Theme of the poet and poetry. “The theme of the poet and poetry in Russian literature of the 19th century. What is the theme of the poet and poetry

The theme of the purpose of the poet and poetry is traditional for Russian literature. It can be traced in the works of Derzhavin, Kuchelbecker, Ryleev, Pushkin, Lermontov. The work of N.A. was no exception. Nekrasov: he wrote a lot about the purpose of the poet and poetry, their role in the life of society.

Kuchelbecker was the first to show the connection between poetry and prophecy in Russian poetry. Nekrasov offers a different view of the poet compared to his predecessors. The poet Nekrasov is a prophet who was “sent to people by the god of anger and sadness.” The calling of such a prophet is to walk with a punishing lyre in his hands, indignant and denouncing. He understands that people will not love such a poet: “He is haunted by blasphemies: he catches the sounds of approval not in the sweet murmur of praise, but in wild cries of anger.” But Nekrasov does not change his position: “A son cannot look calmly at the grief of his dear mother.” This position is that of a poet-citizen.

This position is most clearly shown in the poem “The Poet and the Citizen” (1856), written in the form of a dialogue. In it, Nekrasov argues with those who consider poetry to be an elegant art, alien to the earthly suffering of the people. The main idea that Nekrasov affirms in this dispute sounds like a slogan, like a call: “You may not be a poet, but you must be a citizen.” The same theme is repeated in the poem “Elegy,” which directly begins with the lines:

Let changing fashion tell us,

What an old theme is the suffering of the people

And that poetry should forget her,

Don’t believe it, young men, she doesn’t age.

In the poem “To the Sowers,” Nekrasov calls for sowing “reasonable, good, eternal,” because these seeds of enlightenment will certainly bear fruit, for which “the Russian people will thank you from the bottom of their hearts.”

In Nekrasov’s works, the image of the Muse, which inspired his work, very often appears (“Muse”, “Yesterday, about six o’clock”, “Oh, Muse! I’m at the door of the coffin”, etc.). Nekrasov’s muse is not a beautiful woman, a goddess, but a suffering peasant woman:

Yesterday, around six o'clock

I went to Sennaya.

There they beat a woman with a whip,

A young peasant woman.

Not a word from her chest

Many famous writers addressed the problem of creativity. The theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin's lyrics, for example, occupies quite a large place. He speaks about its special role and high purpose in many of his poems. Here are just a few of them: “The Desert Sower of Freedom” (written in 1823), “Prophet” (in 1826), “Poet” (in 1827), “Echo” (in 1831), “Monument” (in 1836).

What did Pushkin mean by poetry?

Poetry is a responsible and difficult matter, says Alexander Sergeevich. The poet differs from ordinary people in that he is given the ability to hear, see, and understand what an ordinary person does not hear, does not see, and does not understand. The author, with his gift, influences his soul, since he is able to “burn” people’s hearts with his words. But poetic talent is not just a gift, but also a great responsibility and a heavy burden. Therefore, the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics deserves special attention.

The influence of poetry on people

Its influence on people is very great, so the poet himself must be a model of civic behavior, fighting social injustice and showing perseverance in this fight. He must become a demanding judge not only in relation to others, but above all to himself. True poetry, according to Pushkin, should be life-affirming, humane, awaken humanism and kindness. In the above poems, Pushkin talks about the difficult relationship between the poet and the people and the authorities, and about freedom of creativity.

"Prophet"

In high school, the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin's lyrics is examined in detail. A lesson in 9th grade is necessarily devoted to this poem. A prophet is, according to Alexander Sergeevich, an ideal image of a real poet in his highest calling and essence. This poem was created in 1826 - a difficult time for the poet of his spiritual crisis, which was caused by the news of the execution of the Decembrists. This work reveals in detail the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics.

Alexander Sergeevich turns to the book of the prophet Isaiah. He was also in despair, observing the world, seeing that it was mired in vices and lawlessness. For a true creator, everyday content that fills the minds and hearts of people must become a dark desert... He seeks spiritual satisfaction and strives for it. Nothing more is required on his part, since those who are thirsty and hungry will certainly be satisfied.

The poet-prophet penetrated into the life of lower and higher nature, heard and contemplated everything that happens in the world, from the flight of angels to the movement of reptiles, from the rotation of the heavens to the vegetation of earthly plants. He who has gained his sight in order to see all the beauty of the world, painfully feels the ugliness of the reality in which people live. And he must and will fight it. The poet's weapon and action is the word of truth. But in order for it not to sting, but rather to burn hearts, it is necessary that the sting of wisdom be kindled by the fire of great love. In addition to the image from the Bible, the last action of God’s messenger was taken from it:

"And the coal, blazing with fire,
I pushed the hole into my chest."

