It's subtle and precise definition quite applicable to the heritage of the classics, which compresses the centuries-old spiritual experience of mankind. Classics have always been a powerful stimulant in the development of the culture of any nation. Isolate modern literature from classical traditions would mean cutting it off from its national root - it would become bleeding and wither. Indissoluble bond times is especially clearly embodied in the pinnacle works of fiction, which we call classic: in their cognitive significance, the undying moral influence of their heroes on many generations of people, and also in the fact that these works continue to serve as an inexhaustible spring of beauty. Great art does not know the past, it lives in the present and the future. We must not only read the classics, we must also learn to reread them. Because every meeting with them is fraught with the joy of discovery. A person at each subsequent stage of his existence is able to perceive spiritual values more and more deeply. An outstanding work, once read and perceived anew, introduces us to an atmosphere of inexplicable charm, caused, among other things, by the opportunity to really feel our own, aesthetic, in the words of Herzen, “increase.” Perhaps it is appropriate to recall here the excellent note of the young Herzen: “I have a passion for rereading the poems of the great maestros: Goethe, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Walter Scott. It would seem, why read the same thing, when at this time you can “decorate” your mind with the works of Messrs. A., B., C? Yes, the fact of the matter is that these are not the same thing; in between, some spirit changes a lot in the maestro’s ever-living works. Just as Hamlet and Faust were previously wider than me, so they are wider now, despite the fact that I am convinced of my expansion. No, I will not give up the habit of rereading, this is why I visually measure my growth, improvement, decline, direction... Humanity in its own way rereads entire millennia of Homer, and this is a touchstone for it on which it tests the power of age.” Every turn of history gives people the opportunity to take a fresh look at themselves and rediscover the immortal pages of works of art. Each era reads them in its own way. Goncharov noted that Chatsky is inevitable when one century changes to another, that every business that requires updating gives birth to Chatsky’s shadow. Great artists are responsive to the calls of all times; they are rightly called the eternal companions of humanity. Classic heritage What’s remarkable is that it expresses the self-awareness of not only its era. Time moves, and with it, the classics move along the same orbit, in which a constant process of renewal takes place. She has something to say to every generation, she has many meanings. Of course, today we perceive the legacy of Gogol and Dostoevsky differently than their contemporaries, and we understand it more deeply. And this happens not because we are smarter or more insightful. The social experience of generations forms the historical tower from which a person of our era understands the spiritual culture of the past. From this donut we see many things further and more clearly. The classics are inexhaustible. Its depth is infinite, just like space is infinite. Shakespeare and Pushkin, Goethe and Tolstoy enrich the reader, but the reader, in turn, continuously enriches the works of great artists with his new historical experience. This is why our knowledge of the classics can never be considered final, absolute. Each subsequent generation discovers new, previously unseen facets in old works. This means an ever more comprehensive comprehension of the meaning and artistic nature of the immortal works of the past. The development of the classical heritage meets the modern needs of society, because society itself, this heritage, becomes an active participant modern life. The social content of the works of Russian classics is extremely important. It has always been fertilized by the progressive ideas of the time and expressed the spirit of the people's liberation struggle, their hatred of despotism and the indomitable desire for freedom. German writer Heinrich Mann said beautifully that the Russian classical literature was a revolution “even before the revolution happened.” Russian literature has always been distinguished by its extraordinary sensitivity to decisions moral issues, invariably intertwined with the most important social problems modernity. Great poet he was proud that in his “cruel age” he “glorified ... freedom” and awakened “good feelings.” What is striking here is the unexpected juxtaposition of words so seemingly different in historical meaning as “freedom” and “good.” The first of them in romantic poetry was almost always associated with boiling passions, with a titanic and cruel struggle, with courage, daring, a dagger, and revenge. And here it stands next to the words “good feelings.” Remarkable is Pushkin’s conviction that someday in the future the awakening good feelings in people will be interpreted as something equivalent to the glorification of freedom. But all Russian classics are a preaching of humanity, goodness and the search for paths leading to it! Improve your soul, your moral world Tolstoy called on people. How Lermontov imagined the extinction in Pechorin as the most terrible tragedy best qualities his character - love for people, tenderness for the world, desire to embrace humanity. For the great Russian writers, hatred of various manifestations of injustice was the highest measure of a person’s moral virtues. With its indomitable moral pathos, as well as artistic perfection, Russian literature has long won recognition throughout the world. “Where, for forty years,” recalled Romain Rolland, “we looked for our spiritual food and our daily bread, when our black soil was no longer enough to satisfy our hunger? Who else but Russian writers were our leaders?” In our struggle today for a new man, the great artists of the past are with us. The struggle against injustice and various manifestations of evil is nothing more than a struggle in the name of the victory of goodness and humanity. Such an “evil” genre of literature as satire knows this too. Wasn't it most tender heart Gogol, who dreamed of a different, more perfect reality! Didn’t Shchedrin, who was so merciless with his time, want Russia well? Good people in the name of good they became irreconcilable to various manifestations of evil and what gave rise to it. Beautiful ideals require wonderful feelings.
