Nekrasov to whom in Russia to live well creation. The history of the creation of "To whom in Russia to live well
“I decided,” wrote Nekrasov, “to state in a coherent story everything that I know about the people, everything that I happened to hear from their lips, and I started “Who should live well in Russia.” This will be the epic of modern peasant life, " but the poem remained unfinished. Shortly before his death, the poet said: "One thing that I deeply regret is that I did not finish my poem "Who in Russia should live well."
Work on the poem began in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century, but the first sketches for the poem could have appeared even earlier. An indication of this is contained, for example, in the memoirs of G. Potanin, who, describing his visit to Nekrasov’s apartment in the autumn of 1860, conveys the following words of the poet: “I ... wrote for a long time yesterday, but didn’t finish writing a little - I’ll finish now ...” This there were sketches of his beautiful poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." She did not appear in print for a long time after that.
Nekrasov began to continue his work only in the 70s, after a seven-year break, "Last Child" was created in 1872, "Peasant" - in July-August 1873, "Feast - for the whole world" - in the fall of 1876. Already in the January issue of Sovremennik for 1866, almost immediately after writing the first part, the prologue of the poem appeared - the press stretched out for four years: fearing to shake the already precarious position of Sovremennik, Nekrasov refrained from publishing the subsequent chapters of the first part of the poem.
Immediately after printing, the censors spoke out disapprovingly: A. Lebedev gave the following characterization of this chapter: “In the aforementioned poem, like his other works, Nekrasov remained true to his direction; in it he tries to present the gloomy and sad side of the Russian people with his grief and material shortcomings. .. in it there are ... places that are sharp in their indecency"
The subsequent chapters of the first part of the poem were published in the February issues of Notes of the Fatherland for 1869 ("Country Fair" and " drunken night") and 1870 ("Happy" and "Landowner"). The publication of "Last Child" ("Notes of the Fatherland", 1873, No. 2) caused new, even greater cavils of censorship: the character of a libel for the entire nobility", and "Feast - for the whole world" was met with even less approval. The text of the fourth part of the poem Nekrasov tried in every possible way to shorten and rewrite in order to bypass censorship, up to the words dedicated to the tsar "Glory to the people who gave freedom! ", but "Feast - for the whole world" remained under a censorship ban until 1881, when it appeared in the second book of "Notes of the Fatherland", albeit with large cuts and distortions: the songs "Merry", "Cove", "Soldier's" were omitted "," The deck is oak ..." and others. Most of the excerpts thrown out by censorship from "Feast - to the whole world" were first made public only in 1908, and the entire poem, in an uncensored edition, was published in 1920 by K. I. Chukovsky.
The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" in its unfinished form consists of four separate parts, arranged in the following order, according to the time of their writing: part one, consisting of a prologue and five chapters; "The Last"; "Peasant Woman", consisting of a prologue and eight chapters; "Feast - for the whole world."
There was too much left in Nekrasov's drafts and plans - he understood that he would not have time to complete the poem, which in the future would be of great importance. Nekrasov has to give a sense of completeness to "Feast" and introduce the image of a peasant intercessor much earlier than planned:
Would our wanderers be under their native roof,
If only they could know what was going on with Grisha.
Thought "flying forward", Grisha saw "the embodiment of people's happiness." It made him ten creative forces, gave him a feeling of happiness, and readers - the answer to questions about who is happy in Russia, what is his happiness.
The history of the creation of “Who Lives Well in Russia” begins in the late 1850s, when Nekrasov came up with the idea of a large-scale epic work summarizing all his creative and life experience as a revolutionary poet. The author has been collecting material for a long time based on both his personal experience of communicating with the people and the literary heritage of his predecessors. Before Nekrasov, many authors addressed the life of the common people in their works, in particular I.S. Turgenev, whose "Notes of a Hunter" became one of the sources of images and ideas for Nekrasov. He had a clear idea and plot in 1862, after the abolition of serfdom and land reform. In 1863 Nekrasov set to work.
The author wanted to create an epic "folk" poem with a detailed picture of the life of various layers Russian society. It also seemed important to him that his work be accessible to the common people, to whom he addressed in the first place. This is the reason for the composition of the poem, conceived by the author as cyclic, the size close to the rhythm of folk tales, a kind of language, replete with sayings, sayings, "common" and dialect words.
The creative history of “Who Lives Well in Russia” has almost fourteen years of intensive work by the author, collecting materials, working out images, and correcting the original plot. According to the author's idea, the heroes, having met near their villages, had to make a long journey through the entire province, and at the end reach St. Petersburg. Being on the way, they talk with the priest, the landowner, the peasant woman. In St. Petersburg, travelers were supposed to meet with an official, a merchant, a minister, and the tsar himself.
