In the last third of the 18th century, great changes took place in poetry, as in dramaturgy. The further development of poetry could not take place without changing, disturbing, and then destroying the usual old forms. These violations began to be committed by the classicist writers themselves: Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Maikov, and later Kheraskov and young poets from his entourage.
But Derzhavin made a real rebellion in the world of genres. The poet, knowing the true nature as a polyphonic and multicolored world, which is in perpetual motion and change, infinitely expanded the boundaries of the poetic. At the same time, Derzhavin's main enemies were all those who forgot the "public good", the interests of the people, indulging in sybaritism at court.
A significant expansion of the object of poetry required new forms of expression. Derzhavin began this search by changing the established genre system of classicism.
Derzhavin began the direct "destruction" of the solemn ode genre with his Felitsa, combining praise with satire in it.
Ode "Felitsa" was created in 1782 in St. Petersburg. The friends to whom Derzhavin read it delivered an inexorable verdict to the work: the ode is excellent, but it is impossible to print it because of the non-canonical image of the empress and the satirical portraits of Catherine's nobles, easily recognizable by contemporaries. With a sigh, Derzhavin put the ode in the drawer of his bureau, where it lay for about a year. Once, sorting through the papers, he laid out the manuscript on the table, where the poet Osip Kozodavlev saw it. He begged to read the manuscript, swearing with an oath that he would not show the poems to anyone. A few days later, the famous nobleman and lover of literature I.I. Shuvalov, in great alarm, sent for Derzhavin, saying that His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin required his poems to be read. "What verses? the poet wondered. - "Murza to Felitsa." - "How do you know them?" - "Mr. Kozodavlev, out of friendship, gave them to me." “But how did Prince Potemkin recognize them?” - “Yesterday a company of gentlemen dined with me, such as: Count Bezborodko, Count Zavadovsky, Strekalov and others who love literature; when talking that we still do not have easy and pleasant poetry, I read your creation to them. Some of the guests, as Shuvalov believed, wanting to please Prince Potemkin, immediately reported these verses to the favorite of the empress. Shuvalov, as an experienced courtier, advised Derzhavin to throw out lines from the ode regarding the “weaknesses” of the most serene prince, but the poet did not deceive, rightly believing that if the full text of the ode reached Potemkin, he would consider himself offended. Having received the poem and familiarized himself with it, the clever prince pretended that this essay had nothing to do with him. Derzhavin breathed a sigh of relief.
In the spring of 1783, the President of the Russian Academy, Ekaterina Dashkova, in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word”, on the recommendation of Kozodavlev, anonymously published the ode “Felitsa” without the knowledge of the author. Dashkova presented the first issue of the magazine to Empress Catherine P. After reading the ode, she was moved to tears and became interested in the author of the work. “Don’t be afraid,” she said to Dashkova, “I’m only asking you about who would know me so closely, who could describe so pleasantly that, you see, I’m crying like a fool.” The princess revealed the name of the poet and told a lot of good things about him. Some time later Derzhavin received an envelope in the mail containing a gold snuff-box sprinkled with diamonds and five hundred gold rubles. Soon the poet was introduced to the Empress and favored by her. The publication of the ode immediately made Derzhavin famous, he became one of the first poets of Russia.
Ode "Felitsa" is an innovative work, bold in thought and form. It includes high, odic, and low, ironic-satirical. Unlike the odes of Lomonosov, where the object of the image was the lyrical state of the poet, for whom state, national interests merged with personal ones, Derzhavin's ode made the object of poetization "the man on the throne" - Catherine II, her state affairs and virtues. "Felitsa" is close to a friendly literary message, a laudatory word and, at the same time, poetic satire.
The poet included in the ode a literary portrait of the empress, which has a moral and psychological, idealized character. Derzhavin is trying to reveal the inner world of the heroine, her morals and habits through a description of the actions and orders of Catherine II, her state deeds:
Not imitating your Murzas,
Often you walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Don't value your peace
Reading, writing before laying
And all from your pen
You pour blessings on mortals...
