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The artistic method of fonvizin. The ideological and artistic originality of the comedy D

The artistic method of fonvizin. The ideological and artistic originality of the comedy D

06.04.2019

pinnacle of Russian dramaturgy XVIII century is the comedy of D. I. Fonvizin “Undergrowth”, the first Russian socio-political comedy, in which “malice worthy fruits". According to Gogol, Fonvizin created "a truly social comedy", where he revealed "the wounds and diseases of our society, severe internal abuses, which are exposed by the merciless power of irony in stunning evidence."

The genre of comedy has been known since ancient times. Even Aristotle defined the main features of comedy, based on the fact that the main thing in a dramatic work is the image of a person, his character. Since people “are either good or bad”, “are distinguished either by viciousness or virtue”, he saw the difference between tragedy and comedy in the fact that comedy “strives to portray the worst”, and tragedy - “ the best people than the existing ones. The next stage in the development of comedy was associated with classicism, which retained the distinction between the tragic and the comic, characteristic of the era of antiquity. was saved and moral principle dividing people into "best" and "worst". At the same time, in the literature of classicism, those who were concerned about state affairs were recognized as “the best”, and those who lived in their own interests were recognized as “worst”.

The purpose of the classic comedy is to “enlighten”, ridiculing the shortcomings: eccentricity, extravagance, laziness, stupidity. However, it does not follow from this that the comedy of the period of classicism was devoid of social content. Quite the contrary: the ideal of that era, its true hero was recognized as a person of a social warehouse, for whom the interests of the state and the nation were higher than personal ones. Comedy was called upon to affirm this lofty ideal by ridiculing the psychological human qualities that reduced the social significance of the individual.

D. I. Fonvizin in "Undergrowth" observes the classical principle of the "trinity" of time, place and action: events take place "in the village of Prostakova" during the day. At the same time, readers admire the courage and surprise artistic solutions suggested by the playwright. It can be said with confidence that Fonvizin acted as a true innovator in The Undergrowth. Genre definition comedy has been controversial in critical circles. The playwright himself called his comedy public. V. G. Belinsky, noting genre originality this work, gave its clear definition - "satire of genres". The critic claimed: "Undergrowth" - not piece of art, but a satire on manners, and a satire workshop. Its characters are fools and smart: the fools are all very nice, and the smart ones are all very vulgar; the first are caricatures written with great talent; the second are reasoners who annoy you with their maxims. He also noted that Fonvizin's comedies "never cease to arouse laughter and, gradually losing readers in the higher circles of society from the side of education, they will all the more win them in the lower ones and become popular reading."

Historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, challenging the definition given by Belinsky, argued that "Undergrowth" is a sitcom: "In the Undergrowth" bad people of the old school are placed directly against the new ideas embodied in the pale virtuous figures of Starodum, Pravdin and others who came to tell those people that times have changed, that it is necessary to educate, think and act differently than they used to do.

Based modern definition genres, consider artistic and genre features socio-political comedy "Undergrowth". The comedy is based on the traditional motif of matchmaking and the fight of the suitors for the heroine. The events about which the comedy narrates have the following prehistory. Sophia's main character comedy, mother dies. A distant relative of Prostakov takes the girl to the village and decides to pass Sophia off as her brother Skotinin. At this time, Sophia receives a letter from her uncle Starodum, from which everyone learns that she is a rich heiress. This radically changes the strategy of Prostakova's behavior, who decides to "attach" her blockhead son Mitrofanushka. He gladly accepts his mother's decision, because he has long been sick of studying: “The hour of my will has long come. I don't want to study, I want to get married."

However, in the arena of the struggle for a rich bride, Milon, whom Sophia loves, upsets Prostakova's plans. Takova love line plays. However, not only she was the focus of the playwright.

