Report: Russian literature of the 18th century (sentimentalism and classicism).

At the end of the 18th century, Russian nobles experienced two major historical events - the peasant uprising led by Pugachev and the French bourgeois revolution. Political oppression from above and physical destruction from below - these were the realities facing the Russian nobles. Under these conditions, the former values ​​of the enlightened nobility underwent profound changes.

A new philosophy is born in the depths of Russian enlightenment. Rationalists, who believed reason to be the main engine of progress, tried to change the world through the introduction of enlightened concepts, but at the same time they forgot about a specific person, his living feelings. The idea arose that it was necessary to enlighten the soul, to make it heartfelt, responsive to other people’s pain, other people’s suffering and other people’s concerns.

N.M. Karamzin and his supporters argued that the path to people’s happiness and the common good is in the education of feelings. Love and tenderness, as if flowing from person to person, turn into kindness and mercy. “Tears shed by readers,” wrote Karamzin, “always flow from love for good and nourish it.”

On this basis, the literature of sentimentalism arose.

Sentimentalism- a literary movement that aimed to awaken sensitivity in a person. Sentimentalism turned to the description of a person, his feelings, compassion for his neighbor, helping him, sharing his bitterness and sadness, he can experience a feeling of satisfaction.

So, sentimentalism is a literary movement where the cult of rationalism and reason is replaced by the cult of sensuality and feeling. Sentimentalism emerged in England in the 30s of the 18th century in poetry as a search for new forms and ideas in art. Sentimentalism reaches its greatest flowering in England (Richardson’s novels, in particular “Clarissa Harlow”, Laurence Sterne’s novel “A Sentimental Journey”, Thomas Gray’s elegies, for example “The Country Cemetery”), in France (J.J. Rousseau), in Germany ( J. W. Goethe, the Sturm and Drang movement) in the 60s of the 18th century.

Main features of sentimentalism as a literary movement:

1) Image of nature.

2) Attention to the inner world of a person (psychologism).

3) The most important theme of sentimentalism is the theme of death.

4) Ignoring the environment, circumstances are given secondary importance; reliance only on the soul of a simple person, on his inner world, feelings that are always initially beautiful.

5) The main genres of sentimentalism: elegy, psychological drama, psychological novel, diary, travel, psychological story.

Sentimentalism(French sentimentalisme, from English sentimental, French sentiment - feeling) - a state of mind in Western European and Russian culture and the corresponding literary direction. Works written in this genre are based on the reader's feelings. In Europe it existed from the 20s to the 80s of the 18th century, in Russia - from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century.

If classicism is reason, duty, then sentimentalism is something lighter, these are the feelings of a person, his experiences.

The main theme of sentimentalism- love.

Main features of sentimentalism:

• Avoiding straightness
• Multifaceted characters, subjective approach to the world
• Cult of feeling
• Cult of nature
• Revival of one's own purity
• Affirmation of the rich spiritual world of the low classes

The main genres of sentimentalism:

• Sentimental story
• Trips
• Idyll or pastoral
• Letters of a personal nature

Ideological basis- protest against the corruption of aristocratic society

The main property of sentimentalism- the desire to imagine the human personality in the movement of the soul, thoughts, feelings, the disclosure of the inner world of man through the state of nature

The aesthetics of sentimentalism is based- imitation of nature

Features of Russian sentimentalism:

• Strong didactic setting
• Educational character
• Active improvement of the literary language through the introduction of literary forms into it

Representatives of sentimentalism:

• Lawrence Stan Richardson - England
• Jean Jacques Rousseau - France
• M.N. Muravyov - Russia
• N.M. Karamzin - Russia
• V.V. Kapnist - Russia
• ON THE. Lviv - Russia

Socio-historical foundations of Russian romanticism

But the main source of Russian romanticism was not literature, but life. Romanticism as a pan-European phenomenon was associated with enormous upheavals caused by the revolutionary transition from one social formation to another - from feudalism to capitalism. But in Russia, this general pattern manifests itself in a unique way, reflecting the national characteristics of the historical and literary process. If in Western Europe romanticism arose after the bourgeois-democratic revolution as a unique expression of dissatisfaction with its results on the part of various social strata, then in Russia the romantic movement arose in that historical period when the country was just moving towards the revolutionary clash of new, capitalist in its essence started with the feudal-serf system. This was the reason for the uniqueness in the relationship between progressive and regressive tendencies in Russian romanticism in comparison with Western European. In the West, romanticism, according to K. Marx, arose as “the first reaction to the French Revolution and the Enlightenment associated with it.” Marx considers it natural that under these conditions everything was seen “in a medieval, romantic light.” Hence the significant development in Western European literature of reactionary-romantic movements with their affirmation of an isolated personality, a “disappointed” hero, medieval antiquity, an illusory supersensible world, etc. Progressive romantics had to fight such movements.

Russian romanticism, generated by the impending socio-historical turning point in the development of Russia, became mainly an expression of new, anti-feudal, liberation tendencies in social life and worldview. This determined the progressive significance for Russian literature of the romantic movement as a whole at the early stage of its formation. However, Russian romanticism was not free from deep internal contradictions, which became more and more clear over time. Romanticism reflected the transitional, unstable state of the socio-political structure, the maturation of profound changes in all areas of life. In the ideological atmosphere of the era, new trends are felt, new ideas are born. But there is still no clarity, the old resists the new, the new is mixed with the old. All this gives early Russian romanticism its ideological and artistic originality. Trying to understand the main thing in romanticism, M. Gorky defines it as “a complex and always more or less unclear reflection of all the shades, feelings and moods that embrace society in transitional eras, but its main note is the expectation of something new, anxiety before the new, hasty , a nervous desire to learn this new thing.”

Romanticism(fr. romanticism, from medieval fr. romantic, novel) is a direction in art that was formed within the framework of a general literary movement at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries. in Germany. It has become widespread in all countries of Europe and America. The highest peak of romanticism occurred in the first quarter of the 19th century.

French word romanticism goes back to Spanish romance (in the Middle Ages this was the name given to Spanish romances, and then to knightly romance), English romantic, which turned into the 18th century. V romantic and then meaning “strange”, “fantastic”, “picturesque”. At the beginning of the 19th century. Romanticism becomes the designation of a new direction, opposite to classicism.

