The poem "Liberty the Desert Sower" was written in 1823. This is a difficult period in the life of Pushkin. The reaction intensifies, Pushkin is disappointed in freedom-loving dreams. The poet is aware of the futility of impulses for freedom. This poem expresses uncertainty about the effectiveness of the poet's words, the impact of appeals on people, on entire nations.
Literary direction, genre
“The Desert Sower of Freedom” is a late romantic poem by Pushkin. It expresses disappointment in romantic ideals. This is a sample of civil lyrics. The poet considers himself an educator, sowing to the masses life-giving ideas of transformations, changes, even revolutionary ones. The poet's "cry of honor" does not awaken the peoples that Pushkin associates with sheep or other livestock. The lyrical hero gives up and lets events take their course. He resigns himself to the passivity of the peoples, although he accuses them of not supporting the call. These accusations and bitterness reflect Pushkin's romantic worldview.
Theme, main idea and composition
The theme of the poem is disappointment in the great mission of the poet as a herald of truth and freedom. The main idea is connected with the secret hope of the poet. In the second part, the lyrical hero appeals to the peoples, as if waving his hand at the inaction of the crowd. But the poem is not addressed to them, but to those few individuals who are aware of their role in history and can respond to the call. So the main idea is to wake up the personalities in the herds of peaceful peoples.
The epigraph of the poem is taken from the Gospel of Matthew. This is the first line of the parable of the sower. In a parable, Jesus allegorically explained to the disciples how those who hear the Word of God perceive. Only a few listen to it, understand it correctly and live in accordance with it. The sower in the gospel parable is Jesus himself. Pushkin compares his work as a poet, his call for freedom and struggle with the preaching of Jesus. Unlike Jesus, the poet considers his activity futile: "But I only lost time, Good thoughts and works."
The poem is divided into two parts. The first tells about the activities of the sower-poet, whose "life-giving seed" is political poems and sayings. The second part was first part of the draft poem "My careless ignorance", and then distributed in the lists as a separate poem. He was discovered more than once by the police or Section III.
The second part is an appeal to the “peaceful peoples”, whom Pushkin compares with sheep (the flock of God is the gospel image of obedient believers). But in the Gospel we are talking about a grazing herd, while Pushkin uses other images of obedience: the herd is cut or sheared, it walks in a yoke (these are no longer sheep, but oxen), it is beaten with a whip.
Size and rhyme
The poem is written in iambic tetrameter with pyrrhic in almost every line, which makes the harmonious and rhythmic poem more alive, the rhythm seems to “stumble” in it. The poem alternates feminine and masculine rhymes. The rhyming of the first stanza has a peculiar structure: the first four lines are connected by a cross rhyme, and the fourth line is simultaneously connected by a ring rhyme with the last three: AbAbVVb. The second stanza consists of 6 lines connected by a cross rhyme.
Paths and images
The first stanza is full of gospel images and Old Slavonicisms, which makes the syllable sublime: enslaved reins, time, good. The word "desert" means lonely. The clarification "to the star" also refers to the Gospel, where the star symbolizes Jesus, and in Pushkin's allegories - the best times when peoples will no longer be enslaved. The life-giving seed is an allegory of Pushkin's freedom-loving statements. In the first stanza, epithets and metaphorical epithets are very important, expressing the qualitative characteristics of the poet-crier and the enslaved peoples: the desert sower, the hand is pure and innocent, the enslaved reins, the life-giving seed, good thoughts and labors.
Unlike the first stanza, in the second, accusatory, there is only one epithet - peaceful peoples, but it is very capacious: peoples who want peace, not ready to fight. In this stanza, Pushkin uses inconsistent definitions: honor is a cry, gifts of freedom, a yoke with rattles.
Pushkin's main technique in the poem is allegory. The poet uses such figures of speech as silence, rhetorical question and appeal. Due to this, almost all punctuation marks are in the poem.
- "The Captain's Daughter", a summary of the chapters of Pushkin's story
- "Boris Godunov", analysis of the tragedy by Alexander Pushkin
- "Gypsies", analysis of the poem by Alexander Pushkin
The poem "Liberty the Desert Sower" was written in 1823, during the period of southern exile.
The wave of liberation waves in Western and Southern Europe excited Russian society, but the path of revolutions turned out to be unacceptable for the Russian people, which was later proved by the December uprising of 1825.
