Studying the writers of the nineteenth century, one cannot ignore Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov. He devoted most of his works to the common people, sought to understand and reveal the Russian soul, often touched on the topic of the liberation of peasants from serfdom. The epic poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” was no exception - the most ambitious work of the poet.

The beginning of the plot in the poem occurs when seven peasants, seven temporarily obligated peasants from different villages, begin to argue about “who lives happily, freely in Russia?” So, without concurring, the main characters go in search of "lucky ones", leaving all their affairs.

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It is noteworthy that Nekrasov uses folklore and many fairy-tale elements in his work. I think this allowed the author not only to build a logical composition of the poem, but also to show the people's eternal desire for truth, the belief that good always triumphs over evil.

The first on the way the wanderers meet the priest. He sees happiness in "peace, wealth, honor", and with longing recalls the serf-owning past. Then the church was maintained by wealthy landowners, but with the advent of the new reform they went bankrupt, which could not but affect the material condition of the clergy. The heavy burden of maintaining the clergy fell on the shoulders of the peasant, who "himself needs, and would be glad to give, but there is nothing."

The landowners Obolt-Obolduev and Utyatin, who are found in the poem, also have similar concepts of happiness. They mourn the abolition of serfdom, the loss of their former idleness and luxury of life. Now, everything that was so dear to them was taken away from the landowners: obedient slaves and land, but most of all they regret the loss of their power:

Whom I want - I have mercy

Whoever I want, I'll execute.

Law is my wish!

The fist is my police!

And among the common people, seven men are trying to find happy ones. So, those who want to drink a free cup talk about their happiness: the old woman rejoices that “up to a thousand rap was born on a small ridge”, a soldier that “in twenty battles ... was, and not killed”, a courtyard man is happy that he has a “disease honorary”, the bricklayer is proud of his extraordinary strength. But none of the narrators really convinces our wanderers that he is happy. Their joy is based on material values, an amazing accident, or simply the absence of misfortune. No wonder the chapter "happy" ends with the following lines:

Hey, happiness man!

Leaky with patches

Humpbacked with calluses

Get off home.

At the fair, the main characters are told a story about Ermil Girin. "He had everything that is necessary for happiness: peace of mind, money, and honor." That honor was gained by intelligence, honest work and kindness, Yermil enjoyed great respect among the people. It would seem that the men found a happy one, but even this character cannot be considered as such, because he ended up in prison for supporting the peasant uprising.

In his poem, Nekrasov pays special attention to the female image, the difficult fate of Matryona Timofeevna. But you can call her happy only before marriage (“I was lucky in the girls: we had a good, non-drinking family”). Matryona had many difficult trials, which she endured with enviable stamina, courageously withstood: instead of her son, she lay down under the rod, and saved her husband from recruitment, and survived the famine. It is impossible not to admire the image of a Russian woman who is a double slave: the slave of her husband and the peasantry, but who has retained her honor and dignity. The people consider her happy, but Matrena Timofeevna herself does not agree with this: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women.”

I think it is no coincidence that Nekrasov at the end of the poem introduces the image of the "people's protector" Grisha Dobrosklonov. And although fate prepared for the hero "consumption and Siberia", from childhood he decided to devote his whole life to ensuring that "every peasant lived freely and cheerfully in all of holy Russia." In my opinion, it was in the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov that Nekrasov displayed the main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe work: true happiness is to make all the people around happy, and this can be achieved only when thoughts of revolutionary transformation enter the people's consciousness.

1. Introduction. The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is one of the most significant works of Nekrasov. The poet managed to unfold a large-scale picture depicting the life of the simple Russian people. The search for happiness by peasants is a symbol of the centuries-old desire of the peasantry to a better life. The content of the poem is very tragic, but it ends with a solemn affirmation of the future revival of "Mother Russia".

2. History of creation. The idea to write a real epic dedicated to the common people came to Nekrasov in the late 1850s. After the abolition of serfdom, this plan began to be realized. In 1863 the poet gets to work. Separate parts of the poem were published as they were written in the journal Domestic Notes.