A vivid and meaningful description of romanticism was given by Turgenev in a review of the translation of Goethe’s Faust, published in Otechestvennye zapiski for 1845. Turgenev proceeds from a comparison of the romantic era with the adolescence of a person, just as antiquity is correlated with childhood, and the Renaissance can be correlated with the adolescence of the human race. And this ratio, of course, is significant. “Every person,” writes Turgenev, “in his youth experienced an era of “genius,” enthusiastic self-confidence, friendly gatherings and circles... He becomes the center of the world around him; he (without realizing his good-natured egoism) does not indulge in anything; he forces himself to indulge in everything; he lives with his heart, but alone, his own, not someone else’s heart, even in love, about which he dreams so much; he is a romantic - romanticism is nothing more than the apotheosis of personality. He is ready to talk about society, about social issues, about science; but society, like science, exists for him - not he for them.”

Turgenev believes that the Romantic era began in Germany during the period of Sturm und Drang and that Faust was its most significant artistic expression. “Faust,” he writes, “from the beginning to the end of the tragedy cares about only himself. The last word of everything earthly for Goethe (as well as for Kant and Fichte) was the human self... For Faust, society does not exist, the human race does not exist; he completely immerses himself in himself; he expects salvation from himself alone. From this point of view, Goethe’s tragedy is for us the most decisive, sharpest expression of romanticism, although this name came into fashion much later.”

Entering into the antithesis of “classicism - romanticism,” the movement suggested contrasting the classicist demand for rules with romantic freedom from rules. This understanding of romanticism persists to this day, but, as literary critic Yu. Mann writes, romanticism “is not simply a denial of the “rules”, but the following of “rules” that are more complex and whimsical.”

Center for the artistic system of romanticism- personality, and its main conflict is between the individual and society. The decisive prerequisite for the development of romanticism were the events of the Great French Revolution. The emergence of romanticism is associated with the anti-enlightenment movement, the reasons for which lie in disappointment in civilization, in social, industrial, political and scientific progress, the result of which was new contrasts and contradictions, leveling and spiritual devastation of the individual.

The Enlightenment preached the new society as the most “natural” and “reasonable”. The best minds of Europe substantiated and foreshadowed this society of the future, but reality turned out to be beyond the control of “reason”, the future became unpredictable, irrational, and the modern social order began to threaten human nature and his personal freedom. Rejection of this society, protest against lack of spirituality and selfishness is already reflected in sentimentalism and pre-romanticism. Romanticism expresses this rejection most acutely. Romanticism also opposed the Age of Enlightenment in verbal terms: the language of romantic works, striving to be natural, “simple”, accessible to all readers, was something opposite to the classics with its noble, “sublime” themes, characteristic, for example, of classical tragedy.

Among the late Western European romantics, pessimism towards society acquires cosmic proportions and becomes the “disease of the century.” The heroes of many romantic works (F.R. Chateaubriand, A. de Musset, J. Byron, A. de Vigny, A. Lamartine, G. Heine, etc.) are characterized by moods of hopelessness and despair, which acquire a universal character. Perfection is lost forever, the world is ruled by evil, ancient chaos is resurrected. The theme of the “terrible world”, characteristic of all romantic literature, was most clearly embodied in the so-called “black genre” (in the pre-romantic “Gothic novel” - A. Radcliffe, C. Maturin, in the “drama of rock”, or “tragedy of fate” - Z. Werner, G. Kleist, F. Grillparzer), as well as in the works of J. Byron, C. Brentano, E.T.A. Hoffmann, E. Poe and N. Hawthorne.

At the same time, romanticism is based on ideas that challenge the “terrible world” - above all, the ideas of freedom. The disappointment of romanticism is a disappointment in reality, but progress and civilization are only one side of it. Rejection of this side, lack of faith in the possibilities of civilization provide another path, the path to the ideal, to the eternal, to the absolute. This path must resolve all contradictions and completely change life. This is the path to perfection, “towards a goal, the explanation of which must be sought on the other side of the visible” (A. De Vigny). For some romantics, the world is dominated by incomprehensible and mysterious forces that must be obeyed and not try to change fate (poets of the “lake school”, Chateaubriand, V.A. Zhukovsky). For others, “world evil” caused protest, demanded revenge and struggle. (J. Byron, P.B. Shelley, S. Petofi, A. Mickiewicz, early A.S. Pushkin). What they had in common was that they all saw in man a single essence, the task of which is not at all limited to solving everyday problems. On the contrary, without denying everyday life, the romantics sought to unravel the mystery of human existence, turning to nature, trusting their religious and poetic feelings.

Romantics turned to various historical eras, they were attracted by their originality, attracted by exotic and mysterious countries and circumstances. Interest in history became one of the enduring achievements of the artistic system of romanticism. He expressed himself in the creation of the genre of the historical novel (F. Cooper, A. de Vigny, V. Hugo), the founder of which is considered to be W. Scott, and the novel in general, which acquired a leading position in the era under consideration. Romantics reproduce in detail and accurately the historical details, background, and flavor of a particular era, but romantic characters are given outside of history; they, as a rule, are above circumstances and do not depend on them. At the same time, the romantics perceived the novel as a means of comprehending history, and from history they moved towards penetration into the secrets of psychology, and, accordingly, modernity. Interest in history was also reflected in the works of historians of the French romantic school (A. Thierry, F. Guizot, F. O. Meunier).

Exactly in the era of Romanticism, the discovery of the culture of the Middle Ages occurs, and the admiration for antiquity, characteristic of the past era, also does not weaken at the end of the 18th - beginning. XIX centuries The diversity of national, historical, and individual characteristics also had a philosophical meaning: the wealth of a single world whole consists of the combination of these individual features, and the study of the history of each people separately makes it possible to trace uninterrupted life through new generations succeeding one after another.

The era of Romanticism was marked by the flourishing of literature, one of the distinctive properties of which was a passion for social and political problems. Trying to comprehend the role of man in ongoing historical events, romantic writers gravitated toward accuracy, specificity, and authenticity. At the same time, the action of their works often takes place in an unusual setting for a European - for example, in the East and America, or, for Russians, in the Caucasus or Crimea. Thus, romantic poets are primarily lyricists and poets of nature, and therefore in their work (as well as in many prose writers), landscape occupies a significant place - first of all, the sea, mountains, sky, stormy elements with which the hero is associated complex relationships. Nature can be akin to the passionate nature of a romantic hero, but it can also resist him, turn out to be a hostile force with which he is forced to fight.

Classicism.