Pushkin foresaw the inertia of the masses and, with Old Testament wrath, predicted the failure of any attempt to sow the seeds of freedom. He rethinks the biblical parable in an acute social context.
Censorship would not have allowed the work to be printed during Pushkin's lifetime. The poem was published posthumously.
2. Literary direction
Despite the outward archaic style, the work is addressed directly to Pushkin's contemporaries and does not deal with abstract images, but with the most pressing problem of Russian life in the entire 19th century - the problem of serfdom.
The work was written in realistic manner.
3. Genus
The poem is an example civil lyrics.
4. Genre
The genre of the poem message.
The poet addresses "peaceful peoples" and understands that he cannot be heard. His sadness, rather, is addressed to the future.
It indicates that the poet does not feel omnipotent. Even if the sower is good and has a good seed in his hands, it will not germinate on uncultivated wild soil.
5. Issues
The poem deals with social issues.
The problem of freedom according to Pushkin, is not solved by the individual efforts of the creative person. Global changes in the structure of society will become possible only when the need for change becomes obvious to everyone. As long as people do not realize the need for reorganization, it is useless to speak about the values of freedom.
6. Theme
The main theme of the work is the gospel parable of the sower and the grain, which will germinate only when it falls into good soil.
The poem touches upon such topics as "the poet and the crowd" (the sower and the people), vain efforts, Russia's doom to slavery and lack of will.
7. Idea
The idea of the poem is that the movement towards freedom must be comprehensive.
It is useless to wait for a good sower who will come and plant the seeds of freedom. You need to sprout them in your soul, commensurate with the values of freedom of your every act, every word.
It is impossible overnight to make free people out of slaves. It takes a lot of work, and most importantly, personal will to overcome inertia, lack of will and narrow-mindedness. Slavery begins within us, no one can enslave us more than ourselves.
8. Paphos
The poem is written with pathos denial.
The poet appears before us in a rare form: angry and reproachful. He directly throws the accusation of inertia to all those who do not support the ideas of freedom: “What do the herds need the gifts of freedom for? They should be cut or sheared ... "
9. System of images
Traditional gospel images are rethought by Pushkin through the pathos of denial.
Evangelical sower, with which the lyrical hero is compared, does not evaluate the quality of the soil, but only fulfills his duty. The poet sees before him "enslaved reins" - land petrified by social malady.
His seed(poetic word) life-giving, but he understands that the work will be in vain. The people will not take the call for freedom as they should. People will prefer the usual path of peace, contentment and laziness.
Biblical image of a lamb, associated with Jesus Christ and his flock, as a flock of believers, is rethought in an everyday context. The poet emphasizes the lack of will, stupidity, humility of human herds.
As a sentence to mankind, mired in the animal-material elements, the conclusion sounds: “they must be cut or sheared”, as if explaining the position of higher persons in relation to the innocent people.
10. Central characters
The central characters of the poem are the sower and the people.
The sower is active, he is trying to change the world, throwing "life-giving seed" "with a pure and innocent hand."
The people, on the other hand, are passive, “the cry of honor will not wake them up.” He does not need the gifts of freedom.
11. Lyrical hero
The lyrical hero of the poem is the sower. The story is told from his face.
The first part of the poem is devoted to how thoroughly and reverently the sower tries to give people the seeds of freedom. He "went out early, before the star." His hands are pure and innocent, and his heart is full of the dream of ending slavery.
But the soil, the "herds" do not need it. She prefers the familiar “yoke with rattles” and those “enslaved reins” that you can plod along without discussing anything.
12. Plot
The plot of the story is simple. It consists of two parts that describe:
- The sower's attempt to sow good seed.
- Unwillingness of the soil to accept grain
As a conclusion, the last quatrain sounds:
Why do the herds need the gifts of freedom?
They must be cut or sheared.
Their inheritance from generation to generation
A yoke with rattles and a scourge.
13. Composition
Linear the composition reflects the consistent development of the plot.
In the first part(seven lines) glorifies the sower and the value of freedom.
In the second part(seven lines) the crowd is condemned, not ready to hear the "cry of freedom."
14. Size, rhyme, stanza
The poem is written iambic tetrameter.
Feminine and masculine rhymes alternate.
The rhyme scheme in each of the two seven-verses is as follows: ABABVVB.
15. Artistic originality of the work
The sound of the poem emphasizes the difficulty of realizing the task of the sower.
