters to him), exclaimed: “God, how sad our Russia is”?
2. How can you explain the title of the poem?
3. What features unite the characters depicted by N.V. Gogol?

They are united by the absence of lofty motives, indifference to the fate of the motherland and people, greed, narrowness of interests, gross egoism, dulling of all human feelings, mental squalor and limitation.

These vices are typical: they are inherent in both landowners and city officials, although they manifest themselves in different forms. Covetousness, bribery, the desire not to serve, but to serve, envy, intriguing each other, gossip, slander - these are character traits bureaucratic apparatus. Both the landlords, and the officials, and the “purchaser” Chichikov are dead souls who own and dispose of living souls.

4. What is more important: common features of landlords and officials or their individual differences? Why do you think so?
5. Is the similarity between the city officials depicted by Gogol in "Dead Souls" and the characters of "The Government Inspector" accidental?
6. How did Chichikov prepare for his career in life? What did his father say to him?

How does this instruction differ from Father Molchalin's "testament"? From childhood, Chichikov showed the abilities of a dishonest "business" person: he knew how to make a favorable impression, please those on whom he depended, turn out a good deal, and having achieved his own, betray, turn away from the person he had deceived (recall his school speculations, attitude towards the teacher; then " way up" in the office). For the rest of his life, he remembered his father's advice, above all else in the world, to save a penny that "never betrays." Father's order to Chichikov is very reminiscent of Father Molchalin's "testament": both taught their sons to adapt to life using dishonorable means, but time made its own amendments to parental instructions: if Molchalin Sr. put the connections and favor of the right people above all else, then Chichikov's father during the period capitalization of Russia believed that the surest means to succeed in life is money.

7. How is the gallery of freak landowners built? What is the sequence of the story about each of them? In fact, the chapters devoted to the landowners are built according to one plan. Do you consider this an advantage or a disadvantage of the work? Why?
8. What role does The Tale of Captain Kopeikin play in Dead Souls? Why was she banned by censorship?
9. How is the theme of the people revealed in the poem? In your opinion, would Gogol agree with Nekrasov's words:
More Russian people Limits are not set. Before him is a wide path?
10. Name the main themes digressions in Dead Souls. What is their role in disclosure ideological content works?

Lyrical digressions push the boundaries of the narrative. They reveal the image of the author - a patriot who believes in the great future of his homeland, in its people. In lyrical digressions, subtle observation, wit, civil courage of the writer are manifested. Their themes are very diverse: about thick and thin (ch. I), about the weakness of the Russian person (ch. II), about the hidden meaning of the image of Chichikov (ch. XI), about the author's attitude to life in youth, adulthood and old age (ch. . VI), on the attitude of readers towards the novelist and satirist writer (chap. VII).

A special place in the disclosure of the ideological content of the poem is occupied by the author's reflections on the fate of the runaway peasants Plyushkin and Rus-Troika, which affirm the writer's faith in the future of Russia.

11. What elements of the composition of the poem can you name after reading the first chapter?

Already in the first chapter we find two elements of composition - exposition and plot. The exposition presents a description of the city, acquaintance with the provincial officials, some of the surrounding landowners, of course, the reader's acquaintance with Chichikov himself. Chichikov's acquaintance with the landowners and his agreement to pay them visits is already the beginning of plot action.

12. What helped you find the line between exposure and setting?

In practice, there is no boundary between exposition and plot. Both of these compositional elements are closely merged with each other. As happens in many literary works, when the same episodes introduce the reader into the situation of the future action and at the same time outline its starting points.

13. One of the researchers of Gogol's work claims that the writer's details are "soldered into the plot." As an example, the wheel is given, which the men talk about at the very beginning. It would seem, a trifle. You immediately forget about it. But the wheel brings Chichikov on the road. The researcher claims that at the second appearance of the wheel, one can talk about the wheel of Fortune known from mythology. Is he right?

Rights researcher. "Dead Souls" is a kind of transformation of a picaresque adventure novel, the dynamics of the development of the plot in which was built on the idea of ​​the vicissitudes of Fortune (fate). The Wheel of Fortune has let Chichikov down more than once in his undertakings, both before and after his main adventure with the "negotions" of dead souls.

14. Name the landlords who gave Chichikov the opportunity to carry out his "negotion". Tell us about the one that interests you the most. Gogol himself will help you. Use the plan according to which the writer created these images: a description of the estate and house, a portrait, a dialogue about selling dead shower, parting with the hero.

Chichikov was given the opportunity to carry out his “negotiation” by Manilov, Korobochka, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. It is difficult to say who can interest me most of all - all the landlords are bright, colorful, as artistic images, and meaningful stories can be made about all of them. Let's take, for example, the Box, to which Chichikov lands by chance. It is interesting that she is the only woman landowner. There is an opinion, spread by some researchers, that the development of agriculture on estates was delayed because many of them were in the hands of women, usually widows or unmarried daughters. Basically, ladies who did not have education and experience either entrusted management to hired persons or clerks, or, with their inept actions, led the estate to ruin. The poorly educated Korobochka ran the household herself and quite successfully. In her district, she could not be called a small estate, because she owned eighty male souls.

