Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol- great Russian writer, author of the works "The Inspector General", "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", "Taras Bulba", " Dead Souls" and many others.

Born on March 20 (April 1), 1809 in the town of Velikie Sorochintsy, Mirgorod district, Poltava province, in the family of a poor landowner. In addition to Nikolai, there were eleven more children in the family. N.V. Gogol spent his childhood years on his parents’ estate Vasilyevka (another name is Yanovshchina).

In 1818-1819, the writer studied at the Poltava district school, and in 1820-1821, he took lessons from the Poltava teacher Gabriel Sorochinsky, living with him. In May 1821 Nikolai Gogol entered the gymnasium of higher sciences in Nezhin. There he learned to play the violin, took up painting, took part in performances, performing comic roles. Thinking about his future, he focuses on justice, dreaming of “stopping injustice.”

Having graduated from the gymnasium in June 1828, in December Gogol went to St. Petersburg with the hope of starting professional activity. At the end of 1829, he managed to decide to serve in the department of state economy and public buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From April 1830 to March 1831, N.V. Gogol served in the department of appanages as an assistant to the chief, under the command of the famous idyllic poet V.I. Panaev. His stay in the offices caused deep disappointment in Gogol, but it became rich material for future works.

During this period, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1831-1832) were published, combining stories from Ukrainian life, the stories “Sorochinskaya Fair”, “May Night”, etc. They aroused universal admiration. With the support of A.S. Pushkin and V.A. Zhukovsky Nikolai Gogol in 1834 received a position as an associate professor at St. Petersburg University, but soon became disillusioned with the scientific and pedagogical activity and from 1835 he began to engage exclusively in literature. The study of works on the history of Ukraine became the basis for the plan of "Taras Bulba". Collections of stories "Mirgorod" were published, which included "Old World Landowners", "Taras Bulba", "Viy", etc., and "Arabesques" (on themes of St. Petersburg life). The story "The Overcoat" became the most significant work of the St. Petersburg cycle. While working on the stories, Gogol N.V. I also tried my hand at drama.

Based on the plot given by Pushkin, Gogol wrote the comedy “The Inspector General,” which was staged on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater. The comedy caused discontent among various sections of society. Shocked by the failure, Nikolai Vasilyevich left for Europe in 1836 and lived there until 1849, only occasionally returning to Russia. While in Rome, the writer begins work on the 1st volume " Dead souls". The work was published in Russia in 1842. The 2nd volume of Dead Souls was filled by Gogol with religious and mystical meaning.

In 1847 Gogol N.V. published "Selected passages from correspondence with friends." This book drew sharp criticism from both friends and opponents. In 1848 he tried to justify himself in the "Author's Confession" with the 2nd volume of "Dead Souls". This work receives universal approval and the writer sets to work with renewed vigor.

In the spring of 1850, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol made the first and last attempt to organize his family life. He proposes to A. M. Vielgorskaya, but is refused.

Living in St. Petersburg, Odessa, and Moscow, he continued to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. He was increasingly possessed by religious and mystical moods, and his health deteriorated. In 1852, Gogol began meeting with Archpriest Matvey Konstantinovsky, a fanatic and mystic. February 11, 1852, while in serious state of mind, the writer burned the manuscript of the second volume of the poem. On the morning of February 21, 1852, Nikolai Vasilievich

Gogol died in his apartment on Nikitsky Boulevard.

The writer was buried in the Donskoy Monastery. After the revolution, the remains of N.V. Gogol were moved to the Novodevichy cemetery.

Gogol writer literary creativity

GOGOL Nikolai Vasilievich (1809 -- 1852), Russian. writer. Lit. G. brought fame to Sat. "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" (1831 - 32), rich in Ukrainian. ethnographic and folklore material, marked by romanticism. moods, lyricism and humor. The stories from the collections "Mirgorod" and "Arabesques" (both 1835) reveal realism. period of creativity G. Theme of humiliation " little man" was most fully embodied in the play "The Overcoat" (1842), with which the formation of natural school. The grotesque beginning of the “Petersburg stories” (“The Nose”, “Portrait”, etc.) was developed in the comedy “The Inspector General” (post. 1836) as a bureaucratic phantasmagoria. peace. In the poem-novel "Dead Souls" (1st volume - 1842) satirical. mockery landowner Russia connected with the pathos of the spiritual transformation of man. Religious-journalistic book "Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends" (1847) aroused criticism. letter from V. G. Belinsky. In 1852, G. burned the manuscript of the 2nd volume of Dead Souls. G. had a decisive influence on the establishment of humanistic principles. and democrats principles in Russian lit-re.

