How dead souls were created. Who wrote Dead Souls. The last decade of Nikolai Gogol's work

In the poem “Dead Souls” Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol managed to depict the numerous vices of his contemporary. He raised questions that remained relevant still. After reading the summary of the poem, the main character, the reader will be able to find out the plot and main idea, and also how many volumes the author managed to write.

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Author's intention

In 1835, Gogol began work on the poem “Dead Souls.” In the annotation to the poem, the author states that story line future masterpiece was donated by A.S. Pushkin. Nikolai Vasilyevich’s idea was enormous; it was planned to create a three-part poem.

  1. The first volume was supposed to be made primarily accusatory in order to reveal painful places in Russian life, study them, and explain the reasons for their occurrence. In other words, Gogol depicts the souls of the heroes and names the cause of their spiritual death.
  2. In the second volume, the author was going to continue creating a gallery of “dead souls” and, first of all, to pay attention to the problems of the consciousness of the heroes, who are beginning to understand the full extent of their fall and feel for ways out of the state of death.
  3. It was decided to devote the third volume to depicting the difficult process of spiritual resurrection.

The idea of ​​the first volume of the poem was fully implemented.

The third volume has not even been started, but researchers can judge its contents from the book “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” dedicated to intimate thoughts about the ways of transforming Russia and the resurrection of human souls.

Traditionally, the first volume " Dead souls"is studied at school as an independent work.

Genre of the work

Gogol, as you know, in the annotation to the book called “Dead Souls” a poem, although in the process of work he defined the genre of the work in different ways. For brilliant writer following genre canons is not an end in itself; the author’s creative thought should not be constrained by any boundaries and, and soar freely.

Moreover, artistic genius always goes beyond the genre and creates something original. A letter has been preserved, where in one sentence Gogol three times defines the genre of the work he is working on, calling it alternately a novel, a story and, finally, a poem.

The specificity of the genre is associated with the author’s lyrical digressions and the desire to show the national element of Russian life. Contemporaries repeatedly compared Gogol's work with Homer's Iliad.

The plot of the poem

We offer summary by chapter. First comes the annotation to the poem, where, with some irony, the author wrote a call to readers: read the work as carefully as possible, and then send your comments and questions.

Chapter 1

The action of the poem develops in small county town , where the main character named Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich arrives.

He travels accompanied by his servants Petrushka and Selifan, who will play last role in the story.

Upon arrival at the hotel, Chichikov went to the tavern to find out information about the most important people in the city, here he meets Manilov and Sobakevich.

After lunch, Pavel Ivanovich walks around the city and makes several important visits: he meets the governor, vice-governor, prosecutor, and chief of police. The new acquaintance endears himself to everyone, and therefore receives many invitations to social events and home evenings.

Chapter 2

The second chapter details Chichikov's servants. Parsley is distinguished by a silent disposition, a peculiar smell and a passion for superficial reading. He looked through the books without delving particularly into their contents. Chichikov's coachman Selifan, in the author's opinion, did not deserve a separate story, since he had a very low origin.

Further events develop as follows. Chichikov goes out of town to visit the landowner Manilov. It is difficult to find his estate. The first impression that almost everyone got when looking at the owner of Manilovka was was positive. At first it seemed that it was a nice and a kind person, but then it became obvious that he lacked any character, his own tastes and interests. This undoubtedly had a repulsive effect on those around him. There was a feeling that time had stopped in Manilov’s house, flowing sluggishly and slowly. The wife was a match for her husband: she was not interested in housekeeping, considering this task unnecessary.

The guest announces the true purpose of his visit, asks his new acquaintance to sell him peasants who have died, but according to the papers are listed as alive. Manilov is discouraged by his request, but agrees to the deal.

Chapter 3

On the way to Sobakevich, the protagonist's carriage goes astray. To wait out the bad weather That is, Chichikov asks to spend the night with the landowner Korobochka, who opened the door only after she heard that the guest had a noble title. Nastasya Filippovna was very thrifty and thrifty, one of those who would not do anything for nothing. Our hero had to have a long conversation with her about selling the dead shower. The hostess did not agree for a long time, but eventually gave in. Pavel Ivanovich felt great relief that the conversation with Korobochka was over, and continued on his way.