Arriving at night, Chichikov was able to notice that "already one barking dog ... it could be assumed that the village was decent." The furnishings of the room were old-fashioned: the walls were hung with paintings of some kind of birds, old little mirrors with dark frames in the form of curled leaves between the wallpaper. Behind every mirror was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking. There was a wall clock with painted flowers on the dial. The bed, which the maid prepared for Chichikov, with a fluffed up feather bed, was also distinguished by its solidity and ancient taste. She was so tall that he had to stand on a chair to climb on her, and then she sank under him almost to the floor. In the morning he noticed that not only paintings with birds, but also a portrait of Kutuzov hung on the wall. From the window, the guest saw something that looked like a chicken coop with huge amount birds and every domestic creature, "a pig with a family found himself right there." Behind him stretched spacious vegetable gardens with cabbage, onions, potatoes and other household vegetables. In the garden there were apple trees and other fruit trees, covered with nets from sparrows and magpies. “For the same reason, several chu-chels were built on long poles with outstretched arms; one of them was wearing a cap of the hostess herself. Behind the gardens were peasant huts, which showed the contentment of the inhabitants, “because they were properly maintained: the worn-out board on the roofs was everywhere replaced by a new one; the gates did not squint anywhere, ”in the sheds there were new carts, or even two.

Korobochka herself had typical view the mother landowner, who keeps her head somewhat to one side, constantly complains about the crop failure, but puts the money in mottled bags - one whole, another fifty dollars, the third quarters - and puts them in the drawers of the chest of drawers.

In the dialogue about the sale of dead souls, Ko-robochka is depicted sharply satirically: on the one hand, Gogol emphasizes her religiosity, fear of evil spirits, on the other hand, her economic and commercial intelligence, reaching extreme stupidity. Like Sobakevich, she kindly remembers the dead peasant workers. And even the persuasion that Chichikov releases Nastasya Petrovna from paying dues for revision souls (the losses from this greatly upset her) do not convince her that these souls are worth nothing and do not have any material benefit.

In the dialogue, the Box shows itself a good connoisseur prices for natural products - honey, hemp, etc., and persistently offers them instead of dead souls, the prices of which are unknown to her.

The comic effect is created by situations substituted by Chichikov that cause the mystical fear of Korobochka, for example, by the suggestion to use the dead instead of scarecrows in the garden and the wish to see the devil (“The power of the godmother is with us! What passions you speak!” - said the old woman, crossing herself " , "The devil landowner was unusually frightened"). She gives in, frightened by Chichikov's "zabranki" and hoping that he will become her buyer in the future ("do not forget about contracts"). Chichikov agreed to everything, just to get rid of her now. Korobochka's stubbornness is psychologically exhausting Pavel Ivanovich. With all his ability to behave, adapting to the interlocutor, as discussed in this chapter, he has to thoroughly “sweat” in order to conclude an agreement on “negotiation” with her.

Korobochka's speech is interesting. It combines folk expressions, which speaks of her constant communication with serfs (boar, tea, oiler, take a sip of tea, appeals father, my father, etc.) and expressions from the Holy Scriptures.

When parting with the owner of the estate, Gogol, through the mouth of Chichikov, usually gives a final description, aphoristically and aptly expressed. The box is called clubhead. However, Gogol expands this generalization and thus typifies her image. “Is there really a great abyss separating her from her sister, inaccessibly fenced by the walls of an aristocratic house with fragrant cast-iron stairs, shining copper, mahogany and carpets, yawning over an unfinished book in anticipation of a witty-smart social visit, where she will have a field to show off her mind and express vindicated thoughts that, according to the laws of fashion, occupy the city for a whole week, thoughts not about what is happening in her house and on her estates, confused and upset due to ignorance of economic affairs, but about about what kind of political upheaval is being prepared in France, what direction fashionable Catholicism has taken. Gogol, as if reassuring his hero and urging him not to be angry with Korobochka, remarks along the way: “a different and respectable, and even statesman man, but in reality the perfect Korobochka comes out.”

15. Choose a chapter about one of the landowners and explain the role landscape descriptions play in it.

The landscape descriptions in the chapters on the landlords testify to the condition of the estate, as well as to the character and habits of the owner. In answer to the previous question, we talked about Korobochka's style of managing Korobochka - unpretentious, not following fashion, but solid and strong for an estate with an average number of souls, which brings a certain income thanks to the practical ingenuity of the hostess. The landscape on the Manilov estate has a romantic character: a two-story stone house in the south, the slope of the mountain was dressed with trimmed turf, two or three flower beds scattered in English with lilac bushes and yellow acacias, five or six birches, a gazebo with a characteristic the inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection", a pond covered with greenery, "which ... is not a wonder in the English gardens of Russian landowners." Downstairs there were about two hundred log huts, which, for some reason as yet unknown to us, Chichikov began to count. This landscape corresponds to the dreamy mood of Manilov and his wife, and also indicates that they were not engaged in farming.

Gogol's poem is written in a very bright, rich variety of artistic techniques language. Find epithets in one of the chapters (of your choice) and try to characterize them. They can be close to folklore, they can be metaphorical, they can be hyperbolic.

For example, the epithet non-existent replaces the dead. Manilov, trying to express himself as nobly as possible, when Chichikov offered to set a price for him, refused to take the money, citing the fact that they, in some way, had ended their existence. This extended epithet produces a comic impression. A detailed epithet for the word "negotion" also sounds comical and even grotesque - it does not correspond to civil regulations and further types of Russia. Manilov asks so vivatoly, softeningly defining what is a gamble. But the “education” and the “most pleasant” impression that the guest makes make him believe that the design of further views of Russia shopping dead a shower won't hurt. The word "sacred" sounds blasphemous as an epithet to the word "duty" in the mouth of Chichikov in the context of his machinations.

16. Remember two comparisons in the poem: a man was importunate like a fly, and people died like flies. Remember what these comparisons were connected with. What is the difference between their content, the nature of the use of comparison?

