Realism in literature. Characteristic features and representatives of the direction

Among the features of realism are a truthful depiction of life in all its diversity, historicism, the depiction of typical heroes in typical circumstances (while the romantics strive to portray exceptional heroes acting in atypical, exceptional circumstances). In realistic works, the individual differences of heroes in appearance, temperament, mental and moral qualities are combined with general, socio-historical character traits (system of views on the world). The general is manifested through the individual in the hero of the work. The generalization of the traits of many people in the image of one person is literary type. A person's personality is revealed in its development. An example of this is the development of the image of Onegin, analyzed in detail above. Sometimes development is carried out contradictorily, which is explained not so much by the contradictions within the spiritual world of the hero, but by the contradictions of reality itself. Realist writers not only trace the influence of the environment on the formation of a person’s worldview and character, but also the influence of the individual on the environment, on the creation of the environment itself. The conflict in a realistic work is very often expressed in a conflict between an individual and society, for example, in “Woe from Wit” by Griboyedov, an ideological and moral clash occurs between Chatsky and Famusov society. When creating an image literary hero realist writers act as psychologists, penetrating deeply into inner world a person, motivating his behavior psychologically. Some researchers put forward literary theory as one of realistic principles encyclopedism, i.e. a comprehensive examination of an object or phenomenon.

Both classicists, sentimentalists, and romantics strive to depict life truthfully, naturally, to draw real situations that occur in life. However, they have a different method of approach to selection and depiction facts of life, than among writers of a realistic direction. They explain the depicted facts from their own aesthetic positions(predominance of duty over feeling, cult of feeling, contradiction between dream and reality, etc.). These writers created wonderful works that can be called great. Realistic works, in contrast, are characterized by the desire, as has already been said, to comprehensively embrace life and comprehend the personality of the hero and his actions by analyzing his interaction with the world around him.

This depends not only on realism as a method for a writer to comprehend reality and create realistic characters, but also on artistic mastery and mastery of techniques for studying these characters. Attracts the brightness of the heroes, their vitality, rich moral potential, which is gradually revealed during life different generations readers. The realistic heroes of the novel “Eugene Onegin” make you think about how to preserve and enhance your best personal qualities in unfavorable times. environment, which forms different, egoistic, views on life in relation to people.

The question requires an ambiguous answer. Let us turn to the reasoning of one of the leading modern specialists in the field of fairy tale studies, Professor T.V. Zueva: “The content of the fairy tale is not included in real space and time, however, they retain life-like verisimilitude, filled with truthful everyday details. The entertaining nature does not contradict the ideological aspiration of the fairy tale - the expression of sympathy for the defenseless and innocently persecuted<…>. Reacting to many life problems, fairy tales offered their fair, but utopian resolution. The plot of the fairy tale could be philosophically perceived as a metaphor for real human relationships, and found endless life analogies<…>. At the heart of a fairy tale is always the antithesis between dream and reality, which receives a complete but utopian resolution.”

The fabulist acts within the framework of the literary movement to which he belongs. V. I. Korovin perfectly shows the similarities and differences between the fables called “The Wolf and the Lamb” by J. La Fontaine, A. P. Sumarokov, G. R. Derzhavin and I. A. Krylov. Krylov's fables are realistic works.

In the 7th grade we read and studied the story “The Young Lady-Peasant Woman” and the novel “Dubrovsky”, in the 8th grade - the story “ Captain's daughter" In addition, my close friends and I, inspired by the lessons of our teacher Olga Borisovna, independently read all of Belkin’s Stories, as well as Queen of Spades", the performance we went to see at the Theater named after. E. Vakhtangov. Pushkin’s works can be called realistic because they reflect real socio-philosophical conflicts characteristic of the second world. half of the XVIII- first thirds of the XIX century, a significant stage in Russian history. Problems of the relationship between the people and the authorities, the moral character of the ruler, justice and mercy, true love and friendship, honor and dignity of the individual - leading to these works. The heroes in them are depicted in many ways, in connection with specific historical conditions. These are Kirila Petrovich Troekurov, father and son Dubrovsky, the Grinev and Mironov families, Masha Mironova and Pyotr Grinev, Pugachev and Catherine II. “Belkin’s Tales” are very interestingly structured; in them, Pushkin conducts a polemic with the aesthetics of the romantic story, which in the 30s of the 19th century, young readers, especially provincial young ladies, became engrossed in, and formed their own life ideals. At the beginning of each story, Pushkin creates a romantic situation, and the development of the plot leads the characters, as a rule, to a realistic denouement. For example, Aleksey Berestov seemed to be a very mysterious romantic young man, disappointed, who had experienced a lot, but in fact he turned out to be a simple and kind fellow who loved to play with peasant girls and look after them. The conflict with the matchmaking of Alexei and Lisa, which their fathers started, ends quite happily and to everyone’s satisfaction. It turned out that the heroes had already chosen each other.

