Time of creation of the poem. Plot basis and time of action. Subjects

A.S. Pushkin wrote the poem “The Bronze Horseman” in October 1833 in Boldin.

The plot basis of the work is St. Petersburg flood of 1824. Pushkin emphasizes the strict historical accuracy of the events described in the poem. Thus, in the author’s preface to the work, he notes: “The incident described in this story is based on the truth.”

The time frame of the poem is wider than its plot action. The poet commits excursion into the era of Peter I, talks about the grandiose the autocrat's plan. He then talks about the changes that took place a hundred years later. The author describes the flood of 1824 and the events immediately following it. The most important theme of the work also becomes fate " little man».

Issues

The main problem posed in The Bronze Horseman is personalityand the state. Pushkin comprehends the deep contradiction between the personality of the “little man” and autocratic power. In the context of this problem, Pushkin reveals the historical inconsistency of the activities of Peter I. On the one hand, the reforms he implemented strengthened the Russian State. The city, built on the Neva, became a symbol of the greatness and glory of Russia. On the other hand, this city turned out to be the cause of misfortune, suffering, and death of the “little man.”

Another important problem of the work is man and nature. In the natural elements, Pushkin showed the formidable Divine power, disobedient to man, not subject to the will of the kings.

Ideological orientation

The ideological meaning of the poem is ambiguous.

On the one side, Pushkin glorifies the deeds of Peter, admires the beautiful city on the Neva, bows to the greatness and glory of Russia.

On the other side, the poet deeply sympathizes, has compassion for the “little man”, who became an involuntary victim of Peter's reforms.

Genre originality

"The Bronze Horseman" is lyric poem. It combines the narration of events and characters with the lyrical self-expression of the author. For example, the introduction to the poem includes an excited monologue of the poet praising St. Petersburg.

Pushkin also gives his own genre definition to “The Bronze Horseman”. In the subtitle he calls the work "Petersburg story". With his work, Pushkin affirms a new genre in Russian literature, the St. Petersburg story about a poor official, a “little man.” Subsequently (already in prose form) this genre will be developed in the works of N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky, and other Russian writers.

Composition: plot structure, main images

The poem includes introduction And two parts.

Introduction contains exposition image of Peter I. The Tsar appears here as an outstanding statesman who has set himself the task of transforming Russia, making it a great state, and opening a “window to Europe.”

Although the king is described in the introduction as a real historical figure, he already looks monumental here 1 . The majestic figure of the autocrat is shown against the backdrop of wild, pristine nature:

On the shore of desert waves

stood He, full of great thoughts,

And he looked into the distance.

The poet talks about Peter's grandiose plan:

And he thought:

From here we will threaten the Swede,

The city will be founded here

To spite an arrogant neighbor.

Nature destined us here

Open a window to Europe,

Stand with a firm foot by the sea.

Here on new waves

All the flags will visit us,

A hundred years have passed, and the young city,

There is beauty and wonder in full countries,

From the darkness of the forests, from the swamps of blat

He ascended magnificently, proudly...

Pushkin does not hide his admiration for Peter's creation. Hence the high style, use Slavicisms(“young city”, “beauty and wonder of full countries”, “from the swamp of blat”).

Then follows lyrical monologue poet, where he talks about his love for St. Petersburg. The poet admires the architecture of the city, the majestic flow of the Neva, the beauty of the white nights:

I love you, Petra's creation,

I love your strict, slender appearance,

Neva sovereign current,

Its coastal granite,

Your fences have a cast iron pattern,

of your thoughtful nights

Transparent twilight, moonless shine...

Pushkin glorifies military power Russia:

I love the warlike liveliness

Amusing Fields of Mars,

Infantry troops and horses

Uniform beauty

In their harmoniously unsteady system

The shreds of these victorious banners,

The shine of these copper caps,

Shot through and through in battle.

These lines reminded Pushkin’s contemporaries of the glorious victory of Russia in the War of 1812.

