Lermontov's poem "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov"

This poem, written in 1837, is not an ordinary work. Lermontov set himself a peculiar artistic task: referring to distant history, to stylize the work under the folklore genre of Russian song. The author worked a lot with sources, turned to the "History of the Russian State" by N. M. Karamzin, but, unlike Pushkin, Lermontov does not directly follow Karamzin. The fact is that in his historical work all the features of the era are explained by the character of the king. Folklore sources played an important role in the process of creating the Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov. The author was interested in folk songs - both historical and robber ones. He managed to find the work of Kirsha Danilov (the alleged compiler of the first collection of Russian epics, historical, lyrical songs, spiritual poems) “Collection of ancient Russian poems collected by Kirsha Danilov”, written in the 17th century. In the book, Lermontov found a Song about Mastryuk Temryukovich, similar in plot to "The Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov".

Lermontov describes with amazing accuracy not only the merchant life of the 16th century, shows a world that rests on patriarchal foundations and house-building orders, but also reveals the image of a person from the people in whom a natural sense of honor and dignity lives. The “Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov” masterfully depicts strong family ties, emphasizes the important role of the family in the life of any person, the full authority of the eldest relative, the unquestioning subordination of the wife to her husband, and other characteristic features of family relations of that time.

The composition "Songs about the Merchant Kalashnikov" imitates folk songs: there is a refrain before each narrative part:

Hey, guys, sing - just build a harp!

Hey guys, drink - understand the matter!

Amuse the good boyar And his white-faced boyar!

The plot of the poem is quite common: a young guardsman Kiribeevich falls in love with the beautiful Alena Dmitrievna and talks about his love at a feast in the presence of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The tsar is pleased with this news and says to Kiribeevich:

And you sent precious gifts to your Alena Dmitrievna:

As you fall in love - celebrate the wedding,

Do not fall in love - do not be angry.

But the guardsman forgot to tell the tsar that Alena Dmitrievna had a husband, the merchant Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov, with whom she married in the church and, accordingly, to whom she belongs. On the day when Kiribeevich got ready to visit Alena Dmitrievna, Stepan Paramonovich returns from the shop earlier than usual, but finds only tearful children at home. Then the wife appears, "she herself is pale, bare-haired." Kalashnikov strictly orders Alena Dmitrievna to explain herself. She tells him how Kiribeevich attacked her in the middle of the street, abused her and dishonored her, and asks her husband not to be angry and protect her:

Don't let me, your faithful wife,

To the evil scoundrels!

On whom, besides you, can I rely?

Whom shall I ask for help?

The next day, festive fisticuffs were organized on the Moscow River, and Stepan Paramonovich decided to take advantage of this opportunity to take revenge on the offender who had tarnished the honor of his wife.

The author does not express his assessment directly, but the reader still understands which side is the truth in the conflict. Describing the behavior of opponents entering the duel, Lermontov makes it clear that it is Kalashnikov who stands for a just cause, because before the competition Kiribeevich bows only to the tsar, and the merchant bows to the tsar, and to the churches, and to the people:

And the daring Kiribeevich comes out,

The king bows silently from the waist,

Throws off a velvet coat from mighty shoulders,

Leaning to the side with your right hand,

Adjusts another scarlet hat,

He is waiting for his opponent.

And Stepan Paramonovich comes out,

A young merchant, a daring fighter,

Nicknamed Kalashnikov.

He bowed first to the terrible king,

After the white Kremlin and the holy churches,

And then to all the Russian people<…>.

The author seeks to show in this episode that not only the tsar is important for Kalashnikov, but also God and the people. Further, Lermontov notes that even God protects Stepan in a duel, that is, there is no longer any doubt about who is right:

Then Kiribeevich swung and hit the first merchant Kalashnikov,

And hit him in the middle of his chest - Chest cracked brave,

Stepan Paramonovich staggered;

On his wide chest hung a copper cross With holy relics from Kyiv, -

And the cross bent and pressed into the chest;

Like dew, blood dripped from under him;

The duel ends with the victory of Kalashnikov, after which the tsar calls him to him and asks: “Did you kill my faithful servant by free will or reluctantly?” To which the merchant replies: “I killed him with my free will,” and adds: “I won’t tell you why, about what.” For such audacity, Stepan Kalashnikov is sentenced to death.

Since this work is a stylization of a folk song, the descriptions of the characters are given in a folklore style. Parallelism is widely used when the appearance of the hero, the significance of his figure, as well as his internal state are compared with the state of nature. For example, Tsar Ivan the Terrible is described in the following lines:

The red sun does not shine in the sky,

Blue clouds do not admire them:

Then at the meal he sits in a golden crown,

The formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich is sitting.

