New Russian literature takes a big step forward in the 30-50s of the 18th century. This is due to the active work of the first major writers - representatives of the new Russian literature: A. D. Kantemir (1708–1744), V. K. Trediakovsky (1703–1769), A. P. Sumarokov (1717–1777) and especially the brilliant figure of Russian science and culture Lomonosov. These four writers belonged to different strata of society (Kantemir and Sumarokov - to the noble elite, Trediakovsky was a native of the clergy, Lomonosov - the son of a peasant). But all of them fought against the supporters of pre-Petrine antiquity, stood up for the further development of education, science, and culture. In the spirit of the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment (as the 18th century is usually called), they were all supporters of the so-called enlightened absolutism: they believed that progressive historical development could be carried out by the bearer of supreme power - the king. And as an example of this, they set the activity of Peter I. Lomonosov in his laudatory poems - odes (from the Greek word meaning "song"), addressed to the kings and queens, gave them, drawing the ideal image of an enlightened monarch, a kind of lesson, urged them to follow the paths of Peter . Cantemir in accusatory poems - satires - sharply ridiculed adherents of antiquity, enemies of education, science. He scourged the ignorant and mercenary clergy, boyar sons, proud of the antiquity of their kind and having no merit to the fatherland, arrogant nobles, greedy merchants, bribe-taking officials. Sumarokov attacked the despot-kings in tragedies, opposing them with the ideal bearers of royal power. "Evil kings" were angrily denounced in the poem "Tilemakhida" by Trediakovsky. Progressive ideas, which to a greater or lesser extent imbued the activities of Kantemir, Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Sumarokov, significantly increase the social weight and significance of the new Russian literature they create. From now on, literature is moving to the forefront of social development, becoming, in its best manifestations, an educator of society. It was from that time that works of fiction systematically appeared in print, attracting the sympathetic attention of an ever wider circle of readers.

New forms are created for new content. Through the efforts of Kantemir, Trediakovsky, Lomonosov and Sumarokov, in accordance with the development of advanced European literatures, the first major literary trend, which became dominant throughout almost the entire 18th century, was formed - Russian classicism.

The founders and followers of classicism considered the main purpose of literature to serve the “benefit of society”. State interests, duty to the fatherland, should, according to their concepts, unconditionally prevail over private, personal interests. In contrast to the religious, medieval worldview, they considered the highest in a person to be his mind, the laws of which artistic creativity should also fully obey. They considered the most perfect, classical (hence the name and the whole direction) examples of beauty to be the wonderful creations of ancient, that is, ancient Greek and Roman art, which grew on the basis of the religious ideas of that time, but in the mythological images of gods and heroes essentially glorified beauty, strength and prowess of man. All this constituted the strengths of classicism, but they also contained its weakness, limitations.

The exaltation of the mind was due to the belittling of feelings, direct perception of the surrounding reality. This often gave the literature of classicism a rational character. Creating a work of art, the writer tried in every possible way to get closer to antique samples and strictly follow the rules specially developed for this by the theoreticians of classicism. This hampered the freedom of creativity. And the obligatory imitation of the creations of ancient art, no matter how perfect they were, inevitably separated literature from life, the writer from his modernity, and thus gave his work a conditional, artificial character. The most important thing is that the socio-political system of the era of classicism, based on the oppression of the people, in no way corresponded to reasonable concepts of natural, normal relations between people. Such a discrepancy made itself felt especially sharply in autocratic-feudal Russia of the 18th century, where instead of enlightened absolutism, the most unrestrained despotism reigned. Therefore, it was in Russian classicism, which was not accidentally started by the satyrs of Cantemir, that accusatory, critical themes and motives began to develop intensively.

This was especially pronounced in the last third of the 18th century. - a time of further strengthening of feudal oppression and the tyrannical dictatorship of the feudal nobility, headed by Empress Catherine II.

A critical attitude towards lack of rights, arbitrariness and violence corresponded to the moods and interests of broad sections of Russian society. The social role of literature is increasingly increasing. The last third of the century is the most flourishing period in the development of Russian literature of the 18th century. If in the 1930s and 1950s writers could be counted on the fingers, now there are dozens of new writers' names. Writers-nobles occupy a predominant place. But there are also many writers from the lower classes, even from among the serfs. Empress Catherine II herself felt the increased importance of literature. She began to be very actively engaged in writing, trying in such ways to win over public opinion, to manage the further development of literature herself. However, she failed. A few and for the most part insignificant authors took her side. Almost all major writers, figures of Russian education - N. I. Novikov, D. I. Fonvizin, young I. A. Krylov, A. N. Radishchev, the author of the comedy "Yabeda" V. V. Kapnist and many others - entered in a bold and energetic struggle against the reactionary literary camp of Catherine and her lackeys. This fight was fought in very difficult conditions. The works of writers objectionable to the queen were forbidden by censorship, and sometimes they were publicly burned by the "hand of the executioner"; their authors were severely persecuted, imprisoned, sentenced to death, exiled to Siberia. But, despite this, the advanced ideas that filled their work, more and more penetrated into the consciousness of society.