The general tone of this poem, sublime and imperturbably majestic, also belongs to the Bible. The absence of subordinate clauses and logical conjunctions with the dominance of one conjunction - “and” (it is repeated twenty times in thirty verses), according to V. Solovyov, brings Pushkin’s language closer to the biblical.

In “The Prophet,” the lyrical hero of the poem does not feel desecrated by the lawlessness happening in society, but he is also not indifferent to what is happening around him, although he cannot change anything.

"During fun hours..."

The work considered is not limited to the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics. Poems dedicated to her are numerous. Thus, some features, echoes of the “Prophet” can be found in the later work of Alexander Sergeevich “At Fun Hours...”. It was written in 1830. The theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics sounds a little different here. In it, the spiritual transformation of the author echoes the transformation of the prophet, physical and moral, which occurs after he is scorched in the crucible of human suffering.

Pushkin's whole life was clear evidence that his thoughts were correct. His free, bold poetry protested against the slave oppression of the people and called for the struggle for the liberation of people. She supported the fortitude of Pushkin’s Decembrist friends who were in exile, and instilled in them perseverance and courage.

"Arion"

The theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics is very multifaceted. Let us briefly describe the following poem - "Arion", created in 1827. It talks about the need for courage and resilience. The poem in allegorical form recreates the tragic events of 1825.

Despite the fact that the “Decembrist swimmers” died, the singer Arion remained faithful to the noble mission, continuing to preach the ideals of justice and freedom. He declares: “I sing the same hymns.”

In the later poems of Alexander Sergeevich, thoughts about the meaning of human life, its frailty, transience begin to sound more often, and there is a premonition of the poet’s imminent death. At this time, Pushkin seemed to be summing up his creative activity, trying to objectively assess the significance of his heritage.

"Monument"

In the last years of his life and work, the theme of the poet and poetry continues to be heard in Pushkin’s lyrics. Poems dedicated to her are invariably distinguished by their sublime style. Thus, in the poem “Monument” written in 1836, the poet refers to the ancient heritage, because this work is a free translation of one of Horace’s odes. Pushkin expresses his confidence that he will remain alive in the memory of the people. This right is given to him by the created “miraculous” monument, which he erected for himself, since he has always been a prophet, the voice of the Russian people.

In this poem, Pushkin succinctly and succinctly speaks about the purpose and meaning of his poetry, seeing the main merit of his personality in the fact that, as a poet-prophet, he awakened mercy, kindness, the desire for justice and freedom in people. Having come into contact with Pushkin’s poetry, we begin to feel the desire to become purer, better, we learn to see harmony and beauty around us. Therefore, poetry can truly transform the world.

The ending of the poem is a traditional appeal to the muse, who must obey the command of God, that is, the voice of truth, and, not paying attention to the opinions of “ignorant fools,” follow the goal.

Alexander Sergeevich in many poems raised the topic of the great poet’s loneliness among an indifferent crowd. A striking example of this is the poem “To the Poet”. Pushkin calls to remain firm, calm and gloomy in the face of the crowd and the court of a fool.

"Conversation between a bookseller and a poet"

In another work, “A Bookseller's Conversation with a Poet” (1824), a similar appeal is found when the author reflects on fame.

During the period when this poem was written, the poet’s farewell to romanticism took place, his transition to harsh realism. It was written on the then-current topic of literary creativity as a way to make a living, as a profession. These questions worried the author, since he was one of the first to live on his literary earnings.

Here, from an atypical point of view, the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin’s lyrics is illuminated. The summary of the poem is as follows. It talks about a duel between a poet and a bookseller, a romantic and a pragmatist. In the dialogue between the two heroes, “poetry” and “prose” are contrasted in the meaning of romantic, “sublime” ideas and “prosaic”, sober perception of life. It ends with the bookseller's victory. The poet switches to the language of the transaction, and poetic speech is replaced by prose.

"From Pindemonti"

One should not think that Pushkin considered himself superior to other people when he spoke about “fools” and “ignoramuses.” He only emphasized that his judgment was independent, that he had the right to go where his “free mind” led him. Here Alexander Sergeevich speaks out clearly. The poem "From Pindemonti", written in 1836, says that to be free means not to identify oneself with any social group, not to participate in social unrest, not to depend on the king.

The muse of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin bravely and devotedly served beauty, freedom, justice, and goodness. Isn't this the role and essence of true poetry?

At school, the theme of the poet and poetry in Pushkin's lyrics is studied in some detail (grade 10). For more detailed information, you can refer to any textbook on Russian literature.

The theme of creativity (the purpose of the poet and poetry) attracted many poets. It also occupies a significant place in Pushkin’s lyrics. He speaks about the high purpose of poetry and its special role in more than one poem: “Prophet” (1826), “Poet” (1827), “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands...” (1836). Poetry is a difficult and responsible matter, Pushkin believes. And the poet differs from mere mortals in that he is given the ability to see, hear, understand what an ordinary person does not see, does not hear, does not understand. With his gift, the poet influences him; he is able to “burn the hearts of people with a verb.” However, the poet's talent is not only a gift, but also a heavy burden, a great responsibility. His influence on people is so great that the poet himself must be an example of civil behavior, showing steadfastness, intransigence to social injustice, and be a strict and demanding judge towards himself. True poetry, according to Pushkin, should be humane, life-affirming, and awaken good, humane feelings.