The image of a fly as a comparison is repeatedly used in Dead Souls. So, in the first chapter, the writer compares officials in black tailcoats with heaps of flies rushing around the refined sugar during the hot July summer. Thinking about Chichikov's adaptability to the characters of his interlocutors, Gogol draws a portrait of an official, the ruler of the office, who among his subordinates sits importantly like Prometheus, and behaves like a fly in front of his superiors. Comparison of Prometheus and a fly speaks of adaptation as a quality of Russian bureaucracy. If in the first two cases the comparison is comic in nature, then the expression “people are dying like flies”, which characterizes the state of affairs on the Plyushkin estate, already emphasizes the tragic situation of the Russian serf peasantry, which is completely dependent on “dead souls” landlords and officials who govern Russia.

17. Remember the examples of hyperbolas that you remember while reading. Could you distinguish the hyperbolas in Gogol's works from the hyperbolas in the works of other writers? What could help you with this?

Each writer has his own way of using figurative and expressive means, including hyperbole. The chapter on Plyushkin, for example, is built on hyperbole. A hyperbolic image of a heap located in a landowner's house and collected from rubbish picked up on the road. Hyperbolically comical is the appearance of the old man, whom Chichikov takes either for the housekeeper, or for the housekeeper. Here, hyperbole merges with the grotesque in the aspect of combining the ugly with the funny and gives the description an element of the tragic.

Hyperbolas were often used by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. We are familiar with his stories. In them, hyperbole acquires a fantastic connotation. The generals, who find themselves on a desert island, are so unadapted to life that they do not know how bread is made, they think that rolls grow on trees. Fantastic is the hyperbolic obedience of the peasant, who, being free, allows himself to be exploited and even tied with a rope so that he does not run away.

18. Try to create a dictionary of the most typical words and expressions of Nozdrev or Manilov, Sobakevich or Korobochka. What, besides the words characteristic of each of them, could be placed in it?

Manilov's dictionary may include words characteristic of him, giving "sugarness" and cloying to his behavior, such as do me a favor, I beg you most humbly, let you not allow this, darling, most kind, courteous and pleasant person, worthy, spiritual pleasure, name day of the heart, the case brought happiness, kind (appeal to the clerk), etc. Manilov often repeats the word education, a brilliant education, which he appreciates in an interlocutor or in the people of whom he speaks, clearly exaggerating his level due to the feeling of his own lack of education. None of the other characters in the poem talk about education and education. So the neutral word used by Manilov somewhat deepens the characterization of his image.

19. The poem "Dead Souls" is a lyrical epic work. This is its shortest definition. Until now, you have read and listened to poems that were written in verse, their lyrical epic character was obvious to you and, probably, did not cause doubts. However, the lyrical and epic beginnings merge in many prose works. You share the elements of the epic and the lyrical in Gogol's poem.

Chichikov's arrival in the provincial town, the plot connected with visiting the landowners in order to buy "dead souls", the exposure of the hero, the background of the hero are the epic elements of the work. Author's digressions and Chichikov's reasoning about the peasants, “Oh, the Russian people! He doesn’t like to die a natural death!”, About “two travelers and two writers, youth and old age”, about “Rus-troika” and others, of which there are many in Dead Souls, give the work a lyrical beginning.

V. G. Belinsky called such reflections of the writer "humane subjectivity."

20. Compare the lyrical digressions of Pushkin's novel and Gogol's poem. What brings them together and what makes them different?

It brings together a patriotic feeling: love for the country, reflections on its future and present, although the themes of lyrical digressions of both Pushkin and Gogol are different. At the same time, Gogol's digressions, in comparison with Pushkin's, bring civic pathos, although, like Pushkin's, there are reflections-memories of youth in the poem. In "Eugene Onegin" there are also lyrical passages about art, customs secular life etc.

21. In lyrical digressions, the Author himself tells about his views, thoughts and feelings. In this case, is it possible to consider that there are two main characters in Dead Souls: the Author and Chichikov? Try to justify your answer.

The protagonist of the poem "Dead Souls" is Chichikov. The epic aspects of the work, the development of the plot line are associated with it. At the same time, some literary critics refer to the heroes and Avto-ra. There are reasons for this, because he actively expresses his position in monologues, which are lyrical digressions and reflections. AT lyrical work the image of the Author can merge with the image of the lyrical hero.

22. Bulgakov in the list of characters (billboard) indicated the following heroes: The first in the play; Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich; Secretary of the Board of Trustees; Sex in a tavern; Governor; Governor; Governor's daughter Chairman Ivan Grigoryevich; Postmaster Ivan Andreevich; Prosecutor Antipator Zakharyevich; Gendarme Colonel Ilya Ilyich; Anna Grigorievna; Sofia Ivanovna; McDonald Karlovich; Sysoi Pafnutevich; Parsley; Selifan; Plyushkin, landowner; Sobakevich Mikhail Semenovich, landowner; Manilov, landowner; Nozdrev, landowner; Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna, landowner... How do you explain the order in which these characters appear in the list of characters?

In the first place comes the First as a commentator, fastening the action of the play. This is followed by Chichikov, the main character of the play, and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, whose role is very significant, since he unwittingly gave the idea for Chichikov's adventure, and therefore, suggested Gogol the plot of the poem, and Bulgakov - the plot of the play . Then the heroes are divided into city officials, their wives, inhabitants of the city. They make up in the poster special group as the face of life Russian province. At the same time, it is interesting to note that some characters in the Gogol poem, which are only mentioned in the text, receive their voice and some function in the play, for example, Macdonald Karlovich and Sysoy Pafnutevich, reminiscent of the famous Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky. Another significant group of characters, following the group of city dwellers, are the landowners with whom Chichikov conspired to buy and sell dead souls. It was the city group, embodying the administrative system of Russia, that created the conditions for the implementation of Chichikov's adventure.

