C 5. The evolution of the theme of freedom in the work of A.S. Pushkin
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in his work often turned to the theme of freedom. In his works, the evolution of this theme can be traced - from the socio-political aspect of the concept of "freedom" in his early work to the personal, spiritual.
Pushkin's interest in socio-political problems was caused by his closeness to Chaadaev and the Decembrists. The work "To Chaadaev" refers precisely to the early work of the poet, it was written in 1818. In it, he writes about the idea of overthrowing the autocracy (“And our names will be written on the ruins of autocracy!”), And he also calls on his lyceum comrades to serve their homeland, to fight for the liberation of the Russian people from the oppression of serfdom (“We wait with languor for the hope of a moment of liberty saint”, “My friend, let us dedicate our souls to the homeland with wonderful impulses!”).
In the poem "The Village", written in 1819, Pushkin again touches on the problem of serfdom. The poem consists of two parts, one of which is opposed to the other. The first part depicts an ideal rural landscape, while the second describes the hard, slave labor of the peasants (“Greetings to you, deserted corner, a haven of tranquility, labor and inspiration”, “Here the nobility is wild, without feeling, without law ...”).
By the end of the southern exile, Pushkin's views change, he is largely disappointed. In his poem “The Desert Sower of Freedom,” he writes that the Russian people were not ready for change, the idea of freedom from serfdom did not take root (“... I threw a life-giving seed - but I only lost time ...”). He writes about the Russian people as a herd that blindly obeys the will of the strong, not wanting to fight for their rights (“Why do the herds have gifts of freedom?”, “Their inheritance from generation to generation is a yoke with rattles and a scourge”).
Apparently, it was from this time that Pushkin began to think more and more about what is more important than the struggle for civil freedom - inner freedom. In the thirties, he wrote the poem “From Pindemonti”, where he says that civil and political freedoms are not dear to him: “Depend on the king, depend on the people - is it all the same to us? God bless them..."). He writes that freedom and harmony within oneself are much more important (“Do not give an account to anyone, only serve and please yourself ...”, “According to your whim, wander here and there, marveling at the beauties of the divine nature” ...)
Thus, on the example of several poems written in different years of Alexander Sergeevich's life, one can trace the evolution of the theme of freedom, which occupied an important place in the poet's work.
Answer from ...Night ghost...[guru]
In what works of Russian lyrics is the world of nature compared with the world of human relationships? ! N. M. Karamzin. Poor Lisa... In what works of Russian poets does the theme of inner freedom sound? ! In Nekrasov's poems (but very rarely), mainly in Pushkin's poems, this freedom .... Especially in this poem ... TO THE SEA Farewell, free element! For the last time in front of me You roll blue waves And shine with proud beauty. Like a friend's mournful murmur, As his call at the farewell hour, Your sad noise, your inviting noise I heard for the last time. My soul's desired limit! How often I wandered along your shores, quiet and foggy, I languish with a cherished intent! How I loved your responses, Deaf sounds, abyss of voice And silence in the evening hour, And wayward impulses! The humble sail of the fishermen, guarded by Your whim, Slids bravely among the swells: But you leaped up, irresistible, And the flock of ships sinks. 36 It was not possible to leave Me a boring, motionless shore forever, Congratulate you with delights And direct My poetic escape along your ridges! You waited, you called... I was chained; In vain my soul was torn: I was fascinated by a mighty passion, I remained by the shores ... What to regret? Where would I now direct my careless path? One object in your desert would strike my soul. One rock, tomb of glory... There they plunged into a cold sleep Memories are majestic: Napoleon died away there. There he rested in torment. And after him, like a storm noise, Another genius sped away from us, Another ruler of our thoughts. Disappeared, mourned by freedom, Leaving the world his crown. Noise, get excited by bad weather: He was, O sea, your singer. Your image was marked on it, It was created by your spirit: Like you, powerful, deep and gloomy, Like you, indomitable by anything. The world is empty... Now where would you take me, ocean? The fate of people everywhere is the same: Where there is a drop of good, there is on guard Already enlightenment or a tyrant. 37 Farewell, sea! I will not forget Your solemn beauty And for a long, long time I will hear Your rumble in the evening hours. In the forests, in the silent deserts I will transfer, full of you, Your rocks, your bays, And the shine, and the shadow, and the sound of the waves.