The action in a comedy unites all the characters and at the same time divides them into "evil-minded" and "virtuous". The first are concentrated around Prostakova, the second - around Starodum. The dialogues of the characters of the second group, in fact, are a presentation of the positive program of Fonvizin himself. They talk about an enlightened monarch, about the appointment of a nobleman, about marriage and family, about the education of young nobles, and that “it is illegal to oppress your own kind with slavery.” This is especially evident in the edifying, didactic speech of Starodum addressed to Sophia. Starodum reflects on wealth (“according to my calculation, not the rich one who counts money to hide it in a chest, but the one who counts out the excess in himself to help someone who does not have what he needs”), nobility (“without noble deeds noble state of nothing"). His conclusions reflect the system of views and principles of the Catherine's era: "An honest person cannot be forgiven in any way if he lacks some quality of the heart ... An honest person must be a completely honest person."

The characters of the first group are portrayed in the comedy satirically, caricatured. What does Fonvizin oppose? Against the ignorance of the nobles, "those malevolent ignoramuses who, having their full power over people, use it for evil inhumanly." Against the consumer attitude to life, which is determined by the whole atmosphere of the estate life. Against the heartlessness and despotism of the masters, their unwillingness to recognize the rights of serfs to equality with the "noble". Thus, this comedy has a clear socio-political orientation. According to V.G. Belinsky, Fonvizin's comedies, including "Undergrowth", are not comedies in artistic value, but they - " beautiful works fiction, precious annals of the public of that time.

Consider the features of the comedy created by Fonvizin ("Undergrowth"). The analysis of this work is the topic of this article. This play is a masterpiece. domestic literature 18th century. This work is included today in the fund of the Russian classical literature. It touches upon a number of "eternal problems". And the beauty of a high style still attracts many readers today. The name of this play is connected with the decree issued by Peter I, according to which "undergrowths" (young nobles) are forbidden to enter the service and marry without education.

The history of the creation of the play

Back in 1778, the idea of this comedy arose from its author, who is Fonvizin. "Undergrowth", the analysis of which we are interested in, was written in 1782 and presented to the public in the same year. It should briefly highlight the time of creation of the play that interests us.

During the reign of Catherine II, Fonvizin wrote "Undergrowth". The analysis of the heroes presented below proves that they were the heroes of their time. The period in the development of our country is associated with the dominance of ideas. They were borrowed by the Russians from the French enlighteners. The spread of these ideas, their great popularity among the educated philistinism and the nobility was largely facilitated by the Empress herself. She, as you know, corresponded with Diderot, Voltaire, d'Alembert. In addition, Catherine II opened libraries and schools, supported the development of art and culture in Russia by various means.

Continuing to describe the comedy created by D. I. Fonvizin ("Undergrowth"), analyzing its features, it should be noted that, as a representative of his era, the author, of course, shared the ideas that dominated at that time in the noble society. He tried to reflect them in his work, revealing not only positive aspects to readers and viewers, but also pointing out misconceptions and shortcomings.

"Undergrowth" - an example of classicism

Analysis of the comedy "Undergrowth" by Fonvizin requires considering this play as part of cultural era And literary tradition. This work is considered one of the best examples of classicism. In the play, there is a unity of action (there are no secondary plot lines in it, only the struggle for Sophia's hand and her property is described), places (the characters do not move long distances, all events take place either near the Prostakovs' house or inside it), and time ( all events take no more than a day). In addition, he used "talking" surnames, which are traditional for the classic play, Fonvizin ("Undergrowth"). Analysis shows that, following tradition, he divided his characters into positive and negative ones. Positive ones are Pravdin, Starodum, Milon, Sophia. They are opposed to Prostakov, Mitrofan, Skotinin by D. I. Fonvizin (the play "Undergrowth"). An analysis of their names shows that they let the reader understand which features in the image of this or that character are prevalent. For example, the personification of morality and truth in the work is Pravdin.

A new genre of comedy, its features

"Undergrowth" at the time of creation became important step forward in the development of the literature of our country, in particular, dramaturgy. Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin created a new socio-political. It harmoniously combines a number of realistic scenes depicted with sarcasm, irony, laughter from the life of some ordinary representatives of the high society(nobility) with sermons about morality, virtue, the need to educate human qualities that were characteristic of the enlighteners. At the same time, instructive monologues do not burden the perception of the play. They complement this work, as a result of which it becomes deeper.