Sentimentalism

Romanticism

Satirical poetry of Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir. Problems of the satire “On those who blaspheme the teaching, To their own minds.” The personality and significance of Kantemir’s creativity in essays and critical articles by N.I. Novikov, N.M. Karamzin, K.N. Batyushkov, V.G. Belinsky.

Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir was one of the first Russian writers to realize that he was a writer. Although literature was not at all the main thing in his life. The poet, who opens the first page of the history of Russian book poetry, was an extraordinary person, an educated, multi-talented person. He greatly raised the prestige of Russia in the West, where for the last twelve years of his life he served as Russia's diplomatic representative in embassies - first in England and then in France. He had an impeccable command of thought and word: the dispatches he sent were always clearly and skillfully composed. he was a famous person in Russia. His epigrams and love songs were extremely successful. He worked in the genre of scientific translation and had already written five of his nine poetic satires. During the years of service in France, he finally established himself in advanced educational views. He was convinced that only “merit”, and not class and family affiliation, distinguishes one person from another. “The same blood flows in both free and slaves, the same flesh, the same bones!” he wrote, insisting on the “natural equality” of people. Kantemir always remained a citizen of Russia: what he acquired, or, as he put it, “adopted” from the French, was supposed to serve his fatherland. With characteristic modesty he wrote:

What Horace gave, he borrowed from the Frenchman.

Oh, if my muse is poor in appearance.

Yes it is true; Though the limits of the mind are narrow,

What he took in Gallic, he paid in Russian.
And yet, Kantemir is, first of all, a national poet, who has the task of turning to the image of real Russian life. According to Belinsky, he was able to “connect poetry with life”, “write not only in the Russian language, but also with the Russian mind.” By the way, it should be noted here that Princess Praskovya Trubetskaya, who wrote songs in the folk spirit, was in close friendship with the Kantemirov family; Perhaps it was she who was the author of the most popular song in those distant times, “Ah, my bitter light of my youth.” Not only the famous “Poetics” of the French poet and theorist Boileau, not only educational studies, but the living lyrical element of folk song, making its way into the book poetry of the beginning of the century, determined the formation of Cantemir’s artistic style.
Analysis of the satire by Antiochus Cantemir “On those who blaspheme the teachings of their minds.” This is Cantemir's first satire; he wrote it in 1729. The satire was originally written not for the purpose of publication, but for oneself. But through friends she came to the Novgorod Archbishop Theophan, who gave impetus to the continuation of this cycle of satires.
Cantermere himself defines this satire as a mockery of the ignorant and despisers of science. At that time this question was very relevant. As soon as education became accessible to people, colleges and universities were established. This was a qualitative step in the field of science. And any qualitative step is, if not a revolution, then a reform. And no wonder it caused so much controversy. The author turns, as the title suggests, to his own mind, calling it “immature mind,” because The satire was written by him when he was twenty, that is, still quite immature by those standards. Everyone strives for fame, and achieving it through science is the most difficult. The author uses the 9 muses and Apollo as an image of the sciences that make the road to glory difficult. It is possible to achieve fame, even if you are not considered a creator. There are many paths leading to it, easy in our age, on which the brave will not falter; The most unpleasant thing of all is that the barefoot cursed the Nine Sisters. Next, 4 characters appear in turn in the satire: Crito, Silvanus, Luke and Medor. Each of them condemns science and explains its uselessness in their own way. Crito believes that those who are interested in science want to understand the reasons for everything that happens. And this is bad, because... they depart from faith in the Holy Scriptures. And indeed, in his opinion, science is harmful, you just have to blindly believe.
The schisms and heresies of science are children; Those who are given more understanding lie more; Whoever melts over a book comes to godlessness... Silvan is a stingy nobleman. He doesn't understand the monetary benefits of science, so he doesn't need it. For him, only what can bring him specific benefit has value. But science cannot provide him with this. He lived without her, and he will live like that again! It makes sense to divide the land into quarters without Euclid, How many kopecks are in a ruble - we can calculate without algebra Luka is a drunkard. In his opinion, science divides people, because It’s not his job to sit alone over books, which he even calls “dead friends.” He praises wine as a source of good mood and other benefits and says that he will exchange a glass for a book only if time runs back, stars appear on earth, etc. When the reins of plows begin to be driven across the sky, And the stars begin to peep out from the surface of the earth, When in Lent the monk begins to eat the elm, - Then, leaving the glass, I will begin to read the book. Medor is a dandy and a dandy. He is offended that the paper with which hair was curled at that time is spent on books. For him, the famous tailor and shoemaker are much more important than Virgil and Cicero. ...too much paper goes out for writing, for printing books, but it comes to him that there is nothing to wrap his curled curls in; He will not exchange a pound of good powder for Seneca. The author draws attention to the fact that all deeds have two possible motives: benefit and praise. And there is an opinion that if science brings neither one nor the other, then why bother with it? People are not used to the fact that it could be otherwise, that virtue in itself is valuable. ...When there is no benefit, praise encourages labor, but without that the heart becomes depressed. Not everyone loves true beauty, that is, science. But anyone, having barely learned anything, demands a promotion or other status.

For example, a soldier, having barely learned to sign, wants to command a regiment. The author laments that the time when wisdom was valued has passed. The time has not come to us in which wisdom presided over everything and the crowns alone shared, Being the only way to the highest sunrise.

Belinsky said that Cantemir would outlive many literary celebrities, classical and romantic. In an article about Kantemir, Belinsky wrote: “Kantemir not so much begins the history of Russian literature as ends the period of Russian writing. Cantemir wrote in so-called syllabic verses, a meter that is completely unusual for the Russian language; this size existed in Rus' long before Cantemir... Cantemir began the history of secular literature. That’s why everyone, rightly considering Lomonosov the father of Russian literature, at the same time, not entirely without reason, begins its history with Kantemir.”
Karamzin remarked: “His satires were the first experience of Russian wit and style.”

6. The role of Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov, A.P. Sumarokov in the formation of aesthetic principles, the genre-stylistic system of Russian classicism, in the transformation of versification.

