Lyrical digression in chapter 3 of dead souls. The role of lyrical digressions in the poem “Dead Souls” by Gogol - Essay

The wonderful work "" was called a prose poem. N.V. Gogol tries to reveal in it the epic images of Russia, the common people, the Russian land. And lyrical digressions are created so that the author can express his personal opinion and attitude to the characters of the poem, to the events discussed in the chapters.

In the seventh chapter we get acquainted with the images of Russian men, which were described in detail, with all the features of appearance and character. This is the hero Stepan Probka. He was a carpenter and traveled the length and breadth of Russia. Maxim Telyatnikov is introduced to us as a shoemaker who learned his skills from the Germans. After a failed plan to sell low-quality boots, he went into a drinking binge and blamed the Germans for everything. We see the love for a wild and free life in the character of Abakum Fyrov. Many people from the common people loved to take a walk after a productive day at work.

In many lyrical digressions, the reader learns about the deep tragedy of the common people, who were enslaved and enslaved by landowners and officials.

The author expressed his special love for his homeland and his patriotic sentiments in, which is rapidly flying forward and personifies a strong and powerful Russia.

Thus, it can be noted that lyrical digressions play an extremely important role in the poem “Dead Souls”. They spill out all the author’s emotions and thoughts on topics that are vital to him.

Lyrical digressions are a very important part of any work. Due to the abundance of lyrical digressions, the poem “Dead Souls” can be compared with a work in verse by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". This feature of these works is associated with their genres - a poem in prose and a novel in verse.

The lyrical digressions in “Dead Souls” are filled with the pathos of affirming a person’s high calling, the pathos of great social ideas and interests. Whether the author expresses his bitterness and anger about the insignificance of the heroes he shows, whether he talks about the writer’s place in modern society, whether he writes about the living, lively Russian mind - the deep source of his lyricism is thoughts about serving his native country, about its destinies, her sorrows, her hidden, suppressed gigantic forces.

Gogol created a new type of prose, in which the opposite elements of creativity inextricably merged - laughter and tears, satire and lyricism. Never before, as has already been established, have they been found in one work of art.

The epic narrative in “Dead Souls” is continually interrupted by the excited lyrical monologues of the author, assessing the behavior of the character or reflecting on life and art. The true lyrical hero of this book is Gogol himself. We constantly hear his voice. The image of the author is, as it were, an indispensable participant in all the events taking place in the poem. He carefully monitors the behavior of his heroes and actively influences the reader. Moreover, the author's voice is completely devoid of didactics, for this image is perceived from the inside, as a representative of the same reflected reality as the other characters in Dead Souls.

The author's lyrical voice reaches the greatest tension on those pages that are directly dedicated to the Motherland, Russia. Another theme is woven into Gogol's lyrical thoughts - the future of Russia, its own historical destiny and place in the destinies of humanity.

Gogol's passionate lyrical monologues were an expression of his poetic dream of undistorted, correct reality. They revealed a poetic world, in contrast with which the world of profit and self-interest was revealed even more sharply. Gogol's lyrical monologues are an assessment of the present from the standpoint of the author's ideal, which can only be realized in the future.

Gogol in his poem appears, first of all, as a thinker and contemplator, trying to unravel the mysterious bird-three - the symbol of Rus'. The two most important themes of the author’s thoughts - the theme of Russia and the theme of the road - merge in a lyrical digression: “Aren’t you, too, Rus', like a brisk, unstoppable troika rushing along? ...Rus! where are you going? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer."

The theme of the road is the second most important theme of “Dead Souls”, connected with the theme of Russia. The road is an image that organizes the entire plot, and Gogol introduces himself into lyrical digressions as a man of the road. “Before, long ago, in the summer of my youth... it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time... Now I indifferently approach any unfamiliar village and indifferently look at its vulgar appearance; my chilled gaze is uncomfortable, it’s not funny to me... and my motionless lips keep an indifferent silence. O my youth! O my conscience!

The most important are the lyrical digressions about Russia and the Russian people. Throughout the entire poem, the author’s idea of a positive image of the Russian people is affirmed, which merges with the glorification and singing of the homeland, which expresses the author’s civil-patriotic position: the real Russia is not the Sobakevichs, Nozdryovs and Korobochki, but the people, the national element. Thus, in the fifth chapter, the writer praises “the lively and lively Russian mind”, his extraordinary ability for verbal expressiveness, that “if he rewards a slant with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity, he will take it with him both to the service and to retirement , and to St. Petersburg, and to the ends of the world." Chichikov was led to such reasoning by his conversation with the peasants, who called Plyushkin “patched” and knew him only because he did not feed his peasants well.

