Creativity of D.I. Fonvizin

1. Biography and personality of the writer.

2. Beginning creative path. Translations and original works.

3. The comedy “Nedorosl” is the pinnacle of Russian drama of the 18th century. Genre, issues, plot and conflict, features of composition, language and style. Problem creative method.

4. Fonvizin – publicist.

5. Master class “Genres and forms of youth culture in working with the classical heritage (based on the play “The Minor”)”

Literature

Fonvizin D.I. Collection Works: In 2 vols. M., L., 1959

Pigarev K.V. Creativity of Fonvizin. M., 1954.

Makogonenko G.P. From Fonvizin to Pushkin. M., 1969. pp. 336-367.

Berkov P.N. History of Russian comedy of the 18th century. L., 1977.

History of Russian drama: XVII - first half of the XIX century. L., 1982.

Moiseeva G.N. Ways of development of Russian drama of the 18th century. M., 1986.

Strichek A. Denis Fonvizin: Russia of the Enlightenment. M., 1994.

Lebedeva O.B. Russian high comedy of the 18th century: Genesis and poetics of the genre. Tomsk, 1996. Ch. 1 (§ 5), 2 (§ 2, 3), 4, 5 (§ 4).

1. Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is one of the remarkable representatives of the century, who shared with him its ups and downs, hopes and disappointments.

On the one hand, he is a secular man who has made an excellent career (personal secretary of I. Elagin and N. Panin, after Panin’s resignation, he headed the postal department), quite rich, one of the first in Russia to begin to deal with the acquisition of art objects abroad, on the other hand - “The Satires of the Brave Lord” and “Friend of Freedom”, the author of “The Minor”, ​​“Court Grammar”, who compiled the famous “Testament of Panin” (certain provisions of this document were used by the Decembrists in their political platforms), a man who was suspected of conspiracy against Catherine.

The personality is lively and captivating. A.S. Pushkin wrote about him:

It was a famous writer,

Famous Russian merry fellow,

The mocker with his laurels

Denis, the ignorant are scourged and afraid.

He was an unusually witty person. From memoirs: “Very early, a penchant for satire appeared in me... my sharp words rushed around Moscow, and as they were caustic for many, the offended declared me to be an evil and dangerous boy. … They soon began to fear me, then hate me.” Fonvizin had the gift of a parodist and also had undoubted artistic abilities. In a home performance in the Apraksins' house, he played the role of Taras Skotinin (!). From the memoirs of contemporaries (about reading the comedy “The Brigadier” in the Hermitage for Catherine and her entourage): “... showed his talent in all its brilliance. ... he depicted the most noble nobles in their faces, engaged in an argument while playing whist, so skillfully, as if they themselves were here.”

Coming from a German aristocratic family (which had become fairly Russified by the 18th century), received a good education, and was an expert in European languages, Fonvizin, in the words of A.S. Pushkin, was “from the Per-Russian Russians.” From the writer’s letter: “If any of my young fellow citizens who have a sound mind become indignant, seeing abuses and disorder in Russia, and begin to alienate themselves from it in their hearts, then to convert to proper love for the fatherland there is no better way than to send him as soon as possible.” To France. Here, of course, he will learn very soon by experience that all the stories about local perfection are a complete lie, that a truly intelligent and worthy person is rare everywhere, and that in our fatherland, no matter how bad things sometimes happen in it, you can, however, be just as much as happy as in any other country.” Looking ahead a little, I would like to note the following. In 1785, he translated Zimmermann’s book “Discourse on National Curiosity” into Russian. In this translation, he expressed and at the same time deepened his understanding of the essence and nature of patriotism - “love of the fatherland, civic virtue, which is associated with love of freedom.”

2.Early work of D.I. Fonvizin associated with the ideas of the French and German enlightenment. Thus, he translated into Russian the Moral Fables of the Danish Enlightenment and Satirist L. Golberg, the novel Heroic Virtue, or the Life of Seth, King of Egypt by J. Terrason, and the anticlerical drama Alzira by Voltaire.

He also wrote satires. One of them has reached our time: “Message to my servants, Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka” (1760).

His next important period literary activity associated with I.P. Elagin’s circle. The circle, along with Fonvizin (then still von Vizin), included talented representatives of the golden youth of St. Petersburg: Vladimir Lukin, Fyodor Kozlovsky, Bogdan Elchaninov. They began to “inflect the texts of foreign plays into Russian morals”: ​​they moved the scene of action to Russia, gave the characters Russian names, and introduced some features of Russian life. This is how the well-known comedies of the 18th century by I. Elagin “The Russian Frenchman” (an adaptation of Golberg’s play), Vl. Lukin’s “Mot Corrected by Love” (an adaptation of a play by Detouche), and D. Fonvizin’s “Corion” (an adaptation of a play by Gresse) appeared.

