« Dead Souls" is a mysterious and amazing work. For the first time, perhaps, you realize this when you pick up a solid prose work edition of 1842, and on the cover you read: “The Adventures of Chichikov. Dead Souls. Poem by N.V. Gogol". And Gogol himself perceived “Dead Souls” as a “true novel,” however, he designated the genre of his work that way. And this, of course, is not accidental. In Gogol's time, a poem was a kind of sign of quality. There were certain requirements for works of this kind: sublime motives had to be present. The poems had to contain the author's voice and had to have a clearly defined author's position. Gogol’s entire prose is colored with lyricism, because the writer considered it more effective for himself to directly address the word of truth and love. IN " Dead souls ah” his voice sounded clear and piercing, in them confessional motives acquired special significance. Therefore, in the poem some of best pages- these are pages of lyrical digressions. Moreover, they differ in emotional coloring and in their themes, helping the reader to better understand the content of the work and study in more detail the context of the events taking place.
One of the most significant lyrical digressions is Gogol’s reflections on the fate of writers who bring out positive or negative hero. The author of “Dead Souls” bitterly says that the modern public remains indifferent to tears “through... laughter.” Gogol defends literature critical realism, that is, that literature that is not afraid to show society all the bad sides of its life. He also defends satire, since he believes that it is based on humanistic principles, which is fundamentally satirical image lies love for people, a desire to correct their soul. As if continuing the theme started, Gogol tells the story of Kifa Mokievich and Mokiy Kifovich and touches on the issue of true and false patriotism. According to the writer, true patriots not those who think not about “not doing bad, but about not saying that they are doing bad,” but those who speak the “holy truth” and are not afraid to fix their deep gaze on something.
But if Gogol’s thoughts about the fate of writers or about patriotism are filled with both regret and bitterness, then in his discussions about officials his satirical talent is fully manifested. The stinging criticism of officials and landowners is contained in the famous story about the fat and the thin. "Alas! - Gogol notes, “fat people know how to manage their affairs in this world better than thin ones.” Brilliant characteristics of officials are given by the writer when describing the behavior of landowners in a conversation with Chichikov. Manilov, having heard Chichikov's proposal about selling the dead shower, didn’t understand anything, but made a smart face. In lyrical miniature digressions, Gogol compares his heroes with St. Petersburg dignitaries. So, for example, Gogol talks about the expression on Manilov’s face, which can be seen “only on some too smart minister, and even then at the moment of the most dizzying matter.” I help with such digressions! present to the reader the most full portraits heroes of the work.
There are also deviations of a moral nature in Dead Souls. So, in the story about the meeting of Chichikov and Plyushkin, there are Gogol’s appeals to youth. The writer calls on young people to preserve “all human movements” that allow a person to preserve himself and avoid degradation, which will not allow him to turn into Plyushkin and others like him.
But Gogol dedicated the most heartfelt digressions of Dead Souls to the Russian people. The writer's boundless love for the Russian people is manifested, for example, in the characteristics of serf craftsmen (Mikheev, Telyatnikov). But Gogol understands that a conflict between two worlds is brewing: the world of serfs and the world of landowners, and he warns about the upcoming clash throughout the book. And the author of “Dead Souls” hopes that the Russian people will have a flourishing culture ahead, the basis of which should be language. Gogol talks about this, reflecting on the accuracy of the Russian word. The author believes that there is no word that would be “so sweeping, lively, so bursting out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant as a well-spoken Russian word.”
The poem ends with lyrical reflections on the fate of Russia. The image of Rus'-troika affirms the idea of the unstoppable movement of the Motherland, expresses the dream of its future and the hope for the emergence of real “virtuous people” capable of saving the country: “Eh, horses, horses, what kind of horses!.. We heard a familiar song from above, together and at once they strained their copper breasts and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air; and rushes, all inspired by God!..” The author’s faith in the future of the country is imbued with great emotional force.