The lack of portrait descriptions is compensated by the impression that the heroine of the ode makes on others. The poet emphasizes the most important, from his point of view, features of an enlightened monarch: her democracy, simplicity, unpretentiousness, modesty, friendliness, combined with an outstanding mind and talent as a statesman. The poet contrasts the high image of the queen with an ironic portrait of her courtier. This is a collective image that includes the features of the closest associates of Catherine II: His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin, who, despite the breadth of his soul and brilliant mind, is distinguished by a whimsical and capricious disposition; favorites of the Empress Alexei and Grigory Orlov, guards revelers, lovers of fisticuffs and horse racing; Chancellor Nikita and Field Marshal Pyotr Panin, passionate hunters who forgot the affairs of public service for the sake of their favorite entertainment; Semyon Naryshkin, Jägermeister of the Imperial Palace and famous music lover, who was the first to host a horn music orchestra; Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, who loved to enjoy reading popular stories in his spare time, and ... Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin. The Russian poet, who by that time had become a state councilor, did not distinguish himself from this noble sphere, but, on the contrary, emphasized his involvement in the circle of the elite:
Such, Felitsa, I am depraved!
But the whole world looks like me.
Later, defending himself from reproaches that he had created an evil satire on famous and respectable courtiers, Derzhavin wrote: “In the ode to Felitsa, I actually turned ordinary human weaknesses on myself ... the princess’s virtues were opposed to my stupidities.” The poet, chuckling at the quirks of the Empress's associates, is not alien to their inherent Epicurean attitude to life. He does not condemn their human weaknesses and vices, for he understands that Catherine II surrounded herself with people whose talent serves the prosperity of the Russian state. Derzhavin is flattered to see himself in this company, he proudly bears the title of Catherine's nobleman.
The poet sings of the beautiful Nature and the Man living in harmony with it. Landscape paintings are reminiscent of scenes depicted on tapestries that adorn the salons and living rooms of the St. Petersburg nobility. It is no coincidence that the author, who was fond of drawing, wrote that "poetry is nothing but talking painting."
Drawing portraits of important dignitaries, Derzhavin uses the techniques of a literary anecdote. In the 18th century, an anecdote was understood as an artistically processed story of folklore content about a famous historical person or event, which has a satirical sound and instructive character. The portrait of Alexei Orlov acquires an anecdotal character under the pen of Derzhavin:
Or music and singers
Organ and bagpipes suddenly
Or fist fights
And dance amuse my spirit;
Or, about all matters care
Leaving, I go hunting
And amuse myself with the barking of dogs...
Indeed, the winner of fisticuffs, a guards officer, a prize-winner at the races, a tireless dancer and a successful duelist, a reveler, a ladies' man, a reckless hunter, a murderer of Emperor Peter III and a favorite of his wife, Alexei Orlov remained in the memory of his contemporaries. Some lines depicting courtiers resemble epigrams. For example, about the “bibliophile” predilections of Prince Vyazemsky, who prefers popular prints to serious literature, it is said:
Then I like to rummage through books,
I will enlighten my mind and heart,
I read Polkan and Bova;
For the Bible, yawning, I sleep.
Although Derzhavin's irony was mild and harmless, Vyazemsky could not forgive the poet: he "became attached to him in any case, not only mocked him, but almost scolded him, preaching that poets were not capable of any business."
Elements of satire appear in the ode where we are talking about the reign of Anna Ioannovna. The poet indignantly recalled how the well-born Prince Mikhail Golitsyn, at the whim of the empress, was married to an ugly old dwarf and made a court jester. In the same humiliating position were representatives of noble Russian families - Prince N. Volkonsky and Count A. Apraksin. “These jesters,” testifies Derzhavin, “at the time when the empress listened to Mass in the church, “sat down in baskets in the room through which she had to pass from the church to the inner chambers, and clucked like hens; , tearing up, laughed. The trampling of human dignity at all times, according to the poet, is the greatest sin. The teaching contained in the satire is addressed to both the reader and the main character of the ode.
