Epic poem. Epic poetry

In all types of art, there are historically established internal divisions, large types, and smaller genres that make up these types.

Literary types

All literature is divided into the following types - lyrics, epic and drama.

The lyrics got their name from musical instrument- lyre. In ancient times, playing it accompanied the reading of poetry. A classic example is Orpheus.

Epic (from the Greek epos - narrative) is the second type. And everything that is included in it is called epic genres.

Drama (from the Greek drama) is the third type.

Even in ancient times, Plato and Aristotle attempted to divide literature into categories. Belinsky scientifically substantiated this division.

Recently, a set of certain independent works. These are lyric-epic genres. From the name it follows that the epic genre absorbed and transformed the individual components of the lyrical genre.

Examples of artistic epic

The epic itself is divided into folk and author's. Moreover, the folk epic was the forerunner of the author's epic. Such examples of epic genres as novel, epic, story, short story, essay, short story, fairy tale and poem, ode and fantasy together represent the entire body of fiction.

Throughout the epic genres, the type of storytelling varies. Depending on whose person the description is being written - the author (the story is told in the third person) or a personified character (the story is told in the first person), or on behalf of a specific narrator. When the description is made in the first person, options are also possible - there may be one narrator, there may be several, or it may be a conventional narrator who did not take part in the events described.

Characteristic features of these genres

If the narration is told from a third person, then some detachment and contemplation in the description of events are assumed. If from the first or several persons, then several different views arise on the events being interpreted and the personal interest of the characters (such works are called author’s works).

Features epic genre- this is a plot (presuming a sequential change of events), time (in the epic genre it assumes the presence of a certain distance between the events described and the time of description) and space. The three-dimensionality of space is confirmed by the description of portraits of characters, interiors and landscapes.

Features of the epic genre characterize the latter’s ability to include elements of both drama (monologues, dialogues). Epic genres seem to overlap with each other.

Forms of epic genres

In addition, there are three structural forms of the epic - large, medium and small. Some literary scholars omit the middle form, classifying the story as a large story, which includes a novel and an epic. There is a concept of an epic novel. They differ from each other in the form of narration and plot. Depending on the issues raised in the novel, it can be historical, fantastic, adventurous, psychological, utopian and social. And these are also features of the epic genre. The number and globality of topics and questions that can be answered by this literary form, allowed Belinsky to compare the novel with the epic of private life.

The medium form includes the story, and the short story, short story, essay, fairy tale, parable and even anecdote constitute the small epic form. That is, the main epic genres are the novel, novella and short story, which literary criticism characterizes as, respectively, “a chapter, a leaf and a line from the book of life.”

Representatives of a large form of genres

Along with those listed above, such epic genres as poem, short story, fairy tale, essay, have their own characteristic features that give the reader an idea of ​​a certain content. All epics are born, reach the peak of perfection and die. Now there are rumors about the death of the novel.

Such representatives of epic genres of large forms, such as the novel, epic or epic novel, speak of the scale of the events depicted, which are of both national interest and the life of an individual against the backdrop of these events.

An epic is a monumental work, the theme of which is always problems and phenomena of national significance. A striking representative of this genre is the novel “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy.

Components of epic genres

It is a poetic (sometimes prose - “ Dead Souls") is a genre whose plot, as a rule, is devoted to the celebration of the national spirit and traditions of the people.

The term “novel” itself comes from the name of the language in which the first printed works were published - Romanesque (Rome or Roma, where works were published in Latin). A novel can have a lot of features - genre, composition, artistic and stylistic, language and plot. And each of them gives the right to attribute the work to a specific group. Eat social novel, moral descriptive, cultural-historical, psychological, adventure, experimental. There is an adventure novel, there is English, French, Russian. Basically, a novel is a large, artistic, most often prose work, written according to certain canons and rules.

The middle form of artistic epic

The peculiarities of the ethical genre “story” lie not only in the volume of the work, although it is called a “small novel”. There are much fewer incidents in the story. Most often it is dedicated to one central event.

Story - prose small piece narrative character, describing a specific incident from life. It differs from a fairy tale in its realistic coloring. According to some literary scholars, a story can be called a work in which there is a unity of time, action, event, place and character. This all suggests that the story, as a rule, describes one episode occurring with one character at a specific time. There are no clearly defined definitions of this genre. Therefore, many believe that a story is Russian name short story, which was first mentioned in Western literature back in the 13th century and was a small genre sketch.

Genres constitute a certain system due to the fact that they are generated by a common set of reasons, and also because they interact, support each other’s existence and at the same time compete with each other.

Main epic genres:

Epic (epic poem) – an extensive narrative in poetry or prose about outstanding national historical events. Epic poem, epic, song It is customary to call the predominant type of folk epic that arose in the early pre-literary stages of literature (see, for example, “The Song of Roland”, “The Song of Cid”). The epic depicted the most significant (according to Hegel - “substantial”) events and collisions of life: either clashes of natural forces mythologically realized by folk fantasy, or military clashes of tribes and peoples. Ancient and medieval epics in form were large poetic works that arose through either the combination of relatively short mythological-epic tales, or the unfolding (expansion) of a central event (cf., for example, Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey”).

Fairy tale- one of the main genres of oral folk poetry, an epic, predominantly prosaic work of art of a magical, adventurous or everyday nature with a focus on fiction. From other types of oral prose or works in which fiction and fairy tales play a significant role. differs in that the storyteller presents it, and the listeners perceive it primarily as a poetic invention, a game of fantasy. Literary fairy tale- this is no longer a product of folk art, but the work of a specific author who uses figurative and motive archetypes in his narrative folk tale(“The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by A.S. Pushkin) or creating a new model based on certain fairy-tale techniques and functions (according to V.Ya. Propp). Compare, for example, the technique of “miraculous transformation” in the fairy tale by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "Wild Landowner".

Novel- an epic work of large form, in which the narrative is focused on the fate of an individual in its external and internal clashes with the environment, on the formation of its self-awareness and character. The novel is an epic of modern times. Unlike the folk epic, where the individual and the people's soul are inseparable, the novel historically arises and develops when conditions begin to develop for the moral freedom of an individual, for the development of his self-awareness and self-affirmation, for his ideological and moral denial of old generally valid norms. The life of the individual and the life of society appear in the novel as relatively independent, but, as a rule, opposing principles. A typical novel situation is a clash in the hero of the moral and human (personal) with natural and social necessity. Since the novel develops in modern times, where the nature of the relationship between man and society is constantly changing, its form is essentially “open”: the main situation is each time filled with specific historical content and is embodied in various genrevarieties(picaresque, socially-domestic, historical, adventure novel, etc.).

The heyday of the novel, namely its socio-psychological variety occurs in the era of realism. Showing the formation of characters' characters in complex conflict interactions, many realist writers traced both the formation and changes of these characters in certain national-historical conditions and therefore covered very wide areas with their narratives public life depicted eras and countries - their civil, spiritual, everyday relations and customs (“Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin, “Père Goriot” by Balzac, “Hard Times” by Dickens). Such novels were often branched, multilinear in plot and monumental in volume (“Lost Illusions” by Balzac, “Bleak House” by Dickens, “Anna Karenina” by L.N. Tolstoy, “The Brothers Karamazov” by F.M. Dostoevsky), and sometimes even were combined into cycles (“Human Comedy” by Balzac).

Epic novel– narrative genre, connecting genre settings epics with her interest in the formation of society - in events and positive heroes of national historical significance, and genre settings novel, aimed at embodying the formation of the character of an individual in his own life and in its internal contradictions and external clashes with the world (cf.: “War and Peace” by L.N. Toltoy, “ Quiet Don» M.A. Sholo-khova).

