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Re-creation of the genre in Ode Felitsa. Literary analysis of the ode “Felitsa”

Gavriila Romanovich Derzhavin is a real Genius, who, however, achieved success in the literary field, being already an accomplished adult. With his daring sincerity, he knew how to both conquer and destroy peace. Amazing honesty brought him to the pinnacle of fame, and then just as quickly “threw” the poet from Olympus.

A poor and humble nobleman, he served honestly and sincerely, as A.S. would later say. Pushkin in " The captain's daughter", "honestly, who do you swear allegiance to." Derzhavin passed difficult path a simple soldier, having, however, achieved both recognition and officer rank without anyone’s help. He participates in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising, and this brings him fame.

The intelligent officer, who had previously published entire collections of controversial poems written in a language unusual for that time, remained unnoticed as a writer until, conquered by the openness of Empress Catherine II and her deeds for the benefit of Russia, he created the daring ode “Felitsa”.

The names of the characters were not chosen by chance: the young poet borrowed them from an instructive tale personally composed by the empress for her grandson. This allusion would later lay the foundation for a whole cycle of odes dedicated to Felitsa, but it was with that one, the first and perhaps the most important in the poet’s work, that a colossal breakthrough in the field of poetic art was associated.

As you know, G.R. Derzhavin lived at a time when the greatest literary figures, the “Parnassian titans,” adhered to the strict framework of classicism. Only in the second half of the 18th century did M. Lomonosov, A. Maikov, M. Kheraskov and other writers begin to deviate from these traditions, but they did not do this on such a scale, with such ease, with which Derzhavin succeeded.

He owns the expression “funny Russian syllable”. Indeed, he will proclaim “the virtues of Felitsa” in the genre of ode - in a high style, resorting to the help of high spiritual matter. And at the same time, the poet will tear apart the usual canons, as if he were tearing a piece of paper.

The theme of the ode is socio-political. Derzhavin, who participated in the suppression of the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, learned firsthand what a “senseless and merciless” Russian rebellion was; He saw and felt with his own eyes how hostile the people were towards the Russian nobility. But the poet did not call for the liberation of the peasantry - he understood that Russia would drown in blood, primarily that of the nobility, as yesterday’s slaves would begin to take revenge on their oppressors. That is why Derzhavin sees salvation in enlightened absolutism, where there is strict and strict observance of laws, a government under which there will be no arbitrariness of the authorities. This is the only way to protect the Empire from new riots, from new senseless victims. The poet finds the image of such a ruler in Catherine II. The ode “Felitsa” is not a creation of confusion for God’s chosen empress, but a lively and sincere enthusiastic response to the activities of the empress.

On the one hand, this work is plotless, since the action in it does not develop. And at the same time, there is a certain swiftness and instantaneity in it: thus, with an abundance of images of feelings, images of events are revealed in it; the poet describes in chronological order the amusements of Catherine’s courtiers, as well as the life of the empress.

The composition of the ode is inconsistent; it creates a central image, the embodiment of which is the “god-like princess,” and develops throughout the entire narrative, viewed from all sides. In this case, the technique of antithesis is used: Felitsa’s virtues are contrasted with the idleness and baseness of her “Murz”.

"Felitsa" was written iambic tetrameter with replacement of iambic feet by pyrrhic. Derzhavin turns to the classic odic ten-line stanza with complex rhyming (first cross, then pairwise, then circular); the poet alternates male and female rhymes.

The expressive means of the ode are distinguished by a stunning variety of imagination. The main poetic device is the antithesis mentioned above, as well as allusions to Count Orlov, P. Panin, etc. Derzhavin turns to a sublime syllable, and therefore in the ode huge place devoted to Church Slavonic words. “Felitsa” is not rich in metaphors (“fry in ice baths”), but it is replete with epithets (“a sweet-voiced harp”, “sapphire wings”, “a despicable liar”), comparisons (“a meek angel”, a comparison of the empress with a feeder, “like a wolf of sheep” , you don’t crush people”), hyperbole (characteristic of the poetic mood of the ode as a whole). Among stylistic figures Inversion and gradation (“pleasant, sweet, useful”) stand out especially. The technique of irony, which turns into sarcasm, stands apart. They appear in the stanzas where the lyrical hero describes his own amusements, pointing out that he, the hero, is depraved, but also “the whole world is like that.” This remark allows us to emphasize the greatness and virtue of the empress, whose subjects are unworthy to serve her.

