"Demons" Alexander Pushkin
The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling;
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
I'm driving, driving in an open field;
Bell ding-ding-ding.
Scary, scary involuntarily
Among the unknown plains!“Hey, let’s go, coachman!” - “No urine:
It’s hard for the horses, master,
The blizzard blinds my eyes,
All roads were skidded;
For the life of me, there is no trace;
We've lost our way. What should we do?
The demon leads us into the field, apparently
Yes, it circles around.Look: there he is playing,
Blows, spits on me,
There - now he’s pushing into the ravine
Wild horse;
There's an unprecedented mileage there
He stood in front of me
There he sparkled with a small spark
And disappeared into the darkness empty.”The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling,
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy
We don’t have the strength to spin around anymore;
The bell suddenly fell silent;
The horses began... “What’s there in the field?” —
“Who knows? stump or wolf?The blizzard is angry, the blizzard is crying,
Sensitive horses snore,
Now he's galloping far away;
Only the eyes glow in the darkness;
The horses rushed again;
Bell ding-ding-ding...
I see: the spirits have gathered
Among the white plains.Endless, ugly,
In the muddy game of the month
Various demons began to spin,
Like leaves in November...
How many are there? where are they being driven?
Why are they singing so pitifully?
Do they bury the brownie?
Do they marry off a witch?The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling;
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
Demons rush swarm after swarm
In the infinite heights,
With plaintive squeals and howls
Breaking my heart...
Analysis of Pushkin's poem "Demons"
In the fall of 1830, Alexander Pushkin came to Boldino to settle all issues related to taking ownership of the estate and prepare for the upcoming wedding. However, due to the fact that a cholera epidemic began in Moscow, the poet was forced to stay on the estate for several months. During this period, he created many philosophical and lyrical works, one of which was the poem “Demons.”
In it, the author again touches on the topic of folklore, which is so close and understandable to himself, describing a journey in a blizzard, which caused real horror for any traveler of that time. “It’s scary, scary involuntarily among the unknown plains!” the poet notes and immediately turns to the coachman with a request that he drive the horses with all his strength. In response, he hears a very typical story for that time, that the travelers got lost, and the reason for this is the demons who lured them into a snow trap. “The demon leads us in the field, apparently, and circles us around,” the coachman answers his companion and gives many examples of how during the trip he had to encounter evil spirits. She lured the horses into a ravine, then appeared in the form of a milepost and a light in a distant hut. And then, finally, the team stopped altogether, because “he’s already galloping far away, only his eyes are burning in the darkness.”
Pushkin treated such stories with great interest and respect, considering them an integral part of Russian culture. However, as an educated person, the poet understood perfectly well that the demons leading travelers astray were just fiction. And there is always a simple and logical explanation for any phenomenon that will answer any questions. Why then did the author focus specifically on this mythical and obviously devoid of credibility plot? Everything is explained quite simply in the last lines of the poem, where Pushkin draws a parallel between demons and people in whose hands power is concentrated. The lost travelers in the poem “Demons” symbolize the Russian people, who are truly lost among the snowy plains and cannot find their way to a happier and freer life. The reason for this is not superstition or illiteracy of people who carefully preserve their traditions and culture. The reason is that Russian peasants are still serfs, and their life does not belong to themselves, lies precisely in those very demons - a bunch of well-fed and self-satisfied people, for whom it is simply not profitable to lose free labor and dispel the illusions of the lower classes, giving them knowledge that, under certain conditions, can become one of the most powerful types of weapons. It is with demons that Pushkin compares the ruling elite of Russia, which plots intrigues against “simple travelers,” i.e. constantly makes life difficult for ordinary people, causing them to experience fear, humiliation and resentment. Pushkin, on the other hand, has demons in human form with a feeling of disgust and irritation. “Endless, ugly, various demons swirled in the muddy game of the month,” - this is how they appear to the poet, who in these lines draws an analogy with social balls, which in Moscow did not stop even during the cholera quarantine.
