History of creation. Derzhavin's unusually bold, resolute and independent character manifested itself in everything, including his poetic work. One of his poems almost became the cause of exile and disgrace. It was an ode to the Rulers and Judges, written in 1787, which the author called "an angry ode."

Service in high government positions, including work as a governor, convinced Derzhavin that laws were constantly violated in the Russian Empire. His struggle with this phenomenon as a high civil servant was not successful: he did not meet with support either in society or in the government. Violators of the law safely avoided well-deserved punishment. But at the same time, the poet firmly believed that Catherine herself was a virtuous monarch, surrounded by evil dignitaries. Resentment and anger demanded an outlet. And then the poet decided to write an arrangement of the 81st psalm - this is how biblical hymns addressed to God were called in ancient times. Their author is the Old Testament King David, whose writings make up one of the most poetic books of the Old Testament - the Psalter.

The theme of this psalm turned out to be consonant with the spirit of the time. It is no coincidence that this 81st psalm during the French Revolution in Paris was paraphrased by the Jacobins, and the people sang it on the streets of the city, expressing indignation at King Louis XVI, who was subsequently executed.

Derzhavin made the first version of his transcription of Psalm 81 several years before its publication. He gave the poem to the Saint Petersburg Bulletin. But the publishers, frightened, "cut it out of the magazine's already printed book. In the new version, written five years later, the poet even strengthened the accusatory pathos of the poem. He managed to get it published. Moreover, he removed the former name -" Psalm 81 "- and printed work under its own title "To the Lords and Judges".

Main themes and ideas. The content of Derzhavin's ode, based on the biblical text, is connected with the life of the Russian state contemporary to the poet. It is here that he sees the trampling of justice, the violation of laws, the oppression of the weak, the triumph of untruth and evil, the analogy of which he finds in the Old Testament history:

How long, rivers, how long will you be
Spare the unrighteous and evil?

The necessity of subordinating everyone to the single law of the highest truth and justice is affirmed by Derzhavin in this poem, as in many others;

Your duty is: to guard the laws,
Do not look at the faces of the strong,
Do not leave orphans and widows without help, without defense.
Your duty: to save the innocent from misfortunes, to give protection to the unfortunate;
From the strong to protect the powerless,
Break the poor out of their fetters.

But in real life, he sees the evasion of this higher law by those who are in power, who must first of all monitor the observance of laws:

Do not heed! They see and don't know!
Hair covered with bribes:
Atrocities shake the earth
Falsehood shakes the sky.

That is why the voice of the poet-denunciator of the "unrighteous and evil" sounds so angry. He affirms the inevitability of punishment for those "evil" rulers who do not obey the highest law of truth and justice - this is the main idea and main idea of ​​Derzhavin's ode:

And you will fall like that.
How a withered leaf falls from the trees!
And you will die like this
How your last slave will die!

It is not surprising that the ode to "Rulers and Judges" was perceived not only by the court environment, but even by the empress, who was usually favorable to Derzhavin, as a revolutionary proclamation. After all, it is about the fact that an unrighteous power cannot be lasting, it will inevitably face the wrath of God and a fall. The poet seeks to warn the empress about this, in whose virtue he continued to believe. Otherwise, such “rulers and judges”, as the author claims in the final quatrain of the ode, will inevitably be replaced by those who will be guided by the ideals of goodness and justice:

Resurrect, God! God right!
And heed their prayer:
Come, judge, punish the evil ones
And be one king of the earth!

Artistic originality. An innovative poet, Derzhavin boldly goes to destroy the norms of classicism already familiar to his time and creates his own special poetic system. Reasoning about lyric poetry, or about the ode”, where he sets out his theory of literature and the history of world lyrics, explains his creative method and style. It is here that he speaks in detail about those genre varieties of the ode that appear in his work starting with Felitsa. If the poet refers this work of his to a mixed ode, the author calls the poem “Lords and Judges” an angry ode. If we follow the tradition, then it would have to be attributed to the genre of spiritual ode, well developed by that time in Russian literature - after all, it is based on the biblical text. Moreover, in Derzhavin's ode, the vocabulary and many images really remind us of biblical poetry: in their host; covered with bribes of tow; listen to their prayer, etc. The solemn style of the ode is created not only due to the abundance of Slavicisms, but also with the help of special syntactic means: rhetorical exclamations, questions, appeals: “how long will you spare the unrighteous and evil?”; "Kings! I thought you gods are powerful...”; "Rise God! Good God!" In addition, the poet uses the anaphora technique and syntactic repetitions: “Your duty is: to preserve the laws ...”, “Your duty: to save the innocent from troubles ...”; “Do not heed! They see and don't know!