23. There are 32 characters in total in the comedy. Which of them (look again at the poster) came from the pages of Gogol's poem and whom did Bulgakov introduce additionally?

Additionally introduced the First in the spectacle. From the poem by N.V. Gogol, Chichikov, landowners, officials, servants came to the play. A number of secondary characters, whose presence is only mentioned in the poem, are included in the poster and named with specific names, which is explained by the laws of the staging process. prose work and trans-creating it into a play. So, the governor's daughter, and Sysoy Pafnutevich, and Makdonald Karlovich, about whom Gogol says that they "have never been heard of" get their roles.

24. What chapters of Gogol's poem are used to create the "Prologue"? What role does the "Prologue" play in the composition of the comedy?

To create the text of the Prologue, an episode from Chapter XI (Chichikov's conversation with the secretary and giving a bribe) was used. The compositional role of this dialogue is very important: Bulgakov takes out in the Prologue the birth of Chichikov's plan to get rich by acquiring the souls of dead peasants that exist only on paper. Such a beginning allows the screenwriter to dynamically build the plot of the play, based on the implementation of this plan. For Gogol, it is important to gradually reveal the biography and the formation of the personality of his hero, therefore, the episode of the emergence of a criminal plan is given in the context of Chichikov's background, which was included in the composition of the poem after the end of the adventure. Thus, the "Prologue" in Bulgakov's play can be considered an exposition.

25. Compare the first act of Bulgakov's comedy with the text of Gogol's poem. What chapters are used in it?

The first act is composed of the following chapters. First, staged short description Chichikov's first visit to the governor (Chapter I), from where the viewer learns about the latter's addiction to embroidering on tulle, about "velvet" roads and about the invitation "to come to him on the same day to a house party." From the same chapter, the play included Chichikov's introduction to the governor's wife, acquaintance with the landowners and officials. Some biographical information that could be reported to the governor passed into the first act of Bulgakov's play from the eleventh chapter of the poem with emotional exaggerations about his honesty before the law and people (chapters about meetings with landowners). The presentation of the governor's daughter, which takes place in the first act of the play, took place in Gogol's XVIII chapter. The first act also includes visits to the landowners and scenes of trade. dead souls(Mani-lov, Sobakevich). The monologue of the First gives an idea of ​​Gogol's lyrical digressions, his reflections on his homeland. His final remarks about the landlords transfer the author's characteristics into the play.

The sequence of Chichikov's visits to the landlords in Bulgakov's play is broken in comparison with Gogol's text. First, the planned meetings are shown, which brings them closer to the first acquaintances at the governor's party.

Prepare a report about one of the landowners using the text of the comedy. Mark the similarities and differences with the characters of Gogol's poem.

Everyone will choose a character for their message individually. The differences in the depiction of landowners in the play and the poem are explained by the peculiarities of the dramatic work that Bulgakov created on the basis of Gogol's prose text. The characterization of the character will be compiled by you on the basis of his dialogues with Chichikov, remarks and some comments of the First. The poem contains quite a lot of author's descriptions of both the landowner himself and the environment in which he is depicted.

26. Prepare a message about Chichikov as the main character of the comedy. Try at least in the most in general terms to indicate what the hero of the comedy has lost and gained in comparison with the hero of the poem.

When preparing this message, one should also rely on knowledge of the specifics of a dramatic work. Chichikov's backstory is not given in its entirety, as in Gogol's, but it turned out to be scattered in the lines of the First and in the scene with the secretary of the board of trustees. A description of the appearance of the hero falls out, the details of his life. And this, of course, impoverishes the idea of ​​Chichikov, but in the eyes of the viewer it enhances the play's amusement, its comedic character, as well as the comedic image of the protagonist.

27. What is the role of the First in the play? Why, in your opinion, did Bulgakov introduce this character into comedy?

The role of the First is commentary. Bulgakov was going to make him the host of the play. In a letter to V. I. Nemirovich-chu-Danchenko, the playwright expressed the idea that “the play will become more significant ... if the Reader, having opened the play, leads it in a direct and lively movement along with the rest of the characters, that is, he takes part not only in reading, but also in action. This idea did not find support from the director, and as the premiere was being prepared, the role of the First was reduced and was relegated to the background.

So, according to Bulgakov’s plan, in the finale of the comedy, when Chichikov, robbed completely by a gendarmerie colonel and police chief, again drove around Russia, the First tries to awaken the sympathetic attitude of the audience to themselves, to the usual fate in our country, persecuted by contemporaries of the poet .

28. What favorite techniques of the satirist writer were fully preserved when the poem was staged? What did Bulgakov add from his own arsenal as a playwright?

Bulgakov carefully treats Gogol's text and retains in the play the techniques of a satirist writer, for example, the contrast between Korobochka's religiosity, her constant fear of mystical forces, and her stubborn fear of not losing when selling dead souls. She does not understand that she is committing a blasphemous act, which demonstrates her stupidity. However, she (and this is funny) is characterized by a romantic fantasy. She says that Chichikov broke into her house and forced her to sell the dead. Strengthening the gro-tesque in the image of Korobochka is facilitated by the introduced scene of her interrogation at the chairman.

