Early romantic works of A.M. Gorky
Presentation for 11th grade students
“So, to the question: why did I start writing? - I answer: due to the force of pressure on me from the “languorously poor life”... A.M.Gorky
- “The first reason made me try to bring into the “poor” life such fictions, “fictions” as “The Tale of the Falcon and Already”, “The Legend of the Burning Heart”, “The Petrel”...
- Revolutionary forebodings introduced the heroism of struggle and the pathos of the affirmation of a free man into the writer’s work. The rebellious pathos of Gorky's early works took the form of allegorical tales and poems.
- “This inclination towards fantasy...manifests itself in art as an inclination towards romance...”
- V. Vorovsky
- a dream that was ahead of reality
- Gorky's romantic legacy of the 90s:
- 1. “Makar Chudra” - 1892
- 2. “The Girl and Death” 1892
- 4. “About the siskin who lied, and about the woodpecker who loves truth” - 1893.
- 5. “Old Woman Izergil” -1894.
- 6. “Song of the Falcon” - 1895
- 7. “Khan and his son” -1986
"The Girl and Death"
The girl stands before Death, boldly
Expecting a terrible blow.
Death mutters - he took pity on the victim:
- Look how young you are!
Why were you rude to the king there?
I'll kill you for this!
- “Don’t be angry,” the girl answered, “
Why are you angry with me?
Kissed me for the first time, darling
Under the green elderberry bush, -
Was I before the Tsar at that time?
Well, the Tsar, as a sin, flees from the war.
I tell him, the king,
Get out of here, Father!
Okay, as if I'm saying,
And look, it turned out so bad!
Well?! There is nowhere to escape from Death;
Apparently, I will die without loving.
Death! I beg you with all my heart -
Give me another kiss!
Death is silent thoughtfully and strictly,
She sees that she can’t interrupt this song!
There is no god in the world more beautiful than the sun,
There is no fire - the fire of love is more wonderful!
There is no more earth or sky.
And the soul is full of unearthly power,
And an unearthly light burns in the soul.
There is no more fear of Fate.
And neither God nor people are needed!
Like a child, I am happy with myself,
And love admires itself!
The romantic works of M. Gorky are characterized by bright colors and rich metaphors.
- Portrait of Loiko
“The mustache fell on the shoulders and laughed
played around with curls, eyes like
clear stars are shining and smiles
ka - the whole sun, by God!
as if it was forged from one
a piece of iron along with a horse.”
- “Words can’t even say about her, this Radda.”
- Nothing. Maybe her beauty could be
- play the violin, and even then to the one who played the violin,
- how he sees his soul."
Compositionally early works are built like a story within a story
Introductory story
2nd story
Presentation completed Russian language teacher and literature Gavrilova Tatyana Vladimirovna MKOU "Sosnovskaya Secondary School"
The beginning of the 90s of the 19th century was a difficult and uncertain time. Chekhov and Bunin, Gorky's senior contemporaries, depict this period in their works with utmost realistic truthfulness. Gorky himself declares the need to search for new paths in literature. In a letter to Pyatnitsky dated July 25, 1900, he writes: “The task of literature is to capture in colors, words, sounds, and forms what is best, beautiful, honest, noble in a person. In particular, my task is to awaken a person’s pride in himself, to tell him that he is the best, the most sacred thing in life and that besides him there is nothing worthy of attention. The world is the fruit of his creativity, God is a particle of his mind and heart...” The writer understands that in reality modern life a person is oppressed and powerless, and therefore says: “The time has come for romance...”
Indeed, features of romanticism predominate in Gorky's early stories. First of all, because they depict a romantic situation of confrontation strong man(Danko, Larra, Sokol) with the world around him, as well as the problem of man as an individual in general. The action of the stories and legends is transferred to fantastic conditions (“He stood between the boundless steppe and the endless sea”). The world of the works is sharply divided into light and darkness, and these differences are important when assessing the characters: after Larra there remains a shadow, after Danko there are sparks.
Gorky uses elements of folklore. He animates nature (“The darkness of the autumn night shuddered and looked around timidly, revealing the steppe and the sea...”). Man and nature are often identified and can even talk (Rahim's conversation with the wave). Animals and birds acting in the stories become symbols (Uzh and Falcon). Using the genre of legend allows the writer to most clearly express his thoughts and ideas in allegorical form.