The writing
Freedom is one of the highest human values, and the more precious it is for a person, the stronger he feels its lack. For a poet, a person who perceives everything that surrounds him more sharply than others, freedom in all its manifestations is one of the main sources of inspiration.
Pushkin went through several stages in realizing his ideal of freedom, as evidenced by his work. The change of these stages generally coincides with the turning points in his personal life, the first of which was the time of study at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.
This is really a turning point, because at the Lyceum Pushkin first showed his talent. Youth is a time of fun, joy, and therefore it is not surprising that during the lyceum period, Epicurean motifs appear in Pushkin's work, associated with the desire for fun, joy, and enjoyment of life. This is how an understanding of freedom arises in the spirit of the Epicurean preaching of the freedom of manifestation of human feelings:
Enjoy, enjoy;
Pour the cup more often;
Tired of ardent passion
And have a cup of rest!
On the other hand, at that time Pushkin was greatly influenced by the educational ideas of his teachers, and therefore it is not surprising that poems appear in his early lyrics in which freedom is understood as a socio-political category. So in the 1815 poem “Licinius”, the Roman Republic stands as the ideal of freedom: “I am a Roman at heart; freedom boils in the chest. Pushkin presents slavery as an all-destroying phenomenon, capable of destroying even the great Rome: “I foresee the end of a formidable greatness.” Exposing human vices, ultimately leading to slavery, the poet warns against repeating past mistakes. He pronounces his harsh sentence at the end of the poem: "Rome has grown by freedom, and ruined by slavery."
Similar ideas were shared by those Pushkin's contemporaries who later entered the Decembrist societies. It is significant that among them were the closest friends of the poet, his comrades in the Lyceum - Ivan Pushchin, Wilhelm Kuchelbecker and others. We can say that the younger generation dreamed of freedom, did everything possible to bring it closer, to make it real for Russia. That is why, with such enthusiasm, the youth accepted Pushkin's poems, which in such a vivid and surprisingly accurate poetic form reflected the mood of the younger generation.
After leaving the Lyceum, in St. Petersburg, Pushkin continues to develop the theme of civil freedom. Close communication with representatives of secret societies finally forms Pushkin's ideal of freedom in this period of his work. In 1817, he wrote the ode "Liberty", where he directly refers to the "Lords". The poet praises the law as a reliable guarantee of fair relations between the people and the government. The law should, according to Pushkin, overcome "unrighteous power" and "criminal ax". The poet turns to history, talking about the death of Louis and Paul as an example of what happens if the laws are violated - no matter what motives drive people, the result will always be terrible. That is why he calls on the sovereigns to be the first to bow before the law, so that they become "the eternal guardian of the throne / the people of liberty and peace."
In the poem "Licinius" and the ode "Liberty" Pushkin speaks of freedom and despotism in general. But in the future, he focuses his attention on the situation in Russia, that is, his ideal of freedom acquires a patriotic character. For example, the creation of the poem “Tales. Noel" of 1818 is connected with disappointment in the policy of Alexander 1. The poem is based on Alexander's speech at the Polish Sejm and his promise to give the people a constitution, which he subsequently did not fulfill. The poem is written in a satirical genre, and the figure of Alexander itself is depicted with caustic irony.
It is noteworthy that it was at this time that Pushkin's poems appeared in which he expressed extremely radical ideas, which was generally not very typical for him. So in the poem of the same year "To Chaadaev" there is an idea about the possibility of a violent overthrow of the royal power. In the last lines of the poem, we are talking about "the fragments of autocracy", and moreover, the poet himself and his friends act as direct participants in the breakdown of the state system:
Comrade, believe: she will rise,
Star of captivating happiness
Russia will wake up from sleep
And on the ruins of autocracy
Write our names!
At the same time, the poem "To Chaadaev" is very interesting in terms of the form of expression of his idea. Civic motives are combined in it with the most personal feelings of a person. Here, there are tendencies to combine the concept of freedom as a political and romantic category:
We wait with longing hope
Minutes of liberty of the saint,
As a young lover waits
Minutes of true goodbye.
That is why it became possible to make a poem addressed to a friend, a real person - Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev - an appeal to all young people who share the ideas of freethinking.
