Nikolai Nekrasov, known as the "people's poet", occupied a special niche in classical literature. For the constant raising of the peasant theme, he was criticized more than once. If you read the verse “Elegy” by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov thoughtfully, then in the concluding lines you can see a formidable warning to those in power.
The poem was written in 1874. This time was difficult for Nekrasov. The critics did not spare him. Many of them believed that the topic of people's suffering had long been exhausted, and that Nikolai Alekseevich himself had “written off”. In the mid-70s, Nekrasov discovered a new genre - satire. He worked on poetic pamphlets, survey poems. But most of all the poet was worried about the answer to the question that tormented him for many years. In 1861, a peasant reform was carried out. Emperor Alexander II abolished serfdom. Despite this, the question "The people are liberated, but are the people happy?" continued to float in the air.
The text of Nekrasov's poem "Elegy", which is held at a literature lesson in grade 10, is saturated with bitter notes. The main theme is insolvency peasant reform... Nekrasov, like many of his pen colleagues, ardently advocated the liberation of the peasants. Representatives of the literary intelligentsia of the second half of the 70s sincerely believed that, having ceased to be slaves, the peasants would live better. But in practice, everything turned out quite differently. Nekrasov believes that external well-being is only a mask that hides numerous problems. Not every rural worker could afford to get an education and make his work easier. The work of Nekrasov, which is easy and pleasant to learn, does not answer the question of how the powerful should and should act. But, lamenting that they do not hear him, the poet promises curses to the “people's enemy”. He is sure that the patience of the Russian peasants is not unlimited. You can download this poem in full or read it online on our website.
A.N.E [rako] wu
Let the changeable fashion tell us
That the theme is the old "suffering of the people"
And that poetry should forget it.
Do not believe, young men! she is not getting old.
Oh, if only the years could make her old!
The world of God would flourish! ... Alas! bye peoples
Suffer in poverty, submitting to the scourges,
Like skinny herds in mown meadows,
Mourn their fate, a muse will serve them,
And in the world there is no stronger, more beautiful union! ...
To remind the crowd that the people are in poverty,
While she rejoices and sings,
To arouse attention to the people the mighty –
What could the lyre serve more worthy? ...
I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm ...
Let not every warrior harm the enemy,
But everyone go into battle! And the battle will be decided by fate ...
I saw a red day: there is no slave in Russia!
And sweet tears I shed in tenderness ...
“Enough to rejoice in naive enthusiasm, -
Musa whispered to me. - It's time to go forward:
The people are liberated, but are the people happy? ..
I listen to the song of the reapers over the golden harvest,
Is the old man walking slowly behind the plow,
Does she run through the meadow, playing and whistling,
With a father's breakfast, a happy child
Do the sickles sparkle, do the braids clink together -
I seek answers to secret questions
Seething in the mind: “In recent years
Have you become more bearable, peasant suffering?
And long slavery replaced
Freedom finally made a difference
In people's destinies? to the tunes of rural maidens?
Or is their discordant tune just as woeful? .. "
The evening is already coming. Excited by dreams
In the fields, in the meadows lined with haystacks,
I wander thoughtfully in the cool semi-darkness,
And the song composes itself in the mind,
Living incarnation of recent, secret thoughts:
I call blessing for rural labors,
I will curse the people's enemy,
And I pray to a friend in the heavens of power,
And my song is loud! .. She is echoed by valleys, fields,
And the echo of the distant mountains sends her its responses,
And the forest responded ... Nature listens to me,
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
Who is the poet's dreams dedicated to,
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
The writing
N. A. Nekrasov is a famous Russian poet of the XIX century, editor of the magazines "Sovremennik" and "Otechestvennye zapiski". Despite the fact that the poet grew up in a wealthy family, he was worried about the fate of the common people. The heroes of his poems and poems are simple peasants, townspeople, the poor, the disadvantaged. This was Nekrasov's innovation as a poet. After all, neither Pushkin, nor Lermontov, nor Gogol, we will see ordinary people the main characters of the works. Nikolai Alekseevich not only created vivid images of peasants and townspeople in his poems, but also worried about the fate of the poorest strata of society. The poet talks about this in the poem "Elegy", written in 1874, 13 years after the abolition of serfdom.