Literature itself is remarkably enriched thanks to the activity of progressive writers, for the most part. New literary genera and types are being created. In the previous period, literary works were written almost exclusively in verse. Now the first examples of artistic prose are emerging. Dramaturgy is developing rapidly. The development of satirical genres (types) acquires a particularly wide scope: satires are intensively written not only in verse, but also in prose, satirical fables, the so-called iroikomic, parodic poems, satirical comedies, comic operas, etc. In the work of the largest poet of the 18th century . Derzhavin's satirical principle penetrates even into a laudatory, solemn ode.

18th century satirists still follow the rules of classicism. But at the same time, pictures and images of real life are increasingly reflected in their work. They are no longer conditionally abstract in nature, as in the so-called high genres of classicism (odes, tragedies), but are directly taken from contemporary Russian reality. The works of critical writers - Novikov, Fonvizin, Radishchev - were direct predecessors of the work of the founders of Russian critical realism of the 19th century. - Pushkin, Gogol.

18th century satire still limited politically. Sharply denouncing the malevolent landowners who brutally treat their peasants, the satirists did not oppose the savagery and absurdity of the right of some people to own other people as their working cattle. Scourging the arbitrariness, violence, bribery, injustice that reigned in the country, the satirists did not connect them with the autocratic-feudal system that gave rise to all this. In the words of the remarkable Russian critic Dobrolyubov, they condemned "abuses of what in our concepts is already evil in itself." For the first time, the first Russian revolutionary writer Radishchev attacked indignantly not only individual abuses, but all the evils of autocracy and serfdom as a whole.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was born on November 19 (8), 1711 in the village of Mishaninskaya, which is located on one of the islands of the Northern Dvina, not far from the city of Kholmogory. The future great scientist first saw the light in the family of a black-haired peasant (so, unlike the serfs, the state peasants were called) Vasily Dorofeevich Lomonosov. Vasily Dorofeevich, like most of the inhabitants of those places, could not feed himself through agriculture (the northern summer is too short) and was engaged in sea fishing. To do this, he had a small sailing ship, which went to the White and Barents Seas, transported goods, hunted sea animals and fish. When Mikhail was ten years old, his father, like many other Pomeranian children, began to take him with him as a cabin boy. The impressions from swimming, seal hunting, new places and people were so strong that they left a mark for a lifetime. Most likely, it was at this time that the boy's indestructible curiosity awakened, which turned into a thirst for knowledge. M.V. Lomonosov early learned to read and write, and most importantly, to think. He greedily reached for knowledge, for the "extraction" of which he went to Moscow at the end of 1730, where he entered the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. The years of study were not easy, but Lomonosov endured everything and a little more than four years later he moved to the seventh, penultimate, class of the academy, and when in 1735 it was necessary to select the most successful students to be sent to St. Petersburg to the university at the Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov found himself in their number. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was founded by Peter I and opened after his death in 1725. It was to become not only the scientific center of the country, but also a center for the training of Russian scientific personnel. For this purpose, a gymnasium and a university were created at the Academy, which attracted the best students from other schools, including the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. For the rapid growth of various industries, the country needed trained specialists. The need for them was especially keenly felt in the mining industry, so it was decided to send three Russian youths abroad to study mining. And six months after arriving in St. Petersburg, Lomonosov, together with D. Vinogradov and G. Reiser, went to Germany. In the autumn of 1736, all three became university students in the city of Marburg. After graduating three years later, having mastered several languages ​​and modern natural sciences, the Russian students then went to the city of Freiberg to the then-famous teacher I. Genkel to study mining. Lomonosov began to study very diligently, but quarrels with Genkel, who did not understand his aspirations, led to a break, and in May 1740 Lomonosov returned to Marburg. After several attempts (and wanderings around Germany), Lomonosov manages to return to Russia. On June 19 (8), 1741, he arrived in St. Petersburg. By this time the situation in the country, and the St. Petersburg Academy in particular, was restless. Dissatisfaction with the dominance of foreigners was expressed. Therefore, the omnipotent at that time the manager of the Academy, the adviser of the academic office, I.D. Schumacher, decided to bring the young Russian scientist closer to him. The quarrel with Genkel and the unauthorized departure from him were forgotten. Lomonosov was entrusted with compiling a catalog of stones and fossils of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera, the first natural science museum in Russia. At the same time, he writes the scientific work "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry" and creates a project for a catoptric dioptric incendiary instrument - a kind of solar furnace. On January 19 (8), 1742, Lomonosov was appointed adjunct of the physical class of the Academy of Sciences and he received the right to attend meetings of academicians.