Tale- a medium-sized narrative genre that occupies a middle position between the novel and the story. It differs from the novel in less completeness and breadth of pictures of everyday life, morals, etc., and from the story it differs in greater complexity. In the historical and literary tradition the term story, mainly applied to works of Russian literature. Initially, in the history of ancient Russian literature, this term was used to designate prose works that do not have pronounced expressiveness artistic speech(“The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”). But in the 18th century, when the term appeared novel, story began to be called an epic work of a smaller volume. V.G. Belinsky gives this difference general definition: he calls story“a novel that has fallen into pieces, “a chapter torn out of a novel.” Gradually a stable theoretical idea emerged: story– a small form of epic prose, story- its average form, novel– big. It still prevails today.

Story- a small epic (usually prose) work depicting an episode or series of episodes from the life of one hero (or several heroes). The short story as a literary genre arose at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries; in contrast to the short story, it does not highlight the plot, but the verbal texture of the narrative itself, which implies the presence of detailed characteristics, often refracted through the perception of the narrator-storyteller, an increase in the proportion of details V artistic space works, the presence of leitmotifs, etc.

Novella- a small narrative genre, comparable in scope to a short story (which sometimes gives rise to their identification), but differing from it in genesis, history and structure. The story is based on an unusual incident, an unexpected event or an “unheard-of incident” (Goethe). By “cultivating” the case, the short story extremely exposes the core of the plot - the central vicissitudes, and brings life material into the focus of one event. Unlike a short story, a short story is the art of plot in its purest form, developed in ancient times and addressed primarily to the active side of human existence (S. Sierotvensky). A novelistic plot, built on situational antitheses and sharp transitions between them, usually ends with an unexpected denouement.

Essay– a small narrative genre, close in volume and formal content structure to a story. However, a specific genre feature of the essay is documentary. The focus of the essay writer is on issues of the civil and moral state of the “environment” (usually embodied in specific individuals and situations), that is, “moral descriptive” problems (G.N. Pospelov). The flourishing of essayistic creativity in the history of national literature occurs when “moral descriptive” interests sharply increase in society, due to a crisis in social relations or the emergence of a new way of life. Essay literature usually combines features of fiction and journalism.

Main lyrical genres:

Oda – genre of lyric poetry based on target installation of glorification, praise of socially significant personalities and events. It is written, as a rule, on a certain solemn occasion (victory in a war, the accession of a ruler to the throne, etc.), hence the rhetorical-pathetic nature of its stylistic embodiment. Oda, unlike madrigal(a complimentary poem addressed to a private individual), its task is not simply to glorify the powers that be, but to affirm certain social values, the embodiment of which is the glorified object. The author interprets it as a certain social ideal, which is the guarantor of a fair world order, reasonable social laws, and the forward movement of history. Hence the element of edification in the picture of lyrical experience. Therefore, the ode is not so much complimentary as it is didactic. It is no coincidence that the ode experienced its heyday in the era of classicism (the most striking examples of the genre are “Ode on the Day of Elizabeth Petrovna’s Accession to the Throne” by M.V. Lomonosov; “Felitsa” by G.R. Derzhavin). In the case when the odic object is metaphysical principles (or abstract concepts), the ode takes on a non-social, philosophical character (ode “God”, “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky” by G.R. Derzhavin).

The goal setting for praise is close to ode and hymn, however hymn addressed not to a specific person, but to some personified transpersonal force (God, providence, state). A hymn also differs from an ode in its functional setting, namely, the setting for singing. There are the following types of anthem: state, revolutionary, military, religious.

Message- this is a poetic work, designed for a very specific real addressee (individual or collective), indicated in the text of the poem itself, which has as its setting an “interview” with the addressee on one or another topic relevant to the author (the subject of conversation can be the relationship between correspondents, their life and creative views, philosophical, aesthetic, socio-political problems).

The addressee of the message can be specified directly (explicitly) - in the title, in the personal address, as well as indirectly (implicitly). In the second case, an indication of it is contained in the artistic structure works and is revealed through appeals, questions, appeals, requests, etc., as well as through the intended acquaintance of the addressee with a unique and original; the situation depicted in the poem.

The correspondence of the correspondents creates that dialogicity that introduces into the sphere of lyrical experience a certain objectifying principle - an indication of another person and the possible factors of everyday life, literary practice, social position, and worldview associated with him. With any degree of poetic conventionality (primarily the conventionality of the roles assigned in the artistic system of the work to the author and the addressee), this genre opens a direct exit to the sphere of topical life (and sometimes momentary) interests, demonstrating elevated to the level of art epistolary contact of one real person with another on issues essential to both.

The message as a genre is determined precisely by the attitude towards dialogue with the addressee. This is its typology and difference from other related genres, which also allow specific addressing, but have a prevailing purpose of their own that characterizes them as a genre. The flourishing of the message genre was observed in the era of romanticism (cf.: “To the Partisan Poet” by P. Vyazemsky; “From a Letter to Gnedich”, “Yazykov”, “To Chaadaev” by A. Pushkin).

Elegy ( from Greek elegeia – plaintive song ) - a genre of lyric poetry, a poem of sad content. In modern European and Russian poetry, it is based on introspective attitudes that define a complex of such stable features as intimacy, motives of disappointment, unhappy love, loneliness, death, and the frailty of earthly existence. Classic genre sentimentalism and romanticism (cf. “Elegy” by A.S. Pushkin).

Idyll(from the Greek eidýllion) - in ancient literature, a genre of pastoral (shepherd) poetry, which was characterized by an interest in everyday life ordinary people, to intimate feelings, nature; the image is deliberately artless and emphatically non-social. In the literature of sentimentalism and romanticism, a short poem depicting a peaceful life in unity with nature, while the main attention is paid to the internal state of the author or hero.

Epigram– a satirical or philosophical-meditative poem “on occasion”, the distinctive features of which are determined by its genesis (the original meaning of the epigram is an inscription on something), which determines the lapidary nature of the presentation, aphorism and contextual conditioning of the picture of experience by the epigrammatic object (cf. epigram by A.S. . Guns on Count Vorontsov: “Half-mylord, half-merchant...” or Akhmatova’s epigram “Could Beach have created like Dante...”).

Genetically close to the epigram genre inscription(cf.: “Inscription on the book” by A. Akh-ma-tova; “To the portrait of A.A. Blok”, “To the portrait of Dostoevsky” by In. Annensky) and epitaph(epitaph). Compare: “Poems in memory of A. Bely.”

Song- originally a folklore genre, which in its broad meaning includes everything that is sung, subject to the simultaneous combination of words and tune; in a narrow sense - a small poetic lyrical genre that exists among all peoples and is characterized by simplicity of musical and verbal construction, due to the author’s intention to perform to music.

Sonnet- a small (14-line) lyric poem consisting of two quatrains (quatrains) with two rhymes and two tercets (tercets) with three rhymes. A sonnet with the indicated strophic organization is usually called an “Italian” sonnet (the most common types of rhyme arrangement in it are quatrains according to the abab abab or abba abba scheme, tercettoes according to the cdc dcd or cdc cde scheme). The “Shakespearean” sonnet, consisting of three quatrains and a final couplet (abab cdcd efef gg), also became widespread. The clear internal division of the sonnet allows us to emphasize the dialectical development of the theme: already early theorists provided “rules” not only for the form, but also for the content of the sonnet (pauses, points on the boundaries of stanzas; not a single meaningful word is repeated; the last word is the semantic key of the entire poem and etc.); in modern times, the development of the theme over the 4 stanzas of the sonnet has been more than once interpreted as the sequence “thesis - development of the thesis - antithesis - synthesis”, “commence - development - climax - denouement”, etc.

Ballad- a lyric epic work, the plot of which is borrowed from folk or historical legends. In medieval England, a ballad was a folk song of dramatic content with a choral chorus, usually on a historical, legendary or fantastic theme (for example, the cycle of ballads about Robin Hood). The ballad, close to the English and Scottish folk ballads, became a favorite genre of poetry of sentimentalism and especially romanticism (R. Burns, S. Coleridge, W. Blake - in England, G. Burger, F. Schiller, G. Heine - in Germany). Introduced into Russian literature by V. Zhukovsky (“Lyudmila,” adapted from Burger’s “Lenora,” “Svetlana”). Ballads were written by A.S. Pushkin (“Song of prophetic Oleg", "Groom"), M.Yu. Lermontov (“Airship”), A.K. Tolstoy (mainly on topics of Russian history). Soviet poets N.S. Tikhonov, E.G. Bagritsky are the authors of ballads with heroic themes.

