My sad comrade flapping his wing at the bloody meal. Analysis of the poem “Prisoner” (“I’m sitting behind bars in a damp dungeon...”)

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• This is Pushkin))
  And Lermontov’s “Open the prison for me...”
• Pushkin, prisoner
• PRISONER
  
  

We are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time!

Alexander Pushkin:
Aleksandra Sergeevich Pu’shkin (May 26 (June 6), 1799, Moscow - January 29 (February 10), 1837, St. Petersburg) - Russian poet, playwright and prose writer. Member Russian Academy (1833).

Most biographers and bibliographers of Pushkin speak of him as a great or greatest Russian poet, as the creator of new Russian literature, who in his work established the norms of modern Russian literary language. His works are recognized as the standard of language, like the works of Dante in Italy or Goethe in Germany.

Even during his lifetime, the poet began to be called a genius, including in print. From the second half of the 1820s, he began to be considered the “first Russian poet” not only among his contemporaries, but also among Russian poets of all times, and a real cult developed around his personality among readers.

Alexander Pushkin, portrait by O. A. Kiprensky
Nicknames:
Alexander NKSHP, Ivan Petrovich Belkin,
Feofilakt Kosichkin (magazine), P. Art. Arz. (Old Arzamas). A.B.
Date of birth:
May 26 (June 6) 1799
Place of birth:
Moscow, Russian Empire
Date of death:
January 29 (February 10) 1837 (age 37)
Place of death:
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Type of activity:
poet, novelist, playwright
Years of creativity:
1814-1837
Direction:
romanticism, realism
Genre:
Poems, stories, poems, novel in verse, drama
Language of works:
Russian, French
Debut:
To a poet friend (1814)

I'm sitting behind bars in a damp dungeon.
A young eagle raised in captivity,
My sad comrade, flapping his wing,
Bloody food is pecking under the window,

He pecks and throws and looks out the window,
It’s as if he had the same idea with me.
He calls me with his gaze and his cry
And he wants to say: “Let’s fly away!”

We are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time!
There, where the mountain turns white behind the clouds,
To where the sea edges turn blue,
Where we walk only the wind... yes I!..."

Analysis of the poem “Prisoner” by Pushkin

A. S. Pushkin in 1820-1824 for his too free verses he served the so-called southern exile (in Chisinau and Odessa). The poet faced much more severe punishment(exile to Siberia with deprivation of noble rights). Only personal petitions from friends and acquaintances helped achieve a reduced sentence. Nevertheless, the poet's pride and independence suffered greatly. Pushkin’s creative nature could not calmly endure violence against his personality. He considered the exile as a grave insult. As punishment, the poet was assigned to do routine clerical work, which depressed him even more. The author’s negligent attitude towards his duties became a kind of “rebellion”. He continues to write caustic epigrams and “inadmissible” poems. In 1822, he created the poem “The Prisoner,” in which he allegorically described his situation. There is an assumption that Pushkin described his impressions of visiting the Chisinau prison and talking with prisoners.

Pushkin uses a multi-stage comparison. He imagines himself as a prisoner “in a damp dungeon.” The prisoner, in turn, is compared to a “young eagle” locked in a cage. Great value has the characteristic of a captive - “raised in captivity.” It can be interpreted in two ways. Or Pushkin hints at the unlimited nature of autocratic power, under which any person cannot consider himself absolutely free. His imaginary independence can be limited and confined at any moment. Either he emphasizes that he ended up in exile in a very early age when his character was just beginning to take shape. Such brutal violence against a young person can seriously damage him state of mind. In any case, the poet strongly protests against his “conclusion.”

In the poem, the image of a “sad comrade” of a prisoner appears - a free eagle, whose life does not depend on anyone’s whim. Initially, equal “free birds” are separated by a lattice. It's not just the two eagles that are sharply contrasted. Pushkin shows the contrast between the food received from the owner and the “bloody food” - a symbol of freedom and independence.

The free eagle calls on the prisoner to leave his prison and fly to distant, beautiful lands, where there is no violence and coercion. The dream takes away lyrical hero to where only the free wind reigns.

