"The Word of Igor's Regiment" is a well-preserved and extant original monument of ancient Russian literature. The work is filled with a strong love for the motherland and a willingness to stand for it to the end. The image of Igor in the “Tale of Igor’s Regiment”, contrary to popular belief, is not key, since the role of the main character is assigned to the people. Nevertheless, Igor occupies a significant place in the story, so his figure needs to be examined in detail.
History of the work
A literary monument was found by the famous collector of works of antiquity of the XVIII century A.I. Musin-Pushkin. The manuscript was discovered within the walls of the Spaso-Yaroslavl monastery, and Count Musin immediately turned to familiar historians for help. N.M. Karamzin insisted on the publication of the work, and in 1800 the Word was released. The publication made a huge impression and caused a lot of controversy and research. But unfortunately, the original manuscript burned out during the fire of 1812 in Moscow.
The author of the work has not been established, there are only many guesses and assumptions, none of which, however, stand out from the others. The image of Igor in “The Tale of Igor's Campaign” reflects the literary features and techniques of his time, which allows literary scholars to determine the level of development of writing in the 12th – 13th centuries.
The theme of the "Word" and the role of the image of Igor
The plot of the "Word" was based on real events - the campaign of 1185 of Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich against the steppe nomads, which ended in defeat. The year before this battle, the Russian troops managed to defeat the nomads, but Igor was not in that campaign. And so, yielding to his selfish impulses, the prince gathers his troops and calls for help from his immediate relatives. The image of Igor in “The Tale of Igor's Campaign” is completely devoid of any idealization. The narrator makes it clear that the attack was poorly prepared, so the prince was defeated and captured. Here is how the author describes the beginning of Igor’s campaign:
"Then Igor saw the bright sun,
He saw his warriors covered in darkness from him,
And Igor rivers to his squad:
"Brotherhood and squad!
It’s better for us to be chopped than to be full.
We sit, friends, on the greyhounds
Yes, let's see the blue Don!
The prince came to mind hunting
And the banner raised his desire
Taste the great Don.
"I want - he rivers, - to break the spear
At the end of the Polovtsian field with you, Russian people!
I want to lay my head
Or a drink of shelom from the Don ... "
As I understand from the passage, “I want to” is Igor’s main motivation.
But this plot is aimed only at drawing the reader's attention to the main problems of Russia of that time. Namely, to expose all the shortcomings of a state divided into principalities and constant quarrels between rulers. In fact, the "Word" is a call for the unification of the Russian lands.
The author also touches on the themes of the past of Russia, focuses on the heroism of the people. From the perspective of a patriot, he considers issues of honor, devotion, love, freedom and destiny.
The idea of the work and its connection with the image of the protagonist
As already stated above, the main idea of the monument is a call to rally the Russian princes, transferring all power to someone alone. Without idealizing the image of Igor in “The Tale of Igor’s Regiment”, the author nevertheless creates an infallible, strong and wise character - Prince Svyatoslav appears as the perfect ruler. This was not true, judging by other historical records, however, for the realization of its main goal in the work, such an image should have been present.
The author of the "Word" evaluates the actions of all the characters according to their benefits to Russia. Igor is rated from the same position, and the rating is not too high. And it manifests itself through the hostility of the forces of nature:
"And the winds, Stribogov’s grandchildren,
Arrow from the sea
To the brave regiments of Igor.
The earth is booming
Rivers flow murky
Ashes of the field cover
Flags verb! "
As a true patriot, the writer depicts the homeland as a whole, where people are inseparable from nature, and she intervenes in their affairs, helping or warning.
The plot and compositional originality
In more detail, it will help to consider the image of Igor in the "Word on Igor's Regiment" a brief summary of the monument. The work itself has a complex organization, where the author’s thoughts, a description of what is happening, lyrical digressions, epic moments, a description of the past alternate. This all complicates the analysis of the plot of the “Word”.
However, the entire work can be divided into three semantic parts:
- Introduction, which includes the memories of the Bayan and the beginnings.
- The main part, which describes Igor’s unsuccessful campaign, is the praise of Svyatoslav, and then tells about the return of Igor from captivity.
- The conclusion includes the greatness of the princes and, in fact, the completion of the narrative.
In this structure, the role and significance, which bears the image of Igor in the “Word on Igor's Regiment”, is well traced. A brief description of them lies in the fact that the character has become an example of what the fragmentation and inconsistency of the princes can lead to.
The “Word” begins with the fact that the author compares himself with the famous Bayan and says that he will not, like him, praise the princes, but will tell the whole truth.
The image of Igor in "The Word of Igor's Campaign" with quotes
The main place in the work is given to the images of the princes, one of which is Igor. The author’s attitude to these characters is ambiguous. On the one hand, he is proud of their victories and rejoices in success, but on the other, he understands all the destructiveness for Russia of their discord and selfish aspirations. Not only the main plot line is connected with the image of Igor, but also the idea of the whole story.
The character is represented by an epic hero who cannot imagine his life without military dignity and honor. He is courageous and brave, but at the same time, his personal aspirations are above the good of the people. Igor is a poor, short-sighted politician, selfish and reckless, overly proud. All these negative qualities are inherent in other princes, and they became the cause of the fragmentation of Russian land.
Igor is so greedy for fame and satisfaction of his egoistic impulses that he carefully does not notice the signs that predict his defeat. In this episode, the image of Igor is very negatively portrayed in “The Word on Igor's Regiment”. Examples from the text may be as follows:
“The sun set its dark path;
Night with the moans of a thunderstorm of birds awakened,
The animal whistle got up ... "
But prince is deaf to nature. Despite this recklessness, the author acknowledges Igor’s courage:
“And he sharpened his heart with courage;
Filled with a martial spirit,
Inspiring your brave regiments ... "
However, after returning from captivity, Igor changes, he is ready to abandon personal aspirations for the sake of his native land and go on a joint campaign with other princes. The prince realizes that his actions can only lead to defeat. And the forces of nature show their favor:
"Clicked, hit the ground;
The grass has rustled:
Polovtsian vezh moved.
Prince Igor hid an ermine in a reed,
White gogol to the water;
The prince sprang up on a fast horse,
Jumped off him with a bare wolf
And he rushed to the meadow of the Donets ...
Donets says: "You, Igor Prince!
Not a little greatness to you
Konchaku dislike,
Russian land of fun! "..."
The image of Yaroslavna and her help to Igor
Yaroslavna is represented by an ideally Russian woman. She is a devoted wife and faithful friend to Igor, the strength of her love is so great that it helps her husband break out of captivity. Her crying is of great importance and plays a huge role in justifying the honor of the prince, since the flight was considered unworthy of a warrior. But the forces of nature themselves, softened by Yaroslavna, help the hero get out - and here, not his will, but the will of the elements predominates. Higher forces defend the prince and show the way:
"God tells the prince Igor
From the land of Polovtsy to the Russian land ... "
The suffering of the heroine and the torment of the people also became one of the reasons for the spiritual rebirth of Igor.
The meaning of the "Word" for literature
Today, the "Word" is recognized as an ancient written monument of world significance, and is compared with the medieval masterpieces of European literature. Not the last role plays in comprehension and understanding of subjects the image of Igor in the "Word of Igor's Campaign". Pictures illustrating this work can be easily found in books or textbooks today.