The same term in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was also used to designate a purely lyrical genre, the formal sign of which was the specific design of the finale in the form of a so-called “premise” addressed to a conditional or real addressee and the presence of a refrain (the repeating last line of each stanza and “premise” ). (cf. “The Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Times” by F. Villon).

Poem is a work in verse (“ Bronze Horseman» A.S. Pushkin, “Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov, “Vasily Terkin” by A.T. Tvardovsky), which occupies an intermediate position between epic And lyrics. In a lyric-epic poem, the eventful plot, often unfolding in travels, appears as a result of the author’s experience, while in “ Dead souls» prosaic life situations and satirical portraits of sky smokers in the foreground.

Main dramatic genres:

Tragedy- a genre of drama imbued with pathos tragic(See the definition of tragic pathos in the next section). The basis of the tragedy is made up of acute socio-historical conflicts, the collision of man with fate, fate, history, etc., expressed in the tense form of a struggle between strong characters and passions. A tragic collision usually affects the fundamental problems of human existence and is resolved by the death of the main character (cf. “Hippolytus” by Euripides, “Hamlet”, “Macbeth” by W. Shakespeare; “Boris Godunov” by A. Pushkin).

Comedy – drama genre performed comic pathos (see the definition of comic pathos in the next section). For a long time, K. meant a work that was the polar opposite of tragedy, with an obligatory happy ending. In many poetics, up to classicism (N. Boileau), comedy was defined as a “lower” genre. The subject of the comedy depiction is “improper”, contradictory social ideal or normal. Exposing social and human vices is the goal of comedy. First of all, the comedian puts the “improper” into funny forms: the heroes of the comedy are internally bankrupt, incongruous, do not correspond to their position, purpose (the author’s ideal), due to which they are depicted in a reduced, absurdly caricatured form, recreated with the help of satirical techniques ( types of comic), such as irony, sarcasm, parody, hyperbole, grotesque, farce etc. Spiritual failure, “depravity” place the comic hero below the surrounding reality, plunging him into a “ghost life” (Hegel); It is this, as an “anti-ideal”, as the opposite of true social and human values, that laughter exposes, thereby fulfilling its “ideal”, healing mission.

Based on the principle of organizing comic action, they distinguish comedyprovisions, based on a cunning, intricate intrigue (“Much Ado About Nothing” by W. Shakespeare); comedycharacters or morals, based on ridicule of individual hypertrophied human qualities or social vices (“Tartuffe” by J.-B. Moliere; “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboedov); comedy of ideas, ridiculing outdated or banal ideas (“Pygmalion” by B. Shaw). Genre modifications of comedy based on character differences comic, depending on which they distinguish satirical, humorous comedy and tragicomedies.

Drama- one of the leading genres of drama, starting from the Enlightenment. It reproduces a person’s private life (in social, psychological, family and everyday aspects) in acutely conflicting, but unlike tragedies, not hopeless relationships with society or with oneself (cf. “The Thunderstorm” by N.A. Ostorvsky; “ At the Bottom" by M. Gorky).

One of the most common types of drama is melodrama, which can be defined as a play with intense intrigue, sharp contrast good and evil, exaggerated emotionality (cf.: “Guilty Without Guilt” by N.A. Ostrovsky).

The symbiotic genre is lyrical drama, occupying an intermediate position between two genera - lyrics And drama(cf.: “The Stranger” by A. Blok; “Phaedra” by M. Tsvetaeva).

Test questions and assignments

What is a genre? How do genre and gender relate?

What genres of epic do you know? Indicate their main features.

What are the characteristic genre features of tragedy, comedy, drama?

What are the characteristic genre features of an ode, an elegy, a message?

To topic 5. Literary work in the content aspect

Contents of the work of art is a set of meanings expressed in a holistic system of meanings of the work. It should be noted that the concepts meaning And content sometimes used with different meanings. Meaning also stands in the same synonymous row as content, but the concept of “meaning” is broader, because content is considered to be the complex of meanings that author puts into the text, and meaning is a category that characterizes the complex of significances that is formed when perception works. Therefore, the meaning of a work can change - in the process of historical and cultural evolution, as a result of changes in the philosophical picture of the world, etc.

Idea a work (or the main idea of ​​a work) is a conceptual expression of the substantive essence of the work.

Subject works are the most essential components of artistic meaning, this is everything that has become the subject of the author’s interest, comprehension and evaluation, the sphere of artistic comprehension of the world, presented in the work by the author in accordance with his system of values. An extremely generalized formulation of a topic is called a concept. Thus, the theme is the sphere of artistic comprehension presented in the work. This is not just a world or a fragment of external or internal existence, but a fragment of existence, axiologically highlighted and emphasized by the author - in accordance with his system of values. Artistic theme represents a combination of certain principles:

Ontological and anthropological universals;

Philosophical and ethical universals;

Local cultural and historical phenomena;

Phenomena of individual life in their intrinsic value;

Reflexive-creative phenomena.

Problems of the work– this complex is relevant significant topics for the author, the solution of which is somehow assumed in the work.

Category ideas characterizes the content of a work from the perspective of its relationship to the author’s worldview; it is a fusion of the author’s generalizations and feelings. The concept of idea can be used in two senses. Firstly, an idea is the intelligible essence of objects, which is beyond the boundaries of material existence (this is the “Platonic” understanding of the idea). Secondly, the idea is often associated with the sphere of subjective experience, with “personal” knowledge of existence. When applied to literature, the word idea is used in both meanings. The artistic idea present in the work includes both the author’s directed interpretation and assessment of certain life phenomena and the embodiment of a philosophical view of the world in its integrity, coupled with the author’s spiritual self-disclosure. Artistic ideas differ from scientific ones not only in that they are always emotionally charged, but also in the fact that the generalizations of artists and writers often precede a later scientific understanding of the world. At the same time, quite often works of art contain ideas and truths that have long been established in social experience.

The substantive unity of a work is unthinkable without a category pathos, which expresses the author’s “axiology”. Pathos– this is the author’s modality, the author’s emotional and evaluative perception of the subject he describes, expressed in a certain emotional tone. This author’s attitude (openly emotional or latently manifested in the work) is called in modern literature - author's emotionality(V.E. Khalizev), artistic mode(N. Fry, V.I. Tyupa) (from Latin modus - measure, method, image). However, in traditional literary criticism the term pathos is used (from the Greek pathos - suffering (pathology, pathos), passion).

The types of pathos coincide, on the one hand, with the emotional mood of the author, and on the other hand, with his axiological position, that is, with the author’s ideas about what should be (ideal) and what should not be (negative). At the same time, when determining pathos, one must take into account the relationship between the hero and the world, or the life situation in which the hero acts.

At the core idyllic pathos lies a harmonious and joyful perception of life. The world is arranged correctly and the hero is in harmony With peace.

Elegiac pathos suggests a sad and despondent tonality of the work, caused by the internal isolation of private existence. Hence the motives for the intrinsic value of the state of inner life. A state of loneliness in the world, solitude, comprehension of the mystery of existence, sorrow for the fleeting time, the finitude of life, passing youth and the approach of death. Questioning existence about its mystery. Meditative reasoning, reflection.

Tragic pathos associated with global unresolvable existential-ontological contradictions. The world works wrong, and the hero is a person who rebels against the world or fate.

At the core dramatic pathos lies the idea of ​​a harmoniously arranged world in which individuals are in conflict with certain aspects of the world and with other people. The personality in this case is opposed not to the world order, but to another “I”.

Heroic pathos- This is a type of author’s emotionality associated with heroism and glorification of human will and strength. The world is structured correctly, but it is in danger, the entire world order is collapsing, and the hero, saving it, does not separate himself from the “world as a whole” and acts in its interests.