Part of "A Feast for the Whole World" was able to see the light after the death of the author. Unfortunately, Nekrasov did not have time to finish work on the poem. It was assumed that the wandering peasants would end their journey in St. Petersburg. In this way, they will be able to bypass all the supposed "happy people", not excluding the king.

3. The meaning of the name. The title of the poem has become a stable household phrase that carries the eternal Russian problem. As in the time of Nekrasov, so now, the Russian man remains dissatisfied with his position. Only in Russia could the proverb "It's good where we don't exist" appear. In fact, "who lives well in Russia" - rhetorical question. It is unlikely that there are many people in our country who will answer that they are completely satisfied with their lives.

4. Genre Poem

5. Topic. The main theme of the poem is the unsuccessful search for people's happiness. Nekrasov somewhat departs from his selfless service to the common people, arguing that not a single estate can consider itself happy. A common misfortune unites all categories of society, which makes it possible to speak of a single Russian people.

6.Issues. The central problem of the poem is the eternal Russian grief and suffering arising from the backwardness and low level of development of the country. In this regard, the peasantry occupies a special position. Being the most downtrodden class, it nevertheless retains within itself healthy national forces. The poem touches upon the problem of the abolition of serfdom. This long-awaited act did not bring the expected happiness. Nekrasov owns the most famous phrase describing the essence of the abolition of serfdom: "The great chain has broken ... One end on the master, the other on the peasant! .."

7. Heroes. Roman, Demyan, Luka, Gubin brothers, Pakhom, Prov. 8. Plot and Composition The poem has a circular composition. A fragment is constantly repeated, explaining the journey of the seven men. The peasants drop everything they do and go in search of a happy man. Each character has their own version of this. Wanderers decide to meet with all the "candidates for happiness" and find out the whole truth.

The realist Nekrasov admits a fairy-tale element: the peasants receive a self-assembled tablecloth, allowing them to continue their journey without any problems. The first seven men meet the priest, in whose happiness Luka was sure. The clergyman "according to his conscience" tells the wanderers about his life. It follows from his story that the priests do not enjoy any special advantages. The well-being of the priests is only an apparent phenomenon for the laity. In fact, the life of a priest is no less difficult than that of other people.

The chapters "Country Fair" and "Drunken Night" are devoted to both the reckless and hard life of the common people. Simple fun is replaced by deep drunkenness. For centuries, alcohol has been one of the main troubles of a Russian person. But Nekrasov is far from a decisive condemnation. One of the characters explains the propensity to drunkenness in this way: "Great sadness will come, when we stop drinking! ..".

In the chapter "The Landowner" and the part "Last Child" Nekrasov describes the nobles who also suffered from the abolition of serfdom. For the peasants, their suffering seems far-fetched, but in fact, the breaking of the centuries-old way of life "hit" the landlords very hard. Many farms were ruined, and their owners could not adapt to the new conditions. The poet dwells in detail on the fate of a simple Russian woman in the part "Peasant Woman". She is considered lucky. However, from the story of the peasant woman, it becomes clear that her happiness lies not in gaining anything, but in getting rid of trouble.

Even in the chapter "Happy" Nekrasov shows that the peasants do not expect favors from fate. Their ultimate dream is to avoid danger. The soldier is happy because he is still alive; the stonemason is happy because he continues to have great strength, etc. In the part "A Feast for the Whole World", the author notes that the Russian peasant, despite all the troubles and sufferings, does not lose heart, referring to grief with irony. In this regard, the song "Merry" with the refrain "It is glorious for the people to live in Holy Russia!" is indicative. Nekrasov felt the approach of death and understood that he would not have time to finish the poem. Therefore, he hastily wrote the "Epilogue", where Grisha Dobrosklonov appears, dreaming of the freedom and welfare of the whole people. He was supposed to be the lucky man the wanderers are looking for.