2. Original comedy creativity of D.I. Fonvizin connected with the history of the creation and production of his famous plays “The Brigadier” and “The Minor.” Fonvizin worked on the comedy “The Brigadier” in 1768-1769. According to contemporaries: “This is the first comedy in our morals.” Its themes: 1) education of nobles; 2) extortion and bribery; 3) the emergence of new people. The genre of “Brigadier” is comedy of manners with elements of slapstick comedy. For the first time in the history of Russian comedy, it presents such techniques as 1) travesty of the structure of bourgeois drama (respectable fathers of families embark on love affairs) 2) the technique of self-exposure of the character; 3) verbal techniques of the comic (use of macaroonisms, puns).

3. The comedy “The Minor” is the pinnacle of the playwright’s creativity. He worked on it starting in the 1770s. Its premiere took place on September 24, 1782 in St. Petersburg on the Field of Mars. The most famous Russian actors took part in the production: Dmitrevsky, Plavilshchikov, Mikhailova, Shumsky.

Ivan Dmitrevsky, who played Starodum, chose the play for his benefit performance. At this time, he returned from a brilliant tour of Europe, thanks to which, in fact, the production of “The Minor” became possible; Catherine was afraid of publicity. Subsequently, the play was removed from the repertoire, but its premieres still took place in a number of provincial theaters. The play was a stunning success; it was celebrated by throwing purses onto the stage. G. Potemkin is credited famous phrase: “Die Denis or don’t write anything else, your name known from this one play!”

The genre of comedy in the research literature is not clearly defined: it is called folk, political, and high.

The problems are also multifaceted: 1) the hidden anti-Catherine orientation is palpable in it: “the edge of political satire was directed against the main social evil of the era - the complete lack of control of the highest authorities, which gave rise to moral devastation and arbitrariness” (P.N. Berkov). Interesting materials, in our opinion, confirming this point of view is available in the book by Yu.V. Stennik “Russian satire of the 18th century. L., 1985, pp. 316-337). In particular, this is an analysis undertaken by the scientist of the plays of the empress herself, the scene of trying on a caftan in the first act of Fonvizin’s play, a comparison of the dialogues of Starodum and Pravdin in the third act of the comedy with Fonvizin’s text “Discourses on the indispensable state laws” 2) the problem of the true dignity of a nobleman; 3) education in the broad sense of the word.

The comedy is masterfully constructed. Three levels of structure are noteworthy: 1) plot; 2) comedic-satirical, 3) ideal-utopian. The main compositional technique is contrast. The climax can be considered a kind of examination of Mitrofan in the fourth act of the play.

At the same time, each level of the structure has its own stylistic dominant: compositional-satirical - superbly written morally descriptive satire; ideal-utopian - the dialogue manner of philosophical treatises (for more details, see: Stennik Yu.V. Op. cit.).

The question of the similarities and differences between this comedy and classic comedies also seems important. Western Europe. As a rule, such comedies did not allow 1) mixing of the serious and the comic; 2) the images-characters became carriers of one character property; 3) consisted of five acts, with the climax necessarily occurring in the third act; 4) demonstrated the rules of three unities; 5) comedies were written in free verse.

On this basis, the following classicistic features can be identified in Fonvizin’s comedy:

1) it also demonstrated the author’s rationalistic interpretation of reality (low reality was displayed in a low genre);

2) her images became bearers of certain advantages and disadvantages, which was secured by the presence of meaningful/speaking surnames/nicknames;

3) consisted of five actions;

4) demonstrated the rule of three unities.

There were also serious differences. They can be boiled down to the following points:

1) there was a mixture of the serious and the comic in it;

2) a description of everyday life has been introduced;

3) there was some individualization of the characters and their linguistic manner;

4) the climax is attributed to the fourth act;

5) the comedy is written in prose.

We will clarify all these points in detail during the practical lesson.

In the 80s, D.I. Fonvizin became the author of remarkable publications in the “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word” (“Several questions that can arouse special attention in smart and honest people”, “The Experience of a Russian Estatesman”, “A Petition to the Russian Minerva from Russian writers, “The Narrative of the Imaginary Deaf and Mute”); participated in the compilation of the “Dictionary Russian language"(he compiled dictionary entries for the letters “K” and “L”); translated Zimmerman’s book “Discourses on National Curiosity”, Schubart’s fable “The Fox the Executor”, wrote the story “Callisthenes”, attempted to publish a new magazine “Friend of Honest People, or Starodum” and even prepared several original materials for it, unfortunately, the magazine was banned by censorship; compiled “Court Grammar”, spoke in the genre of confession (“Frank confession of my deeds and actions”), two out of four books were completed.