In this ode, for the first time, a mixture of styles occurs: in a solemn work, features of a “low” style - sarcasm - are suddenly revealed. In addition, this is the first ode in the history of Russian literature where the image of the author is so clearly manifested, where his personal opinion is expressed. Derzhavin portrays himself in the image of a lyrical hero, unworthy of the honor of serving an enlightened empress, who shuns high titles, magnificent festivities, entertainment unworthy of a noble man, and luxury; Felitsa is not characterized by cruelty and injustice. The poet portrays the empress as a God-fearing ruler who is interested in the well-being of her people - it is not without reason that the ode contains a comparison with an angel sent to earth to rule the Russian state.

The daring, individual, bright praise, which Gabriel Romanovich himself defined as a “mixed ode,” was enthusiastically received by the empress. Derzhavin's innovation made it possible to discard the strict framework of classicism, inaccessible to a wide range of readers. The originality of the work, its rich and attractive language will subsequently receive the widest distribution; the trend will be developed in the work of first V. Zhukovsky, and then the main “reformer” of the Russian literary language A.S. Pushkin. Thus, Derzhavin’s “Felitsa” anticipates the emergence of the romantic movement in Russian literature.

The title of Derzhavin’s famous ode reads like this: “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Murza, who have long lived in Moscow, and live on their business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic in 1782." Felitsa (Latin felix - happy) meant Catherine II, and “Murza” appeared in the dress either as the author’s own “I” or as a collective name for Catherine’s nobles. Derzhavin's authorship was disguised. When printing the ode (see its full text and summary), the editors of Sobesednik added a note to the title: “Although the name of the author is unknown to us, we know that this ode was definitely composed in Russian.”

Derzhavin. Felitsa. Oh yeah

Despite all the “praiseworthy” tone, Derzhavin’s poems are very sincere. He speaks to the empress, lists positive sides her reign. Catherine is credited, for example, with the fact that she does not destroy people like a wolf destroys sheep:

You correct misdeeds with leniency;
Like a wolf, you don't crush people...
...........................................
You are ashamed to be considered great,
To be scary and unloved;
The bear is decently wild
Rip animals and drink their blood.

In the ode “Felitsa,” Catherine received no less edification than her nobles. Derzhavin clearly told her that the tsar must observe laws that are the same for both him and his subjects, that these laws are based on “divine will”, and therefore are universally binding. Derzhavin never tired of reminding the three kings with whom he had to deal.

Derzhavin spoke very freely about previous reigns, comparing Felitsa’s reign with them:

There are no clownish weddings there,
They are not fried in ice baths,
They don’t click on the nobles’ mustaches;
Princes don't cluck like hens,
Favorites don't want to laugh at them
And they don’t stain their faces with soot.

We were talking here, as contemporaries understood, about morals at the court of Anna Ioannovna. The names of the jester princes were still preserved in memory.

Derzhavin showed the new monarch in an unusual way - as a private person:

Without imitating your Murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Not valuing your peace,
You read, you write in front of the levy...

Following this, a number of allusions to major nobles were scattered throughout the ode. Their whims and favorite pastimes were immortalized in poetry:

Or a magnificent train,
In an English carriage, golden,
With a dog, a jester or a friend,
Or with some beauty
I'm walking under the swing;
I go to taverns to drink mead;
Or, somehow I’ll get bored,
According to my inclination to change,
Having a cap on a bekren,
I'm flying on a fast runner.
Or music and singers,
Suddenly with an organ and bagpipes,
Or fist fighters
And I make my spirit happy by dancing...

Derzhavin in his “Explanations” indicated that he observed noblemen he knew - Potemkin, Vyazemsky, Naryshkin, Orlov, saw one’s passion for fist fights and horses, another for horn music, a third for panache, etc. and depicted them whims in verse, creating a generalized portrait of a courtier, collecting typical features together. Later, in the ode “Nobleman”, he will especially deal with this topic and give a sharp satirical picture in which one can guess the characteristics of individual figures of the era.