Assonances with "s", "y", "and", difficult to pronounce, viscous alliteration("sv", "tr", "pr") create a feeling of material resistance. It seems as if the ground is hard, impassable, and the sower has to wade through wild weeds to the truth.
The final line looks stiff and biting. The phrase “yoke with rattles” seems to be pronounced through teeth, and the word “scourge” hits backhand.
The syntax of the first stanza is a complex sentence with the adversative conjunction "but". It tells how the sower tried, what a waste of time it turned out to be.
The second stanza consists of an appeal with an appeal: “Graze, peaceful peoples”, a rhetorical question “Why do slaves need gifts of freedom?” and simple sentences containing a sentence to "peaceful peoples".
High-style vocabulary (“desert sower”, “life-giving seed”, “reins”) is combined with the vernacular “yoke with rattles”. The contrast emphasizes the incompatibility of the high ideals of humanism with the very course of Russian life.
16. Means of artistic expression
In the text of the poem there are epithets:"desert sower", "enslaved reins", "peaceful peoples". They emphasize the author's attitude to the theme of the work.
Metaphors“life-giving seed” (poetry), “graze, peoples” (remain humble, compatriots), “yoke with rattles” (power), “scourge” (law) give the work the character of a parable.
The reification of the “herd”, which turns people into cattle, devalues life, devoid of spiritual requests and attempts at liberation.
17. The meaning of the work
Humility was not included in the list of important life values for Pushkin. The significance of this work is that it condemns human passivity.
The famous Pushkin phrase that we are “lazy and incurious”, as well as the end of the tragedy “Boris Godunov” with the words “the people are silent”, confirm the pathos of the poet’s alienation from that part of the people that is not ready for civil understanding.
The poet pronounces a sentence on human indifference and recalls that freedom must be truly desired in order to receive it.
18. Relevance
The theme of freedom, so acutely voiced by Pushkin, is still relevant today. Slavery lives in the souls of people, in their historical memory. Probably, the prediction about the yoke, which is passed "from generation to generation" comes true.
19. My attitude
It is unusual to see Pushkin angry and angry. He is usually perceived as a harmony singer. However, his indifference to the problems of society touches a nerve.
It is felt that the poet is not indifferent to his compatriots. He is sorry that people do nothing for their own good. The poet's soul hurts, and therefore his poems deeply touch and cause bitterness and annoyance.
20. What teaches
The poem "Freedom sower of the desert" teaches indifference and responsibility. To be free, you need to learn to take responsibility for your actions and your whole life.
The poem "Freedom the Desert Sower" is one of the most striking examples of the freedom-loving lyrics of A.S. Pushkin. In it, the poet reflects on the Russian people, raises the problem of their complete inaction in changing the established order. In the work one can hear the author's disappointment in his poetic gift. The wise Litrecon tries not to disappoint you and makes a qualitative analysis of Pushkin's work!
The poem "Freedom the Desert Sower" was created during Pushkin's southern exile, in 1823 in Bessarabia. He was exiled for 4 years for daring to write very successful epigrams to the emperor. Of course, he had to pay much more than exile to the south, but the poet's influential friends helped him avoid the severe wrath of the monarch. These circumstances offended Pushkin's dignity, and he was in a bad mood.
Then the poet was under the control of the police and was deprived of the freedom that he valued so much. At the same time, a wave of revolutionary movements was taking place in Europe, while the people of Russia were silent, not yet ready for change. Disappointment in the surrounding world, in the power of the poetic word, in the role of the poet-herald of freedom, was reflected in this work.
Genre, direction, size
Pushkin's poem is a civic lyric. She is also called freedom-loving, because the poet intertwined independence with citizenship: freedom was for him the main requirement for power. Associating the people with a flock of sheep, the poet laments the existing order in which society is not ready to fight for its rights.
"Freedom the desert figure" is a characteristic poem for the period of romanticism in the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, which is reflected in the vivid conflict of the individual and society depicted here. The inaction of the crowd is opposed to the actions of the poet, who wants to bestow freedom on the souls of people.
The work is written in the classical style for A.S. Pushkin iambic tetrameter. The author uses cross (ABAB) and ring (ABBA, at the end of the first stanza) rhymes. The use of both male and female rhymes gives a special rhythm to the poem.