On November 30, at the Derzhavins’ house, already seriously ill, the writer read his new play “The Tutor’s Choice.” And on December 1, 1792 he was gone.

2. Comedy "Undergrown"

1. Characteristics of Fonvizin’s creativity

The work of Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin bears features that are opposite to Russian noble sentimentalism in the literature of the 18th century. Fonvizin opposed this literary direction, and all his work was imbued with the spirit of political struggle and the desire for freedom. Fonvizin’s work can be characterized as follows:

✓ is a protest against the developing movement of Russian noble sentimentalism with its rejection of political and social activity in literature and departure from reality into the world of dreams and fantasies;

✓ is an expression of Fonvizin’s political ideas and views on development Russian state and its proper management, and these ideas are as follows:

Critics of noble society and its inactivity and ignorance, and this criticism is expressed through harsh satire;

The demand from the nobility for a rise in political consciousness and activity;

Pointing out major shortcomings in the education and culture of the nobility and seeing in the correct education of future generations of nobles the salvation of Russia and its power as a civilized and strong world power;

Criticism of the adherence of society and nobles to the fashion for everything Western and their contempt for native language and to his homeland;

Promoting the fight against serfdom and its wildest forms, which at that time were very common among landowners;

Protest against the policies and teachings of the Church and defenders of religion, and this protest is expressed in the form of harsh social satire;

✓ partly influenced by the ideas of bourgeois enlightenment, actively developing in France, where Fonvizin lived for some time;

✓ is based on the literary traditions of Sumarokov and Kheraskov, on the traditions of noble classicism and liberalism;

✓ deeply poses the problem of a realistic depiction of man and the surrounding reality and thereby precedes what developed in the 19th century. the literary movement of realism, which actively developed in the work of A. S. Pushkin;

✓ serves the purpose of not only educating the nobility as a narrow class, but also creating a layer the best people Russia, capable of leading to a great future and great achievements, i.e. nobility, hereditary and possessing high level culture, Fonvizin sees him as the only and natural master of the state;

✓ contains a lot of Western materials both in drama and in satire, processing them, but at the same time the comedies created by Fonvizin had no analogues in the West and the borrowed motifs and elements organically merged into the original style and method of these comedies, contributing to the creation of original works;

✓ includes elements of both classicism and realism, which were closely intertwined throughout Fonvizin’s entire work.

To the most famous and important literary works The following works can be attributed to Fonvizin:

✓ translated works, which include:

Walter's tragedy "Alzira" (1762);

Gresse's psychological drama "Sydney", published under the title "Corion" (1764);

✓ the fables “Fox Koznodey” and “Message to my servants Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka” (1763), written in an excellent satirical form;

✓ comedy "The Minor" (1764 - the first version, which was unfinished, 1781 - the second, final version), which is a brilliant harsh satire on the morals of the nobility in raising their children and brought Fonvizin fame, popularity and recognition not only among his contemporaries, but also in descendants;

✓ comedy "The Brigadier" (1766), reflecting the ideas noble liberalism, to whom Fonvizin was close.

2. Comedy "Undergrown"

Fonvizin's comedy "The Minor" is the most important work in his work and played an exceptional role in the development of Russian literature in the 19th century. The comedy has the following artistic features:

✓ contains a protest against serfdom;

✓ is primarily a comedy about education, which for Fonvizin acts not so much as a moralizing issue, but more as a topical political topic;

✓ acts as a serious manifesto of protest against the existing autocratic power, and it was this feature of comedy that influenced the development of Russian literature of the 19th century. and on her protesting character.

3. The connection between classicism and realism in the work of Fonvizin

The features of classicism and realism are closely intertwined and connected with each other throughout Fonvizin’s work, and this connection has the following features:

✓ classicism was not completely destroyed, but realism also did not fully develop;

✓ there is and is already noticeable the struggle between these two directions, which had a significant influence not only on many writers of the second half of the 18th century, for example Radishchev, but also on the writers of the first half of the 19th century V.;

✓ there is a close interweaving of these two directions, and it is thanks to this that the ground was prepared for development in XIX literature V. subsequent generations of Russian writers, in particular A.S. Pushkin, realism as the leading literary movement of this period;

✓ the interweaving of classicism and realism is expressed in the artistic method.

