Text essay:
What is inspiration? This is the question that the writer Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky ponders over.
Revealing this problem, the author notes that there are many preconceived opinions about the work of the writer. For example, critics and readers very often confuse inspiration with delight, presenting the first "in the form of the poet's eyes bulging in incomprehensible admiration." K. G. Paustovsky cites as an example the statements of A. S. Pushkin and P. I. Tchaikovsky, who considered the comparison of inspiration with “veal delight” as ignorance and disrespect for the hard work of the writer.
The position of the writer is expressed quite clearly: he is convinced that inspiration is “a strict working state of a person.”
Let us recall A.S. Pushkin's poem "Autumn", where the moments of inspiration that came are very vividly described:
And the thoughts in my head are worried in courage,
And light rhymes run towards them,
And fingers ask for a pen, pen for paper,
A minute - and the verses will flow freely.
The author experiences a state of freshness and completeness of thought. He believes that inspiration is not only a gift from the gods, but also a property of the soul. And it can only be experienced by working.
The well-known literary critic V. G. Belinsky said: “Inspiration ... is everywhere, in every business, in every work.” He emphasized that it is not the exclusive property of a poet or an artist; without it, both scientists and artisans would not be able to do much. Whoever works, he also experiences inspiration, which is born only during work!
Thus, inspiration comes to a person not when he sits, in incomprehensible admiration, directing his eyes to the sky, but when he works and works.
Text by K. G. Paustovsky:
(1) There are many preconceived notions and prejudices about writing. (2) Some of them can lead to despair with their vulgarity.
(3) Most of all, inspiration is trivialized. (4) Almost always it appears to the ignorant in the form of the poet's eyes bulging in incomprehensible admiration, directed to the sky, or a goose feather bitten by teeth.
(5)No! (6) Inspiration is a strict working state of a person. (7) Spiritual uplift is not expressed in a theatrical pose and elation. (8) Just like the notorious "torments of creativity."
(9) Pushkin said about inspiration precisely and simply: “Inspiration is the disposition of the soul to the living perception of impressions ...” (10) “Critics,” he said in addition, “mix inspiration with delight.” (11) Just as readers sometimes confuse truth with plausibility.
(12) That would be half the trouble. (13) But when other artists and sculptors mix inspiration with "calf's delight", it looks like complete ignorance and disrespect for the hard writing work.
(14) Tchaikovsky argued that inspiration is a state when a person works with all his might, like an ox, and does not at all coquettishly wave his hand.
(15) Each person at least several times in his life experienced a state of inspiration - spiritual uplift, freshness, a vivid perception of reality, the fullness of thought and consciousness of his creative power.
(16) Yes, inspiration is a strict working state, but it has its own poetic coloring, its own, I would say, poetic overtones.
(17) Inspiration enters us like a radiant summer morning that has just thrown off the mists of a quiet night, spattered with dew, with thickets of wet foliage. (18) It gently breathes in our faces with its healing coolness.
(19) Inspiration is like first love, when the heart beats loudly in anticipation of amazing meetings, unimaginably beautiful eyes, smiles and omissions.
(20) Then our inner world is tuned finely and truly, like a kind of magical instrument, and responds to everything, even the most hidden, most inconspicuous, sounds of life.
