In 1833, while in Boldin, Pushkin wrote the poem The Bronze Horseman. What questions did the poet raise in this work? Questions about social contradictions and the future of Russia. But his contemporaries, unfortunately, did not find out about this. The poem was banned by Nicholas I. It was first published without censorship edits only in 1904.
The following is a summary and analysis of The Bronze Horseman. It was in this work that the “little man” first appeared - the image that became the most popular in 19th-century Russian literature. Offended, oppressed and lonely - such is the main character of The Bronze Horseman. The problem of Pushkin’s character is his social insecurity, his inability to resist the blows of fate.
History of creation
In 1812, Alexander I wished to remove the monument to Peter from the capital. However, on the eve one of the majors had a bizarre dream: the monument suddenly came to life and began to ride along the streets of St. Petersburg. At the same time, the major claimed that the bronze Peter I in a dream, which was somewhat symbolic, uttered terrible words. Namely: “What have Russia been brought to! As long as I am here, my city has nothing to fear! ” The emperor was informed of the major’s dream, the monument was left in its original place.
There is a version that it was this story that inspired Pushkin to write the famous poem The Bronze Horseman. True, some researchers claim that the basis of the work is a completely different legend. However, the bronze statue in its time gave rise to many myths. It is not known with which one the creation of the poem began.
The work “The Bronze Horseman” was completed in 1833 in Boldin. Shortly before this, Pushkin traveled to the Urals in order to collect materials about the Pugachev uprising. According to the Pushkinists, work on the work on the monument to Peter did not last long - about a month. Although, undoubtedly, the plan arose even before coming to Boldino.
Despite the fact that the poem was written in a short time, it cost the author incredible powers. Pushkin copied each verse many times, and in this way he managed to achieve the ideal form. The Bronze Horseman is a small work. You can read it in 15-20 minutes. The poem consists of five hundred verses, and includes the reflections of the Great Reformer after the significant Battle of Poltava, and the events of the XIX century. And most importantly, in this work the sad events of 1824 are very vividly and peculiarly conveyed.
At that time, it was simply impossible to publish a work of art. Moreover, the creation of Pushkin, who did not inspire confidence in the emperor. The writer sent the Bronze Horseman to the censors. Those, in turn, made many changes to the poem, which almost distorted the author’s intention.
The poet sincerely believed that the emperor himself made corrections to his works. However, researchers claim that employees of the Third Division were engaged in this. The poem was not officially banned. But with the numerous remarks of "the highest censorship," there could be no talk of any publication.
The poem was never published during the author’s lifetime. Only a small excerpt was published, namely the Introduction, which has no direct connection with the main plot. In 1837, after the death of Pushkin, the work appeared in the journal Sovremennik. But it was an inferior publication. Before getting into print, the poem was processed by Zhukovsky, who had to comply with all the wishes of official criticism. So, a scene was cut out in the work expressing the main idea of ​​a poetic poem.
Completely, without extraneous corrections, the work of Pushkin was first published only in the twentieth century. The following is a summary. The poem is small, consists of "Introduction" and two parts. The content is set out as follows:
- Introduction.
- Evgeniy.
- The torment of the protagonist.
- Dreams
- Then.
- King.
- On Petrova Square.
- Life is an empty dream.
- The misfortune of the Neva coast.
- Idol on a bronze horse.
- Madness.
Introduction
The Great Reformer stands on the banks of the Neva and dreams of a new city, which will soon be built here "in spite of the arrogant neighbor," that is, the Swede. As you know, Peter I fulfilled his dream. A hundred years pass by, on the river bank a beautiful city rises, built, as they say later, on human bones.
Moscow faded in front of Petersburg, “as before the new queen, a porphyric widow” - Pushkin uses this metaphor in the introduction to the poem The Bronze Horseman. The author admires the beauties of the city of Petra. And then he warns the reader: his story will be sad.
Evgeniy
The protagonist of the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is called the same as Onegin. It is no coincidence: this name sounds nice, in addition, the author’s pen “is friendly to him”. Events take place in November. The waves of the Neva are whipping noisily. The weather is hectic, windy, in a word, typical of autumn Petersburg.
Eugene goes to his house. He lives in Kolomna, serves somewhere - he probably works in one of the faceless St. Petersburg departments. It just so happened that in Russian literature the most touching characters are petty officials. The main character of the poem "The Bronze Horseman" by Pushkin is a "little man", a modest, socially unprotected person. Literary scholars compare Yevgeny with Bashmachkin from the Gogol “Overcoat”.