Trediakovsky in 1735 published “A New and Brief Method for Composing Russian Poems,” proposing a way to organize syllabic 13- and 11-syllables and giving examples of poems of different genres composed in a new way. The need for such ordering was dictated by the need to more clearly contrast poetry with prose.
Trediakovsky acted as a reformer, not indifferent to the experience of his predecessors. Lomonosov went further. In his “Letter on the Rules of Russian Poetry” (1739), he categorically declared that “our poetry is just beginning,” thereby ignoring the almost century-old tradition of syllabic poetry. He, unlike Trediakovsky, allowed not only two-syllable, but also three-syllable and “mixed” meters (iambo-anapaests and dactylo-trochees), not only female rhymes, but also masculine and dactylic ones, and advised sticking to the iambic as a meter appropriate for tall objects and important (the letter was accompanied by “Ode... for the capture of Khotin, 1739,” written in iambics). The predominance of “trochaic rhythms” in folk songs and book poetry of the 17th century, which Trediakovsky pointed out, thinking that “our ear” was “applied” to them, did not bother Lomonosov, since it was necessary to start from scratch. The pathos of an uncompromising break with tradition corresponded to the spirit of the time, and Lomonosov’s iambics themselves sounded completely new and were as opposed to prose as possible. The problem of stylistic demarcation from church bookishness has been relegated to the background. New literature and syllabic-tonic poetry became almost synonymous concepts.
Trediakovsky eventually accepted Lomonosov’s ideas, in 1752 he published a whole treatise on syllabic-tonic versification (“A method for adding Russian poetry, corrected and multiplied against that published in 1735”) and in practice conscientiously experimented with different meters and sizes. Lomonosov, in practice, wrote almost exclusively in iambics, which, in his opinion, are the only ones suitable for high genres (his classification of high, “mediocre” and low genres and “calms” is set out in the “Preface on the Use of Church Books in the Russian Language,” 1757).
Trediakovsky and Lomonosov, who studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, were connected by many threads with pre-Petrine bookishness and church scholarship. Sumarokov, a nobleman, a graduate of the Land Noble Cadet Corps, shunned her. His literary knowledge, sympathies and interests were associated with French classicism. The leading genre in France was tragedy, and in Sumarokov’s work it became the main genre. Here his priority was undeniable. The first Russian classical tragedies belong to him: "Khorev" (1747), "Hamlet" (1747), "Sinav and Truvor" (1750), etc. Sumarokov also owns the first comedies - "Tresotinus", "Monsters" (both 1750) and etc. True, these were “low” comedies, written in prose and were a lampoon on people (in the mentioned comedies Trediakovsky is ridiculed). That. Sumarokov rightfully claimed the titles of “northern Racine” and “Russian Moliere”, and in 1756 it was he who would be appointed the first director of the first permanent theater in Russia, created by F.G. Volkov. But Sumarokov could not be satisfied with the status of a playwright and theater figure. He laid claim to a leading and leading position in literature (to the considerable irritation of his older fellow writers). His “Two Epistles” (1748) – “On the Russian Language” and “On Poetry” – should have received a status similar to the status of Boileau’s “Poetic Art” in the literature of French classicism (in 1774, their abbreviated version would be published under the title “Instruction to those who want to be writers"). Sumarokov’s ambitions also explain the genre universalism of his work. He tested his strength in almost all classical genres (only the epic did not work for him). As the author of didactic epistles on poetry and poetic satires, he was the “Russian Boileau”; as the author of “parables” (i.e. fables), he was the “Russian Lafontaine”, etc.
However, Sumarokov pursued educational rather than aesthetic goals. He dreamed of being a mentor to the nobility and an adviser to an “enlightened monarch” (like Voltaire under Frederick II). He viewed his literary activity as socially useful. His tragedies were a school of civic virtue for the monarch and his subjects, in comedies, satires and parables, vices were scourged (the rhyme “Sumarokov is the scourge of vices” generally became generally accepted), elegies and eclogues taught “loyalty and tenderness”, spiritual odes (Sumarokov transcribed the entire Psalter) and philosophical poems taught in reasonable concepts about religion, in the “Two Epistles” the rules of poetry were proposed, etc. In addition, Sumarokov became the publisher of the first literary magazine in Russia, “The Hardworking Bee” (1759) (it was also the first private magazine).
In general, the literature of Russian classicism is characterized by the pathos of public service (which makes it similar to the literature of Peter the Great’s time). Instilling “private” virtues in citizens was her second task, and the first was promoting the achievements of the “regular state” “created” by Peter and denouncing his opponents. That is why this new literature begins with satires and odes. Kantemir ridicules the champions of antiquity, Lomonosov admires the successes of the new Russia. They defend one cause - “the cause of Peter.”
Read publicly on special occasions in huge halls, in the special theatrical setting of the imperial court, the ode should “thunder” and amaze the imagination. It could best glorify the “cause of Peter” and the greatness of the empire, and best suited propaganda goals. Therefore, it was the solemn ode (and not the tragedy, as in France, or the epic poem) that became the main genre in Russian literature of the 18th century. This is one of the distinctive features of “Russian classicism”. Others are rooted in the Old Russian language he demonstratively rejected, i.e. church tradition (which makes “Russian classicism” an organic phenomenon of Russian culture).
Russian classicism developed under the influence of the European Enlightenment, but its ideas were rethought. For example, the most important of them is the idea of ​​“natural”, natural equality of all people. In France, under this slogan there was a struggle for the rights of the third estate. And Sumarokov and other Russian writers of the 18th century, based on the same idea, teach nobles to be worthy of their title and not to stain the “class honor”, ​​since fate has elevated them above people equal to them by nature.

Romantic poem in the works of Ryleev. “Voinarovsky” - composition, principles of character creation, specifics of a romantic conflict, correlation between the destinies of the hero and the author. The dispute between History and Poetry in “Voinarovsky”.

The originality of Decembrist poetry was most fully manifested in the work of Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev (1795-1826). He created “effective poetry, poetry of the highest intensity, heroic pathos” (39).

Among Ryleev’s lyrical works, the most famous was and, perhaps, still remains the poem “Citizen” (1824), banned at one time, but distributed illegally and well known to readers. This work is a fundamental success for Ryleev the poet, perhaps even the pinnacle of Decembrist lyricism in general. The poem creates the image of a new lyrical hero:

Kondraty Fedorovich Ryleev is one of the founders and classics of Russian revolutionary civil poetry, inspired by the advanced social movement and hostile to autocracy. He more fully expressed the Decembrist worldview in poetry than others and developed the main themes of Decembrism. Ryleev's works reflected the most important moments in the history of the Decembrist movement in its most significant period - between 1820-1825.