It is known that in 1825 Pushkin seriously planned to escape abroad. It is possible that in the poem “The Prisoner” he first vaguely expressed his plans (“I had one thing in mind,” “let’s fly away!”). If this assumption is true, then we can only be glad that the poet was not able to bring his plans to life.

Pushkin celebrates New Year 1822 in Chisinau. This was already the third year of the poet’s southern exile. Arriving in Chisinau from the picturesque Crimea, he finds himself in the dull Bessarabian steppe, scorched by the sun. The local society, which consisted mainly of officers from units stationed nearby, was closed to the poet. These were people older and more experienced than him, they passed Patriotic War, and, naturally, they did not particularly strive to accept into their circle a “secular” person from the capital, especially one who had been exiled. Lack of friends, monotonous monotonous work and boring provincial life - he will have to endure all this for almost three years. Pushkin felt like he was imprisoned here. One day, having an opportunity in the Chisinau prison, he saw two eagles that were in it and were chained by their paws. Impressed by the picture he saw and personal experiences from the Chisinau exile, the poet wrote his song of freedom - the poem “Prisoner”.

The genre of the poem is lyrical romanticism, characteristic of the young Pushkin. His characteristic feature is that inner world The hero is fully revealed even in such a small work. The poem is written in amphibrachium, one of the rare meters used by the poet, the rhyme of the verse is paired, with the emphasis on the last syllable.

The main characters of the poem are the prisoner and the eagle. The author several times highlights their common aspirations: the prisoner considers the eagle his comrade and believes that they have a common goal - to break free. The main idea of ​​the poem “Prisoner” is dreams of freedom. Every line talks about it in one way or another, but nowhere is the word “freedom” itself mentioned. The entire poem is built on antitheses. The passive “sitting behind bars” is offered an excellent alternative: “let’s fly away!” The silent cell, the “damp dungeon” is contrasted with mountains, clouds and the sea. The two prisoners, the hero and the eagle, at the beginning of the poem are given two free friends: the eagle and the wind at the end.

The work suggests that the existing order of things is unnatural, it needs urgent replacement. Colorful epithets further show how bad the unfree present is and how wonderful the free future is. Just “in a damp dungeon” conjures up a dull and gloomy image of a musty dungeon that you want to leave as soon as possible. And the unnaturalness of “a young eagle raised in captivity” is generally absurd - the eagle is a symbol of freedom, it should not live in chains.

The poem ends with a desperate call to break free. This is the main idea of ​​the work. You can think about will as much as you like, dream about it, but the main thing is to go towards it. Repeating “it’s time, brother, it’s time!” in the third quatrain it seems to strengthen this call. Analysis of the poem “The Prisoner” reveals to us the inner world of Pushkin and people close to him in spirit. The poet makes us realize that freedom is a priceless gift; that living and acting according to your own will is wonderful!

"The Prisoner" Alexander Pushkin

I'm sitting behind bars in a damp dungeon.
A young eagle raised in captivity,
My sad comrade, flapping his wing,
Bloody food is pecking under the window,

He pecks and throws and looks out the window,
It’s as if he had the same idea with me;
He calls me with his gaze and his cry
And he wants to say: “Let’s fly away!”

We are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time!
There, where the mountain turns white behind the clouds,
To where the sea edges turn blue,
Where we walk only the wind... yes I!..”

Analysis of Pushkin's poem "The Prisoner"

The poem “The Prisoner,” written by Alexander Pushkin in 1822, dates back to the period of his southern exile (1820-1824), when the poet, by order of the Governor General of St. Petersburg, was forced to leave the capital and go to Chisinau. Despite the fact that the local mayor, Prince Ivan Inzov, treated the poet quite leniently, Pushkin perceived his new appointment to serve in the office of a remote province as a personal insult. Being by nature freedom-loving and deprived of the right to choose, the poet understood that for his too free verses, at a minimum, exile to Siberia awaited him. And only thanks to the petition of his friends, he retained the title of nobleman and the position of collegiate secretary. Nevertheless, the poet perceived his stay in dusty and dirty Chisinau as imprisonment. And it was to this period of his life that he dedicated the poem “Prisoner”.