At the heart of these ideas was the idea of the need to carry out the earliest possible transformations in Russia and, above all, to rid the country of the disgrace of serfdom. Pushkin also devotes his poems to this topic. The most famous of them is the poem "The Village" of 1819. It is very interesting in its composition. It is sharply divided into two parts: the first presents an elegiac rural landscape, against which the “friend of mankind” indulges in poetic inspiration. The second part is written as a political pamphlet, in which terrible signs of serfdom are depicted in precise and bright colors: “skinny slavery”, “wild nobility”, which appropriates “by a violent vine both labor, and property, and the time of the farmer”.
The sight of such a deplorable state of the people "darkens the soul" of the poet, evokes angry lines and a desire to draw attention to this terrible side of Russian reality: "Oh, if only my voice could disturb hearts!" exclaims the poet. Although he understands that the will of the tsar can free the country from serfdom, the poet hardly believes in Alexander, and the feeling of hopelessness results in sad lines:
I see, my friends! an unoppressed people
And slavery, fallen at the behest of the king,
And over the fatherland of enlightened freedom
Will the beautiful dawn finally rise?
This final question remains unanswered, which causes the poet to be pessimistic, especially when he was exiled to the South for his freedom-loving poems. It is here that romantic tendencies begin to prevail in Pushkin's poetry, and with them the idea of freedom also changes.
It was in the south, during the heyday of romanticism in Pushkin's poetry, that freedom becomes almost the main theme of his work. But now the idea of the freedom of an individual romantic person comes to the fore, and not the civil or political freedom necessary for the whole society. The reason for this is disappointment in their former ideals and, most importantly, disbelief in the possibility of their implementation.
Already in the poem "Village" there were words of the poet's regret that he could not awaken in the hearts of people a sense of duty to his people and to himself. The sad realization of the true reasons for this is filled with the poem "Freedom sower of the desert ..." of 1823. Pushkin recognizes the untimeliness of his calls to fight for freedom: "I left early, before the star." Moreover, the poet doubts that the “gifts of freedom” are generally needed by people:
Why do the herds need the gifts of freedom?
They must be cut or sheared.
Their inheritance from generation to generation
A yoke with rattles and a scourge.
Freedom-loving motives now become in Pushkin a romantic dream of freedom, a desire to escape from prison - after all, he himself feels himself an exile, a prisoner. In the poem "Prisoner", the poet compares himself with a "free bird", a young eagle who sits behind bars and dreams of breaking free, flying away
There, where the mountain turns white behind the cloud,
There, where the sea edges turn blue,
There, where we walk only the wind ... yes, I! ..
This is how the poet finds romantic symbols of freedom: either he gives it the appearance of an eagle, or it dissolves it in the “free element” or among the landscapes of the Caucasus. One way or another, the prisoner is himself.
But everything changes, and now, after the Southern exile, the exile to Mikhailovskoye comes, and the romantic landscapes are replaced by a realistic description of the beauty of the nature of the Central Russian strip. At the same time, Pushkin's ideal of freedom could not help but change, which is reflected in his further work.
In Mikhailovsky, Pushkin outgrows romanticism, and with the death of Byron in 1824 he decides that romanticism is dead for him. Crowning the southern exile and the romantic period of creativity is the poem "To the Sea" of 1824. Saying goodbye to the south, the sea and romanticism, the author recalls two romantic geniuses - Byron and Napoleon. That is why, in addition to the main theme of the poem - freedom in its romantic sense - the theme of time and memory occupies an important place here:
Goodbye sea! I won't forget
Your solemn beauty
And for a long, long time I will remember
Your buzz in the evening hours.
Started in Odessa and completed in Mikhailovsky, "To the Sea" is considered a milestone poem. In subsequent periods of creativity, Pushkin's idea of the ideal of freedom will be dominated by features determined by the comprehension of reality, the life surrounding the poet. However, romanticism could not just take and disappear. Completing work on the poem "Gypsies" in Mikhailovsky, Pushkin passes judgment on both the romantic hero and the romantic ideal of freedom:
You only want freedom for yourself.
Leave us, proud man!
Now the poet is occupied with the question of freedom and tyranny in a real-historical plane. The tragedy “Boris Godunov”, written in 1825 in Mikhailovsky, is connected with him, with which Russian realism takes a countdown. In it, Pushkin considers the issue of the relationship between the people and power in a new way and comes to the conclusion that power is strong "by the opinion of the people." At the same time, the people here appear as a passive force, which has yet to realize its capabilities. And soon the events in St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825, and what followed, confirmed Pushkin's doubts about the people's readiness for change. And this meant that it was necessary to rethink the ways of achieving freedom.
