" Bronze Horseman"- a philosophical, social and historical poem. Pushkin's poem raises problems of relationships between the state, government and the individual, and sometimes the incompatibility of their interests.
It became the result of the poet’s thoughts about the personality of Peter I, about Russian history and the state, about the place of man in it.
This work organically combines the story of the fate of an ordinary resident of St. Petersburg, who suffered during the flood, Eugene, and historical and philosophical reflections on the state, the formation of which is associated with the personality and activities of Peter.
The main idea of the story “The Bronze Horseman” is that an ordinary person can go mad from a storm, from grief and anxiety. Not finding his bride, Parasha, among the rubble and ruins left by the storm, the hero of the poem Eugene goes crazy. In Kotzna, seeing the very place where he watched all the destruction that shocked him so much - stone lions, and next to them a majestic horseman on a horse. From then on, it began to seem to him that the same rider was constantly chasing him, stepping heavily, on his copper horse. He soon died from despair and fear.
Main characters The Bronze Horseman
Bronze Horseman plot
The poem tells about a poor, insignificant St. Petersburg resident Evgeniy, stupid, not original, no different from his brothers. He was in love with Parasha, the daughter of a widow living by the seaside. The flood of 1824 destroyed their house; the widow and Parasha died. Evgeniy could not bear this misfortune and went crazy. One night, passing by the monument to Peter I, Eugene, in his madness, whispered several angry words to him, seeing in him the culprit of his disasters. Eugene’s frustrated imagination imagined that the bronze horseman was angry with him for this and chased him on his bronze horse. A few months later the madman died.
In 1833, while in Boldin, Pushkin wrote the poem “The Bronze Horseman”. What questions did the poet raise in this work? Questions about social contradictions and the future of Russia. But his contemporaries, unfortunately, did not know about this. The poem was banned by Nicholas I. It was first published without censorship edits only in 1904.
Below is a summary and analysis of The Bronze Horseman. It was in this work that the “little man” first appeared - an image that became the most popular in Russian literature of the 19th century. Offended, oppressed and lonely - this is the main character of The Bronze Horseman. The problem of Pushkin's character is his social insecurity, his inability to withstand the blows of fate.
History of creation
In 1812, Alexander I wanted to remove the monument to Peter from the capital. However, the day before, one of the majors had a bizarre dream: the monument suddenly came to life and began to gallop through the streets of St. Petersburg. At the same time, the major assured that the bronze Peter I in a dream, which was in some way significant, uttered terrible words. Namely: “What Russia has been brought to!” As long as I’m here, my city has nothing to fear!” The emperor was informed about the major's dream, and the monument was left in its original place.
There is a version that it was this story that inspired Pushkin to write the famous poem “The Bronze Horseman”. True, some researchers claim that the work is based on a completely different legend. However, the bronze statue at one time gave rise to many myths. It is unknown which of them began the creation of the poem.
The work “The Bronze Horseman” was completed in 1833 in Boldin. Shortly before this, Pushkin traveled to the Urals in order to collect materials about the Pugachev uprising. According to Pushkinists, work on the work about the monument to Peter did not last long - about a month. Although, undoubtedly, the idea arose even before arriving in Boldino.
Despite the fact that the poem was written in a short time, it cost the author incredible strength. Pushkin rewrote each verse many times, and thus he managed to achieve the ideal form. "The Bronze Horseman" is a small work. You can read it in 15-20 minutes. The poem consists of five hundred verses, and includes the reflections of the Great Reformer after the significant Battle of Poltava, and the events of the 19th century. And most importantly, this work conveys the sad events of 1824 in a very vivid and original way.
At that time, it was impossible to simply publish a work of art. Moreover, the creation of Pushkin, who did not inspire confidence in the emperor. The writer sent The Bronze Horseman to the censors. They, in turn, made many edits to the poem, which almost significantly distorted the author’s intention.