The years 1743-1747 were especially fruitful for Lomonosov's scientific activity in the field of physics and chemistry. It was then that he developed the first scientific research program in our country in the field of physics and chemistry, which later became known as "276 notes on physics and corpuscular philosophy." (A corpuscle, in the terminology of that time, is a particle of matter, similar in its properties to what was called a molecule at the end of the 19th century, and science or teaching was then called philosophy.) In the same period, he wrote his dissertations “On Insensitive Particles”, “ On the action of chemical solvents in general”, “On metallic brilliance”, “Reflections on the cause of heat and cold”, etc.

Since 1744, M.V. Lomonosov lectured on physics to students of the academic university. These classes showed that a good textbook is needed for successful learning. And Lomonosov translated from Latin into Russian "Experimental Physics" by one of his Marburg teachers, X. Wolf. For a long time, they studied physics in various educational institutions of the country. Around the same period, Mikhail Vasilievich began a systematic study of thunderstorm and atmospheric phenomena, proposed his own theory of thermal phenomena, based on his atomic-molecular theory, and developed the theory of solutions. Then he seriously took up Russian history and literature, prepared a textbook of eloquence.

In 1745, Lomonosov was elected professor of chemistry (academician) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and began to actively seek the creation of a chemical laboratory. His efforts were crowned with success. In 1748, on the second line of Vasilyevsky Island, in the courtyard of the house where the scientist lived, the first scientific and educational laboratory in Russia was built. The year 1748 became significant in the life of a scientist not only with the opening of a chemical laboratory. In the same year, his scientific papers in physics and chemistry were published, where, among others, “Experience in the theory of air elasticity” was published, outlining the kinetic theory of gases created by Lomonosov. In the same year, he wrote a long letter to the outstanding mathematician L. Euler (1707-1783), in which he outlined his theory of universal gravitation, to confirm which he drew on the law of conservation of momentum (justified by the French scientist R. Descartes) and known to the ancient atomists the law of conservation of the amount of matter, combining them for the first time in scientific practice in one formulation. This formulation was published only in 1760. Since 1749, Lomonosov began intensive work in a chemical laboratory, where he analyzes ore samples sent from various places in Russia, creates new dyes, conducts experiments on the study of solutions and roasting metals, and in the "training chamber "For the first time in the world, he reads to students the course" True Physical Chemistry ", in which, following R. Boyle, he tries to give a physical explanation of chemical phenomena. In 1753, Lomonosov built a colored glass factory in the village of Ust-Rudnitsy, located not far from Oranienbaum (the modern city of Lomonosov). At this factory, he organized the production of various glass products and began to produce special colored opaque glasses, from which he created mosaic paintings. In parallel with the construction of the factory, Lomonosov, together with Academician G.V. Richmann (1711 - 1753) studied the nature of electricity, observing thunderstorms. At the end of July 1753, Richmann was killed by lightning at his home when he was conducting experiments, and all opponents of enlightenment began to demand that they be stopped. Despite this, Lomonosov spoke at a public meeting of the Academy of Sciences and read the "Word about the phenomena of air, from the electric force occurring", one of the first noting the identity of atmospheric and "artificial" electricity obtained from electrostatic machines.

Lomonosov considered the spread of education among the Russian people one of his main tasks. The scientist has long been worried about the deplorable state of the academic gymnasium and university. At his suggestion and project, Moscow University was opened in January 1755. In the same year, Lomonosov submitted to print "Russian Grammar" - the first grammar textbook in Russia - and completed work on "Ancient Russian History", and in 1756 he read to the academicians "The Word on the Origin of Light ...", in which he outlined his theory of light and color phenomena. In 1758, M.V. Lomonosov was appointed head of the Geographical Department of the Academy of Sciences. He begins work on compiling a new "Russian Atlas". In parallel, he conducts experiments at low temperatures together with Academician Brown. For the first time, they managed to "freeze" mercury and prove that it is also a metal, but with a low melting point. In June 1761, the scientific world of Europe observed the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun. Many saw this phenomenon, but only Lomonosov realized that the planet was surrounded by an atmosphere. Such a conclusion was made by him on the basis of the knowledge gained in the study of the scattering of light and its refraction in various media. In the summer of 1761, Lomonosov completed work on a textbook on mining - "The First Foundations of Metallurgy or Mining", where he placed two "Appendices", one of them - "On the Layers of the Earth" - became a brilliant essay on the geological science of the 18th century.

At the end of 1762, Lomonosov was awarded the rank of State Councilor. At this time, Lomonosov begins a new and last major enterprise. He expresses the idea that has long occupied him about the need to find a way through the Arctic Ocean to the east. At the suggestion of Lomonosov, an expedition was equipped under the command of I.Ya. Chichagov, who, already after the death of the scientist, twice (in 1765 and 1766) tried to go east, but each time she ran into solid ice.

