There is an interesting background to the famous ode to A.S. Pushkin "Liberty". After graduating from the Lyceum, the young poet became friends with the Turgenevs. They lived on the Fontanka opposite the Mikhailovsky Palace. One wonderful evening, when progressive youth gathered at Turgenev’s, and Pushkin was present among them, one of the young people suggested that the poet write an impromptu poem about the Mikhailovsky Palace. Pushkin, with the liveliness and flexibility of a young monkey, jumped onto a long table, stretched out on it, and looking out the window began to write something. Half of the work was written on this table, the poet completed the second half of the work at night at home. The next day he brought Turgenev an ode on a large sheet of paper. This work was originally called an ode to freedom.
The date of writing of the ode still causes a lot of controversy among biographers and literary critics.
Some call the year 1817, based on the date indicated by Pushkin’s hand. Others, such as the Pushkin historian who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, N. O. Lerner, convincingly refuted this year of writing and confidently argued that the work could not have appeared before 1819. Lerner's contemporary M.A. Tsyavlovsky believes that the poem was written at the beginning of 1818, and the theme of freedom was suggested to Pushkin by Nikolai Turgenev.
We bring to your attention the text of the ode “Liberty”:
Run, hide from sight,
Cytheras are a weak queen!
Where are you, where are you, thunderstorm of kings,
Freedom's proud singer?
Come, tear off the wreath from me,
Break the pampered lyre...
I want to sing Freedom to the world,
Smite vice on thrones.Reveal to me the noble trail
That exalted Gallus *,
Who herself in the midst of glorious troubles
You inspired bold hymns.
Pets of windy Fate,
Tyrants of the world! tremble!
And you, take courage and listen,
Arise, fallen slaves!Alas! wherever I look -
Scourges everywhere, glands everywhere,
Laws are a disastrous shame,
Captivity weak tears;
Unrighteous Power is everywhere
In the thick darkness of prejudice
Vossela - Slavery formidable Genius
And Glory is a fatal passion.Only there above the royal head
The suffering of the peoples did not end,
Where is the Holy Liberty strong?
Powerful combination of laws;
Where their solid shield is extended to everyone,
Where, squeezed by faithful hands
Citizens over equal heads
Their sword slides without choiceAnd crime from above
Fights with righteous scope;
Where their hand is incorruptible
Neither greedy stinginess nor fear.
Lords! you have a crown and a throne
The Law gives, not nature;
You stand above the people,
But the eternal Law is above you.And woe, woe to the tribes,
Where he slumbers carelessly,
Where is it for the people, or for the kings?
It is possible to rule by law!
I call you as a witness,
O martyr of glorious mistakes,
For the ancestors in the noise of recent storms
Laying down the royal head.Louis ascends to death
In view of the silent offspring,
The head of the debunked
To the bloody scaffold of Treachery.
The law is silent - the people are silent,
The criminal ax will fall...
And behold - the villainous purple
Lies on the bound Gauls.Autocratic villain!
I hate you, your throne,
Your death, the death of children
I see it with cruel joy.
They read on your forehead
Seal of the curse of the nations,
You are the horror of the world, the shame of nature,
You are a reproach to God on earth.When on the gloomy Neva
The midnight star sparkles
And a carefree chapter
A restful sleep is burdensome,
The pensive singer looks
On menacingly sleeping in the midst of the fog
Desert monument to the tyrant,
A palace abandoned to oblivion ** -And Klia hears a terrible voice
Behind these terrible walls,
Caligula's last hour
He sees vividly before his eyes,
He sees - in ribbons and stars,
Drunk with wine and anger,
Hidden killers are coming,
There is insolence on their faces, fear in their hearts.The unfaithful sentry is silent,
The drawbridge is silently lowered,
The gates are open in the darkness of the night
The hired hand of betrayal...
Oh shame! oh the horror of our days!
Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!..
Inglorious blows will fall...
The crowned villain died.And learn today, O kings:
No punishment, no reward,
Neither the shelter of dungeons, nor altars
The fences are not right for you.
Bow your heads first
Under the safe canopy of the Law,
And they will become eternal guardians of the throne
Freedom and peace for the people.
Run, hide from sight,
Cytheras are a weak queen!
Where are you, where are you, thunderstorm of kings,
Freedom's proud singer?
Come, tear off the wreath from me,
Break the pampered lyre...
I want to sing Freedom to the world,
Smite vice on thrones.
Reveal to me the noble trail
That exalted Gallus *,
Who herself in the midst of glorious troubles
You inspired bold hymns.
Pets of windy Fate,
Tyrants of the world! tremble!
And you, take courage and listen,
Arise, fallen slaves!
Alas! wherever I look -
Scourges everywhere, glands everywhere,
Laws are a disastrous shame,
Captivity weak tears;
Unrighteous Power is everywhere
In the thick darkness of prejudice
Vossela - Slavery formidable Genius
And Glory is a fatal passion.
Only there above the royal head
The suffering of the peoples did not end,
Where is the Holy Liberty strong?