The name of Ryleev in our minds is surrounded by an aura of martyrdom and heroism. The charm of his personality as a fighter and revolutionary who died for his beliefs is so great that for many it seemed to obscure the aesthetic originality of his work. Tradition has preserved the image of Ryleev that was created by his friends and followers, first in the memoirs of N. Bestuzhev, then in the articles of Ogarev and Herzen.

The search for ways to actively influence society led Ryleev to the genre of the poem. Ryleev’s first poem was the poem “Voinarovsky” (1823-1824). The poem has much in common with “Dumas,” but there is also a fundamental novelty: in “Voinarovsky” Ryleev strives for authentic historical coloring and truthfulness of psychological characteristics. Ryleev created a new hero: disappointed, but not in worldly and secular pleasures, not in love or glory, Ryleev’s hero is a victim of fate, which did not allow him to realize his powerful life potential. Resentment towards fate, towards the ideal of a heroic life that did not take place, alienates Ryleev’s hero from those around him, turning him into a tragic figure. The tragedy of the incompleteness of life, its unrealization in real actions and events will become an important discovery not only in Decembrist poetry, but also in Russian literature in general.

“Voinarovsky” is the only completed poem by Ryleev, although besides it he began several more: “Nalivaiko”, “Gaydamak”, “Paley”. “It so happened,” the researchers write, “that Ryleev’s poems were not only propaganda of Decembrism in literature, but also a poetic biography of the Decembrists themselves, including the December defeat and years of hard labor. Reading the poem about Voinarovsky, the Decembrists involuntarily thought about themselves<…>Ryleev's poem was perceived both as a poem of a heroic deed and as a poem of tragic forebodings. The fate of a political exile thrown into distant Siberia, a meeting with his civilian wife - all this is almost a prediction” (43). Ryleev’s readers were especially struck by his prediction in “Nalivaika’s Confession” from the poem “Nalivaiko”:

<…>I know: destruction awaits

The one who rises first

On the oppressors of the people, -

Fate has already doomed me.

But where, tell me, when was it

Freedom redeemed without sacrifice?

I will die for my native land, -

I feel it, I know...

And joyfully, holy father,

I bless my lot!<…> (44)

The fulfilled prophecies of Ryleev’s poetry once again prove the fruitfulness of the romantic principle “life and poetry are one.”

Classicism.

Classicism is based on the ideas of rationalism. A work of art, from the point of view of classicism, should be built on the basis of strict canons, thereby revealing the harmony and logic of the universe itself. Of interest to classicism is only the eternal, the unchangeable - in each phenomenon it strives to recognize only essential, typological features, discarding random individual characteristics. The aesthetics of classicism attaches great importance to the social and educational function of art. Classicism takes many rules and canons from ancient art (Aristotle, Horace).
Classicism establishes a strict hierarchy of genres, which are divided into high (ode, tragedy, epic) and low (comedy, satire, fable). Each genre has strictly defined characteristics, the mixing of which is not allowed.
As a specific movement, classicism was formed in France in the 17th century.
In Russia, classicism originated in the 18th century, after the reforms of Peter I. Lomonosov carried out a reform of Russian verse, developed the theory of “three calms,” which was essentially an adaptation of French classical rules to the Russian language. The images in classicism are devoid of individual features, since they are designed primarily to capture stable generic characteristics that do not pass over time, acting as the embodiment of any social or spiritual forces.

Classicism in Russia developed under the great influence of the Enlightenment - the ideas of equality and justice have always been the focus of attention of Russian classic writers. Therefore, in Russian classicism, genres that require the author’s obligatory assessment of historical reality have received great development: comedy (D. I. Fonvizin), satire (A. D. Kantemir), fable (A. P. Sumarokov, I. I. Khemnitser), ode (Lomonosov, G. R. Derzhavin).

Sentimentalism- state of mind in Western European and Russian culture and the corresponding literary direction. Works written in this genre are based on the reader's feelings. In Europe it existed from the 20s to the 80s of the 18th century, in Russia - from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century.
Sentimentalism declared feeling, not reason, to be the dominant of “human nature,” which distinguished it from classicism. Without breaking with the Enlightenment, sentimentalism remained faithful to the ideal of a normative personality, however, the condition for its implementation was not the “reasonable” reorganization of the world, but the release and improvement of “natural” feelings. The hero of educational literature in sentimentalism is more individualized, his inner world is enriched by the ability to empathize and sensitively respond to what is happening around him. By origin (or by conviction) the sentimentalist hero is a democrat; the rich spiritual world of the common people is one of the main discoveries and conquests of sentimentalism.
Sentimentalism in Russian literature

Nikolai Karamzin "Poor Liza"

Sentimentalism penetrated into Russia in the 1780s and early 1790s thanks to translations of the novels of Werther by J.W. Goethe, Pamela, Clarissa and Grandison by S. Richardson, Nouvelle Héloïse by J.-J. Rousseau, Paul and Virginie J.-A. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. The era of Russian sentimentalism was opened by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin with “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791–1792).

His story "Poor Liza" (1792) is a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose; from Goethe's Werther he inherited a general atmosphere of sensitivity and melancholy and the theme of suicide.
The works of N.M. Karamzin gave rise to a huge number of imitations; at the beginning of the 19th century appeared "Poor Masha" by A.E. Izmailov (1801), "Journey to Midday Russia" (1802), "Henrietta, or the Triumph of Deception over Weakness or Delusion" by I. Svechinsky (1802), numerous stories by G. P. Kamenev ( “The Story of Poor Marya”; “Unhappy Margarita”; “Beautiful Tatiana”), etc.

Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev belonged to Karamzin’s group, which advocated the creation of a new poetic language and fought against the archaic pompous style and outdated genres.

Sentimentalism marked the early work of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. The publication in 1802 of a translation of Elegy, written in a rural cemetery by E. Gray, became a phenomenon in the artistic life of Russia, for he translated the poem “into the language of sentimentalism in general, translated the genre of elegy, and not an individual work of an English poet, which has its own special individual style” (E. G. Etkind). In 1809, Zhukovsky wrote a sentimental story “Maryina Roshcha” in the spirit of N.M. Karamzin.

Russian sentimentalism had exhausted itself by 1820.

It was one of the stages of pan-European literary development, which completed the Age of Enlightenment and opened the way to romanticism.