Without a doubt. Satire, like a fable, fits into the system aesthetic views, components of this or that literary direction. We know classic satires, comedies, epigrams. Realistic satire is based on the same principles and approaches as any other work of realism (see answer to the first question). Another thing is the use of specific satire techniques, for example, hyperbole, grotesque, and the discrepancy between personal aspirations and the real assessment of the hero’s capabilities. “The Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol, “Fairy Tales” by M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin, the comedy by A. S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” are examples of realistic satire.

The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A. S. Pushkin - fairy tale, in which echoes of Russian folk tales and epics are heard. V. G. Belinsky noted that there are no signs of romanticism in it; it belongs to the number of transitional plays by A. S. Pushkin, the character of which is renewed classicism. There is another point of view of E. Babaev: in the poem, Pushkin strove for the Russian realistic style and rejected the conventions of classicism and sentimentalism for the sake of “real poetry.” Apparently, Ruslan can most likely be classified as fairy-tale heroes, romantics in spirit.

In the answer to the second question, throughout the text of the novel “Eugene Onegin”, Onegin’s belonging to the realistic heroes has already been proven. The hero is given in development, acts in typical circumstances, and in many ways opposes the environment that formed him. The character of the hero is depicted in many ways, with all the advantages and contradictions. The realistic portrayal of the hero is facilitated by showing his relationship with the author of the novel and comparing their perception of reality.

Yes, they are both realistic heroes, although very different from each other (about Onegin as a realistic hero, see question 9, about Lensky - question 10). To write a comparative description of the heroes, it is necessary to note the cold-blooded and disappointed attitude towards life of Onegin and the enthusiasm characteristic of romantics, Lensky. It is important to compare the conditions of their formation: one - in Russia, in high society, the other - in Germany, at the University of Göttingen, in the center of German romantic philosophy. Onegin was insightful, yes exact specifications people, Lensky did not understand life at all. Thus, Onegin immediately saw the difference between Olga and Tatyana, giving preference to his older sister, while Lensky was captivated by the simple-minded pastoral image of Olga, who completely repeated typical features district young ladies with their limited interests. Meanwhile, a lot of things attracted young people to each other, and this commonality can also be noted - intellectualism, diverse spiritual interests.

Those who claim that Vladimir Lensky is a romantic hero usually confuse two concepts: romantic and romantic hero. Lensky is a romantic poet, who was formed under the influence of German romanticism, “an admirer of Kant,” he sang “something in the foggy distance,” etc. Lensky was a romantic in life. However, Pushkin, in his portrayal of Lensky, was guided by a realistic approach, truthfully reflecting his character, hobbies, directions in his development as a person and a poet, the circumstances of his death, and possible prospects for fate. Some good-natured irony addressed to his hero also indicates a realistic assessment of the image in the context of the spiritual life of the first quarter of the 19th century. So, the image of Lensky is a realistic image of the Romantic Poet.

Current page: 10 (book has 16 pages total) [available reading passage: 11 pages]

3. What role does the “creator of the Vatican”, mentioned again and again in the play, play in solving the problem?

4. What aphorisms have entered our speech from this “little drama”?

5. How can we explain why the words “Genius and villainy / Two incompatible things” sound in the speech of both Mozart and Salieri and are separated by the same hyphenation?