This subtle and precise definition is quite applicable to the heritage of the classics, in which the centuries-old spiritual experience of mankind is compressed. Classics have always been a powerful stimulant in the development of the culture of any nation. To isolate modern literature from classical traditions would mean cutting it off from its national roots - it would become drained of blood and wither away.
The indissoluble connection of times is especially clearly embodied in the pinnacle works of fiction, which we call classic: in their cognitive significance, the undying moral influence of their heroes on many generations of people, and also in the fact that these works continue to serve as an inexhaustible spring of beauty. Great art does not know the past, it lives in the present and the future. We must not only read the classics, we must also learn to reread them. Because every meeting with them is fraught with the joy of discovery. A person at each subsequent stage of his existence is able to perceive spiritual values more and more deeply. An outstanding work, once read and perceived anew, introduces us to an atmosphere of inexplicable charm, caused, among other things, by the opportunity to really feel our own, aesthetic, in the words of Herzen, “increase.” Perhaps it is appropriate to recall here the excellent note of the young Herzen: “I have a passion for rereading the poems of the great maestros: Goethe, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Walter Scott. It would seem, why read the same thing, when at this time you can “decorate” your mind with the works of Messrs. A., B., C? Yes, the fact of the matter is that these are not the same thing; in between, some spirit changes a lot in the maestro’s ever-living works. Just as Hamlet and Faust were previously wider than me, so they are wider now, despite the fact that I am convinced of my expansion. No, I will not give up the habit of rereading, this is why I visually measure my growth, improvement, decline, direction... Humanity in its own way rereads entire millennia of Homer, and this is a touchstone for it on which it tests the power of age.”
Every turn of history gives people the opportunity to take a fresh look at themselves and rediscover the immortal pages of works of art. Each era reads them in its own way. Goncharov noted that Chatsky is inevitable when one century changes to another, that every business that requires updating gives birth to Chatsky’s shadow.
Great artists are responsive to the calls of all times; they are rightly called the eternal companions of humanity. The remarkable thing about the classical heritage is that it expresses the self-awareness of not only its era. Time moves, and with it, the classics move along the same orbit, in which a constant process of renewal takes place. She has something to say to every generation, she has many meanings. Of course, today we perceive the legacy of Gogol and Dostoevsky differently than their contemporaries, and we understand it more deeply. And this happens not because we are smarter or more insightful. The social experience of generations forms the historical tower from which a person of our era understands the spiritual culture of the past. From this donut we see many things further and more clearly. The classics are inexhaustible. Its depth is infinite, just like space is infinite. Shakespeare and Pushkin, Goethe and Tolstoy enrich the reader, but the reader, in turn, continuously enriches the works of great artists with his new historical experience. This is why our knowledge of the classics can never be considered final, absolute. Each subsequent generation discovers new, previously unseen facets in old works. This means an ever more comprehensive comprehension of the meaning and artistic nature of the immortal works of the past.