Main features of the literature of sentimentalism

So, taking into account all of the above, we can identify several main features of Russian literature of sentimentalism: a departure from the straightforwardness of classicism, an emphasized subjectivity of the approach to the world, a cult of feelings, a cult of nature, a cult of innate moral purity, innocence, the rich spiritual world of representatives of the lower classes is affirmed. Attention is paid to the spiritual world of a person, and feelings come first, not great ideas.
Romanticism- a phenomenon of European culture in the 18th-19th centuries, representing a reaction to the Enlightenment and the scientific and technological progress stimulated by it; ideological and artistic direction in European and American culture of the late 18th century - the first half of the 19th century. It is characterized by an affirmation of the intrinsic value of the spiritual and creative life of the individual, the depiction of strong (often rebellious) passions and characters, spiritualized and healing nature. It has spread to various spheres of human activity. In the 18th century, everything strange, fantastic, picturesque and existing in books and not in reality was called romantic. At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism became the designation of a new direction, opposite to classicism and the Enlightenment.
Romanticism in Russian literature

It is usually believed that in Russia romanticism appears in the poetry of V. A. Zhukovsky (although some Russian poetic works of the 1790-1800s are often attributed to the pre-romantic movement that developed from sentimentalism). In Russian romanticism, freedom from classical conventions appears, a ballad and romantic drama are created. A new idea is being established about the essence and meaning of poetry, which is recognized as an independent sphere of life, an expression of the highest, ideal aspirations of man; the old view, according to which poetry seemed to be empty fun, something completely serviceable, turns out to be no longer possible.

The early poetry of A. S. Pushkin also developed within the framework of romanticism. The poetry of M. Yu. Lermontov, the “Russian Byron,” can be considered the pinnacle of Russian romanticism. The philosophical lyrics of F. I. Tyutchev are both the completion and overcoming of romanticism in Russia.

Sentimentalism (from French. sentiment- feeling) arose during the Enlightenment in England in the mid-18th century. during the period of the decomposition of feudal absolutism, class-serf relations, the growth of bourgeois relations, and therefore the beginning of the liberation of the individual from the shackles of the feudal-serf state.

Representatives of sentimentalism

England. L. Stern (novel "A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy"), O. Goldsmith (novel "The Priest of Wakefield"), S. Richardson (novel "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded", novel "Clarissa Garlow", "The History of Sir Charles" Grandison").

France. J.-J. Rousseau (novel in letters "Julia, or the New Heloise", "Confession"), P. O. Beaumarchais (comedies "The Barber of Seville", "The Marriage of Figaro").

Germany. J. W. Goethe (sentimental novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther”), A. Lafontaine (family novels).

Sentimentalism expressed the worldview, psychology, and tastes of broad sections of the conservative nobility and bourgeoisie (the so-called third estate), thirsting for freedom, a natural manifestation of feelings that demanded consideration of human dignity.

Traits of Sentimentalism

The cult of feeling, natural feeling, not spoiled by civilization (Rousseau asserted the decisive superiority of simple, natural, “natural” life over civilization); denial of abstraction, abstraction, conventionality, dryness of classicism. Compared to classicism, sentimentalism was a more progressive direction, because it contained tangible elements of realism associated with the depiction of human emotions, experiences, and the expansion of a person’s inner world. Sensualism (from Lat. sensus– feeling, sensation), one of the founders of which was the English philosopher J. Locke, who recognizes sensation, sensory perception as the only source of knowledge.

If classicism affirmed the idea of ​​an ideal state governed by an enlightened monarch, and demanded that the interests of the individual be subordinated to the state, then sentimentalism put in the first place not a person in general, but a specific, private person in all the uniqueness of his individual personality. At the same time, the value of a person was determined not by his high origin, not by his property status, not by class, but by his personal merits. Sentimentalism first raised the question of individual rights.

The heroes were ordinary people - nobles, artisans, peasants who lived mainly by feelings, passions, and hearts. Sentimentalism opened up the rich spiritual world of the common people. In some works of sentimentalism sounded protest against social injustice, against the humiliation of the “little man”.

Sentimentalism gave literature a democratic character in many ways.

Since sentimentalism proclaimed the writer’s right to express his author’s individuality in art, genres emerged in sentimentalism that contributed to the expression of the author’s “I”, which means that the first-person form of narration was used: diary, confession, autobiographical memoirs, travel (travel notes, notes, impressions ). In sentimentalism, poetry and drama are replaced by prose, which has a greater ability to convey the complex world of human emotional experiences, in connection with which new genres have arisen: family, everyday and psychological novel in the form of correspondence, “philistine drama”, “sensitive” story, "bourgeois tragedy", "tearful comedy"; The genres of intimate, chamber lyrics (idyll, elegy, romance, madrigal, song, message), as well as fable, flourished.

A mixture of high and low, tragic and comic, a mixture of genres was allowed; the law of “three unities” was overthrown (for example, the range of phenomena of reality expanded significantly).

Ordinary, everyday family life was depicted; the main theme was love; the plot was based on situations in the everyday life of private individuals; the composition of works of sentimentalism was arbitrary.

The cult of nature was proclaimed. The landscape was a favorite backdrop for events; the peaceful, idyllic life of a person was shown in the bosom of rural nature, while nature was depicted in close connection with the experiences of the hero or the author himself, and was in tune with personal experience. The village, as the center of natural life and moral purity, was sharply contrasted with the city as a symbol of evil, artificial life, and vanity.

The language of the works of sentimentalism was simple, lyrical, sometimes sensitively elated, emphatically emotional; such poetic means as exclamations, addresses, affectionate diminutive suffixes, comparisons, epithets, interjections were used; Blank verse was used. In the works of sentimentalism, there is a further convergence of literary language with living, colloquial speech.

Features of Russian sentimentalism

In Russia, sentimentalism was established in the last decade of the 18th century. and fades away after 1812, during the development of the revolutionary movement of the future Decembrists.

Russian sentimentalism idealized the patriarchal way of life, the life of the serf village and criticized bourgeois morals.

The peculiarity of Russian sentimentalism is a didactic, educational orientation towards raising a worthy citizen. Sentimentalism in Russia is represented by two movements:

• 1. Sentimental-romantic – Η. M. Karamzin ("Letters of a Russian Traveler", the story "Poor Liza"), M. N. Muravyov (sentimental poems), I. I. Dmitriev (fables, lyrical songs, poetic tales "Fashionable Wife", "Fancy Woman"), F A. Emin (novel “Letters from Ernest and Doravra”), V. I. Lukin (comedy “The Wastard, Corrected by Love”).
• 2. Sentimental-realistic – A. II. Radishchev ("Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow").