The following three types of pathos are based on comic or funny start. Revealing their essence and specificity involves determining comic as an aesthetic category.

Comic goes back to carnival-amateur laughter (M. Bakhtin). In the course of cultural development, several types of comics are distinguished: irony, humor, satire, underlying the corresponding types of pathos. At the heart of the comic there is always a contradiction, which can manifest itself in the exaggeration of the size of objects (caricature), fantastic combinations (grotesque) and the bringing together of distant concepts (wit).

Satirical pathos- this is pathos, suggesting a destructive ridicule of phenomena that seem to the author to be vicious. Moreover, the strength of satire depends on the social significance of the position occupied by the satirist and on the effectiveness of satirical methods (sarcasm, grotesque, hyperbole, farce, parody, etc.).

Humorous pathos implies both ridicule and sympathy, an externally comic interpretation and internal involvement in what seems funny. In works based on humorous pathos under the mask of the funny lies a serious attitude towards the subject of laughter, which provides a more holistic reflection of the essence of the phenomenon.

Ironic pathos implies laughter that has an alienating and mocking character. At the same time, it presupposes ridicule and denial, feignedly clothed in the form of agreement and approval. This type of pathos is based on allegory, when true meaning the statement turns out to be the opposite of the verbalized meaning. Ironic pathos Document

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ROSSIADA
Epic poem

HISTORICAL PREFACE

The Russian state in the most distant times, which ancient historians have made known to us, was strong, fearful to its neighbors, and respected by many peoples; According to the state of the state at that time, it was not inferior to any European power in glory, strength, abundance and victories; and in its space it surpassed all others, as now. But after Grand Duke Vladimir 1, the dissolution of Russia into different shares, appanage principalities, civil strife, disorder and the lust for power of the multiplied princes from time to time began to exhaust its strength; and finally they were enslaved by the disastrous yoke of the predatory hordes. From that time on, the former Russian glory faded away and became scarcely known in the whole world; it lay under its ruins in oblivion for about three centuries. This pitiful and shameful state into which Russia was plunged by the raids of the Tatars and their autocracy, the rejection of many principalities that were stolen from her by other neighbors, the restlessness of her internal rebels who were completely exhausting their fatherland - this state inclined her to a complete fall. This evil extended to the time of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the First, 2 who suddenly aroused Russia, prepared it for autocratic rule, boldly and cheerfully overthrew the yoke of the Horde kings and restored calm in the depths of his state. But the kingdom of Kazan was not yet destroyed under him; The Novgorodians were not yet completely tamed; neighboring powers have not yet felt due respect for Russia. This great change, in which this state passed from weakness to strength, from humiliation to glory, from enslavement to domination, this important and drastic change took place under the Tsar’s grandson, John Vasilyevich the Second, 3 who is the hero of this poem.

So, shouldn’t the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich the second set the middle line to which Russia, having reached a disastrous state, began to revive, grow and regain its former glory, which it had lost for about three centuries? When we imagine in our thoughts a state that is completely upset, oppressed from neighboring powers, torn apart by internal unrest, disturbed by the disagreement of many authorities, enslaved to the Gentiles, plundered by its own nobles, when we imagine all this and imagine a young sovereign, accepting autocratic power, eradicating disorder in the fatherland, the strong and trampled down the terrible enemies of his state, curbed the high command, pacified the rebels in the bowels of the fatherland, returned cities rejected by neighbors and added entire states to his scepter, tamed the disagreement and pride of the boyars, gave prudent laws, brought the army into better order - shall we not feel such great respect? spirit to the sovereign?.. Such was Tsar John Vasilyevich! Foreign writers who have composed absurd fables about his severity, despite all this, for many famous deeds, call him a great man. Peter the Great himself gave honor to this sovereign to follow in wise undertakings. History overshadows the radiance of his glory with some terrible stories related to his ardent disposition - whether to believe the stories that are not characteristic of the great spirit, I leave it to historians to ponder. However, the immeasurable royal severity, for which he was named the Terrible, does not concern my intentions, nor the time, which contains the whole circle of my writing. Singing the destruction of the Kazan kingdom with the power of the Horde powers, I had in mind the tranquility, glory and well-being of the entire Russian state; the famous exploits of not only one sovereign, but the entire Russian army; and returned prosperity not to one person, but to the whole fatherland, which is why this creation is called “Rossiada”. I present the young monarch, crowned with laurels; this monarch, about whom Mr. Lomonosov in a brief Russian chronicle claims that this king, already after the death of his first wife, became Terrible and that the disorder of the boyars, like a steep storm, outraged his morals; which was to happen much after the capture of Kazan. Together with the Tsar, I glorify the loyalty and love for the fatherland of the princes, nobles and the entire Russian army who served him. Is this adventure important? Russian history? The true sons of the fatherland, having mentally surveyed the disastrous state of Russia at that time, can themselves feel whether it is worthy of an epic... and my poem is obliged to justify this. Publishing this eight-year-old work of mine, now revised for the third time and expanded in many places, I feel its imperfections and shortcomings in comparison with other epic poems. This work is weak, but it is the first in our language; and this very thing deserves some apology to the writer. I based this narrative creation on historical truth, as much as I could find printed and written news that belonged to my intention; I added to this some small anecdotes brought to me from Kazan by the former head of the university gymnasiums in 1770 1 . But let my readers remember that, just as in an epic poem, historical fidelity should not be sought in the descriptions of a poem. I swept aside a lot, transferred from one time to another, invented, decorated, created and created. Whether I succeeded in my enterprise is not for me to judge; but it is undeniable that epic poems, which sometimes have special intentions in mind, are usually composed according to rules such as this one.

A LOOK AT EPIC POEMS

In the Iliad, Homer sings of the anger of Achilles for the abduction of his slave Briseis by King Agamemnon, anger that was only disastrous for the Greeks and Pergamum; bloody battles, the destruction of the besiegers and the destruction of the besieged Trojans. Patroclus, a friend of Achilles, is killed by Hector, he avenges his friend - he kills the brave Hector, and thus the poem ends. The Odyssey celebrates the ten-year wandering of the Ithacan king Ulysses; his return to his home and the terrible beating of the Penelopin lovers, which is called the “Minsterophany”. Virgil in the incomparable “Aeneid” sang the escape of Aeneas from Troy, devastated by the Greeks, his arrival in Carthage, his love with Dido, his infidelity to this unfortunate queen. His other escape was to Italy, where, having killed Turnus, he married Lavinia, the bride of this venerable prince. In Paradise Lost, the important Milton narrates the fall of the first man, the eating of the forbidden fruit, the triumph of the devil, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise for their disobedience, and the cause of the misfortune of the entire human race. Walter begins his “Henriad” with the murder of Henry III 1, and ends with the conversion of Henry IV 2 from one religion to another, but his beautiful poems make everything charming. Armida in Tass's "Jerusalem" 3, the beautiful sorceress Armida is the soul of this unappreciated poem; her cunning, her deceit, her island, her tenderness, her very ferocity after Renaud’s departure are admirable, 4 but not edifying. Let's run through "Luziad" by Kamoensova 5 and "Farzalia" by Lukanova 6. The first is the wandering of the Lusitanians to Africa, the discovery of some new lands - legends and wonders. This entire poem is a poetic narrative, in which the poet himself took part. But the story, written with a living brush, is sweet and attractive; this is a gallery of exquisite paintings, disorderly arranged, but each of them delights, touches, surprises and is etched in the memory. “Farzalia” is called by many newspapers 7, sung in lush style; but these newspapers are filled with lofty thoughts, animated pictures, striking descriptions and strong expressions; it glorifies the war between Julius and Pompey; for all that, the poem was unfinished by the singer and was not corrected. I am writing this for those who think that an epic poem should be a song of praise. An epic poem concludes some important, memorable, famous adventure that happened in the existence of the world and which had the consequence of an important change affecting the entire human race - such is Milton’s “Paradise Destroyed”; or glorifies an event that occurred in some state and brought glory to a whole people, to tranquility, or, finally, to its transformation - such should be the poem “Peter the Great,” which, in my opinion, is not yet the time to write. Two great spirits began to sing Peter the Great, Mr. Lomonosov and Thomas 1; both started - both did not finish. Volterova’s “Henriad” and my “Rossiada” should be considered among this type of poem, without, however, comparing my weak creation with Volterova’s excellent epic. Woe to that Russian who does not feel how important the benefit, how sweet the silence and how great the glory our fatherland acquired from the destruction of the Kazan kingdom! We must move our thoughts back to those terrible times when Russia was enslaved to the Tatar yoke, we must imagine the raids and insolence of the Horde carried out inside our state, we must imagine the Russian princes subservient and dependent on the proud or derogatory autocracy of the Kazan kings, we must see the Tatar rulers not only in cities , but in all the villages established and even their idols sent to Moscow itself by princes who possess them, we must read carefully the entire history of the suffering of our fatherland during its enslavement to the Horde - and suddenly imagine Russia, triumphant over its enemies, overthrowing the yoke of its tormentors , our fatherland, crowned with victorious laurels, and the young sovereign, prescribing meek laws to his former legislators. Reader! if, going through all these misfortunes of our fatherland, your heart does not bleed, your spirit does not become indignant and finally does not come into sweet delight, then do not read my “Rossiada” - it was not written for you - it was written for people who know how to feel and love their homeland and marvel at the famous exploits of their ancestors, who brought safety and tranquility to their descendants.