As the individual parts of the poem were being written, Nekrasov published them in the journal Domestic Notes. In 1866, the Prologue appeared in print, the first part was published in 1868, then in 1872 and 1873. the parts "Last Child" and "Peasant Woman" were printed. The part entitled "A Feast for the Whole World" did not appear in print during the author's lifetime. Only three years after Nekrasov's death, Saltykov-Shchedrin was able to print this fragment with large censored notes.
Nekrasov did not leave any instructions regarding the order of the parts of the poem, therefore it is customary to publish it in the order in which it appeared on the pages of Domestic Notes - Prologue and the first part, The Last Child, Peasant Woman, Feast for the Whole World ". This sequence is the most adequate in terms of composition.
The serious illness of Nekrasov forced him to abandon the original plan of the poem, according to which it was supposed to consist of seven or eight parts and include, in addition to pictures of rural life, scenes of St. Petersburg life. It was also planned that the structure of the poem would be based on the change of seasons and agricultural seasons: travelers set off on a journey in early spring, spent the whole summer and autumn on the road, reached the capital in winter and returned to their native places in the spring. But the history of writing "Who Lives Well in Russia" was interrupted in 1877 with the death of the writer.
Anticipating the approach of death, Nekrasov says: “One thing I deeply regret is that I didn’t finish my poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”.” Realizing that the disease does not leave him enough time to complete his plans, he is forced to change his original plan; he quickly reduces the story to an open ending, in which, however, he still demonstrates one of his most striking and significant heroes - the commoner Grisha Dobrosklonov, who dreams of the welfare and happiness of all the people. It was he who, according to the idea of the author, was to become the very lucky man that the wanderers are looking for. But, not having time for a detailed disclosure of his image and history, Nekrasov limited himself to a hint of how this large-scale epic should have ended.
Artwork test
Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" occupies a special place both in the history of Russian classical literature, and in the creative heritage of the poet. It is a synthesis of Nekrasov's poetic activity, the completion of many years of creative work of the revolutionary poet. Everything that Nekrasov developed in separate works over the course of thirty years is collected here in a single plan, grandiose in content, scope and courage. It merged all the main lines of his poetic quest, most fully expressed the socio-political and aesthetic principles of the poet.
The poem was created long years. Nekrasov worked intensively on it for ten years, but he nurtured individual images and collected material even longer. Working on it with extraordinary intensity and unflagging energy, the poet showed great demands on himself. This extraordinary authorial exactingness and enthusiasm for the material was largely due to the fact that Nekrasov attached exceptional importance to the poem “To Whom It Is Good to Live in Russia” as a work synthesizing his creative searches and placed great hopes on it.
Dying, the poet deeply regretted that he had not finished his favorite creation, in which he summarized all his life and poetic experience.
In one of the letters to S. I. Ponomarev, the editor of the posthumous edition of Nekrasov's works, the sister of the poet A. A. Butkevich, arguing that -. the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” “was the brother’s favorite brainchild”, cites Nekrasov’s true words on this occasion: “One thing that I deeply regret is that I did not finish my poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia”.
Considering it his patriotic duty “to sing of the sufferings of the amazing people with the patience,” Nekrasov repeatedly complained with pain to friends and relatives that his poetry, entirely dedicated to the interests and aspirations of the people, supposedly “did not reach the people.” It. often served as the subject of bitter reflections and painful torments of the poet. He thought to fill this gap with his last major creation - the folk poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live."
The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” both in terms of the time spent on its creation and in terms of the importance that Nekrasov attached to it, occupies a central place in the poet’s work, despite the fact that the plan underlying it is far from being fully implemented.
Nekrasov began to write the poem after the peasant reform of 1861, although some images of it arose in the poet as early as the 50s.
The date of writing the poem has not yet been precisely established, since the author himself did not leave clear instructions on this matter. N. G. Potanin suggested that Nekrasov began the poem in 1850. This opinion was refuted by Cheshikhin-Vetrinsky, and then by K. Chukovsky, who dates the initial chapters to 1863.
The poem was published in separate chapters. First appeared in the press "Prologue" of the poem in 1866 in the journal "Contemporary". In 1869, the same prologue was published without changes along with the first chapter "Pop" in No. 1 of Notes of the Fatherland, and in No. 2 (February) chapters two ("Country Fair") and third ("Drunken Night" were placed ).
In the same magazine for 1870, in No. 2, two chapters of the first part were printed: "The Happy" and "The Landowner".