The scene of the battle between Kalashnikov and Kiribeevich is preceded by a masterful description of the dawn over Moscow, it is given in contrast to the events described and ends with the question: “Why did you wake up, scarlet dawn?” The appeal to nature is also, of course, a folklore element.

The description of the heroes is based on constant epithets traditional for folk works: “the sun is red”, “daring fighter”, “violent fellow”, “dark eyes”, “broad chest”, “black eyebrows”, etc. Traditional comparisons are also used. , for example, describing Alena Dmitrievna, Kiribeevich says that she "walks smoothly, like a swan."

The language of the work is melodious, it contains many inversions, inversions and exclamations. Colloquial and dialect words are also widely used, for example, “swindler”, “orphan”, “big brother”, “accelerating”, “rising” and many others. Very often there are three repetitions: before the battle, Kalashnikov bows three times, showing respect and asking for blessings and support; the harpists note that they "treated" them "for three days, three nights."

In folk traditions, the interpretation of the main characters in the poem is given. Kalashnikov is a people's hero, a defender of people's morality, honor and justice. He defends not only his name, but also the honor of the whole people. Kiribeevich is a completely negative hero, he does not respect traditions, he believes that everything is allowed for him, even to violate divine laws (to have a relationship with a married woman). According to tradition, evil is punished, but here the author raises the main problem of the work. Usually the tsar was portrayed exclusively positively, but we do not see this in the “Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov”. Lermontov consciously shows the autocrat from the negative side, says that the tsar will never stand up for a man from the people, that even speaking for the truth, one can die "a cruel, shameful death" at the tsar's command.

1. Artistic means of depicting heroes.
2. A hero from the people and the royal approach.
3. The meaning of the image of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich.

The very name “Songs about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov” by M. Yu. Lermontov brings it closer to oral folk art. Why? The answer is to be found in the first lines of the poem:

Oh, you are the one, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich!
We composed our song about you,
About your beloved oprichnik
Yes, about a brave merchant, about Kalashnikov;
We folded it in the old fashion,
We sang it to the harp
And they read and ordered.

So, the poem is written in the form of a drinking song, which in Russia was performed at feasts in the royal palace or in the houses of noble boyars. To give his work a folk flavor, Lermontov used words and expressions characteristic of oral folk art: “in holy Russia, our mother”, “wonderful”, “daring”, “cried”. The appropriate mood is also created by chants and repetitions, which are often found in the works of oral folk art, both in poetry and in prose (in particular, in fairy tales). Every now and then the gusli, performing a song at a feast at the boyar Matvey Romodanovsky, repeat: Ay, guys, sing - just build a harp!

Hey, guys, drink - understand the matter!
Amuse you good boyar
And his white-faced noblewoman!

These words are a kind of refrain of "Songs ...". Often Lermontov uses synonymous words to emphasize the significance of the statement: “not to find, not to find such a beauty”, “they ran, started playing”, “the daring Moscow fighters got together, gathered”, “to roam for a holiday, to have fun”. This technique is very common in the works of oral folk art. In addition, Lermontov used comparisons that are specific to the folklore tradition:

... Walks smoothly - like a swan;
Looks sweet - like a dove;
He says a word - the nightingale sings;
Her cheeks are rosy,
Like the dawn in the heavens...

The younger brothers compare Kalashnikov's strength with the wind that drives obedient clouds or with an eagle calling the eaglets to a feast, the dawn over Moscow with a beauty washed with snow.

Yes, and the plot of "Songs ...", in essence, also makes the poem related to oral folk art. Heroes of Russian epics fight "for mother truth", like Stepan Kalashnikov. Of course, the epic heroes most often had to fight monsters and foreign invaders, and the enemy of the “remote merchant” was just “the servant of the king, the formidable king.” But it is interesting to note that Kalashnikov, before a fistfight on the Moskva River, calls Kiribeevich "Busurmai's son", and in fact the enemies of the Russian land have been called Basurmans since ancient times. It would be wrong to call this “affectionate” nickname that Kalashnikov gives to his opponent only an angry attack of an offended husband who went to battle in order to maintain the honor of his wife. To understand why Kalashnikov called his enemy that way, you need to figure out who Kiribeevich is?