In the poems “The Desert Sower of Freedom...” (1823), “The Poet and the Crowd” (1828), “To the Poet” (1830), “Echo” (1831), “I have erected a monument to myself not made by hands...” (1836) Pushkin talks about the freedom of poetic creativity, about the complex relationship between the poet and the authorities, the poet and the people.

“The prophet is the ideal image of a true poet in his essence and highest calling__

All that everyday content that fills the hearts and minds of busy people, their whole world should become a dark desert for a true poet... He thirsts for spiritual satisfaction and drags towards it. Nothing more is required on his part: the hungry and thirsty will be satisfied...

The poet-prophet, with sophisticated attention, penetrated into the life of nature, higher and lower, contemplated and heard everything that happened, from the direct flight of angels to the tortuous course of reptiles, from the rotation of the heavens to the vegetation of plants. What next?.. Whoever has gained sight to see the beauty of the universe, feels the more painfully the ugliness of human reality. He will fight her. His action and weapon is the word of truth... But in order for the word of truth, emanating from the sting of wisdom, not only to sting, but to burn the hearts of people, it is necessary that this sting itself be kindled by the fire of love... In addition to the biblical image of the six-winged seraphim , basically taken from the Bible and the last action of this messenger of God:

And he cut my chest with a sword, and took out my trembling heart, and pushed a coal, blazing with fire, into the open chest.

The general tone of the poem also belongs to the Bible, imperturbably majestic, something unattainably sublime... The absence of subordinate clauses, relative pronouns and logical conjunctions with the inseparable dominance of the conjunction “and” (it is repeated twenty times in thirty verses)... brings Pushkin closer here. language to the biblical...” (V. Soloviev).

Question 20. Philosophical motives in the lyrics of A.S. Pushkin in the 1830s.

In the process of development of Pushkin's lyricism, especially in the 1820s, a prominent place belongs to the changing relationships between its elements, which can be designated as “domestic” and “high” (or generally significant) lyricism.5

In introducing the concept of “home” lyrics, I rely on the terminology of Yu. N. Tynyanov. Characterizing the evolution of the author's image in Pushkin's messages, he spoke of the emergence of “individual home semantics” as a consequence of the specification of “author” and “addressees” (meaning “specific reticence that is inherent in actual fragments of relations between the writer and the addressee”).6 The word “ home”, thus denotes here the reality that stands behind the text of the lyric poem; this allowed me to use the specified formulation, realizing, however, that the concept I was introducing was somewhat different from that proposed by Yu. N. Tynyanov.

By “domestic” lyrics I mean poems that include disordered, empirical reality, the realities of everyday life and are deprived of that degree of generalization that removes their direct connection to the events of the poet’s private life and gives them a more general meaning. I’ll immediately make a reservation that within the confines of Pushkin’s lyrics, identifying “home” poems and motifs in their, so to speak, “pure” form is not always easy due to the special fate of Pushkin’s legacy in Russian culture. The life and personality of Pushkin turned out to be mythologized, and everything that relates to the poet’s private life practically acquired citizenship rights on a par with his work.

Pushkin’s romantic lyrics of the early 1820s are focused primarily on the image of the lyrical hero as an elegiac poet (I use the term “lyrical hero” in the sense defined by L. Ya. Ginzburg7). This, however, does not mean that the author’s image of Pushkin’s lyrics is unambiguous; nevertheless, the image of the elegiac poet becomes dominant, to which other modifications of the author’s “I” gravitate to one degree or another. Moreover, Pushkin’s romantic elegy, as has been repeatedly pointed out, draws into its orbit other lyrical genres, especially the epistle, including such unique forms as, for example, a poetic appeal to Ovid (“To Ovid”, 1821). Ovid's theme itself turns out to be closely related to the elegiac complex; the fate of the Roman poet is projected onto the life vicissitudes of the lyrical hero, oriented towards the poetically transformed biography of the author himself:

Ovid, I live near quiet shores,

Which exiled fatherly gods

You once brought and left your ashes.