“Felitsa” reflected Derzhavin’s penchant for accurate descriptions of everyday life and his ability to create lively, multi-colored pictures, inaccessible to other modern poets:

There's a nice Westphalian ham,
There are links of Astrakhan fish,
There are pilaf and pies there, -
I wash down the waffles with champagne
And I forget everything in the world
Among wines, sweets and aroma.
Or among a beautiful grove,
In the gazebo where the fountain is noisy,
When the sweet-voiced harp rings,
Where the breeze barely breathes
Where everything represents luxury to me...

Derzhavin introduced into his ode another, homely way of life, typical for some provincial nobleman, although living in the capital:

Or, sitting at home, I’ll play a prank,
Playing fools with my wife;
Then I get along with her at the dovecote,
Sometimes we frolic in blind man's buff;
Then I’m having fun with her,
I'm looking for it in my head...

With a feeling of freedom and ease, Derzhavin talked in his ode about a wide variety of subjects, seasoning his moral teachings with sharp words. He did not miss the opportunity to speak out about literature. The fifteenth stanza of the ode is devoted to this topic. Derzhavin says to the queen:

You think sensibly about merit,
You give honor to the worthy,
You don't consider him a prophet,
Who can weave rhymes...

Of course, Derzhavin attributed these lines to himself; he considered himself “worthy” because he knew how to do something other than weave rhymes, namely, he was an official and administrator. Lomonosov once said about Sumarokov that he, “except for his poor rhyming, knows nothing.” Derzhavin also argued that a person should first of all be a worker in the state, and poetry is something that can be done “in free hours.”

The definition of poetry included by Derzhavin in the ode “Felitsa” is widely known:

Poetry, dear to you,
Pleasant, sweet, useful,
Like delicious lemonade in summer.

The poet talks about the view of literature that Catherine might have had. But Derzhavin himself set the task for poetry to be pleasant and useful. In his “Letter on Historical Anecdotes and Notes” (1780), the poet praises this type of writing, saying that it is “pleasant and useful. It is pleasant because the selected and briefly described narrative does not bore any reader, but, so to speak, comforts him in passing. It is useful because it enlivens the story, embellishes it and contains it, and makes it more convenient to remember with his notes.” This formula goes back to Horace, who said: “Omne tulit punetum, qui miscuit utile dulci” (Everything brings something that combines the pleasant with the useful).

In a letter to Kozodavlev, Derzhavin remarked about the ode “Felitsa”: “I don’t know how society will see such an essay, which has never existed in our language.” In addition to the courage of the conversation with the empress and nobles, Derzhavin also had in mind the literary features of the ode: a combination of satire and pathos, high and low sayings, topical hints, the rapprochement of poetry with life.

The innovative meaning of “Felitsa” was perfectly understood and formulated by the poet Ermil Kostrov in his “Letter to the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa,” published in “Interlocutor.”

You have found an untrodden path and a new one, -

he says, turning to Derzhavin, who guessed that Russian poetry needs a new direction.

Our hearing is almost deaf from the loud lyre tones,
And it seems like it’s time to fly beyond the clouds...
Frankly, it’s clear that it’s out of fashion
Soaring odes have already emerged.
You knew how to elevate yourself among us with simplicity!

Kostrov believes that Derzhavin “ new taste restored to verses,” bypassing

Without a lyre, without a violin,
And without saddling the Parnassian runner, -

that is, without the need for the obligatory attributes of odic poetry, playing not on the “lyre”, but on the gudok - a simple folk instrument.

The success of "Felitsa" was complete and brilliant. In addition to Kostrov, welcoming poems to Derzhavin were written by O. Kozodavlev, M. Sushkova, V. Zhukov. Critical remarks also appeared - they found their place in the same magazine “Interlocutor”, but with Derzhavin’s objections.

The Empress sent Derzhavin a gold snuffbox studded with diamonds containing five hundred red notes - “from Orenburg from the Kyrgyz princess.” In response to the gift, Derzhavin wrote a poem “Gratitude to Felitsa,” in which he noted what he might like in his ode - “simplicity in an unhypocritical style.” This simplicity, unexpected combination of satire and pathos, high odic concepts and everyday colloquial speech were approved in the poet’s further work.

Oct 21 2010

In the last third of the 18th century, great changes took place in poetry, as well as in drama. The further development of poetry could not occur without change, disruption, and then destruction of familiar old forms. These violations began to be committed by the classic writers themselves: Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Maikov, and later by Kheraskov and the young poets from his circle. But the real revolt in the world of genres was made by Derzhavin. , having learned the true nature as a multi-voiced and multi-colored world, in eternal movement and change, limitlessly expanded the boundaries of the poetic. At the same time, Derzhavin’s main enemies were all those who forgot the “public good”, the interests of the people, indulging in sybarism at court.
A significant expansion of the object of poetry required new forms of expression. Derzhavin began this search by changing the established genre system of classicism.