By the end of the 1950s, Lomonosov's scientific fame reached its zenith. In May 1760 he was elected an honorary member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and in April 1764 an honorary member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences. They were preparing to submit his candidacy to the Paris Academy, but it was too late. On April 15 (4), 1765, Lomonosov died of a cold at his home on the Moika. On April 19 (8) he was buried with a large gathering of people at the Lazarevsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Instruction

Classicism as a literary movement originated in the 16th century in Italy. First of all, theoretical developments touched on drama, a little less on poetry, and last of all, prose. The trend was most developed a hundred years later in France, and it is associated with such names as Corneille, Racine, La Fontaine, Molière and others. Classicism is characterized by an orientation towards antiquity. The authors of that time believed that the writer should be guided not by inspiration, but by rules, dogmas, proven models. The text should be coherent, logical, clear and precise. How to determine if the text in front of you belongs to the "classic" direction.

For classicism, the position of "trinity" is fundamentally important. There is only one action, and it takes place in one place and at one time. The only storyline unfolds in one place in - it came to classicism from antiquity.

Definition of conflict. The works of the era of classicism are characterized by the opposition of reason and feelings, duty and passions. At the same time, negative characters are guided by emotions, and positive ones live by reason, therefore they win. At the same time, the positions of the characters are very clear, only white and black. The main concept is the concept of duty, civil service.

When working with heroes, the presence of stable masks attracts attention. Mandatory presence: a girl, her girlfriend, father, several suitors (at least three), while one of the suitors is a positive, positive hero, reflecting morality. The images are devoid of individuality, because their purpose is to capture the main, generic features of the characters.

Composition definition. Classicism presupposes the presence of exposition, plot development, climax and denouement. At the same time, a certain one is necessarily woven into the plot, as a result of which the girl plays a wedding with a “positive” groom.

Evidence that the text belongs to classicism reinforces the methods of catharsis and unexpected denouement. In the first case, through to negative characters who find themselves in a difficult situation, the reader is spiritually cleansed. In the second, the conflict is resolved by outside intervention. For example, a command from above, a manifestation of the divine will.

Classicism depicts life in an idealized way. At the same time, the task of the work is to improve society and its mores. The texts were designed for the largest possible audience, which is why the authors paid special attention to the genres of dramaturgy.

One of the most important elements of the composition of any literary work is the climax. The climax, as a rule, is located just before the denouement in the work.

The term "climax" in literary criticism

This term comes from the Latin word "culminatio", which means the highest point of tension of any forces within the work. Most often, the word "culminatio" is translated as "top", "peak", "point". In a literary work, an emotional peak is most often implied.

In literary criticism, the word "culmination" is used to denote the moment of the highest tension within the development of the action in the work. This is the moment when there is an important clash (even decisive) between the characters in the most difficult circumstances. After this collision, the plot of the work is rapidly moving towards a denouement.

It is important to understand that through the characters the author usually collides ideas, which are carried by the characters of the works. Each of them appears in the work not by chance, but precisely for the purpose of promoting their own idea and resisting the main idea (it can often coincide with the author's idea).

Complex climax in the work

Depending on the complexity of the work, the number of characters, the ideas laid down, the conflicts created, the climax of the work can become more complicated. Some voluminous novels have multiple climaxes. As a rule, this applies to epic novels (those that describe the life of several generations). The brightest of such works are the novels "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy, "The Quiet Don" by Sholokhov.

Not only an epic novel can have a complex culmination, but also less voluminous works. Their compositional complexity can be explained by their ideological content, a large number of storylines and characters. In any case, the climax always plays a significant role in the reader's perception of the text. The climax can radically change the relationships within the text and the reader's attitude to the characters and the development of the story.

The climax is an integral part of the composition of any story.

The climax, as a rule, follows one or more text complications. The climax may be followed by a denouement, or the ending may coincide with the climax. Such an ending is often referred to as an "open" ending. The culmination reveals the essence of the problem of the whole work. This rule applies to all types of artistic text, ranging from fairy tales, fables and ending with major literary works.

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Advice 3: How to highlight the key features of the image of the hero in the novel

The ability to highlight the key features of the heroes of works helps when writing essays at school, serves as a good preparation for the exam in literature. To analyze an artistic image, it is important to follow a certain order of actions, to draw up a plan correctly. Careful observation of the means used by the author to create images, a competent generalization of the collected material will help to characterize the literary characters most fully and accurately.

Significant means of depicting an image

The artistic image is created by the author through a variety of means of depiction. Start highlighting key features by determining the place of the hero in the system of other characters in the novel: main, secondary or off-stage. Secondary characters provide an opportunity to reveal the main and are in the background. Off-stage perform service functions.

Literary images often have prototypes. It is known that the beloved brother L.N. became the prototype of the young charming Natasha Rostova. Tolstoy Tanechka Bers. Ostap Bender of Ilf and Petrov appeared thanks to Osip Shor, an Odessan prone to adventures. Establish the presence of a prototype character of the analyzed novel.