9. What does the author teach. Nekrasov was truly rooting for Russia. He saw all her shortcomings and sought to draw the attention of his contemporaries to them. The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is one of the most elaborate works of the poet, which, according to the plan, was to present the whole tormented Russia at a glance. Even in an unfinished form, it sheds light on a number of purely Russian problems, the solution of which is long overdue.

The first chapter tells about the meeting of the truth-seekers with the priest. What is its ideological and artistic meaning? Assuming to find a happy "at the top", the peasants are primarily guided by the opinion that the basis of the happiness of any person is "wealth", and as long as they meet "artisans, beggars, / Soldiers, coachmen" and "his brother, a peasant-bast-worker", there does not arise thoughts to ask

How is it easy for them, is it difficult

Lives in Russia?

Clearly: "What happiness is here?"

And the picture of a cold spring with poor seedlings in the fields, and the sad appearance of Russian villages, and the background with the participation of a poor, suffering people - all evoke disturbing thoughts about the fate of the people to the wanderers and the reader, thereby preparing them internally for a meeting with the first "lucky" - the priest. Priestly happiness in Luke's view is drawn like this:

Priests live like princes...

Raspberry - not life!

Popova porridge - with butter,

Popov pie - with filling,

Popovy cabbage soup - with smelt!

etc.

And when the peasants ask the priest if the priest's life is sweet, and when they agree with the priest that "peace, wealth, honor" are the prerequisites for happiness, it seems that the priest's confession will follow the path outlined by Luke's colorful sketch. But Nekrasov gives the movement of the main idea of ​​the poem an unexpected turn. The priest took the question of the peasants very seriously. Before telling them the "truth-truth", he "looked down, thought" and began to talk not at all about "porridge with butter."

In the chapter "Pop" the problem of happiness is revealed not only in terms of social ("Is the priest's life sweet?"), but also moral and psychological ("How are you - at ease, happily / Do you live, honest father?"). Answering the second question, the priest in his confession is forced to talk about what he sees as the true happiness of a person. The narrative in connection with the story of the priest acquires a high teaching pathos.

The men-truth-seekers met not a high-ranking shepherd, but an ordinary rural priest. The lower rural clergy in the 1960s constituted the most numerous stratum of the Russian intelligentsia. As a rule, rural priests knew the life of the common people well. Of course, this lower clergy was not homogeneous: there were cynics, and bastards, and money-grubbers, but there were also those who were close to the needs of the peasants, their aspirations were understandable. Among the rural clergy there were people who were in opposition to the higher church circles, to the civil authorities. It must not be forgotten that a significant part of the democratic intelligentsia of the 1960s came from the milieu of the rural clergy.

The image of the priest met by wanderers is not without a peculiar tragedy. This is the type of person characteristic of the 60s, the era of a historical break, when a sense of catastrophic modern life either pushed honest and thinking people of the ruling environment onto the path of struggle, or drove them into a dead end of pessimism and hopelessness. The priest painted by Nekrasov is one of those humane and moral people who live an intense spiritual life, observe the general ill-being with anxiety and pain, painfully and truthfully striving to determine their place in life. For such a person, happiness is impossible without peace of mind, satisfaction with oneself, with one's life. There is no peace in the life of the “explored” priest, not only because

Sick, dying

Born into the world

Do not choose time

and the pop at any time must go where they call. Much more difficult than physical fatigue is moral torment: “the soul gets soaked, it hurts” to look at human suffering, on the mountain of a poor, orphaned, family that has lost its breadwinner. With pain remembers pop those moments when

The old woman, the mother of the deceased,

Look, stretching with a bony

Callused hand.

The soul will turn

How they tinkle in this hand

Two copper coins!

Drawing before the audience a stunning picture of people's poverty and suffering, the priest not only denies the possibility of his own happiness in an atmosphere of nationwide grief, but inspires an idea that, using Nekrasov's later poetic formula, can be expressed in the words:

Happiness of noble minds

See contentment around.

The priest of the first chapter is not indifferent to the fate of the people, nor is he indifferent to the opinion of the people. What is the honor of the priest among the people?