All this gives the poem an oratorical sound, which helps the author to maximize the attention of readers and listeners. After all, of course, what we have before us is not so much spiritual as, using the author’s definition, precisely an “angry” ode, that is, one that is designed to express the bitterness of the author, who sees the depravity of his contemporary life, and reflect the accusatory pathos of the poem, which should awaken in readers not only anger, but also the desire for purification and correction of vices.

The value of the work. We know that Derzhavin himself did not put a revolutionary meaning into his work, he was a monarchist in his political convictions, and such a vividly and emotionally expressed protest against the "unrighteous and evil" was perceived by many as a political proclamation. The author of "Felitsa", praising the "virtues" of the empress and sincerely believing in her wisdom and justice, in the ode "To the Rulers and Judges" appeared in a completely new guise: he became an angry denouncer of the vices of the rulers who trampled law and morality, and thereby opened in Russian literature is one of its most important tendencies. In the future, it received a brilliant development in the work of Pushkin, Lermontov and many other remarkable Russian writers of subsequent decades. But for a contemporary reader, this work may also turn out to be close and understandable: after all, the vices of an unrighteous government, its desire to act in its own, and not the national, state interests, trampling laws and justice, unfortunately, remain relevant today.

The poet Derzhavin wrote the poem "To Rulers and Judges" in 1780. At that time he worked as a military official in the provinces and often faced injustice towards ordinary people. This work is the cry of a desperate man, whose heart aches with compassion for the oppressed, the weak, the disenfranchised. And at the same time, the author does not see any way out of this situation, except for the judgment of the Most High God.

It should be noted that Derzhavin treated the royal family with great respect, believing that all troubles do not come from the ruler, but from those who are endowed with the power to judge and determine the fate of ordinary people.

It is to them that the author devotes angry lines on behalf of God himself. He lists their duties - to administer a fair trial, to protect the innocent, to punish the guilty. But the "earth gods" do not do this. They do evil, their eyes are closed with bribes, and the iniquities they commit shake the earth and reach the heavens.

In the second part of the poem, the poet reminds all the wicked that the rich are just as mortal as the poor, that they too will die in due time. Then God's judgment awaits them, but people do not think about it and continue to do evil deeds. And the author himself does not see a way out of this situation, it seems to him completely hopeless. According to Derzhavin, only the Lord is able to establish justice in Russia, ordinary people cannot cope with this. And the poet calls on God to come, punish all the guilty and rule over the whole earth.

The poem is accusatory in nature, the author himself called it "an angry ode." Gabriel Derzhavin was one of the first poets who was not afraid to openly condemn the lawlessness and abuse of power. In 1780, the poem was not published, as the censors did not let it through. Only 8 years later, the work nevertheless saw the light, and almost became the reason for the disgrace of the poet. The ode caused discontent and anger of those to whom it is dedicated. In those days, it was not customary to condemn those in power, this was the first attempt, but it was supported by the poets of the next century, devoting their best works to this topic.

Analysis of the poem to the rulers and judges of Derzhavin

Gavriil Derzhavin wrote an ode to "Lords and Judges" in 1787. Being a statesman, he was able to feel for himself all the injustice and anger of that society. Derzhavin's independent struggle against violations of the law and the suppression of the criminal activities of the upper strata of society did not bear any fruit. Then the poet decided to write an ode on the subject of Psalm 81.

Its whole essence was to turn to God, through righteous chants.

The first creation of the poet on this subject was never published because of the editors who did not allow the publication of Derzhavin's psalm. The publishing house of the "Sankt-Peterburg Vestnik" considered the ode to be too pretentious and angry.

Nevertheless, Gavriil Derzhavin managed to get his revised poem published five years later. Having changed the name to "Lords and Judges", the new creation of the poet goes to the publishing house.

The writer finds his thoughts and feelings in biblical tales, which he extols into a poem in a revised form. Injustice, anger, human vices, oppression of the weak, anger, power and violation of laws - all these topics are absorbed by the ode to "Lords and Judges".

Derzhavin lashes out in an angry tirade about non-observance of these laws in real life. In these lines of the poem, all the injustice towards the weak and their oppression are revealed.

But according to the writer, the punishment of rulers for injustice and neglect of their duties is inevitable:

And you will fall like that.
How a withered leaf falls from the trees!

This passage of the poem is literally saturated with Derzhavin's anger towards people in power who turn a blind eye to all violations of the laws and encourage them.