Chapter 4

On the way, he comes across a tavern, and Chichikov decides to dine there; the hero is famous for his excellent appetite. Here I met with an old acquaintance Nozdryov. He was a noisy and scandalous man, constantly getting into trouble because of features of your character: constantly lied and cheated. But since Nozdryov is of great interest to the business, Pavel Ivanovich accepts the invitation to visit the estate.

While visiting his noisy friend, Chichikov starts a conversation about dead souls. Nozdryov is stubborn, but agrees to sell the papers for the dead peasants along with a dog or horse.

The next morning Nozdryov suggests playing checkers at dead Souls, but both heroes try to deceive each other, so the game ends in a scandal. At this moment, the police officer came to Nozdryov to inform him that a case had been opened against him for beating. Chichikov, taking advantage of the moment, disappears from the estate.

Chapter 5

On the way to Sobakevich, Pavel Ivanovich's carriage falls into a small a road accident, the image of a girl from a carriage moving towards him sinks into his heart.

Sobakevich's house is striking in its resemblance to its owner. All interior items are huge and ridiculous.

The image of the owner in the poem is very interesting. The landowner begins to bargain, trying to get more money for the dead peasants. After this visit, Chichikov is left with an unpleasant aftertaste. This chapter characterizes the image of Sobakevich in the poem.

Chapter 6

From this chapter the reader learns the name of the landowner Plyushkin, since he was the next person Pavel Ivanovich visited. The landowner's village could well live richly, if not for the enormous stinginess of the owner. He made a strange impression: at first glance it was difficult to determine even the gender of this creature in rags. Plyushkin sells a large number of shower for the enterprising guest, and he returns to the hotel satisfied.

Chapter 7

Having already about four hundred souls, Pavel Ivanovich is in high spirits and strives to quickly finish his business in this city. He goes with Manilov to the court chamber to finally certify his acquisitions. In court, the consideration of the case drags on very slowly; a bribe is extorted from Chichikov to speed up the process. Sobakevich appears and helps convince everyone of the legitimacy of the plaintiff.

Chapter 8

A large number of souls acquired from landowners give the main character enormous weight in society. Everyone begins to please him, some ladies imagine themselves in love with him, one sends him a love letter.

At a reception with the governor Chichikov is introduced to his daughter, whom he recognizes as the very girl who captivated him during the accident. Nozdryov is also present at the ball, and he tells everyone about the sale of dead souls. Pavel Ivanovich begins to worry and quickly leaves, which arouses suspicion among the guests. Adding to the problems is the landowner Korobochka, who comes to the city to find out about the value of the dead peasants.

Chapters 9-10

Rumors are spreading around the city that Chichikov not clean at hand and is allegedly preparing to kidnap the governor’s daughter.

Rumors are growing with new conjectures. As a result, Pavel Ivanovich is no longer accepted in decent houses.

The city's high society is discussing the question of who Chichikov is. Everyone gathers at the police chief's. A story comes up about Captain Kopeikin, who lost an arm and a leg on the battlefield of 1812, but never received a pension from the state.

Kopeikin became the leader of the robbers. Nozdryov confirms the fears of the townspeople, calling everyone's recent favorite a counterfeiter and a spy. This news shocks the prosecutor so much that he dies.

Main character is hastily preparing to escape from the city.

Chapter 11

This chapter gives a brief answer to the question of why Chichikov bought dead souls. Here the author talks about the life of Pavel Ivanovich. Noble origins was the only privilege of a hero. Realizing that in this world wealth does not come on its own, from an early age he worked hard, learned to lie and cheat. After another fall, he starts all over again and decides to submit information about the dead serfs as if they were alive in order to receive financial payments. That is why Pavel Ivanovich so diligently bought papers from landowners. How Chichikov’s adventures ended is not completely clear, because the hero is hiding from the city.

The poem ends with a wonderful lyrical digression about the three-bird, which symbolizes the image of Russia in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". We will try to briefly outline its contents. The author wonders where Rus' is flying, where is she going?, leaving everything and everyone behind.

Dead Souls - summary, retelling, analysis of the poem

Conclusion

Numerous reviews of Gogol's contemporaries define the genre of the work as a poem, thanks to lyrical digressions.