Bulgakov added a new ending to the plot, a completely unexpected denouement. Real meaning is given to the phantasmagoric event. A new governor-general is appointed to the city. Chichikov is arrested. Threatening him with Siberia, the lieutenant-master and the gendarmerie colonel in the “arrest room” rip him off like sticky, take from him a bribe of thirty thousand (“Here it’s all together - both ours, and the colonel, and the governor-general”) and let him go. The satirical force in exposing Chichikov and the provincial rulers dramatically increases, as they say, by a factor of two. The viewer is convinced that if such an adventurer and swindler as Chichikov is robbed to the skin in the city of N., then both Sobakevich and Chichikov are right when they say about the city rulers "a swindler sits on a swindler and drives a swindler."

29. How are the lyrical digressions of the poem used in comedy?

The lyrical digressions of the poem, of course, are significantly reduced and included in the speeches of the First, as well as in some statements of the hero himself. These are digressions about the road, about youth and old age, which sound both before and after Chichikov's visit to Plyushkin's estate. The story of Captain Kopeikin is interestingly presented in the comedy. It is told by the postmaster, who fails to convey those we-tarstvos that Kopeikin experienced in his troubles. And suddenly the real Kopeikin appears, who turned out to be a courier officer and brought a dispatch about the appointment of a new governor-general. The prosecutor dies.

30. How are landscapes, interiors, and portraits from Gogol's text used in the comedy?

In the remarks, in the dialogue between Manilov and Chichikov, in which chairs the dear guest should sit. The portraits of the heroes and the interior appear in the comments of the First, especially before the dialogues in the estates of Plyushkin and Sobakevich. Interesting remarks sound in the remarks about the changes in Plyushkin's face when he recalls the years of study together with the chairman of the chamber. First: "The evening dawn is spreading and the beam falls on Plyushkin's face" - there was some kind of bright glimpse of the human. And the remark of the First: “Oh, the pale reflection of feeling. But the miser's face, following the moment that feelings slipped on it, became even more insensitive and vulgar.

31. Prepare a reading in the faces of one of the comedy episodes. Participants can give their comments on the pictured episode after the performance.

The scene of the acquisition of dead souls from Manilov is expressively read. The conversation is carried on in a beautiful manner. Everyone wants to be liked. Chichikov speaks insinuatingly, Manilov is trying hard to insert learned words into his speech, for example, "negotiation" instead of "deal", "purchase".

32. Make a short dictionary of the language of one of the comedy characters. You can also create dictionaries of two heroes, then to compare them. If you worked on the creation of such dictionaries while studying Gogol's poem, then compare them.

Dictionary of Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich: fool, robbers, dog, pig, affectionate face, robber, Gog and Magog, swindler, Christ-sellers, steamed turnip (reviews about people); haggle, stingy, real price, earnest money, etc. Material from the site

33. Describe the remarks in one of the comedy acts.

Act two. Remarks to paintings fifth, sixth and seventh briefly depict the setting in front of the houses of Plyushkin, Nozdrev, Korobochka, the setting corresponding to the characters and mood of the owners of the house. Rundown, rotten, full of rubbish are epithets that characterize the state of Plyushkin's house and estate. In Nozdrev's house, the interior indicates the owner's riotous nature - a saber on the wall, two guns and a portrait of Suvorov. A candle, a lamp, a samovar, stormy twilight - the situation in which Chichikov finds himself at Korobochka.

34. Theater lovers can prepare a story about the fate of the comedy "Dead Souls" on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater.

The history of staging "Dead Souls" on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater was complex and brought Mikhail Afanasyevich a lot of mental suffering. When he is after phone call Stalin entered the theater, he was offered to stage "Dead Souls" and take part in the production of the play. By that time, 160 options for staging had already been proposed. None of them satisfied Bulgakov, and he declared that "Dead Souls" could not be staged, a new dramatic work had to be created. They agreed with him and instructed to carry out this work. In May 1930, he makes the first sketches. He had a plan to show Gogol himself, dictating a poem in Rome. However, this idea was immediately rejected. On October 31, the first reading of the dramatization took place in the presence of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. The famous director generally approved of the comedy, but Bulgakov failed to introduce into the performance the image of an equal character, somewhat reminiscent of the author. He was considered a reasoner, a commentator, interfering with the development of the action. Bulgakov insisted. It seemed to him that the First would play a positive role, especially in the scene with Plushkin, and even wanted to put him into action. An attempt was made to implement this idea, but Kachalov, who was entrusted with the role of the First, could not cope with it. I had to take her out of the show. In addition, the director Sakhnovsky oriented the actors towards the grotesque-tragic Gogol, towards a symbolic solution of the theme in the spirit of Vs. Meyerhold, yes, which did not suit Bulgakov. From February 1931, K. S. Stanislavsky joined the work on the performance, and the performance began to acquire realistic features. However, Stanislavsky also refused the role of the First. In the process of long, exhausting rehearsals, the idea of ​​the staging changed: Stanislavsky had his own vision of Dead Souls, and he staged them differently than Bulgakov would have liked.

In a letter to P. S. Popov, he describes creative process work on "Dead Souls": "And I smashed the whole poem to stone. Literally to shreds. In the Prologue, the action takes place in a tavern in St. Petersburg or Moscow, where the Secretary of the Board of Trustees accidentally gave Chichikov the idea to buy and pawn the dead (look at Vol. I, Ch. XI). Chichikov went to buy, and not at all in the same order as in the poem. In the tenth scene, called “cameral” in the rehearsal sheets, there is an interrogation of Selifan, Petrushka, Korobochka and Nozdryov, a story about Captain Kopeikin, why the prosecutor dies. Chichikov is arrested, imprisoned and released (police chief and gendarmerie colonel), robbed clean. He is leaving".