1. Why did the compilers of the book “Boldino Autumn” so resolutely rebel against the limited interpretation of the problems of drama? How is the motive of envy related to the range of problems that this drama represents?..

2. How is the legend of Mozart's poisoning connected with the assessment of what creativity is?

3. Write an essay (or just an outline) on the topic of one of the popular aphorisms of this drama: “Genius and villainy are two incompatible things”; “I believed (I checked - Auto.) I use algebra to create harmony”; “The first step is difficult and the first path is boring,” “I don’t find it funny when a worthless painter / Stains Raphael’s Madonna for me, / I don’t find it funny when a despicable buffoon / Dishonors Alighieri with a parody.”

About realism

All literary movements cared about truthfulness and naturalness in the reflection of life. Still, one of the writers of the early 20th century was right when he said that “classics saw objects in the light of fireworks, sentimentalists recognized the light of the moon, romantics needed lightning...”. It fell to some realists, representatives of the movement that decided to reflect life as it is, to comprehend the depths of thought and feelings without breaking away from the truth of life. However, the great writers, who are usually called classics, represented all these directions, and it cannot be said that only realists can be recognized as the only authors who instruct readers and excite their minds and hearts.

To think about such a complex problem as the reflection of life in art, let us trace how philanthropist Savva Mamontov helped singer Fyodor Chaliapin form artistic taste. The great actor spoke about this in his book “Mask and Soul” (the events begin at the Nizhny Novgorod fair).

“I must admit, my taste at that time was extremely primitive.

“Don’t stop, Fedenka, at these paintings,” Mamontov used to say. - These are all bad.

I stared at him in confusion.

- How bad are they, Savva Ivanovich? It’s such a landscape that it wouldn’t even work in a photograph.

“That’s bad, Fedenka,” answered Savva Ivanovich, smiling good-naturedly. - No photos needed. Boring machine.

And he led me to a separate barracks, which he himself had built for Vrubel’s works.

“Here, Fedenka,” he pointed to “Princess Dreams,” “this is a wonderful thing.” This is art of good order.

And I looked and thought: “Our philanthropist is eccentric. What's good about this? It's smudged, smeared, unpleasant to look at. Or maybe it’s the landscape painting that I liked in the main hall of the exhibition this morning. The apples are as if they were alive – you want to bite them; The apple tree is so beautiful - all in bloom. A young lady is sitting on a bench with a gentleman, and the gentleman is so wonderfully dressed (what trousers! I’ll definitely buy these for myself).”

Frankly speaking, I doubted Mamontov’s judgments a little. And then one day, in a moment of frankness, I asked him:

- How is this so, Savva Ivanovich? Why do you say that Vrubel’s “Princess of Dreams” is good picture, and the landscape is bad? But it seems to me that the landscape is good, and “Princess Dreams” is bad.

“You are still young, Fedenka,” my educator answered me. – You haven’t seen much. The feeling in Vrubel’s painting is great.

This explanation did not satisfy me very much, but it excited me very much.”

The ending of this story is also instructive for us.

“In Moscow I had to... resolve a dispute between an appetizing apple tree in bloom, which I liked, and the indigestible “Princess Dreams”, which S.I. Mamontov liked... Our famous landscape painter Isaac Ilyich Levitan had no direct relation to my theater work, but it was he who made me feel the insignificance of a banal apple tree in blossom and magnificent trousers young man on the bench…

“Protocol truth,” said Levitan, “is of no use to anyone.” Yours is important song, wherein You sing along a forest or garden path.

I remembered the “photography,” which Mamontov called a “boring machine,” and immediately understood what the point was. A photograph cannot sing to me about any path - neither a forest path, nor a garden path. This is just a protocol. I realized that you don't need to copy objects and painstakingly paint them to make them seem as impressive as possible - this is not art. I realized that in every In art, the most important thing is feeling and spirit - that verb with which the prophet was commanded to burn the hearts of people. That this verb can sound in paint, and in line, and in gesture - as in speech.”

Chaliapin's observations help us think about the fact that any direction in art is connected with life and can reflect life, although the forms of this reflection are different.