First action

The play is divided into 5 acts, the author of which is Fonvizin ("Undergrowth"). Analysis of the work involves a description of the organization of the text. In the first act we get acquainted with the Prostakovs, Pravdin, Sofya, Mitrofan, Skotinin. The characters' characters emerge immediately, and the reader understands that the Skotinin and Prostakovs - and Sophia and Pravdin - are positive. In the first act, the exposition and the plot of this work take place. In the exposition, we get to know the characters, we learn that Sofya lives in the care of the Prostakovs, who is going to be married off as Skotinin. Reading a letter from Starodum is the beginning of the play. Sophia now turns out to be a rich heiress. From day to day, her uncle returns to take the girl to him.

The development of events in the play created by Fonvizin ("Undergrowth")

We continue the analysis of the work with a description of how events unfolded. 2nd, 3rd and 4th actions are their development. We get acquainted with Starodum and Milon. Prostakova and Skotinin are trying to please Starodum, but their flattery, falsity, lack of education and a huge thirst for profit only repels. They look stupid and funny. The most ridiculous scene of this work is Mitrofan's interrogation, during which the stupidity of not only this young man, but also his mother is exposed.

Climax and denouement

5th act - climax and denouement. It should be noted that the opinions of researchers about what moment should be considered the culmination differ. There are 3 most popular versions. According to the first, this is the abduction of Prostakova Sofya, according to the second, Pravdin’s reading of a letter stating that Prostakova’s estate is being transferred under his care, and, finally, the third version is Prostakova’s rage after she understands her own impotence and tries to “recoup "on his servants. Each of these versions is true, since it considers with different points view of the work of interest to us. The first one, for example, highlights storyline dedicated to Sophia's marriage. An analysis of the episode of Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" associated with marriage, indeed, allows us to consider it the key in the work. The second version examines the play from a socio-political point of view, highlighting the moment when justice triumphs on the estate. The third focuses on the historical one, according to which Prostakova is the personification of the weakened principles and ideals of the old nobility, which, however, still do not believe in their own defeat. This nobility, according to the author, is based on ignorance, lack of education, as well as low moral standards. During the denouement, everyone leaves Prostakova. She has nothing left. Pointing to her, Starodum says that these are "worthy fruits" of "malice".

Negative characters

As we have already noted, the main characters are clearly divided into negative and positive. Mitrofan, Skotinin and Prostakov are negative characters. Prostakova is a woman seeking profit, uneducated, rude, domineering. She knows how to flatter for profit. However, Prostakova loves her son. Prostakov appears as the "shadow" of his wife. This is an inactive character. His word means little. Skotinin is the brother of Mrs. Prostakova. It's just as uneducated and foolish man, rather cruel, like his sister, greedy for money. For him, a walk to the pigs in the barnyard - the best activity. Mitrofan is a typical son of his mother. This is a spoiled young man of 16 years old, who inherited from his uncle a love for pigs.

Issues and heredity

In the play, it should be noted important place Fonvizin (“Undergrowth”) takes away the issue of family ties and heredity. Analyzing this issue, let's say, for example, that Prostakova is only married to her husband (a "simple" person who does not want much). However, she is actually Skotinina, akin to her brother. Her son absorbed the qualities of both his parents - "animal" qualities and stupidity from his mother and lack of will from his father.

Similar family ties can be traced between Sophia and Starodum. Both of them are honest, virtuous, educated. The girl listens to her uncle attentively, respects him, "absorbs" science. Pairs of opposites create negative and positive characters. Children - spoiled stupid Mitrofan and meek smart Sophia. Parents love children, but they approach their upbringing differently - Starodub talks on the topics of truth, honor, morality, and Prostakova only pampers Mitrofan and says that education is not useful to him. A couple of grooms - Milon, who sees the ideal and his friend in Sophia, who loves her, and Skotinin, who calculates the fortune that he will receive after marrying this girl. At the same time, Sophia as a person is not interesting to him. Skotinin does not even try to equip his bride with comfortable housing. Prostakov and Pravdin are in reality the "voice of truth", a kind of "auditors". But in the person of an official, we find active strength, help and real action, while Prostakov is a passive character. The only thing that this hero could say was to reproach Mitrofan at the end of the play.