Elegy is a special genre that many romantic poets turned to: Zhukovsky, Baratynsky, Batyushkov. Elegy, translated from the ancient Greek "complaint", conveyed sad experiences, mainly about unhappy love. Nekrasov, however, changed the genre, giving his elegy a social connotation. This is a sad poem-meditation about the fate of the people after the reform of 1861 and the establishment of high ideals in life. The elegy is written in iambic six-foot notes with omissions of stress (a traditional line for elegies).
The first part begins by addressing the younger generation of readers:
That the theme is old - "the suffering of the people"
And that poetry should forget it, -
Do not believe, young men! She is not getting old.
The poet tries to start a conversation by defining the theme of his work in general and this work in particular - “the suffering of the people”. This is what interests him the most. He seeks to convince the reader that he is right, using vivid comparisons and epithets:
"Alas! While the peoples
Suck in poverty, obeying the gods,
Like skinny herds in mown meadows.
The antithesis increases the urgency of the question:
To remind the crowd that the people are in poverty,
While she rejoices and sings ...
The poet uses exclamation sentences, rhetorical questions, omissions in the elegy, which brings the style closer to the journalistic one. Exclamation:
Mourn their fate, a muse will serve them,
And in the world there is no stronger, more beautiful union!
echoes the rhetorical question at the end:
To arouse the attention of the people of the mighty of the world -
What could the lyre serve better? ...
For Nekrasov, a muse, creativity must serve the people, a real poet, a citizen, his fate cannot but worry:
I dedicated my lyre to my people ...
This line is the leitmotif of Nekrasov's entire work.
In the second part, which begins with these words, the poet reflects on the reform of 1861. For him, this decree is a great joy. But the author's irony is also felt in these lines:
I saw a red day: There is no slave in Russia!
And sweet tears I shed in emotion ...
Enough to rejoice in naive enthusiasm, -
The muse whispered to me ...
And again the poet-publicist asks a question related to the theme of the poem: The people are liberated, but are the people happy? We will find the answer to it further.
The elegy traditionally contains a descriptive part. In the third and fourth parts, Nekrasov draws a picture of life after the reform village with the help of vivid epithets and metaphors, he observes the peasants, admires their work:
I listen to the song of the reapers over the golden harvest;
Is the old man walking slowly behind the plow,
Does she run through the meadow, playing and whistling,
Are the sickles sparkling, are the braids tinkling together ...
And again at the end of the stanza, like a shot - rhetorical questions:
Have you become more bearable, peasant suffering?
And long slavery replaced
Freedom finally made a difference
In people's destinies? to the tunes of rural maidens?
Or is their discordant tune also woeful?
Evening is already coming. Excited by dreams
In the fields, in the meadows lined with haystacks,
I wander pensively in the cool semi-darkness ...
... She is echoed by valleys, fields,
And the echo of the distant mountains sends her reviews
And the forest responded ...
But what about the people? The one about whose fate the poet is so worried? We will find the answer to this question at the end of the poem:
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
It is no coincidence that the author uses silence not only after rhetorical questions and exclamations, but also at the end of the poem: The people do not hear the poet's questions, they do not want a better life for themselves. Nekrasov is outraged by the long-suffering of the peasantry. People are so accustomed to being dependent on the landlords that they continue to carry out labor service out of habit, they do not see any other share for themselves. The liberation from serfdom did not bring the expected changes in peasant life. This is the idea of \u200b\u200bNekrasov's "Elegy". And the answers to the questions posed should be given by the readers, the young generation to whom the poet addresses.
N.A.Nekrasov is one of those Russian poets who, with all their creativity, seemed to be in dispute with the previous literary tradition and at the same time themselves created a new tradition that characterizes the time in which they worked. N. A. Nekrasov completely rethinks the idea of \u200b\u200bpoetry, the role of the poet in the life of society. But in order to argue with tradition, it was necessary to establish a connection with it. Therefore, a number of poems by N.A.Nekrasov are clearly polemical in nature. This is how one of the best, in my opinion, poems of the poet - "Elegy" becomes.
The poem "Elegy" was written in 1874 and became the answer of N. A. Nekrasov to the statements of many critics about the poet.