Vladimir Ivanovich was furious. There was a great battle, but nevertheless, in this form, the play went into work, which lasted about two years.

Bulgakov agreed with many decisions of Stanislavsky and even admired them, about which he wrote to Konstantin Sergeevich. So, he was fascinated by the judgment about Manilov: “You can’t say anything to him, ask about anything - right now it’s stuck-no.”

In the process of Stanislavsky's work on the play, the stage action grew. The role of the First dropped out, some were cut, other scenes were changed. A theatrical version of comedy arose. The premiere took place on November 28, 1932. It was attended by such famous actors, like Toporkov, Moskvin, Tarkhanov, Leonidov, Kedrov. He withstood hundreds of performances, became a classic of Russian dramatic art.

As a modern researcher of the life and work of M. A. Bulgakov V. V. Petelin writes, “Bulgakov created an independent work, bright, scenic, many actors enthusiastically gave themselves to the game, because, as they said, the roles were "playable", there were indie-vidual scenes, there were massive ones, where dozens of actors and actresses were employed ... So the theater celebrated its success. And at the same time, in the play, “everything is from Gogol, not a single word of someone else,” Bulgakov himself claimed more than once, and the researchers only confirmed the truth of his words.

35. Carefully read the fragments from Gogol's "Dead Souls". Decide what is in front of you: comparisons or metaphors, and try to prove your case: “The noise from the feathers was great and looked like several carts with brushwood were passing through a forest littered with a quarter of an arshin with withered leaves”; "Chichikov saw in his hands a decanter, which was covered in dust, as if in a fu-fake." V. Kataev claims that these are metaphors. Is he right?

The question is complicated, since, nevertheless, an undifferentiated comparison can be considered a metaphor, in which both terms are easily seen. Here they are connected by conjunctions “as if”, “as”, which is typical for comparisons. They can be considered metaphorical comparisons due to the fact that Gogol gave the compared images extraordinary expressiveness and visibility.

36. For what reason or combination of reasons did Gogol call "Dead Souls" a poem? Why did he sometimes call the same "Dead Souls" a novel in his letters?

"Dead Souls" is called a poem thanks to the strong lyrical element inherent in this work, which accompanies the plot action: insert reasoning and lyrical digressions. There are many sad and at the same time dreamily lyrical thoughts about the future of Russia, about its talented people, worthy of a different fate and suffering from stupid and mediocre landowners and officials who control its fate. At the same time, the variety of problems posed in Dead Souls, the wide coverage of Russian reality, expressed in the creation bright pictures urban and local life, allows us to consider this work a novel.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Use the search

On this page, material on the topics:

• Describe the role of the lyrical beginning in poem of the dead souls, what are the forms of the author's presence in the poem, how are the image of the author of the narrator and the image of Russia related
• What features unite landowners and Chichikov
• answers from the dead souls test reasons for Chichikov's visit to Manilov Sabanevich
• lesson questions to 1 head of the dead shower
• Questions about Bulgakov's Dead Souls

ESSAY

The role of the episode in the poem by N.V. Gogol
"Dead Souls"
"Chichikov at Nozdryov"

History of creation :

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol worked on the poem "Dead Souls" abroad. The first volume was published in 1841. The writer planned to write a poem in three parts. His task in this work was to show Rossi from the negative side, as he himself said - “from one side”.

This poem shows a separate landowner Chichikov, Russian society, Russian people, economy (landlords' economy).

The title "Dead Souls" has a double meaning, I think. On the one hand, N.V. Gogol included in the name the souls of the dead peasants, about whom so much is said in the poem. On the other hand, these are the "Dead Souls" of the landowners. The writer showed here all the callousness, the emptiness of the soul, the emptiness of life, all the ignorance of the landowners.

The story about Captain Kopeikin shows the attitude of officials towards common people, the fact that the state does not respect people who gave their health, and in many cases their lives for it; that the state for which they fought in the war of 1812 does not fulfill its promises, does not care about these people.

There are many episodes in this poem. They, I think, can be divided even into groups. One group is the episodes of Chichikov's visits to the landowners. I think this group is the most important in the poem. I want to describe, perhaps even comment on, one episode from this group - this is the episode when Chichikov visits the landowner Nozdryov. The action took place in the fourth chapter.

Chichikov, after visiting Korobochka, stopped by the tavern for lunch and to give the horses a rest. He asked the hostess of the tavern about the landlords, and, as usual, Chichikov began to ask the hostess about the family, about life. When he was talking, eating at the same time, the sound of the wheels of the approaching carriage was heard. Nozdryov and his companion, son-in-law Mezhuev, got out of the britzka.

Then we went to the office. There they had a quarrel because of the unwillingness of our hero to play cards. Before the quarrel, Chichikov offered to buy "dead souls" from Nozdryov. Nozdryov began to set his own conditions, but Chichikov did not accept any of them.

Chichikov was left alone after the conversation.

The next day they began to play checkers on the condition: if our hero wins, then his souls, if he loses, then “no, and there is no trial.” The author characterizes Nozdryov as follows: “He was of medium height, a very well-built fellow, with full, pleasant cheeks, teeth as white as snow, and whiskers black as pitch. He was fresh, like blood with straw; health seemed to spurt from his face.”