Upon his return from exile, Pushkin pondered for a long time the lessons of the Decembrist uprising, the execution and exile of whose participants, ironically, coincided with the release of the poet himself. He comes to the conclusion that freedom and violence are incompatible.
The ideal of freedom remains the main value for the poet: “I sing the old hymns,” he declares in the poem “Arion” of 1827. It was written in connection with the anniversary of the execution of the Decembrists, and is based on the legend of Arion, a Greek poet and musician. However, the fact that only he was “carried ashore by a thunderstorm” makes the poet, from a philosophical point of view, think about the concept of “freedom”, about the ways to achieve it and the price that has to be paid.
Now he places all his hopes on the justice and mercy of the king. In 1826, Pushkin wrote the poem "Stans" addressed to Nicholas I. The poet calls on the tsar to be like the "ancestor" in everything, that is, like Peter I:
Be like an ancestor in everything:
Like him, relentless and firm,
And memory, like him, is gentle.
The last lines are a request for the Decembrists, a request for forgiveness. A year later, the poem "In the depths of Siberian ores ..." comes out from the poet's pen, which Pushkin, at the risk of incurring the tsar's wrath, sends to Siberia. However, the theme of the poem is not a return to the former ideal of freedom, as it might seem at first glance. In fact, this is a theme of loyalty to friends, a theme of hope and mercy. The image of the sword in this poem is not a symbol of a formidable weapon necessary in the struggle for freedom, but a symbol of dignity and honor, which must be returned to the exiled Decembrists by a merciful tsar, who shares the ideals of freedom as a necessary condition for the prosperity of the state.
The philosophical interpretation of the ideal of freedom is characteristic of Pushkin's late work. During these years, the ideal of freedom in Pushkin's understanding merges into the system of universal values and no longer appears in his work as a purely political category. The poem "Anchar" of 1828 is one of the clearest evidence of this.
In it, Pushkin draws the image of evil as an eternal problem of human existence on earth. Anchar - "the tree of death", to which "a bird does not fly, and a tiger does not go." But man violates the eternal laws of nature, allowing to isolate evil. The tyrant sends his slave to the Anchar, because he is the lord who fully controls not only freedom, but also the life of the slave who is obedient to him. But the absolute, unrestricted freedom of one turns out to be just as disastrous as the complete obedience and absolute dependence of the other. Pushkin passes judgment on both, because both of them are responsible for the fact that evil is spreading in the world. The slave dies "at the feet of the invincible lord", but the poison of the anchar brought by him will bring death to thousands of other people.
In the 1930s, the poet's creative career ends, and with it the almost twenty-year search for his ideal of freedom. In the sonnet "To the Poet" of 1830, he proclaims the freedom of creativity as one of the most important components of this ideal, as something without which the poet cannot exist and create:
By the road of the free
Go where your free mind takes you,
Improving the fruits of your favorite thoughts,
Not demanding rewards for a noble feat.
They are in you. You are your own highest court;
You know how to appreciate your work more strictly.
Are you satisfied with it, demanding artist?
Satisfied? So let the crowd scold him.
In one of his last poems “(From Pindemonti”) of 1836, Pushkin refuses to see in political freedom what a free person really needs: freedoms. This is because, according to the poet, these are just “words, words, words.”
At the same time, Pushkin defines here a whole program of life, in which the main thing is the true freedom of the human person:
Depend on the king, depend on the people -
Don't we all care? God is with them. Nobody
Do not give a report, only to yourself
Serve and please; for power, for livery
Do not bend either conscience, or thoughts, or neck;
At your whim to wander here and there,
Marveling at the divine beauty of nature
And before the creatures of art and inspiration
Trembling joyfully in delights of tenderness,
Here is happiness! Here are the rights...
Pushkin sums up all his work in the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...”, written on August 21, 1836. It is noteworthy that it is in this final poem that the theme of freedom again returns to the recognition of the need for citizenship, but at the same time it is combined with the theme of mercy:
And for a long time I will be kind to the people,
That I aroused good feelings with lyre,
That in my cruel age I glorified freedom
And he called for mercy on the fallen.
Thus, in the course of natural evolution and the deepest reflections, Pushkin comes to a new understanding of free life. In it, the choice of a person is not limited by anything, his spirit is not oppressed and not humiliated. Neten and not humiliated. In it, everyone has the right to enjoy the nature created by God, and the works of people inspired by him. And, it seems to me, such an idea of freedom corresponds to the spirit of our time, the idea of individual rights, which in the modern system of values are recognized as the dominant principle.