The development of the classical heritage meets the modern needs of society, because society itself, this heritage, becomes an active participant in modern life. The social content of the works of Russian classics is extremely important.
This subtle and precise definition is quite applicable to the heritage of the classics, in which the centuries-old spiritual experience of mankind is compressed. Classics have always been a powerful stimulant in the development of the culture of any nation. To isolate modern literature from classical traditions would mean cutting it off from its national roots - it would become drained of blood and wither away.
The indissoluble connection of times is especially clearly embodied in the pinnacle works of fiction, which we call classic: in their cognitive significance, the undying moral influence of their heroes on many generations of people, and also in the fact that these works continue to serve as an inexhaustible spring of beauty. Great art does not know the past, it lives in the present and the future. We must not only read the classics, we must also learn to reread them. Because every meeting with them is fraught with the joy of discovery. A person at each subsequent stage of his existence is able to perceive spiritual values more and more deeply. An outstanding work, once read and perceived anew, introduces us to an atmosphere of inexplicable charm, caused, among other things, by the opportunity to really feel our own, aesthetic, in the words of Herzen, “increase.” Perhaps it is appropriate to recall here the excellent note of the young Herzen: “I have a passion for rereading the poems of the great maestros: Goethe, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Walter Scott. It would seem, why read the same thing, when at this time you can “decorate” your mind with the works of Messrs. A., B., C? Yes, the fact of the matter is that these are not the same thing; in between, some spirit changes a lot in the maestro’s ever-living works. Just as Hamlet and Faust were previously wider than me, so they are wider now, despite the fact that I am convinced of my expansion. No, I will not give up the habit of rereading, this is why I visually measure my growth, improvement, decline, direction... Humanity in its own way rereads entire millennia of Homer, and this is a touchstone for it on which it tests the power of age.”
Every turn of history gives people the opportunity to take a fresh look at themselves and rediscover the immortal pages of works of art. Each era reads them in its own way. Goncharov noted that Chatsky is inevitable when one century changes to another, that every business that requires updating gives birth to Chatsky’s shadow.
Great artists are responsive to the calls of all times; they are rightly called the eternal companions of humanity. The remarkable thing about the classical heritage is that it expresses the self-awareness of not only its era. Time moves, and with it, the classics move along the same orbit, in which a constant process of renewal takes place. She has something to say to every generation, she has many meanings. Of course, today we perceive the legacy of Gogol and Dostoevsky differently than their contemporaries, and we understand it more deeply. And this happens not because we are smarter or more insightful. The social experience of generations forms the historical tower from which a person of our era understands the spiritual culture of the past. From this donut we see many things further and more clearly. The classics are inexhaustible. Its depth is infinite, just like space is infinite. Shakespeare and Pushkin, Goethe and Tolstoy enrich the reader, but the reader, in turn, continuously enriches the works of great artists with his new historical experience. This is why our knowledge of the classics can never be considered final, absolute. Each subsequent generation discovers new, previously unseen facets in old works. This means an ever more comprehensive comprehension of the meaning and artistic nature of the immortal works of the past.
The development of the classical heritage meets the modern needs of society, because society itself, this heritage, becomes an active participant in modern life. The social content of the works of Russian classics is extremely important. It has always been fertilized by the progressive ideas of the time and expressed the spirit of the people's liberation struggle, their hatred of despotism and the indomitable desire for freedom. The German writer Heinrich Mann famously said that Russian classical literature was a revolution “even before the revolution happened.”
Russian literature has always been distinguished by its extraordinary sensitivity to solving moral issues, which are invariably intertwined with the most important social problems of our time. The great poet was proud that in his “cruel age” he “glorified ... freedom” and awakened “good feelings.” What is striking here is the unexpected juxtaposition of words so seemingly different in historical meaning as “freedom” and “good.” The first of them in romantic poetry was almost always associated with boiling passions, with a titanic and cruel struggle, with courage, daring, a dagger, and revenge. And here it stands next to the words “good feelings.” Remarkable is Pushkin’s conviction that someday in the future the awakening of good feelings in people will be interpreted as something equivalent to the glorification of freedom. But all Russian classics are a preaching of humanity, goodness and the search for paths leading to it!