Issues raised by the author

Analyzing, it becomes clear that each of the above-described pairs of characters reflects a separate problem that is revealed in the work. This is the problem of education (which is supplemented by the example of half-educated teachers like Kuteikin, as well as impostors like Vralman), upbringing, fathers and children, family life, relationships between spouses, relations of nobles to servants. Each of these problems is considered through the prism of enlightenment ideas. Fonvizin, sharpening his attention on the shortcomings of the era through the use of comic techniques, emphasizes the need to change outdated, traditional, irrelevant foundations. They drag foolishness, malevolence into the swamp, liken people to animals.

As our analysis of Fonvizin's play "Undergrowth" showed, main idea and the theme of the work is the need to educate the nobility in accordance with educational ideals, the foundations of which are still relevant today.

Outwardly staying within household comedy, offering the attention of the viewer a series domestic scenes, Fonvizin in "Undergrowth" touched upon a new and deep problem. The task of showing modern "mores" as a result of a certain system of human relationships determined the artistic success of "Undergrowth", made it a "people's" comedy, according to Pushkin.

Touching upon the main and topical issues, "Undergrowth" really turned out to be a very bright, historically accurate picture Russian life in the 18th century and, as such, went beyond the ideas of the narrow circle of the Panins. Fonvizin in The Undergrowth assessed the main phenomena of Russian life from the point of view of their socio-political meaning. But his idea of the political structure of Russia was formed taking into account the main problems of the class society, so that the comedy can be considered the first picture of social types in Russian literature.

According to the plot and title, “Undergrowth” is a play about how badly and incorrectly a young nobleman was trained, raising him to be a direct “undergrowth”. In fact we are talking not about learning, but about "education" in the usual for Fonvizin broad sense of the word. Although Mitrofan is a minor figure on the stage, the fact that the play was called "Undergrowth" is not accidental.

Mitrofan Prostakov is the last of the three generations of the Skotinins who pass directly in front of the audience or in the memories of others. actors and demonstrate that nothing has changed in the world of the Prostakovs during this time. The history of Mitrofan's upbringing explains where the Skotinins come from and what should be changed so that they do not appear again: destroy slavery and overcome moral education"bestial" vices of human nature.

In "Undergrowth" not only are the positive characters sketched out in "The Brigadier" unfolded, but a deeper image of social evil is given. As before, the focus of Fonvizin is the nobility, but not in itself, but in close ties with the serf class, which it controls, and the supreme power representing the country as a whole. The events in the Prostakovs' house, quite colorful in themselves, are ideologically an illustration of more serious conflicts.

From the first scene of the comedy, the fitting of a caftan sewn by Trishka, Fonvizin depicts the very kingdom where “people are the property of people”, where “a person of one state can be both a plaintiff and a judge over a person of another state”, as he wrote in Reasoning. Prostakova is the sovereign mistress of her estate.

Whether her slaves Trishka, Eremeevna or the girl Palashka are right or wrong, it depends only on her arbitrariness to decide, and she says about herself that “she doesn’t put her hands down: she scolds, then she fights, and that’s how the house is kept.” However, calling Prostakova a “despicable fury,” Fonvizin does not at all want to emphasize that the tyrannical landowner depicted by him is some kind of exception to the general rule.

His idea was to, as M. Gorky accurately noted, “to show the nobility degenerated and corrupted precisely by the slavery of the peasantry.” Skotinin, Prostakova's brother, a similarly ordinary landowner, also has "any fault to blame," and pigs in his villages live much better than people. "Isn't a nobleman free to beat a servant whenever he wants?" (He supports his sister when she substantiates her atrocities by referring to the Decree on the Liberty of the Nobility.

Accustomed to impunity, Prostakova extends her power from the serfs to her husband, Sophia, Skotinin - to everyone from whom, as she hopes, she will not meet with a rebuff. But, autocratically disposing of her own estate, she herself gradually turned into a slave, devoid of feeling dignity, ready to grovel before the strongest, has become a typical representative of the world of lawlessness and arbitrariness.

The idea of the "animal" lowlands of this world is carried out in "Undergrowth" as consistently as in "The Brigadier": both the Skotinins and the Prostakovs are "of the same litter." Prostakova is just one example of how despotism destroys man in man and destroys public relations of people.