One of them wrote: “What constituted his (Nekrasov's) favorite topic - a direct description of the suffering of the people and the poor in general - has already been exhausted by him, not because similar topic by itself someday it could have been completely exhausted, but because our poet began to somehow repeat himself when he takes up this topic. " Another critic suggested that after 1861 the topic itself seemed outdated and untenable. It is precisely the polemic with such statements that can, in my opinion, explain the beginning of the poem:
Let the changeable fashion tell us
That the topic is old - "the suffering of the people"
And that poetry should forget it, -
Do not believe, young men! she is not getting old.
For his poem, N.A.Nekrasov chooses a six-foot iambic with paired rhyme, that is, the Alexandrian verse is the solemn dimension of the era of classicism.
This immediately sets focus on high level verse and, in addition, the connection with Pushkin's "Village". There are also lexical connections between the two poems. Let's compare with N.A.Nekrasov:
…Alas! bye peoples
Suffer in poverty, submitting to the scourges,
Like skinny herds on mown meadows ... -
and Pushkin:
Leaning on an alien plow, subduing the scourges,
Here, thin slavery drags along the reins ...
This comparison is intended to once again emphasize the importance of the topic and establish the connection between the times.
NA Nekrasov proves the urgency of addressing this topic by introducing into the Elegy a description of the life of the people and showing the complete failure of the reform. And therefore the poem becomes a kind of declaration of N.A.Nekrasov's attitude to the theme of poetry and understanding of the poet's role: the poet must have one goal - serving the people - until the people are happy. Nekrasov approves civic poetry, social poetry. The choice is not accidental here either
genre: elegy is a traditional lyric genre, the content of which is the love experiences of a lyric hero. The place of the beloved for N.A.Nekrasov is taken by the people, the poet's thoughts are turned to him. However, this love remains unrequited, and hence the tragedy inherent in the sound of the poem:
I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm ... In these phrases, the connection with Alexander Pushkin is again manifested, this time with the poem "Echo":
For every sound
Your response in the empty air
You will suddenly give birth.
You have no response ... That's what you are, poet!
The only difference is that N.A.Nekrasov associates this topic directly with the people, the very meaning of the comparison is concretized:
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
To whom are the poet's dreams dedicated -
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
“Doesn't answer” is a clear focus on lyrical digression from the final part of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". Not only the people - but also
all of Russia - this is the constant beloved N.A.Nekrasov, to whom best works poet.
A. N. Eve
Let the changeable fashion tell us
That the theme is the old "suffering of the people"
And that poetry should forget it,
Do not believe, young men! she is not getting old.
Oh, if only the years could make her old!
The world of God would flourish! .. Alas! bye peoples
Suffer in poverty, submitting to the scourges,
Like skinny herds in mown meadows,
Mourn their fate, the Muse will serve them,
And in the world there is no stronger, more beautiful union! ..
To remind the crowd that the people are in poverty,
While she rejoices and sings,
To arouse the attention of the people of the mighty of the world -
What could the lyre serve better? ..I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm ...
Let not every warrior harm the enemy,
But everyone go into battle! And the battle will be decided by fate ...
I saw a red day: there is no slave in Russia!
And sweet tears I shed in tenderness ...
“Enough to rejoice in a naive enthusiasm, -
Musa whispered to me. - It's time to go ahead:
The people are liberated, but are the people happy? .. "I listen to the song of the reapers over the golden harvest,
Is the old man walking slowly behind the plow,
Does she run through the meadow, playing and whistling,
With a father's breakfast, a happy child
Do the sickles sparkle, do the braids clink together -
I seek answers to secret questions
Seething in my mind: “In recent years
Have you become more bearable, peasant suffering?
And long slavery replaced
Freedom finally made a difference
In people's destinies? to the tunes of rural maidens?
Or is their discordant tune just as woeful? .. "The evening is already coming. Excited by dreams
In the fields, in the meadows lined with haystacks,
I wander thoughtfully in the cool semi-darkness,
And the song composes itself in the mind,
Living incarnation of recent, secret thoughts:
I call blessing for rural labors,
I will curse the people's enemy,
And I pray to a friend in the heavens of power,
And my song is loud! .. She is echoed by valleys, fields,
And the echo of the distant mountains sends her its responses,
And the forest responded ... Nature listens to me,
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
To whom are the poet's dreams dedicated -
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
Analysis of Nekrasov's poem "Elegy"
Nikolai Nekrasov, who dedicated most of his works to the people, describing their hard lot, was often called a "peasant poet" and criticized for the fact that he pays too much attention to the life and life of the peasants. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, attacks on the poet from literary critics and officials intensified, as he continued to address his works to the lower strata of society, believing that their life had not improved at all.