The restructuring of Pushkin's lyrics in the mid-1820s is manifested, in particular, in a sharp change in the ratio of “home” and “high” lyrics as elements of the artistic system. The sense of boundaries between them is not lost, but nevertheless, the “home” poems and the poetic tendencies that are embodied in them are not on the periphery of Pushkin’s poetry, but, on the contrary, at the very center of the processes that now determine the evolution of Pushkin’s lyrics. The changes that Pushkin's elegy undergoes at this time, which is also losing its former dominant meaning, help to remove the restrictions that the laws of the genre imposed on Pushkin's lyrics. This created conditions for expanding the possibilities of lyrics, in particular for bringing together “home” and “high” lyrics. On the one hand, the evolution of Pushkin’s friendly message leads to the fact that it merges with forms that were previously not allowed within the “high” (generally significant) lyric poetry; on the other hand, a tendency towards combining “high” lyrics and “home” poetry is increasingly revealing itself.

Significant assistance in restructuring the genre is provided by friendly writing, which includes poetic insertions that are simultaneously associated with the extraliterary function of the epistolary text and with its literary nature. A typical example of such a letter is Pushkin’s letter to I.E. Velikopolsky dated June 3, 1826; the poetic text, preceding the prosaic text, is included in a complex epistolary context, the everyday reason for which - the need to pay off a gambling debt using the addressee's loss - is played out differently in the poetic and prose parts of the letter (cf.: “You play the lyre very nicely, You play rather poorly at shtos. The 500 rubles you lost are evidence of that...” and “Do me a favor, don’t return the five hundred rubles that you owe me...” - XIII, 281-282).

Everyday everyday impressions and realities occupy an increasingly significant place in Pushkin’s lyrics of the Mikhailov period; this also contributes to the transformation of traditional genres, although it does not yet lead to a fall in the boundaries between “high” and “home” lyrics. At the same time, Pushkin’s “home” poems, reflecting his Mikhailovsky (and Trigorsky) impressions, already contain much of what determines the innovation of Pushkin’s lyrics of this time.

Pushkin's life in Mikhailovsky exile, his impressions and relationships of this period were quite widely embodied in lyrics. A number of poems recreate the unique atmosphere that surrounded the poet in Trigorskoye and at the same time captured in his letters, as well as in memoirs. Pushkin’s “home” poems of this time reproduce, in particular, the playful principle that largely determined his relationship with the inhabitants of Trigorskoye and was reflected both in the poet’s poems and in his correspondence.15 “Home” lyrics of the Mikhailov period are drawn into the focus of artistic quests Pushkin's lyrics; the very nature of these quests contributed to the inevitable rapprochement of “home” lyrics with “high” ones, giving universal significance to such poems that previously would not have gone beyond the peripheral phenomena of Pushkin’s poetry.

However, even in the Mikhailovsky period, the line between poems of a purely “domestic”, intimate nature and poems, which for the author himself, although they remained within the framework of “domestic” lyrics, were still preserved, but at the same time were practically outside its boundaries. The very possibility of such a rethinking is rooted in the depth of the processes associated with the restructuring of the artistic system of Pushkin's lyrics, its movement towards realism.

Within the Mikhailovsky period, the ratio of “home” and “high” lyrics thus changes significantly. “Recognition” and “October 19” demonstrate from different sides the ways of their rapprochement, carried out as a process of mutual attraction. The tendency to merge “domestic” and universally significant lyrics reveals itself as one of the components of the movement of Pushkin’s lyrics towards realism. Subsequent stages of the development of Pushkin’s poetry are associated with the gradual disappearance of the fundamental differences between “home” and “high” lyrics, which no longer appear as autonomous elements of the artistic system, but as principles ascending to them, the interaction of which is different, compared to previous periods, character. We can talk about residual forms of combining the “domestic” and the universally significant, increasingly revealing a tendency towards interpenetration, which was already evident in the lyrics of Pushkin of the Mikhailov period. In characterizing Pushkin's lyrics of the second half of the 1820s - 1830s, we can therefore limit ourselves to a more summary assessment of the phenomena associated with its artistic evolution, considered from the point of view of those changes that are the subject of this article.

The artistic principles outlined in Mikhailovsky are reinforced by Pushkin’s lyrics of 1826-1828. The lyrical “I” is even more firmly attached to Pushkin’s biography, and accordingly, the role of “domestic” realities, freely included in Pushkin’s lyrics, is strengthened almost on an equal footing with other components. The clarity of the boundaries between “home” and “high” lyrics has already been lost, therefore the poet’s attitude towards poems that were previously associated with “home” lyrics is changing. Increasingly, they are selected for publication, thus acquiring the character of universally significant lyrics. The author’s image (“the poet’s self”), closely connected with specific biographical features and uniting all of Pushkin’s lyrics, prevents the distinction between “home” and “high” lyrics, which in any case are no longer opposed to each other. However, the selection of biographical realities remains quite strict, although the conscious focus on the autobiographical nature of the lyrical “I” (which has finally lost the features of an elegiac lyrical hero) naturally entails the need to expand the specific biographical principle (including “home” realities).