Gogol's creation has become an immortal and wonderful contribution to the collection of great works of Russian literature. And many questions related to it are still awaiting answers.

One of the most famous works Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” is considered to be. The author worked meticulously on this work about the adventures of a middle-aged adventurer for 17 long years. The history of the creation of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” is truly interesting. Work on the poem began in 1835. Dead Souls was originally conceived as comic work, but the plot kept getting more complicated. Gogol wanted to display the entire Russian soul with its inherent vices and virtues, and the conceived three-part structure was supposed to refer readers to “ Divine Comedy» Dante.

It is known that the plot of the poem was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin. Alexander Sergeevich briefly outlined the story of an enterprising man who sold dead souls to the board of trustees, for which he received a lot of money. Gogol wrote in his diary: “Pushkin found that such a plot of Dead Souls was good for me because it gave me complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out many different characters.” By the way, in those days this story was not the only one. Heroes like Chichikov were constantly talked about, so we can say that Gogol reflected reality in his work. Gogol considered Pushkin to be his mentor in matters of writing, so he read the first chapters of the work to him, expecting that the plot would make Pushkin laugh. However great poet was darker than a cloud - Russia was too hopeless.

The creative story of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” could have ended at this point, but the writer enthusiastically made edits, trying to remove the painful impression and adding comical moments. Subsequently, Gogol read the work in the Askakov family, the head of which was the famous theater critic and public figure. The poem was highly appreciated. Zhukovsky was also familiar with the work, and Gogol made changes several times in accordance with Vasily Andreevich’s suggestions. At the end of 1836, Gogol wrote to Zhukovsky: “I redid everything I started again, thought over the entire plan and now I am writing it calmly, like a chronicle... If I complete this creation the way it needs to be done, then... what a huge, what an original plot! .. All Rus' will appear in it!” Nikolai Vasilyevich tried in every possible way to show all sides of Russian life, and not just the negative, as was the case in the first editions.

Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote the first chapters in Russia. But in 1837 Gogol left for Italy, where he continued to work on the text. The manuscript went through several revisions, many scenes were deleted and redone, and the author had to make concessions in order for the work to be published. Censorship could not allow “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” to be published, since it satirically depicted the life of the capital: high prices, the arbitrariness of the tsar and the ruling elite, abuse of power. Gogol did not want to remove the story of Captain Kopeikin, so he had to “extinguish” the satirical motives. The author considered this part to be one of the best in the poem, which was easier to redo than to remove altogether.

Who would have thought that the history of the creation of the poem “Dead Souls” is full of intrigue! In 1841, the manuscript was ready for printing, but censorship in last moment changed her mind. Gogol was depressed. In upset feelings, he writes to Belinsky, who agrees to help with the publication of the book. After a while, the decision was made in Gogol’s favor, but he was given a new condition: to change the title from “Dead Souls” to “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls.” This was done in order to distract potential readers from relevant social problems, focusing on the adventures of the main character.

In the spring of 1842, the poem was published; this event caused fierce controversy in the literary community. Gogol was accused of slander and hatred of Russia, but Belinsky came to the writer’s defense, highly appreciating the work.

Gogol again leaves abroad, where he continues to work on the second volume of Dead Souls. The work was even more difficult. The story of writing the second part is full of mental suffering and personal drama of the writer. By that time, Gogol felt an internal discord that he could not cope with. Reality did not coincide with the Christian ideals on which Nikolai Vasilyevich was raised, and this gap grew larger every day. In the second volume, the author wanted to portray heroes different from the characters in the first part - positive ones. And Chichikov had to undergo a certain rite of purification, taking the true path. Many drafts of the poem were destroyed by order of the author, but some parts were still preserved. Gogol believed that the second volume was completely devoid of life and truth; he doubted himself as an artist, hating the continuation of the poem.

Unfortunately, Gogol did not realize his original plan, but “Dead Souls” rightfully plays its very important role in the history of Russian literature.

Work test

To work on " Dead souls» Gogol started in 1835. At this time, the writer dreamed of creating a big epic work dedicated to Russia. A.S. Pushkin, who was one of the first to appreciate the uniqueness of Nikolai Vasilyevich’s talent, advised him to take up a serious essay and suggested an interesting plot. He told Gogol about one clever swindler who tried to get rich by pawning the dead souls he bought as living souls on the board of guardians. At that time, many stories were known about real buyers of dead souls. One of Gogol’s relatives was also named among such buyers. The plot of the poem was prompted by reality.