Who do you call

Foal breed?

... About whom you compose

You are fairy tales

And obscene songs

And all the bullshit? ..

These direct questions of the priest to the wanderers reveal the disrespectful attitude towards the clergy found in the peasant environment. And although the men-truth-seekers are embarrassed in front of the priest standing next to him for such an insulting popular opinion to him (wanderers “groan, shift”, “look down, remain silent”), they do not deny the prevalence of this opinion. The well-known validity of the hostile and ironic attitude of the people towards the clergy is proved by the priest's story about the sources of the priest's "wealth". Where is it from? Bribes, handouts from the landowners, but the main source of priestly income is the collection of the last pennies from the people (“Live from the peasants alone”). Pop understands that "the peasant himself needs", that

With such works pennies

Life is hard.

He cannot forget those copper nickels that tinkled in the old woman's hand, but even he, honest and conscientious, takes them, these labor pennies, because "do not take, there is nothing to live with." The story-confession of the priest is built as his judgment on the life of the class to which he himself belongs, the judgment on the life of his "spiritual brethren", on his own life for collecting the people's pennies for him is a source of eternal pain.

As a result of a conversation with a priest, men-truth-seekers begin to understand that “a man does not live by bread alone”, that “porridge with butter” is not enough for happiness, if you have it alone, that it is hard for an honest person to live in the backbone, and those who live on someone else’s labor, falsehood, are worthy only of condemnation and contempt. Happiness based on untruth is not happiness - such is the conclusion of the wanderers.

Well, here's your praise

Popov's life

they pounce "with selective strong abuse / On poor Luka."

Consciousness of the inner correctness of one's life is an indispensable condition for a person's happiness, the poet teaches the reader-contemporary.

Poetry has always played an important role in Russian literature. Russian authors have made a significant contribution to the world cultural heritage. Nikolai Nekrasov, perhaps one of the most significant Russian poets, whose work resonates deeply in the soul of every person, also made his contribution. His unfinished poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" became the highest point of the writer's creative life. He put all his creative strength and experience into it, and today most people know about Nekrasov precisely because of his latest creation. The wise Litrekon advises you to delve into a detailed analysis of this work in order to see all the riches of form and content that the poet has invested in his book.

Nekrasov began working on this poem in the sixties of the nineteenth century, when Russian empire stood at a historical crossroads, and in the country there was enthusiasm and a thirst for change.

The author came up with a truly epic idea: to create a poem of 6-8 parts that would cover all spheres of life in Russian society. He began work in the early 60s, and already in 1865 the first part of the book was ready. The history of the writing of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is quite interesting facts:

1. The poet published the Prologue in his journal Sovremennik, and immediately faced censorship. Reactionary and pro-government publications pounced on the published fragment, and the censorship authorities set about editing the work with redoubled enthusiasm. Nekrasov, being an editor, was forced to generously pay off officials in order to release his creation into the light. He organized dinners, hunting and other events at his own expense, if only the inspectors were loyal and looked at his offspring through their fingers. These corrupt tricks helped him to "smuggle" more than one dubious work.
2. Despite such tricks, the publication of fragments from the poem dragged on for 4 years. The writer felt worse and worse. Large-scale plans began to seem unrealizable. In the 70s, he completed a few more parts, but realized that this was the limit. N. A. Nekrasov was sick with cancer, and he knew that his days were numbered. To give his work a semantic completeness, he wrote an Epilogue in the chapter "A Feast for the Whole World." There, the author described in detail the image of the only lucky man in Russia, seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov. However, the seven wanderers never found the one they were looking for. The finale, conceived by the poet, is very symbolic: the poem is not finished, the travelers did not notice their lucky man, because the people have just begun to adapt to new realities and have not yet realized where their happiness is.

Creative history and publication of the poem "To whom in Russia to live well" once again prove that the problems that N.A. Nekrasov, really existed.