Powerful combination of laws;
Where their solid shield is extended to everyone,
Where, squeezed by faithful hands
Citizens over equal heads
Their sword slides without choice
And crime from above
Fights with righteous scope;
Where their hand is incorruptible
Neither greedy stinginess nor fear.
Lords! you have a crown and a throne
The Law gives, not nature;
You stand above the people,
But the eternal Law is above you.
And woe, woe to the tribes,
Where he slumbers carelessly,
Where is it for the people, or for the kings?
It is possible to rule by law!
I call you as a witness,
O martyr of glorious mistakes,
For the ancestors in the noise of recent storms
Laying down the royal head.
Louis ascends to death
In view of the silent offspring,
The head of the debunked
To the bloody scaffold of Treachery.
The law is silent - the people are silent,
The criminal ax will fall...
And behold - the villainous purple
Lies on the bound Gauls.
Autocratic villain!
I hate you, your throne,
Your death, the death of children
I see it with cruel joy.
They read on your forehead
Seal of the curse of the nations,
You are the horror of the world, the shame of nature,
You are a reproach to God on earth.
When on the gloomy Neva
The midnight star sparkles
And a carefree chapter
A restful sleep is burdensome,
The pensive singer looks
On menacingly sleeping in the midst of the fog
Desert monument to the tyrant,
A palace abandoned to oblivion ** -
And Klia hears a terrible voice
Behind these terrible walls,
Caligula's last hour
He sees vividly before his eyes,
He sees - in ribbons and stars,
Drunk with wine and anger,
Hidden killers are coming,
There is insolence on their faces, fear in their hearts.
The unfaithful sentry is silent,
The drawbridge is silently lowered,
The gates are open in the darkness of the night
The hired hand of betrayal...
Oh shame! oh the horror of our days!
Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!..
Inglorious blows will fall...
The crowned villain died.
And learn today, O kings:
No punishment, no reward,
Neither the shelter of dungeons, nor altars
The fences are not right for you.
Bow your heads first
Under the safe canopy of the Law,
And they will become eternal guardians of the throne
Freedom and peace for the people.
____________________
* Gall - meaning the French poet A. Chenier.
** Palace - Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg. The following describes the murder of Paul I.
Analysis of the ode “Liberty” by Pushkin
Pushkin became the author of a number of poems that had a huge influence on future Decembrists. One of them was the work “Liberty,” written by the poet in 1817, immediately after graduating from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It spread very quickly on the lists.
The author himself designated the genre of his poem - ode. It is written in a solemn style, replete with sublime words and phrases. The work has a clearly expressed civic orientation. The young poet was an ardent supporter of the idea of universal equality and brotherhood and openly expressed his views.
Already in his youth, Pushkin felt and appreciated the power of his poetic gift. He wanted to use it not to glorify great deeds or describe refined feelings (“break the effeminate lyre”), but to affirm the highest value - Freedom. The poet sees his civic duty in condemning tyranny. With his works he strives to awaken the dormant spirit of just resistance among the people.
Pushkin understands that his task is incredibly difficult. The whole world is entangled in the chains of slavery, the highest laws are trampled upon by the “unrighteous Power”. Rare exceptions are states where rulers are subject to “Sacred Liberty.” Their power is not based on arbitrariness, but on respect and recognition of laws that are equally equal for all citizens. In such a society there is no place for injustice and deception, since the harsh but fair hand of justice will overtake any criminal, regardless of his nobility or wealth.
Pushkin's political views are still quite naive. He recognizes the existence of some higher Law. The poet has a negative attitude towards both the unlimited power of the people and the absolute monarchy. Both forms, in his opinion, lead to arbitrary interpretation of all laws.
Pushkin gives two striking examples: the execution of Louis XVI and Paul I. Both monarchs did not respect the laws and ruled their states individually. At some point, this overflowed the cup of people's patience. Retribution again went beyond the legal framework and took on the character of ordinary lynching. Pushkin does not at all justify tyrants; he describes them with the words: “autocratic”, “crowned villain”. But popular reprisals are also subject to condemnation. The execution of Louis is associated with the images of the “slab of Perfidy” and the “criminal axe,” and the murder of Paul was committed by low people who were “intoxicated with wine and evil” and invaded “like beasts.”
In these examples, Pushkin gives all kings and rulers an object lesson. He is confident that respect for the Supreme Law will lead to the common good. A people who feel that they are governed in strict accordance with justice will never raise hands against their monarch. According to the poet, this is the key to the happy existence of the whole world.
"Liberty. Ode"
Run, hide from sight,
Cytheras are a weak queen!
Where are you, where are you, thunderstorm of kings,
Freedom's proud singer?
Come, tear off the wreath from me,
Break the pampered lyre...
I want to sing Freedom to the world,
Smite vice on thrones.
Reveal to me the noble trail
That exalted Gaul,
Who herself in the midst of glorious troubles
You inspired bold hymns.
Pets of windy Fate,
Tyrants of the world! tremble!