(According to K. G. Paustovsky)
Text from the exam
(1) I will say simply: inspiration is the reward for the exacting honesty of the artist. (2) The believer would specify - the reward of God. (3) An atheist would say: the reward of our moral nature. (4) To which a believer might ask: where did your moral nature come from? (5) But this dispute is eternal. (6) When we have a truly talented work in front of us, it is always subjectively honest, but the scope of the truth depends on the strength of talent, and knowledge of the subject, and the ideal of honesty that is developed by this writer. (7) Inspiration throws the writer to the top of his ideal. (8) But the peaks of the ideal of Leo Tolstoy or simply a good writer Pisemsky are at different levels, and here our own honesty in measuring their achievements should take this into account. (9) Tolstoy sees everyone from his height and therefore is visible to everyone. (10) Just a gifted writer from his height sees something and is visible to some people. (11) Moreover, a gifted writer can see some parts of the opening landscape better than a genius. (12) I'm only afraid that this consolation of mine would not stop Salieri. (13) Inspiration may err, but it cannot lie. (14) To be more precise, everything truly inspired is always truly true, but the addressee may be false. (15) Imagine a poet who wrote a brilliant poem about the life-giving rationality of the movement of the luminary from east to west. (16) Can we enjoy such a poem, knowing that it does not comply with the laws of astronomy? (17) Without condition, we can! (18) We enjoy the plasticity of the description of a summer day, we even enjoy the charm of the poet's gullibility: as he sees, so he sings! (19) Such mistakes happen, but they are relatively rare, because inspiration in general is an obsession with truth, and at the moment of inspiration, the artist sees the truth in all its fullness. (20) But the obsession with truth most often comes to the one who thinks about it the most. (21) I will say this thing: there is a miserable prejudice that, when sitting down to write, one must write honestly. (22) If we sit down to write with the thought of writing honestly, we thought about honesty late: the train has already left. (23) I think that for a writer, as, apparently, for any artist, the first major act of creativity is his life itself. (24) Thus, the writer, sitting down to write, only adds to what has already been written by his life. (25) What was written by his personal life has already determined the plot and the hero in the first act of his work. (26) Further, you can only add. (27) The writer not only, like any person, creates in his head an image of his worldview, but invariably reproduces it on paper. (28) He cannot reproduce anything else. (29) Everything else is stilts or someone else's inkwell. (30) This is immediately evident, and we say - this is not an artist. (31) Therefore, a real artist intuitively, and then consciously builds his worldview, as a will for good, as an endless process of self-purification and purification of the environment. (32) And this is the build-up of ethical pathos, earned by one's own life. (33) And the writer simply has no other source of energy.
(F.A. Iskander)
Introduction
Writer's inspiration is the force through which we become witnesses of the amazing worlds born in the minds of artists and poets.
Sometimes we plunge headlong into a fictional world, experience together with the characters, admire the beauties of nature, not suspecting that this is nothing more than the true worldview of the author, poured out on paper thanks to the inspiration that descended on him.
Problem
What is inspiration? What is it based on and can it be intentionally invoked? F.A. reflects on this. Iskander in his text.
Comment
In his opinion, inspiration is a well-deserved reward for the honesty of a writer. Depending on the strength of the talent, the writer can cover only some part of the truth or all of it. In the latter case, we are talking about genius.
Author's position
It is important for a writer to remember that when sitting down to work, it is impossible to set an attitude of honesty. Such work is doomed to failure. After all, the plot and the development of the action are dictated to the true master by his own life, and further creativity is only intended to add to the possible outcome of events.
For F. Iskander, inspiration is the artist's worldview, the process of his self-purification and purification of the environment. The writer simply has no other source of energy.
own position
F. Iskander is a wonderful artist of the word and one cannot but agree with him. Inspiration is truth, knowledge that controls the artist on a subconscious level.
Argument #1
There are many examples in Russian and world literature when a certain heavenly force guides the hand of a writer or artist. For example, A.S. Pushkin, creating the novel "Eugene Onegin", only sketched the images of the characters, endowed them with certain character traits and psychological characteristics, and then they began to act independently.
At the beginning of the novel, Tatyana appears as a modest girl, superstitious and naive, who easily and forever falls in love with Eugene, who is unlike those around her. Disregarding decorum, she writes a letter to a young man with a declaration of love and humbly accepts his exhortation confession when he confesses his inability to reciprocate her.
Years later, when Tatyana Larina marries and turns into a noble and revered lady, she again meets with Eugene. Now he passionately falls in love with her, but she is adamant. At the end of the novel, when Onegin confesses his love to Tatyana, kneeling before her, the girl refuses him, saying: "But I am given to another and I will be faithful to him for a century."
In a letter to a friend Raevsky A.S. Pushkin admits that he did not expect such behavior from his beloved heroine, that she acted independently, regardless of the will of her creator.
