from Shurikov and a textbook for university applicants written by Krasovsky
With the help of lyrical digressions, the image of the author is created. By introducing the image of the author into the poem, Gogol was able to expand the subject of the image, to bring to the reader's judgment a number of problems that could not be posed and solved at the level of the plot. This explains the richness of the problems of lyrical digressions in the poem. They touch upon the philosophical questions of the life path, and the problem of spiritual losses that a person bears (a lyrical digression about the fate of a young man in chapter 6); problems of true and false patriotism; create the image of Rus' - a trinity of birds.
In lire. digressions G. poses and solves literary questions. In lire. digression about two possible paths of a creative personality (the beginning of chapter 7), he affirms a new ethical system proclaimed by the natural school - the ethics of love-hate: love for the bright side of national life, for living souls, implies hatred for the negative sides of being, for dead souls. The author perfectly understands what he is dooming himself to, having embarked on the path of "denouncing the crowd, its passions and delusions" - persecution and persecution by false patriots, rejection of compatriots - but courageously chooses this path.
Claiming in lira. digressions a new concept of the creative personality, G. defends his right to choose the subject of the image: in the center of his attention are the vices of society and the individual.
There are also extra-plot elements - in chapter 11 there is a parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich. It's also about patriotism.
In the author's digressions, Gogol looks at Russia with the eyes of an epic writer who understands the illusory, ephemeral nature of the vulgar life of the people he depicts. Behind the emptiness and immobility of the “non-smokers”, the author is able to consider “the whole enormously rushing life”, the future vortex movement of Russia.
In lire. digressions expressed the widest range of moods of the author. Admiration for the accuracy of the Russian word and the glibness of the Russian mind (end of chapter 5) is replaced by a sad and elegiac reflection on youth and maturity, on the loss of “live movement” (beginning of chapter 6). The beginning of chapter 7: comparing the fates of two writers, the author writes with bitterness about the moral and aesthetic deafness of the “modern court”, which does not recognize that “glasses looking at the suns and transmitting the movements of unnoticed insects are equally wonderful”, that “high enthusiastic laughter is worthy to be near with high lyrical movement. The author refers himself to the type of writer who is not recognized by the "modern court": "His career is harsh, and he will bitterly feel his loneliness." But in the final lire. after the digression, the mood of the author changes: he becomes an exalted prophet, his gaze opens up to the future “terrible blizzard of inspiration”, which “will rise from the head clothed in holy horror and in the brilliance” and then his readers “smell in embarrassed awe the majestic thunder of other speeches”.
In chapter 11, the lyrical-philosophical meditation on Russia and the vocation of the writer, whose “head was overshadowed by a formidable cloud heavy with coming rains” (“Rus! Rus! I see you, from my wonderful, beautiful far away I see you ...”), replaces the panegyric of the road, the anthem movement - the source of "wonderful ideas, poetic dreams", "wonderful impressions" ("What a strange, and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful in the word: the road! .."). The two most important themes of the author's reflections - the theme of Russia and the theme of the road - merge in a lyrical digression, which completes the first volume. “Rus-troika”, “all inspired by God”, appears in it as a vision of the author, who seeks to understand the meaning of its movement: “Rus, where are you rushing to? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer." The image of Russia echoes Pushkin's image of Russia - the "proud horse" (in The Bronze Horseman). Both P. and G. passionately desired to understand the meaning and purpose of the historical movement in Russia. The artistic result of the writers' reflections was the image of an irresistibly rushing country.
from my notebooks for preparation for admission
In lire. retreats reflected the high aesthetic ideals of Gogol, love for the motherland, pain for the country, for the people, tears invisible to the world.
Chapter I: a digression about fat and thin officials (not about the figure, but about the features of the social position).
Chapter II:
· Everyone has his own "enthusiasm". Manilov didn’t have such “ardor” - deadness.
· Words about good education.
Chapter III: about the shades of Russian treatment of people of different social status. Ridicule of chivalry.