“Dead Souls,” especially in the lyrical digressions, reflected the entire suffering soul of the great Russian writer, all his thoughts and feelings. Today it is worth turning to this work more often, listening more often to the voice of N.V. Gogol. V.G. Belinsky remarked: “Like anything deep creation, “Dead Souls” are not fully revealed from the first reading, even for thinking people: reading them for the second time, it’s as if you are reading a new, never-before-seen work. "Dead Souls" requires study."
Lyrical digressions in the poem "Dead Souls" play a huge role. They entered the structure of this work so organically that we can no longer imagine the poem without the author’s magnificent monologues. What is the role of lyrical digressions in the poem? Agree, thanks to their presence, we constantly feel the presence of Gogol, who shares with us his experiences and thoughts about this or that event. In this article we will talk about lyrical digressions in the poem “Dead Souls” and talk about their role in the work.
The role of lyrical digressions
Nikolai Vasilyevich becomes not just a guide leading the reader through the pages of the work. He is more of a close friend. The lyrical digressions in the poem “Dead Souls” encourage us to share with the author the emotions that overwhelm him. Often the reader expects that Gogol, with his inimitable humor, will help him overcome the sadness or indignation caused by the events in the poem. And sometimes we want to know Nikolai Vasilyevich’s opinion on what is happening. The lyrical digressions in the poem "Dead Souls", in addition, have great artistic power. We enjoy every image, every word, admiring their beauty and accuracy.
Opinions on lyrical digressions expressed by Gogol's famous contemporaries
Many of the author's contemporaries appreciated the work "Dead Souls". The lyrical digressions in the poem also did not go unnoticed. Some have spoken about them famous people. For example, I. Herzen noted that the lyrical passage illuminates and enlivens the narrative in order to be replaced again by a picture that reminds us even more clearly of the hell we are in. Lyrical beginning This work was also highly appreciated by V. G. Belinsky. He pointed to the humane, comprehensive and deep subjectivity that reveals in the artist a person with a “nice soul and a warm heart.”
Thoughts shared by Gogol
With the help of lyrical digressions, the writer expresses his own attitude not only to the events and people he describes. They contain, in addition, an affirmation of the high purpose of man, the significance of great social interests and ideas. The source of the author's lyricism is thoughts about serving his country, about its sorrows, destinies and hidden gigantic forces. This manifests itself regardless of whether Gogol expresses his anger or bitterness over the insignificance of the characters he depicts, whether he talks about his role in modern society writer or about the lively Russian mind.
First retreats
With great artistic tact, Gogol included extra-plot elements in the work “Dead Souls”. The lyrical digressions in the poem are at first only Nikolai Vasilyevich’s statements about the heroes of the work. However, as the story progresses, the themes become more varied.
Gogol, having talked about Korobochka and Manilov, interrupts his narrative for a while, as if he wants to step aside for a while so that the reader can better understand the picture of life he has drawn. For example, the digression that interrupts the story about Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna in the work contains a comparison of her with a “sister” belonging to an aristocratic society. Despite her slightly different appearance, she is no different from the local mistress.
Beautiful blonde
Chichikov, on the road after visiting Nozdryov, meets a beautiful blonde on his way. The description of this meeting ends with a wonderful lyrical digression. Gogol writes that everywhere on the way a person will encounter at least once a phenomenon that is unlike anything he has seen before, and will awaken in him a new feeling, not similar to the usual ones. However, this is completely alien to Chichikov: the cold caution of this hero is compared with the manifestation of feelings inherent in man.
Digressions in chapters 5 and 6
The lyrical digression at the end of the fifth chapter is of a completely different nature. The author here is not talking about his hero, not about his attitude towards this or that character, but about the talent of the Russian people, about a powerful man living in Rus'. as if not connected with the previous development of the action. However, it is very important for revealing the main idea of the poem: true Russia is not boxes, nozdryovs and dogevichs, but the element of the people.
Closely connected with lyrical statements dedicated to the people's character and the Russian word is the inspired confession about youth, about Gogol's perception of life, which opens the sixth chapter.