In close contact with lyrical statements about the Russian word and national character is the author’s digression that opens the sixth chapter.

The narration about Plyushkin is interrupted by the author’s angry words, which have a deep generalizing meaning: “And a person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, and disgusting!”

Gogol felt the living soul of the Russian people, their daring, courage, hard work and love for a free life. In this regard, the author’s reasoning, put into Chichikov’s mouth, about serfs in the seventh chapter is of deep significance. What appears here is not a generalized image of Russian men, but specific people with real features, described in detail. This is the carpenter Stepan Probka - “a hero who would be fit for the guard,” who, according to Chichikov, walked all over Rus' with an ax in his belt and boots on his shoulders. This is the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who studied with a German and decided to get rich instantly by making boots from rotten leather, which fell apart in two weeks. At this point, he abandoned his work, started drinking, blaming everything on the Germans, who did not allow Russian people to live.

In the lyrical digressions, the tragic fate of the enslaved people, downtrodden and socially humiliated, is presented, which is reflected in the images of Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, the girl Pelageya, who could not distinguish between right and left, Plyushkin’s Proshka and Mavra. Behind these images and pictures of folk life lies the deep and broad soul of the Russian people.

The image of the road in the lyrical digressions is symbolic. This is the road from the past to the future, the road along which the development of each person and Russia as a whole takes place.

The work ends with a hymn to the Russian people: “Eh! troika! Bird-three, who invented you? You could have been born among a lively people...” Here, lyrical digressions perform a generalizing function: they serve to expand the artistic space and to create a holistic image of Rus'. They reveal the positive ideal of the author - people's Russia, which is opposed to landowner-bureaucratic Rus'.

The lot of a real writer, who dared to truthfully recreate a reality hidden from the eyes of the people, is such that, unlike a romantic writer, absorbed in his unearthly and sublime images, he is not destined to achieve fame and experience the joyful feelings of being recognized and sung. Gogol comes to the conclusion that the unrecognized realist writer, satirist writer will remain without participation, that “his field is harsh, and he bitterly feels his loneliness.”

Throughout the poem, lyrical passages are interspersed into the narrative with great artistic tact. At first, they are in the nature of statements by the author about his heroes, but as the action unfolds, their internal theme becomes increasingly broader and multifaceted.

We can conclude that the lyrical digressions in “Dead Souls” are filled with the pathos of affirming a person’s high calling, the pathos of great social ideas and interests. Whether the author expresses his bitterness and anger about the insignificance of the heroes he shows, whether he talks about the writer’s place in modern society, whether he writes about the living, lively Russian mind - the deep source of his lyricism is thoughts about serving his native country, about its destinies, her sorrows, her hidden, suppressed gigantic forces.

So, the artistic space of the poem “Dead Souls” is made up of two worlds, which can be designated as the real world and the ideal world. Gogol builds the real world by recreating his contemporary reality, revealing the mechanism of distortion of man as an individual and the world in which he lives. The ideal world for Gogol is the height to which the human soul strives, but due to its damage by sin it does not find a way. Virtually all the heroes of the poem are representatives of the anti-world, among whom the images of landowners, led by the main character Chichikov, are especially striking. With the deep meaning of the title of the work, Gogol gives the reader a perspective on how to read his work, the logic of the vision of the characters he created, including the landowners.

The author's thoughts and feelings about ideal Russia are expressed in lyrical digressions filled with a feeling of deep patriotism and love for the Motherland and a feeling of hatred of injustice. In lyrical digressions, the writer’s thought goes far from the events in the life of the main character and covers the entire subject of the image, “all of Rus',” and even reaches a universal level. The author's thoughts about the high purpose of man, about the fate of the Motherland and the people are contrasted with gloomy pictures of Russian life.

Lyrical digressions scattered throughout the poem are organically woven into the narrative and sound like a cry of pain, indignation and delight. They touch on issues that are relevant for all times and enhance the impression of the pictures depicted. In digressions, the reader becomes acquainted with persons who do not act directly in the poem. These are gentlemen “fat” and “thin”, gentlemen of the “big hand” and “middle hand”, the ruler of the chancellery Ivan Petrovich, broken fellows, drunkards and brawlers and others. These episodic faces are drawn by the author with two or three strokes, but they play a big role. They never meet the main character, Chichikov, but help the author in creating the image of a united Rus'.

