In general, the list of poetic tales of a brilliant poet is not so great. Just a few world-class masterpieces. Only? Compared with Hoffmann or Andersen, of course, not enough. But each of these tales is so original, probably because of its exposition in poetic form, that they all rightfully occupy a worthy place in the treasury of world fairy tale literature.
Tales of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin: the beginning
It is known that the Russian folk tales (probably, and not only Russian) the poet first heard from the nanny, whom he affectionately called later "girlfriend of the harsh days." And she was really a friend, as Alexander wrote: "... and with her, only I am not bored." The nanny knew quite a lot of fairy tales, the future poet asked Arina Rodionovna to repeat the stories again and again and remembered them for the rest of her life. Preserved draft copies of Pushkin, where he tried to shift the nanny tales in verse (by the way, there are exactly seven of them). So the special influence of Arina Rodionovna on the future fabulous work of the poet is unconditional and undeniable. What is Pushkin’s most incomprehensible tale? Let's try to analyze.
List of Poet Tales
So, the tales of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin ... Immediately make a reservation that the fact that there are seven of them is a rather conditional statement, since if you add to the list there are also the “Bridegroom” and “Tsar Nikita and forty of his daughters”, as well as “Arthur and Hymen” then you get ten pieces. And if you do not single out “At the Seaside ...” into an independent work, then there will be nine. But the question here is not how to correctly calculate. Simply, these works are the most famous fairy tales: “About the Fisherman and the Fish”, “About Tsar Saltan”, “About the Golden Cockerel”, “About the Bear”, “About the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights”, “About the Priest and His Worker Balda” , “The Lukomorye has a green oak.” Which of them is Pushkin's most incomprehensible tale? Let's figure it out.
Strange tale of the king
In this work, the poet - voluntarily or involuntarily - made a few puzzles that literary scholars are trying to decipher. Firstly, a cumbersome name. After all, the creation is fully called “The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of his son, the glorious and powerful hero Gvidon Saltanovich and of the beautiful princess Swans”. What prompts the poet to come up with such a long name? Secondly, the names of the characters themselves. Usually the heroes of Pushkin's fairy tales bear domestic names. Here Saltan and Gvidon, which, you see, do not quite fit with the Russian flavor of the tale itself. And Guidon himself grows in a barrel not by the day, but by the hour. And then, as a child, he easily controls the wave that brings the barrel ashore. But the Swan and the Kite converge on the sea in a deadly battle (in fact, the kite is a inhabitant of the steppe, and the swan is a resident of the calm waters of the pond).
Miracles, and more!
The whole plot of the tale is riddled with magic. Gwidon, Swan, Kite - wizards who work miracles. The squirrel gnawing emerald-golden nuts is also not without magic. And in the city itself, which Guidon built, everyone is rich, "no, one chamber." At the very least, the mythical Buyan also seems magical, by which merchants swim, wandering. So this work is one of the contenders for the title "Pushkin's Most Incomprehensible Tale". And some scientists are trying to explain the magical images in a very original way, motivating their research with the poet's special love for everything Russian. For example, representing Saltan as the Russian people, and Gvidona - as the Russian language. But is it really so? More questions than answers.
"The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"
This work is the last of the poems written by the poet (1834). And it can also rightfully claim to be interpreted as Pushkin's most incomprehensible tale. The compositional resemblance to Irving's Legend of the Arab Astrologer is obvious.
Actually, according to researchers of the work of Alexander Sergeyevich, it was his acquaintance with "The Legend ..." that prompted Pushkin to create his own creation. The main character is Dadon, the king who, in fact, was presented with a magical gold cockerel. The king did not suspect at first that so much trouble would come from a weather vane, even if made of pure gold!
Brief plot and analysis of “Tales of the Golden Cockerel”
At first, the cockerel worked properly, notifying the motherland of danger, protecting it from enemy attacks. And Dadon promised the stargazer to fulfill his every desire for this gift necessary in the royal household. But something went wrong, and the sons sent to the East with part of the troops disappear (first one, then another). And the king with the remaining army hurries to help them, but finds them already dead, who killed each other in battle near the tent, from which the Shamakhan queen appears.
She tricks Dadon with her spell and sets off with him back to the kingdom. Then a wise man-skopets appears, a stargazer, and demands to fulfill his will - to give the Shamakhan beauty. True, why is she scribbling? But this is another question. The king responds with a gross refusal, then completely kills the old man with a rod. And the girl know chuckles. Dadon enters the capital, and then the golden cockerel spars from the knitting needle and pecks the king-scoundrel directly into the crown. He dies, and the Shamakhan queen dissolves in the air.
Here is such a strange "Tale of the Golden Cockerel." It would seem that Dadon is to blame for everything. And the cockerel only acts as a punishing sword of retribution, overtaking the king. Stargazer is the personification of the magical beginning, as well as the need to answer for your words and fulfill promises. And perhaps the Shamakhan queen is to blame for everything - a symbol of dissolute magical spells and selfish seduction? In any case, the question of which Pushkin’s most incomprehensible tale remains open!