From the first lines, Alexander Pushkin draws very sad picture, comparing southern city With damp dungeon . He was free in his actions and quite often ignored his official duties, but the lack of opportunity to return to St. Petersburg or Moscow gave the poet a feeling of impotent anger. Therefore, he associated the sultry south with a prison cell, and work in the office with imprisonment.

The imagery with which Pushkin characterizes this period of his life is enhanced by many metaphors. Thus, in the poem “Prisoner,” in order to emphasize the hopelessness of his situation, the poet draws a parallel with an eagle, fed in captivity, which is his brother in misfortune. At the same time, the author notes that the proud bird, who has never experienced the heady feeling of freedom, is much stronger and more freedom-loving than him, because with her cry and gaze she seems to “... want to say: “Come on, let's fly away!”

And, succumbing to her persuasion, the poet himself realizes - “we are free birds; it's time, brother, it's time! What exactly did Pushkin mean by comparing himself to a young eagle? First of all, this was an awareness of his own freedom-loving self, as a result of which the poet’s irritability only intensified. The author understood that he was born free and independent person, and no one has the right to tell him how and where to live. However, the existing tsarist regime seeks to impose its rules of the game on all its subjects. Russian Empire regardless of titles and rank. This discovery not only shocks the poet, but also forces him to look for a way out of the current situation. In the poem “The Prisoner” he quite clearly hints that he is going to go “to where the edges of the sea turn blue.” And indeed, soon the poet submits a petition addressed to Count Vorontsov, who is the mayor of Odessa, to transfer him to serve in the office of this port city. This step was not caused by the desire to leave boring provincial Chisinau, but by the desire to change at least something in one’s destiny and act contrary to those in power, violating their direct order. The transfer to Odessa itself did not change the fate of the poet, who was still forced to live in exile, but allowed him to assert himself and prove that only he himself has the right to dispose own life. This means that no one can prevent a poet from writing poetry and making it public.

It is noteworthy that it was in southern exile that Alexander Pushkin fully realized himself as involved in Russian literature and for the first time tried to formulate what it means to be a poet. The very first condition for this is spiritual freedom, therefore, while in exile, Pushkin created many truly talented and delightful works, including the poem “The Prisoner,” which became a kind of life motto of the young poet.

A freedom-loving, handsome Russophobe who despised the world, a student of Pushkin, killed by a sniper from the mountain, and other knowledge gained on school lessons and from educational television programs that urgently need to be forgotten

Lermontov in the auditorium of Moscow University. Drawing by Vladimir Milashevsky. 1939

1. Lermontov was born in Tarkhany

No; The poet’s second cousin Akim Shan-Girey wrote about this, but he was wrong. In fact, Lermontov was born in Moscow, in the house of Major General F.N. Tolya, located opposite the Red Gate. Now at this place there is a monument to Lermontov by sculptor I. D. Brodsky.

2. Lermontov left Moscow University due to persecution

Allegedly, the poet was persecuted in connection with the so-called Malov story, which happened in March 1831, when M. Ya. Malov, a professor of criminal law, was boycotted by students and forced to leave the audience during a lecture, for which they were punished. No; in fact, Lermontov decided to continue his studies at St. Petersburg University, for which he left for St. Petersburg in 1832. In his resignation letter, he wrote: “Due to domestic circumstances, I can no longer continue my studies at the local university, and therefore I humbly ask the board of the Imperial Moscow University, having dismissed me from it, to provide me with the appropriate certificate for transfer to the Imperial St. Petersburg University.” (However, Lermontov did not study there, but entered the School of Guards Ensigns and cavalry cadets.)

3. Lermontov was killed as a result of a conspiracy, on the orders of Nicholas I. It was not Martynov who shot the poet, but a sniper from the mountain

All this is unfounded speculation. The reliably known circumstances of the duel were outlined by Prince A. I. Vasilchikov, who left memories, A. A. Stolypin, who drew up the protocol, and N. S. Martynov during the investigation. It follows from them that Martynov challenged Lermontov to a duel because of the insult that the poet inflicted on him. The version about the sniper, in particular, was voiced on the “Culture” channel and expressed by V. G. Bondarenko in latest biography Lermontov, published in the ZhZL series. According to the testimony of Vasilchikov and Stolypin, who were present at the scene of the duel, it was Martynov who fired. There is no reason to believe otherwise.