The poet, creating the ideal image of an enlightened monarch, insisted that she must abide by the laws, be merciful, and protect the "weak" and "wretched."
The images and motifs of The Tale of Tsarevich Chlor, composed for the grandson by the Empress, run through the entire ode. The ode begins with a retelling of the plot of the tale, in the main part there are images of Felitsa, Lazy, Grouchy, Murza, Chlorine, Rose without thorns; the final part has an oriental flavor. The ode ends, as it should be, with praise to the empress:
I ask the great prophet
Let me touch the dust of your feet,
Yes, the words of your sweetest current
And enjoy the sight!
Heavenly I ask for strength,
Yes, stretching their sapphire wings,
Invisibly you are kept
From all diseases, evils and boredom;
Yes, your deeds in the offspring sounds,
Like stars in the sky, they will shine.
The theme and image of Catherine II in Derzhavin's poetry is not limited to Felitsa; he dedicates the poems “Gratitude to Felitsa”, “Vision of Murza”, “Image of Felitsa”, “Monument” and others to the Empress. However, it was the ode "Felitsa" that became Derzhavin's "calling card", it was this work that V. G. Belinsky considered "one of the best creations" of Russian poetry of the eighteenth century. In "Felitsa", according to the critic, "the fullness of feeling was happily combined with the originality of the form in which the Russian mind is visible and Russian speech is heard. Despite its significant size, this ode is imbued with an internal unity of thought, from beginning to end it is sustained in tone.
"Felitsa" (its original full name: "Ode to the wise Kirghiz-Kaisatskaya princess Felitsa, written by some Murza, who has long lived in Moscow, and lives on business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic in 1782") was written with the installation on the usual laudatory ode. In its external form, it even seems to be a step back from "Poems for Birth ..."; it is written in iambic ten-line stanzas, traditional for a solemn ode ("Poems for birth ..." are not divided into stanzas at all). However, in fact, "Felitsa" is an artistic synthesis of an even broader order.
The name of Catherine Felice (from the Latin felicitas - happiness) was suggested by one of her own literary works - a fairy tale written for her little grandson, the future Alexander I, and shortly before that published in a very limited number of copies. The Kyiv prince Khlor is visited by the Kirghiz Khan, who, in order to check the rumor about the exceptional abilities of the boy, orders him to find a rare flower - "a rose without thorns". On the way, Murza Lentyag invites the prince to him, trying to divert him from too difficult an enterprise by the temptations of luxury. However, with the help of the Khan's daughter Felitsa, who gives her son Reason as a guide to Chlor, Chlor reaches a steep rocky mountain; climbing with great difficulty to the top of it, he finds there the desired "rose without thorns", i.e. virtue. Using this simple allegory, Derzhavin begins his ode:
godlike princess
Kirghiz-Kaisatsky hordes,
Whose wisdom is incomparable
Discovered the right tracks
Tsarevich young Chlor
Climb that high mountain
Where a rose without thorns grows.
Where virtue dwells!
She captivates my spirit and mind;
Let me find her advice.
So conventionally allegorical images of a children's fairy tale are travesty replaced by traditional images of the canonical beginning of the ode - the ascent to Parnassus, the appeal to the muses. The very portrait of Felitsa - Catherine - is given in a completely new manner, which differs sharply from the traditionally laudatory odes. Instead of the solemnly heavy, long stamped and therefore little expressive image of the "earth goddess", the poet, with great enthusiasm and hitherto unprecedented poetic skill, portrayed Catherine in the face of an active, intelligent and simple "Kyrgyz-Kaisatskaya princess":
Not imitating your Murzas,
Often you walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Don't value your peace
Reading, writing before laying
And all from your pen
You shed blessings on mortals,
Like you don't play cards
Like me, from morning to morning.