And you, take courage and listen,
Arise, fallen slaves!
Alas! wherever I look -
Scourges everywhere, glands everywhere,
Laws are a disastrous shame,
Captivity weak tears;
Unrighteous Power is everywhere
In the thick darkness of prejudice
Vossela - Slavery formidable Genius
And Glory is a fatal passion.
Only there above the royal head
The suffering of the peoples did not end,
Where is the Holy Liberty strong?
Powerful combination of laws;
Where their solid shield is extended to everyone,
Where, squeezed by faithful hands
Citizens over equal heads
Their sword slides without choice
And crime from above
Fights with righteous scope;
Where their hand is incorruptible
Neither greedy stinginess nor fear.
Lords! you have a crown and a throne
The Law gives, not nature;
You stand above the people,
But the eternal Law is above you.
And woe, woe to the tribes,
Where he slumbers carelessly,
Where is it for the people, or for the kings?
It is possible to rule by law!
I call you as a witness,
O martyr of glorious mistakes,
For the ancestors in the noise of recent storms
Laying down the royal head.
Louis ascends to death
In view of the silent offspring,
The head of the debunked
To the bloody scaffold of Treachery.
The law is silent - the people are silent,
The criminal ax will fall...
And behold - the villainous purple
Lies on the bound Gauls.
Autocratic villain!
I hate you, your throne,
Your death, the death of children
I see it with cruel joy.
They read on your forehead
Seal of the curse of the nations,
You are the horror of the world, the shame of nature,
You are a reproach to God on earth.
When on the gloomy Neva
The midnight star sparkles
And a carefree chapter
A restful sleep is burdensome,
The pensive singer looks
On menacingly sleeping in the midst of the fog
Desert monument to the tyrant,
A palace abandoned to oblivion -
And Klia hears a terrible voice
Behind these terrible walls,
Caligula's last hour
He sees vividly before his eyes,
He sees - in ribbons and stars,
Drunk with wine and anger,
Hidden killers are coming,
There is insolence on their faces, fear in their hearts.
The unfaithful sentry is silent,
The drawbridge is silently lowered,
The gates are open in the darkness of the night
By the hired hand of betrayal...
Oh shame! oh the horror of our days!
Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!..
Inglorious blows will fall...
The crowned villain died.
And learn today, O kings:
No punishment, no reward,
Neither the shelter of dungeons, nor altars
The fences are not right for you.
Bow your heads first
Under the safe canopy of the Law,
And they will become eternal guardians of the throne
Freedom and peace for the people.
Pushkin’s work is an ode, that is, the genre in the use of which the author follows in the “noble footsteps” (“Open for me the noble footsteps...”) of Radishchev, who in Russia “was the first to prophesy freedom” (an image from his ode), and in addition, all those poets who previously responded to the call of an unusual muse - not Queen Cythera (Cythera is an island in Greece where the cult of the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite was widespread), but “Freedom of the proud singer”. The lyrical hero of the poem calls on her in the first stanza:
Run, hide from sight,
Cytheras are a weak queen!
Where are you, where are you, thunderstorm of kings,
Freedom's proud singer? —
Come, tear off the wreath from me,
Break the pampered lyre...
I want to sing freedom to the world...
He is attracted in this poem by “proud”, “brave” motives that elevate the poet. The second stanza recalls the “sublime Gaul” - the French author P.D.E. Lebrun (1729-1807), ten years since his death, but whose contribution to the struggle against norms that hampered social and spiritual development is an inspiring example for the youth of the 1810s:
Reveal to me the noble trail
That exalted Gaul,
Who herself in the midst of glorious troubles
You inspired bold hymns.
The mention of hymns is not accidental, since Lebrun wrote odes glorifying the activities of educators and republican ideals. It is this feature of the genre that is important for Pushkin. His ode “Liberty” continues the tradition of writing solemn, upbeat stanzas that explore important socio-political or moral issues (defining the ode as a genre of lyric poetry). However, the subject, like Radishchev’s, is so unusual that, as the latter wrote, the poem “for its title alone” cannot be accepted by champions of power (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” chapter “Tver”). The celebration of freedom in both poets takes on a political connotation.
The source of discussions about the life-giving “spirit of freedom” (Radishchev) was the ideology of the Enlightenment (the Age of Enlightenment is the activity of thinkers, scientists, writers of the 17th-18th centuries, who sought to dispel the darkness of ignorance—for Radishchev, “thick darkness”—which interfered with the rational structure of society and achieving personal happiness), widespread in England and France, which became relevant at the end of the 18th century. and for Russia. It was generally accepted (Catherine II corresponded with Voltaire, one of the most famous French educators), did not lead to rebellious sentiments, on the contrary, it required a reasonable approach to finding ways to achieve prosperity, taking into account the interests of all layers, and respecting the natural right to freedom of every person. However, the lyrical hero of Radishchev’s ode realized that in Russia it was impossible to erect a “temple of the Law” that protects this right; the social disasters that have befallen people for centuries require vengeance (they also have a “vengeful right”). In order for history to develop along the path prescribed by nature itself, it is necessary to throw off the shackles of social bondage. The contradiction between the requirement to observe the “Never Unchangeable” law of individual freedom and the recognition of the “right of the avenged” people, liberated from centuries-old dependence by violent means, was resolved by Radishchev in favor of the latter. Harmony in a bloody, dark, brutal society turned out to be unattainable, reason gave way to feelings - and among them, in the first place was admiration for the courage of the fighters for social justice: they, overcoming obstacles, paved the way to the “Dear Fatherland” - the kingdom of freedom, illuminated by radiance, splendor (“brilliant day”), the light of the ideal. When it opens to people:
Then all the forces of the authorities will add up
It will dissipate in an instant.