Tolstoy urged people to improve their soul, their moral world. Lermontov imagined the extinction of the best qualities of his character in Pechorin - love for people, tenderness for the world, the desire to embrace humanity - as a terrible tragedy.
For the great Russian writers, hatred of various manifestations of injustice was the highest measure of a person’s moral virtues. With its indomitable moral pathos, as well as artistic perfection, Russian literature has long won recognition throughout the world. “Where, for forty years,” recalled Romain Rolland, “we looked for our spiritual food and our daily bread, when our black soil was no longer enough to satisfy our hunger? Who else but Russian writers were our leaders?”
In our struggle today for a new man, the great artists of the past are with us. The struggle against injustice and various manifestations of evil is nothing more than a struggle in the name of the victory of goodness and humanity. Such an “evil” genre of literature as satire knows this too. Wasn’t Gogol’s heart most tender, dreaming of a different, more perfect reality! Didn’t Shchedrin, who was so merciless with his time, want Russia well? Good people, in the name of good, became irreconcilable to various manifestations of evil and what gave rise to it. Beautiful ideals require wonderful feelings.
"Childhood" by Maxim Gorky - autobiographical story. It describes the life and cruel customs of the bourgeois environment in which a half-orphan boy is forced to grow up. In his childhood, Alyosha encounters many people, both good and bad. But among them there is a person who has a special role. This is grandmother Akulina Ivanovna. The grandmother always remains the center of his attention, being an intermediary between the boy and big world, from her Alyosha learns the most valuable life lessons. Grandmother is “round, big-headed, with huge eyes and a funny doughy nose...”. Alyosha is especially attracted to her appearance
One of the main issues of creativity of A.S. Pushkin was the question of the relationship between the individual and the state, as well as the ensuing problem “ little man" It is known that it was Pushkin who seriously developed this problem, which was later “picked up” by N.V. Gogol, and F.M. Dostoevsky. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” reveals the eternal conflict - the contradiction between the interests of the individual and the state. Pushkin believed that this conflict was inevitable, at least in Russia. It is impossible to govern the state and take into account the interests of every “little person”. Moreover, Russia is a semi-Asian country,
For the results of the 2002-2003 primary year, I and ten other students from our school were awarded a trip to the capital of Ukraine - Kiev. During this hour we visited the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Taras Shevchenko Museum, and walked along Khreshchatyk and St. Andrew's Wagon. For our sake, the Dnieper-Slavuta has been favored more than ever. Kiev greeted us with the smiling faces of the philistines, grandiose daily life and quiet green streets. Over two days of excursions and walks, we came to love our capital. We hope that this is just the beginning of getting to know Kiev. We are so happy for this wonderful gift! (loadposition textmod
It's subtle and precise the definition is quite applicable to the heritage of the classics, which compresses the centuries-old spiritual experience of mankind. Classics have always been a powerful stimulant in the development of the culture of any nation. To isolate modern literature from classical traditions would mean cutting it off from its national roots - it would become drained of blood and wither away.
Indissoluble bond times is especially clearly embodied in the pinnacle works of fiction, which we call classic: in their cognitive significance, the undying moral influence of their heroes on many generations of people, and also in the fact that these works continue to serve as an inexhaustible spring of beauty. Great art does not know the past, it lives in the present and the future. We must not only read the classics, we must also learn to reread them. Because every meeting with them is fraught with the joy of discovery. A person at each subsequent stage of his existence is able to perceive spiritual values more and more deeply. An outstanding work, once read and perceived anew, introduces us to an atmosphere of inexplicable charm, caused, among other things, by the opportunity to really feel our own, aesthetic, in the word, “increase.” Perhaps it is appropriate to recall here the excellent note of the young Herzen: “I have a passion for rereading the poems of the great maestros: Goethe, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Walter Scott. It would seem, why read the same thing, when at this time you can “decorate” your mind with the works of Messrs. A., B., C? Yes, the fact of the matter is that these are not the same thing; in between, some spirit changes a lot in the maestro’s eternally living works. Just as before they were wider than me, so now they are wider, despite the fact that I am convinced of my expansion. No, I will not give up the habit of rereading, this is why I visually measure my growth, improvement, decline, direction... Humanity in its own way rereads entire millennia of Homer, and this is a touchstone for it on which it tests the power of age.”