The poet sincerely believed that the emperor personally made corrections to his works. However, researchers claim that this was done by employees of the Third Department. The poem was not officially banned. But with numerous comments from the “highest censorship,” there could be no talk of any publication.
The poem was never published during the author's lifetime. Only a small excerpt was published, namely “Introduction,” which has no direct connection with the main plot. In 1837, after Pushkin’s death, the work appeared in the Sovremennik magazine. But it was an incomplete publication. Before going into print, the poem was revised by Zhukovsky, who had to comply with all the wishes of official criticism. Thus, a scene expressing the main idea of the poem was cut out of the work.
Pushkin’s work was first published in its entirety, without extraneous edits, only in the twentieth century. Below is a summary. The poem is short, consists of an “Introduction” and two parts. The content is presented according to the following plan:
- Introduction.
- Eugene.
- The torment of the main character.
- Dreams.
- After.
- Tsar.
- On Petrova Square.
- Life is an empty dream.
- The misfortune of the Neva banks.
- Idol on a bronze horse.
- Madness.
Introduction
The Great Reformer stands there and dreams of a new city, which will soon be built here “to spite the arrogant neighbor,” that is, the Swede. As you know, Peter I realized his dream. A hundred years pass, a beautiful city rises on the banks of the river, built, as they will later say, on human bones.
Moscow faded before St. Petersburg, “like a porphyry-bearing widow before a new queen” - this is the metaphor Pushkin uses in the introduction to the poem “The Bronze Horseman.” The author admires the beauty of the city of Petra. And then he warns the reader: his story will be sad.
Eugene
The main character of the poem “The Bronze Horseman” has the same name as Onegin. It is no coincidence: this name sounds pleasant, and besides, the author’s pen “is friendly to it.” Events take place in November. The waves of the Neva lash noisily. The weather is restless, windy, in a word, typical for autumn St. Petersburg.
Evgeniy heads towards his house. He lives in Kolomna, serves somewhere - he probably works in one of the faceless St. Petersburg departments. It just so happens that in Russian literature the most touching characters are petty officials. The main character of Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman" is a "little man", a modest, socially vulnerable person. Literary scholars compare Evgeny with Bashmachkin from Gogol’s “The Overcoat”.
The torment of the main character
So, Evgeniy came home. He took off his overcoat and lay down, but could not sleep. The main character of “The Bronze Horseman” is in thought. What is he worried about? First of all, he is poor, and therefore forced to earn at least relative independence through hard work. He has neither money nor talent. But there are idle lucky people who live easily and naturally! Alas, Evgeniy is not one of them.
The hero of The Bronze Horseman is in love with a certain Parasha, who lives on the other bank of the Neva. And on this day he is also upset that the bridges were removed. This means that Eugene will not see his beloved for another two or three days. He sighs heartily and daydreams.
Dreams
Evgeniy is sad, but at the same time full of hope. He is young, healthy, will work hard and someday will certainly marry Parasha. Evgeniy does not dream of anything unattainable. Just about a modest house, about a service that will bring him a small income. He marries Parasha. She will take care of the house and children. They will live this way until their death, and their grandchildren will bury them. The dreams of the hero of the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by Pushkin are quite earthly. But they are not destined to come true.
Flood
Evgeny dreams, while the wind outside the window howls sadly. The young official falls asleep, and the next day something terrible happens. The Neva is overflowing its banks. In the morning, people admire the splashes, the “foam of angry waters.” Pushkin compares the river with a beast that, going berserk, rushed at the city. The Neva sweeps away everything in its path: fragments of huts, roofing, logs, the goods of a spare merchant, the modest belongings of residents, coffins from the cemetery.
Tsar
People are powerless in the face of nature's violence. Who should they ask for help, who will save them from the flood? According to the then tradition, they go to the king. He goes out onto the balcony, sad and embarrassed. And he announces to the people: kings cannot control the elements. This episode is worth paying attention to. Pushkin emphasizes that the autocrat, despite his seemingly unlimited power, should not compete in strength with nature.