The poet especially notes the significance of such solemn moments in the life of the Russian Empire as birth of the heir to the throne And victory over the enemy, and the jubilation caused by these events turns out to be akin to the joy of contemplating the spring awakening of the Neva:

I love you, military capital,

Your stronghold is smoke and thunder,

When the queen is full

Gives a son to the royal house,

Or victory over the enemy

Russia triumphs again

Or, breaking your blue ice,

The Neva carries him to the seas

And, sensing the days of spring, he rejoices.

Thus, Pushkin’s St. Petersburg is a symbol of a new, transformed Russia.

Meanwhile reform activities Petra, according to the poet’s conviction, brought Russia and its people not only greatness, but also great suffering. “My story will be sad,” the poet notes at the end of the introduction, preparing the reader for the sorrowful events described in the first and second parts of the poem.

First part“The Bronze Horseman” opens with a gloomy picture autumn nature. Neva is compared to a sick person:

Over darkened Petrograd

November breathed the autumn chill.

Splashing with a noisy wave

To the edges of your slender fence,

Neva was tossing around like a sick person

At that time from the guests home

Young Evgeniy came...

Exposition the image of the central character occupies first half of the first part poems. The poet explains why he chose the name “Eugene” for his hero:

We will be our hero

Call by this name. It

Sounds nice; been with him for a long time

My pen is also friendly.

Eugene comes from an ancient aristocratic family. However, in the era in which the poem takes place, his name no longer means anything to anyone:

We don't need his nickname.

Although in times gone by

Perhaps it shone,

And under the pen of Karamzin

In native legends it sounded,

But now with light and rumor

It's forgotten...

Evgeniy is typical petty official, “little man”:

Our hero

Lives in Kolomna, serves somewhere,

He shies away from the nobles and does not bother

Not about deceased relatives,

Not about forgotten antiquities.

Let us note that “little people” are the product of Peter’s reforms, which turned Russia into a state of officials.

We should not forget that the gallery of “little people” in Russian literature dates back to Pushkin. Samson Vyrin from The Station Agent is the first in their row, the second is Evgeniy from The Bronze Horseman. Later, Russian literature will include the heroes of Gogol (for example, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin from “The Overcoat”), writers of the “natural school,” and Dostoevsky.

ABOUT worldview"little man" can be judged by his dreams:

What was he thinking about? About

That he was poor, that he worked hard

He had to deliver to himself

And independence and honor...

Marry? Well... why not?

It's hard, of course.

But well, he's young and healthy,

Ready to work day and night;

He'll arrange something for himself

Shelter humble and simple

And it will calm Parasha.

Eugene, unlike the autocratic tsar, is not concerned about grandiose plans of a state scale, but about pressing matters: he dreams of family happiness, of raising children.

It is also important that Evgeniy’s beloved is not an aristocratic lady, but a simple girl, Parasha, with whom he is going to share a modest and difficult family life.

The poet's poems express sympathy"little man", sincere attention to his concerns.

When creating the images of Peter and Evgeny, Pushkin resorted to antithesis, which emerges already in the introduction to the poem and in its first part. The majestic figure of Peter against the backdrop of the deserted, calm Neva is contrasted with Eugene, immersed in the bustle of everyday life - a “small” and by government standards insignificant person, returning home near a restless, restless river, instilling fear in the hero for loved ones.

Second half of the first part the poem is dedicated to describing floods. Raging Neva acts as a merciless natural element that takes revenge on man for trying to limit her freedom by chaining her in granite. When describing a natural disaster, Pushkin uses extensive personifications, comparisons, and colorful epithets. The Neva appears before us as a terrible beast, destroying everything around:

The Neva swelled and roared,

A cauldron bubbling and swirling,

And suddenly, like a wild beast,

She rushed to the city...

It is no coincidence that Alexander I, at the end of whose reign the flood of 1824 occurred, utters significant words: “Tsars cannot cope with God’s elements.” The forces of nature here symbolize God's wrath towards people who decide to subjugate the elements, and here even the king turns out to be powerless. Nature takes revenge on man for his tyranny over her.

It is significant that Pushkin emphasizes the inextricable connection between the disasters caused by the flood and Peter's long-standing decision to build a city in this very place - contrary to the laws of nature. As a result, the terrible suffering of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg, especially the “little people,” turned out to be a consequence of Peter’s activities in the previous century.