Images and symbols
Symbols play a special role in the poem, mainly referring to the gospel parable of the sower. A.S. Pushkin points to this already in the epigraph: "The sower went out to sow his seeds." The parable says that only a part of the seeds that Christ sowed will bear fruit. But at least there was a harvest, but in Pushkin's poem it was not: the sower wasted his time in vain. However, by seeds, Pushkin does not mean the word of God, but poetic, freedom-loving and honest. Therefore, the lyrical hero himself calls himself a sower, and the people - obedient herds, who like the yoke around their necks and the scourge of a strong patron. Thus, the author departs from the Gospel interpretation of the flocks, as all believers in God.
- The image of a lyrical hero. This is a poet with a “pure and innocent hand”, who is worthy to sow reasonable, good and eternal. However, he is disappointed by the futility of his efforts and washes his hands: he will no longer disturb the peace of the crowd.
- Herd- a crowd that does not want change and does not heed the call of honor. If in the Bible the flock is the definition of believers who feel insignificant in comparison with God, then in Pushkin's lyrics the view of society changes: humility is not a virtue and a necessity, but a vice. People behave like sheep, they are cut or sheared, but not by Gods, but by representatives of the ruling elite. The poet speaks disparagingly of the people, who do not need the gifts of freedom.
- life-giving seed- political appeals and poems that distinguish Pushkin's work. He repeatedly wrote works directed against the authorities, but the main part of the population did not heed his call.
Topics and issues
- The main theme of the poem is disappointment lyrical in his gift and in the surrounding society. The inability of the poet to influence the souls of the masses, to bring into them the desire for true freedom, leads him to deep sadness. He is sure that all those forces that he gave for the benefit of the people did not make any sense.
- Riot. Pushkin overestimates the gospel interpretation of humility and proclaims new romantic ideals of rebellion against the tyrannical image of the Almighty. The people are not a flock, not cattle, not slaves, but people who must fight for their independence from those who call themselves God's anointed ones.
- Loneliness. This is a problem that prevents the lyrical hero from achieving success, because his strength is clearly not enough to awaken the people. But people do not understand him and bypass the eccentric: he sows what does not sprout. This is also typical of romanticism.
- Poet and poetry. The lyrical hero admits that he was wasting his time trying to bring people to freedom and its understanding. They do not need his help, because it is so good. The life-giving seed of poetry is alien to the ignorant herd, which needs only the satisfaction of primary physiological needs.
- The author raises the most important social problem - slavery. The people are so accustomed to slavery that they cannot imagine their life otherwise. Thus, Pushkin speaks not only of serfs, but also of the nobility, who do not want any changes.
Main idea
So, the author asks the question: does the people need freedom at all? For centuries, being under the yoke of dependence and tsarism, he is afraid of freedom and does not want to hear about it. Therefore, in a poem filled with, it seems, complete disappointment, an appeal is heard to those few people who are not afraid to destroy the existing order. The main idea of the work is the motivation of strong personalities for great changes. The logic is this: if you, the reader, do not consider yourself to be a weak-willed herd, take the life-giving seed and become the one who will change the world for the better.
The meaning of the author's position is that until the people themselves realize the need for freedom, not a single seed will sprout. The soil, that is, the people themselves, is not ready for a new life. That is why the sower is so disappointed. But this only means that the time and efforts of those few who will hear the poet's call will be able to transform the earth into a fertile black soil, where fighters for independence will grow up. But it's not time yet...
Means of artistic expression
Pushkin in the poem "Liberty Sower of the Desert" refers the reader to the gospel images, uses a high syllable, which gives the poem a particularly solemn emotional coloring.
Among the tropes, one can single out epithets (“desert sower”, “life-giving seed”, “peaceful peoples) and metaphors (“honor cry”, “gifts of freedom”, “freedom sower”). They are especially important in the first stanza, in which the author allegorically speaks of his attempts to change the existing order. The work also uses the inversion technique (“But I only lost time”). However, the allegory is the most important here: the lyrical hero associates himself with the sower (which, as mentioned earlier, is a reference to the Gospel), and the people with obedient herds.
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In the work of the famous genius of Russian literature, there are various examples of addressing the religious aspect of human life. So, in the work "Freedom, the desert sower ...", a biblical echo is heard. Well, perhaps the interest in Christian issues in this period of the writer's life is quite natural. Pushkin wrote the lines of this verse in 1823, and this year, as you know, the author spent far from home. The exile to the southern regions contributed to the writer's appeal to reflections on the fate of the Russian people. Pushkin, in particular, is interested in the biblical context of the problem of the existence of Russians. Now let us turn in more detail to this work, the history of the creation of the verse, genre and compositional specifics.