Chapter IV: Describing the landowner, the author always gives him a generalized description, as if showing this type of people.
Chapter V: Meeting Chichikov with a blonde (governor's daughter). Constructed using the technique of contrasts. Gogol: "The true effect lies in a sharp contrast, beauty is never as bright and visible as in contrast."
· the meaning of a dream, a brilliant joy that appears at least once in life.
contrast: dream and everyday life; possible perception of a 20-year-old boy (how Chichikov perceives the governor's daughter => not at all like a 20-year-old boy).
Gogol: “Among the peasants, the originality of the Russian mind is especially heard,” and this mind is just glorified by Gogol at the end of Chapter 5.
Chapter VI: a digression about youth and the chill that comes in adulthood ( impotence is called).
Here Gogol speaks in the first person, i.e. as if from myself. Before us is an example of a partial discrepancy between the author and the narrator. Gogol himself retained an interest in life. But the main thing is not this, but that the author creates the same significant image with the help of the first-person narration, as well as with the help of the third-person narration. The “I” at the beginning of Chapter VI is also a peculiar character, and it is also important for Gogol to outline a certain psychological image in it.
The change of a person on the "life road" is what is highlighted in this character. Such a change that did not occur without his participation, in which he is also guilty. All this is related to the inner theme of this chapter. The chapter is about Plyushkin, about the amazing changes that he had to go through. And, having described these changes, G. again resorts to the image of the road: “Take it with you on the road, leaving the soft youthful years in the harsh hardening courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road: you will not pick them up later!”
Again, the familiar metaphor of "the road of life", the contrast of beginning and end.
Chapter VII:
· About the traveler (contrast of the road and home, home and homelessness).
About two types of writers:
1. pure art (writes only about pleasant and good things)
· Chichikov's long discussion about the peasants he bought (digression, but not lyrical and not authorial, but Chichikov's, which the author picks up at the end). The author emphasizes that his thoughts are close to those of Chichikov.
Chapter VIII:
about writers and readers in a secular society
Continuation of the discussion about fat and thin officials
X chapter:
· the story of Captain Kopeikin (the hero of the war of 12 years old, the cat lost his arm and leg), the government renounces its defenders, thereby showing its anti-national nature. This is the completion and generalization of the theme of dead souls.
many misconceptions have been made in the world
Chapter XI:
reasoning about the Motherland (patriotic), the thought of a hero
· goes into a digression about the road (Gogol spent a lot of time on the road, and there a large number of ideas were born).
reasoning about the hero (Chichikov is frankly called a scoundrel)
Insert parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich (a hero is born in Rus', but his wealth is not aimed at that)
· bird-troika (where the bird-troika rushes: Gogol's ideal is high, but abstract. He loved his homeland, people and believed in a bright future. Russia will find a way to budge its poor, homeless life). A naive hope that a person should be found who will open the eyes of all Russian people to the vulgarity of their lives, anti-human morals and customs. Gogol takes on the role of such a person. "Who, if not the author, should tell the truth." He did not open his eyes to officials and landowners, but subsequent revolutionaries honored him)
The poem "Dead Souls" cannot be imagined without "lyrical digressions". They so organically entered the structure of the work that we can no longer imagine it without these magnificent author's monologues. Thanks to “lyrical digressions”, we constantly feel the presence of the author, who shares with us his thoughts and feelings about this or that event described in the poem. He becomes not just a guide leading us through the pages of his work, but rather a close friend with whom we want to share our overwhelming emotions. Often we wait for these “digressions” in the hope that he will help us cope with indignation or sadness with his inimitable humor, and sometimes we just want to know his opinion about everything that happens. In addition, these “digressions” have incredible artistic power: we enjoy every word, every image and admire their accuracy and beauty.