4. Fonvizin’s artistic method

Artistic method Fonvizin contains a close interweaving of elements of classicism and realism. The following can be distinguished in Fonvizin’s work: elements of realism:

✓ a description of the negative phenomena of reality in satire, which made Fonvizin a participant in the “satirical movement,” thanks to which in Russia, earlier than in the West, the ground was prepared for the formation of critical realism as a leading literary movement, but this direction itself grew in the depths of Russian realism ;

✓ the use in comedies of the method of mixing comic and sad, funny and serious motives, prohibited by classicism;

✓ the juxtaposition of elements of a serious drama, which is instructive in nature and designed to make the viewer think, with lyrical elements, designed to touch this viewer;

✓ the introduction of the role of a “resonating person” who preaches from the stage on behalf of the author, which was not the case in classical comedies of the early 18th century;

✓ bringing comedies closer to the “sentimental drama” of French authors through the introduction of pictures of true touching virtue;

✓ the use of scenes of everyday life to demonstrate a true picture of people’s lives, which is not typical of classicism, in which everyday life serves to depict other purposes and should not be an empty stage;

✓ the bitterness and anger of Fonvizin’s satire, which in this sense differs from the traditions of classicism, which indicates the inadmissibility of bitterness and poison in the matter of teaching, which comedy serves. These qualities of Fonvizin's satire prepared the bitter satire of Gogol and Shchedrin;

✓ the appearance in the depiction of the characters of individual heroes of “living”, non-schematic features, their individual characteristics, which is not typical of classical comedy;

✓ the discovery of a realistic method of depicting a hero, which contributes to the understanding of man as an individual and at the same time as a social phenomenon, and this is the most important significance of Fonvizin’s comedies, which determined the further development and strengthening of the realistic method in Russian literature;

✓ the use of real, everyday speech, close to real life, the desire to overcome archaic bookishness.

Techniques of classicism, used by Fonvizin in his work, are due to the influence on him classical school Sumarokov and Kheraskov, the features of which were preserved in all his works, and among these elements the following can be distinguished:

✓ unity of time, place and action, when the entire action of the play is united by one main motive (for example, in “The Minor” this is the struggle of three contenders for Sophia’s hand, and the entire action of the play is built on this);

✓ the advantages of classicism, which in Fonvizin’s work boil down to the following:

Rationalistic understanding of the world;

Personality is not as a specific individual, but as a unit in social classification;

Social and state in man as leading forces that absorb his individuality;

The social principle of assessing human actions and behavior;

✓ shortcomings of classicism, which in Fonvizin’s work boil down to the following:

Schematism of abstract classifications of people and moral categories;

A mechanistic idea of ​​a person as a set of mental abilities;

Anti-psychological in the individual sense in the depiction and understanding of a person, that is, the psychological traits of the hero are shown in relation to the public, and not to the personal, individual;

The mechanical and abstract nature of the idea of ​​the state as a category of social existence;

Limited colors and schematization in the depiction of characters' characters, demonstration and exposure of individual shortcomings or feelings without a general picture of the personality and the totality of its characteristics, as evidenced by the so-called telling surnames and names (Pravdin - a truth-seeker, Vzyatkin - a bribe-taker, etc.);

One-sidedness in the depiction of everyday life as a diagram of social relationships;

Dividing all people into two categories:

Nobles, whose characteristics include signs of their abilities, moral inclinations, feelings, etc.;

All others, whose characteristics boil down to indicating their profession, class and place in the system of society;

Staticity in the depiction of human characters and the characters bearing them, that is, the heroes do not develop as individuals in the process of action;

The use of certain speech techniques characteristic of classicism, for example, solemnity and height of syllable in laudatory speeches, rich speech patterns, puns.

Although the modern reader is separated from the era of Fonvizin by whole two centuries, it is difficult to find a person who would not know that a “junior” is an over-aged dropout, or would not have heard the remarks that have become proverbial: “I don’t want to study, but I want to get married,” “why geography?” “when there are cabbies” and other Fonvizin expressions.

Images, winged words and jokes from Fonvizin’s comedies “The Brigadier” and “The Minor” became part of our vocabulary. In the same way, Fonvizin’s ideas, which played an important role in the history of the liberation movement, were passed on from generation to generation.

Fonvizin belonged to a generation of young nobles who were educated at Moscow University, created on the initiative of Lomonosov. In 1755, he was assigned to the university gymnasium, which prepared its students for transfer to students, and studied there until 1762.

The university was the center literary life in Moscow. One of the first activities of the university was the publication of Lomonosov's works; his students taught here - the poet and translator N. N. Popovsky, the philologist A. A. Barsov, and M. M. Kheraskov was in charge of publishing.