The torment of the protagonist
So, Eugene came home. He took off his overcoat, lay down, but could not fall asleep. The protagonist of the Bronze Horseman is in thought. What worries him? First of all, that he is poor, and therefore forced by hard work to earn at least relative independence. He has neither money nor talent. But there are idle lucky people who live easily and naturally! Alas, Eugene is not one of them.
The hero of the Bronze Horseman is in love with a certain Parasha who lives on the other side of the Neva. And on this day, he is also upset that they removed the bridges. This means that Eugene will not see his beloved for another two or three days. He sighs heartily and dreams in reality.
Dreams
Eugene is sad, but at the same time full of hope. He is young, healthy, will work hard and someday will certainly marry Parash. Eugene does not dream of anything unattainable. Just about a modest house, about a service that will bring him a small income. He will marry Parash. She will be engaged in housekeeping and children. So they will live until death, and their grandchildren will bury. The dreams of the hero of the poem "The Bronze Horseman" by Pushkin are quite earthly. But they are not destined to come true.
The flood
Eugene is dreaming, meanwhile the wind outside the window howls dejectedly. The young official falls asleep, and the next day the terrible happens. Neva overflows. In the morning, people admire the spray, "foam of angry waters." Pushkin compares the river with the beast, who, frenzied, rushed to the city. The Neva sweeps everything in its path: fragments of huts, roofing, logs, goods of a reserve merchant, modest belongings of residents, coffins from a cemetery.
King
People are powerless before the riot of nature. Who to ask for help, who will save them from the flood? According to the then tradition, they go to the king. He goes to the balcony, sad, embarrassed. And he announces to the people: before the elements, kings cannot be controlled. This episode is worth paying attention to. Pushkin emphasizes that the autocrat, despite his seemingly unlimited power, should not compete in force with nature.
However, in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" the image of the ruler of the Russian state is embodied in a huge monument, towering in the center of St. Petersburg. After all, it was Peter at the beginning of the 18th century who dared to build a city on the Neva. Considerable blood cost his idea. The above expression "a city built on human bones" appeared by chance. More than a hundred years after the founding of St. Petersburg, a flood occurs that destroys ordinary people. The predecessor of the Great Reformer hastily leaves the capital.
It is worth making a short excursion into history. The flood depicted in Pushkin's poem The Bronze Horseman is not an artistic fiction. The event took place in 1824. This is the most devastating flood in the history of St. Petersburg.
On January 7 it was raining, a strong southeast wind was blowing. A sharp rise in water began in the canals. This initially attracted onlookers, as the author of The Bronze Horseman mentions. But very quickly under water was almost the whole city. Only an insignificant part of Petersburg did not suffer. The next day, severe frost hit. Several hundred Petersburgers drowned, later researchers could not establish the exact number of deaths.
On Petrova Square
While the tsar leaves St. Petersburg, Eugene, pale, amazed, sits on a marble beast. What kind of beast is this? This is a lion statue, one of the most famous sights of St. Petersburg. Eugene perched on a marble beast, rain lashes in his face. He is afraid, but not for himself. His desperate gaze is directed to the other side of the Neva. Eugene is trying to consider the house of his beloved.
The content of The Bronze Horseman can be retold in a nutshell. But we will not do this, because, firstly, this poem is one of the greatest creations of Russian literature, and secondly, there are many interesting episodes related to the history of St. Petersburg. So, what kind of guardian lions are these, which, as the author of The Bronze Horseman said, stand as living ones?
A lot of illustrations have been created for Pushkin's poem. The author of one of the most famous is the artist Ostroumova-Lebedeva. However, an actual error was made in this work. The illustration depicts a lion from the Palace Marina. This monument was erected a few years after the flood. In fact, the hero of the poem "The Bronze Horseman", the contents of which depict tragic days in the history of the Northern capital, was riding a lion near the house of Lobanov-Rostovsky. This building was erected in 1817. In everyday life he calls it "the house with the lions." In the photo below you can see how this building looks today. Of course, the “house with the lions” was subjected to repeated restoration.