What did Gogol's famous contemporaries say about the "lyrical digressions" in the poem? A. I. Herzen wrote: “Here is the transition from the Sobakeviches to the Plyushkins, horror overwhelms; you get bogged down with every step, sink deeper, the lyrical place suddenly revives, illuminates and is now replaced again by a picture that reminds even more clearly what pit of hell we are in. V. G. Belinsky also highly appreciated the lyrical beginning of “Dead Souls”, pointing to “that deep, comprehensive and humane subjectivity, which in the artist reveals a person with a warm heart, a sympathetic soul.”
With the help of "lyrical digressions" the writer expresses his attitude not only to the people and events he describes. These “retreats” carry the affirmation of the high vocation of a person, the significance of great social ideas and interests. Whether the author expresses his bitterness and anger at the insignificance of the heroes shown by him, whether he speaks about the place of the writer in modern society, whether he writes about the lively, lively Russian mind - the source of his lyricism is thoughts about serving his native country, about its fate, sorrows and hidden gigantic forces.
Lyrical places are included by the author in the work with great artistic tact. At first, they contain his statements only about the heroes of the work, but as the plot develops, their topics become more and more versatile.
Having told about Manilov and Korobochka, the author briefly interrupts the narration, as if he wants to step aside a little so that the painted picture of life becomes clearer to the reader. The author's digression, which interrupts the story about Korobochka, contains a comparison of her with a “sister” from an aristocratic society, who, despite her different appearance, is no different from a local mistress.
After visiting Nozdryov, Chichikov meets a beautiful blonde on the road. The description of this meeting ends with a wonderful digression by the author: “Everywhere, wherever in life, whether among its callous, rough-poor and untidy-staining low-lying ranks, or among the monotonously cold and boringly tidy classes of the higher, everywhere at least once will meet on way to a person, a phenomenon unlike anything that he had seen before, which at least once will awaken in him a feeling unlike those that he is destined to feel all his life. But all this is completely alien to Chichikov: his cold discretion is here compared with the direct manifestation of human feelings.
At the end of the fifth chapter, the “lyrical digression” has a completely different character. Here the author is no longer talking about the hero, not about the attitude towards him, but about the mighty Russian man, about the talent of the Russian people. Outwardly, this “lyrical digression” seems to have little to do with the entire previous development of the action, but it is very important for revealing the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe poem: true Russia is not dogeviches, nostrils and boxes, but the people, the element of the people.
Closely connected with lyrical statements about the Russian word and folk character is that inspired confession of the artist about his youth, about his perception of life, which opens the sixth chapter.
The story of Plyushkin, who embodied base aspirations and feelings with the greatest force, is interrupted by the angry words of the author, which have a deep, generalizing meaning: “And a person could descend to such insignificance, pettiness, disgust!”
Gogol begins the seventh chapter with his discussions about the creative and life fate of the writer in contemporary society, about two different destinies awaiting the writer who creates “exalted images” and the realist writer and satirist. This "lyrical digression" reflected not only the writer's views on art, but also his attitude towards the ruling elites of society and the people. “A lyrical digression”: “Happy is the traveler who, after a long and boring road ...” is an important stage in the development of the narrative: it sort of separates one narrative link from another. Gogol's statements illuminate the essence and meaning of both all previous and subsequent paintings of the poem. This "lyrical digression" is directly related to the folk scenes shown in the seventh chapter, and plays a very important role in the composition of the poem.
In the chapters devoted to the image of the city, we find the author's statements about ranks and estates: “... now all the ranks and estates are so irritated with us that everything that is in a printed book already seems to them a person: it’s like that, apparently, position in the air."
Gogol ends the description of the general confusion with reflections on human delusions, on the false paths that mankind has often followed in its history: but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new delusions, which descendants will also laugh at later.