SONG ONE

I sing Russia freed from the barbarians 2,
I will trample the power of the Tatars and overthrown their pride;
The movement of ancient forces, labors, bloody warfare,
Russia's triumph, Kazan destroyed.
From the circle of these times, calm years have begun,
Like a bright dawn, it shone in Russia. O you, soaring above the bright stars,
Poems spirit! come from the high places,
To my weak and dark creation
Shed your rays, art, illumination!

Open, eternity! the gates of those villages for me,
Where all earthly vanity is rejected,
Where the souls of the righteous receive their reward,
Where is glory, where are crowns considered vanity?

Before the star-studded altar,
Where the last slave stands next to the king;
Where the poor will forget poverty, the unfortunate will forget sorrow,
Where every person will be equal to another.
Open up, eternity, to me, and with my lyre
I will attract the attention of nations and kings.
The curtain has risen!.. They shine before the eyes
Heroes crowned with light rays.
From them the bloody Kazan moon
Cast into darkness and deprived of glory.
O you, now rejoicing in heavenly places,
Appear to me in your previous bodily forms!

Another ancient part of eastern Russia
The impudent Trans-Volga hordes were burdened with power 1;
The shackles rattled on our captives there,
Rebellions raged, new atrocities grew;
Pale fear spread across villages and towns,
Evil after evil flew, trouble after trouble;
The altars in the churches did not have incense,
The singing fell silent, only the storms rustled there;
The plow lay idle in the field under the thorns,
And the shepherd ran away from the flock into the dark forest.
When the light of day looked towards midnight,
I found a groaning, suffering Russia.
Kazan was born in her arms
From her languid hands she took a shameful tribute;
This city, built by Russian enemies,
At midnight the proud mountain, sublime,
Having raised his head, he stands by two rivers,
He sees the breakaway on the banks of the noisy Volga.
Under the shade of forests, between colorful flowers
Placed by Batu 2 to the north with a gate,
Through which in his heart he ran out to Russia,
He devastated villages and burned cities.
From the top of the mountains seeing murders and fires,
Where did the ancient Russian Bulgarians live?
Enkindled by faith in their law,
Kazan, plunged into Mohammedan darkness,
In tears I looked at the blue smoke, at the glow
And she stretched out her arms across the fields to Russia;
She asked for help and light from the princes,

When wickedness spread darkness within her.
Moved to countries by natural regret,
His people through troubles and languor,
For parts of midnight, all the dissolved princes
They subdued the insolent hordes, there was blood in the battles. But no matter how the Russian Irakles fought,
The heads of the evil hydra were constantly being born again,
And, having grown their stings in remote places,
Those snakes crawled back into the chest of Russia.
The dragon's head lay broken,
But the ancient anger in him was not extinguished;
Under the ashes there was a fire and often flared up,
In the troubled days of Russia, he gathered strength;
The indomitable hordes have resurrected the power trampled upon
During the youth of the second John.
This brave grandfather's grandson crowned with glory
Almost let Kazan out of weak hands;
His spirit was troubled by his unhappy campaign,
Where he commanded in the war last year,
Where Borey himself raised a battle against the Russians,
Closing Kazan from them with frozen wings;
He was surrounded by a dark cloud and storms,
He appeared like a terrible monster,
In the deep steppe he roared, in the dense forest he howled,
Spinning between the mountains, it tore, made noise, fell,
And, the Volga streams moved the banks towards the thick ones,
Frost, whirlwind and snow blew from cold lips;
Their fiery blood did not warm the Russians,
In order to boil hotter this year. At that time, the young king avoided the capital,
Where, instead of the sound of trumpets, I was captivated by amusements.
O you who live in silence in heaven!
I'm sorry great king, my courage to me,
That the morning of your days in darkness I dare to imagine,
I will praise your bright noon louder;
Great that you tamed the storm around the kingdom,
But more than that, he forbade spiritual passions.

Seeing that Moscow, leaving the sword, fell asleep,
The trembling moon peeked out from the clouds;

Keeping hatred eyes wide awake
It rose from the Volga like a terrible thunderstorm;
The Horde, having violated the peace, broke the shackles
And, driven by anger, troubled, rebelled,
And she began to lift up her head and ramen,
To oppress Russia, as in former times.
This terrible giant is entering Russian cities,
He commits murders, robberies, and violence;
With one hand I carry a sword, with the other I carry a chain,
Walls are falling all around, the forest and steppe are languishing.
Already by the command of the insidious Sumbek 1
Rivers of Russian blood flowed in Kazan;
And, wearing a flame, indomitable evil
The Moscow suburbs were burned in rage;
Execution entered the homes of Christians with a dagger,
And the blood cried out in pain to the sky;
There is crying, despondency, the groan of the orphans;
But their fatherland dismissed this cry as a dream. Hungry, chained by selfishness to the chariot,
The Russian capital was wreaked of misery.
Where nobles talk about their own good,
There, feelings of pity will be silent for a long time.
Moscow, repelling external destruction,
She appeared inconsolable from internal sorrows. The truth was hidden from the king for a while;
Cunning, trampling on honor, looking at property,
In the face of zeal appeared in the halls,
It entered, and day by day it became stronger.

There flattery presented itself in feigned beauty,
Kotor in its natural nakedness
Dark as night, timid, submissive, hasty,
Low before the strong, proud before the low,
Lying at the feet of the rulers of the earth,
To serve them to cause them to stumble.
This, having transformed natural bile into sweetness,
Careless youth drew him into the fun;
Nobles, jealous of their own gain,
They united, to the shame of the state, with it;

And flattery received reliable support,
Innocence was separated from the royal face.
Truth is persecuted by the arrows of slander,
What did you do then? You hid in the caves! In troubled times there were still nobles,
Who sincerely loved the fatherland;
They neglected the temptations of happiness,
In the event of obvious death they could not help but cry;
Moved by the sacred both by duty and law,
They dared to groan and lament before the throne;
The triumph of vices, I will trample the truth in vain,
They dared to protect the king from flattery.
Nobles with gray hair surround the monarch,
Their tears represent a common misfortune;
Their heads are downcast, their eyes, their hearts,
It seemed that fog had been spread around the crown;
Virtue shines on their dim brows,
In which the owner could read his shame.
The spirit of vigor in you, they say, has dozed off!
But the king, knowing it himself, did not heed their cry. The capital city is sad, Moscow bowed its head,
Sadness clouded her face like night;
Sadness has entered the heart and complaint has entered the mouth,
Beautiful places yearn for her around her;
Despondency, hair disheveled, walks around the city,
Looking down, it leads to despair,
He beats himself on the chest, sheds rivers of tears;
There is celebration on the farmsteads, there is no joy in the houses;
There is groaning and crying in the oak forests, sadness in the green valleys;
In the city there are crowds, the wedding songs are not heard;
Everything is clothed in the robe of melancholy and orphanhood,
A single cry is heard in the temples of the deity.
Gnawed inside by an ever-present disease,
Moscow seemed like muddy water,
Which, having lost movement and coolness,
It fades, deteriorates and produces poison.
The people are desperate, persecuted, tired,
As if in Etna 1 fire suddenly inflamed,
Wooded hills, dense trees
From the surface of the mountain it throws into the sky.