However, in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” the image of the ruler of the Russian state is embodied in a huge monument towering in the center of St. Petersburg. After all, it was Peter who at the beginning of the 18th century dared to build a city on the Neva. His idea cost a lot of blood. The above-mentioned expression “a city built on human bones” did not appear by chance. After more than a hundred years have passed since the founding of St. Petersburg, a flood occurs that destroys ordinary people. The predecessor of the Great Reformer hastily leaves the capital.
Here it is worth making a short excursion into history. The flood depicted in Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman" is not a work of fiction. The event took place in 1824. This is the most destructive flood in the entire history of St. Petersburg.
On January 7, it was raining and a strong southeast wind was blowing. A sharp rise in water began in the canals. This initially attracted onlookers, as the author of “The Bronze Horseman” also mentions. But very quickly almost the entire city was under water. Only a small part of St. Petersburg was not damaged. The next day there was a severe frost. Several hundred St. Petersburg residents drowned; later researchers were unable to determine the exact number of deaths.
On Petrova Square
While the Tsar is leaving St. Petersburg, Eugene, pale, amazed, sits on a marble beast. What kind of animal is this? This is one of the most famous attractions of St. Petersburg. Evgeny perched himself on the marble beast, the rain lashing his face. He is afraid, but not for himself. His desperate gaze is directed to the other bank of the Neva. Evgeny tries to look at his beloved's house.
The contents of “The Bronze Horseman” can be summarized in a nutshell. But we will not do this, because, firstly, this poem is one of the greatest creations of Russian literature, and secondly, there are many interesting episodes related to the history of St. Petersburg. So, what are these guard lions that, as the author of “The Bronze Horseman” said, stand as if alive?
Many illustrations have been created for Pushkin’s poem. The author of one of the most famous is the artist Ostroumova-Lebedeva. However, there is a factual error in this work. The illustration shows a lion from the Palace Pier. This monument was erected several years after the flood. In fact, the hero of the poem “The Bronze Horseman,” which depicts the tragic days in the history of the Northern capital, was sitting astride a lion near the house of Lobanov-Rostovsky. This building was erected in 1817. In everyday life it is called the “house of lions.” In the photo below you can see how this building looks today. Of course, the “house with lions” has undergone repeated restoration.
Life is an empty dream
It is this thought that comes to Evgeniy’s head when the next day he sees terrible destruction. Reading the summary of “The Bronze Horseman” may inspire you to get acquainted with the original source. This is a wonderful work, filled with vivid metaphors and images. Pushkin compares the Neva with a ferocious bandit gang that burst into the village, destroyed and robbed everything for a long time, and then disappeared in a hurry. The river was saturated with the destruction it caused in St. Petersburg, and then “pulled back.”
The water has left the pavement. Evgeny hurries to the shore in alarm: he wants to see Parasha. Sees the boat, finds the carrier. He transports him to the other side to his beloved for a dime. Finally, Eugene reached the shore. He walks along familiar streets and is horrified. Everything around was destroyed, demolished, bodies all around, as if “in a battlefield.” He rushes headlong, not remembering anything and exhausted from torment, to where his bride is waiting. But suddenly he stops. There are no more gates or the house in which the widow and her daughter Parasha lived. Only a lonely willow...
The misfortune of the Neva banks
Petersburg came to life again, as if there had never been a flood. True, a certain Count Khvostov immediately wrote a poem dedicated to the tragedy. Still, people walk along the free streets with “cold insensibility.” Officials go to work. The merchant is also not discouraged, opening his shop, plundered by the Neva. And it seems that in St. Petersburg on this day there is only one person who, after a terrible flood, cannot continue ordinary life. This is Eugene, the main character of the poem “The Bronze Horseman”.
Peter I is mentioned in the work, of course, not only in the “Introduction”. This is an important image, symbolizing power and strength, against which the “little man” is absolutely defenseless. It is worth saying a few words about the monument depicting the founder of St. Petersburg.