The narrative of the poem is more than once interrupted by upbeat, lyrical travel sketches and sincere conversations with the reader. In one of the most poetic places in the work, which precedes the story about the life and formation of the personality of the protagonist, the theme of the road and the future of Russia merge. In this lyrical digression, colloquial speech is intertwined with a sublime tone of speech, and the reader, along with the author, is imbued with the charm and music of the word “road” itself and a feeling of delight in nature: “What a strange, and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful thing in the word: road ! and how wonderful it is, this road: a clear day, autumn leaves, cold air...”

The author speaks of “churches with ancient domes and blackened buildings”, “dark log and stone houses”, “fields and steppes”, “huts scattered on the slope”, soulfully conveys the feelings of a man racing in a troika: “God! how beautiful you are sometimes, long, long way! How many times, like someone dying and drowning, have I grabbed onto you, and each time you generously carried me out and saved me! And how many wonderful ideas, poetic dreams were born in you, how many wondrous impressions were felt!..”

Extra-plot, inserted episodes, scenes, paintings, and the author’s reasoning are organically included in the poem. For example, Gogol casually sketches portraits of “thin” and “fat” officials. "Alas! Fat people know how to manage their affairs in this world better than thin people,” writes Gogol. Or a satirical portrait of a certain chancellery ruler. Among his subordinates, the ruler is “Prometheus, decisive Prometheus!.. and a little higher than him, with Prometheus, such a transformation will take place, which even Ovid would not invent: a fly, even smaller than a fly, is destroyed into a grain of sand!”

In the last chapter, which tells about the development of Chichikov's character, the reader again plunges into the world of vulgarity and evil. Using the example of the life of his hero, the author very accurately formulates the principles that dominate in his contemporary world: “most of all, take care and save a penny,” “hang around with those who are richer,” “please your superiors.” With undisguised irony, the writer speaks of a system of education in which abilities and talents have no value, and eternal truths are driven into the heads of young men through flogging and other punishments. The spirit of commerce and profit, which reigned in the world of the feudal nobility, penetrated educational institutions and destroyed everything pure and poetic in the souls of young people.

However, once again plunging us into the world of self-interest and profit, Gogol again returns us to the positive principles of the Russian character, instilling confidence in the bright future of his people. In a lyrical digression that concludes the story, he talks about the talent of the Yaroslavl peasant, who built a road wagon with a chisel and a hammer, about a bird or three, which originated among the lively people “in that land that does not like to joke, but was scattered evenly across half the world,” about courage and daring of a simple Russian person. The poem ends with a grandiose in its expressiveness image of the rushing Rus' - a trio of birds. In the last lyrical digression, the author emphasizes the doom of the world of officials and landowners and the belief in the limitless possibilities of the Russian people.

Throughout the entire narrative, the author draws our attention to Chichikov’s troika, more than once even indicating the names of the horses harnessed to it. Chichikov's troika is one of the main and expressive characters of the work. At the end of the poem, we again see Chichikov’s troika: Selifan slaps Chubari on the back, after which he breaks into a trot. The movement of the troika gradually accelerates, and the image of the troika changes its internal meaning. Instead of Chichikov's troika, a Russian troika appears, and at the same time the intonation of the narrative changes. The image of our native land appears before us, and the horses rush in a whirlwind, separate from the ground and turn into lines flying through the air, and instead of the troika, Rus' appears in all its rapid movement. The author’s speech is melodious, filled with emotional epithets and synonyms, metaphors and exclamations: “Rus, where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer." This digression contains the result of many years of Gogol’s thoughts about the fate of Russia, about the present and future of its people. After all, it is the people who oppose the world of officials, landowners, and businessmen, like a living soul against a dead one.

All topics in the book “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol. Summary. Features of the poem. Essays":

Summary of the poem “Dead Souls”: Volume one. Chapter first

Features of the poem “Dead Souls”

“Lyrical digressions” in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”

“Dead Souls” is a lyric-epic work - a prose poem that combines two principles: epic and lyrical. The first principle is embodied in the author’s plan to paint “all of Rus',” and the second - in the author’s lyrical digressions related to his plan, which form an integral part of the work.