Kiribeevich - royal guardsman; this was the name of the royal guard, which Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible used in the fight against people objectionable to him in 1565-1572. The only law for the guardsmen was the will of the king (and his own, most importantly, that it did not contradict the royal orders). Not knowing the limit of lawlessness, the guardsmen deserved the strong hatred of the people. The word "oprichnik" has become synonymous with the words: "robber", "rapist", "villain". It is no coincidence that in the "Song ..." it is the guardsman who acts as a negative character and tries to seduce someone else's wife. N. M. Karamzin in the “History of the Russian State” described the time of the oprichnina in the following way: “The oprichnik, or the Khemshnik, as they began to call them, as if the monsters of pitch darkness, could safely crowd, rob a neighbor and, in case of a complaint, took a fine from him for dishonor ... To say a discourteous word to a pitchman meant to offend the king himself ... ".

But back to the work of Lermontov. What else do we know about Kiribeevich? Let's re-read the lines where the king reproaches his "faithful servant" for his strange absent-mindedness at the feast:

It's indecent to you, Kiribeevich,
To abhor royal joy;
And you are from the Skuratov family,
And you are fed by the family of Malyutina! ..

G. L. Skuratov-Belsky, nicknamed Malyuta, was one of the most loyal associates of Ivan the Terrible, an active participant in numerous massacres. And Kiribeevich, the hero of Lermontov's poem, is a relative of this monster, besides, he grew up in the family of Malyuta! Now it becomes clear the meaning of the words of Kalashnikov, who called Kiribeevich "Busurman's son." For Stepan Paramonovich, and for the entire Russian people, the guardsman is the same conqueror, invader who came to rob and ruin the Russian land. If for Kiribeevich the law is the royal will and his own whims, then Stepan Kalashnikov goes to battle not only for the honor of his wife, he defends the “truth-mother”, the highest law of conscience and justice, given not by the king, but by God. Kalashnikov does not seek justice from the tsar, realizing that he would be more willing to take the side of his "faithful servant." The “daring merchant” honestly answers the tsar, not caring about what this truth may threaten him with: “... I killed him of my free will.” It is interesting to note that Stepan Paramonovich asks to protect the formidable king of his loved ones - his wife, children and brothers. Saying goodbye to his brothers, in the best Russian traditions, he asks them to bow to his wife and parental home, and also to pray for his soul, "a sinful soul." Probably because Stepan Kalashnikov tried to live according to his conscience and died for a just cause, Russian people remember him when they pass by his grave at the crossroads of three roads:

An old man will pass - cross himself,
A good fellow will pass - he will sit down,
A girl will pass - she will grieve,
And the harpists will pass - they will sing a song.

But what about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich? After all, in the title of the poem, his name is the first! Of course, the image of the tsar from the "Songs ..." is far from the real historical portrait of Ivan the Terrible. The author completely removes from the king any responsibility for the unworthy behavior of his "faithful servant":

Oh, you are a goy, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich!
Your crafty servant deceived you,
Didn't tell you the truth
I did not tell you that the beauty
In the church of God remarried,
Married to a young merchant
According to our Christian law.

However, a fair and wise ruler, the dream of which was reflected in many works of oral folk art, does not come from Ivan Vasilyevich. And this also makes "Song ..." related to folklore - let's remember Ilya Muromets, whom Prince Vladimir did not appreciate on his merits.

The enraged tsar executes the merchant Kalashnikov for killing his “faithful servant” Kiribeevich in a fistfight, at the same time promising to “grant” the widow and children of Stepan Paramonovich from his treasury, and allow his brothers to “trade without pay, duty-free.” But all the promised royal favors are lost against the backdrop of the tragic death of Stepan Kalashnikov. That is why the “daring merchant” is so dear to the people, that for the sake of the highest value, which he considers justice, this man did not spare his own life. Such are truly folk heroes who have always stood "for the Russian land", "for mother truth" and "for the Orthodox faith".

Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov

(1814–1841)

Poem "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich,

young oprichnik and daring merchant Kalashnikov" (1837)

