In Russian poetry of the first third of the 19th century, a common genre was the friendly message. The popularity of this genre was largely due to the relative free form expressions of thoughts. A message to a friend resembled a casual conversation, which is not limited by strict formal boundaries; often this is a conversation on equal terms, an appeal to the reader. The addressee could be anyone: a very real person close to the author or a person with whom the author was personally acquainted; it could even be an imaginary hero.
Message genre originated in ancient times in the works of Horace, after - Ovid, and then came to European literature. M. Lomonosov and D. Fonvizin, K. Batyushkov and V. Zhukovsky wrote in this genre. A message is often similar to a letter, and since our compatriots who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries still sent letters to relatives and friends, examples of lyrical messages can also be found in the poetry of S. Yesenin (“Letter to a Mother”, “Letter to a Woman” ), and in the works of V. Mayakovsky (“Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva”, “Letter to Comrade Kostrov”).
The message of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is addressed to him Lyceum friend- Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev. Pushkin, already living in St. Petersburg and being in the position of collegiate secretary, often came to see his friend at Moika, house number 40. He loved to talk with Chaadaev and tried not to miss the opportunity to see him again. From Chaadaev he learned independence, dignity, and a broad outlook on life. Pyotr Yakovlevich was a consistent defender of freedom: he even set his serfs free. That is why one of Pushkin’s best youth poems was called "To Chaadaev".
This poem's genre can confidently be attributed to a friendly message. It is confidential, more lyrical in nature. At the same time, deeply personal motives merge in the message with sublime, patriotic ones. This is real civic-sounding lyrics, it contains absolute conviction in future freedom.
Plot The message “To Chaadaev” develops the idea of a person growing up, first of all, as a citizen. The beginning of the poem sounds depressing: it turns out "love, hope, quiet glory" turned out to be just a hoax. Youthful dreams of fame and freedom when confronted with reality turned into doubt. It is no coincidence that Pushkin compares them to sleep, to morning fog, which tend to dissipate in a matter of seconds. Many contemporaries saw in these lines Pushkin’s attitude towards the reign of Alexander I, who considered himself a true liberal.
The second part of the message becomes antithesis to the first, so its sound changes. Now a hero "an impatient soul" following personal feelings, he experiences impulses of love of freedom. They are no less ardent than before, but now they are not addressed to own desires, but to the needs of their homeland. For a poet, such an appeal from the particular to the general is a completely natural step on the path of growing up as a true citizen and necessary condition appearance "saint liberties". The hero is sure that “Russia will wake up from its sleep” only when every sincerely loving citizen wakes up.
But for all his ardor, Pushkin was well aware that even with the inevitability "awakening" of man and country there are forces that hinder this liberation: "The oppression of the fatal power" And "the weight of autocracy" resist his impulses "impatient soul". That's why best time life, its most powerful and independent time, according to young poet, necessary "dedicate to the Fatherland". The well-deserved reward in this case will be a loud historical glory, When “our names will be written on the ruins of autocracy”.
Socio-political vocabulary ( "honor", "power", "oppression", "fatherland"), with which the entire poem “To Chaadaev” is saturated, was characteristic of early poetry Decembrists, especially the poetry of Ryleev. For this reason, the poem by little-known Alexander Pushkin in 1818 was distributed among the residents of St. Petersburg almost anonymously and only in 1829 was published in the almanac “ North Star"M. A. Bestuzhev in a very distorted form. And director Vladimir Motyl in 1975 took a line from the poem - “Star of Captivating Happiness” - for the title of his film about tragic fate Decembrists who came out to Senate Square in 1825.
- “The Captain’s Daughter”, a summary of the chapters of Pushkin’s story
- “The luminary of the day has gone out,” analysis of Pushkin’s poem
Love, hope, quiet glory
Deception did not last long for us,
The youthful fun has disappeared
Like a dream, like morning fog;
But it burns inside us still desire;
Under the yoke of fatal power
With an impatient soul
Let us heed the calling of the Fatherland.