Derzhavin began the immediate “destruction” of the genre of solemn ode with his “Felitsa”, combining praise with satire in it.

In the spring of 1783, the President Russian Academy Ekaterina Dashkova in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word”, on the recommendation of Kozodavlev, anonymously published the ode “Felitsa” without the author’s knowledge. Dashkova presented the first issue of the magazine to Empress Catherine P. After reading the ode, she was moved to tears and became interested in the author of the work. “Don’t be afraid,” she told Dashkova, “I’m just asking you about someone who knew me so closely, who could describe me so pleasantly that, you see, I’m crying like a fool.” The princess revealed the poet's name and told a lot of good things about him. After some time, Derzhavin received an envelope in the mail containing a gold snuff box sprinkled with diamonds and five hundred gold rubles. Soon the poet was introduced to the empress and received favors from her. The publication of the ode immediately made Derzhavin famous; he became one of the first poets of Russia.

Ode “Felitsa” is innovative, bold in thought and form. It includes high, odic, and low, ironic-satirical. Unlike the odes of Lomonosov, where the object of the image was the lyrical state of the poet, for whom the state, national interests merged with the personal, Derzhavin’s ode made the “man on the throne” the object of poeticization - Catherine II, her state affairs and virtues. “Felitsa” is close to a friendly literary message, a word of praise and at the same time a poetic satire.

The poet included in the ode a literary portrait of the empress, which has a moral, psychological, idealized character. Derzhavin is trying to reveal inner world the heroine, her morals and habits through a description of the actions and orders of Catherine II, her acts of state:

Without imitating your Murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Not valuing your peace,
You read and write in front of the lectern
And all from your pen
Shedding bliss to mortals...

The lack of portrait descriptions is compensated by the impression that the ode makes on others. The poet emphasizes the most important, from his point of view, features of the enlightened monarch: her democracy, simplicity, unpretentiousness, modesty, friendliness, combined with outstanding intelligence and talent statesman. High image The poet contrasts the queen with an ironic portrait of her courtier. This is a collective, including the features of the closest associates of Catherine II: His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin, who, despite his breadth of soul and brilliant mind, is distinguished by a whimsical and capricious disposition; favorites of the Empress Alexei and Grigory Orlov, guardsmen-revelers, lovers of fist fights and horse racing; Chancellor Nikita and Field Marshal Pyotr Panin, passionate hunters who forgot their business for the sake of their favorite entertainment civil service; Semyon Naryshkin, the huntsman of the imperial palace and a famous music lover, who was the first to host an orchestra of horn music; Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, who loved to enjoy reading popular popular stories in his spare time, and ... Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin. The Russian poet, who by that time had become a state councilor, did not distinguish himself from this noble sphere, but, on the contrary, emphasized his involvement in the circle of the elite:

That's it, Felitsa, I'm depraved!
But the whole world looks like me.

Later, defending himself from reproaches that he had created an evil satire on famous and respectable courtiers, Derzhavin wrote: “In the ode to Felitsa, I turned ordinary human weaknesses onto myself... I contrasted the virtues of the princess with my stupidities.” The poet, laughing at the quirks of those close to the empress, is not alien to their inherent epicurean attitude to life. He does not condemn their human weaknesses and vices, for he understands that Catherine II surrounded herself with people whose talent serves the prosperity of the Russian state. Derzhavin is flattered to see himself in this company; he proudly bears the title of Catherine’s nobleman.

The poet sings beautiful nature and a Person living in harmony with it. Landscape paintings are reminiscent of scenes depicted on tapestries decorating the salons and living rooms of the St. Petersburg nobility. It is no coincidence that he, who was fond of drawing, wrote that “there is nothing more than talking painting.”

Drawing portraits of important dignitaries, Derzhavin uses the techniques of literary anecdote. In the 18th century, an anecdote was understood as an artistically processed folklore content about a famous historical person or event, having a satirical sound and instructive character. Derzhavin’s portrait of Alexei Orlov takes on an anecdotal character:

Or music and singers,
Suddenly with an organ and bagpipes,
Or fist fights
And I make my spirit happy by dancing;
Or, taking care of all matters
I leave and go hunting
And amused by the barking of dogs...