Pushkin - for most readers, perhaps - is associated with something fabulous and bright, childishly naive and romantic. However, having delved into the features of this work, the reader realizes how difficult and sometimes far from the iridescence of hopes Pushkin's thought can be.
Remarque about the history of writing a work
So, 1820s, Pushkin is in exile. At this time, the poet spends a lot of time in philosophical reflections. Specifically, this verse is devoted to the topic of the enslavement of the people, namely the Russian people. The work, unfortunately, did not see the light during the life of the author. As for the composition of the text, this is a monologue, delivered on behalf of the hero. In terms of meaning, the whole work can be divided into two meaningful fragments. Pushkin is a professional in his field, which is why even this example of civil lyrics is equipped with wonderful turns, metaphors and skillful epithets.
The poem "The Prisoner" is a kind of monument to Pushkin's love of freedom. But a verse with the same name is also found in Mikhail Lermontov.
Pushkin was inspired by the events that were sweeping Western Europe at that time. It was a revolution, the collapse of the old order. And this revolution, which miraculously coincided with the life difficulties of the author himself, made Alexander Sergeevich seriously think. And rethink, perhaps, the core values and principles of their own lives. In 1823, Pushkin's exile was four years old, and strict supervision and supervision terribly oppressed the freedom-loving writer. For Pushkin, the need for such a life meant humiliation. In addition, the poet was constantly worried about European revolutionary upheavals, the struggle of Europeans for rights. But nothing of the kind was even brewing in the Russian Empire, and Pushkin was upset by this passivity of his compatriots. Instead of fighting for freedom, for rights, the Russian people preferred the yoke. It is about this, about these problems, that the author writes in a verse, which we analyze in our article. Despite the severity of the issues raised, the work remained lying in a drawer for some time after the death of the author.
In the Russian Empire, however, a reaction is reigning, which - by the very essence of this phenomenon - is disgusted by any manifestations of free thought. Alexander Sergeevich understands - as a person who looks far ahead - that it is futile to strive for freedom in these strange lands, where people are satisfied with their slave position. But can this go on forever?
Pushkin's attitude to change and stagnation
Produced - deeply philosophical, because here the author rethinks for himself the concept of "homeland" and "fatherland". The native land is conceived by Pushkin without interruption from his own role in the history of the Russian Empire. In the text, one can hear an open condemnation of the writer, because Alexander Sergeevich is dissatisfied with the passivity of not only the masses, but also his colleagues. Pushkin's contemporaries are ready to agree to small things, to a titmouse in their hand, to a roof over their heads and a plate of food - as a payment for betraying ideas and the future.
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin worked on his story "The Captain's Daughter" for three years - from 1833 to 1836. We offer readers
None of Pushkin's contemporaries - in the eyes of the poet - was ready to sacrifice himself to great ideas. The writer himself, as a result of his statements, turned out to be in bad standing with the government of the empire, because he did not hide that he was opposed to the existing government, that is, anti-government. At some point, Pushkin realized that he was in disgrace not only in power, but also among ordinary people who criticize his work, hate him, despise and persecute him. And for this attitude, the poet elegantly lyrically reproached his ungrateful public.
Genre originality of the text
"Freedom sower of the desert ...", in its genre specificity, refers to civil lyrics. As for the direction of this work, it is certainly an example of late romanticism. In this verse, one can hear hope, and yet the expectation of change, but at the same time disappointment, sadness, longing, hopelessness from the realization of the unfulfillment of these very hopes and desires. Why is this civil lyrics? Because Pushkin acts here as an educator, the poet tries to convey to people ideas and thoughts about social transformations, changes, even if they are revolutionary changes. But Pushkin's appeals have no effect on the public, and the poet literally associates the masses with the Christian flock. What is a flock? They are sheep, stupid, weak-willed animals. And realizing this, Alexander Sergeevich dropped his hands and stopped the struggle for the enlightenment of the masses. “Let everything go on as usual,” Pushkin probably thought so, and stopped knocking on people's hearts. But at the same time, the poet still accuses the Russian people of passivity, inertia, unwillingness to change.