Finally, in 1874, wishing to answer his opponents to undeserved reproaches and insults, Nikolai Nekrasov wrote the poem "Elegy", from the title of which one can conclude that this time it will be about something noble and graceful. This was the irony of the poet, who again dedicated his poems to the hard lot of his people and tried to find an answer to the question, did the peasants really begin to live better after the abolition of serfdom?
The poem begins with an appeal to unknown opponents of the poet, whom he convinces that "the old theme of" suffering of the people "" is still relevant, if only because the peasants, having received freedom, are still in poverty. And the poet considers it his duty to draw the attention of the "powerful of the world" to the problems ordinary people, believing that this is its purpose. “I dedicated the lyre to my people,” notes Nekrasov, and there is not an ounce of pathos in these words. After all, the poet learned from his own experience what it is like to live in poverty and sometimes not even have a roof over his head. Therefore, Nekrasov notes that he is "calm in heart" and does not regret in the least that the heroes of his works are not eccentric society girls, officials and aristocrats, but peasants.
Nekrasov notes that he was lucky to see the "red day" when serfdom was abolished, which caused the poet "sweet tears." However, his joy was short-lived, since, according to the author's assurance, the inspiring muse ordered him to go forward. “The people are liberated, but are the people happy?” The poet asks.
He tries to find the answer to this question in everyday life peasants who are still forced to bend their backs in the field in order to feed themselves and their families. Observing how quickly the work is in full swing during the harvest, how the women sing harmoniously, wielding a sickle, and happy children run into the fields to pass breakfast to their father, Nekrasov notes that such a picture brings peace and tranquility. However, the poet realizes that behind the apparent external well-being, problems are still hidden., because only a few of these village workers can count on a better life, getting an education and the opportunity to learn that they can live in a completely different way, earning not hard physical labor, but intelligence.
Therefore, completing his "Elegy", the author notes that he does not know the answer to the question of whether the peasants are better off now... And even the heroes of his numerous works are not able to objectively say whether they really became happy. On one of the scales is freedom, on the other - hunger and poverty, because now they themselves are responsible for their own lives and very often do not even know how to dispose of it. At the same time, Nekrasov is well aware that the natural process of migration of yesterday's serfs has already begun, and this is being used by their yesterday's owners, who buy for a penny a gratuitous labor force that does not know how to defend its rights due to illiteracy and admiration for the masters absorbed with mother's milk. As a result, thousands of yesterday's peasants condemn themselves and their families to death by starvation, not even suspecting that those who have managed to profit from the abolition of serfdom continue to profit from their work.
A.N.E [rako] wu
Let the changeable fashion tell us
That the old theme is "people's suffering"
And that poetry should forget it.
Do not believe, young men! she is not getting old.
Oh, if only the years could make her old!
The world of God would flourish! ... Alas! bye peoples
Suffer in poverty, submitting to the scourges,
Like skinny herds in mown meadows,
Mourn their fate, a muse will serve them,
And in the world there is no stronger, more beautiful union! ...
To remind the crowd that the people are in poverty,
While she rejoices and sings,
To arouse the attention of the people of the mighty of the world -
What could the lyre serve more worthy? ...
I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm ...
Let not every warrior harm the enemy,
But everyone go into battle! And fate will decide ...
I saw a red day: there is no slave in Russia!
And sweet tears I shed in tenderness ...
"Enough to rejoice in naive enthusiasm, -
Musa whispered to me. - It's time to go forward:
The people are liberated, but are the people happy? ..
I listen to the song of the reapers over the golden harvest,
Is the old man walking slowly behind the plow,
Does she run through the meadow, playing and whistling,
Happy child with father's breakfast,
Do the sickles sparkle, do the braids clink together -
I seek answers to secret questions
Seething in my mind: "In recent years
Have you become more bearable, peasant suffering?
And long slavery replaced
Freedom finally made a difference
In people's destinies? to the tunes of rural maidens?