A similar opposition to the "virtuous" image of Felitsa and the contrasting image of the vicious "Murza" is then carried out through the entire poem. This determines the exceptional, hitherto unheard-of genre originality of Felitsa. The laudatory ode in honor of the empress turns out to be at the same time a political satire - a pamphlet against a number of people in her inner circle. Even sharper than in "Poems for the Birth of a Porphyrogenic Child in the North", here the singer's posture changes in relation to the subject of his chanting. Lomonosov signed his odes to the empresses - "the most loyal slave." Derzhavin's attitude to Ekaterina Felitsa, whom he traditionally endows at times with "god-like" attributes, with all respect, is not without, at the same time, as we can see, a certain playful brevity, almost familiarity.
The image opposed to Felitsa is characteristically doubled throughout the ode. In satirical places, this is a kind of collective image, which includes the vicious features of all the Catherine nobles ridiculed here by the poet; to a certain extent, Derzhavin, who is generally prone to auto-irony, introduces himself into this circle. In lofty pathetic places, this is the lyrical author's "I", again endowed with specific autobiographical features: Murza is, in fact, the real descendant of Murza Bagrim, the poet Derzhavin. The appearance in "Felitsa" of the author's "I", the living, concrete personality of the poet, was a fact of great artistic, historical and literary significance. Lomonosov's laudatory odes also sometimes begin in the first person:
Do I see Pind under my feet?
I hear pure sisters music.
I burn with Permesian heat,
I flow hastily to their face.
However, the "I" that is spoken of here is not the individual personality of the author, but a certain conventional image of an abstract "singer" in general, an image that acts as an invariable attribute of any ode of any poet. We encounter a similar phenomenon in satires - also a widespread and significant genre of poetry of the 18th century. The difference in this respect between odes and satyrs is only that in odes the singer all the time plays on one single string - "sacred delight", while in satires one single, but indignantly accusatory string also sounds. The love songs of the Sumarokov school were just as "one-stringed" - a genre that, from the point of view of contemporaries, was generally considered semi-legal and, in any case, doubtful.
In Derzhavin's "Felitsa", instead of this conditional "I", the true living personality of the human poet appears in all the specificity of his individual being, in all the real diversity of his feelings and experiences, with a complex, "multi-stringed" attitude to reality. The poet here is not only delighted, but also angry; praises and at the same time blasphemes, denounces, slyly ironizes, and it is extremely important that this for the first time declaring itself in the odic poetry of the 18th century. individual personality bears in itself the undoubted features of nationality.
Pushkin said about Krylov's fables that they reflect a certain "distinctive feature in our morals - a cheerful cunning of the mind, mockery and a picturesque way of expressing ourselves." From under the conditionally "Tatar" guise of "Murza", for the first time this feature appears in Derzhavin's ode to Felitsa. These glimpses of nationality are also reflected in the language of "Felitsa". In accordance with the new character of this work is also its "funny Russian style", as Derzhavin himself defines it, - borrowing its content from real everyday life, light, simple, playfully colloquial speech, directly opposite to the magnificently decorated, deliberately elevated style of Lomonosov's ode .
Odami continues to traditionally call his poems and Derzhavin, theoretically connecting them with an antique model that is obligatory for classicism - the odes of Horace. But in fact he makes them a true genre revolution. In the poetics of Russian classicism there were no verses "in general". Poetry was divided into sharply demarcated, in no case mixed with each other, isolated and closed poetic types: ode, elegy, satire, etc. Derzhavin, starting with "Poems for the birth of a porphyry child in the north" and, in particular, from "Felitsa", completely breaks the boundaries of the traditional genre categories of classicism, merges ode and satire into one organic whole, in his other works, like "On the death of Prince Meshchersky", - an ode and elegy.
In contrast to the monotonous genres of classicism, the poet creates complex and full-fledged, polyphonic genre formations, anticipating not only the "variegated chapters" of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" or the highly complex genre of his own "The Bronze Horseman", but also the tone of many of Mayakovsky's works.
"Felitsa" was a colossal success when it appeared ("everyone who could read Russian found herself in her hands," a contemporary testifies) and generally became one of the most popular works of Russian literature of the 18th century. This tremendous success clearly proves that Derzhavin's ode, which made a kind of revolution in relation to Lomonosov's poetics, fully corresponded to the main literary trends of the era.
