The composition of the work “Poor Lisa” by N. M. Karamzin can be written beautifully. The story of tragic love disposes of this. In our article, we will present possible topics for essays on this imperishable creation. But first, briefly recall the plot.
Plot
The plot is simple and eternal, like life itself: an unfortunate orphan named Lisa early lost her father. An old mother remained in her arms. The girl had to go to work early. She sold flowers in the city, and the proceeds went to food for two women.
Once Lisa saw a handsome young man on the street - Erast. She liked him, he liked him too. The young man even bought all the flowers from the young girl, saying that these hands should pick up flowers only for him. Of course, the young man was an aristocrat, and Lisa was a peasant.
Then followed by dates. On one of them, Erast seduced Lisa, and then went to war, where he fought not with the enemy, but intensely let his fortune go in the wind. Of course, when he came from the war, the young man did not consider it necessary to notify Lisa about this. Their meeting happened by chance. The former lover told the girl that he would soon marry a rich widow. Lisa could not bear the villains of Erast and drowned in the pond. This caused the death of the mother: she fell ill and died. Such a sad story. Now let's think about what can be extracted from this plot when writing an essay on Karamzin's Poor Lisa.
The fate of Lisa. Could the girl stay alive?
An interesting question, isn't it? Lisa at Karamzin, perhaps, is a character who cannot escape from the author’s intention in any way. Her fate is a foregone conclusion. The structure of the psyche, lack of education, expressed in the fantastic naivete of the girl, suggested such a denouement.
Remember, she dreamed of being a mistress. At that time it was practically impossible, and besides, the character of Erast did not imply a battle for love, for he is a weak-willed and weak-willed person. The only thing that interests him in life is a variety of pleasures (physical and spiritual). So, if you write an essay on the work “Poor Liza”, the answer is clear in this question, although each author can judge in his own way.
The character of Erast. Did he really suffer after the suicide of Lisa?
What is Erast? How deep, thin, educated is he? How human is he (in the highest sense of the word)? Karamzin writes in his work that if Erast were not so lazy, he could achieve a lot, but he was not interested in conquering the peaks, he only wanted to enjoy.
Then the story of Lisa happened. He used the girl for his base purposes and abandoned, not caring about her feelings. Such an act perfectly characterizes the young nobleman, right? By the way, this can become a separate topic if a person decides to write an essay on the work “Poor Lisa”, and it will sound something like this: “Is Erast human?”
Then he went to fight for his homeland, but instead of defending the Motherland, he played cards and squandered his fortune. Coming from the war, he did not decide to drastically change his life; on the contrary, he took the path of least resistance and married an old but wealthy widow. It seems that nowhere to fall further. And after all this, Karamzin wants to convince the reader that Erast was tormented after the suicide of Lisa? Since it is generally accepted that Karamzin's work is a drama of two hearts, it would be interesting to answer the question - could Erast’s suffering be genuine or is it just a game? This is the problem that should be resolved in the context of an essay on the work “Poor Lisa” by Karamzin.
The image of the old woman - mother of Lisa
It is clear that Lisa’s mother, to put it mildly, is far from the main character, but he can also be explored. For example, transfer events to modern reality and think about how such an “old mother” might look like today.
If this is not very interesting to the alleged author, and he is aimed at more serious research, then you can reflect on how the opportunity to get an education has changed the way women think.
Here are two sample topics on which you can write an essay on the work "Poor Lisa."
“Werther” Goethe and “Lisa” Karamzin
And the most interesting topic for advanced schoolchildren: a comparison of the “Suffering of young Werther” and “Poor Lisa” by Karamzin. Interesting parallels can be found. For example, it was Werther that inspired Karamzin to create his "response to the West." Goethe even has a story in his work (Werther tells her to Albert, Charlotte’s bridegroom) about a girl whom her beloved left, and she threw herself into the water.
Perhaps it is this image of the drowned girl from Werther that served as the prototype for Poor Liza. This may well be, given that the works came out with a difference of almost 20 years.
If there is no desire to scrupulously examine the text, we can consider two images of tragic love, respectively, female and male, in the context of the same topic.
Incidentally, it was precisely Lisa’s suicide at the end of the story, perhaps inspired by the “Suffering of young Werther,” that made the story about the girl’s fate innovative for Russia. The unexpectedness of the denouement compared to old romances is that the heroine commits suicide. This circumstance put Goethe and Karamzin on a par in their countries. This was written, for example, by V.V. Sipovsky in "Essays from the History of the Russian Novel."
When a student thinks on what topic to write an essay, “Poor Liza” (the first national work) by N. M. Karamzin should immediately draw his attention to himself, based on the foregoing.
In conclusion, it remains only to say that you can choose a theme for the works from the proposed ones or invent your own. The main thing is to write thoughtfully and with soul. If these two conditions are met, then you should not worry about your composition. Favorable ground for thought is provided by “Poor Liza”. Karamzin N. M. only wrote excellent works.