Idol on a bronze horse
The central image in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” is the famous monument to Peter. Pushkin calls him “Idol on a bronze horse.” Monuments to Peter were erected in 1782. The name “copper” was assigned to this moment because before the 19th century in Russian copper was often called bronze.
The model of the statue was designed by Etienne Falconet, a French sculptor and representative of classicism. Several other urban legends are associated with this monument. Including the story of how Emperor Paul I saw the ghost of Peter. Moreover, he dreamed of it exactly where the “Bronze Horseman” is located today.
It is worth saying that the sculpture depicting Peter I received its name precisely because of Pushkin’s work. Later, Dostoevsky conveyed the motif of the revived monument in his novel “The Teenager.” He is also mentioned in the works of later authors. However, let's return to Pushkin's hero. What happened to him after he learned about the death of his beloved?
Madness
Poor Evgeniy could not control his shock. He couldn't resist. For a long time, the rebellious noise of the river and the terrible whistle of the Neva winds resounded in his mind. Having learned about the death of Parasha, he did not return home. I went wandering. For about a month, the former official, who had once thought about simple earthly happiness, wandered the city streets, slept on the pier, and ate alms. Angry children threw stones after Evgeniy, and the coachman's fences lashed him on the back. From now on, he could not make out the roads and seemed to see nothing around him. Evgeniy lost his mind from grief.
The miraculous builder
One day, Eugene’s inflamed consciousness was visited by a terrible thought. He decided that the “idol with an outstretched hand” - that is, Peter - was to blame for his tragedy. A terrible and brilliant ruler once founded a city on the Neva. This means that it is he, this “miraculous builder,” who is responsible for the death of Parasha.
Eugene seemed to have forgotten about the event that turned him into a madman. And suddenly he woke up, saw the square, and the lions, and the Bronze Horseman. And he stood calmly in the darkness. Peter I, at whose whim the city under the sea was once founded, looked into the distance sternly and calmly.
The madman approached the monument. He stopped at the foot and looked into the face of the bronze king and began to threaten the “proud idol.” But suddenly it seemed to Eugene that the formidable king had come to life. The madman started to run, and the rider, as it seemed to him, was overtaking him on his bronze horse. Soon the body of poor Eugene was discovered by fishermen on a small deserted island. This is the summary of The Bronze Horseman.
The image of the “little man” in Pushkin’s poem
The theme of an individual who is offended, whose rights are infringed, has been raised more than once in the works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. It was quite topical in his time, and has not lost its relevance today. What is the main idea of the poem “The Bronze Horseman”? The main idea of this work is that people who do not have connections and money and are incapable of cunning and meanness often become victims of a terrible combination of circumstances. There is no one to take care of people like Samson Vyrin from “The Station Agent”, Evgeniy from the poem discussed in today’s article. The theme of “The Bronze Horseman” is the criminal indifference of others.
Pushkin introduces the reader to his hero at the beginning of the first chapter. All of Evgeniy’s ambitions and aspirations are centered around the dream of marrying Parasha. He indulges in dreams about his upcoming family life, and that is why the image of a poor petty official is so touching. After all, he never finds happiness. The dreams of a little man are consumed by harsh natural elements.
Pushkin did not give the main character a surname. This emphasized his facelessness. There were many people like Eugene in St. Petersburg in the 19th century. His position and character are typical of that time. We can say that Eugene from the poem “The Bronze Horseman” is not a person, but a reflection of St. Petersburg society. That society, which was located far from luxurious palaces and estates.
There is a flood. People are dying. The emperor makes a short speech to the people and disappears. It has been this way since time immemorial. The rulers went far ahead, while the common people suffered far from the nobility: timidly, quietly, hard. Eugene from Pushkin's poem symbolizes the suffering of representatives of a low social class.