Observe the main means of portraying the hero, thanks to which you will get an idea of ​​the key features of the image. These include:

1. Portrait characteristic - a description of appearance (face, figure, gait, etc.). Clothing, manner of speaking and bearing indicate social position. Changes in facial expressions, postures and gestures are evidence of emotional experiences. Through the portrait, the attitude of the writer to his hero is expressed.


2. The main features are revealed in actions, attitudes towards the environment. The character can be simple: negative or positive hero. Complex is contradictory and paradoxical, it has various features. The owner of this character is constantly developing spiritually, is in search of his own life path. Behavior testifies to humanity or inhumanity, deserves condemnation or empathy. The conditions of life are directly related to the manifestation of various character traits.


3. Speech in the classical versions of the works embodies the thoughts of the character and serves as a means of communication with others. It helps to establish social origin. Indicates mental abilities and inner qualities.


4. Artistic detail is very accurate and vividly able to replace large descriptions. The artist of the word endows this detail with an emotional and semantic load. For example, M.A. Sholokhov, in order to reveal the state of mind of his hero Andrei Sokolov, pays main attention to "eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes."


5. The choice of a writer's name and surname is usually not accidental. The name can indicate the human essence, predetermine actions and fate. Various options testify to personal qualities, contain a hint for understanding key character traits (Anna, Anka and Nyuska). The surname of the protagonist of the novel F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment" - Raskolnikov. The schismatics are people who have separated and rejected the mainstream. Initially, the theory of Rodion Raskolnikov contradicted the laws of life and morality, and therefore separated him from those around him.


6. Direct and indirect author's characteristics of the hero of the novel also indicate the key features of the image he created.

Literary types

For a more complete understanding of the character's image, determine its relationship to a particular literary type. The classic ones are the most typical. Heroes are divided strictly into positive and negative. Such types are usually found in the tragedies and comedies of the Classical era. The ability for experiences, introspection and emotional contemplation is inherent in sentimental heroes. An example is the young Werther from Goethe's novel. The romantic image appeared as a result of the reflection of the rebellious human spirit in art. Romantic heroes do not live in reality, they are characterized by strong feelings and secret desires. Fiery passion is the main engine of action. The most striking realistic types should be considered "little man", "extra man". Circumstances and environments have a strong influence on the behavior of the characters in realistic novels.

Classicism in Russian literature.

Changes in the political, cultural, and economic life of Russia posed a number of urgent tasks for literature: it was necessary to realize the changes that had taken place and, having comprehended them, reflect the surrounding reality. The literature of this period not only reproduces new phenomena, but also evaluates them, comparing them with the past, speaking in defense of Peter's conquests. In the 1930s and 1950s, a new direction was formed in literature – Russian classicism . This led to radical changes in the field of literature, which can be called the first steps of Russian classicism: new classicist genres are being created, a literary language and versification are being formed, theoretical treatises are being written substantiating such innovations. The founders of this trend in Russian literature are Kantemir, Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Sumarokov whose work entirely belongs to the 18th century. All of them were born in the era of Peter the Great, from childhood they breathed its air and with their creativity they sought to approve and protect the reforms of Peter the Great in the years that followed the death of Peter the Great. The basis of Russian classicism in literature was the ideology that emerged as a result of the awareness of the strengths of Peter's reforms. Russian classicism was created by a generation of European-educated young writers who defended this ideology.

Word classicism comes from the Latin word classicus, i.e. exemplary. This was the name of ancient literature, which was widely used by the classicists. Classicism was most vividly embodied in the 17th century in France in the works of Corneille, Racine, Molière, and Boileau. The foundation of European classicism is absolutism and advanced philosophical teachings of that time. The aesthetic ideal of classicism becomes a man who has mastered his passions, subordinating the personal to the public. In art, the concept of "duty" in relation to one's state arises, this duty is above all. In a conflict between passion and duty, duty always wins. A person must have high moral principles, then he will prefer the fulfillment of state or public duty to his personal interests.

The main thing in the ideology of classicism is state pathos. The state was declared the highest value. The classicists believed in the possibility of its further improvement. The state in their view was a rationally arranged social organism, where each class performs its duties. A man, from the point of view of the classicists, is an egoist, but he lends himself to education, to the influence of civilization. The key to positive changes in human "nature" is the mind, which the classicists opposed to emotions, "passions". Reason helps to realize "duty" to the state, while "passions" distract from socially useful activities.

Russian classicism was formed under similar conditions of the absolutist power of the emperor, but it arose much later, therefore it has its own differences:

1. Russian classicism is formed in the era of the European Enlightenment, therefore, its main task is to reorganize society based on the ideas of the Enlightenment. Classicist writers were sure that it was possible on reasonable grounds, through proper education, which should organize the state headed by an enlightened monarch, put an end to human "malice", create a perfect society.

2. Russian classicism arises after the death of Peter I, during the period of reaction, and new Russian literature begins not with odes glorifying the deeds of the emperor, but with the satires of Kantemir, whose heroes are not ancient heroes, but contemporaries, and Kantemir ridicules not specific human vices, but denounces social shortcomings, fights against reactionaries.