O day, most chosen of all days!
For Pushkin's lyrical hero, both the educational spirit of historical generalizations and rebellious pathos were important. He is Radishchev’s heir, continuing his work fifteen years after his death, that “young man hungry for glory” who “with feeling” turns to history, from whom it evokes a lively emotional response; Radishchev expected and foresaw the appearance of such a poet:
May my cold ashes fall
Majesty, that today I sang;
Yes, a young man hungry for glory,
The dilapidated one will come to my grave,
So that I can speak with feeling...
In twelve stanzas (stanza - from the Greek “turn”; a combination of lines, the main features of which - lyrical, rhyme-forming, compositional - are periodically repeated in the poem) of Pushkin’s ode “Liberty”, historical examples are given to prove his main idea. Over the three “tyrants of the world” a “terrible voice of Clea” was heard (Clio is the muse of history in Greek mythology, images of their stanzas 2, 10). Contemporaries well remember the “sound of recent storms” (stanza 6) both in France and in Russia. The first to appear is the image of Louis XVI, “the martyr of glorious mistakes,” who “laid down the royal head” on the “bloody scaffold” during the Great French Revolution (stanzas 6, 7) in 1793:
I call you as a witness,
O martyr of glorious mistakes,
For the ancestors in the noise of recent storms
Laying down the royal head.
Louis ascends to death
In view of the silent offspring,
The head of the debunked
To the bloody scaffold...
The revolution did not lead to liberation, the Gauls (here the French) remained “fettered” (stanza 7), and the “Auto-powerful villain” reigned over them - Napoleon I, who seized power after a coup d'etat in 1799, and five years later became emperor. The angry reproaches of the lyrical hero are addressed to him, for whom he, in this context (the image of Napoleon in Pushkin’s lyrics undergoes changes; in the poem “To the Sea”, 1824, the soul of the lyrical hero is struck by the thought of the greatness of his personality) is a terrible criminal whose actions deserve denunciation , hatred, terrible retribution:
Autocratic villain!
I hate you, your throne,
Your death, the death of children
I see it with cruel joy.
They read on your forehead
Seal of the curse of the nations,
You are the horror of the world, the shame of nature,
You are a reproach to God on earth.
(“Liberty”, stanza 8)
In Russia, the last atrocity against the tsarist power was the murder of Paul I in 1801, the death of the “crowned villain” at the hands of “hidden murderers” who dealt him “blows” in his palace above the “gloomy Neva”: (stanzas 9-11) :
The unfaithful sentry is silent,
The drawbridge is silently lowered,
The gates are open in the darkness of the night
By the hired hand of betrayal...
Oh shame! oh, the horror of our days!
Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!..
Inglorious blows will fall...
The crowned villain died.
Three historical examples recreate the most significant political events of the last thirty years - the time that has passed since the writing of Radishchev's ode. Pushkin’s lyrical hero complements the evidence of his predecessor, their concepts are similar, their thoughts continue each other. Like Radishchev, the villains are also tyrants, kings who usurped power (from the Latin “illegal seizure, appropriation of someone else’s rights”), who placed themselves above the law, and at the same time those who encroach on their lives. Both masters and slaves must not forget that the eternal law is above all (“But the eternal law is above you” - stanza 5). The revolution is a “glorious,” majestic, but erroneous path to achieving equality (the executed Louis XVI is “the martyr of glorious mistakes,” stanza 6). Murder is a terrible, shameful act (“Oh shame! Oh the horror of our days!” - stanza 11), similar to the arbitrariness of the Janissaries (“How, the animals invaded the Janissaries!..” - stanza 11), daring and significant only externally, in reality but inglorious, evil, showing that those who are trying to change the world order have “fear in their hearts” (stanza 10):
He sees - in ribbons and stars,
Drunk with wine and anger,
Hidden killers are coming,
There is insolence on their faces, fear in their hearts.