“Pushkin found,” Gogol wrote, “that such a plot of “Dead Souls” is good for me because it gives me complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out many different characters.” Gogol himself believed that in order “to find out what Russia is today, you must certainly travel around it yourself.” In October 1835, Gogol reported to Pushkin: “I began to write Dead Souls.” The plot stretches out into a long novel and, it seems, will be very funny. But now I stopped it on the third chapter. I'm looking for a good sneaker with whom I can get along briefly. In this novel I want to show at least one side of all of Rus'.”

Gogol anxiously read the first chapters of his new work to Pushkin, expecting that they would make him laugh. But, having finished reading, Gogol discovered that the poet became gloomy and said: “God, how sad our Russia is!” This exclamation forced Gogol to take a different look at his plan and rework the material. In further work, he tried to soften the painful impression that “Dead Souls” could have made - he alternated funny phenomena with sad ones.

Most of the work was created abroad, mainly in Rome, where Gogol tried to get rid of the impression made by the attacks of critics after the production of The Inspector General. Being far from his homeland, the writer felt an inextricable connection with it, and only love for Russia was the source of his creativity.

At the beginning of his work, Gogol defined his novel as comic and humorous, but gradually his plan became more complex. In the fall of 1836, he wrote to Zhukovsky: “I redid everything I started again, thought over the whole plan and now I am writing it calmly, like a chronicle... If I complete this creation the way it needs to be done, then... what a huge, what an original plot!.. All Rus' will appear in it!” Thus, in the course of the work, the genre of the work was determined - the poem, and its hero - all of Rus'. At the center of the work was the “personality” of Russia in all the diversity of its life.

After the death of Pushkin, which was a heavy blow for Gogol, the writer considered the work on “Dead Souls” a spiritual covenant, the fulfillment of the will of the great poet: “I must continue the great work that I began, which Pushkin took from me to write, whose thought is his creation and which from now on turned into a sacred testament for me.”

In the fall of 1839, Gogol returned to Russia and read several chapters in Moscow from S.T. Aksakov, whose family he became friends with at that time. Friends liked what they heard, they gave the writer some advice, and he made the necessary amendments and changes to the manuscript. In 1840 in Italy, Gogol repeatedly rewrote the text of the poem, continuing to work hard on the composition and images of the characters, and lyrical digressions. In the fall of 1841, the writer returned to Moscow again and read the remaining five chapters of the first book to his friends. This time they noticed that the poem only shows negative sides Russian life. Having listened to their opinion, Gogol made important insertions into the already rewritten volume.

In the 30s, when an ideological turning point was outlined in Gogol’s consciousness, he came to the conclusion that real writer must not only put on public display everything that darkens and darkens the ideal, but also show this ideal. He decided to embody his idea in three volumes of Dead Souls. In the first volume, according to his plans, the shortcomings of Russian life were to be captured, and in the second and third the ways of resurrecting “dead souls” were shown. According to the writer himself, the first volume of “Dead Souls” is only “a porch to a vast building,” the second and third volumes are purgatory and rebirth. But, unfortunately, the writer managed to realize only the first part of his idea.

In December 1841, the manuscript was ready for publication, but censorship prohibited its release. Gogol was depressed and looked for a way out of this situation. Secretly from his Moscow friends, he turned for help to Belinsky, who arrived in Moscow at that time. The critic promised to help Gogol, and a few days later he left for St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg censors gave permission to publish “Dead Souls,” but demanded that the title of the work be changed to “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls.” In this way, they sought to divert the reader’s attention from social problems and switch it to the adventures of Chichikov.

“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”, plot-related to the poem and having great importance to reveal the ideological and artistic meaning of the work, censorship categorically prohibited it. And Gogol, who treasured it and did not regret giving it up, was forced to rework the plot. In the original version, he laid the blame for the disasters of Captain Kopeikin on the tsar’s minister, who was indifferent to fate ordinary people. After the alteration, all the blame was attributed to Kopeikin himself.