Indeed, the winner of fist fights, a guards officer, a prize-winner at the races, a tireless dancer and a successful duelist, a reveler, ladies' man, a gambling hunter, the killer of Emperor Peter III and the favorite of his wife - this is how Alexei Orlov remained in the memory of his contemporaries. Some lines depicting courtiers resemble epigrams. For example, about the “bibliophile” preferences of Prince Vyazemsky, who prefers serious popular prints, it is said:

I like to rummage through books,
I will enlighten my mind and heart,
I read Polkan and Bova;
Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.

Although Derzhavin’s irony was soft and good-natured, Vyazemsky could not forgive the poet: he “at least became attached to him, not only mocked him, but almost scolded him, preaching that poets are incapable of doing anything.” Elements of satire appear in the ode where we're talking about about the reign of Anna Ioannovna. The poet indignantly recalled how the well-born prince Mikhail Golitsyn, at the whim of the empress, was married to an ugly old dwarf and made a court jester. In the same humiliating position were representatives of noble Russian families - Prince N. Volkonsky and Count A. Apraksin. “These jesters,” Derzhavin testifies, “while the empress was listening to mass in the church, sat down in baskets in the room through which she went from the church to inner chambers it was supposed to pass, and they cackled like hens; The others all laughed at this, straining themselves. trampling human dignity at all times, according to the poet, is the greatest sin. The teaching contained in the satire is addressed to both the reader and the main character of the ode.
The poet, creating an ideal image of an enlightened monarch, insisted that she was obliged to obey the laws, be merciful, and protect the “weak” and “poor.”

Throughout the ode there are images and motifs “about Prince Chlorus,” composed by the empress for her grandson. The ode begins with a retelling of the plot of the fairy tale, in the main part the images of Felitsa, Lazy, Grumpy, Murza, Chlorine, Rose without thorns appear; the final part has an oriental flavor. The ode ends, as it should, with praise to the empress:

I ask the great prophet
May I touch the dust of your feet,
Yes, your sweetest words
And I will enjoy the sight!
I ask for heavenly strength,
Yes, I spread out my sapphire wings,
They keep you invisibly
From all illnesses, evils and boredom;
May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,
Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.

The theme and image of Catherine II in Derzhavin’s poetry is not limited only to Felitsa; He dedicates the poems “Gratitude to Felitsa”, “Vision of Murza”, “Image of Felitsa”, “Monument” and others to the empress. However, it was ODA “Felitsa” that became “ business card"Derzhavin, it was this work that V. G. Belinsky considered “one of the best creatures"Russian poetry of the XVKL century. In Felitsa, according to the opinion, “the fullness of feeling was happily combined with the originality of the form, in which the Russian mind is visible and Russian speech is heard. Despite its considerable size, this ode is imbued with an internal unity of thought and is consistent in tone from beginning to end.”

Need a cheat sheet? Then save - » Literary analysis of the ode “Felitsa”. Literary essays!

“Felitsa” is one of Derzhavin’s best creations. In it, the fullness of feeling was happily combined with the originality of the form, in which the Russian mind is visible and Russian speech is heard. Despite its considerable size, this ode is imbued with an internal unity of thought and is consistent in tone from beginning to end. Personifying in yourself modern society, the poet subtly praises Felitsa, comparing himself to her and satirically depicting his vices.

V. G. Belinsky

G. R. Derzhavin dedicated many works to representatives of the supreme state power: monarchs, nobles, persons at court. The pathos of these works is not only laudatory, but also accusatory, as a result of which some of them can be classified as satirical. And yet these are vivid, original examples of the poet’s civic lyricism. Among the best poems of the civil cycle is the ode “Felitsa”, dedicated to Empress Catherine II.

The image and name of Felitsa, a wise and virtuous Kyrgyz princess, was taken by the author from “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” which the empress herself wrote for her grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I. This tale told how the Kyrgyz khan kidnapped the Kiev prince Chlorus, about who was famous for being a “reasonable child,” and ordered him to find a rare flower, a symbol of virtue, a rose without thorns. The khan's daughter, Princess Felitsa, helped the prince complete his difficult assignment by giving him her son's Reason as a guide.