Analogies from the past help prove the enduring nature of the requirements of legality in human society. The murder in the Mikhailovsky Palace (for Paul I in St. Petersburg, according to the design of V.I. Bazhenov, a palace was built in the form of a castle, surrounded by a moat with water; construction in 1797-1800 was led by V.F. Brenna) is reminiscent of the massacre of the Roman emperor Caligula, well-known desire to deify one’s personality (<1241>; killed by palace guards). Whatever the person who finds himself on the throne, killing him is a crime. Not only people, but nature itself (Napoleon - “the shame of nature,” stanza 8) does not accept cruelty. In the view of the lyrical hero Pushkin, the ax raised above the head of the “crowned villain” is also “villainous”, “criminal”. He “sees vividly” the last hour of both Caligula (stanza 10), and the “martyr” Louis XVI, and the Russian Tsar Paul I, betrayed by his subjects, and does not hide his sympathy for those who heard the “terrible voice” of history (the significance of the epithet is emphasized by the repetition: “ And Kpii hears a terrible voice/Behind these terrible walls...” - stanza 10).
However, it is impossible to tolerate the shame of autocracy, it is impossible not to desire the approach of its “destruction” (“the seal of the curse” on the tyrant’s brow is depicted with the help of hyperboles in the image of Napoleon). The way out of this contradiction on a substantive level is the expectation that the time will come when “Citizens over equal heads” will erect a solid shield of law (stanza 4). But the meaning of the poem “Liberty” is not limited to this educational demand. The rebellious nature of Pushkin's ode was keenly perceived by his contemporaries, who read it in lists (the poem was not published). One of them was donated by the author of the book. E.I. Golitsyna, which became the reason for expressing a subjective assessment of her own poem:
A simple student of nature,
That's how I used to sing
A beautiful dream of freedom
And he breathed it sweetly.
(“Prince Golitsina, sending her an ode to “Liberty”, 1818)
It is obvious that for the poet, in addition to displaying beautiful speculative aspirations, the freedom-loving spirit of creativity is important. To see how such an ephemeral (from the Greek “one-day, fleeting”; illusory, intangible) property is expressed, one must turn to the characteristics of the lyrical hero. The first part of the poem not only sets out his position, but also reveals the peculiarities of his attitude to reality. Chasing away youthful hobbies and childish effeminacy (“Run... tear off my wreath, / break the effeminate lyre...” - stanza 1), he expresses a passionate desire to sing of freedom as a political demand, the fulfillment of which is prevented by tyrants, “unjust power” ( stanzas 2-3). Maximalism is noticeable in his ideas about the world (“Alas! wherever I look - / Everywhere there are whips, everywhere there are glands, / The laws are a disastrous shame, / Captivity is weak tears; / Everywhere there is unrighteous power ..." - stanza 3). It is not an indicator of romantic disappointment; on the contrary, the lyrical hero of the ode is confident that it is possible to create a civil society, this is a matter of the near future. To do this, he is ready to part with calmness, carefreeness, pleasures, turning to social activities. The poet does not abandon his destiny, remaining a “thoughtful singer” reflecting on the contrasts of the world (“gloomy Neva” - “midnight star” - stanza 9; earlier: tyrants - slaves, slavery - glory, stanzas 2-3), but his devotion civil ideals are expressed openly and directly, filled with socio-historical specifics.
The creative impulse leads the lyrical hero to depict the “mistakes” of the past so “vividly” (stanzas 6, 10) that they become convincing evidence of the correctness of the enlighteners who exalt the law. However, at the same time, in the context of the poem, the highest value is freedom, which animates the poet’s muse. The ode “Liberty” begins with an appeal to a proud, bold dream about it, ending with the statement that the main condition for peace in society will be “the freedom of the people.” For the lyrical hero it is important to express a personal attitude to what is happening (“I want to sing,” “wherever I look,” “ yourthroneII hate"). This introduces psychological specificity into the image, against the background of which the poet’s appeals to the kings appear not as speculative edifications, but as angry accusations and a harbinger of upheaval. The “singer” is outside the hierarchy, in his perception history is a single, continuous process, and the artist’s imagination resurrects Roman emperors, Turkish warriors, the murdered French king, the Russian emperor, whose death was consigned to oblivion, turning them into participants in the ode to a global tragedy unfolding before the reader . The exhortations uttered by the author are close to prophecies, but at the same time he remains a private person, a “thoughtful singer.” Freedom for him is the opportunity to remain faithful to his convictions, expressing them in calls to overcome social limitations:
Tyrants of the world! tremble!
And you, take courage and listen,
Arise, fallen slaves!
…
Lords! you have a crown and a throne
The law gives, not nature,
You stand above the people,
But the eternal law is above you.
And woe, woe to the tribes,
Where he slumbers carelessly...
…
And study today, O kings...
…
Bow your heads first
Under the safe canopy of the law...
In Pushkin's poem, which we are analyzing, freedom is glorified as the greatest gift that allows a person to embody a social and personal ideal. The poet's innovation lies in the fact that the reader is convinced of his correctness by his intonation and tone of speech. The socio-historical conclusion becomes not only the result of rational judgments, but a consequence of experience. In the image of a lyrical hero, the main characteristic is feeling. Love of freedom, indignation at short-sightedness and lust for power, an attempt to instill courage in those who are tired of the spectacle of centuries-old slavery, are expressed in emotional images, psychologically reliable and addressed to a real, earthly person suffering from the same problems. Equally specific and precise is the confidential tone found by the young poet in addressing his contemporary, for whom the greats of this world are only “witnesses”, “monuments”, and “our days” (stanzas 6, 9, 11) should become an era when the aspirations of their predecessors will be realized :
Freedom and peace for the people.