In the last lines of the ode, the writer shows his faith in justice and a bright future, on the basis of which, we can say that good will definitely defeat evil and injustice.

The main theme that Gavriil Derzhavin raises in his poem "To the Rulers and Judges" remains significant to this day. "Cunning" rulers, whose actions are filled with anger, injustice and vices at all times remain one of the main problems of society. But according to the writer, the day will surely come when justice will triumph and defeat evil.

Analysis of the poem to the Rulers and Judges according to the plan

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G.R. Derzhavin. "Lords and Judges"

History of creation

From 1786 to 1788 Derzhavin served as governor in the Tambov province. As in other service, here he was active, tried to change a lot in the existing order of the region. But he soon realizes that his transformations interfere with the local nobles, and the ideals of education, duty and justice cause open hostility of officials. He sees how the law is violated in high government positions, and the violators do not receive any punishment. He tries to restore order, but does not find like-minded people. It was at this time, in 1787, that he wrote a civil ode to "Lords and Judges".

Derzhavin took as the basis of this work a previously written poem on a biblical theme, which was called "Psalm 81".

Psalm - this is bible song to god. The Old Testament king David is considered to be the author of such songs.

Derzhavin translated the ancient work into modern language, filled it with accusatory content, and gave the poem a new title: "To Rulers and Judges."

The main themes and ideas of the poem

Based on the biblical text, the author speaks about the modern life of the Russian state. In his native country, laws are violated with impunity, the weak are oppressed, untruth and evil triumph, and there is nowhere to seek justice. It remains to rely only on God, only he will be able to restore order in the country. And if the Lord asks the rulers, how do they enforce the laws established by him?

The Almighty God has risen, let him judge

Earthly gods in their host;

How long, rivers, how long will you be

Spare the unrighteous and evil?

Your duty is: to guard the laws,

Do not look at the faces of the strong,

No help, no defense

Do not leave orphans and widows.

Your duty is to save the innocent from troubles,

Cover the unfortunate;

From the strong to protect the powerless,

Break the poor out of their fetters.

Do not heed! They see and don't know!

Hair covered with bribes:

Atrocities shake the earth

Falsehood shakes the sky.

The poet angrily denounces the "unrighteous and evil." The author reminds them that people endowed with power are still people, and not omnipotent gods. Therefore, they should remember the highest punishment, how they easily violated the law of justice, established by God himself. This is the main idea of ​​the poem.

And you will fall like that.

How a withered leaf falls from the trees!

And you will die like this

How your last slave will die!

Of course, this work was taken as a revolutionary proclamation. Indeed, in the last quatrain, the poet calls for a trial of an unjust government.

Resurrect, God! God right!

And heed their prayer:

Come, judge, punish the evil ones

And be one king of the earth!

Artistic originality of the poem

On the one hand, this the work can be attributed to spiritual odes, because it is based on the biblical text. The vocabulary and imagery of the poem, indeed, resemble a psalm, for example, the following words are used: in the host; do not heed; covered with bribes of tow; heed their prayer. Author includes rhetorical exclamations, questions, appeals:“How long will you have mercy on the unrighteous and evil?”; "Kings! I thought you gods are powerful...”; "Rise God! Good God!" Thanks to these methods an oratorical sound is created, convincing readers that the poet is right.

On the other hand, this poem is aimed at awakening the consciousness of the reader, causing a desire to correct vices, it is a kind of warning, instruction of the "rulers".

What is the meaning of this ode? Of course, Derzhavin was not a revolutionary, he was a monarchist, and his poem was not going to cause a revolt in society. But the lack of justice in the country greatly resented him. In the future, a similar theme will sound in the work of Pushkin, Lermontov and other poets.

Derzhavin in this ode acts as an innovator: he combines Old Slavonic vocabulary with commonly used words, speaks of power from the point of view of universal, moral ideals. The poet does not glorify the ruler, as it should be in an ode to classicism, but exposes the vices of kings and nobles.

TO GOVERNERS AND JUDGES

The Almighty God has risen, let him judge Earthly gods in their host; How long, rivers, how long will you be Spare the unrighteous and evil? Your duty is: to keep the laws, Do not look at the faces of the strong, No help, no defense Do not leave orphans and widows. Your duty is to save the innocent from harm. Cover the unfortunate; From the strong to protect the powerless, Break the poor out of their fetters. Do not heed! see and do not know! Hair covered with bribes: Atrocities shake the earth Falsehood shakes the sky. Kings! I thought you gods are powerful, No one is your judge But you, like me, are passionate, And just as mortal as I am. And you will fall like this How a withered leaf falls from the trees! And you will die like this How your last slave will die! Resurrect, God! good god! And heed their prayer: Come, judge, punish the evil ones, And be one king of the earth!