Every turn history gives people the opportunity to take a fresh look at themselves and rediscover the immortal pages of works of art. Each era reads them in its own way. Goncharov noted that it is inevitable when one century changes to another that every business that requires renewal gives birth to Chatsky’s shadow.
Great artists are responsive to the calls of all times; they are rightly called the eternal companions of humanity. The remarkable thing about the classical heritage is that it expresses the self-awareness of not only its era. Time moves, and with it, the classics move along the same orbit, in which a constant process of renewal takes place. She has something to say to every generation, she has many meanings. Of course, today we perceive the heritage differently than their contemporaries, and we understand it more deeply. And this happens not because we are smarter or more insightful. The social experience of generations forms the historical tower from which a person of our era understands the spiritual culture of the past. From this donut we see many things further and more clearly. The classics are inexhaustible. Its depth is infinite, just like space is infinite. Shakespeare and Goethe and Tolstoy enrich the reader, but the reader, in turn, continuously enriches the works of great artists with his new historical experience. This is why our knowledge of the classics can never be considered final, absolute. Each subsequent generation discovers new, previously unseen facets in old works. This means an ever more comprehensive comprehension of the meaning and artistic nature of the immortal works of the past.
Mastering the classical heritage meets the modern needs of society, because it itself, this heritage, becomes an active participant in modern life. The social content of the works of Russian classics is extremely important. It has always been fertilized by the progressive ideas of the time and expressed the spirit of the people's liberation struggle, their hatred of despotism and the indomitable desire for freedom. The German writer Heinrich Mann famously said that Russian classical literature was a revolution “even before the revolution happened.”
Russian literature She has always been distinguished by her extraordinary sensitivity to solving moral issues, which are invariably intertwined with the most important social problems of our time. The great poet was proud that in his “cruel age” he “glorified ... freedom” and awakened “good feelings.” What is striking here is the unexpected juxtaposition of words so seemingly different in historical meaning as “freedom” and “good.” The first of them in romantic poetry was almost always associated with boiling passions, with a titanic and cruel struggle, with courage, daring, a dagger, and revenge. And here it stands next to the words “good feelings.” Remarkable is Pushkin’s conviction that someday in the future the awakening of good feelings in people will be interpreted as something equivalent to the glorification of freedom. But all Russian classics are a preaching of humanity, goodness and the search for paths leading to it!
Improve Tolstoy called people to his soul, his moral world. I imagined the extinction in Pechorin of the best qualities of his character - love for people, tenderness for the world, the desire to embrace humanity - as a terrible tragedy.
For the great Russian writers, hatred of various manifestations of injustice was the highest measure of a person’s moral virtues. With its indomitable moral pathos, as well as artistic perfection, Russian literature has long won recognition throughout the world. “Where, for forty years,” recalled Romain Rolland, “we looked for our spiritual food and our daily bread, when our black soil was no longer enough to satisfy our hunger? Who else but Russian writers were our leaders?”
In today's In our struggle for a new man, the great artists of the past are with us. The struggle against injustice and various manifestations of evil is nothing more than a struggle in the name of the victory of goodness and humanity. Such an “evil” genre of literature as satire knows this too. Wasn’t Gogol’s heart most tender, dreaming of a different, more perfect reality! Didn’t Shchedrin, who was so merciless with his time, want Russia well? Good people, in the name of good, became irreconcilable to various manifestations of evil and what gave rise to it. Beautiful ideals require wonderful feelings.
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Homework on the topic: Saltykov-Shchedrin called fiction"shortened universe".