Not by chance at the end of the first part of the poem there are images of Peter I and Eugene again opposed, only the autocrat appears here no longer as a historical figure, but as a statue, an “idol.” Eugene, fleeing the flood, sits “astride a marble beast” and sees in front of him a motionless statue of Peter. At the same time, the monument turns out to have its “back turned to him”: it turns out that the desperate “little man” cannot count on help:

And with my back turned to him,

In unshakable heights

Above the indignant Neva

Stands with outstretched hand

Idol on a bronze horse.

In the second part the poem talks about death of Parasha, O Evgeniy's madness oh him riot against the authorities, finally about his own death.

Death of Parasha acquires a symbolic meaning in the poem: this is a sign misfortunes everyone ordinary people - residents of St. Petersburg , who found themselves hostage to Peter's reforms. The death of the bride also became the reason for Eugene's madness. His consciousness could not withstand severe tests:

But my poor, poor Evgeniy...

Alas! His confused mind

Against terrible shocks

Couldn't resist...

Let us note that the motive of madness in connection with the theme of St. Petersburg is widely covered in subsequent Russian literature. Let us recall, for example, Gogol’s “Notes of a Madman,” Raskolnikov’s dreams and nightmares in Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.”

The second part of the poem also contains climax– a story about riot a hero against the power that the statue of Peter represents. The author prepares the reader in advance for this new confrontation between Eugene and the Bronze Horseman. The details of their first meeting, which occurred during the flood, are repeated again:

Evgeny shuddered. cleared up

The thoughts in it are scary. He found out

And the place where the flood played,

Where the waves of predators crowded,

Rioting angrily around him,

And lions, and the square, and that,

Who stood motionless

In the darkness with a copper head...

Poet in lyrical monologue turns to the statue of Peter - a symbol of autocratic power:

Where are you galloping, proud horse?

And where will you put your hooves?

O mighty lord of fate!

Aren't you above the very abyss,

At the height, with an iron bridle

Raised Russia on its hind legs?

Pushkin emphasizes here the grandeur of Peter’s appearance. Meanwhile, the figure of Eugene at the moment of his rebellion against his idol becomes majestic in its own way. It is no coincidence that the poet, in his depiction of the “little man,” as in the description of the statue of the autocrat, uses high-style vocabulary 1 :

Around the foot of the idol

The poor madman walked around

And brought wild glances

The face of the ruler of half the world.

His chest felt tight. Chelo

It lay against the cold grate...

The two opponents are stylistically “equalized”: the “ruler of half the world” has a “face”, the rebel has a “brow”. The hero, in a frenzy, utters words filled with anger:

Welcome, miraculous builder!

Already for you!

The riot ends nightmare Evgenia. The Bronze Horseman pursues his prey.

In a peculiar epilogue, not titled by the author, but highlighted textually, talks about death unfortunate Evgeniya, unable to withstand the battle with cruel fate:

They found my madman,

And then his cold corpse

Buried for God's sake.

Play an important role in the work images-symbols. Image St. Petersburg carries the idea of ​​a new, transformed Russia with its greatness and glory. At the same time, St. Petersburg is a symbol of misfortune and suffering ordinary people.

Raging Neva- a symbol of God’s wrath falling on a person who decided to subjugate the natural elements.

Finally, Bronze Horseman- the personification of autocratic power in its tragic confrontation with the people. Horse - Russian people, The Horseman is an autocrat who raised his subjects “on their hind legs.”

Questions and tasks

1. Where and when did Pushkin write the poem “The Bronze Horseman”? What is the plot of the work? Outline the time frame of the events described in the poem. Name the main themes of the work.

2. What problems does the poet comprehend in “The Bronze Horseman”? What is unique about the author’s interpretation of such a problem as the individual and the state?

3. Describe the ideological orientation of the poem. Why can’t the author’s position be called unambiguous?

4. Why is “The Bronze Horseman” a lyric epic work? What genre definition did Pushkin himself give to the poem? What is unique about The Bronze Horseman as a St. Petersburg story? Which other Russian writers created works in this genre?