Argument #2
For the poetry of the beginning of the 20th century, called the poetry of the "Silver Age", the poet appears as a demiurge, creator, creator. On his shoulders lies the responsibility for depicting the surrounding reality from the standpoint of his own vision. We all admire the poems of A. Blok, V. Mayakovsky, B. Pasternak, A. Akhmatova, M. Tsvetaeva and others, although we do not suspect under the influence of what forces their works were created.
M. Tsvetaeva speaks about this: “If only you knew from what rubbish poems grow, not knowing shame. Like a yellow dandelion by the fence. Like burdocks and quinoa."
Conclusion
True inspiration does not depend on the mood or thoughts of the artist. It can germinate on completely unsuitable soil. But the result of this birth will be a magnificent work, the reading of which will reveal something unknown to us, help us understand the incomprehensible, or remind us of the past.
Pushkin gave us an amazingly accurate description of the very state of inspiration. But where it comes from, he did not say.
I will say simply: inspiration is the reward for the exacting honesty of an artist. The believer would clarify - the reward of God. An atheist would say: the reward of our moral nature. To which a believer might ask: where did your moral nature come from? But this debate is eternal.
When we have a truly talented work in front of us, it is always subjectively honest, but the scope of the truth depends on the strength of talent, and knowledge of the subject, and the ideal of honesty that has been developed by this writer. Inspiration throws the writer to the pinnacle of his ideal. But the pinnacles of Leo Tolstoy's ideal or simply a good writer Pisemsky are at different levels, and here our own honesty in measuring their achievements must take this into account. Tolstoy sees everyone from his height and is therefore visible to everyone. It's just that a gifted writer from his height also sees something and is visible to some people. Moreover, a gifted writer can see some parts of the opening landscape better than a genius. Only I am afraid that this consolation of mine would not have stopped Salieri. Extreme.
Inspiration may err, but it cannot lie. To be more precise, everything truly inspired is always truly truthful, but the addressee may be false. Imagine a poet who wrote a brilliant poem about the life-giving rationality of the movement of the luminary from west to east. Can we enjoy such a poem knowing that it does not conform to the laws of astronomy? Of course we can! We enjoy the plasticity of the description of a summer day, we even enjoy the charm of the poet's gullibility: as he sees, so he sings!
Such mistakes do happen, but they are relatively rare, because inspiration in general is an obsession with truth, and at the moment of inspiration the artist sees the truth in all its fullness. But the obsession with truth most often comes to those who think about it the most.
I will say this: there is a miserable prejudice that when you sit down to write, you must write honestly. If we sit down to write with the thought of writing honestly, we are too late to think about honesty: the train has already left.
I think that for a writer, as, apparently, for any artist, the first major act of creativity is his very life. Thus, the writer, sitting down to write, only adds to what has already been written by his life. Written by his personal life has already determined the plot and the hero in the first act of his work. Then you can only add.
The writer not only, like any other person, creates in his head an image of his worldview, but invariably reproduces it on paper. He cannot reproduce anything else. Everything else is stilts or someone else's inkwell. This is immediately evident, and we say - this is not an artist.
Therefore, a real artist intuitively, and then consciously, builds his worldview as a will for good, as an endless process of self-purification and purification of the environment. And this is an increase in ethical pathos, earned by one's own life. And the writer simply has no other source of energy.
Viktor Shklovsky wrote somewhere that an ordinary person simply physically could not rewrite War and Peace so many times in his entire life. Of course, he could not, because an ordinary person did not have such a first grandiose act of creativity as the life of Tolstoy, which gave birth to this energy.
It is natural for a living person to err, to stumble. Naturally, the same is true for the writer. Can the writer's life, which in the first act of life itself passed as a mistake and delusion, become the subject of depiction in the second act of creation on paper?
Maybe only if the second act is a repentant description of this delusion.
Pushkin gave us an amazingly accurate description of the very state of inspiration. But where it comes from, he did not say.
I will say simply: inspiration is the reward for the exacting honesty of an artist. The believer would clarify - the reward of God. An atheist would say: the reward of our moral nature. To which a believer might ask: where did your moral nature come from? But this debate is eternal.