3. The first Russian classicists already knew the enlightening idea of ​​the natural equality of people. But this thesis at that time was not yet embodied in the demand for the equality of all classes before the law. Cantemir, based on the principles of "natural law", called on the nobles to humane treatment of the peasants. Sumarokov pointed to the natural equality of nobles and peasants.

4. The main difference between Russian classicism and European classicism was that he combined the ideas of absolutism with the ideas of the early European Enlightenment. First of all, it is the theory of enlightened absolutism. According to this theory, the state should be headed by a wise "enlightened" monarch, who requires each of the estates and individuals to serve honestly for the benefit of the whole society. For the Russian classicists, Peter the Great was an example of such a ruler. Russian literature begins the process of instructing and educating the autocrat.

He reigns over the people to bliss,

And the common benefit leading to perfection:

The orphan does not cry under his scepter,

The innocent nikovo is not afraid...

... The flatterer does not bow at the feet of the nobleman

The king is a judge equal to all and a father equal to all ...

- wrote A.P. Sumarokov. The king must remember that he is the same person as his subjects, if he cannot establish the proper order, then this is a “vile idol”, “an enemy of the people”.

5. The word "enlightened" meant not just an educated person, but a citizen who was helped by knowledge to realize his responsibility to society. "Ignorance" meant not only a lack of knowledge, but also a lack of understanding of one's duty to the state. That is why in Russian classicism of the 30-50s a huge place was given to sciences, knowledge, and enlightenment. In almost all of his odes, M.V. speaks about the benefits of the sciences. Lomonosov. The first satire of Kantemir “To your mind. On those who blaspheme the teaching."

6. Russian classicists were close to the struggle of the enlighteners against the church, church ideology. They denounced the ignorance and rude morals of the clergy, defended science and its adherents from persecution by the church.

7. The art of Russian classicists is based not only on the works of antiquity, it is quite closely connected with the national tradition and folklore, their literature often takes the events of national history as a basis.

8. In the artistic field, the Russian classicists faced very difficult tasks. Russian literature of this period did not know a well-crafted literary language and did not have a definite genre system. Therefore, Russian writers of the second third of the 18th century had to not only create a new literary trend, but also put in order the literary language, the system of versification and master genres unknown in Russia until that time. Each of the authors was a pioneer: Kantemir laid the foundation for Russian satire, Lomonosov legitimized the ode genre, Sumarokov acted as the author of tragedies and comedies.

9. Russian classicists created many theoretical works in the field of genres, literary language and versification. V. K. Trediakovsky wrote a treatise “A New and Brief Method for Composing Russian Poetry” (1735), in which he substantiated the basic principles of the new syllabo-tonic system, and Lomonosov in his “Letter on the Rules of Russian Poetry” (1739) developed and finalized syllabo-tonic system of versification /41 /. In his discussion “On the Usefulness of Church Books in the Russian Language,” Lomonosov reformed the literary language and proposed the doctrine of the “three calms.” Sumarokov in his treatise "Instruction to those who want to be writers" gave a description of the content and style of classic genres.

As a result of such research, a literary movement was created, which had its own program, creative method and a coherent system of genres.

Artistic creativity was considered by the classicists as strict adherence to "reasonable" rules, eternal laws, created on the basis of studying the best examples of ancient authors and French literature of the 17th century. According to the classic canons, "correct" and "incorrect" works were distinguished. Even the works of Shakespeare were among the “wrong” ones. Strict rules existed for each genre and required the strictest observance. The genres were distinguished by "purity" and unambiguity. For example, it was not allowed to introduce “touching” episodes into comedy, and comic episodes into tragedy. The classicists developed a strict system of genres. Genres were divided into "high" and "low". The "high" genres included an ode, an epic poem, a laudatory speech. To the "low" - comedy, fable, epigram. True, Lomonosov also offered "medium" genres - tragedy and satire, but tragedy gravitated towards the "high", and satire - to the "low" genres. In the "high" genres, heroes were depicted who could serve as role models - monarchs, generals, etc., the most popular of them was the image of Peter the Great. In the "low" genres, characters were drawn, captured by one or another "passion".

The basis of the creative method of the classicists was rational thinking. The classicists sought to decompose human psychology into its simplest composite forms. In this regard, abstract-generalizing, without individualization, images (a miser, a hypocrite, a dandy, a braggart, a hypocrite, etc.) appear in the literature of classicism. It should be noted that in one character it was strictly forbidden to combine various "passions" and even more so "vices" and "virtues". The intimate, everyday aspects of the life of an ordinary (private) person were not of interest to classic writers. Their heroes, as a rule, are kings, commanders, devoid of typical national features, abstract schemes, carriers of author's ideas.

