Theme of the poem: injustice, inaction of kings, appeal to God for justice. Images: lyrical hero– a restless, worried person fighting for justice.
History of creation. The poem was written in 1780, but was not allowed for publication by censorship, in 1788 it was published in the magazine “Zerkalo”, in 1795 Derzhavin included the work in a handwritten collection presented to Catherine I, after which he met extreme coldness in the palace.
A stanza is a quatrain, there are 7 stanzas in total. Thematically, the verse can be divided into 3 parts. The first 3 stanzas are a reminder to kings of their responsibilities to the people; Stanza 4 is the sad result of these admonitions: representatives of the authorities and the law did not live up to expectations, turned out to be blind and deaf to the pleas of the people (“They don’t listen! They see - and they don’t know!
Covered with bribes of tow..."); Stanzas 5-7 - a demand for the punishment of the guilty, an indication that all people are mortal and will appear before God's judgment, but God's judgment seems distant, and the author in the 7th stanza begs God to punish the guilty during their lifetime: (“Come, judge, punish the evil ones").
The work is distinguished by its brevity and conciseness. Ode and satire merge in it.
The intonation of the poem is passionate, excited, it is replete with rhetorical questions and exclamations (“How long, rivers, how long will you have mercy on the unjust and evil?”, “And you will fall like that, Like a withered leaf falling from a tree! And you will die like that, Like your last slave will die! Rise, O God! God of the righteous!”) - to convey the emotional state of the hero.
Written in iambic 4-foot.
Updated: 2012-05-26
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To Rulers and Judges is a poem by Derzhavin, which was written in 1780. The content of the work is as follows:
The Most High God begins judgment on earthly rulers. He reproaches them for their unrighteous deeds, saying that all rulers are appointed to serve the people. But it turns out the other way around. People cry out to the Supreme God all the time because they cannot get help from their rulers.
The poem reveals all the sins and negative aspects of the earthly gods. They fail to cope with their responsibilities, they have already forgotten about the real goal. The kings, who had long considered themselves gods, realized that they were just as mortal.
God Almighty compares kings to leaves that easily tear off and fall. Then the democratic idea rises. Having a king and his rule is like slavery.
The lyrical hero ends his word with a prayer that the people be heard and the unfaithful kings overthrown.
People should not suffer because of other people's sins. Only God Almighty can change the situation and bless his people.
Updated: 2017-08-15
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Righteous anger is destructive in nature. After all, he carries within himself the wind of justice. And if he is also supported by the mystical power of poetry, nothing can stop his impulse. Gabriel Derzhavin’s poem “To Rulers and Judges” shows the reader an example of just such righteous anger.
The fact is that the verse was written at a time when the author worked in the province as a military official. He saw there how much high society does not care about ordinary people who hold the country on their strong shoulders. Derzhavin tried to somehow rectify the situation, he complained to the highest ranks of the state about the lawlessness, but heard only ridicule in response. Anger needs to be thrown out somewhere, and the poet found a way out in poetry.
The work begins with an almost biblical appeal to the earthly rulers of destinies, the powerful of this world. But Derzhavin in the very first line goes to the level, he calls them “earthly gods” to designate all the power over the ordinary Russian person that is available to them. Important point is that from the writer’s biography we know that he believed royal family a model of morality and righteousness, and all the troubles in Russia were due to their environment, which constantly brought lies to their ears. That is why he wonders how long the “earthly gods” will spare evil.
In general, the entire first part of the poem is programmatic; the author lists the responsibilities that the supreme power bears. It is about helping the poor, the weak and the innocent. It would seem an obvious thing, but those to whom Derzhavin addresses do not see it. Main idea simple to infinity: power is always accompanied by enormous responsibility.
“Kings! I thought you gods were powerful.”
Here he will express a thought that he has obviously been moving towards for a very long time. Despite all the power they possess, even if the whole world is in their hands, they are also people. They are made of blood and flesh. Kings will also stand before God in judgment, and they will be judged according to the same laws as village men or city harlots. And only the Almighty knows who will receive greater leniency from Him. He sums this up with a very powerful line:
"And you will die like this
How your last slave will die!
Sooner or later earthly life will end and you will have to answer for your sins, your power and its use.
At the end of the poem, the desperate Derzhavin turns to God himself:
“Rise up, God! God of the right!
He comes to the conclusion that normal life will never come in this sinful world until Jesus himself rises again, replaces and unites all the thrones of the world under the single authority of the Kingdom of God. This idea shows how inherently tragic this verse is. It reflects the entire spirit of the times, a troubled age, dark and difficult, where no one sees a way out of the darkness.