Gorky clearly gives preference to people free from the laws of society. His favorite heroes are gypsies, beggars, and thieves. It cannot be said that the writer idealizes thieves, but the same Chelkash, from the point of view of moral qualities, stands disproportionately higher than the peasant. A man obsessed with a dream, a Man with a capital M, is much more interesting for a writer. The central figure of Gorky's early romantic work is introduced in the poem “Man”. Man is called to illuminate the whole world, to unravel the knots of all delusions, he is “tragically beautiful.” Danko is depicted in the same way: “I’m going to burn as brightly as possible and to illuminate the darkness of life more deeply. And death for me is my reward.” Gorky directly contrasts the concepts of “people” and “man”: “I want each of the people to be a “Man”!”
The question of human freedom is also fundamental for Gorky. The theme of a free man - main topic his first story “Makar Chudra”, as well as many other works, including “Songs of the Falcon”. The concept of “freedom” for the writer is associated with the concepts of “truth” and “feat”. If in the story “Makar Chudra” Gorky is interested in freedom “from something,” then in “Old Woman Izergil” he is interested in freedom “in the name of.” Larra, the son of an eagle and a woman, is not human enough to be with people, but also not an eagle enough to do without people. His lack of freedom lies in his selfishness, and therefore he is punished by loneliness and immortality, and after him only a shadow remains. Danko, on the contrary, turns out to be more a free man because he is free from himself and lives for the sake of others. Danko’s act can be called a feat, because a feat for Gorky is highest degree freedom from self-love.
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Other writings:
- Early writing time romantic stories Gorky - the beginning of the 90s of the 19th century, a difficult and uncertain time. Chekhov and Bunin, Gorky's senior contemporaries, depict this period in their works with utmost realistic truthfulness. Gorky himself declares the need to search for new Read More ......
- “Song of the Falcon” (1895) belongs to early creativity M. Gorky. Later, the writer recalled the period of the 1880s: “I personally see myself at that time as a dreamer, a poet...”. And Korolenko, having read the first works young writer, said: “I told you that you are a realist! Read More......
- Yeiskaya and American literature late XVIII - first half of the 19th century century. The epithet “romantic” in the 17th century served to characterize adventurous and heroic stories and works written in Romance languages (as opposed to those created in classical languages). In the 18th century Read More ......
- On the eve and during the years of the first Russian revolution, Gorky rises to a new level in his ideological and artistic development. Having connected his creativity and socio-literary work with the proletariat and Russian revolutionary social democracy, Gorky now saw with particular clarity in the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, that Read More ......
- Proud defiance of fate and daring love of freedom. Heroic character. The romantic hero strives for unfettered freedom, without which there is no true happiness for him and which is more valuable than life itself. At an early stage of his creativity, the writer turned to romanticism, thanks to which he created a series of Read More......
- The system of images in Gorky's stories is completely subordinated to the author's desire to reveal the main theme of his works. The heroes of Gorky's romantic works are exceptional people. This is how Rada and Loiko, the heroes of the story “Makar Chudra,” are depicted. The beauty, strong feelings and decisive actions of the heroes delight the old Read More......
- The basis of Gorky's romantic concept is the motives of protest and rebellion. The writer did not accept the motive of tragic loneliness and doom of the romantic hero of the past. Therefore, even the tragic outcome of the conflict in Gorky’s romantic works is not perceived as defeat. So, the death of Danko or the death of Falcon Read More ......
- The beginning of the 90s of the 19th century was a difficult and uncertain time. Chekhov and Bunin, Gorky's senior contemporaries, depict this period in their works with utmost realistic truthfulness. Gorky himself declares the need to search for new paths in literature. In a letter to Pyatnitsky Read More......
The early works (1892-1899) of M. Gorky are filled with a romantic mood. These are “Makar Chudra”, “Old Woman Izergil”, “Song of the Falcon”. It cannot be stated unequivocally that early stories author are created only within the framework of romanticism: Gorky at the same time also created realistic works - “Emelyan Pilyai”, “My Companion”, “Konovalov”, “The Orlov Spouses”, “Malva”, etc. M. Gorky’s romanticism is, first of all, atmosphere - night, ancient stories and legends, incredible love stories and colorful characters. The main concepts of the author’s romantic works are “freedom”, “independence”, “struggle”, which corresponded to the revolutionary spirit of the times: “ Only he is worthy of life and freedom who goes to battle for them every day"(Goethe).