Pushkin, of course, did not share the views of his hero. Evgeniy does not strive for high goals; he has no ambitions. His desires are limited to everyday joys. There is nothing extraordinary or outstanding about him. At the same time, the author feels compassion for the poor official.
But what is ambition? Are they always attractive and inspiring to implement high ideas? Of course not. The ambitions and ambitions of those in power often lead to tragic consequences. This is what Pushkin showed in his poem “The Bronze Horseman”. The image of the founder of St. Petersburg symbolizes the ruling class, which does not care about the suffering of ordinary people. Those in power have always disposed of their lives carelessly and cruelly. After all, in 1824, when a terrible flood occurred, no one cared about the residents of the poor areas of St. Petersburg, no one saved them.
Image of Peter I
Pushkin had previously turned to the image of the reformer tsar. This historical figure is present in the works “Poltava” and “Arap of Peter the Great”. It is worth saying that the writer’s attitude towards the emperor was ambiguous. In the poem "Poltava", for example, the tsar is depicted as a romantic hero. And this image is radically different from that created in the last poem.
At the early stage of his work, Pushkin saw in him an active sovereign who knew exactly what was necessary for his state. The reforms carried out by Peter I, according to Pushkin, were aimed at the benefit of Russia. After all, the victory over the Swedes strengthened the country’s position in the eyes of Europeans. At the same time, the author of the poem “The Bronze Horseman” was critical of the despotism of the founders of St. Petersburg.
Pushkin collected materials about Peter for many years. In one of his works he said: “This king despised humanity more than Napoleon.” But such a vision of Peter’s character and activities appeared later. More realistically than in “Poltava”, the tsar is depicted in the story “Arap of Peter the Great”. And in "The Bronze Horseman". the features of the unlimited power of the Great Reformer are taken to the limit.
“Introduction” depicts a visionary political figure. The author cites Peter's reasoning about the role of the future capital in the fate of Russia. In the construction of the new city, the king pursued trade, military, and other goals. The Tsar, admiring the beauty of the Neva, does not pay attention to the shuttle sailing along it, to the blackening poor huts. He is passionate about his dream and does not care about ordinary people.
In the first part, which talks about the consequences of the natural disaster, the author calls the Bronze Horseman a “proud idol.” Peter is a higher being here. His descendant, Alexander I, humbly declares that he cannot cope with the natural elements. Peter, meanwhile, proudly rises above the raging waves.
In the second part, the author uses an even more emotional expression in relation to Peter - “Lord of Fate.” The emperor, with his fatal will, once changed the life of an entire people. Beautiful St. Petersburg was built “under the sea.” Peter, choosing a place for the new capital, thought about the greatness and wealth of the country, but not about the ordinary people who would live here. Against the background of the great power plans of Peter I, the happiness of Eugene and others like him seems, of course, a trifle.
In the poem “The Bronze Horseman”, in the form of an allegory, the author expressed another important thought for him. Evgeniy, distraught with grief, wanders around the city for some time. Suddenly he turns his gaze to the monument and realizes that this “proud idol” is to blame for all its troubles. The unfortunate official plucks up courage, approaches the monument and makes angry speeches.
But Evgeniy’s fuse doesn’t last long. Suddenly he sees with horror, or rather, he imagines, that the bronze Peter comes to life. This deprives Pushkin’s hero of the remnants of his sanity. Soon he dies. What is this episode about?
It is no coincidence that Pushkin’s work was banned by Nicholas the First. The last lines of the poem, in a veiled form, talk about a popular uprising, which always ends tragically. The power of an autocrat cannot be defeated. At least, that’s what Pushkin, who died eighty years before the revolution, believed.
>Essays on the work The Bronze Horseman
Main thought
The poem “The Bronze Horseman” was written by A. S. Pushkin in 1833. It was not immediately allowed to be published due to the presence of the theme of the relationship between the individual and the authorities. However, in 1837, with some censorship changes, the poem was published in Sovremennik. This is Pushkin's last work on the theme of the formidable Tsar Peter I and his transformations. In it, the monumental figure of the king is contrasted with harsh nature. Despite the fact that Peter I was able to conquer the elements and build a royal city on the banks of the Neva, nature remained adamant. It still rebelled from time to time, and with each new storm hundreds of civilians died.