5. What parts does Pushkin’s poem consist of? What compositional elements does the introduction include? How does Peter I appear before us in his introduction? What does the poet say about Peter’s plan? How Pushkin depicts Petersburg a hundred years after its founding. Describe the author's lyrical monologue. What exactly fascinates him about “Peter’s work”?

6. What can you say about the exposure of the image of Eugene at the beginning of the first part of the poem? How does the author describe the Neva? How does he introduce the central character to the reader? What does Pushkin write about the hero’s first and last name, about his origin, activities, dreams, ideals? What can you say about Eugene’s beloved? Why can Evgeny be called a “little man”? When and for what reasons did this socio-historical type of people arise? Which Russian writer first discovered it? What other characters - Pushkin himself and other authors - can be classified as this literary type?

What is the meaning of the antithesis “Peter - Eugene”?

7. How does Pushkin depict the raging elements? What artistic techniques does he use here? What is the meaning of the words of Alexander I quoted by the poet? How is the theme of the flood of 1824 related to the theme of Peter the Great's reforms? Reveal the meaning of the episode of the confrontation between Eugene and the statue of Peter during the flood.

8. Name the main events of the second part of the poem. Why do the death of Parasha and Eugene’s madness acquire symbolic meaning in the work?

9. Describe the climax of the poem? Why can we say that the images of Eugene and Peter at the moment of the hero’s rebellion are stylistically equal? What does the hero's rebellion lead to? What is the symbolic meaning of Eugene’s death? What description serves as an epilogue in the poem?

10. Summarize the meaning of image-symbols in the poem. Why is the symbolic image of St. Petersburg interpreted ambiguously? How can one interpret the meaning of the image of the raging Neva? Comment on Pushkin's interpretation of the image of the Bronze Horseman.

11. Make an outline and prepare an oral report

« Bronze Horseman» - a philosophical, social and historical poem. Pushkin's poem raises problems of relationships between the state, government and the individual, and sometimes the incompatibility of their interests.
It became the result of the poet’s thoughts about the personality of Peter I, about Russian history and the state, about the place of man in it.
This work organically combines the story of the fate of an ordinary resident of St. Petersburg, who suffered during the flood, Eugene, and historical and philosophical reflections on the state, the formation of which is associated with the personality and activities of Peter.

The main idea of ​​the story “The Bronze Horseman” is that an ordinary person can go mad from a storm, from grief and anxiety. Not finding his bride, Parasha, among the rubble and ruins left by the storm, the hero of the poem Eugene goes crazy. In Kotzna, seeing the very place where he watched all the destruction that shocked him so much - stone lions, and next to them a majestic horseman on a horse. From then on, it began to seem to him that the same rider was constantly chasing him, stepping heavily, on his copper horse. He soon died from despair and fear.

Main characters The Bronze Horseman

Bronze Horseman plot

The poem tells about a poor, insignificant St. Petersburg resident Evgeniy, stupid, not original, no different from his brothers. He was in love with Parasha, the daughter of a widow living by the seaside. The flood of 1824 destroyed their house; the widow and Parasha died. Evgeniy could not bear this misfortune and went crazy. One night, passing by the monument to Peter I, Eugene, in his madness, whispered several angry words to him, seeing in him the culprit of his disasters. Eugene’s frustrated imagination imagined that the bronze horseman was angry with him for this and chased him on his bronze horse. A few months later the madman died.

In his poem “The Bronze Horseman,” Pushkin approaches one of the greatest problems, the problem of relations between the individual and society, the question of what to do when the interests of an entire society or state collide with the interests of individuals. Does an individual have the right to defend his rights, or is he obliged to submit resignedly to the iron will of fate?

Many attempts have been made to unravel the meaning of the Bronze Horseman. Belinsky, trying to figure out how Pushkin resolved this problem, interpreted “The Bronze Horseman” in this way: before us is a clash of the general and the particular, the state and the individual; Peter, or, more precisely, his monument, “an idol on a bronze horse,” is the personification of the state and social necessity.