Composition and plot

Heroes

Paramonovich Kalashnikov	"stately fellow" who lives according to the law of God: “And I was born from an honest father, / And I lived according to the law of the Lord ... ". Like a Russian hero, he is ready to fight in an open, equal battle. For him, honor and "holy mother truth" are dearer than life. Kalashnikov does not want to save his life with a lie. Ivan Vasilyevich appreciates this. To the question of the tsar, “by free will or reluctantly” he killed the guardsman, the merchant fearlessly answers: "I killed him at will." He does not explain the reasons, not wanting to dishonor his wife. Saying goodbye to his brothers, Kalashnikov thinks about his family: “Bow from me to Alena Dmitrevna, Tell her to be less sad Don't tell my kids about me." And after death, good people do not forget his grave: "The old man will pass- cross yourself, Well done- pose; The girl will pass- get upset And the goons will pass- sing a song."
Oprichnik Kiribeevich	« A daring fighter, a violent fellow". He is able to love, but he does not live according to moral and spiritual laws. Kiribeevich belongs to the Skuratov family. The name of Malyuta Skuratov, henchman of Ivan the Terrible, went down in history, it terrified the people. Oprichniki - close associates of the king, subordinate only to him. They were ruthless and carried on with impunity.
Tsar Ivan Vasilevich	Dual image. The king is both a cruel, self-willed tyrant and a caring ruler-father. Ivan the Terrible gives his oprichnik a "ring yakhontovy” and “pearl necklace”, promises to take care of the Kalashnikov family: "Young wife and your orphans from my treasury I will please I command your brothers from this very day throughout the Russian kingdom wide Trade without knowing, duty-free. But the king lives according to his own laws, does not keep his word (“ Whoever beats whom, the king will reward him; / And whoever is beaten, God will forgive him"). He allows his oprichniks to act outrageously, and orders the winner in a fair fight to be publicly executed.

Conflict in the poem

Folklore elements in the poem

Permanent	good fellow, the earth is damp, the field is clean
Permanent comparisons	“Walks smoothly - like a swan; Looks sweet - like a dove; He says a word - the nightingale sings ... "
Negative parallelism	"The red sun does not shine in the sky, Blue clouds do not admire them: Then at the meal he sits in a golden crown, The formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich is sitting.
Hyperbolas	“Here the king hit the ground with a stick, And an oak floor half a quarter He struck with an iron tip ... "
Avatars	“The scarlet dawn rises; She swept her golden curls, Washed by crumbly snows, Like a beauty looking in the mirror Looks at the clear sky, smiles
colloquial	vovo, kiss, honest father
on the - teach, -yuchi	playful, singing, feasting
Double titles	sharpen, sharpen, dress, dress up, buzzes-howls
Traditional appeals	"You are our sovereign, Ivan Vasilyevich!", "You are my lord, Stepan Paramonovich..."
	“The horses have grown cold to me, Brocade outfits are disgusted ... "
Beginning of lines with "I", "Ay", "Yes", "Gay"	"Hey you, our faithful servant, Kiribeevich ...", “Ay, guys, sing - just build a harp!”
Syntactic parallelism	“The kite will peck out my tearful eyes, The rain will wash my orphan bones ... "
Inversions	“In the family she was born a merchant ...”
Tiebacks	"In the church of God remarried, Married to a young merchant"
magical	“Three times a loud cry was called ...”

Silently, they both part,

The heroic battle begins.

Then Kiribeevich swung

And hit the first merchant Kalashnikov,

And hit him in the middle of the chest -

Chest of youth cracked,

A copper cross hung on his broad chest.

With holy relics from Kyiv, -

And the cross bent and pressed into the chest;

Like dew, blood dripped from under him;

And Stepan Paramonovich thought:

"What is destined to be, it will come true;

I will stand for the truth until the last day!"

He contrived, prepared,

Gathered with all my might

And hit your hater

Directly to the left temple from the entire shoulder.

And the young oprichnik groaned lightly,

Rocked, dropped dead;

He fell on the cold snow

On the cold snow, like a pine,

Like a pine in a damp forest

Hemmed under the resinous root,

And, seeing that, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich

Angry with anger, stomped on the ground

And he frowned his black brows;

He commanded to seize the daring merchant

And bring him before your face.

As the Orthodox Tsar said:

"Answer me truthfully, honestly,

Wave of will or reluctance

You killed my faithful servant,

Movo of the best fighter Kiribeevich?

"I'll tell you, Orthodox Tsar:

I killed him at will,

And for what, about what - I will not tell you,

I will only tell God.

Order me to be executed - and carry on the chopping block

I blame the little head;

Do not leave only small children,

Don't leave the young widow

Yes, my two brothers by your grace ... "

IN 1. The duel between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov is decisive in the plot of the poem. What is the term for the moment of highest tension?

IN 2. With the traditions of what folklore genre is the depiction of a duel as a battle of heroes associated?

AT 3. What is the name of the form of communication between characters based on the exchange of remarks and used in this fragment?

AT 4. What figurative and expressive means, which is an assimilation of one phenomenon to another (for example, “like dew ... dripped blood”, “fell down on cold snow ... like a pine tree”) did the author use?

AT 5. What is the name of the repetition of cognate words justified by expressive purposes in a phrase or in the same sentence (for example, “angry with anger”, “free will”)?