In "Felice" are united two opposite beginnings of Derzhavin's poetry- positive, affirming, and revealing, - critical. The chanting of the wise monarchine - Felitsa - is one of the central themes of Derzhavin's work, to which both contemporaries and later critics have appropriated the nickname "Felitsa Singer". "Felitsa" was followed by the poems "Thanks to Felitsa", "The Image of Felitsa", and finally, the ode "Vision of Murza" (begun in 1783, completed in 1790) almost as famous as "Felitsa".
The name of the poem, translated from Latin, means happiness and is dedicated to the great Catherine II.
From the first lines of the work, the poet extols his empress and creates a traditional picture of a god-like princess, which embodies the author's concept of the ideal of the blessed monarch. Idealizing the real empress, the poet at the same time believes in the image he depicts. Catherine appears as a smart and active princess, but the poems are not oversaturated with excessive pathos, since the poet uses a mixture of poetic genres (ode and satire), breaking the traditions of Russian classicism, a rare skill for those years. Moving away from the rules for writing a laudatory ode, the author introduces colloquial vocabulary into the poem, portraying the empress as an ordinary person. Even to her, the poet dares to give advice on the implementation of the laws adopted by the kings together with his subjects.
The poem sounds about the wisdom of the autocrats, and about the negligence of the courtiers, striving only for their own benefit. In a satirical form, the author makes fun of the environment of the princess. This method is not new for the poetry of that time, but behind the images of the courtiers depicted in the work, the features of existing people (the favorites of Empress Potemkin, Orlov, Panin, Naryshkin) clearly appear. Satirically describing their images, the poet shows great courage, because he could pay for it with his life. The author was saved only by Catherine's favorable attitude towards him.
In the course of the poem, the poet manages not only to dissemble and portray delight, but also to become angry. That is, the author behaves like a normal living person, an individual personality with the features of the people, and this is an unprecedented case for the genre of poetic ode.
The poet defined the style of his own poems as a mixed ode, arguing that the poet has the right to talk about everything, and not just sing laudatory hymns. Thus, Derzhavin made an innovative act in poetry, creating individual characters of non-fictional people against the backdrop of a colorful everyday environment.
Analysis of the Ode by Felitsa Derzhavin
Derzhavin is an outstanding poet who had his own style and his own vision of what was happening. Recognition came to the poet after he wrote the ode "Felitsa". It was in 1782, when Felitsa was published, that its author became famous. This poem was written to Catherine II. She liked the work of the poet very much, and for this the ruler generously rewarded Derzhavin. The poet worked on a work at a time when such a genre as an ode was no longer popular. But this did not stop Derzhavin.
The author of "Felitsa" simply broke all the stereotypes of that time. Many writers and critics were a little taken aback. Derzhavin disregarded all the rules of the literature of that time and wrote his own work. The works of writers and poets of those times were simply overflowing with beautiful words. In turn, Derzhavin decided to use rather ordinary words to show how he felt about Catherine. Derzhavin also wrote about his attitude to the close people of the Empress.
Derzhavin's early work, namely "Felitsa", of course, has lines in which there is an exaltation of the empress. The poet considered her a kind and intelligent ruler. In total, there are 26 ten lines in Felitsa. More than half of them, the poet dedicated to Catherine, and he stretched all his feelings a lot. In addition, you can see that some compliments and praises are repeated in the work "Felitsa".
It was a difficult time for Derzhavin, especially the period of writing Felitsa. It was a time when society was going through certain changes. People began to hold their own opinions less and went with the flow. The super-personality and thinking of people in the country was lost. There was a so-called crisis in which there was a struggle between the current government and the old society. This is what influenced the fact that the ode genre began to be perceived by people. The poet just at that moment wrote "Filitsa". Overnight, he became famous and, moreover, a pioneer, an innovator of this genre. Readers were amazed, and critics did not know how to evaluate the work of the author. Derzhavin was able to introduce humor into the ode genre, which concerns everyday life for everyone.