We wait with languid hope
Holy moments of freedom
How a young lover waits
Minutes of a faithful date.
While we are burning with freedom,
Bye hearts for honor is alive,
My friend, let's dedicate it to the fatherland
Beautiful impulses from the soul!
Comrade, believe: she will rise,
Star of captivating happiness,
Russia will wake up from its sleep,
And on the ruins of autocracy
They will write our names!
Updated: 2011-05-09
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Useful material on topic
- Analysis of A.S. Pushkin’s poem “To Chaadaev”
Historical and biographical material
History of creation and date of writing of the poem
The poem was written in 1818. Ever since his lyceum years, Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev was a close friend of the poet, despite the difference in age. During the period when this poem was created, Pushkin saw in his friend a person endowed with freedom-loving ideals, but at the same time wise with life experience. Chaadaev was a member of the “Union of Welfare” (secret Decembrist society). For publishing his views in " Philosophical writing", he was declared crazy by the government.
Pushkin addressed several more poems to Chaadaev, but they were already very different from the one created in 1818 in their mood.
The main theme of the poem
Despite the fact that the poem is written in the genre of a friendly message, the theme of friendship cannot be considered the leading one in it. Here we hear the theme of freedom and the fight against autocracy, hope for the awakening of Russia. Reflected Political Views and sentiments that were the same for both Chaadaev and Pushkin. “To Chaadaev” served as a means of political agitation and was widely distributed in lists.
Poem composition
In composition this poem Three parts can be distinguished. The first is an analysis of the past, of naive youth. The second is self-analysis in the present tense. And the third is a look into the future. The composition is circular: at the beginning and at the end there is a motif of awakening from sleep.
At first, the lyrical hero remembers the past. He is disappointed that his hopes were not realized. Now he has woken up from his dreams. But his main desire to serve for the good of his Motherland never faded away. It cheers him up and lifts his spirits. And the hero compares this desire with the feeling of love. With his message he not only inspires faith in others, but also encourages himself.
Prevailing mood and its changes
At the beginning of the poem there is a minor motif - the hero’s dreams are dispelled by phenomena real life. Then the mood becomes cheerful, there is still hope in the hero. The appeal of the lyrical hero sounds like a call, very persistently.
Vocabulary of the poem
Pushkin uses the vocabulary of the so-called “ high style": "let us listen", "hope". There are also socio-political concepts: “power”, “freedom”, “oppression”.
Poetic syntax
The poem contains a wide variety of means artistic expression. These are comparisons (“like a dream, like morning fog”), metaphors (“desire burns,” “we are burning with freedom,” “Russia will rise from sleep”), and epithets (“quiet glory,” “holy liberty”).
The work is written in iambic tetrameter, using ring and cross rhymes. Divided into quatrains and finally a quintet. The intonation in each part is independent.
Closely connected with the movement and ideas of the Decembrists. In many of his poems, the poet directly or covertly addressed this topic. For example, an analysis of Pushkin’s poem “To Chaadaev” makes it possible to reveal the idea of a work that has direct relation to this political movement. And the history of the creation of this text reveals additional features for him ideological characteristics and determining the theme of the verse.
In the analysis of the poem, the following questions should be consistently revealed:
- History of writing the text (date, year, key events).
- Determine the genre of the poem.
- Describe the idea and theme, literary direction.
- Determine the size of the poem, describe the composition and its connection with the content of the poem “To Chaadaev.”
Each point of the plan reveals a certain important aspect text. Taken together, they present a comprehensive analysis.
The history of writing the poem
Elements of the history of the poem's writing are hidden in its title. Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev was a close friend of Alexander Sergeevich while studying at the Lyceum. The young people communicated a lot, shared their creativity, discussed political situation in the country. This verse was addressed to Pyotr Chaadaev when he was already a participant in the Decembrist movement.