Sentimentalism is a movement in art and literature that became widespread after classicism. If the cult of reason dominated in classicism, then in sentimentalism the cult of the soul comes first. The authors of works written in the spirit of sentimentalism appeal to the reader’s perception and try to awaken certain emotions and feelings with the help of the work.

Sentimentalism originated in Western Europe in the early 18th century. This direction reached Russia only towards the end of the century and took a dominant position at the beginning of the 19th century.

The new direction in literature demonstrates completely new features:

• The authors of the works assign the main role to feelings. The most important personality quality is the ability to sympathize and empathize.
• If in classicism the main characters were mainly nobles and rich people, then in sentimentalism they are ordinary people. The authors of works from the era of sentimentalism promote the idea that a person’s inner world does not depend on his social status.
• Adherents of sentimentalism wrote about fundamental human values: love, friendship, kindness, compassion
• The authors of this direction saw their calling in comforting ordinary people, oppressed by deprivation, adversity and lack of money, and open their souls towards virtue.

Sentimentalism in Russia

Sentimentalism in our country had two currents:

• Noble. This direction was quite loyal. Speaking about feelings and the human soul, the authors did not advocate the abolition of serfdom. Within the framework of this direction, Karamzin’s famous work “Poor Liza” was written. The story was based on class conflict. As a result, the author puts forward the human factor, and only then looks at social differences. However, the story does not protest against the existing order of things in society.
• Revolutionary. In contrast to “noble sentimentalism,” the works of the revolutionary movement promoted the abolition of serfdom. They put the person in first place with his right to a free life and a happy existence.

Sentimentalism, unlike classicism, did not have clear canons for writing works. That is why authors working in this direction created new literary genres, and also skillfully mixed them within one work.

(Sentimentalism in Radishchev's work "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow")

Russian sentimentalism is a special trend, which, due to the cultural and historical characteristics of Russia, differed from a similar trend in Europe. The main distinguishing features of Russian sentimentalism include the following: the presence of conservative views on the social structure and a tendency towards enlightenment, instruction, teaching.

The development of sentimentalism in Russia can be divided into 4 stages, 3 of which occurred in the 18th century.

XVIII century

• Stage I

In 1760-1765, the magazines “Useful Amusement” and “Free Hours” began to be published in Russia, which rallied around a group of talented poets led by Kheraskov. It is believed that it was Kheraskov who laid the foundation for Russian sentimentalism.

In the works of poets of this period, nature and sensitivity begin to act as criteria for social values. The authors focus their attention on the individual and his soul.

• Stage II (since 1776)

This period marks the heyday of Muravyov’s creativity. Muravyov pays great attention a person's soul, his feelings.

An important event of the second stage was the release of the comic opera “Rosana and Love” by Nikolev. It is in this genre that many works of Russian sentimentalists are subsequently written. The basis of these works was the conflict between the arbitrariness of the landowners and the powerless existence of the serfs. Moreover, the spiritual world of peasants is often revealed as richer and more intense than the inner world of rich landowners.

• III stage (late 18th century)

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This period is considered the most fruitful for Russian sentimentalism. It was at this time that Karamzin created his famous works. Magazines began to appear that promoted the values ​​and ideals of the sentimentalists.

19th century

• IV stage (early 19th century)

Crisis stage for Russian sentimentalism. The trend is gradually losing its popularity and relevance in society. Many modern historians and literary scholars believe that sentimentalism became a fleeting transitional stage from classicism to romanticism. Sentimentalism as a literary trend quickly exhausted itself, however, the trend opened the way to the further development of world literature.

Sentimentalism in foreign literature

England is considered the birthplace of sentimentalism as a literary movement. The starting point can be called the work “The Seasons” by Thomson. This collection of poems reveals to the reader the beauty and splendor of the surrounding nature. The author, with his descriptions, tries to evoke certain feelings in the reader, to instill in him a love for the amazing beauties of the world around him.

After Thomson, Thomas Gray began to write in a similar style. In his works, he also paid great attention to the description of natural landscapes, as well as reflections on the difficult life of ordinary peasants. Important figures in this movement in England were Laurence Sterne and Samuel Richardson.

The development of sentimentalism in French literature is associated with the names of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jacques de Saint-Pierre. The peculiarity of the French sentimentalists was that they described the feelings and experiences of their heroes against the backdrop of beautiful natural landscapes: parks, lakes, forests.

European sentimentalism as a literary trend also quickly exhausted itself, however, the trend opened the way to the further development of world literature.

Russian literature of the 18th century

(sentimentalism and classicism)

Students of class 9A

School-gymnasium No. 3

Aziza Akhmedova.

Introduction. 3

1. Literature of Peter's time. 4

2. The era of classicism. 5

3. The era of sentimentalism. 13

Conclusion. 18

Introduction

On January 1, 1700, by decree of Peter the Great, the advent of the “new year and centennial century” was unexpectedly celebrated for everyone.

From now on, Russians had to live according to the new calendar. The nobles were ordered to wear German dress and cut their beards. Everyday life, education and even church administration acquire a secular character. With the active support of Peter, new secular literature is being created.

“Our literature suddenly appeared in the 18th century,” wrote A.S. Pushkin.

Although by the beginning of this century Russian literature had gone through a centuries-long path of development, the creators of the new culture - supporters of Peter's innovations - saw in the past not a support, but something outdated that should be remade. They understood Peter's reforms as the creation of Russia from the darkness of historical oblivion. Peter's opponents, on the contrary, saw in the transformations the death of the ancient foundations of the Moscow state. But the suddenness, scale of the changes, and their consequences were felt by everyone.

1. Literature of Peter's time

The beginning of the 18th century was turbulent for Russia. The creation of our own fleet, wars for access to sea routes, the development of industry, the flourishing of trade, the construction of new cities - all this could not but affect the growth of national consciousness. People of Peter's times felt their involvement in historical events, the greatness of which they felt in their destinies. Boyar Russia is a thing of the past.

Time required work. Everyone was obliged to work for the benefit of society and the state, imitating the tireless “worker on the throne.” Every phenomenon was assessed primarily from the point of view of its usefulness. Literature could be useful if it glorified the successes of Russia and explained the sovereign's will. Therefore, the main qualities of literature of this era are topicality, life-affirming pathos and an orientation toward universal accessibility. Thus, in 1706, the so-called “school dramas” appeared, plays written by teachers of religious educational institutions.