The epic narrative in “Dead Souls” is continually interrupted by lyrical monologues of the author, assessing the character’s behavior or reflecting on life, art, Russia and its people, as well as touching on topics such as youth and old age, the purpose of the writer, which help to learn more about the spiritual world of the writer, about his ideals.

Thus, in the fifth chapter, the writer praises the “lively and lively Russian mind”, his extraordinary ability for verbal expressiveness, that “if he rewards a slant with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity, he will take it with him both to the service and to retirement , and to St. Petersburg, and to the ends of the world.” Chichikov was led to such reasoning by his conversation with the peasants, who called Plyushkin “patched” and knew him only because he did not feed his peasants well.

Gogol felt the living soul of the Russian people, their daring, courage, hard work and love for a free life. In this regard, the author’s reasoning, put into Chichikov’s mouth, about serfs in the seventh chapter is of deep significance. What appears here is not a generalized image of Russian men, but specific people with real features, described in detail. This is the carpenter Stepan Probka - “a hero who would be fit for the guard,” who, according to Chichikov’s assumption, walked all over Rus' with an ax in his belt and boots on his shoulders. This is the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who studied with a German and decided to get rich instantly by making boots from rotten leather, which fell apart in two weeks. At this point, he abandoned his work, started drinking, blaming everything on the Germans, who did not allow Russian people to live.

Next, Chichikov reflects on the fate of many peasants bought from Plyushkin, Sobakevich, Manilov and Korobochka. But the idea of “the revelry of people’s life” did not coincide so much with the image of Chichikov that the author himself takes the floor and, on his own behalf, continues the story, the story of how Abakum Fyrov walks on the grain pier with barge haulers and merchants, having worked “under one, like Rus', a song.” The image of Abakum Fyrov indicates the love of the Russian people for a free, wild life, festivities and fun, despite the hard life of serfdom, the oppression of landowners and officials.

The love for the Russian people, for the homeland, the patriotic and sublime feelings of the writer were expressed in the image of the troika created by Gogol, rushing forward, personifying the mighty and inexhaustible forces of Russia. Here the author thinks about the future of the country: “Rus, where are you rushing?” He looks into the future and does not see it, but as a true patriot he believes that in the future there will be no Manilovs, Sobakeviches, Nozdrevs, Plyushkins, that Russia will rise to greatness and glory.

The image of the road in the lyrical digressions is symbolic. This is the road from the past to the future, the road along which the development of each person and Russia as a whole takes place.

But, in addition to lyrical digressions glorifying Russia and its people, the poem also contains reflections of the lyrical hero on philosophical topics, for example, about youth and old age, the vocation and purpose of a true writer, about his fate, which are somehow connected with the image of the road in the work . So, in the sixth chapter, Gogol exclaims: “Take with you on the journey, emerging from the soft youthful years into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later!..” Thus, the author wanted to say that all the best things in life are connected precisely with youth and one should not forget about it, as the landowners described in the novel did when they became “dead souls.” They do not live, but exist. Gogol calls for preserving a living soul, freshness and fullness of feelings and remaining like that for as long as possible.

Sometimes, reflecting on the transience of life, on changing ideals, the author himself appears as a traveler: “Before, long ago, in the summer of my youth... it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time... Now I indifferently drive up to any unfamiliar village and I look indifferently at her vulgar appearance; It’s unpleasant to my chilled gaze, it’s not funny to me... and my motionless lips keep an indifferent silence. O my youth! Oh my freshness!”

To recreate the completeness of the author’s image, it is necessary to talk about lyrical digressions in which Gogol talks about two types of writers. One of them “never once changed the sublime structure of his lyre, did not descend from its top to his poor, insignificant brothers, and the other dared to call out everything that is every minute before the eyes and which indifferent eyes do not see.” The lot of a real writer, who dared to truthfully recreate a reality hidden from the eyes of the people, is such that, unlike a romantic writer, absorbed in his unearthly and sublime images, he is not destined to achieve fame and experience the joyful feelings of being recognized and sung. Gogol comes to the conclusion that the unrecognized realist writer, satirist writer will remain without participation, that “his field is harsh, and he bitterly feels his loneliness.”

The author also talks about “connoisseurs of literature” who have their own idea of the purpose of a writer (“It’s better to present to us the beautiful and fascinating”), which confirms his conclusion about the fate of two types of writers.

So, lyrical digressions occupy a significant place in Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. They are remarkable from a poetic point of view. In them one can discern the beginnings of a new literary style, which would later find a vibrant life in Turgenev’s prose and especially in the works of Chekhov.