After the ode was released to the people, the author himself was able to determine the genre in which he wrote the work. He called his work a mixed ode. Derzhavin was of the opinion that in an ordinary ode the poet praises only high-ranking people, but in the genre in which Derzhavin writes, one can write about everything.
The poet makes it clear that the ode is a kind of precursor to the novel. It can embody many thoughts concerning Russian life.
Analysis of Felitsa's poem according to plan
Perhaps you will be interested
- Analysis of Mandelstam's poem Yes, I'm lying in the ground, moving my lips
The poetry of the Silver Age is ambiguous. A short period of time is characterized by three generations of poets. The work of Osip Emilievich Mandelstam belongs to the last of the generations of this century.
- Analysis of Nekrasov's poem Am I driving down a dark street at night
In all poetic texts of Nekrasov, the author's civil position is visible. His love lyrics are unique for the works of this genre. Characters are not romantic minions of fate or heroes
- Analysis of Bunin's poems
About Bunin's poems (compositions and analysis)
- Analysis of the poem by Nikitin Pole
The sensations of a Russian person are largely connected with the sensations of space and freedom, external and internal. Not for nothing, such an image as the Russian field is clearly entrenched in culture. Much interior space
- Analysis of Khodasevich's poems
Vladislav Khodasevich is not the most famous popular representative of the Silver Age, but his poems are certainly worthy of attention. Evening. In this poem, the author is talking to the merciless Creator of this cruel world.
In 1782, the still not very well-known poet Derzhavin wrote an ode dedicated to the "Kirghiz-Kaisak princess Felitsa." Oda was called "To Felice" . The difficult life taught the poet a lot, he knew how to be careful. The ode glorified the simplicity and humanity of the treatment of the people of Empress Catherine II and the wisdom of her reign. But at the same time, in ordinary, and even rude, colloquial language, she told about luxurious amusements, about the idleness of Felitsa's servants and courtiers, about "murzas" who were by no means worthy of their ruler. In the murzas, Catherine's favorites were transparently guessed, and Derzhavin, wishing that the ode would fall into the hands of the empress as soon as possible, was at the same time afraid of this. How will the autocrat look at his bold trick: a mockery of her favorites! But in the end, the ode ended up on the table of Catherine, and she was delighted with her. Far-sighted and intelligent, she understood that courtiers should be put in their place from time to time and hints of an ode are a great reason for this. Catherine II herself was a writer (Felitsa is one of her literary pseudonyms), which is why she immediately appreciated the artistic merits of the work. Memoirists write that, having called the poet to her, the empress generously rewarded him: she presented him with a golden snuffbox filled with gold chervonets.
Fame came to Derzhavin. The new literary magazine Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word, which was edited by the Empress's friend Princess Dashkova and published by Catherine herself, opened with an ode to Felitsa. They started talking about Derzhavin, he became a celebrity. Was it only the successful and bold dedication of the ode to the empress? Of course not! The reading public and fellow writers were struck by the very form of the work. The poetic speech of the "high" odic genre sounded without exaltation and tension. A lively, figurative, mocking speech of a person who understands well how real life works. The empress, of course, was spoken of commendably, but also not pompously. And, perhaps, for the first time in the history of Russian poetry as about a simple woman, not a celestial:
Not imitating your Murzas, You often walk on foot, And the simplest food Happens at your table.
Strengthening the impression of simplicity and naturalness, Derzhavin ventures on bold comparisons:
You don't play cards, like me, from morning to morning.
And, moreover, he is frivolous, introducing into the ode indecent, according to the secular standards of that time, details and scenes. Here is how, for example, a Murza courtier, an idler and an atheist, spends his day:
Or, sitting at home, I'll play, Playing fools with my wife; Now I get along with her on the dovecote, Sometimes we frolic in blindfolds, Now I have fun in a pile with her, Now I look for her in my head; Then I like to rummage through books, I enlighten my mind and heart: I read Polkan and Bova, Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.