In May 1842, the book went on sale and, according to the recollections of contemporaries, was sold out in great demand. Readers immediately divided into two camps - supporters of the writer’s views and those who recognized themselves in the characters of the poem. The latter, mainly landowners and officials, immediately attacked the writer, and the poem itself found itself at the center of the journal-critical struggle of the 40s.

After the release of the first volume, Gogol devoted himself entirely to work on the second (begun back in 1840). Each page was created tensely and painfully; everything written seemed to the writer to be far from perfect. In the summer of 1845, during a worsening illness, Gogol burned the manuscript of this volume. Later he explained his action by saying that “paths and roads” to the ideal, revival human spirit did not receive sufficiently truthful and convincing expression. Gogol dreamed of regenerating people through direct instruction, but he could not - he never saw the ideal “resurrected” people. However, his literary endeavor was later continued by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, who were able to show the rebirth of man, his resurrection from the reality that Gogol so vividly depicted.

All topics in the book “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol. Summary. Features of the poem. Essays":

Summary poem "Dead Souls": Volume one. Chapter first

Features of the poem “Dead Souls”

“Dead Souls” is a work by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, the genre of which the author himself designated as a poem. It was originally conceived as a three-volume work. The first volume was published in 1842. The almost finished second volume was destroyed by the writer, but several chapters were preserved in drafts. The third volume was conceived and not started, only some information about it remained.

Gogol began work on Dead Souls in 1835. At this time, the writer dreamed of creating a large epic work dedicated to Russia. A.S. Pushkin, who was one of the first to appreciate the uniqueness of Nikolai Vasilyevich’s talent, advised him to take up a serious essay and suggested an interesting plot. He told Gogol about one clever swindler who tried to get rich by pawning the dead souls he bought as living souls on the board of guardians. At that time, many stories were known about real buyers of dead souls. One of Gogol’s relatives was also named among such buyers. The plot of the poem was prompted by reality.

“Pushkin found,” Gogol wrote, “that such a plot of Dead Souls is good for me because it gives me complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out many different characters.” Gogol himself believed that in order “to find out what Russia is today, you must certainly travel around it yourself.” In October 1835, Gogol reported to Pushkin: “I began to write Dead Souls. The plot stretches out into a long novel and, it seems, will be very funny. But now I stopped it on the third chapter. I'm looking for a good sneaker with whom I can get along briefly. In this novel I want to show at least one side of all of Rus'.”

Gogol anxiously read the first chapters of his new work to Pushkin, expecting that they would make him laugh. But, having finished reading, Gogol discovered that the poet became gloomy and said: “God, how sad our Russia is!” This exclamation forced Gogol to take a different look at his plan and rework the material. In further work, he tried to soften the painful impression that “Dead Souls” could have made - he alternated funny phenomena with sad ones.

Most of the work was created abroad, mainly in Rome, where Gogol tried to get rid of the impression made by the attacks of critics after the production of The Inspector General. Being far from his homeland, the writer felt an inextricable connection with it, and only love for Russia was the source of his creativity.

At the beginning of his work, Gogol defined his novel as comic and humorous, but gradually his plan became more complex. In the fall of 1836, he wrote to Zhukovsky: “I redid everything that I started again, I thought about the whole plan and now I am writing it calmly, like a chronicle... If I complete this creation the way it needs to be done, then... how huge, how original plot!.. All Rus' will appear in it!” Thus, in the course of the work, the genre of the work was determined - the poem, and its hero - all of Rus'. At the center of the work was the “personality” of Russia in all the diversity of its life.

After the death of Pushkin, which was a heavy blow for Gogol, the writer considered the work on “Dead Souls” a spiritual covenant, the fulfillment of the will of the great poet: “I must continue the great work that I began, which Pushkin took from me to write, whose thought is his creation and which from now on turned into a sacred testament for me.”

Pushkin and Gogol. Fragment of the monument to the Millennium of Russia in Veliky Novgorod.
Sculptor. I.N. Shredder

In the fall of 1839, Gogol returned to Russia and read several chapters in Moscow from S.T. Aksakov, with whose family he became friends at that time. Friends liked what they heard, they gave the writer some advice, and he made the necessary amendments and changes to the manuscript. In 1840 in Italy, Gogol repeatedly rewrote the text of the poem, continuing to work hard on the composition and images of the characters, and lyrical digressions. In the fall of 1841, the writer returned to Moscow again and read the remaining five chapters of the first book to his friends. This time they noticed that the poem showed only the negative sides of Russian life. Having listened to their opinion, Gogol made important insertions into the already rewritten volume.