The poem “Dead Souls” differs in genre from other works of Russian literature. Lyrical digressions make it even brighter. They prove that N.V. Gogol created precisely the poem, but not in verse, but in prose.

The role of retreats

N.V. Gogol is constantly present in the text of the poem. The reader feels it all the time; sometimes he seems to forget about the plot of the text and is led astray. Why does the great classic do this:

Helps to more easily cope with the indignation caused by the characters’ actions.
Adds humor to the text.
Creates separate independent works.
Changes the impression from the general description of the routine life of landowners who have lost their soul.

The writer wants the reader to know his relationship to events and people. That is why he shares his thoughts, shows anger or regret.

Philosophical reasoning

Some digressions suggest reflecting on the peculiarities of human personality and existence.

About thick and thin. The writer divides men into two kinds depending on their fatness. He finds distinctive properties of their character. Thin ones are resourceful and unreliable. They easily adapt to situations and change their behavior. Fat people are businessmen who more often gain weight in society.
Two types of characters. Large portraits and difficult for portraitists. Some are open and understandable, others hide not only their appearance, but also everything inside.
Passion and man. Human feelings vary in strength. He can be visited by the most beautiful passions, or base and petty ones. Someone dreams of insignificant trinkets, but somewhere a feeling of great love is born. Passion changes a person, it can turn him into a worm and lead to the loss of his soul.
About scoundrels and virtues. How do scoundrels appear? The classic believes that the fault is in the acquisition. The stronger a person’s desire to acquire, the faster he loses virtues.
About a human. Age changes personality. It's hard to imagine yourself in old age. The young man becomes bitter and loses his humanity on the path of life. Even the grave is more merciful: it is written about the burial of a person. Old age loses its sensuality, it is cold and lifeless.

Love for Russia

Such digressions clearly show the peculiarity of Russian people and nature. The author's boundless love for his homeland is higher than other feelings. No obstacles will stop Russia. She will endure and take the wide, clear road, get out of all the contradictions of life.

Rus' - Troika. The road along which the country is heading evokes delight in Gogol’s soul. Russia is free, it loves speed and movement. The author believes that the country will find a path to a happy future for the people.
Roads. Roads of retreat are a force that conquers a person. He cannot sit still, he strives forward. Roads help him see new things, look at himself from the outside. The road at night, on a bright day and in a clear morning is different. But she's always good.
Rus. Gogol is transported to the beautiful far away and tries to examine the Russian expanses. He admires the beauty, the ability to hide the melancholy, sadness and tears of the inhabitants. The vastness of the country captivates and frightens. Why was it given to Russia?
Russian communication. Gogol compares the treatment of Russians with other nations. The landowners of the province change their conversation style depending on the state of the interlocutor: the number of souls. The “Prometheus” of the office becomes a “partridge” at the doors of the authorities. A person changes even outwardly, he becomes lower in servility, and with a lower class, louder and bolder.
Russian speech. The word spoken by the Russian people is apt and significant. It can be compared to things cut out with an axe. The word created by the Russian mind comes from the very heart. It is “sweeping, smart” and reflects the character and identity of the people.

Selected stories

Some of the lyrical digressions have their own plot. They can be read as an independent work, taken out of the context of the poem. They will not lose their meaning.

The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. The most striking part of the book. Censorship sought to remove the story from Dead Souls. The story of a war participant seeking help from the authorities is a difficult one. Having achieved nothing, he becomes a robber.
Kif Mokievich and Mokiy Kifovich. Two characters, living according to their own laws, connect all the characters that have passed before the reader. The strong Mokiy wastes what is given to him by God. Bogatyrs are taken out and turned into weak-spirited people. They, endowed with special qualities, do not understand what they could become, what benefit they could bring to the people.
Peasants of the village Lousy arrogance. Talented people are enslaved, but remain hardworking and bright. A story about how, during a popular revolt in a village with a telling (as Gogol likes) name
“...the police in the person of the assessor were wiped out from the face of the earth...”
Confirms.

The great classic talks about two types of writers. Some describe boring characters. Authors are native to their society. Glory rises so high that they themselves recognize themselves as geniuses and equate them with the Divine. Other writers do not strive for fame; they work on the word, but end up on trial, which takes away their talent. The writing field is very tough. The reflections of the author of the poem make the book broader and more significant; they raise questions and encourage the reader to look for answers to the questions asked by the text and lyrical deviations from the main plot.