Direction, genre, size

• The genre of the work is an epic poem. It is distinguished by such features as a linear composition, a plot covering an entire era, an abundance of characters and storylines, and an impressive volume.
• The direction in which the poet developed his talent is called "realism", however, folklore motifs are obvious in this work. So, in the first part of the poem, fabulous and epic symbols are concentrated: magic numbers 7, 14, 3, talking animals endowed with magical qualities, characteristic coincidences of place and time (dark night in a thicker thicket). However, further the characters only encounter phenomena from the real world , and everything that reminds of forest magic fits on a self-assembled tablecloth. Descriptions village life are depicted in such detail and honestly that elegant poetry hardly smoothes the overall impression: men drunk to a fever lie in a pit, some women follow their example, singing pakhabny songs. In another chapter, the boy is eaten by pigs. In a word, the author does not skimp on realism, there is as much of it as you like. Thus, the direction characteristic of the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is more precisely defined as "mystical realism". This concept combines all the features mentioned above: both fantastic folk motifs, and a detailed depiction of reality, it has both fantasy and realism.
• Genus of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" lyrics and epic. From the poem, it contains a poetic form, poetic symbols and author's digressions. But at the same time, there is a clear storyline and many characters, and the actions of the characters are presented as something influential and large-scale, which makes Nekrasov's creation related to epic literature. This is the genre originality of the work “To whom it is good to live in Russia”: this is not just a great poem, but a lyrical-epic poem.
• The poem was written in iambic, the author tried to give it folk features with the help of a special rhythm, a language replete with folk verbal turns.

Composition

The problem of the composition of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is due to its incompleteness. Initially, the product was supposed to be twice as large as the final result. Due to the imminent death, Nekrasov was forced to reduce the volume of the poem.

As a result, the main part turned out to be much shorter than planned, and takes only two parts, the climax comes in the third, and the finale in the fourth.

The structure of “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is not a consequence of the work of the writer, but the choice of his friends. He passed away so suddenly that he did not even have time to introduce a certain order into the manuscripts. But his close people remembered how important this creation was for the poet, and collected the chapters into a single work after the death of the author. This explains the illogicality and fragmentation of some episodes. There is no complete and solid connection between them.

The order of the chapters is depicted in detail in chapter by chapter from the Wise Litrecon.

essence

Seven peasants, who met by chance on the road, are trying to find the answer to the question: "Who lives happily, freely in Russia?" Every man has his own opinion. The list includes almost all estates, from the clergy to the Russian emperor. Unable to find a consensus, the heroes decide to go on a journey and ask the answer personally from a representative of each class.

During their journey, they meet both a priest and a landowner - however, they are surprised to learn that the powerful of this world live as badly as the rest, and there is no happiness in their lives. However, the main emphasis is on the difficult life and suffering of the peasants, living in poverty and ignorance.

At the climax of the poem, the peasants encounter Grigory Dobrosklonov, a seminarian, singer, and people's protector. This young man is a symbol of the emerging national consciousness, an ideological fighter who is ready to give his life for the happiness of his people. It is him that Nekrasov considers the happiest person in Russia, because it is Grigory who is destined to change it. Litrekon spoke in more detail about the content of the poem in a reader's diary.

Main characters and their characteristics

The system of images in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is divided into several types of heroes:

1. Serfs are peasants for whom slavery has become the meaning of life. They do not imagine themselves without a master.
2. Wanderers-truth-seekers - seven men looking for the answer to their question.
3. People's defenders are ordinary people who dared to rebel against the system and to protect their own kind. Here they are, there is a complete list.
4. Sinners are heroes who have gone through the temptation of sin and temptation. A separate chapter is dedicated to them. These stories become instructive parables for ordinary people.
5. The oppressors are the upper classes who profit from the grief of the people. These are the landlords and the highest nobility.
6. Female images are, as a rule, martyrs from the peasantry who sacrifice themselves for the sake of their families and children.
7. The rest of the characters are included in the category "people".

In addition, N.A. Nekrasov depicted the image of Russia in the poem. This is a poor, but at the same time spiritually rich country that needs to be updated. She is generous towards her people, but bound by the chains of autocracy.