Many then perceived Pushkin’s lines as a call to overthrow the autocracy. Because of this, the poet even accused himself of carelessness and freethinking. But the poem inspired the Decembrists so much that they proclaimed it the anthem of their movement. The handwritten text was passed from hand to hand and copied into notebooks.
The writing of the poem dates back to 1818 and its creation is associated with the speech of Alexander I during the Polish Sejm. Alexander Sergeevich was distrustful of the tsar’s promises and, it is possible that he was washed after what he heard and formed into poetic lines. The verse was first published by Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin in the almanac “Sirius” (1827). Readers were able to see only 4 lines of the work. Later, in the same abbreviated form, it was published in the almanac “Northern Star”.
Interesting! Today, the authorship of these lines is disputed in some literary circles.
Genre
In the 19th century, a popular genre was the "friendly message". It is characterized by:
- Availability of addressee;
- Friendly orientation;
- Confidential tone.
The poem “To Chaadaev” meets the requirements of this specific genre.
If we consider it from the point of view of the classification of lyrics, it can be classified as both intimate (there are reflections on the personal) and civil lyrics (socio-political topics are touched upon).
Idea and theme of the poem
The thematic basis of the poem is reflections on the maturation of the individual. The lyrical hero begins to doubt the correctness of his views, realizes the transition to a new life stage, and perceives everything of the past as “deception” (“Love, the hope of quiet glory did not bless us with deception for long”). These lines are about leaving romantic youth behind.
At the same time, there is a certain sublimity, youthful inspiration and readiness to change something. This mood is not accidental: the lyrics written in Lyceum years, is distinguished by inspiration, sublimity, and some pathos.
The idea of the poem is the exaltation of freedom and the fight against autocracy, inspiration for change and the fulfillment of the “homeland of calling.”
The idea of the poem is the rise of freedom
Poem composition
The poem can be divided into 4 ideological and thematic blocks.
- The first four lines are a mood of protest, a feeling of the fallacy of past views and an awareness of change and maturation.
- The next 8 lines are a statement that deep down, even despite the erroneous views of the past, there is still a desire to change something even in difficult conditions political situation. In this passage, the political subtext clearly emerges (condemnation of the current situation: “..Under the yoke of fatal power”).
- In the next four lines the author formulates his appeal. Addressing a specific friend, the lyrical hero simultaneously addresses the entire people. You can feel youth, lyceum fervor and inspiration in these words.
- The last 4 lines are a statement of faith, a kind of prophecy that Russia will change, and those who took part in this will forever imprint their names in history.
Each of these passages uses appropriate artistic techniques, with the help of which the desired effect and influence on the reader is achieved.
Useful video: theme and idea of the poem “To Chaadaev”
Artistic techniques
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, in the lines of his poem to Chaadaev, uses several important artistic techniques in poetry:
- : contrast between debt and regime, freedom and serfdom;
- the use of marked vocabulary: “fatherland” instead of “homeland” to create an inspired mood in the verse. “Liberty” instead of “freedom”, as well as the words “autocracy”, “heed”, “with languor”. Vocabulary of this format sets the overall pathetic tone of poetry. This influenced the recognition of these lines as the anthem of the Decembrists;
- comparisons: “like a dream, like morning fog”, “like a young lover waits”;
- metaphors: “we are deceived by deception,” “we are burning with freedom,” “hearts are alive for honor,” “will arise from sleep.”
All these techniques make poetry bright and expressive. From a friendly message it turns into a motivating treatise that inspires and heralds the beginning of new times. The author uses a typical iambic tetrameter. This, together with cross and ring rhymes, creates rhythmic text that is easy to read and remember.
Important! The size, rhythm and lexical content of the text contributed to its rapid spread among future Decembrists.
Key images
In this work there are three key images: lyrical hero (author), addressee (Chaadaev) and Russia.
The image of the lyrical hero is the author. Although he was afraid to admit his freethinking, these thoughts belonged to Alexander Sergeevich. In this verse he is inspired and frustrated, brave and mature. He feels the pressure of time (“While we burn with freedom, while our hearts live for honor”), he feels the strength in himself to change.