The work was filled with cheerful, and often caustic allusions. To Potemkin, who loves to eat well and drink well ("I drink champagne waffles / And I forget everything in the world"). On Orlov, who boasts of magnificent departures ("a magnificent train in an English carriage, golden"). On Naryshkin, who is ready to give up all his affairs for the sake of hunting (“I take care of all matters / Leaving, I go hunting / And I amuse myself with the barking of dogs”), etc. In the genre of a solemn laudatory ode, this has never been written before. Poet E.I. Kostrov expressed a general opinion and at the same time slight annoyance about a successful opponent. In his poetic "Letter to the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa, princess of Kirghizkaysatskaya" there are lines:
Frankly, it is clear that the soaring odes have gone out of fashion; You knew how to exalt yourself among us with simplicity.
The Empress drew Derzhavin close to her. Remembering the "fighting" qualities of his nature and incorruptible honesty, she sent him to various audits, ending, as a rule, with noisy indignation of those being checked. The poet was appointed governor of Olonets, then Tambov province. But he did not hold out for a long time: he dealt with local officials too zealously and imperiously. In Tambov, things went so far that in 1789 the governor of the region, Gudovich, filed a complaint with the empress against the "arbitrariness" of the governor, who did not consider anyone or anything. The case was referred to the Senate Court. Derzhavin was dismissed from his post and until the end of the trial he was ordered to live in Moscow, as they would say now, under a written undertaking not to leave the country.
And although the poet was acquitted, he was left without a position and without the favor of the empress. Once again, one could count only on oneself: on enterprise, talent and luck. And don't be discouraged. In the autobiographical “Notes” compiled at the end of his life, in which the poet speaks of himself in the third person, he admits: “There was no other way but to resort to his talent; as a result, he wrote the ode “Image of Felitsa” and to the 22nd on the date of September, that is, on the day of the coronation of the empress, handed her over to the court<…>The Empress, having read it, ordered her favorite (meaning Zubov, Catherine's favorite, - L.D.) the next day to invite the author to dine with him and always take him into her conversation.
Read also the other topics of Chapter VI.
The ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, a summary of which is given in this article, is one of the most famous works of this Russian poet of the 18th century. He wrote it in 1782. After the publication, Derzhavin's name became known. In addition, the ode has become a clear example of a new style in Russian poetry.
The name of the ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, the summary of which you are reading, received on behalf of the heroine "Tales of Tsarevich Chlor". The author of this work is Empress Catherine II.
In his work, this name Derzhavin calls the ruler of Russia herself. By the way, it translates as "happiness". The essence of the ode is reduced to the glorification of Catherine (her habits, modesty) and the caricature, even mocking depiction of her pompous surroundings.
In the images that Derzhavin describes in the ode "Felitsa" (a brief summary of the "Brifli" is not found, but it is in this article), one can easily recognize some persons close to the empress. For example, Potemkin, who was considered her favorite. As well as Counts Panin, Orlov, Naryshkin. The poet skillfully depicts their mocking portraits, while demonstrating a certain courage. After all, if one of them would be very offended, he could easily deal with Derzhavin.
He was saved only by the fact that Catherine II liked this ode very much and the empress began to treat Derzhavin favorably.
Moreover, even in the very ode "Felitsa", a brief summary of which is given in this article, Derzhavin decides to give advice to the empress. In particular, the poet advises that she obey the law, the same for all. The ode ends with the praise of the empress.
The uniqueness of the work
After reviewing the summary of the Felitsa ode, one can come to the conclusion that the author violates all the traditions in which such works were usually written.
The poet actively introduces colloquial vocabulary, does not shy away from non-literary statements. But the most important difference is that he creates the empress in human form, refusing her official image. It is noteworthy that the text confused and disturbed many, but Catherine II herself was delighted with it.
The image of the empress
In the ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, the brief content of which contains the semantic quintessence of the work, the empress at first appears before us in the usual god-like image. For a writer, she is a model of an enlightened monarch. At the same time, he embellishes her appearance, firmly believing in the depicted image.