Romantic stories are born from the desire to contrast the tired, measured, monotonous reality with its spiritual poverty and degradation with the rise of human fantasy, heroism, the desire “for freedom, for light,” the thirst for realization in the world, the passion for recognition. Gorky's heroes stand above everyday life and everyday life. They are not content with the “average”; they strive for the high, the eternal.
The center of the story “Makar Chudra” is the clash of two strong and independent characters – Radda and Loiko Zobar. Both long for love, but this is a different love - love is passion, love is fire, love is beauty And love-freedom, love-independence simultaneously. The heroes' thirst for freedom reaches the extreme: heroes are able to pay for not being subject to someone own life. The love of freedom and beauty of the heroes are poeticized by the author and raised to the ideal. The tragic legend about Radda and Loiko is told by Makar Chudra, who contrasts them to modern man: “They are funny, those people of yours. They’re huddled together and crushing each other, and there’s so much room on earth.”
From conflict between heroes M. Gorky in the story “Old Woman Izergil” moves on to conflict "hero-society". This conflict is deeper, psychologically and socially acute. From the numerous legends and stories told by the Old Woman, the images of Larra - the son of a woman and an eagle, Danko - “the best of all”, etc. are born. Larra, for his selfishness and desire to rule over people, was punished with freedom and the impossibility of ending his life earlier than intended: " This is how the man was struck for his pride!" Danko, at the cost of his life, tried to lead his fellow tribesmen to freedom and light: “ It burned so brightly. Like the sun and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch great love to people" But Danko’s sacrifice went unnoticed: because of fatigue, people refused to continue on their way. The story of Izergil herself, which serves as a link between the two legends, is full of dedication and feat, which the author emphasizes the presence of heroism in man. 
It is noteworthy that in his stories Gorky brings the private to the level of the global. Thus, in “Makar Chudra” the proud figures of Radda and Loiko turned into the clouds, where the second tries, but cannot overtake the first. In “Old Woman Izergil” the sparks of Danko’s heart turned into “ blue sparks of the steppe that appear before a thunderstorm.”
“Song of the Falcon” depicts the collision of two truths – the truth of the Falcon, “ happiness of battle", and the truth of the Snake: " Fly or crawl, the end is known: everyone will fall into the ground, everything will be dust" Despite the measured and thoughtful position of the Snake, the author is on the side of the “fighting” Falcon: “ The madness of the brave is the wisdom of life».
Contrary to use Gorky's works in revolutionary propaganda, their meaning is deeper: these stories are the author’s philosophical reflection on the nature of humanity in man.
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Romanticism as a movement in literature arose in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and became most widespread in Europe in the period from 1790 to 1830. The main idea of romanticism was the assertion creative personality, and its peculiarity is the violent depiction of emotions. The main representatives of romanticism in Russia were Lermontov, Pushkin and Gorky.
Gorky's romantic mood was prompted by growing discontent in society and the expectation of change. It was thanks to the protest against “stagnation” that images of heroes who were capable of saving the people, leading them out of darkness, and showing them the right path began to appear in the writer’s head. But this path seemed completely different to Gorky, different from his usual existence; the author despised everyday life and saw salvation only in freedom from social shackles and conventions, which was reflected in his early stories.
Historically, this period of Gorky’s creativity coincided with the heyday revolutionary movements in Russia, whose views the author clearly sympathized with. He sang the image of a selfless and honest rebel, consumed not by greedy calculations, but by romantic aspirations to change the world for the better and destroy an unjust system. Also, in his works of that time, a craving for freedom and unrealistic ideals was revealed, because the writer had not yet seen the changes, but only had a presentiment of them. When dreams of something new social order acquired real shape, his work was transformed into socialist realism.
Main features
The main feature of romanticism in Gorky’s work is the clear division of characters into bad and good, that is, there are no complex personalities, a person has either only good qualities, or only bad. This technique helps the author to more clearly show his sympathy and highlight those people who need to be imitated.
In addition, in all of Gorky’s romantic works a love for nature can be traced. Nature is always one of the main acting characters, and all romantic moods are transmitted through her. The writer loved to use descriptions of mountains, forests, seas, endowing every particle of the surrounding world with its own character and behavior.
What is revolutionary romanticism?