Pushkin did not publish many poems of this time, such as, for example, most of the love lyrics associated with the hobbies of this time. However, we have no reason to categorically classify them as “home” lyrics or to look for evidence that (as in the case of “Confession”) that they were interpreted in this way by the poet himself. One can rather talk about the insufficient consistency of Pushkin, who published, for example, such a poem as “To Dawe ESQr” (“Why is your marvelous pencil”), but left unpublished a number of other poems, no less related to specific biographical circumstances (some of they, however, could not be published for censorship reasons). It is important that all these poems, both published and not published during Pushkin’s lifetime, are united by a common concept characteristic of Pushkin’s lyrics of the first post-December years, thus representing a certain unity focused on the unity of the “author”.

The tendency towards a complete fusion of “home” and “high” lyrics reveals itself to an even greater extent at the turn of the 1830s (1829-1830). This is a short but extremely significant stage in the development of Pushkin's lyrics. The significant restructuring of the artistic system of Pushkin’s work taking place at this time is associated with a significant change in his realism. In particular, this is reflected in the fact that the realities of the objective world are increasingly included in Pushkin’s works.38 Traditions going back to “domestic” lyrics merge with the tendency towards the aesthetic development of all reality as the subject of poetry. The poet’s “I” turns out to be organically merged with the surrounding world, embodied in his poetry; this strengthens the process of the final inclusion of “home” lyrics into generally significant ones. “Home semantics,” as a separate sphere of image, loses its independent meaning: everything related to the private existence of “I” turns out to be capable of representing the world on an equal footing, which now becomes the subject of Pushkin’s lyrics. The autonomy of “domestic semantics,” which was partially preserved in Pushkin’s lyrics of the first post-December years, is thus overcome by the poet.

Therefore, we should no longer be talking about “domestic” lyrics as such, but about the role and forms of manifestation of those of its traditions, which find their expression in the poet’s ever-increasing attention to the objective world. But this essentially removes the very problem of opposition between “home” and “high” lyrics as elements of an artistic system. With the change in their functions, the nature of these phenomena also changes: the “domestic” and the generally significant act as equal components, mutually complementing each other and thus enriching the artistic possibilities of Pushkin’s lyrics, contributing to the implementation of the tasks that Pushkin the lyricist now sets for himself. At the same time, within the artistic system of Pushkin's lyrics, both of these principles continue to play an important role in its evolution. Tracing this evolution, we inevitably encounter the need to establish them as equal, but not identical elements, the combination of which turns out to be one of the structural properties of Pushkin’s lyrics at the turn of the 1830s.

The process of merging the “domestic” and universally significant lyric poetry of Pushkin of the 1830s completes the process. In relation to it, it is in many ways inappropriate to single out the “domestic” principle, since its artistic system appears so integral and cannot be decomposed into opposing (or at least opposed) elements to each other. The world of Pushkin's lyrics is now fundamentally indivisible. Subject and biographical realities, dating back to Pushkin’s “homemade” lyrics of previous periods, lose their former function; their introduction loses its demonstrative nature, their special nature becomes less and less noticeable, they organically merge with the traditionally poetic and, moreover, turn out to be capable of replacing it. This eliminates the need for special motivations for including objective realities in the lyrics (such as the humorous tone of the poem “Approaching Izhora” or, although “gloomy”, as defined by G. A. Gukovsky,42 but still irony

"Road Complaints") So, for example, in “Poems Composed at Night During Insomnia” (1830), written at the turn of the 1830s, the mythological (and therefore “lofty”) image of Parka is combined with the everyday appearance of an old woman: “Parki’s woman’s babbling” (III, 250 ).43 The idea of ​​the apparent meaninglessness of life is then naturally embodied in a similar image, also borrowed from everyday life: “Life is a mouse race” (ibid.). Initially, this verse came into contrast with the previous ones:

The park of the terrible is like babbling

The tramp of a pale horse

Eternity's immortal awe

Life is a mouse race.

Thus, the changing relationship within Pushkin’s lyrics as a system of such elements as “home” and universally significant lyrics reveals the nature of its evolution. Of course, the latter cannot be reduced only to the aspect considered; it includes the interaction of many elements that make up Pushkin’s lyrics as a system. In turn, the lyrics themselves are an integral part of Pushkin’s work, which in relation to it represents a complex system.45 In the system of Pushkin’s creativity, the lyrics come into relationship with its other elements; their evolution, as well as their changing interaction with the lyrics, in turn, influence the nature of the changes that Pushkin’s lyrics undergo. Suffice it to note, for example, the complex relationship in which throughout