The subject of the work
The poet writes about such an obvious, but at the same time such a complex thing - about disappointment in the vocation, in the mission of the writer. According to Pushkin, the poet should serve as a herald of truth, the truth, a broadcaster of ideas about freedom. But for all the bitterness, the writer still has a secret hope: it’s just that perhaps the time has not yet come for a revolution (not so much in the country as in the minds of people).
The second part seems more pessimistic than the first. Here the poet addresses the people, but already a little fatally, as if realizing that it is pointless to appeal to people. However, in fact, the writer does not address this crowd of unconscious individuals at all. Pushkin appeals to individuality, to personality, that is, to people who are aware of their historical recognition. These personalities - Pushkin is sure - one day will respond to the poet's cry. Therefore, this work was created with one and only purpose - the awakening of individuality, hiding, sleeping in the crowd.
Alexander Sergeevich provided his text with an epigraph taken from the Gospel of Matthew. This epigraph recalled a parable from the Bible. In these texts, Christ explained the perception of the Word of God. However, not everyone present listened to Jesus, and even fewer people followed Christ's instructions. The image of the sower is a reminder of Christ himself. Pushkin draws parallels with the work of Christ and the work of the poet. Just like Jesus, Alexander Sergeevich fought for freedom and truth. But Jesus thought more positively than the Russian genius.
The revolutionary content of "Freedom ..."
The problem associated with slavery - literal and mental slavery - has always interested researchers of the 19th century. In the literature, this topic has been reflected with a particularly wide resonance. Of course, the likelihood of a work with such content being allowed to go to print was unlikely, especially given the aggressiveness of the authorities of the Russian Empire in relation to opposition-minded people like Pushkin.
It was because of his progressive views that the poet ended up in exile. Having resorted to allegory and metaphor, the writer presented the state of contemporary society in the form of an image of grain. If a seed falls into fertile soil, it grows, and if it does not fall into fertile soil, it dies. In principle, Pushkin will be right that revolutionary sentiments will one day awaken in a people who are still just sleeping. By the way, the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko wrote about similar things in a work under the symbolic title "Dream". After all, soon - not even half a century will pass after the creation of Pushkin's creation - as conversations begin about reforms, about the abolition of serfdom, about granting freedom to the people. Another question is whether the people themselves are ready for this freedom, and is the Russian person capable of accepting the gift that has fallen on his head? However, the empire clearly understands that reforms are a necessary condition for its own survival.
Pushkin's interpretations of the Bible
So, we found out that the author of "Freedom ..." interprets the Bible in his own way. In the center of the story is the hero (the author himself), reflecting on life. The author acts as the sower (the poet is identified with Christ). Why the "desert sower"? This is a very multifaceted and capacious image, because through this phrase Alexander Sergeevich hints to the reader: this land has never been sown before, and he is the first who made an attempt to grow fruits in this desert. But the labors turned out to be in vain, and the hero, disappointed, stopped, as we would say now, "beating his head against the wall."
Compositional features of the text
As we have already said above, the work is substantively divided into two fragments (seven lines). The first fragment speaks of a parable, that is, here lie the biblical meanings that interest us. What is the "life-giving seed" that Pushkin recalls? These are ideas, grains of thoughts, including civil, political orientation. With the second fragment, things are much more interesting, because initially the second part was a draft of another verse, called "My careless ignorance." Sometimes this second part can be found as an independent work. Moreover, this part was considered disgraced and dangerous, and more than once ended up in the police station or the infamous Third Division!
The sower goes out to sow his seeds.
I left early, before the star;
By a pure and innocent hand
In enslaved reins
Threw a life-giving seed -
But I only lost time
Good thoughts and works...
What is so terrible happened in this second part? Here the poet refers to "peaceful peoples". The writer compares these peoples with the flock, the sheep. With the flock of the lambs of God. If in the texts of the Gospels sheep live quite peacefully, helping people with themselves, then in Pushkin's works, sheep are eternally beaten victims.
Graze, peaceful peoples!
The cry of honor will not wake you up.
Why do the herds need the gifts of freedom?
They must be cut or sheared.
Their inheritance from generation to generation
A yoke with rattles and a scourge.
About the size and rhythm of the work
The author - when writing his masterpiece - uses iambic tetrameter, as well as pyrrhic. The latter is present in almost every row of the text. On the one hand, the poem is smooth and even, however, on the other hand, the specificity of the rhythm of the work makes the creation of the Russian genius a ladder with uneven steps, which the reader constantly stumbles over - in an attempt to overcome the heights of Pushkin's thought. There are both masculine and feminine rhymes in the text. As for rhyme, there is both a ring and a cross version of it.