The civic pathos of the writer reaches special strength in the “lyrical digression”: “Rus, Rus! I see you from my wonderful, beautiful distance. Like the lyrical monologue at the beginning of the seventh chapter, this “lyrical digression” forms a distinct line between two parts of the narrative - urban scenes and the story of Chichikov's origins. Here the theme of Russia is already widely developed, in which “it is poor, scattered and uncomfortable”, but where heroes cannot but be born. Following this, the author shares with the reader the thoughts that the long road and the rushing troika evoke in him: “What a strange, and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful word: road! and how wonderful she herself is, this road.” Gogol sketches here, one after another, pictures of Russian nature that appear before the gaze of a traveler racing on fast horses along an autumn road. And despite the fact that the image of the troika bird was left behind, in this “lyrical digression” we again feel it.
The story about the protagonist of the poem is completed by the author's statements, which present sharp objections to those who can be shocked both by the protagonist and the whole poem, depicting "bad" and "despicable".
"Lyrical digressions" reflect the author's high sense of patriotism. The image of Russia is fanned with deep love, completing the novel-poem, an image that embodies the ideal that lit the way for the artist when depicting a petty, vulgar life.
But the most important question for Gogol remains unanswered: “Rus, where are you rushing to?” What awaited this “God-inspired” country at the end of the road, then only God could know.
Genre uniqueness of "Dead Souls" is that it is a fairly large work in terms of volume - a poem in prose. The genre of the novel did not satisfy N.V. Gogol, since the novel is an epic work that reveals the story of the fate of a particular person, and the author’s intention was to show “all of Rus'”.
In "Dead Souls" Gogol combines the lyrical and epic beginnings. The poetry of the work is given by lyrical digressions that are in each chapter of the poem. They introduce the image of the author, give the work depth, breadth, lyricism. The subject of lyrical digressions is varied. The author reflects on the gentlemen of the "middle hand", "about youth and youth", about city people, the fate of the writer in Russia. Particularly interesting are the reflections on the education of a well-aimed Russian word, about Russia, about “thick and thin”.
In the second chapter, where the story is told about Manilov and his wife, N.V. Gogol writes, in particular, about the kind of education girls receive in boarding schools. The ironic tone of the narration (“... in pensions ... three main subjects form the basis of human virtues: the French language, which is necessary for the happiness of family life; the piano, for delivering pleasant moments to the spouse, and ... the household part itself: knitting purses and other surprises") makes it clear to the reader that the author does not consider this method of education correct. Evidence of the futility of such an upbringing is the image of Manilova: in their house “something was always missing: in the living room there was beautiful furniture, upholstered in smart silk fabric ... but it was not enough for two chairs, and the chairs were simply covered with matting .. . ”, “in the evening a very smart candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces, with a mother-of-pearl smart shield, was served on the table, and next to it was placed some kind of simply copper disabled person, lame, curled up on the side and all in sala..." The pastime of the spouses consists in long and languid kisses, preparing birthday surprises, etc.
In the fifth chapter, the word “patched,” which a simple peasant called Plyushkin, makes the author think about the accuracy of the Russian word: tribesmen, but all himself is a nugget, a lively and lively Russian mind that does not go into his pocket for a word, does not hatch it like a hen chickens, but sticks it right away, like a passport on an eternal sock, and there is nothing to add later, what your nose or lips - you are drawn from head to toe with one line! The author plays on a well-known proverb: "What is pronounced aptly, is like writing, it is not cut down with an axe." Thinking about the peculiarities of other languages, Gogol sums up: “The word of the British will respond with heart-study and wise knowledge of life; The short-lived word of a Frenchman will flash and scatter like a light dandy; the German will intricately invent his own, not accessible to everyone, smart-but-thin word; but there is no word that would be so bold, brisk, so burst out from under the very heart, so seething and quivering like a well-spoken Russian word.
The author's reflections on the subtlety of treatment expose sycophants who have a fantastic ability to determine their line of behavior, the manner of treating people of different social status (and he notes this feature exclusively among Russians). A vivid example of such chameleonism is the behavior of Ivan Petrovich, the “ruler of the office,” who, when he is “among his subordinates, you simply cannot utter a word out of fear! pride and nobility ... Pro-metheus, resolute Prometheus! He looks out like an eagle, performs smoothly, measuredly. But, approaching the chief's office, he is already "like a partridge in a hurry with papers under his arm ...". And if he is in society and at a party, where people are a little higher in rank, then “with Prometheus such a transformation will take place, which even Ovid will not invent: a fly, even less than a fly, was destroyed in a grain of sand!”.