The people were excited!.. Then, with a violent riot,
From a spark, the impudent rebellion became a great fire;
It has spilled over the haystacks, it is burning in the market places,
And Moscow sees the glow of disastrous consequences.
The rebels rebelled against the evil nobles 2,
Which the Tsar's severity pushed,
Who tried to outrage the soul in him,
In order to plunder this Russia during a storm.
The two princes Glinsky were victims of turmoil,
The rebels killed one of them,
Another knew how to escape from them by sneaking
And a new storm roared from the throne.
The darkness of vengeance spread over the bright royal house,
The irreconcilable power armed itself with thunder,
She destroyed those men, she destroyed those places,
Where the truth dared to open its lips;
Champions of fun received awards
And the faithful sons, having burst into tears, fell silent. Russia, having lost its former beauty
And seeing discord and emptiness all around me,
There is despondency everywhere, sickness in the chest of the capital,
The borders were torn away by the raid of daring hordes,
Under the shadow of luxury, a swaying throne,
In someone else's possession the Dvina, Dnieper, Volga, Don
And meeting the approach of eternal night, -
Raises tear-stained eyes to heaven,
Raises ramen to the heavenly father,
Kneeling down, she resorted to the creator;
She opened her chest, her chest is languid, ulcerated,
Showing with his hand bloody Moscow,
The other - a sea of ​​evil merged around her;
She sobbed and couldn’t say a word.

On rainbow dawns he sits above the stars,
Hearing in storms, thundering in Perun,
Before whom the light of the sun is like a shadow,
In whom the worlds move, in whom everything in the worlds lives,
Who looks down on everyone from heaven,
Forgives, has mercy, gives peace and punishes,
The king of fire and water, - the voice of Russia knew;

And, seeing the last hour of glory for your children,
The days of her sorrow were numbered in a single moment;
He thought of extending a helping hand to her.
The skies above her suddenly became brighter,
The life-giving dew began to flow towards her,
Her sad chest and eyes were sprinkled,
Instantly languid Russia was reinforced;
The rosy dawn wrapped around midnight,
Angels look at the earth, looking through the crystal door,
They made a heavenly harmony from lyres O nuyu
And they sang grace crowning Russia. Then one of the righteous men,
Living in the beauty of divine rays,
To the Lord's face in the glory of the coming
And in the face of the angels they proclaim his praise,
The Almighty says: “Come to your descendants,
Let him see the light in the darkness, give him advice;
Appearing to John in the face of the fatherland,
May he see in you all of Russia trampled upon!..” Quicker than a ray of sun flowing into the air,
Flying among the worlds like a blowing marshmallow,
The heavenly man descends into the land of midnight,
Draws a brilliant line through the air;
Covered by a cloud, he enters the royal house,
Where the dim John lay in a sleepy state;
With his coming the palaces were illuminated,
The whole city trembled, the vices disappeared into darkness.
This holy shadow appears to the king
In the same image as she was on that day,
Into which, in this world having left the sight of the body,
She flew up, groaning, into the bright heavenly house;
The head is bowed, lying on the shoulders,
Sad face, dim light in the eyes,
The chest is pierced with a sword, blood flows from clothes, -
A trembling shadow, with silence coming,
And she terrified the sleeping king,
She approached him and spoke to him like this:

“You are sleeping, careless king, delighted with peace,
Intoxicated with joy, born into the world for victories;

Crown, fatherland, laws forgotten,
He hated work, loved fun;
In the bosom of idleness lies your crown,
The faithful servants are not visible; flattery rejoices at the throne.
You dream of being a tiger, lying on the flowers;
And we, who live in high places,
We accept participation in the common destruction,
We listen to your servants in the villages above.
“You have the power to create everything,” flattery tells you;
“You are a slave of the fatherland,” duty and honor proclaim;
But in your pride you do not heed the voice of truth,
You drive away sincerity, you embrace godless lies.
We, the princes of this country and your great-grandfathers,
We cry, bowing our gaze in this monastery,
For eternal joys we are caught up in heaven,
Even in the villages of paradise we are outraged by you;
We moan about the Russians, we moan about you;
Come to your senses! Imagine our grief, imagine;
Think about the kingdom, about yourself, about glory,
And number those who beat us up as villains.” The sky suddenly opened to the dozing eyes,
And John sees the sad ancestors there,
Who were crowned with their blood,
But in the former image the following appeared to his eyes:
Batu’s sword is stabbed into Olegov’s chest;
George 1, his brother, lies bloodied;
The unfortunate Theognost wears two heavy shackles,
He asks for revenge on the hordes for death and wounds;
Having bowed their heads, those princes groan,
Who were tormented in their stomach.
There the law is seen, trampled, humiliated,
Shedding currents of tears and surrounded by darkness;
The Russian princely family seems extinguished;
The nobles are crying, the people are despondent;
There are pale faces covered in blood,
Who in life are amazed by their hordes;
He sees his relatives and his ancestors,
Their torment, their melancholy, their wounds are deep.

And the shadow told him: “I went into much torment,
Grumbling against you, these stand before God;

The last one was killed by a villainous hand
Your ancestor Alexander 1, I, the former prince of Tver,
I came from the heights of heaven to awaken you from sleep,
To enlighten your mind, to deliver your fatherland;
Behold my ulcers, melancholy and darkness in my eyes,
Behold the exact image of the Russian country in front of you!
Look at my members, bloody, crushed,
And imagine villages and cities destroyed;
Today the same sword with which I am struck,
And with the same hand he plunged into Russia’s chest,
Her blood is pouring!.. Washed by the blood I sow,
I forgot that you have God as your judge;
Every slave's cry, suffering and groan,
Having soared into heaven, they flow before God’s throne;
You don’t want your subjects to be held accountable for their evil,
But you answer to the Lord for their sorrows.
Revive the wisdom that is dormant in you,
Fatherland, people, save yourself from evil;
Be a shepherd, be a hero, your God will love you;
Late posterity will sound the trumpet of your praise.
Don't hesitate! Raise it up! strike! so God commanded..."

He was broadcasting, and didn’t want to broadcast any further.
The palace was illuminated with heavenly rays,
In glory, Alexander was installed in the house of God.
Confused John does not see him in the darkness;
I felt fear in my heart, sadness on my brow;
The dream disappeared, the vision flew away,
But the Tsar's thought deeply impressed his face
And he does not give the king a pleasant dream;
From his sad bed he rises in confusion,
Throws menacing eyes at those ahead.
Like a wanderer in the steppe in the dead of night,
Hearing the hissing of serpents around me,
Having no hope of refuge anywhere,
Doesn't know where to step or where to look for salvation,
With every step he is afraid of remorse, -
Such was John, recalling a terrible dream;
It seemed that he had suddenly learned the vileness of flattery,
He is afraid of flatterers and does not dare to trust them.
The king is unhappy when he has no friend;

But to put into action a secret desire,
He ordered Adashev to be brought to his palace 2. This man, a wise man, in his blooming summer,
Seemed at court like some kind of planet,
Embarking on your journey from unfamiliar places
And rarely visible among the burning stars.
The courtiers oppressed him with vexation,
But inwardly they revered him with their hearts.
Hell A Shev of happiness despised deceptions,
He trampled worldly pomps underfoot;
He was an enemy of deceit and abhorred flattery;
He was adorned with the majesty of the soul, not with dignity;
He was full of passion and honesty.
Like a stone in the midst of boiling stormy waves,
Boreas, unafraid, stands unshakably,
And the waves, beating against him, pass by, -
Adashev was so firm among debauchery,
Removed from the world, loved the fatherland;
He calmly entered the house where the formidable ruler lived.
Is straight virtue afraid of anything?
Keeping flattery still in the custody of the royal court,
Seeing the truth in him, she lowered her gaze;
Desperate, pale and gnawing with envy,
Tests everything, waits for the sun, clouds and thunder.
A respectable husband appeared, and honesty went with him;
So in the darkness sometimes an angel is visible!
Having Adashev in his arms,
The monarch talks to his subject, blushing:
“To you,” he said in tears, “I will open my heart;
Are you honest, can you not be a friend to the king?
As you were in the desert, be faithful before the throne.”