Thus, the analysis of the verse “Liberty” by Pushkin made it possible to clarify why the author of the ode “Liberty,” like his predecessor, could be regarded by the authorities as a “rebel” deserving of exile to Siberia. “A rebel worse than Pugachev” was called by Catherine II A.N. Radishchev, having become acquainted with his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” Even at the end of the 1810s, Pushkin was perceived by his contemporaries as a political opponent of the court, expressing his opposition in poems and sharp epigrams against nobles and Emperor Alexander I, a “nomadic despot”, misleading with assurances that he was ready to give “everything to the people.” rights of people" ("Fairy Tales", 1818). Pushkin, a recent lyceum student and aspiring poet, is under police surveillance. In the spring of 1820, a decision was made to expel him from the capitals. Thanks to the efforts of influential acquaintances, the exile to Siberia or Solovki was replaced by a transfer to Yekaterinoslav, but the poet spent the next six years away from the centers of cultural life and from friends and literary colleagues. The reason for the repression was the freedom-loving sentiments that determined the specifics of his early lyrics. Their expression is typical for works of various genre characteristics - messages, elegies, epigrams. The messages are especially noticeable because they build the image of a generation called to realize dreams of liberation.
Pushkin belonged to the generation that is called the Decembrist. His lyceum friends, I.I. Pushchin and V.K. Kuchelbecker, participated in the uprising on Senate Square, prepared emotionally, including by the freedom-loving lyrics of young Pushkin. The ode “Liberty” was found in papers seized from the Decembrists during a search. The poet himself was in exile in Mikhailovskoye during the uprising on December 14, 1825; an accident saved him from staying in St. Petersburg (according to legend, a hare ran in front of the carriage that secretly took him to the capital, which was a bad omen that forced him to turn back). Pushkin was not a member of the Decembrist societies, but for him there was no doubt that his convictions had to be confirmed by deeds (in a conversation with Emperor Nicholas I, who called him out of exile, the poet openly admitted that if he had been in the capital, he would definitely have participated in the uprising ). The lyrical hero of Pushkin’s poems called the worldview of his generation “fiery” (“To Denis Davydov,” 1819), considering its dominant ability to “breathe sweetly” (“Prince Golitsyna,” 1818), to burn (“To Chaadaev,” 1818) and freedom , “sacrificing only her” (“KN.Ya. Pluskova”, 1818). What seemed important to him was the unity of aspirations of the young nobles, who were ready to really sacrifice “everything”—the future, their lives—in order for the “echo of the Russian people” to respond to their appeals:
Only by learning to glorify freedom,
Sacrificing poetry only to her,
I was not born to amuse kings
My shy muse.
…
Love and secret freedom
Instilled in the heart a simple hymn
There was an echo of the Russian people.
(“To N.Ya. Pluskova”, 1818)
The ode “Liberty” outlines both the ideological foundations and the emotional mood of the representative of this proud, brave, noble generation, who abandons the charms of youth for the ideal of “holy liberty” (“Liberty”, stanza 4). In a poem addressed to a like-minded person, the celebration of the struggle to achieve the public good as the newfound meaning of life becomes the central motive (“To Chaadaev”, 1818).
In the embodiment of the author’s artistic goal, as the analysis of Pushkin’s ode “Liberty” showed, the main role was played not by the content aspects that are important for the epic narrative of events and characters, but by the specific features of poetry, thanks to which it becomes possible to express the mood, experience, feeling. In conclusion, we will try to analyze the meter and rhymes in “Liberty”, looking for an explanation of how the poet manages to give dynamism to the development of the lyrical plot over the course of twelve stanzas, and to highlight key statements. Pushkin's ode differs from the traditional work of this genre. In “Liberty” by A. N. Radishchev, which became a reminiscent source for Pushkin’s images, an odic stanza was preserved, consisting of ten lines of iambic in different feet with a variety of rhymes. In Pushkin, the number of lines per line is reduced to eight, and such a minimal change turns out to be important, since thanks to it, dynamics appear. Poetic speech is perceived as an oratorical monologue, where the meaning of appeals, exclamations, appeals, and warnings increases depending on their location. From the desire to highlight the ode both among his own works (“Where are you, where are you, thunderstorm of kings, / Proud singer of freedom? - / Come, tear off the wreath from me, / Break the effeminate lyre...” - stanza 1), and in the world literature (“Open a noble trail for me...” - stanza 2), the lyrical hero comes to understand the need to generalize historical patterns. Their consideration continues, introducing a new shade, an assessment of reality, unacceptable to him by the dominance of unrighteous forces. Social laws that doom the people to bondage, slavery (stanza 3), the blinding of rulers who have forgotten that they are equal with all citizens (stanza 4), and trampling on the power of the law (stanza 5) are not hidden from him. He sees his task in reminding tyrants of the fragility of earthly institutions, in instilling courage and hope in the “fallen”, and most importantly, in a call to pay tribute to the divine, sacred human right to a free life.