When we have a truly talented work in front of us, it is always subjectively honest, but the scope of the truth depends on the strength of talent, and knowledge of the subject, and the ideal of honesty that has been developed by this writer. Inspiration throws the writer to the pinnacle of his ideal. But the pinnacles of Leo Tolstoy's ideal or simply a good writer Pisemsky are at different levels, and here our own honesty in measuring their achievements must take this into account. Tolstoy sees everyone from his height and is therefore visible to everyone. It's just that a gifted writer from his height also sees something and is visible to some people. Moreover, a gifted writer can see some parts of the opening landscape better than a genius. Only I am afraid that this consolation of mine would not have stopped Salieri. Extreme.
Inspiration may err, but it cannot lie. To be more precise, everything truly inspired is always truly truthful, but the addressee may be false. Imagine a poet who wrote a brilliant poem about the life-giving rationality of the movement of the luminary from west to east. Can we enjoy such a poem knowing that it does not conform to the laws of astronomy? Of course we can! We enjoy the plasticity of the description of a summer day, we even enjoy the charm of the poet's gullibility: as he sees, so he sings!
Such mistakes do happen, but they are relatively rare, because inspiration in general is an obsession with truth, and at the moment of inspiration the artist sees the truth in all its fullness. But the obsession with truth most often comes to those who think about it the most.
I will say this: there is a miserable prejudice that when you sit down to write, you must write honestly. If we sit down to write with the thought of writing honestly, we are too late to think about honesty: the train has already left.
I think that for a writer, as, apparently, for any artist, the first major act of creativity is his very life. Thus, the writer, sitting down to write, only adds to what has already been written by his life. Written by his personal life has already determined the plot and the hero in the first act of his work. Then you can only add.
The writer not only, like any other person, creates in his head an image of his worldview, but invariably reproduces it on paper. He cannot reproduce anything else. Everything else is stilts or someone else's inkwell. This is immediately evident, and we say - this is not an artist.
Therefore, a real artist intuitively, and then consciously, builds his worldview as a will for good, as an endless process of self-purification and purification of the environment. And this is an increase in ethical pathos, earned by one's own life. And the writer simply has no other source of energy.
Viktor Shklovsky wrote somewhere that an ordinary person simply physically could not rewrite War and Peace so many times in his entire life. Of course, he could not, because an ordinary person did not have such a first grandiose act of creativity as the life of Tolstoy, which gave birth to this energy.
It is natural for a living person to err, to stumble. Naturally, the same is true for the writer. Can the writer's life, which in the first act of life itself passed as a mistake and delusion, become the subject of depiction in the second act of creation on paper?
Maybe only if the second act is a repentant description of this delusion. The sincerity of repentance generates the energy of inspiration. I would have nothing against a pre-planned delusion, but this is an empty number, and no creative energy is released.
One of the most harmonious poets of the world, Pushkin, lived in Russia. Never again repeated among us - the great and wise Pushkin's balance. However, harmony in Russian life has not yet succeeded in any way. And never succeeded. Was, they say, Peter the Great. Maybe a genius, but as a person the embodiment of the most extreme extremes. And there was not a single harmonic king, not to mention general secretaries.
However, it seems that under Catherine there was some kind of balance: she exhausted her husband, but introduced potatoes. This our scientist Gretchen was very fond of military leaders and greatly brought them closer to her. In general, under Catherine, every brave military man had a chance to be very close. Perhaps that is why, they say, Russia under Catherine waged the most successful wars. She introduced the principle of self-interest into the army. No, Pushkin's wise balance does not work here either.
How so? There was the greatest harmonic poet in Russia, but there never was harmony. But since Pushkin was in Russia, it means that harmony in Russia is, in principle, possible. Why is she not? It turns out that we did not read Pushkin well. Especially politicians.
I would suggest, as a joke, similar to the truth, that the future politicians of Russia, with their hand on a volume of Pushkin, take an oath to the people that before every serious political decision they will re-read Pushkin in order to bring themselves into a state of wise Pushkin balance.