Nodrev joined our hero, told about the fair, that he was blown to smithereens there. Then Chichikov, Nozdryov, and son-in-law Mezhuev went to Nozdryova. After supper, son-in-law Mezhuev left. Chichikov and Nozdryov, as usual, began to “cheat”. Chichikov noticed this and was indignant, after which a quarrel ensued, they began to wave their hands at each other. Nozdryov called his servants Pavlusha and Porfiry and began to shout to them: “Beat him, beat him!” Chichikov turned pale, his soul "went into his heels." And if it weren’t for the police captain, who entered the room to announce to Nozdryov that he was in custody regarding the infliction of personal insult with rods in a drunken state on the landowner Maximov; to be our hero severely crippled. While the captain was announcing the notice to Nozdryov, Chichikov quickly took his hat, went downstairs, got into the britzka and ordered Selifan to drive the horses at full speed.

I think the theme of this episode was to show, to characterize a person who played an important role in the life of our hero. In my opinion,
N.V. Gogol also wanted to show with this episode all the “recklessness” of the young landowners, among whom was Nozdryov. Here the writer showed how young landowners like Nozdryov, and in principle, like all landowners, do nothing else, how they “stagger” around balls and fairs, play cards, drink “ungodly”, think only about themselves and how to nosle others.

Episode Role :

This episode played a big role in the poem, Nozdryov, annoyed by Chichikov during the time when he came to him, betrayed him at the governor's ball. But Chichikov was saved by the fact that everyone knew Nozdryov as a liar, a hypocrite, a bully, so his words were perceived as “nonsense of a madman”, as a joke, as a lie, whatever, but not as the truth.

While reading this episode, my impressions changed from beginning to end. At the beginning of the episode, the actions were not very interesting for me: this is when Chichikov met Nozdryov, as they were driving to his house. Then, little by little, I began to resent Nozdryov's boorish behavior - this is when, after dinner, Chichikov offered to buy "dead souls" from him, and Nozdryov began to wonder why he needed this. All Chichikov's attempts to hang noodles on Nozdryov's ears were stopped by him. Nozdryov said that Chichikov was a big swindler and that if he were his boss, he would hang him on the first tree. While reading, I was outraged by this behavior of Nozdryov in relation to Chichikov, after all, Chichikov is his guest.

There were a lot of events in this episode, but I have impressions about these actions.

Artistic details :

First, let's see how the author describes the tavern: “A darkened, narrow, hospitable wooden canopy on carved wooden posts, similar to old church candlesticks; the tavern was something like a Russian hut, somewhat big size, carved patterned cornices made of fresh wood around the windows and under the roof sharply and vividly dazzled its dark walls; jugs of flowers were painted on the shutters; narrow wooden staircase, wide vestibule. The interior of the tavern: a frost-covered samovar, scraped walls, a three-corner cupboard with teapots and cups in the corner, gilded porcelain testicles in front of images hanging on blue and red ribbons, a recently drenched cat, a mirror showing four eyes instead of two, and some kind of face instead of cake; finally, fragrant herbs and carnations stuck in bunches near the images, dried up to such an extent that those who wanted to sniff them only sneezed, and nothing more.

Let's move on to the description of Nozdryov's household: in the house in the middle of the dining room there were wooden goats. There were two mares in the stable, one dappled gray, the other kaurai, a bay stallion, empty stalls; a pond, a water mill, where there was not enough fluff; forge. Nozdryov’s office: “There were no traces of books or paper in it, only sabers and two guns hung.” This suggests that Nozdryov was not interested in anything, did not take care of his household, everything was running.

The hero's inner world in this episode:

Let's pay attention to the inner world of our hero in this episode. Here Chichikov at some points did not know what to answer Nozdryov to his annoying questions. It is in such moments when Nozdryov asked him: “Why do you need them (dead souls)?”

In this episode, Chichikov, I think, felt embarrassed because of the boorish behavior of Nozdryov: he takes offense at him, since the pride of our hero was affected. After Chichikov quarreled with Nozdryov after dinner because he did not play cards with him, he remained in the most unfavorable mood. The author describes his thoughts and feelings in this way: “He was internally annoyed with himself for having stopped by and wasted his time. But he scolded himself even more for having spoken to Nozdryov about the matter, acted imprudently, like a child, like a fool: for the matter was not at all of the kind to be entrusted to Nozdryov. Nozdryov - man - rubbish, Nozdryov can lie, add, dissolve the rumor and the devil knows what gossip, not good, not good. "I'm just a fool," he said to himself.

I think that in this episode Chichikov behaved tolerantly, restrained, despite the boorish behavior of Nozdryov. But this is understandable, because our hero wants to achieve his goal at any cost.

In my opinion, the author wanted to show with this episode that not everything in life is as simple as one would like. That if everything went well with Korobochka, then everything went very abnormally with Nozdryov - in life there are both white and black stripes.

I also think that this episode teaches us that we need to know a person very well, to study him carefully before trusting. After all, what happened with Chichikov: he trusted Nozdryov about the “dead souls”, and Nozdryov betrayed him, telling everyone about this case.

But I repeat, Chichikov was saved by the fact that everyone considers Nozdryov a liar, no one believed him. Such luck may not happen in life.