In the early 80s of the 18th century, when Felitsa was created, Derzhavin was not yet closely acquainted with the empress. He knew about Catherine only by “hearsay” and sincerely believed that she was in fact who she was trying to pass herself off as - the keeper of the sciences, a modest and fair queen, sacredly honoring the laws and caring for the welfare of the people, sharing with the common people people with all their needs and problems. Therefore, at its core, the poem is in the spirit of a laudatory ode, extolling the merits of the empress.

At the same time, Derzhavin’s ode differs in many ways from the traditional laudatory poems of those times.

The author's innovation is manifested in the combination of genres - ode and satire, and in the use of a new meter and new rhyme, and in the combination of high and low style, and in the novelty of the writer's socio-political views. But the main difference lies in the very interpretation of the image of the ruler.

Derzhavin's image of Felitsa is multifaceted. On the one hand, she is an enlightened monarch, on the other, she is a private citizen. For the first time the author allows himself detailed description Catherine’s appearance, her habits, lifestyle, character traits:

Without imitating your Murzas,

You often walk

And the simplest food happens at your table;

Not valuing your peace,

You read, you write in front of the lectern, And from your pen you shed Bliss to mortals;

Like you don't play cards,

Like me, from morning to morning.

You don't like masquerades too much

And you can’t even set foot in the club;

Keeping customs, rituals,

Don’t be so selfish...

It should be said that Derzhavin’s term “quixoticism” means a violation of socially accepted customs and decency. Such behavior was characteristic of many public people before Catherine. And the author sincerely admires the wisdom of the new empress, who strove to follow “customs” and “rites” in everything.

Speaking about the monarch, the poet does not resort to generalizations, as other writers did before him. He dwells in detail on the very specific merits of the ruler: her patronage of trade and industry, her contribution to the development of sciences and crafts.

In Derzhavin’s view, Catherine is the “god”

Who gave freedom to ride into foreign regions,

He allowed his people to seek silver and gold;

Who allows water and does not forbid cutting down forests;

Orders to weave, and spin, and sew;

Untying the mind and hands,

Tells you to love trading, science and find happiness at home.

Based on the contents of the “Order of the Commission on the Drafting of a New Code” (1768), written by the empress, the author of “Felitsa” endowed his heroine with tact, justice, mercy and condescension:

You just won’t offend the only one,

Don't insult anyone

You see the foolishness through your fingers,

The only thing you cannot tolerate is evil;

You correct misdeeds with leniency,

Like a wolf, you don’t crush people,

You know right away their price.

Unlike her predecessors and predecessors, Catherine did not use sophisticated techniques to intimidate her subordinates. She consciously abandoned the absurd persecution for “crimes against majesty,” expressed in a thoughtlessly spoken word or careless handling of “images” and attributes of the monarch: portraits, books, decrees, etc. Under her ordinary people it was possible to “both know and think”, it was allowed to “speak both true and false”, without fear of severe punishment.

Glorifying the empress for her wise and merciful decrees, Derzhavin notes that now ordinary people could calmly

...whisper in conversations And, without fear of execution, at dinners, do not drink for the health of the kings.

There with the name Felitsa you can scrape out a typo in the line

Or the portrait is carelessly dropped on the ground.

Derzhavin’s merits of the Empress include the pacification of wars and disagreements, and the fact that in her humane actions she is like God himself, who “covered, clothed and fed” the poor and wretched, who does only good, “rests the sick, heals”, creates justice "both mercy and judgment."

The author depicts the main virtues of Catherine as mercy, justice, “conscience with truth,” wisdom in making decisions, decrees, laws, modesty, kindness (“You are ashamed to be considered great in order to be terrible and unloved”). Her reign seems like a real paradise on earth:

Pleasant rivers of tears flow from the depths of my soul.

ABOUT! since people are happy there should be their destiny,

Where is the meek angel, the peaceful angel,

Hidden in the porphyry lightness,

A scepter was sent down from heaven to wear!

However, with all the enthusiasm of the poet praising the merits of the monarch, ironic notes are sometimes traced in the description of the image of the empress. Felitsa “enlightens morals”, writes “teachings in fairy tales,” but at the same time the author points out that poetry is “kind to her... like delicious lemonade in the summer.” And yet, Catherine’s great virtues supplant and cover all her small shortcomings. And presented in a bright, new, original style, they become even more noticeable and significant. That is why this one ode by Derzhavin served to glorify the policies of Catherine II and increase her popularity much more than the odes of all official ode-writers. The poet was summoned to court, awarded and elevated to the post of governor.