Biography

Born on March 20 (April 1, n.s.) in the town of Velikiye Sorochintsy, Mirgorod district, Poltava province, in the family of a poor landowner. My childhood years were spent on my parents’ estate Vasilievka, near the village of Dikanka, the land of legends, beliefs, historical legends. His father, Vasily Afanasyevich, a passionate admirer of art, a theater lover, and the author of poetry and witty comedies, played a certain role in the upbringing of the future writer.

After home education Gogol spent two years at the Poltava district school, then entered the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences, created like the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum for children of the provincial nobility. Here he learned to play the violin, studied painting, played in plays, playing comic roles. Thinking about his future, he focuses on justice, dreaming of “stopping injustice.”

After graduating from the Nizhyn gymnasium in June 1828, in December he went to St. Petersburg with the hope of starting extensive activities. It was not possible to get a job; the first literary attempts were unsuccessful. Disappointed, in the summer of 1829 he went abroad, but soon returned. In November 1829 he received the position of a minor official. The gray bureaucratic life was brightened up by painting classes in the evening classes of the Academy of Arts. In addition, literature powerfully attracted me.

In 1830, Gogol’s first story “Basavryuk” appeared in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”, which was later revised into the story “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”. In December, Delvig’s almanac “Northern Flowers” ​​published a chapter from historical novel"Hetman". Gogol became close to Delvig, Zhukovsky, Pushkin, with whom I had friendship great importance for development public views and the literary talent of young Gogol. Pushkin introduced him into his circle, where they visited Krylov, Vyazemsky, Odoevsky, the artist Bryullov, gave him subjects for " Inspector" And " Dead souls". “When I was creating,” Gogol testified, “I saw only Pushkin in front of me... His eternal and immutable word was dear to me.”

Gogol's literary fame came from "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" (1831 - 32), the stories "Sorochinskaya Fair", "May Night", etc. In 1833 he came to the decision to devote himself to scientific and pedagogical work and in 1834 he was appointed associate professor in the department general history at St. Petersburg University. The study of works on the history of Ukraine formed the basis of the plan for "Taras Bulba". In 1835 he left the university and devoted himself entirely to literary creativity. In the same year, a collection of stories “Mirgorod” appeared, which included “Old World Landowners”, “Taras Bulba”, “Viy”, etc., and a collection “Arabesques” (on themes of St. Petersburg life). The story "The Overcoat" was the most significant work of the St. Petersburg cycle; it was read to Pushkin in draft form in 1836, and completed in 1842. Working on the stories. Gogol also tried his hand at drama. The theater seemed to him a great force of exceptional importance in public education. “The Inspector General” was written in 1835 and already staged in Moscow in 1836 with the participation of Shchepkin.

Soon after the production of "The Inspector General", hounded by the reactionary press and the "secular rabble", Gogol went abroad, settling first in Switzerland, then in Paris, and continued work on " Dead souls", begun in Russia. The news of Pushkin's death was a terrible blow for him. In March 1837 he settled in Rome. During his visit to Russia in 1839 - 1840, he read to friends chapters from the first volume of "Dead Souls", which was completed in Rome in 1840 -- 1841.

Returning to Russia in October 1841, Gogol, with the assistance of Belinsky and others, achieved the publication of the first volume (1842). Belinsky called the poem “a creation, deep in thought, social, social and historical.”

Work on the second volume of Dead Souls coincided with the writer’s deep spiritual crisis and, above all, reflected his doubts about the effectiveness of fiction, which brought Gogol to the brink of renouncing his previous creations.

In 1847 he published “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” which Belinsky subjected to scathing criticism in a letter to Gogol, condemning his religious and mystical ideas as reactionary.

In April 1848, after traveling to Jerusalem, to the Holy Sepulcher, he finally settled in Russia. Living in St. Petersburg, Odessa, and Moscow, he continued to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. He was increasingly possessed by religious and mystical moods, and his health deteriorated. In 1852, Gogol began meeting with Archpriest Matvey Konstantinovsky, a fanatic and mystic.