At the conclusion of the first volume, the author's words about Russia sound like a hymn to the glory of the Motherland. The image of the irresistible troika rushing along the road personifies Rus' itself: “Isn’t it true that you, Rus, are rushing along with the brisk, irresistible troika?” Genuine pride and love resound in these lines: “Rus, where are you rushing to? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. A bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; rumbles and becomes a wind torn into pieces of air; everything that is on the earth flies past, and looking askance, step aside and give it the way other peoples and states.
In lyrical digressions, Gogol addresses the people and his homeland, expresses his thoughts in them, to the events, phenomena and heroes depicted in the poem, or reflects on life in general, about youth, about human virtues. In total, the poem contains over twenty lyrical digressions.
Many digressions, although in sharp contrast to the comic narrative tone of the poem, are always closely connected with its ideological content.
Along with small digressions, such as, for example, the reflection that “everyone has his own enthusiasm” (in the chapter on Manilov) or “Not that in the world is wonderfully arranged ...” (in the chapter on Korobochka), the poem contains more extensive digressions, which are complete discourses or poems in prose.
The former include, for example, the interpretation of the "ability to address" (in the second chapter) and the shortcomings of public meetings in Russia (in the tenth chapter); to the second - a reflection on the strength and accuracy of the Russian word (at the end of the fifth chapter). The lyrical passages dedicated to the motherland and people are marked by a special force of feelings. Gogol's appeal is permeated with ardent love for his native country: “Rus! Rus! I see you from my wonderful, beautiful far away ... ”(in the eleventh chapter). The vast expanses of Rus' capture and enchant the author, and he is full of pride in his wonderful homeland, with which he has a strong bond..
In a lyrical digression "What a strange, and alluring, and bearing, and wonderful in the word: the road!" Gogol paints pictures of Russian nature with love. Wonderful ideas and poetic dreams are born in his soul when looking at his native paintings.
Gogol bows before the sharp mind of a Russian person and before the accuracy of his words: “The short-lived word of a Frenchman will flash and scatter like a light dandy; the German will intricately invent his own, not accessible to everyone, cleverly thin word; but there is no word that would be so bold, brisk, so burst out from under the very heart, so swarming and quivering, like the aptly spoken Russian word.
The lyrical appeal of Gogol to Rus', rushing forward, like a lively and unhindered trio, which closes the first volume of the poem, sounds solemnly: “The bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; the air torn to pieces rumbles and becomes the wind; everything that is on earth flies past, and, looking sideways, step aside and give it way to other peoples and states.
In addition to those indicated, there are many other places in the poem that are imbued with deep patriotism. Often Gogol puts his thoughts into the mouth of one of his heroes. Such lyrical digressions included, for example, Chichikov's reflection on the lists of "dead souls" he bought. In this reflection, Gogol reflected his sympathy for the Russian people, who were then languishing under the yoke of serfdom.
The special significance of the lyrical digressions in the poem is that they balance certain parts of the poem: the terrible present that Gogol saw in life is contrasted in them with the beautiful future of Russia.
The abundance of lyrical passages helps to understand why Gogol called his work not a story or a novel, but a poem.
Lyrical digression is an extra-plot element of the work; compositional and stylistic device, which consists in the author's retreat from the direct plot narrative; author's reasoning, reflection, statement expressing attitude to the depicted or having an indirect relation to it. Lyrically, the digressions in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" bring a life-giving, refreshing beginning, set off the content of the pictures of life that appear before the reader, and reveal the idea.