The friend to whom he is speaking does not appear directly in this verse. But the author constantly uses the word “we” in his speech, which indicates a commonality of views and zeal. The very tone of the work allows us to characterize the addressee as a person equal to Pushkin, who can be trusted and reveal his aspirations.
The image of Russia in poetry is closely connected with political subtext. In the first half of the verse, the author uses the words “under the yoke of fatal power,” consciously choosing lexemes that sound loud and unambiguous. They describe the state of the country at the time the poem was written. The words “Russia will awaken from its sleep” characterize the state of the homeland not so directly. This means that the country is asleep, not aware of its movement, and this state of sleep must be stopped.
The accusations and criticism concerned more the personality of the poet himself, rather than the poem. He was accused of freethinking, freethinking. There is a theory that for some time Alexander Sergeevich denied his authorship and because of this, even today in literary circles disputes do not subside over who was the author of this work?
Useful video: Analysis of the poem “To Chaadaev”
Conclusion
The given analysis plan will help to parse any poetic or prose work. Based on its points, it is easy to describe the main idea, composition and artistic techniques used by the author.
Analysis of the poem
1. The history of the creation of the work.
2. Characteristics of the work lyrical genre(type of lyrics, artistic method, genre).
3. Analysis of the content of the work (analysis of the plot, characteristics of the lyrical hero, motives and tonality).
4. Features of the composition of the work.
5. Analysis of means of artistic expression and versification (presence of tropes and stylistic figures, rhythm, meter, rhyme, stanza).
6. The meaning of the poem for the poet’s entire work.
The poem “To Chaadaev” was written by A.S. Pushkin in 1818. It is addressed to a person whose friendship the poet valued very much. P.Ya. Chaadaev was five years older than Pushkin, he had a rich life experience, excellent education (Moscow University), was a man of deep, encyclopedic mind. He took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, in 1816–1820. was an officer in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Chaadaev had great influence Pushkin valued his friendship with the young poet very much. The poet addressed several messages and the quatrain “To the Portrait of Chaadaev” to Pyotr Yakovlevich, in which he compares his senior comrade with the heroes of antiquity:
He is the highest will of heaven
Born in the shackles of royal service.
He would be Brutus in Rome, Pericles in Athens,
And here he is a hussar officer.
The message “To Chaadaev” was received widespread on the lists. In a distorted form, without Pushkin’s knowledge, it was published in the almanac “Northern Star” for 1829. But it was completely printed only in 1901.
The genre of the work is a friendly message. The style is romantic, which combines the intonations of love and civil lyrics. However, the message relates to civilian freedom-loving poetry. Its main theme is the theme of freedom, this is the dream of the awakening of Russia.
As researchers have repeatedly noted, in this poem Pushkin writes on behalf of an entire generation that is only still realizing its goals and objectives. The message begins on a sad note: delight in life, love, hopes - all this turned out to be just a deception, a myth, a pipe dream. And this kind of loss often occurred in modern poet reality. Dreams of glory and freedom often turned into bitter disappointment when confronted with the realities of life. This was the case with Chaadaev. This is exactly what the poet talks about in the first lines of the poem:
Love, hope, quiet glory
Deception did not last long for us,
The youthful fun has disappeared
Like a dream, like morning fog...
However, then the poet’s sad tone gives way to a cheerful and life-affirming one:
But the desire still burns within us,
Under the yoke of fatal power
With an impatient soul
Let us heed the hope of the Fatherland
Holy moments of freedom
How a young lover waits
Minutes of a faithful date.
The inspired dream of “holy freedom” cannot be drowned out by either the difficulties of struggle or the “yoke of fatal power.” The poet here compares service to the Fatherland with a feeling of love, with ardor young lover. At the same time, the important thing is that this heat of the soul should not burn out or cool down.