In the 30s, when an ideological turning point was outlined in Gogol’s consciousness, he came to the conclusion that a real writer must not only put on public display everything that darkens and obscures the ideal, but also show this ideal. He decided to embody his idea in three volumes of Dead Souls. In the first volume, according to his plans, the shortcomings of Russian life were to be captured, and in the second and third the ways of resurrecting “dead souls” were shown. According to the writer himself, the first volume of Dead Souls is just “a porch to a vast building,” the second and third volumes are purgatory and rebirth. But, unfortunately, the writer managed to realize only the first part of his idea.

In December 1841, the manuscript was ready for publication, but censorship prohibited its release. Gogol was depressed and looked for a way out of this situation. Secretly from his Moscow friends, he turned for help to Belinsky, who arrived in Moscow at that time. The critic promised to help Gogol, and a few days later he left for St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg censors gave permission to publish “Dead Souls,” but demanded that the title of the work be changed to “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls.” In this way, they sought to divert the reader’s attention from social problems and switch it to the adventures of Chichikov.

“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” which is plot-related to the poem and is of great importance for revealing the ideological and artistic meaning of the work, was categorically banned by censorship. And Gogol, who treasured it and did not regret giving it up, was forced to rework the plot. In the original version, he placed the blame for the disasters of Captain Kopeikin on the tsar’s minister, who was indifferent to the fate of ordinary people. After the alteration, all the blame was attributed to Kopeikin himself.

Even before receiving the censored copy, the manuscript began to be typed at the printing house of Moscow University. Gogol himself undertook to design the cover of the novel, writing in small letters “The Adventures of Chichikov, or” and in large letters “Dead Souls.”

On June 11, 1842, the book went on sale and, according to contemporaries, was sold out like hot cakes. Readers immediately divided into two camps - supporters of the writer’s views and those who recognized themselves in the characters of the poem. The latter, mainly landowners and officials, immediately attacked the writer, and the poem itself found itself at the center of the journal-critical struggle of the 40s.

After the release of the first volume, Gogol devoted himself entirely to work on the second (begun back in 1840). Each page was created tensely and painfully; everything written seemed to the writer to be far from perfect. In the summer of 1845, during a worsening illness, Gogol burned the manuscript of this volume. Later, he explained his action by the fact that the “paths and roads” to the ideal, the revival of the human spirit, did not receive sufficiently truthful and convincing expression. Gogol dreamed of regenerating people through direct instruction, but he could not - he never saw the ideal “resurrected” people. However, his literary endeavor was later continued by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, who were able to show the rebirth of man, his resurrection from the reality that Gogol so vividly depicted.

Draft manuscripts of four chapters of the second volume (in incomplete form) were discovered during the opening of the writer’s papers, sealed after his death. The autopsy was performed on April 28, 1852 by S.P. Shevyrev, Count A.P. Tolstoy and Moscow civil governor Ivan Kapnist (son of the poet and playwright V.V. Kapnist). The whitewashing of the manuscripts was carried out by Shevyrev, who also took care of their publication. Lists of the second volume were distributed even before its publication. For the first time, the surviving chapters of the second volume of Dead Souls were published as part of Full meeting Gogol's works in the summer of 1855.

DEAD SOULS

Poem N.V. Gogol.