Or is their discordant tune just as woeful? .. "
Evening is already coming. Excited by dreams
In the fields, in the meadows lined with haystacks,
I wander thoughtfully in the cool semi-darkness,
And the song composes itself in the mind,
Living incarnation of recent, secret thoughts:
I call blessing for rural labors,
I will curse the people's enemy,
And I pray to a friend in the heavens of power,
And my song is loud! .. She is echoed by valleys, fields,
And the echo of the distant mountains sends her its responses,
And the forest responded ... Nature listens to me,
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
Who is the poet's dreams dedicated to,
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
Nikolay Nekrasov, 1874
Let the changeable fashion tell us
That the theme is the old "suffering of the people"
And that poetry should forget it.
Do not believe, young men! she is not getting old.
Oh, if only the years could make her old!
The world of God would flourish! ... Alas! bye peoples
Suffer in poverty, submitting to the scourges,
Like skinny herds in mown meadows,
Mourn their fate, a muse will serve them,
And in the world there is no stronger, more beautiful union! ...
To remind the crowd that the people are in poverty,
While she rejoices and sings,
To arouse the attention of the people of the mighty of the world -
What could the lyre serve more worthy? ...
I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm ...
Let not every warrior harm the enemy,
But everyone go to battle! And the battle will be decided by fate ...
I saw a red day: there is no slave in Russia!
And sweet tears I shed in tenderness ...
“Enough to rejoice in a naive enthusiasm, -
Musa whispered to me. - It's time to go forward:
The people are liberated, but are the people happy? ..
I listen to the song of the reapers over the golden harvest,
Is the old man walking slowly behind the plow,
Does she run through the meadow, playing and whistling,
Happy child with father's breakfast,
Do the sickles sparkle, do the braids clink together -
I seek answers to secret questions
Seething in my mind: “In recent years
Have you become more bearable, peasant suffering?
And long slavery replaced
Freedom finally made a difference
In people's destinies? to the tunes of rural maidens?
Or is their discordant tune just as woeful? .. "
The evening is already coming. Excited by dreams
In the fields, in the meadows lined with haystacks,
I wander thoughtfully in the cool semi-darkness,
And the song composes itself in the mind,
Living incarnation of recent, secret thoughts:
I call blessing for rural labors,
I will curse the people's enemy,
And I pray to a friend in the heavens of power,
And my song is loud! .. She is echoed by valleys, fields,
And the echo of the distant mountains sends her its responses,
And the forest responded ... Nature listens to me,
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
Who is the poet's dreams dedicated to,
Alas! he does not heed - and does not give an answer ...
___________________
Date of writing: August 15-17, 1874
Analysis of the poem "Elegy" by Nekrasov
The poem "Elegy" is Nekrasov's ironic response to the constant attacks of reactionary leaders. He was constantly accused of humiliating with his poetry proud title poet, describing the life of the dark and eternally drunk peasantry. The attacks intensified after the abolition of serfdom. The "all-merciful gift" of freedom to those who do not deserve it provoked protests from inveterate serf-owners. They were outraged that even after such an unheard-of act, there are people who continue to declare the plight of the peasants. Without deviating from civic lyrics, Nekrasov wrote a poem in the elegy genre in 1874. In it, he described his reflections on the 1861 Manifesto and clearly expressed his views on the poet's true calling.
According to Nekrasov, the duty of any citizen, and even more so a poet, is to strive to make his country happier and more prosperous. The situation in which "the peoples are dragging themselves in poverty" should not leave anyone indifferent. "The suffering of the people" is the most urgent topic for creativity. You cannot close your eyes to it and describe the brilliance and senseless burning of life by high society. Nekrasov was absolutely unacceptable to the concept of "pure" art. He was a realist and proceeded from the practical use of his works.
Nekrasov proudly declares: "I dedicated the lyre to my people." He is entitled to such a statement. The poet's poems evoked a wide public response and, in general, contributed to a change in attitudes towards the common people. Nekrasov does not expect recognition for his services, he is glad that he made at least some contribution to improving the situation of the peasants.
The poet proceeds to analyze the consequences of the abolition of serfdom. He solemnly calls the adoption of the decree “a red day”. But years passed. Has the life of a peasant changed for the better? Nekrasov offers the reader an honest answer to this question. In fact, the position of the common people remained practically unchanged. The abolition of personal dependence was replaced by financial dependence (redemption payments).
Description of an imaginary idyll in the genre of elegy ("songs of the reapers", "happy child") - Nekrasov's irony about his hopes for the destruction of slavery. He never makes an author's assessment of the 1861 event, ending the verse with a sad remark that the people "do not heed ... and does not give an answer."