Life is an empty dream
It is this thought that occurs to Eugene when the next day he sees terrible destruction. Reading the summary of The Bronze Horseman may inspire an introduction to the original source. This is a wonderful work filled with vivid metaphors and images. Pushkin compares the Neva with a fierce gangster who broke into the village, for a long time smashed everything and robbed, and then disappeared in a hurry. The river was saturated with the devastations it had built in St. Petersburg, and then “was drawn back”.
Water left the pavement. Eugene in a hurry in a hurry on the beach: he wants to see Parasha. He sees a boat, finds a carrier. He for the dime crosses it to the other side to his beloved. Finally, Eugene reached the shore. He walks the familiar streets and is horrified. Around everything is destroyed, demolished, around the body, as if "in a battlefield." Stremglav he, not remembering anything and exhausted from torment, hurries to where his bride is waiting. But suddenly it stops. There is no longer a gate or a house in which the widow and her daughter Parasha lived. Only a lone willow ...
Misfortune of the Neva shores
Petersburg came to life again, as if there was no flood. True, a certain Count Khvostov immediately wrote a poem dedicated to tragedy. Nevertheless, people walk along the free streets with "cold insensibility." Officials are sent to the service. The merchant also does not lose heart, opening his shop, plundered by the Neva. And it seems that in St. Petersburg on this day there is only one person who, after a terrible flood, cannot continue his usual life. This is Eugene, the protagonist of the poem "The Bronze Horseman".
Peter I is mentioned in the work, of course, not only in the Introduction. This is an important image, symbolizing power and strength, before which the "little man" is absolutely defenseless. A few words should be said about the monument depicting the founder of St. Petersburg.
Idol on a bronze horse
The central image in the poem The Bronze Horseman is a famous monument to Peter. Pushkin calls him “The Idol on a Bronze Horse”. Monuments to Peter installed in 1782. The name “copper” was assigned to this moment because, until the 19th century, bronze was often called copper in Russian.
The model of the statue was designed by Etienne Falconet - a French sculptor, a representative of classicism. Several other urban legends are associated with this monument. Including the story of how Emperor Paul I imagined the ghost of Peter. And he dreamed of him exactly where the Bronze Horseman is today.
It is worth saying that the sculpture depicting Peter I got its name precisely thanks to the work of Pushkin. Later, Dostoevsky conveyed the motive of the revived monument in his novel “The Teenager”. He is also mentioned in the works of later authors. However, back to the Pushkin hero. What happened to him after he found out about the death of his beloved?
Madness
Poor Eugene could not cope with the shock. He did not resist. For a long time, the rebellious noise of the river and the terrible whistle of the Neva winds rang out in his mind. Upon learning of the death of Parasha, he did not return home. Went to wander. For about a month, a former official, who had once thought of simple earthly happiness, wandered through the city streets, slept on the pier, ate alms. Evil children threw stones after Eugene, the coachman's wattlecotch hit him on the back. From now on, he did not make out the roads and, it seemed, did not see anything around. Eugene lost his mind from grief.
The builder is miraculous
Once Eugene's inflamed consciousness was visited by a terrible thought. He decided that “an idol with a prostrated arm” - that is, Peter — was to blame for his tragedy. The terrible and brilliant ruler once founded a city on the Neva. And that means that it is he, this “miracle worker”, who is guilty of Parasha’s death.
Eugene seemed to have forgotten about the event that turned him into a madman. And suddenly he woke up, he saw a square, and lions, and the Bronze Horseman. And he calmly towered in the darkness. Peter I, on whose whim the city under the sea was once founded, looked into the distance sternly and calmly.
The madman went to the monument. He stopped at the foot and looked in the face of the bronze king and began to threaten the "proud idol." But suddenly it seemed to Eugene that the formidable king came to life. The madman started to run, and the rider, as it seemed to him, overtook him on his bronze horse. Soon the body of poor Eugene was discovered by fishermen on a small deserted island. This is the summary of The Bronze Horseman.
The image of the "little man" in Pushkin's poem
The theme of a person who is offended or infringed on his rights has been raised more than once in the work of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. She was quite topical in his time, has not lost its relevance today. What is the main idea of ​​the poem The Bronze Horseman? The main idea of ​​this work is that people who do not have connections and money and are incapable of cunning and meanness often become victims of a terrible set of circumstances. There are no one to take care of people like Samson Vyrin from the Station Warden, Eugene from the poem that is discussed in today's article. The theme of the Bronze Horseman is the criminal indifference of others.