Notes

Rulers and Judges (p. 92). For the first time “SPb. Bulletin", 1780, No. 11, p. 315. Then - "Mirror of Light", 1787, No. 53, p. 1. Pech. according to Ed. 1808, vol. 1, p. 10. An early edition has been preserved in the poet's manuscripts (Arch. GPB, vol. 1, l. 17):

PSALM 81

Rise among the gods in council
The gods are judged by the highest god.
How long, rivers, sell the truth
And look at the sinful horn? one

Judge the poor with the rich;
Do not look at the loftiness of faces;
From the hands of the soul-damaging
Unfortunate, orphans and widows.

1 Horn strength, fortress, power, might; arrogance, arrogance (Dal). Ilyinsky (p. 29) misread the word twice as "rock", which at the very least renders the line meaningless. In all five versions of the manuscript, it is written quite clearly: “horn” (see the lithographic reproduction of the manuscript at Grotto, 1, 109).

But there are madmen in the middle of the throne:
They sit and reign dozing,
They do not know that from the poor groans
The earth moves in error.

I thought you were the gods of the universe
Lord, 1 king and judge;
But you are also mortal from dust
And just as mortal as I am.

And so, since the truth is gone,
And there is no truth in the world,
Sever, creator, the sting of injustice,
Come and reign yourself everywhere.

In the draft version of the 4th stanza, it was originally: “monarchs, princes and a judge” (see Ilyinsky, 2930). During further processing, Derzhavin replaced these words with one general and at the same time more expressive concept: "earthly gods." The poet was not satisfied with the first edition, and he soon revised it radically. The last three stanzas of the second edition completely coincide with the final edition, the first three differ significantly from both the first and the final:

OH YEAH. PSALM 81 PROPOSITION.

Behold the god of gods has risen to judge
Earthly gods in their host:
“How long, rivers, honor a lie,
How long will you spare the wicked?

Your duty is to keep the laws
And do not look at the nobility of persons,
Save from the hands of the persecutors
Poor, orphans and widows!”

They do not heed: robberies, deceit,
Anguish and poor groans
Confound, shake the kingdoms
And the throne is thrown into ruin...

The second edition of the ode was published in St. Petersburg. messenger." The sharply accusatory nature of Derzhavin's poem obviously attracted attention. The issue of the magazine, which opened with an ode, was suspended, the sheet on which the ode used to be was reprinted, and the beginning of the translated story “Rosalia” was printed on it, which had previously begun only on the next page. Very few copies of the journal with the uncut ode of Derzhavin have come down to us. The ode really saw the light only in 1787, when it was published in its final edition in the journal Zerkalo

1 Vladyka (Vladyko) for the 18th century. permanent name and appeal to the highest dignitaries of the church (metropolitans, archbishops, etc.). Apparently, in this line the poet lists all the highest "earthly" authorities: spiritual, political and administrative. light" under the title "Ode. Extracted from Psalm 81. In 1795, in an attempt to obtain permission to publish his collected works, Derzhavin presented Catherine with a handwritten copy of the first part, in which he included the ode. What went unnoticed in 1787, in 1795, after the French Revolution, the execution of King Louis XVI, etc., gave the impression of a bombshell, because, not to mention the sharpness of the content of the ode, a rumor spread that Psalm 81 was used by the Jacobin revolutionaries against the king. When the poet appeared at court, the nobles shunned and simply “ran” from him. It was even said that the “whip fighter” Sheshkovsky, the secretary of the Secret Chancellery, who was also in charge of cases of “seditious” and “harmful” writings (Radishchev, Knyaznin and many others), was instructed to “interrogate” Derzhavin. Without waiting for Sheshkovsky to “ask” him why he wrote “such impudent verses”, the poet decided to go on the offensive himself and immediately wrote a special explanatory note “Anecdote”, in which, as he later wrote, he “clearly proved” that the author of the psalm “Tsar David was not a Jacobin”, and sent it to the most influential people at the court: the Secretary of State of the Empress Troshchinsky, who had his works under consideration, the Vice-Chancellor Count Bezborodko and the favorite of Catherine II P. A. Zubov. After that, everything “smoothed away: everyone treated him as if nothing had happened” (Grot, 6, 696. See also “Anecdote”: 1, 113115). Despite this, Derzhavin did not receive permission to publish his works, and the manuscript was given to Prince Zubov, who kept it until the death of Catherine II. In Ed. In 1798, the ode was crossed out by censorship, and in the final edition, under the title “To the Rulers and Judges”, it appeared only in the 1st vol. Ed. 1808. It is possible that the following incident, described by the poet himself, served as a direct external impetus to writing the ode: “In 1779 it was rebuilt under the supervision of him (Derzhavin. V.Z.) The Senate, and especially the hall of the general meeting, decorated ... with stucco bas-reliefs ..., among other figures, was depicted by the sculptor Rashet Truth naked, and that bas-relief stood to the face of the senators present at the table; then when that hall was made and the prosecutor general, Prince Vyazemsky, examined it, then, seeing the naked Truth, he said to the executor: “Tell her, brother, to cover a little.” And indeed, since then they began to sometimes more cover up the truth in the government ”(Grot, 6, 546547). Wed with this line of the original edition: “And so, since the truth is gone, And there is no truth in the world anywhere ...”