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Analysis of lyrical digressions in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"
Lyrical digression is an extra-plot element of the work; compositional and stylistic device, which consists in the author's retreat from the direct plot narrative; author's reasoning, reflection, statement expressing attitude to the depicted or having an indirect relation to it. Lyrically, the digressions in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" bring a life-giving, refreshing beginning, set off the content of the pictures of life that appear before the reader, and reveal the idea. The subject of lyrical digressions is diverse.
"About thick and thin officials" (ch. 1); the author resorts to a generalization of the images of civil servants. Greed, bribery, servility are their characteristic features. Seeming at first glance, the opposition of thick and thin actually reveals the common negative features of both.
“On the shades and subtleties of our conversion” (ch. 3); it speaks of fawning over the rich, servility, self-humiliation of officials before superiors and an arrogant attitude towards subordinates.
"About the Russian people and their language" (Ch. 5); the author notes that the language, speech of the people reflects its national character; a feature of the Russian word and Russian speech is amazing accuracy.
“About two types of writers, about their destinies and destinies” (ch. 7); the author contrasts the writer-realist and the writer of the romantic direction, points out the characteristic features of the work of the romantic writer, speaks of the wonderful lot of this writer. With bitterness, Gogol writes about the lot of a realist writer who dared to portray the truth. Reflecting on the realist writer, Gogol determined the meaning of his work.
“Much has happened in the world of delusion” (Ch. 10); a lyrical digression about the world chronicle of mankind, about his delusions is a manifestation of the Christian views of the writer. All of humanity has gone off the straight path and is standing on the edge of the abyss. Gogol points out to everyone that the direct and bright path of mankind consists in following the moral values \u200b\u200bfounded in Christian teaching.
"On the expanses of Rus', the national character and the bird troika"; the final lines of "Dead Souls" are connected with the theme of Russia, with the author's reflections on the Russian national character, on the Russia-state. The symbolic image of the troika bird expressed Gogol's faith in Russia as a state to which a great historical mission was destined from above. At the same time, one can trace the idea of the originality of Russia's path, as well as the idea of the difficulty of foreseeing specific forms of Russia's long-term development.
"Dead Souls" is a lyrical-epic work - a poem in prose that combines two principles: epic and lyrical. The first principle is embodied in the author's intention to draw "all Rus'", and the second - in the author's lyrical digressions related to his intention, which are an integral part of the work. The epic narrative in "Dead Souls" is continually interrupted by lyrical monologues of the author, evaluating the behavior of the character or reflecting on life, art, Russia and its people, as well as touching on topics such as youth and old age, the appointment of the writer, which help to learn more about the spiritual world of the writer, about his ideals. Of greatest importance are lyrical digressions about Russia and the Russian people. Throughout the poem, the author's idea of a positive image of the Russian people is affirmed, which merges with the glorification and glorification of the motherland, which expresses the author's civil-patriotic position.
So, in the fifth chapter, the writer glorifies the “live and lively Russian mind”, his extraordinary ability for verbal expressiveness, that “if he rewards an oblique word, then it will go to his family and offspring, he will drag him with him both to the service and to retirement , and to St. Petersburg, and to the ends of the world. Chichikov's reasoning was prompted by his conversation with the peasants, who called Plyushkin "patched" and knew him only because he fed his peasants poorly.
Gogol felt the living soul of the Russian people, their boldness, courage, diligence and love for a free life. In this respect, the author's discourses, put into the mouth of Chichikov, about the serfs in the seventh chapter, are of profound significance. What appears here is not a generalized image of Russian peasants, but specific people with real features, written out in detail. This is the carpenter Stepan Cork - "a hero who would be fit for the guard", who, according to Chichikov's assumption, went all over Rus' with an ax in his belt and boots on his shoulders. This is the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who studied with a German and decided to get rich at once, making boots from rotten leather, which fell apart after two weeks. On this, he abandoned his work, took to drink, blaming everything on the Germans, who do not give life to the Russian people.