Then part of the poem under the title "The Last" was published in No. 3 of the Notes of the Fatherland for 1872 and part of the Peasant Woman in No. 1 of the Notes of the Fatherland for 1874.
As for the last - fourth part of the poem, it never appeared in print during the life of the poet, although the dying Nekrasov really desired this. The censorship twice cut it out of the book Fatherland Notes, ready for publication (1876, No. 9 and 1877, No. 1). And only three years after the death of the poet, in 1881, Saltykov-Shchedrin, who replaced Nekrasov in the Notes of the Fatherland, still managed to print this part, but with significant censorship cuts.
The poem was repeatedly subjected to severe censorship, to which the poet reacted very painfully.
Having briefly outlined the contents of the printed chapter of the poem, the censor concludes: “In its general content and direction, the aforementioned first chapter of this poem does not contain anything contrary to censorship regulations, since the rural clergy themselves appear to be humiliated due to the peasant’s ignorance, poor due to his environment, which itself has nothing, so that in this poem only civil sorrow pours out on the helplessness of the rural population and the clergy.
However, concessions to censorship, alterations and corrections did not help the poet. Censorship for the second time cut out "A Feast for the Whole World" from the January book of "Notes of the Fatherland" for 1887. This new reprisal of censorship still did not completely kill Nekrasov's hope that "A Feast for the Whole World" would appear in print. Having met with the chief censor, he literally begged him to allow the publication of this final chapter of the poem. In response to the arguments to Nekrasov's request, the censor began to refer to the fact that if he missed the verses, he could lose his service: “Do not deprive us of a piece of bread, we are family people. Do not plant your poems on the ruins of our existence. Finish your career with a good deed: put aside the printing of these verses.
But even after this episode, Nekrasov decided not to lay down his arms. Having learned from Dostoevsky that the head of the Main Directorate for Press Affairs, V. V. Grigoriev, considered it possible to print part of A Feast for the Whole World, he turned to him with a request to read his poem.
When editing the poem, textual critics had to solve a difficult task - to establish in what order to print individual parts and chapters of the poem, since the author himself did not leave sufficiently precise instructions on this matter and worked on individual parts either simultaneously, or in such a sequence that was determined by the creative and intention. Print them. in the order in which they were written turned out to be impossible, although the poet's heirs published them that way. Back in 1920, Chukovsky rejected this principle on the grounds that in Nekrasov's archives he found his own note that "Feast for the Whole World" should be located immediately after the "Latter". Based on this instruction of the poet, Chukovsky printed the last chapters in this order: "Last Child", "Feast for the Whole World", "Peasant Woman".
Initially, Nekrasov thought to give in the poem a broad picture of the life of all classes of Russian society in the years immediately following the so-called "liberation" of the peasants. But the surviving draft versions indicate that Nekrasov's plan was much broader and that the poet was going to start work on chapters dedicated to the meeting of inquisitive wanderers with an official, merchant and tsar.
”was conducted by the writer for more than one year. As Nekrasov himself said, this was his favorite brainchild. In it, he wanted to talk about the hard and harsh life in Russia at the end of the 19th century. This narrative was not the most flattering to some sections of society, so the work had an ambiguous fate.
History of creation
Work on the poem began in the early 60s of the 19th century. The mentioned exiled Poles testify to this. The uprising itself and their arrest took place in 1863-1864. The first part of the manuscript was marked by the author himself in 1865.
Nekrasov began to continue work on the poem only in the 70s. The second, third and fourth parts were released in 1872, 1873 and 1876 respectively. In general, Nikolai Alekseevich planned to write 7 parts according to some data, 8 parts according to others. However, due to severe illness, he was unable to do so.
Already in 1866, the prologue of the poem appeared in the first issue of the Sovremennik magazine. Nekrasov printed the first part for 4 years. This was due to the unfavorable attitude of censorship towards the work. In addition, the position of the printed edition itself was rather precarious. Immediately after its release, the censorship committee spoke unflatteringly about the poem. Although they allowed it to be published, they sent their comments to the highest censorship authority. The very same first part was published in its entirety only eight years after writing.
The following parts of the poem, published later, aroused even more indignation and disapproval of censorship. This dissatisfaction was argued by the fact that the work is clearly negative in nature and attacks on the nobility. All parts were printed on the pages of Otechestvennye Zapiski. The author did not see a separate edition of the work.
AT last years Nekrasov was seriously ill, but continued to actively oppose censorship. They did not want to publish the fourth part of the poem. Nikolai Alekseevich made many concessions. He rewrote and crossed out many episodes. He even wrote a praise to the king, but this did not have any effect. The manuscript was published only in 1881 after the death of the writer.