There was a theater at the university, the repertoire of which included translations by students of the gymnasium. Their literary exercises were eagerly published in the university magazines “Useful Amusement” and “Collected Best Works.” It is not surprising that in addition to Fonvizin, many subsequently famous writers came out of the gymnasium - N. I. Novikov, F. A. Kozlovsky, the Karin brothers, A. A. Rzhevsky and others.

First literary works Fonvizin had translations from German and French. He published translated articles in university journals and at the same time published as a separate book “Moral Fables” by the Danish educator and satirist L. Golberg (1761), and also began translating the multi-volume novel by J. Terrason “Heroic Virtue, or the Life of Seth, King of Egypt” (1762– 1768), whose hero was an ideal enlightened sovereign.

Educational and political ideas Terrazon was assessed positively by French educators. Fonvizin also tries his hand at dramatic poetry, starting to translate Voltaire’s anti-clerical tragedy “Alzira”.

This list of works that interested the young writer testifies to his early interest in the ideas European Enlightenment. The liberal beginning of the reign of Catherine II aroused hopes among the advanced part of the nobility for the establishment of an “enlightened” monarchy in Russia.

At the end of 1762, Fonvizin left the university and was appointed as a translator at the College of Foreign Affairs. He stayed directly at the Collegium for only a year, and then was seconded to the office of the Empress Secretary of State I.P. Elagin.

Fonvizin's serious political education began in the capital. He was aware of the various opinions about the proposed reforms, the disputes that preceded such important events in the history of Russian social thought, such as the competition of the Free Economic Society on the condition of the serfs (1766) and the convening of the Commission to draw up the New Code (1767). In these disputes, the ideology of the Russian Enlightenment was formed. Fonvizin added his voice to those who demanded political freedoms and the abolition of serfdom.

His social views in these years are illustrated by the manuscript “Abridgement of the freedom of the French nobility and the benefits of the third rank” and the translation of “The Merchant Nobility” by G.-F. Quaye with a foreword by the German lawyer I.-G. Justi, published in 1766.

Quayer's goal was to indicate how the degrading nobility could once again become a prosperous class. But Fonvizin was apparently attracted to the book primarily by the sharp criticism it contained of the nobles, who, in the name of class prejudices, neglected the interests of the state and nation, as well as by the idea that maintaining rigid class barriers was not in the interests of society.

It was this idea that he developed in a handwritten discussion about the establishment of the “third rank” in Russia, which meant the merchants, craftsmen and intelligentsia. The new “philistine” class was supposed to gradually be composed of serfs who had been freed and educated.

Thus, according to Fonvizin, gradually, peacefully, with the help of laws issued by the enlightened authorities, the abolition of serfdom, the enlightenment of society and the prosperity of civil life. Russia was becoming a country with a nobility “completely free”, a third rank, “completely liberated” and a people “practicing agriculture, although not completely free, but at least having the hope of being free.”

Fonvizin was an educator, but the stamp of noble narrow-mindedness marked both his faith in enlightened absolutism and in the primordial selectivity of his class. It should be noted, however, that Fonvizin’s early interest in class, and essentially in social issues, characteristic of his subsequent work, will allow him to more soberly than many of his contemporaries assess the political situation that developed during the reign of Catherine II .

Later, creating the image of the nobleman Starodum in “The Minor,” an image to which the author’s thoughts and sympathies are given in this play, he will note that his hero made his fortune and achieved independence as an honest industrialist, and not as a sycophantic courtier. Fonvizin was among the first Russian writers who began to consistently destroy the class barriers of feudal society.

Fonvizin knew the Russian nobility too well to expect support from them in implementing the educational program. But he believed in the effectiveness of the propaganda of educational ideas, under the influence of which a new generation of honest sons of the fatherland was to be formed. As he believed, they would become assistants and support for an enlightened sovereign, whose goal would be the good of the fatherland and the nation.

Therefore, Fonvizin, a satirist by the nature of his talent, starting from his early works, also promotes a positive ideal of social behavior. Already in the comedy “Corion” (1764) he attacked nobles who evade service, and in the words of one of the heroes declared:

Who has made every effort for the common good,

And he served for the glory of his fatherland,

He tasted direct joy in his life.

“Corion”, a free adaptation of the comedy by the French playwright J.-B. Gresse "Sydney", opens the St. Petersburg period of Fonvizin's work. The translation of Voltaire's tragedy "Alzira" (which was distributed in copies) created his reputation as a talented aspiring author. At the same time, he was accepted into a circle of young playwrights who grouped around his immediate superior I. P. Elagin, a famous translator and philanthropist.