Pushkin acquaints the reader with his hero at the beginning of the first chapter. All the ambitions and aspirations of Eugene are concentrated around the dream of marrying Parash. He indulges in dreams about his upcoming family life, and that is why the image of a poor petty official is so touching. After all, he never finds happiness. Dreams of a little man absorb hard natural elements.
Pushkin did not endow the main character with a surname. By this he emphasized his facelessness. There were many like Eugene in Petersburg in the 19th century. His position and character were typical of that time. We can say that Eugene from the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is not a person, but a reflection of St. Petersburg society. That society, which was far from luxurious palaces and estates.
A flood is occurring. People are dying. The emperor gives a short speech to the people and disappears. So it has been for centuries. The rulers went far ahead, meanwhile the common people suffered far from the nobility: timidly, quietly, hard. Eugene from the Pushkin poem symbolizes the suffering of representatives of the low social stratum.
Pushkin, of course, did not share the views of his hero. Eugene does not strive for high goals, he has no ambitions. His desires are limited by household joys. There is nothing extraordinary, outstanding in it. At the same time, the author feels compassion for the poor official.
But what is ambition? Are they always attractive and inspiring to embody high ideas? Of course not. The ambitions and ambition of those in power often lead to tragic consequences. This is what Pushkin showed in the poem The Bronze Horseman. The image of the founder of St. Petersburg is symbolized by the ruling class, which does not care about the suffering of ordinary people. Those who have power have always disposed of their lives carelessly, cruelly. Indeed, in 1824, when a terrible flood occurred, no one worried about the inhabitants of the poor regions of St. Petersburg, no one saved them.
The image of Peter I
Pushkin before turned to the image of the Tsar reformer. This historical figure is present in the works “Poltava” and “Arap of Peter the Great”. It is worth saying that the writer’s attitude to the emperor was ambiguous. In the poem "Poltava", for example, the king is depicted as a romantic hero. And this image is fundamentally different from that created in the last poem.
At the early stage of his work, Pushkin saw in him an active sovereign who knew exactly what was necessary for his power. The reforms that Peter I carried out, according to Pushkin, were aimed at the benefit of Russia. After all, the victory over the Swedes strengthened the country's position in the eyes of Europeans. At the same time, the author of the poem The Bronze Horseman criticized the founders of St. Petersburg for despotism.
For many years Pushkin collected materials about Peter. In one of his works he said: "This king despised humanity more than Napoleon." But such a vision of the character and activity of Peter appeared later. More realistically than in Poltava, the king is depicted in the story Arap of Peter the Great. And in The Bronze Horseman. the unlimited power of the Great Reformer is brought to the limit.
In the "Introduction" portrayed a visionary politician. The author cites Peter's argument about the role of the future capital in the fate of Russia. In the construction of a new city, the king pursued both commercial, military, and other goals. The Tsar, admiring the beauty of the Neva, does not pay attention to the shuttle floating on it, to the blackening poor huts. He is passionate about his dream, and he does not care about ordinary people.
In the first part, which tells about the consequences of a natural disaster, the author calls the Bronze Horseman "a proud idol." Peter is a higher being. His descendant, Alexander I, humbly declares that he cannot cope with the natural elements. Peter meanwhile proudly rises above the raging waves.
In the second part, the author uses an even more emotional expression in relation to Peter - “Lord of Fate”. The emperor, with his fateful will, once changed the life of an entire nation. Beautiful Petersburg was built "under the sea." Peter, choosing a place for the new capital, thought about the greatness and wealth of the country, but not about ordinary people who would live here. Against the background of the great-power plans of Peter I, the happiness of Eugene and others like him seems, of course, a trifle.
In the poem The Bronze Horseman, in the form of allegory, the author expressed yet another important thought. Eugene, distraught with grief, wanders around the city for some time. Suddenly he turns his eyes to the monument and realizes that in all his troubles this "proud image" is guilty. The unfortunate official takes courage, approaches the monument and makes angry speeches.
But the fuse of Eugene is short. Suddenly he sees with horror, or rather, he imagines that the bronze Peter comes to life. This deprives the Pushkin hero of the remnants of reason. He soon dies. What is this episode talking about?
It is no accident that Pushkin’s work was banned by Nikolai the First. In the last lines of the poem in veiled form we are talking about a popular uprising, which always ends tragically. The power of the autocrat is impossible to defeat. At least, this is how Pushkin, who died eighty years before the revolution, believed.