Characteristics of the artistic means of verse
Special attention should be devoted to the images and symbols found in Pushkin's creation. Firstly, these are images drawn from Christianity: from the gospels, parables, biblical legends ... Perhaps this feature makes the verse so sublime. And the Old Slavonicisms (“good”, “reins”, etc.). There are especially many such images and words in the first part of the work. As for the word "desert", there is much more meaning here than it seems at first glance. Perhaps Pushkin encoded the image of loneliness - the desert. Phrases about stars are a reference to the Bible, a star is a symbol of Christ. Pushkin thus shows himself to be a master of allegory.
Among other means of artistic expression, epithets are significant, and one should also pay attention to the metaphorical fullness of the verse.
The second part is more minimalist in terms of artistic means. The phrase about “peaceful peoples” is important here. This is a very capacious epithet, although it is lonely among the waves of other words. There are also omissions, rhetorical questions, appeals in the text... And, among other things, Pushkin used almost all the originality of punctuation marks! Let's look at examples of tropes and figures that he uses in his text
- among the metaphors, we would single out the following: “freedom is the sower of the desert” (central image), “enslaved reins”, “life-giving seed”, “why are the gifts of freedom to the herds”, “their inheritance from generation to generation is a yoke with rattles and a scourge”;
- a separate emphasis should be placed on the images of the sower, seeds, and also a flock of sheep (all these images are found in the Gospels);
- of course, the writer uses many traditional means, for example, epithets (these tropes, in particular, complete the author’s thoughts, make the text complete): “pure and innocent hand”, “good thoughts and labors”, “peaceful peoples”;
- also - in the intonation key - alliteration is important (regarding the sounds "s", "h", "h");
- in the text there are antitheses, inversions, as well as various syntactic devices.
The verse itself is very emotional, sensual, Pushkin attaches great importance to intonation. Of course, the poet worries about the state of society, worries - but not only for people, the people, but also for himself. Why? Because if the masses are like sheep, then such people do not need the work of a poet. This means that Pushkin himself is not needed. Considering that almost every work of the writer is endowed with an imprint of autobiography, it is easy to guess what a difficult state of mind the author was in at that time.
Desert sower of freedom,
I left early, before the star;
By a pure and innocent hand
In enslaved reins
Threw a life-giving seed -
But I only lost time
Good thoughts and works...
Graze, peaceful peoples!
The cry of honor will not wake you up.
Why do the herds need the gifts of freedom?
They must be cut or sheared.
Their inheritance from generation to generation
A yoke with rattles and a scourge.
Pushkin's poem The Sower
Before us is a poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "Freedom Sower of the Desert", which reveals to the reader the attitude of the poet to the political system in Russia, as well as to the inaction of the people in their position.
The plot of Pushkin's poem is a gospel parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed: and when he sowed, another fell along the road and was trampled; and the birds of the air pecked at him. And some fell on a rock, and rising up, withered, because it had no moisture. And something else fell between the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked him. Others fell on good ground and, rising up, brought forth fruit.”* And although some seeds in the Gospel parable sprouted, the conclusion of Pushkin's lyrical hero is less comforting.
As you know, this poem was written in 1823, at that time Pushkin was already in southern exile for the third year, where he was sent for epigrams and free poems that quickly spread in St.
The first line of the poem "Liberty Sower of the Desert" is also the title of the whole work, you can see that Pushkin, as it were, twice focuses on the fact that he brings the birth of the idea of freedom to the masses. He calls the thought of the will "life-giving seed", the epithet "life-giving" is the best fit, as if comparing this seed with life-giving moisture, without which a person cannot live, Pushkin gives weight and desirability to this freedom, which he, as a poet, with his lines promotes to the masses. This is also confirmed by the lexeme with the root “freedom”, the only one repeated 2 times, thereby doubly accentuated by the author.
Alexander Sergeevich gives reverent importance to the thought of freedom, this can be seen from the compositional structure of the poem. Looking at it, we notice that strophicity is present, but we cannot call it constant, since the stanzas are divided into a different number of verses in a stanza. In the first there are 7, in the second 6. Thus, the author divides this poem into two parts, each of which has its own special valuable meaning.