Plot
At the beginning of the story, the main characters are asked the question of who should live well in Russia. 6 options were presented: to the landowner, the official, the priest, the merchant, and the king. The heroes decide not to return home until they get an answer to this question.
The poem consists of, but it is not complete. Anticipating his imminent death, Nekrasov finished the work in a hurry. There has never been a clear and concise answer.
From 1863 to 1877, Nekrasov wrote "Who in Russia should live well." The idea, the characters, the plot changed several times in the process of work. Most likely, the idea was not fully revealed: the author died in 1877. Despite this, "Who is it good to live in Russia" as folk poem considered to be a completed work. It was supposed to be 8 parts, but only 4 were completed.
With the introduction of the characters, the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" begins. These heroes are seven men from the villages: Dyryavino, Zaplatovo, Gorelovo, Crop failure, Znobishino, Razutovo, Neelovo. They meet and start a conversation about who lives happily and well in Russia. Each man has his own opinion. One believes that the landowner is happy, the other - that the official. A merchant, a priest, a minister, a noble boyar, a tsar, a peasant from the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is also called happy. The heroes began to argue, lit a fire. It even came to a fight. However, they fail to come to an agreement.
Self-assembly tablecloth
Suddenly, Pahom quite unexpectedly caught a chick. The little warbler, his mother, asked the peasant to set the chick free. She prompted for this, where you can find a self-assembled tablecloth - a very useful thing that will certainly come in handy on a long journey. Thanks to her, the men during the trip did not lack food.
Pop's story
The following events continue the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia." The heroes decided to find out at any cost who lives happily and cheerfully in Russia. They set off on the road. First on the way they met a pop. The men turned to him with the question of whether he lives happily. Then the pop spoke about his life. He believes (in which the peasants could not disagree with him) that happiness is impossible without peace, honor, wealth. Pop believes that if he had all this, he would be completely happy. However, he is obliged day and night, in any weather, to go where he is told - to the dying, to the sick. Every time the priest has to see human grief and suffering. He even sometimes lacks the strength to take retribution for his service, since people tear the latter away from themselves. Once upon a time, everything was completely different. Pop says that rich landowners generously rewarded him for funerals, baptisms, and weddings. However, now the rich are far away, and the poor have no money. The priest also has no honor: the peasants do not respect him, as many folk songs speak of.
Wanderers go to the fair
Wanderers understand that this person cannot be called happy, which is noted by the author of the work "Who Lives Well in Russia". The heroes set off again and find themselves on the road in the village of Kuzminsky, at a fair. This village is dirty, although rich. There are a lot of establishments in which residents indulge in drunkenness. They drink their last money. For example, the old man did not have money left for shoes for his granddaughter, since he drank everything. All this is observed by wanderers from the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia" (Nekrasov).
Yakim Nagoi
They also notice fairground entertainment and fights and talk about the fact that the peasant is forced to drink: this helps to endure hard work and eternal hardship. An example of this is Yakim Nagoi, a peasant from the village of Bosovo. He works to death, "drinks half to death." Yakim believes that if there were no drunkenness, there would be great sadness.
The wanderers continue on their way. In the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia," Nekrasov says that they want to find happy and cheerful people, they promise to give these lucky people water for free. Therefore, a variety of people are trying to pass themselves off as such - a former courtyard suffering from paralysis, for many years licking plates for a master, exhausted workers, beggars. However, travelers themselves understand that these people cannot be called happy.
Ermil Girin
The men once heard about a man named Yermil Girin. His story is further told by Nekrasov, of course, he does not convey all the details. Ermil Girin is a burgomaster who was highly respected, a fair and honest person. He intended to buy the mill one day. The peasants lent him money without a receipt, they trusted him so much. However, there was a peasant revolt. Now Yermil is in jail.
Obolt-Obolduev's story
Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, one of the landowners, spoke about the fate of the nobles after They used to own a lot: serfs, villages, forests. Nobles could invite serfs to the house on holidays to pray. But after the master was no longer the full owner of the peasants. The wanderers knew perfectly well how difficult life was in the days of serfdom. But it is also not difficult for them to understand that it became much harder for the nobles after the abolition of serfdom. And the men are no longer easy. The wanderers understood that they would not be able to find a happy man among men. So they decided to go to the women.
Life of Matrena Korchagina
The peasants were told that in one village there lived a peasant woman named Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina, whom everyone called the lucky one. They found her, and Matrena told the peasants about her life. Nekrasov continues with this story "Who lives well in Russia."