A. S. Pushkin based his poem on the relationship between the individual and the authorities and the relationship between man and nature. An ordinary person risks his life and well-being to carry out the will of the authorities. The same situation can be seen in the poem “The Bronze Horseman”. While a poor young official named Eugene is making plans for the future, a destructive storm breaks out in the city, built on the banks of an eccentric river at the behest of Peter I. During this disaster, the protagonist's girlfriend dies - his only hope for a peaceful existence. Only with her did he connect all his dreams and hopes for the future. I wanted to build a family with her, have children and continue to live.
However, fate is inexorable. She deprives Eugene of the meaning of life, and at the same time he loses his reason. At the time of the events, Peter I had already become history. He is depicted as a gigantic idol on a bronze horse. Despite this, he remains an object of worship and a symbol of autocracy. Ordinary people bow when passing by and are afraid to look up at him. Only the insane Evgeniy decided to go during the next storm and look the rider in the eyes angrily, which he later very much regretted. All night after that it seemed to him that the rider was chasing him on his bronze horse.
Thus, the poor St. Petersburg official became a victim of “historical necessity.” On the one hand, he is a victim of the authorities, on whose orders a city was once built on the banks of an eccentric river. On the other hand, he is a victim of elemental nature, against the background of which even the figure of the king fades and becomes bleak. It is noteworthy that throughout the entire poem the author carried the duality of characters and images. So, in it there are two Peters (a living and proud idol), two Eugenes (a poor official and a madman), two Nevas (the decoration of the city and its threat) and two Petersburgs (the majestic city of Peter’s creation and the killer city). This compositional bifurcation is the main philosophical idea of the poem - the thought of man and his value.
In his poem “The Bronze Horseman,” Pushkin approaches one of the greatest problems, the problem of relations between the individual and society, the question of what to do when the interests of an entire society or state collide with the interests of individuals. Does an individual have the right to defend his rights, or is he obliged to submit resignedly to the iron will of fate?
Many attempts have been made to unravel the meaning of the Bronze Horseman. Belinsky, trying to find out how Pushkin resolved this problem, interpreted “The Bronze Horseman” in this way: before us is a clash of the general and the particular, the state and the individual; Peter, or, more precisely, his monument, “an idol on a bronze horse,” is the personification of the state and social necessity.
For the good of the whole, for the good of Russia, Peter had to build St. Petersburg. And if individuals suffer from the inconvenient position of the capital, located on a low shore of the bay, prone to floods, then they, these individuals, do not even have the right to protest. An individual must endure everything, must go to suffering and death without complaining, since the interests of the whole require it.
Evgeniy dared to protest, and for this he was terribly punished. “And with a humble heart,” says Belinsky, “we recognize the triumph of the general over the particular, without abandoning our sympathy for the suffering of this particular...
When we look at the Giant, proudly and unshakably rising in the midst of general death and destruction and, as it were, symbolically realizing the indestructibility of his creation, we, although not without a shudder of heart, admit that this bronze giant could not protect the fate of individuals, ensuring the fate of the people and states; what a historical necessity it is, and that his view of us is already a justification... Yes, this poem is the apotheosis of Peter the Great, the most daring, the most grandiose that could only have occurred to a poet who was fully worthy of being the singer of the great transformer of Russia.”
So, according to Belinsky, Pushkin is entirely on the side of Peter and condemns Evgeniy, who dared to protest. But the question inevitably arises: did Pushkin really come to such a cruel worldview? Really, in his opinion, does the individual really have no right to protest when he is oppressed by the general? And what is this “common” if not the sum of individual individuals? And is this “general” or even
“the majority” would have lost something if both Evgeniy and Parasha had not died? Did anyone really need their death?