In the 19th century, Russian literature reached its heyday, and this heyday was largely associated with realism. The term "realism" was established only in late XIX centuries, but the direction itself was determined earlier. The most distinct sign of this trend can be recognized as its desire for a broad, multilateral, truthful reflection real life. It is often noted that in this case typical characters are depicted in typical circumstances.

Realism is characterized by the desire to embrace reality in all the richness of its content, comprehending the entire chain of causes and consequences in each life situation. Realism demonstrates the ability to convey the most complex interweaving of various facts that determine the course of history. Accurate reflection real world you observed while studying “The Captain’s Daughter” by A. S. Pushkin, using materials from his own “History of Pugachev”. According to the French realist writer O. de Balzac, the writer has only the role of a secretary, and the historian is society itself.

In Russian XIX literature century, realism is associated with the work of Pushkin, Krylov, Turgenev, Nekrasov, Leo Tolstoy and many other poets, writers, playwrights.

Questions and tasks

1. What signs of realism can you name?

2. Why can it be said that every literary movement strives to reflect the truth of life?

3. What attracts you to the heroes of realistic works?

4. Can a fairy tale be a realistic work?

5. Can a fable be a realistic work?

6. Try to prove that prose works Pushkin, which you studied, can be called realistic works.

8. What kind of hero do you consider Ruslan? Can we consider him a romantic hero?

9. How to prove that Eugene Onegin is a realistic hero?

10. Is it possible to say that such different people as Evgeny Onegin and Vladimir Lensky are realistic heroes? Write a comparative description of the heroes.

11. How to explain that Vladimir Lensky is often considered a romantic hero? How to refute this if such a statement is false?

Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov
(1814–1841)

The fate and poetry of Mikhail Lermontov are shrouded in deep tragedy. The famous researcher of Lermontov’s work, Emma Gernstein, wrote in her book “Lermontov’s Fate”: “There is some kind of mystery in the history of Lermontov’s life and death. White sheets, the spines of cut out pages, letters with the end torn off - this is what we find in manuscripts that talk about the fate of the poet.” And above all, it is mysterious that the poet’s personality is entirely woven from contradictions.

A. I. Herzen also pointed out Lermontov’s internal complexity: “He dragged a heavy burden of skepticism through all his dreams and pleasures.” Belinsky noted “in a rational, cooled and embittered view of life and people, the seeds of deep faith in the dignity of both.”

The combination of the incompatible was also reflected in the description of Lermontov’s appearance, the best of which belongs to I. S. Turgenev: “There was something sinister and tragic in Lermontov’s appearance; some kind of gloomy and unkind strength, brooding contempt and passion wafted from his dark face, from his large and motionless dark eyes. Their heavy gaze strangely did not agree with the expression of their almost childish, tender, protruding lips. His whole figure, squat, bow-legged, with big head on the stooped broad shoulders it aroused an unpleasant sensation; but everyone felt the inherent power.”

Subsequently, the impressions of his contemporaries were superbly summarized by V. Ya. Bryusov in his sonnet:

To the portrait of Lermontov

You seemed both gloomy and domineering,
A mad flash of inexorable forces;
But you dreamed of angelically beautiful things,
You loved the demonic and rebellious!

You could never be indifferent
You hastened from hymns to curses,
And in life I believed all my dreams in vain:
I expected an answer from women and graves.

But there was no answer. And sullenly
You hid what you were thinking about,
And he came out to us with a grin on his lips.
And we, poet, haven’t figured it out,
Didn't understand infantile sadness
In your seemingly forged poems!

Light and tragic memories left the poet's childhood years behind. He was born in Moscow, but was soon transported to his grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva to the Tarkhany estate in the Penza province.

"When I was three years, that was the song that made me cry; I can’t remember it now, but I’m sure that if I had heard it, it would have had the same effect. My late mother sang it to me.”

An angel flew across the midnight sky
And he sang a quiet song,
And the month, and the stars, and the clouds in droves
Listen to that holy song.

He sang about the bliss of sinless spirits
Under the bushes of the Gardens of Eden,
He sang about the great God, and praise
His was unfeigned.

