The work "Dead Souls", which was written by Gogol, remains one of the most brilliant creations not only of this writer, but also in Russian literature. This work can be safely called the pinnacle of the talent of Nikolai Vasilievich, who was able to accurately depict contemporary Russia, show the life of all segments of the population, the failure of the bureaucratic apparatus and the squalor of serfdom. Nobody doubts the genius of the work, only for many decades now, both admirers of creativity and critics cannot understand why Gogol called “Dead Souls” a poem?
According to the writer himself, the idea to write this creation was given to him by Pushkin, who all the time admired the manner of writing Gogol’s works and his ability to revive his heroes with the help of a description of just a few character traits. Alexander Sergeyevich himself had an idea to write a similar poem, but he decided to give it to his friend. Many believe that the answer to the question of why Gogol called “Dead Souls” a poem comes up from this, because the work was originally conceived in this form.
Nikolai Vasilievich took from Pushkin only an idea, because when writing the work, he began to go deeper and describe in more detail not only the character of the heroes, but also their fate, the life of the whole country of that time. At different times, the writer called his creation a novel, an essay, a story, but why Gogol called “Dead Souls” a poem, focusing on this particular genre, remains a mystery. There is an assumption that he did so when he saw the fullness and breadth of lyrical elements.
The poem is built very clearly and clearly, the main character Chichikov travels all over Russia to become the owner of large funds, buying up dead souls. Manilov, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Korobochka, Plyushkin are not just the names of the landowners he visited, it is the way of life, thinking and feelings of people of this class. Nikolai Vasilievich wanted to write not one volume, but three that would take the heroes to another level, where they could be morally reborn.
Gogol’s poem Dead Souls should take pride of place next to such world-famous works as Homer's Odyssey and Dante’s Divine Comedy. The first work describes the life of the ancient Greeks, in the second medieval feudalism, and Gogol described life in Russia in the first half of the 19th century. He also wanted his heroes to go through hell, purgatory and paradise, to show the moral decline of society, disturbing social problems, but that in the midst of all this disorder, there would also be a rot - a path to spiritual rebirth.
After getting acquainted with this work, it becomes clear that it was written in an unconventional form and has no analogues in the whole world. Perhaps this is precisely the answer to the question why Gogol called “Dead Souls” a poem. In the structure of the work, a significant role is given to lyrical digressions, which is characteristic of this genre. It is in the retreats that the thoughts of the writer are traced, which he shares with the reader his feelings about the situation in his native country. Gogol completed his first volume, leaving the assumption that the state is waiting for the revival and enlightenment of the souls of the whole people. The writer wanted to recreate an ideal world, so he called his creation a lyro-epic poem.