AT 6. What is the name of the stylistic device, which consists in repeating the initial elements of adjacent lines (for example, “and hit the merchant Kalashnikov for the first time, / And hit him in the middle of the chest”)?

C1. Why does Kalashnikov, recognizing that the murder of Kiribeevich was completely deliberate by him, refuses to the tsar his reason?

C2. In what works of Russian literature of the 19th century is the theme of the defense of honor one of the main ones, and what are the similarities and differences in its interpretation with the poem?

OPTIONS OF TASKS С1.

A) What caused the duel between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov?

B) Why is the death of Kiribeevich, who was initially guilty before Kalashnikov, described in the poem with sympathy and even pity. To the oprichnik?

C) What was the expression of the royal “mercy”, which Ivan Vasilyevich Kalashnikov asked for?

OPTIONS OF TASKS С2.

A) In what works of Russian literature do the authors refer to folklore images, motifs, artistic techniques, and what are the similarities and differences in their use with?

B) In what works of Russian literature do real historical figures enter into the system of characters, and how is their participation in the fate of the fictional heroes of the work manifested?

IN 1. climax

IN 2. Bylina

AT 3. Dialog

AT 4. Comparison

AT 5. Tautology

AT 6. Anaphora

Over the great Moscow, golden-domed,
Above the wall of the Kremlin white stone
Because of the distant forests, because of the blue mountains,
Effortlessly on boarded roofs,
Gray clouds are dispersing,
The scarlet dawn rises;
She swept her golden curls,
Washed by crumbly snows,
Like a beauty looking in the mirror
The sky looks clean, smiles.

How did they get together
Removed Moscow fighters
To the Moscow River, to a fistfight,
Take a walk for the holiday, have fun.
And the king came with his retinue,
With boyars and guardsmen,
And ordered to stretch the silver chain,
Soldered with pure gold in rings.
They cordoned off a place of twenty-five sazhens,
For hunting combat, single.
And then Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ordered
Call to click in a ringing voice:
"Oh, where are you, good fellows?
You amuse the king of our father!
Come out into a wide circle;
Whoever beats whom, the king will reward him;
And whoever is beaten, God will forgive him!"

And the daring Kiribeevich comes out,
The king bows silently from the waist,
Throws off a velvet coat from mighty shoulders,
Leaning to the side with your right hand,
Adjusts another scarlet hat,
He is waiting for his opponent...
Three times a loud cry was called -
Not a single fighter moved,
They just stand and push each other.

In the open, the oprichnik paces,
He makes fun of bad fighters:
"Calm down, I suppose, thoughtful!
So be it, I promise, for the holiday,
I will release the living with repentance,
I will only amuse our tsar father."

Suddenly the crowd dispersed in both directions -
And Stepan Paramonovich comes out,
A young merchant, a daring fighter,
Nicknamed Kalashnikov.
He bowed first to the terrible king,
After the white Kremlin and the holy churches,
And then to all the Russian people,
His falcon eyes are burning,
He looks at the oprichnik intently.
Opposite him, he becomes
Pulls on combat gloves
Mighty shoulders straightens

Yes, he strokes his curly head.

(“A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov”)

IN 1. What Russian tsar, famous for the introduction of the oprichnina, was portrayed by the poet in the “Song about ... the merchant Kalashnikov”?

IN 2. Define the genre "Songs about ... the merchant Kalashnikov"?

AT 3. What artistic technique, based on the humanization of natural phenomena, does the author use when describing the “scarlet dawn”?

AT 4. What term is used to designate a means of artistic expression, which is a stable figurative definition characteristic of works of oral folk art (“golden curls”, “clear skies”, “good fellows”, “mighty shoulders”, “daring fighter”)?

AT 5. What are the names of the words that the characters use in their speech: “come out”, “I suppose”, “I promise”, etc.?

Why did you, scarlet dawn, wake up?
What joy did you play?

AT 7. The song about ... the merchant Kalashnikov "is written in unrhymed verse. What is this type of verse called?

C1. Do you agree with the opinion that the fist fight between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov is the personification of the struggle between the permissiveness of the "state" law and the moral "private" person?

C2. In what works of Russian poets and writers of the XIX century. do the heroes resolve the conflict situation with a duel?

IN 1. Ivan the Terrible

AT 3. personification

AT 4. Permanent epithet

AT 5. vernacular

AT 6. Rhetorical question

The writing

“A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and merchant Kalashnikov” was written by M. Yu. Lermontov in 1837. The creation of this work belongs to the period of the poet's creative maturity.