In this circle, the theory of “declining” foreign works “to Russian customs” was developed. Elagin was the first to apply the principle of “declension” in the play “Jean de Molay, or the Russian Frenchman,” borrowed from Golberg, and V. I. Lukin consistently formulated it in the prefaces to his comedies.

Until this time, translated plays depicted life that was incomprehensible to the Russian audience, and foreign names were used. All this, as Lukin wrote, not only destroyed the theatrical illusion, but also reduced the educational impact of the theater. Therefore, the “remaking” of these plays in the Russian style began. With “Korion” Fonvizin declared himself as a supporter of national themes in drama and joined the fight against translators of entertainment plays.

In Elagin’s circle they showed a keen interest in the new genre of “serious comedy,” which received theoretical justification in Diderot’s articles and conquered European stages. An attempt, half-hearted and not entirely successful, to introduce the principles of moralizing dramaturgy into the Russian literary tradition was already made in Lukin’s plays.

But his comedies turned out to be devoid of a sense of the comic and, most importantly, resisted the growing penetration of satire into all areas of literature, which a few years later led to the emergence of satirical journalism. Such private themes as a touching depiction of suffering virtue or the correction of a vicious nobleman did not in any way correspond to the political goals of Russian enlighteners, who raised the question of transforming society as a whole.

Close attention to human behavior in society allowed Fonvizin to understand more deeply than his contemporaries the foundations of Diderot's educational aesthetics. The idea of ​​a satirical comedy about the Russian nobility took shape in an atmosphere of controversy surrounding the Commission for drawing up the New Code, where the majority of nobles came out in defense of serfdom. In 1769, “The Brigadier” was completed, and, turning to social satire, Fonvizin finally broke with the Elagin circle.

History of Russian literature: in 4 volumes / Edited by N.I. Prutskov and others - L., 1980-1983.

FONVIZIN Denis Ivanovich - the famous Russian writer - came from the Russified Baltic nobles (von-Vizin). F. spent his childhood in a patriarchal environment in the house of his father, an official of the revision board. He received his education at the university gymnasium and at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow University. After graduating from the university, F. entered foreign board as a translator, but already in 1763 he moved to serve as an official under the cabinet minister Elagin. From 1769 to 1783 F. served with gr. Panina P.I., in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs as a secretary. In 1785 F. suffered from paralysis.

F. was an educational humanist of the second half of the 18th century. An admirer of Voltaire, Rousseau, F. was an enemy of autocratic despotism. F. rose to the idea that “it is illegal to oppress one’s own kind through slavery.” Throughout his life, F. carried hostility towards the secular society, the royal court, court nobles, and temporary workers. F. was an enemy of ignorance, a fighter for culture, an admirer of Peter’s reforms, who advocated the assimilation of Western European culture, but at the same time fought against blind imitation of foreign things. Fonvizin knew perfectly well folk speech and skillfully used it: the Russian folk language, sharp folk words, sayings gave strength the best works Fonvizina.

F.'s literary activity began when he was still a student at Moscow University. In 1761, he translated Golberg's fables from German, then a number of moralizing satirical works by Voltaire and others. In 1762, F. moved to St. Petersburg and here he developed intensive literary activity. He was a regular guest of Kozlovsky's circle. As a result of his rapprochement with this circle, F. wrote “Epistle to the Servants,” in which he revealed religious skepticism and gave a sharp characterization of the clergy. Although F.'s departure from atheistic views was later noticed, he forever remained an enemy of clericalism, religious obscurantism, and all kinds of superstition. In 1764 F. made his first independent dramatic work, with the comedy "Corion". A few years after “Corion,” the social comedy “Brigadier” appears.

Fox-schemer

In the fable genre, Fonvizin was a follower of Sumarokov. National morals and characters, precise details and signs of everyday life, colloquial speech with the frequent use of common words and expressions are found in his fables. Only Fonvizin is more daring and radical than his predecessor. The fable “The Fox-Koznodey” is aimed at clever and shameless sycophants-officials who support with flattering speeches and obsequious behavior powerful of the world this. And they have considerable personal benefit from this. The work is about a certain “Libyan side”, which, however, is very reminiscent Russian reality. Not shy about outright lies, the Fox praises Leo. In addition to the Fox, there are two more characters in the fable: the Mole and the Dog. These are much more frank and honest in their assessments of the late king. However, they won’t tell the truth out loud; whisper in each other's ears.