A brief summary of the life story of this woman is as follows. Her childhood was cloudless and happy. She had a working, non-drinking family. Mother cherished and cherished her daughter. When Matryona grew up, she became a beauty. A stove-maker from another village, Philip Korchagin, once wooed her. Matrena told how he persuaded her to marry him. This was the only bright memory of this woman in her entire life, who was hopeless and dreary, although her husband treated her well by peasant standards: he hardly beat her. However, he went to the city to work. Matryona lived in her father-in-law's house. Everyone treated her badly. The only one who was kind to the peasant woman was the very old grandfather Savely. He told her that for the murder of the manager he got to hard labor.
Soon Matryona gave birth to Demushka, a sweet and beautiful child. She could not part with him even for a minute. However, the woman had to work in the field, where her mother-in-law did not allow her to take the child. Grandfather Savely watched the baby. He once missed Demushka, and the child was eaten by pigs. They came from the city to sort it out, in front of the mother's eyes they opened the baby. This was a severe blow for Matryona.
Then five children were born to her, all boys. Matryona was a kind and caring mother. One day Fedot, one of the children, was tending sheep. One of them was carried away by a she-wolf. The shepherd was to blame for this, who should have been punished with whips. Then Matryona begged to be beaten instead of her son.
She also said that they once wanted to take her husband into the soldiers, although this was a violation of the law. Then Matrena went to the city, being pregnant. Here the woman met Elena Alexandrovna, a kind governor who helped her, and Matrena's husband was released.
The peasants considered Matryona a happy woman. However, after listening to her story, the men realized that she could not be called happy. There was too much suffering and trouble in her life. Matrena Timofeevna herself also says that a woman in Russia, especially a peasant woman, cannot be happy. Her lot is very hard.
Out of his mind landowner
The path to the Volga is held by wandering men. Here comes the mowing. People are busy with hard work. Suddenly, an amazing scene: the mowers are humiliated, pleasing the old master. It turned out that the landowner He could not understand what had already been canceled. Therefore, his relatives persuaded the peasants to behave as if it was still valid. They were promised for this. The men agreed, but were deceived once again. When the old master died, the heirs gave them nothing.
The Story of Jacob
Repeatedly along the way the wanderers listen folk songs- hungry, soldier and others, as well as different stories. They remembered, for example, the story of Jacob, the faithful serf. He always tried to please and appease the master, who humiliated and beat the serf. However, this led to the fact that Yakov loved him even more. The master's legs gave up in old age. Yakov continued to take care of him, as if he were his own child. But he didn't get any credit for it. Grisha, a young guy, Yakov's nephew, wanted to marry one beauty - a serf girl. Out of jealousy, the old master sent Grisha as a recruit. Jacob from this grief hit drunkenness, but then returned to the master and took revenge. He took him to the forest and hanged himself right in front of the master. Since his legs were paralyzed, he could not go anywhere. The master sat all night under Yakov's corpse.
Grigory Dobrosklonov - people's protector
This and other stories make men think that they will not be able to find happy people. However, they learn about Grigory Dobrosklonov, a seminarian. This is the son of a sexton, who has seen the suffering and hopeless life of the people since childhood. He made a choice in his early youth, decided that he would devote his strength to the struggle for the happiness of his people. Gregory is educated and smart. He understands that Russia is strong and will cope with all troubles. In the future, Gregory will have a glorious path, the big name of the people's intercessor, "consumption and Siberia."
Men hear about this intercessor, but they still do not understand that such people can make others happy. This won't happen soon.
Heroes of the poem
Nekrasov depicted various segments of the population. Ordinary peasants become the main characters of the work. They were emancipated by the reform of 1861. But their life after the abolition of serfdom did not change much. The same hard work, hopeless life. After the reform, moreover, the peasants who had their own land found themselves in an even more difficult situation.
The characterization of the heroes of the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia" can be supplemented by the fact that the author created surprisingly reliable images of peasants. Their characters are very accurate, although contradictory. Not only kindness, strength and integrity of character is in the Russian people. They retained at the genetic level obsequiousness, servility, readiness to submit to a despot and tyrant. The advent of Grigory Dobrosklonov, a new man, is a symbol of the fact that honest, noble, intelligent people appear among the downtrodden peasantry. May their fate be unenviable and difficult. Thanks to them, self-consciousness will arise in the peasant masses, and people will finally be able to fight for happiness. This is what the heroes and the author of the poem dream about. ON THE. Nekrasov ("Who should live well in Russia", "Russian women", "Frost, and other works) truly consider folk poet who was interested in the fate of the peasantry, its suffering, problems. The poet could not remain indifferent to his hard lot. The work of N.A. Nekrasov's "Who Lives Well in Russia" was written with such sympathy for the people that it makes us today empathize with their fate at that difficult time.