Art world Gogol
Introduction
Every great artist- This the whole world. To enter this world, to feel its versatility and unique beauty means to bring oneself closer to the knowledge of the endless diversity of life, to place oneself on some higher level of spirituality, aesthetic development. The work of every major writer is a precious storehouse of artistic and spiritual, one might say, “human-science” experience, which is of enormous importance for the progressive development of society. Shchedrin called fiction a “condensed universe.” By studying it, a person gains wings and is able to understand history more broadly and deeply, and he is always restless. modern world where he lives. The great past is connected with the present by invisible threads. The artistic heritage captures the history and soul of the people. That is why it is an inexhaustible source of his spiritual and emotional enrichment.
This is also the real value of Russian classics. With her civic temperament, her romantic impulse, and her deep and fearless analysis of the real contradictions of reality, she had a tremendous influence on the development of the liberation movement in Russia. Heinrich Mann rightly said that Russian literature was a revolution “even before the revolution took place.”
A special role in this regard belonged to Gogol. “...We don’t know,” wrote Chernyshevsky, “how Russia could manage without Gogol.” These words perhaps most clearly reflected the attitude of revolutionary democracy and all advanced Russian social thought XIX century to the author of “The Inspector General” and “ Dead souls».
Herzen spoke about Russian literature: “... while composing songs, it destroyed; Laughing, she undermined.” Gogol's laughter also had enormous destructive power. He undermined faith in the imaginary inviolability of the police-bureaucratic regime, to which Nicholas I tried to give an aura of indestructible power; he exposed to the “public eyes” the rottenness of this regime, all that Herzen called “the impudent frankness of autocracy.”
The appearance of Gogol's work was historically natural. In the late 20s - early 30s of the last century, new, great tasks arose before Russian literature. The rapidly developing process of the disintegration of serfdom and absolutism evoked in the advanced strata of Russian society an increasingly persistent, passionate search for a way out of the crisis, awakening the thought of further paths historical development Russia. Gogol's work reflected the growing discontent of the people serfdom, his awakening revolutionary energy, his desire for a different, more perfect reality. Belinsky called Gogol “one of the great leaders” of his country “on the path of consciousness, development, progress.”
Gogol's art arose on the foundation that was erected before him by Pushkin. In "Boris Godunov" and "Eugene Onegin", " Bronze Horseman" And " The captain's daughter"The writer made the greatest discoveries. The amazing skill with which Pushkin reflected the entirety of contemporary reality and penetrated into the recesses of the spiritual world of his heroes, the insight with which he saw in each of them a reflection of real processes public life, the depth of his historical thinking and the greatness of his humanistic ideals - Pushkin discovered all these facets of his personality and his creativity new era in the development of Russian literature and realistic art.
Gogol followed the trail laid by Pushkin, but he went his own way. Pushkin revealed deep contradictions modern society. But for all that, the world, artistically realized by the poet, is full of beauty and harmony, the element of negation is balanced by the element of affirmation. The denunciation of social vices is combined with the glorification of the power and nobility of the human mind. Pushkin, in the true words of Apollo Grigoriev, “was a pure, sublime and harmonious echo of everything, transforming everything into beauty and harmony.” Gogol's artistic world is not so universal and comprehensive. His perception of modern life was also different. There is a lot of light, sun, and joy in Pushkin’s work. All his poetry is imbued with the indestructible power of the human spirit, it was the apotheosis of youth, bright hopes and faith, it reflected the boiling of passions and that “revelry at the feast of life” that Belinsky enthusiastically wrote about.
Pushkin covered all aspects of Russian life, but already in his time there was a need for a more detailed study of its individual spheres. Gogol's realism, like Pushkin's, was imbued with the spirit of fearless analysis of the essence social phenomena modernity. But the uniqueness of Gogol’s realism was that it combined a broad understanding of reality as a whole with a microscopically detailed study of its most hidden nooks and crannies. Gogol depicts his heroes in all the concreteness of their social existence, in all the smallest details of their everyday life, their everyday existence.
“Why depict poverty, and poverty, and the imperfection of our life, digging people out of the wilderness, from the remote corners of the state?” These opening lines from the second volume of Dead Souls perhaps best reveal the pathos of Gogol's work. Much of it was focused on depicting poverty and the imperfections of life.