The poem "Dead Souls" (1842) is a deeply original, nationally original work. This is a work about the contrast, the uncertainty of Russian reality, and the title of the poem is not accidental. Such a title seemed surprising to Gogol's contemporaries, they believed that such a title would be suitable for some fantastic book. This perception is not accidental. The human soul was considered immortal, so the combination "dead souls" seemed even somewhat blasphemous. The first mention of such a title of the poem appears in N.V. Gogol’s letter to A.S. Pushkin, in which he reports that he “began to write“ Dead Souls ”.
What meaning does the author put into the title of his work? Firstly, this is the name of the deceased peasants, who still continue to be listed in the "revision tales", that is, in special lists, according to which the landowner had to pay tax to the state.
Secondly, Gogol means by "dead souls" the landowners. Then the main idea of ​​the work becomes clear - to show the emptiness and soullessness of people who can use someone else's labor, manage other people's destinies and lives.
Strange for Gogol's contemporaries was not only the title of the work, but also how the author designated its genre. Gogol called his work a "poem", but it was written in prose. This is no coincidence. In the Educational Book of Literature for Russian Youth, Gogol dwells on the features of the protagonist of the work of the genre in which Dead Souls is written. The hero may even be “an invisible face, but must be significant and of interest to those who would like to observe the human soul. A prerequisite there must be a participation of the hero in various adventures. But the most important thing is that after reading such a work, the reader should learn “living lessons” for himself.
You can find another feature of the narrative, which also gives the author the right to call his work a poem.

A lot of lyrical, author's digressions also bring the character of the narrative closer to the poetic one.
The poem is saturated with lyrical-pathetic inserted elements. The general pathos of the work is revelatory and satirical. Therefore, it may be more accurate in defining the genre of the work to call "Dead Souls" a socio-ethical and satirical poem-novel.
"Dead Souls" was compared with an epic, called the "Russian" Odyssey "," the Russian "Iliad". Gogol himself explained genre originality"Dead Souls" in the project " educational book Literature for the Russian Youth" and spoke of the "smaller kinds of the epic". Small epic, according to Gogol, includes features of the epic and the novel.
By the presence of characteristic elements, "Dead Souls" can also be defined as a novel: the beginning associated with the image of the protagonist, a traditional love affair, a gossip motive, the inclusion of a biography of the hero. Maybe even a clarification. "Dead Souls" - a picaresque novel: main character- an antihero, the plot is built on logically unrelated episodes, the hero does not change under the influence of circumstances, the satirical orientation in the work is pronounced. But although all these features are present, the problematic of Dead Souls is much broader than that “foreseen” for the picaresque novel genre.
"Dead Souls" does not fit into the genre framework of either a poem or a novel. Perhaps this is still a work of an intermediate genre. The content and form of the poem are characterized by genre-species duality.
The plot and composition of "Dead Souls" are determined by the subject of the image - Gogol's desire to comprehend Russian life, the character of a Russian person, the fate of Russia. We are talking about a fundamental change in the subject of the image in comparison with the literature of the 1820-1830s: the artist's attention is transferred from the image of an individual to a portrait of society.
The introduction of this motif provides the author with the possibility of a broad depiction of life.
This motive takes on a completely different meaning in the famous digression of the 11th chapter: the road with the rushing chaise turns into the path along which Russia flies.
The plot of the journey gives Gogol the opportunity to create a gallery of landowners. At the same time, the composition looks very rational: the exposition of the travel plot is given in the 1st chapter (Chichikov meets officials and some landowners, receives invitations from them), then five chapters follow, in which the landowners “sit”, and Chichikov travels from chapter to head, buying up dead souls. The composition of the work can be defined as a ring, so the main character in the 1st chapter arrives in the provincial city, and in the last one he leaves it. Five portrait chapters are devoted to a separate landowner, each and in their totality are called upon to give a generalized portrait of the Russian landlord class of the Gogol era. The features of the composition of the poem include the author's digressions, as well as "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin", included by the author in the 10th chapter and dressed in the form of a postmaster's story.
Gogol said about the landowners: "My heroes follow one more vulgar than the other." The measure of vulgarity in the 6th chapter becomes unbearable. It is with this image that the lyrical digression in the 6th chapter about the fiery young man is connected, who “would have jumped back in horror if they had shown him his own portrait in old age.” Therefore, the 6th chapter can be called the climax in the poem: presenting the tragic theme of change for the worse for Gogol, it completes the plot of the journey, because Plyushkin is the last of the landowners whom Chichikov visited.
The ideological and compositional role of Chichikov's image is predetermined primarily by the fact that he owns the idea of ​​a scam, for its implementation he is granted the right to move freely around art space poems, the author almost never parted with him. Without Chichikov, there would be neither the plot of the journey, nor the poem itself.

But such a plot was devoid of internal dynamics. Meanwhile, Gogol appreciated in the artist the ability to connect events into "one big knot."
The compositional structure of the work is very clear. There are two main places of action in the poem: the first is the city of NN, the second is the surrounding estates. Approximately the same number chapters The chapters about Chichikov's stay in the provincial town were "torn apart" by Chichikov's trip. But the events of the final city chapters, as in a mirror, reflect the events of the first chapter. If at the beginning of the poem it is said that Chichikov’s arrival “did not make any noise in the city”, then at the end Chichikov causes extraordinary confusion in the city and leaves on the day of the funeral of the prosecutor who fell victim to him. The good fame of Chichikov, won by him already at the beginning of his stay in the city, is growing as rapidly as the scandalous gossip about him then grows rapidly. In other words, city chapters “ring” the work and are built on the basis of the plot of delusion, which in turn gives integrity to the work.
The image of the author is created with the help of lyrical digressions, detailed comparisons, direct commentary on certain actions, thoughts, events in the life of the characters, small remarks scattered throughout the text of the poem. Gogol creates a monologue artistic world, the author's voice dominates it. This made it possible to directly express author's position towards heroes, saturation author's speech irony, alogisms that characterize the characters, "vague words", that is, everything that characterizes Gogol's narrative style.