Often works of literary creativity, separated from the present for many years and even centuries, turn out to be difficult for perception, understanding and assimilation not only by schoolchildren, but even by adults. That is why today we will talk about such a poet of the 2nd half of the 18th - 1st half of the 19th century as Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin. "Felitsa", a summary of which will be discussed in this article, will help us better understand the author and his creative heritage.
Historical commentary: Creation
It is impossible to start a conversation about a work without determining what Derzhavin himself lived at the time of its creation. "Felitsa" (a summary and even analysis is the topic of this material) was written by Gavriil Romanovich in St. Petersburg, in 1782. The genre of the traditional solemn ode in this case was destroyed by the poet: he decided to violate the law of three calms and in his creation combined the vocabulary of the book with the running, colloquial. In addition, in the space of one work, the satiricaland laudatory, which also contradicted the established canons.
A good turn of events
Derzhavin's friends, who were the first to hear the ode, were delighted with it, but hurried to cool the poet's ardor: there was nothing to hope for the publication of the work, because attacks against Catherine's noble nobles were so clearly read in it. Nevertheless, fate itself seemed to arrange everything in such a way that the work would not lie forever in the drawer of Derzhavin's desk. A year later, the ode came to the poet Osip Kozodavlev, from him to the lover of literature I. I. Shuvalov, who read these verses at a dinner in front of a company of gentlemen, among whom was Prince Potemkin, one of the faces veiled ridiculed in the ode. The prince decided to pretend that the essay did not touch him and had nothing to do with him at all, as a result of which Gavriil Romanovich was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Reaction of Catherine II
What could the still little-known poet Derzhavin count on? "Felitsa", a summary of which will soon be described, liked the president of the Russian Academy E. Dashkova, and in 1783 the creation was anonymously published in one of the spring issues of the magazine "Interlocutor of Russian Word Lovers". Dashkova presented the poem to the Empress herself; Ekaterina was moved to tears and became very interested in the author of the work. As a result, Derzhavin received from the Empress an envelope containing 500 gold rubles and a gold snuff-box sprinkled with diamonds. SoonGavriil Romanovich was introduced to the court and favored by the queen. Thus, it was after the creation of this ode that Derzhavin gained literary fame. "Felitsa", a brief summary of which will answer questions of interest, is an innovative work. It was qualitatively different in thought and form from everything that existed before.
G. R. Derzhavin, "Felitsa": a summary of the stanzas. Home
Ode consists of 25 stanzas. Its beginning is traditionally classic: in the first stanzas a solemn, sublime image is drawn. Catherine is called the Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess because at that time the poet himself had villages in the then Orenburg province, not far from which the territories of the Kyrgyz horde, subject to the empress, began. In addition, a certain fairy tale about Tsarevich Chlorus is mentioned here - this is an oriental colorful work that was written and printed in 1781 by Catherine herself for her 5-year-old grandson, the future Emperor Alexander Pavlovich (known as Alexander I). Chlorine, stolen by the khan, was the son of the great prince of Kyiv. The kidnapper, wanting to test the boy's abilities, sent him to certain death, ordering him to get a rose without thorns. Chlor was helped by Felitsa, the amiable, kind and cheerful khan's daughter, who gave him an assistant, her son, whose name was Reason, as an escort. The boy was tempted: Murza Lentyag wanted to lead him astray, but Chlorine was always helped by Reason. Finally, the comrades reached a rocky mountain, where that same rose without thorns grew - likeit turned out it was Virtue. As a result, Chlorus successfully obtained it and returned to his father, the Kievan tsar. It is the theme of virtue that runs through the whole ode like a red thread. The empress herself was named Felice in honor of the Roman goddess of bliss, success and happiness.
The main part of the ode. Monarchine Image
What else does Derzhavin talk about in his creation? Felitsa (a brief summary will help anyone who wants to understand the meaning of the work) is further contrasted not only with his court and those close to him, but also with the author himself, who is extremely critical in considering his person. So, Catherine is poeticized so much that her literary portrait is completely devoid of flaws. Her perfect moral and psychological inner world is revealed through habits, description of actions, orders, state acts. The Empress loves to walk in silence, eat simply and without frills, read and write a lot. The descriptive part and the image of appearance are compensated by the general mood, the impression of the depicted features of an enlightened monarch: she is modest, democratic, unpretentious, simple, friendly, smart and talented in the field of state activity.
The antithesis of "the empress - nobles"
Who did Derzhavin oppose to the ideal Empress in every sense? "Felitsa" (in the abbreviation this is understood especially clearly) describes to us a certain depraved "I"; behind it lies a collective image of an approximatecourtier, which, in essence, includes the features of all the closest associates of the queen. This is the already mentioned Prince Grigory Potemkin, whose portrait can be seen below, and Catherine's favorites Grigory and Alexei Orlov, revelers, lovers of horse racing and fist fights, Field Marshal Pyotr Panin, first a hunter, and only then a civil servant, Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, who especially revered popular print stories, and many others. And to whom, then, did Derzhavin identify himself? “Felitsa” (an analysis of the ode, a summary and analysis help to establish this) is a work in which the author approaches his personality without prejudice, and therefore considers himself to be a noble company, because by this time Gavriil Romanovich had already become a state councilor. However, along with this, he was able to objectively recognize his own sins, weaknesses, vices, and, according to the poet's personal remark, "nonsense." Derzhavin does not condemn the human passions of court servants and noblemen: he understands that, characteristic of many, they are sometimes balanced by a brilliant mind and talent that serve the good of the Russian state and in the name of its prosperity.
A satirical critique of the past
However, Derzhavin is not always good-natured. "Felitsa", a brief description of the main idea of which was presented in this article, also shows the reader another line - this is a description of the period of the reign of Anna Ioannovna. Here the poet does not hide his own indignation at the case of the forced marriage of the well-born Prince M. Golitsynwhims of the queen on an old ugly dwarf, because of which a worthy person turned into a court jester (stanza 18). According to Derzhavin, other representatives of noble Russian families were also humiliated - Count A. Apraksin and Prince N. Volkonsky. Oda G. R. Derzhavin's "Felitsa", a summary of which allows us to evaluate its large-scale idea, among other things, affirms the inviolability of the human right to preserve personal dignity and honor. The trampling of these categories is conceived by Gavriil Romanovich as a great sin, and therefore he calls on both the reader and the empress to respect them. To do this, Catherine must comply with the laws, be the guarantor of their supremacy, protect the "weak" and "wretched", show mercy.
Final lines
Finally, the artistic originality of G. R. Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a brief summary of which was presented in detail in the sections above, is also manifested in the final stanzas of the work. Here, the ex altation of the empress and her reign reaches a new limit - the author asks the "great prophet" and "heavenly powers" to bless Catherine and save her from illness and evil.
Although the end again returns the reader to the mainstream of classicism and the canonical ode, nevertheless, in conjunction with the rest of the content, it seems to carry a new, rethought meaning. Praise here is not a simple tribute to the direction, traditions and conventions, but a real impulse of the author’s soul, who at that time still sincerely believed in the image of Catherine he created. The well-known critic Belinsky called this work"one of the best creations" of Russian poetry of the 18th century.