For a long time, Pushkin’s lyrics and his poetic epics, especially “Eugene Onegin,” appeared. The nature of the lyricism of Pushkin’s novel not only corresponded to artistic quests in lyricism, but also had an impact on its evolution. In particular, this could be traced in the aspect I considered. S. G. Bocharov expressed the idea that “the lyrics of “I” in the novel are much more empirical and non-generalized than Pushkin’s actual lyrics”; the conditions for this were created by its motivation with the “image of the author.”46 Based on this, it can be assumed that the artistic experience of “Eugene Onegin” was to a certain extent ahead of the evolution of Pushkin’s “lyric poetry itself.” This experience, apparently, also affected the change in the ratio of “homemade” and generally significant lyrics. However, one cannot fail to note here the role that from the turn of the 1830s Pushkin’s prose began to play, entering into a complex relationship and interaction with his poetry. But all these, of course, are new problems, mentioned only to show possible aspects of further research on the topic in a broader context. The purpose of this article was only to outline the general picture of the movement of Pushkin’s lyrics from a selected angle, connecting the idea of ​​​​its evolution with changes within the artistic system that Pushkin’s lyrics of the 1820-1830s constitute.

The topic of the poet's role in society always worried Pushkin. He began to think about this when he wrote the poem “To a Poet Friend.” He defined his place in poetry with poems, and speaks about this in his other works.

Pushkin wrote the poem “To a Poet Friend” while studying at the Lyceum. Even then, in his youth, he thought about the role of poetry. The lectures of Professor Kunitsyn also had a significant influence on his thinking.

Meanwhile, Dmitriev, Derzhavin, Lomonosov.
Immortal singers, and honor and glory of the Russians,
They nourish a sound mind and teach us together

The first thing the young poet pays attention to is education, to the fact that poetry should nourish a sound mind and teach. Pushkin says that poetry is not always fame and money. Names famous writers who died in poverty because they did not know how to bend to anyone and stuck to their ideas, their truths.

Pushkin spent a lot of time in the archives, studying historical documents. With his works, although not always written in the style of realism, he sought to acquaint his readers, Russian society with his native history, and thus nourish a sound mind and teach.

The poem, “To N. Ya. Pluskova,” written in 1819 and published by Pushkin in “Competitor of Enlightenment and Charity,” could have alerted the royal celestials, because the poet openly admits that he did not and will not become a court poet. The only thing he is ready to serve and glorify is Freedom.

Only by learning to glorify freedom,
Sacrificing poetry only to her,
I was not born to amuse kings
My shy muse.

True, he admits that he sang the praises of Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I. But this was from sincere motives, and knowing the love of the common people for the empress. Because

This poem clearly defines the civic position of twenty-year-old Pushkin, which becomes prevalent for him for the remaining years. It is worth noting that this was the basis for his conflict with Emperor Nicholas I, who sought to tame Pushkin. He dreamed of having his own court poet, and Pushkin strove for creative freedom. Many believed that personal imperial censorship, the appointment of Pushkin as a palace chamberlain cadet, and the persecution of the poet that followed in the 30s stemmed from this conflict. Although, on the other hand, everyone knows that despite his genius, Alexander Sergeevich’s character was not sweet and he often needlessly insulted and humiliated other people.

Written in the form of a dialogue between a poet and a bookseller in 1824. The poet gets older, and gradually his views change. And the point is not that he becomes greedy, it’s just that, unlike 14-year-old Pushkin, the time has come when he has to take care not only of spiritual food, but also of his daily bread. Therefore, he agrees with the seller when he says

What about Slava? - Bright patch
On the singer's shabby rags.
We need gold, gold, gold:
Save up your gold until the end!

Poetry should teach readers to bring spiritual pleasure, but it should feed the poet himself, regardless of civic positions and worldviews.

In 1826, Pushkin felt himself a prophet. The poem “The Prophet” was suffered through moral torment and long reflection. Pushkin realized that he had to burn people’s hearts with a verb. It is generally accepted that with this poem Pushkin speaks of calls to fight for freedom. But

...God's voice called to me:
“Rise up, prophet, and see and listen,
Be fulfilled by my will,
And, bypassing the seas and lands,
Burn the hearts of people with the verb.”

God, as we know, never called for a fight with those in power. Jesus taught non-resistance to evil through violence. Is it possible to understand Pushkin’s last lines as meaning that he intends to call a person to moral self-improvement, patience and fulfillment of God’s commandments? We must assume that yes. Many of his works tell us this, especially those related to late philosophical lyric poetry.

Pushkin is a child of his era. And in the first half of the 19th century, the nobles considered the people to be something like children, incapable of expressing their will. The nobles themselves had to make politics in the state, overthrow the kings and free the people from serfdom. By the way, Alexander Sergeevich himself was in no hurry to free his peasants. With the poem “The Poet and the Crowd,” Pushkin showed his attitude towards the people. It is expressed in the words of the mob addressed to the poet

You can, loving your neighbor,
Give us bold lessons,
And we will listen to you.

Pushkin loved the Russian people, but in the words of the poet in the poem, he demonstrates the attitude of other poets towards the people, not his own.

With the poem “To the Poet,” Pushkin demonstrates his attitude to criticism and freedom of creativity, which he valued very highly. This work echoes “Monument,” written six months before his death.