When creating dramatic works, it was necessary to observe equally strict rules. These rules concerned three unities" - place, time and action. The classicists wanted to create a kind of illusion of life on the stage, so the stage time had to be close to the time that the viewer spends in the theater. The duration of the action could not exceed 24 hours - this is unity of time. Unity of place due to the fact that the theater, divided into a stage and an auditorium, gave the audience the opportunity to see someone else's life. If the action is transferred to another place, then this illusion will be broken. Therefore, it was believed that it was best to play the action in the same, non-removable scenery, much worse, but acceptable, when events developed within the same house, castle or palace. Unity of action required the presence in the play of only one storyline and a minimum number of characters. The strictest observance of the three unities fettered the inspiration of playwrights. However, there was a rational grain in such stage regulation - the desire for a clear organization of a dramatic work, the concentration of the viewer's attention on the characters themselves and their relationships. All this made many theatrical performances of the era of Russian classicism a true art.

Despite the strict regulation of creativity, the works of each of the classicists differed in their individual characteristics. So, Kantemir and Sumarokov attached great importance to civic education. They called on the nobles to fulfill their public duty, denounced self-interest and ignorance. To achieve this goal, Cantemir wrote his satires, and Sumarokov wrote his tragedies, where he subjected the monarchs themselves to severe judgment, appealing to their civic duty and conscience.

18th century literature

1) Literature of Petrovsky time

2) Formation of new literature. Russian classicism (A.D. Kantemir, V.K. Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov, A.P. Sumarokov and others).

3) Literature of the Enlightenment (N.I. Novikov, D.I. Fonvizin, G.R. Derzhavin, I.A. Krylov, etc.).

The first period is Preclassicism, or the literature of the time of Peter the Great. The name was proposed by Professor P.A. Orlov, this period begins in 1700 and continues until the early 30s.

Russian literature was born along with the Petrine reforms.

“Our literature suddenly appeared in the 18th century…” wrote A.S. Pushkin, while the writer, of course, knew that the origins of Russian literature go back to ancient times. In this phrase, the key word is "suddenly". With this word, Pushkin emphasized that literature, formed in the dynamics of Russia's development, rapidly went from infancy to maturity ("suddenly" - not even in a century, but in 70 years). "Young Russia" "married with the genius of Peter" (Pushkin).

Main feature- an intensive process of secularization (secularization).

New concept of man: to be a citizen of the Fatherland. This concept becomes the main moral value for Peter's contemporaries. It was during this period that the word of Greek origin appeared in Russian - patriot. That is, the son of the Fatherland. A person is no longer perceived as a source of sinfulness, as was the case in ancient Russian literature, but becomes an active person. Not wealth, not noble origin, but intelligence, education, courage, public benefit - this is what elevates a person to the high rungs of the social ladder. That is why among the ascetics of the sovereign there are people of humble origin: the first governor of St. Petersburg Menshchikov, diplomat Yaguzhinsky, senator Nesterov, and the wife of Peter I herself, the future empress, did not differ in the nobility of the family.

A brief description of the period: the ideological pathos of the literature of those years - support for the reforms of Peter the Great, hence the publicism of the works; the artistic consciousness is characterized by a thirst for novelty and at the same time an attraction to centuries-old traditions, hence eclecticism, the absence of a single aesthetic system, a single literary trend.

Among the new undertakings of the time of Peter the Great, the following should be especially noted:

1) The creation of the first newspaper - Vedomosti - which began to appear in December 1702. Peter himself took part in the publication of the newspaper: he selected material for publications, edited them, and often spoke on its pages himself.

2) The opening of a public (not court!) Theater in 1702 in Moscow. It existed until 1707. One of the main reasons for its short existence was the lack of a national repertoire that would meet the urgent needs of the time (by the way: the director and actor Johann Kunst, invited from Germany, headed the theater. The main roles were played by German actors). School theaters worked more successfully at that time (in Moscow, Kyiv, Novgorod, Tver, Astrakhan, Rostov and other cities).

3) The transformation of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow into a State institution, instead of the boyar Duma - the Senate, instead of the patriarch - the Synod, the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, the introduction of a civil font, more books were published in 25 years of the 18th century than in the previous two centuries.

4) The development of Russian journalism.

One of the famous writers of the time of Peter the Great was Feofan Prokopovich (1681 - 1736) - literary theorist, playwright, orator.

He grew up in a relatively democratic environment - he was the son of a Kyiv merchant. After the death of his father, he lived with his mother in extreme poverty. He brilliantly graduated from the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, was tonsured a monk, went to Rome for 3 years, where he was prophesied a career as a brilliant preacher, because. was gifted with oratory. But in his way of thinking, he differed from the priests in a critical warehouse, understood the significance of Peter's reforms and, in Peter's struggle with the churchmen, sided with the sovereign, which caused the curse of the orthodox clergy. A prominent place in his literary activity is occupied by sermons. He gives a new sound to this traditional church genre: he tells about topical political tasks, the activities of the sovereign, about the benefits of education, travel. This form of communication between the priest and the flock exists to this day. Any church service in the temple ends with the appeal of the priest to the faithful.