For the good of the whole, for the good of Russia, Peter had to build St. Petersburg. And if individuals suffer from the inconvenient position of the capital, located on a low shore of the bay, prone to floods, then they, these individuals, do not even have the right to protest. An individual must endure everything, must go to suffering and death without complaining, since the interests of the whole require it.

Evgeniy dared to protest, and for this he was terribly punished. “And with a humble heart,” says Belinsky, “we recognize the triumph of the general over the particular, without abandoning our sympathy for the suffering of this particular...

When we look at the Giant, proudly and unshakably rising in the midst of general death and destruction and, as it were, symbolically realizing the indestructibility of his creation, we, although not without a shudder of heart, admit that this bronze giant could not protect the fate of individuals, ensuring the fate of the people and states; what a historical necessity it is, and that his view of us is already a justification... Yes, this poem is the apotheosis of Peter the Great, the most daring, the most grandiose that could only have occurred to a poet who was fully worthy of being the singer of the great transformer of Russia.”

So, according to Belinsky, Pushkin is entirely on the side of Peter and condemns Evgeniy, who dared to protest. But the question inevitably arises: did Pushkin really come to such a cruel worldview? Really, in his opinion, does the individual really have no right to protest when he is oppressed by the general? And what is this “common” if not the sum of individual individuals? And is this “general” or even
“the majority” would have lost something if both Evgeniy and Parasha had not died? Did anyone really need their death?

Other opinions have been expressed on this issue; believed (for example, Merezhkovsky) that the poem does not at all give the right to think about the “apotheosis of Peter.” On the contrary, “The Bronze Horseman” is a protest against the cruel deed of the “idol”; Pushkin's sympathies are on the side of Evgeniy, and
if Pushkin did not express them more clearly, it was only because of censorship conditions. However, one has only to read the introduction to the story to become clear that Pushkin reveres Peter and sings a hymn to his creation.

On the shore of desert waves
He stood there, full of great thoughts,
And he looked into the distance.

This is how the poem solemnly begins. “He - Peter - is even written with a capital letter. He is a genius, he foresees the future.

So did Pushkin really pronounce such a cruel sentence on individuals that they must die and have no right even
grumble with impunity, even if their death was completely pointless?

The clue to the meaning of “The Bronze Horseman” can be seen in the final words of the introduction:

Show off, city of Petrov, and stand against your ancient enmity and captivity
Unshakable, like Russia. Let the Finnish waves forget
May he make peace with you and not be vainly angry
And the defeated element; Disturb Peter's eternal sleep.

Therefore, Pushkin considers the senseless death of people an abnormal and unjust phenomenon. This injustice disturbs “Peter’s eternal sleep,” but, unfortunately, we have to put up with it, since without it progress is impossible. But there will be an era when harmony will come, and then individuals will not suffer from the demands of the general.

There is another very important, casually expressed thought in “The Bronze Horseman” - a hint social nature. Most often it is the poor, the representatives of the lower social classes who have to die; the whole, the state, especially mercilessly crushes the poor classes. The fact that Evgeniy and Parasha died during the flood is, of course, an accident, but it is not an accident that the victims belonged to the poor class. None of the rich and powerful died. They live not in shacks on the bay, but in luxurious stone houses and palaces that are not afraid of any waves.

Even before the flood, Evgeniy had characteristic thoughts. He was thinking about
... That he was poor, that he had the labor of his mind and money. what is it?
He had to provide himself with such idle lucky ones,
Both independence and honor; Narrow-minded, sloths,
What could God add to him? For whom life is so much easier!

Topic: “Analysis of the poem “The Bronze Horseman”

Lesson objectives: identify the historical, literary and genre originality of “The Bronze Horseman”; determine the composition of the work; help to understand the main conflict of the poem; develop the ability to analyze a work; to cultivate in the reader a sense of beauty, the ability to feel and understand what they read.

Methodical techniques: teacher's story, student messages, vocabulary work, elements of text analysis.

Lesson progress

Checking homework.

Implementation of an individual task: the message “The Image of Peter I in the poem “Poltava”.

Teacher's word.

The image of Peter I was depicted by Pushkin not only in the poem “Poltava”, where he appears as an inspired military leader - a winner, but also in many other works: “The Feast of Peter the Great”, “Arap of Peter the Great”, etc. In each of these works new facets are revealed the character of the king, his state activities.