The poet is ready to forgive them with a calm soul for the meaninglessness of the existence of people who consider themselves chosen, because every person, in his opinion, has the right to live his life as he sees fit. However, no one has the right to mediocrely manage the destinies of others, using people in order to improve their well-being at the expense of their needs and problems. Therefore, for Pushkin, the idleness of secular society, which the author compares to a demonic Sabbath, causes deep sadness, “breaking my heart with a plaintive scream and howl.” The poet, so dependent on the opinion of high society, finally realizes that it is completely false and represents another life mirage, a “game of demons” who are ready to confuse, lead astray and destroy any sane person not out of spiritual malice, but solely for the sake of own entertainment. And this disappointing discovery forces the author to take a fresh look at his belonging to the noble class and the ruling caste, where he is as much an outcast as any peasant.
The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling;
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
I'm driving, driving in an open field;
Bell ding-ding-ding.
Scary, scary involuntarily
Among the unknown plains!
"Hey, let's go, coachman!" - "No urine:
It’s hard for the horses, master,
The blizzard blinds my eyes,
All roads were skidded;
For the life of me, there is no trace;
We've lost our way. What should we do?
The demon leads us into the field, apparently
Yes, it circles around.
Look: there he is playing,
Blows, spits on me,
There - now he’s pushing into the ravine
Wild horse;
There's an unprecedented mileage there
He stood in front of me
There he sparkled with a small spark
And disappeared into the darkness empty."
The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling,
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy
We don’t have the strength to spin around anymore;
The bell suddenly fell silent;
The horses began... "What's there in the field?" -
"Who knows? A tree stump or a wolf?"
The blizzard is angry, the blizzard is crying,
Sensitive horses snore,
Now he's galloping far away;
Only the eyes glow in the darkness;
The horses rushed again;
Bell ding-ding-ding...
I see: the spirits have gathered
Among the white plains.
Endless, ugly,
In the muddy game of the month
Various demons began to spin,
Like leaves in November...
How many are there? where are they being driven?
Why are they singing so pitifully?
Do they bury the brownie?
Do they marry off a witch?
The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling;
Invisible moon
The flying snow illuminates;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
Demons rush swarm after swarm
In the infinite heights,
With plaintive squeals and howls
Breaking my heart...
Alexander Pushkin, 1830
Help me write down 1. Metaphors; 2. Epithets; 3. Personification. From a poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Demons" Clouds are rushing, clouds are curling; The invisible moon illuminates the flying snow; The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy. I'm driving, driving in an open field; Bell ding-ding-ding... Scary, scary involuntarily Among the unknown plains! “Hey, off you go, coachman!..” - “No urine: It’s hard for the horses, master; The blizzard blinds my eyes; All roads were skidded; For the life of me, there is no trace; We've lost our way. What should we do? The demon leads us into the field, apparently, and circles us around. Look: there he is playing, blowing and spitting on me; There - now he pushes the Wild Horse into the ravine; There He stood in front of me for an unprecedented mile; There he sparkled with a small spark and disappeared into the empty darkness.” The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling; The invisible moon illuminates the flying snow; The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy. We don’t have the strength to spin around anymore; The bell suddenly fell silent; The horses began... “What’s there in the field?” - “Who knows them? stump or wolf? The blizzard is angry, the blizzard is crying; Sensitive horses snore; Now he's galloping far away; Only the eyes glow in the darkness; The horses rushed again; The bell ding-ding-ding... I see: the spirits have gathered Among the white plains. Endless, ugly, In the muddy game of the month Various demons swirled, Like leaves in November... How many of them! where are they being driven? Why are they singing so pitifully? Do they bury the brownie, or marry off the witch? The clouds are rushing, the clouds are swirling; The invisible moon illuminates the flying snow; The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy. Demons rush swarm after swarm in the boundless heights, with plaintive squeals and howls, tearing my heart...