Violation of the world law outrages the “singer”, “burdens him”, forces him to turn his gaze from the “midnight star” to the signs of earthly “gloomy” reality. In stanzas 6-11, his lyrical gift is subordinated to the civic goal - to convince the reader, using examples from the past, that:
...crown and throne
The law gives...
And woe, woe to the tribes,
Where he slumbers carelessly,
Where is it for the people, or for the kings?
It is possible to rule by law!
(Versa 5-6)
The rhyme scheme is such that attention is drawn to the final line in the stanza. Thanks to this feature, the meaning of the statements that complete the stanza is highlighted (within the text, to create a similar impression, meaningful - semantic, from the Greek “relating to the meaning of the word”, as well as intonation means, including exclamations, are used). Let's see how the rhymes are arranged in the eight lines of Pushkin's ode. Let us denote the masculine rhyme ending with a stressed syllable as “a”, and the feminine rhyme as “b”. Then the diagram will look like this: abababba. In the first quatrain the rhyme is cross, and in the second it is encircling. The last position is a strong place. The melody gradually approaches the final chord in each stanza, but the last line of the poem is perceived as the tonic of a piece of music.
Only if the demand expressed in it is realized, harmony will be restored in the terrible, imperfect world that threatens people with disasters, violating God’s will (“You are a reproach to God on earth” - stanza 8):
And learn today, O kings:
No punishment, no reward,
Neither the shelter of dungeons, nor altars
Fences that are not right for you,
Bow your heads first
Under the safe canopy of the law,
And they will become eternal guardians of the throne
Freedom and peace for the people.
(Stanza 12)
To determine the size of a poem, you need to count the number of strong points in a line, here there are four of them - this is iambic tetrameter, a size that was used by Pushkin in works of various poetic genres, touching on the whole range of topics. Poems are written in iambic tetrameter that express freedom-loving aspirations, philosophical thoughts, friendly feelings, impressions of nature, searches for answers to creative questions, declarations of love. Size does not limit the creative possibilities of the great poet; for every aspect of the content in his poems there is an expressive form. Analyzing its specifics, we should not forget that the poet in it embodies an ideological plan, including both abstract thought and sensation. Pushkin’s freedom-loving lyrics express indignation at social and moral vices, civic feelings, and excitement from the expectation of change.
The lyrical hero of Pushkin’s freedom-loving poems does not want his contemporaries to experience rebellions in which, as “in the noise of recent storms” (stanza 6), humanistic values are forgotten and people die. The call to “Rise, fallen slaves!” (stanza 2) does not contain a demand for rebellion, but an attempt to instill cheerfulness in those who have lost hope, the desire to “revolt”, to be reborn for new life trials, the result of which will be “liberty and peace of the people.” The final conclusion is significant for identifying the essence of the author’s position, devoid of thoughtless self-will. The poet does not embellish the story, does not hide the fact that there was both horror and shame in it (the concepts are repeated in stanzas 8.11). It is important for him to restore balance in society.
Only his life, along with the destinies of like-minded people, is he ready to sacrifice. They do not wear a martyr’s crown, as they do on “witnesses” of historical mistakes (“O martyr of glorious mistakes...” - stanza 6, where Louis XVI is remembered). They are aware that interference in the course of world events makes them participants in a universal tragedy, heroes who have the good fortune to confirm the sincerity of their convictions, the loftiness of their thoughts and the strength of their spirit. Appeals to friends, whose names will remain in the memory of posterity as destroyers of an unjust order, awakening Russia from an age-old sleep (“Russia will awaken from sleep...” - “To Chaadaev”), bringing closer the “chosen” day of freedom (A.N. Radishchev. “Liberty”) are the most important component of Pushkin’s freedom-loving lyrics.
In France, it determined the collapse of Western European feudalism, the struggle of oppressed peoples for freedom and the growth of their national self-awareness. In Russia at that time, the best representatives of the nobility realized that the abolition of serfdom was politically necessary, since it served as an obstacle to the economic and social development of the state. But the task of the progressives was even broader - they set themselves the goals of emancipation of the individual, his spiritual freedom. Russia's victory over Napoleon, who was encroaching on world domination, raised hopes that social reforms would finally take place in the country. Many figures of that time called on the tsar to take quick, decisive action.
The theme of liberty in the works of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin
The idea of a free Russia runs through all of Alexander Sergeevich’s work. Already in his early works, he spoke out against despotism and injustice of the modern social system, denouncing tyranny, destructive for the people. So, at the age of 16 he wrote the poem “Licinia”, and in 1818 - one of the most ardent songs dedicated to freedom - “To Chaadaev”, in which one can hear the belief that the country will “awaken from sleep”. The theme of freedom is also heard in the poems “Arion”, “In the depths of the Siberian ores”, “Anchar”, etc.