The angry words of Nikolai Vasilyevich, which have a generalizing deep meaning, the story about Plyushkin, who embodied with the greatest strength base feelings and aspirations, is interrupted. Gogol is indignant about the “nastiness, pettiness and insignificance” a person could reach.
The author's reasoning in Chapter 7
Nikolai Vasilyevich begins the seventh chapter with discussions about life and creative destiny writer in contemporary society. He talks about two different destinies that await him. A writer can become a creator of “exalted images” or a satirist or realist. This lyrical digression reflects Gogol’s views on art, as well as the author’s attitude towards the people and the ruling elite in society.
"Happy traveler..."
Another digression, beginning with the words “Happy is the traveler...”, is an important stage plot development. It separates one part of the story from another. Nikolai Vasilyevich’s statements illuminate the meaning and essence of both the preceding and subsequent paintings of the poem. This lyrical digression is directly related to the folk scenes depicted in the seventh chapter. It plays a very important role in the composition of the poem.
Statements about classes and ranks
In the chapters devoted to the depiction of the city, we come across Gogol’s statements about classes and ranks. He says they are so "annoyed" that everything in a printed book seems "personal" to them. Apparently, this is the “disposition in the air”.
Reflections on human fallacies
We see lyrical digressions of the poem “Dead Souls” throughout the narrative. Gogol ends his description of the general confusion with reflections on the false paths of man, his delusions. Humanity has made many mistakes in its history. The current generation laughs at this arrogantly, although it itself is starting a whole series of new misconceptions. His descendants in the future will laugh at the present generation.
Last retreats
Gogol's civic pathos reaches particular strength in the retreat "Rus! Rus!...". It shows, like the lyrical monologue placed at the beginning of the 7th chapter, a clear line between the links of the narrative - the story about the origin of the main character (Chichikov) and the city scenes. Here the theme of Russia has already been widely developed. It is “unwelcoming, scattered, poor.” However, this is where heroes are born. The author then shares with us the thoughts that were inspired by the rushing troika and the distant road. Nikolai Vasilyevich paints pictures of his native Russian nature one after another. They appear before the eyes of a traveler racing along an autumn road on fast horses. Despite the fact that the image of the three-bird has been left behind, in this lyrical digression we feel it again.
The story about Chichikov ends with a statement from the author, which is a sharp objection to who main character and the whole work, depicting “the despicable and evil,” can be shocking.
What do lyrical digressions reflect and what remains unanswered?
The author’s sense of patriotism is reflected in the lyrical digressions in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls.” The image of Russia, which completes the work, is covered deep love. He embodied the ideal that illuminated the artist’s path when depicting vulgar petty life.
Speaking about the role and place of lyrical digressions in the poem “Dead Souls,” I would like to note one interesting point. Despite numerous arguments by the author, the most important question for Gogol remains unanswered. And the question is, where is Rus' heading? You will not find the answer to it by reading the lyrical digressions in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls." Only the Almighty could know what awaited this country, “inspired by God,” at the end of the road.
The role of lyrical digressions in the poem "Dead Souls"
N.V. Gogol is one of the greatest figures of Russian literature. The pinnacle of his work is the poem "Dead Souls". All the main features of the author’s talent are reflected in it.
The most important role in compositional structure"Dead Souls" plays lyrical digressions and inserted episodes, characteristic of the poem as literary genre. In them, Gogol touches on the most acute Russian public issues. The author's thoughts about the high purpose of man, about the fate of the Motherland and the people are here contrasted with gloomy pictures of Russian life.
At the beginning of the poem, the lyrical digressions are in the nature of the author’s statements about his heroes, but as the action unfolds, their internal theme becomes increasingly broader and multifaceted.
Having talked about Manilov and Korobochka, the author interrupts the story so that the picture of life drawn becomes clearer to the reader. The author's digression, which interrupts the story about Korobochka, contains a comparison with her “sister” from aristocratic society, who, despite other appearance, is no different from the local mistress.