On February 11, 1852, being in a difficult mental state, the writer burned the manuscript of the second volume of the poem. On the morning of February 21, Gogol died in his last apartment on Nikitsky Boulevard.

Gogol was buried in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery; after the revolution, his ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was born in 1809 in the village of Bolshie Sorochintsy, into a family of poor landowners - Vasily Afanasyevich and Maria Ivanovna Gogol-Yanovsky. The writer's father was the author of several comedies in Ukrainian. From 1821 to 1828, Nikolai Vasilyevich studied at the Nezhin Gymnasium of Higher Sciences. Interest in literature and painting, as well as acting talent, appeared already during the years of study. The great hobby of many students at the gymnasium was amateur theater, one of the creators of which was Gogol. He was a talented performer of many roles, as well as a director and artist, the author of funny comedies and scenes from folk life.

In the gymnasium, the future writer began to compile the “Little Russian Lexicon” (Ukrainian-Russian dictionary) and write down folk songs. The writer collected remarkable monuments of oral poetic creativity throughout his life. Gogol's first literary experiments date back to 1823–24. Two years after entering the gymnasium, he became one of the active participants in the literary circle, whose members published several handwritten magazines and almanacs: “Meteor of Literature”, “Star”, “Northern Dawn”, etc. The first stories were published in these publications, critical articles, plays and poems by an aspiring writer.

After graduating from high school, Gogol went to St. Petersburg and a year later entered the public service, and then began teaching history in one of educational institutions. During this period, Nikolai Vasilyevich met V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Pletnev and A.S. Pushkin, who had a huge influence on his work. Gogol considered himself a student and follower of the great poet. Along with Pushkin, the formation of the literary tastes of the future writer was greatly influenced by romantic poetry and prose of the Decembrists.

In 1831–32, Gogol’s book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” was published, based on Ukrainian folk art- songs, fairy tales, folk beliefs and customs, as well as the personal impressions of the author himself. This book brought Gogol big success. The appearance of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” according to Pushkin, was an extraordinary phenomenon in Russian literature. Gogol revealed to the Russian reader amazing world folk life imbued with romance folk legends and traditions, cheerful lyricism and playful humor.

The years 1832–33 were a turning point in the writer’s life. It was a time of persistent search for new themes and images suggested by life. In 1835, two collections were published: “Mirgorod” and “Arabesques”, which brought Gogol even greater recognition. The collection “Mirgorod” includes the stories “Old World Landowners”, “Taras Bulba”, “Viy” and “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich”. At the same time, work continued on “ Petersburg stories" - a series of works dedicated to St. Petersburg themes. The first sketches of the cycle date back to 1831. The most significant story in the St. Petersburg cycle, “The Overcoat,” was completed in 1841.

In 1836, at the Alexandrinsky Theater, the first performance of the comedy “The Inspector General” took place, in which the author mercilessly ridicules officials and landed nobility. The characters in the comedy were typical for all of Russia at that time, and many viewers who saw the comedy for the first time believed that the author was making fun of their city, its officials, landowners and police officers. But not everyone received the comedy favorably. Representatives of the bureaucracy saw comedy as a threat. Articles began to appear on the pages of the magazine accusing the author of the comedy of distorting reality. Those who recognized themselves in the heroes of the comedy argued that its content boiled down to an old empty joke.

In 1831, with the help of Zhukovsky, he received a recommendation for the position of teacher at the Women's Patriotic Institute.
In 1831-1832 he published “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, his first major work, which was the beginning of his fame, published under the pseudonym Rudy Panko.
In 1834 he was appointed to the post of adjunct in the department of history at St. Petersburg University.
In 1836, a printed edition of the comedy “The Inspector General” was published and theatrical performance, thanks to the permission of Emperor Nicholas. The theme of The Inspector General was new to the Russian stage, which caused a split in public opinion. For conservatives it was a demarche, for freethinkers it was a manifesto.
Since June 1836 he moved abroad. Rome, which became like a second homeland for Gogol, France, Germany, Switzerland. At this time he is seriously working on “Dead Souls”. In 1839 he came to Russia, where he read completed chapters to friends. By the summer of 1841, the first volume was ready and Nikolai Vasilyevich went to Russia to print the poem. Here he faces great obstacles from censorship, but thanks to connections and support from influential friends, the work, with some exceptions, was allowed to be published and in 1842 it was published under the title “The Adventures of Chichikov or Dead Souls.” In 1845, due to a mental crisis, he burns the manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls and plans to go to a monastery.
At the beginning of 1848, he went from Naples to Palestine to venerate the Holy Sepulcher. And from there, through Constantinople and Odessa, he returns to Russia.
IN last years During his life, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol became very religious. In 1852, a week before Lent, he almost stopped eating and stopped leaving the house. On February 18 (old style) he completely stops eating, and on February 20 the medical council decides to forcibly treat Gogol, but on February 21 (March 4, new style) Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol dies.
He was buried on February 24 (March 7, new style) at the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. May 31, 1931 reburied at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Nikolai Gogol appears. His books are familiar to everyone. Films and performances are based on his works. The work of this writer is very diverse. It contains both romantic stories and works of realistic prose.