He carried the young soul in his arms
For a world of sadness and tears;
And the sound of his song in the soul is young
He remained - without words, but alive.

And for a long time she languished in the world,
Full of wonderful desires,
And the sounds of heaven could not be replaced
She finds the songs of the earth boring.

D. S. Merezhkovsky was sure that “all Lermontov’s poetry is a memory of this song heard in the past eternity”, that everything written later is a memory of the past and the eternal.

Childhood was overshadowed early death mother, the gap between father and grandmother, stories about grandfather’s suicide at the New Year’s ball in Tarkhany. All this undoubtedly influenced Lermontov’s character, and therefore his work.

After the death of her mother, Elizaveta Alekseevna ensured that her little grandson Misha remained in her care, and he had to live in separation from his father, about whom he had heard only bad things. Subsequently, he brushed aside all unworthy slander against his father and paid tribute to him in a poem dedicated to his death.

The terrible fate of father and son
Live differently and die apart,
And the lot of an alien exile to have
In the homeland with the name of a citizen!
………………………………
God grant that the end be as calm as yours
The one who was the cause of all your torment!
But you will forgive me! Am I to blame for this?
What people wanted to extinguish in my soul
Divine fire, from the very cradle
Burning within her, justified by the Creator?
However, their desires were in vain:
We found no enmity in each other,
Even though both became victims of suffering!..

The grandmother cared about the future of her grandson, gave him a good education, first at home under the guidance of a wonderful Russian and Latin languages Alexander Zinovievich Zinoviev. He followed new trends in art and literature, had a penchant for romanticism, his views influenced the formation of the poetic views of young Lermontov. From the early days teenage years Lermontov is drawn to poetry and thinks about the essence of poetic creativity.

My dagger shines with a golden finish;
The blade is reliable, without blemishes;
Damask steel protects it with a mysterious temper -
The legacy of the abusive 35
Abusive (obsolete) – here: belligerent.

East.

He served as a rider in the mountains for many years,
Not knowing the fee for the service;
He made a terrible mark on more than one breast
And he broke through more than one chain mail.

He shared fun more obediently than a slave,
It rang in response to offensive speeches.
In those days he would have had rich carvings
In an alien and shameful outfit.

He was taken beyond the Terek by a brave Cossack
On the cold corpse of the master,
And for a long time he lay abandoned then
In the Armenian's camp store.
Now the relatives of the scabbard, beaten in the war,
The poor companion is deprived of a hero;
He shines like a golden toy on the wall -
Alas, inglorious and harmless!

No one with a familiar, caring hand
Doesn't clean him, doesn't caress him,
And his inscriptions, praying before dawn
No one reads with diligence...

* * *

In our age, pampered aren't you, poet,
Lost my purpose
Having exchanged for gold the power whose light
Did you listen in silent awe?

It used to be that the measured sound of your mighty words
Inflamed the fighter for battle;
The crowd needed him like a cup for feasts,
Like incense 36
Incense - here: enthusiastic praise, flattery.

During prayer hours.

Your verse, like God’s spirit, hovered over the crowd;
And, a review of noble thoughts,
Sounded like a bell on a veche tower 37
Vechevaya – from the word “veche” – in Ancient Rus' a meeting of townspeople to decide public affairs, as well as the place of such a meeting.

,
On days of national celebrations and troubles.

But your simple and proud language is boring to us, -
We are amused by glitter and deception;
Like old beauty, our old world is used to
Hide wrinkles under blush...

Will you wake up again, mocked prophet!
Or never to the voice of vengeance
You cannot snatch your blade from a golden sheath,
Covered with the rust of contempt?

Questions and tasks

2. Describe the features of the poem's composition.

1. What role do the first and second parts of the verse play in the composition of this work?

2. Which artistic device is most heavily used in this poem?

3. Find in the poem the most vivid definition of the role of the poet.

In which poems do you know does Lermontov reflect on the role of the poet in society?