After visiting Nozdryov, Chichikov meets a beautiful blonde on the road. The description of this meeting ends with the author’s remarkable digression: “Wherever in life, whether among the callous, rough-poor and unkempt and moldy low-lying ranks of it, or among the monotonously cold and boringly neat upper classes, everywhere at least once you will meet on the way to a person, a phenomenon unlike everything he has ever seen before, which will at least once awaken in him a feeling not similar to those that he is destined to feel all his life.” But what is characteristic of many people, what appears “across” any kind of sadness - all this is completely alien to Chichikov, whose cold prudence is compared here with the direct manifestation of feelings.
The lyrical digression at the end of the fifth chapter is of a completely different nature. Here the author is no longer talking about the hero, not about the attitude towards him, but about the mighty Russian man, about the talent of the Russian people. Outwardly, this lyrical digression seems to have little connection with the entire previous development of the action, but it is very important for revealing the main idea of the poem: real Russia- these are not Sobakevichs, Nozdryovs and boxes, but the people, the element of the people.
In close contact with lyrical statements about the Russian word and national character there is also that author’s digression that opens the sixth chapter.
The story about Plyushkin is interrupted by the author’s angry words, which have a deep generalizing meaning: “And a person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, and disgusting!”
Of considerable importance are lyrical statements about the creative and life fate of the writer in Gogol’s contemporary society, about two different destinies awaiting the writer who creates “exalted images” and the realist writer, satirist. This lyrical digression, full of deep thoughts and vivid generalizations, reflected not only the writer’s views on art, but also his attitude towards the ruling elite of society, towards the people. It determines both the writer’s ideological path and his assessment of the main social forces.
In the chapters devoted to the depiction of the city, we encounter the author’s statements about the extreme irritability of ranks and classes - “now all ranks and classes are so irritated in our country that everything that is in a printed book already seems to them to be a person: this is apparently how they are disposed in the air." Gogol ends his description of the general confusion with reflections on human delusions, on the false paths that humanity has often followed in its history - “but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new delusions, which the descendants will also laugh at later.”
The writer's civic pathos reaches particular strength in the lyrical digression - "Rus, Rus'! I see you from my wonderful, beautiful distance." Like the lyrical monologue at the beginning of the seventh chapter, this lyrical digression forms a clear line between two major links in the narrative - the city scenes and the story of Chichikov’s origins. Here, in a broad sense, the theme of Russia appears, in which it was “poor, scattered and uncomfortable,” but where heroes cannot but be born. The author's lyrical statements seem to be interrupted by the invasion of rough everyday prose. “And a mighty space threateningly embraces me, reflecting with terrible force in my depths; my eyes were illuminated with an unnatural power: oh! what a sparkling, wonderful distance, unfamiliar to the earth! Rus'!
Hold it, hold it, you fool! - Chichikov shouted to Selifan.
Here I am with a broadsword! - shouted a courier galloping towards him with a mustache as long as an arshin. “Don’t you see, damn your soul: it’s a government carriage!” “And, like a ghost, the troika disappeared with thunder and dust.”
The vulgarity, emptiness, baseness of life emerge even more clearly against the background of sublime lyrical lines. This technique of contrast was used by Gogol with great skill. Thanks to such a sharp contrast, we better understand the vile traits of the heroes of Dead Souls.
Immediately after this, the author shares with the reader the thoughts that the racing troika and the long road evoke in him. “How strange, and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful in the word road! and how wonderful it itself, this road.” One after another, Gogol sketches here pictures of Russian nature that appear before the gaze of a traveler racing on fast horses along an autumn road. Both in the general mood of the author’s monologue and in the quickly changing pictures, a hint of the image of a bird-three is clearly felt, from which this lyrical digression is separated by a large chapter dedicated to the adventures of Chichikov.
A high sense of patriotism pervades the image of Russia that concludes the first volume of the poem, an image that embodies the ideal that illuminated the artist’s path when depicting petty, vulgar life.