"To Rulers and Judges" Gavriil Derzhavin

The Almighty God has risen, let him judge
Earthly gods in their host;
How long, rivers, how long will you be
Spare the unrighteous and evil?

Your duty is: to keep the laws,
Do not look at the faces of the strong,
No help, no defense
Do not leave orphans and widows.

Your duty is to save the innocent from harm.
Cover the unfortunate;
From the strong to protect the powerless,
Break the poor out of their fetters.

Do not heed! see - and do not know!
Hair covered with bribes:
Atrocities shake the earth
Falsehood shakes the sky.

Kings! I thought you gods are powerful,
No one is your judge
But you, like me, are passionate,
And just as mortal as I am.

And you will fall like this
How a withered leaf falls from the trees!
And you will die like this
How your last slave will die!

Resurrect, God! good god!
And heed their prayer:
Come, judge, punish the evil ones,
And be one king of the earth!

Analysis of Derzhavin's poem "To Rulers and Judges"

From the second half of the 18th century, Russian poetry ceased to be a salon and behind-the-scenes phenomenon, gradually exerting more and more influence on the life of society. Beautiful poems written in a "high calm" gave way to accusatory works, on which more than one generation of rebels and revolutionaries subsequently grew up. One of the first Russian poets who was not afraid to publicly denounce those who abuse their power was Gavriil Derzhavin. It is he who owns the poem "To the Rulers and Judges", written in 1780.

By this time, the author had left his military career and successfully mastered the position of State Councilor. In parallel with the achievements in the social and political arena, Derzhavin began to publish his first poems, which brought him wide fame, first in the salons, and later in the palace of the Empress. On the wave of flirting with the French republicans, Empress Catherine II encouraged bold statements among her subjects. It was for this reason that she rather favorably reacted to Derzhavin's poem, in which there are quite bold and sharp statements addressed to those in power.

Those who decide human destinies, the poet calls the gods on earth and models the situation when they themselves appear before the highest, divine court. Derzhavin does not consider himself to be a higher being, but he dares to speak on behalf of the Almighty, pointing out to his compatriots the inadmissibility of those acts that he commits. “How long, rivers, how long will you have mercy on the unrighteous and evil?” the poet asks.

In the first part of the poem, the author tells about what exactly is the duty of those who are in power. These people, according to Derzhavin, should "preserve the laws", help widows and orphans, "save the innocent from misfortune" and defend the weak against the strong. In addition, the poet voices the idea that it is necessary to “pull the poor out of their fetters”, that is, in fact, to abolish serfdom. Such a statement, even during the reign of Catherine II, was considered a manifestation of freethinking, but the empress, who favored Derzhavin, turned a blind eye to such impudence.

The second part of the poem is accusatory. The author notes that people do not heed the arguments of reason and have long been living not according to God's commandments, but according to worldly laws. “Atrocities shake the earth, falsehood shakes the heavens,” the poet states bitterly. Turning to the Russian tsars, Derzhavin admits that he considered them God's vicegerents on earth. However, the author is convinced that “and you will fall like that, as a withered leaf falls from a tree! And you will die in the same way as your last slave will die! In the finale, the poet calls on the Almighty to descend to the sinful earth in order to judge people. “Come, judge, punish the evil ones, and be the only king of the earth!” Derzhavin exclaims, rightly believing that without the intervention of higher powers, it is not possible even for the most wise and just ruler from among mere mortals to restore order in Russia.