From September 1828 to August 1832, Lermontov studied at the Moscow Noble Boarding School, and then at the university. N. F. Vistenhof recreates the image of Lermontov the student in his memoirs. “People who ardently took up science also stood out among us: Stankevich, Stroev, Krasov, Kompaneishchikov, Pletnev, Lermontov, Efremov...

Before the Christmas holidays, professors... tested the knowledge of their students for the past six months...

Professor Pobedonostsev, who read belles lettres, asked Lermontov some question. Lermontov began to answer smartly and with confidence. Pobedonostsev first listened to him, and then stopped him and said:

– I didn’t read this to you; I would like you to answer me exactly what I went through. Where could you get this knowledge?

– It’s true, Mr. Professor, what I just said, you didn’t read to us and couldn’t convey to us, because it’s too new and it hasn’t reached you yet. I use sources from my own library, equipped with all modern...

Lermontov loved to visit every Tuesday the then magnificent Moscow Noble Assembly, whose brilliant balls were enchanting. He was always elegantly dressed, and when meeting us he pretended not to notice us. It was not like he and I were at the same university, in the same department, and in the same course. He was constantly surrounded by pretty young ladies high society and quite familiarly talked and walked through the halls with respectable and influential persons ... "

At the same time, the young poet continues to reflect on the essence of creativity, and there is an intense search for his place in poetry.

Believe me, insignificance is a blessing in this world.
Why deep knowledge, thirst for glory,
Talent and ardent love of freedom,
When can we not use them?
We, children of the north, are like the local plants,
We bloom for a short time, quickly fade...
Like the winter sun on a gray sky,
Our life is so cloudy. Not for long
Its monotonous flow...
And it seems stuffy in the homeland,
And the heart is heavy, and the soul is sad...
Knowing neither love nor sweet friendship,
In the midst of empty storms our youth languishes,
And quickly the poison of anger darkens her,
And the cup of cold life is bitter for us;
And nothing pleases the soul.

In Moscow, young Lermontov experienced deep heartfelt feelings for Varvara Aleksandrovna Lopukhina, who was later married off and lived her whole life with an unloved person. Natalya Fedorovna Ivanova, to whom Lermontov was also attracted strong feeling, did not reciprocate. The poet dedicated many beautiful poems to these women.

Researchers note features love lyrics Lermontov. His poems depict not so much the image of the woman he loves, not so much a declaration of love, but rather talk about his attitude to the world.

No, it’s not you that I love so passionately,
Your beauty is not for me:
I love only the past suffering in you
And my lost youth.

When sometimes I look at you,
Looking into your eyes with a long gaze,
I'm busy talking mysteriously
But I’m not talking to you with my heart.

I'm talking to a friend from my younger days,
I'm looking for other features in your features,
In the mouths of the living, lips have long been mute,
In the eyes there is the fire of faded eyes.

Questions and tasks

1. Select for your own analysis several poems from Lermontov’s love lyrics (“I will not humiliate myself before you...”, “But I remember you - yes, for sure...”, “Leave vain worries...”, “Forgive me! - we will not meet again...” and etc.).

2. What unites and distinguishes them in transmission love feeling, images of the loving and the beloved?

In 1832, Lermontov moved to St. Petersburg and planned to enter St. Petersburg University. However, it so happened that he entered the school of guards ensigns and cavalry cadets. I wanted independence. Officer service seemed to provide more opportunities to be in action, on the move. But... the poet found himself among people who dreamed only of a brilliant career and entertainment.

At the end of 1834, Lermontov was promoted to cornet in the hussar regiment, which was stationed in Tsarskoe Selo. The service took a little time. Lermontov attends balls and masquerades. But more is given literary studies. Observations on the morals of officers and secular society reflected in unfinished novel“Princess Ligovskaya” and the drama “Masquerade”.

January 1837 arrived. The death of Pushkin shook all of Russia. Lermontov came out with a poem full of grief and indignation, “The Death of a Poet,” and was arrested and exiled to the Caucasus. The poet's name immediately became famous in Russian society. His poetic denunciation was rightly perceived by his contemporaries as a bold political speech.