The early romantic works of Zhukovsky and Batyushkov were based on the ideas of classicism and, in fact, were a direct continuation of it, which did not correspond to the sentiments of progressive and radically thinking people of that period. There were few of them, so romanticism acquired classical forms: conflict between the individual and society, an extra person, longing for an ideal, etc. However, time passed, and there were more and more revolutionary-minded citizens.
The divergence of literature and popular interests led to a change in romanticism, to the emergence of new ideas and techniques. The main representatives of the new revolutionary romanticism were Pushkin, Gorky and the Decembrist poets, who, first of all, promoted progressive views on the prospects for the development of Russia. The main theme was folk identity - the possibility of independent existence of peasants, hence the term nationality. New images began to appear, and the main ones among them were the genius poet and hero, capable at any moment of saving society from an impending threat.
Old Isergil
In this story there is a contrast between two characters and two types of behavior. The first is Danko - an example of that very hero, the ideal who must save the people. He feels free and happy only when his tribe is free and happy. The young man is filled with love for his people, sacrificial love, which personifies the spirit of the Decembrists, who were ready to die for the well-being of society.
Danko saves his people, but at the same time dies himself. The tragedy of this legend is that the tribe forgets its heroes, it is ungrateful, but for the leader this is not important, because the main reward for the feat is the happiness of the people for whom it was accomplished.
The antagonist is the son of the eagle, Larra, he despised people, despised their way of life and law, he recognized only freedom, turning into permissiveness. He did not know how to love and limit his desires; as a result, he was expelled from the tribe for violating social foundations. Only then did the proud young man realize that without the people he was nothing. When he is alone, no one can admire him, no one needs him. Having shown these two antipodes, Gorky brought everything to one conclusion: the values and interests of the people should always be higher than your values and interests. Freedom is to free people from the tyranny of the spirit, ignorance, that darkness that hid behind the forest, unsuitable for life for the Danko tribe.
It is obvious that the author follows the canon of romanticism: here is the confrontation between the individual and society, here is the longing for the ideal, here is the proud freedom of loneliness and extra people. However, the dilemma about freedom was not resolved in favor of Larra’s proud and narcissistic loneliness; the writer despises this type, glorified by Byron (one of the founders of romanticism) and Lermontov. Its perfect romantic hero- this is the one who, being above society, does not renounce it, but helps it even when it persecutes the savior. In this feature, Gorky is very close to the Christian understanding of freedom.
Makar Chudra
In the story “Makar Chudra,” freedom is also the main value for the heroes. The old gypsy Makar Chudra calls her the main treasure of a person; in her he sees an opportunity to preserve his “I”. Revolutionary romanticism is colorfully manifested precisely in this understanding of freedom: the old man claims that under conditions of tyranny a moral and gifted individual will not develop. This means that it is worth taking risks for the sake of independence, because without it the country will never become better.
Loiko and Radda have the same message. They love each other, but see marriage only as chains and shackles, and not as a chance to find peace. As a result, the love of freedom, which so far appears in the form of ambition, since the heroes cannot use it correctly, leads to the death of both characters. Gorky puts individualism above marriage ties, which only lull creative and mental capacity a person with everyday worries and petty interests. He understands that it is easier for a loner to sacrifice his life for the sake of freedom, it is easier to find complete harmony with his inner world. After all, married Danko cannot really rip out the heart.
Chelkash
The main characters of the story are the old drunkard and thief Chelkash and the young village boy Gavrila. One of them was going to go on a “deal,” but his partner broke his leg, and this could complicate the whole operation, and that’s when the experienced rogue met Gavrila. During their conversation, Gorky paid great attention to Chelkash’s personality, noticed all the little things, described his slightest movements, all the feelings and thoughts that arose in his head. The refined psychologism of the image is a clear adherence to the romantic canon.
Nature also occupies a special place in this work, since Chelkash had a spiritual connection with the sea, and his state of mind often depended on the sea. The expression of feelings and moods through the states of the surrounding world is again a romantic trait.
We also see how Gavrila’s character changes over the course of the story, and if at first we felt pity and compassion for him, then in the end they turn into disgust. The main idea of the story is that it doesn’t matter what you look like or what you do, but what’s in your soul is important, the most important thing is to always remain a decent person in any matter. This thought itself carries a revolutionary message: how does it matter what the hero does? Does this mean that the murderer of a dignitary can also be a decent person? Does this mean that a terrorist can blow up His Excellency’s carriage and at the same time maintain moral purity? Yes, this is exactly the kind of freedom the author deliberately allows: not everything is a vice that society condemns. A revolutionary kills, but his motive is sacred. The writer could not say this directly, so he chose abstract examples and images.