Never before have the contradictions of Russian reality been as exposed as in the 30s and 40s. The critical depiction of her deformities and disgraces became main task literature. And Gogol sensed this brilliantly. Explaining in the fourth letter “Regarding “Dead Souls”” the reasons for the burning of the second volume of the poem in 1845, he noted that it was pointless now “to bring out several wonderful characters that reveal the high nobility of our breed.” And then he writes: “No, there is a time when it is impossible to otherwise direct society or even an entire generation towards the beautiful until you show the full depth of its real abomination.”
Gogol was convinced that in the conditions of contemporary Russia, the ideal and beauty of life can be expressed primarily through the denial of ugly reality. This is exactly what his work was like, this was the originality of his realism.
In his famous discussion about two types of artists, to whom the seventh chapter of “Dead Souls” opens, Gogol contrasts the romantic inspiration soaring in the skies with the hard but noble work of a realist writer who dares to expose to the public eyes “all the terrible, stunning mud of little things that entangle our lives, the whole depth of cold, fragmented, everyday characters with which our earthly, sometimes bitter and boring road is teeming.” Most of all, Gogol was hostile to the false idealization of life, which always seemed to him offensive to the artist. Only the truth, no matter how expensive it may be achieved, is worthy of art.
Gogol understood well tragic character contemporary social life. His satire did not simply deny and expose. For the first time it acquired an analytical, research character. In his works, Gogol not only showed certain aspects of Russian “daily reality,” but also revealed its internal mechanism, not only depicted evil, but also tried to find out where it comes from, what gives rise to it. The study of the material, material and everyday basis of life, its invisible features and the poor in spirit characters emerging from it, who arrogantly believed in their dignity and right, was Gogol’s discovery in history Russian literature.
The critic saw the national significance of Gogol in the fact that with the appearance of this artist, our literature exclusively turned to Russian reality. “Perhaps,” he wrote, “through this it became more one-sided and even monotonous, but also more original, original, and therefore true.” A comprehensive depiction of the real processes of life, a study of its “roaring contradictions” - all great Russian literature of the post-Gogol era will follow this path.
Gogol's artistic world is unusually original and complex.
The apparent simplicity and clarity of his works should not deceive. They bear the imprint of the original, one might say, amazing personality of the great master, his very deep view of life. Both are directly related to his artistic world.
None of the Russian writers who preceded the author of Dead Souls showed with such convincing artistic power and realistic authenticity the outdated forms of the feudal reality of Russia. Griboyedov, Pushkin, Lermontov, from the standpoint of noble revolutionism, exposed the vices of the landowner system. Their works revealed deeply ideological conflict between the advanced noble intelligentsia and the dominant reactionary principles of life. Chatsky, Onegin and Pechorin - each of them reflected different sides of this conflict in their own way.
Gogol did not call for overthrowing the tyrant tsar and hoisting the banner of freedom on the “ruins of autocracy.” The rebellious mind of Chatsky, who with his passionate words anathematized the world of the Famusovs and Skalozubovs, was also not characteristic of him. Gogol also hated this world, but executed it by other means - laughter, which Herzen considered “one of the most powerful weapons of destruction.” Life in The Inspector General and Dead Souls old Russia shown from such a side and with such accusatory force with which no one has ever portrayed her.
But did this image express the conscious tendency of the writer himself?
At one time, in Soviet literary criticism there was a fairly widespread legend about the lack of a consciously critical attitude towards reality on the part of the author of The Government Inspector and Dead Souls. It was argued that the writer did not subjectively share the accusatory pathos of his own works, that he allegedly created them contrary to his convictions. According to this theory, Gogol, even in the 30s and early 40s, that is, at the time of his creative heyday, took an invariably conservative position. The accusatory pathos of Gogol's satire, thus, was directly opposed to the writer's worldview.
His talent supposedly created independently and contrary to his worldview. Such a point of view is erroneous and completely distorts the nature of Gogol’s work and gives a wrong idea of his worldview.