It was started by Gogol in October 1835 and completed in 1840. The first volume of the book was published in 1842 under the title “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls.” The second volume was burned by the author in 1852; only a few chapters of the draft survived.
The story that became the basis of the plot of the poem was told to Gogol A.S. Pushkin. The events take place in the 30s of the nineteenth century. in one of the central provinces (cm.) Russia. The work is written in the travel genre. The main character of the poem, Pavel Ivanovich, travels around the province in order to buy the so-called “dead souls,” that is, serfs ( cm., ), who recently died, but until the new revision are listed as living. Chichikov needs “dead souls” in order to pawn them and, having received a significant amount of money and land, get rich. Chichikov's travels give the author the opportunity to depict a wide panorama Russian life, show the whole gallery satirical images landowners and officials ( cm.). In accordance with the genre, the poem, in addition to the main line, includes lyrical digressions. The most famous of them is dedicated to Russia, which the author compares with threesome1, flying somewhere into the distance, forward: Eh, three! bird three, who invented you?
The poem "Dead Souls" remained unfinished. Gogol failed to complete the second volume, where it was supposed to bring goodies , show the possibility of correction social evil
preaching moral principles.
The heroes of the book, satirically depicted by Gogol, were perceived by the reader as types of human characters, embodying such vices as stupidity, stinginess, rudeness, deceit, and boasting. It is they, and not the dead peasants, who are ultimately perceived as “dead souls,” that is, as people “dead in spirit.” cm. The poem “Dead Souls” was enthusiastically received by Gogol’s contemporaries and still remains among the favorite works of Russian readers. It is regularly included in school ( ) programs for literature of the 19th century
V. The poem has been repeatedly illustrated, dramatized and filmed. The best illustrators “Dead Souls” were artists A.A. Agin and P.M. Boklevsky. One of the best dramatizations of the poem was made M.A. Bulgakov For Moscow Art Theater
in 1932 The surnames of the main characters of the book began to be perceived as common nouns. Each of them can be used as a disapproving characteristic of a person.This is real Plyushkin can be said about a painfully stingy person; In a box they can call a mentally limited woman, a hoarder, completely immersed in the household; Sobakevich - an impolite, rude person with a strong appetite and clumsiness; bear Nozdrev - a drunkard and a brawler; Chichikov
- entrepreneur-swindler. From last name Manilov the concept was formed manilovism
- that is, a dreamy and inactive attitude towards the environment. Some phrases of the poem became popular. For example:; And what Russian doesn’t like driving fast?!; A lady who is pleasant in every way Historical man (about constantly falling into); different stories.
Rus', where are you going? Give an answer. Doesn't answer

Portrait of N.V. Gogol. Artist F. Moller. 1841:


Chichikov. From the album “Types from Dead Souls.” Artist A.M. Boklevsky. 1895:


Still from the TV movie M.A. Schweitzer "Dead Souls". Plyushkin - I. Smoktunovsky:


Sobakevich. From the album “Types from Dead Souls.” Artist A.M. Boklevsky. 1895:

Manilov. From the album “Types from Dead Souls.” Artist A.M. Boklevsky. 1895:. Russia. Large linguistic and cultural dictionary. - M.: State Institute of Russian Language named after. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. 2007 .

See what "DEAD SOULS" are in other dictionaries:

    Dead Souls- This article is about the poem by N.V. Gogol. For film adaptations of the work, see Dead Souls (film). Dead souls ... Wikipedia

    Dead Souls- DEAD SOULS. 1. Non-existent, invented people for some kind of fraud or personal gain. It somehow occurred to me: Gogol invented Chichikov, who goes around and buys “dead souls”, and so shouldn’t I invent young man who went... ... Phrasebook Russian literary language

    dead Souls- noun, number of synonyms: 1 dead souls (1) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

    "Dead Souls"- DEAD SOULS is the title of the poem by N.V. Gogol (1st volume published in 1842). Before Gogol, this expression was not used and the writer’s contemporaries were struck by it as strange, contradictory, and even unlawful. For the author of the poem, it literally means... ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

    Dead Souls- 1. Book. or publ. People fictitiously registered where l. F 1, 179. 2. Jarg. Arm. Joking. iron. Civilian soldiers (musicians, artists, athletes) who are employed in military positions and carry out special assignments from their superiors. Cor... Big dictionary Russian sayings

    Dead Souls (poem)- Dead Souls (first volume) Title page of the first edition Author: Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol Genre: Poem (novel, novel poem, prose poem) Original language: Russian ... Wikipedia

    Dead Souls (film, 1984)- This term has other meanings, see Dead Souls (film). Dead souls Genre... Wikipedia

    Dead Souls (film, 1960)- This term has other meanings, see Dead Souls (film). Dead souls ... Wikipedia

    Dead Souls (film- Dead Souls (film, 1960) Dead Souls Genre Comedy Director Leonid Trauberg Scriptwriter Leonid Trauberg Starring ... Wikipedia