This is the first poem published by the poet. The poem is a stylization of Russian folklore in a grand epic form. In terms of genre and artistic originality, it turned out to be the only one of its kind and was not continued either in the work of its author or other poets. The "Song ..." had no echoes with Lermontov's previous works either.

After reading the poem, there is a feeling that we did not read a literary work, but listened to a historical folk song sung by guslars. Lermontov's poem is called a song, since the poet creates a work that is very close in content, form and spirit to Russian folk historical songs.

While working on "The Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, the young oprichnik and the daring merchant Kalashnikov," Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov studied the collection of epics by Kirsha Danilov and other folklore publications. The source of the poem can be recognized as the historical song "Kastryuk Mastryukovich", which tells about the heroic struggle of a man from the people against the guardsman Ivan the Terrible. However, Lermontov did not copy folk songs mechanically.

Lermontov sought to bring the poem closer to epic folklore tales. The harpists, who amuse the “Song” of the “good boyar and his white-faced boyar”, play a crucial role in the structure of the poem. The reader does not hear the author's voice; in front of him is, as it were, a work of oral folk art.

Lermontov defined the genre of his work as a song. And indeed, much here resembles a song: both the threefold repetition, characteristic of the works of Russian folklore, and the traditional appeal with laudatory words to the owners of the house:

Hey, guys, sing - just build a harp!

Hey, guys, drink - understand the matter!

Amuse you good boyar

And his white-faced noblewoman!

“Oh, you are a goy, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich!” - the wish of well-being sounds under the arches of the boyar house. The voice of the harpist sounds surprisingly loud. And a drawn-out song flowed, like a long journey of a harpist from village to village, from city to city. Guslyars were revered in Russia, in many folk songs, epics and ballads, the prince himself brought a glass of "foamy honey" and seated them at the "oak table, with green wine." And no one could force the guslars to tell a lie, they were a kind of "voice of the people."

The central theme of the "Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov" is the struggle between good and evil, the struggle between Truth and Krivda. In the title of Lermontov's work, three characters are identified: Ivan Vasilyevich - the arbiter of fate on earth, Kalashnikov - the bearer of Truth. Standing apart from them is a young oprichnik ("oprich" - "especially"). At the same time, one cannot immediately say that Kiribeevich is villainy incarnate. He fell in love with a married woman, and this love turned everything in the soul of a faithful royal servant. He suffers from longing and hopelessness, and perhaps from remorse. It is no coincidence that the guslars speak of him: "a crafty slave."

The folklore basis of Lermontov's poem is felt in everything, literally in every phrase. All the heroes, their actions and deeds are in many ways similar to the heroes of the folk epic. For example, Lermontov admires Alena Dmitrievna, for whom the shame of the name is more terrible than personal insult. For her, the court of her beloved husband is above all:

“... You are my sovereign, red sun,

Or kill me, or listen!

Your words are like a sharp knife;

Their hearts break.

I'm not afraid of cruel death,

I'm not afraid of human rumor

And I'm afraid of your disgrace...

Don't let me, your faithful wife,

To the evil scoundrels in reproach ... "

In the poem, we encounter such artistic devices as the use of traditional epithets (“sweet, overseas wine”, “falcon eyes”), comparisons, syntactic repetitions, parallelisms, inversions, direct negation (“The red sun does not shine in the sky, Clouds do not admire it blue: Then at the meal sits in a golden crown, the formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich sits”). All these techniques masterfully reproduce the Russian folklore poetic style. In the spirit of Russian literature, even a syntactic construction with an extra conjunction "and":

How tomorrow will be a fistfight

On the Moscow River in the presence of the tsar himself,

And then I will go out to the guardsman.

The work "Song about the merchant Kalashnikov" is permeated with folk poetics. It is a reflection and reproduction by the poet of the style of folk poetry - its motives, images, colors, techniques of folk song art. This is a unique work of Lermontov and all Russian literature. It is rightfully considered a masterpiece of Russian national classics.