The first 7 lines of the poem are endowed with sublimity, they speak of the great goal of the sower, where he goes “to the star”, is the first to begin to sow freedom in the “enslaved reins”. With these words, Alexander Sergeevich also draws a parallel with himself, since he is also a sower of the idea of freedom through words and his works, but the picture is supplemented by the epithet “desert”, since at that time the poet was alone in his exile and could not help his friends.
Also in the first part of the poem, the reader is given an opposite assessment of the good actions of the sower, when the disappointed lyrical hero of Pushkin himself says that in his desire to help the people "I only lost time, good thoughts and labors ...", Pushkin's lyrical hero is already experiencing lyrical experiences in the correctness of the action taken.
In the second part, the "sower" continues to say that all his actions were in vain, since the people enslaved by this political system "will not be awakened by the cry of honor." And in angry outbursts, as evidenced by the presence of an exclamation mark, he compares peoples with herds that do not live but "graze peacefully" without paying attention to the world around them. In a fit of disappointment, he asks himself a rhetorical question, “What do the herds need the gifts of freedom for?” and he himself answers him that the destiny of the herd is to be sheared. Alexander Sergeevich brings up the idea of peasants locked in serfdom, in need of freedom, but at the same time he understands that they need this freedom if they are satisfied with their inheritance “Their inheritance from generation to generation is a yoke with rattles and a scourge.”
Consider the construction of this poem from the side of the versification system on a fragment of the poem:
Stressed syllables Tonic system
Why do the herds need the gifts of freedom? 2 4 6 8 1"1"1"1"1
They must be cut or sheared. 2 4 6 8 1"1"1"1"
Their inheritance from generation to generation 2 4 6 8 1"1"1"1"1
A yoke with rattles and a scourge. 2 4 6 8 1"1"1"1"
According to this scheme, we can see that Alexander Sergeevich uses such a poetic size as iambic to write his poem, because the stress falls only on even syllables. In the tonic system, the poet adheres to the dolnik, since unstressed syllables between stressed ones fluctuate in the range from 0 to 2.
In the endings of this work, there are both male and female, but the female ones go with a margin of 8/5, which gives the work a more melodic structure. Also in the poem there is a male rhyme with an ending on the last stressed syllable and a female rhyme with an emphasis on the penultimate syllable in relation to 6 male and 7 female, this once again speaks of the melodiousness of the poem, according to the scheme they look like ZHMZHMZHMZHMZHMZHM.
Considering the rhyming system, one can see that Pushkin uses an interesting approach, one verse is a rhyme to two rhyming systems. Consider schematically the last words of the verses:
1 stanza 2 stanza
desert peoples
stars call
innocent freedom
cut the reins
seed childbirth
scourge time
So you can see that the first 4 lines in 1 stanza are combined by a cross rhyme with the ABAB scheme, and right there the last B is part of the BAAB ring rhyme. In the second stanza, we see a cross-rhyme with the ABABAB scheme. It can also be noted that the rhyme is exact, since more than one sound matches in the phoneme.
In this work, one can notice an abundance of epithets for the first stanza: deserted, pure, innocent, peaceful, life-giving, good, enslaved, all of them belong to the high style of speech, which speaks of the beauty of Pushkin's style and brings to the reader's mind a certain sublimity and a sense of beauty. . Alexander Sergeevich also uses comparisons of “life-giving seed” - as the freedom that he can give to the peasants and “enslaved reins” - as serfdom that reigns in Russia.
We also see a very diverse punctuation series:
, ; -- , ... ! . ? . .
which tells us about the different emotional state of the lyrical hero. We can see that his thought process moves from thoughtfulness shown by ellipsis, to emotional outburst (exclamation point) and further to the main question, which should be answered. According to the punctuation series, one can notice that the lyrical hero is not indifferent to the topic he is talking about, and Pushkin speaking through his lyrical hero is also not indifferent.
In the end, I would like to say that Pushkin correctly raised the issue of freedom in his work from the side of the position “Do the peasants need freedom?”, Forcing the reader to think about this issue, and agree or disagree with the opinion of the author.
Literature
- 1 New Testament WWP Minsk, Belarus 2007
- 2 Directory id "ALL" St. Petersburg 2003
- 3 http://www.ref.by/refs/44/9252/1.html
- 4 http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%E5%EA%E0%E1%F0%E8%F1%F2%FB
- 5. http://www.stihi.ru/uchebnik/rifma3.html
- 6 V.E. Khalizev "Theory of Literature" Moscow "Higher School" 1999