The distribution of heroes by type is clearly presented in the table from the Wise Litrecon:

There are many more heroes in the poem, and the Wise Litrekon will gladly tell about them if you write about this need in the comments.

Topics

The theme in the poem “Who should live well in Russia” is an interesting reason for thinking of a modern person:

1. Happiness- The search for and achievement of happiness is put in the first place by Nekrasov and his characters. Despite all the horrors and injustices of life, the writer believed that sooner or later the Russian people would be able to build a new happy world.
2. Patriotism- Love for the homeland of Nekrasov is expressed in selfless service ordinary people. Only one who is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the happiness of his people is a true patriot of his country.
3. motherland- Serving one's fatherland and people is the highest virtue, according to Nekrasov. Russia needs its heroes, and it deserves their help. It is rich and plentiful, generous and complaisant, beautiful and majestic. It is possible and necessary to live well on this earth.
4. The theme of the people- The Russian people in the poem are presented as poor, tired, oppressed and downtrodden, but at the same time, the people retained their responsiveness, desire for justice and mutual assistance. Nekrasov believed that the Russian people were at the beginning of a new, better era, where there would be no oppression and injustice.
5. road theme- The journey of seven men along the roads of Russia symbolizes a long way that the Russian people have yet to go in order to realize their potential.
6. Landscape- In the poem, Nekrasov gravitates towards the landscapes of provincial peasant Russia. Endless fields, dark forests and dull villages immerse us in the life of ordinary Russian workers of that time. Nature in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" becomes a true friend of the peasants. So, it was alone with the forest and the field that Matryona found peace of mind and strength to continue the hard life.
7. Generosity- The Russian peasant is shown as a sincere generous person who is ready to help those in trouble and even sacrifice their well-being to help their neighbor. Such, for example, is the episode when Pavel Veretennikov gives Vavila money for a gift for his granddaughter.
8. Exile theme also found its way into the text. So, it is precisely the expulsion to hard labor that punishes the people's defenders - Savely and (in the future) Gregory. This indicates that the greatest grief for a Russian person is separation from his native land.

The moral lessons of the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is a call for justice and humanity, addressed to all classes, but most of all to the nobles, who are close to the sovereign and can influence the fate of the people.

Main problems

The social and moral problems of the poem “Who should live well in Russia” demonstrate the eternal questions that Russian people are still looking for answers to. Many problems are still unresolved.

In his poem, Nekrasov depicted the withering away of the old world. And the birth of a new one. Russia, which is on the border of two eras, is embarking on the path of change.

On the one hand, we see the survivals of the nobility and traces of serfdom, which mutilate the Russian people, turn them into an amorphous mass of ignorant slaves. On the other hand, we see how the rudiments of self-awareness gradually appear in the peasants, how real patriots of their homeland appear, like Girin and Dobrosklonov. This is the main idea of ​​the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" - to show global changes in Russia and inspire readers to improve the country.

The main idea and author's position of Nekrasov is that Russia will enter a new era renewed and free, and its people will live in peace and prosperity. But for this, people need to unite and realize the new status: she is not subjects and not serfs, but citizens with their own rights and duties.

Folklore and language

Wishing to immerse the reader in the atmosphere of an ordinary Russian province, the poet resorted to a bold combination of literary, colloquial speech and folk elements. Nekrasov often uses diminutive suffixes and changes the endings of words to dialect ones, which allows him to convey the melodiousness and softness characteristic of folk speech. Numerous inversions are also used:

I bow my head
I carry an angry heart!

A huge amount of folk humor is woven into the story. For example, Nekrasov describes how one wanderer taught girls to sing in his memory, but only later it turned out that he simply “spoiled” them. And about the death of a person, his heroes talk like this:

"Hundred days chirel yes dry"

A variety of songs, riddles, proverbs, legends and epics are often wedged into the plot. For example, the song "Salty", which Grisha Dobrosklonova's mother composed due to a lack of salt.