But the real revolt in the world of genres was made by Derzhavin. The poet, having recognized true nature as a polyphonic and multi-colored world, in eternal movement and change, limitlessly expanded the boundaries of the poetic. At the same time, Derzhavin’s main enemies were all those who forgot the “public good”, the interests of the people, indulging in sybarism at court.

A significant expansion of the object of poetry required new forms of expression. Derzhavin began this search by changing the established genre system of classicism.

Derzhavin began the immediate “destruction” of the genre of solemn ode with his “Felitsa”, combining praise with satire in it.

The ode “Felitsa” was created in 1782 in St. Petersburg. The friends to whom Derzhavin read it passed an inexorable verdict on the work: the ode is excellent, but it is impossible to publish it due to the non-canonical image of the empress and the satirical portraits of Catherine’s nobles, easily recognizable by contemporaries. With a sigh, Derzhavin put the ode in the bureau drawer, where it remained for about a year. One day, while sorting out the papers, he laid out the manuscript on the table, where the poet Osip Kozodavlev saw it. He begged to read the manuscript, swearing that he would not show the poems to anyone. A few days later, the famous nobleman and lover of literature I.I. Shuvalov, in great alarm, sent for Derzhavin, informing him that His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin was asking for his poems to be read. “What poems? - the poet was surprised. - “Murza to Felitsa.” - “How do you know them?” - “Mr. Kozodavlev gave them to me out of friendship.” - “But how did Prince Potemkin recognize them?” - “Yesterday I had dinner with a company of gentlemen, such as: Count Bezborodko, Count Zavadovsky, Strekalov and others who love literature; when we were talking about how we don’t yet have an easy and pleasant poem, I read your creation to them.” One of the guests, as Shuvalov believed, wanting to please Prince Potemkin, immediately reported these verses to the empress’s favorite. Shuvalov, as an experienced courtier, advised Derzhavin to remove from the ode the lines concerning the “weaknesses” of his Serene Highness, but the poet did not deceive him, rightly believing that if it came to Potemkin full text odes, he will consider himself insulted. Having received the poem and familiarized himself with it, the clever prince pretended that this work had nothing to do with him. Derzhavin breathed a sigh of relief.

In the spring of 1783, the President of the Russian Academy, Ekaterina Dashkova, anonymously published the ode “Felitsa” in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word”, on the recommendation of Kozodavlev, without the knowledge of the author. Dashkova presented the first issue of the magazine to Empress Catherine P. After reading the ode, she was moved to tears and became interested in the author of the work. “Don’t be afraid,” she told Dashkova, “I’m just asking you about someone who knew me so closely, who could describe me so pleasantly that, you see, I’m crying like a fool.” The princess revealed the poet's name and told a lot of good things about him. After some time, Derzhavin received an envelope in the mail containing a gold snuff box sprinkled with diamonds and five hundred gold rubles. Soon the poet was introduced to the empress and received favors from her. The publication of the ode immediately made Derzhavin famous; he became one of the first poets of Russia.

Ode “Felitsa” is an innovative work, bold in thought and form. It includes high, odic, and low, ironic-satirical. Unlike Lomonosov’s odes, where the object of the image was the lyrical state of the poet, for whom state, national interests merged with personal ones, Derzhavin’s ode made the object of poeticization “the man on the throne” - Catherine II, her state affairs and virtues. “Felitsa” is close to a friendly literary message, a word of praise and at the same time a poetic satire.

The poet included in the ode a literary portrait of the empress, which has a moral, psychological, idealized character. Derzhavin tries to reveal the inner world of the heroine, her morals and habits through a description of the actions and orders of Catherine II, her acts of state:

Without imitating your Murzas,

You often walk

And the food is the simplest

Happens at your table;

Not valuing your peace,

You read and write in front of the lectern

And all from your pen

Shedding bliss to mortals...