Features of Gorky's romanticism
The main feature of Gorky's romanticism is the image of a hero, a certain ideal designed to save the people. He does not renounce the people, but on the contrary wants to lead them to the right path. The main values that the writer exalted in his romantic stories are love, freedom, courage and self-sacrifice. Their understanding depends on the revolutionary sentiments of the author, who writes not only for thinking intelligentsia, but also for a simple Russian peasant, so the images and plots are not ornate and simple. They have the character of a religious parable and are even similar in style. For example, the author very clearly shows his attitude towards each character, and it is always clear who the author likes and who he doesn’t.
Gorky also had nature actor and influenced the heroes of the stories. In addition, its individual parts are symbols that must be perceived allegorically.
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At the beginning of the 20th century, Gorky turned to this literary direction like romanticism. This is explained by surrounding reality oppressed the writer, he did not find in real life such heroes who could become an example, a role model. Then such heroes had to be invented. He wanted to glorify the feat, glorify people who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.
So in 1898 the story “Old Woman Izergil” appeared. The story can be divided into 3 parts. 1 – the legend of Larra, 2 – the old woman’s story about her life, 3 – the legend of Danko. The story begins and ends with a description of the seashore where Izergil and the author are sitting. This artistic frame links the distant past and the present together.
In works of romanticism, the action most often takes place near the sea, because the sea is a symbol of freedom in romanticism. In Gorky, everything happens against the backdrop of bright southern nature. All the heroes of his romantic works are young and strong beautiful people. These are the features of Gorky’s romantic works.
The first legend tells about the fate of Larra, the son of a girl and an eagle. He was handsome and strong, and most importantly, proud and despised people. He considered himself superior to everyone and did whatever he wanted. He killed a girl who did not want to go with him, and did not respect the elders. And then they decided to punish him - to expel him from the tribe and deprive him of the opportunity to die. This freedom turned out to be a difficult test for the proud man. He still returned to the people because he wanted to die and could not. This is how the man was punished for his pride. In this legend, Gorky debunked individualism and selfishness, showed the loneliness of a person who imagines himself better than others, who believes in his exclusivity.
Part 2 is the old woman’s story about her life. Once she was young, beautiful, loved a lot, and she was loved too. The famous saying, which has become an aphorism: “In life there is always a place for heroic deeds...” belongs to her. She really accomplished a feat: she helped the Poles, among whom was her beloved, escape from captivity. However, she accomplished this feat for the sake of her beloved, in the name of her love. Therefore, all she has left in her life are memories. Strength, youth, beauty are gone, it is no coincidence that Gorky paints a portrait of Izergil in old age: she has grown old and nothing reminds of her former attractiveness.
Part 3 – the legend of Danko. It begins with a description of a dark, gloomy forest, a terrible swamp, into which foreign tribes drove people. People began to die. And then the brave, handsome Danko came and saved everyone. He decided to lead people out of the darkness of swamps and forests and for this he did not spare his heart. - What will I do for people? – Danko shouted louder than thunder. He tore his heart out of his chest and raised it high above his head. It glowed like the sun, and brighter than the sun. These hyperboles (he shouted louder than thunder, burned like the sun, and brighter than the sun) help to understand the greatness of Danko’s feat, his willingness to die for the sake of others. He led the tribe out of the darkness of the swamps, saved them, and then fell and died. And then alone careful man stepped on the proud heart so that it would not burn. And now only blue sparks in the steppe remind of Danko’s feat.
Danko is also called proud. But this is a different kind of pride than Larra’s. His desire for independence, the desire to gain freedom himself and help others escape from the darkness of the swamps turned out to be stronger than fear of death. He sacrificed himself without demanding anything in return. Gorky glorifies such a feat.
The legend of Danko contains many metaphors, hyperboles, and vivid comparisons that help make the work more figurative, emotional, and give the legend solemnity and majesty. Gorky writes in a high style.
To summarize, it can be noted following features romantic works by A.M. Gorky: exotic landscape, bright, expressive portraits of heroes, emotional intensity of the action, an abundance of hyperbole and metaphors that add solemnity to the narrative, tragic ending as an affirmation of feat, glorification of self-sacrifice in the name of others.