Poetry is such an area of art, the ultimate goal of which is the search for truth, just as in science. But this truth is achieved through premonitions and deep penetration into the secrets of the universe and into the secrets of human life.
As for human life, poetry, first of all, penetrates into the recesses of our soul. Such a high property of poetry should be in connection with the noble qualities of the poet himself. As a chosen vessel, the poet contains all the best that nature has given to man. All of the above applies to a high degree to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
The main motive of Pushkin's lyrical poetry is the lofty idea of the human personality, in particular, the moral freedom of the individual with the rights of the heart and mind granted to him by nature.
Deeply aware of the moral freedom of the individual, the poet applies it to himself and his poetic vocation:
"Poet! do not value the love of the people.
A minute noise will pass from enthusiastic praises; ..
You are the king: live alone. By the road of the free
Go where your free mind leads you…”
(from the poem "To the Poet")
The same freedom and independence is expressed in the attitude of the poet to the powers that be:
"On a modest, noble lyre
I did not praise earthly gods,
And strength in free pride
I didn’t use a censer for flattery.”
(from the poem "To N.Ya. Pluskova")
With such views on the freedom and independence of the individual, it is difficult to remain in the midst of a great light that limits this freedom with visible and invisible bonds; and now, turning to his friend, the poet says:
“How are you, my friend, in inexperienced years,
Dangerously seduced by vanity,
I lost my life, and feelings, and peace;
But fading away into the great light
And I went home to rest.
(From the Message to Prince Gorchakov)
And here, in the shadow of solitude, in the open, the poet plunges into the world of his spiritual sensations and uses the first right of his heart - the right to enjoy the beautiful.
Speaking at the beginning of his poetic activity with a lofty sermon on the human personality, its freedom and its rights, Pushkin could not remain silent about the mass of the Russian people who were enslaved and gravitated in the serfdom.
"Here, skinny slavery drags along the reins
Relentless owner…”
(From the poem "Village")
How desirable freedom would be! In further lines, in pathetic ecstasy, the poet asks:
“Let me see, my friends! an unoppressed people
And slavery, fallen at the behest of the king,
And over the fatherland of enlightened freedom
Will the beautiful dawn finally rise?
(From the poem "Village")
The problem of freedom worried Pushkin throughout his life. In a letter to his friend Chaadaev, the poet writes the following lines:
"While we burn with freedom,
As long as hearts are alive for honor,
My friend, we will dedicate to the Fatherland
Souls are wonderful impulses.
In 1818, this one of the most ardent songs was released, a real ode to freedom - "To Chaadaev". It clearly shows Pushkin's faith in such sweet freedom. “Russia will wake up from sleep,” every person will wake up. Only this awakening is hindered by "the oppression of fatal power." But if you don't aim for something big, if you don't believe in freedom, then it won't exist. "Comrade, believe ...". Pushkin sincerely believed and longed for freedom.
And here is the apogee. Pushkin sums up the result of his poetic activity in the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands”.
“And for a long time I will be kind to the people,
That I aroused good feelings with lyre,
That in my cruel age I glorified Freedom
And he called for mercy on the fallen.
Yes, glorifying freedom in a cruel age and glorifying the rights of the individual is such a civic feat that not everyone will accomplish. Honor and glory to the great poet, singer of goodness, beauty and freedom!
Explanation.
The theme of inner freedom is heard in many works of Russian poets. The lyrical hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Prisoner", despite the imprisonment, the soul is next to the free eagle. The walls of the dungeon are able to hold his body, but the inner world remains free and independent. The spirit of the lyrical hero is not broken, he strives to "where only the wind walks."
M.Yu. also wrote about inner freedom. Lermontov in the poem "Sail". The image of the sail embodies the poet's dreams of a free life full of worries. The lyrical hero of Lermontov is not afraid of the storm, because his restless soul requires action:
And he, rebellious, asks for a storm,
As if there is peace in the storms.
In the poem by Marina Tsvetaeva, an image of the sea element appears, which is not subject to the will of man. The heroine compares herself to sea foam, because she wants to be natural, independent, internally free.
Lyrical heroes of A.S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov and M.I. Tsvetaeva - strong, freedom-loving personalities, their inner world is rich, they are able to rise above everyday life.