At the same time, in the poet's poems, thoughts slip through not only about the wisdom of power, but also about the dishonesty and low level of education of its performers. Many of them are only interested in their own benefit. It is worth recognizing that these ideas have appeared before, but never before have real historical figures been so recognizable.
In the ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin (he cannot yet offer a summary of the "Brifli") the poet appears before us as a bold and courageous discoverer. He makes an amazing symbiosis, complementing the laudatory ode with individual character traits and witty satire.
History of creation
It was the ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, the summary of which is convenient for a general acquaintance with the work, that made a name for the poet. Initially, the author did not think about publishing this poem. He did not advertise it and hid the authorship. He seriously feared the revenge of influential nobles, whom he did not portray in the best light in the text.
Only in 1783 did the work become widespread thanks to Princess Dashkova. A close colleague of the Empress published it in the journal Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word. By the way, the ruler of Russia herself gave her texts to it. According to Derzhavin, Catherine II was so moved when she first read the ode that she even began to cry. It was in such touched feelings that Dashkova herself discovered her.
The Empress certainly wanted to know who the author of this poem was. It seemed to her that everything was depicted in the text as accurately as possible. In gratitude for the ode "Felitsa" by Derzhavin, a summary and analysis of which is given in this article, she sent a golden snuffbox to the poet. It contained 500 chervonets.
After such a generous royal gift, literary fame and success came to Derzhavin. Not a single poet knew such popularity before him.
Thematic diversity of Derzhavin's work
Describing Derzhavin's Felitsa ode, it should be noted that the performance itself is a playful sketch of the life of a Russian ruler, as well as nobles especially close to her. At the same time, the text raises important issues at the state level. This is corruption, the responsibility of officials, their concern for statehood.
Artistic features of the ode "Felitsa"
Derzhavin worked in the genre of classicism. This direction strictly forbade the combination of several genres, for example, high ode and satire. But the poet decided on such a bold experiment. Moreover, he not only combined them in his text, but also did something unprecedented for the literature of that very conservative time.
Derzhavin simply destroys the traditions of a laudatory ode, actively using reduced, colloquial vocabulary in his text. He even uses frank vernacular, which, in principle, were not welcomed in the literature in those years. Most importantly, he paints Empress Catherine II as an ordinary person, abandoning her classical ceremonial description, which was actively used in such works.
That is why in the ode you can find a description of everyday scenes and even a literary still life.
Derzhavin's innovation
The ordinary, everyday image of Felicia, behind which the empress is easily guessed, is one of the main innovations of Derzhavin. At the same time, he manages to create the text so as not to reduce her image. On the contrary, the poet makes him real and human. Sometimes it seems that the poet writes it from nature.
While reading the poem "Felitsa", you can be sure that the author managed to bring into poetry the individual characteristics of real historical characters, taken from life or created by his imagination. All this was shown against the backdrop of a domestic environment, which was depicted as colorfully as possible. All this made the ode understandable and memorable.
As a result, in the ode "Felitsa" Derzhavin skillfully combines the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of real heroes, and also introduces an element of satire. Ultimately, in the ode, which belongs to the high style, there are many elements of low styles.
Derzhavin himself defined its genre as a mixed ode. He argued that it differs from the classical ode in that in a mixed genre the author has a unique opportunity to talk about everything in the world. So the poet destroys the canons of classicism, the way for a new poetry is opened to the poem. This literature is being developed in the work of the next generation of author - Alexander Pushkin.
Meanings of the ode "Felitsa"
Derzhavin himself admitted that it was a great merit that he decided on such an experiment. The well-known researcher of his work, Khodasevich, notes that Derzhavin was most proud of the fact that he was the first Russian poet to speak in a "funny Russian style," as he himself called it.
But the poet was aware that his ode would, in fact, be the first artistic embodiment of Russian life, would become the germ of a realistic novel. Khodasevich also believed that if Derzhavin had lived to see the publication of Eugene Onegin, he would undoubtedly have found echoes of his work in it.