Biography

Nikolai Gogol was born in Ukraine into the family of a regimental clerk. His talent as a satirist manifested itself early. Gogol showed a tireless thirst for knowledge already in childhood. Books played in his life big role. At the Nizhyn school, where he received his education, he was not given sufficient knowledge. That’s why he subscribed to additional literary magazines and almanacs.

Also in school years he began to compose witty epigrams. The subject of ridicule of the future writer were teachers. But the lyceum student did not attach much importance to such creative research. After completing the course, he dreamed of leaving for St. Petersburg, believing that there he could get a job in the civil service.

Service in the office

The dream came true, and the lyceum graduate left his native land. However, in St. Petersburg he was able to get only a modest position in the chancellery. In parallel with this work, he created small ones. But they were bad, and he bought almost all copies of the first poem, which was called “Hans Küchelgarten,” in a bookstore and burned it with his own hands.

Longing for my small homeland

Soon, failures in creativity and financial difficulties plunged Gogol into despondency. The northern capital began to evoke melancholy in his soul. And more and more often the employee of the small office remembered the Ukrainian landscapes dear to his heart. Not everyone knows which book brought Gogol fame. But there is not a schoolchild in our country who would not be familiar with the work “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.” The creation of this book was inspired by longing for small homeland. And that's exactly what literary work brought fame to Gogol and allowed him to gain recognition from his fellow writers. Gogol was awarded a laudatory review by Pushkin himself. The books of the great poet and writer had a decisive influence on him in his youth. Therefore, the opinion of the luminary of literature was especially valuable for the young author.

"Petersburg Tales" and other works

Since then, Gogol was included in literary circles. He communicated closely with Pushkin and Zhukovsky, which could not but influence his work. From now on, writing became the meaning of life for him. He began to take this matter very seriously. And the result was not long in coming.

During this period, the most famous books Gogol. The list of them suggests that the writer worked in an extremely intensive mode and did not give particular preference to one genre or another. His works caused a stir in the world of literature. Belinsky wrote about the talent of the young prose writer, who was distinguished by his amazing ability to recognize unique abilities in early stage. The realistic direction laid down by Pushkin developed at a decent level, as evidenced by Gogol’s books. Their list includes the following works:

• "Portrait".
• "Diary of a Madman".
• "Nose".
• "Nevsky Avenue".
• "Taras Bulba".

Each of them is unique in its own way. In a sense, Nikolai Gogol became an innovator. His books were distinguished by the fact that for the first time in the history of Russian literature the topic was touched upon. It was done superficially, but before that the fate of thousands ordinary people portrayed in fiction only in passing.

But no matter how strong and unique the talent of the creator of “The Overcoat” was, he still made a special contribution to literature thanks to the writing of “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls.”

Satire

Gogol's early works brought success. However, the writer was not satisfied with this. Gogol did not want to remain just a contemplator of life. The realization that the writer’s mission was extremely great grew stronger and stronger in his soul. The artist is able to convey to his readers his vision of modern reality, thereby influencing the consciousness of the masses. From now on, Gogol worked for the good of Russia and its people. His books testify to this good aspiration. The poem "Dead Souls" became greatest work in literature. However, after the release of the first volume, the writer was subjected to severe attacks from adherents of conservative views.

The difficult situation that arose in the life and work of the writer led to the fact that he was never able to complete the poem. The second volume, which was written shortly before his death, was burned by the writer.