The poet’s appeal to his older friend is so persistent and inviting:
Comrade, believe: she will rise,
Star of captivating happiness,
Russia will wake up from its sleep,
And on the ruins of autocracy
They will write our names!
And this appeal is not to Chaadaev alone, but to the entire generation.
Compositionally, we can distinguish three parts in the work. The first part is the lyrical hero’s thoughts about the past, a kind of analysis of bygone feelings, attitudes, hopes characteristic of naive youth. The second part is an analysis of your feelings in the present. The center of the poem is a call to a friend and like-minded person:
While we are burning with freedom,
While hearts are alive for honor,
My friend, let's dedicate it to the fatherland
Beautiful impulses from the soul!
The third part is thoughts about the future, revealing the hero’s ardent faith in the idea of freedom, in the possibility of transforming Russia. At the end of the poem, the same motive appears as at the beginning - awakening from sleep. Only in the finale does this motive sound very broadly: this is no longer the individual attitude of the hero, but the attitude of the whole people, Russia. The intimate lyrical intonation here becomes civilly pathetic. In this sense, we can talk about a ring composition.
The message is written in iambic tetrameter, cross and ring rhymes are used. The entire work is divided into quatrains and a final five-line. Each group is independent in its intonation. Pushkin uses a variety of means of artistic expression: metaphor (“we are burning with freedom”, “desire is burning”, “Russia will rise from sleep”), epithets (“quiet glory”, “moments of holy freedom”), comparison (“Young fun has disappeared, Like a dream like morning fog"). The message uses “high” style vocabulary (“heed”, “fatherland”, “hope”), socio-political terms (“oppression”, “power”, “liberty”, “freedom”, “honor”, “autocracy” ).
Thus, in the romantic message “To Chaadaev” Pushkin moves away from romanticism in its traditional thematic embodiment. The main idea of the work is the idea of freedom and knightly service to the Fatherland.
“Oh, how many wonderful discoveries we have” was prepared by the poetry of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837). This is truly an inexhaustible treasury for both fans and professionals of the world of poetry. Among the sparkling diamonds of the great poet’s work, the pearl “To Chaadaev” does not lose any of its special shine. Let's try parse the poem, let us briefly consider the circumstances of its creation, genre, idea, stylistic features.
Previous Events
The history of the creation of the work is as follows. The date of writing of the poem is 1818, Pushkin was only 18 years old at that time.
In his verse one hears not so much a dedication, how much an appeal to Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev (1794 - 1856), as a specific addressee and friend.
Pyotr Chaadaev was extraordinary personality- hussar officer, participant Patriotic War 1812, many (including Borodino) battles, publicist, philosopher, style setter in the salons of St. Petersburg.
Pushkin met him in 1816 in the house of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766 - 1826). Chaadaev had a great influence on the formation of the young poet as a person. In addition, they had warm and friendly relations. All this was reflected in Pushkin’s work, his works:
- poem "",
- poetic signature “To the portrait of Chaadaev.”
But it is precisely the views, ideas and dreams that are most voluminously presented in the poem “To Chaadaev.” It was also called "Letter from Pushkin". Poem for a long time It was not published anywhere, but was distributed in rewritten form.
Important! A small excerpt was published in the Sirius magazine (1827), and in a more complete form (the last five-line was missing) in the Northern Star almanac, without the consent of the author, in 1829. By the way, the manuscript of the poem has not survived, so there are several dozen variations of it.
How is the analysis of the poem “To Chaadaev” carried out? First you need to make a plan, which includes:
- History of writing
- Features of genre affiliation.
- The idea of the poem.
- The main theme of the poem that the poet addresses.
- Description of the lyrical hero.
- Changes in mood.
- Lexical composition. syntax, size.
Genre
Written in the genre of “message” or “letter”, very popular among poets of the late 18th and early 20th centuries, but lyrical notes (dominant in the work of A.S. Pushkin) are clearly visible in it, especially in the first half of the poem, where we're talking about about the hero’s aspirations and attitude towards the addressee, and closer to the end, the tonality of the manifesto begins to appear more and more.