The lack of portrait descriptions is compensated by the impression that the heroine of the ode makes on others. The poet emphasizes the most important, from his point of view, features of the enlightened monarch: her democracy, simplicity, unpretentiousness, modesty, friendliness, combined with an outstanding mind and talent as a statesman. The poet contrasts the high image of the queen with an ironic portrait of her courtier. This is a collective image that includes the features of Catherine II’s closest associates: His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin, who, despite his breadth of soul and brilliant mind, is distinguished by his whimsical and capricious disposition; favorites of the Empress Alexei and Grigory Orlov, guardsmen-revelers, lovers of fist fights and horse racing; Chancellor Nikita and Field Marshal Pyotr Panin, passionate hunters who forgot the affairs of public service for the sake of their favorite entertainment; Semyon Naryshkin, the huntsman of the imperial palace and a famous music lover, who was the first to host an orchestra of horn music; Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, who loved to enjoy reading popular popular stories in his spare time, and ... Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin. The Russian poet, who by that time had become a state councilor, did not distinguish himself from this noble sphere, but, on the contrary, emphasized his involvement in the circle of the elite:

That's it, Felitsa, I'm depraved!

But the whole world looks like me.

The poet glorifies the beautiful Nature and Man living in harmony with her. Landscape paintings are reminiscent of scenes depicted on tapestries decorating the salons and living rooms of the St. Petersburg nobility. It is no coincidence that the author, who was fond of drawing, wrote that “poetry is nothing more than talking painting.”

Drawing portraits of important dignitaries, Derzhavin uses the techniques of literary anecdote. In the 18th century, an anecdote was understood as an artistically processed story of folklore content about a famous historical person or event, having a satirical sound and instructive character. Derzhavin’s portrait of Alexei Orlov takes on an anecdotal character:

Or music and singers,

Suddenly with an organ and bagpipes,

Or fist fights

And I make my spirit happy by dancing;

Or, taking care of all matters

I leave and go hunting

And amused by the barking of dogs...

Indeed, a winner of fist fights, a guards officer, a prize-winner at horse races, a tireless dancer and a successful duelist, a reveler, a ladies' man, a gambling hunter, the killer of Emperor Peter III and the favorite of his wife - this is how Alexei Orlov remained in the memory of his contemporaries. Some lines depicting courtiers resemble epigrams. For example, about the “bibliophile” preferences of Prince Vyazemsky, who prefers popular literature to serious literature, it is said:

I like to rummage through books,

I will enlighten my mind and heart,

I read Polkan and Bova;

Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.

Elements of satire appear in the ode where it concerns the reign of Anna Ioannovna. The poet indignantly recalled how the well-born prince Mikhail Golitsyn, at the whim of the empress, was married to an ugly old dwarf and made a court jester. In the same humiliating position were representatives of noble Russian families - Prince N. Volkonsky and Count A. Apraksin. “These jesters,” Derzhavin testifies, “while the empress was listening to mass in the church, “sat in baskets in the room through which she had to pass from the church to the inner chambers, and clucked like hens; the rest all the same "They laughed, straining themselves." The violation of human dignity at all times, according to the poet, is the greatest sin. The teaching contained in the satire is addressed to both the reader and the main character of the ode.

The poet, creating an ideal image of an enlightened monarch, insisted that she was obliged to obey the laws, be merciful, and protect the “weak” and “poor.”

Throughout the ode there are images and motifs of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” composed by the empress for her grandson. The ode begins with a retelling of the plot of the fairy tale, in the main part the images of Felitsa, Lazy, Grumpy, Murza, Chlorine, Rose without thorns appear; the final part has an oriental flavor. The ode ends, as it should, with praise to the empress:

I ask the great prophet

May I touch the dust of your feet,

Yes, your sweetest words

And I will enjoy the sight!

I ask for heavenly strength,

Yes, I spread out my sapphire wings,

They keep you invisibly

From all illnesses, evils and boredom;

May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,

Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.

The theme and image of Catherine II in Derzhavin’s poetry is not limited only to Felitsa; He dedicates the poems “Gratitude to Felitsa”, “Vision of Murza”, “Image of Felitsa”, “Monument” and others to the empress. However, it was the ode “Felitsa” that became Derzhavin’s “calling card”; it was this work that V. G. Belinsky considered “one of the best creations” of Russian poetry of the 18th century. In “Felitsa,” according to the critic, “the fullness of feeling was happily combined with the originality of the form, in which the Russian mind is visible and Russian speech is heard. Despite its considerable size, this ode is imbued with an internal unity of thought and is consistent in tone from beginning to end.”

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