Talking about his life in the capital, Starodum draws the same world of selfishness and slavery, people "without a soul." In essence, argues Starodum-Fonvizin, drawing a parallel between the petty landowner Prostakova and the noble nobles of the state, “if an ignoramus without a soul is a beast,” then “the most enlightened smart girl” without her is nothing more than a “miserable creature.” The courtiers, to the same extent as Prostakov, have no idea of duty and honor, servility to the nobles and push around the weak, crave wealth and rise at the expense of the rival.

The aphoristic invectives of Starodum touched the entire nobility. There is a legend that some landowner filed a complaint against Fonvizin for Starodum’s remark “a skilled interpreter of decrees”, feeling personally offended. As for his monologues, no matter how secretive they were, the most topical of them were removed at the request of censorship from the stage text of the play. Fonvizin's satire in The Undergrowth turned against Catherine's specific policies.

Central in this regard is the first scene of the 5th act of the Undergrowth, where, in a conversation between Starodum and Pravdin, Fonvizin sets out the main ideas of the Discourse about the example that the sovereign should set for his subjects, and the need for strong laws in the state.

Starodum formulates them as follows: “A sovereign worthy of the throne seeks to elevate the souls of his subjects ... Where he knows what his true glory is ... everyone will soon feel that everyone should seek their happiness and benefits in the one thing that is legal, and that it is unlawful to oppress your own kind with slavery.”

In the pictures drawn by Fonvizin of the abuses of the feudal lords, in the story of the upbringing of Mitrofan as a slave Eremeevna, so that “there are two instead of one slave,” in reviews of the favorites at the helm of power, where there is no place for honest people, there was an accusation against the ruling empress herself. In a play composed for a public theatre, the writer could not express himself as precisely and definitely as he did in the Discourse on the Indispensable State Laws intended for a narrow circle of like-minded people. But the reader and viewer understood the inevitable reticence. According to Fonvizin himself, it was the role of Starodum that ensured the success of the comedy; the performance of this role by I. A. Dmitrevsky, the audience “applauded by throwing wallets” onto the stage.

The role of Starodum was important for Fonvizin in yet another respect. In scenes with Sophia, Pravdin, Milon, he consistently sets out the views of an “honest man” on family morality, on the duty of a nobleman, busy with business civil government and military service.

The appearance of such a detailed program testified that in the work of Fonvizin, Russian educational thought moved from criticism dark sides reality to the search for practical ways to change the autocratic system.

From a historical point of view, Fonvizin's hopes for a monarchy limited by law, for the effective force of education, "decent for every condition of people", were a typical educational utopia. But on difficult path liberation thought Fonvizin in his searches acted as the immediate predecessor of the republican ideas of Radishchev.

In terms of genre, Undergrowth is a comedy. The play contains many truly comic, and partly farcical scenes reminiscent of The Brigadier. However, Fonvizin's laughter in The Undergrowth takes on a darkly tragic character, and farcical brawls, when Prostakova, Mitrofan and Skotinin participate in them, are no longer perceived as traditional funny interludes.

Turning to comedies by no means cheerful problems, Fonvizin did not so much seek to invent new stage techniques as rethink the old ones. Completely original in connection with the Russian dramatic tradition the techniques of bourgeois drama were comprehended in The Undergrowth. For example, the function of the reasoner in classical drama has changed radically.

In The Undergrowth, a similar role is played by Starodum, who expresses the author's point of view; this person is not so much acting as speaking. In translated Western drama, there was a similar figure of a wise old nobleman. But his actions and reasoning were limited to the realm of moral, most often family problems. Starodum Fonvizin acts as a political orator, and his moralizations are a form of presenting a political program.

In this sense, he rather resembles the heroes of a Russian tyrannical tragedy. It is possible that the latent influence of the high "drama of ideas" on Fonvizin, the translator of Voltaire's Alzira, was stronger than it might seem at first glance.

Fonvizin was the creator public comedy in Russia. His socio-political concept led to the most characteristic and common feature his dramaturgy is a purely educational opposition of the world of evil to the world of reason, and thus the generally accepted content of everyday satirical comedy received philosophical interpretation. With this feature of Fonvizin's plays in mind, Gogol wrote about how the playwright deliberately neglects the content of the intrigue, "seeing through it another, higher content."