In the early 30s, Pushkin had a desire to begin work on “The History of Peter.” He gained access to state archives and to Voltaire’s library stored in the Hermitage, began searching for and collecting materials from Golikov’s multi-volume work “The Acts of Peter the Great” and “Additions...” to it. The materials collected by the writer have not reached us in full, but they constitute whole volume in the collection of his works.

By this time, his ideas about Peter, his services to the country, his strengths and weaknesses had deepened. Pushkin has a note: “The difference between government agencies Peter the Great and his temporary decrees. The first are the fruit of an extensive mind, full of goodwill and wisdom, the second often cruel, capricious and, it seems, written with a whip. The first were for eternity, or at least for the future, - the second escaped from impatient autocratic landowner." Pushkin notes that the arbitrariness of Peter I increased from year to year.

What Pushkin realized as a historian, he wanted to reflect as an artist. This is how one of his best poems, “The Bronze Horseman,” was born in 1833. In it, Pushkin expressed an insoluble conflict, a contradiction between historical necessity and the lives of living people, who often become victims of this necessity. In the poem, it is no longer Peter himself who acts, but his “idol”, a monument. This image is inseparable from the image of St. Petersburg; it is a symbol of the northern capital.

Implementation of an individual task.

A message from a trained student about the history of the creation of St. Petersburg, the history of the creation of the monument to Peter I.

Expressive reading of a passage from the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by the teacher.

1. Conversation on issues. Elements of text analysis “Introduction”.

1. Find the definition of composition of a work in the dictionary. Remember the elements of plot composition:

a) beginning (a change in the initial situation, entailing the emergence of a conflict);

b) development of action;

c) culmination;

d) interchange;

e) mandatory framing elements - prologue and epilogue.

2. Is there a framing element in the composition of the plot of the work? How is he named A.S. Pushkin?

A.S. Pushkin uses epic methods of depicting a historical figure: a broad view of the world “strengthens” the hero’s personality: “...he, full of great thoughts..”, the king is shown against the backdrop of a vast space that has to be transformed and conquered.

6. Find lexical and other means of artistic expression that show the author’s attitude towards Peter’s activities as historically necessary and aimed at the benefit of the state.

The introduction is written in the tradition of Lomonosov's ode in a high syllable. The text contains Slavicisms (otsel, grad, dilapidated, porphyry-bearing), techniques oratory. The author’s chosen genre of introduction to the story “The Bronze Horseman” emphasizes in the image of Peter his statesmanship and patriotism.

Let us explain the meaning of the words “full”, “blat”, “porphyry-bearing”.

6. What he once “thought” about, that is, Peter, standing on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, came true. What does Peter's creation look like now?

Understanding the conflict of the work.

But at what cost did this city “rise magnificently and proudly”? The plan was realized at the cost of violence against nature and people. The introduction to the story is intended to lead the reader to an understanding of its main conflict - history and personality.

Working with a dictionary. Find the definition of conflict.

Conflict in literary work- a clash, a struggle, on which the development of the plot is built.

Is the conflict clear in The Bronze Horseman?

(The conflict in the poem is branched and complex. It is a conflict between a “little” man and power, between nature and man, between the city and the elements, between personality and history, between the real and the mythological.)

Conversation on issues.

In the story, next to the image of the great statesman, the image of an ordinary person appears.

1) How is the image of Eugene revealed through the comparison of his “thoughts” (“What was he thinking?”) with Peter’s monologue (“And he thought...”)?

Pushkin contrasts Peter, who personifies power, with an ordinary person whose fate depends on power.

2) How is this contrast emphasized stylistically?

The story about Peter is told in the genre of ode, about Eugene - in a lowered syllable, with the mention of many everyday details that recreate the lifestyle of an ordinary person.

The description of the flood occupies the main place in the first part of the story.

Is it sudden for Evgeny?

Suddenly. As he falls asleep, he wishes “that the wind would not howl so sadly and that the rain would not knock on the window so angrily.” The hero does not lose hope for a successful outcome of events.