Criticism

"To whom in Russia to live well" was stormily received by readers and critics.

The literary critic Burenin, noticing some vulgarity and anecdote inherent in Nekrasov's poem, noted its expressiveness and significance. He especially liked the depiction of dying serfdom.

Critics expressed the main idea of ​​the poet's work more than once:

Even a few lines written out by us are enough for the reader to see how Nekrasov, in his last work, remained true to his everlasting idea: to arouse the sympathy of the upper classes for the common people, their needs and needs ... "(M. Velinsky," "To whom it’s good to live in Russia” Nekrasov”, “Kyiv Telegraph”, 1869, May 19, No. 57)

Another critic, Avseenko, accused the writer of being obsolete. The publicist saw in the work only vaudeville and an anecdote. He argued that the problems described by Nekrasov in the poem have long been irrelevant.

Also, reviewers condemned the excessive length of the work:

“This poem is somewhat stretched out, in it you encounter many scenes that are completely superfluous, interfering with the overall impression, needlessly tiring the reader and thereby in no way harming the integrity of the impression. But for all that, Nekrasov's poem has inalienable merits; there is so much feeling in it, so much a deep understanding of life, that somehow one involuntarily forgets, all minor shortcomings are erased. Many scenes of this poem are felt and expressed so vividly and strongly that you involuntarily run through them several times and the more you read them, the more beautiful they seem ... ”(“ New Time ”, April 22, 1870, No. 109)

And yet, critics recognized that Nekrasov's book is a truly folk work in which every Russian person recognizes himself

Not a single folk book, written with the special purpose of teaching the people, will be as clear to him as "Pedlars" and "Who Lives Well in Russia." And all because every peasant will find in them an echo of his concepts and aspirations; all because he senses in them his simple, artless, human feeling, conveyed in a characteristic and native language; all because the poet taught our people and knows them like no one else.” (critic under the pseudonym A. S., "New Time", 1873, No. 61)

The significance of the poem was also emphasized by the modern critic Dmitry Bykov:

“To whom in Russia it is good to live” is not a satirical poem at all, it is a normal folk epic. The epic of wandering, the Russian "Odyssey", divided into seven, because it is impossible to wander alone in Russia. Not only will you not survive, but you have no one to drink with, no one to talk to.

“To Whom in Russia to Live Well” is considered one of the most famous and significant works of Russian literature, a landmark in the work of the great poet Nekrasov.

Two years after the introduction of new reforms, Nikolai Nekrasov began work on a work that became the pinnacle of his work. For many years he worked on the text, and as a result, a poem was created in which the author was not only able to portray the people's grief, but, together with his heroes, sought to answer the following questions: "What is the happiness of the people?", "How to achieve it?", "Can an individual be happy in the midst of universal grief?" An analysis of “Who is living well in Russia” is necessary in order to find out which images helped Nekrasov answer these difficult questions.

Intention

Starting the work, the author himself hardly knew the answer to these disturbing questions. These were difficult times in the history of the Russian people. The abolition of serfdom did not make life easier for the peasantry. The original plan of Nekrasov was that the wandering men, after a vain search, would return home. In the course of work, the storyline changed somewhat. The events in the poem were influenced by important social processes. Like the characters of his own, he seeks to answer the question: “Is it good to live in Russia?” And if at the first stage of work on the poem the author does not find grounds for a positive answer, then later representatives of the youth appear in society, who really find their happiness in going “to the people”.

A vivid example was a certain teacher who reported in a letter to Nekrasov that she was experiencing real tides of happiness in her work among the people. The poet planned to use the image of this girl in the development of the storyline. But he didn't. He died without completing his work. The poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live" Nekrasov wrote before last days her life, but she remained unfinished.

Art style

The analysis of "To whom in Russia to live well" reveals the main artistic feature of the work. Since Nekrasov's book is about the people, and above all for them, in it he used folk speech in all its diversity. This poem is an epic, one of the goals of which was to depict life as it is. Fairy-tale motifs play a significant role in the narrative.