This is the role of lyrical digressions in the composition of the poem. But the most important thing is that they express many of the author’s views on art and relationships between people. On the pages of the poem, Gogol wanted not only to expose, but also to assert his moral ideal, and expressed it in his wonderful lyrical digressions, which reflected all his thoughts and feelings, and above all, a great feeling of love for his people and fatherland, the belief that the homeland will break out of the power of the “swamp lights” and return to true path: the path of the living soul.
1. Gogol's talent as a writer.
2. The main themes of lyrical digressions.
3. The role and place of lyrical digressions in the poem.
4. The life-affirming pathos of retreats.
What a huge, what an original plot! What a varied bunch! All Rus' will appear in it.
N. V. Gogol
N.V. Gogol, the great Russian writer, had a unique gift. It consisted of an organic combination of incompatible things: sharp, deep satire and amazing poetry. This is the genius of Gogol himself and the immortality of the first volume of Dead Souls, “a great and sad book.”
It seems to me that the author accurately guessed the soul of Russia itself: the funny and the great, the low and the poetic live in it in inextricable unity. This character of the "sixth part of the earth with the name Brief Rus'"accurately reflect deviations from the main outline of the work. In Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" there are two types of digressions - epic, which serve to reveal the characters and images of the characters, and lyrical, reflecting the author's thoughts and experiences about the fate of Russia and its people.
Both of them contribute to revealing the main idea of the work. However, lyrical digressions, despite their relatively small number in the poem, are more important. They explain both the essence of the author’s intention and determine the genre and nature of the narrative.
“A lyrical appeal to Russia” and its people—this is how Gogol himself characterized the lyrical digressions in “Dead Souls.” The writer called his work a poem, a poetic creation of a special kind, occupying a middle place between a novel and an epic. A lyrical monologue about Russia and the Russian people is organically combined with criticism of the existing world order.
Particularly vivid and deep impressions are left by lyrical digressions that link together the themes of the country and the road. The image of the road has been relevant and significant for Russia since ancient Russian literature. This is largely explained by the large expanses of Rus', which were fateful for all its inhabitants. The heroes spend most of their lives on the road; the choice of roads has always been relevant, starting with the plots of Russian folk tales. The road is life.
In Dead Souls, the road is an image that permeates the entire plot: Chichikov finds his “enterprise” on the road, and Gogol himself constantly resorts to this image in his lyrical reflections, striving to “travel all over Rus' with the hero.” He either imagines himself on the road, or the whole of Rus' appears in the projection of the road. “Before, long ago, in the summer of my youth... it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time... Now I indifferently approach any unfamiliar village and indifferently look at its vulgar appearance; my chilled gaze feels uncomfortable; It’s not funny to me... and indifferent silence keeps my motionless lips. O my youth! O my conscience! Lyrical digressions highlight those negative aspects of life that the author ridicules. They show alive soul countries, those healthy forces, capable of bringing it to the right way, choose the right road.
The soulless, callous world of dead characters is contrasted with the lyrical image of Russia, which Gogol always wrote about with love and admiration. We see how the tone of the story changes when the author turns to images and themes folk life, to the dream of the future of Russia. It contains sad reflections, a gentle joke, and, finally, genuine lyrical emotion.
The lyrical lines describing the power, strength, courage, dexterity, talent, wisdom of the Russian people, their love for freedom are imbued with a special feeling. The current situation of the people, their enslavement, did not coincide with the share that they truly deserved. Deserted villages, unsettled life, ignorance and indifference are dragging Russia into the past. This is personified by the dead souls of the shown landowners and the provincial elite.
In the story about Captain Kopeikin, the author emphasizes that this is a picture not only of a single province, but of the entire country, which is ruled by the landowners and officials shown in the poem. These are people who belong to the past. But the main character of the poem, Chichikov, differs from this gallery of characters only in his focus on the future. The thirst for profit at any cost characterizes Chichikov as a representative of the emerging and gaining strength of a new bourgeois society. Money for him is a means of achieving a career and comfort. Gogol very accurately noticed the typical features of the new class in Russia: vital energy, efficiency of action and at the same time callousness and greed, the desire to get rich at the expense of other people's labor. The essence of their life is the same destruction of the “living” soul.