Gogol is one of the most complex writers in the world. His fate - literary and everyday - shocks us with its drama. Contradictions tore his consciousness and creativity apart. In his works, of course, he consciously exposed the orders that were imposed by the unjust social system of Russia. But this “consciousness” had certain limits. Gogol was far from thinking about the need for a radical, revolutionary transformation of this system. He sincerely and with conviction hated the ugly world of serf owners and tsarist officials. At the same time, he was often frightened by the conclusions that naturally and naturally flowed from his works. The gift of a brilliant realist artist was combined in the writer with the narrowness of his political horizons. In this sense, Belinsky noted the inherent limitations of Gogol’s “intellectual development,” and Chernyshevsky noted the “closeness of the horizon.” Here are the origins of the spiritual drama that Gogol experienced in recent years life.
In his work, the writer experienced a certain influence of Belinsky’s ideas. And although with his theoretical thought he did not rise to the revolutionary position of a great critic, his works fought against the same political enemy that Belinsky opposed. In his famous article “A Look at Russian Literature since the Death of Pushkin” Ap. Grigoriev wrote that “Gogol became the literary belief of Belinsky and the entire era.” The author of “Dead Souls” impressed Belinsky and the entire “young Russia” not only with the amazing originality and artistic perfection of his work, but also direction this creativity. The ideological orientation of Gogol's work was close to Belinsky; in addition, in the writer’s very worldview there were elements that helped him create works of colossal accusatory power. Gogol's worldview had many backward, patriarchal aspects. He believed in the rationality of the government and the supreme justice of the king's power. He believed that it was possible to effectively improve the life of the people only by eliminating officials of all ranks who were dishonest in their duties. But in spiritual appearance Gogol also had many truly progressive traits. Despite all the contradictory nature of Gogol’s worldview, his realism had such a power of artistic generalization and led readers to such conclusions that objectively Gogol became an ally of Belinsky and all revolutionary democracy. This is precisely what Lenin meant when he put forward his famous thesis about the ideas of Belinsky and Gogol, “which made these writers dear Nekrasov- like every decent person in Rus'...”
IN moral character One remarkable feature has always stood out to Gogol the artist - the consciousness of the greatest responsibility for his word. No force could force Gogol to publish a work if he believed that he had not yet exhausted all the possibilities to make it more perfect. He had the high moral right to declare: “I can say that I have never sacrificed my talent to the world. No entertainment, no passion was able to take possession of my soul for a moment and distract me from my duty. For me there is no life outside my life.” The confessional tone of this confession was quite consistent with the preaching nature of all his work.
Gogol was one of the most amazing and original masters artistic word. Among the great Russian writers, he possessed, perhaps, perhaps the most expressive signs of style. Gogol's language, Gogol's landscape, Gogol's humor, Gogol's manner of depicting a portrait - these expressions have long become commonplace. And yet, the study of Gogol’s style and artistic skill still remains far from a fully resolved task.
Soviet literary criticism has done a lot to study Gogol's legacy - perhaps even more than with respect to some other classics. But can we say that it has already been fully studied? It is unlikely that even in the historically foreseeable future we will have grounds for an affirmative answer to this question. At each new turn of history, the need arises to re-read and re-think the work of the great writers of the past.
The classics are inexhaustible. Each era discovers previously unnoticed facets in the great heritage and finds in it something important for thinking about its own, contemporary affairs. Much in Gogol’s artistic experience today is extremely interesting and instructive.
This book traces the main milestones creative path Gogol and an attempt was made to comprehend it artistic heritage inextricably linked with the general direction of its spiritual development and, in particular, his views on art - in many respects wise and insightful. I had neither the intention nor the opportunity to speak with equal thoroughness about all of his works. Some are discussed in more detail, others less. I wanted, first of all, to give a sense of Gogol’s immeasurable depth, to show artistic originality his work, as well as the significance of his feat for advanced Russian social thought, for our Russian literature in general.
Notes
(1) Lenin V.I. Full. collection cit., vol. 22, p. 83.