Other writings on this work

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The first poem that Lermontov decided to publish was “A Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov”. The poem is a stylization of Russian folklore in a grand epic form. In terms of genre and artistic originality, it turned out to be the only one of its kind and was not continued either in the work of its author or other poets. The “Song ...” did not have something in common with Lermontov's previous works. True, in the poem “Boyarin Orsha”, the author touches on a family theme, but the peculiarity of “Songs ...” is that this topic is presented here in a completely different way, although we are also talking about the dishonor of the family. . _
The theme of dishonor was very characteristic of Lermontov's work of this period, but it must be said that he distinguished between insult and dishonor. The insulted nobleman received satisfaction in a duel, regardless of its outcome, it was a duel of equals. “Disgrace, as a solution to the situation, provided for murder, suicide or insanity, that is, in any / case, dishonor is irreversible, and the dishonored person can no longer remain in the society of honor.” So wrote Lermontov himself.
In the poem "The Death of a Poet" Lermontov not accidentally actively emphasizes the thirst for revenge of the "slave of honor." The researcher of the poet's work, B.M. Eikhenbaum, suggested that “The Song ...” might have been written during an imaginary illness that forced the poet to stay at home after the death of A.S. Pushkin. In this case, those who believe that the impetus for the creation of the poem could have been precisely the death of Pushkin, who defended his honor and the honor of his family, are right.
He shamed me, he shamed me
Me honest, immaculate ... -
Alena Dmitrievna says to her husband about Kiribeevich. Although she begins her story, falling at the feet of her husband, Stepan Paramonovich, she asks not for forgiveness, because she has nothing to blame, but for intercession.
Don't give me your faithful wife
To the evil scoundrels!
Thus, taking revenge on the guardsman Kiribeevich, the merchant Kalashnikov first of all fulfills the request of Alena Dmitrievna and acts as a protector of the family and clan. Alena Dmitrievna, turning to her husband, recalls her relatives, dead and alive, proving that she has no one else to ask for help, like her own family. Here Lermontov accurately reflects the medieval consciousness of the Russian people, although this situation has not lost its relevance even in his time. After all, Pushkin also defended the honor of his family, and not just his own.
Another genre feature of the poem is the author's intention to reduce the romantic halo of the images of the main characters. Lermontov gives them realistic features, the Christian ideals of the Russian people are directly reflected in the psychology of the main characters of the poem. So, the “crafty slave” Ki-ribeevich deceived the king, not telling him that “... the beauty In the church of God was remarried According to our Christian law.” By this he violates the immutable law, mad with love. First, the guardsman asks the tsar to let him go “... to the steppes of the Volga, to lay down a violent little head there,” but unwittingly becomes a victim of his own deception. The tsar grants him jewels, with the help of which Kiribeevich tries to seduce Alena Dmitrievna. Ivan the Terrible himself pushes his favorite to a dishonorable act.
I will dress you like a queen
Everyone will envy you
Just don't let me die a sinful death,
love me hug me
For once goodbye...
This is how Kiribeevich begs his love. His claims are not unlimited - he, like Mtsyri, is ready to be content with a few moments of happiness. Oprichnik is still a Christian, he is afraid to die a sinful death, that is, to commit suicide. But at the same time, he is a typical Lermontov's hero, because he acts, regardless of the fact that everything happens in front of the “evil neighbors”.
And he caressed me, kissed me;
On my cheeks and now they burn
Spread with living flame
Kiss him cursed -
Alena Dmitrievna tells with disgust. The self-willed hero is comprehended by retribution, carried out not only by Kalashnikov and the “power of providence”, but by the power of conscience of Kiribeevich himself. He can't help but take the fight to the death. But at the same time, he manifests himself in him as a real “basurman son”. When he hit the merchant Kalashnikov, he bent the cross hanging on the chest of Stepan Paramonovich with holy relics from Kyiv. The blow turned out to be so strong that Kalashnikov gathers all his strength to survive.
At the same time, he does not behave like a romantic hero, he does not fight fate and does not oppose it, but simply defends the honor of the family. His cause is just, but from the point of view of the existing law, he administers lynching and is ready to accept execution for this. Stepan Paramonovich takes upon himself the fate of a criminal, which could not happen in a romantic poem, where the hero would prefer death to such a fate and become a martyr, about whom they will later compose songs.
The genre originality of the poem also lies in the fact that “besides the realistic conflicts “Kiribeevich - the Kalashnikov family”, “Kalashnikov - Ivan the Terrible”, there is also a romantic conflict in the poem. This is a conflict between a worthy person and the crowd, which in this case has taken the form of historical social psychology. Stepan Paramonovich cannot tell the tsar that he killed “reluctantly”, not only because of his honesty and directness. The fact that he killed “by free will” should be known to everyone. This is what will wash away the stain of shame from the family. The moral independence of Kalashnikov, the fact that he is a person, and not a "crafty slave", is the reason for his tragic death in the poem. Personal dignity in it is inextricably linked with the people's moral principles. Therefore, despite the “shameful execution” and the fact that he was not buried according to the Christian rite (not in the cemetery), the merchant left a good memory of himself among the people. Passing by his nameless grave,