That's where the echoes sound progressive ideas of Chaadaev, most likely, served as an inspiring factor for writing the work.
The rethinking of a friend’s views found its poetic expression in Pushkin’s lines. The composition is circular and three-part - at the beginning the poet talks about the past, youth, in the middle - about the present, in the third part a look into the future is shown. The main motive of awakening from sleep is heard in the first and last parts.
Main topics
It is worth including several thematic areas in the analysis plan. Main theme of the poem- liberation from the orders of the existing system (“under the yoke of fatal power”), which does not allow internal, creative freedom, aimed at the good of the Fatherland, to manifest itself.
Freedom
The lyrical hero in the poem, disillusioned with the naivety of past “funs of youth,” strives for changes in the oppressive state structure out of feeling and responsibility to future generations. He calls to this not only his addressee, but also any other listener who is not indifferent to the fate of the Fatherland. In the overthrow of the “fatal power” he sees real liberation - “a moment of holy freedom.” And he believes in this with all his soul, trying to convey his impulse to others.
Love
The desire for freedom of the hero of the verse is akin to the feeling of love for a woman (this eternal theme), which demonstrates the lyrical component (“how a young lover waits”). The hero's soul is impatient, and thoughts are the highest, which is typical for a lover. He longs for the release of his thoughts and thoughts with confidence in their inevitable fulfillment (“minutes of a faithful date”).
Unity
At the same time, the poet speaks not on his own behalf, but on behalf of a certain community, most likely an entire generation (“we wait with languid hope”), whose views he shares. Unity theme, although not the main one, but very important!
And this is not surprising, because it is at this time that the rise begins liberation movement against, which ended with the Decembrist uprising in 1825 (Chaadaev himself became a participant secret society in 1821, but could not take part in the uprising because he was being treated abroad).
If the first three stanzas present the reflections of the lyrical hero about the past, present and future, then in the final two (quatrains and pentaverses) a direct appeal sounds. But why? It is generally accepted that it will lead to the overthrow of autocratic power. That's probably true. Revolutionary sentiments after the Patriotic War of 1812 were simply in the air.
The people and liberal-minded representatives of the nobility and intelligentsia expected greater rights and freedoms, but their expectations were not met. The lyrical hero does not represent service for the good of the Motherland without the illuminating fire of freedom (“while we burn with freedom”). Only a new person, free from the past, is capable of “beautiful impulses of the soul.”
Friendship
At the beginning, Pushkin addresses Chaadaev “my friend,” which indicates the presence of a warm, close relationship, and in the final stanza the address “comrade” is heard, which also indicates the revolutionary nature of the call to a comrade in the struggle.
Pay attention! In real life, Pushkin called Chaadaev his “only friend.”
It is the address “comrade” that will become one of the symbols of future revolutions. The poet calls for faith that the struggle will not be in vain and “the star of captivating happiness will rise” - a symbol of the much-desired freedom.
Progressiveness of the call
The beloved Fatherland will rise from the age-old sleep of autocracy, on the ruins of which comrades-in-arms or descendants will sooner or later write the names of all who strove for liberation without sparing their lives.
This is the essence of the idea of the poem “To Chaadaev”. The lyrical hero firmly believes in this and instills this faith in those around him.
It is not for nothing that the poem “To Chaadaev” subsequently became one of the most liberal environment of the 19th century This is a proclamatory call. It was rewritten and distributed in hundreds of copies among progressive-minded sections of society.
For the purpose of this brief analysis not included detailed analysis from the point of view of versification. To the above genre of “message”, it should be added that the work is written in iambic tetrameter and consists of five stanzas (the first four are four lines each and the final pentaline).
Brief analysis of the verse “To Chaadaev”
We study Pushkin's poem to Chaadaev
Conclusion
The poem “To Chaadaev” appeared a shining example civil lyrics of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, to this day it has not lost its patriotic relevance and motivational component in serving the interests of our Motherland.