School drama could be filled with political content. In the play, written in 1710 on the occasion of the victory at Poltava, the biblical king David is directly likened to Peter the Great: just as David defeated the giant Goliath, so Peter defeated the Swedish king Charles XII.

A large clergy class was hostile to the reforms. Peter tried unsuccessfully more than once to win over Church leaders to his side. He looked for faithful people who would have the gift of speech and persuasion and obediently carried out his line among the clergy.

Feofan Prokopovich, a church leader and writer, became such a person. Feofan's sermons are always political speeches, a talented presentation of the official point of view. They were printed in state printing houses and sent to churches. Feofan's large journalistic works - "Spiritual Regulations" (1721) and "The Truth of the Will of the Monarchs" (1722) - were written on behalf of Peter. They are devoted to justifying the unlimited power of the monarch over the lives of his subjects.

Prokopovich's poetic creativity is diverse. He composes spiritual verses, elegies, epigrams. His “Victory Song for the notorious Poltava Victory” (1709) marked the beginning of numerous eighteenth-century odes to the victories of Russian weapons.

Feofan was not only a practitioner, but also a literary theorist. He compiled courses on "Poetics" and "Rhetoric" (1706-1707) in Latin. In these works, he defended literature as an art that obeys strict rules, bringing “pleasure and benefit.” In his poems, he demanded clarity and condemned the “darkness” of learned poetry of the 17th century. In “Rhetoric,” he, following European authors, proposed distinguishing three styles: “high,” “middle,” and “low,” assigning each of them to specific genres. Prokopovich's treatises were not published in a timely manner, but became known to theorists of Russian classicism - Lomonosov studied them in manuscript.

2. The era of classicism

The literature of Peter the Great's time was in many ways reminiscent of the literature of the past century. New ideas were spoken in old language - in church sermons, school dramas, handwritten stories. Only in the 30-40s a completely new page opened in Russian literature - classicism. However, like the literature of Peter the Great’s time, the work of classic writers (Kantemir, Sumarokov and others) is closely connected with the current political life of the country.

Classicism appeared in Russian literature later than in Western European literature. He was closely associated with the ideas of European enlightenment, such as: the establishment of firm and fair laws binding on everyone, the enlightenment and education of the nation, the desire to penetrate the secrets of the universe, the affirmation of the equality of people of all classes, recognition of the value of the human person regardless of position in society.

Russian classicism is also characterized by a system of genres, an appeal to the human mind, and the conventionality of artistic images. It was important to recognize the decisive role of the enlightened monarch. The ideal of such a monarch for Russian classicism was Peter the Great.

After the death of Peter the Great in 1725, a real possibility arose of curtailing the reforms and returning to the old way of life and government. Everything that constituted the future of Russia was at risk: science, education, the duty of a citizen. That is why satire is especially characteristic of Russian classicism.

The most prominent of the first figures of the new literary era writing in this genre was Prince Antioch Dmitrievich Cantemir (1708-1744). His father, an influential Moldavian aristocrat, was a famous writer and historian. Prince Antiochus himself, although in writerly modesty he called his mind “the unripe fruit of short-lived science,” was in fact a highly educated man by the highest European standards. He knew Latin, French and Italian poetry perfectly. In Russia, his friends were Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich and historian V.N. Tatishchev. For the last twelve years of his life, Cantemir was an envoy to London and Paris.

From early youth, Antiochus wanted to see the noble society around him educated, free from prejudices. He considered following ancient norms and customs a prejudice.

Cantemir is better known as the author of nine satires. They expose various vices, but the poet's main enemies are the saint and the slacker - the dandy. They are displayed in the lines of the first satire “On those who blaspheme the teaching.” In the second satire, “On the Envy and Pride of Evil Nobles,” the good-for-nothing slacker Eugene is presented. He squanders the fortune of his ancestors, wearing a camisole worth an entire village, and at the same time envies the success of ordinary people who have achieved high ranks through their services to the king.

The idea of ​​the natural equality of people is one of the boldest ideas in literature of that time. Cantemir believed that it was necessary to educate the nobility in order to prevent the nobleman from descending to the state of an unenlightened peasant:

"It doesn't do much good to call you the king's son,

If you do not differ from a vile disposition from a hound's. "

Kantemir specifically dedicated one of his satires to education:

"The main thing of education is that

So that the heart, having driven out passions, matures

To establish good morals so that through this it will be useful

Your son was a boon to the fatherland, kind to people and always welcome. "

Cantemir also wrote in other genres. Among his works there are “high” (odes, poems), “middle” (satires, poetic letters and songs) and “low” (fables). He tried to find means in the language to write differently in different genres. But these funds were still not enough for him. The new Russian literary language was not established. How a “high” syllable differs from a “low” one was not entirely clear. Cantemir’s own style is colorful. He writes in long phrases, built according to the Latin model, with sharp syntactic shifts; there is no concern that the boundaries of the sentences coincide with the boundaries of the verse. It is very difficult to read his works.

The next prominent representative of Russian classicism, whose name is known to everyone without exception, is M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765). Lomonosov, unlike Kantemir, rarely ridicules enemies of enlightenment. In his solemn odes, the “affirming” principle prevailed. The poet glorifies Russia's successes on the battlefield, in peaceful trade, in science and art.

“Our literature begins with Lomonosov... he was its father, its Peter the Great.” This is how V.G. determined the place and significance of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov’s work for Russian literature. Belinsky.

M.V. was born. Lomonosov near the city of Kholmogory, on the banks of the Northern Dvina, in the family of a wealthy but illiterate peasant engaged in navigation. The boy felt such a craving for learning that at the age of 12 he walked from his native village to Moscow. The poet N. Nekrasov told us “how the Arkhangelsk man, by his own and God’s will, became intelligent and great.”

In Moscow, Mikhail entered the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and, despite the fact that he lived in dire need, he graduated brilliantly. Among the best graduates of the Academy, Lomonosov was sent to study in St. Petersburg, and then, in 1736, to Germany. There Lomonosov took a course in all sciences, both mathematical and verbal. In 1741, Mikhail Vasilyevich returned to Russia, where he served in the Academy of Sciences until the end of his life. He was patronized by Count I.I. Shuvalov, beloved of Empress Elizabeth. Therefore, Lomonosov himself was in favor, which allowed his talents to truly unfold. He was involved in many scientific works. In 1755, according to his proposal and plan, Moscow University was opened. Lomonosov's official duties also included composing poems for court holidays, and most of his odes were written on such occasions.