According to Professor P.A. Orlov, the author of the textbook "The History of Russian Literature", Feofan Prokopovich "became known as a playwright: for the school theater at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, he wrote the play "Vladimir" in 1705. The author defined the genre of his play as a tragicomedy. The content was the adoption of Christianity in 988 by Prince Vladimir of Kyiv. The plot is based on the struggle of Vladimir with the defenders of the old faith - the pagans - the priests Zherivol, Kuroyad, Piyar. The novelty is that the plot is based not on a biblical event, as it used to be in ancient Russian literature, but on a historical one. This made it possible to give the play a topical character. The opposition of the prince to the pagan priests reminded Feofan Prokopovich's contemporaries of the struggle of Peter I with the reactionary clergy. The play ended with the approval of the new - that is, Christianity and the overthrow of pagan idols. So, at the beginning of the 18th century, a writer in the robes of an archbishop gave Russian literature a special feature - the ability to speak on topical topics, using events of ancient times or insignificant events. This feature of Russian literature would become a tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Throughout his life, Feofan Prokopovich composed verses in the syllabic system of versification characteristic of the 18th century, but only 22 poems have come down to us.

The second period - the formation of Russian classicism. It covers the 1730s - 60s of the 18th century. These are the first steps of Russian classicism, which are carried out by the "chicks of Petrov's nest" - Kantemir, Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Sumarokov.

Russian classicism

Classicism(Latin classicus - exemplary) - an artistic method and aesthetic trend in art and literature of the 17th-19th centuries.

The origins of world classicism- France of the 17th century; the views that belonged to the outstanding French playwrights Corneille and Moliere and the literary theorist N. Boileau.

Characteristic features of Russian classicism:

1. Focuses on the forms of antiquity, especially the heroic classics.

2. Proclaims the primacy of state interests over personal ones, the predominance of civil, patriotic motives, the cult of moral duty.

3. Establishment in the aesthetics of the severity of artistic forms: compositional unity, normative style and plots.

The process of nation formation, the rise of statehood and the flourishing of secular culture, unprecedented for Russia, were the historical and ideological soil that nourished the patriotic pathos of Russian classicism.

1. The idea of ​​the natural equality of people became the ideological basis of Russian classicism, in literature led to an appeal to the development of the ethical essence of man.

2. The artistic form of expressing this problem has become emphasized presence of the author (relationship to the depicted). In Russian classicism, genres that imply an obligatory author's assessment of historical reality were greatly developed: satire (A.P. Kantemir), fable (A.P. Sumarokov, V.I. Maikov, I.I. Khemnitser), ode (M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavin).

3. The theme of tragedy was dominated by national history stories.

4. The characteristic features of Russian classicism are close connection with modernity and accusatory orientation. Russian classicists allowed themselves to teach and educate the autocrats, defining their duties in relation to their subjects (ode “On the day of the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, 1947” by Lomonosov, “Felitsa” by Derzhavin, etc.)

5. Classicism literature contributed the formation of the Russian literary language and the transformation of versification . The new content of the works of the classicists - the glorification of civil and social ideals - required a new form of literary works. The classicists were the first in Russian literature to use such genres as ode (M.V. Lomonosov “On the day of the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna”, G.R. Derzhavin “To the rulers and judges”), tragedy (A.P. Sumarokov “Dmitry the impostor” ), satire (A.D. Kantemir “To your mind”, “On nobility”), comedy ((D.I. Fonvizin “Foreman”, “Undergrowth”), fable (I.A. Krylov).

Features of the comedy of classicism:

1) Heroes are divided into positive And negative , the author's assessment is clearly expressed. Each hero is the bearer of some trait (virtue or vice), which is reflected in "speaking names" (Skotinin, Prostakov, Milon, Pravdin, Starodum at Fonvizin).

2) Classical plays are characterized by "role system" .

Role- a stereotype of character that passes from play to play. For example, the role of classic comedy is perfect heroine, lover Hero, second lover(Jonah); reasoner- a hero who almost does not take part in the intrigue, but expresses the author's assessment of what is happening; soubrette- a cheerful maid, who, on the contrary, is actively involved in the intrigue. Þ

The plot is usually based on "love triangle" : the heroine - the hero-lover - the second lover.

At the end of a classic comedy, vice is always punished and virtue triumphs.

3) Principle three unities follows from the requirement to imitate nature:

- unity of time: the action develops no more than a day;

- unity of action: one storyline, the number of characters is limited (5 - 10), all characters must be related to the story, i.e. no side effects, characters.

4) Requirements for a classic composition: in a play, as a rule, 4 acts - in the 3rd culmination, in the 4th denouement. Features of the exposition: the play is opened by secondary characters who introduce the viewer to the main characters and tell the background. The action is slowed down by long monologues of the main characters.

5) A clear division into high and low genres.