Descriptions of the lion's rule are given in tones of invective, that is, angry denunciation. The king's throne was built "from the bones of torn animals." The inhabitants of the Libyan side are skinned by the royal favorites and nobles without trial or investigation. Out of fear and despair, the Elephant leaves the Libyan forest and hides in the steppe. The clever builder Beaver is ruined by taxes and falls into poverty. But the fate of the court artist is shown especially expressively and in detail. He is not only skilled in his craft, but also masters new painting techniques. Alfresco is painting with water paints on the damp plaster of the walls of dwellings. All his life, the court painter devotedly served the king and nobles with his talent. But he also dies in poverty, “from melancholy and hunger.”

“The Fox-Koznodey” is a bright and impressive work not only in terms of the bold ideas stated here, but also in terms of their artistic embodiment. The technique of antithesis works especially clearly: contrasting the flattering speeches of the Fox with the truthful and bitter assessments given by the Mole and the Dog. It is the antithesis that emphasizes and makes the author's sarcasm so deadly.

Brigadier

Denis Fonvizin began writing the five-act comedy “Brigadier” in the first days of his stay in Moscow in the winter of 1768. In the spring of 1769, Denis Ivanovich mentioned it in his letter to the Russian statesman, poet and historian Ivan Elagin: “I almost finished my comedy.” In his next letter Moreover, to the addressee, Ivan Perfilyevich, Fonvizin again mentions the comedy, which in all likelihood has already been written to the final page.

All the playwright’s work on the comedy was related to the issues raised during the convening of the Commission for the drafting of the New Code. Denis Fonvizin was a supporter of those who, like the Russian philosopher and public figure Yakov Kozelsky, believed it was necessary, with the help of “righteous speeches,” to show a picture of Russian life. At the same time, the comedy raised the question of the method of creating a national comedy, posed in Elagin’s circle, in a new way.

Be that as it may, the first Russian national comedy “Brigadier” by Fonvizin is considered literary monument, which reflected the struggle of advanced Russian minds of the 18th century for the national originality of Russian culture. Denis Fonvizin, in his comedy “The Brigadier,” harshly ridiculed the servility of the contemporary Russian noble class to the French aristocracy.

Minor

The comedy “Nedorosl” absorbed all the experience accumulated by Fonvizin, and in terms of the depth of ideological issues, the courage and originality of the artistic solutions found, it remains an unsurpassed masterpiece of Russian drama of the 18th century. The accusatory pathos of “The Minor” is fed by two powerful sources, equally dissolved in the structure of the dramatic action. Satire and journalism are lame.

Destructive and merciless satire fills all the scenes depicting the way of life of the Prostakova family. In the scenes of Mitrofan's teaching, in the revelations of his uncle about his love for pigs, in the greed and arbitrariness of the mistress of the house, the world of the Prostakovs and Skotinins is revealed in all the ugliness of their spiritual squalor.

An equally destructive verdict on this world is pronounced by the group of positive nobles present on stage, contrasted with the bestial existence of Mitrofan’s parents. Dialogues between Starodum and Pravdin. which touch upon deep, sometimes national problems, are passionate journalistic speeches reflecting author's position. The pathos of the speeches of Starodum and Pravdin also performs an accusatory function, but here the exposure merges with the affirmation of the positive ideals of the author himself.

Two problems that especially worried Fonvizin lie at the heart of “The Minor.” This is primarily the problem of the moral decay of the nobility. In the words of Starodum. indignantly denouncing the nobles, in whom nobility, one might say, was “buried with their ancestors,” in his reported observations from the life of the court, Fonvizin not only states the decline of the moral foundations of society, he seeks the reasons for this decline. The unlimited power of landowners over their peasants, in the absence of a proper moral example on the part of the highest authorities, became a source of arbitrariness; this led to the nobility forgetting their duties and the principles of class honor, that is, to the spiritual degeneration of the ruling class. In the light of Fonvizin’s general moral and political concept, the exponents of which in the play are positive characters, the world of simpletons and brutes appears as an ominous realization of the triumph of evil.

Another problem of “Minor” is the problem of education. Understood quite broadly, education in the minds of thinkers of the 18th century was considered as the primary factor determining the moral character of a person. In Fonvizin’s ideas, the problem of education acquired national significance, because the only reliable, in his opinion, source of salvation from the evil threatening society - the spiritual degradation of the nobility - was rooted in correct education. A significant part of the dramatic action in “The Minor” is, to one degree or another, subordinated to the problems of education.

A son of his time, Fonvizin, with all his appearance and the direction of his creative quest, belonged to that circle of advanced Russian people of the 18th century who formed the camp of enlighteners. All of them were writers, and their work is permeated with the pathos of affirming the ideals of justice and humanism. Satire and journalism were their weapons. Courageous protest against the injustices of autocracy and angry accusations against the serf owners were heard in their works. This was the historical merit of Russian satire of the 18th century, one of the most prominent representatives which was Fonvizin.