Other opinions have been expressed on this issue; believed (for example, Merezhkovsky) that the poem does not at all give the right to think about the “apotheosis of Peter.” On the contrary, “The Bronze Horseman” is a protest against the cruel deed of the “idol”; Pushkin's sympathies are on the side of Evgeniy, and
if Pushkin did not express them more clearly, it was only because of censorship conditions. However, one has only to read the introduction to the story to become clear that Pushkin reveres Peter and sings a hymn to his creation.
On the shore of desert waves
He stood there, full of great thoughts,
And he looked into the distance.
This is how the poem solemnly begins. “He - Peter - is even written with a capital letter. He is a genius, he foresees the future.
So did Pushkin really pronounce such a cruel sentence on individuals that they must die and have no right even
grumble with impunity, even if their death was completely pointless?
The clue to the meaning of “The Bronze Horseman” can be seen in the final words of the introduction:
Show off, city of Petrov, and stand against your ancient enmity and captivity
Unshakable, like Russia. Let the Finnish waves forget
May he make peace with you and not be vainly angry
And the defeated element; Disturb Peter's eternal sleep.
Therefore, Pushkin considers the senseless death of people an abnormal and unjust phenomenon. This injustice disturbs “Peter’s eternal sleep,” but, unfortunately, we have to put up with it, since without it progress is impossible. But there will be an era when harmony will come, and then individuals will not suffer from the demands of the general.
There is another very important, casually expressed thought in “The Bronze Horseman” - a hint of a social nature. Most often it is the poor, the representatives of the lower social classes who have to die; the whole, the state, especially mercilessly crushes the poor classes. The fact that Evgeniy and Parasha died during the flood is, of course, an accident, but it is not an accident that the victims belonged to the poor class. None of the rich and powerful died. They do not live in shacks on the shore of the bay, but in luxurious stone houses and palaces, which are not afraid of any waves.
Even before the flood, Evgeniy had characteristic thoughts. He was thinking about
... That he was poor, that he had the labor of his mind and money. what is it?
He had to provide himself with such idle lucky ones,
Both independence and honor; Short-sighted, sloths,
What could God add to him? For whom life is so much easier!
Here Pushkin approaches an equally important issue, a huge social problem - the idea that there are rich and poor, that they
fate is not the same, and that this is the greatest injustice of the modern social system...
“The Bronze Horseman” is a kind of poetic philosophy of the St. Petersburg period of Russian history: the mighty growth of the state; a spontaneous movement destroying thousands of lives, which can be said to be moving towards the west, and not towards the east; individual rights trampled upon by the “historical course of things,” personified in the powerful image of Peter; the legality and madness of protest against this “power of things” and, in the end, the moral and poetic necessity of introducing here a sense of humanity, pity and humanity, otherwise one remains either to spew out insane curses or to flee in panic.
SUBJECT:
Poem "The Bronze Horseman". Petersburg story.
Target:
Comprehension of the ideological and artistic originality of the poem.
Reveal the confrontation between the Bronze Horseman and Eugene in the poem;
Develop skills in analytical work with literary text,
the ability to analyze the thoughts and feelings not only of the author of the work, but also your own;
Show students the enduring value of the poem and A.S. Pushkin’s interest in the historical past of Russia
The poem "The Bronze Horseman" was written in October 1833 in Boldino, but could not be published immediately due to censorship reasons. It was published only a year after the death of the poet V.A. Zhukovsky with some edits. It was published in its entirety by P. V. Annenkov in 1857.
In this work, the genre of which Pushkin defined as Petersburg story , understanding continues personality of Peter I as a sovereign and a person, his role in the formation and development of Russia. It is no coincidence that Pushkin turns to the image of Peter, who in his interpretation becomes a kind of a symbol of willful, autocratic power. Despite everything, Peter builds Petersburg on the swamps so that “from here threaten the Swede”. This act appears in the poem as the highest manifestation of the autocratic will of the ruler, who “raised all of Russia on its hind legs.”