For the first time in Russian dramaturgy love affair comedy was completely relegated to the background and acquired secondary importance.

However, despite the desire for broad, symbolic forms generalizations, Fonvizin managed to achieve a high individualization of his characters. Contemporaries were struck by the convincing plausibility of the characters in The Brigadier. Recalling the first readings of the comedy, Fonvizin reported on the direct impression that it made on N. Panin. “I see,” he said to me, “writes Fonvizin, “that you know our morals very well, for the Brigadier is your relatives to everyone; no one can say that such an Akulina Timofeevna does not have either a grandmother, or an aunt, or some kind of relative.

And then Panin admired the art with which the role was written, so that "You see and hear the foreman." The method by which such an effect was achieved is revealed in several remarks by the playwright himself and in the opinions of contemporaries about the vitality of the characters in The Brigadier and The Undergrowth.

The practical method of Fonvizin's comedic work was to rely on a life original, a vivid prototype. By own confession, as a young man he knew the Brigadier, who served as the prototype of the heroine of the play, and made fun of the innocence of this narrow-minded woman. In connection with the “Brigadier”, a legend has been preserved that some kind of universal famous president board, some of Eremeevna's remarks were overheard by Fonvizin on the Moscow streets.

The image of Starodum was compared with P. Panin, Neplyuev, N. Novikov and other persons, several prototypes of Mitrofan were named. It is also known that the actors played some roles, deliberately imitating on stage the manners of contemporaries well known to the audience.

By itself, empiricism, to which Fonvizin resorted, is not art system. But a characteristic detail, a colorful face, funny phrase, written off from nature, can become a vivid means of individualizing and detailing an image or scene. This technique was mainly used in satirical genres 1760s

For example, the poetic messages of Fonvizin, written at that time, as we know, beat character traits quite real faces- his own servants, a certain poet Yamshchikov. On the other hand, in his dramaturgy, Fonvizin clearly defines the class and cultural affiliation of the characters and reproduces their real class relationships.

In his original comedies the servant never acts as a conditional literary confidant. Most often, individualizing features are manifested not in stage behavior, but in Fonvizin's favorite linguistic characteristic. Negative heroes Fonvizina usually speak professional and secular jargon or rude vernacular. The positive characters expressing the author's ideas are opposed to the negative ones by a completely literary manner of speech.

Such a method of linguistic characterization, with the linguistic instinct characteristic of Fonvizin the playwright, turned out to be very effective. This can be seen in the example of Mitrofan's exam scene, borrowed from Voltaire, but irreversibly Russified in reworking.

In terms of satirical orientation, the images of Fonvizin have much in common with the social masks-portraits of satirical journalism. Similar were their fates in the subsequent literary tradition. If the type of Fonvizin's comedy as a whole was not repeated by anyone, then the heroes-types received a long independent life.

IN late XVIII — early XIX V. new plays are composed of Fonvizin's images, in the form of reminiscences they fall into the most various works, up to "Eugene Onegin" or Shchedrin's satire. Long stage history comedies, which remained in the repertoire until the 1830s, turned the heroes of Fonvizin into common nouns-symbols.

The heroes of Fonvizin are static. They leave the stage the same as they appeared. The clash between them does not change their characters. However, in the lively journalistic fabric of the works, their actions acquired ambiguity not characteristic of the dramaturgy of classicism.

Already in the image of the Brigadier there are features that could not only make the viewer laugh, but also arouse his sympathy. The brigadier is stupid, greedy, evil. But suddenly she turns into an unfortunate woman who, with tears, tells the story of Captain Gvozdilova, so similar to her own fate. A similar stage device—evaluation of a character from different points of view—was even stronger in the denouement of The Undergrowth.

The atrocities of the Prostakovs suffer a well-deserved punishment. The order of the authorities comes to take the estate under the guardianship of the government. However, Fonvizin fills the outer traditional interchange- vice is punished, virtue triumphs - with deep inner content.

The appearance of Pravdin with a decree in his hands resolves the conflict only formally. The viewer was well aware that Peter's decree on guardianship of tyrant landowners was not applied in practice. In addition, he saw that Skotinin, a worthy brother of Prostakova in the oppression of the peasants, remained completely unpunished.