You are your own highest court;
You know how to evaluate your work more strictly than anyone else.
Are you satisfied with it, discerning artist?
Are you satisfied? So let the crowd scold him

With the poem “Monument” Pushkin, as it were, sums up his work. He talks about

And for a long time I will be so kind to the people,
That I awakened good feelings with my lyre,
That in my cruel age I glorified Freedom
And he called for mercy for the fallen.

And the last stanza is a testament to current and future poets:

By the command of God, O muse, be obedient,
Without fear of insult, without demanding a crown,
Praise and slander were accepted indifferently
And don't challenge a fool.

To summarize, we can say that Pushkin saw the purpose of poetry as teaching his readers to see the beauty in life and nature, to teach love for their native land and native history. He saw freedom in personal freedom, that is, in the ability to create, regardless of anyone, to be able to move around the world depending on one’s desires and capabilities. In his work, a poet should be as indifferent to criticism as possible. The highest critic is himself, the creator of his works.

The lyrics of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin are very diverse, but the leading place in it is occupied by the theme of the poet and poetry, because poetic creativity was his main occupation, and he highly appreciated the role and character of the poet. He has written more than a dozen poems that reveal the theme of the poet and poetry from different angles. The most important of them: “The Prophet” (1826), “Conversation between a bookseller and a poet” (1824), “The Poet” (1827), “The Poet and the Crowd” (1828), “To the Poet” (1830), “Echo” (1831) , “From Pendimonti” (1836), “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands...” (1836). What, in Pushkin’s understanding, is the purpose of a poet and the tasks of poetry in this world?

In the poem “The Prophet” the poet is compared to a prophet. The work talks about the properties that a poet must have, in contrast to an ordinary person, in order to worthily fulfill his destiny. “The Prophet” is based on the story of the biblical prophet Isaiah, who saw the Lord. This poem differs from others in which, speaking about poetry and the poet, Pushkin used images of ancient mythology (Muses, Apollo, Parnassus). The lyrical hero of the work goes from a sinner who “dragged” without a goal in the “dark desert” to a reborn, purified, prophet who penetrated into the secrets of existence. This awakening of the Pushkin prophet was prepared by his condition: he was “languishing with spiritual thirst.” The Messenger of God, Seraphim, transforms the entire nature of man in order to make a poet out of him. The sinner's eyes are opened:

The prophetic eyes have opened,

Like a frightened eagle...

Man received a sensitive ear, instead of a “sinful”, “idle-talking”, “evil” tongue - “the sting of a wise serpent”, instead of a “quivering heart” - “a coal blazing with fire”. But even this complete transformation, a change in a person’s feelings and abilities, is not enough to become a real poet: “I lay like a corpse in the desert.” We also need a high goal, a high idea, in the name of which the poet creates and which revives, gives meaning, content to everything that he sees and hears so deeply and accurately. And at the end, the Lord puts His divine will into the prophet:

Arise, prophet, and see and listen,

Be fulfilled by my will,

And, bypassing the seas and lands,

Burn the hearts of people with the verb.

This is precisely what Pushkin sees as the purpose of a poet: if God has gifted him with poetic talent, then he must use all the power and beauty of his words in such a way as to truly “burn the hearts of people,” showing them the true, unvarnished truth of life.

The poem “Conversation between a bookseller and a poet” is also devoted to the theme of the poet and poetry. The poet yearns for those times when he “wrote out of inspiration, not out of payment.” But the glory of the lyrical hero took away his peace: “the world recognized and bought up” his “sweet-sounding creations.” But “the persecution of a lowly ignoramus” and “the admiration of a fool” are not at all worth doing for their sake, Pushkin believed. The secular mob is unworthy of the inspiration of a great poet. The lyrical hero prefers freedom to the admiration of the crowd and glory in the world. But the bookseller objects:

Our age is a huckster; in this iron age

Without money there is no freedom.

He wants to purchase the manuscript of the poet’s new poem and offers:

Inspiration is not for sale

But you can sell the manuscript.

Why hesitate?

The poet agrees, but expressing his agreement, he abruptly switches to prose: “You are absolutely right. Here's my manuscript. Let's agree." After all, there is no poetry in selling your creativity. The poet was given a gift from God; he is called upon to “burn the hearts of people with words,” and not to sell his poems. But such is life, and this is a tragedy for a true singer, for a great poet.

The poems “The Poet”, “The Poet and the Crowd”, “The Poet”, “Echo” are dedicated to the tragic fate of the poet, his loneliness, and difficult relationships with the “crowd”, that is, the secular mob.

In the poem “Poet” Pushkin emphasizes the divine origin of the poetic gift. In the first part of the work we see that the poet is an ordinary person, like everyone else; he is immersed “in the worries of the vain world”:

His holy lyre is silent;

The soul tastes a cold sleep,

And among the insignificant children of the world,

Perhaps he is the most insignificant of all.