Further, Chichikov reflects on the fate of many peasants bought from Plyushkin, Sobakevich, Manilov and Korobochka. But the idea of “the rampant life of the people” did not coincide so much with the image of Chichikov that the author himself takes the floor and continues the story on his own behalf, the story of how Abakum Fyrov walks on the grain pier with barge haulers and merchants, having worked out “under one, like Rus', a song. The image of Abakum Fyrov indicates the love of the Russian people for a free, wild life, festivities and fun, despite the hard life of a serf, the oppression of landlords and officials.
In lyrical digressions, the tragic fate of a enslaved people, downtrodden and socially humiliated, appears, which is reflected in the images of Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, the girl Pelageya, who could not distinguish where the right is, where the left is, Plyushkin's Proshka and Mavra. Behind these images and pictures of people's life lies the deep and broad soul of the Russian people. Love for the Russian people, for the motherland, the patriotic and lofty feelings of the writer were expressed in the image of the troika created by Gogol, rushing forward, personifying the mighty and inexhaustible forces of Russia. Here the author thinks about the future of the country: “Rus, where are you going? He looks to the future and does not see it, but as a true patriot he believes that in the future there will be no Manilovs, Sobakeviches, Nozdrevs, Plyushkins, that Russia will rise to greatness and glory.
The image of the road in lyrical digressions is symbolic. This is the road from the past to the future, the road along which every person and Russia as a whole develops. The work ends with a hymn to the Russian people: “Eh! troika! Threesome bird, who invented you? To know among a lively people you could have been born .... ”Here, lyrical digressions perform a generalizing function: they serve to expand the artistic space and to create a holistic image of Rus'. They reveal the positive ideal of the author - Russia of the people, which is opposed to landowner-bureaucratic Rus'.
But, in addition to lyrical digressions praising Russia and its people, the poem also contains reflections of the lyrical hero on philosophical topics, for example, about youth and old age, the calling and appointment of a true writer, about his fate, which are somehow connected with the image of the road in the work . So, in the sixth chapter, Gogol exclaims: “Take with you on the road, emerging from your soft youthful years into severe hardening courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not lift them up later! .. "Thus, the author wanted to say that all the best things in life are connected precisely with youth and one should not forget about it, as the landlords described in the novel did, stasis "dead souls". They do not live, but exist. Gogol, on the other hand, calls to preserve a living soul, freshness and fullness of feelings, and to remain so for as long as possible.
Sometimes, reflecting on the transience of life, on changing ideals, the author himself appears as a traveler: “Before, long ago, in the summers of my youth .... it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time .... Now I indifferently drive up to any unfamiliar village and look indifferently at her vulgar appearance; my chilled gaze is unpleasant, it’s not funny to me .... and my motionless lips keep an indifferent silence. O my youth! O my freshness! » To recreate the completeness of the image of the author, it is necessary to say about lyrical digressions in which Gogol talks about two types of writers. One of them “never changed the sublime structure of his lyre, did not descend from his top to his poor, insignificant fellows, and the other dared to call out everything that is every minute before his eyes and that indifferent eyes do not see.” The destiny of a real writer who dared to truthfully recreate reality hidden from the eyes of the people is such that, unlike the romantic writer, absorbed in his unearthly and sublime images, he is not destined to achieve fame and experience joyful feelings when you are recognized and sung. Gogol comes to the conclusion that the unrecognized realist writer, the satirist writer will remain without participation, that "his career is harsh, and he bitterly feels his loneliness." The author also speaks of "connoisseurs of literature" who have their own idea of the purpose of the writer ("It's better to present us with something beautiful and exciting"), which confirms his conclusion about the fate of two types of writers.
All this recreates the lyrical image of the author, who for a long time will still go hand in hand with “a strange hero, look around at the whole enormously rushing life, look at it through laughter visible to the world and invisible, unknown to him tears! »
So, lyrical digressions occupy a significant place in Gogol's poem Dead Souls. They are remarkable from the point of view of poetics. They hint at the beginnings of a new literary style, which would later find a bright life in Turgenev's prose and especially in Chekhov's work.