He is just frightened by a thunderstorm that has broken out over the Prostakovs' house and is safely removed to his village. Fonvizin left the viewer in clear confidence that the Skotinins would only become more careful.

"Undergrowth" concludes famous words Staroduma: "Here are worthy fruits of evil-mindedness!" This remark refers not so much to Prostakova's renunciation of landlord power, but to the fact that everyone, even her beloved son, is leaving her, deprived of power. Drama Prostakova is the final illustration of the fate of every person in the world of lawlessness: if you are not a tyrant, then you will be a victim.

On the other side, last scene Fonvizin also emphasized the moral collision of the play. A vicious person prepares his own inevitable punishment by his actions.

History of Russian literature: in 4 volumes / Edited by N.I. Prutskov and others - L., 1980-1983

The originality of the comedy D. I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth". Fonvizin executed in his comedies the wild ignorance of the old generation and the rough polish of the superficial and external European semi-education of the new generations. The comedy "Undergrowth" was written by D. I. Fonvizin in 1782 and still does not leave the stage. She is one of best comedies author. M. Gorky wrote: “In The Undergrowth, for the first time, the corrupting significance of serfdom and its influence on the nobility, spiritually ruined, degenerated and corrupted precisely by the slavery of the peasantry, was brought to light and onto the stage.”

All the heroes of Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth" are conditionally divided into positive and negative. The Prostakov family is negative. Moral, positive people are represented by Pravdin, Starodum, Sofya and Milon.

Some literary critics believed that the positive characters of "Undergrowth" were too ideal, that in fact there were no such people and they were simply invented by the author. However, documents and letters of the 18th century confirm the existence real prototypes heroes of Fonvizin's comedy. And about negative characters, such as the Prostakovs and Skotinins, it can be said with confidence that, despite the unconditional generalization, they were often found among the Russian provincial nobility of that time. There are two conflicts in the work. The main one is love, since it is he who develops the action of the comedy. Sophia, Mitrofanushka, Milon and Skotinin participate in it. The characters have different attitudes to the issues of love, family, marriage. Starodum wants to see Sophia married to a worthy man, wishes her mutual love. Prostakova wants to marry Mitrofan profitably, to rake in Sophia's money. Mitrofan's motto: "I don't want to study, I want to get married." This phrase from the comedy "Undergrowth" has become winged. Overgrown people who do not want to do anything, do not want to study and dream only of pleasures, are called Mitrof-1 noushki.

Another comedy conflict is socio-political. It affects very important questions upbringing and education, morality. If Starodum believes that education comes from the family and the main thing in a person is honesty and good manners, then Prostakova is convinced that it is more important for the child to be fed, dressed and live for pleasure. The comedy "Undergrowth" was written in the traditions of Russian classicism. It observes almost all the main features of classicism as a literary movement. There is also a strict division of heroes into positive and negative ones, the use of speaking surnames and the application of the rule of three unities (the unity of place, time and action). The unity of the place is observed, since all the action of the comedy takes place in the village of Prostakovs. Since it lasts for 24 hours, the unity of time is observed. However, the presence of two conflicts in comedy violates the unity of action.

In contrast to Western European, Russian classicism has a connection with Russian folklore, civic patriotism and a satirical orientation. All this takes place in the Undergrowth. The satirical bias of the comedy does not cause any doubts. Proverbs and sayings that are often found in the text of a comedy make it true folk comedy(“Golden caftan, but a lead head”, “Courage of the heart is proved in the hour of battle”, “ Silly son wealth does not help”, “The one who is in rank not for money, but in nobility not for rank is worthy of respect”), Pushkin called “Undergrowth” “the only monument of folk satire”. She is imbued with the spirit of civic patriotism, since her goal is to educate a citizen of her fatherland. One of the main virtues of comedy is its language. To create the characters of his heroes, Fonvizin uses speech characteristics. Lexicon Skotinin and Mitrofan is significantly limited. Sofya, Pravdin and Starodum speak correctly and very convincingly. Their speech is somewhat schematic and seems to be enclosed in a strict framework.