... old man - cross himself
A good fellow will pass - he will sit down,
A girl will pass - she will grieve,
And the harpists will pass - they will sing a song.
The poem ends with a major, truly song chord.
Thus, the idea of ​​the poem, unlike the classical canons, is not limited to the opposition of the “heroless” modernity and the heroic past, the age of extraordinary people. In the poem, not all characters deserve sympathy and approval. So, the merchant Kalashnikov, faithful to the people's moral principles, turns out to be morally superior to the tsar himself.
Lermontovsky the Terrible is not at all unknowingly pushing Kiri-beevich to violence and executing Kalashnikov. There is a monstrous cynicism in his character. His answer to the dignified words of Stepan Paramonovich “I killed him of my free will, And for what about what - I won’t tell you, I’ll only tell God alone ...” the king begins with a gloomy joke: “It’s good for you, kid, that you kept the answer in good conscience ”, - and lists all future good deeds to his relatives, leaving the death sentence to the end, and, as if saying nothing, calls the Kalashnikov children orphans.
Your young wife and your orphans
From my treasury, I'll take it.
Promising a solemn execution to the merchant, the tsar actually arranges “mockery of the condemned”. He utters frankly mocking words:
"
I order the ax to sharpen, sharpen,
I order the executioner to dress up, dress up,
I will order you to ring the big bell,
So that all the people of Moscow know,
That you are not abandoned by my mercy.
“Song...” clearly highlights the process of Lermontov's artistic evolution. From the lyrical intensity of the style centered around the author's "I", from direct and open lyrical formulas, from the genre of confession, the author proceeds to the creation of psychological images and plots. The protagonist, as it were, anticipates tragic events, when nothing foreshadows trouble yet. So on that very ill-fated day, a young merchant sits at the counter, lays out goods, "
With an affectionate speech, he lures guests,
Gold, silver counts.
Yes, an unkind day asked him:
The rich walk past the bar
Do not look into his shop.
In the poem, between hot events, an amazing image of Ancient Russia and its capital Moscow appears:
Above the great Moscow, golden-domed,
Above the wall of the Kremlin white stone
Because of the distant forests, because of the blue mountains,
Effortlessly on boarded roofs,
Gray clouds are dispersing,
The scarlet dawn rises;
She swept her golden curls,
Washed by crumbly snows,
Like a beauty looking in the mirror
The sky looks clean, smiles.
The richness of historical details and signs of time distinguishes Lermontov's poem. This is not only a description of clothing, utensils, weapons, but also the behavior of the main characters, say, before the battle. Individual characteristics are added to the general, historically determined features. So, Kiribeevich, going out to fight, “... silently bows to the king from the waist”, then he “in the open ... paces, He laughs at bad fighters”. Kalashnikov, going out against the guardsman, “He first bowed to the terrible tsar, After the white Kremlin and the holy churches, And then to all the Russian people.”
In the poem, we encounter such artistic devices as the use of traditional epithets (“sweet, overseas wine”, “falcon eyes”), comparisons, syntactic repetitions, parallelisms, inversions, direct negation (“The red sun does not shine in the sky, Clouds do not admire it blue: Then at the meal sits in a golden crown, the formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich sits”). All these techniques masterfully reproduce the Russian folklore poetic style. In the spirit of Russian literature, even a syntactic construction with an extra conjunction “and”:
How tomorrow will be a fistfight
On the Moscow River in the presence of the tsar himself,
And then I will go out to the guardsman.
The stylized "song" of the poem, the emotional tension of its content, the dynamics of the plot hide some historical errors and some semantic inconsistencies. So, for example, Kiribeevich describes the beauty of Alena Dmitrievna to the tsar and praises her “blond, golden braids”, which he could not see, since married women hid their hair under a scarf.
One more feature of the “Song...” draws attention to itself - its polyphony. The song is sung by several harpists, but in one place the voice of the only author breaks through, who says about Alena Dmitrievna: “Everything trembled, my dear ...”
To relative inconsistency, it seems to me, is the triple repetition of the cry before the fight. “Three times a loud cry was called out - Not a single fighter even moved.” This does not mean that Stepan Paramonovich overslept like Onegin before the duel. The delay of the action in the poem increases the tension of the atmosphere, besides, the folklore principle of trinity is observed. This principle can also be seen in the composition of the work: there are three chapters and three refrains in the “Song...”
The finale of the “Song...” is, according to tradition, “glory” to the boyar, the boyaryna and the entire Christian people.
“A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov” is a unique work of Lermontov and all Russian literature. It is rightfully considered a masterpiece of Russian national classics.