Addressing the theme of Peter I, the city he created, which became a “window to Europe,” took place against the backdrop of heated discussions about the ways of the country’s development. Opponents of the emperor’s activities and his reforms believed that, while building a new city, which played a decisive role in accelerating the Europeanization of Russia and strengthening its political and military power, Peter did not take into account the natural conditions of the area on which Petersburg was built. Such natural conditions included swampiness, as well as the Neva’s tendency to flood. St. Petersburg was opposed to the mother throne of Moscow, which was created not by the will and design of one person, even if endowed with enormous power, but by Divine providence. The flood that occurred in St. Petersburg in the early 1820s and caused great loss of life was considered as revenge of natural forces for the violence committed. That was one point of view.
Composition of the poem . The poem raises a number of philosophical, social and moral problems. Their decision is subject to a clear composition. In two main parts the main conflict of the poem: natural elements, state power and interests of the individual. Pictures of the St. Petersburg disaster are conveyed dynamically and visibly.
Pushkin loves St. Petersburg, admires its beauty and the genius of its architects, but nevertheless the city has been under God's punishment for centuries for that original autocracy, which was expressed by Peter in the founding of the city on a place unsuitable for this. And floods are just a punishment, a kind of “curse” that weighs on the residents of the capital, a reminder to the inhabitants of Babylon of the crime that they once committed against God.
Plot The main part of the poem is built around the fate of an ordinary, ordinary person - Eugene and his bride Parasha, whose hopes for simple family happiness are destroyed as a result of a natural disaster.
Conflict The poem reaches its climax in the scene of the collision of the insane Eugene, who has lost the most precious thing in his life, with the monument to the creator of St. Petersburg - the Bronze Horseman. It is him, the “builder of the miraculous,” as he calls the “idol on a bronze horse” with malicious irony, that Eugene considers to be the culprit of his misfortune.
The image of Eugene is the image of that very “man of the crowd” who is not yet ready to accept freedom, who has not suffered for it in his heart, i.e. the image of an ordinary man in the street. The “Bronze Horseman” is a part of a person’s soul, his “second self,” which does not disappear by itself. In the words of Chekhov, a person must every day “squeeze the slave out of himself drop by drop”, carry out tirelessly spiritual work (compare with the idea developed by Gogol in “The Overcoat” that that man was created for a high purpose and cannot live by a dream about purchasing an overcoat, only in this case does he deserve the high name of Man). It is these ideas that will later be embodied in the work of Dostoevsky, who “from the inside” will describe the rebellion of the “little man” - the fruitless rebellion of the “poor in spirit.”
Idea : « Kings cannot cope with God's elements " Power suppresses the personality of an individual, his interests, but is unable to resist the elements and protect himself from it. The rebellious elements returned part of the city - the “small island” - to its original state. The natural elements are terrible and capable of taking revenge for their defeat not only on the winner, but also on his descendants. The townspeople, especially the poor inhabitants of the islands, became victims of the rebellious Neva.
QUESTIONS for self-test .
The author's position in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” has given rise to various interpretations in criticism and literary criticism. Some, citing V. G. Belinsky, believed that A. S. Pushkin, in the image of Peter I, substantiates the tragic right of the state to dispose of a person’s private life (B. M. Engelhardt, G. A. Gukovsky, JI. P. Grossman). Others (V. Ya. Bryusov, A. V. Makedonov, M. P. Eremin and others), finding a humanistic concept in the poem, believe that the poet is completely on the side of poor Eugene. And finally, S. M. Bondi and E. A. Maimin see in “The Bronze Horseman” the “tragic intractability of the conflict,” according to which A. S. Pushkin presents history itself to make a choice between the “truths” of the Horseman and Eugene. Which of the above interpretations is closer to you and why? Determine your point of view on the author's position.