4. Lermontov had a bad time at the cadet school, and he could not write poetry

In fact, although Lermontov stayed in cadet school only two years, during which time he wrote quite a bit: a number of poems, the novel “Vadim”, the poem “Hadji Abrek”, the fifth edition of “The Demon”. And this is not counting the specific cadet creativity, which was mostly obscene in nature. In addition, Lermontov drew a lot at the cadet school: more than 200 drawings have survived.

Apparently, this idea of ​​Lermontov’s appearance was formed under the influence of his character. Thus, in memoirs and fiction there is periodic mention of Lermontov’s gaze: caustic, malicious, persecuting. But most of his contemporaries remembered Lermontov not at all as a romantic handsome man: short, stocky, broad in the shoulders, in an overcoat that did not fit him, with a large head and a gray strand in his black hair. At the cadet school he broke his leg and then limped. One of the memoirists noted that due to some congenital disease, Lermontov’s face sometimes became covered with spots and changed color. However, there are also references to the fact that Lermontov had almost heroic health and strength. For example, A.P. Shan-Girey wrote that in his childhood he never saw Lermontov seriously ill, and A.M. Merinsky, the poet’s cadet comrade, recalled how Lermontov bent and tied a ramrod in a knot.

6. Pushkin was Lermontov’s teacher

It is often said that Pushkin was Lermontov's teacher; Sometimes they say that, having moved to St. Petersburg and getting acquainted with Pushkin’s circle, the poet, out of reverence, was afraid to meet his idol. Lermontov was really impressed by romantic poems Pushkin and under their influence created several of his own. For example, Lermontov has a poem with the same title as Pushkin, “ Caucasian prisoner" In "A Hero of Our Time" much is taken from "Eugene Onegin". But Pushkin’s influence should not be exaggerated; he was far from the only model for Lermontov.

Sometimes they say that even in his death in a duel, Lermontov “imitated” Pushkin, but this is a mystical interpretation not based on facts. Lermontov's first duel is more similar to Pushkin's last duel - with the Frenchman Ernest de Barant, who had previously lent a weapon to Dantes' second. Lermontov's duel with de Barant ended without damage to both opponents, but the poet was sent into exile, from which he never returned.

7. Lermontov wrote “I’m sitting behind bars in a damp dungeon...”

No, these are poems by Pushkin. The authors of classical Russian poems are often confused even school teachers: « Spring thunderstorm“Tyutchev is attributed to Fet, “Under an embankment, in an unmown ditch” by Blok - to Nekrasov, and so on. Usually, an author with an appropriate reputation is “selected” for the text; Lermontov's aura of gloomy exile, romantic loneliness and impulse for freedom is firmly attached to Lermontov in Russian culture. Therefore, it seems that Pushkin’s “The Prisoner” is more suitable for Lermontov than his own poem with the same name (“Open the prison for me, / Give me the radiance of the day...”).

8. Lermontov was a brilliant poet from his early youth

The poet allegedly took place in early youth, like Pushkin. Actually early poetic creativity Lermontov is largely imitative and contains many direct borrowings, which were easily recognized by contemporaries. Belinsky assumed that Lermontov’s poems, which he did not like, “belong to his very first experiments, and we, who understand and appreciate his poetic talent, are pleased to think that they [the first experiments] will not be included in the collection of his works.”

9. Lermontov, freedom-loving, like Mtsyri, was bored in high society and despised it

Lermontov was really burdened by the unnatural behavior of people in high society. But at the same time he himself participated in everything he lived secular society: in balls, masquerades, social evenings and duels. Bored, the poet, like many young people in the 1820s and 1830s, imitated Byron and his hero Childe Harold. The idea of ​​Lermontov as an adversary high society entrenched in literary criticism in Soviet era, obviously thanks to "Death of a Poet", in which we're talking about about the responsibility of the imperial court for the death of Pushkin.