Then oh nightmare telling with a bitter groan,
“My God humbled me,” he said with an important look, “
This night I have become a new person;
I’m ashamed that I avoided good advice...”
John wept and appeared to the righteous.
Like a mother, a faithful son loves the fatherland,
Adashev hoped to see himself in heaven;

Looking at flattery, entwined around the throne,
This man mourned oppressed Russia;
The king said in delight: “Blessed dream!
Believe, believe me, sir, that he was sent by God;
Listen to the fatherland, listen to the innocent groans,
You wear a crown on your heart, not on your head.
What good does it do to subjects that they have kings?
Since the whole people suffers, the altars are trampled,
Villainy is awake, but righteousness is oppressed;
Not the king with purple, purple is honorable to them!
You have despised yourself and us enough;
Now the hour of your and our glory has come!” Hearing owner of the verbs of truth
I saw virtue descending from heaven:
Like the angel who appeared to Israel in the night 1,
There were brilliant rays around the head;
"Here true friend you!" - told the monarch,
And Adashev’s face lit up with radiance.
The king saw her features in his forehead
And so he called to him: “Be my colleague;
I need your wisdom, your advice, your service.
The king must seek a friend above all else.
Tell me the truth, the sight of it is threatening to us,
But this sight drives away shame from crowns and thrones;
Drive away this shame, drive away, and give me stern advice
Reveal the path for wisdom to follow the light!”

Adashev, feeling how cunning flattery can be
To distract from the truth, to lead the king into deception,
He said: “Let us drive away temptations from our souls,
Let us turn ourselves away from these walls and idleness;
Heavenly wisdom acquire fleece 2
Solitude will teach us one thing;
The wisdom of pride and flattery flees,
She neglects the vanity of the world,
Civilians do not live among depravity,
In caves and forests light finds her;
Where there is no vanity, no flattery, no confused thoughts,
Let's go look for her in the sacred monasteries,
When a pure spirit flies away to heaven;

O my king! choose this monastery yourself;
Russia is not yet deprived of its last strength,
Love for the fatherland is not completely extinguished;
Order to gather a council, look at the truth
And destroy the advice of wickedness:
You will see glory floating before you;
We shed blood for the sake of it, now we are ready for battle.
Lord, all Russia and the whole wide world
Out of idleness, the king calls you to glory!”

There is a place built on the earthly face,
Consecrated by the companion of the holy hermits;
Saints, then ascended to heaven,
They left their incorruptible bodies,
Who, having received fervent prayer,
They give peace, tranquility, and healing to the grieving.
The saint Sergius founded that monastery 1,
He hid great work in a small hut;
He glorified these places with his heavenly life
And there he erected an altar to the tri-personal god 2;
Seeing the walls around and the beauty of the temples,
It is possible to honor that desert as a city;
Treasures brought into the abode of God
Souls manifest themselves to her with zeal;
There the hill is filled with a stream of healing waters,
Which Sergius carved from stone;
Spreading trees overshadow the hillock 3
And they bow the tops of the temples.
That building was then added to holiness,
That the glory of ancient years is kept as a pledge:
The heroes are depicted with a living brush here,
By which the enemies of Russia are overthrown;
Svyatoslav 4 is visible there, sitting on the ground,
He who eats bread is dry and covered in sweat and dust;
He seems like a simple warrior among the military,
But the ancients preferred Atrides to be worthy.
Vladimir 5 is depicted wearing a sword and palm trees,
Stands with trophies and is surrounded by light;
At his feet lies a prostrate chimera;

Uniting with glory, he is crowned by faith.
There Yaroslav 6 has laurels on his head;
Donskoy 7 shines here; there is Nevsky 8 on the Neva;
There the face of the great John is represented,
Crowned by the first Tsar's crown 9;
Victories, celebrations, crowning glory
Fire is instilled into the hearts for great deeds;
For these reasons, she was chosen to this temple, to glory,
Adashev convinced John to bow down. The days were not yet hidden in the waves,
They reached a peaceful refuge.
Having virtue as his companion,
It was as if the ruler saw heaven in the monastery:
God is present there in glory!
With sacred horror he entered the Lord's temple;
He knew that the soul ascended to heaven,
From her body she is medicinal and incorruptible,
She has performed many miracles even now,
And she could say what the heavens cover;
He comes to Sergius, brings him prayers,
Asks for divine help against Kazan,
Saying: “Holy man! you helped Dmitry
The Tatar moon will break the arrogant horn,
And help me by daring against Kazan,
To justify Russia in the upcoming battle;
My fatherland, O Sergius! and yours...
He offers this prayer before you!”
Prayer does not disappear in the air like smoke,
But it’s like lightning pierces the vault of heaven,
She soars on rainbow wings:
God sincerely reads the prayer in our hearts;
She is the vault of heaven and passes through the stars,
The angels are moved to the tenderness and Gehenna is brought to fear.
His prayers rang out like thunder before God,
Moscow woke up, the Horde people were shocked!

In this noteworthy time
The creator of two earthly kingdoms measured the fate:
The Russian crown rose to the skies,
The end of Horde pride was in sight;

But to the victorious peoples and power
Obstacles will appear in the thundering glory.
The horde will scatter, their throne will fade away,
But the Russians will have a lot of trouble ahead of them. Then the Lord pronounced a decree
Organ heavenly secrets in a sacred frenzy,
Trembling, full of spirit, serving the altar,
The soul shepherd announced the prophecies to the king:
“O king! laurel crowns are woven for you,
I see a new throne, I see new crowns!
But to conquer kingdoms and gain glory,
You must endure a lot of suffering.
Come and be strong!..” The words were spoken
And the voice of song was heard through the vaults.
The monarch then felt peace in his soul
And again he turned the procession towards the city.
Adashev intensifies the fire in the king for glory,
The written princes appear in the entrance hall.
“Behold Rurik, your ancestor,” he says to the king, “
Troyansk branch in it and Augustov in vain 1;
He, having strengthened the wavering powers,
He painted an immortal image of glory for his descendants.
Behold Olga 1 is wise, executing Iskorest,
Rays around the head, in his hands he has a cross;
How holy he reigns over the midnight land!
The wife became famous for her reign and war!
Behold your forefathers! Look at them, look:
You see their glory! bend your knees.
Here the brush depicts your teaching...”
And Adashev points out the royal grandfather,
Who calmed the discord of kingdoms within and without;
But it seems that a stern gaze is cast towards the king
And he reproaches his grandson for idleness on the throne.

Blushing, John looks at his face,
A current of tears from shame flows from his eyes,
"Let's start, let's start the war!" - He speaks to Adashev.
And behold, soaring in the circles of ethereal glory
It says: “Get ready to bloom, Russian state!”
The pious spirit of the Tsar leads to Kazan;

The throne city awaits him with a thundering splash.
The Almighty bowed his eye to him,
And the king solemnly entered his capital;
Her surroundings suddenly blossomed,
At Candlemas it seemed to him that the groves were coming;
The severity of times has killed gaiety
In the valleys and forests she appeared revived;
As if the streams of the previous red waters 2,
The crowd of people rejoices on the hills;
Moscow raises its golden heights high,
And the saints filled the churches with singing;
The king sees hearts kindled with love,
They see children in their subjects, they see their father in the king;
There is joy on the faces, amusement in the eyes,
And the sweet spirit tastes tenderness.