But in the second part there is a transformation. Moreover, transformations in the poet’s soul occur thanks to the “divine verb.” And in this sense, the poem “Poet” is akin to “Prophet”. The sinner’s path through the desert was as aimless as the “cares of the vain world” in which the poet was immersed. But thanks to a higher power, a transformation occurs, and the soul of the poet awakens, like the soul of the prophet. Now the “fun of the world” and human rumor are alien to the lyrical hero. Now he yearns for the environment in which he previously moved. The prophet goes to people to “burn” their hearts with the word of God. But the poet has no place among people, among the crowd that does not understand him, and he runs, “wild and harsh,”

On the shores of desert waves,

In the noisy oak forests...

He is full of “sounds and confusion”, his inspiration seeks outlet, and his “holy lyre” can no longer remain silent. This is how poems are born that can shake human souls, that can “burn” people’s hearts.

But people do not always heed the poet’s calls, and he does not always find understanding among them. Most often, the poet is alone in society, in the “crowd,” by which Alexander Sergeevich means the secular mob. The poem “The Poet and the Crowd” is about this. Pushkin laments and is indignant at the inertia and stupidity of the mob, calling it “stupid,” “cold,” “arrogant,” “uninitiated.” In this work, the poet throws out his despair and bitterness, because the crowd does not accept him, they do not hear or understand his calls:

To what goal is he leading us?

What is he strumming about? What does it teach us? –

interpreted as “cold-hearted eunuchs,” “slanderers, slaves, fools.” The poet’s song is an empty sound for them; it has no material expression, therefore the mob rejects such art:

What benefit does it have to us? –

they say. The singer expresses contempt for the “meaningless people”:

Go away - who cares

To the peaceful poet before you!

Feel free to turn to stone in depravity,

The voice of the lyre will not revive you!

You are as disgusting to my soul as coffins.

Pushkin is outraged by the spiritual poverty of the crowd, its sleepy existence, without upward impulses, without aspirations for beauty. What is the opinion of such a crowd worth, unable to hear and understand the great poet? He doesn't need her recognition and love. The singer does not want to “correct the hearts of his brothers,” because such hearts will not revive the “lyre’s voice.” And the poet was born “not for everyday excitement,” but for “inspiration, for sweet sounds and prayers.”

The message “To the Poet” is devoted to the same topic. The author calls on the nameless poet not to pay attention to the “judgment of a fool” and the “laughter of a cold crowd”:

You are the king: live alone. On the road to freedom

Go where your free mind takes you.

The author claims that the best judge of his creativity is the poet himself. The opinion of the unenlightened crowd, deeply indifferent to true poetry, does not matter. But if a “discriminating artist” is satisfied with his work, then his work is really worth something. And then

...let the crowd scold him

And spits on the altar where your fire burns,

And your tripod shakes in childish playfulness.

The poet’s loneliness and the readers’ misunderstanding are also spoken of in the poem “Echo.” The author's mood at the beginning and at the end of this work is not the same. At the beginning, Pushkin talks about how poetry is born. Any sound encourages the poet to create, inspires inspiration: the roar of an animal, thunder, the singing of a girl, and the cry of shepherds. The poet “for every sound” has “its own response in the empty air.” That is why the singer is compared to an echo. But, like an echo, the poet does not receive an answer to his “responses”. Thus, the ending of the poem is sad, because the poet’s fate is sometimes tragic: not all of his calls awaken the hearts of people, not everyone is close to his poems.

In the poems “The Poet”, “To the Poet”, “The Poet and the Crowd” Pushkin proclaims the idea of ​​freedom and independence from the crowd, the secular mob. Alexander Sergeevich wants to preserve the independence of his talent from encroachments on him from the world. The poem “From Pindemonti” is imbued with this mood. The poet talks about what kind of freedom a person needs. According to the author, “loud rights” to “challenge taxes or prevent kings from fighting each other” mean nothing. They make you “dizzy,” but such a “sweet fate” does not promise real freedom. What are the “better rights” and “better freedom” that Pushkin “needs”?

Don’t give a report, only to yourself

To serve and please; for power, for livery

Don’t bend your conscience, your thoughts, your neck;

To wander here and there on a whim...

This is what the author considers to be the highest happiness, true rights. This is the goal that, according to Alexander Sergeevich, we should strive for. Pushkin makes the final statement of the poet’s civic duty and sums up the results of his creative activity in the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands...”, where he says that his whole purpose, the whole meaning of his work lies in

That I awakened good feelings with my lyre,

That in my cruel age I glorified Freedom

And he called for mercy for the fallen.

The poem is a kind of testament of the poet. Addressing the Muse, the author calls on her to be obedient to the “command of God,” to accept “praise and slander” with indifference and, most importantly, “not to challenge a fool.” This call is addressed to the poet who will create in the future.