Question No. 6. Odes of Derzhavin

Born on July 3 (14 NS) in the village of Karmachi, Kazan province, into a poor noble family. He studied at the Kazan gymnasium for three years (1759 - 62). From 1762 he served as a soldier in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, which took part in the palace coup that brought Catherine II to the throne.

In 1772 he was promoted to officer and took part in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising. Offended that his service was not appreciated and passed over with awards, he left for the civil service. He served briefly in the Senate, where he came to the conviction that “he couldn’t get along there, where they didn’t like the truth.”

In 1782 he wrote "Ode to Felitsa", addressed to the Empress, for which he received a reward from Catherine II - appointment as governor of Olonetsky (from 1784) and Tambovsky (1785 - 88). He made a lot of efforts to educate the Tambov region, tried to fight the bureaucracy, and defend justice.

Energetic, independent and direct, Derzhavin could not “get along” with high-ranking nobles, so his places of service often changed. In 1791 - 1793 he was the cabinet secretary of Catherine II, but, not pleasing her, he was dismissed from service; appointed senator, made many enemies because of his love of truth. In 1802 - 1803 he was Minister of Justice. At the age of sixty he retired.

Derzhavin began publishing in 1773, trying to follow the traditions of Lomonosov and Sumarokov, but from 1779 he “chose a completely different path.” He created his own style, which became a model of philosophical lyrics: the ode “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky” (1799), the ode “God” (1784) about the greatness of the universe and its Creator, about the place and purpose of man: “I am a king, I am a slave , I am a worm, I am a god"; "Autumn during the siege of Ochakov" (1788), "Waterfall" (1791 - 94), etc.

In the 1790s, Derzhavin created the lyrical works “To the Lyre” and “Praise of Rural Life.” Derzhavin’s aesthetic views are expressed in the treatise “Discourse on lyric poetry or about an ode" (1811 - 15).

IN last years During his life, Derzhavin turned to drama, writing several tragedies: “Dobrynya”, “Pozharsky”, “Herod and Mariamne” and others.

St. Petersburg writers gathered in his house, and in 1811 the circle formed into the government-approved literary society “Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word,” in which Derzhavin held a special position. He treated Zhukovsky favorably and “noticed” young Pushkin. Derzhavin’s work prepared the ground for the poetry of Batyushkov, Pushkin, and the Decembrist poets.

Ode "On the death of Prince Meshchersky"(1779) brought Derzhavin fame. The poem is emotional, the mood of confusion and horror set in the first stanza is intensified by the end of the poem. The main thing in the poem: life and death, time and eternity. For example, time, inexorably bringing a person closer to death, is depicted in in the form of a clock. Death is an old woman with a scythe.

The tragic experience of death. It has plot contours. Prince Meshchersky, a close friend of the poet, died. His death was all the more striking because the whole life of the prince, “the son of luxury and bliss,” was “a holiday of beauty and contentment.” The drama of the death is greatly enhanced by the opposition of these poles. the entire figurative system of the work is in conflict. And this artistic conflict, underlying the structure of the ode, leads the reader to the idea of ​​the contradictory, dialectical essence of the universe that cannot be reduced to unity:

Joy, joy and love,

Where they shone with good health,

Everyone's blood runs cold there

And the spirit is troubled with sadness.

Where there was a table of food, there is a coffin;

Where the feasts heard shouts -

The tombstones' faces howl there,

And pale death looks at everyone.

Not only Derzhavin’s fame, but also his influence on Russian literature was enormous. It is important to emphasize that this influence was deeply perceived not by the idealistic leaders of noble sentimentalism, but by more democratic literary movements.

To the first neighbor

Music is booming, choirs are heard

Around your delicious tables;

Mountains of sweets and pineapples

And many other fruits.

Derzhavin wrote the poem “To the Second Neighbor,” which was included in the 2nd part of this edition. Derzhavin addresses in the poem to the merchant M. S. Golikov, who took over the drinking fees in St. Petersburg and Moscow

Gypsy dance.

He was the first in Russian poetry to depict the “Gypsy Dance” with the dark and terrible power of the lines: “Stamping on the coffin boards, Wake up the sleep of dead silence,” with a wild passionate refrain: “Burn the souls, throw fire into the hearts From the dark face,” marking the beginning of that line of fascination with gypsyism, which was then continued in such a variety of ways in the works of Pushkin, Grigoriev, Tolstoy, Leskov, Blok...

Take the guitar, Egyptian girl,

Strike the strings, shout:

Filled with voluptuous heat,