Now let’s compare the description of the raging elements with the author’s double assessment of Peter’s plan to build a city. As the introduction says that Peter's will invades and changes natural state peace?

How does nature take revenge for human intrusion into its environment? What does Pushkin note in her actions?

Siege! Attack! Evil waves

Like thieves, they climb into windows. Chelny

From the run the windows are smashed by the stern.

Trays under a wet blanket.

Fragments of huts, logs, roofs,

Stock trade goods,

The belongings of poor poverty,

Bridges demolished by thunderstorms,

Coffins from a washed-out cemetery

Floating through the streets!

He sees God's wrath and awaits execution.

Flood should be understood as nature’s retribution to man for the violence inflicted on her. This event serves as the beginning of the action.

What kind of relationship between man and nature is normal?

The poem has many compositional and semantic parallels. Parallels and comparisons not only indicate the similarities that arise between different phenomena or situations, but also reveal unresolved (and unresolvable) contradictions between them. Try to explain one of these parallels.

Then, on Petrova Square,

Where a new house has risen in the corner,

Where above the elevated porch

With a raised paw, as if alive,

There are two guard lions standing,

Riding a marble beast,

Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross,

He sat motionless, terribly pale,

…………………………………………

And with my back turned to him,

In the unshakable heights,

Above the indignant Neva

Stands with outstretched hand

Idol on a bronze horse.

Eugene, escaping from the elements on a marble lion, is a tragicomic “double” of the guardian of the city, “an idol on a bronze horse” standing “in an unshakable height.” The parallel between them emphasizes the sharp contrast between the greatness of the “idol” raised above the city and the pitiful situation of Eugene.

What terrifies Eugene after the death of his bride? Why is the Bronze Horseman pursuing him? What is the symbolic meaning of this scene?

In the minds of Eugene, this “miraculous builder,” Peter, is the culprit of the misfortunes of the ordinary St. Petersburg people. The rider, with his outstretched hand, seems to bless the flaring elements, but cannot control it or tame it. Gradually, Eugene’s “terrible thoughts” “cleared up,” and he “became gloomy.”

The question asked before: “Where are you galloping, proud horse?..” - it would seem that does not imply a simple, immediate answer, and suddenly the answer is received. The horse “lowered its hooves”, the Rider breaks off the pedestal and begins to chase the poor rebel. The autocrat cannot forgive the threats from the timid, confused “little man.” Let it only seem to Eugene that the Horseman is hot on his heels, galloping through the square and streets of the capital. Some great moral laws were not taken into account and even trampled upon by the transformer of Russia. That is why this monument is so lonely in the midst of the colorful life of a huge city.

Did the elements, in turn, manage to destroy what the people created by the will of the great man?

A.S. Pushkin asserts the immortality of Peter's deeds as the deeds of the people and the state as a whole. But, fulfilling the law of historical necessity, the state breaks the destinies of ordinary people, destroys them, showing state egoism towards them. This is the outcome of events, the resolution of the conflict.

1. Definition of genre

What is the subtitle of The Bronze Horseman?

(“Petersburg Tale”)

However, in the works of many literary scholars we find this work referred to as a poem.

Read the definitions of story and poem in the dictionary. Which genre is the work “The Bronze Horseman” closest to and why?

A story is one of the types of epic work. A story is larger in volume and scope of life phenomena than a short story, and smaller than a novel.

A poem (Greek poiema - creation) is one of the types of lyric epic works, which are characterized by plot and expression by the author or lyrical hero of his feelings.

Pushkin calls the work a story, the authenticity of the events of which is emphasized by the “Preface”: “The incident described in this story is based on the truth. Details of the flood are taken from magazines of the time. The curious can consult the news compiled by V.N. Berhom."

It was important for the author to emphasize that this is not just a poem like “Gypsy,” but something deeper and larger-scale. Very often, authors complicate the genres of their works. The definition of a genre in a dictionary is only some basis, and true masterpieces, complex in design, often do not fit into readers’ usual ideas about genres, and the author thus gives them hints.