If the king angers the highest power with wickedness,
The whole nature then takes on a vague appearance;
But if virtue shines under the crown,
The whole people, nature and ruler rejoice.
It seemed that John had acquired the kingdom again;
He commanded the elected Duma to be in the palace;
To this day the capital city is groaning, weary
He appeared as if liberated from the siege.

An epic poem of the Homeric type can be considered as a transitional, aesthetically non-absolute phenomenon, as a stage in the formation of poetic reality, which cannot be reduced to extra-poetic reality. The fact of the existence of the epic poem genre is an indication of some unfamiliar to us - a unique poetic experience that is not entirely accessible to our understanding.

Within any culture in general, argued M. Mamardashvili, “understanding” can exist only as an incompletely, incompletely realized possibility<…>Apparently, any message to become cultural property<…>, must have some ambiguity."

The presence of an epic poem of the Homeric type in the world of modern European culture is characterized by a very significant ambivalence, which consists, on the one hand, in the impossibility of its adequate perception (since the corresponding type of reception has been lost), and on the other, in the productivity of the most inadequate perception, or incomplete understanding of this cultural phenomenon . Within the framework of this approach, the deeply “monological” (M. Bakhtin) world of the epic poem in its contact with the “worlds” of non-understanding consciousnesses generates a tense dialogical context.

The “ambiguity” of the perception of the epic poem by post-archaic consciousness is revealed, for example, in the concept of G.V. Hegel, since it “potentially posits within itself its own opposite.”

According to Hegel, epic for the first time appears as a true poetic whole, “complete within itself.” For the first time, the epic poem expresses the naive consciousness of the nation, its spirit, which “<…>has already become strong enough within himself to produce his own special world<…>"[my italics - Yu.G.]. However "<…>One should not present the matter in such a way that the people already in the heroic era as such, which is the birthplace of its epic, have the art of depicting themselves poetically.” Poetry, according to Hegel, arises later, “<…>than life itself and the spirit, which feels at ease in its directly poetic external existence.”

In other words, Hegel, on the one hand, recognizes the epic poem as a true poetic integrity - for the first time “complete within itself” and thereby representing a “special world”. On the other hand, this special and integral world is nothing more than the spontaneous self-awareness of the spirit, its directly poetic external existence. The authenticity of the poetic integrity of the epic is not verified by the poetic laws of the poem itself, which determine its completeness “from the inside.” The “special world” of the epic poem is a consequence of certain laws that operate not only within this world, but also outside it. Hegel, thus, does not see a fundamental difference between the “world” of the epic poem and the world that remains beyond its boundaries.

Developing Hegel’s idea of ​​the epic poem, we will continue: “the special world of the epic is a form of vital manifestation of the universal, directly poetic state of the world. At the same time, a form capable of manifesting such a state of the world in its entirety can arise only when “<…>confusion is a thing of the past<…>» .

The new state of poetic consciousness, parting with its own “obscurity,” is the ambiguity of the position of the epic poet, which, on the one hand, is a direct continuation of substantial reality, and on the other, is denied by the world of epic integrity.

Characterizing the poetic nature of the epic, Hegel tries to clarify the method of relationship between the poet and the depicted world: “<…>The poet must still be entirely within these conditions, these forms of contemplation, this faith, and he only needs to add poetic consciousness, the art of depiction to the object, which still continues to constitute substantial reality for him” [my italics - Yu.G.]. However, if “the epic world to be depicted in the poem is truly substantial, that is, truly “complete in itself,” then there is nothing to attach to it. “For both sides - the content, the epic world to be depicted, and the rest, independent of it, the world of poetic consciousness and representation - are internally spiritual and have in themselves one definite principle that gives them special characteristic features” [my italics - Yu.G.] . “Who can represent the “rest”, “independent” of the epic integrity of the world of poetic consciousness, if not substantial reality itself?

In other words, for the first time, the epic world “complete within itself” is complete without an epic poet. The fact of its completeness does not depend on the presence of the poet from within the epic world.

Thus, the internal inequality of the epic poem genre to itself is revealed. The general epic state of the world in its poetically external existence and the epic world depicted in the poem turn out to be opposite phenomena and, in the extreme, mutually exclusive. The position of the epic poet, correlated with both the external - immediate - poetic existence, and the mediated - intra-poetic existence of the epic world, reveals itself for the first time as an ambiguous (in aesthetic sense) position.

Being a necessary and natural component of substantial reality, the epic poet-performer occupies his “irreplaceable place” in it (M. Bakhtin). He is organically involved in a universal, national time, consisting of a heroic past that imitates this past of the present and future, in the face of which it is necessary to look epically worthy. Within the epic world of the poem, the poet is given neither place nor time. He finds himself eliminated from the life of the epic world, in relation to which he cannot take absolutely no direct active actions.

The only act which, however, has nothing to do with such “actions” is the performance of an epic poem. But this is not entirely true. The epic poet “performs” not so much the epic poem as the epic world itself. For the singer of the epic, apparently, this was exactly the case: the epic poem did not arise at all as an object of performance, that is, as something that exists before and without performance, and not even as a result, i.e. aposteriori, execution. It (the poem) was able to exist only in the process of execution. And only in this period of time, limited by the performer’s voice, could the epic world be realized as a whole, “complete within itself.” Beyond this period of time, the “universal epic state” of the world came into its legal rights, absorbing the epic poet, including him in its direct and very specific spatio-temporal connections and thereby forcing him to share the directly poetic external existence of the archaic world.

And in this case, that is, outside the performance of the epic poem, being an organic component of substantial reality, the epic poet seemed to complement the world and acted as a full-fledged and full-fledged “participant” in the universal epic completeness. During the performance of the poem, the epic poet appeared as such a being, whose whole nature consists only in fulfilling the integrity of the epic world.

From this point of view, an epic poem is a phenomenon of such a performance-depiction of the epic world, when epic consciousness appears only as a way of emanating epic truth in its entirety, which - therefore - does not need either addition or rethinking.

Thus, the epic poem - such as it is - is not an epic totality. Or, in other words, integrity does not belong to the category of its characteristics. Perhaps its most important feature is precisely the lack of integrity, since a necessary condition for the existence of the poem is its fundamental disintegration into the world of depicted events and the world of the depicting consciousness.

The consequence of this essential division of the epic poem into two worlds external to each other is the contextuality present in every moment of it. Homer's poem does not know such a plan in which this contextuality of the epic world and words would be overcome.

In this sense, the author of the Iliad and Odyssey is, so to speak, a “subject” of negative, or passive, aesthetic existence (while the poem itself appears to be a negative, or aesthetic object that denies the poet).

Denial in this case acts as a constructive aesthetic dominant, unique in its own way and fundamentally inaccessible to our artistic experience. It is precisely this negative aesthetic certainty of the epic world that allows us to speak of it as a special world, complete within itself.

Cited literature:

• 1. Mamardashvili M.K., Pyatigorsky A.M. Symbol and consciousness: Metaphysical reflections on symbolism, culture and language. - Jerusalem, 1982.
• 2. Averintsev S.S. The image of antiquity in the history of Western European culture of the twentieth century // New in modern classical philology. - M., 1979.
• 3. Hegel G.V.F. Aesthetics: In 4t. - M., 1971. - T.3.

Abstract

The article is characterized by the ambivalence of the poetic nature of the epic poem of the Homeric type and the connection with it is transitive, aesthetically non-absolute in nature. The provisions drawn from the article are commented on the materials of the Gegels any interpretation of the epic.

In the article the ambivalence of the Homeric epic poem"s poetic nature is substantiated. And on the ground of this its transitional and aesthetically nonabsolute character is represented. The theses given in the article are commented on the material of the Hegel"s interpretations of the epic.

epic poem homer hegel