Creation of the ode "Liberty"
However, Pushkin's views were most clearly and fully expressed in his famous ode "Liberty", written in 1817, shortly after his release from the Lyceum. It was created in the apartment of the Turgenev brothers. Its windows overlooked the place where Paul I was killed - Mikhailovsky Castle.
The influence of Radishchev's ode on Pushkin's
The name itself suggests that Alexander Sergeevich took as a model a poem by another Russian poet with the same title. The ode “Liberty” (Radishchev), the brief content of which is similar to the work of the same name by Alexander Sergeevich, is still slightly different from Pushkin’s. Let's try to answer what exactly.
Pushkin emphasizes that his work is connected with Radishchevsky and a version of one line from the poem “Monument”. Like his predecessor, Alexander Sergeevich glorifies political freedom and freedom. Both poets point to examples of the triumph of freedom in history (Radishchev - to what happened in the 17th century and Pushkin - to the revolution in France of 1789). Alexander Sergeevich, following Alexander Nikolaevich, believes that a law that is the same for everyone is the key to the existence of political freedom in the country.
Radishchev’s ode “Liberty” is a call of the people to revolution, to the overthrow of the power of the tsar in general, but in Alexander Sergeevich it is directed only against “tyrants” who place themselves above any law. This is what he writes about, which allows us to say that in his work he expressed the views of the early Decembrists, with whom he sympathized and was influenced by them.
Features of Pushkin's ode
The power of Alexander Sergeevich’s verse and his artistic skill gave a more revolutionary meaning to this work. The ode “Liberty,” the analysis of which is proposed in this article, was perceived by progressive youth as a call for open speech. For example, Pirogov, a famous Russian surgeon of that time, recalling his young years, tells the following fact. Having talked about the political views of Alexander Sergeevich, reflected in the work “Liberty,” one of his comrades, still a student at that time, said that the revolution in our opinion is a revolution “with a guillotine,” like the French one.
In particular, the lines ending the second stanza sounded revolutionary: “Tyrants of the world! Tremble!...”
Ode "Liberty": summary
Pushkin, following the example of Radishchev, wrote his poem in the form of an ode. It begins with an appeal to the muse - the singer of freedom formidable for kings. A theme is outlined here - the author writes that he wants to “sing freedom to the world” and defeat vice on the thrones. After this comes the presentation of the main position: for the people's good it is necessary to combine powerful laws with holy liberty. It is illustrated with examples from history (Paul I, Depicting historical events (the execution of Louis during the French Revolution, the murder of Paul I in the Mikhailovsky Palace at the hands of mercenaries), the poet treats with hostility not only tyranny, but also those who destroy enslavers, since the blows These people are inglorious: they are illegal and treacherous.
Calling for an uprising of self-awareness and spirit, Alexander Sergeevich understands the importance of resolving conflicts legally - this is precisely what the historical analysis carried out by Pushkin indicates. You should try to gain freedom while avoiding bloodshed. The other method is destructive both for the tyrants and for the Russian people themselves.
The ode “Liberty,” the analysis of which is offered to your attention, ends, as usual, with an appeal to the sovereign himself with an appeal to learn a lesson from the above.
Compositional harmony helps us observe the movement of the poet’s feelings and thoughts. Verbal means of expressing content are in accordance with it. The Ode "Liberty", a summary of which is presented above, is an example of high artistic perfection.
Features of poetics
Poetic speech (excited, elated) reflects the various feelings that possessed the author: a passionate desire for freedom (in the first stanza), indignation against oppressors and tyrants (second stanza), the grief of a citizen of the state at the sight of the ongoing lawlessness (third stanza), etc. To the poet managed to find precise and at the same time figurative words in order to convey the feelings and thoughts that possessed him. For example, he calls the muse of Pushkin’s political ode “freedom’s proud singer,” “thunderstorm of kings.” "Liberty", the analysis of which is offered to you in this article, is a work inspired from above. It is the muse that inspires the poet with “brave hymns.”
The revolutionary meaning of the ode
The ode “Liberty” (see analysis above) had a significant revolutionaryizing influence on the contemporaries of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and was used in revolutionary agitation by the Decembrists.
Soon the poet becomes disillusioned with his previous idealistic ideas that the monarch is striving to do everything he can to improve the lives of his people, because Alexander the First could not decide on radical reforms that would put an end to serfdom. Russia was still a feudal state. Progressive-minded nobles, including friends of Alexander Sergeevich, created with the goal of forcibly overthrowing the autocracy and thus liquidating various revolutionary societies.
Pushkin did not formally belong to any of them, but the way of thinking akin to revolutionaries led him to realize the impossibility of liberal reforms “from above” in Russia. He reflected this idea in his further works. The ode "Liberty", the analysis of which makes it better understandable, also called for the overthrow of tyrannical power "from below" through revolution.