In the spring of 1837, Lermontov arrived in the Caucasus. Here he wandered continuously: he traveled the entire line from Kizlyar to Taman, spent the night in an open field, and fell asleep to the howling of jackals. The impressions received were reflected in the poems “Mtsyri”, “Demon”, and the novel “Hero of Our Time”.

Petersburg met Lermontov as a recognized poet. According to the writer Muravyov, “Lermontov’s songs and poems thundered everywhere.” After reading “Three Palms,” Belinsky exclaimed: “A new powerful talent has appeared in Rus' - Lermontov.”

The second exile to the Caucasus followed in 1840 after a duel with the son of the French ambassador de Barent. Heading to his place of exile, the poet stopped in Moscow for several days and at one literary dinner read excerpts from “Mtsyri” in the presence of Gogol.

Service in the Caucasus was of a combat nature. He participated in bloody battles, showing miracles of courage. The command petitioned to award Lieutenant Lermontov with orders and a golden saber, but the Tsar “did not deign to express royal permission for the requested award.”

I sit silently under the window of the dungeon;
I can see the blue sky from here:
All the free birds are playing in the sky;
Looking at them, I feel both painful and ashamed.

There is no sinful prayer on my lips,
There is not a single song in praise of the dear:
I only remember ancient battles,
My sword is heavy and my armor is iron.

I am now chained in a stone shell,
The stone helmet is crushing my head,
My shield from arrows and swords is enchanted,
My horse runs, and no one controls it.

Fast time is my unchanging horse,
The helmet visor is a lattice loophole,
Stone shell - high walls,
My shield is the cast iron doors of the dungeon.

Rush faster, flying time!
I felt stuffy under the new armor!
Death, when we arrive, will hold my stirrup;
I tear up and pull the visor off my face.

Questions and tasks

1. What thoughts and moods possess the lyrical hero?

2. Why is the Captive Knight both in pain and ashamed? Does the hero feel guilty?

3. What is the meaning of the title of the poem? Yu. M. Lotman believes that it contains a certain contradiction: “the very concept of “knight” includes in our minds the idea of ​​​​courage, belligerence, military exploits, but not the concepts of captivity, imprisonment and prison.” Do you agree with this interpretation of the title? Motivate your opinion.

4. What realities of Lermontov’s life and the reality around him are reflected in this poem?

1. What techniques are they used to convey (epithets, metaphor, antithesis, etc.)? Bring specific examples from the text.

2. What themes are developed in the second stanza? What do the words “ancient” and “remember” emphasize? What coloring do they give to the hero’s feelings?

3. The third and fourth stanzas, according to Yu. M. Lotman, represent an expanded metaphor. Analyze it and discover the meaning.

In many poems by Pushkin and Lermontov, the prisoner dreams of being released from captivity. Here the hero sees his liberation in death. Why do you think he's looking forward to it?

At the beginning of 1841, Lermontov was busy in the capital about his resignation. He only wanted to do literary activity, dreamed of publishing a magazine. But he was not allowed to resign. After a short vacation, he was forced to leave St. Petersburg. Before leaving, Lermontov spoke about the imminent death awaiting him, since he knew that his regiment was assigned to the most difficult expedition. Saying goodbye to St. Petersburg, the poet wrote an angry poem “Farewell, unwashed Russia...”.

A gloomy premonition, and not just a premonition, but a vision of one’s future, was reflected in the poem “Dream,” written in the year of death.

The novel “A Hero of Our Time” consists of stories that have their own complete plots, united by the image of the main character - Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. These are “Bela”, “Maksim Maksimych”, “Taman”, “Princess Mary” and “Fatalist”. There are two prefaces in the work: the first - to the entire novel, the second - to Pechorin's diary.

What signs of realism can you name?