Folklore basis

Nekrasov borrowed a lot from folk art. The analysis of “To Whom in Russia to Live Well” allowed critics to identify epics, legends and proverbs that the author actively used in the text. Already in the prologue there are bright folklore motifs. Here there is a warbler, a self-assembled tablecloth, and many animalistic images of a Russian folk tale. And the wanderer men themselves resemble the heroes of epics and fairy tales. The prologue also contains numbers that have a sacred meaning: seven and three.

Plot

The men argued about who should live well in Russia. Nekrasov, using this technique, reveals main topic poems. Heroes offer several options for "lucky ones". Among them are five representatives of various strata. social society and the king himself. In order to answer such a disturbing question, wanderers set off on a long journey. But only the priest and the landowner manage to ask about happiness. In the course of the poem, general questions change to more specific ones. The men are already more interested in the happiness of the working people. Yes, and the idea of ​​the story would be difficult to implement if ordinary men dared to visit the king himself with their philosophical problems.

Peasant images

There are many peasant images in the poem. The author pays close attention to some, while talking about others only in passing. The most typical is the portrait of Yakim Nagogo. The appearance of this character symbolizes the hard labor existence that is characteristic of peasant life in Russia. But despite the overwork, Yakim did not harden his soul. The analysis of “Who should live well in Russia” gives a clear idea of ​​how Nekrasov saw or wanted to see representatives of the working people. Yakim, despite the inhuman conditions in which he is forced to exist, did not harden. He collects pictures for his son all his life, admiring and hanging them on the walls. And during a fire, he throws himself into the fire in order to save, above all, his beloved images. But the image of Yakima is different from more reliable characters. The meaning of his life is not limited to work and drinking. Great importance for him, the contemplation of the beautiful also has.

Artistic techniques

In the poem, Nekrasov uses symbolism from the very first pages. The names of the villages speak for themselves. Zaplatovo, Razutovo, Dyryavino are symbols of the way of life of their inhabitants. Truth seekers meet during their journey with different people, but the question of what kind of life is good in Russia remains open. The disasters of the common Russian people are revealed to the reader. In order to give liveliness and persuasiveness to the narrative, the author introduces direct speech. The priest, the landowner, the mason Trofim, Matryona Timofeevna - all these characters talk about their lives, and their stories form a general bleak picture of Russian folk life.

Since the life of a peasant is inextricably linked with nature, its description is harmoniously woven into the poem. A typical everyday picture is created from many details.

The image of the landowners

The landowner is undoubtedly the main enemy of the peasant. The first representative of this social stratum, met by wanderers, gives a completely detailed answer to their question. Talking about the rich life of the landowners in the past, he claims that he himself has always been kind to the peasants. And everyone was happy, and no one felt grief. Now everything has changed. The fields are deserted, the peasant is completely out of hand. It's all because of the reform of 1861. But the next living example of the "noble class", which appears on the way of the peasants, has the image of an oppressor, tormentor and money-grubber. He leads a free life, he does not have to work. Everything for him is done by dependent peasants. Even the abolition of serfdom did not affect his idle life.

Grisha Dobrosklonov

The question posed by Nekrasov remains open. The peasant's life was hard, and he dreamed of changes for the better. None of those who meet on the way of wanderers is a happy person. Serfdom was abolished, but still not completely resolved. The reforms were a strong blow both for the landlord class and for the working people. However, without knowing it themselves, the men found what they were looking for in the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov.

Why only a scoundrel and a money-grubber can live well in Russia becomes clear when this character appears in the poem. His fate is not easy, like the fate of other representatives of the working class. But, unlike other characters in the work of Nekrasov, Grisha is not characterized by obedience to the circumstances.

It personifies the revolutionary moods that began to appear in society in the second half of the 19th century. At the end of the poem, albeit unfinished, Nekrasov does not give an answer to the question, in search of which wanderers-truth-seekers have wandered for so long, but makes it clear that people's happiness is still possible. And the ideas of Grisha Dobrosklonov will play an important role in it.