A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” combines both historical and social issues. This is the author's reflection on Peter the Great as a reformer, a collection of various opinions and assessments about his actions. This poem is one of his perfect works that have a philosophical meaning. We offer for your information brief analysis poems, the material can be used for work in literature lessons in 7th grade.

Brief Analysis

Year of writing– 1833

History of creation– During the period of his “golden autumn”, when Pushkin was forced to stay on the Boldinsky estate, the poet had a creative upsurge. During that “golden” time, the author created many brilliant works that made a great impression on both the public and critics. One of such works of the Boldino period was the poem “The Bronze Horseman”.

Subject– The reign of Peter the Great, the attitude of society to his reforms is the main theme of “The Bronze Horseman”

Composition– The composition consists of a large introduction, which can be considered as a separate poem, and two parts, which talk about the main character, the devastating flood of 1824, and the hero’s meeting with the Bronze Horseman.

Genre– The genre of “The Bronze Horseman” is a poem.

Direction - Historical poem describing actual events, direction– realism.

History of creation

At the very beginning of the history of the creation of the poem, the writer was in the Boldinsky estate. He thought a lot about history Russian state, about its rulers and autocratic power. At that time, society was divided into two types of people - some fully supported the policies of Peter the Great, treated him with adoration, and the other type of people found in the great emperor similarities with evil spirits, considered him an incarnation of hell, and treated him accordingly.

The writer listened to different opinions about the reign of Peter, the result of his thoughts and collection of various information was the poem “The Bronze Horseman”, which completed his Boldino heyday of creativity, the year the poem was written was 1833.

Subject

In “The Bronze Horseman” the analysis of the work reflects one of the main topics– power and the little man. The author reflects on the government of the state, on the collision of a small man with a huge colossus.

Myself meaning of the name– “The Bronze Horseman” – contains the main idea of ​​the poetic work. The monument to Peter is made of bronze, but the author preferred a different epithet, more ponderous and gloomy. So, through expressive artistic means, the poet outlines a powerful state machine, which is indifferent to the problems of small people suffering from the power of autocratic rule.

In this poem, conflict between a small person and the authorities has no continuation, a person is so petty for the state when “the forest is cut down - the chips fly.”

One can judge the role of one individual in the fate of the state in different ways. In his introduction to the poem, the author characterizes Peter the Great as a man of amazing intelligence, far-sighted and decisive. While in power, Peter looked far ahead; he thought about the future of Russia, about its power and indestructibility. The actions of Peter the Great can be judged in different ways, accusing him of despotism and tyranny towards the common people. It is impossible to justify the actions of a ruler who built power on the bones of people.

Composition

Pushkin's brilliant idea in the compositional features of the poem serves as proof of the poet's creative skill. The large introduction, dedicated to Peter the Great and the city he built, can be read as an independent work.

The language of the poem has absorbed all the originality of the genre, emphasizing the author’s attitude to the events he describes. In the description of Peter and St. Petersburg, the language is pathetic, majestic, completely in harmony with the appearance of the emperor, great and powerful.

The story of simple Eugene is told in a completely different language. The narrative speech about the hero is in ordinary language, reflecting the essence of the “little man”.

The greatest genius of Pushkin is clearly visible in this poem; it is all written in the same poetic meter, but in different places works sound completely different. The two parts of the poem following the introduction can also be considered a separate work. These parts talk about an ordinary person, who lost his girlfriend in a flood.

Eugene blames the monument to Peter for this, implying that it is the emperor himself - the autocrat. A person who dreams of simple human happiness has lost the meaning of life, having lost the most precious thing - he has lost his beloved girl, his future. It seems to Evgeniy that the Bronze Horseman is chasing him. Eugene understands that the autocrat is cruel and merciless. Crushed by grief, the young man goes crazy and then dies, left without the meaning of life.

We can come to the conclusion that in this way the author continues the theme of the “little man”, developed at that time in Russian literature. By this he proves how despotic the government is towards the common people.

Main characters

Genre

The work “The Bronze Horseman” belongs to the genre of a poetic poem with a realistic direction.

The poem is large-scale in its deep content; it includes both historical and philosophical issues. There is no epilogue in the poem, and the contradictions between the little man and the whole state remain open.