You can often find the definition that Gogol’s poem sounds optimistic. It seems to me that this optimism is still restrained. The first volume of the poem ends with a question, but the second and third never saw completion. Gogol expresses faith, but not confidence. He paints bright images ordinary people, which for the author are the embodiment of the ideals of spirituality, courage, love of freedom, thereby showing that Russia has healthy forces. And this strength is its people. The “three bird” rushing across the vast expanses of the Russian land, in his words, “could only have been born among a lively people.” Researchers of Gogol’s work correctly noted: “The image of the “Russian troika”, acquiring symbolic meaning, is inextricably linked by the author with the images of the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, who with one ax and a chisel made a strong carriage, and the coachman, perched “on God knows what” and dashingly driving the troika. After all, it is only thanks to such people that Rus' rushes forward, striking the beholder of this miracle.”
Gogol, warning against the “death of the soul” of his readers, appeals to them to preserve their teenage years"all-human movements". One of the significant lyrical digressions of the work is about the role of the writer in society. He talks about two types of writers and notes that the true writer is not the one who “wonderfully flattered people by hiding the sad things in life,” but the one who “turned inside out” all the “terrible, amazing mud of little things that envelop our lives.”
In terms of their ideological and emotional intensity, the lyrical digressions of “Dead Souls” are like “a ray of light in dark kingdom”, promoting insight and catharsis, purification. I think that this expression, introduced into Russian criticism by N. A. Dobrolyubov later, can be fully attributed to “Dead Souls.”
Gogol saw a different Russia in his dreams. The image of a three-bird is a symbol of the power of the Fatherland. And he was right. Russia and its people were worried different times, but the world has always looked back at Russia and listened to it. She really is like that - at the same time clumsy, and impetuous, and reliable, and unpredictable, she is familiar with both bitter defeats and the joy of victories. The writer’s faith in Russia is endless, but there is also anxiety about where this “britchka” will lead, or rather “rush,” which, like Cinderella’s pumpkin, turns into the mythical “three bird.” After all, it is filled not only with life-affirming pathos? Why a scoundrel, why be so rude to others?..” The writer was sure that the birth of a “new man” was inevitable in the Russian expanses, a man for whom the power of money is above all else. Gogol called Chichikov an acquirer, and to some extent justified him: “Acquisition is the fault of everything; because of him, deeds were carried out that the world calls not very pure.” But what upsets the writer most of all is the fact that such acquirers are meekly accepted by others as decent people: “But it’s not so hard that they will be dissatisfied with the hero, it’s hard because there lives in the soul an irresistible confidence that they were the same hero, the same Chichikov readers would be pleased. Do not the author look into his soul, do not stir at the bottom of it that which is escaping and hiding from the light...”
N.V. Gogol - great writer first half of the 19th century. In his works, he touched on the problems of oppression of the people, serfdom, and the originality of his work lies in the fact that he was one of the first to show the broadest picture of bureaucratic Russia. Gogol was very worried and worried about the future of his Motherland; this was clearly reflected in the poem “Dead Souls” and in the writer’s lyrical digressions. In the work we can see two types of lyrical digressions: epic, which serve to reveal characters and images, and lyrical, reflecting the author’s feelings about the fate of Russia.
At the beginning of the poem, Gogol tells the reader about fat and thin officials; it is these physical qualities, according to the writer, that are the main ones in a person, determining his fate and behavior. In the city of NN there were two kinds of men: fat and thin. The thin ones hovered more around the ladies and did not occupy much important places, on special assignments, and the fat ones - “were honorary officials in the city!” They occupied the most important positions.
N.V. Gogol thought a lot about the fate of Russia, every line is imbued with love for the country and deep emotions. “Aren’t you, Rus', like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing?.. Rus', where are you rushing, give me an answer. It doesn’t give an answer!” All of Russia was embodied in the image of the troika, and to the question “Where are you going?” - does not give an answer, unfortunately, the writer himself does not know where it will come if people like Chichikov, Manilov, Plyushkin rule it.