Among the features of realism are a truthful depiction of life in all its diversity, historicism, and the depiction of typical heroes in typical circumstances (while romantics strive to portray exceptional heroes acting in atypical, exceptional circumstances). In realistic works, the individual differences of heroes in appearance, temperament, mental and moral qualities are combined with general, socio-historical character traits (system of views on the world). The general manifests itself through the individual in the hero of the work. The generalization of the traits of many people in the image of one person constitutes a literary type. A person's personality is revealed in its development. An example of this is the development of the image of Onegin, analyzed in detail above. Sometimes development is carried out contradictorily, which is explained not so much by the contradictions within the hero’s spiritual world, but by the contradictions of reality itself. Realist writers not only trace the influence of the environment on the formation of a person’s worldview and character, but also the influence of the individual on the environment, on the creation of the environment itself. Conflict in a realistic work is very often expressed in a conflict between an individual and society, for example, in “Woe from Wit” by Griboyedov, an ideological and moral clash occurs between Chatsky and Famus’s society. When creating the image of a literary hero, realist writers act as psychologists, penetrating deeply into the inner world of a person, motivating his behavior psychologically. Some researchers of literary theory put forward encyclopedicism as one of the realistic principles, that is, a comprehensive consideration of an object or phenomenon.

Why can it be said that every literary movement strives to reflect the truth of life?

Both classicists, sentimentalists, and romantics strive to depict life truthfully, naturally, to draw real situations that occur in life. However, they have a different method of approach to the selection and depiction of life facts than that of realistic writers. They explain the depicted facts from their aesthetic positions (the predominance of duty over feeling, the cult of feeling, the contradiction between dreams and reality, etc.). These writers created beautiful works that can be called great. Realistic works, in contrast, are characterized by the desire, as has already been said, to comprehensively embrace life and comprehend the personality of the hero and his actions by analyzing his interaction with the outside world.

What attracts you to the heroes of realistic works?

This depends not only on realism as a method for a writer to comprehend reality and create realistic characters, but on artistic skill and mastery of techniques for studying these characters. I am attracted by the brightness of the characters, their vitality, and rich moral potential, which is gradually revealed during the lifetime of different generations of readers. The realistic heroes of the novel “Eugene Onegin” make you think about how to preserve and enhance your best personal qualities in an unfavorable environment that creates different, selfish, views on life in relation to people.

Can a fairy tale be a realistic work?

The question requires an ambiguous answer. Let us turn to the reasoning of one of the leading modern experts in the field of fairy tales, Professor T.V. Zueva: “The content of a fairy tale is not inscribed in real space and time, but they retain life-like verisimilitude, being filled with truthful everyday details. The entertaining nature does not contradict the ideological aspiration of the fairy tale - an expression of sympathy for the defenseless and innocently persecuted<…>. Reacting to many of life's problems, fairy tales offered a fair but utopian solution. The plot of the fairy tale could be philosophically perceived as a metaphor for real human relationships, and found endless life analogies<…>. At the heart of a fairy tale is always the antithesis between dream and reality, which receives a complete but utopian resolution.”

Realism is usually called a movement in art and literature, whose representatives strived for a realistic and truthful reproduction of reality. In other words, the world was portrayed as typical and simple, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

General features of realism

Realism in literature differs in a number of ways common features. Firstly, life was depicted in images that corresponded to reality. Secondly, the reality for representatives of this current has become a means of understanding oneself and the world around. Thirdly, the images on the pages literary works were distinguished by the truthfulness of details, specificity and typification. It is interesting that the art of the realists, with their life-affirming principles, sought to consider reality in development. Realists discovered new social and psychological relationships.

The emergence of realism

Realism in literature as a form artistic creation arose during the Renaissance, developed during the Enlightenment and emerged as an independent movement only in the 30s of the 19th century. The first realists in Russia include the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin (he is sometimes even called the founder of this movement) and no less outstanding writer N.V. Gogol with his novel " Dead Souls" Concerning literary criticism, then within its limits the term “realism” appeared thanks to D. Pisarev. It was he who introduced the term into journalism and criticism. Realism in 19th century literature became distinctive feature of that time, having its own characteristics and characteristics.

Features of literary realism

Representatives of realism in literature are numerous. The most famous and outstanding writers include such writers as Stendhal, Charles Dickens, O. Balzac, L.N. Tolstoy, G. Flaubert, M. Twain, F.M. Dostoevsky, T. Mann, M. Twain, W. Faulkner and many others. They all worked on the development creative method realism and embodied in their works its most striking features in unbreakable connection with its own unique author's features.