Negative characters, in my opinion, turned out to be more alive with Fonvizin. They speak plain spoken language, in which there is sometimes even abusive vocabulary. Prostakova's language does not differ from the language of serfs; her speech contains many rude words and common expressions. Tsyfirkin in his speech uses expressions that were used in military life, and Vralman speaks in broken Russian. In modern Fonvizin society, admiration for abroad and contempt for their Russian reigned. The upbringing of the nobles wanted much better. Often the younger generation found itself in the hands of ignorant foreigners who, apart from backward views on science and bad qualities, could instill nothing in their wards. Well, what could the German coachman Vralman Mitrofanushka teach? What knowledge could an overage child acquire in order to become an officer or official? In The Undergrowth, Fonvizin expressed his protest against the Skotinins and Prostakovs and showed how it is impossible to educate young people, how spoiled they can grow up in an environment corrupted by the landowners' power, obsequiously bowing to foreign culture. Comedy is instructive, has a great educational value. It makes you think about moral ideals, about the attitude towards the family, love for one's fatherland, raises questions of education, landlord arbitrariness.

Exam: Russian literature of the 18th century

"Undergrowth" is the first socio-political comedy on the Russian stage.

The artistic originality of "Undergrowth" is determined by the fact that the play combines the features of classicism and realism. Formally, Fonvizin remained within the framework of classicism: observance of the unity of place, time and action, conditional division of characters into positive and negative, schematism in depicting positive, " speaking surnames", features of reasoning in the image of Starodum and so on. But, at the same time, he took a certain step towards realism. This is manifested in the accuracy of reproducing the provincial noble type, social relations in a fortified village, faithfully recreating typical features negative characters, life authenticity of images. For the first time in the history of Russian drama, love intrigue was relegated to the background and acquired secondary importance.

Fonvizin's comedy is a new phenomenon, because it is written on the material of Russian reality. The author innovatively approached the problem of the character of the hero, the first of the Russian playwrights sought to psychologize him, to individualize the speech of the characters (here it is worth taking examples from the text!).

"Fonvizin introduces biographies of heroes into his work, approaches the solution of the problem of education in a complex way, denoting the trinity of this problem: family, teachers, environment, that is, the problem of education is posed here as social problem. All this allows us to conclude that "Undergrowth" is a work of enlightenment realism.

K. V. Pisarev: "<...>Fonvizin sought to generalize, typify reality. IN negative images comedy, he succeeded brilliantly.<...> positive characters"Undergrowth" clearly lacks artistic and life-like persuasiveness.<...>The images he created were not clothed with living human flesh and, indeed, are a kind of mouthpiece for the "voice", "concepts" and "way of thinking" of both Fonvizin himself and the best representatives his time"

Critics doubted the art of Fonvizin to build dramatic action and talked about the presence in it of "superfluous" scenes that do not fit into the action, which must certainly be one:

P. A. Vyazemsky: “All other [except for Prostakova] persons are secondary; some of them are completely outsiders, others are only adjacent to the action.<...>Of the forty phenomena, among which there are several quite long ones, there is hardly a third in the whole drama, and even then short ones, which are part of the action itself.

A. N. Veselovsky: "<...>the ineptness of the structure of the play, forever remaining weak side Fonvizin's writing, despite the school of European models<...>";" A widely developed desire to speak not in images, but in rhetoric<...>gives rise to stagnation, fading, and then the viewer will recognize Milo's view of true fearlessness in war and in civilian life, then sovereigns hear the unvarnished truth from virtuous people, or the thoughts of the Starodum about the education of women ... "

The word, the initial constructive material of the drama, is emphasized in The Undergrowth in dual functions: in one case, the pictorial, plastic-figurative function of the word (negative characters), which creates a model of the world of physical flesh, is accentuated, in the other, its inherently valuable and independent ideal-conceptual nature (positive characters), for which human character is needed only as an intermediary, translating an incorporeal thought into the matter of a sounding word. Thus, the specificity of his dramatic word, initially and fundamentally ambiguous and ambiguous, is put forward at the center of the aesthetics and poetics of "Undergrowth".

the punning nature of the word

Reception of the destruction of phraseological units, pushing the traditionally conventional figurative with the direct literal meaning of a word or phrase.

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